"Kill!!!!"
Wen Yang was stunned when several hundred armed peasants came charging at them, shouting.
They had only just disembarked.
Having received word from Nashōmi, Yamatai had also sent people to welcome them.
But just as they came ashore, a band of people appeared in the distance. If not for their clothing, Wen Yang would have thought a troop of monkeys had escaped from somewhere.
Most looked malnourished, with pointed faces and sunken cheeks, every rib showing. They were thin and frail to the extreme, carrying only light weapons and wearing no armor as they charged over, roaring.
Wen Yang looked at them in utter bewilderment.
The Dai-shuai who had come on the Queen's orders nearly blacked out at the sight as well.
Who on earth were these people?
He was about to give an order when Wen Yang turned to his own deputy general with interest.
Cheng Ji grinned savagely. "Kill half, spare half!"
At his command, the armored guards brought out their strong crossbows.
Because of its own limitations, Wa Island was still very backward in military capability.
They lacked large livestock.
This had several very serious consequences, the first being backward agriculture.
The second was the problem of warhorses.
Even now, cavalry had never appeared on Wa Island.
They would have to wait more than another hundred years for cavalry, when warhorses would finally be introduced from places such as the Three Han.
The third was the problem of bows and crossbows. Many excellent bows and crossbows were made using the horns and even the sinews of large livestock.
They were at a disadvantage in all three respects.
Their inferior bows and crossbows also led to inferior armor. At this time, they essentially had no complete suits of iron armor, instead using equipment such as wooden armor