3RD PERSON POV
"General Chou Haku, the fighting is only getting fiercer!" A cavalryman shouted towards Chou Haku as he defended himself against another Xiongnu horseman. With the addition of new troops from the Xiongnu headquarters, the centre battlefield became the centre of attention. Everyone with a sense for command/strategy could feel, taste and understand that this place would decide the victor and the vanquished.
"Carry on fighting! Men of the Chou Haku army! My brothers and sons!" General Chou Haku shouted back words of encouragement to his soldiers. Even in the craziness of war, he didn't dare allow his mind to slip or stay idle.
"My Lord, they outnumber us five to one!" Another cavalryman shouted back to him, a look of uncertainty in his eyes, and sweat poured from his brow. The pressure the Xiongnu were exerting on the centre only continued to increase, and with the addition of Rozo and his unit, who were skilled and brutal with their kills… The Zhao army only continued to concede more ground.
"Five to one you say! Then I forbid any of you to die before you have slain six of the BARBARIANS!!" Chou Haku shouted. The shout carried far into both the minds and hearts of all Zhao soldiers.
"HOOUUHHHH!!!!" The demand was met with a resounding cheer from all in the Chou Haku army.
"You hear that, my boys! Our Lord has asked us to slay six of these barbarians! Watch me answer his call!" A seasoned 1000-man commander in the Chou Haku army said before kicking up into another gear with a war cry, his spear stabbed through the throat of a Xiongnu warrior who did not see the sudden change coming. By the time the warrior knew he had died, the commander had already killed two more, his spear punched in so hard it snapped in half!
"Hahaha, the commander sure is fired up!" One of the foot soldiers cheerfully said to his comrade, his spear slick with Xiongnu blood.
"Do you dare allow a 1000-man commander to steal your glory!" A 3000-man commander who had seen much and more in Chou Haku's army said to his men, who heard their commander feel a second wind enter their lungs.
"NO!" They shouted back whilst slaying their enemies. On and on, this fervour was like a chain reaction infecting the hearts and minds of the Chou Haku army. Yet, for Chou Haku, who was in the midst of this, his own mind was plagued by uncertainty.
'Where is the Sei Chou army?!" He asked himself, they have been fighting for a long time. And he knew his army, even with this high morale, could not hope to stop and overcome the continuous stream of Xiongnu soldiers being thrown at them.
'The young General would not be so ruthless as to leave us?!' The questions kept coming even as Chou Haku tried to smother them. This was the first time he had fought under Sei Chou's banner. And he had seen Sei Chou's ruthlessness at the Battle of Hau City, it had marvelled him then the quick and cutthroat decisiveness that Sei Chou had shown to abandon General Kou and secure the city.
Now, at this moment, he could not help but feel… 'Am I Kou in this plan?' He wondered if he was the person to be sacrificed for the ultimate victory. "Hah, even if I am to be the sacrifice for his victory, then so be it! His path is much further than mine!" General Chou Haku felt a surge of strength and lightness after he said those words, his mind and body committed fully to killing as many of the Xiongnu in front of him.
He swung and swung his glaive, and more and more bodies fell to harsh ground. Their blood soaked and nourished the earth before being trampled on by his horse, which kicked and stamped his rider's emotions.
'Should this be our last time together! Let's go out in glory!' The words were said in Chou Haku's mind, but it seemed to transmit to his horse, who lashed out with a side kick that slammed into an Xiongnu soldier's chest. "More, give me more!" Chou Haku demanded whilst killing more warriors. The stream was endless as the Xiongnu headquarters sent out more and more troops; their goal was simple and direct.
Punch directly through the centre and shatter the Zhao completely. However, they did not account for the willpower of the Chou Haku army, which stood strong against a man. Even as some of their infantry died, they did not go meekly, instead taking at least one warrior with them.
For Rozo, who was seeing this, he could sense there was a change coming. His experience in war told him that a crucial opportunity was going to show itself, and depending on who fell to the victor would be decided. His head turned sharply, and a thick battle aura was being stirred and further stoked, until it became a roaring fire that required attention.
For a moment, their eyes met, and Chou Haku and Rozo stared at one another for a split second. Even as soldiers fighting fiercely stood between them, Rozo could smell it, 'The smell of General!' Had covered Chou Haku from head to toe before he had even known it.
Turning away from Chou Haku, Rozo could see the bright path lined for him. A path towards victory, but instead, he chose to turn back and look at Chou Haku. He wanted to duel to test his strength against the ones who dwelled in cities, behind stone walls. Those who did not live on the plain did not sleep under the night sky.
Then it came… blink, and you miss it, and Rozo blinked. The Xiongnu warrior would regret this single mistake for the rest of his life…
The earth trembled, as war cries and horses thundered aloud loud enough for all to hear. Zhao's horsemen charged down the plains, their warhorses racing across the open plains. Rozo could sense that these men entering were different; he saw there were flags in the distance, yet could not make them out.
As soon as those on the frontlines of Zhao heard the sound of cavalry coming from their backs, they started to part like a great sea. Opening a direct path for their allies to have a direct conflict with the Xiongnu, the Zhao soldiers knew they would certainly die if they were to be caught in the middle of what seemed an unstoppable force and the Xiongnu.
Rozo saw all of this, but his mind dismissed it instead; he was focusing on one person leading the charge and very front, one hand held his glaive as the man leaned forwards on his horse. In the eyes of Rozo, Chou Haku's battle aura required attention. But this person… This newcomer's aura… DEMANDED attention.
"DO NOT DARE TAKE YOUR EYES OFF MY BACK!!" Shouted the man at the front, the words were for those who followed him, yet they could be heard by all those in the centre of the battlefield.
"How confident!" Shouted Rozo, seeing the person get closer and closer to his fellow warriors. He wanted to see the first clash between the newcomer and his troops, "Zeki, take that man's head off." Zeki's reply was in their native tongue before he and 10,000 directly charged down the man.
"So, you did not abandon me, Sei Chou." Chou Haku said with a grin, his fist clenched tightly. The man leading the incoming Zhao army was none other than Sei Chou, the young general who was slowly becoming a pillar of Zhao's military for all soldiers.
Sei Chou let out a fearsome roar as he charged, his red hare spurred on, his bloodlust emanating from him. It was so much that Zeki's heart was shaken, worry and dread filled his eyes. 'This is where I die.' Zeki said to himself, seeing the glaive swing coming at him faster than anything he had seen.
With one swing, Sei Chou cut directly through Zeki, the upper half of his body and horse flew into the air, creating a shower of blood.
At the Xiongnu headquarters, their Commander in Chief and head tribesman felt his own heart seize, his hands trembling at what he had just seen. The 10,000 sent by Rozo were eliminated in such a flash that he could not believe it. Again, he saw Rozo send out more men to deal with Sei Chou, and it only ended in the same result.
"So, this is Zhao's, Sei Chou." He said to himself. Now, he only had his personal guard in his main headquarters, the warriors that were loyal to him and only him. The men who had come from the tribe he had led, casting a glance over his shoulder to read their expression before turning back.
Sei Chou's momentum and the effect it had on the Zhao was something else entirely; the soldiers were fighting with the thought that they would lose in a pyrrhic battle, now they were fighting with only complete and utter domination in their minds. The tide of battle had completely changed, and even as Rozo himself charged towards Sei Chou to duel with him.
The Xiongnu leader continued to watch on, his tribesmen could only look at their Generals' backs and wonder what thoughts he had.
Rozo had managed to slow down the momentum of Sei Chou, but it did nothing to counter the momentum of those who had followed after his back; in fact, it only seemed to spur them on, and for those who saw all of this from the main encampment of the Xiongnu, all they saw was defeat.
…
ROZO POV
'Is this Chiyou!' Another heavy glaive strike that he barely blocked caused his bones to rattle. Rozo was a king and the leader of his tribe. He had joined the confederation of Xiongnu, with only thoughts of victory and slaughter. Rozo had thought he knew what he was getting himself into… 'But this… Where was Zhao hiding such a man?!' He shouted in his mind, feeling yet another heavy hit from the glaive of Sei Chou.
Everything had gone according to plan until a few days prior, but that was only a slight mishap, and they had the Zhao fighting in an open field battle. Yet, the outcome was not what he or any of the Xiongnu had predicted. Even as he swung back, with all of his own might, it seemed not to shake Sei Chou.
Rozo didn't need anyone to tell him who he was up against; there was only one person who could fight him as fiercely as this. And that person had to be the leader of the Zhao army, Sei Chou. 'Would he die here?' The thought sent a cold shiver down his spine, 'I, a King, to die here and now?!' His blood was boiling at the mere thought. Rozo swung his glaive with everything he had, his regal title as well as many other things on his mind.
The clash caused their glaives to screech and scream, "You are strong, very strong. As strong as I am, you will die here. I am Rozo, a King of my tribe, and I refuse to die here!" He declared.
He saw Sei Chou chuckle to himself, but the words he said held no humour to the ears of Rozo, "Death does not fear me, Rozo. All men must die, but today is not the day for me. Remember this day very well, Rozo, the day you and yours attempted to invade Zhao and were sent running by Sei Chou."
After those words, Sei Chou attacked him, and Rozo did the same. Trying to follow every move, trying to match Sei Chou in strength with every strike. He knew Sei Chou was fearsome and starting to gain a name in Zhao, with a possible relation to one of Zhao's Great Heaven, the dead Rin Shou Jo. The information had emboldened him, feeling that it was usually the greatest of warriors who only produced dandies and good-for-nothings.
'And yet…' As they clashed glaives with thunderous noise being made. It was Sei Chou who out of the two of them, who was getting stronger and faster, even without clean strikes being landed on either. Rozo could feel it was only a matter of time; his instincts were telling him that he was not the hunter but the hunted in this situation. There was no conserving of strength for Rozo, who was going all out from the start, but it seemed his opponent was steadily kicking up the speed.
However, it seemed the Tengri had not failed him, had not given up on him. An opening came where he could see none. Goba charged into the duel and swung both his swords to decapitate Sei Chou. The horse of Sei Chou jumped to create distance, whilst the man swung his glaive and parried the strike that Rozo had sent his way.
Creating some distance from the Rozo and Goba, Sei Chou seemed to regard both of them for a moment. "Well, I was waiting for when this would happen… You were fighting too honourably for my taste, Rozo." It was like this: Sei Chou knew him, but there was no way he could have.
"We're Xiongnu, we do not hold ourselves to the same standards!" He and Goba attacked at the same time, looking to pressure Sei Chou and kill the damned man.
Sei Chou parried his swing, "Then it seems I must open a school of thought." Before parrying Goba's own hit.
"That's if you survive!" Rozo shouted back at him.
Sei Chou laughed, but again to the ears of Rozo there was no humour, only arrogance before saying, "Come on then, a so-called king and his brother, a prince, let's see if the two can take on a mere weakling Zhao soldier."
"My brother is enough to take you down, but it has been decided you should see another sunrise," Goba replied, speaking up for the first time, but the words were wind to the ears of Rozo, who was getting more alarmed.
'How did he know Goba is my brother?!'
Goba seemed not to notice that Sei Chou knew so much about them, but Rozo could not think anymore of it as he saw the man charging him down. Time became a blur, as none of them knew what to do by chance. The addition of Goba levelled the playing field, but soon his arm was lying limply by his side, and cuts were bleeding all over his body.
Rozo knew he was not any better; he had to keep one of his eyes closed as a cut had opened up on his forehead, his left arm lying limply at the side, and he could no longer feel anything in it.
As they readied themselves to go for another bout, Rozo saw thick black smoke billowing in the air. It was coming from the direction of where the Xiongnu main camps were stationed.
"Same trick, same result." He heard Sei Chou say, a bright grin on his face. The tribesman who saw the smoke disengaged from whatever fighting they could do and started to turn tail and run.
"It seems I was right after all, Rozo," Sei Chou said with contempt. Rozo could only stare at the man with bloodshot eyes, a vast amount of emotions and thoughts running through his mind.
"Yield."
Rozo looked to the sky above and saw that the sun was nearing the horizon. The first day ended, and with that, his hopes of victory.
The confederation lost.
....
Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian
In the Year 255 BCE, Jing Zhe (Sei Chou) defeated an invading Xiognu army.
CHAPTER: DONE