Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 476: Like father, like son

After the war's end, Branden and Esmeralda started a significant change in the leadership of their country. They opted to replace all individuals who had held any level of authority and had been involved in the war, regardless of their previous positions. It was a natural change aimed at bringing fresh faces and a new sense of responsibility to the leadership roles.

The decision to make these changes was primarily motivated by a desire to prevent further bloodshed and internal strife. Executing those who held authority during the war was deemed a troublesome outcome, as it could potentially trigger more conflict and revenge, continuing the cycle of violence.

However, it was also understood that the individuals who were replaced might have had some involvement in the unexplained disappearances of former soldiers after the war...

"We kept those areas in check during the whole time, this time, I am sure that the people watching those guys are one hundred percent on our side," Branden said. "Besides, we cleaned all the places and the things that Joanis had and used for the war, they shouldn't have the resources or the money to do anything, and we one hundred percent sure that they didn't contact those soldiers directly."

"They still could have done it indirectly," Rain said. "Like leaving messages in some hidden places or making others deliver those for them. Well, those are all just hypotheses. There are people disappearing in the cities and towns that Joanis had no business and allies too. Either way, this incident should be connected to the war."

"... Do you think that perhaps they are being controlled by my father?" Esmeralda asked.

Everyone looked a bit confused after hearing that... the control that the king had over his soldiers wasn't that high. If that were true, he wouldn't have ended his life so easily. Everyone assumed that he ended his life after some argument with Joanis, after all. There are many mysteries about that situation... Perhaps even the king didn't know about the whole situation.

"We don't have such a thing... humans only ventured so far in the last ten thousand years into the magic people territory and the beast people," Esmeralda explained.

"What about gramps, Seara?" Rain asked.

"Don't call him gramps... he is your father now too, even though both of you feel your back itchy when you refer to each other as father and son," Seara frowned. "We have a large map of the ocean, but not even we have the whole map of the ocean... there are sea dragons, too, you know, and while they don't attack us, they don't like it when we get closer to their territory."

As expected, the dragons were getting in the way again... it seemed that Rain would have to do some exploration eventually to make a decent world map. He had enough mana and speed to cross countries within days, crossing the world in a week or two shouldn't be impossible.

"We don't have to consider that for now," Branden said once he realized what Rain was thinking. "We don't have enough reason to lock down all of the soldiers of that war, we don't even have enough jails for all of them as well, but we can increase our surveillance on them. Thank you for your insight, Rain. We can take it from here. You should also take your kids before they pull out all of my hair."

Rain nodded and took his kids back... he wanted some action in his life again, but he also wanted to enjoy that period of his life. His kids won't be toddlers forever, and he wanted to see them grow and make them understand that he wasn't going to be their father, but their friend as well.

If the enemies are plotting something again, Rain will kill those guys without hesitation... they had their second chances, they won't have their third chances.

When Rain returned home, he decided to train a bit more while letting his kids chase some water bubbles in the air. But soon, he heard another this... this time, thanks to his stance, he was able to see why Danny had fallen again... he was trying to copy Rain with his handstands.