99 A.G
Major Lee returned to headquarters battered, filthy, and so exhausted that it took him a lot of effort to step down into the bunker where they were supposed to meet. The fighting had continued through most of the night, and the morning had brought no victory for his section of the line.
His soldiers had attacked through the tunnels, and broken trenches, as was usual now. They had tried to take advantage of the movements they had seen along the Fire Nation position, but the enemy defenses had held.
Even after they had pulled some troops away from the front Lee was assaulting, the remaining soldiers and firebenders had been enough to stop them from gaining ground at all. It frustrated him to no end.
The only comfort was that the Fire Nation had been forced to move those troops somewhere else. That meant one of the other fronts had done better than his, or that the enemy had been forced to strengthen positions behind their line before they had to retreat.
Either answer meant they were hurting them. The Fire Nation did not have enough soldiers to keep this going forever, no matter how many machines they had brought, and Lee had spent the last few days holding to that belief with renewed energy.
He wiped mud from his face with the back of his sleeve and entered the main chamber of the headquarters bunker. Most of the officers were already there; General Sung stood at the far end of the table, speaking with two messengers while several captains and majors argued over what to do next.
There were strategies being passed around, as well as reports from the different officers assigned to each portion of the frontline. The air inside the bunker was damp and sour from too many men breathing in the same enclosed space for too many hours.
Lanterns hung from beams reinforced by earthbending, casting uneven light over faces scarred by the brutal war that had raged for weeks now. Lee frowned when he noticed the empty space usually occupied by Ban.
"Where is Major Ban?" he asked.
The argument around the table went quiet at once. Several officers glanced toward one another, and Lee knew Ban was as good as dead. A captain from the central line lowered the report he had been holding and swallowed before speaking.
"He is dead, Major."
Lee stared at him for a moment, and he felt every bit of exhaustion he had entered the bunker with.
"What happened?"
The captain rubbed both hands together, leaving dark marks of dirt across his knuckles.
"The counterattack in the center failed. The Fire Nation had prepared something during the night. They used prisoners, fire, and some kind of smoke that moved into the tunnels. The soldiers who escaped said it felt like an evil spirit's aura had filled the passages."
"Did they employ a new weapon?" Lee said, anger rising through the exhaustion. "How many did we lose?"
"We still don't know. The first estimate is nearly ten thousand across the connected tunnels."
Lee had read terrible reports already, and this was the worst news he could receive. Ten thousand men in a single night was a horrible occurrence. If the Fire Nation had a new weapon that could reach every tunnel then they were as good as dead.
'Why haven't they used it before?' he wondered.
It also meant the center line could collapse at any moment, and the only reason why it hadn't yet was because the Fire Nation maybe didn't know how much that hurt them.
The captain continued, voice lower now. "Ban was found alive with his men. They were dug out from one of the blocked passages near dawn. They had no cuts, no burns, no crushed bones that the healers could see, but they could barely breathe. Ban kept trying to speak and could not manage more than a few words before coughing blood. He agonized for hours before he died. The same thing happened to the rest of his men."
Lee couldn't understand how they had managed to procure such terror weapons; men dying with no visible wounds by a smoke they could barely see, it was terrible in any way you looked at it. It was not something they could strike against.
He did not believe the Fire Nation had summoned spirits, but he believed they had found some horrible method to make men die beneath the earth without leaving marks a healer could treat. He hoped it was something they couldn't use all the time and the main reason why they hadn't seen it before.
The general was speaking too loudly again, demanding that the center be reinforced and that the next assault continue before the Fire Nation could recover. He clearly had no idea of how slow that process would be having lost so many men in one night.
Lee then came into a realization that made his knees grow weak. If the Fire Nation knew the damage they had done, then that meant they had not moved troops away from Lee's front to retreat or defend some distant problem.
They had moved them to strike through the center while the Earth Kingdom tried to understand what had happened overnight. If the center broke, then they could surround either the north or the south portion of the line and destroy them. There would not be a comeback after that.
"Send runners to the central reserves, now!" Lee said, turning toward the nearest messenger. "Tell Colonel Ren to move all of the reserve groups toward the center and prepare for a breakthrough attempt."
General Sung turned to him. "What are you doing?"
Lee did not have time for this. "They are not pulling back. They are concentrating for the center."
Sung's face tightened. "You do not know that."
"They killed Ban's force inside the tunnels, and now they are pulling soldiers from the other fronts. That is not retreat. They are concentrating their forces to push us back now that we are weak. We have to move now!"
"We cannot make a hasty decision in the middle of a crisis!" Sung argued while the messenger stayed frozen in place.
"If I'm right the enemy will break through and then we are done for. They could turn either north or south and kill off half of our forces against our own walls, this is no time for caution."
Sung slammed one hand on the table. "You will not countermand my orders because you are frightened by rumors of spirits."
Lee turned to the messengers again, deciding that if Sung wanted to argue, he could do it after the orders were already moving. "Go! Now!"
"Major! Wha-"
The bunker entrance exploded before the runners could take more than a few steps. The blast threw the guards inward and knocked several men off their feet. Dust, broken earth, smoke, and splintered wood filled the chamber at once, and Lee hit the side of the table hard enough that pain ran through his ribs.
For several seconds he could hear almost nothing except ringing and the panicked movement of officers trying to understand where the attack had come from. He forced himself upright, blinking through the dust.
Someone entered through the ruined doorway. Lee recognized her immediately and panic flooded his senses. The demon herself walked into the bunker with her face empty of anger, satisfaction, or fear.
Her metal limbs caught the lantern light as she stepped over one of the fallen guards, and behind her came Fire Nation soldiers in darkened armor with weird compact metal contraptions raised in both hands. What could only be Princess Azula followed close behind, a pleased expression spreading across her face.
General Sung backed away from the table. "You…"
Agni's wrath did not even look at him first. Her eyes moved across the officers, messengers, and the rest of the officers gathered with calmness.
"Kill all of them except the general." she said, simply. "I will handle him."
Fire Nation soldiers fired making him flinch hard. Officers fell around the table, messengers stumbled against the walls without knowing what had hit them. Lee raised his arm to bend a wall to protect himself, but cold burning pain caught him in the chest before he finished the movement.
He fell backward against the floor, unable to draw breath. Princess Azula was the last thing he saw, two of her fingers smoking, and her face lit by blue light and twisted with a grin that looked far too pleased for the slaughter around her.
----0000----
Lin left the headquarters bunker with General Sung over her shoulder leaving only dead officers behind her.
The strike had gone as well as she could have expected. The explosion at the entrance had stunned most of the command staff, and the first seconds after that had decided the fight before the Earth Kingdom officers understood what was happening.
Azula and the strike team had killed the officers, messengers, guards, and aides who had tried to resist, while Lin had crossed the chamber and taken Sung out before he managed to recover enough sense to bend his way out.
She had chi blocked him and locked his wrists and ankles with metal shackles. The general had then tried threats, insults, and demands that he be released, but Lin ignored most of them while carrying him out of the bunker.
"General, we have placed the booby traps in the bodies." Captain Kaida said.
"Good we are waiting for their response and moving away from here as fast as we can."
The first messengers who rushed back toward headquarters had died in the tunnels before they saw the bodies inside. After that, more soldiers began arriving from nearby reserve positions, confused by the explosion and the sudden silence from their command.
Lin's unit fought through them quickly, firing into the closest groups while Azula burned through the ones who tried to block the passage. The Earth Kingdom soldiers were frightened and disorganized, but there were still too many of them to waste time fighting in place.
"Move left, we move further south." Lin ordered. "Come on, move quickly."
The soldiers obeyed at once. Kaida led three men through a side passage, and Azula followed close behind Lin while Sung twisted uselessly over her shoulder. They arrived at the site where they had para-dropped onto, then quickly did a head count and she was happy that no one was missing.
The general was heavier than he looked, but her prosthetics carried the weight without much issue. What bothered her more was the noise, so she promptly ripped part of the cloth from the parachutes to tie it to his open mouth.
They didn't need more pursuers on their tail just because the general kept insulting them. They lost them after cutting through the remains of an old supply corridor and more trenches that stretched through the land.
One of her own earthbenders collapsed some of them so that they wouldn't find them easily, giving room for the unit to gather their breath and check their weapons. Lin dropped Sung onto the ground.
He hit the earth hard enough to grunt, then glared up at her with hatred that would have been more impressive if he could move. The metal shackles held his limbs in place, and he couldn't say anything with the cloth in his mouth.
"Captain Kaida." Lin said.
Kaida stepped forward at once. She had a messenger hawk strapped carefully to her back inside a leather carrier, the animal restless after the fighting but still alive and alert. Lin was the first to admit the Fire Nation hawks were amazing messengers.
"Unstrap it."
Kaida knelt and loosened the carrier while Lin pulled a prepared strip of paper from inside her coat. She wrote quickly, keeping the message short, so that it was easier to secure to the hawk's leg.
Headquarters neutralized. Send confirmation and report progress of the main assault. No delay.
She tied the order in place herself, checked the knot, then released the bird. They had trained him to know where to go with the same gliders that had surveyed the area beforehand. The bird launched itself out into the air with a beating of wings and disappeared into the sky.
Now they had to wait for the news. While Lin disliked waiting, this looked like the correct place for it at least. Their part of the operation had been completed. Sung had been taken, his headquarters had been gutted, and the Earth Kingdom command structure had been thrown into confusion at the exact moment Shinu was supposed to attack.
If he followed her orders properly, her army would already be pushing through the weakened center, destroying as many enemy formations as possible before they could shore up defenses to repel the attack.
Azula came to stand beside her.
"I didn't know you could chi-block. I only know one other who knows how to, Ty Lee."
"My mother taught me the skill. Although it was hard to accomplish with my metal fingers, I managed. The only difference is that I leave bruises behind while my mother leaves no evidence behind. I'm not as nimble and fast to use it always, I just thought it was the best way to handle him. I could have also punched him hard enough but I didn't want to risk breaking his ribs and causing his death prematurely." Lin explained.
"Ah, makes sense." Azula chuckled.
Lin took one of the smaller maps from Kaida's pack and unfolded it on a flat piece of broken floor. The glider scouts had done good work. The drawn routes were not perfect, but they showed enough of the trenches, ruins, tunnel exits, and supply roads for her to judge their position.
They were a bit deeper in enemy lines than she had expected by their surroundings but it wouldn't matter if they broke through either way. Now depending on the news, they would strike the rear of the southern line and rejoin their own forces as the enemy collapsed.
That would be the best outcome. If general Shinu failed, or if the attack stalled, then they would need to improvise a route back through the weakest section of the line, which was risky.
'We do have something that could help in that situation either way.' she thought looking back at General Sung.
The captured general had gone silent, but his eyes were still moving. He was listening, and looking around in fear.
"I know the perfect thing to pass the time while we wait for the hawk to come back." Lin said.
"Oh? Sounds promising, I'm all ears." Azula said, with a grin on her face.
Lin folded the map halfway and looked down at the general on the ground.
"What do you say we have a little fun with the General here, Azula?"
Lin saw him flinch hard and that brought a smile to her face.
----0000----
General Shinu was nervous, and he thought any sane man in his position would be. The command tent had been reinforced with earth and timber, but it still trembled whenever the Fire Nation guns fired from behind the line.
Messengers came and went with reports from the tanks, rhino units, infantry companies, and his own Yuyan archers, who were fighting in the frontlines. With this one attack, the Fire Nation could finally break the Earth Kingdom after a century of war, and it all sat on his very shoulders.
He had been given command of both armies for the next twenty-four hours. Shinu had agreed, of course. Refusing would have been cowardice, and he was not a coward, but he had spent the first hour after her departure reading the orders over and over again, afraid that he would miss some important detail.
He began his attack at the time that had been written down. Tanks pushed first through the center, supported by firebenders, riflemen, and earthbenders clearing the broken terrain. The rhinos followed wherever the ground allowed them to pass, carrying men and supplies forward while the infantry widened the gap.
The Yuyan archers moved in selected groups, taking positions along raised sections and their own moving tanks, picking off earthbenders who tried to rally the retreating defenders or ambush them through the trenches.
The Earth Kingdom resisted with everything they still had. Earthbenders raised walls in front of the tanks, opened trenches beneath infantry lines, and tried to crush as many soldiers as they could with their boulders.
Shinu bit at one of his nails while he listened to the reports. The army was leaving waves of bodies behind while it was advancing.
"The third tank group has passed the second line of their defense."
"Mongke's unit is catching up to them soon."
"Enemy reserves are said to be moving from the south."
He has been monitoring the first phase for now, but he was growing anxious. If the headquarters had fallen, he would commit the reserves and push without delay. If the strike failed, he would tighten the advance, secure the center, and avoid overextending into a trap.
A hawk cry cut through the noise outside the tent. Major Han rushed out and returned moments later with the message tied to the bird's leg. Shinu took it with hands that he was relieved to find steady enough. The message was short, written in General Lin's direct style.
Shinu released a long breath. The princess and Agni's blessed general had succeeded, and now the weight of victory had been placed fully in his hands. He could feel the fear still there, but he was not general for nothing.
"Major Han. Send word to the princess that we are pushing through the center. Tell her the attack continues according to General Lin's plan." Shinu said, folding the message.
"Yes, General."
"And send the reserves forward now. All of them assigned to the central assault. No waiting."
Han saluted and ran to carry the orders. Shinu turned to the armor stand beside the table, where his helmet waited with its polished crest. His armor was more ornate than what Lin wore, gold-trimmed and made to be seen, he was a general after all.
He had wondered before if it made him seem vain, but now he thought it might serve a purpose. If the men saw him at the front, they would know their commander had not stayed behind while they fought.
He put on the helmet and stepped out of the tent. A platoon of his best Yuyan archers followed him, their captain giving a quick signal as the men formed around him with bows ready. Lin had trusted him with her men, and he would not waste their lives hiding behind the lines while the battle was being decided.
"Any enemy in sight is to be killed." Shinu ordered. "If they try to rally, you cut down the officer. If an earthbender moves to block us, you take him first. We are not stopping until the center collapses."
The archers answered with disciplined salutes, and Shinu and his group mounted their mongoose lizards and rode toward the front. They passed supply crews, wounded men being carried back, and engineers dragging tools toward the newly opened path.
The closer Shinu came to the fighting, the more he believed they could win. The earth had been torn open by tank tracks and explosions. Smoke moved between broken earthworks, and Fire Nation soldiers were pressing forward.
When Shinu reached the frontline, he saw that the enemy was beginning to fold. The tanks were pushing over the trenches, crushing barriers and men beneath their weight while the crews fired into groups trying to retreat.
Firebenders moved behind them, throwing flames into their backs and forcing earthbenders away from their positions. The rhinos carried infantry into the breach, and the soldiers jumped down almost before the animals had fully stopped, firing fireballs, shouting, and advancing as officers waved them forward.
Shinu felt the fear leave him as he raised his fist into the air.
"Forward!" he roared. "Give no quarter!"
The soldiers around him answered with a cheer that spread faster than he expected. Men who had been moving carefully began pushing harder, and officers repeated his order down the line. Shinu joined the advance himself, sending wide arcs of fire toward enemy groups from atop his mount.
His archers moved with him, loosing arrows at any soldier who came too close and any earthbender who tried to raise cover around the retreat. For the first time since the battle began, Shinu felt powerful, not merely important because of his rank.
He inspired the men forward and they were winning with him at the head of the battle. The center had broken. The Earth Kingdom was retreating in confusion, no doubt waiting for orders that would never arrive.
After what felt like hours of constant movement, Shinu called the closest officers and pointed toward the southern line.
"We turn now. The tanks continue forward enough to keep them running, then bend south. Infantry follows in sections. We trap the rest of their forces from behind and crush them against our line."
One officer blinked sweat from his eyes. "We are already far enough, General?"
"Yes. We close in on them. No time to wait!"
The order passed quickly. Units that had been advancing straight ahead began turning toward the rest of the enemy position, and Shinu could already see Lin's plan giving them their victory. If they moved fast enough, half the Earth Kingdom line would find the Fire Nation in front and behind them before they could escape.
His arms ached, and his throat burned from shouting, so he pulled one of the ration bars from his pouch. The Fourth Army had distributed them before the attack, bitter leaves crushed into hard rectangles and wrapped in paper.
Soldiers from Lin's army had said they helped with fatigue, unpleasant but effective. Shinu bit into it and forced himself to swallow. The taste was awful, dry and bitter enough to make his face twist, but the effect came faster than he expected.
Warmth spread through him, followed by a rush of energy that made his exhaustion feel distant. His heartbeat quickened, his hands steadied, and the battlefield seemed clearer. He raised his fist once again into the air, laughing louder than he meant to.
"Advance!" he roared. "For the Fire Nation!"
The men followed him south, and Shinu drove them toward victory with the strength of ten men burning in his chest.
----0000----
Long Feng kept his face composed as he listened to his Dai Li agent's report, even as his anger grew with every word. The Earth Kingdom army was in full retreat. The center had broken, and the rest of the line began falling apart faster than his agents had believed possible.
Soldiers were abandoning trenches, reserves would arrive too late, and the commanders who should have restored order were dead or missing. He couldn't believe that things had gone so badly.
He had given the army every advantage he could provide. Refugees had been converted into soldiers, trained enough to hold weapons, and prepared by the Dai Li to march without fear of death.
Ba Sing Se had numbers the Fire Nation could never match, and yet those numbers had been burned away so fast that the army didn't have time to recover. Moreover the weapons employed by the Fire Nation had surprised him and he had no answer to them at all.
General Sung was missing. General How had taken command but he was not in the frontlines yet. The officers in the central headquarters had vanished after the Fire Nation strike, and the Dai Li agents sent to recover Sung had not returned either.
Long Feng accepted the obvious conclusion. They were dead, captured, or useless to him now. He dismissed his agent and focused on what he could still do. He needed to find a way to bring back the population under his control.
They already knew too much; at first, rumors had been contained, but the battle was too close now. People could hear the explosions, see the smoke, and watch wounded men dragged through the gates.
Fear was spreading through the rings, and fear inside a city this large could become more dangerous than the enemy outside the walls. The Earth King had also become a problem. Kuei had wanted to know what was going on, meetings with generals, and the chance to speak to the people.
Long Feng had ended that nonsense by confining him to his chambers under the excuse of security. No one would see the King without Dai Li approval, and no order would leave the palace unless Long Feng allowed it.
The Upper Ring was already secured. Storehouses had been sealed, with rations for the upper district in Dai Li's control, and noble families warned that hoarding would be treated as treason. If necessary, the Middle and Lower Rings would serve as a shield.
The Fire Nation wanted to conquer Ba Sing Se and for that, they would have to go through millions of people before they could capture the upper district. Long Feng knew the Fire Nation didn't have the men to do such a feat.
At the same time, he would lose control of the whole city if his people started dying en masse. Which is why he wanted the shield to be there in the first place. He could go into the negotiating table with clear terms.
The Fire Nation could take the walls and raise their banners wherever they wished, but ruling Ba Sing Se would require hands already inside its throat, and he could offer the surrender of the city while keeping control of it himself. Or they could have the blood of millions in their hands.
"Seal the inner checkpoints from the Upper district." Long Feng ordered. "No movement between rings without Dai Li approval. Any officer coming from the front is to be questioned. Any soldier spreading panic is to be detained."
One agent bowed. "And the refugees?"
"Keep them in the lower districts."
"If the Fire Nation reaches them, they may riot."
"It won't come down to that, I have a plan."
The agent bowed again and left. The generals had failed, the army was collapsing, and the King was a buffoon either way, no one would negotiate with him. But he would try and keep his position, by any means necessary.