Roku. Island Forty-Three.
The appearance of our green hot air balloons unmistakably signaled which forces had joined the battle. With the news brought by Wan, we had to urgently change plans. So, seven balloons now flew to Waterfall Island to assist the Order, while only three air transports remained with . Originally, the plan was to drop bombs and leave, but due to the spirits' interference, it's better to finish this quickly so Ozai's forces can help in the main battle.
"Tell one of them to attack the shoreline where the trebuchets are concentrated!" I shouted over the strong wind. "The second one drops a little gift on that battleship!" I pointed at the largest ship, which was now ramming cruisers and frigates without hindrance. "Ours will head to the main Temple of the Sages!"
Due to the slight bad weather, our arrival was delayed a bit. Ideally, we should have dropped the explosives before the battle began, but plans rarely go as intended.
"Don't change course! I'll hold the defense!" I told the others, starting to manipulate pre-prepared stone plates, which beca a ans to counter the arrows flying at us. "Damn! Where's this range coming from?!"
Apparently, soone on Ozai's side realized we were targeting their enemies, as they began drawing attention to themselves with doubled intensity.
Soon, large wooden crates were dropped from the balloons, containing a more advanced explosive substance—the sa one that once collapsed part of Ba Sing Se's upper ring.
The next mont, the air was shaken by a series of powerful explosions. At the epicenter, flas still raged, preventing us from seeing the aftermath. Even our balloons were thrown off course, forcing us to quickly adjust our flight.
"What did they pack in there?!" a stunned crew mber asked loudly. More than one person's ears were ringing, and more than one was in shock.
Soon it beca clear that more than half of the battleship's hull was severely deford; its sinking was only a matter of ti. Onshore, a massive crater had ford, surrounded by broken trebuchets and ballistae. Of the Temple of the Sages, a multi-tiered pagoda, only the first floor remained.
"Return to base!" I shouted, already climbing over the railings, ready to jump down.
"No, the waves are still too short, we need to wait..." I decided to make my descent more useful. Why not add an earth impulse to the impact of landing? The island seems big enough; it shouldn't break... probably. "There it is!" I felt a particularly strong wave.
A quick free fall, and my body hit the ground. Within a radius of a hundred ters, the earth cracked open with huge fissures. The remains of the once-majestic Temple, where I landed, were completely destroyed. The dropped bombs had already taken many lives, including those of the Sages. I finished off the already wounded, leaving them no chance to use Vat energy for regeneration.
"Earthbender here!" Through the dust and smoke, the muffled cries of the Sages' people were audible.
"He's at the Temple! We need reinforcents!"
"You don't need to co; I'll co find you myself!" I added my two cents. Despite the situation, I felt great. It was high ti to test new techniques in practice; after all, sparring isn't the sa—it's too dangerous to use full strength there.
"He's here!" a firebender rushed at . Before he could even create fire, his pierced body was lifted high into the air, supported by a sharp stone pike.
The soldiers who followed him were crushed by their own armor. Ordinary warriors suddenly beca victims of their own cold weapons. talbending left no chance for them to resist .
"Let's try that technique," I said. The next mont, my armor, gifted by Bumi, turned a bloody color, and a strong tallic sll hit my nose. "Understood, better not use this move again," I concluded, seeing the consequences of controlling earth particles—that is, tals in a human body. I'd tested the technique on rats before, but it wasn't as bloody—they just died quietly and peacefully.
"The King of Omashu, in person!" Finally, they recognized ! But why such a ferocious face? It feels like I'm to bla for all your problems. "Soon we'll reach the Earth Kingdom too!" the Sage threatened ominously. Confident, aren't they?
"Use talbending or lava?" I wondered as the Sage continued ranting. "Better use both!" I decided, starting to listen to the Sage's chatter. Most likely, he's a junior rank, talking beautifully and at length—aning his brain isn't yet "marinated" in Vat energy.
"Your death will allow to join the Senior Sages! You..."
Without letting him finish, I split the earth beneath his feet, from which lava imdiately flowed. While he was busy saving his legs, a thick tal needle pierced through his head.
"Ugh..." he choked on his own blood. At the last mont, he managed to look at with strong resentnt, probably wanting to listen to him until the end. Sorry, but your friends rushing here probably won't be as communicative.
A minute later, there was no ti for jokes. Ground forces began to quickly converge on . The last direct clash with the Sages happened when Wan visited Piandao. Since then, I've beco much stronger. Plus, it turns out that fighting with earthbending is much easier. The Sages' powerful fire attacks lost their advantage when thick stone plates blocked their path.
Though the Sages, pumped full of dark energy, had improved physical traits, they still lacked the reaction speed to track the flight of my thin tal needles, which pierced their heads in the blink of an eye.
"Attack without pause!" Another order had no effect. Going underground, I reappeared in a new spot, starting another round of our ga.
After a while, I noticed the pressure easing. Ozai's forces had won the sea battle and began landing ashore, drawing so of the enemy forces to themselves.
"Seems like that's it," I said with a sigh, descending to the ground. The remnants could easily be finished off by others.
"W-who are you?!" A bender from the friendly side approached . His voice, like the fire in his hand, trembled noticeably, revealing his nervousness. After all, many had seen my terrifying abilities.
"The King of Omashu," I pointed to my armor, where the emblem of the city-state was partially worn off. Overall, there were many new cracks and chips. "Better hurry to the Crescent Island; it's much hotter there now."
"Kenzo, where are you, spirits take you?! A dragon hawk arrived; we're ordered to hurry to the Main Temple!" My interlocutor was distracted by a new voice. While they were busy, I decided to leave quickly. I don't want to waste their precious ti with explanations.
With a small pop, my body rged with Yuki, whose ship was already near Wan. I can't show my full potential in this battle anyway; I've spent all my energy. The best option now is to restore my strength.
*
Wan. Crescent Island.
The battlefield had turned into complete chaos. Apparently, the spirits summoned by the Sages weren't fully under their control, as so attacked everyone indiscriminately.
Poor Little Fire beca the target of nurous dark water spirits, whose numbers gave him no respite. The soldiers of the Fire Nation's army, hardened in human wars, were unprepared for battle with spirits. Sorrowful cries of dying soldiers echoed constantly. Battles took place at sea, on ships, and in the air. The flickering of colorful and diverse dark spirits simply didn't allow for any regrouping. Most likely, this was exactly what the Sages wanted.
The situation wasn't exactly dire. The passage in the sky had long disappeared, and about half the number of spirits that entered would be roughly equal to our troops, but it's already clear that without reinforcents, our victory will be Pyrrhic.
Dodging another fireball, I pushed off a ship, keeping myself airborne by shooting roaring white flas from my feet. Not the ti or place to hold back.
"And you too..." I hadn't even rejoiced at my ability to attack them from the air when a group of eight Sages followed , showing good flying skills. The battle intensified again, the pace seemingly growing with each passing minute. It seed my persona was particularly popular... The number of my opponents grew too quickly, and soon I was surrounded by twenty Sages flying in a way that trapped in the center of a sphere.
The second most popular target was Ozai. He wasn't having an easy ti either, but he seed to be managing so far. Watching him closely, I realized his life fla was artificially inflated, increasing his fire's power to what locals would call "a hundred suns"—in simpler terms, very strong.
"So secret technique?" Essentially, he has nothing left to lose, so why not trade years of his life for extraordinary power? The fired-up Ozai soon found himself in the air too, reaching parity with the attackers.
No matter how hard I tried to break out of the sphere, they imdiately followed . I had to dodge alternating attacks of lightning, streams of fire, fireballs, and other assaults that brought nothing good.
"This is going to hurt!" They finally caught ... Half my body was caught in a stream of black fla. Unable to hold back a cry, I felt foreign, heavy energy trying to displace mine, slowly reaching its source. My thoughts beca muddled, making it hard to act rationally. Enduring intense pain, I shoved my unhard hand into a hidden pocket. Feeling a couple of solid objects, I squeezed one of them with all my might.
In that instant, my entire body was washed over by life energy from one hundred and fifty of my sources. At any other mont, such an influx wouldn't have gone unnoticed, but this torrent of energy was focused on the infection taking over my body. Soon, dark smoke erged from my body, marking my continued participation in the battle.
"That was the biggest crystal..." Why that one?! Stop cursing my luck, I focused on the fight. Only recently had Wan Shi Tong discovered another property of life energy. Experints revealed its "repelling" property also works against Vat energy, but an enormous amount is needed for success. In a battle with Vat, one would need the life energy of the entire world, which is, of course, impossible.
But here and now, I can fight, and I proved it in practice. First, the Sages' fire contains only a tiny percentage of true Vat energy. Second, dark energy doesn't mix well with other elents, causing their fire to lose more of its potential.
"Five crystals left," I thought. Yo, I'm calling you! With airbending, I can subtly assist myself. Especially since who has ti to look around now?
*
Waterfall Island.
The loud and highly explosive gift delivered by the Earth Kingdom's air forces greatly inspired the mixed troops.
"Don't shoot at the sea creatures! They're allies!" Piandao shouted loudly, seeing beautiful creatures enter the battle. From the first second, their bombardnts began causing serious damage. Water and ice attacks destroyed ship cannons, and with their bodies, they twisted cruisers, either flipping them or dragging them underwater.
"Looks like Airow's having fun," the great swordsman smirked, watching the Dragon of the West prove why he bore the title of one of the century's strongest benders.
"Launch ashore!" he shouted, sitting on a projectile nest. Without a word, his body was launched toward the shore, where Piandao landed safely. Such a maneuver wouldn't have gone without negative consequences had he not used life energy.
"Five strikes," he muttered before disappearing from his previous spot, only to reappear ten ters ahead. Behind him were five frozen warriors, from whose bodies blood soon gushed out.
His understanding of life energy hadn't stagnated. Through long and arduous training, he'd managed to improve his techniques. Every swing of his sword left no one alive. Only the Sages could stop his series of swift kills.
"Finally, soone more interesting," his aged face remained calm. "Co on," he gestured invitingly, assuming a stance.
At this hotspot, the situation was most favorable. The seven air balloons played a decisive role, as their bombs inflicted heavy and irreparable damage on the enemy.
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