Volume Three: Deng Wa

Chapter LIII

Iron Antlers II: Severity

"PO!"

The Dragon Warrior was behind a group of villagers catching up with Bao-Panda and Shen, passing by his goose father's restaurant, which was now flooded with jombies storming down from the roof tile. Crane shouted farther above once the bird swung by his glide behind the panda and booted the giant boar with gold talons, pounding him to the short route. At first, jombies raided half of the Valley and still advanced their surroundings, taking villagers' lives without hesitation. With the army of Jade Warriors in more significant numbers and the storm's second wave draining all the chi, the living had a slight chance of winning back.

Once frightened at the quick sight of Jade Warriors rampaging into every housing complex with destruction, Po swung his jade staff and diverted talons from two aces trying to tackle the panda. Shen delivered his crimson stick to pin down, rounding his whole weight in the air; the peacock rounded his rope dart onto the stone wolf's belly and hurled him into the horde, splashing the front battalion with Shen's chi.

"Watch that light—!"

Landing on the ground with haste, pummeling his rope dart, which radiated his chi, Shen rolled to the back as a screech of emerald lightning lashed close to the road's center near the peacock, and more whips occurred multiple times on most of the roof tiles. One of the lightning bolts struck a sow villager, electrifying her with severe convulsions as she screamed out in pain and, amidst her physical reaction, formed the villager into a Jade Warrior.

"Panda killer," the rich voice behind the sow's eyes made her clench her teeth, reaching out her chef knife as several jombies followed the exact shout. "PANDA KILLER!"

With a thunderous shout next to Shen, Po slashed the villager's chest upward and made his weapon with an incredible spiral while rotating himself, his pole plunging the road, surging with his raging dawn and gold chi waves. Most turned-to-be stones bathed out of hard-stick rocks, but once several did on the main path, archers climbing on complex roofs freed their green arrows at them.

"I got you, buddy. Let's—"

Shen came up to his feet from the bear's strength, with outcries echoing down to the East, letting Po glimpse at villagers spread apart to the sides, amplifying their horrors. A snow leopard flipping his body backward, scraped the snow with his claws, leaving his mauling trails beside the two as Tai Lung's fur bristled with dark spots and grated marks on his bruised chest.

"Tigress!" he dashed on fours back.

"No! That cannot be Queen Crocodile!" Po widened, then started to sprint behind the leopard. "Come on, Shen! Let's help —

"No! You and Shen keep holding the line!" Monkey advised, sprinting away. "I'll assist Tai Lung and Tigress!"

Tai Lung, giving his fast pace closer to the affray, mounted on the brick structure of a two-story house and yanked a long rope that linked to two apartments, launching him into the apex as the giant reptile crashed into one side of the pagoda. Once sighting the Queen, he heard a harsh screech from behind, giving the leopard a short spin with his rigid foot striking the owl's forehead. Tumbling down forward, Tai Lung reached for the ridge side and made his run for the next building; two wooden windows puffed out with scorching emerald once the Queen rammed her small arms, creating crater cracks.

"LOOK OUT!"

Fan Tong rolled to the left from the giant's behemoth tail whipping in the sky, hammering near the panda boy when Tai skidded beside Tigress and began deflecting kicks from the Queen. "Jing, behind you!" Tai Lung mostly darted his feet twice and several times to his jumps once he heard one panda teenager shouting for her close by, which a few Jade Warriors were closing in the attack near their retreat.

Tigress and Tai Lung pulled back for their short recoveries as a raging golden snub on the upward tile roof leaped down with his agility, his fists bashing on the Queen's head. Regaining his positioning from his backflip, Master Monkey countered the giant's fists with his heavy feet, striking into her arm joints, one palm thrust and the other on the upper limb, giving the Queen snarl.

"Now, Mantis!" Master Monkey shouted.

"Eat my clawthees —" The Queen Crocodile had her head jolted down to the snow and returned to her height to slight disorientation with another shout with a lime green line whipping her jaw. "— bitch!"

After seeking the next chance to restrain the giant reptile, the leopard regained his strength with both arms wide open with his cobalt-yellow fire chi. "Tai Lung, giant death strike!" his sister uttered, and he obeyed with a short grunt of approval.

Locking Tai Lung's claws with her firm, giving a fast spin to her catapult launch, Tigress roared and plunged her right foot under the Queen's throat; the impact from her chi spread its gold dust beam as Tai Lung granted him his next turn. He sprang toward her and had Tigress revolve him with another fast whirl, flinging him where Tai Lung delivered his mighty blows under the Queen's chest; another from his sister pummeled the next, having the giant wobble backward. Behind her left foot, the lime-green serpent master twirled her ribbon stick, and a red panda grandmaster next to her commenced his scurry.

Viper yanked the Queen's whole limb to a fierce stretch, putting Shifu his advance from his jump and landed circle kicks on the Queen's spine. Rupturing stone bones with Shifu's bright gold chi tumbled her forward with a hard thud, and with the leopard's growl intensifying in thin air, Tai Lung dove his whole body along with his cobalt-yellow fists. Stone cracks splitting apart from chunks of emerald debris had heard, and the Great Dragon freed the Queen, who grimaced with her teeth clenching in stun.

"Not. . . my. . . turtle," the Queen Crocodile moaned and crashed her whole head in the snow.

"After all this time?!" Snapping with irritation, Mantis stirred his fast glide of bright yellow line against a small crocodile with rapid combination blows, landing punches on his head and later grappling his tail, throwing him into the fruit cart. Tai Lung and Tigress passed by the panda with light gray chi on her tiny paws; Jing gripped another reptile, quivering the remaining green fractures on his body before slamming him into the clay wall.

"On your left, Jing!" Lei Lei screamed.

The two felines dashed through the opening road as citizens lingered behind wood carts and windows, casting their yellow orbs at small groups of jombies at alleyways closing in. They were reaching toward the front once Po, Shen, Crane, and Bao were barricading the line with blends of amber, yellow, and violet behemoth barrier parrying against all rays and emerald arrows.

Once screaming from villagers, Tigress and Tai Lung held back-to-back as other stones on roofs stormed down the alley, snapping with glass taps. Viper puffed her harsh breaths in and out while panting heavily for more, twirling her crimson sash. "What will we do, now?" the serpent dreaded as Tai Lung vibrated his harsh growl and brawled with his red panda father.

"We defend this village and our people for as long as possible!" Shifu uttered, spiraling his wooden staff along Master Buffalo, whose small horns fusing with dawn chi rammed the rhino soldier's chest beside the red panda.

Upon the two-story complex, vaulting over the ridge tile, Monkey swiveled his quick palms through one porcupine's arm to disarm the bow. He mounted behind the stone and bashed his yellow fists twice, flipping back on the tile before the fast green line stirred to the left. Mantis caught the porcupine's foot before advancing his height amidst the road beside the tree, hurling the jombie down toward jombie marchers ahead of Po and Shen.

"We keep bringing stone warriors back to normal!" Monkey glared.

"And more of those zombies are not stopping!" Mantis grumbled, his claws seizing the wolf jombie's tail made him hammer side by side repeatedly, fracturing the stone remains before the insect delivered his strong thrust on the bandit.

Finishing off one vulture with his spinning kicks, Tai Lung pierced his fingers into another rhino jombie's nerve points, hesitating his opponent. "Neither are we," he clenched one's scathe armor and broke the rhino free.

"TAKE COVER!" Master Buffalo roared.

Once the emerald storm's flowing gale arms cast dots of white comets raining above peaks, ripping through ridges, many undertook to crash down the snow for cover. From the eyes of gold, what a family could do to protect each other from being threatened or hazardous objects, Tai Lung was above Tigress with utmost protection as if the brother watched his young sister. Thirteen green fireballs plunged into random areas, and four struck into the closest buildings, tearing down wood, and dry clay walls as villagers cried out. One fire, screeching flickers behind these warriors, landed its hard blow.

Both felines shook off the snow from their furs, observing their surroundings and the broadway. Most warriors checked for any signs of their injuries; only one down beside the shattered tree rose small, clenching one's head in agony. Transfixed in Tigress's eyes by blinding emerald hues, her student formed her fur into a stiff, thick jade stone, screeching with rippling glass shatters.

"LEI LEI!" Tigress cried and ran to her.

"Bao!" Crane broadened his wings, and Bao delivered his battle cry, his tortoise shield bashing the front line of jombies, who battered their fists and weapons against the whole chi. Shen maintained his defensive position with incredible deflection swiftness, his crimson pole tip pounding yellow rays within close-range encounters, knocking down all five wolf jombies.

"You monster. . ." a wolf croaked his rich voice before knocking out cold with lupines. Drowning his cold breath in concern, Shen could hardly remember those who served with him before, a few survivors he turned down many victims, and plenty of wolves survived them. Bounding behind his feathers train was a brave rabbit roaring out with his iron pan, slamming one pig's head and the next sow, jumping above their heads.

"Wo Hop, NO!" Po exclaimed as Bao's tortoise barricade submerged its whole barrier in full power.

"No, Po!" Huifang held her hoof on Po's front chest from him moving forward.

Wo Hop made his way of plunging underneath jombie hordes, who most stomped their feet against the villager, but no use once he bashed several with hard hits toward their knees, tripping them all as he reached for the tortoise barrier. "This is my destiny, my friend! I will draw those stones off! I will see you on the other side, Po!"

"WO HOP!"

Wo Hop quickly turned to the marching army of Jade Warriors across the street. "FIGHT ME IF YOU DARE, STONES! COME ON! I'M RIGHT HERE!"

About five dozen jombies snapped their green eyes as they sprinted wherever Wo Hop stormed to the right alleyway. Most of these archers on roofs nocked and fired at will as a volley of raging emerald arrows rained in the harsh air. Once the line was much longer from a small mob of twenty — soon becoming fifty and more than a hundred, Po could not hear his companion's scream anymore.

Bashing one's jade head with a thousand cracks, Wolf Boss whirled his hammer to the next target, aiming for the ribcage with his chi to prevent more from them plunging their swords against him. His daughter wrung her gold sash, whipping three jombies close to the side of the cabin, and they sought Hong battering their heads with the iron pan, her rose-chi shattering stones apart, springing and hitting in the harsh, thin air.

The sweat and heat radiating in his fur drenched once continued his paramount of fighting and tiring. In fact, as a scarred warrior with fading scars and brute dexterity, he matched the rest without effort to maintain his strength and survivability. Once Wolf Boss finished off his fifth rhino jombie with a single lunge blow of yellow dust, Hong bellowed and stormed other green stones dashing nearby. She ruptured their knees as her iron pan split kneecaps open with broken muscle snaps, allowing her continuous bashes on their backs.

"May I use your pan, Hong?" his daughter Lotus said.

"Oh, no. You keep using your sash, Lotus! Besides, YA—!" the Nine's Doctor fluttered her tiny body in the breeze and slammed the crocodile's small crown. "I am no ribbon dancer!"

Engaging his sixth jombie of a Tibetan wolf in a scathed armor, Wolf Boss propelled his feet, thrashing one knee and high kick to the jaw, resulting in his opponent a hard fall on the stone's back, delivering his hammer to a hard slam on his chest.

"Dammit!" Wolf Boss cursed, panting heavily before the emerald storm pulsed its steady lights of basil and angry green bathing on him and the whole village in affrays. "We cannot hold against Jade Warriors much longer!"

"I am a Hop of Heilongjiang Province, and I will die before you join those dummies!" Hong said, whirling her pan as she could hear the metal shrieking above her tiny paw. "Where the hell is Wang?"

"THERE!" Lotus darted her paw, and they followed her gaze upon the long path fleshed out of a few mortals.

Wolf Boss, gripping the hammer's grip, saw the deer swirling his green razorblades against Xing's duo knives, which glinted by moonlight's silver; striking side to side and forward jabs had Wang drummed his harsh growl, keeping Xing to parry fast cuts with his agility arms plunging. Kai was immediately galloping on fours with heavy steps behind the tiger. And above the yak, stirring its pacing green light catapulting down, emerged two buffalo jombies in kashaya robes.

Underneath Lotus's right foot, which she accidentally stepped on, feeling a cylinder shape, was a straight katana sword; the blade reflected silver and green pulses bathing her face. She picked up her brother's sword. "Hong, Daddy, we need to restrain Wang!"

"Let's help them!" Wolf Boss uttered before the three advanced, engaging the simian.

Kai, galloping close to his feline teacher, puffed out blunt snouts of light gray, arriving before Chen Xing deflected Wang's blades, which their knives resonated with metal clangs and cobalt sparks. As successfully as Chen Xing trapped wrestling the deer with their weapons, he made his blade batter his muzzle hard, giving another deflection and a strike, giving Wang a snap, and charging his antlers forward.

Screeching his battle cry, the yak rammed Wang upward, and the deer spun his chains, two emerald knives slamming near Kai's foot and the next, each impact making him wobble from green sparks. Jerking down from his chains with enough speed, Wang smacked ahead of the yak and threw straight jabs. Blocking well, but the deer's strength became too rigid and mighty with green velvet fists, Kai thrashed his giant hooves toward Wang's chest, jumping in the air with his feet spinning. Still, Wang caught his left leg and hurled him into the cottage patio.

Wang retrieved his blades as Chen Xing delivered his fast fists nearby, but the deer took his advantage, pummeling the blade's side on the feline's muzzle; thrice hits to a payback, Wang gripped, tossed, and slammed his emerald fist at Xing's chest, flying him down into the alleyway.

Reacting to see the three warriors and now the yak family joining, Wang performed his rotating chains, broadening his steps as he spun; while in thin air, he dodged Tai's horns under, following Mel's high lunge with a quick parry. Hong stormed to her feet, bashing Wang's weapon, which he held his guard close to his head. After about twice kicks from her, the deer rounded his left blade, hitting her to the side. Wang slipped his grips before appropriately making his preferred clenching on lengthy chains, allowing him to twirl his whole body, metal links with lime lightning close to far ranges delivering its whirl snow shrieks. He cut off two of the yaks' root poles in half (Mel's attempting to lunge next to his brother and Gidahn's nearly barricading with his chi).

Wolf Boss intervened with his hammer, growling as he propelled his toward the deer's ribcages; the deer could not let him by sidestepping, his hooves thrashing his head from his hard-hitting punches toward his belly, uppercutting Wolf Boss. Another storming by with a female roar let him catch his blades from his feet and —

With a fierce metal wailing hammer slam, Lotus sliced the metal chain.

Wang's, whose head was turning white to a solemn grim, sought Kai's weapon vaporized into gleam ashes of silver and green. No! That's not what's supposed to happen! The rest of the jombies from all directions sensed their teacher's danger, storming their way to the heart of Tanhuang. One by one, jombies engaged mortals, evidencing Chen Ming fighting by Master Gidahn cried out her grandaughter's name in horror before crocodiles and bovines outnumbered them. Without Xing's sword, Lotus whipped her chi ribbon thrice, slashing Wang's upper knee, neck, and head with a slap. Attempting the fourth whip for seizing him had the deer clenched the silk, tugging Lotus hard, the she-wolf cried out.

Once more, with his face showing no remorse but grimace, Wang gripped Lotus's winter coat, lifting her. "Bitch. . ."

A deep roar to his left lunged toward him, and Chen Xing interfered, tackling the deer with incredible momentum toward a thin alleyway next to Kai, who quivered all the snow and plenty of debris from his head to his tail in awakening, joining the fight with the tiger.

Chen Xing's temper was flooded with intense flares in his head, which had him full of potency to hurl his fast blows against Wang, whose smile emerged, triggering the tiger in annoyance. Both wrestled their grips on their upper shoulders, their muzzles pressing against each other. "You think you will force Wang to attack my sister, Deng Wa? YOU HARM HER, AND YOU WILL GET FANGS!"

"Weak. Just like how your dragon mourned all of her creatures for thousands of generations. Your wolf is a wh—"

Chen Xing headbutted Wang without warning. Utterly stunned, bursting his blunt chuckles, the deer opted to parry Xing's circle punches, and the tiger's twentieth bash went for Wang's torso center. Wobbling his head from losing his sensation by Xing's silver chi splintering his chest, Wang caught the feline's foot off his second-round kick and pounced him to the brick structure, leading the yak's advancement on fours combating the deer.

Kai went for his hard round blows just as he thundered his war cry, jabbing several to the deer's front surrounding. Wang barricaded his horizontal and vertical blocks well, his forearms being an iron flesh against heavy attacks from giants. Sidestepping backward from Kai's vicious round kicks in the air, Wang flipped above the yak's right side after Kai rounded his whole head to charge forward; the deer swinging around to the back delivered a hard kick, projecting Kai onto the frozen river.

"KAI!" Chen Xing screamed.

The yak slammed on the icy surface before he skated roughly; whining cracks underneath could be heard, but the cover with the wind's thin white stream remained firm and durable from his whole weight. Carefully, his legs propped, and the flared muscles on his back were in a discomfort reaction. Grunting at his kneeling position, Kai observed the flash of lime green slap its spark behind Wang, noticing a feline-like figure with broadened limbs and sheathing claws.

Wang jumped down on the ice and strolled forward, and Kai's teacher brawled against a leopard jombie, who threw him into the River Wheel Tavern. "How was it feel to slaughter soldiers who were married, General Kai?"

Kai felt his right foot slipping but started wobbling with his feet before he stopped moving in a freezing position. Wang, becoming mobile on walking normally, threw his emerald fists, landing the yak's ribcages while being useless to stand firm. His third punch went under Kai's jaw to the right, giving Wang to skid on his left, spinning in the air with his heel kick toward Kai's ribcage.

Kai slid his back on the ice while grunting, pressing his bruised lung as Wang trotted on fours. "You should have stayed dead with your soldiers!" the deer raged, his feet springing in the harsh air. At his quick reaction, Kai rolled over to the right before Wang's hammer fist was slightly near his mane, shattering the whole deep surface like webs. Ignoring the outcome of this thick ice, Wang started on to the yak.

"You think all the wives' husbands you butchered could bring your dead bitch back, Maker of Widows?" he insulted Kai. "You think your warlord title satisfies you to kill people for revenge, Beast of Vengeance?!"

He spun his high kick to Kai's face, but the yak bent his whole arm beside his head from a powerful strike. Out of focus into slight dizziness, Kai hurled his two fists, one and the other, heaving his horns forward, which put the deer skidded back a few feet apart.

"The way I see you did, you hurt many you cared for in the grass, Master of Pain!" Wang snarled, storming back. Again, he sprang and pulled his jade fist back, beginning to jab. Kai had barely caught his hoof near his muzzle, but the deer's left foot plunged on the liver side, giving the yak his grimacing outcry. Wang, satisfied to see him tormented, hurled more thrashes on his upper torso and toward his jaw, and by stepping back twice, the deer spiraled in the air, his right foot hammering Kai's head, knocking him forward.

"Now you know how it feels to be broken like them. The way you treated your prisoners who refused to surrender."

Wang spread his sinister smile at him, clenching Kai's mane, compelling him to rise upward with this painful tension. He sought the yak bursting out his cough with gore splotches beside his lips. "Di— you —" Kai winced, and Wang caught to his throat.

The deer raised his other emerald hoof. "Any last words?"

Kai winced out his sharp snout. "Did you — murder — your father?"

Unveiling his horrifying face, Wang stopped drawing his fist. Kai had recognized most of the faces of his soldiers, often hearing the terrible news, and so did his tortoise brother, one last time, the yak read his face too well after he fought him.

What? The deer's breath was drenched cold and swallowed in his lungs. A glaring amber light pulsing its vibrant cry grazed the side of the deer's face, letting him squint at the boardwalk next to the river wheel. Its blaring yellow shrouds swarming from the dying star towered Lady Kasi, breaking free with her piercing roar in agony. Unable to resist his mentality racing with boiling veins, losing one of his best jombie warriors, and his father's demise, Wang became distracted. Before his parry was too late to ward off giant fists storming on him, Kai's hooves nearly reached his temples.

Finally casting his chi, Kai seized Wang. Once the yak delivered his capability, two yellow rays plunged into the deer's eyes that drenched ebony green tears; following this occasion, the yak had his warmth light swimming in his flowing fur, his mane, and in his eyes.

From this strategy, Kai felt his eyelids latching hard, gliding into the shrouds of amber and emerald. The sense of nostalgia was too apparent in this intense heat from his brother's Wuxi Fingerhold. By the time he was amidst the transparency of his scenery memories being impactful, the void swallowed him.

"TIGRESS!"

Shen pressed his staff against the wolf's teeth, struggling on the snow once he heard Tai Lung's shout. Po sought Tigress close by his side as these warriors and thirteen villagers were in a circle, holding fast against hundreds of stones barricading forward. Once spotting a porcupine jombie drawing his bow, Tigress thrust Po to the side, deflecting a green quill, but the other went toward her upper shoulder first. Lei Lei's paws clenched and emitted flesh into living rock on the striped feline, whose growl reverberated.

Raging in the air, Jombie Tigress snapped her green eyes and spread her claws. "NO, TIGRESS!" Po screamed.

Once he sought a few that he cared turned to the jombies in front of him, jombies stopped marching and leveled their glares forward, murmuring their glass tappings. As that occurred to their halting procedure, the storm slowly died its basil shrouds, and behemoth stretch touching the sky fell, along with comets crashing down in all directions.

Shen kicked the wolf's muzzle, spinning upwards to stand his height. "Those jombies, they're standing still. What's going on?" Monkey uttered.

"Tigress?"

Po, unwavering, went close to his best friend, whose eyes now radiated embers of dying amber, pulsing green and yellow as that followed from victims. Many stones stood still without an inch as these Masters inspected Jade Warriors close beside the Dragon Warrior, and Tai Lung standing beside the panda dreaded.

"Deng Wa's warriors are on hold. Free these souls," Master Buffalo boomed his tone.

Hesitant, the Dragon Warrior pressed his flabby paw on Jombie Tigress's upper chest, whose stone throbbed with amber veins under her flesh, racing into her crown and through her eyes. "K—Ka—" her glass tongue muttered, and so did the rest of the Jade Warriors mimicking simultaneously. Their yellow, amber, and light orange eyes twinkled once their whispers heightened, finally having all the souls hear the name of Wang's invader.