Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1559 - 1100: Wind God’s Sea Ship, Scholar and Craftsmen
The surface of the North Pacific in July is bathed in splendid sunlight, with rare storms, like an endless sun sea. The summer high pressure centered around Hawaii is rotating clockwise high in the sky, stirring up the ever-restless ocean winds, endlessly flinging the moisture-laden air from the sea towards the continent.
The mighty wind roars and changes, moving northward. And an ancient styled ocean shielding ship, sails with three elongated vertical sails, along the chain of Aleutian Islands from west to east. Occasionally, three to four-meter waves crash against the sides of the ship, causing it to sway. However, this is already the gentlest season on the tempestuous North Sea, also one of the two months of the year most suitable for navigation.
"Witness of the Chief Divine! Winter is a vast white Ice Sea, early spring is a mist-covered Misty Sea, midsummer is a golden Light Sea, and early fall is a mist-covered Misty Sea again. By mid-autumn, the wind and waves gradually rise, turning into rain and big waves at late autumn, until the storms and snow in early winter, freezing everything in the harsh cold of deep winter… So, July in midsummer and October in early fall are the two months most suitable for sailing! From May to November is the only navigable half-year. All voyages must make the best use of time, the faster, the better!…"
"Blessings of the Chief Divine! From Ice Sea to Misty Sea, from Polar Day Sea to Wind Sea, from Big Wave Sea to Storm Sea, back to Ice Sea from Polar Night Sea… This is the vast four seasons of the North Sea, the mysterious and unpredictable mighty ocean! And Your Majesty's sacred guidance leads us from east to west, crossing thousands of miles of island chains, reaching a brand new vast continent. Then, we bring back the harvest of Divine Revelation from west to east, bringing back the Tribal Sailors we encountered, bringing back the prophesied Craftsmen and Sea Ships!"
Scholar Mikki sits in the narrow captain's cabin at the stern, bowing his head, wielding a pencil vigorously, recording the nautical logs and emotions. Then, he feels the constantly swaying hull, looks at the sunny daylight outside the porthole, and glimpses the distant island chain faintly visible to the north. He is slightly stunned, opens his eyes wide, identifies the shape and appearance of the nearest northern island, and cannot help but ask in a deep voice.
"Gawa, how many days have we sailed on this Sea Ship?…"
"Hmm? How many days sailing on the ship?"
White Bear Gawa blinks, extends her left hand, counts four fingers, confidently replies.
"One, two, three, four, four fingers… It's been four days, all sunny!"
"Ah? Really four days? Have we sailed through four sunny days, from the Divine Peak Mountain Port we embarked on, to the Divine Volcano Island six hundred miles east? How is that possible? How can it be so fast?!…"
Scholar Mikki stands up in surprise, looking out the small window at the sea, and checks the recorded Sea Chart. Watching the overlapping records and islands, he gradually opens his mouth in awe, disbelief written across his face.
"Ah? That northern island is truly the Divine Volcano Island! This ship has traveled six hundred miles in just four days!… Four days, six hundred miles!!"
"Chief Divine! This is truly a Wind God-blessed Sea Ship! Stonefirm said that they set off from the Divine Twins Smoke Harbor on the Divine Revelation Continent, sailing for nearly a month… Wouldn't that mean they traveled four or five thousand miles?… No wonder Zuwaro could send this Sea Ship back so quickly!…"
Saying this, Scholar Mikki excitedly stands up. He spreads his arms, touching the planks of the captain's cabin, even dancing with excitement. Honestly, he never thought, after just nine months of separation, he could encounter the Sea Ship sent back by Zuwaro and receive the confirmed news of reaching the Divine Revelation Continent! He thought last October's farewell, even if not a life-and-death separation, would require two more years of waiting…
"Chief Divine! This newly styled large ship, similar to the size of a Kingdom Longship, only requires about ten sailors to operate smoothly, without needing fifty rowers. And it relies entirely on the sails and wind force, without requiring anyone to row, able to move forward continuously all day, its speed more than double the Kingdom Longship!"
"This is truly a Wind God Sea Ship of Divine Revelation! How skilled in navigation must the tribes be to construct it?! And how fortunate is Zuwaro to have captured this Wind Boat and its navigational tribes entirely!… Praise the patronizing Chief Divine! Praise the visionary Your Majesty! Also, praise the brave Zuwaro!"
"Ah! Praise the Heavenly Divine on the high Heavenly God Ancestor Peak!"
Seeing her husband's joyful, devout prayerful face, White Bear Gawa also prays, smiles, and stands up. Next, "Bang," she bumps her head against the ceiling of the cabin, making the entire captain's cabin tremble.
"Ah! It hurts! Such a low cabin…"
Gawa holds her head, pouting, angrily returns to her seat. This ocean shielding ship is built by Korean and Wa Country's craftsmen, designed according to Wa people's height. The captain's cabin is only about one point six or seven meters in height, and can only accommodate three or four people. And with Gawa's height of over one point eight meters, her body able to fight bears, accompanying Mikki here is indeed somewhat cramped, unable to stretch.
"Ah haha! Gawa, let's go outside, the deck is spacious! Let us carefully and thoroughly have another look at this Wind God Sea Ship, at those wise tribes navigating the Long Wind!"
Scholar Mikki chuckles, puts down the nautical records in his hand. He and Gawa together exit the captain's cabin, greeted by the bright and vast sea and sky, making the heart feel open.
The mighty Long Wind blows in their faces, as they stand on the second-level deck, immediately seeing the towering three masts, the billowing vertical Long Sail, and the nine busy Korean sailors and craftsmen around the masts. And ten of the Kingdom's Warriors, and an almost equal number of Unanga Tribe sailors, all wearing Leather Armor and carrying Bronze Axes, scattered throughout the upper and lower parts of the ocean shielding ship.
After more than a month of sailing, the Kingdom's warriors still feel at ease with these gentle and peaceful Korean sailors. Their watchful eyes occasionally glance at the four closely guarded Wa Country captives. Their concern is not that these four small captives without weapons could start any rebellion in front of twenty fully armed elite warriors of the Kingdom. What truly makes them wary is...
"Greetings to you, esteemed Divine Revelation Priest, Deputy Captain Mikki! These four captives come from the Three Islands and Tribal Alliance mentioned in Your Majesty's prophecy, and they are the translator, blacksmith, horsekeeper, and small tribe chieftain. Captain Zuwaro carefully selected them to be sent back to the Kingdom of the Lake..."
Warrior Leader Chakapu Stonefirm, dressed in sturdy leather armor, steps on the wooden planks to ascend to the second-level deck at the ship's stern. He respectfully bows his head towards Scholar Mikki, and a rare smile appears on his wind-and-snow-beaten face.
"Witness Chief Divine! That bald four-fingered man is called Watanabe, an important translator who knows the Alliance's language. The one with the injured knee is named Otani, a blacksmith skilled in ironworking. As for the young horsekeeper in the cabin with the horses, he's Ichiro. And lastly, the one bound hand and foot, with mouth gagged and looking dejected, is the captured small tribe chieftain, named Murakami..."
"When we departed from Divine Twins Smoke Harbor, we actually brought five captives from Wa Country. But as the sea ship kept heading east, further east, more than half a month ago past Divine Snow Mother Island… two captives secretly jumped into the sea at night; one was swept away by the stormy waves, and only Murakami, who was a particularly good swimmer, survived. He kept swimming for three or four miles and arrived at Divine Snow Mother Island, where he was captured by the island's Unanga Tribe… It was to catch him that we delayed our journey by three days!..."
"Chief Divine! To jump into the stormy North Sea and swim three or four miles to the island?..."
Hearing this, Scholar Mikki's expression freezes, and he shows a touch of surprise on his face.
"This small tribe chieftain's swimming skills are actually so good! But he didn't even have a canoe, nor food or drink, so what was he doing escaping to Divine Twin Sisters Island? There's only two or three hundred Unanga Tribe members there, surrounded by snow-covered mountains, desolate hills, and long coastal grasslands… Strange, did you ask him why he wanted to escape? Is it because he was hungry, cold, or scared of being sacrificed?..."
"Yes, I asked. According to translator Watanabe, this chieftain Murakami saw the sea ship going further and further away, feared he wouldn't be able to return home, and wanted to escape back..."
Chakapu Stonefirm thought for a moment, tugged at his hair, and answered somewhat uncertainly.
"It seems, according to their tribal belief… If a person dies overseas, and their body isn't buried in their homeland, they'll become a wandering undead unable to reach any Divine Buddha's realm!..."
"One must die at home, otherwise they'll become a wandering undead?… To seek the way home, even if it means jumping into the perilous sea?… Truly a peculiar thought..."
Upon hearing this, Scholar Mikki nodded with keen interest, a smile surfacing on his face.
For the Highland Tribes of the Mexica Plateau, who deeply revere divine spirits, the decision of the soul's destination after death depends only on the divine spirit in which they believe, contingent upon how they die, rather than where they die. They don't have an intense attachment to their homeland, instead directing their gaze upon the sky of the Divine Kingdom, towards the divine mountains and seas.
This tradition of rootlessness likely stems from the tribes' migratory memories over thousands of years and traces back to ancestors still on the Wilderness hundreds of years ago. As for those Canine Descendant tribes remaining in the Wilderness, they breeze through migrations and death, treating them as a part of life. Even their ashes are scattered across fields beside lakes...
"Hmm, the other three, the translator, the blacksmith, and the horsekeeper, are talents urgently needed by the Kingdom, and they must all be kept well!"
"Yes! Esteemed Divine Revelation Priest!"
After a brief conversation, Mikki's observant gaze looks past the four Wa Country captives, focusing on several Korean sailors maneuvering the sails. Among them, a middle-aged sailor, eyes wide, stands straight under the mainmast. His expression is both angry and timid as he vigorously gestures and loudly instructs several tall Unanga sailors around him. The Unanga sailors, towering over him by two heads, look at him with simple and puzzled eyes.
"Hey! Who is he? What is he saying?…"
"Oh! He's the sailor with the best sail-operating skills, called 'Bo'. He's teaching those other sailors how to maneuver these three interconnected, complementary long sails... He's been teaching for almost a month, but this ship's sail operation is too complex, our sailors still make mistakes easily!..."
"What? The best sail maker, operating complex sails? Which means... How does this wind boat sail, as if flying swiftly?!"
Upon hearing this, Scholar Mikki's eyes instantly light up, his face revealing full curiosity and eagerness to learn. He nods at Stonefirm, takes large steps down the stairs, moving towards the Korean sail maker under the main mast.
"Chief Divine bless! I must listen carefully to how this Wind God's sailboat truly harnesses the Wind God's unpredictable divine power to fly across the sea! Meanwhile, the Alliance's longship must also learn, and it must become this fast too!"
