[3rd POV]
"What do you mean 'our soldiers are gone'?" The Emperor of Tibet asked in the silence of the meeting hall.
"It is as I said, my lord." The soldier said, "They are all gone. We could not find even a single corpse."
"They have been wiped out from the face of the Earth."
"What?! How is that possible?" The Emperor yelled and stood up. The people inside the meeting hall murmured in discussion.
It was news which was hard to swallow for everyone.
"We have the picture of what our army had become. It was drawn by a one of the bird artisans." The soldier said and pulled out a scroll which he quickly presented to the Emperor.
The Tibetan Atelope unfurled the scroll and he was immediately confused.
"What is this? A handmark?"
"That was the place where the army was camping my lord." The soldier said with a gulp "If you look closely...."
The Emperor finally saw the small hills and broken trees on the side of the landmark. It was then that the image finally clicked in his mind and he realized what might have been the fate of his soldiers.
"Impossible." The Emperor muttered in an odd mixture of disbelief and awe. A tone used when one comes face to face with a God.
"This handmark..." The Emperor said and observed the picture closer. The handmark had calws and the shape looked like the hand of a tiger or leopard.
"Its Tai Lung." The soldier said, "We have confirmed it with our spies as well. We had no time to react because Tai Lung attacked the same day he was sent to the borders to protect it."
The Emperor put down the scroll and the nobles nearby picked it up to gaze at the image too. They passed it around from one after the other. All of their eyes widened in horror or squinted in an odd understanding.
A realization struck the hearts of everyone as they finally realised who they had plotted against.
China and the strongest warrior in the world.
They now felt the full weight of that title. A few other aliases Tai Lung had been called also came into their mind, the 11th Power, the Walking Kingdom etc.
To crush an army of thousands with one hand was something that took time for everyone to fully comprehend.
"It's fine." The Emperor said. His eyes gained the determined light of someone who had far gone insane. A diluted version of Shen's insanity.
"We have the Guptas with us now. They have warriors who can take on Tai Lung." The Emperor said.
Although the feat of crushing an entire army with one hand was impressive, the Emperor who was well-versed in Chi knew that there had to be some trick to it.
Tai Lung could not just throw out such catastrophic attacks like that casually. If he did, he wouldn't have needed an army behind him to conquer the world.
Yet he was the Supreme General.
And Tai Lung won't be as strong as he actually is when faced with them. On the other hand, their warriors would be stronger than they actually are.
They have a secret weapon of their own. One that could change the tide of wars.
He will not yield.
Tibet will not cower when faced with Tai Lung.
"Tai Lung had been put between us and China again. But this time, he won't be able to stop us." The Emperor said.
This time, he had the Gutas and..
The Priestess of Infinity.
Tibet got the message. And they are not afraid.
..
..
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(Gongmen City. China)
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha." A crazed laugh that spoke of many unhinged things echoed through the Tower of Sacred Flames.
Shen, the white peacock was laughing with his neck rolling back as he held onto the scroll in his wings. It was the same information the Tibetan Emperor got.
But unlike the Antelope, Shen was laughing out of happiness and joy. He felt like someone who had won the biggest lottery in the world for allying with Tai Lung early on.
The heavens presented the greatest opportunity and his genius took it.
He realized he had been talking a lot about trying harder and making sure that he stood on par with Tai Lung and his great achievements. But did he even need to?
Can they even lose?
He didn't think so.
Shen's laughter died down and he gazed upon the scroll again, specifically at the huge handprint which traumatized the earth. He really wanted to see the horror on the Tibetan's faces when they saw this.
It must've been a glorious sight.
"Would you all take a look at what your General did?" Shen said and showed the scroll to the guards and Boss Wolf nearby.
"I want this information to be spread throughout China. I want every animal and every little child to be aware of this event. People should be talking about the greatness of their General in every household by the end of this week. From the city to even the most isolated village." Shen gave his order.
"Spread flyers, sing praises of his might and create pomes. Let the people who had been afraid of the looming threat of the other Empires find peace in their rulers' strength." Shen said.
There was a lot of upset in China when the news of 3000 soldiers dying at the hands of 500 Tibetan soldiers spread throughout China. They were questioning their safety since China was in such a vulnerable state.
But now, all those fears would be chased away.
"Instill a sense of invincibility amongst the people. Make them feel good about being part of united China, to be under Tai Lung." Shen said. This will quench people's uncertainty. Was it better under the new rule or before, when they were split into kingdoms?
Now that the people had lost their kingdoms and individual pride in their ethnicity, they needed something else to be proud of.
"And sow fear into the heart of those who oppose us," Shen added with a hiss. "Make them feel like they have gone against Gods"
With the end of the order, the subjects of Shen immediately got to work.
Propaganda was just one of the many tools of a ruler.
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(The city of Texilai, Gupta Empire)
Samudra Gupta looked at the piece of paper in his hand and hummed to himself
Everyone in the throne room was silent, actively observing their ruler's reaction to the news they considered shocking.
How would he react?
"Interesting." Samudra Gupta said and rubbed his powerful tusks that looked grander than any spear could ever look.
"So China got another Oogway right after his death." Samudra Gupta said.
Oogway was well known in China because he had actually led an army against them and even after the war, Oogway travelled through India learning much from them.
So they were aware of what the Turtle could do.
Now, Samudra Gupta felt that Tai Lung would be the same way. It almost felt like history was repeating itself.
"So not only do they have those weapons but Tai Lung is leading them." He hummed again and changed his position on the throne.
Now this show of power changed his whole attitude.
And maybe not for the best for Tai Lung and China.
"Call the messenger. I wish to send a message to the Emperor." Smaudra Guta said and discarded the piece of paper.
And now it begins.
.
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[IMAGE]
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Author : Double chapter in case you missed.
Patreon : Emmanuel_Capricorn
Read 15 chaptees ahead!!!