Chapter 682 The Second Kingdom Exploration, the First Night in Cuba
The Caribbean in May is like a willful god of wilderness, showing its wild side at will. The wind howled. Blowing across the sky; dark clouds pressed down on the sea; thunder exploded and fell between the ships; the waves rose like mountains! This storm that fills the sky is the free dance of the wild god, who never cares about the life and death of mortals.
However, when the supreme god showed his majesty, stretched out his invisible palm, and took away the lethargy that covered the sky, the Aragami bowed his head and admitted his mistake. The storm that filled the sky dissipated in an instant! In just a few moments, the bright sunshine fell from the blue sky, reflecting the waves on the calm sea and making the shells on the beach colorful.
"Ah, this damn god, you are so blind! It was dark just now, like an abyss under the ground, but now it is open and transparent, like a kingdom of God. Ha! This is treating the fleet as a toy, on the sea You’re just playing around, you’re really blind!”
Chihuaco, an old militiaman, opened his eyes wide and looked at the clear sky when the clouds and fog disappeared. He opened his mouth in surprise. After a while, he looked up at the sky and cursed angrily, venting the fear that had accumulated for a long time in the terrible storm.
"You blind man! You bastard! You are tossing here and there! All my anger and energy have been lost by you! You are really blind!"
"Ah! Praise the Lord God, He is watching us and has withstood His test! He generously gives us light to guide us and witness the brilliance of divine revelation!"
More than ten steps away, Tomat, the chief priest, knelt on the ground and kissed the sun amulet in his hand. After a few breaths, he raised his head, closed his eyes, and prayed to the sun in the sky, tears of excitement filling his eyes.
Not far behind Priest Tomat, a group of praying warriors and sailors were also kneeling. Huitu Puap was kneeling at the front, exhausted, half paralyzed on the beach, like a bud that had been pecked by a bird. After a while, he lowered his head, closed his eyes, and prayed silently and devoutly.
"The Lord God protected me and allowed me to survive the evil storm! The three gods protected me and allowed me to break away from the condor's last resentment! The old prophet saved me and gave me a way to resolve the curse and escape from the abyss of doomed death! Ah! ! I, Huitu Puap, am truly a good person blessed by the gods!”
"Huh, praise your Lord God! Please spare me and let me go home safely."
Seeing the people praying, the old militiaman Chihuaco sighed, stopped cursing, and prayed too. Around the longship, the guide Kuba lay on the ground, kissing the solid homeland under his feet. As for the Mayan merchant Tikalo, his face was pale, his eyes were closed, and he kept thinking about the memory of his first trip to sea. As for Dark Snake and Didi, they both lay powerlessly at the stern of the boat, reaching out to dip their hands into the honey in the honey pot, then sucking their fingers hard and staring blankly at the sun.
After a long time, everyone in the fleet vented their emotions in different ways. Only then did they calm down and count the fleet's losses.
"We have one, two, three, four or four boats left. There were originally more than sixty people on each boat, but now there are one-tenth less. In total, there are still about 220 people in the fleet!"
After hearing the counting results of Priest Mecat, the old militiaman Chihuaco took a deep breath and felt his head hurt.
"There are four boats left and two hundred and twenty people?"
Eight days ago, when the expedition fleet set off from Port Ekab, it was still a large team of seven long boats and more than 420 people. The first seven days of sailing also went all the way eastward, and everything went smoothly. Until today, a sudden storm swept across, and in just half a day, it almost swallowed up the entire fleet!
Mayan businessman Ti Carlo stood nearby, together with Kuba, always waiting for Chihuaco's inquiry. He touched his divine slender bald head, pondered for a moment, and then spoke sincerely to comfort him.
"Dear Captain Chihuaco! The storm just now was always blowing from the west wind most of the time. As long as the fleet raises its sails and takes advantage of the wind to move eastward, it will not be lost in the sea. After all, in our fleet, In the east, there is not only the neighboring large island of scales, but also the Cuban Snake Island that stretches for more than two thousand miles! The three lost long ships will definitely be stopped by the Cuban Snake Island and land on the beach somewhere. The Lord God bless the fleet! "
"Yes. The Lord God bless them!"
Chihuaco, the old militiaman, pursed his lips and nodded with a sullen face. He thought for a while, then looked at Mecat and asked in a low voice.
"How much food is left on the ship? Hush! Keep your voice down, don't let the crew hear it yet."
"Captain, the waves in the storm are very big. Some of the supplies on the ship have been lost and soaked by the tide. Well, the food we can eat right now can only last four or five days."
Priest Mecat lowered his voice and answered carefully. Hearing this, Chihuaco frowned, thought for a moment, and then looked at Tikalo and Bowser next to him.
"Tell me, what kind of scale island is to the east of this desert island? Are there any tribes and villages on the island? Can we trade some food?"
"Yes, Scale Island! Bowser said that this desert island runs in the north-south direction, and we should be in the southeastern part of the island chain. Scale Island is not far to the east, the nearest twenty or thirty miles, and the farthest is not It will be more than a hundred miles. From Scale Island to the north, you will definitely reach Cuba Snake Island by traveling up to two hundred miles.”
Mayan businessman Tikalo relayed the guide's words seriously.
"In fact, the Scale Island is made of the scales of Quetzalcoatl, with a tail feather of Quetzalcoatl on the east and west. The chain of islands under our feet is the western tail feather that is submerged in the water. And to the east of the Scale Island, there is another chain of islands made of the eastern tail feather. The two chains of islands made of tail feathers, plus a large island made of scales, just hold the tail of Quetzalcoatl and connect to the two western ends of the Cuban Snake Island. In other words, the chain of islands under our feet is part of the extension of the Cuban Snake Island!"
"As for the Scale Island, Kuba said that there are some Taino villages with thousands of tribesmen living in them. The Taino people are a very kind and docile tribe and never actively attack outsiders. They will be happy to help us, trade food with us, and even help us repair ships."
Hearing this, Chihuaco raised his eyebrows and was a little skeptical. He came from the Mexica Plateau, went to the wilderness of the north, and traveled to the Maya in the east. The tribes along the way have nothing to do with "kindness" or "docility". The old militiaman still kept a sense of vigilance in his heart about the Taino people that Kuba had described. But no matter what, they had to go to the nearest Taino village and replenish food as soon as possible.
"Check the boats, sort out the supplies, and dry the wet food! Shanniao, how are the boats? Are the damage serious?"
"Captain, two of the four longboats that ran aground are intact. One is slightly damaged, and the other has a hole! However, our boat has wooden boards for repairs."
"May the Lord bless you! Okay, first select a dozen people to make a fire and cook, so that everyone can have a full meal tonight! Then, all the crew members will be divided into two teams. One team will be weak, stay on the island first, and repair the damaged boats. The other team will be more energetic, and pick up the two intact longboats!"
Chihuaco thought for a while, discussed with the Tomat priest, and quickly made a decision.
"Tomorrow morning, the second team will set off with me. We are going to the Scale Island in the east to visit the Taino village! As for the first team, we will follow the arrangements of the priest Tomat. Praise the Lord! Bless the fleet!"
The priest Tomat decided to stay and comfort the crew members who stayed on the island, repair the boats, and sort out the supplies. No one can replace his inspiring role. Gray Tu Puapu took armor and weapons, led dozens of warriors, and followed the old militia team to guard against possible conflicts. And here, the Mayan merchant Ti Kalo finally got permission to stay in the cabin. Ti Kalo will participate in the first exploration with the guide Kuba and serve as a translator.
Hearing this, the Mayan merchant raised an excited smile on his pale face, and even reached out to wipe away tears. The cabin was hot and stuffy, mixed with the unpleasant smell of salted fish. It was really not a place for people to stay. It was simply a black prison under Mayapan! In his life, he had never stayed in such a difficult place for so long as a prisoner!
"Praise the Lord! Protect the fleet!"
After receiving the order, the crowd dispersed and got busy until dusk.
At dusk, the sky was full of rosy clouds. The setting sun dyed the sea red, and the vast sea surface was full of colorful lights. And the curling smoke finally rose on the beach.
Old militiaman Chihuaco ate hot corn cakes, and sat in front of the bonfire by the sea with Anshe and Didi. He looked at the gradually quiet sea surface, watching the dim light and shadow flickering, until the darkness came from afar and stopped outside the shining circle of the bonfire.
"On the deserted island of Cuba, we were on the beach in the evening after the storm, baking bread and eating it, it was so delicious"
The old militiaman suddenly felt a strange peace in his heart. He opened his mouth and wanted to recite a few poems in front of the two teenagers, but he was not cultured and just said some ordinary sentences. A seagull squatted beside him, pecking at the corn crumbs dropped by the three people from time to time. It occasionally raised its head, looked at the dark sky, and uttered two clear and loud cries.
"Oh! Oh!"
The old militiaman reached out his hand and patted the petrel's little head, and it stopped crying. Then, he checked the wounds on the petrel's wings, all of which were bandaged by him. It just took some time to heal. The old militiaman lowered his head, with the corners of his mouth raised, looking at the bald skin on the petrel's body. The petrel also turned its dark eyes, looking at the creature in front of it, and sizing up the increasingly scarce head feathers of the other party.
"Hey! You fell from the sky, you stupid bird! I was going to pluck your feathers and roast them on the fire! But you woke up when I just plucked a handful of your feathers."
"I'm not soft-hearted, but I thought that you reminded me after all, and you don't have two taels of meat, so I let you go. If you scream again, I will recognize you, but this barbecue bonfire will not recognize you!"
The skinny Chivako kept muttering in a low voice, and I didn't know what he was saying. The fat Haiyan shook his head, raised his voice, and cried twice more with full energy.
"Oh! Oh!"
"Hey! You're still screaming?"
Chivako stretched out his old hand and pretended to hit. Haiyan turned around, staggered, and ran two steps. Seeing this, Anshe and Didi couldn't stop laughing. After a while, Chivako couldn't help it and smiled with his mouth raised. The three laughed for a while, and Haiyan came forward again. Chihuaco shook his head, touched the petrel's head, looked at the dark sea, and muttered quietly.
"Beside the bonfire, the sea can't see the light. Three people are laughing. There are silly birds singing. It's not noisy. Oh! This is the first night when the fleet arrived in Cuba."
The low mumbling dissipated in the dark seashore. Not many people heard it, and no one remembered it. The sound gradually became smaller and turned into a light snoring, and then slowly became louder, like a rhythmic drumbeat.
Amid the rhythmic snoring, a fat petrel spread its injured wings and fluttered a few times. But it couldn't fly at all, let alone return to its hometown. The petrel tilted its head, was stupid for a while, and squatted to sleep for a while. It was not until the sky gradually brightened that it was suddenly awakened by the deafening snoring. It was stunned and staggered to get closer.
The morning light showed a glimmer, and the sea gradually woke up from the boundless depths. And in the dim sky, some birds were flying freely! The silly bird tilted its head, looked at the birds in the sky, and then lowered its head to look at the mudflats under its feet and the sleeping people. Then, it squatted at the source of the snoring with its belly bulging, fat as if no one was there, raised its voice, and made two energetic cries.
"Oh! Oh!"
"Ah? Ah! Storm, storm is coming?"
The old militiaman was startled and woke up suddenly. He raised his head, looked at the rising sun on the seashore, and then looked at the warriors on guard outside. He was stunned for a moment, and then muttered to himself.
"Ah? Oh! It's dawn, time to set off"
"Oh! Oh!"
"Damn it! You stupid bird, you disturbed my dream of going home! I'm going to roast you!"
"Oh! Oh!"
The bird's voice faded away and sank into the western sea. Hometown is already five thousand miles away, and there is no way back. And the two thousand miles long Snake Island is right under my feet~