The plains of Qin echoed with the thunder of marching armies.
Five nations had invaded.
Five armies marched toward the heart of Qin.
At the Zhao Front…
A Zhao scout galloped into Ri Boku's headquarters, his horse foaming with exhaustion.
"Report!"
The scout dropped to one knee.
"General! The western supply convoy has been attacked once again! Over three hundred carts have been destroyed!"
Another messenger immediately followed.
"The mountain road ahead has collapsed! The engineers estimate half a day before it can be cleared!"
Before anyone could speak, a third messenger entered.
"Our night camp suffered another raid. Nearly five hundred soldiers were lost before the attackers disappeared into the darkness."
Silence filled the command tent.
Kaine clenched her fists.
"They never stay to fight."
"They strike... then vanish."
Ri Boku calmly studied the map.
"Hyou Ren."
"You have no intention of defeating us in a decisive battle."
He placed another stone onto the map.
"You are delaying us."
Outside the tent, thousands of Zhao soldiers struggled through broken roads while engineers attempted to rebuild bridges that had mysteriously collapsed overnight.
Every few miles another wagon burned.
Every valley concealed Qin archers.
Every forest seemed alive with enemy scouts.
Ri Boku stepped outside.
"The hardships of invading another nation were always expected."
"Our objective has never changed."
He mounted his horse.
"The destruction of Qin."
His eyes looked west.
"Hyou Ren understands our greatest weakness."
"If we fail to unite with the other coalition armies, Qin can defeat us separately."
He raised his hand.
"Signal the army."
"Increase the pace."
"Ignore every attempt to lure us into unnecessary battle."
"The Zhao army will establish contact with Chu, Wei, Han and Yan."
The war horns sounded.
Once more the Zhao army marched.
Unknown to them...
Pairs of Qin scouts watched every movement from the surrounding hills.
At the Han Front…
Another battlefield waited.
Fifty thousand Han soldiers formed a massive wall of shields and spears beneath Commander-in-Chief Sei Kai.
Across the plain...
Ri Yue calmly watched from horseback.
Beside her stood Lu Shen.
"The enemy has formed a defensive advance."
Ri Yue nodded.
"As expected."
She slowly unfolded her fan.
"General Lu Shen."
"The battlefield is yours."
Lu Shen grinned.
"I've been waiting to hear those words."
He raises his spear.
"Advance!"
The Qin vanguard charged.
Thousands of Han soldiers answered with a deafening roar.
"FOR HAN!"
Both armies rushed toward one another.
Just before impact….
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Drum signals echoed across the battlefield.
Dense white smoke rolled over the plain like waves.
Within seconds, visibility disappeared.
"What happened?!"
"I can't see!"
"Hold formation!"
Han officers desperately shouted.
Before the ranks could stabilize…
"Loose!"
Thousands of Qin arrows burst from inside the smoke.
The first volley struck the front ranks.
A second volley followed almost immediately.
Cries erupted everywhere.
The Han soldiers raised their shields blindly, unable to determine where the arrows originated.
Suddenly…
GONG!
A bronze gong echoed through the smoke.
Another answered from the opposite side.
Then another.
The sounds surrounded the Han army.
"What are they doing?"
Before anyone understood
"Qin cavalry!"
Hundreds of horsemen exploded out of the smoke.
They smashed Han's left flank.
Then the cavalry disappeared again.
Then another cavalry unit emerged from behind.
Then another.
Every attack lasted only moments.
Every retreat drew Han soldiers farther from their formation.
The attacks came from every direction.
Inside the smoke, Commander Sei Kai struggled to understand.
"Impossible!"
"How can Qin determine our positions under such conditions?"
He could neither see his enemy nor establish a stable formation.
Watching from a distant hill, Ri Yue quietly observed.
"So Lu Shen truly mastered General Gen Pou's battlefield methods."
Hidden throughout the smoke were small Qin observation teams carrying bronze gongs.
Whenever the Han army shifted, each team relayed its position through carefully timed signals.
The archers adjusted instantly.
The cavalry knew exactly where to strike.
Meanwhile, Han commanders could not even locate their enemy.
The battlefield itself had become Qin's greatest weapon.
For hours the confusion continued.
Han officers shouted conflicting orders.
Units became separated.
Entire companies wandered without knowing where the main army stood.
When the wind finally swept away the smoke...
General Sei Kai froze.
"What..."
His eyes widened.
"Impossible..."
Only around ten thousand Han soldiers remained.
The rest had scattered or fallen during the relentless fighting.
Then something even worse happened.
The battered Qin soldiers under Lu Shen withdrew.
Han soldiers cheered.
"They're retreating!"
"We survived!"
General Sei Kai immediately felt unease.
"No..."
"They're making room..."
The ground suddenly shook.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Fresh Qin banners appeared through the thinning smoke.
At their head rode Ri Yue herself with thirty thousand untouched soldiers.
Before Han could react…
A horn echoed behind them.
Every Han soldier turned.
General Mo Yun emerged with another Qin force, blocking the road of retreat.
One officer screamed.
"We're surrounded!"
Ri Yue lowered her fan.
"The battle until now was merely preparation."
She drew her sword.
"This..."
"...is the decisive blow."
The Qin horns sounded together.
"CHARGE!"
From the front, Ri Yue's army surged forward in disciplined ranks.
From the rear, Mo Yun's soldiers advanced with equal determination.
Caught between the two armies, Han fought desperately to break through.
Sei Kai rallied his guards.
"Break the encirclement!"
He spurred his horse directly toward Ri Yue.
The two commanders met amid the chaos.
Steel clashed.
Sei Kai thrust with his sowrdin a rapid sequence, forcing Ri Yue onto the defensive.
She parried each strike with calm precision before suddenly changing rhythm.
Their horses crossed.
A single flash of steel.
Sei Kai's sword slipped from his grasp.
He stared in disbelief before collapsing from the saddle.
For a heartbeat...
The battlefield fell silent.
Then a Han officer cried out,
"The Commander-in-Chief has fallen!"
Panic spread through the remaining soldiers.
Some attempted to flee.
Others threw down their weapons.
Seeing the battle decided, Ri Yue raised her sword.
"The Han army has been defeated."
The encirclement tightened.
By sunset...
The Han army had ceased to exist.
Not a single soldier escaped the battlefield.
Silence spread across the plain.
Fifty thousand Han soldiers lay where the battle had ended.
Ri Yue surveyed the battlefield without emotion.
"The coalition must understand the consequences of invading Qin."
She turned toward her officers.
"Pass my orders."
"Raise the enemy dead upon stakes across the battlefield."
"Let every coalition army that marches this road witness the fate that awaits invaders."
The generals saluted.
"As you command!"
Before dawn, grim rows of battlefield markers stretched across the plain, serving as a warning to every approaching army.
A forest of 50 000 Han corpses on a stake was spread throughout the battlefield
Without delaying any further, Ri Yue mounted her horse once more.
"Our task here is finished."
Ri Yue looked north toward the distant mountains.
"My lord husband is still holding Ri Boku."
She sheathed her sword.
"Signal the army."
"We march immediately."
"The Zhao front awaits."