Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1693 - 1206: Good Son, Ready to Be a Granddad!

Recollecting the flow of time, life's destiny is as unpredictable as a river, its direction unknown. As he thought of the river of the past, the poet Balamo's expression turned melancholic, his gaze lifted to the deep blue sky, as if he were listening for enlightenment from the "red sky."

However, the red, divine sky is the ancient belief of the wilderness, so how could it guide him, a Mexica returning to the lineage of the Canine Descendants?

"O supreme Sun, red sky! The great tree looks up to the Sun, looks up to the sky, trapped on the high Qingqiu. It watches the monkeys run, sees the four-clawed fire chickens flutter, sees the Black Wolf heading eastward, while the Divine Eagle soars in the sky! What was it thinking then? Did it have grievances?… No, it did not!…"

"Even when confined to the Northern Border, it remains at peace, guarding this small land of Qingqiu. Because, Your Highness is still in the Kingdom, and the great tree still holds hope! Moreover, the county magistrates from all over, the ennobled nobility, the tribal chieftains, do not dare harbor any excessive, any inappropriate thoughts!…"

Poet Balamo lowered his eyes, reminiscing about the years of guarding Qingqiu. He sat bitterly in the Northern Border, acting as captain of the Mexica canine banner team. But the other legion commanders in the South expanded faster and seized larger territories one after another!

The old General Etalik held Zicao County, expanded along the Tarsas River, and even captured Sea Woman City in the southeastern seaside. But he hails from the marshal family of the Holy City, with age and seniority unmatched by Balamo. And it was even more so with Olosh, the legion commander of the Capital Region, and Marshal Bertade who was stationed at the seaside! Balamo could only have respect for both of them. On the Black Wolf crusade against the Totonac, he could only be envious, yet also admired the Black Wolf's bravery, with a slight sense of fear…

Until Monkey Kuluka was granted Chapala Great Lake, controlling almost six hundred miles both east and west, all highland fertile lands by the Great Lake, and for the first time, Balamo felt strong jealousy! Indeed, he envied Monkey! A warrior of ordinary commoner origin like himself, under the favor of His Highness, achieving such heights! However, with Monkey's solid battle achievements and modest demeanor, there was nothing much to criticize, even in jealousy…

"Chief Divine witness! Monkey and I have similar backgrounds, proficient in battle and skilled at flattering His Highness, which is fine! But Ezpan, the Prepetcha surrendered general, why should he outrank me? How come he governs the southwest Kingdom, controls the richest three hundred miles of the Apa Plain, oversees over three hundred thousand tribes, even conquering all the way to the southwestern seaside?!"

Thinking of this, Poet Balamo gritted his teeth hard, unable to hide his anger on his face. And in his fury, his poetic facade vanished without a trace, leaving only a seasoned Great Chief of the Canine Descendants, only a cunning and keen wild wolf!

"Your Highness, oh Your Highness! You should not have gone to the Lake Capital City, should not have entered the Divine King's cage! Your departure ah, released the rope around my neck, giving me full autonomy… I am like a boat without ballast silver ore, pushed by the torrential river, unable to suppress the ambition in my heart, even less able to restrain the heads of the canine descendants around me!"

"Your Highness, even though I am still loyal to you, I am even more driven by the surrounding Canine Descendants, helplessly compelled! Qingqiu is good, it's the fief you assigned me, yet it's also a small cage for the great tree. How can such a cage feed the more than one hundred thousand struggling Canine Descendants Tribes?... These Wilderness Tribes traversed thousands of miles to the south, willing to trust the title of Great Chief I hold, willing to follow me! How could I bear sending them south, handed to Monkey or Ezpan, as vanguard and cannon fodder in battles?!"

"Chief Divine witness! With no way out in all three directions, I can only lead them eastward in battle! This is also His Highness's command left for Qingqiu, to expand toward the City of the Otter, to control the length of the Great River… Over the years, Qingqiu secretly supported the Red Crow, weakened the Vastec Alliance, and plundered tens of thousands of the population. And now, with the Red Crow migrating north and the Vastek people fleeing south, the vast Vastec land to the east has finally opened up!"

"These warm, humid lands are far better than the desert terrains of the wilderness! All the Canine Descendants Tribes desire to migrate east, leaving the endless desert wastelands, to settle in richer lands… Thus, my little boat on the river can only drift here with the current of the tribal flow!"

"Today, I came from Qingqiu Valley to be here, at the central section of the Tampen River. I have set my eyes on this fertile land!… In the future, this will become the new governance center for Qingqiu, the core of the future Great Tribe of Qingqiu! And I, Balamo, Great Chief of Qingqiu, will settle the wilderness tribes here, to build a new city with my own hands!"

"Chief Divine's protection! The two hundred thousand Qingqiu tribes will use this new city as their core, to further seek eastward expansion, controlling six or seven hundred miles along the Great River! Moreover, the Silver Raven to the southeast and the Red Crow to the northeast are also prey to plan for and patiently await…"

Upon this thought, Great Chief Balamo squinted his eyes, his mind filled with grand ambitions, envisioning the true, powerful, and greater_than_the Divine Monkey, Great Chief Balamo! Until…

"Caw… caw! Caw!"

Large-mouthed crows circled within the blue sky, occasionally lowering to approach and greedily watch the two-legged beasts. Their noisy calls interrupted Balamo's reverie and desire, prompting his eyes to flash with severity, revealing the murderous intent of the Canine Descendants Great Chief.

"Damn! These damned crows disrupted my communication with the Divine… My skilled archers, who can raise their bow for me and shoot down these two prey?!"

"I can!"

"Brother-in-law, let me try!"

"Father, watch me!…"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

At Great Chief Balamo's word, dozens of skilled canine hunter archers drew out their greatbows from behind, nocked their bone arrows marked with their individual insignias. Next, came a series of piercing sounds cleaving through the air, carrying death's whistle.

"Caw! Caw!!…"

Arrows shot out, and the flock of crows burst into chaos. Two large crows fell with arrows in them, and the remaining crows scattered and fled. They finally realized that these were two-legged beasts that could spit flying darts, the most dangerous crow hunters!

"Bang! Bang!..."

The sound of two heavy falls echoed, and the archers rushed forward to look at the arrows on the two large crows. Then, there were sighs of disappointment from the crowd, followed by cheers from the two divine archers.

"Aha! Father, I, Divine Feather, have shot down the white-necked crow!..."

"The spirits of the ancestors are watching! I, Ivican of the Red Fox Tribe, shot down the red-headed crow!..."

"Haha! Good! To hit a circling crow from this distance truly shows you are a divine archer of Balamo!..."

Upon hearing this, the Great Chief Balamo laughed heartily and stepped forward boldly. He first looked at the divine archer of the Guamal Canine Descendants, his convenient son, Divine Feather.

"Divine Feather! You are truly my good eldest son! This skill of shooting down flying crows is enough to dominate all the Guamal tribes!... So, what reward do you want? Feel free to ask!..."

"Ah! Father! I want..."

His good eldest son, Divine Feather, was merely seventeen or eighteen years old, with the blue divine runes of the Guamal people painted on his face, and extra-long arms. His mother was a noble lady from a Guamal tribe, controlling over a thousand tribes, who only last year took refuge with the Great Tribe of Qingqiu. Subsequently noticed by Balamo, she was taken as his twenty-fourth wife. As for his father, he tragically died in a Guamal tribe raid, a vassal of the Great Chief of Divine Monkey, early last year.

Indeed, as Monkey Kuluka was made governor of the Great Lake, fully controlling the Chapala Lake Region and beginning to focus on farming and managing, the Great Chief of Divine Monkey became increasingly intolerant of the Guamal tribes on the northern wilderness of the Great Lake, who loved to plunder.

Of course, the monkey was always prudent, moving after careful planning. The method he took was not direct force, sending an army north to chase and sweep these nimble and fierce Canine Descendants tribes... but rather sending priests to preach while creating disputes over hunting grounds, goods, and beliefs between tribes. Then, by distributing weaponry and salt at a high price, purchasing the captured able-bodied men and women from tribal wars, he incited internal strife among the Guamal tribes!

Over the past two years, the battles among the Guamal tribes have become increasingly fierce, with many small tribes rapidly disappearing. More and more Guamal tribes have become vassals of the Great Chief of Divine Monkey, even dispersing and joining the Guamal Flag Teams of Great Lake County.

In such chaotic circumstances, many Guamal tribes sensed the danger and made different choices. They either traveled south to formally rely on the Great Chief of Divine Monkey, accepting the organization of the Flag Teams; those making this choice were typically small tribes or tribes already on good terms with the Great Chief of Divine Monkey... or moved west, into the depths of the wilderness, vying for hunting grounds with other Canine Descendants. Only the most powerful of the Great Tribes could take this road, having the confidence and qualifications... As for the last option, migrating east to seek refuge with the Qingqiu tribe, joining the equally powerful Great Tribe of Qingqiu, would retain greater tribal power, but required marriage alliance with the Great Chief Balamo...

"Divine Feather, have you decided what you want?"

"Father! I want a beautiful woman! Preferably one with a boy over ten years old, so I can be a father already to a beautiful woman!..."

His good eldest son, Divine Feather, thought for a moment, then widened his eyes and voiced his ambition to be a father. The surrounding chieftains and leaders looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

"Haha! Divine Feather, such great ambition, wanting to be a father already!..."

"At seventeen or eighteen, it's indeed time to want a woman! But to have a child over ten, that's just too eager..."

"Ha! What do you know? Such a woman would surely be a noble lady of a tribe, holding the power over the masses in her hands. And in a few years, the son can marry a wife, further linking the tribes... This child thinks deeply!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Haha! You think everyone is as shrewd as an old fox like you!..."

"Ahem! What nonsense are you spouting? The Red Fox Otuwa is still here!..."

The chieftains and leaders debated lively, while Great Chief Balamo's eyes flickered, and he looked toward the nearby Red Fox Otuwa. With a smiling face, he reached out, gently patting Otuwa's shoulder, and suddenly asked.

"Red Fox, it seems you have a sister over twenty, whose husband died, right? She happens to be beautiful and has a nine-year-old boy... How about offering her to my good eldest son?"