When the news broke about the Fire Nation's latest northwards campaign, the lords of the Earth Kingdom states that were about to be invaded almost fell into a panic. Thanks to Chenbao's port, the sea routes were now lousy with Fire Nation ships that effectively blockaded the coastal cities and preyed on even the smallest fishing boats. And with the enemy soon to invade, the overland trade routes that kept some states fed or supplied would soon be cut off.
It would require the might of the Earth Kingdom's Imperial Navy to clear the waves and secure a path for reinforcements through the North Sea, but years had already passed without the vaguest of signs of Ba Sing Se's promised reinforcements. In hindsight, waiting and praying for aid was a mistake.
Yet at the same time, no governor or noble had stepped up to rally the isolated states. Every lord had opted to trust in their walls, in the hopes that thick gates and thicker walls would be enough to dissuade or deflect the Fire Nation as it had decades ago.
Before this, the northern states had been left alone due to its relatively poorer resources. Both Fire Lords Sozin and Azulon had preferred to focus their war efforts on breaking into Ba Sing Se and seizing the more fertile lands along the way.
But now, the focus has changed. After almost a century, the Fire Nation seemed to have enough of the stalemated eastern lines, and decided to reach for lower hanging fruits. An army was being raised, not to simply raid but with the intent of capturing everything west of the Taihua Mountains.
Even with the existential threat now coming for them, and with three years of silence from Ba Sing Se, it still took some days before a few aides and courtiers stepped forwards with the idea of a coordinated resistance.
A lone city would certainly be swallowed by the flames of the enemy. But if the states could organize and work together, such a fate might be avoided. A united north would certainly have the raw numbers to overwhelm the invaders at least thrice over.
But not every governor or noble agreed with the idea of giving away a portion of their defenders to die in another state. Not everyone was keen on scorching their farmlands and villages for the greater good of the northern Earth Kingdom.
Ostrich horses and terrier pigeons went back and forth as the states negotiated for or against the collective defense. Bartering, coercion, blackmail, and other stock tools of Earth Kingdom politics were deftly wielded by all sides, until finally a consensus was reached, and the northern Earth Kingdom stood as one.
However, it took nearly a month before that resolve was achieved. A month of cajoling and threatening, where many states, especially the more reluctant and distant ones, did not think of marshalling their forces. A month's travel time that could have been spent in delivering troops and provisions, wasted.
As such, when the Fire Nation's Northern Pacification Army trespassed onto Earth Kingdom soil, men and supplies still only trickled towards the defenders' mustering points. Worse, the various groups had not coalesced into large enough entities to effectively fend off the enemy.
Already, reinforcements from a couple of cities had been intercepted by the Fire Nation invaders, their measly thousands of city troops and conscripts far from a match against their ruthless and more disciplined enemy.
The Earth Kingdom states needed a force of dozens of thousands, scores of thousands, to make up for that disparity. They needed to be as overwhelming and unstoppable as a landslide, a tide of men and spears and earth to bury the invaders.
Knowing that fact, Commander Shao of Bailing still found himself unwilling to march his forces north to join his allies. The Fire Nation army was headed right for his home, after all.
His cousin, the Lord of Bailing, had agreed to the plan, just as every other lord had, of contributing a portion of their city's defenders towards the coalition's grand army, while the city would do all it could to delay its inevitable fall to the Fire Nation.
While Bailing prepared to sell itself dearly, Shao would be his cousin's representative in the coalition, and his avenger.
But…
Shao looked down the road he was supposed to take, and then turned to the dark forests where the enemy would be coming from, and then finally glanced over his shoulder to the hill behind him, and the city that lay beyond it.
Knowing that the enemy was only a week or so away, and that he was practically fleeing his home, gnawed at Shao's heart. He had four thousand of Bailing's finest with him, that might…would make a difference when the Fire Nation came to test the walls. He should be with his cousin, leading the defense. He should be the one fighting at the walls and stubbornly holding out until reinforcements came.
He wanted to do something, anything, to keep his home safe, instead of returning spirits know how much later to fight over its ruins.
Four thousand men was not even a tenth of what the coalition had agreed they'd need to push back the invaders.
But it was what Shao had at the moment, and he recalled the dark stories of failed attempts at liberating the Fire Nation colonies. Of the notorious Defiant and its Scorpion that terrorized any who trespassed into their domain.
Shao took a moment to stare at the foreboding treeline, and then found his resolve.
"Sound the order to move out," he told his retainers, and urged his ostrich horse away from the road. "We're making a detour. The enemy is bound to send a scouting force. We will delay them, and buy time for Bailing. I will not leave my home unblooded."
There was no hesitation in his force's movement. Every conscript and soldier with him no doubt were glad to be doing something more substantial to protect their homes. Shao could feel the resolve around him.
They crossed the forest in good time, the men flowing easily around familiar terrain. Outriders came back with regular reports, and even if the enemy was still days away, verbalizing the lack of any sightings eased everyone's worries.
Morale was still high that night when they camped and Shao laid out his plans. They would take a page from the Scorpion, waiting for the invaders to pass before harassing their rear lines. By threatening their provisions, Shao would force them to stop or turn back, to focus on securing their supply line. He only needed one raid, two at most, and then he and his men could slip away and leave the trespassers stewing with worry about covering their vulnerable flanks.
It was a good plan. Shao's subordinates agreed, and he humbly allowed them to voice their thoughts to add and refine the plan further.
Earthbenders would carve out pits and ditches to slow the enemy advance. A few scattered holes would give the Fire Nation reason to pause and be wary about more unseen traps. The displaced earth could then be used to form barricades to further slow the enemy army.
A few teams of volunteers would remain behind enemy lines to threaten their supply route for as long as possible, and distract their attention and manpower. It would likely be a one-way mission, but several able lieutenants were confident in their resolve and skills. Shao etched their names in his mind, and promised to deliver their last messages to their family in person.
Now with a much clearer strategy in hand, Shao's plucky four thousand (he'd have to find a better name later) marched with purpose the next day. Along the way, foraging teams plucked every fruit and hunted every animal they could find, to deny the Fire Nation army resources as well as to stretch their own provisions.
It took another day of peaceful marching before the scouts rode back with all haste in the late afternoon, bearing dark news.
The first Fire Nation trespassers had been spotted, barely half a day away. Five vanguards that each numbered in the hundreds, advancing as a wave judging by their reported positions.
"If they saw us, they made no move to chase us," one shaken scout said.
The other scouting parties nodded in agreement. "They did not react to our presence, not even to send out their own riders."
"What about their scouts?" Shao asked, earning shaking heads.
"We did not find Fire Nation teams ranging beyond those formations. We saw no scouts or foraging parties."
It was a sentiment shared by the other teams, and Shao found himself frowning with concern.
Either there was a ploy here, or the Fire Nation were bold enough to simply march in without the need to scout ahead. Both were worrying, but for different reasons.
A lieutenant suddenly asked, "did you see their banners?"
It took several seconds before someone provided an answer. "I think…there was the emblem of the Fire Nation's flame, and below it… I could not make out the design."
"None of them were bearing large standards, they only had a few banners at the head of their formation."
In hindsight, Shao should've tasked his scouts to get as much information as they could before reporting back, instead of coming back as soon as the first sighting was made. But what's done was done, and at least he now knew the enemy's approach.
And they were each a group of several hundred. A raiding force, maybe, meant to sow terror.
Shao could face all of them together and still outnumber them.
"Tell our men to set up camp and rest up," he ordered. "Tomorrow, we'll start bleeding the Fire Nation."
Ideally, he'd like to launch a night raid, but Shao was pragmatic enough to know that his men were not trained or equipped for that, nor was he willing to risk his scouts lingering around the Fire Nation vanguards for too long.
By dusk, earthen walls and watchtowers were raised, and hearty meals were being cooked to buoy the men's spirits. Watchful sentries kept their eyes on the darkening grasslands, in case the enemy were reckless enough to run all the way here for a night raid.
Shao spent most of that evening in his tent with his captains and lieutenants, crafting strategy for the next day. They decided on an early march to hit the closest flank of the Fire Nation vanguard wave. They'd strike quickly to trample the enemy, and then move up to hit the next enemy vanguard, and keep going so long as they could afford to. Then Shao would withdraw most of his forces, leaving the volunteers to slink off to find the main Fire Nation army and begin their harassment campaign.
The hit and run should be enough to give the invaders some pause and slow their progress. After that, Shao could return to his original task of joining the coalition force with a lighter heart.
Night passed in what felt like a blink of an eye. Shao barely had any sleep, but he still was giddy and fully awake as his men broke camp and began to move out under the cover of night.
Scouts rode off with fresh mounts to monitor the enemy's movements, while earthbenders were given orders to leave the improvised fortifications as is, so as to not tax their earthbending. Shao felt pride at the tangible determination that filled the sons of Bailing. They moved quickly and in good order, thanks in large part to the gentle grassland slopes. There was no need to slow down to allow earthbenders to create bridges or smoothen the terrain.
The crunch of boots and claws filled the cold air, accented by the rustling of banners and flags, and the exhales and mutterings of men. The waking lands around them also added to the choir of war, with crickets especially singing somewhere in the distance.
Dawn's light was beginning to bathe the realm with color when they arrived at their first target.
Who were absent.
"What is the meaning of this?" Shao scanned the land before him, and instead of hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers, he found red banners staked across empty grasslands. No tents or campfires, only the banners and disturbed grass offered any notion that the enemy had been here.
"Where is the enemy? Why didn't our scouts inform us about this?"
Come to think of it, where were the scouts that were supposed to watch this missing group?
"Should we withdraw, sir?" someone asked, and there was no mistaking the apprehension in the man's voice.
Shao stared at the fluttering red banners, struggling to make out the black patterns on them. Then he glanced back to his column of men who were no doubt beginning to pick up on the confusion.
"Send out some men to investigate. Be careful, this is almost certainly a trap. Have the rest fall into formation"
As spearmen and archers gathered into blocks, Shao watched in trepidation as a score of men jogged down to the field of banners, and saw how they froze as they got close enough to identify the banners. The men's heads swivelled back and forth between Shao and the banners several times, and there was no mistaking the fear that was gripping them.
Still, Shao kept silent as the men seemed to have made a decision, one of them plucking a banner before they hurriedly returned back to him.
For a moment, Shao was confused. And then the men got closer, and he could make out the banner they brought back with them.
The emblem of the Fire Nation's flame was unsurprising, but what sent a cold shiver running up the noble commander's spine was the black scorpion placed beneath it.
"We need to withdraw. Now. Tell the men-"
Sudden movement caught Shao's attention. Whole sections of grass not far from the banners lifted like trapdoors, and men in red and black suddenly rose up.
"We need to retreat," he urged, panic bubbling in him.
Shao began to spin about to practice what he ordered, but then he spied the glint of metal peeking out from one of the holes, dragged out by a few armored figures.
He froze, his mind unable to comprehend the significance of the metal tube.
And then it flashed with fire, and Shao heard the thunderous boom a fraction later.
And then Shao saw a dot grow so rapidly in size as it flew towards him.
And then Shao knew no more.
*****
"Well, that was almost a disaster."
Captain Toshi could only nod as he watched his 2nd Battalion sweep through the disordered enemy ranks. Thick clouds of naphtha fumes wafted lazily across the battlefield, choking the unprepared foe with its noxious concoction. The scouts attached to the battalion were still hiding somewhere among the grass, carefully picking their shots with arrows and flame to silence Earth Kingdom officers and other budding leaders.
"The enemy was cautious," he eventually said. "Though having his men form up did prove to be a benefit in the end."
"Hm…"
Toshi hid his mild surprise as he glanced at the colonel beside him.
"We did not need to kill them, only chase them away," Colonel Xing said, his hands no longer smoking though the long barrel beside him still glowed a dull red. "It'd be easier for us if we ambushed them while they were still in a marching column…"
The boy gave a shrug, and this time Toshi didn't hide his surprise when his commander did the most un-noble thing by unabashedly admitting fault. "But it's my fault for wrongly assuming that they'd come closer to inspect the site. Now we'll be wasting the morning having to kill enough of them to drive the point home."
"But you did take out the enemy commander immediately," the captain consoled awkwardly.
"Yeah, but that was pure luck. If I missed and he retreated out of sight, we might be facing actual battle."
"I doubt that, sir," Toshi earnestly said, looking at the smoking, bloody craters his colonel's how-whatever weapon had created. Coupled with the naphtha smog smothering the battlefield, the enemy army was already routing. The captain's battalion was only wading in to make sure that they did so faster, and in a far less orderly fashion.
If anything, his men and women weren't so much cutting down fleeing soldiers as they were chopping up the corpses to hurl at their backs. A younger, less wise Toshi would've been bent over heaving his guts at witnessing such callous desecration. But now, he'd learned that it was a safer and more efficient means to keep the enemy running.
"What do we do about prisoners, sir?" he suddenly asked, the thought only just coming to him.
Colonel Xing waved it off distractedly. "No prisoners. Give them every chance and reason to flee. We don't have the time to integrate new folks in our camp. If they're truly too stupid to run, put them on burial duty."
Which meant burying their fallen comrades while the battalion left them behind and continued their advance. A good method of spreading terror, from what the other captains had informed Toshi.
"Toshi." The colonel's mutterings brought the captain back to the present.
"Yes sir?"
"I want a report of this fight. I want you to tell me what I did wrong. Give me as much details as possible. I got too used to dealing with hamstrung or incompetent nobles… Them being on the defense probably also changed things…"
"I… Yes, sir."