Capítulo 15: Towards the kingdom of the earth.
Pov: Kai
The days went by faster than I could have predicted, these days I was sailing across the great ocean on my way to war. The journey to the land kingdom was relaxing, but accompanied by a few surprises.
The demonstration of the awakening elemental powers made me a person of high importance in the Fire Nation. I admit, I could live on that, but it wouldn't be much fun.
When I originally asked for about 120 soldiers, it was with the intention of having no more than a single ship under my command.
Now I was literally in a fleet of more than ten ships, a bit much in my opinion.
I glanced sideways and saw General Zoho admiring the Horizon. He had volunteered to guarantee my safety by temporarily abandoning the war zone under his control.
- Are you still sure you want to accompany me? - I asked.
- Don't worry, I've sent a renowned admiral to take my place. Vice Admiral Zhao has a lot of energy and a strong will to lead. - Zoho said confidently.
- Why do I have the feeling that he might be a hothead? - I commented, following my intuition.
- He can be difficult sometimes. - Zoho replied with a small smile on her face.
Sighing, I took advantage of the free time to do some stretches and noticed that the realm of Earth was already visible to the naked eye.
Out of curiosity, I watched Zoho and noticed that he was easily someone well above average. I think he's almost twice as strong as my base strength, I don't know if I could beat him, but it would be a contest.
In practice, ranks in the Fire Nation army are related to two factors, one being status and the other being individual power.
A trained Fire Nation soldier, if we don't take firebending into account as a factor, is on average three times stronger than a normal person. A lieutenant or captain is three to five times more powerful than a well-trained soldier. Those who belong to the rank of vice admiral or admiral are between the strength of eight and ten soldiers.
On the other hand, even though Admirals are compared to Generals in status, it's not quite the same in practice. This is because it is common for only generals to directly follow the orders of the Lord of Fire. What few people know is that a single general is worth twenty soldiers.
An impressive idea of power is the Royal Palace Guards, who are as strong as lieutenants or stronger, but are ants next to a general. Zoho alone has more than enough power to double the capabilities of a general, he could easily be considered the third strongest person in the Fire Nation.
The most interesting thing for me is that in my Agni Kai against Zuko, when Iroh interfered, I was able to get a sense of his level of power. It's obvious to me that he's stronger than Ozai because he's on par with five generals and the current Fire Lord is at least close to four generals.
Now that I think about it, I realize that Zuko is at least comparable to a soldier, and I'm surprised that I didn't accidentally kill him. The most interesting thing for me was the ratio of Azula's strength in our confrontation, for a moment she actually surpassed me, she truly deserves the title of prodigy.
- You seem lost in thought. - Zoho commented, looking at Kai curiously.
- Lost? On the contrary, I'm just thinking about everything that's happened in the last few months. - I answer and turn to our destination. - I have a question, if you don't mind.
- I'm all ears.
- Do you see yourself doing anything other than fighting in this war?
Zoho was taken aback by the question and raised his eyebrow as a sign. He remained silent for a few seconds, as if pondering the possibility.
- I'd be lying if I didn't. I've fought for 40 or 50 years with the certainty of victory, but not after.
I consider the weight of his words, for Zoho it would be impossible to imagine a world without war, a man trapped by conflict.
- As much as part of me doesn't want this war to end, another part of me cries out for a respite. - Zoho said in a voice filled with sadness. - In a war, it is the young who are buried, and we old men who carry the burden of countless lives lost to our ambitions.
Kai was a little perplexed and just kept silent.
- I've lost many soldiers, more than I killed in my youth. As cruel as reality is, did you ever think that we have to destroy a world to create it? - Zoho looked at Kai with a serious expression.
- Destroy to build? - I asked.
- The Fire Nation isn't perfect, but we have the ability to prosper more than other nations. The Earth Kingdom is rich, but 95% of its population suffers from poverty and hunger. And the water tribes are condemned to live in almost inhospitable places and live by rules that prevent them from prospering, as if they are trapped in time. - Zoho explained like a teacher trying to teach a lesson. - From the beginning, our goal of conquest has not been subjugation, but to show and share a prosperous lifestyle.
Kai listened attentively, understanding the older man's point of view, which gave him a new thought about the reason for this war.
- Even though we live in a more developed society than others, we still make the simplest mistakes like other nations. - Zoho says sadly. - The many villages that are part of our nation don't have the same privileges as the capital or the islands occupied by nobles. My greatest dream is to return to my home village and see it flourish, far from hunger and poverty.
- You say this as if you hadn't been home for decades. - I say that with a little sympathy.
- Yes, I haven't been home for decades. I grew up in a small, modest community, full of good people who lived exclusively from fishing, if I remember correctly, my mother used to tell me about an old legend, I think that's the most nostalgic memory for me.
- An old legend? I'm curious. - I speak with amusement, really enjoying a normal conversation with someone so important.
- My mother used to say that there was a beneficent spirit who looked after the river and the well-being of the sick, called the Painted Lady. - Zoho says nostalgically. - I really am getting old.
- I'd like to visit this village, it must be a nice place to live.
- It's been so long, I doubt anyone will recognize me. - Zoho says with a slightly sad expression.
- We can go there and see how things are going without you. Are we going to visit after the mission? - I ask, curious about the answer.
- Hmmmm, that's a reasonable suggestion, unfortunately I can't devote my time to such perks, I have a very tight schedule.
- You don't have to worry about wasting time, I can check it out for myself, and you said it's a modest place, so I can help with some financial donations.
Zoho seemed to have completely changed his opinion of Kai. He admitted that the young man in front of him was brave and special. The more he got to know Kai, the more he felt that he could be someone worthy of an honorable future.
- You'd make a good Fire Lord. - Zoho joked, even though he was telling the truth in his heart.
- What? NO, NO... That kind of life is not for me. - I said nervously.
- I'm just giving you my opinion, but if you're ready one day, I might be able to support you. - Zoho scoffed.
By evening, we had disembarked from the ship with the troops. The area where we disembarked was controlled by the Fire Nation, so we were still in a neutral conflict zone.
The only problem was getting off a huge vehicle that was on the ship I was on, called a "tank train," a hybrid vehicle that could transport large masses of soldiers at once.
The Fire Nation's ships are guaranteed in size to carry various types of vehicles for massive invasions at high speed, such as tanks or riding animals, depending on the circumstances.
As the hours passed, not a single person thought of resting, even though most of the higher ranks of the military were on the transport machines. Zoho and I, along with a few other elite soldiers, led the way on Komodo rhinoceroses, strong, imposing creatures that have been used for various military purposes since the beginning of the 100-year war.
The army of more than 800 soldiers rode for days until they reached a large forest. The forest was surrounded by trees 20 meters high, it was extremely difficult to move around with so many people, but after walking for almost the entire night, following subtle clues left by our allies, we managed to reach a waterfall where there was a camp of more than 150 soldiers who were already fighting to invade the enemy stronghold.
- Finally, my back is killing me. - I blurt out, stretching my back after getting off the rhinoceros. - How can you stand it?
- Many years of practice, I've fought many battles with these animals, I can say that I've never let go of them. - Zoho was amused by Kai's situation.
I observe several soldiers going about their daily lives, some cooking, others on shift or in the infirmary. Their situation was very bad, they didn't even seem to care about the reinforcements that had just arrived. A soldier with a blindfold over one eye and dried blood on his head ran up to General Zoho and saluted.
- General Zoho, it's an honor to have you here, I'm Captain Tizo. I've been in charge here since the last attack on the fort three weeks ago. - Tizo said, intimidated by the presence of his superior.
- The honor is mine, this one beside me is Kai, a potential soldier sent by the Lord of Fire himself for the success of our next invasion. - Zoho extended his hand to introduce Kai.
- You're popular, huh? - I whispered to Zoho, who gave a small, imperceptible smile.
- Wow, you must be amazing, it'll be a pleasure to fight alongside you. - Tizo said excitedly, but without losing his composure.
- You don't have to worry about the formalities, now tell me, what's the current situation? - I ask, trying not to show my nervousness since it's literally my first time on the battlefield.
- We're more than 7 km north of our objective. The enemies have set up near a river that cuts through the forest, but they still have the advantage of the high ground, which makes it easier for them to defend themselves. - Tizo explained seriously, pointing the enemies in the right direction. - At the moment our position has not been revealed thanks to the difficulty of mobilization on both sides, unfortunately this is the main factor that hinders our technological advantage with heavy vehicles, and using animals for battle like those Komodo rhinos you arrived with will be an easy target.
- Hmmmm, so we're at an impasse. - Zoho said thoughtfully.
I remained pensive, watching the troops organizing themselves, many soldiers getting to know each other, but still paying attention to the conversation of the superiors.
- Have you mapped the terrain? - I asked, crossing my arms.
- We've mapped their routes outside the fort, we even know when the guards go to the bathroom. But it's not what you expect, there are several problems that prevent us from advancing. - Tizo warned.
- That's a start. - I say. - How about we start planning our attack?
- Let's have coffee while we talk. - Zoho suggested. - I'm starving.
- Aren't you going to rest? - asked Tizo. - You must have been traveling for days!
- My soldiers won't rest until they've finished organizing their tasks in this camp. As their leader, we must also continue to work hard. - Zoho said with determination.
Unfortunately, the details of the fort's defenses were more problematic than they seemed. First and foremost, there was the issue of the earth benders, which almost completely reshaped the surrounding terrain, making areas more susceptible to landslides or making it easier to defend at crucial points. In other words, we were dealing with an enemy that was changing its battle terrain on a daily basis, like a board game.
- Because of these terrain changes, they lost more than 30% of their soldiers in their last attack. - Zoho remarked, seemingly scratching his head.
- Those bastards keep changing the terrain, the instability of the ground has caused several fatal accidents, so it's always risky to move. - Tizo almost spat in disgust at his frustration.
- The five maps they made and these sketches show an interesting pattern. - I take each map and line them up, almost creating a timeline with each battle. - The first 60 meters outside the gate are unchanged.
- It's a region that's obviously a trap, if we position anything there, it becomes an easy target for domination, to be crushed or immobilized by the ground. - Zoho analyzed the lookout reference points where they lived and came to understand that a sudden attack would always be premeditated.
- Did they find the sewer outlets? -I asked.
- "Their sewage is dumped into the river almost 200 meters away, but it's inaccessible to us, only an Earthbender could pass through unnoticed. - Tizo replied hopelessly.
- Only an Earthbender can get through, right? - I asked with a smile on my face.
- Yes, obviously. - Tizo couldn't help but be surprised by Kai's attitude.
- How many people do we have in this camp? - I asked, watching Zoho's reaction as she seemed to understand my intentions.
- Counting the number of reinforcements and my own, we have an average of almost a thousand soldiers.
- How many firebenders? - I ask again and again, creating a new plan in my head.
- I have 28 firebenders under my command. - Tizo answers.
- I have at least 86 firebenders under my command, not counting myself and Kai. - Zoho put his hand to his chin as if he had just answered a difficult question.
- Counting the three of us and the soldiers, we have 117 firebenders. I commented, taking the opportunity to pick up some fruit next to the lined-up maps. - For this plan to work, we need at least one earth bender.
Kai smiled, making Tizo feel a chill in his stomach.
- To conquer the enemy stronghold in three months, we need at least two-thirds of that time to plan an effective invasion. We have hundreds of people with great potential.
The idea of awakening more people wasn't something I wanted to waste in the war, but understanding the situation the camp is going through, hiding the cards up my sleeve could be detrimental in the future.
- I want to gather the best men we have available," I order, ignoring hierarchies. - If you want an earthbender, let's have one.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
PRIME_PRIMUS
PRIME_PRIMUS I found some extra time to get on with the chapter
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder