The sea breeze was warm, and the grass on the shore gave off a rich fragrance. Longboats lay low as they moved over the waves, and the camp stood by the riverbank. Hundreds upon thousands of warriors cheered and howled, while two chiefs sat facing each other and drank together. Priest Tomatl drained a cup of blood wine and laughed boldly.
"Good! Satisfying! Moqi, my brother, I can give you all of these things you want in the future! The kingdom provides you with god-given weapons and equipment, and you provide the kingdom with skilled warriors. It is truly a victory for both sides! If we join hands, we can sweep across the Maya tribes of the north!"
At these words, Chief Moqi's eyes flickered. He reached out familiarly, grabbed Priest Tomatl's arm, looked into his eyes, and spoke a tribal proverb with solemnity.
"Xulucumul! We Putun, 'living beneath the trees in ashes and poverty, cannot see the sky.' Life is always hard. We will keep looking only at what is before our eyes, unable to imagine a future too far away. Brother Tomatl, there are still many weapons on your boats. Our tribe also has many warriors. Before you leave, let us exchange now!"
"Exchange now? In such a hurry?"
Priest Tomatl's expression froze. This Chief Moqi truly was unwilling to wait even a moment.
"How do you want to trade?"
"Five copper axes for one tribal warrior! Two great bows for one warrior! As for your leather armor..."
Chief Moqi narrowed his eyes and greedily sized up the leather armor of the Purepecha Warriors for a while. He had seen similar leather armor on the city-state people, and it was much better than wooden armor. Then he looked, somewhat puzzled, at the bronze cloth armor on Puapu, something