Private Gao consciously kept his breathing slow and silent as he slowly crawled towards the lights of the enemy camp. He grinned as he saw the slumped silhouettes of the guards. The Earth Kingdom armies had finally wisened up and reinforced their perimeter defenses at night, but the troops were paying an unexpected price for the hasty adoption of increased patrols.
Just as how it took a significantly smaller amount of troops to man a fort and fend off an attacking force, so too did it only take a battalion or two to keep a whole enemy army awake throughout the night.
All it took was for firebenders to make themselves known by hurling flames over the walls and everyone would have to wake up against the very possible threat of a night raid.
Every now and then, the defenders would try sallying out to chase the harassers. Often, these attempts would only be a small improvised force, which made them easy pickings for the troops of the 11th hiding in the darkness to surround and silence. Firebenders would quickly jump up to snuff out torches and lanterns, while conventional steel dealt with everything else.
If the defenders sallied out in force, the battalions of the 11th would slip away into the night, taking out whatever enemy groups that were isolated enough. With the help of Gao and his fellows, the retreat had thus far been smooth and untroubled, despite how eager the enemy were to secure a good night's sleep. If the chance presented itself, a group of firebenders would also sneak into the emptied out camp to raze the enemy supplies.
And if the enemy was brave enough to ignore the harassment and kept to older, less rigorous security? The battalions would happily pick away at the more vulnerable patrols and find a way to slip in for some burning and stabbing. Then the defenders would still be forced to wake up, only now they'd be in a far worse state than before.
Regardless, the overall result was a wary and weary enemy who was forced to stay up all night, or even several nights, and were in poor condition for a pitched battle with the other elements of the Northern Pacification Army.
Weirdly, Gao heard that some of the 11th's allies were complaining that the fighting wasn't fair, which was honestly stupid.
They'd prefer a 'fair' fight over an increased chance of living and winning?
Gao had a girl and his parents waiting for him back in Yu Dao, so those sad, lonely virgins can take their 'honor' and fuck off with it, thank you very much..
At least the sentiment wasn't unanimous.
Some regiments (most likely not made up of lonely virgins) were grateful for the dirty work the 11th Royal Regiment did on their behalf. Enough so that those in the 8th and 31st Cavalry took the effort to reserve prime camping spots for them whenever they had the chance. Gao was very sure that those people were particularly blessed with loving parents, spouses and children. They probably were excellent, understanding lovers, not like the honor-hungry virgins who probably saw their dicks as useless, dangling bits only meant for pissing.
Gao didn't like those self-righteous pricks, but still, they were on the same side so orders were to tolerate them.
On the other hand, this bunch of Earth Kingdom soldiers were on the other side of the fighting, but the private felt bad for them. After the initial feint in the evening, they'd been forced to double their guards. Then when the scouts of the 11th stole away a couple of patrols, the whole camp was put on alert up until the night.
Poor fucks. Gao could sympathize, training in the 11th included a lot of trying nights as well. He knew what it was like having to stand guard in one patch of soil throughout the night, and keeping his senses honed for any sign of trouble. He knew both extremes of struggling to stay alert amidst exhaustion and boredom, as well as trying to remain calm as his paranoia was stoked and every sound and fluttering shadow seemed to hold a threat just waiting to pounce.
At least the Earth Kingdom fighters didn't have to go through naphtha endurance.
A cricket song flitted through the cold air for a few seconds, and then Sergeant Lo-Ching in front of Gao and his team gestured with one hand, and everyone reflexively froze and held their breaths in anticipation. Gao counted 23 seconds before he heard groggy activity from the enemy camp. The guards snapped up straight with their weapons at the ready as they looked about in confusion. Then shadows could be seen dancing across the tents, probably of soldiers rushing to the other end of the camp to meet a supposed probing attack.
Amidst the rising clamor, Gao heard the cricket song again, and Sergeant Lo-Ching snapped out another hand gesture. Gao and two comrades rose up a little, ignoring the aches in their legs and backs.
It was time for the squad's earthbenders to do their work.
With practiced effort, the trio focused on the ground below and around them, and very slowly shifted the dirt away to lower the entire squad into a considerable depression. Now able to at least kneel comfortably, Gao and the other earthbenders began to work their way towards the camp, carefully displacing the dirt and rocks in their way, making it look like earth was flowing around a bubble that encapsulated the whole team.
The sergeant kept his head just high enough to take a peek and guide them, while the other members of the squad of twenty kept their weapons and firebending ready.
Everyone knew that all it took was bad luck and a poor response to it to spoil any infiltration, so weapons were gripped and firebending stances were adopted as they crept onwards.
They reached the earthen walls in short order and were comfortably out of the guards' peripheral vision. Gao kept his breath even as he prepared himself for the hard part of the operation.
Sergeant Lo-Ching gave a nod, and the trio pressed their hands against the base of the wall. Slowly, very slowly, Gao and his friends (well, he liked them enough to count) carefully worked the dirt wall to shift the earth and create a tunnel. It was grueling work for both body and mind; one accidental burst of chi, one misjudgement of the rocks embedded in the walls, and the earth tunnel would collapse noisily and that the enemy would be alerted to their presence.
Still, for all the taxing work, Gao wasn't going to complain. It beat having to actually use earthbending in combat, which meant having to duel other earthbenders. Gao was man enough to admit that he was not a strong earthbender, and he was ever grateful that the 11th Royal Regiment with its appealing pension and pay still took him in. They just needed him to move dirt instead of throwing boulders, and Gao would happily move all the dirt his sergeant ordered him to if it meant avoiding a straight up, 'fair' fight.
Like right now, as they finally reached through the other end of the wall. Their first breach of the walls was opening a small slit to take a peek of the interior. Confirming that they were not in any place too dangerous, the sergeant gave the order, and the earthbenders quietly crumbled away the rest of the earth and widened up the tunnel for everyone to slowly crawl out. They found themselves at the edge of a forest of sagging tents for the enlisted. The earthen huts of the officers could be seen further in, along with larger structures that probably served as storage and stables.
The camp was a hive of activity, though it was all flowing towards the other end. Soldiers were hurrying along with their spears and shields and swords, overlapping orders filled the air, and nobody was looking at this part of the camp.
A glance to the side found another team making it through, and the sergeants exchanged hand language.
"Get ready," Sergeant Lo-Ching whispered. "As usual, go as deep in as possible, then burn our way back here."
Gao's hand mindlessly went for the naphtha jars hanging off his belt. Once more he felt bad for his foe.
The order was given a minute later, and both infiltrating squads began sneaking through the now emptied tents. A few Earth Kingdom soldiers were still stumbling out of their tent; the saboteurs quickly dispatched these unfortunates with blades and dumped their bodies back into the tents they came from. Eventually, Gao could clearly see the backs of the milling defenders, probably waiting for the Fire Nation's supposed raiders to break through.
This was about as far as they could make it, and so the order was given with a sharp snap of the sergeant's hand.
The whole squad started by first wielding their jars of naphtha, and after lighting the cloth wicks, the hazardous jars were flung as far out as possible towards the backs of the clueless defenders.
Before the jars had the time to land and break, the raiders then turned about and began setting fire to the tents by firebending or torches. They were quickly bathed in the warm glow of a waking firestorm as they worked their way back to their insertion point. The firebenders took up the rear as usual since they could tolerate the heat, while Gao and his earthbending comrades rushed back to the wall to apply the finishing touches.
With yells of confusion now rising to match the roar of the flames, the squad hurried through the tunnel, this time with the earthbenders pulling up the rear. Gao hurriedly undid the work he had done to tunnel in, loosening the dirt and allowing the ceiling to collapse in. With everyone now safely on the other side, the three earthbenders collectively forced a ripple through the wall to send it crumbling down in a particular fashion.
To an uninformed eye, it'd look like someone had been taking pickaxes and shovels to sap the walls and make it climbable. With the sentries gone, presumably to check on the fires inside the camp, Gao followed his sergeant's silhouette into the darkness, their path now a bit more illuminated thanks to the raging fire rising above the camp's walls.
Returning to base was fast enough, and Gao passed by the squads of the 2nd Battalion who would be taking over harassment duty. They'd probably have less to do though, with the Earth Kingdom camp partially lit up. Not unless Captain Toshi decided to actually storm the camp for some reason or another.
Gao headed straight for his tent instead of the mess tent. After all that earthbending, he prioritized some rest over a meal. Breakfast was a few hours away anyway.
As he crawled into his bedding, Gao was glad once more for joining up with the 11th. He shared his tent with his squadmate Lim, a firebender, and his tent was grouped together with the rest of his battalion.
If he had stuck with the 'safer' option of colony guard, he'd be sleeping in a different area with the other earthbenders as a security precaution.
Being an earthbender in the Fire Nation was depressing enough when it came to job opportunities, but joining the town guard was one of the more demeaning choices despite the marginally higher pay.
Segregated quarters, a not-so-subtle ceiling for career progression, the hidden risk of being labeled an Earth Kingdom saboteur or spy if things went bad… For all the supposed prestige of being a patriotic citizen, defending one's home as an earthbender could suck real bad.
Honestly, Gao and most of the earthbenders who had risked accepting the discreet offer of the 11th had expected about the same treatment, with only a higher pay to make up for it.
But then the young colonel (spirits bless him) had walked the talk and treated everyone equally. Save for the different curriculum (because Gao couldn't throw fire obviously) they suffered in training together with the firebenders and non-benders, ate together, slept together, and fought together. Sure his peers initially gave him and the other earthbenders some squinty looks, but the shared experiences had made them all brothers and sisters in arms.
Some talented earthbender - Tian of the 4th Battalion, if Gao remembered rightly - was even sent back to the 11th's Home Island base recently for officer training. He'd be the first earthbending lieutenant of the Fire Nation military, and the colonel was vocally expecting more out of Tian so he could make the guy a captain of his own battalion later. And not an earthbenders-only battalion either, Tian might actually lead firebenders.
Way to go, Tian.
Back in the colonies, you'd be lucky to make sergeant for longer than a few weeks before they replaced you with 'someone more deserving'.
So it came as no surprise that Gao found his loyalties leaning more towards the regiment first (with the wise and forward thinking crown princess of course, may the spirits bless her too), and then his home colony Yu Dao, and then the Fire Nation itself. The only small price to pay right now was that the earthbenders wore the same markings as non-benders, and were prohibited from using their bending in the open, whether in the presence of allies or enemies.
From what Gao understood, the 11th were using their earthbenders as secret weapons; partly to keep the enemy from reacting properly, and partly to ensure that none of the more virginous allies tried to cause trouble with accusations of spies and traitors. Gao knew enough about the world to see the wisdom in the secrecy, and like every earthbender comrade he didn't mind it at all.
Oh, the other downside was the secret training with the Earth Kingdom prisoners.
That General Yama was an unbearable prick, like an elderly uncle that kept yapping and deriding, and you couldn't say anything back because of his age and undeniable experience. His bending lessons were good, but fuck was the guy impossible to please.
Captain Ren at least gave credit for accomplishing a hard task, and threw in rewards for excellence.
Yama treated everyone like they'd slept with his sister or something.
Still, discretion and the noise of the old badgermole was a paltry price to pay for the camaraderie, respect and - most importantly - pension and wages that the 11th offered.
So far, none of his comrades has yet called him a spy, or treated him as a potential traitor.
Nobody had held Gao's earthbending against him, or derided his talents.
He was always paid on time, along with everyone else, as much as everyone else.
This was the kind of respect that Gao gladly obeyed orders and killed for. And if by chance things went to shit, he was pretty sure the colonel at the very least would have his and every other earthbenders' back.
As his exhaustion took him, Private Gao was confident that he could sleep safely amongst the firebenders of the 11th Regiment.