The Sun slanted faintly westward, casting rosy light across the cloud-filled sky. The warriors' cheers scattered atop the lofty pyramid, then rang through the city all along the path of the Royal Banner as it inspected northward.
King Avet's expression was stern and majestic. First, he inspected the pyramid temple and the divine-blood sacrifices; then he went to the granaries in the north of the city and examined Tree Snake City's stores of grain.
Tree Snake City was not especially large, but its granaries truly covered a considerable area, even surpassing an ordinary noble estate. The gray granaries were built of brick and stone. The portion exposed above the ground was only two or three meters high, while the main underground portion was three times the height of what stood aboveground!
"Mm? This entire granary is piled with volcanic rock, then reinforced with corn mortar?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty! The whole granary was dug very deep, and even the cellar portions were paved with stone bricks and treated against damp during the rainy season. In a dry, low-temperature granary like this, air-dried corn and jerky can even be stored for several years. I asked the old craftsmen in the city. Over the years, Tree Snake City expanded its granaries several times, preparing for war at every moment. And the storage of grain in the city was the chief concern of every generation of city lord."
Chief Intelligence Officer Gilim bowed respectfully and reported in detail. After Tree Snake City fell, he had immediately sent men to take control of the city's granaries, and had personally inspected them twice.
In truth, in this Tlaxcalan city-state, what he cared about most was not the temple, nor any divine-blooded nobles, but the granaries and the grain. The Alliance army was campaigning far from home;