3RD PERSON POV
As the sun started to set over the horizon, the battlefield fell silent. The warriors in the vicinity who'd just witnessed a duel between their two lead commanders couldn't believe the result. They stood frozen, Qin soldiers who'd at one point in the duel convinced themselves to throw themselves at the Zhao in an act of bloody revenge should their leader Oukotsu die, were now frozen with shock.
The Zhao soldiers who at one point were jubilant and marvelling at the talent of Sei Chou, revelling in their leaders' ever-growing improvement and martial might. Soldiers who'd told themselves that they would defend their leader once he scored his victory, soldiers who were convinced their leader would definitely win.
As the duel between Sei Chou and Oukotsu neared its end, these soldiers' thoughts and feelings switched places as they saw Oukotsu becoming more and more dominant. The might of Oukotsu is overpowering Sei Chou. The Qin soldiers were now thinking of victory, thinking of how their Lord would once again stand valiantly, his head held high as he reclaimed his title as the strongest man in all of China. The Zhao soldiers looked on bitterly with scorn and venom in their eyes, none more so than the leader of Sei Chou's personal cavalry, Fu Jin.
Fu Jin knew interrupting the duel between his Lord and Oukotsu would've been a grave sin, one that he could lose his life for, but more than losing his life. The feeling of seeing his Lord's disappointed ire directed at him and the disappointment that Fu Jin didn't believe in Sei Chou was what made Fu Jin stay his hand.
They'd all seen it, Sei Chou staring up to the heavens, his glaive slumped by his side as Ouktosu rushed at him. Hope for one side and dread for the other, all for it to be flipped on its head in a single moment.
The brief lull was broken by rageful screams of revenge. As the Oukotsu soldiers launched themselves on the Qin forces, turning the centre battlefield into a giant melee. Some in the Oukottsu army wanted to retreat with Great General Oukotsu's body, but seeing there was no head accompanying it only flared the anger ever more.
"NOOOHH!!!"
"KILL SEI CHOU!! AND ALL THE OTHER ZHAO SCUM TOO!!!"
"EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM MUST DIE!!!"
However, the Sei Chou army was not far behind them. With Fu Jin leading them, Sei Chou's cavalry charged directly into the Qin soldiers, determined to protect their Lord.
"INCOMING!!"
"PROTECT LORD SEI CHOU!!"
UOOH!!"
SEI CHOU POV
Everything hurt, from the hair on my head to the very tips of my toes. Oukotsu was really strong; I'll give him that. His claim to be the Strongest man in all of China was no joke. I even lost consciousness for a moment, and right now, the only thing keeping me stable is the sheer amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Qin soldiers all around me cried and screamed bloody vengeance. Fu Jin took command of my cavalry and met them with stern retaliation. My soldiers passed me, looking at me with reverence, joy and fear. I understood it a little: the fear of seeing something you couldn't believe happened in front of your eyes; the kind of duel me and Oukotsu just had would make anyone baulk and throw up whatever they'd eaten that day.
The sun was setting, and it was starting to get dark, but still the Oukotsu soldiers persisted in trying to kill me. Even as they were stabbed multiple times, they'd tried their damned hardest to even land a strike on me, but it was futile. My cavalry was simply too pumped up on morale, and Fu Jin was furiously shouting words of encouragement to the soldiers.
Then there were Chou Garyuu and Gyou'un who were matching and trying to go a gear higher than Fu Jin; to a simple newcomer, it would've looked crazy, pure madness of the highest order, but for the warriors here and now, this was everything. The Oukotsu army wanted to even the score for their deceased Lord, and my men wanted to stamp home their victory.
My vision started to darken as I saw an Oukotsu cavalryman who looked more like a pincushion with the amount of spears in him, dying with the bitterest look on his face as if he'd cursed me with his dying breath. I quickly grabbed hold of the person nearest to me, "Gyou'un leads the attack. Chou Garyuu will head the main strategic planning. Do not under any circumstance allow Ko Shou and the rest of the Qin army to slip away!" I saw the man nod a half dozen times before, my consciousness faded, and everything went to black.
SEI CHOU POV END
STATE OF QIN: SUI CITY
SHOU HEI KUN POV
"... He didn't retreat?..." Shou Hei Kun glanced towards one of the strategists who'd commented. It was a middle-aged man who'd studied at the Qin strategist academy alongside him when he was a student. Like Shou Hei Kun, this was one of the first battles he'd seen, but unlike Shou Hei Kun, who'd graduated, the man had not done so yet.
A prolonged silence followed the man's words. Shou Hei Kun looked to his teacher, who was studying a map, his back turned to them. "Because the Gong was not for Oukotsu," Headmaster Ko Shou replied.
Shou Hei Kun resisted an eye roll as he heard another strategist exclaim, "What?!" At the headmaster's words, instead he chose to focus on the map of the border between Qin and Zhao, while keeping an ear to the conversation that was happening. It had been a slight surprise to him that the battle ended so quickly, and in the way that it ended as well. Though official confirmation of Great General Oukotsu's death had not come, it was as good as true at this point.
"Oukotsu would've never retreated; the gong was sounded for everyone else who couldn't stomach openly turning their backs on the Zhao and leaving their Great General behind." It was he who answered this time, his voice cold and withdrawn of all emotion. Heads turned, and eyes locked onto him, Shou Hei Kun only glanced at all of them before looking back at the map.
He knew the Sei Chou army was only a few days away, but this Sei Chou was unlike any General he'd come across. The Zhao General arrogantly did things on the surface, but once you scratched deeper, there was much guile and cunning to him. For example, the way he hid an entire army from view, then drawing out Oukotsu before having the Chou Haku army strike their underguarded headquarters whilst the majority of the army was fighting.
So many tricks to that man's game, as a strategist, Shou Hei Kun desired to face him. However, it was not the time or place for such an encounter.
The latest scout report was that the Chou Haku army watched them go into Sui City, before heading past them and setting up a number of roadblocks. "Given that they haven't besieged the city, the Chou Haku army has no doubt blocked off all retreat for us." The teacher voiced his thoughts exactly as he turned around.
Ko Shou's eyes pinned Shou Hei Kun, "You're to take 5,000 men and secure a breach where the rest of us can safely retreat through. I'm sure after Oukotsu, I will be the next person that Sei Chou wants to die."
Shou Hei Kun stilled for a moment as he registered the words and the meaning behind them, as he opened his mouth to speak up in protest, Lord Ko Shou sternly regarded him, "You leave under the cover of darkness." It was an order from the Great General to the General.
Later, when everyone had left the war council, Ko Shou tapped his face with a smile and said to him, "You're the most promising student I've come across in my long years as a teacher, Shou Hei Kun. I've nothing left to teach you now. Do not waste your talent, go with my blessing."
The two of them knew this would be the last time the teacher and student would see one another.
SHOU HEI KUN POV END
…
STATE OF QIN: SUI CITY
3RD PERSON POV
"With Shou Hei Kun being sent back to Qin, the Chou Haku army will try to take his head if he is discovered. Yet, this is the last trick that can be played." Ko Shou sighed, watching the 5,000-man troop led by Shou Hei Kun head towards Qin.
"Even with reinforcement from the army of Sui, we are still in very serious danger, and what worries me the most is cowardice from our soldiers." Ko Shou voiced his thoughts to the person next to him.
"Everyone understands what we do is for the King and Kingdom; we are all loyal citizens, troops and vassals of Qin. How can they betray us?" The man asked.
"The loss of Oukotsu has shaken morale in the remnants of the Oukotsu army. To see the leader whom they believed unshakable, not only be defeated but slain in such a way… They do not know what is up and what is down anymore; we're now standing in front of the realm of the dead." The Great General couldn't see his student anymore, but still he looked.
"Everyone's slowly losing it?"
"Yes, anytime now. Once the Sei Chou army shows up, it will be too late. I only hope you can do something, Sou Ka. This is our only chance." Ko Shou turned to look at Sou Ka.
"Ever since my Lord passed, my blood has silently been boiling." Sou Ka bowed his head low; only his hands saluted Ko Shou. It was as if his face were set in stone. Ko Shou looked at him before nodding.
"Sou Ka, I truly fear the aftermath of things… should this humble little scheme end in failure."
Sou Ka rose from his kneeling position and walked to stand beside Ko Shou. "That is also why you sent Shou Hei Kun away; if all fails, at least your student will be able to make it out." The Great General didn't reply to Sou Ka; he only looked up to the sky and felt a single cool wet drop run down his cheek.
…
Shou Hei Kun and the Shou Hei Kun would break through and manage to get beyond the blockade of the Chou Haku army… Will they be the only ones?"