Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The lively cone-tailed parrots shook their bright red neck feathers, watching the excitement in the small woods on the red soil. They chirped and chattered, watching the large group of two-legged beasts digging pits on the copper ore hills, just like crocodiles nesting before laying eggs by the sea. Not even the unexpected rain dampened the birds' enthusiasm.

In fact, in this season abundant with food and frequent rains, animals and people on Cuba Island alike have few things to do.

This time, the exploration of the red soil hills lasted for a full three days. On one hand, it was due to the impact of rain, which delayed the progress of the exploration. On the other hand, Priest Mekate encountered a dilemma. He was absolutely certain that the taste of these red soil ores was not right; they didn't melt under fire, were heavy and hard, and had some magnetism... they must be a mineral deposit! But limited by the lack of Divine Revelation knowledge, he still couldn't identify what exactly these minerals were.

"Not copper, not lead, not tin, not gold, and silver, nor gemstones... there may be iron, but it doesn't quite match the description given by Your Majesty, and the magnetism is insufficient... Ah! Chief Divine! Please grant me more knowledge!..."

After painstaking contemplation, facing Priest Tomate's inquiries, Priest Mekate frankly admitted that these minerals exceeded his knowledge, requiring consultation with a higher authority.

"Everyone should continue to explore carefully, collect some stone samples, and report back to His Majesty! Perhaps His Majesty could recognize them..."

Priest Tomate suggested, and the old militia Chiwaco nodded in agreement. Of course, both of them overestimated; Xiulote couldn't recognize these minerals either.

Soon, the large group of warriors scattered around busily, roughly measuring the range of this red and gray stone mineral belt. Estimating just from the surface, this mining area is easy over a dozen miles, not to mention underground. The group then simply collected various mineral samples, including red-gray, white-yellow, and black ones, not knowing if they were even the same mineral.

After finishing all these tasks, the group bid farewell to this "Jewel Mountain", waving goodbye to the massive nickel mine belt. This incredibly large nickel mine belt stores nearly one-third of the globally explored nickel reserves of future generations! The forms of these nickel mines include red nickel soil, nickel-iron ore, and the more precious nickel-cobalt ore!

Yes! Nickel-cobalt ore, the emphasis on "cobalt ore." Cuba's cobalt yield ranks in the top five in future generations, all buried here at this moment. And "cobalt," the crucial element for lithium batteries, will only truly shine with dazzling brilliance hundreds of years later.

As the heavy rain slightly paused, the fleet quickly replenished supplies and set sail once again. The various Taino tribes on Cuba Island were never short of food, displaying friendly attitudes, making the supply of food and water quite easy. Hmm, at least much easier than in the Mayan lowlands.

The Kingdom Fleet sailed smoothly, covering more than two hundred miles in two days, entering a natural bay. The group arrived at the most important destination of this exploration, the Mayali Region.

"Praise the Chief Divine! We've sailed nine thousand miles to finally reach this place! According to the sailing records of the Mayapan fleet, the foretold Cuba Iron Mine should be around here!"

Arriving here, everyone's face was filled with hope. Priest Tomate gazed brightly, old militia Chiwaco's old face cracked a smile, the Huitu Puapu was eager to try, only the true guide, Mayan merchant Tikalo, sweat like rain sat on pins and needles.

"Hoo! Hoo! This August's Cuba Snake Island is truly hot! Even with just a robe, the sweat won't stop flowing… Ah, yes! Tomorrow we'll set off, taking local guides, according to the notes in my hand, to the south to find the Iron Mine!..."

Tikalo forced a confident smile on his face, his heart pounding like a drum. In truth, he had never personally seen the "Iron Mine Mountain," relying on the encrypted sailing records that only members of the Kokom Royal Family could understand.

According to the records, the Kokom family's caravan indeed discovered a massive black-gray mountain here, and picked up the "Black Gemstone" to present to His Majesty, known as the "chromite spinel" in His Majesty's words. These few "Black Gemstones" were the earliest seed for Cuba exploration, initiating the arduous and distant voyage!

"Chief Divine! If the fleet fails to find the Cuba Snake Island Iron Mine here, then… what should I do? The leaders on the ship would definitely tear me apart alive and sacrificially offer me to the Chief Divine!..."

That night, Tikalo lay on the grass bed in the Maryai Region, tossing and turning, unable to sleep peacefully. He prayed quietly to the Chief Divine, rarely imbued with a few notes of sincerity.

Moonlight flowed like water, surrounding villages lay silent. To prepare for tomorrow's iron mine exploration, even the sailors who landed bid farewell to the enthusiastic Taíno women for a well-deserved rest. This voyage of nine thousand miles left only one final, essential punctuation mark.

The next day, just at dawn, before the jungle parrots even chirped, Priest Tomate donned ceremonial attire, wielding a Bronze Axe, knocked on Tikalo's hut. Warriors and sailors on the ship were fully equipped, mobilizing a full hundred men. Under Tikalo's anxious guidance, they eagerly headed southeast into the mountains.

However, Tikalo's nervousness at this moment was truly unnecessary. The astonishing scale of the Mayari Iron Mine belt, as long as the general location was confirmed, even deviating a dozen miles couldn't miss it.

The group set off from the Mayali Region, only walking for an hour, when Mekate Priest's compass started spinning wildly. The erratic spinning resembled a male Hummingbird failing to find a mate during mating season.

"Ah! Chief Divine! We, we've arrived!"

Priest Mekate shouted joyfully, rushing ahead to the hilltop. The old militia and Priest Tomate exchanged glances, also dragging the anxious Tikalo, climbing the hill together. Suddenly the view before everyone's eyes widened, a panoramic vista!

"Chief Divine! This... This blind...!"

Old militia Chiwaco stared dumbly ahead, his old face twitching in shock. Before him stretched a black-gray with a red mountain range, quietly lying between sparse trees, endless, almost extending the entire horizon. If these were all iron mines, this would be a mineral mountain range beyond everyone's knowledge.

"This! Really? All iron mines?… genuinely hit on by that blind..?"

"Praise Chief Divine!!"

Priest Mekate shouted, quickly running down the hill. Holding the wildly spinning compass in one hand, he clutched a small mining hammer in the other. He picked up a widely available black-red ore, cracked off some powder, and tasted it.

"A little salty, a bit fishy, with a faint blood scent! This is, this is, it must be..."

Priest Mekate paused, his excited face glowing.

"Praise Chief Divine! This is iron ore! The entire mountain, the whole mountain range, is all iron ore!"

"Ah! Ah! Chief Divine's blessing! We've finally found the foretold Cuba Iron Mine!"

Upon hearing Priest Mekate's affirmative judgment, Priest Tomate immediately kneeled, raising his neck's Sun Amulet, praying loudly. His eyes brimmed with tears, his face adorned with a jubilant smile.

"Praise Chief Divine! Praise His Majesty! Our journey has finally reached its end!..."

"Praise Chief Divine! Praise His Majesty! Howl!..."

Puap drew Bronze Axe, shouting, raising it high, while over a hundred Kingdom's Warriors roared fervently. Amid the crowd's cheers, Mayan merchant Tikalo's eyes were dazed. He stood dumbfounded for a while, then suddenly began to yell recklessly.

"Praise... Chief Divine!"

Deafening cheers echoed throughout the mountain forest. The accompanying Mayali Region guide Black Stone blinked, confused. He did not understand what excitement these foreign tribesmen felt. These were merely common black stones, ordinary like his name. He perplexedly looked into the distance, the familiar black-gray with red mountain range showing no difference from usual. Such ordinary scenery had been witnessed by village inhabitants for countless years.

"Ooh, hey! Truly strange Longboat Tribe..."

Guide Black Stone tugged his hair, muttering low. Moments later, seeing everyone's joy, he also happily cheered. Hearing Translator Kuba's joyful shouting, he repeated the Longboat Leader's declaration.

"Tonight drink fruit wine to your heart's content! No one leaves without getting drunk!"

The boiling cheers reverberated through the sparse mountain forest, startling countless flying birds. The Mayari Iron Mine belt, with a storage of over 20 billion tons, stretching dozens of miles, quietly lay before everyone, across millions of years, waiting to be disturbed by future generations.