NOVPUBHearing this, Puap respectfully bowed deeply. The Chief Minister glanced one last time at the vague throng of commoners outside the city and then strode away, returning to the sublime "Palace of Wind." 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
Only when the Chief’s figure had vanished in the distance did Puap rise to his feet and fiercely sweep his gaze around. Then, he proudly lifted his head, looking towards the militia behind him.
"The exalted Chief has just appointed me as a noble of military merit, Warrior Captain! Consider yourselves lucky, there are only a handful of samurai in the squad now. Considering you have all seen battle, I offer you a chance to become samurai: pledge loyalty to me, and henceforth, you too can claim the title of Samurai Lord!"
The militia looked towards Chiwaco together, and Puap was somewhat surprised to follow their gaze. The old militiaman was slightly lost in thought, his mind fixated on the Chief’s last words, "reward with rural women." It wasn’t until Puap called out impatiently that the old man reacted. After a moment’s thought, he bowed down to the ground.
"O great noble lord, Chiwaco pledges loyalty to you! From now on, you are the highest stalk of corn, and we are but pumpkins at your feet, destined to die before you!"
Seeing their elder kneel, many other militiamen gradually bowed before Puap, addressing him as "noble lord."
Hearing these common flatteries, Hummingbird warrior Puap laughed heartily. He extended a hand, mimicking the gestures of the nobility, and gripped the scant hair left on Chiwaco’s head. Then, filled with pride, he looked around and proclaimed loudly.
"Come, to the quartermaster’s camp! First, I’ll assign each of you a rural woman, then a feast of meat and drink, have a good time! And after that, join me in dealing with those Tekos Barbarians. Once we repel the Mexica, the good days ahead will be long!"
Puap’s laughter scattered under the winter sunlight. He was like the corn at the base of the mountain, only feeling glorious and warm. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister at the peak resembled a green pine, experiencing a boundless chill and desolation.
In the majestic and magnificent "Palace of Wind," Jinjinni stood gazing at Royal Family murals, his fingers hidden in his sleeves, silently counting the troops at hand. The inept "Crocodile" had lost the Rivermouth Fortress, and the rapid southward advance of the Mexica troops had cut off reinforcements from the Chapala Lake Region that were still on their way.
Now, he only had the last fifteen hundred Royal Warriors willing to follow the Royal Palace’s commands. The Priests had a thousand Temple Guards, stationed immovably near the "House of Wind" pyramid. As for the private troops of the various nobility in the capital, there was barely more than a thousand left. These nobility’s private troops were also hard to command, merely forcibly confined within the city for defense.
"That being calculated, the total number of warriors in the capital adds up to less than four thousand. Royal Warriors need to suppress the city internally, Temple Guards and nobility’s private troops are immovable, the capital has completely lost the capability to fight field battles outside the city... Damn, Ospatan deserves death! His corpse should be divided in five, a sacrificial rite to the gods!"
A faint redness appeared in the Chief’s eyes. Soon after, he reminded himself about the militia situation in the capital and slightly relaxed.
After urgent promises and drafts, the southern Tecos Tribe had again dispatched fifteen thousand militia, arriving at the Lake Region last month. He dispatched five thousand Tecos militia and five hundred Royal Warriors to the northern hundred-mile outpost at Huayamo Fortress, serving as the outermost defense line of the Capital City. He then drafted the remaining ten thousand Tecos militia into the Capital City for garrisoning. Moreover, after pooling resources from east and west, the Lake Region managed to muster another ten thousand militiamen capable of defending the city, inclusive of both elders and youths.
"At this moment, the Capital City has twenty thousand militia strengthening its defense, along with grain and fodder gathered from around the Lake Region. Relying on the tall city walls and ample food supplies, it should hold out for several years!"
With the situation swiftly deteriorating, faced with the crisis of the Kingdom’s collapse, Jinjinni no longer considered any further development. He had already dispatched warriors to completely scour the nearby villages and towns within three to five days around the Lake Region. All grain was fully requisitioned, and able-bodied men and women were conscripted into the military. The once-prosperous villages and towns were turned into scorched earth, leaving nothing usable for the Mexica people!
Reflecting on this, Jinjinni closed his eyes again, his thoughts swirling, his heart stirring painfully. Outside the Capital City, village communes were already deserted, decades of hard work gone in an instant. And within the Capital City, Tecos chieftains were marrying into the Royal Family, and the tribal civilians were causing chaos everywhere, turning the thriving Capital City into a mess... The Chief Minister’s eyes reddened once more, a surge of murderous intent filling his heart.
"Ospatan deserves death!... Damn, the Rivermouth Fortress was lost too quickly! The Mexica people are rapidly moving south, cutting off the northern passage, rendering all arrangements effectively useless!"
Jinjinni silently counted, pondering the Kingdom’s situation day and night, which was crystal clear in his mind.
The thousand warriors stationed at fortresses in Akanbaro State hadn’t managed to play their disruptive role when they were cut off from the Capital City. At this time, Akanbaro State likely still had around three thousand warriors and over ten thousand militia, but they could not safely be recalled to the Capital City. These remnants in the north were definitely under the surveillance of the Mexica, and once they left the fortresses, they simply couldn’t withstand an assault from five thousand Mexica warriors.
And at the Huayamo Fortress in the northern Lake Region, the stationed five hundred Royal Warriors and five thousand Tecos militia could only barely hold off for a while. His original plan was to amass reinforcements from the Chapala Lake Region here and then move the army northward to relieve the Rivermouth Fortress.
Persuaded by the Royal Elder, under the condition of crowning sovereignty, the Chapala Lake Region, with a population of six hundred thousand, finally mobilized on a large scale. The various nobility assembled ten thousand warriors and twenty thousand militia, a grand total of thirty thousand troops marching southward along the interior of Saka State. Just two weeks away, the reinforcements would have reached Huayamo Fortress and merged with the Capital City’s troops, but the Mexica had taken the Rivermouth Fortress, blocking ahead of Huayamo.
