Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1783 - 1277: Wings Unfurled, Unshakable Now…

"May the Chief Divine protect us, may the God King of the Sun govern us, may the Divine Revelation Prophet guide us... let us vanquish the Mistek people and achieve victory in the Southern Expedition Divine War!"

"Praise be to the Chief Divine, God King, and Prophet! Let me return home alive, bringing back abundant spoils of war... Let my son grow strong and become a mighty Jaguar warrior!"

"Blessings from the Chief Divine! May the God King illuminate the darkness, may the Prophet dispel death... let the diseases of the rainy season not dare to come, let the harvested grains not mold, let my body remain robust, unchosen by the God of Death!"

"Praise be to the all-knowing Prophet... please grant me the omen of enlightenment... When will I meet my end? Where should my grave be chosen? What sacrifices should I prepare, which divine statue should I worship, what slaves should I bury... to have my soul resurrect in the Divine Kingdom and enjoy eternal bliss?!"

"Hmm? Where is the sound of prayers coming from?"

The low prayers drifted from the altar in the mountains, weaving through the high priest's tent and entering the neighboring tent of the God King. God King Avit stepped out of the tent door, following the direction of the sound, glancing towards the altar on the hill, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Hmm... what is this?... these samurai and nobles?"

Avit listened intently for a moment, his expression changing notably. His demeanor turned solemn as he looked towards his attending Chief Intelligence Officer, "Shadow Dagger" Cihuacoatl, speaking in a low voice.

"Shadow Dagger, is today a special day?"

"God King, today is 1 Vulture Month (Cozcacuauhtli), 7 Wind Day (Ehecatl), a day of transformation where death and rebirth coexist. Praying today can change one's destiny, escape hardship, seek death for the elderly, prolong life for the young..."

"Oh! 1 Vulture Month, 7 Wind Day, and also 1 House Year (May 29, 1493)... indeed a day where death and rebirth coexist, much like a Vulture Day of wind and moon, no wonder there are prayers..."

Avit suddenly realized. The vulture symbolizes death and also represents the divinity of the God of Death, while the wind symbolizes vitality, traditionally associated with the divinity of the Feathered Serpent. The coexistence of life and death indeed marks an exceptionally auspicious day, and within the 52-year era cycle, it is a highly suitable day for prayer in the 1 House Year (Calli).

The Mexica people devoutly believe in divine spirits, they revere divine omens and practice divination much like the Yin Dynasty. If not for leading a military expedition abroad, besieging the Mistek ancestral lands, Avit too would have gone to the Great Temple in the Capital City to pray to the ancestor spirits. Meanwhile, in the Northern Lake Capital City, there must be a fervent scene of prayer. But as for the subjects of the city's prayers...

"The words of the prayer... Chief Divine, God King, and Prophet... hmm? Prophet?"

Avit's expression flickered, remaining silent for a long time. The so-called "Prophet" is naturally the "Divine Wolf Father" rewarded by divine spirits with enlightenment and prophetic verification, the newly promoted Elder Priest Xiulote.

Two months ago, when the news of the appearance of White-skinned Demons finally reached the Southern Expedition Army, despite Avit's intent to suppress it... the shocking news still greatly shook the alliance, unsettling the nobles and samurai's hearts!

"Oh Chief Divine! A prophet blessed with divine revelation to foresee the future, how can they not be the Elder Priest? How can the divine nature of the prophecy be left astray, allowing the High Priesthood to be questioned?"

Avit was compelled to establish a Divine Platform, personally hosting a grand enthronement ceremony, elevating Xiulote as the alliance's "Elder Priest," integrating this "divine nature of prophecy" into the alliance's system of divine authority.

By this point, it wasn't Xiulote's status as "Elder Priest" that bestowed divine authority upon him, but rather Xiulote's earthly divine nature adding brilliance to the High Priesthood.

As for Xiulote, who received the title, he behaved particularly humble, showing great respect towards the God King and being very courteous to Acap representing the High Priesthood, exhibiting no signs of arrogance from the prophecy...

"Yet, the prophecy that many doubted years ago has indeed come to pass! This unprecedented 'White-skinned Demons,' a significant change unseen for an entire era! The end times of the era may indeed have arrived..."

Thus, the perspective of many alliance nobles towards Xiulote shifted. They dared not meet Xiulote's eyes directly, fearing that the earthly "Prophet" might see through them with a glance. Nobles privately discussed endlessly, with imaginative interpretations surrounding Xiulote's birth anomaly, wisdom as a child, divine revelation in youth, and precise forewarnings years ago becoming increasingly mystical...

And the royal great nobles, privy to all true facts, grew increasingly reverent and apprehensive, proceeding with caution.

"This is divinity! Genuine and invincible divinity! More real and powerful than any succession of High Priests or any Great Tlatoani of past generations!"

"Oh Chief Divine! Could there truly be a prophet descended in the end times of the era?"

Despite shifting sentiments among the nobles, considering the present God King and the factional disputes among royal powers, their demeanor remained restrained. But as the news spread, middle and lower echelon samurai, lacking noble political sensitivity, acted without much thought or hesitation. They didn't know much at all... they equally acknowledged the immortal legacy of the God King and accepted the supernatural nature of the prophecy!

Whenever Xiulote hosted a ritual, the samurai's cheers echoed through the heavens, their war dance particularly vigorous and powerful, leaving the Mistek Nobles in Tzompantli City startled and frightened. It can be said that the ritual, presided over by Xiulote, boosted the morale of the besieging army equal to the entire High Priesthood's presence!

"... praying to the Prophet... supernatural Prophet..."

Avit quietly observed for a while, gazing at the devout prostrate figures, his voice somewhat wistful.

"Shadow Dagger, among those people, there seem to be several City-State Nobles?"

"Yes! God King... hmm... three military merit nobles from Gold Mountain City, two military merit nobles from Tzompantli City... and lastly, the elderly noble should be the hereditary noble from Reed Marsh City, Luwei..."

"Hmm? This Luwei, does he have familial connections with the honorable noble, Reed Clan Chief Xintle, from Reed Marsh City?"

"Your Majesty! The branches and leaves of honorable nobles spread widely, intermarrying with local hereditary nobles for generations, bound to have kinship ties... but, Luwei is quite elderly, ordinarily not within the recruitment scope. He brought over a hundred private guards and samurai, voluntarily participating in the Southern Expedition Divine War, hoping to journey to the Divine Kingdom after his death... today's prayers should be purely prayers of godly reverence..."

"Hmm... a dying old noble wishing to traverse to the Divine Kingdom... merely prayers of godly reverence... purely godly reverence... pure and heartfelt prayer to the 'Prophet'..."

Yet again, Avit descended into silence. It appeared that the "simple" answer weighed upon him more heavily than any collusion, or deep conspiracy, stirring profound emotions.

He focused intently upon the kneeling figures in prayer, these devout samurai, and even nobles, hailing from disparate remote city-states, yet sharing the same object of prayer. These small city-state nobles lack the acute political awareness of the Capital City's royal nobles. Thus, their current actions emerge genuinely from heartfelt reverence!

"Simply emerging from heartfelt reverence... reverence for me and for Xiulote... no, perhaps even more reverence..."

A long sigh escaped Avit. The last once revered by all, disregarding all factional divisions among various city-states, evoking sincere reverence from all, deep from the heart... wasn't his two predecessor monarch brothers, nor the two leading priest officials of the alliance, but his ninety-two-year-old elder uncle, the greatly revered uncle-grandfather, Trakel Er!

"Oh uncle-grandfather! Surely you are gazing upon all that unfolds from the Divine Kingdom above? If he doesn't fall midjourney... he surely will become, the alliance's new immortal Sun... his future, would shine brighter... much brighter!"

In this moment, Avit's emotions were a complex blend, difficult to articulate. Perhaps, his feelings echoed those of Liu Bang, nearly a thousand years ago, when he observed the four elder sages of Shang Mountain gathered around Crown Prince Liu Ying, resigned to utter the sentiment.

"With those masterly four assisting him, the wings have formed, untouchable now..."

"The eagle has already grown its wings, securely perched upon the Divine Tree... to change things would require cutting down the royal Divine Tree, bringing turmoil not only to the realm but even within the royal family, shaking the foundation of the alliance... and more crucially, amidst quietly shifting hearts, I am no longer entirely confident in navigating forthcoming convulsions! For a deceased prophet would become the most perfect divine symbol, rallying discontented nobles and stimulating wavering believers..."

"With the appearance of the white-skinned demons, the end times of the era are here... a new Sun Era is commencing... the future of the alliance, the legacy of two suns... I must shine a while longer! Shine brighter still!"