Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2109 - 1541: Misfortune and Fortune Are Always Unpredictable!

"The waves chant their names, the fallen have gone with the wind.""They have left the land, now only the wind knows their place of return."

"They no longer speak, they no longer sing, sinking into the depths of the white jade stone."

"The flowers will eventually wither, the spirits will finally sleep..."

Miki the Scholar stood by the sea, gazing at a small stone altar, reciting a eulogy poem. In traditional Nava culture, the ocean and Great Lake are all realms of the Rain Divine, Tlaloc. Therefore, the souls that sink into the water also drift with the waves, circulating in the ocean’s Rain Divine Kingdom, and eventually solidifying into stone. The more pious and noble the souls, the more they can sparkle and shine, even becoming the precious "jade stone" in the religion.

"..."

Hearing Miki the Scholar’s recitation, Kimier Grand Priest first nodded, then slightly furrowed his brow. This nautical priest elder, renowned as the "Scholar" famous for poetry and nautical tales, seemed somewhat unsettled under the impact of the sea disaster. There was an obvious gloom even in the poetic chants. As the leader of the support fleet about to cross west to the Divine Initiation Archipelago, without enough dauntless determination and courage, how could he proceed?

"Alas! Alas! Ohuaya, ohuaya!"

"Only the ocean, only the sun."

"The Wind God takes them, the Sun God lights their return path!"

Miki the Scholar looked up to the sky, gazed at the sun of the polar day, and clasped his hands in devout prayer. After a long while, he finally sighed the end of the poem, praying for the Sun Chief Divine’s salvation. Then, with tears in his eyes, he looked deeply at the offering painting beneath the divine emblem of the altar, hanging freshly on the wooden pillar.

Chimere’s offering painting was carved on a fresh cedar board, "abstract" yet "vibrant" as a whole, with a strong "Nava religious style" mixed with a hint of unique Buddhist "realistic style," quite peculiar.

The surging waves, eerie sea fog, dark icebergs, sailing fleet, and the cracked large ship were all imagined to the fullest by the painter, appearing as an "indescribable" collection in the abstraction. The samurai sailors falling into the sea were depicted "vividly," reaching out their hands in various postures toward the more "realistic" Sun Hummingbird in the sky, as if offering everything they had.

"?!..."

Miki the Scholar stared blankly at this painting, and the nightmare-like sea disaster reappeared in his mind. The crew that was hard to see and even harder to rescue in the thick fog seemed to become lively again, transforming into the struggling appearance in Chimere’s painting. At this moment, Miki was deeply pained, tears streaming down his face!

It must be known that those who perished on these two sea ships were not only warriors and sailors of the Kingdom. There were also two Second Level Priests whom he had personally trained since they were Priest Apprentices, who were extremely trusted, who perished with the ill-fated ships!

They were his closest apprentices, the backbone of his faction. Originally, as long as this voyage went smoothly, he would be promoted to Elder Priest and could elevate these two to Third Level Main Priests, making them his confidants. In this way, even if he returned to the Kingdom of the Lake, these two could stay on the Western Sea Coast and manage important overseas parishes for him... But all these plans sunk entirely to the sea bottom with the irresistible sea disaster, and even he himself barely escaped death!...

"..."

"Ahem! Miki, I can understand your feelings... but please restrain your grief!..."

Kimier patiently waited for a moment, watching the extremely sorrowful Miki, sighed helplessly. Could it be that after listening to Jia Hong’s explanation of Western Sea Coast painting techniques, his painting skills improved so much? One glance made Miki empathize and burst into tears? This is truly... After spending so much time riding with him to relax and counsel him.

"Chief Divine’s protection! High Priest Miki, please pull yourself together! The next journey westward to the Divine Initiation Archipelago, passing through four to five thousand miles of the Far North Sea route, is an even more important and arduous task... Your four Big Ocean Covering Ships carry the most critical support mission, to connect the ports of the West Sea Road!"

"Currently, after Loshanda High Priest went west last year and hasn’t returned, we don’t even know if he reached safely or faced misfortune... The Western Sea Continent hasn’t sent news back for over three years! Perhaps Zuwaro High Priest is in a difficult situation, making strenuous efforts among the Western Sea Tribes, waiting for our support..."

"As witnessed by the Chief Divine! It’s already the end of July, leaving only two months till October’s freeze. The Divine Initiation Archipelago only has half a year of thaw and four months of ice-free period. No matter what, within ten days, the westward support fleet must set sail! Otherwise, once it drags into mid-October, the north would have ice floes moving south, along with unpredictable storms. By then, the sailing would rely solely on the Chief Divine’s blessing, gambling with life and death!..."

"...Within ten days, must sail west? Otherwise in mid-October, there would again be ice floes moving south and storms?..."

Upon hearing Kimier’s urgings, Miki finally halted his sorrow, though his expression was somewhat oddly changing, and he silently clenched the reins. After a while, he nodded slightly, responding in a bitter voice.

"Witness the Chief Divine! Chimere, rest assured, I will dedicate myself to the Chief Divine! Within ten days, the relief fleet will definitely set sail westward, without any possibility of delay... In fact, after losing these two ships, especially the newly built ’Big Ocean Covering Ship’... If I do not establish enough meritorious deeds, I will have no way to return and explain to the Lake Priest Elder Council! To be honest, I have no retreat left, unless there is some other great merit..."

"It’s just... just these past two days I’ve tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Last night, I burned deer bones for divination for myself and saw the chaotic cracks of ’ominous,’ all three burns indicating ’ominous’! Later, when I finally slept, I had a dream, receiving a terrifying ’omen of doom’..."

"In the dream, a golden hummingbird flew to me and said... in this shipwreck, I was originally supposed to fall into the sea. However, only with the Chief Divine’s protection did I avoid immediately going to the Divine Kingdom... And after this, my luck at sea, the Chief Divine’s blessing, has already been used up! Yet I still have to face the risky Divine Initiation Archipelago westward, and venture back amid stormy sea mists and gigantic waves... If there’s another mishap, it means a definite end for me in the Divine Kingdom, and could even involve the fleet in misfortune!... Unless someone else blessed by the Chief Divine replaces me to lead people to sea..."

Upon saying this, Miki paused, looking expectantly at Chimere. Chimere felt a thud in his heart, though he didn’t show it on his face.

"What does this mean? That I should replace him and lead the support fleet to cross the Western Sea Continent? This guy Miki, after so many years of sailing, never encountered a shipwreck. And suddenly, after narrowly escaping this time... could he be scared?!"

"Indeed! He is now a rising star, a highly regarded Grand Nautical Priest, just one step away from becoming one of the twelve elders in the Lake Priest Group! He’s different from a few years ago, lacking the fearless ambition to sail and seek fame. For him, the risk of going to sea now far outweighs the benefits of accomplishment... This time, he is directly leading the fleet to support the Western Sea Continent... It’s hard to say if some Capital City Elders in the Priesthood are collaboratively excluding him, hoping he never returns..."

"After all, there are likely many nobles and priests in the Capital City who do not wish for such a robust representative of overseas interests to become a member of the Capital City Priest Elder Group, gaining authority at the Kingdom’s Divine Authority Center! With Miki’s age, if he assumes the elder position, he might hold it for two or three decades... However, while the Northern expedition Nautical Priests urgently need a representative elder at the kingdom’s center, asking me to replace him at sea, risking life to accumulate merit for him? That’s too much..."

Thinking of these inevitable power allocations and faction struggles, numerous considerations flashed through Chimere’s mind, ending with a sigh.

"Ah! High Priest Miki, using dreams to determine fortune is an ancient Nava tradition. Yet now, under the Chief Divine’s radiance, everything follows the new era’s divine order. Someone like you, blessed by the Divine, is certainly going to receive divine protection, safely going west and returning! ... May the Chief Divine protect you!"

"... Yes, may the Chief Divine protect!"

Upon hearing this, Miki fell silent, his face dimmed, and he bowed his head in bitter prayer. Chimere touched his nose and lowered his head, unsure of what to say. Undoubtedly, the westward support directed by Your Majesty must proceed! The choice of who leads the fleet, however...

"May the Chief Divine protect! Who knows if Luoshanda High Priest is dead or alive, whether he fell in the storm? If he has smoothly navigated and returns this spring or summer in May or June, he should have already reached the Great Whale Port now!... If he happens to return within ten days..."

The sea breeze roared and the whales sang as they swept past the shores of Whale Island. Silent thoughts swirled in the minds of the two high-ranking priests at the harbor altar, sustaining the silence for a good long while as the sun gradually slanted westward, with the eighteen-hour day finally beckoning the blood-red twilight...

"Woo! Woo!"

Suddenly, deep horn sounds faintly came from the southwest sea and sky, blowing in streams, bringing warnings and notifications. Then, from the lookout post on the hill near the port, a conch horn also sounded, resonating across the camp and port!

In the Alaska seas, which experience half a year of polar day frozen in winter and another half with fog in spring, summer, and autumn, the "lighthouse" of the Classical Period is nearly ineffective, even the brightest whale oil lamp cannot penetrate half a mile of sea fog. Kingdom port explorations recognized "horns" as the most practical maritime guidance communication!

The deeper the horn, like a whale song, the further it spreads. In foggy weather, the sound travels beyond visibility and even farther than usual clear weather sounds! It is said this correlates with "density of divine particles" in the Divine Revelation Scripture, where sound travels faster in "denser" places...

"Hmm! This horn sound? A ship? Two large ships have arrived?!"

"What! Two large ships? Could it be?... "

At this moment, Miki and Chimere simultaneously looked up and exchanged subtle glances. Chimere smiled, affirming to Miki with a nod. Miki couldn’t hide the excitement and joy on his face, instantly thinking of more. Truly, what mysterious fate this is...

"Let’s go! Have a look!"

"Hyah! Hyah!"

The two mounted horses one after the other, one galloping ahead, the other following with effort. Soon, they climbed the southwestern hill, standing before the lookout post, peering towards the sea and sky to the southwest. Under the setting sun’s reflected red clouds, two sea-beaten Ocean Shielding Ships, sporting somewhat damaged long sails, struggled traveling with the wind from the infinite red horizon. The flags hanging on the Ocean Shielding Ships, from the tiny chili seed speck, gradually turned into a bean, finally becoming the Chief Divine’s Hummingbird! Everything about this fleet seemed familiar, clearly representing...

"Bless the Chief Divine! Bless the Chief Divine! Loshanda’s fleet has finally crossed the perilous Divine Initiation Archipelago, returning luckily from the Western Sea Continent!"