Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2105 - 1539: The Great Sacrifice of the Heavenly Temple! Death and Life, Prophet and Divine King!

"Hua! Hua! Hua!..."Eighteen bronze fire basins ignited simultaneously at the top of the Temple of Heaven pyramid. This is an important auspicious number in the ritual, symbolizing the 18 months in the traditional Sun Calendar. In the Sun Calendar, each month consists of 20 days, with an additional 5 or 6 unlucky days, making a full year.

The divine symbolism of the eighteen months, from the beginning to the end of the year, are respectively: January "Water’s Stillness," February "Human Skin Sacrifice," March "Little Vigil," April "Great Vigil," May "Drought of the Sun," June "Eating Corn Porridge," July "Little Lord Sacrifice," August "Great Lord Sacrifice," September "Ceremony of Flowers," October "Fruit’s Fall," November "Sweeping of Dust," December "Descent of Gods," Thirteen Month "Mountain Sacrifice," Fourteen Month "Flamingo," Fifteen Month "Raising of the Flag," Sixteen Month "Descent of Water," Seventeen Month "The End," Eighteen Month "Revival."

Each month corresponds to a divine sacrificial rite and event. However, after more than a decade of the divine reform, the Alliance’s formal rituals gradually transitioned from the myriad of gods to the one Supreme Chief Divine. Currently, it is 1495 in July, corresponding to September in the Sun Calendar, the "Ceremony of Flowers." Thus, the priests decorate the altar with fresh flowers to send off the souls of the sacrifices to the Divine Kingdom where flowers blossom.

"Descendants of the Gummy People, bloodline of the Tiger Claw King, honorable nobility of Mountain River City Yun Zhao, journey to the Sun Chief Divine’s realm! His soul belongs to the Chief Divine Huitzilopo, and will transform into a blossoming flower in the Divine Kingdom, eternally flourishing in peace!"

Under the noon sun, the elder priest, Xiulote, who presided over the grand festival, sang in a loud voice and raised the obsidian dagger, proclaiming the ascension of the first Cloud Divine Descendant’s soul! Soon, the Mistec envoy, Divine Descendant Yun Zhao, who once went to the Lake Capital City and participated in the victorious East Expedition Tlaxcala festival, felt emptiness in his heart. He rolled down from the Temple of Heaven pyramid, becoming a vividly blooming "red flower"!

"The Chief Divine blesses the Alliance, bringing great victory in the Southern Expedition!"

"The Alliance conquers the Cloud Divine Race, the Chief Divine illuminates the world!"

"Offer the Divine Descendant sacrifices! Bring forth harvest and blessings!"

At this moment, witnessing this sacred sacrificial scene, tens of thousands of Alliance warriors finally shouted with jubilation! Their cries began relatively orderly, and soon became varied, yet even more fervent and passionate!

"Roar! The Chief Divine is pleased! After we die, we will surely go to the red kingdom, see our ancestors!"

"Roar! The Chief Divine has blessed us! We will return, our families will thrive, and we will bear valiant sons!"

"Roar! Blood sacrifice to the Sun Chief Divine, life returns to the earth!... Roar!!"

To the Alliance warriors, this "sacred sacrifice" was exceptionally critical, even the most crucial "final MVP settlement" of this "Divine War!" The content of the settlement was conveyed by the priests, recognized by the Chief Divine as the "war contribution!" This not only pertains to the "Light of the Sun," "autumn harvest," "the continuation of families," but also to the devout warriors’ most concerned matter, "the soul’s destination after death and status in the Divine Kingdom!"

This intensified faith driving force, combined with military merits conferring titles and lands, and gaining class promotion, is the fundamental support of the Mexica divine military state during the Stone and Bronze Ages, sustaining the Alliance army’s combat strength! Even Prophet Xiulote could only comply with such a surge of faith, letting time gradually change it. He could not rashly replace the "human sacrifice" of divine blood at the grand sacrificial festival with the "three animal sacrifices" of animal blood.

Otherwise, if it were changed, should any priest or noble in the future alliance rise in rebellion, they would surely condemn Xiulote like King Wu’s campaign against Zhou, in the political declaration of the Book of Documents: Oath of Taishi, saying "the king cannot burden and bear, abandon the temple of their ancestors, not worship, heedlessly cast aside their heritage!" This would be labeled as the "great sin of defying the mandate," powerful enough to shake the hearts of the Alliance warriors...

"The Chief Divine is witness! All achievements in the Divine War will be fairly rewarded by the Alliance! I, Divine King Avit, in the name of the Chief Divine, according to the recorded military merits, confer Montezuma Xocoyotzin as the Prince of Coastal Mixteco, with the fiefs of River Bean City and Ometepec! Bestow: two hundred bags of spices, two hundred bags of cocoa, twenty chests of feathered garments, twenty chests of gemstones, twenty chests of gold and silver... twenty pieces of bronze ritual artifacts, and one Cloud Divine Staff!..."

As the sacrifice commenced, Divine King Avit also followed the pre-planned arrangements to confer military merit titles and rewards! Although Avit reduced the Cloud Divine fiefs, greatly discounting them, the rewards for the Asar Lineage of the royal family, particularly for his brother, were exceptionally generous! Even the newly crafted Alliance bronze ritual artifacts, weighing hundreds of jin, in the shape of large and small pyramids, he granted a full twenty pieces!

This bronze, more costly than silver, was valued at three jin equal to one jin of gold! Only the Alliance’s prosperous and craftsman-populous main body, with the vigorous mining of the copper mine in the Mountain South Weytamo region, would cast numerous ritual artifacts from bronze, imprinted with intricate divine patterns. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of the Lake could only produce cannons and armor, lacking the foundation and basis for establishing "Ritual Law."

Therefore, in the eyes of the Divine King, he showed great care for the descendants left by his brother, especially his nephew Montezuma II...

"Yes... obeying your will! Thank you! Thank you, Supreme Divine King!"

At the top of the Temple of Heaven, Montezuma II knelt on the ground. He kowtowed deeply to the Divine King, gratefully accepting the "Cloud Divine Staff," and respectfully kowtowed again in gratitude. As Xiulote predicted, before the Supreme and autocratic Divine King, the ruthless uncle, Montezuma II dared not show any dissatisfaction, only an expression of "boundless gratitude!"