by Mark Swaine
“Excellent...” says Zui, “just continue doing... what you are doing now. I do not know I... just, made it up. I did not know it would actually...” says Zui slurring nonsense, “... actually work, an old friend would talk hours about the art of war, tactics, women, children, fine ale, of the future...of what the future would hold. Friend, friend? who needs enemies,” laughs Zui in a wide eyed mutter as his drunken eyesight sees over a million men charging toward him, “my debts are paid, but for one or two cowrie shells here and there... very well I owe many cowry shells to many people. But I do not owe you, you, you, you or you anything,” slurs Zui at the hundreds of raiders charging towards him, “even if I did owe you, I spent my last cowrie shell back at the...back there, at the marketplace. Xan Li, what was the name of that marketplace? Where, where is she? The point is...” slurs Zui, “the point... I am trying to make, is... I have no currency to speak of, should one or two of you be kind enough to loan me a few cowrie shells, I shall repay you at the first opportunity... with interest,” says Zui laughing at his own lie. “You are all twins?” says Zui in amazement as he peers closer at the blurry moving mess of stampeding men and women no less than twenty away. “Turn back raiders, turn back, do not waste your time here. Take it from me, you will find greater riches elsewhere; there is nothing of value here. Take it from me, take it from... take... they take, they took, they took everything from me,” says Zui staring into space.
Zui looks at his hands wet with blood, and his face convulses as he receives a series of unwelcome memories. Zui's face suddenly appears lost in a state of sadness as he raises his empty pot to his mouth whilst shaking it madly to release the last few drops. With no ale left, he ties it back to his belt and welcomes the oncoming army. As the one hundred strong army reaches Zui, he cuts into them whilst imagining those he'd most like to meet his blades. Blood dashes upwards and paints the grey slabs beneath him as arrows take down those escaping his proximity. As the Jade soldiers finish of the last of the hopping and crawling raiders, they look to the insane drunkard amidst a gathering of severed cadavers. Zui's wide shoulder jolts as the blades of his staff flick back to their wooden enclosure, and he pants crazily with his eyes hidden by his tilted wicker hat. That conical wicker hat, it had always seemed so innocent, but not now, not with blood running down it in different layers like a lazy oozing waterfall. Earlier, back in the stadium, Emperor Yu-Huang holds his head in sudden despair as he senses his friends in pain. No longer able to sense the living presence of Peiyu, Chao Gao, Bènzhuō de Mùjiang, Laoshi and Wèizào, he shakes his head regretfully. Yu-Huang's fingers tremble over his forehead as the ongoing pain of Xiaojian, Akio, Ling Long Song and Wenyi pierces the fabric of his soul. The Ministers observe his strange erratic behaviour as he curses his feeble fading power as their fate is hidden from his foresight.
General Arachie, followed by his men wander out onto the pitch, looking at the dead fell of lifeless bodies surrounding him in every direction. The General looks to the Emperor and the Ministers, hoping someone will break the horrible silence and offer some form of explanation. The General's leather padded khakis stride over one body to the next until he approaches one to inspect. His armour covered torso chinks with his slow movements as he crouches by a broken body with its head reversed and facing up. General Arachie kneels by the body and looks into the pale eyes of the deceased fisherman, and in an attempt to show form of vain respect, he reaches across closes the dead man's eyes. Yu-Huang snaps out of his daze as he senses the General in danger and commands him to step away from the body,
“My Emperor, he is de…” stutters the General before looking back down at the fisherman's face.
General Arachie is stunned to find the dead man miraculously opening his mouth and staring into his eyes. A mouth of partially missing yellow teeth appears delighted at the size of its first meal of the day, and the undead fisherman whispers something too quiet for the General to make out.
“What did you say?” asks the General, leaning closer.
“Tabemono (food),” moans the undead fisherman, wheezing with great pleasure in his husky voice.
General Arachie is taken aback by the fisherman's sudden lurching hands and he trips backwards over another undead body. The undead fisherman rises and reaches out with its rotten and bone splintered arms. The Jade Soldiers sprint forward to aid the General, too late, the undead fisherman strides awkwardly with his backward legs. With its twisted slumped neck looking down upon him, the reverse necked fisherman stands above the confused and downed General. Blood pours from the undead man's mouth as its smile grows from ear to ear with its eye brows frowning low. Its dirty blood stained hands twitch as it raises its nail-less broken fingers to the stunned General. The undead man growls and prepares prepares to pounce until its vision is distracted by a full on flash of flame. With barely enough time to react, the creature gulps as its flaming tongue slips from its mouth. With smoke escaping its mouth, the undead human looks down at its chest (or what is left of it) and feels across the rim of a circular void of cauterized flesh and crackling fire. The undead fisherman stares dead ahead, searching out the one interrupting its first meal since leaving the dead lands of Japan. Liu Chan stands defiant in his comfortable stance of Lóng Jiǎo, with his foot burning hotter now with an essence of Chi than it ever has before. The undead fisherman falls backwards onto the soft red grass steaming with hot sprays of blood escaping a few stubborn arteries from inside its circular shaped wound. Liu Chan lets not his guard down, for the many tales of the undead's unnatural durability had reached his ear, even if he wasn't paying full attention during the endless briefings from the Jade Captains. Even though there are many variations of countless tales, only one vital statement remained consistent, the only detail he cared to heed: "remove the head from the body".
Liu Chan waits, still as a frozen mantis and preparing to release another fireball from his roaring foot. The fallen creature continues to twitch and eventually struggles back to its gangrenous feet. The creature appears angry as it searches out its attacker, and as the undead creature recognises the statue of lean flesh it releases a shrill scream of infuriation. The undead carcass storms forward in awkward strides with its backward legs and Liu Chan positions himself in a more rigid frame. As Liu Chan focuses on gathering his Chi, his face tightens a little. The Jade soldier lets loose with a fireball twice as ferocious as the last and reverse kicks it toward the undead man. A ball of orange and yellow morphs into a dragons head as it rockets across the field. As it soars toward the sprinting creature the dragon's fiery head opens its mouth to reveal its molten plasmid incisors. Upon impact, the undead fisherman screams in defiance as its entire body disappears in a cloud of flame and ashes. General Arachie stands back to his feet and looks at Liu Chan with a frown.
“Only the head do you need remove,” the General informs.
Liu Chan raises his eyebrows in disbelief at his Uncle's lack of gratitude then quickly takes to the field with his fellow soldiers to dispense of the rest of the bodies before they too, rise. But the population of undead outnumber the soldiers in the stadium, with a great majority blocking the main gate. As the undead begin to rise in wails and moans, heads jump and roll across the field as their bodies drop back to the ground. But no matter how many they cut down, the undead are still too many. The General coordinates the soldiers into circular attack and defensive formations around the Emperor in the centre of the pitch. The General orders Liu Chan to man the opposite end of the circular barrier to guard his blind spot while Genghis Kong of the Blue Coastal Clan and Akane Junko protect the opposite two sides. The undead horde take in their new surroundings, then smell breakfast; hot meaty blood packed food. Rising fast they stop and stare at the circular blockade of food. With motionless bodies, they look lasciviously at the banquet of soldiers and Ministers, and savour the sweet smell of blood coursing through their juicy hearts and tasty pumping organs. Growling softly as if to compliment the welcome of nourishment upon waking, they stagger a
nd take a few steps closer. The smell of warm fresh blood grows stronger in their waking senses and they stagger into a jog. Their jog becomes a charge. No longer staggering, they charge to their meal like the first hungry child racing to be first at the dinner table. General Arachie stands at the forefront of his soldiers, well aware that he is outnumbered against the mass of undead, galloping toward him and his loyal soldiers. The tight formation of soldiers surrounding Yu-Huang and the Ministers ready their weapons forward, as does Minister Chung Denshi manning the front line. On guard, Chung Denshi parts his united wind and fire wheel into both hands and takes an attack position.
“Protect the Emperor with your lives!” shouts General Arachie.
As Liu Chan stands outward at the opposite end of the human barricade, the General calls for a proximity alert on the enemy's advancement, for his front and peripheral vision are all but occupied.
“LIU CHAAAAN?” grunts the General stringently.
“Not yet!” shouts Liu Chan.
“LIU CHAN?” repeats the General almost a second later.
"Steady, steady, NOWWW!" bellows Liu Chan.
"ATTACK!" General Arachie bellows, commanding the front line forward a step.
“ATTACK!” bellows Akane Junko and Genghis Kong,
The front line steps forward and strikes, cutting down the first of the undead horde. The soldiers side step to allow the warriors behind them a follow up strike and the rotating staggering circle of blades makes short work of the first wave. The second wave, three times as large, sprints forward in mad tripping dashes and bloody snarling mouths. With strength in numbers, only one thought goes through their primitive minds... eat! General Arachie hides a single worried thought, that he will fail his Emperor, for the sheer force and hatred of these monsters will reduce them to bones if they can’t evacuate him before he runs out of soldiers. Suddenly a loud mixture of war cries dominate the looming sound of undead shrieking as hundreds of grappling hooks secure themselves to the wall.
“Raiders! we are finished,” says Jian-Heng anxiously. “Soldiers, protect the Emperor and I,”
But the force breaching the wall are not raiders nor mercenary, but an army of Samurai lead by Kamui Li. As they clamber atop the wall and aerial roll onto the pitch they race in all directions to form a barrier between the undead and Jade soldiers. With only enough time to draw their Katana, the militia of warriors thrust forth their folded steel in unison. Sharper than a thousand eagle claws swooping on their prey, the warriors push forward. Claiming head after head after undead head, skulls and brains jump and drop every which way as their bodies fall limp to the ground whilst spurting sprays of red in their variety of falling directions. As the Samurai disperse the more they push forward. Chung Denshi leads a unit forward to fill the gaps. As dragons rush overhead, mercenaries abseil from rushing ropes as Genghis Kong fires arrows in rapid succession. The poisonous, black and white, spiral headed, cone shell arrow tips strike each merc with precision. The toxins go to work within a millisecond and their muscles seize as they fall from their ropes like frozen warped statues. Genghis Kong unsheathes his sword and goes to work in a violent fashion, and as he does, he hopes his clan his well and not suffering a similar fate.
Genghis Kong knows one thing for certain: the the Blue Coastal Clans will be protecting the shorelines from any ocean attacks. Chung Denshi butterfly kicks a charging assassin and launches himself into an upturned aerial head spin. Extending his arms out wide and forward he charges like a taunted bison, like the bison and bulls he wrestles with on the Niújiǎo moorlands. He charges with brute rage, using his blades in a fashion that his favoured strong animals could never use their horns.
His wind and fire wheels clear a pathway of bodies, slicing through the necks and bellies of raiders and undead, leaving a whirlwind of intestines and jets of blood in his trail. General Arachie swings his blood drenched hook swords with deadly accuracy, using both strong arms to full effect, ploughing through one after the other, protecting the inanimate Yu-Huáng who appears to be lost in a trance at the tragic loss of life in his beloved Empire. In a panic, the cowardly Minister Jian-Heng, protected within the formation of soldiers, leaves his fellow Priests behind and decides to make a run for the main gate with his student Peng-Shi in tow. Jian-Heng and Peng-Shi try their best to out manoeuvre the groaning bodies grabbing at them, but are overwhelmed by the undead horde. Peng-Shi grabs a hold of his master, Jian-Heng, and pulls him to the ground to use as a human shield. Concealed by his master's large cloak, Jian-Heng is pulled apart limb by limb as he screams for the aid of the Samurai. Cut off by reach and noise, Jian-Heng screams as groups of blunt teeth dig and rip into his body and pull his skin apart. In a living hell, the foolish Minister gargles fountains of blood as he listens to the squelches and sloppy swallowing of the undead common folk eating his internal organs. Saturated in Jian-Heng's blood, Peng-Shi remains silent under the large cloak. Akane Junko holds her quarter of the blockade with three Samurai protecting her flanks and she hopes Captain Huang, Jade Captain of the fifth Battalion is alive and fighting well. Fighting mercenaries and fighting off the undead, a few Jade soldiers and Samurai are dragged or cut down from their blindsides.
As bitten Jade soldiers and Samurai rise with hunger, the living Samurai and Jade army move through the entire horde without persecution of gender, age or relationship. The people they were before are not the same people before them now. It was clear the Samurai had done this before, only a handful of Jade soldiers hesitate to strike down the people they had known all their lives, and some pay for it with their lives. The Samurai postpone their mourning for their country folk discarded from the dragons, and focus on nothing but eradicating the presence of evil. Eventually, the last drop of blood hits the dark maroon grass and the Samurai cleanse their Katanas and stay them to their scabbards. The barrier of warriors protecting the Emperor with the inner circle disperses outwards as they heed caution to the loud humming of an electrical current sounding from within. Warriors all look at the might of his furious expression as his eyes no longer glow with the bright light of the suns warming rays, but a furiously pulsating dark green. The Emperor looks angrily at the carnage and pants heavily as he looks to the skies. Dragons that had arrived to aid the people are torn apart by undead dragons, and as they're savaged in mid flight they drop from the skies and either die from the long fall, or survive to be fated to an eternal undead existence. As Chung Denshi watches the tragedy happening before him in the beautiful early afternoon sky, he fails to notice an undead hand maiden creeping up behind him. With her head connected to her neck by a mere thick flap of skin and a partially snapped spinal cord, the weightless woman approaches without a sound. Holding her head upright by a skinny gripped hand, she readies her mouth to sample the green robed appetiser. Her jaws approach the meat between his neck and shoulder, and too late he feels her breath on the hairs on his neck. A flicker of silver and light flashes toward Chung Denshi and a vertical slit opens up in the centre of the woman's forehead before she slumps sideward to the ground. Chung Denshi looks at Kamui Li with his hand poised and fingers spread.
Chung Denshi looks back in surprise at the red throwing star embedded in the wooden support beam behind him, and he looks at the deceased hand maiden slumped beside him. Chung Denshi bows gratefully to Kamui Li and the gesture is returned before he removes his Kabuto helmet. Kamui Li informs General Arachie that the remainder of the Samurai are combating the undead around the city. Kamui Li approaches the Emperor and addresses him repeatedly, but the Emperor fails to respond as he continues watching the slaughter of the dragons from afar. Kamui Li gently touches his shoulder to gain his attention and the Emperor looks at him with a murderous expression with his eyes glowing an even fiercer shade of green. Kamui Li backs away cautiously. Yu-Huang's humming green eyes fade to his normal light green shade, and as he breaks from his trance he appears confused to his whereabouts. The Emperor suddenly remembers and looks to Kamui Li.
“I have faile
d,” says Yu-Huang ashamedly.
“Failed? You believe this attack to be the extent of Hisako-Hisa's attack, this is nothing. You have not failed Emperor Yu-Huang, not yet,” warns Kamui Li.
A young soldier clutching a bloodied neck stumbles and staggers desperately toward the General. General Arachie catches him as he missteps and removes the Jade Tenugui from his face, allowing him to breathe easier.
“Forgive me General, I but turned for a second,” says the young soldier apologetically.
The General grips the back of his neck whilst clasping his hand in his. Levelling his forehead to the fallen soldier's, he speaks the words every soldier wishes to hear on their death bed, and addresses him by name.
“You fought bravely Ning Bao, you fought with honour, ” assures the General, grunting each word clearly, making the soldier’s last minutes as dignified as possible.
The soldier smiles as he breathes shallow, and the General looks to Yu-Huang from the corner of his eye, hoping for his divine intervention. The Emperor sees the look of desperation in his old friend's eyes, and he wonders if his dwindling powers are enough to save the dying man. Emperor Yu-Huang kneels beside the infected soldier and closes his eyes. A dim light emits from behind Yu-Huang's eyelids and his closed fist lights up from the inside. Yu-Huang places the palm of his hand above the wound on the soldier's neck, but nothing happens. Yu-Huang wonders if direct contact with his blood will cleanse the wounded soldier of his infection, and so slices the palm of his hand with a borrowed dagger.