Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1634 - 1163: Tough Steel, Spoils of War from the Evil Demons

"Oh, mighty Chief Divine greater than the sea! Is this the great white fish from the prophecy we captured?"

"Nonsense! The big fish has already escaped, all because you rowed too slowly! Now, we've only salvaged this... uh... Mique, how big is this fish?"

"How big is the fish? Hmm... let me take a good look..."

The indigo sea surface marks the border between the deep sea and the shallow sea. Some barrels and planks bob on the waves, seemingly debris tossed by the "big fish" before it got away. Eight dugout war boats patrol the waters, trying to recover the earlier lost "Evil Demon Artifacts" — those bizarre "Lightning Rods" — but ultimately come up empty-handed. Clearly, those smoking and sparking long tubes were metallic and sank upon falling into the water.

The sole reward of this exhausting chase is a "White Fish" that two trusted aides of the Red Crow shot into the sea and retrieved. Mique extends his coarse hand over the "White Fish," feeling around its body, then can't help frowning.

"Yikes! This fish has lots of hair, entirely different from ours... Hmm? Soft outside and hard inside, tied to the leg... what's this?"

"Fool! By its shape, it's definitely a dagger, a sheathed dagger!"

Chabo, the trusted aide, snatches the dagger and first examines the leather scabbard. The leather is thick and tough, well-treated, resembling buffalo hide but paler in color. Next, he looks at the hilt, noticing three strange Evil Demon runes, "Vic," etched into it. Finally, he unsheathes the dagger, and a flash of bright cold light catches his eye!

"Wow! This is an Iron Dagger? Whew! It's so sharp it slices through the skin at a touch..."

"Damn it! Chabo, why are you cutting the fish? We need to keep this fish! It might be the big fish destined for the Temple!"

"Uh... I just lightly sliced it, who knew the dagger was this sharp... Wow! It's so thin, fast, and sturdy, it went right into the boat's plank! Is this made of iron? Aren't Iron Blades supposed to be brittle and break easily?"

"Ha? You ask me, who should I ask? These Evil Demon things are all really peculiar!"

Mique curls his lip, pulls out the fine steel dagger from Bik Town, Barcelona's iron-smelting hub, and tosses it aside, intending to divide it with Chabo later. Then, he fishes out two small, dense burlap pouches, one containing neatly arranged Fire Sickle and Firestone, and the other holding thick Iron Needles and flax thread, all appearing quite novel. Lastly, he retrieves a small leather canteen, opens it for a sniff, discovers a never-smelled liquor aroma but without any liquid.

"Hmm, Chabo... this fish has so many items hidden on it, it doesn't seem insignificant? At the very least, it must be a warrior or chieftain of a tribe, right? ...Come, let me take another look at its teeth! Wow? Its teeth are surprisingly as good as the Chieftain's!"

With rough, calloused hands as firm as iron pincers, Mique grasps Alana's jaw, forcing him to open his mouth and reveal yellowed yet minimally worn teeth, clearly accustomed to eating fine flour. Alana coughs twice, sputters out seawater, and then opens his eyes with difficulty, trembling all over.

"Almighty! Ugh... where am I? ...Ah? Natives? Tattooed Native warriors? I've fallen into the hands of the Natives?! ...Holy Mother! I don't want to die! ...Brother-in-law! Save me... uh!!"

"Bang!"

"Mique, he just regained consciousness. Why'd you knock him out again?"

"He was as noisy as a crow, speaking words I couldn't understand, so I figured it's better to knock him out... once back at Iron Bay Town, we can hand him over to the Tomato Priest at the Temple. Whether to kill or to sacrifice, let the Priest decide..."

Mique indifferently releases his grip, allowing Guard Chief Alana to fall onto the boat's deck with another "bang." Then, pointing at the pile of random spoils beside him, he asks.

"Ancestor witness! Chabo, how do we divide these items?"

"Ancestor witness! I'll take this Iron Dagger more copper than copper! The rest is all yours!"

"Ha? Why don't you take the worthless bric-a-brac and give me the Iron Dagger?"

"These items... how are they of no value? Uh... Mique, isn't there a Copper Necklace still on this? Why haven't you taken it off yet? It's got a branch-shaped Great Amulet hanging from it, at least bird-egg heavy, worth several large salmon... Here, you can have the amulet too!"

"Ha! This is surely an Evil Demon praying amulet! What if it contains the Evil God's power?"

"Afraid of what? Who cares about Evil God? Smash it with a hammer, throw it into the fire, then pour some damp Chief Divine Gunpowder on it to burn, and there'll be no power left! We have so much damp gunpowder piled up at Iron Bay Town, can't fire cannons and not much else it's good for. Cuba's weather is still too humid..."

"...Alright then!... Next time if there's another dagger, it's got to be mine!"

"No problem!"

After hesitating for a moment, Mique reluctantly nods and collects the spoils from distant Europe. Finally, he carefully raises a Copper Cross, looking up to the sun in the sky and earnestly prays.

"Oh Sun God more brilliant than the sun! Please, with your scorching fire, burn away the evil power within this Evil Demon Artifact! ...Praise Vizilopo Main God!"

"Praise Vizilopo Main God! ...Under your watchful eyes, I shall cast the Evil Demon's artifact into the bottomless Abyss!"

The sun shining over the sea makes the silver cross gleam. Huitu Puapu fills his brawny arms and throws with full force! Two Silver Cross necklaces arc into the air and fall into the light blue shallow sea. Then, he turns, staring fiercely like a copper bell-eyed monster at the two fair-skinned captives bound with rope just pulled from the ship's hold, scrutinizing their reactions intently.

"Dio! Damn barbarians, give me back my cross! It was personally bestowed to me by the Archbishop of Toledo... Ah?! How dare you desecrate the relics of the Divine Son's suffering and salvation of mankind?! You heathen destined for the Hell of Fire! You shall surely be consumed by the flames of judgment!"

Rodrigo, the sworn clerk from the Church Academy, kneels on the deck, furiously cursing. He struggles mightily to rise but is bound hand and foot, only able to wriggle like a fish. Beside him, the royal steward Gutierrez bows his head, though also relieved of his cross, he remains silent, his thoughts a mystery.

"Ha! This Evil Demon is quite amusing! When we boarded, he hid in the cabin, scared like a quail. But now, he dares to shout at me? ..."

Huitu Puapu laughs heartily, disregarding Rodrigo's insults, only waving a hand as he orders his aides.

"Someone! Gag this guy... but be careful! He's an important sacrifice for the Chief Divine!"

"Throwing an Evil Demon Artifact, this guy is so agitated... he must be a priest of the Evil Demon Tribe!"

"As for this one beside him who keeps quiet, probably a tribal chieftain or nobility, though who knows if he's Divine Descendant, can he appease the Chief Divine..."

"Hmm! We'll deal with the chieftain later, the Evil Demon priest must die! Once back at Iron Bay Town, we'll hold a victory ritual to sacrifice him to the Divine!"

"Ahaha! I, Puap, am so clever! Even though I don't understand their language, just by throwing two things, their identities are revealed!"

Puap laughs triumphantly, thus deciding the fates of the two men. Then he surveys the "Pinta" light sailing ship, marveling at its double decks, several meters high masts, wide sails, and complex ropes between the ship. This Evil Demon ship is not only large and long but also impressively sophisticated, far surpassing the Kingdom's oar-sail ships, leaving him to wonder how it was constructed.

"May the Chief Divine protect us! Just as Your Majesty said! The Evil Demon's large ship is indeed exceedingly formidable, a grand sight indeed... Hmm, what were the casualties in this battle, and how many captives did we take?"

"Chief! We lost nine Taino rowing militiamen, three Kingdom Leather Armor Warriors... killed thirty Evil Demons, captured eleven..."

"What! We outnumber them three to one, yet we lost three warriors?! How did that happen? Didn't they wear armor?!"

"Chief, they wore leather armor, but it couldn't withstand the Evil Demon's weapons... Two were shot dead by those smoking iron tubes, and another was pierced by an exceptionally hard iron spear... these Evil Demon ironware seem to be extraordinarily, extraordinarily, extraordinarily hard! ...Oh! By the way! We also captured a peculiar piece of half-iron armor, also extraordinarily, extraordinarily, extraordinarily hard!"

"Half-Iron Armor? Can iron make armor? Is it extraordinarily sturdy too?"

Upon hearing this, Puap pauses, overlooking the casualties. He widens his eyes and sternly commands.

"Go! Bring me that so-called hard and sturdy half-iron armor to see!"

"Yes, Chief!"