This manhwa is heavily inspired by the 2006 manga 'Kingdom' which is one of top juggernauts in the Warring States genre. The plot, characters & villains follows the manga loosely. The only differences being the fantasy element, the regression and the RPG-like system.
That said, this manhwa cannot compared to 'Kingdom'. The story is watered down, it does not have the complex plot and intricate politics, instead its very linear and rigid. Use of plot convenience to push the story makes the narrative feel unnatural. A story arc starts because something suddenly happened, feels like plot device magically gets written in, with no context and relation.
The secondary characters are an interesting bunch but severely lack appropriate screentime for character development. What's the point of recruiting a Sage when minimal content was devoted to him? Also character relationships get shipped out of the blue, its so weird. At this point, these characters that had so much potential end up being forgettable.
The wars and battles can't compared to the grand battles in 'Kingdom'. It focuses on the main character duels but cut short the wars and battles of subordinates. Tactics and strategy rapidly lose significance in favor of power fantasy.
It also desperately needs better world building instead of throwing occasional snippets. World building creates immersion, it should not be ignored.
The manhwa opts for a much faster pacing of the main plot which ends up detrimental for other parts of the writing like character development, geopolitics, relationships, world building and battles. Hardly any chapters were devoted to them which is a shame. I'm curious if the novel delves more into the 'cut content' because it plainly obvious there's so much missing. 140+ chapters is too short, story was rushed to a melodramatic ending.
It may be inferior in all aspects but it does have its own charm, like how it translates warring kingdoms into a fantasy setting with monsters, magic and martial powers. Our protagonist is also a fan of direct action. Often times, characters' hands are tied due to politics, which is frustrating, but the MC prefers a strong arm approach and is not afraid of killing even if they're aristocracy. That said, it was a bit overdone. Hard to believe every political obstacle can be overcome by brute force.
Personally i feel this manhwa does not intend to rival the top dogs in the genre, just contend with putting out good works. It is severely lacking compared to Kingdom but the storytelling, characters, setting & battles are enough to let it stand out among the average crowd though still not enough to step into the decent category.