Chapter 12

The air was thick with anticipation as the 11th Regiment readied for battle. It was rather amusing having Mozi stop and remind Xing that he was a colonel now, and had no reason to join the scouts. That left the boy fidgeting anxiously in the command tent and muttering to himself as he stared at the map.

Ren couldn't blame him for the nerves. It will be Xing's first time truly leading the regiment after all. And there's also a watching princess to impress.

"Relax, Xing, we've done this before," Ren said, though it only earned a drawn out sigh from the colonel.

"We've got new people with us. Untested."

"They'll do their jobs, that's what we've been training them up for, right?"

Xing gave a reluctant nod, and then stared at the map once more. "Here's to hoping the new lieutenants and sergeants don't mess up," he thought aloud.

Ren rolled her eyes as she walked over to give him a comforting hug from behind. "Relax. We'll make sure to keep a tight leash on them. We've done so before when we were learning your ideas, remember?"

"But-"

Ren dug her chin on Xing's head to interrupt him. He shifted, but she held him tight enough that he couldn't escape. "No. You're worrying too much again. We're soldiers. We know what we've signed up for. You've led us before, this time shouldn't be any different other than us actually having to call you 'sir'. And I know at least that you're not going to send us to our deaths."

She felt his body expand and contract in one big exhale. "You're right… I'm sorry, Ren."

Ren let out a soft giggle at how adorable her little brother sounded. "It's alright. Can't have my colonel's judgment so clouded that you start planning for failure, right?"

"I understand… Now, could you let go of me?"

"No. I wa-"

"Xing, the se-" Damned Kai had to enter just at that moment, and after quickly recovering from the surprise, he scowled at her. "Ren, let go of the colonel."

"I'm just reassuring our Xing here," she non-answered.

"I'm fine now, Ren," Xing spoke up. "You can stop reassuring me."

With a sigh and a pout, Ren released her little brother and stuck her tongue out at Kai for ruining the comfy moment.

Xing straightened his clothes and caught Kai's attention before the captains could devolve into bickering. "What were you saying, Kai?"

"Oh, right. The sentries on the north spotted some Earth Kingdom scouts. Mozi has sent a team to try catching them, but there's a good chance they'll escape."

Ren's face screwed up into a grimace. There went the advantage of surprise.

Xing simply nodded and glanced back to the map. "Whether we get them or not, we'll start moving out once the team and rest of the scouts return."

"Night march?" Kai asked.

Xing nodded and pointed at the map. "To reposition, yeah. Regardless of where they're going, there's going to be a forest in their way. Might as well intercept them with the woods behind our backs."

Mozi, led the other captains and lieutenants in, along with an intrigued Princess Azula. This would be her first time sitting in on a proper planning session, after all.

The lieutenant colonel was the one to bring the meeting into order. Immediately the casual air hanging about was discarded, and the officers settled into a comfortable tension. "Colonel. No signs of flares, so our scouts should be returning by the evening as estimated."

The princess tilted her head in a quizzical fashion. "Flares?"

"In case our teams are severely compromised, or something requires the regiment to immediately move, the firebending scouts are supposed to release a bolt of fire in the air," Mozi helpfully explained without missing a beat. "Failing which, the non-benders would have a portable firework launcher to serve the same purpose."

"And the hunting party?" Xing asked, refocusing the meeting.

Ping shook her head. "No news, but given how much of a lead the Earth Kingdom scouts had, it's safe to assume that our teams will return empty handed." Some sighs filled the tent, but nobody was too dejected about it. Ren much preferred the fights to be fully on the regiment's terms, but issues like this were expected.

Xing squinted at the map before them, and Ren could almost hear the gears cranking in his head. "The initial report, it estimates what, six thousand?"

"About there," Mozi confirmed with a nod. "Two noticeably different banners, so at least two separate forces combined."

"There's been no news of new Earth Kingdom strategies and tactics?"

"Not since Zilang, colonel."

The colonel hummed thoughtfully. "We're just over fifteen hundred, not including support staff…" He continued to stare at the map for a moment, and then broke into a familiar grin. "I say it's close enough to a fair fight. They could use a thousand more to even things out, but what can we do, right?"

Ren and the others chuckled along, while the princess and the newer lieutenants looked a bit confused. "Fair, sir?" Lieutenant Toshi (quite cute, just too…rural for Ren's tastes) politely asked.

"Oh, don't worry," Kai answered with a dashing grin. "We've had worse odds before."

Xing nodded firmly. "Remember your training and briefings. This regiment built its reputation by beating back larger forces in worse conditions. Just do as you're ordered, and at worst, we'll only have to carry out an organized withdrawal."

Toshi and his greener colleagues were far from persuaded, but they wisely kept their silence for now. Until the scouts returned with more detailed information, any protest would be pointless. Ren noticed Princess Azula simply watching in silence with a small smirk tugging at her lips.

The regiment briskly decamped, and by the time the hunting team returned with no success and the scouts brought back valuable intelligence, the 11th began to move northwards for the night. Xing and the captains huddled in a makeshift command cart, picking out the details, while lieutenants rode alongside and tried their best to listen in while providing illumination with their firebending.

"Almost seven thousand strong," Kai commented on the updated numbers.

Ren didn't hide her excited grin as the lead scout gave more information. "Mostly levies - at most two-thirds - around a core of actual soldiers, no cavalry. Levies led the way, as usual. The foot soldiers were marching around the commanders. Banners say two generals are leading, with a few lesser commanders. Maybe two, three colonels, judging from the different house guard armors. Their earthbender squads were spread out throughout the ranks as usual."

Mozi hummed before he asked the important question. "Did they notice you?"

The scout shook his head. "If they did, they made a good show about ignoring us. Their perimeter security was lacking, as usual. Still haven't updated their doctrine it seems. I've got a team shadowing them in the meantime."

Dark chuckles broke out at the Earth Kingdom's incompetence. How many years has it been, and how many more would it take before they finally adopted better scouting practices for their marches?

"Well, if they're going to be lax about it, I'm not going to complain," Xing said, voicing everyone's thoughts. "Now, their path west allows them to hit a good number of colonies. With their numbers, it'd be less of a raid and more of a raze..." The colonel looked to the lead scout. "Standard marching pattern?"

The man nodded, the shadows dancing sinisterly over his smirk. "Their supply caravan was lightly defended, probably earthbenders so they can hide behind dirt walls. If they're sticking to old doctrine, the guards won't change much once they settle down."

"Unguarded supplies…" Weikong breathed out. "They'll probably keep the same arrangement once they settle down."

"Assuming they haven't learned," Mozi cautioned.

"You'll be striking at their supplies?" Princess Azula, who had been silently watching until now, asked.

"Since the enemy outnumbers us, we'll go for easy targets. Supplies and leadership, if possible. Otherwise, we'll whittle them down."

The princess frowned, but her voice held curiosity rather than doubt. "How do you plan to do that?"

Xing broke into that unnerving grin of his whenever he was looking forward to one-sided battles. "With precise and overwhelming applications of violence, your highness."

He indicated at the map as he elaborated on his plans. "Their army is crossing the plains for as long as they can, standard practice since open ground is better for earthbenders than forests. We'll do a night march to reach here, at the edge of the forest, and use the time to set up."

"Why engage them in the open? Why not just lure them into the forest?" Ren felt a bout of nostalgia at the princess' words, it was almost exactly what she and the others had asked Xing the first time he brought up such a plan. Looking at her grinning colleagues it seemed that they felt the same way too.

"Because, princess, making them fight in unfavorable terrain makes them far more alert than if they fought on what they think are favorable grounds. Something I noticed about the Earth Kingdom armies - earthbending in the open is dangerous, but very limited, very predictable. Especially at range. And there's less variables to worry about; no falling trees and such."

The princess nodded slowly, getting some idea of what Xing had in mind. "You're making them fight in conditions they're more comfortable with…just to make them more complacent?"

Xing nodded. "Coupled with the fact that they clearly outnumber us, it's a safe bet that the commanders would either be more reckless or, if they're experienced, more cautious when dealing with us because they fear a trap."

Kai huffed. "If they're really smart, they'd turn tail and leave." At the princess' disbelieving look, Xing shrugged. "It worked before. Considering the Fire Nation's record of theater-wide advances, some of their generals might be wary of being drawn into an encirclement."

"I see…" And judging from her face, she really was thinking about it. Ren almost sighed, wishing her lieutenants had that same level of comprehension back in training. Days wasted just to beat basic common sense into their head…

Xing continued, drawing an imaginary line at the edge of the destination with his finger. "So, we make it to the edge of the woods as fast as we can, and how long we've got to set up before they arrive will determine the appropriate stratagems to use. With their scouts escaping us, there's a good chance our window of opportunity will be shorter."

"But not too short," Ping cheerfully said.

"Regardless, once the Earth Kingdom army sees us there, they'll likely set up camp and prepare to face us." Xing then gave the princess a bright grin. "On the off chance they're stupid enough to send a vanguard against us, I'll be sure to allot some of them for you, your highness."

More laughter broke out from the cart and those close enough to hear the words. "Yeah, we can't have our royal patron missing out on the fun," Rufen remarked drily.

"We'll keep the choice officers for your highness to claim," Ping added. "Give the folks back home something to sing about."

Princess Azula blinked in confusion at first, but then grinned just as savagely as Xing and nodded. "I appreciate the offer. But if the enemy is stupid enough to allow for that, they'd be unsuitable trophies for a royal princess."

Everyone laughed as the regiment's royal patron got into the spirit. "Besides," she added once the laughter calmed, "That would rely on them sending out their vanguard in the first place, right?"

Xing shrugged. "Yes, princess, though you'd be surprised how often it happens, even on our side."

With high spirits, the scouts ranged out once more and the 11th Regiment marched into the night, making good time thanks to drilled-in discipline amongst the newbies and the scouts leading the way. They stopped only for four hours' sleep on bedrolls, and then continued once dawn broke. It took the end of the evening before they arrived at their new camp site, and Mozi wasted no time in organizing the camp's defenses while Xing busied himself helping the quartermaster and the smiths set up a workshop to no doubt start working with the novel materials.

While Kai's 1st Battalion helped with the defenses, Ren and the other captains hammered in last-minute training to the green troops to wear out most of their pre-battle nerves.

A peaceful, restful night followed, and it was only by late afternoon that some scouts brought back news of the enemy's progress.

"They're moving slower than expected. Might've been worried when their scouts discovered our camp that time."

"Makes sense," Xing replied. "Not something to complain about. How many days have we got?"

The grizzled pathfinder shrugged. "Two more days, give or take. Earthbenders break camp faster than us after all."

"Good. Go get your sleep."

The scout saluted and promptly left to find him and his team the comfortable batch of tents purposely left for them. Considering how hard they were worked, it was only fair they got some extra privileges. Also, nobody wanted sloppy pathfinders.

Princess Azula keenly studied everything that was going on around her, asking pertinent questions about the basic fortifications as soldiers felled trees for a palisade, dug a trench to delay earthbenders for just a little while, or erected a basic watchtower behind the treeline.

The two days were well spent, with firebenders and spearmen alike being drilled and then given ample rest. Reinforced foraging teams hunted down the surrounding wildlife, as much to bolster the regiment's supplies as to process their sinew and bones for materials. Earth Kingdom scouting parties were exterminated when convenient, but otherwise ignored.

The regiment's own scouts rotated to keep track of the Earth Kingdom army who were marching faster and longer, no doubt realizing there was a welcoming party awaiting them. Those returning delivered the latest updates about the enemy's composition.

Their earthbenders outnumbered the regiment's firebenders only about three to one, and while the army's morale appeared high, the scouts noticed that the levies were a bit more bedraggled than the rest of the forces.

"It could be that their access to supplies could be more restricted," Xing guessed. It was known that some Earth Kingdom nobles jealously hoarded their supplies for use in their own personal household guard, and only the barest minimum was rationed out to their allies. That selfishness made supply razing all the more effective, as mutual resentment could easily be escalated into infighting. Thank the spirits the Fire Nation had left such petty practices long ago.

Princess Azula scowled at learning that possibility. "How is it that nobody back in the capital mentioned this?"

"It's not something so obvious that needs consideration," Xing answered with a shrug. "We only discovered it because of our extensive scouting. Our armies have little reason to bother thoroughly investigating why the opposition they face are so easily trampled, not when even the Earth Kingdom officers are reluctant to admit their practices."

"And there's the fact that a lot of the reports Colonel Lidai sent back home were intercepted by his rivals." Ren was more than happy to add. "Otherwise we wouldn't be as good at roughing it out with limited supplies as we are now."

Despite Xing's weary sigh, Ren was happy to see the princess glowering at her words. "I see. Perhaps father should have been more…strict in reforming the court's reach…"

"Well, in any case, it shouldn't be an issue we'll have anytime soon," Xing said with a resolute nod, and then bowed to the princess. "We have your highness to thank, of course." Ren and the others bowed as well, and it was adorable how surprised the princess looked.

"Well…" she sputtered, "At least you know how lucky you are."

It took all of Ren's willpower to not smack Xing over the back of his head when he rolled his eyes.