Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 1342: Hit and Run

While Rain was thinking about those things, he eventually found a vehicle that looked less beaten down than the others, and when he checked it with psychometry, he eventually saw some images.

The images revealed by Rain’s psychometry showed the vehicle’s journey, providing a glimpse into its fate. Initially, the vehicle crossed through space, passing by a planet adorned with five moons, a distinctive celestial sight that caught Rain’s attention. However, the tranquility of the scene was abruptly shattered as the vehicle encountered its end.

A mana cannon, undoubtedly of machine god origin, targeted the vehicle, unleashing a devastating assault that resulted in its destruction. Unlike the grand scale of the mana cannon witnessed by Rain and his companions months ago, this attack was on a smaller scale but no less lethal in its efficiency.

The revelation of the vehicle’s demise at the hands of the machine gods showed the relentless pursuit and aggression exhibited by their enemies. It served as a grim reminder of the formidable opposition they faced and the dangers inherent in their quest for knowledge.

"I don’t remember seeing any civilization or signs of it on that planet, but I do know of a world relatively nearby that had five moons," Hardt said.

"I wonder how come you passed near such a place and crossed their territory like that without being found," Rain furrowed his eyebrows.

"Their territory expanded over the years; back then, that place was one of the borders of their territory; it probably isn’t anymore," Hardt explained.

That made sense, so Rain couldn’t say anything else. According to Hardt, he also managed to escape their radar for a while, thanks to his magic. Back then, he used his shadow magic to hide his vessel, and that made it almost disappear into the void of space since darkness doesn’t reflect light.

"We will be mapping that area soon," Sakaki said. "You should rest while you can."

Rain nodded and then decided to lay down a bit. There wasn’t anywhere that he could use to truly rest in that world, so he ended up just floating in the air.

After taking some time to rest and recover, Rain awoke feeling refreshed, his mind buzzing with new ideas and strategies. Despite the omnipresent threat of the machine gods’ surveillance on Earth, he considered the possibility of utilizing the planet as a potential hideout. While the machine gods may have been monitoring Earth, Rain reasoned that they could still operate relatively undetected as long as they remained on the planet’s previous surface.

His reasoning came from the understanding that the barrier separating Earth from the underworld was large and dense. As long as they confined their activities to the planet’s previous surface or the first layer of the barrier, they stood a good chance of evading detection. The thickness of the barrier would serve as a formidable shield against prying eyes, providing them with a degree of safety and security.

"The only issue is the mana necessary to cross such a distance," Rain thought while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Creating a relic to help with that won’t do it; I need my high-level skills to make the trip as efficient as possible. I guess the best way would be to use a magic circle to charge it with mana like we did with the vessel. So, I should make a mana core that will take some of my mana over and use it to activate the spell instead... that should spare me the headache."

In the end, Rain started by making a gem with the abilities of the Gemini tribe and then added a rune to make it absorb the mana of those who touched it. The rate was relatively low at first, but it would grow more powerful... Hopefully, Rain would be able to steal the mana from the enemies like that... he wondered how come he didn’t think of that before.

"I guess doing the same thing with health and stamina is impossible," Rain thought. "That being said, I should at least try to get used to using large amounts of stamina when I am using my secret technique... the exhaustion that I feel afterward is rather troublesome."

Rain recalled the blood mage path, and there were a bunch of skills that he could enhance by using more of his blood, so perhaps it was possible... Still, it was weird.

Level 10: Blood Bolt - Project bolts of condensed blood at your enemies, causing both physical and magical damage. The impact may cause a slow bleed effect over time. It costs ten health points per projectile.

Level 15: Coagulation Shield Create a defensive shield using coagulated blood that reduces incoming damage. The shield’s strength increases with each level. It requires blood on the area and fifty points of mana.

Level 40: Blood Transmutation Convert blood into a versatile substance, shaping it into tools or weapons for various purposes. The complexity of the creations improves with higher levels. The more health used, the more powerful the weapon.

"Even though I have a lot more health, I shouldn’t have that much more blood in my body," Rain thought while he checked the difference in power between two blood swords. "My health should represent the amount of damage my body can withstand, but even so... there is a clear difference between the quality of the blood swords..."

"The map of the next area was completed, but the destination is a bit far away... it will take a few days to reach it," Sakaki said.

That was a problem since everyone was starting to feel stressed over the cramped space that they had. Without moving that much, they couldn’t relieve the stress either...

"Maybe we can use this," Rain thought. "I will keep accumulating mana in order to reach Earth as soon as possible, but I will only return after we can cause some damage to the enemies... making everyone unleash their anger onto the enemies will help with stress relief."