RA GOU POV
It was truly eye-opening to see the Great Generals do battle for Ra Gou, who was merely a 5,000-man commander for Qin; it was a great honour for him not only to be here but also to be given a pivotal role in the Qin army.
His Lord Ketsu Shi had come and told him just how important it is that Ra Gou and the Ra Gou army shine on the battlefield, as it was not only one battlefield that the Ketsu Shi faction was fighting on. Should he lose here, it would reflect poorly on his Lord and could prove detrimental to his Lord Ketsu Shi's plans.
As Ra Gou gazed out towards the lines of Zhao mutts and flags, his mind continued to tick with thoughts of the grandeur theme being played in the background. 'This battle will decide the course of events for both Qin and Zhao, for possibly the next decade.' In Ra Gou's mind, it was no exaggeration; should Qin be the victors, they would exert dominance over mongrels once more, and their might would not be in question. However, should they lose…
A drop of cool sweat ran down his cheek as he continued to look forward; both armies were already in formation. But neither had yet to make a move; each side continued to stare at the other, waiting for the tension to be broken.
"...Still not time?"
"Don't tell me we will be staring at the scum all day?"
Questions and slight jokes continued to be aired. Ra Gou did his best to hammer the useless thoughts out of his mind, but as he did, he found himself only focusing on the battle that would start at any moment. The numbers for the battle were roughly even, with Lord Oukotsu having 120,000 troops and the mongrels fielding 100,000. Leading them was Sei Chou of Zhao, according to many, the young General who was no older than 18 years was in the same league as Ren Pa.
To Ra Gou, that was simply madness; there was no way a boy of 18 could reach that height, it was unthinkable, it was unspeakable, it was… Horrifying! The sheer thought of Zhao having another Ren Pa, who had not even reached the prime of his life yet, was so terrifying that even with two Great Generals. Ra Gou truly didn't feel as confident as he perhaps should've been.
Before Ra Gou could sink further into the rabbit hole, he was given mercy in being saved from his thoughts on Zhao's General and just how strong he was.
"OPEN YOUR EYES, I AM OUKOTSU, THE STRONGEST MAN IN ALL OF CHINA!!" The booming start of Oukotsu's speech rang clearly in the ears of Ra Gou, and like many others in the Qin army, he had to steady his horse as the earth seemed to shake. Still, the Great General continued not noticing the havoc he was causing, "THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE A MAN WHO CAN STOP ME!!!"
"ZHAO COMMANDER SEI CHOU!!!"
"I, QIN GREAT GENERAL OUKOTSU, SHALL PERSONALLY CLEAVE YOUR BODY IN TWO!" To Ra Gou, the speech only seemed to increase in volume as Oukotsu neared the end of his speech. "AN ARMY LED BY THE STRONGEST MAN OF ALL TIME IS ALSO THE STRONGEST ARMY OF ALL TIME!!!" Suddenly, Ra Gou felt a heat swell in his chest and started to burn as it travelled to the back of his throat.
"THIS IS THE OUKOTSU ARMY! WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!!!"
Hearing the words of Oukotsu, the Qin Great General and seeing the man with his own two eyes, Ra Gou let out the single greatest cheer he had ever done.
"UOOOOUUHHHH!!!!" He was not alone in his cheer, as the whole Qin army cheered in unison and caused both heaven and earth to tremble.
Ra Gou felt the excitement run down his spine as he gazed at Oukotsu with the sun behind him, illuminating his figure. So, this is the power of the Great General…' He looked on in wonder. The explosion of morale was something he could not describe; he was sure none of the Qin soldiers could describe it in its entirety.
"FORWARD CHARGE START WITH THE RIGHT ARMY!!!"
Ra Gou turned to see an outrider waving the flag for the right army, while signalling for that army to go and charge out. '....?! Right… Army? Isn't the right army…'
"RIGHT ARMY CHARGE!!!" The outrider shouted, and as a bolt of lightning had hit him, Ra Gou realised it was his army that was the right army.
"GOOOOOO!!!!" He shouted, leading the vanguard.
"UOOOHHH!" He heard his men answer him.
'Great General Oukotsu actually started with me… Even though we're only 5000… To charge at the 100,000-strong Sei Chou army… What kind of madness is this?!' Ra Gou couldn't believe the position he was in; to him, this order was more akin to being led to his death than anything else, and he started to panic.
'C-calm down! Breath Ra Gou breath… Think about how I could break down the enemy army. Stay focused on the enemy movements, I must stay focused.' He thought as he continued to charge forward.
Arrows started to be let loose by the Zhao, and the front spearmen were in position awaiting their incoming. Continuing, none of the arrows hit him, but his troops behind were not so lucky.
Ra Gou gritted his teeth, hearing the screams and shouts from his men behind, even with the arrows that landed and killed his soldiers. The army's morale didn't drop at all. Taking a glance over his shoulder, he saw that even the infantry were running and trying their hardest to keep up.
'Great General Oukotsu's speech has invigorated everyone, there's no need for special tactics.' Ra Gou could see that any words or special manoeuvres he would want to use would fall on deaf ears; the soldiers were so fired up that they only wanted to kill the enemy in front of them.
As he approached the enemy, he gripped his glaive with two hands and let out a war cry. 'Only brute force will do!' With a swing of his weapon, Ra Gou smashed into the Zhao spearline; his cavalry was hot on his heels with spears piercing into the Zhao and their horses trampling and causing more chaos.
"UOOHHHH!!!"
"KILL THEM ALL!!!"
On and on he continued to swing his glaive; he'd never felt better than in this moment. His weapon cut deep, slashing and ripping into Zhao's armour. He thought there would have been more resistance, but seeing how many were dying from his glaive. Ra Gou could only smile, 'My glaive's edge is unmatched!'
"EVERYONE FOLLOW ME!!!" He shouted to his troops as they all started to push deeper into the Zhao line.
RA GOU POV END
….
BATTLE OF NANAN
ZHAO HEADQUARTERS
SEI CHOU POV
"Hmm, it's unlike Oukotsu to use tactics… And to not be the one leading the vanguard… Didn't Chou Garyuu say he would be doing the complete opposite of this?" I questioned whether the flow of the battle was odd and not what I had thought it would be like. Since I had expected Oukotsu to be in the vanguard and challenge me like the brute I thought he was, but it seems I underestimated him.
"No, it's not that Oukotsu is using tactics, but rather someone else is in command of his army's strategies," Gyou'un said beside me, as we both overlooked the 5,000 Qin soldiers who were riding a wave of momentum. His words made me think as to who could be so influential that Oukotsu would abandon his usual way of fighting, and change so late in his military career.
'It couldn't be Shou Hei Kun, there's no way Ouktosu would listen to him. Plus, there has not really been anything said about him joining Qin's military effort. I doubt it is Ouki as the two are from the same House, and Oukotsu seems to have seniority over him, but then again… No, it's not Ouki, Kyou has only recently been made a Great General, and Haku Ki is dead…' Looking over the rows of soldiers and fighting, I squinted to see if I could make out anyone there.
'... That leaves Shiba Saku, for whom there's been rumours about but nothing substantial an-'
"It's Ko Shou, the former Great General who decided to retire." Gyou'un pulled me from my thoughts with the answer.
"I found out when I saw his flags, after testing some of the Qin soldiers. They were trying to be secretive about it, that's why they had only a few flags, but I'm sure it was them. And this adds to my suspicion." Gyou'un gestured to the ongoing battle.
That was surprising; it would've been really bad if Oukotsu had somehow learnt how to deploy his men as a seasoned strategist would have done so in such a short time. But hearing that it was Ko Shou who gave him this plan was quite bittersweet.
"So, we not only have to deal with Great General Oukotsu but also Great General Ko Shou, who has decided to come out of retirement… I do not know whether to shout to the heavens in joy or curse my luck." I said, looking towards Gyou'un, who I saw smiling at me.
"It seems the former rather than the latter from my view of things." Gyou'un replied, "You're smiling right now." I could feel the smile on my face as I looked back and forth to see that the Qin were about to send out their next wave of attackers. This time, there were more troops lined up; they were truly committing to their attack now.
"You're right, now go back to your flank, things are starting to get serious." Even though I tried to sound serious about things, I couldn't keep the sliver of joy from showing. Gyou'un shook his head lightly, "As is your wish, My Lord." He said before leaving.
Alone, I could see everything from where I was, "The framework is there, the foundation is slowly being built, but I can see it clearer by the second." Victory in this battle, and I was certainly becoming a Great Heaven, which would see me propelled to greater heights. Looking back, I saw Fu Jin coming to join me at my side. Looking at him, I remembered the day he bowed and proclaimed me King.
The timing was nearly there, the right people were gathering around me, and the place for me to start had opened up.
"What's with that look?" Fu Jin said, raising a brow.
"Nothing, just thinking," I replied.
"Better to start getting serious because the Qin are."
I nodded as he was right, plans had to be forgotten for now. There was a battle to win.
SEI CHOU POV END
….
BATTLE OF NANAN
QIN SIDE
"... We were ordered to get ready, but nothing has happened since?"
"The only army fighting is our right side troops! Surely we should hurry and help them?!"
"N-not yet! Great General Ouktosu hasn't given the command!" The captain sternly shouted back to his troops, but even he was getting nervous. As this was so unlike how the Oukotsu army did things, it put the soldiers on edge. But still, Great General Ouktosu seemed very composed, unlike the troops.
Time passed, and the soldiers continued to worry; even the 5,000 who had initially been told to charge were being firmly halted and held down by the Zhao soldiers. As nerves continued to rise to a crescendo for the Qin soldiers, it was broken by their Great General.
"FROM THE RIGHT!!! ALL TROOPS CHARGE IN SUCCESSION!!!" This was the plan Ko Shou had given Oukotsu, and he executed it as best he could. The Qin soldiers didn't need to hear more before they set off.
Going from right to left, the cavalry charged forward, but instead of branching out and taking those Zhao troops on the far right, they curved inwards, where their 5,000 had made inroads into the Zhao formation.
Those who had not been in charge were stunned as they saw a formation forming. One they'd never thought would be used by Oukotsu.
"I-I'm sure of it, that's…"
"An echelon formation!"
"How remarkable, t-to be able to use this for the first time… And even in a battle with so much pressure and all the eyes of China on it." It was too unfathomable for the Qin troops, who were not seasoned veterans of the Oukotsu army. Their eyes went to where Oukotsu was looking over the battlefield, and the person who was next to him.
"...Lords Okotsu and Ko Shou." One of the soldiers commented.
...So, this is the might of two Great Generals." Another said.
The Qin soldiers' morale rose near its peak; they could never have believed they'd be in this position. Some of the old veterans who'd fought under the Qin Six Great Generals in past even had tears of joy in their eyes.
"...We're not losing. With both Great General Oukotsu and Great General Ko Shou. There's just no way we will lose!" One of the warriors said the words, sinking into both the hearts and minds of his fellow brothers in arms.
Like a chain reaction, the Qin soldiers started to repeat the words.
"We're not losing!"
"We're not losing!"
"We'll wipe out the entire Sei Chou army!"
"Death to all Zhao!"
"Death to the Zhao mongrels!"
….
NARRATOR POV
With their morale nearing its zenith, the Qin can only see victory ahead of them, with both Oukotsu and Ko Shou present. Defeat is far from their minds!
NARRATOR POV END
CHAPTER DONE