[Tai Lung's POV]
I am free.
..
The sound of an arrow the size of a spear cutting through the air at a speed ilogically fast made my body lean back on instinct.
The sharp edge of the spear barely ruffled my fur as it lodged itself on the ground beside me. The arrow was fast but my instincts could glimpse at the future.
My lips stretched into a smile, showing my canines that could and have ripped through the toughest armor.
I basked in the glory of my strength and might. I was unbetrayed by the skills and the techniques I have mastered even after two decades.
I remained unweakened by the time of my imprisonment, and although I knew it was obvious, I couldn't help myself from being glad and relieved of that fact.
*Swoosh!* x5
Five more arrows launched at me, and the sound of their approach only reached my ear after they were inches away from me. Such was the speed of the arrows.
A crossbow was made to be powerful, sacrificing the long range of a bow in exchange for ruthless speed and penetrative power. Coupled with the fact that we were in a tight, closed space of a cave, the arrows should be able to kill any other warrior.
Yet as the sharp end of the arrows foretold certain death, I did not falter, and with three movements stitched into one, I dodged the spear-sized arrows with unwavering confidence.
*Boom!* x5
Five arrows lodged themselves in the very ground I stood at. They were mere inches away from me yet only I knew how far they were from reaching me.
I observed the angle which the arrows were planted in and looked towards the direction they came from.
The machine crossbows were in something like a bird's nest on the side of the cave, the weapons were three in total and operated by six rhinos.
That was stupid. They should've stationed the three crossbows at three different places with three different angles.
I growled at them and they cowered under my piercing gaze, one of them flinched and shot out an arrow by accident.
The arrow was going to miss me but I used it as a chance to free myself as I let the arrow hit the eight acupuncture cuff on my right hand.
*Ting!*
Metal hit metal.
*Crack!*
Finally, my right hand was freed from the cuffs which was restraining my hand and blocking my chi. I looked at my arm and let out my claws for the first time in 20 years.
They were the weapons I was blessed with, I have never bothered to use any other external weapon as my claws were always sharp enough to tear and rip through anything I considered my enemy.
I used my right hand to free my left hand which was still chained and cuffed. My claws easily rip through the iron they were made of.
But I did not let go of the chains that wrapped around my left hand. I grabbed the chain with both my arm and pulled it as hard as I could. The kenetic energy traveled like waves through the chain.
"Haaaah!!!" I swung the chain over my shoulder and the huge boulder that was tied at the end, crashed into the place where the crossbows were kept.
The screams of terror from the six rhinos were followed by the sound of an earthquake as the boulder crushed them to a pulp. Blood and flesh splattered on the walls of the cave as the boulder remained suspended there.
"Ah~ violence. How I missed this." I said to myself and got on all fours as I stretched my body like any feline would after staying in the same place for a long time.
My muscles stretched and trembled in relief. My bones snapped and fit into place like pieces of a puzzle.
The fur on my back stood up as I let myself go. If it was not for my pride as a warrior, I would've purred.
"That's more like it." I said with a happy smile, unfitting of someone who just ruthlessly killed six people.
But then, the noisy sound from above disturbed me and I was forced to look up. Many bridges, similar to the Great Wall of China, were connecting different sides of the cave and I saw many soldiers stationed in those bridges.
The army of soldiers, or the Anvil of Heaven as they called themselves were all looking down at me with a bow and arrow in their hand.
"Ready!!" The voice of the commander echoed through the cave.
'Oh.' I thought to myself, realising the situation.
"FIRE!!!!"
*Phew!!* x993
An uncountable number of arrows shot down at me. They were of such quantity that they managed to block my vision completely, casting a desparing shadow like the dark clouds before a storm.
It was raining.
It was raining arrows and there were so many that no matter where I went, I wouldn't be able to escape.
"Pathetic." I commented while picking up two of the arrows in both hands. They were big enough to be used as spears, albeit a little light.
They were straight and balanced since they were arrows and that was enough for me. The arrows turned into spears in my expert hand as I spun them rapidly and faced the incoming rain of arrows.
It only took one swift swing of both weapons and all of the arrows that was aiming for me got swept away. Meanwhile the rest of the arrows simply did not hit me at all.
This was why I called their attempts pathetic. Although it might look scary at first and prevent you from dodging, the attack power was nothing and the arrows that reached me were only around 20 while the rest went to waste.
It was a good method for war but a horrible method to use on one person.
"Incompetent." I spat out, feeling offended that such incompetent soldiers were put to guard me.
But their incompetence knew no bound as they shot another rain of arrows at me even with my previous display. I swiped away the arrows like I did before and took a good look at the bridge made of rock where they stood.
"You guys have an awful lot of trust in those rocks." I said and tossed the two spears I held in my hand.
I bent down to pick up the other three spears and tossed them in the air as well. Then I jump up and proceeded to punch the end of two spears and kicked the rest of the spears.
In a show of unimaginable strength and precision, the five spears shot out like cannons after I hit them at their end.
The spears cut through the air and even with the constant pulling of gravity, my power forced them to fly up until they hit their target.
The rhinos standing at the nearest bridge pulled back to hide and none of the spears hit them. Instead, they hit the bottom of the bridge and lodge themselves there.
"Haha, he missed!!" One of the rhinos exclaimed in relief but that was short-lived as they all heard a crack the next moment.
*Crack*
Webs of cracks rapidly expanded at the bottom of the bridge as the rhinos standing on top of it realised what was happening.
They screamed and tried to run away but all that constant moving did nothing but quicken the inevitable as the rocky bridge broke into pieces and collapsed.
Rhinoceros were the second heaviest animal on land, right after elephants. So it was beyond stupid for a hundred or so of them to occupy one bridge made of stone.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
"NOOO!!!!!!!!"
"RAHHHHH!!!!!"
Their screams of horror and despair bounced off the cave walls, multiplying the sound and making it louder.
It was a pleasant music to my ears. All those condescending voices, those ridicule, and all the jokes they cracked in my name through the years, flashed in my mind.
Their voice was better when they screamed. I like their cries, far better than I like their laughters.
"Hahahahahaha!" I let out a laugh while opening my arms.
Only a few seconds ago arrows were raining, but now, it was the bodies of the soldiers and debris of the collapsed bridge that was raining down on me
I cracked my neck and with a deep-throated roar, I ran on all fours and leaped at the wall of the cave.
My claws, both from my feet and hands dug into the rocks as I ran up the vertical wall as if I was running on normal ground.
When the bodies of the soldiers reached me, I jumped on them and used thrm as a footing to leap higher and higher.
Their screams got further and further as they fell into the bottom of the cave, to their deaths. Chroh-Gom was no longer a prison that held Tai Lung but instead, it was their graveyard.
I used the fallen bodies and debris as footholds, propelling myself up to the closest bridge.
I landed on the bridge with a thud and the soldiers who were looking down at their falling allies in fear, turned to me.
No one dared make a sound or move as I slowly rose to my feet.
I deeply frowned at them and showed off my canines. A deep growl rolled off my throat as it seemed to shake the very air with its vibration.
.
.
.
"Please! I- " The guy was the first victim as I moved at a speed their eyes could not follow and their heavy bodies could never hope to react to.
My fist met his jaw as his teeth broke out with a mixture of blood and spit, whatever plea of mercy he was about to spew was cut off to remain forever unheard.
Then I spun around and kicked his side, sending his huge body to fly off the bridge and fall to his death like his comrades.
All of this happened in the span of a single second, the other soldiers were too shocked and scared to even react.
Their big and durable body was nothing more than a training dummy to me as I blurred from one place to another.
Unfortunately, I was in a hurry as there was a self-destruct mechanism in the prison. Therefore, I had no time to play around or show them mercy.
Every one I attacked, I killed immediately by either throwing them off the bridge or cutting their vital parts with my claw.
Maybe if there was no self-destruct mechanism, I would play around and maybe spare three or four attacks for each of them. This would be better than receiving one swift killer attack.
Maybe they would've met my punches or kicks instead of my claws which reaped their life one by one.
It was truly ironic. The very thing they designed to make sure I never escape my imprisonment, caused them to meet the end they could never escape from.
Death.
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