I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1111 Fantasy Time
Kyushu Island, the land of dog slaves.

"A great victory! A great victory for our army!"

"Your Majesty, our army has achieved a great victory over Himiko's allied forces, beheading over five hundred enemies and routing them!"

"Good good!"

Inside the dimly lit stone palace, King Himiko of the Dog Slave Kingdom, upon receiving the news of the victory from the front lines, was overjoyed: "General, what brilliant tactics! This great victory has truly vented my anger!"

Yamamoto Kuma laughed heartily: "Your Majesty flatters me. This is all thanks to Your Majesty's divine power, and... the benefits of our newly acquired batch of 'Han goods'."

He paused, lowered his voice, and looked around at the people with a hint of smugness in his eyes:
"Those Han crossbows were indeed sharp, far surpassing our bamboo bows and bone arrows. In this ambush, our brave warriors lay in wait in the forest. When half of the Yamatai army had passed through, they fired a volley of Han crossbows, instantly killing their vanguard general. The enemy formation was thrown into chaos, and our army took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack, which led to this great victory. The captured Han envoy's banners and seals further shook their morale."

Himiya Yumiko stroked the slightly oversized Han official's brocade robe she had stolen, and laughed heartily: "Well said! Han things are indeed excellent! It's a pity that despite all the torture we endured, we couldn't extract any more forging methods."

"Hmph! But it doesn't matter. We can deal with the Han Kingdom after we've completely crushed Yamatai and unified the eight continents. Who knows, they might even be begging to send me gifts then!"

Himiko laughed triumphantly.

It turns out that Himiko had only so-so prestige in the country, and most of the political power was in the hands of the Grand Preceptor.

However, just three months ago, Himiko was dissatisfied with Himiko of Yamatai calling herself "Son of the Sun" and being granted a gold seal and purple ribbon by the Han Dynasty and called herself the King of Wa. So she defied the opinions of the crowd and launched a surprise attack on the Han envoy.

This decision once caused a huge uproar in dog-loving countries.

It is important to know that although Japan is primitive, it is not blind and deaf. They have always had contact with the Three Hans across the strait. Two hundred years ago, someone even crossed the ocean to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty and received the "Golden Seal of the King of Wa of Han" from Liu Xiu, which is still a first-class national treasure of Japan.

Therefore, the people of Dog Slave Kingdom were afraid of the great Han Dynasty across the sea. Many nobles dared not take action, and even the Grand Preceptor Dog Gu Zhibei strongly opposed it.

However, Himiko, driven by a gambling spirit, insisted on her own way and gathered the few nobles in the country who supported her to carry out her plan.

Among them, Yamamoto Kumano was the most fervent supporter.

This person is a descendant of the Xiongxi people from southwestern Kyushu. A hundred years ago, after the Japanese warrior Musō infiltrated and killed their leader, Kawakami Shōshō, the Xiongxi people were annexed by the Japanese.

However, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. The powerful Japanese regime of decades ago quickly disintegrated, and dozens of warlords rose up on the eight islands of the East Sea. Xiong Xiren finally seized the opportunity to break away from the control of the Japanese court and, together with local officials and nobles, formed a state in Kyushu that the Han people called the Dog Slave Kingdom.

Months earlier, when the Han envoy passed through the waters under his jurisdiction, Yamamoto Kumanao had personally witnessed the towering warship and the imposing Han soldiers aboard, their armor gleaming. He felt instinctive fear, but even more so, he was aroused by the greedy ambition stirred within him by the silks, porcelains, and sharp metal weapons gleaming in the sunlight on board. Thus, Yamamoto Kumanao quickly reached an agreement with King Himiko. They first exploited the Han envoy's arrogance, sending a spy aboard under the guise of accompanying the tribute mission. Then, using the terrain, they launched a surprise attack at night in a secluded bay where the envoy's fleet was anchored.

It was an extremely despicable and unequal battle. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, the Dog Slave people, like water ghosts, silently approached from all directions in small boats. They used oil-soaked rockets to fire at the sails of the Han envoy's ship, creating chaos. At the same time, those who had already infiltrated the ship seized the opportunity to open the hatches and coordinate with the Dog Slave warriors pouring in from the outside.

Although the guards of the Han delegation were valiant, their fighting ability was greatly diminished by the suddenness of the attack, the overwhelming numbers, and the confined space of the ship. Many were killed in their sleep or forced into the sea. The chief envoy fought valiantly to protect the banners and seals symbolizing the majesty of the Han Dynasty, ultimately sacrificing his life for his country. The deputy envoy, Jiang Qin, fought his way out of the encirclement, but his ship was destroyed by fire, and after drifting for several days, he was unfortunately captured by the savages of Tsushima Island.

In this surprise attack, the Dog Slave Kingdom achieved enormous "victories" at a minimal cost—they seized several damaged but repairable Han ships, dozens of sets of fine Han army armor and weapons, especially those powerful Han crossbows, as well as a large quantity of exquisite silk, porcelain, and gold and silver utensils presented as state gifts.

It was precisely thanks to these captured "Han goods" that the military strength of the Dog Slave Kingdom increased dramatically in a short period of time. Himiko quickly organized manpower, using captured Han soldiers to learn how to use Han crossbows (although he could not replicate them), and armed an elite guard with the superior weapons of the Han people. This led to the great victory in the ambush of the Yamatai coalition.

At the same time, these successive victories continued to boost Himiko's prestige, and the young king was no longer the cautious and timid person he once was under the shadow of Inuchihiko.

He acted like a true overlord, completely suppressing the conservative voices within the country, led by the Grand Tutor, Goguryeo. The nobles who had previously strongly opposed the attack on the Han envoys, faced with the rich spoils of war and the victory in the foreign war, either chose to remain silent or turned to fawningly supporting the king's "wise decision."

Surrounded by a tidal wave of praise, Himiko was truly ecstatic, her pride and joy reaching their peak.

In the royal palace, he had the captured Han soldiers and Yamatai soldiers line up and kneel at his feet, while he himself imitated the Han people, wearing the somewhat comical, oversized Han official robe, and received the awe-inspiring worship of his subjects.

He felt he had already touched the threshold of becoming a true king, and soon he would completely defeat that hateful Yamatai, unify the eight continents, and achieve great things.

When the time comes, faced with this reality, even the distant Han Kingdom will have to acknowledge its status, and then more rewards and more advanced technologies will come in a continuous stream.

Even so, there are still discordant voices.

The Grand Preceptor, Gouzhibei, stepped forward from the crowd. He wore a traditional wizard's robe, his face painted with eerie smears, and he gripped a bone staff, a symbol of divine authority, tightly in his hand. Unlike the other nobles, he did not fawn; instead, he spoke with a furrowed brow:

“Oh my God!”

"Victory is certainly cause for celebration, but we must not let temporary triumph go to our heads!"

The dog's hoarse yet penetrating voice brought a slight silence to the noisy hall.
"What a powerful force the Han Kingdom is! We were able to suppress the troublesome Yamatai army simply by borrowing the weapons they carried on their ships. If the Han Kingdom learns of Your Majesty's actions and sends troops to punish us, I'm afraid we'll all be in deep trouble!"

(End of this chapter)