At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Above the vast East China Sea, the sea wind howls, stirring up thousands of turbid waves.

The once noisy and bustling Dongyi naval formation has now fallen into an eerie silence.

At the horizon, enormous, dark shadows, obscuring the sky, were slowly pressing in with the wind and waves.

The giant ship cut through the waves, crushing the vast expanse of water. Its heavy, dark hull resembled an ancient beast lurking in the deep sea. With every inch it moved forward, it brought a heavy sense of oppression to the sea, causing the surging waves to slow down.

Emperor Ito Jinmu and his generals had already heard the rumors and knew that the Daiki warships that annihilated Murakami Heiji's 30,000-strong navy were terrifyingly large, so they had already made full mental preparations in advance.

But rumors are just rumors. When these nine enormous ships actually crossed the ocean and appeared in everyone's sight, all the Dongyi soldiers were still trembling and their hearts were broken.

Ordinary Dongyi warships were already among the top combat vessels in the East China Sea. They were only a dozen or so zhang long, but they were already quite imposing on the sea.

But the Great Qian warships before them were more than three times larger!

The towering hull resembled an iron wall standing on the sea, the layers of armor gleaming coldly, and the huge sails billowing and blocking out the light. From afar, it looked like nine moving sea fortresses, slowly approaching with an overwhelming and unparalleled power.

"Those...those are the warships of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"How could such a massive ship exist in the world! This is something that no human could possibly build!"

"No wonder Admiral Murakami's 30,000-strong navy was completely annihilated; they were utterly powerless against such terrifying warships!"

Countless Dongyi soldiers' pupils shrank, their throats bobbed, and they couldn't help but let out soft, trembling sounds. Their confidence and fighting spirit were crushed at this moment, replaced by a deep-seated fear and apprehension.

The morale that had just been ignited immediately cooled down somewhat.

On the main ship, Emperor Ito Jinmu of the Eastern Barbarian Empire clenched his fists tightly, his face filled with disbelief and shock.

Before he became emperor, he had commanded the Eastern Barbarian Navy for decades, inspected all the ships in the world, and traveled all over the East China Sea, but he had never seen such a magnificent and domineering warship.

A chilly sea breeze swept over him, making the robes behind his armor flutter in the wind, but he only felt cold all over, an extreme chill running from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He finally understood that the annihilation of those 30,000 invincible elite naval forces of the Eastern Barbarians was not unjust.

On the side, Minamoto no Yoshikiyo, who was always arrogant and conceited, and who believed that the Dongyi navy's tactics were the best in the world, had lost all his former arrogance at this moment.

His eyes were fixed on the approaching Daqian warship, his body trembling slightly, and the previous battle reports kept replaying in his mind.

He had been deeply troubled by the fact that 30,000 elite troops and hundreds of well-equipped warships could be wiped out in such a short time, but only now, seeing it with his own eyes, did he finally realize the truth.

So this is the behemoth that Murakami Heiji was facing!

Such massive warships swept across the sea, and without even engaging in combat, their mere ramming and crushing were enough to tear apart the entire naval formation of the Eastern Barbarians, not to mention the offensive weapons on board!

At this moment, Yoshikiyo Minamoto's unwavering belief in victory began to waver.

He wondered to himself, "Can we, the Eastern Barbarians, really win this battle?"

……

The sea breeze was fierce, and the waves roared.

Under the terrified gaze of tens of thousands of Dongyi soldiers, the nine Great Qian Youlong warships moved steadily forward and finally came to a stop a thousand paces away from the Dongyi navy.

Above the bow of the ship, the Great Qian Azure Dragon Battle Flag fluttered wildly in the wind, its fluttering sound echoing across the sea, and a chilling aura swept over the passengers.

Wang Ben stood atop the command platform of the main ship, his posture upright like a pine tree, his expression cold and solemn.

His wrists flicked, and the command flag in his hand waved rapidly, sending out precise military orders along with the flag signals.

crunch...

The heavy oars returned to their positions, and the massive warship came to a steady stop. Its once formidable power, which had been cutting through the waves, was now subdued, yet it still carried an imposing sense of steadfastness, its gaze fixed firmly on the Eastern Barbarian navy ahead.

Before long, two disheveled figures were escorted by Daqian armored soldiers and dragged to the center of the main ship's deck.

The two were none other than Shimazu Ryunosuke and Takenaka Hei.

At this moment, the two of them had long lost the composure and dignity they once possessed in their high positions.

His clothes were tattered and covered in seawater and mud. His hair was disheveled and stuck to his cheeks. His face was covered in blood and bruises. His hands and feet were tightly bound by heavy iron chains. He was covered in wounds and looked extremely wretched.

In the past, Shimazu Ryunosuke commanded tens of thousands of troops and was a renowned general of the Eastern Barbarians, known for his fierce and ruthless fighting style and formidable reputation.

As the chief strategist of the army, Takenaka Hyōe was a master strategist with many brilliant ideas, and was deeply trusted by the Emperor.

Now, however, the two have been completely reduced to prisoners of the Great Qian Dynasty, looking wretched, with dim eyes and a complete sense of defeat.

The two men struggled to lift their heads, their gazes falling upon the surrounding warships, their eyes instantly filled with extreme fear and disbelief.

In just six months!

When Su Mu first entered the East China Sea, he built up an elite 300,000-strong Daqian navy from scratch and created these nine unparalleled giant ships that shook the seas!

Such a speed of training troops and building ships, such earth-shattering capabilities, are simply unbelievable and beyond the imagination of the world!

At this moment, all the resentment and glimmer of hope in Shimazu Ryunosuke and Takenaka Hyōe's hearts vanished, leaving only utter fear.

They finally realized that their defeat was not unjust; the Dongyi invasion was a dead end from the very beginning!

……

"Tie Niu, bring these two to the bow of the ship and let all the Dongyi bandits in the East Sea see clearly what their commander and strategist look like!"

"Then let them be arrogant and provoke these Eastern barbarian bandits, and let them see with their own eyes how their general and strategist were killed."

Su Mu gave instructions to Zhao Tieniu, then turned to look at Shimazu Ryunosuke and the other man, his hatred still burning.

Whenever he saw these two people, he would recall the scene of the Eastern Yi bandits massacring the people of the East China Sea.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Tieniu, with the physique of a bull, readily agreed, a fierce and arrogant smile spreading across his dark face. He rubbed his hands together, saying, "Don't worry, Elder Su! This kind of work of demoralizing the enemy is my specialty, Tieniu! I guarantee I'll scare these Eastern barbarian rats out of their wits!"

Hehehe...

After saying that, Zhao Tieniu grabbed one of the men by the chain in each hand and dragged the disheveled Shimazu Ryunosuke and Takenaka Hei to the front railing of the ship like livestock, exposing their figures to the sight of both armies.

At that moment, aboard the opposing Eastern Barbarian flagship, Minamoto no Yoshikiyo, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the scene at the bow of the ship. His expression changed drastically, and he cried out in alarm, "Your Majesty! Something's wrong!"

"It's General Ryunosuke and strategist Takenaka!"

"They brought the two of them out, but we don't know what their intentions are!"

Ito Shinbu's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared intently at the two figures captured in a disheveled state on the opposite deck. His fists clenched, his face was extremely gloomy, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.