[3rd POV]
(The Jade Palace)
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"A hundred and one per cent sure Viper."
It was not a good idea to try and slingshot yourself with two trees in hopes of reaching the same speed as Mighty Eagle. Not only was it impossible to do such things, it was dangerous.
"Okay then, I hope you succeed." Viper said like a supportive wife to Po.
"Crane, be ready to catch him." Tigress said as she watched from the side. She was worried for Po but she was far too amused and interested to actually stop what was going on.
"You can do it!!" Monkey said.
"You think so?" Manits who was on his shoulder whispered.
"No." Moneky whispered back but then returned to cheering, "You can do it, Dragon Warrior!!"
"Oooh yeah guys, be ready to witness the peak of awesomeness never before seen since Tai Lung on the battle of Shigatse." Po said while he walked backwards.
He tied a rubber rope on two trees and he was using it as a slingshot to try and shoot himself at a speed that should be as fast as the Mighty Eagle. He was basically playing angry birds with himself.
It was one of his unorthodox ideas. He had been getting lots of them these days.
The furious five watched him from the side, amused but also curious if it was going to be a success. They were not too worried as Po was extremely durable and also knew how to heal himself.
"Then we do this." Po said while channelling his chi onto the rubber rope so that it may achieve the impossible.
"Three...two...one.."
"Po!!"
"Master Shifu!" Po panicked when he heard Shifu's voice coming behind him and immediately jumped out of the slingshot nest. The rubber violently pulled forward but Po was no longer there.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"Uhhhh...I was, making a hammock for Monkey!!" Po lied.
Shifu's face was absolutely blank and then he looked at Monkey who immediately covered for his friend's excuse, "Yeah, thanks Po."
They gave big fake smiles.
Shifu sighed, "We have no time for this Po, a letter had come from the Shen, asking for aid."
"Aid? But I thought we already defeated the rebel army?" Po asked and the furious five also gathered around him.
"Yes, that's the thing. Shen thought they had already defeated the rebels until a week ago, they suddenly retaliated and somehow were able to be powerful enough to take back the kingdom of Jingnan."
"A hundred thousand soldiers died. "
"What?!" x5
"That many?" Tigress asked.
"Indeed, I was shocked as well. Shen suspected that there might be a traitor amongst the guardians or the rebels somehow got thier hands on a forbidden technique or kung fu."
"Forbidden kung fu?' the Furious Five asked since they had never heard of such things before.
"Forbidden Kung Fu, they are styles created by evil warriors with the sole purpose of gaining more power no matter the consequences. Demonic blood harvest and Wubao's lifeforce sacrifice are a few examples. They require sacrifice, either from the user or a third party in exchange for a sudden boost in strength." Po explained.
The Dragon Warrior was always knowledgeable when it came to the matter of kung fu. It was his greatest passion after all.
"Exactly as Po said." Shifu said with a smile, "And Lord Shen wanted the Jade Palace to help him investigate this before the Empire received more losses. He will also personally rejoin the conflict as well."
"This time, I want you all to participate in the mission. All of you will head North again and quickly respond to the situation. This war has been going on for far too long and innocent lives are suffering, I want you to end it now."
"Yes Master Shifu!!" the disciples of the Jade Palce said.
After the mission was given to them, the team immediately prepared themselves. They took some ration and said goodbye to thier families before they headed out to the North in the afternoon.
The journey to the North was swift and the team reached the city of Zhou in the short span of two days. They met up with the king and they were notified of the whole situation immediately.
"Somehow, the rebels were able to deal with any sort of strategic attack we threw their way. We still did not know how they did it or what fighters they had to achieve such results because so far...there had been no survivors." the king said.
They were currently walking through the city of Zhou and the condition of the people could be better. The war had clearly taken a toll on everyone as a depressing air filled the city.
There were many refugees of war - villagers who lost thier villages because the rebels raided them for resources and the citizens of Jingnan who had fled from the city.
There was a shortage of food and water in the city which stopped smiles from surfacing to the faces of the people. Trade had virtually stopped due to the dangerous roads and the city only had itself for sustenance.
"This is terrible. Why had the Empire not send resources or more soldiers?" Tigress asked while looking around the city.
"They tried, but the enemy always find ways to sabotage the transportation. They are lesser in number so they are extremely flexible and the North was always known to be more isolated from the rest of China. There can be hardly any safe cargo that reaches the kingdom, at one point we were just feeding the enemy." the king said.
The King was a giant rat but even though he might be a giant for his species, he was still small compared to the team. But the people of the city bowed down to him to show respect wherever he went. It just goes to show how good of a king he was when the citizens show such respect even in such situation.
"That is not all." the rat king continued, " Kung Fu Masters, from the guardian of the kingdom, Master Gorilla to the local masters of the smallest villages had been going missing. We thought they might have died in battle but so far we have not found a corpse. There is something else going around."
The king's words struck deep into the heart of the team. Thier face hardened in resolution as they said to the king, "You don't have to worry anymore. We got this."
"Haaa, such words from the Dragon Warrior give some relief to my burdened heart. Thank you." The rat king said.
The team did not stay long in the city. They rest for the night before they immediately head out towards the taken city of Jingnan once more.
The plan was simple.
Sneak into the city, investigate what was going on and what kind of tricks were the rebels using to amass multiple victories when they were already near the brink of defeat.
They might soon come to regret this decision because green eyes were staring at them from an unknown location and distance.
The green smiled.
..
..
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[Tai Lung's POV]
"What the fuck."
That was the only correct reaction in this situation.
I looked at the giant who was slowly walking towards me. No, calling him a giant was an understatement.
He was titanic.
I never knew there were beings in this world that were this big. His head touched the sky. Or was it even a head? It was weird because he was a fucking walking whale.
What an absolute marvel of creation.
"You can kill that thing right?" Mei asked from my side while she too looked ahead in astonishment.
I turned to look at her and saw that she was afraid, or maybe slightly unnerved.
"If you're scared, it helps if you imagine him as a giant fish." I said.
"...."
"...."
"It does make me feel better." she said with a smile.
We watched the whale slowly approach us from a distance. He was at least a few kilometres away but since he was so tall - standing roughly 120 feet or so - he was clearly visible.
In fact, I felt the ground vibrate even though he was still that far away.
"He is not a fish though." said a voice in the air. Mei immediately became alerted and tighten the grip she had on her bell. She was ready to jingle it and command the world to completely hide her presence.
But that would not be needed as I had sensed the enemy since the beginning. I was even standing in a way to always protect her since the start.
"But you are one, isn't that right?" I said with a smile and moved my head. I turned towards the place he was hiding at.
I looked him straight in the eye.
"You know, I like the taste of fish."
"Not this one I assure you." rows of white teeth smiled at me. It was white and jagged, it gave off a monstrous sight. One would cower even just looking at it.
He finally came out from the rocky hill and bushes he was hiding behind. My nose was extremely acute to smelling - especially fish - so it was easy to locate him.
A blue monster with a physique unlike anything I had ever seen before walked out. He had muscles which i could not even name and limbs I was not sure how they worked.
His gills opened up and released a gruff nose, like the ones you would hear from a horse.
It was a shark.
"I am Shakui, from the Celestial waters of India."
"I came to you, strongest of the world, with a warning."
His smile was ever so sharp.
..
..
[Shakul Image]
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