Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1509 - 1054: The Most Valuable Prize—Craftsmen Among the Prisoners!

The campfire flickered all night, and the captives tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Early the next morning, even before dawn, the camp became busy again. It was December, during the winter season, and the daylight on the Kamchatka Peninsula had already shortened to less than eight hours. Even when the sky brightened, the thick clouds were always dim, heralding the impending blizzard.

"Chief Divine protect us! We must head south as soon as possible, we must leave today!..."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro looked toward the northern sky and conversed briefly with the Mountain Hunter Mktu, realizing the urgency of the situation. He then instructed the Samurai to pack the camp's liquor, ironware, and food supplies and found the black-eyed Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi, appointing him as the captives' team leader and translator. "Witnessed by the Chief Divine! Divide the captives into two groups: one skilled, one unskilled! The skilled ones are to be favored by the Kingdom! Greatly favored!..."

The Kingdom's Warriors stood in a circle with axes in hand, and Zuwaro, with a solemn expression, gathered the nineteen captives from the large ship. Watanabe Masumi explained in Japanese and Korean the requirements for dividing the groups based on skill. Then, Ichiro, looking bewildered, wore a Golden Amulet of the Chief Divine around his neck and held it tightly in his hand, moving to one side.

"Ichiro, you know how to raise horses! Go over there..."

The captives widened their eyes, watching Ichiro eagerly. Soon, two Kingdom Warriors untied Ichiro's ropes, gave him a warm fur coat, and handed him a water bag filled with deer blood. He was then assigned to manage three large horses, responsible for fitting them with sledges to pull heavy loads.

Seeing such treatment, the captives' expressions changed instantly, showing genuine envy. Obviously, with his skill in horse breeding, Ichiro had gained a foothold among the barbarian tribes. From now on, Ichiro would no longer have to worry about being beheaded or drink cabbage soup with them!

"...The amulet around Ichiro's neck is gold? Ah! Those barbarians didn't take his Gold Talisman?..."

Murmurs arose among the captives. And keen-eyed ones had already noticed Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi and Ship Commander Murakami Kitamichi wearing Golden Amulets around their necks!...

"Buddha! Lord Watanabe and Lord Murakami have both surrendered to the barbarians, receiving death-exemption Golden Talismans!..."

Listening to these discussions and speculations, Shipwright Kim Sun-su pursed his lips, lowered his head, and thoughts raced through his mind. On such a frigid snowfield, even if the barbarians didn't kill them, without warmth and enough food, they might not survive! To live, they needed the leaders of the barbarians to value them…

A moment later, Kim Sun-su hunched his back and stepped out from the crowd. Then he glanced at the Monk Soldier Watanabe, who looked complicated, and with a "thud," he kowtowed to the barbarian leader Zuwaro.

"Merciful Bodhisattva! Lord, I, Kim Sun-su, am bowing to you! I have been a Carpenter since childhood; I can build sea ships, do carpentry work, and even make sledges for you!..."

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! You are?..."

Zuwaro's eyes flickered, looking at Kim Sun-su kneeling before him with an expectant expression, then glanced around at the somewhat envious expressions of the others before finally focusing on Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi, whose expression kept changing.

"Hmm? What can he do?..."

"..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi was silent for a moment, then squatted down on the snow under Zuwaro's sharp gaze and wrote down a line.

"He is a shipwright, skilled in woodwork, capable of building sea ships..."

"Ah! Chief Divine protect us, a shipwright who can build sea ships!… Haha! A shipwright from the Western Sea! The very Master Craftsman that His Majesty specifically needs!..."

Hearing this, Exploration Captain Zuwaro was stunned, and then his face burst into joy. He strode forward, carefully examining Kim Sun-su, whose face showed a mixture of fear and hope. Then he bent down and personally helped Kim Sun-su up from the snow!

"Ai... God! ... Lord! I... I can get up myself, I dare not trouble you... Lord..."

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! Here, take this!..."

Zuwaro, with a generous look, removed the Golden Amulet from his own neck and personally placed it on Kim Sun-su. Then he patted Kim Sun-su's head, ordered the Warriors to bring a warm fur coat, and wrapped it around the weak and emaciated shipwright. Lastly, he gave instructions to his subordinates, pointing to a distant reindeer-drawn sledge tent.

"Praise the Chief Divine! He is someone His Majesty specifically requested! Take him to the tent to rest well. He gets three meals a day, with food quality matching mine and Stonefirm's standards. When we head south, he'll stay in the warm reindeer tent!"

"Yes! Praise the Chief Divine!"

Two Kingdom Warriors nodded respectfully and looked at Shipwright Kim Sun-su with newfound kindness. Kim Sun-su, bewildered, was taken by two Warriors to a warm, windproof tent. Soon, someone brought a piece of roasted deer meat, a few cakes made from unknown ingredients, and even a bag of melted snow water.

"Merciful Guan Yin Bodhisattva! What... what exactly is happening?!… Am I dreaming?... Ah! It hurts! Not a dream…" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Sitting on a soft fur rug, Kim Sun-su slapped himself twice, crying out in pain. He had never experienced such treatment in his life, and although it wasn't a dream, it wasn't much different. He swallowed, looked at the fragrant deer meat before him, hesitated for a long time but dared not eat it. He nibbled on the roasted cornmeal cakes and cautiously peeked out of the tent.

"Chief Divine protect us! Who else? Who else has skills? Step forward! There are rewards and favors!..."

"Ah! The barbarian leader wants craftsmen! As long as you're a craftsman, you can live!..."

Seeing the treatment of Ichiro and Kim Sun-su, the captives looked at each other, their expressions indecisive. After a few moments, another Korean sailor stepped out and knelt before Zuwaro.

"Lord! Lord! I am Park Sun-pan, the ship's Sail Maker, and an experienced sailor! My family has been Sail Makers for generations; as long as we have bamboo and grass leaves, we can make sails, and my skills are excellent... Lord, please accept me!"

"Hmm?"

Zuwaro blinked and looked at the monk soldier Watanabe. Watanabe had a bitter expression, remained silent for a while, and then wrote the words "Sail Maker" in the snow.

The Korean sailors and craftsmen on these ships were originally captured and had no sense of belonging to the temples and shrines of the Capital City. If these people all sought allegiance with the Jiao people's leader, even if the other side returned the Ocean Shielding Ships to them, they wouldn't have enough crew to sail them away...

"Chief Divine witnesses! What is a Sail Maker?..."

"Sail Maker... knows how to make sails, repair sails, adjust sails to utilize the wind for navigation..."

"Huh? There are so many intricacies in the sails on the ship? Quick, tell me in detail!..."

The monk soldier Watanabe Masumi touched his bald head, turned around helplessly. He and Park Sun-pan talked and gestured for quite a while before writing a few lines in the snow again.

"Different sail shapes harness different winds. A ship uses eight-directional wind; a square sail catches a tailwind, a trapezoidal sail catches a side wind, and a triangular sail catches a headwind. The headscarf-top sail can lift the ship, making it brisk... As for the Ocean Shielding Ships, mostly trapezoidal slanting sails are used. Balanced on both sides, crossbars can be added, easily hoisted or lowered. Sails can be made from bamboo strips and grass leaves, no need for cotton and hemp, with low cost..."

"Chief Divine! What? Your sails can indeed harness wind from eight directions, even headwinds? What are those trapezoidal sails, triangular sails, headscarf top sails, slant sails? I have been sailing for three years, and I haven't heard of any of them! ... Eh! Aren't your sails made of cotton and hemp? Made of bamboo strips and grass leaves? ... Whew! Indeed, as His Majesty said, the shipbuilding and navigation techniques of the Western Sea tribes far exceed our Kingdom's!..."

The Exploration Captain Zuwaro widened his eyes, looked at those temporarily hard-to-understand descriptions in the snow, then glanced at the kneeling, head-bowed, and respectful Park Sun-pan. He pondered for a moment, then personally helped him up again, and took out a shining Chief God's Golden Token, placing it on this important Sail Maker!

"Chief Divine protects the Kingdom! Go! Send him to the tent as well, let him stay with that shipwright, give them three meals a day, treating them as Kingdom's Warriors! ... Remember, assign two warriors to watch them at all times, don't allow any mistakes!..."

"Yes, Captain!..."

"Ah! Ai! ... Thank you, lord, for your reward! Thank you, lord, for your reward!..."

The Sail Maker Park Sun-pan clutched the golden token in his hand, overjoyed. He knelt again and kowtowed three times before following the leading Samurai away. And seeing him also awarded the golden token, the remaining seven Korean sailors all stood up, kneeling down in unison.

"Sir! Sir! We are willing to seek allegiance!..."

"Haha! Chief Divine protects the Kingdom! Attacking this large ship of the tribe was indeed the most decisive decision I have ever made!"

Zuwaro beamed with joy, asked the remaining Korean sailors one by one. Unfortunately, the following answers were anything but sail handling or farming, instead of weaving grass ropes or making kimchi... Zuwaro waved a big hand after asking, sending them to the other side, yet no golden token reward was given.

"Anyone else? Any of you, um, and the tribe's warriors! Possess special skills?..."

"..."

The Samurai of the Kaozaki Family remained silent, exchanging glances with a peculiar gaze. Occasionally, they glanced at the ship's commissioner Murakami Kitamichi with the golden token and then at the monk soldier Watanabe Masumi, who served as the barbarians' translator. Among the crowd, an undercurrent seemed to be surging underwater, as if waiting for something.

This peculiar atmosphere lasted for a while before a thirty-something National Warrior stood out from the crowd. His leg had several injuries, simply bandaged, but his face was pale, evidently from excessive blood loss, and his speech was somewhat weak.

"Oh! Otani has stepped out! He truly is capable..."

"Ah! He's... he's seeking allegiance with the barbarians? Isn't he afraid of the Family Head's punishment?..."

"There's nothing he can do... If he doesn't step forward, he won't survive this..."

"Yes! Didn't Commissioner Murakami also seek allegiance with the barbarians? And Watanabe from the Capital City..."

"Shush!..."

Hearing everyone's remarks and seeing the injured warrior stepping forward, the ship's commissioner Murakami Kitamichi's face turned somewhat unsightly. He had not pledged allegiance to the barbarians; he was merely forced by them to stand aside with a golden token and not allowed to speak. At this moment, he glanced at the two Kingdom's Warriors guarding him, mustered the courage, and shouted lowly.

"Otani Takegou! The Family Head has treated you so... Um! ... Ah! ..."

Murakami Kitamichi had just spoken when the two Kingdom's Warriors beside him knocked him down into the snow with one staff each. Seeing this scene, the injured warrior Otani Takegou sighed and shook his head slightly.

"Commissioner Murakami! I'm sorry! ... If I can't eat or keep warm, I'm afraid I won't survive this winter... Truly, I apologize to the Family Head! ... Merciful Buddha! May Buddha forgive me and accept my repentance..."

"Hmm? Chief Divine protects! This fellow seems special! ... What kind of craftsman is he, what skills does he possess?"

Zuwaro's eyes flashed as he looked at Watanabe Masumi. Watanabe Masumi remained silent for quite a while before bowing and writing two words.

"Blacksmith..."