Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1730 - 1237: Swearing an Oath by the Xi River

"Damn it! Shameless! Sea rat!... Ancestors! You featherless little bird, how dare you ambush me! I'll chop off your head and play ball with it!!..."

"Wait! Ancestors! Feathered Master, just now it was... a slip of the hand... the samurai fired arrows out of indignation, without my command!... You are my master, I truly did not order anyone to harm you, how could I dare! ... Chief Divine bears witness! Listen to my command, no one is allowed to shoot any arrows this time!..."

In front of Xi River Village, where the river and sea meet fiercely, with sea winds howling. The Feather Prince, Pengguari, still shaken, narrowly escaped two arrows grazing through his hair, repeatedly patting his head!

If not for today's strong winds, if not for his nest hairstyle interfering with the shot, if not for his knees buckling and him kneeling immediately... he would have been hit, shot in the forehead! A lifetime of shooting geese and tricking others, who would've thought he'd nearly be pecked by a little bird by the riverbank!...

Amidst the urgent escort by clan trusted aides, Feather Penguinari rolled and crawled, retreating three or four dozen steps swiftly, still feeling a shiver in his heart. He was first shocked and furious, then erupted in rage, finally glaring fiercely at the walls of Xi River Village, unleashing curses at the little crow Xite Weivei, who looked surprised and worried.

"Ah, phooey! Little crow, where did you learn to be so shameless? Does Old Crow in the Divine Kingdom know, are you really his grandchild?... Three Gods bear witness! Today I must clean up the family for Old Crow; I'll chop off your head and use it as a rubber ball on the human sacrifice field!"

"Feathered Master, I truly don't dare harm you! You're so agile, kneeling so swiftly, just like the legendary Divine Sparrow! No one can harm you!... Let's talk, let's talk it over well again! This time I've restrained the warriors, no one dares harm you anymore, I swear!..."

"Go to hell, little crow! There's never been a trap that could deceive Feather twice! You've successfully angered me; I won't let you go!"

Yelling this, Feather Penguinari's red face was distorted with fury. He turned his head and commanded his trusted samurai and nephew, Brother Peng.

"Three Gods bear witness! Sound the horn immediately, warriors attack the village from three sides! Quick, it must be quick; don't give the little cub a chance to react, seize the food in the village!... Quick! Soon I'll kick his head!..."

"Toot! Dee Dee!..."

"Three Gods protect! Attack the village!!..."

The urgent horn immediately sounded, Brother Peng put on a leather helmet, shouted, and personally led eight hundred clan warriors in a frontal assault. Meanwhile, two more groups of five hundred warriors quickly skirted the sides of the village, climbing the village walls along previously walked paths. In almost no time, the Feather Clan had fully mobilized, surging to attack the small village of just over three hundred people!

"Chief Divine! Oh, this!... Feather! Stop! I...I'll set fire! I'll burn all the food, not leaving a single grain for you! Without the food here, within a hundred miles around, you won't find any Great Tribe to replenish you!... Stop it!..."

"Ancestors bear witness! Little crow, you've angered me! You're burning?! I must see how much food you can burn before my warriors enter the village!... Aha! If you really set it on fire, whatever food can be saved will be saved! If there's not enough for the clan to eat, I'll roast you! Kicking your head while eating your flesh! That's called roasted crow!..."

"Damn it! You cruel Feather! I'm really going to burn it!"

"Set it on fire! I mean what I say, as long as you set it... I'll definitely roast you and kick your head!..."

Little Crow Xite Weivei, holding a torch with sweat on his forehead, threatened Feather Pengguari outside the village. But this time, Feather seemed truly unmoved by the threat. He stared hatefully at Little Crow, licking his lips like a coyote of the God of Death. The whistling arrows and murderous shouts came instantly; on the walls of the village, Prepecha Warriors were fighting again. Feather Warriors flanking both sides also began climbing the sparsely manned village walls, about to break into the village!

"Ah! Feathered Master, stop! Let us go, and I'll hand the village over to you! If you don't give me a way out, I'll really have my trusted aide set fire in the warehouse! ... This warehouse holds the Fire God's Black Stone! Once the fire starts, you can't put it out; it'll all be burned away!!..."

"Mm?! The Fire God's Black Stone, hand the village to me?!... Sound the horn, have all attacking warriors halt!..."

"What? Clan Leader! The warriors have almost made it up!"

"Don't talk nonsense! Blow the horn quickly! This time, the little bird is desperate, speaking the truth this time!..."

"Dee Dee! Woo!... Dee Dee! Woo!"

The shrill war horn sounded once again. The climbing Feather Warriors hesitated briefly for several moments. It was only after the horn repeated twice, with flags waving repeatedly, that they reluctantly retreated. Accompanying the horn, the archers on both sides also tactically ceased fire, no longer shooting arrows.

After all, both sides were Prepecha Warriors, speaking the Prepecha language, and the Feather and Crow Clans originated from the same part, having a deep relationship. Now, meeting at the ends of the earth at the rivermouth, both sides held back a bit when they started fighting, mostly targeting the mixed units considered barely human. As long as the two leaders could reach an agreement, no one really intended to fight to the death.

"Whew! Whew! Damn! These Feather Warriors obey orders strictly, retreating without chaos, they are as formidable as the Kingdom's Spear Corps!..."

On the village wall, seeing the retreating Feather Warriors once again, Little Crow was drenched in sweat, as if fished out of water. He wiped the sweat with difficulty, swallowed nervously, unable to stop the horrific scenes of the village being breached from surfacing in his mind. Just a bit more, and he would've been roasted by Feather, and his head would've been kicked like a ball! Terrifying, truly terrifying!...

Hmm, right now Little Crow is still too young, not having experienced the great storms, somewhat competent in deceiving and ambushing Old Feather. But once the ambush fails, in terms of shamelessness and reckless roguishness, he is far from Old Feather's match!

"Little Crow! For the sake of the ancestors, I've retreated a second time! I will not retreat a third time!... You said you want to leave, I'll give you two quarters' time!... Withdraw from the village, the food in the village is mine, I will not pursue your people!..."

"Feathered Master, let me catch my breath, let me discuss with the warriors..." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Slow down, my ass! You still want to deceive me! Someone, pile up some wood and get ready to light the fire!... Little Crow, I'm giving you two quarters! By the time I light this pile, it will become your roasting rack!..."

"I! You!..."

"Hurry up! My eyesight is bad, I can't recognize the sun! Maybe, it's time for the samurai to attack the city!"

"Damn it! Feather! I am leaving the village to you, but you must swear to me! Swear to let us go and guarantee the safety of everyone in the village!"

"Swear? How do I swear?"

Upon hearing this, Feather Pengguari's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth subtly lifted. This little scoundrel brat was finally bluffed by him. He kept his face angry and suspicious, glaring at the Little Crow on the wall and cursing loudly.

"You sneaky little bird brat! Is the oath you make even binding?..."

"In the name of the Ancestors, I swear by cutting my face and bleeding, and let the Great River and all the warriors witness it!"

On the wall, Little Crow Xite Weivei held a torch in one hand, and took out a sacrificial Obsidian Dagger with the other. He gritted his teeth hard, aimed the dagger at his handsome face, and shouted at the old man below the city.

"Master Feather! The face-cutting oath witnessed by the Ancestors is the most sacred Blood Oath among the Prepetcha Nobility! Do you dare to agree?!..."

"..."

Seeing the dagger taken out by Little Crow, Feather Pengguari's heart jumped, secretly cursing in his heart. This little bird brat is really vicious to himself, actually wanting to play the noble's face-cutting game with him, an old man! Damn it! So cunning and cruel, in another twenty years, wouldn't he be even more formidable than him, Feather? If it weren't for the fact that the clan was really short on food, and they had to get the stored grain from the village to continue migrating and survive... he would definitely...

"Fine! I agree with you! Cut the face, cut the face!"

After a moment of deliberation, Feather Pengguari also steeled his heart, pulling out the Obsidian Dagger he carried. Then, under the witness of the Great River and thousands of warriors, Little Crow swung the dagger, cutting two deep gashes on each cheek, letting the blood drip instantly!

"Witnessed by Ancestor Crow! I, Crow Xite Weivei, will leave all the food in Xi River Village behind, and will not harm Feather Pengguari! If this oath is violated, then let my Crow Clan perish, and within twenty generations, all distant relatives will die out!"

"Ugh!..."

Hearing such a malicious oath, Feather Pengguari's old face twitched, even his nephew Brother Peng's face looked grim. Feather and Crow, both were Ancestors of the bird tribe origins two or three hundred years ago, weren't they distant relatives within twenty generations? This oath...

"Witnessed by Ancestor Feather! I, Feather Pengguari, will let Crow Xite Weivei and his warriors go, and will not harm him! If this oath is violated, then let my Feather Clan perish, and within twenty generations, all distant relatives will die out!... Hiss!..."

With trembling fingers, Feather Pengguari traced two shallow cuts on his own weathered yet handsome face, the pain was indescribable. Then, both of them, following the usual ritual, dipped their blood and drew three blood marks on their foreheads, simultaneously invoking the names of the gods they believed in.

"Witness by Chief Divine Vizilopo!... The oath is made!"

"Witness by the Sun, Earth, and Moon, the Three Gods!... The oath is made!"

In just a quarter of an hour, under the witness of the Great River and Ancestors, they completed the face-cutting Blood Oath among the Prepetcha Nobility. Feather Pengguari glared at the blood-covered Little Crow on the city wall, unable to suppress a bird-like laugh. This little bird brat was clearly inexperienced, cutting his face too deeply. He was now in a hurry to apply herbs to his face, bandaging it with a comically peculiar white cloth, and then hurriedly rushed down the wall...

Feather Pengguari patiently retreated with the warriors two hundred paces away and waited for another quarter. Then, the village gate suddenly opened, and a hundred or two tribespeople carrying some dried food, barefoot, quickly fled upstream of the Great River towards the East.

"Clan Leader, this?..."

"Wait some more! This batch is tribespeople, Little Crow is still a bit skeptical, sending these people out to scout the way. This little bird brat really has a lot of thoughts, not at all like a child of the Old Crow, but rather like mine..."

"..."

The Feather Warriors patiently waited another two quarters until the first batch of tribespeople disappeared. Then, the remaining one or two hundred Kingdom's Warriors, carrying heavy bamboo baskets, exited the village gate. Seeing these baskets, Feather Pengguari's eyes narrowed, just as he was about to lead people to intercept them, the others dumped the baskets onto the ground!

Gold, silver, copper, cloth, and especially many food items, all sorts of shiny supplies scattered all over the ground in front of the village gate, causing the Feather Warriors to surge forward, their formation becoming disordered. Subsequently, Little Crow led his warriors, turning and running towards the village port on the west side of the village. In just a moment, all the Kingdom's Warriors boarded small boats and watched the chaotic shore from a distance.

"Ah, damn it! This cunning little bird brat! Actually threw corn cakes everywhere! Damn it, really damn it!..."

Feather Pengguari cursed loudly, spat out, then led the disorganized warriors to pick up the scattered cloth and food everywhere.