Chapter 45: Disappointment (2)

“Of course, we’ll let them go, Avatar,” Azula replied to Aang, spreading her arms as if to ask how it could be otherwise. But the Princess had a rather wicked smile on her face, which clearly made the Master of All Elements doubt the sincerity of her words. I don’t know if Azula was deliberately teasing him, but in any case, the negotiation would have been better conducted in a more neutral manner, without gloating. “Once you stand before the Fire Lord in a sarcophagus for transporting especially dangerous benders, additionally constrained by a dozen chains.”

The Avatar looked once more at the girl in my hands, then at the boy lying on the ground. Tilting his head, he held out his hands:

“Fine. I hope you keep your word.”

Hmm, so these people mean a lot to the Avatar… Azula had no intention of letting them go even before, once she realized they were the Master of All Elements’ weakness. Now… I think they'll never see the sunlight again. They'll be imprisoned and become a deterrent for Aang. How foolish, for an immortal to have such a powerful attachment. Or are they the Avatar's true strength? The reason he is spiritually alive? No, with their deaths, he will know pain. It shouldn't work that way! It shouldn't!

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the movement of something green. It wasn't plants or leaves ripped by the wind. The clothing itself was green. The inhabitants of Kyoshi wore blue garments, as if trying to show, even in small details, that they had nothing to do with the Earth Kingdom. Everyone wore blue, except for one group…

“One more step from any of you, and the people of this island will start dropping like flies,” I declared loudly. Many stared at me in incomprehension. A spark of realization was only found among the local residents. “We have been stealthily surrounded by the Kyoshi Warriors.”

A girl in green attire and armor, somewhat resembling that worn by Samurai, rose up in the middle of the tall grass. The katana hanging from her belt added to the resemblance. In her hand, she nervously clutched a fan. In the past, the Avatar supposedly used fans for finer control of bending. It was difficult to discern anything other than nervousness on the girl’s, or rather woman's, face. She was wearing what I presumed to be war paint. It was usually applied to intimidate the enemy, but now, for some reason, the practically whitewashed face of the girl made me laugh. If she removed the scarlet lipstick and matching eyeliner, it might look at least slightly intimidating, but now… One of our soldiers even whistled when he saw the other Kyoshi Warriors stand up after their leader.

I couldn't help but notice that, after my words, some of the Fire Nation fighters grabbed the villagers who were watching the scene, pointed weapons at them, or ignited flames in their hands, implicitly suggesting what would happen if anyone moved. Well done. Resourceful. I'll have to reward them somehow…

Immediately after, the local residents realized that they could very easily be harmed if they continued to stare blankly at what was happening. They intended to leave, but my voice stopped them. The most uncomprehending ones were caught by the soldiers. They should have left much earlier, before the island's defenders appeared. But curiosity prevented that.

Now, hostages were caught between the group of Kyoshi soldiers and ours. The girls themselves didn't try anything. They seemed genuinely worried about the island's population. Tension was building.

The one who had been the first to stand spoke. She seemed to be the leader.

“Kyoshi Island is neutral territory! You do not have the right…” The squad leader was interrupted by Princess Azula.

“Think what you like. You weren’t captured earlier only because your pathetic little island was of no interest to anyone. You might have remained ‘neutral territory’ if you hadn’t sheltered the Avatar.”

The girls, who were exchanging not-so-warm glances, clearly wanted to fight for the title of the sharpest wit. Especially Princess Azula, who was emboldened by the prospect of such an easy capture of the Avatar, which meant recognition from Ozai and the right to control her own destiny. But they were simply not allowed to continue the dialogue…

From the direction of the port, numerous shouts from ordinary people were heard. Soon, those who had managed to escape the center of the settlement, where we were located, ran back, practically kicking up dust. Meanwhile, my ear caught an escalating rumble, like the stomping of an elephant. It seemed vaguely familiar to me. That exact sound was made by…

“Fire Nation soldiers on Komodo Rhinos!” a local resident shouted across the village as he ran toward us.

In the next moment, Prince Zuko himself appeared from around the corner on a Komodo Rhino. The expression on his face made it clear he was enraged, practically blazing with his own anger.

“Azula! The Avatar is mine!”

Immediately after that shout, an entire squad of warriors on Komodo Rhino and infantry running behind them appeared behind the Prince. No one in this crowd intended to stop. The Komodo Rhinos charged directly at us.

I kicked the Avatar’s friend away from me and jumped aside myself to avoid being trampled. Many of the soldiers who came with Azula didn’t understand what was happening. Suddenly, instead of a fight with the defenders of Kyoshi Island, a battle broke out with their own comrades.

“Azula, you won’t stop me from restoring my honor and my father’s favor!”

Jumping off his Komodo Rhino, Prince Zuko instantly launched a stream of flame at his younger sister. Even she hadn't expected an attack without any hesitation. Therefore, the blow was deflected at the very last second. Surprise turned to fury.

“Zuko, what are you doing? We’re on the same side!” the Princess shouted, launching fireballs.

“If that were true, you would have let me capture the Avatar instead of trying to do it yourself!” Zuko fought much more fiercely, but Azula still dominated their duel.

Distracted by the squabble between the two members of the royal bloodline, I almost missed the Avatar’s friend launching a water sphere at me with her bending. I easily stepped aside to avoid it. My hand was already pulled back for a counterattack when I felt a hard impact between my shoulder blades and collapsed to the ground.

“That’ll teach you to hurt my sist—…” The guy with the boomerang didn't finish his sentence before I swept him off his feet with a trip and landed a new blow to his face, knocking him out again.

I immediately had to jump away from him. The Kyoshi Warriors were not standing idle but were actively participating in the battle. Moreover, they were trained at such a level that they could cause trouble for many of our benders and soldiers. I wouldn't be surprised if a duo of Kyoshi Warriors had previously managed to deal with the lieutenant's group on their own.

Fending off four girls at once, I only had time to shout that our soldiers must not let the Avatar's friends escape. From the powerful gusts of wind, I understood that the Master of All Elements had also not missed his chance to break through to his comrades in the general confusion.

“That’s enough!” I roared practically in the face of the girl pressing me with a katana, catching her weapon between my palms. Before the girl could be surprised by my risky maneuver, she quickly released the rapidly heated sword.

Seizing it, I immediately performed a swift lunge that shattered the flimsy defense of two fans held by another Kyoshi Warrior, after which the katana’s tip entered her shoulder. Without hesitation, I punched the hilt, and the katana ran the girl through. She immediately fell to the ground with a cry of pain. I dodged two swords, demonstrating feats of flexibility. I leaped up, and while spinning in the air, I unleashed fire in all directions. I engulfed the three girls who were clearly eager to avenge their wounded comrade. I landed back on the same leg I pushed off with. I fiercely kicked the only Kyoshi Warrior who was trying to get up right in the face.

I heard the whistle of air. I spun around and caught the boomerang that was flying toward my back. I saw the satisfied smile of the boy, whose face was covered in blood.

“You're a tough one,” I noted, preparing to throw the boomerang back.

“Yeah. And I'm not alone,” the boy's smile became even more pleased.

I felt another blow to my back. But this time it was much stronger, so much so that it didn't just knock me down, it literally forced me to do a front flip with a hard landing on the ground.

“Know the strength of the South!” the Avatar’s friend delivered a familiar heel strike. My vision blurred, and I tasted blood in my mouth. The boomerang was forcefully ripped from my hands.

After a few seconds, I got back on my feet to see the Avatar and his friends trying to flee the battleground. I spat out blood and concentrated. The Firebenders froze for a moment, sensing the application of something monumental. Fire eight meters high erupted around the combatants. The Avatar and his friends hastily stopped to avoid running straight into the ring of flame. He tried to blow away my technique with streams of air, but nothing happened. The magic of the Avatar’s friend also failed to extinguish the fire.

Azula, who loomed over her beaten brother, quickly began looking around, trying to figure out who used such a large-scale technique and for what purpose. Seeing that it was I who stood there maintaining the ring of fire, she began to look around even faster until she finally saw the Avatar and his friends trying to overcome the unexpected obstacle.

Azula, breaking through Prince Zuko’s soldiers and the Kyoshi Warriors, headed toward the Avatar’s group. They noticed this and began preparing for the upcoming battle… It was at this moment that one of the Prince’s soldiers attacked me and nearly interrupted the technique. I managed to take him out of the fight with a knee strike to the groin. But the attempts to stop me from maintaining the ring of flame didn’t cease. A powerful Firebender began working from behind the wall of flame, trying to make a hole in it. And specifically in the place where the Avatar was located.

The confrontation with this bender began to consume a lot of energy. My chi felt noticeably depleted with every passing moment. And at this time, two more Kyoshi Warriors lunged at me. Finally, just to avoid dying from their katanas, I let go of the wall of fire. Fending them off, I noticed the Avatar and his group knocking down and literally stepping over General Iroh, who seemed to have been the one trying to break through. A bolt of lightning from the displeased Princess flew toward the backs of the fugitives…