15 The War of supremacy part 1 (First time ever)

The Zhao army of 120,000 arrived at Bayou right at the same time Ouki and Kyou's 110,000 army arrived in front of Bayou. As the castles of Anding were under construction, Qin had to face Zhao in a field battle. Unknown to most, Zhao and Qin both had a separate army eyeing the battlefield, waiting for a chance to strike. The 80,000 army led by Riboku of Zhao and the 90,000 army led by KouRyu of Qin. Both were planning for something but very few knew about their movements. But there was one thing they both knew, Whoever moves first has the most chance to lose the battle.

Lu Bu PoV

This was boring. I have fought ever since I was a little boy. I have looked for an worthy opponent all across China to unleash my full strength, but so far. I have been disappointed. That Zhang Fei of Yan put up a good fight, but he too was weak in the end. There was also this fool Oukotsu of Qin. After getting beaten in Chu, he thought he would redeem himself by taking a piece of Zhao.

Well, I sent his body to those Qin savages, but his head is still decorating the palace at Kantan. I have never lost once ever since I took up my halberd. I have fought against men and beasts alike, but very few managed to shake my soul. This time, I will face both Ouki and Kyou. Riboku told me there's a possibility that KouRyu of Qin would pop up too.

I have heard that he was a genius at warfare, and a pretty decent warrior too. There are rumours that he took on both Sun Ce and Han Ming of Chu but there are few credible sources as Chu has become solitary after that. Regardless, I shall crush him too of he comes. That is my duty as the strongest warrior of China and the guardian of Zhao. With how the new king is and RenPa refusing to follow him, It is up to me to show the world that Zhao is the strongest in regards to military might. My father could play all his political games, I have only one goal, to go beyond my current strength and reach beyond the human limits. I only wish to fight strong opponents and win. This battle will be no exception.

The battle of Bayou, 252

Qin and Zhao armies clashed fiercely at the first day of the battle. Both armies displayed ferocity in their first clash but among the main generals, Only Kyou joined the fray. Lu Bu and Ouki, both remained at their Hq. It was specifically odd for Lu Bu as he prefers to lead from the front. The strategist of Lu Bu army, Li Ru also didn't make any moves for some reason.

OuKi realized that his suspicions were true and Zhao is indeed planning something. Thus he decided to preserve his forces. The first day saw about 10,000 Qin casualties and 15,000 Zhao casualties which left their numbers at 100,000 and 105,000 respectively. OuKi and Kyou both decided to go on the defense after that day and save their numbers. Not to mention the fact they had a reserve army waiting for a chance to join the fray.

After the fierce clash on the first day, the next 4 days were quite calm. There was only a few skirmishes without much losses. Zhao had lost about 30,000 in these 4 days while Qin lost around 25,000 soldiers. This left them with 90,000 and 85,000 troops respectively.

This Since their numbers were quite close, it was hard to tell which way the battle was going. But that would change in the 5th day, when Ouki finally decided to move along with Kyou. Ouki hit the Zhao right flank under Hou Cheng and Kyou went for the Left wing commanded by Li Ru. OuKi was successful in his attack and managed to take down Hou Cheng and most of the troops retreated.

Li Ru, seeing this decided to even the odds and managed to trap Kyou. As Kyou had rushed in deep into the formation , she was surrounded by Zhao troops with only a few troops with her . Li Ru deployed the Ryudou flow formation which proved to be quite tricky. OuKi, seeing this decided to take some troops to break out Kyou from the trap but the formation made him go around and breach through the weakest point.

This was what Lu Bu was waiting for as He immediately rushed at the troops left by Ouki to defend and massacred them. OuKi Could only choose to rescue General Kyou who finally managed to join up with Ouki army and escape by punching a hole through the Ryudou flow. They could only run towards their HQ to save them. They finally managed to reach where Lu Bu was rampaging and decided to put an end to him.

Ou Ki PoV

This is quite a predicament that Lu Bu put me in. I thought he would challenge me head on, not strike when nobody's home. I rushed out of the trap that Li Ru set up with Kyou following behind. We started on the offence but Zhao has set us back on the defense. The only way to get back into this battle is to stop Lu Bu before he destroys the main army. I left Teng in charge but he won't be able to beat him alone. I hope he is still alive and well. I hurried my horse to reach there as the setting sun indicated the day was almost over.

I managed to reach there finally and what greeted me was the fallen bodies of my sodiers. They were still putting up a good fight but Lu Bu was someone beyond their strength. I saw Teng, Ganyou and Rokuomi trying to hold back Lu Bu. Their bodies were covered in blood compared to Lu Bu who had only a single shallow scratch. I joined them without any words and directly charged at Lu Bu with Kyou trailing behind me.

He met my Glaive with a grin and exerted some force which managed to knock me back a few paces. He looked at me intently and spoke," You must be Ouki of the 6 greats. I believe it should be now 2 greats considering you two are the only ones left. Since General Kyou is also here, Li Ru decided to let you go I presume?"

I smirked and covered my face with my hand as I spoke," Nfufu, well well, Lu Bu of the three great Heavens, you have made quite a mess of my army. Aren't you a fierce one! It seems what people say about you is indeed true."

Lu Bu shrugged while swinging his halberd to throw off the blood and replied," I don't fight so people may sing songs and write poems of bravery. I fight to seek worthy foes to hone my skills against and show them their place, which is at my feet."

I also threw off the blood from my Glaive as I replied back with a laugh," well, you have the right to be arrogant Lu Bu, with that monstrous strength and skill, but you lack the weight of a general who fights for his country. That may prove to be fatal."

Teng also added," And his hair looks like a women's with that top bun and red lace. " To which I couldn't help but smile.

Lu Bu charged at me without any further words and I responded in kind. With every blow, we pushed each other to go further. The soldiers stopped fighting to see the clash between us. I swung each time with all my strength and Lu Bu was unfazed, not showing any signs of faltering. He just deflected each blow and countered a few which left me with a few cuts.

We ignored everything around us and all the noises vanished as we fully focused on the fight. For the first time, I acknowledged that I could not beat him in a duel. He was too strong. But I could hold him back for long enough to end this day. I looked at the setting sun and nodded, Lu Bu seems to think the same thing as he spoke," looks like we are out of time Ouki. Let's see if you can survive this blow, if you do, you live to see another day."

I replied with a small laugh," So it seems Lu Bu. Bring it on."

I put my guard up as Lu Bu swung his halberd with pyre raw strength and I could see his silhouette becoming like demon. So that is the strongest man in China. I can't match him in his strength, so all I can do is to parry the blow to the side. I held my Glaive tightly as The halberd came close to it in the blink of eye and then, I could feel myself flying upside down. For the first time in my life, my back crushed into the ground and my Glaive was bent in the middle .

I splurted out some blood as the Qin soldiers were in shock seeing me fall down. Teng and Kyou rushed at my side while trying to see if I was alright. I laughed helplessly as I tried to stand up on my own and failed. Kyou was in tears as she helped me stand up and asked if I was hurt too badly. Amidst all this, Lu Bu just nodded at me with a smile and turned back to return to his HQ. I gathered all the remaining strength and asked him," So that is your true strength Lu Bu? It was quite heavy. KoKo Ko"

He replied without looking back," It was merely about two thirds of my strength."

I just let my Glaive fall from my hand with that statement as I let myself pass out in Kyou's arm while muttering only one thing to her," Call him to you." The last thing I heard was the frantic commands to retreat to the camp as darkness swallowed my sight.