The battle atop the Third Hill had descended into utter chaos.
The clash between Qin and Wei had become a whirlwind of steel, arrows, and blood. Soldiers from both sides threw themselves into the fighting with unwavering determination, each believing that victory on the Third Hill would decide the fate of the entire She Gan Plains.
At the heart of the battlefield, two generals finally stood face to face.
General Hyou Ren, son of Duke Hyou, drew his sword while his bow rested across his back. His piercing eyes remained fixed upon the commander before him.
Across from him stood Gong Yuan, the Lieutenant General of Wei, his glaive stained with the blood of countless Qin soldiers.
For a brief moment, the battlefield around them seemed to disappear.
Only the two generals remained.
"So," Gong Yuan said with a confident grin. "The famed son of Duke Hyou. Let me see whether the son has inherited even half the strength of his father."
Hyou Ren calmly raised his sword.
"A battle between armies is decided by strategy."
He took a single step forward.
"But a battle between generals..."
His eyes sharpened.
"...is a battle of wills."
The instant those words left his mouth, both generals exploded into motion.
CLANG!!
Their weapons collided with enough force to send shockwaves through the surrounding soldiers.
Nearby combatants instinctively backed away.
Neither man yielded an inch.
Gong Yuan unleashed one devastating swing after another with his massive glaive, each strike carrying enough force to crush a fully armored soldier. Hyou Ren answered with swift and precise swordsmanship, parrying every blow before launching razor-sharp counterattacks.
Steel clashed endlessly.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The duel quickly evolved into a contest of endurance.
Every exchange reflected not only their martial prowess but also the resolve each general carried upon his shoulders.
Gong Yuan fought for Wei's victory.
Hyou Ren fought to carve Qin's path toward victory.
As the duel intensified, neither commander noticed the subtle changes occurring elsewhere on the battlefield.
The attention of every soldier had been drawn toward the brutal fighting raging across the left and central fronts.
No one had spared a glance toward the Wei headquarters atop the Third Hill.
Then...
A horn echoed across the battlefield.
One.
Then another.
Both armies instinctively turned toward the summit.
Their eyes widened.
The once-proud banners of Wei were no more.
The dragon standards of Wei had vanished.
In their place...
The black banners of Qin now flew proudly over the Third Hill.
"...Impossible..."
Gong Yuan's face froze.
"The headquarters..."
A Qin messenger shouted with all his strength.
"Commander Mo Yun has captured the Wei headquarters!"
Cheers erupted throughout the Qin ranks.
Unknown to both armies, while every eye had been fixed upon the fighting in the left and central battlefields, Mo Yun, Qin's instinctual commander, had led his forces through an unexpected assault against the Third Hill's headquarters.
Exploiting the confusion, he had overwhelmed its defenders and seized the command post.
The Third Hill...
Had fallen to Qin.
Wei soldiers stared in disbelief.
Their command center had been captured without warning.
Their lines immediately began to waver.
Gong Yuan's expression twisted with shock.
"No..."
His mind raced.
"I've... been outwitted..."
That single instant of hesitation was all Hyou Ren needed.
His instincts reacted before thought.
A flash of steel.
SLASH!!
Hyou Ren's sword tore across Gong Yuan's chest with tremendous force.
Blood erupted into the air.
The Wei General staggered backward, dropping to one knee.
His glaive slipped from his grasp.
He looked up at the young Qin general before him.
A faint smile appeared despite the blood flowing from his wound.
"So..."
"So Qin still manages to produce monsters such as you..."
Hyou Ren silently raised his sword.
"This battle is over."
With one decisive swing
SHING!
Gong Yuan's head fell to the ground.
The Lieutenant General of Wei...
Had fallen.
For a heartbeat, silence consumed the battlefield.
Then the Qin army erupted.
"General Gong Yuan has fallen!"
"Victory belongs to Qin!"
"Hyou Ren has slain the enemy general!"
The morale of the Wei army collapsed instantly as soldiers began abandoning their positions across the Third Hill.
Watching the retreating enemy, Hyou Ren slowly lowered his bloodstained blade.
"It's time to end this."
The black banners of Qin now flew proudly over the Third Hill, signaling a decisive victory.
Yet far from the celebration...
Two legendary generals had begun to move.
From Wei's rear, the fearsome Go Kei, one of Wei's Fire Dragons, advanced toward the battlefield separating the Second and Third Hills.
From Qin's side...
Duke Hyou had also begun his march.
Like two storms destined to collide, both armies advanced relentlessly toward the space between the Second and Third Hills.
The battlefield had claimed one general.
Now...
It awaited two monsters.