NOVPUBThe young King maintained a deathly silence. He endured an unprecedented weakness and pain, his eyes red, staring fixedly towards Xiulote. Only after the trusted aide had finished dealing with it, helping the King to don his armor again, did Su’angua let out a pained groan, roaring desperately,
"May the Three Gods protect the Divine Eagle, the Kingdom shall never perish! One day, I, Su’angua, will personally draw the longbow and shoot through your heart, reviving the Tarasco Kingdom!" 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
"Fight for your life!"
Dozens of steps away, Bertade’s left foot delivered a swift kick, making his opponent suddenly stagger. Following that, the Head Warrior swung his right arm powerfully, the sharp war club tracing a masterful arc, striking accurately on the Chief of the Personal Guards’ neck. The desperate Chief of the Personal Guard paused abruptly, his eyes then lost their light forever. He just "ugh, ugh" twice, then fell straight down into the dust with a gush of blood.
"Where will you run to!"
The Head Warrior, furious, swept his gaze across, shouting out again. His eyes burned with rage, locking onto Yuku’s direction, and he fiercely charged once more.
Yuku, hearing the shout, turned back to see the body of the Chief of the Personal Guard fall. His heart darkened, and turning his head again, he was terrified to see the injured King. At this moment, the unmatched warrior felt utterly exhausted. He surveyed the battlefield, where the Copper-axe Guards and the Jaguar Warrior Brigade were entangled in fierce combat, completely unable to break through. Not far away, the enemy crossbowmen had already dispatched a team, beginning to shoot at the rear of the guards. Meanwhile, only a few dozen of the blocking guards remained hundreds of steps away, with thousands of Longbow Warriors like an unstoppable swarm, about to engulf everything.
"This battle is hopeless, the Royal Army is destined to fail!"
The Great General Yuku clenched his fists, issuing a lone wolf-like howl, then squeezed out a desperate shout from his depths.
"Vanguard, cover the rear! Rear guard, retreat! Retreat swiftly to the southwest! Quick, quick!"
Yuku blew the shrill horn and waved the retreat flag. Then, he mercilessly abandoned the vanguard, not looking back as he ran towards the King. The rearguard Copper-axe Guards exchanged looks, their eyes brimming with desperate resolve. They fiercely raised their shields, using their own lives to barely block the furious Head Warrior and the equally enraged Jaguar Warrior Brigade.
More than three hundred rear guard warriors quickly turned around. They discreetly protected the King, forming formations and rushing southwest. Moments later, a fierce rain of arrows descended from the sky. The Longbow Warriors had already broken through the blockade. Under the command of the Commander’s Flag, they first dispatched a part to pursue quickly, while the rest shot at the fleeing guards. Continuously, injured guards fell, desperately resisting the pursuing Mexica warriors, and soon turned into corpses on the ground.
Xiulote stood tall under the Wolf Banner, swinging the command flag in his hand again. Five hundred close guards split off to ambush the remaining enemy guards from behind. War clubs swung, bronze axes clashed, and it only took a moment for the battlefield’s situation to change. Mexica warriors attacked from both sides, coupled with close-range Feathered Arrow shots, and in just a quarter hour, the Tarasco guards had fallen one after another, struggling into different shapes before a small mound.
Desperate shouts rose in succession, ascending into the sky, then turning into mournful howls. The gods of Tarasco remained indifferent, watching the all-consuming battlefield, and were finally devoured themselves. The rearguard, bleeding, returned all warmth to the Earth’s Mother Goddess. Then, their bodies gradually cooled, merging forever with the vast plain, eternally resting in the land of their birth. And an ancient kingdom, accompanied by their lives, vanished in this era of change!
The war drums thundered, arrows flew, victorious roars intertwined with the dying groans. The young ruler overlooked the battlefield beneath him, his guards pursuing the defeated, the last enemy army retreating, and thereby the momentum was settled! He took a deep breath, feeling the power filling his chest. Then, Xiulote looked up, his face bursting with spontaneous exhilaration, displaying a radiantly unmatched smile.
"This battle, I have finally won!!"
Ten meters away, Bertade strode forward, carrying his bloodstained war club, hurrying back to his lord’s side. He circled around the Wolf Banner, examining it for several breaths before finally bowing assuredly.
"Your Highness, the enemy guards have completely retreated, the Tarasco Royal Army no longer has the power to counterattack! This decisive battle that determines the world, ultimately belongs to us! Victory is yours, my King!"
Upon hearing this, Xiulote laughed heartily. He affectionately patted the Head Warrior’s shoulder, then spoke in a deep voice.
"The Tarascans have once again ambushed me! I am furious! Bertade, I give you five hundred personal guards, go hunt down that hound of a general! If possible, capture him alive. If not, execute him on the spot!"
Bertade replied solemnly. After a moment of hesitation, he still spoke up to suggest.
"Your Highness, the primary task now is to break through the enemy’s central army, cut off the Royal Eagle Banner, and capture the Tarasco King! Once the Royal Banner is down, the enemy will disperse completely!"
Xiulote nodded, his voice filled with implicit understanding as he laughed loudly.
"Do not worry, I am well aware! This honor, I leave to the central army’s two great generals, especially Ezpan, born of the Kingdom! Bertade, my Holy Eagle, go quickly and bring back the enemy’s hound!"
Bertade saluted solemnly, then turned to lead his troops away. Amid the great battle, he once again felt the change in His Highness, as if he were the midday sun, radiating scorching light.
