Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The clouds grew thicker, and the sky darkened. The scent of sulfur smoke drifted in the wind, as the Chief Divine's flag fluttered atop the city walls. Balda, leading over a thousand Imperial Guard Warriors, drove the third wave into the city, encountering almost no resistance.

"Huh? The militias defending the city should be several thousand strong. Where have they all gone?"

Dressed in copper armor and brandishing a copper spear, Balda surveyed the city, seeing only a deathly silence. It seemed that beyond the city walls, no trace of the defending army remained, nor the usual large militia groups seen during past sieges. Without pausing, he led the large group of Imperial Guards past low, deserted huts and desolate, quiet stone houses, finally reaching the first strategic location, the main warehouse of White Snake City.

Originally, over a hundred White Snake Warriors were stationed at the main warehouse, but they had surrendered their weapons to the vanguard who entered the city first. Now, nearly two hundred Mexica vanguard warriors, except for the few dozen watching over prisoners, were inside the warehouse searching for spoils, sneaking away some inconspicuous items like easily hidden gemstones, gold dust, silver grains, and spices.

"Hmm?...These little bastards..."

Balda furrowed his brow, seeing the tense vanguard warriors, but said nothing. The vanguard warriors, risking their lives as the first to fight, traditionally received an extra share of spoils. As long as they weren't too blatant, the military judges would not intervene.

"That's enough! Seal off the warehouse for me! All large quantities of cotton and food must be confiscated!"

The confiscation of large valuables meant small items could be privately kept. The Imperial Guards smiled, and the vanguard warriors relaxed, cheering softly.

"By the Chief Divine's witness! Commander Balda, though there are many treasures in the warehouse, there's truly not a grain of food!"

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing the warrior captain's report, Balda entered the stone warehouse and glanced around. It was indeed so clean a mouse might weep. Deep in thought, he said nothing more and simply turned away.

Soon, a hundred Imperial Guard Warriors stayed behind to guard the warehouse and prisoners, while the main force of the Guards pressed on. They quickly reached the palace district in the city, where once there had been the sounds of fierce resistance, but as soon as hundreds of Imperial Guard Warriors arrived, the last defense crumbled instantly under a rain of arrows and sharp axes.

"Over a hundred White Snake Personal Guard Warriors slaughtered. Over two hundred divine descendant nobles captured... All the divine descendant nobility in the city are here?"

"Yes, Commander! Oh, apart from here, in the central Cloud Snake Temple, there are also many priests of divine descent!"

"Hmm, I understand, we'll go to the Temple later!"

Balda nodded and marched forward, stepping over the bodies and bloodstains of the guards into the City Lord's palace. Over two hundred last of the Cloud Snake divine descendants lay in despair on the ground, sobbing and wailing. Having fallen into the Alliance's hands, the fate of these divine descendants was sealed.

Balda glanced through the captives, nodded with satisfaction, and inquired further.

"Where is the warehouse in the City Lord's palace?"

"Commander, it's in the back!"

Balda kept moving, led by a warrior, to the personal treasury of the White Snake City Lord. The treasury held even more gemstones, gold and silver ornaments, spices and herbs, and feathered Chinese clothes. Additionally, there were dozens of bronze weapons, longbows, and copper arrows in the stockpile. Balda picked up a bronze axe for a quick inspection and cursed aloud.

"Damn, by the Chief Divine's witness! The mark on this axe handle must be from the capital's craftsmen camp! Who knows which Great Nobility it trickled down from..."

However, there were only a dozen smuggled bronze weapons in total, too few to trace. Even if traced, those involved, the capital's Great Nobility, could claim they were spoils from battles with the Telascallans. In fact, given the amount of bronze weaponry leaking out, the Alliance's armament controls had been quite effective. The Great Nobility within the Alliance still held fear of the King and High Priesthood, daring not to overstep their bounds.

Besides weapons, the warehouse still stocked enough food to sustain five hundred people for half a year, likely prepared specifically for the divine descendants dwelling within. This was the first time Balda discovered food within the city.

"Chief Divine protect us! Leave two hundred men! Keep a close watch on these divine descendant captives, don't let them commit suicide! They are precious offerings for the Divine!"

A moment later, two hundred Guards were left behind, while the main force continued forward, advancing towards the city's center, the Cloud Snake Temple. From afar, a faint glow of flames flickered there.

By the time Balda arrived, the ancient Cloud Snake Temple was already in the hands of the vanguard warriors. The newly ignited flames within the temple had already been extinguished. Over a hundred Temple Guards' bodies lay scattered around the pyramid, their deaths grotesque and tragic. Bright red liquid trickled down from the pyramid's heights, covering the thick, sticky dark red clots below, as if painting a new layer of dye.

"Yikes! This stench of blood, these old clots! How many were sacrificed here?"

Balda sniffed the air, a hint of displeasure crossing his face.

On the pyramid of this Cloud Snake Temple, too many traces of blood had solidified, and during the siege, there wasn't enough clean water to wash it away. Over time, the blood clots solidified into thick chunks, emitting a nauseating stench under the scorching sun. As the Imperial Guard Warriors climbed the pyramid's stone steps, they found the accumulated, viscous clots deep enough to submerge their ankles.

"Commander! Seeing the Alliance Warriors storm into the city, all the Cloud Snake priests within the temple committed suicide!"

Soon after, a leading armored vanguard warrior, Quetz, ran down from the temple's heights, making a bow to Balda as he reported.

"Moreover, the tablets and records within the temple were mostly set on fire, only just extinguished! The city lacked enough grease to set a big fire..."

"These Cloud Snake priests died decisively!"

Balda raised his eyebrows, looking at the thick blood clots on the pyramid, choosing not to ascend. He pondered for a moment, then asked solemnly.

"Did we capture any divine descendants? Did you find any hidden warriors or militias?"

"Commander, the brothers didn't catch any divine descendants... But by the Chief Divine's mercy, we captured dozens of prisoners behind the temple pyramid, in a small lower temple. They are..."

At this point, the vanguard warrior Quetz hesitated slightly, with a hint of undisguised disgust on his face.

"Hmm, who are they?"

"They are the city's quartermasters and chef servants, responsible for preparing food for the defending army... They might know the whereabouts of the city's militias..."

"Quartermasters? Preparing food? And the militias' whereabouts?"

Upon hearing this, Eagle Warrior Balda lowered his gaze. He vaguely guessed something, but his face remained calm, his voice turning somber.

"It seems that in this dead silent fortress, we should not encounter more resistance."

"Let's go then! To the small temple, to interrogate the captured quartermasters... We must report back to His Highness definitively!"