Chapter 149
This left the Black-Haired Girl on the ground feeling somewhat suffocated, her pupils trembling slightly involuntarily in the face of this unbelievable scale.
In her vision, every branch and leaf was brimming with pure power.
The Black-Haired Girl's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but clench her fists, wanting to curse.
How could such a powerful force exist in this era?! Does such pure Faith also exist on a foreign continent?
After her initial surprise, she heard a mournful shriek piercing the air and saw a silver-haired human standing before her.
"Wouldn't it be better to introduce ourselves before the deathmatch begins?"
Favia glanced at the ship on the sea not far away, then looked at the Black-Haired Girl in front of her and raised her eyebrows slightly.
Blue light flowed across her supple limbs, making her look like Fairy.
The moment Favia saw her, she realized who she was.
The elf residing in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, is able to use the powers of both gods because the City has temples dedicated to the Rain God Tlaloc and the War God Huitzilopochtli, and is devoutly Faith by the Aztec for a long time.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she is now equivalent to the Rain God Tlaloc.
Sensing the newcomer's attitude, Tlaloc, holding the whip, gritted his teeth slightly and then declared:
"Please go die, okay?"
The blue, whip-like weapon, with its pointed tip, stabbed at Favia like a venomous snake. The blue stone fragments rubbed against the air, sparking a dazzling burst of sparks and bringing bursts of blood rain.
Although he was unarmed, Favia, who was quick to react, blocked the sudden stab with his hand. But then he saw the Black-Haired Girl draw a blue-tipped short sword from her waist with her other hand and point it at his face.
Boom!
A blue, laser-like Od shot straight out.
Amidst the roar, Favia gripped the whip tightly and, using his strength, swung Tlaloc up and smashed him away.
But in the next instant, Tlaloc, who had been smashed and left with a deep crater, appeared in front of Favia without warning, without any gap or space for Favia to dodge.
The blue-tipped whip exuded Od, like a terrifying bird opening its mouth, inhaling, and unleashing a terrifying gravitational pull that dragged the enemy toward death.
Immediately afterwards, Favia, who was in front of the whip, vanished into thin air.
By the time Tlaloc realized something was wrong and came to his senses, he was about to leap backward like a cheetah, thus dodging the Od bullet fired from behind. However, even with such a quick reaction, he still couldn't avoid getting a scratch on his face, resulting in a small amount of liquid that looked like blood.
In this light, Favia has indeed avenged the surprise attack he suffered during their initial meeting, since his face was grazed by that beam of light.
In the blink of an eye, Tlaloc showed no sign of backing down, a cold smile playing on his blood-stained face.
Suddenly, the Black-Haired Girl felt a burning pain. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the air was hot.
The sea breeze was clearly blowing towards this human, but for some reason she felt a chill down her spine.
This is bad—
While Tlaloc was thinking this, Favia had already begun.
Boom!
Favia didn't hesitate much and rushed forward almost immediately.
Although they had a brief conversation, he had absolutely no intention of showing any mercy or pity at this moment.
His hands were now his weapons; his right fist flashed like lightning, striking the whip that Tlaloc had swung, while his left fist aimed for the girl's neck.
Bang!
Caught off guard Tlaloc could only avoid injury to his neck, leaving his whip, which served as a weapon, to endure the onslaught.
In fact, Favia's original purpose was just to use the whip as a decoy to strike the neck.
His right hand, now swinging out like a series of cannonballs, created afterimages, causing the whip, unable to withstand the force, to reform.
Then, a tremendous roar resounded through the sky.
A crack appeared in the blue stone at the tip of the whip.
Tlaloc looked stunned by the situation, as if he couldn't believe it.
But Favia didn't care about any of that. She lunged forward, grabbing the Black-Haired Girl's wrist. Tlaloc, reacting quickly, reached out his other hand, trying to grab Favia, but the silver-haired youth was faster. Using his left foot as a pivot, his right leg shot up like a dragon ascending into the sky—
Before the shock on Tlaloc's face, who had been blasted into the sky, had faded, a ghastly crimson stain of blood had already spread from the wound on his chest.
This is undoubtedly overwhelming Violence.
To be fair, Tlaloc had fought with all his might.
But in reality, just as the world of Magecraft says, the battle between the mysterious was already over before it even began; that's the nature of their existence.
Specifically timed operations, destroying the ships on board, utilizing the power of the sea, and so on.
However, to Tlaloc's surprise, this human ignored all the rules and used every means to abuse and trample on her.
Despite this, Tlaloc did not back down, putting his serious injuries aside and intending to continue fighting.
Because she absolutely could not tolerate any being capable of destroying the Aztec Empire setting foot on this land—
Before that, a few violent tremors from not far away reached the two of them.
"Just you wait."
Tlaloc clenched his fists, suppressing his rage. "I will kill you, stranger! I will never forget your face, the taste of your blood! No matter how long it takes, I will return to this world and devour your flesh completely!"
For her, it must have been truly unbearable to have a battle that she should have fought to the end interrupted like this.
As soon as she finished speaking, the surrounding environment instantly returned to normal. The blood on the ground dried up quickly, and the dark clouds in the sky dissipated at a visible speed, as if nothing had happened.
Then, just as Tlaloc was about to dissipate, Favia rushed back with an expressionless face. When he clenched his fists and slashed down through the air again, it produced a high-pitched sound like steel rubbing against metal.
The fist was already inches away, close to Tlaloc's eyes.
Ultimately, it came to an abrupt end.
"Then I'll be waiting patiently. Hopefully, you'll be stronger by then. And of course, please do a better job with the sneak attack, okay?"
"... You bastard--"
Favia smiled slightly as she watched the Black-Haired Girl finally show anger as she dissipated.
He then quietly stayed on the shore, and not long after, Bavan Shi, who was on the boat, also successfully steered the boat to the shore.
In addition, there was a group of people who quickly arrived from the dense forest, dressed in clothes that were somewhat ancient for Sixteenth Century Europe.
The people in this group had mostly light black skin, and Favia knew they were from the Aztec Empire.
However, Favia found it strange that she could understand their language, even though she hadn't learned it herself.
Bavan Shi, standing to the side, was puzzled by the inexplicable chatter of this group of people.
Not long after, a man who was clearly a leader, with a face that showed both a touch of world-weariness and a hint of innocence, stood before Favia and asked:
"Are you the messenger of Quetzalcoatl, the Quetzalcoatl?"
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231: --In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (5k5)
In 1519, Central and South America was still home to many tribes, most of which were subordinate to the dominant Aztec Empire.
The Aztec Empire was initially a tripartite alliance of three city-states. However, as time went on, after the defeat of the former Aztec Tepanec Kingdom, the city-state of Tenochtitlan became the dominant force among the three. By the time Favia arrived, the other two city-states had already become its vassals.
Before the great battle between Tlaloc and Favia on the coastline, in the capital of the Aztec Empire, a man with light black skin stood in the Royal Palace near the city center, looking down upon the heart of the empire, and all that was gradually growing stronger under his rule.
Tenochtitlan's streets and squares are neatly arranged. The city is square, and the city center is a complex of buildings centered around a 35-meter-high Great Temple dedicated to the Rain God Tlaloc and the War God Wezilopochtli.
The central square was surrounded by high walls and palaces and mansions. The city had a 10-kilometer-long flood control dike and two stone channels that brought fresh water into the city from the land.
The man's name was Montezuma Xocoyotzin, meaning young Montezuma. In the most widely known translation, he was Montezuma II, the ninth ruler of the Aztec Empire. It can be said that the Tripartite Alliance became a one-man show in Tenochtitlan entirely thanks to him.
During their rebellion against the rule of the Tepaneks, the three cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed an alliance, which is the precursor to what is now known as the Aztec. The status of the three cities was mainly reflected in the 2:2:1 distribution of spoils, in which sense Tenochtitlan and Texcoco were equal.
As time went on, Tenochtitlan surpassed Texcoco, and the weakest, Tlacopan, was a fence-sitter. Under these circumstances, during the death of the Texcoco ruler, Möngke II used his power to appoint himself as the ruler of Texcoco, the nephew born to his sister in marriage to the deceased Texcoco king. When other candidates gathered their forces to seize power, he personally led his troops to stop them and won the Texcoco throne through negotiations.
In addition to this, Montezuma II also had an extremely strong military record. When he was still a prince, he became the head of the "Council of Four" in the central military department of the Aztec Empire, which can be understood as the Aztec version of the Grand Marshal.
He then spent eight years launching continuous attacks on the Zapotecs, Mixtec, and Tlapanecs in the South, allowing the Aztec Empire's territory to continue to expand rapidly under his rule until 1519 when only a few small city-states in the South retained their independence.
Under Mongol II, the empire was divided into thirty-eight provinces. He dispatched officials, accompanied by military garrisons, to ensure tax collection, uphold national laws, and serve as local judges in case of disputes.
These provinces were divided according to their functions into Strategic Province that focused on military functions and were managed by troops dispatched by the empire, and Tribute Province to the central region.
The intervention of management, law, and the military in local areas, while nominally retaining the status of the rulers of each city-state as de facto leaders, effectively stripped away this power through this combination of measures. This policy deepened the centralization of power within the empire and was a sign of its progress.
It could be said that Montezuma II was the driving force behind the Aztec Empire's transformation into a 'true empire in Central and South America '... if this ancient empire were to continue existing or even outlive the rest of the world.
At this moment, Moctezuma II withdrew his gaze from the Great Temple dedicated to the Rain God Tlaloc and the War God Wezilopochtli. In the room where he was alone, a rather decadent atmosphere permeated the air.
In fact, any Aztec would normally be delighted to be in this room, which served as a forum for imperial policy discussions, and the only thing that created such a decadent atmosphere was the gaze of Moctezuma II, who was located there.
"Quetzal, ah..."
Moctezuma II murmured to himself, but for some reason, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Quetzal Koyatl is the Aztec name of the Quetzalcoatl Kukulkan.
"Quetzalcoatl, when will you return? Please come back soon!"
Almost no Aztec could see that area atop the Great Temple; they probably couldn't even comprehend it.
Because of the Great Temple, a temple dedicated to the Rain God and the War God, even though the Age of Gods had passed for many years, Moctezuma II, who became the ruler of the Aztec, could still sense that there was a power stored in the temple that was far stronger than that of the priests in the empire.
Moctezuma II remembered the saying passed down through generations:
The power of God can hold the entire world in the palm of one's hand.
Though the gods have departed, their arms still scan the entire world; this is the power to know things in distant, unknowable places.
That being said, Moctezuma II also understood that the power of the past had vanished, or rather, could no longer be exerted, and these ancient artifacts could only be discarded... But he couldn't do that.
Yes, he couldn't do it. Moctezuma II knew he couldn't change the 'Human Sacrifice' that everyone in the empire had long been accustomed to.
Whenever the Great Temple flashes with a light that only the ruler can see, it marks the beginning of another Human Sacrifice.
For the Aztec, the "Sun" was the most important thing. In Aztec mythology, the world was created four times and destroyed four times. Each time it was created, a new Sun would be produced to illuminate the whole world.
So, in order to keep the Sun shining on mankind, they developed the custom of regularly sacrificing human blood and hearts to the Sun. In order to continuously replenish the offerings for live sacrifices, the Aztec had to constantly fight to obtain prisoners as offerings in the festivals. For this reason, wars often broke out between cities, known as the "Flower Wars." Once they had obtained the number of prisoners they needed, they would begin to establish truce agreements.
But this was precisely what Moctezuma II found unacceptable. In 1516, when the Aztec Three Cities Alliance waged war for a festival, they captured a warrior alive.
According to the rules of the Flower Wars, captured warriors were to be taken back and sacrificed as Human Sacrifice. This was an acceptable fate for the defeated warriors, as in the Aztec belief, offering one's strength to the Deity was an honor.
However, Moctezuma II did not wish for the warrior to die and pardoned him. The warrior, however, was unwilling to accept this. He had only helped the Aztec army against the powerful western Central America nation of Tarascan in 1517 out of gratitude for Moctezuma II's appreciation, capturing many Tarascan prisoners. He still demanded an honorable death from Montezuma II, who could only arrange a duel. The warrior defeated more than ten opponents before finally being killed, thus achieving his "release."
In fact, the reason Moctezuma II was unwilling to kill him, besides valuing his talent, was more importantly because during that war, despite being accustomed to battlefield experience, he witnessed the eyes of his enemies—
A look of pure disgust and hatred, not directed at the battle, but at the people of the Aztec Empire.
Although such looks were not unusual on the battlefield, Moctezuma II had a premonition that if things continued this way, the Aztec Empire would be destroyed by the surrounding tribes that had incurred hatred due to years of war.
Therefore, this made him, who already Faith Quetzalcoatl, even more eager for the day Quetzalcoatl would return.
According to Aztec mythology, during the reign of Quetzalcoatl, Quetzal Quetzalcoatl, the world was at peace, and life was prosperous and peaceful.
However, due to the machinations of Tezcatlipoca, who was incarnate as a black Sun, Quetzalcoatl was forced to relinquish his rule and leave the area.
"Oh, where are you headed?" he asked with ill intent. "Why are you leaving your capital?"
"I'm going back to Tlapallan," said Quetzalcoatl, "And you know why."
"I feel like I don't know."
"... I must return to our Maya," Quetzalcoatl replied. "And one day, you too will have to return there. Then, after I've thoroughly beaten you, I will return here!"
"Well then, go happily," he said, "But I still hope your bird brain will be working properly by then!"
"You bastard who only knows destruction, bloodlust, and war, who Sacrifice his life..."
"You damn bird brain, what do you know about fighting bravely, indulging in pleasure, and dying fiercely? Anyone who doesn't intend to shed blood should just disappear from my sight. This world doesn't need anyone who can't get hurt. This is a world where everyone has to pay a price, a world where everyone will sacrifice themselves."
Then, Quetzalcoatl came to the seashore, boarded a giant golden ship like a palace, towed by sea serpents, and sailed towards Tlapallan.
"... One day, when I return from the sea, I will deny all of this."
Moctezuma II's devotion to the Quetzalcoatl was not solely due to his desire to abolish Human Sacrifice; rather, it stemmed from the fact that the Aztec's original Faith was in the Quetzalcoatl.
The ancestors of the Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan. According to legend, they traveled south to Lake Texcoco in the Anahuac Valley, guided by the Quetzalcoatl.