Zanya and Tetsuya join the training camp. While Kanata tries to puzzle out the meaning of Guru Bunbuku's advice, Athora worries about their future as Buddies.

Blocked by Wei Xing's elite crossbowmen, the forces of Zheng and the mountain folk split up. Xin accompanies a smaller force to seek out the usurper Cheng Jiao in the palace... but their way, too, is blocked, by the deadly assassin Zuo Ci and his men.

Zheng and Xin return to where Lord Changwen waits. They make ready to ride to the capital, but they'll need remarkable strategy to overcome the terrible odds. Meanwhile, in the capital, Jie Shi has raised a vast army to face the formidable Lu Buwei.

A faceoff with Cheng Jiao awaits, but before that can come, Ying Zheng, facing death at General Wang Yi's hand, must convince the "Strange Bird of Xin" that his vision of the future makes him a worthy successor to his great-grandfather, King Zhao.

The plot to slay Wang Yi takes a turn no one was expecting.

The Fourth Army's victory against the chariots gives Lord Biao an idea. How far can he push behind enemy lines if the infantry's survival is no object?

Xin's first true campaign as a soldier comes at last, but when Wei makes a surprise move, the battle doesn't go as he expected.

Pang Nuan is still unleashing the wrath of the gods on all around him, and at this point he seems almost untouchable. But this is the Fei Xin Force's camp, and they're not giving up without a fight.

Xin and Zheng, the King, entrust their escape to young Diao, who knows a secret way out of Heibei Village. Xin still blames Zheng for Piao's death, and even as this simmering conflict boils over, a new and deadly pursuer takes up the chase.

The original 100-man Fei Xin Force is down to 36 men, and Zhao's generals are closing in. However, morning has dawned, and Wang Yi is on the move.

The Fei Xin Force scatters, running deep into the mountains with Wan Ji in hot pursuit. This time they're on a self-assigned mission: protect their leader at all costs.

King Ying Zheng receives some disturbing news about Zhao's forces, Diao and Meng Yi learn the true identities of their fellow spectators, and the war begins to take a new turn.

Wang Yi and Pang Nuan begin their showdown at last. Meanwhile, Lord Changwen tells Zheng the truth about Liao.

Nine years ago, Wang Yi, Lord Changwen, and Liao shared a secret with the King that altered the course of one woman's life and death.

Xin sets out into the western mountains with Zheng and his handful of soldiers, seeking the aid of the mountain king. The mountain folk, though, have little liking for flatlanders, and when he meets them, King Zheng is forced to make a perilous choice.

Wang Yi smells something fishy about Zhao's sudden retreat, but his endgame remains the same: find and kill Pang Nuan. Xin and Qiang Lei give him a little inadvertent help.