Ousen strategy
Not a prediction. Just a thought.
In the latest chapter, Shin's advance toward Kantan feels like a trap that Ousen has set for Riboku. Riboku is intelligent enough to foresee most military strategies, so he would naturally assume this is just another battlefield maneuver from Ousen.
However, what Riboku may be overlooking is that Ousen is not only a brilliant general but also a highly cunning politician. Ousen might have already recognized the growing internal conflicts within Kantan and is exploiting them.
Riboku has been completely focused on defending Zhao against Qin's invasion. He may expect Ousen to attempt a direct military move toward Kantan, similar to the coalition war strategy, and prepare his countermeasures accordingly. But what if Ousen's real objective was never to capture Kantan in the first place?
Instead, Ousen's goal could be to create enough fear and political pressure within the royal court that the King of Zhao begins to see Riboku as a threat or a liability. In that scenario, the king himself could order Riboku's execution, accomplishing what Qin's armies could not.
If that's the case, Ousen's true battlefield might not be Kantan but Zhao's politics.