19 Mou Gou Command Center

Waking up early in the morning, Meng left his tent and walked amongst his men, five hundred of them returned to the camp last night, after surviving the charge into the rear of Wei troops, observing the men, he noticed that around 40 of them had died to their wounds during the night, dropping their number to 460 men.

Walking to the edge of the camp, he looked out across the battlefield, he could see the slowly rotting bodies scattered out across the battlefield, most of his men were lying dead out there. Having charged into the rear of the wavering Wei troops, they had successfully broken through, cutting the Wei troops into two, causing half Wei soldiers to route, leaving the other half to face Qin alone.

He observed the faces of his men, many despite having accomplished a great victory yesterday, were sullen, having lost so many comrades, around 2,500 men have died under his command in this battle. Every life was spent and not wasted, is how he justified it, but he knew his men, after spending so much time-fighting side by side with each other, couldn't help mourne for the loss of their friends.

The center battlefield under Mou Gou had done well, they had dealt a big blow to Rin Ko troops the day before, but the situation on the left and right battlefield was different, Ou Sen troops on the left battlefield had managed to inflict heavy casualties on Wei but are trapped inside their fortress, on the right battlefield Kan Ki has managed to kill the enemy strategist that turned the situation around on the center battlefield but has had most of his troops decimated, the few men he has left are attempting to stall the Wei troops as they advance towards Mou Gou command center.

Meng thinking about the situation knew that the center had to quickly resolve their battle before the other two armies from the left and right battlefields arrive and flank their army.

Walking to his horse he quickly mounted and rode out of the camp with his men, Qin troops marched out onto the plains and formed their troops into a giant line facing the enemy, Qin having the larger army stretched out their line further than Wei aiming to use their numerical advantage to quickly get around the flanks of Rin Ko troops.

Meng and the Qin troops advanced toward the smaller Wei army, they needed to end the battle as quickly as possible. Meng watched as the Qin troops charged into the Wei battle line. Meng was impressed with the Wei soldiers' resolve, despite being outnumbered they bravely fought against Qin. If Qin wins this battle then the Sanyou region will fall and their families living in the cities will be at the mercy of Qin troops.

Meng harassed the Wei troops on the left flank and watched as the Qin forces used their superior numbers to start getting around on the flanks of the Wei army, Qin troops were doing well on the left flank but their center was slowly getting pushed back by Rin Ko and his men, who were bravely charging into the Qin troops using a weird formation, the cavalry was forming two circles from what Meng could see and were slowly hitting the center.

It was starting to look like Rin Ko and his men would break through the army! until troops under Shin, Ou Hon, and Mou Ten moved to blunt his charge! a fierce fight soon broke out in the area, but thanks to the brave efforts of the three independent units they managed to blunt Rin Kos' charge. Meng watched as various generals flangs from Qin's side moved towards the center, soon Qin forces started shifting men towards the center to stop Rin Ko from cutting their army into two.

Meng sat on his mount observing the battlefield, he noticed that the Qin forces were making great progress in flanking and overrunning the enemy on the right, looking at the troops near him, he noticed that the Qin forces were not as organized and were starting to struggle and get pushed back.

Pulling his men back behind the line, he rode amongst the Qin troops on the left to investigate, he was shocked to learn that many of the 1,000 man commanders were dead and lieutenants from those units had stepped up and were acting as 1,000 man commanders. It seems Rin Ko had managed to kill even more commanders in the previous battles.

Meng seeing that around 8,000 troops on left were lacking proper commanders leading the troops, Meng a 3,000 man commander was the highest rank in the area, the generals and the other independent units were busy dealing with Rin Ko attack in the center, being highest rank on the left side, he ordered mob 2, 3, and 4 to assume command of 1,000 men each while he took command of the other 5,000 troops.

He gave side mob command of the mounted archers and had him keep harassing the Wei army from behind while he organized his 5,000 troops, he commanded mob 2, 3, and 4 to swing their men farther to left and get behind the left flank and hit it from behind.

While the 3,000 troops moved around Wei's right flank, he used his 5,000 men to hit the flank, soon the 3,000 men under mob 2, 3, and 4 smashed into the Wei soldiers from the rear!

(For Qin, it would be their left flank, but for Wei, it would be their right flank)

Qin's troops on left enveloped Wei's right flank, hitting them from front, side, and rear. Meng watching Wei's right flank slowly collapsing from being hit from three sides, suddenly heard a loud cheer from Wei troops in the center!

Sitting in his saddle, he watched as the Qin flag under General Ei Bi suddenly disappear under the flags from Wei's general Rin Ko! it was clear that the battle in the center was heating up! he didn't want to think how tough the fight was for Shin right now.

If Shin in the others failed to stop Rin Ko, then Wei would cut their forces into two, their command center would then be vulnerable to attack, Rin Ko was known for breaking through the armies and attacking the Great Generals, he once even managed to break through an army and attempt to kill Ou Ki, even having successfully landing a blow on him before being forced to retreat.

If Shin and the others could successfully hold against Rin Ko, then their troops on either flank would be able to use their superior numbers to win and overrun the flank, Rin Ko wouldn't be able to continue his attack on the center of their force without risking being hit in the flank.

Meng watched as the Wei right flank slowly collapsed! eventually, they couldn't handle being hit from three sides and they were all soon overrun and killed! he quickly organized his men and then continued to move his men into position to start flanking further down Wei's line.

There were only a few thousand Wei soldiers left to protect Wei's center, Meng and his men were about to push through them and envelope the Wei center when suddenly they hear loud cheering! Meng watched as all Wei's troops retreated off the battlefield.

From the cheering troops, he learned that Shin had killed Rin Ko in a duel! with Rin Ko dead, the Wei troops all fled while eager Qin forces chased after them! Meng watched as the bulk of the center army chased after Rin Ko's scattered forces.

He knew that the right and left battlefield still posed a risk to Mou Gou command center and just barely managed to stop the 4,000 soldiers under his command from chasing after the fleeing Wei troops. He looked around and couldn't find mob 2, 3, 4, or side mob. They likely were among the troops charging after Wei.

With the bulk of the center army chasing after Rin Ko's defeated men, Mou Gou command center had just been isolated. Meng knew from the manga that likely right now Ren Pa was secretly attacking their command center from behind! He quickly ordered his 4,000 infantry to head back to the command center.

Mou Gou (POV)

Mou Gou watched as his forces in the center battlefield fought, from the looks of the battle, their line was bravely holding in the center, while both flanks were pushing back the Wei troops, soon the center would be enveloped and they would win.

"HEY MOUGOU!!!"

"HAS THAT CHICKEN-HEARTED TENDENCY OF YOURS GOTTEN ANY BETTER!?"

"THE GREAT RENPA-SAMA HAS COME TO VISIT YOU!", shouted Renpa from behind Mou Gou's command headquarters.

"HURRY UP AND DRAG YOUR ASS DOWN HERE! LET'S SETTLE THIS THING WITH A DUEL! MAN TO MAN!", shouted Ren Pa.

Mou Gou watched from his headquarters high on top of a steep hill, as Ren Pa shamelessly taunted him down below, even shouting that Mou Gou had pissed himself and ran away once before.

Mou Gou knew that Ren Pa had often won in the past after surprising his headquarters in a surprise attack, forcing him to flee the battlefield, leaving the army leaderless and vulnerable.

Remembering all his past defeats against Ren Pa, this time he was prepared! he had positioned his headquarters on top of a steep hill, from all sides he had created the headquarters into a maze-like fortress!

Mou Gou ordered all troops in the command center to head to the rear to face Ren Pa, leaving the front vulnerable, if Rin Ko managed to break through, no one would be there to stop him from rushing into the camp. Mou Gou watched as 2,000 Wei troops arrived behind his headquarters, and his men quickly moved to secure the strategic locations in his fortress to defend against Ren Pa.

Mou Gou watched as Ren Pa troops charged, his men quickly fired volley and volley into the charging Wei troops! Wei being assaulted by the arrows were herded to the side in an attempt to avoid the arrow fire.

Mou Gou seeing this was glad, he had positioned archers in the opposite forest to ambush any forces trying to flank from the side. He watched as the archers in the forest opened fire! he expected to see the Wei troops being turned into pincushions! but instead, the arrows fell onto his own men!

It seems Ren Pa had seen through his little trick and had already taken out his archers that were hiding there. The arrows meant for Ren Pa were now being used to assault his own fortress instead!

Mou Gou felt like the loss of the bulk of his archers was a big blow to his plan, but he always expected to eventually lose them, since they were located outside of the fortress, although he was embarrassed that Ren Pa and seen through his little ambush, he was still confident that he had enough men in the fortress to hold against Ren Pa.

Mou Gou watched as Ren Pa men broke through the first line of his defense! and on the right side thanks to the loss of the archers. Watching the enemies storm into his fortress, Mou Gou wasn't worried, the bulk of the Wei forces were traveling down dead ends in his maze-like fortress.

As the Wei troops marched through his maze-like fortress they kept getting isolated as they advanced down the many paths, some paths lead to dead ends, while others led to chokepoints where the Qin soldiers waited in ambush.

As Qin forces kept ambushing the Wei troops, Mou Gou noticed that Ren Pa and a few hundred men under him, were time after time avoiding the bulk of the paths that lead to ambushes and dead ends! Ren Pa was quickly making his way through his fortress and was drawing closer to him! most of his men were inside the maze-like fortress waiting to ambush Ren Pa's men as they advanced up the hill, his command headquarters now had very few men left.

Mou Gou watching Ren Pa advance up the hill resolved himself for a fight to the death! he would no longer run from Ren Pa! every time he fled from Ren Pa in the past, his men would be left leaderless and be picked off one by one by Ren Pa's forces, ultimately ending with Ren Pa being able to declare himself the victor of the battle!

Mou Gou watching Ren Pa quickly make it through his maze while avoiding the traps still had one more trick left to play, he quickly ordered his men to shift around the structure of the fortress!

Soldiers all around the fortress quickly set up new barricades or shifted old ones around, the paths leading up to the top of the hill now changed!

Mou Gou has spent years designing this maze against Ren Pa! capable of changing to confuse the enemies that enter it, old paths that lead to the top of the hill, now became dead ends, and new ambush sights became available to be used against the enemy!

Mou Gou watched as the Wei troops advance towards his headquarters greatly stalled, and to his surprise, a few thousand reinforcements entered into the camp from the center battlefield!

Meng (POV)

Meng leading 4,000 infantry from the center battlefield quickly rushed into the headquarters, he quickly ordered 1,000 men to guard the front against enemies and ordered 2,000 men to guard the left and right sides of the headquarters.

If either army from the left or right battlefield showed up here, they would at least have 3,000 men in reserve to resist them. He quickly ordered his last 1,000 men to enter the maze and support their troops fighting there!

Meng quickly rode to the Great General and apologized for taking command of troops from the center battlefield without receiving permission to do so, he then quickly updated the General on the situation of the center army and how they had defeated Rin Ko's men, as long as they hold out then sooner or later, troops from the center army would return to support them.

Thankfully Mou Gou was in a good mood and started laughing while patting him on the shoulder. Meng watched as Mou Gou quickly went about shifting around the new reserves. Mou Gou now had a small force of 500 men waiting between him and Ren Pa if he managed to make it up the hill.

Meng with his bow positioned himself at the top of the hill overlooking the fortress, he observed as the Wei forces attempted to navigate the maze and make it to the top, they were doing well until the 1,000 fresh troops that meng brought and made it to strategic locations spread out around the maze.

Ren Pa's troops without them knowing it are outnumbered and dangerously spread out across the maze, Meng watched as the Qin troops surrounded group after group of Wei troops as they attempted to navigate the maze.

Meng watched the battle carefully, he soon spotted his target! Ren Pa was traveling with around a hundred men, he noticed that soon they would run into a bottleneck guarded by Qin troops waiting in ambush, he quickly rushed to the location and carefully took aim.

He watched as Ren Pa and his men entered the ambush location, once the fight started he took careful aim, he had Ren Pa dead in his sights, then he remembered Rin Ko blocking arrow after arrow! then he fired! he watched as his arrow flew through the air!

Watching the arrow fly through the air! he couldn't help remembering his past life, he once heard the quote "To kill a General! aim for his horse!", his majestic arrow was flying through the air! traveling at a quick pace it quickly moved towards Ren Pa! the arrow as it traveled was near Ren Pa but soon it was clear that the target wasn't Ren Pa but his horse!

This was Mengs moment! all his training had prepared him for this moment! after today he would become famous! he watched as the arrow flew towards Ren Pa's horse and...

MISSED!!! falling a bit short! and hitting a Qin soldier in the back that was charging towards Ren Pa! Meng could only awkwardly stand there as he became aware of the many troops starring at him!

He took a glance behind him to see if Mou Gou had spotted his epic failure! to his horror! Mou Gou was pretending to cough and avoiding making eye contact with him!

Meng could only stand in horror as the battle continued, he had just failed horribly in front of his idol! and to make it worse! he had even wounded one of their own men!

(A short while later)

With the 4,000 reinforcements, Ren Pa's 2,000 troops who were already struggling to break through the maze now had no chance of breaking through the fortress! it wasn't long before the battle came to an end.

Meng watched as a few hundred men came walking into the command center with a tied-up Ren Pa, Meng avoided making eye contact with a foot soldier who had an arrow sticking out of the back of his armor as he slowly walked by...

While Ren Pa was being brought before Mou Gou, Shin came charging into the command center while bringing a few hundred reinforcements from his unit with him. Ren Pa seeing Shin's new sword became enraged but was quickly beaten down by his guards, eventually, the beating was surprisingly stopped by Mou Gou.

Meng was too embarrassed to be seen, watched from a few feet away as Mou Gou sitting on his mount, towered over a defeated Ren Pa. Mou Gou, and Ren Pa briefly talked before Mou Gou proudly rode away, clearly happy from finally defeating Ren Pa.

Meng looking out across the battlefield at the enemy headquarters was shocked to see Qin flags located there! large flags belonging to General Kan Ki could be seen atop the Wei Headquarters, as smoke slowly rose in the air. It wasn't long before a rider came charging into the camp, bringing the message that enemy general Haku Ki Sai had been killed by General Kan Ki, who surprised Wei headquarters.

As the troops in Mou Gou headquarters celebrated, suddenly the troops' Meng brought with him and held back in reserve just in case any enemy troops from the left and right battlefield showed up, started signaling an enemy attack.

A few thousand men under General Kai Shi Bou were attempting to hit the command center from the side after traveling over from the right battlefield. Thanks to the brave efforts of remnants of Kan Ki's troops, they had managed to delay the enemy causing them to arrive late for assault on Mou Gou headquarters.

Ren Pa kneeling on the ground could only shake his head, he had planned to assault Mou Gou command center with the troops from the right battlefield and his personal guards, they would have distracted Mou Gou and his men while Rin Ko broke through center battlefield and hit Mou Gou command center from front.

Meng knew that the command center now had around 7,000 soldiers, it looked like around 15,000 troops from the right battlefield under Kai Shi Bou are attacking the command headquarters (command center, sry for switching between the two names).

Meng shooting his bow, knows that with the hill advantage, that'll be able to put up a fight. As the soldiers battle, soon reinforcement under Kyou Kai and Mou Ten storm into the command center, they brought another 5,000 men from the center battlefield (Kyou Kai not being outnumbered in last battle, is in better condition than in the manga)

Qin Headquarters now has around 12,000 soldeirs with Wei having around 15,000. The battle continues with Wei being stubborn in trying to rescure Ren Pa, eventually Qin is able to inflict enough casualties and soon outnumber Kai Shi Bou thanks to the terrain advantage of the fortified hill.

With no other choice but to retreat after even more Qin soldeir return from the center battlfield, Kai Shi Bou reluctantly pulls his troops back and links up with Kyou En troops who were keeping Ou Sen force locked in his fortress, and retreat from the battlefield.

Mou Gou having been spared many times in past by Ren Pa after losing their duel, finnally get's a win over his old rival, and gets to experience how it feels to see Ren Pa fleeing from the battlefield, having set him free.

With a loud cheer! the Qin troops shout in victory! they have just succesfully completed the conquest of Sanyou!