Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 606 - 302: The First Battle in the Valley - Part 1
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September arrived on the tail end of the rainy season, bringing clarity to the skies with its sunshine and hope for harvest to the earth. Rain during the start of autumn ensures a bountiful collection of crops. To the south of the Lerma River, the Kingdom of the Lake was still abundant with rainfall, providing ample moisture for the crops. Messengers were boating on Lake Patzcuaro, relaying orders to hasten the autumn harvest. At a glance, they saw towering cornfields everywhere, lush and seemingly endless.
Farmers in the Lake Region were busy in the fields, inhaling the mature scent of grains and wearing the joy of the harvest season on their faces. Pumpkins had already been collected, beans had just ripened, and corn had formed ears. Under the supervision of the Priests, the kingdom’s spring ploughing was timelier this year than last, with favorable wind and rain all the way, promising a bountiful year!
In the Wilderness of the Northern Land, where the brief rainy season had just passed, the clarion calls of war grew more urgent by the day. The desolate highlands rose and fell, with thousands of Otomi Militia hustling back and forth. With shoulder loads and hand carriages, and some single-wheeled carts provided by the kingdom, they shuttled military rations from the Mountain city to the Northern Land and then escorted prisoners back from the Northern Land to the Mountain city.
After several days of rest and replenishment with the latest batch of provisions, the three routes of the Allied Forces followed the Royal Decree of the central army and once again sprung into action. Black Wolf Toltec was the first to break camp and strike. The army’s Scouts and skirmishers spread out far and wide, engaging in combat with small squads of Canine Descendants. The unstoppable eight thousand Central Regiment advanced northward with grandeur, and after three days of marching to the sound of the bugle, they arrived at the Red Fox Valley where the Canine Descendants gathered.
Not a single cloud marred the sky, while the earth brimmed with a desolate intent to kill. Mountains converged with rivers to form the rare fertile soil of the Northern Land, attracting the brutal battles of the Wilderness. The eight thousand Allied Forces pitched their camp southeast of the Red Fox Valley and then slowly expanded outward, enveloping the southeast entrance of the valley. Tens of thousands of Guajili Tribe members consequently retracted into the Red Fox Valley, with each Tribe only sending a few Tribal Warriors to harass, while the majority of their forces remained steadfastly fortified within.
"So this is the Red Fox Valley?"
Standing before a southeastern valley entrance, several miles away and closely observing the terrain of the valley mouth, Toltec, accompanied by his Personal Army, soon furrowed his brows.
The narrow mountain path stretched for miles, gradually ascending, and at its end were several wooden and stone bastions built upon high grounds. A red mountain cat flag fluttered atop the bastions.
Beneath the flag were the defending Guajili Canine Descendants. Brandishing Short Bows, spears, Stone Spears, and Stone Hammers, their numbers exceeded a thousand. Among these thousand Canine Warriors, there were also two hundred seasoned red-haired warriors who were now bellowing loudly and brandishing their weapons, provocatively challenging the southern Allied Forces from afar. From a distance, despite the rudimentary equipment of the Canine Descendants, they appeared to be high in spirits.
"Respected Black Wolf Commander, this is the fertile Pa River Valley! Among the Allied Forces, many lands of the Nobility are located here, and a third of the Pamus Samurai come from this place. This is our Otomi territory; it has simply been shamelessly occupied by the Canine Descendants, who also changed it to a canine name!"
Mespa led a hundred family warriors and stood by Black Wolf’s side. He shouted angrily, his eyes filled with hatred as he glared at the Canine Descendants in the Valley, as if trying to kill them with his gaze alone.
"Hmm, the mouth of the valley is narrow, making it difficult for the army to maneuver. The enemy holds the high ground with fortified bastions. The bastions are stocked with throwable rocks and timber. Huh, these Wilderness Canine Descendants know how to defend themselves quite decently! Could they have learned from the Otomi people?"
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After observing for a while, Toltec turned to Mespa with surprise and asked.
"You mentioned there is a small city inside the valley? What’s the terrain like there, does it still have Otomi who are holding out that we can use to coordinate with?"
Upon hearing the question, Mespa’s expression darkened, and he shook his head bitterly.
"Commander, the valley’s terrain is natural, its defense relies solely on the encircling mountains, as well as the bastions at the northwest and southeast valley entrances. The city in the middle of the valley doesn’t even have defensive walls; it’s just a dignified place for the Nobility to live. The only thing that can be considered sturdy is the stone Temple at the center of the city."
"The deceitful Guajili Canine Descendants attacked so swiftly that everyone had no time to prepare! They had sent over a hundred red-haired warriors in advance to infiltrate the bastions around the valley entrance. It took less than half a day for the northwest entrance to be overrun, and thousands of Canine Descendants, howling like wild beasts, charged in. Their eyes were blood-red with fury, killing anyone on sight and devouring whatever food they found, akin to demons emerging from the earth! The Nobility, along with their family warriors, retreated to the vicinity of the Temple and valiantly held out for half a day. But then more and more Canine Descendants kept coming, with over ten Tribe’s flags showing up..."
"Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Chieftains of the Nobility discussed together and decided to lead their family warriors to retreat through the southeast valley entrance, which was still under their control. When they left, they left hundreds of brave Militia in the Temple to hold out, now all have gloriously returned to the Divine Kingdom!..."
Toltec patiently listened to Mespa finish speaking. After contemplating and filtering out the redundant words, he asked in a serious tone.
"Mespa, from what you’ve said, with such a treacherous valley, you Otomi only held out for one day?"
"Ah, not just one day. From the time the Scouts reported the enemy, it was about... roughly two to three days!"
When questioned, Mespa looked ashamed, his face turning crimson with embarrassment.
"Mainly, the warriors were unprepared, and there was no unity among the Nobility. Moreover, the Canine Descendants were fiercely descending from the south in such a frenzied search for survival..."
"How many residents were originally in the valley? How many Militia, how many men could be withdrawn? Are there any Otomi still captured in the valley who can be rallied to our cause?"
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Toltec interrupted Mespa’s explanation with a further question. Mespa paused, momentarily lost for words, before replying.
"There were originally twenty or thirty thousand people in the valley. When it fell, only about a thousand nobility and samurai managed to escape, and later we gathered two to three thousand militia. As for the other scattered common people, the nobles did not have the time to care, and it is unknown how many escaped. Not long ago, scouts saw from the mountains that there are now thousands of captured Otomi farmers in the valley, tilling the fields for the Canine Descendants. However, they’ve been so terrified by the Canines that at best they can pass on messages; we can’t count on them for anything else..."
"Black Wolf Camp Chief, I was in Pamus City at the time and, frankly, do not know much about the situation in the valley that day. If you need it, I can have a few nobles who hail from the Pa River Valley come and report in detail."
"No need! We’ve come a long way, seen plenty of Canine Tribes—nothing more than rats in the fields. There are just exceptionally more of them here. As for the fortifications at the mouth of the valley, let’s lay into them for a while and see what they’re really made of!"
Toltec raised his head, waving his hand grandly, then pulled out a small red flag and pointed toward the camp at the mouth of the valley.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
The low drumbeats of war sounded, the messenger’s flag waved. Samurai Camp Chief Yolike blew his bone whistle, and five hundred lightly-armored archers wearing paper armor, with a loose formation, quickly entered the narrow mountain path. Behind the large group of archers were five hundred vanguard barbarians poised to charge.
Soon, the archers reached just over a hundred paces from the mouth of the valley and deployed a shooting formation. Clutching their longbows and looking up, they inched closer, ready to shoot. The enemy encampment, leveraging the terrain, stood a good ten meters high! Atop it, hundreds of Canine Hunters, each with short bows, set their bone arrows, also ready to strike.
Yolike squinted his eyes, raised his shield, and gauged the distance for the upward shot. He continued to close in until he was sixty paces from the camp. On the camp, an impatient Canine Hunter couldn’t hold back and, lifting his hunting bow, "whooshed" a short arrow downwards. Influenced by him, the surrounding Canine Hunters started shooting their arrows.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
An arrow storm approached head-on, bringing with it blasts of wind, and faintly intermixed with the curses of red-haired warriors.
"Pah! These barbarians from the northlands, squawking wild dogs! Without hearing the command, they shoot a flurry of disordered arrows, not even as good as the Tekos, totally lacking in discipline!"
Yolike spat disdainfully. Hailing from a surrendered Tarasco army, he had many years of combat experience: skilled in both archery and spear technique.
Both the Kingdom and the Alliance legion imposed strict requirements on the samurai to follow orders, especially in large-scale battles, where it was crucial to act in unison. In comparison, the discipline of the Canine Warriors was far inferior even to the Kingdom’s long-spear-wielding militia.
"Thunk, thunk."
A few feathered arrows thudded into the wooden shield. Gaugeing the force behind the arrows on his shield, the Samurai Camp Chief sharply blew the bone whistle around his neck.
"Toot toot! Volley fire!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
A volley of arrows rose from behind Yolike, raining down on the encampment sixty paces away. Eight or nine Canine Hunters screamed piercingly and "thumped" off the embankments, leaving behind long trails of blood. The remaining hunters paused for a moment, then crouched lower and shot back even more ferociously. Soon, nearly ten legionary archers fell to the ground as well, clutching their throats or faces, groaning as they collapsed.
From their elevated position, taking advantage of the terrain, even the Canine Hunters’ short bows could wound the legion’s longbowmen at the same distance. Some of the red-haired warriors were particularly adept at archery, each arrow targeting vital points such as the head, throat, and chest.
Just as Yolike moved his shield aside to observe the effect of the shooting, a bone arrow whistled sharply toward him, hitting his rattan helmet squarely on the head. A pain shot across the Samurai Camp Chief’s forehead, causing his heart to tremble, and he stepped back twice before reaching up to his head. The bone arrow, having lost much of its force, had merely penetrated the finely-woven rattan helmet enough to graze his forehead, leaving a shallow cut.
"Damn it! Such fierce archery... these Guajili Canine Descendants... are actually somewhat formidable!"
The Samurai Camp Chief muttered under his breath, once again shielding himself with his shield. Behind him, the beat of the war drums continued incessantly, the calls growing louder. Encouraged by the War Priests, the vanguard barbarians prayed loudly to the Chief Divine, ready to launch a desperate charge at any moment. Arrows flew back and forth between the two sides’ archers, and the onslaught drew forth sprays of blood—soon, a hundred lay dead.
The bodies of the warriors collapsed on the ground, draining away the warmth of life. Lifeblood flowed at the mouth of the valley, trickling into the valley’s streams, washing out a faint crimson. Beside the stream, the blood-drenched cactus flowers bloomed more brilliantly, as if heralding impending death.
