Kingdom (キングダム)

Ohhh, come on!

We've been walking for three days already.

When the hell are we gonna get back home?

Don't waste your breath, Xin.

You'll just tire yourself out.

But Piao...

Three more days' walk and we'll get to the village.

Just think of it as good conditioning.

Usually for this distance and this load,

you'd use a horse-cart.

What, do servants rate lower than horses?

Yeah, and that's why we're doing

all this conditioning... to break free of being servants.

Yeah, I know.

I mean, I get it, but still...

Huh?

What the heck is that sound?

Is it an earthquake?

No, wait... it's coming from over there!

It is!

Battle.

The scene unfolding before the two boys' eyes

was the first glimpse they had ever had of real warfare.

In truth, it was nothing more

than a mere border skirmish,

a small, unremarkable fight with a neighboring country.

But in it, the two men could see their own futures

clear as day, and together, they had the same thought...

"This is the world where we will live out our lives!"

Piao! This is a real battle!

Yes!

And one day, you and I will be the heroes of a fight like this!

Ancient China...

The time of the sages was over, swept away by base human greed.

Over five long and harrowing centuries,

an endless storm of war, hatred, and strife raged

across the land, consuming everything in its wake.

Desire. Pleasure. Suffering. Terror.

All without end.

In a time filled with so much cruelty and destruction,

small wonder that this era was known as...

"the dragon."

As though scorched by the flames of the dragon,

over a hundred nations fell, one after another,

winnowed away until only seven remained.

Yan, Qi, Zhao, Wei, Han, Chu...

...and lastly, Qin.

Like lions trying to devour their rivals,

these seven kingdoms lunged at each other's throats

again and again, their swords stained

with ambition and blood.

This was the era of the Spring and Autumn Warring States.

Now, from Qin, the westernmost kingdom,

a great wind of history is about to blow.

This is the tale of a nameless boy and a King

who ran the gauntlet in this age of strife.

Yah!

Take that!

It's not over yet!

You missed again!

You and your brute strength... huh?

Over here!

Hey.

Hooray!

That makes 333 wins, 332 losses, and 587 draws!

That means I'm up by one!

Damn it! One more match! Just one more!

Huh?

Gotcha!

No, wait! Someone's coming.

-

-- Huh? --

Oh, that actually hit you?

What are you lookin' at, old man?

Yeah, that's right!

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

You idiot!

Look at his clothes, and that carriage!

He's got to be a warrior of high stature!

That doesn't mean anything to me!

It means he could have you killed!

What's with you boys?

Weren't you just squabbling a minute ago?

It wasn't a squabble, it was a match!

And thanks to you, old man, I lost!

Old man?

Out of 1,253 matches, I've won 332, lost 334, and tied 587!

Now, thanks to you, for the first time this year,

I'm two behind!

1,253 matches?

So now the truth comes out.

You're a little boy who likes to tell some tall tales

and make yourself look good.

You... you mean to tell me...

...that the two of you have fought

over a thousand bouts of that intensity?

That's not the sort of thing normal people do...

I'm not surprised you're shocked, sir.

A distinguished person like yourself might not understand.

The two of us are orphans.

Yeah, that's right.

We lost our families in the war and were sold as slaves.

Now, we only rank as servants.

As you can imagine,

we haven't inherited anything from our parents...

...unless you count the strength in our bodies.

But that's all the inheritance we need!

Right. So long as these bodies

can still swing our swords, Xin and I have enough!

Warfare took everything from us,

so we'll use warfare to take just as much back!

That's right!

We're gonna go into battle and achieve greatness!

With the strength and technique

we've built up together, we'll win fortune and fame!

We'll rise up from the very bottom

and build our own houses!

Yeah, magnificent mansions

with huge gardens and giant gates!

I'm gonna get a pretty bride from a good family,

and make lots of babies,

and employ more household servants than you can count!

And most importantly...

...we will make our names echo across all of China.

And together, we'll become

the most powerful generals in all the world!

Ugh! He's laughing at us again!

I'll kill him!

This encounter...

could be the one that finally sweeps away

the dark clouds surrounding Qin.

Xianyang, the capital of the Kingdom of Qin.

At that time, the royal court was divided,

consumed by the swirling flames of ambition.

On the one side, there was Lü Buwei, aide to the King

and Minister of the Right, the highest Court post.

On the other side, Jie Shi held the second-highest post,

Minister of the Left.

With these men as the hubs of their factions,

the Court had split in two.

The rivalry escalated quickly.

Soon, blood washed away blood,

and the conflict continued day and night.

And then...

The King's younger half-brother, Cheng Jiao,

joined together with Jie Shi to claim the throne as his own,

and tensions in the Royal Court seemed poised to bubble over.

Water! Water!

What in the world is this?

You call this food? It's not even edible!

It's so nasty!

Which of you made this?

Xin. I knew it.

I thought it was you!

You're not good for anything, not like Piao.

You can't cook, can't clean...

We got a word for stupid servants like you...

..."useless!"

Ah, he glared at me!

Father, Xin's being mean and glaring at me!

He what?!

Why you ungrateful brat!

What are you glaring at?

Are you saying you've got some cause for complaint?

We don't need the likes of him!

He's not like Piao. He can't do anything!

Have you forgotten who to thank for being alive?

You're war orphans! You only survived

because as this village's chief, I provided for the two of you!

And this is what I get for it!

Dammit!

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

They'll hear you, stupid! Your voice is going to carry.

Dammit! Dammit!

I don't care! I've reached the end of my rope!

I'm gonna thrash 'em all and leave this house for good!

It's too soon.

Do you really think we have what it takes

to put food on the table for two of us?

We'd just end up starving.

Then we'll become bandits!

And this house can be the first place we strike!

Xin!

Huh? What is it?

We haven't been training this long

in order to become something like that.

Are you that foolish?

I know that. It was a joke, okay? That's all.

What's your problem? What, you still want something?

Piao, come right away!

Quickly! Hurry! This is really big!

Huh?

Huh?

Hey, that's...

...from earlier.

Piao, my lad! Where are you?

"My lad?"

Ah, Piao, my boy! Come along now, hurry up!

Hey, what about me?

What about you? Go do your chores in the barn!