Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix
Chapter 1178 - 1178: Underestimation

Eventually, the day of the departure arrived, so everyone headed to the point where they defeated the beasts, and soon, they infused their mana on the area and forced the opening of the portals. Without wasting time, they began to cross the place, but the leaders went first, while those who had more mana like Rain stayed behind to keep the portals open.

"Tch… I hate this," Rain thought. "I don't know what is happening there, and I can't communicate with them yet."

"Why didn't you keep Sakaki this time?" Elisabetha asked.

"I can only use so many weapons," Rain said. "Besides, it would be troublesome if you made someone go berserk, even without the intent. I am already used to dealing with the anger of the relics, and the others are far calmer than you."

"Well, sorry for my rage against the beasts that destroyed our world has no bounds," Elisabetha said.

"Speaking of which, your aura is the same as ever, but your behavior sure changes a lot when there aren't others to hear you," Rain said. "I wonder why..."

"What are you implying?" Elisabetha asked. "Never mind… are you already receiving the mana from those guys?"

"Yes… it is enough to increase the size of my domain by five percent… not a lot, but it opens some doors for me," Rain said after he decided not to press that subject further.

Eventually, Rain's turn to cross the portal eventually arrived and jumped in without hesitation. As soon as he saw everyone on the other side, he didn't drop his guard, but he relaxed a bit when he saw things there.

The group found themselves in the midst of some massive plains, the landscape stretching out before them in a seemingly endless way. The surroundings were surprisingly tranquil, devoid of any immediate signs of danger or ominous intentions. The calmness of the environment stood in stark contrast to the tension they had felt while traversing the portals.

Rain extended his senses through his earth magic, meticulously scanning the area for any hidden threats. To his relief, the magical pulses revealed no discernible presence within a radius of one hundred kilometers. The absence of hostile energies or lurking dangers brought a momentary sense of ease, allowing the group to take a collective breath.

Despite the initial calm, Rain couldn't shake off the uneasiness entirely. The vast plains presented an eerie stillness, and he remained on guard, aware that appearances could be deceiving.

"There is nothing around us in a one hundred kilometer radius…" Rain said. "Still, the giant centipedes could cross this distance in less than a minute."

"We will search the area in small groups," Sealyn declared. "Dad will keep in contact with everyone in case they find anything. Still, if you find anything, retreat immediately."

Rain was thankful for the fact that Sealyn was calling him Dad even during the missions. It seemed that the distance between them had decreased a lot since the tournament instead of increasing… even though she still called him underhanded.

In any case, the mode that they decided to search the area around was simple. Those who had great physical strength and could use Impulse pretty well would move in circles around the area and slowly expand their search radius. Rain would coordinate them with his Telepathy. Four of them would do that: Seadrei, Jori, Reca, and Asche…

Everyone nodded, and then they began to move out. Since they didn't know their positions if compared to the others, Rain coordinated with them, giving some adjustments to their movement speed. Seadrei was stronger than the others, so he got far ahead a bunch of times.

"I can't find any signs of people around," Reca said. "Some people crossed the portals that night, but it doesn't look like they stopped here."

"It is fine. Just focus on finding anything that we can use," Rain said.

There was a chance that they appeared somewhere else, after all, so there was no point in worrying about that. Regardless, that place was still weird… the reason for that was the fact that in the other zones, they had some serious danger close by as soon as they arrived, or at least they had to fight soon enough.

Things were different there, and it felt like a cheap trick to make them drop their guard.

In any case, thanks to their speed, it didn't take long for them to find something in the distance. The one who found that had been Jori… and it looked like he was pretty surprised by what he saw…

"Uhhhh… guys, there is a large city here," Jori said. "It is a bit weird place."

"Retreat immediately. We will investigate the place together," Rain said.

As the group retreated to meet up and discuss the unexpected discovery, Jori began to vividly describe the city he had spotted. His words forced puzzled frowns from everyone, as the scene he painted was unlike anything they had witnessed in at least the last hundred years.

The city was a castle town, which seemed to be engulfed in the atmosphere of an ongoing festival. The air was filled with giant balloons, some soaring into the sky, and fireworks illuminated the surroundings. It was a sight that contradicted the hostile environments they had encountered in previous zones, leaving the group bewildered.

Rain couldn't help but feel a sense of skepticism. The contrast between the serene festival atmosphere and the usual challenges they faced made him cautious. However, without more information, it was challenging to draw conclusions about the true nature of this peculiar city.

"Are you sure you're not seeing things, Jori?" Reca asked while frowning. "You talked a lot and used your head a lot in the last few days, and that clearly isn't your forte."

"Haha, very funny," Jori said. "Let's all see it together then."

"... It looks like despite the things that we did in the previous zone, we aren't still being taken seriously," Rain said.