Summoner in One Piece

The Dakan Plains pulsed with the raw energy of two titans locked in a death match. Duke Hyou, the instinctual Qin Great General, stood against Go Kei, the brilliant Wei strategist, their duel a brutal dance of steel and will. A gasp of alarm rippled through the Qin ranks as Go Kei, with a final, desperate burst of energy, managed to wound Duke Hyou. The fate of the entire battle, perhaps the campaign, seemed to hang on this single, pivotal clash.

Alex, positioned amidst the relentless push of the converging Qin forces, observed the duel with a hawk's eye. Duke Hyou was wounded. The immediate instinct might be to rush to his aid, but Alex's strategic mind, honed by his unique abilities and amplified by the 'Basic Unit Coordination' skill, saw a more decisive path to victory. Direct intervention in the duel was risky; it could inadvertently expose Duke Hyou further or waste precious momentum. The greater threat lay in the still-vast Wei army, however shattered their morale. The fastest way to guarantee Duke Hyou's victory, and indeed, end the entire battle, was to shatter Go Kei's army around him, leaving the Wei Commander-in-Chief isolated and demoralized.

"Erza, Kaelen, Shou brothers!" Alex's voice boomed, cutting through the din. "Forget the duel for a moment! Our priority is the complete collapse of the Wei army! Concentrated charge! Shatter their morale! No quarter for any organized resistance!"

He spurred his powerful, summoned warhorse forward, leading his remaining 225 Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry in a rapid, focused strike. They were a living thunderbolt, slicing directly through the already wavering Wei lines surrounding Go Kei's personal guard. Their 'Thunder Charge' skill was at its peak effectiveness, tearing gaps in the enemy formations with breathtaking speed. Erza, riding on Alex's right flank, became a blur of devastating motion. Her sword and spear were a continuous flash, striking down Wei officers and standard-bearers, sowing utter panic. She moved with ruthless efficiency, ensuring no Wei unit could even think of forming a counter-attack.

Akane, a silent, lethal shadow on Alex's left, targeted the fleeing Wei soldiers and any desperate attempts at forming a rear guard. Her swift sword was merciless, turning their retreat into a complete rout. She was the wind of destruction, ensuring that the Wei army dissolved into individual pockets of terrified, fleeing men, incapable of offering any further resistance.

Behind the thundering cavalry, Kaelen drove his 380 Imperial Sentinels with relentless vigor. Their 'Advance' skill coupled with their 'Defense Buff' made them an immovable force, crushing any Wei soldiers who dared to stand in their path. Kaelen's poleaxe swung in wide, devastating arcs, his immense strength carving swathes through the desperate Wei ranks, his every strike a testament to their unwavering discipline. They were the unstoppable tide, ensuring the cavalry's breakthrough was solidified and expanded.

The Shou brothers, Seki Shou and Koku Shou, rallied their remaining 450 Trained Soldiers for one final, grinding push. Despite their heavy losses, their loyalty to Alex and the fury of the battle drove them forward. Their glaives rose and fell with grim efficiency, their combined efforts turning the Wei army's ordered formations into a chaotic, fleeing mob. They were the relentless follow-up, ensuring the rout was total and that no Wei soldiers could regroup, their sheer numbers making them indispensable in this final, crushing blow.

The impact of Alex's concentrated charge was catastrophic for the Wei army. Already demoralized by the fall of their headhunters and Duke Hyou's relentless pressure, they completely broke. The nine-fold spear wall, once a symbol of Go Kei's strategic genius, fractured into a thousand terrified pieces. Soldiers threw down their weapons, screaming, desperate to escape the relentless Qin advance. The field became a scene of utter rout, a sprawling nightmare for the Wei.

From atop the captured hill, Ou Ki watched, his expression unreadable. "The young count has made his choice," he murmured to Tou, "To break the entire army rather than gamble on a singular intervention. A pragmatic decision, born of a strategist's cold logic." He observed as the 炎 standard, Alex's personal emblem, pushed deeper and deeper, a crimson spearhead driving the rout.

The crumbling of his army had a profound, immediate effect on Go Kei. Even as he parried Duke Hyou's furious attacks, he could feel the disintegration of his forces. The roar of the routing Wei soldiers, the frantic screams, the sheer unraveling of his grand strategy, became a crushing weight. His concentration wavered, his spirit faltered. He, the master strategist, was being beaten not just by Duke Hyou's ferocity, but by the relentless, tactical pressure brought by Count Alex.

Duke Hyou, an instinctual genius, sensed this shift in his opponent's spirit. "I could feel your spirit in the first exchange, Go Kei," Duke Hyou boomed, his voice filled with a savage triumph. "But I lost you in the second. Why did you accept this duel?"

Go Kei, wounded and now utterly dispirited by the collapse of his army, managed a strained, bitter laugh. "I will show you... what is in my core!" With a final, desperate burst of energy, Go Kei lunged, his blade finding its mark and wounding Duke Hyou. A gasp went through the Qin ranks, but it was overshadowed by the growing roar of victory.

But the wound was superficial. The weight of his crumbling army had broken Go Kei's spirit. Duke Hyou's eyes burned with a primal fire. "Because you believe tactics and strategy is the only thing in war!" Duke Hyou roared, echoing Baku Koshin's earlier words. With a powerful, devastating swing, Duke Hyou brought his glaive down. Go Kei's defense, already compromised, utterly failed. The glaive struck true, bisecting the Wei Great General. Go Kei fell, dead, his body hitting the blood-soaked ground with a sickening thud. The Dakan Plains battle was over.

A deafening roar erupted from the Qin army, a wave of triumph that shook the very earth. The Wei soldiers, already in full rout, now fled in complete panic, abandoning their weapons and their dead. General Haku Ki Sai, watching from his distant hill, saw the fall of Go Kei and the utter disintegration of the Wei army. His face a mask of shock, he quickly ordered a full retreat for his own forces, unwilling to face the victorious Qin or the wrath of Ou Ki.

Shin, exhausted but exhilarated, watched Duke Hyou stand victorious over Go Kei. The sight, combined with Alex's crushing charge that had sealed the Wei's fate, solidified his understanding: this was what it meant to be a Great General. This was the true nature of war, led by individuals who could dictate the fate of thousands. The Dakan Plains belonged to Qin.