A/N: I hope you are enjoying it so far. Here come the real bad guys.
The hooded figures stood on one of the freezing peaks of Tavan Bogd, a mountain range along the border of China and Mongolia. Less than five hundred feet away was Chorh-Gom Prison, home to the most deadly criminals of all China. One of the hooded figures snarled at the entrance and started to lift his paw.
"Leave it down, let us still watch. If we know our enemy before we attack, we will have an even better chance," said one, pushing the other's paw down.
"But why, Xisong? We have spies everywhere! They have told us all we need to know!"
"Patience, Canku. Remember how the last siege went when our signal was too early?"
Canku looked away, his teeth bared. It had not gone well. Many troops had been lost. Even though they had won, it had been bloodier than they needed.
Xisong looked up at the two figures in black at the top of the entrance. They shifted.
"Now."
Canku grinned, raised a paw, and howled into the wind. The wolf's howl cut through the blizzard winds. The rhino guards at the massive doors readied their spears. The two figures dropped down from their loft heights and landed on the rhino's heads jabbing a dagger into their eye socket, piercing their brains. The two black figures caught the massive rhino's and let them fall softly to the snow covered stone, blood flowing out of where they once had eyes. The two figures were quickly joined by the two wolves and the rest of the wolves' army.
The ragtag looking army was very disciplined. With each species given instructions on how they were to act and what they needed to do in certain situations, this army had grown and obliterated everything in their way. Chorh-Gom Prison was to be their first major victory in China. Everything had been set-up exactly how they needed it to be. Canku motioned for a gazelle with one horn to open the door.
"How long will it take?"
"No time at all. The key is right there."
"Fools, they have given their enemy the key."
The gazelle opened the door. Canku and Xisong looked forward. There was sitting in a stone chair was a rhino with a very shocked expression on his face. Xisong howled. From all over Chorh-Gom Prision, rhino guards turned on their fellow companions without warning. A rhino cleaved the head off one of his close friends. It rolled in front of Canku. He cackled at the dead rhino's head and walked forward, pushing the head out of his way.
"You have an option, my friend. Join us on our conquest of China or die. I know what my decision would be, but I will leave it up to you."
"And you decision would be for me to join your army, would it be, wolf?"
Xisong smiled and answered for her mate instead.
"No, we would prefer to kill you."
"Then I will die in…"
The rhino never finished. The two wolves pounced at the rhino. Xisong pulled out two daggers. She sunk one into the rhino's armpit and the other into his stomach. Canku instead took his dagger and slowly brought it to the rhino's throat and cut in. He slowly brought it to the rhino's throat. Blood flowed freely.
"You can finish your sentence," hissed Canku. "You finished with die? Are you sure still? I can end your suffering right now. We can treat you and you can join the ranks of the most powerful army in all China."
The Chorh-Gom Prision warden spit blood into Canku's face. The wolf just licked it off his face. Some still clung to Canku's fur, giving him a ghastly appearance. The prison was silent, the last cries of battle fading. They waited for the rhino warden to give his answer. The rhino didn't answer. Canku's patience wore thin and he pushed the knife deeper into the rhino's body and pulled, almost cutting the throat. The rhino screamed – a harsh, gravelly scream. Canku quickly silenced it by cutting the throat all the way. The wind rushed up from the windpipe as the rhino's lungs collapsed.
The bloodied wolves jumped off as the dead corpse fell.
"I never did like it when a rhino screams," muttered Canku. "The most unholy noise."
"Yet you are as black a soul as ever," replied Xisong.
Canku laughed.
"You share the same blood as me, let it not be forgotten."
The two turned simultaneously to look at one of their officers. A vulture.
"How has it gone, Siwang?"
"None other than perfect, the prisoners have not retaliated."
"Good, bring them here."
The criminals were led to kneel in front of the wolf leaders.
"You are the most feared in China, am I not mistaken? Or you were. Until those who put you down put you in chains."
A general murmur came from the assorted crowd.
"I give to you a chance to come with me in a conquest of China and fight for me. You will have a portion of the spoils and I will give you a full pardon. What say you?"
Xisong laughed softly at her mates words. Criminals were so gullible. They thought the pardon was for life. As soon as they committed another crime, they would pay double the punishment. It would be fun watching their faces as they were sent back with whatever physical inflictions they had condemned them to bear.
"Will you join us?" cried Canku once again.
A roar of enthusiasm met Canku.
"Then grab your weapons, we head for Mengyou City in three days!"
Canku, Xisong, Siwang, and their other most trusted officers sat at a map of China, a blood red dot marked were Mengyou City was. Other red dot's littered the map, though they were smaller than four of them.
"We shall take Mengyou City first, as it is closest. Next, we shall take the Valley of Peace. Bear in mind this: we will not do it in all one succession. When we attack, we attack with swiftness so that no word can escape to the other targets. After Mengyou City, we shall march to the Valley of Peace, destroying those who defy us along the way. We shall catch them before word of Mengyou Cities fall reaches their ears. They will not know what to do. Twelve thousand trained killers against only seven won't be too difficult. After the first two have fallen, Gongmen City shall fall. We shall use the same tactic. Finally, a location that we shall not share with you at this time will be our last major target before we can disperse the army and conquer the rest of China and those who still appose us."
Siwang raised a wing.
"Yes Siwang," said Xisong silkily.
"How are we to attacked Mengyou City? The city is literally City of Allies. With the force of all those clans tied together in the city, it will be difficult."
Canku leaned back on his chair and pulled out a dagger. Everyone, except Xisong, tensed.
"Do you remember that robin I asked you to send to Mengyou City?"
Siwang nodded.
"Today, you will have a male robin fly to her and tell her the news. The male robin will look as if her husband is returning from a long journey of some sort, which he is in a way. She will then tell those we have positioned in Mengyou City. We have many."
"It will take a while though, close to three months, even with flying."
"Yes, but it will take us six months to traverse to Mengyou City. They will have three months to prepare. We will wait as long as we must, but not over six months. He will have to fly fast. Once we are there, we will strike without warning other than the howl of a wolf!"
He finished the sentence by burying the dagger directly on the dot that represented Mengyou City.
"We are not stupid. We have learned from our past. We have been planning for this for a period of time you don't need to know. Our oldest spies reside in Mengyou City and are loyal to use no matter what," said Xisong. "The Mengyou Betrayal is one of our most thought out plans. Nothing has ever come close to its precision."
"What of the Valley of Peace?" asked a bear. "They have the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five. Do we have spies there?"
Canku growled as he spoke.
"We have a spy places there – just one. That one spy will make all the difference."
"And how will one traitor make all the difference?"
"He has a certain position in the Valley that will make him most valuable. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior are a threat, we do acknowledge that. There is one thing that each has become attached to. Their beloved Grand Master Shifu. With him eliminated, the Five and the Dragon Warrior become but broken beings driven on by grief. They will take risks for vengeance they would have taken if they were without pain. Physiological warfare does things to people that normal hurts and threats don't. Granted, they have been hardened by their training, yet that makes them all the more vulnerable. Hard training does more harm that it does good, yet the bad doesn't show itself until something happens."
Xisong continued were her mate left off,
"Let us just make it clear to you numbskulls. If you follow our orders, we will be victorious.
"And Gongmen City? What of that?"
"Must we spell everything out? Have I not made ourselves clear? We have made plans! But don't worry, we won't look too far ahead," replied Xisong in a tight voice. "As long as we aim for China, but take the steps like we have today, we will be victorious."
The officers didn't look pleased, but they accept their leader's words.
"Off you go, let the troops rest for two days, we leave on the third before the sun has risen. Let our conquest begin!"
The officers cheered quietly, got up, bowed, then left.
As soon as they were gone, Canku and Xisong sat in a bed they found, sipping wine from stone goblets. Canku leaned back against the backboard.
"Our conquest is going to be amazing."
Xisong put her goblet down. She motioned for Canku to do the same. Canku eyed his mate with his pale yellow eyes but complied.
"It will be amazing, yes it will. But tonight we celebrate."
Canku smiled at what she meant.
