Chapter 40

"You're unharmed!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing herself around my neck when I met our rapid response team on the other side of the wall breached by the drill, finding ourselves outside the outer wall. Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and I had to work hard to prevent the Earth Kingdom benders from creating obstacles in the wall for the passage of tanks and a small number of Fire Nation soldiers who would hold positions until the arrival of the full army ready to land. However, our quartet faced the first wave of benders and soldiers. More precisely, a trio, as I had glided directly into battle later and there began to have fun with everyone. I acted in battle, as I had to admit later, too relaxedly and overconfidently, which led to two broken ribs that, however, healed within a couple of minutes. Still, I approached too close to intoxication by life force and acted recklessly.

But the positions were captured, soldiers and benders dispersed and prepared for battle, and the girls approached me, and that's when Ty Lee threw herself at me.

"Alive, whole, and healthy, just a bit tired. What are our next actions, Azula?" I asked, setting Ty Lee down on the ground.

"We need to wait for the army's arrival, prevent them from collapsing the passage or restoring it, and then continue the offensive. We need to break into the city, into its poorer districts. After that, we'll need to fortify positions and wait for the entire army, which will arrive within a few days. You need to rest, Garo. You held the entire wall sector above the drill for more than half an hour and didn't let the Earth Kingdom benders interfere with us from the wall. Now you've earned a rest. I'll tell father about this - it's a real feat."

"Thank you, Azula."

I didn't resist because Earth Kingdom bender attacks were not expected now. We had destroyed a considerable number of their benders and soldiers. Far from all, not even a quarter, no, they are many times more, but if they send them in small groups, they will only suffer losses without any effect, and if they gather them into one fist for a maximum force strike, it will take time, so we will have time to fortify this place. After all, their soldiers and benders, despite knowing about our approach, were more or less evenly scattered throughout the city and needed to gather together.

Not many Fire Nation soldiers and benders arrived with us on the drill, but they were stronger than average, and also, the Fire Lord sent Azula here. She alone, even now, not fully recovered, would scatter if not all, then a large part of all the Fire Nation benders who came with us, she is a very strong firebender. And her father sent her here as a very powerful reinforcement... or rather, are the soldiers and firebenders reinforcements for her?

For the next six hours, nothing happened, and I was able to fully recover, come to myself. Earth Kingdom benders were still absent, although I constantly listened to all my abilities to detect the enemy.

And six hours later, large squads of Fire Nation benders arrived with reinforcements of armored vehicles and riding rhinos. A total of one and a half thousand benders and four and a half thousand soldiers with the support of two hundred thirty-six tanks and four hundred rhino riders. Not the largest Fire Nation army, but more than enough to let the Earth Kingdom benders know that this time the Fire Nation intends to make Ba Sing Se fall! The rest of the army would arrive within the next four days, during which we had to break through those walls seen in the distance and enter the lower ring of the city.

Engineers conducted diagnostics of all the drill's mechanisms during these hours, paying special attention to the most vulnerable and worn parts. No damages were found, so when the arriving squads fortified the captured territory, the drill was started again and continued its movement.

The drill's speed was very and very slow, so four days for the rest of the army to arrive is not that much, actually!

"Garo, what about that friend of the Avatar? Do you really want to return her to him?" Azula asked me a couple of hours into the drill's movement.

I was sitting, or rather sprawling, in a chair specially brought for me, observing the work of all these people who organized and made this mechanical monster inevitably move forward.

I'm definitely starting to like living and relaxing in such comfort, where you don't need to worry about problems like food and comfort, sleep and work. You can rest and do what you wish!

I would say this is a direct path to degradation, weakening, and subsequent death. That's true for most sentient beings. They have no goal beyond what forces them to move to this stage. They don't live, they don't strive for anything, such people just survive...

And what about me? I couldn't care less about all this and could very well live even in a forest... although I can't deny that this is definitely better.

I came to Ba Sing Se with only one purpose. To acquire the knowledge that's here. And the accompanying comfort means fewer worries for me, which only distract me.

"Yes. If she's with him, it allows us to use her again if we have to confront the Avatar again. If not returned - we get an enraged Avatar. And that could jeopardize the entire campaign to conquer Ba Sing Se. But if we give her back, we gain more time, maybe a little, maybe they won't even dare to come here. We need to capture the entire city, completely subjugate it, be ready to suppress any spots of rebellion and uprising, if there are any..."

"Wouldn't it be better to set a trap for the Avatar and destroy him?" she asked me. "That would solve his problem once and for all."

"Yes... it would... but what if we fail to kill him with the first strike? The Avatar is a surprisingly resilient child! If he survives the first strike, it will be very bad for everyone around. We don't have the strength to fully withstand him in direct combat. Lightning is powerful, but not omnipotent.

"So we just give her back?" she asked.

"Just give her back. Unless, of course, you object or have some plan of action," I added. "Then, of course, we'll do as you say."

"No, no," Azula waved her hands and smiled, "you captured her, it's up to you to decide, Garo."

"Alright."

Fifteen minutes of fidgeting in the chair, I found the most comfortable position and remained there, feeling myself slowly falling asleep. The fatigue I had experienced had not passed without a trace, and though I had recovered all my strength, deep inside, somewhere, fatigue remained.

Azula woke me up, and even then, three and a half hours later, saying there was some urgent matter.

Exiting the cabin, we looked at the rapidly created trench of considerable depth, which appeared due to the actions of Earth Kingdom benders right in the path of the drill.

"Will this significantly hinder the drill?" Azula asked the responsible person, who, like us, stood and watched the trench being created.

"The drill won't even notice this little hole - it's too big. But for now, Princess Azula, if they make it bigger, longer, then it might become a big problem for our work. Despite everything, our drill isn't perfect and can't, for example, turn away from the trajectory of a trench. Can't move backward... there's a lot it can't do.

"So we just need to destroy the Earth Kingdom benders so they don't interfere? Am I understanding correctly? And we don't need to worry about the trench that's already been created?" I asked in response to his words.

"That's exactly right, Mr. Garo."

"If so... I'll head out right now."

"I'm with you," said Azula, to which she received my questioning look. "This isn't just any Earth Kingdom benders or warriors you've fought and successfully defeated before."

I looked closely and noticed their appearance. All wore uniforms in dark tones, visible hats covering their heads from here. It seems their hands are in some kind of gloves, though I can't say for sure from this distance.

"And who are they?" I asked Azula.

"A special unit consisting of the best Earth Kingdom benders of Ba Sing Se - the Dai Li."

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