Chapter 1362: Chapter 1362

"Praise the Chief Divine! He bestows the divinity of the Sun, guiding the victory of the Divine War of the Western Campaign! As long as the flag of death is raised, the enemies in the Chapala Lake Region can only die at the feet of the Divine War Warriors!..."

The sun slanted west, setting toward the west, like a sacred omen. And the Grand Festival of the Western Campaign also approached its final end. Amid the cheers of tens of thousands of Samurai and Militia, the Western Campaign Marshal Yinkuluka knelt on the Divine Platform. He held the Marshal’s Scepter bestowed by His Highness, wore the Eagle Feather Helmet of the kingdom’s nobility, and accepted the divine banner granted by the War God Elder Azar, representing the God King!

"The God has departed! He grants us the courage of Divine War and promises us victory in the Western Campaign! Go forth! Warriors of the Alliance and the Kingdom, flatten the Chapala Lake Region, let the City-States and villages there all convert to the Chief Divine! Finally, capture the Divine Descendant of Chapala and sacrifice the evil Feather Prince by blood! ... Praise the Chief Divine!"

"Divine War! Conversion! Capture! Blood sacrifice! ... Praise the Chief Divine!"

Tens of thousands of Samurai and Militia let out exhilarating shouts, marking the final Chapter of the Grand Festival! Then, fifteen Samurai squads of two hundred each, carrying 2.5-meter-long Spears, marched in neat formations along the Lerma River, advancing downstream toward the west. On both their flanks were two thousand Tribal Warriors holding Long Bamboo Bows, forming loose formations for scouting ahead and on the wings!

These five thousand Pike Warriors and Tribal Warriors are the vanguard of the kingdom’s Western Campaign, destined to continuously establish camps and fortifications along their riverine route. Hundreds of kingdom vessels, escorted by the Alliance’s Naval Forces, also transported the military’s supplies and provisions for the Western Campaign. Once the fortifications are completed, they will be garrisoned by the Defending Army, storing logistical supplies and military equipment, and the subsequent main army’s westward advance will be much faster! ...

Watching the army march in orderly fashion, Monkey Kuluka lowered his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

He has been in the army for twenty years and has been a Legion Commander for many years. He has been promoted and nurtured from the commoner samurai, and now has a large group of excellent core members and officers under him. So, for him, leading the army to fight, commanding the battle formations, is not difficult at all. But what is truly difficult and dangerous, what makes him cautious, like walking on the edge of a cliff, is today’s situation, being positioned on the Divine Platform, where he could be shattered at any moment in political struggles! ...

"True heroes... are not just those who face death calmly on the battlefield! ..."

Monkey Kuluka stood silently again, remembering the scene he saw during the Western Campaign when the Family Head of the Sky committed suicide. Back then, he thought true heroes should have the courage to fight to the death in military wars! And now, he has gained more insight, that in political struggles, one must also be able to fight to the death! ...

"May the Chief Divine protect us! Esteemed Marshal Kuluka, the Grand Festival has been completed; you must command the grand army’s Western Campaign, and I must hurry back to report..."

The War God Elder Azar smiled. He looked appreciatively at the plain-looking commoner marshal in front of him and spoke gently.

"Come, let us go to the Main God Temple in the city, to offer the noble Feather Crown and the Marshal’s Scepter bestowed by the God King! I only need to see your sincere offering... As for whether you accept the consecrated tokens in this temple or not, that is for the God King and His Highness to judge! ..."

"Good! May the Chief Divine protect us!"

Upon hearing this, Monkey Kuluka nodded respectfully. He handed the traditional divine flag bestowed by the King to his trusted aide. Then he glanced at the Lake Capital City’s Chief Priest Mawilo, who looked guilty, and smiled warmly and kindly.

"Esteemed Chief Priest Mawilo! You need not worry... I only accepted the Sun’s divine banner, the God King’s majesty stands supreme, and the alliance’s tradition has not been violated... As for the Feather Crown symbolizing the alliance’s honorable nobility, and the Marshal’s Scepter symbolizing the alliance’s marshal, they will be offered at the Main God Temple in Rivermouth County, revered like a Holy Relic... this way, between the God King and His Highness, we should be able to maintain both sides..."

Lake Capital City’s Chief Priest Mawilo remained silent for a moment before finally showing a look of admiration and thanked quietly.

"Thank you for your hard work, Marshal Kuluka!" Chapters fırst released on NoveIＦire.net

Monkey Kuluka nodded gently. Then, alongside the War God Elder Azar, he descended from the blood-stained altar to the luminous temple. On the sacrificial altar remained only the congealed blood of the Strait Gold Clan Leader Pachjo, and a vivid life burned to ashes.

That was, in this instance of the alliance’s cruel and bloody political struggle, the initial conspicuous sacrifice, an important tool in the midst of the conflict, and at last, the cold dust that no one cared about...

Two days later, the War God Elder Azar boarded a longship with a thousand heavily armored Temple Guards, returning hastily to the Lake Capital City just as he had come. More than thirty enormous longships in total rowed their oars, heading upstream against the current!

"With the kingdom’s shipbuilding technology... the alliance’s oar-sailed longships... have become so many, so large! ..."

Monkey Kuluka stood by the Long River, watching the massive longships head east, his expression somewhat moved. He understood the purpose of the alliance’s longship visit, and he had witnessed it for several days. Yet his inner turmoil could not be soothed.

In the ongoing centralized reforms, the supreme God King Avit has already grasped most of the alliance’s three million citizens in his hands! With the alliance’s abundant timber reserves, vast number of craftsmen, and the extreme mobilization of civilian labor and strength, creating these more than thirty longships is not difficult. This also implies that the alliance, dominating the upstream of the Lerma River, holds a strong naval advantage over the northern lower kingdom...

"May the Chief Divine protect us! The Kingdom of the Lake is rapidly expanding, and the Mexica Alliance is continuously centralizing, together controlling the world. And with the alliance having double the size, along with the tributes from various southern and northern states, the forces that the alliance can mobilize far exceed those of the kingdom! ..."

"But His Highness focuses on the overall situation, for the prophecy of Divine Revelation, dispersing the Kingdom of the Lake’s forces everywhere... the conquest of the Eastern Coast, the colonization of the Western Coast... while the alliance’s forces are concentrated in the Mexican Valley, ready to strike in any direction at any time..."

Thinking of this, Monkey Kuluka pursed his lips, genuinely somewhat worried.

Today’s political struggle has clearly shown God King Avit’s stance. He no longer wishes to allow the Kingdom of the Lake to expand at will but intends to start intervening. After all, no matter how much he trusts His Highness Xiulote, how dearly he loves Princess Alisa, how much he favors Prince Xiu Hua... he remains the deeply cunning and ruthless God King who murdered his brother for the throne, who has suppressed countless nobility, who controls the High Priesthood!

This is politics; under the harsh Mexica Tribal Alliance system, no king would be a fool. Because without a patriarchal order, or primogeniture, there is only the blood and fire of power’s alternation! ...

"Oh, Your Highness! I was supposed to be just an ordinary, commoner-born military officer, but it was you who saved me from the God King’s hands, who appreciated me, who taught me... step by step, allowing me to reach today’s position, even becoming a marshal, leading the kingdom’s conquests! ..."

Thinking of this, Monkey Kuluka looked towards the east, gazing at the clouds on the horizon, with tears slightly wetting his eyes.

"For your great cause, even if I sacrifice myself at the Grand Festival, it is nothing! ... But what I truly worry about is you! ..."

"God King Avit’s will has already become clear... When will you return from the Eastern Campaign? And with the God King’s decisions, will it be so easy for you to return? ..."

"Without the end of the Eastern Campaign, you cannot return. And if the Eastern Campaign is a complete victory... when facing the victory festival in the Lake Capital City, facing the inevitable summons of the God King and the High Priesthood... would you go or not go?"

"... Perhaps, I should prepare early... May the Chief Divine protect us! ..."

The sun set, the Lerma River shimmered with golden light, flowing towards the vast downstream. Monkey’s sighs and inquiries dissipated into the rushing waters, drifting farther to the west.

At this moment, the ruler of the Kingdom of the Lake was in the eternally warm and distant Eastern Seaside. He did not hear Monkey’s loyal thoughts, nor did he see the sunset on the horizon. He was merely squatting in the fertile fields, looking at a newly sprouted short and thick stem, with a heartfelt smile on his face.

"May the Chief Divine protect us! ... This is cassava! ... A Divine Object capable of doubling the population of the world to tens of millions! ..."