"The moon has not reached its zenith yet. No need to rush, the Mexica will come... They are more anxious than we are."
The night wind blew, and a dark cloud slowly drifted over, obstructing the dim moonlight, making the sky even darker. The sound of the wind howled through the city walls, like a low, mournful dirge. Suddenly, several deep hoots of night owls, "hoo hoo," came from outside the city.
Puap’s spirits lifted. He looked up at the city walls, where a torch shook and then circled a few times repetitively.
"The Mexica have finally arrived!"
Not far outside the city, Necali crouched, looking up at the shaking torch on the city walls. Then, turning to the elite scouts behind him, he whispered.
"This is it! Get close to the city wall, and keep quiet."
After speaking, the seasoned scout crouched down and approached the edge of this segment of the city wall. The city wall, heavily guarded during the day, was now eerily deserted. Large piles of stones and ash jars were placed on the city’s crest, which made Necali’s palms sweat. Near the wall’s defensive equipment, a few sparse Defending Army members peeked out. Seeing the Mexica scouts rapidly approaching, they simply nodded in delight.
"Come, the secret door is here!"
A slender figure suddenly emerged from beneath the city wall. Little Ayuli was energetically waving his right hand, holding a red wooden board. Necali drew his bronze axe from his waist and quickly stepped forward. After glancing at the shape of the wooden board, he again signaled quietly to those behind him.
Under the faint moonlight, Mexica scouts followed Ayuli’s figure to a rough and uneven section of the wall. Ayuli squatted down and then disappeared from the scout’s sight. Necali hastily moved forward and bent down to examine. He realized that at the base of the wall there was a very inconspicuous hole. The hole sloped downward to the side, very narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through with difficulty.
"I hate burrowing like a wild rabbit!"
Necali grumbled resentfully as he squeezed his body into the hole. What sort of secret door was this? It was clearly a tight tunnel! The walls were roughened with pits and uneven surfaces, scraping marks into his leather armor. After crawling for not much longer, the scout’s forehead was already sweating again. In such terrain, he couldn’t even stand upright. If there were two people blocking the other end, it’d be like spearing fish on land, a certain death for each one speared.
After a struggle lasting dozens of breaths, the exit of the tunnel became clearly visible. Holding his breath, Necali cautiously reached out his hand to feel around. But another pair of calloused, large hands grabbed him and with a strong pull up, dragged him out from the tunnel.
"Chief Divine protect! We meet again, Mexica!"
Chiwaco’s face was smiling.
"Hmm. Chief Divine protect! Thank you for your help, Prepetcha."
Necali had just steadied himself on the ground when he eagerly began to look around. The tall stone walls once seemed impregnable yet now stood behind him. And before his eyes lay the magnificent and bustling Capital City! The glorious pyramids lit the Sacred Fire, the towering Palace of Wind shone bright with candlelight. And on the streets at the city center, countless lights twinkled like stars. The light flickered among the nobility’s gardens, resembling the Starlight scattered across the night sky!
Seeing all this, a wolf-like grin spread across Necali’s face. He greedily watched for a moment, then turned around to help the following scouts into the city. The old militiaman’s expression was calm, observing as more and more Mexica samurai gathered. These warriors wore Tarasco-standard leather armor and strapped light bronze axes to their waists, their demeanor fierce and resolute, much like the former Copper-axe Guards.
The moonlight flowed quietly. About a quarter of an hour later, the area by the tunnel had amassed over a hundred elite Mexica, each donning armor and wielding an axe, their eyes filled with the intent to kill. Watching these stern and formidable Mexica warriors, Huitu Puap shivered, suddenly feeling regret.
Seeing Puap’s expression, Necali gripped his bronze axe tighter and sneered with a smile.
"Hey, partner from Prepetcha. It’s time to open the city gates now, isn’t it?"
Huitu Puap bit his lip and shook his head.
"Wait a little longer... The noise from the digging is loud, and it might draw the patrol’s attention... We don’t have enough people yet. By the way, the Defending Army in this section is under my command, all arranged in the houses up ahead, we need to deal with them as well. Bring some warriors and come with me; we’ll round them up first..."
Upon hearing this, Necali frowned. He asked, puzzled.
"You can’t control your own men?"
"I haven’t been in charge of this troop for long, and I have too few trustworthy confidants. As for something like tonight’s affair, the fewer people who know, the better..."
"Fine! Lead the way ahead."
Necali nodded expressionlessly. He looked around, estimated the number of insiders, and began to take the initiative. The seasoned scout gestured, and nearly a hundred Mexica samurai followed Puap and the old militia toward a row of large houses not too far away.
"Which houses have people?"
"To defend the city, households near the wall have been relocated by the chief, only the Militia are left here. Starting from here, all the way to here... Later, you’ll block the doors, and I’ll send men to wake them up batch by batch and force them to join us..."
"No need for such trouble!"
Necali abruptly cut off Puap’s words with a cold demeanor, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Are all your men here?"
Looking at Necali’s cold smile, a chill went down Puap’s spine. He instinctively glanced at the old militiaman. The man sighed and looked down as if he hadn’t heard anything.