Ultimate Formation is the 847th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary[]
A carriage with a moderate escort ride through the wee hours of the night, before sunrise, with Ri Boku sleeping inside. The rider notices something and calls to Ri Boku to wake him up. Ri Boku rouses and asks if they had arrived, and hears that a single rider had come to greet him. Kaine welcomes Ri Boku back and wishes him a happy new year, wanting to be the first one in the castle to do so.
At the entrance to Bu'an, Ri Boku decides to get off the carriage and suggests to Kaine that they go up to the castle walls. Up there, he sees her shivering and gives her his cloak, and they see the sun rise. As they watch the sunrise, Kaine says that getting to see the first sunrise of the year together with Ri Boku guarantees that the year will be a good one and that Zhao will definitely be victorious.
Later in the morning, Ri Boku's vassals gather with Ki Sui and Ba Tei returning to the fold including new faces Chou Kotsu and Gan Shuu. Fu Tei tells Ri Boku that everyone had arrived, but Ri Boku tells him to hold off for a moment, and Shi Ba Shou enters, with Kan Saro and a new General, Don Sari. Ri Boku thanks Shi Ba Shou for coming and announces that everyone has assembled.
In Kanyou, Generals are assembled. Ou Sen arrives with his new first general, Na Raku, and Yo Tan Wa with Bajio. Ou Hon, Mou Ten, Ri Shin, Roku O Mi, Kyou Kai, and Ka Ryo Ten are present as well. In front of Ei Sei's throne, and with Ri Shi and Shou Bun Kun to his right and left, Shou Hei Kun thanks the generals for assembling and confirms that the reason they were summoned is to explain their plan for striking down Ri Boku and annihilating Zhao later that year.
Roku O Mi and Shin wonder why the assembly was sooner than expected, but hear from Shou Hei Kun that Zhao was moving even faster. Ri Shi details a report of Ri Boku's key generals, including Ki Sui of Rigan entering his castle at Bu'an. Shou Hei Kun adds that the other Great Heaven Shi Ba Shou of Seika was there. Ri Shi and Shou Hei Kun's words confirm for Mou Ten and Ou Hon that Zhao was aware that Qin would launch an all-out attack that year, as they expected. Hearing this, Shin turns and looks at the other generals, and wonders if that meant the full-scale assault would be launched by the armies of those present. Mou Ten and Ou Hon rib Shin, and Roku O Mi admonishes them for being noisy.
Shou Hei Kun turns to Ei Sei and gets his permission to begin, and then begins briefing the Generals of their strategy. After listening to the plan, Shin expresses his excitement and gets some gentle flak from the other generals present. Shou Hei Kun reminds them that what he had shared was a strategic map based on their predictions of Zhao's movements, and once the campaign began, deviations both large and small would be present, but their armies were more than capable of adapting and pushing forward while doing so. He informs the generals that the conquest of Zhao would begin with that as their basic formation and informs them to return to their armies and begin preparations with it in mind, reminding them not to speak of what they had seen and heard that day.
Ei Sei gives a final word and tells the generals that their campaign to conquer Zhao would be waged over a wider area than any before, and would likely be the last time they are all gathered in one place. He reminds them of their consecutive defeats to Ri Boku at Gian and Hango, but going back 15 years, ever since the Battle of Bayou, Ri Boku had been continually standing in their way. He reminds them that Ou Ki, Duke Hyou, and Kan Ki had all fallen before him, and that against Ri Boku, greatest of their obstacles, they had absorbed the strength of Han and would now challenge him with literally everything they had.
Failure that time would truly be the end, but Ei Sei says he has no anxiety, because despite Tou leaving the field, his army was now led by Roku O Mi, and they had the new and powerful Gaku Ka and Gyoku Hou armies and the Hi Shin Unit, and declares his belief that their current forces are the strongest in history. He tells his generals that this time they would defeat Ri Boku and annihilate Zhao, and the next time they met would be in Zhao's royal palace of Kantan.
Characters[]
Zhao[]
- Zhao Military
- Ri Boku
- Kaine
- Ba Nan Ji
- Shun Sui Ju
- Fu Tei
- Ba Fuu Ji
- Kotsu Min Haku
- Rei Ju Kou (Debut)
- Ki Sui
- Ba Tei
- Chou Kotsu (Debut)
- Gan Shuu (Debut)
- Shi Ba Shou Army
- Shi Ba Shou
- Kan Saro
- Don Sari (Debut)
Qin[]
Characters Introduced[]
Zhao[]
- Rei Ju Kou
- Chou Kotsu (Official Appearance)
- Gan Shuu
- Don Sari
High Points[]
- 229 B.C., The 18th Year of Ei Sei's reign begins. Qin's conquest of Zhao is expected to begin that year, and both Qin and Zhao are aware of it.
- Roku O Mi is revealed to have taken over Tou's role in leading the Tou Army.
- Ki Sui and Ba Tei return to the frontlines after years away.
Trivia[]
- Ki Sui and Ba Tei return after five years since the Battle at Shukai Plains.
- Chou Kotsu makes his first appearance years after being mentioned in passing.
- Ri Haku participates for the first time in a battlefield since Battle of Bayou Arc.