General Iroh's army ceased to exist. A great many soldiers resigned. As for me, after the unsuccessful petition for a transfer to the Capital garrison, I was assigned to the same port city where our troops had arrived. However, I didn't plan on staying here long. In a short time, I managed to learn about this place, and the information, frankly, was unimpressive.
The most significant event for the city in the last thirty years was the arrival of General Iroh. That is, absolutely nothing had been happening in this part of the Fire Nation colony for a prolonged period.
This was troubling. I did not like quiet and peaceful places. They were depressing. The burden of my reincarnations began to weigh on me heavier than ever when I found myself in such locations. Boredom became so unbearable that I was willing to do anything just to make it retreat, even temporarily. Of course, meditations usually helped me at first, but they were no panacea. I needed to live, not just exist.
In this city, I could have focused on honing my Firebending skills. That would have absorbed me for years, perhaps. But here, there was simply no one to practice with. I found out the names of the strongest benders in the port city and challenged them. I defeated them using only bending—I didn't need to force close combat or even use a weapon—which spoke volumes about the low skill level of the local benders.
I began collecting rumors, trying to find out where active fighting was taking place. My logic was simple: on the front lines, only the cleverest or the strongest survive. To master bending and keep myself from getting bored, I needed to join the strongest.
There was sluggish fighting in many places. But, as noted, it was just that—sluggish. Armies like the one General Iroh assembled for the capture of Ba Sing Se were not clashing anywhere else. The front line was locked in an unstable equilibrium. No one could break through the enemy's defenses. Nor did they have the strength for it.
The battle for Ba Sing Se had depleted the resources of both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The Water Tribes, no matter how much they were beaten and humiliated, did not venture out of their territory. I don't know what it would take to make them seriously enter the conflict. The rulers of the Northern and Southern Tribes seemed not to realize that the attacks on them were not isolated incidents. The Fire Nation, once it fully subdued the Earth Kingdom, would turn its gaze toward the poles, with which it had only been toying until then.
It would be interesting to transfer to the Navy, specifically to participate in the rare raids on the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. For instance, to the Southern Raiders unit. I simply wanted to see with my own eyes what Waterbenders were capable of. To clash with them, to compare the skills of element bending.
I had almost written a petition for a transfer to the Southern Raiders unit when I heard that Fire Lord Ozai had commissioned several different groups to bring him the head of the rebellious General Jeong Jeong. Soldiers were placing bets on who would succeed. Most votes went to a certain Captain Zhao, who had once learned Firebending from Jeong Jeong himself. The rogue General was rumored to be an outstanding Firebender, and Captain Zhao's skills were said not to lag far behind. Who else but his personal student could capture Jeong Jeong?
A powerful opponent, a skilled Firebender captain, and the fame that those who managed to capture Jeong Jeong would likely receive. The latter was precisely what I needed to clear my name, to be able to join the elite garrison and observe the training of Princess Azula. Although… if Captain Zhao really is an outstanding Firebender, I could try to earn favor with him instead.
As I later learned, I made the almost correct choice by enlisting under Zhao's banner rather than the Southern Raiders. Had I joined the Southern Raiders, my life would have been even more monotonous than in the port city. The Southern Raiders had destroyed or captured all the Waterbenders of the Southern Tribe.
My transfer petition was approved quite quickly. General Iroh's personal recommendation likely impressed Zhao. It could impress many people, actually, and opened many doors for me. It's a shame that none of them led to the Fire Lord's palace, or better yet, to his secret libraries, where bending secrets are hidden…
Captain Zhao's base was located in the south. However, unlike the Southern Raiders unit, he had different obligations. His base controlled the sea border between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.
At the beginning of the war, Captain Zhao's post might have held some significance or even been a critical strategic point, but not now. The Earth Kingdom's naval fleet had been completely crushed around the time the Air Nomads were wiped out. The Earth Kingdom tried to launch new ships, but they were sunk by our forces without any effort.
The Fire Nation Navy was the strongest at sea. Our ships' armor was nearly impossible to pierce, while the catapults mounted on them often sank an enemy vessel with a single hit. Fire Nation vessels are also among the fastest in the ocean because they are equipped with steam engines. Earth Kingdom ships simply cannot match our speed. Only the ships of the Water Tribes can. And even then, certain circumstances must align for them to overtake any Fire Nation Navy vessel: a favorable wind and the presence of a Waterbender, or better yet, several, who can accelerate the vessel.
I was not the only one from General Iroh's disbanded army to be reassigned to Zhao. The Captain somehow managed to skim the cream of Iroh's soldiers. The best of the best were sailing with me to Zhao's base. These would be men I could trust my back to. Among the ordinary soldiers, my reputation was generally positive, unlike among the officer corps of Iroh's former army.
At the same time, I noticed that there were none of those officers among those sailing to Zhao. Not even a single Lieutenant. I formed the opinion that Zhao had not invited any of Iroh's officers so they couldn't challenge his position. Rumor had it that the Captain was a careerist whose ambitions knew no bounds, so he had no need for other officers who also wanted to earn favor with the Fire Lord.
Upon arriving at the Captain's base, we saw many soldiers hastily preparing ships for departure. It did not look like personnel drills. It seemed Zhao had learned where the rebellious General Jeong Jeong was hiding and was ready to set out for his head at any moment.
Zhao himself was found in the port. No, he was not observing the preparation of his ships, as one might have guessed, and certainly wasn't waiting for our arrival. Zhao was training his Firebending, ferociously sending jets of flame ten meters away from himself, forcing the soldiers to give him a wide berth. And he… seemed to be doing it all for show, deliberately demonstrating his skills to the soldiers…
I sighed in disappointment, watching Captain Zhao's training. The rumors about him being an outstanding Firebender were false. It took me a few seconds to realize it. I remembered how General Iroh, Prince Lu Ten, or Princess Azula moved and breathed. Zhao lacked all of it. There was absolutely nothing resembling the Firebending style of the royal family and the many high-ranking officers.
Zhao was certainly strong… for an ordinary rank-and-file Firebender. I saw a different picture. He had elevated his hatred to an absolute, and that was what fueled his flame. He blazed with his own malice so intensely that for some time, I considered him mentally disturbed. He probably saw nothing but the enemy who needed to be roasted during a battle.
I can assume this because I have seen similar cases a hundred times. Berserkers, for example… And nothing good awaited people with such a limited perception. They died. Sometimes they burned out from within, but more often, they missed something right under their nose during a fight, and that something cost them their lives.
And I wouldn't say that the strength gained in this manner was at a high level. Not at all. Even now, I can confidently say that Zhao is no match for me in an honest Firebending duel. It's hard to believe that Jeong Jeong, whose skills were once publicly acknowledged by General Iroh, trained him. It didn't seem at all like Zhao had studied under him. Or did he only learn what he deemed necessary?
At first glance, Zhao could be compared to Princess Azula. She not only used a special breathing technique to enhance her fire (Zhao, incidentally, often lost his focus), but also occasionally fueled her flame with a feeling of hatred. But even the young Princess didn't surrender to it completely. Her hatred was more of a cold, calculating fury that, to everyone's surprise, she controlled very well.
What could I possibly learn from this Captain? And would there even be any benefit from transferring to his command?
When our vessel docked, we lined up near Zhao and waited for his training to end. It actually didn't last long. Zhao wasn't conserving his energy, so he soon finished his session, all sweaty and exhausted. At that moment, most of the ordinary soldiers present at his base dropped what they were doing and applauded. Zhao smiled with satisfaction. Vain.
"I congratulate you on your arrival at my base," Zhao announced, puffing out his chest and looking down his nose at us. "I am Captain Zhao. From now on, you report to me. My command is law to you. It must be carried out by any means necessary. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Captain Zhao!" our ranks responded in unison.
"Who among you had a letter of recommendation from General Iroh? Step forward!" I complied with Zhao's order. All the others who received Iroh's recommendation had managed to get into the Capital garrison after all. "Long? Congratulations, I am appointing you as one of my bodyguards. You will be among the first to have the chance to singe Jeong Jeong's hair…"
For some reason, the theory that Jeong Jeong was to blame for Lu Ten's death was popular among the soldiers as well. Many believed that if it hadn't been for his betrayal, the Prince would be alive. These same people also thought I was eager to take revenge on Jeong Jeong. It seemed Zhao held a similar opinion… The logical chain was clearly broken.
No, I am indeed eager to clash with Jeong Jeong in a duel, but for an entirely different reason. I want to challenge him as an acclaimed Firebender. And I truly hope he shows something more than his student Zhao, the "outstanding" master of Firebending…
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