Those spear-wielding Earth Kingdom clowns didn't see it coming. Literally.
When faced with a large opponent, one's eyes usually lock straight at him, so it was easy to get blindsided by something else. A melon-sized, 12 kg metal ball was surprisingly hard to spot when it approached so fast from angles you don't normally look at. Factor in my meagre Dexterity, and I was just accurate enough to guide my weapon to the more vulnerable points of the human body. Knees were shattered, jaws were broken, and ribs were cracked at my passing through.
[Rock Throw], -13 hp!
[Rock Throw], -8 hp!
HP: 296 - 275
Some fought back with their weapons and earthbending, of course. Attempting to counterattack in between the relatively slow revolutions that my [Iron Meteor Hammer] took, but that was where my [Firebending] came in as a... deterrent. Nothing quite gives people pause than a blast of flame- stopping them in their tracks at just the right distance for them to take a meteor hammer to the cheek. It was a fighting style that served me well today.
Defeated {Earth Nation Militia Recruit}, +4 exp!
Defeated {Earth Nation Militia Earthbender}, +8 exp!
Defeated {Earth Nation Militia Recruit}, +5 exp!
...
+5 exp... +7 exp... +6 exp... +5 exp... +8 exp... +6 exp... +5 exp... +4 exp...
The nice steady stream of exp arrived as the enemy's untrained peasants were distracted by their broken bones long enough for the Fire Nation soldiers following in the wake of my violence to deal a killing blow. Did I feel bad about killing enemies who were essentially hungry peasants press-ganged into military service? Well, if they didn't want to be killed, then perhaps they shouldn't be such a convenient and easy source of exp.
[ Meteor Hammer Weapon Proficiency is now Level 5 - Apprentice! New skill unlocked!]
[Meteor Hammer: Wind Up] - Take time to focus on building up momentum and empower your meteor hammer's next strike to hit with greater force. As your weapon proficiency increases, Wind Up can be upgraded to either build up momentum quicker or attain a higher maximum power bonus.
A fairly useful skill. It was a nice time all around until I found myself standing in the shadow... that was apparently cast by the half dozen boulders arcing high above the air towards me- each one the size of a washing machine. It would seem that some Earthbender was given time to set up, how unfortunate. I exploded into movement- weaving from underneath each boulder as they smashed into the ground with the force to kill even me. Possibly.
[ Dodge save successful! (15/7 Dexterity Required) ]
"Giant! I will be your opponent!" A voice angrily shouted at me as the dust settled and I was revealed to still be alive.
..
Name: ?
Level: 5~
Rank: Earth Kingdom Lieutenant
HP: ?/?
Strength: ?
Dexterity: ?
Constitution: ?
Intelligence: ?
Spirit: ?
..
It would seem that an actual enemy of note found me. He certainly had better armour than all the rabble I've encountered. A green lamellar plate, a plumed-helmet and sneer of superiority on his goateed face as he calmly walked towards me. The remaining troops, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, stopped fighting as they saw their 'leaders' agreeing to settle this with a duel. Both sides of soldiers just looking at the two of us while warily glancing at each other every so often in a sort of soldier's truce.
They were leaving it up to me then? Very well.
"What is your name, o' worthy opponent?" I shouted to the Earth Kingdom Lieutenant as I quietly did my [Wind Up] skill, which consisted of swinging my meteor hammer in a wide circle over my head. With each revolution the metal ball made, I could feel its power grow- straining against my grip and almost creaking the metal chain like a rabid dog rebelling against its owner.
Meanwhile... My opponent just stood and talked.
"Worthy?" the well-armoured Earthbender lieutenant spat, "You- the invader who has come to our lands to prey upon the innocent like locusts- think yourself a noble warrior in search of a worthy opponent? You are nothing more than an arrogant insect who has learned the tongue of man! Well, carve the name of your exterminator to your heart, pest; I am Lieutenant-"
* Critical Hit! *
His head burst like a ripe melon as my meteor hammer impacted against the side of his head- so fast that even I could barely keep track of it too. His shattered and bloody helmet clattered in the distance as the surrounding troops were showered by the explosion of blood and gore.
"You speak too much for someone on a battlefield." I muttered out loud as his headless body limply crumpled to the ground.
[ Defeated {Earth Kingdom Lieutenant}, +22 exp! ]
[ Overkill! (+60%) , Cool One-Liner! (+5%) , Monologue Interruption (-60%): +1 exp! ]
I get exp for style points too? Very nice. But apparently, interrupting monologues was not stylish. I can respect that. Besides, I can make up the difference easily enough anyway... I turned my attention to the horrified Earth nation troops who were looking like pretty easy exp. "Now it's your turn."
"Wait, I surrender!" The closest man cried out, his eyes wide in fear as he threw down his spear as if it burned him. The sound of his weapon clattering to the ground seemed to trigger the avalanche too as more shouts of surrender rang out in a wave.
"I surrender!" "I surrender!" "I surrender!" "I surrender!"
Seeing their opponents surrendering and on their knees, the Fire Nation soldiers turned to look at me with victorious smiles and added their own shouts of adulation to the battlefield as they raised their weapons high.
"Giant!" "The Firelord's Giant!" "Giant!" "Giant!"
For almost single-handedly bringing about a Fire Nation victory on the battlefield...
{41st Division} Reputation : -10 - 5
{41st Division} Obedience : 0 - 10
{Fire Nation} Reputation : -10 - -8
{Earth Kingdom} Reputation : -10 - -25
{Earth Kingdom} Infamy: 0 - 5
This must be how Aang and the gang feel after they've saved the day.
It certainly felt good to be recognised for my accomplishments, and what felt even better was the rewards. Those twin prizes of [Reputation] and [Obedience] will be vital in paving the way for my eventual coming into power and running the world. People can make a lot of valid criticisms about Fire Lord Ozai, but he did have the right mind when it came to style: 'Phoenix King' did sound like a nice title... or not. I'll have to think about it when I eventually take over.
Combat concluded... updating stats.
..
Name: Khan "The Giant"
Level: 1
Level exp: 467/500
Rank: Private First Class. 41st Division, Fire Nation Army.
HP: 277/400
Strength: 15 - 20
Dexterity: 15 - 18
Constitution: 15 - 18
Intelligence: 0
Spirit: 15 - 17
..
So very close to a level up... Looks like I was blue-balled in more ways than one.
"Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Fire Nation scum!" One of the newest prisoners of war taunted me while he was still kneeling on the dirt- some grey-bearded old sod who looked vaguely familiar too. "You may have defeated us in battle, but you will never defeat Earth Kingdom's spirit! The Avatar will come and wipe you from our land! He has done so once, he will do so again!"
I think this old man just volunteered to help me level up. How kind of him.
"That's cute of you to think that you're living through this." I grinned at him as I swung my meteor hammer around- building up momentum. "I think I recall who you are now... You're Haru's father, aren't you? The one that Katara and the Avatar freed from the prison rig."
At the mention of both his identity and his previous history, he immediately changed tune.
"Wait, I surrendered!" he cried out.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have run your rebellious mouth." I nodded, "Keep the underworld warm, would you kindly? I'm sure your son will follow in your footsteps soon enough."
The look of horror on the man's face was the last expression he ever made. The metal ball impacted against his chest- collapsing his ribcage and pulping his heart. Give me the exp!
[ Defeated {Earth Kingdom POW}, +0 exp! ]
Zero exp?! Game, what the hell?!
Base exp rewards are calculated through estimated combat difficulty. Prisoners of War pose no challenge combat-wise. The exp rewards correspond to such.
"Have mercy, please!" "Spare us!" "Please, we won't rebel anymore!"
"No! Pick up your weapons and fight me!" I roared at the now surrendered prisoners, but alas, no one was feeling brave enough. Their hands in the air, the surrendered Earth Kingdom militia refused to meet my eyes. And that only made me more frustrated, there must be at least 30 of them here- that was at least 150 exp that I could have gotten instead if they just kept fighting. I just needed a measly 33 exp!
For appearing to be a bloodthirsty battle-maniac...
{41st Division} Obedience : 10 - 15
{Earth Kingdom} Obedience : 1 - 2
"Private Khan, uh... sir?" The Fire Nation soldier with the messenger hawk hesitantly called my attention, "The Captain has ordered you to report to his command tent."
I just pushed the frustration and my meteor hammer down for now, and everyone around me breathed a sigh of relief.
"Very well." I replied as I marched towards the command tent sitting on that hill. "But that cowardly pig had better have something worthwhile to say..."
....
Don't forget to throw some power stones :)
...
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