Kingdom (キングダム)

FEI

We finally made it...

Huh?

QIN

The ones who got here first-- they're not setting up camp.

Although the allied Qin army had arrived at Jin'an,

where they were to change their route...

WANG

The last one has arrived: Xin, of the Fei Xin Force!

You're late, boy!

Sorry. Got turned around lookin' for you guys.

Ow!

That hurt, General Tu Men!

For a straggler, you've got a real attitude!

Our generals are all here.

We're moving out soon, so I'll keep this brief:

The entire army is changing course out of Jin'an, heading instead for Yè.

ZHAO'S NATIONAL GATE

"Moving out soon"? What?

We're changing course?!

Yè?

Here we go.

A-A moment, sir! Aren't we heading for Heiyong?

And by "Yè," do you mean Zhao's second-largest city Yè?

That's right.

Preparations have been made.

No need to worry.

B-But...

Each general is to act on his or her own authority.

If a single unit falters,

its captain will be summarily beheaded.

Understood?

Ooh, scary.

Of course.

Dismissed.

Sir!

Damn. My troops are totally gonna grumble and drag their feet when they hear.

Still, I guess this is it, huh?

Yeah.

Li Mu's bound to notice our change of direction.

There's no going back now.

As if we ever had that option!

Don't get carried away. We haven't broken into the capital region yet.

Well, yeah, Wang Ben. It's why we're spending all night getting ready.

Dammit--I wanted to see the look on Li Mu's flabbergasted face!

WUBAI, ZHAO'S WESTERN FRONT

Urgent report!

Ganwei has fallen!

What?!

Lingxuan has fallen as well!

Damn that Yan army. Lingxuan was a strategic base!

YAN

Wu Lu Duo...

Li Mu, sir, General Hu Zhe has left Handan.

I suggest we send him east.

If we don't put a stop to Yan's invasion, our eastern defenses may be destroyed.

Sending Hu Zhe east would mean big changes to our western strategy.

But I suppose I have no choice.

Kaine, send urgent word to General Hu Zhe.

Y-Yes, sir.

What about Yan's route?

Sir! It appears they're going after the central city of Qingge!

Qingge?!

Li Mu, sir...?

Qingge...

But that's where...

SIMA

Sima Shang is!

Sima Shang?

Who's that?

I've heard the name.

Qingge's lord--bedridden for many years.

But not ill. He hates the central government, so he ignores all their orders

under the pretense of being ill.

He used that same excuse to refuse to join the Three Greats.

Th-The Three Greats?!

He refused?

Insane... There was a candidate worthy of being the third Great?

I can't believe it... I just can't believe it... It's unbelievable...

And he's out on the frontier?

You utter fools. The frontier is exactly where mad geniuses live.

Mǎ Cheng...

I'm the one who nominated him for the Three Greats.

As long as Qingge remains uninvaded, Sima Shang won't act on his own.

My nomination was in part an attempt to light a fire under the man,

but his capability is without a doubt--

Urgent report!

Movement at Qingge, to the east!

Five thousand Qingge troops are on the move, led by Sima Shang himself!

Sima Shang has entered the fray!

All right!

Now that's what I call treading on the tiger's tail.

Your intel-gathering in the east is lacking, Wu Lu Duo!

Kaine, cancel that urgent message to General Hu Zhe.

Huh?

Let's all take a moment to collect ourselves.

Our eastern defensive line is still in place and strong.

Sir!

Incidentally, why hasn't Shun Shuishu returned from the front lines?

My apologies, sir. The urgent message from the east took priority,

and relaying his message was postponed.

Shun Shuishu has detected some suspicious activity among the Qin army

and is remaining in Shenhua.

"Suspicious activity"?

According to his messenger... they may be deceiving us.

It's possible the Qin army is changing its route after Jin'an, he says.

Changing its route? Starting at Jin'an?

Bring me the western map again.

Sir!

Do we have enough pieces?

Plenty. Now be quiet!

Am I being deceived?

JIN'AN

Jin'an... the provisions depot...

a supply line stretching to Heiyong...

Is it all a sham? Absurd.

Think of the preparation required to fake a supply line.

But let's suppose for a moment that most of their provisions are still in Jin'an...

JIN'AN

That would mean the Qin army will collect the provisions and then change routes.

But where would an allied army of 200 thousand strong be going?

The Yellow River blocks their path south.

Heading east from there brings them to the impenetrable...

HANDAN

YÈ

...capital region.

HANDAN

YÈ

Yè?!

YÈ

Qin army!

Are you out of your minds?!

Messenger birds. That's unusual.

TAIHANG MOUNTAINS

Flying over the mountains to Handan?

Wh-What the--

Wh-What on earth is going on?

HANDAN, ROYAL CAPITAL OF ZHAO

KING DAOXIANG OF ZHAO

Qin, attacking?

Yes, Your Highness. Li Mu has been sending bird after bird

over the Taihang Mountains, with mounting urgency!

After my bath, are they? Well, they won't have it.

Time to fight, everyone.

Even if the rest of the world burns, we must defend this paradise to the death.

Y-Your Highness! This is no time to be joking around!

Hu Zhou.

His Highness is recovering from the day's exhaustion.

Besides, the Qin army is beyond the mountains.

They won't even have engaged the Zhao army yet.

By what means would they arrive in Handan?

They're not crossing the mountains.

They made it look like they were attacking the west, then circled around south,

following the Yellow River here to invade the royal capital region.

There are some 200 thousand of them!

What?!

Go on.

Sire! Li Mu proposes mobilizing Handan's army at once

HANDAN

YÈ

LIEWEI

and sending it to Liewei to stop Qin from invading.

That won't do.

Handan's mighty army is for safeguarding its king.

The army will never leave the capital as long as the king is here.

Wha--

Y-Your Highness!

You mustn't be unreasonable. We don't have a moment to--

Li Mu's the one being unreasonable.

Turning a blind eye to his own failings

and ordering His Highness around from afar, of all things.

O-Ordering? Perish the thought!

Do stop, Guo Kai. Old-man spittle and sweat will dirty the waters.

Sire.

He doesn't need a single Handan soldier.

We can call up a large enough army from Yè and its environs.

Would that be sufficient?

Yes, ah... if Handan were not to mobilize... Li Mu said to do just that.

Tch.

If you have another plan, then say so, you damn geezer!

R-Royal orders received...

I'll ask General Gongsun Long to take command.

Just a moment.

Sire?

Li Mu should have been beheaded for his error.

Where is he now, and what is he doing?

Worry not, Your Highness.

Li Mu is currently riding with the army through the passage between mountains,

on his way to the royal capital region!

Are we sure about this? No one's managing to keep up with us in the slightest.

It's fine.

Right now, it's all about Li Mu returning to the capital region as soon as possible.