Upon hearing the natives’ request to accompany the Imperial forces, Moegsoe immediately reported to his superior.

After receiving the report that had traveled up the chain of command, Admiral Ahn Sang-su pondered briefly before deciding.

“If they want to come along, let them. They’ll likely be useful for the future.”

“For the future?”

To his subordinate’s question, Admiral Ahn answered promptly.

“This place will eventually become part of our Empire’s territory, won’t it? Should we just leave those madmen be? We need to return properly prepared and sweep them all away. For that, we’ll need proper guides and interpreters. We’ll need allies too.”

“Ah…”

At Admiral Ahn’s words, his subordinates finally nodded in understanding. Seeing his subordinates’ reaction, Admiral Ahn added:

“Ah, you all haven’t worked in the army before. This is a method we used when dealing with the Jurchen tribes.”

***

As the palace reconstruction progressed, Hyang advocated for military specialization. Finding Hyang’s argument reasonable, King Sejong accepted his proposal.

Until then, Joseon military commanders, especially, had alternated between commanding land and naval forces. There were even frequent cases where civil officials, not military officials, exercised military command.

As a result, a capable person could become a great general well-versed in both land and naval warfare, but a mediocre or incompetent person would become a complete mess at both.

And the latter cases were overwhelmingly more common.

For this reason, Sejong had accepted Hyang’s proposal.

And Admiral Ahn Sang-su was among the last generation to experience both land and naval forces before this division.

***

One of the subordinates nodding to Admiral Ahn cautiously pointed out an issue.

“However, Admiral, like attracts like. These natives likely also have cannibalistic customs.”

“We’ll have to apply the policies implemented by the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty. However, those who openly practice cannibalism in broad daylight like this must be eradicated. To set an example for others.”

“Ah…”

Admiral Ahn’s decision was again passed down through channels to Moegsoe.

“…So, ‘Damn It’ and his group will move together with us. They’re your responsibility, so take good care of them.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And teach them our language along the way when you can.”

“Understood.”

“Where exactly is that dialect from? Or did you get your tongue cut off in battle? Not going to answer properly?”

“I will speak properly.”

“Good work.”

Having received orders from his squad leader, Moegsoe beckoned ‘Damn It’ who was standing to one side.

“Hey, Damn It!”

After calling ‘Damn It,’ Moegsoe pointed to himself and ‘Damn It,’ then to the mountains, and said:

“Me! You! Together! Cross over!”

Understanding Moegsoe’s words, ‘Damn It’ nodded and returned to the natives. Shortly after, the natives gathered their belongings and joined the procession.

Once all preparations were complete, Admiral Ahn ordered his subordinates:

“We’re heading back! It won’t be an easy journey, so be prepared!”

***

“This… allowing the natives to accompany us has been a great help.”

Taking a rest halfway through the mountain range, Admiral Ahn revised his assessment of the accompanying natives.

‘Damn It’ and the other natives were proving unexpectedly helpful.

They guided the Imperial forces along their own paths unknown even to Aztec warriors.

Having suffered at the hands of the Aztecs for long years, the natives knew Aztec tactics well and were familiar with their routes.

Thanks to this, they guided the Imperial forces avoiding places ideal for Aztec ambushes. Not only that, because they knew the surrounding terrain well, they guided the Imperial forces through areas where their wagons could move easily.

They weren’t just useful as guides. They also knew good locations for large groups to stay, quickly found useful water sources, and promptly gathered medicinal herbs for those injured in the previous battle and those who got hurt during the journey.

Seeing the natives’ contributions, Imperial soldiers from the homeland glanced sideways at those from the New Frontier and muttered:

“They’re from the same New Frontier, but so different…”

Whenever they heard such remarks from the homeland soldiers, the New Frontier soldiers loudly protested:

“I can do that much in my hometown too!”

“Sure, even a mutt gets to eat halfway decently in its own home…”

“Damn it!”

“Why are you calling ‘Damn It’?”

“Fuck!”

Meanwhile, the military doctors’ eyes lit up at the usefulness of the herbs brought by the natives.

“We’ll have a lot to ask those friends later.”

Beyond this, the natives were also skilled at erasing the traces of the Imperial forces’ passage, making it difficult for the pursuing Aztecs.

Seeing this, Admiral Ahn Sang-su muttered quietly:

“They must have suffered a lot.”

The admiral’s words were true.

***

While suffering at the hands of Aztec warriors, the weaker tribes made escape their basic tactic. In this process, they became accustomed to erasing their traces to avoid being tracked by Aztec warriors.

Of course, in reaction to this, the Aztecs developed tactics to mobilize large forces to surround and pressure their quarry.

In this process, Aztec warriors became accustomed to splitting large forces while moving, and simultaneously became experts in communication using messengers, drums, and trumpets.

***

During the return journey through the jungle and mountains, the natives became familiar with the Imperial language faster than expected.

In a situation where even a small mistake could be life-threatening, and having witnessed the overwhelming power of the Imperial forces, the natives desperately needed to learn the Imperial language.

The one who showed the most aptitude was ‘Damn It.’

However, ‘Damn It’ wasn’t entirely happy, because he had learned that ‘Damn It,’ the sound used to call him, was a curse.

“Well, it was my mistake, so I can’t really complain… Besides, if they try to call me by my actual name, they struggle…”

When he had pronounced his name, which meant “brave and clever jaguar” in his tribal language, all the Imperial people had looked perplexed.

“Damn… I’d bite my tongue trying to say that. Can’t we just keep using ‘Damn It’?”

Hearing this, another Imperial soldier nearby subtly pointed at ‘Damn It’ and shook his head.

“He knows it’s a curse now.”

“We can just not use it as a curse, right? Are there no other curses besides ‘Damn It’?”

“That’s true.”

Through this process, an implicit rule emerged among the Imperial forces led by Admiral Ahn Sang-su:

• No matter how curse-worthy the situation, never use ‘Damn It.’

Interestingly, almost no Imperial soldiers found this rule inconvenient.

“Well, ‘Damn It’ isn’t the only curse…”

As the soldiers said, the Imperial forces were a place overflowing with all kinds of curses. Curses used by soldiers from the homeland, from the north, Great Snow Island, and other outer regions, even curses used by soldiers from the New Frontier—all kinds of profanity overflowed in the Imperial forces. The situation wasn’t inconvenient enough to miss just one ‘Damn It.’

Rather, some commanders had different thoughts upon seeing this.

“Hmm… There have been complaints about soldiers using excessively harsh language lowering the dignity of the Imperial forces. Should we try to use this?”

No, it didn’t stop at thought; some even went so far as to create an actual proposal.

“For now, I’ve just drafted a rough outline. I’d appreciate your review.”

Upon receiving and immediately examining the draft proposal submitted by these officers, Admiral Ahn Sang-su clicked his tongue.

“Tsk!”

“We apologize!”

As soon as the admiral clicked his tongue, the submitters retrieved their proposal in alarm and left.

Watching the officers hurriedly retreating, Admiral Ahn Sang-su clicked his tongue and muttered:

“Tsk tsk tsk… Thanks to ‘Damn It’ and his group, they’re comfortable enough to have these silly ideas. Perhaps they need to hear the tongue-clicking sound directly from His Majesty Hyang himself…”

***

Thanks to the help of the natives led by ‘Damn It,’ Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s Imperial forces were able to cross the mountains more easily and quickly than expected.

This was because the natives guided them to places with gentler slopes and wider passages than where the Aztec warriors had led them.

As a result, although they had to take a considerable detour, their increased movement speed allowed them to reduce time wastage.

“Still, it seems like it will take five more days…”

Finally, having passed through the jungle and reached the shore, Admiral Ahn Sang-su muttered softly.

As soon as they reached the shore, the Imperial forces surveyed their position. The survey results showed that their current location was considerably south of the beachhead.

It was a simple matter of heading north along the shore, but the problem was finding firm ground where the wagons could move.

Considering the time it would take, they would need to travel for five more days.

“Still, we’ve crossed the mountains, which was the biggest problem, so that’s fortunate.”

Having made this positive assessment, Admiral Ahn Sang-su turned to his subordinates.

“We’ll reach the beachhead soon! Move while watching for flank attacks!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hooray!”

At the news that they would soon reach the beachhead, the soldiers raised a cheer and gathered their spirits.

***

Four days later, Admiral Ahn Sang-su was able to reach the vicinity of the beachhead.

“Hmm? What’s that sound?”

Boom, crash~. Rat-tat-tat-ta~.

Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s expression turned serious as he sat on his horse.

This was because he could hear cannon fire and gunshots from far away.

“Have those bastards attacked the beachhead? Everyone prepare for battle!”

At Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s command, soldiers and commanders released the safety catches on their rifles and mounted firearms.

“Move at a trot!”

Following the admiral’s order, the soldiers began to move at a quick pace.

As soon as they rounded the palm tree jungle blocking their view, Admiral Ahn Sang-su and the Imperial forces could see the beachhead engaged in fierce battle.

Admiral Ahn Sang-su immediately drew his pistol and shouted:

“Riflemen, form three ranks in a horizontal formation!”

At the admiral’s command, the riflemen immediately formed three ranks in a horizontal formation.

“Forward!”

As the soldiers who had formed their battle lines in three ranks slowly advanced, Admiral Ahn Sang-su continued issuing orders:

“Wagons with mounted firearms, deploy on both flanks! Finally, deploy the launchers!”

The soldiers moved busily at Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s commands.

“Ready!”

Upon receiving the report that the mounted firearms and launchers were ready, Admiral Ahn Sang-su rode his horse to the front of the riflemen.

As the riflemen advanced with Admiral Ahn Sang-su at the front, the Aztec warriors attacking the beachhead began to waver.

Seeing this, Admiral Ahn Sang-su shouted loudly:

“Fire!”

***

When Admiral Ahn Sang-su’s forces, aided by the natives, moved quickly through the jungle, Montezuma I changed his strategy.

“They have chosen their return path! Get ahead of them and intercept them!”

Following Montezuma I’s orders, Aztec warriors chose the fastest route, though it was rugged terrain, and headed for the beachhead.

Arriving at the jungle closest to the beachhead, Montezuma I sent scouts to assess the situation.

• The foreigners on the beach number at most around 100.
• The foreigners’ ships are quite far away.

After confirming the report, Montezuma I quickly devised a strategy.

“If we kill all the foreigners on the beach, those ships will have no choice but to leave. Then those who fled from us will be stranded.”

“But reinforcements might come from the foreigners’ ships.”

To the noble commander’s observation, Montezuma I shook his head.

“Consider the number of foreigners who escaped from us. No matter how large those ships are, they can only send as many people as are already on the beach. We couldn’t properly gather soldiers in Tenochtitlan. But this time, we’ve brought them properly, so we can avenge the humiliation of Tenochtitlan! Go back and prepare for battle immediately!”

At Montezuma I’s confident explanation, the nobles returned to their units to prepare for battle.