Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 302: Returning to the capital

"Since that is the case, he might try to buy time by incriminating you of something else," Orcis said. "This invasion can be one of them... even if no one saw Rain, the investigation will take a while, and in the meantime, the sea emperor will make his move."

"Indeed... in the end, our best option still is to find the prisoner and ask them to confirm who was behind the kidnappings," Branden said.

In the end, Rain felt like he just wasted time on the invasion, but at least he confirmed how much the enemy was prepared. The group soon began to fly again, even while Rain was healing himself. The bombs weren't as powerful as a dragon breath, but it still burned his skin quite a bit.

While he was doing that, Rain wondered if the enemy would have killed the last prisoner already. Considering what had happened, he could only think that Joanis was quite cunning, so he should have predicted that they would look for the prisoner and blame him for the whole situation.

"I suppose I won't have to run to conserve my mana," Rain thought. "I won't fall for the same trick twice and asking around for Intel won't do it when the informants join the enemy's side."

Time was of the essence more than ever, so Rain was willing to go all out no matter the costs. Lately, he had some fun seeing his fortune increasing, but it was time to invest all that in order to get rid of some asshole that had an unreasonable grudge.

For the next two days, the group checked three cities and two towns. While using his magic, Rain checked for buildings where the use of magic had been sealed, but he didn't find any of those. That being said, he found underground some homes of the people that were being investigated in some dungeon-like places. There were cages, chains, and other things one would use to keep someone locked down.

The situation was getting out of hand really fast... those crazy scenarios all seemed possible and it wasn't something that he could solve just by punching around. He had to use his head really well to avoid creating even more problems.

"Let's return to the capital first, we can think of what we can do once we arrive there," Rain said while summoning the earth chamber.

The decision to return to the capital received unanimous agreement from everyone present. Rain couldn't help but reflect on Jori's earlier assessment, which had hit the mark. He realized that he was not accustomed to this line of work, and it made him question whether he should have focused on other aspects of his life.

This internal dilemma weighed on him. However, he understood that there was no use dwelling on it. The enemy had been plotting their schemes for decades, and they were only now starting to unravel the truth. It was a complex and challenging situation, and Rain had to stay focused on finding a way to overcome it.

As they soared through the sky, Rain pondered whether utilizing his tunnel to infiltrate the city might be a viable option. However, he quickly dismissed the idea as useless. It was highly probable that their adversaries were keeping a close watch not only on his home but also on Branden and anyone associated with them. Any sudden movements would likely be detected.

The most promising course of action, Rain concluded, might be to contact Lotto under the cover of darkness. Yet, even this plan was fraught with uncertainty. The clandestine nature of their mission and the looming threats left Rain wondering about the unknown, unsure of how the events would unfold in the coming hours.

All that he knew was the fact that things wouldn't be easy to solve with a few punches and that was a first for him.