Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

The dogman's movements were a blur of speed and aggression as he dashed around the arena with an intensity that seemed almost unnatural. His already impressive speed had been amplified, and he closed the gap between him and Rain in the blink of an eye.

With relentless precision, the dogman launched a flurry of super-fast attacks, targeting Rain's vulnerable back and sides. Each strike was executed with such speed that Rain had no chance to react. The sound of tearing fabric filled the air as Rain's clothes were ripped apart, and his skin was left exposed and hurt, bearing the painful evidence of the dogman's onslaught.

Despite the onslaught and the searing pain of his injuries, Rain maintained a stoic poker face. His determination and resilience were on full display as he endured the relentless assault, refusing to show any sign of weakness to his opponent or the watching crowd.

The dogman's rage was so intense that it seemed he might suffer a dangerous burst of anger. His veins, usually prominent, now pulsed fiercely on his furrowed forehead. His eyes, once sharp and alert, were bloodshot and wide, radiating uncontrolled fury.

Every muscle in his body appeared ready to burst as he relentlessly attacked Rain. In this enraged state, the dogman resembled a primal force of nature, driven solely by his overwhelming anger and the determination to kill Rain at any cost and making him feel as much pain as possible.

In the end, Rain had been waiting for that. When the anger of the opponent reached its peak. He went to attack Rain's nape with all his might and the bloodlust was so intense that even the audience felt shivers down their spine.

The opponent charged in like a bullet and he seemed like a blur too… he imagined that Rain would never be able to react, but in the end, in the last moment, Rain spun his body and then hit the face of the opponent with his left elbow.

The power of the impact echoed through the whole arena, and the opponent was lucky that Rain didn't have any more momentum on his side… or he would have his skull cracked. Still, that had been enough to paralyze the opponent, thanks to the pain.

Rain followed the attack with a right straight on the stomach of the dogman, and when his body bent forward, Rain kicked him with all his might. Soon after, the dogman spun in the air dozens of times per second and eventually passed above the audience and landed behind the arena.

"... The human hero is the winner," The beast king declared.

At that point in time, the audience was no longer angry, they were simply astonished at Rain. They couldn't believe his sudden turnaround, when his defeat seemed so certain at the start and in the middle of the fight… they could imagine that he had gotten lucky, but that seemed insane.

"Are you all right?" Reca asked. "Your wounds seem deep."

"It is fine, I was luring that retard in," Rain said and then sighed. "Here I am fighting to avoid having to worry about the fifth party in a war, and that moron was angry because I hurt that woman a little bit. Pisses me off so much that I thought I was going to be the one to have an aneurism."

It seemed that Rain went too far trying to lure the enemy, but for him, it was better to lose some health now than lose extra mana and stamina while five more duels were waiting for the group. He could count on his friends to decrease the workload, but Rain had a hard time seeing Jori and Reca defeating the dogman… even if they could, the price could be too high.

Besides, all that fighting tough opponents in one on one battles was making Rain understand something about himself. They were also sharpening his instincts on how he could fight and improve himself as well. Little by little, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

Before long, the next adversary showed up, and when that happened, the beast king was sitting down on the wall of the arena while tapping his index finger. It didn't look like he was going to wait for long.

The leader of the sixth tribe was a fearsome werewolf, radiating a menacing presence. He had a formidable build, standing tall and broad, with muscles that spoke of countless battles. His fur was mostly deep black, with silver-gray patches around his neck and shoulders, resembling battle scars. His eyes were sharp and golden, gleaming with a predatory intensity.

This werewolf sported massive, protruding fangs and razor-sharp claws, ready for combat. His fur seemed to bristle with a mysterious, electric energy, adding to his intimidating aura. He moved with calculated steps, displaying dominance in every step. In essence, he was a creature born for battle, and facing him in combat would be a formidable and perilous challenge for any opponent.

"Rain…" Jori said while showing a serious expression. "This guy looks really strong, and the others will be really stronger… let us handle the next two opponents while you rest for a bit. It is the final chance for us to show what we can do."

Rain didn't like that idea a lot… It was too risky, even more risky than letting the enemy attack his back and rip apart his flesh with their claws while he waited for the golden chance to counterattack.

Still, Rain was fully aware that he needed more time to come up with his newest technique. Sending his friends now to buy time would do the trick, but he hesitated for a bit.

"All right… but first, hear this and then see if you can do it in battle," Rain said and then said something to Jori.

"This is… I am not sure," Jori furrowed his eyebrows since he never heard of something like that. "It might be too much for me."