Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

One month had passed since Rain began to train the soldiers that were sent as reinforcements, and much to his absolute surprise, no one gave up… they truly were devoted to becoming stronger and following Rain's training regimen.

Until this point, he considered that perhaps some of them could become enemies in the future, but it was hard to imagine that Joanis would predict such a scenario where Rain would train others. They would serve well for the next step…

"I am going to talk with Branden and Esmeralda. What about Gramps?" Rain asked.

"He will arrive as soon as you go to the port town. He will have the details on the thighs on his end," Seara said.

"All right, keep those guys training hard while I am away. I might take a bit longer to return this time," Rain said.

Everyone nodded. While they weren't as good as him when it came to water and ice magic, Dana, Kei, and Gila could do the same as him as long as he left his relics with them. So, in the unlikely chance that the beast people decide to attack while he is away, they will be able to hold them off.

Without wasting any more time, Rain went to the capital to talk with his friends. They had already heard of his idea about the alliance, and they had some time to think about it, and it was time to hear their perspectives now.

Much to his surprise, when Rain arrived in the throne room, he also found Asche and Liss there as well. Coincidences can be scary but also useful.

"Hey, it has been a while," Rain said. "How have you been? Busy, I assume."

"You have no idea," Liss said while massaging her temples. "We need a vacation once all this is over."

"How's Terra?" Asche asked after she crossed her arms.

"Same as always, waiting for you to come by and see the kids call you auntie," Rain replied while grinning.

"I guess that is unavoidable," Asche said and then sighed.

"Rain, how are things on your side?" Branden asked.

"The beast people are trying to scout our area, but they don't do it so often. The reinforcements are showing promise," Rain explained. "I still have to talk with Gramps soon, so I would like to hear about your opinions on that matter."

"We considered it, but it seems that we found some problems," Branden explained. "We need an army, one that we can trust and that can trust us. Without one, we will always be treated like a joke, and the alliance will never be considered a real thing."

"I will do something about that, but I need a few months to finish my experiment," Rain said. "You can send more guys to be trained by me, and it doesn't matter if they are young or old. As long as they have no fighting experience, we will be able to train them to become real allies."

"That sounds interesting, but there is another problem…" Esmeralda said and then hesitated. "The magic people were attacked as well by an unidentified human."

Rain's face contorted with a mix of frustration and exasperation after hearing that the mysterious figure had appeared once more. The return of this relentless adversary indicated that he was determined to bring about the downfall of the human kingdom, and Rain couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance at the persistence and audacity of this unknown foe.

It was becoming increasingly evident that this figure posed a significant and ongoing threat, and Rain knew that dealing with the situation would require focus, careful planning, and the utmost determination to protect his people and their future.

"What are the casualties?" Rain asked.

"It seems that it is around one thousand… all the tribe of martial artists of the magic people were killed," Esmeralda explained.

"Everyone single one of them?" Rain asked while blinking several times.

"... Yes," Esmeralda said.

Continue your journey on empire

The news of the complete extermination of an entire tribe at the hands of an unknown individual was really troublesome, and it wasn't just about the sheer number of lives lost. What made this tragedy even more hard to accept was the irreplaceable loss of knowledge, experience, and culture that died along with the tribe.

Each tribe held a unique treasure trove of wisdom, traditions, and history that could never be recovered once it was wiped out. This loss left a gaping void in the collective understanding of the world and mainly to the magic people, and the irrevocable erasure of a culture was a painful reminder of the devastating impact this unknown figure was having on the world and its people.

"We were informed of that when we were near the border by one of Josar's soldiers…" Asche explained with a serious expression on her face. "The magic people are completely enraged since the elderly and the kids were all killed… by a human that fought unarmed."

"That sounds familiar… even though the beast queen didn't say how the tribe leaders were killed, she did say that the enemy crushed their heads… I didn't think that it had been with his fists or feet," Rain furrowed his eyebrows.

"Josar is keeping things in check there, but he won't be able to do it for long," Liss added. "Your plan to make a bounty for this guy didn't work."

"Still, this is weird… their territory should be very close to the capital," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why did he only attack that village and ignore the others?"

"We have no idea," Esmeralda said. "It is only a matter of time before Josar is pressured by all of the other council members to demand an answer from us. They will treat this like an international incident."

Rain wanted to sigh… he had an idea of what was going on, but he wanted to believe it, much less say it out loud. It was insane, but maybe the enemy was testing his stretch… facing the tribe leaders of the beast people in one one-on-one battle had been easy for him, but now he faced one thousand warriors all at once…