ASTG: Chapter 26 (Patreon)

By the dawn, Zuko and Raoh were in that room, leaning on the wall. The two of them had a quick nap, and Raoh had been the first one to wake up since he barely needs sleep. 

“Are you awake?” Zuko asked. 

“Long time ago,” Raoh answered. 

The door of the room was opened. The light was faint, so it was hard to see the figure. 

“Guys, let’s leave. My father had called the Fire Nation guys, and they are on the way to arrest you?” 

“What?” Zuko almost didn’t believe it and he looked at Raoh. 

“Well, congratulation Zuko. It seems that you were saying the truth about your identity. My father just had confirmed it, the banished prince. Well, guess your journey to awakening the Avatar is more believable now. 

Raoh and Zuko just nodded. Very soon, they stood up and left for the doctor’s office. As it seems, Raoh and Toph both had the ability to see way better than people, and even expect their locations. Now that they avoided every guard and servant, they made their way to the office of the doctor. Raoh vanished from his place, appeared behind the doctor, and knocked him out by chopping on his neck slightly. 

Raoh left him a little bit of money in the office, before going to Fong. 

Zuko woke him up, and Fong looked left and right. Zuko explained to him the situation, and the previous General looked left and right. 

Zuko asked. “Can you move?” 

“I’m feeling better, still, a little pain, but nothing much. I guess a week is enough for me to recover.” Fong clenched his fists and nodded. He stood up and stretched his arms up, before yawning, and looking at Toph. “You should just let me easy with that.” 

“You should have given up, just like Raoh said,” Toph said. “Not my fault that you are weak.” 

Fong forced a smile as veins appeared on his face. “It’s mine, I guess.” 

“You have self-awareness, after all,” Toph said. 

“Let’s leave, quickly,” Raoh said. 

The four of them moved out of the office, before leaving the residence.

“Did you leave a letter to your dad?” Raoh asked. 

“Yeah,” Toph said. “I letter that I am not weak, and I am going on an adventure, outside.” 

“Let’s have some fun then,” Raoh said as he climbed his ride, before inviting Toph to sit behind him. 

The four of them then moved, outside of the city. The sun rose, and they were on the road. Fong was sleeping, and Zuko was staring forward. 

“Hold on!” Zuko stopped his ride and looked down the hill they were above. 

“Hide.” Raoh jumped over his ride and made it sit down. 

Toph, who couldn’t see far, wondered. “What’s going on? I can feel that some army is moving below us.” 

Zuko lay on the ground, pushed himself, and observed. He said. “Damn it, it’s him.” 

“Who?” 

“Admiral Zhao.” Zuko clenched his teeth. “And he came with a large army.” 

Raoh sat down and stared. “Wow, they have tanks, fast ones too.” 

“This module was invented the last year. It can catch up to us in no time if they can find our track.” Fong said. 

“Toph, you can use your bending to remove it, right?” Raoh said. 

“I can…” 

Zuko stood up, “Let’s stay hidden for a bit, and move fast. Zhao, the bastard.” 

“You hate him that much?” Raoh said. 

“He always used to insult me, dishonour me in every encounter, reminding me how I was banished, I was burned…” Zuko said. 

“Basically put the salt on the wound every time you meet,” Raoh said.  

“Last time we met, I beat him in Agni Kai.” Agni Kai was combat between Firebenders. It’s used to solve conflicts. 

Zuko smirked. “He tried to ambush me, my uncle stopped me from killing him. After joining the White Lotus, Zhao was chasing me in every encounter. This time, I’m pretty sure that he won’t rest until he chases us.”  

Raoh felt a bit excited to see if he can face them. However, seeing that there are more than a hundred… maybe two hundred, soldiers coming, he knew he may not win, he may get exhausted. After all, they can burn him if they combined their power. And they seem to have tanks. 

But there is one problem. Fong. He may slow them down. 

“Fong, you understand that we have to move fast, and with your injuries, we can’t force the animals to move that fast.” 

“I understand, you can leave me behind.” Fong crossed his arms. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Raoh said. “We’ll just drop on some village, with money. Make sure to shave your beard, and once you recover, you know where to find us, or you can just go back to the base.” 

“I know. Don’t worry about that.” 

“But what if Fong caught him first?” Zuko said. After all, there is a possibility that Fong may be tortured to spell where Zuko and Raoh are going. If the Fire Nation knew what their goal is, they won’t rest until they catch them and catch the avatar. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll kill myself before I spell the secret.” Fong turned his face. 

“Finally, you’re acting like a man,” Toph said. 

Fong had a few veins appearing on his face. He took a couple of deep breaths and decided to ignore the little girl. Toph seemed to feel a bit annoyed that he ignored her, but she didn’t say anything. 

Once the troops of the Fire Nation entered the city, surrounding the mansion of the Beifong family, Raoh and his group were far enough. 

Soon, they reached a village, and they dropped Fong there. 

“Now, we have to depend on the map,” Zuko said. 

Now, they were outside the village, with some sacks of food, heading south. 

“Fong used to do a good job, knowing the place,” Raoh said. “Well, you do it.” 

“Why not you!” Zuko said. 

“You are a prince… someone who had been taught from his little age. Where is your honour?” Raoh said. He is new to this world, and he only knows how to talk their tongue. As for their writing language, he doesn’t. Basically, he was illiterate 

Upon hearing about honour, Zuko took a deep breath and said. “I’ll do it.”