Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"This what is going to happen to you all if you try to do anything, emit any bloodlust and you are done," Rain declared.

The other beast warriors enraged at Rain moved forward to jump again, but they only took a few steps before they eventually were covered in ice as well… dozens of them froze instantly, but that wasn't enough, Rain had to show that his words had a true meaning and made them fall on the fissure.

The skill Frostbite received 500 experience points.

The Polymath's path received 50 experience points.

The skill Frostbite received 500 experience points.

The Polymath's path received 50 experience points.

…

Even after seeing that, the beast people kept charging to attack Rain; they truly didn't fear death and as such, Rain granted them that.

The beast queen kept her expression the same as usual as her people died in front of her, but after the two hundredth of them died, she eventually realized that Rain's magical power wouldn't end… he used that spell to kill all of them if he had to and he probably had the means to do so.

"... Retreat," The beast queen said, and then all of the soldiers stopped.

The Beast Queen's face contorted with a clear sight of pure hatred and annoyance as she retreated, her serious gaze locked onto Rain. Her eyes burned with a furious intensity, expressing her deep-seated resentment and frustration. Every step she took carried the weight of her determination to continue the battle, for it was clear that she saw this confrontation as an unfinished business.

Her glare was like a dagger, trying to reach into Rain's very soul, promising that their enmity would persist for a very long time, no matter how the current situation played out. It was a chilling testament to the fierce animosity that had developed between them, setting the stage for future confrontations that would undoubtedly be just as intense, if not more so.

"This is far from over, isn't it?" Jori asked while frowning.

"Yep… they will regroup and try to cross the fissure all at once when we drop our guard in a few weeks, or when they think that we did that," Rain said.

"How did you do that, big bro?" Dana asked. "I know that the spear and your forearm and shin guards helped, but even so, to make it snow for a week…"

"You just have to use the right moment and conditions and use your magic to do the rest," Rain explained while messing with Dana's hairstyle. "I used the cold of the night to gather as much cold as possible and kept my focus on that while pouring my mana on the snow clouds. I only had to keep them in the area after using all my mana, so that didn't consume as much mana as it did in the beginning.

As for the technique itself, the snowflakes were filled with mana, so I made their bodies absorb the water. The cold weather didn't make them get rid of the water that they had absorbed, so I just used it to freeze all the water in their bodies."

"Isn't that the same thing that the king did against you?" Roan furrowed his eyebrows.

"It is close enough," Rain smiled. "I can't control them, I can only make them feel a bit cold or turn them into ice coffins."

Still, that was one heck of an ability… with enough time and resources, Rain would be able to stop whole armies without moving a single finger… it was useful, but it had a bunch of conditions attached to it. Nothing is perfect.

"Let's retreat and inform Branden and Esmeralda that we bought some time," Rain said.

Everyone at the base sighed in relief when they learned that they were able to delay the war, but things were far from over and peaceful. For one, Jori's kids didn't know how to stop, and they kept bothering everyone. They really liked to be carried on the people's shoulders as well.

Despite that, things got quite lively there. Meiro and Luana didn't dislike that. They liked Rain's children, but it seemed that they behaved too well… even though Rain spoiled them rotten.

"Seara went to pass the message to Her Majesty and Branden, what now?" Terra asked.

"We need more information about the whole situation, mainly about this suspicious guy," Rain said. "Aside from that, we just have to keep using all the tricks necessary to stop the beast people. I can keep the weather conditions in the mountain range at half of that power, but I won't be able to move from here, and the cold will eventually affect the crops in the area."

"I suppose not even you can shape the way you want and completely the clouds," Roan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It seems that giving the human who killed the tribe leaders to the beast people could solve the situation… or maybe not. In the first place, capturing such a person alive is too risky."

"Finding him will be too difficult in the first place," Jori added. "Can't you use your magic in the whole world, Rain? If we use enough potions…"

"Wow, I didn't think that you respected my abilities that much, but the idea is simply insane," Rain said. "Provided that if weren't, it still wouldn't be enough. We need to assume that this person has ties with Joanis and probably access to his knowledge and tools as well. With that in mind, finding him with magic will be difficult."

Everyone went silent after that… tracking down a large force was easy because they can't erase all of their traces. They were learning in the worst way possible how it was annoying to track down an extremely small force… that was probably something that the enemy learned from the previous war.

Rain and his friends moved around almost freely since they didn't have a large force, while the king's army couldn't do that.