The King's Western Tour: Guarding the Southwest, The Third Glorious Noble!

The sun drifted west, light flowing through sparse shadows. Everyone stood at the edge of the mountains, feeling the February wind blow past—neither cold nor hot. Marching across the tropical plateau was comparatively easy, and with little need for warmth, they did not require too much baggage.

As far as Xolotl could see, faint marching dust rose beneath the sky. Even though more than half a month had passed, the columns escorting the Tecos captives still stretched on without end, winding out from the mountains to the southwest. Looking closely, the captives emerging from the mountains were increasingly gaunt, clearly having marched for a long time.

The king pondered for a moment, then spoke calmly.

"Ezpan, I once said that if you could get me a hundred thousand people, you would be the first meritorious subject of the southern campaign! Now, how many people have you gathered?"

"Your Majesty, over this past month and more, the army has pushed deep into the mountains, cleaning up the aftermath of General Black Wolf's sweep. The harvest of captives has been extremely rich!"

Ezpan bowed respectfully and reported in detail.

"Nearly thirty thousand captives were seized in the Hand-Snake Basin, and by now they have all been escorted to the Apa Plain. Among them are the entire Shield Tribe, the dependents of the Palm Family, and mountain folk from various tribes. South of Wild Mountain Village, in the mountain passes and valleys, about twenty thousand people were seized, and they have only just been transported out of the mountains. The great columns of captives now passing through Kan River Village are basically this batch. Farther south, General Caca gathered in thirty thousand displaced people along the two-hundred-li coastline outside Palm Bay. Most of these people have already reached the Hand-Snake Basin. In a