Fengming, sir, let us take point!
We might run up against the enemy, sir!
The enemy's strategy does have a flaw.
Ling Huang, sir!
Ah, Fengming.
What is it, Fengming?
I must sincerely apologize.
The enemy's simultaneous triple-strike strategy
has cost us our main camp.
The battle for Zhuyong is not yet over.
"Movement in Xianyang"
Which is he?
--Fengming, sir! Run! --What?!
You son of a--
Bastard!
--Xin! --Captain!
We're on our way!
Let's go.
Y-Yes, sir!
Xin!
Xin?! Not Xin of the Fei Xin Force?
Not so fast.
What was that all about, Fengming?
Ling Huang's aides...
Fengming!
All for the nation of Wei.
What?!
Master tactician Ling Huang's might was stuck 14 years in the past.
But in one year, I will be on his level;
in one year from that, I will far outstrip him.
If the strong aren't allowed to survive,
Wei will never make it through the wars to come.
Your name?
Zhou Kuang.
Guard your tongue, Zhou Kuang.
I am the greatest military officer in all of Wei--
and, starting now, your master.
Give Luan Beipo the command to evacuate.
Ling Huang's biggest players, starting with Luan Beipo the berserker,
now all belong to me, Wu Fengming!
"Wei"
Look! The Wei army is running away!
We won!
At the command of Wu Fengming, having determined they could not rally,
each far-flung Wei army evacuated to Wei's interior--
"Qin"
which meant
victory for the Qin army.
Kai Meng!
Any orders to go after them?
Just got this order: "Don't."
Lord Ben...
Yes.
Xin!
Captain!
Hey.
"Fei"
Lieutenant!
Lieutenant Yuan!
You fought so hard, gang.
Are you okay, Ze?
I'm fine.
We did it!
Fetch some water!
Water! We need water!
Got it!
--Qiang-- --Hey! Lieutenant!
Lieutenant Qiang Lei!
This victory allowed Qin to capture Wei's strategic base of Zhuyong.
What?!
You mistook Ling Huang for Wu Fengming and killed him?
Seems like.
No--he did, all right.
Hell, taking just Zi Bai's head on top of our victory here
would have been enough of a prize.
A significant bonus at the end there.
That it was.
What's wrong? Ling Huang was a great-general-caliber get.
For someone who couldn't slay Kai Meng,
it's like Ling Huang's head was something I just stumbled across.
But hey, I'll take all the war glory I can get.
Even our lord and Liao acknowledged Ling Huang's superiority over them--
and you...
And all because of a mistaken identity?! What the hell?
Calm down, Lu Wuwei.
Hey, where's Wang Ben, anyway?
He was invited, right?
His adjutant was just here to apologize.
Said his battle with Fire Dragon Zi Bai
left him in no condition to be up and about.
Huh.
Wang Ben.
So you took down a Fire Dragon of Wei, like Kai Meng.
Tch.
They've lost Zhuyong, Ling Huang, and Zi Bai.
Wei's got to be hurting.
Mmm.
So... now what do we do?
Use this place as a forward operating base for more invasions?
No, that's too impulsive.
The high commander gave orders before we deployed.
Our next task:
Set up a base here,
constructing a giant stronghold that makes use of the natural terrain.
What?!
Is--is he nuts? Why, that'll take...
A year, I'd say.
Gee, you think?!
And no way is Wei going to just sit back and let us!
We're to "defend the base and build at any cost."
"All necessary labor will be provided."
The high commander's serious about kicking this off.
Yeah.
By making front-line Zhuyong here into a permanent base,
he's looking to weaken the nation of Wei but good.
Weaken... the nation...
The Seven Warring States.
It's been more than two centuries
since what was once over a hundred nations coalesced into seven.
The time is now coming for that equilibrium to be upset.
That means some nations will perish.
And we'll be the ones making that happen.
Whole nations...
Wipin' 'em out...
Line 'em up!
Two months after the Battle at Zhuyong,
the earthworks needed to turn it into a stronghold continued apace.
Here, too!
Amazing. Those walls get taller by the day.
Yeah.
From what I hear, Shanyang next door is growin', too.
All these settlers bein' sent out from the center--
the population's blown up to nearly double.
Some of them will wind up as laborers and defensive troops
stationed here in Zhuyong.
Once this place is built up, I hear they're gonna send folks here,
make it a city.
All this moving people around--
who wants their families living out here, on the front lines?
"Unyielding."
Unyielding?
What do you mean?
Shanyang and Zhuyong.
"Wei" "Zhuyong" "Shanyang"
"Qin"
A matchin' pair of solid military cities drivin' a big stake into Wei's heart.
"Wei" "Zhuyong" "Shanyang" "Han"
We'll do our invadin' from here--
till it's done.
Zheng...
The path to our goal of a united Middle Kingdom
is openin' up--little by little.
Urgent report!
The Wei army is attacking!
They've engaged Qiang Lei's unit outside!
Guess the enemy's not going to take all that lying down.
You got that right.
C'mon, Qu Hai, Song Zuo!
"Handan, Royal Capital of Zhao"
"Wei" "Han"
"Zhuyong" "Shanyang"
"Qin"
Shanyang and Zhuyong.
Shall we make a move?
What, us? The Zhao army?
We can't afford to.
The times are trying to move on to the next act--
the downfall of the Seven Warring States.
Downfall?
Gaps in strength and weakness stand out,
with the weaker nations falling into ruin.
And the nation looking to upend
the two centuries of balance among these seven...
"Qin"
...is Qin.
Still, the keener Qin's blades become...
...the more Chu, having only participated in the coalition army thus far,
will strengthen their army in earnest.
Their might is, frankly, an unknown quantity.
Exactly right.
An age of two greats...
Three counting us, duh.
Fu Di's right. We can't be left behind.
The people will need to make sacrifices as we focus on enhancing our military.
To make matters worse, the army stagnated while you were out.
You know, away.
I do think this balance is on thin ice right now,
but whoever breaks it will need plenty of resolve.
Will Qin really go quite that far?
Only one person holds the key.
The man approaching his crowning ceremony next year during this tense time:
Qin's king, Ying Zheng.
The young king who saved Zui himself two years back...
Way different from our king.
Hey!
But isn't he still embroiled in a power struggle with Lü Buwei?
Yes. And in that sense,
the Middle Kingdom's fate may well rest in the movements of Xianyang.
"Xianyang"
And you think we're going to pay for that?
Zhuyong will cost money. Time is of the essence!
Get out of Tunliu first! Rumor has it you're squeezing them dry!
Don't speak of rumors, you insolent fool!
Enough financial talk.
What of the stirrings in Chu and Zhao?
"Queen Dowager of Qin"
My, but it's been a while.
And how have you been,
gentlemen?
Th-The Queen Dowager!
Queen Dowager? That's--
His Highness's mother...
I hear she's the hidden force who consolidated the Inner Palace faction...
K-Keep your voice down!
The Queen Dowager...
She'd been holed up in the royal villa these past two years.
Why visit the palace now?
Hold!
Even if you are the Queen Dowager, this is the Imperial Court!
We are discussing matters of the state!
Please--leave us!
Don't be so formal, Minister.
Worry not: I shall leave as soon as my business is finished.
And that is?
The Inner Palace faction
would like to take Shanyang and Zhuyong for ourselves.
Take Shanyang and Zhuyong...
...for yourselves?
B-But...
What on earth...
It's really not worth all this fuss.
Many of us are already overseeing the Shanyang region.
I'm simply looking to reinforce our presence a bit.
Reinforce? How so, exactly?
Place the three major royal families in the top ranks, from director on down,
and have them spend their money.
Construction at Zhuyong will cost money,
It would be nice to have the three royal families' funds to count on.
A fine idea.
But governance may not go as expected if we suddenly leave the top ranks
to royal family members.
I'd like to take this under further thoughtful consideration.
I have no patience for your turtle-paced politics.
Never mind the details.
I shall have this man represent us as Shanyang's director.
A-A eunuch?!
Take it off.
Madam.
Lao Ai.
A great and highly resourceful man, recommended by the three royal families.
--Who? --Beats me.
Lao Ai?
Who is he?
Lao Ai... now, where have I heard that name?
Lao Ai...
...a man named Lao Ai.
The male prostitute that Lü Buwei smuggled into the Inner Palace
to sever his own relationship with the Queen Dowager.
She's using Lü Buwei's actions to her advantage.
Do you have an opinion about that, Chancellor Lü?
No.
If he has the royal families' endorsement, we can't go wrong.
I thought so.
N-Now wait a moment!
This matter can't be decided so quickly!
Don't try to make a big deal out of this, Minister of the Left.
But...
It's two against one.
A simple majority vote among the king's faction,
the Chancellor's faction, and the Inner Palace faction.
My work here is done. Let's head back, boys.
No--wait!
I trust you'll take it from here,
Chancellor Lü.
Certainly, Madam.
Lao Ai... was it?
Yes. Do you know him?
Well... all I know is that there's a eunuch with that name.
My apologies.
What about him?
Father!
Nothing.
It felt like Lü Buwei and Li Si were familiar with that man.
I had the same sense.
As did I.
I never expected the Inner Palace faction to come into play.
Is the Queen Dowager really volunteering to govern Shanyang?
We must look carefully into what she's planning,
investigating this man as well--this Lao Ai.
It was odd for Mother to stay silent these last two years,
when things like the coalition army
kept my mind off the Inner Palace.
Officially, a divination directed her to withdraw,
but she doesn't put stock in such things.
What has she been up to?
You know...
Her eyes never once met mine.
But if the Queen Dowager's seclusion has ended,
we can finally give her our regards.
Your regards?
Oh...
It's just...
...she hasn't yet seen the face of this child of ours.
I mean...
She is technically the Queen Dowager's grandchild.
That's true.
"Yong, Ancient Capital of Qin"
You must not fail, Vermilion Slayer.
Return with information and I shall multiply your reward tenfold.
It's all right.
Once we're in Shanyang
and far from Xianyang's prying eyes, we can do as we like.
Our influence will expand ever further,
from Shanyang to points north.
And since that area is terribly impoverished thanks to drawn-out wars,
if we spend a lot of money,
we can even set up an army.
They haven't realized how powerfully wealthy the Inner Palace really is.
Just watch, Lao Ai:
We'll make us a nation.
Make... a nation?!
Oh! Wait!
Welcome home, Father!
Ah, hello!
Welcome home, Mother!
Yes, yes!
It can't be... those two...
...have children?
Where did he...
...come from...?
"A New Nation"
Next on Kingdom: "A New Nation."