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Avatar: Two Brothers

Chapter 30

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Strike Back

Gurshaan reported to the general that they would approach the shore in about twenty minutes. Gursehaj responded by telling Gurshaan to prepare the troops and not take their enemies lightly. He knew that despite their low numbers, they were quite resilient and crafty.

As Gurshaan was about to leave, Arsh appeared to inform his general that they spotted Dilraj standing alone on the shores. Immediately, Gursehaj rushed over to see what his opponent was up to.

Dilraj weaved his hands around and then lifted them up as high as he could. Gursehaj and his soldiers were completely confused as to what he was doing but suddenly, the ships began to rumble. Something was coming from beneath the ocean.

Gursehaj rushed to the bow of the ship and as he stared below, he saw the tip of an iceberg rising up beneath one of the battleships. There were three battleships almost perfectly aligned beside each other. The iceberg was about to hit the middle battleship, one that the general was not aboard.

The iceberg clashed against the middle battleship, causing a massive rip at the keel of the ship. Everyone aboard was unfortunately an Earth bender and they began to panic as their ship began to sink. Some found safety rafts and escaped from the sinking ship. The rest were left stranded, crying for help but Gursehaj was too focused on the avatar. He couldn’t waste time saving the soldiers. He commanded that they press forward towards the shore.

By himself, Dilraj managed to take out one third of the enemy’s army. He attempted to conjure another mammoth size iceberg but he suddenly felt a huge pain on his left abdomen. The iceberg technique was a high class technique that required much energy from the user and it seemed Dilraj had reached his limit. As he tried one more time to use the technique, Risensa placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You did awesome Dilraj. Now leave the rest to me.” As Dilraj took a moment to sit down, the fire lord’s hands began to blaze white. She released her fire into the ocean and created a large cloud of steam throughout the entire area, reducing all her enemy’s visibility.

The mist created confusion among Gursehaj’s warriors but he himself was not fooled. “Continue onto the shore!” So the two remaining battleships pressed forward.

Once the battleships made contact, the general ordered half his forces to surround the cabin in the fields. The group of soldiers stood around the proximity of the shack while another force barged in through the front door. Once they entered, they remained on their guard, searching the entire place for the avatar.

They thoroughly went through the entire place but there was no sign of anyone. All they found was a basket backpack that was left on the table. One of the soldiers slowly approached the backpack, opened it up and reached in. What he found was not the avatar but a straw doll wrapped up disguised as a baby.

“It’s a trap! Quickly return to the ship and protect the…” Before the soldier could finish his sentence, Risensa smashed through the roof and appeared before them. She one by one threw out each of the enemies outside the cabin.

Once they were all out of the blast radius, she used her firebending to create a massive explosion from where the cabin stood. The structure exploded into a million pieces and the debris scattered and hit all the soldiers in the vicinity. All of Gursehaj’s forces that were near the cabin were injured but none were life threatening just as Risensa had hoped.

After she had finished unleashing such a powerful attack, she went back to where the cabin once stood. She then bent down and on the ground was a hidden hatch. She opened it up and held in her arms the infant avatar that was sleeping soundly through all the commotion.

From the battleship, Gursehaj and the rest of his army heard the explosion coming from the cabin. He demanded to know what was happening but before anyone could answer the horn on the ship sounded. “We are under attack! The enemy has boarded the ship! We need assistan…” and the voice went silent.

“Prepare for battle. Arsh, alert everyone else on the other ship!” Gursehaj issued the command but suddenly a bunch of guards that were near the edge of the boat were hauled away by a water tentacle and thrown into the ocean. Then blazing onto the battlefield was Isabelle who used her fire bending to take out another cluster of Gursehaj’s forces.

Seeing their numbers dwindle, Arsh and Gurshaan wanted to protect their general but Chloe jumped in and slammed them both on the ground. That left Gursehaj with only five other soldiers near him but they were quickly swept aside by Da-Wei’s air bending, and now it was only the general, staring down the young air bender.

“General surrender now, it doesn’t have to be this way.” Da-Wei shouted with authority. But the general was too stubborn.

“You sunk one of my battleships, lured half of my remaining forces onto the land and took advantage of the mist created by the fire lord to sneak onto my battleship. Impressive, I didn’t expect such a bold move from a passive air bender.”

The general then charged right at the air bender, hoping to land the first strike but Da-Wei easily dodged his attack and air blasted him against the wall. “You have no earth materials to fight me with. This is hardly a fair fight, please make this easier for all of us.”

Those words only fueled his anger and made him attack with greater force. But once again, Da-Wei held back his attack, and he sent the general flying before he slammed hard against the floor of the ship. Da-Wei waited hoping that general had enough.

After the last attack, the general was slow to get up but it allowed him to catch his breath and he began to think more clearly. He looked around him to find the chest he had prepared for such a situation like this. He opened it and inside were teal crystals found within the Earth Kingdom caverns. He gathered all the crystals using his earth bending and created a full body armor made from the crystals.

The heavily armored general advanced towards the air bender. Da-Wei reacted by blasting a strong gust at his opponent but the attack was nullified by the crystal armor. Da-Wei then attempted an air swipe but this attack also had no effect. With none of his air bending attacks able to break through, the general went to tackle Da-Wei but he reacted just in time to dodge the attack.

Da-Wei knew he got lucky after narrowly escaping that attack. He then focused all his air bending into his fist and hoped it was enough to break through the crystal armor. He gathered a great amount of speed and dashed straight in with an air punch right at Gursehaj’s chest but not even a scratch. The general counterattacks as shards of crystal bursted from the armor, cutting through Da-Wei’s skin.

Seeing Da-Wei on the back pedal, Chloe tried to help but Gurshaan and Arsh took advantage of her lack of focus and reversed the situation to pin her to the ground. That alerted Isabelle and Dilraj to assist them but reinforcements from the other battleship had made their way over. Unfortunately for them, these were all waterbenders. They quickly restrained Dilraj and Isabelle using their waterbending.

Suddenly, the entire battle had shifted in General Gursehaj’s favor. Chloe, Dilraj, and Isabelle were all held captive and Da-Wei was left alone and barely able to stand. The general gave Da-Wei one last chance to say any final words before he would finish him off in front of his friends.

“Please, stop this. I don’t want to cause any harm to you or anyone else on this ship.” Da-Wei pleaded.

“You must have lost your mind. You are in no position to be making threats. This is your last chance, hand over the avatar and I will consider a painless ending for you.”

Da-Wei refused and so the general clasped his hands together and was ready to pummel the air bender. But before he could attack, Da-Wei suddenly struck the general’s armor with a gale slice and then pushed off against his chest to create some distance.

Gursehaj was surprised that Da-Wei still had energy to move and as he placed his hand on his chest armor, he felt a massive crack there. Da-Wei had somehow managed to cut through the crystal armor. “Lucky shot…” said the general disdainfully.

They reengaged for battle with Gursehaj swinging his fists wildly but none of them would connect because the armor was weighing him down and slowing his movement. Da-Wei didn’t have that problem, as he moved freely and continuously hit the same chest area with consecutive gale strikes that would eventually shatter the crystal armor into pieces.

Gursehaj was in complete disbelief, “This is impossible! How could someone like you cut through this durable crystal!”

Da-Wei told the general that he warned him several times. Da-Wei was extremely resistant to using this technique because he learned it from his first encounter with Laghima. He had been practicing all this time to hone his skills but he never wanted to rely on a technique that originated from his nemesis.

With their general on the brink of defeat, Gurshaan moved away from Chloe to help Gursehaj. However, Arsh was not able to contain Chloe on his own and she broke free and stopped them both from helping the general. Gursehaj called for the water benders to help him but they stood there as if they didn’t hear his order. After seeing the general beginning to lose his posture, he lost influence over the water tribe warriors.

Frustrated, the general looked at Da-Wei with malicious intent and was ready for one final strike. He gathered his remaining strength to prepare for his final charge.

“Please, you don’t have to do this. I don’t want to use this technique anymore.” But Gursehaj was too clouded by anger. He charged full speed gathering the crystals onto his fist for one lethal blow. As the general charged, Da-Wei began to move his arm to use the deadly gale strike technique. This time, the general had no crystal armor to protect him.

As the general jumped into the air to strike, Da-Wei saw right through his attack and appeared on his blind spot. The general was now wide open and at the mercy of the air bender. Da-Wei had the opportunity to finish his enemy for good.

As his friends were witnessing what was about to happen, all three; Isabelle, Dilraj, and Chloe, plead for Da-Wei to reconsider his attack. The general, knowing this could be his last moments, closed his eyes and was ready to accept his fate. Thankfully, Da-Wei changed his technique midway and instead of using the lethal attack, his hand changed to an open palm he blasted Gursehaj with a stream of air that sent him crashing to the ground.

Everyone who saw what Da-Wei did let out a huge sigh of relief, especially his friends. The general slowly looked up from his position and saw the air bender standing near him with no intent of harming him anymore.

“Why did you do that just now? You had me at your mercy, you should have finished me!”

“If I did that, I would have been no better than the merciless killer, Laghima. I want to prove that we air benders are not as dangerous as you believe we are.”

“Hah, even so, if you let me go, what if I chose to keep pursuing the avatar?”

“Then I will stop you. Again, over and over, until you finally give up.”

The general was stunned by his resolve. He revealed to everyone about his past. Growing up together, him, Gurshaan and Arsh had a vision of becoming great soldiers of the Earth Kingdom to protect it from all its enemies. He thought obtaining the rank of general and rising through the ranks would give him the power he needed to make the Earth Kingdom a safer place. But he now realized that in rising through the ranks, he lost his soul. He did many things and deeds that were wrong to obtain his position now. His one saving grace was that he never betrayed his loyal friends, Gurshaan and Arsh.

Da-Wei reached out his hand to help the general. “You can still do great things. We have the same enemy (Laghima) who wants to oppress all the other nations, kingdoms, and tribes. Please, we could use your help.”

Gursehaj froze for a moment. It wasn't a tough choice at all, as he raised his hand to accept Da-Wei’s offer. But before their hands made contact, Da-Wei sensed a dreadful presence near him. He pushed Gursehaj aside and managed to jump out of the way as a deadly blast of wind struck where the two were situated. Everyone turned their attention to the person responsible for the attack, Laghima.

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