Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1472 - 1024: Nomadic Hunters of the Far North Asia, the Mountain Part Grandmother’s Invitation to Meet
At dawn, as the morning sun rose from the sea, the mountain forest gradually revealed itself again. Two Kotyel’myen hunters hurriedly bid farewell to return to their tribe in the northern mountains. The Exploration Captain didn’t stop them; instead, he smiled and gave them a farewell gift to pass on to the chieftain of this mountain tribe. Hunter Mulu secretly opened the package, dipped his finger in to taste it, and discovered it was two bags of green salt!
"Ancestors! It’s precious salt! This sea tribe of Luba is indeed strong and wealthy!..."
"Mulu, this salt is from the sea tribe chieftain for the Grandmother, don’t spill it! Wrap it tight, don’t let it leak!..."
Hunting Team Leader Mukun tightened his expression, carefully tied the salt bags, and wrapped them tightly with deer skin. In the extreme cold of winter, with the scarcity of fuel in Extreme North Asia, the cost of boiling salt is too high, making salt a sought-after commodity valued by all clans. Tribes would fight over a few bags of salt, and losing a couple of people in the process was a very common occurrence.
"Yes, Sage Team Leader!..."
The two Kotyel’myen hunters maintained a steady jogging pace and quickly disappeared into the pine forest, vanishing into the northern mountains. Only after they had disappeared from sight did the Exploration Captain Zuwaro let out a long sigh, looked at the sun among the clouds, and sincerely prayed out loud.
"Chief Divine, bless us! May this mountain tribe be a friend to the Kingdom rather than an enemy!..."
After a brief prayer, Zuwaro squinted at the somewhat dim sky. Very quickly, his expression turned stern as he instructed the people on the shore.
"Chief Divine as a witness! Look at this weather, snow is coming! Quickly tighten up the camp, dig the warm earth holes half a man’s depth!..."
"Yes!..."
November’s snowflakes danced down from the dull sky, covering the gray-white land. Snowfall lasted for two days, with temperatures constantly below zero, and the snow quickly rose past the ankles. The cold northern wind froze the entire coast, causing floating ice to increase and even stretch all the way to the bay.
The Kingdom’s Warriors and tribal sailors busied themselves in the snowstorm, chopping down trees, collecting dried branches and logs, expanding the camp on the shore while unloading winter supplies from the longship, especially the most crucial food and coal!
Four days after the two Kotyel’myen mountain hunters left, they reappeared from the north. This time, they arrived with no less than ten sleds and forty dogs. On the sleds sat a total of four palmfuls, that is, twenty tribal huntsmen from the mountain tribe!
"Awoo! Awoo! Awooo!..."
Upon hearing the continuous wolf-like howling, Exploration Captain Zuwaro was suddenly awakened. He donned his leather armor and fur, took his bronze axe, climbed on the simple yet sturdy log watchtower, and from afar, spotted the dog team and the tribal sleds they pulled on the northern snowfield.
"Huh?! These tribes in the mountains are able to tame... white wolves? To pull the sled?"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro widened his eyes, watching the howling dog teams run closer with a look of cheerful and honest wolf faces and strong wolf bodies. This was his first time seeing Siberian Huskies specifically tamed by the Kamchatka tribes as sled dogs!
But quickly, his curious gaze was drawn to the mountain hunters on the sleds, and his expression instantly became vigilant.
"Chief Divine! At least twenty elite tribal huntsmen? All equipped with composite bows and arrows?"
The twenty mountain hunters sat on the sleds, driving the dog teams to the bay at the Kingdom’s camp within moments, covering several miles. On closer inspection, these hunters carried composite recurve bows on their backs, wore inner layer leather armor and outer layer wing armor, and carried heavy stone axes and stone knives. Their bodies were wrapped in thick and warm deerskin robes, yet their movements were agile. And those round, honest faces, though reddened by the drifting snow, were filled with toughness and fearlessness!
This initial winter of minus seven or eight degrees was not considered cold for the Kamchatka tribes; rather, it was a suitable season for travel. Especially after a snowfall, the tribal hunters could ride sleds pulled by reindeer or dogs, turning into nomadic people of the snowfields... the traveling speed could instantly be several times faster, potentially covering two or three hundred miles in a day!
"Chief Divine as a witness! Ah! Their mobility on the snow is surprisingly fast! This... Could this be what Your Majesty mentioned, the nomadic Northern tribes?"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro showed surprise, estimating the speed of the dog teams pulling the sleds to be at least six or seven times that of walking! His mind was racing with thoughts while he decisively issued orders.
"Stonefirm! Have the Kingdom’s Warriors put on bronze cloth armors and the tribal sailors take up long spears, fully preparing for combat!..."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Awoo! Awoo! Awooo!..."
A quarter of an hour later, at the windy and snowy camp gate, the leaders on both sides met again. Exploration Captain Zuwaro, with forty Kingdom’s Warriors in heavy armor and fifty long-speared tribal sailors, lined up outside the camp. Meanwhile, Hunting Team Leader Mukun, with twenty bow-carrying mountain hunters, led the dog teams down from the sleds.
"Witness by the spirited Ancestors! Friends from the sea tribe, we meet again!..."
"Chief Divine bless us! Brothers of the Northern mountains, may the Chief Divine shine upon you and your dogs!..."
Hunting Team Leader Mukun held his head high, accompanied by the tribe’s elite hunters, a confident smile on his face. It wasn’t until he saw the Kingdom’s Warriors in platinum heavy armor that his confident expression suddenly paused, revealing genuine astonishment!
"Ah? Ancestors! Is this? Could it be... copper armor of the Horse Division? The sea tribe possesses so many copper armors!..."
As one of the tribes on the Extreme North Asia snowfield, Mukun, the Hunting Team Leader of the mountain tribe, naturally understood the significance of metal armor, whether copper or iron. Although metal armors were rare in the Kamchatka tribes, and the extreme cold was unsuitable for ordinary iron armors, the tribes in North Asia possessed all the necessary knowledge.
Thousands of miles to the west, the nomadic Evon Horse Division had acquired some bronze and iron armors from further south; some even passed down for generations, dating back hundreds or even thousands of years, from the extinct nomadic empires.
"Chief Divine bless us! Brothers from the Northern mountains, you have come to the camp... Hmm, do you wish to drink a warm bowl of whale meat soup together?"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro wore a smile, enthusiastically gesturing while observing the tribal hunters before him. These hunters bore no murderous intent, yet each wore wing armors that spanned like wings in battle, gripping bows and axes as if purposely showcasing their tribe’s strength.
"Ancestor bless us! Friends from the sea tribe in the East. Our mountain tribe and the sea tribe are relatives through generations!..."
Hunting Team Leader Mukun spoke seriously, repeating what the Grandmother instructed him to say. He then reached back, patting a tall man behind him and giving a deep command.
"Wuhai! They come from those islands across the sea to the east... just like your father! Go, use the language your father taught you, tell them the Grandmother’s invitation!..."
"Yes, Sage Team Leader!..."
The tall Wuhai nodded, taking a step forward. He blinked his eyes, curiously observing the armored and spear-holding Unanga fellow clansmen among the camp, and spoke in a mixture of local language and Aleut!
"Witness by the Ancestors! The sleeping giants rest beneath our feet... My deceased father hailed from Grandmother Island in the northeast. He spoke of our kindred further east, a people hard to find on the seas..."
"People from the ancestor island chain! You have come in giant longships never seen before, reaching here, into the territory of our mountain tribe!... The wise Grandmother says, the mountain tribe and the sea tribe have never fought but often intermarried since the oldest of Ancestors..."
"Spirited Ancestors, shelter us who share the same Ancestors! You sea tribe folks who come from the sea, revealing goodwill, sharing bonfires, meat, and salt... you are friends of the mountain tribe, our long-separated brothers! The wise Grandmother invites you, invites your leaders, to the winter camp in the northern mountains to gather around a warm bonfire and drink the blood of the same deer!..."
