Ironically, those who drove the Aztec rulers to become obsessed with human sacrifice were his father Itzcoatl and Montezuma I himself.

Human sacrifice hadn’t been entirely absent before.

It had been limited to royalty or warriors from defeated sides being offered as sacrifices, or royalty harming themselves to become sacrifices.

But during the times of Itzcoatl and Montezuma I, the scale of human sacrifice grew significantly.

To justify mass human sacrifice, they denounced previous doctrines as heretical and established new religious teachings.

And to obtain these sacrificial victims, they attacked colonial tribes and pressured tributary states.

This process was meant to weaken forces that might resist Aztec domination.

The reason Montezuma I decided to meet the foreigners personally was because of their sword.

These people possess weapons far more powerful than those of our warriors. If we carelessly provoke them into war, it could be dangerous!

The danger Montezuma I envisioned wasn’t defeat or the fall of his nation.

This is our domain. Defeat is impossible.

But we could suffer significant losses.

If we lose many imperial warriors, our tributary states, colonial tribes, or even the commoners might rebel.

What Montezuma I feared was collapsing due to internal enemies while exhausted from fighting external foes.

If I, the Tlatoani, personally create an atmosphere of reconciliation, the nobles will have no choice but to follow. This will allow us to avoid unnecessary military expenditure.

This was why Montezuma I decided to meet the foreigners personally.

***

Imperial Army Landing Point.

“Just waiting around like this is exhausting.”

Admiral Ahn Sang-su, sitting in the command tent monitoring the situation, muttered with a face full of frustration.

It had been nearly two weeks since establishing a beachhead on the problematic coast.

During that time, there had been no contact, and the soldiers were growing weary from boredom.

During the first few days after landing, the soldiers had maintained high alertness, scanning their surroundings vigilantly. But as days passed without incident, their tension dulled.

Consequently, Admiral Ahn Sang-su rotated the sailors assigned as riflemen with those remaining on the ships.

By alternating those who had to live in the confined spaces of the ships with those who had spent time on land in a sort of non-vacation, he maintained morale and a certain level of tension.

To prevent the soldiers from becoming too relaxed, Admiral Ahn Sang-su employed another method.

“At this rate, we’ll run short on drinking water. Find water sources nearby. However, limit the search to within half a day’s journey from the beachhead.”

“How many personnel should be assigned, sir?”

“The minimum unit should be a platoon. Strictly forbid any smaller divisions.”

“Yes, sir!”

Following Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s orders, every day a company of soldiers ventured beyond the beachhead to search the surrounding area.

As they searched daily, the Imperial Army’s detection range expanded from half a day’s journey to a full day’s journey.

Finding a good spring to solve their water problems was a bonus. Additionally, they were able to thoroughly conduct the surveying work that had been left incomplete previously.

After meticulously searching the area around the beachhead and gaining some confidence, the Imperial Army officers proposed to Admiral Ahn Sang-su:

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to advance inland first?”

To the officers’ suggestion, Admiral Ahn Sang-su shook his head.

“Impossible. We currently have no information about this region. Moving in such a situation would be self-destructive.”

“I believe it’s possible with our sufficient equipment.”

“Sufficient equipment? The weapons outside are for war, not exploration. The only equipment we have for exploration is the machete.”

“Don’t we have compasses? With compasses, we needn’t worry about losing our way.”

When a young officer mentioned compasses, Admiral Ahn Sang-su glared at him.

“Have you ever entered a jungle?”

“No, sir.”

“When you’re lost in a jungle, even a compass becomes useless. That’s my experience.”

***

In his younger years, the admiral had once joined an expedition exploring islands near Luzon.

What Admiral Ahn Sang-su learned from that expedition was that “the jungle is a living hell.”

If there were rocks mixed with iron nearby, the compass would immediately become useless. Measuring direction by the sun was also impossible due to the dense jungle.

Without a reliable guide, the jungle could lead to the death of the entire party.

***

After sharing his experience, Admiral Ahn Sang-su concluded:

“Having a reliable guide would be ideal, and at the very least, without a map, entering the jungle is absolutely something you must not do.”

“…I understand.”

While he had prevented the young officers’ reckless challenge, Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s worries grew as time passed.

“There’s a limit to just setting up camp and waiting like this. Not only is it an issue for the soldiers, but also for the gunpowder.”

The ammunition used for mounted firearms and military rifles had some resistance to moisture. This was because the gunpowder was contained in copper cartridges, with the opening sealed by bullets. Additionally, the boxes containing the ammunition and cartridges included charcoal to absorb moisture.

The problem was the gunpowder in the launchers and explosive shells. Although charcoal served as a desiccant just like in the ammunition boxes, there was a limit to how much coastal moisture charcoal could absorb.

Though the new gunpowder was more moisture-resistant than black powder, taking in too much moisture was still problematic—just like with black powder.

“There’s another issue. The language barrier.”

This problem also concerned Admiral Ahn Sang-su.

For places like Luzon, the Malay Peninsula, or the Indonesian archipelago, there had been some solutions.

These were the overseas Chinese who had been present since the Song Dynasty era and Islamic believers.

With Chinese or Islamic intermediaries, communication was possible even if it meant writing notes back and forth.

But there was no information about the place they had arrived at now. Having an interpreter was beyond imagination.

“And we can’t exactly bring Master Shin Sukju along…”

Shin Sukju was acclaimed as a “language genius” and an “incomprehensible language master.”

But Admiral Ahn Sang-su soon shook his head.

“Even the great Master Shin Sukju had considerable difficulties when he first arrived in the New Frontier, didn’t he?”

After pondering the seemingly unsolvable situation, Admiral Ahn Sang-su firmed his resolve.

“Five days! We’ll wait five more days, and if there’s no contact, we withdraw immediately!”

Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s decision was conveyed to the officers and soldiers. Upon hearing this, they wore expressions of mixed feelings.

“Should we consider this wasted effort, or think of it as a good rest?”

“At least we completed the surveying properly. We won’t have to do it twice.”

“Still, I would have liked to see what kind of people live here.”

Days passed with such mixed emotions.

***

While the Imperial Army was spending their time like this, the Aztec warriors hidden in the jungle were equally frustrated.

Upon intelligence that a considerable number of foreigners had landed on the beach, Aztec warriors from the surrounding area had gathered in the jungle. However, they absolutely did not reveal themselves to the Imperial Army.

Never confront them!

Due to Montezuma I’s strict command, the Aztec warriors could only observe the Imperial Army.

Moreover, as the Imperial Army began exploration activities, the Aztec warriors had to retreat beyond their exploration range and merely watch as the Imperial soldiers wandered through the jungle.

As this situation continued, the discontent among the lower-ranking warriors grew considerably.

They had to just watch the Imperial soldiers moving in platoon-sized units.

“We could just ambush them at this point…”

Most lower-ranking warriors were slaves or commoners. By achieving military exploits or capturing prisoners, they could escape their commoner or slave status and become Jaguar Warriors.

For those consumed by such desire, letting the unknowing Imperial soldiers wander right in front of them was extremely difficult to endure.

However, disobeying Montezuma I’s orders would certainly result in becoming a sacrifice, so the lower-ranking warriors gritted their teeth and merely observed the Imperial soldiers.

“This is really tough.”

“Should we just attack them?”

“And become sacrifices yourself?”

“We could just say they attacked first.”

As impure words began to spread among the increasingly impatient lower-ranking warriors, a messenger brought news.

The Tlatoani is coming personally!

Upon news of Montezuma I’s personal arrival, the Eagle Warriors and Jaguar Warriors began strictly managing the lower-ranking warriors, who had to hide their impure intentions.

***

With one day left until withdrawal.

Soldiers who had gone exploring in the jungle burst out urgently and rushed back to the beachhead.

“Emergency! Emergency!”

“Natives are approaching!”

Returning to the beachhead, the Imperial soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs, announcing the approach of Aztec warriors.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In response to the soldiers’ cries, alarm bells rang across the beachhead, and resting soldiers hurriedly grabbed their weapons and ran to their assigned positions.

Admiral Ahn Sang-su, who had been resting in his tent, rushed out to assess the situation.

“Report!”

At the admiral’s command, the commander of the exploring company reported:

“A large number of natives are approaching this location!”

“How many?”

“At least in the thousands!”

Upon receiving the report, Admiral Ahn Sang-su ordered his aide:

“Fire a signal rocket!”

“Yes, sir!”

Shortly after, a signal rocket soared into the sky and exploded.

Boom!

When the signal rocket indicating “enemy approach” burst, rockets also shot up from the ships anchored at sea. This meant they had confirmed the rocket fired from the beachhead, and busy movements began on the anchored ships as well.

***

Meanwhile, Montezuma I and the Aztec warriors, who had nearly reached the beach, paused at the sight of the signal rocket.

“What is that?”

“How do they do that?”

With no similar means at their disposal, all the Aztecs came to the same conclusion.

They have a very powerful sorcerer!

Thinking this, the Aztecs approached more cautiously.

It would be terrible if a powerful sorcerer who could create fire and smoke in the sky cast a curse on them.

The curse itself was problematic, but there was also the issue of having to wage war to obtain sacrifices to lift the curse, or they themselves might have to become sacrifices.

Moving cautiously, the Aztec warriors emerged from the jungle and headed toward the beachhead.

At the center of their vanguard was a palanquin carrying Montezuma I.

Sitting in the palanquin, Montezuma I observed the foreigners’ position ahead.

As reported by the Jaguar Warrior who made first contact, foreign warriors holding long wooden sticks were glaring at them.

Who might be their commander? Is it their king?

While Montezuma I was searching for the foreigners’ leader, Ahn Sang-su was also looking for the leader of the natives.

Surveying the Aztec warriors’ formation through a telescope, Ahn Sang-su soon found Montezuma I in his palanquin.

Could it be that their king has come personally?