Aztec Eternals

In November 1485, the middle reaches of the Congo River, more than a thousand miles away from the mouth of the river, Gombe Matadi (Gombe Matadi). In Congolese, the meaning of this place name is "walking in the rocky place".

The turbulent turbulence rushes from the upstream highlands, impacting the steep river banks and washing the dense rainforest. White pelicans flap their wings and fly up and down in the blue river, hunting fat river fish. Black swarms of mosquitoes buzzed and spun, gathering in clusters in the blue sky, chasing after the smell of blood. Farther away, the misty mist rises and lingers, the endless jungle covers the sky, and there is no trace of human habitation everywhere, only the primitive wilderness.

At this time, the three Caravel sailboats were sailing upstream in the east with difficulty in the turbulent turbulence with the help of a little westerly wind. The leading flagship is slightly larger in size, with the flag of the Portuguese royal family flying on the tall mast. A few curious water birds were attracted, chasing the slow sailing boat, circling around the mast.

Captain Diogo Kahn was pale and sad. He sat in the captain's cabin at the stern, motionless, like a silent sculpture. Even in the hot tropics, he was still wrapped in a thick woolen blanket. From time to time, the "sculpture" would tremble slightly and let out a few suppressed dry coughs.

In front of the "sculpture", a roll of parchment is being spread out. Next to the parchment were ink-soaked quills, a crude protractor, and a parallel nautical ruler. On the parchment, there are crooked curves everywhere, precise latitude lines, vague longitude lines, and fine Portuguese markings. Obviously, this is a newly drawn nautical map.

The north of the map is the starting point of navigation, the capital of the kingdom, Lisbon. Last August, the Portuguese ocean-going fleet set sail from Lisbon, all the way to the south, successively passed through the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, passed through the Gulf of Guinea, approached the Gold Coast, and finally arrived in New Zealand this spring. built the Elmina Fort.

At Fort Elmina the ocean-going fleet was split in two. Two-thirds of the ships and most of the soldiers in the fleet were led by Sir Dias and stationed at the port of Fort Elmina.

Sir Dias will lead more than 600 sailors and soldiers on board to conquer the nearby indigenous tribes. The royal order is clear, gold, gold, more gold! They will clean the surrounding villages as much as possible, plunder expensive gold, capture strong slaves, and then use them as miners to invest in the gold mines around Elmina Castle.

Captain Diogo continued southward with five caravels. He crossed the equatorial windless belt with difficulty all the way, lost a sailboat, and arrived at the mouth of the wide Congo River again. Afterwards, the turbulent river, the boundless rainforest, and the swarms of mosquitoes once again appeared in front of everyone. Seeing this scene, the surviving crew members from the previous exploration were all terrified and whispered "Devil's Land".

Diogo has no fear. With a gloomy expression, he hanged the most vicious sailor on the bow with his own hands. Then, holding the silver cross given by his old friend and praying devoutly to God, he led the fleet without hesitation, sailed into the river mouth, and headed for the land of the devil.

Under the scorching sun, the fleet traveled six or seven hundred miles along the river. The devil's land is full of dark-skinned pagans, evil blood altars, powerful native kingdoms, and thousands of tribal warriors with iron spears.

Diogo suppressed the killing intent in his heart, met with the envoy of the King of Congo with a gentle expression, and exchanged gifts to express friendship. Then, two Lisbon priests and four envoys disembarked from the fleet, and at the invitation of the King of the Congo, they went to Mbanza King Kong, the capital of the Congolese king. There, they will tell the teachings of God to King Nziga Nkuwu, trying to spread the glory of God.

After a brief replenishment, Diogo left the populous native kingdom. Everyone went up the Congo River again, looking for the legendary rich land, the mighty country of Presbyterian John. With the deepening of the fleet, the population gradually becomes scarcer, the forest becomes denser, and the power of the devil becomes stronger.

One after another, the strong sailors fell powerlessly under the curse of the devil. They had fever and chills, red eyes and red tongues, bloody mouth and nose, rashes all over their bodies, and died crying and despairing. The number of sailors soon ran low, and the fleet was forced to abandon one sailboat. Even Diogo himself suffers from alternating cold and fever from time to time.

Faced with such a situation, Diogo could only grit his teeth and endure it, prayed devoutly to God, and then threw the sick sailor into the long river of Taotao. Afterwards, he finally let go and let the sailors go ashore to plunder, slaughter several tribal villages to vent their desire for wild beasts, and then capture some local aborigines as coolies on board.

Under Diogo's iron will, the route of death continued for more than four hundred miles. The route turns into a long river with fresh ink marks on the map in front of you, flowing to the mysterious and unknown east. The captain felt the voice of God devoutly, and a clear call seemed to be right in front of him.

Thinking of this, Diogo raised his head slightly, and looked at the birds on the mast through the small window of the captain's cabin. Brave birds hover among the royal banners, like the irises of the cape, looking for a place to live, chasing the divine light.

"Boom boom boom"

A light knock interrupted the captain's thoughts. Diogo silently held the dagger at his waist and asked in a deep voice.

"who?"

"Honorable Royal Knight, Captain Diogo Kahn. It is I, Royal Counselor, Martin Beheim."

There was a voice at the door, neo-Latin in a classical style. This new Latin, imitating the Roman era, has not been rising for a long time. Along with the revival of classical art, it is mainly spread in the prosperous Italian commercial city-states.

Diogo frowned. He could understand New Latin, but was more used to the Old Latin spoken by the Church. At this time, he answered in a staid tone.

"Dear royal advisor, please forgive me for not being able to stand up to greet him, but please come in directly."

The door of the captain's cabin opened immediately, and a young noble scholar walked in. He was only in his twenties or thirties, wearing a complicated aristocratic costume, the cuffs of his hands and feet were deliberately closed, and a pair of shiny cowhide boots under his feet. The climate is so hot, the noble scholar's hair is drenched with sweat, but the buttons on his collar are tightly buttoned.

He is the son of a member of the Republic of Venice, a student of the astronomer John Müller, and a court adviser to the Portuguese royal family, Martin Beheim, after the nobles of Nuremberg.

Martin came in and sniffed lightly. There was an indelible smell of blood in the captain's cabin. He hesitated, and asked softly.

"Captain Diogo, are you feeling better?"

"The Holy Mother of Mercy protects me, I am fine."

Diogo replied calmly. He has quietly covered the nautical map on the captain's table, which is the top secret of the royal family.

"Ah! That's good."

Martin had a genuine smile on his face. Then, he took out a piece of paper with numbers from his pocket and handed it to Diogo.

"Here, Captain! This is the latitude I surveyed and mapped for a week, and the hydrology recorded along the way."

"Praise the Lord! Thank you for your help!"

Diogo smiled back. He took the paper, looked at it twice, and nodded. It should be the job of the captain or chief mate to regularly measure latitude and record hydrology. But now the first mate on the ship coughed up blood and died, and the captain himself suffered from joint pains and trembling limbs. This important work can only be entrusted to the young noble scholar Martin. By the way, in the current era, longitude cannot be measured accurately, and it can only be estimated by experienced navigators.

Martin stood where he was. He carefully looked at the captain in front of him, like looking at a ferocious and weakened lion. At this moment, he already regretted participating in this dangerous voyage. Ocean voyages are not as romantic as he imagined.

The harsh accommodation, the terrible food, and the seemingly endless voyage tortured the young noble scholars all the time. The seemingly gentle captain is as ruthless as a lion when he kills people. A rough sailor with blood on his hands, a subdued beast on board, and a crueler beast on shore. What is even more terrifying is the curse of the devil on this land! It silently took away fresh lives one by one, completely defenseless, not to mention the origin and bloodline!

Martin stood for a long time until the captain looked over. That gaze was so sharp that it seemed to pierce him through.

"Scholar Martin, do you have anything else to do?"

"Ah! Honorable Captain, I, I"

Martin faltered for a while, then stopped talking. The suggestion to return was stuck in his throat, but he couldn't say it. After a while, the noble scholar spoke.

"Captain Diogo, I feel that the atmosphere on the ship is a bit strange recently. The sailors sometimes meet privately."

"oh?"

Diogo raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"I see, please go down. If it is convenient, please call the noble knight Bruno."

"good!"

Martin turned and left as if fleeing. The moment he opened the door, he remembered the etiquette of the nobility again. Then, the noble scholar turned his head and made a sign of the cross on his chest.

"May the Lord bless us!"

"May God bless you!"

Diogo replied calmly, watching Martin leave in a hurry. With his back straight, his right hand was always holding the dagger by his side tightly, turning into a silent statue. After a while, the cabin door of the captain's cabin knocked again, and a familiar voice came.

"Captain, are you looking for me?"

"Come in, Bruno."

The hatch opened with a "squeak", and Bruno walked in carefully wearing a tight-fitting sailor suit.

"Greetings, honorable captain."

Diogo nodded. He looked at the outstanding nephew in the clan and showed a melancholy smile. Then his eyes sharpened and his face became serious.

"Bruno, how have the sailors been doing these past few days?"

"ah?"

Bruno looked up at the captain's expression, then bowed his head in awe.

"Four days ago, the sailors went ashore and slaughtered an indigenous village, and their morale was lifted. But yesterday, two more sailors were seriously ill and were thrown into the river. Fearing the power of the devil, the sailors on board prayed to the Virgin day and night , and some even go crazy”

"The power of Our Lady will protect us from the attacks of the devil."

Holding the silver cross on his neck with his left hand, Diogo said firmly.

"What you can't resist is that you have a devil in your heart and are not pious enough!"

Speaking of this, Diogo glanced at Bruno lightly and asked calmly.

"Do sailors have any other voice than prayer?"

"others"

Bruno paused for a while before replying in a low voice.

"There are indeed some voices, and I want to return."

"Um?"

There was a cold killing intent in Diogo's eyes. But soon, he lowered his eyes and restrained all his emotions. After a few breaths, a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Bruno, you are the nephew of my family. I have always valued you very much. I remember that not long ago, you married a Moor and moved to Lisbon?"

"Huh? Yes, Captain. She's the sister of Paul, the former boatswain. We moved to Lisbon together."

"Well, do you like her very much?"

Diogo asked with a smile.

"Yes. She is beautiful, has a delicate face, and is good to me. Holy Mother! She was pregnant before I left"

Speaking of his wife, Bruno had a happy smile on his face.

"Holy Mother Blessing! Very good."

Diogo patted Bruno's shoulder affectionately. Then, with bright eyes, he said in a deep voice.

"Bruno, once you get married and have children, you have become a real man and know the meaning of responsibility! In the last contact with the native kingdom, you made contributions and showed enough courage. Taking responsibility and Having courage is my Avish man, the two most important qualities!"

"We are sailing in the land of the devil, and we must muster up the courage to take on the responsibilities entrusted to us by the kingdom! This voyage is so important. Our responsibility is to discover the kingdom of Elder John, even at the expense of the lives of the nobles because, This will affect the fate of the kingdom, the support of the Holy See, and the future of our Portuguese! Ahem!"

While speaking, Diogo suddenly coughed violently. Brunolu took a step forward, trying to support the captain, but he raised his hand to stop him.

"Ahem, I'm fine! Under the protection of Our Lady, honest and brave fishermen, farmers and mountain people, all Portuguese will stand together and never bow to their neighbors in the east. Just think, my child, if The Spaniards have joined us, and the Inquisition will follow. What will happen to your wife and children?"

Hearing this, Bruno Lu felt a chill in his heart. He stared at the captain's resolute face, couldn't help kneeling on one knee, and made a loud promise.

"Captain! I will muster up the courage to take on my responsibilities and continue sailing!"

"Okay! Bruno, you are different from those low-level sailors. You have the blood of a noble person in your body. I always have hope for you."

Diogo smiled and put his hand on Brunolu's shoulder. Then, he looked solemn and his eyes turned cold.

"Bruno, keep an eye on the sailors on the ship for me. Find out the leader who is secretly connected, and... tell me."

".Yes, Captain."

Hearing this, Bu Nuolu's back felt cold and he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly lowered his head and prayed devoutly.

"The Holy Mother bless us! We will definitely find the country of Presbyterian John!"

"Holy Mother Blessing!"

Diogo nodded calmly.

"Go down, there are still many things to be busy on board."

Bruno Lu saluted, then turned and left. He stepped out of the hatch and looked up at the sky. The tropical sun was so hot it was sweating down his back. He walked a few steps worriedly, casually scolded a few sailors on the deck, and went down to the cool cabin.

Bruno Lu walked anxiously in the cabin for a while, when a trusted sailor approached him.

"Boss, Quartermaster Mattim is looking for you."

"Matim is looking for me? It's not time to repair the weapon yet, is it?"

Bruno was a little surprised. Quartermaster is a necessary position on every ship, responsible for the storage and distribution of weapons. In the early days of the Age of Discovery, ordinary sailors had mixed sources, and their loyalty was not reliable. Most of the time during the voyage, their weapons will be collected and kept by the quartermaster, and will not be issued until before the battle.

"Boss, Matim said that some weapons have just been repaired, and I want you to pick two first, and they will be gone if you go late!"

".Okay. I'll pick two for you too. Where is he?"

"The supply bay in front."

The supply bay is not far ahead. Bruno Lu didn't hesitate, and strode over.

The light below decks was dim and the smell was terrible. Two sailors were guarding the cabin door, each with a short knife at his waist. Seeing Bruno approaching, they half opened the hatch and invited Bruno to enter.

"Haha! Matim, you finally remembered"

Bruno walked into the dim cabin with a smile, looked at the figure in front of him, but suddenly stopped speaking.

Inside the small cabin, there were four stout men staring at him coldly. After Bruno recognized it for a moment, cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

"Quartermaster Martim, Boatswain Diego, Chef Haroldo, Carpenter Ivo, are you all here?!"

"boom!"

The hatch behind him slammed shut, and the cabin was suddenly dark. Only a faint candlelight remained, illuminating the gloomy four people. Dim shadows shifted on the faces of the crowd, like the power of the devil.