Chapter Title: War for Revenge
Heki Arc:
The enslaved Qin soldiers are starting to give up and saying they want to die. Heki chastises them and says no matter how starving they are or how much they’re suffering, they have to live on for the sake of those who died in battle. This is also a battle, and they have to keep their fighting spirit until the Qin armies can come rescue them. He collapses and they cry out “General Heki!”, but he tells them not to call him a general or he’ll get interrogated. After they go to sleep, Heki is reflecting on the past year of slavery and thinking about Qin making a second invasion of northern Zhao. He hopes they will invade again and rescue everyone, but “They shouldn’t attack here at Hango. Riboku’s trap is already set up here.”
Shin Arc:
Shin tries to make small talk with Ouhon, but Ouhon tells him not to. Shin asks if he’s worried about their fighting ability. The Hi Shin Unit may have been defeated in the last war, but at least they gained battle experience whereas the Gyoku Hou took a year off. Ouhon says they were engaged in constant battles around Heiyou and Bujou, so they’re more prepared than the HSU. They devolve into petty squabbling and Shin says he wishes Mouten had come instead. They start talking about the coming battle and how Riboku certainly has something planned and Hango won’t be defenseless. Shin says it should be fine because it’s Ousen, and Ouhon says his father only engages in battles he knows he’ll win. They unified army sets forth for Hango.
Riboku Arc:
At Gi’an, they receive word saying the Qin army has set off for Hango as they expected. They react to the Qin army having 250k soldiers under the command of Ousen. Gakushou comments that Ousen is Qin’s best strategical general, but he’s no match for Riboku. Futei says not to think lightly because although they easily killed Kanki last year, Riboku lost to Ousen four years ago at Shukai Plains. Riboku acknowledges that, and they talk about the HSU and Gyoku Hou’s awakening, etc. as being why they lost. Bananji says the war this time will be Qin’s war for revenge for last year, but it will also be their war for revenge from 4 years prior. Shunsuiju says he also needs to pay back Yotanwa for last time. Futei comments this war won’t be a one sided victory like last time, but Riboku says it might due to the Zhao armies various advantages, such as terrain, numbers, and the make up of their armies. If you know how your enemy will move and react, then you have a massive advantage from the start. Riboku’s army has fought against all the generals in this Qin army before, so he knows a lot about them. But for Qin, they’ve only seen Kansaro and Ji Aga briefly fight once, and they’ve never seen Shibashou before who will be personally taking to the field. He declares it will be Zhao’s overwhelming victory.
