The next round was upon me. I didn't bother checking the charts as I already knew my opponent. My opponent will be the chief of the tribe. I just walked down to the arena as I felt all eyes on my me as I rarely air-bended in public plus I was the avatar after all. I was like a mythical creature to these guys.
"I guess it is time to see what the avatar is made of. Come at me with your all. Let's battle!" Thee Chief almost roared in preparation as he got into a stance with his spear adoring his hand. His stance was tight and well practiced but I didn't get any time to analyze beyond that as he lunged at me with a long gait while using he spear as a staff.
But I hadn't just been observing him until now, I had my own plans for the fight. I grabbed the side of the spear with one of my hands as my other one was pulled beside my waist before launching ahead, creating a massive gust of wind traveling towards The Chief.
His eyes widened as he saw the wind blast almost reach him, he quickly pulled back his spear and drove it into the ground to stand his ground.
He successfully blocked the attack but I didn't give him room to breathe as I jumped towards him using my airbending to enhance my speed and remove air resistance. Just as I was about to reach his arm span, I turned an astonishingly sharp 90 degrees and disappeared from the chiefs view.
I appeared just above his head as I slammed one of my legs into his arms and kicked the spear out of his hands. In that very moment, he used his battle sharpened reflexes to throw one last punch at my face. I dodged the punch by the skin of my nose and judo threw him out of the arena and into the wall.
I took a few deep breaths before walking up to the chief and offering my hand to him. He stared at it for a second before getting up on his own.
"Chief, are yo-" I asked, trying to be cordial to an future ally and possible father-in-law before being interrupted.
"Call me Arnook."
"Sorry?"
"If you managed to defeat me, then you earn the right to call me by my name." He said almost reluctantly, I guess even huh doesn't like this tradition.
"Well, the fight was great and I-"
"You don't need to make me feel better. I have seen what you are capable of in bending water and I have seen you levitate, I know that you held back a lot." I can see that he might be developing an inferiority complex or something along the lines of that and that cannot happen, he needs a bit of a morale boost.
I just sighed and Said, "The people need a leader. I am a peacemaker, not a one man army or even an army general. Your skills are instrumental to the future, even if you are not the best at fighting, you can lead an army and that is what will be important real soon."
"Thanks. I guess the harsh truth is better than a false reality in this case."
"Sure. Now I need to get going, my next fight is gonna be in a few minutes."
That was the last of our conversation before I left and prepared for my next fight, ie drink some water and stretch my muscles a bit.
"The next round is the semi finale. It is between the AVATAR and Our general, Gilak."
I entered the ring to see my opponent already standing there
"Come on avatar. Let us fight with our fists like real men."
I could see a lot of people getting ticked of by the fact that he basically called 90% of the tribes warriors as not true men but I don't really mind since I don't use weapons, mostly using my fists and bending, rarely using a staff on certain occasions.
I didn't answer, instead choosing to rush towards him with my hands cocked back. He also smiled at my approach as he also ran towards me and cocked his own punch. We met in the center of the arena but I would easily lose considering that I was a 12 year old lean monk compared to a wall of muscle who was a 30-40 year old seasoned warrior/veteran.
So, I grabbed his hand mid punch and twisted it a bit and shifted my weight onto my back foot before pulling it towards my center of gravity. My front keg extended a bit as my other hand grabbed my opponents waist and threw him full force onto the floor.
A spider crack appeared on the ice with my opponent in the center, lying face down, outside of the boundaries.
