บท 62: War (3)
[Tai Lungs POV]
For the first few hours, I was focused on the battle. I meticulously utilized my knowledge, my techniques and strength to put down my enemies without killing them. Of course, some deaths were unavoidable but I tried my best to not waste lives.
I danced around the battlefield, my movements were of calculated perfection and each stroke of my limbs pantied a beautiful scene of violence. I used different Kung Fu techniques to surprise and take down my enemies, and they did not stand a chance.
Half a day passed and my senses were all lost. My ears had numbed due to the battle cry which would shortly turn into screams of agony. My nose could only smell the scent of iron and blood, both were cold.
My eyes only saw the attacks thrown with every intention to kill me. Everywhere I looked, I saw threats which I immediately addressed and neutralized before they could harm me. Being surrounded by constant danger will take a mental toll on anyone.
Even when I looked up to meet the eyes of my fellow warriors, I could not see them. I only saw the opening in their defence, the gap in their armour which I could cut. They were completely dehumanized in my eyes, they were merely like dummies from a training ground which I must attack at the right moment without hesitation.
Hesitation could be death.
My grey fur was bathed in red and it sticks to my skin. The blood was dried and stuck to my body, making me incapable of feeling the warmth of the sun.
I continued fighting. With all of my senses dulled to such an extent, it felt like a dream. I don't feel the anchor of reality as I slowly lose myself.
But the difference was that my bodies moved exactly as I wanted and ordered. There was no sluggish movement or weakness, I was powerful and I took down anyone who entered my sight.
I used flashsepts to move from one place to another on the battlefield. I would move away quickly before I could be swarmed and that same action was repeated for hundreds of times.
I conserved my Chi as much as I could but I mostly couldn't help myself from strengthening my body with it or using it to coat my nails.
My breath was rhythmic as I used the Sun Breathing Constant. I also utilize Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist as it took advantage of the opponent's strength and it saved me a lot of stamina.
I was the master of force.
Nearly a day passed and the fight continued even at night. At this point, I was not even thinking anymore as my body had adapted to the constant battle. I did not even have to focus or think to be in motion.
My body went into autopilot and I moved with practised ease and instinct. Even without my knowledge, I took many lives and crippled more.
Fighting the battle became as natural as breathing at that point and I was able to zone out even though I continued moving and fighting.
..
..
..
..
I was growing stronger. As I had thought, battles were the best way to increase my fighting prowess as I could my techniques becoming more refined with each second the fight went on.
I also got more proficient at using my chi to the point that - like I said - I could zone out and have an internal monologue while I fight.
"Just die you monster!!" A silverback Gorilla yelled and brought his giant Warhammer down at me. I blurred from my position and appeared behind him as the hammer missed me by such a huge margin that it was laughable.
He had a decent amount of strength though as the ground quaked under his strength. The ground exploded and instead of hurting me, he caused problems for his comrades.
"That's not very nice." I put my head over his shoulder and whispered in his ear from behind. His whole body twitched and he turned around and swung his hammer at me again, but he only hit the air.
With how well he was armoured and his strength, he must be one of the commanders. I thought to myself before an evil grin stretched my lips.
I caught the silverback by the arm and after I pivoted on my heel, I threw him towards the other incoming soldiers. I also stole his giant Warhammer as I sent him flying towards his subordinates.
His body slammed against a dozen of the other soldiers and I threw his warhammer in the air. He let out a groan and when he finally realized what happened, he hurriedly pushed himself up.
But before he could do anything else, his own hammer fell on his head and he was knocked out cold. His body fell on the soldiers below again, burying them uner his gigantic frame.
"Heh."
Although he was not as heavy as Master Rhino, I reckoned the soldiers would not have a fun time under him.
Speaking of Master Rhino, the reason why he was so heavy was due to chi. Like Mantis whose body held strength beyond his size and Po with his rubber body, Master Rhino was also way heavier than you would ever expect of his size.
It was not an exaggeration when I said his swings felt like they had the weight of a mountain behind them. His heavy weight, coupled with his hammer and spinning fighting style was a deadly combination I remembered to this day.
Although I beat him seemingly easily, that was because I knew how to exploit the weakness of his techniques. In a pure contest of raw strength and power, he could rival me.
That made me curious if I could have such a special body constitution, I knew it was due to Chi but how do they achieve it? Was it due to their superior bloodline or something else? I definitely wanted a passive buff like that.
I crouched down and I waited a few seconds for the soldiers to swarm on me again. It was daybreak so it was extremely dark but I had a natural night vision as a cat so I barely even noticed the dark.
When the soldiers were going to gang up on me again, I blurred. My movement was violent like the wind as sparks erupted from different places in the dark.
My claws easily ripped their armour and I cut them right at the places I wanted. When I appeared behind them again, they all fell on the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut.
The battle continues.
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(3 days after the battle had started)
"Haaa...."
"Haaa....."
"Haaa...."
"Haaa....."
The sound of my needy breath and gasps filled the broken battlefield as I stood on top of a giant pile of bodies. Some were dead while the others were unconscious.
Where 50 thousand strong elite soldiers once filled the area with their domineering presence, now a broken silence hung in the air.
The silence was not due to the natural lack of sound either.
It was silenced.
The battleground was soaked in blood and the bodies that were scattered around were more than random pebbles. The scent of decomposing corpses also filled the place, painting a scene rght out of hell.
"Victory is mine." I declared after cathching my breath. My body was smeared in dirt and blood and beneath lies small wounds and scratches which I got from the battle. They were not lethal injuries but it shows that the fight I went through was not an easy one.
But I have done it all the same.
I accomplished a feat like no one had before. I slew 50 thousand soldiers alone and won the battle that would take a royal army to win.
The pride that was bubbling in my heart was something I thought I would never experience again. A smile tugged my lips as I basked at the reality.
The reality where I was Invincible.
I felt at home at this moment, in this broken battlefield. With my body groaning in exhaustion and my Chi reaching near depletion, I was relaxed and free like never before.
Maybe.
Maybe this was what I was born for. Maybe this was what I was meant to do. Because this felt way better than playing the role of a hero and protecting everyone.
I was meant for war.
And I realized on the third day that that was not a bad thing. Some people were just born to fight and conquer. It doesn't have to make me a demon or the personification of evil either, that is just how I am, my nature.
This is me.
I liked chasing a tall ambition and fighting with everything I had to obtain what I desired, rather than protecting what was already there and keeping everything safe.
Oogway created Kung Fu as a form of self-defence and to protect those we hold dear. But that was not what Kung Fu was to me.
instead, it was a way to being absolute. It was a form of power that allowed me to accomplish impossible feats like this and take what I wanted even with the world opposing me.
It was a weapon that allowed me to go against the universe itself. it was something that will never betray me even if destiny turned her back on me.
To me, that was Kung Fu.
My Kung Fu.
I guess Oogway was right, there is indeed darkness in me. But if that was what I truly am, then I would embrace it instead of running away from it.
After all, darkness was just as necessary as the light. It's what the symbol of Kung Fu stands for right? Yin and Yang.
The silence of the aftermath taught me who I was as I basked in my new identity, my true identity.
I held up my blood-soaked hands and carefully observed it as I was about to achieve something I was struggling with for a long time.
I pushed my Chi out of my body but this time, instead of just calling out the uppermost layer of my white Chi, I also summoned my blue Chi outside.
I let them out in equal protions and then I was easily able to control them. I let them flow from one body part to the other as I shaped my chi just as I wanted even when they were outside of my body.
It was something I was not able to do before.
"To think it was this simple," I said to myself.
All this time I was just letting my white Chi outside, not knowing I was letting out an incomplete part of my Chi. That was why I had such a difficult time controlling my Chi when it left my body.
I was able to do everything when it was inside because they were complete. My white Chi alone or my blue Chi alone cannot work without the other, they needed to be together.
They were two expressions in one Chi. So when I only tried to control my white Chi, I was unable to do so. I just needed them to be equal and coexist to control it however I wanted.
I got this enlightenment when I finally found my true identity.
Do not surpress it. Let them both be free.
Embrace it.
"I am Tai Lung." I whispered but everything heard me.
..
..
I put down my hand and turned my focus in the distance where three warriors who were above the rest walked out.
They have been mere spectators through the battle as they ordered the soldiers to attack me and controlled their formation as much as they could.
They were hoping for me to tire out and even if I was able to beat all of the 50 thousand soldiers, they hoped they would be able to take me down right after it.
"Tai Lung." The general of the Shu army stepped forward and started speaking. His voice was filled with fear and unadulterated admiration when he addressed my name.
"My name is Jin Dao." The Mandrill said and bowed like a young student bowing to their master.
"I have served the Kingdom of Shu for the most part of my life and as its loyal servant, I want to ask- no, beg you to reconsider your alliance with Lord Shen and your plan on taking over Shu Han." he asked me while bowing his head.
Although he did it with such humility and determination, I could not grant his request.
"I'm afraid that would not be possible." I said, "My ambition far exceeds what anyone had in mind and my goal is too big to abandon for the sake of one Kingdom. Conquering Shu is merely a tiny portion of something grander."
Jin Dao stayed silent for some time before he nodded and he looked up.
"I understand." Jin Dao said, "But I can only plead that you will not be cruel to my beloved Kingdom and its citizens. And to spare my two great commanders, I am sure it can be beneficial to your goals too as they are great warriors."
I looked at the two commanders behind him and they had grim expressions. Their plan was to fight me and hopefully take me down in my exhausted state but they knew they had no chance.
So they resorted to getting my pity.
He must also be hopeful in his request seeing that I spared many of his soldiers who lay unconscious right now. With my earlier hint of a greater goal and the speech of Lord Shen, he must have put two and two together.
"You can be assured that no innocent lives would be harmed in my conquest." I was stong enough to promise that. "And I would prefer not wasting the lives of Kung Fu masters as well."
"But I noticed something peculiar, you never begged for your own life." I said.
He sighed in relief and finally showed a smile. "Words came from the East that Lord Shen is successful in his invasion. With you by his side, the Kingdom of Shu is destined to fall."
"My loyalty lies with Shu Han forever and I plan to fall with it if I cannot protect it. It will also be a great honour to die with my brave soldiers and by your hands."
I chuckled, "Such a plethora of requests coming from the defeated."
"Please." Jin Dao said, "I have fought in many great wars and won many battles, at least allow me this honour of meeting my end to a superior General."
He sure knew how to butter up someone. He must've learned it from staying by his King's side.
"Well, I am in a good mood today." I said and leapt off the pile of bodies and landed infornt of him.
"Consider your request granted." I said.
A single second did not pass before his eyes suddenly glow bright blue and his claws extended. His mouth opened wide and displayed his sharp fangs that were longer than my fingers.
He launched himself towards me with all his strength and I just smirked at him. My chi exploded out as it coated my body just like Monkey King did.
I was finally able to replicate his enhancement fully after learning how to control my Chi even when it was outside my body.
My grey fur started glowing softly as I shot out like a missile. I was so fast that my movement made a sound only when I stopped behind Jin Dao.
*FWWWOOOMMM!!! *
I stood there and flicked my hand to calm the fresh blood off them.
Jin Dao had the entire vertical half of his body torn off as he fell down with a reverberating thud.
It was the end of mighty General. But also the beginning of a greater one
His two commanders immediately went to care for his corpse as I started walking away from the battlefield.
Triumphed.
.
.
.
[IMAGE]
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