Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1536 - 1077: The Flourishing Lake Region, Return to the Lake Capital City

"By the protection of the Chief Divine! Family Head, your status is exalted, bearing the safety of the entire world! Even when performing the sacrificial dance for the Chief Divine and the ancestors, you must take care of yourself..."

"Indeed! Indeed! Your Highness, such a dangerous sacrificial rite is something even the royal ancestors would not wish to see... After all, you are the Supreme High Priest, the Venerable above all! ...Please, you must, must cherish your divine body!"

Under the grand pyramid of the Teotihuacan Holy City, Xiulote had an entirely relaxed smile, surrounded tightly by more than a dozen royal nobles. Guard Commander Ecatl was visibly tense, holding Xiulote's arm. Giant Bear Stanley, sweat pouring down him, stuttered as he spoke. He had never imagined that the honorable His Highness Xiulote would be so daring, showing no fear of death!

However, if His Highness Xiulote were to die here, it would not only completely disrupt the Divine King's plans but also thoroughly intensify the existing noble conflicts within the Alliance, potentially sparking an all-out war among the large and small nobles of the Kingdom... At that point, he would be the sinner of the entire Alliance, one explanation would not suffice, even with a thousand words!

"Ahem! Your Highness, the Divine King has repeatedly summoned you back to the Capital City; you may have some misunderstanding... however, the Divine King's love for you surpasses that for any royal noble. He not only enshrined your eldest son as the Sun God's son and your eldest daughter as the Sun Goddess but also plans to enshrine you as the father of the Divine Wolf of Death, a status far above the various Supreme High Priests and royal princes..."

"Oh? The Divine King wants to enshrine me as the father of the Divine Wolf of Death? Status above the Supreme High Priest and princes?..."

Hearing this, Xiulote's face showed surprise, pondering deeply, and stayed silent. Giant Bear Stanley, though skilled in battle and bravery, had limited understanding of the subtleties within these religious beliefs.

The Sun God holds the most honorable divine office, while the God of Death is merely one of the subordinate gods safeguarding the Sun. After Aweit ascended as the Sun God King and then enshrined Alisa and Xiu Hua, it signified that the Alliance's Sun divinity's succession followed Aweit's direct lineage. Naturally, this succession of the Sun divinity also indicated the succession of the Alliance's rights!

According to the Alliance's divine narrative from a few years back, he was the newborn Sun, and Aweit was the noonday Sun. But after the elder and grandfather died, Aweit ascended as the Divine King, and he became the father of the Divine Wolf of Death, the father of the newborn Sun. In ancient Mexica mythology, the death god's black wolf is the envoy safeguarding the Sun's rise, the morning star of the sky. Yet when the Sun rises, the morning star will retreat...

The subtleties in this, well-understood by the High Priesthood versed in religious doctrines and the royal elders who experienced the predecessor monarch Montezuma's skipped succession, thus hinted at their wish to make him a "King of Eight Sages"...

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! Praise the Divine King's love!... Respected Legion Commander, the ancestor's sacrificial rites are completed; let us continue our journey!"

The spring breeze by Lake Texcoco wafted through the vibrant fields and along the city-states by the lake. The five thousand legions walked along the broad roads by the river, with endless milpa dry fields and symbolically abundant Chinampa floating fields spreading on either side!

Undoubtedly, the Texcoco Lake District of the Mexican Valley is currently the most prosperous and affluent place in all of Central America, even in the entire North and South America! On this modest 20,000 square kilometers of land, 1.5 to 2 million Mexica people were gathered, forming the real core of the entire Mexica Alliance. In the later Mexican state, this place supported 15 million people, making it the most core and affluent capital area!

With the endless expansion of the Mexica Alliance and external conquests, abundant wealth, materials, and captives were plundered into this world core lake region. The increase and use of bronze tools noticeably boosted the productivity across the entire lake area. Tens of thousands of conscripted civilians and supervised captives refurbished a complete stone-paved road encircling the lake region within four to five years!

Meanwhile, migration of nobles and commoners alleviated the land pressure in the lake region, further enhancing the Alliance's central control and removing trade traffic obstacles in the lake region...

"By the protection of the Chief Divine! My four-and-a-half-year Eastern Expedition, returning again to the hometown lake region, but to find such prosperity!"

"Quite right, indeed! The Divine King's construction of roads throughout the lake region, reinforcing various dams, popularizing metal tools, and establishing more Chinampa waterfields; these valuable proposals, precisely what you repeatedly advocated to the Divine King before!"

Giant Bear Stanley surveyed around, observing the vast fields and drylands, bustling villagers everywhere, roads accessible to legions, and floating boats on water transport, his face blossomed into a sincere smile.

This Texcoco Lake District, untouched by expansion wars yet thriving in them, is the true foundation of the Mexica dominance. To support tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand troop expeditions, a bountiful supply of grain from the lake region is indispensable! Frankly, Xiulote's Totonac East Campaign, with its arduous roads and long distance, without the initial logistic support from the Alliance, probably wouldn't have even sustained a single expedition Black Wolf Army...

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! The Lake Capital City approaches, the magnificent Seven Bridges and embankment are right ahead!... His Highness Xiulote, the immortal elder once led the predecessor monarch Montezuma in constructing and reclaiming the entire Lake Capital City, building the Seven Bridges, embankments, and the sacred, immortal Great Temple..."

"Now as you approach the Capital City, the Divine King holds same expectations for you! The ambition of the Divine King far exceeds the predecessor monarch Montezuma, aiming to transform the entire Texcoco Lake District into a prosperity-exalted Human Divine Country like the Lake Capital City!... As a Divinely Reborn, you shall enjoy the elder's former status and same construction authority..."

"Oh? Building embankments, constructing roads, cultivating fields, expanding temples... Like elder assisting predecessor monarch, managing logistics and infrastructure... is this the Divine King's expectations for me? He is willing to provide me with endeavors to engage in?"

Xiulote's eyes gleamed, observing Stanley's sincerely earnest face, stirred thoughts within. This offer was not a simple promise from him, it must have echoed Aweit's words, delivered in advance to placate him. These comforting words may also relate to his sacrificial dance on the Moon Pyramid, fearing an extreme action from him...

"Good! Praise the Chief Divine! And praise the Divine King! The Divine King's expectations of me, I naturally am willing to fulfill! My loyalty and reverence for the Divine King have never wavered..."

A few breaths later, Xiulote, with a serene laugh, nodded in agreement, his face mirrored the same sincerity.

Soon, the shimmering waves of the Great Lake glinted ahead, and the spectacular White Stone Capital City emerged in the southern skyline! As the Seven Bridges and embankment appeared, three thousand royal legions halted at a lakeside village, a thousand kingdom's Imperial Guards also had to stop here. From now, only a thousand noble battle group, along with several dozen trusted aides of Xiulote could enter the Lake Capital City.

"Holy father of the Divine Wolf of Death, esteemed Central Lake Supreme High Priest, respected His Highness Xiulote! The Divine King has ordered me to wait here, to guide you directly into the Capital City, to meet the Divine King at the Royal Palace!"