Dragmire's War – Part 14
-Qin Army, Link-
What is there to do to describe a situation such as the one Link found himself in other than how unprepared he was?
All of his life he had wanted it, had worked for it, had striven for it, but like a dog chasing a cart, he didn't know what to do with it when he finally took hold of it. He had gone to Ouki for training for this moment, but it seemed to Link that Ouki's method of teaching, now that he was finally in a fashion under Ouki directly, was to throw him to the wolves. With Ganon and Kagami, this would be both literal and figurative.
"How do you know him!?" Hei exclaimed. He took hold of Link's shoulders and shook him. A sentiment voiced by many of the hundred.
"Zelda sent me to be trained by him." Link replied. He shoved Hei off.
"The insolence! To refer to the High Princess by her name and not her title!" another yelled.
"It's 'cause I know her personally! We're friends!"
"Again the insolence!" A third yelled. At this point some wanted to strangle him for his disrespect to the throne, as it is proper to refer to Zelda by her title. But Link referred to her in a manner showing familiarity and equality, which is insolence and disrespect at best and treason at worst.
"As if the High Princess would send a child slave like you to train under the High General!" Several voiced a similar disbelief.
"She did! Ask him!" Link rebutted them.
"We can't just go and ask Ouki! We are not so disrespectful to demand answers of him!"
"Then quit your belly aching and go with it!" Link yelled at them.
"You lie!"
"I am not lieing!" Link defended himself. He looked to Ganon. "Help me, here! You know the truth of the matter!"
"Don't bring me into this." Ganon replied. He was rather disgruntled to be given attention so suddenly in a loud and annoying situation. He was content to stay back and leave them to their foolishness.
"Ganondorf Dragmire! You are king of Majora, an ally to Qin, are you not?" One of the hundred asked, the old man who had managed to survive multiple battles. Though 'old' can be by different standards, as he is in his forties. "Surely you can put the matter to rest."
So it seemed this man was knowledgeable. That was unfortunate. Ganondorf sighed, raised himself, approached Link, picked him up by his shirt for all to see (to Link's protest) and said, "The boy has the trust of the Royal Family of Qin. He protected the Princess with his own blood and sword multiple times, and followed her into dangers he was never asked to. In return for his service the Princess granted him freedom, and Link requested the smallest of boons offered to him, as he could have asked to be adopted by a noble family and would have received it."
"I WOULD HAVE WHAT?!" Link exclaimed. His shock was equally portrayed among the one-hundred.
Ganon continued, "As a bonus, for his humility and honesty, the Princess does see him as someone worthy of a private audience and he is welcome in her palace at any time."
With that said, the one-hundred were numb with shock. Their eyes wide and unblinking, and some sweated purely from the brain power needed to comprehend the barbarian king's words. Ganon dropped Link in their midst and returned to standing outside the masses where he could have more space. Link was stunned, not having known before just how large of a boon he could ask for from the princess. He had already thought asking to be trained by Ouki Mitagi was pushing it, but could it really have been the smallest boon?
Why didn't he ask to become a noble's son or ward?! Link yelled out his frustration.
As for the one-hundred, with the matter settled, they did nothing short of hero worship. They had been in awe when Ouki had berated with Link for all to see, though it was unknown what was said. And they had been in awe when Ouki openly praised Link and promoted him (a normal occurrence really in the military on campaigns). Now their awe had reached a point where they would follow him into death itself if it meant kissing his toes. He had become akin to a saint or immortal of sorts.
And this is perhaps literal. The Royal Family is considered descended from the Goddesses, so thereto they are demi-gods in the eyes of the people. This is a natural part of politics in ensuring the bloodline stays on the throne, and is how the world operated at the time. Religion and government were inseparable. Anyone who serves the Royal Family, guards the Royal Family, or generally is accepted by the Royal Family, is akin to a saint depending on the level of honor given from the servitude or acceptance. But to be buddy with the Royal Family on a personal level? To be on a personal name basis with the Royal Family? It was as if Heaven opened up and dropped an angel in their lap…
Or at least one of its misfits.
Hei and Tou, thankfully to him, were not moved too far. They were amazed and shocked, but they knew Link growing up. They had wrestled with him, worked with him, eaten his atrocious cooking, shared their dreams and life with him, even bathed with him in the river on washing day. These two had the most realistic perspective of Link still, though it can be understood if they felt he had changed into a bit of a stranger since he left the village.
Link recovered from his stupor to find the men no longer berating him, and it pleased him.
They assembled their tents a stone throw away from the main army of Moubu and at once Link set to learning their names. He set as much as he could to memory and it amazed him how far and wide these men had come. These were men conscripted from all across Qin to stop the invasion, and it showed in their home of origin and in their backgrounds. Mostly they were farmers, followed by blacksmiths, bread makers, merchants, inn keepers, stone masons, tree cutters, wood carvers, bow makers, sword smiths, armor smiths, retired guards, and on and on. Some were fathers, some were sons to a father who could not go to war to an injury, and many were either bastards or had lost their father to war. One, the man with the tattoo on his face, was the illegitimate son to a disgraced noble, and all he had received from his father was a sword and a recommendation to a sword master.
In the meantime, Link kept a distant eye on Solitare when he could sense him. He didn't want to have to question the boy's loyalties, but the words of Ouki had penetrated him deeply. Link hoped he would not be forced to consider his newfound friend an enemy, and he prayed it would not come to it. Until such a time came, he vowed, he would not change toward the Sheikah. Better to smile and be in good graces than to rebuff him and give him a reason to turn on Link. For that matter, Link wondered whether Solitare was on a mission from the Sheikah, or if he was ignorant. Did all the Sheikah know of him? Would Solitare report back to the Chancellor of him? Link knew his name would reach the Chancellor's ears on its own thanks to his promotion, but he hoped it would not be from Solitare's lips. Despite their little interaction Link felt fond of the boy.
Wanting to put his best foot forward, Link asked Ganon, Solitare, and the man with the facial tattoo, named Kyo Gai, to advise him.
"So uh… what do I do?" Link asked.
"Why are you asking? Don't you know how to lead? Why did Ouki put you in this position but to do it? You did earlier. What's the difference?" Kyo Gai asked.
"There is a vast difference in leading on a battlefield and leading outside, not to mention scale." Ganon replied. "I don't mind offering bits of advice, but I refuse to be an advisor. I am not your servant. I'd sooner leave you to your own devices than submit to anyone's will."
"Don't be like that! I just… I need some help. Some input. I don't know where to go from here…"
Ganon sighed. Link's bravado had died out once he asked for them, and this was the most vulnerable he thought he had seen the boy in some time. He could acknowledge Link was at least trying. Ganon was a man lacking in mercy, and he didn't mind beating a man when he's down, but it had taken a lot for Link to acknowledge his weakness and request help.
Ganon said, "You have already gotten to know your men by name. It is a small number. See who has the most potential and have them lead the teams. As you were judged for your accomplishment, judge them for theirs. Beyond that, war is a period of training, a period of waiting, and a period of fighting. Make sure morale is high in all cases by appointing help in each case. See who has the most military experience -I decline, before you ask- and have him make sure the men are trained for a few hours each day when you will not be fighting that day. Then see who is skilled at management -again I decline- and have him see over keeping the unit fed and happy when you are off the battlefield. Then see who has good intuition for battle as well as who has a good hand at strategy -No, by the way- and consider having him lead the unit into battle, if you will not do it yourself."
"I'd do that myself." Link said.
"Then at least find someone with a mind for strategy and let him advise you in that."
Link nodded. He gulped and tried to put to mind what Ganon said.
"Didn't you already choose us for that?" Kyo Gai questioned.
"No, I just figured you three would be the smart ones."
"… Are we starting that low?" Kyo looked to Ganon.
"You are starting bottom level. He was a slave who worked on his own to being a regular infantry, remember? The boy has no leadership training. I'm surprised he has handled it as well as he has already."
"It has been nearly a disaster. Link was nearly mobbed to death day one." Solitare whispered.
"Precisely."
"Do you have any experience in what he said?" Link asked Kyo.
Kyo hummed in thought. He put his hand to his chin. "I can do some training. I was trained by a low ranking officer. I should be able to pass it on to anyone who wants to use a sword."
"That helps." Link thanked him, and looked on Ganon with the most miserable expression he could muster. Unfortunately the puppy eyes did not help, it only succeeded to annoy. Ganondorf felt an eye twitch.
"No."
"But-"
"No."
"I really-"
"No."
"Come on!"
"No."
"Ganon!" Link whined.
"No!"
"Why don't you at least help him with strategy?" Solitare questioned. "Think of it as bossing him around."
The idea of bossing him around perked Ganon's interest while leaving Link gaping and feeling ever so slightly betrayed. "That I can do."
"Wait! No! I protest to that!" Link exclaimed.
"I accept."
"I take it back! I don't want your help. Screw you!"
"Too late now." Ganon smiled predatorily.
Link grumbled, but knew he had brought this upon himself. He huffed, but none of the less accepted it. Ganon was helping around, using them, to meet his own ends, but it was for everyone's benefit. Link desperately needed his help. Ganon didn't need his help, but that didn't mean having it didn't benefit him in some way.
"Didn't you also receive a note from the general?" Solitare wondered. "Now would be a good time to review it."
"Oh, right!" Link reached into his pocket and pulled out the note from Ouki. "Who of you can read?" All three raised a hand. "Of course…"
He handed the note to Ganon, on account of him being the barbarian king and Link generally liked him more. (Why, we will never know.) He didn't really know Kyo Gai much yet, and he wasn't sure if he should be giving a note from Ouki to a Sheikah yet without checking it first. Also why did Ouki give him a note when Ouki had just been told Link couldn't read?
"It is a prediction of how the western battle will play out, and what we are to do." Ganondorf said after reading it. "Basically he predicts the Zhao will not settle for a stalemate in the vanguard and will seek to take advantage of numerical numbers on the west to hit Moubu from two sides. Commander Matsubi will need to hold the west, but our job…" Ganon hesitated briefly, unsure if what he read was right. "Is to kill the enemy commander. He includes the battle plan."
"Ha! Don't need you then! Demoted!"
"Except I'm the one who reads it, because you can't, so that's stupid, because you're stupid. Don't be stupid."
Kyo asked Solitare, "Are these two always like this?"
-Matsubi, western battlefield-
Commander Matsubi gulped as he saw the Zhao. Before them was a hill on which the Zhao had taken, and entrenched themselves. Yet from their movements it looked as that wouldn't last much longer. Soon they would be in battle Matsubi could feel it.
"A message from General Mitagi!" An officer yelled. Matsubi and Kagura turned to look. "The High General orders for us to entrench ourselves in the ruins." With the officer was a map of the surrounding landscape provided by scouts. They laid it out.
Matsubi and his ten-thousand were stationed at a clearing west of Ouki and Moubu. North of Matsubi was the western wing of Zhao on a hill. Between Matsubi and the Zhao was plains, but between the western and middle battlefields was a stretch of ruins and mountainous terrain. Matsubi had already felt he would be fighting for control of the ruins, but the Zhao had made no moves thus far.
The orders specifically was to send a part of Matsubi's army to the city ruins to hold it. Ouki predicted Zhao would move on it soon, and Matsubi needed to be ready to beat them to it.
"The Zhao have not moved yet. What makes him think they will now? And why the ruins? True, it offers some benefit, but it will leave us surrounded! The city is not walled. We will be beset from all sides." Kagura said.
"I do not know his thoughts, but he was the one chosen as High General. What more can we do but trust he knows the flow of war?"
"True, I speak not out of disobedience, but it will be difficult. We will be exposing ourselves while protecting the passage between the west and middle battlefields. It is risky."
Kagura stood and looked at the ten-thousand. He said, "Matsubi, may I make a guess?"
"Of course, you are my superior in experience!" Matsubi encouraged him.
"War is like a board game with moves and counter moves. Ouki is a player of the game, and as a player he has to perceive the moves his enemy will make. The most important move of any game is the first one, because it is the one that decides the flow of the rest as the two dance. It decides from the very start who sets the tempo, who is in control, or is the aggressor, who is the defender, and such a tempo is difficult to take when it is lost. It is clear to me the first move has been made, and it is based on that move that Ouki has predicted how Zhao will respond, whether to reclaim the tempo or the push it. Either way, positioning us at the ruins is a defensive move, not an offensive one… He wants us to prevent the Zhao from making a move. My best guess is that Qin has taken the first victory, and Zhao seeks to reclaim the offensive."
"An insightful guess. But I do not know if it is so or not, he tells us little."
"That is another thing that has left me curious." Kagura mused. "Why would he tell us to put ourselves into a defensive position? Being on the defense offers no gain for us but to hold them back. This tells me one very important fact: We are to buy time for the real offensive move."
"The real offensive move? What is it you are thinking?"
"I think Ouki seeks to make an offensive move, but needs us to act as the shield to his sword. Whether that is to surround, focus resources and men elsewhere, or what. We are the shield to his spear. As such, may I make a recommendation?"
"By all means! I rely wholly on your guidance, Kagura! You have taught me much, and your perception makes great sense."
"Then let us take the thousand Royal Guard." Kagura advised him. "If we send too many to the ruins, it will draw greater attention from Zhao. The smaller a force, the less perceptive they will be. The more they will underestimate us. The Royal Guard and I are trained to be the elite of the elite, to hold a single point against all odds. I think this is what Ouki has in mind, as surely our forces here have not gone beyond his knowledge."
Matsubi looked once more to the Zhao. He considered what Kagura said, and felt it was true. Perhaps it was a guess, perhaps that is all it was, but their orders were true. Ouki wanted them to hold the ruins, despite how much of a difficult position it would put them in. And Ouki was the greatest general in the world, he was the pillar of the nation, surely he had a reason.
"I agree." Matsubi looked back once more to the map. An idea came to his mind.
"What are you thinking?"
"Let us reform the ten thousand from ten units of thousand to ten units of nine-hundred, and them move the nine-thousand up a bit." Matsubi pointed to the map up a bit, not close enough to be the middle where Zhao would take it as a means for battle. If Zhao was to attack, they would have to pull themselves out further and expose themselves more. "Meanwhile we take the thousand Royal Guard unit around the back, hidden, into the nearby ruins. Then if the Zhao attack, pull the nine-thousand back to the original line."
Kagura perceived his plan. "You mean to deceive them. If we were to take away a unit, it would be noticeable. Instead you wish to redistribute the ten-thousand, so we appear no smaller than before, while moving the Royal Guard into a position they will not know we have taken! What of when the Zhao come upon us?"
"You are right… I had not thought of that. We will be in no better of a situation from before." Matsubi sighed. "It was a stupid idea."
"No! No it was not!" Kagura argued. "You have a mind for tactics, even if you do not realize it! Take your plan but a step further! They will come upon the ruins expecting it empty, but we will be there with the thousand. They will surround it to take it from us. That will leave the nine-thousand here to come upon them from behind!"
"I see now! How dumb of me!" Matsubi laughed. "I came up with three-fourths of a pincer stratagem without even realizing it! I was solely focused on the ruins."
"You have a mind for tactics, that has been clear to me this last year. You merely continue to think as a soldier, rather than that as a commander."
"I think both are necessary." Matsubi argued.
"Oh?"
"Yes. Is not high war dependent on low war? Is not units and formations dependent on the squad? What if one could take the strategy of high war and apply it to low war as well? What if every squad could be coordinated as one yet as individuals."
"What you speak of is strategy on a complexity and scale beyond any general. Even the most disciplined army cannot employ hundreds of miniature stratagems at once." Kagura waved it off. "Matsubi, you have potential. You understand the battlefield from multiple perceptions, but what you speak of is beyond you… beyond anyone. Focus on what you must learn, don't overreach yourself or you will find yourself exposing yourself to countless weakness."
Matsubi nodded. He frowned and bowed himself to the veteran's words. "I am sorry for my lack of understanding. You should be the leader, not I."
"Not at all. Zelda was right. I am old. I see in you far more potential than I have in my coming years. I am where I need to be, teaching the next generation."
With that said, Kagura rose and walked off to inform the former Royal Guard of their mission. Matsubi looked to the battlefield once more and considered possibilities. He hoped it would go well, and that he would not fail them all.
So it was that Matsubi and Kagura marched the ten-thousand forward up a ways, enough to draw the attention of Zhao. However, one thousand had stayed behind and hid themselves as they made their way to the ruins. Matsubi's plan would successfully deceive the Zhao, as they would not perceive that the ten units of thousand were actually ten units of nine-hundred.
Zhao marched forward to encourage battle, and as Matsubi had left as orders, the nine-thousand marched back, leaving the ruins exposed. In response, the Zhao took the initiative to seize the ruins. They left their entrenchment on the mountain, entered into the thinner passages leading toward the city, and then entered it.
The Zhao stopped as they found the city was already taken without their knowledge. A thousand Qin adorned in golden armor, with steel spear and sword, with heavy armor, and strong in formation, stood before them. The buildings were torn down and piled as barricades to deny them passage. The Zhao would have to work through tons of rubble or force their way through a thousand elite soldiers in a formation shoulder to shoulder and shield to shield.
Orders were sent from the Zhao command to engage, and so they did.
The Zhao threw themselves on the Royal Guard. They thought themselves victor, as they were in much greater number, but they quickly learned this was not the case. This was not a mere thousand soldiers. This was the Royal Guard of the Qin palace. They were each heroes in their own right, trained their entire lives for battle, and had formation training every day.
The Zhao would not gain an inch of ground from them, if anything, the Royal Guard would taunt them and push them back in a manner akin to soldiers of Sparta.
As Kagumi predicted, this would put his nine-thousand into a favorable position, so the nine-thousand ran across the battlefield and engaged the Zhao from behind. The Zhao, having been stalled by a mere thousand, had not predicted they would be so detained. The Zhao had believed they would take the city and cut off the western Qin forces from their vanguard, and so have a position in which to fight Ouki from the sides and put him on the defensive. They had not perceived they would fall into a position to be surrounded themselves.
And to top it all off, the Zhao commanders and officers on the battlefield received no further message from their command on the hill. Without orders, the Zhao were routed by the evening and fled. They fled to their command on the hill and despaired, for what they found was death. The general who had stayed on the hill was dead, his head missing and his guards slain around him.
Ouki could only grin as he heard the wailing on the distant winds, a noise so loud it would shake the earth. His plan had worked perfectly.
Now let us return to Link and see how a mere unit of one hundred had changed the face of this war.
-Link-
Link and his one-hundred rose after resting a short while. They gathered information on the terrain from scouts who Ouki supplied, and so Ganon organized them and created a stratagem. He explained it to Link (multiple times before he understood), and Link accepted it as good.
The strategy was quite simple, but would be difficult in execution. It required each and every man of the one-hundred to think of themselves as a whole unit, as opposed to individuals or as squads. They would make their way westward until they reached the hidden terrain, and then march north. They would pass the ruins of the ancient city on its eastern side, and yet continue north into the Zhao line.
This, naturally, terrified the men. They hid themselves against the rock wall as best they could, but they were openly exposed on the east. None of them lit torches, they covered their weapons, armor, and shields (as little as they had) and covered anything that could reflect the light. They bent their backs and lowered themselves to present less to be seen, and they moved slowly.
No one dared speak for fear the Zhao would hear them. The only sounds they could hear was the crunch of their leather shoes on the wasteland ground, and their own breathing. At periodic times, they would hear a mild gasp, before deathly silence, as Solitare moved above them. Ganon had instructed the Sheikah to assassinate any scouts the Zhao would have along their way. At first there were few, but as they inched their way further and further up the Zhao side, more and more scouts had to be silenced. At one point a scout did see them, reached for his horn to blow, and put it to his lips. Unfortunately for Zhao, he had no breath in which to blow, as Solitare had managed to pierce his windpipe in time, before pushing his body over the edge. The dead Zhao fell before Hei and Tou, and Hei was half-way into a sudden squeal, having not expected the body to land in front of him, when Tou managed to clamp his mouth shut. The miniscule peep Hei did let out caused all of the Qin to freeze in place and listen intently to know if any Zhao were alerted.
If they were to but raise their heads a little, the Zhao marching on Matsubi would have seen them or the Zhao hill on the east where Harken was would see them. The only one of them who dared risk it was the Sheikah, for Solitare was skilled at hiding in plain sight.
Solitare was a master of what would normally be associated with magic tricks and misdirection. Despite his small size, youth, and fragile appearance; or perhaps because of it, he is unusually unnoticeable, a trait that works well with his skill for misdirection. Solitare is capable of vanishing out of thin air with his faints to become near-invisible. He is further trained by the Sheikah to be unusually calm, decreasing his already low presence to near invisibility in its own right.
However there is a weakness. Solitare's skill requires a constant focus and perception of large scale surroundings, taxing his mental strength, and his stamina is low. The more tired he is, the harder it is to be hidden in plain sight. In addition, the more he uses misdirection tricks on someone, the less likely they will be misdirected each time, and they will inevitably become used to him. This is something that can be seen in Ganon and Link already, as they are slowly starting to notice him without him purposefully going out of his way to be noticed.
Before this battle, Ganon and Link had pushed Solitare to telling them these things. He was their trump card to getting all the way behind Zhao lines and back, and though Solitare would not tell them the training of the Sheikah in depth, he at the very least relented in telling them how they could best utilize him and he explained in more detail what his talents were.
Link's unit reached a point from where they were between the Zhao hills. On the east were soldiers and scouts so thick they could go no further. However, on the west, it was devoid of Zhao but the scant scouts that remained. All the Zhao had marched into battle with Matsubi.
Link popped his head out of the bushes briefly before disappearing again. "I can see the Zhao command from here. The tents are up there with the flags erect and high, and some men remain."
"Did you see the general?" They wondered.
"Don't know what he looks like. Couldn't tell from here. Solitare?"
"My tricks won't work from this range; but I can get a little closer; close enough to see if the general is present. He would have bodyguards and given respect by special salutes. He would be sending out orders."
Ganon said, "Then go, but be careful. The Zhao have emptied the hill but we may not have long."
Solitare disappeared into the brushes. It would be some time, comparable to an hours' time, before he returned. "The general is there. He wears a helmet with many coloured feathers on his crest and steel armour. He sits in a seat overlooking the battlefield, and a number of flag bearers and horn blowers surround him. He uses them to wave patterns in the air to give orders at times when the horn is blown."
"Then we should strike now, while our good fortune remains." Ganon said. He stepped out from the crevice from which they hid and stealthily made his way a bit closer to the hill. Before long they would reach open clearing and would have to race up the hill. He stopped at a rock and turned to see only Link had followed.
"What's the deal guys!" Link whispered.
"Some are scared." Kyo Gai reported.
The one in question who held them back was a large man. He was one of the four strongest amongst the hundred, with such strength no weapon could suit him but a mace or hammer. He would not budge. The hundred grew fearful when even such a large man didn't budge to go until none of them would go.
"Hey, you have a daughter right?" Link asked.
The man nodded. "Lili." He smiled brightly. It was easy to see he loved his little girl.
"How old is she?"
"Three."
Seeing where Link was going, Kyo Gai stepped in and said to the man, "Do you not remember why Zhao is here? They are not here to conquer. They are here to kill. Already entire villages have been laid to waste. Many of us here have sons and daughters as well. Wives and mothers and fathers and brothers and sister as well. Isn't that right?" Kyo looked among them.
Indeed, this was true. Ganon had adopted Malon as his ward, though it was more formal than a normal adoption. Hei and Tou were brothers who went to war together, but had people they had gone to protect. Link had none of these relationships, but wanted to protect his village all the same, and his friends. And among the others of the hundred nearly all had someone they did not want to see die to Zhao, sons and daughters and wives and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and cousins.
"There is no shortage of lives that depend on us!" Kyo Gai pressed. "We are a hundred, so we very well may die. I'm scared too. But we were conscripted to fight to defend the kingdom. I don't know about you, but I don't want my mother to die. So I'm going with or without you, but it will be better if you all come."
His words stirred the men and focused them once more, so that they did follow when they inched their way in closer to the hill; and a profound change came over the large man whose daughter was Lili. (His name is Den Yuu for future reference.) The thought of his baby girl dead stirred him from despair into rage and further into bloodlust, so that while the rest hid, he stood openly and ran forward. Seeing him run openly onto the hill's slopes, the rest did the same and charged up the hill.
The horn blew as they ran, and the men at the Zhao command mobilized to protect the hilltop; however there were but a scant few. There was only a token force remaining here, as all of the other forces were either fighting Matsubi or further down the hill to the south and was out of reach.
Link looked to the south. There was large units of Zhao far down the hill. These Zhao were stationed to protect the hill from an attack from the south. The Zhao would never have guessed Ouki would aim an arrow at them from between their own command units in the far back. They never would have guessed an attack would come from the east.
"The units to the south heard the horn! They are coming!" Link yelled.
"We better hurry." Ganon unsheathed his blades and picked up speed further.
A few arrows hit true and struck Qin, but the arrows were few and the time they had to mobilize was short. In seconds the wolf, Kagami, was upon them. The wolf leaped on them, tackled them to the ground, and tore at their throats. The men dropped their bows to unsheathe their spears and swords to deal with the wolf, and in so doing could not fire on the Qin who were close behind. The Zhao had mobilized a set of barricades all around the command. It was easy for the wolf to weave through, but the men would have a much harder time to scramble through the wooden constructs.
However, they did not have to work their way through it. Den Yuu had been built up into a frenzy, and he lifted up his hammer and in one strike crushed the barricade before him into rubble. The other strong men in the hundred were twice as strong as a normal man, but he was even stronger. He was twice as strong as these strong men, so he was four times as strong as a normal man. The barricades crumbled beneath his barbaric strength. The other strong men also bashed their weapons on the barricades around them that blocked their path, and Ganon slammed his blades onto them as well while drawing on the power of the triangle. The hundred cut down the barricades, poured into the circle of tents, and attacked.
As instructed, the men had reorganized into different squads of five. The strongest men formed their own unit with Den Yuu, Ryuu Sen, Chu Tetsu, and San Ka. (Though not a full squad, their raw strength was specialized, and to add a weaker man to the squad would lessen the squads purpose.) Link's squad had the same as before, and Kyo Gai was promoted to have his own squad. So Den Yuu's unit struck into the thickest mass of the defenders with Kyo Gai and his squad, and all the other squads, while Link's squad was instructed in Ganon's strategy to penetrate through and go for the head of the general.
Penetrating was easy for them. Ganon brought his swords down on the Zhao and fire exploded out from them. Solitare disappeared and reappeared behind their lines a moment later with a dozen men's heads falling. Link cut and struck and pressed forward, and Tou and Hei supported him. It did not take long before the five had pushed through the Zhao's final line to reach the general. The general proved to be a weak warrior who was cut down instantly and beheaded.
The general of Zhao in question was not a skilled duelist or warrior, but was a strategist. In his final moments he saw he had been defeated soundly in his own area of expertise by the mind of Ouki. He had been unable to perceive that Ouki was not a general who left each battlefield to their own devices, but had them influence the other and seek every available opportunity. Ouki had predicted Zhao's move and responded with both a shield and an arrow. The shield was Matsubi and the Royal Guard, so chosen for that role before the battle had started. And the arrow was Link, a small unit that Ouki hoped had the potential to be something more.
They cut down the remaining Zhao around the general, sparing only the few who had not been armed and were scribes or servants and slaves. They kicked the flag of Zhao down, plucked it from its stand along with the horn. They put the general's head and helmet into a sack.
They then stole the nearby horses, released the ones they could not steal, and fled further west before the infantry unit of Zhao would catch them. Link's unit spent the day riding a wide swath around the battlefield from west to south to avoid conflict with Zhao, before returning to Ouki's command the next morning their prize in hand.
The Zhao of the west would flee, scattered and without proper orders any longer. They were routed and there was a great slaughter before they fled and regrouped at the middle command.