The news of the New World and new shipping routes swept through Portugal and Castile like a storm at sea. The wealth and information from "the East" brought waves of stirrings to the entire Iberian Peninsula and even the Catholic World. The dawn of the New World has undoubtedly appeared!

Yet as the Iberian storm was blowing by, the same undercurrents were flowing within the nobility's hearts on the Mexican Plateau, twenty thousand miles away. The siege of Cloud Mountain City by the multitude of Southern Expedition camps had been ongoing for two years. The intense rainy season had just stopped, and the food in the siege camps had been nearly depleted.

From the Southern Three States of Mexica to the conquered Tlaxcala Valley, and to the forcibly garrisoned Divine Stone City Valley, tens of thousands of civilians were conscripted. Bent over with loads of fifty to one hundred kilograms, they were constantly driven to deliver food to the front lines under the supervision of the Royal Warriors, paying with their lives.

The three armies attacking the Mixteco Cloud numbered one hundred thousand troops like scattered herbs tossed along three lengthy lines hundreds of miles long. The newly conquered Mixteco Land was vast and barren, and the acquired food had long been consumed. As for the local Mixteco Tribe's farmland, it was neglected for a full two years!

The urgent war led to an almost catastrophic destruction of agricultural production. Without enough food output, famine and death spread throughout the Cloud within a six-hundred-mile radius…

For the Alliance Southern Expedition army, aside from the forcibly garrisoned Divine Stone City Valley, which could be self-sufficient for the thirty-thousand-strong army, the food supply for the remaining seventy thousand depended on long-distance logistical transport.

A part of this was borne by the Kingdom of the Lake, which undertook the logistical consumption for twenty thousand soldiers of the Western Army via maritime transport. The logistical supplies for the remaining fifty thousand Alliance Army needed to be continuously mobilized and delivered from the Tescoco Lake District seven hundred miles away, from the Southern Three States of the Alliance six hundred miles away, and from the Tlaxcala Basin over five hundred miles away!

"Lord! The food consumption during the Cloud expedition is truly astounding! Of the food transported by the Southern Three States, six of every ten pounds are consumed on the long mountain roads! Even so, of every ten civilians delivering food, two would die on the journey…"

"The heavy loss and burden of food and manpower almost suffocate the Southern Three States and the Te Kasikala Land!… Fortunately, His Highness Xiulote invented some kind of wheelbarrow, barely usable in the mountains, reducing the civilian's burden… resulting in three to four out of ten fewer casualties…"

"Ah! When will this damned Southern Expedition ever end? The Mixteco people are left with only Mountain River City and Cloud Mountain City, their core in the East and Central… Should it end soon?… Hmm! Who's there?!"

Young Mountain Clan Chief Izel shook his head and sighed, lifting the flap of his large tent. He was startled when he got inside! There was a crouched, silent figure sitting on his grass bed, draped in a gray-green cloak.

"Damn it! An assassin! Come…"

"It's me, old friend!"

"Huh? Xintle, why is it you?! Aren't you supposed to be at the Vastec people's frontline, sneaking over here to do what?… By the way, how did you get past my trusted aide into my tent?"

"I'm leading people to procure military supplies. Plus, I came to chat with you a bit… As for getting inside, how many trusted aides do you have left? Haven't they all been sent to the frontline by the Divine King?… Tsk tsk! Haven't seen you in a while; you handle the logistical side of the siege camps quite spiritedly!… Unlike me, constantly fighting those Zapotec bats on the frontline… This Southern Expedition is truly tough! Out there are the enemy's arrows, and inside is the Divine King's axe…"

"Old friend" Luwei Clan Chief Xintle's expression was somber, lifting his cloak to reveal a scarred face. Izel widened his eyes, surprised.

"Xintle, you're injured? As a Legion Commander, you led the charge?"

"Legion Commander? Haha! With the Divine King interfering with command, how many camps do I have control over? As for the wounds, those elusive Zapotec bat warriors are expert at guerrilla and ambush, frequently running into a team without a choice…"

Xintle snorted, showing unconcealed resentment on his face. But soon, he calmed down, staring into Izel's eyes, speaking gravely.

"Izel, this time you received supplies, running into grain caravans from the Southern Two States and two acquaintances, right?!… How did the conversation go?"

"!... Xintle, how do you know that? Did you join the Divine King's Secret Guard?"

"Haha! With identities like ours, as clan leaders ruling over a City-State, can we still join the Divine King's Secret Guard? Most likely, the ones being watched daily are us!"

"…Lord! You still came to meet me?… Xintle, if you have a death wish, don't drag me down with you!"

"Ha! Izel! You think giving up half of your Mountain River State to the Divine King would have him let you go? You can't be that naive, can you? What the Divine King wants is the whole thing! Direct control of the entire Western City-States!"

"…"

"Izel, there's no need to glance around or nervously grip your Long Dagger… Relax! I'm not testing you, nor is a Secret Guard watching us! Since I can come to you, I won't expose myself to the Secret Guard... Besides, ever since that meticulous, flawless, ruthless noble-assassin Gillim resigned as the Divine King's Chief Intelligence Officer, specifically handling Alliance affairs… The level of the Divine King's Secret Guard isn't what it used to be!"

"…?"

"What, you don't believe it? You think I'm aware of so much information?… That's because there's someone in the Secret Guard passing messages to me… including this time, when you encountered acquaintances from the Southern Two States, High Mountain City, and Salt Lake City… someone was secretly setting things up too!…"

"...!"

Upon hearing this, Izel trembled all over. He watched Xintle incredulously for a moment, glanced around a few more times, then leaned in and whispered.

"Is there an inside man among the Divine King's Secret Guard? Really?"

"They are their inside men, not ours! They want to use us as a blade."

"Who are they?"

"Who do you reckon the Secret Guard recruits? People the Divine King trusts?"

"I wouldn't know about that… Hmm… Who does the Divine King trust? The Lake Capital City? Royal Warriors?"

"Correct! Then, besides the Divine King, who else in the Lake Capital can extend their reach into the Royal Warriors?"

"Ah! You're suggesting? Montezuma II and Prince Yu Yan? The Royal Family of the Predecessor Monarch Asar's lineage?"

"...They indeed possess this capability; I've met with their envoy. But the one passing messages isn't them! They've always been closely watched and guarded by the Divine King. They cannot infiltrate the Secret Guard… Keep thinking, who else can manipulate things within the Lake Capital and bypass the Divine King to reach the Secret Guard?"

"Who could have such power? Surely not… Ah! It's really them? How is it possible? Aren't they aligned with, and indivisible from, the Divine King?"

Izel thought for a moment, suddenly understanding. His face showed shock as he looked around once again, lowering his voice even further.

"Are they all involved?"

"Certainly not all."

"Which factions are involved?"

"…You think they would expose themselves, or directly tell me? This sneaky plotting is their forte! Even if you catch one or two of the tendrils, the death warriors cut them off immediately, leaving you grasping nothing further up…"

"What do they want us for?"

"It's not just me they want; they want us! "

Xintle squinted, clutching Izel's hand, the scars on his face twitching fiercely. He emphasized "us" again, then answered gravely.

"I've already told you! Using us as a blade!…"

"For whom?"

"You should know..." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"…"

The tent fell into a long silence. And a hidden murderous intent brewed within that silence, lurking beneath the starlit moonlight.

At this moment, under the Moon Mother Goddess's malicious guidance, the four hundred stars in the south cast the light of conspiracy, connecting their thirst for upheaval. Their target, just like the light of the crescent moon, shines upon the Chief Divine at the top of Snake Mountain~~