256 BCE
STATE OF ZHAO: HOKU PLAINS
ZHAO MAIN HEADQUARTERS
"That Duke Hyou sure is ferocious, look at the way he charges." Sei Chou commented that, usually, he would be in the thick of battle, but for the plan that he wanted to use to deal with Duke Hyou, he needed to see the entire battlefield.
"The soldiers are following their training well enough." Fu Jin commented beside Sei Chou, who smiled at the praise for the troops which they had secretly been training. Instead of taking on Duke Hyou's charge head-on, Sei Chou decided to clear the centre of his formation.
The troops in the centre were ordered to move either to the left or the right of the formation, allowing Duke Hyou to continue charging. From the view Sei Chou had, he could see the Qin army being attacked on either side by his own troops, frustrating the soldiers who accompanied Duke Hyou.
"They're doing well, not attacking Duke Hyou. And it seems some of them are quite talented. Being thrown into such a situation in your first war must be scary for most of them, and yet they are overcoming that fear. "Sei Chou replied.
"True, those with no experience would usually panic and make a wrong step, though some are moving more slowly than others. The majority are sticking to the plan well enough." Fu Jin commented.
Just by seeing the Duke's method of war, I can see that he is a true Great General. The tenacity and determination for victory, holding nothing back to win…" Fu Jin nodded in agreement with Sei Chou's words. He remembered meeting Ren Pa and his four Heavenly Kings; they all carried a significant weight in their presence. But no presence was as overwhelming as Great Heaven Ren Pa's.
"And the Duke gives that off in abundance, especially if his army can keep pace with him." Fu Jin replied to Sei Chou, "Indeed, rather than taking all of that head-on and increasing the casualties to an obscene amount, it's best we just pick them off." Though Fu Jin knew the plan inside and out, he didn't mind Sei Chou voicing his thoughts.
Sei Chou slapped his palms together before pointing his fingers in Duke Hyou's direction. There was an amused glint in his black eyes as he quoted a certain person, "Grind them down." Fu Jin knew that to be the signal, he headed out with 5,000 cavalry and made them split evenly.
Each side headed for the flanks of Duke Hyou's charge, and started to engage those who were following the man, drawing their attention, slowly, but surely, they ground down the charge. Blunting and chipping away at Duke Hyou's numbers. The high morale of the Qin charge also began to wilt away, as the Qin soldiers were being blocked from their goal of protecting the Duke.
Seeing the Duke still charging, Sei Chou clapped his hands. "Well then, let's do what Go Kei could not." He whispered low enough so only he could hear his words. Already mounted on his horse with a glaive in hand, Sei Chou's horse moved forward. The Zhao troops parted to either side, knowing it was time for the Generals to duel.
…..
NARRATOR POV
As the two supreme commanders meet face to face for the first time… Their Generals were already clashing in a brutal duel.
NARRATOR POV END
STATE OF ZHAO: HOUKU PLAINS
RIGHT FLANK: JO SHOU/JO RIN VS DAN SHI
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
The sound of steel meeting steel was all anyone could hear on the Zhao right flank; a circle had quickly been made for the two commanders to clash. Spear against glaive, they locked into a blood-frothing duel, neither daring to take a single step back. Their pride and status were brought to bear for all to see.
Jo Shou thrusted his spear rapidly, sending several strikes aiming to push Dan Shi onto the backfoot. However, the Qin general matched every single strike with his glaive before rearing his arms back and swinging his weapon in a powerful horizontal swipe.
Jo Shou, on instinct, moved his spear to block the strike, but he could not come out unscathed. 'Heavy!' Jo Shou shouted inwardly, feeling the power behind Dan Shi's strike. The steel chewed into his armour, sending bits and pieces of it flying. The area throbbed and stung in pain, but Jo Shou showed none of it on his face; instead, he moved quickly to attack Dan Shi again.
His spear flew forward with controlled precision, aiming at the head, shoulders, waist and neck of Dan Shi, who noticed that a subtle change had come, 'He's getting faster and more powerful.' An understanding started to take place in the Qin general's mind, as he felt the momentum of the duel slipping further and further away from him.
More and more times, his armour was pierced, the cuts were not deep, nor were they big. However, they were noticeable, and it slowed him down more and more. He could feel the many small wounds on his body; the grip on his glaive was waning. Dan Shi had started to tire, started to drink more air than he previously had.
His horse stomped furiously on the ground as if the warhorse had noted his rider's situation, 'He was holding back!' The thought roared in Dan Shi's mind as he managed to just parry another spear thrust, the spear point of Jo Shou's weapon grazing his cheek and opening another wound.
"What?! What is happening?!!" A Qin soldier looking on could not believe his eyes, if it was not for the Zhao infantryman that he was battling with… This Qin soldier would've rubbed his own eyes to ensure they were not tricking him.
"How can Lord Dan Shi be losing?!!" Another Qin soldier closer to the duelling circle shouted in both shock and horror. In his eyes, the visage of Jo Shou was only growing larger; the Zhao general seemed to loom over Dan Shi.
Those of Zhao were silent as they watched, their eyes shining with joy, but their faces showed none of it. They had a job, and that was to kill as many Qin soldiers in the vicinity as they could.
'Are you really going to lose, Dan Shi?' The Qin general asked himself, searching inside his mind for an extra sense of willpower. His confidence had been shaken to the core, but he still wanted to fight.
Jo Shou could see the fighting spirit returning to the eyes of Dan Shi, even though he had been taking his time to kill the Qin general. He was also not taking the duel lightly; he looked up and directly past Dan Shi. His eyes searched for something, only to lock in place when he found it.
"HAAAAAHHH!!!" A great roar tore itself out of the throat of Dan Shi and charged directly at Jo Shou; the man's fighting spirit returned in its fullest as he put everything he had into a swing of his glaive.
"COME ON, DAN SHI!!" Jo Shou was not one to shy away or cower. So, he shouted back and charged at Dan Shi, spear thrusting forwards he placed all his strength in the strike.
For those in the surroundings, the weapons seemed to move at an incredibly slow pace. Even those of Zhao who had not focused on the duel could not help but turn their head and give in to their instincts to see the climactic moment. Time seemed to stand still just for a moment before…
*SPLSHHHH* A shower of blood erupted from an open wound. The two generals had swapped places, their momentum only being halted for a moment before one started to bleed profusely. A dead silence echoed through the duelling circle…
"OOOOOUUUUHHHHH!!!!" An earth-shaking roar came from the Qin Headquarters. Jo Rin and the Dojaku unit he had taken with him stormed through Qin's main headquarters, killing everything in sight.
It was a complete slaughter, as they ran through everyone in Qin armour with their spears. This was the plan that Jo Shou had set in motion for his twin brother; whilst Jo Shou would draw all the attention and battle with Dan Shi, it would be Jo Rin who would take the Qin headquarters and truly end the battle.
Looking back on his shoulder slowly, Dan Shi saw his headquarters flags being cut down. "So, that was your plan…" He managed to rasp out, his body feeling incredibly weak. He could barely stay upright on his horse, the glaive in his hand sagging to the ground.
As for Jo Shou, he lifted his head, sweat pouring down his brow. A smirk was on his lips as he saw that the final Qin flags had been cut down, "Victory."
A Qin soldier, one of Dan Shi's long-time loyal soldiers, ran and jumped on the general's horse. Before harrying the horse into a sprint.
"RETREAT!!!!"
"RETREAT!!!"
"THE HEADQUARTERS HAVE FALLEN!!!"
….
NARRATOR POV:
Just before Qin General Dan Shi's defeat. Another duel was set to start on the right flank…
NARRATOR POV END
STATE OF ZHAO HOUKU PLAINS
RIGHT FLANK
DEN POU VS KOU RI
KOU RI POV
From the sounds coming from the centre, he could hear that his Duke was duelling with Zhao's Commander-in-Chief. He knew the ferocity of Duke Hyou, and to Kou Ri, there was no one better in a duel than the man. As a man who had long since fought beside the Duke, it was only right that Kou Ri kept pace with him; it was a difficult task, but one that he had never failed at.
Yet, he felt something was off in this battle. As if their plans were seen through from even before they had invaded, it lingered like a bad smell. Even as Zhao's Den Pou came into sight with cavalry at his back, the feeling only seemed to deepen. He had to shake it off. Because as he came near face to face with Den Pou, the importance of nearly everything started to melt away.
"Once a subordinate of Gyou'un, now following a youngster who should still be suckling at his mother's teat." Kou Ri prodded with provocation. Seeing if Den Pou would rise to it or not.
"Talent is talent, and it can bloom or wane at any given time." Den Pou replied to him; the words didn't stun Kou Ri, but they revealed something to him. 'They are all in on supporting Sei Chou.' It was quick comprehension, just Den Pou calling Sei Chou talented was enough. He knew just how capable the man is by reputation alone, and factoring in the previous battles that the young Zhao Supreme commander had fought in…
"The Duke is not like those Wei Fire Dragons…You'd better have told the little dog to have washed his neck." Kou Ri pointedly remarked. The words came out more heated than he had wanted them to; his anger was flaring.
"Sei Chou has taken another step since then." Den Pou replied cryptically to him.
Kou Ri unsheathed his sword and raised his voice, "All troops! Fight! Fight till your last breath! Fight to the very end! And if you should die! Take 5 Zhao soldiers for 1 Qin man! Our sacrifice will be honoured by the Duke!" From the corners of his eyes, he saw that his words had the correct effect.
He also rushed forward, his warhorse on a set path. The quickest path to his victory on this flank, he men clashed with the Zhao all around him. As he himself clashed with Den Pou in a savage duel, neither of them played fairly, going back and forth to the bitter end.
Even as blood poured down from a wound on his shoulder, Kou Ri continued to fight, even as he saw bits and pieces of his armour chip and break off. His sword arm did not slow; he tasted his own blood, gritted his teeth and swung to deliver a strike but missed greatly.
"Come on, old bones. Don't fail me now..." He whispered, looking towards his smiling opponent. At some point, the helmet of Den Pou had been lost, and cut rand down the side of his cheek. Kou Ri could not see himself, but knew he looked worse than he had started.
His body ached in a way it had not for years, his breath came quicker, and no amount of intake was helping him. His arms burned, and his chest felt cold. He glanced down quickly to see what it was… The shaft of Den Pou's spear was covered in blood and had run him through.
The realisation was like a dam breaking…
*Cough* He coughed blood, his insides were on fire, and he could feel his story coming closer to the end.
"Come on, what do you say, Den Pou, let's keep going…" He said.
The Zhao's general wrenched his spear from Kou Ri's torso. The hand of Kou Ri's shot out to grab the black mane of his horse; his body swayed to and fro.
"I'm ready when you are." He heard from his opponent.
The words brought a malicious grin to General Kou Ri's face, knowing that this would be the last time he lifted his sword.
CHAPTER: DONE