Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"That can be helpful, but it will also be dangerous since some enemies might come with them," Rain replied. "The last thing that we need to worry about right now is backstabbing. Aside from that, we need to send the former prisoners back home.

The beast people will recover soon thanks to their high physical strength, but the magic people still need some time since most of them don't have that much Vitality."

Speaking of which, the juggernaut that Rain defeated was outside, seeing the kids of the orphanage play. According to his mother, he can't speak, but he is mainly pretty calm. He only attacked those when he received orders and when his mother was locked.

Apparently, despite his strength and current level of obedience, that guy was quite the troublemaker and only behaved when his mother told him to. So, Joanis locked her up and treated her badly in order to make the guy obey him. That worked, and despite his size, he was only fifteen… Rain felt thanks to that that he had slacked on his training since he had to use magic against him.

"We can only bring a few handful of people that will certainly watch our backs," Branden said. "Cor and his group are the only ones that I can absolutely trust. Karla is good with management work as well, and while she isn't a fighter, her absence will make the king's blade lose a lot of its power and organization."

"I suppose I can move a group that big on a platform," Rain said.

"The rest of us can escort the beast people to the mountains. I heard that the beast people are prideful but very loyal," Roan said. "I don't think that they will attack us, but I can understand that letting them join this war will be troublesome… they are very troublesome as well."

Dealing with the demi-humans presented a unique challenge. Their homeland was a vast island in the southern ocean, quite a distance from their current location. Transporting a large number of them back to their territory would be a complex and resource-intensive task. Rain simply didn't have the time or the means to facilitate such a massive relocation.

Given these constraints, the only viable course of action was to wait for the situation in the war to stabilize and become safe enough for the demi-humans to return home.

Among the demi-humans with actual demi-human ancestry, an interesting observation emerged. These individuals did possess unique auras, though not as peculiar as the ones exhibited by those Rain had killed earlier. These differing auras hinted at the diverse blend of hereditary traits within the demi-human population.

Curiously, even when the parents of these demi-humans came from mixed races, such as one being half human and half beast while the other was half human and half merman or mermaid, their offspring seemed to inherit the traits of just one parent. This led to intriguing variations among siblings within the same family, as each child could manifest distinct traits from their mixed lineage.

It was a testament to the intricate genetic diversity woven into the demi-human population.

"Until now, the enemies have been ignoring me, and I feel that this is a bad sign," Reca said. "It also feels like they are waiting for us to do something and entice the population against us."

"Taking Princess Esmeralda from the castle might do that," Terra said.

"... I am sorry," Branden said with his head down.

"No, I didn't mean it like that…" Terra nervously said. "I was thinking that perhaps we shouldn't bring her straight here but should also let her pass through some places and make her reveal what she knows. It would be a lot more convincing than us doing that."

"It would be two times more efficient if Branden were with her and Rain just stayed in the shadows to protect them since he would only make them look suspicious," Liss added.

"Hey, my presence alone won't make anyone look suspicious," Rain protested.

"What do you think will happen if people learn what the king is planning and doing?" Asche asked.

"I would say that half of the population won't care, and the other half will oppose him," Branden replied. "It is unlikely that we will have the chance to talk with that many people, though."

"We can worry about that once we secure her," Rain said. "While calling her princess or Esmeralda is fine, calling her baby eagle or something will be cooler."

"I don't get it," Branden said. "Why would we call her that?"

Rain sighed and shrugged… Everyone doesn't understand his sense of humor that was tainted by Earth's pop culture. In any case, Rain was fine in making those their next goals. It will be difficult to decide anything else without further knowledge about the enemies.

"Anyway, we are going to depart tomorrow… you two are awfully quiet about all this," Rain said while looking at Orcis and Lorene. "You can always join the other side and live a peaceful life as long as you don't get in our way once the fight starts."

"Don't even joke about that… I am just thinking that we might end up fighting my family," Lorene said while looking away. "We don't have much of a choice here when the king decides to lock us up in a snow-covered Island, but…"

"... I was thinking that I can't even trust my own men and recruit them to our side, considering that some of them attacked Jori's group when we left," Orcis added.

"I see… well, there is no point in worrying about that since it is unlikely that they will fight on the frontlines," Rain said. "As for you… I guess some of your underlings probably knew about the kidnappings since it was impossible for the prisoners to be brought to land without being noticed a few times.

I won't say that their actions are understandable, but it makes sense to some extent since they didn't want to go against some powerful people that had the backing of the king."