Birds of Urgent Tidings is the 503rd chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
Taikou Mountain Range - Zhao View post
A man on an outlook wonders why there are two messenger birds flying in the direction of the capitol Kantan until he realizes that there are a lot more following them. The person on the lookout suggests that something terrible must have happened.
Kantan
All these birds were sent by Great General Ri Boku, with an urgent message for the king of Zhao, Tou Jou. He tells him that the Qin army have changed routes and are planning to invade Zhao, along the side of the yellow river. He also strongly recommends to the king to send out his elite troops, in order to slow the approaching Qin army down so they could arrive with their army and push them back. But the king refuses and says he wanted them to protect his paradise bath with young boys and that he would be willing to sacrifice everything to let his paradise continue.
When the messenger tries to convince the king, Kaku Kai steps in and tells him not to disturb the king but the messenger persists by saying that Ri Boku wants Kantan to ready its defenses and needs the king's approval. Kaku Kai gets angry because of Ri Boku and says that he should not have made this mistake. The king proposes to send the soldiers of surrounding cities such as Gyou. The messenger admits that Ri Boku mentioned this as a possibility if Kantan would not rally their own troops.
Zhao Mountains - Ri Boku Army
Ri Boku and his most trusted vassals are rush through the mountains while abandoning their army, which is too slow to keep up to their speed because they need to bring Ri Boku to Kantan as fast as possible. When Shun Sui Ju catches up with them, they speak about the factors, to stop the Qin army in time. They have to admit, that who reaches the city of Retsubi first, will have won the race for the upper hand in the upcoming battle. It all comes down to how easily the Qin can pass by the mid-sized cities of Zhao.
Yangtze River - Qin Invasion Army
The Qin armies are running along the Yellow River, avoiding anything that could delay them. The cavalry is running ahead, while the infantry is trying to keep up. But the infantry soldiers of the Hi Shin Unit are performing quite well. On their way, they simply trust, that the small sized cities close their gates and let them pass by. And avoid any mid-sized cities with making a small detour. So, that they won't be dragged into a fight with them.
But suddenly a 5000-man unit of Zhao soldiers appear up and tries to attack their vanguard and their side at the same time. But Ou Sen orders his army to simply march on without any counter and trusts Kan Ki on his wing to handle this situation. And indeed, the Kan Ki Army start intercepting the Zhao cavalry.
Characters
Qin
- Ou Sen Army
- Ou Sen
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Unidentified Armies
- Unidentified commander
- Unnamed members
Zhao
- Royal Palace
- Ri Boku Army
- Ri Boku
- Shun Sui Ju
- Ba Nan Ji
- Kaine
- Fu Tei
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Chousa City
- Unnamed soldiers
- Unidentified Army
- Unnamed members
High Points
- Ri Boku sends so many messenger birds, that the lookouts at the bird station are not capable of handling it.
- The King of Zhao values his baths in the palace more than his country.
- Shun Sui Ju catches up to the Ri Boku Army from the spy outpost.
- Ri Boku sends a message to the king in Kantan telling him, that the Qin will not attack through Kokuyou.
- He tells the king to send his personal guards against the Qin, in order to slow them down.
- The king refuses defended by Kaku Kai.
- In this case, they should rally the troops of the surrounding cities (such as Gyou) to slow down the Qin.
- The Qin are on a fast march through Zhao ignoring the small cities and detouring around the medium sized cities, to avoid conflicts, which would slow them down.
- When the Qin are being attacked by a 5000-man unit from the side, Ou Sen tells his army to keep on moving without preparing a counter.
- The Kan Ki Army intercepts the attacker and is slowed down.
Trivia
- Zhao King Tou Jou's face is finally shown. However, the king clearly looks noticeably different, compared to his old appearance in Battle of Bayou Arc.
- First appearance of Ko Shuu and En Kan.