As Kahn's forces closed in on their targets, Lidon and his group also spotted the incoming Royal Guards.
After only a moment of tense stillness, the battle erupted.
On the surface, Lidon commanded nearly a hundred fighters, while the Royal Guards numbered barely twenty—a massive difference.
But numbers were deceiving.
Among Lidon's nearly hundred people, fewer than ten were Firebenders, and all of them were exhausted after days of fleeing.
Their strength had already dropped by at least a third.
By contrast, every member of the Royal Guards was a Firebender—elite soldiers of the Fire Nation. After resting the previous night, they were in peak condition.
The gap between a trained bender and an ordinary fighter was usually impossible to bridge, let alone when the benders in question were elite warriors like Wolf's troops.
Normally, the fight would have ended quickly and decisively.
However, Azula's strict order to capture everyone alive greatly restricted the Royal Guards.
They couldn't unleash their full strength, which gave Lidon's weakened force just enough breathing room to resist.
Through coordinated teamwork, experienced fighters and the few Firebenders barely held off the Royal Guards' pressure—
but only barely.
The battle settled into a fragile equilibrium.
And then Kahn and Azula stepped in.
Because of their plan the night before, they both understood what needed to be done.
To flawlessly complete Ozai's mission, they had to crush Lidon's force and do so in a way that left no doubt.
Which meant: Kahn and Azula had to be the ones to take them down.
Lidon's group had expected to "lose on purpose" to help sell the illusion.
But the moment Kahn and Azula joined the battlefield, they realized something:
They didn't need to pretend to lose.
They were going to lose—no matter what.
The battle had been hanging by a thread before. All it took was a gust of wind to shatter the balance.
Kahn and Azula weren't gusts of wind.
They were twin storms.
They crashed into the chaos with unstoppable momentum.
Splitting into two flanks, they punched a wide "V" through the combat line, flattening resistance like a pair of war machines.
To avoid seriously injuring anyone, Kahn didn't use Firebending at all.
Instead, he employed the martial arts and Chi Blocking techniques he hadn't showcased in a long time.
With Spiritbending sharpening his senses and increasing his precision, his footwork reached a terrifying new height.
In the chaos, Kahn moved like a phantom—appearing and vanishing unpredictably, slipping through attacks with impossible grace.
His fingers struck pressure points with surgical precision.
From the outside, it looked supernatural:
Everywhere Kahn passed, enemies collapsed without warning—Firebenders and non-benders alike—limbs going numb, bodies dropping like puppets whose strings had been cut.
The scene was bizarre enough to chill anyone watching.
On the other side, Azula used the same strategy.
While her martial arts weren't quite at Kahn's level, the comparison was hardly fair.
She only fell short when measured against him specifically. Because she often lost to him in hand-to-hand sparring, she had developed her own formidable close-combat skill.
Now, even someone like Ty Lee would have trouble dealing with her for long.
Azula's movements were fast, ruthless, and efficient—every strike hit a nerve, a tendon, or a weak point.
Even while restraining herself, she could neutralize enemies with only a few blows.
And when facing Firebenders?
Azula was outright terrifying.
She met incoming flames head-on with her signature blue fire.
Her flames didn't just overpower her opponents—they humiliated them, turning their proud Firebending into a joke.
Many of Lidon's benders doubted reality itself.
This was Azula and Kahn's first true public display of power—and it was dazzling.
Last night's conversation had already shown Lidon their intelligence, but he never expected their strength to be this overwhelming.
Seeing Kahn cut through the battlefield with ease, Lidon's eyes narrowed.
A spark of competitive resolve ignited.
Instead of holding back, he wanted to personally test his old friend's son.
He punched forward, launching a raging fireball directly at Kahn.
But when Kahn faced him—
Something inside Kahn switched.
Spiritbending activated.
His senses sharpened.
His awareness expanded.
Every movement, every breath, every shift in the battlefield—he could feel all of it.
It was as though he had opened a third eye.
Without even glancing at the incoming fireball, Kahn reached out with a fluid motion—
—and snuffed the fireball out of the air like pinching a candle flame.
Under Lidon's stunned gaze, Kahn stepped past him, tapped two pressure points with ghostlike precision—
—and Lidon's entire body went limp.
He collapsed immediately, stunned and powerless.
Less than a minute after Kahn and Azula entered the fight, the battle was completely over.
"You know, that was actually a pretty fun warm-up," Azula said, stretching lazily. "Shame we couldn't go all out. But still—so many test subjects."
"You call that holding back?" Kahn shot her a look.
It was easy to tell who defeated whom.
The people Kahn struck down looked confused, as if wondering what had just happened.
The ones Azula took down looked like they'd been physically beaten half to death.
Azula shrugged.
"Honestly? I really was holding back."
"…Alright, fine." Kahn had to admit—if Azula fought at the intensity she used against him… people would definitely die.
Nearby, the Royal Guards exchanged awkward glances.
They were supposed to be protecting Azula.
But after watching the two of them tear through an entire rebel force…
Did Azula even need protection?
Could they even protect her?
Considering how young the pair was, some Guards suddenly questioned their entire careers.
What kind of "elite soldiers" couldn't even beat kids?
Wolf snapped out of his shock first. He ordered his troops to bind the unconscious rebels, then approached Azula.
"Princess, what are your orders now?"
Ozai's command had been to eliminate the rebels. Wolf honestly didn't understand the point of capturing them alive.
Azula answered with a cold smile that made Wolf's hair stand on end.
"Letting them die quickly would be too merciful. And how would that scare future rebels?"
She chuckled darkly.
"Sometimes, living hurts far more than dying."
...
Author's Note:
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