Kingdom

K. Kira XXIII

Finished the anime adaption of the coalition arc, and then did a somewhat speed run of what came next until the current chapter. Also restarted the anime from episode 1. Overall it has been fun, with some amazing highlights, but some other whatever moments. Mostly around Hou Ken (glad he is dead), Ou Sen and Ri Boku. Although, I find the latter to be worse on their greatness. For example, killing big lips Ma Kou. The reason given as to why this was an amazing tactic is: "because it's Ri Boku." I'm not even kidding the conversation goes:

some general: I'll do that attack, you(Ri Boku) should stay in HQ as high commander.
other general: Pfff nah man, this isn't just some type of flank, this is special, this a "Ri Boku flank"
some general: Bu…
other general: Ri Boku has been doing this for years and killed many generals with it, just trust the Ri Boku flank, buddy.

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"Basically, don't concern yourself with the details" Highlights the problem beautifully.

@Ivotas:

At least it gives us Heki a taking an absolute victory with zero casualties.:ninja:

Look at that, the castle was empty.

@KageKageKing:

Chapter is out. https://sensescans.com/reader/read/kingdom/en/66/714/page/1

! Come oooon, he is just pulling what Sei did in Sai.

Maybe the same action, but there was a clear difference on the type of morale boost.

@Razh:

Feel like a fool for expecting a plot more intricate from Riboku. Fog of war + mass recruit = win.

Qin was like, let's just attack to move the plot forward, whatever. Although in the end they did have to attack in order to get things going, since there would be no gain in staying back. Just wish they EMPLOYED SCOUTS FOR ONCE.

Well at least it's exciting, can't argue that really. :happy:

Having freshly read, they do employ scouts, but I think the author would benefit on showing more maps when mentioning them, so we can gauge better the tactical approach. I think Kingdom is at its best when it has those high angled camera views of the armies + terrain, formations.

@Ivotas:

Qin should just go "welp, the government of Zhao clearly hasn't fled here yet, so let's go back south and slay everyone". :ninja:

Ou Sen might do that. He withheld sending troops for reinforcements.

–--

I've been thinking about going back through the manga and making a highlight folder. Okay, I lie, I just want to see general En's growth from messenger to a man of DUTY.

Let's see if we finally get pay off about Kan Ki's weakness.

Razh

@K.:

Having freshly read, they do employ scouts, but I think the author would benefit on showing more maps when mentioning them, so we can gauge better the tactical approach. I think Kingdom is at its best when it has those high angled camera views of the armies + terrain, formations.

They do employ scouts… except when Hara needs to cut corners and make an army or a unit spring out of nowhere. Like the time Riboku killed Makou, something we tore apart extensively here when it happened.

K. Kira XXIII

I am, by no means defending that, as you can see in that same post. My comment was more on how they actually are employing them but are making little to no difference whatsoever, which is kinda disappointing once you remember that Na Ki's troop is specialized in scouting.

KageKageKing

Rip Fuu. We hardly knew ye.
https://sensescans.com/reader/read/kingdom/en/66/715/page/1

K. Kira XXIII

A friend mentioned: "To think that even with all this Ri Boku lost" it made me laugh at the failures he keeps piling up.

Ivotas

Thanks for the spoiler :(

K. Kira XXIII

@Ivotas:

Thanks for the spoiler :(

It's not really a spoiler. Unless you are imagining that they will manage to wipe out Shin and the rest of the main cast.

Ivotas

A stalemate or a loss without being wiped out was still something that deemed possible before your comment pretty much erased that possibility. In other words a spoiler.

K. Kira XXIII

@Ivotas:

A stalemate or a loss without being wiped out was still something that deemed possible before your comment pretty much erased that possibility. In other words a spoiler.

Nah, you are overthinking it. I do not have spoilers on how this concludes. There is a shitty translation for 716, but that is a far as it goes.

And the comment was towards the fact that they will not be wiped out, which is the goal. We are laughing at that in specific and saying it is a lose for Zhao, even what you are suggesting (stalemate, loss without wiping them out). They had 6 months to plan this, they have double their numbers, they have prepared the "worst case scenario" for Qin. Them not achieving that, is the loss.

Ivotas

So when you say Riboku lost you are referring to him failing at wiping them out only? If that's the case it works well enough for me.

I know that with Xin being the protagonists it is likely that they will come out victorious at the end. But it's not unheard of that even in manga the protagonists side takes a huge loss (we don't even need to look further than One Piece). And since Kingdom is based on supposedly historic events I always approach this series with a "Xin cannot win every single campaign we are witnessing" kind of mindset. So I'm very sensetive to a "and he still lost in the end" kind of statement.

K. Kira XXIII

@Ivotas:

So when you say Riboku lost you are referring to him failing at wiping them out only? If that's the case it works well enough for me.

Yes. At least for now. Again, just to clarify, I have no spoilers on the events to unfold, even if I do guess some stuff right. Of course, they could lose worse, or achieve almost an entire wipe out. But as I predicted at Gyou…there are a lot of general heads in the Zhao side ready to roll.

I know that with Xin being the protagonists it is likely that they will come out victorious at the end. But it's not unheard of that even in manga the protagonists side takes a huge loss (we don't even need to look further than One Piece). And since Kingdom is based on supposedly historic events I always approach this series with a "Xin cannot win every single campaign we are witnessing" kind of mindset. So I'm very sensetive to a "and he still lost in the end" kind of statement.

Yeah, I know very few history spoilers, but nothing that you could not deduce from reading the manga. I try my best to respect people's reads in terms of spoilers and what not. Just yesterday I was about to write about 716 in spoilers tags, but chose to wait until we got a better translated release.

So, what I am about to write is speculation. Same way I speculated in the battle of Gyou that some Zhao generals would die because that's an easy way for the protagonists to rank up to generals. I was also saying that the Gyou campaign was probably the only chance the Buffon (Houken) had to kill Shin as the latter was still getting used to Ou Ki's glaive.

Just going to write some thought I have:

Currently, Zhao is going for a huge play. They have assembled the armies of the north for this purpose, and as it was stated in 715, the north considers Ri Boku king. However, this is a double edge sword, because if Qin somehow manage to not only survive but cripple the Zhao army, this pretty much weakens Zhao's north strength and makes it easier to capture that region.
We have Ou Sen withholding sending reinforcements, I wouldn't be surprised if Hara… I mean Ou Sen has deduced what sort of ploy Ri Boku had planned. He could come with his entire army, or send his army elsewhere.
So we know that Zhao will not be able to completely wipe out the current army, but what can they achieve? Something has to be gained. As a reminder, Ri Boku has stated that he knows Kan Ki's weakness. I could see the latter's defeat as part of this current fight.
After this campaign, I cannot imagine Shin not starting to use Duke Hyou's shield. All the way from chapter one, we see that an army is calling for "General Ri Shin". This person has a glaive and armor. The chapter when Shin gets his full name was such a great detail and throwback to that scene. I also imagine that once Shin and Ri Boku fight each other, the former might wear the weapons (glaive and shield) of his mentors that were killed by Ri Boku. Although, I could see the final blow being delivered by the Hyou's sword as Shin cements himself as Ei Sei's sword and overcomes the biggest obstacle to unify China. There are a lot of symbolism to be had, we'll see what happens.

Just to be safe: I DO NOT HAVE SPOILERS, these are just random thoughts.

KageKageKing

Seriously now, it's weird for me that Kisui is nowhere to be seen. Or did he died somewhere and I forgot about it.

Ivotas

Makes sense. I for my part think that ever since one of you guys mentioned it a few weeks ago, Ousen could actually go for the capital instead and take advantage of the entire army being concentrated at a different place. On the one hand it would feel he'd let Kanki hanging and not come for back up. On the other hand if the entire goverment is still at the capital that would be a huge blow to Zhao.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@KageKageKing:

Seriously now, it's weird for me that Kisui is nowhere to be seen. Or did he died somewhere and I forgot about it.

Oh right, totally forgot him. If this was Kubo I'd expect a surprise attack from behind. Who am I kidding, Hara knows that bleachiest of Bleach moves just aswell. Especially when Reebok's army is concerned. He's yet another trump card. One that has history with the Kanki army.

K. Kira XXIII

There are early translations for both 716 and 717.

Ivotas

Where exactly ?

KageKageKing

I think all of those you found on Reddit those days.

I don't like going there. It's weird.

Ivotas

Just like Twitter, Reddit is a plattform I never use. But I managed to read those two chapters. The question is, can I comment on it like that or does it need spoiler tags? I mean SenseScans is also just a fan scanslation group so it's not like the One Piece approach applies here.

Razh

Please put spoiler tags until someone links the scanlation at least. You know, like we did it in the old days before free official scans?

KageKageKing

Kingdom 716 and 717 are out.
https://sensescans.com/reader/read/kingdom/en/66/716/page/1

Ivotas

I liked both chapters. I know many people here are not into this entire strategic and instinct type of thing, but I myself can't help but appreciate the idea having good instincts or gut feelings that can give one an edge over a well prepared plan. In sports there's never such a thing as a 100% guaranteed victory. There's always the little off chance that the one with less then 1% chance of winning actually makes it out victorious. Sometimes it's luck, sometimes it's just doing the right thing by gut feeling. Same I appreciate what happened here. I liked Shin actually watching the field and trying to get a comprehension of what his guts tell him. That's kinda why I really liked Duke Hyou and I was very happy that Riboku actually commented on that. Now off to read the inofficial inofficial scans.

auem

https://cubari.moe/read/imgur/yEhmxNj/1/1/

KageKageKing

https://sensescans.com/reader/read/kingdom/en/66/719/page/1

Ivotas

Who was Gakurai again? I honestly don't remember seeing this guy anytime before.

Also can someone please tell me what the actual release schedule of this series is? At first I thought it was only Sense Scans being behind but now with other pages it seems that it's actually the series itself that seems to be all over the place in terms of new chapters coming out.

PatTraverse

He was a remnant of Duke Hyou's army.

Razh

Soo, stuff happened! Interested to see how Shin handles Saki when and if they get over Gi'an's walls.

KageKageKing

I wonder when the guy that was currently busy attacking Yan is supossed to appear.

Ivotas

So Kanki is the oldest member of the Saki clan. And we receive this information from the current leader of the Saki, who then tells us the story of how she was there when Kanki first appeared and joined the clan. Is she a ghost or how is Kanki suddenly an older member than her (and possibly the other guys in the flashback if they are still around)? Am I missing something here?

auem

I hope this is the last time Kanki getting the Aizen treatment.

Cockycent

Turnip done. Now Sense Scans closes shop too

PatTraverse

@Cockycent said in Kingdom:

Turnip done. Now Sense Scans closes shop too

They only closed the website. They will keep posting on Mangadex.

KageKageKing

Ryuseeeeeen! Denyuuuuuuu!

https://mangasee123.com/read-online/Kingdom-chapter-731.html

Ivotas

Well, the Hi Shin will surely have look for some new tanks once all this is over.

KageKageKing

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

Well, the Hi Shin will surely have look for some new tanks once all this is over.

The Ton Brothers are still there tho.

Ivotas

@KageKageKing said in Kingdom:

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

Well, the Hi Shin will surely have look for some new tanks once all this is over.

The Ton Brothers are still there tho.

To tell you the truth, I have no idea who the Ton Brothers are.^^'

KageKageKing

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

@KageKageKing said in Kingdom:

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

Well, the Hi Shin will surely have look for some new tanks once all this is over.

The Ton Brothers are still there tho.

To tell you the truth, I have no idea who the Ton Brothers are.^^'

They are in this chapter btw.

Ivotas

@KageKageKing said in Kingdom:

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

@KageKageKing said in Kingdom:

@Ivotas said in Kingdom:

Well, the Hi Shin will surely have look for some new tanks once all this is over.

The Ton Brothers are still there tho.

To tell you the truth, I have no idea who the Ton Brothers are.^^'

They are in this chapter btw.

They are? I completely missed them.^^'

Cockycent

Since the Zhao invasion started, there's been 3 big Hi Shin losses - Kyo Gai, Shou Sa, and Gaku Rai. If these 2 are really dead, these newer members gotta step up or somebody gotta join. It's too much.

Seafarer33

Yeah. I can hardly say they have had any form of character development to begin with, but at least they are familiar faces that have been with the Hi Shin for a long time. It's gonna get real boring if everyone around Shin is a no-name face waiting for the butcher's cleaver.

Ivotas

@Seafarer33
Strangely enough the lack of character development somehow doesn't bother me. Perhaps it's me growing up on old war movies but in a setting like that I don't feel like I need to know ever long time troop members backstory. Just the fact that they have been around for a long time kinda is enough to create some sort of war-buddy attachment.

Seafarer33

Oh, for sure I'm not in Kingdom for the characters and the way I relate to guys like Ryuten and Denyu is pretty much how you describe it.

Still, I miss the early days when Karyo Ten felt like she was more than a passive battle reaction bot; or a guy like Bi'ei had his brother to care for and a longing for home. I'm under the impression that the manga has gradually upped the emphasis on battle clashes and every one other than Shin and Kyo Kai is now very, very one-dimensional.
If even the old familiar faces are going to fall, there aren't this many in the new generation of soldiers that I would go as far as to call interesting.

Ivotas

Yeah, I get what you mean. Especially with Karyo Ten I'm very disappointed. I mean I don't expect her to become a brilliant strategist overnight or anything but you're right that all she does now is reacting both as a strategist and as an actual character.

Cockycent

Most development has gone toward the new Qin 5, Mou Ten and Ou Hon since the Invasion. If anyone has been left out of this, it's my guy Tou.

Mou Bou, Ou Hon, and Kan Ki have taken up most of the market share there.

Gerri

not entirely surprising since Tou is already perfect :)

(doesn't mean he shouldn't get more screen time)

Cockycent

I need my Kingdom fix. And yeah, Tou is top 5.

Ivotas

Chapter 732
https://mangadex.org/chapter/2e4107a9-ff6c-4bc6-a610-0e5265c42b02/1

Ivotas

Chapter 733:
https://mangadex.org/chapter/128053a3-3558-467b-a2cb-e913a18be236/1

Gerri

thank you, nice to get some back story though I'm a little worried this might end up as an attempt to rewrite Kanki and part of the bandits rather than just fleshing them out...

Seafarer33

Agreed. While I'm thankful for any character development lately, I kinda liked Kanki and his crew when they were utterly ruthless scum. Not sure I need a sob story to justify their deeds present and past.

wolfwood

Which volume number are they up to now? I've been holding of for a while to create a backlog because reading this chapter by chapter is just the worst

Razh

@wolfwood think there's like 66 volumes, or 67 now?

I don't mind some Kanki humanization. Or even further dehumanization, lol. He could still end up being the son of that torturing noble for all we know.

Oh and would be cool if we'd see some of Kanki's other generals in younger days, but considering how few people know about his past, I doubt that.