The sunlight was sparse and gentle. Seeds of Chrysanthemum sprouted from the soil, looking toward the tranquil and peaceful valley. Ten days had already passed since that funeral which had shaken the Zapotec people. And at the sa ti, a funeral in Cloud Mountain City also ca to an end, as the last shovelful of earth was filled in.
The noble youths who had been sent out to seek aid, the last Elders unwilling to surrender, and the few Priests who chose suicide—they were all buried together in the burial pit of the Rain Divine Temple, becoming the final funeral companions of the ancestral land of Cloud Mountain City. Afterwards, Cloud Mountain City opened its gates. The City Lord Yun Shenshan cradled the ancestral clay urn, the Elder Priest Yun Gushi raised high the Heritage Tablet of their lineage, and dozens of Cloud Mountain Divine Race dragged along the stone disc of the Rain Divine, all bowing their heads as they walked out of the city.
"Let the Chief Divine bear witness! On this day, the Cloud Mountain Tribes present Cloud Mountain City and its fortress, and surrender to the mighty xica Alliance, surrender to the supre Divine King!..."
"By command of the Divine King! Step forward to pay homage!..."
The surrendered Cloud Mountain Divine Race, hair disheveled, moved one heavy step after another through the ranks of a thousand Royal Warriors, who stood clad in Heavy Armor, Bronze Axes raised high. Then they were ordered to kneel; only the City Lord and the Elder Priest were permitted to face the supre Divine King. When the two of them passed through another thousand Armor-clad, spear-bearing Tonsured Guards, a gigantic wooden palanquin borne by forty n appeared before their eyes.
"Cloud Mountain Chief, pay homage to the Divine King!..."
Only at this mont did the two dare to raise their heads and see the xica Divine King, attired in Divine Spirit Dress, seated high upon the wooden palanquin. Beholding that indifferent, god-like expression, both their hearts gave a tremor; they knelt in unison and perford their salute. The mont that would decide the life and death of the Cloud Mountain Tribes had arrived! Even though they had already sworn a Blood Oath with His Highness the Prophet, whether the xica would truly let them go, whether any change would occur at the Divine King’s single thought—on these matters they could not be sure...
"May the Chief Divine protect us! I, Cloud Guishan, City Lord of Cloud Mountain City, lead the heads of all Tribes to kowtow before the supre, incomparably valiant, Divinity-brimming, Sun-bright xica Divine King!..."
"Oh? Cloud Mountain City Lord Yun Guishan? As I recall, your title was not ’Holy Peak on the Cloud’ (Iztactepetl Otéotl), Yun Shenshan?..."
"Ah, let the Chief Divine witness! Under Heaven, only the xican Royal Family is truly a Divine Race! The Cloud Mountain Tribes were originally but arrogant howler monkeys in the mountains; only when we beheld the tiger-like might of the xican Royal Family did we realize our own smallness... From this day on, we dare not call ourselves Divine Race! We are willing to present our Heritage Tablet; we only beg for a Fief in which our line may continue, enough to perform Sacrificial Rites to our Ancestors..."
"Oh? That tablet the Priest holds above his head is the Heritage Tablet of the Cloud Mountain Tribes?!..."
"Yes! Yes, Your Majesty the Divine King, this is the most ancient Mistec lineage... I, the Priest Yun Gushi, who has converted to the Chief Divine, am willing to offer it to you, truly great, incomparably divine Divine King!... Before you, no one can bear the na ’god’; even the ancient Ancestors salute and praise you!... Let the Ancestors bear witness! You have founded an achievent akin to the Teotihuacan Empire; search through all the inherited myths, and no one’s Divinity can compare to yours!..."
"Hahaha!..."
The Divine King’s loud laughter resounded before Cloud Mountain City. Laughing, he stepped down from the wooden palanquin and ca to stand before the two n, personally taking the Mistec Heritage Tablet from their hands. Yet he only glanced at it briefly, took a look at those ancient Era motifs carved upon it, then handed it to the trusted aide at his side. After that, his expression grew solemn; he barked at the two kneeling n.
"Kneel properly! Lower your heads!..."
"Ah! Yes!..."
Divine King Avit stretched out his hand and gripped Yun Guishan’s black hair hard, then felt Yun Gushan’s graying head. Then he stood before the two who knelt at his feet, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting as he savored to the full the intoxication of conquest. Only after a quarter of an hour did he pat Yun Guishan’s face and ask:
"Speak! How much food remains stored inside Cloud Mountain City?!..."
"Respected Divine King, the food in the city... is enough for twenty thousand people to eat for a year and a half!... We are willing to offer up all food and wealth, only begging to preserve the Ritual Artifacts of our Ancestors, and so provisions for the journey..."
"Enough for twenty thousand people for a year and a half?!..."
A glint flashed in Divine King Avit’s eyes; for the first ti, genuine joy showed upon his face. This great quantity of food could greatly ease the front’s food supply. And if Cloud Mountain City had truly held out to the death, casting aside the old, weak, won, and children as Sacrifices, it could likely have resisted for another two years... Avit nodded in satisfaction, yet his voice remained stern and imposing, pressing down like a cloud from on high.
"Let the Chief Divine bear witness! Yun Guishan, the Cloud Mountain Tribes resisted the Alliance army, called themselves Divine Race, and worshiped a Fake God—this is in itself a cri deserving the extinction of their lineage! Yet now, you have helped the Alliance annihilate a Sabotek Army, and have turned back from the lost path, returned to the embrace of the Chief Divine, and offered up Cloud Mountain City and its stored food..."
"The Chief Divine possesses both the flaming Fire of Thunderbolt and the warmth of light! Since Xiulote has sworn a Blood Oath with you, that is the oath of the xican Royal Family! The Alliance will abide by the oath and spare the lineage of your Cloud Mountain Tribes... And I, the Divine King to whom you swear fealty, hereby declare... I permit your Cloud Mountain Tribes—twelve thousand tribespeople—to be forcibly migrated and re-enfeoffed at the far Northwestern end of the world!..."
"You may take with you one month’s rations, and under the supervision of a Royal Legion, you will travel along the southwestern pass to the Mistec Seaside! Then you will board the fleets of the Lake Sealed Country in batches, and go to your new Fief. As for the food thereafter, it will naturally be provided by the Lake Sealed Country..."
"Kneel and kowtow! Devoutly serve the Chief Divine, and rember the grace of the xican Royal Family! For the Chief Divine, opening up the Northwestern reaches of the world—this is the fate the Chief Divine bestows upon your Cloud Mountain Tribes!"
"Yes! Yes! Our thanks to you! Supre, rciful, and generous Divine King!..."
Yun Shenshan and Yun Gushi knelt down together and kowtowed twenty tis in a row, fitting precisely the auspicious number in Nava culture. These two docile old foxes, from beginning to end, never once ntioned "Xiulote" in front of the Divine King, nor once uttered "His Highness the Divine Revelation Prophet." When they finally raised their heads, the Divine King’s wooden palanquin had already gone far away, like a "Divine Mountain" receding into the distance.
"By order of the Divine King! Garrison Cloud Mountain Castle! Seize control of all vital points! Quickly!..."
Very soon, large formations of fully ard Alliance Warriors poured into Cloud Mountain City, occupying the key Temples and city walls. The low sobbing that gathered everywhere drifted out with the driven Mixteco Tribe, from the high fortress down onto the low mountain path. The weeping continued without cease, and the long column stretched on without end. In the end, everything beca the migrating, winding Cloud Mountain Tribe, slowly vanishing at the far southwestern end of the mountain road, disappearing in the direction of the Seaside~~
The ancient Mixteco Ancestral Land, the never-fallen Cloud Mountain Fortress, finally surrendered on this day. Thus, the Alliance’s Eastern Army had completely conquered the Mistec Highlands, had conquered all that the Eastern Route needed to conquer! And the southeastern Zapotecs Alliance had also lost all power of attack, and could only cling to their passes and camps, anxiously awaiting a blood-red future.
"May the Chief Divine protect us! Xiulote, next the great army will march west, to join forces and encircle the final Mountain River City! Yun Chen of Mountain River City has already lost the chance to surrender and has been thoroughly besieged by us. He and the Divine Descendants of Mountain River City will be the most perfect Sacrifices in this Divine War among the Mistec people, to be offered to the Chief Divine who has waited so long!..."
At the summit of Cloud Mountain, the ancient Temple had changed masters. The Emblem of the Chief Divine had replaced the statue of the Rain Divine and now hung high at the central divine seat. Outside the Temple, Avit stood with the corners of his mouth lifted, hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the Northwest, separated by only a single mountain. Xiulote, wearing his Ceremonial Dress, stood behind him with head lowered in solemn respect. Mountain River City was in truth not far; from Cloud Mountain City to the Northwest was less than two hundred Li. Of course, before the Eastern Army attacked again, he needed to thoroughly reorganize the Eastern Legion, and also "tidy up" the Great Nobility.
"Xiulote, do you understand my aning now?"
"Yes, Divine King! To promote the lesser Nnobility and Samurai, to deal with the Great Nobility, and to further draw all military power into our hands... This too is the Divine will of the Chief Divine; it is the path I must follow..."
"Very good! Then go and do it. I will summon all the Generals; at noon tomorrow, rits will be rewarded, cris will be punished! As for those who must die, you need not show rcy, in the na of the Chief Divine..."
"Yes! In the na of the Chief Divine!..."
User Comments
0 comments from readers