At the beginning of the year, in the colony located on an island off the coasts of the Earth Nation, there was a rather tranquil rain that had not ceased for a few days.
This border colonial city, situated southwest by a narrow sea, was built to contain the invasion of soldiers and tribes from the south who occasionally used this narrow sea to attack. The walls of the fortress were built by earthbending masters and firmly surrounded the city, appearing as impenetrable walls.
When the northwest wind began to blow during the dry seasons of the Earth Nation, the dust floating on the walls fluttered around and occasionally landed in the soldiers' cabins. This base was one of the most disliked due to its rather peculiar climatic conditions shared with the South Pole.
This rain came just in time, and the soldiers guarding the walls were very pleased because they hated the sand. The light rain was washing the rooftops, as if it could also wash away the tired eyes of many soldiers who saw the same things day after day.
At least in the eyes of the officer named Derek, who was very interested in what was happening beyond the south.
As a senior military officer in this critically important colony, he liked to listen carefully to the news. He successfully masked his dissatisfaction with belonging to this invading colony and enjoyed entertaining himself with tales from other places.
Greeting an elderly man in a dirty red robe sitting at a table while having tea, he asked with some doubt, "Dear general, have you heard that the South has risen strongly and has managed to eliminate a colony?"
The elderly man pointed to the dry tree in front of their eyes outside the tent where they were and sighed bitterly, saying, "I came to this colony when I was twenty years old, filled with joy at being able to expand our borders beyond this place. But after thirty-five years, we're still here, and the plague of this city grows darker."
It took Derek very little time to understand what was happening and ask, "Do you think we're next?"
A person inside the tent suddenly spoke up, "Next? If those enemies who exterminated the other colony come, we will eliminate them. I still can't believe we're doing nothing when we've just received a damn boat with our brothers' heads."
The elderly man looked as the young soldier left and sighed with regret. "The arrogance that the new soldiers have gained from all these years of war is truly worrying. They don't realize that we are still in hostile territory and believe that we are actually winning."
Not only did the elderly man think that, but he also knew that the generals had become idiots after the Fire Demon had besieged them six years ago, and everything seemed to have gone downhill since then.
"The troops are mobilizing; are we all going to retaliate?" Derek could trust this elderly man because he was a former general who had abandoned his duties after disagreeing with the emperor of his time.
The elderly man drank tea and, after deep meditation, said, "They are going to attack the north; not only will this colony join but also a few others in the area. It will be a fierce attack; they are trying to hunt down the supposed Avatar."
"The Avatar?" Derek was very surprised and then said, "That's nonsense; there hasn't been an Avatar in the last hundred years... It must be a trap if they have informed us so openly."
"General Zhao knew it; when he visited Kyoshi Island, the Avatar invoked the spirit of that demon woman... Everyone saw her battle with what they now call the White Devil of the Southern Nation, that young general who is winning battles."
Still, Derek believed that sending troops north would be complete foolishness. "But we will weaken ourselves if we send troops."
"That's why they will only send the most experienced and many more troops from other colonies. Still, as I mentioned before, find a way to escape from this colony or you will die." The elderly man was convinced they would be the next to be attacked.
"Will it be that bad?"
The elderly man just smiled but said nothing more. When he heard the report about those powerful blue flames erupting on Kyoshi Island, he knew it was Draven's son, who was his disciple at the time. It was a pity that his end had been so tragic.
"A pity..."
...
About ten kilometers from the island where the enemy colony was located, around thirty combat cruisers with an armada of ten thousand men were waiting.
The commander leading this time was Darío, and his second-in-command was Halfdan, a powerful earthbending warrior who commanded all the freed warriors from the prisons.
"We have received reports that a large fleet is moving from that island; we will wait for them to move away to attack," said Halfdan with a stern expression.
Darío didn't say anything, but his gaze showed seriousness, and he ordered, "Have the cannons prepare for warning shots; the cruisers with prisoners should be ready to go ahead."
"Understood, sir!"
"I hope this plan works..." murmured Darío, seeing how things were about to become very aggressive.