After dragging the three bodies inside the watchtower room, Sora moved on to the next sector.
He walked quietly, hugging the wall to stay out of sight, when he spotted a single guard patrolling the area at a leisurely pace.
Sora took a shallow breath and swung his hand in a sharp, sword-like arc.
A compressed, mid-sized blade of invisible air sliced through the darkness at incredible speed.
In less than a second, the gale reached the guard’s neck, cleanly severing his head from his shoulders.
Thud.
The head and body hit the floor in one fluid motion, barely making a sound.
Sora looked down at the clean cut on the corpse.
He actually could have used these air blades on the watchtower guards earlier, but he had been too worried about making noise.
Looking closely at the wound, he realized the strike wasn’t as powerful as he wanted.
He needed to practice sharpening his airbending and increasing its force; cutting through a human body was one thing, but this level wouldn’t be enough to slice steel.
At best, it could only shatter ordinary rocks.
Sora picked up the guard’s body and hurled it toward the sea.
He used a burst of airbending to boost the throw, launching the corpse high into the air before it splashed silently into the ocean.
He kept moving through the prison complex, systematically targeting isolated, lone guards.
Sora quietly eliminated about seven more sentries, either choking them out or driving his dagger straight into their skulls.
He avoided using the air blades too much, knowing that if the wind sliced into the metal architecture, it would ring out with a loud echo and give him away.
Suddenly, an alarm blared across the facility, followed by the heavy stomping of boots running toward a specific sector.
Sora realized either Aang or Katara had been spotted.
Deciding there was no longer any point in hiding, he stopped holding back.
He slammed his feet against the ground and launched himself into the air with a loud sonic pop.
Flying high above the prison rig, he looked down and saw a mass of soldiers heading toward the courtyard where the inmates were held.
Sora dived toward the area at breakneck speed.
The sound of him tearing through the sky was exhilarating, reminding him of A-Train from The Boys every time the wind roared in his ears.
He reached the prison yard just as the number of guards began to swell.
At that exact moment, a massive torrent of black coal erupted from a ground vent, spilling out and piling up across the courtyard.
The earthbenders stared in shock at the sudden appearance of their element.
Katara seized the moment and yelled, “Earthbenders!
This is your chance to take back your freedom and your land!
Stand up and fight!” Despite the help, Katara was met with nothing but hollow, miserable faces.
Hope had completely left these men.
Her face went pale as she watched the earthbenders hang their heads in defeat.
Sora looked at them and scoffed; he had expected exactly this.
Shifting his gaze, he locked eyes with the prison Warden, who was heavily guarded by a squad of soldiers.
Sora rushed the Warden.
He swung his right leg, unleashing a curved, highly compressed crescent of air right at him.
The attack was blindingly fast.
The Warden saw it coming at the last second and jerked his body to dodge.
Slash.
The Warden’s entire right arm was severed clean off at the shoulder.
Blood erupted from the wound like a fountain.
”Arghhh!” the Warden shrieked in agony, staring in horror at the blood pouring out of him.
He instinctively managed to spark his firebending, trying to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding before he passed out.
Sora didn’t give him the chance to heal.
Closing the distance instantly with airbending, he swung his hands in sharp, rapid circles.
Two compressed air blades shot out, severing the Warden’s left arm and his right leg in an instant.
The Warden lost his balance and crashed heavily onto the deck, blood pooling rapidly around him.
The entire sequence took less than a minute.
From the moment Sora moved to his final strike, his momentum never faltered.
Sora was a realist; when he fought, he didn’t waste time talking.
In his book, you don’t stop until the enemy is dead.
The battlefield is a gamble, and he refused to lose his life over a hesitation.
Sora stepped over to the bleeding, broken Warden.
Without a second thought, he brought his right foot down hard, crushing the Warden’s head instantly.
Once he was sure the Warden was dead, Sora turned his attention to the shell-shocked earthbenders.
”Earthbenders!” Sora barked, his voice echoing across the courtyard.
“Are you really that desperate to be slaves?
Do you love licking the boots of your oppressors that much?
Then by all means, stay here.
Stay in this cage, lick the Fire Nation’s boots, and let them strip your homeland of its riches.
You’re pathetic.
Even your wives wouldn’t respect you for being this cowardly!” Hearing the harsh insults, one of the earthbenders finally snapped.
“Who do you think you—” ”Shut up!” Sora cut him off fiercely.
“If you had an ounce of courage, you would have fought back already instead of sitting here hoping the war would just magically end!
Peace isn’t granted by mercy, and it doesn’t happen when a sword is held to your throat.
It’s earned through sacrifice and strength.
If you aren’t willing to fight, you have no right to ask for peace!” Sora turned his back on them.
“Anyone who wants to leave this prison and see the children who are suffering under this tyranny, clear a path to the ships with me.
If you want to stay, keep licking boots and enjoy your life of slavery.” He didn’t care what they chose anymore.
If they followed, they might win their freedom.
If they didn’t, he wasn’t going to waste his time protecting people who wouldn’t even lift a finger to save themselves.
Sora marched straight toward the main gate, where more than nine guards were already waiting for him.