3RD PERSON POV
Sei Chou drummed his finger against the wooden table in the city lord's mansion, surrounded by broken vases, flipped cabinets and scattered papers.
"My Lord, the city has been pacified. Though the people are worried, the situation has now calmed."
"These are citizens on the border, they live a hard life… Their loyalty will only hold for so long."
"We have moved all of them into the inner city. The rations were also found with little trouble, but there is something that needs your attention. My Lord."
The rhythmic drumming paused, and he looked up at the face of Fu Jin, the commander who was supposed to be at the side of Den Pou awaiting in the woods to ambush the Yan soldiers, had passed off command to stand by his Lords side instead.
Getting up and walking past his bodyguard, Sei Chou patted the man's shoulder. "If it is you telling me this… then it is something of high importance."
The two men walked through the City Lord's mansion, before reaching the stairs going down, getting to the bottom, Fu Jin pressed his finger between a gap and the wall opened. The eyes of Sei Chou widened, while Fu Jin smirked.
The room was dark, save for the torchlight Fu Jin lit and used to navigate the path. The tunnel led the two of them to a room.
Upon seeing the contents in the room, Sei Chou could scarcely believe his eyes. Gold, jewellery, and manuscripts littered the room, but that was not what brought the young commander's attention.
A sword sat in its scabbard mounted to the wall; it was the only item mounted on the wall. His hands reacted before his mind caught up to it, placing both hands on the sheathed sword. Sei Chou marvelled, unsheathing the blade.
"Heavens, you're too good to me." Sei Chou said in wonder.
"My Lord, you must have heaven's blessing." Replied Fu Jin.
"You know what this sword is?" Sei Chou replied, his words half a question and statement.
"I have a guess, but I wanted your eyes to confirm if it was true or not."
"Kanshou (Gan Jing) and Bakuya (Mo Ye) were divine in their craft, especially Kanshou, the Wu King at the time of Zhou's fall, who asked for two swords to be fashioned for himself. They say the King killed Kanshou after the two blades were forged; one is in the hands of Chu, but the other disappeared." Sei Chou had read so many historical scrolls and committed them to memory.
It was something General Chougaryuu had done to test his mental capacity, "They named the sister sword after his wife Bakuya and the other…" The blade was a marvel, no chips or breaks, no rust, as if it had just come out of the forge.
"Now I know why and where the other sword landed." Sei Chou finished removing his own sword and placing Kanshou at his waist.
In the dark room, Fu Jin knelt, "My Lord, I have never doubted that you would take me and the entire army to greater heights. This sword, finding you here and now, only deepens the feeling in my heart."
Sei Chou turned to his loyal bodyguard, "You're destined for greatness, My Lord. I wish to be the first to swear an oath to you as both King and Emperor."
Placing a hand on the man's shoulder, Sei Chou smiled faintly, "I accept your words. My good friend." In that moment, they were no longer Lord and bodyguard, no longer army men.
Fu Jin saw his emperor, the man who would conquer the central plains and right the chaotic world the two lived in.
Helping Fu Jin up, Sei Chou dusted off the man's shoulder. "Now, let's win this war."
The two of them closed and sealed the room off, walking out, the sun was shining brilliantly. In the eyes of Fu Jin, who walked a step behind Sei Chou, he saw the sun rays clinging to his Lord.
The brilliance seemed to agree with his heart's wish. "The son of heaven," He whispered to himself in awe of Sei Chou.
….
CHI KETSU POV
After two young warriors found one of the treasured swords, the Great General of Yan Chi Ketsu was at the front of the retreat convoy. The army was making ground to Hau City, but that did not come without its own trials and tribulations.
The Zhao unit that had taken Hau City continued to halt and stall their momentum, continuous road blocks, arrow fire and the odd raid on the army's supplies had made their retreat pace a snail's crawl.
Chi Ketsu was experienced enough to know that Zhao Commander in Chief Chou Haku was also closing, and if he wanted a quick siege, he would need the entire army to be at his back.
"Dammit," He cursed, "I shouldn't have sent both Li Shun and Yun Ri to scout the flanks." Chi Ketsu had ordered both of his generals to take their armies left and right; he wanted them to sweep around the sides, shatter any units there and besiege the castle from those two sides.
They both took 10,000 soldiers with them.
It was just after midday that the Yan army saw an unusual flag on top of the city Lord's mansion.
"The City has been taken," Was all Chi Ketsu could say; he knew there was little hope that Hau City would still be fighting the invading army. Even though it was impregnable, the residents of Hau City were not all too loyal to Yan, and once their Lord was gone, morale would instantly shatter.
Some of the residents had fled Zhao when the Qin had come knocking. Hau City sat on the border and accepted many people from Zhao to add to its income.
"Zhao General Chou Haku is right on our heels, Great General." One of his bodyguards informed him, and turning back to look over the columns and columns of Yan soldiers, he saw the flag of Zhao. Clicking his tongue, Chi Ketsu turned back, "We will have to start the siege immediately; possibly we can negotiate."
Urging his horse forward, Chi Ketsu shouted towards the walls, "WHO IS IN COMMAND OF THIS ARMY?!"
From the walls, he saw the archers with the bows knocked, one of the archers stepped back, and a younger man stepped forward from what Chi Ketsu could see from his horse. The boy was dressed in Zhao armour, as were all of the soldiers on the walls, but his was more ornate.
"The commander of this army would be the person who stands before these walls. Sei Chou is the name my mother gave me. Now, I would like to ask a question to you, Great General Chi Ketsu, what are you doing inside the Zhao lands?" The commander, Sei Chou, replied in a humoured tone of voice.
"What, Zhao land boy, that city is Hau City, and it has long since belonged to Yan. Now, let's put an end to this foolery. I will give your army safe passage back to Zhao if you accept surrender."
The youth turned back to his men and said something that had them all laughing at the top of their lungs, one of them even letting loose an arrow due to the laughter that hit another bodyguard of Chi Ketsu in the head, killing the man on impact.
"Your offer seems to have put my soldiers into a cheerful mood, Great General. Yet, a few of my soldiers here are not very happy with that offer; they believe that you did not hear my question properly. So, I will ask you once again. What. Are. You. Doing. In. ZHAO LAND?!"
Chi Ketsu was struggling to keep his anger in check. This war was supposed to be a walk in the park, but now he had a boy turning everything on its head. Was he not a Great General of Yan? How can this boy talk as if he were in a higher place than him? "Listen, boy! I have made my offer to yo-" Sei Chou cut him off, "And we have rejected that offer; it seems a Great General has no influence in the state of Yan. That would make sense, the Yan only invades whenever Great Heaven Ren Pa is not around, you have the courage of a cowardly dog."
"YOU DAMN ZHAO BASTARD! FINE NO MORE DEAL YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT MY ARMY!" Chi Ketu's anger boiled over, "I am a Great General of Yan, my army will take Hau City, then savage your lands to our heart's content and more."
"I have beaten your army once already, Great General." Sei Chou replied, "And by the looks of it, your current army seems to be less than it initially was... I wonder where they scurried off to." Sei Chou replied, looking past Chi Ketsu.
'How does he know?' Chi Ketsu thought, clenching the reins hard enough to draw blood from his palm, "It matters little if we are the full 80,000 or not. Even with 40,000, I will crush you. With 20,000, I will crush you. The numbers can continue to decrease, but the result is always the same. You and your men will all die. I personally will take the heads of every soldier that has followed you." Chi Ketsu replied in rage.
"You sent them to the east and west, didn't you?" Sei Chou clicked his tongue as if talking to a child, "My condolences, Chi Ketsu of Yan. Those soldiers will not be returning to you. The same as your dream to defeat me and have Hau City, ever since I stepped on this battlefield, your defeat was already counted."
"Hahaha," Chi Ketsu began laughing deliriously, before he stopped and looked at the boy. "I'm going to take your he-" Once again, he was cut off by Sei Chou, "I will give you some help for your retreat, Great General, since I am a generous child. There's rocky paths both left and right… One must watch his step lest he never finds his way back. I heard even armies have disappeared in those parts."
Chi Ketsu turned to the soldier on his right sharply, "BEGIN THE SIEGE! FIRST PERSON TO TAKE THAT BASTARDS HEAD WILL BE FINELY REWARDED WITH LANDS, TITLES AND GOLD!"
….
DEN POU POV
As the number one of the ten spears in the Rai'un Unit, it was on Den Pou's shoulders to lead the men to victory when Lord Gyou'un was not present. The army had been put together under General Gyou'un's leadership, bettered through the theater that is warfare.
They were all once sworn to Lord Rin Shou Jo, the Great Heaven, who had clashed with the Qin, Yan, Wei and northern barbarians. Now, his Great Heaven passed, and like everything the army had to move on, as much as he wished it would. Had it been another time, Den Pou mused that his Lord Gyou'un would've stayed away from the battlefield or worse, follow the eight other heroes and throw his life away.
Yet, his Lord did not do such a thing, instead choosing to fight under the young star. Though Lord Gyou'un was not present at this moment, Den Pou knew the man was thoroughly training recruits for the battlefields to come. Den Pou wanted nothing more than to once more fight under his Lord, "But Sei Chou is a good replacement for now."
The men would only truly follow, and that wouldn't have changed even when they all wanted to follow Sei Chou, but Gyou'un and Gyou'un chose Sei Chou to follow, that was enough for them. That was all they truly needed to hear; their young leader was a monstrous talent of warfare who had the ability to do everything.
Den Pou was removed from his thoughts as he heard the sound of multiple horse hooves beating against the earth, the dust cloud coming into view from the direction of the sound.
"The Young Master is truly a monstrous genius," Den Pou thought to himself with a wry smile. How far could Sei Chou see, and how far did his ability to rise higher and higher truly go? Den Pou wanted to see it, wanted to understand if there was anything that could defeat the Young Master.
Turning around to the rest of the Rai'un unit, he looked over at the men. They all had horses, even the soldiers who were rounded up from the first day of battle. Since the Rai'un was a cavalry unit, it only felt right to Den Pou to have everyone mount a horse.
Signalling the men to get ready and head towards the Yan incoming cavalry, Den Pou led the way. A lone man led the Yan charge, and as the distance closed further, Den Pou recognised the man.
It was none other than Li Shun, one of the two Generals of Yan who served Great General Chi Ketsu. 'That must mean the Jo brothers are facing off against General Shuu. Sei Chou is right once again.' He would've laughed at the thought, but the situation did not allow it.
General Li Shun swung his sword, and Den Pou greeted him with a strike of his own; the clash brought the two of them close enough to see each other's eyes. Recognition flashed in the eyes of Li Shun as he regarded Den Pou, "To think you would be fighting for Chou Haku nowadays, I guess failure in protecting your master has riddled you with guilt." Li Shun remarked amusedly.
"Come, throw away your wasteful life." Den Pou felt the laughter bubbling in his chest and escaped him, "Hahahaha," his laughter held no amusement but fury and anger that he would think so low of Den Pou, that the man opposite him would think so low of his Lord to be guilty.
"There's no guilt for me, Li Shun. My Lord passed, that is true, but he left us a reason to continue. And continue we shall, I would return my words to you, but unlike me, there will be no new Lord for you to find." Den Pou replied once his laughter controlled.
"TRY ME USELESS BASTARD!" Li Shun screamed at him, before the two went back and forth, clashing sword against spear.
Back and forth they went. Den Pou used his spear to both block and stab, shoulder. Arm. Arm. Arm. Neck. He fought aggressively without holding anything back; Li Shun, too, mirrored him for every strike. Den Pou felt his muscles burning, the blood was pumping faster, and his eyes seemed to be seeing everything slower.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
Two hands on his spear, he saw an opening and thrust forward, aiming to pierce open Li Shun's neck. The action was instinctive, every sinew of his body telling him it was the right time, but there was a wicked glint of metal, and he saw for a flash the face of Li Shun's grinning face.
Sharp, shock ripped into his right side. Den Pou could not look down to see the wound but knew it was there. The blood on Li Shun's sword gave him the information; his hands still carried on the motion, going directly for his enemy's neck. Yet, with a deft flick of his head to the side, Li Shun avoided the killing blow.
The two separated huffing, *Huff* *Huff* *Huff* "Hahaha, why the struggle, Den Pou. Just come here, and I will send you to your Lord." Li Shun still spoke in that amused tone, a wide smile on his face. Den Pou, one of the ten spears, grinned back even though the two of them weren't fighting; his blood was roaring.
"I return your question to you!" He shouted, urging his horse to close the distance and renew a second round of battling. Their steeds matched their riders' fury, stomping and uprooting the earth below. On and on the two clashed with more and more ferocity, putting every they had into this one life and death duel.
The visions came to Den Pou more; Li Shun's sword pierced towards the centre of his face. He could see the strike so slowly, as if it was all happening at a snail's pace. Den Pou angled his head to the side, the blade missing his face, catching some strands of his hair as it did.
Same as last time, his spear moved with precision, power and weight. "ARGHHH!!" Letting out an animalistic shout, Den Pou thrusted his spear directly through the centre of Li Shun's neck. The eyes of the Yan General were wide in shock as his killing strike missed.
*SPLGHHH*
Everything seemed to still as more blood flowed down Den Pou's spear; all the soldiers, whether Yan or Zhao, looked to the centre where the duel was happening. Pausing their own fighting to see what had just happened and why there was such a cheer. The news came to them suddenly.
"OOOOUUUUUU!!!" Came the cheer of the Rai'un unit who celebrated their Lord's victory.
"Lord Li Shun!!!"
"General Li Shun!!!" The cheering from the Zhao soldiers overshadowed the grief of Li Shun's own troops.
"MEN OF ZHAO! WE HAVE A JOB TO FINISH!!" Ordered Den Pou.
"OOOUHHHH!!" Replied the Zhao soldiers, before wiping out as many of Li Shun's soldiers as they possibly could catch.
The body of Li Shun sagged, and before dropping off his horse, his soldiers ran for their lives, forgetting all about their General's body, choosing their lives over dying this way.