MN - 16 - vs Warriors Scene

The demon swept down with his arm. Instantly six warriors rose from the stones of the mandala’s floor. They were gaunt-checked and hollow-eyed, but they moved with limber grace. They encircled Liu and began to move in toward him. The drum beat, and the supernatural howling of the enslaved souls grew louder.

“Face your enemy!” Kitana shouted.

Liu reacted quickly. He kicked out toward the warrior closest to his right hand. That man retreated. But Liu’s move was only a feint, a false attack designed to distract attention from the real assault. Liu leapt forward, tumbling in midair to land behind the warrior directly ahead of him. He grabbed that one’s left arm and pulled it up and out. Then he smashed down with the edge of his hand on the man’s shoulder.

A second warrior launched a flying kick at Liu’s back. Sensing rather than seeing the attack, Liu ducked and rolled. The kick connected with the warrior Liu had first struck.

After that, the fight grew faster and more difficult to follow. Even Johnny, who had an appreciation for the finest martial arts fighting, was hard-pressed to keep up with the action. No matter how rapidly the phantom warriors attacked, Liu blocked and turned their attacks against them.

The sounds of terrific blows and feet slapping the stone pavement were the only noises in the room, but even those were all but drowned out by the screaming of Shang’s army of enslaved souls.

Liu punched again and again, driving the ghostly fighters before him. His hands and feet were a blur of motion. Sweat poured from his body so that his black hair hung wetly from his head, but he did not tire. With each blow he delivered he seemed to grow stronger. His form and technique were flawless.

Even as he fought the ghostly warriors, Liu kept his main goal in mind. He was intent on reaching Shang Tsung. The phantoms blocked him, ringing him in, but Liu slipped by them all. Every step brought him nearer to the demon sorcerer.

Then one of the conjured warriors fell to the ground and lay still. His body began to dissolve into mist. A second fell, then a third. Liu was conquering the undead spirits Shang had sent against him.

At last Liu had defeated them all. The howling of the enslaved souls grew mute, as if they too waited to see the outcome of the match between the sorcerer and the descendant of Kung Lao. Liu stepped forward and addressed Shang Tsung.

“Send your slave warriors, sorcerer!” Liu shouted. “Send more! Send them all! Your conjurer’s tricks have no power over me.”

“Liu Kang,” Shang said, his voice heavy with portent, “I can see into your soul. You will die!”

“Face yourself,” Kitana whispered, seemingly to herself.