Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1897 1370: Odyssey’s Great Lost Voyage! [Bonus for Alliance Hierarch 201705102]

"Boss! There's actually a native survivor here! He's been playing dead, but he's not seriously injured... Eh! He's begging for mercy, pleading with us not to kill him!""Hmm? A survivor who's not seriously injured? Bring him on board! Interrogate him properly for intelligence in this area!"

"Ah! But I can't understand what he's saying, he's babbling, I don't know what he's talking about..."

"Fool! Gesture and ask! Draw and ask!... By the way, isn't there that 'Ashu,' the native guide?... Get him over here to join the questioning, see if he can understand!"

"Yes! As you say, boss! Your authority is really... more and more like Captain Diogo..."

Bruno silently chuckled, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood at the bow of the Caravel. He maintained a deep demeanor, gazing at the distant Southern Rainforest to his left, and the slanting gold-red sunset ahead. After being adrift in a stormy ocean, arriving at an exotic continent thousands of leagues away, reaching this mysterious Forest Sea unknown to anyone, he really wanted to recite an immortal poem but didn't know what to say.

In fact, in Bruno's memory, all outstanding Portuguese captains, whether Diogo or Dias, were equally solemn, deep, and silent. This is why captains like the boastful Columbus were completely unappreciated by the Portuguese people.

The prevailing atmosphere among Portugal's upper class at this time deemed quiet solemnity and deep authority as the standard for mature men. And this aristocratic judgment seemed somewhat akin to Shenluo, while it was entirely different from Castile, Aragon, France, and Italy.

Similarly, at the end of this 15th century, the epic representing the Portuguese nation, the "Song of Lusitania (Os Lusíadas)," was not yet born. And the famous subsequent line by Camões, "Onde a terra a caba e o mar começa," "Where the land ends and the sea begins," had not been created either.

At present, Bruno couldn't find a suitable verse, so he could only quietly gaze at the sea surface, until the sunset disappeared and the stars rose into the sky, at which point he seemed to awaken and commanded the two most knowledgeable people on the ship.

"Navigator Pedro! The clouds are behind us, and the stars above are quite clear... Measure the latitude here, and be as precise as possible!"

"Scholar Martin! The same goes for you! Please measure the latitude at this location!"

In this era, a clock error as much as a quarter made longitude measurement still unattainable. But for latitude measurement, European scholars and the navigators of West and Portugal had comparatively mature methods.

Also using the North Star for latitude measurement, Navigator Pedro from Castile used his own palm to record angles, while Noble Scholar Martin took out a refined protractor and gestured with it in front of his eyes. After repeating the measurements three times and averaging them, both gave an approximate answer.

"Between 8 and 9 degrees north latitude, slightly leaning towards 8 degrees..."

This was Pedro's answer, also the limit of mental calculation by human eye.

"8.5 degrees north latitude, with a deviation of a quarter of a degree..."

This was Scholar Martin's answer, measured using the protractor.

"8.5 degrees north latitude?... Hmm... This position is at about the same latitude as the Mother Lion Mountain Range of the Southern Continent, that is Sierra Leone? Then wouldn't it be possible to sail directly west from the west side of the Southern Continent to this continent? That would certainly be much easier..."

"Holy Mother, let me recall properly! We initially departed from the Azores Islands at 38 degrees north latitude, and following the northeast wind, sailed southwest for two months, approximately ten thousand leagues..."

"Then, we encountered a terrible storm! The northeast wind turned into a north wind... To escape the storm vortex, we had to turn south, fleeing at full sail... After a week of random sailing, we suddenly found ourselves near the coast, eerily mysterious, like Odysseus's hallucination! And when we first arrived at the southern shore, the latitude we measured was actually 6 degrees north! It really scared everyone stiff, how could we drift so far?"

Bruno furrowed his brow, reviewing the past three months of the voyage. For the first two months, he had been following the southwest course as recorded in Columbus's nautical records.

But since Columbus had set out from the more southern Canary Islands, and he departed from the more northern Azores Islands, he deliberately set his course to lean more towards the South in the west-south direction!

When the fleet sailed to about 25 degrees north latitude, as he was about to adjust his course westward to seek out the Bahamas Islands situated at this latitude... a sudden storm forced the entire fleet to turn southward, eventually causing them to completely lose their bearing, with no knowledge of how far they had sailed!

That terrifying storm which resulted in the fleet losing its way frightened everyone badly, and the fleet even lost four or five sailors! Not until the storm dissipated and the dark clouds receded could the fleet measure latitudes again, only to find they had already sailed south more than a dozen latitudes in one go, deviating far from the original course. The food and water supply on board only had about a week left, certainly not enough to last until they reached the "Bahamas"!

Amidst the sharpening of blades as everyone eyed the pitiful native guide "Shushu" and the requisitioned navigator Pedro from Castile... Scholar Martin was astonished to find the color of the sea water had noticeably lightened and that there were some green floating objects, a sign that the seabed was shallowing, and the land was right ahead!

The result was just as the scholar predicted, only four days later, they discovered a land at latitude 6 degrees north. The land was so vast that it seemed not to be an island but a truly expansive tropical rainforest, an unrecorded and completely unexpected green continent!

"Merciful Holy Mother! In Columbus's nautical records, he spoke of the Sargasso Sea, the doldrums, various native islands... our fleet encountered none of it! Even the navigation distance to the land was much less than Columbus's many leagues! Even if the fleet couldn't measure, I am sure that our current longitude distance is at least 40% shorter than Columbus's!"

Bruno pondered silently, utterly confused. In reality, Columbus's first voyage, with all his resolute determination, sailed a straight course over 14,000 leagues from latitude 28 degrees north of the North Africa Canary Islands to finally reach the North America Bahamas Islands at 24-26 degrees north, without once encountering a storm or losing his way, and without getting anywhere near the endless South America coast extending east and west...

This journey was almost the longest sea route between the Old Continent and the New Continent, spanning the entire expanse of the Atlantic Ocean! Whether it was fate's favor or curse, this unique new route was undoubtedly fate's gift to Columbus alone!

For an ordinary captain like Bruno, naturally, he was not treated with such special favor from fate as Columbus. A single storm losing bearings was like the Sea God's large hand slapping him southward! What cushioned his fall was the lengthy South America coast, unavoidable and impossible to bypass, a continent stretching thousands of miles...

"If the longitude shifted just a little, but the latitude reached the tropics... then the strange position we are at now, where exactly is it? Could it really be India?… Impossible, absolutely impossible, the longitude is completely off!… Or could it be the eastern extension of Seris? But such a wild Forest Sea, it doesn't look like it at all!"

Bruno tried hard to recall all the nautical records and rumors, but in this location, it was blank, seemingly never recorded by anyone or any legend.

As the frontline navigator for Portugal, he had access to internal news from the Kingdom, knowing that India was just to the east of the Southern Continent, estimated to be between 0 to 30 degrees north latitude. Seris was further east of India, and slightly to the north. Khitan was farther north, seemingly merged with Seris. As for farther east of Khitan, it was Cipangu Japan...

All this crucial information was meticulously investigated and painstakingly delivered back to the Kingdom of Portugal by the Portuguese Knight Pero da Covilha, representing the most accurate Orient intelligence acquired by the European Continent Catholic World!

However, neither India, Seris, Khitan, nor Cipangu could be reconciled with this continent's position… then what was this wide land of Forest Sea, and how far was it from the rich Orient target of the new route?...

"Scholar Martin! We've landed on this land for over ten days, and you've seen its vast Forest Sea... With your broad knowledge, what ideas do you have about this location?..."

"..."

The Noble Scholar Martin remained silent, maintaining an expressionless face. His slightly twitching eyebrows revealed his unsettled mind.

"What's wrong? Scholar Martin, we've braved the terrifying storm of misadventure to reach this brand-new Jungle Continent... Are you still upset about the earlier slight? If you really can't let it go, I'll bow my head in apology, a heartfelt apology..."

Bruno removed his Captain's hat, bowed low, and sincerely saluted Scholar Martin. Then, with a slight smile, he pointed at the brilliant starry sky against the boundless night, alongside the vast shadow of the Forest Sea to the south, exclaiming from the heart.

"Almighty! What a splendid tropical starry river! What a vast infinite Forest Sea! This is like the immortal odyssey of the Greek hero 'Odysseus', witnessing unprecedented, unheard-of glorious spectacles amidst the majestic journey!… Wouldn't you agree, such a magnificent, grand maritime exploration, isn't it truly worth boarding the sea ship to experience and feel?!"