Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Silence echoed in the area… no one had any idea on how to stop or get rid of the machine gods for real yet.

"The fact that we don't have enough data about them plays a good part in this issue," Sakaki said. "Maybe we will find some data on this mission."

"Or maybe they are hiding to avoid that possibility," Sealyn said. "Even if they didn't have enough information about us, they had millions of years to run probabilities to find the best methods to avoid troublesome issues for them."

"We are getting sidetracked here. We won't go anywhere as long as we actually obtain some concrete information about the machine gods," Esmeralda said. "It is risky, but no pain, no gain."

"For now, I think that we should at least obtain all the information about their territory, and then we can start from there," Regis said. "Even if we can't find any weakness, we might be able to create a place where we can force their weakness."

Everyone nodded… that was a good starting point. It looked like Regis was learning how to speak without sounding suspicious all the time. Good for him… Rain wanted to say.

"All right, the mission will start tomorrow," Sealyn declared. "The human side of our group has the most people with the dragon slayer path, so they will lead the charge to the enemy's base while Dad will focus on the data gathering. Grandpa, Orzlan, Isa, and… Esmeralda will lead the attacks to the other space stations. Do you all have anything against this formation?"

No one said anything, so the meeting ended there… details about the battles were left in the hands of the leaders of each group since improvisation was absolutely necessary when it came to fighting enemies that they knew so little of.

"The trip will last twenty hours if you stop for five minutes in each world," Sakaki said. "With that in mind, you should rest as much as possible since you are pushing yourself."

Rain nodded… Fortunately, his wives were going to rest too, so Rain could use their boobs as pillows… not for long, though since they complain that it hurts after a while. It was a pity that Rain couldn't ask for a fun type of sleep since that drains their energy more than a little bit.

"My Spidey senses are tickling again… we will definitely find some unpleasant things during the next mission," Rain thought. "I did everything I could to improve our chances, but…"

Rain had a hard time falling asleep thanks to that, but in the end, he cleared his mind and then fell asleep. There was no point in worrying about what he didn't know. The best thing that he could do was to rest as much as possible to keep his mind in tip-top shape when the time came in order to choose the best options.

When Rain woke up, he felt pretty good… quite inspired, too. He already had some new ideas that he wanted to test, but he couldn't since they were too big in scale and because everyone was already preparing for the mission.

"What will be the orders for the mission, Commander?" Terra asked when she jumped out from the bed.

"Soldiers, the time we've trained and prepared for is finally here. Remember our duty to our world, our loved ones, and the things we hold dear. Today, victory is our final goal. Let's show the machine gods the strength and determination of our resolve. Together, we will emerge victorious! Hell yeah, baby.!" Rain said.

"We will not surrender. We will not stop. We will confront our foes on every front, on every shore, and in every domain of conflict. We will persevere through the blood and iron, and we will emerge stronger on the other side. Let the cosmos know: we are stubborn, we are unyielding, and we will win! Kill them all!"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today… even though your job is to gather all the data that the enemies have in the base, and after that, we are supposed to retreat," Sealyn furrowed her eyebrows.

"If we pull that off, I have the feeling that the machine gods won't slow down and will go on the offensive with all their might… in order not to give us time to read and use the data," Rain said. "Be prepared that we might enter another age of endless conflicts."

"We are used to that. Do you remember when you went MIA?" Terra asked. "Just don't do that again."

"Don't worry, I won't go missing this time," Rain said.

Rain sounded pretty sure of that, and that made his wives feel assured as well, but they didn't notice that there was another message behind those words…

Terra and Seara left the house earlier, and after a while, Rain did the same, but soon, he came to a stop since he found Branden waiting for him, and it looked like he wanted to talk.

"Hey, I have a favor to ask of you," Branden said.

"What is it?" Rain asked, not having any idea what Branden was about to say.

"Can my kids and their kids join your group?" Branden asked.

Rain furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that… he didn't expect it at all. Rain's first thought was that Branden and his kids and grandkids weren't doing well, but there was also the possibility that he just wanted them to level up the dragon slayer path… that was understandable.

"Is there any particular reason for that?" Rain asked. "I have some ideas as to why, but I feel that they are wrong."

"It is nothing serious, but it is also something that I don't want to bother you about," Branden said. "If you want to deny it because of that, I will understand it."

"... It is fine if you think that is the best," Rain said while raising his eyebrows. "They can join us."