The smoke rose through the whole capital of Qin, and the Ri Li unit had successfully sieged the royal capital.
The Qin army had already suffered great casualties on the Han front and in the capital.
The king had already surrendered along with the ministers; all of them were on their knees before the Han army.
The pink leaves of the cherry blossom petals fell on the blood of the Qin soldiers, only to be crushed under a Han soldier's feet.
Flames erupted throughout the capital in a desperate attempt to burn the Han soldiers.
However, it proved to be futile, as the damage was done to the innocent people of the royal capital.
A Qin soldier ran to backstab one of the men from the Han army, only to be grabbed by the feet by a poor girl begging to save her mother.
The soldier's eyes widened like a demon, and his veins popped due to rage. He just kicked the poor girl in the face.
"Let your mother die!!", he shouted.
SFX: SLASH!!!
Before he even realised, he had been slashed by the man he aimed to kill. Blood sprayed from his chest like a broken fountain.
The Han soldier kicked him onto the ground and held the poor on his hands.
"Where is your mother's!!?", he asked desperately.
"Where...thza hellre you tzakien maye dzaughter..?!!", the soldier he slashed, talked.
"Daughter...?", the word slipped out in utter rage.
The man stamped on the face of the girl's father, forcefully mutilating his face with blood.
"kKKuuuuhh!! Wzzaatt re ya doin?!!!", he whispered.
SFX: SLASH
Grabbing his sword, he slashed off the man's head. Holding the little girl close to his chest, he stared at that corpse.
"The men who stamp women deserve to get their heads chopped", the infuriated soldier muttered.
He quickly ran in search of the girl's mother.
******************
Riding their horses, Ri Li, along with the rest of his men, arrived at the North East gate only to witness the evolution of the man he placed his hopes on.
Right in front of Ri Li's eyes, Wan Heian's swords moved in a crescent, and the white lining of the swords flashed in the air.
Wan's eyes glowed in a strange white Qi, an inexplicable phenomenon that Ri Li had never experienced.
"Raikiri!!!", Wan Heian roared.
"There is no doubt...that is the moon sword style. The same thing he copied from me and attempted during our spar"
"But perfecting it to such a level, and within a fight. Really, who are you, Wan Heian? A God?"
"Ryo!! Isn't that your moon style!", someone muttered.
"Hehe...that is certainly a deadlier one than mine", remarked Great General Ri Li.
The moment Wan Heian executed that precision strike, he lost the whole balance of his body and began to fall.
SFX: GRAB
Ri Li grabbed him with his hands. Wan opened his eyes and muttered.
"Ryo..."
"Great job, Wanchi", replied Ri Li.
"Everyone, help the others to stabilise the capital!! I will aid Wanchi!!"
"Yes, Sir!!", all the others rushed to help the civilians.
Ri Li held Wan Heian and made him sit near a house. Wan Heian was back on his feet again.
"Sit there, Wanchi!! You have done enough!!", ordered Wan Heian.
"No...Ryo, this Qi", uttered Wan Heian.
The light breeze stopped, and the air pressure dropped, as if time itself had disappeared from that place.
Swaeth broke from Ri Li's forehead. His eyes wavered; he knew it. Although he had sensed it a while ago, he never wanted to accept it.
"This Qi...", he whispered.
"It's been a while, master...", said an unknown entity.
The fog cleared, and a figure emerged who Ri Li recognised in an instant. Fully clad in the body armour and with a ribbon of Qi on his forehead.
His stare reflected right into Wan's eyes, sending the message right to his mind. Only message.
"Run or die"
A group of Ri Li's men dashed to slash this unknown entity.
The man walked slowly, each step on those marble tiles echoing in their ears.
The man stared right into the men's eyes. Each of them had the man's gaze reflected in their eyes.
His picture appeared in each of their minds, uprooting their confidence and even the will to live.
Their eyeballs quivered, and their legs failed; they fell on the ground, losing their minds.
"Why are you here, Kan Ryou?", asked Ri Li.
"Sorry, master, it's the supreme general Kan Ryou of Qi", replied Kan Ryou.
"..."
Ri Li stood there silent.
"We are meeting after several years, shouldn't a master be happy at this reunion?", taunted Kan Ryou.
"Hm...so you have acquired it. The Qi of supreme Gods - Zen", remarked Ri Li.
"Keke...yes, I am your disciple after all", replied Kan Ryou.
"Hmm..?"
Kan Ryou's gaze quickly turned to Wan Heian, who sat there, Kan Ryou's image right inside Wan Heian's mind.
The sheer power of Zen spread throughout his mind. Uprooting all the confidence he ever had and the will to live.
Or Kan Ryou through so...
Wan Heian stared the monster back in his eyes, the Kan Ryou in disbelief, and got puzzled for an instant.
"Zen can't uproot the will of a man made in heaven", remarked Ri Li.
"Hehe...that is a really good observation, master!!", said Kan Ryou.
The moment the sakura petals fell on the floor.
A sword appeared right on Wan Heian's neck, scraping through his flesh, only to be collided with by another sword with the design of a moon.
Superior to Wan Heian's mind and vision were their movements.
Before his own senses could process the situation, they had moved away and stood facing each other again.
"Don't dare to lay a hand on my disciple", stated Ri Li.
"Ryo...", whispered Wan Heian.
In awe, Wan Heian lay there. Unable to move even a finger, he observed the events unfolding before his own eyes.
Tears almost dropped from Wan's bloodshot eyes; he couldn't believe his uselessness on a battlefield.
"Don't you dare be sorrowed over your situation, Wanchi...because pain can only make men", stated Ri Li.