Grand Commandant Cao Jiu, the Heaven Suppressor, spoke, and everyone present immediately nodded in agreement. Speed was the essence of war; that was precisely why they had gathered of their own accord!
Himiko, Queen of the Eastern Isles, hesitated briefly before speaking first. "Your Majesty! By mobilizing all of Yingzhou, we can deploy a hundred thousand lower ninja, twenty thousand middle ninja, and three thousand upper ninja. At our absolute limit, we can double those numbers. As for other Innate Realm fighters-Onmyoji, Samurai, saber wielders, and the like-we can barely muster another hundred thousand!"
Yingzhou's forces had such unusual proportions because its development had favored ninja, making them more numerous. Lower, middle, and upper ninja corresponded respectively to the early, middle, and late stages of the Innate Realm.
Having finished, Himiko looked at the others with considerable pride and arrogance. Aside from the Xiang Clan, the imperial family of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty, none of the high ministers or great generals, including the various feudal kings and kings of other peoples, commanded as many powerful fighters as Yingzhou. After all, Yingzhou's population base spoke for itself; it was a populous nation in its own right.
"..."
Nangong Xiu, King of Joseon, and Jin Gija, the Han-Suppressing King, exchanged bitter looks and stopped short of speaking. They could not produce many powerful fighters anyway, hardly more than the various feudal kings. Announcing their numbers would only embarrass them, and the Chu Emperor naturally knew their circumstances.
Xiang Yu's face darkened. He swept an angry gaze over everyone present, his domineering aura bearing down on them like waves as he demanded:
"What I most want to know now is this: where did the Great Huan Dynasty get eight hundred thousand Forbidden Guard soldiers?! Where did it find so many Innate Realm