Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Rain returned to the others a bit after lunch, and he informed them that Branden was coming to see things by himself. The group left things as they were since it was too much work to dig out the bodies of the enemies. Still, Rain took them out and confirmed that they didn't have any possessions.

"I guess I will have to accept only the payment of the mission," Rain thought. "In any case, it makes sense that they wouldn't need any weapon or tool. Still, their anatomy is weird. I didn't imagine that their bodies would change and adapt to their abilities... I suppose it would hurt if they didn't have those holes."

From what Rain could tell, he imagined that the enemies could use mana to make their bones grow first from their hands. Rain had felt the power of their attacks firsthand before. Still, he didn't think that anyone sane would try to develop such an ability over the years or how someone could evolve to become like that and get that ability.

"If their abilities are passed down from generation to generation, I guess they are a lot more different than humans… it is quite unfair," Rain thought.

In any case, the group stayed on guard until Branden arrived the next morning. Fortunately, they didn't have to fight again, but the tension was starting to wear them out. It was clear that something big was about to happen, and the group didn't know how to process that.

Could they help and prevent the kingdom from losing even more, or would they become dead unknown soldiers when they join the battles?

"Thanks for your hard work," Branden said while he approached the bodies and confirmed that the smell was starting to get bad.

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"They must be the bone shooters… they are a rare tribe among the magic people that had been living in isolation for five hundred years… I didn't think that they would attack our lands since they have been ignored all this time, and even among the magic people, few of them respect that tribe."

Rain wondered why the names of the tribes were so lackluster. They clearly represented what the magic people could do, but still… it felt like they thought about the names for ten seconds and decided to use the first idea that came to mind.

"The farms here produce a lot of meat. I guess it is clear that they want to decrease our resources, sir," Jori said.

"Indeed, aside from just doing that to weaken our soldiers, they might also want to make the population hungry and angry. All in order to cause havoc and even make some of them join their sides before any confrontation," Branden said.

That made sense; that level of cunning sure was troublesome… Branden didn't mention that, but it looked like the spies and scouts working for the kingdom were unable to notice the enemy's changes. Rain wondered how they could do that… most likely, the magic people were using their superb magic skills for that.

In any case, Branden used his magic and then sealed all the bodies of the enemies in a massive block of ice. That kind of demonstration left Rain speechless, and the others were astonished. Branden was several levels above Rain… he had talent, but that only motivated Rain to train more.

Without wasting time, Branden left after saying bye to the group. They still had four more days of work, but Branden said that he would send reinforcements. Much to everyone's surprise, a group of fifteen veteran warriors showed up the next day, and they looked as rugged as they came. It was almost like they had the words: battle-hardened, written on their foreheads.

"Lord Branden sent us to help," A man with a white beard declared while studying the group of kids in front of him and then looking at Rain with a difficult-to-read expression. "We understand that this mission was taken by you guys, but to make sure that the villages will be protected, we should split the work among us. We can guard the second and third villages, and you should guard the first one.

Is that fine with you all?"

"... Sure," Jori said after thinking for a while.

Jori didn't look that satisfied with the division of work, but it made sense considering the numbers of the groups. Besides, he couldn't be selfish and cause problems when things were getting like that.

"Humph, they only moved us like this as if they are telling that we are getting on the way," Reca said while the group was walking toward the first village.

"It can't be helped… since they are veterans and we are working together, this is for the best," Terra said. "I feel better this way since we can stay close and work together without dealing with unpleasant surprises. My heart can only take so much emotion on a daily basis."

"The enemies probably were informed about our existence and sent those guys to kill us… do you think that they will send others with a larger group here?" Asche asked. "Rain?"

"... I think that they might not since they probably only managed to surprise us because that group was small and managed to escape the radar of the scouts," Rain replied after a while.

Rain was deep in thought, wondering how things would play out if an all-out war started now. That was a good chance for him to improve his abilities and get stronger, but he wasn't the only one who had that chance. He wondered if, on the magic people's side, they were only making some individuals get stronger or a bunch of them that would be easy to control.

Either way, he could tell that some trouble was brewing in the distance.

"I need to prepare for all sorts of scenarios, but this will be hard… maybe I should talk about this with Father once I get back home," Rain thought.