~~Next Day~~
Shou Bun Kun was in his armor coming into the Sei's room.
"Already awake, your majesty?" Shou Bun Kun asked.
"Indeed." Sei says.
"What's your thoughts on our new ally for the time being?" He asked.
"He won't betray us both sides are at fault for his friends death but only one side hired the assassins that killed him. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where our relationship will go after as far as it goes to handling Lü Buwei."Shou Bun Kun asserted that he felt it unluckily that Shin would betray them and Shin can be used to help him and his Majesty.
"I find it highly unlikely that he'll just sit by and watch as that man takes more and more power, but he said it himself. It took him a few years to solidify his current power base. It might take him a while longer to handle getting control of those Vassals of his." Shou Bun Kun explained. He just really thinks that they can trust Lord Shin and if the region and Shin become great figures then he knew after he was gone that his majesty would still have a valuable ally. He was getting too old and at least Shin will be able to help his majesty in the future.
"—It won't take very long for every last person, who is in that faction at this point in time, to completely become loyal to his family as long as he has proved himself a good leader, he won't have any problems, bringing the faction unity." Sei continued thoughtfully.
"It is finally time." Shou say seeing the time of day from the point of the sun.
"So it seems." Sei says preparing himself to take his first step towards getting back his throne . He looked towards the horizon and knew that his dream was only the beginning phase and it will take a while until he can gain power.
~~At Shin's room~~
Shin came out of his room wearing a new gray half robe with black out lines and tan pants, and a mask on his belt. He felt that it was a bit out of place from using the regular rags of a slave he usually uses. He knew this is what it takes to be a noble and he had to dress the part.
"I don't know how you did it but this is a great fit and in my size." Shin said admiring the robe and silk to the fabric.
"Thank you, Shi Ba Ki kept a close eye on you so the size was easy but I was in a hurry so I wasn't sure the colors would work." Li Yan said.
"I'm not sure how my father would say it but I know my grandfather, and myself to say this, be completely sure of it. Thank you for everything you have done for my family. I would never have lived as long as I had without people like you there to protect me and keep me from doing stupid things, my father would be beyond grateful… that those who he trusted, the most continue to protect his family, and after he died. We should go and begin our part of the plan and meet the King." Shin said.
"Thank you, may I ask where you got the mask?" Li Yan asks, walking outside.
"I made it, it's annoying but I have a habit of at least trying anything once then me and Hyou would decide who was better at what and spilt the work that way." Shin says.
"I see. My Lord, are you so sure about purging people that way." Li Yan says.
"Unfortunately, it must be done. If you come to someone who isn't willing to surrender to the power of me and the king working together is because they believe that they'll be shielded from repercussions later down the road. There's one person I can think of who could offer such assurances, having him have people already in the capital during such a time as this will put both of us on the back foot for later. If it's not that, then they are just plain out too loyal to the other faction to be willing to work with even mine or the king's, and again they could move over to that man's faction if he swayed them enough. With the information that they would be able to gather before then we'd never know, and I'd be damned if they really left to go to another state. It's time you should have an hour or so head start, I wish you good luck." Shin says, turning around and nodding.
"Thank you, we will be off. Hou Bie will stay with you." Li Yan says.
After Li Yan and his men rode off, Shin, Ju Kun and Hou Bie walked over to Sei.
"Sei my men just left, we have an hour to pack up and leave." Shin says .
"Good, but more importantly, are your prepared?" Sei asks.
"What do you mean by that?" Shin asks.
"This is going to be a real battle, are you ready to cut down anyone who stands in your way?" Sei says.
"I been preparing for the moment that this would happen for most of my life, I'm ready." Shin says.
"Heki sound the call and wake the men. Make preparations to depart and march within in a hour." Sei says.
"Yes sir." Heki says.
"It's time we returned back to Kanyou." Sei says.
Couple hours later the royal capital~
"Chancellor Jie Shi, the Chief Vassal and 3rd Vassal of Aspen have arrived to discuss what happened, they have 1500 men with them." Soldier reported.
"While the amount of men they brought is worrisome I can't blame them after what we did, so they are probably airing on the side of caution. Let them in and get them settled, call some servants to begin a feast and Gi Kou, if this works out well we can get them on our side today by just apologizing and increasing some rights to their trade and control of his region." Jie said. He needed to use everything to his advantage before he had to fight on multiple fronts.
-Ten minutes later-
"General Li Yan, General Gan Tong it is a surprise to see you two here in the capital." Jie Shi says.
"Chancellor Shi, I'm sure it is but a surprise isn't that we're here it's how quick we got here. I'm sure you know why we're here." Li Yan says.
"Of course, the Royal Army's trespassing into your region I can assure you that there was a good excuse for it." The man bowed in respect to show how serious he was taking the matter.
"There better be, you destroyed an important source of information in our region." Gan Tong says. He was getting annoyed a bit just to play the part and pressure on the other man.
"I'm sure we could sit down and have a conversation here…" Shi Shi says.
"Oh, I must apologize, but we are not the ones who you will have to explain yourself to." Li Yan says.
The courtroom erupts in whispers. They all heard of the Twelve Zodiacs. Some lords were not happy about the Twelve Zodiacs possibly becoming their enemies and were trying to think of a solution.
"Then, who will it be if not someone of your high position. Lao Zhi, The High Elder of Qin, Ban De, Shi Ba Li, Gi Wan, a member of the council." The Chancellor was caught off guard and sweating a bit not expecting this development and trying to make heads or tails on how to respond as quickly as his little brain could process the situation.
"None of them, Chancellor." Li Yan says smirking.
"You can't mean…" Shi Shi says.
"Lord Li Yan…" Gi Kou says, signaling him.
"Yes, my master, the Lord of Aspen and of the War States, Lord Shi Ba Shin-sama, makes his way to the capital. It will be to him that you must explain last night's actions too. We have come early to make his residence here is safe and his route to and through the capital. Of course, I and another high ranking member of the city Council will sit in on this meeting, but it will be you two doing the explaining to our Lord." Li Yan explained with authority and clarity.
"We would be most grateful to host him here, and explain our actions to the generals. We have already sent people to help prepare the temple and his small residence here in the inner court." Shi Shi says. He was not expecting this and if he doesn't behave then someone of another power could be a potential threat in the future.
"Thank you very much,chancellor and ministers, and with your leave, we would like to go and make sure that all affairs are made to his liking." Li Yan says bowing in respect to the other lords in the courtroom and made sure to release a bit of his aura making his co co partner chuckle under his breath and smile mischievously.
"Please, please go and please send me word when he is nearby. I have ordered the preparation's for a feast so that we can eat and talk." Jie Shi says.
As soon as the men left the room it went crazy with people talking about different things and possibilities in volume.
"Chancellor…" Shi Shi started.
"Not right now Shi Shi, I need to think of a good deal for this man, I'll leave you here to get this calmed down and make sure they don't say anything stupid when he arrives. I must start looking through the records." Jie Shi says walking out of the room. He should
-About a hour later-
Shin and Ten were looking at the Royal Capital in awe and shocked.
"What…the…hell, Aspen may have been huge… but this insanely doesn't compare in comparison like it's humongous, I should've believed my tutors, and they said that about the capital." Shin said with mouth open.
"What a sight." Yo Tan Wa said also in amazement as it was her first time at a plainlander's capital region and city.
"Sei you better be sure of every single thing you have planned." Shin says.
"Calm down, do you see those large buildings, all the way inside?" Sei asks.
"Kind of impossible not to." Shin says.
"That's the Royal Palace next to it the Temple of War. We know the news of this current rebellion has not yet spread to the general public outside the palace. In other words the city itself has not been tainted by my brother's faction just yet." Sei explained.
"So all we need to do is capture the royal palace extremely quickly. Yeah I get it but come on man.." Shin says not losing confidence but wanting to think rationally.
"Correct." Sei says not to lose his confidence in his vassals and his main retainer's plan.
"Which is right in the middle of the city." Shin groans not liking to fight with a target so far from the gates without the slightest hesitation of the guards from surrounding areas to bare down on them.
"Of course, the city was built around the palace as the centerpiece. Surrounded by numerous layers of defensive walls, noble estate and citizen housing." Sei says. This made Shin more nervous and fearing for his men. He knew that in most campaigns he was going to be responsible for lives and whether the plans he even made, would succeed on the battlefield that could cost more and more lives of his soldiers.
"Which is why I said we need a scheme." Shou Bun Kun says interrupting his thoughts.
"I hope your plan works." Shin says.
-Royal palace-
"Eighty thousand.." Jie Shi says before punching Shi Shi, exploding all his emotions from the past couple hours. "This is nowhere near enough. Explain yourself."
"I apologize to you,my Lord. We still haven't found the royal seal, these men are all we could find given the circumstances anymore and it would seem suspicious." Shi Shi says, holding his nose. He didn't want to recruit more and more which would cause surrounding regions to look suspiciously on what was happening. They needed to keep things under control. The other lords not on the campaign could think a war was brewing and lock down their gates which would stop trade and cause riots.
"Even if you don't have the seal you should be able to recruit more! I can't immediately ask the Lord of Aspen to give ⅔ of his standing troops and a couple commanders when he arrives soon. I don't care if you use bribery or blackmail, just get me more troops. Also make sure to recruit all those other factions that have been sitting on the sidelines. I will not have that man to think that we can't achieve our part of a deal and back out. You said it yourself, furthermore; he leads the only faction that rivals that even eclipses our own and that right now might not hate to listen to us and with cooperation his the others will fall in line or be crushed." Jie shouted. " If we were only trying to hold off Lu's Army of 200,000 at the Kankoku gate 80,000 would be plenty. But our goal is not just to defend ourselves it is to completely destroy him once and for all. In the end we require a much larger army! Hurry up and round up another 100,000 soldiers, I will be getting us the commanders and figurehead needed to lead such an army. Ou Ki will probably finally get involved, when he hears who is leading the army, he has a history of it. Do not disappoint me in this mister Shi."
"Yes sir." Shi says.
~~Outside of the city in the forest~~
"Do you think that 80,000 troops wasn't and not enough for him?—Oh that's right, by initial calculations he expected to steal the king's royal seal which would've allowed him to raise an army 400,000 men strong. However the seal was "lost" during the coup d'etat and only 80,000 men answered the initial summons, less than half of Lu's army of 200,000. Undoubtedly he is quite worried right now. Then suddenly from a place no one would've thought appears an army of potential allies. Us and Aspen." Shin says to Sei.
"Correct, all we need to do is trick them into thinking we're allies and opening the gate for us. we will bypass the walls without shedding even a single drop of blood. Move out!" Sei says.
-Royal palace-
"A group of mount dwellers suddenly appeared at the Westgate. How many—?" Jie says.
"Yes sir. Between 2000 to 3000– They're all wearing strange clothing and appear to be mounted in carrying weapons, but do not appear to be planning to attack us." The messenger says.
"Have they made any demands or sent a message?" Jie says.
"We received a message from them stating that their leader has come to offer their aid for the sake of reviving our ancient alliance." The man says.
-In the courtroom-
"Marvelous! —To receive such reinforcements before a battle with chancellor Lu is a stroke of fortune! if they're the same warriors from the story of horse and liquor they will be extremely powerful allies even if they only number 3000. you should open the gates and invite them in at once." Some advisors say. They were all discussing things and it was spreading themselves all over to conduct more relationships and gain more soldiers for their own private army and assist so they wouldn't be purged. The political field required at times, soldiers as well as political power.
"—Wait for how many years have the mountain transcript to themselves why do they suddenly want an alliance. They must be scheming something? Even if you say that they're already waiting outside the gates. Come to think of it, why didn't no one spot them until now." Others said as they continued to discuss. They needed to outsmart the mountain dwellers as they concerned things with their position behind them when there's always so many threats in front of them. Theres the six states but the mountain dwellers haven't been seen in forever.
The west gate has not been attacked in centuries; the sentry must've slacked off. He should be executed for his negligence. As if we could join hands with a pack of mountain monkeys. Send a force of 30,000 men out to the West gate and massacre them to the last man. Oh that's a good idea, it will be a nice warm up before we do battle with Lu forces!" More inputting ideas on how to deal with the mountain dwellers.
~Outside of the gate~
What is taking them so long?" Shin asks, groaning.
Then the gate started making noise and opening. Once it opened it revealed seven guys bowing.
"We humbly invite you to our city. The state of Qin welcomes you with open arms." One man says.
~The Courtroom~
"You dare invite those savage apes into our royal palace chancellor Jie, are you out of your mind!?" Chenjiao shouted.
"It is all for the sake of the alliance. Please bear with it your highness." Jie says trying not to be the next to be killed by the monster behind the Royal Prince usurper.
"Why wasn't I not consulted consulted first about this? How dare you do as you please!" Chenjiao says not liking things escaping his grasp.
"You assigned me to manage these affairs so I acted on my own accord. If I've offended you, your highness, then I hope that you may forget my transgressions. however we do not agree that this is a perfect chance to enjoy a great battle between the mountain dwellers and the forces that wily raccoon Lu." Jie says trying to be as respectful to his highness as much as he could to avoid being killed and also keeping his role implemented. He also just wanted to use the opportunity of using a weapon besides his own soldiers. He wanted to keep his intelligence level shown as his main forces needed to be used properly.
"So your plan is to send monkeys to fight a raccoon?" Chenjiao assesses thinking a bit while keeping a straight face and decent calm demeanor. It kept his forces from being used, that's for sure. He didn't care either way if more pawns or people were used but at least they can avoid some unnecessary damage to their numbers and whittle down the raccoon's forces using the mountain dwellers. He knew enough that it could make them less of a threat if he used them in battle, killing two birds with one stone.
That's correct." Jie says glad his highness agreed.
"Very well, however; I still refuse to speak to a pack of savage apes." Chenjiao says.
"That's fine, your highness. All you need to do is take your place on the throne as rightful king of Qin. Please leave everything else to your humble chancellor." Jie says.
~At the gate~
"Shit." Hou Bie whispered.
Shin raises an eyebrow wondering what was wrong.
"You remember when we explained that since most of us have been around each other long enough to be able to sense each other's aura since we really don't bottle them up or try to hide them on purpose." Hou Bie says.
"Yes." Shin says still does not understand the issue.
"My Lord, I just got a sense from him, that he's close." Hou Bie whispered.
"Will he be able to tell where you are?" Shin asked worriedly.
"Not unless I get hostile." Hou Bie whispered.
"Then stay as non-hostile as possible." Shin says.
Then Heki brought it to everyone's attention that they were more enforcers of the Royal Guard of the city than normal.
"Look at those monkeys." A Royal enforcer says looking down as the mountain folk pass through the streets.
"You should cut that out. Our orders were to not agitate them." A enforcer flanking him said as he didn't want to agitate unknown assailants even if they looked like savages. He's been trained that unknown warriors are dangerous and being a guard any bandit or thief could be a dangerous warrior and he knew that from experience.
"Oi." A voice said behind them.
"Eh." An enforcer answered before he got smacked aside a little roughly by an uppercut to the jaw.
"You're in the way." The voice said with enthusiasm and authority.
"What the hell? Do you know who we—?" A man started before he realized he was talking to—making his expression change instantly into fear.
Before him stood three imposing figures who could only be called monsters of their specialty and prestige.
'That's two high ranking officials, Chief Sa Ji and Gi Kou of the 12, and the one leading is Mister Shi, left hand man of Chancellor Jie Shi!'The man thought as he assessed how to respond to them before he lost his head.
"You can piss off now." Sa Ji says playing his role, a bit too much making his partner look at him.
"Yes sir, at once sir!" The men said running away.
"To open the pallet stores just for the sake of obtaining 3000 soldiers isn't the chance of being too hasty?" Gi Kou says while thinking. "I might not have much influence with The 12, but if I can convince the Generals who came with them and then with three of us bringing it to our lord 3rd and he would surely bring it Lord Li and the two to Lord Shin he would surely be more inclined to support the royal as his family has done in the past. With the backing of the 12 zodiac vassals, however, we won't need that Royal Imperial Seal, many soldiers will start flooding into the army, just to fight with us."
"It's not just 3000 soldiers, that's the overlord of the mountains Yo Tan Wa herself. Were we able to establish an alliance with her, the hundreds of thousands of people living in the mountains will become our allies. The chancellor must've realized this too which is why he opened the gates. but there is still one thing that doesn't add up just why did they come now out of all times? The alliance with the mountain folk and the region of Aspen would give us the decisive factors we need. Though…. After centuries of silence, why would they suddenly come to offer aid?" Shi thought then he saw a glimmer coming underneath one mountain folk.
Shi turned to see Gi Kou eyes open wide.
Is there something wrong, Gi Kou?" Shi asked.
Do you remember when I told you about us sensing each other when we were around?" Gi Kou asks.
"Yes."
Well my Lord Shi Ba Shaku had a unique aura. You could sense it from far away. It was peaceful until whenever he entered battle, then it was the most threatening thing to be around if you had never experienced it before." Gi Kou explains to the minister official.
"Does that mean your Lord is on his way here?" Shi asked, remembering what Jie had told him.
"It is extremely likely that he is." Gi Kou says, raising his head high.
"Come with me." Shi said to both men.
~~In front of the palace wall~~
"Back in the palace, Hyou would never stop talking about you." Sei says, looking up at the wall while they get ready to storm it.
"Eh." Shin says.
"His eyes would shine like he was talking about the most precious treasure. Whenever I think of Hyou, that's always the first image that comes to mind. If it weren't for my brother's coup, I would never would've met you two. But at the same time, he wouldn't have died. The one who ignited this rebellion Chenjiao and the man who mastermind the entire plan Jie Shi, are currently hiding inside there. The decisive moment is at hand, Shin." Sei says.
"Right." Shin says.
"Don't die on me." Sei says.
"Hahaha. This is one of the first steps I had to take to become a great general of the heavens and a Great lord of my region. As if I'd croak here." Shin says.
"They say we only bring 50 men inside to accompany our leader." Bajio said, returning from talking to the guards.
"So it's 50 versus maybe 6,000 now." Shin said coldly. He wasn't liking those odds but he didn't lose confidence.
"However, if they receive word of our attack; it won't be long until they arrive with backup. Which is why we must find and neutralize my brother and the chancellor as soon as possible." Sei says. "Shou Bun Kun chooses 10 of your men who are familiar with the royal palace. I'll need 37 of your mountain tribe for the rest."
"Yes sir." Shou Bun Kun says bowing and going to do what he was ordered, checking his sword and armor getting ready with a bit of his old battle aura rising a bit.
"Very well." Bajio nodded, understanding his duty and releasing some battle aura of his own, getting ready for battle. It's been a while since he was able to go into a good battle. It gets sometimes boring in the mountainous cities.
The men were picked and they answered the gate after a minute Shin realized that Ten had snuck in with them. After giving her a strict warning just stay close to him and continue through some corridors until they reached what was called the Turtle Gate. There was a bunch of soldiers on their side waiting and on the other side of the top of a staircase was the chancellor. The leader of the soldiers ordered them to put down their weapons which got a hostile reaction from the mountain people telling Shin that it was about to go down. Then Sei and Yo Tan Wa killed the man officially starting the battle for the capital.
From there all hell broke loose mountain people and the soldiers started fighting, at some point some of the mountain folks started to try and break down the gate which didn't work. Then three mountain people charged the wall and tried to climb it but were speared by enemy soldiers preventing them from reaching the top. Then Shin took off for the wall against everyone's advice, after he jumped one of the soldiers caught him in the leg with a small cut But he was able to reach the top. One of the soldiers was about to throw a spear at him as he was pulling himself up, but Ten shot the guy in the eye allowing Shin to get on top of the wall.
There Shin jumped down, he killed the two guards protecting the other side of the wall before they could be reinforced by more soldiers on top of the staircase. He then opened the gate allowing everyone to come in and take chase after the chancellor. At one point the chancellor threw the other person in his carriage with him in the way to stop them from reaching him. Somehow three mountain men got a hold of a horse and we're riding on it at the same time for the chancellor (again how all were riding at the same time who knows). Just before they killed the man a barrage of crossbow bolts hit them and a horse that killed them instantly, revealing minister Shi Shi and Gi Kou in front of them with a group of soldiers.
"Well done Shi! But how are you able to see through their intentions?" Jie Shi said.
"Earlier at the balcony, I noticed some of them were wearing something shiny under their coats. I believe they're most likely wearing body armor underneath." Shi Shi answered.
"Are you saying that there are plains folk hiding amongst them?" Jie asked.
"I believe the reason for their sudden visit is because they're acting on behalf of a plainsman. However for there to be someone capable of compelling the leader of the mountains to move should be unthinkable! We never received his head to confirm his death, so it must be! SHOW YOURSELF, KING EI SEI!" Shi Shi said.
"Those soldiers are all veterans, with these numbers;we will be pressed to win." Sei says.
"Agreed." Shou Bun Kun said.
"Group up the men, to the right of Heki, let's go and execute the plan now ahead of schedule,tell Heki that it's time—." Sei says to an aide soldier on his right who nodded. "—Send word to Heki to take the corridor and cut off any escape…"
Kk
"Yes sir." The group of soldiers moved towards the lieutenant on the right of Heki.
"Lieutenant." A man whispers looking at their leader Heki.
"Hm." Heki says attention changed to his soldier/messenger.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER!? SHOW YOURSELF! O KING!" Shi Shi yells.
"Understood." Heki says after receiving his orders. He grabbed some men and moved quickly to secure the corridor.
"Godspeed." The man said wishing Heki luck in his orders. He wasn't exactly not afraid of their chances this whole plan would succeed but had faith in his abilities.
"Have you enjoyed your fleeting moment of glory chancellor? I think you've savored it long enough!" Sei challenged loudly, stepping forward revealing himself to the enemy chancellor. He showed no fear and calm demeanor in his eyes that he wasn't going to back down.
"Suicidal bastard." Shin said grumbling at how his king seems to want to expose himself too much into danger. He really was starting to respect it. He just hates that someone was just like himself wanting to take risks.
"Ei Sei!" Jie Shi says, startled, staring at the young king with venomous hatred.
"Didn't think he really, revealed himself! What a fool!" Shi Shi says with no belief.
"It's fine Shin, they can't reach him from this distance. Bajio we're going to split off into a separate squad, I need you to come with me." Heki heard Shin who was following him. "Remember we planned on this. We're going to use the king as bait while we are storm the throne room and eliminate Chenjiao."
"Do not be fooled by their petty tricks! Forward, fill those savages full of crossbow bolts and bring me the King's head!" Gi Kou ordered with anger.
"They have a detachment heading to the right dragon corridor. handful but if we lose track of them to become a thorn in our side." Jie Shi says.
There's nothing to worry about sir. Sa Ji is waiting for them inside the corridors." Shi Shi says confident in the man's ability.
"Go, Taji Fu!" Shin says when they reach the door.
Taji Fu breaks the door open with one swing from his giant boulder club.
The break off group goes inside the Corredor.
"Prepare to fire!" Gi Kou orders.
"Gi Kou crossbow line is feared even by the other states. We should withdraw slightly before they enter firing range." Shou Bun Kun says.
That will not be necessary." Yo Tan Wa says stepping forward.
"Yo Tan Wa?" Sei wonders what the mountain king had in mind.
~~Inside the corridor~~
"This is your home turf and whatever but are you sure we're going to be able to reach the throne room through this place?" Shin asks not to like being in a place where he's not familiar with and also possible ambushes that were possible. His tutors explained that ambushes are very likely and after his father's demise they always pressed that lesson from all kinds of strategy books to make decisions based on that. So, he was always mentally prepared for a situation around the corner and psyched himself because there's always possible ambushes within a scheme/strategy.
"Normally no, the pass within the right dragon corridor is as complicated as a maze so it's easy to get lost in here. But I've completely memorized the route to the throne room since we had to escape with the king through this exact same path before." Heki explained watching with his eyes darting side to side.
"Oh I see, you're pretty dependable, Heki. I can tell, you are really pumped too." Shin said as they ran through the halls turning here and there every now and then. Shin followed with haste
"Of course to think of all the men that have given up their lives and service to our king ever since we first escorted him out. As their lieutenant the weight of responsibility to those men cannot be expressed in words. For the sake of all my men not dying a pointless death, I will kill Chenjiao even if it costs me my life!" Heki proclaimed with authority. It made Shin look at him with some respect and admiration.
~~Outside~~
"What's the matter Yo Tan Wa? We should retreat out of their crossbow range. even your man won't be able to stand against that barrage. We must pull back." Shou Bun Kun says panicking at this change in plans. He also wanted the company he had not to die a reckless death as he's seen on enough battlefields the deaths of thousands from crossbows and arrows.
Yo Tan Wa just stares at three dead mountain men with anger. She was a king and she knew what that meant and that was protecting her people and bowing down to no one and making sure nothing stood in her way.
"There is no mountain dweller who would yield to the likes of a crossbow bolt!" Yo Tan Wa says then speaking in her language says. "Assault Formations!"
"Stop! You must not!" Shou Bun Kun yelled, watching as they moved into their formation. It was like a oiled machine as the mountain dwellers were getting ready to rush their new enemies with no fear in their eyes and growling like animals.
Gi Kou was surprised by their move.
"It seems like these monkeys want to take our crossbows on headfirst. How amusing. Our troops are to hold fire until my command! Let's have them taste our crossbolts without missing a single shot as soon as they are in range!" Gi Kou says not understanding but it seems the savages in his mind made his job easier to kill then all and getting things over with in keeping order and victory to his side.
"Please retreat Yo Tan Wa we'll be wiped out!" Shou Bun Kun tries again pleading loudly to deaf ears of the mountain king who was ready already to listen and her forces only focused on her orders.
"Prepare to follow the mountain tribes lead." Sei says seeing no other choice as they were Allies and they had their own reasons as well as pride with combat. They also probably operated differently than his soldiers and knew better than to question the leader of the mountains. It's as if she questioned his rule so he had to trust her.
"Your majesty!?" Shou Bun Kun responds with shock at the order itself not wanting to also put his lord and king in danger and was prepared to go over and pull him into cover with his mind focused on protecting the king.
The crossbow unit and the mountain people were standing across from each other waiting for each other to make a move. Right before Gi Kou ordered the firing of all crossbows Yo Tan Wa ordered something. The three mountain men who got shot got up and were killing every person they came into contact with before anyone could react.
"What the!? Those three men were still alive?!" Shou Bun Kun says, shocked as if reality itself was changing in front of him.
Gi Kou was mad and cut one of them across the chest while yelling.
"Damn you!" He twisted his sword in the mountain dweller. "Why won't you die?! What are you doing? Hurry up an open fire?" Gi Kou ordered immediately not understanding the situation which brought hastened decisions.
However it was too late, the mountain men that hadn't been shot had already reached the soldiers lines and were now fighting close combat quickly for the crossbows to be effective not letting them draw their blades either.
"How…How is this possible?" Jie Shi asked shocked at the site in front of him. He then turned his chariot cart around and raced for the court. "Faster Faster! Move! Get us out of here!" He said frightened for his life.
~~In the Corridor~~
Shin's group had been traveling just fine until they came upon a group of soldiers blocking the way that they needed to go. Behind the soldiers, sat a man, who had the feeling of one ready to kill at any moment.
"Tch. Only this many." Sa Ji says annoyed.
"Sa Ji." Heki says recognizing the figure and was already having a hand on his sword hilt.
"You know that guy?" Shin asked wondering who the man is and ready to pull the sword from his back as he knew this from the last life and death battle he had a few days ago.
"He's Mister Shi's right hand man and Jie Shi's hitman. In the backdrop of the palace, there was a secret power struggle between Lu and Jie, officials from both sides being assassinated on a regular basis. One of the main perpetrators was Sa Ji. Even I have numerous friends who have fallen at his hands." Heki says angrily. He released some of his aura and knew that he had to kill this assassin.
In other words, it's just some assassin? Why more assassins? I've already had to deal with it two. You know what, forget it, what's another…?" Shin said
"Shin, don't underestimate him, he might seem like an ordinary assassin but his swordsmanship is beyond pier. All the troops he leads are a cut above the rest too. The generals En Ka and Ryuu are with the army, so apart from Gi Kou and Sa Ji, Chenjiao has no other capable officers. Past here there are no more obstacles to the throne room. It all comes down to this fight." Heki says.
"Well then let's get it on!" Shin shouted, drawing his sword .
"All of you will die." Ba Jio says nonchalantly, drawing his swords getting into a stance.
That's our line." The enemy soldiers responded by drawing swords or getting their spears in offensive stances.
Outside
The mountain men were winning as there was no way else to put it. It seems impossible for this outcome. These were mere savages but the result was undeniable to the mountain dwellers' side.
"Do not falter! Discard crossbows and switch to swords! We have the advantage numbers." Gi Kou says panicking and throwing out orders that have no thought in mind.
It didn't change much; the mountain men were still going and killing a lot of the soldiers at a rapid pace.
"Amazingly, this is the strength of the mountain folk." A Qin king's soldier commented.
"Where is the messenger!?" Shi Shi says not liking where things were going. Casualties were mounting at an alarming rate.
"Sir." The messenger says riding up to him.
"Recall all the guards inside the royal palace at this location now! We shall finish this here once and for all!" Shi Shi orders needing to finish this before things exploded and wondering how these savages were actually this skilled in causing casualties and destruction to forces. A strength like this to the Qin King was dangerous.
"Kill them all!" Gi Kou shouted as he cut down a mountain dweller before seeing Sei in the battle. "To think the king would be foolish enough to join the battle himself. He must be either confident or stupid!" He slashed and then deflected another blade and spun to dodge another blade then slashed again at another enemy savage making his way towards the King. "I'll make him regret his actions."
~~Inside~~
The battle was going well; the loyalist soldiers and mountain men were cutting through the enemy soldiers with relative ease. When one of the mountain men jumped above the soldiers finally reaching the point where he could see where the leader had been.
"Their leader isn't here!?" The man said in his language.
Before getting cut in half by Sa Ji that moved to that position without anybody noticing. His body splattered on the wall, shocking everyone monetarily.
"Don't get too cocky, you bastards!" Sa Ji says, staring them all down.
Another mountain man charged him and proceeded to get cut from shoulder to abdomen in half killing him instantly.
"Next." Sa Ji says.
Ten and Heki were terrified.
"How could this be? With only two swings of his sword he has completely changed the type of battle. So this is Sa Ji. What am I doing? This isn't the time to be standing around. I have to rally my troops and restore our morale… But even if I understand that, my body… it won't move at all." Heki thought.
In this instant releasing his aura drawing soldiers attention to him, Shin stepped forward walking forward with a battle aura that showed he wasn't backing down making the warrior in front of him raise an eyebrow at the small size of it seeing the boy with barely any experience in the battlefield.
"You're the one getting too cocky, damn baldy." Shin said, releasing his aura to his current limit which was barely anything compared to the opponent in front of him.
~~Outside~~
"General." An elite Aspen soldier said.
"I know I feel it." Gi Kou says while thinking. 'My lord, what would force you to use battle aura?'
Yo Tan Wa had just finished killing three soldiers when she felt it. "Interesting…—What else can this new Lord of Zodiacs do…?"
"This presence.. is it Ba Jio?" a mountain man asks in their language.
"No, that is the Lord of twelve. Seems that things are getting serious on that side too." Yo Tan Wa responded and was cutting down a few more soldiers in rapid succession and turned to her warriors. "We can't fail here then, we need to complete our task here…"
~~Inside~~
"Don't get involved Hou Bie, I found out in my time with him that he excels when he is backed into a corner so unless it looks like he is literally going to get his head cut off or stabbed in the heart and is defenseless we do not get involved." Ju Kun says seeing his fellow companion and vassal about to move forward.
"I see, that's why he didn't tell us what he was planning on doing, just another thing he has in common with his father." Hou Bie said drawing his sword but only putting it on his shoulder after killing an enemy that charged him. "Let's just make sure no one else gets a drop on our Lord at least." Ju Kun nodded and they split up to start killing enemies that seemed to come in droves.
Shin and Sa Ji swung at each other but Shin was cut in the right shoulder from the speed of the experienced warrior.
"Oh I get it, he's trying to speed and strength to it's limit, this is going to be interesting." Shin thought. He tried deflecting a slash and then using thrusting trying to gain any upper hand as the wound was slowing him down.
From there they went into a series of strikes, clashes, clubbings, and cuts in attempts to kill each other. They continued to do a dance of blades and Shin was using all he can to watch the blade of his opponent and meet the blade with anything. From any point of his blade to deflect and swipe and thrusting to keep any more damage to himself. He also was using some elbows and trying to kick so that his opponent could lose his balance.
"What is that kid? To be able to hold his own against Sa Ji who always strikes down men with one blow." An enemy soldier says watching the long exchange which was testing things.
"Awesome… Shin… keep it up." Ten says.
'Why? Shin… how is a kid like you able to fight Sa Ji to a standstill. you have no fear? Where on earth do the two of you draw your strength from? Two of you? Hyou! He didn't hesitate at all in the face of Ok Ki's troops and even led a charge to cut open his own path of escape. Just what are you two? …Great General of the heavens…. You're serious about those words, Shin!' Heki thought clearly impressed but also ashamed that a mere young lord was becoming more of a figure when he was a main vassal of the king with battle experience.
Shin had finally got a cut on Sa Ji's upper sword arm. The young lord of Aspen was still breathing hard and even he knew that he was using too much energy on a fresh wound still on his body.
"Now that I've got a pretty basic understanding of your fighting style, our fight really starts now." Shin says having observed how to fight from both his spars with Hyou and also his tutors.
'If that's truly what you're aiming for, if you're really going to become a great general. Then you must aid our king in unifying the lands then soaring everywhere under the heavens!' Heki thought.
Shin and Sa Ji started striking at each other and getting wounds on the shoulder or arms to some on their abdomens until Sa Ji leaped unexpectedly and slashed downwards the mask on Shin's head splitting it in half and slightly stunning Shin with a precise cut on his head.
"Die." Sa Ji says
"If that is the case… then you must not die here!" Heki thought, swinging his sword and cutting Sa Ji's side. "I have already allowed one of you to die, I definitely won't let Shin be killed." Heki thought, moving forward, slashing Sa Ji again. The expert swordsman saw this maneuver and stepped back making the slash ineffective. "Too shallow, but with those two strikes, just one more step. If I can only take one more step I can kill him!"
However, seeing Heki's intention, Sa Ji slashed Heki down his right side as much as possible, spraying a huge amount of blood, presumably killing Heki.
"HEKI!" Shin yells seeing this as he was on a knee and breathing hard as the energy he had was on his own wounds. He looked at the expert swordsman with hatred and determination.
"Let's continue, brat." Sa Ji says.
~~Outside~~
Sei was in the middle of the fight when one of the enemy soldiers swung at him, he ducked under the swing and stabbed a guy in the neck. However, there was a guy behind him about to swing down but he was able to turn around and block, but got a slash on the left shoulder and a soldier came from somewhere which caused Sei to respond instantly stabbing the enemy soldier in the back.
"Your majesty, are you okay?" A loyalist soldier nearby tried to protect the king with a squad having surrounded the king instantly.
"I'm fine. This cannot even be called a scratch." Sei says not caring as he needed to continue fighting. He couldn't let any deaths that have come before the moment go to waste.
"—My lord you are to expose here you should take cover behind.." The man was interrupted by a sword going straight through his head down the center killing him instantly.
Behind him revealed a man on a horse.
"Your majesty. Prepare yourself." Gi Kou says with glee as he looks on with arrogance. He needed to kill him now and he was right for the picking.
Gi Kou." Sei thought.
~~Inside~~
"You, bastard! How dare you, Heki…" Shin said, striking at Sa Ji, then noticed that he was seeing two men in front of his eyes. "What the!? Is it because I got hit on the head earlier?" He shook his head to get the cobwebs out and put his guard up as much as he could regardless of the circumstances.
Sa Ji realizing the hesitance put more of his force into the blow and pushed off Shin.
"The sword is strength." Sai said, then struck at Shin with his speed and strength. He followed with a series of rapid moments of both his body and his blade on Shin.
Shin was hit in a bunch of areas because he couldn't see where the strikes were coming from completely. Blood was pouring out of multiple wounds and he was losing consciousness.
The sword is speed." Sa Ji says.
Shin dropped back trying to get his focus back and see correctly. He still kept his sword up to take a couple more strikes like his teachers and his own spars have taught him from instinct alone.
"Shin!" Ten yelled with concern and worry in her voice and it wasn't looking good for her friend at this point..
"However,for someone like me who has mastered both. I'm the strongest in the world. Oi brat, to have injured the great Sa Ji himself. How do you plan to make amends for that? What have you got to say?" Sa Ji says with pride his skills which can be sure to be his downfall if he doesn't have which skills to back up the arrogance within his voice.
The battle started back up a little bit more even now that everyone is involved in the morale has been shifted. But then Ten realizes Heki's arm is twitching and that he's not dead. He tells her something and she looks around and sees that everyone is busy and Shin isn't in a really good place either.
Shin is busy trying to block the strikes from Sa Ji but the series is continuously coming through from all directions on top of his blurry vision because he can't tell where the blades are going to be accurately,however the young lord of Aspen was still keeping his sword up and twist the blade and spent the blade in a series of different taught stances to keep his guard up as he knew he couldn't rely on his vision.
"This is bad, Sa Ji has completely snapped." A soldier says knowing arrogance usually ended a soldier more than stupidity.
"What do you expect? He is the type to cut someone in half for just getting his clothes dirty, the kid is going to get tortured to death." Another responds knowing the famous warrior long enough.
Shin barely keeps a strike for his stomach from doing major damage by slashing on top of Sa Ji's sword and takes a knee, breathing heavily having been worn out completely. He was still shaking his head to try and get his focus back. He knew he wasn't dealing with just any opponent and he knew he had to get his focus back to stay alive.
"Boy, who said you could take a break? Get the hell back up! Wasn't your little squad planning on ambushing the throne room? Why don't you try getting there? What's the matter? Hurry up and stand! What's the matter brat huh?!" Sa Ji says, resuming striking at Shin without stopping while Shin still tries to dodge by ducking or deflecting his blade as fast as his stamina could take him.
However while Shin is blocking he was looking at the ground waiting for it to stop shaking and for the lines of Sa Ji to become one, then as soon as it happens he blocks one of the strokes coming for him and sends Sa Ji flying with a slash.
"Oh Man, you sure talk on endlessly. I didn't hear you properly so why don't you tell me again. Just who the hell is the strongest in the world?" Shin says, raising his aura to its max.
~~Shi Ba residents-The Temple~~
Lord Li, you ordered me to tell you, when Lord Shin was using his aura to its maximum strength, he is now and more than I've felt before." Qu Ying says.
"That is the signal, we head out I'll take out the loyalist soldiers heading for the battle, you get control of gates, Hou Bie secure the Harem, Ji So find begin the purge, Gan Tong…" Li Yan says.
~~Corridor~~
"Thanks to you endlessly spewing bullshit, my head has stopped ringing. Now get the hell up. I'll show you who really is the strongest in the world." Shin says.
~~Outside~~
Gi Kou was in front of Sei.
"To be so young yet not power at all despite facing me and my horse. How admirable for a king to possess such a warrior spirit. Could you be the second coming of King Sho." Gi Kou thought before saying. "However! How unfortunate that you had been born in the wrong time and place! Your death will be regrettable!"
Gi Kou struck down but he was knocked to the side by a blow almost falling off his horse.
What was that!?" Gi Kou thought about looking at the dust in front of him for who did that.
"For someone swaggering about on horseback, your sword is certainly quite light."
"Shou Bun Kun." Gi Kou thought, seeing him clearly now that everything settled.
~~On the roof above~~
Nfufufu,mmm, Shou Bun Kun certainly is dependable as always. However it's quite a shame that there is one area we cannot observe from here is Tou around?"
"Sir, did you call for me?" Tou(Ou Ki's second in command) says, arriving clasping his hand and looking nonchalantly with no expression.
"I'd like you to go check the situation inside the right dragon Corridor for me." Ou Ki says.
"Oi, I need someone to head to the right dragon…" Tou says turning to a soldier by them.
"I asked you to go, Tou." Ou Ki says with a smile that was a bit much more mischievous.
"But isn't Sa Ji the one guarding that passage? Their infiltration team probably has already been wiped out by him." Tou assumed with still a regular expression on his face to his lord.
"However, if they break through the corridor there is nothing that stands between them and the throne room. Minister Shi must have absolute confidence in Sa Ji to hold the ground if he assigned him there. However, Shou Bun Kun is no fool. He must be aware of this as well yet he still decided to split his forces to attack the corridors." Ou Ki says he was curious on the feeling of a small aura and it was tiny but it was still impressive compared to himself and Tou's
"So,You think they believe they can defeat Sa Ji!? Tou asks with some curiosity.
"Ku ku ku, Who can say? The only ones who know are the ones inside the corner right now. We're undoubtedly the most trusted fighters from both sides currently engaging in battle however it seems there's another factor." Ou Ki says looking at the battle below and his eyes also on the corridor entrance.
"My lord, I have a report as well, they're on the move, they reacted after the second aura rose from the corridor." Tou says.
"Ah, I see we will leave them to their own devices unless provoked." Ou Ki says while thinking. "Without seeing personally I won't believe that they allowed their master to enter such a place without proper protection, not that he gave them much of a choice most likely. He is honestly the only person among them outside of the few of the generals and lower commanders who wouldn't be recognized. Which means, a Lord of the Warring States and his Twelve Zodiac Vassals have sided or allied with the King and you've got a very interesting son, Shi Ba Saku." Ou Ki said with a chuckle remembering the General.
~~Corridor~~
"Is that so? Your concussion got better while I was playing around. But so what? In the end nothing has changed. There's no mask to protect your head anymore. With my next strike I will splatter the walls with your tiny brain." Sa Ji said get into a stance. He was bleeding too and his anger and vengeful attitude along with the hatred in his voice of wanting to cause as much as possible pain and agony to the little boy in front of him. He'd admit that he was impressed but didn't mean he lose to this little boy in a sword fight.
"That's right, one hit. My eyes have cleared up but I've lost way too much blood from all these wounds. I'm already starting to feel numb in some places. I've only got one more swing left in me. That's all I need. I'm not using a wooden sword anymore. This is the king's sword I inherited from Hyou." Shin thought about closing and opening his eyes to realize his goal. He was calming his breathing just like how he and Hyou practiced because they spared often after their work to practice battling after using up their stamina. It was a suggestion by one of his tutors and one of the zodiac members that was on duty to protect him.
Shin and Sa Ji charged each other and swung, after a few seconds Shin's left side shoulder blade revealed a cut and had blood coming out of it but he stood even after everything seeing as he hadn't been critically struck.
"Ok Baldy! You probably haven't even realized it because all the blood has gone to your head. However in case you haven't noticed, thanks to Heki's strikes both your speed and power have been halved. This is a present from Heki, receive it properly." Shin says as Sa Ji's left side started squirting blood out his body while he fell down from the stab wound thrusting into his chest towards his heart as deep as possible.
How… could I… to a kid… just… who are… you?" Sa Ji says dying shocked.
"I'm Shi Ba Shin." Shin says.
Young master, please allow me to wrap that up so it won't cause any problems later." Hou Bie says.
"Ok but be quick." Shin says. "We still have much work to do and we can't wait for anything even for my injuries, we won't know if reinforcements might come if we delay ourselves. You know this well…"
"Yes, my lord…" Hou Bienodded to his master.
~~Throne room~~
Jie Shi came barging in and ran to the throne where Chenjiao was sitting and got on his one knee bowing his head low.
"It's pretty rare to see you so flustered. What's the matter chancellor?" Chenjiao asked, not caring as usual. He could indeed see something was wrong knowing from the expression and how low the idiot chancellor was bowing his head. Royals often can tell from looking at the features and gestures of the servants that something was wrong wouldn't they also from tutor training.
"Your Highness, I have two things to report! Firstly the mountain dwellers have deceived us! They do not intend to establish an alliance! 50 of them have broken through the Crimson turtle gate and are now engaging in battle with 300 of mister Shi's soldiers at the Dragon Courtyard." Jie Shi says with panic in his voice and fear for his life after giving such a report to his highness.
"What!" A court official screams.
"Secondly! Amongst the mountain dwellers, is King Ei Sei." Jie Shi finished.
"The king!?" Someone screamed and the court went into chaos. They all were scrambling on how to make themselves work with the situation if it presented that they should switch their alliances as soon as possible to make sure they are alive after. Politics was dangerous enough that included people's lives and they knew they needed to get into the good graces of the king's faction if they were to survive a possible encounter.
"Just what's going on!?" An official said not liking anything that was happening and secretly thinking of escape.
"Why is the king with them?" An official wonders if he can join before he gets killed.
"How is this possible?" Another wondered knowing that he needed to pick a side by how the situation was going.
"Could it be, the king is allied with the mountain dwellers to retake the throne." A smarter official deduced seeing that as a likely explanation for the situation while wondering how the king was able to do it.
"Stop panicking, it's impossible for them to reach the throne room! Recall all the soldiers including the soldiers surrounding the royal harem and send them to the courtyard. Rally an army of 10,000 to exterminate those 2000 Mountain dwellers outside. We will finish everything in one swoop!" Jie Shi says.
"Jie Shi, did you just say that my brother is here?" Chenjiao asked, taking interest for the first time in a while, sitting up. He listened to everything but felt no fear for his stupid brother.
Yes, Your highness, however; there is no need to fear if you follow my plan everything well ..." Jie Shi says but Chenjiao starts to laugh maniacally interrupting the room's chaotic scene.
After a few moments of confusion at the prince's reaction he stopped.
"Kukukuku, I see, so he really is alive after all." Chenjiao says while thinking. "Ei Sei. So you finally ran out of options and were forced to ally with those savage monkeys? How fitting for someone as lowly as you. However, do you really think you can reclaim the throne with such a pitiful army? How foolish. Regret your folly with your dying breath and know someone like you has no right to be king! I am the king of Qin."
~~Corridor~~
Everything had just been finished up and most of the enemy soldiers had ended up running after their leader was killed. So after Heki was helped and everyone was set they continued to the throne room to take out Chenjiao.