NOVPUBThe north wind howled, the Eagle Banner fluttered, arrows whistled down, and the drums of war faded away. The afternoon sunlight illuminated the young King, his bronze armor shining with a golden brilliance that made it impossible to look at directly.
The hound Yuku bowed deeply in homage. At this moment, the resolute Su’angua was filled with boldness, the very King he was willing to die for! However, after kneeling, Great General Yuku firmly shook his head, earnestly advising, "Your Majesty, the heritage Royal Banner must not be moved lightly! The front lines are barely holding on, and once the Royal Banner is moved, the central troops will immediately collapse! Therefore, for your safety, please leave behind the ancestral Eagle Banner!"
Saying this, Yuku knelt once more. His expression was grave, showing the tenacity of a hound, but also the cunning of a coyote.
"Your Majesty, let me carry the small flag leading the charge, and fight to the death ahead of you! Please put on the ordinary armor of the Imperial Guards, hide among them, and also leave behind a body double, guarding the King’s Great Banner!"
"The Imperial Guards will make a desperate charge. If things go awry, I will protect you as we retreat directly to the southwest! As long as there is a double and the Royal Banner to attract the Mexica, your safety can be maximized!"
Hearing Yuku’s plan, Su’angua was taken aback, his desperate courage receding like the tide. "Whizz, whizz, whizz!" Arrows struck again. Great General Yuku called out softly, and the Imperial Guards raised their Great Shields in unison, tightly shielding the King from view and blocking all lines of sight.
Great General Yuku himself stepped forward, bowed to remove the King’s armor. Su’angua remained silent, offering no resistance. A body double with a similar build, eyes filled with resolve to die, put on the shiny Copper Helmet that obscured the face, and then donned the unique golden Copper Armor of the King. When the shield-bearing guard dispersed, the "King" of Tarasco still stood tall, resolutely under the Royal Banner.
Next, the "King" of Tarasco waved the command flag, issuing the sole directive. More than twelve hundred Copper-axe Guards launched a full assault! It was the largest number of Imperial Guards that could be mustered in a short time; the rest had either already fallen in battle or were engaged in a fight to the death. At that moment, the Imperial Guards put down their Longbows, picked up their Bronze Axes, and transformed into an unstoppable golden flood surging toward the left flank of the Royal Army!
Under the banner of the Black Wolf, Xiulote closely monitored the battle before him. He saw that after a volley of arrows, the Copper-axe Guards beneath the Royal Banner poured out, leaving only a handful of trusted aides beside the King of Tarasco. The Young Commander watched briefly before gripping the command flag tightly. The direction chosen by the Imperial Guards’ infantry charge was not the heavy middle but the tragically weakened right flank of the Mexica!
"The wounded White Deer turns into a fierce tiger and leopard, making a final, life-sacrificing strike! A dying beast is most ferocious; the last struggle is right before us!"
Xiulote’s countenance was complex, his heartbeat accelerating. He knew that the badly damaged right flank could not withstand this onslaught. The young King waved the command flag frantically. The shrill sound of the "didi" conch horn blew, and five hundred Stirrup Crossbowmen quickly turned to retreat under the Wolf Banner. The dispersed Longbow trusted aides began to gather immediately.
The flute sounded, and over a thousand Copper-axe Guards, in neat formation, began to speed up their rush. As they approached the fight on the left flank, they let out a wild roar and surged from the edge, bursting into the fray! The Kingdom’s Warriors mustered their last bits of strength and launched their assault in unison. Battle Axes fell, blood sprayed! The Religious Legion, poor at defense and already reduced by a third, managed to hold the enemy at bay for only a moment before their lines were broken, clearing the way forward. Veteran General Etalik blew his clay whistle frantically. He engaged in close combat himself, assembling the scattered soldiers into a group with the help of his trusted aides. 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Yuku carried the small flag, brandishing his Spear and quickly breaking through the first line of defense. He wiped the blood from his face, looked toward the direction of the Wolf Banner, and continued to charge at the forefront. The Copper-axe Guards also pressed forward without pause, pouring into the enemy lines. Soon, hundreds of Longbow Warriors appeared before them, with more Mexica Warriors constantly arriving.
"Hum... Whizz...!" The Greatbow throbbed, arrows flew fiercely, and death came in an instant! Dozens of Imperial Guards were felled at once. At close range, Copper Arrows "thud" pierced through the Leather Armor, and "shh" penetrated bodies. Most of the stricken warriors died instantly, without a chance to utter a final word!
On this battlefield where death bloomed, Yuku remained expressionless, like a sculpture of slaughter. He moved with steady agility, running swiftly like a hound. "Slash!" In a blink, the hound was the first to break into the ranks of the Archers. With a diagonal thrust of his Spear, a step forward, he impaled his opponent directly. The Copper-axe Guards roared once again. They crouched and charged, waving their Battle Axes like stampeding buffalo with sharp horns raised!
The loosely formed Longbow Warriors could only hold off for a few breaths before the massed charge of the Imperial Infantry crashed through. "Ssh!" Yuku retracted his Spear along with a gush of blood, and no obstacles remained before him. Groups of Imperial Guards gradually pushed through the second line of defense, converging around their leader.
The hound looked ahead, and a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. The banner of the Black Wolf was just several hundred steps away, the familiar Jaguar Warrior Brigade stood shielded and composed, and a troop of Crossbowmen hurried to reinforce. Under the towering flags, the Mexica Marshal in a Feathered Helmet showed no clear expression, only casting down a proud, condescending gaze.
Yuku looked to the right, where the Mexica’s wooden cannons were only a hundred steps away. Wooden barrels were wrapped with Copper Hoops, the small muzzle emitted wisps of blue smoke, looking like divine objects of the mysterious Priests, commanding both awe and desire. Yuku stared for a few moments, shook his head regretfully, and cast aside the divine object within easy reach. He then looked back to the warriors behind him. The young King, clothed in standard War Armor, stood inconspicuously at the center of the Imperial Guards. The King’s body was stained red, and the Bronze Axe in his hands was also bloodied; the descendants of the Divine Eagle never lacked courage!
