Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"I see, I get it now…" Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

In the end, Rain approached the group, and then Geo sighed in relief after showing a clear look of shock. It didn't seem like he had seen him before… so that could only mean one thing.

"I didn't expect to find you here. I guess our luck isn't so bad," Geo said.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Rain said after he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here?"

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"It makes sense for you to be so guarded… but we came just to tell you what happened that led to this entire situation," Geo said after a long sigh. "I would understand if you don't trust us, who, in the end, apparently betrayed our allies, but we are here to do our part."

Rain looked at Geo in the eye and studied him… they more or less had become allies in the past three years after the war in order to improve the life of the nations involved… Rain also repaired his town when it was over, after all. Even if Geo were the worst scumbag in the world, he would feel a bit indebted to Rain after that.

"All right, I am listening… it is what I would want to say, but I want to keep an eye on the army as well, so come with me to the walls," Rain said.

Rain took those guys to the wall, and he healed them while he checked their bodies with magic as well… their wounds were deep. They weren't fake at all. Their friends truly tried to kill them. Rain also noticed that the woman who brainwashed his father had her eyes burned… thanks to that, he wondered if the last three years of peace weakened him so much that he felt troubled by that.

Rain wondered if it was because he had become a father now, but he felt like he had to become the best person possible for his kids. Living for himself and leaving a trail of blood whenever he got pissed was easy… Subjugating the human country and perhaps the beast people and the magic people would probably be easy to do with the right mindset. However, that felt empty.

"I really got soft, huh," Rain thought and then sighed.

Geo explained on the situation, recounting how, after Rain's last visit to the magic people's country, Josar had managed to pacify their people despite the sad event of an unknown human eradicating an entire tribe. However, an even more sinister incident has unfolded since then.

A group of unknown humans had brazenly attacked the Mercury Warriors' village, launching a stealthy and quick, silent assault under the cover of darkness.

These humans not only killed all the warriors but also captured the women and children of the village. This heinous act had sent shockwaves of shock and anger throughout the magic people's community, creating an escalating crisis.

"Once that happened, Josar tried to pacify things again, but most of the tribe leaders got sick of him, and some said that he was working with the humans to cause the end of our country," Geo explained. "People said that his tribe was the one that suffered fewer losses in the last war, and that was proof enough… even most of his tribe went against him.

Things escalated, and then the conflict started, but it quickly ended since it looked like the other side had been waiting for that. We are the survivors of those who tried to help Josar… but he died."

"You guys are from different tribes. Why would you join him anyway?" Rain asked. "You couldn't be so brain dead to believe that you would win against the vast majority of your people."

"We knew that… but we also knew that someone was orchestrating the end of our people and yours too," Geo explained. "We are aware that you waging war with the beast people, and we also know that some unknown forces targeted them as well. All the tribe leaders know that, but they let the blood rush to their heads. They don't care if another war truly wipe us out, and to be honest… I am scared of you.

I have the feeling that you can kill us all if you get fed up enough."

Geo had good instincts and a good head… using some simple tactics, brute efficiency, and his unusual skills that most people couldn't understand, Rain truly would be able to destroy a nation or two by himself. His fear wasn't unfounded.

"... So, you came to avoid that outcome," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You have a point, and I am starting to get tired of this situation. In the first place, it is due to your collective incompetence that someone was able to invade your country and wipe out two tribes. It isn't the fault of the humans as a whole."

Although Rain said that, he was more worried about something else… killing and capturing those two tribes was quite an odd choice. They were different from most of the other tribes, and their fighting style actually resembled Rain's a bit.

Another weird thing is that the enemy acted with some intelligence until now, and they should know that Rain probably could face and kill a lot of the magic people and get a lot stronger while doing that… could it have been that they made a mistake somewhere?

"Anyway, is there anything else that you can tell me that it might come in handy?" Rain asked.

"Unfortunately, no… aside from the fact that despite their harshness, everyone is determined to defeat you and humans, considering everything that they learned in the previous war, including the things that you showed," Geo said. "They are aware that you are at war with the beast people, so they won't mind if this war lasts for a while."

"They learned well on how to become a nuisance… it is annoying that they learned that from me," Rain frowned.