Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 397: Prisoner

"If you are planning to capture them, you shouldn't let them go anytime soon. They might be executed on the spot once they return to avoid saying anything," Seadir said. "That will make you waste time and resources keeping an eye on them."

"It will be fine. I will make them go on a trip to discover themselves and start over from scratch," Rain said while smiling.

Seadir didn't understand what Rain meant by that, and he didn't have time to ask for details since the battalions were approaching.

Before long, he went to talk with his friends, and soon they were ready to move… when the ten battalions approached the waterway, it was impossible to see them from a single spot. They indeed split themselves in a large area.

Still, Rain increased his field of vision by flying and looking at them just like that. He had to be fast to act when necessary, after all.

Hidden beneath the water's surface, the sea folk unleashed their coordinated assault on the approaching battalions, catching them completely off guard. With a masterful display of control over the water, they exerted tremendous pressure, creating surging waves that forcefully pushed the surprised enemy forces.

The troops, unprepared for such an assault, struggled to maintain their formation once again in the face of this unexpected attack. It became clear that the enemy lacked the necessary number of mages to counter this water manipulation.

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The sea folk's ability to command vast amounts of water disrupted the enemy's advance, causing them to scatter and lose cohesion. This surprise tactic granted Rain and his allies a significant advantage in the unfolding battle.

When the battalions began to fall completely, some of the water returned to the waterways while bringing some of the soldiers as well. That was what Seadir told them to do… but because of that moment where they split their focus, the enemies had the chance to move.

Rain saw all of the five special soldiers crossing the massive waves in the split of a second, and then they approached the waterway and found the sea folk there… That wasn't good.

"Shit…" Rain said while biting his lips, and then he used Limit Breaker and Magic Boost.

Since they moved too much water, they could be seen now, and they could be captured or killed. That certainly would make the sea emperor consider destroying the whole human kingdom with something akin to a flood… Rain couldn't let that happen.

As fast as he could, Rain reached one of the special soldiers and then kicked him in the head and broke his neck. He wanted to put his plan into action. Still, it wasn't the best moment… either way, he knocked down the first opponent and then dashed to the other with all his might since he was already choking a merman.

"These fuckers sure are fast… wait," Rain thought, and then he saw something in the distance.

Roan, Jori, and Reca had realized what was happening and went to attack the enemies, so Rain only had to deal with two of them. Rain saw his father exchanging blows in the air against one of the special soldiers, and it seemed that they were on an equal level.

With that in mind, Rain decided to put his plan into action. After punching the second enemy in the stomach and knocking him down, Rain used his earth magic to cover the second guy in a thick layer of earth and covered the whole body aside from his nose… he couldn't let him die, after all. He would get stronger, and he would be able to escape…

Still, when Rain turned around to capture the second soldier, he saw him jumping away from the waterway and escaping… when Rain looked in the other direction, he saw the others doing the same.

"Maybe I revealed my card a bit too soon… despite not being able to think for themselves, they sure have some amazing decision-making skills," Rain thought.

Rain wanted to keep the enemies in the dark about what he did to capture some of them. However, as soon as the waterway was filled again, that became unnecessary… and he just left it while making the prisoner float in the air. At the same time, the army that was knocked down by the waves began their next retreat.

"Your guess was right, but I didn't expect that you would be able to capture one of them… so this is what you were planning," Branden said when Rain returned.

"I was planning to capture all five of them at once, but I guess that was too much…" Rain said.

"Can we interrogate this guy?" Jori asked when he returned alongside the others.

"Probably not… they can communicate with each other somehow. Even in this state, he might be able to pass messages to his friends," Rain explained. "It will be better if they don't know what we are interested in."

Seadir joined them and conveyed his thanks to Rain for prioritizing the safety of his friends over sticking rigidly to their initial plan. What Seadir didn't know was the fact that Rain's main goal was to avert the worst possible outcome and protect his loved ones, even if it meant deviating from their original strategy.

"Even if this guy can regenerate, he can die so many times, right?" Seadir asked. "It might be a good idea to learn how many times he can die."

"You have a point, but based on what I saw, they can get two times stronger every time they do and for around five minutes," Rain explained. "It is more than enough time for them to wreak chaos… My guess is that they can probably die five times before they either run out of juice to maintain that level of power or their bodies fail to handle such a power-up.

Still, doubling their power level four times still would make them sixteen times stronger than before."