Lone Struggle is the 232nd chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
Shin finishes off Rin Ko. Everyone else however is shocked. Then when they realize it is finally over, they start to cry. They then start to cheer for their commander for succeeding in killing one of the most powerful enemies he ever faced. They all start to root for him as he defeated Rin Ko, one of Ren Pa's Four Heavenly Kings. Even more, with this the Hi Shin Unit satisfied the requirements for being promoted to 1000-man Commander. A head of a general. Shin however is not cheering at all as he looks towards Rin Ko's body with solemn expression.
The Wei soldiers are angry due to their general being killed. They aim to revenge his death. The remnants of the Kaku Bi Unit say that they will take care of them and send them to the next world. Den Ei tells Shin to hurry up and cut of Rin Ko's head so they can take it around the battlefield and show it to everyone. Shin however kneels, still watching towards Rin Ko’s body on the ground in the rain.
En watches Shin and tries to understand what is going on in his head. He takes command and says that even if they do not remove his head, the news will still spread all the same. He says that they will send men to pass on the word that Rin Ko has fallen to Shin of the Hi Shin Unit. He then gives the order for the Cavalry to follow him. He asks for So Sui's condition. The soldiers say that somehow, he does not seem to be in danger. This is if they stop the bleeding.
Bi Hei says that this entire area has gone well for them. Suddenly Ryuu Sen starts looking towards the back. Another soldier asks him what is going on. Ryuu Sen responds that there is something that bugs him. The spot they left lieutenant Kyou Kai and all the others behind at, he cannot see anyone there at all. Saying this everyone else is looking towards the back as well, wondering what happened.
A barely alive Wei soldier starts to laugh as he boosts if they really think that was the end and mocks them as he tells them that Rin Ko had a reserve unit posted to the side of his main force. The moment they turned their attention to them, they broke right through their weakened areas. En is shocked as he realizes what this means. The Wei soldiers says that all those comrades they left behind have probably already been ground to a fine paste by now. After all, the reserve unit was made up of 500 men from Kai Shi Bou of the four heavenly king's personal retinue.
Kyo Gai responds to quite spouting bullshit. He asks Ryuu Sen to look carefully. However due to the distance and the rain, he cannot. Shin takes his horse and heads towards Kyou Kai. The members of the Hi Shin Unit decide to follow him.
45 minutes earlier, Kyou Kai who was left behind and her 200 injured troops. The soldiers ask her what is going on with their commander. One says that it looks like he is in a duel with Rin Ko, but it is too hard to see clearly from here. Kyou Kai's attention then shifts towards a noise. Suddenly soldiers are attacking them. The soldier on the front asks what the reserve units are waiting for. They ask to hurry and to come help them. However, everyone is shocked by how big the enemy are. The Qin soldiers are getting blown away like sticks. Even if they were to go there, there is no way they are going to able to stop them. Kyou Kai says that they should not go. With their current manpower and her condition, they have no hope of stopping that. The front soldiers keep calling for the Hi Shin Unit to help. Kyou Kai suddenly remembers her sister and says that if she dies here, then she will not be able to get revenge. The 200 wounded soldiers of the Hi Shin Unit are in a disagreement on how to proceed. Some soldiers say that they should go and help, others say to run away. One of the soldiers that want to aid them says that their commander and all the others are fighting for them with their lives on the line. Kyou Kai says that she is sorry to her sis and rides towards the enemy and calls for the 200 men. She then remembers what her sister once said to her. She said to keep in mind, hang around with idiots too much and you will catch their stupidity. Everyone is then surprised that Kyou Kai starts to smile. She then clashes with the enemy and takes them out one by one.
At present Shin arrived at were the Kyou Kai and the others were stationed. They can only see dead bodies. However, they cannot see the lieutenant and the others. Suddenly some soldiers call for Shin. They say that there are some guys alive. Kyo Gai says that the one alive is from his squad. His name is Tai Kan, and he says that he is sorry. The enemy was just too strong, they could not do a thing. Even though he looked to be in pain, he just charged in all by himself. Shin is surprised and asks if Kyou Kai went in solo. Tai Kan tells he is sorry once again and says that they were just so useless. The soldiers ask him where Kyou Kai is. Shin gives the order for everyone to spread out and search for the lieutenant. He also tells them to keep their eyes open for the enemy. Shin remembers that Kyou Kai once said that to er this is the only place that she can call home. After the battle finishes that she would leave the Hi Shin Unit. She stated that she will avenge her sister and once that is finished, she will come back.
The members of the Hi Shin Unit are looking around. However, they cannot find even a single person still standing. Shin remembers that she said that she thinks that she will be able to properly move forward together with all of them. Shin shouts her name again and asks what the hell she has done. Shin is then shocked to see only huge men lying dead on the ground. One however is still breathing and says that it is not human. Shin then sees someone standing. It is Kyou Kai. She sees Shin as she then is about to fall, only for Shin to catch her in time. Shin asks her if she is a moron. He says that she pushed herself way too far. He asks her how she can get revenge for her sister if she dies here. She responds that it is very mean to say that after she worked so hard. She asks him if he finished the job and he responds that he got Rin Ko, she then asks him to let her go as she will catch his stupidity and Shin simply tells her to shut up.
Characters
Qin
- Mou Gou Army
- Ei Bi Army
- Hi Shin Unit
- Shin
- Bi Hei
- Kei
- En
- Hai Rou
- Taku Kei
- Den Yuu
- Suu Gen
- Shou Sa
- Ryuu Sen
- Den Ei
- Ryuu Yuu
- Kyo Gai
- So Sui
- Kou
- Kyou Kai (flashback and main story)
- Tai Kan (flashback and main story)
- Unnamed members of militia
- Unnamed members of cavalry
- Unnamed members of "most wounded" group of soldiers (flashback and main story)
- Unnamed others
- Hi Shin Unit
- Kaku Bi Unit
- Kaku Bi (mentioned)
- Ei Bi Army
Wei
- Haku Ki Sai Army
- Ren Pa Army
- Ren Pa (mentioned)
- Rin Ko Army (Center Army)
- Rin Ko (corpse)
- Unnamed Wei's officers
- Unnamed Wei's soldiers
- Unnamed members of Rin Ko Unit
- Kai Shi Bou Army (Left Army)
- Kai Shi Bou (mentioned)
- Kai Shi Bou's personal troops (flashback and main story)
- Ren Pa Army
Clan Shiyuu
- Kyou Shou (flashback)
Chapter Notes
- Shin kills Rin Ko in third and final duel.
- The Hi Shin Unit satisfied the requirements of being promoted too 1000-man commander.
- Wei soldiers under Rin Ko aim for revenge.
- Remnants of the Kaku Bi challenges the Wei soldiers under Rin Ko.
- Shin refuses to cut of Rin Ko's head.
- So Sui isn't mortally wounded.
- Rin Ko had a side unit composed of 500 men of Kai Shi Bou personal soldiers.
- Shin rides towards Kyou Kai.
- A flashback is shown of Kyou Kai 45 minutes ago.
- Kyou Kai and 200 soldiers of the Hi Shin Unit takes on Kai Shi Bou personal soldiers.
- Kyou Kai engaged the enemy solo.
- Shin finds Kyou Kai.
- Kyou Kai collapses.
Trivia
- Tai Kan's name is revealed.