Avatar: The Legend of Anzen Hyriu, Book 1: The Legend of Beifen

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The Wall Breaks

The banging continued. Wei joined a group of warriors and benders heading to the wall. Koluk and I ran to help evacuate more people. I heard a crash and the sound of ice breaking; several holes had broken through the wall, and soldiers marched in; panic ensued throughout the city. I did everything I could to keep everyone calm. I could see hundreds of soldiers pouring into the city; we would be over whelmed. I ran as fast as I could to the wall. The water benders were taking a stance behind a small wall that sectioned off the city from the canals. I jumped over the wall with water and air bending and charged the soldiers. I heard Wei and several others shout my name. I ignored them. A few spearmen charged me but hesitated slightly when they saw I was a child. I punched one in the stomach and threw him to the ground. I snatched his spear and broke the wood part over another's head. The last spearman got a face full of snow.

I saw an opening in the wall right in front of a canal, so the soldiers had to go on either side. I got an idea and froze the water in the canal, hoping some soldiers would take the bait and go on the new, easy path I had made for them. Fortunately, a great deal of them took the bait and charged forward toward me. What they didn't know was I only froze the top layer of ice thick enough for a single person to walk on it. I raised my hands in a slow, strong, forward motion. The ice on my end cracked as I lifted up the water below it. The wave surged forward, shattering the ice under the soldiers' feet. Soldiers were tumbling all over the place. The wave crashed into the wall, knocking back any soldier that was about to charge into the city. I then froze the water so it sealed up the hole in the wall.

"Nice work, Hyriu," Pakku said as he charged a group of fire benders.

I saw to waves of water crash together with Fire Nation soldiers in between. I looked back and saw Wei in deep concentration, but with a slight smile on his face. We were on the offensive now. But soon, we were forced to retreat again after the Fire Nation sent in their komodo-rhinos and tanks. The rhinos were ridden by a fire bender, and each had two mini catapults strapped to their side. The tanks were manned by two fire benders. We went back to our wall. Water falls fell from it, and I saw water benders aiming the water at the tanks and rhinos. Some tanks had what looked like giant metal crossbows on them and shot the metal arrows into the wall and pulled it down. The army surged in.

I knocked one guy off a rhino with a ball of water. I froze another rhino in its tracks. I used my acrobatics to dodge the fire balls, and I sent attacks of my own. A tank came at me; I whipped my arms around creating tremendous power and flipped the tank upside down with water bending. The cab of the tank just turned right side up, and it came at me again. The fire benders in the tank kept me busy. I shot a ball of ice that jammed itself in the small opening that the fire benders shot from, which bought me a few seconds. I lifted up large shards of ice around the tank, so it couldn't move in any direction. The fire benders jumped out. I jump-kicked off a wall of a house and kicked one in the face. I spun mid-air and came around and smacked the other. They both went down. A third fire bender surprised me when he came out of the tank and punched fire at me. I dodged and twisted his arm behind him. I kicked him in the back, so he face-planted the ground. As he tried to get up, I jumped down from the tank and onto his back, forcing him to the ground again. I ran off to continue fighting.

Around mid day, my right shoulder had gotten a bad burn from a fireball that landed near me. I was making my way to the Healing Huts, but the only problem was I was in the heart of the battle. I kept my right arm close to my chest, so I wouldn't aggravate the wound. I used my left arm to fight off the soldiers that came at me. I was almost to the huts when several soldiers charged at me. I was in between two houses, and only the harsh battle was behind me. I lifted up a large wall of ice then melted it and turned it into a wave. I jumped atop the wave and rode it to the huts, water bending with my left arm and taking out many soldiers. I got my shoulder fixed up as best it could be, then went back out into the fight.