Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 76: The Hard Way

"I guess she needs to be close to them to control them, and she also plans to use them to defend the city... this might be a bit hard," Rain thought.

Rain thought of some methods to free his father. Killing the woman seemed the best option to end the brainwashing, but it might keep Roan in that state forever; there was a chance for that. Take down all of the brainwashed soldiers that made her guard, but it was dangerous since Rain didn't know if his uncles were among them.

The final option was to separate his father from the others without alerting them. Still, he didn't know how he could do that exactly.

"Nothing says that either of those options is a surefire way to solve the problem... nothing but doubts on my path, huh," Rain thought and then sighed.

The sun was about to rise, so Rain decided to return to the tunnel and wait until night to rescue his father. He needed some time to think of how to proceed afterward, after all. After sleeping for a couple of hours, Rain, with a refreshed mind, made his decision and then waited until night to move again.

This time, he left as soon as it got dark and then headed toward the mansion where his father was. He arrived just in time to see the woman and the guards move toward the wall again.

"It is time to learn a few things..." Rain thought.

Rain followed the group while moving from rooftop to rooftop while using a bit of magic. The group followed the main street of the area, so plenty of people saw them, so Rain couldn't do anything while he was there. In the next wall as well, it seemed that they were only guarding a single area with an elite group, but there were other groups around that would react fast if something were to happen.

In that direction, they could see the human camp. It would have been helpful if Rain could rescue his father and head there, but he couldn't since he couldn't trust anyone there either.

"I want some answers from you, so I will grant you the chance to talk a bit," Rain said. "If you do anything aside from answering my question, I will snap your neck."

The brainwashing woman was still trying to move her head and body despite Rain's words. She wasn't afraid of him since he had the voice of a kid. Trying to make his voice sound rougher would only make him sound more silly; that was why Rain didn't try that. Still, he didn't imagine that she was foolish enough to resist and ignore his warnings.

She either had balls of steel, or she didn't mind dying at all. Maybe Rain could have phrased that better.

"How do you dispel the brainwashing?" Rain asked.

The woman stopped struggling, and it seemed that she wanted to say something, but Rain didn't like that sudden change of heart. Still, he didn't have time to waste, so he made her move upward a bit. Still, she took a deep breath, and then she opened her mouth with all her might... Before she could scream, Rain hit the temple with an earth hammer as well.

The woman was knocked down instantly, and her face began to get swollen slowly but surely.

"Fucking bitch... I guess I will have to try this the hard way," Rain thought.

Rain couldn't kill her and the guards, but they will suffer quite a bit until someone finds them. Just to be safe, Rain made sure to bury them a bit deeper and hardened the earth around them.

Rain left the dark alley while his father was covered in a layer of dirt that would hinder his movements. After that, he began to cross the city while making him levitate with his remaining mana before the sun could rise. When Rain and his unconscious father reached the tunnel, he felt like his head was about to explode. He had exhausted his mana already, and he forced himself to keep moving.