Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 369: True power

The golden fox woman exhibited incredible agility, swiftly circling Rain with grace, her footsteps resounding in the arena. As she continued her dance-like movements, something extraordinary unfolded.

It was as though she was dividing into multiple versions of herself. Initially, these duplicates appeared somewhat transparent, like mirages in a scorching desert. However, with each passing moment, they solidified, becoming increasingly indistinguishable from the original.

Rain watched in astonishment, struggling to discern the real golden fox amid the sea of lifelike copies. Her illusions were so convincing that it had become nearly impossible to identify the true combatant amidst this captivating illusion. It left Rain perplexed, pondering how to confront this mesmerizing display of skill.

Rain used his earth magic to find the location of the real woman. Still, he blinked several times in surprise when he confirmed that all of them actually had weight and were stepping at the same time.

"The steps are too light... maybe she is trying to fool me," Rain thought, and then he assumed his fighting stance.

Waiting for the adversary to make her move first wasn't his style, so Rain jumped in toward her and then kicked several of the clones, but he just passed through them without feeling anything. The clones that were hit began to dissipate, but soon, they appeared when the hole in their formation moved away from Rain. At the same time, he felt a stinging pain in his leg.

When he looked at it, Rain felt a small cut above his heel, right above his weight, that was bleeding... Rain looked around since he didn't even feel the movements of a knife approaching, or even bloodlust for that matter... it was probably because she didn't want to kill him yet but make him stop moving.

"I guess she prefers to kill targets that can't move," Rain thought.

Rain couldn't find the real target that easily, so he began to run toward them and attacked the clones. However, they soon jumped away from the area and began to run in all directions as well.

It was a clear reminder that even the most skilled and resilient warriors could face unforeseen and formidable adversaries. Rain was now grappling with a test of endurance and strength that surpassed their expectations.

Still, they soon realized that Rain had a plan of his own... he wasn't the type to go down that easily. Before long, Rain opened his eyes and then raised his right hand. The clones stopped attacking and then jumped away from the area.

All of the clones stopped moving and waited for what Rain was going to do. A gentle breeze began to swirl around the arena, gradually gaining momentum and producing a soft, whistling sound in the air. The golden fox, surrounded by her numerous duplicates, seemed to understand that Rain was using the wind to track her movements.

However, she remained confident, knowing that the wind alone couldn't harm her or her copies.

As the wind picked up, it formed small swirling patterns, creating tiny vortexes in the arena. Rain appeared to be attempting to disrupt the formation of the clones or disorient the golden fox herself. Despite his efforts, the clever opponent remained composed. She understood that even if a few clones were disrupted by the gusts, she could effortlessly create replacements.

This was a battle of strategy and wits, and the golden fox was determined to outwit Rain at every step.

Still, the golden fox was surprised to see all the clones suddenly disappearing... it was impossible for them to receive that much damage with only that much wind, but then she felt some stinging pain in her face and left eye.

"... What?" The golden fox muttered.

The golden fox kept feeling the stinging pain in her left side until she eventually realized what was going on... small particles of silver from the arena were hitting her and piercing her body a bit... Rain used the arena with his magic to get rid of all the nuisances, which had been pretty easy since metal reacted to earth magic. While she was in shock, Rain charged at her.