"Marshal, Xiu Mole and Tona Weiwei Priest have repaired the Divine Spirit Giant Eye. The Chief God's priests can hold a grand miraculous ritual at any time!"

"Oh?! Has it been tested?"

"It has been tested. The Divine Spirit Giant Eye just ascended into the sky, causing a collective commotion and worship among the Kanul laborers building the port, as well as the recruited Brocade Snake militia. At this moment, the preaching priests of the Chief God are proclaiming the miracles to them. As for the eastern Kanul City-State and villages, many Maya tribes should have witnessed it..."

Upon hearing such news, Bertade's expression brightened. He put down his writing brush, walked to the entrance of the tent, and gazed at the salt village construction site not far away, and the sacrificial square by the sea in the distance.

Faint sounds of commotion drifted in the wind, seemingly mixed with the priests' devout prayers and the reverent repetition by the Maya tribespeople. Bertade listened intently for a moment, his mouth curled into a slight smile, and he instructed.

"Very good! Then send envoys to communicate with the Mayapan Royalty, the Kanul Nobles, the Brocade Snake Clan Head, the Pudun Tribes' Chieftains... Invite them all to come to Salt Village by the end of next month to witness the Chief God's descending miracle, the eternal sky festivity!"

"Yes! Marshal!"

The confidant hurried away, and the swift envoys were also about to set out. Bertade, with his hands behind his back, looked at the salt village construction site, the early forms of the earthen city and the reservoir for a long time, before turning back to his tent.

In the simple marshal's tent, there was no luxurious gemstones or bright feather decorations in the style of the Mayans, only a few bows, axes, long spears, and armor hanging, along with a wide desk, a damp-proof book box, and a plain grass bed. A large leather map of the Maya was spread out on the desk, densely marked with numerous annotations.

"To the west of the Yucatan Coast lies the territory of the Kanul Clan. Presently, the Western Maya Coast has the Northern Salt Village, which is completely under the Kingdom's control, and the Southern Kanu City where the Kingdom Legion is stationed."

"These two coastal strongholds, along with the War God's Temple Fortress stationed outside Cotton City, the inland capital of the Kanul Clan, are the Kingdom's three footholds in the entire western lowlands of the Maya..."

"And the several tens of miles area surrounding these three strongholds will be the focal point of the Kingdom's operations, serving as the core foundation..."

Bertade extended his fingers, pointing to three spots on the abstract yet very accurate map of Yucatan, and drew a circle.

According to the shared calendar of Aztec and Maya, it is currently the Year of 2 Rabbit, Month of 1 Flower (June 1494), two years since the Kingdom launched the banner for the revival of the Mayapan Royalty, and invaded the Maya lands. It has also been a year and a half since Bertade, in the name of Mayapan Clan Chief Ti'aj Kin, initiated the Cotton City Tribe Gathering.

During this year and a half, as the East Sea Marshal, Bertade did not command any major battles of the legion. Instead, he entrusted the frontline combat tasks, along with the main forces of two legions, to the Dog Clan Army's Legion Commander Black Wolf, and the Coastal Legion's Vice Legion Commander Tupa.

Among them, the "Horror" Black Wolf was responsible for the coastal advancement, spending two years to march from the Yucatan West Coast, through the North Coast, and advancing to the East Coast. He first wiped out the Xiulote subordinates Yan Feather and Luchong Clan, stationed at the Qi Jin Tribe, then cooperated with the Yan Island's Prince Yan Lake to launch a surprise attack, overthrowing the Yixi Clan, a coup within the Yan Island Clan, and annexed half of the Ekab Chiefdom.

Thus, after annihilating three Maya Clans and breaking through six city-states, the sea route to Cuba has been completely opened! The Kingdom's legions can finally continuously transport the Kingdom's main force to Cuba in large scale!

The Black Wolf Army continued to recruit, and with the recent addition of transportation supplies from the Grassland Dog Descendants, the force kept growing, amounting to nearly twenty thousand. However, the coastal area occupied by the Black Wolf Army was extremely long, with scattered forces stationed at eight or nine coastal strongholds, the mobile field troops roughly consisted of an eight thousand legions.

As for the "Lucky" Tupa, who was promoted from Imperial Guard Commander to Coastal Vice Legion Commander by Xiulote, it broke the ceiling of promotion. Subsequently, Bertade assigned him half of a four thousand Coastal Legion, along with two thousand Pudun Barbarian Soldiers, totaling six thousand warriors, stationed in the vicinity of Kanul Cotton City.

Tupa's military mission had two objectives. The first, and the most important one, was to protect the Mayapan Royalty's royal banner, including the last Kekum Divine Descendants. This was the key legal basis for the Kingdom's Maya war, and also the banner that divided over ten Maya Clan Chiefdoms and obtained local tribal supplies and guides!

The second task was to lead the coastal legion and barbarian tribes, continuously engage in small-scale warfare with Xiulote Clan together with Kanul Clan. On the surface, this mission was to constrain Xiulote Clan's main forces, preventing them from having spare capacity to harass the Northern Coast. Secretly, it was also a battle supervision against Kanul Clan, forcing them to truly mobilize warriors to entangle in first-line warfare with Xiulote.

The fragmentary terrain of the jungle drastically limited troop input. If a troop of over a thousand penetrated the deep Maya Jungle for an expedition, the logistics would be almost disastrous. Therefore, the "Mayapan side" and the "Xiulote side's" jungle combats constantly entailed battalions consisting of several hundred to a thousand warriors.

Both sides continuously spilled the blood of warriors in the dense and perpetually dark forest sea, as if for the sacrificial ritual to please their respective Chief Divines. Among these casualties, eighty percent were blood of Maya tribes, while only twenty percent belonged to the seaside tribes...

"May the Chief Divine bear witness! Black Wolf and Tupa are both brave generals capable of fighting and winning! The specific battles can be entrusted to them! My task is to sit firmly here, govern the rear of Salt Village, maintain all logistical supplies, and ensure smooth communication between the clans…"

"Meet with the clan chieftains of various tribes, become a spokesperson for the Kingdom capable of making promises, to increase friends instead of enemies for the Kingdom… Then lead the recruited civilian militia of various tribes as a foreman in constructing port fortifications, helping the Kingdom establish a real basic foundation and spread the faith of the Chief Divine!…"

Bertade stroked his chin, drawing circles around the three strongholds, with a very clear line of thought. Xiulote had once told him that all of war serves political purposes, and that one must constantly reflect on every choice made, to avoid fighting for the sake of fighting. Clearly, Bertade had taken these teachings to heart, and with the benefit of experience, understood them even more deeply than Xiulote!

The political goal of the Kingdom in the Maya has never truly been about helping Mayapan restore its state, but rather to open the coastal routes to Cuba. Then, to establish the Kingdom and even the Mexica Alliance's influence over the various tribes of the Maya Jungle, and to set up real direct and indirect rule!

With this mindset, after the clan gathering at Kapok City, Bertade did not risk leading a large army to decisively invade the Jungles, attack Xiu Territory, and engage the Xiu Clan in a final battle. In fact, after leaving Tupa's 6,000 men, he took the main force of the Kingdom Legion, 4,000 Imperial Guards and the remaining 4,000 Coastal Legion, and took a step back, garrisoning between the coastal strongholds of Salt Village and Kanu City.

The Kingdom's main force thus contracted toward the Western Sea Coast, turning the standoff between "Mayapan" and "Xiu" from short-term to long-term. The Canul Lineage, situated in the middle, was suddenly in a tight spot. They had initially planned to "follow the deer's tail," providing logistics and auxiliary troops, while watching the Kingdom and Xiu's main force vie for victory!

But now, the Kingdom, wrapped around the Canul Lineage, declared war on the Xiu side but refused to engage decisively. Instead, the Kingdom's large army retreated to the Western Sea Coast, placing the Canul Lineage at the forefront, transforming them into "deer antlers pressed against the deer's head." As a result, the Canul Lineage found themselves "blocked from both ends," sandwiched between two powerful forces, truly in a miserable plight!

No matter whether the Canul Lineage had genuinely supported the Mayapan Royalty, pretended to ally, or harbored ulterior motives, and regardless of any secret connections with the Xiu Clan… At this point, with the Kingdom's large army pressing against their vulnerable back, and garrisoning at the heart of Kapok City, they could only find themselves helplessly becoming "the Kingdom's vanguard."

In the past two years, the Canul Lineage has had a lot to consider, but no choice. Meanwhile, Bertade has many choices but doesn't need to consider them. His plan is very simple, very plain, which is building step by step—building fortresses for the Kingdom in Maya, and building forts at three strongholds at the same time!

By recruiting thousands of tribespeople, a solid earthen city was established at the Salt Village port, paving large water reservoirs, cultivating cassava and corn fields with stable irrigation, and building a surrounding village.

By intermarrying with Maya Nobles of Kanu City, converting and thoroughly controlling Kanu City and the surrounding villages, turning it from an earthen city into a fortress of the Chief Divine.

Lastly, outside Kapok City, vastly expanding the original "War God's Temple," and establishing a circle of garrison villages. Nominally, this was to construct the "Chief Divine's Pyramid Temple," but in reality, it was to construct an indestructible "Chief Divine Fortress"!

Thus, with the military garrison as the backbone, rooting firmly on the Western Sea Coast of the Maya, while preaching, migration, and intermarriage steadily advance. These three military strongholds of the Kingdom are also the faith centers where the Priest of the Chief Divine propagate the belief. The priests of the Chief Divine are continuously arriving from the Kingdom and Alliance, spreading the radiant glory of the Highland Chief Divine among the Canul Lineage!

And to truly let the faith of the Chief Divine break through the traditional influence of the Maya Old Gods, truly embed itself in the hearts of the local Maya tribespeople… Bertade personally wrote a long letter to Xiulote, solemnly requesting the arrival of the "Eye of the Divine Spirit" hot air balloon, this divine artifact of missionary work!

"If the old faith of the Maya Old Gods is not shattered, no matter how many tribes are conquered, it will not gain true control over the Maya tribes! The migration and intermarriage of Black Wolf's Barbarian Tribe is a feasible method, but it is too brutal and harsh and can only be applied in a few coastal strongholds…"

"And to assimilate tens of thousands, millions of Maya tribespeople, to integrate these ant people devoutly believing in the Divine Spirit and following the priests… One can only use a more powerful, irresistible 'divinity' to shatter the old worship and overshadow the heavens of their souls!"

"This missionary divine artifact, the Eye of the Divine Spirit, possesses a stabilizing power greater than a legion's military force! Its 'divinity' effect in touching hearts cannot be replaced by any amount of military force when replacing the Maya Old Gods!…"

"Under the protection of the Chief Divine! Now, after more than half a year of transport, this artifact, one of only a few in the Kingdom, has finally arrived in the Maya!… I am eager to see it rise into the sky and to witness the people of Maya tribes, especially the lower-level tribespeople, being awed and conquered by it!…"

At this moment, Bertade confidently extended his finger and heavily pointed on the map at the Salt Village on the coast! The spirit seed of the Chief Divine Faith was about to be planted from this newly established Kingdom stronghold, into the hearts of the twenty thousand Maya tribespeople around!

"My duty has never been about the gains and losses of one city or one place, nor about winning or losing a battle, but about the allegiance and support of the hearts of the Maya people! I will build water reservoirs and forts, establishing a new order from the tribe's production to livelihood, all the way to the core of faith."

"I want to use two axes, of bronze and soul, to fell the old forest sea of the Maya Old Gods, to plant the seeds of the Chief Divine, and to grow a towering Cotton God Tree. I will carefully nurture it, to burn fields, store water, and expand the Yucatan Peninsula, until its roots extend throughout the entire Maya!…"

"That is my duty, as the East Sea Marshal, to construct faith fortresses and gradually control the Maya! Only by establishing the Chief Divine's foundation in the Maya lands can we long support the Chief Divine's frontline fortress and resist the fiery land invasion of Evil Demons in Cuba! The prolonged divine war!…"