It's a pyramid. I was speechless for a moment and could only tilt my head with a puzzled expression. It was not a building made of stone like the Egyptian pyramids.
It looked like a large mound.
'What could it be?'
While my mind was in turmoil, the 'Ferocious Wolf' returned leading a reconnaissance unit.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! There was a huge village ahead. I was afraid that the warriors in the village would detect our scouting party, so I did not investigate it in detail."
"You handled it well."
He turned his head and asked 'Sharp Antlers'.
"Sharp Antlers! Do you know anything about this town?"
'Sharp Antlers' shook his head, seeming a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I've never heard of that town either."
Indeed, the village we were trying to conquer was still far away, both in terms of location and distance.
'hmm!'
I was a little flustered when an unexpected variable occurred. A very large village with at least five thousand inhabitants, as reported by 'The Fierce Wolf'.
Another way to interpret this is to say that at least a thousand warriors are guarding the village in front. I turned my head and shouted an order to the guardsmen.
"Prepare for battle!"
"From now on, we will operate three scout teams to scout the surrounding area!"
Even the guardsmen who had been taking it easy until now seemed to have noticed the seriousness of the situation and prepared to attack at any time, holding bows in one hand.
I looked up and confirmed that there were no red dots on the map window, then I led the guardsmen and began to cautiously advance toward the unknown village.
After a while, I and the guardsmen entered the village and started to search and investigate the surrounding area. Large and small mud houses made of earth and wood.
Inside, pottery and miscellaneous items necessary for daily life were strewn about in a mess. At that moment, the 'fierce wolf' who was carefully examining the crudely made pottery spoke cautiously.
"It is not the pottery of the Kaokia tribe that I know."
I looked up at the thatched roof and turned around, left with only deep questions.
"It looks like there's no one here either. Let's look around other houses."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
I came out of the mud house with a few of my guardsmen and looked around once more. More than a thousand warriors were running around, inspecting the mud houses.
And not far from here there was a large field where corn had been grown.
'That's incredible.'
Even though it was just the entrance to the village, I couldn't help but be amazed at its scale. After a brief moment of appreciation, I looked up and checked the map window from time to time to see what was there.
As expected, the red dot has never been seen so far. At that moment, the guardsmen who had been investigating the surrounding mud houses returned one by one, and 'Heavy Snowstorm' reported to me as their representative.
"There was no one."
"I see."
However, the guardsmen of the Imperial Guard have not yet let their guard down. The town was larger and more expansive than I had expected.
There were mounds made of earth here and there, and there were also several communal residences made of earthen houses.
"This time we're going that way!"
"Be sure to keep a close watch on your surroundings and report immediately if anything happens while you're moving."
I led the Royal Guard warriors and continued to explore this village.
* * *
A huge circular plaza. The ground was flat and well-tamped, as if it had been touched by human hands. Of course, because it was no longer managed, grass grew here and there.
At that moment, the 'Honest Bear' looked around with a look of wonder and question in his eyes.
"Your Majesty! The logs are… they are stuck in an even position. What are they for?"
"I know…."
As the 'Honest Bear' had said, logs were placed at regular intervals outside the large circular plaza. However, most of the logs were rotten or had fallen to the ground, unable to withstand the ravages of time.
"Honest bear! Let's go to the log in the middle."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
As I stepped toward the center, the 'Honest Bear' and the guard warriors who were escorting me followed me, keeping a wide perimeter in defensive formation.
Before I knew it, I was slowly turning around the log pillar stuck in the ground in the center of the circle. The shadows cast by the logs in sunlight varied in length depending on their location.
And now that I look, there were a few earthen platforms in the circular plaza. I quickly looked around and then quietly stared at one place.
'I think I know what it is.'
It's summer now. The shadow of one of the logs to the west was unusually long compared to the shadows of the other logs.
"It's a calendar."
It was a shock. We would never have imagined that in this day and age, Native Americans would use the sunrise to create a calendar.
Honestly, every time I continue to explore this town, I am constantly surprised. The size of the village was almost that of a city.
Unfortunately, it is now a ruin without people living there… .
'Why? Are there no people living in this city?'
Naturally, curiosity arose.
"Honest bear! Let's go inside that fence."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The Royal Guard soldiers are divided into units to scout and investigate the area, but I can't guarantee that they will be able to see the entire ruined city by the end of today.
* * *
A double-layered wooden fence. As expected, perhaps because there were no people, the fence was broken or collapsed here and there.
As I entered the fence with ease, I could not help but be amazed once again by its enormous size. It was so well organized into districts, almost like a planned city.
Dozens of mounds, large and small, the outer areas within the fences are residential areas, and in the center is a large square that can accommodate a large number of people.
'There is definitely a clear difference between the buildings on the outer side.'
It seemed that the outer and inner walls were divided by a fence. The mud houses on the inner wall were where the city's rulers lived, and they were more splendid and larger than the mud houses on the outer wall.
Plus, it even had a garden. I turned my gaze to the largest mound above the central square. There was also an earthen house on top of the hill.
'Is this a palace?'
I took another step towards it.
* * *
I passed the central square, climbed the stairs, and slowly climbed up to the top of the hill. The 'Honest Bear' and the bodyguards who followed me and escorted me kept breathing heavily at the enormous number of stairs.
"Why are there so many stairs?"
"No matter how far I go, I can't seem to find the end."
I could hear some irritated voices among the guards, but I quietly walked up the stairs as if I hadn't heard anything. After a while, we finally reached the top of the three-story hill.
At the top, as expected, there was a large building in ruins.
"After resting for ten minutes, I looked around."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The 'Honest Bear' and the guard warriors, who looked a little tired, answered vigorously and each took their place to rest.
Perhaps because of the game system, I wasn't tired yet, so I walked towards the hillside cliff to look down on the entire city before entering the large building.
A cool breeze blew, briefly cooling down my hot body. And I was struck by the enormous scale of the city that came into view.
'That's incredible.'
Dozens of mounds, inner and outer ramparts, corn fields, log cabins, plazas, residences, and more. Roughly speaking, it was a city-sized place where 10,000 people could live.
After a brief break from admiration, the 'Honest Bear' and the Royal Guard warriors explored the building. The overall structure was almost similar to an earthen house.
However, the difference was that there was a large altar-like thing in the center of the large building.
"Hmm! Isn't this where the king resides?"
As I was lost in thought for a moment, the 'Humble Bear' came looking for me in a hurry, as if he had discovered something.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Please come here."
Not far from the altar. I walked towards the 'Honest Bear'. A white thing that looked like a skull was sticking out from the flat ground.
"Shall we give it a try?"
"okay."
It was a little unsettling, but I had no choice but to do it if I wanted to find concrete evidence. 'The Honest Bear' called over a few of his bodyguards and began digging the ground around them with hatchets without hesitation.
And soon, dozens of skeletal remains were revealed in the dug up ground.
"There really are a lot of remains."
"Judging by the traces, it seems that most of them died with their throats cut."
Certainly the SS warriors were professionals. 'The honest bear' said, handing me a skull and a neck bone.
"It's a little rough, but it's a mark from a knife cut."
"That's right."
I could also see with my own eyes that the cross-section of the cervical vertebrae had been roughly scraped. And among the remains we found were those of not only adults, men and women, but also children.
"Personally, I think it's an offering to God."
The other guardsmen nodded silently, as if they shared the same opinion as the 'Honest Bear'. This gave me a clear idea of who lives on top of this hill.
'It was a temple where priests lived.'
At that moment, a soldier from the Imperial Guard searching a room in a large building came looking for me again.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Here is a dagger made of bronze. And here is a copper plate."
At the word bronze, I looked surprised and said to the 'stubborn bear'.
"Let's go and see."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
I ran to the room where the bronze was discovered, my feet almost hitting the ground.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! I found these items here."
I looked around the ornately decorated room and immediately guessed that it was the high priest's room. A total of three objects made of bronze.
A dagger, a copper plate with the shapes of an eagle and a human, and a pair of elaborately crafted earrings.
"Is this all?"
"Yes, that's all for now."
I looked closely at the bronze objects. The bronze dagger was quite old, but everything except the handle was made of bronze, and the blade was still intact.
Next is an elaborately crafted copper plate. It could be a sacred animal or a god in the imagination of the people of this city.
Finally, looking at the ornate bronze earrings, I could tell that they were ornaments worn by the high priest to prove his position and status.
"Take good care of these items."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
After a while, after looking around the main temple, I quietly came down the hill with the 'Honest Bear' and the guard warriors without saying a word.
'Bronze… .'
The common sense I knew until now has collapsed. It was thought that most Native American tribes in North America remained at the Neolithic level of technology, but that was not the case.
'Where on earth have all these people with bronze technology gone?'
My questions continued to follow one after another.
* * *
The day was gradually getting darker. The Royal Guard soldiers who had been exploring the city scattered around the central square of the castle returned one by one.
"I searched the northern residence, but there were no people."
"I searched the hills to the south, but I didn't see a single person."
'Heavy Snowstorm', 'Ferocious Wolf', and 'Sharp Antlers' were reported in turn. However, even after half a day, I still haven't seen all of the city.
It was already too late to conquer the last remaining Cahokia tribe village anyway. After much thought, I made a decision.
"We'll stay here for the night. Build a temporary shelter and prepare dinner!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The warriors moved busily as the great warriors with the rank of Cheoninjang answered powerfully.
* * *
Dark night. Temporary leather barracks were erected in the central square, and braziers were installed here and there, brightly lighting up the surrounding area.
While most of the SS warriors of the 'Sun of the Sky' were sleeping in the makeshift barracks, the rest of the SS warriors were taking turns on guard duty.
"It's quite windy."
"I know."
As the guardsmen in charge of the western area of the garrison were observing the front and chatting lightly, they heard an ominous and strange sound in their ears.
"Khuuuuuuuu! Khuuuuuuu!"
The two guardsmen made eye contact at the same time, each clutching the weapon in his hand tightly, and then the strange sound was heard again.
"Save me, save me!"