Shi Ba Shin

by Nightbringer Starlight

This is a story about if Shin was born into a different life. I always found it interesting what would happen if he had been. It also just so happened that there was a very prominent character in the stories that is not been flushed out yet. Ryusui Asakura has come on as a co-writer.

9. Chapter 9 To Victory, To Home

The battle was still going on strong but the mountain folk and the loyal soldiers were starting to get tired. But then Sei climbed on the back of one of the larger mountain dwellers and shouted.

"Hear me soldiers! Do not let your resolution waver! Victory is almost within our grasp! This is a war against my brother and his guardian chancellor Jie, who conspires to reign in tyranny over Qin! Only these two men are responsible for this wicked rebellion! If the enemy loses the two of them, they will surely collapse without their leadership! Right now Chenjiao and Jie Shi are hiding in the throne room without a single guard to protect them! Even as we speak our detachment is assaulting the throne room and about to slay their two leaders. All we need to do is endure and stand our ground! Hold fast and do not waver, even if you were to break your sword, even if you were to lose your arm. Even if you were to bleed yourself dry to the last drop you must endure! As long as we endure it shall be our victory!" Sei says with a sword raised high yelling at the top of his lungs with his own aura which was more majestic but still needed to be refined a bit more. Despite being the king he was still very far from his grandfather.

"UOOOOOOOO!" was the roar of approval from the men. They were thumping their spears and weapons in exasperation and excitement that gave out an intense pressure.

"What did he just say?" A mountain man says in their language.

"To bear 10 kills for each man." Yo Tan Wa responds looking at Sei with interest. It seems there was more to this boy king than she originally thought.

"Simple task." A mountain guard says looking at the other soldier. They started to charge, feeling the bloodlust take over them.

"What an impressive king. With that one speech he managed to reinvigorate many of his soldiers. A most commendable king." Shi Shi thought before saying. "However, you're still only struggling against the inevitable. There is no other fate for your men facing Sa Ji but certain death! And with the arrival of these elite soldiers there is not even a sliver of hope left for you or your army."

Tiny groups of the Prince's Rebel soldiers arrived on each flank of the King's forces and everyone within the king's forces started to fall back in the battle.

"Where are the rest of the reinforcements?" Shi Shi thought.

~~Inside~~

The breakaway group had gone through the Corridor but one of the mountain men had died even though Shin had carried him the rest of the way and he was pissed, they were just about to reach the throne room.

~~Throne room~~

"Gan Tong, what are you doing here you should be at the gate defending your king." An advisor asked with all the authority he could muster under these circumstances.

"Just because we have come into negotiations with the throne doesn't mean we will follow your orders blindly. Li Yan is heading there to see what is going on, and I've come to make sure nothing happened here." Gan Tong said with a straight face and also of annoyance while thinking. 'Where is that monster…'

CRASSHHH

The door from the right dragon corridor swung open violently revealing the group.

"This is the end for you idiots!" Shin says with some very intense sarcasm and annoyance in his voice about this whole ordeal of losing another soldier and warrior.

"How the hell did you bastards get here!? That damn Sa Ji did he screw up?" Jie Shi yells.

"He is dead. He was very skilled and helped me develop my skills. Are you Chenjiao?" Shin says, looking at the boy on the throne looking nonchalantly at them with a distasteful expression for their presence. "Well this is a surprise, here I was thinking you'd start crying and run away. you seem pretty laid-back given the situation. I hope you're prepared to suffer what's coming." Shin deduced but it seems that his predictions were wrong.

The loyalist group moved forward in unison to attack when Chenjiao interrupted and then said two words.

"Death penalty." Chenjiao ordered instantly causing more confusion within the ranks of the group and the officials had all

Shin just raises an eyebrow. He was not expecting that and wondered if they were Sei's brother.

"The death penalty. For the crime of lowborn peasants like you daring to step foot inside the royal throne room, the death penalty. For the crime of a lowborn peasant like you having the temerity to speak to royalty, the death penalty. For the crime of garbage like you having the impedance to breathe the same air in the same room as me, death penalty." Chenjiao says with some distaste of the mere existence of peasants.

"How dare…" Gan Tong started. He knew the prince didn't know but still felt a deep anger for the prince and wanted to kill him, having his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Gan Tong, it is alright; however I don't think he realizes what he says is… well you know. But that's the attitude I thought you royalty would have. After hanging around Sei so much I had almost forgotten. No wonder I like him more than you right now." Shin says crossing his arms not knowing that apparently Sei was different to him than meets the eye.

"To refer to your king as you, are you out of your mind?" Chenjiao says with growing anger in his features as an irk mark started to appear.

"Oi, aren't you the one that's a bit touched in the head? The rightful King of Qin is Sei! You are nothing but a spoiled prince who killed to put himself on a throne!" Shin yells.

Gan Tong moved to intercept anyone going for the opposite door. He got his sword ready and was still within range in case his master needed help. He needed to keep himself ready at all times. It was hard being a vassal at times.

"Well said Shin." Ten says, nodding knowing that Shin was more than a mere commoner.

"You bastard, don't think you will be granted a clean death. I'll have your limbs torn off one at a time why you're still alive." Chenjiao says still not

"Just come and try it, you little shit." Shin says drawing his sword while releasing some aura that he had but not all of it. The amount of hatred and bloodlust in the air was a lot.

In an instant, Gan Tong sees an enemy above, how the hell did he get there without leaving marks, and not make a noise is beyond him.

"Lord Shin lo…" Gan Tong tried to call out to his lord.

"RANKAI!" Chenjiao screamed calling for his monster to deal with the pest in front of him.

"BOEEEEE"

Shin looked up and saw a massive thing coming from the pillars. Just before it landed it grabbed the mountain warrior while roaring loudly in the warrior's face, however; while using one of it's large hands the upper part of the mountain man standing next to Shin, rankai ripped the warrior's upper body using one of the warriors arms clean off leaving his thighs and legs before that half fell over.

The monstrous Rankai landed and then just stood there right in front of them with a man's upper body in his hand dripping huge amounts of blood down the monster's chest.

Shin charged hoping to take it out before it could get any more momentum but, when he slashed it's leg it didn't even go break through the skin barely making that thing bleed as if it was stone. Then it grabbed Shin's arm and flung him across the room bouncing off the ground and a pillar until he slid to a halt semi unconscious, the last thing he saw was Gan Tong running to him with a worried expression screaming.

~~Outside the Roof~~

"Are you there, Tou?" Ou Ki asks. He was enjoying the sight so far. This was becoming enjoyable since he retired from the battlefield.

"Sir right here." Tou says clasping his hands and was on one knee.

"Have you been to the right dragon corridor yet?" Ou Ki asks not to take his eyes off the chaos below.

"I'm about to head over there right now sir!" Tou answered getting up but heard his master again.

"Never mind that. Instead there's somewhere else I would like you to go." Ou Ki says, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes sir, acknowledged!" Tou says going to fulfill his master's orders immediately.

"You must depart immediately." Ou Ki says. He also just looked down and wondered what was happening inside as he had a somewhat bad feeling but brushed it off. His face continued to have that same smile as always. He saw Tou leave and only chuckled, now observing the king. "Ho-oh, this era of this king might actually make me come out of retirement for once. Now if only I can get more information on another matter…"

~~Throne room~~

The battle was not going well, everyone was fighting Rankai but it didn't seem to be working in their favor. After half of the group that was left had been killed by Rankai everyone except for Ba Jio fell back. The Mountain Warrior Commander started going back to his primal instincts seeing no choice with the situation. Apparently he had an inner primal side which was even more powerful than normally though the downside to it was he was a lot more feral losing his mind and intelligence.

In his youth, he had been left alone after a war killed off his tribe and was practically animalistic by the time they found him. After being defeated by Yo Tan Wa, he became normal again and had served her since, but he could always return to that state if needed as a last resort.

However, with that form; Ba Jio started to go instinctive on Rankai but particularly his instinctive response targeted a with multiple slashes on vital spots on his right arm, every time he got the opportunity to which was throwing Rankai off. After one of Ba Jio swords was broken and he was thrown off the two remaining mountain men, Ju Kun, and Hou Bie stepped forward and they started to go offensive on Rankai as well using their teamwork to start to beat him back.

—Shin's Mindscape—

A young Shin was being carried by a young Hyou. They talked about the assassins and how the one who had killed him had been killed and the other was going to serve his family for the rest of his life. Shin began to talk about how he was going to take out everyone else who was involved in Hyou murder when the boy said to stop thinking about revenge.

Shin slowly started to wake up, opening his eyes. He groaned from the pain of having a hand on his head. It was pounding. He tried to get a grip on the situation at hand in front of him.

The fight was pretty much over. Rankai was on his knees and had stopped fighting, when the prince said something that threw him back into the fight. Immediately punching the mountain man, he had knocked out one of the pillars pretty much taking him out of the fight. Then the prince and Ten were in a debate about unknown issues, all he could see were lips moving and heard nothing. Shin's hearing officially came back after hearing the next words within the intense debate.

"Pure blood? Royalty is royalty who cares about that crap, Ei Sei is older that's why he was placed before you in the line to the throne." Ten debated provoking the spoiled prince.

"All you lowborn peasants are foolish lifeforms obsessed with only preservating yourselves interest. deception murder theft your type a switch to anything and everything to gain an edge over your fellow trash. For the nature of humans from the moment of birth is to be evil! Because you're ignorant and selfish behavior is instilled within you from the moment you were born as a peasant! But that is acceptable, however royalty is different. From the moment I have a purse, we do not envy others or do we fear them. However a kingdom is established for those who rule and those who are ruled over. it's only when your kind stoops lower and lower the lowest that we will see will be boosted higher into the heavens! Only then will we receive our land and achieve prosperity and stability. The only thing you trash need to do is prostrate yourself before us! That is the form most befitting a subject like you! Our duty is to secure the foundation of the royal bloodline while building a majestic kingdom and ascending to even greater heights! Furthermore, to that end; I had Ei Sei eliminated! The throne should be inherited by the most suitable candidate with the best qualifications! This is a problem for Qin as a whole! Do you have anything else to say to this, O foolish peasant child?" Chenjiao says.

"Of course we have still got something to say!" Shin proclaimed finally being able to raise up. "That's a load of idiotic nonsense!"

"My Lord, thank goodness." Gan Tong said. He was relieved and was still in an offensive stance ready.

"Oh the little pest, you were still alive." Chenjiao says.

"I ain't out of the game just yet. Chenjiao, while I'm a bit closer to status to you, then the others you're talking about, I'm going to go ahead and choose to use you as an example of what not to do and act like. You plotted until Lu's back was turned and ambushed Sei and stole his throne. Deception murder and theft ain't those the things you said only low born peasants do? So much for being a supreme existence. What a load of bull, you're going on and on about blood purity, however; in the end you're just bitter that your brother got chosen for the throne over you aren't you?" Shin deduced and provoked.

"Haven't you been listening at all? I Told you that removing Ei Sei was for the sake of Qin…" Chenjiao assured and proclaimed with confidence.

"Whatever yapping on about endless technicalities, it's just going to confuse some of the lesser minds here. However there is one thing that is extremely clear. That is, no matter how much you keep bragging about how superior you are, there's not a single person who would stand beside and risk their life to protect you! The only one fighting for you is some gorilla you tortured into serving your will even if it doesn't want to. This is the raw truth. You guys are absolutely sickening." Shin taunted and annoyed sarcasm.

"Oi come on, bring me those two brats. I'll cut off their heads myself." Chenjiao says, to the officials just standing around shivering with fear, drawing his sword.

"My Lord!" 'Did the Third Vassal just call him My Lord…. Wait a minute…' Jie Shi thought, going through a full panic attack, starting to see the complete picture.

"They have weapons." An official says terrified, trying to stay out of the fight completely. He wasn't a fighter as he was in charge of a couple villages.

"Why are you scared of a pair of brats!? Would you bastard rather get fed to Rankai!?" Chenjiao threatened by yelling pointing at the large monster.

The officials nearby came at them but were stopped when each one got shot in the eye by the pellets that Ten was shooting at them trying to just injure them rather than kill them.

~~Outside~~

The battle is still going hard but is now getting more and more impossible, because of the reinforcements showing up every now and then. The last person guarding the king had fallen, however; Yo Tan Wa ordered two of her body guards to go protect Sei because if he died then the battle would be over. Shou Bun Kun was still going strong against Gi Kou despite that their battle could change on a moment's notice.

~~Inside~~

"Gan Tong, go help them but avoid killing him for now we just need to beat him to the point that he won't even respond to Chenjiao." Shin ordered watching the monster with interest and some pity as it was a toy to the spoiled prince.

"Yes sir." Gan Tong enters the battle drawing his blade. He was rushing towards to slash and cause at least some damage.

Shin ran back into the battle as well but still couldn't get past that first level of skin before he was kicked off again but this time he slid close to Ten and Heki. He shook his head to get the cobwebs out.

"Dammit it the sword won't cut at all, that thing is on its last legs but it still just needs one more push to put it down for good. I can't land the decisive blow on him with this sword. It can't cut him deep enough." Shin says.

"That's not true Shin, you have to put more trust in your sword. You're still inexperienced, do not blame your sword, it's a part of you. It is the strongest weapon in the world that has emerged through 500 years of warfare. However, of the numerous weapons invented over the past 500 years of warfare the sword is the only one that has evolved and been refined with the sole purpose of defeating enemies. It all comes down to who wields it, that is the essence of the sword. There is no one that cannot be defeated by a sword. Although I have never mastered the sword, you've trained with it your entire life. Even if they were wooden practice swords, however; I'm sure you'd be able to find a way." Heki says.

Shin studies his sword and realizes that there's only one part of it that could break the man they were fighting, the tip of his blade.

"Ten, help me bind my right hand with this cloth." Shin says, confidently looking at the sword. He was looking at the monster where he could have his target for his sword. After getting the strap tied to hand to keep the sword from slipping Shin looked up.

"Gan Tong, Captain, I need you all to somehow hold that gorilla in one spot for me! Give me ten seconds…no five seconds is all I needed! If you can do that I'll finish that monster off." Shin proclaimed as his men raised their swords in acknowledgment.

The Mountain men talked amongst themselves until Ta Jifu who had been taken out of the fight earlier latched onto Rankai leg and held firm.

"Ta Jifu!" They yelled and were shocked at the sudden movement.

"I'll take those odds." Ta Jifu says in their language.

Gan Tong then grabbed a rope from somewhere and wrapped it around the other leg, preventing his legs from moving.

"Flatten them Rankai." Chenjiao yells from the throne.

Before he could Ba Jio and the other man jump to keep his hands occupied. After the set time Shin appeared above the gorilla and had his sword pointing down concentrating his entire strength and his sword onto one point and piercing through it. Shin stabbed him right above his heart through the shoulder, but was almost immediately knocked off but instead of attacking it just stood there.

"If you don't want to fight then stay down." Shin said looking at the giant monster with a peaceful expression along with his sword sheathed.

Rankai laid down causing a large thump which scared more of the officials.

"What the hell are you doing! Stand up! Get up on your feet you stupid gorilla! Get up and smash those bastards to a pulp otherwise I'll have to punish you." Chenjiao screamed trying to scare Rankai into submission and back into the fight with fear.

Rankai still didn't move. It was not interested in fighting.

"Threats ain't going to help you inspire anyone you know. He ain't getting up anymore. This is the end for you." Shin said, stepping forward towards the spoiled prince, drawing his sword and pointing it to Chenjiao.

All the advisers and people on the enemy side proceeded to try and run for the left Corridor.

''How did it turn out like this? Ei Sei, Shou Bun Kun, Ou Ki, Yo Tan Wa and the mountain people, Shi Ba Shin and The Twelve Zodiac Vassals, and this peasant brat. Which one led to their success? All of it if they were missing any of these factors they would never would've made it this far. Have they been gambling at every step of their journey? What a shame after all the effort I went through to pamper that shitty little brat Chenjiao. No not only that but also the effort I spent using any method I could to climb away from a middle rank official to chancellor. Power of over half the states my dream of eliminating Lu and monopolizing Qin for myself, all of that will disappear. All of it…' Jie Shi thought before running towards the left Corridor saying. "Are you kidding me?"

"You must not let him escape as one of the commanders of the armies outside will need his head to stop them fighting! That door connects to the left dragon corridor. If he manages to slip into the maze we will lose him." Heki explained.

"Gan Tong." Shin said.

Gan Tong moved to kill the man, but the door suddenly opened and a new figure cut the head off of all the advisers except for the chancellor, who ducked after seeing his eyes. The figure's sword stopped right before it reached Gan Tong's sword and the two eyes met for a split second.

"My condolences that I cannot allow any of you to pass through here. As per our general's orders, we shall strike down anyone who approaches this door. I mean you and Shi Ba Shin, no harm, Gan Tong." Tou says, pulling his sword away sheathing it.

The Men and the chancellor then try to flee to the right dragon corridor. But before the chancellor could get there Ten shot him in the eye with a pellet causing him to trip and hit his head on the side of the door then the two mountain men and Ju Kun caught up to him and cut his head off. One of the advisers decided to take the opportunity to stab Ten and succeeded in penetrating her outfit causing her to cry had his head taken off as well. Furthermore,from all the chaos; the prince decided to bolt for the courtyard by battlef so the mountain men decided to head in that direction as well to show the head of the chancellor. After checking on Ten, Shin then made a mad dash for the courtyard as well with his men behind him.

~~Outside~~

Chenjiao made it to the courtyard before anyone else could and alerted Shi Shi to the news inside the throne room. However, before anyone could do anything, a larger than life figure dropped into the courtyard. Followed closely by a bunch of rope ladders being dropped down and soldiers climbing down them.

'General Ou Ki! Since when did he arrive at the palace, more importantly why has he come here? Can you consider not only did he deceive us about thinking Shou Bun Kun was dead but also protected his family. It's clear he's not an ally of ours. Has he come to assist the king, if that's the case, then we don't stand a chance against his personal army.' Shi Shi thought.

Instantly, Gi Kou got in front of Ou Ki with his sword on his shoulder looking nonchalantly at the great general.

"General Ou Ki, there's only one question I would like to ask you. Why did you deceive us and present a fake head? I hope that you have an acceptable explanation for your actions. Otherwise I will have to take your life in exchange." Gi Kou started jeering at the general.

'Well done, as expected of a General of Aspen. The only chance we have of winning against Ou Ki's army is by having the Aspen Vassals and Generals forces here, but they are probably trying to get here, so instead we have to defeat him alone. Right now Gi Kou has him at advantage on horseback; there's not even a slightest chance of him losing to Ou Ki. Even if the enemy is a general there's no need to hold back, kill him.' Shi Shi thought, watching the Generals.

"Gi Kou, stand down immediately!" A voice with absolute authority says from Turtle gate.

Shi Shi turned to see the Steward Vassal there with the Aspen Generals and his men. Gi Kou was about to speak when Li Yan continued.

"Gi Kou. Our lord is here and he will want to speak to you which will not happen if you take another step forward. I Will only say this once again, stand down and pull out all your soldiers." Li Yan says calmly.

Gi Kou simply just nods and motions his troops to follow him over to the Steward Vassal. However some capital generals who wanted to get themselves honor and merit decided to charge Ou Ki. This only got them all, cut in half in the process in less than a second. Ouki then started walking towards the King as everyone, even the mountain dwellers, made a path out of fear or respect for the man. Until Yo Tan Wa and Shou Bun Kun stepped in between the two. They didn't know if Ou Ki could be trusted.

"This sort of cloudy weather where you can't tell if it will rain or not I don't dislike it actually." Ou Ki says looking up at the cloudy sky smiling. He had his Glaive on his shoulder.

"What have you come for, Ou Ki? By killing them, have you decided to betray Chenjiao and side with us?" Shou Bun Kun asked, still having his palm on the hilt of his sword.

"Oh please stop with the jokes. I simply couldn't resist coming and stirring up some trouble after watching this cute little play fight continuing on and on." Ou Ki says maliciously. He just chuckled as he loved having a show so much.

"What did you say, you bastard!?" Shou Bun Kun asked with malice and anger.

"General, if you have come to say something then hurry up and say it we are currently quite busy. We do not have time to waste on the likes of you." Ei Sei says, crossing his arms.

"Very well then I would like for you to answer a question. Just what kind of king are you aiming to become? Please consider your answer carefully, O King, our treasure blades will not allow empty words of arrogance no matter who speaks them." Ou Ki says holding out his glaive at the body of the king faster that both warriors in front him could react.

"The one and only King of China." Ei Sei says immediately with complete confidence in his words.

'Such an immediate answer, the one and only king of China?' Shi Shi thought in shock by the quickens of the answer, and more so the answer itself.

"Setting these last 500 years of chaos, I only know of one other king who has spoken words as foolish as that. The very same man who was renowned as the God of War." Ou Ki says with a careful edge behind his tone. He still smiled normally as his expression wasn't changing but his interest continued looking at the small king.

"Never speak the name of king Sho again! That for your own sake." Sei retorted confidently.

'Such interesting boy king this boy is…' Ou Ki thought.

'Please wait for your majesty to speak…. To speak of Great King Sho in front of this man is exceedingly dangerous!' Shou Bun Kun thought, scared of the turn the conversation had taken, knowing full well Ou Ki relationship with King Sho. He didn't think his lord would talk about one of the Great Kings of Qin known as the God of War.

"It has already been seven years since the death of king Sho! General Ou Ki after losing your beloved master, you became an empty vessel of a bird, struggling to find a place to touch down on the ground again. As long as you continue to chase after the king's shadow, there will never be a place for you to rest your feet. Of course, I do not have even the slightest intention of becoming some driftwood for you to cling onto! However, if you ever wish to fight alongside me, you must finally come to terms with the death of King Sho and set foot on the ground once more." Sei says. "You have been hiding away for too long. Only after you have done these things will you be able to begin soaring across China O "Monstrous Bird of Qin."

"To soar across China" Ou Ki thought remembering his old master like it was yesterday.

~~Flashback~~

On a mountain with an army overlooking a valley of forests, mountains and other hills.

"Cough cough cough. So I have run out of time. As expected China is truly vast. I'll be pressing my dream onto you, Ou Ki." The old King Sho said, looking out to the horizon. Ou Ki and Shou Bun Kun were standing on either side of him.

"Please do not joke, sire. Once I have lost you I will never fly again." Ou Ki said.

"Now…now, don't say such depressing things. Just because I die doesn't mean that wars will disappear *cough*—" Sho said lightly.

"—But the battlefield of those who feverishly chase dreams will disappear." Ou Ki said sorrowfully. He didn't want to show any emotions but even his master could hear his Monstrous bird's voice crack a little.

"*laughs then coughs* Is that so?—There should be plenty of other kings that will wish to conquer all of China." The Old God of War, King Sho started chuckling knowing there will always be someone in this world that wants the world to bow down to them and he knew it included within the generations of Qin Kings.

"But master…—They're all just talking. You can tell from looking into their eyes whether or not they are sincere about fulfilling a dream like that. On the eyes like your majesty's which shine with you for exuberance or truly genuine." Ou Ki said somewhat scornfully. "The reality is that there is not a single other king that truly wishes to unite all of China. A king that is already content with whether he has the will and not go out of his way to seek a bloody path of destruction and Death. They have all come to accept and embrace the perpetual struggle for territory between each other in this chaotic era. There won't be another king like your majesty….—"

"—That is a bit harsh don't you think? I'm sure all the other kings are doing their best too." Sho said, adjusting himself in his seat. He looked at the horizon and remembered when he was a mere child watching as he was told by his own father that Qin was the strongest and held that ambition in his heart. He was carving out his dreams.

"Not at all, I do not believe that there's any other as unique as your majesty would dedicate their entire life to realizing a dream of unification. And there will never be another." Ou Ki surrendering to that logic content within his sorrow that he wouldn't serve another king like the God of War.

The old king laughs then coughs a bit."—Unique you say. After all, I am the God of war. However even if they call me the God of war, it does not mean I am a mortal. Even if my eyes are youthful, my body is already an old man…. *Cough* *Cough*…. What a shame if only I had 20 more years I might've been able to grasp that dream." Sho said, reaching out with his hand towards the sun, then balling it up in a fist, like he had grabbed it out of the sky. "Hear me Ou Ki, even if you cease to fly in the sky, you must keep your fangs sharp. I will not allow a man of your caliber to just waste away. Even if there is none now, another king with my dream may very well appear in the future. When that time comes Ou Ki, then you must soar even higher and further than you've ever done before." He was being a master and that was his job which was keeping his retainers from drowning in their sorrows. He's often thought that someone especially hoping it was within his own bloodline. A king who dreams of being king no….—Emperor of China…—

~~Flashback end~~

Ou Ki looked at the young king. It would seem that his old master was right which surprised him but it wasn't a fluke and felt a little of aura that was similar to his old master's will and hoped it wasn't a mere coincidence.

"After his Majesty passed away, I received numerous invitations from various Kings to join their court. However every single one of them spoke of China and all under The Heavens as in merely empty words there is not a single genuine voice." Ou Ki thought of the past years being wasted away. "However the China uttered by this young king carries with it a most extraordinary weight. Along those eyes of his, they shine with a radiant light without even a hint of cloudiness. Not bad, those eyes may be different from those of King Sho;however, they're not bad at all. The king had the eyes of a dream chaser infatuated with China. However this young king's eyes do not possess even a speck of naivety. His eyes have completely captured the path to China. Even now you could say that it is simply the arrogance of youth, but at the same time there's never been a king who wished to reign over China as such. So this is the 31st king of Qin, Ei Sei!"

After a few seconds of silence and tension the general spoke.

"Nfufufu." Ou Ki laughed. "Shou Bun Kun, I am beginning to understand why you have been acting so hot headed, like an idiot. Well I believe we shall withdraw from here for today."

This proclamation shocked everyone.

"You are not planning on joining this battle!?" Shou Bun Kun asked for help from his old comrade.

"I already told you, I simply came to stir things up a bit. If you truly believe that I'd wish to fight alongside you then you're overestimating yourselves too much." Ou Ki says chidingly, then he looks to the king. "If you are to make such outrageous claims then you should have the strength to back up your words. This is not the time for you to be fighting with your brother. Well then, all troops withdraw!"

Yes Sir." The men responded, turning to leave climbing the ropes in an orderly fashion.

Tou, you too." Ou Ki says nonchalantly.

Sir!" Tou says, climbing down the ladder, instantly then starts climbing back up at his master's word.

Shi Shi was going to take the advantage of them leaving and just crushed the king's forces with what they had before anyone realized the chancellor was dead but out of nowhere Chenjiao bolted away from him after looking behind them. He did the same and saw six figures walking towards them one he knew all too well which scared him for what was about to happen next.

"Oh they already stopped fighting, good I won't have to do a big speech. Sei is still alive and is about to get his revenge." Shin said seeing Chenjiao running towards Sei.

The next second Chenjiao and Sei were face to face.

"Ei Sei! That bastard is Ei Sei! Kill him! Kill him!" Chenjiao shouted at the soldiers around.

'What on the earth is he doing here?' The soldiers thought.

Then they saw the newcomers and what they had with him and proceeded to be absolutely demoralized and give up. Sei then starts to walk towards Chenjiao who panics and screams.

"Chen Jiao, you're nothing but an idiot, a brat who mistakenly believes that a person's worth is decided by the conditions of their birth. Buffoons such as you will never be a fit for the throne." Sei says.

"Look at this mongrel acting so high and mighty. You believe that you are truly fit for the throne? Well a half breed royal like you within flows the blood of a peasant shouldn't be able to subjugate the masses? I will never recognize the likes of you, only someone like me with pure leadership will be able to control the peasants and strengthen our kingdom." Chenjiao responded by trying to strike him with his sword. Sei only dodged using whatever strength he had along with his resolve.

"You've received a truly twisted education: the word you speak or nothing but nonsense that only exists on paper. The common folk of this land are not as simple as you and I would believe. The people do not care much for the royal line as much as we might have thought. You cannot come to understand the hearts of people by simply lording over them from above. The one and only thing, you're capable of, is looking down upon others. You are ignorant of the world and ignorant of the people. That is why, you are always utterly alone! You are not fit to be the King of Qin." Sei said blocking and throwing back Chenjiao.

"Shut up..—Why won't you shut up!? I am the king of Qin!" Chenjiao said, trying to strike again.

Sei simply just thrust his sword into Chenjiao forearm causing him to drop his sword and start screaming on the ground. Chenjiao then tried to say something about Sei's mother, but Sei tackled him and punched him in the face, rapidly beating his face.

"Your majesty… Since this war has already been decided. There's no value in killing him anymore." Shou Bun Kun said after a minute. He didn't want this to go on anymore.

"Too much blood has already been spelt in the name of this meaningless conflict! All soldiers surrender immediately and you will come under no further harm! There is no need for further bloodshed let us conclude this rebellion with the least amount of sacrifices necessary!" Sei yelled triumphantly with vigor and authority along with seriousness.

Shin looked at Gi Kou who looked conflicted and Li Yan who nodded at Shin. Stepping forward he addressed his men.

"I Shi Ba Shin, son of Shi Ba Shaku, Lord of Aspen and Master of The Twelve Zodiacs, order all such forces to stand down, Gi Kou you will have word sent to disband the Chancellor's Army, Li Yan you make sure it is done then do your part. Gan Tong you will take the men and disband all non essential forces to the protection of the capital and make a safe inner Court. Now hurry up and throw down your weapons and surrender! This war is our victory." Shin says.

Which causes an uproar from their men and enemies to surrender. Li Yan, Gan Tong, Hou Bie, Qu Ying, and Ju Kun nodded, while Gi Kou was shocked and started but almost immediately shook himself free and clasped his hand nodded deeply. Then turned and started giving orders to his officers. The bloody rebellion needed to end and no bloodshed should continue.

That night they had a party and to get wild, Shin was laying on the top of one of the walls much to the dismay of his vassals. He and Ba Jio had just finished talking about where Ten would go when Sei arrived on the roof, causing everyone but Shin and him to leave.

"So, you're leaving the palace tomorrow morning?" Sei said to confirm what he had been hearing.

"Yep I got to get back to the city and get it under control before the vassals go stir crazy. Thanks again for letting me handle that business in my house affairs. I promise that even if it was a mistake, it's no excuse; he will be punished." Shin stated wholeheartedly.

"Good honestly, I was hoping you would stay in the capital for a while." Sei replied genuinely, hoping to talk more with Shin.

"Haha—we can't stay here and you know that. My presence here will only make it seem like we're the only reason that all hell isn't breaking loose again. I'm going to get my city and territory under control then I'm going to the battlefield. When I have an opportunity and work my way up to being a great general. I have to get control of my faction before they splinter, they need to be united. It has been too long since a Shi Ba sat at its head and the same goes for you."

"We managed to preserve the Jie Shi faction but, with the purge, it's clear that they are now much weaker than before. On the other hand Lu's influence will only continue to grow larger and larger. However, that will only last until I reach the age where I will be able to reign over Qin myself. After my coming of age ceremony I shall strip Lu of all his authority and then we set out for all of China. Shin until that moment arrives you must climb your way up to me." Sei replied earnestly.

In the next coming days the Mountain folk, and Shin and his people return to their own territories. Ten ended up tagging along with Shin instead of going back to the mountains. After about a day and half they reached Aspen and their Capital City of Ba Sing Se.

Shi Ba Shi had picked a semi flat land in between two mountain ranges and cleared out the land around a small hill formation. A tutor had told him that it was about 70% the size of the royal capital which promptly blew a younger Shin's mind. This city had five major built castles around the area, three in the direction of Han, Wei, Chu, two were behind the city to defend in that direction. Countless outposts on their side of the Mountain Ranges and one or two on top to not cause a threat to any of the main passes. Four of the five castles were governed by members of the Zodiacs and one by the lead Vassal.

Hence the name meaning,"Impenetrable City." They came up to the walls which were as high and thick as the ones at the capital, or that was what he saw when they passed through the gate, which caused a bit of commotion when the guards realized that the Vassals hadn't returned alone.

"Your leaving and returning openly for the first time is going to spread like wildfire however, it won't be long before the entire faction will be at the castle, it wouldn't surprise me if most of them are there by the time we get to the main castle." Gan Tong says.

"What he means to say is….welcome home, My Lord Shi Ba Shin." Li Yan says, smiling enthusiastically.

"You know even though I have never returned officially like this, it feels right or something, it's so hard to explain." Shin says while thinking. "All that is missing is Hyou… I will fulfill your last wish and take you with me to the heavens."

Li Yan and Gan Tong just smiled glad their master was home and he was able to enjoy his return and also bring along his own dreams and aspirations of becoming the greatest with a lost precious friend. The people of Aspen take their bonds seriously and it was from that kindness and respect, loving their lives together and living to face all struggles that made them feared throughout the lands of China.

They passed through the nicknamed Impenetrable city seeing the separated areas with walls and a Sergeant in charge of leading the defense of their given area and two more perimeter walls before they reached what Gan Tong called Shi Trap, the heavily gated wall that led to the lord's castle. It was a heavily reinforced wall with an elite guard on it. The Lord's area was normal except for the aforementioned hill formation that was modified to have bridges and roads that lead to the different tops. Ending with the lords court and home which had one way to it from what he was told. They rode up the paths to the castle and entered the gate to the courtyard. The area had five, four smaller and one bigger, ten story buildings inside of another wall. There were two buildings on the left, one directly facing the one on the right and one that's half behind the center building, and the center building the largest one easily.

"My lord, that first building serves as the barracks to the Qīnglóng (Azure Dragon) Guard is the name of elite guard that protects the lord of the city, you, it was created by your great grandfather after he and your great great grandfather realized they had crossed and angered some powerful people at the time and like the rest of the armed forces was revamped." Li Yan explained to his lord about their forces and smiled at his young lord's admiring face to the new region and city under his command.

The Azure Dragon ( Qīnglóng), also known as Qinglong in Chinese, is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Regions' Highest Deities (Wufāng Shàngdì).

"The elite guard trained by your father to be an elite guard that protects the lord everywhere. The second building is the kitchen, meal hall, some meeting areas and rooms for guests or vassals when we are all here for long meetings." Li Yan continued explaining, which got a nod from Shin still in awe.

Shin then looked at the building on the left and realized that it was a bit wider than the one on the right and was directly connected to the one in contrast to the ones on the right. He admired his city and fortress so well as it was on a hill with high bridges connecting to the main landscape.

"Ah I see you have noticed that they are connected, it was your grandfather's idea to connect them. The building serves as a larger housing building; lower levels are for the normal visitors and the higher levels are the most important ones like the King or other members of the Six or Greats." Gan Tong explained.

They got off their horses and moved into the big building and a hall before a large wall that went extremely far in both directions.

"Home." Shin proclaimed with a smile. The servants were all bustling about and doing all their duties. The servants from what he saw had some smiles on their faces and seem at peace. Some were on break and others that seem to be enjoying themselves. Some were polishing the furniture or wiping the dragon statues. It was a bustling city along with the ribbons and other decorations as rumors of the lord of the city began circulating around the populace.

"Inside of there is the great hall around it are servants and meeting quarters, above are the personal housing for the Steward, Dragon Commander, High Elder. He wasn't in the city when we left, but I was told he will be here tomorrow. The 6-10 levels above are the personal quarters of the lord and his family; the only person living there now is Shi Ba Li, your elder cousin and his family; your aunt Shi Ba Mi comes by every once in a while. We would like you to meet a couple of people if you are up for it today." Li Yan says.

"Why not? I'm sure they are important if you want to go to them now." Shin says.

They walked around to the side entrance that was close to the lord's seat and entered the courtroom and saw three men talking with each other. Shin quietly stopped walking and waited by one of the pillars that were before the big opening in the room. Ju Kun and Hou Bie saw this and waited with him.

One of the men was wearing a red half robe and was taller than both of the other men, he had a longer beard that was well kept and eyes that were calm but revealed that he was dangerous.

The second was wearing a long dark gray robe with an inner blue shirt, but had his sleeves rolled up revealing a few scars on his arms and Shin could see the tip of one just above the clothes on his right shoulder, he had a small beard and was a bit taller than Hou Bie.

The third was easily the shortest of the three but was still taller than Shin, he was wearing a beautiful silver with green linings and black patterns. He was a bit wider than the others, the man didn't have a beard but had a very authoritative look in his eyes.

After Li Yan stepped into the opening the three turned to him, Gan Tong, and Qu Ying. The second man moved first and walked towards Li with what could only be called an extremely annoyed look.

"Sai.." Li started only to be cut off, prepared for the scolding.

"No, no, no, you don't get to make an excuse, there was at least a long period between when you got Lu Fei and left, I could have had the castle Qīnglóng (azure dragon) Guard ready to go." Sai said.

Gan Tong held back a snicker watching the scene unfold with interest.

He sighed in response. "Sai Li, I couldn't move the Qīnglóng (Azure Dragon) Guard if there was ever something that would either spook and frighten the other lords or alert the entire seven kingdoms to the fact that our lord was not in city, it practically taking the unit out of here." Li Yan explained in earnest his actions trying to be sympathetic to the loyal Commander.

"Oh and what about me?" Sai Li asked not liking his response, coldly prideful of his job and generally speaking serious of his duties.

"You would have been recognized half way through the plan to liberate the capital, and you know you being with us would have set off every red flag that exists because it is well known that one of us has to be with him always." Li Yan countered with a warning tone.

"I'm sorry I…—" Sai started apologetically speaking as he was just wanting to be a good retainer and servant as being the loyal elite guard commander he was.

"My Lord." A voice interrupting with a series of footsteps.

Li Yan and Sai Li turned to see the first man looking at Shin and on one knee, quickly followed by the third man. Sai Li, Qu Ying, Hou Bie and Ju Kun all bowed as well. Shin stepped into the opening of the room completely and addressed the people.

"Please raise your heads." Shin said gently and slowly with also some vigor of authority trying to act the part he was to play now.

The first man approached and towered over him while smiling a wistful smile.

Hello, my Lord Shi Ba Shin, I am Lord Lu Fei of Wime castle, your first Vassal General. I was a close friend of your father and ashamed that you had to go through what you have without me, I'm honored to serve you as I did your father." Lu Fei said apologizing and swearing his loyalty to his new lord and master.

"Hello My Lord, I am Ban De the Chief Advisor of the City and First Vassal of anything non military affairs. Lord Steward Li Yan is your second, I serve you as third in command of your faction and non military matters could you deem me capable." Ban De stated his position and swearing his loyalty as well.

"I thank you Lord Ban De you have helped keep my peace this long and I would have you always continue until you wish to step back or on to a new role. As long as you continue the way you are, I will never seek to replace you." Shin stated not wanting to change anything about his city and region, wanting it to grow as prosperous as possible.

"My Lord name is Sai Li, I'm the Commander of Qīnglóng Guard(Azure Dragon) , your elite guard. I regret, I wasn't there when your lordship was brought home. Forgive me for my ignorance it won't happen again…—" Sai Li taking the moment to introducing himself kneeling in front of Shin again

"Steady yourself, It's alright you were needed here." Shin says, raising him up by the arm and smiling enthusiastically as he walks to observe his retainers one by one hoping in his heart that he can live up to their expectations.

"My lord we must take the rest of this conversation up to the third level of the mansion." Li Yan suggested.

"Very well, Li Yan, I will be back tomorrow and I will clear out the unnecessary staff until tomorrow,furthermore; my Lord can have some peace tonight and tomorrow until the meeting." Ban De says bowing and leaving through the front door.

"Shall we, My Lord?" Li Yan smiling gesturing to an open door close to the left side of the Lord's seat.

They walked through the door and made their way through some hallways and up the staircases. However, Shin realized that Hue Bie, Qu Ying, and the other soldiers that were around stopped before they got to the third level and then realized that guards leading up to it and in front of it had shifted from being normal guards to the Qīnglóng (Azure Dragon) Elite guards. They had a blue chest plate that had the top Dragon pattern and a fan pattern inside of that, the line patterns were silver, and the patterns continued down to the stomach armor. The shoulder plates had three layers and a fan pattern as well.

They walked up four sets of staircases and then made their way to an office area that was halfway from the stairs. Inside were two tables, one next to a door with eating utensils on it, the second was on the other side of the room with a bookshelf on the right, a few storage holders on the wall behind the table, and a bunch of sitting or kneeling pillows, and a door on the left to a medium sized sleeping room. Shin, Li Yan, Sai Li and Gan Tong sat down Shin on the wall side and other opposite of him.

"There must be a reason that you wanted to have this conversation up here and I think I have one of them." Shin deduced from looking around.

"Yes, You probably have my lord, the guards have changed to the lord's elite guard as you could tell they change before the third stairway. You need to know that no one is allowed to live above the third level of this building without permission from my Lord, his family and maybe the Regent if given permission to make such decisions or be escorted with them, when they are going up. There is a room on the final level that no one except for the current or previous Lord or a previously designated person to act as the head of the family in your stead are allowed in, and except for the heir and the spouse of the Lord no one is allowed to approach the door when the Lord is in the city." Li Yan explained genuinely.

"When you travel up there, you will find that the guards do change their armor again, I serve as the commander of all of them which is why I know of this information, but there is a Captain that serves as the direct command of groups not being used, the ones up there are particularly chosen protect the family of our lord and when lord when goes to the private room they answer only to the Lord, his wife, and heir. Lord Li Yan and Gan Tong have had experience with the group because either one has been running the city and the other's father was the one who helped reorganize the guard." Sai Li explained then continued. "You will come to find out that the top level of each building is connected, they all have the silver guard on their floor but they are in disguise so you can travel between all of the buildings and look into them or move around however you wish."

"Nevertheless, from this point on; only Ju Kun is allowed further. He is a person you personally brought so having him around while you adjust to the new information is completely fine. I do suggest that you find your way to the secret room before our next trip to the capital to avoid any problems from that point on. We are telling you this now because you were too young to know it before and you really didn't care that much. Nonetheless, now that you have stepped into the political and militaristic light, people will be paying attention and people will try to harm you, so knowing about this now is of the most importance for your safety in the future from assassinations and espionage." Gan Tong deduced and explained that they all will be prepared when Shin will take his rightful place becoming a member of the elite nobility he was meant to be.

The three left and Ju Kun walked in and sat. He was astounded by the city and hope also that he can live up to his oath.

"For the record, every last person in this castle and in the surrounding city would die for you if it came down to it. There's a certain way to tell when people are genuine about their love for a person and these people loved your family in addition to you to that same extent. That love for your family that travels onto you will become love for you as you grow older and become a good leader to them." Ju Kun explained seeing the light of day and pressure coming from the city that was a bond that made them stronger and better than their enemies that also brought fear to the Region's enemies. He hoped he can live up to that expectation.

"Thanks somehow I find myself a person who can read my mind and kill people when it's necessary. It shouldn't take me long to get adjusted to the new levels of responsibilities, I'll probably just end up reading and getting used to it for the rest of the day along with Tomorrow being a big meeting. Maybe the day after that, you can find yourself your own living quarters and we can begin to plan on how to get your family here with us." Shin says.

"Thank you, my lord, that would be amazing." Ju Kun said thankfully. He knew that he didn't regret his decision to serve this young lord.

"Let's see what we got here." Shin clapped and smiled as he breathed in and out preparing for a busy day.

Shin met the servants for the floor that only served the direct family of the Lord and his personal helpers. They made their way around looking through a bunch of the rooms that weren't occupied and single focused they had in them. A bunch of them are sleeping rooms, a few were offices and a couple were just simply areas where people could go and talk and relax away from the chaos that he knew would come along with being the official Lord of a great city.

After getting a bath, Shin finally made his way up to the highest level of the castle and walked around it making sure to avoid the secret room because he knew if he went too close, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to go in, in other words; he knew that he needed a lot of time to be in there and he just didn't have that today. So he looked around and found more rooms and finally made his way to the outside balcony areas to look out into the city.

Shin saw the main gate that he came through when he arrived in the multiple levels of gates that lead up to the castle. Then saw how the sections of the city were separated probably to prevent an invading force from going straight through the city with high numbers. He saw a couple sections of the city that had nothing in them except for lakes and a few matching grounds that are for training or assembling, whatever the civilians wanted to use them for. He also saw a few that had absolutely nothing in them that would serve as a practical use for the city.

After looking around and moving from the different types of all four buildings he saw the entirety of the city and a bunch of the areas leading up to the castle. Also noticed that behind the back of his main building were a series of smaller buildings that were connected and just there. So he decided to take the rest of the day and go through all the stuff in the office that he originally was in.

So I've been studying the faction since I was young but since I'm going to be meeting most of them tomorrow, let's go through this again. The Shi Ba Faction is a part military part political faction created by great grandfather, and brought to full power by my grandfather. It is led by the head of the Shi Ba Family me but has been led by my cousin Shi Ba Li due you to my age and lack of knowledge of the truth, since my grandfather's death. The second command of all faction members, political and military is Li Yan my Chief Vassal, he heads the council that is the body of decision making when both me and him are out of the city and have not sent orders on a certain topic. It is made up of Li Yan, Ban De - The Advisor Chief: Vice Head, Shi Ba Li - Elder: Deputy Head, Lao Zhi - The High Elder of Qin: Member, Gi Wan - High Elder of Aspen: Member , Sai Cin - Advisor, Head of Sai family: Member, Lu Fei - 1 Vassal General, Head of Lu Family: Member, Liang Jie - Former 2 Vassal General, Head of Liang family: Member and finally Dong Yun - The Political Head. They are the ones who keep the faction in line for the most part another is the Four Guardian Beast, Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi all capable military officers, but their strengths truly lie and their administration skills in the way they assert authority through the courts, and Dong Yun trained in the arts of military, but has devoted his life to the political battlefield. I'll need him in the times to come. And the last big reason why the faction is as powerful as it is its military influence which rose to power in King Sho's era. The 12…. Li Yan - Chief Vassal the Leader, Lu Fei - First Vassal General of Offence, Liang Song - Second Vassal General of Mind, Gan Tong - Third Vassal General of Strength, Cai Yi - Fourth Vassal General of Archery, Xu Qun - Fifth Vassal General of Reliability, Tai Wa Koun - Sixth Vassal General and Admiral of Water… and the missing one… Han O Ki - Seventh Vassal General of Trapping and my father's other close friend, who was with him when he died. And under them are the Generals Hou Bie, Qu Ying, Ji So, and…. Gi Kou, Ji Tai - Lu Fei's Adjutant, Sai Li - 5,000 man Commander Blue Dragon Unit, Gan Ti son of Gan Tong - 3,000 man Commander and Quan Gi - 3,000 man Vice commander of the Blue Dragons are the main notable officers." Shin thought.

~~Next day~~

Shin woke up on the office table and made his way to the room opposite of it and got himself some stuff to drink and unlocked the door, from there he made his way to his room. On his way there he realized that while all the guards were stationed to a certain area they tended to move to make sure that one of them always had an eye on him which somewhat amused him and also made him realize that Ju kun had been extremely accurate in his description of the people around him. He got there and saw his personal attendant Lao Zho and waiting for the door to be opened and him to be allowed in. When the man saw him walking up he bowed and somewhat looked amused by the fact that it hadn't been one day since Shin took over most leadership and he was already not sleeping in his room. They went into the room and Shin was helped to get him cleaned up for his official reveal to and meeting of all the Vassals and a good deal of the high command of his faction that had never met him due to age and for his protection.

An hour later he walked out of the room wearing a new get up that aggravated him a lot. The first most visible level was a silver thin long open robe that touched the floor at all times; it had blue wave patterns all over it. The second level was a closed regular long robe that didn't touch the floor but came down to Shin's ankles, it was a solid sea blue color with just a normal line pattern on the edges of the cloth. The last layer was a simple orange shirt that could be worn around the day but still looked nice that came down to his shins.

30 minutes later he walked into the courtroom from the door he exited yesterday and sat down in the chair or on the top of the stair area. Ju Kun took a seat on a pillow seat maybe four rows away from him a bit in the back but what could they expect he was new and him being so close being that you only meant that they took into consideration his feelings on being surrounded by unrecognizable people so they at least kept him within sight.

In less than 10 minutes Li Yan and Lu Fei had arrived and had taken the two seats in front of him. After waiting maybe five more minutes the door in the front of the room was opened and a lot of men entered the room and started taking their seats. The closest people to him on each side were probably the more important people in his faction and military. He saw a younger man take the closest seat in front of his left side, Gan Tong took a seat directly behind him which told him that the left side was usually the side where the military vassals and officers sat. But when he looked on to his right he found something which he found really interesting. Instead of Ban De Being at the closest seat which he figured considering the man was second in charge and of all non-military members of the faction, there was an old man who gave off nothing but wisdom and experience. Behind the man was Ban De and behind him was an older looking man who looked like the first man on his left. It took about eight minutes but after that everyone was in the position from what Shin could tell he looked around and realized that the Guard had made their way down from the higher levels to protect him in such a public appearance for the first time and with so many people around him.

From there Li Yan, Shi Ba Li, and Sai Li brought forward scrolls and Lao Zho confirmed a small birthmark on Shin's side which was brought before the Elder Council then confirmed again. After he was officially recognized as the son and heir to Shi Ba Shaku. The news was to be sent out of his official title and duties. After they had celebrated his raising of status and main duties, new vassals introduced themselves to him and then returned to their seats.

"My Lord, while it is early in time, I feel the need to go ahead and ask you what we should do for certain topics that we couldn't do anything with, until you did this reveal." Ban De said.

"Very well, what are the topics?" Shin asked for understanding.

"Final training and city changes, trade with the other Lords, city issues, and Gi Kou." Ban De says.

"We start with the final part of my father's reforms since they're fresh in my mind. Li Yan as the overseer, what do you say to completing the city defenses and military training camps." Shin suggested thinking of all the things he had to think about before bed as he often thought of his duties and needed to be prepared or else he'd be undermined at every opportunity.

"I would say that we have more than enough materials and money to complete those projects." Li Yan replied in earnest.

"Good, Ban De, I saw your report on the civilian supplies, and the truth is we must air on the edge of caution. My raise will be met with mixed emotions and to that end I will have the defensive measures done first; neither of the other two will matter if we can't protect the people. Second will be a complete filling of all supplies military and civilian in case of attack, refill all the storage units. This finally includes the competition of the army training, staffing, and recruiting." Shin says thinking of the future military his region will produce.

"A very good idea my lord, I will have the news spread to the particular people and main residents." Ban De says making notes.

"Now that only leaves Gi Kou and trade, My Lord." Li Yan says.

"Ah yes I will hold off on doing trade, for now I still need to look through more scrolls and information before I make a decision on that. As for the other topic, I am new to most of the people of the city and I feel like it would be much more fair and accurate this time around for a group of three to serve as advisors to see if he is truly guilty or not of extreme crimes." Shin suggested not wanting to leave most decisions to him but spread that he didn't want to ruin the day to day operations of things.

"A group of who, Lord Shin?" The elder man in front, whose name was Lao Zhi, The High Elder of Qin, asked.

"The High Elder, Chief Vassal, and Chief Advisor." Shin stated. "Bring Gi Kou here."

A few minutes later Gi Kou was brought in; he wasn't tied, considering he couldn't leave the city even if he wanted to, but Sai Li and a few guards were stationed in front of the seats for safety.

"Gi Kou, you have been brought to us to answer for your actions in the last weeks." Lu Fei proclaimed strongly.

"I understand." Gi Kou says, looking down awaiting his fate to the tribunal of sorts.

"Gi Kou, I'm Shi Ba Shin and I will be the one who asks you questions and in the end decides your punishment." Shin says, trying to hide his nerves. He didn't want to appear weak but also didn't want to appear too ruthless to someone he hardly knows.

Gi Kou nods his acknowledgment.

"First of all, what gave you the authority to align the Region of Aspen and all of its people and military to the prince's faction? There is a rule that my father, who hated unnecessary politics, went out of the way to get implemented, which specifically keeps us from having to get involved in stuff like what happened between the brothers." Shin replied.

"No one my lord, I acted on my own actions, not realizing that it would bring the Vassals and the faction into the fold the way it did." Gi Kou replied ashamed of his actions and foolishness.

"However,did you act to kill the king?" Shin asks curious as it was getting to that point that he can sorta see the person behind the actions and personality.

"No my Lord, it was always my plan to capture him and then bring him to the capital to force him to abdicate it was one of the first we came up with but realized that we didn't have a chance with Shou Bun Kun alive so that's how we got to the take them all out in one night plan, which I had no part in. After it was reported that the man was dead and the elite unit was deployed I acted and switched back to the whole plan of capturing him." Gi Kou stated.

"Well as someone who was in that village that got eradicated when your units came through I honestly find it hard to believe that you were trying to capture that king." Shin said, accidentally releasing more of his aura than usual.

Gi Kou's eyes widened and he immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated himself. Shin looked over too Gi Wan his father who was just as shocked by this revelation, which meant that he had no idea that this was happening.

I… My Lord, I deeply apologize I had no idea that you were there and that still doesn't excuse my actions in the village. I was excited and lost track of my anger and emotions from some memories of the past. I went a lot further than I should have. Your father brought me into this military, this faction, his family away for family. I would never do anything to put you in danger like that. I swear on my family's name." Gi Kou said, almost starting to sob deeply regretting his actions.

"Is there anyone who is alive who can confirm what you said today?" Shin says, knowing about a quarter of the high command of the chancellor's faction were killed.

"Shi Shi the second of Jie Shi, My Lord." Gi Kou says.

"Very well we will end this for today and continue on with what we've already planned. I will write a letter to the capital and have Lord Shou Bun Kun question Shi Shi. For your sake, I hope that you are telling the truth or there will be nothing to protect you from the wrath of the king or mine. Guards escort him back to his room." Shin ordered still deeply into his emotions, schooling his features as best he can and deeply in turmoil.

After Gi Kou was taken away there was a bit of talk before an elder Gi Wan approached and whispered in Lao Zhi's ear. The said man turned around and spoke towards his lord with critical intent.

"My Lord, there's one last thing that must be done today, your official presentation to the city." Lao Zhi says.

"Ah so I've heard, let us be on our way then it will not make the people wait." Shin said, rising from his seat.

After he did, everyone made their way outside before Shin, then he made his way outside with what he knew were the veteran guards. He got outside and saw horse carts that he and the advisers entered so that they could talk about the processes of completing everything that's been decided on the day and the testimony of Gi Kou.

They made their way down into the gate and after passing the one that led to the castle they made a right turn to a larger building that looked like a courtyard was already filled with a lot of common people. They made another quick turn and made their way into the back of the building and walked through the building to reach the front. They walked out to cheers and applause.

-A week later-

Shin was standing in the hall in front of the door to the secret room and got caught reminiscing as he observed.

{Flashback}

"Grandfather…" A young Shin with black hair and a tiny cute nobility robe came in rubbing his eyes and finally finding someone made his feelings better as a look of fear for easedropping and embarrassment was on his face.

"Oh Shin, my little troublemaker, what's got you coming into here at this time?" The old man said looking out into the city from the window of the main castle mansion.

"I heard some of the guys talking about loyalty. What is that?" Curiosity evident in his voice and tilting his head cutely.

"Loyalty is being faithful to commitments or obligations to a sovereign, government, leader, or cause. Why do you ask, young one?" The Old lord said with curiosity of his own.

"Heard some of the guards saying one day, how they couldn't imagine why someone would betray our family who lived in the city as long as someone in their group had." Replied still curious and confused.

'I need to give a general warning to all the guards inside this place. That he could be anywhere and everywhere when I'm done with this.' Shi Ba thought, before saying. " The truth is, they were never actually loyal or servants of our family. They were sent here too keep an eye on us, hoping that we would prove to be weak. But those who were loyal to us, proved them wrong, and showed everyone the strength of our people." Shin's grandfather proclaimed trying to instill that lesson into the boy.

"Grandfather, why is everyone so loyal to us?" Shin asked, sitting on the old man's lap.

"Because while we have been particular, and who we have let into the city and our lands, those who we have, we have treated them like they are family; however, we have made it clear that when we make decisions that no one likes, it's for the best of everyone not just our family, most of the is stuff you will begin learning tomorrow alongside your normal learning things. Listen to this carefully, young dragon—"

"—The reason why those who are extremely loyal to us as they are is because we have taken the time not just to treat them as our own, but to personally get to know them and know what they like along with what they do not like. One day you will be the Lord of Aspen, as that Lord, you'll be able to do what you incline to in the city and regional affairs regardless, at times you will be forced to make decisions that you do not favor because that is your duty. One day, you'll learn to talk to people, hear them out, learn their emotions and what they do, and do not like. When you have, you will have to make a choice to keep them in situations that they do not like or put others who are more comfortable to you in terrible situations. Everything you do must be with a measured mind and a careful quick thought, understanding that as bad of things we may have to do to protect all those under us. It is our burden to carry that out, not forcefully on any one individual. Furthermore, that's just one example of why many people are loyal to us. The quicker you make connections and the more people you do it with, the sooner they will talk with others and make your life easier as well. That is the true burden of leadership and that is why only certain people lead and some follow.

{Flashback End}

"Loyalty broken usually starts with those who are closest to you." Shin thought before coming back to reality and finally walking towards the door.

The six men at the door were clearly war veterans well in their primes but clearly they were more battle ready than most he had seen around.

"May I have your names?" Shin asked politely and with some respectful expression and bowing which surprised them.

"My Lord I'm Pu Tai, son of Pu Weo."

"My Lord I'm Cai Rie, son of Cei Pei."

"My Lord Wa Lei, son of Wa Zi."

"My Lord Ki Hia, son of Ki Ma."

"My Lord Zia Ren, son of Zia Po."

"My Lord Sergeant Tu Qi son of Tu Gi we are all veterans of the Han Wars and all sons of former Guard Dragons. We are six of the 30 from your personal guard that are in rotation of this room. It is our honor to serve you as we have served your father and grandfather.

"First of all,Cai Rie, Pu Tai, Wa Lei, Ki Hia, Zia Ren and Tu Qi. I thank you for your service and I leave myself in your care. I know that in normal circumstances the Lord would have a wife and a Heir or child to intermediary if there is an emergency. I have asked my cousin to serve as the intermediate proxy.

"Yes, Sir!"

"I'll enter now and stay in for a long time."

He entered and immediately saw a lot of scrolls on the small desk tables groaning. He started and after a few hours until he was able to find the organization system on the number of shelves. There was a section for the faction, Guard, intelligence, information on the other factions and kingdom secrets that were passed down through the Lords in specific boxes.

He walked down to his office, servants bowing to him as he passed. They were going in and out of the room with what he could smell was food. He walked in and saw Li Yan, Lu Fei, Lao Zhi, Ban De, and Shi Ba Li.

"My Lord Cousin, how's your time in the Main Study room?" Shi Ba Li asked.

"Informative." Shin replied. "There's some things that we should probably start working on but a lot of it is just a lot of information that is very helpful when it comes to keeping track of what could be going on in the city and around it. Lord Cousin Li, how far were you able to get to the information you read?"

"Not very far purposefully. I was just acting in your stead so reading through all the information would've been very frowned upon unless you were still a very young child and not capable of control in the next few years. You had maybe 2 years before you could have been told properly, a decade of training and I knew a good deal of the information on the surface from being close family. The only thing I actually went through was not a lot. How we got our intelligence information and guard information, left everything else to the de facto head of each group and just made sure the information was put into the room as needed." Shi Ba Li says nodding.

"Thank you for your help in keeping the peace, I'm sure you never thought you would have to keep all of the region held together. Outside of maybe for a month or so when needed. As Lord head of the family and your cousin, I thank you for taking up such a duty and still being willing to accept more duties, and knowing my grandfather like I did, and being told by people that I am a carbon copy of him and personality at times, I can say that both would've been a beyond grateful and thankful." Shin says, bowing his head. He was still having a lot of nerves about ruling and also taking away power from his lord cousin.

"It was no problem, Lord Cousin. I want to go back to my studies and original duties, it's best you return to yours and your other duties, furthermore; I'll be here when you finally go to war. I just want you to represent our region properly." Shi Ba Li replied.

Later Shin was walking, enjoying a break and wanting to see the city a little bit. With five or six of the Qīnglóng guards with him made things easier.

He saw some kids playing and smiled. It was a typical day in Ba Sing Se. He then saw a couple kids chasing a shorter kid and wasn't happy with that and glad that he had a horse. Yīnyǐng(shadow) was a quite fast horse. Shin motioned for his guards to get ready as he then proceeded to gallop his horse and picked up the smaller boy and then looked at the bullies.

"Ok what's happening here?!" He said sternly, making the kids scared and they knew who was in front of them. "Shin-sama….we…we…—

Shin sighed and blinked as he proceeded to boink each taller boy in the head. "Ok for one, no bullying in my city…"

"Unless we authorize it…" Cai Rie commented, making his partner Pu Tai elbow him looking at him. "What?!"

"We are not teaching the children of Aspen to bully…"

"Well I wouldn't call it a bullying but…—"

"Both of you shut up! Children are watching…" Ju kun scolded.

"They said I'm too small to serve in the Aspen army so, I punched them!" The smaller boy said with intensity in his eyes. A crowd started to form and Shin was standing now holding the boy who looked around 5;however, the other two kids were around 8 and 9. "

"Ok, two we do not under any circumstances bully each other for any issue…" Shin replied, still not understanding what was happening. "You both can join my campaigns as soon as you are old enough…"

"See! Lord Shin-sama said I can join!"

"Shin-sama is too generous!" Shin then dodged as the two kids using wooden swords that he had no idea they had at their waist started to spar. "Ok I don't know what's happening…"

"No fighting and can someone make sure they don't hurt each other and take them to go spar…!" He called to one of his bodyguards who nodded and took them into the main castle courtyard.

The young lord of Aspen then smiled remembering when he and Hyou used to spar. He then heard shouting and followed by running footsteps as he saw a boy with a laughing expression. "Ok maybe I should put the education of children on the main list of issues…" He dashed his horse and grabbed the little bow who had a scared look and was covered in dust. "Hold on a second you…"

"You little brat!" Shin along with his bodyguards all turned to a group or mob of villagers all with clubs. "Shin-sama you caught the little troublemaker!"

"I got it from here…"

"No,Lord Shin-Dono, we can handle the little troublemaker! He just needs some…—" A villager said with a wooden baton for whipping.

"—That won't be necessary. I don't think he will croak that easily…" The boy was struggling out of Shin's grip and trying to also swipe a dagger at the Young Lord of Aspen who had dodged repeatedly making the Qīnglóng Guard nervous. "Put me down!"

"I mean it, everyone I'll handle our troublemaking thief and prankster, we don't need to give him lashes of any kind. I know where I can put him…" Shin then dodged a thrusting of the kid's blade and pressed a part of the boy that was a pressure point and knocked the boy out gently.

"Let's leave it to Shin-Dono…" A lead villager replied.

"That brat took and destroyed my stand eight times!" Another angry villager exclaimed loudly with a club.

The Qīnglóng guards started to move and the village mob started to back down and settle down. "Ok everyone Quiet down!"

As soon as Shin released some of his aura the whole crowd including some law officials and city guards. "I said, I'll handle him and I will, if I don't do anything about his attitude, I'll take his punishment for him!" The boy stopped and looked at him confused.

~~Afternoon in the room~~

Shin had found a letter addressed to him in a box within a compartment within his desk.

My young Shin,

Hello my young Dragon. I write this to explain some things about the past. I wanted you to know how everything went through my eyes. When I took the lordship of our family and the region, I took a hold of a successful city, and a good size faction that was just on the brink of pushing through greatness. I also inherited a dysfunctional military. I went on to make these changes that I made, and eventually earned myself and our family the title of being a Lord of the warring states.

When your father went to war the first time, I was so worried for him, but when he came back victorious and as the clear reason that they won, I couldn't have been more proud. Your father and I talked for a year or two after that, and I eventually came to the realization that he could do more for this family than I ever could. He was everything that most of our family since our founder's brother wasn't a true military commander capable of politics whenever he felt like or had to be involved.

So I passed the title of Lord on to your father, I did so knowing that everyone would support him and he could finish our ambitions. When I did, I also did not think about just what type of enemies, I'd be putting onto him. To this day I wonder what would've happened, if I had kept the title allowed him to grow further. I put the spotlight on him and Mai, and you. It was neglecting the fact that not everyone was acceptable to us. My pride and ambition blinded me to the fact that we were not completely safe as I thought we were and for that I am sorry that I didn't find out until it was too late.

My young Grandson, listen, this one last time to the advice of an old man who made many mistakes. Don't ever let our name, our titles and the praise that people will put on you, blind you to everything else around you. I have lived a long life, made mistakes that I regret and choices that I would never change such as keeping your family history a secret from you. Please do not be mad at the Vassals they did as I have ordered, and I hope you come to understand that it was for your safety. I'm not going to be dying yet. However,I can feel my time coming within the next year or so.

With this letter of will and the orders I leave, I will secure your future and the future of everyone in this region, upon my death it will all fall onto you. A burden that never should have fallen onto you at your age, but must now. You must govern with wisdom, and never completely turn your back to an enemy no matter how far wiped out it is. This scroll will be placed in the family secret section for you to find along with the main record keeper. Hopefully, soon after you take full leadership, it'll be connected to another scroll that shares the hidden pathways of the city and secret hiding places most of which are reestablished for you to use if ever needed. I love you and I know that your parents loved you, so let no one say otherwise.

Your Loving Grandfather, Shi ba Shi

~~3 months later~~

Shin was sparring with his weapons tutor and three other guys when he caught a strike on his leg from the old man. After that he wasn't able to move as quickly and caught two more hits before he was able to take out two of the Dragons and then caught one to his arm.

"Alright let's stop for now." The tall old man says, placing his blade on his shoulder and the three Dragon guards head off.

After they sat down and he drank some water, Shin spoke.

"Tai Chi-sama, your strikes haven't gotten any weaker and neither has your placement of the strikes." Shin commented, breathing a bit heavily.

"Hahaha, it comes with strength, age and experience. You will be stronger than me soon enough I can tell, but you have a long road ahead of you before you can match me in experience. The bad weight that has been weighing you down has been lifted, and with that gone you will start to feel the weight of true strength, it will be what drives you forward. It won't be long with how you have led the men out to handle the trespassing bandits and criminal gangs before you start to get the experience you need." Tai Chi says looking at Shin while thinking. 'He is already starting to grow into everything he is and will become, which will make him better than even his father at this rate. His presence is already truly remarkable and his aura is strong. I can only hope that I live long enough to see him to his full growth and coming of age. I can remember when Shi brought him to me for train the wild boy he was, but after he settled down one could fully see his mother in him as well. He was not even to my waist when he was a small boy, however; he has already started growing in maturity, physicality and height wise as well since he took full…'

Tai was snapped out of his thoughts when Shin waved a hand next to his face. He started snapping his fingers and was even tempted to slap him if he didn't respond soon.

"Hey, you're still here with us, old man. I really thought you had left us for the next world." Shin teased happily.

"Man I haven't seen you that deep since… well, never." Sai commented laughing and smirking.

"This former Qīnglóng (Azure Dragon) Commander won't die sitting down. He will die fighting on the battlefield or in his bed wishing he could get up and train the next group of boys who think they are soldiers. Maybe I should remind you just who taught you how to fight." Tai says standing up and moving to the train area, with a practice glaive now in hand. "Come Quan, you, Sai, and Lord Shin will fight me, it's been a long time since I had a challenge. You watch carefully, Shin, one of the quickest ways to learn how to use weapons is watch someone better than you at it, use them."

—Later—

Shin was sitting in his main studies with Ban De and Li Yan going over the final preparations for the last few area walls that were going to be put in organizing the workers and supplies, when Ju Kun entered the room with a dispatch. Shin read it and then passed it on for the other two to read.

"It is a formal letter of deployment to the army and after your skirmishes on the border 2 months ago you have been promoted to 300 man commander." Li Yan says. "Will you go?"

"If the city can survive without my presence here then yes I will go." Shin said. "I don't want others to think just because I'm a lord of a region I deserve to lead a large Force."

"As long as you place your Lord's seal on the Summoning document and then give the builders permission to do the wall, I as your steward, I'll make sure that it gets started when the time comes. You will be free to go on your first campaign and begin to make a name for yourself." Li Yan started explaining.

"Very well, I will be going then make sure you have a system of signaling or giving me messages in case of an emergency. I'm guessing you'll want me to take the members of the Qīnglóng Elite Guard unit." Shin asked, looking at his retainers. The answer he got was stern looks that didn't take no for an answer.

The next morning Shin made his way to the Tutors Hall. "Hey Ten, how are you?"

~~10 days later~~

Followed by 300 of Aspen region's finest soldiers, Shin was wearing armor composed of gray colored scale mail, arm bracers, a pair of Qin style ju shoes and tan pants that reached down his thighs. It was simple and protective so it would not draw attention. He had been riding alongside all the common armored foot soldiers who had responded to the draft and they were heading for the meeting point for their army when he stopped to take a break and let the horses rest. The campaign was planned for a while so armor was needed and made by order of the Royal Court.

Shin had dismounted and walked away to watch the line of Qin armored village soldiers that stretched over the next hill and the men just kept on coming, then he turned around and saw a familiar face. The soldiers were all lining up to large numbers of carts that had armor,weapons and helmets. They were a bit old but they came in all sizes from past battlefields. The traditional dark blue was replaced with a lighter blue to show the conscript soldiers of the Qin army. Someone was looking at him.

"Hm?."

"AHH! SHIN! AREN'T YOU SHIN!?." Bi Hei yelled.

"Oh the Bi brothers, glad to see you guys are doing well." Shin said wondering how the younger sibling was ignoring that he was in armor that was a bit nicer than theirs.

"GYAHAHA!." This only served to piss Shin off but schooled his features.

"But to think we'd run into you here out of all places. You've been missing ever since that night Hyou got killed. You didn't even show up at Hyou's funeral. We thought you had gotten yourself killed." Said Bi Hei deduced. He was trying to get his armor straight.

"I'm glad Hyou had a funeral." Shin said with a small smile looking into the sky. He was wondering if his surrogate brother could see him now.

"It was a huge funeral, It's hard to believe that the tight ass village mayor organized it," Bi Hei said looking over at Shin. "Apart from you, everyone from the village showed up and cried. Even some people from the neighboring villages, and the market town—... Everyone really liked that guy..." Bi Hei said solemnly.

"Yeah, You're right." Shin said with a content look on his face.

"Ah, I guess you haven't been to his grave yet, have you? After this battle you should go right away. It's at-" Bi Hei said.

"Nah, It's fine." Shin said.

"Eh?." Bi Hei said

I'll go after I've fulfilled our dream." Shin said with a grin and with a fire in his eyes.

"That great general of the heavens thing?...You guys have gone on about that for… LIKE HELL YOU'LL BECOME SOMETHING LIKE THAT! JUST GET YOU ASS OVER THE GRAVE ONCE WE GET BACK!." Bi Hei yelled.

"We said our goodbyes." Shin says sternly, still ready and annoyed with the younger Bi sibling wanting to reveal his identity. "I'll go visit his grave when I've achieved our dream."

Not to mention that Shin had watched the funeral with bodyguards a far distance away to avoid a commotion.

Shin looked over to the men who had been chosen to accompany him. All of them had seen battle, and would die for him, they had about the same armor as him to not draw too much attention. He was about to embark on his first campaign and hoped he was ready for what was about to come.

---

A/N2 Ryūsui: Hi guys this is the new editor or Co-writer I guess, I am helping edit and tweak this fanfic a bit but all credit goes to nightbringer for the idea of this fanfic and I'm just adding a bit of flair to its content. I am a hardcore kingdom fan like him and with both of us working together we hope you like it. I've always had an idea for shin to not be well ... .an idiot and a lord and NightBringer brought that and I am excited. I am happy I can help him anyway I can. I hope you guys like the fanfic so far and we will try to edit the first chapters too to make it even better than before.

NightBringer:Hey what do you say to posting a chapter every week and a half

Ryusūi:That's fine :) **looks at readers** I guess we are on a specific schedule, guys :)

A/N1 Nightbringer: Hey readers it's Nightbringer. I'm glad to have Ryusui join me in making this fanfic. As he said we are both very big fans of Kingdom so we hope you all enjoy this alternate take on the story. We have decided to start regularly posting new chapters every week and a half so look forward to those.

Ryūsui: oh and for those that aren't familiar with the kingdom manga go for it. It's a good read, we just put a big spin on things and also we are both pretty much all caught up with this manga so no we are not new fans. We are all caught up woohoo hope you guys will enjoy the ride.

Shin: *appears into the room with scrolls in his hand* what are you guys doing?"

Ryūsui: talking to the readers

Shin: Guards!"

Ryūsui: oh shit *runs away behind nightbringer with a sword*

Nighbringer: Oh crap

Ouki: *looks at Nightbringer* hello there

Nightbringer: Where did you come from and how did you just appear out of nowhere?

Ouki: Why of course, Tou found you…right Tou?"

Tou:*on a knee*Yes Sir!