The Battle of Eikyuu was a major battle fought between the Kan Ki Army's led Qin armies and the Ko Chou Army's led Zhao armies during the Qin's invasion of Heiyou in 234 B.C.
Location[]
The battle took place in a wide area of plains and forests near Eikyuu. The center and its wings were separated by mountains.
Background[]
At the start of new year, Kan Ki was promoted to the member of Six Great Generals when Ei Sei brought back the system. He then returned to the frontlines and ordered a brutal offensive of Heiyou that resulted in many casualties on his side. This catches the attention of Zhao Great General Ko Chou who moved his main army and decided to face him in battle and ordered Ou Hon to attack Eikyuu fortress which was the most difficult spot.
Story[]
1st-7th Day[]
On Qin's left wing under the command of General Ou Hon suffers from heavy causalities for several days while fighting against the Gaku Haku Kou Army to take Eikyuu's natural fortress. The other Qin forces were also not doing well whether it be 20,000 soldiers of the right wing commanded by Rai Do or 40,000 troops in the center commanded by Koku'Ou and Rin Gyoku. On the 7th day the central army was split apart by Zhao General Ko Haku Kou's forces in order to expose Qin's HQ.
8th Day[]
On the 8th day, the Hi Shin Unit receives the message to join the battle and aid Gyoku Hou Army in taking Eikyuu. Once they arrived the right wing was nearly wiped out. However, Ou Hon, Ban You, and Gyoku Hou soldiers were able to survive and were saved at the last moment by Hi Shin Army. At the Hi Shin's HQ, Shin asks about Ou Hon’s state, and they answer that he is in a bad shape and still unconscious. Ten wonders about how to take the fortress and suggests attacking from the spot where there's a gentler slope.
As they're about to head out, a heavily wounded Ou Hon carried by Ban You comes to warn them that the Zhao have prepared a trap there and they already tried this route before and failed. Ou Hon then says that the only way to take the fortress is to attack the steepest cliff where the terrain is thought, but there is no real defense set up.
Meanwhile at the central battlefield, the Rin Gyoku Clan is fiercely attacked by Zhao forces and the entire unit is in disarray. Rin Gyoku notes that, since the Zhao is aiming for them then at least Koku'Ou will have it easier and says he hopes this was Kan Ki's plan from the start. Then Jo Ta reports to him that the Kou Kotsu Clan deserted. Rin Gyoku thanks him and says he can join his clan while lamenting at the flimsy loyalty of the Kan Ki Army's former bandits.
Meanwhile at Qin's central HQ, Ma Ron also receives reports of the continued desertion of the Kan Ki solders. Ma Ron, after bashing off his messengers, thinks to himself that he too should get ready to desert and flee the hopeless battlefield, but Kan Ki suddenly shows up behind him to talk.
Over on the right-wing Rai Do is busy fighting the Zhao when Ogiko comes to deliver a personal message for him from Kan Ki. Rai Do notices that Ogiko is covered in wounds and apologize for looking down him. Ogiko then relays Kan Ki's message to Rai Do which shocks the former bandit, Ogiko stresses that Kan Ki wanrs him not to be too reckless. Rai Do then receives another message that the Yo Ma Clan captured Sou Kan, the son of Zhao general Ryuu Haku Kou, the left wing general of the Zhao army as the Qin General smiles.
Back over at the right-wing, the Hi Shin Unit's infantry begin to climb the Eikyuu cliffs, but the Zhao notices their plan and realized that they had to be briefed by the Gyoku Hou. As the Hi Shin troops progress in their climb Bi Hei almost falls to his death but is caught by Kei and Kou. When they reach halfway point, they are meet with a rain of rocks from the top as one of them kills their comrade. Many Hi Shin soldiers are killed, crushed by the falling stones. Suu Gen orders them to move to the left where the cliff is steeper, but they will be shielded from the rocks. With the sheer willpower they eventually reach the top of the cliff and begin their assault. They push their way in order to allow cavalry to join. Kyou Rei spring ahead and cuts down handful of soldiers. Zhao commander receives the report about them getting closer to the stronghold and wonders why their infantry are so strong. As Bi Hei is about to call for Ri Shin, the general is already riding up the cliff to help. Meanwhile Zhao general Gaku Haku Kou receives the report about the situation but doesn't seem to be concerned as he picks up his mace and gets ready to heads out to fight.
Meanwhile, Ryuu Haku Kou, the right-wing Zhao general, is hunting for Rai Do and his clan. His soldiers try to warn him that it's a trap, but the general ignores his men, since his youngest son was captured by Rai Do. He remembers the time spent with his family as he watched his sons grow. He then finds his son; Sou Kan's body tied to a tree and breaks down into tears. The Rai Do Clan then attack him as he tearfully despairs under the tree. The Zhao General goes berserk after seeing the body of his youngest son. Despite being outnumbered he continues to fight and kills Rai Do's soldiers. Rai Do insist that they need to kill him now and attacks him personally. The old general tries to fight back, but Rai Do pushes his podao into his neck as the Zhao duke dies. Rai Do then orders a retreat, but Ryuu Haku Kou grips on to his podao. Annoyed, he orders one his men to cut off his arm but the forces of the duke's eldest son, Ryuu Fu arrives. He overpowers and injures Rai Do before he has the chance to grab his sword. Ryuu Fu cries at the sight of dead family and decides to take Rai Do to their lord Ko Chou in order to torture him. Rai Do apologizes to Kan Ki for getting captured.
On the left wing, Hi Shin Unit is pushing their way through the Zhao forces but they can't advance fast enough due to the Zhao's numbers. Ka Ryo Ten states that its hopeless as they don't have enough forces to pincer them. However, Ban You remembers that they sent separate unit to the right in order to attack when their main force would climb up. As he says it, A Ka Kin and his units appears and leads a charge. Seeing all the chaos the Zhao sends part of their armies to anticipate A Ka Kin's attack. His cavalry instead of attacking them directly just run around in order to put on the psychological pressure. This greatly helps Hi Shin soldiers to push their advance as they almost reach Zhao's HQ. However, they are stopped by the appearance of general Gaku Haku who with a single swing of his mace turns the battlefield into chaos. His elite cavalry Senkyou also appears behind him. He says that after his lord became Guardian Deity of Kantan they devoted themselves to studying tactics and training. He talks about violence creating more violence as the clash starts.
In Zhao's HQ, Rai Do and his men are kept prisoners as Ko Chou enters the tent with a team of torturers. The Great General praises Rai Do for being able to defeat his old friend, Ryuu Haku Kou in his blind rage. However, he then states that the souls of those from Kokuyou need to be avenged and asks Rai Do to choose which hand that he prefers. The torturers cut off Rai Do and his men’s fingers as the torture begins.
Ko Chou wants to know what Kan Ki plotting is, however, Rai Do refuses to tell him anything. He then appoints Ryuu Fu as the new commander of his left wing. Once the news of Rai Do's capture spread, the remnants of his army fell apart. The newly appointed commander Ryuu Fu chased them down and brutally assaulted. Meanwhile in the center Rin Gyoku and Koku'Ou forces were driven apart. Ko Haku Army were initially focused on Rin Gyoku, but they changed their target to Koku'Ou instead, which was truly the finishing blow.
Ko Chou is visited in his HQ by Ka Man, one of his soldiers. He informs the Great general about the situation on the battlefield. Ko Chou in response orders him to keep 3000 soldiers to Eikyuu just in case. He then considers the option of Ou Sen coming to Kan Ki's aid but says it's unlikely since his eyes are on Bujou and Heiyou. Ka Man is still worried and proposes to double their lookouts on western side just in case Kan Ki is planning something, but Ko Chou answers he's already done it, and it shouldn't be concern even if Ou Sen makes a move. Ka Man says he will send an additional 5000 soldiers to Ko Haku and order Ryuu Haku to send some of his troops to the middle.
On the Eikyuu cliff Ri Shin continues his duel with Gaku Haku. He struggles, because he still can't keep up with his opponent's speed and his glaive keeps missing. Den Ei says that his strength doesn't come just from his size, but also martial arts. Shin hears this and decides to call for Bi Hei and give him his glaive. Instead, he decides to draw Ei Sei's sword and starts to keep up with Gaku Haku Kou's movements thanks to the change of weapon. In response his opponents drop the mace and ask his soldier for a moon blade. He claims that this weapon complements his martial arts the best. The fight continues as Shin becomes more agile and fast on his feet. Suu Gen talked about how Shin needed to become stronger to wield the podao and now he's creating his own style of martial arts through self-discipline. Shin starts to wonder how to get past his defenses and finally has an idea. He attacks his opponent head on. As he's about to counter with a kick Shin dives his blade in his knee pining him down. Then he calls Bi Hei's name as his friend throws him his glaive and he deliver final blow with it.
The Hi Shin Unit fights their way through Zhao soldiers, but they are attacked by the cavalry from the rear forces. However, the Kyou Kai Unit rushes to their rescue. Kyou Rei splits up to help the infantry while Kyou Kai leads the cavalry in Wedge Formation attack. In Zhao's HQ the strategist Ki Shou receives the news of Gaku Haku's death and is shocked about it. He orders his men not to spread the news but is beheaded moments later when A Ka Kin storms the HQ. As the battle progresses Qin successfully pushes their offensive and Gaku Haku Kou's head gets put on Den Yuu's glaive. Hi Shin Unit successfully captures Eikyuu, and everyone celebrates the success. Ka Ryo Ten sends a message to Na Ki to track the retreating Gaku Haku forces just in case. Then she orders a flanking attack on Ko Chou's HQ. The news of Eikyuu being taken also reaches Ko Chou who decides to send 5000 men from Ko Haku Army as a shield to prevent Hi Shin Unit's attack.
As the center Qin army is getting annihilated the Zhao forces are trying to find Kan Ki, but without any success. Ryuu Fu also splits his forces and raids with 8,000 soldiers to the center to aid the search. However, they still couldn't find even a trace of Kan Ki's whereabouts. In Ko Chou's HQ all the officers are confident in their victory. Suddenly they get reports about multiple small groups of enemies attacking their headquarters defenses. Zhao commander Chou Ritsu tries to calm his soldiers but is killed once the Zenou Clan appears before him. Ko Chou receives the report that the attacker's number was around 1000 and there are still more coming. The strategists all panicked, but Ko Chou was calm and looked at the map. He quickly understands that Kan Ki used Sun Bin's strategy.
He explains that they were too preoccupied by chasing Kan Ki's deserting soldiers. There was a group of soldiers hidden among the real deserters that hid themselves and waited until Zhao units would pass them. They hid among bodies or dug burrows and waited until Zhao would send 5000 men to their right wing, so if Hi Shin Army wouldn't win then this plan wouldn't work. Kan Ki didn't instruct all the fleeing Kan Ki soldiers, since they were real deserters. They knew exactly that so many of them would flee which is why he decided to use this strategy. Ko Chou then claims that it's possible Kan Ki had this plan in mind even before the battle started. Ka Man then joins the meeting and says they should run away, since they can still win if they survive the ambush. The advisors suggest running towards Ko Haku's 5000-Man Army, since it's the closest, but Ka Man says that perhaps Kan Ki predicted it, so they should go in the opposite direction. Ko Chou agrees, but as they try to escape to the left their path is blocked by a group of cavalries led personally by Kan Ki.
Two cavalry units began to fight. Ko Chou's unit was handpicked 100 cavalryman who undergone strict selection. On the other side Shu Ma Clan numbered 200 soldiers and their individual strength was equal to Zenou Clan. And so, Kan Ki's side proven to be superior and overpowered their enemies. In anger commander Ka Man rushed ahead to kill Kan Ki. Kan Ki, however, easily deflected his blade, grabbed his neck and stabbed him through the stomach. Dying Ka Man looked into Kan Ki's eyes and said they do not reflect true pain, and that Ko Chou lost that light long ago. Kan Ki was not interested in the conversation and cut the commander in half. Ko Chou was now surrounded, but he didn't seem to be fazed by that. Ko Chou in the last desperate act decides to take his own life by cutting his own throat.
Kan Ki orders his men to take his head to demoralize Zhao troops. They parade the head on the spear and spread the news about supreme commander's death. In addition, Ma Ron began to spread false rumors about Ou Sen and Yo Tan Wa arriving with 100,000 troops each. It worked perfectly and Zhao units began to surrender one after another. Previously deserted soldiers from Kan Ki Army also returned and helped with capturing prisoners after the tides had turned. Central commander Ko Haku rushed to Ko Chou's HQ and thus was unable to stop pass desertion. The only one still resisting was Ryuu Haku however, he was stopped in tracks by Koku'Ou. And so, the number of surrendered soldiers was far beyond anything Kan Ki Army ever captured, numbering in tens of thousands.
Aftermath[]
After the battle and their victory Kan Ki finds the mutilated corpse of Rai Do in a box. After witnessing it he decided to send Hi Shin Unit to chase after the remaining Zhao forces. He then orders his men to execute all 100,000 Zhao war prisoners his army captured. Due to the massacre king Ei Sei also visited Kan Ki Army in order to pass a judgement, however he decided to leave Kan Ki without punishment and only left him with a warning.