Eikyuu Right Wing – Day 8, Late Afternoon
The Zhao soldiers warned him, but General Ryuu Haku Kou did not listen.
"My lord! It's a trap!""Please, wait for reinforcements—!"
But he was already galloping into the trees alone, flanked by only his most loyal guards. His eyes burned—not with rage, but with dread.
His youngest son, Sou Kan, had been taken.
And he had seen enough war to know what bandits did to captives.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Ryuu Haku Kou dismounted slowly, the weight of his silver-plated armor dragging at his shoulders. His men formed a perimeter, blades drawn. He stepped ahead alone.
Then he saw it.
His son.
Sou Kan's lifeless body, tied to a crooked tree.
Blood had dried across his face, mouth gagged, armor shattered. His head lolled to the side, chin resting against his chest as if asleep.
"...No…"
Ryuu Haku Kou stumbled forward, knees giving out. He fell before his son's corpse, trembling fingers reaching out but never quite touching.
"I promised your mother… I'd keep you safe…"
Tears streamed down the cheeks of the hardened general. He bowed his head beneath the tree, hands clenched in the dirt.
That was when the Rai Do Clan struck.
Arrows whistled. Spears stabbed through the trees. Dozens of Rai Do's bandits rushed from the undergrowth, howling with bloodlust.
"Kill the bastard before he snaps!" Rai Do shouted. "He's just a grieving old man now!"
But Ryuu Haku Kou rose slowly… silently.
Then he snapped.
He didn't roar. He didn't scream. He simply moved — like a beast uncaged. The first Rai Do soldier that got close was crushed by a downward swing of his glaive, the second disemboweled, the third impaled mid-air.
"He's gone berserk!!" one bandit yelled, staggering back.
"Keep pushing! Rai Do-sama, now!"
Rai Do grinned, hefting his heavy podao and charging forward.
"Die with your regrets, old man!"
The two clashed — steel meeting steel in bursts of sparks and fury. Ryuu Haku Kou parried, swung wide, almost severing Rai Do's leg. But he was bleeding heavily, slowing.
With a sudden twist, Rai Do forced his podao up and slammed it down through the Zhao general's shoulder, pushing deeper—
"HRRRGHH—!"
—and deeper, until it bit into the man's neck.
Ryuu Haku Kou coughed blood. His knees buckled. But even as he fell, he held on — one hand gripping the weapon embedded in him.
"Dammit," Rai Do hissed. "Let go, you stubborn fossil."
He turned to his men. "Cut his damn arm off and let's go!"
But before the axe could swing—
"RYUU HAKU KOU-SAMAAA!!"
The trees thundered as Ryuu Fu, the general's eldest son, charged in with his personal troops. His men crashed into the bandits like a hammer, killing half a dozen instantly.
"Protect Father!"
Rai Do stepped back, just in time to avoid a fatal spear thrust. Ryuu Fu was on him in seconds, his blade carving deep into Rai Do's side.
"GHHHAAAHH—!!"
Rai Do tumbled backward, blood pouring from his hip. His hand reached for his weapon—only to be kicked away.
"You'll pay for this!" Ryuu Fu shouted, eyes burning. "I'll take you to Lord Ko Chou—and flay you inch by inch!!"
Just as Ryuu Fu raised his blade—
"Arrows! NOW!!"
A flurry of arrows rained down from the tree line. Ryuu Fu's soldiers staggered, some falling to the ground screaming.
Out of the shadows emerged a unit of black and green banners—
The Gu Ren Tai.
Ren rode at the front, glaive already unsheathed.
Kai flanked him, followed by a squad of fifty elite cavalry. They surged forward like a wave, slamming into Ryuu Fu's troops from the side.
"RENNNN!!!" Rai Do shouted, laughing even as he bled. "Took you long enough!"
"Shut up and stay alive!" Ren growled, sweeping down to cut two soldiers away from Rai Do.
"Get him out of here!" Kai barked. "I'll hold the flank!"
Ren leapt off his horse and engaged Ryuu Fu directly, the two clashing swords in a clash of fury and precision. The Zhao heir was strong—but not calm. His grief made him wild. Ren disarmed him with a brutal upward strike, then kicked him back.
Ryuu Fu's guards pulled him away.
"Fall back!" one shouted. "Reinforcements are coming from the center!"
Ren didn't chase. He returned to Kai, who was already hoisting Rai Do onto a stretcher.
"You're lucky we noticed your absence" Ren muttered.
Rai Do groaned. "I was buying time. That's all…"
Ren eyed the battlefield. "We can't stay here. This place is about to turn into a bloodbath."
As the Gu Ren Tai pulled back into the forest, Ren looked over his shoulder one last time.
Ryuu Haku Kou's body still lay beneath the tree, untouched. Ryuu Fu, clutching a bloodied arm, stood silently beside it, face unreadable.
The war was not over.
But a father's legacy had ended.
And the fire in the eyes of his son had only just been lit.