Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1649 - 1176: The Clans Gather, Negotiations to Decide Maya’s Fate (Part 2)
"The vast sea, the Serpent Divine rises from the sea to become the sun in the sky!... The Divine Tree flickers, the Ancient Saint sinks into the roots of the giant tree, illuminating the distant stars..."
A Maya prayer with a peculiar accent echoed in the Temple of the Chief Divine. And as Bertade raised his eyebrows to look, he saw one of the last two clan envoys, the envoy from the distant Eastern coast of Belize, Crocodile Luwei from the Reed Sea Clan.
"Hmm? What is he reciting?..."
"Ah, he is praying to the Serpent Sea God and the Ancient Saint... You ask what the Serpent Sea God is?... It is said to be the sea incarnation of the Serpent Divine, a kind of legend among the Southern Maya Tribes. And the Reed Sea Clan believes that the sea incarnation of the Serpent Divine is the most essential embodiment, and also worships the Serpent Sea God as the Chief Divine... Hmm, this is actually a saying from the Highland tribes... The Reed Sea Clan is truly far away! Their communication with the Southern Highland tribes is likely more than with the Northern Lowland..." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"The skull of the Ancient Saint, truly an immortal divine object!... Respected Mayapan Kuhu Ahau, Crocodile Luwei salutes you! We are all descendants of the Serpent Divine, sharing a common heritage, and are inseparable brother clans!..."
"...!"
Hearing this greeting, Ti'aj Kin and Carlo were simultaneously shocked in place. The Reed Sea Clan dared to impersonate themselves as the heritage of the Serpent Divine Descendant in front of the real Serpent Divine Descendant?
If this sentence were spoken by the Xiu clan, though the Kokom clan would gnash their teeth, they would also have to acknowledge the fact. But what on earth is the Reed Sea Clan? A small clan that dispersed to the Eastern coast of Belize, slowly growing, not even knowing the origin of their bloodline, yet dared to impersonate the highest Serpent Divine Descendant in the Maya world?!
"The gods fly away, the Ancient Saint remains on earth. The Serpent Divine Descendant serves the Ancient Saint, inheriting the oldest divinity, establishing Divine Capital Tikal, Snake City Calakmul! The two Serpent Divine Descendants slaughtered each other until the stars of the Golden Age fell, and the prosperous City-States all collapsed. The Serpent Divine Descendant of Tikal migrated to continue as the Kokom clan. The Serpent Divine Descendant of Calakmul migrated to continue as the Xiu clan..."
Crocodile Luwei passionately and vigorously swung his elegant long head, singing ancient ballads. For the migration of Serpent Divine Descendant, he seemed to really know quite a lot, even Carlo felt a bit suspicious. Until he sang further...
"The gods will hide, the Divine Descendants will also hide, this is the instruction left by the Ancient Saint under the Kapok tree!... There exists an ancient Serpent Divine Descendant, unwilling to participate in the brutal civil war of the Divine Descendants. They concealed their identity, migrated to the Eastern coast, using reed and the sea as their name, guarding the sacred land of the Serpent Sea God from its birth in the sea..."
"! Damn it!! Crocodile Luwei, what nonsense are you talking?!..."
Upon hearing Crocodile Luwei's words, the old fox Carlo widened his eyes, furious beyond measure! Even when imprisoned, tortured, and facing death threats, he had never been so enraged! He wandered for half his life, experiencing so many life and death struggles, only for the Kokom Family, for the heritage of the Serpent Divine Descendant, how could he allow the envoy of the Reed Sea Clan to desecrate it!
"The Ancient Saint's skull bears witness! The Serpent Divine Descendant is the most sacred divine bloodline among the Maya Tribes, guiding the Maya Tribes since the First Era! Among the numerous Maya Clans in the jungle, even the powerful Kapoor Clan would not dare to impersonate falsely..."
"And what on earth is the Reed Sea Clan? Who doesn't know your background? Crocodile Luwei, dare you swear an oath in front of the Ancient Holy Artifacts about the continuation of your clan's bloodline, repeating what you just said?!"
"Uh... Swear an oath in front of divine objects using the continuation of clan bloodline?..."
Upon hearing this, Crocodile Luwei's face froze, like a shearwater choked by the throat. His eyes flickered, he glanced with a guilty conscience at the smooth and white skull of the Ancient Saint, and coughed lightly.
"Ahem! The continuation of the clan is of utmost importance, how can it be casually used as a wager?... The Reed Sea Clan has worshiped the Serpent Sea God for hundreds of years, witnessed by all tribes. This is naturally the guidance of the Heavenly Serpent Ancestor..."
"Get out! Crocodile Luwei, get out!!..."
"Uh... Respected Mayapan Kuhu Ahau, please listen to me. The Reed Sea Clan has come this time with ample sincerity!..."
Faced with Carlo's berating, Crocodile Luwei smoothed his exceptionally long forehead, showing an awkward yet courteous smile. Then, he simply turned his head away, refusing to look at Carlo, and spoke to the younger Ti'aj Kin.
"Although the Reed Sea Clan is located on the distant Eastern coast, we are still willing to deploy a naval fleet to join the revival army of the Mayapan Royalty! We can also deploy thousands of City-State Warriors to assist the Royalty in conquering the enemy Ekab Chiefdom. As for the various City-States of the Reed Sea Clan, we can not only provide food support but annually contribute a batch of sacred Green Jade from the Southern Jungle!..."
"Of course, witnessed by the gods and ancestors! We are willing to help the brother tribes of the Tikal Serpent Divine Descendant, recognizing the Kokom Clan as the 'main line of the Serpent'... The Mayapan Royalty also needs to publicly broker a master-subordinate vow with the 'branch line of the Serpent' Reed Sea Clan under the witness of the various tribal delegates!..."
"And if the Kokom Clan is unwilling to accept our terms... then we will only have to seek out the Xiu Clan, to find the Serpent Divine Descendant of Calakmul..."
Upon hearing the seemingly respectful yet subtly threatening words of the Crocodile Sea, the old fox Tikalo, though seething with anger, had to temporarily calm down.
It was obvious that the Reed Sea Clan, with their humble bloodline, were trying to seize the opportunity of the battle between the two Serpent divine descendants to seek the clan's bloodline recognition, establishing their long-claimed identity as a branch of the Serpent divine descendants. In the Maya world, ruled by bloodlines, this was about strengthening the Reed Sea Clan's legal claim to power. And for this top-tier bloodline recognition of the Serpent divine descendants, the Reed Sea Clan was even willing to contribute ships, soldiers, and wealth to join the Royal Family's war of restoration!
After all, the Reed Sea Clan was located on the edge of Lowland Maya, almost bordering the Highland Maya. Even if Mayapan's restoration war was lost and the Royal Family was entirely destroyed, they wouldn't fear retaliation from the Xi Wu Clan. The Xi Wu Clan wouldn't be able to send a large army across the man-eating eight hundred miles of central jungle to attack the gates of their City-State.
"Chief Divine as witness! The Kokom Clan will never acknowledge the identity of the Reed Sea Clan as a branch of the Serpent divine! All the Lowland Maya tribes are aware of your situation. Such a rash acknowledgment would only make both the Kokom Clan and your Reed Sea Clan a laughing stock in the entire Maya world!..."
After a brief silence, it was the new Mayapan Kukuh Ahau, Ti'aj Kin, who spoke decisively. With a solemn expression, in the capacity of the Kokom Clan Leader, he promised the Crocodile Sea.
"The Ancestors of all generations watch over us in the Divine Realm! The Ancient Saint's Skull glows with radiance in the Temple... If the Reed Sea Clan is willing to join the Royal Family's army of restoration... I am willing to betroth my youngest daughter, Tz'il, to the heir of the Reed Sea Clan!... And the descendants born from their union would naturally be the indisputable Serpent divine descendants!..."
"Hmm? Clan alliance? A daughter of the Kokom Clan? A princess of Mayapan Royalty?..."
Upon hearing this, the Crocodile Sea's expression clearly shifted. He bent slightly lower, appearing more respectful, and then somewhat eagerly asked.
"May I know how old the Princess is?..."
"Tz'il was born on the 8th Reed Day of the Reed Month in the 12th Reed Year (August 1491), which is the rare Tri-Reed Auspicious Day! Hence, she is destined to be an extraordinary divine descendant, whose divinity is extremely compatible with the Reed Sea Clan, named after the Reed!..."
"Ah! Is Princess Tz'il not even two years old? Then it would take another twelve years for Princess Tz'il to give birth to a new divine descendant?!…"
Hearing this, the Crocodile Sea was momentarily stunned, his old face twitching slightly. In the Maya world, noble women generally married and bore children at the age of 14. As for commoner women, it was even a year or two earlier.
"Twelve years, that's too long! If anything unexpected happens... Respected Mayapan Kukuh Ahau, do you have an older daughter? Even if she's already married..."
"Ancestors bear witness! All my other children have already gone to the Highland Capital City of the Toltec divine descendants..."
Ti'aj Kin shook his head, images of Tilan and Tidan flashing through his mind, which turned into a trace of somber sadness. For the sake of restoration, not only does he have no choice, but his children's descendants are the same. Even his youngest, newborn daughter is to be used to win over distant clans. More sorrowful is that even such an opportunity to unite various tribes was only obtained after his conversion to the Highland Main God and the support of the Highland Kingdom's legions...
Beside him, Tikalo lowered his gaze, taking a deep breath, also hiding his slightly moist eyes. For Mayapan's restoration, from faith to marriage, the remnants of the Kokom had already sacrificed everything and had almost nothing left to offer...
The temple was silent, the gaze of the Chief Divine overlooking from above, watching the rise and fall of the Maya world. Ti'aj Kin pressed his lips together, merely quietly watching the envoy from the Reed Sea Clan, waiting for the other's final decision.
"A two-year-old princess, direct bloodline of the Serpent divine..."
The Crocodile Sea narrowed his elongated snake eyes, licking his lips like a snake, his face full of flickering expressions. After a long while, he deeply bowed his head, once again confirming solemnly.
"Respected Mayapan Kukuh Ahau, is it true that Princess Tz'il was born on the Tri-Reed Auspicious Day as a divine descendant?..."
"The Chief Divine, Ancestors, and Ancient Saint bear witness! As Mayapan Kukuh Ahau, I do not lie!"
"Good! Truly, the gods manifest, the ancient saint blesses, and the ancestors are glorified in great prosperity!"
Upon hearing this assurance, the Crocodile Sea suddenly stood up, removed his Feather Crown, and knelt with a "thud" in front of Ti'aj Kin. Then, he bent his waist and retracted his stomach, forming his body into a perfect arch, with the curved, elongated forehead precisely touching the ground, which was the ancient rite of the Maya Golden Age!
"Respected Mayapan Kukuh Ahau! The Reed Sea Clan is willing to be your Crocodile, becoming the most loyal vassal of the Royal Family, fighting for its restoration! Please, in the name of the Serpent divine descendants, publicly declare the alliance between the two clans... And on the day when the divinely revered Princess Tz'il arrives at the Reed Sea City-State, that will be the day the lord and vassal pact is established, and the auspicious day for the Reed Sea Clan to officially dispatch troops!..."
