Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

The skill Frost Throne leveled up.

The Physical path received 320 experience points.

The skill Frost Throne leveled up.

The Physical path received 330 experience points.

…

One would wonder why Rain changed his path when his skills became weaker thanks to it, but Rain didn't decide to return to his former self only when it comes to tactics. He couldn't keep seeing only the future in front of him, he had to see the future far ahead and prepare accordingly.

In any case, as one would expect, the monsters alone wouldn't be able to stop Rain and when the final giant slime fell, Rain felt like he would never recover from that dizziness, but using healing a few times did the trick. Heal restores one's body to their original state, after all.

"Well then…" Rain thought and then looked around. "I am almost out of mana, but my ice blades are still sharp and they can last for a while longer. It is time to show these retards that they can't attack my homeland and kill my people without suffering dire consequences."

The battlefield was a mix of chaos and uncertainty. Rain's strategic diversion and unexpected display of power had caught the enemy off guard, allowing the raging Phoenix to charge through the ranks of the golems with unwavering resolve. Their advance was swift and unrelenting as they pushed deeper into enemy territory.

On the other front, the magic warriors maintained their ranks, standing vigilant and ready to react to any sign of danger. They knew the risk of the magma golems exploding, and their tactical positioning gave them the option to withdraw quickly if the situation became dangerous. Still, it wouldn't come without a high price… they would go down too since speed wans't their forte.

The tension hung thick in the air, and the outcome of the battles remained uncertain as each side weighed their options and tactics, ready to seize the opportunity to gain an advantage.

The magic people considered making the golems explode, but that meant that all of them would die once the first golem exploded, and it was clear that they wouldn't be able to take down all of the warriors. It was unlikely that they would be able to take down more than a few hundred.

While the enemies hesitated, Rain made his move… before the magic people on both sides could even realize what had happened… they felt a sharp pain in their necks and then they felt cold, extremely cold. They lost all of the control over their bodies and then fell… only to see themselves rolling on the ground.

Some of them had the misfortune of seeing their bodies before they finally died and some others saw all of their comrades' heads rolling before they understood that they had died.

One by one, the magma golems began to fall as well and the warriors sighed in relief… they didn't even see what Rain had did it, but it seemed that he somehow beheaded hundreds of the magic people in a matter of seconds… they only saw one of Rain's ice blades drenched in blood before it fell apart completely… The power of their commander was fearsome.

Although they felt fearful of Rain, the warriors also felt proud… They didn't do much this time to win the battle, but the deaths of their friends that had fallen on the previous day had been avenged. The same thing happened on the other battlefield.

"This makes me recall Rain from years ago during the final weeks of the war," Asche said when she put her bow on her back. "I am relieved that he is willing to do this much for his troops, but I am worried since it might affect his mind."

"He will be fine," Terra said. "He isn't doing this out of cruelty, if he could, he wouldn't be here anyway."

"... I guess you are right," Asche said and then smiled.

— —

While the warriors and the people of the town were cleaning that battlefield, the scouts returned to their camp and reported to the tribe leaders what they had just seen.

The euphoria that had gripped the tribe leaders following the previous day's victory had now been replaced with a sense of apprehension. Their initial excitement at seeing Rain's forces decrease had given way to a sobering realization that the situation was far from decided. The recent reports had served as a clear reminder that Rain was not to be underestimated.

The tribe leaders couldn't ignore the fact that Rain's tactical brilliance was still very much in play. While they had managed to reduce the size of his forces, it was evident that he had more tricks up his sleeve.

The new developments and the challenges they faced were like a bucket of cold water, serving to temper their initial celebrations and reminding them of the ongoing struggle that lay ahead.

"I told you that you shouldn't mess with a wounded beast," The hooded man said. "You lost seven hundred men out of sheer incompetence."

The tribe leaders clenched their teeth in annoyance, hearing that out loud hurt their pride more than a little bit. If that guy didn't have the proof to back his words, all of them would have attacked him on the spot.

The hooded men told them to not do anything that day and only defend if Rain decided to attack, but that was unlikely to happen. Still, the eager tribe leaders wanted to make sure that they would attack and kill more warriors before they could recover… they only killed a few of them. However, more of them got hurt thanks to the flames of the golems.

"What is the next step?" Losar asked.

"That will depend, are you all following my commands without doing anything stupid again?" The hooded man asked. "If you do anything stupid like this again, I will disappear and this time, he will be able to wipe out your country from the world."