Pirate Kingship-Chapter 588 - 424: All Thanks to the Compliments from Peers
Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was July 20th, the day of the "Holy Lake Coronation Ceremony."
Even though it was the rainy season, the entire Empire was basked in clear skies, with only a few clouds passing leisurely by.
The High Priest in charge of divination clearly had a knack for it, having precisely forecasted the weather half a month in advance, which was far more reliable than some weather predictions that got nothing but the date right.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!...
Before daybreak, golden streaks of light rose from all corners of the nation, resembling myriad meteors as they all converged towards the Capital City of the Empire.
These were the Sun Chariots, numbering in the thousands, carrying not only the hundreds of Princes vying for the throne but also a greater quantity of Attendants and Guardians.
The party of the Fourth Prince of Chinchasuyu was naturally among them, boasting not only an exceptionally large contingent but also an unknown number of siblings who had covertly been bought off with offers of gold.
Atahualpa, Byron, and Violet, who was substituting for Captain of the Guard Xinji Roca, shared a chariot.
Proudly pointing out the colossal city on the mountain ahead and the broad, sea-like highland lake outside the city, she introduced, "His Majesty, the Lord of the Celestial Kingdom, and Her Majesty, the Empress, our Sun Empire's capital, Cusco City, is situated precisely at the intersection of the Four Great Suyu and also serves as the heart of the Empire.
The Four Great Suyu all originated from this city, which took nearly a thousand years to free from countless Totemic God Tribes and gradually expand.
Therefore, in the Quechua language, the Sun Empire is known as 'Tawantinsuyu,' or 'The Country of the Four Corners.'
The Holy Lake Titicaca, where the upcoming ceremony will take place, is just twenty miles outside the Capital City.
The vast plateau spans two hundred kilometers from north to south, covering 8,300 square kilometers, ranking among the top three in size even within the Hundred Beasts Paradise.
The fifty-two Secret Realm islands within the Holy Lake are the key to the struggle for the Empire's Crown..."
Byron and Violet had often heard her talk about the details of the coronation ceremony and had collected documents from previous years.
But even that didn't compare to the shock of seeing it firsthand.
The Sun Empire was a millennium-old civilization presided over by immortal Gods, where myth and history intertwined, creating a distinctive aura.
As quite a few of the fourteen previous Kings had ascended to become Gods, the history of succession was essentially a mythical tale.
Perhaps only in such a country reminiscent of a Mythological Era where gods and humans lived side by side could such an extraordinary tradition persist.
The most renowned of these was the legend about Manco Capac, the Empire's founder and first King:
"The legend goes that Inti, the Sun God, took pity on the primitive humans in the Ring of Fire Mountain Range. He sent down his son and daughter—Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo—to lead their three brothers and three sisters from the Sky City Machu Picchu to Earth.
They were bestowed a golden rod that would burrow into the ground of its own accord at a suitable site for building a city and a Sun Temple.
The eight siblings spent twenty fraught years searching through the perilous Ring of Fire Mountain Range.
During that time, some brothers died and some became separated. Others turned into stone. Ultimately, only Co Capac and his sister safely reached the Holy Lake by Cusco City.
It was there that the golden rod finally drilled into the ground.
The couple subsequently taught the savages there to revere Inti, the Sun God, and to worship and venerate Him as their god. They also enacted laws and regulations so the people could live with reason and manners.
As a matter of course, they were crowned the first King and Principal Queen Mother."
In short, Manco Capac was regarded not only as the first King of the Sun Empire but also as the great hero who created an entire civilization.
Eventually, the couple had more than four hundred children, who became the Empire's first batch of nobility. They themselves smoothly ascended to the Fifth Order, becoming Lesser Gods of Inti, the Sun God, and returned to the Sky City Machu Picchu.
The so-called "Holy Lake Coronation Ceremony" was, therefore, a trial for their descendants to emulate the arduous journey of the founders and to select the true victor.
This process was akin to playing god!
Injury, falling behind, death, curses... were fates the siblings might encounter, with only one reaching the final destination.
He would be crowned in the Holy Lake, donning the divinely-blessed Sun Crown, and become the new King of the nation, as well as the heir to the divine.
At this moment, as they gazed down at the Holy Lake from above, even outsiders like Byron and Violet could sense the profound sense of tradition within it.
But Byron and Violet exchanged glances, each noticing a hint of darkness in the other's eyes.
The risk involved in this method of ascending to the throne by 'playing god' is quite significant in a world of transcendents. If the God harbors malice towards the successor, the outcome could be far from wonderful.
Nonetheless, this ceremony had been passed down through fourteen generations in the Sun Empire and had little to do with outsiders like them; they were in no position to comment.
Just then, BANG!
A gunshot, all too familiar yet completely out of place, suddenly erupted.
What followed was the sound of something cutting through the air, slower than the report. Byron instinctively raised his hand, his thumb and forefinger clamping down like a pincer on a... lead bullet headed towards Atahualpa.
Looking up in the direction from which the bullet had come, he saw an enormous fleet of Sun Chariots garnering attention as they paraded through the sky.
There was no need to recognize the insignia to know that this massive aerial armada belonged to the Third Prince, Anqui Kapak, known as the "Hero of Blood."
He acted as the Governor of the western coastal region of Contisuyu and was famous for his bravery and skill at warfare.
Although he possessed the smallest territory within the country, he commanded the Empire's strongest Air Force. The various islands off the coast were strongholds he had conquered.
This was a man who had already prepared a fallback for himself, having countless island tribes worship him as their reserve "God of Wine."
Of course, whether he could succeed in the end was a matter for later.
As expected, a voice that sounded as though its owner had been drinking early in the morning, slightly inebriated, rang out, "Little brother, you've arrived quite early!
Where is your Captain of the Guard, Xinji Roca?
Your confidant almost died on top of a woman, and now you've temporarily found two Fourth Order Totem Gods from some minor tribe to help you out?
How pathetic! Hahaha..."
The convoy dispersed, revealing a robust young man behind, reeking of alcohol but with a clear gaze, playing with an ivory-handled gold matchlock gun in his hands.
"Hmph, you're early too, third brother."
Atahualpa snorted coldly at his third brother's provocation without pointless retaliation; they would see who was truly superior in the battle to come.
Instead, he was somewhat curious about the firearm in his hand.
"A Firearm? You've also encountered the outsiders from the north?"
For these Fourth Order individuals, an ordinary firearm without enchantments, no matter how well made, posed no threat.
Firing it would be no different from a child playing with a water gun.
To actually be useful, it would have to be the cannons Byron sold him, along with the complete war resolution plan.
At the moment, Atahualpa was more concerned about whether any white-skinned barbarians had joined his third brother's command.
The Third Prince, Anqui Kapak, mistook his curiosity for envy of the new toy he had just acquired and efficiently loaded the gun with powder and shot.
A Son of the Sun indeed didn't need a match to ignite the powder. Merely placing his finger inside the pan was enough to fire it with ease, far more convenient than a regular matchlock gun.
This time, before the bullet reached Atahualpa, the gold Camel Head Knife at his waist slightly unsheathed, and with a flash of flame, the lead bullet turned into molten lead and fell to the ground.
The Third Prince was overjoyed, "Hahaha, fun isn't it? I bought this matchlock gun from those white-skinned outsiders, those Remit People.
One gun cost me only..."
Byron and Violet raised their eyebrows, thinking in secret annoyance:
Damn those Remit People, coming to steal our business so soon?
Moreover, the entrance of a second seller instantly turned the arms trade from a seller's market into a buyer's market.
Their 39 times profit margin was likely to be exposed today! They couldn't guess how Atahualpa, that Dog Landlord, would react.
However, the next moment the Third Prince announced a number that had been converted, "A mere 200 pounds! Yes, that's the unit of currency the outsiders use, just two hundred pounds for one gun.
It's a steal, so I bought a hundred on the spot and equipped my guards with them."
Byron and Violet breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, not expensive; it was only a hundred times the cost price.
Clearly, the poverty of the other three Governors was only relative to Atahualpa. Compared to the northerners, they were still excessively wealthy. But essentially, they were all foolish sons of wealthy landlords. Their foreheads might as well have labels: "Fool and money soon parted, come quickly!"
Atahualpa didn't know this but was aware of the price Byron had given him, which was less than half of this. To be exact, it was 40 percent of that price. He had only been charged 39 times the cost, which was practically saintly for a business!
Seeing Atahualpa's suddenly touched expression, what could Byron and Violet say? They could only say, "It's all thanks to our competitors making us look good."
In an instant, they proudly accepted the Fourth Prince's gratitude.
Yes, we are such conscientious and ethical arms dealers.
After feeling moved, what remained for Atahualpa was to scoff at his third brother, the big fool.
Tricked into paying more than double the price without even knowing it? What a fool!
The other reacted furiously, "Fourth, whom are you calling a fool?!"
Before the bickering brothers could start their quarrel, another squadron of Sun Chariots flew out from the Capital City, Cusco.
But the person surrounded in the middle was not any Prince; it was a Mummy specially preserved through dehydration!
Emaciated and withered, yet adorned with a luxurious gold royal robe and wearing an alpaca Sun Crown.
Both the Third and Fourth Prince's factions immediately bowed instinctively upon seeing the arrival, "Father!"
"Your Majesty!"
The Mummy was the former King, Huayna Capac.
Byron, who bowed along with everyone else, suddenly shuddered. He realized through Skull Number One, 'Lord of the Celestial Kingdom,' that the most important of the last four Crystal Skulls he was looking for was on the Mummy. It was Number 13, Xibalba, the Goddess of Suicide!
"Hidden: Clouds over the Sun Empire's royal succession, historical impact 30," the Decryption Rate also suddenly jumped from 42% to 50%.
