| A Kou | |||||||||
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| Chinese | Ya Guang | ||||||||
| Kanji | 亞光 | ||||||||
| Epithet | Right Hand of Ou Sen Ou Sen Army's Iron Man | ||||||||
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Appearance
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| “ | I am...the First General of the Ou Sen Army...the Right Arm of Ou Sen-sama...I, A Kou, am supporting the greatest man in all of China!! I will not break so easily![1] | ” |
A Kou was a General of the Qin Military and the Ou Sen Army's commander of the 1st Division. He was Ou Sen's right-hand and considered to be the most trusted vassal in his lord's army before his death.
Appearance[]
A Kou is a man with a warriors build, long black hair, a scar on his left cheek, and a long goatee. He wore grey colored military benefitting his rank of general with a long red cape, and decorated helmet with claws on the sides.
Personality[]
A Kou was a very serious man that rarely showed much emotions as he always wore a stoic expression. He was extremely loyal to his lord and master, Ou Sen.
History[]
A Kou was once an enemy soldier that fought against Ou Sen and his army in an unknown battle over a decade ago in the era of the War God. The army was defeated and A Kou along with others, were captured. Ou Sen, always recruiting any talent, approached A Kou and told him about his dream of one day building a "kingdom."
A Kou, baffled, asked Ou Sen if he meant an independent kingdom, which the Qin General answered yes. A Kou would wonder if Ou Sen was sane as smaller states were culled one after another to the point of there being only seven states. To even think of founding a new kingdom and by himself was insanity but Ou Sen reassured that he was sane and that it's the current states that are insane.
A Kou responds by asking Ou Sen what he means. Ou Sen explains that A Kou’s own kingdom was annihilated and now he must rally his soldiers to fight for Qin if they wanted to stay alive, but devoting his all to Qin in that situation is absurd.
A Kou calls Ou Sen's words hollow, further asking how much strength is there in loyalty gained through the fear of death. Ou Sen is initially silent and asks for A Kou's forgiveness as he can be quite tactless at times. Ou Sen then nonchalantly swears that he wouldn't harm a subordinate while asking if that was good enough for him, but A Kou reminds the enigmatic man that he hasn't agreed to anything.
Ou Sen continues on as he tells A Kou to come with him, but to take care, for there's going to be a long road ahead for both of them. A Kou would accept Ou Sen's offer and is assumed to have joined the Qin Military as well as becoming Ou Sen's vassal in the Ou Family.
It's assumed that A Kou worked his way up through the ranks and eventually attained the rank of General. Since then, he would serve as Ou Sen's right-hand man and number one commander for many years.
Story[]
Western Zhao Invasion Arc[]
A Kou made his first appearance when the army arrived at Retsubi. He was eager to capture the gateway of Zhao's inner cities, but Ou Sen decided on the Hi Shin Unit and Yo Tan Wa Army to take down the city instead. He later accompanied Ou Sen for his visit to Gyou. As his lord pointed out that Gyou is a perfect city and will not fall to attacks, Ou Sen decided to formulate a strategy on the spot. They were later noticed by Zhao patrols, which outnumbered them two to one. Despite that, A Kou and his unit continued to eliminate those patrols so they could not disturb his lord from thinking.
A Kou was positioned as the commander of Qin’s right-wing during the Battle at Shukai Plains. On the first day, he deployed the Gyoku Hou Unit to the reserves where they could launch precision strikes, much to Ou Hon's chagrin. A Kou then met the Gaku'Ei Army in a head-on crash where he easily drove the Zhao forces back. In response, Ba Nan Ji's flanked A Kou's forces and pushed deep into his ranks with the intention to deal a fatal strike but was intercepted and stopped by Ou Hon and the Gyoku Hou. A Kou then interrupted their duel and briefly clashed with Ba Nan Ji, which allowed GakusEi's army to regroup, leaving the first day on a stalemate.
On the second day, Zhao launched a three-pronged attack in order to slay Ou Hon. When Chou Ga Ryuu led his forces to pincer the Gyoku Hou alongside Gaku Ei, A Kou sent Ei Ki with 8000 soldiers to save Ou Hon, leading the remainder of his forces to stop Ba Nan Ji who launched a simultaneous assault. After Ou Hon escaped from the pincer and led a small unit into the weak point of Ba Nan Ji's line formation, A Kou, with some annoyance, adjusted his tactics accordingly to cripple Ba Nan Ji's army.
A Kou and Ou Hon conversing together after their victory.
After the day was over , Kou congratulates Ou Hon on his success and tells him to come to his tent to discuss strategy. At the start of the 3rd day, Ri Boku sent Gyou'un to the right-wing to reinforce Zhao's now disadvantaged forces as well as to destroy the A Kou Army. Gyou Un's Rai'un Unit penetrated deep into A Kou's formation and was swiftly followed by the Gaku'Ei and Chou Ga Ryuu armies, with even Ou Hon's intervention proving futile against such a powerful assault. Only the timely arrival of the Hi Shin Unit, who stalemated Gyou'un's army, enabled A Kou's forces to regroup against the remaining Zhao forces.
Despite the heavy damage sustained, the A Kou Army remained largely intact. Along with his adjutant Gu Nei and Ou Hon, A Kou decided to defeat the Zhao commanders through a piecemeal tactic, starting with Gaku'Ei. On the 9th day, A Kou and his army was to hold off Gyou'un, Chou Ga Ryuu, and Ba Nan Ji's armies while the Hi Shin and Gyoku Hou units were tasked to slay Gaku'Ei and weaken his entire army. Using the Shells and Joints Formation, A Kou easily held off all 3 Zhao armies until Ba Nan Ji began targeting the joints on the advisement of Ri Boku, a simultaneous attack from Gyou'un allowed the Zhao forces to penetrate the formation.
Knowing retreat would allow the Zhao armies to reach the Hi Shin and Gyoku Hou units, A Kou opted to slay the swiftly the advancing Ba Nan Ji in a duel while deploying Gun Ei to slow down Gyou'un.
A Kou getting pincered by Ba Nan Ji and Gyou'un.
While A Kou fought Ba Nan Ji in an evenly matched duel, Gun Ei was helpless against Gyou’un and was quickly slain, allowing the 2 Zhao generals to double team A Kou Despite being at an overwhelming disadvantage, A Kou's tenacity and skill enabled him to hold off both his opponents, having even injured Ba Nan Ji, until he was rescued by A Ka Kin, albeit in a state of near-death. A Ka Kin carried A Kou away from the pursuing Zhao forces while the remainder of the A Kou army attempted to isolate Gyou'un and Ba Nan Ji using the Stratagem of the Severed Paths.
On the 10th day, A Kou is seen unconscious covered in heavy bandaging while recovering from his wounds inside his personal tent.
After the Battle of Shukai Plains, he was still in a coma. But five days after Gyou's capture, he recovered, organized his army, and set out to pincer Retsubi with the Tou Army.
Zhao Crisis Arc[]
A Kou was active on the Zhao frontlines together with the rest of the Ou Sen Army. He attained the war meeting of his lord, Ou Sen to discuss the future strategy of attacking Zhao in its entirety before receiving the news of the Zhao King's sudden death and Ri Boku's release from prison.
Battle of Eikyuu Arc[]
A Kou is present during the strategic meeting of Ou Sen Army as they obverse Kan Ki's war with Zhao Great General Ko Chou and his forces.
Zhao's Retaliation Arc[]
A Kou takes part in the Gian campaign. After the siege of Atsuyo, he is present during strategic meetings.
Hango Campaign Arc[]
Abilities[]
| “ | First amongst Ou Sen's Commanders...A Kou. | ” |
| STATS | |
|---|---|
| Strength | 91 |
| Leadership | 89 |
| Intelligence | 87 |
| Experience | B |
| Ou Sen Army's Iron Man | |
A Kou was the 1st commander of Ou Sen Army and the most trusted vassal of Ou Sen, possessing great talents and experience as a general and military commander. It was said by Ri Boku that if he had not sworn himself to Ou Sen, he could very well become a Commander-in-Chief of a large army[2] and Chou Ga Ryuu noticed that A Kou's capabilities at the time greatly outstrip that of Ou Hon.
Physical Abilities[]
Glaive Mastery: A Kou was a master in wielding the glaive. His combat abilities are great enough to fight on par with the vicious Zhao general Ba Nan Ji. He was even able to temporarily hold his ground against Ba Nan Ji and Gyou’un at the same time and having counterattack both Zhao generals before being eventually overpowered.[3] He later withstood the combined attacks from Fuuon and Gaku Shou and heavily countered Fu Tei during the Battle of Hango.[4]
Immense Strength: A Kou possessed immense physical strength as he is able to slay multiple enemies and break through enemy defenses with ease. He was able to shatter Ba Nan Ji's helmet. He later displayed it again when he shattered Fuuon's blade and sent the Zhao commander flying.
Immense Endurance: A Kou displayed an immense amount of tenacity and willpower to the point he is capable of fighting on despite excessive blood loss and being outnumbered by many strong fighters. Despite being hit multiple times, A Kou remained strong and continued to fight. After receiving a serious wound to the back from Gaku Shou, he was still able to strike back at his eye and rushed to save Ou Sen.[5]
Leadership[]
A Kou was a very capable leader and commanded his men effectively on the battlefield. His soldiers were willing to follow him in head clashes as they continue to charge head-on without any regard for their wounded comrades. His presence on the battlefield was able to boost their morale and while his men were devastated by his defeat, they still continued to fight on regardless of his incapacitation by Ba Nan Ji and Gyou'un.
Tactical Abilities[]
A Kou, in spite of his straight-forward nature, possessed an incredible insight for tactics. He disliked resorting to subtlety and trickery as he usually attacked with fearless direct charges as one of main tactics. In his service as the Ou Sen Army's first commander for many years, he was able to imitate a number of his lord's tactics with exact precision.[6]
Military Formations: A Kou was capable to utilize different formations for any purposes. On offense, he's capable of using Wave Attack Formation. When on the defense he can create a Shells and Joints Formation, a sturdy defense that is difficult to breach even by three different armies.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- A Kou and Ma Kou were not brothers despite some believing so. It is because their first names are the same (Kou), rather than their surnames (Ma and A), the series uses surnames first (for e.g. Mou Ten and Mou Bu).
- There's a possibility that A Kou and A Ka Kin are related due to the two sharing a surname and a seemingly causal relationship.
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References[]
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.71 Chapter 776
- ↑ Chapter 556, page 17
- ↑ Chapter 559
- ↑ Chapter 778
- ↑ Chapter 784, page 19
- ↑ Chapter 556, page 16