Deadly Assassin is the 856th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Synopsis
Ramauji and the Jujimen turn right as the arrow comes out of Yo Tan Wa's chest, just in time to see her start falling to the ground. Jujimen's tribesmen and the Yo Tan Wa's tribesmen leap off their horses to cushion her fall, and are just in time to soften her landing. Across other battlefields, Shunmen, Tajifu, and Bajio stop in the middle of their respective fights, and look to Yo Tan Wa's location. Their men ask them what they are doing, but the three men do not respond. Bajio drops his curved blade, shocked at what he sees.
Amidst Yo Tan Wa's men's cries to her, Yo Tan Wa opens her eyes. She weakly listens as they promise to save her, even offering to sacrifice themselves to the mountain gods to do so. Yo Tan Wa extends her hand and calls to Ramauji, and he clasps her hand. He apologizes for not noticing the archer's killing intent or the arrow, and promises to later take responsibility as chief of the royal guard by taking his own head, after he does everything in his power to save her. Yo Tan Wa tells him that there is no need for suicide, and that she would be counting on him for the things coming after. Ramauji tries asking her what she means, then dismisses his question and instead suggests that they go back to the mountains together and rest. The tribesmen echo his sentiment, and Yo Tan Wa moans before closing her eyes. The mountain people cry out.
A messenger rides to Shun Sui Ju to report the news and the officers in the headquarters cheer, though Shun Sui Ju himself remains nonplussed and focused. At Yo Tan Wa's headquarters, Kitari dismounts her horse to stand with Shunmen, Bajio, and Tajifu, and asks why they had decided to summon her from the left wing knowing that it would mean they were without a general. She notices that Yo Tan Wa was not present and demands an explanation, but Shunmen tells her to stop talking and that they had just gotten there themselves, and had been told to wait until she arrived.
Now that the four were present, Ramauji begins, and tells the four to prepare themselves for what he had to say. He tells them that Yo Tan Wa had been shot through the chest by a Zhao archer, and upon hearing this, the four fall aghast. In a flashback, Yo Tan Wa tells Ramauji not to let their allies know about her falling, only Bajio, Tajifu, Shunmen, and Kitari should know, and they should continue the fight. She also tells Ramauji to prepare for the case that Danto had fallen to an arrow as well, leading to the defeat of the Feego on the right. She ends by telling Ramauji that they would be pushed into a desperate situation with the absence of her, but they should not give up, and if their army is defeated, it would impact their allies to the north; that situation alone must be prevented. Ramauji ends by telling the four of them to fight on, and to show their enemies the power of Yo Tan Wa's army.
Bajio, Tajifu, and Shunmen acknowledge Yo Tan Wa's orders, and move on. Kitari is surprised, and angrily asks them if they were not going to ask about Yo Tan Wa. Ramauji tells them that Yo Tan Wa is receivin gtreatment in the Majuhan Tribe's tent in the rear, and attended to the Ripi Tribe's chief, the best healer in the mountains, who called her condition severe. Still, Yo Tan Wa had said she would definitely return, Ramauji recounts, and Yo Tan Wa's commanders prepare to head off, deciding to put their faith in her.
As Bajio, Tajifu, and Shunmen begin mounting their horses, Kitari asks Ramauji how Yo Tan Wa could have been shot while they were with her, able to make it past the Jujimen who had been enduring life-threatening training since childhood, and Yo Tan Wa's own sensing capabilities. Ramauji tells Kitari that they did not know as well, that by the time they had realized, Yo Tan Wa had already been shot. He adds that it was the same for Danto, who managed to escape death but was unconscious. The Jujimen warn Kitari about the archer, and ask her to take care. Kitari points out that an archer would be discovered if they fired indiscriminately, and would put everyone on guard, and speculates that the archer might have already left their battlefield to aim for the next big target.
While riding through the forest, Sei Ka Un's men ask him if their next target was Mou Ten of the Gaku Ka Army to their direct north but the archer tells them that it was not, since it seemed that Mou Ten was not someone who came to the front carelessly, and that he was told by Ri Boku that the next person he should target is the commander of the Hi Shin Unit, in a battlefield even further north than the Gaku Ka were at, Ri Shin.
Characters
Qin
- Yo Tan Wa Army
- Yo Tan Wa (Injured)
- Jujimen Tribe
- Bird Fang Tribe
- Tajifu
- Bajio
- Mera Tribe
- Feego Tribe
- Danto (Mentioned)
- Gaku Ka Army
- Mou Ten (Mentioned)
- Hi Shin Unit
- Ri Shin (Image)