Chapter 16

Omashu.

[Kizer POV]

After Huan had left, I asked one of my elite units to tell me where the battle between the rebel army and the forces of the Earth Kingdom had happened. One pointed at the map, which was the location of Yozi, a minor city at the northernmost part of the western Earth Kingdom. It seemed that the supply route that was taken back by the Earth Kingdom forces was really important, since that's one out of two routes where supplies and reinforcements connect to the western part. If the rebel army had kept those two, then there would be no way the Earth Kingdom could supply the Frontline in the west, thus basically giving the Fire Nation a massive stronghold which could potentially accelerate the invasion. Because there are only two main reasons why the Fire Nation was having a hard time invading the Earth Kingdom fully. The first one was because of a lack of manpower compared to what the Earth Kingdom could send, they've also sent parts of their whole army to the Water Tribes and to small islands around the Air Kingdom and Earth Kingdom, so they spread their whole army very thin. They're investing their army more and more into the invasion of the Earth Kingdom, but it's still not enough since they have a very low population compared to the Earth Kingdom.

The second and final reason is that they're not connected to this land and have to travel their war resources and soldiers by ships, so they can only send the bare minimum. Even though they have a very strong military and the most advanced military vehicles and equipment, it's still not enough to cover the Earth Kingdom landmass, which is the biggest in this world.

They're basically fighting against a nation that had many advantages against them.

I smiled as I jumped on top of a purely rock made long pillar. I had other means of traveling, like flying using my earth bending, but I preferred to use something different and faster so I could arrive at the location quickly. After that, I lifted the pillar, making it float and shoot it to the sky while specifically targeting the direction I wanted. The wind resistance from the top could easily squash a normal person into an unrecognizable state, but the only effect it had on me was burying my feet in the ground a little. These are the benefits of being a immortal, my body is basically the toughest material in this world.

My pillar mount punched through the clouds, creating a hole in it, then I gradually slowed my pillar mount, turned it diagonally, and placed myself on top of it again, but I intentionally buried my feet on it since I know I will be thrown off once I fly this in a horizontal line. When I used my earth bending again to instantly accelerate the pillar, it shot towards the direction I wanted with an unimaginable speed that might even put a bullet fired from a gun to shame. I couldn't help but laugh in amusement.

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Supply Route, Yozi.

[General Dali POV]

I looked around the tents that were set up all over the mountains, workers who had arrived not long ago and had started building watchtowers and walls all over this location. My task here was not only to repel the rebel army, but also to start building our stronghold here so that the rebel army would have a hard time taking it again or would not even be able to take it back. The earthbenders, with the help of my soldiers, had also started filling up the mountain route with earth. We've learned from our mistakes, so I wouldn't let the rebel army or anyone use the height of the mountains to ambush us from below, so I ordered the creation of a massive mountain tunnel that would connect us to the other side without the risk of any ambush from above. There are many potential threats, such as the rebel army ambushing us inside, but that's what I prefer since we can fight them eye to eye. I also ordered the workers to solidify the tunnel around it, which would give anyone who wanted to go through it a hard time. If only I could cover it with metal, then I could eliminate many more potential risks and threats.

Suddenly, I realized something. I sensed thousands of micro rocks inside of metals, whether I came to touch them, they were all very small, but they were still rocks, so with my strong earth bending, I could at least probably move them and even bend them. Well, I will certainly have to try it once I come back to Ba Sing Se, and if it really works, it could revolutionize the whole Earth Kingdom and help us stop the invasion by the Fire Nation entirely. But as I was thinking about the potential use and application of metal bending, something crashed behind me, causing a loud explosion and a strong tremor. I slowly turned, and there I saw the devastation that the massive pillar had done to my people. Tens of my soldiers were probably underneath that pillar, with their bodies squashed to no end. The dust is still not settled, but I sense many of my soldiers are lying on the ground, probably dead or seriously injured. All of my soldiers were still in shock, so I immediately used my earth bending to remove the thick dust surrounding the pillar, causing most of my soldiers to come back to reality.

"So, you're the one that managed to defeat the rebel army?" the person on top of the pillar said while smoking the ling golden pipe he held.

He was wearing a golden coat and white pants, but what was surprising was that he had black eyes with white pupils. He was directly looking down at me with those eyes, as if he thought of me as something no less than ants. I didn't even feel angry or humiliated by that gaze, it just felt natural to accept it. However, there's no time to think about anything right now but to fight him. I feel that if we don't defeat the man in front of us right now, then there's no chance we will all come out of this alive.

"Everyone! Attack!" I shouted while using my earth bending to fly toward the man on top of the pillar.

Hearing my desperate cries, all of my soldiers did the same, bending to reach the top of the pillar. However, the man didn't look intimidated by this at all, as he just smirked and raised his hands. Suddenly, thousands of rocks floated into the air, and when the man rotated his palm, those rocks started moving in a circular direction around his pillar as the center, at lightning speed, creating holes in my soldiers bodies. Then I felt something below my torso, and there I saw one of my legs fall off, probably after being hit by one of the orbs, then, slowly, more holes were being made in my body—from my legs and onto my torso. It looks like I will not make it today.

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