Chapter Twenty Four - A Battle to the Death (Part 1)

Chapter Song Suggestion - "Kabuki Gomen-Jyo by Wadaiko Matsuriza"

Note : This chapter is segmented into several battle scenes.

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At Beihai's Port...

The scouts infiltrated the waters in the dead of night, sailing in on modest dinghies. The port was as quiet as a graveyard, only the flickering lights of the harbour showed signs of activity. The Captain gestured for his men to stop. His gaze flickered from one end of the harbour to the other – alert and watchful. It was too quiet for his liking. That was when he heard it, the distinctive pluck of arrows releasing into the air.

"Fall back!" He roared but it was too late. A shower of arrowheads rained down upon them, triumphantly piercing through the armours of his men. Bodies crashed into the cold waters, tumbling backwards and overturning the boats. Chaos broke out.

He dodged an arrow by a hair's breadth, his heavy panting echoed as blood rushed in his ears. It was overwhelmed by rambunctious war cries of distant soldiers ambushing his men at shore. Cutting a sharp glance in that direction, he caught the royal colours of Beihai — a deep, blood red that represented life and death. His fists clenched in anger. They were being overpowered. Retrieving his flare gun, he raised it and fired, signalling for the main ships to send the rest of the army.

"Kill them all!" he bellowed nastily. "Leave no one alive!"

Watching the unfolding scene on his horse, Kyou motioned for the swordsmen to replace the frontline archers. "Defend the port! Kill anyone who tries to get through. Drive them back to the sea!"

Brandishing their swords, his soldiers charged with Commander Rei heading the group. They slashed and cut down their enemies from left to right, homing in on the boats coming in from the open sea. Turning around, Rei roared. "Archers! Open fire!"

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At Donggu Palace…

Throwing open his armoury, Shuhei selected a custom blade and tied it to his waist. It had been years since he had gone to war. Hopefully, this sword would grant him some form of divine protection. His gaze skipped over the smaller knives and shurikens, deciding he wouldn't need them. Shutting the doors, he was about to leave his chamber when a voice purred.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

He stiffened at the husky timbre of her sultry voice. Turning around, he tried to ignore the stirrings of unbidden desire for a woman who was supposed to mean nothing to him. Childish features that had amused him then had morphed into fine-spun beauty that captivated men. As she liked to rub it in his face, men were lustful creatures who spilled their secrets at a drop when confronted by a pair of breasts. Regardless of her tactics, Kira was a reliable spy. "What are you still doing here?"

"I came to send you off," she replied, holding up his war helmet. The bronze steel was specially forged to fit his head and stamped with the royal insignia. "You forgot this."

He retreated a step when she came closer. That abrupt movement made her smile mischievously and she did it again, proceeding to lift the helmet over his head. "Relax, I won't bite. If you don't stop moving, I might accidentally poke out your eye."

Shuhei stood absolutely still. Against his will, his heart started racing. She was so close he could see the golden flecks of her irises, like fire sparks on ember. "Kira, what are you doing?"

She stared into the eyeholes of his helmet, before dropping to his lips. "Come back safe, do you hear? I won't forgive you if you break your promise to me."

He relaxed marginally. Kira was a stray he had picked up and raised as his spy. Guided by pity then, he had promised that if she worked for him, she would never be alone again. That was six years ago, before his wife's death. While he did care for Kira, she was too young for him, and he had sworn off love. She might as well be the forbidden fruit in his garden because he wouldn't touch her even if she inspired his desire. It felt...wrong.

Shuhei never sought to discover her past although her extraordinarily sharp features and deep-set eyes gave away her foreign ancestry. Of late, they shared a passive-aggressive relationship, and they were only civil when working. Otherwise, her past time entertainment was to see how far she could push him. He chalked her recent behaviour to teenage rebellion and soon, she would get over her fascination with him.

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't see her move until her lips pressed softly against his metal ones. There was a flicker of longing when their eyes met before she physically vanished like the namesake he had given her. He sighed, getting ahold of himself. Trust Kira to rattle him up before he went to war. Footsteps resounded in the hallway and advisor Hideyoshi appeared around the bend. "It's time, Your Majesty."

Days earlier, Shuhei had ordered his Commander's troop to camp at the border for a potential ambush. While he was aware of Kyou's strategy, he improvised a little to ease the uncertainty in his heart. Akio was a devious man who was good at attacking when one least expected it. One would call it cowardly if it weren't deviously brilliant.

"I'm entrusting the palace to you, Hideyoshi. Wish me luck."

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At Shiryuu's Border…

"Secure the perimeter! The enemy must not cross the border!" Ryuu rode away from the invisible line separating the two nations, holding his ground to kill the soldiers who had sidestepped his men. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a glint and immediately dropped and rolled, safely avoiding the javelin spear aimed for his heart.

"Goddamnit!" he swore, quickly rising to his feet only to be tackled by enemy soldiers. They swarmed him, getting a few hits on his face. Gritting his teeth, he bashed one of the soldier's face and crushed his skull into the sand.

Ryuu felt more than saw the weapons trained on his back, bracing himself for pain, only to hear strange choking sounds and then – silence. Whirling around, he was surprised to see his petite saviours. If he remembered correctly, they were Inka's cousins.

"Your Majesty, are you hurt?" the one called Sihu asked.

"I'm fine." He picked up his fallen sword.

"We apologize for our tardiness."

"It's fine. Where is Inka?"

"She went to Donggu."

He frowned. "Not Beihai?"

"No," Sihu grinned. "Sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty."

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Somewhere in the ocean…

"I thought you weren't joining the battle," IIan remarked, studying the King's emerald armour complete with a katana at his waist. Akio had been staring restlessly into the shadowy waters since they set sail. He wondered what plagued the King. His brother's impending death or his victory over the throne?

"I changed my mind. My brother is like a cockroach that revives even after you have killed it. In order to make sure he stays dead; I have to execute him with my own hands."

"You truly are evil to kill your own brother."

"Speak for yourself. You are using me to lower your sire's guard and when the time is right, you plan to dispose of him, don't you?"

Prince IIan smiled, turning to the distant lights. "Touché. It looks like we are here."

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Back at Donggu...

Shuhei fell as the enemy drove the blade through his shoulder. He cried out in pain, clutching onto the weapon to stop it from plunging deeper. With all his might, he jabbed his elbow into the soldier's eye, causing the man to howl and stumble backwards. Seizing the opening, he grabbed his fallen sword and beheaded the man in one clean swing. He crashed to his knees and pressed a palm against his bleeding wound, slowing down his breathing.

He remained unmoving until more soldiers attacked. Cursing under his breath, he single-handedly deflected their blows. It was either fight back or perish. Forcing them back, he rose in a hunched position only to feel his head swim and white spots dotting his vision. The enemy combined their strengths against him until finally, Shuhei's muscles crippled, and the sword slipped from his grasp.

He never imagined he would lose a fight because of a sword wound. His eyes shut when the blade came down upon his head. "I'm coming home to you, Catrina," he whispered in his heart.

"Noooo!" They heard a ferocious cry.

In a blink of an eye, a circle of gutted bodies surrounded him. "Shuhei, speak to me! Can you hear me?" Someone shook him violently.

A woman's devastated expression crowded his vision. "Cat, is that you?"

"It's Inka." The woman started ripping off his armor to look at his wound. "You're losing too much blood."

"W-what are you doing here?" His head bobbed.

"Stay with me!" she barked, staunching his wound with her small hands. "I'm not going to let you die on me, do you hear me?"

"The whole world can hear you," he slurred, dropping his head against her shoulder.

"We're going to fix you up," she promised fiercely, appalled to hear her voice crack. She was relieved that they had arrived in time to save the King. Inka didn't know how she would face Kyou if his brother perished.

Her cousin, Dene wrapped an arm around Shuhei's waist. "I will take him back and tend to his wound."

"I'm counting on you," she pleaded helplessly.

Dene made a sharp whistling sound, and a brown stallion came galloping. Together they hoisted Shuhei up and Dene mounted from behind. "Lean on me, Your Majesty. It will help to lessen the pain."

"Wait," he grunted, partially lucid. "Inka…will you ─?"

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I can handle this."

"I'm sorry and thank you."

"Go!" she urged her cousin and smacked the stallion's rump, watching them disappear into the night. Grabbing her short blades, she casually rotated the leathered hilts and rushed at the soldiers. Deftly switching her weapons between hands, she carved through their bodies like slabs of meat, uncaring that blood was splattering on her face and clothes — a butcher's dance.

The blazing inferno in her eyes frightened those who saw it. They backtracked. It felt as if they were facing a demoness from hell. "Run, run away," she taunted them. "I will find you wherever you go."