Shin took a lot of the cavalry and some of the infantry with him when he left, so the Hi Shin unit is getting overrun by the Zhao. The soldiers feel like they can’t win, but Bi Hei tells them to stop whining. “Shin is on his way to kill Riboku. We’ll kill Riboku, win this battle in a single day, and go home! Shin is trying to pull off something big, so we need to fight for our lives here!”
Ten’s advisors are panicking about the enemy’s advance, but Ten says it’s still fine while calling for reinforcements from Kyoukai and sending out Suugen’s personal unit. The Zhao are capitalizing on the HSU’s loss of morale and readying themselves for a major push. They surround Bihei’s men when Ouhon and the Gyoku Hou show up. Ouhon surmises that the current situation is because Riboku showed himself earlier. Ten explains that Shin left in pursuit while trusting that Ouhon would come back them up. Ten admits it was a gamble and that people were unsure if Ouhon would move without orders from Ousen.
Ouhon says this time was one time only and his debt from Eikyuu is repaid. He tells Ten that he will take command of the right wing which includes the remaining HSU soldiers along with the 10k that he brought. Ouhon then tells Ten to leave some of her commanders behind and then follow after Shin because he thinks Shin on his own won’t be able to take down Riboku. If they kill Riboku, it’s their victory, but if they fail, the Zhao will definitely seek to target this weakened right wing.
Banyou is concerned about Ouhon actually being able to take control of the HSU with both Shin and Ten gone, but Ouhon says just Akakin and the Gyoku Hou are enough to stop the enemy while Kanjou is waiting with 20k soldiers if they need help. But more importantly, Ouhon senses something discomforting about the current overall situation. He says in situations like this, it’s best to have individuals capable of making decisions spread throughout the army at vital locations.
Youtanwa’s army is making great progress against the Zhao, and the Mera clan has caught up to and surpassed Bajio’s unit at the vanguard. Kitari restates that their target is Hango. Heki is confused about why their daily manual labor suddenly stopped and why they haven’t received food. The guard slops the food on the ground and tells the prisoners that he hates them. He’s angry that the Qin have invaded again and this time they’re on the plains nearby with Hango as their target. The guard says it’s bad enough that many Zhao soldiers will have to die in this battle, but if they lose, then their families and children will become slaves of the Qin.
However, he says that Riboku will win once again and the Qin prisoners will continue working until they die. Heki and his soldiers are somewhat emboldened by the news of Qin’s invasion. The soldiers tell Heki that he needs to eat to survive and remind him that it will be their victory for holding out until salvation arrives.
While lying down, Heki thinks that it would be great if the Qin army wins, but it won’t be that simple. “Because the trap is…” Riboku is staying just ahead of Shin and is stringing him along. “Because Riboku’s trap is in Zusa Plains outside of Hango.” Shin spots something and his eyes go wide. “What… is that…?” No Break! Special cover again next week.