More Poppy War content because I cannot sleep.
Chen Kitay is the most dangerous person in all of the books. He's more dangerous than the Trifecta, Nezha, Rin, Vaisra.
Because Kitay is fucking SMART.
Kitay holds the power over the greatest weapon Nikan has had since the Trifecta. Kitay can control the Last Speerly, can subject Rin to not having fire. And, if that doesn't work, suicide will end the Phoenix for good.
Kitay is a terribly competent soldier, able to fight off Nezha, who is regularly described as almost superhumanly adept in combat, for minutes before surrendering. Even better, Kitay knows Yin Nezha personally, deeply
Even worse, he's the smartest of them all, both strategically and absolutely. He has an eidectic memory which makes him capable of remembering everything he reads on the first try. He is able to understand new Hesperian technology in days, he's able to design a machine that makes Rin fly.
Kitay sits in the war room of the Dragon Lord, the richest and most powerful man in the empire, and is listened to because he makes so much damn sense. He could see the Dragon Lord's water campaign failure coming from miles away, is a strategical linchpin in the campaign of the Southern army. He is adept in personal strategy too, immediately correctly guessing why Vaisra would betray them, giving clear and sound reasons. He's, in conclusion, a brilliant commander.
And he's ruthless, when he wants to be. He breaks Rin's hands when they need to escape, he is able to design traps that kill dozens of soldiers when Sinegard is under attack. After that he manages to fight and survive the onslaught that is the siege on Sinegard, which means he must have taken lives. It happens to be Rin who narrates, who is very unreliable. Kitay is her blindspot. She wants him to be a good man, a hero. He's the most moral man in the series, but don't let that fool you. The fact that he is the best person in the Poppy War character gallery doesn't really mean much, when comparing him to, say, Rin or Daji. Kitay is willing to kill, and more than capable of it. That only he has a moral compass that still somewhat works doesn't make him a good man in the slightest.
He's mentally unbreakable, too. He survived Golan Niis with nothing but wit and cunning, he withstood interrogation for weeks at least. He manages to let the Phoenix run through his mind without the side effects on his reasoning that Rin seems to be suffering from. I'd argue that he's mentally about as strong as she is, but he is just not willing to fight her. Everyone else should rightfully be terrified if Kitay decides to come for you.
And we haven't even spoken about his wealth. Kitay is the son of the defense minister, one of the richest inhabitants of Sinegard, canonically lives in a mansion with servants. We should believe that his influence extends far beyond the city's walls.
Kitay will outhink you, outmanouver you, remember your every move, then stand back as Rin burns you to death after he figured out a way around you using your own tactics. He might not have a god, but he doesn't really need one, either.
The Pantheon knows he'd be way too powerful then.
