The Battle of Choyou had finally come to an end.
Though the battle had ended, the smell of smoke and iron still lingered in the air. Countless Qin warriors stood shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the royal decree from Kanyou.
A royal official stepped forward and unfurled an imperial scroll.
"By the decree of His Majesty, King Ei Sei of Qin!"
The entire army knelt.
"The State of Wei has suffered a crushing defeat at Choyou. Through the valor of the armies gathered here, the Wei headquarters has fallen, the Fire Dragons have been brought low, and Qin has secured yet another great victory."
Thunderous cheers erupted across the battlefield.
The official opened another scroll.
"For his exemplary merits through the Choyou Campaign... for leading the decisive assault that shattered the Wei headquarters... and for bringing immeasurable glory to Qin..."
His eyes turned toward the composed general standing before the assembled armies.
"General Tou."
Tou calmly stepped forward.
"From this day onward..."
"...you are hereby promoted to the rank of..."
"Great General of Qin!"
For a heartbeat, silence filled the air.
Then…
"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The battlefield erupted.
Every officer lowered their heads in respect.
Even Duke Hyou Ren bowed slightly.
There was no one more deserving.
Ever since inheriting Ouki's army...
Tou had carried the will of his fallen lord.
Now...
He had inherited the title as well.
Tou smiled softly.
"Fufufu..."
The herald raised another decree.
"There is one more promotion."
Thousands of eyes shifted.
"For his repeated achievements throughout the Wei campaign..."
"For breaking through enemy formations time and again..."
"And above all..."
"For personally slaying Wei Fire Dragon Earl Shi."
A grin spread across countless faces.
"Shin of the Hi Shin Unit."
Shin stepped forward.
No longer was he the reckless youth who had once stumbled onto the battlefield.
He now stood with the bearing of a commander worthy of leading thousands.
"By order of His Majesty..."
"Shin is hereby promoted..."
"...to Five Thousand-Man Commander."
The Hi Shin Unit exploded into celebration.
"KYAHAHAHAHA!!"
"Our captain did it!"
"I knew this day would come!"
Kyoukai gave a small smile.
"You've earned it."
Karyo Ten adjusted her bow and arrows with a proud grin.
"Heh... now our work only gets harder."
Shin scratched the back of his head.
"Hehehe..."
"I've still got a long way before becoming a Great General."
From the rear of the formation...
Hyou Ren silently watched.
A Five Thousand-Man Commander...
Shin...
The day you stand among Qin's Great Generals no longer feels distant.
The royal herald unfurled yet another scroll.
"There remains one final reward to be bestowed."
Every eye turned toward the towering figure standing beneath the black crimson banner.
"Duke Hyou Ren."
Hyou Ren stepped forward with his usual calm demeanor.
The official read aloud,
"For his distinguished service during the Choyou Campaign... for commanding the decisive assault that shattered the Wei center... for orchestrating the fall of the Wei headquarters..."
He paused.
"And above all..."
"For personally slaying Rei Ou, one of the legendary Wei Fire Dragons."
A murmur spread across the assembled armies.
Although Tou had led the final assault on the headquarters, every commander present knew that without Hyou Ren defeating Rei Ou, the Wei command structure would never have collapsed so completely.
The herald continued.
"By decree of His Majesty, King Ei Sei..."
"Duke Hyou Ren is awarded..."
"...Five Thousand Gold."
The soldiers erupted into cheers.
"And furthermore..."
"...Five Units of Treasure from the Royal Treasury."
Another wave of astonishment swept across the gathering.
Five thousand gold.
Five royal treasures.
Such rewards were seldom bestowed upon a single general.
It was a testament to the magnitude of Hyou Ren's achievements.
The officials carrying ornate lacquered chests stepped forward, each bearing the royal seal of Qin.
Ri Yue, observing from the royal delegation, smiled faintly.
"As expected..."
"The King has not overlooked your accomplishments."
Hyou Ren simply bowed.
"I humbly accept His Majesty's generosity."
His expression remained unchanged.
To him...
Gold and treasure were merely tools.
The true reward had always been Qin's victory.
Watching from nearby, Tou smiled.
"Fufufu... Even among Great Generals, such a reward is rare."
Shin's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"F-FIVE THOUSAND GOLD?!"
Karyo Ten sighed.
"That's enough to feed an entire army for months..."
Kyoukai quietly added,
"It is fitting."
The assembled Qin soldiers once again raised their weapons toward the sky.
"LONG LIVE QIN!"
"LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTY!"
Their thunderous voices echoed across the plains of Choyou, marking the end of one victorious campaign...
Yet although Choyou had fallen...
The campaign against Wei was not over.
Beyond Choyou still stood numerous Wei fortresses and defensive lines. Great General Tou had no intention of allowing Wei the opportunity to recover from such a devastating defeat.
Orders were swiftly issued throughout the Qin camp.
The Tou Army would remain stationed on the frontlines to consolidate Qin's newly conquered territory and prepare for the next stage of the campaign.
The Hi Shin Unit and the Gyoku Hou Unit were likewise ordered to remain under Tou's command, ready to march the moment new orders arrived.
The war with Wei...
Had not yet ended.
Only one army was ordered to withdraw from the front.
The one hundred thousand soldiers beneath the black crimson banners.
The Duke Hyou Ren Army.
Having borne the brunt of the fighting in the center battlefield and played a decisive role in destroying the Wei headquarters while holding off two of Wei's legendary Fire Dragons, the Hyou Ren Army was granted leave to return to its own lands to recover from the losses suffered during the Battle of Choyou.
Beneath fluttering black banners, the long columns of soldiers marched westward.
For the first time in many months...
They were finally returning home.
To the Hyou Lands.
Several weeks later...
Far to the north of Sanyou and Choyou...
On the northernmost frontier of Qin...
Lay the region of Taigen.
A harsh land of towering mountains, dense forests, and bitter winds.
Though it served as one of Qin's most important northern border regions, recent wars had all been concentrated within the heartlands of Central China.
The conflicts against Zhao.
The campaigns against Wei.
The endless battles that consumed Qin's greatest armies.
As a result...
Little attention had been given to this distant frontier.
But today...
Taigen was unlike anything it had ever been before.
Its roads overflowed with people.
Merchants.
Officials.
Scholars.
Mercenaries.
Entire noble households.
Refugees seeking a new beginning.
Every day...
More arrived.
The gates of Taigen remained open from dawn until dusk as an endless tide of humanity poured into the city.
Something...
Was beginning to take shape within Taigen.
Within Hyou Castle.
Fresh from the Choyou Campaign, Duke Hyou Ren had finally returned to govern his lands.
Beside him sat Ri Yue as the couple reviewed reports from both their territory and the northeastern frontier.
Suddenly…
The chamber doors opened.
Princess Ei You entered hurriedly.
The look upon her face immediately caused both Hyou Ren and Ri Yue to rise.
"Hyou Ren."
"Ri Yue."
"I bring grave news."
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
"What has happened?"
Princess Ei You spoke slowly.
"The Queen Mother..."
"...and Rou Ai..."
"...have entered the city of Taigen."
Silence.
"They have proclaimed..."
"...that from this day onward..."
"...the region of Taigen shall no longer belong to Qin."
"They have declared it..."
"...the State of Ai."
CRACK!
The wooden armrest beneath Hyou Ren's hand shattered.
Ri Yue's eyes widened.
"A new... state?"
Hyou Ren's expression darkened.
"This..."
"...is an act of treason."
He looked directly at Princess Ei You.
"What is Kanyou's response?"
"And what of His Majesty, King Ei Sei?"
Princess Ei You answered solemnly.
"The royal court has begun negotiations."
"They seek to persuade Rou Ai and the Queen Mother to abandon their declaration."
She paused.
"But should those negotiations fail..."
"There will be no alternative."
"Qin will be forced to crush Ai through force of arms."
Hyou Ren slowly walked toward the large map of Qin.
His eyes settled upon Taigen.
"This is not five hundred years ago..."
"When countless feudal lords carved out kingdoms amidst endless chaos."
He struck the map with his finger.
"For a power to declare independence from within Qin itself..."
"...is nothing less than a burning disgrace."
Ri Yue stepped beside him.
"If Qin allows this insult to stand..."
"Our authority throughout the Central Plains will crumble."
"The other states will see weakness."
"The prestige built by generations of Qin kings will be stained."
Princess Ei You remained silent.
She knew both of them spoke the truth.
News of the declaration spread throughout China.
Across….
Zhao...
Wei...
Han...
Chu...
Yan...
Soldiers laughed around their campfires.
Farmers paused while working the fields.
Merchants whispered in crowded marketplaces.
Even the greatest scholars and intellectuals dismissed the proclamation.
"A state born from a single declaration?"
"It will not survive."
"Qin will erase it within weeks."
No one believed the State of Ai possessed any future.
Yet...
Contrary to every expectation...
The State of Ai did not collapse.
With each passing day...
Its walls grew stronger.
Its administration expanded.
Its population increased.
The endless stream of newcomers continued to swell.
What had begun as a reckless declaration...
Was steadily becoming an independent power.
Back within Hyou Castle...
The mood had become increasingly grim.
Hyou Ren studied reports sent by Ri Yue's intelligence network.
"So..."
"They truly intend to establish a kingdom."
Ri Yue folded her arms.
"The longer this continues..."
"...the fewer choices remain."
Hyou Ren nodded.
"The State of Ai now has only two paths left."
He raised two fingers.
"The first..."
"They raise an army."
"They launch a surprise assault upon Kanyou before Qin can fully mobilize."
"The second..."
"They execute both Rou Ai and the Queen Mother themselves."
"They offer their heads to Qin..."
"...and pray His Majesty forgives the rest."
Ri Yue's gaze sharpened.
"If they choose war..."
"There is only one moment to strike."
She pointed toward Kanyou on the map.
"His Majesty's coming-of-age ceremony."
"Every noble and official in Qin will gather within the capital."
"The attention of the entire kingdom will be focused upon that single event."
"If Ai intends to strike..."
"...that ceremony will be their perfect opportunity."
Just then…
Another messenger entered the chamber and knelt.
"My lord!"
"A report from Lady Ri Yue's spies."
Ri Yue accepted the sealed document.
As she finished reading...
Her expression changed.
"My lord husband..."
"There is more."
"Our agents have confirmed..."
"...that the Queen Mother..."
"...and Rou Ai..."
"...have two children together."
Silence filled the chamber.
Hyou Ren slowly closed his eyes.
Then opened them once more.
His voice carried no emotion.
"So..."
"They seek not merely to rebel..."
"But to establish a new royal bloodline."
He turned toward the north, where the banners of the newborn State of Ai now flew over Taigen.
"That..."
"...gives Qin even greater reason to eliminate this threat before its roots grow any deeper."
Outside the castle walls...
The cold northern wind swept across the Hyou Lands.
Far beyond the mountains...
The banners of the State of Ai fluttered proudly.
Unbeknownst to the people of Qin...
The greatest political crisis since King Ei Sei's ascension...
Had quietly begun.