11 Kankoku Pass Attacked

Rinko and Ouki marched towards Kankoku Pass for days since hearing of Qin being attacked by a coalition force! Rinko now regretted training the troops in the Mountain tribe area in secret, they were late in hearing about the invasion, and now as they marched back into Qin Rinko could see a small thin line of smoke rising from the horizon! Kankoku pass was likely being attacked! Unknown to Rinko and Ouki, Qin General Tou (Ouki General) had slain Chu 1st army General RunBuKun, and Hans SeiKai had died. These fierce fighters had been defeated by Qin's fierce Generals! it was a great start but Qin was still outnumbered by thousands and thousands of soldiers!

(A few days later)

Rinko was rushing the marching army along as fast as he could! marching out of the mountains had taken a bit of time and the tired troops then had to march for days to finally near Kankoku Pass Region! Rinko knew he was pushing the 80,000 troops too hard but they had to help Kankoku Pass! he was once again about to urge the troops forward when suddenly a rider rode up to them!

Ouki and Rinko having listened to the Qin messenger now had a decision to make, Kankoku Pass had managed to hold the Gate and the mountain passes on its left and right but was still heavily outnumbered on every front! to make matters worse! a force of 40,000 troops had entered the southern pass bypassing Kankoku Pass by taking the long way around the mountains in secret! these 40,000 troops were now marching upon the unprotected capital!

Rinko after discussing with Ouki, Rinko agreed that he would lead a force of 20,000 troops to Sai! one city away from Qins Capital City Kanyou! Ouki would lead 60,000 troops to Kankoku Pass which desperately needed the soldiers! even with the 60,000 troops, Qin forces would still be outnumbered.

(Next Day) Shin POV

Shin was exhausted and at his limit! he had followed Duke Hyou and attempted to stall the enemy from marching on Kanyou! but sadly the Duke was killed in battle and his army was routed! Shin and his soldiers had then suffered defeat after defeat fleeing towards Kanyou barely surviving, finally, Shin found himself at Sai, their troops would gather the defenders here and then head to Kanyou to have their last stand! Perhaps if they held Kanyou long enough perhaps the troops at Kankoku Pass would defeat the coalition and send them reinforcements...

Shin and the troops marching into Sai had lost hope! with their heads hanging low they marched into the city. Shin alongside Ten marched into the city with the battered troops slowly following behind them! suddenly Shin and the troops came to a sudden halt! they couldn't believe what they saw in front of them! The young king had led a small force to defend Sai!

Shin seeing Sei couldn't help seeing a ray of hope and couldn't help a few tears from falling. As Shin and Sei talked they suddenly felt the ground shaking!

Rinko POV

Leading 20,000 troops Rinko marched into the city of Sai, there he ran into a startled Shin and Sei!

Rinko upon arriving in front of the young king quickly got down from his horse and knelt down in front of Sei, he then updated Sei on the situation, and how Ouki was marching 60,000 troops to Kankoku Pass.

Soon Rinko was standing atop the walls and watched as Sei alongside 4,000 troops and 30,000 citizens composed of elderly, women, and children march towards the capital. Rinko had convinced Sei that he was too important to risk himself at Sai city, it was better if he led the citizens here along with a few troops and prepare Kanyou's defenses, Sai with a large river behind it needed to be conquered before Kanyou, but the enemy still might sneak a few troops past it and attack Kanyou.

Rinko next met with Shin and Ten and noticed they now only had 1,000 troops left, he refilled their ranks with 4,000 fresh troops, Shin now had 5,000 troops under his command and Rinko was left with 16,000.

Rinko assigned 3,000 troops for each of Sai's four walls with another 1,000 in reserve at each resting, these 1,000 troops would rest and take overnight defense. Shin's troops would be held in reserve to protect the gates if they get breached, and to reinforce the walls if needed.

With troops assigned Rinko had the men prepare for Riboku's army, he had the troops prepare boiling water and sand, they reinforced the gates and blocked them the best they could, they demolished buildings and used the materials to block streets and alleyways, if the city was breached the enemy would be forced to march down predetermined paths.

Thanks to the efforts of Ouki, Rinko's 20,000 troops had well-trained commanders from the very bottom of a 100-Man commander to 1,000-Man Commanders! the army had been transformed from a rabble of peasants to an army of well-trained men, they were far from elites but they were trained.

From a high building in the center of the city, Rinko watched as the Riboku army surrounded Sai with 40,000 troops! Rinko was sure that the enemy thought the city only had a few thousand defenders and they would expect the city to quickly fall. Rinko had managed to talk the young king into leaving behind his troop's flags, he hoped the enemy upon seeing them would expect the King of Qin to be inside and make them determined to take the city if they managed to capture Sei and capital then Qin would fall.

Rinko watched as the enemy troops after having prepared enough charged Sai! the Qin troops atop the walls now readied their spears! once the enemy entered their range they launched two volleys into the attacking troops! the poor troops unfortunate to be hit had spears pierce their bodies and pinned them to the ground! it was a brutal scene for the attacking troops.

It wasn't long before ladders could be seen set up all over the city's walls! Qin now started pouring down boiling water and red hot sand down upon the climbing troops! the smell of burnt flesh soon filled the air.

Despite the Qin troop's efforts, the enemy had too many troops and soon a few soldiers reached the top of the walls! these poor troops were then met by a wall of shields and short swords! the first few enemy troops to reach the top were outnumbered and soon they had multiple swords being plunged into their bodies!

As the dead bodies of the attacking troops piled up, Rinko ordered for their bodies to be cut up and hurled over the walls! the attacking troops down on the ground below were soon being showered in an unknown material taking many troops by surprise, it didn't take long for a soldier to realize what had just hit him in the head, as he picked up a severed head! the face showing an expression of pain and fear!

The battle lasted only a few hours before the Riboku army stopped their attacks and pulled back, they now realized they were attacking a well-defended city and were now discussing if they should keep attacking or not.

Rinko seeing the troops retreat started reading battle reports, his troops had lost a few hundred but for every soldier, they lost they had killed three enemy troops in return. At this rate Sai city would be able to hold and if Riboku kept attacking he would lose his army here. Eventually, the day came to an end without the enemy attacking again.

That night the enemy troops probed the city walls but seeing they were defended they retreated, their goal was not to take the city but force the defenders from getting any sleep, thankfully Rinko had troops in reserve resting all day, with none of the walls requesting reinforcements the troops who fought during the day were disturbed and allowed to rest.

The next morning the Riboku launched a fierce assault! this time they clearly knew the city was well-defended and had decided to send in their elite soldiers! unlike the previous day, it took less than an hour for pockets of enemy troops to start being seen upon the wall! it was a bloody fight but still, the Qin troops were holding on.

Rinko watched the battle rage on for hours! it was now around noon and the battle was going well so far! he thought but soon a messenger came running up to him and announced that they had lost a 1,000-man commander on the east wall! soon after another messenger arrived and announced that a 1,000 Man commander on the west wall had been killed!

Rinko was just about to send word to Shin when another messenger arrived, this one was from Ten informing him that they were heading to the East and West walls. Rinko observing these two walls could see that quickly the clumps of enemy troops were starting to be picked off one after another.

Shin's reserve troops were quickly stabilizing the east and west walls, Rinko thought the battle was going well when once again another messenger from the night troops at the south gate! the enemy troops had managed to launch a sneak attack upon them! if reinforcements didn't arrive soon they would lose the gate!

Rinko quickly sent a messenger to Ten and then sent messengers to the other three gates! he ordered that 300 troops from each night group would meet him in the center of the city, and the rest would hold their positions and keep the other three gates secure!

Soon Rinko was in the center of the city and it wasn't long before 900 winded troops arrived, he quickly marched to the south gate! he had just arrived and was horrified to see the gate had been opened and troops were pouring in!

He ordered his troops to charge! soon his spear was striking down one enemy soldier after another! his 900 troops did their best but too many troops were pouring in that he couldn't kill the enemy fast enough as they kept funneling troops toward him to stop him from nearing the gate!

Rinko was outnumbered and eventually, his troops were beaten back! thankfully the city had been prepared well and the enemy troops were struggling to find paths to flank them! Rinko sweating knew they still had one chance yet thanks to the many barricades set up around the city. The city had many dead ends set up and thankfully four of these dead-end paths could only be reached by first securing the center of the city first as all other paths had been blocked off!

Rinko having been beaten back to the center of the city was able to see a few Qin troops under the leadership of Ten head down one of these paths that ended near the South gate! the center of the city was an important position from here it was easy for enemy troops to march on the other gates!

Rinko rallied the troops and stubbornly held his position! his spear was a blur of quick thrust cutting down many troops! thankfully soon around 300 calvaries led by Shin arrived at the center of the city and together they started pushing back the enemy troops and made their way back toward the south gate!

Ten POV (Mountain tribe girl)

Leading two hundred troops she finally arrived at the end of the dead end! this barricade was near the south gate area and was built in such a way that the support beams holding this together could only be accessed from this side easily, she quickly had the troops destroy these important pieces and soon the barricade started to lean forward, and came crashing down!

The troops quickly rushed out and charged into the enemy troops at the south gate! under her surprise attack they managed to pierce deep into the enemy ranks and reach the gate! she ordered 30 men to rush outside and stop enemy troops from entering! without hesitation, these troops rushed out as the city gates slowly closed behind them!

The 30 troops bravely fought but soon their number was cut down to 20! then 10! finally, the gate closed as the last few soldiers died, their faces showed grins seeing the closed gate behind them!

Ten was in trouble, the troops had closed the gate but they were outnumbered here! the men bravely fought but soon there were few left, they were about to lose the south gate once again when suddenly Shin and Rinko troops arrived! together with their three forces, they secured the gate and then rushed to help the struggling troops on the south wall.

Rinko POV

Seeing that Shin and Ten had the south wall under control he rushed back to the headquarters, there he started sending out orders to shift troops around, he had troops from the north wall head over to reinforce the south wall.

For the next few hours, it was a bloody battle for the attacking troops and the defenders in Sai! Rinko observing the battle from the east wall watched as the Riboku troops withdrew! he had rushed here after the wall started to struggle under a fierce assault, and he was forced to fight and defeat three 1,000 Man commanders at once before he was finally able to secure the area and rally the troops.

Rinko looking at the troops still left to defend Sai figured he had about 6,000 defenders left with the Riboku having around 16,000 troops left. If Riboku attacked the city once again he would abandon it, they would abandon the wall and break out of the city, and head to Kanyou. With the troops stationed there, they would be able to hold off Riboku troops.

Thankfully the night came and then morning. Rinko after discussing the situation with others was all prepared to abandon Sai when they noticed the enemy troops start marching back down the southern pass! Soon a cloud of dust could be seen heading toward Sai! it wasn't long before Rinko noticed Qin flags with Ouki flags! soon Ouki and his 10,000 troops had marched into the city!

Ouki having arrived only spent a few moments here before he soon chased after the Riboku army! Ouki troops didn't return until late that night, Ouki had almost cut off Riboku's head when he was interrupted by Hoken! Ouki not fully recovered was able to fight Hoken off to a draw but eventually, he was forced to retreat and return to Sai with 4,000 troops.

Rinko quickly went to greet Ouki and was shocked to see a large scar on the old man's armor! it ran from his belly and across his chest! despite his wound Ouki was in a good mood, he had managed to leave a new scar on Houken's face and even cut off a couple of Houkens fingers during their dual.

Rinko then learned from Ouki that upon arriving at Konkoku pass he had charged out of the gates and taken the enemy troops by surprise, routing the enemy troops outside they quickly rushed to interfere in the other battlefields before the coalition forces could realize what had happened, one by one the coalition forces were defeated and forced to flee! Ouki despite engaging in multiple duals and battles quickly rushed 10,000 troops to Sai.

Qin had survived and beaten back the coalition armies! that night the army of mountain tribespeople led by their queen, marched to Kankoku pass, and together the Qin forces chased after the fleeing coalition armies, over the next few days the mountain tribe army would ambush the fleeing troops killing thousands of fleeing troops.

(A few days later at the capital)

At the Reward Ceremony

Sei started the ceremony by mentioning the brave efforts of Qin Generals Ouki, Moubou, MouGou, ChouTou, Kanki, Ousen, Tou, and Duke Hyou! without the brave efforts of these General Qin would have been destroyed. Choutou and Duke had died in battle but their efforts were not forgotten, their families were rewarded with a higher nobility rank and lands to farm.

Next Sei awarded Ouki and Moubou who both contributed the most in the battle of Kankoku Pass, both were rewarded with three increases in Rank, lands, and a small fortune. Next, the other Generals were given rewards. Then the mountain tribes were rewarded and their Queen was rewarded with a nobility Rank!

Shin was rewarded next, having fought battle after battle, fought at Kankoku pass, and fought at Sai. His nobility rank was increased and rewarded with lands and a small fortune. He was also promoted directly to a 5,000 Man Commander!

Eventually, Rinko's turn arrived and he was promoted to General! a few thought he didn't deserve it but Sai made sure he was promoted, he had his nobility rank increased and was rewarded lands and a small fortune.

(A couple of weeks later)

Rinko now a General suddenly found himself standing in front of a large group of 50,000 militia peasants, Ouki and he was once again assigned to train a large number of troops to help replace the soldiers lost.

Thankfully this time he was training the troops near the capital and was able to visit his family every so often, he also got to enjoy being beaten up by becoming Ouki's sparing partner once again.