SEI CHOU POV
"I understand why Ren Pa speaks so highly of you; he was not lying one bit. You have IT!" Ouki said to me after he spat some blood. I was about to reply but decided to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. I could feel my insides were damaged, but my want to fight had not diminished one bit.
I knew what he talked about: the elusive weight that a warrior acquires over their lifetime; I'd encountered a few who had weight but some who didn't. It was something that could both take a long and short time to acquire; take Shi Ei, for example: he had weight, but it was not near what it is now.
"A fine compliment, but you know, flattery will not get you anywhere," I replied with a smirk, making it seem like Ouki was stalling for time. Which he wasn't, but only he and I knew that fact; the both of us had been giving it our all and even as fatigue slowly crept in, neither of us wanted to be the one to make a mistake.
"Nfufufu, you're always trying to goad me into attacking first… I can feel you're improving as the battle goes on, but are you sure you can keep up?" Ouki asked, and before I could even respond, I saw him hulking in front of me. His famed treasure blade was already in swinging motion; my eyes just stared at him for a moment, caught off guard.
However, it only lasted for a split second before I kicked into gear and raised a hasty block.
*BANG!* *BOOM!*
The impact was deafening as his glaive met the shaft of my own glaive, I felt both myself and my horse leave the ground and sent crashing into some of my troops that were fighting their own Qin opponents.
Using this opportunity, I swung my glaive ferociously, making sure to only slaughter the Qin troops that had crossed my path before bolting out and back towards Ouki, blood and gore covering my glaive and chipped armour. With a war cry, I swung back at him. My blood was pumping furiously; I could feel the ripples go through my muscles as I unleashed and landed my strongest hit of the day.
*BANG!* *BOOM!*
The impact of my attack sent Ouki flying backwards, but I wasn't done, nor did I want to review my work. I spurred my horse on and charged him down, even as he righted himself and got his bearings. I was upon Ouki, with another strike and then another, but Ouki was skilled, possibly the most skilled fighter I'd ever faced in my life. The Qin General's horsemanship added to his strength and skill with his glaive, making him a match for me.
He knocked me back as soon as my barrage slowed for a split second, then met me directly in the centre of the duelling circle that had grown far larger than when we had started. Neither of us took a single step away, as we rode side by side attacking each other continuously. Bits of my armour were chipped away at, small cuts started to open up on my body, and the same could be said for Ouki.
Even still, we both smiled like madmen as we tried to kill one another in the most nasty and vile of ways. Ouki swung at my midsection, and I allowed my glaive to slip slightly down my hands and blocked the attack before it could gain any true momentum; with a smile, I stared into his eyes.
"Hmph!" He pushed me backwards using only brute force. I chuckled, "You will need to do better than that, monstrous bird…" I drawled.
"You remind me so much of my younger self, and yet… I can see the differences between us." I didn't truly know what he alluded to, but I could hazard a guess, "Even though you fight like a Great General, with the weight of one… There's something more…" Ouki pondered.
As we'd stopped fighting, I took a glance around to see that my troops were still fighting vigorously. More had died, and I couldn't see just how many of them were my own soldiers or Ouki's. From the corner of my eye, I saw Fu Jin clash furiously with two cavalry in Ouki's guard.
"I know, I'm very special. You needn't have to tell me." I replied, casting a glance to the sky, and seeing that midday had already passed and the sun would soon begin to settle beyond the horizon, calling an end to this day.
"Nfufufu," Ouki only chuckled before charging at me. I met him halfway, not for the first time today; the two of us clashed head-on before our duel resumed in earnest.
SEI CHOU POV DONE
….
253 BCE
BATTLE OF BAYOU
ZHAO SOLDIER POV
He couldn't breathe; the air was suffocating, so close to the never-ending sounds of ferocious duelling. Glancing towards where a large circle had naturally formed for the two monsters to duel, his heart and body froze as he thought he'd caught the gaze of one of the two monsters. This was not his first battle nor was it his first war, but compared to the battles he'd previously participated in… "...This is on a whole different scale!" He couldn't help but exclaim.
General Shi Ei and the Qin General Tou were both fighting fiercely just some paces away from him; the sounds of their duel were both beautiful and terrible to listen to.
He'd not been in the Shi Ei army for long, since it had only been formed recently. However, he had prior experience fighting under Lord Sei Chou and within the Sei Chou army. But still, even with his few years of experience, he couldn't fathom the type of battle this was.
The fighting was constant across every front, and from what he had heard from a passing cavalryman, there were no reserves to be added to this fighting.
Which meant every Zhao troop was being used in combat, and from the bits he'd managed to overhear from the Qin troops, we were both in the same situation.
As he was caught in his own mind, he didn't notice the Qin soldier creeping up behind him, his sword thrusting towards his undefended back.
"GRAGHH!!" A loud shout full of pain and anguish sounded out behind him. Spinning around, the Qin soldier came face to face with an aggrieved and bitter Qin soldier, blood streaming down his mouth as he collapsed to his knees. The Qin soldier looked to be around the same age as him, and yet his life was snuffed out as simply as a candle's flame.
'...How frightening!' He thought even as he moved on instinct, his sword piercing the man's chest; he saw the light fade from his eyes.
"Hey! Remember we're a 100-man squad! So make sure to stay alert, dammit!" His squad commander, a young man with short straight hair, berated him. He knew the youngster meant well, and it was his thought for spacing out that was why he didn't shout anything back at him.
"Don't mind him, commander! He's just thinking about all the nice wine we're going to share after this is done." Another one of his squadron shouted; he was the joker of the squad but also very skilled with the sword. Some whispered that he's a noble bastard, but nothing had been confirmed.
The joker chuckled when the squad commander put a sword at him in jest, before turning back to him and smiling. "Old man," He wasn't even that much older than the Joker, "I told you that you must look after my many children before I die. Are you trying to get out of it by rushing ahead of me?" He asked.
"Hmph, like I'll ever do that. Was it not I who told you to take care of my children should I die?" He said, gesturing his head towards the joker; his hands were busy deflecting strikes from the Qin soldiers. He felt clangs run through his body each time metal met metal, before he saw an opening; the Qin soldier's guard slipped ever so slightly. He pounced on the opportunity, using his momentum to bat the sword away before bringing it back the way and slicing through the man's neck.
"When will I get to look after him? Enlisted at 15, discharged at 80. No chance to look after your son." The Joker replied with a laugh. A few glances around and he noted that some of their 100-man squad had been killed; around 40 troops were gone, but he couldn't be sure.
He felt something coming from behind him, turning around sharply; he threw out a fist and managed to punch the arm of another Qin soldier. There was no respite; soon enough, another one came from the side. This time, he couldn't react; he felt an iron slice through his side.
"Dammit!" He heard the Joker say before letting out a war cry; flesh was sliced in half to the side of him while he dealt with the enemy in front of him.
There was no pain, but he could feel his clothes begin to get soaked. It was a bad wound, but he had to continue fighting. Looking in the other direction from where General Shi Ei was fighting, he caught the sounds of Lord Sei Chou and Qin's Ouki duelling one another. He couldn't quite see them with his own eyes, but he could hear them and feel the tremors in the ground whenever their weapons collided.
He knew he couldn't dare to space out again, so he quickly looked away and focused, trying to see where his squad leader was. Locating the young man was not too hard, due to the armour he wore and the fact that the younger man was surrounded by 5 Qin soldiers.
"What did I do to make the heavens so angry at me?" He bemoaned before charging recklessly to his squad leaders' help. The joker of the squad was by his side every step of the way, laughing as they cut a bloody path to their commander, "Hahaha, Old man. I won't let you go so easily." He felt one of his eyes twitch at the comment.
"I never agreed to your deal!" He shouted back at him. They fought like madmen in hopes of getting to their squad leader.
….
253 BCE
BATTLE OF BAYOU
OUKI POV
The monstrous bird of Qin had faced many opponents through his life and career as a soldier for King Shou. He'd started his journey when he was only 13 years of age, throwing himself into fearsome battle after fearsome battle. Back then, as he aged, he never truly thought about how his enemies looked at him, but now, facing the youngster in front of him, he couldn't help but think… 'Is this how I was viewed?' Ouki wondered whether knowing the answer to his question would never truly be answered.
Even as he battled Sei Chou without a shred of mercy, he felt a sense of admiration from the younger man's glaive; Ouki had felt it in the very first exchange he'd had with the Zhao Great Heaven. As if the man knew him way more than he should've, as they'd never crossed each other's path before.
Still not one to show mercy, Ouki swung his glaive with the power of a Great General of Qin.
*BOOM*
The strike was matched with a block fitting of a Great General, and once again Ouki could feel his smile growing, as his glaive arm shook slightly, feeling the aftereffects of Sei Chou's strength.
'And he is improving each time!' Ouki could both see and feel it; Sei Chou was getting faster, stronger and more precise with his glaive attacks, but it was not like Sei Chou was no match for him early into the fight, only that as time went on he seemed to reach his level and…
Ouki held his glaive in front of him for only a split second as he wanted to swipe horizontally at Sei Chou, but the younger man had already moved, swinging his glaive up the blade cutting into his chest, leaving a nasty, unsightly cut. Moving back whilst rebutting a second attack, Ouki took glances to the heavens, seeing that the sun was no longer at its highest point but approaching the horizon.
Looking to his men, he assessed the damage before looking at the Zhao troops. 'It seems even at a glance, but the casualties are high.' Ouki decided at the moment to call a day and bring an end to the first day of battle for his troops, but he knew he'd have to be in sync with Kyou as she was the Commander in Chief.
Lastly, he glanced at Sei Chou and assessed the state of mind of his opponent; the look and demeanour of Sei Chou caused Ouki's smile to turn malicious. His eyes whitened as the desire to charge at the Zhao Great Heaven overtook him, 'What an opponent!' Just as Ouki was about to charge and resume their duel once more, a sound rang out.
*GONG!!!* *GONG!!!* *GONG!!!* *GONG!!!*
The Gong of retreat sounded out, and with it his enthusiasm for another blood roaring duel with Sei Chou dissipated. "Pity, that seems to be all for today," Ouki said. Sei Chou watched him go with a faint smile, "Just when I was about to relieve you of your head. What a pity indeed." Replied Sei Chou, even though the younger man bled from the wounds on his right and left arms.
Ouki struck his pose even as he bled from his side and more than a dozen other small cuts. "I promise to cut you down to size." Ouki replied to Sei Chou before raising his glaive and his voice. "ALL TROOPS RETREAT!" He knew there was no threat to his back, as he heard Sei Chou call for his own men to retreat as well.
With a last glance over his shoulder a thought crossed his mind: 'Rin Shou Jo, you left behind a monster. Is this what you meant by waiting for the ripening time?' Before retreating to headquarters.
OUK POV DONE