The Turnabout Assault is the 431st chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
Even though they number only over a thousand, Shou Hei Kun Army are charging head long into an Ai army consisting of 30,000 men. Leading the charge is Shou Hei Kun who is slaying enemies left and right with great ease. One of the states of Ai soldiers aims for Shou Hei Kun's head as the latter dodges it and kills him in turn.
The Duke of Juuteki is informed that the enemies in the rear's advance cannot be stopped and that they are making a beeline right for their HQ. He gives the order to rotate men over to bulk up the rear. He starts to smile and states that it seems that choosing to hide themselves far to the back, away from the Qin forces, has backfired. He tells his soldiers that the enemy is made up of crack troops and not to expect to be able to stop them that easily. He orders his men to Pincer them from the sides to slow down their advance.
Shou Hei Kun keeps moving forward. The enemy is unable to stop them, and Ai soldiers are sent flying in pieces. Shou Bun Kun is still surprised by his sheer strength. Heki is surprised as well and states that it is unbelievable and that he never has thought Shou Hei Kun would be such a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Kai Oku starts to laugh and responds that if one were to be generous, one could say his martial prowess is even on the same level as Mou Bu. Also, at the least, it cannot be denied that his intellect is on par with Ri Boku. He further comments that very thought gives him goosebumps; especially if one were to imagine if his lord Shou Hei Kun were to have matured in Chu, the land of his birth, instead of Qin. Both Shou Bun Kun and Heki have cold sweat from that thought alone.
Suddenly the enemy moves changes. Heki notices this and informs his colleagues that enemy Cavalry to the right are advancing. Shou Bun Kun deduces that they intent to hit them on their flank. Both armies are about to collide when suddenly another unit appears. Both Shou Bun Kun and Heki are surprised as they notice that it is the detachment led by Kou Ryuu that was sent to the right earlier. Shou Bun Kun states that he did not expect them to come back so soon. Kai Oku tells them that this was a mission given to the Kou Ryuu Unit and asserts that with this, the enemy's belly has been chewed in twain.
The Duke of Juuteki is informed that the No Ku Unit on their left has been wiped out in an instant. The Duke asks what of the Ha Mui Unit on the right and if they have arrived yet. A soldier tells him that they should almost be back. Suddenly a group of cavalry arrives. The duke starts to smile as he says that the 800 cavalries of the Ha Mui Unit has returned. He gives to order for them to charge down the right and hit the enemy's left flank. He asserts that the Qin do not have another detachment to cover their left flank. Shou Hei Kun's army also notices that there are more enemies bearing down them from the left. Heki deduces that they must be aiming for the left flank.
Heki calls for 200 of his men and orders them to follow him. He says that they will stop the enemy here. Shou Hei Kun tells Heki to hold it and that there is no need for that. Both Heki and Shou Bun Kun are surprised and puzzled as to why there is no need for any countermeasures. Meanwhile Ha Mui is about to give the order to attack as Ai soldiers are repelled at a nearby gate. Ha Mui turns around and sees the elite cavalry unit covered in black from earlier. Heki is shocked as he sees the cavalry unit came out of the city. Shou Bun Kun is shocked as well as he notices that those are the elite soldiers under Shou Hei Kun's command. Kai Oku starts to laugh as he states that they were still around after all - the Hyou Shiga Unit.
Their commander, Hyou Shiga, states that it is killing time. Mou Ki says that with this, the walls on the left and right have been completely set up. Kai Oku is surprised that Mou Ki is tagging along as well. The latter tells him that this is a battle in which Shou Hei Kun is personally taking part, he says that there no way he could forgive himself if he did not witness it with his own eyes. Kai Oku starts to laugh and says fair enough. Mou Ki then asks if this is the Hourai stratagem. Kai Oku just grins and does not say a word.
Elsewhere the soldiers under Ka Ryo Ten are confused. They ask what is going on as some black cavalry just came out of Kanyou. One of the soldiers asks if those are not the same soldiers who were guarding the front gate. He wonders if they break out of the city in response of the chief's arrival. Ka Ryo Ten takes higher ground to see what is happening. Another soldier tells here that they have completely secured a path down the center. Ka Ryo Ten is shocked as she realizes that this is the Hourai tactic.
She asks Shou Kaku to immediately give the order for all surrounding troops to dissolve their formations and create a wall of soldiers facing the front. Shou Kaku is shocked and asks what on blazes she is talking about. He says that they are right in the middle of a pitched battle and surrounded. The moment they break formation they will not be able to last even 15 minutes. The other soldiers agree as well. Ka Ryo Ten responds that they do not need to hold out for 15 minutes. Everything will be decided before the 15 minutes even passes. It all comes down to this instant. She says that they must do everything they can to support Shou Hei Kun's gambit. Shou Kaku says that he cannot accept this. He says that he still has 5000 men fighting for their lives under his command. He asks how he could gamble all of them on a ploy that he has not the slightest understanding off. Ka Ryo Ten responds that though she is the Strategist of the Hi Shin Unit, she is also one of Shou Hei Kun's students. She says that she understands him, as a commander of men, he is not wrong to place his men's lives before anything else. However, she begs him to trust her on this. She asks him to trust Shou Hei Kun.
Kai Oku explains that the Hourai stratagem involves creating walls of soldiers to the left, right and rear of the enemy commander, to entrap them. This is followed by a surgical strike straight down the center to take out the enemy's head. Normally it is utilized in grand, large-scale battles, but on this occasion, Shou Hei Kun hopes to achieve it with the small number of elite units they have available. Shou Bun Kun says that they do not have a wall of Infantry to block off the enemy's rear. Mou Ki responds by saying that there is a battle going on behind the enemy commander right now. It is not perfect, but they will have to treat that as one of the walls. Kai Oku says that granted that this is not reliable, but at least it is better than nothing.
The Duke of Juuteki suddenly hears something behind him. It is the Hi Shin unit and the Shou Kaku army. Ka Ryo Ten has given the order to raise all the flags and banners they have at their disposal. She tells the soldiers that there is no need to force themselves forward. They just need to hold their positions and maintain formation. Both Kai Oku and Mou Ki are shocked that there is now a wall of troops erected behind the enemy. Kai Oku starts to laugh and realizes that Ka Ryo Ten is over there. Shou Hei Kun smiles while Shou Bun Kun is surprised.
Ka Ryo Ten says that the set-up for the Hourai has been completed and that there is nowhere left for Duke of Juuteki to run. With this she states that he is finished while the Duke is visibly angered.
Characters
Qin
- Shou Hei Kun Army
- Shou Hei Kun
- Kai Oku
- Mou Ki
- Kou Ryuu
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Shou Bun Kun Army
- Shou Bun Kun
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Heki Army
- Heki
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Shou Bun Kun Army
- Rebel Subjugation Army
- Hi Shin Unit
- Ka Ryo Ten
- Unidentified soldiers of Sai
- Unnamed others
- Shou Kaku Army
- Shou Kaku
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Ba Jin Army
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Hi Shin Unit
- Kanyou
- Black Cavalry Corps
- Hyou Shiga
- Unnamed members
- Black Cavalry Corps
- Mou Bu Army
- Mou Bu (mentioned)
Ai
- Ai Army
- Unnamed officers
- Han O Ki Army
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed soldiers
- Juuteki Tribe
- Wa Tegi
- Unnamed officers
- Hamui Unit
- Hamui
- Unnamed members
- Noko Unit
- Noko (mentioned)
- Unnamed members
- Hamui Unit
- Unnamed others
- Han O Ki Army
- Unnamed officers
Zhao
- Ri Boku Army
- Ri Boku (mentioned)
High Points
- The Shou Hei Kun Army's advance can't be stopped.
- The Shou Hei Kun Army makes a beeline for the enemy HQ.
- The detachment that was sent to the right by Shou Hei Kun returned.
- The Hyou Shiga Unit breaks through the gate and joins up with Shou Hei Kun's army.
- Shou Hei Kun is using the Hourai stratagem.
- Ten realizes that Shou Hei Kun is using the Hourai.
- Ten asks Shou Kaku to reform his men's formations to help.
- Kou Ryuu is fully shown for the first time.
- Hyou Shiga is identified by his name for the first time.
- First appearance of Hamui.