Liang and Lafeyah continued their run through the planted forest, their eyes moving across it as they searched for any threats. That, and signs of surveillance, given how that woman was able to figure out where they were, it was fair to say that they were being watched, something that they could not allow to continue. Liang gripped his shurikens between his fingers, before he flung them out, attached to the strings that he gripped. Easily destroying the camera’s upon impact, stopping one the trunk of one tree, destroying more, before jumping to another, and doing the same. But, there was something one took note of, it was seemingly done at random.

“If I attack in one straight line, that lets us track them, cameras or not… And we can’t have that.” Liang thought. Following in his line of thought was Bijan. Thorns flew through the forest canopy ,demolishing the cameras the rapidly flying projectiles crashed into. Eventually, as they verified that they found no more cameras, the attacks stopped, as they moved to regroup.

“I believe we’ll be there soon, be prepared!!!”

“Right!!” Lafeyah responded.

However, the two both stopped in their tracks, and their eyes widened. The reason, a feeling that began to run through them.

“What is this protomis I’m sensing?!” Thought Liang.

Lafeyah sighed as he took note of this.

“It looks like we’re in for a real fight…”

For a moment, the two stood unmoving, before they continued running. The cover of the trees around them gradually became thinner, and the crunch of the grass under their feet became less pronounced, as what was once a floor of vegetation became patches. They slowly but surely moved upward. Making their way farther up a rocky hill, mostly lacking in any vegetation. As they reached the top, it was then that a large metal structure came into their view. The Lhasa Fortress. Much like any other, lined with defenders on the tall walls, that were stories over 10 stories tall.

The defenders on the walls were left unaware, until one soldier, in particular, saw two humanoid shapes in the distance... However, they were much too far away, around 50 meters. He tapped the side of his helmet, increasing the zoom on his cameras. And it was then that he could just make out the two shapes. When the soldier took note of who they were, he quickly yelled out.

“There they are!!!”

Just like that, the soldiers aimed and began firing at the two. Defensive guns came out of the walls, aiming at the two, and as pieces of the ground parted, more weaponry raised out of the ground. Soon, a storm of rounds began to fly toward them, with bursts of red light coming soon afterward. However, the two steeled forward, rushing through the rounds, and downright ignoring the bursts of particle beam fire. Liang bent his knees, before jumping and taking flight, with Bijan soon following. Liang reached for the Zhi Nu, as he soon thrust it at one of the men in front of him, smashing right through his armor, and piercing his chest.

No sooner did he begin swinging the whip, the sharpened edges ripping apart the soldiers as the whip moved around him, their armor utterly useless against the weapon. With the soldiers cleared out, or, rather, this squad, the two landed on the walls, their gazes flying around. Of course, their attack did not go unnoticed, deeper within the fortress, Lung, Kabir, and Agni himself, watched this scene take place, with a camera feed displayed from a terminal that seemingly rose from below his throne. They observed the situation in silence, as Lung shook his head.

“It seems as if Li Fang has failed... I shall handle this myself, sir.” Lung stated.

Now, he began walking away from the foot of the throne. Only stopping as Kabir put his hand on his shoulder.

“Not so fast, I’ll be coming along as well…”

“Fine with me. We leave, lord Agni.”

Agni nodded.

“Come back here alive, you two are important to this operation.”

The two then barreled down the hallway, rushing to make their way to the battlefield. Where things seemed to get no better for their subordinates. Bijan ran through a squad of Kaemerge’s men, who began a desperate attempt to fend him off, gauss rifles firing off at him. With one squad in the back firing shoulder-fired rounds. Even so, he weaved around it as if it were childsplay. Running through the bursts of gunfire, until he’d reached one of the soldiers, his ist shooting out, and demolishing one’s helmet, and head alike with a single jab. Sending fragments of metal, and blood alike cascading outward, his body thrown away by the force. The youth followed up with a kick sent toward one who stood beside him, he was sent barreling back as well. He twisted his body, soon kicking away the one who attempted to rush him from behind. On the walls of the base, the men looked down upon this battle with widened eyes.

“Danm, We can’t handle these two!!” One yelled.

“Let’s pull back for now!!” Yelled another

Apparently, this was something that didn’t go over well with a third, given his angered expression.

“Cowards!! Have you no pride?! We shall not flee from two children!!!”

As the third spoke, he took note of something happening below him. The two proto-humans had surprisingly stopped moving… But a question remained, why would they? His question was soon answered as he took note of them looking to the sky. What he saw brought a smile on his face, Lung floated above them, eventually coming to land with his troops on top of the walls.

“Indeed… We, as followers of Agni, will not die to the likes of them! Prepare yourself- Plant boy…”

“Commander Lung!!!”

As the troops took notice, resounding cheers erupted from them. The previous fear had seemingly disappeared within moments. Something that Bijan took note of as he glanced around. This, in addition, to the power he sensed from him.

“Looks like he’s popular around here. But that isn’t important, this guy is a proto-human… He’s nothing to scoff at. But he isn’t what we sensed earlier...Where is the source?”

Eventually, the cheers stopped as lung opened his mouth, as the troops calmed, ready to allow him to speak.

“Bijan Lafeyah, You and Liang Yu may think because of your supposed power, that you can run in and take us out?! Well, I got some news for you!”

Lung clenched his fists and put his right leg forward. Bijan’s eyes widened, as he took notice of the faint yellow glow around him...

“The protomis I was sensing from him before just jumped!”

“Your battle against the four tides and whatever weakling Ardamites you fought means nothing to us… YOU! DIE! HERE!” He yelled. With his words, the cheering resumed, this time, however, it became deafeningly loud, as those in the other squads began to take note.

“Get him, Lord Lung!”

“Don’t let him stand in our way!”

“Lung!!”

Now, the chanting of the man’s name began to spread like wildfire, until virtually the whole crowd was cheering for him, shouting out his name at the top of their lungs. Bijan said nothing as he reached into the burlap sack on his side, and proceeded to throw seeds onto the ground once again.

“We’ll see about that!”

Bijan opened his hands, as the plants once again broke through the ground. Lung smirked as he took notice of this. Elsewhere, within a large well-lit room in the center of the base. Liang swung his chain whip around, killing waves upon waves of men unfortunate enough to get the way. However, he soon stopped, as his eyes darted above him, and soon, coming down upon him was Kabir with his fist outstretched. He soon ceased his assault, as he jumped to the left, moving out of the way. Kabir’s fist crashed onto the ground. Sending debris cascading into the air, and leaving a crater in his wake. Something that was soon followed by the building shaking to its very foundations.

Kabir got on his feet once more, as he focused his gaze upon his opponent.

“I see that you’ve had fun destroying my men… But you won’t go any further, now that I have arrived.”

Liang put his chain whip back on his side, not affected by the threat in the least. His eyes moved across the new nuisance, before his hand swiftly went to draw his Jian, tightening his grip on it, as he arched his brows...

“As if I'd let you stop me… Let’s end this quickly- I have more important things to attend to.”

Part B

While the martial artist and his adversary began their battle, Lung and Bijan prepared to begin theirs. With a wave of his hand, his troops swiftly began to make their way away from the battlefield. However, they found that their running did not do much, as many of them found themselves knocked over, and then crushed by the rapidly growing roots on the ground. Overgrowth grew to encompass the walls of one of the buildings, and the very little that lay around the base. While normally, he wouldn’t have cared about their escape, that was not the case with their current mission.

Something that he planned to get back too. He put his hands near the bud of one of the plants, which burst open as his hand approached, vines came from within, Coiling around his left palm. Followed by them tightening, condensing, wrapping around each other. Until what resembled the hilt of a blade appeared. The vines only continued from there, a curved blade forming above the hilt. With the blade finished, the vines retracted. It was then that he flipped it, holding it in his preferred reverse grip.

“I need to gauge his defensive abilities first. If I just rush in, it likely won't end well for me.”

With that thought, Lafeyah began the process. Thorns, in the tens, began appearing on the vines around the battlefield. Lung glanced around, taking note of the possible attack, but, strangely enough, stood completely still regardless.

“Thorn Maelstrom!!!”

Within a split second, Thorns, numbering in the hundreds flew at his opponent, beginning to cross into his melee range. However, Lung just stood there with the same smirk plastered on his face. Not even so much as lifting a finger at his opponent’s attack. Bijan took notice of this, and he raised an eyebrow at his opponent’s reaction, or rather, his lack thereof.

“Why is he just standing there, is he that confident?”

Within moments, as Lung let out a yell the thorns were blown away, redirected toward the plants, many of which were pierced by the returning thorns. Bijan's expression became one of surprise.

“What... Was that?!”

“That… Is my ability- Your attacks will not reach me, regardless of how strong they might be.”

Bijan put his hand on his chin.

“Would I have to get into close range, then? He’s likely better at that than I am… The soil here isn’t as fertile either- My golems won’t be as strong… And the last thing I need to do is to form the Verdant Emperor without knowing what else that one is capable of. “

However, he was taken out of his thoughts, as Lung flew forward, Landing in front of Bijan and breaking the ground under his feet as he arrived. Bijan’s eyes widened, as his feet quickly began to shift away from him.

“Damn!!”

Lung soon threw a right straight at Lafeyah. But he ducked under the oncoming punch, before attempting to counter with an uppercut. He hit the man’s chin and sent his head lurching back, as the force sent outward blew the hair from both. However, within a moment, Lung grabbed hold of Bijan’s arm. He soon lifted him and began pivoting, swinging the youth Again, again, and Again, before throwing him away. Lafeyah soon barreled back through the air. But, as he flipped, stopped himself, his feet landing on the wall of the building. Lung, however, was soon flying at him, ready to continue pressing the attack.

However, he jumped out of the way, landing on another, Lung followed. He did so again, and again. And yet again, Lung followed. The two Proto-humans streaked across from building to building, until he landed where he previously was, in the center of his plants.

“Rise- Verdant Falconians!!”

Soon, vines began to shoot out of the plants once again, as they coiled around one another. Until these coiled vines soon formed constructs that resembled birds, Falcons. Soon, as their wings began to flap, as Lafeyah focused his gaze on Lung, who charged at him once again, they took flight, Beginning to swarm around him. Flinging Spines at him from all directions.The constructs began to swarm around Lung, firing spines at him from all angles. Even so, he stood there with his demeanor unchanged.

“Regardless of how much you launch, and where it’s from, my barrier can not be broken!!!”

As the spines flew back at the constructs, they were only absorbed by a new wave of the falconians that came to reinforce the last ones. But the changes did not stop there. The size of the falconians began to change, as the volume increased. and fired more and more spines at him as they did. As lung’s eyes darted around him, at the ones who started the assault then, at the new waves and the larger ones that took flight from the ground. The smirk that was on his face beforehand disappeared.

“What is he planning?!”

“Alright-- It’s time, Form up!!”

As he made his statement, Lung’s question was answered. The smaller Falconians landed one by one, in groups of three. Something followed by the vines that made up their body beginning to coil around one another, forming not only larger beasts, but ones that seemed much denser. As they took flight, wave after wave landed and did the same. Lung, however, was not willing to let this continue, he began to bound out of the way, but Bijan's eyes squinted as he took notice, and they soon began swarming around him again. The spines he launched this time, however, were much longer, and thicker than any before. As they impacted Lung’s barrier, though they were eventually thrown back, they stayed there for longer. His opponent was not done yet, however, as he closed his hand, the speed of the spines increased, as they became nothing but blurs.

“You’ve fallen right into my trap!!! Now that you’ve lowered your guard- you’ve opened yourself up- I bet you weren't prepared for this!!!”

The vines soon coiled around Lafeyah’s hand once again, and his blade appeared. Soon, he dashed into the formation. Lung, however, did not take notice of this. He clicked his tongue, as the field around him began to expand. But, it soon stopped, as his eyes darted behind him, and he took notice of Lafeyah flying toward him. He soon began to move out of the way, but Lafeyah simply re-directed himself. Soon, the blade was thrust through Lung’s back. His eyes widened, as he began to cough, heavily at that, as blood poured out of his mouth.

“Dammit…” He gurgled, the blood pouring out making his words hard to understand.

Bijan soon removed his blade from Lung’s back, as he began to fly away. But, his opponent was not willing to let that happen, he soon reared on his opponent, Placing his palm onto the boy’s face, he proceeded to descend upon the earth, driving his head onto the ground. A crater soon formed under him, Lung stared down at his opponent, eyes narrowed, and eyebrows arched. All the while, Agni’s soldiers watched this, the jubilant mood that appeared earlier, clearly changed with what they saw.

“If I’m dying here- I'm taking you with me!!!”

“Commander!!!”

Yells of protest began to echo from the soldiers… But, he seemed to block them out, Focusing only on the opponent Soon, Bijan kicked him off, attempting to jump back. However, Lung followed him, Hitting the youth in the stomach, his head lurching forward from the impact, as he folded over his fist. He was not done yet, smashing a left hook into his cheek, following up with a kick to his ribs. Before launching another fist at his stomach. However, at the last moment, Bijan flipped away from the punch. But Lung would pursue, preparing to launch an uppercut into his chin. But, Bijan’s hands appeared in his fist’s path as he did so, stopping the attack... It was only then that Lung’s arms fell to his side, as he stumbled away.

“Huh...Guess I couldn’t do that either.”

Soon, Lung’s body fell limp, falling backward as his eyes became empty. Lafeyah sighed as he cracked his neck.

“What a troublesome man. I need to keep moving… Let’s hope Liang can handle whoever he got stuck with…”

To Be Continued