Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

"Concentrate all the Samurai militias and conquer the Yomei Great Tribe of over ten thousand people in one fell swoop?"

The chieftain's longhouse was adorned with wooden bells and decorated with antlers. Beneath the high-hanging wooden bell and deer head, five armor-clad leaders sat cross-legged. When Zuwalu Priest asked the question, everyone's eyes twinkled, and their expressions changed.

Samurai Leader Chakapu Stonefirm showed a warlike expression. He patted the bronze axe at his waist and was the first to speak.

"At this moment, the fleet has four hundred of the Kingdom's Warriors, eight hundred spear-wielding militias, a full two hundred sets of cloth-covered copper armor, two hundred greatbows, and twelve Tiger Squat Cannons! With such strength, attacking the Yomei Great Tribe, which only has wooden fences, is a piece of cake!"

"Just one! One large-scale decisive battle! We can completely crush all the Yaji tribes and seize the entire open-pit coal mining area!"

"Good! With the blessing of the Chief Divine, if we break through the Yomei Great Tribe, the gold ore, silver ore, and cloth in the tribe will all belong to the Kingdom's Warriors! We, the Preaching Priests, only want the obedient tribespeople and the coal-rich territories!"

Upon hearing this, Preaching Priest Songbird straightened his back, eyes unmasked with eagerness.

The Kingdom of the Lake was expanding rapidly, and all resources served the military and religion. Legion Warriors, when victorious in battles, receive not only abundant spoils of war but are also granted land, titles, and slaves. As long as Kingdom Priests establish a parish and educate the local tribes, they will be promoted in place and receive greater power and support!

Just like Tomato Priest Tomate, who traveled eight thousand miles to Cuba to establish the Cuba Diocese, aiming to spread the faith of the Chief Divine and fulfill his ambitions. If he manages to establish a parish in eastern Cuba and lay down roots, he will immediately be promoted to the Third-level Main Priest of Cuba! With the massive Taino population of Cuba Snake Island, should the parish scale up to become a General Parish, Priest Tomate is bound to become the first Chief Priest of Cuba, a fourth-level position just below the Elder Priests of Mexica Alliance's High Priesthood!

Such a path of promotion greatly stimulated the ambitions of the Kingdom's generals, Samurai, and priests, a scenario unimaginable to other Central American tribes and even the Mexica Alliance.

Of course, tribes in the Northern Continent are scattered and sparsely populated. Currently, Priest Songbird's "minor goal" is to preach to as many Northern Land tribes as possible, establish the first parish on the Northern Continent, and become a third-level High Priest. To achieve this standard, there must be tens of thousands of devout tribespeople and an armed congregation of thousands.

"If we can conquer the Yomei Great Tribe, the Kingdom's merchant fleet will be able to continuously transport back high-quality bituminous coal! And with the Yomei tribe's coal, Tin River Village's tin, and copper from the two northern tribes, the Kingdom can establish a smelting workshop in Reagan Town to smelt bronze on-site!"

Merchant Fleet Captain Kuyu promised loudly, patting his chest.

"Upon the return voyage, I will consult with Jatili Chief of the Capital City to bring over a group of bronze craftsmen from the capital!"

The three leaders expressed their opinions one after another, each displaying a strong drive for expansion. The crowd's gaze quickly fell on the silent Scholar Mikki.

"Praise the Chief Divine! We are willing to fight for Him!...Scholar Mikki, what do you think?"

Hearing this, Scholar Mikki was solemn. He glanced at the belligerent leaders and spoke slowly.

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! You all think of war expansion, but I want to ask you a few questions..."

"The Kingdom's army can defeat the Yomei Great Tribe, but do we have the foundation and capability to rule them? How many followers of the Chief Divine are there in the Yomei tribe? For such a large tribe of ten thousand people, how many warriors must we leave behind to keep them under control?"

"If the Yomei chieftains lead the tribe to scatter and migrate into the mountains, where do we draw forces to pursue them? If they engage in guerrilla tactics without confronting us directly, how can the Kingdom capture them?"

"You must know, this great tribe has been in the Northern Land for many years and has long-standing, stable relations with the Guai'ma tribe in the northwest and the Opata Alliance in the northeast, through marital ties. Unless we can deliver a fatal blow and capture all the Noble Chiefs and chieftains, they might very well return with reinforcements from other tribes..."

"Moreover, once the Yomei tribe falls into turmoil and war, the split and scatter of tribespeople will halt the existing coal mining. It will be impossible to expand 'Firestone' production, and even the current trade volume will not be met! While the crucial task given to the fleet by Your Majesty is to explore the northwestern coast and search for the Land of Divine Revelation, the Kingdom's fleet cannot be delayed here for too long!..."

Finishing, the other four were left looking at each other in silence.

As Mikki said, Your Majesty's primary task was exploration. The exploratory fleet of twelve longships wouldn't stay put for long before continuing northward. If the Yomei Great Tribe was attacked at this moment, even if the Yaji people were defeated, occupying the northern coal belt would be difficult and likely lead to prolonged guerrilla warfare, hindering the fleet's exploratory progress.

The successful conversion of the Yoreim Great Tribe, smoothly brought under the Kingdom's rule, was backed by many believers and insiders, with a long history of missionary work and trade laying the mutual trust, which cannot be replicated with the Yomei Great Tribe.

"...In the end, the Kingdom's strength in the Northern Land is insufficient, the Chief Divine's faith has not been spread widely enough, and we can't swallow a large tribe of tens of thousands in one gulp."

Preaching Priest Songbird thought for a long while, finally shaking his head, voluntarily abandoning this aggressive expansion strategy. He then stroked his chin, looked at Scholar Mikki, and asked.

"Priest Mikki, since the Kingdom's fleet has arrived here with so many Samurai militias, surely something needs to be done, right?"

"Priest Songbird, while we cannot consume the Yomei Great Tribe, we can rely on our mighty force to make the Yaji tribes yield..."

With sincere devotion, Scholar Mikki responded solemnly.

"We need to gather the fleet and move north, threatening the Yomei tribe to nominally submit to the Kingdom of the Lake! They must mine 'Firestone' and copper ore and pay tribute to the Kingdom, while we, in turn, grant them Lake Gems and copperware. More importantly, they're to allow the Kingdom's Preaching Priests to preach in the tribe, not stop us like before!"

"Praise the Chief Divine! That's how it should be! Spreading the faith of the Chief Divine is the primary task!"

"Indeed! The fleet needs more coal for the northern journey!"

"The Kingdom also needs better coal!"

Upon hearing this, Preaching Priest Songbird, Divine Revelation Priest Zuwalu, and Merchant Fleet Captain Kuyu all expressed agreement. Seeing this situation, the battle-eager Samurai Leader Stonefirm had no choice but to agree.

In the Kingdom of the Lake, the power of the Chief God Priests always surpasses that of the Samurai! Even within the legions, there are highly respected War Priests. These Kingdom War Priests and Preaching Priests are by no means the weak image of the Mistec priests. They can generally wear thirty pounds of heavy armor and fight with axes on the battlefield.

This lengthy meeting finally reached a consensus, deciding on the Kingdom fleet's next course of action. Subsequently, the Kingdom fleet made adjustments at the Yoreim Great Tribe for five days, before setting sail northward along five hundred miles of coastline, loaded with over a thousand Kingdom's Warriors and Mayo warriors!

This rare armored army in the Northern Land aimed to intimidate the Yomei Great Tribe, demonstrate the terrible Thunderbolt of Divine Punishment, and secure greater trade and missionary rights for the Kingdom of the Lake. Upon the fleet's return, separating the exploratory and merchant fleets, the twelve Kingdom longships would be reduced to a complement of seven hundred men, loaded with more food and coal, in search of Your Majesty's prophesied Gold Mountain Bay!