Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1895 1368: Sea of Green, the Jungles of the Amazon!

"Almighty! After that one-week storm, where exactly have we been blown to? At 8 to 9 degrees north latitude, such a southern location, to unexpectedly encounter a land mass, and an endless tropical jungle… Moreover, this jungle's coastline stretches from the southeast to the northwest, we have already sailed over a thousand or two thousand li!""Damn it! Is this an island or a continent? Now we see such a wide freshwater rivermouth, washing the sea into a light color… By all appearances, the upstream of this great river must be vast, resembling a massive land!"

"Holy Mother! How can there be a tropical continent at this latitude, a land never recorded in nautical logs, never foreseen by kingdom navigators, and even missed by the Castilians before? Could it truly be India?!"

"Impossible! We sailed merely ten thousand li west from the Azores Islands, can it be that we've reached India? India is west of the Southern Continent, closer even than going east from the Southern Continent? How can that be?! It makes no sense! Could this be an undiscovered New Continent?"

The grayish-white shoal reflected azure sea water, while the endless green rainforest stretched along the winding coastline. Here, green seemed the only backdrop, an infinite forest sea, sprawling from the coastal flooded swamp to the inland dispersing rivermouth. Even when the lookout climbed the tall mast, straining to peer southward, he still saw nothing but green, nothing but the rainforest without a break!

"Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the matchlock gunfire came from the depths of the southern rainforest. Though not distant, it sounded like it was separated by several li. This vast rainforest is too dense! The leaves had closed up as one, nearly blotting out the daylight, leaving only dappled glimpses of light. Large vines and hanging roots were entwined, blocking the path forward. Too many tree grass and vine branches obstructed the lookout's view, even the sound was absorbed by the dense foliage!

The deep tropical rainforest, this primordial vastness, dominated everything on the land! Sweetgum, laurel tree, palm tree, golden acacia, yellow sandalwood, Brazil nut, rubber tree, and Amazon cedar. Whether or not the crew of the exploration fleet recognized these trees, they stood tall from the coast to the swamp, from the swamp to the river, and to another wetlands swamp. Amidst this all-consuming green was vibrant wildlife, all dazzlingly colorful, with such striking hues hard to forget!

"Damn it! This endless tropical forest looks truly evil! Just like nine years ago, when following Diogo, we saw the same in the Southern Continent's tropics! It was land shrouded by demons, filled with devil's curses! At least half our crew perished from the demon's curse, deep in demon's domain, until encountering the fearsome witch, Satan's Messenger!"

"Hiss! I really hate recalling such shivering evil, yet those scenes are ever haunting… Thank the Almighty's protection and blessings! We endured countless hardships and finally escaped alive!"

Recalling the exploration nine years ago, into the Congo Rainforest, Bruno couldn't help but shudder! At this moment, he remembered his brother-in-law, Boatswain Paulo, repeatedly falling sick from fever and chills, and ultimately falling into a sleep at the Voodoo Temple. Experiencing such an ordeal once in life is more than enough! Even if it kills him, he refuses to go through it a second time!

Similarly, several elder brothers on the same ship felt the same, their hands and legs trembling upon seeing the dense tropical rainforest, their bodies filled with dread, truly having a post-traumatic stress disorder, unable to muster any courage to venture into the rainforest. Even the noble scholar Martin, forced on board, ever wearing a deadpan expression, upon seeing the forest sea immediately recalled the demonic journey through Congo years ago… He also showed panic and firmly refused to land!

Finally, another captain of the exploration fleet, young Sir Silvira, who had never been to the Southern Continent, volunteered to lead sailors into the coastal forest, seeking traces of native villages, for the fleet to find soon-to-be-depleted food and water supplies…

"Boss, the crew led by Silvira returned from the southern forest! They still found no traces of human habitation, not even any native village… However, they shot a peculiar long-nosed beast near the forest edge, estimating it has two to three hundred pounds of meat, perhaps enough for fifty people from two ships to eat for a week?"

"They returned? No one got cursed?… The meat can't possibly last that long! It's so hot and humid here! Fresh meat spoils unless smoked, can't last a week, at most four or five days! Stop worrying and eat up! After starving at sea for so many days, today everyone eats to full!"

"Boss, it's really too damp here, finding dry firewood and leaves is hard! It's difficult to light a fire… Should we open a barrel of cannon gunpowder?"

"Get lost! The cannon gunpowder is sealed tightly, opened it, it would get damp, and lose its cannon power!… Hmm… There are still small bags of matchlock gunpowder, wrapped in calfskin paper, open a bag to start the fire and help it burn!… What's this peculiar long-nosed beast? Even on the mysterious Southern Continent, I've never seen such before!"

Bruno disembarked from the ship and rowed a small boat ashore. He initially wore a suspicious look, gazing around at Captain Silvira who ventured into the jungle, and carefully inspected the sailors returning from the forest. After confirming everyone's complexion was normal, with no one hit by the sudden chill of "Devil's Curse," he finally let out a breath of relief.

Then he adjusted his captain's sword at his waist, taking a good look at the game the sailors brought back: A South American tapir as large as a deer, with an unusually long nose, and a tuft of erect brown hair on its neck and back!

"Haha! Captain Bruno, you are too cautious! Speaking of Devil's Curse, Devil's Altar, Devil's Apostle… Maybe you're being overly cautious, or it's only on the Southern Continent, but I saw nothing like it here!"

Silvira raised his head, shouldering a matchlock gun and stepping on top of the South American tapir, laughing boastfully.

"Haha! This vast forest, though devoid of people, is truly rich! I saw many fruit trees, and had the sailors gather some. There are plenty of fish in the puddles, and some snakes as well, which the sailors have captured a few of... Of course, the Holy Mother blesses us! The most splendid catch this time is this long-nosed fat deer, and this brightly feathered purple bird!..."

As he spoke, Silvira opened the leather bag on his back, pulling out a bird he had shot. The bird was about half a meter long, with brilliant wine-colored feathers and faint blue arcs at the edges of its wings, extraordinarily rare and magnificent!

On the entire European continent, and the entire African continent, there is indeed no such bird. For it is the South America's unique White-winged Purple Umbrella Bird!

"Oh! What a magnificent purple bird! Presenting it to Sintra Palace, King Joao would certainly be most pleased!..."

Since the Roman Era, the European nobility's passion for "luxurious purple" has never changed. Such purple-red feathers would fetch a high price at Sintra Palace. And if sold to well-connected Jewish merchants, the price would be calculated in Venice gold coins...

Bruno turned around, gazing at the nearby jungle, his eyes filled with both vigilance and greed, desire and yearning. At this moment, he somewhat forgot the diseases and curses of the Southern Continent and instead remembered the ivory rewarded by the King of Congo, the gold ornaments looted from the Southern Continent, which was his first substantial fortune leading to marriage and home ownership...

"Hey oh! Hey oh!..."

"Cheep! Cheep!..."

Vibrantly colored tropical birds perched among the trees of varying heights, curiously watching the never-before-seen white-skinned bipeds and the large sailing ships. They chirped merrily, while looking around for delicious food, especially sweet tree frogs and soft worms.

Countless brightly colored frogs, bizarre insects, and snakes dwell on every towering tree. Some emit drum-like calls, while others silently crawl closer. This warm, humid tropical forest is their most comfortable temperate home, with no need to endure the blistering heat of direct sunlight, nor the killing chill of biting winters. Indeed, it is Heaven for the cold-blooded amphibians and reptiles!

Further down under the canopy, the forest is equally moist, secret, and bustling with life. Below the trees, you find thick layers of decaying leaves, floating grass swamps, or pools of retained water. Among these moist and surprising bodies of water, reside innumerable colorful fish, frogs, insects, and snakes.

Some fish appear vibrantly beautiful, yet possess flesh-shredding piranha teeth. Some blue frogs are as translucent as crystal, but with just a drop of toxin, can bring down a South American tapir. Some slender insects are as thin as toothpicks, the most invasive of parasites. Some snakes, moving silently, are extraordinarily large, able to coil several times around a big tree, easily strangling men and beasts...

This is the diverse Amazon Jungle, the lung of the Earth where the Great River flows endlessly and the jungle stretches unbounded! At this age, this humid, dense forest has not yet been invaded by the mosquito and fly-borne diseases from Tropical Africa, still retaining its last wealth and livability!

And at this moment, within this vast rainforest, tens of thousands, even millions of Amazon tribes reside, scattered in small, loose tribal forms throughout the eight thousand li of rainforest. The explorer's matchlock gunfire acts as a conspicuous signal within the jungle. Attracted by this strange sound, a team of Arawak hunters, their bodies smeared with thick mud, armed with hunting bows and blowguns, suddenly paused.

"North, rivermouth, thunder?..."

"Bird calls, birds fly, not alight..."

"It's people! What tribe?..."

"Don't know, let's go see!..."

The leading Arawak captain pondered, then redirected the team's path. A dozen hunters moved quietly, treading lightly over thick decaying leaves, turning northward towards the riverbank!