The greatest blow this time around...is the loss of more than half my personal troops. Seems like I'll need to think of something else for the real upcoming show. But still...That's all there is to it. Everything other than that...isn't really anything to make a fuss over. Because even if the enemy manages to close in on me...They will never be able to defeat me.
”
—Rin Ko to Shin and Ou Hon as they meet again on the battlefield.
Originally a General for the Zhao Military, Rin Ko was one of the greatest military commanders of his generation as he devastated opponents with powerful break through tactics and superb martial strength with his swordsmanship in the era of the War God. After joining his lord in exile to the state of Wei, Rin Ko eventually met his end on the battlefield at the hands of Shin of the Hi Shin Unit during the Sanyou Campaign.
Although Rin Ko was well in his thirties, he had a youthful look of a child or teenager. He had brown hair slicked back, and his eyes looked as though they were closed. He was described as feminine looking by the king of Wei.
During the Sanyou Campaign, two fingers of his left hand were cut off by Shin during their first duel.
Personality[]
Rin Ko's behavior seems to reflect himself as a laid-back, rarely serious general. He also had a "joking" side to him, as observed from his manner of speech. That said, the amount of experience he has accumulated on the battlefield is demonstrated by his abnormally strong killing intent, which was strong enough to disperse regular men in his way. He disliked those who tried to offer false sympathize with him when he heard of Gen Pou's death.
Upon encountering Shin, he comments on how Qin has "promising young blood" and thought his lord would have been interested. However, as his policy is to exterminate noteworthy enemies, he did not hesitate to exchange blows with Shin in an attempt to kill him.
History[]
In an all-too-common sight in the Warring States Era, Rin Ko's village was caught up in a war that resulted in his entire family and the residents being killed. Though he and his sister were able to survive, they could do nothing but starve to death. Days passed, and through a chance, he met Ren Pa, along with Kai Shi Bou and Gen Pou, who offered him food and water. He then told them to care for his sister first, but unfortunately, his sister had already passed away, her corpse crawling with maggots. After being adopted by the Great General, Rin Ko was educated by Gen Pou who taught him all he knows about tactics and strategy at a young age and saw the old man as a "grandfather" figure. Since the very beginning of his military career, He has fought with Ren Pa's army against the Six Great Generals of Qin, and at some point, he even managed to break through the defense of Ou Ki's army and managed to land a blow on the general himself. Displaying the terrifying strength to break through enemy lines, Rin Ko was always handed the most important or decisive tasks in Ren Pa's past battles.
Rin Ko is first seen confiscating weapons from the defeated Gaku Jou and his soldiers. At the start of Ren Pa's involvement in the Qin-Wei conflict, Ren Pa orders him to do his "thing." The Wei king gives him 3,000 men to command, but Rin Ko says he only needs his personal 300-man unit for the job.
The task given to him is to assassinate talented Qin officers within Mou Gou's army. During the night after Mou Gou's army conquered their third city, Kinrikan, Rin Ko successfully killed eight 1000-man commanders, including commander Kaku Bi. Three days later, despite the army's defensive march, he successfully killed general Ra Gen while the Mou Gou Army marched to their next Wei city. His path away from the dead general leads him to the Hi Shin Unit whom he intimidates with his fierce killing intent. It causes them to halt in fear, with the exception of Shin, who attacks Rin Ko instantly. He grabs Shin by the wrist, running him into branches before attempting a cut that is dodged by the 300-man commander. Dropping Shin on the floor, he tells his men to go ahead and comments that Shin must be strong to have dodged his sword and be unfazed by his killing intent. After asking his name, he checks his list and not finds Shin on it, tells him that he gets to live another day. Shin interrupts his departure by asking if he killed Kaku Bi, Rin Ko replies yes and is instantly attacked by Shin yet again. He cuts at Shin's chest, but he manages to dodge most of the blow leading Rin Ko to note that Shin is already giving off the "air of a General" though it is but the tiniest of hints. He charges Shin but is stopped by spears thrown by the Hi Shin Unit, who caught up to them.
When Shin asks how an assassin could be a 300-man commander, Rin Ko informs him that he can command much more as he is a full-fledged general. Before leaving, he states that generals that are truly beloved by the heavens number only a small handful and wonder to himself why he mentioned that. After telling Shin that he will remember the Hi Shin Unit, he heads to his next target. When he sees the unusual camp formation of Vice General Kan Ki, Rin Ko heads back, mentioning the prowess of the Qin general. Before the two armies do battle, Rin Ko and the other Heavenly Kings perform their usual ritual before setting off. Leading the vanguard with 8,000 troops, Rin Ko charges Qin General Do Mon's troops and effectively directs several of his squads to counter their attack. Noting the serious nature of the inhabitants of Wei and their sturdiness in battle, he gathers 500 men in his unit and begins his assault. He kills 1000-man commander Tai Un before running into Ou Hon's unit, saying he will have his life. He battles against the 1000-man Commander, parrying his spear thrusts before saying that he can see Ou Hon's proficiency with the spear. When Ou Hon uses the Dragon Finger, Rinko dodges the technique while countering by throwing one of his swords to stab him near the shoulder.
He attempts to strike him down but is stopped by Ban You, Ou Hon's vice-captain, before the Qin army sent out their second wave of troops. He sees how they do well in the way their troops begin pushing back the Wei soldiers until he hears a signal and notes that the arrival of the second wave of Wei troops is too early. Rin Ko holds his position while Gen Bou devastates the Qin army.
On the second day of battle, he is the head of the Wei center army and is in command of 40,000 troops. He is shocked when he finds out that Gen Bou was killed by the Qin. On the fifth day, he is surrounded by 5000 Wei troops and wonders why Mou Ten is attempting to attack when he is so well defended. Noting that the enemy is aiming for gaps between troops, he sends men from his personal unit to cover those gaps and is somewhat worried when his men are being killed by those of Mou Ten. When Shin and Ou Hon fight him, he tries to finish off Ou Hon, who is the more troublesome one but is interrupted by Shin who takes over the fight. As Shin continues to blow back Rin Ko's guard, the Wei general wonders if he is evolving within the fight. He attempts to slash Shin but misses and quickly blocks an attack from above, which wounds his horse and costs him two of his fingers. As his wounded hand is bandaged, he acknowledges the strength of the Hi Shin unit and orders his troops on the offensive, stating that the "real show" will begin the next day.
On the sixth day of battle, Rin Ko waits for the arrival of reinforcements from Kai Shi Bou as they are needed to make up for the loss of his personal soldiers. After Gi Ryou convinces him to trust in the Wei troops he has, Rin Ko orders the men to begin attacking immediately and uses the Rindou to break into the Qin center, killing General Ei Bi in the process. His charge continues deep into the Qin army until the Hi Shin Unit stops it from advancing any further.
They enter into a fierce duel, and Shin tries to hit the crippled general from the left, where he can’t use his other hand. But thanks to Rin Ko’s skillful horsemanship, he can’t get an opening at all.
During the fight, Rinko realizes that Shin is the reason for the high morale of all the Qin soldiers. In reality, Shin was fulfilling the role of a commander for the whole area. When Shin charges for Rinko, he deals a leg wound Shin’s leg, and since he’s mounted, it proves to be fatal. Shin then jumps and grabs Rinko, throwing both of them to the ground, injuring Rinko’s neck. Having switched to a ground arena, during their duel, it begins to rain. That doesn’t stop Gi Ryou because if Rinko dies, it's over for the Wei. He’s then cut down by So Sui. Then So Sui, who could not stop himself, let off a huge killing intent directed at Rinko. In response to that, Rinko reflexively cut him down. And in that tiny window, when Rinko shifted his attention away from Shin, Shin did not let the opportunity escape to deal a fatal blow to Rinko. Then Rinko slashed Shin's leg. Rinko gets back up, saying that Renpa is waiting for him because he is Renpa’s sword bestowed to him by the heavens. And that there are only a small handful of generals that are truly beloved by the heavens. He tells Shin about how Renpa saved him as a child. And it was fate that brought him and Renpa the two of whom had a natural talent for warfare together. Shin says that the heavens don’t dictate fate and that everyone stands on their own two feet. He elaborates that they both met inspiring people and that Rin Ko's fight with Shin will make him stronger. Before continuing the battle, he notes to Ren Pa that perhaps his fate in his duel with Shin was also according to fate and that he had fulfilled his purpose. After a few more exchange swings, Shin impales Rin Ko's chest. In his final moments, Rin Ko is complimented by Shin, who acknowledges the most dangerous opponent he everfought.
Once the invasion is over, Rin Ko's body is sent back to Ren Pa per Shin's request. Ren Pa, in his gratitude, sends a piece of expensive ginseng in return though the Shin and the members of the Hi Shin Unit were unaware of its value or properties.
Abilities[]
“
The moment he is let loose from my hands, no one will be able to stop him.
”
—Ren Pa talking to Wei King Kei Bin about his caliber.
As one of Ren Pa’s Four Heavenly Kings, Rin Ko was an elite deputy whose skills were considered miles ahead of even Ou Ki's vassals. He was said to be the most dangerous member of the group who was always handling the most important and decisive tasks.[1]
Physical Abilities[]
Immense Strength: Rin Ko possessed impressive physical strength despite his skinny appearance. He demonstrated this when he effortlessly beheaded Kaku Bi with one-hand, grab and held onto Shin during their brief bout, and bent Ban You's iron spear with a single strike from his sword.[2]
Master Swordsman: Rin Ko was extremely skilled in the use of dual swords being the resident master swordsman amongst the Four Kings. He could easily cut clean through infantry and was strong enough to break past a Qin army to land a blow on the "Monstrous Bird of Qin", Ou Ki himself.[3] That strength is displayed again as he bent Ban You's iron spear with a blow from his sword. His immense killing intent is portrayed as a fierce tiger and serves to cause most to tremble in fear, with Shin, who was relatively unfazed, being an exception - a rare occurrence that surprised Rin Ko himself. Rin Ko also has tremendous experience fighting against spear users as this is shown in his fight against Ou Hon where he parried his spear thrusts and countered his technique.[4] He is also strong enough to take on Shin and Ou Hon at the same time, defending and counterattacking with his dual swords. He is skilled at horsemanship as he compensates for his lost fingers by his acute control with his steed during his rematch with Shin.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Rin Ko is also skilled at unarmed combat. As a child he was able to defeat multiple adult martial artists with a combination of precise punches and kicks.[5]
Leadership[]
Rin Ko was a capable leader and was able to command his men effectively in battlefields. Even Wei commanders like Gi Ryou, were willing to listen and follow his commands, despite he was from Zhao. He also nurtured his own unit of elite troops that play pivotal roles during his battles. His personal unit consists of 700 elites who are veterans of countless battlefields from the era of the first generation of the Three Great Heavens and Six Great Generals of Qin.[6]
Tactical Abilities[]
Being taught tactics and strategy by Gen Pou, Rin Ko was also a strategic thinker on the battlefield and is good at directing his men to attack enemy weak points.[7][8] He is proficient in estimating the strength of both his allies and enemies as shown when he recognized the talent of Shin and Ou Hon. He was also said to be the type of person that would not overestimate his own strength.[9]
Rindou breaking through enemy's lines
An example of his cunning is shown when he killed a number of 1000-man commanders from Qin forcing new units to be made. During the first battle, he intentionally attacked the new 1000-man commanders as their inexperience would reveal them as easy prey and their deaths would destabilize the chain of command temporarily.[10] His tactical insight also allowed him to recognize the traps in Kan Ki's base camp formation and make a decision to not attack it.[11]
Assassination Tactics: Rin Ko is also capable of leading a small unit of 300 cavalrymen on raids to invade enemies camps and slay talented officiers in order to weaken their army before the main clash.[12]
Military Formations: Rin Ko was capable to perform military formations. His greatest talent was the break-through ability that enables him to break enemies' defensive lines with ease. It was said that in the past countless headquarters have fallen to his power. Thanks to his special attack formation known as Rindou, he was able to penetrate even Ou Ki's iron wall defense and enter his headquarters.
Quotes[]
“
Rin Ko...You were a incredibly dangerous opponent that brought me to the brink of death numerous times.
