NOVPUBPuap looked blankly for a long while, his eyes widening in confusion as he murmured softly. His head spun as he stared at the square characters, as though he were facing the Divine Script of the temple priests.
"Sir, what a good question you’ve asked! How could a humble militiaman like me know the Divine Script of the Mexica?"
The old militia Chiwaco smiled, dodged Puap’s fist, and leaned in to whisper.
"Sir, last night the nobility who contacted me mentioned... Look at this corner! This symbol is the seal of His Highness of Mexica."
Puap examined it carefully and saw only three neat squares surrounded by a circle of red stamping, the precious rouge-red dye.
"Sir, look beneath the seal at the pattern. These two small figures, the kneeling one is you!"
"What? You’re the one who’s kneeling!"
Puap slapped Chiwaco on the shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain. Ever since returning to the Capital City, he had regathered a dozen or so loyal samurai, still a respected master. After the reinforcements disbanded, most of the Hummingbird Family’s chief samurai had fallen in battle, and those who were left were even more cherished. Now, Master Puap not only was in charge of the defense of the southern gate of the Capital City but also had been newly assigned over five hundred militia under his command.
"Sir, even if I wanted to kneel, I wouldn’t have the opportunity! Look, the one standing is His Highness of Mexica, holding your hair, bestowing a noble title upon you. The yellow robe on you and the green Long Feathers are the symbols of Second Level hereditary Nobility!"
Upon hearing this, light nearly emanated from Puap’s eyes. He greedily gazed at the drawing in the corner, as if he wanted to swallow the letter whole. After a while, the Huitu master let out a deep sigh.
"Alas! My Huitu family has served the Hummingbird Family for generations, and my ancestors all died on the battlefield, yet I’m still nothing more than an experienced samurai without any renown. Only thanks to the Chief’s grace did I become a Military Noble for just a few months, free from being ordered around by the Nobility and Priests, but in reality, I am of no consequence... This Prince of Mexica, handing out hereditary nobility titles so freely..."
"Sir, isn’t being a hereditary noble a good thing? That’s as tall as a cocoa tree, so much higher than a cornstalk! From now on, you’ll be a Great Nobility of the Alliance, and so will your son!"
Chiwaco said with a chuckle, genuine envy in his voice.
"That’s good indeed... But I, Master, am feeling quite bewildered right now... After all, the Chief has been good to me!..."
As Puap sighed, he carefully rolled up the letter and tucked it away close to his body. Then, he extended his hand, anxiously asking.
"Did you say His Highness gave you his Jade Talisman too? Where is it? Give it to me, quick!"
Chiwaco smiled sheepishly. He fumbled in his chest for a long time before reluctantly taking out a delicate Jade Pendant.
"Sir, this is a token for contact, even the nobility who sent the letter are envious of it! They say that with this Jade Pendant, you could meet His Highness of Mexica... You must keep it safe!"
"Nonsense!"
Puap snatched the Jade Pendant. He examined the jade carving meticulously, the same three neat squares as on the letter. The Huitu master then beamed with joy, securing the Jade Pendant close to his body as he spoke with a smile.
"Great, just great, the Prince is truly generous! Old Chi, I tell you, the promised wealth isn’t worth much. What is not in this city? I can lead you to get much more!... But only with the Prince’s support can the possessions be kept safe..."
Chiwaco nodded in agreement. Then, he straightened his face, looked around, and became serious.
"The Mexica said we will act the night after tomorrow."
Puap too, stopped smiling. He waved his hand, signaling his confidants to disperse and then asked in a low voice,
"When exactly?"
"The moon rose to the middle of the sky, and everyone had fallen asleep. By then, a squad of elite scouts will have entered the city first, followed by the main force of samurai. The problem is that the city gates have been blocked, so entry will be much more troublesome... I’ll go prepare more rope ladders for the city walls..."
"Ha, that’s not a problem to worry about!"
At this point, Puap revealed a smug smile on his face.
"The city walls are very tall, and climbing the walls would easily be spotted by the enemy. Old man Qi, you’re a countryman and lack worldly experience! In fact, there’s a secret door built into this part of the South City wall, initially intended to facilitate surprise attacks by the defending army. Later, it became a secret route for smugglers to enter the city. Ha, not many people know about this dark gate, and I am one of them. My family made a fortune through this in the past! As soon as we got back to the city, I dispatched a few samurai to take control of the secret door on the south wall."
"Ah, a secret door? Where is it? My lord, I guard the city wall every day and haven’t seen any vulnerabilities!"
"Foolish! How could it be a secret door if it could be seen? Of course, there are arrangements inside and out, and it only allows one person to pass through at a time. But recently a few samurai from the Nobility families have been loitering around the secret door... It seems that many have the same idea, so I can’t delay any longer..."
"As for the South City gate, it was I who personally led you to block it. When we were doing the work, I kept an ace up my sleeve; only the outermost layer was truly blocked off. As long as we have enough manpower, we can open it from the inside in just a quarter hour!"
"My lord is truly wise!" 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Hearing this, Chiwaco bowed with admiration, his old face brimming with a smile. Then, as if something occurred to him, he asked in a low voice.
"Manpower is the problem. I only have about thirty trustworthy men at hand. Most are Militia who have shared life and death with us during the last sortie, along with some old brothers from my hometown. My lord, how many men do you have?"
Hearing this, Puap gave an embarrassed smile.
"There’s no need to talk of ’yours’ or ’mine’... There are not many people in the family, and I dare not call upon many old acquaintances, fearing the plans may leak... I have roughly twenty or so reliable men at hand, all of them samurai."
The two raised their heads, staring at each other in silence for a moment. In this city of tens of thousands, fifty-odd men truly seemed insignificant. After a moment, it was the old Militiaman who spoke first.
"My lord, there’s no need to worry, you have five hundred Militia under you! The country folks don’t have too many concerns, all were conscripted to defend the city. Treat them well with good food and drink for the next couple of days. The night after tomorrow, once the Mexica scouts have entered the city, we’ll take control of the Militia, then force them to act with us! Once the city gate is open and the main force of samurai enters the city, there’ll be nothing left to worry about!"
Upon hearing the old Militiaman’s encouragement, Puap nodded vigorously.
"Old man Qi, you’re good at working with the Militia. Accompany me in this task for the next couple of days too!"
"Sure!... My lord, actually, I have another idea... Once the Mexica have entered the city and chaos erupts... we..."
After hearing Chiwaco’s words, Puap leaned against the parapet on the city wall, silent with his head bowed. The sun shone on the parapet, casting long shadows that also veiled the face of the samurai from Huitu.
"My lord?"
Chiwaco’s eyes flickered questioningly.
After a long pause, Puap finally let out a long breath, his voice as though coming from the depths of the Abyss.
"As you say! Alas, may the three gods forgive us..."
The deep voice dissipated into the wind and reached Chiwaco’s ears. The old Militiaman gripped his copper spear, his lips curving into a faint smile. He looked up at the bright sun in the sky. The sunlight fell on his face and slowly scattered, spreading into a profound smile.
"My lord, you misspoke. It’s the Chief Divine who will protect us."
