LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 4: Chapter 4
When I arrived at the tribe's location, I found most of the children and elderly outside their houses, gathered in one spot.
They stared at the masked soldiers, who were dressed in red and black armor and surrounded them. I turned my attention to the large ship, which was producing black smoke that rose, almost creating a black cloud in the sky, polluting the otherwise pure, dry air. I felt like I was choking just standing next to it. I resisted the urge to cough several times and walked in. Since I wasn't used to this kind of air with my current body, I could barely handle the smoke.
"What's going on?" Sokka asked as my eyes darted left and right.
To my dismay, I didn't spot an old man named Iroh, nor a prince with a red scar on his eye. But on the bright side, it could mean that it was earlier than I had estimated.
'If everyone in this parallel world is older, there's a chance Iroh is dead of old age. But thinking about it, I believe I heard that the Fire Lord is still young with black hair. I shouldn't make assumptions other than that everyone here is legal.'
An elderly woman approached us as the soldiers entered the tents. She said, "They're here, looking for a Waterbender."
Katara's left hand fidgeted. I grabbed her hand, stopping her from making any rash movements.
"It's going to be okay," I assured her.
"Don't say anything," Katara whispered.
Suddenly, a group of soldiers, with a bald man at the lead, headed toward us.
"Look at that. I thought only old hags and little children were around. Seems like there are some young, promising ones here," he remarked.
"Thank you, mister," replied Sokka. "We've been staying here to help our tribe by gathering food for them."
The bald man looked over my shoulder at the bag I was carrying.
"What do you have there?" he asked.
"A bunch of uncooked fish," I replied.
"Don't you eat them dried?" he asked.
"It's rare to find wood to start a fire," I replied. "One would have to go far to get it."
"What's your occupation, young kid?" he asked.
"I'm a fisherman," I replied. "Though, not a licensed one."
"For a fisherman, you've got a pretty heavy bag," he said, repeatedly slapping the bag on my shoulder.
"I'm not alone. Sokka and I are good at our jobs," I said, not giving any hint that Katara might be a waterbender. In fact, I acted like I didn't know what was going on.
"By the way, why are you asking? Is the Fire Nation planning to help the South by feeding them?" I mused.
"If you're tired of life, I can feed you to the fish," he said, "but that depends. If you're the person we're looking for, or not."
I tilted my head, acting confused. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."
"By any chance, is one of you three a waterbender?" He went straight to the point.
"No," I shook my head. "How did you even think there's a waterbender?"
"Very well. Our informant will come and point one of you out." He snorted, clapping his hands and smiling warmly.
A middle-aged woman appeared from the distance, walking toward us, smiling.
"Auntie Rakasha! How could you!" Sokka yelled, seemingly accepting his sister's fate as he looked at the old woman.
Denying that there was a waterbender, especially after someone had already snitched, would be useless.
Katara, who was holding my hand, trembled.
She smiled softly. "My bones are getting stiff, and I was promised to go to a warmer place," Rakasha replied.
I turned to Katara and smiled softly. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."
Since it hadn't been a full week since I awakened my system and memories, the tribe didn't know I was a waterbender. So, the logical suspect would be Katara.
She smiled, seeming to suppress a tear. "Yes…" she then leaned in, and we kissed. It was expected, I guess. I'm the only boy around who isn't her brother, and she's the only girl here. Plus, we had been spending time together. There was some kind of spark.
Looking at her, it seemed like she had already accepted her fate.
Well, too bad, I decided. It's too early for her to die.
But that kiss was a stupid move. It would alert them to take anyone of us as a hostage had the other decided to escape. That may be the case. That may be not. Humans act based on emotions more than they do based on logic, which made humans illogical creatures.
"Anyway, who's the waterbender between these two lovebirds?" The bald man pointed at us, seemingly reading the room.
Rakasha opened her mouth to speak.
But suddenly, water circled around her head, forming a sphere.
I had already taken my stance, and I wasn't done.
"Well, they say hell is warm, right?"
I waved my hands in different directions, and the water sphere spun, snapping the traitor's neck.
"I knew it was you. Now, will you die peacefully, or will you make it harder for everyone?" The Fire Soldier leader pointed at me.
"In this cold weather, not even a dick can get hard," I smirked, my heart pounding as the trained soldiers around me took their fighting stances.
I couldn't hope to match them in a fight using bending, especially when all I could do was push water, pull it, and make simple shapes.
On the other hand, I wasn't hopeless. On my back, my fishing spear hung.
If I could catch a fast fish in the sea with it, I could certainly catch a soldier's head.
One of the soldiers jumped, turned, and kicked. Fire appeared next to his leg, following his kick.
I swung my spear upward. The ice — frozen water — rose, forming a small wall that absorbed the attack.
[Discovering Ice Bending under Waterbending Skill]
[+ Skill: Freeze]
[Waterbending up to Level 6]
[Chi Bending up to Level 3]
'Icebending. A big ship sailing. Hold on a second. I've got an idea. Let's hope they are pissed off enough that they don't take hostages.'
I smirked.
"What are you smiling for?" The bald man asked, fire igniting around his hand, ready to fly toward me at any moment.
"I'll show you my secret technique," I replied. Behind the soldiers was their ship and the sea. All I needed to do was provoke them a little so they would follow me.
I raised my hands and swung them. With my waterbending level increasing, I could tell I could put more chi into my bending.
A layer of ice rose, intercepting the fire streams from the firebenders, before turning into a wave that headed toward them.
The wave was fast, but not impactful. All it did was shake them off balance. I ran toward them, passed by them, and continued on. Behind them was the sea.
The leader tried to chase after me, sending a few fireballs in my direction. I ignored him, spun, gave him a middle finger, and dove into the water.
'Part one of my plan is done. Now, I just need them to follow me.'
I sneered, coming to the surface and swimming at high speed.
The Fire soldiers left the tribe and boarded their ship.
'Good. They're too angry at my middle finger to remember to take a hostage. Now, let's swim at a speed they think they can catch up to.'