At this time, the Aztec Royal City, after a full day of various unexpected bombardments, had quietly transitioned into evening.
The sun, stained with the color of blood, gradually sank below the surface of the lake. It also painted the entire sky a glaring blood red.
Even the resplendent City of Gold began to show an ominous tint.
The colonizers from various countries, pirates, and marines still wreaking havoc in the city completely failed to notice this abnormality.
Even if they had noticed, they paid it no mind.
"Hahaha, I've had smallpox before! Nothing in this city can stop me from making a fortune."
"I haven't, but I'm more scared of being poor than dying! Even if I die in a pile of gold today, my life will have been worth it."
Like a swarm of rats burrowing into a rice bin, it seemed truly nothing could stop them.
In this land, already rich with gold and silver, just how wealthy would the capital city be—a capital that ruled over hundreds of city-states and tens of millions of people?
Even the most ordinary among the colonizers had their bags filled with various pure gold implements and ornaments.
As for silver? With gold so abundant they couldn't carry it all, silver had become a burden.
"Money talks, truth remains silent."
The proverb from the Gold Sequence became everyone's belief at that moment.
As long as one has money, one can do whatever one wishes.
The boundless wealth also stirred up bottomless desires in their hearts, especially when a group of colonizers burst into a temple beside the Avenue of Death.
There, they saw "Tequila," the finest liquor brewed from corn, palm, and agave, dedicated to the worship of the gods. Alongside it was a variety of carefully prepared delicacies.
Their stomachs, nearly starved for a day, immediately began to rebel.
It also finally reminded them that, compared to the alluring, glistening gold, eating seemed just as important.
A colonizer from Castilia gulped, rushed to grab a jug of liquor meant for the gods, and poured it down his throat.
But as soon as the tequila reached his throat, he spat it back out.
"Is this supposed to be liquor? Why does it have no taste at all?"
Disbelieving that the gods would be offered inferior liquor, he carefully tried another sip, but it was still tasteless.
Furthermore, after swallowing the liquor, it did not quench his thirst. Instead, it made him even thirstier, completely failing to satisfy his intense craving for exquisite wine.
"Something's not right. This meat, too—why does it taste just like sand?"
The meat and fruits his companions were eating were all the same. Chewing them felt like grinding coarse sand in their mouths, making it hard to swallow.
Even if they forced it down, their stomachs grew hungrier, entirely devoid of any sensation of fullness.
In the deeper part of the temple, another Second Order Transcendent had caught a female priestess. She had luckily avoided contact with the source of infection.
Even though she immediately let the [Spirit of the Ferocious Tiger] possess her, causing her to sprout tiger ears and a tiger tail, she was still overpowered by the man.
As this Transcendent removed the dazzling gold ornaments from her body, he casually ripped open her clothes. This revealed swathes of wheat-colored skin, as smooth as satin.
The peculiar charm of the strange tiger ears and tail instantly made his pulse pound.
He laughed heartily as he unbuckled his belt.
"Beauty, the Aztec people are going extinct. Let me help you continue your race."
Just as he was about to press himself upon her, his body suddenly froze.
He didn't react until the female priestess screamed, pushed him away, and ran off, clutching her clothes.
The man still looked as if he hadn't come to his senses. He stared blankly at the area between his legs; his expression changing from disbelief to shame, and finally, his face turned ashen.
"No! This can't be true! My life has no meaning anymore!"
The same scenario was occurring all over the city. Suddenly, fine wines failed to satisfy their needs, delicacies turned to dust in their throats, and beautiful women couldn't appease their desires.
They were dying of thirst, yet no amount of fine wine or spring water could quench it.
They were starving to death, yet no amount of gourmet food could fill their bellies.
The smooth skin of beautiful women had become completely alien to them.
Fine wine, delicacies, sweet springs, beautiful women, even the fragrance of roadside flowers—they could no longer feel any joy in the world.
An unknown terror and unrest, like another spiritual epidemic, began to spread rapidly throughout the city.
A Falcon circled the city once, nodded as if in satisfaction, then swiftly disappeared into the rainforest.
Moreover, the Azkek's Cursed Coin released by Byron was just the beginning.
Above Lake Texcoco, intense hatred was directed at the outsiders. This, combined with the mass deaths of the Aztec people in the cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, finally awakened another monster. This new horror was nearly as terrifying as the [Bird-Beak Plague Doctor]!
Meanwhile, on the western shore of Lake Texcoco.
The focus of the Hightins and the Bloodthirsty Cult was different from those who only had eyes for gold.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? [Conqueror] Cortes's opponent seems to be The Mad Hunt. The one who triggered the 'Calamity' to go out of control, destroying a Strait Fleet of the Kingdom—that The Mad Hunt is actually here in Banta'an!"
The deterrent effect of 25 Legend Points made an immediate impact. Even the voice of the Swarm seemed a bit dry.
"It's no mistake. That person really is The Mad Hunt! His likeness is exactly the same as the [Soul Sketch] drawn by the Hall Sequence painter."