Chapter Twenty-Six: The Battle of Khanbaliq
While perhaps the better part of his nature would concern itself with only the disastrous events soon at hand, Po had nonetheless been longing for a momentous occasion such as this. So many feats and notable victories, but nothing the likes of an actual battle. He once thought this was the point of it all, to create a name for oneself in combat - and all the better if that name could be forged in one mighty cataclysm between armies. His thoughts had often conjured up an archetypal scene of vast forces smashed together like rival tides. That juvenile hunger for glory remained; it seemed this part of him never truly died, even if newfound wisdom had long since diluted his naïveté.
Po did his best to contain his emotions, but the untamable electric hum of anticipation had been building ever since he had stolen his first glance over the city walls. Something about staring out into it all made a muted sense of fear rise in the pit of his stomach, but still - he could not look away. The mercenary horde of Temutai outstretched before them beyond the palisades of Khanbaliq, bearing down upon the defenders with their intimidating collective wrath. The greenish hue of their banners in the morning breeze cut out a verdant stream from the mighty swath of their darkened metal armor - an imposing sight to be sure.
It was no secret that the Mongolian defenders were outnumbered, and the unease among their ranks was intimately felt by everyone, from the lowliest of servants to the Khan himself. It was now a time for action and overpowering violence on a scale that the Dragon Warrior had never seen before. The sheer notion of it was its own intoxication.
"I know it's not new for you, but I can't quite describe this feeling..." he mused, noticing Tigress coming up to join him on their section of the wall.
"I assume you're referring to what happened at the Weeping River." she answered, adjusting some of the armor she had scavenged from the battlefield.
Po nodded in confirmation, "Back then, you guys were outnumbered a thousand to one! We should handle this no problem."
"I've told you many times, Po - the stories exaggerate."
The opposing forces let out a thunderous war cry as a show of force, resounding against the city walls and briefly making any such conversation untenable.
"You've hardly ever clarified, for the record." he said with an annoyed sigh, still trying to distract himself from the anticipation.
"Well, for the record, it wasn't pretty, and this won't be either." she clarified, gesturing out over the masses of soldiers. "For what you said earlier - thank you. But now, you need to listen when I say what's about to happen won't live up to your expectations. It's going to be ugly, and it will become that way in a hurry."
Po had been fearing she would say something like that. He had heard this removed, calculating tone from Tigress many times before, albeit rarely as of late; he could see it in her bearing too - her strength was returning. The panda wisely chose to defer to the advice of the more experienced warrior.
"Maintain your focus above all else. Once we get into the thick of it, don't linger on any single opponent for long - it's going to be a long fight, and to win we must endure, outlasting whatever they bring against us." she said directly.
"Do the Mongolians have the strength to give us a fair chance here?" Po asked, eager for much more information than she could ever possibly provide.
The tiger master took another pause to consider her response.
"Our archers are superior in both number and quality, but these Qi-Dan... their heavy infantry is going to be a problem - only the Kheshig can match them outright, and they are few in number. We will have to do our best to offset this disadvantage in the vanguard."
Po quietly nodded, trying his best to show he was following along. The heat of the day was starting to arrive as a slight draft of breeze came over them, breathing life into the midnight blue which contoured over Tigress' armor, the gold Ulzii Khee emblazoned by the sunlight. She turned to face the panda master directly now.
"Remember that morale is everything. To keep this army from collapsing, we have to keep the Khan and his family alive."
"Right - and one of us needs to get to Temutai first, and end this." Po added, a sort of taciturn intensity in his voice.
"You leave that part to me."
He didn't even think for a second to contest her, knowing Tigress had her own score to settle with the Qi-Dan king.
It was now time for them to join ranks with the army itself, and the tiger master was the first to make to leave; but before she did so, she caught a glimpse of the Khatun and her bodyguards emerging onto a nearby balcony overlooking the open fields south of Khanbaliq. The crown-prince Zhenjin followed quickly behind them, as well as each of their respective attendants - the jackal minister Tsagaan chief among these.
Tigress recalled the discussion she had overheard the previous night in the royal palace, and she looked at the young prince with an understanding sentiment. While she knew he was surely ashamed to not be partaking in such an epic conflict, she did not judge him in the slightest, nor view him as a coward. Should all of them survive this day, he would certainly receive the unending ridicule of his sister; but somewhere deep down, he must have known that it would always be her jealousy talking, nothing more. She acknowledged the prince with a subtle nod, and the tigers went their separate ways.
The smell of fire no longer bothered Crane, for it had long since become too familiar to his senses.
The musk of flame remained thick throughout the makeshift bedchamber, but he was more than satisfied for having found a safe place to sleep amidst the chaos of the previous nights. Though he still stirred amidst slumber, on a certain level he had been conscious enough to be dreading the coming daylight for many hours.
The last thing the avian wanted right now was to head off into battle. All the empty nights he had spent out in those barren steppe wastes, wishing so desperately to be elsewhere - when fire had been the only consolation from the freezing depths of empty twilight. Now he was only to find himself amidst a city consumed by fire. It was not the flames themselves that concerned him; it was a ravenous fire of the mind, spreading more ambitiously than any earthly combustion ever could.
How he loathed this place, Khanbaliq. The whole city had been scorched by the very soul of insanity itself since they had first arrived here.
His maimed right wing had been healed for some time now, and he could have been rid of all of this madness if he truly wished. Had it been mere circumstance, or the wry turns of fate - that was for the philosophers to decide - but in his heart, Crane knew that leaving hadn't been an option. He could never fully explain - even to himself - why he felt what he did for Mei Ling; but what he knew with utmost certainty, was that he would do anything for her... even to a fault, it would seem.
Taking into consideration how recent events had progressed, his fight with Tigress now seemed even more hurtful and pointless than it had already. Again and again, he replayed the trading of blows in his mind back and forth, over and over - and over again. He was emotionally devoured by what they had done to one another.
In that moment when he had seen her defeated, and watched as the blood - which he himself had drawn in anger - stained her features, he no longer saw Master Tigress; for that brief instant, he could see only the stoic young teenager that he had first met all those years ago. The flood of memories surged over, the countless times they had trained and fought together for so many years. Crane never could have imagined it would ever come to violence between him and his oldest of friends, the first one to have made him feel welcome at the Jade Palace.
What have I done?
He had now seen it all firsthand, how his love for someone could be so easily twisted into hatred against another. Truly, he thought, such forces were beyond the control of even the most disciplined of ascetics. Perhaps Shifu had been right all along, and it was best to avoid falling into such emotional attachments in the first place. In an uncanny way though, it was this same drive that was capable of making him feel more alive than ever before.
To be truly alive is to know suffering. True suffering.
In an uncomfortably intimate way, he had known at that critical turning point where his true priorities had been for some time now, and acting upon them was entirely unconscious. Just so, his thoughts had been mired in paranoia for nearly every moment since making his choice, unsure of what implications may now be at hand. It was a torture for which he could offer himself neither sympathy nor respite.
"Xian?" came the muted whisper of Mei Ling. "Are you alright?"
Opening his eyes at last, he found himself in the arms of the golden cat, sharing a bed that must have previously belonged to a noble due to how remarkably comfortable it was. Everything was blurry to him, and he couldn't quite make out the discernible features of the room.
"What is it?" he responded, still unable to see her clearly.
"You were crying in your sleep."
Now all the blurriness made sense, and he felt unnecessarily ashamed. He immediately tried to clear the congealed liquid from his eyes, but his wings were still enveloped between their intermingled limbs.
"Hey, it's okay." Mei consoled, brushing it away for him with the soft fur of her forearm. "There is nothing to be afraid of now."
Even though he knew there were indeed many things to fear in the coming hours, her gentle consolation seemed to bend reality for a time, and he breathed out at last. He was content to stay here for a while longer, his companion embracing him in a way that no one else ever could.
The promised ceasefire from the Qi-Dan was growing stale. The army of clan warriors loyal to their king were arrayed in ceremonial order, fully expecting the capitulation of the Khan's city to their terms. This assumption was certainly not harmed by the Khan flying truce colors with his army proceeding out from the beleaguered southern gate of the city. The warrior-king Temutai himself was carried forth upon a decorative palanquin throne to oversee his forces, encouraged by what seemed to be a strategic concession by the defenders to come out from behind their walls so openly.
But what the Qi-Dan strategists had failed to consider, was the true strengths of their enemy. Possessing the element of surprise had been quite the advantage at first, but now it had made them headstrong. Khasar Khan knew the Chinese mercenaries were significantly more versed in the ways of siege warfare, and continuing to contest them outright in this manner was beyond the means of the Mongolian forces. Deep into the night he had conferred with Ganbataar, Altan, and his best generals. As Khasar had made doubly sure there would be no accepting the warlord's conditions, it became clear they had but one real option to lift the ongoing siege: they had to force Temutai's army into a pitched battle instead.
So far, things had been going according to plan.
"They still aren't reorganizing." Yuelen noted to her father, voice weighted somewhat by the metallic façade of her mask.
"Of course they aren't. We're surrendering, remember?" Gan returned jokingly, flanking the Khan's other side as the three of them stood at the head of their forces outside the walls.
A surprising air of calm ruled amongst the defending forces now, certainly encouraged no doubt by the presence of several famous martial champions in their midst. The Mongols were deceptively hiding the true amount of their forces committed to the field, and there were archers lining nearly every inch of the southern walls. Personally commanded by the golden eagle general himself, they overlooked the Khan's army arrayed out before and below them.
"Everyone does their jobs and we survive this mess. Remember your instructions." Khasar said as he traced his gaze over the opposing lines.
A metallic rustling of armor in the ranks of soldiers to the Khan's right announced the arrival of the Dragon Warrior to the front lines, followed closely by the armor-clad Master Tigress.
"I'd begun to wonder if you weren't coming." Khasar quipped as the masters joined him at his side. "Where's that bird of yours?"
Neither of them gave an answer.
Tigress preferred the side of Gan, leaving Po to stand with Yuelen. The leopardess was much less recognizable when wearing so much thick armor, save for the distinctive purple hue varnished between the eye slits of her mask. Habitually tapping the blade of her spearhead into the soil with impatience, the princess turned her focus to the panda, before looking out over the menacing horde opposite them, and then back to the heavy-set bear again. He was still wearing those stupid burlap pants as his only protection.
Hmph... some "warrior" indeed.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Yuelen scoffed, shaking her head at him.
Po just smiled.
All of the sudden, the Qi-Dan lines begun to shift at last, clearly attempting to hastily reorder into battle formations.
"Ah, it seems they're finally catching on." Khasar started, lifting the helm of his own gilded warmask over his face and drawing his saber. "Advance!"
At the Khan's order, the entirety of the Mongol force began to surge forth with an imposing level of organization and speed, a sight which was certainly unnerving for their opponents across the field. Accompanying the advance was a cascade of roars and battle cries from the city as a number of cleverly-concealed catapults behind the walls loosed a volley at the Qi-Dan. The ordinance arced high into the morning sky, trailing thick clouds of obfuscating blood-red powder into the air behind them and crushing into the ranks of the Chinese mercenaries.
Seeing this signal, the hundreds of archers upon the bulwarks of Khanbaliq opened fire into the enemy that were forced into a chaotic and disorganized advance towards the Khan's forces. The unmatched accuracy and rate of fire of the Mongolian marksmen immediately had devastating effect on the ill-prepared Qi-Dan, as Po and Tigress saw the first several lines of the feared bovine infantry practically flatten, many of them dead before they even hit the ground. The superior vision of the tiger master could even make out the warrior-king himself at the very rear of his ranks, barking orders with frustration; he was obviously livid at having been tactically deceived with such ruthless efficacy.
The lines of both advancing forces begun to widen in order to close for battle, but the Mongols were doing so with noticeably more speed, thus earning them a critical advantage. The much lighter and faster units at the far left and right of the Khan's army at once begun to draw Temutai's own flanks further and further away from the middle, allowing Khasar and the Mongolian center forces a fair chance against the greater numbers of the Qi-Dan vanguard.
Back in the city, high above the rapidly-closing armies in the distance, Crane and Mei Ling had made their final preparations; they now stood at the southernmost and highest parapet of the noble residence they had called home for so brief a time.
"It's really happening - this is it." the bird admitted, his tone revealing he was still reluctant. "Please Mei, promise me you'll stay safe."
She halfheartedly smiled, placing her newly-sharpened guandao into the sheath upon her back.
"I will, I promise. And Xian-" she answered, clutching him by the beak and planting a brief kiss to the side of it, "For luck."
He smiled back. Grabbing her up in a single motion, they took flight together and headed for the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the center ranks - commanded heroically by Khasar, Ganbataar, Yuelen, Po, and Tigress - was nearing the critical impact with the oncoming hurdling charge of the heavy vanguard. At the last moment, the felines among them collectively lowered to all fours, powering into a full-on sprinting effort. Lacking this innate ability, Po did his best to maintain pace, but soon resolved to catch up as best he could as they surged past him.
Despite having been slighted by the cunning of the Mongolians, the disciplined veteran will of the Qi-Dan vanguard showed as they welcomed this display with taunts; the bovines defiantly quickened their pace as well, eager to join battle with the Khan's elite forces.
In the skies above them, Crane and Mei Ling had reached the front line in perfect sync, the air now being filled with the duels of various avians loyal to the respective sides.
"Now!" Mei signaled, Crane releasing her without hesitation as he joined the ensuing battle above.
The agile golden cat plummeted towards the center of the chaos, cutting a stream between the thick clouds of crimson smoke in complete free-fall. Eyes closed all the while, she timed her every motion perfectly to move exactly where she wanted, narrowly avoiding the whizzing of arrows and other projectiles as she neared the ground at high speed. Unsheathing her weapon in one fluid motion, she landed by delivering an instantly-lethal slashing strike upon one of the first of Temutai's vanguard, arriving at the exact moment the two armies smashed together in rival waves of unmitigated slaughter and fury. Her initial death stroke was translated into several immediate defensive parries of expert precision, joining with her Mongol allies in the fray.
Nearby, the leaders of the Khan's army and the Jade Palace masters had also just entered the melee, and soon every direction was naught but a whirlwind flurry of death and dismemberment.
The Kheshig and the heavy infantry of the Qi-Dan had already begun to eviscerate each other's ranks with matched spear phalanx formations. Avoiding the teeth of the enemy spear wall entirely by cleanly vaulting overhead, Tigress landed into the thick of the lines and began to engage one foe after another, her rage apparent as her strikes punctured clear through their reinforced armor more often than not. Po was still somewhat behind her in the forest of slashing and thrusting soldiers, and was doing his best to close the gap while staying in one piece.
Unfortunately for the panda, his size and unmistakable profile made him quite the target, and he was doing his best to fend off several attackers at all times. Looking left and right in his peripheral vision revealed nothing but clashing steel and splattered blood.
Okay - Tigress was definitely right, this is terrible...
Any thoughts of childhood fantasy were now gone entirely, he was in survival mode; ducking back slightly to avoid a spear that would have slashed his throat, he launched himself forward again and connected a devastating punch to his adversary's chest that sent them smashing through those behind and buying the bear master some extremely valuable breathing room. But it was only for a moment. Tigress had also been right about the other part, it was going to be a long fight.
Elsewhere in the battle for the center, Yuelen had been separated from Gan, her father and his retainers and was now embarking upon her own individual quest for blood-drenched glory. Cleaving this way and that between enemies with her ornate - but nonetheless deadly - weapon of choice, few of the bovine fighters stood much of a chance against the fiendish speed of the warrior princess.
Having identified her as a problem to be dealt with, a much larger gorilla appeared amidst them to challenge her - only for Yue to take a half step back and javelin her guandao directly into his chest. Leaping up onto the massive primate, the armored leopardess slowly extracted the spear from the mortal wound as the hulking beast gradually buckled to the ground. The sheer sight of it made several nearby bovines back away, but others were only further enraged. Yue regained her fighting composure with another whirl of the spear as she casually stepped off the corpse and resumed her tallying of mercilessly-slain foes.
Still punching ahead at a steady pace, Tigress remained at head of the Khan's personal retinue, cutting a clean path for them through the otherwise-impenetrable wall of darkened steel armor. Now having her forearms concealed by plate metal, she was effectively using them as shields against all kinds of weapons, and landing any kind of meaningful hit against her was a fruitless struggle. Leaping between several warriors like they were merely stones across a stream, she rose high up into the air once more, only to drive downwards with fierce strikes that crippled whoever was unlucky enough to be in her way.
One warrior made to strike at her overhead, but she simply grabbed him by both arms, body slammed him into the dirt lengthwise, and promptly launched him ten rows deep into the ranks of his comrades. While she had yet to make contact with Po again, the tiger master trusted that he must not have been too far behind. A sudden burst of golden light accompanied by several enemies hurtling through the air behind her confirmed her suspicions. A short distance further back, Gan and Khasar were awestruck by the revelation that the panda did, in fact, have freakish magical fighting talents after all.
"I told you the old goat was right!" Khasar yelled at Gan over the thundering sounds of battle. "Money well spent!"
"Yeah, yeah! I see that now-" Gan conceded, running an enemy through with one shortblade and blocking a slash behind his head with the other.
The veteran snow leopard fighter was much more concerned with keeping his Khan alive than jesting with him at the moment, and made sure to redouble his efforts. His primary responsibility remained ensuring the Kheshig did not push ahead too quickly and become isolated from the bulk of their army, which did not have the benefit of several renowned kung fu masters assisting them.
Back above the thickening melee on the ground, Crane was easily prevailing over what little aerial forces the Qi-Dan had brought with them; ironically, he had been assisted effectively by the two condors who had once dropped him so carelessly over the Gobi Desert weeks before. Keeping to the warmer air and good visibility over the ever-sinking cloud of thick red smoke, the individual duels of competing beaks and talons had gone decisively to the Mongol side; the condors seemed to take exquisite delight in snatching up much smaller avians and tossing them in Crane's direction for quick finishing strokes.
Seeing a Chinese sparrowhawk slightly below him, he abruptly drew his wings inward and dropped almost straight downward. The less agile bird never saw the strike coming and Crane scored yet another easy victory. Looking about in all directions, he could now see no other opponents; it wasn't long before a familiar silhouette cut upwards from out of the crimson cloud - a golden eagle.
Altan broke towards him immediately and signaled to the bird master, "The skies are ours - we are needed elsewhere! Follow me!"
Crane followed at once, and they plunged down through the surface of the smoke sea. Emerging on the other side below, the penultimate view of the great cataclysm was revealed - two great hordes interlocked upon one another with waves of arrows going back and forth in volleys nearly as thick as the air itself. Further and further they dove, the individual warriors quickly becoming discernible from one another; at the last second the two birds pulled up and skirted along just beyond the thrusting range of spears as they soared along the battle lines.
Mei Ling saw them dart past briefly from where she remained deadlocked in the fighting near the left flank, but was helpless to signal to her winged companion. The section of the battle she had found herself in was going somewhat poorly for the Mongols, severely lacking in experienced warriors such as herself. Just as the tide seemed to be turning against them however, she noticed the leopards starting to sprint away to the enemy flank - the Qi-Dan naturally gave chase, believing it to be the beginnings of a rout. Mei didn't want to give up the position, but with no support otherwise she was forced to join the quick-moving formation as they ran on all fours out to more open ground.
Just so, it wasn't long before yet another critical Mongol ploy was underway. The golden cat watched in awe as the entire sprinting formation abruptly stopped, drew their light compound bows, and fired a lightning-fast volley directly back into their pursuers; the slower and less agile bovines were again caught unprepared, and many were cut down as they charged right into the arrows. Just as the remainder of the veteran clan warriors threatened to close up the Mongols and resume the melee, the leopards repeated the same maneuver again - sprinting away and then firing, each time denying a close-quarters fight with the Qi-Dan.
Mei could tell straight away how the Chinese mercenaries had no tactical answer for this strategy of the steppe archers; their heavier-armored warriors were simply too slow, and what archers of their own they had remaining were not skilled enough to fire through the clouds of red that had now swallowed the entire battlefield whole. The Mongolians had revealed their greatest strength at last. Both of the far sides of the Khan's army were now mirroring one another in this formation, drawing Temutai's warriors even further from the center in the process.
Seeing they were no longer in need of her aid, the golden cat master now broke off and made for the beleaguered center ranks, where the advantage in the brutal fighting remained undecided still. It was here that Po had finally managed to catch up to Tigress' position. The two masters who had so much experience fighting together now began to play off each other's strengths in their most characteristic way - the Double-Death Strike. The technique was as effective as ever, and more and more soldiers were being directed their way to prevent a gap from forming in the Qi-Dan lines.
Seeming to have tireless fury, Tigress lunged horizontally between two simultaneous spear thrusts and then swept away the fighters with the tremendous heft of Po, swinging the panda to and fro with abandon. Returning the favor, the bear master planted his feet to the ground and gave the feline a perfectly timed chi boost into her double palm strike - an attack that landed with enough force to induce a localized shockwave through their enemies and drove a great many onto their backs. The Khan and his elite fighters moved up into the fray, quickly finishing off any foes that had been knocked to the ground, establishing a wedge in the Qi-Dan lines.
This particular development, accompanied with his rapidly widening flanks, compelled Temutai to commit his reserves at last; it left only himself and his royal guard retainers remaining behind the primary line of attack. Seeing this, Khasar knew the decisive moment in the battle was approaching.
"Here they come! Stand fast and hold them back!" he shouted, hastily advancing himself, but being yanked back by Gan and his Kheshig retainers. He continued defiantly nonetheless, "Death to our enemies!"
Hearing him, the Mongol center rallied; they began redoubling their efforts in support of the expert fighters who were leading them. Yuelen in particular was killing those before her with even more haste than before, determined to be the first one to break through the secondary forces of the Qi-Dan.
Unfortunately Po and Tigress had now found themselves in quite the predicament, as the full weight of Temutai's reserves were now bearing down upon their exact position. The battle plan was in fact working a bit too well, and they were rapidly becoming overwhelmed. Every ounce of their remaining energy was being devoted to maintaining their form and defending against the fighters all around them. There was simply nothing the panda and tiger could do about the tiered line of heavy crossbow marksmen who had just come forth, their unanimous aim trained upon the two of them - ready to kill even their fellow clan warriors if it meant eliminating the kung fu masters who had begun to dictate the outcome of the battle.
"Po! Do you see them?" Tigress yelled frantically, deflecting strikes as she saw the ranged units forming up on them.
"There's no time!" he pleaded back desperately, pushing back with all his might against a spearhead that threatened to puncture his heart.
The crossbow soldiers fired as the sergeant of their ranks gave the order, and a loud simultaneous twang was audible, even over the echoes of battle.
But just as Po and Tigress had resigned themselves to fate, a nearly-supersonic wave of air crushed over the whole area, knocking everyone flat to the ground and dispersing the whizzing bolts - some shooting directly backwards and impaling the marksmen with their own projectiles.
Master Tigress, ever resilient, was the first back to her feet after being felled by the shockwave; immediately, she looked up to make some kind of sense of what had just saved her. A lone avian was hovering just above them, the clear source of their salvation.
It was him.
I don't believe it.
"Wings! Of! Justice! Hell yeah!" Po screamed fanatically, seeing that none other than Crane had come to their rescue with a tremendous display of strength.
The bird master swooped down in perfect time, joining the fighting on the ground and knocking back the first several Qi-Dan to rise from the dirt. Mei Ling arrived right after, joining with Po and Tigress who had now fully regained their resolve. With the masters united together, they were a truly unstoppable fighting force; they valiantly led the Khan and his best fighters deeper into the growing wedge - despite the enemy reserves still swarming in at them.
As Tigress lifted a fist against an oncoming warrior, she watched as he was cleanly decapitated from behind by the broadheaded spear blade of an armored leopardess, the callous young princess having announced her return to the Mongolian center force in the only way she knew how.
The unmatched spear mastery of Yuelen and Mei Ling were steadfastly holding the left and right sides of the wedge while Po and Tigress continued to push straight onward, Crane shielding them from above all the while; he was effortlessly deflecting projectiles and cleaning up any foes that managed to evade the other two Jade Palace masters. As the tiger master's energy began to fade at last, Po was more than content to allow his more defensively-dominant bear style to dictate the pace of their advance. When the panda used yet another chi attack to drive back the enemy, Mei Ling took notice and joined his next effort, nearly doubling the effect.
The other masters were catching on now, and each of them drew back into their respective chi techniques. They collectively awaited the signal from Po. The panda master, as always, waited until the last possible second.
"Skadoosh."
The Dragon Warrior having just delivered his most infamous - and inarguably ludicrous - tagline, they shot forth a unified gamma-wave of radiant energy that ravaged forward over the opposing masses; it was helped along by yet another tremendous wingbeat from Crane. This final surge proved to be too much for the tattered remnants of the Qi-Dan vanguard and reserves, and they started to turn and run from the fight in a complete panic. Seeing their central forces beginning to rout, the respective flanks of Temutai's force that had been since thoroughly harassed by the mobile forces of leopard archers also came about abruptly and fled. The turning point reached, the battle was now in effect decided at last.
"The cowards are running!" Ganbataar announced, leading the Khan's tiger guards past the masters to chase down the escaping enemies.
Khasar was exuberant as impending victory became more apparent with each passing second. He raised his saber towards the fleeing Qi-Dan, commanding the Kheshig forth triumphantly.
"No mercy! Slaughter these bastards!" he barked through the gilded teeth of his bloodstained mask.
Defiant to the very end, Temutai's royal guard charged into the advancing Mongolian elites as the very best fighters from both armies became locked in one last brutal struggle; spears and guandao blades became locked in a mangled swath of innumerable individual duels in all directions. Yuelen and Tigress both set off into the fray, deadset on finding the Qi-Dan king amidst the chaos.
Knowing the contest had now been already decided, the remaining masters stayed back.
"Are you guys alright?" Po questioned the other two, breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight.
Mei Ling only nodded in return cautiously, knowing it was still best to keep the Dagger of Deng-Wa concealed within the wrappings of her tunic. The bird master collected himself and answered.
"We're fine, looks like we'll make it through this after all." Crane said, mostly just relieved to know that himself and Po were still on good speaking terms after everything that had transpired in the previous days.
Back in the city, Altan had just landed upon the southernmost balcony overlook to report the good news to the queen.
"My Khatun, our forces are prevailing - the city is saved." he said, bowing respectfully.
"Very good. Thank you, Altan." the elder tigress responded, "I feel that I have seen more than enough for today."
With this, the queen rose from the throne she had been sitting upon and was escorted away by her numerous attendants. Zhenjin however, could not break his gaze from the dissipating clouds of red in the distance as the closing phases of the battle wore on. Tsagaan remained as well, knowing what must have been eating at the tiger prince.
"It seems the gods have favored us after all." the desert jackal said with excitement, trying to lighten the mood.
Zhenjin said nothing, still vexed by the fact that so many others had just won glory for Khanate without his presence on the battlefield.
"Cheer up, kid. You'll have your chances for glory in due time." Altan added, the veteran warrior having also sensed the prince's unease.
"I should have been out there, fighting with my people."
"No," the eagle interjected, "you're right where you needed to be. You followed the orders of your father - your Khan. Just remember that someday that army will follow you into battle instead."
"If I can ever manage to live down this shame."
The avian general could see consoling him was of little use, and prepared to take flight once more.
"I bid you good day, Jinong."
In another moment, Zhenjin was left with naught but Tsagaan standing with him on the overlook.
"Well you heard him, your time will come." the jackal said, patting the tiger several times on the leg for emphasis, "You know you really ought to-"
Tsagaan had been unable to finish, having been swatted aside by the much larger feline.
Back amidst the chaos of the routing clan army, two separate felines were dashing between the hastily retreating soldiers with the very same goal in mind. Puncturing straight through the now almost nonexistent defensive perimeter around Temutai's war camp, both Yuelen and Tigress had arrived before any other Mongol-allied forces.
The royal guard having already entered the fray, the place was mostly empty. Seeing the determined strides of the leopardess, Tigress was more than content to let the princess get there first. The patchwork assemblage of tents was dotted with hundreds of dead campfires, remnants from the premature celebrations of the Qi-Dan the previous night. Temutai had taken leave of his oversight of the battle once the outcome had been decided, now reclining in his palanquin, awaiting the inevitable.
Yuelen was the first to approach, discovering that at the foot of the throne knelt the twin sons of the warrior-king, the very last of his protectors. The steel-clad leopardess took a moment to gather herself, before stepping forward and pointing her spear towards the massive ruler.
"Your army is defeated, so I grant you the chance to preserve your honor today; I challenge you, so-called 'warrior-king' of the Qi-Dan."
Temutai said nothing for a moment, but then let out a hearty laugh, rejecting her offer for single combat.
"Oh please." the king taunted, still laughing. "I'd be doing you a favor - you aren't worthy to duel even the lowliest of my sergeants, She-Rat of Khanbaliq!"
Yue let out a harsh rumbling growl in response, infuriated.
"Worry not - my progeny shall water the earth with your lifeblood," Temutai commanded, his sons standing and unsheathing their weapons, "and then perhaps you may at last be of some use!"
The princess did not hesitate further, leaping towards the two Qi-Dan princes and meeting each of them with clashes from her spear. Just as they began, Tigress emerged now as well; the striped cat casually walked between the trading blows of the royals as she approached the much-amused Temutai.
"Ah, now here we have someone worthy of my time! Tell me, striped one - where is my dagger?"
"Why don't you ask the hundreds of innocents you've slaughtered seeking it?" she shot back accusingly. "You have brought ruin upon the thousand-year history of your clan, and over what - some relic?"
The king laughed once more, "If you only knew!"
"You've certainly given up more than anyone ever should for something so small."
"You humiliated me in Xiangyang, and the Code of Qi-Dan demands all vengeance be paid in full!"
"You are mercenaries, are you not? Fighting over lost honor has never paid well." she said, still trying to seek reason as the three warriors behind her continued fighting.
Temutai at last lifted his imposingly large body from the throne, stepping down to face her on level ground.
"Do not speak to me of honor, cat, when it is you who fights alongside our most ancient and hated enemies!"
"You give me little choice, coming here in violence and killing indiscriminately. You must be stopped."
"Come then," he said, lifting a warhammer that he alone was large enough to wield, "do not shame me by holding back!"
Tigress flipped backwards as his first strike hit the dirt below her, starting her duel with the king - to the immeasurable jealousy of Yuelen, who continued to battle the princes close by.
Outside the ruined Qi-Dan camp, the Khan's forces had finished with the last of the royal guard, with the roving bands of leopard archers having hunted down the fleeing survivors from the earlier engagement. All of the Mongolian forces were now converging on the encampment itself - some of the first to arrive had been Gan and the Kheshig. They circled around the ongoing duels giving cheers and taunts in equal measure, as other Mongol units looted and burned the place.
Having more than enough experience fighting multiple opponents, Yue seemed untroubled by the attacks coming at her from both sides; regardless, any slashes from the princes would merely glance off of her extravagant armor. Meanwhile, Tigress had just stopped Temutai's hammer on the downswing with her paws, being driven back slightly but vaulting about the weapon's shaft and kicking the behemoth water buffalo in the face. Snatching her midair and tossing her into the ground, she rolled to the side to avoid a debilitating crush from his weapon.
The fighting went on like this for some minutes, as steadily more and more soldiers gathered to observe the display. Even in the midst of her own fight, Yue could tell that Tigress' duel was gathering the greater share of their attention - and she simply could not tolerate this, especially after being insulted so crudely. In a single move, she sliced one prince's arm clean off before slashing across the face of the other, felling them both in tandem. Running up behind Temutai, she drove her spear directly into the king's back, violating the duel between him and Tigress.
Reeling from the unexpected and unfair attack, the behemoth removed the lodged spear and cast it aside as if it were a mere twig, smacking the princess back with a blow from his hammer. Kept alive by her armor, she was still slow to rise from the hit, clearly in pain.
Tigress was somewhat disgusted by the princess' actions, although not surprised in the slightest; but she also had little sympathy for the maniacal warrior-king. She backed away from the other two as Yue came back with a vengeance, launching both of her sabers into the torso of Temutai. The warrior-king took several steps back from the impacts, looking down at the blades that now protruded into him; the great warhammer dropped to the ground, followed closely by its wielder.
There was a great outcry of cheering as the king fell, and soon Khasar Khan himself appeared from the surrounding crowd, trailed closely by Gan. Confident enough to approach his mortally wounded counterpart, he drew his saber once more. Looking over to Tigress, he turned the hilt about and offered it to her.
"My gift to you. As I understand, this is a personal matter, so I apologize for my daughter's interference. The killing stroke should be yours."
Tigress just deadpanned at him. While the notion of some petty revenge had its own appeal, she had no interest in such things anymore. When it became clear that she wasn't taking the offer, there was a number of oohs and ahs from the crowd; the bearing of the Khan changed somewhat, embarrassed by this rejection.
"Suit yourself." he mumbled, turning the blade back around and walking over to the dying Temutai.
"I would say it's nothing personal," said one ruler to another, "but I would be lying."
Temutai cracked a smile in response, clinging to his final breaths.
Without further delay, Khasar drove his weapon into the chest of the king, taking unrivaled pleasure in vanquishing an enemy who had the better of him just the night before. As he made to draw the weapon back, the eyes of the two enemy kings met one final time.
"He shall come for you first," Temutai muttered weakly, "in dreams."
Not a moment later, the warrior-king expired, and the illustrious and fabled millennium history of the Qi-Dan clan came to an end.
Khasar was left at loss with these final words.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? What could he have known of the dreams?
Looking about the surrounding faces of the crowd, he suddenly became very concerned over the whereabouts of the Dagger of Deng-Wa.
"Ganzorig."
One of the Kheshig sergeants stepped forward from the ranks, bowing.
"Yes, my lord Khan?"
"Fetch me the artifact, I must know it is safe."
Being one of the select few who knew what the Khan was referring to, the tiger nodded subtly and headed off at once back towards the city. The looting and scavenging of the battlefield commenced in earnest now, the multitude of Mongolian soldiers diffusing into the heaped masses of corpses that dotted the fields south of the walls. Making their way through the rowdy groups of soldiers heading in the opposite direction, Po, Crane, and Mei Ling approached the remains of the camp where Tigress was now standing over the bodies of the deceased royals.
Po came up beside her, the strength in his legs greatly expended but slowly returning.
"I always dreamed of being part of a battle that would make the scrolls someday... never imagined it would be like this, though."
"I warned you about that, did I not?" the tiger postured, although there was no animosity in her tone.
Po just looked down at the dead king sprawled before him, lifeless eyes gazing up into the cloudless midday skies.
"Yeah, you did."
He had no energy left to say anything more, and so they stood there for some time, not saying a word. The wind came once more, and they felt the intimacy of its chilled embrace. Crane and Mei Ling had come to join them now, the bird master being particularly hesitant to be so close to Tigress again.
"Just talk to her - it is for the best." Mei whispered In encouragement.
He knew she was right.
Crane came up beside the weary tiger master, looking into her eyes as only an old friend could.
"Hey."
Tigress looked away for the briefest time, as if contemplating, but then matched his gaze right back.
"Hey." she answered at last, smiling.
Author's Notes:
- Hey there! Thanks for reading! Yet another painfully slow update I know, but I promise you I gave this my very best effort :)
- Been spending some time on vacation in Europe lately, been feeling great and it's given me the motivation boost to return to this project
- I don't want to say too much about this one, it's now my longest chapter to date and as such it is my hope that it may be a worthy successor to chapter 23; I will say however that it was an absolute joy to write a battle such as this after so many chapters of build-up
- Happy anniversary to this franchise by the way - fifteen years to the day since the first movie came out all the way back in 2008! To mark the occasion, as the Khan says, this is my gift to you :)
- Shoutout to all of my friends who help make this story continue to be a reality, you guys make it so much more fun! Thanks again for sticking with the story and would love to hear your thoughts in a review! Until next time!
