Far ahead of the Coalition Army...
On the mountain roads leading toward Kanyou...
Dust billowed into the sky as ten thousand horses thundered across the rugged terrain.
Unlike Riboku, who had spent days guiding his army through a long and winding route to avoid the countless Qin outposts hidden throughout the mountains, another force had chosen a completely different path.
They did not hide.
They did not slow.
They simply charged.
At their head rode the monstrous figure of Duke Hyou.
"GYAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
His booming laughter echoed through the valleys.
"Run faster, you bastards! If your horses collapse, then keep running on foot!"
"YES, MY LORD!!"
The Duke's original detachment of five thousand had transformed during their relentless march.
Every fortress...
Every watchtower...
Every mountain garrison they encountered...
Soldiers were immediately absorbed into the Duke's force.
Without stopping even once to rest, the army continued forward day and night.
Food was eaten while riding.
Water was passed between galloping horses.
Those who fell behind simply mounted fresh horses taken from the nearest outpost.
The Duke's army never stopped moving.
By the time they finally caught sight of Riboku's forces...
Their numbers had swelled to nearly ten thousand men.
One of the scouts pointed ahead.
"My lord!"
"The Zhao army!"
"They're right before us!"
The Duke's grin widened until it nearly split his face.
"So we caught the fox after all."
His eyes shone with terrifying excitement.
"GYAHAHAHAHA!"
"Charge!!"
The entire Qin force erupted into a furious roar.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"
Without warning...
Ten thousand Qin cavalry crashed directly into the rear of Riboku's army like a falling mountain.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The Zhao rear ranks exploded into chaos.
"They're behind us!"
"Qin reinforcements?!"
"No!"
"It's Duke Hyou!"
"The Duke Army has arrived!!"
Soldiers were trampled beneath iron hooves as Qin cavalry smashed through formation after formation.
For a brief moment...
Even Riboku's officers were visibly shaken.
One of his deputies hurried beside him.
"Lord Riboku!"
"Our rear has been breached!"
Riboku calmly looked behind him.
"...So he truly came."
For only a single breath...
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Very well."
His voice remained perfectly composed.
"Initiate Ryuudou."
Every nearby commander froze.
"...Now?"
"Yes."
Riboku slowly raised his hand.
"Raise every banner belonging to headquarters."
"The headquarters itself shall begin advancing."
"The headquarters... is moving?!"
Orders immediately spread across the battlefield.
"Raise every HQ banner!"
"Protect headquarters!"
Within moments...
Dozens of great banners rose into the sky around Riboku's command center.
Then...
Instead of retreating...
The headquarters began charging directly into its own army.
Duke Hyou narrowed his eyes.
"...What's this?"
The Zhao soldiers immediately opened narrow paths before the headquarters before closing them again the instant it passed.
Entire formations shifted.
Columns rotated.
Companies exchanged positions.
Thousands upon thousands of soldiers continuously moved around the advancing headquarters.
From above...
The battlefield began resembling an enormous spiral.
Like a whirlpool.
Every Zhao unit flowed around Riboku's headquarters in perfect harmony.
Any Qin soldiers that entered the spiral found themselves immediately separated from one another.
Entire companies disappeared between moving Zhao formations.
The more they advanced...
The more isolated they became.
Shin slashed another Zhao soldier aside.
"Stay together!"
But another wave of Zhao soldiers flowed between him and the Hi Shin Unit.
"Huh?!"
Before he realized it...
Only a handful of his men remained beside him.
Elsewhere...
Duke Hyou continued forcing his way forward.
Yet even his elite soldiers found themselves gradually drifting apart.
It was as though an invisible current controlled the battlefield itself.
High upon a nearby ridge...
Karyo Ten stared in disbelief.
"...No..."
Kyou Kai silently observed the movements.
"It isn't simply a formation."
"It's flowing."
Karyo Ten clenched her fists.
"The battlefield..."
"...It's become a river."
She watched countless Qin soldiers being carried away from one another.
"The headquarters is the current itself."
Kyou Kai slowly nodded.
"The soldiers are like leaves floating downstream."
"But..."
She pointed toward several heavily fortified Zhao formations that never moved.
"There are rocks."
Karyo Ten's eyes widened.
"Immovable rocks..."
The moving current collided against those fixed positions.
The flow immediately split apart.
And every Qin soldier caught within it was forced into a different direction.
The spiral continuously divided them into smaller and smaller groups.
Karyo Ten's face turned pale.
"This is bad..."
"The longer our men stay inside..."
"...the more they'll be separated."
She immediately turned.
"We have to get everyone out!"
"The more we try to reach Riboku..."
"...the stronger the current becomes!"
"If this continues..."
"The entire army will be swallowed!"
Kyou Kai immediately drew her sword.
"I'm going."
Without another word...
She disappeared into the battlefield.
Meanwhile...
At the very center of the enormous spiral...
A single path finally opened.
Duke Hyou emerged.
Only a few hundred of his men remained beside him.
Bodies covered the ground around him.
The old general rested his massive glaive upon his shoulder.
"Gahahaha..."
"So it's finally time to bring this to a close."
His sharp eyes settled upon the young Zhao commander standing calmly before him.
"So..."
"You must be the great blaze..."
"Riboku."
The Duke laughed.
"You're smaller than I expected."
Riboku stepped forward.
Despite the bloodshed surrounding them...
His expression remained tranquil.
"I never imagined..."
"...that there existed a man capable of conquering my Ryuudou."
His gaze met Duke Hyou's.
"It appears..."
"...that you are a man who has surpassed the boundaries of my understanding."
He lowered his head slightly.
"You have my utmost respect..."
"Duke Hyou."
The Duke grinned.
"I figured I'd simply cut you down from behind while you ran off carrying out one last desperate scheme."
He tightened his grip upon his glaive.
"But..."
"It doesn't seem you've given up."
His smile became savage.
"And it certainly doesn't look like you're planning to flee."
He pointed the blade directly at Riboku.
"Surely..."
"...you aren't expecting to beat me in a duel?"
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Then Riboku quietly answered.
"There is a reason..."
"...this place has become the stage for our finale."
His eyes remained unwavering.
"The one who shall die here..."
"...will be you."
At those words...
A heavy footstep echoed behind Riboku.
Thud.
Another.
Thud.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the battlefield.
Even Duke Hyou's smile faded slightly.
From behind Riboku emerged a towering giant carrying an enormous glaive.
His long black hair swayed gently in the wind.
His eyes contained neither anger...
Nor hatred...
Only an endless emptiness.
The giant spoke.
"I..."
"...am the Bushin."
"My name..."
"...is Houken."
The surrounding Zhao soldiers instinctively lowered their heads.
Even the air itself seemed to freeze.
Duke Hyou stared at the man for several long moments.
Then...
His grin slowly returned.
"So..."
"You're the buffoon who slew Ouki."
He raised his glaive.
"If this man is the last blade in your arsenal..."
His killing intent exploded across the battlefield.
"...then I shall shatter it."
"I owe Ouki that much..."
"...at the very least."
"GYAHAHAHAHA!!"
The Duke's laughter shook the mountain pass.
"Things are getting lively, aren't they?!"
He pointed his glaive directly at Houken.
"The name's Duke Hyou!"
His horse burst forward.
"Here I come, boy!!"
Houken lowered his stance.
The Bushin and the instinctual Great General charged toward one another…