Heroes: Who Is a Hero? 10: Natural Enemy

The tenth book in the full Heroes series, originally intended as its grand finale. In a 2006 interview with Bund Pictorial, Wen Ruian personally confirmed: “The two remaining books in the Heroes series are The World Has an Enemy and The Natural Enemy. The Natural Enemy is the final book.” He never revealed the specific plot of The Natural Enemy. That is both a mystery that has lasted thirty years and creative space for this story. It picks up from the ending of Book Nine, The Greatest Under Heaven: Fang Yingkan's martial arts are completely destroyed, he is no longer in his right mind, and a Jin kingdom command token tumbles from his arms. The Wanyan clan of the Jin kingdom destroys the Liao and sends its army straight for Bianjing, bringing the Jingkang Incident forward. On a rainy night, Master Zhuge writes his resignation and gazes south, as the sound of horses approaching along the Yellow River grows nearer. Its purpose is to bring all the main storylines in Wen Ruian's universe to a close, confront the Jingkang Incident and the fall of the Northern Song, reveal the fates of all the central characters, and complete the historical loop with The Young Four Great Constables, The General's Sword, and The Divine Land's Extraordinary Heroes.