Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix
Chapter 1228 - 1228: Combination

"They have mobilized. Half of them are already outside, while the other half is ready to move in case they are attacked from other directions," Arel said.

"All right then, send us first to start the diversion and then send Dad when the second group arrives," Sealyn declared.

"Understood," Arel said.

Sealyn looked at Rain and then nodded… he didn't like that idea a lot, but it couldn't be helped. Before long, they were teleported, and Rain was left in the cave with Arel while waiting for his chance to fight.

"Ugh… I really hate to wait for this kind of thing," Rain thought.

"Wow, not even ten seconds had passed, and you are already like that," Elisabetha said.

While Rain was slowly being killed by his crippiling anxiety, the others had arrived on the enemy's base and were caught off guard by what they had seen. The group found themselves at the edge of an imposing metal fortress, a sight that left them momentarily shocked.

The sheer scale and details of the enemy's base were astounding, raising questions about where the abundant metal had come from and how it had been refined in such a hostile zone. The fortress bore a striking resemblance to the previous base they had infiltrated, the one housing the massive mana cannon with colossal blocks of metal connected like pieces of a puzzle.

As their eyes scanned the fortress walls, they noticed empty towers equipped with autonomous weapons that moved from one side to the other in search of enemies. The architecture hinted at a level of technological sophistication that was both impressive and concerning.

Beyond the walls, the group couldn't see the layout of the interior, but what caught their attention was the assembly of a massive army of robots gathering and preparing for the imminent attack.

Sealyn's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the scene. The fortress, a formidable combination of technology and metal, presented the challenge that she wanted… before long, she raised her spear and quickly summoned a massive amount of water around them, and everyone else pointed their hands toward the walls.

The group gulped when they saw the enemies attacking with laters, but soon they confirmed that the water resisted the attacks… even if they were lasers, the amount of mana used on the attack and defense was what determined things there.

Still, the massive barrage slowed down the expansion of the massive sea that Sealyn was planning to make until the others harnessed their power and infused their mana on the water. Usually, that wasn't supposed to do much, but soon the waters began to expand and move around them violently… to the point that the ground began to shake…

Everyone looked at that, and they seemed quite surprised. Even Sealyn opened her eyes widely… she never thought that something like that was actually possible, but her father was truly full of surprises.

The astonishing phenomenon happening before them had a simple yet profound explanation – each member of the group had their Diligence path equipped. Rain, in his recent experiments, had stumbled upon the news that mana itself could be influenced by the paths equipped. This became even clearer when examining the sins and virtues paths.

Equipping mana of the Diligence path to the water was proving to be a game-changer.

As the water infused with Diligence mana spread out, it transformed into a massive and violently expanding ocean. The calm waters now surged with unprecedented force, crashing into the attacking robots and pushing them away. The unexpected power unleashed by the combination of Diligence mana and water left everyone, including Sealyn, wide-eyed in astonishment.

Rain's experimentation with the paths had yielded results beyond what anyone anticipated. The Diligence path, typically associated with hard work and persistence, had manifested its influence on the very fabric of mana, turning a seemingly ordinary water-based diversion into a force to be reckoned with.

The ground beneath them shook with the intensity of the expanding ocean, and the robots, caught off guard, struggled to withstand the unexpected assault.

Before long, the army inside the walls began to join the battle little by little… they came flying to attack the group from above, but soon Sealyn made the waters expand upward when the attack reached their walls, but despite that, no damage could be seen.

"You need to slow down now and look like you are struggling," Nigel said.

Sealyn groaned in annoyance… that was part of the plan in order to make the enemy go all out to attack them, but holding back truly didn't sit well with him, even more so when their combined effort resulted in something like that… the robots with their chainsaw arms were slashing the waters only to be pushed away… that being said, Sealyn took a deep breath and calmed down.

The massive water body that was spinning stopped expanding, and the unmanned towers began to barrage it with continuous lasers… the lines pierced the water bodies quite a bit, but they never reached Sealyn and the others. Before long, they stopped since that was a literal waste of resources.

More and more robots kept coming and attacking the water body with their chainsaw arms… little by little, their blades made the water body lose power, and the damage suffered was minimal. So, they decided that was the best approach. While that was happening, Arel decided that Rain could move now…

"I will teleport you now; most of their forces have been mobilized," Arel said. "I am going to teleport you to the other side of their base, but some enemies are still there."

"I guess it is time to test my theory regarding their detection skills," Rain said and then equipped the sloth path.

Rain hesitated for a moment before equipping the Sloth path. It wasn't his preferred choice, given that his forte lay in the Diligence path. However, with time being of the essence and the need for stealth paramount, he recognized that Sloth provided the best option for the situation at hand.