Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2028 - 1483: The Ever-Strengthening Golden Clan! Their Weakness Is...

"Woo! Woo!..."The deep sound of the horn echoed in the skies of the Northern Country, reverberating in the desolate distant sky. In the sky, eagles flew over the snow-capped peak of Ezo Fuji, overlooking the coastline where the first snow was about to arrive. By the shore, two customs ships and three Japanese-style merchant ships, a total of five large Japanese ships with fluttering flags, sailed around the sparsely wooded bay, heading toward the mouth of Korobetsu River. At the river’s mouth, a makeshift Shandan camp in the style of Ezo, was already filled with makeshift tents. Hundreds of "Shandan Tribes" had long since formed formations, patiently waiting for a long time!

"Da da! Da da!..."

The Japanese who came to trade seemed exactly the same as last time. By the sea were five heavily laden large ships, flying the flags of temples and shrines. Along the shore was a parallel formation of Samurai, carrying the diamond-shaped flags of the Kaozaki Family. As the horse hooves flew, the twenty Ryu-Tetsu Horses at the forefront climbed over the highlands, then suddenly stopped in unison, reining in their not-so-tall warhorses as if encountering a pack of wolves.

"Tap tap! Tap tap!..."

The hoofbeats of the Shandan Cavalry were markedly heavier. Soon, the figures of their tall and mighty horses appeared on the opposite hill. There were as many as twenty fully armed Jurchen Cavalry! Each one donned heavy cloth armor, wielding unwieldy and powerful Bones, with hefty heavy bows slung at their horses’ backs. At this moment, when these beast-like warriors stared fiercely and indifferently, whether it was the Samurai by the sea or the Tiantai Monk Soldiers on the ship, everyone changed their expressions, sensing a silent threat!

"Hachiman Mahasattva! Twenty ghostly robust Shandan Heavy Cavalry? The Northern Shandan Golden Clan is growing increasingly powerful!"

Veteran General Shigeyasu Kudo gasped. As the most experienced veteran in battle formations, he only needed to watch for a moment to roughly judge a force’s combat power from that indescribable aura.

Just like this small group of Shandan Heavy Cavalry before him, their wild, ferocious, and cold aura must be elite, having survived countless killings. And such elite Charge Cavalry, once clad in heavy armor and launching a desperate charge, even if there were only twenty, would be something that the Kaozaki Family’s two hundred-strong Spear Formation could not withstand!

"Buddha! Twenty armored cavalry, eighty greatbow archers... more than two hundred spear-wielding warriors, over forty dispersed archers... plus over three hundred Ezo Peasant Soldiers?... For this trade, the Shandan Golden Clan has deployed six or seven hundred men, nearly doubling their strength since last time?!"

On the customs ship "Lotus Flower Maru", Mori no Kiyoshi widened his eyes, quickly tallying the "Shandan Clan’s forces". The formation on the opposite side was actually the same as last time, only with significantly more numbers.

The left flank was still comprised of the fierce Jurchen Cavalry and Heavy Bowmen, totaling around a hundred. The heavy bows and thick arrows looked exceptionally formidable. In the middle stood the Kingdom’s Warriors in spear formations and the Lu Bu archers in scattered formations, totaling two to three hundred. The spear tips like a forest accompanied by concealed arrows, were superbly equipped and highly disciplined, barely moving. As for the broadest right wing, there were the tribal soldiers of various Beiyu tribes, who after over half a year of training, could now maintain formation and roughly appeared competent. These tribal soldiers were the most numerous, totaling three to four hundred.

"Buddha said ’Sacrifice the body to feed the tiger’, when the tiger gets flesh and blood to feed on, it becomes strong... and has this Northern Shandan Fierce Tiger become stronger through the nourishment of gold trade, through the resources we transported?"

Mori no Kiyoshi’s thoughts raced, experiencing for the first time an unspeakable fear about the Shandan Clan’s growth. And this fear stemmed not only from their growth speed, which surpassed his imagination... but also because of the preparations made secretly by his side this time, it was not merely for friendly trade...

"Brother Juehui! This Shandan Clan, possessing the ’golden legacy’, extremely values craftsmen, cares not for gold, one can easily tell they are extraordinary! They are by no means an ordinary Shandan tribe, the power behind them is unfathomable, the main Great Tribe is still unknown in location, and unknown how many tribes there are... Should the sect’s plotted actions and preparations be reconsidered?"

"Namo Shakyamuni Buddha! What a formidable Shandan Invaders!"

Master Juehui squinted his eyes, gazing at the cruel Shandan military formation opposite, scrutinizing for a long time before chanting the Buddha’s name. At this moment, the expression on his face visibly changed, evolving from initial calmness and confidence to seriousness and furrowed brows. After several breaths, Master Juehui lowered his eyelids, rotating the sandalwood Buddha beads in his hands, exclaiming earnestly.

"The records say the Yuan Invasion was fierce in land battles, surpassing the warriors of the Western Country, particularly skilled in cavalry! The two Mongol invasions, if not for the divine wind bestowed by the Buddha, might have posed a danger of national extinction... Seeing it today, these barbaric tribal warriors indeed appear fiercer, more intrepid than the warriors of the clans in Omi!

"However, the accounts of the Mongol invasions have been studied repeatedly by various Martial Families and Monk Families for over two hundred years, with many military art critiques... Whether Yuan Invaders or Shandan, although they excel in land battles, they have a fatal weakness!... Mori, do you know what that is?"

Saying this, Master Juehui raised his eyebrows lightly, his gaze shifting back, clearly seeing the coast behind the Shandan formation. There, three oar-sailed longships and two Japanese-style merchant ships were quietly anchored. Compared to the illustrious Shandan military formation, these five not-so-high sea ships appeared much more ordinary. Even the evidently combat-oriented oar-sailed longships maintained low gunwales, filled with an ancient aura...

"Shandan people’s oar-sailed Galleys... only five... Our sect’s Omi customs ships... many ships against five... calculating with intent... Amitabha!"

Master Juehui smiled with his eyes, looking around. On the large customs ship "Lotus Flower Maru", stood two masts and two layers of long decks. The decks were densely lined with bamboo racks, leaving many shooting positions for simultaneous archery by dozens of people...

Seeing this, Master Juehui’s lips curled up, and he piously chanted the Buddha’s name.

"Namo Manjushri, the Wisdom of the Bodhisattvas is the first..."

"Brother Juehui! Are you really planning to exploit the Shandan people’s weakness? But even if we succeed, the Shandan people won’t be critically harmed, at most we’ll seize a batch of gold, lose some manpower. Their main strength, the elusive Great Tribe, still resides in the vast northern lands!

"At present, they already have a foothold with the Ezo people, being able to resupply. Once they are enraged, how can the wide Soya Strait be intercepted? By then, with the Shandan heading south for revenge, the South’s Japanese Land Twelve Halls, and the Kaozaki Family occupying Ezo, would be in danger!"

"Amitabha! Mori, where is the foundation of our Tiantai Sect? Is it in Ezo Land?"

"..."

Upon hearing this faint rhetorical question, Mori no Kiyoshi froze in expression, showing a bitter face. A few breaths later, he shook his head, answering.

"Our Tiantai Sect, with Nan Rui Mountain as the core, and Kansai as the foundation..."

"Can the Shandan people heading south reach Kansai?"

"... No."

"Can the Shandan people heading south cross the Tsugaru Strait, reaching Huzhou and the Northern Region?"

"Perhaps?... But the Kaozaki Family’s heir Yoshihiro has just joined our sect..."

"Amitabha! Kaozaki Yoshihiro is young and intelligent, with a deep connection to Buddhism. If the Kaozaki Family were unfortunate... our Tiantai Sect would certainly protect Kaozaki Yoshihiro. The Omi Grand Temple I preside over is indeed lacking a successor deeply connected to Buddhism!

"This! Brother..."

"Shh!..."

Master Juehui smiled gently with a benevolent face, interrupting Mori no Kiyoshi. Then, he glanced at the longship opposite, where the Shandan Chieftain wearing a Feather Crown and holding a long tube Magic Artifact, was observing this side. He sternly ordered Mori no Kiyoshi.

"Go! Mori! The Shandan Chieftain has been waiting for you a long time!"

"Don’t show anything unusual, trade well! Unload the ’goods’ on the ship, and in exchange, get as much gold as possible!"

"As for the preparations after the trade, you don’t need to worry about them!... Just watch my Buddhist Law, watch the Buddha’s protection!"

"Namo Amitabha!"