Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Rain thought about that for many days, and it seemed that the best option was truly to become real allies with the sea folk and the magic people. Rain was already married one of the princesses of the sea folk and while some of them hated his guts for that, the sea emperor was an ally.

The same thing could be said about the magic people, he had some friends there while some of them also hated him. He lost his home two times and his father almost died thanks to them as well, but a lot of people died because of their actions. Did he have to hate all of them until the last one of them died? That was too time consuming.

"I guess it can't be helped, an alliance is our best option…" Rain said and then crossed his arms. "Most of the sea folk respect and obey gramps, right? So we don't have to worry about someone convincing him to break an alliance, the problem are the magic people."

"Call him father… how many times do I have to say?" Seara sighed and then facepalmed.

"The final word belongs to Her Majesty, and as you say, making it official will help things for us, but people will think that we are still too weak to be treated as equals," Roan said. "You aren't one hundred percent sure about the magic people because of the council, right? They might change their opinions as a group based on the circumstances."

"That is right," Rain nodded.

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"In that case, we have to find a quick way to convince them that a real alliance this time will be better than before, and actually will last," Roan said and then scratched the back of his head. "Easier said than done."

"Why don't you wait until the reinforcements come and then talk with Her Majesty when that happens?" Leiah asked. "You all need time to think of ways to train the troops and make them show results fast, right?"

Leiah had a point, they had to wait one week for that, and that will be enough time to think of some things regarding both situations. During that time, Rain used his earth magic and then built some resistances for therm reinforcements.

Since they would work together, it would be better if they lived somewhere where they would be able to live together and do everything at the same time with the others… in the end, Rain built quite the large headquarters.

When Rain finished the headquarters… he wondered if he should make something similar to himself. He truly believed that only his old friends and family would never betray him, but perhaps starting an martial arts school from scratch would help… if he trains kids and teenagers and treat them well, they will have fewer reasons to betray him.

"Maybe it is worth trying… I should experiment this with the people in this area," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

When Rain explained his idea to everyone, they seemed surprised… the idea of sharing his training methods and techniques seemed dangerous if it fell in the hands of the enemies, but Rain only wanted to teach the physical path, not the magic one. He found it hard to believe that people would be able to follow in his footsteps after a certain age.

Perhaps the only ones that could copy him were his kids, but Rain didn't want to train them that hard.

"Even if we don't use them for combat, as long as the normal population can defend themselves, they will be able to cause problems and slow down the enemies if an invasion takes place, that will decrease our losses," Rain explained. "I am trying to learn a spell that makes me create copies of myself, but I can't seem to make any progress in that field."

"You are? That isn't something any sane person would try to do… I can't even imagine how it would work," Terra asked while blinking several times in confusion.

"It would be interesting to see an army of people that fight somewhat similar to Rain… I bet that the enemies would shit their pants once they see them entering a fighting stance," Reca said and then laughed.

Despite their words of encouragement, the group couldn't help but be taken aback by Rain's decision to start such significant changes. Forming a genuine alliance with another countries and actively training individuals to fight like him were actions that defied Rain's typical approach. It was unusual, and they were left pondering what could have made this unexpected shift in strategy.

One possible conclusion that crossed their minds was the notion that Rain may have experienced a decline in his self-assuredness or confidence over the three years of relative peace.

The absence of constant conflict and the time for reflection may have led him to reconsider his methods and priorities, ultimately driving him to seek new, more proactive ways to bolster their position in an ever-evolving world. The decision was uncharacteristic, but it left the group with the impression that Rain had his reasons, even if they weren't immediately apparent.

After one week, the reinforcements arrived and it seemed that they didn't come with a captain or someone of similar rank. When Rain asked them, they told him that they just followed a training regimen that Julie made them follow. She was working as Orcis and Lorene's guard again, but she told them that she wouldn't be their leader.

"... For now, you guys can look for room and rest for two days overther," Rain said while pointing to the headquarters that he made for the reinforcements. "The day after tomorrow, we will start working together as soon as the sun rises. Prepare yourselves because I am not going to be gentle."

The reinforcements knew the fame that Rain had, some of them also saw him fighting, so they were expecting great results and a very harsh training… but they were excited for it.