The Merciless Arrow is the 855th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Synopsis
Danto rampages across the frontlines, cutting down enemies, but senses something and stops. He looks at the view in front of him and tries to figure out what is causing him unease. Up in the sky, Capro notices something, and Danto causing to feel that something is off. Suddenly, an arrow pierces the back of his neck from the right, flying through his neck. Danto's men sense that something is happening, and turn back at the shock of their leader falling.
From far behind the frontlines, a Zhao soldier confirms the shot. He confidently declares that Danto, Yo Tan Wa's right hand man and the most troublesome man in the Battle of Hango, has been taken down from so far away that they could barely see him, with a single shot from Sei Ka Un, the current number one in the Ten Bows of China. After a moment, Sei Ka Un moves, ordering his men to do so as well. Zhao soldiers thank him for tipping the scales in their favor, and compliment his shot. One soldier compliments him, grateful to be able to witness the skill of one of the Ten Bows of China with his own eyes, but Sei Ka Un turns to him and asks what he could understand of his bow with his eyes. The soldier is flustered and unable to respond, and Sei Ka Un tells him to spend his time getting Shun Sui Ju to take control of the area, and informs the Zhao soldiers in the area that he is heading to his next prey.
Danto's men surround him, calling out to him and wondering what had happened. One suggests that an arrow had struck Danto down, but another declares that it could not have been one, since there were no signs of any archers nearby. Danto coughs up blood and grabs onto Nimushi, who had come to his side. He forces himself to scold Nimushi for foolishly staying around and not realizing that Yo Tan Wa is in danger. Through shallow breaths, Danto instructs Nimushi to go and inform her of a vicious archer closing in on her, and to hurry, reminding him that Yo Tan Wa must not be allowed to die. Nimushi immediately gets on a horse, and others call for a path to be cleared for him. As the Feego turn around and look for a path, they notice that they are almost surrounded by the enemy.
Soldiers report to Shun Sui Ju that their encirclement of the Feego Army had been surrounded, with Danto's personal unit being surrounded with many layers. Shun Sui Ju also hears a report suggesting that Danto had been successfully struck down by Sei Ka Un. Shun Sui Ju instructs them to slaughter the Feego and ensure that they cannot do anything.
A rider approaches Yo Tan Wa's headquarters and reports that the lookouts watching the right wing had reported trouble with the Feego Army located on the far right. The rider reports that they had suddenly collapsed and were at a disadvantage, being heavily struck by the enemy. Others in Yo Tan Wa's headquarters look out and confirm that the Feego were quickly collapsing, though unable to see anything clearly from where they were. Yo Tan Wa asks if something had happened to Danto, but the rider reports that he did not know, clarifying that the Feego Army is so heavily surrounded that they cannot make out what is happening inside the encirclement.
A second rider approaches and reports that the enemy had begun to advance between the Feego Army and the Bajio Army in the center-right. Yo Tan Wa asks for their strength, and hears that 1,000 men made up the force, forming a quickly-moving force instead of a large one, threatening to break into their defense lines. The rider reports that they should have been stopped by the Feego Army, but the Feego Army was unable to stop them.
After thinking for a moment, Yo Tan Wa takes 2,000 men to scatter them, telling her headquarters that she would check on the situation on the right at the same time. The men in her headquarters assume the responsibility of looking after the main camp and wish Yo Tan Wa well. A rider approaches Shun Sui Ju's headquarters as well, reporting that Yo Tan Wa had moved from her main camp. Shun Sui Ju muses that the situation was unfolding as if it were in the palm of his hand, then corrects himself to say that it was Ri Boku's palm instead.
One of Shun Sui Ju's men decides to ask him why Sei Ka Un decided to join the battle, having never appeared before, and with people so unsure if he was alive that there were rumors of him already having died, admitting that if Sei Ka Un had as much power as he seemed to have, he wished he had shown up sooner. Shun Sui Ju replies that Ri Boku had the power to summon those who would never appear on the battlefield.
Sei Ka Un rides into a clearing and asks his men if that was the place. In the distance, Yo Tan Wa cuts through soldiers. Sei Ka Un sets his sights on her and grabs his bow. In a flashback, Sei Ka Un stepped out of his estate to speak with Ri Boku, where he told Ri Boku that, regardless of how many times he came, he would no longer bring his bow to the battlefield, refusing to bring a one-sided, merciless slaughter there. Ri Boku asked if it went against some kind of aesthetic of his, but Sei Ka Un tells him that it was not that. A distance away, a female servant held a bow. Sei Ka Un told Ri Boku that he no longer understood what his bow was for. The two continued discussing, with Ri Boku's passionate words stonewalled by Sei Ka Un's stoicism.
While cutting through soldiers, something catches Yo Tan Wa's eye, and she pauses to stare into the distance. A soldier here asks if something was the matter, but she dismisses it as nothing. Sei Ka Un draws his bow and steadies his aim. Nimushi rides into the area and notices that he has arrived at Yo Tan Wa's personal unit. Surprised that she had come out to the frontlines, he quickly introduces himself, coughing up blood as he did so, and postpones reporting what had happened with the Feego Army, blurting out that Yo Tan Wa is being targeted. Sei Ka Un thinks of his conversation with Ri Boku, where he had grabbed some of the nearby arrows from a quiver, and told him that he believed it was fine to be merciless. Through bloody coughs, Nimushi shouts and tells Yo Tan Wa to run. Ri Boku hands Sei Ka Un the handful of arrows and tells him that the battlefield is a merciless thing. Yo Tan Wa is pierced by an arrow from behind.
Characters
Qin
- Yo Tan Wa Army
- Yo Tan Wa
- Feego Tribe
- Bajio (Mentioned)
Zhao
- Ri Boku (Flashback)