Chapter 57

"Wouldn't now be the perfect time?" Toph argued.

"Sorry, but I think I'll be selfish and take on the first batch," I said.

What amounted to a few hundred for me was worth anywhere from a few tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand experience points for them.

I knew it was a risk.

But it was a calculated risk.

I would stick with my plan as soon as things started going south.

Because, for one simple reason.

Beneath us was my greatest weapon.

Sokka held his boomerang and turned behind him.

Katara raised her hand. Water rose from the bottle at her waist, turning into a weapon.

At the same time, an army was approaching from behind. They were still far away, and it would take them anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to arrive.

"You know, I'm pretty pissed off, so beat me to it," Toph said, stomping on the ground.

Remember, this was a mountain range.

Like the South Pole, North Pole, or ocean were weapons in the hands of a waterbender, being in a mountain range was the worst place to fight an earthbender, especially one as powerful as Toph.

A tremor shook her feet, causing a small earthquake. But it wasn't a real earthquake—Toph simply made the nearby mountain shake.

This was one of the moments I honestly admired Toph's skills.

The rocks that fell from the top of the mountain didn't fall randomly. They were calculated, targeting the tanks and the areas where most of the soldiers were.

What amazed me more was that she didn't bend the boulders. Instead, she calculated everything and manipulated small amounts of earth.

She turned around and ran up a nearby mountain wall, hitting it with her arm. Another tremor happened, and large boulders fell, blocking the path for the army coming from behind.

I had to give it to her—she was pretty smart.

"Not bad," Katara said.

"I know," Toph said. "Do you think I'm better than you?"

Katara ignored her and said, "We should help Ryuk."

I, on the other hand, stared at the dagger-like glares directed at me. More likely than not, they were filled with hatred, and they were aimed at Toph.

"Run forward. Don't give them a chance to do that again," the one who seemed to be the captain ordered.

The army started running forward, shooting fire streams at me, Katara, and Toph. I easily dodged the fire streams and blocked those aimed at me. I could simply use the water from my bottle to do so, turning a portion of it into steam to create a barrier.

The army didn't stop. The men in front unsheathed their sabers and held their spears. An arrow headed my way, and I froze a portion of water to hold it still.

Sure, steam could block fire. But could it block sharp weapons? Weapons that could be thrown?

I looked forward and saw the leader, with a few archers next to him. He had his hand raised to the sky, as if signaling his soldiers to prepare.

One of the best strategies in the world is taking your enemy's leader first, causing confusion.

And against archers, human shields were a good thing.

I pointed my hand at the soldier's leader.

His feet left the ground. A confused expression spread across his face. He tried to move his leg, but he couldn't.

"Can you believe you can fly?" I asked.

The archers, confused, fired at me.

Their leader flew faster than the arrows and blocked their path.

I threw his lifeless body at them, knocking their formation down.

Everyone stopped for a second to recognize what had happened.

"The leader flew on his own."

"That girl... She's an earthbender. She must be a metalbender…"

"But we're wearing leather armor…"

From what I could hear, the soldiers had been prepared for fighting metalbenders.

I had to give them credit.

But at the same time, I couldn't praise them.

Although they had prepared well for a small squad of metalbenders, they had forgotten that we were earthbenders first and foremost.

You know, earthbenders and mountain ranges were a recipe for disaster. Toph alone had caused them damage and blocked the path for their backup to approach. Not to mention, my plan depended on her. Beneath my feet was a large source of water I could use to create a path.

I decided to clear up the soldiers' confusion.

I ran toward them.

Seeing them standing still, my heart raced. But I kept running until I reached the archers.

They floated in the air, their blood freezing. I then slammed them into the line in front of me.

"Oh my…"

"Did he just make them float?"

"Take him down!! Focus all your firepower on him!"

The firebenders worked in sync. They took their stances before shooting a large fire stream at me.

I had prepared to counter this in advance. I pointed my hand at a nearby frozen body, using dehydration on it, turning it into a dust-like body as it fell. At the same time, a huge amount of steam rose.

And remember— the hotter the steam, the more space it occupied.

I bent the steam, concentrating it in a small area, making it absorb the fire before pushing it forward. The firebenders crossed their arms or shot fire at the steam.

You see, the power of firebenders in this world didn't just come from the heat of their fire. There was some kind of force behind their fire beams.

For example, when Azula or Zuko fought against the Avatar in the series, their firebending was strong enough to cut through crystal. Azula's fire beams were even strong enough to knock down a wall made of heavy rocks.

Anyway, I did my best to survive the fire beam. As it ended, I wasted no time cooling the steam, turning it into mist that surrounded the area.

And now, it was time for my Aqua Sense to shine. I walked confidently into the mist—the thick mist that prevented anyone from seeing clearly.

Since I couldn't see, my brain relied on the water particles in the air. As the mist contained more water than the normal humidity, my sense was stronger. I could see the soldiers, what was behind their backs, what was in front of them, and what was between them. I practically had no blind spots.

Bloodbending was strong, but it wasn't enough to take on all of them. Not to mention, while I could bend water with my mind, bloodbending required focus and wouldn't allow for multitasking.

So…

"I'm sorry," I honestly apologized while walking between them, tears falling from my eyes. I admitted that what I was going to do was a war crime. But I believed that once this was over, I could live an honest life with my friends in peace.

The soldiers started dropping one by one.

Some females seemed confused by the sound of the groans.

In fact, some of them willingly laid down and pretended to be dead.

The men didn't even pretend… but I would have done the same if I were them.

But you know what my system says?

I'm gender-neutral when it comes to XP points.

Host, go after them.

Well, it didn't say that directly, but I believed that's what it would have said if it could.

As the mist started to dissipate and soldiers from other directions approached, even Toph's rock barrier wouldn't hold. I decided to tell her to do it.

"Do it, Toph!" I screamed.

Toph nodded and slammed her hand on the ground. She then jumped and landed on Lucy's back.

Cracks spread on the ground.

From them, pressurized water erupted.

Taking a deep breath, I circled my arms above my head.

The flowing water circled around me and Lucy.

A water tornado wrapped around us, pushing us as we glided on the mountain, defying gravity.

Toph pointed at the mountain with her hands and pulled on the air. A platform made of earth extended from the mountain wall, allowing us to land safely, high off the ground.

"That was scary," Sokka commented, before turning to look at Katara, making sure she was fine.

"Yeah," Toph said. "For a second, I couldn't see what was going on, and I almost… never mind."

I believe that the moment she rode on Lucy's back, she was unable to see anything. But she managed herself well. 

"I think we've underestimated your plan, Ryuk," Toph said.

The cracks in the ground were getting bigger, and more water was overflowing.

The firebenders and regular soldiers from the Fire Nation had much bigger problems to deal with.

"Sure, they do," I said, walking to the edge of the platform and performing a bending move. "For now, let's do as much damage as we can before they figure out something."

The water carried a current before freezing a large portion of them.

I needed to minimize their numbers as much as possible before they dared to shoot fire streams at us.

[Calculating the number of soldiers host has defeated]

[Title: Warlord is being effective]

[Calculating how much damage Toph's actions have caused…]

"No need," Toph commented, walking to the edge and sitting down.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say we're not the only ones who noticed the army gathering. Someone else has taken offense to that," she said.

I turned my head.

A larger unit of soldiers, dressed in green, were walking toward us, creating earth walls to stop the water from flowing.