Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1387 - 942: Potential Allies, Terms of Surrender

The door of the Stone Prison opened, and outside was bright light. Mayan merchant Tikalo stood at the doorway of light, feeling the blade’s edge on his neck, his figure trembling slightly. As a merchant navigating between various forces, with a tongue more powerful than axe and spear, the most helpless thing for him was encountering such unreasonable hard cases that shouted to kill and killed without hesitation..."...Uh... Heavenly Serpent Divine as witness! Esteemed Papu Priest, you could first put down the sacrificial dagger... Actually, between you and I! We are... potentially allies!..."

"Hmm? What? Potential allies?"

Upon hearing, Papu Priest’s eyebrows twitched, clearly a bit confused.

"All Gods as witness! You don’t hold a grudge for my attack on you? And you want to be allies with me? What kind of rationale is this?..."

"Cough! Papu Priest, I am a Mayan merchant, I have to look forward. Those past encounters brought me losses. I must think about compensating in the future... And if you surrender to His Majesty, the benefits you could bring me would far exceed letting you escape to Maya!..."

"...Hmm... Explain in detail! Swear by the Ancestors again!"

"Ancestors as witness! I’m speaking the truth! On this return with the Kingdom Fleet, I made some mistakes, and I really need to establish a merit to make up for it..."

Mayan merchant Tikalo’s eyes flickered, organizing persuasive words. The matter of the Mayan Prince must not be mentioned right now, or else the other party might take his head to seek refuge with the Xiu Family, which would be too tragic. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke with a sincere face.

"My merchant convoy leaked the fleet’s whereabouts, which led to the attack by the Naval Forces of the Hidden Serpent City... And the two leaders of the fleet are in conflict with me, they certainly will put the blame on me... So, I must return with tremendous merit to regain power before His Majesty! And what merit can compare to persuading the Naval Commander of the Hidden Serpent Holy City to surrender? As long as we plan together, we might even sneak into the Holy City and capture the Seaside Chief Priest... These are all opportunities for you and me!..."

"Hmm, conflict with the fleet leaders..."

Hearing this, Papu Priest’s eyes moved, recalling Tikalo’s lone appearance blocking the fleet, and he felt somewhat convinced. Subsequently, upon hearing the latter words, his pupils suddenly constricted, his expression turning to astonishment.

"You... What did you say?! Sneak attack on the Holy City, capture the Seaside Chief Priest? This?... I can’t..."

"Chief Divine as witness! This would be a tremendous merit!... It is yours, and it is mine. With me here, your merit could be directly reported back to the esteemed Death God Temple before His Excellency, without worrying about it being taken by anyone! And as long as you establish such a great merit, would you fear not having a foothold rock in the Kingdom’s mountains?... Papu Priest, you and I, are indeed potential allies!"

Upon hearing this, Papu Priest lowered his gaze, his thoughts racing, but his face remained expressionless. He pondered silently for a while, then slightly loosened the dagger, urging.

"Continue!"

"Yes!... You know, I hail from the Eastern Maya city-state... Whether it is the Kingdom of the Lake, Mexica Alliance, or Seaside Lands... actually, none of them are my hometowns, nor are they places where I seek my future... I, this wandering old turtle, day and night dream of gloriously returning to my homeland, even becoming the City Lord of a City-State!..."

Mayan merchant Tikalo spoke with a sincere face, his words ninety percent true, ten percent false, making it difficult for others to discern anything wrong.

"When His Excellency in the youth had once promised me that I would govern over a City-State on Maya Lands... But such a promise requires the movement of a legion to truly conquer it! And the Kingdom’s several Legion Commanders all have their directions for warfare expansion, completely uninterested in expeditions to Maya Lands... At that time, the force I could truly seek still has to be found closest to the Seaside Lands!... And you and your Naval Forces, aren’t you the allies sent by All Gods to ally with me?"

"Me? Ally with you, heading to Maya? Hiss! Your meaning is..."

"That’s right! Esteemed Papu Priest, you’ve offended many people from both the Alliance and the Kingdom, to really stay in the Kingdom, the best choice... naturally is to lead the Kingdom’s Naval Forces, leveraging the Kingdom’s legion, to conquer the Eastern Maya! Then, after defeating the coastal Mayans, I would request His Majesty to ally with you to jointly govern a territory for the Kingdom!... At that time, I return home to become a City Lord, while you command the Naval Forces on the coast, away from the Kingdom’s disputes, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing?"

"Oh?! Leading the Kingdom’s legion, conquering Maya Lands, then governing a territory, away from the Kingdom!"

Upon hearing such long-term planning, Papu Priest’s eyes changed, clearly showing interest. If such a path could be pursued, it would indeed be most advantageous for him! But to walk this path, it would require someone... He pondered for a while, then suddenly withdrew the dagger and a smile appeared on his face.

"Right! With All Gods’ blessing! Oh... With Chief Divine’s blessing! Going to Maya Lands to spread Chief Divine’s glory... It’s indeed the best way out!"

"But, Tikalo, do you really have the confidence to persuade His Majesty the Death God? With his status, would he really be willing to come to the frontline personally to accept my surrender?"

"Ah?! Papu Priest... You... You actually want His Majesty the Death God to come to the frontline to surrender?"

"Of course! I don’t know anyone else in the Kingdom of the Lake, nor do I understand any Kingdom tokens. At that time, you’d just carve some jade talisman and deceive me for sacrifice, or the brutal Black Wolf Legion Commander could make a move and easily intercept me... Should I then go crying to the demons in the Black Abyss underground?"

At this, Papu Priest frowned, his eyes full of vigilance. As a former High Priest, he was quite experienced!

Such deceit and murder were things he had done many times, even without needing to be directly involved. The reason he could firmly control the Naval Forces was precisely because he had deceived and pressured many priests sent by the Hidden Serpent Holy City to the frontline to sacrifice heroically.

"As long as the Royal Banner of His Majesty the Death God appears before me, appears in front of the Mexica legion, then I would immediately lead the Naval Forces to surrender! Because only the public promise of acceptance from His Majesty the Death God is my guarantee of life! His Majesty the Death God’s reputation is much more important than that of a mere priest like me! His reputation would not be wasted on me, it must certainly be..."

"Chief Divine! You want His Majesty to personally accept surrender?!"

Upon hearing this, Mayan merchant Tikalo trembled slightly. He was somewhat incredulous, looking into Papu Priest’s eyes and asked.

"His Majesty’s status is so lofty, how would he easily come to the dangerous frontline? If you all suddenly attack His Majesty, wouldn’t that give you an opportunity to turn the situation around in desperation?!"

"Hmm... I think, it doesn’t have to be the frontline. I could lead the Naval Forces to wait on some coast in the Western... His Majesty the Death God only needs to bring a legion and appear from afar, raise that Royal Banner! I would immediately dock and surrender to His Majesty kneeling!"

Saying this, Papu Priest stroked his chin, inspecting Tikalo, his words containing hidden murder intent.

"So? Tikalo, do you have the confidence to persuade His Majesty?"

"I..."

Mayan merchant Tikalo squinted his eyes, looking at Papu Priest’s expression filled with implicit murder intention, sharply sensing death. He quickly thought, repeatedly pondering how to respond to win the trust of the suspicious opposite. After a while, he gently nodded, solemn-faced, and swore with his fist upon his heart.

"Heavenly Serpent Divine as witness! Ancestors as witness! I will do my utmost to attempt for you!"