Chapter 662 The Second Kingdom Exploration, Kuba? Cuba!

The night was dark and the jungle was deep. The exploration team treated the wounded and began to board the ship. The Mayapan people were still groping on the battlefield, collecting spoils from the corpses. The leaders of both sides gathered in front of a campfire, looking at each other and waiting quietly.

"The price of compensation"

The Mayan merchant Ticarlo lowered his eyes and pondered in silence. He did prepare some trump cards to calm the anger of the kingdom. However, such trump cards are few and far between in the remnants of Mayapan who are in a difficult situation. Once handed over, the value of the remnants of Mayapan to the kingdom.

"Forget it! I don't actually have a choice."

Ticarlo's eyes swept across the red dagger in the hands of the Tomat priest. This obsidian dagger has picked up lobsters, engraved divine patterns, and naturally offered sacrifices. Faced with such a threat, he sighed and looked at the young descendant of the gods, Tiakim.

"Tiakin, have you brought the person I ordered before?"

"Ah?"

The young descendant of God shook his head vigorously, and then he woke up from the priest's ceremony. He thought for a while before he understood who his uncle was talking about.

"Oh. I brought it."

"Then bring it here!"

"Okay!"

Tiakin turned around and gave a few instructions to the noble warriors behind him. Soon, a tall, dark-skinned, tattooed middle-aged warrior came to the crowd with an old drawing board.

"Bless you, the Sun of Mayapan, the tall Chief Cocom!"

The tall middle-aged warrior put down the drawing board, knelt on the ground, and saluted to Tiakim. He raised his hands high and then put them flat on the ground, showing his inner obedience.

"Bless you, the Lord God! Kuba, a loyal warrior of Mayapan. Your ancestors have been loyal to the royal family for generations, and you have been loyal to me for many years."

Tiakin's expression was calm, revealing the majesty of the descendant of God. He stared at Kuba, who was prostrating himself, and then he continued.

"Now, you must worship a more respected god and pledge allegiance to the Nahua priest who came from the western plateau. You must follow him, go east together, return to the place where your ancestors came from, and pass on the majesty and light of the gods to the still ignorant tribesmen!"

"Yes! Obey you, the sun of Mayapan!"

Hearing the words of the "sun", Kuba was a little confused, but he still prostrated himself respectfully. Then, he obeyed the will of the sun, turned around, and kowtowed to the Tomat priest.

"Praise you! The high plateau priest!"

"Hmm?"

The Tomat priest looked at Kuba, who was prostrating himself, and then looked at the Mayan merchant Tikalo, who looked calm. He raised his eyebrows, pointed his finger, and asked in a deep voice.

"Tikalo, is this the price of your compensation?"

"That's right! Priest Tomat, he is one of the prices of compensation, and the most important one. He will definitely satisfy the kingdom and His Highness!"

The Mayan merchant nodded affirmatively. Then, the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a mysterious smile.

"Do you know where he was born?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Priest Tomat's eyes moved. He looked at the old militiaman Chihuaco, and the other party looked at him at the same time. The same guess emerged in the minds of the two, and their eyes also looked to the east.

"Could it be?"

"Yes! His name is Kuba, and he comes from Cuba! The meaning of 'Cuba' is a vast and fertile land. And that land is the East China Sea Snake Island that Your Highness has been thinking about!"

Tikalo spoke word by word with confidence. And these plain words fell into the ears of Priest Tomat, but they sounded like thunder.

"What! He is the Taino people mentioned by Your Highness?"

"You can say that. But the more accurate statement"

Tikalo paused, but forgot the complicated name. So, he looked at the respectful Kuba and asked.

"Kuba, where did your ancestors come from? What ethnic group did they belong to?"

"Praise you! Respected descendants of God. My ancestors came from the westernmost part of Cuba. They are Guanahatabey. And to the east of the tribe, on the flat plains, are the Taíno. But in fact, they call themselves Guanahāni. Guanahātabe and Guanahāni both live in the vast Cuba, and are Cubans belonging to the fertile land."

"Guanahatabe? Guanahāni? Cubans?"

The Tomat priest widened his eyes and was instantly excited. The Eastern Snake Island that His Highness had been thinking about appeared in front of him like this! He remembered His Highness' sincere instructions before leaving, as if there was a passion in his chest, boiling. After a long while, he calmed down and asked in a deep voice.

"Kuba, are you from Snake Island in Cuba?"

"No. I grew up in the lowland Maya, a high plateau chief. But I have followed merchant ships back to Cuba several times and visited the West Mountain tribe where my ancestors came from."

"Ah? The West Mountain tribe in Cuba?"

Hearing this, the Tomat priest touched his chin and asked.

"Where is the West Mountain?"

"Uh, the West Mountain is the West Mountain, the mountain in the west."

Kuba raised his head and looked at the Tomat priest strangely. Then, he thought about it, and answered with the prompting of Ticaro.

"Cuba is a long, flat fertile land. It is indeed like a snake, with the head of the snake facing east and the tail of the snake facing west. There are big mountains at both ends, and it is very flat in the middle. The head of the snake is the East Mountain, and the tail of the snake is the West Mountain."

"I see!"

The Tomat priest nodded, thought for a while, and asked again.

"Kuba, do you speak Taino?"

"High chief of the plateau, I can speak Mayan, Guanahata, and Taino."

"Hmm? Guanahata?"

"Oh, it's the language of my ancestral tribe. The tribes in the west of Cuba all speak Guanahata. And the tribes in the middle and east speak Guanahani, which is Taino. The two languages ​​are different."

"I see!"

The Tomat priest nodded repeatedly, and a smile appeared on his face again. He stared at Kuba lying on the ground, his eyes shining, as if he was looking at a peerless beauty. The pious priest pondered for a while, touched the scripture in his hand again, and asked uncontrollably.

"Kuba, are you willing to convert to the Lord?"

"Uh? Convert to the Lord?"

Kuba raised his head, looking confused. Then, he saw the shining eyes of the Tomat priest, and his whole body was cold and shivered.

"I"

"Ahem! Respected Tomat priest."

Tikalo smiled and interrupted at the right time. He picked up the old map on the ground, took a nostalgic look at it, and handed it to the priest Tomat respectfully.

"Look at this. Another price that will satisfy you."

"What is this?!"

"This is a sea chart to Cuba. It shows the sea route to Cuba, as well as the names and locations of thirty Cuban tribes!"

Speaking of this, Ticarlo pursed his lips, his eyes looked a little vicissitudes, and his tone was distant.

"When the Mayapan Kingdom was at its peak, it had frequent trade exchanges with the tribes on the island of Cuba, especially the tribes in the west. The fleets of the Mayan Kingdom traveled east and west, and many tribes on the island recognized the royal emblem and traded goods with the kingdom. There were even chiefs who surrendered to the royal family and sent their nephews and nephews. This is the origin of Kuba's father and grandfather."

"Although Cuba's trade has to cross the sea and there is a risk of storms and waves, the profit is extremely high! The kingdom can exchange the island's abundant tobacco, cotton, pineapples, cassava, fish and feathers at a very low price. This Mayapan sea map is the treasure that merchants from all Mayan tribes dream of!"

"The Cuban sea map is the treasure that they dream of!"

Hearing this, the priest Tomat repeated in a murmur, his face showing joy. He couldn't wait to lower his head and look at the wooden board in his hand.

On the far left of the board, there was a departure port, Ekab. Then, several crooked curves went from the north and south to the east, until they reached a narrow strip of land. On these curves, Mayan numbers were also marked, which, according to Tikalo's translation, ranged from 600 to 800 miles.

"From Ekabu to the east, go 600 to 800 miles, and you will reach Cuba!"

Seeing this, Priest Tomat was shocked. He couldn't wait to continue looking down. "Cuba" was extremely narrow and long, extending to the southeast for more than 2,000 miles. Along the coast, there were large and small Mayan characters, which should be the marks of different tribes.

"Tikalo, where is the Xishan tribe where Kuba came from?"

"Here! Arrive at the westernmost end of Cuba, along the southern coast to the east, the first large tribe at the foot of the mountain is the Xishan tribe!"

Priest Tomat stretched out his hand, pressed on the position of the Xishan tribe, and stayed there for a while. Then, his sight went all the way eastward until the end of Cuba, and saw a marked position at the East Mountain.

"Huh? What is this mark?"

"Oh! Decades ago, the fleet of the Mayapan Kingdom once collected some black, shining gems here, which can attract and repel each other."

Tikalo looked gloomy, recalling the long-ago story. The world is like smoke, and people's fate is really unpredictable. On his face, there was an inexplicable smile, and a few sighs.

"I once selected two black gems as a gift for His Highness. When His Highness saw it, he was very excited. He once asked me where I got them. I didn't tell him the specific location, but only said that it came from the Snake Island in the east."

"And now, the kingdom calls the place where this kind of gem is produced iron ore! I have heard of the kingdom's iron ore, which is only a small piece, but His Highness regards it as an incredible treasure. And at this mark, the black iron ore directly formed a mountain under the open air!"

"Ah? After the death of Quetzalcoatl, the fangs turned into hard black iron? A mountain formed by iron ore?!"

Hearing this, Priest Tomat suddenly clenched the scriptures and shouted in shock. His face was filled with enthusiasm, and his eyes suddenly brightened, even piercing Ticarlo, who lowered his head slightly.

"Yes! Here, it is here! His Highness has a divine prophecy that a city must be built here! The fleet must arrive here, and the kingdom's warriors will also arrive here to smelt iron ore, build fortresses, guard against white-skinned demons, and suppress the feathered serpent corpse!"