Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1905 1378: Brave Island, Taino Quintet!

"Ancestor! There really is a white-skinned tribe, appearing on a large ship! Just as the western tribes proclaimed, they even have terrifying big beards!...""Ah! Evil demon! Truly a white-skinned evil demon!..."

"O Cassava God! Will they, just like the western tribes said, be exceedingly greedy and fierce, spreading dreadful death?..."

"Leave! Quickly leave! Don't get close!..."

After a brief passage by the northern Virgin Islands, and narrowly missing the now-famous "Lolita Island," the exploration fleet of the Kingdom of Portugal finally arrived at the beginning of the Greater Antilles Islands in the warm February breeze, at the Taino Tribe's "Brave Island," later known as Puerto Rico.

"Almighty! Such a large island, must surely have an astounding number of natives, more than on all the islands previously passed!"

"Indeed! Captain! That so-called 'Native Kingdom' Columbus encountered may very well be here! And even if it's not here, it's likely connected to the natives here!..."

"Yes! Boss, look at their village, clearly larger than any we've encountered before! Look at their large thatched huts, big wooden houses, and a vast expanse of joined fields! This is likely at least a village of a thousand people!..."

On the flagship Caravel, Bruno squinted his eyes, watching the village on the western coast. His expression was full of vigilance, wary of those "horsefly" like Caribbean canoes attacking once more. The entire fleet was prepared, ready to speed towards the deep sea at any moment.

It can be said with certainty that "Brave Island" is the largest island the Portuguese have encountered westwards. This island stretches 170 kilometers east to west, 60 kilometers north to south, an area one-third of Hainan Island, or one-tenth of the Kingdom of Portugal.

Such a vast island naturally supports a large tribal population. Currently, the island is home to the cassava-planting Taino Tribe, at least sixty thousand strong, perhaps more. For the past century, it has been the frontline for the various Taino divisions against Caribbean invasion. Yet, with the Caribbean's invasion scale, at most hundreds of warriors, the resulting war pressure wasn't enough to unite all the Taino on the island into a particularly powerful tribal alliance...

In reality, the scale of union among Taino tribes only needs to reach about ten thousand, able to gather two thousand strong men to resist the largest Caribbean invasion!

Thus, under this long, sustained low-intensity tribal warfare lasting one to two hundred years, the sixty thousand Taino Tribe on the island gradually formed five chieftain tribal alliances (cacicazgo), exaggeratedly called "chieftain kingdoms," but by organization level, should be called "tribal alliance."

Yes, five Taino alliances, five! At the time of the Portuguese arrival, the Puerto Rico Island presented a picture of "Five Absolutes Standing Together" in balanced division. Of course, the positions of the five chieftain kingdoms weren't "east, south, west, north, center," but "southeast, northeast, southwest, northwest, center!"

Like the "Five Absolutes," these five Taino alliances engaged in intermarriages and alliances, as well as hostilities and conflicts. Each alliance had a great tribe as its core, and within each great tribe, there was a family favored by the Divine Spirit as the "Great Chief." Indeed, this is the tribal upper and lower differentiation, the tribe Divine Descendant's prototype!

The beliefs of each alliance, amid frequent struggles and conflicts, transformed from "natural Zemi" to a similar yet different "powerful Mother Goddess," to strengthen the ruling legitimacy of the tribal "Great Chief."

"Almighty! Truly strange! The fishermen from the villages, seeing our large ship, first approached with smiles... But upon seeing the ship clearly, all turned to faces of terror? Then, shouting and fleeing quickly in their boats, like they've seen a ghost... This bizarre behavior is completely different from the barbaric tribes we've encountered before?..."

Bruno frowned, carefully observing those fleeing fishermen. A dozen fishing canoes were carrying twenty to thirty natives, fleeing towards the shore village. These fishermen seemed not to dye their hair, nor were there visible bows, arrows, or short spears. Some wore loincloths, others grass skirts, unlike the hair-dyed tribes encountered before who went bare.

"Get closer! Close enough to take a look at the shore village! I have a premonition that these natives are not the same tribe as those fierce ones we met before!..."

The Portuguese fleet maintained a battle stance, cautiously approaching this eastern coast of Puerto Rico, nearing the "Higüey alliance" core territory. At this time, the previously encountered canoes had already returned to the tribal village. With a burst of excited shouting, the entire village was in chaos. Hundreds of tribespeople ran rampant within the village, many rushing to the seaside, upon seeing the "white men" on the large ship, rushed back to the village in fright. And the increasingly fearful cries gradually merged within the village, echoing a phrase repeatedly.

"O Stone Mother Goddess! It's the evil demon! The prophesized evil demon!..."

"Fleet on alert! Load cannons! Prepare for battle!..."

The native village's response was clearly wrong, it didn't appear friendly by any means. With experience from Caribbean tribe attacks, Bruno promptly distanced from the small boats' mooring beaches, maintaining a distance of two li, continuing to observe the shore's reaction.