Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"They are strong! But they aren't invincible!" Rain shouted. "Their weapons are only a bit stronger than ours; don't let that surprise you all! Look at their speed! Do they look impossibly strong to you all? They aren't all that."

Rain was probably terrible at increasing morale, but at least some people readied themselves to fight. True, the enemies looked suspicious, and they had weapons and abilities no one had heard of, but they weren't that insanely fast. Their bodies were well-trained, but their aura didn't pass a sense of absolute terror.

Everyone readied themselves to face the enemies. It wasn't like they weren't ready to die to recover their lands and repel the enemy's invaders. Still, even Rain couldn't help but recognize the air around those guys… they had faced some serious shit considering the aura that they emitted. They also looked viciously toward the humans; they didn't show any other emotion aside from that.

"Keep attacking the golem masters. Let us deal without new enemies," Jori declared.

"Don't block too many of their attacks; focus on getting rid of them as soon as possible," Rain said. "Their weapons are reinforced and can be repaired with mana; they have the upper hand in a war of attrition."

Jori and Reca nodded, and then everyone readied themselves. In the next moment, both armies collided, and a crazy sound of impacts echoed in the area. Aside from the royal guards and their shields, most people were pushed back by the enemy's advance. Jori and Reca clenched their teeth since the enemies had the advantage of the momentum, but they soon stood their ground.

Rain punched the first enemy without hesitation. The guy swung his sword toward him, but that didn't stop Rain. The enemy thought that his sword would easily spit Rain and his arm in two, but the forearm guard blocked the strike, and then Rain's punch hit the face of the enemy. He felt a crack when the neck of that guy snapped… that is what happens when you focus that much on offense.

The skill Iron Fists received 500 experience points.

That was a lot more than usual… that tribe of people certainly was stronger than the others that Rain faced. Still, Rain soon faced the other enemies behind the first one and realized something… There was no sense of union between them.

The first line of enemies had people with swords, axes, shields, and spears… anyone with two brain cells that could do their synapses would know that the shields and spears should be on the first line, not that mess of a formation. Still, while that was curious, it wasn't Rain's problem.

The enemies also overly focused on offense without giving much thought to defense; only the ones with shields actually tried to block attacks with them.

"I suppose this tribe must have several factions or something," Rain thought.

One of the enemies tried to stab Rain with a spear, but Rain moved to the side and avoided the thrust before stepping in and then punching the enemy. The target blocked the attack with his shield, but he still was sent flying into the distance.

Three other enemies approached Rain and swung down their axes… blocking those wouldn't be good for Rain's forearm guards, so he used Charging Charge and collided against the body of one of the enemies before he could swing down his axe.

Rain took out the ax of that enemy and tried to block the other's attacks, but soon the ax melted. For a moment, Rain thought that he was done for, but then he reinforced his fists with earth magic, and then it covered his arms up to their elbows.

The enemy's attacks still hit him and pushed him backward, but Rain didn't suffer any damage thanks to his block. The enemies furrowed their eyebrows since they didn't think that their weapons could be blocked by a bit of dirt… they didn't have time to do anything else since Rain punched them in the chest.

They used their weapons to block the attacks, but they were still sent flying while spinning in the air and colliding with dozens of their allies.

The skill Iron Fists received 500 experience points.

The skill Iron Fists received 500 experience points.

…

Rain looked to the sides for a moment and then saw Jori quickly blocking the sword strikes of an enemy and being pushed back by a powerful sword slash. The enemy used that chance to go for a big swing, but then Jori fixed his stance and then stepped in with all his might, and propelled his body forward.

In the next moment, his right shoulder hit the enemy's chest, and when he staggered, Jori swung his sword upward and cut the enemy's chest, making a lot of blood gush from the wound.

On the other side, Reca was playing with a spearman. Both of them blocked each other's attacks with their weapons while mirroring each other. Unfortunately, Reca was lighter than the enemy, so he was being pushed backward with each hit.

Still, when the enemy pushed her further and then went for the finishing move, Reca pushed the spear forward with a single hand and increased its length for a moment, making it reach the neck of the enemy faster than usual. The guy didn't have the time to react and ended up dead.

"They can handle one-on-one fights, but I suppose it will be bad if I move too far away from them," Rain thought.

The other lines were standing their ground and staying close to each other. They weren't being pushed or winning, so things were on a stalemate. However, soon, the enemies of the other battalions began to approach, and that wasn't a good sign.

Rain quickly looked backward to see if Branden was planning something, but he didn't notice any changes in the backline. It seemed that he wasn't going to send reinforcements until it was absolutely necessary…