Kyou En's Pov:
It's only been a short while since I started taking them back to my units camp and it seems that they've calmed down a bit as they kept comforting each other... Although they still seem a bit lifeless..
'... This life is really a lot different than my previous one... The things that Ri Ka and Ri Ko experienced aren't uncommon during this turbulent era..' I signed.
I started thinking about how I could help these two children before feeling Ri Ka's hand start shaking even more as she noticed a soldier running to us.
..Oh...
"Don't worry Ri Ka... These people aren't like the one you saw earlier" I said while patting her although I could tell that she didn't believe me.
The soldier then halted as he got near me to greet me.
"You're back Kyou En sama! Are you alright?" One of my soldiers asked worriedly.
"Mhm.. there was no problems.. however there is a favor I have for you Chou" I said to Chou before glancing at Ri Ka and Ri Ko who looked apprehensive.
Chou also directed his gaze at them which made him confused.
"Kids?... Who are they Kyou En sama." Chou asked confusedly.
"... They were civilians of this city... I want to take them back to Sai but it'll have to be after this war so could you take good care of them and also get a tent for them in our camp?" I asked Chou which surprised him a little before he smiled and replied.
"... Your as unpredictable as usual.. My Lord... I shall take good care of them " Chou said while smiling as he tried grabbing both of their hands which they quickly flinched and stepped back.
"Don't worry... You two will be taken to a safe place... Nothing will happen to you two. I reassured them which made them accept Chou's hand.
They probably knew that they had no choice and that it was better than going back.
"Then I'll take them now" Chou said before taking his leave.
"Chou" I said his name which made him turn back and face me again.
"Yes Kyou En sama?" Said Chou
"... Make sure you take care of them properly.... Let the others know that I am personally taking care of these two and that no harm should befall them." I told Chou which shocked him once again though he quickly reverted his expression back to normal.
"Yes Kyou En sama... I'll protect these two with my life."
"Fu.... Sorry to trouble you Chou..." I chuckled before apologizing to Chou who then took them to my camp.
I then go to the main tent which had all of my commanders waiting for me.
"Sorry I took a while " I said while smiling as I saw the others were just doing some random stuff while waiting for me...
Even Shi En who hated Tea seemed to be drinking it because he had nothing to do...
"You really took a while brother.... I was even thinking of heading to Great General Mougou's headquarters" Yi said while sitting down and eating some meat that he cooked for everyone.
"Anyways, what have you all been upto" I said while taking a seat in the middle.
"We were mostly waiting for you but we used a bit of the time we had to fix our formation...It is important that we are prepared to intercept any attacks while we are moving and setting up camp." Shuu Ki said although it didn't sound convincing after I saw him eating while playing a simulation game with Ryuu Yen.
"You're certainly right" I said sarcastically.
"By the way brother, what did General Mou Gou say?" Yi asked curiously.
I then explained what happened which made them sigh in relief as the punishment was only me not taking credit for that city.
A nice punishment considering that I disobeyed the commander in chief... Something that could get me executed.
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.....
It's been quite a bit since the first city was taken down and our progress seems to have gotten faster as we've been conquering cities at a faster pace.
Kinrikan City was conquered today just a few hours ago... However everyone around me had somber expressions due to the grave news that we heard.
"Are you sure?" I asked the messenger once more hoping that he's wrong.
"Y-Yes! Four 1 thousand men commanders have already been slain and we believe that there is an expert assassin hiding in the army!" The messenger confirmed the report which made me and Yi glance at each other for a second.
"Brother.." Yi said
"Mhm... Have our entire unit halt the party and take formations... Triple the security and have our soldiers switch place regularly... make sure to tell them to rest as much as they can until it's their turn to take watch." I told Yi.
"Yes... I'll also see if I can trap him " Yi said which piqued my interest.
"Oh? And how will you do that?" I said.
"I will leave one opening in our formation... However that's not all... If the Assassin is smart then he'll know that it's a bait... So I'll create another small opening in a heavy guarded location which will in fact be a trap with Ga Rin's Elite unit hiding around." Yi mentioned his plan which got Ga Rin's attention and had him nod.
"That's a good plan.. I'll inform my unit right now " Ga Rin said before ordering one of his soldiers that was outside of the tent.
"Heh... You've definitely improved Yi... I'm sure master would be happy.." I said which made Yi smile a bit while remembering Ko Shou.
"Alright everyone... That's the plan... However I also want you all to take this seriously... This Assasin is definitely no weakling.... It's no coincidence that he killed 4 thousand men commanders considering one of them was even Kaku Bi... The fact that he hasn't been caught yet also show's that he's cunning and strong... Beware everyone!" I said in a serious tone which made them all aware of the situation.
.....
1 day later
"To think that... The Assasin killed not only 4 but 8 thousand man commanders...." Yi said with a grave expression while sitting next to me as we continued our discussion from yesterday.
"This is no ordinary Assassin... I hope everyone's learnt how dangerous the situation is and will take precautions.." I said while looking at General Mougou's camp's direction.
"But why would the enemy be Assassinating so many of our commanders? I doubt the Wei has the resources and a General to lead an army that can go against our over 200 thousand...." Yi said.
"... Of course that's if you don't include him..." I said which made Yi sweat a little.
"... ShouHeiKun couldn't even think of a proper countermeasure against him...his fears might be true.." Yi said while trembling.
"Calm down Yi... A strategist shouldn't be panicking in a situation like this." I said to Yi which helped him relax a bit.
'sigh' Yi sighed before opening his mouth once again.
"Sorry brother... However if these assassinations is really his doing then we might be in an even more precariously situation than I thought.. You're definitely a commander that the Wei would want dead before a war... Why don't you have a double take over your place just incase the Assasin really does target you." Yi suggested a plan but I just shook my head.
"No, Yi... You know I don't like using doubles unless the situation forces me to... However.. have you forgotten my strength? Even if an Assassin breaks through our formation... I alone am enough to handle him!" I said while smiling at Yi...
I definitely didn't summon a flag...
.....
2 days later
"How is it Rin Ko sama?" One of my personal soldiers asked wondering if we could infiltrate this camp and kill their commander.
".. Nah not this one." I said before riding away trying to find a different target.
... That formation... It's almost like a stronghold.. yet I see a few openings... But chances are that they're all traps... they're trying to bait me.
So that's Kyou En... Disciple of Qin's 6 Greats.. Ko Shou... And the person said to have the talents rivaling that of Qin's 6 Great Generals...
'How Formidable'
.....
1 Day later
Kyou En's Pov:
"Great General Mougou's really going all out heh" I chuckled a bit as I looked at the current Qin armies formation... Chances are that he has the same thoughts as mine... As expected of him.
"Yeah.. it's good that he's going with a formation like this... No Assassins would be able to do anything with this formation.. Even if Renpa is involved... it won't make a differenc-" Yi said before stopping as he saw me quickly look over a different direction.
Hmm... ?" I heard some shouts and saw some soldiers breaking their formations as they cried...
Yi also started to hear them and looked at the source of the sounds.
"That's... close to where General Mougou should be right now..."
"Uahhhh!!!! General Ra Gen is dead!!" A soldier's cry was heard from afar.
"What?!!" Me and Yi both said in shock
"General Ra Gen has been slain!!!"
"Impossible..." I muttered
"Brother! We should quickly send our units to scout all over the place and find the Assasin!" Yi said while trembling a bit.
"No... Let's do the opposite... If the Assassin was still able to kill General Ra Gen while being surrounded by Qin soldiers all over the place who had a tight defence... Then he may be looking for any openings that he created in this situation to look for his next target.
"... Tighten Our formations and bring our soldiers a bit closer to each other... and don't let any messengers through unless they're directly from General Mougou's army to which you guy's will be surrounding him and be prepared to attack at any moment... For the rest of the messengers that we may get... Make sure they deliver the message outside the formation." I said to one of my men who hurriedly went to relay my orders to all of my commanders.
"Yi." I called out to my brothers name.
"What?" Yi replied wondering what I needed him to do.
".. have a small unit to scout everywhere around our formation... Make sure they don't head too far and are in a place that we can reach in an instant... Let them know that they aren't trying to find enemies to kill them but are just making sure that no enemy is close to us." I ordered Yi.
"Ok.. I'll have 300 of our Mounted Archer unit do that as scouting is their specialty." Yi said before riding away.
'To think an Assassin can be this much of a threat to an army... I have to be prepared incase he targets us' I thought to myself.
....
However, that Assasin didn't make any appearance that day or the week after that...
It wasn't long until it was Announced that Renpa Would be participating in this war and soon enough... We reached the fated location... Rui plains which was ahead of Qin's target... Sanyou City.
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Authors Note: .... No comment.... 😅 .. been reading to much of Advent of 3 calamities so uh.... Enjoy the chapter? 😉