The Third Army is the 874th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Synopsis
On the night of the ninth day of battle, after her surprise at Ri Boku's sudden presence in front of her at her campgrounds en route to the second defensive line's headquarters, Kaine notices the weariness on Ri Boku's face, and begins worrying that his constant moving across the battlefield to take command was shaving off years of his life. The thought of him fading away if he kept doing as he did appears in her mind, and she steps forward to hug him tightly. Though Kaine had stuttered Ri Boku's name, the soldiers around her keep his presence there a secret and gently turn away others who had heard Kaine's voice, keeping in mind the importance of his exact whereabouts being kept a secret. Kaine's guard informs Ri Boku that they were en route to the second defensive line's headquarters and apologizes for letting the Hi Shin Unit slip past them. He sets them at ease and says that it was unavoidable since he had not expected the former Han Army to be as strong as they were. Kaine's men ask Ri Boku if he were heading to the same place they were, and volunteer that the Hi Shin Unit camping near there might make moving there too dangerous. Ri Boku tells them that he would rest there until just before dawn and set out then, and that he would use the homeground advantage that provided many paths to slip past the Hi Shin Unit.
Kaine offers her tent to Ri Boku and apologizes for it being small, and says that she would sleep outside. Ri Boku tells her that he would sleep next to her, and her men tell her that it was natural for husband and wife to sleep next to each other. They gently tease her and tell her to hurry up so Ri Boku could rest, and Ri Boku takes her hand and leads her to the tent. That night, they make love, and then Kaine jostles awake and finds herself alone, unsure if it was a dream. She sees that it was brighter outside and that she had not been dreaming, and then remembers that Ri Boku had unsuccessfully tried to wake her up before he had left.
Before dawn, at the headquarters of the Zhao army's second defensive line, Ru'an sits and ponders about how to approach strategy for the next day of battle. She sees Ri Boku approach, and the two exchange greetings, before she updates Ri Boku of the situation, telling him that the three Qin forces were in sync despite not having communication. She brings up the possibility of recalling Ri Haku from the south, but pauses, having noticed that Ri Boku had slept with Kaine earlier that night. Ri Boku is slightly embarrassed but brushes her off, and brings the topic back to strategy, though concedes that Kaine had been pleased.
Ru'an asks to confirm that this is where their special plan would begin, and Ri Boku confirms. He calls for orders to be sent to the generals of the armies that each of the three armies had slipped past, who were now chasing them down. As battle breaks out later that day, the Gaku Ka Army, Kyou Kai Army, and Hi Shin Unit find themselves in the same situation, with both an enemy in front of them and behind them. The three Qin armies commit to defending from behind and trying to break through the armies in front of them. Eventually, the Gaku Ka break through, only to find the final rear guard army led by Earl Rai in front of them, who halt their progress. Next, the Kyou Kai Army break through, and find an army led by one of the former Ten Spears of Gyou'un, led by Kei Dou'ei, and also get stuck. The Hi Shin Unit also break through, last of the three armies, but successfully make it into Zhao's inner lands, Zhao's defensive resources having been spent on responding to the breaches by the other two armies.
Characters
Zhao
- Ru'an
- Chou Kotsu Army
- Keidou'Ei