Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The royal banner of the Black Wolf of the God of Death fluttered high, appearing from the edge of the sky, moving towards the sprawling encampment. In the camp, another banner of the Black Wolf Commander waved. Both towering banners depicted black wolves, yet their postures and patterns were distinct. From afar, one was the beastly incarnation of Xiulotel gazing at the sky, while the nearer one was the night patrol Black Wolf guarding the rise of the sun.

As the two banners gradually approached, the thousands of warriors of the Kingdom's main force in the camp cheered excitedly in response. Their cheers were heartfelt, devout as if in prayer!

"Praise to the most exalted Chief Divine! Praise to the invincible Divine Revelation His Highness!"

This was the cheer of the Mexica warriors, filled with respect and love.

"Oh Chief Divine! It is our merciful King! Our most supreme King has arrived!"

This was the reverent, even somewhat fanatical praise of the Prepecha warriors.

"Ah! Great Great Chief! The Great Chief of Death! His mana is boundless!"

This was the exclamation of the Guajili warriors, born of inner awe and bodily prostration.

The Black Wolf ran amidst the deafening cheers. He ran up a small hill, towards the lakeside, finally arriving under the royal banner of the Black Wolf of the God of Death. His heart was filled with excitement as he knelt directly to the familiar, towering figure.

"Your Highness! Your Black Wolf, pays homage to his supreme Wolf King!"

"With the Chief Divine's blessing! Good! My Black Wolf, you did not disappoint my expectations! You campaigned east for a year, defeating countless enemies, the most valiant Black Wolf under my command!"

Xiulote, clad in royal attire, nodded with a warm smile, praising. He looked at the kneeling Black Wolf, his eyes full of approval and satisfaction. Then, he stepped forward, reached out, and grasped the Black Wolf's hair, ruffling his head. This was a repeatedly enacted ritual of allegiance between the King and his loyal generals, a moment representing intimacy!

"Your Highness! I, Black Wolf Torc, am willing to serve you unto death! No matter... who the enemy is!"

Kneeling on the ground, Black Wolf Torc looked up at His Highness. His eyes brimmed with reverence and fearlessness, with a hint of hidden expectation.

Hearing these words, Xiulote raised an eyebrow, his expression serious, a slight nod. The Black Wolf would not, without reason, say such words at this moment. This was a declaration of determination... and the underlying reason was likely those rumors spreading among the various states.

"My Black Wolf, rise! This eastward expedition has been a year-long campaign, quite challenging. Now, tell me, how goes the conquest of Golden Bay City?"

Xiulote spoke as he moved his gaze. His eyes swept over the Black Wolf's war armor and bronze axe, quickly landing on the book he held, inverted in his hand. With surprise, he exclaimed an "oh," then smiled and said.

"Good! Black Wolf, you have become inseparable from your scrolls! As I told you before, when we meet again, I hope to look at you with new eyes... Once we finish discussing military matters, I shall test you, to see your progress in reading and literacy!"

"Yes, Your Highness, for the past half-year, I have been heeding your words, that which is inseparable... from the scrolls. Uh!... about the test, I have read through the entire 'Book of Ama Colley,' two... three, four quarters of it..."

Black Wolf Torc raised his head, yet as he spoke, his head gradually lowered again, feeling inexplicably sheepish. His words were somewhat stammered, sidestepping he spoke of the front-line battlefield situation.

"Ah, Your Highness! After the rainy season, following your orders, I laid siege without attacking, continuing to apply pressure. And the continuous flow of Totonaq reinforcements, all came from the East, gathering around Golden Bay City! Currently, surrounding Golden Bay City, within fifty li west of the Adobe River, over ten seaside city-states, more than thirty thousand Totonaq allied forces have gathered!"

"Counting the one or two thousand people I defeated, killed, and recruited outside Golden Bay City, it can be said that all the real fighting enemies of the entire Eastern and Western Totonac territories are gathered here!"

Upon hearing this, Xiulote nodded slowly. He pondered over the situation in Totonac territory, recalling the High Priesthood information he had received from his grandfather, and meditated for a long time.

From the ancient Holy Land of the Feathered Serpent City on the western coast to the Holy Land of the Hidden Serpent City on the eastern coast, it is exactly a thousand miles. And from the Totonac people deep in the mountains in the Five Mountains City, Adobe River City, Rabbit Hill City, down to the coast, it is more than two hundred miles. That is to say, the Totonac Coast is a strip of land more than a thousand miles along the coast and more than two hundred miles in depth, with a total area of about 60,000 square kilometers. This is slightly more than half of Cuba Island, slightly less than half of England, or one-third of Henan. Coincidentally, this is also the area that the Kingdom of the Lake can directly control after thoroughly annexing the Chapala Lake Region in the grand construction plan.

"The entire Totonac territory is the origin of the Olmecs, with a long heritage and numerous tribes. This area is crisscrossed by rivers, warm all year round, dense with jungles, while the coastal region is mostly plains. In the thousand-mile coast of the entire Totonac, there are more than twenty relatively large city-states, divided into Eastern and Western Totonac by the Adobe River. Western Totonac has a coastline of about four hundred miles, while Eastern Totonac has more than five hundred miles..."

As Xiulote pondered, he carefully elaborated. Black Wolf Torc stood beside him, listening attentively, just like ten years ago when he was selected into the Prince's trusted aides and listened to the lectures of the then young Prince.

"Black Wolf, a Great General must be familiar with geography and numbers. You have been fighting for many years, and you have gained experience and instinct in estimating geography. But for numerical calculations, you still need to put in more effort!"

Xiulote's expression was solemn as he taught Black Wolf, though his eyes held a smile, and his words were especially patient. Upon hearing this, the Guard Commander Ecatl behind him looked up, glanced at Black Wolf in surprise, and then silently shifted his gaze away.

"The Alliance's previous understanding of the Totonac tribes was actually limited to four to five hundred miles of Western Totonac, at most extending to a hundred more miles of the Eastern Coast. As for the details of the various tribes of Eastern Totonac, we do not know. The Kingdom's exploration fleet should have some results, but unfortunately, it has not returned. Now that both sides are at war, fighting red-eyed, I actually hope they return later..."

"The Alliance's estimated population of the Totonac is seven to eight hundred thousand. Now it seems that this number is obviously underestimated, neglecting the three to four hundred miles further east... The Totonac tribes have successively manifested more than thirty thousand warriors and tens of thousands of able-bodied men. According to the common ratio of one warrior per thirty people, it is estimated that there will be a population of about 1.2 million..."

"Black Wolf, the reason I had you stop and wait in Golden Bay City is that going further east, the geography of the Eastern Totonac territory is very unfamiliar to the Alliance! If the army continues eastwards, the supply line for the campaign will also be stretched too long. If we fail to conquer swiftly, logistics will be hard to sustain, and a disastrous defeat could occur!"

Upon hearing this, Black Wolf opened his mouth, wanting to refute. The sixty-hundred Guajili Battle Group in his hands, the two thousand Mistec Battle Group, and the two thousand defectors from White Snake City are all wolf armies that can go on long expeditions!

This ten-thousand battle-hardened Black Wolf warriors were all personally trained by him, and they are very tenacious and fierce! They are not picky about what they eat, and even without food, they can eat other things... However, remembering the Prince's consistent stance on human sacrifice, Black Wolf pursed his lips and didn't dare to respond out loud.

"In Ancient Feathered Serpent City, oh, also known as Slain Serpent New City, I stayed for a month, carefully inquired with many local tribal sages. Then, I calculated the battle achievements numbers reported by the priests accompanying your eastward army... The Western Totonac tribes originally should have 600,000 people. The area of Eastern Totonac tribes is about the same, and according to the estimate, it should also be around 600,000, just matching the previous estimate."

"Now, Western Totonac tribes have been attacked for a year, and three or four major city-states have turned into wasteland. The Kingdom Legion has taken away over 100,000 tribespeople, sent to Water Valley City for garrison farming, and now transported to the Kingdom. The eastern campaign, in the battles, the killed Totonac warriors, the fleeing Totonac able-bodied men, and the civilian Totonac who died of illness or starvation are estimated to be over 100,000. While the tribes in Golden Bay that we have not yet conquered, along with the remnants of the two major tribes of Adobe River City and Feather Bird City in the southwest, should be close to 200,000. In the more than four hundred miles of Western Totonac territory, those who truly submit to the Alliance and are under our control are actually only 200,000 tribespeople."

Saying this, Xiulote shook his head quietly. Black Wolf's killing nature was strong, sweeping the entire Western Totonac tribes clean, killing almost all the upper chieftains and noble chiefs... But anyway, the Kingdom has indeed grasped this territory solidly, and there are no tribes capable of rebelling. Along the way, he comforted the people, distributed land and titles, established civilian and military garrisons, and encountered no local resistance, indeed making it a lot easier.

"So, Black Wolf, after a year of campaigning, you've obliterated a third of the Western Totonac tribes and conquered a third! And the last third was besieged, with over ten thousand warriors and able-bodied men slain or trapped in the besieged cities!"

"Black Wolf, my Great General, you have effectively crushed the Western Totonac tribes, destroyed their city-state alliance! Even if the tribes in Golden Bay still have a large city and over ten thousand warriors, even if the two tribes of Adobe River and Feather Bird have not yet been pacified... but they have indeed been broken at the spine, insignificant to consider!"

Xiulote remained calm, speaking gently. To him now, the lives of tens of thousands and the fate of hundreds of thousands had gradually changed from warm, tangible entities to cold numbers. He had experienced too much, and his heart was as hard as blood jade. In his mind, deeply etched, was the grand ambition to unify all tribes under heaven and create an empire and nation! And this perilous path to the pinnacle was destined to be filled with blood and bones...

"Black Wolf, as Commander-in-Chief, you must always remain clear-headed, remember our goals, and discern our true opponents! We aim to conquer the entire Totonac coast. Now, our true opponent in battle with the Kingdom is the Eastern Totonac tribal alliance led by the Holy Land of the Hidden Serpent City! Thinking of the true enemy, you will find that capturing Golden Bay's great city is not our most important goal. And this is also why I sent you a message to set up a new plan..."

"Our plan is to gather more Eastern Totonac warriors here, converging on this narrow land of Golden Bay. Then, the army will launch an offensive from the east, cutting off their eastern retreat, leaving behind all these eastern tribes' warriors and able-bodied men!"

"As long as we kill or capture these tens of thousands of Totonac warriors and able-bodied men who struggle to unite under the belief of the Feathered Serpent and rally under the call of Hidden Serpent Holy City, the Eastern Totonac tribes will be emptied, with no courage or manpower to resist! This will be much easier than continuing to trek five hundred miles, fighting hard in the jungle from one city-state or village to another!"