Chapter 61 Rockslide

Earth Kingdom

Southwest Of Omashu

Kolau …

Somewhere within the arid mountain range, a caravan stretched across the rugged terrain. The harsh sunlight beat down on the rocky paths, casting long shadows as it slowly wound its way through the narrow passes. The air was thick with the scent of dust and dry earth, and the only sounds were the rhythmic footsteps of the bearers and the occasional honks of the Ostrich horses at the front.

The Grand Advisor's escort team consisted of Ten elite Earthbenders (Core Escort Team), serving as close bodyguards to Wen Jihao's carriage. Twenty perimeter guards (Standard troops) forming an outside perimeter around them, six ostrich horse riders, leading and controlling the carriages and five scouts serving as Pathfinders.

In the Center Carriage, The Grand Advisor Wen Jihao sat in a palanquin that rocked gently with the motion of the bearers' steps.

It had been hours since their departure from Omashu. The oppressive heat of the midday sun bore down on the caravan as it snaked its way through the winding valley roads south of Omashu. Surrounding him on the other caravans was a contingent of Omashu's guards.

The Grand Advisor held high status, so a bodyguard group outside the city walls was mandatory.

Of course, if danger struck, it was unsure who would be protecting who. However, Wen knew that most of these men held no true loyalty to him whatsoever.

At this thought, a frown emerged.

A shame to say, but years of scheming under Bumi's nose had gotten him nowhere of great significance. The gains obtained were less than a tenth of what he could already command with his original status.

On his own, he stood no chance of ousting Bumi from the throne and obtaining Omashu for himself.

The mere thought was infuriating. Bumi's prestige was too great. So much so that even the slightest reveal of his hidden ambitions to Omashu's general populace would end with him hung on the gallows.

This was no exaggeration. In his prime, the looney king had fought off a Fire Nation army right at the front lines. The horrific display of Earthbending awed the hearts of thousands of Earth Kingdom soldiers and terrified the Fire Nation army to retreat with heavy losses all those years ago.

Of course that was then. In Wen's opinion, the landscape was heavily in Bumi's favor.

The Fire Nation similarly didn't have access to the advanced war machines currently at their disposal thirty or more years ago.

Nevertheless, the results couldn't be changed. The tales of that day had spread throughout all of Omashu's citizens.

It was even adapted into a book for children.

THE VALIANT TALES OF THE KING OF OMASHU

In a time when war was raging across the lands, and the Fire Nation had become boogeymen for little ones, anything that could inspire hope would become an instant hit.

He knew this well. After all, he had once had similar feelings. Of worship, adoration, and admiration …. Yuek!

For a moment, the middle-aged man wanted to puke, but the point was clear enough. The old king was Omashu's spiritual leader.

Without him, the city would have fallen years ago. It was incredibly difficult converting soldiers from Omashu's garrison into his personal pocket.

So only most of these men worked for him. The others were Bumi's eyes.

'… Isolating me from the city. Implanting guards to watch my every move ….'. 

Wen's eyebrows furrowed. Many years of experience in an influential position led him to roughly guess what Bumi was up to.

'It seems that his level of suspicion is much higher than I thought. I'm afraid he knows something'.

Inside the shaded confines of the palanquin, Jihao leaned back, his fingers tracing absent circles on the lacquered wood of his armrest. His second-in-command, a wiry man named Ren Zhu, rode beside him on horseback. Ren was the only man Jihao trusted—trusted to know the truth, and trusted to carry out what was necessary when the time came.

Jihao broke the silence first.

"... We are being monitored. For now, it is best to lay silent to avoid further unnecessary complications".

Hearing his words, Ren hesitated. "Do you believe King Bumi suspects us, Advisor? His orders came swiftly, almost too conveniently."

Jihao waved his hand dismissively. "Bumi is a lunatic, Ren, but he's no fool. I don't doubt he has his suspicions—he wouldn't be the King of Omashu otherwise. But his paranoia is a double-edged sword. So long as we play the loyal servants, he won't act against us without evidence. And soon enough…" Jihao's lips curled into a sly smile. "Soon enough, Omashu will no longer be his to rule."

Ren furrowed his brow. "And if he finds proof before then?"

"He won't," Jihao said nonchalantly.

He knew that arranging Huo's death was the last straw this old camel could accommodate. One more, and everything would come crashing down.

Wen Jihao had watched Omashu since the day he was old enough to understand responsibility.

In his eyes, the city was no more than a dying beast, its days numbered.

All he had to do was wait for the Fire Nation to close its jaws around the city.

"Until then, I'll follow Bumi's orders to the letter. Let him think he holds the leash, while we prepare for the inevitable. That's why we're out here, after all—to fulfill our 'noble duty' while securing our future."

"Have the messengers reached the rendezvous?" His voice was calm, almost disinterested, but Ren knew better than to mistake it for indifference.

"Yes, Advisor," Ren replied.

"Good. Once we reach our destination, you will have the chance to deliver the scroll. I'm sure our contacts in the Fire Nation will be eager to hear of the city's plight."

Ren grunted but said nothing.

The road to reach Haican from Omashu was a long journey. In these times, hundreds of miles couldn't be transversed in a day unless you could fly.

In all his years of serving, this would be Wen Jihao's first visit to the Haican Stronghold and a minimal estimate of a week was required before they would leave the mountains and reach their destination.

Unknown to them, however, someone wasn't planning to wait that long.

Kolau was surrounded by numerous hills and a chain of mountains.

'… There you are ….'.

Honk!

The honking of the ostrich horse he sat on served little disturbance as he observed the Grand Advisor's caravan from several miles away, on an elevated hill.

Even with his eyesight, all he could make out was a black dot. Wen Jihao left Omashu a few hours into the day. Luca left at dawn.

With Bumi leaking his whereabouts, Luca didn't have to worry about Wen Jihao choosing another path. So he went several miles ahead in advance and waited on the path to Haican.

In his opinion, this distance was far enough. He just came from that direction, and he certainly wasn't going all the way back to Haican

'… It'll be dark by the time they arrive'.

He thought, estimating the distance. All that was left now was to wait.

Time elapsed. Soon sunset was upon the land.

Up ahead was a narrow mountain pass with high walls on both sides. Luca perched high on the side of the mountain, chi attached to the soles of his feet as he watched the Earth Kingdom soldiers file in.

They were the Pathfinders of the caravan. Examining the road in front to make sure the main escort didn't fall into traps and ambushes.

In better words, they were scouts. In other words, they were canon fodder first to die in case there truly was an ambush up ahead.

Luca watched all this calmly. In his right hand, a ball of swirling life force rotating chaotically at high speeds.

'… Almost … and'. Finally, his eyes narrowed. 'Now …'.

Raising his arm, the spinning ball was moved upward before being rushing down at a faster pace. Slamming right into the rocky ledge he stood on.

A wide area instantly shattered upon impact. The collision shook the mountain as cracks spread rapidly in the blink of an eye.

"… The Fire Nation must believe this will be an easy victory. One that comes without too much …".

Bang! The loud explosion fell into their ears.

Jihao froze, his eyes narrowing.

"What was ...".

"Rock slide!" The Grand Advisor's thoughts were interrupted by the roar of the Coachman. The guards were instantly alarmed.

In the view of the riders, a part of the Mountain cracked apart and fell down into the pass. In their situation, it shouldn't matter, as the Main escort group was nearly two hundred meters away from the mountain pass.

However ….

The scouts who had entered into the mountain pass were immediately alarmed.

They raised their heads only to have themselves enveloped in a massive shadow as rocks plummeted towards them.

A crashing noise resounded throughout Kolau.

Meanwhile ….

Thud!

It happened then. In the far distance, a giant furry paw slammed against the earth with great force.

What came into view was a large, star-nosed mole-like mammal that had no eyes and a muscular snout that ends in a collection of small, pink, fleshy tendrils surrounding the nostrils.

A Shirshu.

The animal sniffed the air vigorously, its gaze locking into the direction from which the sound came from.

"... He's close". A feminine voice came from on top of the tracking animal. The rider was a female with black hair, light skin and gray eyes.

June looked in the direction of the rock slide, a glimmer of light emerging in those pupils. "Atta girl. That's our bounty".

She did nothing to restrain the smirk tugging at her lips as she flicked the reins.

"Hyah."

The Shirshu rushed forward at rapid speeds. It's target, the Unsuspecting Luca.

Meanwhile,