"Cough, cough! The aura of volcanic demons... The priest of the Holy City of Cholula was right... What a pity!..."
Teuctli coughed as he continued to reminisce.
From December of last year to March of this year, the enemy’s situation had beco fairly clear. The southern army of the xica, estimated at fifty thousand n, comprised five legions, all composed of battle-hardened Samurai. Among these legions were the most elite Royal Warriors of the xica, City-State Warriors conscripted from the South, conquered Prepetcha Warriors, Chichica Canine Descendants from the Northern Land, and even Tekos Warriors from the distant West!
Thousands upon thousands of warriors from different origins gathered together, loyally serving under the Black Wolf’s royal banner, surging towards the East like a tide!
In December, the canine squads of the southern enemy were the first to cross the western mountains and infiltrate the valley where Water Valley City was located.
However, the Tlaxcala Four States Alliance was a genuine city-state alliance, where the city lords of each city-state held actual military power. "Black Serpent" Teuctli, as the lord of Water Valley City, was the most powerful tribal leader in the southern state of Tepeyacak. Together with the honorable nobility "Water Serpent" Actotl and the elder priest Xilo, they controlled seventy percent of the military and manpower of Tepeyacak, ruling over nearly three hundred thousand citizens!
In order to resist the xica invasion, the entire state of Tepeyacak was mobilized. By December, around Water Valley City, a total of twelve thousand Tlaxcala warriors, three thousand Cholula warriors, and thirty thousand tribal militia had gathered!
Yes, after the xica Alliance announced their eastern expedition against the Tlaxcala Four States Alliance, the Holy City of Cholula formally decided to join the Tlaxcala side.
At the end of December, the envoys of the Holy City sent out ssages to all directions, requesting support from the various Navarrean divisions. At the sa ti, the priests of the Holy City began to take action, preparing to join the Tlaxcala army to boost the warriors’ morale.
Faced with the cruel divine war of their old nesis, the xica Alliance, the noblen of Tlaxcala had no possibility of surrender. The blood feud between the noblen of both sides ant that the defeated would only face sacrificial offerings... Their only choice was to gather all warriors and militia, and fight to the end against their deadly adversaries who had fought for decades!
The Tlaxcalans mobilized their entire tribe for a stubborn resistance. The canine squads that first entered the area of Water Valley City achieved no significant results. Subsequently, thousands of canine warriors appeared in the western mountains, engaging in fierce battles with the tribal defenders, staining the mountains with blood. anwhile, the southern enemy’s main force, carrying the Black Wolf’s royal banner, appeared before the Mountain Pass Fortress group, more than a hundred miles south.
At the beginning of January, tens of thousands of the xica legions built large camps, gathering outside the Mountain Pass Fortress group on the border.
After a discussion, "Black Serpent" Teuctli, "Water Serpent" Actotl, and elder priest Xilo decided to have "Water Serpent" personally lead reinforcents to the Mountain Pass Fortress group. Along the southern border, using the mountainous terrain and fortresses, seven thousand Tlaxcala warriors and fifteen thousand tribal militia were deployed.
In the eyes of "Black Serpent," the southern defensive line, supported by the terrain and with the aid of Water Valley City, had warriors with high morale, sufficient food supplies, and equipped with many of the latest longbows. Though not invincible, it was at least as stable as a rock, able to hold for over six months!
Initially, the situation was indeed as "Black Serpent" estimated. The xica dispatched thousands of city-state warriors to attack so of the mountain pass fortresses, only to lose hundreds of corpses in vain. However, by mid-January, as the xica constructed wooden siege engines that hurled fireballs, many low-lying fortresses could no longer be held. And by the end of January, when the heavy copper cannons from the Lake Texcoco region arrived, roaring thunderously, they shattered the wooden encampnts...
"Boom! Boom! Boom boom!"
Deafening thunder sounded once again from the south, bringing unstoppable bombardnts!
"Black Serpent" Teuctli closed his eyes in pain and devoutly prayed to the God of the Hunt.
"O supre God of the Hunt! Please bestow boundless divine power, so that the enemy’s copper cannons may be silenced, stripped of their roaring might! Your faithful descendants will offer blood sacrifices in your na..."
The first appearance of the Thunderbolt copper cannons was awe-inspiring and fear-inducing. The most crucial mountain pass fortresses, even those robustly constructed with stone on high mountains, fell in a single day!
The Tlaxcala warriors, terrified by the roar of the thunder, knelt before the divine might of the War God, losing all will to resist. Thousands of warriors laid down their weapons and, together with more militia, walked out of the mountain pass fortresses to surrender to their mortal enemies, the xica.
By mid-February, the mountain pass fortress group, which the Tlaxcalans had built over three to four decades and stretched for tens of miles, was mostly fallen, leaving only a few stone forts held by the noblen. Of the seven thousand city-state warriors and fifteen thousand tribal militia guarding the defensive line, at least three to four thousand had died, and over ten thousand had surrendered.
In just one month, the reinforced mountain pass defensive line was breached, and tens of thousands of the xica legions poured in. "Water Serpent" Actotl was forced to lead seven to eight thousand remnants in a stubborn retreat along the Tarsas River.
The Tlaxcalans worshiped the God of the Hunt as their chief divine, regarding "Cloud Serpent," the god’s incarnation, as the noble bloodline of divine descendants. Every revered honorable nobility was associated with the "serpent."
"Water Serpent" Actotl had never considered surrender. With his identity as a divine descendant, surrendering to the xica would certainly an death. Along his retreat, he gathered able-bodied n from the tribes, using his noble divine identity to command the mountain tribes in guerrilla resistance, delaying the xica’s advance.
By late February, the high priests of the Holy City of Cholula quickly arrived, tily comforting the wavering spirits of the warriors.
"...The War God of the xica has fallen, colluding with the darkness of the underworld! Those fire-spewing wooden beasts and thunderous copper cannons are not divine powers of the War God but the evil powers of volcanic demons! Look, warriors of the God of the Hunt, those vile beasts still exude the scent of the volcanic craters! They will spread disease and darkness, making the God of the Hunt’s descendants forever dood! ... Fight, warriors! You must fight for the Cloud Serpent, and for the land beneath your feet!"
The priests’ words eventually cald the warriors’ spirits but could not change the disparity in strength between the two sides.
The "Black Serpent" dispatched the main force of city warriors to assist the retreating "Water Serpent." Eight thousand Tlaxcala warriors fought a fierce battle with seven thousand pursuing canine legionnaires, only to have their central army shattered by a hidden thousand-strong copper-armored Imperial Guard, losing over half of their forces, with the "Water Serpent" nearly perishing...
By early March, the "Water Serpent" was forced to retreat into Water Valley City and reunite with the stationed "Black Serpent." Together, including the remaining reinforcents from Cholula, they had only six to seven thousand warriors left, completely losing their capability for field battles. However, they still had plenty of militia for defending the city, amounting to fifteen thousand.
The entire south of Water Valley City had fallen. Vast townships and villages, nurous tribes, and warriors were all swept clean by the xica’s army. Billowing black smoke arose from the south, countless citizens strung together with hemp ropes, herded towards the southern horizon, heading to unknown distant places.
"...The cruel xica, where are they taking them? Do even the lowly citizens deserve to be sacrificed to the gods?"
The roar of cannons drowned out the cries of despair. The warriors lined up, prepared to charge up the city’s walls. In this besieged and sorrowful ti, a strange question suddenly flashed through "Black Serpent" Teuctli’s mind. Monts later, he shook his head, dismissing the fate of the citizens. For now, even the noble divine descendants were struggling to survive!
"O supre God of the Hunt! Your descendants once again implore you to silence the enemy’s copper cannons, strip them of their roaring might!..."
As if hearing the prayers of the Black Wolf, the cannon operators outside the southern city wall finally ceased their actions. They carefully touched the scorching cannons, using all their strength to push the wooden cannon fras, pulling the copper cannons to the rear of the army formation. Monts later, the fierce sound of war drums echoed outside the southern city, mingled with faintly audible devout shouts!
"Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!..."
"Praise the Chief Divine!..."
"Sacrifice for the gods!..."
"Roar! Roar!"
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