"Hmm? You want me to go to the Mixtec front and request the Divine King's decision?..."
The great hall was solemn and still. The heads on the altar stared up at the towering idol, like a first audience across eras and across the sea. Main God Elder Acap pondered briefly, a thousand thoughts turning through his mind in an instant, then nodded solemnly without the slightest pause.
"Yes! I obey you, High Priest Uger! I will set out tomorrow, taking the High Priest Council's opinion with me, to seek audience with the Divine King at the Yodzocahi front! Praise the supreme Divine King!..."
"Praise the Main God! Praise the Divine King!"
The many elders all dipped their heads and echoed the words. Going south to the Mixtec front, more than a thousand li there and back, was hard errand work. And the symbolic meaning of it far outweighed the practical.
After all, the demon heads had been paraded with great fanfare, passed slowly from city-state to city-state, until the entire highland had long since learned of them. Divine King Avet's side must have received the news early on. And since the Divine King had never sent an envoy over, that in itself showed a neutral attitude—neither active support nor suppression.
The Priest Elders were all old foxes. Seeing one leaf, they knew autumn had come; with just a little tasting of the matter, they could sense within it the Divine King's hesitation, wary yet trusting, and somewhat helpless besides. Under such circumstances, going south to seek audience with the Divine King was plainly a thankless task that took effort without winning favor.
But in politics, form always mattered more than reality. The High Priest Council knew the Divine King had long known, yet still had to send someone to formally