Outsmart is the 182nd chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
The Hi Shin Unit are fuming after their encounter with Ou Hon and the Gyoku Hou. Gathered together to discuss, Shou Sa remarked that it had been a while since someone reminded them of who they truly were as a militia unit. Kou adds that the Gyoku Hou looked impressive in their shining armor and cavalry, which only dampened the Hi Shin Unit’s spirits further. Bi Hei grows angry at Kou for saying that, but Shin stops him, saying it was fine.
Shin then addresses his men directly. If they wanted to look "cool" like the Gyoku Hou, then they had to earn it through great achievements. He calls out Shou Sa, saying he had come too far to speak such defeatist nonsense. They only lost heart because they had been overwhelmed by the Gyoku Hou’s pressure, that was all. Shin declares he doesn't care that Ou Hon was related to the legendary Ou Ki. Now was the time to strike back. His words reignite the fighting spirit of the Hi Shin Unit.
Still, Suu Gen raised a concern: how could they possibly match the Gyoku Hou, who were a powerful cavalry unit?
Later, Ban You informs Ou Hon that the Hi Shin Unit they had clashed with earlier seemed to have vanished. The northern army had been searching for them since that night, but there was no trace. Ban You laughed, saying the Hi Shin Unit must have been so shocked by their last defeat that they had run back to their villages to till the fields. Ou Hon, however, remained unconvinced.
Meanwhile, out on the battlefield, wolves gathered to feed on the corpses of fallen soldiers. Hidden among those corpses lay the Hi Shin Unit. Soldiers from Wei passed through, checking to see if any enemies still lived, killing any survivors they found. The Hi Shin Unit had realized the only way to outsmart the Gyoku Hou was through cunning. Ro En had suggested a plan: shrink down to a detachment of one hundred men, sneak across the battlefield toward the Wei HQ, and avoid detection by disguising themselves as the dead.
It is a gruesome task. The field was thick with fog, and the stench of rotting corpses made it nearly unbearable. Kou, struggling most of all, steels himself with the thought of one day becoming a true soldier. At one point, a Wei soldier spots movement and orders his men to investigate. Kou is stabbed, but he endures the pain without a sound. The Wei soldiers, fooled, left after declaring it a false alarm.
Soon after, the Gyoku Hou launched their own attack against Wei, using the same tactic as before to strike at the enemy commander. They reached the Wei HQ only to discover that the Hi Shin Unit had already finished the job.
Shin laughs in Ou Hon’s face, mocking him. For all their cavalry and martial training, they had been overtaken by mere "ants" like the Hi Shin Unit. Perhaps their so-called elite training wasn’t as special as they thought.
Characters
Qin
- Six Great Generals
- Ou Ki (mentioned)
- Jouto Village
- Kou's Mother (mentioned)
- Unidentified Units
- Unnamed members (corpses)
Wei
- Unidentified Army
- Wei HQ commander and personnel (corpses)
- Unidentified officers
- Unnamed soldiers
High Points
- Shin and the Hi Shin Unit compete with Ou Hon and the Gyoku Hou Unit for achievements.
- The Hi Shin Unit disappears, and nobody knows where they are.
- The northern army is searching for the Hi Shin Unit.
- The Hi Shin Unit disguised themselves as dead bodies on the battlefield in order to attack Wei HQ.