NOVPUBWeymak swung his war club, its sharp obsidian blade severing the neck of the fallen foe in one fell swoop! Wiping the fresh, warm red that splattered across his face, he looked around and barked at the captain.
"Natali, the enemy reinforcements are coming up fast! The battlements are narrow; we can’t deploy too many troops, and there are archers shooting up from below. We need to charge towards the passageway and get down from the battlements as quickly as possible!"
Natali, covered in blood, plucked a feathered arrow that had lodged in his shield and nodded without expression. The two led their trusted aides once more, charging headlong towards the nearest passageway. Hundreds of Divine Blessing Legion warriors followed closely behind, and then in the narrow passageway, they clashed violently with the large detachment of supporting enemy troops!
Under the will to fight to the death, the battle instantly reached its climax. War clubs sliced through necks, copper spears pierced bellies, and the blood of warriors on both sides sprayed as they held each other in a deadly embrace as they fell!
Xiulote observed for a moment; the enemy’s last reserves were already joining the battle. Both sides were engaged in fierce combat at the walls and the passageway, the nobility’s banners also floating amidst the frontline of battle—this was the final and most brutal struggle! Through fierce assaults, the Divine Blessing Legion firmly held the battlements, but at least seven thousand warriors and militia inside the city were staunchly defending under the commander’s orders, taking advantage of the terrain.
The Young Commander waved his flag again, and several conch horn blasts sounded. Hundreds of trusted aides charged from the rear, reorganizing the archers. The warriors, now under command, abandoned their shield carts and scaled the battlements. They had to exchange fire with the enemy archers below on the narrow walls!
Then, Xiulote’s gaze turned to the west, where the success of reducing casualties in the siege lay with the surprise attack at the water gate!
At that moment, atop the west wall of the Rivermouth fortress, the old militiaman Chiwaco lay on the battlement, eyes wide and speechless as he watched the still-burning water gate and the great boats that were gradually approaching. Outside the water gate, on the rivermouth, hundreds of Mexica large boats were forming a tight formation, swiftly approaching while ceaselessly launching arrows at the battlements. The whistling rain of arrows assaulted the heavens, and the archers on the battlements retaliated sporadically, the prepared rolling stones and logs yet unused.
The Mexica Naval Forces’ attack had started simultaneously with the general offensive on South City. Chiwaco looked at the hundreds of approaching boats and initially wasn’t perturbed. With more than a decade of rough-and-tumble experience, he knew that taking down the walls with archery alone was impossible. Moreover, the water gate to the west was solid and heavily guarded, a point of focus on the wall—if hundreds of boats dared to approach for destruction, they would experience the true force of rolling stones and logs!
The old militiaman remained fixated on the direction of South City, guessing at how the battle was unfolding. He had earned accolades for his defense of the city and had also contributed fire arrows. By beseeching the young nobility, he had finally gotten his wish to be transferred to the west wall as a Militia Captain. The nobility had soothed him with a few words, accepted him as a retainer, and left him with an underlying task that aligned with his desires.
Over the past couple of days, he arranged for militia he trusted to be stationed on this section of the wall, occasionally giving them hints and particularly informing five or six militiamen from his village. When the moment of truth arrived, the nobility were unreliable. The only ones dependable were his fellow villagers and comrades who had shared life and death experiences with him!
The attack outside the water gate began much as he had anticipated. Both sides exchanged arrows, and the militia men huddled safely behind dirt mounds and wooden shields, with few casualties. Then, on a large boat, a young samurai leader suddenly gestured with his hand. Several warriors abruptly rowed a small boat at full speed toward the water gate, quickly reaching within thirty paces. On the boat was a huge wooden coffin with what seemed to be sealed copper nails, except for a small hole at the edge through which a slender rope was threaded. Amid sparse arrows from the battlement, the small boat swiftly approached the solid water gate and pressed against it. The warriors on board, holding up their shields, quickly took out the prepared kindle and lit the rope in the middle. Then, amidst the stones thrown from the wall, the warriors hesitated not a speck and jumped into the river, swimming away as fast as they could, as though fleeing something.
Seeing this eerily familiar scene, a jolt went through the old militiaman’s heart. Instinctively, he glanced first toward the Mexica fleet—nearly a hundred paces away, the samurai were covering their ears, crouching on the boats. He then looked around; nearby archers were poking out to shoot at the fleeing warriors. In that critical moment, a shiver went through the old militiaman, and he just managed to yell out loud.
"Block your ears and lie flat on the battlement! Hold on tight!"
Following suit, the old militiaman was the first to lie on the battlement, stuffing his ears with a headscarf, and holding firmly onto the sturdy parapet with his hands. The comrades who had shared life and death with him similarly reacted, lying flat on the ground. Other militiamen looked around bewildered, still glancing about. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
But within a dozen breaths, a sound unmatched in its explosiveness suddenly rose! Like a meteor crashing down, it struck upon the ramparts, bringing a roar that engulfed everything with its thunderous blast!
In the tremors that shook heaven and earth, the battlements shuddered slightly, and rolling stones and logs swayed, while the earthen ramparts also began to crumble. The sound wave arrived with a sharp piercing whistle that shattered the air. Dozens of Militia who were shooting arrows suddenly went deaf, lost their balance, and then, swaying, tumbled from the ramparts, falling into the churning river below, silenced forever.
Over a hundred Militia on the ramparts struggled to keep their footing, and like tumbling gourds, fell to the ground. Those lucky enough were blocked by the earthen ramparts and narrowly escaped death. Those less fortunate rolled directly off the city wall, plummeting six meters into the Inner City, then leaving behind a pitiful scream and a spreading pool of blood.
The "Heavenly Divine"-like roar echoed far and wide, audible throughout the entire fortress. Amidst the booming sound, all Commanders and Nobility looked to the west in fear, not knowing what had happened. On the West City wall, the Samurai overseeing the battle also looked panic-stricken, unable to recover from the trembling for a long time, not to mention the Militia who had lost their minds, rolling and howling in panic.
The young "Black Wolf" Toltec watched the scene before him in shock. Although the prince had cautioned him repeatedly, and he had seen the explosion of several dozen pounds of Gunpowder, everything before his eyes still made his heart tremble!
In the massive explosion, a thick wooden coffin filled with hundreds of pounds of Gunpowder, like a toy of the Heavenly Divine, suddenly burst into fragments scattered across the sky. The forceful blast rolled violently, with several dozen pounds of the solid wood lid breaking into pieces, flying six meters high, knocking down several Defending Army soldiers on the ramparts. Even more splintered wood penetrated deeply into the floodgate; the sturdy wooden floodgate was completely shattered, displaying countless broken traces. Following that, great flames erupted, burning on both the remains of small boats and the floodgate. Soon, billowing smoke rose into the air as if the God of Death swallowed everything in a dark cloud, completely obscuring the view.
Silence fell both atop the ramparts and outside the city; all Feathered Arrows ceased to fly, with only the sound of flames burning to be heard. Then, pitiful wails started rising from the ramparts, and the piercing cries for help also came from nearby, awakening the stunned "Black Wolf."
Toltec’s brow furrowed as he looked around. Despite the distance of over a hundred paces, there were still many Longbow Militia who, in their daze, fell into the water and were now struggling and calling for help. In front of him, several brave men who had jumped off the small boats and were trying to swim back had been completely stunned by the blast and bobbed up and down on the water’s surface, their fate unknown.
Fortunately, the fifteen hundred Temple Guards accompanying him remained unfazed. They had been forewarned of the Chief Divine’s great power, and after a moment of shock, they rose again with fanatic faces, cheering and shouting.
"Chief Divine Huitzilopochtli descends here! Chief Divine descends here! Divine Blessing, assured victory!"
The continuous chants intimidated those atop the ramparts and boosted the morale of the soldiers. After that, with a grand gesture from Toltec, several large boats carrying ferocious Samurai and large clay jugs filled with water charged toward the front. The Samurai, wearing paper armor soaked in water, heads covered with wet cotton helmets, and wielding Copper Spears and Stone Hammers, fearlessly rushed towards the burning floodgate.
In the midst of thunderous cheers, an old Militia’s spirit was shattered. He took a deep breath of the herbal pouch, watching helplessly as the enemy’s large boats approached.
The moment the boats neared the floodgate, the Mexica Samurai used their strength to topple the water-filled clay jugs onto the burning floodgate. Then, as the flames subsided slightly, the Samurai swung their Copper Spears and Stone Hammers, completely shattering the remnants of the wooden gate. The West City’s floodgate was thus breached, and nothing stood in front of the Samurai!
The old Militia’s eyes widened in despair. He saw the enemy’s large boats rush into the floodgate and looked at the surging fleet coming after. His body, which had just stood up, collapsed once again, releasing a relieving sigh atop the ramparts.
"This monstrous fortress, at last, has fallen!"
