Chapter 98: Curse of the Metal Men
They are not humans!
Those were the first thoughts that struck Aladdin's mind the moment the armies stepped out of the avalanche that was meant to be their doom.
Aladdin had thought there was a powerful sorcerer who had evaded his detection skills, hiding within the ranks of the Huns' army. He wanted to observe them first before interfering with the battle.
But it seemed like that wasn't the case.
This meant the metallic bird was a familiar, and the soldiers' masks weren't truly masks, but their faces instead.
Aladdin even began doubting what he had just witnessed.
Even though he had been spending time with Mulan and the others, he had also been keeping track of the Huns before they vanished… So, for them to reappear in such strange, unnatural forms…
How had he missed such an event transpiring right under his nose?
As the fire lances struck the surrounding mountains once more, Aladdin soared into the sky.
"Stay here and inform me if something goes wrong."
His words trailed behind him as he teleported below the clouds.
Mirage saluted seriously.
Abu nodded with a much more playful salute.
Whatever had happened, he knew that Aladdin could take care of it. Even he had no idea of Aladdin's current magical capabilities. Unless the opponent was as powerful as Genie, then they might have to cry for help.
He took out a jar of grape juice and two cups from his storage pocket.
"Want some?" He gestured towards Mirage.
Mirage shook his head and soared down from Carpet, following after Aladdin. However, he maintained a clear gap to keep an eye on Aladdin while avoiding the metallic bird.
"Suit yourself."
Abu stored one cup away. He ate the banana and sipped the grape juice as he observed the event unfolding below through his telescope.
Meanwhile, using the clouds as cover, Aladdin transformed into a cold mist that melded with the heavy mist clouds in the area.
Within an instant, he reappeared above the snow.
The armies were already deep within the tidal waves of snow.
He stretched out his hands, solidifying the air to push back the tidal waves of avalanches to the sides and behind him. He ensured they didn't roll toward the Chinese Imperial Army.
However, he didn't stop the clouds of cold mist.
Instead, he channelled the wind to draw them behind him.
As a result, the Chinese Imperial Army was overwhelmed by heavy clouds of cold mist that obscured their vision. They shivered, trying their best to maintain their composure.
"Captain…?" Mulan said, unsure of what to say as she looked at Li Shang, who trembled as he looked through his telescope.
Li Shang removed the telescope and said, "I can't see anything… We'll wait for some time. Perhaps this time, we will see some results." His voice cracked, but he didn't lose his composure.
He still hadn't forgotten what he had seen, which was why he hoped that the second bombardment of fire lances had been effective. Even with his newfound strength, Li Shang wasn't confident in facing the bizarre metal men.
Mulan nodded uncertainly.
Li Shang still failed to explain what he had seen, so she could only trust his judgment and hope for the best. She covered the sack beside her with another layer of cloth to prevent Mushu and Cri-Kee from being overwhelmed by the cold mist.
Minutes later, on the other side of the snowy mist, the Huns rose out of the snow.
Aladdin narrowed his eyes at the scene. He waved his hand forward.
A heavy gust of wind, like a tornado, manifested and soared above the snow. It gathered the snow around it upwards and scattered it into the surroundings like snowflakes, further aiding their ascent.
Aladdin got a clearer view of the army before him.
These men..! No, these beings were fully made of metal, with a sheen that glinted under the sunny sky.
They were like human-shaped sculptures entirely made of metal. It was as though someone had placed countless life-sized metallic figurines across the snow.
Even on their metallic faces, a frown appeared, which he immediately noticed, giving them a sense of life.
The army halted in their positions the moment they spotted Aladdin flying above them and narrowed their eyes at him with heavy frowns.
They gazed at the tornado. It only affected the snow but didn't harm them.
After observing the scene and seeing that all of the metal men had risen from the snow, Aladdin dispersed the tornado.
The tornado reduced in size until it vanished into thin air.
"Who is your leader? Show yourself!" Aladdin asked. His voice thundered like lightning striking the farthest reaches of the earth, resonating across the mountaintop.
The atmosphere soon turned silent as the soldiers looked at one another.
***
[Shan Yu P.O.V]
Two months!!
For two months, they had tried to regain their humanity!
For two months, they had tried to make sense of what had happened to them!
For two months, they had searched for the witch that had cursed them!
For two months, they had failed!!
This was not the handiwork of Death, because if it were, death would have come easily.
If it were a man, he would face them in mortal combat. If it were a kingdom, he would conquer and pillage it until nothing was left.
But that being was like an entity that was unleashed from the very foundation of the Netherworld.
Shan Yu had always believed that death was something only he could usher into his life. He believed she had no form until he met her in his dreams.
Shan Yu had never believed there were humans greater than what he could achieve. After all, even shamans couldn't even achieve a fraction of what he had.
So the arrival of that being shook his very being to the core.
After wandering through the forest and failing to find the witch who had cursed them, Shan Yu and his men could not bear to live as metal men.
They tried to drown themselves to death.
They discovered that they had no need to breathe, so they did not drown.
They failed.
They tried to fall from a cliff, hoping the fall would crush them to bits and send them off to the afterlife.
They did not feel pain. Regardless of how serious the injury was, they would heal until their bodies regained their glossy metallic sheen.
They failed.
They tried to melt their metallic bodies.
Their metallic forms had only melded together, forming an abomination that could barely be described as an entity that was once human when compared to their original metallic forms.
They failed.
They could not sleep. They could not eat.
They could only pretend that they were.
Death refused to open her doors. She locked them tight and chuckled loudly from the other side.
For once in his lifetime, Shan Yu couldn't fathom the kind of enemy he was facing.
Remembering they were still at war with the Chinese Imperial Army and there was someone whom he had clashed with who could potentially kill him, he devised a single plan.
One: find him and die by his blade.
He led his men through the bottom of the rivers to the Mountain Pass. There, they hid within the snow, awaiting the arrival of the Chinese Imperial Army.
'So far, so good!' Shan Yu thought.
Suddenly, he noticed Hayabusa chasing after a falcon at the front of the ranks.
A falcon this high and deep in the mountains.
Shan Yu found it hard to believe. In fact, he believed that it shouldn't be an ordinary bird. These past few days had taught him not to trust the ordinary.
The falcon flew skyward and vanished into the clouds.
Even Hayabusa halted his chase, unsure if his new form could take him into the clouds.
Shan Yu believed that it belonged to someone extraordinary. Perhaps someone, on the same level as the witch that had cursed them…
Or maybe, it was the one fated to kill him, just as he had hoped.
Shan Yu didn't know until he met them.
He hoped that they could reveal themselves quickly and rid him of this unending nightmare.
Hope was merciful!
As Shan Yu looked at the man floating in the skies, he realised that his assumptions were right.
However, it still wasn't the one he had envisioned.
The one he had fought with on that day.
"Who is your leader? Show yourself!"
A voice thundered across the battlefield, rippling across his metallic plates.
An introduction!
Upon learning that the stranger, with capabilities resembling those of the witch, wanted to meet him, Shan Yu stepped forward with hesitation.
The crowd of metallic men parted, creating a path as he stepped forward.
Within minutes, Shan Yu arrived at the front lines of the army and stared up at the levitating man before him.
He gripped his blade tightly.
"I am Shan Yu, leader of the Huns… Or at least, that was what I used to go by," he introduced himself, his voice tinged with weariness.
***
Aladdin blinked when he heard the huge metallic man before him.
He recognised the metallic falcon on his shoulders, which was similar to the one that had attacked Mirage.
However, he still couldn't make sense of any of it.
How did Shan Yu become this?
Who had done this?
"How?" Aladdin asked, failing to hide his astonished expression.
"I do not know. But…" Shan Yu shook his head and replied.
He hesitated before recounting what had transpired before he and his men were cursed to become metal men.
The more Aladdin heard, the more he understood what was going on. And the more his expression paled.
A witch!!
How did a witch get into China?
This was even worse than he had thought.
"Stranger from another land. Take away this curse from us," Shan Yu pleaded, staring at him.
Aladdin nodded solemnly.
He maintained the barrier between the Chinese Imperial Army and the Huns, halting the war.
"Come forward," Aladdin said.
Shan Yu's face somehow lit up with expectation.
He stepped forward without hesitation.
Aladdin landed softly on the snow.
"I need to understand what kind of curse has been placed on you first."
He placed his hand on Shan Yu's shoulder.
A mysterious force within Aladdin roared to life, unravelling and deciphering the curse which was placed on the Huns.
Within seconds, Aladdin withdrew his hand.
He summoned a wooden sword from his storage ring and channelled his magical power into it. Instantly, the wooden blade turned to metal, with traces of magical properties coursing through it.
Shan Yu's eyes widened, witnessing this scene. If he hadn't seen who had cursed him and his men, he would have thought the stranger before him was the one responsible.
Now, Shan Yu was becoming more and more certain that he had the power to help him.
Meanwhile, Aladdin furrowed his brows as he swung and inspected the wooden sword.
Aladdin channelled his magical power into the metal blade. This time, the blade shifted back to its former wooden form.
This was an advanced form of transmutation.
Except that it transmuted flesh and the spirit into another form.
Now he could replicate it. The issue was turning them back to human.
It wasn't impossible. Except it would take him some time to compile his knowledge of spells, along with the various forms of magic he had grasped, to create a spell that would transform them back into humans.
He didn't have a spell like that waiting around just so he could use it on a human.
The second issue was that they were currently on a battlefield.
"I believe that I can cure you and help you return to your human form. But it would take some time," Aladdin said, looking at the metallic Shan Yu with a solemn gaze.
"But considering all the things you have done, Shan Yu, I also have a way to end your life and end this lasting misery once and for all."