Zhawang Corporation
The Zhawang Corporation, originally founded as the Zhang Wei Union (Chinese: 張爲協組;[1] Cantonese: Zoeng1 Wai4 Hip3zou2) and also known as the ZW Corporation, ZW Company,[2] or Zhang Corporation,[3] is an international organization based in Southeast Asia and headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. At various points in its history, it has been allied with the Assassins, sharing their goal of safeguarding the Pieces of Eden and opposing the Templars and other groups who would misuse the artifacts.
Established in 1725 by the British Assassin Edward Kenway, the Zhang Wei Union was originally a small merchant company based in Macau. Its members' guiding principles were to conduct business through ethical means, bring people together, and never abandon those they deemed "family". In only a short time, the Union grew to prominence as one of Macau's largest trade companies, in part thanks to Edward securing a partnership with the Dutch East India Company.
During its first months of activity, the Union, particularly a small crew operating out of the Fenghuang vessel, focused on acquiring several Pieces of Eden hidden throughout Southeast Asia, which were craved by other factions seeking to exploit their powers. Edward and his allies were ultimately successful in keeping the artifacts out of the wrong hands and, in doing so, greatly increased the Union's influence and reputation.
Following Edward's departure, the Union was left under the leadership of his friend Zhang, whose family continued to run the company for generations. By the 21st century, the Union had grown into the modern Zhawang Corporation, after extending its operations beyond Macau and establishing multiple branches across Southeast Asia. It also continued its secret mission to safeguard the Pieces of Eden, though in doing so it severed its ties with the Assassins, due to their conflicting views regarding the artifacts.
In 2023, the ties between the Zhawang Corporation and the Assassins were rekindled as both organizations entered a renewed conflict with the Templars and their front company, Abstergo Industries, who once again sought the Pieces of Eden hidden in Southeast Asia. With the help of Noa Kim, a descendant of Edward drawn into the conflict, the Corporation and the Assassins tried to track down the artifacts and the "Forgotten Temple" they led to in the hopes of stopping Abstergo's plans for world domination.
History[edit | edit source]
18th century[edit | edit source]
Establishment[edit | edit source]
- "As of this moment... we declare ourselves a legitimate merchant shipping company! Everyone will be an equal member of the Union... and we will govern ourselves just as I did in the Caribbean! We will be united as a family, under one rule... we do not abandon our family!"
- ―Edward establishing the Zhang Wei Union, 1725.[src]-[m]
In 1725, after inadvertently ending his partnership with the businesswoman Lee Huiyin, Edward Kenway decided to start his own organization in order to conduct his business in Macau and beyond without raising suspicion.[4] Inspired by the Pirate Republic he was once part of in the Caribbean, the Assassin vowed that his new organization would be an opportunity to unite people like a family, where they would be free to govern themselves and treat each other as equals.[5]
Setting up headquarters in what would become the A-Ma Cultural Village, Edward decided that the organization would operate as a legitimate shipping company, naming it the Zhang Wei Union. He then began building it up by recruiting his various allies in Macau, including the Dutch navigator John Young, the Chinese laborer Zhang and his fellow villagers, and the former pirate captain Rupiya and his crew.[1]
First contract[edit | edit source]
- John: "I don't know, friend. Something smells funny about this. You know what the sea route to Manila is like..."
- Edward: "Aye, it's crawling with pirates. I'm well aware. I reckon it can't be easy finding a ship that's willing to navigate those waters. Hence why he came to us. Lord knows we need the work."
- —Edward and John discussing their first contract, 1725.[src]-[m]
Following the Union's establishment, Edward, John, and Zhang traveled to Macau to drum up business from the locals, only to be turned down at every step. They were eventually approached by a merchant, who revealed that Madam Lee, Sun, and the Far East Company had blacklisted them, making it almost impossible to find clients.[1] However, grateful to Edward for having previously defended his ship from pirates,[6] the merchant decided to enlist his company's services to escort the same vessel to Manila for a business endeavor.[1]
Accepting the job, Edward, John, and Zhang used Rupiya's ship to sail to the Philippines. Upon reaching Manila, John went to party with the locals, from whom he learned that the East India Company and the Far East Company had recently begun recruiting people for an expedition in Indochina. Edward believed this to be a sign that the Templars were preparing to begin their search for the lost city of Angkor, though he decided against doing the same, choosing to focus on building up the Union's reputation first.[1]
As they prepared to sail back to Macau, Edward and his crew spotted a pirate ship attacking a Dutch East India Company vessel. Unwilling to let such an opportunity go, Edward ordered Rupiya to attack the pirates, intending to take their ship as a prize.[1] In the ensuing battle, Edward managed to board the pirate vessel and kill its captain, forcing the crew to surrender. However, as the ship had been damaged during the fight, it quickly caught fire and began to sink.[7]
Upon being informed of slaves held in the ship's hull, Edward rescued them and escaped from the sinking vessel before it was destroyed when its powder kegs detonated. One of the rescued prisoners, Yun Pyeong-Gyu, turned out to be a Korean scholar and engineer who had come to the Qing Empire as an aide to a Joseon envoy, and his skills came in handy when Edward decided to escort the damaged Dutch East India Company ship to Macau.[8]
Afterr Yun fixed the ship's broken wheel, Edward and his crew sailed to Macau, where the Assassin offered Yun, alongside every other liberated slave looking for work, a place in the Zhang Wei Union. Yun accepted the invitation and, to celebrate the recruitment of their latest member, John suggested that they all go drinking.[8]
Mission to the Paracel Islands[edit | edit source]
Shortly after the crew's return to Macau, Edward was hired by Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, to rid the Paracel Islands of pirates. In exchange, Jan promised to let the Assassin keep any goods looted from the pirates and to secure a five-year partnership between his company and the Zhang Wei Union. Seeing this as an opportunity to expand the organization, Edward met with John and Zhang to inform them of the job and they insisted that they accompany him, refusing to let Edward endanger himself.[9]
Afterwards, Edward went to see Yun at his workshop, where he found the latter working on some weapons he had developed back in Korea. Impressed by Yun's designs and believing the weapons could prove crucial in the upcoming mission's success, Edward provided Yun with the necessary resources and manpower to build them. Once the weapons had been finished and tested, Edward and his crew set sail towards the Paracel Islands to fulfill their contract.[9]
En route to the islands, Edward devised a plan to destroy the pirates' compound: while he and John would take a rowboat to arrive on the islands undetected and proceed to plant to explosives around the base, Rupiya would distract the pirates by getting them drunk, and Zhang would pose as his prisoner.[10]
The plan was successful until Edward freed Zhang and the pirates' other prisoners, as the resulting commotion attracted the pirates' attention, initiating a gunfight. While Edward, John, and Zhang ran towards Rupiya's ship, the explosives the former two had planted detonated, destroying the pirates' compound.[10]
Thanks to a final bomb thrown by John, which destroyed the pirates' dock and slowed them down, the crew was able to flee the island aboard Rupiya's ship. However, the pirates eventually caught up to them after Rupiya inadvertently sailed to the "Boneyard of Sails", a rough patch of the sea infamous for the number of ships that had sunk there.[11]
Edward devised a plan to eliminate their pursuers and lured them into a trap where all the pirates were killed by hwachas built by Yun. This allowed the Union members to claim the pirates' ships for themselves and establish their own fleet.[11]
Partnership with the Dutch East India Company[edit | edit source]
Following the success of their mission to the Paracel Islands, Edward and his crew returned to Macau, where Jan van Aert offered to help Edward register his new ships and kept his promise of a five-year contract between their companies. However, Edward referred Jan to Zhang, claiming that he was merely an advisor and that Zhang was the true head of the Union. Amused, Jan shook hands with Zhang, marking the beginning of the partnership between their respective organizations.[12]
The Union's partnership with the company allowed it to grow rapidly, receiving numerous shipping contracts. However, Edward found it difficult to keep up with the increasing demands of the company, so he decided to shift his focus to retrieving the sea log of the late Dutch navigator Hendrik, which had been stolen by the Templars and was the only lead to Angkor's location.[12]
During this time, Yun upgraded one of the ships Edward had seized from the pirates, which was re-named the Fenghuang and became the Zhang Wei Union's flagship. Ahead of his mission to assassinate Shimazu Saito for Fuma Sukuna, Edward visited Yun, who informed him about the new armaments he had installed on the Fenghuang and gifted him a Phantom Blade he had built. Edward also asked for John and Zhang's help with his mission and, even though it did not benefit the Union, they both readily accepted.[13]
Recruitment of Shimazu Saito and Xialun Qing[edit | edit source]
- "Are you really so desperate for help... that you're willing to join forces with a Japanese samurai of all people?! Besides, Mister Kenway, was she not your enemy before? How can you ally yourself with such a person? This is sheer folly!"
- ―Yun protesting against Saito's recruitment into the Union, 1725.[src]-[m]
Following the events that took place at Sun's floating gambling hall, Saito was reluctantly recruited into the Zhang Wei Union after the deaths of her ninja followers. Saito's recruitment drew protests from Yun, owing to the animosity rousing from the Imjin War fought between Japan and Joseon, Saito's and Yun's home countries respectively.[14]
Yun initially refused to acknowledge or interact with Saito, but eventually a friendly archery contest between the two resulted in them agreeing to work with together. Yun acknowledged Saito's skills after she won the contest, while she in turn praised his inventions. The two later joined Edward in deciphering part of Hendrik's sea log,[14] which spoke of a treasure pursued by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.[15]
When the Union members settled on the Philippines as their next destination, they were joined by John's new companion Xialun Qing, a waitress he had met and rescued from Sun's gambling ship. Qing revealed her knowledge of medicine which she had gained during her short time as an aide to a doctor, and that she had created the poison darts for Yun's newly-designed blowpipe for Edward.[15]
Agreeing with the need for a doctor for the journey, Edward allowed the young lady to accompany them. Afterwards, the group—Edward, John, Yun, Saito, Qing, and Rupiya—boarded the Fenghuang and set sail for the Philippines, leaving Zhang behind in Macau to take care of the company's headquarters.[15]
Voyage to the Philippines[edit | edit source]
As the Fenghuang approached Manila, it suddenly came under attack by the fleet of Admiral Zheng, a mercenary in the employ of Madam Lee. Thanks to Yun's latest invention—fire barrels which exploded on impact—the Union members were able to cause considerable damage to the enemy ships.[16] However, the Fenghuang was soon boarded by the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan, who were working with Lee to find Angkor's treasure.[17]
In the resulting chaos, John and several crew members surrounded Liu Qing and held him at gunpoint, while Edward dueled Xiao Han and Saito battled Xue Yan.[17] After both Xiao Han and Xue Yan were defeated, the Chinese Assassins retreated back to Zheng's ship. Edward then ordered Rupiya to sail the Fenghuang into an incoming storm to lose their pursuers, and while navigating through the tempest, Qing treated the crew members injured during the fight.[18]
Once the Fenghuang made it out of the storm, it was attacked by one of Zheng's ships that had managed to follow the crew. However, the enemy ship was quickly sunk by a Dutch East India Company vessel commanded by Jan van Aert, who had learned about Edward's expedition and decided to accompany him.[18] After Jan revealed that he was fully aware of the expedition's goal to find Angkor, Edward reluctantly allowed him to join the Union members in their quest, though both he and Saito remained suspicious of Jan's true motives.[19]
Later, Yun managed to recreate the formula for Greek fire, which the Chinese Assassins had used in their attack on the Fenghuang, and Edward suggested making a stop in Java to acquire petroleum, which would allow them to produce larger quantities of the substance. Before they had the chance to do so, however, both the Fenghuang and Jan's ship were attacked by two Spanish Men O' War, forcing them to surrender.[19]
Escape from Manila[edit | edit source]
The two ships' crews were subsequently brought to Manila, where they were arrested by the Spanish authorities due to Jan's alleged involvement in the assassination of the Governor-General of the Philippines, Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda, six years prior.[19]
While Jan and his men were imprisoned in the dungeon underneath Fort Santiago, the Union members were forced to remain inside the Fenghuang, under heavy guard. During their imprisonment, John learned the circumstances of Bustamante's death and informed the others that the governor had been killed in a riot by supporters of the Archbishop of Manila, Francisco de la Cuesta, who had been arrested on Bustamante's orders.[20]
Following this, Edward decided to stage an escape and had Qing distract the guards by bringing them food and drinks. With the guards preoccupied, Edward and Saito escaped the Fenghuang and reclaimed their confiscated weapons, before the Assassin took advantage of an ongoing protest to infiltrate Fort Santiago.[20]
While Edward rescued Jan and his crew, Saito spotted a monk using a crescent amulet—a Piece of Eden—to influence the masses and turn the protest into a violent riot. After reuniting with Edward, Saito told him about the amulet and the two decided to face the monk together and take the artifact from him.[20] Cornering him in an alley, they killed his followers after he refused to hand over the amulet, but to their surprise, the monk used the artifact's powers to resurrect his men.[21]
Realizing that the resurrected acolytes were resistant to pain and that the only way to stop them was to dismember them, Edward and Saito proceeded to do so. However, the monk then used the amulet on Saito, causing her to experience visions of her deceased friends.[22] After the monk used the amulet to conjure multiple apparitions of himself and an oni, Saito was eventually defeated while Edward was able to overcome the artifact's powers,[23] but the monk escaped during the confusion.[24]
Edward pursued him and, though the monk used the amulet to tamper with his Eagle Vision and command several civilians to attack him, the Assassin eventually cornered his target. As he tried to take away the amulet, the monk activated the artifact,[24] and Edward experienced several visions of the past and the future while his body became paralyzed.[25]
The monk tried to take advantage of this to kill Edward, only to end up being killed himself by Rajah, the leader of a Visayan resistance against the Spanish colonists. Rajah claimed the amulet, intending to use it to end the foreign occupation of his people's lands, and though Edward confronted him, the Assassin was quickly defeated. Fortunately, Saito came to his rescue and the two escaped back to the Fenghuang, being forced to leave the amulet behind.[25]
At the same as Edward and Saito's fight against the monk, the remaining Union members engaged in a shootout against Spanish soldiers at the harbor, in order to retrieve their confiscated supplies. In the process, they discovered a warehouse filled with barrels of petroleum, which Yun promptly ordered to be loaded aboard the Fenghuang.[22]
After Edward and Saito returned to the ship, the Fenghuang set sail away from Manila, followed closely by Jan and his crew. When the Spanish Navy gave chase, Jan volunteered to lure away their pursuers to give the Union members time to escape. After telling Edward to reconvene in the Sultanate of Sulu, an island kingdom south of the Philippines, Jan proceeded with his distraction, allowing the Fenghuang to escape from the Spanish fleet.[26]
Once they were safe, Edward told the other Union members about his and Saito's encounter with the monk and the crescent amulet and how Rajah had stolen the artifact to use it for his own ends. When John asked what their next move was, Edward claimed that their destination remained unchanged and ordered the crew to set sail towards Cebu.[26]
Excursion to Monkey Island[edit | edit source]
En route to Cebu, the Union members discovered that the Spanish authorities in Manila had confiscated all of their food rations and decided to attack two passing Spanish schooners to take their supplies. Afterwards, the Fenghuang docked at a nearby village to resupply, where the natives instantly recognized and greeted the Union members, as Zhang had recently begun trading with them.[27]
While Edward recruited several of the villagers into the Union, Yun and Qing attempted to produce Greek fire, and Rupiya planned the crew's course to Cebu. When the village's chief saw the route they had settled on, she warned Edward and Rupiya that one of the islands in their path, Monkey Island, had recently become the subject of unsettling rumors after several ships went missing near its shores. However, they were then interrupted by the screams of John, who had been attacked by a monkey.[27]
While Edward, Rupiya, and Yun laughed at John's predicament, Qing calmed down the agitated monkey and made it fall asleep, after which she and John decided to adopt it. The crew then set sail away from the village and resumed their voyage to Cebu, though as they passed Monkey Island, the Fenghuang was suddenly bombarded with mortar fire.[28]
Rupiya managed to steer the ship to safety and Edward instructed him to take cover behind some rocks, but the crew quickly realized that they were trapped until they could figure out where the mortar fire had come from. Qing offered a solution and revealed her and Yun's latest invention: a hot air balloon,[28] which they dubbed the Celestial Chariot.[29]
Qing subsequently volunteered to pilot the balloon and survey Monkey Island, marking the locations of enemy encampments to allow the Fenghuang's crew to fire on them. However, the Celestial Chariot suffered a malfunction mid-flight and caught fire.[29] After Qing parachuted to safety and landed on Monkey Island, the crew went looking for her, only to come across a fort which had been occupied by Rajah and his native warriors.[30]
While the Fenghuang engaged the fort as a distraction, Edward, John, and several other crew members boarded a rowboat and arrived on Monkey Island to begin their search for Qing. Meanwhile, the remaining Fenghuang crew members were left under Saito's leadership and hid in a swamp to await the return of Edward's expedition. While they were waiting, they were unknowingly spied on by Rajah's men, who had followed the ship.[30]
Taking advantage of a downpour of rain, Rajah's warriors boarded the Fenghuang and engaged the crew, who were unable to use their firearms due to the gunpowder having gotten wet. Furthermore, some of the natives disguised themselves as manananggals to try and intimidate the crew, though they were ultimately defeated when Saito ordered that Yun's multi-barreled muskets be used against them.[31] Despite their victory, the crew was later forced to retreat when more native warriors attempted to board the Fenghuang, and sailed into the open sea to lose their pursuers.[32]
On Monkey Island, Edward's expedition found Qing in a village, where she tended to its inhabitants after they had found and rescued her.[31] Learning about the villagers' plight brought about by Rajah, who had forcefully recruited many of their men to his cause, Edward vowed to help them and incapacitated a mind-controlled villager disguised as a manananggal. He then devised a plan to capture more warriors and bring them back to their families.[32]
Using himself as bait, Edward lured a number of brainwashed warriors into a trap, where they were caught in a net by his fellow Union members. The Assassin then incapacitated the warriors with his blowpipe and decided to use some of them to storm Monkey Island's fort and rescue the prisoners held there. During the assault, John planted several explosives around the stronghold, forcing everyone to jump into the water to escape the fort's destruction.[33]
Drawn by the explosion, the Fenghuang arrived to pick up Edward, John, Qing, and the others, after which the Union members decided to leave Monkey Island and continue their journey to Cebu. John also proposed to Qing, having realized that he wanted to settle down and start a family with her, and she excitedly accepted.[34]
Confrontation in Cebu[edit | edit source]
In Cebu, Edward and Saito investigated the city in search of a clue to Angkor's location, while the remaining crew members stayed aboard the Fenghuang. Edward and Saito's search led them to the Basilica del Santo Niño, where they discovered that Rajah and his men had beaten them to their destination.[34] When the Spanish Army arrived and engaged in a fight with Rajah's rebels, Edward and Saito rescued a young girl caught in the crossfire, before heading into the basilica.[35]
After discovering that Rajah had massacred all the priests inside to retrieve the clue—another sea log—Edward and Saito were confronted by the Visayan chief, who left his men to deal with them while he escaped with the log.[35] Quickly defeating the warriors, Edward and Saito tried to chase Rajah, but were forced to make their way past the Spanish soldiers outside, who were fighting each other under the amulet's influence.[36]
Once they were safe, Edward used his Eagle Vision to learn that Rajah had gone to the harbor. He and Saito then proceeded to lure a regiment of Spanish soldiers there so that they could fight Rajah's rebels. Before that could happen, however, the Fenghuang, captained by John and Rupiya, arrived and sank Rajah's fleet, allowing Edward and Saito to escape in the resulting commotion.[36]
After they boarded the Fenghuang, the Union members proceeded to chase Rajah, who had also escaped during the confusion and headed to Fort San Pedro. While Rajah's men took over the fort, Yun unveiled a second Celestial Chariot he had built, which could be used to infiltrate the stronghold. Edward and Saito volunteered to board the balloon, with a reluctant John joining them, and the trio proceeded to fly above the fort.[37]
While John remained inside the Celestial Chariot to provide cover fire, Edward and Saito dropped several anchors to keep the balloon in place and used them as ziplines to descend to the ground. After avoiding Rajah's warriors, Edward and Saito found the Visayan chief surrounded by a group of his own men he had killed and realized that Rajah had succumbed to the amulet's corrupting influence.[38]
Deciding to face Rajah alone, Edward told Saito to find the sea log, which the rebels had hidden nearby. Saito reluctantly complied and went to search for the log,[39] ultimately retrieving it from a group of fleeing civilians.[40] Meanwhile, Edward fought Rajah and, despite the chief making use of the amulet's powers,[39] the Assassin was able to defeat him by separating him from the artifact.[40]
After picking up the amulet, Edward was confronted by a recently-arrived Xiao Han, who killed Rajah.[40] The two Assassins proceeded to fight to a stalemate, until the arrival of Saito, who had decided to return to Edward rather than run away with the sea log.[41] However, Xiao Han was soon joined by Liu Qing and Xue Yan, who overpowered Saito, forcing Edward to use the amulet to subdue the Chinese Assassins. He and Saito then escaped with John in the Celestial Chariot, but lost the sea log, which was stolen by Xue Yan.[42]
Meanwhile, the remaining Fenghuang crew members engaged Admiral Zheng's fleet and used Yun's Greek fire bombs to cause considerable damage to it.[41] Afterwards, the crew went to pick up Edward, Saito, and John, who had landed in the water.[42] Upon doing so, however, they noticed Edward's strange condition, as the Assassin was struggling to resist the amulet's corrupting influence, making him unresponsive.[43]
At a loss without their leader, Yun asked John if Edward had mentioned anything about their next destination since he had known him the longest. At that moment, the Assassin briefly recovered from his trance and uttered the words "south" and "Sulu", reminding John that Jan van Aert had asked them to meet him in the Sultanate of Sulu. With that, John ordered that Edward be taken below deck to recover while the Fenghuang set sail towards Sulu.[43]
Showdown with the Shimazu clan[edit | edit source]
En route to Sulu, Saito assumed temporary command of the Fenghuang and was informed by John, Yun, and Rupiya that they needed to resupply and repair the ship before they arrived at their destination. Saito gave the order to dock on a nearby island and proceeded to personally lead several crew members ashore, including John and Yun, to gather the resources they needed.[3]
While exploring the island, Saito and the others came across a village, whose inhabitants agreed to provide them with supplies and shelter in exchange for dealing with a group of Japanese mercenaries that had been raiding neighboring settlements. The Union members set up a trap that caught the mercenaries off-guard when they attempted to attack the village, leading to their capture.[44]
Saito dueled and defeated the mercenaries' leader, Nagamasa, whereupon she learned that he and his men had been hired by Fuma Sukuna, who promised them a place in the Shimazu clan since they were all outcasts. Sympathizing with their plight, Saito invited the mercenaries to join her in taking over the Shimazu clan and exacting retribution on those who had wronged them.[44] Nagamasa agreed to give the offer some thought and he and his men were released by Saito, without the other Union members' knowledge.[45]
After a still-recovering Edward was brought to the village, he and Saito argued over the crew's leadership, as Saito refused to go along with Edward's plan to have him serve as bait for the Shimazu clan while the others escaped. She then devised another plan, which required John, dressed like Edward, to serve as a decoy and lure the Shimazu ninja and the Rattan Shield Company working with them into an ambush.[45]
While the crew loaded their supplies onto the Fenghuang, the Rattan Shield Company attacked them, but the Union members sprang their trap and used Yun's five-barreled cannons to eliminate most of the shieldmen. The survivors made a turtle formation with their shields to block the incoming gunfire and managed to get close to the Fenghuang, but the ship sailed away, with John and Rupiya on-board.[46]
Turning their attention to Yun and the crew members hiding in the forest, the Company fell into another trap, being knocked down by explosive barrels which were then ignited by a fire arrow. However, this also failed to stop the shieldmen, who continued to relentlessly pursue Yun and his companions. Upon spotting smoke from the explosion, Saito, Edward, and Qing realized that Yun's group had faced more resistance than they had anticipated and decided to go help them. However, they were first approached by Nagamasa and his men, who had decided to accept Saito's offer.[46]
After securing an alliance with Nagamasa, Edward left to rescue Yun's group from the pursuing Company shieldmen and Shimazu ninja. He effortlessly eliminated most of the ninja, forcing the survivors to retreat.[47] However, in the process, he again succumbed to the crescent amulet's influence, requiring Yun and the others to carry him as they went to rendezvous with Saito.[48]
Elsewhere, Saito decided to set a trap for Fuma Sukuna and had Qing serve as bait. When Sukuna and his ninja arrived to try and capture Qing, Saito confronted them alongside Nagamasa and his mercenaries, resulting in a standoff.[47] However, the ninja retreated when Yun, Edward, and the others arrived, forcing Saito to come up with a new strategy.[48]
Following a prolonged battle against the Rattan Shield Company, the Union members ran out of ammunition, and Sukuna decided to seize the opportunity to attack them. Having anticipated this, Saito ordered her allies to unleash their Greek fire flamethrowers built by Yun, creating a wall of fire around them and the ninja.[48] With their enemies trapped, Nagamasa and his mercenaries easily defeated the ninja while Saito fought and killed Sukuna himself.[49]
Meanwhile, the remaining Union members headed to the island's shore in order to be picked up by the Fenghuang. They were pursued by the Qing Empire's Special Cavalry Unit,[49] but Edward, empowered by the crescent amulet, single-handedly killed all the incoming soldiers. As the artifact began corrupting Edward, Saito forcefully took it from him and placed it in a chest, before the Union members boarded the Fenghuang and resumed their voyage to the Sultanate of Sulu. Nagamasa and his men did not join them, but promised to meet them at their destination.[50]
Escape from Sulu[edit | edit source]
In Sulu, the Union members were betrayed by Jan van Aert, who had made a deal with Sultan Badarud-Din I, promising to deliver him the amulet in the Union's possession. As the Fenghuang was threatened by the Sultanate's fleet, the crew, believing they did not have much of a choice, reluctantly accepted Jan's proposal. They surrendered the amulet and were escorted into Sulu, where most crew members were imprisoned.[51]
Rupiya set out to rescue his fellow crew members by himself and managed to win Jan's trust by claiming to hail from a royal family. While drinking together, Rupiya knocked out Jan for his betrayal and subsequently freed most of the imprisoned Union members.[51]
Meanwhile, Edward and Qing managed to escape from their cell and attempted to rescue Saito, John, and Yun.[51] Thanks to a distraction from Qing's pet monkey Wukong, Edward eliminated the soldiers guarding the cell, but one of them managed to injure John while he was protecting Qing. After retrieving their confiscated weapons, the group made their way outside and ran into Rupiya before witnessing the arrival of Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan.[52]
Unwilling to let the Chinese Assassins seize the crescent amulet, Edward ordered his allies to prepare the Fenghuang for departure while he confronted his Assassin brethren. However, John refused to let Edward risk his life and went after him, with Qing following closely behind. While Edward dueled Xiao Han, John and Qing attempted to retrieve the amulet from the warehouse it was stored in, which had been partially destroyed by cannon fire. They were soon confronted by Xue Yan, who managed to enter the warehouse while Qing found another entry point into the demolished building.[53]
Qing ultimately retrieved the amulet's chest from the warehouse, but while trying to bring it to Edward and John, she was taken hostage by Xue Yan. The Chinese Assassins then attempted to strike a deal with Edward, promising to release Qing if he allowed them to leave with the amulet and stopped interfering with their cause. At that moment, however, the beach was struck by cannon fire and, during the confusion, Xue Yan released Qing and dropped the amulet's chest.[54]
Edward grabbed the amulet and used its powers to defeat and pin down Xiao Han. However, he hesitated to take his life when the artifact showed him visions of both his own death and the demise of his future son, Haytham Kenway. Breaking free, Xiao Han attempted to kill John, but Qing took the blow instead and died in John's arms. The Chinese Assassins subsequently seized the amulet and escaped, while Edward and John were left to mourn Qing's demise.[55]
Before Edward and John could be killed by the incoming Suluese soldiers, they were saved by Nagamasa and his mercenaries, who had been sent by Saito to help. The mercenaries defeated the soldiers and brought Edward and John to their ship, leaving Qing's body behind. The Fenghuang and Nagamasa's ship then sailed away from Sulu,[56] traveling to Singapore.[57]
Stop in Singapore[edit | edit source]
In Singapore, the Fenghuang's crew took time to recover from their defeat and replenish their supplies. Most crew members were left devastated by the loss of Qing and strived to move on in their own ways: Yun by focusing on his work, and John by drinking his sorrows away at the pub. Meanwhile, Edward, still suffering from the crescent amulet's lingering effects, struggled to remain conscious and was left in the care of a local doctor.[57]
As Saito met with Rupiya to discuss the state of the crew, she trusted the captain to repair and resupply the Fenghuang. She then heard a sudden gunshot in the distance and went to investigate.[57] Across town, Edward, who had partially recovered, wandered the streets aimlessly in a state of despair. After leaving a pub, he accidentally bumped into two sailors, initiating a brawl. The fight was broken up by Edward's wife, Tessa Kenway, who fired a pistol at the sailors to scare them away.[58]
While Edward was surprised to see Tessa, whom he had left in London, she angrily confronted him for abandoning his family for months. Soon, a large crowd gathered around the couple, including Saito, who was introduced to Tessa by Edward. After learning that Saito was a "business associate" of her husband, Tessa asked her to find her step-daughter Jennifer, who had stowed away on her ship and had left to find Edward by herself. Saito soon found Jennifer being chased by pirates and saved her, earning her the young girl's admiration.[58]
Meanwhile, Edward was taken by Tessa back to her lodgings, where his wife looked after him and informed him of a Templar plot to kill him, uncovered by Edward's friend Adéwalé. When Saito returned with Jennifer after having bonded with the girl, Tessa thanked the samurai and brought Jennifer to her father. Later, Tessa consoled Edward when her husband began to blame himself for leading his companions astray, and the two spent the night together, unknowingly leaving Tessa pregnant.[59]
The following day, Edward bid farewell to his family and joined the rest of the Fenghuang's crew as they left Singapore. Gathering Saito, John, Yun, Rupiya, and Nagamasa, Edward told them about the visions he had experienced, which revealed the location of another Piece of Eden in the Shwedagon Pagoda. He then explained the Pieces' capabilities and revealed that, should anyone acquire all three, they would gain the power to rule the entire world.[60]
Wishing to keep the artifacts out of the wrong hands, all of Edward's companions swore to stand by his side until the end of their adventure. The Fenghuang then set sail for Burma while Edward and Saito discussed what they would each do after the end of their journey.[60]
After Saito revealed her desire to start her own family, John joined the discussion and the trio proceeded to talk about the meaning of family and fate. Declaring that the future was not set in stone and that one could change their own destiny, Edward, Saito, and John vowed that they would each find what they were looking for by the end of their adventure.[60]
Heist in Burma[edit | edit source]
- "We cannot involve those innocent monks any further. Besides, given Kenway's current... predicament, shall we say, it's simply impossible to get into the pagoda by the usual means. Nor can we leap down onto the roof since there are no buildings taller than Shwedagon around."
- ―Saito to her fellow Union members, while planning their infiltration of the Shwedagon Pagoda, 1725.[src]-[m]
As the Fenghuang approached Yangon, Yun received a note from Zhang via carrier pigeon informing the crew that the Union already had several contacts in the region and that a group of Buddhist monks had offered to guide them into the city. While Rupiya and Nagamasa stayed behind to look after the Fenghuang, Saito, Edward, Yun, and John blended in with the monks and entered Yangon without the guards noticing. They then planned their infiltration of the Shwedagon Pagoda itself.[61]
At night, after Yun assembled the dismantled components of the Celestial Chariot Mk. 3 he had built, Edward and Saito boarded the hot air balloon, which brought them right above the pagoda. They jumped off and deployed a pair of gliders also built by Yun, which turned into parachutes as they approached the temple, allowing them to land safely on its roof.[61] From there, they entered the pagoda and found its Piece of Eden housed within a special compartment.[62]
However, as the pair approached the artifact, they became caught in its illusions and were forced to overcome their own personalized trials, designed to test their wills and determine if they were worthy of claiming the Piece of Eden.[63] Both Edward and Saito ultimately passed their trials, and the former's consciousness was briefly transported to the future, allowing him to speak with his descendant, Noa Kim.[64]
Afterwards, Edward retrieved the Piece of Eden and, alongside Saito, escaped the Shwedagon Pagoda through a secret tunnel.[65] As the guards had been alerted to the theft of the artifact, Edward and Saito took to the treetops to avoid detection, and ultimately managed to escape Yangon by hiding in a cart full of hay and blending in with the Buddhist monks, who once again came to their aid.[66]
John's betrayal[edit | edit source]
- Saito: "You may be a useless, blundering fool... but I thought you would stand with Kenway to the last! How dare you betray us like this!"
- John: "You're one to talk! You wouldn't be with Kenway at all if you didn't have your own selfish ambitions to fulfill! What makes you better than me for hiding the knife until the very end, eh?!"
- —Saito and John during their confrontation, 1725.[src]-[m]
Their mission to Yangon a success, Edward, Saito, Yun, and John attempted to return to the Fenghuang with the Piece of Eden in their possession. While sailing along the Yangon River, the group decided to activate the artifact, which displayed various images and symbols into the air before Edward deactivated it. Yun subsequently took the Piece of Eden to further study it while Edward spoke to John, thanking him for accompanying him on his journey. However, not long after, John snuck up on Yun and knocked him out before stealing the artifact.[67]
Meanwhile, the Fenghuang came under attack by three East India Company ships, sustaining heavy damage. Rupiya assumed that the enemy vessels had been led there by Nagamasa, who had left shortly before the assault, and rallied the crew to fight back. As they approached the Fenghuang, Edward and Saito witnessed the ongoing battle, though before they could act, they were confronted by John, who was holding Yun hostage at gunpoint.[68]
While Saito was surprised by John's betrayal, Edward revealed that he had deduced the latter to be a Templar spy working for the East India Company after speaking with Tessa in Singapore. He then claimed that he had feigned ignorance to John's true affiliations because he hoped that their friendship was genuine, to which John stated that he would have gladly remained loyal to Edward and the new life he had offered him if not for Qing's death.[68]
After accusing Edward of robbing him of his one true love by refusing to accept his fated death in Sulu, a heartbroken John revealed that the Templars had promised him a way to resurrect Qing using the Piece of Eden's powers in exchange for delivering the artifact to them. When Edward tried to warn John that the Templars were deceiving him, the latter claimed that he did not care and that he would do anything in his power to try and bring Qing back, regardless of what happened to him.[68]
As Saito, angered by John's deception, tried to attack him, the group's ship was sunk by one of the East India Company vessels. John subsequently boarded the ship, which sailed away upon being attacked by Nagamasa and his men, saving Edward, Saito, and Yun.[68] After greeting the trio and helping them board his ship, Nagamasa revealed that, while they were away, his crew recruited a group of warriors from the Ayutthaya Kingdom.[69]
With the Fenghuang still under attack, the Ayutthayan warriors promptly boarded the East India Company ships using their own long-tail boats and killed their crews, saving the Union members. Edward, Saito, and Yun then returned to the Fenghuang, where the former informed Rupiya of John's betrayal. Refusing to let his friend make the biggest mistake of his life, Edward gave the order to pursue John's ship so they could capture him and recover the Piece of Eden he had stolen.[69]
Edward's departure[edit | edit source]
- Edward: "It won't be long until we leave Macau."
- Zhang: "Of course, Mister Kenway. This place is in good hands. On my word, we'll never forget our debt to you. No matter where you are in the world... We will do everything we can to help you, Mister Kenway."
- —Edward and Zhang, prior to the former's departure, 1725.[src]-[m]
After their adventure throughout Southeast Asia, the Union members eventually returned to Macau, where Edward officially appointed Zhang as the head of the organization before returning home to England. Prior to Edward's departure, the Assassin and Zhang met one final time in the latter's office, where Zhang assured Edward that the Union would remain in good hands and that they would find a way to continue helping him, wherever he was in the world.[70]
Modern times[edit | edit source]
Severing ties with the Assassins[edit | edit source]
For the next three centuries, the Zhang Wei Union continued to expand its operations while secretly upholding its vow to safeguard the Pieces of Eden, which were spread throughout Southeast Asia to better protect them. Whilst the crescent amulet was hidden in the sea near the Strait of Malacca,[43] the second artifact was returned to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon,[56] and the third relic was taken by Saito back to Japan, where she would ultimately be buried with it.[71]
Feeling that they owed the Assassins a great debt for everything Edward had done for them during the Union's early days, its members maintained a strong working relationship with the Brotherhood over the centuries. However, at some point in the first half of the 20th century, the two organizations decided to go their separate ways, and their ties were indefinitely severed.[72]
Despite this, some Union members continued to be affiliated with the Assassins and, as a result, were targeted during the Templars' Great Purge of the Brotherhood in 2000. Among them was Noa Kim's father, who was forced to abandon his family and go on the run.[73]
By the early 21st century, the Union had been re-organized as the Zhawang Corporation, holding influence throughout most of Southeast Asia and relocating its headquarters to Jakarta, Indonesia. Around this time, Claire Zhang, whose family had been running the company for generations, succeeded her father as Director after his passing.[72]
Attempts to rescue Noa Kim[edit | edit source]
In 2023, the Zhawang Corporation learned about Noa Kim's abduction by Abstergo Industries, who believed that, as a descendant of Edward Kenway, Noa's genetic memories could lead them to a Piece of Eden. Regarding Noa as a member of their "family", Claire and her brother Nathan Zhang, an Assassin and leader of the Doom Eagle criminal organization, worked together to try and rescue him.[2]
During Noa's trip with the Templar Shimazu Sei to the A-Ma Cultural Village in Macau, Claire dispatched two operatives to retrieve him while members of Doom Eagle ambushed Sei and her bodyguards as a distraction. However, the rescue operation failed as Noa refused to leave with the Corporation agents and defeated Nathan's thugs to protect Sei. The two operatives subsequently contacted their superior to inform him of the situation, and he decided to respect Noa's decision to be left alone for the time being.[5]
At their superior's request, the agents continued to keep watch on Noa and eventually found that he was being held aboard the Exitus research vessel. When the Exitus left Macau, one of the operatives contacted Claire to update her on the situation but had his phone snatched away by Nathan, who wanted to speak with Claire. Suspecting that the Exitus was heading to the Philippines, where Doom Eagle had a foothold, Nathan convinced Claire to let him and his organization handle Noa's rescue.[2]
During Doom Eagle's attempt to retrieve Noa in Cebu, the Corporation supplied them with several trucks which were used to ambush the Abstergo convoy containing Noa and Sei.[74] However, the rescue operation failed once again, as Noa refused to leave with Nathan, and the latter was forced to escape from Abstergo's paramilitary task force, Sigma Team.[73] Nathan later called Claire to inform her of the failed rescue mission, though he assured her that, when the time came, Noa would side with his "family" and help the Corporation acquire the Piece of Eden sought by Abstergo.[16]
Search for the Pieces of Eden[edit | edit source]
After the events in Cebu, Nathan decided to take a "vacation", going out at sea on a yacht. However, he and his men continued to monitor the Exitus and, using some of his old contacts from the DedSec hacker group, the Assassin contacted Shimazu Sei and made a deal with her to ensure Noa's safety after Abstergo ordered his termination. Nathan also learned about Abstergo's plan to retrieve the crescent amulet from the Strait of Malacca and prepared an ambush there.[75]
Following Noa and Yuki's successful retrieval of the amulet, Nathan commenced his plan to retrieve both Noa and the Piece of Eden. Boarding a speedboat, he and his men, who were riding jetskis, attacked the diving bell ship that Noa, Yuki, and Sei were on.[76] While his thugs fought the ship's guards, including several Sigma Team operatives, Nathan helped Noa, Sei, and Yuki escape with the amulet and brought them to a Zhawang Corporation safehouse in Singapore.[3]
There, Noa was taken to receive immediate medical attention due to his mind being corrupted by the amulet's powers. Meanwhile, Sei informed Nathan of her plan to save Noa's life, theorizing that another Piece of Eden could be used to cure him. To track down the artifact, Sei volunteered to relive the memories of her ancestor Shimazu Saito with Yuki's assistance. Before Sei went into the Animus, Nathan briefly taunted her about the dangers of her plan,[3] and later called Claire to update her on the situation.[44]
When Sei began to suffer from the Bleeding Effect, she had to be removed from the Animus, and Noa volunteered to take her place in the machine despite his own worsening condition. Nathan remarked that Noa must trust Sei if he was willing to risk his life for hers, and threatened to kill the doctor should her plan to save Noa fail.[51]
Eventually, Noa's genetic memories revealed the whereabouts of a Piece of Eden in the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar. As the group prepared to depart Singapore,[56] they were attacked by Sigma Team, who had managed to track them down. Sei, Noa, Yuki, and Nathan defeated several Sigma Team operatives in an alley before boarding a cargo ship which would bring them to Yangon. During the voyage, Sei decided to return to the Animus to continue exploring Saito's memories.[57]
Operations in Yangon[edit | edit source]
- Nathan: "We've got a family member on the line here. We're in too deep to turn back now. It was only a matter of time until they found out anyway."
- Claire: "I suppose there's no way around it. I never expected my generation to be the one to rekindle the flame... of our long-lost bond with the Assassin Brotherhood."
- —Nathan and Claire, on the former's decision to contact the Assassins, c. 2023.[src]-[m]
Once in Yangon, Nathan and Sei went to scout out the Shwedagon Pagoda for possible access routes while Yuki looked after Noa, whose condition had worsened, to the point where he now believed himself to be Edward. Sei spoke with "Edward" and convinced him to help recover the Piece of Eden from the temple so they could use it to save Noa's life. Meanwhile, Nathan contacted the Assassins for help, much to the annoyance of Claire, who was hesitant to rekindle the ties between the Zhawang Corporation and the Brotherhood.[62]
At night, Nathan and his men staged a distraction by attacking the soldiers guarding the Shwedagon Pagoda, to allow Sei and Noa to enter the temple and retrieve the Piece of Eden.[62] However, during the shootout, Nathan and Yuki witnessed the arrival of Sigma Team, who sought to capture Sei and Noa and recover the crescent amulet.[64]
Yuki, Nathan and his men held off the Sigma Team members while Sei and Noa escaped with Shwedagon's artifact. Nathan threw a grenade at the agents, and Yuki had her drone drop additional explosives on the Templars, inflicting heavy casualties and allowing the pair to slip away unnoticed amidst the confusion. They then drove to pick up Sei and Noa, before heading to a safehouse in the countryside to lay low.[65]
At the safehouse, while Sei tended to Yuki, who had been shot in the earlier fight, the group discussed their next course of action. Following an argument between Yuki and Nathan about their different ideas of what to do with the two Pieces of Eden in their possession, Noa suggested that they only use them if absolutely necessary and that they separate the artifacts to prevent Abstergo from seizing both in the event they were captured. Thus, Noa kept the crescent amulet while Sei was given Shwedagon's artifact. Afterwards, the group left the safehouse and returned to Yangon in order to steal a seaplane and flee Myanmar.[66]
Infiltrating Yangon's harbor, Noa took the lead and cleared the path for the others, incapacitating several Sigma Team members. He, Sei, and Yuki then headed to the hangar where the seaplane was located while Nathan went to free his men, who were being held captive by the Templars aboard their own ship. However, he was discovered, initiating a fight with Sigma Team.[77]
Yuki sacrificed herself to hold back the Templars and allow Nathan and his men to reach the hangar, where Noa and Sei were waiting.[78] However, they were soon surrounded by Sigma Team, forcing Sei to use the crescent amulet to temporarily subdue the agents. This allowed Noa and Nathan to escape with the artifact recovered from the Shwedagon Pagoda and fly to an uncharted island. There, Noa decided to continue exploring Edward's memories and track down the third and final Piece of Eden.[67]
Nathan and his men watched over Noa while he was in the Animus, until the former was alerted by DedSec that Abstergo had tracked them down. Moments later, the group was attacked by two of Sigma Team's Abyss Walkers, though fortunately Noa awoke in time to deal with them. He and Nathan then defeated more Sigma operatives, only to find that the Templars had destroyed their seaplane, stranding them on the island.[79]
Members[edit | edit source]
- 18th century
- Edward Kenway (founder)
- John Young (defected)
- Mustafa
- Shimazu Saito
- Xialun Qing
- Yun Pyeong-Gyu
- Zhang (acting leader)
- Modern times
- Claire Zhang (director)
- Nathan Zhang
- Noa Kim's father
Allies[edit | edit source]
- 18th century
- Modern times
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
A flag with the Zhang Wei Union's logo -
The Union's headquarters in 1725 -
Two Zhawang Corporation agents -
A Corporation higher-up
Appearances[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
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