The thunder of marching feet rolled across the plains.
Fifty thousand fresh Qin soldiers advanced in perfect order, their countless crimson banners stretching from one end of the horizon to the other.
The earth itself trembled beneath their synchronized march, while clouds of dust rose high enough to obscure the afternoon sun.
At their head rode Duke Hyou Ren.
Behind him marched his two trusted generals.
To the left, Tian Hao led twenty thousand men.
To the right, Bao Jun commanded another twenty thousand.
At the center, Hyou Ren personally led ten thousand elite soldiers, the veterans who had followed him through countless campaigns.
Their armor bore the scars of war.
Their expressions revealed only one thing.
Absolute confidence.
The horns sounded once more.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The cry echoed over every wall of Kanyou.
Citizens crowded onto rooftops and battlements, looking toward the western plains.
"It..."
"It's another Qin army!"
"They've come!"
The exhausted defenders upon the walls could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Some laughed.
Others wept openly.
The soldiers who had fought since dawn slammed their spears against their shields.
"Reinforcements!"
"Duke Hyou Ren has arrived!"
Even inside the royal palace, the sound of the horns reached every corridor.
Ministers stopped speaking.
Servants looked toward the windows.
Every heart understood the meaning of those horns.
Qin's final reserve had entered the battlefield.
Outside the city, the Ai army also turned toward the approaching force.
An officer under Duke Juuko stared in horror.
"...Impossible."
"Where did such an army come from?"
Another messenger rode frantically toward Duke Juuko.
"My lord!"
"A new Qin force has appeared!"
"Their numbers are approximately fifty thousand!"
Duke Juuko's face darkened.
"Fifty thousand..."
"So this is Qin's hidden blade."
He narrowed his eyes toward the approaching banners.
The Duke of Northeast standard fluttered proudly above the advancing host.
"Duke Hyou Ren..."
"So you've finally arrived."
Elsewhere, Karyo Ten watched the approaching army from atop her horse.
Her lips slowly curved into a smile.
"...Right on time."
Beside her, Kyoukai quietly observed the advancing formations.
"They haven't even entered the battlefield..."
"...yet the morale of every Qin soldier has changed."
Indeed, the difference was immediate.
Moments earlier, the exhausted Qin soldiers had fought purely through determination.
Now...
Their cheers shook the battlefield.
"They're here!"
"The Duke has come!"
"We've won!"
Karyo Ten shook her head.
"No."
"Not yet."
She looked toward Duke Juuko's still-intact army.
"They remain the strongest force left on this battlefield."
"If they manage to break through..."
"...the battle will continue."
Several moments later, Duke Hyou Ren halted his horse upon a small rise overlooking the battlefield.
His sharp eyes swept across the plains.
To his front...
Duke Juuko's army remained heavily engaged against the Hi Shin Unit.
To their rear...
An open avenue had been left completely exposed.
Hyou Ren smiled faintly.
"So..."
"The Hi Shin unit has already broken Shoukaku."
"Excellent."
Without another word, he drew his sword.
The entire fifty thousand men immediately halted.
Silence spread across the ranks.
Every commander waited for the Duke's orders.
Hyou Ren raised his blade toward the left.
"Tian Hao."
The veteran general immediately saluted.
"My lord."
"You will take twenty thousand men."
"Circle around their western flank."
"Seal every path to the left."
Tian Hao struck his fist against his chest.
"It shall be done."
His entire army immediately wheeled toward the west.
Hyou Ren then turned toward Bao Jun.
"Bao Jun."
"My lord."
"You will lead twenty thousand."
"Advance around their eastern flank."
"Close their right."
Bao Jun grinned.
"They'll never know what trapped them."
His cavalry immediately galloped away, disappearing behind rolling clouds of dust.
Finally...
Hyou Ren pointed his sword directly ahead.
"The center..."
"I shall command personally."
His elite guards straightened their formations.
Then his voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Advance."
The order spread from officer to officer.
"Advance!"
"Advance!"
"Advance!"
Fifty thousand Qin soldiers began moving once again.
Their disciplined march resembled an enormous tide slowly swallowing everything before it.
Hyou Ren continued.
"Do not allow a single enemy soldier to escape."
"Today..."
"We complete the encirclement."
His eyes fixed upon Duke Juuko.
"We have arrived upon the rear of the army currently engaged with the Hi Shin Unit."
"Therefore..."
"We shall execute..."
He raised his sword high.
"Hourai."
The entire army erupted.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The roar rolled across the plains like thunder.
Back within the Hi Shin Unit, signal riders arrived at full speed.
One dismounted before Karyo Ten.
"My lady!"
"A message from Duke Hyou Ren!"
She quickly unfolded the message.
Only a single word had been written.
Hourai.
Karyo Ten smiled.
"So that's your decision."
She immediately stood in her stirrups.
"Signal every company!"
"Immediately dissolve your offensive formations!"
Nearby officers looked confused.
"My lady?"
She pointed her bow across the battlefield.
"Create a continuous wall of soldiers before Duke Juuko's army."
"Do not pursue."
"Do not overextend."
"Simply become an immovable wall."
The officers immediately understood.
"...Hourai."
Within moments, Qin bugles sounded across the battlefield.
The Hi Shin Unit abruptly ceased its pursuit.
Instead, thousands of soldiers shifted sideways, reforming into a broad defensive line.
Shield touched shield.
Spear met spear.
A massive living wall gradually stretched across the battlefield before Duke Juuko's army.
Several officers still looked puzzled.
Kyoukai calmly explained while watching the formations take shape.
"Hourai is not simply an encirclement."
"It is a battlefield execution."
The officers listened carefully.
"The enemy commander first loses freedom of movement."
She pointed toward Tian Hao's advancing banners.
"The left is sealed."
She then indicated Bao Jun's army.
"The right is sealed."
Finally, she looked behind Duke Juuko.
"Hyou Ren has closed the rear."
Her eyes shifted toward the Hi Shin Unit.
"And we become the wall before them."
One young officer swallowed nervously.
"Meaning..."
"There is nowhere left to run."
Kyoukai nodded.
"The final stage..."
"...is the center."
"When every path has vanished..."
"...the commander strikes directly through the trapped army."
"The enemy is destroyed completely."
Karyo Ten raised her hand once more.
"Raise every available banner!"
Every standard bearer obeyed immediately.
Qin banners rose one after another.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
Soon the battlefield became surrounded by an ocean of colours.
To Duke Juuko's soldiers...
It appeared as though countless additional armies had suddenly materialized around them.
An Ai soldier looked left.
"There are banners there!"
Another turned right.
"They're surrounding us!"
Someone pointed behind them.
"More Qin soldiers!"
Fear spread faster than any cavalry charge.
Upon a nearby hill, Duke Hyou Ren watched the final banners rise.
His eyes narrowed.
"The back..."
"...has been sealed by the Hi Shin Unit."
A faint smile appeared.
"The Hourai..."
"...is complete."
Before him, Qin soldiers had formed an enormous ring around the remaining Ai army.
There were no gaps.
No weaknesses.
Only walls of steel.
Within the center of that ring stood Duke Juuko and the last great army of the State of Ai.
For the first time since the rebellion had begun...
The hunters...
Had become the hunted.
Far below, Duke Juuko slowly surveyed the battlefield.
His veteran instincts immediately grasped the truth.
To the left...
Tian Hao.
To the right...
Bao Jun.
Behind him...
Duke Hyou Ren.
Before him...
The Hi Shin Unit.
His expression hardened.
"...So this..."
"...is Hourai."
The trap had already closed.
There would be no retreat.
No reinforcement.
No escape.
Only one road remained.
Straight ahead.
Duke Juuko slowly lowered his glaive, his eyes burning with determination.
"If we are to survive..."
"...then we must carve our way through the center."
As thousands of Juuteki warriors tightened their grip upon their weapons, the air itself seemed to grow heavy.