《The Magician of Sound》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue

    In a normal bedroom, a 17-year-old male with ck hair slept on his bed with a blissful expression on his face.


    Knock. Knock.


    Knocks started to echo throughout the room without notice, but the young man wore big noise-canceling headphones. With such big headphones, it would make sense that he wouldn''t be able to hear it, or so it may seem.


    "Nghh¡­" Strangely, the male could hear the knock clearly, waking up because of it. He rubbed his sleepy eyes before getting up from the bed and replying, "Yes, I''m aw-"


    Before he could finish his words, the door was opened. He saw the familiar figure that had always been waking him up every morning. She had long ck hair that reached her waist, big ck eyes, a small nose, as well as a pair of tantalizing lips. She wore a white shirt under a white suit, as well as a blue tie and a white miniskirt.


    Those clothes made her charm more enchanting, entuating her beautiful proportion even further. She could cook and even do house chores. That''s right. She would be a perfect girl, if only she wasn''t such a¡­


    "Kai!" She threw herself towards him. He had gotten used to this, so he avoided her and let her crash into his bed.


    He avoided her, but it didn''t make her feel disappointed. Instead, she grabbed his pillow as she smiled. "Fufu, Kai''s scent. Today, Kai will go to school with me¡­ Ah, this is the best day ever."


    Kai nced at her before increasing his distance from her. That''s right, she was indeed happy, but then she realized another matter, making her mood turn for the worse. She said with a dark tone, "That''s right, what if Kai gets a girlfriend in school? Damn you, government. I should change this policy when I be one of the high-ranking people. Or should I..."


    "No killing, please," Kai replied with an uninterested tone. He had gotten used to this side of her. Her name was Tasha Carter. She was his incurable bro-con sister¡­ well, adopted sister. He and his parents were on vacation before they met her. She was abandoned after her parents died in an ident.


    They decided to adopt her so that their son could have an older sister that could protect him. But because of a certain ident, she became like this.


    Kai Carter shook his head helplessly at the thought. He nced at the mark on her right hand. Everyone had a mark like this on their body. For him, he had an eighth-note symbol under his right ear. He looked at the lightning mark on her right hand.


    At the end of the 21st century, a strange ident urred on Earth.


    The people on Earth suddenly felt their bodies bing more energetic with every passing day. The government started researching the cause, and at that moment, they found a strange phenomenon.


    A dog suddenly expanded in size, as if it was undergoing an evolution. It killed all the members of the research team, as well as the people around them. Unfortunately, it didn''t stop there. Other animals also underwent their respective evolutions.


    The situation became chaotic because animals throughout the globe started turning into beasts. In the present years, they were called ''Magical Beasts''. People who owned pets died on the first wave after their pets killed them.


    The government tried to fight them, but it was obvious that killing those beasts would not be that easy. Numerous nations were ruined by these magical beasts. These beasts terrorized the entire Earth. Without any other choice left, the people around the world joined hands to fight them.


    It was not-so-effective at first, so they could only retreat and create a superbase with allied countries. Three bases managed to survive this ordeal, with those bases being located in Japan, the US, and Europe. With Japan''s strategic location, which was surrounded by water, the terrestrial magical beasts from afar couldn''t harm them.


    They managed to kill the magical beast through their territories. The people around them were also migrating to the country. Japan finally became a country that hosted various nationalities. China, Russia, and even those from Indonesia lived in this country. And so, Japan changed its name to United Asia.


    Such was also the case for the US and European bases. Each of them also took in various nationalities into them. People who managed to survive this ordeal used these three bases as ces for recuperation and started to slowly turn the tides against those magical beasts.


    Until all of a sudden, they found that their children had something that they called a birthmark. It appeared on every child around the world. Strangely enough, they found out that their birthmarks could glow, and that the children could use strange powers.


    Children with a fire mark on them could control or summon fire. It was the same for children with a water or wave-like mark on them. They could control or summon water. The people called these children ''Magicians''. His sister had a lightning mark, which made her a lightning magician. Well, she also had another power that made her famous.


    With that, the people were finally able to fight back those magical beasts. The world continuously produced such children every time they birthed. It seemed that it was the same as the magical beast evolution. But in this case, it was their children.


    After retaliating for more than two centuries, the situation had eventually stabilized. Unfortunately, because of this ident, the poption on Earth was reduced to a meager 5% of its initial number. Even more so, after these fights, the number of males who participated in the front lines had been decreasing until finally, women started participating as well.


    Even so, the damage was irreceable. The current poption of males was only a third of the entire poption. Yeah, the policy in her mouth was that a man could have multiple wives, AKA, their own harem. Some chose to have one, and some decided not to.


    For this hardcore bro-con, it was a significant matter. Kai Carter didn''t really care about it that much though. For him, he wanted to build his own rtionship first before confirming their rtionship. He didn''t believe in such a thing as ''falling in love at first sight''.


    He grasped his sister and threw her outside his room. He then closed the door so he could change his clothes. He soon grabbed his white uniform. It was the same white uniform as the one his sister wore, except that he had long white pants. He looked at the ID and grabbed it as well.


    ID: 000004884395 (UNITED ASIA)


    Name: Kai Carter


    Age: 17


    Gender: Male


    Education: Genesis Magic Academy First Year


    Rank: D


    That''s right. He was living in the United Asia Base. Jobs rted to magic were high-paying jobs in this world. Those who became a student at a Magical Academy would receive an honor unique to them. As for the ranks, in this world, there were seven ranks, from F to S.


    They were ssified based on ability and magical energy. Kai Carter was only your average guy. His ability and magical energy level weren''t high, but they weren''t low either. From other people''s point of view, he was just an average guy with an average aptitude.


    B-rank magicians were considered as special people while A-rank magicians were considered as Aces. As for people with S ranks, there were only a handful of people in the world who had that rank. It was a Special Rank only for those who fit the requirements for that, which included his sister.


    After he changed his clothes, he opened the door and saw that his sister was still standing in front of his room this entire time.


    "Kai, let''s eat breakfast."


    Kai nodded his head. Both of them went downstairs and saw their parents. Their father was sitting while reading news on his gadget. The gadget was a kind of smartphone, but it was a bit more technologically advanced. They lived in the 24th century, but due to the onught of the magical beasts, technology didn''t progress that much.


    His father was a middle-aged man with very short ck hair. His personality was not strict. In fact, he was a fun father to have. Kai looked at their mother, who was preparing their breakfast. Even though she was considered a middle-aged woman, her beauty was still preserved. Maybe because of their magical energy, their aging process had slowed down.


    He recalled that most women in this world were the same, but it was different for males. It seemed they didn''t care that much about their appearance, especially for those who were married. That''s why their father had the appearance of a man in their mid-thirties while their mother looked like she was in her prime, which was her early twenties.


    "Oh, Kai. That''s right. It''s your first day attending high school. Well, have fun. I''m sure your sister will protect you."


    "Yes! I will protect him. Especially from v*xens!" Tasha said with a guts pose.


    "Yeah, yeah, I''ll leave him to you. Just watch your words." Their father, James Carter, didn''t really care since he had gotten used to this. In fact, the whole family had gotten used to her personality.


    "Fufufu. Well, I don''t really mind having a few more daughters-inw, though." Their mother, Ayaka Carter, said while giggling as she put the dishes on the table. Their mother was a local Japanese. Their great grandfather was a tourist in Indonesia. He was an English man, but, because of that ident, he fled to United Asia and settled down.


    "Mom! How can you say that? They just want to take advantage of Kai!" Tasha protested.


    Kai only kept his silence, not bothering to correct them. He just let it be and watched them to see what would happen.


    "Uh-huh. Whatever you say. I will be the one to judge them, not you." Their mother stated it like it was her authority, not Tasha''s. But then again, she was using her joking tone.


    "Itadakimasu!"


    After living together for two centuries, their cultures had mixed.


    They ate their breakfast while joking with one other. After finishing their breakfast, it was time for Tasha and Kai to go to school.


    They were reaching for their shoes when Tasha suddenly realized that something was off. Kai''s tie was a bit crooked. Her eyes immediately shed with a glint.


    "Kai, your tie is crooked. Let me fix it for you." She moved closer towards Kai.


    Seeing here towards him, he immediately fixed his tie casually. "Yeah, you''re right. Thanks, Sis."


    She froze after seeing him fix his tie. "Kai, it''s the time where I should be fixing your tie, you know. You should let me fix it for you. Are you even a man?"


    "Yes." Kai simply nodded, ignoring all her words.


    She pouted in response. After that, they put on their shoes. Tasha shouted soon after, "Mom, Dad, we''re heading out."


    "Yeah, have fun."


    "Kai, don''t forget to bring a daughter-inw!"


    "No! He won''t!"


    And with that, the two of them finally left the house.

 Chapter 2 - Opening Ceremony

    Kai and Tasha went to school together. They were in Tokyo. Even though Japan changed its name to United Asia, the names of the cities didn''t change. They rode a bus that had been modified with Magical Energy. The bus didn''t have wheels and was floating a few centimeters off the road.


    Surprisingly, their home was not that far from the school. After a ten-minute ride, they finally arrived at the school gate walking together. Of course, there were a lot of students around them. Most of them knew about Tasha.


    "Woah!"


    "That''s Tasha Carter!"


    "Indeed. The only S-rank in the academy. Now that I think about it, only a few people in the world have that rank."


    "I came to this school because I admire her."


    "Look, she''s with someone. Who is he?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Ah. If I''m not mistaken, he must be her younger brother, Kai Carter."


    "What? Her younger brother? Do you know him?"


    "Not really, but I''m super envious. I want to be her younger brother as well. Look, they look so intimate."


    Even with his big noise-canceling headphones, he could hear the conversations from his surroundings. His symbol was sound. From childhood, he had an extensive hearing. In other words, even if it was far away, he could hear it. After multiple tests, he found out that his hearing range was about a few kilometers. He wore those headphones to suppress it.


    It was very taxing for him, especially when he was about to sleep. He used the headphones to limit his hearing. To be honest, it was pretty stressful for him to hear everything. Who would want to hear a fight between a couple from a kilometer away? Or something like that.


    ''Walking together like this is considered intimate?'' Kai questioned in his heart. He remembered that his sister always wanted to jump on him at home or on the bus. She even tried to hold his hand. Of course, he managed to dodge all of them.


    Fortunately, she seemed to be able to maintain her image at school. She was waving her hands, greeting the other students.


    When they arrived, Tasha needed to do her job. "Ah, right. I''m the student council''s secretary, as well as the second-year representative. Although it saddens me, I''ll see youter, Kai. By the way, the ceremony will be held in the gym. It''s that building."


    Kai nodded his head in response. Tasha walked away while waving her hand until she disappeared from his sight. Kai then walked toward the gym.


    "Hey, you. Stop right where you are. Why are you wearing headphones? That''s quite rude, don''t you think? You need to pay attention to others." Kai heard a woman''s voice behind him. He turned around to see ady around the same age as him, sporting long brown hair. She had ck eyes, a small nose, as well as cherry-red lips. Her figure might be equal to Tasha, though not that he cared much to think about it. What he cared about was the star on her uniform.


    He had seen that star on her sister''s uniform. Her sister said it was a star for representatives. Judging from her age, she must be the first-year representative.


    "These are noise-canceling headphones. But don''t worry, I can hear you just fine." Kai said in a casual tone. He had gotten used to this situation. But then again, it would be quite rare to see someone wearing noise-canceling headphones. Other people would think that he was sting music through it.


    "Even so, it''s still rude," she said while crossing her arms.


    Kai wasn''t offended by this. He took out a health certificate and showed it to her. "Consider me a special case, if you will. It''s for health reasons."


    This certificate always saved him in these kinds of situations. When he presented it to other people, they would back down and shut their mouths.


    After looking at the certificate, she was shocked. Unfortunately, she wasn''t shocked by his certificate. Instead, she was shocked by his name. Kai Carter. He was someone who had the same family name as Tasha Carter. "You¡­ you''re Kai Carter? The younger brother of Tasha Carter?"


    "Yes."


    Her eyes widened, then she started scanning him from head to toe. She couldn''t see anything special from him, prompting her to ask, "Are you really her younger brother?"


    She was perplexed because she also came to this school because of her. His sister was that famous. But the most shocking thing was that when Tasha was asked by others, she always said that it was thanks to her brother that she could be who she was now. The people didn''t believe it though.


    She tried to find anything special from him. Sadly, she didn''t find anything. Even so, since he was her idol''s younger brother, she still decided to be polite to him. She then introduced herself, saying, "My name is Kudo Ayaka. Nice to meet you, Kai Carter."


    "¡­The pleasure is mine." Kai didn''t immediately answer her since he felt that this name was a bit familiar. It was as if he had heard it from somewhere. He couldn''t remember it, so he answered with a bit of dy.


    "I will guide you to the gym."


    "No need, the gym is there."


    Kudo Ayaka was surprised to see that this guy was indifferent in front of her. He might not know her full identity, but she thought that as a beautiful girl whose appearance did not lose out to his sister, he should at least get excited. Unfortunately, he didn''t have any of those thoughts. He only considered her as another acquaintance which he had only just met. Whether they will be friends or not, he left it to the future.


    She let out a wry smile while saying, "Well, the gym is over there. See youter."


    Kai only nodded and walked away.


    The gym was brimming with people. They had around two thousand students in here. It seemed that the third-year students upied the spot in the center, the second-year students upied its surroundings, and the first-year students'' ce was on the second floor.


    Kai searched for an empty seat. It took him a while to find one, as the gym was filled with people.


    Finally, he found an empty seat in the corner. Beside that seat was a blonde young man. Kai didn''t know why, but he noticed that this guy seemed to radiate the vibe of an elegant prince. He shrugged the feeling off and approached the seat.


    "Is that seat next to you taken?"


    The blonde guy noticed him and turned his head. After he saw Kai''s face, he just smiled. "Not at all. Feel free to sit here."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded and sat.


    "What is your name? Which ss? What is your rank?" The blonde guy asked him hurriedly. He then realized something, "Oh, that''s right. How rude of me. My name is Inshov Tanas Georgiy. If you feel it to be too long, you can just call me George. I am a student of ss 1-A, and my rank is B."


    Kai was surprised. He thought that this guy had an elegant prince''s vibe, but as soon as he heard his voice, the feeling wore off. Instead, his opinion of him was now that of a cheerful and easygoing guy. "1-A, Kai."


    "So we are ssmates¡­ By the way, why do you wear headphones¡­" He noticed something off from the headphones. Although he was cheerful and seemed to be careless, he was, in fact, a sharp person. He noticed this little detail. "Those aren''t headphones for music."


    "Noise-canceling headphones. Medical reason."


    "Hmm¡­" He looked at Kai mysteriously and eventually said, "You''re an interesting guy. Let''s be friends, Kai. You''re my ssmate, so we''re gonna be together for the entire year."


    Kai was surprised to see that this guy found out that his headphones were different. Not many people could spot this at their first meeting. "Well, nice to meet you then. But please refrain from saying something that can invite misunderstandings. People will mistake you as a homosexual with yourst sentence."


    "Eh? Did I?" He was clueless. He often spoke like this, but no oneined to him. Or maybe they were just scared of his status. But this ''Kai'' guy seemed not to know his real status. He thought that this ''Kai'' was fascinating. "Haha, I''ll make sure to be careful. But you can truly hear beyond those noise-canceling headphones, huh¡­"


    Kai nodded. Before George said another word, the principal finally came up to the podium. The opening ceremony was about to start. The principal was a muscr middle-aged man. He had spiky brown hair and seemed to be your typical muscle-brained guy.


    "Hello, everyone, I am your principal. My name is Kazato Kenzo. I wee you to Genesis Magical Academy. First of all, I would like to thank you for¡­"


    The principal began his speech. The speech was a bit boring since it was just the usual speech. After a few minutes, the speech was finally over.


    "With that out of the way, I would like to invite Yajima Haruko, Tasha Carter, and Kudo Ayaka as the representatives of their grades. First off, Yajima Haruko is our student council president, as well as the representative of the third-year students. She is also a rank A magician like me. Tasha Carter is the secretary of the student council. You might already know this, she is the only S-rank in our academy, and the first S-rank to appear in this academy. She is the representative for the second-year students.


    "Thest one is Kudo Ayaka, the heiress of the Kudo group, the number one weapon providerpany. We are honored to have her as our student. She is also a rank A magician. Let''s give them a warm round of apuse."


    A roaring round of apuse soon echoed inside the gym. As expected, the ps were far louder than the principal. Three beauties were walking toward the stage. Kai had seen two of them. He looked at the third person, the third-year representative, who was also the student council''s president.


    She had long red hair with a beautiful hairpin on her hair. Every step she took was elegant. It seemed that she was also a young miss from a prominent family. In fact, Kai was surprised to hear that Kudo Ayaka was the heiress of the Kudo group.


    He finally understood why he felt that her name was familiar. They started giving their speech, starting from Yajima Haruko, to Tasha Carter, then Kudo Ayaka.


    Their speech was simr, but the apuse from the students was loud. As expected from them, it seemed that they had their own fan clubs. Unfortunately, the number of men in this world had been reduced to a pitiful amount. If there had been more of them, the apuse would most likely have be louder. Heh¡­men.

 Chapter 3 - A Fight?

    After the opening ceremony ended, Kai stood up, ready to leave. Suddenly, a pair of hands suddenly came from behind and grabbed his shoulder.


    Kai turned around and saw that it was George''s hands. George said while smiling, "Kai, let''s go to ss together. You''re my new friend anyway."


    Kai tilted his head as he was confused by his action. Well, he didn''t have any reason to reject him, so Kai epted his proposal. They left the gym together and went toward their ssroom.


    They walked normally before suddenly, danger approached them at a fast speed.


    "Kaaiii!"


    Kai dodged to the side out of reflex. The danger he felt was a ck-haired bustydy. In other words, his sister.


    "Y-you¡­ you are-" George was dumbfounded when he saw who it was. It was the famous Tasha Carter.


    When she realized that there was someone beside him, she immediately raised her guard. She tried to see who had the guts to stand beside him. After she found out that it was a man, she felt relieved.


    "Un, un. I am d that Kai has a friend now." Tasha nodded repeatedly. "Ah, you might have seen me previously, but I will introduce myself once more. I am Tasha Carter, elder sister of Kai Carter. Please take care of Kai for me."


    "!!!" George turned to Kai in shock. He never expected that the average-looking guy was the brother of the famous Tasha Carter. He thought, Is he acting like this because of his sister? Or is it just him being special?''


    "Yes, the pleasure is mine."


    "Are you two going to ss?"


    "Yes." George nodded.


    "Fufu, you will then choose a ss representative for your first day and some boring introduction from the teacher. Well, Kai might be the ss rep. Fufu, I will look forward to it. Oh, that''s right. This is your weapon." Tasha handed a ck block. Its size was pretty small, ten centimeters long, and three centimeter wide.


    "You can say ''release'' to use it. How about trying it out? I can change it if it''s not to your satisfaction." Tasha said.


    Kai nodded and said in a low voice. "Release."


    The little block started glowing before it formed the shape of a sword. The little block expanded a little and became the sword handle. The small block took a small amount of Magic Power from Kai to form its de. It formed a one-meter long single-edge green-colored de. The de was like a katana without a curve.


    Kai felt something wrong with the sword. Not the de, but the handle. It was too long. The handle was more than enough for two hands to hold it. But it wasn''t his way of handling it.


    "Fufu, you can split the handle, and it''ll be your second sword." Noticing Kai''s confusion, she immediately exined.


    Kai tried it again and released the de. It formed a de identical to the first one. He checked his sword to see if there''s something wrong.


    "You three, it is against school rules to use yo-" They heard a familiar voice from the side. It was Kudo Ayaka''s voice. When she wanted to reprimand the trio about the rule, she was shocked to see that her idol, Tasha Carter, was also there.


    "Hm, you''re the first-year representative." Tasha looked at her with her eyes narrowed.


    "Ye-yes. I am Kudo Ayaka. Nice to meet you." She tried her best not to stutter.


    "We didn''t break any rule. He only used it to check whether it''s good or not."


    "Ara ara, I heard something interesting. In a case like that, you need a member of the student council to observe it and the approval of the student council president, which is me." A soft voice was heard from another direction.


    It was the student council president. After looking at her, George knew that this would take a long time. He immediately patted Kai''s shoulder, "I''ll see you in the ssroom."


    He escaped as soon as he said that. Kai wanted to escape too, but Tasha grabbed him.


    "You''ve said yes, Pres. I''m following the school rules." Tasha said cheekily.


    "!!!" Yajima Haruko realized something.


    ¡­


    Around an hour ago, before the opening ceremony started.


    Tasha came to the student council office. She was humming happily. Yajima Haruko asked her, "You seem pretty happy. Did something happen?"


    "Of course, Kai- I mean, my younger brother is enrolling here. I''m going to give him ''that''."


    "Oh, you mean the one that you asked for back then."


    "Yeah, I want him to try it, isn''t that fine?"


    "Haha, sure, just follow the school rules."


    ¡­


    Yajima Haruko realized what she did. She did all of that to lower her guard. Tasha Carter, what a sly one. She had been watching from afar. Of course, she knew that Kai was Tasha''s younger brother. She was thinking of inviting him to the student council.


    She had investigated her and her younger brother. This ''Kai'' seemed to have an interesting ability despite him being a rank D magician.


    They were staring at each other with smiles. Of course, their expressions were dark.


    "Fufu, as long as you obey the rules." Yajima Haruko said while smiling. Inside, she was cursing. ''Damn you sly bro-con b*tch.''


    "Of course, I am also one of the student council members, I should follow the rules." Tasha was the same. She was cursing in her heart. ''You think I don''t know that you''re investigating my brother and me? Damn you, V*xen.''


    Kudo Ayaka didn''t know why, but she was scared after watching these two. Unconsciously, she was moving toward Kai and was trying to hide behind him.


    Yajima Haruko turned her head to Kai. "Hi, I''m Yajima Haruko. I''ve heard so much about you from Tasha."


    "Yes, nice to meet you." Kai nodded.


    "Would you like to join the student council?"


    "Eh?" Kai was confused. It wasn''t only him. Even Kudo Ayaka, who was behind him, was also confused. She had been invited to join the Student Council too, but she remembered that the minimum requirement to join the student council was to be a Rank C magician.


    She had seen his rank in his medical certificate. It was ''D''. Kudo Ayaka asked innocently, "But, Prez, isn''t the minimum requirement to join the student council is to be a Rank C magician?"


    "Ara, we meet again, Miss Ayaka." Haruko greeted her.


    The culture where people called each other with honorifics like ''-san'', ''-kun'', and the others seemed to have been forgotten. It had changed to ''miss'' or ''mister''. Such a shame, considering that those honorifics such as ''-san'' seemed to be more efficient. Unfortunately, people at this period wouldn''t know about it.


    "Snort, you can''t even win against him even though you''re an A rank while he''s a D-rank," Tasha grumbled while crossing her arms.


    "Eh?" Ayaka was shocked to hear such a response from Tasha. After all, it was a norm that people normally couldn''t defeat another magician with a higher rank. And they had the difference of three ranks, to boot. Even though she idolized Tasha, she couldn''t swallow this one. "I can win."


    "Hmph, even I couldn''t win against him, how can you?" Tasha snorted.


    "Isn''t it because you''re a bro-con? You couldn''t hit him." Haruko immediately said. "How about sparring against each other? We can use the student council''s field and make an unofficial fight."


    "No way." Kai was the first one to reject that idea. He didn''t have any intention of doing that.


    "Are you scared? Fufu, I never thought that Tasha''s brother would be a scaredy-cat." Haruko provoked him¡­ No, her target was Tasha.


    "Of course my brother is not scared."


    "Fufu, don''t you want to see it too? You can try baiting with wealth. You know, like using money or weapons. Or are you too scared to be defeated by a Rank D magician?" Haruko was trying to get inside Ayaka''s mind too.


    Maybe it was because she had gotten used to this kind of job, but it seemed that she managed to convince her. "I can put a new weapon from the Kudo group as a bet. It''s also a sword and you can release it anytime since it''s in the form of a bracelet. Its output and efficiency are also top-notch."


    Tasha''s eyes blinked. She knew about the Kudo group. Their weapons were indeed top-notch. She looked at the sword that she gave just now. "Go, Kai. You can do it."


    Kai facepalmed. He knew that it was easy to bait her. He looked at Yajima Haruko and thought, ''what a fearsome person.''


    "I already have this wea-"


    "Crack!"


    Kai wanted to avoid this, but before he managed to say it, the sword broke into pieces. The perpetrator was his sister. After breaking the sword she gave, she turned to Kai and smiled. "I''m sorry, it seems that the weapon is broken. I''m sorry, it''s only a cheap weapon. Kai, it''s time for you to get a high-tech weapon."


    Kai sighed, "I can''t fight without a weapon, you know. You broke it just now."


    "!!!" Tasha immediately realized that.


    "You can use a weapon from the student council." Haruko was also eager to see his power. After all, sound magicians were rare.


    "That''s right. You can use the equipment in the student council." Tasha also nodded in approval.


    "All right. It''s settled then. We''ll have our duel after school. You didn''t expect to have a chance to skip ss, did you?" Haruko suddenly said that. They finally remembered that they would have gone to ss if this farce didn''t happen.


    Kai and Ayaka were in the same ss, so they went in the same direction. Of course, Ayaka wasn''t that polite to him anymore, saying that she would win and the like. While leaving, Kai took a nce toward Haruko.


    He didn''t know what she was nning, but she grasped people''s personalities very well. He ced her in his dangerous women list. She ced second while his mother was first. As for his sister, Tasha, she was just a bit annoying, not dangerous.


    Haruko looked at his disappearing back and sighed. She recalled some memories while taking out her ne and said with a bitter voice, "So you really don''t remember me, Kai."

 Chapter 4 - Class

    Kai and Ayaka arrived in their ssroom. Fortunately, the teacher had yet to arrive. There was only a big seat on the back of the ssroom. In the ssroom, the tables were not one-person tables. Instead, it was a two-people table.


    After Ayaka and Kai entered the ssroom, they became the stars of the ssroom. No, to be precise, it was Ayaka. As she was an heiress of Kudo Group, the number one weapon provider in United Asia, it was obvious that many people would try to get on her good side.


    In this room, there were only thirty students. But the tables were enough for forty students. When there was only an empty table left, it was very obvious that a few men had reserved the seat for her. Of course, there were a few female students who did that as well.


    Since the number of males was far lower than them, the male students who did that obviously had hidden intentions. Kai didn''t care and immediately went to the empty table.


    "Miss Ayaka, may I have the pleasure to be your seatmate?"


    "Miss Ayaka, I''m Takaoka, I''m from-"


    "Miss Ayaka, nice to meet you."


    They ignored Kai, who came along with her. Obviously, judging from his average look alone, there was no way he was her boyfriend or something along the line. So they didn''t really care about him.


    It might be a different matter if they knew that Kai was the younger brother of Tasha Carter. It might even be a scandal.


    After he took his seat, the only one who approached him was George.


    "Yo, how is it?" George wanted to ask about the matter just now.


    "Nothing." Kai didn''t want to reply.


    Not long after, Ayaka suddenly came toward him and sat beside him. Everyone was surprised to see that.


    "Who is he?"


    "What the f*ck is going on?"


    "Impossible."


    It became a ruckus, especially among men. Even George, who was beside him, had his jaw dropped to the ground. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    He was wondering about what happened after he had gone. George knew that Kai was the younger brother of Tasha Carter. But this knowledge only made him misunderstand the situation.


    He thought that there was some kind of rtionship between the Kudo group and Tasha Carter. Kudo group only had one sessor, which was Kudo Ayaka. To have her sitting beside him, how could one not think like that?


    Kai turned his head and looked at Ayaka, "What are you doing here?"


    "I don''t know anyone, and I feel that they have ulterior motives when they approached me. But I don''t feel anything like that from you," Ayaka said. "Well, there''s no rule saying anything about choosing seats. So, I will still sit here even if you don''t want it."


    Kai sighed. He was wondering whether he should change his seat. After all, many people red at him with a murderous nce. He took a look at George''s seat. He already had a seatmate. As for the others... he didn''t know them.


    He finally shrugged his shoulder. The rest also wanted to make a ruckus about this. Especially when they saw the big headphones on his head, they cursed him in their heart.


    Not long after, the teacher came. The teacher was a pretty youngdy. Her age seemed to be around 24 or 25. In other words, she was in her prime. She might be older, though, since people could slow down their aging process.


    Her long dark green hair was tied into a ponytail. She wore a formal suit paired with a ck skirt. Her eyes were strict, and she might even be one of those killer-teachers. But at least she had a great body, big bust, and stuff.


    "All right. I wee you to my ss. I will be the one to teach you about Magic for a year. My name is Shirotsuka Sanae. Well, the culture might have been abandoned, but I''d prefer it if you call me sensei."


    Kai was astonished. This teacher seemed to be preserving the tradition, which had been ruined because too many nations came to Japan as refugees. The culture had been changing over time, but there were still some who preserved it. Of course, they still respected those who preserved their culture.


    After all, they didn''t have the time to argue about which culture was right and which one was wrong. They should use that energy to fight the magical beasts.


    "Alright. I will start calling your names first to know you as my obligation," She said uninterestedly. Kai''s ears even picked up another emotion in that tone. She might consider that teaching them was a hassle.


    "After I call your names, please stand up and raise your hand so others can know you. First, Akagawa Sonoe."


    "Here," A pretty student with pink hair rose from her seat and raised her hand.


    Shirotsuka Sanae nodded her head, "You can sit down. Next, Chiziwa Raira."


    "Here."


    Shirotsuka Sanae nodded again and continued. She called a few more before Kai''s turn came.


    "Kai Carter."


    "Here," Kai stood up and raised his hand with his headphones still on. It took the crowd a bit longer to react.


    "Good, next. Kudo Ayaka," Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t bother with it though.


    "Here," Kudo Ayaka, who sat next to him, stood up and raised her hand. She then sat back.


    Of course, it was different for everyone. They were finally able to react.


    "What? Carter?"


    "He''s Kai Carter? The younger brother of Tasha Carter?"


    "You mean that famous Tasha Carter? One of the world''s S-rank magicians?"


    "Wait, he''s sitting beside Kudo Ayaka from Kudo Group."


    "But, she was the one who chose to sit there at first."


    "Don''t tell me, Kudo Group joined hands with Tasha Carter?"


    "It might be the case. They must also have tied the rtionship. Since Kudo Group didn''t have any male heir, they sent their only princess."


    "What!"


    It turned into an uproar. Numerous were burned by jealousy. After all, Kudo Ayaka was not just rich, but she was extremely stunning. She was a dream girl.


    "I am not." Kudo Ayaka rose from her seat again and tried to deny their ims. Unfortunately, her face was flushed red when she denied them. It was not at all convincing, to be honest.


    Seeing they were not convinced by her, she turned to Kai. "You should try to exin it too."


    Kai tried to say it to them seriously. "Yes. We are not."


    The others also looked at his im, but the way he said it was a bit... unconvincing. Although he said it seriously, it was not like he showed any interest in his expression. In fact, from others'' point of view, he just said it casually and was uninterested in denying it.


    Bang!


    A sudden loud mming noise was heard from their back. The teacher mmed the table as she was frustrated.


    "It''s good that you two have a rtionship. After all, we need to repopte our, and the male poption is too small. Anyway, just keep the ce and time in mind when you''re flirting." She said frustratedly.


    "At least don''t let me see it. D*mn, why don''t men see me? I have a good body too. But I''m still single even though I''m already 26 now." She unconsciouslyined in front of everyone.


    ''Isn''t it because of your attitude?'' Everyone had the same thought when they heard this.


    "Sensei, can we also use headphones in ss?" One of the male students asked. He was jealous of Kai, since he was also captivated by Ayaka. But after knowing Kai''s real identity, he knew he couldn''t fight him.


    He was trying to point out a fault in him in a roundabout way, which was why he asked this question.


    Shirotsuka Sanae obviously knew his hidden intention. She replied, "He''s a special case. It''s for a medical reason. The school has informed me about it, and I have also seen the medical certificate. Don''t worry, he can hear you just fine.


    "All right. All of you shut up. I will continue. Next, Maekawa Sada."


    "Here."


    Shirotsuka Sanae called the students one by one. It wasn''t a surprise that the number of females in this ss was twenty-two while there were only eight males in this ss.


    After she finished, she finally started her lecture. "Alright. You might have already heard about the magical beasts, but I''ll still inform you again since it''s in the school regtions.


    "Magical beasts have the same ssification as magicians, which means that there are F-rank magical beasts up to S-rank magical beasts. Magicians and magical beasts are equal. That means an F-rank magician can kill an F-rank magical beast, and vice-versa.


    "Magical beasts have their advantage with their number and physical ability, while we, magicians, have the advantages of magic power and weapons. Not to mention, we have our brains toe up with strategies while magical beasts attack us with their instinct.


    "Unless you carelessly approach them, you should be able to kill them in a one-on-one battle. Just be careful if you meet a group of magical beasts.


    "Of course, high-level magical beasts are an exception. There are numerous intelligent magical beasts out there. Usually, they are powerful magical beasts, and they dwell inside their territories.


    "If there''s a magical beast outbreak attacking, there''s a high chance there''s at least one of them. Alright, that''s enough for the magical beasts for the time being before I go into more detail.


    "We''ll talk about humans. Every person has their own symbol, which signifies their power. I have a gust symbol, which means that I''m a wind magician. We, humans, could only get pushed back by evolved magical beasts.


    "When we found out that humans can also evolve through children, it was already toote, as the human poption had been reduced to half. The number decreased even further when we fought back.


    "After a long fight, the number of humans had been reduced to only five percent of its original poption. The world was no longer popted by humans. Instead, it was popted by monsters.


    "Studying herees with huge prestige and huge responsibilities. You will need to fight in the front lines and start regaining ournd. So make sure you work hard and don''t underestimate the magical beasts."

 Chapter 5 - Match

    "Alright, let''s move on to magic. As you might already know, after researching for so long, we managed to simplify magic with magic circles. I''m sure that all of you can already use this magic circle, but I''ll still introduce it to you."


    Sanae raised her hand to her front. Not long after, a green magic circle appeared on her hands. The magic circle had a one-meter radius, but the most noticeable thing about this magic circle was the three wavy lines that looked like a symbol of blowing wind.


    "This is the most simplified way to use your magic. If you use a magic circle every time you use magic, it will reduce the magic power spent and boost your power.


    "Each person has their own unique magic circle. One of the most noticeable things is the three wavy lines in the center of my magic circle. It is my Magician''s Mark.


    "How can we use a magic circle? Can anyone help me answer this?"


    "Here," Kudo Ayaka stood up.


    "Well, you can answer it, Miss honor student."


    Although she didn''t really like it when she called her Miss honor student, Ayaka decided to ignore it. "Yes. We channel our magic power to our mark then channel it to anywhere we want. If we want to use magic from our hands, we should channel it to our hands and imagine the magic circle."


    "That''s right. If you want to use it from your feet, then feel free to do so. You are free to do anything you want because magic is versatile. There is no useless magician. They just haven''t found the right way to utilize their magic," Sanae said.


    "Anyway, let me continue. The most important thing for you to master is mana control. If you can''t control your mana, you won''t be able to control your magic. So for this year, we will be working on your mana control, be it theoretical or practical. So prepare yourselves. Alright, that''s enough for the introduction. I''ll continue with our topic here."


    Sanae continued her lesson, and her expression was the same the entire time. It was a poker face as she didn''t have any interest in the topic.


    The ss will be held from ten to two every day. Well, it will only be five days a week, and we will have a practical ss every Friday. After that, the students are free to do what they want to. But most of the students will go with a club to enhance their strength.


    Just as she finished saying thest word, the bell rang. Hearing that bell, Sanae immediately stopped teaching, "All right, the ss is over. Whether you want to go home or join a club, I don''t care. Just make sure you submit the application form if you wish to join a club."


    "Let''s go (fight)," Ayaka looked at Kai and said.


    When everyone heard that, they immediately misunderstood since they didn''t know about Ayaka''s and Kai''s fight. Not only that, she even dragged Kai out of the ss. After they went out of the ss, the ss turned into an uproar.


    "What was that? Am I dreaming?"


    "No, the ss idol is taken!"


    "I''m frustrated because I can''t fight his status."


    "Kya-!"


    "Maybe I should also approach him? That way, he would also take care of me with the money of Kudo Group. I''ll be able to livefortably."


    "That is... a good n."


    George shook his head in disbelief. He became even more convinced that the Kudo Group had sold their princess to Kai so they could pull Tasha Carter to their group.


    Ayaka didn''t know about the ruckus she had made because of her naivety. Her only thought was to prove her strength. She dragged Kai to the student council room.


    Knock knock.


    "Come in."


    Ayaka opened the door and saw Haruko, Tasha, and one other person inside. She had dark blue hair that was tied into a ponytail, small blue eyes, and a graceful body. Even so, one could feel an aura of a warrior emanating from her.


    "Let me introduce her. She is the vice president of the student council. Her name is Tabata Rea. She said she wanted to look at the fight after I told her about it. Well, you might already know about her. She''s one of the top ten in our school. She holds numerous experiences under her belt."


    "So this Tasha''s brother, Kai Carter. Hmm... truly a particr one," She came closer to Kai while ignoring Ayaka. When she looked at Kai''s appearance, there was nothing out of the ordinary.


    But when she tried to focus on him, she didn''t know why, but her guts told her that this man was dangerous as she was experienced inbat, especially with life and deathbat against magical beasts.


    She trusted this feeling a lot as it had helped her countless times. She didn''t feel anything from Ayaka, so she ignored her, even though she was going to be a student council member as she had been invited to join the student council.


    Her feeling told her that if she fought with this guy, she might lose if she wasn''t careful. This ''Kai'' had something more than one could see with naked eyes.


    "I am Tabata Rea. You can just call me Rea. I don''t really mind about being juniors or seniors. Nice to meet you." She stretched her hand for a handshake.


    Kai shook her hand, "Yes, nice to meet you. My name is Kai Carter."


    Then, she went to Ayaka as a formality... poor her.


    "Then, follow me," Haruko said while moving toward another door inside the room.


    Kai, Ayaka, and Rea followed her. Tasha came to Kai and whispered. "Kai, you must win this fight. Don''t hold back! We''re talking about the high-tech weapon from Kudo Group here. So we need to take advantage of this."


    Ayaka was eager to prove her power in this fight as a proud princess of Kudo Group. She also wanted to show Tasha her power, as she was her idol.


    As for Rea, she was observing Kai''s movements from beginning to end. In others'' eyes, Kai might seem like he was just walking normally, but in an experienced fighter''s eyes, Kai''s movement was precise with no redundant movements. If she attacked Kai, she might not be able to hit him. Of course, that was on the premise that she held back on her power so she wouldn''t injure him.


    They came across a room full of weapons. Swords, axes, spears, bows, guns, and many others.


    "You can pick a weapon from here first before we enter the next room, which is the field," Haruko said.


    Kai just picked some random des. He was fine as long as the length was simr. Surprisingly, Ayaka also chose a weapon here. It was a surprise because she shouldn''tck weapons since she was from the Kudo Group.


    "I don''t want you to say that I could only win with my weapon as an excuse. I will fight you on equal ground," she said while blushing.


    It seemed that she wanted to win this fight fair and square. Their difference in rank was already big enough though.


    After choosing their respective weapons, they went to a small field with a size of two sses. It was seven meters wide and twenty meters long.


    Kai and Ayaka stood on the field while Tasha, Haruko, and Rea were on the side.


    The distance between Kai and Ayaka was five meters. It wasn''t much, but it was enough to cast a spell.


    Haruko came to the front and announced, "I will announce the rules of this fight. First, no killing or usage of deadly spells. If the situation bes dangerous, I, Tasha, or Rea will stop the fight.


    "Second, the match will be decided after one of you surrenders or falls unconscious. Please keep in mind this is only a friendly match. You don''t need to mind about the field as it has been reinforced by magic, so it won''t break apart even if you blow it up."


    Kai and Ayaka nodded their heads to her, signifying that they understood. Haruko smiled while walking back. She took a coin out of her pocket, "The match will start as soon as the coin reaches the ground. You may activate your weapons first."


    Kai and Ayaka activated their weapons. Kai''s weapons were two swords while Ayaka used a spear. Before the match started, Kai took off his noise-canceling headphones. The sound from his surroundings started echoing in his ears.


    He heard not just everything in the room, but even the people outside the building. He could hear students trying to recruit new students to their club and others. He looked at Haruko and nodded. Seeing that both of them were ready, she tossed the coin in her hand.


    Cling!


    As soon as the coin reached the ground, Ayaka made her first move. A red magic circle appeared on her hand. There was a ''ze'' symbol on the magic circle.


    "Firebirds!"


    Suddenly, around ten firebirds appeared from the magic circle and flew toward Kai. They were scattered, so Kai could only dodge to the side.


    To her surprise, Kai didn''t even take this seriously. He didn''t dodge to the side. Instead, he only positioned himself, and his pose became a bit... weird.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Surprisingly, the firebirds passed through him without hitting him. It passed him with only an inch from his cheek, leg, and hands, but not a single one managed to hit him.


    All of them were dumbfounded except for Tasha. They couldn''t believe it and thought, how did he dodge them?


    Ayaka gritted her teeth and used that spell once again. He must be lucky just now, she thought.


    "Firebirds!"


    But Kai dodged it once again. She became a bit frustrated to see Kai dodge her attack so effortlessly. She tried to attack him with her spear.


    "Fool," Tasha couldn''t help butment. Haruko and Rea looked at her in confusion.


    But the answer they sought would be given as soon as she switched to meleebat. Kai showed his prowess.


    He used his sword skillfully and suppressed Ayaka. Ayaka tried to use her spear to find Kai''s weak point, but all she got was suppression from Kai.


    If she continued this way, she would lose sooner orter. Another magic circle appeared on her back.


    "Fire Wings!"


    A pair of wings made of fire appeared on her back as she pped the wings to pull back and create distance from Kai.


    She made another magic circle on her hand.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."

 Chapter 6 - Conclusion

    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    A few whips made of fire appeared from the magic circle. Kai dodged all of them pretty easily.


    The res were trying to hit him but to no avail. Kai suddenly moved around her and made a counterattack.


    On the side, Haruko and Rea were astonished by Kai. They knew that Kai was only a D-rank magician. But this D-rank magician was toying an A-rank magician in front of their eyes.


    Although Ayaka seemed to not have that many experiences under her belt, it didn''t change her rank. She was an A-rank magician. Their difference was big enough to have her at leastnd an attack on him.


    But Kai skillfully avoided her attacks one by one. It was like he knew where she was going to attack. If she couldn''t hit him, sooner orter, she would exhaust her magic power, and Kai would win. Kai also used his sword to fend off her attacks a few times.


    Looking at their shocked expressions, Tasha smiled smugly. "Hehe, this is Kai''s prowess. He could hear every movement from a few kilometers away. How can he not hear your movement when you''re in front of him?


    "Kai heard everything. Your muscle, magic movement inside your body, everything except your thoughts since he said it didn''t produce a sound. Anyway, he can hear everything that produces a sound.


    "Using that information, he can predict where the attack is going to be and what you''re going to do."


    "What?" Rea was shocked. Even Haruko opened her mouth in astonishment. Rea couldn''t help but said, "Isn''t it like seeing the fut-"


    "It is like seeing the future, right?" Tashapleted Rea''s sentence. Tasha smiled, "Well, it is not. It is more like a prediction. Even though he''s sure that the attack is going to be that way, he always leaves room for adjustment. He''s very careful and very hard to bait."


    "Tasha, if he''s that strong, why is he a D-rank magician? He should be a B-rank, if not an A-rank magician," Rea asked.


    "Well, sound magicians are pretty rare. People tend to have elemental magic such as fire, water, ice, wind, and others. He''s just like those people who have space, summoning, or any special powers like those.


    "But unlike space or summoning, the government couldn''t measure his power. His thoughts are unique and so is the way he uses them. The government might have a set of measurements for space and summoning.


    "Sadly, they don''t have a good grasp of sound magicians. They only know that sound magicians are auxiliary magicians that aren''t very useful in battle. With his current magic power, he was granted a rank D from the government."


    Haruko and Rea wanted to say something, but could only swallow their words.


    "Well, most of it is due to his special ears, which no sound magician had in the past," Tasha added.


    After hearing her exnation, they started watching him more carefully. But for Haruko, her heart felt sweet. She thought happily, "As expected of Kai. Sadly, you don''t remember me."


    ...


    On the field, Ayaka started getting frustrated by Kai. None of her attacks managed to hit him. She kept attacking him while gritting her teeth. "Are you a man? Stop dodging and attack me here!"


    Kai sighed. He suddenly stopped moving.


    Ayaka thought it was her chance. She attacked him once again.


    "Firebirds!"


    Kai only raised his hand toward the firebirds while holding his sword, and a green magic circle appeared on his hand.


    "Sound Barrier."


    The firebirds crashed into Kai''s magic circle. Much to her dismay, they were extinguished.


    "What?" Ayaka was surprised to see her firebirds extinguished just like that.


    "He... concentrated his magic power in that magic circle to block her attack. It''s a popr technique among elites as they could skillfully control their magic power," Rea couldn''t help butment.


    She could use this technique too, but it was only after she reached her second year. And people had called her genius with just that. She was shocked to see that Kai managed to do that in his first year... No, he should have been able to use it before he even entered the school.


    "But... why did he use this skill? Don''t tell me..." Tasha suddenly realized that something was off. When she saw that Kai started raising his other hand and seemed to want to flick his finger, she immediately closed her ears with both her hands.


    "Tasha?" Both Rea and Haruko were confused by her action before hearing an extremely high-pitched sound that attacked their minds.


    ...


    After Kai blocked her attack, Ayaka fell into confusion. But she immediately regained herposure and made another magic circle.


    "I''m not done yet!"


    "Burn to Cinders, res!"


    At the same time, Kai also raised his other hand. The magic circle on his other hand disappeared, and a new magic circle appeared on his other hand.


    There were also two magic circles that appeared on both of his ears. He looked at the iing res and smiled. He finally flicked his finger.


    Ting!


    A high-pitched sound suddenly echoed through the room. Hearing that sound, Ayaka immediately screamed,


    "Ahh!" She tried to close her ears with her hands, but the damage had been done. The wing on her back disappeared as she couldn''t control her magic power stably, and she fell to the ground. Not only that, but her fire attacks also disappeared on the way.


    With this one move, Kai disrupted her ability to use magic. Of course, if she had covered her ears beforehand, the situation might have turned out differently. Sadly, this was the first time she fought him, so she didn''t know that he had this power.


    After Ayaka fell to the ground, Kai walked toward her leisurely. He pointed one of his swords to her neck.


    "I win."


    Ayaka suddenly snapped from the pain in her ears. In just a single moment, Kai defeated her.


    "I..." Ayaka was still in disbelief.


    "Ahem, Kai Carter wins!" Haruko had recovered from Kai''s attack and announced the result hurriedly.


    Tasha removed her hands from her ears casually as she didn''t get hurt by Kai''s attack.


    Kai nodded at Haruko and started walking away.


    Ayaka murmured, "I lost..."


    Kai put on his headphones again. Haruko and the others went to the arena, and Haruko acknowledged, "It was a good match. I might lose to Kai, too, if I don''t know about this magic. Ayaka is also strong, but you don''t have enough experience.


    "You have too many redundant movements. But don''t worry, in this school, you might have chances to spar with your ssmates, and there are also realbat training sessions to provide you with life-and-death experiences.


    "I believe that you have the potential to do so. After all, the ranks in our cards are not enough to exin our overall strength. Kai is an example of that. So use this experience to make yourself stronger."


    Ayaka finally stood up and looked at Kai, "I''ve lost."


    "Hahaha, Kai is really the best. Now, let''s go and pick your weapon!" Tasha said happily.


    "Sister!"


    Ayaka gritted her teeth. If she had known about his power, the result might have been different.


    But a loss is a loss. No matter how much sheined, it wouldn''t change the result. She was taught that way by her family.


    "My butler has been waiting for me, so if you want to, you can go with me now." Ayaka could only sigh.


    Tasha blinked her eyes. She grabbed Kai''s hand and said, "Let''s go!"


    "I want to go with you too. Sadly, I have another matter I have to attend to here, so I can''t go. Besides, I''m not invited," Haruko immediately said. "I haven''t met Uncle Kudo for a long time."


    "The thought is enough. I will let my father know," Ayaka said. Both of their families seemed to have a good rtionship.


    "Haha, I''m just a bystander here. Anyway, Kai Carter, I want to invite you to the student council. With your ability alone, you''re more than qualified to join us. Will you join us?" Rea suddenly asked him.


    "..." Kai wasn''t interested in this student council thing, so he rejected her, "Thank you for Vice President Rea''s invitation, but I don''t have any intention of joining the student council."


    Hearing Kai''s rejection, she was caught off-guard. Normally, people would be overjoyed to join the student council because of their well-known reputation. But the person in front of her rejected her just like that. She made a wry smile. "Is that so... That''s too bad."


    Haruko wasn''t surprised by that though. She had expected for Rea to be rejected by him. She was trying toe up with a n to make him join the student council this whole time, but nothing came to her mind.


    "I will let my butler know about it first." Ayaka was also surprised to see that Kai rejected Rea''s invitation. She thought that he was a fool. She was grumbling inside and decided to leave out of frustration.


    "Hehe, let''s go, Kai, we''re going to pick your weapon!" Tasha was very eager to go. It was as though she was the one who won the weapon.


    Kai sighed and shook his head helplessly. He said, "You should give a call to mother first."


    "Oh, that''s right." Tasha almost forgot about that. She made a distance between them and called their mother. Not long after, her mother picked up the call.


    "Tasha? Why are you calling?"


    "Mom, I''ll be apanying Kai to go to the Kudo group now to pick his weapons."


    "Kudo Group? You mean that Kudo Group?" Their mother was astonished to hear the name of the number one weapon supplier out of her daughter''s mouth.


    "Yes."


    "If I''m not mistaken, Kudo''s princess is also enrolling in the same year as him. And you said it''s their new technology. It''s impossible to get that unless you''re... I see, as expected of my son. So my first daughter-inw is Kudo Group''s princess. With this, I can rest assured when leaving Kai to them."


    "What! No, Mom! Listen to me. She won''t get a chance. I will be the only one for him. I am his only wife."


    "But in this world, polygamy is legal, you know. The government even encouraged us to do so. Not to mention, you''re his sister."


    "We don''t have any blood rtionship, so it''s fine. As for the government, I''ll abolish that rule after I rise in power!"


    "Alright, alright, whatever you say. I''ll make a honeymoon n soon for Kai." She didn''t care about whatever Tasha said.


    "Mom, you wo-"


    ck!


    She hung up. Tasha gritted her teeth. She went back to Kai and said, "Let''s go back. We don''t need the weapon anymore."


    "But... it''s rude when you''ve been daring up ''til now," Kai said.


    "That''s right. You shouldn''t do that, Tasha. It''s very rude," Haruko also added. Rea also nodded her head in agreement.


    Tasha bit her lips and pouted. "Fine, we''ll immediately go home after we pick a weapon. Let''s go."


    She dragged Kai outside. An idea suddenly shed on her mind. She smiled mysteriously.


    ''Geh!'' Looking at Haruko''s smile. Rea immediately knew that she was nning something in her mind. As expected from her deputy, she knew her well.

 Chapter 7 - Test

    Tasha dragged Kai outside.


    They saw Ayaka with an old man in a butler suit. The old man seemed harmless, but it couldn''t escape Kai''s and Tasha''s eyes. The old man was strong as his kind eyes were strict yet ferocious.


    They could tell that this old man had experienced countless battles outside.


    After talking with Ayaka, the old man then looked at them. Kai and Tasha only nodded their heads solemnly.


    He made the most amiable smile possible to them, "I have heard so much about you, Miss Tasha. To drive for an S-rank magician, it is my honor."


    Then he turned to Kai, "This must be your younger brother, Kai Carter. You have truly good eyes. As expected of the man who defeated Young Miss. Hoho..."


    "Uncle Rio!" Ayaka shouted while blushing.


    Maybe it was because the butler just teased her, but Ayaka didn''t have any hostility against Kai anymore. At first, she was frustrated that she lost, but in just an instant, she epted her loss as though it was something trivial.


    "This is my grandfather''s butler. His name is Rio Ferdian. He was my grandfather''srade before he became my grandfather''s butler. You can also say he''s my grandfather''s second-inmand."


    "Hoho, you are overpraising me, Young Miss. I am just a worn-out butler."


    "I''ve told him and my grandfather about the weapon. My grandfather wanted to invite you to our home so that he can give the weapon personally. He said that he was curious about you. How about it?"


    Kai and Tasha looked at each other before Tasha nodded her head. "All right. We ept."


    Surprisingly, the one he was interested in was Kai, not Tasha, as Ayaka said ''you'' to Kai. It was certainly surprising for someone to be more interested in Kai rather than Tasha, an S-rank magician.


    Tasha agreed because of that. She was happy that Kai got the recognition he deserved. He wanted to see if Ayaka''s grandfather was serious about it or if it was only a scam so he could see her.


    "Then, please." Butler Rio opened the car door for them.


    The car was a limousine, as one would expect from a wealthy family. But instead of moving with tires, it was floating twenty centimeters above the ground, like the bus from before.


    As it didn''t need an engine, it didn''t pollute the air. Every source of energy had been changed to magic energy. Every magical beast had a core inside them, and the higher their rank, the bigger and more powerful their core would be. These cores were called magical cores.


    After finding out that the cores could store magic energy, humans stopped relying on other energy sources such as oil, gas, and others. It was far more powerful and efficient than those outdated sources of energy.


    Ayaka got in first and invited them to enter the car, and Kai and Tasha then entered the car in response.


    After a twenty-minute ride, they finally arrived at a grand mansion. To pass the garden alone, they needed a one-minute ride to arrive at the vi.


    But what made the situation awkward was that no one spoke a single word during this whole ride. Kai wasn''t interested in the ride and the mansion. He closed his eyes, trying to rx this entire time.


    As for Tasha, her eyes were glued to the window, looking at various things outside, especially the luxurious ones.


    On the other hand, Ayaka didn''t take her eyes away from Kai. She recalled the fight in her mind while looking at him. She was thinking, ''Why did I lose? Why could he defeat me?'' all the time.


    After continuously recalling those images, she slowly realized her mistakes. She clenched her fist, wishing to restart that fight. If she were able to restart the battle, she woulde up with a better fight than that.


    As soon as they arrived, Butler Rio opened the car door and said, "We have arrived."


    Ayaka and Tasha finally looked away while Kai slowly opened his eyes. Ayaka came out first, followed by Tasha and Kai.


    It was truly an enormous mansion. From the width alone, it was simr to the length of a football field. As one would expect from a wealthy family. Inparison, Kai and Tasha''s house was the size of their security post.


    "Mydy, your grandfather wants to meet you. I will lead the guests from here. You should meet your grandfather first."


    "Alright." Ayaka nodded her head and went on her way.


    "This way, please," Rio Ferdian started leading Tasha and Kai to a big meeting room. "You can consider it as your home."


    The room only had sofas and a big table in the middle. The decoration was luxurious.


    "Please wait in this room for a bit. I will bring you something to drink."


    Kai sat on the soft sofa while Tasha looked around.


    Not long after, the butler came back with two cups of tea. The tea was aromatic. The butler had yet to put the tea on the table, but the rich aroma had prated their nose.


    "Please," he said, after putting the tea on the table.


    ...


    After around five minutes, there were two people''s footstepsing toward this room.


    A muscr older man appeared from the door, apanied by Ayaka. ording to the information, the older man should be around eighty, but his appearance said otherwise.


    Although his hair had be white, his body didn''t lose its strength, his pride didn''t disappear from his face, and his eyes didn''t lose their sharpness.


    Kai and Tasha immediately stood up.


    "Hoho, such a fine young man and youngdy. My name is Kudo Taro, Ayaka''s grandfather."


    He stretched his hand to Tasha for a handshake and Tasha epted it. Then, he turned to Kai and stretched his hand.


    But when Kai stretched his hand and tried to shake his hand, Kudo Taro suddenly spun his body and sent a fist toward him.


    "Grandfather?" Ayaka was confused with his sudden action.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and ducked to dodge the fist. Kai didn''t stop there. As soon as he ducked, he tried to kick Kudo Taro''s feet.


    Taro jumped a little bit and tried to attack Kai''s foot with his weight.


    Of course, with this, Tasha managed to react. Before he managed to step on Kai''s foot, she sent a kick toward Taro''s head.


    Kudo Taro immediately used one of his hands to block this kick.


    Bzzt¡ª


    "Lightning?" When he grabbed Tasha''s foot, he instantly felt a spark from it. Tasha''s kick was actually reinforced by her lightning.


    He would have been able to block Tasha''s kick if she had done it normally. Unfortunately, she reinforced it with her magic. It threw his bnce a bit.


    Kai didn''t let this chance go. He used his hands to stabilize his bnce and sent a horse kick to him.


    Of course, he concentrated his magic power into his feet to give more power to his kick.


    It blew Taro away. He crashed onto the wall. Tasha didn''t let him go. She made a pistol hand gesture as a purple magic circle appeared in front of her hand.


    In the middle of the magic circle, there was a lightning symbol, signifying her magician mark. The lightning she shot was like aser.


    Boom!


    The lightning exploded like a direct hit as smoke came out because of the collision.


    "Grandfather!" Ayaka shouted as she didn''t manage to react this entire time. She was surprised to see her grandfather suddenly attack Kai. But the most surprising thing was when she saw Kai blow her grandfather away.


    She immediately ran toward her grandfather before she heard her grandfather''s voice behind the smoke.


    "Aiya, you two are truly ruthless to this old bone."


    The smoke started to clear, and they could see a blue magic circle containing a frozen crystal on it. He released it at thest moment to block Tasha''s lightning attack.


    He came out from the smoke slowly, walking toward Ayaka and patted her head. He then turned to Kai and Tasha, "This old man was just curious about the boy that defeated my dearest princess. Do forgive this old man."


    "If someone attacked you just because of their curiosity, will you ept their apology?" Tasha said while narrowing her eyes.


    "Haha, definitely not. That''s why this old man will give youpensation. Since Ayaka promised you a weapon, then this old man will provide another weapon for you."


    Kai and Tasha looked at him but didn''t say anything. They didn''t trust him as he just attacked them out of nowhere.


    "You don''t need to look at me like that. I''m sincere about that. I was just curious about my soon-to-be grandson-inw, so I couldn''t help but to want to see it with my own eyes."


    "What?" Tasha immediately shouted when she heard that while Ayaka was bewildered, "Grandfather?"


    Even Kai widened his eyes slightly.


    "Haha, don''t you know the tradition... Hmm, I can''t say it''s a tradition, it''s the fate of this family. Whoever defeats a Kudo will certainly marry them. Since you defeated Ayaka, then you are bound to marry her sooner orter.


    "Even if I stopped you or you didn''t do anything at all, you two will get together. Or even if her father or mother didn''t do anything, you two will still get together."


    "Grandfather? What do you mean?" Ayaka was shocked. She just heard the most shocking thing in her life.


    "Haha, don''t you know I''m the same? Back then, your grandmother defeated me. Not long after that, we got married. Even your mother also defeated your father.


    "I remember. Back then, they had a match to see who was stronger. Because he took pity on your mother, he purposely lost to her.


    "But, it only made her mad at him. She hated him from the bottom of her heart. Fate sure worked like magic. A few years after that, with various encounters, they became a couple and gave birth to you.


    "It was the same for the generations before me. So that was the reason why I was curious and wanted to test you. Don''t worry, I won''t do anything. I won''t stop you or encourage you.


    "There won''t be an engagement or anything like that. I just want to see whether you can escape from something like this."


    "Hell no¡ª!" A deep high-pitched sound was heard.

 Chapter 8 - Going

    "Hell no¡ª!"


    When they turned their head, they were surprised by the sudden rejection coupled with killing intent. It turned out that Tasha was the one who said that.


    "I am only telling you that. As for the future, I don''t know. As I said, I won''t intervene with the young ones'' business. But I won''t mind if it happens, though," Taro shrugged his shoulder with a chuckle.


    After his first sentence, Tasha calmed a little bit. But after she heard hisst sentence, she immediately looked at Taro with killing intent.


    Kai suddenly pulled her hair to stop her, "All right. It isn''t very polite to look at someone like that."


    All of them were shocked to see Kai suddenly appear behind her. The one who got surprised the most was Kudo Taro. Kai had moved behind her before he knew it.


    He didn''t make any sound at all. He felt his presence, but because he was a silent type, he didn''t have that much presence anyway. Because of that, if he put his guard down, Kai might be able to kill him without him realizing it. Upon realizing that, he became more and more satisfied with Kai, hoping that Kai will also be a part of the family.


    He didn''t know about his magician rank, but to be able to defeat his granddaughter, although she underestimated him, was more than enough, especially if his problem was only his magic power.


    After researching for many years, there were a few magic liquids that were sold on the market. That magic liquid could increase the magic power inside one''s body. He could just buy it with his wealth, and Kai''s problem would be solved.


    Ayaka told him how she got defeated by Kai. He didn''t find any problem with his fighting skills. Although he didn''t have that much experience, he could gain it bit by bit in the academy.


    He also knew that Kai was a sound magician from Ayaka. If he could utilize it in battle, he might even beparable to space magicians, summoners, and the like.


    "Hoho..." Heughed, shifting his body toward Kai, "All right, I won''t say anything about that anymore. Follow me so we can choose a perfect weapon for you."


    He then walked to the door while inviting all of them. Ayaka was the first one to follow him. Then Kai also started following suit, and that shocked Tasha.


    She gritted her teeth and started walking too. She kept staring at Kudo Taro with hostile eyes. Kai decided not to bother her anymore.


    Kudo Taro led them to a little mysterious 5x5 meter building beside their house.


    Kudo Taro then took out a golden key from his pocket. Kai and Tasha thought it must be the door key, as they saw the keyhole on the door.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t put the key into the keyhole. Instead, he channeled his magic power to the key. Not long after, a small magic circle appeared from the key.


    Kudo Taro then moved to the right and presented the key in the middle for a while. Suddenly, the door was opened. There was nothing inside the building besides floors and some lighting.


    In the previous location, where Kudo Taro presented his key was a big ck box. Judging from the situation, the magic circle activated the mechanism inside and made the door open.


    Kudo Taro and Kudo Ayaka went inside casually. Kai only stopped a little bit before realizing what this building was. It was an Elevator.


    Seeing that Kai went in, Tasha also followed him.


    The elevator then went down.


    "Hoho, this is an elevator toward an underground passage to ourpany. As you might already know, the richer we are, the more dangerous our lives will be.


    "Thepany is only a hundred meters away from us. We thought about making a skywalk, but it was dangerous as a sniper might be able to assassinate us.


    "So we built this underground passage. Don''t worry, this is the safest passage in the world. You can judge it from the entrance itself.


    "Even if you try to blow it up, you can''t. Of course, there might be some magicians that could bypass the system," he said while ncing at Tasha. He didn''t mind saying all of this since they would be a part of his family. At least, that was what he thought.


    "Hmph!" Because of the marriage thing, Tasha was not polite to him anymore. Of course, she had expected something like this. She couldn''t escape if Kai chooses to have multiple wives in the future.


    Their parents always said that to him. Even so, she couldn''t ept it. Kai had given everything to her, so she wanted to give her everything to him if she had to, including her life. Sadly, Kai didn''t care about that.


    After a few seconds, the door opened again. They saw a huge passage without anything in it.


    Taro led them through the passage. Ayaka kept ncing at Kai unknowingly, thinking about when he blew her grandfather away. Although her grandfather was not serious, she couldn''t do that.


    Luckily, Tasha didn''t realize this as she was too focused on the old man. If she had, there might be another drama.


    After walking for a minute, they arrived at the entrance of the building. There were two huge men with ck suits and pairs of ck sunsses standing in front of the entrance.


    "Wee, Grandmaster." Both of them immediately greeted him while bowing.


    "Good job as usual. This old man wants to walk around with these youngsters. I don''t need a guide."


    "Understood. Please have a nice day, Grandmaster." Both of them also took out two cards and channeled their magic into the card. A magic circle appeared once again, and they tapped the card to another ck box. The entrance finally opened.


    Kudo Taro nodded his head. He nced at Tasha and Kai. "Let''s go."


    Tasha and Kai followed him through this metal door. They didn''t take another elevator even though they were underground. After all, they had arrived at their destination.


    The ground floor was to ept customers. Whenever they wanted to test a weapon, they would be led to the underground.


    They arrived in a certain room. The room was spacious with little furniture inside, but there were a few cylinders stuck on the wall.


    Kudo Taro went to the cylinder and put his hand on the cylinder while saying, "Ba, it''s me."


    "What? Teacher? I''ll go there immediately." Surprisingly, with a single call, this ''Ba'' suddenly went into a panic and ended the call as she rushed toward this room.


    Only a few seconds passed and she had arrived. She immediately came to Kudo Taro and greeted him, "Teacher, why didn''t you call me when you wereing here?"


    She was a woman in her twenties. She had blonde hair and big blue eyes with a pair of big round sses on her eyes, making her look like a clumsy person. She wore a formal ck suit with a ck skirt that reached her knees.


    "Haha, it''s fine. I''m just apanying some youngsters to choose their weapons," he said while showing Kai and Tasha to her.


    "Yo-you!" When she looked at Tasha, she instantly realized who she was. She immediately ran toward her and grabbed her hands, "You must be Tasha Carter. I''ve heard so much about you. I''m your fan."


    Tasha was startled when she suddenly grabbed her hands.


    "Ahem, this is Ba, my student. Well, she only has three years of experience as my student. She decided to be my assistant in this group to improve. Anyway, she is a B-rank magician, but she might even beparable to a full-fledged A-rank magician. Of course, she might not beparable to an S-rank, though."


    "Hehe, Teacher, you''re overpraising me. I''m just a clumsy person."


    "As you might already know, she is Tasha Carter, and the one beside her is her younger brother, Kai Carter. They''re going to choose weapons here."


    "Oh, then I will make sure that you two are satisfied." She didn''t care about Kai Carter that much, as her idol, Tasha Carter, was in front of her. She made a gesture for them to follow her to the cylinders. Although, it was more directed to Tasha.


    "Sister Ba, it''s too rude for you to prioritize someone just because she''s your idol." Ayaka, who had been silent this entire time, suddenly spoke.


    When Ba heard that, she finally realized that Ayaka was also in the group. "Ah. I''m sorry, I''m sorry. It was rude of me. Please."


    She made another gesture, signaling to follow her. Of course, it was also directed to Kai. Ba knew that Ayaka was also Tasha''s fan, but at least she didn''t act like her just now. She immediately regained her professional attitude after thinking about that.


    Kudo Taro only smiled, looking at Ayaka reprimanding her because of Kai... unless he misunderstood her intention, thinking that she might want to avoid Ayaka from snapping.


    Tasha looked at Kai, who nodded his head. They followed Ba to the cylinders.


    Ba asked, "Do you have any preferences?"


    Tasha only nced at Kai, signaling that he should go first. Kai only shrugged his shoulders and said, "Two one-edge swords without a curve."


    Ba looked at Kai for a while. She didn''t know why, but she felt that this Kai was even more important than Tasha. She recalled how Ayaka suddenly reprimanded her because she focused on her.


    She then nced at Kudo Taro, who only smiled at her. She didn''t know what to do, as her head started sweating. She might need to research Tasha''s younger brother after this.


    She should maintain her professional attitude for the time being. "Very well, I will find the perfect weapon for you."

 Chapter 9 - Weapon

    "Very well, I will find the perfect weapon for you." The cylinder''s screen activated after she touched it.


    She did her job for two minutes before she asked again. "Do you have any condition for your weapons such as the color or style?"


    Kai thought a bit then shook his head. "No, I''m good as long as I''mfortable when using it."


    "Very well." After another minute, the screen projected three weapons for them.


    The first single-edged sword had a one-meter length de with a white twenty-centimeter handle. The sword looked nd but sharp.


    The second sword had a 120-centimeter de and a thirty-centimeter handle. The second sword seemed to emphasize power with that length, but it wasn''t Kai''s style.


    The third sword also had a one-meter length de, the same as the first sword. But the third sword had a chain on the back of its handle. Kai preferred using two swords at the same time. From the look of it, the third sword seemed to have a chain that could connect them.


    Sadly, Kai thought the chain was a hassle. It might be in his way in the battle. With that, his choice was obvious. "I''ll choose the first one."


    "Very well." Ba then continued typing something that they couldn''t understand. Not long after, the cylinder opened up its lid and presented them with a pair of bracelets.


    "This is your weapon." She handed the bracelets to Kai. "Each bracelet represents a sword. You can channel your magic power into the bracelet and say ''summon'' to unleash the sword.


    "If you decide only to use one of them, you can channel your magic power into one of the bracelets and say ''summon.'' Although it looks nd, the sword itself is very sharp. How about trying to summon them?"


    Kai looked at the boss first, Kudo Taro. He nodded his head to Kai with a smile. He then made a bit of distance from the group.


    He put on the bracelets on each hand before channeling them with Mana. He then said, "Summon."


    The bracelet turned into a sword handle as the blue colored de slowly made its appearance. Although the blue de''s style was simple, it had a hidden charm that could make the user feel that the de was definitely reliable.


    Kai tried to swing them around so he could feel the swords. He felt that he didn''t need a long time to be ustomed to the swords.


    After a while, he stopped. Ba immediately gave another instruction, "To deactivate it, you can say ''recall.'' This can be an advantage or disadvantage as the sword itself had a magic core in it. So even if you identally drop the sword, the sword will still be active."


    "Recall." Kai immediately deactivated the swords, and they changed back into bracelets.


    He checked his magic power after the usage. Surprisingly, he didn''t lose any of his magic power. He also didn''t feel any difort after using it.


    "You don''t need to use magic power for this weapon as the magic core will supply the magic power first. Please don''t forget to charge it with your magic power daily so it won''t suddenly take your magic power." Ba exined again.


    Kai nodded to her before walking toward Kudo Taro. "Thank you."


    He thanked him. Taro only raised his hand with the stop hand sign, telling him not to mind about it.


    Kai then walked to Ayaka and thanked her again.


    "I... It''s because I lost to you, all right." She crossed her arms and looked away while blushing.


    Kai only nodded at her with a smile. Well, at least this girl could also be cute like this instead of just being annoying. At first, he thought of her as annoying. That, or it might be the effect of the brib- Ahem, the new swords.


    He was happy to receive them, and it made her look cute in his eyes. Anyway, Tasha''s turn came.


    "A bow, is it?" Even without Tasha saying anything, as her fan, Ba immediately knew her preferred weapon.


    "Yes," Tasha affirmed.


    Ba immediately started typing whatever on the screen as fast as possible. She became fired up. Not long after, the screen projected three bows.


    The first bow was an ordinary longbow with a ck and green ornament. The material for the bow had been chosen carefully to make the bow''s power output and magic efficiency higher. The curve itself had gone through countless trials and errors to make an optimal curve.


    The second bow was a blueposite bow. The bow had numerous mechanisms to let the user feelfortable. The mechanisms also increased the power output. In fact, thisposite bow would have more power than the first bow.


    The third bow was a crossbow. Tasha didn''t use a crossbow, so she immediately crossed this out. Ba presented her a crossbow as this crossbow was the most powerful out of the three. Sadly, it wasn''t Tasha''s style to use a crossbow.


    She preferred making her own arrows using her magic power. Coupled with her lightning magic, the power output and speed immediately overshadowed the rest. She could also shoot multiple arrows at once, so she chose the first bow.


    "I will choose the first bow."


    "Very well." Ba didn''t question her choice even though the first bow was the worst out of the three bows.


    When the weapon came, it wasn''t a bracelet but a ring. Although it disappointed her a bit because she didn''t get a match-up with Kai, she didn''t show it.


    Ba handed her the ring. Tasha epted it with a smile on her face.


    "The bow materials had been chosen by experts to optimize power efficiency. It also helps in activating a magic circle." Ba started exining again to Tasha. Until finally, "...Please try it first. We can change it if it doesn''t suit your preference."


    Tasha also made a distance from them before she said, "Summon."


    The ring turned into a ck bow with green ornaments on it. If Kai''s sword looked simple and elegant, this bow looked strong and cool.


    Tasha tried to draw the bow to feel the string. She didn''t have anyints on the bow.


    She sometimes sparred with Kai. She didn''t always use a bow since she also wanted to enhance her closebat. There was another reason for that. When she tried to hit Kai from afar, Kai always dodged her because of his exceptional hearing.


    She didn''t have any problems with the new weapon. Although she was wary of this Kudo Taro, she didn''t forget to thank him for the weapon. She also even thanked Ayaka, as she was a part of the reason she could get a weapon.


    If Ayaka didn''t bother Kai, she wouldn''t be receiving a weapon like this.


    "Well, since both of you have picked a weapon, how about staying for a little longer for dinner with us?"


    Even though she was thankful, Tasha couldn''t ept that invitation. It was the same as giving Kai away to Kudo Group. She grabbed Kai as a magic circle appeared beneath their feet.


    "No thank you."


    Kai shook his head helplessly. He corrected her apologetically, "We''re honored by your invitation, but my sister and I have a prior arrangement, so we can''t ept your invitation. If another chancees, then we''d love to ept your invitation."


    He thought about reprimanding her when they arrived back home, but it was understandable for Tasha, who was so obsessed with Kai. She didn''t care whether she was rude or not to other people if it concerned Kai.


    They then disappeared. The one she used just now was space magic. This was the reason why she could be an S-rank magician. She had two elements, which were lightning and space. Coupled with her magic power, she became an S-rank magician.


    Kudo Taro didn''t take offense to her action as she took Kai away rudely. He had heard various rumors about her, including her private identity as a bro-con.


    After seeing her action just now, he confirmed that that was the case. He sighed. It seemed the road for his granddaughter would be hard.


    He was fond of Kai. Surely there might be a lot of people who had higher ranks than him. But he didn''t seem fond of them.


    Those who had higher ranks than him were usually arrogant. On the other hand, Kai''s power was deeper than he imagined.


    Kai was a D-rank magician, but there seemed to be more than that. He must be concealing his real power. He was different from a lot of people who loved to unt their power, whether it was to grab people''s attention or for other reasons.


    Kai chose to use his power wisely. Heughed, "Hohoho, Ayaka, Ba, don''t mind about them."


    Ayaka was shocked when they suddenly disappeared so rudely after getting their weapons. After her grandfather told her not to mind it, she decided not to throw a fit.


    At least Kai''s action was better. She decided to talk to Kai tomorrow. On the other hand, Ba was confused. Tasha appeared to be a cool beauty in front of the media. But the one in front of her was so different than the one she found in the media.


    She began to doubt the credibility of the media. Not only that, but Tasha''s image began to crumble in her mind. Well, her image had crumbled in Ayaka''s mind. That''s the reason why Ayaka reprimanded her for not being professional.


    "Ba, since we have served the guest, you should go back to your work. Ayaka and I will go back home to have dinner."


    "Understood, Teacher. I wish you a great day."


    "Ayaka, let''s go."


    "Yes, Grandfather. See youter, Sister Ba. Thank you for your hard work."


    The two then left the building.

 Chapter 10 - Discussion

    Kudo Ayaka and Kudo Taro went back to their house for dinner.


    In the dining room.


    There were another two people in the room. The first one was a male in his forties. He had short ck hair with an undercut hairstyle. He was wearing a formal suit as he had just finished his work. He put down his chopsticks and finally said,


    "Father, I heard you brought two people into thepany along with Ayaka. Who are they?" Although he appeared to be a strict person, he was not like that. He was only a normal father.


    "Hoho, so you know about it. As expected of my son. Even if you''re busy, you still care about your daughter."


    "Of course. I''m her father, and I should care about her well-being." He said righteously. "I almost forgot. Ayaka, I got you a fiance just now. He''s Katsuragi Takaki from the Katsuragi house in the north.


    "His father is myrade back then, and we''re pretty close. I''ve seen him today. He''s handsome and is a good man that suits you the most. He is an A-rank magician, to boot."


    "Father, I don''t need him!" She pped the table without caring about manners.


    Ayaka was flustered when she heard about this fiance thing. She was just teased by her grandfather about Kai, and this thing suddenly came up.


    Her father was shocked to see her like that. Kudo Taro also narrowed his eyes, thinking about something. "Katsuragi house... If I''m not wrong, it''s also one of the most prominent families in the north."


    "Yeah. It''s that Katsuragi."


    Kudo Taro red at him and asked with a bit of a cold tone on his voice, "Yoshihiro, why didn''t you ask me about this first?"


    "Father?" Ayaka''s father, Kudo Yoshihiro, was startled to see such reactions from both Ayaka and his father. "I just met him today, and we agreed to marry our children. He''s also a good friend of mine, and I know what kind of person he is."


    "Dear, this is also my first time hearing about it." Suddenly, the fourth person in the room spoke.


    She had long straight brown eyes, like Ayaka. She looked at Kudo Yoshihiro with her ck eyes. She tried to smile as she had a calm and elegant atmosphere around her.


    But for Yoshihiro, that calm of hers was like the calm right before the storm. Yoshihiro immediately got scared. This side of her made Yoshihiro not have the courage to have another wife.


    "He''s my friend''s son. He''s an A-rank wind magician. I''ve seen his attitude and I''m satisfied with it."


    "He won''t marry her." Kudo Taro said.


    "Father?" This time, both Yoshihiro and Ayaka''s mother, Kudo Chiyo were perplexed.


    "No, I''m not rejecting this marriage. I''ve decided not to stretch my hand in this matter. But..."


    "But..." Both of them gulped. Ayaka finally realized what he was going to say. Sadly, she was toote to stop him.


    "She already got her soulmate, ording to our family fate.


    "What?" Yoshihiro rose from his seat while Chiyo''s mouth opened wide as she tried to cover it with her hand.


    "Grandfather!" Ayaka shouted, embarrassed.


    "She... has lost to someone?" Chiyo asked.


    "I was just as surprised as you are. So after she unknowingly brought them here, I decided to test him. Surprisingly, he blew me away before I managed tond a hit on him. Not to mention, I was the one who made the first surprise attack."


    Both of Ayaka''s parents couldn''t utter a single word as their mouth refused to budge because of the shock.


    Chiyo was the first one who regained herposure. She asked with a smile, trying to treat it as a joke. "Father, you are exaggerating, right? Is he an S-rank magician? But there are only two S-rank magicians in this United Asia, and both of them are old."


    "No, he''s a D-rank. ording to Ayaka, he seems to be a sound magician. Although it was just a friendly exchange, I felt that his movement was different than those of students. In closebat alone, he should be around a third year''s level, if not at the elite level."


    "D-rank?" (Yoshihiro)


    "Sound magician?" (Chiyo)


    "Father, please don''t joke about this. He''s only a sound magician, and a D-rank magician, to boot." Yoshihiro said while trying to calm his heart down.


    "Aren''t you underestimating sound magicians too much? Besides, you shouldn''tpare him to normal sound magicians. If it weren''t for this country''s ineffective method of measurement for sound magicians, he might beparable to B-rank or A-rank magicians.


    "Don''t you know that the first space magician was underestimated by everyone on his side as he was only a C-rank magician? He tried to make an unorthodox way of using space magic.


    "After he perfected his style, he became undefeated, and his name went through history.


    "Don''t you know that the first summoner was underestimated because he could only summon an ordinary snake? He didn''t give up, and eventually, his snake became an A-rank magical beast.


    "He then managed to summon a few other beasts with the same level and etched his name in history."


    "Father, do you mean that he can be someone like that too?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Father, you..." Yoshihiro was speechless.


    "But he is indeed an unorthodox sound magician. I should mention his name first. His name is Kai Carter."


    "Carter?" Both of them were astonished to hear that familiar name. It was not an unknown name. In fact, the name ''Carter'' would reverberate in one''s ears every time they heard that name.


    If they thought about ''Carter,'' there would always be a certain person that came to their mind. One of the three S-rank magicians in the United Asia. She was known as a dual magician with her lightning element and space element.


    ''Tasha Carter,'' there should be nobody that didn''t know that name. "Is he..."


    "Yeah, he''s Tasha Carter''s younger brother. But that is not my concern. I have met many people in my life, but I always found the most dangerous thing was the unknown. And he is one of them."


    "Father. Although she''s an S-rank, she is, after all, alone, and the Katsuragi family is certainly not afraid of her. I can''t choose one of them, especially after I agreed with the engagement of Ayaka and Katsuragi Takaki."


    "All of you, why didn''t you even ask me about it first! I only want to get stronger. I don''t want a fiance!" Ayaka suddenly struck the table with her hand and shouted. There was a trace of tears in the corner of her eyes, waiting to drop.


    Her feelings had been mixed up in a single day. She only wanted to get stronger and help the family, but all of this suddenly came to her.


    She had calmed down a little after the incident with Kai. But because of this discussion, she couldn''t hold her feelings back now.


    She red at her grandfather as well as both her parents. She left the room while shedding tears.


    The situation became depressing after she left. No one chased her because they had more important things to do.


    "That''s why I asked why you didn''t ask me first." Stressed by the situation, Kudo Taroined.


    "How about canceling it, dear? After all, they haven''t met. You can try saying that it will depend on Ayaka''s choice. It is the middle way.


    "Well, just like the Katsuragi family, we are also not necessarily scared of a young S-rank magician. If she has reached the level of the other two S-rank, we certainly wouldn''t be able to afford to offend her even with our current influence." Chiyo tried to make a suggestion.


    "..." Kudo Yoshihiro''s expression darkened. It was in to see that the situation was not that easy.


    "Then, what should we do, Father?" Chiyo asked.


    "You should cancel that engagement first. We will let nature take its course. Just say that your daughter will be the one to make the choice. Although they are a prominent family, their influence is only limited in the north.


    "They can''t threaten us here, more so with our current influence."


    "Father, how about we just get rid of those two kids now? It is a simpler solution." Yoshihiro suggested.


    Even Kudo Taro couldn''t help but narrow his eyes. "If you think you can do so, then you can try. But I"ll tell you this. They have the potential to destroy our family in the future."


    "...You two can continue discussing this. I will look after Ayaka." Chiyo couldn''t take it anymore, so she left the room.


    Seeing Chiyo leave the room, Kudo Taro let out a long sigh. "I''m still suggesting that we choose the middle way instead of that one. There are too many factors to consider if we use your way."


    "..." Yoshihiro contemted for a long time. After an hour of constant ring from Kudo Taro, his mind finally decided. "Alright. I''ll try to cancel the engagement and tell my friend to let Ayaka choose.


    "If his son can win her heart, then we won''t say anything. Although this cursed tradition is like an enigma, I can''t say anything about it. After all, it has been proven by every generation of the Kudo''s, be it in a normal way or in an unbelievable way."


    "Is your friend on his business trip? If it''s like that, then it might not be a problem."


    "Yeah, he''s on a business trip. But, his son is not. He''ll enroll at Genesis Magic Academy as a transfer student tomorrow." Yoshihiro said while sweating.


    Facepalming, Kudo Taro sighed. He rose from his seat and started walking, "You go handle the rest. I''m out."

 Chapter 11 - A Hidden Scheme?

    Kai and Tasha finally arrived at their home. They opened the door and came inside while saying, "Mom, Dad, we''re back."


    "Wee home." Their mom came to the front to meet them. As she looked at her son, Kai, she noticed the bracelets on his hands. Those white bracelets seemed to have a good artistic level, and so did the ring on Tasha''s hand.


    Her eyes brightened when she saw them. She couldn''t help but tease them. "So, where''s my daughter-inw?"


    "There is no daughter-inw." Tasha was the first to react to that question.


    "But you two already got presents from her. How can I not meet her?"


    "They''re not presents. They''re our hard-earned rewards. They''re not the same."


    "Fine fine... Have you guys eaten yet?"


    Kai shook his head.


    "All right, let''s eat first. This mom''s instinct of mine told me that you two woulde home without having eaten, so I''ve also prepared your portions." She said smugly.


    "Mom is the best... as long as you don''t talk about this daughter-inw thing." Tasha hugged her while smiling.


    The atmosphere was heartwarming.


    ...


    On the other hand, in another ce, the atmosphere was the opposite. It was a chilling atmosphere.


    There were two guys in a hotel room. The first one was a middle-aged man with silver hair. He wore a white suit thatplemented his silver hair. His silver eyes looked at the other guys strictly.


    "Son... He... That Yoshihiro just told me that he wanted to cancel the engagement." He said.


    His son had silver hair and silver eyes just like him, and his handsome face could definitely charm numerous girls.


    "What do you mean, Dad?" He was confused when his dad told him that. After all, he just got the news of the engagement earlier.


    "I also don''t know what happened. He told me that he got in a fight with his daughter and wanted his daughter to choose her other half by herself. He told me that if she really chooses you, then he won''t do anything to stop you."


    They were the Katsuragi''s son and dad pair.


    The son, Katsuragi Takaki, asked in a worried tone, "Dad, why?"


    "I don''t know, son. But, since he doesn''t appreciate our gesture, then we should just go back to the north."


    "No, Dad. I''ll still enroll in Genesis Magic Academy. Since he allowed his daughter to choose, then I''ll capture her heart."


    "Son, what did you say? Why are you being so obsessed with her? You are the next head of our Katsuragi family. Numerous women prettier than her will appear in your life. You can marry all of them and forget about her."


    "No, Dad. I don''t want anyone except her." Katsuragi Takaki shook his head as he said with a firm heart.


    Back when he was only a kid, everyone, especially girls, only looked at him with hidden motives. Kudo Ayaka was the only one that didn''t have such eyes.


    In his house, he was trained to be a leader. Being trained in that cold ce, meeting Ayaka brought him warmth. He didn''t know why, but at that time, his heart was captured by Ayaka.


    Ayaka also turned out to be a big beauty after she grew up. His obsession became more and more apparent until around this time, his dad, Katsuragi Akagi, couldn''t stop him any longer.


    He used a business trip as an excuse to introduce him to Kudo Yoshihiro and let them have an engagement. In the day, the process went smoothly. But at night, he was called by Yoshihiro, who wanted to end the engagement.


    He was angered when he heard that. Yoshihiro tried his best to exin to him, but anger was still in his heart even though they wererades.


    "Takaki, after we achieve our ambition, you''ll be able to get any woman you want. Why? This is not what I taught you."


    "I''m sorry, Father. My heart is only for her." Takaki said.


    After the atmosphere became heavier, they stopped talking intimately. Katsuragi Akagi didn''t call him ''Son'' again. Instead, he called him with his name, Takaki. Katsuragi was the same, he didn''t call him ''Dad'' anymore and called him formally.


    "We are going to take over the whole nation. Don''t you know our pride as the Katsuragi family? A few centuries ago, this was not called United Asia. This was our home, Japan. Because all of those magic beasts were appearing in every corner of the world¡­


    "We epted all of them as refugees. AS REFUGEES. They are only refugees. Because of our country''s strategic position since we consisted of inds and advancements in technology. We could exterminate the magical beasts in our nation.


    "But look at what we are now. We changed our name to United Asia. We might control the north, but how about the south? In the south, there are lots of big families from the surrounding nations. They control more than a third of our country and changed our proud name from Japan to United Asia.


    "We are going to make them lose power and change their statuses back to refugees. We are going to change this United Asia back into Japan with our Katsuragi family as the leader.


    "You are the next leader of the Katsuragi family, why are you so obsessed with a single woman? You need to take lots of women so our Katsuragi family won''tck a sessor in the future.


    "We have manipted one of the S-ranks in this country to do our bidding. Our Katsuragi family is famous for our medicine, and he, who is in need of our medicine, can only follow our orders.


    "As long as we can get another S-rank in this country, we can get rid of the other one and rule this country. My original purpose of letting you enroll in the Genesis Academy is for you to get that Tasha Carter.


    "Although her bloodline is not suited to be your wife, it''s fine for her to be your concubine. Did you forget about that?" Katsuragi Akagi was so mad that he scolded Takaki with all his mind.


    "Father, you don''t understand. I have fallen in love, and my heart will always be for her. I haven''t forgotten our initial goal. But polygamy is legal in this country. As long as I can make Tasha Carter head over heels with me, that would count as me having finished my purpose." Takaki said with a bit of a hateful tone.


    Katsuragi Akagi observed Takaki''s expression. He contemted a bit before he sighed. He said, "Fine. As long as you aplish your mission, you can do whatever you like. Go back to your room."


    Katsuragi bowed to him then left the room.


    ...


    The next day, Kai and Tasha went to school again.


    Kai sat on his previous desk and saw Ayaka, who was beside him, ring at him. Although he didn''t want to be bothered by her, he thought that he at least needed to apologize for yesterday.


    "I''m sorry about my sister''s actions. It was very rude of us to disappear just like that after receiving something from your family."


    "Hmph."


    Kai sighed. He was a quiet guy, but this situation forced him to say something because his conscience didn''t let him stay quiet when he was wrong. "All right. I''m truly sorry I didn''t stop my sister."


    "Friday. We should be getting a practical test where we need to hunt monsters in the training field. The test will require us to make a group of two. So you''re going to partner up with me." Ayaka said.


    She told him this because she wanted to prove something to him. She regretted that she couldn''t do any better when they fought. She gritted her teeth as she recalled the scene over and over again.


    She kept telling herself, ''I should be able to do better than that. I can make this move to dodge him, and I can do this, I can do that, and so on.''


    So, she wanted to pair up with him so she could show him she was better than that, no other purpose, especially not because of that curse. She just wanted to show her actual strength. After all, losing to a D-rank magician was a bit embarrassing for her, especially when she fought that bad.


    Kai looked at her, surprised. He was dumbfounded when he heard the condition. He thought about pairing up with George since he was the only one he knew excluding Ayaka.


    He looked at her eyes and knew that he couldn''t convince her.


    "All right." Kai gave up while sighing to his sister.


    Achieving her objective, she smiled smugly. She became a bit fired up inside, thinking, ''Just you wait, I''ll show you.''


    Kai didn''t care anymore as he tried to ignore everything around him while waiting for the ss to start.


    Not long after, the teacher came to the ssroom. But today was different as the first sentences she said was, "All right, students, I don''t know if you should rejoice for this or not, but I have gotten another student that I need to take care of. In other words, you all have gotten another ssmate. He''s another brat- I mean a transfer student. Come in." The teacher said.


    The door opened, and a silver-haired guy came to the ssroom. He wore the school uniform that seemed toplement his silver hair as well as his silver eyes.


    "Who is he?"


    "Is he the new student?"


    "So handsome."


    "Tch!"


    The girls were charmed by his appearance, while, as everyone might have already guessed, the guys were the ones who clicked their tongues.


    Ayaka frowned when she saw this guy. She thought she might have met him, but she didn''t remember him.


    The guy then wrote his name on the board.


    ''Katsuragi Takaki.''


    He smiled and said, "Hello, I''m Katsuragi Takaki. Pleased to meet you all."

 Chapter 12 - Magical Beast

    The silver-haired transfer student introduced himself, "Hello, I''m Katsuragi Takaki. Pleased to meet you all."


    The innocent girls were charmed by either his look or his wealth. After all, if they were talking about the Katsuragi Family, it was obviously the most powerful family in the north that controlled magic medicine. Ayaka was frowning this entire time. She felt like she had met him before, but she didn''t remember this guy.


    She finally noticed that this guy''s name was ''Katsuragi.'' She immediately remembered when her father said that she got engaged with Katsuragi whatsoever. Well, in the end, the engagement was broken.


    She became even more hostile to this guy. She remembered that she had gone to the Katsuragi family back when she was a kid. Her father was invited to their banquet, so she followed him back then.


    Because she was the only heiress of Kudo Group, the number of people she met was countless. She didn''t remember this Katsuragi thing even a little bit. She tried recalling it, but no one came to her mind.


    "You can sit wherever you want since we have so many empty seats."


    "Yes. Thank you, Teacher." Katsuragi Takaki thanked her. The girls wanted him to sit beside them, but all of them already had a seatmate.


    The only empty seats were with the guys. But this Katsuragi Takaki didn''t go to the empty seats. Instead, he walked toward Kai''s seat.


    Kai looked at him with a poker face. Katsuragi Takaki also looked at Kai in silence.


    Because of his silence, the girls misunderstood the situation.


    "Wait. Is this the legendary BL?"


    "Ah... these two men..."


    "Damn, my nose is bleeding."


    "Kya-!"


    Because of the declining poption, they banned gay things because they wanted the males to help with repoption. But all of their imagination shattered after they listened to what Katsuragi Takaki said.


    "Hello, I''m Katsuragi Takaki. I''m a fan of your sister, nice to meet you."


    Kai narrowed his eyes. Usually, no one would recognize his identity as the light of his sister shadowed himpletely. Even his sister''s fans wouldn''t know about him.


    Kai was surprised to see that someone recognized him. It was such a rare asion that he couldn''t help but feel something wrong about it.


    "Kai Carter, nice to meet you." Kai decided to ignore his feelings at the moment and introduced himself.


    "All right, I don''t care if you''re a fan of his sister or not just sit down now. I still need to do my job."


    "Ah, I''m sorry, Teacher. I couldn''t help but say my feelings after seeing the brother of my idol." Katsuragi Takaki said yfully. He then went to an empty seat. He didn''t express his feelings to Ayaka because Kai might feel suspicious about it.


    His mission in this school was to get Tasha Carter to his bed. And for that to happen, he would need to make a connection with Kai. Sadly, they didn''t research the bottom of their rtionship.


    If he knew that Tasha was a bro-con, what kind of face would he make? After all, Tasha''s identity as a bro-con was only known to a few close people, not to the public.


    Only people like their parents and her friends in the student council knew about it, including Ayaka, who just realized the hard truth yesterday.


    The ss finally started after Katsuragi sat.


    "We will continue yesterday''s ss about magical beasts. Because of the appearance of the magical beasts, our civilization was overturned. They killed the majority of the human race and forced us to band together and finally make three super bases in three countries: US, Europe, and this ce, United Asia."


    "Teacher, are there any humans left in the outside world?" One of the students asked.


    "Well, a good question. There are indeed various small groups outside. They stayed in ces that are hard to reach for the magical beasts, such as mountains. We got their positions with the satellite." Shirotsuka Sanae replied.


    "Then, have we rescued them?"


    "We can''t rescue them."


    "Why?"


    "The answer is simple. It''s not possible. Those ces are surrounded by too many monsters. If we send our magicians just like that, it will be the same as sending them to their deaths. It might sound harsh, but that is the reality.


    "But as a part of the younger generation, you can''t lose hope. You might be able to save them, but you need to know about the monsters first. Knowing the magical beasts'' characteristics will help you in battling those monsters that overturned our civilization.


    "Do you know how magical beasts were created?"


    "They were exposed by magic energy and evolved." One of the students answered.


    "Indeed. We humans also evolved because of magic energy. But have you ever thought of why we humans could use magic, but the magical beast couldn''t?"


    No students answered her because they didn''t know.


    "They can." Suddenly Katsuragi Takaki answered her. The students were surprised by it.


    "Ho..." Even Sanae was a bit impressed. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Could you borate your answer so your ssmates can understand?"


    "Because we have the ability to think," said Takaki while pointing his index finger at his head.


    "Magical beasts have the ability to use magic. But low-level magical beasts can''t because they only act based on their instincts." Takaki stopped talking.


    Sanae nodded her head. "It is as he said. Magical beasts indeed have the ability, but they can''t. This concept is only applied to low-level magical beasts. If you meet high-level magical beasts such as A-rank beasts or above...


    "There is a possibility that they have unlocked their wisdom. They might even be able to talk in ournguages and use elements. B and C-rank magical beasts might be able to unlock their wisdom. But it is a rare case, so you might not see that in your entire life.


    "This is a knowledge that you will only learn after you enter high school, AKA magical academy. After all, you, as a student, might receive high prestige if you enrolled in a magical academy.


    "But it alsoes along with responsibilities. You will have a responsibility to fight in the front lines. I''m sure that you''ve signed the contract before entering this academy.


    "Every month, you will get a practical test where you will need to go to the outside world. I''ll exin this in detailter. But I need you to know that with great power,es great responsibilities."


    Sanae continued her ss.


    ...


    A few dayster, the practical ss finally arrived.


    Katsuragi Takaki tried to be Kai''s friend this entire time while sneaking some nces at Ayaka. Of course, Ayaka ignored all of it since she didn''t remember him.


    Even though Takaki was smiling when he was talking with Kai, he always clenched his fist inside his heart. Looking at Kai sitting beside Ayaka made him want to butcher him.


    Fortunately, Ayaka seemed not to be close to Kai, and the rumor about her and Kai together slowly disappeared. Not because the rumor was just a shock for them, but because they had considered these two as one thing.


    So, there was no need for another exaggerated reaction if something happened with them.


    In the ss, Sanae was exining about the practical ss.


    "The practical test''s only purpose is to let you gain experience in fighting magical beasts. We''ll hold the practical ss in the gym. We''ve prepared numerous simtion tubes there.


    "I''ll exin how it works. We used to fight magical beasts in a group of five: Scout, vanguard, support, and two attackers.


    "But after countless discussions about it, we decided to only let the students make a group of two. This is not a rash decision or a baseless assumption.


    "I''ll have you answer this question. Which team do you think will have better teamwork? A team consisting of ordinary people that emphasize teamwork... or a team where all of its members have great abilities but do their own thing?


    "Raise your hand if you think the former is right, I''ll assume that you choose thetter if you don''t."


    When they heard Sanae''s question, they were bewildered. They pondered for a while before raising their hands. The entire ss raised their hand, including Ayaka and Takaki. All of them, except one person, Kai.


    Ayaka was startled when she saw that Kai didn''t raise his hand. She was wondering if Kai didn''t hear her or he was confused by the question. After all, the answer was obvious.


    A team that emphasized teamwork will have better teamwork than the other one even if they had a better quality.


    Sanae frowned. She never expected to see that someone didn''t raise their hand to this question. She asked this question every single year, but every single student raised their hand upon this question.


    If they didn''t, their reason was that they didn''t understand the question or were confused by it. After she exined a little bit more, they immediately raised their hand. She wondered if this Kai was the same.


    "You are the only one who didn''t raise your hand. Did my question confuse you? Should I borate?"


    "Hmm... Actually, I have a question to this question before I can answer it."


    "Ho..." She was astonished as she didn''t expect this. "Tell me your question."


    "What kind of teamwork are you seeking? Is it teamwork so that the team can survive in the outside world?"


    The students were bewildered upon hearing his question. They didn''t understand his question at all. Ayaka and Takaki immediately pondered over what he meant.


    On the other hand, Sanae was astonished to see that someone could perceive her true question. She didn''t ask about teamwork in sports or whatsoever. In this damned world, who cares about sports.


    "Yeah, you''re right. This is about a team that''s trying to survive in this damned world. So what''s your answer?"

 Chapter 13 - Team

    Kai pondered for a moment, forgetting about how he became the center of attention. Well, he himself didn''t care about the attention anyway. He never sought it, but he also never avoided it. He just did his own thing, and if he received exposure because of it, it wasn''t a big deal at all for him.


    "My answer is still the same."


    "Why do you choose that answer? Care to tell me about it?"


    "If I need to choose between those two teams, then I''ll choose thetter. As for the reason... I''ll exin it from my point of view, positioning myself as a member of those teams.


    "I''ll start with the team that emphasizes teamwork. It''s good to emphasize teamwork, but without a good foundation, teamwork will never work.


    "Teacher said that they''re average, not good and not bad. Then, at some point, they''ll miss something that can threaten the whole team''s survival. It can be the scout that misses a magical beast, a vanguard that fails to block an attack, a support that doesn''te with the right timing, or not enough damage dealt to the magical beast.


    "Different from that team, the second team has high abilities. Even if they don''t emphasize teamwork, they know what they''re doing. A scout that can spot everything, a vanguard that can protect their teammates, a support thates with perfect timing, and a high-power attacker.


    "Even though they don''t emphasize teamwork, as long as they do their own thing perfectly, I feel that the second team has better teamwork than the first one," Kai exined.


    The whole ss was astonished. They never thought that far. They only focused on the question but didn''t see the true meaning. Even Sanae was impressed by his train of thoughts.


    "So is teamwork a bad thing to you?" Sanae tried to show a hard front.


    Kai shook his head. "No, I never said teamwork is a bad thing. Teamwork is good. I only want to say that you can''t ignore the fundamental skills. It might also be the reason why Teacher asked this question when we''re talking about the practical ss."


    ''You brat.'' She realized that Kai figured out her intention, so she cursed inside her heart. Of course, her face didn''t show any change of expressions. She just nodded her head and exined.


    "That''s right. This is the reason why the school wants you to make a group of two in the practical ss. Ignoring the fundamental skills just won''t cut it. In this kind of environment, you''ll practice various fundamental skills from being a scout to being an attacker.


    "If you manage to train your fundamental skills and your teamwork, I''m sure you''ll be a good team.


    "Take a scout role as an example. If you learned how to be a scout, even if you''re not the scout in the team, when the scout says ''This area is clear,'' You might be able to ask, ''Did this happen or is there any sign of a magical beast''s trace?'' If the scout can answer then, that''s good. Having more detailed information will increase your chance of survival.


    "That''s why, in this practical ss, you''re going to pair up with someone, so you can learn multiple fundamental skills. If you have any questions, you can ask meter. I''ll give you five minutes to choose your partner."


    Sanae walked outside after she exined.


    The students took a while to realize what was going on. Most of the students immediately rose from their seats, especially the female students.


    They went either to Katsuragi Takaki or Kai Carter. They chose Katsuragi Takaki because he was handsome and was a famous A-rank magician. As for Kai, they chose him because he was the younger brother of Tasha Carter. At the same time, his exnation earlier was splendid. Teaming up with him should be a good choice. He would at least know what to do.


    But the atmosphere suddenly turned to the worst when Katsuragi Takaki stood up and walked toward Kai.


    "Will you pair up with me?" Takaki asked Kai.


    "No." Kai''s answer was obvious. But that rejection wasn''t because he didn''t want to. He just needed to fulfill his promise to Ayaka. After all, he had promised that he would pair up with her for this ss a few days ago.


    "Such a shame. It looks like I need to ask another person." Of course, he hated to pair up with Kai. But he needed to fulfill the basic formality as he was currently known as Tasha''s fan. His objective was Ayaka.


    After Kai rejected him without any exnation, he misunderstood the situation. He walked toward Ayaka and asked her, "Ayaka, please pair up with me?"


    "No. I''ve paired up with him," Ayaka said uninterestedly while pointing at Kai.


    "Why are you pairing up with him? I''m your fiance." He blurted it out out of anger. He was already ufortable when he couldn''t sit beside her. To an obsessive person like him, it was unbearable. Thankfully, Kai and Ayaka didn''t interact that much. If not, he might not be able to hold himself back. But after hearing this, he couldn''t hold back his anger.


    Ayaka showed a disgusted expression. After that day, when Takaki presented himself as a transfer student, she asked her father for confirmation. And it turned out, he was really the ''fiance'' her father talked about.


    Fortunately, her father seemed to have broken the engagement. She was relieved after she heard that.


    Sheter found out that she had met this Takaki guy back then. But she didn''t have any impression on him.


    Back then, she greeted him without hidden intention because she didn''t care about that. With her family condition, she didn''t need to.


    Her wish ever since she was a child had always been to help her parents. So thinking about sucking up to Takaki never came to her mind. She was relieved that this Takaki guy seemed to be normal.


    But a few dayster, she finally realized that this Takaki often took a sneak peek at her. The same as him, Ayaka was also often sought after by countless young heirs or heiresses.


    She felt that Takaki often took a sneak peek at her face, breast, and thighs with lustful eyes. Of course, Takaki tried to hide it. A normal girl wouldn''t notice it, but Ayaka could as she often dealt with these kinds of people.


    She shuddered. She was wondering what her father saw in this guy. At least, Kai was better. When she heard the word ''fiance'' out of his mouth, she immediately felt disgusted.


    "We are not engaged. I never agreed to it, and my father has also canceled that agreement."


    All of them were astounded when they heard their conversation.


    ''Fiance?''


    ''Agreement?''


    ''Canceled?''


    ''Breaking an engagement?''


    So many doubts suddenly came to their minds, but they didn''t speak those doubts aloud.


    Takaki also realized that he blurted that word out of anger.


    "And I already asked him to pair up with me," Ayaka said while pointing at Kai. She didn''t forget to add, "A few days ago."


    "You!" After knowing this, Takaki couldn''t hold himself back. He said while pointing his finger at Kai, "I will challenge you with the score. Do you dare?"


    Kai was perplexed. He didn''t know why the situation became like this. A minute ago, Takaki was just his sister''s fan. But now, he was challenging him.


    Before he could answer, Ayaka had responded on his behalf... as a teammate, she said, "Fine. Our team will score more points than your team."


    "Hmph!" Katsuragi Takaki snorted and left.


    "..." Kai only sighed and shrugged his shoulder.


    A few minutester, Shiratsuka Sanae came back to the ss.


    "I don''t know what kind of ruckus all of you made to talk about the scores. You might already know what kind of ss we''ll have, but I''ll still exin it to you.


    "First, in the gym, there are a few training tubes. Each pair will enter a tube together. You''ll be teleported to a world that has been programmed by our engineers. Don''t ask me how the machines work, I don''t know.


    "Anyway, it''s only your consciousness that''ll go into that world. We have detailed data from various monsters, so we can replicate them inside that world.


    "Your team will strive to survive and kill as many monsters as possible. Don''t worry, if you''re killed in that world, you won''t die in this world."


    "Do you have any questions?"


    "Teacher, how many monsters at maximum can we encounter inside the practice tube?" One of the students asked. She was Wada Miyako. She had pink hair, as well as a body that didn''t lose to Ayaka.


    She became Takaki''s partner in this practical ss as she was one of the B-rank magicians in this ss. It seemed that she asked the question on behalf of Takaki, who was eager to beat the Ayaka-Kai pair.


    Sadly, the teacher said something they never expected. "Ask something I know."


    "..." Every student was speechless. They cursed in their mind, ''You should at least say that you''ll look it up if you don''t know!''


    What can they say? This teacher was... unique.


    "Anyway, since you don''t have a question, follow me to the gym. Oh, I almost forgot. You can''t surrender or anything of the sort to get out of the tube. Just like the real world, you will need to fight until yourst breath. In other words, if you want to get out of the tube, you''ll need to die.


    "Of course, it is not like we want to send you to die. Experiencing dying a few times might develop your mentality. People tend to lose their rationality in a matter between life and death. We''re training you to get used to it so you won''t lose your rationality if you experience it in the outside world." The teacher said and left the room, telling the students to follow her. She led them to the gym.


    ...


    In the gym.


    One of the practice tubes was opened. There was a screen above the tube.


    S - 0


    A - 11


    B - 31


    C - 100


    D - 211


    E - 232


    F - 1301


    A pair of a man and a woman came out. The man had green hair and a handsome face. He wore a tight ck battle suit, exposing his muscles. The other person was a purple-haired woman. She also wore the same ck battle suit, exposing her seducing body.


    "As expected of the famous couple team, Adrian and Kirika. We''re honored for you two to test our new simtion world. How is our new simtion world?" The one who greeted them was a muscr middle-aged man. He had spiky brown hair and seemed to be your typical musclebrain guy.


    That''s right. He was the principal of this school. The guy said, "It''s really hard, but it''s more realistic. If you can tone down the level a bit, it might be useful for the students."

 Chapter 14 - Practical Class

    "Alright, students. These are the training tubes, and each group will have one. You can choose whichever you want." Shirotsuka Sanae exined after arriving at the gym.


    She let them see the training tubes as the tubes were lined up. She then pointed at the screen above each training tube.


    "This screen will project how many magical beasts you kill inside the tubes. Like I said, your consciousness will go inside the programmed world, so you better be ready to fight as soon as you got inside."


    She then went to the mechanical table on the side and put her card there. At the same time, the training tubes were turned on.


    "You can choose your tubes now. But all of you should have a chat with your partner first before entering the tube. I''ll record all of your scorester."


    Each pair immediately went to a tube of their own choice.


    Ayaka and Kai also had chosen their tube... It was only Ayaka who chose the tube. She wanted the one in the middle. Before they entered the cube, Ayaka turned to Kai.


    "When we fought, I wasn''t fighting to the best of all my abilities, do you hear me? I''ll prove it to you in this test. We''llpete on how many magical beasts we can kill."


    "..." Kai looked at her and shook his head. "I don''t think we should do that."


    "Why? Are you saying that I''m weak? I''m not weak. I''ll show you this time." Ayaka got a bit agitated.


    But Kai''s expression remained calm, he only shook his head. "No. If it is about our fight back then, I already know that you''re not that weak. I already know you didn''t perform your best."


    Ayaka was surprised to hear that.


    Kai continued, "In fact, I was the one who made you underestimate me."


    Ayaka startled. She asked, "What do you mean?"


    "In a battle, what do you think is more important? Showing your full power or winning the battle?"


    Ayaka pondered for a moment and replied, "Winning is more important."


    "That''s right. I just chose to increase my winning chance before the match started by acting like I wasn''t interested in it. Well, another factor was because you had seen my magician rank back then. Since you knew I was only a D-rank magician, you must''ve thought that you''d win, right?"


    Ayaka looked down, weighing Kai''s word in her mind. She nodded. "But... you didn''t have any chivalry."


    "Sooner orter, we''ll be fighting the magical beasts. Even now, we''re going to fight magical beasts in a few minutes. Just like my question, winning is more important... In other words, if we''re fighting with magical beasts, killing them will be more important than showing all of your ability just to make you feel good."


    "Ugh." Ayaka couldn''t retort him.


    "We''re going to fight magical beasts now. So, if you''re only thinking aboutpeting with me, I think we should just give up."


    Kai''s statement startled her once again. She never thought Kai could talk about giving up that easily. Most didn''t know about him because he was overshadowed by his sister. Does he not want to make himself known?'' She thought.


    But there was another problem. They (she) already epted Katsuragi Takaki''s challenge. He shouldn''t give up, or people would think that he was running away.


    Although she only knew Kai for a week, she realized that she could learn a lot of things from Kai. But if he gave up now... She...


    She shook her head and grabbed Kai''s hand without thinking. "No, we can''t. I''m sorry, I was too self-centered before."


    When Takaki saw this, he gnashed his teeth while clenching his fist. He really wanted to murder him. But thinking about his previous blunder, he should try to make up with him so he could also get closer to his target, Tasha Carter.


    If he won this time, he would be able to show his power to Ayaka while humiliating Kai. Then he could be a good guy and protect Kai if he were to beughed at by his ssmates. He could get closer to Kai and eventually get closer to his target.


    In his heart, he already firmly decided to win this. He looked at Wada Miyako, who was his partner in this ss. "Let''s go."


    She didn''t know anything and just followed him.


    On the other hand, Kai looked at Ayaka.


    "All right, so let''s talk about our n."


    Ayaka nodded. She pondered for a moment, "You have enhanced hearing, right?"


    "Do you want to use my hearing to scout the surroundings?"


    Ayaka nodded. "I''m sorry we have to use your hearing like this..."


    "It''s alright. I always take off my headphones when battling." Kai shrugged his shoulders.


    "We''re going to search for a safe ce first so we can make it our base. Then we''ll start killing the magical beasts." Ayaka said.


    In reality, Ayaka was a smart girl who could think of something like that. But because she lost to Kai, she became too focused on him. She couldn''t bring out her true potential.


    After Kai changed her focus, she finally utilized her real ability.


    "I heard the magical beasts live in a group. We can kill the small group instead of the bigger one," Ayaka said.


    Kai nodded. "This practical ss is about how many we can kill. It''ll be better to fight a small group rather than a big group. After all, fighting two groups consisting of ten magical beasts is better than taking a group of twenty magical beasts, considering that there are only two of us.


    "If we can kill the group in one swoop, then it''ll be another case."


    Ayaka nodded in agreement. After seriously talking to Kai like this, she didn''t seem to feel hateful anymore. To be honest, Kai seemed to have a deep knowledge of this. She felt that by talking to him, she would always get an answer.


    They were so focused on their conversation that they didn''t realize that they were thest pair that hadn''t entered the training tube.


    "All right, that''s good enough. Let''s go." Kai said.


    Kai took off his noise-canceling headphones. Ayaka nodded and opened the tube.


    The tube was only two meters wide. There was only a single screen inside.


    They were supposed to ce their hands together on the screen. The tube would be activated and send their consciousness to the programmed world.


    They looked at each other and nodded. They finally ced their hands on the screen and channeled their magic power.


    Two magic circles appeared, one on the floor and the other on the top.


    They saw a sh of light in front of their eyes, forcing them to close their eyes for a bit. When the light disappeared, they opened their eyes.


    They looked at their surroundings. They could only find woods from their surroundings, and if they looked above, they could see a huge volcano. They realized that they were teleported to a jungle on the foot of a volcano.


    Kai immediately focused on his hearing. His hearing could pick up numerous magical beasts in their surroundings, from small and weak magical beasts torge and powerful magical beasts.


    Kai''s heart skipped a beat when he felt that. In fact, they were surrounded by magical beasts. Although the magical beasts had yet to realize their presence, if they wanted to get to a safe ce, they would need to break through them.


    After a few more seconds, he finally found a ce that was not surrounded by magical beasts. He didn''t know whether that ce was safe or not, but it was the only ce besides the volcano that didn''t have a magical beast around it.


    They could only go there to confirm it. Kai said in a disappointed tone, "Good news, I found a ce thatf$ not surrounded by magical beasts."


    "Why do you sound rather disappointed? Do we have bad news?"


    Kai nodded. "We''re surrounded by magical beasts. So if we want to go to that ce, we need to break through from this ce. We might need to fight around seventy magical beasts before we reach the ce."


    Ayaka was dumbfounded. "You''re joking, right?"


    "Do you think I''m the type of person that would joke in this situation?"


    Ayaka couldn''t answer it as the answer was obvious. She gulped down. Ayaka said while looking at him, "All right, let''s get going then. It''s better than staying in this spot."


    Kai agreed with her. "I''ll try to guide us carefully."


    "It is not good to fight too much before we get settled in a base. Teacher also said that it''ll be good if we can take advantage of the terrain to fight the magical beasts."


    "Sure. Let''s go."


    Kai and Ayaka then started moving. After a minute of walking, they finally encountered their first magical beast. It was a gori. It was three meters tall and was powerfully-built with arge head and short neck.


    "We''re going to approach it silently. From the looks of it, it''s a D-rank magical beast. Can you kill it instantly?" Kai asked.


    "I can." Ayaka nodded.


    "Well then, I''ll support you," Kai said.


    ...


    Unbeknownst to them, there was a problem outside their tube.


    The principal suddenly came back to the gym. Because the matter of the tube was too important, he forgot that one of the sses was going to use the machine.


    "Not good! One of the sses is having a practical ss."


    "Principal Kazato, what do you mean?" The man, Adryan, asked. He was the one who participated in the test just now.


    "The students are using the training tubes in the gym, and I haven''t changed it back to the world for the students in the tube you two used."


    "What?" Adryan and Kirika were shocked.


    "This is bad. I need to go back. I hope no one uses it since there are so many tubes."


    "We''reing with you."

 Chapter 15 - Magic

    "We''reing with you."


    The principal nodded, and all of them ran toward the gym.


    As soon as they arrived, they immediately searched for that particr tube and saw that it was in use.


    "Principal Kazato, we need to let them out of that world. The purpose of this practical ss is to let the students slowly gain experience and get used to the outside world.


    "But if they entered that world... I''m afraid they''ll get traumatized."


    Kazato Kenzo felt weak on his legs. He was suddenly covered in sweat. "It''s impossible. As you might already know, we can''t let them out before they die in that world. This tube is also the same."


    Adryan and Kirika were dumbfounded. They knew why the tubes had that function. It was to train the students'' mentality. If they knew that they could just leave that ce before they died, then they would get shocked when they had to battle in the outside world, where they couldn''t do that.


    "Damn!" Adryan and Kirika shouted.


    Shiratsuka Sanae obviously heard that, as she was supervising the ss. She was a bit surprised to see the principale to this ce, so she came to him. "Can I help you, Principal?"


    "Ugh... Who''s using the training tube in the middle?"


    Sanae tried to remember for a while. "If I''m not mistaken, it should be Kudo Ayaka and Kai Carter."


    "Kudo?"


    "Carter?"


    All of them were shocked. They never expected to hear that name. They knew about the Kudo group, as it was the number one weapon provider in United Asia.


    But Carter''s name was also like thunder reverberating in their ears. That name became famous because of one particr individual. Tasha Carter.


    Unfortunately, at a time like this, it would only make it worse. The Kudo group was a huge group, and if their only heiress was traumatized because of this, they couldn''t imagine what kind of thing they would do.


    The same went for Kai Carter. They considered Tasha Carter as someone with the same level of threat as Kudo Group. But it would be different if she became far stronger.


    "What happened, Principal? Why are you sweating?" Shirotsuka Sanae was clueless.


    "You should know about our new programmed world, right?"


    "Yeah, the one that reflects the outside world perfectly."


    "I haven''t changed the setting back on that tube."


    Surprise came to Sanae''s poker face.


    "What should we do, Principal?"


    Adrian said, "Should we tell their families first? I think they shoulde to this ce."


    Kazato pondered for a while then shook his head. "Let''s keep this secret for the time being. If they''re fine after this, then I''ll call them and formally apologize. But if they''re not fine by then, I''ll bear the full responsibility."


    "Are you sure, Principal?"


    "Yeah. I just hope these two will turn out fine."


    ...


    Inside the tube, Kai and Ayaka started approaching their first prey. They approached it carefully so it wouldn''t notice them.


    "I can make a Sound Instion Room with my magic. Sound won''t escape that room. Charge as soon as I use that magic."


    Ayaka nodded to him as her spear came out of her ring on her right index finger.


    Kai checked their position once again. After confirming they weren''t surrounded, a magic circle appeared on his hand.


    "Sound Instion Room."


    They were only ten meters from the gori. Kai made a Sound Instion Room with the gori as the center. The sound instion room was a 4x4x4 meter translucent yellow cube.


    As soon as the room appeared, the gori immediately felt something wrong. At the same time, Ayaka rushed toward the gori with her spear.


    "Ha!" She thrust her spear toward the gori''s neck.


    Because of its instinct, it immediately dodged the spear by an inch and tried to throw a fist on Ayaka. Ayaka was surprised to see that the gori managed to dodge her attack, but she didn''t stop there. She immediately used her magic.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    The magic circle suddenly shot out a few ming whips. It pierced the gori''s hands and feet.


    "Roar!" The gori screamed in pain. If Kai didn''t use his Sound Instion Room, countless magical beasts mighte to this ce.


    Ayaka used the opening to pierce the gori''s neck with her spear. She finally killed the gori this time.


    After confirming the gori''s death, Kai released his Sound Instion Room and walked to Ayaka.


    "I''m sorry, I couldn''t kill it in one hit. If you hadn''t used your Sound Instion Room, I''m afraid that roar might have attracted the nearby magical beasts." She apologized to Kai.


    She knew the effect of Kai''s Sound Instion Room. When she entered the Sound Instion Room, she couldn''t hear a single thing from the outside. That meant the barrier separated the two worlds. Kai shouldn''t be able to hear the gori''s roar too.


    "It''s fine. We''ll continue to fight this way. Since this is our first time fighting together, things like this are bound to happen. We can slowly adapt to each other''s fighting styles first. I''ll continue as your support."


    "All right." Ayaka nodded seriously.


    Seeing how she became a bit tense, Kai chose to tease her a little bit to loosen her shoulders. "Surely it''s because of bad luck that we have a rank D magical beast as our first prey. The bad luck is yours, right?"


    Ayaka was dumbfounded. She chuckled, "It''s obviously my good luck. We must be ahead of the others."


    Kai smiled a little bit.


    Ayaka was startled when she saw Kai''s smile for the first time. "What is it?"


    "You''re not tense anymore. You can''t think carefully when you''re tense."


    She froze. She chuckled, "I''m good at working under pressure."


    Kai then led her to another magical beast. This time, it was an E-rank huge lizard, as it was a three-meter long lizard.


    Kai used his Sound Instion Room again while Ayaka charged to the lizard. This time, the lizard was pretty fast. It managed to dodge a few thrusts from Ayaka until finally, she roasted the lizard with her mes.


    They arrived at their destination after two hours. They had killed around sixty magical beasts before they reached this ce.


    ording to Kai, the magical beasts had moved quite a lot from their original positions. It gave them an easier time to bypass them.


    When they reached their destination, it was a good n. They even found a cave there. It would be nice to use the cave as their base.


    "So, what should we do now?"


    "Well, I sensed two groups that we can attack right now. The first group has ten magical beasts in it. I don''t know what they are, but they surely walk on four feet.


    "The other one also has ten magical beasts, but they walk on two feet. Take your pick." Kai gave her the options.


    "Which one is the closest one from us?" Ayaka asked.


    "The second one."


    "Then we"re going there. Since we don''t know what kind of creatures we''re going to face, it''s better to kill the closest ones. Under the premise that we won''t be surrounded by magical beasts when we fight them." Ayaka said her reasoning. Suddenly, she asked, "I''m curious, what kind of things can your ears pick up?"


    "Not that much. I can only locate them from the sounds they make. Sadly, I don''t know what they are. By the way, since we''re going to fight a group of monsters, what kind of magic can you use? I think we can make a better n if we know about them." Kai said.


    "You''ve seen three of them. The first one is those Firebirds. The second one is the Fire Wings, and the third one is the res. I have three more skills that I usually use.


    "They''re Scarlet Explosion, Fire Net, and Fire Armor. Their uses are like just like what their names imply. Scarlet Explosion is an explosion, Fire Net is a made of fire, and I can make a full-body armor from Fire. Still, this one needs a massive amount of magic power, so I don''t use it very often.


    "I can also do some neutral magic like the shield you used in our fight. That''s all, I guess."


    Kai pondered a little. "Maybe you should have a skill to enhance your movement. You can use it on your feet to give you speed or use it on your hands or weapon to give it more power. You cane up with your own version or learn from a record. Well, this is only a suggestion, it''s entirely up to you."


    If it were before, she might have been triggered by this. But after knowing Kai more, she didn''t have that thought. She took Kai''s suggestion seriously. "It''s a good suggestion. I''ll try it in the future. How about you? What skills can you use?"


    "Sound Instion Room and the one I used to... defeat you back then, Luby," Kai said while looking at Ayaka carefully. He was afraid that Ayaka might be triggered by his words. Luckily, she wasn''t.


    "What else?" Ayaka asked.


    "The third one is a magic that can alter brainwaves," Kai said.


    "A magic that can alter brainwaves?" Ayaka was bewildered.


    Kai nodded. "Do you like music?"


    "Of course, I do."


    "Then have you recognized how different music can give you different effects? Like when you''re listening to a workout song or music, it makes you exercise harder?"


    "Yes, indeed," Ayaka nodded her head before realizing what Kai meant. She said with a surprised look, "Do you mean..."

 Chapter 16 - Another Problem?

    (AN: Feel free to correct me If I''m wrong.)


    "Yeah. I researched some melodies that work best for magical beasts and humans. Both magical beasts and humans have four categories of brainwaves. Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Theta.


    "I won''t exin everything to you since it''s not rted to this. I''ll try to exin this as simply as I can since it''ll be useful for you to know so we can make a better n.


    "Beta brainwave dominate our usual state - Aroused, alert, concentrated, but also somewhat stressed.


    "Alpha is when we''re in a rxed and focused state. It''s the ideal state to learn new information, analyzeplex situations, and more.


    "As for Theta... you''ll have a dream when you sleep, while in Delta state, you won''t have a dream.


    "This is a bitplicated to exin. But don''t expect for this trick to work if the magical beast knows that the sound came from me. Since they move following their instincts, I can only use this skill to lower their guards, nothing more," Kai exined.


    "There are two other skills that I can use. I have an improved neutral magic shield. And the other one... I don''t think I should tell you about this since I won''t use it unless I''m forced to. Just a heads-up, even I won''t escape unscathed if I use it."


    "..." Ayaka looked at him dumbfounded. She unconsciously dropped her jaw, and her eyes were hollow.


    Kai looked at her shocked look. He tried to wave his hand in front of her eyes, but to no avail. He then patted her shoulder a few times until she woke up from her daze.


    "Ah!"


    "I... I just realized that I haven''t put enough effort this entire time," Ashamed, Ayaka said while looking down.


    She remembered what her grandfather said. Kai was an unorthodox magician. All of her skills came from the records where she could quickly learn it. She just followed the instructions and eventually mastered the skills.


    But Kai didn''t have such a thing. Kai researched everything by himself, experimenting and perfecting them through trials and errors. She finally realized why Kai could trounce her.


    She shook her head furiously. She couldn''t feel down at the moment because they would fight magical beasts after this. Kai only exined his skills a little as he only told their uses, not their principles.


    Another reason why he told her his skills was because ording to Tasha, this pairing thing would be valid for their entire year. It would be a hassle if they didn''t know about at least their partner''s basic knowledge.


    He didn''t know whether Ayaka knew about this pairing rule since she suddenly asked him to be his pair. Well, he didn''t really mind it either.


    He knew Ayaka was smart and strong. He didn''t have a big goal like bing the strongest or killing S-rank magical beasts. He only wanted to survive in this chaotic world.


    Having a partner like her would increase his chance of survival. He was not a hero or a good person, he was just a logical person... or at least someone trying to be one.


    "So, I assume your Sound Instion Room is for fighting a single magical beast only. While your... What''s the name for the one that affects brainwaves?"


    "Melody Resonance."


    She nodded, "Your ''Melody Resonance'' is for a group fight. To lower their guards or something."


    "You''re basically right," Kai nodded his head.


    "All right. Since that''s the case, how about using your Melody Resonance to lower the monster''s guard? We can then ambush them together."


    "I''m fine with that," Kai agreed with her n.


    "Then we should go now," Ayaka said.


    Both of them then started moving toward the group of ten magical beasts. When they arrived, it was a group of ten bulls. The rank of these ck-colored bulls was E.


    Considering Ayaka''s and Kai''s skills, they weren''t that dangerous. They hid behind a tree around five meters from the bulls. Kai then started using his Melody Resonance.


    He was nning to make the bulls sleepy. It might be hard to make the bull sleep, so Kai''s objective was to lower their guards down, at least enough for them to make a surprise attack.


    "Melody Resonance."


    A magic circle appeared beneath his feet. The magic circle suddenly produced a deep and soothing tone.


    The sound traveled through the air and reached the magical beasts'' ears. They didn''t realize that they were being affected by Kai''s magic.


    The bulls, who were previously energetic, stopped moving after a minute. It wasn''t that they were sleeping, it was just that they were just sleepy enough not to want to move their body.


    Although Ayaka knew it was due to Kai, she was still affected by it. She pinched her hand to stay focused.


    Kai looked at her and nodded. She nodded back, and both of them immediately jumped toward the bulls.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    A few fire whips immediately killed three sleepy bulls. Kai didn''t have such superior firepower, which was another reason why he used two swords. It was so he could increase the little firepower he had.


    Kai beheaded two bulls. The bulls suddenly woke up from their entranced state.


    "Moo!" With that wake-up call, the other four bulls also woke up. Kai immediately killed another two bulls while Ayaka killed one with her spear. Thest two bulls were immediately enraged and charged at them.


    Kai only dodged to the side to avoid the bull''s charge and sent its head flying with his sword. At the same time, Ayaka jumped upward and stabbed the bull''s back with her long spear, thus killing it.


    Fortunately, they were able to finish them in an instant. Ayaka''s n proved to be effective.


    "We did it," Ayaka said with a smile.


    ''To think about the n yourself, to tell it to your friend, and to execute it perfectly and to get good results. Such a thing would always make people happy.''


    It was what Ayaka felt. Kai only nodded his head with a smile.


    "We''re going to the next group," Ayaka said while pumping her fist.


    They went to the other group in Kai''s options. It was a group of blue lizards. Surprisingly, these lizards were able to walk on two feet. These lizards were a bit skinny, considering they were magical beasts.


    They used the same strategy. But because they weren''t close enough, Ayaka''s res only managed to kill two. So, with the first wave of attack, they only managed to kill four lizards.


    Both Kai and Ayaka engaged with three lizards each. Because the lizards managed to escape from that state instantly, Kai and Ayaka struggled a bit to kill these lizards.


    After around two minutes, they finally managed to kill all of them.


    "Do you find any good targets?" Ayaka asked.


    "Well, there''s another group, but this one seems pretty hard, since it''s a group of thirty. This area seems to be quite difficult, since most of the magical beasts are in groups."


    "All right. We should do what we can. So we''re going to kill them for now. We can search for anotherter." Ayaka said


    Kai nodded.


    Kai led her to the targets'' location. It turned out to be a group of wolves. Kai sweatdropped. He murmured, "It is going to be a bit troublesome."


    Hearing his murmur, Ayaka asked, "Should we change our target?"


    Kai wanted to nod his head, but suddenly, a loud howl echoed through the forest.


    "Aooo!"


    Kai and Ayaka immediately looked at the wolves. It turned out that they were spotted by one of the wolves.


    "Not good!" Both of them said at the same time.


    The wolves immediately ran toward them.


    "Move around while killing the wolves one by one," Kai instructed.


    "Understood." Ayaka nodded her head, and both of them immediately started running away.


    Of course, the wolves immediately caught up with them.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    Ayaka tried to attack the wolves with her res, but because of the wolves'' agility, all of them managed to avoid her magic.


    "Ayaka... you can fly, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Then follow me," Kai said.


    "Got it."


    They suddenly headed to the left of their base. Kai wanted to lead them toward a fifteen-meter cliff.


    On the way, Ayaka thought about killing all of them with her firepower. However, Kai told her not to do that since it would attract the nearby magical beasts'' attention.


    If they didn''t want to attract other monsters, they could only parry every attack from the wolves while making their way toward the cliff.


    Kai could hear more than a hundred monsters nearby. This was the exact reason why he forbade Ayaka from using her full power. It would attract them.


    After two minutes of continuous running, they finally arrived in front of a tall cliff.


    "There''s only a cliff here!" Ayaka shouted to Kai.


    "Up there. We''re now pretty far from the monsters. You can blow these wolves away from up there," Kai shouted.


    "Oh. So that''s what you were nning. Grab my hand." Ayaka said while stretching her hand. Normally, she would be embarrassed, but she forgot about it at the moment.


    Kai immediately grabbed her hand. At the same time, a magic circle appeared on her back, which soon turned into a pair of wings.


    They immediately flew toward the cliff. She released Kai''s hand after they reached the top of the cliff.


    The wolves also climbed the steep rocky cliff skillfully. Looking at this, Ayaka used another magic.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    The magic circle shot out a small fireball toward the center of the wolf pack. The small ball exploded and released massive heat.


    It killed most of the wolves from the pack. But the three wolves in the front managed to escape the explosion and reached the top. They jumped forward, trying to bite Ayaka with their sharp fangs.


    Kai immediately went in front of her and made a shield to block the wolves'' charge.


    "Aoo."


    Their charge was immediately stopped by his shield, and he immediately moved to the left while swinging his sword. Ayaka smiled and used her magic.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    Because of their previous move, the wolves were incapable of changing their direction. With their current position, it was absolute for Ayaka to kill two of them.


    Kai already predicted that and swung his sword to the third one. Finally, they killed all of them, except for the pack''s leader.


    Ayaka and Kai jumped from the cliff and fought with the leader. After a minute, even a C-rank wolf would die from the continuous attacks from Kai and Ayaka.


    "Aooo!" The wolf leader let out itsst howl before it fell to the ground and died.


    "We se-" Ayaka wanted to say, but before she managed to say it, Kai pushed her to the side.


    "Roar!" A white ape suddenly jumped off from the cliff, trying to attack Ayaka with its fist.


    Kai pushed her, and he became the target of the fist.


    "Not good!"

 Chapter 17 - Another Surprise?

    (AN: Telling you again. Correct me if I made mistakes about the concept. But don''t forget that this is only a fantasy story.)


    "Not good!" Kai crossed his hand while making a green magic circle.


    Kai used his improved barrier to block this fist. The magic circle suddenly made a weird sound that Ayaka couldn''t decipher.


    But it was called an ''improved barrier'' not because of the sound. It was because of the energy produced by the sound.


    Kai used the concept of oscition to improve his barrier. He took the concept of a speaker.


    A speaker makes a sound by moving the front of the speaker, which is called the ''diaphragm'', back and forth rapidly. It''s usually not very noticeable, but if you put a piece of paper on the speaker, it will ''dance around''.


    Oscition is the back and forth motion of an object. The oscition of the diaphragm will also cause the air in front of the diaphragm to move back and forth.


    But the air particles in front of the diaphragm don''t actually travel away. It just oscites back and forth. The osciting air in front of the speaker will cause the air in front of it to also oscite. It will then cause the air in front of it to also oscite, and this process will repeat again and again until people perceive the sound.


    The osciting air beside people''s ears moves, so it has kic energy. It can transfer the energy into eardrums, which peopleter perceive as a sound. So the speaker can transport the energy through the air without actually having to transport the air itself.


    Kai took this concept for his improved shield. The osciting air in front of his shield was moving, so it had energy. Kai then used that energy to soften the impact of the attack.


    The concept might be a little weak, as it would be ridiculous to use it to block a strong attack like this. But Kai used a high frequency, high enough that humans couldn''t hear it. After all, a human could only hear frequencies as low as about 20 hertz and as high as about 20,000 hertz.


    He used a very high frequency, so the energy produced by it was bigger. And this magic circle made the air oscite back and forth much higher than 20,000 per second. It created sound waves, but humans like Ayaka wouldn''t be able to hear it.


    It was only possible for Kai because he had his enhanced hearing. Kai used this high-frequency sound to send tremendous energy to soften the impact of the attack.


    "Boom!"


    Kai was pinned down to the ground by the fist. But surprisingly, his magic shield was still intact. This was the concept that let him block such a powerful attack.


    Ayaka finally realized what just happened. From the aura alone, she could tell that this white ape was a high-ranking magical beast. This ape was possibly a B-rank magical beast, if not A-rank.


    She immediately rose from the ground and charged at the ape with her spear.


    "Get off of him."


    The ape turned his head toward her and opened its mouth. Kai and Ayaka could see blue light appear in the ape''s mouth. They immediately remembered what Shirotsuka Sanae said in ss. High-ranking magical beasts like A-rank magical beasts or above might be able to use magic.


    They immediately recognized that this ape was an A-rank magical beast. It wanted to shoot something out of his mouth toward Ayaka. But because Ayaka rushed toward this ape to save Kai, she couldn''t avoid this attack.


    She thought she was going to die by this attack as she didn''t have enough time to dodge or to block this attack, but Kai suddenly grabbed the ape''s fist and pulled the ape to his side a little.


    "Boom!"


    The ape shot out a ray of light from its mouth. But because Kai pulled the ape, its trajectory was changed. It missed Ayakapletely andnded on a nearby tree. It created a massive explosion, not losing to Ayaka''s Explosion skill.


    The ape turned to Kai once again and pped him away with its giant hand.


    "Boom!"


    "Kai!" Ayaka unconsciously shouted his given name even though she had been calling him with his full name.


    Kai crashed onto a nearby tree. His body was hurt all over, but he gritted his teeth and shouted. "I''m fine. Do you not remember our match? Cool your head!"


    Ayaka shuddered when she heard that. That shout from him immediately woke her up from her anger. She was angry at herself. Because of her carelessness, Kai had to save her and was brutally punched by the powerful ape.


    She tried to save him back, but it almost cost her life. Kai then saved her again, resulting in him being pped away by the ape. But even after so many beatings, Kai shouted at her to wake her up.


    The moment she woke up, she was filled with regret. Sadly, she couldn''t do anything except beat this ape with her full power. She didn''t act with her anger again as she had regained her cool.


    She took a deep breath before charging toward the ape once again. The ape tried to charge its previous attack again in his mouth. When the ape shot it toward Ayaka, she dodged to the side and used her magic.


    "Burn to Cinders, res."


    "Boom!"


    The fire hit the ape and exploded.


    "Roar!" The ape screamed in pain. There was a batch of scorched fur visible on the ape.


    The ape immediately entered closebat against Ayaka. But with its high strength and agility, the inexperienced Ayaka immediately got suppressed.


    On the side, Kai finally crawled out of the tree he crashed into. He saw that the Ape was engaging Ayaka with closebat, and judging on their conditions, the ape had the upper hand.


    Kai took a deep breath as his back was still in tremendous pain. He gritted his teeth as he started running toward the white ape.


    When Ayaka saw him running toward them, she smiled. Kai was still fine. But in that moment of joy, the ape got a chance.


    "Gah!"


    Ayaka suddenly got punched on her stomach and spat some blood. She was blown away by that punch and rolled on the ground before finally crashing into a tree.


    At the same time, Kai already reached the ape. He immediately swung his two swords at the ape while sliding between its two feet.


    With that sh, Kai immediately separated the ape''s two feet from the ape''s body. He stood up again and grabbed the ape''s hand. He suddenly threw the ape''s giant body toward Ayaka because he could hear that Ayaka was still moving. He trusted her at this moment.


    "Ayaka, Fire Net!"


    Ayaka, who was bleeding all over, gritted her teeth while enduring the pain she was feeling at that moment. She raised her hand to use her skill. As soon as the red magic circle appeared on her hand, arge-shaped fire appeared, catching the flying ape.


    "Fire Net."


    At this moment, she also trusted Kai. She used her Fire Net, forgetting why Kai was able to throw this giant ape away.


    It was a singleyer fire that stretched out vertically. But as soon as the fire caught the ape, the sound of scorching fire filled the entire field.


    Ayaka poured all of her magic to roast this ape. Of course, Kai also didn''t let her kill this ape alone. He immediately jumped forward and shed both of the ape''s hands, rendering the ape useless.


    With the ape having lost all of its limbs, Kai used that moment to pierce his sword into its heart.


    "Roar!" The ape let out itsst scream before it finally died.


    Ayaka then released her fire and let the ape fall to the ground. Kai let out a breath of relief.


    He walked toward Ayaka and helped her up. He stretched his hand to her.


    "Are you okay?" He asked while looking at Ayaka''s state. Ayaka took the full brunt of the ape, so her injuries were more severe than his.


    But she was still acting strong. She tried her best to make a smile and said, "Of course. I''m fine."


    She took Kai''s hand, and Kai pulled her up. Ayaka couldn''t regain her bnce, so she almost fell, but Kai grabbed her and helped her stand.


    She looked at the lifeless ape a few meters in front of her and turned to Kai. "We¡­ really killed the ape, right? The A-rank white ape?"


    "Yes," Kai smiled at her and nodded.


    "Hihi¡­ We did it."


    "Yes, you''re right," Kai nodded again.


    Ayaka then tried to stand by herself. She wiped the blood on her mouth and asked. "How can that shield skill block that punch? If I''m not mistaken, it should also contain the same amount of power as the blow the ape had given me."


    "It''s my improved shield. Well, I took the concept of oscition to make that skill. It''s too long to exin, and it won''t benefit you either."


    "Hmph, I can look it up by myselfter," She snorted.


    Both of them smiled. Maybe it was because of this difficult battle, but their rtionship somehow got better.


    "You should rest first. I''ll sea- Oh sh*t." Before Kai could finish his words, he suddenly noticed that a magical beast wasing toward them at a very high speed. He turned to Ayaka and shouted.


    "Run!"


    "Roar!" But before they managed to do it, the ape suddenly appeared in front of them and threw its right fist toward Kai.


    "Oscition Shield." Kai immediately used his improved shield to block the fist, but he suddenly felt something wrong.


    Judging from the sound of the ape''s muscle, it was contracting crazily on its left hand.


    He immediately noticed that this fist was a fake, and the real attack wasing from its left hand. He saw its left hand move and immediately raised his Shield. Unfortunately, he could only make a single Oscition Shield. This second shield was only a normal shield.


    When the punch crashed onto his normal shield, the shield immediately shattered and the fist struck his abdomen.


    "Gah!" He spat blood as the ape blew him away.


    He crashed into another tree. Sadly, the ape didn''t stop there. It immediately shot out that weird light toward Kai. As Kai didn''t have a chance to react because of that strike, he was killed by that beam of light¡­ or so she thought.

 Chapter 18 - End

    "Boom!" The ape shot out a beam from its mouth, just like the previous ape, to Kai. It looked like the ape hit him.


    Ayaka couldn''t ascertain Kai''s condition as the smoke prevented her from doing so, but judging from their positions, he should''ve gotten hit by that explosion.


    Ayaka opened her mouth wide. She thought, ''Why is he the one getting hit? I should be the one getting hit. He''s always helping me again and again. If I were the one who got hit by the ape and if he were still alive, he would''ve had a way to kill this ape.''


    Blood inside her head started boiling again despite the numerous times Kai told her to calm down. She made a magic circle out of rage.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    She used that enormous explosion again on the ape.


    "Boom!"


    It was a direct hit to the ape. But because she was too close to the explosion. She got blown away by the shockwave made from it.


    She crashed into a tree again and spat some blood. She tried to look at the explosion.


    ''Did I get him?'' She couldn''t see it as the smoke was still rising.


    "Roar!"


    Suddenly, a thunderous roar filled the air. The ape blew the smoke away. One of the ape''s hands was charred ck while there were also a few ck spots on its body. It seemed that the ape sacrificed one of its arms to block the explosion.


    "Kh!" Ayaka gritted her teeth. She couldn''t move her body, and the ape was staring at her angrily.


    "Ding!" But before the ape could charge toward her, a high-pitched sound suddenly echoed from Kai''s position.


    Behind the smoke, Kai was using his Melody Resonance to produce this sound. But this time, he didn''t use it to affect their brainwaves, he just wanted to let all of them notice him.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!" Numerous roars were heard from the forest.


    Kai smiled as he leaned his back on the tree. His hand was broken when he used it to block the ape''s punch. But at thest second, he managed to use his improved shield to block that beam-like attack.


    The energy scraped away the power from the beam and its explosion. It destroyed his barrier but didn''t do any significant damage to him.


    But he was so lucky to be alive. Kai struggled to get on his feet when he heard lots of magical beasts starting to head their way.


    "Roar!" The ape roared at him.


    Kai only smiled at the ape and said, "Come."


    The ape then ran toward him. He threw a fist on Kai''s battered body.


    Kai gritted his teeth while enduring the pain. Because Ayaka had injured its entire left hand, the ape was forced to throw its right hand to attack Kai. But he used this as a chance to dodge its attack.


    He jumped toward the ape''s left hand. Because the ape couldn''t do a 360-degree turn after he attacked Kai''s with its right hand, Kai managed to avoid the worst.


    Kai immediately ran toward Ayaka. But suddenly, the ape roared and chased after him.


    "Kai!"


    "Ayaka, use your fire!"


    Ayaka''s eyes shed. She knew what he wanted to do. After finding that Kai was alive, she somehow got extra energy in her body. She tried to move her hand and raised it toward the ape. A magic circle appeared again.


    "Fire Net!"


    A fire akin to the previous one suddenly appeared once again between Kai and the ape. It blocked the ape from catching up with Kai.


    The fire started burning the ape.


    "Roar!" It screamed out of the pain.


    Kai immediately helped her. He pulled her out so she could stand. She managed to stand up, but she had to lean on a tree so she could continue using her fire.


    Kai suddenly put his noise-canceling headphones on Ayaka.


    "You?" Ayaka was confused by his action. But she suddenly realized that she couldn''t hear anything. This proved how strong Kai''s noise-canceling headphones were.


    Kai only opened one of her ears. He said, "Do you remember how I told you that I have a skill that will also hurt me when I used it? It''s time to use it. If we die just like this, our score will be low. Just lean back on this tree and watch."


    Kai smiled and put the headphones back. He made a Sound Instion Room around her and came outside the room. He only smiled at her, but this smile only made Ayaka even more worried.


    Kai suddenly made a huge green magic circle. He also made two small magic circles around his ears.


    "I really hate doing this." Kai sighed. He looked at the struggling ape that was trying to break Ayaka''s fire. He also heard the sound of monsters that wereing to this ce.


    (AN: dB or decibel is a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound.)


    "It was said that upational exposure to ultrasound in excess of 120 dB may lead to hearing loss, upational exposure to ultrasound in excess of 155 dB may produce heating effects that are harmful to the human body, and upational exposure to ultrasound in excess of 180 dB may lead to death.


    "Let''s raise the bar a little bit more, all right. 200 dB is enough to lead even magical beasts to death." Kai said.


    He had tested something like this with so many cautions. But the most important thing was that he tested it in a practical tube like this. He sometimes used his sister''s influence to use a practical tube so he could research his skills like this.


    This was thest card that he would use when fighting magical beasts. He had died countless times when was researching this skill just to understand how to make a skill that could produce a very ''loud'' sound.


    The biggest reason why this was his trump card was that he would most likely die if he were to use this.


    He might be able to use it inside the Sound Instion Room, but he didn''t know why, but when he used it inside the Sound Instion Room, it would break far easier than when he was outside. That was why he left the room and let Ayaka stay safely inside.


    Kai waited a little bit more so more and more magical beasts woulde to this ce.


    In a span of three seconds, he could see numerous magical beasts approaching him. If he didn''t use his magic at this point, he would die before he could use it.


    He immediately pped his hand and activated the magic circle.


    "Ultrasonic Assassin."


    "Ding!"


    A very loud noise suddenly echoed through the entire forest.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!" The beasts were roaring because of this sound, especially, the beasts that were close to Kai.


    They stopped moving and tried to cover their ears. This sound was killing them.


    But the one who took the most damage was Kai and the ape.


    When he activated his magic, his eardrums almost burst.


    The magic circle on his ears was a small Sound Instion Room that could protect him for a few seconds. But to kill these monsters, he needed more than those few seconds.


    One second...


    Two seconds...


    Three seconds...


    Until finally, at the fifth second, the magic circle on Kai''s ears broke. His eardrums immediately burst out, and blood spurted out of his ears.


    Blood starteding out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. When he spat some blood, he fell to his knees. It could be said that he already had organ failure because of this sound.


    But he gritted his teeth and maintained the magic.


    When Ayaka saw this, she didn''t know why, but a wrenching pain tore her heart. She wanted to help Kai at this moment, but her body refused to move.


    "Move! Why can''t you move at this time?" Ayaka couldn''t help but let out some tears from her eyes. Kai did this so they could win their bet with Katsuragi Takaki. She was the one who epted that bet without even consulting him.


    "Move!" She screamed, but even so, she couldn''t move her body.


    Kai was struggling as blood starteding out of his pores. He used his hand to support his body and maintained his magic. Even the Sound Instion Room he made for Ayaka had started cracking.


    Numerous magical beasts in his surroundings started dying one by one.


    In the twelfth seconds, Kai suddenly spat blood and fell to the ground lifelessly. He died.


    His magic circle and Sound Instion Room started to disappear. Ayaka knew that Kai finally died. She gritted her teeth and continued to struggle. She saw that the ape hadn''t died yet. She needed to at least give that ape thest blow.


    The magical beasts that hadn''t died yet started to get up. They wanted to ram and kill the dead Kai and Ayaka.


    After her continuous struggle, she finally managed to raise her hand. She used her skill toward the ape again. She looked at the ape that was bleeding all over its body.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!"


    The ape took another hit from Ayaka''s explosion.


    "Roar!" The ape was still roaring, but its roar was beginning to show signs of weakening.


    "Just die already!" She shouted desperately. She couldn''t use her magic again at this point.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!"


    Out of nowhere, she got hit by a rhinoceros from the side, thus killing her.


    Ayaka and Kai finally came back to reality.


    They were startled as they looked at each other, but they soon turned their heads to the screen. The screen disyed how many monsters they killed during their stay inside.


    S - 0


    A - 1


    B - 4


    C - 36


    D - 98


    E - 156


    F - 237


    "..." Kai was speechless. He muttered, "So, after that much effort, we still couldn''t kill the ape?"


    Ayaka remembered how she had hit the ape with another explosion. She flushed red, and she said while looking away. "The ape was too tenacious."


    She then turned to Kai again, and Kai also looked into her eyes. They chuckled.


    "Haha... So it was still no use, huh..." Kaiughed while leaning against the wall of the tube.

 Chapter 19 - Score

    "Haha... So it was still no use, huh..."


    Although he was frustrated by the result, Kai was stillughing. They truly did their best for that. It was only due to their miscalction that they were ambushed by an A-rank magical beast.


    Ayaka looked at Kai''sughing face and involuntarily smiled. Kai was indeed the silent type, but it was because he tended to avoid unnecessary conversation.


    If he had to, he would say everything. At first, she wanted to show Kai her real strength, but he once again defeated her. She didn''t understand why, but after they experienced that practice world, losing to him like this didn''t feel that bad.


    When she thought of that, she suddenly remembered the scene where Kai called her with her first name, and so did she. Her face slowly turned to red, and her heartbeat began to race.


    Kai noticed the sudden change in her heartbeat. He saw her red face and asked, "What happened?"


    "No," she looked away.


    Kai tilted his head in confusion, "But your face is red."


    "It''s only your imagination. There''s no way I''m thinking of how you called me with Ayaka or how I called you Kai." Ayaka said as her face became redder.


    "Ah, I''m sorry I called you that. Since calling you politely would have only made the situation awkward and dyed themand, I called you that way. I apologize, you must be ashamed to have me call you that way," Kai apologized to her with a sincere tone.


    "No, no. What you just said is right. I think it''d be better for you to call me Ayaka from now on. And I''ll call you Kai," Ayaka said, flustered.


    "..." Kai couldn''t understand her, but he agreed to it since it would be more convenient that way. There was no other thought.


    Ayaka looked at Kai. The government might regret their decision by grading Kai as a D-rank magician.


    The government only tested their magic power and element for the evaluation and not their potential. She somehow could picture what her grandfather said about Kai being an unorthodox magician. Although it might not be now, it would happen sooner orter. After all, Kai was still growing.


    "Since we''re done with this, let''s go out," Ayaka said.


    Kai nodded his head and put his noise-canceling headphones back. He opened the tube and saw the principal, Shirotsuka Sanae, as well as two other people in front of their tube.


    He and Ayaka were startled. Ayaka aside, Kai didn''t even hear them. They had been waiting for them before Kai and Ayaka died in that world, so it was normal for Kai not to hear them.


    But it was different for those people. They had been waiting for quite a while to check their condition. When they saw that the tube was turned off, they knew Ayaka and Kai had died in that world.


    They gulped down as they didn''t know what kind of reaction they would have. They were scared that Ayaka and Kai would have developed a trauma after this.


    "Principal? And Teacher?" Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Shirotsuka Sanae aside, She didn''t understand why all of these people stood in front of their tube.


    "You two are fine¡­ right?" the principal asked.


    "What do you mean, Principal?" Ayaka asked back. She didn''t know why the principal would ask this question.


    "That world must have scared you, right?"


    "Scared us?" Ayaka frowned. She shook her head. "The world was really challenging. I learned so much from that world, to say the least. I never thought that the outside world was that dangerous. I need to get stronger and use my magic better to challenge it again."


    Ayaka only told the truth from her experience. The world sure was dangerous, because when they just teleported, they were already surrounded by magical beasts. If Kai hadn''t been there with her, she didn''t know how long she would be able tost in that situation.


    If Kai hadn''t been there with her, she would have gone around killing those magical beasts without care, and she would then be surrounded by them and die.


    She realized that she was too reliant on Kai, so she decided to get stronger. The world didn''t scare her. Instead, it encouraged her to get stronger.


    The principal was startled when he heard that. He looked at the determination in her eyes and finally rxed. Ayaka seemed to not have been affected by the world. He then looked at Kai Carter. Kai didn''t have any expression on his face, and he only found confusion in his eyes.


    But from the looks of it, he seemed to not have been affected by that world. It was a great relief to know. The principal wiped the sweat on his forehead and said, "I see. It''s good then."


    "What''s this all about, Teacher?" Kai then turned to Sanae and asked.


    "Ahem, I''ll exin it to you. Since both of you have finished it, we can go to my office so I can tell you about it," the principal replied hurriedly without giving Shirotsuka Sanae a chance to say anything. "Let''s go."


    But before they went to the principal office, Ayaka didn''t forget to ask Shirotsuka Sanae for their result. It was very important to them, since they had a bet with Katsuragi Takaki.


    "Teacher, what''s our result?"


    "Ah, your result¡­" Shirotsuke Sanae was startled. A surprised look, which was very rare to appear on her face, could clearly be seen there. She looked at the principal first.


    The principal contemted a bit before nodding his head. Because he was too worried about them, he had forgotten about this. When he looked at the screen that disyed the number of monsters they killed inside, he dropped his jaw to the ground.


    S ¨C 0


    A ¨C 1


    B ¨C 4


    C ¨C 36


    D ¨C 98


    E ¨C 156


    F ¨C 237


    Even the others, including Shirotsuka Sanae, got startled by the result. They even killed an A-rank beast. Normally, the students would get shocked by an A-rank beast that could also use magic.


    Even students who were A-rank magicians would be shocked by those monsters. Even though they had the same rank, the A-rank students were like a newborn baby in front of a grown adult. That rank only indicated their potential.


    They needed to experience battling the magical beasts, using magic, and so on to be a full-fledged A-rank magician. Then, they would be able to win even against a few A-rank magical beasts.


    That was why they got shocked by their result.


    As a teacher, Shirotsuka Sanae knew their ranks. Ayaka was an A-rank magician and Kai Carter was only a D-rank magician. So it was very obvious that Kai took advantage of Ayaka. But no matter how strong Ayaka was, she would never be able to kill this many magical beasts, considering the time it took them.


    "How do you kill so many magical beasts so quickly?" Shirotsuka Sanae asked.


    "It was Ka-" Ayaka wanted to tell her, but Kai suddenly spoke up. "I baited the magical beasts and she killed them all. Since she had powerful magic, I chose to be the bait."


    "You-!" Ayaka was suddenly shocked by what he said. It was not true in the slightest. Kai was the one who killed those magical beasts, while she could only watch as he did that.


    Shirotsuka Sanae frowned a bit because she felt something wrong, but she decided not to care about it any longer. She took a deep breath before announcing their result without giving a chance for Ayaka to correct Kai''s statement.


    "You two are the first ones to finish this task. You used one hour in the process. And you can look at this paper to know how we score you." Shirotsuka Sanae exined in her style. She gave them a paper.


    F Rank ¨C 1 point


    E Rank ¨C 2 points


    D rank ¨C 4 points


    C Rank ¨C 8 points


    B Rank ¨C 20 points


    A Rank ¨C 100 points


    S Rank ¨C 1000 points


    Survival (6 hours) ¨C 100 points


    "Your total points are 1,409 points." Shirotsuka Sanae announced their score. Sadly, no one other than the two knew that the points they got were from Kai''s suicidal skill.


    "Congrattions to both of you. No one has managed to get this many points in their first time except Tasha Carter, who got 1,561 points in her first try. But I can proudly say that your group surpassed her." The principal congratted them. "I''ll exin what I mean in my office."


    After that, the principal turned to Shirotsuka Sanae and said, "Teacher Shirotsuka, since they''ve finished this ss, I''ll be borrowing these two students."


    Sanae only nodded her head.


    When they left the gym, she then looked toward the screen.


    "A shrewd student. But just one person''s ability won''t be able to fight all those magical beasts in the outside world," she said with a trace of reminiscence in her voice.


    She shook her head.


    After around half an hour, the tubes of the students started opening as they had died. She graded them one by one.


    There was a special time limit for this ss, which was six hours. After those six hours, the difficulty would be harder, and they would be forced to exhaust their everything and die. And surprisingly, there were a few groups that managed to pass the time limit, including George''s group and Katsuragi Takaki''s group.


    When Katsuragi Takaki opened the tube, he immediately searched for Ayaka''s group, but found out that the tube had been opened and seemed to have been open for quite a long time. In other words, they didn''t manage to stay long enough to get the survival points. He became confident he had beaten them in this, but when he asked Sanae his group score...


    "Your total points are 943."


    "Teacher, how about Ayaka''s group?" Takaki asked.


    "We must''ve gotten a higher score than them. Just look at their tube, they must''vee out long before us. That means that they died early." Wada Miyako, Katsuragi Takaki''s partner, said.


    "No, they got 1,409 points. They passed the thousand barrier mark." Sanae said casually.


    Katsuragi Takaki and Wada Miyako dropped their jaws.

 Chapter 20 - Explanation

    "No, they got 1,409 points. You two only barely got half of their score." Sanae said casually.


    Katsuragi Takaki and Wada Miyako dropped their jaws.


    "Teacher, you must be mistaken. There''s no way they scored higher than us. Just look at our screen," Katsuragi Takaki said while pointing at his screen.


    S ¨C 0


    A ¨C 0


    B ¨C 1


    C ¨C 7


    D ¨C 51


    E ¨C 103


    F ¨C 257


    "I saw it and calcted your score the same way I calcted theirs. You two got 843 points from eliminating the magical beasts and another 100 points from surviving," Shirotsuka Sanae indifferently exined.


    There was a hidden meaning behind her exnation. If Ayaka and Kai died, that meant they didn''t get that massive surviving points. In other words, they got that score only by killing magical beasts.


    Katsuragi Takaki gritted his teeth.


    "There''s no way they can do that. I need to see how many monsters they killed!" He said with a bit of rage in his tone, demanding Shirotsuka Sanae to disclose their information.


    But what he never expected was that Shirotsuka Sanae would suddenly release her killing intent. Wada Miyako immediately got scared by that intense killing intense, and even Katsuragi Takaki got startled by it.


    "I''m sure you two have read the rules. I can disclose their score, but not their information. If you don''t believe me, you can ask them yourselves. I don''t care if you''re a Katsuragi, just remember that you are in my ss. As long as you are in my ss, you need to follow the school rules strictly." She said with a cold tone.


    "You-!" Katsuragi Takaki wanted to burst out, but Shirotsuka Sanae ignored him and left to score the others. He gritted his teeth.


    He remembered. After that six hours, magical beasts started appearing one by one. They were forced to fight them continuously and exhausted their energy. After killing as many as they could, they died under the swarm. It was at that moment that they managed to boost their points significantly.


    But Ayaka and Kai shouldn''t have experienced something like that because they died before it could happen. That was the reason why he couldn''t believe Ayaka and Kai surpassed his group.


    "It must be her! Ayaka was the one who did all of this. There''s no way a D-rank like him can do something like that. He just took advantage of her power and got all the glory." He said while gnashing his teeth and left the gym in rage.


    Wada Miyako was utterly forgotten by him. After all, Katsuragi Takaki only paired up with her since she was one of the strongest in the ss.


    ¡­


    Ayaka and Kai weren''t aware of this at all, as they got ''dragged'' by the principal to his office with two other people.


    On the way, Ayaka asked Kai, "Why did you say it was me? It''s obviously your achievement."


    "I just took advantage of your identity," Kai shrugged his shoulder.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Nothing. Since you''re strong, then let others see you as the strong one. I''m only a D-rank and a sound magician, to boot. If they heard that I killed all of those monsters, would they believe me? They''ll only doubt me." Kai said casually.


    "But, that still can''t be a reason to not say it," Ayaka replied.


    "Well, If I don''t stand out, I''ll be able to have more time to research my magic. And it''s enough for my sister to get all the exposure. If I start getting it too, it would be dangerous for our family. Unlike your huge Kudo Group, my family is only a small family. We don''t have the strength to protect ourselves.


    "Me and my sister aside, what if they decide to target my parents? That''s why I''m taking advantage of your status to avoid that. So, I''m going to thank you in advance for all the problems it might bring," Kai exined.


    "What?" Ayaka was startled when she heard Kai''s reasoning. She never thought Kai had thought that much ahead. She was wondering if he was being really careful or just being paranoid¡­ No, it might be because of his carefulness that he couldy low so long without anyone noticing him.


    ''Maybe what he told me is right? He''s relying (taking advantage) on me so he can protect his family?'' she thought. She also wanted to get stronger to protect her family, and hearing Kai selflessly deny everything that can prove his strength and make people recognize him to achieve that, she felt that they were alike.


    ''He must be the same as me,'' she involuntarily nodded her head. She said righteously, "Since you''re going that far to protect your family, I''ll let you rely on my status. But you need to pay me back."


    "Pay you back?" Kai looked at her in confusion.


    "You need to be my partner in every practice ss," she said.


    Kai looked at her with even more confusion. Kai said, "But this pairing up thing is fixed for a year. It was exined in the rule book when you partner up with someone. You will partner up with him or her until you advance a grade. In other words, for at least a year."


    "Eh?" she froze.


    "Did you not read the book?"


    She suddenly recalled that something like that was exined in the rule book that she received when she entered the school. She hadpletely forgotten about that.


    She looked away with a flushed face. She said with her eyes averted, "I think I read it somewhere¡­"


    "¡­" Kai was speechless. He thought she asked him to partner up because she already knew the rule. But it turned out that it was otherwise. He prayed for her recklessness not to rub off on him.


    "We have arrived at my off-!" They had arrived at the principal''s office, so the principal opened the door and told them toe in. But he couldn''t finish his words when he saw Ayaka freeze like a statue, while Kai was still normally following him.


    He didn''t know why Ayaka suddenly became like that. He only coughed and said, "Ahem, let''se into my office so we can talk."


    Kai looked at Ayaka, who slowly walked toward the room awkwardly. She was too embarrassed.


    "Please sit," the principal said while pointing at a nearby sofa.


    Kai and Ayaka sat on one sofa and the other pair sat on the other one. Finally, the principal sat in front of them.


    "Ahem. Let me introduce you two these two first. These two are a pair that I invited to test a new programmed world that our school designed. They are Adryan Stuart and Nagase Kirika," the principal introduced.


    "Ah! You mean the famous couple, that Adryan Stuart and Nagase Kirika?" Ayaka was surprised. She was too focused on Kai this entire time that she didn''t have time to observe the pair that came with the principal. Because of thet, she didn''t realize that it was them this whole time.


    "Nice to meet you," Adryan and Kirika said at the same time.


    "It''s my pleasure to meet such a famous couple," Ayaka said. Kai only nodded his head.


    "I invite them to the new programmed world that resembles the outside world. The ce we set was on the foot of Taal Volcano, Philippines. If you manage toe out of the forest, you''ll realize that you''re surrounded by ake.


    "The objective of this world is to set up a huge base around that ce and start clearing the area around it with theke as the bridge that separates your base and the magical beasts.


    "Actually, we''re nning to imnt this as the graduation exam for the entire grade. We''ll send the entire ss there with that as the objective. After all, humanity''s main goal is to eliminate the magical beasts and repopte the Earth.


    "We want our graduates to be elites amongst elites with this new exam. But because of my mistake, you two experienced that brutal world."


    "What do you mean brutal world, Principal? I mean, if I''m not mistaken, our country already made a small base there." Ayaka voiced.


    "Just like I said, the ce is set on the foot of Taal Volcano in the Philippines. We made that world with the actual data, including the monsters around that ce. So, the magical beasts you met in that world and their number is close to the actual ce before we made a small base in that ce."


    Ayaka was surprised. "Is the world that dangerous?"


    "I think you need to ask your grandfather or your parents for that. I can''t disclose this one. But because of my carelessness, both of you experienced that dangerous world.


    "Our original n was for the students to slowly get used to it starting from an easy ce to a dangerous one like that. But you two¡­ Haiz, for that, I truly apologize," the principal stood up and bowed his head.


    Ayaka and Kai were surprised. They didn''t know about the full concept of the education system in this school. They only knew that they needed to kill magical beasts in the practical ss, but they never knew about the backstory.


    Because of this incident, the principal had no choice other than exining it to them. He said, "And please keep this a secret from other students."


    Ayaka and Kai understood him. It was indeed not a good thing for them to bber about something like this. They looked at each other and nodded their heads.


    Ayaka thought about asking her grandfather about the outside world. Her grandfather often told her stories about his experience in the outside world, but she never expected it was that dangerous.


    What she got from this was not a trauma. In fact, it motivated her to get stronger and stronger. She clenched her fist.


    They talked for a little longer before the principal sent them off. The principal wanted to give them a weapon to apologize, but they rejected it. It was normal since Ayaka was a Kudo''s heiress and Kai already got his weapon from her.


    Before they left, the principal suddenly said something that confused them. "You can ask Teacher Shirotsuka Sanae if you have any questions about the outside world. Her personality aside, she is indeed an elite amongst elites.

 Chapter 21 - Magic

    Kai took this experience seriously as it would prove to be beneficial for him. After all, this was the first time he experienced something close to the real world.


    With just one misstep, they got chased by a pack of wolves while being surrounded from all directions. Ayaka couldn''t kill them as it might rm the other magical beasts nearby. So, the only choice for them was to run toward the cliff so they could have a terrain advantage.


    But because of one moment of carelessness, the ape tried to ambush Ayaka, which he then blocked for her. Unfortunately, because of that, it proved to be fatal as they were ambushed once again.


    He was considering various things from that experience. And there was one thing that he thought about seriously. He was thinking about locating the magical beasts more urately. Not only their location, but also their forms and power. And there was one good example of that.


    But Kai also considered it from another point of view, since there would be times where he would not have a skill of that convenience.


    Maybe they should have stopped and fought the wolves instead of running away. He could set up a Sound Instion Room to fight the wolves. But a pack of wolves would usually be organized, and if they fought without any n, it would be hard to kill them immediately.


    Kai was trying toe up with more ns. Since he had finished his ss, he could go home and think about this the entire day.


    On the other hand, Ayaka was also devastated by the defeat. She was unsatisfied with her performance. It was indeed true that she was a good teammate at first, but when they fought the ape, she couldn''t do anything, and that frustrated her.


    She told him she was going to show him her skills. But eventually, it was only at a low-level battle. Meanwhile, at the high-level battle like the one against those apes, she could only do what Kai ordered her to do.


    When her butler picked her up, he was puzzled by her state. She kept mumbling things like ''I could have done this,'' or ''I could have done that.''


    And finally, when she came home, she even forgot to greet her grandfather and immediately went to her room. As soon as she reached her room, she turned one the huge television in her room. Its use was like a tablet, but it was as big as a 30-inch television.


    She usually used this to learn. She immediately researched her element, fire.


    "Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical ofbustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products." She read the definition of ''fire'' while mumbling, "Combustion¡­"


    "My Fire Wing seems to use this method. It uses a small firebustion to let me fly upward, sideways, and downward."


    She found a video where a person tried to make a fire tornado. It was an experiment of fire with two ss half-cylinders.


    When that person lit a fire inside a normal cylinder, it only became a normal fire where it burned the fuel normally. But when that person slightly offset the two ss half-cylinders, the fire suddenly rose and spun. The normal fire suddenly became a fire whirl.


    She was mesmerized by that experiment. Not long after that, she realized that it was pretty simr to her res. She thought for a little bit, and her eyes suddenly brightened. Her res took the concept of this experiment.


    The magic circle acted as those two half-cylinders along with her magic power to amplify her fire. That made the magic. She was surprised, since she never thought of this possibility before she heard Kai''s exnation.


    She only used the magic book that her grandfather gave her. And she realized that all of those skills inside that book werepiled so others could learn it easily.


    That book only made her a magic user or a magic thrower, but not a magician. She didn''t know why, but Kai was a true magician. He thought about the principle himself and made skills based on it. He came up with an original way of using magic.


    Without notice, her grandfather came into her room.


    "Hoho, what are you doing in such a rush that you even forgot about me."


    Ayaka suddenly remembered that she didn''t greet her grandfather like she usually did. She was too focused on this. She became a bit embarrassed.


    "I¡­ I''m sorry. I was a bit too focused on this..." she said with a red face.


    "Oh, what could make you so focused that you forgot?" He looked at the screen and saw the experiment of fire with two ss half-cylinders. He was surprised to see that and asked her, "You mean this video?"


    "Yeah. I just realized that magic alsoes from something like this. This is actually the principle of my res magic¡­ I think¡­ And my Fire Wings skill uses the principle ofbustion."


    "Oh, why are you suddenly thinking about this?" he asked. He was pretty surprised to hear something like this from her, as she had never shown any interest before.


    He remembered. Back then, Ayaka asked him for a magic book so she could get stronger. He gave her the magic book that she wanted and let her practice the skills in that book. He watched her grow up from there and was pretty satisfied with her progress.


    But eventually, he also knew that it was only a magic book. And inside that book were skills that came from other people. And those people usually made skills because they wanted to use it to their own liking. And he himself also had a few skills that he originally made for his own purposes.


    So even if Ayaka learned from there, she might not be able to use those skills to their full potential. He wanted to tell her about this after she got into a high school, since he also realized it when he was in high school.


    He thought she would eventually realize that with time and experience. But surprisingly, she already had this kind of thought just a week after she enrolled. He became curious as to why she suddenly became like this, so he asked that question.


    "I¡­ I just realized how much I''m relying on the easy way. And after watching him, I realized that he makes his own skills so he can use it more efficiently." She said while recalling how Kai used his magic.


    "Oh¡­" He frowned. He didn''t know why, but Kai''s figure shed inside his mind. He suddenly said with a teasing tone, "Is it that Kai Charter?"


    "Yes," Ayaka nodded innocently. She didn''t realize that her grandfather was trying to tease her.


    He remembered that she had a practical ss today. "So was he your partner for the practical ss?"


    "Un," Ayaka nodded again.


    "What kind of skills did he use?" He probed.


    Ayaka pondered for a moment. "He can make a barrier that can prevent sounds from traveling to the outside. I think he called it ''Sound Instion Room''. And I don''t know about this, but I think he also used an improved barrier skill."


    "Oh, an improved barrier?" He became a bit interested after hearing it.


    "Yes. I don''t know how, but he managed to block a full blow of a giant A-rank Red Ape," She voiced.


    "That sounds pretty good. At the very least, I might not be so confident in blocking that, since they''re well known for their explosive power," He told her.


    "And thest one¡­ I don''t know what it is, but it seems to produce a deafening sound. It''s like a double-edged sword. After using that skill, he suddenly bled from all orifices, and his body looked very brittle, as though it might break at any moment. But with that skill, he also killed quite a number of magical beasts," she exined.


    "Uh¡­ I can''t lose to him. That''s why I also need to research the skills that I can use as convenient as his magic. Well, he said that I might need to get a skill that can help with my movement, so I think I''ll start with that."


    Kudo Tarou was astonished to hear that. Although he already expected original skills from an unorthodox magician like him, it was beyond his imagination that he was that strong for a high-school student.


    A storm might brew soon in United Asia. And somehow, he could picture it.


    "Well, if you have any questions, you can ask your parents or me. What you''re about to do is the first step to be a full-fledged magician. All full-fledged magicians have at least one original magic. So do your best."


    "Yes, Grandfather. I''ll do my best."


    "But. Anyway, you seem pretty happy when you were talking about thatd, Kai Carter. It seems that the special fate of this family hase without you knowing it," he said, trying to tease her again.


    When he said that, she suddenly froze. She realized that throughout today, she kept thinking about Kai doing this and that.


    She was dumbfounded the moment she realized that. She looked at her grandfather with his smug face and blushed. "I¡­ No, I don''t like him that way. He is indeed a good friend and arade¡­ that''s right, he''s just arade. It''s nice to have him around when you''re fighting monsters. Only as arade, all right."


    She denied him, but she unconsciously praised Kai once again.


    Her grandfather only looked at her with a smug smile. He didn''t care whether Ayaka chose Kai or that Katsuragi brat. But considering that Kai was an unorthodox magician, it might be better if she fell in love with Kai.


    He then started walking away and said, "Hoho, this old man will just watch from the sideline and wait for the good news."


    "Grandfather!"

 Chapter 22 - Training

    The next Monday, they finally came back to school. Shirotsuka Sanae was exining about the roles. She chose to do this because it would be better for them to experience it themselves first before she exined it.


    After all, without knowing how it works in real life, it would be hard for them to picture it in their heads with her exnation.


    "When you''re in the outside world, you''ll usually go with a group of five. Each of you will have a role in the group: Vanguard, scout, support, and attackers.


    "As a vanguard, do not think about taking the magical beasts'' attacks alone. You can dodge the magical beasts'' attacks, and you shouldn''t spend much energy when fighting a magical beast. And if possible, you should also attack the magical beasts.


    "As for scouts, although your main responsibility is to search for magical beasts nearby, there are two other jobs for you to do. Firstly, you need to scout for other monsters nearby. After all, if your group were to attract another group of magical beasts to your position, things may turn to the worst.


    "So you need to keep track of your position, your team, and other magical beasts. The other thing you need to do is make an ambush toward the magical beasts that your group is currently fighting. You should not let your position get found out easily.


    "As for supports¡­ I don''t have much to say. You should know that as a support, you need to support your entire team. You are the one who needs to have the perfect timing the most. Helping the vanguard in dealing with the magical beasts'' attacks and assisting your team''s attackers so the magical beasts wouldn''t be able to block their attacks are a few examples of your duties.


    "Andstly, attackers¡­ All you need to do is to attack. Make sure you kill the magical beasts as soon as possible. And if possible, you shouldn''t make a big move from the very beginning, as it might give away your group position and attract the magical beasts," Shirotsuka Sanae exined.


    Everyone was taking notes. With all these categories, Ayaka nced at Kai. He had performed everything, from vanguard, scout, to attacker. She then tried to recall how she fought, and it turned out that she only performed the role of attacker and support. Even her support role was only because of Kai''s orders.


    She began to contemte. She was thinking, if she were to take that role, how would she do it? She might be able to pass with flying colors as an attacker, but for the other roles, she realized that she was prettycking.


    She could fly if she had to scout the area, but she would most likely get spotted by the magical beasts since she pretty much had to be in the open when she did that.


    She could act as a vanguard with her fire armor, but it was also pretty hard for her to do that. Fortunately, she might be able to be a support as she would only need to practice her timing.


    Shirotsuka Sanae nced at Kai when she was exining all of this. Kai was an enigma. She couldn''t understand him nor his actions. But she had a nostalgic feeling when she looked at him. She didn''t know why, but this guy had a deep secret.


    The ss continued that way, and obviously, Katsuragi Takaki was ncing toward Ayaka and Kai from time to time. Kai didn''t pay any attention to him.


    A few more days of the theoretical ss passed, and they once again arrived at the end of Thursday. They knew they would have a practical ss once again.


    "For tomorrow''s practical ss, we''re not going to kill monsters again," Sanae told.


    Everyone was astonished to hear that. They thought they were going to challenge those monsters again, and the students were pretty eager for theirebacks.


    "For tomorrow, we''ll stille to the gym. But instead of using the practice tubes, we''ll train your physical bodies. Your bodies aren''t developed yet, and when you fight in the outside world, you''ll fight with your real bodies.


    "Even if your minds are capable of killing the magical beasts, it would be a shame if your bodies can''t keep up with you. So you will all train your bodies tomorrow. And we will do this every month. So every month, you will use practical tubes, then the second week, you will train your bodies. And the third week, you will use the practical tubes, while you will experience the outside world in the fourth week."


    And finally, when Friday came, the youths also bloomed. Inside the gym, the women were wearing bloomers, which became a very pleasing sight for the guys.


    Shirotsuka Sanae immediately exined it again, "Today, you''ll partner up with your previous partner again. Although you won''t need a group for today, it might be better to deepen your rtionships with your partners since they''ll be your partner for a year. All right, start with stretching. Ask your partner to help you with stretching."


    When Katsuragi Takaki heard that, he couldn''t believe it. He thought that he would be able to have some time together with Ayaka. Unfortunately, he wouldn''t be able to get it because she would be too upied with Kai.


    Kai helped her do her warm-ups. Seeing the two perfect peaks under the pure white ''snow'' and the bloomers that enhanced her attractiveness by several levels, Kai only looked at her with a casual face.


    And she also helped him do his warm-ups. There were too many ''skinship'' in these warm-ups, making Ayaka''s face flush red.


    Well, he wasn''t a perverted guy who wanted to experience that kind of ''blessing'', nor was he someone like Katsuragi Takaki, who was obsessed with her.


    Kai treated her like a friend¡­ maybe a closer one after that experience inside the practice tube.


    "This will be our menu for today," Shirotsuka Sanae said while manipting the wind with her magic. She used her wind magic to make a banner float in mid-air.


    100-kilometer run


    500 push-ups


    500 sit-ups


    500 pull-ups


    5-kilometer run (With weight and without magic)


    2 hours of continuous usage of magic


    When everyone saw that, they were dumbfounded. They were wondering if this teacher wanted to kill them.


    Looking at their dumbfounded looks, Sanae immediately exined. "You can use your magic power to help you with the runs, so I''m sure you''ll be able to finish it within two or three hours. The time limit is four hours. You can rest if you manage to do it before the time limit is up.


    "And those push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups will finish before you know it. After that, you''ll run with a weight and without the support of your magic power. So, in this course, you need to rely on your physical abilities. Don''t worry, I''ll be lenient and let you off with twenty kilograms of weight.


    "Back in my days, we needed to run with a fifty-kilogram weight. Since all of your bodies have yet to develop, I''ll let you off with twenty kilograms. You should normally be able to finish this in one hour.


    "Andstly, you''ll need to use your magic for two consecutive hours. Don''t worry, this training menu was made considering your ages and bodies. This isn''t torture, but training to let you develop your ability.


    "If you manage to do it every month¡­ I won''t give you a spoiler, so you can work hard to anticipate the result."


    They facepalmed when they heard about the result. They cursed the teacher because of her exnation.


    Ayaka looked at Kai and asked, "Should wepe-"


    But before she finished her words, she suddenly remembered what she had promised to herself. She quickly corrected herself, "I mean, should we finish it together? It might improve our teamwork for next week."


    Kai thought for a bit and nodded his head.


    But suddenly, Katsuragi Takaki came once again. "Well, how about wepete in this ss?"


    He thought Ayaka woulde once again and epted it. With that, he would have a chance to have some time with Ayaka. Unfortunately, his expectation was betrayed.


    After experiencing that harsh world, Ayaka had matured a bit. She didn''t reply like how she did a week ago. Instead, she replied, "Competing is good, but too muchpetition is bad. The purpose of this ss is for us to train our bodies, not topete."


    He was shocked by Ayaka''s reply. He immediately tried toe up with a reason, "But a littlepetition like this might improve our motivation."


    "Our motivation is good enough. If we''re too eager to see who''ll win or lose, we might end up doing too much and it will affect the result of the training. This training menu must have been made after a lot of considerations, so it wouldn''t be good to do more," Ayaka replied.


    "Wha-!" He couldn''t believe what he heard. Ayaka kept denying his ims. He gritted his teeth while looking at Kai hatefully.


    He wanted to taunt him, but he knew that it was a bad idea for him to do that. After all, it might affect Tasha Carter''s impression of him.


    He went away with rage. He didn''t show it on his face, though. Shirotsuka Sanae nced at Kai before looking at everyone, and announced out loud, "All right. We are starting now. First, a 100-kilometer run. You only need to run around the school for twenty times ande back to this ce. Now, GO!"


    With that signal, the ss started running outside the gym. Ayaka looked at Kai and said, "Let''s go."


    Kai nodded, and both of them started running together.

 Chapter 23 - Another Problem?

    Kai and Ayaka started running. It was a pretty normal run until Kai felt something wrong. He was someone who didn''t want to have much exposure, and that trained his skills to feel others'' gazes on him. And at this time, he felt as though someone was watching him.


    Kai suddenly took his headphones off.


    "Kai?" Ayaka was confused by his action. It was abnormal to have Kai remove his headphones. She didn''t know why, but she also felt something wrong when Kai took his headphones off.


    Kai didn''t answer her as he tried to focus on listening to his surroundings while running. And not long after, he suddenly picked up something.


    "I see. So that is the guy I need to cripple. He doesn''t seem like it, but he surely feels dangerous. I can''t act now since the girl beside him is the Kudo Group''s princess. I''ll blow up his leg with this sniper after he finishes school," A guy on top of a huge tower said while using his binocrs to observe Kai and Ayaka.


    Beside him was a huge sniper rifle powered by magic power. It also had a suppressor. It was a well-known weapon for assassination.


    Kai immediately frowned when he heard that. Of course, he didn''t notice the sniper rifle as the weapon didn''t make a sound.


    "Kai? For you to frown like this, did something happen?" Ayaka asked worriedly.


    Kai shook his head. It seemed that this guy wasn''t going to do something when Kai waspleting the task from Shirotsuka Sanae. So until school was over, he would be fine. But he wouldn''t put his headphones back.


    "It''s fine," Kai assured her while contemting. He had no idea as to who wanted to cripple him. He was thinking about calling his sister, Tasha Carter, for help. He would request her to take him to that building with her space magic.


    He was sure that Tasha would immediately be enraged if she heard this. But for safety reasons, he would still need her help. So, he was thinking about how to calm her downter.


    Ayaka was looking at him with a worried expression this entire time. Looking at him, she knew there must be something wrong. After all, Kai didn''t put his headphones back on.


    They continued running with their magic power. Kai and Ayaka were running at 40 km/h. As a magician, they could run faster than that, but it still wouldn''t exceed 60 km/h. But that alone made them pretty powerfulpared to normal people.


    They chose not to run that fast because they wanted to conserve energy. And around two hourster, they finally finished their long run. Some students finished earlier, but they were tired as hell.


    They thought they could rest longer if they finished as soon as possible. But it was actually a bad idea, as they became like this after they finished. They were not sure whether they could fully recover before the time limit.


    On the other hand, Kai and Ayaka just used their optimal speed to conserve their energy. When they arrived, Ayaka pulled him to the side.


    "Kai, tell me honestly. There''s something wrong, isn''t there?" Ayaka asked.


    "It''s fine. You don''t need to worry about it." Kai tried to assure her, but to no avail. Ayaka kept pressing him, and eventually, he sighed.


    "There''s a guy that seems to want to blow up my legs. I don''t know who he is and why he wants to do this," Kai finally told her.


    Ayaka was startled when she heard that. She never expected something like this as she asked, "Why? Do you have someone who wants your life or something?"


    "Well, he just wants to cripple me, and not take my life. I don''t know what he''s nning, but I''m going to find out," Kai said.


    "I''ll ask my grandfather for help," Ayaka said. At first, she wanted to help him, but she knew that if there were to be even a single misstep, their lives would be in danger. She wasn''t foolish enough to let Kai or herself die, even if it meant that she needed to rely on her grandfather. After all, it was more logical to ask for help in this situation.


    But it was different for Kai. He didn''t want to receive help from that geezer. Not because he was a fool, but because he couldn''t afford to owe him a favor. After all, he knew Kai was Tasha Carter''s younger brother. That alone made him think twice before owing someone a favor.


    After all, they might use it for something unexpected. Of course, they could also ignore it, but if they did, they might also be targeted by those people. After all, with such a reputation, they would only get scorn from other people.


    So, the best solution to this problem was to ask his sister for help. She could teleport them to that person and ambush him.


    "But-!" Ayaka wanted to protest, but to no avail. She thought about calling her grandfather in secret, but she was afraid that Kai would hate her for that. After all, no matter what secret conversation they would have, Kai would be able to hear it since he took off his headphones.


    She shook her head helplessly. She chose to believe in him. "Fine. I''ll believe in you. But you can''t get injured, all right? After all, we''re part¡­ partners," Ayaka voiced, blushing when she said the word ''partner''. She didn''t know why, but it felt weird when she said that.


    "Thanks." Kai nodded his head.


    And finally, the time limit for the run had ended. They would need to do some more exercise. First, push-ups¡­ The guys in the ss started looking right and left, trying to behold a ''glorious'' sight.


    When they moved to the sit-ups, the guys who had a female partner looked at them with perverted eyes. After all, it came up and down right in front of them as they needed to hold their legs to help them.


    When Ayaka looked at them, especially their perverted eyes, she twitched her eyebrows. She looked at Kai, whose eyes didn''t have any trace of perverted thoughts. She also twitched her eyebrows at this.


    She didn''t know if she should be happy or not about Kai not having perverted thoughts on her. She was wondering if she didn''t have a good figure or wasn''t beautiful enough. But with her 82-58-79 body, she thought it wasn''t that bad.


    She somewhat hurt when Kai treated her like this. Even when she was helping him stretch, there was a lot of ''skinship,'' but Kai just acted as he usually did.


    "Kai, do you think I''m bea-" She suddenly stopped before she finished her words. She almost blurted out her thoughts.


    No matter what other people said, she almost asked him whether she was beautiful or not. From others'' perspectives, it was the same as flirting. She suddenly became too embarrassed to speak as her face suddenly became as red as a tomato.


    Kai didn''t understand her. But when he asked her, she red at him. Once again, he couldn''t understand her.


    They finished their exercises and finally moved into the run with weight. It was a hard run. Surprisingly, Kai didn''t break a sweat despite having that twenty-kilogram weight on him while running. He even asked her if she wanted him to take the weight.


    Ayaka only rebuked him by asking, "Are you a monster?"


    Kai then didn''t ask her anymore and continued running. And after the session of two hours of continuously using magic, they were utterly exhausted.


    Even though they were exhausted, Kai moved his body to find his sister, leaving Ayaka alone. He thought that if they dyed it even a little bit, they would be in a dangerous position.


    Not long after, he found his sister. Well, they usually went back together, so they would meet sooner orter. But to see Kai suddenlye to her on his initiative, she was overwhelmed by emotions. After all, Kai had never done anything like this.


    "Kai finally knows my efforts, and he''sing to me on his own initiative." She jumped toward him, trying to hug him. Unfortunately, Kai avoided her as usual, letting her pass him and fall to the ground.


    "This isn''t the time for that. I heard someone say he wants to blow up my legs," he said.


    "What?" Tasha was baffled. But Kai wasn''t someone who liked to joke with something like that, so she immediately became furious. "Who is he?"


    "I need your help." Kai asked her to follow him. They werepletely covered by the building, so the sniper wouldn''t be able to spot them. He pointed his finger toward one of the tallest buildings. "You see that building? He is at the top of that building."


    "Then it''ll be easy. Let''s go immediately." Tasha said.


    Kai nodded, and they teleported to their target.


    The sniper was trying to search for Kai''s position since they should have finished the ss and would leave the school at this time. But then, he suddenly felt killing intent from behind him.


    "!!!"


    He turned around, but it was toote.


    "Argh!"


    Kai cut his two legs while Tasha immediately destroyed his sniper.


    "You, how did youe to this ce?" the sniper asked with great difficulty as he was trying to hold back the pain.


    "And why do you want to blow up my leg?" Kai asked with killing intent.


    He was surprised to see killing intent like this from a student. He immediately recognized this particr killing intent as he felt that this Kai must have killed someone.


    "How do you know?"


    "If you don''t even know how I know about it, then you''re not qualified to ask me. Just answer my question," Kai asked casually.


    "You won''t be able to get anything from me."


    Kai looked at his sister. She nodded her head and put her hand on the man''s head.


    "Argh!" the sniper suddenly screamed.


    Tasha was using her lightning magic to torture him a little bit, but it seemed that her effort was futile.


    The sniper only smiled and said, "You won''t be able to get anything from me. ACTIVATE!"


    When he said that, a magic circle appeared on the position of his heart. He suddenly spat out some blood and died.

 Chapter 24 - Request

    "You won''t be able to get anything from me. ACTIVATE!"


    When he said that, a magic circle appeared on the position of his heart. He suddenly spat out some blood and died.


    Kai and Tasha furrowed their eyebrows. They never thought he would kill himself. Tasha was just going to use her lightning magic to interrogate him, but he had killed himself before she got the chance to.


    "So what should we do with this?" Tasha asked.


    Kai approached the dead guy and started searching his body. He tried to search for any useful information on his body, but to no avail. There was no clue or whatsoever.


    "Maybe we should dispose of this dead body first," Kai suggested.


    Tasha nodded her head. "Let me handle that."


    She approached the corpse. At the same time, Kai made some distance from the corpse. Tasha then waved her hand toward him, "I''ll be away for a bit then."


    Kai nodded. Tasha then used her teleportation magic and disappeared along with the corpse.


    After around twenty seconds or so, she came back alone. She said, "I''ve thrown the corpse to the ocean. I needed to use my teleportation magic a few times to reach that ce and a few more toe back here. I-!"


    "Thank you for your hard work," Kai said hurriedly. There would be a demand from his sister if he didn''t cut her off like that.


    Tasha only pouted a little before asking him again, "What about this incident? This is really abnormal. After all, I would usually be the one who targeted."


    Tasha was curious. They had been targeted by a few people from time to time because of the reputation of her being an S-rank. But they were targeting her, not her family. That was why she was curious as to why Kai suddenly got targeted by a hitman.


    "I also don''t know about this. I think we should be on more alert," Kai said.


    "All right. I''ll investigate this since I can teleport if they find me. Protect our parents. Make sure to call me if there are any suspicious people around the house," Tasha instructed.


    "Got it. I''ll be careful."


    "But something''s bugging me. Because of this incident, I think you should be more careful when you explore the outside world. After all, you''ll need to go to the outside world in another two weeks to gain experience.


    "I feel that whoever wants to harm you might specifically choose that time to strike after this failure. So make sure to be careful."


    "I know," Kai nodded. They could only solve this by themselves. After all, they couldn''t bother their parents with this because even if they knew about this, their parents wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    Reporting to the authority would also have its problems. They thought about asking the academy, but it was outside of their jurisdictions, so they could only rely on themselves to solve this problem.


    "Let''s go home first," Tasha said.


    Kai nodded his head, and they came back home with Tasha''s teleportation magic.


    ¡­


    The following week, Kai didn''t wear his headphones. Although it was pretty taxing for him, he also wanted to investigate the matter with his own hands to help Tasha. Unfortunately, there was no clue whatsoever.


    Even Katsuragi Takaki didn''t make any suspicious movements. He was wondering who was the real target. Was their target truly him or was it his sister? If they knew about it, it would be far easier to investigate this. Sadly, they didn''t know anything, so they could only blindly search for clues.


    Ayaka was obviously surprised to see Kai not wearing his headphones the entire week. She knew about Kai''s extraordinary hearing and even saw his health certificate. She tried to ask Kai about what was going on, but Kai didn''t answer her.


    She then asked her grandfather without his permission. Of course, she was also included in the investigation. She tried to learn everything from her grandfather as this investigation might be able to increase her understanding of being a scout.


    Unfortunately, even with the help of her grandfather, they didn''t find anything. She was frustrated.


    And finally, once again, the practical ss arrived. It was the time where they would experience that world once again.


    "We''re going to the gym again. This is the chance for you to prove yourselves. After all, I know you have no experience two weeks prior. But now that you have the knowledge, you should be able to perform far better than you did two weeks ago. I wish you luck." Shirotsuka Sanae exined. She added, "Kai Carter and Kudo Ayaka,e outside, I need to talk to you."


    Kai, who was trying to think about the investigation, was surprised to hear his name called by Shirotsuka Sanae. It was the same for Ayaka. They then rose from their seats and came out of the ss.


    Shirotsuka Sanae looked at them for a few seconds. She finally said, "How was the world two weeks ago?"


    Ayaka was surprised by the question, but she immediately replied with the same answer she gave the principal, "It''s challenging."


    Kai only nodded his head, telling her he agreed.


    Sanae sighed, "Well, I don''t know why you would think that. Usually, new students like you would be traumatized by that world. Fortunately, you two weren''t, or the principal would be handed to the authorities or be handled by your families.


    "Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is about that world. You won''t go to that world again as it was a bit unfair to you and to the other students. I don''t know why you two can get such a high score. That must be because of you, right, Kai Carter?"


    Ayaka was startled, while Kai remained calm. But because of Ayaka''s expression, his achievement had been blown up.


    "Don''t worry. I learned about this two weeks ago, so you don''t need to mind her startled expression just now. She might need to learn to control her expressions, though," Sanae smiled slightly and said.


    When she heard that, Ayaka was really embarrassed. It wasn''t unintentional for her to make such a face.


    "Anyway, although she''s an A-rank magician as well as the famous Kudo Group''s princess, I don''t think she can get such a high score. After all, no matter what her background is, it''s normal to have a bad first day due tock of experience. But it''s different for you, Kai. You are an enigma that I can''t see through. So you should be the one who did it. I don''t know what you did, though."


    She looked at Kai, who remained silent, She added, "You don''t need to worry. I won''t bber. After all, judging from your exnation back then and this girl''s reaction, I assumed there might be some price to pay.


    "As expected of the younger brother of one of the three S-rank magicians. Anyway, I won''t ask you anything. But there is one thing that I should tell you. No matter how high your talent or prowess is, it''s impossible to challenge the whole world alone.


    "Even an S-rank magician who''s had numerous experiences under their belt won''t be able to achieve that. That''s why, no matter what, you should also rely on someone... Sorry, I deviated from my initial topic.


    "Anyway, you won''t be able to experience that world again for the time being. So today, you''ll be going to the same world as the other students. But I want to remind you about your score.


    "If you get a lower score than your previous one, the others might notice something. And even that student from the Katsuragi family was threatening me to get hold of your score details. Your score aside, it''s different if it''s the details about which monster you killed.


    "After all, in the world that you two will face after this, there are no A-rank magical beasts and only a low number of B-rank magical beasts. So my suggestion to you would be trying to get as many points as you can." Sanae exined.


    Ayaka and Kai were surprised to hear another lecture from her. Normally, it wasn''t possible because of her character. Even if the students asked her a question, if school was over, she wouldn''t answer it no matter what.


    That was why seeing her like this surprised them. But Ayaka noticed something. She remembered thest thing that the principal said two weeks ago.


    "You can ask Teacher Shirotsuka Sanae if you have any questions about the outside world. Her personality aside, she is indeed an elite amongst elites."


    She didn''t know what he meant, but judging from her observation alone, it was truly impressive. She could notice such a small detail and even made such a detailed conclusion.


    Ayaka nodded her head, "I understand. I''ll try my best."


    Kai also nodded his head and said, "I''ll try my best."


    "All right, you can go back first. I''ll lead you to the gym in a few minutes."


    They nodded and came back to the ss. But Ayaka suddenly stopped him and said, "Kai, this time, I want to ask something from you."


    "What is it?"


    "You remember thest magic you used two weeks ago, right?"


    Kai nodded.


    "Please don''t use it again this time. After all, watching you back then, I doubt you''ll be able to use it in the real world. After all, you''ll die along with the magical beasts if you use that magic. So please, don''t use it again."

 Chapter 25 - Frustrated

    Kai looked at her while pondering about her request. In the end, he nodded his head. He also didn''t want to experience it again.


    "All right, I won''t use it again. I promise," Kai promised.


    "Then, that''s good." Ayaka nodded.


    Not long after, Shirotsuka Sanae came and led them to the gym. They chose the same practice tube. But unlikest time, the practice tube had been adjusted back. So even if they used it, they would be teleported to the same world as the others.


    They opened the tube and went inside. But before they started the machine, Ayaka said, "I¡­ I''ve been practicing a movement skill. I think I need to tell you about it. The movement magic is called Fire Amplifier.


    "I can use it all over my body, be it on my hands, feet, or even my weapons. It''s a small explosion that can increase my power or speed depending on how I use it. But don''t misunderstand. I''m not doing this because I like you or anything. I just pity you since you gave me the advice."


    Kai was surprised as he opened his mouth unconsciously. He thought, ''Is this girl in her tsundere form? But I thought Ayaka doesn''t have the potential to be a tsundere?''


    "Well, all right. I appreciate that, thank you. Should we go now?" Kai asked casually.


    "¡­" Ayaka felt a bit speechless seeing Kai''s surprised expression. She didn''t know why, but she somehow felt that he was thinking about something rude about her. She shook her head and decided not to think about it. She replied, "Sure."


    They put their hands on the screen to start the machine. As soon as the machine started, their consciousness got teleported to an unknown world yet again.


    They were surrounded by woods, but unlikest time, the woods at this ce were much denser. They remembered that the previous world was made ording to the data from the real world, so they were wondering if this ce was also made with data from the outside world.


    When both of their eyes locked, they didn''t know why, but they felt that both of them were thinking about the same thing.


    Ayaka asked, "This is a forest, right?"


    Kai nodded his head. "I think so. Judging from the density of the trees and the temperature, we should be in a rainforest. If this ce is also made with data from the outside world, I don''t know which rainforest we''re in, though."


    "I was also thinking the same thing. I was wondering if this ce is also made with data from the outside world," She agreed with him. She then asked, "Any magical beasts around us?"


    Kai nodded. Because he didn''t put on his headphones for a while, he immediately picked the sound from his surroundings. But from his observation, the magical beasts were distributed evenly. There were a lot of magical beasts that were alone, so they could kill them one by one.


    And surprisingly, he only found a few magical beasts that lived in a group. And all of them numbered not more than ten. He finally realized how absurd the previous world was.


    He said to Ayaka, "Good news. The surroundings are good. A lot of magical beasts are alone, so we can target them one at the time."


    "And the bad news?"


    "Well, they''re a bit too alone. No, they''re a little bit far from each other. So we''ll need to move around a lot, too. I don''t think we need to set up a base," Kai told her what he got from his observation.


    Ayaka nodded her head, as shepletely trusted him on this. "All right. How about we kill the one closest to us?"


    "Sure," Kai agreed.


    The first monster they faced was an E-rank magical Elephant. From the outside, it was like a normal elephant, but it could move very fast. Ayaka and Kai were a bit surprised by its speed, but they suppressed and killed it in a matter of seconds.


    They moved on to the second closest magical beast. This time, they met a D-rank tiger. Kai and Ayaka killed it within a few moves.


    They moved around to kill as many as they could. Kai set up a Sound Instion Room if there were quite a number of magical beasts nearby so they wouldn''t be surrounded. After a few hours, they took a break.


    Ayaka sat on a big trunk while Kai leaned on a tree.


    "We''ve killed 100 F-rank magical beasts, 39 E-rank magical beasts, 17 D-rank magical beasts, and 4 C-rank magical beasts. It''s nowhere near our previous score. And I''m a bit tired from moving around," Ayaka sighed.


    "Don''t be fixated on the score. It''s just a number. I mean, you can try various magic attacks because of the scarcity of the magical beasts. Just treat this as training."


    "I know¡­ I know, but it''s a little bit frustrating." She said.


    Luckily, they didn''t make any more bets with Katsuragi Takaki. If not, they would be in a bad position. After all, unlike Katsuragi Takaki, this was the first time they experienced this world.


    "Frustrating, huh¡­" Kai murmured.


    Ayaka heard that, and she immediately corrected herself. "Well, the frustrating part isn''t because of our result. It''s just¡­ it''s frustrating because there''s such a big difference between this ce and the previous one.


    "Two weeks ago, we fought with so many powerful magical beasts, and that kept us challenged. The dying part and my helplessness were indeed frustrating, but I could learn lots of things from that frustration.


    "But this¡­ this world doesn''t provide that. I mean, there isn''t much action. We mostly just found a single magical beast and killed it. But the magical beasts themselves were weak."


    "I see. You''re frustrated because you can''t show your power or maybe the result of your training," Kai said while pondering something.


    Ayaka was startled when she heard that. She didn''t understand how Kai could arrive at such a conclusion.


    "No way. I''m not frustrated because of that," Ayaka denied it immediately.


    "But you said you''re frustrated because of theck of action. You clearly want to show your prowess and make yourself feel good. Or are you a musclebrain?" Kai nced at her.


    "A musclebrain? Are you insulting me?" Ayaka was starting to get angry. Even though Kai was her partner, she couldn''t ept what he just said. After all, she knew that she wasn''t a musclebrain. She was just a delicate woman.


    "I''m not insulting you. But just think about it. Why are you frustrated by this kind of battle? For me, I''m d and I feel good to have this kind of battle.


    "I prefer an easy battle. After all, I don''t need that much energy to deal with the battle. Of course, it doesn''t mean I love battles that are too easy¡­ especially when fighting a human. If everything sounds too good, then you need to question why.


    "The enemy might bait you with that trap. Although there might not be something like that, that kind of thought would always linger in my head. As for a hard battle like that of two weeks ago¡­ I don''t have anything to say other than I certainly don''t want to repeat that battle again unless it''s necessary.


    "Anyway, what I want to say is I love easy battles. Although it might be rude for me to say something like that to you, I''m sorry to say that. But I want to ask you, what''s the real purpose of a battle?"


    "The real purpose of a battle?" Ayaka looked at Kai in confusion. She didn''t know why Kai asked her this question, but she pondered the question inside her head.


    Not long after, her eyes shed. She looked at Kai with her eyes wide open.


    Kai smiled, "What is the real purpose of a battle? It"s an easy question for me. I''ll answer to win or to survive. For glory? Nah, it''s not for me. For wealth? I don''t have any problems or any obsession with wealth. As long as my family is safe and sound, I''m good."


    "¡­" Ayaka could not say another word after he said that. She realized that she was still too immature. In the outside world, there wouldn''t be any glory or wealth. She suddenly recalled what her grandfather told her when she was a kid.


    "There''s no glory in the outside world, nor is there wealth. If you''re too greedy for glory or wealth, you''ll lose everything you have. After all, the higher the reward, the higher the cost. Back then, it cost me a good friend before I could realize that. So no matter what you do, fight to survive."


    Ayaka looked down, weighing something. Not long after that, she let out a long sigh. She then looked at Kai and apologized, "I''m sorry. I was too immature."


    "I''m also immature, so I don''t mind about that. I''m not saying you''re wrong about the previous world and this world. After all, with experiences like that, we can slowly mature and get stronger. Fighting strong opponents is good since we can learn lots of things from the fight. It''s a fun thing to do until someone dies, literally."


    "¡­ I know." She nodded her head and stood up. "I''m good now. Fighting to survive is good, but we still have a mission from Teacher. Let''s go."


    Kai knew the mission was to score as many points as they could. If not, they might be suspected of cheating or whatsoever. It would be more of a trouble than him fighting hard in this world.


    Kai nodded and led her to another monster. But they got unlucky. The first monster they found was a giant B-rank centipede. The centipede suddenly crawled out of the ground and stood tall. It looked at Kai and Ayaka.


    "Scree!"

 Chapter 26 - Retreat

    "Scree!"


    It even bypassed Kai''s detection range. However, it wasn''t because Kai didn''t hear the centipede moving around in the ground. Kai did hear the movement in the ground. Still, unlike movements on the surface, Kai couldn''t pinpoint the movements inside the ground because the sounds blurred with each other.


    When the centipede came to the surface, even Kai was shocked by its appearance.


    The centipede suddenly attacked Ayaka with its giant mouth. Although this centipede didn''t look poisonous, that big mouth alone seemed to possess powerful strength. If one were to get bitten by that mandible, their bones might break and they might even die.


    "Ayaka!"


    Ayaka was surprised by the sudden appearance of the centipede. After all, it was even able to bypass Kai''s detection range. With that sudden shout, she snapped back to her senses and saw that the centipede was trying to bite her.


    She immediately jumped backward to avoid the bite.


    Kai then moved to her side and said, "Sorry, I didn''t detect this centipede."


    Ayaka realized that she was too dependent on Kai''s ability. Even after she started to learn everything about it, when she came to this damn*d world with Kai, she forgot about it and relied on Kai yet again.


    She shook her head and said, "No, it was my fault. I shouldn''t have been too dependent on you. Anyway, keep it forter. We should deal with this centipede first. I''ll go as the vanguard, and you''ll support me."


    "All right," Kai nodded.


    He looked at Ayaka with a smile. It seemed that she had matured. He remembered the first time he met her. She was just an innocent little girl who puts too much thought on her emotions whatsoever.


    Meanwhile, the current Ayaka, she should be able to get far stronger... and hopefully, one day, he would be able to trust his backpletely to her. It wasn''t that he didn''t trust his back to her. He indeed trusted her, but he couldn''tpletely do so.


    After all, this world was only a replica. Even if they were to die in this ce, they would still be fine. But in the outside world, once they died, it would be over.


    From what he heard from others, when one faces death, they wouldn''t be able to think or use their hundred percent.


    Kai nodded and immediately went around the centipede.


    When the centipede saw that, the centipede immediately chased Kai with its giant body. Of course, Ayaka wouldn''t let it have its way.


    "Burn to Cinders, res!"


    The fire flew toward the centipede''s back.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    Her magic exploded on the centipede back. Unfortunately, it didn''t even leave a scratch on its back. It seemed that the centipede could resist fire. But Ayaka''s objective had been achieved.


    The centipede turned its body back to Ayaka.


    "Scree!"


    "Come to me," Ayaka said, trying to taunt the centipede. A magic circle then appeared behind her as she voiced, "Fire Wings!"


    The moment her wings appeared, she flew to the sky to force the centipede out of its hole.


    The centipede had yet to show its entire body this whole time. But from this alone, they could see that the centipede would be more than ten meters in length.


    Ayaka tried to force the centipede out of the ground. Surprisingly, before she managed to force the centipede out of the ground, it suddenly ignored her and turned back to Kai.


    "Oh no you don''t," Ayaka said while making a magic circle.


    "Firebirds!"


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Once again, her attacks were rendered useless. It ignored Ayaka''s attack and continued to rush toward Kai


    "Kai!" she shouted.


    Of course, Kai also noticed this. Kai dodged to the side.


    However, the centipede seemed to have anticipated that as when he dodged to the side, it turned its head toward Kai.


    "!!!" Kai immediately swung his sword toward its big mouth. Obviously, Kai was losing in this exchange.


    But Kai had never expected to win this in the first ce. He used his sword to support himself in moving his body.


    When he swung his sword, he changed his center to his hand and moved the rest of his body upward to dodge the iing mouth.


    He thennded on the centipede''s back. He tried to attack the centipede''s back, but it was too hard. He said, "Change of n."


    "We''re going to weaken this thing first."


    "How?" Ayaka asked from the sky.


    "Cut its legs one by one until it can''t move. Then we''ll kill it. Focus your magic toward its legs. Or you cane down here and help me bring down the centipede here."


    Ayaka nodded. She then dove down from the sky and charged toward the right legs.


    Seeing that, Kai immediately moved to the opposite and cut the left legs one by one.


    "Scree!" The centipede suddenly turned its body upside down. Both Ayaka and Kai were surprised to see how stic the centipede''s body was. They tried to attack its legs again, but its head had arrived in front of them.


    The head attacked Ayaka.


    "!!!" Ayaka sweatdropped. She immediately covered her body with her me and made as many me armor parts appear on her body.


    She looked like a female knight, covered in full-body armor. The difference was that this armor was translucent red since it was made by fire.


    "No, she can''t block it. It''s too strong to be blocked with that armor." Kai had a bad feeling when he looked at that armor. Although the armor was powerful, he had a feeling it couldn''t block the centipede''s bite.


    He channeled every ounce of his magic to his feet and made a single jump.


    He appeared in front of Ayaka in an instant. "Remove your armor."


    "!!!" She was utterly clueless about what he wanted to do. After all, she couldn''t dodge this attack, so she intended to block it with her fire armor. But Kai suddenly appeared with god-like speed and told her to remove her armor.


    He never looked at her again as he was too focused on the centipede in front of him. He made a magic circle.


    "Oscition Shield!"


    This was his improved shield skill. He felt that something was wrong with this centipede. He didn''t know what it was, but his instinct was tingling this entire time.


    The centipede bit his magic shield instead of Ayaka.


    "Kh!" Kai was struggling to maintain his shield.


    Ayaka was confused by this. But a crack suddenly appeared on Kai''s magic shield.


    "What?" Ayaka was surprised to see Kai''s magic shield crack. She asked inwardly, ''Is this his improved shield or is it his normal shield?''


    She doubted as she knew how powerful Kai''s improved shield was. It was able to block the full blow of an A-rank magical ape that was known for its strength. But to think a centipede managed to crack it. It was unbelievable.


    However, she didn''t have time to think about that. Without Kai giving her any instructions, she immediately hugged him from behind and pulled him out with her Fire Wings.


    Both of them managed to avoid death. She sucked a cold breath when she realized that bite alone would have crushed her armor and killed her.


    "Scree!"


    The centipede didn''t attack them again. Instead, the centipede moved toward the ground and went back into the ground.


    When they saw the centipede go back into the ground, they let out a breath of relief.


    "We''re safe," Ayaka said with an apparent tone of relief. She even forgot that she was still hugging Kai from behind.


    When she finally realized it after a moment, her face flushed red. She wanted to say something to Kai, but Kai suddenly pushed her to the side.


    (Grumble, grumble)


    Kai picked up another sound from behind. The centipede wasn''t running away, nor were they safe. The centipede came out of the ground and tried to strike them from behind.


    Kai indeed couldn''t pinpoint the centipede when it was inside the ground. But the moment it came out of the ground, Kai could immediately recognize it.


    He pushed Ayaka aside and made a magic circle.


    "Oscition Shield!"


    "Scree!" Even though Kai made his improved shield, the centipede didn''t bite him. Instead, it headbutted the shield with its giant head.


    "Boom!"


    Because Kai couldn''t fly, after he pushed Ayaka away, he started falling. And with the headbutt from the centipede, it gave him even more momentum. He finally crashed onto the ground at an incredible speed.


    "Ack!"


    He spat blood when he crashed onto the ground. Even though his front was protected, he couldn''t protect his back without his magic power. But because he crashed onto the ground with such great momentum, even his magic power couldn''t protect his body.


    "Kai!" Ayaka shouted. She looked at the centipede that was charging toward Kai again with hatred.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    She made a big explosion beside the centipede. She knew that her fire magic was ineffective to the centipede. But she didn''t use this magic to hurt the centipede. Instead, she used the explosion to push the centipede away. Or at least, so its attack would miss Kai.


    "Boom!"


    The explosion appeared beside the centipede''s head that was only two meters away from Kai. But because of Ayaka''s Scarlet Explosion, the centipede that was charging toward Kai was pushed to the side a little bit.


    Although it couldn''tpletely blow the centipede away, it was enough to make the centipede miss.


    Seeing that it missed Kai because of the explosion, the centipede went back into the ground, nning tounch the same attack again.


    But Ayaka immediately dove to Kai and pulled him out of the ground.


    Unfortunately, before they managed to get away, the centipede came out again and tried to strike them.


    At this particr time, Ayaka used her new skill. She said to Kai, who was clenching her hand as she flew. "Hold tight!"


    Kai didn''t know why she wanted him to hold tight, but he immediately held her hands tightly.


    A magic circle appeared on her feet.


    "Boost!"


    A small explosion suddenly appeared on her feet. Because of that explosion, she managed to get away from the centipede. The explosion gave her a boost on her momentum at thest second.


    After that, they didn''t fight the centipede anymore as they continued to flee. This was Ayaka''s decision, and Kai agreed with her decision as it was the most reasonable one.


    He then led them to a cliff. Kai had checked the cliff and confirmed that there were no monsters there. He wanted them to make a battle n forter if they were to meet the centipede again, but inside, they both hoped that they wouldn''t meet it again.

 Chapter 27 - Third Round

    After retreating to the cliff, Kai checked his surroundings to confirm that it was safe. After all, he didn''t want another ambush to happen. It was enough for the ape to ambush them.


    "Sorry, that was my fault. I shouldn''t have let my guard down. I thought it was gone."


    "Leave that forter, the problem is what we should do about the centipede."


    "Yes," Ayaka nodded. "But, is that centipede really a B-rank magical beast? It''s even harder than the A-rank ape that we fought two weeks ago."


    "Judging from its power, it should be a B-rank magical beast. But you''ve seen its movements. It can move its body like crazy, and it looks like the centipede can think of the best option to dodge or to attack us." Kai said.


    "What? Do you mean..."


    "Yes. The centipede seems to have gained intelligence," Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    Ayaka gasped when she heard that. But she felt something was wrong. "But Teacher said that this world is only for training. And the difficulty won''t be too hard since the purpose of this world is to make us familiar with magical beasts."


    "That''s also what I was thinking. But no matter what, we''ve met that centipede. I don''t know if others have also met that centipede or not, but our goal is still the same.


    "It''s to kill magical beasts, and the centipede is one of them. However, we have a second option, which is to avoid the centipede. But I don''t think the centipede will let us do that," Kai told her.


    "Then, you want us to kill the centipede first?"


    Kai nodded.


    Ayaka was confused. "How can we do that?"


    "Do you know about seismic activity in geophysics?" Kai asked.


    Ayaka had never heard that term before. She shook her head in confusion.


    "To put it simply, it''s a method to know about the ground''s condition. We''ll send a sound wave to the ground, and the wave will be reflected by the rock formation inside the ground.


    "Before civilization overturned, this method was popr for searching for petroleum inside the ground.


    "We''ll dig the ground for a little bit, and I want you to make an explosion inside that ground. It should be possible with your magic.


    "The sound waves emitted by the explosion will then be reflected by the rock formation inside the ground. The result will be received by a geophone. You can say it''s a tool to receive that."


    "But we don''t have that tool... wait, don''t tell me..." Ayaka realized Kai''s n.


    "Yeah. My ear will be the substitute for the geophone. I should be able to locate the centipede," Kai nodded. "This method is simr to using a radar. I''ve been thinking about this method for a while.


    "I have the concept ready. But I haven''t managed to seed in doing it. You might already know this, but you should know that there''s another reason why we have to have a scout in our party.


    "We can just use something like radar, but the radio waves emitted from the radar will be picked up by the magical beasts. Before civilization overturned, it might be good to use a radar as the animals around might not notice it or be hostile to it.


    "But after they evolved into magical beasts, their ferocity and senses evolved to an unprecedented level. Eventually, people realized that radars can be noticed by magical beasts.


    "That''s why they stopped using it... But I''m a sound magician. I''ve been researching this magic. And by using my ears as the receiver, I should be able to recreate something like radar without magical beasts noticing it."


    Kai exined his n because he trusted her. He knew that Ayaka wasn''t the type to bber something like this. And even if she tells others about this, they wouldn''t be able to use it as Kai relied on his special ears when he made this iplete magic.


    "Well, it''s still only a concept, so we''re going back to a simpler but effective one, which is the concept of seismic in geophysics. We''ll locate the centipede with it," Kai said.


    "But what will we do if the centipede is out of our reach?"


    "We can ignore it for a while, but if the centipede is within our reach, we''ll attack. After all, you also don''t want to kill other magical beasts while constantly worrying about it, right?"


    Ayaka agreed with him on that.


    "That''s why we''re going to kill the centipede."


    "But even if we manage to locate it, how do we kill it? My fire is ineffective against it."


    Kai looked down when she said that, pondering over something.


    Not long after, Kai answered, "I''ll be the vanguard, and you''ll be the attacker."


    "What?" Ayaka was shocked beyond belief. Kai just told her that after she told him that her fire was ineffective.


    Kai raised his hand and made a stop sign. "Let me exin it first.


    "You can use that new skill, right?"


    Ayaka didn''t know why he asked that, but she nodded.


    "We''ll use that as our main offensive," Kai said.


    She contemted why Kai said that. After a few seconds, she finally realized what Kai wanted from her new skill.


    "You want me to use the new magic to boost my spear so it can prate the centipede''s... head..."


    Kai nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you''re right. Do you think it''s possible with your new skill? it is hard, you know."


    "We won''t know until we try," Ayaka said.


    "Sure, but we should get down from the cliff first," Kai said while looking to the ground. The cliff height was around sixty meters tall or so, so Kai absolutely didn''t want to descend with his magic alone.


    "Sure, let me give you a ride," Ayaka nodded and stretched her hand. But she suddenly realized that they were going to hold hands.


    She then remembered that they were also holding hands when they were fleeing from the centipede. She didn''t have any weird thoughts back then because of the situation.


    But she finally realized this, and her face became red.


    Kai only looked at her in confusion, as he didn''t know what was inside her head and why she suddenly blushed.


    But she had offered her help, so she gritted her teeth and grabbed Kai''s hand. After all, unlike Kai, who was unique, she was only a high-school girl.


    "Fire Wings!" She tried her best to ignore it as she immediately dragged Kai to the ground below.


    When hended, he was wondering if he should kill the magical beasts nearby. After several considerations, he decided not to. They were going to move as soon as he located the centipede, and it wouldn''t take too long.


    Thankfully, Kai needed to ponder a few things, and it gave her time to calm down. After Ayaka calmed down her flushed heart, she asked, "We''re going to dig the ground here?"


    "Yes. We don''t need a big hole. One or two meters deep should be enough," Kai said.


    "All right," Ayaka nodded.


    They already knew what tools to use to dig the ground. Obviously, it was their weapons.


    Ayaka used her spear to dig the soil while Kai used his swords. As expected of weapons powered by magic, they could dig the ground easily. With just a minute, they got the hole they needed.


    "After we locate the centipede, we''ll immediately move, since this ce might be swarmed by magical beasts."


    Ayaka nodded her head.


    Kai then retreated for about ten meters from the hole. Actually, he wanted to move a bit further, but they might be too far to regroup.


    Kai then ced his ears on the ground. He looked at Ayaka and gave an ''OK'' sign to her.


    Ayaka nodded.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!" The explosion was heard from the small hole.


    "Roar! Roar!" The magical beasts nearby were roaring. Ayaka was starting to tense up as she looked at Kai.


    After Ayaka used her skill, Kai could immediately picture the rock formation inside the ground. But he waited a little longer as the one he heard was only the ground around him.


    The centipede wasn''t around him. He continued to wait as the sound waves kepting back to him in session. And with the centipede being that big, Kai could notice the disturbance because of its body.


    After around two seconds, he finally picked up the centipede''s location.


    Kai immediately rose from the ground and ran toward Ayaka.


    "We''re going to fly east. The centipede is around a hundred meters toward the east," Kai shouted.


    "Fire Wings!" Ayaka immediately activated her Fire Wings after she heard that. Thinking about holding hands with Kai again made her blush, but she shook her head since they had no time to think about that.


    Kai grabbed her hand again, and they started to fly. There was another reason why Kai wanted to fly to the spot. It was because he didn''t hear any sound from the sky.


    In other words, there were no magical beasts that woulde their way.


    And soon, they arrived at the spot that Kai located.


    "Use your explosion in that spot!" Kai said while pointing at the ground.


    Ayaka nodded. She made a magic circle while diving down to put Kai down to the ground.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!"


    "Fly up!" After the explosion, Kai immediately ordered her to fly up as he would be the bait for this centipede.


    And right after the explosion, the centipede finally crawled out of the ground and showed its mighty figure.


    Kai only smiled, "Let''s start the third round, shall we?"

 Chapter 28 - Another Troublesome Situation

    "Let''s start the third round, shall we?" Kai looked at the big centipede in front of him.


    "Scree!"


    The centipede immediately charged at him. Kai took a deep breath as he saw the iing centipede.


    Since there were no obstacles, Kai avoided the centipede charge by dodging to the side. The centipede was going back into the ground again. But he wasn''t in the same situation as before, as he needed to save Ayaka.


    Kai could hear where the centipede would appear again.


    Before the centipede came out of the ground, Kai turned around. He used the hole to track the centipede. Although Kai said it was hard to pinpoint the creature inside the ground, he could track them using the hole that led to the surface.


    He could vaguely sense its position with his ears. It was hard to sense, especially in a difficult battle like before. But this time, he wasn''t pressured by the situation.


    The instant he turned his body around, the centipede also crawled out of the ground. The centipede immediately charged at him again, but Kai avoided it.


    It was pretty easy when he had gotten used to it.


    The centipede was using the same technique over and over again, and Kai avoided its charge every single time.


    "Scree!" The centipede was infuriated by his action.


    This time, the centipede didn''t try to pummel him with its head. Instead, the centipede was trying to use its giant mouth to bite him.


    Kai had been waiting for this.


    The moment he saw the centipede charge toward him with its mouth open, he immediately made a magic circle.


    "Oscition Shield!"


    The centipede bit his Oscition Shield again. It couldn''t destroy Kai''s shield that easily, so the centipede changed its strategy.


    The centipede then pushed him back with itsrge body. Even though it couldn''t destroy Kai''s shield, it could push him back to the big tree behind him.


    "Kh!" Kai was trying to fight back. Unfortunately, his power was nowhere enough to push the centipede away. With its giant body, it generated even more power than the ape back then.


    "Boom!"


    "Ack!" Kai was pinned down to the tree. He started sweating as blood came out of his mouth. There was even a little crack on his shield.


    His shield couldn''t stand the powerful bite of the centipede for more than a few seconds. But it was enough for him as his objective had been achieved.


    "Ayaka!" He shouted.


    Ayaka, who was flying in the air, immediately dove down with her Fire Wings. But that wasn''t all. There was a magic circle behind her spear.


    It suddenly exploded, raising her speed even further. With that kind of speed, even her piercing power also increased.


    "Boost!"


    Ayaka aimed at the centipede''s head. "Die!"


    "Boom!"


    With that high speed, the sound of her crashing on the centipede echoed throughout the forest.


    "Scree!"


    With her ambush, she managed to pierce the centipede''s headpletely.


    The centipede tried to struggle with itsst breath. Unfortunately, it still failed to break Kai''s shield.


    They finally killed the centipede. However, after killing that centipede, they didn''t let their guard down. Especially Ayaka, as she didn''t want to repeat her mistake over and over again.


    She knew that with such a loud sound, the magical beasts nearby would hear it.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!" And just right after, the roars from countless magical beasts nearby filled the forest.


    Ayaka immediately pulled out her spear and looked at Kai.


    Kai nodded. "Follow me. We''ll start clearing them one by one. There''s no need to fly."


    Because the majority of magical beasts gathered at the ce where Ayaka used her explosion to locate the centipede, the magical beasts around this ce didn''t amount to too much. Kai wanted to take advantage of that and started killing the magical beasts to rack up some points.


    Ayaka nodded her head.


    "We''ll engage them in closebat, but make sure you can use your magic at any moment," Kai said.


    "Understood."


    They started moving around and killed the magical beasts one by one. With both of their strength, not one magical beast could stand in their way, especially not with their power as F to D-rank magical beasts.


    They racked up a lot of points from them before moving toward the ce where the magical beasts gathered.


    Kai could hear quite arge number of magical beasts near the hole they created to make the explosion, so he decided to go around and kill as many as possible to lessen their number.


    Ayaka would be the main attacker, and Kai would use his Sound Instion Room to make it moreplete. After another two hours, they managed to kill another hundred magical beasts.


    Kai was leading her around to kill as many magical beasts as possible, but as expected, their current score didn''te anywhere close to their previous one.


    Kai and Ayaka were puzzled, trying toe up with a n to get some more points. Unfortunately, they didn''t manage toe up with a way to get more points other than trying hard.


    Because they didn''t experience the ''survival'' time after six hours inside the simtion world, they didn''t know that that was how other people were able to get so many points.


    Kai and Ayaka kept trying until, at one point, they reached the time limit. They thought that they were going to be sent back after this survival hour ended.


    "Haiz, we only got barely five hundred points. It''s a shame that we can''t evene close to our previous score even though we stayed in this ce for six hours. Anyway, we''ve tried our best, so whatever the result may be, we can only ept it," Ayaka finally relented.


    Kai nodded at her as he leaned on a tree. They were chatting while waiting for the time to end in a in.


    But when they thought the time had ended, Kai suddenly said in a surprised look, "What the heck is going on¡­"


    "Kai?"


    Kai suddenly picked up so many sounds at once. He could sense that all of them were magical beasts.


    They suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and when he calcted their number, he just couldn''t believe it.


    There were around two hundred magical beasts suddenly appearing around them. And he didn''t know why, but the magical beasts were charging toward their position.


    "We have an emergency. We need to fly, now!" Kai shouted.


    "Roar! Roar!"


    "Aoo¡ª!"


    Finally, numerous roars and howls immediately filled the entire forest. Even Ayaka could hear the roars and howlsing from nearby. The beasts were moving toward their position.


    "Fire Wings!" Ayaka immediately used her skill.


    "Roar!" The first monster that arrived was a huge boar. It was a two-meter tall boar.


    Kai immediately grabbed Ayaka''s hand as she immediately activated her Fire Wings and flew to the sky.


    They could see a tremendous number of magical beasts moving toward their position. And after they flew to the sky, the magical beasts looked at them.


    Ayaka tried to flee a little bit, but the magical beasts turned back and chased them.


    "Use your ''Boost'' to go to that small hill. Although the hill isn''t that tall and steep, we can take advantage of it to kill these magical beasts by using the height advantage," Kai pointed to a nearby hill.


    Just as he said, the hill''s height was only around fifty meters, and it was not that steep to restrict the magical beasts'' movement. But at the very least, they would gain a slight advantage in fighting the magical beasts.


    Kai made this decision after he confirmed that the magical beasts were somehow able to know where they were and would continue to chase them. Because of that, he decided to confront the magical beasts.


    "It''s killing time. We''ll be able to get quite some points from this. Drop me at the bottom of the hill and cover me from the top with your skill," Kai instructed.


    "But you''ll be swarmed by the magical beasts."


    "I''ll keep retreating as I kill the magical beasts, and by using the terrain advantage, they won''t be able to swarm me that easily. Your Scarlet Explosion will be our main firepower here.


    "Although we can just keep flying around while killing these magical beasts, I doubt your magic power will be able to hold on. After all, we''ve been flying for quite a while."


    "I can kill all of them from the sky¡­" Ayaka paused a little, "Probably."


    She had used around half of her magic power, and Kai should also be in a simr state. If she kept flying like this while bombarding them with her magic, she would be exhausted before she knew it.


    Ayaka knew about that, so she didn''t have any reason to reject Kai''s suggestion.


    "All right, but¡­ are you sure you can hold them off¡ª" Before she could finish her words, she suddenly felt something dark from Kai. She thought, ''That¡­ is that killing intent?''


    She was worried about him. She remembered thest time they got swarmed like this. Kai was forced to use that double-edged skill. She didn''t want him to use that again. Although he had promised her not to use that skill, in this situation, she couldn''t help but picture it happening.


    Kai was still focused on the magical beasts, but he knew from the change of her heartbeat that she was worried about him, and the reason for her worries was obvious.


    "Don''t worry. I promised you, and I''m not someone who will break my promise that easily. But since we''re fighting so many magical beasts, it seems that I''ll need to get serious a little bit," Kai said as he let out a new kind of fierceness.


    Ayaka was startled when she saw this. She felt like she was looking at a ferocious beast instead of Kai.


    She ultimately agreed to let Kai fight alone. She would support him as much as she could.


    She dropped Kai on the bottom of the hill and immediately flew to the top. Because she used her ''Boost'' for them to escape, there was still a bit of distance from the magical beasts.


    Kai clenched his swords tightly as his eyes became sharp.

 Chapter 29 - Last Fight

    Kai looked at the monsters while clenching his swords. Ayaka was also in her position.


    There were around a hundred magical beasts in front of him, ranging from small to big. And more woulde.


    But because of their size, Kai only targeted the small ones and let the big ones stampede the hill. That way, they would provide help for him by blocking the smaller magical beasts.


    After confirming his targets, he started moving toward the magical beasts a little bit to face them head-on.


    Three swift tigers charged toward him. A big bear followed right behind them along with the rest of the magical beasts.


    The tigers jumped toward him, trying to bite him. When Kai saw this, he moved to the right as he waved his swords.


    Suddenly, Kai''s swords moved at breakneck speed, and before they knew it, the tiger on the right was split into three by his swords.


    Ayaka was shocked to see how fast Kai''s swords were.


    She had seen how fast his usual swing was. It was nothingpared to what he did just now, and she believed that if she were to face it, she would only be able to barely block it.


    However, she felt something wrong with his swing. Even though his speed was truly magnificent, she felt that it wasn''t his speed.


    She didn''t know why, but she recalled their first practice ss, where Kai could throw such a giant ape toward her. She didn''t think about it again after that, but this situation reminded her of that.


    She realized that it wasn''t that he was fast, it was that he was strong. He forcefully used his strength to boost his speed for that swing.


    And the answer immediately came to her.


    After the other tigers missed their target, they immediately jumped toward Kai again. Kai''s objective was to kill one of them, and he had achieved it. The moment they came again, Kai didn''t avoid them. Instead, he used his sword and cut the tiger from its head to its tail with his strength.


    After that, he immediately kicked thest tiger toward the horde. He aimed it at a two-meter tall gori.


    When the gori collided with the tiger, it immediately rolled back along with the tiger, before being stomped to death by a huge Rhinoceros.


    The rhinoceros was twenty meters in height alone, and with its giant body, this rhinoceros felt unstoppable. Luckily, it moved slowly. If not, Kai and Ayaka would be in trouble.


    They had seen this rhinoceros when they flew toward this ce. And it was because of this rhinoceros that Kai made his decision to kill them here. Because this ce was the farthest from the rhinoceros, and when the rhinoceros came to this ce, it would be in the farthest back.


    After taking care of the tigers, Kai immediately retreated a bit and entered the hill.


    His next opponents were three horses. Although their size was no different than an ordinary horse''s, there were two big and sharp horns on their heads.


    Kai needed to be careful not to be impaled by those horns. He kept retreating, trying to bait the horses into the hill.


    He baited them inside because he saw Ayaka use her skill. He kept retreating bit by bit before he heard, "Firebirds!"


    At that moment, he finally stopped on his tracks and used his sword to repel the horses. It wasn'',t like he blew them away, he just made them stop so they wouldn''t be able to avoid Ayaka''s skill.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    When Ayaka''s magic came, the firebirds immediately bombarded them like crazy. When the smoke from the explosion was cleared, they could see the horses charred ck.


    Of course, Kai didn''t have the time to enjoy the view.


    After Ayaka killed the horses, the big ck bear arrived in front of Kai and sent a paw toward him.


    "!!!" Ayaka couldn''t use her skill to shield Kai from this bear.


    Kai avoided it.


    The bear tried to attack him again with his other paw, but before the bear could fully swing, Kai leaped toward the bear and sent a kick with his full strength. Because of the uneven ground, the bear lost its bnce and rolled back to the bottom. The bear even dragged the magical beasts on its way back toward the bottom.


    They tried to get up, but the rhinoceros arrived and stomped them to death.


    Kai looked at Ayaka, "Send those big guys to that rhinoceros. I''ll take care of all the smaller beasts."


    Ayaka nodded. Kai wanted to send all the big magical beasts toward the biggest magical beast, the rhinoceros, and let the rhinoceros stomp them to death.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions continued resounding throughout the hill as Ayaka tried to knock the beasts one by one. Meanwhile, Kai was like a killing god as he continued mowing the smaller beasts down.


    Ayaka was dumbstruck by his strength, especially with his fighting prowess just now. He was like a fierce beast, killing the other beasts around and showing them who the king was. Sadly, she didn''t have time for that. She decided to talk about it after they finished the ordeal.


    She continued to send as many beasts to the rhinoceros as she could before the rhinoceros arrived at the top. Even Kai would have them retreated.


    There was another reason why Kai chose this ce. Because it was outside the magical beasts'' encirclement, they only needed to worry about one direction as the magical beasts would charge at them head-on.


    Kai and Ayaka had switched roles as Ayaka usually became the vanguard as well as the attacker. In contrast, Kai became the scout and support. But this time, Kai became the vanguard and main attacker as he kept killing the magical beasts one by one. Meanwhile, Ayaka became the support as she kept blowing the magical beasts away from him toward the rhinoceros so that it would stomp them to the death for easy kills.


    There were around thirty magical beasts left. However, those magical beasts had arrived at the top, forcing Ayaka and Kai to fight on the top of the hill.


    Even the rhinoceros was rushing toward the top.


    "Ayaka, judging from the distance, you should take care of the rhinoceros as it has served its purpose. Although the rhinoceros is big, it has no speed, so it''ll be an easy kill for you. I''ll take care of these other magical beasts," Kai said.


    Ayaka nodded.


    "Fire Wings." As the battle would end soon, she immediately activated her Fire Wings and flew toward the rhinoceros.


    Kai also started killing the other magical beasts.


    ¡­


    A few minutester.


    Ayaka and Kai sat on the top of the hill, leaning on each other''s backs. Both of them were tired, and their magic power was almost fully depleted.


    Ayakaughed, "Haha, to think we managed to defeat all of them. By the way, what kind of monstrous strength is it that you have?"


    "¡­" Kai didn''t reply to her question.


    "Is it something I shouldn''t know?" Noticing the awkward silence from Kai, she asked to confirm.


    "Uhm¡­ sorry," Kai only apologized.


    "That''s fine¡­ We only met three weeks ago, so I shouldn''t pry on your secrets. Well, we''ll be¡­ partners for a year, so¡­ if the opportunity arrives, please tell me, all right?"


    "I''ll try." Kai was unsure of whether he could say it to her within a year. There was a much bigger secret to that strength.


    "Are there any monsters around? If not, I should recover first," She asked. She decided not to talk about that topic again as Kai seemed to want to avoid that topic.


    "Hmm¡­ There''s no mo¡ª holy sh*t." Before he could finish his word, Kai let out a curse. He suddenly picked up lots of sounds around them just he did before. But this time, the number was even more ridiculous. There seemed to be around five hundred of them.


    However, Ayaka and Kai didn''t have that much magic power left.


    "What happened?" Ayaka was confused to hear him cursing.


    "Five hundred magical beasts¡­"


    "Five hundred what?!" Ayaka asked as her jaw dropped because of the shock. She didn''t have that much magic power left, and the situation turned for the worse. But there was another matter that concerned her. She said, "Kai¡­"


    "Mmm?"


    "You promised me that you won''t use that technique again, right?"


    "¡­" Kai paused a bit before he answered, "Yes."


    "Don''t break that promise, okay?" After getting into this situation, she suddenly recalled the matter of Kai sacrificing himself, so she immediately reminded him again.


    Kai also understood her worry. It moved his heart a little bit. It was only a small matter since he wouldn''t die in the real world if he were to use that skill here. And if he really used that skill, they would be able to get a huge amount of points and might even surpass their previous score.


    However, Ayaka chose to abandon that and prioritized him first. She was thinking about him first before anything else.


    If she was the Ayaka a few weeks ago, she might have even been the one to suggest using it first.


    Kai noticed her growth these past few weeks and was pleased with it. He smiled, "I know. I''m sorry if I made you worry. Don''t worry, I won''t use it again since I promised you not to."


    "Since you won''t use it, it''s good then. I''d rather have a low score than have you do that again," she told.


    "Well, thank you. Remember the first time we met?"


    "Yes."


    "The you at that time might even send me to my death in this situation. After all, dying here doesn''t mean actual death."


    "No way. There''s no way I would¡ª Uhm, sorry."


    "I''m just messing with you. Look, they''re here," Kai said with a chuckle as he and Ayaka could see that the monsters had surrounded the hill.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!"


    "Can you stand up?"


    "Yes."


    Both of them rose from the ground as they were still leaning their backs to each other.


    "In our condition, we should kill as many as we can. I''ll go this way, and you go the opposite way. There is no need for a strategy this time," Ayaka said.


    "I was thinking the exact same thing," Kai nodded.


    Ayaka smiled as she said, "Let''s go."


    "Yeah."


    Both of them then jumped toward their respective directions.

 Chapter 30 - Conspiracy?

    Kai and Ayaka finally came back to reality. They looked at each other and chuckled.


    "Haha¡­ thatst one was tough. If only we had saved our energy a little bit more. We might have been able to kill so many more," Ayaka said whileughing. She was satisfied with their performance.


    "Well, that was our first time challenging that world, so that result is good enough," Kai said.


    S ¨C 0


    A ¨C 0


    B ¨C 2


    C ¨C 32


    D ¨C 58


    E ¨C 191


    F ¨C 431


    "Let me calcte it for a bit. We got 1,341 points this time. We''re only 100 points short of our previous score. Not bad, I guess, since you didn''t use ''that'' technique. Well, you promised me about that. So it''s my fault we failed to reach our previous score," Ayaka said.


    Kai shook his head. "No one is at fault. We''re a team, so if you say that you''re at fault, then both of us are at fault as a team."


    Ayaka only smiled in response as she relented, "Yeah. This is no one''s fault."


    "Let''s go out," Kai said.


    "Sure."


    They opened the tube and saw that many people hade out. Katsuragi Takaki was already out too. He was ring at them.


    Kai only ignored him as he walked toward Shirotsuka Sanae together with Ayaka.


    "Your score is 1,341 points¡­ Wait, how did you guys get two B-rank beasts?" Sanae suddenly felt something wrong when she calcted their points.


    "What do you mean, Teacher?" Ayaka asked.


    "I mean, the world itself only has one B-rank magical beast¡­ Oh wait, there''s another one¡­ Don''t tell me, you also killed that huge centipede?" Sanae looked at them with a shocked expression that rarely appeared on her face.


    "Yeah. That centipede was really tough... We almost died when we faced it," Ayaka nodded her head.


    "You really did?" Sanae facepalmed.


    "Teacher, is there something wrong with that centipede?" Kai asked.


    Sanae then looked toward the others first before telling them. After all, she couldn''t afford the others to hear their conversation. "This practice world contained two B-rank magical beasts as the strongest magical beasts. But the second magical beast is only supposed to appear in your final exam.


    "We programmed it so that the centipede will appear at that time and not naturally appear¡­" She said as she didn''t know how the centipede could appear at this time and only at their ce.


    "The centipede suddenly crawled out of the ground and attacked us. This centipede gave us more trouble than the A-rank Ape. Is there something special about this centipede, Teacher?" Ayaka asked. Ayaka and Kai already suspected that the centipede had already unlocked its intelligence, but they still wanted to confirm it with Sanae.


    "Sigh¡­ the centipede has unlocked its intelligence. So the final exam for the first years is to fight an intelligent magical beast. But I still can''t understand why the centipede suddenly came out."


    "¡­" All of them were in deep thoughts. But suddenly, Kai was shocked. "Ah!"


    He realized something. Ayaka and Sanae looked at him. Kai scratched his cheek as he said embarrassedly, "It seems that I was the cause."


    "What do you mean?" Ayaka asked.


    "I mean, the centipede can''t hear, but it can feel vibrations. And the two antennas will give the centipede the intensity and the direction of the sound. And I think the centipede didn''t need more than that. Well, I think that''s the most usible reason as to why the centipede suddenly came out," Kai exined.


    Ayaka opened her mouth in shock. She remembered Kai used his ''Special Melody'' continuously so they could ambush the magical beasts one after another. And that gave the centipede their direction.


    She remembered about the seismic concept that Kai exined. Kai could even locate the centipede with that vibration, and the centipede was a magical beast. It wasn''t a normal centipede. In other words, the centipede had enough ability to locate Kai through that vibration.


    Kai was also wondering whether he could use his new magic when he arrived out there. After all, it might even cause them problems. He was thinking about adjusting some concepts so it could only be picked up by him. And of course, without those kinds of vibrations.


    He should be able toe up with something in a week since the skill was almostplete. As long as he adjusted it a little bit, the magic should beplete. It would be very handy if he had something like that in the outside world. Of course, he wouldn''t rely on itpletely. He would always double-check it with his actual hearing. The magic only simplified his hearing and allowed his teammates to see it.


    "Well, it was a good fight. I don''t regret fighting it," Ayaka shrugged.


    Kai only smiled at her.


    "You two¡­" Sanae could only shake her head. She sighed and her face reverted to her uninterested expression. "All right, since both of you have finished, you two can leave. I need to score the other students."


    "¡­" Kai and Ayaka looked at each other and smiled. This teacher was truly unique. Well, they didn''t have anything to do here, so they finally went back to their respective homes.


    When Kai arrived at his home, Tasha suddenly walked up to him.


    "Let''s talk outside," She whispered to his ears.


    Kai nodded his head and came outside.


    "The result of my investigation this week is only one word. They didn''t leave any traces behind," she told.


    "What did you find?" Kai asked.


    "North."


    Kai contemted a bit before he suddenly frowned.


    "Does ''north'' ring a bell to you?"


    Kai pondered a bit more. He then said, "I don''t know whether they''re rted or not, but a few weeks ago, there was this transfer student. His name is Katsuragi Takaki."


    "Katsuragi¡­ Don''t tell me¡­ is he that ''Katsuragi? The Katsuragi family that rules over the north, that big family?" She looked at Kai in shock.


    Kai only said, "Well, I can only think of that. After all, he should be from the north, and with his family''s circumstances, he would have no need toe to this ce and enroll at Genesis Magical Academy. He imed to be Ayaka''s fiance, too."


    She frowned. "This is suspicious. Considering how big the Katsuragi family is, he wouldn''t need to go all the way here since there are also a few schools at the level of Genesis Magical Academy there.


    "And that fiance part is also a bit suspicious to me. I know that Kudo Group''s background was huge. But I don''t think that they stretched their hand to the north. I wonder how this fiance thing suddenly came to be. Hmm¡­ I smell a conspiracy."


    Kai was also troubled about this. After all, the timing was just perfect.


    "How about we go to the north to investigate?" Tasha asked.


    "We? You mean I''ll go too?"


    "Of course," Tasha replied shortly.


    "¡­" Kai was surprised that she invited him.


    "I mean¡­ I''d be d if you could join me. I''m happy to have you by my side. Of course, that''s my personal feeling. But I also want to borrow your hearing ability, since it might be more useful than my space ability for this," Tasha said honestly.


    "Hmm¡­ okay then," Kai nodded. He also thought that it was also like what she said. His hearing might be even more useful to hear what''s outside or when they infiltrated their base, so he epted her invitation.


    "Yes!" Tasha was really happy to see that Kai epted her invitation. Of course, other than the investigation, she also wanted to spend some time together with him.


    "But¡­ how about school?" Kai asked.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of it," She replied hurriedly. Tasha seemed strangely a bit more energetic than usual.


    Kai only shook his head and sighed. He then went inside while Tasha finished her own thing.


    The next day, Tasha immediately finished asking for leave from the school. She even managed to convince their parents with bullsh*t just for this. She came to Kai and gave him an airne ticket.


    Although it might be more convenient to teleport, it was a bit far. Teleporting to faraway ces would be tiring for Tasha, so they decided to go by ne. Of course, under the guise that they were a couple.


    The ne was unlike the usual passenger nes before humanity was overturned. Although the design was simr, the ne was already reinforced with magic, so they could arrive faster. And each flight usually had a soldier to make sure that there would be no problem inside and outside.


    After all, there might be a flying magical beast outside or a magician inside. The soldier''s job was to protect every passenger in case something happens.


    The next Monday.


    School started once again, and the students went into the ss. Surprisingly, Ayaka didn''t find Kai. Even when the teacher came, Kai didn''te to school.


    Katsuragi Takaki tried to take this opportunity to sit beside Ayaka. Unfortunately, she rejected him.


    He even sat on Kai''s seat forcefully, which made Ayaka move to whichever seat was avable. She somehow had this repulsive feeling against him and wanted to avoid him.


    "All right, we''ll start our ss," Sanae said.


    Ayaka suddenly raised her hand, "Teacher, where''s Kai¡­ Carter?"


    "Ah, no need to mind him. It seems that he has a family trip. He''s in¡­"


    ¡­


    Sapporo Okadama Airport.


    Tasha wore a green shirt with a long white skirt. She was wearing a pair of sunsses while holding Kai''s hand. Kai wore a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of long white pants. He was carrying their baggage on his other hand. They were like a couple that was on vacation.


    "Wee to Sapporo Okadama Airport. We hope you''ll enjoy your stay."

 Chapter 31 - Love?

    In a hotel, Tasha and Kai finally put their luggage down.


    At first, the hotel''s staff were surprised since they were only students but only booked one hotel room. However, after giving their identity for a little bit and saying some random bullsh*t like they were on a mission or whatever, the hotel staff finally believed them. Of course, all of that was the hard work of Tasha.


    Luckily, even though they were staying in one room, they had two single beds rather than one double bed. This way, Kai could protect himself if anything happened.


    Kai immediately checked their surroundings to see whether they were under surveince or not. Tasha also tried to check the room for hidden cameras.


    Even though they might look a bit paranoid since they weren''t spies, they needed to do this. It wouldn''t do them any good if they got caught without even getting the chance to start their investigation.


    After checking the hotel room, they looked at each other. Both of them shook their heads at the same time and finally felt relieved.


    "Looks like we''re good," Kai said.


    "Yeah. Well, we''ve settled everything, and the sun is setting. Let''s start the investigation tomorrow. I''m sure it''ll only take one or two days since you''ll have your first ss in the outside world. I don''t want to give you a spoiler, but it shouldn''t be that dangerous."


    "..." Kai twitched his eyebrows, "You just raised a g for your own brother, you know. Haiz, I''m probably going to get bad luck in a few days."


    "There''s no way that''ll happen. Those things only happen in stories," Tasha said.


    Kai shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡­


    The next day, Kai and Tasha went out of the hotel.


    Tasha was having fun dragging Kai from ce to ce. They were like a couple going on a date.


    Of course, even though they were going around like that, Kai and Tasha were actually investigating the area. They were always in a five-kilometer radius from the Katsuragi house.


    It was also because of Kai''s detection range. If they went past that range, it was simply useless as Kai wouldn''t hear anything.


    There was another reason why they didn''t immediately go closer to the Katsuragi house. They wanted to make sure that no one was following them as well as check whether the Katsuragi family knew they wereing.


    Of course, Tasha also used this time to go shopping for various things from clothes to souvenirs for their parents, as well as using it to make memories with Kai.


    They finally came back to the hotel at 9 PM since they had achieved their objective. Not to mention, investigating past this hour might raise their suspicion. As soon as they came inside their room, Kai''s and Tasha''s expression became serious. Their expressions were nowhere like when they were going around as though they were having a date.


    "Did you find anything?"


    "I don''t know, but there''s one thing that''s bothering me," Kai told her.


    "Oh?" Tasha frowned.


    "I just felt that there''s a huge basement under the Katsuragi family''s house, but because it was underground, I couldn''tpletely capture what was in there. If Ayaka is around, I can ask her to make an explosion. And If I can make a big enough Sound Instion Room, I should be able to capture it more urately," Kai sighed.


    But when he turned to look at Tasha, she was pouting, "So, I''ve been trying to avoid this topic, but since you''re bringing it up, I''m going to ask you. Which step are you already in with her?"


    Kai was surprised. He just gave her an honest input, and this happened. "We''re just friends. Since we''re ssmates, partners for the practice sses, and have experienced various things, I think yeah, we''re friends.


    "Well, she''s also smart and easy to talk to. If she can mature up a little bit, she might be a partner that I can trust my back to no matter what."


    "¡­" Tasha couldn''t figure out whether she was a friend, arade, or a student. Kai said they were friends, but what they experienced together made them seem likerades. And it seemed that Kai also gave her some pointers to get stronger.


    However, one thing came to her mind. If all of those were to bebined¡­ they might just be one step away from being lovers. As long as they started falling in love with each other¡­ Tasha''s face became pale when she realized that.


    She never thought that they would have that much progress in less than a month. She asked with a hesitant tone, "You¡­ you don''t love her, right?"


    "Love?" Kai looked at her, confused. He thought about it for a little while. It wasn''t like he was a person who could express or act on his feelings in an instant. He didn''t want to have this conversation for the time being because something else was in his mind, so he was nning to confuse her. "What is love anyway?"


    "Eh?" This time, it was Tasha who was surprised.


    Kai suddenly searched it on the inte. He typed ''What is love?'' in the browser and clicked whatever it was. He sat on his bed and read the article. Tasha even came to his bed and read the article he was reading. It said, "What is love? Most people agree that love implies strong feelings of affection¡­ Hmm, what kind of affection is that? Let me see... There are a few other possible definitions.


    "First, a willingness to prioritize another''s well-being or happiness above my own¡­ half-half, I think. I wouldn''t prioritize her if my family is at stake, but if by prioritizing her, mom and dad will be fine, then it''s fine, I guess.


    "Second, extreme feelings of attachment, affection, and need. Attachment? What is this attachment all about? If it''s talking about if I need to choose someone to go to the outside world¡­ I will bring her indeed since she''s a powerful person with a lot of potential. She also could absorb any advice easily. Well, I onlypared her with my other ssmates, which I don''t know that much about.


    "Third, dramatic, sudden feelings of attraction and respect. My feelings about her are something like this, I guess. I truly respect her from the bottom of my heart. She has powerful strength and talent, but still wants to keep improving.


    "The fourth is ''a choice tomit to helping, respecting, and caring for another''. I will undoubtedly help her if we''re surrounded by magical beasts, and I respect her. And from my experience, I''ve always taken care of her this entire time.


    "Oh wait¡­ ''Note: Such as in marriage or when having a child?'' Eh? I don''t understand why it suddenly came to this stage already? How can this article talk about marriage or having a child when someone just asked about love? Isn''t it a bit too far? I''ll put this definition aside for now.


    "As for thest one, it''s abination of the above emotions¡­bination? But they''re talking about the same thing I believe, it''s about caring, respecting, and helping¡­ Big Sister, am I falling in love with her?" Kai asked innocently, trying to change the topic. The research or whatever bullsh*t he said earlier was just a distraction.


    But when he looked at her, she had already dropped her jaw and froze. Even when he shook her body, she still didn''t move. "Big Sister?"


    After a while, Tasha finally came back to life. She just got shocked out of her life. "Sigh¡­"


    Tasha knew about Kai not believing in love at first sight. But it turned out that it was far worse than that. In fact, he clearly didn''t understand love this entire time. She was stupid having not seen this earlier. In fact, this might be the reason why her advances never seeded.


    Even after so many years of living together, she had never known about this. No, she had never known because she was too afraid to hear Kai say that it was impossible for them. She continued teasing him while hoping that Kai''s heart would be moved.


    Unfortunately, she finally realized that it didn''t affect him. All her energy was drained when she heard this. She asked out of frustration. "Well, how about me? What do you think about me?"


    "You''re my family."


    "But we''re not blood-rted because father and mother adopted me when I was small. You know that. If father and mother hadn''t adopted me, would you love me as a woman?"


    Kai couldn''t understand why she suddenly became like this. After all, when his parents adopted her, he was already six years old.


    "No, I''ll change my question. Is it possible for me? People say that marrying your own family is not good because it will affect their children. But we''re not blood-rted¡­"


    "¡­I don''t know the answer to that question. But I do know that you''re irreceable in my life, I already knew that from long ago. If you''re gone, I might go insane. I don''t know if this is love or not though," Kai honestly answered her question. He didn''t know if this was the best answer or not, but he needed to pretend for the time being.


    "That is enough. That answer is enough for now. Ah, why didn''t I realize this earlier¡­ I was too scared. Don''t you know, you were the one who gave me this life," Tasha suddenly hugged him from behind with a hoarse voice.


    Kai could feel that she was shaking. He could clearly feel her anxiety and fear. He didn''t understand love. They said that if two people of opposite genders stayed in the same ce for a long time, love might bud in their hearts. But Kai thought it that must have been because they were in afort zone.


    Even if they were separated, there wouldn''t be any dramatic drama like in those stories, and they might be fine not long after that. He thought that was the case because they had been living together for a long time.


    But when he thought about losing Tasha, he didn''t know why, but pain clutched his heart. This never happened when he was thinking about Ayaka.


    "Woah!" He suddenly felt a strong force from behind, and it pulled him to the bed.


    "Big Sister?"


    "Fuu¡­fu¡­" He heard her soft voice from behind. And with his ears, he knew from her breathing that she fell asleep.


    He sighed helplessly. He stared at the air in front of him. He felt her warm embrace and thought, ''Love, huh¡­ Just wait a little bit more, all right...''


    ''Though it''s not like I hate being like this once in a while,'' Kai thought as he also closed his eyes.

 Chapter 32 - Ikeda Kenzo

    The next day.


    Kai and Tasha were prepared to infiltrate the Katsuragi Family. Kai had found a suspicious basement with quite a number of people inside.


    They didn''t know if that basement was a storage basement or something else. But considering the image of the Katsuragi family in their heads as well as the number of people Kai somehow heard, the basement might be that ''something else''.


    So, they decided to infiltrate the basement by relying on Tasha''s space magic, while Kai would be the one to show her the way.


    They tried to get close to that big mansion. Kai used his ears to their maximum, trying to get past any surveince. Even though they were wearingrge sunsses and others, those weren''t enough to disguise them.


    Kai wanted to confirm the basement matter once again before infiltrating it at night.


    However, when they walked toward the Katsuragi family''s mansion, they met a certain old man. The old man had ck hair with a portion of white on it. There was a sword mark stretching from just under the right eye toward the right side of his lips and ending just above his chin.


    Even though his white suit and warm expression made him appear like just a genial old man, they could feel the aura of a fighter inside him.


    Kai and Tasha knew who he was. His name was famous, and his achievements had reverberated throughout the entire United Asia. He was one of the S-rank magicians in United Asia, the lightspeed Ikeda Kenzo.


    They didn''t expect to meet him in this ce because his Ikeda family wasn''t from Hokkaido. Ikeda''s family was in Akita. To think such a person came all the way to this ce and walked around the Katsuragi family''s mansion.


    This Katsuragi family was truly suspicious.


    "Oya, I never thought I''d meet the famous Tasha Carter," The old man immediately saw through their disguise. Well, they didn''t really put on an actual disguise since they were only pretending to be a couple that was going around the area.


    The old man then turned his head to Kai, "I see, you must be Kai Carter."


    But when they realized he knew Kai, they were rmed. Kai wasn''t that famous since he was overshadowed by Tasha Carter. A few possibilities came to their minds.


    First, because he was the head of the Ikeda family, he had investigated the other two S-rank magicians other than him and eventually found Kai''s existence. The second was the Katsuragi family.


    "I never thought that I would meet Ikeda''s family head in this ce. It''s my pleasure to meet you," Tasha greeted.


    "Hoho, just call me Old Kenzo. I''m just an ordinary old man passing by. Well, I was wondering what you two might want from this area. If I''m not mistaken, you two should be in school right now."


    "Fufu, you must know that my brother will be going to the outside world this week. So I''m nning to buy some medicines from the Katsuragi family. I can''t be free of worry if he isn''t prepared enough," Tasha exined with a perfect excuse.


    "But there should also be some good medicines in Tokyo. There is no need for you two to buy it from this ce."


    "Haha¡­ it''s true that there are also some good medicines in Tokyo, but the medicines from the Katsuragi family are the best, especially if they''re prescribed ording to my brother''s body. That''s why I''m even bringing him to this ce."


    "Oh, if that''s the case, you two shouldn''t have needed to loiter around this ce yesterday, right?" He asked while narrowing his eyes.


    "!!!" Tasha and Kai caught off-guard. They had been found out.


    But when they realized that, the old man already disappeared. Kai was the fastest to react. He immediately pushed Tasha away and made his improved shield.


    "Oscition Shield."


    The moment he raised his shield, Ikeda Kenzo suddenly appeared in front of him while trying to kick him. His foot was already glowing with yellow light.


    "Kh!" But because of the momentum, Kai could barely block his attack. Although there was no damage to him, the force of this attack alone managed to blow him away.


    "Oh, what a talented young man. He could react to my attack even though that was his first time seeing it."


    "How dare you!" Tasha immediately charged at him. Her fist was covered with lightning as she threw her fist toward his face.


    A yellow magic circle appeared in front of Ikeda Kenzo''s hand as he moved his hand, trying to block Tasha''s fist. It was a magic shield.


    The lightning was rampaging the magic circle, but there were no signs of the magic shield even cracking.


    "Hoho, such power. If I were a tadte in putting up my magic shield, I wouldn''t have been able to escape unscathed from that fist."


    Tasha grinned as a magic circle appeared beneath Kenzo''s feet. It was a purple magic circle that clearly came from Tasha.


    "!!!" Kenzo immediately realized what was going on.


    "Lightning, Charge!"


    "Kah!" Lightning charged from Tasha''s magic circle, trying to electrocute Kenzo.


    "Boom!" Kenzo could still move and destroyed the magic circle with his foot. But the explosion immediately rmed the nearby people. Luckily, they weren''t in an urban area, as they couldn''t see any houses around the street.


    When the smoke rose, Kai immediately regrouped with Tasha. He was in front while Tasha took out her bow.


    Kai suddenly turned his head as he heard a movement. It wasn''t from the people around, but it was from Kenzo. Kenzo appeared at the spot that Kai turned to look at. He appeared unscathed from all of their attacks.


    They knew that Ikeda Kenzo''s element was light. There was a rumor that he was very fast during the day, but he was weak at night. Although it was only a rumor, Kai and Tasha knew that they didn''t have any chance to defeat Kenzo other than believing the rumor.


    However, there was something wrong. They didn''t know why Ikeda Kenzo suddenly attacked them. After all, he shouldn''t have a reason to do something like that since his Ikeda family didn''t have any rtion with the Katsuragi family.


    "I don''t think your Ikeda family has anything to do with our Katsuragi family¡­do we?" Kai asked while taking out his swords.


    "This old man is already too old but has yet to find a worthy sessor for my family. So this old man has no choice other than prolonging this old life until my sessor arrives. After all, I cannot just let all of my achievements that made my family rise go to waste just like that.


    "The current sessor is good, but nheless, the Ikeda family will decline in his hands. So I have no choice other than this. This old man apologizes, but if you two would be so kind as to go back to Tokyo nicely, this old man will be thankful," He said.


    "Heh. So you''re colluding with the Katsuragi family," Tasha snorted.


    "Colluding¡­ well, it''s not colluding. This is only a partnership between this old man and the Katsuragi family."


    "Why are you so honest all of a sudden?" Kai frowned. He tried to check whether he was lying or not through the sound of his heartbeat, and it seemed that he was not lying.


    "It''s a pity. Our world is already overturned by magical beasts, and you two are part of the younger generation with limitless potential, so I cannot bring myself to hurt you. So if you would be so kind, please leave Hokkaido and go back to Tokyo immediately."


    "Do you really think that we''ll just say yes and go back just like that? They dare to target my brother, I can''t let this family go!" Tasha said coldly.


    "Oya¡­ was there such a case? I didn''t know about that. Still, this old man needs to force you to go back. And with our limited time thanks to that explosion, I can only end this fight early," he said.


    Ikeda Kenzo didn''t care about the Katsuragi family. Instead, he loved the younger generation of this country. After all, they were the next generation that would lead the country in the future.


    However, because of his health condition, he could only follow their orders for his family. He also didn''t want them to get caught in this ce, and he didn''t want to imagine what kind of thing those people would do to them if they were caught.


    So, he nned to end this fight as soon as possible and send them back to Tokyo. However, he also knew that Kai and Tasha had their own reasons for doing this. They could only fight earnestly for this.


    He pointed his finger toward them, and a magic circle appeared. The magic circle shot out a light beam toward Kai and Tasha.


    "Light Magic, Shoot."


    Kai immediately raised his hand and made a magic shield.


    "Oscition Shield."


    The beam tried to pierce his shield, but Kai suddenly deflected it to the sky. At the same time, Tasha had already pulled her bow. She made an arrow with her lightning magic and shot it toward Kenzo.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    The arrow flew at lightning speed. However, it seemed that the old man intended to destroy Tasha''s attack. He pointed his finger and shot another beam toward Tasha''s arrow. "Light Magic, Shoot."


    "Boom!" Both attacks immediately exploded when they collided.


    Kai immediately charged toward him with his swords. He swung his sword toward the old man, but the old man suddenly disappeared.


    "!!!" Kai immediately swung his other sword toward his back. The old man finally appeared behind him.


    Because of his light element, Ikeda Kenzo could move as fast as light. Of course, his body couldn''t withstand the actual speed of light. If he could, he would be the strongest person in the world.


    Even Kai could still pick up his movement with his extraordinary hearing and react to it.


    However, when Kenzo saw this attack, he twisted his body a little and grabbed Kai''s wrist as he threw a fist toward Kai.


    "Oscition Shield."


    "Boom" The fist pinned Kai''s shield down. Even though Kenzo was already old, his fist was still packed with so much power. Even Kai''s Oscition Shield suddenly cracked.


    "Seriously."


    "Boy, I need you two to go back now!"


    "I''m sorry, but we can''t. And I''vepleted my objective," Kai smiled. He shouted, "Big Sister!"


    "I know," she pped her hands as arge pink magic circle appeared on the ground. The magic circle covered all of them. "Here we go!"


    "!!!" Kenzo was surprised as he couldn''t avoid this one.


    "Teleportation!" The moment she activated it, they suddenly disappeared. Some people came to this ce to check the explosion after. Unfortunately, they didn''t find anything.

 Chapter 33 - Back

    "Teleportation."


    Tasha teleported all of them to a deserted factory where the light was dim. Kai and Tasha found this ce by chance.


    Kai didn''t start attacking Ikeda Kenzo. Instead, he stopped and asked, "I''m still confused¡­ You act like a subordinate of the Katsuragi family, but at the same time, you act like you''re not."


    "Hoho¡­ Subordinate, you say¡­ It is certainly wrong. I am not their subordinate, but you might be able to consider me as their partner at the moment, as I said earlier. After all, this rtionship is only for benefit. I don''t give a damn about their n, but I still need to follow their n because of this benefit," Kenzo briefly exined.


    "So what is their n?


    "Noment. My family will be affected if I tell you."


    "Why do you want us to go back to Tokyo?"


    "In fact, not only Tokyo. I want you to leave this United Asia. I don''t care where you will go to. As long as you keep fighting magical beasts and try to make a better future," He said.


    "Leave United Asia, you say?" Kai and Tasha frowned.


    "Yes. This ce is soon going to be a battlefield."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I can''t say anything more than that," Kenzo shook his head. "I don''t know why they''re targeting you, but I think that was not the will of the Katsuragi family. Targeting the younger brother of the famous Tasha Carter would be a big problem.


    "I''m sure I would have also been notified if that were the case. I don''t know why you suspect the Katsuragi family, but I think this situation is not because of this family," Kenzo said calmly.


    He knew about the Katsuragi family''s n concerning Kai Carter and Tasha Carter. After all, Tasha Carter was the key to their grand n.


    They even sent their sessor to ''seduce'' her. And he would need to do that by approaching her younger brother first. He thought it must be because of that sudden appearance they thought the matter was rted to the Katsuragi family.


    Of course, he didn''t know about the obsession of Katsuragi Takaki on Kudo Ayaka. If he knew about that as well as her rtionship with Kai, he might understand why they thought that way. It was also the reason why Kai decided to say his name in front of Tasha.


    Kenzo was also put in a hard situation. He knew if Katsuragi Takaki failed to make Tasha Carter his, they would kill her.


    He loved to see every child of the next generation, especially talented ones like Tasha Carter and Kai Carter. After all, he knew that Tasha Carter at least had more potential than him. Kai Carter also had some sort of potential, but he only knew about him being a sound magician.


    Even though Kai seemed to be calm and collective, he still couldn''t bepared to Tasha Carter. He didn''t want them killed, so he decided to tell them to leave United Asia.


    Kai tried to see if he was lying or not, but he found nothing. Whether it was from his look or his heartbeat, everything was normal. He could even hear his muscles'' vibrations. Usually, if a person were lying, there would be signs of such.


    "Kai, do you truly believe him?" Tasha whispered in a low voice. She didn''t take away her eyes from Kenzo and didn''t need toe to him. Even so, Kai could hear it easily with his ears.


    At this point, he didn''t anymore. There was also a possibility that it came from here, but he didn''t know. Kai thought about it before nodding his head. At least, Kenzo didn''t lie to them.


    "Still, the Katsuragi family is truly suspicious. With your personality, why don''t you just let us investigate them? If we find nothing, we''ll quietly leave. I can guarantee you, we won''t be spotted," Kai said.


    "I''m sorry, but I still can''t. If you still want to y this game, then this old man will apany you." Kenzo suddenly disappeared.


    Kai shifted the sword in his right hand a little, trying to intercept him. But before he managed to do it, Kenzo already appeared on his right, and his finger already clung to his neck.


    "!!!"


    Kai was surprised at how fast he was. He was barely able to react. If he had experienced this technique even once before, he would be able to block it. But this was his first time experiencing it, and if Kenzo wanted to kill him, he would have already died.


    He thought that this old man would be slower if they were somewhere dark. Although this ce wasn''t that dark, it should still affect him.


    "Kai!" Tasha shouted as she clenched her bow.


    "Don''t move!" Kenzo said while pinching Kai''s neck. "I don''t want to kill you two. Please go back nicely."


    "Fine, we''ll go back," Kai suddenly agreed.


    "Kai¡­ are you sure?" Tasha was surprised by his decision.


    "Yes," Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "I''ll follow your decision then." Tasha didn''t know why he agreed, but since the matter was concerning him, she decided to follow his decision.


    Kenzo finally released Kai''s neck and retreated a few steps back.


    "But even if we want to go back right now, we don''t have the ne tickets as we have yet to book them," Kai suddenly threw a joke that was out of character. Even Tasha was surprised by it.


    The old man was dumbfounded when he heard that. "Just book a ticket right now and go back."


    "But we''re not from a wealthy family. If we book the ne right now, we''ll get a high price," Kai said again.


    "You¡­ Just buy it!" Kenzo shouted in anger.


    Kai looked at his sister, "Do we have enough money?"


    Tasha didn''t know why Kai was doing this, but she went along with him, "We don''t."


    "Argh. You brat. Just take my money and leave. Give me your Identity number."


    "000004884395." Kai smiled as he said his ID.


    The old man immediately transferred a bit of money to them. "Shut up and take my money."


    He used the money to book two tickets for him and Tasha. "We''ll be going then."


    "Just go, you brat."


    Tasha used her teleportation magic so they could go back to the hotel before checking out.


    Meanwhile, the old man suddenly spat out blood. He was holding it this entire time, and Kai seemed to notice it too. That was why Kai did that.


    Kai had read about his biography too. He knew that Ikeda Kenzo was cheeky and often did things like that when he was young. After getting yed by Kai, he wasn''t mad. Instead, he seemed rather happy.


    "Haiz, that brat. He must''ve known about my condition and wanted to have his little revenge on me because I stopped their investigation. Luckily, there won''t be any potential harm to me. If not, I would be mad. But his actions seem out of character¡­ In fact, he acted like how I was when I was young.


    "That brat must''ve read it somewhere. Haiz, to think that I would taste my own medicine when I''m already at this age. I should let him taste a little pain when I meet him in the future¡­ Well, I hope I won''t meet him again though. The next time I see him will be the moment that Katsuragi starts his n and conquer the entire United Asia.


    "But still¡­ It''s pretty enjoyable to have someone like that in the family. Haiz, the brat in the Ikeda family fears me, so they don''t dare to act like that to me. Only a child would try to act yful to me¡­ unless they had been taught about thoseplicated things."


    Kenzo shook his head as he swept the blood on his mouth. He then came back to stroll around as he felt that Kai wasn''t someone who would easily break a promise.


    He then disappeared.p


    ¡­


    The next day.


    Kai and Tasha hade back. And obviously, it invited Ayaka''s curiosity.


    When Ayaka arrived in ss and saw Kai, she didn''t say anything, but she kept staring at him.


    Because Kai came to school very early, he unknowingly got the seat back before Katsuragi Takaki took his seat.


    Katsuragi Takaki was hoping to sit together with Ayaka, but Ayaka always avoided him. It was a disastrous day for Ayaka, who needed to keep avoiding him. So when she saw that Kai came back, she was happy, but also a bit angry.


    As soon as she reached her former seat, she narrowed her eyes and kept staring at him.


    Kai had predicted this would happen, and her stare was also hurt.


    Fortunately, after considering Ayaka''s personality, Kai had bought a present for her. He put it on the desk and pushed it toward her.


    "Don''t ask anything, please."


    "Fine. Although I''ve been curious about it since I saw your parents in your house yesterday even though the teacher said you were on a family trip, I won''t ask any questions. And you came back at the perfect time."


    "Perfect time? And what do you mean by seeing my parents at my house?"


    "Ah!" Ayaka unconsciously blurted that out. She was just a bit curious as to where he went, and because of that, she tried to ''investigate'' it, but in her ''investigation'', she found out that his parents were still there.


    "You just came at the perfect time since today, we''ll know who will be in our groupter for the test in the outside world," Ayaka said, trying to change the topic.


    Just when he was going to ask about it, Shirotsuka Sanae came to the ss.


    "This will be your group in the uing test."

 Chapter 34 - Group

    "This will be your group in the uing test."


    Kai and Ayaka were searching for their names.


    Kai Carter


    Kudo Ayaka


    Fujino Chitose


    Carmina Elvera


    They finally saw their names. It seemed to be for the sake of convenience, or maybe because their teacher was toozy to divide them equally, but she just paired up two groups together. Even though she was supposed to make a group of five for this event. Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t have time for that¡­ No, in fact, she didn''t want to make time for that.


    Bullsh*ting would be easier than making a bnced group for her students. Ayaka and Kai were paired up with a group that had performed well in the party. But of course, they were nowherepared to them.


    Kai also looked for George''s name. Even though they didn''t talk to each other that much, he was one of the first people he knew in this school. So, at least, he wanted to see who he was grouped up with. However, surprisingly, when he found George''s group, he saw a name that made him frown.


    Inshov Tanas Georgiy


    Ebinuma Sae


    Katsuragi Takaki


    Wada Miyako


    Kai was dumbfounded when he saw that. He never expected that George and Katsuragi Takaki would be in the same group. Although his investigation this time didn''t bring any results, he already knew that the Katsuragi family was suspicious.


    After all, there was no way that Ikeda Kenzo warned them and made them leave Hokkaido for no reason¡­ Not just Hokkaido, but United Asia. They didn''t know what the Katsuragi family was nning, but it also wouldn''t be that easy to leave the entire region.


    The closest region from theirs was the US base. However, they needed to fly across the entire Pacific Ocean if they wanted to fly there safely. After all, various flying magical beasts would most likely intercept them and ruin their n.


    The only way was to fly across the sea. At first, mankind tried to cross the sea, but to no avail. All of it was because they got intercepted by the magical beasts in the sea.


    It would be very costly if they were to try to fly toward the US base. Because of that, Kai and Tasha didn''t tell their parents about this yet. Only special people could fly to another base.


    Although Kai and Tasha weren''t scared by this incident, they were scared that something would happen to their parents. So Tasha tried to make some money to prepare themselves. At least enough money to get their parents away.


    Suddenly, George turned his head and looked at Kai. He gave him a thumbs up. "Hehe, you got yourself surrounded by beauties."


    Kai''s eyebrows twitched. Fujino Chitose was a Japanese beauty. Coupled with her ck hair and ck eyes, she had an elegant aura around her. Not only that, but she was also strong. ording to the circting information, she was one of the aces for the first-year students in the Kendo Club. Her element was wind, and itplemented her fighting style very well.


    The other girl in his group was Carmina Elvera. She was half-Filipino half-Japanese. Her ancestor fled from the Philippines to this ce when the outbreak urred and settled down. She had brown hair and crystal ck eyes as well as a graceful body. Although she was a C-rank magician, it seemed that her element was a rather unique one.


    She could control the nts around her. Kai didn''t know much about her, but it seemed that she would be a perfect support for the team.


    Kai already got a role for all of them. He would be the scout and asionally a vanguard to support in the battle. Ayaka would be the leader since Kai felt that she was the most well-known person in the group. He didn''t mind about it since he knew Ayaka had matured up. At least, she had matured enough not to make a stupid mistake in the outside world. Of course, he would step in if he had to.


    Fujino Chitose would be the vanguard or attacker since he thought that she would be perfect for the job. Andstly, Carmina Elvera would be the support. She should be able to support them in restricting the enemy with her nts.


    Kai looked at George for a while. He was hesitating, but ultimately, he said in a low voice that only George could hear, "Be careful of Katsuragi Takaki."


    George was surprised to hear that. Although Kai might have a little friction with this Katsuragi Takaki, he shouldn''t have told him something like that if that was the case. He felt something was wrong when he heard Kai mention his name.


    George only nodded his head whileughing. "Don''t tell me you''re worried about me? Wait, we''re not that close. Well¡­ we know each other at the opening ceremony, so I guess we''re sort of closer. Anyway, good luck to you too."


    He didn''t take Kai''s words seriously. He just thought that Kai hated Katsuragi Takaki because he kept pestering Ayaka.


    When Kai saw him like that, he could only shake his head. Well, he already warned him, so Kai decided not to care anymore.


    He then looked at Ayaka.


    "Ayaka, I think you should be the leader of this group," Kai said.


    "What? You''re more capable than I am," Ayaka was dumbfounded when he asked her to be the leader. After all, Kai''s ability was beyond hers, so she thought that he should be the leader.


    "Well¡­ I don''t know whether they''ll believe me in the battle if I take the job. Or maybe they''d want to be the leader. Anyway, I think you''re the ''biggest'' person in our group. They should at least respect you with your status," Kai said.


    "What about you? You also have a big status. I mean, you''re Tasha Carter''s younger brother."


    "Nah¡­ Although I''m Tasha Carter''s¡­ I mean, an S-rank magician''s younger brother, unlike you, I''m only a D-rank magician."


    "But you-!" Ayaka wanted toin, but Kai stopped her.


    "Sometimes, someone''s rank is more important than their actual ability. Don''t worry, if we"re stuck, I''ll take over. At that time, you should use your status to convince them," Kai said with a smile.


    She looked at him, frowning. After contemting for a while, she nodded. "Fine, I''ll be the leader. But you-!"


    Before she managed to convey another thing to him, Shirotsuka Sanae continued, "You might be confused as to why the group only consists of four people instead of five. This is also for your growth. With one less person in your group, you''ll feel more pressure and grow faster.


    "It''s certainly not because I was toozy to make a bnced group for each of you," Shirotsuka Sanae exined with a poker face. She even told them her real reason that made the entire ss twitch their eyebrows and curse in their heads.


    "Anyway. I''ll tell you about the region where all of you will be deployed. We have practically almost conquered the entire South Korea and most of North Korea. And since this is your first practical mission, you''ll go to an area that''s considered safe.


    "The front line is in the Manpo region, around China''s border. And you''ll be stationed in the Kanggye region. Your mission is to kill the magical beasts that the soldiers on the front line had missed out on.


    "Don''t worry. I"ll also try to observe each of you and save you if I need to. However, don''t put any trust in meing to your rescue. After all, that area is big, and only all of you will move around the area unless you meet any soldiers that are stationed around there. So unless you can buy time long enough until I get there, do something by yourself.


    "Ah, if you''re wondering about the other sses, they also have this mission. However, they''ve been stationed in Hyangsan or Hyesan.


    "Anyway, your task is just to scout around the area and kill the remaining magical beasts. Your exact position will be above Kanggye Stadium. There''s a mountain range area above this stadium," Shirotsuka Sanae exined while showing the map on the screen.


    She looked at the students that started getting anxious since they knew that they might die for real in the mission.


    "Most of the magical beasts have been cleared, so you don''t need to be that anxious. There will also be two other teachers that will join me in supervising you.


    "However, what I want all of you to remember is never panic in any kind of situation. The moment you lose your cool, your chance of survival will decrease dramatically," Shirotsuka Sanae said with a serious expression.


    The students gulped down.


    Ayaka and Kai knew what they needed to do after school. They would immediately search for any information around the area.


    "You"ll be in this ce for three days. Remember, there is no ranking in this mission. You only need to kill and survive," Shirotsuka Sanae shrugged her shoulders.


    "That''s all. You can discuss with your teammates right now and make your ns."


    After that, the students started gathering with their respective groups. It seemed that Shirotsuka Sanae made every group have at least one guy in it. And a group like George''s had two guys in it because all the groups already had one male.


    Kai then looked toward the two beauties in front of him. Ayaka then said without any reservation.


    "We"ll start with an introduction first. Will that be alright with all of you?"

 Chapter 35 - Idle Talk

    "I''m Fujino Chitose from the Kendo Club. I have confidence in my sword," the ck-haired girl said.


    "I"m her partner for each practical ss. My name is Carmina Elvera. You can call me Carmina to make it simple."


    "My name is Kudo Ayaka. You can call me Ayaka," Ayaka said before pointing her finger at Kai. "He''s Kai, Kai Carter. You might already know that he''s my partner."


    "And your boyfriend, right?" Fujino Chitose suddenly added.


    "Wha-!" When Ayaka heard that, her face instantly became red. "Wha-what are you saying-!"


    "Chitose, you can''t say that in front of her. It''s rude. I mean, she''s a Kudo," Carmina immediately corrected her.


    "Eh-?" Ayaka froze when she heard that. She exined hurriedly with a weird smile, "Please don''t be like that. I''m just ss 1-A''s Kudo Ayaka, your ssmate. There is nothing beyond that point."


    "..." Both Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera were dumbfounded when they heard that. Although they felt Ayaka was approachable, they never dared to approach her because of her family''s status. In fact, Ayaka looked approachable because of Kai. Every time she talked to Kai, she looked like she was having fun.


    So, when they heard this, they were astonished.


    "I''m just an ordinary student in this ce, so I hope that you won''t treat me like I''m someone special," Ayaka sincerely said.


    "Eh¡­" Fujino Chitose and Carmina looked at each other. The situation was filled with awkwardness.


    "I''m a fire magician, I think, attacking is my strongest strength," Ayaka said, trying to change the topic.


    "Sound magician, I''m good at scouting," Kai introduced himself while giving a slight nod.


    "I''m a wind magician. I can use the wind to roughly feel the enemy. In a fight, I can also use the wind to help me move. Because of this, I can be the vanguard," Fujino Chitose replied hurriedly, trying to get rid of the previous awkwardness.


    "nt magician. I can grow or manipte nts nearby. My nts can restrict the enemy''s movement."


    "Eh¡­ Can Miss Carmina grow nts strong enough to handle an attack from a magical beast?" Kai suddenly asked.


    "Hehe¡­ you don''t need to call me Miss. Just call me by my name. I mean, it will be awkward to say ''Miss Carmina, please restrict that beast'' in battle when you can just say ''Carmina, restrict that beast.'' No need to be polite. Well, Chitose is the one who taught me that," Carmina said with a chuckle.


    Kai nodded his head. "You can call me Kai too. Anyway, can you do something like that?"


    "Yes, I can," Carmina nodded while looking at Kai. She asked, "How about you? I mean, I haven''t met a sound magician before, so I''m a bit curious."


    However, before Kai could even answer her, Ayaka already started exining. "Ah, he''s a powerful magician. He has extraordinary hearing, so it''ll be unlikely for us to get ambushed. He can make a Sound Instion Room so we can ambush without getting noticed. And, and, we can¡­"


    Ayaka suddenly stopped when she noticed everyone''s look around her. She then looked down with her face red as a tomato. She realized she was too excited.


    "I see. You two must be dating," Chitose suddenly said.


    "Wha-! No no no!" Ayaka tried to deny it. However, her face said otherwise. Even when she was trying to deny it, she couldn''t help but smile. She didn''t know why, but she felt happy when people said that.


    "You''re too excited when you talk about him. And your expression when denying it is not convincing at all," Chitose said with a poker face. She then looked at Kai who was still expressionless. "You''re not dating?"


    Kai shook his head without any expressions. Ayaka somehow felt uneasy when she saw that. She screamed inwardly, ''Hmph. I don''t like you either. We''re just partners! That''s right, this must be the case. I just felt that they will steal my partner since Kai is very reliable. Wait! This is bad. How could I praise him again?!''


    "Tch, boring. Oh, then, can Ie to your house? No, at least let me meet your sister. I''ve been idolizing her for a few years. Ah, she''s my inspiration, and I chose to enroll in this school because of her," Chitose requested.


    "Well¡­ you probably can. I''ll try to contact herter," Kai said uninterestedly.


    "Ah! Thank you so much!" Chitose was so happy when she heard she could meet Tasha face-to-face. She even bowed to him while pumping her fist.


    "Good for you, Chitose," Carmina said with a hollow smile. "Can I tag along too? I''m a bit curious to see what kind of mansion an S-rank magician has."


    "Ahem, maybe not in our house?" Kai said while scratching his cheek. After all, it would be a bit awkward to let a stranger juste to his house as this was the first time they met.


    "Well¡­ fine. Just meeting my idol is enough for me. I''ve never dreamt of setting my foot upon an S-rank magician''s house. Ah, it must be a huge mansion or even a castle," Chitose said, imagining a huge western castle.


    "... It''s not even a mansion. It''s just a normal family house," Kai shook his head and replied.


    "I¡­ I''ll alsoe with you!" Ayaka suddenly said with an embarrassed face. It took her all courage just to say that.


    Kai only nodded at her. "Anyway, let''s go back to the topic. We need to discuss our n for a little. First, we need a leader. Well, let''s just have Ayaka be the leader since she''s an A-rank magician."


    "Yeah. I don''t have any objections," Chitose nodded.


    "Fufu¡­ Chitose and I are the reckless types. Even in our practice sses, we only went around and killed the magical beasts without any n or whatsoever. So, having a leader would be a good idea," Carmina exined.


    Kai was astonished to hear that. He thought he would need to convince them a bit more before they agreed to have Ayaka as their leader, but to think it would be this easy. He immediately calmed himself down, "Cough¡­ Well, since there are no objections, Ayaka will be the leader for this group."


    "Secondly, I need to confirm our position in this group first. My ability is useful for scouting, so I''ll be the scout. Ayaka''s fire magic is powerful, so she''ll be our main attacker. Carmina will be our support to restrict the magical beasts or block an enemy attack. And Chitose will be our vanguard."


    "I don''t have any objections," Carmina nodded.


    "Umu, I won''t let any single magical beast get past me," Chitose nodded and pumped her fist on her chest.


    "Do you have any words for us, Leader?" Kai turned to Ayaka and said with a teasing tone.


    "Wha-! You¡­" Ayaka was startled by that. She quickly calmed down and said, "Anyway. There''s no requirement for us in this mission other than to survive, so we don''t need to take any risks."


    "Oh, by the way, how will we get to that ce?" Kai suddenly asked a question that no one could answer.


    Since no one could answer, Ayaka raised her hand and asked Shirotsuka Sanae, "Teacher, How will we get there?"


    "Good question. We will go there by military aircraft andnd at Changjin Aircraft base. After that, the military will send us to the Kanggye region with a helicopter. As for your group''s mission, such as the area you need to search and so on, I''ll hand it to you at ater date," Shirotsuka Sanae exined.


    After that, Ayaka then said, "Each of us should research the area first. With that, at least we''ll have a basic idea about the region. We need to be careful, but not too tense. After all, this isn''t like the practical ss. If we die, then we"ll die for real. I don''t mean to pressure you, but please take note of that."


    Chitose and Carmina nodded. Chitose suddenly remembered something. "Kai¡­ I''ve been wanting to ask this, but since we didn''t even know each other previously, I refrained myself. Teacher Shirotsuka Sanae told us that you wear noise-canceling headphones for medical reasons, may I know why?"


    Kai immediately looked at her. He tried to see whether this girl had some ulterior motives.


    "What?" Chitose was confused when Kai just stared at her without saying anything.


    Kai only shook his head. He was trying to pressure her to see if she had any ulterior motives, but it seemed that she was just curious. However, Kai still didn''t have any intention to answer it. After all, he was still confused by the Katsuragi family. He didn''t know whether the one in front of him was a friend or an enemy.


    Ayaka was different, as Kai had known her before everything happened. He decided to lie, "Nothing. My ears can pick electromaic waves and that makes my ears hurt a lot. The headphones protect me from that."


    Ayaka was dumbfounded when she heard Kai''s exnation. She wanted to ask why Kai lied to them. However, if they found out that Kai was lying, he would be scrutinized. She decided to ask him in private.


    Soon after, the school bell rang.


    When they heard that, Shirotsuka Sanae said without dy, "All right, you''re free to go home."


    Chitose and Carmina looked at Kai with expectant looks, especially Chitose. Kai knew what they wanted, he said, "I''ll call her first."

 Chapter 36 - First Meeting

    Carter family''s house.


    It was a humble modern family house. The house was designed to have a peaceful atmosphere. However, even with that design, it couldn''t rece the tense atmosphere inside the house.


    Eight people were sitting in a living room. In front of them, there was a big white box that had a big cake in it.


    Kudo Ayaka, Fujino Chitose, and Carmina Elvera were sitting on a sofa while Kai and Tasha were standing on the side. It seemed that their father had run away with whatever excuse he gave to his wife, Ayaka Carter. Ayaka Carter''s face was full of smiles.


    Kai was sweating when he saw this situation. He didn''t know why they were in this situation.


    ...


    An hour ago.


    Kai went outside for a while to call his sister. He opened hismunication device and dialed her number.


    Not long after that, he heard his sister''s voice, "What is it? It''s rare for you to call me."


    "You know about my practical test, right?" Kai asked.


    "Yeah. You''ll go to Kanggye Region in two days. The student council is currently handling the paperwork. And that teacher really made groups of four for this ss, which is supposed to have five people per group, just because she waszy," Tasha exined.


    "Well, my teammates want to meet you because you''re their idol."


    "Who suggested it? Was it Kudo Ayaka? No, she couldn''t be the one to suggest it. Then it must be either Fujino Chitose or Carmina Elvera."


    "Eh? How do you know my group members? It was Fujino Chitose who suggested it," Kai said with astonishment.


    "As I said earlier, the student council is handling the paperwork. So I''ve seen your group. Well, I think I can make time for that. Although I''ve seen their profiles, I need to make sure whether they will be your teammates or just burdens," Tasha said righteously. In fact, she got the information by abusing her authority as one of the members of the Student Council.


    However, before Kai said anything, he could hear another voice in themunication line.


    ''Tasha, who is it? Judging from your tone, it must be Kai. What''s he talking about?''


    Kai recognized this voice, but he never expected that she would be there. "Sister, where are you right now?"


    "Hold on! Mom! I''m talking with Kai!" Tasha shouted as their mother suddenly stole hermunication device. Tasha tried to grab it back, but to no avail. It might be her motherly instinct that let her avoid Tasha''s movement, or might be something else. She still effortlessly asked Kai, "What do you want, Kai, for you to suddenly call your sister like this?"


    "Nothing. My ssmates just want to meet Sister. And since they''re also my teammates for the practical test in two days, so I thought it would be good to know better since it won''t be anywhere simr to the practice ss."


    "Oh, who are they, Darling?" She asked.


    "Kudo Ayaka, Fujino Chitose, and Carmina Elvera," Kai answered honestly.


    Ayaka Carter''s eyes were reced with stars. She smirked, "Are you going to meet her in schoolter? Or somewhere else?"


    "I don''t know, It''ll be up to Elder Sister," Kai said.


    "How about setting it in our house? I also want to see your future wi- Ahem, your teammates."


    "But, isn''t Sister busy right now? I mean, handling the paperwork and stuff. I thought it would be fine as long as they met her," Kai said confusedly.


    "Is she? She didn''t say anything like that when she came back. She said she was frustrated because you would go for a ''pic'' with three beauties. So, she wanted to make several ns to intercept that. So just bring them home, okay?" Ayaka Carter exined.


    "..." Kai was speechless when he heard that. He could even hear Tasha''sining voice in the background.


    "This is an order from your mom, all right? You''re bringing them here!"


    "... Yes, Mom..." He could only agree to his mother''s overbearing tone.


    Kai could only shake his head as he went back to the ssroom. He looked at Ayaka, who had a red face, confused. He tried to look at Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera to seek an answer.


    Fujino Chitose nced at Ayaka first before looking at Kai. She shrugged her shoulders and said while ncing at Ayaka from time to time like she was unsure whether she could say it or not. "Well, Ayaka was curious, so she tried to eavesdrop on your conversation. But she was startled by the fact that we would go to your house. So, she called someone to buy a present. I don''t know who she called though."


    "No no no. That''s not it. I just thought it would only be ethical for me to bring a present since this would be my first time meeting the honorable uncle and auntie," Ayaka immediately denied, but the way she exined it was¡­


    Kai could only sigh helplessly. "Anyway, it''s as you heard. We''re going to my house¡­ and don''t expect anything since it''s only a normal family house."


    "I don''t care! I only want to meet my idol," Fujino Chitose replied hurriedly. Carmina Elvera was reading something on her device, and her face became somehow tense. However, because of the situation, no one was paying attention to her.


    "Well, I''ll guide you there."


    "We can go using my car!" Ayaka suddenly suggested another solution proudly. And as she had investigated him when he had a ''family trip'', she already knew his address.


    Looking at her, they thought they shouldn''t decline her offer. Kai could see the butler with a white box in his hand.


    "Young Miss, this is the most expensive cake from the nearest store since I didn''t have enough time," As expected of an experienced butler. Ayaka only asked him a few minutes ago, but he already came back to this ce with a box of cake. He was even ready to greet them.


    He opened the car door for them. And from their movements, Kai could see that Fujino Chitose seemed to be one from a wealthy family, as her movement was elegant. As for Carmina Elvera, she was acting crudely like him, so their families should be at the same level.


    After that, the butler immediately drove the car.


    As soon as they arrived at the Carter family''s house, Fujino Chitose was surprised at how ordinary their house was. She thought that they would have at least a bigger house as they had Tasha Carter, who was an S-rank magician.


    However, she already said that she didn''t care, so she only followed Kai''s lead. And surprisingly, before they were close to the gate, his mother, Ayaka Carter, suddenly came out of the house.


    "Ah, so you three are Kai''s teammates. Come in,e in," she said with a cheerful tone.


    "This¡­ this isn''t much, but please ept it," Ayaka became embarrassed when she was trying to give it to her.


    "Oh! Such a thoughtful youngdy. What''s your name?"


    "Ayaka, Kudo Ayaka."


    "Nice to meet you. I am Ayaka Carter, Kai''s mother," she introduced herself as she looked at her up and down. "So this is Kai''s partner for the practice sses. Hmm¡­ All right, I approve. And her name is also Ayaka, so we''ll have double Ayaka in the future. Sounds nice."


    When Ayaka realized what she meant, Ayaka blushed and tried to exin it to her, "I¡­ I''m not. I''m just Kai''s ssmate, and Kai has been taking care of me this whole time."


    "Well,e in first."


    When they came in, they could see Tasha standing on the side. Fujino Chitose suddenly came to her, "Woah! I finally met my idol! I''m Fujino Chitose, I came to this school just to meet you."


    "Ye-yes. Thank you." Tasha smiled just to show her appreciation for Chitose''s determination. "If I''m not mistaken, you''re from the Fujino house in Miyagi, right?"


    "Yes! I''m honored you know about us," Chitose was happy when she heard that. She never expected Tasha to know about her.


    Since Kai didn''t need to worry about Chitose again as she was upied with her admiration for his sister, he then turned to the rest. And surprisingly, before anyone realized it, Ayaka was already in the kitchen with his mother to prepare the cake.


    And the most suspicious one was Carmina. Even though she appeared very calm while sitting on the couch, her heart was beating rapidly. Kai shook his head and thought it must be because it was the first time she visited their house.


    After his mother felt satisfied with Ayaka, they came upstairs, specifically to his room. He thought this would be their original purpose as he wanted to discuss it more openly with others. However, they didn''t know why, but Tasha Carter also followed them to the room. But it seemed that no one was bothered by her presence.


    Kai shook his head helplessly as he took out a big map that showed the North Korea region. Well, the map was on the device, so it wasn''t an actual paper map. As the map was from the inte, there was no further exnation, unlike a military map. They might have a bit of marking every now and then, and that showed their progress or something.


    Kai looked at Ayaka and the rest as he said, "Now, the first objective has beenpleted, and my sister is here too. So, let''s start talking about our mission, shall we?"

 Chapter 37 - Another Hidden Scheme?

    "Let''s start, shall we?" Kai looked at Ayaka, who was the leader of the group, to start their small meeting.


    However, before she started, Tasha suddenly spoke, "Ah, if you''re talking about the Kanggye region, I need to warn you about something.


    "Although most of the magical beasts in that region have been killed by the soldiers there, that ce is still close to China''s border, where the current battlefield is. So, if somehow there are magical beasts that have fled from that border toward you, you shouldn''t panic. Immediately retreat, and, if possible, inform your teacher straight away," Tasha exined while pointing at the map directly.


    Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera tensed up. If it was the past Ayaka, she would do the same. She was more mature now, so she asked, "If we get attacked from the north, it''ll be hard to escape through the woods."


    Kai and Tasha agreed with her. If it were Tasha, she would escape with teleportation. However, for Ayaka, she would escape using her Fire Wings and fly to the sky. It could be done if they were alone, however, Ayaka knew when she proposed this, they had two otherrades in this test.


    After hearing that, Fujino Chitose said, "I have flying magic. In fact, this is my specialty. I''ll take Carmina if we need to escape."


    Kai and Ayaka looked at her for a while and nodded their heads. Kai added, "Well, there''s nothing wrong with being prepared, so no need to be tense."


    "All right. Let''s move on to the Kanggye region." Ayaka then pointed at the Kanggye Stadium. "We will be hunting magical beasts in the mountain area. We don''t have any information about the base or the mission, so it''s a bit hard to specte on what course to choose."


    "Ah, if you''re talking about the base, the academy will set up a temporary base in the Kanggye Stadium. A few soldiers will help the teachers in that base," Tasha said while looking away.


    As for why she knew that, it was obviously because she already covered up all the information she could get as a student council member. If she knew about the mission, she would also blurt it out even though she shouldn''t do it. Unfortunately, the mission would be given by the soldiers on the scene.


    "Sister, are you sure you''re allowed to talk about that?" Kai nced at her.


    "Of course I can. As long as no one knows, it''ll be fine. Well, even if they do know, they''ll only reprimand me a bit, that''s all," she shrugged.


    Ayaka suddenly spoke, "Anyway, we''ll need to act ording to the mission we getter. Well, first of all, I think by knowing what we can do, we''ll be able to coordinate better as a group.


    "Anyway, I''ll start with mine. My fire magic, I can use three types of magic. The first one is movement. It can only increase my speed. The second type is flying. Andst but not least is my firepower. I''m confident that I can st a powerful monster away."


    Even though she suggested this, she never said anything about the details about her power like what she did with Kai. After all, unlike the partner thing for the practice sses, this group was not fixed. In other words, they would have another group next month. To counter that, she decided to keep it as vague as possible while providing her teammates with the necessary information.


    Kai also exined his ability to help convince the others. "I have extraordinary hearing. I can roughly hear the magical beasts around me, which is essentially the same as telling me their position. With that, we can set up an ambush for them or avoid them.


    "Well, most of my skills are useful for scouting, so don''t expect anything from me other than scouting," Kai said.


    "Then it''s my turn. My wind element is good for enhancing my maneuverability. That way, I can distract the magical beasts so that they won''t get in your way. My wind magic can help me fly or give a jump boost for anyone around me. It''s like a gust of wind from beneath your feet.


    "I can also boost the power of my katana with my wind element, so I have confidence in my ability to be a vanguard," Fujino Chitose said with her usual confidence.


    After seeing that all of them had introduced themselves, Carmina also needed to exin her ability, "My ability is nt magic. I can grow trees from the ground or help the trees grow. I can make them restrict the magical beasts."


    After introducing their abilities, they continued discussing their battle ns. When they finished their discussion in Kai''s house, Chitose immediately called for her driver to pick them up, and as usual, she would go back together with Carmina and drop her in front of her house.


    It was just like their usual thing.


    "Bye!"


    "Bye!" Carmina waved her hands while watching Chitose''s car slowly drive away.


    When she couldn''t see the car again. instead ofing inside, she looked at the highest building four blocks away from her position.


    She started walking toward that building.


    After a few minutes of walking, she finally arrived. And the one she met in front of that building was a silver-haired man. The silver-haired man smiled and stretched his hand toward her.


    Of course, she smiled and epted his hand like it was a blessing.


    ¡­


    A few hourster.


    Inside a hotel room, far away from the Carter family''s house, there was a silver-haired man as well as a pink-haired woman on the bed. They were naked while sweat covered all of their body.


    "Takaki-sama, I don''t mind about the position. As long as I can stay beside Takaki-sama, I''m satisfied."


    It turned out that the silver-haired man was Katsuragi Takaki. And the woman was Kai''s teammate, Carmina Elvera. She even called Takaki with the honorific from Japanese tradition because Takaki, as the young lord from a family that emphasized Japanese tradition, asked her to do so.


    She did this so she could get all the resources as well as protection from the Katsuragi family. No, to be precise, she just wanted to live leisurely by leeching off the Katsuragi family.


    In fact, she received a message from Katsuragi Takaki. He was convincing her to be his spy, and meeting in this ce was to seal the deal.


    "Haha¡­ Of course," Katsuragi Takaki said smugly. ''Foolish woman.''


    "It seems that they''ll set up a base in Kanggye Stadium. Then, our group will be heading north," she told him.


    "I''ll have you bring a tracker with you. That way, I can keep track of your position."


    "Yes. I''ll do anything."


    "But¡­ hmm, what should I do with them? I need to kill Kai Carter in this test," Katsuragi Takaki said to show his sincerity. It was just to fool Carmina Elvera into believing he trusted her.


    And she believed that. She contemted for a while before saying, "Today, Tasha Carter said that region would be close to the front line. And even though the soldiers had been clearing that ce of magical beasts, there''s still a probability that the soldiers missed some magical beasts and entered that area."


    When he heard that, a smirk formed on Katsuragi Takaki''s face. "That''s good. I''ll ask my subordinates to lead some magical beasts or a few powerful magical beasts to your position."


    "But how about me? I''ll also be attacked by the magical beasts," Carmina said with a pale face.


    "Hmph, don''t worry. You can just say you''ll split up or make him hold the fort while you call the teacher. That way, he''ll die after getting rammed by the magical beasts, and you''ll be safe," Katsuragi Takaki said proudly.


    "As expected of Takaki-sama, only you can make a n like that. I''ll do my best to make sure he dies," Carmina assured.


    Katsuragi Takaki made a smug smile. Sadly, in reality, he was cursing Carmina in his heart. ''Hmph, foolish woman. You''re not even worth sh*t, and you think you''re special just because of this? Hmph, you''ll die along with that b*stard. After that, I can slowly approach Ayaka and that b*tch Tasha.


    ''I also need to hide this matter from my family. If that father of mine knows about this, he''ll surely stop me. That greedy man surely wants to acquire that bastard, Kai too. I won''t let anyone who dares to seduce my Ayaka live!''


    "Takaki-sama?" She looked at him.


    Katsuragi Takaki smiled evilly as he grabbed Carmina''s breast. Because of the poption problem, they were allowed to have sex as soon as they reached high school. It was because the government knew how dangerous the outside world was.


    Since high school students who studied in the Magical Academy would go to the front lines, if they died at that ce, it would be a considerable loss. Because of that, they allowed something like this, and it seemed that because of magic, humans were already in their prime the moment they reached high school, and they wouldn''t have a problem if they became pregnant at such an age.


    In fact, that way, they could take a break for a year from the front lines. Well, to prepare their muscles and magic, high school students would need to be at least 17 years old.


    They continued doing their activities.

 Chapter 38 - New Magic, New Terrorist?

    It was the day of the practical test.


    Kai was looking at a white military uniform, waiting to be put on. Since the camo-style military uniform was not effective against the magical beasts, they chose a white military uniform to rece it.


    There were two main reasons for that. First, it was so that nearby allies could recognize them, especially when they were in the forest or something since the white color would stand out the most. As for the other reason, it was to differentiate the student and the current soldiers.


    When he put on his white uniform, he appeared more gant and stylish. In fact, this was not like a soldier''s uniform anymore. It looked like a military uniform for celebrations.


    At the same time, he heard the click on his door. He knew what would happen, so he threatened her. "If you enter, I won''t talk to you for a week."


    Kai knew Tasha was the one in front of his room. In fact, Tasha was ready to ambush him and take pictures of him. However, with Kai''s threat, she didn''t dare to do it. Because she knew, Kai was very serious about it.


    She could only sulk and go downstairs.


    His parents seemed to like the uniform too. Ultimately, they took a few photos. Of course, Tasha was the one who convinced them¡­ so she could have his picture and let her eyes have a feast.


    Well, with his parents joining the fray, Kai let them do what they wanted. After finishing his breakfast, he finally went to school.


    As soon as he arrived at school, he noticed that there were a few buses parked in front of the school. It wasn''t only for their ss, but also for the other sses of the first-years. They were going to take them to the military airport before going to the Changjin Aircraft base. After that, they would go toward the Kanggye Stadium with choppers.


    He looked around and saw Ayaka in her new military uniform. Although the white military uniform wasn''t that different from their usual white school uniform, it still gave them a different expression from their usual impression.


    The uniform was a bit tight, which exposed their body figures. And with Ayaka''s nice figure, she stood out. Kai was slightly astonished. She also wore a short white tight skirt that was designed like a women''s sport skirt so she could move easier.


    "Kai, have you prepared?" Ayaka came to him and asked with a smile.


    He nodded. "It''s all right. Well, I have a skill that can help uster and I might use it constantly. So you''ll know about itter."


    "Oh? A new skill? I''ve been working on one, but I still can''t quite wrap my finger around the concept. I want to make a dyed skill." She said.


    "A dyed skill? The one where you nt it first before you can remotely activate it or with timing?" Kai asked.


    "Yeah. I''m going with the timing. Although the timing is a bit hard, I think I''ll be able to grasp the timing well with practice. At first, I wanted to make one that I would be able to control remotely. But it''d be a bit difficult since I won''t be able to control it if I''m too far."


    "Too far? If you''re fine with me asking, what kind of skill do you want to make?"


    "I want to make a Time Bomb!" she answered with a cheerful tone, a bright smile pasted on her face.


    "Oi, girl. You''re dangerous." Kai twitched his eyebrows. He was wondering how she could say that with that kind of big smile like she was happy with it.


    "But I was thinking about making multiple time bombs. Well, I already made the concept with the time bomb, but every time one of them exploded, the nearby ones would also explode and make a chain of explosions. That''s now how I wanted it to be. I mean, wouldn''t it be much better if the magical beasts don''t realize that I''ve nted another bomb there when the first bomb explodes?" Ayaka exined.


    Kai contemted for a bit before he realized what she wanted. "You mean, you want the first one to attract the magical beasts'' attention and the second one to kill the magical beasts? And since it''s dyed magic, you don''t need to be there."


    "Yeah. That''s what I want." Ayaka nodded her head rapidly.


    Kai shook his head helplessly. It was a good thing that this girl wasn''t a terrorist. If not, she would be a problem with those kinds of thoughts.


    "How about surrounding the skill with a shield magic circle?" Kai thought for a while before voicing out his thoughts.


    "I''ve tried that. The shield couldn''t protect the magic circle inside, so it''s useless as the shield would be broken and the magic bomb inside it will explode." Ayaka shook her head.


    "Fire magic, huh¡­ I''m not really good with fire, so I don''t think I can help you with this," Kai said.


    "No, it''s fine. Talking about it with someone already motivated me. I''ll just keep doing what I can. I''ve tried making a super magic shield and it drained my magic power even though I just used a few of them. So it''s certainly not practical, and even when I tried to make it explode, the other one still also exploded from the inside."


    "Exploded from the inside?" Kai asked, slightly curious.


    "Yeah. I concentrated the magic shield for it to block the force from the outside. That way, I''ll be able to make a super magic shield that can withstand the explosion. I was inspired by your ''Oscition Shield'' when I created this. After all, your shield only sent energy to where the shield was facing, right?"


    "Indeed¡­ huh? How could it explode from the inside when the magic shield blocked the force from the outside?"


    "I don''t know. I thought it was because of the vibrations, but it seems that I was wrong. I already tested it, and that didn''t seem to be the case," Ayaka said. She, too, had been perplexed about this for quite a while.


    "No, no. What I mean is, you''re the problem."


    "Me?" Ayaka was dumbfounded when Kai said that. She thought that it was because shecked talent, so she looked down, downcast.


    Seeing her expression, he exined hurriedly, "Your element. Fire generates heat. Especially for an explosion, wouldn''t the heat be the problem?"


    Ayaka opened her mouth in surprise. "Yeah¡­ You''re right, why didn''t I think of that? If it is really the problem, I''ll just need to fix that... but how can I do it?"


    Ayaka started pondering over the matter.


    "Why don''t you just make two shields? One to prevent the st from outside and one for heat instion. I don''t understand the concept that good. If I''m not mistaken, it''s about heat conductivity? I don''t really know." Kai shrugged.


    "Yeah, you''re right. It''s indeed heat conductivity. I can try to make it so the shield has a low heat conductivity. With that, the heat wouldn''t be able to reach the magic circle. I can do this! I can do this, Kai!" She became excited when she finally found the solution to her problem. Although she would need to try it before she could be sure that it would work, she could already picture the result.


    She unconsciously hugged Kai in her excitement. She didn''t realize that many people were watching how she hugged Kai. And it was also the same for Katsuragi Takaki, who was in shock because of that hug.


    He never expected that Ayaka would hug Kai so excitedly. He was so jealous that he wanted to kill Kai immediately. He gnashed his teeth and snorted, ''Just you wait. Enjoy it while itsts! I''ll make sure you die painfully!''


    He left the scene as he didn''t want to see them acting intimately like that. As for Ayaka, she immediately blushed when she realized what she had done. Her face became redder than a tomato. She unconsciously grabbed Kai''s hand and dragged him onto the bus.


    Since they had been informed about which bus they were supposed to be in, they knew which one was their bus. Ayaka sat on the window seat so Kai would hide her well with his body. Unknowingly, she just convinced them that they had a ''rtionship.''


    Kai only sighed as he looked at her behaving like that. Well, he was ustomed to this kind of farce because of his elder sister, so he didn''t care about it that much. However, he suddenly thought about her sudden hug. It was different from his sister, who always tried to hug him.


    It was a weird feeling for him, but he didn''t feel repulsed by her hug. He decided to shake it off of his mind and forget about it.


    After an hour or so, all the students were finally on the bus, and they set off toward the military base.


    At the same time, Tasha was looking at a screen.


    "Tasha, what are you doing in front of that screen? I mean, it has no purpose other than telling us if the first-years have an emergency," Yajima Haruko, the president of the student council, suddenly came to her and asked as she didn''t understand why Tasha was doing what she was doing.


    "I want that to happen! That way, I can go to Kai''s side!" she grumbled.


    "You shouldn''t wish for something like that. They''re still on the bus, they haven''t arrived there yet."


    "They might meet terrorists on their way, and maybe their buses might get hijacked? Or they might be attacked by flying magical beasts? Or they-gah!" Before she could finish her words, her head was hit by Haruko.


    "That is enough."


    "But¡­"


    Haruko ended up lecturing her for the whole day, and Tasha was sulking while looking at Kai''s photo that she took earlier.

 Chapter 39 - Bat

    "I''m Commander Zuko, the one who will be in charge of you for these three days starting tomorrow. I don''t have anything to tell you other than your mission. Tomorrow, all of you will go there and kill every magical beast in sight!" A muscr man pointed toward the mountain range in front of them.


    This muscr man had spiky brown hair. But the most fierce thing on his appearance was the scars on his face. There were three w scars from his right eyes running through his nose to his left cheek. It made him appear very fierce.


    Behind him were a few soldiers and teachers, including Shirotsuka Sanae. When they looked at their teacher Shirotsuka Sanae, wearing a white military uniform, they felt that she was also a warrior despite her usual attitude. The aura she gave them was fierce and cold. They didn''t know why, but the uniform turned her nonchnt andzy aura to a warrior''s aura.


    And on the other side, around thirty students were standing for a morning briefing. After getting off the bus, they flew toward the military base with an aircraft carrier. But because of long procedures for the choppers to bring them to this stadium, they just arrived a few minutes ago and gathered here for a brief meeting.


    "Anyway, what all of you will do is set up your own tents in this big field. If you want to take a bath or whatever, you can use the toilet in the stadium, but I don''t rmend you to do that since most of the water has already been there for hundreds of years. So¡­ I don''t think I need to exin.


    "Well, you have a canal near this stadium, and I''ve checked the water, and it''s good. Well, you can also ask a water magician to help you with that. If you''re in the army, you might have already given away water without someone asking you to. But you''re a student, so I''ll understand if you hate your ssmates or something and don''t want to help them with it. It''s all up to you.


    "I, as themander for this operation, won''t care about that. Just take it as a punishment if you make your ssmate an enemy. Anyway, we''ll gather once more tomorrow morning. And you''ll need to camp out there since you''re not allowed to go back here unless there''s an emergency. Good luck and disperse, you can ask your teachers where to get your tent."


    It was truly surprising that a strict-looking middle-aged man like him could even joke like that, especially considering how he was a military officer. After that, the students immediately ran toward their teacher, Shirotsuka Sanae, who only pointed her finger to the right. "You need to set up your own tent. One tent is enough for two people, and you can set it up together."


    When they heard that, the students were dumbfounded. A lot of students wereining, especially those who had huge family backgrounds. They had been pampered their entire life. Even though they had been taught that they would have to be a soldier in the front lines and wouldn''t getfort when they were there, it was useless for those young people, especially those who loved thatfort zone.


    Of course, it didn''t mean all of them were like that. A few students didn''tin and immediately grabbed their tent. They even asked their friends to set it up together.


    Ayaka was one of those people. She didn''tin or anything since she had prepared herself for this. She asked Kai to set it up together.


    Kai nodded, and they went to grab their tent together. But when they arrived, the soldier asked them, "Are you two in a group?"


    "Yes, we''re group 3."


    The soldier who was in charge of distributing the tent nodded. He then gave them a tent. "A tent is for two, so you''ll need to share it."


    "What!" When Kai and Ayaka heard that, they were dumbfounded.


    "We only have twenty tents for forty students, so yeah. Although you''re a student, you''re also a soldier on the front lines. Especially in a battle between life and death, there will be no social status or whatever. So now that you''re on the front lines, it''ll be obvious you are going to start from Private. So you can''t waste resources unless you''re a captain or above," the soldier said nonchntly.


    "Eh?!" Ayaka was startled. She nced at Kai while blushing.


    "I''m fine with sleeping anywhere. It''ll only be only for three days anyway. And maybe I can switch ces with someone." Kai shrugged.


    Ayaka opened her mouth, wanting to say something. However, the words wouldn''te out of her mouth.


    Unfortunately, at this particr time, Katsuragi Takaki appeared out of nowhere. "Since you''re not going to be with her, you can switch ces with me¡­ no, I''ll dly give you my ce."


    Katsuragi Takaki then turned to Ayaka and said, "I am a gentleman, so don''t worry, I won''t do anything."


    When Ayaka heard that, she felt a chill down her spine. She had this repulsive feeling, and she suddenly had the urge to grab Kai''s hand. But if she needed to choose, she didn''t need to think. She immediately chose Kai.


    With that thought in mind, she immediately stopped Kai by grabbing his hands. "Let''s go. I don''t mind."


    "Oh, that''s right. I need to tell you one more thing. You need to sleep together with your group, so changing ces with someone from another group is a no-go." The soldier told them another rule.


    Katsuragi Takaki froze, not wanting to believe what he just heard. "You-!"


    However, when he was just about toin, Ayaka already steeled her heart and dragged Kai somewhere. Katsuragi Takaki could only grit his teeth when he saw that.


    Kai helped her set up the tent and met up with Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera.


    "Well, Teacher wants us to make a rotation for the lookout. So Kai and I will be the first one, and after four hours, both of you will go next. How does that sound?"


    Chitose and Carmina nodded their heads.


    Kai then looked at Ayaka. "I''ll be away for the time being."


    Ayaka tilted her head in confusion, but she ultimately nodded her head.


    Kai just felt ufortable in his heart. He didn''t know why, but he felt uneasy when he came here. It was like his blood was riled up by something, but he didn''t know what. So he wanted to go around the stadium to check if this was a false rm or not.


    Kanggye Stadium was big. However, because they were in the open, they didn''t dare to light this building up, so they could barely see when night fell. When Kai went around inside the stadium, he was also barely able to see.


    The light from the shlight alone wasn''t enough. Still, it wasn''t a problem for Kai, as he could use his hearing in this situation.


    Empty stands, broken chairs, pieces of sses on the floor, and even dried blood on the floor that could not be swept away since there was no water around. Kai felt as though he was in a horror movie. Of course, it wasn''t like he believed it, considering he was a magician with a different system from the poltergeist.


    He heard a few things around, but even if those were magical beasts, they should pose no problem to them as they were the lowest and the weakest magical beasts that could be ignored.


    After strolling around for almost an hour, Kai thought it was a false rm, so he prepared to go back. However, he suddenly saw another lighting from in front of him. Kai immediately activated his sword while raising his shlight to see what kind of creature was making such a light.


    The same applied to the opposite party. The other party suddenly raised the light and pointed at him.


    "Who are you?!" Both of them said at the same time. However, when they heard each other''s voices, they were shocked and lowered their shlights.


    "Teacher?"


    "You must be Kai Carter."


    It turned out that the light came from Shirotsuka Sanae''s shlight. Both of them felt relieved after knowing that the other party was someone they knew. She then came closer to Kai and asked, "What are you doing here?"


    "I just wanted to check something. I somehow get this uneasy feeling, so I thought I needed to check. I don''t mean to boast, but this feeling is often correct. How about you, Teacher?" Kai exined as he lowered his sword.


    "I''m just patrolling around. Although this ce has been checked, it still needs another checking. The other teachers also started checking this ce to make sure that it''s safe," Shirotsuka Sanae exined.


    "I see." Kai nodded. "Well, it seems like a false rm to me. I"ve checked the entire stadium, but nothing hase my way. I noticed a few magical beasts, but they''re not a threat as they''re only the weakest magical beasts that can''t injure us."


    "You''re still a student and a newbie. Let us, the professionals, do that, since you might make a mistake or leave something," Shirotsuka Sanae assured.


    "All right, I''ll¡ª" Kai wanted to go back before he heard something. No, it wasn''t only him, but even Sanae could hear it. She immediately raised her shlight.


    When Kai heard this sound, he was surprised, as this was a kind of ultrasonic sound. And hearing the frequency of this sound, he immediately realized. It was the same for Shirotsuka Sanae, who already saw the figure of the magical beast. Both of them said at the same time:


    "Bat!"

 Chapter 40 - Fighting The Bat

    "Bat!"


    It was a huge bat with a wing span of two meters and a huge body.


    Both Shirotsuka Sanae and Kai immediately raised their weapons. This was the first time Kai saw Shirotsuka Sanae''s weapon. It was two four-ded star knives. Their appearance was akin to a shuriken, but it wasrger. Kai could hear the quiet sounds of the string attached to the star knives.


    Shirotsuka Sanae was a master of dual-wielding these two star knives. She threw both of her star knives toward the bat, specifically its wings. She controlled her star knives with the string together with her element so it could make a very special movement.


    The bat tried to dodge it by flying upward, but at this time, there was a sound of wind from the floor. The wind suddenly knocked the Star Knives upward.


    The star knives cut both of its wings. However, Shirotsuka Sanae suddenly felt something from her side. When she checked it with her wind, she saw another bating toward her.


    "!!!" She knew her star knives wouldn''t have enough time to protect her, so she immediately raised her magic shield and braced for the impact.


    Fortunately, at this time, Kai suddenly appeared between her and the bat. He swung both of his swords to cut down the bat''s wings before kicking the bat away. Seeing that, Shirotsuka Sanae threw her star knives again and killed the bat.


    "Cree! Cree!" The bat let out a dying sound.


    Without saying anything, Kai and Shirotsuka Sanae retreated a few steps and regrouped.


    "You''re good. I think I need to block its attack before killing it," Sanae praised. Of course, even though the situation was under control, she still thanked him, "Anyway, thanks."


    However, Kai didn''t say anything. He suddenly raised his hand, confusing Sanae.


    "Echolocation." A magic circle appeared on top of his hand before turning into a green circr screen. In that circle, there were three types of dots. The first dot was blue, ced in the middle of the screen. The second were yellow dots. They were scattered around the screen. Andst was the red dot. There were around seven red dots on it.


    "What''s this?" Sanae asked in confusion.


    "You can say that it''s sonar," Kai replied.


    "Sonar? Wait, if you''re using the sonar principle to create this skill, you''ll attract the magical beasts nearby!" she warned hurriedly.


    It was normal for her to react that way. After all, it had been proven that sonar was capable of attracting magical beasts. However, what she didn''t know was the power of Kai''s hearing.


    "It is okay. Because of my special hearing, I can hear far higher frequencies than normal people. And I made this skill after considering the hearing of magical beasts. So, this magic can only be heard by my ears and won''t attract other magical beasts," Kai exined briefly.


    Shirotsuka Sanae was surprised to see a student develop a new skill of his own. After all, this would only be taught after they became third-year students. If it was a college, it could be said the development of new skills would be theirst assignment for graduation.


    However, to think that a first-year student could already do such a thing, it was hard to believe. Shirotsuka Sanae looked at the screen and saw the red dotsing toward the blue one, which indicates their location.


    "Tch. We''ll need to deal with the bats first," Kai said, as the red dots would arrive in a few seconds. The bats weren''t attracted by his sonar as they had been moving even before he used his ''Echolocation'' skill.


    Shirotsuka Sanae frowned. She had a lot of questions in her mind, but when she tried to feel the air around her, there were indeed seven flying objectsing toward them. And it should be more of those bats, just like he said.


    "Just leave this to me," Shirotsuka Sanae said with a serious expression as she walked forward.


    The hall was around five meters wide. It wasn''t too wide for her to kill the bats in one go, especially since she knew their location as well as their formation because of Kai''s Echolocation skill.


    She made two small tornadoes on each side, leaving only a one-meter gap that didn''t have any wind in front of her. Even though the bats were magical beasts, their moves were predictable. Because of the wind walls on each side, the bats would immediately charge from the middle.


    In Kai''s magic screen, the red dots slowly moved closer to the middle. At the same time, Shirotsuka Sanae threw her star knives, exploiting their predictable movements.


    The bata immediately noticed the iing star knives as they tried to move toward the side. Sadly, they didn''t have enough time as Sanae used her wind element to boost the speed of her star knives.


    It immediately shredded the bat at the very front to pieces before the wind tornadoes on the side helped her turn the star knives to the side with each star knife for each side.


    And just like that, Shirotsuka Sanae killed all of the bats in one go. Kai was astonished by her skill. If it were him, he would need to kill the magical beasts one by one and distract them with sounds. Of course, he could control the frequency of the sound he produced so it would be effective to bats, since they relied on sound to perceive the nearby objects.


    As expected from a professional, she was truly an expert. Kai looked at Shirotsuka Sanae, who pulled back her weapons and walked toward him.


    "Your ability is pretty useful," she praised.


    Kai shook his head. "I missed these bats earlier. I thought they were just harmless magical beasts. Unfortunately, they turned out to be E-rank magical beasts. When we met the first two bats, I used the sound of their sleeping state and marked down those seven. However, this stadium seems not safe?"


    "No, this stadium should be safe. Well, this ce is dark, so no matter how hard we search, we might miss some. That''s why the teachers also started patrolling around this area. However, it seems that the bats just came to this ce recently, since no one would miss those huge bats," she looked at him with another intention. "Come and join me. I want to make sure that I won''t miss more of them."


    Kai pondered for a bit, but ultimately, he agreed. It was considered to be helpful, since he also didn''t want to sleep while there were enemies nearby.


    Both of them then started roaming around the stadium to see if they missed any more. Surprisingly, they found more than a hundred bats inside the stadium. Most of them were annihted by Shirotsuka Sanae, as Kai only supported her from the back.


    Of course, the other teachers were surprised to see Kai and Shirotsuka Sanae together. After all, they knew about Shirotsuka Sanae''s sloppy attitude. Even though they already knew she would be different when she wore a military uniform, it was still very surprising to see a studente together with her.


    However, after knowing that Kai only came with her to help her, they immediately dispersed and searched around. They didn''t know why, but seeing that a student was more helpful than they were triggered them. Sadly, the fact that Kai and Sanae managed to kill almost ten times they did together made them frustrated.


    Finally, after finishing the job, most of them went back to the field after patrolling. The students were surprised, as they could see blood sttered on their teachers'' clothes.


    Ayaka was also surprised, but the reason for her surprise was different. She never expected that Kai woulde out together with the teachers, especially when she saw Kai walking together with Shirotsuka Sanae. It was as though her instinct just kicked in.


    She came to Kai and asked, "Did you get into trouble and the teachers came to help you? You should have brought me with you."


    Kai looked at her in confusion. He shook his head and replied, "No. The teachers were patrolling inside the stadium. Since we came from the helicopters and directlynded on the field, the teachers were patrolling again to make sure this area is safe. Most of them havee out, but a few of them are still patrolling."


    Kai still had this uneasy feeling, but since he had fully searched the stadium, it should be fine. The teachers had also increased their patrolling area. He then just sat around while waiting for the time he could sleep.


    Kai looked at Ayaka, whose face was red. She tried to look away so Kai couldn''t see her face. However, Kai also noticed the device in her hand. He knew that she was researching with that device again like when they were on the ne and in the helicopter. She was serious about being the lookout though.


    "Researching again? Aren''t you going to sleep?" Kai asked.


    "Mhmm¡­ This is a bit interesting, so I''ll just skip my sleep today," she said embarrassedly.


    Kai paused for a bit before saying, "Well, I''m going to sleep then."


    He said before he fell asleep like a log. He never had a problem with a female beside him while he was sleeping. He had been trained by his sister, as she was more ''ferocious'' than Ayaka.


    Of course, when Ayaka saw Kai sleeping, she couldn''t help but nce at him a few times. She looked at Kai, who was very reliable all the time, suddenly drop his guard down like this.


    In another tent, Katsuragi Takaki was calling someone. Sadly, Kai was sleeping, so he didn''t hear it. If he did, he would immediately know that they would encounter a problem soon.

 Chapter 41 - The Silent Night Before The Storm

    The next day.


    Kai woke up only to see Ayaka still reading articles for her new skill. He could even see the bags under her eyes. Even so, her eyes were still very energetic.


    Even after reading for so long, she was too absorbed that she didn''t even realize he had woken up. He shook his head and smiled while looking at this hard-working girl. He checked the clock, and it looked like they still had a few minutes before the meeting.


    He didn''t disturb her until the time they needed to gather for the morning briefing came.


    ¡­


    A few minutester.


    All the students gathered in front of themander, as well as the teachers.


    "I''m sure that you didn''t have a pleasant sleep yesterday, whether it''s because of the hard ground or theck of sleep since you have things to do¡­ Don''t worry, it could only be worse than now. After all, you might get one tent for each group, but whether you can have a good ce to set up your tent all depends on you.


    "You might need to sleep on the uneven ground, or you might get lucky and find a cave. You can just lean on the wall and sleep. Anyway, you won''t be able toe back here for three days. The teachers here will keep watching you to make sure that you do your work properly. And you might even meet some soldiers patrolling around.


    "Anyway, you need to kill every magical beast in sight. I can''t assure you only low-rank magical beasts will appear, but if it''s a powerful magical beast, you need to retreat immediately and go back to this ce to inform us. Good luck."


    Kai and Ayaka met up with Chitose and Carmina. They followed the other groups that had been moving toward the woods.


    All of them were carrying a big backpack. Of course, Kai was carrying the biggest one since he was bringing their tent. Luckily, Kai was stronger than normal people, so he could bring all this stuff easily.


    A few minutes after entering the mountain area, Ayaka went toward Kai. She also understood why Kai didn''t bring his noise-canceling headphones. It would be a foolish decision because it would only restrict his extraordinary hearing. Ayaka looked at him and asked, "Did you find anything?"


    When she asked that, Chitose and Carmina also turned to look at him in curiosity. They thought a scout would go ahead in this situation and lead them. However, Kai only stayed beside them and walked casually. They couldn''t understand, but Ayaka said that Kai would be able to ''detect'' all the nearby magical beasts without even needing to go ahead.


    Kai also understood their confusion, so when Ayaka asked him this, he raised his hand a bit as a magic circle appeared on his hand.


    "Echolocation."


    The magic circle became a green screen and showed them dots with three colors. "The blue ones signifies humans, which is us. The center blue dots are us, while the ones on the sides are the other groups.


    "The yellow ones are low-ranking magical beasts that can be ignored. They shouldn''t have any fighting capability. As for the red ones, they''re magical beasts that we''ll need to hunt. Well, we can also hunt the yellow ones if you want to. By the way, the range for this skill is one kilometer," he exined while pointing at the dots.


    He ssified the low-ranking magical beasts with their rank of vitality. A proper and dangerous magical beast would have a strong vitality that could be heard by his ears. Kai said they could hunt the yellow ones because he knew all magical beasts needed to be killed.


    He remembered that after they killed all the bats, the teachers wanted to kill the yellow dots too. And Kai could understand that it was because it wouldn''t be good to leave any magical beasts alive there. Kai just differentiated them so that they would know which one needed to be prioritized.


    Of course, it didn''t mean they could just nonchntly rush to the yellow dots and kill them. After all, the bats'' incident might repeat and cause them trouble. So even after knowing them, they needed to be careful.


    All three girls were shocked by this skill, including Ayaka. They immediately realized how convenient this skill was. However, Chitose realized this took the concept of sonar, and Kai needed to exin it to them once again.


    After that, they decided to kill the nearest red dots. The first magical beast was a deer. It was like a normal deer, but when they approached it sneakily, they could see that the deer had fierce red eyes.


    "Chitose will stop the deer''s movement for a bit. Carmina will restrict it with her nt. After that, both Chitose and I will kill that beast. As for Kai, you''ll need to make sure no magical beasts are nearby, and you might need to support us if something goes wrong," Ayaka immediately gave everyone their roles.


    All of them nodded their heads. Chitose immediately took off her ne and channeled her magic toward the ne. The ne then turned to a long katana.


    The others also took out their respective weapons.


    Carmina then said, "I''m sorry, even though I can use a dagger, you can''t count me in meleebat. I can barely use this dagger."


    All of them nodded. Ayaka thenmanded, "Go!"


    Hearing that, Chitose immediately jumped forward. The deer was an E-rank magical beast. If it were Shirotsuka Sanae, that deer would have already died. However, Chitose was still a student. When she arrived in front of the deer, the deer immediately tried to charge at her with its horns. Chitose immediately used her sword to sh with that horn, and surprisingly, the horn didn''t break.


    Chitose didn''t care about that as she immediately shouted, "Carmina!"


    "Yes," Carmina replied. She then put her hands on the ground as a magic circle appeared on the ground. "Rise, Dryad Bind!"


    Suddenly, nts rose from the ground and entangled the deer, restricting its movement. Ayaka immediately jumped toward the deer, trying to kill it.


    Although its movements had been restricted, the deer could still move its head as the deer tried to block Ayaka''s thrust with its horn. However, at this time, Chitose swung her sword once again.


    "No, you won''t!" She used a strength that even surprised Kai, as he never thought that she would have that much strength in her delicate body. That swing alone knocked the deer''s head to the point of almost breaking its neck.


    Ayaka then immediately went around the deer and stabbed it. The deer then fell to the ground, motionless.


    Carmina and Kai walked toward them. Ayaka then said, "I think this basic strategy will work for us. We''ll keep engaging the magical beasts with this strategy unless we need another one."


    Kai also nodded his head, showing his approval. Carmina didn''t understand anything about ns or strategies, so she just followed what others said.


    They then started moving around the area, killing magical beasts one after another. They could kill quite arge number of magical beasts because of Kai''s Echolocation skill. It was a very useful and practical skill.


    Their group had killed strong deers, speedy foxes, and even giant squirrels. After a whole day, they finally set up their camp in a small in. At least they were lucky to find this small, even ground in this mountain area.


    The girls wanted to take a bath or at least have a shower. Sadly, they couldn''t do it because none of them were water magicians, and there was no water source around. Because of this, they could only give up. Even the food they ate was military ration.


    They remembered that they could eat the meat of magical beasts since it tasted even better than normal food. But they then realized that no one in their group could cook. They sulked, thinking about how unlucky they were.


    After settling everything, Carmina and Chitose decided to sleep first. Chitose was indeed sleeping, but if either Kai or Ayaka came inside, they would be able to see that she was chatting with someone. And the recipient''s name was¡­ Katsuragi Takaki.


    Kai could hear her typing, but because he respected other people''s privacy, he didn''t bother them since she might just be chatting with her family.


    "You''re not going to sleep?" Kai looked at Ayaka and sat beside her.


    "I''ll wait for a few hours until my shift is over. Then I''ll sleep," she said drowsily.


    Kai was leaning on a tree while warming his body with the campfire that Ayaka made with her magic.


    "I can do it alone, so you don''t need to worry about it. You''ve been tirelessly researching for your new skill," he said with an understanding smile.


    "Mhmm¡­ it''s in a good part. If I''m not tired like this, I would evenplete it tonight," Ayaka said drowsily.


    "That''s good then," Kai said as he still remembered his uneasy feeling.


    "With this skill, we''ll even be able to st those magical beasts in our practice ss! Ugh¡­ I have a feeling that I''ll dream about it if I fall asleep."


    "Just go to sleep."


    "But¡­"


    "I"ll have you work hard tomorrow since you would have already gotten a good sleep by then," Kai said.


    "You¡­" She shook her head helplessly and unconsciously closed her eyes. In an instant, she fell asleep. How fast she fell asleep even surprised Kai. He looked at Ayaka, who dropped her head to his shoulder and used it as a pillow.


    Kai only smiled. He just hoped that they would be able to go back as soon as possible, as his instinct was usually correct. After all, he was...

 Chapter 42 - A Mole?

    The sky above them was dark, and asionally, low rumbles could be heard.


    Kai and the others were hiding under several trees. Since they were stuck in the mountain area surrounded by trees, the only possible n for them was to tie up their tent onto trees, so it became a roof for them.


    It was dangerous to hide under a tree in a lightning storm as the lightning might strike the trees. However, they had no shelter or a cave near them, so they had no choice other than tying up their tent onto trees a few meters away from them to be a shelter under the heavy rain. This way, they could make a temporary shelter and make a distance with the trees.


    They never expected that the storm woulde so quickly. They remembered that it was sunny just an hour ago.


    As soon as the morning came, they picked up their pace once again.


    There weren''t many magical beasts, so they were more tired from running around rather than killing the magical beasts themselves. In fact, they didn''t find any powerful magical beasts in the area.


    The best they could find was a C-rank bear. And they easily defeated it by ganging up on the bear.


    Around lunchtime, they settled down for lunch. It was at this time they were surrounded by dark clouds. By the time they finished their lunch, the rain had started pouring down. Because of that, they decided to go back to Kanggye Stadium to hide from the rain or, at the very least, in an abandoned house around.


    Unfortunately, they were too far from the stadium. As for the abandoned house, they saw some of them before. After all, they had ventured five kilometers from the stadium and entered the other mountain range northeast Kanggye Stadium. But because of the constant chasing, they unconsciously became lost inside the mountain.


    They thought they would be able to find a shelter or abandoned house around the area since they knew about it from the map, so they decided to look for a cave for shelter, but it was easier said than done. When they went to the designated position on the map, all they found was a destroyed house that couldn''t even be a shelter.


    So, ultimately, they decided to go into the woods once again. After all, the deadliest ce in a lightning storm would be in the open rather than under the trees.


    However, it was at this moment that Kai suddenly picked up various soundsing from the north.


    "What?!" Kai was so shocked when he picked up these noises.


    "Kai?" The others were shocked by his sudden shout.


    "This is not good. What is our position?" Kai asked Ayaka.


    "Three kilometers northeast from the stadium," Ayaka didn''t know why Kai suddenly reacted that way, but she instinctively replied. After all, every time Kai reacted that way, it meant something bad.


    "Ayaka, immediately fly to the sky, check the situationing from the north. No, bring me to the sky and fly toward the stadium!" Kai immediatelymanded. He looked at Chitose andmanded, "Take Carmina and fly together with us. We''re retreating to the stadium."


    "!!!" Chitose and Carmina were obviously confused by this. Chitose asked, "What happened?"


    "We don''t have enough time. Just shut up and retreat!" Kai roared. He immediately ran toward Ayaka. He already got a headache because of the loud sound of the rain together with the lightning. It could be said that because of these two, Kai''s detection range shrank from a few kilometers to one kilometer.


    When Ayaka saw him like that, she didn''t care anymore. She immediately grabbed him and activated her Fire Wings. When they were in the sky, Ayaka was shocked by the sight of magical beasts. She saw a few hundred magical beasts flying toward their position.


    Of course, Ayaka could only see it vaguely. If she had a binocr, she would probably be able to see that there was a human leading those magical beasts toward them. Of course, even if she had one, she wouldn''t be able to find a human in front of those enormous flying magical beasts so easily, since her focus would be on the magical beasts.


    "Kai, even though I want to fly away immediately, we''re in a lightning storm. We might get struck by lightning," Ayaka said frustratedly.


    "Lower our altitude. Just make sure you don''t go above the trees around. It might not be very effective, but at the very least, it will decrease our chance of getting struck by it," Kai said hurriedly.


    He then saw Chitose finally fly to the sky with Carmina. When they saw those magical beasts, they were too shocked that Kai needed to shout at them once more.


    "We''re running away right now! Follow us!" Kai instructed them.


    He then gave the signal to Ayaka to start flying toward Kanggye Stadium. As soon as Chitose saw them flying away, she immediately followed them as closely as possible.


    When they started moving toward Kanggye Stadium, the magical beasts also started to change their directions toward them. In other words, these magical beasts were flying toward them.


    Ayaka didn''t have time to think as she needed to fly through these woods. It was different from Kai. He trusted Ayaka and tried toe up with a n. "Ayaka, we need to lower our altitude more. With their flying speed, they''ll catch up to us in a minute or so, while we need around three minutes of flying to arrive at Kanggye Stadium. So let''s try to fool them in the woods."


    "Leave it to me." Although it would be harder to hide among all these trees if they lowered their altitude, Ayaka didn''tin, nor was she discontent about it. She also didn''t have a single thought about fighting back.


    With a few hundred enormous flying beasts, it would be a one-sided fight if they tried to fight them in the air. She was wondering why they didn''t just run with their feet if he wanted to confuse them in the woods. But when she saw the muddy ground, she realized the reason why Kai suggested to fly lower but needed more energy instead of running with their feet.


    Running on such a muddy ground, they would easily slip and perhaps injure themselves, so Kai didn''t suggest it.


    She looked at Kai, who was in deep thought. She needed to know the n for their next move before the magical beasts caught up with them. Unfortunately, Kai didn''t say anything.


    In reality, Kai wasn''t thinking about their next move. Instead, the word ''why'' came to his mind. Even though escaping from those magical beasts was their priority, Kai came to a halt when that particr word came into his head.


    He remembered that there were at least two groups a few hundred meters from their area. And that group would most likely get attacked first.


    He found it strange. After all, the magical beasts didn''t even spot those other people and came straight at them. So Kai was wondering how and why this entire time.


    He tried to recall everything they did after they came here, but to his knowledge, none of the things they did could make them be targets for those magical beasts. And the movement from the magical beasts was also very strange.


    The magical beasts passed by anyone in their way and continued to fly toward them.


    Before he first noticed the magical beasts, he surely didn''t give away his position. Even so, the magical beasts were still chasing them.


    Suddenly, Kai remembered the incident where he was targeted by a sniper. That thought led to the investigation of the Katsuragi family with his sister.


    ''What if the magical beasts are manipted by someone? What if I''m their target? Is this the Katsuragi family''s scheme again? But how do the magical beasts know our position?'' Those questions emerged inside his mind. Kai was frustrated until he thought, ''What if there''s someone who knows our position and is leading them here?''


    When Kai thought about that, he turned his head to Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera. Within this distance, he could hear their heartbeats even within the rain. Chitose''s heartbeat was like his and Ayaka''s. They were in a panicked state, but they were trying hard to calm down.


    However, when he turned to Carmina, he heard her heart rapidly beat, but it slowly slowed down. It was like she knew about this and wasn''t pressured from this. It was at this moment that he knew she was the one.


    "Kai, we need a n right now!" Ayaka shouted as she saw the magical beasts already shorten the distance. They roughly had a half minute before the beasts caught up with them.


    Kai gritted his teeth and said, "Stop. Don''t fly anymore."


    "What?! Are you insane?" Ayaka shouted.


    Kai put on a serious expression and said in a low voice, "Please believe me. Just three seconds is fine. After that, continue to fly again toward the stadium."


    Ayaka was bewildered by his order. She gritted her teeth and decided to trust him. She suddenly stopped. Meanwhile, because Kai didn''t say it out loud, Fujino Chitose was still flying away.


    She realized it toote as they had a distance of almost a hundred meters.


    But it was different from Kai. He realized something that made him angry.


    "1¡­"


    "2¡­"


    "3¡­"


    Ayaka immediately started flying toward them again and caught up with Chitose and Carmina.


    "Chitose, we need to lower our altitude again. If possible, as close as possible to the ground." Kai shouted.


    Chitose nodded and lowered her altitude. Ayaka also did the same. He then said to Ayaka, "Ayaka, can you strike the magical beasts with your firebirds? After that, we will go toward three o''clock. But make sure we maintain our altitude."


    "I can." Ayaka nodded. She thought Kai wanted to slow them down. Although it was a bit hard, it should be possible for her. "You need to grab tight as my bnce might be a bit off if I use other magic."


    Kai nodded.


    "Firebirds!"


    A few firebirds immediately flew from the magic circle toward the magical beasts.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    After releasing her attack, she slowly changed her direction ording to Kai''s instruction. Kai then shouted to Chitose, "We''re going to distract them. Both of you go toward the stadium and get teachers to help us!"


    "Wait!" Chitose was surprised that they wanted to be the decoy. She wanted to say something, but both Kai and Ayaka already flew away. Her expression became serious, and she would definitely tell the teachers so they could help them.


    Unbeknownst to her, Carmina, who was in her arms, suddenly smiled evilly.

 Chapter 43 - Trying To Explain

    Kai and Ayaka were flying in another direction, and ording to Kai, they wanted to distract the magical beasts. Kai kept pressuring Ayaka by making her hurry. That way, she wouldn''t think of why they were being chased by magical beasts.


    Of course, it wasn''t true. They weren''t being chased by those magical beasts anymore. Kai only kept pressuring her, so she didn''t know they were no longer being chased and that the magical beasts were chasing Chitose and Carmina at the moment.


    After almost a minute, Ayaka suddenly felt something wrong. They thought that they were being chased, but the magical beasts should''ve caught up with them. But after flying for a minute, she realized that no magical beasts were near them.


    "Kai? Where are the magical beasts?"


    "Just keep flying for a few more minutes and I''ll exin it to you. After that, we''ll move to the stadium and request reinforcement. I don''t know if the people in the stadium have noticed it or not though," Kai said. He wanted to exin it to Ayaka to buy time. If they went toward the base right now, they would encounter those magical beasts again.


    "But where are they? Don''t tell me, they are still chasing Chitose and Carmina?" Ayaka looked Kai in surprise. She never thought that Kai would sacrifice theirrades. When she thought about that, she immediately stopped flying and dropped Kai to the ground.


    "Kai! Why are you-!" Before Ayaka could ask, Kai already stopped her.


    "Tch, I will exin itter. Just keep flying first for a few minutes. We''re still in danger!" Kai shouted.


    "Why? I never expected you to be someone willing to sacrifice hisrades just to save his own life!" Ayaka shouted as tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. She lost trust in Kai because of this.


    "As I said, we need to get away first! I''ll exin my reason to you after this!" Kai gritted his teeth.


    "No! You¡­ I trusted you when I thought we were going to distract them. But to think you only sacrificed them to save your own life, I misjudged you!" Ayaka also roared. She didn''t know why, but knowing about this made her heart wrench in pain. "I''ll save them even if I need to do it alone!"


    "Tch!" Kai clicked his tongue. The moment she looked away, trying to fly again. Kai immediately made a magic circle.


    "Luby."


    The moment he flicked his finger, Ayaka felt a numb sensation on her brain. Because of that sensation, her Fire Wings suddenly vanished and she fell to the ground.


    "Kai! You!" Ayaka turned back and roared at Kai. But before she could utter another word, Kai already arrived in front of her. He sent a punch to her abdomen. Of course, he just used his strength enough to knock her out.


    "You bas...tard¡­ I won''t¡­ forgive..." She couldn''t utter thest word before she was knocked out.


    She fell into his embrace. He didn''t know why, but this made his heart very ufortable. He clicked his tongue as he didn''t have time to sort out his feelings.


    He immediately carried her on his back before running away from that ce. He continued running toward the north.


    Kai couldn''t fly, so he just continued to run to create distance between them and those magical beasts. He knew he wouldn''t be able to convince Ayaka when she was in that state, so he could only knock her out to make sure she couldn''t struggle.


    After all, in this situation, Ayaka wouldn''t believe that they had a mole in their rank, and it was Carmina. Even though Ayaka trusted Kai, she wouldn''t be convinced if he said Carmina was a mole. He could tell from her heartbeat.


    And if he exined all the reasons why he ended up with that conclusion, it would take a long time, and the magical beasts woulde toward them.


    At the same time, he was also unsure whether those numerous magical beasts were chasing them because no one controlled them or because they were under some kind of illusion. Kai didn''t have enough proof to exin it to Ayaka.


    Of course, he knew that Chitose was innocent, and he felt very bad about it. Butpared to Ayaka, she was just a stranger that somehow became theirrade for the time being.


    He didn''t care about how he would be hated because of this. After all, he just made the most logical decision. However, the problem would be how he would exin it to Ayaka.


    Luckily, he found a cave in the mountain range after running for around ten minutes. Of course, because he couldn''t fly, he didn''t move too far. And it already took a toll on his body, since the ground was muddy and he needed great concentration to choose the path so he wouldn''t slip and drop Ayaka. He was grateful that he could find a natural cave, and he found that it was quite deep inside.


    After making sure that there were no magical beasts inside the cave, he decided to enter the cave. The cave was dark and quite long. However, he purposely stepped as hard as he could in his every step inside.


    He made this to send vibrations throughout the ground. With this, he could roughly sense the ground nearby and wouldn''t fall, since he was carrying Ayaka.


    He put down the unconscious Ayaka on the ground. He was tired after doing all that work. The natural action after this would be removing their wet clothes, but Kai didn''t do that. What he did first was tie up her hands and feet to make sure that she wouldn''t do anything funny the moment she woke up.


    And he was right. Just after he tied her up, she woke up.


    She was still fuzzy since she just woke up, but when she remembered everything happened. She involuntarily shouted, "Kai, you bastard! Even Katsuragi Takaki is better than you!"


    It was at this time that she realized she couldn''t see a single thing. She didn''t know that she was in a cave. Because of this darkness, she thought Kai had kidnapped her and she was blindfolded.


    She tried to remove the blindfold, but she realized her hands and feet were tied up. "Kai! Release me in this instant! You bastard, I will kill you!"


    When Kai heard that, he could only sigh. He knew that this would be a normal reaction for her, so he simply said, "Just release your fire a little bit and you''ll be able to see."


    She was startled when she heard Kai''s voice. She clearly felt exhaustion from Kai''s voice. Even so, she was still consumed by rage, so she didn''t care about that.


    She then used her fire and made a little light inside the dark cave. When the light finally lit in that dark cave, she could see Kai''s tired face.


    "You bastard! Release me right now, I will kill you! I never thought that you would be this kind of person!" Ayaka shouted.


    "Just say whatever you want¡­ You won''t even bother to hear my exnation at this point, so it would be useless even if I exin it to you," Kai sighed.


    "Hmph! You''re just a coward that can only sacrifice hisrades. I''m ashamed to think that I thought you were a cool and intelligent guy," Ayaka spat.


    "Have you said enough?" Kai looked at her coldly. He then released both of his swords and stabbed them on the ground just right before her eyes.


    "You¡­ You¡­ What do you want? Don''te!" Ayaka started panicking.


    Kai suddenly removed his upper uniform. And when Ayaka saw that, her face became pale as she roared, "You¡­ Even Katsuragi Takaki wouldn''t do something like this! Don''te near me!"


    "Since you''re not going to listen to my exnation, I''m going to shut you up first," Kai said without any expression.


    "Bastard!" Ayaka was scared when Kai suddenly sat down on her belly.


    He looked at her with that cold eyes. She felt chill down to the spine.


    Kai was already very ufortable by doing this. His heart had been wrenched by pain. Just looking at her looking at him with rage and fear, he felt as though his heart was being stabbed by needles.


    Even though he had known her for a month, he didn''t know why he had this feeling. Although it wasn''t the same intense feeling as the one he felt from his sister, it was still pain.


    In the end, his body started shaking as he punched the ground beside her head. He shouted, "Just listen to me first!"


    "You-!" Ayaka noticed that his body was shaking. She didn''t know why, but she felt anxiety in those cold eyes.


    After that, he slowly stood up before making a certain distance from her. He closed his eyes for a bit to calm himself down before opening it again with a serious expression. His coldness had vanished into thin air.


    He looked at Ayaka, who didn''t say a single thing anymore. He finally said, "Why do you think the magical beasts were chasing us? Before the rain, I activated my Echolocation skill, and I''m sure you''ve seen it.


    "There are at least two groups a few hundred meters away from us. But those magical beasts just ignored them and chased us. Why do you think they chased us like that even though we hadn''t done anything strange?


    "If we''re in a calm situation, I''m sure you''ll be able to think about that. So I want you to calm yourself first," Kai said slowly.


    "!!!" Ayaka''s body shook when she heard that.

 Chapter 44 - Reasoning

    "!!!" Ayaka''s body shook when she heard that.


    Kai looked at her carefully. After a while, he slowly approached her again. But this time, she didn''t shout. He slowly removed the rope on her hands and feet.


    "Can I exin it now?" Kai asked.


    Ayaka didn''t say anything. Although she was still vignt against him, she still nodded.


    "Firstly, why do you think the magical beasts were chasing us? Who''s their target?" Kai asked.


    Ayaka looked down, weighing something in her mind. She shook her head, telling him she didn''t know.


    "Then, do you remember that someone wanted to kill me back in our practice ss, specifically two weeks ago, where we did our training?" Kai changed his question.


    "!!!" Ayaka certainly remembered about that incident. Back then, she wanted to help him, but Kai rejected her idea. And the next Monday, Kai didn''te to school for a ''family trip.'' She suddenly realized why Kai suddenly brought up this topic, and she muttered, "Are you their target?"


    "I''m not certain, but the probability is high." Kai nodded. He continued, "Then, even though I''m the one who should be chased, why do you think when we changed our direction, the magical beasts kepting toward Chitose and Carmina?


    "It might be a bit impossible for a person to control those magical beasts. So, let just assume no one is controlling them. They should have been chasing us since we used your Firebirds to make a distraction. And with our low altitude, we were still surrounded by woods, making it impossible for them to know our position.


    "But have you noticed their movement? You might not notice it since I pressured you to make you not think about it.


    "I''ll tell you this. They didn''t flinch at all and kept chasing them. Why do you think they did so?" Kai asked her again and again as he exined his reason.


    Ayaka was tongue-tied in front of those questions. She couldn''t answer a single thing.


    "Do you remember when I asked you to stop for three seconds?"


    Ayaka nodded. It was one of the most confusing decisions Kai made her do.


    "Within those three seconds, we were separated by almost a hundred meter. And with that distance, the magical beasts kept shifting their direction toward Chitose and Carmina, not us. And when we caught up with them again, why didn''t they ask about that decision of mine?" Kai asked.


    At this point, Ayaka realized why Kai made all these decisions. She couldn''t help but speak for the first time after Kai started exining to her, "They''re¡­ moles? They have something that can give out our position?"


    "I also assume the same thing. That''s why I made that decision. And if they''re killed, the magical beasts shouldn''te toward us. In fact, to see a few hundred flying magical beasts at this time, you should be able to realize how fishy it is," Kai sighed.


    Ayaka''s body shook. She??? She could only grit her teeth as she knew she had done him wrong. Guilt started to enter her heart.


    Of course, Kai purposely didn''t say anything about Fujino Chitose. After all, with her heartbeat, he could safely assume that she wasn''t rted to this. But he was afraid that she would re up again because of that, so he decided to brand her as a ''mole'' together with the real one, Carmina.


    He knew that he had done something wrong. But he wasn''t perfect. Even a good human would sometimes lie if they had to¡­ They called these lies white lies.


    He knew he had done her wrong. This was also why he felt this guilty. He wouldn''t forget the name of Fujino Chitose. If their fates aligned, he would try to help the Fujino family in the future to atone for this.


    It was different from Ayaka, who didn''t know the full truth. Her heart wrenched in pain. Even though she said she trusted Kai, in the end, she didn''t believe him that much. She couldn''t keep her calm and used him.


    She kneeled in front of him and lowered her head until it touched the ground. She then said with a hoarse voice. "I''m sorry. I''ve wronged you too much. You can hit me if it can soothe your heart. Please forgive me."


    Kai was a bit startled when she did this. He could only sigh as he helped her up and told her not to do this and that it would only make the matter worse. He approached her head and stretched his hand.


    Ayaka had prepared herself to be hit. But when that hand touched her, it wasn''t a painful hit that came. What she felt was the warm hand that slowly patted her head.


    "We were in a situation where everything could go wrong, so you don''t need to feel guilty about this," Kai reassured. He also added in his heart, ''I will be the only one who shoulders the me for Fujino Chitose.''


    "But, I¡­ I¡­"


    "It''s all right. I never med you for that. It''s normal for you to think that way. Instead, if you actually kept following me despite the strange situation back then, I would actually question what''s in that head of yours," Kai said half-jokingly.


    She didn''t know why, but his warm words felt so painful. She unconsciously cried.


    However, when he wanted tofort her once more, he suddenly felt something wrong. His instinct was tingling, and when he checked it with his ears, he could hear that someone wasing toward this cave.


    Kai frowned as he immediately helped her up. He said, "Extinguish your fire now. Someone''sing to this cave."


    She was bewildered by his request, but she immediately followed his instruction. She secretly swore to never doubt Kai again.


    After a few more seconds, she finally heard footsteps echoing through the cave. Kai immediately covered her mouth to make sure she did not say anything.


    "Tch, those b*tches. Young Lord ordered me to kill that bastard, Kai Carter, but he must''ve known about the tracker Young Lord gave that slut. Those teachers from the Genesis Magical Academy even saw those many magical beasts and started killing the magical beasts I spent so long to gather.


    "Luckily, I killed both of those b*tches. This way, no one should know about it. I thought even that bastard wouldn''t know that this was a scheme. Sadly, I couldn''t kill him this time. I''ll hide in this cave first until the situation calms down then go back to the Young Lord.


    "I''ll need to atone this failure," The man''s rumbling echoed inside the cave and reached Kai''s and Ayaka''s ears.


    Ayaka was so shocked when she knew it was true. She never expected that Chitose and Carmina were actually moles, and their target was Kai. She was so angry at this man and herself. If Kai hadn''t covered her mouth, she might have already shouted and rushed to fight this bastard. It was a different matter if she could kill him or not though.


    Using the darkness, Kai made a Sound Instion Room. He then said, "We''re going to get out of this ce."


    "Why? We can kill him here." Noticing that Kai decided to speak, she asked.


    Kai shook his head. His instinct was telling him that the man in front of them was strong. At first, he had two ns to kill him, but when his instinct told him that, all of his ns immediately vanished.


    His first n was to ambush him with a Sound Instion Room. That way, he wouldn''t hear him approaching. He would then use this darkness tond a surprise attack on him.


    The second n was to ambush him with Ayaka''s Fire Wings or other skills. Her Fire Wings would be able to make them reach the man swiftly and silently. Sadly, her wings would be very visible in this darkness, so it would be impossible to ambush him.


    As for her fire magic, he didn''t know whether her fire magic would be able to kill this man or not. He didn''t want to take the risk.


    Of course, there was an option where they fought him from head-on like when he and Tasha fought Ikeda Kenzo. But he didn''t know whether they could beat him or not. After all, Ayaka''s strength wasn''t the same as Tasha''s. If he were with Tasha, he would surely kill this man even if he needed to fight him head-on, because he was confident they would be able to kill him.


    Because of those thoughts, he decided not to risk it and flee from the cave.


    "I''ll make a Sound Instion Room and trap him in there. After that, we''ll immediately get out of here," Kai exined his n.


    "We should attack him. That guy wants to kill you... And that young lord of his¡­ I''ll kill him if I find out about his identity." Ayaka was mad. She almost hated Kai to the core because of them.


    "Of course, I want to pay him back. Which is why, when we''re outside, I want you to blow up the entrance with your Scarlet Explosion. And with my Sound Instion Room, he shouldn''t be able to hear a single thing.


    "In other words, he''ll be trapped without knowing anything. He would have to look for the entrance for a long time unless he could st this cave away, though that might be a little hard," Kai exined.


    When she heard that, she nodded her head. Kai then waited for the man to stop at one position before he made a Sound Instion Room. He made it as big as possible to make sure the man didn''t notice it was there. Of course, Kai and Ayaka were outside the Sound Instion Room.


    After that, they sneaked out of the cave. He then signaled Ayaka to start as he maintained his Sound Instion Room.


    Ayaka nodded. She prepared this skill while pouring all of her frustration and wrath. She roared,


    "Scarlet Explosion!"

 Chapter 45 - George

    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!" A huge explosion filled the air, but the person inside the cave didn''t hear a single sound because of Kai''s Sound Instion Room.


    And by the time he realized he couldn''t find the exit, he would need to know which direction he came from, or he might need to blow the entire cave up. But, it might prove to be difficult since the cave was enormous considering how deep he needed to walk to reach the end of the cave.


    Although he couldn''t hear the explosion, it was different for other people who were around them, including the teachers that were killing the magical beasts nearby. They immediately heard that explosion, and Shirotsuka Sanae was forced to move toward its direction.


    Noticing her, Kai turned his head.


    "?!" Ayaka was confused by the sudden action, so she also tried to see it. She saw Shirotsuka Sanae''s figure slowly appear in her eyes. Her wet uniform wrapped her body tightly because of the rain. She looked very sexy, since unlike Ayaka''s developing body, she had a fully-endowed body.


    "Kai Carter, Kudo Ayaka." Shirotsuka Sanae frowned the moment she only saw two of them. She remembered there were two dead bodies, which were Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera''s bodies, their teammates. "Why are you here? What about the explosion?"


    "Ayaka blew up the cave over there," Kai said while pointing at the cave with its entrance sealed by a pile of rubbles.


    She frowned as she couldn''t understand why they would want to blow up the cave. But there was another important matter that she needed to ask, "Your teammates were killed by magical beasts."


    Ayaka''s body shook a bit. As for Kai, he already expected something like that, since the man inside the cave already spoke about it.


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t miss Ayaka''s reaction. She immediately knew something was going on. "So, care to exin? I don''t care if this is a personal matter or whatever. I''m your teacher, so I''m the one responsible to protect you in this practice test, so I have the right to know. If you don''t want to talk, then I''ll have to force you to."


    Kai immediately exined the situation. "They wereing for me. But I don''t know who the enemy is. We blew the cave up because there''s a man who seems to be the one who brought the magical beasts to this ce from the China border."


    Shirotsuka Sanae wanted to immediately dig into the cave and face that man to get information, but she knew she couldn''t. After all, the students should be her priority.


    "Tch, we''re going back to the stadium first. I expect some exnation from you two after we get there," Sanae said. "Follow me. I''ll lead you to safety."


    Kai and Ayaka nodded. Shirotsuka Sanae grabbed Kai''s waist and flew toward the stadium. When Ayaka saw this, she didn''t know why, but she felt a bit jealous. After calming down her rage, she finally came back to her former self, so when she saw this, there was an uneasy feeling inside her heart.


    Sadly, she didn''t know how to face Kai after this. She was talking to him before because she needed to hear his order to trap the enemy, but she did not have anything now. If she talked to Kai, she would always remember those words she spat at Kai.


    Because of that, she didn''t object to seeing Kai be that close to Shirotsuka Sanae. She just followed them from behind while sighing continuously.


    After a minute of flying, Shirotsuka Sanae abruptly stopped in mid-air. Kai and Ayaka didn''t know why she stopped.


    "The smell of blood¡­ and not from an animal, " Shirotsuka Sanae said. She had her own skill alone, and with her wind element, she was more focused on scouting. She usually controlled the flow of the wind to bring smells toward her or to know if there was an object over there sometimes.


    But as one would expect from a veteran, she even noticed something like this even in this rain, even though the rain should have swept away the smell.


    The moment theynded, they could see a blue-haired woman lying on the ground. Color was still on her face, which showed that she was most likely killed recently. There was only a stab wound right on her heart, which seemed to have killed her instantly. Other than that, they couldn''t see anything wrong.


    Kai absolutely recognized who she was. After all, Kai just warned this girl''s partner a few days ago, George. He immediately had a bad feeling about this.


    At the same time, Ayaka suddenly shouted, "Ah!"


    Kai looked at her, who was shocked by what she saw. Kai couldn''t see it since his line of sight was blocked by a tree, so he decided toe toward her. Sanae was busy examining the corpse, so she decided to check the body for a bit before moving toward them. She already felt it with the wind that there was another one, so she just warned them, "Don''t touch the body."


    Kai couldn''t hear her because he was dumbfounded when he saw that George was dead leaning on a big stone. One of his arms was missing, and when he looked around, he saw the arm lying on the ground.


    He tried to check his body without moving it. He didn''t have any wound other than his missing arm and the wound on his chest. It looked like both of them were stabbed right in the chest, but George lost one of his arms because of his resistance.


    Suddenly, he saw a clue. It was already blurred because of the rain, but he could see two characters. He immediately tried to find something in his memory to see if there was anything rted to this. He couldn''t help but murmur, "1H¡­"


    "Kai?" Ayaka heard his murmur as she saw him look so focused, and when she shifted her body a bit, she saw ''1H'' written with blood. She saw George''s index finger was covered with blood, so George must have written this before he died.


    Not long after, Shirotsuka Sanae also came to them to examine George''s body. But she couldn''t find anything other than ''1H'', so she was perplexed.


    "Kudo Ayaka, Kai Carter, do you know anything about this?" Shirotsuka Sanae immediately asked. It was normal to suspect them, since Kai said that the incident of the magical beasts was because of him.


    However, Kai and Ayaka werepletely clueless about this. They shook their heads at the same time.


    "I don''t know anything about this one." Kai shook his head.


    Shirotsuka Sanae frowned as she remembered something. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression, indirectly telling her that he didn''t lie.


    "I don''t know why, but they have the same wounds as Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera did. All of them died with a single thrust to their hearts," Shirotsuka Sanae said while narrowing her eyes.


    "!!!" Ayaka gasped. Kai pondered for a bit before he said, "I truly don''t know about this. My spection is Katsuragi Takaki. But that''s all only spection, as I don''t have any proof for it."


    "..." Shirotsuka Sanae sighed. "I expect you to say everything you know after this."


    "I''ll tell you anything I can," Kai said. Although he knew that Shirotsuka Sanae was a neutral party, he couldn''t be sure. After all, he just found out that Carmina, who seemed to be a normal teammate, turned out to be a spy. If he hadn''t realized it at that time, he might have already died.


    "... Fine by me. I''m toozy to deal with this to begin with. And it really sucks to be a teacher, since I''ll get a pay cut after this incident." Shirotsuka Sanae was back to her usual self,ining.


    Before she became a teacher, she was an elite in the front lines, so she was confident in making Kai open his mouth. But she was a teacher now, so she didn''t care about this anymore. She would just record it down and be done with it.


    She was simr to Kai. She only wanted to survive and live peacefully in this cruel world, so she wanted to extract the information from Kai to make sure she had enough information in case something like this happened again.


    As for the report for the school, she would use whatever he said about the magical beasts. However, she was a bit curious about the clue that George left behind.


    "Does ''1H'' ring the bell in your mind?" Shirotsuka Sanae asked.


    Both Kai and Ayaka shook their heads. Ayaka then said, "Is it something like 1 hour or something?"


    "No, it shouldn''t be. It should have been only around a few minutes since they were killed¡­ maybe ten to fifteen minutes," Sanae estimated.


    "How about a name? Maybe someone whose name starts with H¡­" Kai said while trying toe up with a name that started with H. Sadly, in their ss, none of the students'' names started with H.


    "Anyway, I need to take you back to the stadium first before cleaning this up. You can clean your body or whatever in the stadium. I''ll visit you to ask a couple of questionster." Sanae shrugged nonchntly. It was like she wasn''t bothered by the death of her students.


    "Teacher, you don''t care about this?" Ayaka asked.


    "You shouldn''t think about this too deeply, since incidents like this often happen in the front lines. You should expect something like losing yourrade. If you delve deeper into this matter, you''ll also endanger the lives of your otherrades." Sanae shrugged. "Anyway, I need to take you back."

 Chapter 46 - Two Cases

    Kai changed his uniform to a dry one. Ayaka also did the same.


    They were instructed by Shirotsuka Sanae to be on standby inside the stadium. After that, she just flew off again.


    Kai didn''t have anything to do, so he just stayed inside the tent. As for Ayaka, she didn''t know how to face Kai after that incident, so she decided to stay outside while carrying an umbre.


    It was at this time he suddenly heard Ayaka''s voice.


    "Katsuragi Takaki, how are you here? Do you know that your teammates were killed by someone?" Ayaka looked at Katsuragi Takaki with a displeased gaze.


    "Well, well, Ayaka? Where are your teammates, especially that Kai?"


    "Hmph, they were killed by the magical beasts. I don''t know why the magical beasts targeted them. It seems that someone wanted to kill them by bringing the magical beasts. If Kai hadn''t noticed it, all of us would have died," Ayaka coldly said, her eyes not showing any warmth to the person she was talking to.


    After Kai cleared the misunderstanding, she thought about it again and again.


    She had two feelings about it. First, she felt a bit of pity for them because they died instead of them. The second feeling was hatred. When she thought about it, she slowly hated them because they wanted to kill her and Kai. But what she herself didn''t expect was that the second feeling was far more vivid to her than the first feeling.


    She could say such a cold thing about them because of her second feeling. Of course, she didn'' spite or mock them openly.


    Surprisingly, after she said that, Kai noticed the slight difference in Katsuragi Takaki''s heartbeat. When he noticed that, he knew that the magical beasts were somehow rted to him.


    "Don''t change the topic, you still haven''t answered my question. I saw George and Yuria''s dead bodies before I came back here. They were killed by someone, not by magical beasts. You must know something." Ayaka narrowed her eyes.


    "You-!" Wada Miyako, who was standing beside Katsuragi Takaki, was offended by her words. Still, she was immediately stopped by the cold gaze from Katsuragi Takaki.


    He then smiled again, "Of course I know. All of us were chased by someone, and we decided to split up. But it seemed that he was that person''s target."


    She kept staring at him to see whether he was lying or not.


    "Hmph," she snorted and left.


    "That girl! Takaki-sama has even-!"


    Miyako wanted toin about Ayaka''s attitude, but she was stopped by Katsuragi Takaki''s gaze yet again. "If you speak rudely to her one more time, I will kill you."


    "Ye-yes." Wada Miyako looked down as she bit her lips. She had done everything she could for him, but Katsuragi Takaki only had eyes for one person, and it was Ayaka. She hated this Ayaka to the bone.


    Kai was frowning this entire time the moment he heard it. He knew there was something off about the incident of the magical beasts. Unfortunately, he didn''t find anything about George. However, he found that Katsuragi Takaki''s tone was also not right here.


    It was as though he was happy when he knew George was dead. He felt the need to investigate the Katsuragi family once again, but he didn''t know how he could do that. He remembered how they couldn''t do anything the moment Ikeda Kenzo showed his true prowess as a veteran S-rank magician.


    It was at this time that he thought about torturing Katsuragi Takaki for information. He didn''t have any concrete proof, but he could somehow rte everything that happened to him by how he reacted to this.


    Sadly, his and Tasha''s power wasn''t enough to contend with the Katsuragi family. If he were to do that, he would reach the point of no return. And if they found out he did it, he and his family would have to bear the wrath of the Katsuragi family.


    He gritted his teeth. He felt very useless in this situation, especially when he remembered how powerless he was when he fought Ikeda Kenzo. If the Katsuragi family were to make a move against them, Ikeda Kenzo would definitely help them.


    He and Tasha would be fine, but he still had his father and mother, so he couldn''t do anything recklessly.


    He thought about moving toward another base, such as the US base, which was the closest or the base in Europe. But if he decided to do that, he would definitely pay them back by at least ending Katsuragi Takaki''s life.


    After all, they had no right toin about it since they also wanted to kill him. For that, he would need to prepare the money to escape to the US base, since doing that would require a huge sum of money.


    But what concerned him the most was George''s death. He reminded George to be careful against Katsuragi Takaki a few days ago, but he suddenly died. And the clue he left, he was really clueless about it.


    He didn''t really care about the matter as a whole. The only thing he cared about was whether it was rted to him or not. If it was rted to him, then their situation was really bad as they would need to escape immediately.


    He sighed. His life goal was to fight on the front lines carefully and amass enough money, then live the rest of his life peacefully with his wife. It was a simple but carefree dream.


    He never thought that he would get tangled in such a big problem. Even with Tasha as an S-rank magician, they wouldn''t be able to protect their father and mother all the time under the full onught of a big family like the Katsuragi family.


    As for the government¡­ He never thought of it. The government only appeared to be the figurehead. In fact, United Asia didn''t have a single leader because the government was useless. They just created the government to calm the masses.


    Each prefecture had its own leader, and usually, it was the most powerful group in that area. Tokyo had Kudo Group, Miyagi had the Ikeda family, while Hokkaido had the Katsuragi family.


    It was very hard to fight those big families with just both him and Tasha while protecting their parents, so if they could send their parents to the US base, they would be free to move around and could fight the Katsuragi family with gueri tactics.


    They had an acquaintance in the US base, so he thought they could entrust their parents to them. If everything was settled, they could live normally again here or in the US base.


    He even had a thought about selling himself to the Kudo group just to get the money. Ayaka was beautiful and wise while her grandfather seemed to approve of their rtionship. But when he thought about that, he felt something empty in his heart. So, he decided to make that idea hisst resort.


    As his current temporary n, he wanted to ask Tasha to raise money so they could send their parents to another base.


    After a few more hours, Kai was called by Shirotsuka Sanae. They used an abandoned room inside the stadium. It seemed that Shirotsuka Sanae also did not want to make this meeting public. As for the reason¡­ Kai could imagine her saying, "I need to make a full report if I tell themander. I''m just a teacher, and I''m toozy to make the whole report."


    When he entered the room, Shirotsuka Sanae immediately said, "The guy that you trapped inside the cave had died. Before I could get anything from him, he already killed himself. But it seems that he truly killed Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera. As for where he came from or who sent him¡­ I didn''t get anything about it."


    "I have a question¡­" Kai hesitated a bit.


    "What is it? Just ask," Sanae straightforwardly said.


    "Why do you even bother about this? I mean, youin again and again, but you still do it." Kai wanted to probe how much he could tell her. In fact, if she could be useful, he would use her to counter the Katsuragi family.


    "You just reminded me of my best friend. Well, she died on the front lines, and I don''t really care about friends and family anymore. I only care about myself and this problem¡­ No, your problem with the magical beasts and Inshov Tanas Georgiy''s murder case¡­ I need to make sure whether those two have any rtion or not.


    "If the two cases are rted to each other, then I''ll need to report it fully since my livelihood will also be on the line. As you might already know, the government is only a facade to keep the masses from panicking while the real leaders are the big families in each prefecture.


    "But when big families or powerful people start attacking each other, who do you think will suffer the most?"


    Kai thought of his parents when he heard her question. He answered seriously, "Themon people."


    "That''s right. Although the government is weak, if they have information or some cards in their hands, they might be able to incite the other families to attack this family and solve the problem. If this problem is solved, then people like me will be able to live peacefully. Well, after seeing your eyes, I''m sure that we''re pretty simr. We just want to live normally, but problems keeping into our lives," Shirotsuka Sanaeined and sighed.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded. "That''s why I want to solve this problem first."


    Ding!


    Kai was startled when he heard this. The sound came from his device, and when he checked it, there was a message from his acquaintance in the US base...


    He just put it down and continued talking to Shirotsuka Sanae. However, he was surprised when he saw Shirotsuka Sanae open her mouth wide in shock.

 Chapter 47 - Plot Armor? Get It Or Not?

    "You¡­ how do you know that person?" Shirotsuka Sanae asked. She finally showed a big emotion on her face for the first time.


    "What do you mean?" Kai looked at her weirdly.


    In the message, she saw the picture of Kai''s acquaintance. In that picture, there were two women. The first one was a female of the same age as Kai. She had blonde hair with blue crystal eyes. She looked stunning, and her body didn''t lose to Ayaka.


    The second one was also a female, but her age was close to Shirotsuka Sanae. She had dark brown hair, reaching only her shoulder. In the picture, she made a peace sign with her hand and a very big smile. She looked very happy in the picture.


    "I said, how do you know that person?"


    "?!" Kai tilted his head in confusion. He thought she must know about his acquaintance since she was a bit famous, so he told her, "She''s my childhood friend. Her name is Michelle. She visited this ce two years ago, and Imunicate with her once in a while nowadays."


    "No! I mean the person beside her!" Sanae said desperately.


    "The person beside her?" Kai couldn''t understand what she meant. He just exined briefly, "She is Yoshiie Asuka, her mentor. They live in the US base. She told me that she became her student a year ago."


    "So¡­ she''s still alive¡­" Sanae was full of emotion, and tears even started to form in the corner of her eyes.


    Kai was startled to see that the cold and natural Shirotsuka Sanae could show these many emotions simultaneously.


    "Teacher?" Kai frowned.


    "She was¡­ No, she is my best friend."


    "You mean your best friend that you said has passed away?"


    "Yes."


    "..." Kai looked down a bit, weighing something in his mind. "Michelle said that she had a tragic incident that almost killed her. And after many twists, she came back to life from that brink of death. After some time, Michelle met her and became her student."


    "I see¡­ She''s still alive¡­ I''m d." Shirotsuka Sanae felt relieved. "I owed her too much¡­ and she died¡­ She almost died because she wanted to save me."


    Because she was too overwhelmed by her emotions, she unconsciously started talking about the past. "Back then, I was also the same as you students, full of energy. I was fearless and ughtered magical beasts without thinking of the consequences.


    "It was because of her that I could keep doing that. She always supported me and cleaned up all of my mess. At that time, I epted a certain mission in Russia. Because of my mistake, I was knocked out by magical beasts, and it was then that she came.


    "She rushed and saved me from the horde of magical beasts. But because we were chased by so many beasts, she decided to hold the rear, and I was told that she died there. She''s my best friend as well as my savior.


    "And I realized how useless I was when I lost her. Even with the new squad that was more powerful than she was, no one could rece her. The squad kept experiencing failures, and I was demoted to be a teacher.


    "I thought I would just lock my emotion and desire since those ursed things of mine were the ones that caused the disaster. I agreed to be a teacher because it was her dream. She wanted to be a teacher and live peacefully, so I swore to live like that."


    Kai twitched his eyebrows. He felt that this scene was very familiar. It wasn''t his experience as he clearly remembered that he didn''t experience something like this. It was more like a story, where the main character met a powerful foe, he would then get a card that he could use. He thought, ''Ah, this must be ''that.'' If I''m not mistaken, this is called plot armor. Well, I don''t mind having her to help me though. But the problem is, how will I convince her to help me¡­ Should I ckmail her for this?''


    Kai was in a dilemma.


    Shirotsuka Sanae calmed herself down and said with a smile on her face, "Ah, I''m d to know that she''s alive and happy like that. Anyway, we need to go back to our problem here."


    ''Oi oi, don''t you think you should say more things about her, and say you''re going to help me or something because of her?'' Kai thought. He really needed all the help he could get, and it seemed that she was neutral about this. If he could get a veteran like her to his side, it would greatly improve their strength.


    Kai shrugged as he said inwardly. ''This is reality, not a story. I''m not an MC since the readers will cuss at me as a beta since I just want to live peacefully. Well, she''s not poor ooh armor as well. I really need to solve the problem with my sister.''


    "Fine, you can ask me anything." Kai nodded.


    "Well, let''s start with the magical beasts first. Care to exin it from the beginning?"


    Kai nodded. "I noticed the magical beasts from afar, but because of the heavy rain and lightning storm, I could only detect them when they were around a kilometer away from us. We were camping to shelter ourselves from the rain.


    "When I noticed them, I immediately informed the others as we immediately flew toward the stadium using the woods as our cover. Surprisingly, the magical beasts continued to chase us as though they knew where we were without needing to see us.


    "It was at that time that I realized that there was a mole. They weren''t chasing me. Instead, they were chasing Carmina Elvera and Fujino Chitose," Kai exined.


    "You said their target was you." Sanae frowned.


    "Indeed. After a while, I found out that the beasts were chasing someone and that someone knew the position of Carmina Elvera and Fujino Chitose. I chose to separate from them, and it turned out I was right.


    "I brought Ayaka to hide in a cave. It was then that we met the man that was chased by the magical beasts and the one that led the magical beasts to our position. He might have wanted to use those magical beasts to make me die naturally.


    "I knew he was targeting me when Ayaka and I hid in the cave. It seemed he was going to hide there until the situation became normal again and left. But at that time, he was cursing because he failed to kill me. I even heard my namee out of his mouth.


    "And not long ago, I was convinced it was Katsuragi Takaki who wanted to kill me. Sadly, the only proof I have is his voice, but I couldn''t record it. If I could, I wouldn''t mind giving it to you here."


    "Hmm¡­" Shirotsuka Sanae pondered for a while. "I see. This is a bit difficult. All right, I''ll note this first. Let''s go to the second one, about Inshov Tanas Georgiy''s murder case. Tell me what you know."


    "I don''t have anything to say, since I''m clueless about this. I told George to be careful against Katsuragi Takaki a few days ago, and this happened¡­" Kai shrugged.


    "..."


    "Then what about the clue? That ''1H'' thing." Shirotsuka Sanae asked.


    Kai shook his head. "Nothinges to my mind. One hour or anything, nothing rings a bell."


    "Hmm... Well, when we examined the bodies of Carmina Elvera and Fujino Chitose, we noticed that they were first attacked by the killer before the magical beasts also attacked them. But I don''t think you were lying either, so I''ll note this down first and make a report about it. Let''s just consider them idents to make it easy for you and for me."


    "As for the case of Inshov Tanas Georgiy¡­ We, the teachers, are alsopletely clueless. And our clue is only that ''1H'' thing. We don''t have any clue other than that, and his case is more troublesome, since he''s the prince of the south."


    "The prince of the south?" Kai frowned. When he heard that, he immediately recalled that name and was surprised.


    If she were talking about the crown prince, it would be the ruler family of Kyushu Ind, the third biggest ind of former Japan, the Inshov family. He never thought George''s background was that big, and if he wasn''t mistaken, that family also had an S-rank magician.


    "Yes. We need to give some exnation to his family. Well, we''re also clueless, and their family might be able to investigate this case faster than us, so we''ll just provide them with the basic information.


    "Luckily, this only happened in this practical test. Their family might not be able to pressure us since they had been informed about this. Simply put, we''re not really that responsible for his life. And we also need to deal with your case¡­" Shirotsuka Sanae said while looking at him.


    "Haha¡­" Kai was trying to cover it up with a chuckle.


    "All right, I''/l help you with this case," Shirotsuka Sanae suddenly dered.


    "What!? You¡­" Kai was surprised to hear that, and when he wanted to ask why, she immediately gave the answer.


    She said with an embarrassed tone. "I immediately threw everything away after I lost her, so I can''t contact her and she shouldn''t be able to contact me either. So in exchange, you need to get me her contact address."

 Chapter 48 - Assassins?

    Kai was taken aback by her request. He never thought Shirotsuka Sanae could be someone like this. No, it was like she said, she just hid her emotion because of that incident. After knowing that her friend was alright, she decided to leave the seal of her emotion a little bit.


    Kai did not mind it though, since her help would be great. He said with a smile, "Want me to pay you in advance?"


    "¡­" Sanae looked at him while furrowing her eyebrows. She just felt if she epted this, she would be in a bad situation. So, she shook her head. "No, I will get itter."


    She decided to do that because Kai seemed not to be the one that would give it for free. He even deliberately said it ''Advance Payment.'' In other words, he just wanted to make her work to the bone with only that contact.


    She might be able to get the payment and leave. But considering his sister, Tasha Carter was one of the S rank magicians in United Asia. It would be troublesome. That was why she decided to take it a bit easy and asked him for her contact detailster as the payment. At that time, she would be able to pull out safely.


    Kai sighed inwardly as he failed to bait her. "Anyway, your help is greatly appreciated."


    Sanae nodded. "Anyway, the test will be canceled because of this incident. Even though the people do not know the circumstances, just having the thought of magical beasts horde mighte again was enough to make you feel chill. That''s why the teachers have agreed to cancel this month''s test with themander''s permission. After all, this is only your first test and we have lost four people. We are a bit worried about losing more potential elites."


    Kai nodded. "Yeah. So, we are going to go back now?"


    "No, we will wait for another three days. Although the test practically has been cancelled, there is still a potential threat from the enemy. They might attack us while transporting all of you, so we decide to wait for our school''s elites toe here." She exined.


    "Our school''s elites?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Yes. The headmaster would personally lead our student council toe here. We will go back together with them. After having known this incident, they have been processing all the work they need to do toe here. I also heard that your sister is making a ruckus because of this." Sanae shrugged.


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai could only make a weird smile as he thought, ''It ising¡­''


    He could imagine his sister saying ''I will immediatelye to Kanggye with my Teleportation Magic."


    She could do that, but if she did that, she would lose the trust of the government. At least, it would be hard to make money even though the government was only a facade. They had been raising money after their visit to Hokkaido. However, Kai was nning to rush it even more after he came back because of this incident.


    "Alright. Our matter ends here, I will try to help you as much as possible in this matter." Sanae said as she left the room.


    "Thank you." Kai nodded.


    But, when she was just about to leave the room, Kai grabbed her hand.


    "Oi? Don''t push your luck. Our cooperation is only me helping you in the investigation and you will give me her contact. That''s all." She red at Kai.


    Kai shook his head. "There is something wrong. Is there someone¡­ no, two people that shoulde here after this?"


    "?!" Shirotsuka Sanae frowned the moment she heard that. She shook her head. "No, I should be the only one to ask you this question since no one has yet to know about this except me."


    "¡­" Kai closed his eyes a bit. He found two people''s footsteps around them. That made him hold her hand. So, hearing all of that, he could not help but think who they were. He then raised his hand while making a magic circle.


    "Echo Location." The magic circle then turned into a green screen. There were no more yellow dots or red dots. There were only blue dots which were for humans.


    "!!!" Shirotsuka Sanae already knew this magic, but she did not know what Kai wanted to convey. However, just by seeing these two blue dots. She realized why he stopped her.


    She looked at the blue dots'' positions. It was a very weird position as that ce was never meant for humans. One of them was in a venttion system, and the other one was walking a bit farther from their room before stopping inside a store in the stadium. They would miss him if Kai did not have this extraordinary hearing.


    "They are¡­" She looked at Kai.


    Before I came here, I heard Ayaka talking with Katsuragi Takaki.


    "How is this rted to your love affair?" Shirotsuka Sanae spat those words from her mouth. She remembered Ayaka seemed to have a feeling for Kai. It was the same for Katsuragi Takaki, who harbored feelings for Ayaka.


    "Teacher, I feel you are bing ruder and ruder every second. It seems knowing her alive makes you be a bit annoying¡­" Kai said.


    "Hurry up, exin it to me." Shirotsuka Sanae said while ignoring Kai''s word a moment ago.


    "As I said earlier. Ayaka was talking with Katsuragi Takaki earlier. And when she said I am still alive, Katsuragi Takaki''s heart skipped a beat. So, I assume, the man in the cave is not alone." Kai exined.


    "So, you are assuming that these people are his men and are going to take your life. But because I am here, they might even kill me to make no witness?"


    "Yes. Well, they might also wait for a while until Ie out so you won''t know. Well, you might notice it after this incident happens, so I think you will be targeted either way." Kai shrugged.


    "Hmph. It seems there are two people that do not know their position. If they are leaving this area alone and won''te back, I might not be able to catch them. But since they areing to this ce themselves, then we will see who kills who¡­" Sanae smirked.


    "Anyway, we will target the one in the venttion system first. Soon enough, he wille to the venttion in this room." She pointed her finger to the venttion in the ceiling. "Because of the confusion, they will assume we will go out of the room and fight him in a bigger area. At that time, the other one would ambush us from the shadow or might even snipe us from afar.


    "That''s why we will be the one to attack them. Our first target will be the one in the venttion. I will set a trap, and we will try to act like we are talking about this incident. If he arrives just right above us, the trap will kill him.


    "After that, we will use the venttion system to go around the second person and ambush him. Do note that we won''t kill the second one to extract any information he has."


    "Understood." Kai nodded. He felt he did not need to make any ns since she would take care of that. If it were him, he would also do the same. So, Kai did not have any objection.


    "But, will you be able to go through the venttion system? I think it is aplicated maze." Sanae asked as she doubted Kai''s ability.


    "Well, I don''t have the map for the Venttion System, but my ears should be able to pick it up and form an imaginary map in my brain. I will try to guide you to the best I can." Kai nodded.


    "If you can''t, I can still use my wind element to fill the venttion system, so I can trace the path. But, I will need to use a bit more of my magic power which is exhausting. So, I will have you work too since you are the one who is in the center of this mess." Sanae shrugged.


    "I know." Kai nodded.


    Shirotsuka Sanae then made a simple trap just right under the venttion system. Her n was to have him informed her if the enemy arrived. At that time, she would stretch her hand like she was yawning to activate the trap, thus killing the enemy.


    They then started talking again. They were just repeating the conversation they had just now though, about magical beasts issue.


    When the assassin came and heard their conversation, his heart skipped a bit. Because he heard Kai said, "This magical beasts incident is Katsuragi Takaki''s order. I am sure of it."


    ''!!!'' The assassin was surprised to hear that. He had been informed that the young lord was nning something but to think he was going to kill Kai Carter¡­ He only epted this mission for the sake of killing George per order from the main family. But, Katsuragi Takaki said there was an eye witness that was in the process of interrogation.


    So, he decided to help. He also had heard about the magical beasts incident, but to think the order came from Katsuragi Takaki. It was shocking news for him, especially since his target turned out to be Kai Carter, the younger brother of Tasha Carter. It bewildered him.


    After all, Tasha Carter was considered highly in the main family as she was a big piece in their entire n. And killing her younger brother would prove to be fatal for this operation. If the family head knew about this, he would be furious at the young lord.


    "Not good! I need to inform the family head." He thought. But before he could retreat, a flying Star knife suddenly came in front of him and pierced his head.

 Chapter 49 - Assassins Part II

    A few seconds earlier, the moment he noticed the assassin, Kai immediately looked down like he was weighing something and said, "Let me ponder it a little."


    "!!!" Shirotsuka Sanae instantly realized that the assassin was already above them since this was the code that they decided.


    Shirotsuka Sanae also did her part. She yawned while stretching her hand above her head. It led to the movement of the string that was tied onto her finger. The string then released the trap and swung her star knife. The star knife then slipped through the gap and pierced the assassin''s head.


    When she was stretching her hand, Kai could also see a heavenly sight as it was showing the huge cleavage of her developed body. It would be a fascinating sight for him if he were a normal male student. Sadly, the one in front of her was Kai, and Kai never had any interest in these kinds of things.


    So, the moment he saw it, he didn''t have that much feeling to the sight. For him, who was already ustomed to women because of his sister, it didn''t turn him on or the sort.


    After a few more seconds, Kai finally said, "He''s dead."


    He determined whether the assassin was alive or dead based on his heartbeat. Shirotsuka Sanae sent her wind to see whether Kai was right or not, and it seemed that the assassin was truly dead. They then removed the body from the venttion system and Shirotsuka Sanae immediately did her job.


    She immediately stripped the enemy''s clothes until he waspletely bare. She didn''t have any particr reaction when she saw the assassin''s naked body. In fact, there was a trace of disgust when she saw it.


    "You need to get used to these things. If I be embarrassed just by seeing a naked man, I wouldn''t be qualified to be an elite. Especially something like the d*ck over here¡­ There are lots of magical beasts that have bigger ones.


    "Luckily, we''re not in some kind of pornic or h*ntai, so there wouldn''t be anything like getting raped by magical beasts and having to bear their children. In the worst case, we would only get tormented for a bit before dying," Shirotsuka Sanae said without any expression, just like a proper adult.


    Kai only nodded at this. He also didn''t care about this, since it would be better for him to kill magical beasts rather than having to observe their d*cks. As for unconscious naked women or something along the line, he felt that he wouldn''t get turned on by something like that. He didn''t know why, but it felt weird for him to see those kinds of things. He would rather chop their arms than rape her. Maybe he was just weird¡­ but he didn''t care.


    They checked the man thoroughly but didn''t see anything in particr, so they gave up.


    "All right, you go inside first," Shirotsuka Sanae said. "You don''t expect me to go first, right? And you''ll see my panties while I''m crouching. I don''t care about it though. Still, you''re the navigator here, so you go first."


    Kai simply nodded, ignoring her dirty talk. He jumped and grabbed the ceiling before entering the venttion system. As expected, there wasn''t much space inside, so they would only be able to slowly crawl in this space.


    After Kai entered, Shirotsuka Sanae followed suit and entered the venttion system. Still, because of her ''morous body,'' she got a bit stuck when entering. She was forced to use her wind element to move into the venttion system.


    "I''m a wind element magician¡­ so I''m aero-dynamic!" was her excuse.


    Kai only shook his head helplessly and led them to the other enemy. He already ced a Sound Instion Room right above him, so it would be alright even if they made a sound. "I can see her now."


    "Oi, are you sure you can talk?" Shirotsuka Sanae said in a very low voice.


    "Don''t worry. I''ve made a Sound Instion Room. This way, he wouldn''t be able to hear a single thing even if we make a huge ruckus since the room will iste us. No sound can leak out of this room," he said with confidence.


    "¡­" Shirotsuka Sanae was astonished. She never knew there was skill like this since usually, sound magic would be something like transmitting the sound of someone or something without anymunication devices or enhancing sound frequencies. "Oi, your ability is really special. How about working as a spy? I think you''ll be a good spy after some training. If you have more firepower, I''m sure you''ll be the number one spy in the world."


    "Are you serious in giving that advice to your student, Teacher?" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "I''m serious. I believe that you''ll rise as an unorthodox sound magician. It''s just that, I still don''t know whether your firepower is enough to get you to the top," she exined with a serious expression. Kai couldn''t see it though.


    "You''re overestimating me," Kai humbly said.


    "Anyway, move forward a little bit. I need to see the assassin too." Sanae said.


    "All right." He then started crawling forward so she could also see the assassin.


    But before he could even react, Shirotsuka Sanae immediately came down. Because it was still in the range of Kai''s Sound Instion Room, the assassin didn''t hear her. She used this chance to send her star knife and tangled the assassin''s neck with its string. The other star knife was used to tie her legs as well as her hands up.


    "!!!" The assassin was surprised because she was already tied up before she knew it.


    Not long after that, Kai slowly came down without saying a singleint.


    "How¡­" The assassin tried to nce at Shirotsuka Sanae, but when he saw Kai Carter, he immediately recognized his face. He never thought he was also here.


    "Wait, Teacher, she''s the one who killed George¡­" Kai said.


    "What?" Shirotsuka Sanae was taken aback by what he said.


    On the other hand, the assassin''s heart skipped a bit. She had also been informed by the young lord about how there was an eyewitness. And considering all of this, she realized that Kai Carter was the eyewitness he was talking about. This was bad. If Kai knew about this, the chance of acquiring Tasha Carter would be gone to puff as they would be wary against them.


    Sadly, both of them didn''t know that Kai was bluffing. The moment Kai felt her heart skip a beat, he knew she was really the one who killed George.


    "It seems that you''re really George''s murderer," Kai said.


    The assassin didn''t waver after hearing what Kai said. As long as she didn''t admit it, she would be okay as Kai was still unsure about it. She was trying to kill herself by the poison she could activate with magic.


    "!!!" Shirotsuka Sanae immediately noticed that as she saw a magic circle appeared in front of his chest.


    Fortunately, Kai had seen this. It was the same technique the sniper that targeted him a while ago used. He flicked his finger just right after the magic circle formed.


    Ding¡ª!


    A noisy and disturbing sound reverberated in their ears. The magic circle was immediately destroyed.


    Shirotsuka Sanae immediately tightened the string on her body even though the sound was still ringing in her head.


    "Dammit. You bastard. You should''ve warned me first before doing it," Sanaeined, ring at Kai.


    "If I had warned you first, she might have died before I stopped her." Kai shrugged.


    "Fair enough." Sanae then red at the assassin. "So, how should we do this? Will you talk, or do I need to torture you first?"


    "You won''t get anything from me. For the sake of my family, we''re ready to die. So feel free to torture me as much as you like, because I won''t flinch," she said while blood started seeping from her mouth.


    "You don''t need to ask him anything, Teacher. She''s the one who killed George. If we send her and the one from before, maybe George''s family will be able to track them." Kai said.


    "Are you sure?" She nced at the assassin, who didn''t make any expression even after everything Kai said.


    "Yes. She can pretend to be calm after the second or the third, but there''s always a reaction for the first. The moment I said it, her heart skipped a beat. At that time, she wasn''t prepared for the torture yet, since she hadn''t realized her situation. That''s why I''m sure she''s the perpetrator. As for who sent her¡­ we should just leave it to George''s family to find out," Kai exined.


    "How about saying ''I''ll rape you if you won''t talk''? Maybe it''ll be enough of a threat for her. I''ll even turn a blind eye if you want to actually do that."


    "Stop joking. I don''t have any interest in that," Kai shrugged.


    Shirotsuka Sanae looked at Kai for a while to make sure whether Kai was telling the truth or not. After considering his circumstances, he didn''t have a reason to lie.


    "All right, I''ll believe you. Have you considered my previous suggestion? I think you''re really good at espionage. Your ability is useful for eavesdropping, spying, scouting, torturing, interrogation, and eavesdropping."


    "Why did you say ''eavesdropping'' twice?" He twitched his eyebrows.


    "Well, I didn''t lie. The first one is for the espionage, while the one is for ''espionage'' in a lewd way..." She said, ignoring the fact that she was still strangling an assassin with her string.


    "A lewd way?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "I mean, you can surely hear women bathing and such¡­ Luckily, you seem not to be someone perverted," Sanae joked a bit more.


    "Oi¡­" Kai got a bit offended by this. He wasn''t someone who would do something like that... since he had already done that even though he didn''t want to.


    "Anyway, I''ll send this one to themander first," she said as she knocked the assassin out.

 Chapter 50 - Tasha Carter

    The next day.


    The students had been sent back to the base. After that incident, themander had informed them about the two incidents and formally announced the end of the practice ss. After that, they were informed to wait for the dean and the student council to escort them back to United Asia.


    So, they had to wait in the stadium for two days until they could go back. In the meantime, themander decided to teach them about scouting and patrolling instead. After all, they wanted to make the wait productive for all of them.


    It was not until a few hourster that they finally saw a series of helicopters hovering in the sky above the stadium.


    A few students led by a muscr man slowly descended to the ground. They were going to report to themander before one of them suddenly spotted Kai. One of them didn''t care about anything and broke the rank.


    She teleported to his front and tried to hug him. Unfortunately, Kai suddenly reached out his hand instinctively and grabbed her head to stop her advance.


    She didn''t care about it. She went around him and observed him up and down, making sure that her beloved brother didn''t get hurt or anything.


    After confirming he was fine, she finally felt relieved. She said, "I''m- Guah!"


    Haruko suddenly appeared behind her and hit her head. After that, she grabbed her head and dragged her back while saying to everyone, "I''m sorry for her inconveniencing behavior. She''s just worried about her little brother."


    The students just dumbfoundedly looked at her. They knew Kai was Tasha Carter''s younger brother, but it was very surprising to see such a famous person act like that. After all, in front of the media, she only showed the elegant side of her. But seeing that side of her, it was very refreshing, especially for the male students¡­ They were thinking something like, ''an elder sister that''s really worried about her brother¡­ moe¡­'' or ''I''m jealous.''


    Of course, at this moment, Katsuragi Takaki was the only one who had a serious expression. He looked at Tasha Carter with his eyes narrowed, trying toe up with another n.


    ...


    After reporting to themander, the first thing Tasha did was visit Kai. Sadly, at that time, Ayaka was beside him.


    Tasha''s attention immediately shifted to her. She looked at Ayaka with narrowed eyes. "I see. We meet again..."


    "Ye-yes."


    "ording to my knowledge, the students must use shared tents in this practice test. I assume you shared a tent with my Kai¡­ right?"


    "Yes." She nodded timidly. There was even a tinge read on her face.


    "Then you can switch with me. We got an extra tent, so all of us will get one. You''re not Kai''s spouse, so I think you should get your own tent, especially since you''re Kudo Group''s princess. You don''t want to make a huge rumor with something like Kudo Group''s princess suddenly getting pregnant in her first year or something, right? Or are you nning to seduce him?" She red at Ayaka.


    "Wha- What?! Pregnant? Seduce him? No no no. I''m just his partner on the battlefield," Ayaka said hurriedly, a bit embarrassed.


    "Good. Then we''ll switch tents. I''ll protect my Kai from predators." Tasha didn''t say she was the only predator. She remembered that Kai also had two other teammates. But when she tried to look for them, she couldn''t find them.


    "Even though you''re his sister, I think Kai also has his right to speak. You said you''re protecting Kai from ''predators,'' but aren''t you one of them as well?" Ayaka didn''t back down. She didn''t know why, but she didn''t want to give up her position and switch tents.


    "Ho¡­"


    Just before the fight started, Katsuragi Takaki finally made his entrance. He looked at Kai before turning to Tasha. He was angry because he couldn''t take how his Ayaka and his target, Tasha, was flirting in front of him, fighting over Kai.


    "I''m blessed to have such a beautiful S-rank magician as my upperssman. I''m Katsuragi Takaki from the Katsuragi family in the north and I''m your fan, Miss Tasha Carter¡­" Katsuragi Takaki bowed like a gentleman. "I came to Genesis Magical Academy just to see you and have you as my upperssman."


    Anger also started swelling inside Tasha''s heart, but if she acted ording to her anger, all of the ns that she devised with Kai would go to smoke. She could only politely greet him back, "I''m honored to hear that from Katsuragi''s family sessor. I see, so you''re my younger brother''s ssmate¡­ Please take care of my younger brother."


    "Of course. If it is my idol''s order, then I''ll happily oblige," Takaki said.


    The male students were clicking their teeth as they could see why Katsuragi Takaki showed himself. He was targeting Tasha Carter to be a part of his harem¡­ After all, Tasha Carter''s beauty was on par with Ayaka. Still, unlike Ayaka''s graceful body, she had a seductive body that could make men wander around with their minds.


    "I need to tell you something after this, so I''ll meet you at night. For now, you''ll need to deal with him, but be careful," he whispered. He then left together with Ayaka.


    In their eyes, Kai wanted to create a perfect chance for Katsuragi Takaki to talk with Tasha. Sadly, unbeknownst to them, he just wanted to make Takaki lower his guard by talking to her.


    ¡­


    A few hourster, Kai came to Tasha''s tent. Ayaka was already asleep as she was a bit tired since she had been constantly researching her magic.


    Kai made sure no one followed him with his ears. And the moment he entered Tasha''s tent, he immediately put up a Sound Instion Room.


    But when he saw Tasha''s expression, he knew she was mad because of what happened earlier. Sadly, he didn''t have time to listen to herints. She also knew that, so she decided to calm herself down with a cup of coffee.


    "We have a big situation now. I need you to raise money as soon as possible. We need to have at least enough for our parents to escape to the US base within a month. Can you do it?"


    "I can do it¡­ probably. Our family is only a small family, and even though I''m an S-rank magician, I can''t make money easily since I''m still a student. But what''s the rush?"


    "Do you know about the magical beasts'' incident? Or at least, have themander told you about that?"


    "Yes. I''ve been informed, but your teacher kept looking at me."


    "Well, I made a deal with her. She''ll help us in the investigation against the Katsuragi family. Anyway, I''ll-!" Just as he wanted to exin, Tasha immediately stopped him and grabbed his shoulders.


    "Wait? You made a deal with her? What kind of deal? Don''t tell me you''re selling your body for this?"


    "It is just your imagination. Anyway, it won''t cost us that much for her cooperation. In the meantime, I want you to focus on gaining money and send our parents to the US base. We''ll have Michelle''s family take care of them there."


    "Oh, that girl¡­" She twitched her eyebrows when she heard that name.


    "Anyway, the magical beasts were targeting me, and the perpetrator was Katsuragi Takaki. However, there was another ident. The south prince, George, has been murdered. Although we already know the assassins, we''re not sure about who sent them, however, the fact they wanted to kill me¡­ we might be able to rte it to Katsuragi Takaki.


    "After failing to kill me with those magical beasts, he wanted to kill me with the assassins that killed George," Kai exined.


    "¡­" Tasha contemted for a while. She could somehow rte them, but theycked proof at the moment.


    "Our best clue would be from the magical beasts'' incident, 1H," Kai said while writing 1H on the paper.


    "Yes. I tried toe up with something, but the best would be something like one hour. I can''t think of anything other than that."


    "I know. But the fact that my life is targeted is enough for us to make preparations, and the one that attacked us is Katsuragi Takaki, no, the Katsuragi family. We might be able to escape from them, but our parents will be their next target. So, we need to have them leave United Asia.


    "That''s why our current priority is making money. You hear me? We need to send our parents to the US base within a month," Kai said while clenching his fist.


    "I know. I''ll try my best."


    "If you can''t, maybe I''ll sell myself to Kudo Group. Well, Ayaka is a smart and powerful girl. She''s also beautiful. Her grandfather also seems to ept the rtionship when we visited her family back then." Kai shrugged his shoulders.


    The moment she heard that, her body shook, and she involuntarily dropped her coffee. The coffee covered his 1H, making the H be longer until it looked like an ''n''.


    When he saw this, he thought of something ridiculous as he remembered that that incident happened while raining. He tried to recall everything, such as the body position, the rain, the blood, and the writing. He finally realized something ridiculous.

 Chapter 51 - Realization

    "!!!" Kai Carter thought of something ridiculous because of the spilled coffee. He remembered that the incident happened while it was raining.


    George used his fresh blood to write on that stone. The rain then swept his blood downward a little. He tried to formte what kind of two characters he wrote and arrived at an incredible conclusion.


    "What if the character George wrote on the stone was ''KT'' and not ''1H''?" Kai murmured.


    When she heard his murmur, she could understand what he meant by ''KT'' and immediately frowned. "You have quite an imagination, don''t you? I know we have a problem with Katsuragi Takaki, but you can''t just rte everything to him and be done with it."


    Kai only shook his head, not taking offense at her remark. "I should exin it a bit more to you. Do you have a photo of the clue?"


    "Yeah. They just distributed it to us at the meeting. If we can''t find anything even with that clue, we''ll give George''s family the power to investigate," Tasha said while taking out her device. She then opened the photo of George and the ''1H'' behind him.


    After seeing the photo once again, Kai''s guess was basically confirmed. "As expected."


    "?!" Tasha looked at him in confusion. "So can you exin it to me? If you can''t exin it to me, then no one will believe it."


    "I can." Kai nodded as he pointed at the ''1H'' in the photo. "Look at these two characters. Usually, number ''1'' would have a diagonal line on top of it, like a hat. But in this photo, it doesn''t have that diagonal line. But because the rain washed the blood a little bit, the blood flowed down a little bit ording to the rock''s texture. That made a little diagonal line and also made us think it was ''1''. In fact, it was an upside-down ''T''."


    "Then, how about the ''H''? I can''t imagine how you can say it''s actually a ''K''," Tasha said.


    "Look at the left part. Don''t you feel that it''s strange seeing the left stroke so biffypared to the right one? And the thickness isn''t the same on the top. It suddenly bent in a weird way. If you think of it as an upside-down ''K'' where the edge of the diagonal strokes flowed down, I think you''ll know whether I''m right or wrong," Kai exined.


    "..." She looked down, weighing it in her mind. Although she had yet to believe all of the things Kai said, Kai indeed had a point there. If it was an upside-down ''T'', then it would corrte with the ''1'' they had, since the diagonal stroke on the top would practically be nonexistent.


    As for the ''H", she didn''t know if it was really an upside-down ''K''. It was true that the top of the left part bent in a weird way. If the rain washed the blood downward, she could understand why Kai said it was an ''H''. However, she felt that something was missing.


    "If it was an upside-down ''K'', then shouldn''t the thick part on the "K'' be on the right?" Tasha questioned with an unsure tone.


    Kai shook his head once again, smiling at that question. "I shouldn''t say upside down. Rather, it''s inverted."


    "What do you mean?" Tasha was confused.


    "It might be because I''m right in front of you and am looking at the picture upside down, but I can see this. If you were George and wanted to write ''KT'' while leaning on a stone, then you would write it inverted," Kai said as he slowly turned the picture 180 degrees.


    The moment Kai turned the picture, Tasha dropped her jaw in shock. Although the blood part was a bit disturbing, it didn''t stop her from imagining ''KT''. She was too shocked to see that behind the ''1H". If it hasn''t been raining yesterday, she could certainly deny him again.


    Tasha thought for a while before saying, "But it will be a bit problematic to exin it to those guys from the army. Well, I''ll try to do whatever I can. Maybe they''ll understand what I''m saying. If possible, I want to at least persuade the army to try investigating the Katsuragi family in tomorrow''s meeting.


    "After all, just as how the Katsuragi family is the ruler of the north, George''s family is the ruler of the south. So if I use the right words, I should be able to move the army."


    Kai nodded in agreement with her suggestion. If the army could be moved, they should be able to buy some time. Within that time, they would move their parents to the US base so they could fight without worrying about them.


    Unfortunately, little did they know how important they were in the eyes of the Katsuragi family.


    "All right. I''ll leave the persuasion to you. But is the army enough?" Kai asked. He was wondering whether he should ask Shirotsuka Sanae about this, but he forgot to ask for her contact.


    "No." Tasha shook her head, shooting Kai''s hope down. She added, "Of course. The army is the dog of the government, and they wouldn''t be enough to oppose the Katsuragi family in the north. But there''s another family that will get a direct confrontation with the Katsuragi family because of this incident¡­"


    "George''s family?"


    "Ah, that''s one too. Besides George''s family, there is one more."


    "?!" Kai was utterly clueless about this. He pondered for a moment, but nothing came into his mind.


    "George was also a student of Genesis Magic Academy, and the one that oversees the students is the student council. With this incident, the student council¡­ no, to be precise, the student council president will be forced to move. In other words, she''ll use her family''s influence to investigate this matter.


    "With the addition of George''s family, they should be able to pressure the Katsuragi family for the time being," Tasha exined.


    "Is that true?" Kai wanted to make sure. He didn''t know that it was like that. After all, after thinking about the matter, Yajima Haruko might move the student council to investigate this matter, but not her family unless it was an obligation from the school.


    "Yes. Our student council president will need to use her Yajima family''s influence to investigate this together with the army and George''s family. After all, the student council alone wouldn''t be able to contend with both the army and George''s family. So, she''ll at least need to use her Yajima family''s influence to investigate it hand-in-hand instead of being forced to investigate it like a ve.


    "This is not an obligation, but a matter of saving face. The Yajima family is the ruler of Gunma. If their princess were to be treated like a ve by the army and George''s family, they won''t swallow it down. Because of this, she''ll need to obey hee family and use their influence."


    "Ah¡­" Kai was finally enlightened. "But couldn''t you just exin it like that since the beginning rather than going about it in a roundabout way¡­"


    She pouted when she heard that. "I just want to talk with you longer. If I end the conversation early, you''ll just go back to your tent¡­"


    He sighed. "All right. I''ll leave the persuasion to you."


    "See, you''re going back since the business is finished now." She pouted while looking away.


    "Ahaha¡­ I''ll make it up to youter," Kai said.


    After that, he left the tent before walking toward Shirotsuka Sanae''s tent. He couldn''t hear any sound inside Shirotsuka Sanae''s tent when he arrived. He thought that she was patrolling around, so he nned to ask her at ater date. But when he turned around, he felt a sound waveing from the air, so he looked up and saw Shirotsuka Sanae descend.


    "So, what are you, a student, doing in front of your teacher''s tent? Are you going to fantasize about me or peep with your ability, Mr. student?" Sanae narrowed her eyes while releasing a bit of killing intent from her body.


    Most people would be frightened either from the killing intent or the misunderstanding. Luckily, Kai always thought it would be better if he didn''t act like that to make the matter clear without inviting any misunderstanding.


    He remained calm and looked into her eyes. "No. It''s just¡­ I don''t know how to contact you. And I''ve deciphered the real meaning behind the clue George left behind."


    "Ho¡­" Sanae grabbed his shoulder and said, "Tell me."


    "Do you have a meeting tomorrow?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. How do you know?"


    "Then you''ll learn about it tomorrow from my sister. I''m a bit too tired to exin it again," Kai said.


    "Hmph, you cheeky bastard. Give me yourmunication device." Sanae stretched her hand to him.


    Kai didn''t say anything and took out a small capsule from his pocket before handing it to her. The capsule was thin but had around ten centimeters in length. This device was like a smartphone before civilization was overturned.


    She also took one out of her pocket before turning both devices. Both of them suddenly projected a blue translucent screen. In Sanae''s device, it showed her picture as well as her identification number. It was also the same in Kai''s device, but it showed his data.


    After the devices finished scanning, she returned the device to him and walked away. "I''ll inform you about the investigation through thister. As for you¡­ Don''t ask me anything weird, especially if you''re trying to hit on me. You''re not a harem protagonist in a story just because harem is legal, so don''t try to hit on me, since you''re going to fail."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai shrugged. This teacher was really unique, especially her exnation, whether it was about this or about ''p*nis.''

 Chapter 52 - Childhood

    After he got what he needed, he went back to his tent. But in the way, he suddenly saw a youngdy. She had long red hair with a beautiful hairpin on her hair. Every step she took was elegant. It seemed that she was a young miss from a prominent family.


    Her graceful body was slowly illuminated by the moonlight. She wore a one-piece white dress instead of a military uniform.


    Kai didn''t know why, but he felt he had seen her in the past. That was what his instinct told him, but he couldn''t recall when he did or who she was.


    Noticing his presence, she turned back and saw Kai with a surprised look. When Kai saw her, he finally recognized who she was. She was the student council president, Yajima Haruko. The thought that he had seen her in the past suddenly vanished.


    "Isn''t it Kai Carter? What are you doing here at this time?" she smiled and asked.


    "Just visited my sister," Kai casually answered.


    "Is that so? She must be worried about you since you got attacked by magical beasts."


    "Yeah." Kai simply responded.


    "Anyway, are you going back to your tent?" she asked.


    "That''s what I''m nning to do." Kai nodded.


    "Kai Car¡­ Kai, I can call you this, right?"


    "Feel free. You''re my senior, so I think it is fine."


    Haruko didn''t know why, but she felt frustrated when she saw Kai act so casually.


    "Do you want to join the student council? I mean, you''ll be with your sister more often." She added inwardly, ''You''ll also be with me more often if you join¡­''


    "I don''t think I''m suited to be a part of the student council. I chose to be a student of the magical academy just to rack up some achievements so I can lead a normal life." Kai shook his head.


    "Is that so¡­ you really haven''t changed¡­" she unconsciously murmured.


    "Haven''t changed?" Kai looked at her in confusion.


    "Ah, I mean, it''s like your sister said. You just want to live leisurely without thinking about any problems," she immediately corrected herself while sweating.


    "Yeah. I know that we need to kill magical beasts to rule the world once again, but I don''t think I have that kind of dream. I sometimes think, if humanity manages to rule the Earth once again, what will this be like in the future¡­" he said while looking at the bright moon and stars in the dark sky.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Many articles said the Earth was horrible back then. Humanity damaged the Earth and overused resources like oil and gas, making pollution everywhere. The ice on the poles started melting, and the ocean rose. Then there were also climate changes, extreme weather, and such¡­


    "We can''t even see the moon and stars shining brightly like this in a busy town. I''m not a romanticist, but it''s truly rxing just to lie down on the ground and see the moon and stars without thinking of any problems." Kai exined while appreciating the moon and stars.


    "Yeah. I''ve read something like that. I heard back then, people love to climb the mountain and lie down to see the moon and stars. Imagining it makes my mind rx. As for how horrible this was back then, I think it won''t be a problem anymore since we can use magic power to rece those energy supplies." Haruko smiled.


    "Yeah. I know that¡­" Kai closed his eyes.


    "If you want to live that way, how about bing my husband? You can live leisurely and get three meals a day plus snacks. You can even skip bathing and just rx," she said with a teasing smile.


    Looking at that smile, Kai shook his head. "Please don''t joke about that. Although I look like someone who doesn''t have any motivation, I still have my pride and rules."


    "Of course. I heard you''re very protective concerning your family¡­" She chuckled. "Anyway, the student council can help you with that if you join the student council. With the help of the student council, you can easily enter the army as soon as you graduate from Genesis Magical Academy.


    "After being in service for humanity for a few years, I think you''ll be able to retire and enjoy the rest of your life. I can say this because I''ve seen your ability. So, how about it? Are you interested in joining?"


    "Are you a saleswoman or something?" Kai asked, "Ah, I don''t mean to be rude though."


    "Hahaha¡­ I''m still a youngdy from a big house, you know. This is one of the skills I need to learn." She smiled, knowing that Kai was only joking.


    "I''ll still pass. I have a feeling that I''ll have a ton of burdens if I be a part of the student council." Kai said.


    "Then, how about we exchange our contact details? You can contact me if you''re interested in the future." She smiled as she took out her personal device.


    Kai didn''t really mind exchanging contacts with her since his sister was also a part of the student council. He also remembered that she might use her family influence to pressure the Katsuragi family, which might be useful.


    After doing the same thing Shirotsuka Sanae did, she gave his device back.


    "Then, I need to go back now," Kai said.


    "Yes. Good night."


    "Good night." Kai nodded and left.


    Looking at his back, she sighed. "You truly don''t remember me¡­ I guess I''ll be the one to approach you¡­ Well, I have your contact now, so I can talk with you anytime."


    She made a disappointed smile before closing her eyes. She was reminiscing about the scene where she met Kai for the first time.


    It was around a decade ago when Kai''s family had yet to adopt Tasha. Kai was six years old at that time, but because of his hearing, he had matured earlier than average children since he could hear many things.


    Because of her family matter, she almost got kidnapped by the opposing family. At that time, Kai suddenly appeared in front of her and took her somewhere. He led her from one ce to another until they finally lost their pursuers.


    Kai helped her with his extraordinary hearing, so they could flee from the kidnappers. His appearance was like a fairytale prince''s.


    After losing their pursuers, Kai took her to the park to chill down. There was another person that seemed to be waiting for Kai. She had the same age as him with beautiful blonde hair. Her blue crystal eyes socketed beautifully that one would think she would be a charmer in the future.


    As soon as she noticed Kai, she walked toward him. "Kai, where did you go?"


    "Sorry. I just did my job like we promised." Kai smiled.


    "Promise? You mean bing a hero?"


    "Yes. A hero is not someone who will only save humanity from magical beasts, but also bad people. Look, I helped her from people that chased her," he said with a big smile.


    "Mhm¡­" She looked at the red-haired young girl behind him. She appeared to be a year or two years older than they were.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Michelle, and this is Kai. We just had our sixth birthday a month ago. Do you know why they chased you? If you know them, then I''ll need to hit this guy since he made a mistake by bringing you here," Michelle said.


    "No, no. My parents said they''re bad people, and because of my family business, our two families are in a fight or something.


    "I was going home with my butlers¡­ but we were attacked, and my butler left to fight them. A few of them managed to get past him and chased me, so I ran. It was then that I met Kai. He helped me earlier, so don''t hit him," she exined.


    "Well, if that''s the case, then I won''t do anything." Michelle smiled. "What''s your name? You''re older than us, right?"


    "I''m¡­ Sakura, 8 years old." She didn''t say her real name was to protect them too. If they were involved any more than this, she was afraid she would drag her prince in this mess.


    "So you''re two years older than us. Well, we''re on a family trip, so we''ll be gone in the next few days. But having known you is also not too bad." Michelle chuckled.


    She sighed, envious of her free lifestyle. She also wanted to y like them too, and if she weren''t in this situation, she would love to know them better and be their friend. "Why do I need to deal with this¡­


    "I just want to y around, live to the fullest, marry someone who can protect me like Kai. Then we''ll live leisurely without thinking about any problems like this.


    "I''m content with a small family. Their lifestyle is free and happy. I just want to live like that..." She said,menting.


    "Haha¡­ What a nice dream to have¡­ But we''re going to fight magical beasts and bad people. After that, maybe live together with Kai." Michelle said with her children''s imagination.


    "Eh?" Kai was surprised to hear she wanted to live together with him.


    "What? Do you have something to say?"


    "No¡­" Kai looked away.


    "I want that too¡­" Haruko suddenly said.


    "What? But you said you want to live peacefully¡­" Michelle said.


    "No no¡­ I mean living together with Kai¡­ Kai looks like a fairytale prince¡­" she said with stars in her eyes.

 Chapter 53 - Wait, What?

    "Ahem¡­ You can''t. My parents said Kai is mine, so no one else can have him," Michelle said.


    "Eh? Since when? I didn''t hear anything about it." Kai looked at her with a shocked face.


    "My parents already said that... Both my father and mother said you can marry anyone, but I should be the first one," she said, trying to recall what happened back in the house.


    "Then¡­ Can I join too? I don''t mind being second," Haruko said.


    "Can we even talk about this?" Kai twitched his eyebrows. He remembered at one time when a kid like him said something like this, his parents said he shouldn''t talk about this because he was too small.


    Sadly, he was ignored by both of them. Michelle said righteously, "All right, you can. Even if you''re the older one, I''m still the first, so you need to call me big sister¡­"


    "Un." Haruko nodded cheerfully.


    "But¡­ Your dream is also a good one. Just imagining living leisurely like that makes me drool a bit." Kai suddenly said.


    "Ah!" Haruko opened her mouth in surprise.


    "What did you say? You promised me to fight together¡­" Michelle red at him.


    "I mean, it''s just a wish of mine. I don''t mind sealing or giving my ''power'' to someone else. I''m a bit tortured by it after all. I thought since I have this ''power'', I should use it to protect everyone¡­ but now that I think about it, as long as my family is fine, I don''t think I really care about anything else.


    "If someone else can use this power and fight magical beasts, then I''ll dly give it to them. You know about my power, right?" Kai said with a sour expression.


    "I know¡­ I know your power and the things you''ve experienced, but¡­ I still think you should go to the front lines and fight magical beasts¡­" Michelle said with a downcast tone. Kai had told her about his power and such, and she even cried when she heard all of that back then. But when she thought about Kai leaving the front lines while she fought all of those magical beasts¡­ she felt very empty, as though she had lost her motivation.


    Kai scratched his head, thinking the words to cheer her up. "Then, how about webine both of them?"


    "?!" Michelle and Haruko looked at him, perplexed by what he meant bybining both of them.


    "I''ll go to the front lines and rack up achievements. After I''ve done enough, I''ll retire and enjoy the rest of my life," he dered.


    "That''s good enough." Michelle and Haruko said at the same time. Michelle just thought it was good since he was burdened by his ability, so retiring and enjoying his life was what he deserved. As for Haruko, she was just happy since Kai had the same dream.


    "Is that so? Hehe¡­" Kai grinned.


    "Then¡­"


    The talk continued until the sun set, and Haruko had to go back. When Haruko remembered it again, she finally felt something off. "Now that I think about it¡­ I was the one who made him like this¡­ wasn''t I?"


    She twitched her eyebrows, having no words in her mind. Ultimately, she sighed, "I reap what I sow. If I can persuade him more and more, maybe he''ll remember me¡­"


    She took out her device and saw the treasured photo. It was a photo of her with Kai and Michelle in the park. Kai was in the middle, giving them two big peace signs. Michelle was circling her arms on his neck while making a big smile. She was on his right, a bit embarrassed as she tried to grab Kai''s hand.


    ''After that day, I never saw them again since they had gone back. Oh right, Michelle wasn''t a citizen of United Asia and just came to visit Kai. After a bit more time, I heard she went back to the US base.


    ''People say it''s foolish to cling to childhood memories, especially about marrying and such since I was just a kid. But I never once thought it was a burden, nor was it just an empty dream. Ever since that day, I still love him.


    ''Just looking at his back when he saved me, I felt that everything would be fine. And recalling the warmth of his hand, I feel energized again. Still, I wonder, if Michelle were to know that Kai already has Tasha and the one who came a bitter, Ayaka, around him, what will she say? No¡­ I''m sure she''ll say something like "I''ll always be the first one"...'' She chuckled, recalling the memory she had with them.


    ¡­


    The next morning.


    Themander called for a morning meeting to brief the student council members as well as teachers, to protect the students on their way home.


    It was at this time that Tasha suddenly came to the front and exined what she found about George''s case.


    She exined how the 1H was actually KT and the reason behind it. After several debates with the teachers andmanders, they finally bought it. Only Sanae knew it was Kai who discovered it because ofst night.


    She never thought it was like that. To think Katsuragi Takaki was the one behind the two incidents, she felt that the matter was far deeper than she imagined.


    Kai was the S-rank magician Tasha Carter''s younger brother. As for George, he was the south prince, and his grandfather was an S-rank magician.


    Of course, she didn''t know that Katsuragi Takaki targeted Kai out of jealousy. All she knew at the moment was the fact the Katsuragi family was nning something big. She remembered the first message she received from Kaist night.


    ''The Katsuragi family managed to manipte Ikeda Kenzo to do their bidding. I met him in Hokkaido, and it seemed he wouldn''t leave anytime soon.''


    She felt a chill down her spine when she read that. After all, the name of Ikeda Kenzo as an S-rank magician was undoubtedly famous. If this were a war between the north and the south, then they wouldn''t need to kill Kai or maybe Tasha. But the fact that they targeted them was hard to swallow.


    She was wondering how she could investigate them. If Ikeda Kenzo were there, then it would be hard to infiltrate their ranks.


    She decided not to do anything for the time being. Like Tasha had expected, the army would help George''s family with the investigation. As one who was responsible for the students in the academy, Haruko would lead her family to help with the investigation. So, after getting pressured by those three influences, she should have more space to operate.


    She thought about backing down from this problem. Aside from getting the contact of her best friend, she had another reason to participate.


    If war really came, then the fight would most likely take ce around here. After all, both George and Katsuragi Takaki were students of Genesis Magical Academy. So, to protect her peace, she needed to be prepared, and by giving Kai some information, she would get her best friend''s contact details. It would be killing two birds with one stone.


    After the meeting, the student council started investigating George''s incident with Tasha''s clue. Of course, they tried to ask the assassin that Shirotsuka Sanae caught about it. Sadly, the assassin didn''t say anything, leaving no other clue besides KT.


    They tried to probe Katsuragi Takaki, but he remained silent. The army couldn''t do anything other than probing since the government was too useless. They just left it to George''s family, so they could have George''s family as the front.


    Yajima Haruko also had this responsibility as the student council president. She agreed to have her influence help them in the investigation. Luckily, the principal seemed to be assisting them too.


    After finishing their investigation, they finally went back right after lunch. The student council and the teachers were guarding the students with full alert. The students were also scared, as they might be the next one to die.


    Luckily, nothing happened on their way back. Of course, Tasha kept ncing at Ayaka, who had been sitting beside Kai the whole time. She wanted to make sure that she didn''t do anything to Kai. She felt relieved when she saw that Ayaka was too upied with her research.


    In the military base, they were asked a few questions ording to the incidents for the record. Kai only said what he thought the other students would say, so he didn''t attract trouble. As for the details, he would leave them to Tasha.


    Kai finally went back to his home. He was tired after dealing with so many problems. They went to the stadium on Friday before starting their activities on Saturday. The incidents happened on Sunday, and they finally arrived home on Tuesday.


    Because of the incident, the principal gave the students special treatment by making the rest of the week a holiday for them. Of course, the students were thrilled. Most of them were enjoying their life because they got scared after hearing the incidents from the teachers.


    Even though they weren''t involved in those incidents, it still made them shudder. After all, four students died in those two incidents.


    Kai and Tasha didn''t rest this entire time. After they arrived home, they immediately started their own investigation. They knew that something big was about to happen soon, so they couldn''t let their guard down.

 Chapter 54 - Katsuragi Family

    Two dayster, in the Katsuragi family''s abode.


    Many people gathered in one big room where they sat down respectfully on the floor, waiting for their leader toe.


    Not long after, the leader of the Katsuragi family came into the room. He was a middle-aged man with silver hair. He was wearing a white suit thatplimented his hair. In his ck eyes was a trace of killing intent that slowly spread in the room.


    He came to the room with an old man. He had ck hair with a portion turned white. There was a sword mark stretching from under his right eye toward the right side of his lips and ending just above his chin.


    He also wore a white suit. Unlike the middle-aged man beside him, he had a warm expression on his face. However, it still couldn''t hide his fierce aura, which instilled fear in them just by looking at him.


    They were respectively Katsuragi Akagi and Ikeda Kenzo. Even though Ikeda Kenzo was like Akagi''s subordinate, their status in this meeting was equal.


    "So, I heard that our n in assassinating the south prince, Inshov Tanas Georgiy, was found out by the army. Where are our assassins?" He asked his secretary.


    She was a beautiful woman equipped with strength and intellect. She fixed her sses a bit before answering, "We found out that our assassins had died. ording to our spies, they didn''t know how the first one died, but the second one died after getting tortured by the army.


    "However, she didn''t say anything about us. They found out that Tasha Carter managed to decode the clue from the south prince before he died."


    "A clue?"


    "Yes. The south prince left a message saying ''KT'' before he died, which referred to Young Lord Katsuragi Takaki. Back then, because of the rain, it became 1H, but somehow, she was able to decode it, and this happened," she exined.


    Katsuragi Akagi closed his eyes for a bit, weighing something in his mind. "Even though she''s not a pure Japanese, she''s indeed talented. How is the progress of my son and her? I heard he came back to this house yesterday night."


    "This¡­" His secretary looked at him with aplicated expression. She was a bit troubled in exining this, not because of Tasha Carter, but because of Katsuragi Takaki.


    "What?"


    "We''ve lost contact with Kiya from the front lines. And after several investigations, we found out that the young lord recalled him back to Kanggye Stadium, where the practical ss took ce."


    "So, why are you bringing up his name?" Katsuragi Akagi asked with a rxed tone, not caring about the person named Kiya.


    "He had brought a few hundred flying magical beasts to the practice test side and killed two students. After that, he died," she told him.


    "What?! Who¡­ who ordered him to do that?" Katsuragi Akagi red up. The battle between the north and the south started years ago, while the real battle would be in months or years from now. It was just they had yet to know the real n.


    But because of George''s case, the real battle needed to be rescheduled. And with this news, there was a chance for their big n to be found out by their enemy. That was why he was so infuriated the moment he heard it.


    "This¡­"


    "What?! Hurry up and say it!" Katsuragi Akagi roared.


    "The young lord was the one who asked him to bring those magical beasts."


    "What? He did?" Katsuragi Akagi was baffled. He looked at his assistant. "Why? Call that brat here!"


    "Ye-yes!" She immediately left the room.


    Meanwhile, Katsuragi Akagi red at his secretary. "Why would he do that?"


    "The young lord¡­ he¡­ he wanted to kill Kai Carter, Tasha Carter''s younger brother," the secretary answered.


    "What!" Katsuragi Akagi opened his eyes wide. Even Ikeda Kenzo beside him frowned. He remembered the case where Kai and Tasha came to this ce because Kai was targeted by someone who seemed to be from the Katsuragi family.


    At first, he thought it was a bluff as their intention was somewhere else, so he had hidden this from Katsuragi Akagi since he wanted to have talented people from the younger generation like them to prosper, even if it meant to prosper in another base.


    Still, after hearing this report, he immediately frowned because he realized Kai and Tasha were right. They were indeed targeted, and it turned out that the one who targeted them was Katsuragi Takaki.


    He didn''t know why Katsuragi Takaki wanted to kill Kai, but this was really troublesome. After all, in their big n, they wanted to make Tasha Carter fall in love with Katsuragi Takaki. That way, she would be able to help them in fighting the south''s family.


    There were only three S-rank magicians, and if two of them, including him, were on the Katsuragi family''s side, it would be an easy win against the south. So, Katsuragi Akagi really wanted to possess Tasha Carter as his pawn.


    When they heard about how smart Tasha Carter was, her value suddenly rose in Katsuragi Akagi''s eyes. However, the moment he heard that Katsuragi Takaki wanted to kill her younger brother, Kai Carter, that value immediately shook. It might be higher or lower in just a moment after he heard Katsuragi Takaki''s reason.


    "Master¡­" The secretary suddenly called Akagi again with a troubled expression.


    "What? Do you have something more?"


    "Ye-yes." She nodded. She took a deep breath to calm herself down first. "Because of this matter, we decided to investigate the young lord''s recent activity without Master''s permission."


    "Ho¡­ Do you want to die?"


    "I will ept any punishment, but I need to inform Master of another incident," she said.


    "What is it? Spill it!"


    "A few weeks ago, the young lord used the family''s background to send a sniper to kill Kai Carter too. However, at that time, he failed, and the sniper was killed. Because of that, Kai Carter started to be wary of us.


    "After several more investigations, it turned out that they visited this ind a week ago. It''s just that, we have yet to find out the reason they went back to Tokyo without doing anything."


    ''They''ve done quite a number of things here. I was the one who drove them away, after all. Not that I can say it,'' Ikeda Kenzo harrumphed inwardly. He suddenly remembered how troublesome the two were. If they truly became first-rate magicians, then even he would die under their de.


    "What?!" Katsuragi Akagi was thoroughly angered by the situation. The reports for the past few days were normal, as everything went ording to n. And when it suddenly went to his son, Katsuragi Takaki, there were so many troublesome situations. It was only a month after he transferred to Genesis Magical Academy, and he already made so many troubles.


    "What should we do about this, Akagi-dono?" Ikeda Kenzo finally opened his mouth.


    "..." Katsuragi Akagi furrowed his eyebrows, trying to calm himself down while thinking about their next move. "Are the south and the army the only ones trying to investigate us?"


    He asked that first. Since the south''s family was too far away, almost everything should be dyed, and they could buy time against them. As for the army, they were too powerless to go against them.


    "No, there''s one more family investigating us."


    "Who?"


    "Gunma''s Yajima family. ording to our report, Yajima Haruko, the heiress of the Yajima family, is the student council president of Genesis Magical Academy. Because of the pressure from the south''s family and the army, she was forced to use her family influence too," she answered.


    "Hmph. It''s only a small family from Gunma. They might be mighty in Gunma, but it''s still too early for them to challenge us. Pressure them first and make them stop their investigation. That way, we can stop the army''s advance as well as buy time from the south''s family. We will then reschedule our n to suit our current situation."


    "I will try to talk with the Yajima family, Akagi-dono." Ikeda Kenzo said.


    "Oh. If Kenzo-dono makes a move, then I will be grateful." Akagi nodded.


    "By the way, what will you do to Kai Carter and Tasha Carter after this?"


    "..." Katsuragi Akagi was also perplexed as to what to do about them. "Since they are wary against us, we won''t approach them for the time being until they start dropping their guard against us.


    "I wonder if we should use women to seduce Kai Carter so he will forget about it. But if we send my daughters or granddaughters, I''m sure they will be warier of us, so we should wait and see first. If they can be persuaded to join this family, it will be okay. However, if they can''t, then I will kill them first before our confrontation with the south''s family."


    "I see. I understand why you want to kill them first." Ikeda Kenzo sighed. If Tasha Carter and Kai Carter were to join their side, it would be good. But if they joined the south''s family instead of theirs, then the bnce would be broken, and they might lose this battle. That must be the reason why he wanted to eliminate Kai Carter and Tasha Carter first before they shed with south''s family.


    It was a shame that two talented people of the younger generation were about to be killed, but he couldn''t do anything. He had warned them about this, but they had yet to move out after so long. Of course, if he knew that the reason they couldn''t go to the US base was that they had no money, who knew what kind of expression he would make at that time.

 Chapter 55 - Katsuragi Family And Assassins

    "Master, the young lord has arrived." The assistant that he sent a few minutes ago hade back together with Katsuragi Takaki.


    "Father, why did you call me?" Katsuragi Takaki asked.


    "Why did I call you, you say? I think you know your mistake, you bastard." He red at Katsuragi Takaki.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about."


    "You don''t know? Then how will you exin the thing where you asked a sniper to kill Kai Carter or about you asking someone from the front lines to bring magical beasts to kill him?" He looked at him, full of anger.


    "I¡­" Katsuragi Takaki froze when he heard that. All this time, he never thought what he did was wrong. It was because he was too obsessed with Ayaka. As long as he could make Kai vanish from Ayaka''s side, he didn''t care about what method he had to use.


    "What? Now that you''ve remembered, I expect you to exin this to me. If not, I will make sure you won''t take a step out of this house again in the future."


    "I¡­ This was his fault! He wanted to kill me first," Katsuragi Takaki said.


    "What? Why did he want to kill you?"


    "He kept clinging to my Ayaka! He even managed to brainwash her, making her keep her distance from me," Takaki said with a righteous tone.


    "... I was wrong to send you to that academy. I underestimated your obsession. I should have locked you up in the basement and torture you until you forget about her." Katsuragi Akagi was thoroughly angered by his son''s statement. Even the others in the room shook their heads in disappointment.


    Usually, Katsuragi Takaki was a smart and calm guy. In short, he was a sort of perfect sessor for the Katsuragi family.


    Although they knew about his so-called love for Ayaka, they didn''t know it was to this extent. Back then, they were happy since if he could get Ayaka, it would mean that they would have the support of Kudo Group, the number one weapon maker in United Asia.


    Sadly, because of this Ayaka, he went out of his mind. If only Kudo Group had another heiress¡­ they would kill Ayaka and pair him up with the other one.


    "What? I''m not in the wrong. This is pure love. Ayaka is my everything!" Katsuragi Takaki roared.


    "You bastard!" Katsuragi Akagi couldn''t hold back his anger anymore. He stood up and took out his sword. He swung his sword to Takaki before stopping right in front of his neck. "If you weren''t the only A-rank magician out of all my sons and daughters, I would have killed you right this instant!"


    He released a boundless killing intent through his eyes, wanting to send it all to his own son.


    "Family head..."


    "Family head¡­"


    "Family head¡­ please appease your anger..." The people around him immediately tried to calm him down. They were afraid that Katsuragi Akagi would kill him out of anger. The reason was simple. It was like they said, Katsuragi Takaki was the only A-rank magician in the younger generation. He was also the smartest, if Ayaka wasn''t in the picture.


    He should be able to be reformed over time, even if they needed to kill Ayaka. As long as they removed Ayaka, he wouldn''t get into any more trouble. Then they would just make him impregnate a lot of women to make heirs. That way, they wouldn''t have any trouble regarding the continuation of the Katsuragi family after that.


    Sadly, the scene didn''t stop there, as loud footsteps could be heard from outside. Their doors were opened.


    "Not good!" Suddenly, a woman came into the room. She looked like she had rushed to this room with all her strength. However, when she saw that Katsuragi Takaki was inside the room, she froze as she didn''t know what to do with this situation.


    "What? Spill it out now!" Katsuragi Akagi roared, stomping the ground. He looked at her while releasing his magic power. He was rapidly running out of patience.


    "This¡­" She looked at Katsuragi Takaki, who was still in the room. She also had been briefed on the situation and knew that the family head was angry about this problem, so she was afraid that this situation might go out of control.


    "If you don''t say anything in one second, I will kill you right now!" Katsuragi Akagi released his killing intent her way.


    "Hi¡­" She didn''t care anymore. "We found out that the young lord dispatched assassins that were stationed in Chiba to kill Kai Carter. And I assume they''ve arrived in his position by now."


    (A/N: Chiba is a prefecture right beside Tokyo.)


    "What did you say?" Katsuragi Akagi raised his hand in anger and punched his own son in the face. Katsuragi Takaki was blown away by the punch and crashed onto the wall twenty meters behind him since it was a big room.


    He spat blood before losing consciousness. With just that fist, he managed to break Takaki''s jaw.


    "So, this situation will be thetter, huh¡­ Such a shame to see such talented magicians from the younger generation die just like that." Ikeda Kenzo sighed.


    "We will reschedule everything right now. Tighten our defense to make sure no one can find anything in a short time. Recall all of our men in the Kanto region and station them in Tokyo. As for the rest of our people here, all of you will immediately prepare our people.


    (A/N: Kanto Region epasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa.)


    "Tasha Carter won''t know who tried to kill him for the time being considering our assassins'' power. Within that time, we will prepare our force and kill Tasha Carter before she finds out and joins the south''s family!


    "I was thinking about having her suppress them since we would have two S-rank magicians in our rank, but this is useless now. We will move to the backup n and go to war after we kill her. Prepare the Space Teleportation Prevention Device!" He then pointed his finger at Katsuragi Takaki, "And lock him up in the basement. I don''t want to see him."


    "Yes!" All of them nodded.


    ...


    In Tokyo, a hundred meters away from the Carter family''s house, two people met on the top of a building. The first one was a male with big headphones circling in his neck. He wore a white shirt coupled with a blue jacket, looking quite stylish. On the other hand, the one in front of him was a woman in her peak development. She wore a simple sweater with jeans. If only she were a bit more expressive, numerous men would definitely be entranced by her. They were Kai Carter and Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "I managed to scoop up a little information because of the confusion. I bet they never expected something like this, so it would be toote for them to reinforce their defense. Well, this is also thanks to the south''s family, the army, as well as the Yajima family.


    "Without them making a ruckus to the Katsuragi family, I wouldn''t have been able to get all this information.


    "The first information is about Ikeda Kenzo. I''ve confirmed that he really is colluding with the Katsuragi family. And the second information is about Katsuragi Takaki. A few minutes ago, I just got information about him asking for a leave for a week or so. I don''t know why though.


    "Well, it seems that they''re going to tighten their defense after this, so I''m a bit unsure if I''ll be able to get any information after this. I hope the south''s family can make enough trouble for them so I can get an opening. Anyway, I have notpiled the details, and I will wait until I get more information." Sanae said.


    "All right, I''ll make¡ª" Just as Kai was about to say something, he noticed something wrong and made a serious expression. He murmured, "Nine¡­ no, ten."


    "Mhm?" Shirotsuka Sanae was confused.


    "More assassins." He sighed. "We''re around my house, but ording to their movements, it seems that they''re nning to attack me instead of my parents."


    Shirotsuka Sanae also sighed when she heard that. "Why do troubles keeping to us?"


    "I want to know the reason as well." Kai shook his head.


    "I''ll help you with this, but you''ll be the bait to make it easier."


    "Oi, you want to use your boss, I mean, you''re going to use your student to bait ten assassins?" Kai looked at her with a pitiful face.


    "What boss? You did not hire me or anything. Our agreement is only for my best friend''s contact. As for being a student¡­ You''re just one of the students in my current ss. We don''t share any sentiment like I do with my best friend or you with your childhood friend. So, don''t push your luck. Anyway, since they''reing for you, you''ll be the bait since it will be easier for me to help you that way."


    Kai sighed. "So, are we going to act like we''re parting here? But seeing a student and a teacher in this ce alone is strange, you know. Well, they''re still one kilometer from us though."


    Even though they were still far away, Kai was sure that they were assassins. The reason was simple. There was no way ten people woulde toward his position at such high speed while jumping through the roofs.


    "Since they haven''te yet, then we should move to another location first," Sanae suggested.


    He nodded. They immediately came down and went to a family restaurant.


    Shirotsuka Sanae suddenly took out a paper while writing some kind of ss homework and handed the paper to him.


    They were acting as though he was a student receiving a private lesson from his teacher because of his grade before going back. After this, Shirotsuka Sanae would go around the area and ambush the assassins the moment they came out.

 Chapter 56 - Assassins

    An hourter.


    A group of assassins of ten women had been watching Kai Carter and Shirotsuka Sanae for a while.


    One of them was a sniper. Pointing her weapon toward Kai, she sighed. "When will theye back? We won''t be able to kill him without leaving any witnesses if this keeps on."


    "Idiot, you''re always so impatient. You won''t be able to go far if you can''t be patient," another assassin said.


    "I know. This is just my rambling." She pouted. "Still, why would a teacher and a student meet in a family restaurant even though school''s off? Don''t tell me this is the legendary forbidden rtionship?"


    "You really are an idiot. That term is no longer known now since it''s normal for males to have multiple wives nowadays. Besides, you can watch them studying, right? The teacher must be teaching him because of his grade."


    "Can''t we just kill both of them?"


    "Don''t underestimate a teacher from the magical academy. They''re veterans in the front lines, and if we''re not careful, we might lose our lives in their hands. Especially seeing how young she is, there are two possibilities. She might have been banned from the front lines because of her low-level prowess, or she has her own circumstances despite being powerful since the academy wants her. I assume it''s thetter, since there was no way the academy would ept her if she were weak."


    "Tch. We can only wait then." The sniper sighed. She was already lucky since she had a friend to talk to for the time being. She tried to observe the other assassins who were close to the restaurant.


    Sadly, none of them decided to enter the restaurant to observe him because they knew about his sharp hearing. They were afraid they would be blown out if he heard them.


    Of course, they did not know the extent of his hearing, so they just stationed themselves nearby.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the restaurant.


    Kai was leisurely talking with Shirotsuka Sanae after confirming that none of the assassins came into the restaurant. This way, they really looked like they were talking about studies. Little did they know, Kai and Sanae were discussing their n.


    "It seems that they''re talking about you. They said you''re a veteran with special circumstances who retired from the front lines and became a teacher because of it. Assassins nowadays are extraordinary, aren''t they? I mean, they know your circumstances just by observing you for a while. I thought they would have to research your background first before they could know," Kai casually mentioned.


    However, Shirotsuka Sanae red at him. "You better not say anything rted to it."


    "Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood. Maybe I''m a bit too ustomed to Ayaka, since she would most likely panic in this situation and I would need to loosen her up."


    "The way you said it is¡­ somehow lewd. What do you mean loosen her up? Do you think this is an R-18 novel?"


    "Why are you always talking about things like that? Previously, you talked about p*rn and the like, and now you''re talking about R-18 novels. Are you so frustrated to even tease your student?" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "Heh? Do you think you''re a man? I bet you''re still a virgin? Do you want your teacher to teach you about this?" Sanae made a smug face.


    "So you''re not one, Teacher?"


    "Of course I''m not."


    "So, who is it? You''re not going to say it was with a magical beast, are you? Come on, why am I even following this talk of yours." Kai sighed.


    "I''ve done it, and I''m not obligated to tell you," Sanae said with a poker face.


    "The way you change your expression from a smug face to a poker face is suspicious. I''ll ask Michelle about this, maybe your best friend knows about it." Kai tried to tease her this time.


    "Wait! Don''t!" Sanae eximed in surprise.


    With just that expression alone, he already had his answer. "Anyway, enough with this dirty talk. Let''se up with a n since they don''t dare toe inside the restaurant. Well, they might already know about my hearing, so that''s good.


    "From my observation, there are ten of them. Eight of them are nearby¡­ I''m too tired to even say their position since we''re going to lure them outter. Thest two are at the top of the tower two hundred meters from us. One of them is a sniper and the other one seems to be protecting her. I''m not sure about it though, since she mighte to me the moment I go home.


    "Anyway, you''re going to kill the sniper first. After that, I''ll buy time by saying some random bullsh*tter. As soon as you finish killing the sniper, you''ll ambush them first. Remember to take as many as possible in that ambush.


    "After that, I''ll immediately use my skill, the one you said I need to warn you before using it. We''ll then kill one or two more in the chaos. That way, we''ll only have less than five to take care of. I''m sure we''ll be able to kill them all, but I don''t know your ability, so I''m not too sure about this."


    "Are you underestimating me?" She narrowed her eyes. "You don''t need to worry about my ability. Even in a frontal fight, I still can kill five B-rank elite magicians even though I''m only a C-rank magician. So don''t underestimate me, you brat."


    "I''m relieved to hear that." Kai nodded.


    "Hmm¡­" Sanae used her left hand to support her head while looking at Kai. She waved her hand up and down. "Come here. I need to say something to you."


    "?!" Kai looked at her in confusion. He rose from his seat and came closer to her. He thought she was going to whisper something to him. It was at this moment that she betrayed his trust.


    She suddenly hit his head and let his head hit the table. Kai red at her, "What are you doing?"


    "I''m still your teacher, so call me Teacher or something, not ''you''. This is only to warn you," Sanae said.


    "You only need to say it to me. There''s no need to hit me like that. My instinct almost reacted and I almost attacked you," Kaiined.


    "As I said, this is only a warning. But maybe I should teach you who''s stronger between us?" Sanae said with a smug face.


    "I''m fine with it¡­ is what I want to say, but our situation isn''t supportive of that," he said while closing his eyes. "Anyway, that''s the n. Is there anything you want to add, Teacher?"


    "Well, if I want to add something, I just want to ask, why don''t you call your sister?" Sanae asked nonchntly.


    "I want to, but we''re acting separately right now. And since you''re here, I can just rely on you while she makes money," Kai told her.


    "Hmm¡­ money?" Sanae furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Yes. I''m nning to send my parents to the US base and let Michelle take care of them while my sister and I deal with this problem."


    "I see. You don''t want them to be caught in this mess, huh¡­ Then, why don''t you ask for money from that Kudo Ayaka? Although the money required for base transfer is quite a lot, it''s just pocket change for her."


    "Ayaka, huh¡­ I''ve thought about it, but Ayaka and I are only friends, so I don''t think I''ll ask for money from her. I consider it ast resort though. Whether I''ll sell myself to Kudo Group or not will depend on your investigation, Teacher."


    "You mean ''time''?"


    Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "How much time do you think you have to raise money?"


    "Hmm¡­ a month." Kai gave his calction.


    "All right. After killing these assassins, I''ll try to investigate it. Since it''s only about time and not their exact n, I should be able to get something in 3-5 days," Sanae estimated.


    "Yes. I''m counting on you, Teacher." Kai bowed his head to show his thanks.


    Sanae nodded. "I think we''ve already made them wait long enough. Let''s go."


    "Yeah."


    The n looked perfect, but unbeknownst to him, another danger wasing toward him. There were peopleing toward him in another way that he couldn''t catch with his ears. After all, two cars wereing their way. Each car had five people in it.


    Kai was walking toward his house as though nothing happened. This action lowered the assassins'' guard as they thought Kai had yet to realize they were tailing him.


    When he was 500 meters from his house, he stopped. He turned back and said, "Who are you people?"


    Two women suddenly appeared in front of him. "Under our young lord''s order, we''re here to kill you."


    "Katsuragi Takaki, huh¡­ So nine of you are going to kill me? No, ten¡­" Kai looked at the assassins.


    "As expected of you. We"ve heard about your extraordinary hearing, but to think you could hear that far away," she said with a smile.


    "You jest. My limit is only a few hundred meters. I thought you were going for my teacher, as all of you might be her former enemies. But to think I draw such bad luck, sigh¡­"


    "Fufu¡­ you really are capable like our young lord. Interested in losing your virginity before dying? I mean, it will be good if you manage to impregnate one of us, since the child might be born with your extraordinary hearing." She looked at Kai with contempt. She wasn''t joking though, since a hearing like Kai''s would be regarded highly in the family. And if their children were to have that ability, they might elevate their status together with their mother.

 Chapter 57 - Another Group?

    On the top of the building, a hundred meters from Kai''s position, Shirotsuka Sanae had been following the sniper this entire time. Luckily, the one who was previously guarding her had gone away to go after Kai, which made her job easier. As long as she could sneakily approach her, then she would be able to kill her swiftly.


    She took out her star knives, ready to throw them to the sniper. Sanae chose to wait until the sniper touched the trigger. Because at that time, the sniper would be focused on the trigger instead of her.


    One minute¡­


    Two minutes¡­


    She was waiting. She knew they didn''t have much time, but if she wanted to take care of the sniper without anyone noticing, this was the only way.


    It was at this time that Shirotsuka Sanae found an opening. The sniper turned on herser and pointed it at Kai''s chest.


    She threw one of her star knives upward, letting it make a parabolic movement before piercing the sniper''s head.


    "!!!" The sniper felt the pain on her head, and she died.


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t say anything as she saw amunication device. She didn''t want to be found out anyway. She then jumped out of the building before using her wind magic to reduce her falling speed.


    After she descended, she immediately snuck around the area to get as close as possible.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Kai''s situation.


    "Enough with the dirty joke, I''m sick of it." Kai sighed.


    "No no. I''m not joking with you. If our children have such a useful ability, then our status will be elevated in the family, even if it means we''re going to have to raise the child alone," she said.


    Kai looked at her and noticed that she wasn''t lying. It made him wonder what kind of life they had gone through in the Katsuragi family. But that was all. He never cared about them anyway, since they were nning to kill him.


    "Unfortunately, there''s no way I''ll be interested," Kai said while closing his eyes. "So, who''s going to kill me?"


    "I see." She was talking to Kai because she underestimated Kai''s power since he was only a student ssified as a D-rank magician. Usually, she and her team would swiftly kill their targets, but she became a bit interested in his extraordinary hearing. She decided to talk for a bit since she thought Kai wouldn''t be able to escape anyway.


    "Well, your life is already gone anyway." She sighed while pointing her finger at the position of her heart. She was telling him to check his heart.


    When he looked down, there was a red dot right on his chest. "So, the sniper is the one who''ll kill me?"


    He looked at the building a hundred meters away from him.


    "As expected of you, to think you can even spot her position." She smiled.


    "If I had known about this, I would have asked my teacher to protect me." Kai sighed.


    "Fufu¡­ Well then, it''s regrettable, but I''ll have you die here." She raised her hand as the signal to shoot him.


    But after a few seconds, Kai was still standing without any magic bullets piercing his heart.


    "What?! Mira, hurry up and shoot him," she said to the sniper through themunication device on her ears.


    "Well, I''ve asked her to protect me though. My teacher, that is," Kai revealed with a smile.


    "!!!" They suddenly realized what was going on. They took out their weapons, but it was toote. Shirotsuka Sanae appeared behind them and threw her star knives.


    "To think you were talking about this. Do you want to lose your virginity that much?" Sanae even had time to tease him. It just showed how easy the situation was for them at the moment.


    Because of this ambush, they couldn''t react fast enough to dodge the attack. Shirotsuka Sanae chose the ce where she could target as many as possible, and she managed to kill three of them. She wanted to kill another one or two, but they were too far apart and would be able to dodge her before the star knives arrived.


    "Snake two and snake three will hinder her while the rest will kill-!"


    Ding¡ª!


    Before the leader could finish rying her orders, a high-pitched sound reverberated in her ears. The pain it brought to their hearing really wasn''t something to be underestimated.


    Kai had used small Noise Cancelling magic circles for his ears while Shirotsuka Sanae used the wind to transfer the vibrations upward, so she only heard a little bit of that sound.


    Kai took out both of his swords while Shirotsuka Sanae threw both of her star knives. Kai jumped forward and cut through the necks of two assassins without any mercy whatsoever. Shirotsuka Sanae was also the same as her star knives impaled two assassins'' heads.


    In that instant, there were only two assassins left from the original ten. Both Kai and Sanae didn''t say anything. Instead, they immediately went to their respective assassins, who had slightly recovered.


    Kai swung his sword toward the leader.


    "Don''t underestimate me." The leader clenched her sword to block Kai''s sword.


    They were shing swords for numerous rounds, but because her movements were a bit dull as a residue effect of Kai''s magic, Kai eventually suppressed her by attacking her hand that was holding the sword.


    He had no mercy for her even though they were throwing dirty jokes just now. Losing her sword, Kai immediately pierced her heart with his sword. She spat out blood as she walked back and leaned on a wall. She soon fell.


    "It seems your ability can really discern the sounds that are a bit more special than the rest." She said as she stretched her hands toward Kai. Her face was full of regret. That hand slowly fell to the ground as she died.


    "What do you mean?" Kai murmured as she looked at the assassin leader who had died. He suddenly heard, "Bam!" from two hundred meters away.


    He immediately realized what she meant. He could realize he was targeted because they came in a special way through the roof. If they came while camouging as normal people and didn''tmunicate anything special, his brain would automatically regard them asmon folks. Unless he specifically scouted with his ears, he wouldn''t know.


    He immediately jumped toward Shirotsuka Sanae to save her as she couldn''t go down just now because he heard that another group wasing and she was the main fighter.


    Bang!


    Shirotsuka Sanae turned her body the moment she heard that. She was surprised that there was another sniper. But more importantly, she noticed that Kai took a bullet on his stomach area.


    "Are you all r-!" Before she could even finish, a woman appeared and swung a giant sword toward them.


    Even though he was in pain, Kai immediately swung his sword to block her giant sword.


    "!!!" Still, because of the momentum, he couldn''t win in strength. Because of this, he and Sanae were blown away to the wall.


    There was suddenly another group of assassins. All of them appeared in front of him and made a magic circle. Each of them shot a skill.


    "Fire Bolt!"


    "Water Vortex!"


    "Water Slicer!"


    They were raining down their skills toward Kai and Sanae.


    Boom!


    The dust on the area covered up Kai and Sanae after they were blown up by magic.


    "Did we get them?"


    "That should be the case."


    "But to think they managed to kill the entire Snake group."


    "Hmph, the Snake group is just a bunch of lowly ves. They can''t bepared to our Falcon group."


    It was at this moment that they suddenly saw two star knivesing toward them from their left and right.


    "!!!"


    The two star knives managed to kill one assassin respectively, but they were then blocked by the second assassin. All the assassins immediately pointed their weapons toward the smoke and saw a green magic circle. Behind that circle, Kai and Sanae seemed to be fine.


    At thest moment, Kai managed to activate his Oscition Shield and blocked all of their skills. If it weren''t because of Kai, they might have died in that barrage of attack. Sanae wanted to say something, but noticing their situation, she didn''t say anything and immediately threw her star knives.


    There were eight of them left while one of them was a sniper far away from their position.


    "Are you all right?"


    "Yes, for the time being... I noticed the previous group because they ran through the roof of buildings, so it was easy to pick them out. But to think that these people camouged as normal people. I truly missed them until thest moment," Kai said while trying to regain his breathing rhythm. Luckily, it didn''t hit any of his vitals, so he only needed to endure it for a while. He just hoped that he wouldn''t die because of blood loss.


    "Hmph. Don''tpare us to that group of ves. Still, since you''ve killed two of us, I''ll make sure both of you die painfully and brutally," The assassin said.


    "I''ll take on the five on the right while you take on the two on the left as well as watch out for their sniper," Sanae said. At the very least, she wanted to take the pressure off of Kai. But if she took more than five, the fight might be unbearably long, and it would be bad for Kai.


    "Understood." Kai nodded as he looked at the assassins. He took a deep breath as wild instinct slowly took over him. He wanted to finish this battle as soon as possible.


    He then jumped forward with both of his swords.

 Chapter 58 - Killing The Assassins

    Because of the wound, Kai was forced to end the battle as soon as possible. Because of that, he immediately let out his wild instinct and jumped forward.


    His opponents were a wind magician specialized in magic and a fire magician with a long sword. They had no particr disy. They wore a ck robe and a mask, so Kai could only see their hair color, which was brown and ck, respectively.


    "Kuroe, hold him back. I''ll finish him with my magic," the wind assassin said to the fire assassin.


    The fire assassin nodded and moved to the front, blocking Kai''s way.


    Kai simply swung both of his swords down, which was received with a sword. However, Kai immediately showed his prowess at this time.


    "Kh!" The fire assassin suddenly fell to her knees when she received Kai''s attack. ''What is this strength? How can he have this much power when he''s injured like that?''


    "Wind Bullet!" The wind assassin immediately changed her skill as soon as she saw herrade suppressed by Kai. From a magic circle, a small whirlwind appeared before changing its form into a bullet. It then flew toward Kai.


    Kai waved one of his swords and destroyed that Wind Bullet.


    "Orya!" Because Kai took one of his swords from her, the fire assassin immediately raised once again.


    "Sorry, I was careless. I never thought he would still have that much power."


    "Just focus on dying him, he''ll die soon," the wind magician simply told.


    "All right." The fire assassin charged once again with her sword. "Haaa!"


    Kai shed with her for so many rounds while the wind magician seemed to be preparing big magic to kill him. He wanted to stop her, but it was to no avail since the fire magician managed to hold him back, albeit barely.


    ng! ng!


    Their swords kept shing as Kai slowly gained the upper hand in the fight. Kai knew he had to research some offensive magic. He previously had no need for this since he could easily call his sister or Ayaka.


    Sadly, at a time like this, his sister was too busy and he wasn''t that close to Ayaka. He just kept striking his sword against the assassin, trying to wound her as much as possible.


    "Wind Tornado!"


    "ze Powder."


    The wind tornado made by the magicianbined with the spark of fire from the me magician. They fused and made a powerful me tornado.


    "Oscition Shield." Kai used his sound shield to block this zing tornado, but the force within it was so powerful that it managed to push him back to the wall, even with his strength.


    On the contrary, the assassins were shocked.


    "How can he hold the force from my Wind Tornado? I spent a minute just topress my wind magic." The wind assassin snarled.


    "Gah!" Despite herint, Kai spat a mouthful of blood. His face became a bit pale.


    "Just keep using it." The me assassin saw Kai spat out blood and knew it would be soon.


    At the same time, the sniper that was standing a few hundred meters away shot another bullet. She even said, "Hehe¡­ good job, you two, but I''ll still be the one to get the kill."


    Of course, this didn''t escape Kai''s ears. He let go of one of his swords and raised his hand to his nine o''clock.


    "Oscition Shield!"


    The assassin was using a magic sniper with magic bullets. If this were on the battlefield, the sniper could take an A-rank magical beast down if the magical beast didn''t protect itself. Even with Kai''s Oscition Shield, this bullet managed to pierce the barrier and his palm.


    This wasn''t because the Oscition Shield was useless though. It was just because the bullet''s speed was too fast, not giving enough time for his shield to reduce the piercing power of the bullet.


    "Gh!" Kai endured the pain on his palm as he could see through the hole in his palm.


    "That b*tch wanted to steal our kill! We need to kill him!" the fire magician shouted.


    Her friend nodded and made another magic circle. She was trying topress something.


    Kai knew his situation wasn''t good as he really needed to defeat these two assassins in front of him first. He flicked his finger.


    "Luby!"


    Ding¡ª!


    The high pitch sound echoed through everyone''s ears in this battle. The magic circle broke, and Kai immediately released his Oscition Shield as he rushed to the wind assassin with only one sword in his hand.


    Because of the ringing in her ears, the me assassin who was supposed to be the vanguard couldn''t catch up to Kai''s movements. It was the same for the wind assassin, as before she knew it, Kai already appeared in front of her.


    Kai used a shbang as the model of this magic, but just without the blindness. Of course, he toned it down a little bit just enough to not heavily injure the people beside him, specifically hisrade. However, making his enemies lose focus in a second or so was already good enough for him as he could do this.


    Kai swung his sword right at her neck and sent her head flying. It was a swift and ruthless strike as blood had yet to spurt in almost a second. After the blood spurt from her body, Kai was immediately rained down by her blood.


    The me magician, who realized that herrade was killed, was immediately infuriated. These two were special. Other assassins might not care that much about theirrades, but these two were friends, and to see her friend die because of her carelessness¡­ she immediately swung her sword toward him with rage.


    "Die!"


    Sadly, if emotions alone could defeat strength, Kai wouldn''t be able to defeat Ayaka or the others.


    Bam!


    He put all of his strength on this swing. The sh was brief as he finally locked her down again, just like the previous situation. Kai wanted to pin her down to the ground, but he noticed something.


    "!!!" He suddenly heard the sound of a gun muzzle a few hundred meters away from him. He knew it was from the sniper and she would shoot anytime soon.


    Kai suddenly released his sword and let her win in this exchange. He then moved to the side to avoid her sword.


    Bam!


    It sounded like a st explosion in his ears even though the sniper already used a silencer.


    The assassin wanted to swing again, but Kai grabbed her wrist. He shifted his body and changed his center of gravity before throwing her into the air.


    "Wh-!"


    In an instant, he could see a hole in her head. The bullet pierced her skull andnded on the ground.


    Kai spat another mouthful of blood as his feet were already so weak, and his face became white. Even so, Kai released thest surge of energy he had and threw his sword before he made a few more steps and hid behind a house to hide from the sniper.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on Shirotsuka Sanae''s side.


    They also started fighting when Kai and the two assassins began. Shirotsuka Sanae immediately threw her star knives toward the five assassins.


    Her opponent had three vanguards and two supports. Sanae immediately targeted the support first, as they would be annoying.


    Two of the vanguards immediately appeared beside the supports and knocked her star knives away with their daggers.


    Shirotsuka Sanae only sped her hand as magic circles appeared on her star knives. The magic circles gave her star knives a boost to strike the assassins again.


    "!!!"


    Despite being caught off-guard by that for a moment, the assassins immediately reacted and knocked the star knives away once again.


    Thest vanguard, who seemed to be the leader of this group, finally opened her mouth again. "You two protect them as I handle this woman by myself. When there''s a chance, kill her with the skill."


    The assassin leader was using brass knuckles. Her warrior aura spiked as killing intent started emanating from her eyes. Her knuckles were suddenly covered with fire as she rushed forward.


    Shirotsuka Sanae kept channeling her magic to the strings that were attached to her star knives and made her star knives continuously attack the assassins.


    As for the person in front of her, the moment she charged at her and threw a fist, Shirotsuka Sanae did the same and covered her fists with the wind.


    She threw a fist against the assassin''s fist. Just before their fists collided, the wind immediately scattered the me, and both of their fists shed.


    However, the assassin leader had the advantage because of her knuckles. The spikes on her knuckle immediately pierced Shirotsuka Sanae''s hand. She smirked as she thought this woman was foolish because she challenged her knuckle with her bare fist.


    Sadly, contrary to her expectation, Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t scream at all. Even with blood flowing from her fist, her expression remained unchanged.


    When the assassin thought Sanae would pull back her fist while screaming, Shirotsuka Sanae did something she truly didn''t expect.


    A magic circle appeared on her back as the magic circle channeled a very strong torrential wind. The wind then moved toward her fist and boosted her power.


    Enduring the pain in her fist, Shirotsuka Sanae let out everything from her body to her fist and pushed that fist back.


    "!!!" The assassin was surprised she got pushed back in this situation, and when she noticed the surge of that wind that was capable of increasing Shirotsuka Sanae''s power, she muttered in realization, "Not good!"


    Shirotsuka Sanae used that wind to push her fist forward and blew the assassin''s hand away. She didn''t stop there as she pushed her fist once more and struck the assassin right on the face.

 Chapter 59 - Hospital

    Shirotsuka Sanae finally struck the assassin on the face and blew her toward the wall.


    Bam!


    The dust from the crash rose and covered the assassin leader.


    The assassins were surprised by how Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t care about her own hand and chose to strike their leader.


    The smoke scattered away in a second, and they could see their leader in bad condition.


    Her mask waspletely shattered and fell to the ground. It showed her crystal pink eyes as well as a broken nose. Her face was a bit destroyed after that strike, and blood covered her face.


    "Kill her!"


    She immediately gave orders out of rage while struggling toe out from the wall.


    The others made aplicated expression, but they still proceeded with her order.


    Both of them immediately made a magic circle. They did the same thing the wind magician that Kai fought did. They stored their magic and released it in one go. This technique was very popr in United Asia, especially for attackers, as it would give them a far more powerful skill than their usual.


    Sadly, Kai couldn''t use this as he didn''t have any magic that waspatible with this technique. Part of it was because this technique was only for the mainstream element such as fire, water, and so on. It wasn''tpatible with elements like Ikeda Kenzo''s light magic, Tasha Carter''s space magic, or Kai''s sound magic, as they couldn''tpress light, space, or sound.


    However, with this technique, the soldiers in the front lines could advance more swiftly. And this exact technique was used to attack Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "Ice Dragon Fly."


    "Wind Typhoon."


    Both supports immediately used their skills. The right one made a blue magic circle from which appeared a blue dragon made of ice. The left one made a green magic circle and summoned a wind tornado that was bouncing like a snake on the ground.


    The skills wereing from Sanae''s right and left. As she wanted to jump to avoid these skills, a high-pitched sound pierced her ears.


    "Khh!" All of the assassins covered their ears. The two skills that wereing toward her immediately shattered into pieces because they lost control of their magic.


    Only Shirotsuka Sanae recognized this sound. She bit her lips until it was bleeding to endure the excruciating pain. She forced herself to channel her magic and boosted her star knives again.


    Both of her star knives flew toward the support assassins and impaled both of their heads.


    "That bastard¡­" Sanae nced at Kai a little bit and noticed his bad situation and realized that he chose to use this perfectly as both of them were under attack.


    After killing the two assassins, Shirotsuka Sanae immediately charged at the rest of the attackers as she moved her star knives toward them.


    They endured the pain in their ears and raised their weapons. They deflected both of her star knives with their daggers and nced at their fallen teammates.


    Shirotsuka Sanae just ignored the fact that they deflected her star knives as she could pull them back with the strings that were attached to them.


    Shirotsuka Sanae moved toward the assassin leader that had finallye out of the wall.


    "You b*tch!" The assassin threw a fist toward her.


    Shirotsuka Sanae appeared to be throwing her fist again. However, this time, just before the fist collided, Shirotsuka Sanae jumped upward. She waved her hands and controlled the strings.


    The strings made a few loops in the air before falling to the assassin leader. Shirotsuka Sanae immediately tightened it and tied the assassin leader.


    "!!!"


    "Leader!" The other two immediately stepped forward to save their leader.


    At this particr time, Shirotsuka Sanae saw a swording from her right. The sword flew at high speed and stabbed one of them on the head. It was Kai''s sword.


    Seeing that, she didn''t hesitate for even a moment. A magic circle appeared beneath her feet. She raised her foot to the air as though she was kicking a football up high, and a wind pressure appeared on her foot.


    The wind pressure suddenly turned into a wind de and flew toward the assassin leader. It split the assassin leader into two together with her strings.


    Thest assassin on the scene used this chance to attack Shirotsuka Sanae. After all, Shirotsuka Sanae had lost both of her Star Knives the moment she cut her leader as well as the strings.


    She charged at her as her dagger started sparking with lightning. "Die!"


    Shirotsuka Sanae only snorted. "No, you die."


    "What are-!" Just when she started swinging her dagger, her head was impaled by two star knives.


    "You''re assassins that have been stationed around here. Sadly, you''ve never been to a real battlefield where you''ll die if you don''t think one or two moves ahead," Shirotsuka Sanae said.


    The difference in experience was too far. Because of the loss of her best friend, Shirotsuka Sanae was forced to think a few moves ahead so she wouldn''t die in battle. It was usually her friend''s job, but thankfully, she umted enough experience in this.


    With that, she managed to kill the assassins pretty easily. She looked at the tallest tower a few hundred meters away, warning the sniper. If she dared toe, then she would also kill her. However, seeing herrades already die, she could do nothing other than retreat.


    Sanae then waved her hands and retrieved both Kai''s swords so they didn''t leave any trace. She then followed Kai''s trail and found him leaning on a wall. His face was pale as he had lost too much blood.


    She shook her head helplessly. "You idiot. I''m sure you could have gotten away from the assassins if you hadn''t saved me from that bullet. And you even provided me support with that skill and your sword even in your condition. I''ll help you a bit longer."


    She carried Kai on her back and went to the hospital.


    ¡­


    A few hourster.


    Tasha Carter finally came to the hospital. She came out of the pink magic circle and startled the receptionist. She pped the table and said, "Where is the room for Kai Carter?"


    "Hii¡ª!" The nurse was scared as she never expected this.


    "Hurry up! What? What do you want to know? I''m Tasha Carter, his sister! Hurry up and say it! If not, I''ll teleport you a kilometer in the air and let you die!" Tasha roared at the receptionist with killing intent.


    "Room 202." The receptionist immediately checked and gave her the information. Her hands were still shaking, and her feet were weak. After giving that information and seeing Tasha going toward the room, she immediately fell to her seat and had a hard time calming down. It was only after a few minutes that she finally managed to calm down and informed the person in charge of the hospital about this. Of course, with Tasha Carter''s background, they could only let her do as she wished.


    Tasha was rushing toward this ce after she was informed of this by her parents. She was raising money with a certainpany in Hiroshima as they had a partnership in the past. Upon hearing this news, she instantly booked a ne ticket and rushed to this ce. At first, she wanted to use her space magic to rush here, but she had several problems and couldn''t do it.


    When she arrived at the room, her mother immediately stopped her from rampaging. After all, it was alreadyte at night.


    "Come here¡­" She dragged her with absolute authority. "Don''t worry about Kai. He''s resting at the moment, and I''ve talked to him for a while before this."


    "Mo-mother!" Even though her mother looked like a normal mother, she still felt chills when she was like this. She knew her mother was very angry. She even unconsciously talked politely.


    She dragged her to the roof and asked, "So, what is this all about? Have you and Kai hid something from us?"


    "I¡­" Tasha looked away, feeling guilty about this. She looked left and right for a while before sighing. "There''s a problem with the Katsuragi family in the north. Kai and I¡­ want to send you guys to Michelle''s family¡­"


    She looked down. They had been protecting their parents as far as they could remember. It all started when her power bloomed and numerous people tried to harm their family.


    Kai was the one who seemed to be ustomed to fighting¡­ of course, because of Michelle. And under him, she started practicing and protecting their parents. She decided to do that because she felt too indebted since they even picked her, an orphan, up out of nowhere.


    Her mother suddenly hugged her. "Silly child. You don''t need to do this for us¡­ We''ve be your burden this whole time."


    "Mom... you know about it?"


    "If you''re asking about whether I know about how you and Kai have been protecting your father and me for almost a decade, then both of us know about it.


    "It''s pretty obvious since both of you often came home with bruises and wounds. If you think both of us could be fooled just because both of you said ''you fell'', then you need toe again in another decade.


    "Sadly, even with us knowing it, we couldn''t do a single thing to help you since your father and I aren''t qualified for the front lines because of our weak power.


    "Don''t you worry, Child. As long as you and Kai are alright, we don''t care whether we are alive or dead. So you don''t need to do all this for us," her mother said, full of emotion.


    Tasha also started crying. "Mom..."

 Chapter 60 - Mother

    "Mom¡­" Tasha started crying.


    "It must have been hard for you too. I''m sorry, Mom is too useless."


    "No! Kai and I only want you two to live happily with us. We know that you''ve sacrificed so many things for us with or without us knowing.


    "We''re aware of that! That''s why we''re doing this. There''s never a single time we thought that both you and dad are burdens." Tasha hugged her tightly.


    Ayaka Carter also started letting out tears. "Silly child¡­"


    "Please never say that you don''t care about your life. You''ve always said that you''re happy with this life of a normal family and eagerly waiting for grandchildren. So, please don''t say that. Live¡­ we¡­ your children want you to live happily with us."


    "All right, Mom is wrong. Please don''t cry, my child¡­" She closed her eyes as her face was already full of tears. These weren''t tears of sorrow. Instead, these tears were full of happiness. "Can you tell me what happened?"


    Tasha took a minute to calm down. She looked down, "It was initially not our problem, but because of a certain thing¡­ it became our problem.


    "I''ll exin it first. You know about Kudo Ayaka, right?"


    "Yeah, she''s such a sensible child. She''s even sleeping in the room down below. Well, I''ve informed her family, so they should be taking her back soon." She nodded.


    Tasha didn''t have the energy to react to this. Part of it was because she felt guilty, as she was thest one that came here.


    "Then, how about the Katsuragi family?"


    "The number one medicine family, I know," she answered again.


    Tasha nodded. "This happened when Kai met Katsuragi Takaki, the sessor of the Katsuragi family, in Genesis Magical Academy.


    "Because of various incidents, Kai was paired up with Kudo Ayaka for the practice match. And Katsuragi Takaki''s appearance seemed to be rted to Kudo Ayaka, but it might also not be rted to her¡­"


    "Rted but not rted?" Ayaka Carter tilted her head, confused.


    Tasha simply shook her head. "Kai and I also don''t understand about this. He seems to be targeting her, but it''s certainly not her alone.


    "Because Kai couldn''t change his partner, he was stuck with Kudo Ayaka for the rest of the year. However, Katsuragi Takaki seemed to be targeting Kai when he knew he couldn''t approach her or something along the line.


    "Not long after that was the first assault. He sent a sniper to kill Kai, but the details were unknown as we couldn''t get any information out of him.


    "Our lives became normal again until the practice test started. He wanted to target Kai once again and sent his subordinate to bring a horde of magical beasts to his location. Luckily, because of his quick-witted action, he managed to escape.


    "After that, there was an incident with the south prince, Inshov Tanas Georgiy. He was killed by Katsuragi Takaki too¡­ no, maybe his assassins."


    "What? Even a person like me knows about the south prince. Isn''t this a big problem since the south''s family has ruled Kyushu for a few generations?"


    "Yeah. That''s why this has be a big problem even though we don''t want it. We''re still not clear about their intention, so we''re nning to send you and dad to Michelle''s family. With this, we can slowly watch as the situation unfolds. And we can even retreat to the US base at ater date if the situation bes out of hand," Tasha exined.


    "I see. Anything else?"


    "Well, the assassins that killed the south prince went to kill Kai, but they failed because of Kai''s strength," Tasha said proudly. "Anyway, there will be a big sh between the Katsuragi family and the south''s family. The Katsuragi family is backed by the Ikeda family, specifically Ikeda Kenzo, one of the S-rank magicians. Meanwhile, the army and Gunma''s Yajima family are helping the south''s family with this, so the situation might be a bit dangerous sooner orter."


    Ayaka Carter thought for a bit before saying, "Well, Mom and Dad also have savings, but they''re not enough for us to fly to the US base, since our family isn''t wealthy like Michelle''s family."


    "Yeah, that''s why I''m raising money for both of you."


    She knew they had be a burden for their son and daughter. Even though thetter didn''t think so, she, as a parent, thought so. Since rejecting it might have an opposite effect, she decided to go with the flow. "Then your dad and I will handle the administration."


    "Un!" Tasha nodded with a smile. She already finished exining, so it was her turn to ask. "Mom, can you tell me what happened to Kai?"


    "Hmm¡­ he met assassins that wanted to kill him. However, his teacher arrived and helped him. I also informed him that because of severe blood loss, his teacher, who seemed to have the same blood type as him, decided to do the transfusion.


    "She''s staying in the same room with Kai since she said there might be a chance for the assassins to target him again. She''s such a responsible teacher. Even though she''s only a few years older than him¡­ Wait, does Kai love mature women? Hmm¡­ I should ask himter, and maybe we can have her as a part of our family¡­" She said with a slight frown on her face, weighing the matter in her mind.


    "Mom!" Tasha shouted.


    "Haha¡­ sorry, sorry."


    "Then, what happened to him after you and Dad arrived?"


    "Oh, that. Well¡­"


    ¡­


    One hour earlier.


    Kai opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He looked left and right while remembering the previous fight. Looking further to the side, he found Shirotsuka Sanae lying on a bed beside him. She looked like a patient in this hospital too.


    "Teacher?"


    "Oh, how is your body?" Sanae asked.


    Kai checked his body and tried to move it. Although he felt a bit weak, there should be no problem with his body. He slowly rose into a sitting position and replied, "I''m all right."


    Her eyes twitched when she heard that. "Oi. You''re a monster, aren''t you?"


    "?!" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "The doctor even said it''s a miracle that you''re alive. You should have been unconscious for a few more days because of that big wound, but look at you now¡­ You''ve woken up and seem to be fine," Shirotsuka Sanae said.


    "Well, I''m proud of my power¡ª?!" Kai wanted to pose like he was proud, but when he tried to move his hand, he felt something restricting it. He looked to the side and found Ayaka sleeping while holding his hand. He was startled to see her here.


    "She rushed here when she heard you were injured and admitted to this hospital. Well, since she was your partner in practical ss, she was one of the people I needed to inform. She was panicking and even informed her family about this, trying to help you.


    "Anyway, she panicked too much and couldn''t do anything. It seemed she was frustrated by the fact that she didn''t know anything about this. Maybe she thought that you didn''t trust her or something along the line," Sanae exined.


    Kai shook his head helplessly. "It''s not that I don''t trust her. We''re only friends, so I think I shouldn''t bother her with this¡­"


    "But she clearly treats you as someone who''s more than just a friend, you know¡­ Or are you that dense? Or maybe you don''t even realize your own sister''s actions?"


    "No. I know that. However, unlike my sister, what she needs is a hero¡­ a man that can protect her and teach her various things. And because we''ve experienced lots of things, it became a bitplicated.


    "However, one thing that won''t change¡­ someone will be able to rece my figure in her heart easily. I don''t care about having multiple wives and such, but I surely want to build my rtionship with someone, not falling in love because of a certain thing.


    "That''s why I keep a certain distance from her¡­ Well, this might sound a bit funny from a person that doesn''t understand what love is, but that''s my view on this," Kai exined while stroking Ayaka''s head with a smile.


    "Well, I''m not in a position to butt in your love life. Still, I think you should talk to her about it. The sooner, the better," Sanae advised.


    "Yes, I know. After this matter with the Katsuragi family ends and my parents are safe, I''ll settle it with her."


    "Anyway, your parents came here a few minutes ago. They said they wanted to go back home first to grab a few things and they''lle back here soon."


    "I see¡­ My parents must be furious."


    "Indeed, I even felt chills when your mother looked at me even though there was no killing intent."


    "Haha¡­ My mother is the absolute head in my house, so, yeah..." He said before looking at Sanae with a serious expression. "I also need to give you your payment¡­ I''ll send her contact detailster. I''m really thankful for your help in this matter."


    Shirotsuka Sanae looked at him with aplicated expression. "You don''t need to give it to me. My agreement with you is to investigate the Katsuragi family in exchange for my best friend''s details, so I''ll help you a bit longer."


    "Are you sure?" Kai was surprised by this.


    "Yeah. Besides, I must''ve be one of the people on their list since the sniper got away." Sanae shrugged.


    "I''m sorry about that." Kai scratched his cheek, feeling a bit guilty. "I almost thought you''ve fallen for me or something."


    "Ho¡­ do you want me to put you back to death''s door? To think you dare to tease your teacher." Sanae jokingly red at him before chuckling. Kai also chuckled.

 Chapter 61 - Yajima Family

    In Yajima House''s meeting hall, Yajima Haruko was arguing with her father and mother, Yajima Matsuta and Yajima Honoka. Her father had short brown hair and wore sses that enhanced his fierce eyes even further. He looked like a strict father. Beside him was a beautiful woman with green hair. She was a nature-endowed beauty. Her calm expression made her appear to be a gentle and caring wife.


    "Father, why?"


    "I don''t need to exin it to you. No means no!" Her father roared.


    "I am your sessor, am I not? Then you need to tell me the reason for this too!" Haruko demanded.


    "Haruko, this is for your own good. You are my sessor, and because you are my sessor, it''s best that you don''t know," her father said with a stern tone.


    Of course, how could he say that he pulled back from the investigation because of Ikeda Kenzo? Not long after he started the investigation, Ikeda Kenzo suddenly came to this house and warned him to stop.


    Even though their family was the ruler of Gunma, they still couldn''t hold a candle to the Ikeda family and the Katsuragi family together.


    "For me? You''re just thinking about the family, not me!" Haruko shouted at him in anger.


    "Shut up. You don''t know anything!"


    "If Father doesn''t want to do this, then I''ll do this alone!" Haruko shouted at him as she got up from the floor, wanting to leave the room.


    Seeing this, her father also got up from his position and appeared behind her. He raised his hand and made a magic circle.


    He pressed Haruko down to the floor and activated the magic circle.


    "Fat...her¡­" Because of her disappointment, she just wanted to leave the house and continue the investigation. To think that her father, who had never raised his hand to her, finally attacked her, the feeling of disappointment crept into her heart as she fell unconscious.


    "Guards!"


    A few people in ck suits came inside and looked at him. "What do you need us to do, Family Head?"


    "Lock her in her room and make sure she can''t go outside. Also, retrieve her device," hemanded.


    "Yes, Sir." They immediately proceeded with his order and brought Yajima Haruko out.


    Yajima Matsuta sighed, feeling both sad and depressed.


    "Haruko really loves Kai Carter, you know."


    "I know¡­ This is why I don''t want to tell her the reason. She will surely go to him no matter the cost," he answered and sighed again.


    "Well, he saved her in the past. We thought she would forget about him after a few years, but after getting the information that Tasha Carter will go to Genesis Magical Academy, she immediately went there because she really hoped to meet that young kid there." She smiled and asked, "Or do you have any dissatisfaction with him?"


    "No. Background-wise and character-wise, I don''t have any problems with him. After all, he is that Tasha Carter''s younger brother, and there is no problem with his character as well." He shook his head before looking up, "It just¡­ if I tell her the reason, she might die in the process, and I can''t bear to see it."


    "Yeah. You were raging back then when Haruko was missing. Luckily, he managed to save her despite being two years younger," she said and nodded.


    "Enough of this. It will only be for a few days to weeks, and everything should be normal again. I don''t care if she hates me, I will be content as long as she is alive."


    She smiled as she hugged him from behind. "I know. You never looked at any other woman because I was pregnant back then.


    "This is only because of her, your precious little angel. Maybe, if I don''t have a weak constitution, I can give you a few more children.


    "Still, I know you''re the one most hurt by this. Even now, I''m sure your hand and heart feel torn," she said while stroking his head.


    "Don''t say that. Both you and Haruko are my most precious treasures. Whoever dares to say that, I will shut them up with my iron fist. It''s just that¡­ if we challenge the Katsuragi family and the Ikeda family at the same time, even my iron fist won''t be able to protect both of you, so I''m taking the safest way to protect both of you." Yajima Matsuta clenched his fists.


    "I know, and I''m sure she will understand too. Still, I truly pity him, as he has be one of the epicenters of this ''earthquake'' that will shake the entire United Asia without him knowing," she said. "Injuries on the body will heal fast, but wounds in the heart are hard to heal. Even so, I''m sure the day her heart heals from this wille in the future. We can only support her for the time being."


    "Yeah." Yajima Matsuta nodded his head as he closed his eyes.


    ...


    After several days in the hospital, Kai finally recovered from his injuries. The hole in his hand and the bullet wound in his stomach finally disappeared without leaving any marks.


    Because of this, Kai took two days of leave from the school beforeing back. Ayaka came to visit him a few times, and her grandfather also tagged along. It was just when Kai saw his face, it looked like he was troubled by something.


    Still, Kai didn''t ask as he knew he wasn''t in a position to ask about it. He just thanked him for visiting. As for Ayaka, she just took care of him for a while before going back.


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t have any injuries except on her fist. So, with just a bit of tweaking by the doctor, she recovered from it after three days. In fact, she didn''t actually need to be admitted to the hospital.


    After the situation calmed down, she finally left the hospital since Ayaka volunteered to leave a few people to protect Kai. Tasha also started doing business again while their parents handled the migration process.


    In the past few days, the situation had been very calm. Shirotsuka Sanae managed to deal with the government when they wanted to ask Kai about the assassins. And because of that, the situation became calm. The calm before the storm.


    Kai then left the hospital and went to school the next day. When Ayaka saw hime, she smiled. "Wee back."


    Kai nodded. "Yep."


    The ss went like usual, except that they were short of six people. The four people that died on the practical test, as well as Katsuragi Takaki and Wada Miyako. So, the ss felt a bit empty from Kai''s perspective. Ayaka said it had been like this for a few days already, so he epted it as though nothing happened.


    He had yet to get any information from Shirotsuka Sanae, so he chose to remain passive and became his parents'' bodyguard for the time being.


    It was at this time that he suddenly got a message from his sister, asking him to meet her on the roof. Seeing that message, he immediately went to the roof.


    He was surprised to see Shirotsuka Sanae with his sister together.


    "Sister? Teacher?" Kai frowned.


    "We have a problem." Tasha immediately went to the point. "Yajima Haruko hasn''te to school these past few days."


    Kai opened his eyes wide when he heard that. Even though he had expected this, it was still surprising for him to hear this news. "The Katsuragi family?"


    Shirotsuka Sanae nodded. "The teacher in charge of her ss said she''s been absent these past few days with a weird excuse, so I went to their family to check it. Of course, no one knew about it. Then, just as I was about to inform you, I met her."


    "Well, the student council is a bit out of hand without her." Tasha sighed.


    "So, has something happened to her?" Kai asked.


    "ording to my investigation, she''s imprisoned in her house. The Yajima family has stopped investigating the Katsuragi family, but I still don''t understand the reason," Sanae exined.


    "Have you tried to check on her?" Kai asked Tasha.


    "No! I just found out about this matter not long ago." Tasha looked at him with aplicated expression.


    "I mean, have you tried contacting her or something?"


    "Oh. I''ve tried to contact her, but to no avail. It seems like they''re really imprisoning her." Tasha shook her head.


    "So what should we do about this?" Kai asked.


    "I''m going to investigate the Yajima family for the time being, since I might be able to get some clues from them," Shirotsuka Sanae said.


    "Well, I just need to do a bit of negotiation before I can strike the deal and have enough money to send our parents to the US base," Tasha said.


    "I see. Should I help either of you?" Kai asked.


    Tasha and Sanae looked at each other before Tasha first answered, "No, you don''t need to. I just need to do a bit of negotiation in the term since the deal has been made. We just need to wait for a few days and we can send them out of this ce, so I don''t think I''ll need your help at the moment."


    "Same with me. Your ability is useful for espionage, but I don''t clearly know how you operate and such, so bringing you with me will only increase the chance of being found out. No need to worry about me. I am a former elite, after all." Sanae shrugged.


    "Then, I''ll protect them for the time being," Kai said. After they finished discussing their n, they disbanded.


    Unbeknownst to them, the dawn of chaos that would shake the entire United Asia was already knocking on their door.

 Chapter 62 - Leave!

    Two days before the eve of chaos, in the Katsuragi family''s abode.


    They held another meeting because of the blunder.


    "So, I heard he was still attending school." Katsuragi Akagi looked at all of his subordinates.


    "Ye-yes." His secretary answered. "One of the assassins managed to get away and told us about this."


    "So even with two groups, he could still escape? Tell me the details." He red with killing intent.


    "Yes. ording to the assassin, the first group attacked first before the second group did. If they had attacked him together, he would have died, since the second group managed to heavily injure him."


    "Such useless groups. Kill the survivor. My Katsuragi family does not need useless people," Hemanded without mercy.


    "Understood. However, you must know about this first, Master. It seems that he had gotten help from a teacher called Shirotsuka Sanae. She is his homeroom teacher," she informed.


    "...What about her details?"


    "She was a former member of Snake Elite Corps. She was on par with an elite A-rank magician despite having a C rank. However, because of the loss of her friend, she retired from the front lines and became a teacher."


    "...Snake Elite Corps¡­ it was one of the ten most elite corps in our country, right?"


    "Yes." The secretary nodded.


    Katsuragi Akagi contemted for a while beforeing to a conclusion. "Are our forces ready?"


    "Yes, we are ready to move anytime." She nodded.


    "How about the jamming device?"


    "It is already in our aircraft carrier, ready to be transported."


    "Good. Prepare our forces and have them move to our base. We will move tomorrow morning."


    "Understood¡­" The secretary nodded, but she suddenly felt something wrong. "From your tone¡­ Master, are you going to lead this operation?"


    "Since even the assassins are useless, I will lead this operation to make sure he and Tasha Carter die. We will kill both of them swiftly before the south''s family can move. No matter what, Kai Carter and Tasha Carter need to die in two days."


    "Yes. I will immediately order the troops." She nodded.


    "Also¡­ send all the assassins in the Tokyo region to kill that teacher. Failure won''t be tolerated." He said with an annoyed tone.


    "Understood." She nodded.


    "All right. Disband!"


    The people inside started leaving the meeting room.


    However, when Ikeda Kenzo was about to leave, he was stopped by Katsuragi Akagi.


    "Kenzo-dono."


    "Mhmm?" He looked at Katsuragi Akagi with a frown.


    "I need to talk to you." Katsuragi Akagi looked at him with a serious expression.


    Ikeda Kenzo looked at his serious expression and nodded his head. "Sure."


    ¡­


    The next day, at night.


    Shirotsuka Sanae already made her way toward the Yajima House. Of course, she taught the ss during the day to avoid any suspicions. After the ss, she immediately changed her suit to her elite uniform and went to Gunma.


    She looked at the surroundings of the Yajima House. It seemed that the defense was prettyx, but she found that only one area had a few elites stationed there. It immediately piqued her interest as she felt that the room must be pretty special.


    She observed the room from afar, trying to observe the defense and situation. Although the defense was pretty tight, she noticed a few gaps in this formation.


    ''Hm¡­ they are elites indeed, though they''re still not my match,'' she thought in acknowledgment as she finished her observation.


    She then started advancing into the Yajima House carefully. When she was close to the room, she used her wind to scout what was inside and found someone inside. She was a bit surprised to find Yajima Haruko there.


    With that, she decided to enter the room. She slowly opened the ceiling of Yajima Haruko''s room and saw her crying in the corner of the room. There were untouched tes with food. Yajima Haruko looked so weak because she had yet to eat these past two days.


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t have time to figure out what she was thinking. She immediately came down from the ceiling and leaped toward her.


    "Who-!" When Shirotsuka Sanae came down, Haruko immediately noticed her presence as she looked up and saw a person with a kind of military uniform. However, when she was about to raise her voice, her mouth was closed by the person''s hand. It was at this time that she realized who it was. "Mmhm?!"


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t say anything as she just took out amunication device. It then showed a few messages.


    "Don''t say anything or raise your voice."


    "I just want to ask you a couple of questions ording to your family situation and the reason why your family has stopped their investigation. If you understand, then type your information in this device."


    She was afraid of rming the people outside since they were elites, so even after telling her this, she didn''t let go of her hand from Haruko''s mouth. They conversed through ''messages'' so it wouldn''t make any sound.


    "You''re Teacher Shirotsuka Sanae, right?" She asked.


    Sanae didn''t have time to lie since she didn''t use anything to hide her identity, so she nodded.


    "How are you here? I thought this ce is surrounded by elites from the Yajima House?"


    "You don''t need to know." She looked at her with a cold gaze.


    Yajima Haruko frowned but ultimately typed, "Who sent you?"


    "..." Sanae pondered for a moment before typing with one hand. "Student council."


    "Student Council? Not Tasha Carter?" Haruko asked. She was perplexed. She couldn''t find any reason for the student council to send her, so it must be for a personal reason and not the student council. And with her saying ''student council,'' she knew that the person who sent her would either be Tasha Carter or Tabata Rea. After considering the situation, she took a gamble on Tasha Carter.


    "..." Sanae didn''t answer her for a while."If Tasha Carter sent you, I''ll exin about my family situation."


    "Why?" She didn''t understand.


    "Personal reason." Haruko looked at Shirotsuka Sanae with a serious expression.


    After pondering for a while, she typed, "Kai Carter and I have a deal for this situation."


    The moment she heard Kai''s name, she was shocked. Haruko typed hurriedly with energy, "Is it really from him?"


    Sanae nodded.


    "Understood." She wanted her to release her hand, but considering the situation, it wouldn''t be possible. She just typed again, "Tell him to leave United Asia together with Tasha Carter. The Katsuragi family and the Ikeda family have joined forces and are nning something big and they''re going to execute it in a few days... I don''t know the exact time, but it wille soon."


    "What''s their n?"


    "I''m not sure about that, but it might be something rted to killing those two. This is just my spection as Ikeda Kenzo asked us to stop the investigation only for a week. That''s why I''m sure they''re going to do it this week. So pleasee back and tell them to leave this ce."


    "They''re trying to raise the money to send their parents away from this problem."


    "There''s no time left. They need to leave right now! It doesn''t matter what method they use, they must leave this ce right now!" She even red at Sanae.


    "Still, I don''t know whether you''re telling me the truth or not." Sanae looked at her.


    Haruko didn''t type again. Instead, she pointed her finger at a picture with a beautiful frame on her desk.


    Sanae turned her head and saw the picture. It was a picture of three children, and somehow, she knew three of them, and that made her surprised. It was a picture of Kai, Michelle, and Yajima Haruko in their childhood.


    Haruko then typed, "Kai and I are childhood friends, though he has forgotten about me. He saved my life, and this time, I''ll save his."


    "..." After seeing that picture, Sanae could somehow know she was telling the truth. "I''ll try to tell them about this, but considering how they have no money for this, it will take several days."


    Haruko was angry about this. If she could, she would transfer the money to Kai directly. Sadly, her device was confined by her father, so she couldn''t do that.


    "No matter what, they need to leave this ce right now! He has that Ayaka, right? Just scam her or something and use that money to get away from this ce as soon as possible!"


    "..." Shirotsuka Sanae paused a little before typing, "All right. I''ll tell him this."


    "And please say Yajima Haruko¡­ No, Sakura will love him forever¡­" She looked at Sanae with a sad expression.


    Sanae only nodded her head. "Take this device with you since I might need to ask a few more questionster. There''s only my contact there."


    Haruko was slightly surprised, but she gratefully epted it. At the very least, she had a means ofmunication.


    She then leaped to the ceiling and disappeared into the dark. Haruko didn''t yell or anything. She only clutched the device in her hand tightly as it was something very important to her. It wasn''t because of the device itself, but because she might be able to contact Kai after the situation ended through this device.


    She said inwardly, "Kai¡­ when all of this is over, I''ll surely visit you."


    Shirotsuka Sanae didn''t care about this, as this wasn''t in the scope of her job. She just calmly retreated from the Yajima House. However, after running several hundred meters, she was stopped by almost thirty people.


    "!!!"

 Chapter 63 - Money

    That night.


    Kai was asleep as it was already 3 AM. However, he suddenly picked up the sound of someone walking toward his house. He didn''t lower his guard down even though he was sleeping, so he was in more of a half-sleeping state that one would wake up from if something happened.


    When he heard those footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes and rose from his bed. It was unusual for him to hear footsteps thiste, so he needed to check it, especially in this perilous situation.


    He looked from his window and opened his mouth in surprise. He saw a woman fully covered with blood. There were numerous wounds on her body that even made her look a bit gruesome. However, he was surprised because she knew this woman.


    It was his teacher, Shirotsuka Sanae.


    Kai immediately came out from the window and leaped toward her. "Teacher?!"


    Shirotsuka Sanae looked at Kai with her fuzzy eyes. Even her vision was already red because of the blood. "It''s¡­ Kai, huh¡­"


    "Yes, Teacher. What happened to you? No, this isn''t important, I''ll bring you to the hospital, right now?" Kai tried to carry her to the hospital, but¡­


    "No¡­ hospital¡­ we¡­ leave¡­ now¡­ use... Kudo..." She used thest strength on her body to inform him. She came to him, part of it was because of the deal with Kai and the other part was because Kai would be the only one who could help her in this state. After she said thatst message, she passed out.


    "Teacher?" Kai was startled as he immediately carried her to his bed.


    Tasha suddenly came to his room with her sleepy eyes, wondering what the ruckus was. She opened the door and saw Kai putting Shirotsuka Sanae on his bed. She looked at the wounds and blood that covered her body and immediately woke up from her drowsiness.


    Kai immediately looked at her, "Wipe her blood for me. I''ll bring the bandages and such."


    "All right." Tasha didn''t ask anything about this and immediately grabbed a bucket of water and a warm cloth to wipe the blood.


    Not long after, Kai also came with bandages and two bags of blood. Because of Tasha, they were pretty ustomed to fighting and having injuries. There were even times where they were seriously wounded, so to hide it from their parents, they procured their own medical kit as well as blood bags for Kai and Tasha. Of course, they procured them by Tasha''s reputation.


    Luckily, Shirotsuka Sanae had the same blood type as him, so he could do some transfusion to her since she had lost too much blood because of her injuries.


    They started dressing her wounds, treating it, and keeping it clean. After transfusing the blood to her, the color in Sanae''s face finally began to appear again. They might need to stitch some of her wounds, but her life shouldn''t be in danger anymore. She might need to go to the hospitalter, as this was only for first aid.


    "Kai, do you know anything?" After taking care of her, Tasha finally asked.


    "Thest thing she said to me before she passed out was: No, hospital, we, leave, now, use, Kudo. That''s all." Kai shook his head.


    "No hospital¡­ she meant something like this, right?" Tasha said, starting to brainstorm the clue.


    "It should be."


    "But, what does she mean by ''we leave now''?" Tasha and Kai looked at each other.


    "Did she mean our parents need to leave this ce right now?" Tasha asked.


    "Probably¡­ and it can only be today as she said to use Kudo." Kai nodded.


    "Kudo¡­ Kudo Group?"


    "Yes. I think. I told her about myst resort, about selling myself to Kudo Group¡­ as a joke, but I think this is a very serious one." Kai closed his eyes, thinking about their situation.


    Tasha looked at her brother with aplicated expression. She wasn''t sure about this because Shirotsuka Sanae was still unconscious. It would be better if she could wake up, but it wasn''t possible for the time being.


    Kai finally decided, "I''ll call Ayaka¡­ You wake up our parents now."


    "..." Tasha sighed as she left the room. At first, they wanted to contact Michelle, but she was unavable. She sent him a message telling him that she wouldn''t be able to contact him for three months, so it was useless since she was the only one they could contact. There was still a month from the time limit, so Kai joked around and said he would sell himself to Ayaka.


    Of course, if he had to, it would be better to rely on her rather than Ayaka.


    Kai grabbed hismunication device and called Ayaka.


    Ayaka was still sleeping in her bedroom since it wasn''t even 5 AM yet. When she heard hermunication device ringing, she woke up and rose from her bed. She grabbed themunication device and answered it with her drowsy voice. "Who is it?"


    "A...Ayaka¡­" Her eyes immediately opened wide as she was startled to hear this voice this early.


    "Kai?"


    "Mhmm¡­ I need you for something¡­"


    "What is it? Just tell me?"


    "I¡­ I need money," Kai said with an embarrassed tone.


    "Ah!" Ayaka was a bit surprised by his request. "How many do you need? I''ll transfer it to you right away."


    "I just need enough for the long trip to the US base for my parents. So, about twenty million. My sister tried to raise some funds, but we don''t have enough time," he said.


    Startled by the request, she choked. "Seriously?"


    She had so many questions in her mind. She didn''t know why Kai wanted that much money, but considering the number, it was true that it was the same amount for migration to the US base, and she could understand why Kai asked her for this money. After all, it was pretty hard for Kai''s small family to gather this much money. Even with the help of Tasha''s reputation, they would still require time.


    "Yes," Kai said, ashamed.


    "All right. I''ll wire it to you right now." Ayaka didn''t ask the reason why he wanted to migrate his parents and just gave the money. It was only a small amount to her anyway.


    "Thank you¡­ thank you¡­ I''ll repay you for this¡­ definitely."


    "It''s all right. This is nothing to me." Ayaka tried to calm him down. She felt that he was in trouble from his voice. It was just that she didn''t know what kind of trouble he was facing.


    However, uneasiness still crept inside her heart. She was worried about Kai as Kai wasn''t someone who would make trouble easily.


    She went to the bathroom and washed her face before changing into her uniform. She was nning to visit him first before going to school. Of course, she knew her butler would know this, and it would be troublesome to exin this matter, so she decided to sneak out. After all, her parents or grandfather might forbid her from checking on Kai because she felt that they were acting weird these past few days.


    She could just go back after she checked Kai''s situation. With that, she came out from her window to avoid being seen.


    Sadly, before she even managed to get out of her big house, she was spotted by a young woman. She was a woman in her twenties. She had blonde hair and big blue eyes with big round sses on her eyes, making her look like a clumsy person.


    "Young Lady?" Ba called her.


    She froze when she heard that voice. She turned her head and said, "Sister Ba¡­"


    "What are you doing here, Young Lady? You''re usually still asleep at this hour. And look at you, you''re wearing a school uniform, are you going to school right now?" Ba asked.


    "Ye-yes. I''m going to school right now."


    Ba only stared at her with aplicated expression. "Young Lady, are you treating me like a fool? Although I am indeed a clumsy person, I am by no means a fool."


    "..." She froze again, looking away with an embarrassed expression. She sighed and told her the truth. "You know about Kai, right?"


    "Young Lady''s crush? Yes, I know."


    "He is not my crush." She retorted her hurriedly. However, talking to her like this would take too much time. She decided to calm down first and said, "He asked me for money a few minutes ago. I feel that he''s in trouble, so I want to check on him."


    Ayaka was thinking about how to convince her.


    "You can ask anyone if you want to do that, Young Lady."


    "I¡­ you know about my grandfather and my parents are acting weirdly for the past few days, right?"


    "Yeah." Ba nodded.


    "If they know about this, I''m afraid I''ll just add more trouble for them, so please let me go this time and don''t tell them about this," Ayaka begged.


    Ba stared at her for a while. She remembered how her master, Ayaka''s grandfather, had been acting weird these past few days. When she asked him, he just told her to take care of Ayaka no matter what.


    She was perplexed by that instruction. She finally said, "All right, but under one condition."


    "One condition?"


    "Yes, you need to take me with you too," Ba demanded.


    "..." Ayaka became a bit troubled with this. "Fine! You''re going to inform them if I don''t bring you, right?"


    "Hehe¡­ Young Lady knows me well," Ba said. She looked at her tracksuit and said, "Since I''m just going to protect you from afar, I will just go with this."


    "Fine, let''s go. We need to go back before the others notice."


    "Yes."


    Both of them then went to Kai''s house.

 Chapter 64 - Kudos

    After Ayaka left, her father suddenly rushed into her room and shouted, "Ayaka! You need to leave this base right now! Your¡­ your grandfather¡­!!!"


    He suddenly realized there was no one in the room. He shouted, rming everyone in the house. "Ayaka!!!"


    Ayaka''s mother, as well as her butler, were the first one toe.


    "What happened, Dear? Why are you shouting Ayaka''s name?"


    "Master?"


    They were bewildered as to what happened.


    "Ayaka¡­ They kidnapped Ayaka!" He said hurriedly.


    "What?! How could this be?" Kudo Chiyo said while covering her mouth. "They''ve taken Father, and they also want to take Ayaka."


    Kudo Yoshihiro clenched his fist. "Katsuragi family, Ikeda family, since you''re going to do this. I don''t care anymore. We are going to move the entire Kudo family and go to war with the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family!"


    "But we''re not capable ofpeting with those two families at the same time," she said.


    "They must have not killed Ayaka yet. Our top priority is to rescue her and send her to another base to make sure she''s out of the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family''s reach. As long as she is still alive, our Kudo family will still be there.


    "After that, I''m going to go all-out in the war against them to avenge Father. However, I know Ayaka needs someone on her side to ovee this situation. That''s why you will¡ª"


    "I am going with you." She didn''t let him finish his words. She frowned. "You were going to say I need to leave with her, weren''t you? I''m not leaving this ce without you. I promised back then, didn''t I? I''ll always be with you, be it here or in the afterlife."


    "You¡­ you and Ayaka¡­"


    "Dear, Ayaka is not that weak. I"m sure she can ovee this by herself. So please let me apany you in this battle, even if this battle will be ourst. Let''s finish this together as husband and wife." She smiled. Even so, this smile was full of wishes, hope, and determination.


    Kudo Yoshihiro was obviously stunned by this. He thought that he needed to protect her and Ayaka forever as a husband and a father, but seeing this, the word ''No'' was stuck on his throat. "...All right."


    He really wanted to say no, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was that ''all right''. He felt sad when he said that, but surprisingly, he didn''t feel any regret.


    Chiyo hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you for granting this selfish wish of mine, Dear." She then turned to the old butler, "Old butler, I''m sorry, but we need to gather all of our troops together."


    "Yes, Mdy." The butler simply nodded his head and left. They didn''t need to say anything to him as the one who wanted to fight against the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family was him. Losing hisrade, Ayaka''s Grandfather, Kudo Taro, to them filled him with hatred.


    Kudo Yoshihiro looked at his wife and said, "We need to find Ayaka''s whereabouts first. After that, we''ll attack them. I''m sure the south will use this opportunity to attack those two families.


    "As long as they can handle that Ikeda Kenzo, our people should be enough to deal an irreceable blow to their family even if we were to be wiped to thest man." He clenched his fist. "That''s right, how about Ba?"


    "Ba¡­ That''s right. I''ll call her first. She might still be training in the garden. We''ll ask her to take care of Ayaka after we''re not in this world anymore." Chiyo nodded.


    "Indeed. She''s the best person for this. This is also why we didn''t say a single thing about what happened to Father. She''s Father''s most loved disciple, she''s pure and innocent. Although she''s clumsy, she''s a reliable person. Ayaka should be fine in her hands."


    "Yes." She simply nodded as she was trying to contact her. "Ah, Ba. Where are you?"


    "I¡­" Ba paused a little, "I''m in the garden, mdy."


    "I see. Well, I have a task for you."


    "Oh, a task? Sure, I will surelyplete Mdy''s task."


    "I want you to take Ayaka to the US base and live there for a while. I believe I transferred a huge sum of money to your ount yesterday."


    "Yes, I received itst night. I wanted to ask Mdy about it in the morning. What happened, Mdy? Why do you want the youngdy to live in the US base for a while?"


    "Well, don''t ask about this for a while, all right? Let''s just say our business isn''t running well, so I want you to bring our little angel to the US base and protect her. Don''t worry. It is going to pass soon. We just want our heart free of worry."


    "Ah, if that''s the case, I will do it. But you-!" Just before she could finish her words, Chiyo heard the sound of a door opening, and a man''s voice echoed through the device.


    "Not good! The Katsuragi family and Ikeda family have surrounded us. Come to the living room, we''ll teleport from this ce."


    "!!!" All of them were surprised. Not only Ba, but Kudo Chiyo and Kudo Yoshihiro, who were listening to their conversation, were also surprised."


    "Kai? What happened?" They even heard Ayaka''s voice there.


    "Ba, where are you right now? And Kai? Is he Kai Carter?" Chiyo instantly eximed in question.


    "Ye-yes. Kai Carter seemed to have asked the youngdy for money earlier. And the youngdy was worried about him and went to his house. But because she was spotted by me, I asked her to bring me with her."


    "So you''re at his house?"


    "Yes."


    "And what was he talking about?" she asked.


    "It seems that they''re being targeted by the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family, so they want to send their parents to the US base."


    "It''s not just them! We''re being targeted by them too! I and Yoshihiro, as well as your grandfather''s disciples! I haven''t told you about this, but they killed him!" she blurted out of anger. Even though she wanted to keep it to herself, she never expected that she would say all of that.


    "Mdy, what did you say? They killed Master?" Ba just got the shock of her life. The master that she respected so much was killed by others.


    Ayaka also heard this and shouted, "Mother? Grandfather¡­ Grandfather is¡­"


    Kudo Yoshihiro immediately took the device from her hand and said, "Since both of you have known this, then there''s no point in hiding it. It seems you''re in Kai Carter''s house, and their house is surrounded by them. Get out of there right now. You''re going to escape by Tasha Carter''s teleportation magic, right?


    "Then, get out of there and head to the south. Choose whichever airport that can fly over the pacific ocean and take refuge in the US base for a while. We''re going to war against them. It''s not like we''re at a disadvantage considering the rage of the south''s family toward them, but this war will be a bit lengthy.


    "Take the Carter family with you too. Since they have money problems, you''re free to use the money we left. But you need to make sure all of them are going together with you."


    Yoshihiro wanted to take advantage of them. After all, if she were in the hands of Kai Carter, the man who was recognized by their father, they wouldn''t need to worry about her. Both he and Chiyo also had investigated Kai instead of Tasha Carter. He was indeed a hidden tiger who was protective of his family.


    "Father! Did Grandfather¡­ I need to kill those bastards! I want to take revenge for Grandfather!" Ayaka roared.


    "I¡­ I also want to avenge Master too!" Ba also shouted.


    "We don''t have much time, so I''ll only say this. Ayaka, you want to help your grandfather and me, right? Then go to the US base and live on! If you do something other than this, then you''re disobeying me and aren''t helping us at all. In fact, you''re making trouble for us. Do you hear me?"


    "I¡­" Ayaka wanted to shout again, but she felt as though something was blocking her throat, causing her words to be stuck.


    "Ba¡­ You are the most loved disciple of my father. And what did your master say to you? It is to protect Ayaka no matter what, isn''t it? If you still respect your master and if you still respect me, take Ayaka to the US base and live there. This is an order!"


    "Oi, boy, I know you''re there. I don''t care if you call me petty or anything, since you owe Ayaka money, AKA our money, I want you to protect Ayaka after this and make her happy."


    Kai frowned when he heard this. He couldn''t answer this as he was also nning to go against them.


    "I know you''re not convinced, boy. Even though you''re an unorthodox magician, you haven''t matured yet. It''s the same as your sister. If you want to fight them, be a full-fledged magician first. Anyway, don''t fight them now," Yoshihiro advised.


    "..." Kai closed his eyes and decided. "Understood."


    He was nning to escape first and mature. At that time, he might also go together with Michelle''s family. This way, it was far better than going now.


    "Good!"


    He finally hung up.


    "Hehe¡­ the fate that has always been ying with our family is finally working its magic again." Chiyo smiled at Yoshihiro.


    "Indeed. But this is like when you defeated me. I don''t feel any sadness or regret. All I feel right now is joy."


    "Yes. That''s what I feel too."


    "Let''s go. We also need to prepare and tell the south about this news," he said.


    "Yes."

 Chapter 65 - In A Pinch

    After some time, they managed to prepare quite arge force. Of course, there were around twenty disciples of Kudo Taro to help him lead the troop.


    He and Chiyo had also suited up and were ready to move at any moment. It was at this time that one of the disciples suddenly came to them while sweating. "Bad news!"


    "?!" Yoshihiro and Chiyo looked at him with a confused expression.


    "We¡­ We just sent a scout there, and he found out that the youngdy has yet to leave. In fact, she was in front of the house with Ba, the Carter family, as well as an injured woman."


    "What?! I ordered them to leave!" Yoshihiro roared.


    "I¡­ I am afraid there is a certain space-jamming skill there. The spy also said he found a big suspicious vehicle there."


    Yoshihiro and Chiyo looked at each other, frowning. Because space magicians were discovered a few centuries ago, space-jamming equipment was also made to counter them. Of course, they usually wouldn''t work against a full-fledged magician. However, it was still enough to stop Tasha, and both of them knew this.


    Yoshihiro immediatelymanded, "We''re going there right now. Have all the troops advance."


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, one hour ago, in the Carter family''s house.


    Tasha was helping their parents pack their luggage. Although it saddened them to do this, it was far more disheartening for them to stay here and be their burden.


    They were thinking about asking Michelle''s family to help Kai and Tasha after they arrived there. Considering their rtionship, especially Kai and Michelle''s rtionship, they would most likely help him.


    They didn''t care about this whole problem. They knew that Kai and Tasha involuntarily got dragged into this mess, so they wanted both of them to escape from this problem and stay in the US base. It might be ufortable for a while since the custom was different there, but it was better than having no good sleep since they needed to watch out.


    Meanwhile, Kai was busy looking at his device, wanting to buy the migration tickets and send his parents to the US base. However, he suddenly frowned, hearing two other footstepsing toward his house. And because he was already ustomed to her presence, he instantly recognized one of them. It was Ayaka.


    He didn''t know the other one, but from the looks of it, Ayaka knew this person and let this persone together with her.


    Because of this, Kai decided toe out to meet her.


    He jumped out of the window, not wanting to rm the others. When Ayaka arrived and saw Kai in front of his house like he was waiting for her, she was surprised even though she knew about his hearing ability.


    "Ka-Kai¡­" She said, a bit embarrassed.


    Kai nodded and said politely. "How may I help you?"


    "He-help? No¡­ I was just worried about you, so I wanted to check on you. After all, you seem to be the type of person to solve problems alone without involving anyone else, so I was worried since you suddenly asked me for money. Did something happen? Is this rted to the assassination incident a few days ago? Maybe I can ask a few people to help you if I''m too weak to help you," Ayaka offered out of pure concern.


    Kai looked at her, frowning. He knew Katsuragi Takaki drooled over Ayaka, but he didn''t know whether she was on their to-kill list or not, so dragging her to this problem would be a bit problematic.


    He then looked at the person behind her. He had seen this person back in the Kudo House. If he wasn''t mistaken, her name was Ba. She was a disciple of Ayaka''s grandfather.


    "I am just apanying the youngdy," she simply stated.


    "..." Kai pondered for a moment before sighing. "Come in first. I owe you an exnation for the money anyway. After that, please treat me like you''ve never known me. I will surely pay the money back."


    Ayaka wanted to rebuke him about the money, but Kai simply didn''t care as he opened the door for them.


    "Come in." Kai invited.


    Ayaka and Ba looked at each other and finally went inside. It seemed that his mother, Ayaka Carter, had an instinct for the person she had marked. The moment Ayaka showed up, she immediately came out of her room and weed her.


    However, when she saw Ba, she immediately narrowed her eyes. "Who is this? My new daughter-inw?"


    "Da-daughter inw?" Ba was startled.


    Kai already told Ayaka to ignore his mother whenever she called her like this if she didn''t want to be teased, so Ayaka didn''t say anything this time and watched the event unfold.


    "I am not. I am just apanying my youngdy here." Ba shook her head furiously.


    "Mother, how is your situation? Have you packed your stuff?" Kai asked, trying to change the topic.


    "A little bit more. If possible, we want to leave after your teacher wakes up, since we want to give our thanks to her," Ayaka Carter said. She was really grateful to his teacher since she had helped their family to the point she almost died.


    "If the situation permits." Kai nodded. He also wanted to thank Sanae for this. If the enemy came to this ce, he was nning to head to the south and send his family from any airports in the southern area.


    After that, he was going to fight the Katsuragi family to end this grievance. He didn''t know how hard he could hit them, but he would do his best.


    "Well then, I''m going to continue packing the luggage," she said before going back in.


    Kai nodded. He then looked at Ayaka and Ba, "Let''s go to my room. I''ll exin."


    Ayaka and Ba followed him to his room, and when they arrived, they saw a naked woman in his bed. They wanted to scream, but her body was full of bandages and even became clothing itself, so they couldn''t scream. However, Ayaka and Ba realized that this person was Ayaka''s and Kai''s teacher, Shirotsuka Sanae.


    They never thought she would be in this state and was staying in his house.


    Kai started exining the situation from the sniper to George''s case. As his creditor, Ayaka had the right to know this, so he didn''t mind exining this to her.


    After telling the story, Ayaka and Ba made a troubled expression. This might be the reason why the people around them acted weirdly.


    Kai didn''t want to stretch his hand on this matter, so he just left the room.


    "Then, I''ll leave first. If you''re going to leave, do call me and I''ll see you off," Kai said and left the room.


    Ayaka looked at Ba with a troubled expression. She never thought the situation was thisplicated. "Do you know anything about this?"


    "I don''t know. But I felt that Master and the others'' behaviors were weird these past few days. I asked them why, but they didn''t answer me." Ba shook her head.


    However, hermunication device suddenly lit up before letting out a ringtone. She was surprised to see that Kudo Chiyo was calling her, so she immediately picked up the phone. She started their conversation.


    Meanwhile, Kai was helping their parents with this before he blurted, "Holy sh*t."


    "Kai?!" All of them looked at him with confused expressions.


    "We have a problem, we need to get away from this ce soon," Kai said hurriedly.


    "What happened?"


    "We''re surrounded. They''re still a bit far away, so this is the best chance to teleport. We''re going to bypass them with teleportation. If we have to, I''ll use that," Kai said while looking at Tasha.


    Tasha was shocked when he said ''that.'' If he even wanted to use that, then he must have already prepared for the worst. Tasha nodded. "All right. Call the other two and bring your teacher with us. We''re going to meet in the living room."


    Kai nodded and went to his room, opened his door, and shouted. "Not good! The Katsuragi family and the Ikeda family have surrounded us. Come to the living room, and we''ll teleport from this ce."


    Kai said that and immediately ignored them. He then went to Shirotsuka Sanae and carried her up.


    He also got his devices and other necessities from his room. It was at this time that he heard Kudo Yoshihiro''s voice from Ayaka''s device directed toward him.


    "Oi, boy, I know you''re there. I don''t care if you call me petty or anything, since you owe Ayaka money, AKA our money, I want you to protect Ayaka after this and make her happy."


    Obviously, Kai didn''t want to do it since he was nning to go against them. However, the next thing he said made him rethink his decision, especially when he heard about the full-fledged magician.


    If he fought with Shirotsuka Sanae, he wouldn''t be able to win. At the very least, he thought so. He didn''t have any attack-type magic either, so he strongly felt that he needed one. Thinking about that, he felt that retreating was not a bad option. He would be able to get stronger and stronger until he could finally get revenge for this grievance, so Kai decided to ept the suggestion.


    "Go to the living room. We''re going to teleport now," Kai informed them while carrying Shirotsuka Sanae on his back.


    They went to the living room. Kai looked at Tasha and his parents and simply said, "We''re going first. I''ll exin the situationter."


    All of them nodded and looked at Tasha. Tasha then sped her hand and made a magic circle.


    "Telep-!"


    Crack!


    They dropped their jaws when they saw the magic circle crack before breaking into pieces. Tasha gritted her teeth, as she knew what was going on, "Space-jamming equipment!"

 Chapter 66 - That?

    "Space-jamming equipment!" Tasha''s words reverberated in their ears. They knew about space-jamming equipment. It might not be powerful enough to stop a full-fledged space magician, but it was enough to stop Tasha, who had yet to mature in space magic.


    They gritted their teeth as Kai said, "Let''s just go the normal way. I''ll lead all of you with my ears."


    "All right, I''ll leave it to you." Tasha nodded.


    Kai then led them outside the house. But before they could take another step further, they were stopped by an old man. It was Ikeda Kenzo.


    "Haiz, what are you guys doing? I told you to leave this base as soon as possible."


    "Don''t say anything impossible. We''ve already done our best to look for money¡­ we just don''t have enough time." Kai frowned.


    "Well, it was also my miscalction. I never expected that this thing would escte so fast to the point that we need to get rid of both of you today," Kenzo said.


    "Do you think we''re going down just like that?" Tasha coldly looked at him.


    "Well, you two will still die in the end. Although it''s a shame that a few of the talented younger generation will die, I can''t do anything about that. I also can''t spare you again since the Katsuragi family and my Ikeda Family will arrive in a minute." He shook his head.


    "You''re searching for medicine, right? Why don''t we team up? I''m sure with two S-rank magicians, we can beat the Katsuragi family and get the medicine from them." Kai threw a bait.


    He shook his head. "They''re really clever. There is noplete medicine for me."


    "You mean¡­"


    "Yeah. It''s still in progress. They''ve given me a few lesser medicines. Still, they''re slowing the process until we finish dealing with the south''s family. Until that time, I won''t get the medicine." Ikeda Kenzo sighed.


    "Since it''s already at this point, do you mind telling me about their n?" Kai tried to buy time to think of a n to escape.


    "Their n is simple. This nation is originally Japan, not United Asia. They just want to change it back to the way it was. However, with so many nationalities in this ce and with some of them managing to gain power, such as the south''s family, the only solution for that is a great purge," Ikeda Kenzo exined. He didn''t mind giving this much information, since they were going to die and the people had yet toe.


    Kai looked at his father and asked, "Father, can you carry her?"


    "Sure. Although I can''t fight, carrying her is an easy matter for me." He nodded.


    Kai then took out his swords. Tasha, Ayaka, and Ba also did the same.


    "You four look like you can fight, but all of you are still too young." He suddenly disappeared. This was the technique he used to repel Kai and Tasha. Back then, he pointed his sword at his neck, but this time, he was going for his parents. "Sh*t."


    It was at this time that Ba suddenly swung her spear toward James Carter, Kai''s father. However, who she was truly targeting was Kenzo, who suddenly appeared in that position. She blew him away and shouted, "Run!"


    The others started running, but Ikeda Kenzo already appeared in front of them again. "I see. So you are Kudo Taro''s most loved disciple. As expected of that man, even when he was breathing hisst, he didn''t care as he believed in his family and disciples, especially you. If you''ve discovered your full potential, even I might die if I''m not careful."


    "You¡­ you''re the one who killed Master!" Ba was filled with anger. Ayaka was also the same.


    "We have no time, we need to run now!" Kai shouted.


    Sadly, they heard a hoarse voice from a middle-aged man. "Where do you think you''re going?"


    All of them turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had silver hair. He wore a white suit thatplemented his silver hair. His silver eyes looked at them with killing intent.


    Not only him, but arge number of others started popping out. They were truly surrounded at this point.


    "You¡­ You''re Katsuragi family''s current head, Katsuragi Akagi," Kudo Ayaka said while looking at the middle-aged man.


    "Shut up, you sl*t. Because of you, my son is ruined. He almost died because of you!" He roared. Of course, the people who knew the incident would think, ''You''re the one who almost killed him.''


    "I will make all the men in this nation rape you and make you the national b*tch so my son will be healed of his obsession with you," he dered.


    "You bastard!" Ba roared and charged at him. Her heart was already filled with anger when she knew Kenzo killed her master, and this insult immediately made her insane.


    Ikeda Kenzo simply appeared in front of her as he swung his sword. Ba also swung her spear while roaring, "Die!", but she had lost her cool, and Ikeda Kenzo easily picked up a w and blew her to the ground.


    Boom!


    "Sister Ba." Ayaka immediately helped her up.


    "Hmph. You can''t go anywhere now." The middle-aged man snorted.


    At this point, Kai suddenly came to the front while making a magic circle. Suddenly, a thinyer of barrier appeared and trapped Tasha and the others inside.


    "Sister, take care of our parents," Kai said with a smile before leaving the barrier. That smile was full of resolve¡­ the resolve to die.


    All of them were taken aback by that. Only Tasha knew what he wanted to do and Ayaka, who barely knew about it. As for Ba and their parents, they didn''t have a single clue.


    Without giving them a chance to react. Kai sped his hands and made a big magic circle in front of him. "If I need to die, then at least, I''ll bring all of you along with me."


    "Ultrasonic Assa-!"


    "Kai!" Tasha and Ayaka finally reacted as they were going to leave the barrier to prevent him from doing that. They knew Kai wanted to do his suicidal move.


    However, before Kai could finish the magic circle and before Tasha and Ayaka could stop him, they heard a shout, "Attack!"


    Suddenly, a barrage of magic attacks appeared from the sky and rained down on them.


    "!!!"


    "Enemy attack."


    All of them were startled by this. They never thought that they would be ambushed like this. Kai also released his barrier.


    When two figures suddenly came out, Ayaka immediately shouted, "Father, Mother."


    The two of them were also followed by a thousand people. All of them started engaging the joint forces of the Katsuragi Family and Ikeda family.


    Because of this event, they had rushed here, so they didn''t bring the south''s family with them. That was why when they appeared, Kudo Yoshihiro suddenly appeared in front of Ayaka and punched her abdomen.


    "Fa-fath...er¡­" Ayaka never expected this as she fell unconscious before falling into Ba''s embrace.


    Yoshihiro then looked at Kai, "Boy, leave this ce and take care of my daughter. She might be a bit spoiled, but she learns fast, so I''m sure she''ll mature very quickly."


    After that, he looked at Kai''s father, James Carter. "I''m sure that we, as fathers, want the best for our children. That''s why, this is a request not as Kudo Group''s head, but as Kudo Ayaka''s father. Please take care of her like your own daughter. I''ll leave them to you."


    "That''s right." He then turned to Tasha. "You can teleport, right? Immediately teleport outside this nation. I''ve been informed that all the airports for base immigration have been blocked by them. If possible, teleport to the military base in Korea¡­ no, I think they''ve also blocked the military base. Argh¡­ Just teleport to the US base directly!"


    "Do you think I can?!" Tasha rebuked.


    "?!"


    "This is how prepared they are." Yoshihiro gritted his teeth. He just got information telling him that all the forces he stationed in the airports had been intercepted. He didn''t have any information about the bases outside United Asia. However, he knew that the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family wouldn''t let these kids leave.


    Kai looked at his sister and said, "Sister, I think we need to use ''that.'' No, it might be the only way."


    Tasha realized what his n was. She immediately protested, "That''s too reckless!"


    Boom!


    They suddenly heard a loud explosion. Immediately after, Yoshihiro got a message. "The space-jamming equipment has been destroyed."


    "!!!" Kai looked at his sister, "If we can''t use the nes, then we''ll teleport. I''m the only one who can do that!"


    Tasha was contemting about this. She knew what kind of burden he would have to bear if he were to use ''that.'' She didn''t want him to use it, but she couldn''t think of another way to escape. Even though she could use teleportation magic, she could only teleport a few kilometers from her current position. This was because it wasn''t her specialty. Just like Kai''s sound magic, which was different from others, Tasha''s space magic was also different, and teleportation was not her forte.


    "Sister, we need it right now!" Kai pressed the matter.


    She looked at Kai while gritting her teeth. She shouted, "Fine!"


    He looked at her with a small smile. Both of them got closer. The others were confused about what they meant by ''that'', so they looked at them while frowning. They didn''t have much time.


    However, what they sawpletely shocked them.

 Chapter 67 - Escape

    Their minds werepletely blown when they saw Kai and Tasha kissing. However, there was something different with this kiss as Tasha''s back started glowing. On her back, a circle symbol akin to a magic circle appeared, and it was activated.


    Magic power suddenly surged out of that symbol into the air before going inside Kai''s body. All the people witnessing the scene halted as they could feel an overbearing amount of magic power. It wasing from Tasha and Kai.


    The people from the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family were surprised by this amount of magic power, especially Ikeda Kenzo. As an S-rank magician, you needed both unique or powerful magic and a huge amount of magic power.


    Surprisingly, the amount of magic power that was released to the atmosphere was at least twice what he had.


    "!!!"


    "Kill both of them." However, before he could react, Katsuragi Akagi immediately ordered all his people.


    Kudo Yoshihiro immediatelymanded his forces to intercept them. His wife also came to him and met Kai.


    "This magic power¡­" The ones who were shocked the most were James Carter and Ayaka Carter.


    "All of you need to go now! We''ve secured the path for all of you and will buy time for you¡­ They''ve locked the airports, and it''s not possible to get to the US base by water¡­ I think you should go to the south and seek asylum," Kudo Yoshihiro suggested.


    "But the situation isn''t really friendly. You might get chained by the south''s family if you seek asylum there. And my daughter might be one of the hostages," Kudo Chiyo came and exined.


    "We can go to the US base. But we don''t have enough fighters," Tasha said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I''m a former D-rank magician even though I have two magic, space and lightning. My space magic is focused on sealing magic¡­ no, I can''t say it''s ''focused'' since sealing magic doesn''t require a high amount of power. It''s because my magic reserve is too low, and Kai has a huge magic reserve."


    "!!!" Their parents immediately realized what happened. When Kai was a baby, the hospital had checked his power and was surprised by the amount of magic power. However, they were disappointed when they knew Kai was a sound magician.


    Even so, he was still ssified as a B-rank magician with just that amount of magic power. And at a particr time, not long after they met Tasha and adopted her, Kai''s rank suddenly fell to D.


    It turned out that he didn''t have that much magic power inside him. They asked him about it but to no avail as Kai refused to answer. They didn''t realize that all of it had been inside Tasha this whole time. James Carter turned to Tasha. "You¡­"


    "Yes, Father. Kai''s magic power has been sealed inside me this entire time. I don''t know if any of you realized it. Still, even though I can use teleportation, it''s only short-distance teleportation. This is because when I sealed Kai''s magic power inside, it only became a supplier instead of my magic reserve.


    "It''s like I''m a ss while Kai is a bucket filled with water. I can only take in the amount that the ss can, but not the bucket, so with that short-distance teleportation, I''ve drained the water in the ss and have the bucket to refill it again," Tasha exined. "I''m sorry I''ve been hiding this from both of you. I''m not qualified to be your daughter."


    "I''m the one who asked her to seal it." Kai suddenly rebuked her im. "This magic power, as well as my hearing, is troublesome."


    "I see." James Carter nodded and smiled. "Both of you are family, aren''t you? It''s normal for family members to help each other."


    "But it still doesn''t solve our situation," Kudo Yoshihiro reminded.


    "No. As I said earlier, I''m used to sealing magic. If I can seal Kai''s magic power inside my body, I can also do the opposite. In other words, I can seal my teleportation magic inside Kai. However, during this period, I''ll just be a normal D-rank magician," Tasha exined.


    "With my power, I can only teleport all of these people to around 1500 km away from here," Kai said while looking at his parents, Tasha, Sanae, and Ba. "And it''s only in a certain direction."


    "It won''t be enough to teleport from this ce all the way to the US base," Yoshihiro murmured while pondering something.


    "Go to Chugoku Region first. That ce is the closest to Korea. At the very least, you''ll be able to leave this cursed ce," Kudo Chiyo suggested.


    Kai frowned. "Go to Korea then to Russia. After that, I''ll go to ska before teleporting to the US base."


    "That''s what I meant." Kudo Chiyo nodded.


    "Can you do it, Kai?"


    "I can, but I need to teleport a few times, so I might not be able to fight after this," Kai said.


    "Then you don''t need to bother with us." James Carter suddenly said. "Go bring other fighters with you to protect you."


    "No!" Kai instantly rejected that idea. It was the dumbest solution at the moment.


    "You can take Ba with you. Although she''s a little clumsy, she is one of our elites. After my daughter wakes up, just beat the crap out of her if she cries over us and forces her to fight," Kudo Yoshihiro said.


    "You''re not going?" Kai asked.


    "No. They killed our father. We need to take revenge for this. My wife and I already decided this will be where we fall." Yoshihiro shook his head before looking at Kai with a serious expression. "That''s why, boy, make sure to take care of Ayaka well. I don''t care if she''s rich or poor, as long as she leads a happy life, I have noints."


    "Why don''t you bring both of them too, Kai?" James Carter asked.


    Kai shook his head. "I can''t. If I bring both of them, I''ll only be able to teleport all of us for around 900 km. It won''t be enough to cross from Russia to ska¡­ wait, we might be able¡­ we just need to get as close as possible."


    "I can bring both of you to the US base." Kai looked at Kudo Yoshihiro and Kudo Chiyo.


    "I can teleport from Chugaku to South Korea then go all the way to Russia. After that, I can teleport to the small ind between Russia and ska before teleporting all the way to ska. It should be enough." Kai looked at them with a serious expression.


    "This¡­" He pondered for a moment, but he suddenly heard an explosion from the side.


    Boom!


    "Gah!"


    It was Ikeda Kenzo. He wasing to take their lives.


    "Tch!" He clicked his teeth, noticing their time was short. He roared. "All from Kudo Group. We are going to make a strategic retreat. Those of you who are alive will go to the K1 location and wait for further instruction."


    They were confused by this order. Nheless, they carried it out immediately. Kudo Yoshihiro decided to take Kai''s suggestion.


    If he and his wife came along with them and retreated to the US base, they could rise again from there and avenge their father. The only thing he needed to do was take care of his subordinates.


    He wanted all of them to go into hiding before going to the US base and building Kudo Group again from scratch. With capital and research, they should be able to grow pretty quickly.


    Kai and the others immediately followed the crowd. It was at this time that five people came to them.


    "Sir, what are we going to do? Aren''t we going to avenge Master?" One of them asked.


    "Change of ns. Because of the situation, I will rebuild the Kudo Group in the US base. After we grow into a stronger existence, we will then attack the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family," he said.


    "But¡­ aren''t the airports sealed by them?"


    "I have a n for that. I''ll pave the way for all of you there, so when you arrive at the US base, you will have a shelter there. That''s why all of you will go to our secret base and hide there for a while.


    "With the war against the south going on, there should be a few gaps to exploit. At that time, all of you will go to the US base. No need to care about the money, Kudo Group has enough money to migrate all of you," Yoshihiro said.


    "But, Sir, I think someone needs to hold the rear," he said as he looked at their back. They looked at theirrades butchered by the people from the two families. "That''s why five of us will get a hundred people and reinforce the rear and hold them back. Within that time, please escape from this ce."


    "What?! You-!"


    "All of us already agreed to this. Anyway, we''re d that the youngdy is all right." All of them nodded and immediately stopped to hold back the rear.


    "Those fools!" Kudo Yoshihiro gritted his teeth. Five of them were his father''s disciples. He wanted to stop them, but if he did that after the teaching of his father, it would only mean that he underestimated their resolve.


    "All of you won''t be able to pursue them!"


    He had thought to go into hiding for a while beforeing up again. But the Katsuragi family wouldn''t let them do that, considering their greed. All in all, the only path for them was to decline. And at that time, the Katsuragi family would surely search for their remnants and kill them.


    This was why he decided to rebuild Kudo Group in the US base. He steeled himself and went toward the south. Some of them were running through the roofs, and some others were flying. Nheless, most of the pursuers were stopped by those hundred men. Kudo Yoshihiro swore, he would treat all their families well.

 Chapter 68 - Escape Part II

    "Dammit, dammit! Those crazy people just wouldn''t let us through!" Katsuragi Akagi was angered by the fact that Kai and Tasha Carter, as well as the core members of Kudo Group, managed to escape. "Immediately search for their location. We need to kill them no matter what!"


    His subordinates didn''t dare to say anything about it as they proceeded with their investigation.


    The next day, they reported that they found them in Tottori. He immediately moved his entire forces there. He also ordered the people from the Katsuragi family who were fighting in China''s border to be prepared for their group in case they managed to escape. Sadly, Kai''s group managed to outsmart them.


    ¡­


    After settling all the people down, Kai and the others were escaping toward Chugoku Region. Kudo Yoshihiro received information that the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family were hunting down the people who were working for the Kudo family, and they were still searching for them.


    It seemed that they knew his group would go to the US base by teleportation, so they also stationed their men there. If they managed to pass their barrier, then those people wouldn''t be able to kill their group.


    There might be two possible scenarios for Kai and the others. First, they could go to the south to seek asylum, but they might be treated like ves. After all, Tasha Carter''s identity as an S-rank magician was worth so much. It might not only be her, but the Kudos might also be poorly treated there and might even demand their research, so Kai and Yoshihiro agreed not to go there.


    The other scenario was settling down around the south and waiting for this storm to pass. Even so, the people from the Katsuragi family might be able to track them down, so it wasn''t an option either.


    All of them had decided that they would go to the US base with Kai''s teleportation. Because of their number, Kai could only teleport a short distance away. That was why after they managed to escape from their pursuers, Kai and the others immediately made their way toward Tottori in Chugoku Region and teleported to South Korea.


    It took them almost the entire day. Ayaka had also woken up. Although she made quite a fuss, after seeing her father and mother together, she sobered up. With this, they would have five fighters in their group, the Kudos, Ba, and Tasha. Kai was only responsible for teleporting them while his parents were taking care of the whole group, including the injured Shirotsuka Sanae.


    After arriving at the shore in Tottori, they stopped at a small restaurant to eat and stock up some things for the journey.


    Kai exined the whole n again. Since Ayaka often told stories about Kai in the family, they knew Kai had a good brain and made good ns.


    "We''re going toward Uelen in Russia. It should be the closest area to ska. This way, I can teleport all of us to ska. However, we might encounter an S-rank magical beast there. If I''m not mistaken, it''s around the shore¡­" Kai said.


    "If you''re talking about the Snake God, then yes." Yoshihiro nodded. The Snake God was one of the S-rank magical beasts in the world. With a length of almost one kilometer, it was one of the biggest magical beasts in the world.


    If they were to encounter that beast, the only option was to run.


    "That said, even if we go deeper, we would be surrounded by magical beasts. What should we do¡­" Kai sighed.


    "We can see that huge snake from the satellite, so it shouldn''t be a problem. If needed, we can save your teleportation ability and use it to get past the snake," Yoshihiro said. "We can take turns in killing the magical beasts. My wife and I can go first, while Ba, Ayaka, and Tasha Carter can go next. That way, we can continuously fight the magical beasts.


    "As for you, I think you need to save your teleportation ability. First of all, we will need it to escape the pursuit of the soldiers that are stationed at China''s border. And we also need some reassurances in case we are overwhelmed by the magical beasts.


    "Ultimately, we will need your power to cross the ocean and go to ska. That''s why we''re going toward them by flying. However, the only one who can fly is me, Ayaka, and the unconscious teacher over there." Yoshihiro sighed.


    "Ah, I can make a small air balloon for us. As long as I have a piece of fabric big enough for it, I can turn it into a balloon. My magic can reinforce the fabric and make it flexible. Ah, I bought a huge fabric. I can also turn fabric into a shield, but it won''t be strong enough to block a single attack, so all I can do is this," James Carter said, ashamed.


    All of them immediately understood the reason he bought a big fabric scroll with him.


    "That''s good. We can make an artificial air balloon to carry us to Uelen. This way, we can arrive at Uelen in less than two days," Yoshihiro said. "I''ll generate the wind while Ayaka will use her fire to boost our speed."


    Ayaka nodded.


    "This will be a dangerous journey, but it''s still better than staying in this ce," Kai said.


    "Indeed. I''ll try to make a tform for us.l," James said.


    "We will-!" Everyone wanted to help, but Kai didn''t give them a chance.


    Kai sped his hands. He used teleportation magic and disappeared from the ce. Because all his magic power came back to his body, his hearing was enhanced once again. He could hear the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family from almost ten kilometers away, so he decided to escape before they could restrict their space magic again.


    They knew Kai''s position from the cameras around the town. They had prepared everything. They even hacked into the security system. Unfortunately, they were no match against Kai''s hearing.


    ¡­


    A momentter, all of them appeared in the South Korea region. They didn''t know their exact location, but it should be an abandoned city. Kai suddenly dropped to the ground while panting. It was really taxing for him to use that teleportation magic.


    "Kai!" James Carter and Ayaka Carter immediately helped him up. Ayaka and Tasha wanted to check on him, but they refrained themselves as they immediately checked their surroundings.


    They needed to make sure there were no monsters that would attack them. It was at this time that Kai said, "No need to worry. There''s only a small group of magical beasts a few hundred meters away. They''re not really that strong, so we can rest here first."


    All of them looked at Kai, feeling a bit guilty for not doing anything. James Carter immediately said, "I''ll make the balloon now. I just need to shape the fabric and attach it to the tform."


    "I''ll try to find a wood nk that can hold all of us," Kudo Yoshihiro said.


    All of them immediately went to do their own thing. The father duo was doing their own duties and helping each other. Tasha, Ayaka, and Ba were discussing their battle n with Kudo Chiyo. As for Ayaka Carter, she was taking care of Shirotsuka Sanae. Meanwhile, Kai was busy trying to restore his magic power as soon as possible.


    After around an hour or so, all of them finished with their own thing. It was at this time that Kudo Yoshihiro gave an unusual suggestion.


    "I have another idea. How about we steal a military chopper? Although we can''t go all the way to Uelen, we should be able to cut half of the distance in a few hours."


    "How about getting the fuel too?" Kai was astonished by his idea and asked.


    "That''ll be a bit troublesome. All the magic cores that fuel them are heavily guarded." Kudo Yoshihiro shook his head.


    "I''m not that good at this teleportation thing, but if I give it back to Sister, maybe you can grab a few magic cores?" Kai turned his head to Tasha.


    "Hmm¡­ I can." Tasha nodded.


    "That would be great. ording to the map, we''re around Jeonju, while the military base is in Seoul. We will use this artificial air balloon to transport us there. I have some connections with the military, so I''ll try to trick them." Yoshihiro nodded. He didn''t care about the army anymore since Kudo Group was no more in United Asia.


    All of them nodded, agreeing with the n. At this point, they didn''t care anymore since they were going to the US base and were going to settle there.


    After attaching the fabric to the wooden te, all of them immediately got in. Yoshihiro then used his wind magic to blow the fabric upward while Ayaka used her fire magic to boost their speed.


    Since the region was almost cleared by the army, they could enjoy the scenery. The journey was peaceful. There were a few flying beasts that came their way, and they were quickly butchered by Tasha''s arrow. All in all, it was quite a peaceful journey.


    Ayaka had moved on from the death of her grandfather. At first, she looked like she was holding it back and made the others worry, so after some time, she epted it with all her heart. She was very eager toe to the US base and get stronger so she could avenge her grandfather.

 Chapter 69 - Escape Part III

    Night had already descended when they finally arrived at the South Korea military base. Tasha sealed Kai''s magic power inside her body again.


    Tasha teleported skillfully with Kai to make sure no one found them. Kai guided her to the area one by one and stole a few magic cores. It seemed that they were already very used to this, and that made their parents baffled.


    After that, Tasha and Kai moved toward their dock and stole a chopper. The next day, they would realize that one of the helicopters they used to send the soldiers to the front lines was missing.


    Tasha and Kai teleported together with the chopper to a small t area.


    "Can you fly it, Dear?" Kudo Chiyo asked.


    "I can. This is the same type as the chopper that I used to fly." Yoshihiro nodded. Seeing that, the people were relieved. He said, "Board the chopper."


    They immediately boarded the chopper and soared to the sky. He made sure to make a bit of distance from the military base to avoid being found out.


    As expected, it was morefortable than going by the artificial air balloon.


    It was a lucky day, They were flying just above the sea since they wouldn''t need to fight flying beasts above the seas. Earlier, Ayaka asked why they didn''t just fly to the US base immediately. Yoshihiro simply shook his head as it was not possible. "The fuel isn''t enough."


    "But I can fly. As long as I know the way, I should be able to change the fuel mid-air," Ayaka said.


    "Nope. You can''t do that. Before you can rece the core, this chopper will fall down the ocean, and even my wind magic won''t be able to hold it still as it''s too heavy." Yoshihiro shrugged. "That''s why we''llnd for a while every time we need to change the fuel. At that time, I expect some of you to clear the magical beasts nearby."


    All of them nodded.


    After a few hours, they needed tond on Russia''s border. As expected, there were several magical beasts nearby.


    Kudo Chiyo and Ba immediately jumped off the chopper.


    "Waterfall." Ba made the first move. A huge amount of water immediately came out of the magic circle and flooded the area.


    "Ice Field." After that, Kudo Chiyo immediately used her ice magic to freeze the water to trap the magical beasts.


    Seeing that, both of them took out their swords and killed the beasts one by one. Ayaka was surprised to see their prowess. She couldn''t even defeat Ba, and when she saw how her mother was stronger than Ba, she gasped.


    Yoshihiro let out a chuckle. "Your mother''s offensive ability is really great, you know. She just uses it simply, and her movement is a bit easy to predict. That''s why your mother can''t defeat me. In terms of firepower alone, she might even rival your grandfather."


    "You were just like your mother, but it seems that I was worried for nothing." Yoshihiro made a sly smile as he nced at Kai.


    Tasha only snorted as he took out her bow and started shooting the magical beasts from the chopper.


    After a few minutes, they managed to secure a foothold. Ayaka didn''t even get a chance to help.


    Kai immediately used his ears to observe their surroundings. He suddenly cursed, "Holy sh*t."


    "What happens, boy?" Yoshihiro asked.


    "We need to get away from this ce immediately. We''re going to be surrounded by at least a thousand magical beasts." Kai said.


    "!!!"


    "I''ll need around fifteen¡­ no, ten minutes to refill the fuel," Yoshihiro said while frowning.


    "It seems that our fight earlier attracted their attention, so we need to buy time," Kudo Chiyo said as she turned to her husband. "I''m going to make terrain."


    He nodded and warned everyone, "Whatever happens, just don''t move."


    All of them were perplexed. Kudo Chiyo simply ced her hands on the ground and used her skill. "Iceberg Formation!"


    Rumble, rumble.


    They looked left and right to see what this rumbling was about. A few huge magic circles appeared beneath their feet as a few icebergs came out of the magic circles and made a small hill. They suddenly got a height advantage.


    Kudo Chiyo then looked at James Carter "You can make something more stic or solid, right?"


    "Yeah, that''s my magic."


    "Can you make a few areas more stic? This way, the terrain will be more disadvantageous for them." Kudo Chiyo said. She wanted to make traps. It was like running on a hill while having to step in the mud. It would throw the bnce off.


    James Carter nodded. He started touching a few ces and turned them into stic ice, so when the magical beasts stepped on them, it would bounce a little and hopefully trip the magical beasts.


    "Father,e back here. They''ve arrived," Kai called after two minutes.


    James nodded as he made a few more traps on his way to the top. The magical beasts finally starteding from the town. This should be one of the resorts as they could see a few buildings that looked like a hotel around the area.


    Some of the magical beasts wereing from the ground and some others climbed the hotel, trying to attack them from above.


    "Sister, attack the ones from above," Kai said to Tasha, who then nodded her head in response.


    "We''re going to be the vanguard." Kudo Chiyo and Ba said. Chiyo then turned to Ayaka and Kai. "You two protect the chopper, okay?"


    Kai nodded. "I''ll be ready to teleport all of us in case we need it."


    Ayaka wanted to join their fight, but she ultimately only nodded her head in the end. There might be a few magical beasts that could pass them and go for the chopper, so fighting here and fighting there would be the same as both were important.


    "Go."


    "Lightning Piercer." Tasha immediately shot one of her arrows toward a magical beast on top of the building. Although she was only a D-rank at the moment because the magic power was in Kai''s body, her lightning element was still powerful.


    Tasha only focused on the piercing power of the lightning. Kai could see that the magical beast tried to block her arrow, but it pierced its hand instead and blew its head.


    She immediately started killing the others.


    Meanwhile, on the ground, Kudo Chiyo and Ba were in a fierce fight.


    "Water Flood." It was filling thendscape with water, making the ice hill even more slippery. Numerous magical beasts slipped and brought the others down too.


    Kudo Chiyo took advantage of that and made a magic circle. "Icicle!"


    She shot out several icicles from the magic circle. Unexpectedly, the beasts didn''t really care about that. Even though a few had fallen, the rest immediately charged toward them again.


    Suddenly, Kai came to the front and asked. "Ehm¡­ Ma''am, can you freeze the water like before?"


    "You can call me Aunt, you know," she corrected him. At first, she was a bit concerned about Ayaka''s rtionship with Kai, but after a few days together, she thought Kai was the best candidate to be her son-inw. "As for your question¡­ yes, I can. But it''s just adding anotheryer of ice. It might even make them morefortable in climbing this since it will cover all of your dad''s traps."


    "Yes, I know. I noticed that a few of them slipped through the traps, but it''s not very effective, I guess."


    "Well, better than nothing." Kudo Chiyo said, not wanting to say bad things about James Carter.


    "So I have an idea. How about we make ice spikes on the ground, so when they step on them, they will be injured?" Kai asked.


    "I wish we could. But my water won''t take any shape, so the best I can do is flood the ice and make them more slippery," Ba finally opened her mouth.


    "Rest assured, I''ll take care of that. Sounds have their own shape."


    "Ah, do you want to try that? I remember an experiment where you put water on a speaker, and it burst out." Kudo Chiyo said while recalling the scene.


    Kai nodded. "I''ll use a high-frequency sound and make them spike."


    "All right, let''s try it. Ba."


    "Yes, Mdy." She nodded and made a magic circle. "Water Flood."


    "Melody Resonance." He made a magic circle, but this time, it was a huge magic circle that covered the entire ice hill. Since he had gotten his magic power back, he could make a big move like this.


    Melody Resonance was a skill to disrupt brain waves, but this time, he only used it as a speaker.


    Teng¡ª!


    A high pitch sound immediately filled their ears. The sound was dampened by the water, so it didn''t bother their ears that much. On the other hand, the water was spiking a bit higher than he expected. It even reached the Magical Beasts'' heads. Kai shouted, "Now!"


    "Ice Field." The water started freezing from their position to the bottom of the hills.


    However, they could see that the spiking water was frozen and made huge ice spikes. Some of them might only reach the foot of magical beasts, but some of them reached their heads and pierced them.


    This was like a more extreme version of the barbed wires that were used in the military. They, including Kai, were speechless by the effect. They only thought it would hinder the magical beasts, but to think it could kill them too. Kudo Chiyo suddenly turned her head to Kai and patted his shoulder. "We seeded, Son."


    "..."

 Chapter 70 - Plan

    Kai was rendered speechless when he heard her call him son. There was nothing established yet between him and Ayaka. He shook his head and sighed. "Madam, we still have magical beastsing our way, you know. We might kill a few of them, but there are still at least a few hundred magical beasts there, so please don''t joke around like that."


    "You''re not fun. Even though I''m beingpletely serious," Kudo Chiyoined before looking at the magical beasts again. "Indeed. But let Ba and I take care of the rest. You should go back to the helicopter as we might need your power in the worst case."


    Kai nodded. "I wille again if the situation worsens."


    "Sure." She nodded and made a magic circle. "Icicle."


    She shot out several icicles again to reduce their number. On the other hand, Ba started killing the magical beasts that managed to escape from their ice trap.


    Kai hade back to the helicopter and immediately helped Kudo Yoshihiro. Meanwhile, Ayaka was still in shock. She never expected that he could easily have a goodbination attack with her mother and Ba without difficulty.


    Kai didn''t know about their abilities prior to that moment, so she thought maybe she wasn''t special. She managed to catch a little bit with Kai and executed every n together with him in school, and she was proud of it. That was why when she saw this, Ayaka became downcast. However, there was another feeling that crept inside her heart.


    She wanted to be stronger. She had been saved by Kai every time, and even in this situation, her parents asked her to protect the helicopters. She knew that it was so she didn''t need to fight the magical beasts. It was to protect her.


    Even though she wanted to help her parents and grandparents, even though she wanted to be Kai''s strength and help him back, she had never been of help to them. They did everything by themselves and never needed her help.


    She knew that they were doing this to help her, but that was why it irritated her even more. She was sick of always needing to be protected. She was sick of being nothing but trouble to them. She bit her lips and clenched her fists until it bled.


    That was why when nobody noticed her, she suddenly left her position, searching for something.


    Kai suddenly stopped helping Kudo Yoshihiro and looked at her departure. She went toward one of the hotels. Kai checked the magical beasts in that hotel, but it seemed that nothing needed to be worried about in that hotel, so he then started helping him again.


    "Kai¡­ I can call you this, right?" Yoshihiro asked.


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "What do you think about Ayaka?"


    "Friend? Mayberade?"


    "What about the romantic aspect?"


    "I don''t know." He shook his head. "She''s smart and powerful. She has big potential and might be more powerful than me in the future. Even after teaching her back at school from my experience, she absorbs lessons like a sponge. She''s reliable, and truthfully, I like her as a friend. But if you ask me how I see her romantically... I don''t know.


    "I don''t want my choice to trouble my partner or me in the future. Ayaka and I have only known each other for about a month. That''s why I can''t truly say anything about it."


    Yoshihiro was slightly amused when he heard that. "You''re a bit different from other people. If it were other people, they might even say they like her whether it''s because of her appearance, money, power, or background," Yoshihiro said while ncing at Kai. "However, what you see is if she doesn''t have anything to give but love. Will you ept her or not? I see, even I didn''t think of it that thoroughly. Still, you know that my daughter is harboring feelings toward you, right?"


    Kai didn''t say anything. He might be a bit dense, but he was not a fool. That was why back when Tasha asked about Ayaka and love, he decided to change the topic with something on the inte. If he was that dense, there was no way he would ept Michelle or his step-sister.


    "No. You don''t need to answer it," Yoshihiro took back his question. "All in all, please treat her the way you usually do. Don''t avoid her or push her away because I asked this."


    "I''m not that kind of person." Kai shook his head. "By the way, I have bad news for us."


    "What is it?"


    "We''re at the border of Russia now, and after calcting the fuel, we''ll need to change the fuel at the area where the S-rank magical beast resides. What are we going to do with this?" Kai asked.


    "I know. I''ve checked the map too. I n tond around fifty kilometers away from that ce and change the fuel there before continuing the journey. We''ll try to fly over the Pacific Ocean."


    "But¡­ it will be ourst fuel, right?" Kai asked. He looked at a big core on the helicopter''s body. They wanted to grab more, but Kai could only grab three since the chopper wouldn''t be able to load more.


    "The only thing we can do is to run. With our speed, we should be able to reach Uelen in a few hours if we don''t have to take care of the magical beasts. I''m not worried about this. What I''m worried about is when we arrive in ska." Yoshihiro sighed.


    "When we teleport and don''t have any vehicle to ride on?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Yeah. You can only use your teleportation in one direction, and you won''t know where we''ll arrive, right?"


    Kai nodded before realizing the problem. "This is a big problem."


    "This is why I decided to apany you on this journey," Yoshihiro said. When he heard that Kai wanted to teleport there despite not having enough power to teleport directly, he knew that they would most likely arrive in ska.


    If he teleported to ska, they would be surrounded by magical beasts unless they were lucky to appear in a hidden spot or something. The US base also had yet to reach the depths of ska as they were upied in conquering Canada. If that were to happen, they would need to run under the pursuit of magical beasts until Kai could teleport them again.


    That was why he decided to retreat despite being ready to fight it out with the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family.


    "If only I could contact her¡­" Kai looked down, sighing on his fate. At first, he just wanted to stay in Russia until he could contact Michelle. However, it seemed that he didn''t think it through. They needed to find a safe ce first in Uelen before they could wait for the reinforcement. They might need to fight against the magical beasts nearby for a few days since it would still take a long time before Michelle finished her business. He was wondering whether he could survive for that many days with only his family. That was why he thought ''screw it,'' and recklessly teleported to the US base even if he would be badly hurt after using teleportation magic consecutively.


    However, it would be different if Ayaka and Ba joined together with Kudo Yoshihiro and Kudo Chiyo. Their fighting power increased drastically, and the possibility of surviving the magical beasts was higher than ever. Although the distance of his teleportation shrank, their group strength had increased.


    "You must be nning to teleport from United Asia to Korea, then to Russia before teleporting to ska and finally the US base. Still, it seems that we''ve be your additional burden," Kudo Yoshihiro said.


    Kai shook his head. "I would be too tired to teleport again after I use my full power to teleport. And we might even appear in the middle of a magical beast horde. If that happens, my sister alone wouldn''t be able to win, and our group would be destroyed in an instant.


    "How about we stay in Uelen until we get reinforcements?" Kai suggested.


    "You''re underestimating the front lines too much. There are still a few thousand magical beasts in Uelen even though it''s a small ce," he said.


    "I see. We can only rush, huh¡­" Kai sighed.


    "Yep. That''s what we''re going to do." He nodded.


    "Wait¡­ how about I teleport all of you before we meet the S-rank magical beast? The fuel should be enough for us to reach Uelen before recing it to thest magic core?" Kai asked.


    "Are you sure? By the time you''re about to teleport all of us together, the distance would have already shrunk too much. If you teleport us together with this helicopter¡­" Yoshihiro looked at him with a troubled expression.


    "It''s fine. I can still teleport all of us 100 km. However, it will take all of my power. That''s why you''re going to fend off all the magical beasts without me," Kai said.


    Yoshihiro frowned, weighing something in his mind. Kai''s n was indeed their safest route. "I''m sorry to burden you like this."


    "It''s fine. Please take care of my parents and sister when I''m unconscious." Kai shrugged.


    "I''ll protect them like how I would protect my daughter," he said with a serious expression.


    Feeling relieved, he nodded.


    "All right. That''s the n. The fuel should start pumping in two minutes," Yoshihiro said while closing the fuel tank.


    Kai nodded before his eyes widened. "This is going to be bad¡­"


    "What happened?"


    "It seems that our fight here attracted more magical beasts nearby. There are at least two thousand¡­ They''ll arrive here in about a minute," he said.


    Kudo Yoshihiro frowned.

 Chapter 71 - S Rank Snake

    "I''ll go get Miss Kudo for a bit," Kai said.


    "Just call her Ayaka like you usually do," he said. "By the way, where did she go?"


    "She''s there." Kai pointed at one of the tallest buildings.


    He nced at Kai, wondering why he didn''t stop her even though he knew she went there. But considering his ears, he thought Kai must have known that it wasn''t dangerous, so he let her be.


    "All right." He nodded. "I''ll ask the others to set up a few traps before standing by in the helicopter.


    Kai then moved toward the building. He didn''t know what Ayaka wanted to do inside, but it seemed that she had been doing something. When he arrived, he saw Ayaka ying with her magic circle.


    "Ayaka, what are you doing?"


    "I¡­ I''m making my Magic Bomb." She said. She had been nting her new skill, Magic Bomb, throughout the building. She noticed that they had been making loud noises one after another, so she decided toe to this building and nt her Magic Bomb.


    She chose this building because it was a building that had the most strategic position and without any magical beasts nearby. So, when she saw Kaie, she knew she didn''t manage to help them again. "Are we going now?"


    "Around one and a half minutes. We''ll have visitors in around thirty seconds." Kai said.


    "!!!" Ayaka realized. "Magical beasts?"


    "Yeah."


    "From where?" Ayaka suddenly felt more enthusiastic.


    Kai pointed in a single direction. It seemed that they would pass this building first. Because of that, Ayaka blinked her eyes a few times, wondering if this was her chance.


    "I''ll destroy this building with my Magic Bomb and let it bury the magical beasts. This will give us time to get away." Ayaka grabbed Kai''s shoulders.


    "So that''s what you''ve been wanting to do this entire time?" Kai looked at her.


    Ayaka immediately ced her hands and activated her magic circle. It was set to fifteen seconds. She then grabbed Kai and used her Fire Wings to get away from the building. She said, "I know I''m not really useful to you or Father and Mother, but I''ll keep trying. Even if this one doesn''t bring any result and go unnoticed, I''ll do it again and again. Until at one point, I can truly help all of you."


    Kai was astonished. Just from his conversation with Yoshihiro, he knew he was a protective parent. And the reason why he wanted Ayaka to guard the chopper was so that she wouldn''t need to fight them.


    Kai involuntarily smiled as he murmured, "You''re fine as you are."


    "???" Ayaka looked at Kai with confusion because she couldn''t hear him just now. She flew toward the helicopter and saw several magical beastsing toward their position.


    Kudo Chiyo and Ba were surprised to see here out of a building. Because of the battle, they didn''t realize that she had gone to that building. When they were about to voice their concern, they finally heard the sound of explosions.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    More than ten explosions were heard as they saw the building that towered up to the sky suddenly crumble and bury the magical beasts that were trying to pass the building.


    When they arrived, Kai immediately said, "Let''s go. We can chatter since we need to get going. The traps should be able to buy enough time for us."


    They also heard the helicopter engine and knew they should go. Although they wanted to ask Ayaka why she did that, they refrained themselves and went into the helicopter.


    All of them boarded the chopper and flew away from the spot. Kai took ast glimpse of the monster, observing how they were trapped and could only look at them leaving without being able to do anything.


    "Ayaka, what were you doing just now?" Kudo Chiyo said.


    "Mother, I''m sick of always needing to be protected. I want to help both of you. I don''t want to just watch all of you scrap your flesh just to protect me!" Ayaka shouted.


    When Yoshihiro heard that, he could only sigh inwardly. It seemed she had truly grown up.


    "You''re still 17 years old. You have a bright future ahead, so let the old pave the way for you," Chiyo tried to reprimand her.


    It was at this time that Ayaka Carter put her hand on Chiyo''s shoulder. "Paving the way and caging her is almost the same.


    "If you''re truly supportive of her, then what you should do is let her do whatever she wants and take care of her mistakes," she said. "I really want to do that, but I can''t do so due to my weak ability."


    "Still¡­" Kudo Chiyo gritted her teeth, wanting to argue. Even so, she knew Ayaka Carter was right. She was the one who was being overprotective. This would only halt her growth.


    "I''m already 17 years old, Mother. Please trust Ayaka a little bit more. I''m afraid I''ll lose both you and father without knowing it like Grandfather." Ayaka was saddened when she didn''t even know her grandfather was killed until that incident.


    "Ayaka¡­" Kudo Chiyo looked at her with worry.


    "It''s enough. Maybe it''s time for her to soar. We can worry about her, but not stop her," Yoshihiro said.


    "..." Kudo Chiyo looked remorseful before nodding her head helplessly.


    Kai suddenly noticed that Shirotsuka Sanae finally woke up after a few days of being unconscious. She had a fever a few days ago because of her wound, so Ayaka Carter was focused on treating her. And it seemed that she managed to wake up, albeit not having any energy in her body.


    "Mhmm¡­" Sanae slowly opened her eyes, looking at the unfamiliar ce and hearing a loud sound. She then heard, "Teacher, I''m d you''ve woken up."


    "Where is this?" Shirotsuka Sanae summoned the little bit of energy she had to ask.


    "We''re flying to the US base with this helicopter because of the series of events. Don''t say anything, just focus on recovering."


    He then used magic to lower her brain wave and made her sleepy again. After making her fall asleep, he then felt relieved. The others also didn''t voice any concern about his action as they knew she needed rest.


    After about four hours, they were finally nearing the S-rank magical beast''s territory. Yoshihiro immediately warned them.


    "We''re going to enter the Snake God''s territory in five minutes. Kai, ready your teleportation." Yoshihiro announced.


    Kai nodded at his order and activated his skill, ready to use teleportation at any moment of notice. He could teleport them a hundred kilometer from this ce, but he might pass out after he teleported them.


    However, it should be fine since they had the Kudos as their fighters. He was also curious about this giant snake that had a length of one kilometer. Together with its giant body, it would be pretty easy to find his position.


    After entering its territory for a few kilometers, they had yet to find the snake. The snake had a vast territory, so Kai wanted to meet the snake first and confirm its position before using the teleportation magic. He was afraid that if he used the teleportation magic recklessly, they might meet the snake on the other side. They wouldn''t be able to do anything and would only be able to ept their demise.


    Yoshihiro proceeded with caution. It seemed that they were near the snake as they couldn''t see a single flying magical beast around.


    They had found numerous flying magical beasts on this trip. Most of them were shot down by Tasha''s. Luckily, they didn''t meet any powerful flying beasts, as they might need to avoid it.


    The deeper they went inside their territory, the quieter the ce felt. Yoshihiro wanted to take a detour, but it would only waste fuel. The situation became tense as everyone present was looking left and right, trying to find the giant snake.


    Kai also focused his entire being on his hearing, trying to locate the snake. With a snake that big, it should be quite loud.


    It was at this time that Ayaka suddenly pointed her finger. "Look."


    All of them immediately turned their head. What greeted their sight was a huge trail on the ground. Everything was wiped out on that trail. Trees, giant buildings, a skyscraper, and everything else, none was there. Everything was crushed to the ground and became a pile of rubbles.


    Kai didn''t find anything, so they proceeded again. Until at one point, Kai and Yoshihiro shouted at the same time. "Found it!"


    Kai heard the movement of a huge creature while Yoshihiro found a huge snake five kilometers in front of them.


    When everyone turned their heads, they could see a giant anaconda moving slowly on the ground.


    However, when the anaconda found them, it slowly raised its head to the sky and roared, "Scree!"


    "!!!" All of them felt danger the moment they heard that. They then saw the giant snake suddenly move toward them at a speed that was beyond their imagination.


    They thought if the snake moved that slow, they would be able to attack it or just take a detour without using Kai''s teleportation. But when they saw that speed, it almost gave them a heart attack. As expected from an S-rank magical beast. If it could only move slowly, it wouldn''t be an S-rank magical beast as it would only be a punching bag.


    "Not good!" Yoshihiro cursed and shouted, "Kai, now!"


    "I know." He immediately made a huge teleportation magic circle around their helicopter. Seeing that, Yoshihiro halted their advance to make sure they were in the magic circle.


    The snake was charging so fast it was almost only a few hundred meters away from them. Kai sped his hand while sweating as he finally activated his magic circle.


    "Teleportation!"

 Chapter 72 - A Series Of Unfortunate Events And Hope

    "Teleportation!"


    He teleported them a hundred kilometers away from that ce in the northeast direction. Yoshihiro immediately checked his map and saw that they were still on track. He just needed to shift his direction a little bit.


    Kai was still hanging there with his willpower. He asked Yoshihiro with a hoarse voice, "How is it?"


    "We''re still on course." Yoshihiro nodded his head as he steered the helicopter a little bit to the coast. After all, they didn''t want tond and be surrounded by magical beasts. Since magical beasts from the sea wouldn''te out to thend, they didn''t need to care about that side and could focus on thend.


    Unfortunately, the magical beasts of the sea were more aggressive when they entered their territories. The government once sent huge fleets toward the sea for investigation, but they were butchered by the sea creatures instantly.


    Because of that, they ignored the sea and did everything from the sky. Compared to the sea, it was far easier to travel by air.


    Kai then nodded his head as his face became paler. Blood starteding from his nose, and he finally passed out. Ayaka immediately caught him.


    They had a few hours of peace before they suddenly saw a flock of birds flying toward them.


    "Sh*t." Yoshihiro immediately threw a curse as he immediately changed direction to avoid this group of birds. He shouted, "Hang on!"


    The helicopter bent almost flipped ny degrees to avoid this, and everyone almost fell. Ba and Chiyo immediately reacted and prevented that from happening. Ayaka grabbed Kai so he didn''t fall while Kai''s mother held Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "We need to patch the door," Chiyo shouted to James.


    He was panicking about this, but he needed to endure and came up with his fabrics. He strengthened them with his magic, making an artificial door. Even if the other fell, they would be caught and bounced by this stic door.


    On the other hand, Tasha already aimed as she prepared to shoot her arrow if she had to.


    ng! ng!


    All of their faces became pale when they heard that. Luckily, what they thought would befall them never came. The magical beasts didn''t attack them and just bumped onto their helicopter. They didn''t deal any damage to the helicopter, letting it continue flying.


    After dodging the magical beasts, they finally felt relieved as Yoshihiro immediately stabilized their position again.


    However, at this time, he felt a bit cold wind from the outside. Yoshihiro''s face became even paler as he roared. "Damn!"


    He saw a huge cyclone slowly form in front of them. He didn''t hear the roars of the magical beasts onnd because of the situation as well as the loud noise from the helicopter. If he had heard it, he would have immediately known what wasing.


    Earth had made a weird transition after magic spread in this world. The extreme weather became more extreme as typhoons could suddenly appear, and without any proper equipment, he didn''t know whether there would be a typhoon or not.


    The sky wasn''t clear, but the ck cloud was also not that big. Sadly, none of them picked up thest clue.


    The birds were flying at lower altitudes because the barometric pressure had changed. If only they had noticed it a bit sooner.


    Yoshihiro immediately changed his direction by steering the wheel, but even so, the helicopter was still moving toward the typhoon. The typhoon was trying to swallow them.


    The others were already shaking as they gripped their chairs as hard as possible, trying to make sure they wouldn''t get thrown off.


    "This is bad. We need to get out of this ce." Yoshihiro roared. He then looked at James Carter. "We need to wrap everyone in your magic as tight as possible. Ayaka and I will carry you from the sky."


    "Are we going to abandon the helicopter?"


    "Yes, we''re going right now!" Yoshihiro roared. Without prior signs, the helicopter suddenly shook. Ba and James Carter suddenly lost their grips and flew off the helicopter.


    "!!!" Everyone was startled. However, Kudo Chiyo still saw them hanging on the foot on thending skids because of Ba''s fast response. Ba still held onto James as much as she could while trying to get back inside.


    Yoshihiro immediately made a magic circle. A wind sphere then appeared out of nowhere and protected them from the wind. Even so, Yoshihiro could feel that the typhoon was also trying to suck his wind sphere in, so they only had a tiny amount of time.


    As his partner, Kudo Chiyo immediately knew what she needed to do. She used her magic to make an ice crook. She then stretched it out toward James Carter.


    "Grab it!" she shouted.


    Seeing this, James Carter grabbed it with all of his strength.


    Kudo Chiyo immediately pulled him back to the helicopter before helping Ba.


    "We don''t have time, we need to grab everyone and get out!" Yoshihiro roared while trying his best to hold on.


    James Carter knew that a single hesitation might cost them in this situation. He immediately grabbed his fabric and wrapped Kai, Shirotsuka Sanae, and Ayaka Carter.


    The others also helped him by wrapping themselves with the fabric and joining in with Kai and the others like sardines in a can.


    Yoshihiro then said, "I''m going to let the wind suck us, and at the highest altitudes, we''re going to escape from this ce. However, because of this typhoon, the pressure up there would be very high, so prepare yourselves."


    The people gulped as Ayaka clenched her fists. She couldn''t make a mistake here and helped everyone.


    Yoshihiro tied it to his body while grabbing it tightly, and Ayaka did the same. They needed to make sure they were together with everyone in this typhoon as it would be over if they were separated.


    Seeing everyone was ready, he thenmanded. "Ayaka, you jump first. I''ll follow after you."


    Ayaka nodded and jumped out of the helicopter while bringing the fabric that wrapped everyone. Yoshihiro also jumped, following the other end of the fabric.


    Because of their position that was close to the typhoon, they were immediately sucked in by the typhoon as soon as Yoshihiro''s wind barrier disappeared.


    They flew up high and did nothing as Yoshihiro''smand. However, they started feeling difort as they were going upward, and before they knew it, their brain felt great pain, and their ears were ringing.


    Even so, they chose to endure it until they were finally above the typhoon. Yoshihiro immediately used his magic from earlier.


    All of their pain suddenly disappeared for a while. He then looked at Ayaka. "Listen to me. We''re going to fly upward and make a parabolic movement to avoid the suction force of this typhoon.


    "This is going to be painful, but you need to endure it no matter what. And the most important thing is your Fire Wings. The typhoon might suck your fire, so you''ll be more burdened than me."


    "Father, I''m ready." Ayaka looked at him with a persevering expression. The others also looked at them while bracing themselves for the pain. Even though they were wrapped in fabric, it was only on their body, their head and feet were still free.


    Yoshihiro nodded his head. "We''re going at 0."


    "3."


    "2."


    "1."


    "0."


    The moment he said "0," Ayaka and Yoshihiro made a magic circle on their feet. Yoshihiro covered his boots with a wind sphere while Ayaka used her Fire Wings on her back. However, Ayaka also made an additional magic circle below her feet.


    Both of them then jumped at the same time as they broke through from Yoshihiro''s wind barrier. Ayaka immediately felt the suction force that was trying to swallow her fire, so she immediately used her Fire Wings one after another together with her boost. This allowed her to have the same speed as her father.


    After escaping the typhoon, Yoshihiro told them to search for a good ce to hide. As long as the magical beasts nearby weren''t too many, they could make it a temporary base until Kai woke up.


    They flew for a few hours before finally ending up resting in a house near Uelen. There were around three hundred magical beasts nearby, but they should be able to eliminate them.


    After putting down Kai and Shirotsuka Sanae, all of them started fighting the magical beasts.


    ...


    When Kai woke up, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He looked left and right and saw Shirotsuka Sanae and his mother. He realized that they hadnded and went inside a limestone cave.


    "Kai!"


    "Mother. Have we arrived?" Kai asked while rubbing his fuzzy eyes. He also checked his magic power, and he was disappointed to find that he had only recovered about seventy percent of his magic power.


    "This¡­" She didn''t know what to say.


    "Where are we?" He immediately noticed something was wrong and asked her.


    "We¡­ Let''s just say that we were a bit unfortunate and lost our means of transportation." She sighed.


    "???" Kai looked at her, frowning. "Where are the others?"


    "They¡­ they''re fighting the magical beasts outside. It''s been a few minutes since when we crashed, and they''re still fighting so many magical beasts." She clenched her fists.


    "Where are we?" Kai asked again.


    "We''re around a hundred kilometers away from Uelen."


    "We need to gather the others and teleport again." He endured the pain in his body and rose from his bed. He didn''t ask anything more from his mother as he felt it would just waste time to have her exin it from the start. He needed to get into safety first before he could talk about it.


    It was at this time that Kai''s device suddenly rang. His mother immediately grabbed his device and saw the hope she had been waiting for.


    On his device were words that brought them hope.


    [Iing Call: Michelle]


    [ept/Decline]

 Chapter 73 - Graham Family

    In the middle of the afternoon, Michelle was heading back to her mansion that didn''t lose to Ayaka''s. She had been on a mission for more than two months. Luckily, the n had gone smoothly, so she finished the mission faster.


    She had been dying to tell Kai she had finished her mission, but upon reaching her room, she saw that themunication device that she left in the house was filled with Kai''s messages.


    She wanted to feel joy as Kai took the initiative to contact her, but she knew he wasn''t someone like that. Tension filled the air as she read the messages.


    It turned out she was right. Her answer came in the form of multiple SOS messages. Kai had messaged her for money a few days ago, hoping someone would find this. Unfortunately, no one dared toe to her room, especially her servants.


    A dayter, he was practically asking her to send help to South Korea. The messages continued to North Korea and finally until it arrived in ska.


    Kai told her he was at his wits'' end and needed her help. He didn''t care whatever happened to him after that as long as she sent help for his parents.


    Sadly, because of the mission this time as they were fighting a special magical beast, she wasn''t allowed to bring hermunication device. And Kai was in danger because of this.


    She immediately called him with her hands shaking.


    "Kai, what happened?! Where are you? Are you okay?" She was screaming as soon as he picked up the call.


    "Hello? Is this Michelle?"


    Her body shook when she heard the woman''s voice, and she recognized this voice. "Auntie? Where is Kai? Where are you? What happened to all of you? I¡­ am sorry."


    "Kai and I are near Uelen, Russia. The whole family is here together with one other family." She said. "Kai is recovering his magic at the moment as he needs it to teleport us."


    "What happened to all of you?"


    "The situation is tooplicated to exin at the moment. If I need to describe it in one sentence, a huge storm is brewing in United Asia, and our family is the center of that storm."


    "You then escaped from that situation but are stranded in Russia?"


    "Yes. That''s basically it. We''re in a shelter but are surrounded by magical beasts. We don''t know how long we can hold out in this situation. If only I could fight," she said, biting her lips.


    "Auntie, everything''s going to be fine. I''ll immediately send our people to pick you up. Just activate your tracker, and we''ll go get you before you know it."


    It was then that she heard, "Our situation is not good, we''re going to move right now. Wait! You''ve woken up?"


    This voice wasn''t familiar to her ears, but she heard Kai say, "All right, we''re going to teleport there now."


    Kai then took hismunication device from his mother.


    "We''re going to buy time in Uelen. A few hours at best, but anything past that, we can only head to ska. Even so, we might be surrounded by magical beasts when we get there. If I need¡­ No, I just want to say, I miss you," Kai said as he hung up the call. He activated the tracker.


    "Hello? Kai? Kai?" She shouted continuously to the call that had been hung up. When she heard him say "I miss you," she didn''t feel a trace of happiness. In fact, she was devastated. Kai had given up on his situation and waspletely relying on luck. She bit her lips as she almost crushed hermunication device to pieces.


    She immediately came out of the room and ran toward her father''s room while carrying the device. This might be the biggest trouble that her family had. Although she had yet to get past the childhood friend step, both of their families already considered them a thing.


    The entire Graham family already recognized Kai, and no one could shake that position.


    They had no problem with him except for his background, but the Graham family didn''t need any background whatsoever. As for his power, his magic power alone already surpassed S-rank magicians'', let alone his unorthodox sound magic and extraordinary hearing. There was another consideration upon his ability, but all in all, Kai was already considered as the son-inw of this family.


    Bang!


    A middle-aged guy was dealing with paperwork. He had blonde hair and blue crystal eyes like Michelle. His heart skipped a bit when Michelle mmed the door and rushed in.


    "Michelle? You''ve finished your mission?" His shock turned into joy.


    Sadly, it changed again into confusion as he heard Michelle say, "If you want your son-inw alive, then we need to gather all our forces and go to Russia right now!"


    "What son-inw? Have you found another love besides Kai? But your dad is satisfied with Kai, you know¡­" The middle-aged guy was Michelle''s father, Michael Graham.


    "And do you think your daughter can fall in love with another person beside him?!" She gritted her teeth. "If you''re not going to order our forces right now, he''s going to die!"


    "Wha-! He''s going to die? Are you joking, my daughter? I can''t take this joke."


    "He is in Russia near Uelen and is currently besieged by magical beasts from all directions. There are a ton of reasons that could be exinedter, but if you don''t want him to die, then hurry up and order our people!" she shouted in distress. "Tasha has already unsealed his power and nted her space magic in his body. Do you understand now, Father?"


    "!!!"


    Michael was taken aback. If this weren''t a prank, then it would be bad. He hadn''t heard anything about United Asia advancing their skirmish to Russia and neither did their US Base, so Kai must being or fleeing to that ce with a small group.


    He sweatdropped as he immediately took out hismunication device. "Immediately send words to all our people in Canada. They shall immediately head to Russia and save the Carter family. Make them go first, and I''ll give you the coordinatester."


    He ordered his most trusted aide as he looked at Michelle. "I need yourmunication device for his position. He activated the tracker, right?"


    Michelle nodded and threw her device to her father.


    He checked the coordinates first before nodding his head. He then looked at Michelle. "Tell your mother to rece me in today''s meeting. After that, meet me in our tower as we''ll fly there now."


    Michelle nodded and left. She had yet to understand Kai''s whole situation, but she knew he was in danger, and it was enough for her.


    Because his father even made this order as an emergency that would shake the entire family, the preparations werepleted in just an hour.


    Their family was far bigger than Ayaka''s family, and they even had two private fighting jets. The bullet and missiles were already reinforced by magic, so they should be enough to kill magical beasts. It was just that they weren''t very cost-effective. If not, they would have already overturned the magical beasts.


    Michael and Michelle arrived at the military base and immediately went to themander of the army.


    "Michael, you can''t do this to me. Why have all of your people started making all of these preparations?" themander shouted, leaving his assistant trembling on the side. Themander was a middle-aged man that seemed to have a certain rtionship with Michael as even though he was shouting to him, there was still a trace of worry in his eyes. Meanwhile, his assistant was a woman, and she seemed a bit new here as her eyes were still a bit innocent.


    "My son-inw is in a perilous situation. I just want to tell you, if he died out there, I would have all my people leave this operation."


    "Michael, are you nning to challenge the army?"


    "Nope. If you''re going to leave someone with a bigger potential than my daughter dying out there, then screw the army. I''ming here just to inform you, although I''m not nning to challenge the army, I don''t mind. Even my father will surely go all-out with the entire government about this." He snorted.


    "What? Your rumored son-inw is just a D-rank sound magician." Themander shouted.


    "If you think about him as a mere D-rank magician, then I only have one word for you. Since you''re already amander as well as my war buddy before, I shall teach you one thing. Here, you might not know about the name of Kai Carter, but I''m sure you''ve heard the name of Leo," Michael said.


    "!!!" Themander''s body shook when he heard such an unbelievable thing. He stood up and mmed the table, "Michael-!"


    Michael simply waved his hands as he walked out of the room. "That''s all to it, and I''m sure you already know the importance of this. Well then, excuse me, I need to rescue my son-inw."


    Several helicopters then started flying, confusing many other people. They wanted to move a few tanks, but it needed to cross the sea, and it was practically impossible to move them in a few hours.


    Themander''s assistant couldn''t help but ask, "Commander, who is this Leo?"


    "Forget about it. That is an order," themander said with a cold tone as he fell to his seat. "Have the soldiers fortify our current defense. We''re not going to continue our invasion for two days."


    "Yes!" The assistant immediately left the office.


    "Sigh¡­ Luckily, we''ve been progressing smoothly. The higher-ups shouldn''t push this matter to us."

 Chapter 74 - Hope

    Meanwhile, on Kai''s side.


    As soon as they saw Michelle''s call, Kai said, "Mother, you can answer it, I''ll try to recover my magic as soon as possible."


    "All right." She picked up the call while Kai closed his eyes.


    He wanted to recover his magic power because he heard the outside situation was not that good. They were barely able to hold themselves from being overwhelmed by the magical beasts.


    "Not good. We need to get going right now." Yoshihiro came and noticed that Kai had woken up. "Our situation isn''t good, we''re going to move right now. Wait! You''ve woken up?"


    This voice wasn''t familiar to her ears, but she heard Kai say, "All right. We''re going to teleport there now."


    Kai then took hismunication device from his mother.


    "We''re going to buy time in Uelen. A few hours at best, but anything past that, we can only head to ska. Even so, we might be surrounded by magical beasts when we get there. If I need¡­ No, I just want to say, I miss you." Kai said as he hung up the call. He activated the tracker. He already noticed the magical beasts nearby, but he was waiting until thest moment to recover his power as much as possible.


    He then came out with all of them and used teleportation magic, immediately disappearing from there.


    "Kh!" Kai grit his teeth after using the teleportation magic. He only had around 20 percent of his magic power after using this teleportation magic. He had teleported as close to the sea as he could ording to the map. Unfortunately, it was still just ording to the map. Even if they were close, they still had around a few kilometers to go.


    "We need to get going," Kai said as he already picked up so many sounds nearby. They wouldn''t want to be surrounded at this time, and the others knew about this. Kai didn''t have time to look around as the sound he picked the moment he arrived here had notified him about multiple magical beasts.


    Kai started running toward the coast while slowing his pace to match his parents''. They were the sole reason Kai decided to escape to the US base. He wasn''t going to abandon them.


    Kai and Yoshihiro took the front as they paved the way for the group to move. Ba and Kudo Chiyo were trying to hold the magical beasts from the sides. Meanwhile, Ayaka and Tasha were shooting down as many magical beasts as they could.


    Their group slowly made their way toward the coast. They could see magical beasts popping out one after another. They were everywhere. The buildings, the road, the ground, they were everywhere.


    They all thought that as long as they reached the coast where they didn''t need to guard against the sea, they should be able to push all of these magical beasts back. After a few minutes of running, they finally arrived at the coast. They also saw numerous buildings along the shore, and Kai immediately shouted. "Madam, after we kill the monsters around there, we''ll use the house to our advantage to slow them down. Meanwhile, please make a huge terrain for us to hold them back for a couple of hours.


    "There are around three thousand chasing us at the moment with moreing. As long as we have that terrain, we should be able to hold them for a few hours."


    Kudo Chiyo nodded after hearing that. Although she doubted if the terrain would be that effective, it was still better than nothing.


    "Tasha, change with me." She then looked at Tasha before turning to her husband. "Dear, send me there."


    He nodded as he grabbed her. They often made moves like this and let their group have an advantage, so he quickly threw her without hesitation.


    "Miss Ba, we''re going to use that strategy to make our terrain more deadly for the magical beasts," Kai turned to Ba and said.


    Ba simply nodded her head, understanding his intention. Unexpectedly, Shirotsuka Sanae, who was being carried by James Carter, finally woke up. She slowly said. "I''ll help."


    "Teacher? How about you go to sleep again? We''ll arrive at the US base after another sleep," Kai said. He wanted her to recover as much as she could.


    "I''ve woken up since a few minutes ago and restored a bit of my energy. We''re in a dangerous situation, so I''ll also help you. Just put me down when we reach there, I can shoot my wind magic from there," she said, moving as little as she could to conserve the bit of energy she recovered.


    Kai wanted to reject her, but she would be a big help if she chose to join the battle. Even though it would be pushing Shirotsuka Sanae''s limit, they didn''t have another option. "All right."


    "Sister, take care of the flying beasts," he asked.


    "I know." She nodded. Even without Kai ordering her, she would still start killing the magical beasts.


    "Ayaka¡­" He finally called thest person.


    "Yes!" Ayaka became tense when he called her name.


    "..." Kai looked at her for a while before saying. "ce as many of your Magic Bombs as you can on the roof of this house. You''re going to st them. Set them¡­ for an hour."


    "!!" Ayaka was surprised. It was her time to be useful to others. She nodded furiously as she tried to calm her excitement. She kept telling herself not to mess this up.


    When they arrived at the housing area, Ayaka started nting her Magic Bombs. At the same time, Kai and Yoshihiro kept killing the magical beasts that wereing from the house.


    Rumble, rumble.


    They saw an ice hill rise from the ground with Kudo Chiyo on the top. She then made a magic circle and rained her icicles down on the magical beasts to buy time for the others to climb up the hill. As soon as they arrived at the top, Ba immediately used her magic and flooded the hill before the water immediately spiked and froze.


    He then looked at Yoshihiro, "Sir, we''re going to hold them here."


    "You''re not going to recover your magic power?"


    "Can you hold them down alone?" he simply asked back. From his expression alone, he already knew the answer. "I''m going to help you until we can reach a stalemate with the magical beasts."


    "Got it. Don''t push yourself."


    "Yeah." Kai activated his mysterious power once again and started rampaging on the battlefield. This took them by surprise, and even Yoshihiro was taken aback by this power. He felt chills down his spine.


    He took a deep breath to calm his mind and joined Kai. No question needed to be asked in this situation, as staying alive was their priority.


    After around an hour, Ayaka''s Magic Bombs finally exploded altogether, killing a massive portion of the horde of magical beasts. At this time, Kai decided to retire and started recovering his magic power.


    Unbeknownst to them, Kai''s expression darkened after an hour of recovery. What they didn''t know was that there was another source of the problem that needed to be solved. Kai was racing against time to fight this problem as he could only barely use another teleportation magic.


    Rumble.


    The others were confused by this rumble. Two giant crabs suddenly appeared, followed by more than a thousand sea creatures. These sea creatures then began charging toward them. It very much seemed that these creatures wanted to attack them.


    "Not good!" Yoshihiro cursed as he tried to go back to the rest of them.


    Kai had steeled his resolve in this and sped his hands once again as a pink magic circle enveloped all the people here.


    "Teleportation!"


    All of them disappeared once again.


    "Gah!" Kai spat blood and fell to his knees.


    He just used his rushed teleportation, and his magic power was used up. Even so, he still needed to use teleportation one more time to directly teleport them to the US base.


    Even without the magic power inside his body, he was nning to use his life force to rece the magic power. He didn''t care about what would happen to him as long as his family was safe.


    His eyes had be blurry and his body was shaking uncontrobly. He already sped his hands and made his magic circle.


    However, Tasha came and hugged him from behind. She slowly held Kai''s hands while tears started streaming on her face. She carefully separated his hands and said. "Kai¡­ that''s enough. You''ve worked so hard¡­ Please, just rest. Our reinforcements have arrived."


    She couldn''t hold back her tears at all when she looked at Kai''s condition. All of these teleportations took a great toll on his body, and if he were to use it one more time, he might even fall into aa.


    The others also noticed it and felt relieved. They were ready to fight again, but with their current condition, they would definitely die at one point. Luckily, they didn''t need to do that as what they had been waiting for had finally arrived. Hope finally came.


    "All troops! tten them!"


    Magic was raining down from the sky as helicopters could be seen on their way to their position. Meanwhile, the fighter jets passed the line of magical beasts to prevent the other magical beasts from joining hands.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Kai couldn''t hear any of this as his consciousness was already fuzzy. He only knew that he needed to make another teleportation magic circle to escape from this situation.


    A certain blonde girl immediately jumped out of the sky and ran toward them. She embraced him from the front as she kept apologizing.


    Painful¡­ was the only thing she felt in her heart. Ayaka couldn''t say anything ore close as she looked at these two women.


    "Is that Michelle?" Kai asked with a tired tone. He couldn''t even open his eyes at this point as he maintained his consciousness with his willpower alone.


    "Yeah, I''m here, so don''t push yourself any longer and let me do the rest."


    "I see. I''m d." Those were thest words Kai spoke before he passed out.


    Watching this, Michael gritted his teeth. "All troops, hear mymand. We''re going to make a strategic retreat at this point. Squad D will bring all these people to our Graham Mansion. Don''t forget to tten these magical beasts!"


    "Watch over him for me," Michelle suddenly said to Tasha as she released a ck aura from her body and took out two short swords.


    "You¡­"


    Her eyes narrowed and began to be filled with killing intent. She said in anger, "I have something else to do."


    She then disappeared as she started her killing spree.

 Chapter 75 - Wake Up

    Kai slowly opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Although he and Michelle were childhood friends, she was the only one that visited him because his family was not wealthy enough to purchase the tickets for the trip.


    Of course, Michelle had asked them toe as she would take care of their expenses, but they ultimately rejected them.


    "Ngh¡­" His head felt painful due to the overuse of his magic power.


    He tried to check his body. He had a few physical injuries, but it seemed that they had been taken care of, so he felt relieved.


    He then started checking his surroundings. The room was your typical rich room with a sofa, mirrors, and the like to make the roomfortable. There was only one addition to this room that made him a bit ufortable. It was the sound of the sleeping beauty beside him.


    It seemed that she had been hugging him since yesterday since he felt that his arm was a bit numb. Because this often happened at home, he thought that it must be his sister.


    Unexpectedly, it was Michelle. He was a bit surprised, because not only was the person there not who he had expected, but she was even stark naked, which was also something he didn''t expect. He wondered if he should jump out of the bed while trying to be shocked by this, but he dismissed that thought instantly.


    Besides having his heart skip a beat, he felt that there was no need for him to act surprised like that. He remembered that Michelle often sneaked into his room to sleep with him, but it was when they were kids. It had been three years since thest time he saw her, and she had turned into a beauty.


    In addition, she helped him at that moment, so he didn''t feel the need to get up. He tried to stroke her hair and whispered, "Thank you¡­ thank you very much."


    "If you want to thank me, how about kissing me?" she suddenly asked with her eyes still closed. He was startled by that, but he only responded, "Maybe next time?"


    "So, how many times have you kissed Tasha for that power exchange?" she asked. This time, she slowly opened her eyes.


    "Hm¡­ Three times, I guess¡­" Kai said while counting the scenes. "Haha, are you jealous?"


    "Nope. It''s because she is Tasha. Well, there''s one other person that I can give such privilege to, but I don''t think I need to tell you who it is, right? She''s the one who influenced you to be this way anyway, so her appearance should be fresh in your memory." She smiled.


    "Yeah." Kai nodded, recalling about Sakura. Well, he never had any contact with her again and he couldn''t find her after that, so he thought he needed to move on from her.


    "Then, we need to have three passionate nights topensate for that," she said. "Ah, you did the first onest night, so two more."


    "Last night?"


    "You don''t remember it? What a beast, even after you did all that to me, you can''t remember." She looked at him with a teary face.


    "If you say this after I''m drunk or something, then it might be more believable. What could I have possibly done when I was unconscious¡­" Kai said with a poker face.


    Both of them chuckled.


    "Well, you''re lucky this time, I finished my mission sooner than expected," she said before she suddenly hugged him tightly. "Still, I''m d¡­ I''m d you''re all right."


    Kai smiled as he patted her head. "Yeah, thank you for everything. That''s right, how are my sister, my parents, and the others?"


    "They''ve registered their identities here, and I was just waiting for you to wake up. As for your teacher, my teacher is taking care of her since she''s her friend. I''ve registered all your identities, but we still need to go to the government office to measure your magic power and the others''. After that, I can have youe to my school."


    "Well, I guess I''m going to seal this magic power first."


    "Regarding that, I actually managed to create something for you¡­ well, two things. The first is a device that allows you to share your magic power. For example, if Tasha is going to have all of your magic power, she can transfer some to you¡­ Even so, this device can only give ten percent of your magic power."


    "Ten percent, huh¡­ Well, you know I''m a bit troubled by my own magic power."


    "I know. Your magic power alone is twice as much as that of a full-fledged S-rank magician. Well, I want to give you at least thirty percent of your power back, since you''re going to need it in the future."


    Kai nodded.


    "Well, moving on to the second thing. This will truly surprise you."


    "Oh?"


    "I managed to make a sword that can stand the vibration."


    "!!!" Kai opened his eyes wide as he said, "That''s definitely a surprise."


    Back then, he tried to invent a Vibration Sword that could cut anything for him. However, he never had seeded. A part of it was because the sword couldn''t take the vibration and broke while the other was the w of his magic.


    "Hehe¡­ Well, I had her help me though."


    "Her¡­ you mean her?"


    "Yes, her."


    Kai sweatdropped. She was the only one he couldn''t handle.


    "Don''t worry, you won''t meet her anytime soon¡­ probably."


    He sighed in relief. "Anyway, how about you put on some clothes first."


    Kai looked at her without a trace of lust in his eyes. It wasn''t like he disliked her or wasn''t entranced by her, he just didn''t have that desire at the moment.


    "Well, Try to check your body''s condition first. You only have a few superficial injuries, which should be able to fully heal in a matter of time, so we decided to bring you back. Meanwhile, I''ll grab my clothes before we go to the government office for your ID card. Is that okay with you?"


    Kai nodded. "But let''s meet my sister first, since I need to seal my magic power."


    "I feel a bit jealous seeing you kiss her, but she''s one of the people I recognize, so I''ll bear it. I need to check that other one though, to see whether she''s worthy or not. Well, if she''s not worthy despite you liking her, I just need to train her to be worthy enough. After all, I''ll always be number one."


    Kai sighed. "Number one, huh¡­"


    She put on her pajamas that were previously lying on the floor. She wore those and left the room to change.


    Kai sighed and rose from the bed before moving his body left and right to check if there were any other injuries elsewhere. After around five minutes, he didn''t feel any pain after moving his body, so there should be no other injuries on his body.


    Not long after, Michael came in. It seemed that Michelle informed him when she left. He also had a set of clothes on his hands.


    "Yo, so you''ve woken up? How are you?"


    "I''m fine. Thank you for your help, Uncle." Kai formally thanked him. If it weren''t for him bringing the entire unit consisting of a few hundred elites, they wouldn''t be alive now.


    "You don''t need to say thanks. I merely saved my family members." He shrugged as he handed Kai the clothes and hismunication device. "Anyway, here are your change of clothes and yourmunication device. I''ve installed my number there to ensure such a mistake won''t happen again.


    "Haiz. I thought about giving you two some room for privacy by not installing any other numbers besides hers, and it turned out to backfire."


    "It''s all right, Uncle. I appreciate your gesture." Kai smiled. "Since you''re fine now, you''re going to the office, right?"


    "That''s the n."


    "Then go dat- Ahem, get some clothes with you and some daily necessities while you''re out."


    "You don''t need to correct your words, Uncle, it''s already toote anyway. Besides, I''ve gotten used to her character." He smiled. "By the way, where are the others?"


    "Your family is searching for a house or apartment nearby. I asked them to settle down here, but they refused."


    "We''re already too indebted to you, Uncle. If we continue to rely on you, we''ll just be leeches."


    "I don''t mind though."


    "How about the others like my teacher and Aya- the Kudo family?"


    "Your teacher is in the hospital near this ce. If you want to visit her, you can ask Michelle to show you the way. As for the Kudo family, they''re settling down in a mansion not far from here. It seems that they want to build another Kudo Group here, and from the looks of it, they already got their research from their remnants in United Asia."


    He nodded.


    "Anyway, after you get your ID, send your ID to me so I can apply you to the school Michelle is enrolled in. It''s only been a month after school starts, so I don''t need to pull any tricks." He shrugged.


    "Haha¡­"


    "Well, just rx for a day or two. And that old man wants you to visit him, so do visit him within these two days, else I''ll be beaten up."


    Kai nodded.


    "All right then, I''ll go now," he said, walking out of the room after.


    Kai then changed his clothes. The new clothes consisted of a simple white shirt and jeans. Not long after that, Michelle came in with her new attire. She was wearing a simple white shirt with a knee-length skirt. Because they were going to the government office, the attire sh?e wore was a little bit more formal.

 Chapter 76 - Test

    Kai and Michelle then visited the Carter family''s new house. It was a humble family house not far from the Graham family''s mansion.


    This house had several purposes. First, it was for their family to be separated from the Graham family. After all, it wouldn''t befortable to stay in someone''s house for so long even though they were your inws. Michelle and Michael could understand this, so they suggested a few houses to them, and they epted one of them.


    Secondly, if they were to stay in the Graham family''s mansion, they would have to do everything together, and it would practically restrict their freedom. And thest reason was that it was close to their school.


    They were visiting his new house to meet Tasha and seal his power. If he didn''t seal his power, he might be targeted for it.


    Kai observed the house and nodded his head. He had no objections to this house as it looked prettyfortable and not really noisy. Michelle then took him inside. Kai was baffled. He didn''t expect her to have the key to his house.


    "Why do you have a key?"


    "I was the one who suggested the house, how could I not have it?" She made a smug smile.


    "You''re not¡­ going to sneak in, right?" Kai asked while looking at the key.


    "Do you think a lock can stop me?"


    "Foolish question." Kai sighed.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t go if you don''t allow me to," she said as they went inside.


    The inside was pretty spacious, and he looked for his parents and Tasha. Tasha was the first to find them. "Why are you here?"


    "Oh. Isn''t this sister-inw? Good to see you," she said with a smile.


    Tasha became irritated just by hearing it. She spat back. "Sister-inw, my ass. Kai has yet to marry anyone, and maybe I''ll be the number one."


    Michelle''s face also became serious when she heard this. "Don''t worry, we''re going to the government office today to register our marriage application."


    "You mean for Kai''s ID card, right? Don''t twist facts, Kai won''t like it." Tasha smirked. "Besides, you''re still not my match."


    "Hmph. You can only win because of Kai''s magic power, and since you haven''t gotten it back yet, why don''t we have a round?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "This is why your chest is equal to your heart. Small. So petty." Tasha shrugged.


    In fact, Tasha and Michelle didn''t really have that much difference when it came to that department. Even so, Michelle gritted her teeth as she said back. "Hmph. Yours are just slightly bigger than mine. I can catch up to you in a year. Besides¡­ you''re just unting your old age and using it topare yourself to someone younger than you."


    "What did you say?" Both of them were gnashing their teeth as they red at each other.


    "All right. That''s enough." Kai finally stepped in as he already walked to his sister this whole time.


    Tasha and Kai kissed while Michelle looked away, not wanting to see it. Although she already epted their rtionship, there was still an ufortable feeling in her heart.


    Tasha looked at Michelle with a smug face after kissing him. The power didn''t matter, the kiss did.


    "Heh. The first time I heard about the seal, I knew why Kai asked for a kiss. It was because he didn''t want to kiss you, and it would be hisst resort," Michelle snorted.


    "All right, just stop this already. I know you two are getting along, but please keep it civil," Kai said as he went back to Michelle''s side and closed her mouth with his hand.


    "By the way, where are Mother and Father?" he asked.


    "They''re buying groceries," Tasha simply replied.


    "Tell them, I''ll stay at Michelle''s house today and will go back tomorrow," Kai said. He knew there were a lot of things they needed to talk about, so he decided to stay a bit longer.


    Michelle suddenly pulled his hand from her mouth and said to Tasha, "School will start in four days. I''ll look for you at that time to test some equipment. It can share ten percent of Kai''s magic power that''s sealed inside you."


    "!!!" Tasha was surprised. She knew that because almost Kai''s entire power was sealed inside her, he couldn''t use any powerful skills. That was why his development was limited. With this ten percent, it was already enough for Kai to develop various things. She knew how important this was, so despite her reluctance, she still expressed her gratitude, albeit while looking away. "Uhm. Thank you."


    Even though she was reluctant, she still thanked her. This was their rtionship. They didn''t get along, yet at the same time, they also do. Because they recognized each other and considered each other as rivals, they had this kind of rtionship.


    Kai and Michelle left the house, leaving Tasha alone in the house. They immediately went to the government office by car.


    When they arrived, they were greeted by an official that had been expecting them. He was a middle-aged man with a fierce aura. If it weren''t because his attire had long sleeves, they would have been able to see numerous scars on his hands and body. He was one of the veterans in the front lines that had fought for many years. After retiring, he worked as an official.


    "I have been waiting for you." He nodded as he looked at Michelle before ncing at Kai with aplicated expression.


    "We still need data for his magic power and strength. This is the data that you need to measure personally, no matter where or which family youe from."


    They nodded.


    "I am Run, and I will lead you through the entire process," he introduced. "Follow me."


    The first test was a physical test. They needed to measure his stamina, strength, and reaction speed. Some people wondered why they needed this since they were magicians, but this was mandatory.


    "Please use your real strength as we need the information to be as urate as possible," the middle-aged man informed.


    Kai looked at Michelle first, who nodded her head. The first machine was to measure his strength.


    "Just punch it three times, and you''ll be done," Run said nonchntly. He was looking down on Kai as he thought Kai only managed to reach this far because of the Graham family. Because he migrated to this ce, he didn''t have information about him, thus underestimating him as a war veteran.


    It was at this time; Kai gave him another shock of his life. He looked at Kai take a deep breath before punching the mission with all he got.


    Bam!


    The sound was so loud that it shook the entire room. The loud sound even made Run''s heart skip a beat, and when he looked at the score, he opened his mouth in amazement.


    748 kg.


    Michelle smiled when she saw this. Kai didn''t care about their reaction and continued to punch it two more times.


    Bam! Bam!


    760 kg.


    759 kg.


    The official dropped his jaw as he had never seen a fist that powerful from a teen. His strength alone was like that of a magical beast.


    Kai looked at Run and asked, "What should I do now?"


    "Ah." Run hurriedly regained hisposure. "You need to do a stamina test. You simply need to run thirty minutes and let the machine do the rest."


    The next machine was a treadmill. Michelle gave him a bracelet to measure his heart rate and the others to specte his stamina amount.


    Kai nodded and started running. The running speed started from slow like jogging to sprinting. However, for Kai, it wasn''t even his top speed yet. After thirty minutes, his heartbeat increased a little bit, but that was all. He didn''t break any sweat, short breath, or whatsoever, looking perfectly normal.


    "..." The middle-aged man clenched his fist as he looked at the number. He immediately sent him to thetest test, the reaction speed test. The machine used for this test was a simtion machine, the same machine as the ones used for Kai''s practical ss back in United Asia. However, the magical beasts were reced by bows and guns.


    He appeared in a white room. A lot of people stumbled over this test, but for Kai, this was a very easy test. They started with bows and arrows before speeding up with guns and rifles. He couldn''t use his magic or anything. All he could do was to dodge all the thingsing his way.


    The first arrow came, and he avoided it with a single step. The second arrow came¡­ the third arrow¡­ and not long after, a few automatic rifles were shooting at him. Sadly, no bullet managed to touch him. His hearing could measure the distance and trajectory of the bullets, so he avoided all the bullets before Run officially stopped the test. It would be pointless to continue, after all.


    She smirked as she had predicted this result. In fact, she could never defeat Kai because of his absurd hearing. It might be Kai''s greatest card. Even if she tried to throw a shbang, Kai could simply use Sound Instion to cover his ears for an instant.


    Run then led him to thest test, which was the magic test. This test only measured his magic element and Magic Power. That was why Kai suddenly dropped his performance as his magic power was sealed inside Tasha, and he was a sound magician. It didn''t take too long for the result of his magic toe out, and disappointment came after.


    Surprisingly, Run could only see Kai as a treasure. Other people might be disappointed by his result, but for him, it was the best result he could get. He walked toward him with a serious expression.


    "You¡­ you¡­ do you want to join the Military Academy?" Run grabbed his shoulders.

 Chapter 77 - ID Card

    "Do you want to join the Military Academy?"


    When this question was uttered, Kai became speechless. The person who nonchntly guided him for the test was suddenly filled with enthusiasm.


    Kai turned his head to Michelle and asked, "Military Academy? Isn''t it supposed to be the Magical Academy?"


    "I''ll exin it to youter," Michelle said before ring at Run. "You can''t do that, you know. He''s going to join the Magical Academy."


    "You are Graham family''s princess, you must surely know that what you''re doing ispletely ruining his talent, right?" Run said while narrowing his eyes.


    "No. What I know is that if he joins the Military Academy, his talent will be wasted," she said calmly.


    "You¡­ I can assure you with this test alone, he will only be a D-rank magician. It will be different if he joins the Military Academy. He has the physical ability he needs. In fact, he''ll be the best in the Military Academy," he said while clenching his fists.


    Kai frowned upon seeing this.


    "Fufu¡­ The test can''t measure his talentpletely. This is why people never know him." She smiled. "If everyone knows about his power, then I can be sure they''ll say that the Magical Academy will be the best for him."


    "You¡­ I will report this to my superior, and I am sure he''ll back me up and request a transfer to the Military Academy." Run said as he grabbed the paper that had Kai''s information.


    "You''re free to try, but he''ll join the Magical Academy no matter what," she said to Run, who was walking away.


    Kai looked at her in confusion. "Can you exin it to me?"


    "There are two academies in this base: The Magical Academy and the Military Academy. Both have their own strengths, so no one is the best.


    "The Military Academy is an academy for people to join the army. They would be stationed and wait for orders just like in the army. You won''t have any freedom in that academy. You must be wondering why we have physical tests. The answer lies in the Military Academy.


    "In the Military Academy, they focus on your ability in wielding weapons. Which means, they focus on your swords. Most people that join this academy are people who don''t have enough magic power or have weak elements.


    "This is the reason why he asked you to join the Military Academy. He underestimates your sound magic and only cares about your physical abilities.


    "Meanwhile, the Magical Academy is simr to what you know in United Asia, although, I have to say, the education system here is pretty different. We don''t have a practical ss as we''re immediately thrown to the outside world.


    "We''ll form a group of five no matter the grades and get missions from the academy. The people from United Asia think you can prepare yourself after dying a few times, but that''splete bullshit. Just like when someone ys a game and dies many times, they will be insane if the real him will die if he dies in the game once.


    "So, the education system here is to let the students get used to the real thing immediately. Ah, if you''re wondering whether I have a group or not, I don''t have one at the moment. Because of my power, they usually ask me to help other groups, and I don''t have a desire to build one. So, maybe I''ll build one if you join the group." She looked at him.


    "Sure. But I think it will be better if my sister joins too. You said no matter the grades, right?"


    "Yeah. That''s the n. I''m nning to invite Tasha and that girl, Ayaka, was it¡­ Anyway, that makes it four. As for our instructor, I can get my teacher to be our instructor. Or do you want to get your teacher as our instructor?" she asked.


    Kai shook his head. "She has done so much, and I''m sure she won''t be a teacher again since she''s met her best friend."


    "Well, you might be right. We can visit her after this," she said.


    Kai nodded. "What about thest member?"


    "Thest member, huh¡­ I don''t know anyone fitting, so I''ll leave it vacant for the time being. If only Sakura is here," she sighed.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded. "It''s easier if you know people."


    "Wait, now that I think about it, isn''t this group basically your harem? You have Tasha and me together with the soon-to-be member Ayaka. If we add Sakura here¡­" She nced at him as she made a smug smile.


    "You and my sister aside, I''m not that close to Ayaka in particr. Besides, Sakura isn''t here." He shook his head.


    "Hmm¡­ I''m just saying since she feels like a candidate to me." She pouted as she hugged him before saying. "Well, since Sakura isn''t here, I should get you another harem member for this group, right?"


    "Just a normal member, please." Kai sighed. "My hand is already full with you and my sister. I never see Sakura after that day, so... sigh."


    "Fine, fine. I was just kidding," she relented. "Well, we''ll leave it vacant for the time being. If there''s someone who fits, we''ll get them to our group."


    "Yeah." Kai nodded. "By the way, I know the difference between the two academies, but I still don''t know the use on the battlefield."


    "Ah, it''s simple. If we were in the medieval era, the Military Academy would be like a normal army, and you''ll be stationed in one ce and wait for orders. Meanwhile, the Magical Academy would be a special roaming force. We''ll get a mission after another and go from one ce to another. After we finish our mission, we can go back. Just like myst mission, where I needed to leave for a few months," she briefly exined.


    "I see." Kai nodded.


    "Well, you''ll get all your doubts answered after youe to the academy. We should wait for your card outside. It should be finished in less than an hour," she said.


    "All right."


    Not long after that, Kai got his new ID card. And surprisingly, he had two ranks, which were his physical rank and magic rank. His magic rank was the same as his previous rank in United Asia. At the same time, he had a ridiculous score in the physical rank.


    ID: 0000016487448 (US Base)


    Name: Kai Carter


    Age: 17


    Gender: Male


    Education: -


    Physical Rank: S++


    Magic Rank: D (720)


    He found something that intrigued him. "What are those numbers beside my magic rank?"


    "That''s your magic power. Normal people will have 1,000 to 4,000, while people that have bigger capacity will have 4,000 to 7,000. It already guarantees them C rank in magic alone, and if theybine it with their elements, they''ll easily reach B or A-rank.


    "If I''m not mistaken, Ayaka has 6,800 while Tasha originally has 3,000 points. Well, because she has the space element, she''s still an S-rank. But normally, S-rank magicians would have over 10,000. This is mine," she said as she took out her ID card to show to Kai.


    ID: 0000002467711 (US Base)


    Name: Michelle Graham


    Age: 17


    Gender: Female


    Education: Sacred Elite Magic Academy


    Physical Rank: A


    Magic Rank: S (14,780)


    "Of course, if you have all of your magic power right now, your number should be around thirty thousand. I''m sure of it," she confidently said. "Well, this is good since we can hide both of you and Tasha from a lot things, albeit you being an unorthodox sound magician guarantees unwarranted attention. And with your other identity¡­ Ah, looks like I''ve talked too much."


    His expression turned dark when she mentioned his other identity. Michelle immediately stopped when she reached that point. "Since we''ve gotten your ID card, we can apply you to my school¡­ Fufu, I''ll use all my power to get you into the same ss as mine."


    "You can do whatever you want, just don''t go overboard," Kai reminded as he handed his ID card.


    "Of course. I know the limit," she cheerfully assured. "Then, we should go to the hospital right now and visit your teacher as well as mine.


    Kai nodded.


    ...Unbeknownst to them, two people were fighting because of Kai. It was Run and his superior.


    "Why? His ability is most suited for the Military Academy." Run shouted.


    "Haiz, you don''t know anything." His superior was an old man. Although he was wearing a formal suit, there was his military uniform with three stars. He was a former lieutenant general, and he knew far more than Run did. If Michael Graham were here and said something about Leo, he would immediately recognize that name.


    "Is this because of the Graham family? We should report this to the higher-ups. It will be such a waste to see someone like him enlist to the Magical Academy!"


    "This is not from the Graham family, but from the higher-ups. If this were the army, I would have already ordered you to shut up." The old man red at Run. "This matter is closed here, and you shall never mention anything about this to others. If not, I can see you court-martialed."


    Run wanted to talk back, but he didn''t dare to do so. He knew what it meant to be court-martialed. He could only grit his teeth as he left the room. "I will excuse myself."


    "Sigh¡­" The old man let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 78 - Hospital

    Meanwhile, Kai and Michelle arrived at the hospital, where Michelle led him to Shirotsuka Sanae''s room.


    In the room, there was another person talking to her. They recognized who she was.


    "Oh, is this the rumored Kai Carter that Michelle has been talking about?" She smirked as she nced at Kai.


    "Nice to meet you, Ma''am," Kai greeted the brown-haired woman. She was Michelle''s teacher, so he needed to be polite to her.


    "You are visiting Sanae?"


    "Yes." They nodded.


    "Aren''t you happy? Your student is visiting you. If it weren''t for him, you would have already died and we wouldn''t be able to meet." She nced at Sanae, who only shrugged her shoulders in response. "Anyway, here she is. Her wounds should bepletely healed in two weeks while she should be able to go out after another week.


    "Still, to think that Sanae became the ssroom teacher of Michelle''s childhood friend. Haha¡­ This is funny. I can''t imagine. If this were the past, she might say that you just need to blow those magical beasts away and win. But I heard she''s changed and be a somewhat unique teacher."


    "Oi." Sanae red at her.


    "No no. If it weren''t for me, Teacher Sanae wouldn''t be hurt in the first ce." He shook his head.


    "True, but she would have never met me again, and for that, I need to thank you," she bowed her head, thanking him for reuniting her with this best friend of hers.


    He put down the basket of fruits that they bought earlier.


    "Well, I''m sure Michelle already told you about me, but let me introduce myself formally. Former member of the Snake Elite Corps, Michelle''s formal teacher, as well as a teacher in Elite Magical Academy, Mano Yuki. Nice to meet you." She smiled. "It''s actually Sacred Elite Magical Academy, but because the name sucks, I only say Elite Magical Academy."


    Kai nodded. "Kai Carter. Nice to meet you."


    "Anyway, you''re going to transfer to the academy, right?"


    "Yeah. That''s the n." He nced at Michelle.


    "Yeah. I''ll make sure he can start attending school next week." She nodded. "Besides, I''m going to make a group."


    "Oh¡­ I see." Mano Yuki was surprised at first, but she soon closed her eyes in understanding. Michelle never had a desire to form a group or join any group because all of them were the same. There was no Kai. But with Kai also attending the school, this girl finally had a desire to form a group and make a home inside the academy.


    "That''s why I want to ask you to be the instructor for my group, Teacher," Michelle requested.


    "I''mpletely fine with it¡­ is what I''d like to say, but I''m sorry, I can''t. I have another project toplete." She shook her head in regret before ncing at Shirotsuka Sanae. "So why don''t you get her to be your instructor instead? She''s stronger and more skillful than I am. I can apply her to the academy to be a teacher, but yeah, you''ll need to wait for a few weeks for her to join you guys."


    "That would be great." Michelle nodded.


    "Great? Wait, no!" Sanae wanted to protest, but Yuki immediately shut her up as she red at them. "You are a hospitalized person, no job whatsoever, and the hospital bill is still on me. I figured out that you don''t have that much money anyway, so please give me a reason as to why you don''t want to work? Do you want to leech on me?"


    "I¡­" Shirotsuka Sanae was owned by her.


    "First of all, I know your lifestyle, and I can confidently say that it''s a bad one as you spent most of your money on beers. Seriously? We can live together for a while in my apartment after you get discharged, but you need to get your ownter." Yuki sighed.


    Kai was amazed. He never thought this teacher was owned by this woman.


    "Fine¡­ It seems that I need to go to the front lines again." Sanae sighed as she seemed to be against the idea.


    "Don''t worry, It''s still better than going to the front lines as a soldier. Trust me." Yuki briefly reassured her.


    "All right." Sanae nodded in defeat.


    "Good. I''ll process your admission after this." Yuki nodded, satisfied.


    After that, Sanae looked at Kai and Michelle with aplicated expression. Kai thought it was normal since she seemed to be reluctant. He just bowed his head and said, "Pleasure to have you again, Teacher Sanae."


    "Yeah. By the way, I heard that each group should have five people. Who are the other three?" she asked. Since she was going to be their group instructor, it''d be best if she knew in advance.


    "Tasha and Ayaka. We haven''t decided on thest one," Kai answered.


    "I see. Two S-rank magicians, one A-rank magician, and one unorthodox magician, this group is pretty absurd when I think about it." She nodded. She knew about Michelle being an S-rank from Yuki.


    "You''re right. This one is a bit too powerful. Although they don''t have a third-year, they''re already really powerful considering the two S-rank magicians in the group." Yuki agreed with Sanae''s opinion.


    "Yeah. But none of us can defeat this guy one-on-one." Michelle pointed at Kai. "His hearing is the most troublesome."


    "Ah, I heard the report about it, especially when I was assisting the professor in making that equipment. If I''m not mistaken, he goes by the name of Leo." Yuki said, trying to recall his file.


    Kai''s expression darkened, and Michelle immediately stepped up. "Teacher, you shouldn''t talk about Kai''s identity. It''s ssified information."


    "Really? I''m sorry then. I thought since the professor treated it like it wasn''t a big deal, it was just casual information. I won''t say anything about it again," she immediately apologized.


    "Leo?" Sanae was confused, but she refrained from asking, as Michelle just warned them not to talk about it.


    "Anyway, you have a one-month break from a mission, but if you''re forming a group, you''ll need to take a mission, you know." Yuki nced at Michelle.


    "I know. But this time, I''ll just have fun." Michelle merely shrugged it off.


    "True enough."


    "By the way, Kai Carter, there is another thing I need to talk to you about," Sanae said as she opened hermunication device. "She said she''s your childhood friend and there''s only one contact in thismunication device. It''s themunication device I gave her."


    "Childhood friend?" Kai frowned upon hearing this.


    "It''s Yajima Haruko. Anyway, you can talk to her with thismunication device, but not here. I don''t know if it''s real or if she just wanted to convince me, but I indeed saw a photo of you three in a park."


    Kai and Michelle were dumbfounded when they heard that. Kai suddenly asked, "Is the time in the photo around sunset?"


    "Yes." Sanae nodded.


    Kai''s body shook. He never thought she was near this whole time. He never got anything from her after that time, and because she was the one who changed him, her existence was buried deep inside his heart. When he recalled Sakura and Yajima Haruko, the transformation was so far to the point he couldn''t recognize her.


    "It seems that I''m right. Her family is just locking her up to make sure she doesn''t get involved in the mess for the time being, so you shouldn''t worry about her too much and just let the storm pass before you meet her. Anyway, if you want to do anything with thatmunication device, do it somewhere else. And since you''ve finished your business here, then go."


    "Kai¡­" Michelle shook his hand and said, "It''s all right. We can meet her anytime and you can talk to her with this, so we should wait for the storm to pass first, and after that, we can visit her in broad daylight."


    Kai clenched his fists and nodded. "You''re right. At least, knowing her identity is good enough right now."


    "Yes. Come on, let''s go out first." Michelle tried to take him away to soothe his chaotic mind. Kai nodded and bid goodbye to Shirotsuka Sanae and Mano Yuki before leaving the room.


    "Wait a minute." Kai suddenly stopped and took out hismunication device. He then transferred back the money Ayaka gave previously as he didn''t have a chance to use it.


    It took only an instant for Ayaka to see it and reply.


    [I don''t need this little money.]


    "You''re hurting her by giving it back, you know," Michelle whispered.


    "I know. Still, what needs to be returned should be returned." Kai sighed.


    [I''m thankful as you were willing to help me when I was at my wits'' end.] He replied.


    A momentter, a reply from Ayaka came, [And if I didn''t have you, my family would have already vanished from this world and I wouldn''t know a single thing before everything is over!]


    [It''s fine. Without your family, my family wouldn''t have been able to cross all those ces and might have ended up dying somewhere in Russia.] Kai replied as he tried to change the topic. [You''ve been admitted to the magical academy, right? That''s good.]


    However, even after a while, there was no reply from her. It seemed that she wasn''t going to reply. Kai sighed.


    "What are you going to do with her now?" Michelle asked with concern.


    "I''ll just talk to her when school starts." Kai shook his head, helpless with the situation. He thought he shouldn''t bother her for a while as her family was busy setting up theirpany again. "All right, let''s get going."


    Michelle kept looking at him before sighing as well.


    After they finished processing everything, it was the start of their own date. They hadn''t met for a few years, so they wanted to enjoy it without disturbance.


    First of all, they bought all the necessities Kai needed, such as his clothes. Their date wasn''t that eventful as they just spent it strolling around and talking about everything they had experienced in the past years.


    Kai slept in Michelle''s house that day, and the next day, they visited the school to show him around the school. Of course, this garnered attention from most of the students who saw them. They never thought Michelle would suddenlye to school guiding an unknown man.


    The men who saw the scene were jealous, as she was not only one of the strongest people in the school, her appearance and background were also top-notch. Meanwhile, the girls were curious about the identity of the man. Even so, no one dared to stop them or talk to them.


    They were stopped by a teacher once, but after telling her the reason as well as the admittance of Kai Carter, Tasha Carter, and Kudo Ayaka, she let them do whatever they wanted within the school rules.


    After a while, they left the school and enjoyed their day before Kai went back to his house.


    Michelle waved her hands to him from inside the car before going back too. However, when she closed the window, her expression became serious as she needed to do something tonight.


    Aftering back, she changed into her battle suit and snuck out of the house. She was going to pay a certain someone a little visit, searching for the lonely young girl.


    Luckily, the house''s security itself wasn''t that good, so she easily arrived in a mansion. She looked at the sad-looking brown-haired girl sitting on her bed beforeing inside.


    "Weak girl."

 Chapter 79 - Ayaka Vs Michelle

    Ayaka felt very awful at the moment. She was very busy with thepany as they were rebuilding the Kudo Group once again and it wouldn''t be done anytime soon, since they were also trying to send the members from United Asia to this ce after they settled thepany matter.


    And a few hours ago, she just got a message from Kai together with the money she lent him. Even though it was lending, she by no means thought it was like that. She was also thanking him for saving her family.


    Their family was on the brink of destruction after her grandfather died while his son and daughter-inw, as well as his disciples, wanted to perish together with the enemy. It was Kai who changed their minds and brought them to this ce.


    Especially when he was forcing the teleportation magic despite having passed his limit. Luckily, the Graham family came in time. If not, they would probably have already disappeared from the Earth and the Kudos would have ceased to exist.


    And when she got a message about this, it felt as though Kai didn''t think about her or what she was thinking.


    She felt useless. Maybe if they were in Tokyo, she might be able to use her influence to help him somehow. But in this ce, thepany had yet to be established. So, the only thing she had now was her money. In other words, she wasn''t a Kudo''s group princess, but a normal person that was somehow wealthy enough.


    But before she could think more, she suddenly heard a voice inside the room. The room that only had her inside. She suddenly stood up and took out her spear as she looked around.


    "Who?"


    "Me." A blonde-haired woman appeared behind her. She was wearing an all-ck attire while using a mask to cover her mouth and nose, just like an assassin. The only thing others could see from her was her crystal blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair.


    Ayaka immediately swung her spear toward her. "That voice, you¡­"


    "You''re too weak. I might be a fool to even consider you as a candidate. With just a single thing, you be so dejected like this," Michelle said coldly as she disappeared again.


    "I don''t need you to tell me!" She swung her spear in another direction where she felt Michelle. Even so, she still failed to hit her.


    "I can see that you like him, but that''s all. You won''t use any extra effort on him because you''re useless." She snorted. Her shadow suddenly rose from the ground before turning into two single-edged swords in her hands. She appeared beside Ayaka and ced her sword in front of her neck. "You would''ve died once by now. At this time, he might need to protect you once."


    "Shut up." Ayaka gritted her teeth and swung her spear at Michelle again. "You don''t know a single thing."


    "That''s right. I don''t know you since you only appeared in front of me a few days ago. But I know that you will only be his burden, not his support." She red at Ayaka.


    "Firebirds." She suddenly made a magic circle and shot out a few Firebirds.


    "Shadow de." Michelle raised her weapons as she fueled them with more magic power. She stepped forward and struck all the Firebirds before they could explode.


    "!!!" Ayaka was startled and jumped back because Michelle immediately charged at her after dealing with the Firebirds. Even so, her movements were far faster than Ayaka''s, so her de once again arrived on Ayaka''s neck. "This makes two."


    Ayaka bit her lips as she blew away both of Michelle''s swords. Even so, it didn''t let her gain an advantage against Michelle.


    Michelle only let her swords fly as she stomped the ground. She didn''t stomp it hard, but Ayaka suddenly couldn''t move.


    "Shadow Maniption Doll," Michelle smirked.


    Ayaka finally realized what was going on and turned her head back. Her shadow hade out of the ground and was holding her.


    Michelle simply grabbed the two swords that were blown away earlier and ced one of them on Ayaka''s neck. "Three."


    Ayaka''s face became redder as she became angrier. A pair of wings suddenly appeared behind her back, but this time, it suddenly enveloped the shadow that was holding her andpletely burned it.


    Michelle only smiled when she watched this. She knew Ayaka was starting her transformation. This was her original aim. She wanted to make Ayaka stronger and push her to her limit by manipting her heart. All of this was for Kai.


    Because of her anger, Ayaka didn''t notice that she managed to do something she previously couldn''t even think of. At this moment, her only thought was to burn the shadow and defeat Michelle.


    She immediately attacked Michelle with her spear as soon as she was freed from the shadow. She was trying to fight her with closebat.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Michelle kept blocking her attacks with ease. However, she also realized that a few people started to wake up or feel something off with the situation. That was why she decided to end this soon.


    "You don''t know anything about me! I can keep getting stronger and stronger." Ayaka gritted her teeth.


    "Hmph." Michelle only harrumphed. She shifted her stances a little bit to change from defensive to offensive. In an instant, she started overpowering her. Thest surge of strength from Ayaka suddenly vanished and all she could do was defend. Even so, she knew that she was bound to lose if she couldn''t turn the situation around.


    Michelle took advantage of this situation to make a full swing with all of her strength.


    It was parried by Ayaka''s spear, but Michelle simply let go of her sword and punched Ayaka''s abdomen.


    "Gah!" Ayaka tried her best to endure the pain and stay on her feet, but she ultimately fell to her knees. Michelle won once again. She had won four times. The first one was with her surprise attack. The second one was with her magic that could sh her Firebirds. The third one was her uniqueness to make a shadow be a living doll. And thisst one, with her weapon prowess. Ayaka lost to her in every aspect, and she was aware of that.


    She felt devastated.


    "You can''t win against me and your existence is unnecessary in his life. However, I do agree with you on one thing. You can keep getting stronger.


    "That''s right. The only thing you can do is keep getting stronger. If you don''t want to be his burden, then you need to think about what he can''t do and do something about it. You might find this rare since he''s far stronger than you think. He''s even stronger than me, but that doesn''t mean he''s perfect. Even he still has his ws and weaknesses. At this time, I will go and solve it.


    "I''m telling you this not as someone from the Graham family, but as his fianc¨¦e. Think hard whether you truly have feelings for him and want to be with him or not. If you don''t truly have feelings for him, then please leave his life and nevere back.


    "If you like him, then never give up and chase him. You don''t need to care about other points and just chase his back. I can get stronger faster than anyone else because I have that motivation. As long as you can walk beside him, not behind him, I will recognize you.


    "However, shall you try to do anything funny to him, My de shall be the first one to cut your neck. Even if he hates me for the rest of my life, I won''t hesitate to point my de.


    "That''s why, think about this matter carefully. If you finally decide to chase him,e to room 420 in school and join my group." Michelle said as she disappeared, just like a shadow.


    Ayaka couldn''t move her body or even utter a single word. She just sat on the floor, falling into deep contemtion, carefully thinking about it. She was wondering if she truly had feelings for him and whether she had the resolve or not.


    She stared with empty eyes as her mind wandered somewhere. And the night passed by just like that.


    ...


    The next day.


    Kai, Tasha, and Ayaka went to school. Sadly, all of them were in different sses. Tasha thought she could ask Michelle to enroll her as a first-year so she''d be able to go to the same ss Kai went to, but she was rejected. Fortunately, they could form a group with students of different grades. If not, she might do something about it.


    As for Ayaka, although she was also a first-year student, she was enrolled in another ss. Michelle used her status this time. She wanted some quality time with Kai in ss, despite it being only studying or whatever.


    Meanwhile, in Michelle''s ss, Kai was introducing himself.


    "Kai Carter. Nice to meet you all."


    There were around forty people in this ss and almost 30 of them were girls. The teacher was, of course, Mano Yuki, Michelle''s exclusive teacher. They were excited to see another boying to their ss, so they immediately raised their hands and asked.


    "What is your magic rank?"


    "Do you have a woman in your heart?"


    "How is your family?"


    The barrage of questions seemed as though it wouldn''t end so quickly, but suddenly, they heard a loud sound from the back of the ss.


    Bam!


    They turned their heads instantly. It turned out that the sound came from Michelle mming her table. She used her left hand to support her chin while her right hand was pointing at Kai. She made a smug smile as she said, "I appreciate how you guys are eager to know him, but please keep in mind that he is my fianc¨¦ when you ask him questions."


    The ss became silent after her statement. Kai shook his head helplessly while the teacher leaned on the wall while covering her ears. Both of them knew that she was just too happy being together with him in the ss.


    "Whaaatttt!"

 Chapter 80 - Michelles Former Group

    "Whaaatttt!" The whole ss was taken aback by the statement, not because of Kai, but Michelle.


    Michelle was well-known inside the school. She was very approachable and easy-going, but in another case, she was also very hard to be impressed. Many guys tried to confess to her or get her heart, but Michelle was never interested in them.


    She always told them that her heart already belonged to someone else. And when they saw Michelle immediately dered Kai was her, they thought the same thing. This was Michelle''s someone. Even if they tried their best to find this someone, they would never find him because he was from United Asia. They also heard the rumor about Michelle bringing an unknown guy to the school and they realized it was him.


    The girls immediately observed Kai. Kai''s appearance was above average, close to handsome. And him being a foreigner added another charm to his appearance, especially when it was paired with the white school uniform. However, they did find something off from him, it was the big noise-canceling headphones that were clinging to his neck. But none of them dared to ask. They thought it was just his style.


    "Alright. If you are going to ask him something, ask itter when we are done with the ss." The teacher then whispered to him. "Anyway, go sit beside her."


    Kai nodded and walked toward Michelle before sitting beside her. Looking at how happy Michelle was, they were convinced that this was this guy. They needed to search for the information about him after the ss.


    The teacher then started her lecture. As for the content, he had heard about it from Shirotsuka Sanae, so he was able to keep up. He did not have any problem with thenguage either as he already learned English because of Michelle. His sister had learned it too. As for Ayaka¡­ she should be alright considering her background.


    After a three hours lecture, the ss had finally ended. It seemed the lecture itself was not that important and more like a briefing instead of a lecture. After that, they were free for the week to take on a mission with their group. In case they got a mission that required more than a week, they needed to inform the teacher first. Michelle said it would not be strange to see half of the ss was empty next month.


    The students then gathered around Kai to find out more about his rtionship with Michelle, but Michelle simply dragged him out and said. "Sorry, but we have another matter to do. If you want to ask something, do it tomorrow or the day after, albeit I doubt this guy will answer you."


    The girls were disappointed while the guys were gritting their teeth in envy.


    "Anyway, we need to finish the registration of our group." She whispered to Kai.


    Kai nodded and followed her.


    "We are going toward the student council. Just rx since they are strong but not scary." She shrugged.


    Kai did not say anything else. He was just observing people who were shocked when they saw the flower of this school was walking beside him.


    The moment they arrived, she immediately opened the door and waved her hands. "I have arrived."


    Kai could see four people inside this room. The first one was a guy that was sitting near the window on the opposite side of the room. He had ck hair and yellow eyes as well as sses.


    The second one was a female that had a gentle expression. Her brown hair and mature eyes could soothe one heart.


    As for the other two, it was a muscr red-haired guy. He looked like a muscle brain type in a story while thest one was a blonde-haired girl. All of them immediately turned their head toward them when they heard Michelle''s voice.


    "Has my group registration finished yet?" She asked.


    "Yeah. We finished it not long ago." The gentle one answered.


    "Ah, I will introduce you to them. The one that looks like a nerd is the student council president, Bryan Matthew. He is the one that gives us missions, whether it is a normal mission or a special mission. Anyway, I will exin itter.


    "As for the one who answered me is the gentle mother of this school, the vice president, Mia Carr. The twin tail girl is Lexi Chambers, our secretary, while that idiot is the treasurer Theo Dawson." She introduced them.


    "I heard you are Kai Carter, Michelle''s so-called fiance. Is that true?" The president asked.


    "Nice to meet you." Mia Carr greeted him with a smile.


    "Hmph, I just hope he won''t destroy Michelle''s reputation."


    "What do you mean by Idiot?"


    All of them had their own reaction. Kai nced at Michelle and asked, "You are with them?"


    "Nah. I don''t have any groups or whatsoever, so I often hang out with these guys." She smiled.


    "Fufu¡­ you often said you have a fiance out there but never showed us, so I thought you were joking. But after looking at your expression, it seems he is really the one." Mia said with a worried expression before turning to Kai. "Well, this sad girl is hanging out with us usually as we were her previous group when she was still in middle school.


    "But when we asked her to join the student council, she declined our offer. She was still hanging with us though."


    Kai looked at her with a weird expression before apologizing to her. "Sorry."


    "Don''t look at me like that." She pouted. "You are here anyway, so I think it is time to have my own group."


    "Fufu¡­ you want to have your own love nest?"


    "That is absolutely correct¡­ is what I want to say."


    "Hehe¡­ you won''t be registering two other people if you want."


    "Anyway, teasing aside, I will need to make sure of a few things." The president stopped their chatting. "In the form, there is also Tasha Carter and from her file, it seems she is his elder sister and an S rank magician; is that true?"


    Kai nodded.


    He paused a little before giving another question. "The other one is Kudo Ayaka. We don''t have that much data about her other than her rank. But still, you have two S rank magicians in your group. I want to separate both of you but it seems I can''t, right?"


    "You are absolutely correct. If you dare to do that, I will make sure not to ept any mission again. I might quit this school and enroll in another school." Michelle nodded with a serious expression.


    "Your word¡­ does not seem a lie. This is going to be a bit troublesome with the teacher, but I¡­ will try to cover it for you. We can say you are creating the strongest group to the teacher so they won''t forcefully disband your group, but this will result in your group to have more expectations and missions from the others. Is that alright with you?" The president asked.


    "Of course. We are up to a challenge. The reward and achievement will be bountiful anyway. But we need to adjust ourselves first, considering three of them are new here." She said.


    "I can manage that." The president nodded as he tossed a key to her. "This is your requested room''s key. Make sure you take care of it."


    "Sure. Thank you, prez." She smirked as she took Kai out of the room.


    "Fufu¡­ you are still spoiling her." Mia smirked.


    "Indeed. She is the youngest, so all of us think she is like our little sister in the group. So, I can rte that." Theo nodded.


    "Well, when I asked my grandfather about the name of Kai Carter, he forbade me to investigate him," Lexis said with a serious expression.


    The president furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. "I see. It seems her man is also not ordinary. Anyway, we can only wait and see first."


    "President, you seem to worry about something?" Mia asked. The others also looked at him, curious.


    "I am worried about that person¡­ She is verypetitive and might challenge her since Michelle has made her own group." He sighed.


    "!!!" All of them immediately recognized that. Mia sighed. "I see¡­ This might be a bit troublesome since we also can''t do anything to her because she is rted to the military. If I am not wrong, she goes by the name of Sagittarius."


    Michelle was also worried about this, but she was keeping the question.


    "Well, I will give her group another mission first. This way, Michelle would not meet her group first."


    "Yeah¡­ considering she does not have a group, that girl did not challenge her. But if she finds out she has a group, she might want to have a group battle. That''s why I will try to search for a mission to make her leave the school for one or two months. That should be enough for Michelle to get another member and stabilize her group."


    "Indeed. I will help you with that." Mia nodded.


    "I can try asking my grandfather for a mission like that," Lexis suggested.


    "That would be good." The president nodded.


    "How about one of us be her new member for the time being until she finds another teammate?" Theo asked.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think we should do that." The president shook his head. "I will see what I can do with that. Alright, go back to your own work now."


    All of them nodded.


    Sadly, they did not know Kai had an extraordinary hearing and he could hear this. He looked at Michelle with aplicated expression before saying a single word. "Sagittarius."


    Michelle froze upon hearing that word.

 Chapter 81 - Zodiacs

    "Sagittarius."


    Michelle froze upon hearing that word. "How¡­"


    "Those guys from before are talking about it now."


    "I''ll beat them first." Michelle gritted her teeth as she turned back, but Kai immediately stopped her.


    "Care to exin it to me?"


    "Ehm¡­" She looked left and right before sighing. "Let''s go to the room first since it''s not good to talk about here."


    Kai nodded.


    They finally entered the room Michelle requested, room 420. She already told Tasha and Ayaka about this room, so they shouldeter.


    "So, what is this thing about Sagittarius? Did they continue that project?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. They continued the Zodiac Project. After the first subject managed to seed, it was found that children were the best ones to be the test subjects." She sighed. "The Zodiac Project¡­ a project that wants to fuse humanity and magical beasts... Just like you, Leo."


    Kai''s expression darkened. "Is the professor¡­"


    "No. She stopped doing that after she seeded. Even when she was shunned by the higher-ups, she didn''t take up her gears again. However, it also raised the dissatisfaction of the higher-ups.


    "They immediately stripped her rank and took her research. After that, they manage to make another four, and two of them are in this school." She exined.


    "Who are they?"


    "Both of them are the same age as you and me. A first-year, Isabelle Fisher, and another first-year, Evan Young. Isabelle Fisher is the Sagittarius, while Evan Young is the Pisces," she said.


    "Sagittarius and Pisces¡­" Kai closed his eyes.


    "You fused with a Lion and Leo was your name. You got the instinct as well as the strength of a lion. That''s why you could get S++ on your physical rank.


    "As for Sagittarius, she fused with an eagle. Her eyes might be as sharp as your eyes and you won''t be able to hide from her. Her element is wind and thatplements her sharpshooting ability. Anyway, she is the number one gunner in this academy. She can use all types of guns, including the sniper rifle.


    "As for thest guy, he fused with a fish thatplemented his water ability¡­ If I''m not mistaken, even his water magic can be used to heal wounds," she exined.


    "I see¡­" Kai pondered for a moment. "What about the other two?"


    "Taurus and Gemini. Taurus is on the east side of this base while Gemini is from the EU base, so we won''t meet them anytime soon. Hopefully, we won''t meet. As for their power, Taurus is granted strength and natural recovery ability while Gemini can do mimicry, though it''s more like disguise," she exined.


    "Hmm¡­ since they''re far from us, it''s quite unlikely for us to meet. For now, I want to learn about the two in the academy first," Kai said.


    "I''ll start with Isabelle Fisher. As the number one shooter in this school, she''s the leader of a group called Eagle Group. She''s a bit of an airhead, but her ability is the real deal. She also loves topete with others. She didn''t have any interest in challenging me, but it was because I didn''t have my own group.


    "Now that I''ve created a group, she will most likelye to our doorstep and challenge us. We can certainly reject her, but she''ll annoy us to death¡­ I want to kill that woman so badly, but her identity and her family background make it impossible for me to do that.


    "Even with you and Tasha here, we still can''t kill her because she''s favored by the government. After all, she''s the second subject, just after you." Michelle sighed. "All we can do is beat her normally in school, but no killing. Ah, future days will be filled with annoyance."


    "..." Kai didn''t say anything as he was pondering what they should do. But it was like Michelle said. "All right. If she''sing to us, we can just surrender or something, but it might lead her to say something against us, so our best option is to beat her group¡­ but is battle allowed in this academy?"


    "Yes. There are group battles in this academy. In any case, the battle will be held in a simtion room, so killing them brutally is possible. We need to instill deep fear so she won''t annoy us¡­ fufu, this is a good n indeed." She smirked.


    "Let''s wait and see for the time being. As for the group battle, I''ll gather some information about itter," Kai said. "What about the other one?"


    "Ah, if it is about Pisces¡­ I don''t think we need to be wary of him."


    "Oh?" This piqued his interest.


    "Well, he''s kind of dark and creepy, so he doesn''t fit so much in school. In other words, he''s a loner. That''s right, maybe we can invite him to join us. If we can do that, we''ll definitely be the strongest team." She blinked her eyes as she just thought it was a good idea.


    "Hmm, but I don''t know him in the first ce¡­ Maybe we can observe him first."


    "You''re right. If I''m not mistaken, he''s in Ayaka''s ss. We can ask her to take a look at himter," she said.


    "Now that you mention it, where are the others?" Kai suddenly realized something as she looked at Michelle. "You¡­ sigh."


    "Ahaha¡­ How about I give you a tour of this room first?" she quickly asked, trying to change the topic. She suddenly stood up from the sofa and walked to the big desk in the room.


    Now that she mentioned it, Kai began to notice how big the room was. It was around half the size of their ss. There was a big desk in front of them to discuss their missions with aputer on the side. He could see two other doors in the room.


    "This is where we''ll gather and discuss our n. Our meeting room, so to speak. If we want to take a mission, we can check theputer over there. It''s linked with the school''swork. When the president issues a mission, we can see it there and pick the mission." She exined before moving toward the two doors.


    The first door contained two small beds inside without any decoration while the other one was a bathroom with a shower. "You can use the first room to rest for a while or maybe for the injured to rest. You can also sleep over in that room if you need to finish your work. Or maybe if you''re interested, we can-!"


    Kai immediately stopped her. "All right, so a bedroom and a bathroom."


    "...Yes."


    Kai nodded. "Anyway, let me think about the other Zodiacs first."


    "I''ll make you some tea," she said.


    "Mhm¡­ thank you." He then closed his eyes, contemting what he should do if he met the other two. And there was even a possibility of meeting Taurus and Gemini or any possible members.


    He recalled when the professor operated on him and fused his body with a Lion. It was a few years ago when United Asia was attacked by numerous magical beastsing from Taiwan.


    The group of beasts managed to escape the defense and one of them attacked him and Michelle when she was visiting him. Back then, Michelle didn''t have any feelings whatsoever toward him as it was only the arrangement of her family.


    However, Kai protected her with all his might and was supposed to die after that. It was at that time the professor operated on him and fused his blood with Lion blood. And because of that, he managed to escape death. It was probably at that time that Michelle really fell for him.


    That memory was certainly not a good one. He experienced a high level of pain when the Lion blood was assimting with his blood and he needed to stay awake despite being in a half-dead state. Luckily, he survived. That was why his expression immediately darkened when he heard that someone also became one of the Zodiac.


    And thankfully, the professor didn''t pick it up again after she seeded in creating Kai.


    Bang!


    Out of nowhere, arge mming sound could be heard.


    The door was mmed open as Tasha suddenly came into the room. "Haha¡­ To think you lied to me and told me toe two hourster. Luckily, I managed to find this out and arrived here earlier. If not, this ce would have already be your love nest."


    But she suddenly realized that the atmosphere was a bit gloomy here. She looked at them, confused. "What happened?"


    Kai sighed as he let Michelle exin. Tasha''s expression also became serious when she heard this. She never expected that there would be two other people like Kai.


    "What are we going to do?" she asked.


    "Nothing. There''s nothing we can do." Michelle shook her head. "If she''s going to challenge us, we''ll beat her until she doesn''t dare to challenge us again."


    The others also agreed with it.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in front of the door, Ayaka was about to open the door, albeit a bit hesitant. She was still wondering whether she should open this door ande as suggested or not. She had been pondering all of this for two days.


    She shook her head as she told herself. "I''ve decided to dedicate my life to him since he''s helped my family. I¡­ I also like him."


    She steeled her heart for thest time before opening the door, but when she opened the door, she froze as she saw Kai, who slowly opened his eyes, Tasha, who seemed to be pondering on something, and Michelle, who was pouring tea for Kai.


    Michelle turned her head and said, "Hey, you''re finally here. Wee to my group, Lion Group."

 Chapter 82 - Mission

    "Hey, you''re finally here. Wee to my group, Lion Group. By the way, we decided that Kai will be the leader." Michelle greeted her. "Pleasee in and sit."


    Ayaka was frozen. She wanted to turn back and run, but her body betrayed her. Even though she didn''t want to, her body walked forward and sat on the sofa like a robot. She kept ncing at Kai with a troubled expression.


    "Good." Michelle nodded her head.


    "Since when am I the leader?" Kai asked.


    "Since I registered you." She smirked.


    "Ah. Well, there are no outsiders anyway, but if any of you want the leadership, just say it and I''ll give it to you." Kai said.


    "That''s not possible." Michelle and Tasha firmly said at the same time.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka was so tense that she looked like a robot. On her right, she could see an S-rank magician with two elements, lightning and space. On her left, there was Michelle, another S-rank darkness magician. Andst but not least, the most mysterious one, the one that was sitting in front of her sipping his tea, Kai Carter, a sound magician. She knew he had yet to show all of his power.


    The pressure came into her as she was wondering if she could be of any use to him. She looked at Kai, not knowing what to say.


    Michelle simply ignored her and said. "Well, there are a few things you need to know about the group itself. First of all, we need to do at least one mission per month. Of course, if a mission requires more than a month, it will be counted as a second mission. That''s why I often take a mission that usually requires a bit more than a month and end the mission on the first day of the next month. That way, I can get a free month."


    "Oi¡­ you''re a sly one, aren''t you?" Tasha looked at her while narrowing her eyes.


    Michelle simply smiled and whispered something to her. Tasha suddenly blinked a few times and opened her mouth in surprise. She swiftly corrected herself. "Ahem, I mean, she''s a clever one."


    Kai rolled his eyes as Michelle used him as the bait.


    "All right, moving on. In the mission, we''ll get two things: Money and group points. Money aside, group points are used to determine the group''s ranking. I will exin the group ranking first. There are almost a thousand groups in this school alone.


    "If we manage to get into the top 100, we''ll get a bigger room with more luxurious furniture. When we go on a mission, they''ll give us a ride to the nearest military base, but thefort is questionable. Basically, I don''t like it. As for the top 100, they have their own helicopters lent by the army. That''s why, the first thing we need to do is to get into the top 100," she exined.


    "Indeed. It''ll be better to have our personal space and transport." Kai nodded.


    "Which is why I got us a perfect mission. Here it is.


    Mission: Wolves Extermination


    Description: Twenty B-rank wolves have been spotted in Prince George, Canada. The leader is a giant wolf with five meters in height alone. Proceed with caution.


    Rewards: $200,000 and 2000 points.


    The rewards were quite big, but considering the mission, getting such a reward was normal. Kai didn''t have any problem with this mission as he was confident they could seed. Tasha also didn''t have any objections while Ayaka could only nod her head after looking at the siblings nod their heads.


    Michelle also nodded her head and typed something on theputer before a screen projection appeared on the big table. It was a map of Canada.


    "The nearest military base is in Edmonton. We can request a vehicle from there to carry us to Prince George, but I think Tasha''s teleportation will be faster. It should not be that far and the route should be pretty safe, since our frontlines are in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon.


    "And most of the magical beasts have been cleared by the army. Will that be okay with you, Tasha?"


    "Fine by me. I should be able to teleport us there. If I can''t, I''m sure Kai can do it with a single teleportation."


    "And your true intention would be to kiss him again." Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Hehe¡­ this is a privilege." Tasha grinned while Michelle shook her head.


    "Anyway, this is Prince George and this is the ce that the wolves werest seen." She then tapped the projection twice and the map was zoomed. "Kai will be our vanguard and scout for this mission while Ayaka and I will be the main attacker. As for Tasha, you''ll support us with your bow. Any objections?"


    All of them shook their heads.


    "Still, I think it''s better to introduce ourselves and the things we can do first. This way, we can make a detailed n and improve our teamwork. I''ll start first. I''m Michelle Graham, you can call me Michelle. My element is darkness or shadow¡­"


    She continued to introduce everything about her, including her magic. After that, Kai and Tasha followed suit while Ayaka was thest. They then tried toe up with a few patterns ofbinations.


    "Good. I assume you three are new to this, so we''ll go tomorrow. You can use today to inform your parents about this." But before she ended the meeting, she dragged Tasha to the bedroom and said. "Tasha, we need to keep Kai''s secret as a Zodiac from Ayaka for the time being. I n to make her stronger first before epting her."


    "I see. Although I''m reluctant to let her join, I''ll let Kai be the one to decide." Tasha sighed.


    "Fufu¡­ Kai is charming and that''s good. But I still feel that we need to restrict the number a little bit. Let''s wait and see first."


    "Fine."


    They then went back to the meeting room.


    "Anyway, tell your parents about the mission first. We''ll go tomorrow," Michelle said.


    Kai and Tasha nodded before going back together. As for Ayaka, she suddenly called Michelle, who wanted to go back.


    "Wait¡­"


    "Hmm? Do you need anything from me?" She looked at Ayaka with a poker face.


    "I¡­" Ayaka hesitated before bowing her head. "Please¡­ please teach me how to get stronger."


    She looked at Ayaka and sighed. "I can''t teach you how to get stronger as the answer lies within yourself. For me, I think of his ws and train myself so I can cover that w with my ability. Before I know it, I can proudly stand beside him like this.


    "Now, I am asking you, why do you seek power? If you have attained the power to fulfill your goal, can you have another motivation to get stronger? I''ll say it again, the answer lies within yourself. I might not be able to help you with this, but I do have a hint for you. You need to increase your control. You might not realize it, but you managed to burn my shadow doll with your Fire Wings. Anyway, that''s it. Take the key with you since neither three of us need a key to enter this room."


    She then left the room, leaving Ayaka alone in the room.


    After getting the answer from Michelle, she didn''t immediately go back to her house. Instead, she just stayed there. After two hours, her eyes slowly changed. Her eyes were filled with determination again.


    She then took a deep breath, took the key, and left the room.


    ¡­


    Before she knew it, Ayaka was kneeling in front of her father. "Father, please teach me how to improve my control."


    Kudo Yoshihiro was taken aback by her request. Not long before this, they were still talking about the academy and the group. Although he slightly furrowed his eyebrows when she talked about the mission, he was not really worried after hearing who the members of her group were. However, Ayaka suddenly dropped to the floor and begged him to teach her. He was confused.


    "Teach you how to improve your control? You''re strong enough right now and you might even beat most of your peers. Why do you want to get stronger?"


    "Because I''m not strong enough, I didn''t know grandfather died. Because I wasn''t powerful enough, I became a burden on the journey to this ce. If I don''t get stronger now, when will I? If I don''t catch up, sooner orter, I''ll be left behind."


    Her father was shocked by her determination. He looked at Ayaka and sighed. "If you want to improve your control, you might want to ask Ba. If Ba can''t teach you anything, thene to me. Just make sure you don''t ask your mother, she''s awful at this. Ah, don''t tell her about this, all right?"


    Ayaka clenched her fists as she rose from the floor and bowed to her father again before leaving. She couldn''t lose to the two S-rank magicians as well as Kai''s loved one.


    Kudo Yoshihiro only sighed upon seeing her like this. He was worried, but he also felt proud and happy. He looked at the ceiling and muttered. "Father, Ayaka has a dream right now and might surpass you in the future. We''ll be fine after this, and just wait¡­ we will definitely avenge you in the future."

 Chapter 83 - Mission (Part 1)

    Even though Ayaka asked for it, she didn''t have that much time to learn as she needed to go for the mission. However, this incident also gave Ayaka another surge of determination. She wanted to chase, grab, and eventually stand beside him just like the others.


    ...


    The next day.


    They met in that room again to have a briefing. After that, they went toward the military base near the school and waited for all the people who wanted to go to the military base in Edmonton to arrive.


    Kai and Tasha felt how frustrating it was having to wait for it. As Michelle said, they needed to do this and that before they could set off. And because of the wait, their original n had to be pushed back. If they were in the top 100, they would get their own helicopter for their transport and would be able to fly anytime they wanted. Because of this, all of them were determined to get into the top 100.


    Themander in that base was nning to lend them a humvee, but Michelle politely rejected him since they had Tasha''s teleportation.


    It only took them a few minutes before they arrived at Prince George. They arrived at a town. Most of the buildings were rubbles already, but they could see that the destruction was not by natural causes. They could see that several buildings were ruined by something big. There were even a few giant footsteps on the ground.


    "Kai?" Michelle instantly looked at Kai.


    "No. They''re at least five kilometers away from us since I can''t hear a single thing." He shook his head before looking at Ayaka. "Ayaka, I need you to search from the sky. The leader is a big one, so it should be able to be spotted easily. There are also no flying magical beasts nearby."


    Ayaka nodded and released her Fire Wings.


    "From the footsteps, they passed this town yesterday. They should be a bit far from us, but as long as we follow these, we should eventually meet them. Should I use my teleportation so we can catch up to them?" Tasha asked.


    "No. We should pursue them on foot. We need to get used to fighting side by side first. I''m not sure we can pull an immediate maneuver if we somehow teleport near or even right at them." Kai shook his head.


    "All right." Tasha and Michelle nodded in agreement.


    Kai then shouted, "Ayaka, we''re going toward the west. Make sure you keep up with us."


    Ayaka nodded, and all of them started moving.


    "We should have a radio or something. I know we shouldn''t use them in the front lines since the radio waves might be picked up by the magical beasts, but we don''t need to care in this kind of environment," Kaiined.


    "Indeed. We''re a special roaming unit anyway, not the army in the front lines. We can get one while the Military Academy can''t. This is why I don''t like the Military Academy. They have too many restrictions." Michelle shrugged her shoulder. "Well, I don''t want to confuse my family and my personal business, so if we want to buy something, we should get them from the money we get from missions."


    "No objection." Kai nodded.


    They were chatting while running toward the west. Ayaka didn''t pay attention to them and focused on her task alone.


    The highways were very silent. Kai could not hear anything other than their footsteps and the cracking sound of the bricks as it had be brittle after many centuries. He treated this as a peaceful ce, a ce where there were no monsters.


    It was after two hours of running that Kai and Ayaka noticed the same thing. Kai stopped on his track while Ayaka dove down.


    "Sound Instion Room."


    Tasha and Michelle instantly realized why they stopped and immediately went inside Kai''s barrier.


    "I have a sight of the big white wolf five kilometers from us," Ayaka said as she stored her binocrs in her bag. She brought this binocr since she would most likely need it if Kai asked her to scout. She had thought of this after their practice ss in North Korea.


    Kai nodded. "There are a number of footsteps around it, but I feel that there are around 50 of them, so there must have been a mistake in the information we received. What are we going to do?"


    "Hm¡­ To be honest, we usually ignore the information as they''re usually pretty inurate. Still, a difference this big is a problem," Michelle replied.


    "Still, is there a problem?" Tasha crossed her arms.


    Kai and Michelle smiled. "No."


    "I have two ns, safety and speed, which one do you want?" Kai asked them.


    "Speed." The three of them immediately said as they understood Kai''s personality. Even with the n prioritizing speed, he still considered their safety, so they didn''t need to worry.


    "All right." He nodded. "Here''s the n. Ayaka will ce her magic bombs on this highway. We will then lead them to this ce and kill them in one sweep. Sister will ready her teleportation magic in case there are some wolves that didn''t get blown up and teleport them inside the explosion. That way, they will surely perish.


    "But the giant wolf surely wouldn''t be killed with just this. So, Ayaka, Michelle, and I will immediately attack the giant wolf after those explosions. Meanwhile, Sister needs to check if there are any wolves that manage to survive even after all of that, and provide cover while we''re fighting the giant wolf."


    "No objection," Michelle said while the others nodded their heads.


    "By the way, what''s the safer n?" Ayaka asked, wanting to learn everything from him.


    "Lure them to a city and bury them with rubbles. It should be enough to kill all the small ones. We''ll then fight the giant one together," Kai said. "Well, we can also make you and Sister fly to the sky and rain them with magic."


    "..." Ayaka pondered for a moment. She understood the logic of his n, but if it were the first one, they would need to search for a town that had tall buildings. There''s a town like that, but it was a bit further behind, so it would take too much time. It would be a bit difficult to kill them from the sky since the wolves might just run since they can''t reach her. Ultimately, it would just be a waste of time and magic power.


    Ayaka nodded. "I''ll make a few marks so you know where the magic bombs are."


    "Good. Since there are no objections, we''ll set a timer from now. We can arrive at their position in ten minutes at full speed, so set it up for twenty minutes." Kai said as he put a timer on his watch.


    He then looked at the highway and calcted the distance. "We''ll put magic bombs from this ce to a hundred meters from us. ce it with intervals of five meters."


    "Understood."


    "Sister, you can search for a position you think is best. Michelle and I will lure them," Kai said as he looked at all of them.


    "All right, time¡­ start!" He started the timer and immediately disappeared with Michelle.


    ...


    19:59, on the way.


    Michelle looked at Kai, "I think twenty minutes is too long. We''re talking about wolves here, without even reaching that ce, I''m sure they would hear our movement and chase us for sure."


    "No. This is fine. I''ve been fighting together with Sister, but that''s all. Ayaka still needs some adjustments while we haven''t fought for a few years. The rest of the time will be used to make sure everything''s going ording to our n."


    "I see. Then, are we going to stall them for a few minutes beforeing back?"


    "Yeah."


    Michelle nodded, indicating that she understood.


    When they were only a kilometer away from the wolves, they suddenly heard a loud howl.


    "Aooo!"


    The sound made Kai close his eyes to check the wolves'' condition.


    "They''reing," Kai warned.


    "All right. We''ll pull back." Michelle nodded as they started retreating.


    The wolves started chasing them upon the order of their leader. There were around fifty wolves here while the leader followed them from behind.


    There was nothing abnormal from the wolf leader other than its big body. They just felt the ground shaking a little every time the wolf leader stepped on the ground.


    However, they indeed miscalcted something. It was the wolves'' speed. Even though they were quite a distance away when they were luring them, the distance was gone instantly after a few minutes. There was still around a kilometer before they arrive at the endpoint.


    "Michelle, take this." He threw his noise-canceling headphones toward her.


    She nodded and immediately put it on. Without him saying anything, she knew he wanted to do something with sound.


    Kai nodded as he made magic circles on his ears. He nced back to see the wolves beginning to appear in his line of sight. He needed to slow these wolves down. A green magic circle appeared on his hand. Just before the wolves managed to catch up with him, Kai flicked his finger.


    "Luby."


    Ding¡ª!


    A high-pitched sound rang in the wolves'' ears. Although the sound was not loud enough to cause potential damage, it was still capable of stopping the wolves for a few seconds. This gave Kai and Michelle more time to make more distance between them.


    Not long after, they finally arrived at the location. They saw red markers on the ground, signifying them the location of the magic bomb. They quickly passed through all the bombs, stopped, and watched the wolves. They made a high five as they said, "Boom!"


    00:00


    Several magic circles appeared right beneath the wolves'' feet. It started from 10 meters in front of Kai to the end of the wolf pack. The magic circles exploded in session.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!

 Chapter 84 - Mission (Part 2)

    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The wolves were butchered by the explosions one by one. Tasha was carefully watching this event unfold as she needed to make sure none of the ordinary wolves were left.


    She drew her bow while searching for any signs of survivor wolves, but it seemed that she was worried for nothing. She didn''t see any signs of even one wolf that managed to survive those explosions. Even the big wolf had its feet charred by the explosions.


    "Michelle, ready your weapon. Ayaka, ready your fire. We''re fighting the giant wolf," Kai immediately ordered.


    "Shadow Weapon."


    "Firebirds."


    Michelle turned her shadow into two swords while Ayaka summoned her firebirds, waiting for the smoke to clear up before engaging the leader.


    "!!!" Kai suddenly heard something and appeared in front of Michelle. He raised both of his hands to the front and made a big magic circle.


    "Oscition Shield."


    A ball of blue light suddenly pierced the smoke and flew toward Michelle, but it was intercepted by Kai.


    Boom!


    Kai was blown away by the explosions,nding thirty meters behind them. Luckily, the attack didn''t manage to break his defense, so the damage wasn''t significant.


    "Kai!" Ayaka shouted. The others didn''t say anything as they knew Kai was fine.


    Michelle immediately charged toward the smoke while Tasha released her arrow. "Lightning Piercer."


    Tasha shot out a lightning bolt in the form of an arrow. It flew toward the giant wolf that was slowly revealed in the smoke.


    The arrow was immediately intercepted by the wolf''s paw.


    "!!!" Tasha didn''t expect that her arrow would be blocked just with a single paw. Even so, that wasn''t the main cause of her shock. Right after the wolf blocked her arrow, she saw a blue auraing out of its paw. "This is bad¡­ Michelle, retreat! That thing is an A-rank wolf! It''s going to shoot magic!"


    Hearing that it was an A-rank magical beast, Michelle immediately knew that it had awakened its intelligence.


    Just as Tasha finished her words, the wolf shot out another ball of light toward Michelle.


    Seeing this, the dark des suddenly fused into a long two-handed sword. She swung her sword down.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The sword released a dark me while shooting a big dark sword sh. The dark sh cut the ball of light into two.


    However, it didn''t stop there. As soon as the de reached the ground, it transferred the dark energy from her sword to the ground, spiking ten meters to the sky.


    This residual dark energy blew all the smoke away and made its way toward the wolf. Seeing this, the wolf immediately avoided it to the side.


    Michelle only smirked as she said to Tasha, "Got anything to say?"


    "Nope." Tasha smiled as she drew her bow and aimed at the sky. "Lighting Storm."


    The arrow flew diagonally and stopped right above the wolf. It then made a huge circle in the sky before striking down like a lightning strike. It was as deadly as it was beautiful.


    The wolf leader tried to dodge to the side, but it was at this time Ayaka''s firebirds arrived from the other side.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Although it managed to avoid death by Tasha''s lightning attack, the wolf got a big burn wound because of Ayaka.


    "Aoooo!"


    Michelle retreated as she noticed Kai hade back. In fact, thest attack from Ayaka was his instruction.


    Kai looked at the wolf that appeared to be fine even after being hit by Ayaka''s attack and gave his order, "The wolf is stronger than we expected. Hereby, we''re changing our strategy. The body part of this wolf is hard as even those explosions didn''t do much damage.


    "Hence, we''ll take it apart from its thinnest parts. First, its ears, eyes, legs, then its stomach. After that, we''ll do the finishing blow.


    "Michelle will go cut its ears while Sister will snipe its eyes. I''ll take care of its movement and Ayaka will roast the wolf if there''s a chance."


    "Understood." All of them said almost simultaneously as they moved to their positions. Michelle and Kai charged at the wolves while Ayaka moved to the side. On the other hand, Tasha disappeared from their vision and searched for the best sniping position.


    "Aooo!" The wolf looked at Kai angrily as it finally knew the leader of this group of humans. It started running toward him.


    The wolf threw a paw toward Kai and Ayaka, trying to separate them. He seeded as Michelle leaped to the side. The wolf then threw another paw toward Kai, wanting to crush him.


    "Oscition Shield."


    Kai simply used his Oscition again and stomped the ground hard to make sure he wouldn''t lose in terms of strength.


    Bam!


    It was easier said than done. The ground cracked before making a little crater beneath his feet.


    Seeing that he stopped the wolf''s momentum, he immediately dodged to the side and swung both of his swords toward its paw.


    Unexpectedly, even with his strength, he didn''t manage to pierce the inneryer, only making shallow marks on the paw. Seeing that, he immediately leaped one meter above the ground and struck the wolf''s leg with his foot.


    "Aooo!"


    The wolf lost its bnce because of this and fell to the side.


    Michelle and Tasha didn''t miss this chance. Michelle appeared right in front of the wolf and cut one of its ears.


    She didn''t want to miss this precious chance, so she immediately went for the second ear, but the wolf threw a paw at her despite losing its bnce.


    Kai immediately appeared in front of her again and used his Oscition Shield. As they were in the air when the paw struck, they were blown away.


    Meanwhile, Tasha released her arrow right toward its right eye, but the wolf opened its mouth and shot out the magic again and blew her arrow.


    Tasha''s snipe didn''t seed, but it managed to distract the wolf. Because they were blown away, their shadows were projected on the ground by the sun. Michelle enhanced the shadow and connected it to their bodies.


    She grasped it like grabbing a rope attached to the ground and stopped the momentum. She then pulled it up, making them swing toward the wolf again.


    She and Kai swung their weapons at the same time. Michelle took its other ear while Kai shed its right eye.


    "!!!" At that time, a magic circle appeared right above the fallen wolf. Michelle then grabbed Kai and pulled him away from the wolf.


    "Scarlet Explosion!" Ayaka, who was waiting for this moment, finally took the chance to use her skill.


    Boom!


    Kai had witnessed the power of this explosion, so he didn''t worry about it.


    "Aooo!" The wolf released a painful scream. It was brutallybo-ed by Kai and the others. Even so, thebo wasn''t finished yet as Tasha released another arrow and aimed it toward its left eye.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    "Aooo!" The wolf finally lost its ears and eyes. It could be said that they managed to not only blind the wolf, but also deafen it.


    Without its ears and eyes, the wolf fell into despair. It shot out another ball of light, but due to theck of sight and hearing, it was aimed at the ground.


    Kai simply raised his shield to protect Michelle from the shockwave.


    Immediately, the wolf used the st to stand up and ran away. Unfortunately, having lost its sense of direction, it ran in Ayaka''s direction.


    Ayaka knew what to do in this situation. She simply raised both of her hands as she made a huge magic circle.


    "Fire Net."


    Even though the wolf had lost its eyes and ears, it could still feel the intense heat in front of him. The wolf immediately tried to stop, but it was toote.


    It failed to make a full stop before the fire enveloped and roasted him.


    "Aoo!"


    "Ayaka, move a few meters to your right." She suddenly heard Kai''s instruction and saw Michelle raise her two-handed sword, ready to swing it down. She immediately jumped to the right as Michelle swung her sword down.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The energy of darkness immediately moved on the ground, cleaving the road into two. The wolf''s instinct sensed danger, but it couldn''t do anything as it was still restricted by Ayaka''s fire.


    Because of that, the wolf was cut into two by Michelle''s sh. Michelleughed after killing the wolf. "Fuu¡­ that''s nice. I usually need to take the assassin position, but if I fight together with you, I can release my full power."


    "I''m d." Kai just smiled as he then said, "Sister and Ayaka too, good work."


    "My arrow could only be a distraction for this wolf, this sucks." Tasha sighed.


    "No. It was because of your understanding of the situation and yourmands that the fight became easier," Ayaka said humbly.


    "Anyway, I''ll search for the cores. We can exchange the cores with money to buy equipment," Michelle said as she leaped toward the giant wolf.


    She dug down a blue crystal out of its head. This was the core that could be used as fuel and such. The crystal itself was around 50 centimeters wide, so it was pretty big. She also checked the other wolves and found a few small crystals.


    "With all of this, we should be able to get around fifty thousand dors." She was smiling. Suddenly, hermunication device rang. It was from the student council president.


    "What is it?" Michelle picked up the call.


    "It finally reached. There''s an emergency mission. You four shall make your way toward Prince Rupert to your west. It seems they''re under heavy attack from sea magical beasts. All the people nearby have been called for this, so they''re also on their way.


    "At first, I didn''t want to have your group participate, considering how you''ll need to pass Valpy Mountain Range and don''t have a helicopter to bring you there, but I remembered that you have teleportation magic, so I chose to inform you. Don''t worry, there will be a reward."

 Chapter 85 - Emergency Mission (Part 1)

    Everyone also heard it, so Michelle asked them, "What do you think? Do you want to go for another mission?"


    Tasha and Ayaka instinctively looked at Kai, asking for his opinion. Kai looked at Michelle and asked, "I''m not familiar with the system, can you exin it a bit more clearly?"


    "Well, this is an emergency mission to help ourrades in Prince Rupert. Unlike United Asia, the sea creatures around here are pretty active and they often attack thend. That''s why we have our own armies stationed around the port city.


    "Their duty is to stop the invasion of those sea creatures. It seems the situation there is not really good, so the mission might be dangerous," Michelle exined. "But the reward is usually pretty great, so I think it''s worth it."


    Kai pondered for a moment. "Can we retreat if we find it dangerous?"


    "Yes. It''s not an obligatory mission. Unlike the army, we can retreat anytime." She nodded.


    "All right. Let''s go there. Although we''ve gotten rid of these wolves with a goodbination, we can still improve our teamwork. That''s why I''m not going to take the risk. We''ll immediately retreat if I deem it too dangerous," Kai said with a serious expression.


    The others didn''t have an objection to Kai''s decision. They believed in Kai. They knew Kai would choose the best path for them to take.


    "Ah, we need to take these crystals with us too." Michelle didn''t forget about the crystal they got.


    Tasha nodded and used her teleportation magic.


    They teleported a few times before arriving in Prince Rupert, where Kai asked her to stop as he could pick up the sound of battle.


    "A battle is ongoing ahead," Kai warned. "A huge one at that."


    "That''s the military base. We should ce our belongings here and move that way since it is hard to move around with this big crystal." Michelle acknowledged.


    "Sure. Let''s head to the base," Kai said.


    The four of them then disappeared from that ce.


    They arrived in just a few minutes. The situation was a bit chaotic as they could hear the sounds of gunfire and magic explosions around them. They immediately went toward the general''s office.


    "Sacred Elite Magic Academy, Lion Group." Michelle came inside the office with the others and saluted. Seeing this, Kai and the others also followed suit.


    "You¡­ Are you Michelle Graham?" The general asked. He was a middle-aged man wearing a white uniform. His red hair was messy as he was troubled with the situation.


    "Yes."


    "I see." The general nodded before making a serious expression. "The situation here is a mess. About ten thousand sea creatures suddenly came and began to attack. We are outnumbered by one to ten, so we''re barely holding this ce. Most of them are crabs and such, so it is hard to crack their shells open.


    "I want the four of you to help our left nk, which is in the most favorable impression. After you destroy all of them, march together with the soldiers to aid the middle nk before surrounding the right nk." The general said. "As for the battle n, you can ask themander there."


    "Understood." Michelle asked, "Are there any other groups that arrived here before we did?"


    "The government dispatched two elite groups while there are three groups from the academy aside from yours. However, none of them has arrived, maybe in an hour or two." The general said. "Your group is the first one."


    Michelle nodded. "We will go help then."


    She and the others then left the room and made their way toward the left army. Each army consisted of three hundred soldiers, while the rest of the hundred were reserves.


    Everyone except Michelle was surprised when they saw the actual battlefield. Around two hundred people were fighting the sea creatures with swords and the like while the rest were shooting them with guns.


    The fighters didn''t charge at them too deeply while the gunners were shooting like crazy. Although fighting like this was costly, they managed to keep the sea beasts at bay only because of this.


    The sea beasts varied in size. Some of them were small and some of them were even two to three meters high.


    "You guys wait here. I''ll ask themander about the battlen," she said.


    Kai nodded. He just arrived at this ce not long ago while Michelle was famous through the base. It would be better for her to handle this like the general.


    Not long after, Michelle came back with the order. "We can attack them from here. If we inflict significant damage, the army will push them back. If we can''t, we should retreat and fight along with them."


    Kai pondered for a while, thinking of a n. "Ayaka and Sister will rain them with magic. Their shells seem very hard, so choose your attacks wisely. If we manage to clear the magical beasts a bit, Ayaka and I will go toward the front line and ce magic bombs. Sister will cover us at that time."


    He then turned to Michelle, "Can you use that shing technique horizontally?"


    "Ah, you mean my Shadow sh?" Michelle shook her head. "No. That technique is shadow magic. Basically, it extends my shadow toward them, and because of that, I can only channel it on the ground, not send it flying."


    "I see. I thought that was a good n."


    "Sorry."


    "Don''t mind. It''s already powerful to begin with. If only I could use the Vibration Sword and increase the sharpness of my sword¡­ Have the items arrived yet?"


    "No. The professor has sent it along with the magic power equipment, but it still needs some time." Michelle shook her head.


    "I see. Well, it can''t be helped. I''ll research other skills in the meantime." Kai sighed. "Anyway, just use that Shadow¡­ sh a few times to push them back. If we can match our movement with the soldiers, we should be able to finish the battle pretty quickly."


    "All right."


    "Last thing, what about your magic power?"


    "I''ve used about thirty percent of my power."


    "Twenty percent."''


    "Fifty."


    Ayaka, Michelle, and Tasha replied. The burden was on Tasha this time as she had to teleport them several times, so Kai said, "Sister, take it easy this time."


    Tasha nodded. "Don''t worry. I know my limit."


    "With our current magic power, we should be able to handle the left and middle since I didn''t find any strong monsters. As for thest one, we''ll see." Kai thenmanded, "Move out."


    Ayaka immediately started with a bang.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    Boom!


    The explosion sted the sea creatures away, making a huge entrance for Kai and Michelle. Michelle immediately took this chance to use her Shadow sh, cutting about fifty sea creatures at once. If it didn''t have a range limit, she might have been able to cut a few hundred of them with that sh alone.


    Kai also stopped a bigger one and threw it toward the crowd of sea creatures. This made the people who saw it wonder how strong he was. Of course, they didn''t have the luxury to ponder over the matter as they still had to defend against the sea creatures. They couldn''t let their guard down.


    Meanwhile, themander furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Fighters, charge in two waves. Gunners, prepare for cover fire. Make sure no friendly fires ur," themander immediately ordered the soldiers to charge.


    "Yes, Ma''am."


    Kai took a deep breath and released his killing intent. He then charged toward the monsters like a beast, killing them one by one with his superhuman strength.


    On the other hand, Michelle was using her dark energy to increase the sharpness of her sword. This allowed her to cut the shells of these monsters and kill them with a single swing. Ayaka continuously sent her firebirds, roasting these sea creatures one by one. As for Tasha, she drew three arrows in one second. Her lightning was very useful since it increased the piercing power of her arrows.


    Seeing this, themander saw a chance and charged together with the army. They were pushing the enemies back step by step. Once again, the people admired how powerful real magicians were. Little did they know, this group was just too powerful as two of them were S-rank magicians, one was an A-rank magician with huge firepower while the other one was a Zodiac and a freak.


    The soldiers became more energetic when they saw this. They thought the time to kill all of these sea creatures finally came.


    Even so, they couldn''t just finish all of these creatures with their morale alone, considering how they were outnumbered by one to ten. After fighting for an hour, they only managed to kill about two thousand sea creatures. There were still around a thousand left. They even needed to fight against a few more thousand after they finished the ones in this ce.


    The thought alone made them sigh. This entire battle might take a few hours, so Kai tried toe up with another n while conserving his stamina.


    Because of the constant push, Ayaka could not reach her target from that ce alone, so she decided to move closer. She suddenly flew with her fire wings as she started roasting them one by one, making them look tasty. Even Michelle mentioned that she wanted to eat seafood after this battle.


    However, Kai had a different point of view when he saw this.


    Kai suddenly thought of something crazy. He looked at his sister and shouted. "Sister. I have a n."


    "I can''t electrocute them though. It''s not very effective." Tasha said.


    "No, no. This is a different n." Kai shook his head. "How about teaching these sea creatures how to fly?"

 Chapter 86 - Emergency Mission (Part 2)

    "How about teaching these sea creatures how to fly?" Kai asked.


    "Huh?" This certainly baffled Tasha.


    "I mean¡­ how about you teleport them to the sky? Back then, I tested it when I had your teleportation magic. I could send someone up the sky for up to two kilometers. Above that, the magic circle will freeze and the magic will be undone. If not, I would have already sent those people from the Katsuragi family and Ikeda family to space and make them space debris," Kai said.


    "!!!" Tasha dropped her jaw. Not only her, even those who heard his n were shocked. They just couldn''t believe what he just said.


    Maybe it was because he was an unorthodox magician and became too ustomed to thinking out of the box that he could think of this insane n.


    Actually, there was also a record about that. However, it was deemed to be a failure as numerous magicians could fly. But since they were fighting sea creatures with hard shells, such a tactic was perfect for the situation.


    Tasha finally understood what he wanted her to do. "I''ll try it."


    "Make sure you target the bigger ones. Remember, gravity," Kai reminded.


    Michelle was also fast-witted about this. She suddenly appeared in front of themander and said, "Commander, if those creatures start falling from the sky. We''ll need to retreat a bit further to prevent idents from happening."


    "I know. I will immediately order my soldiers as soon as I see them." She nodded in acknowledgment.


    Michelle then came back to Kai''s position. Meanwhile, Tasha started charging toward the front line while choosing the best position to do the first teleportation.


    She found it after a few seconds. She should be able to teleport fifty of them to a height of one kilometer, considering her magic power. She might be able to do this around 15-20 times. It should be enough to clean all of these creatures up.


    "Kai, cover me."


    "All right."


    They charged toward the swarm of the magical beasts. Ayaka was also supporting them from the air.


    "Teleportation!" She made a magic circle and teleported all the creatures inside. Of course, she made it twenty meters away from them to make sure they wouldn''t get sucked in by their own magic.


    Around fifty creatures suddenly disappeared. All the people gulped down as they were fighting while ncing toward the sky again and again, waiting for the sea creatures to arrive.


    After a few seconds, the sea creatures fell from the clouds and shocked the entire battlefield. This meant not only their left nk, but also the army in the middle and the right side of the battlefield.


    The moment they saw a few giant sea creatures falling from the cloud, they dropped their jaws to the ground.


    "What the f*ck is that?"


    "Seriously?"


    "Tell me this is a dream."


    "Is this how the magical beasts were born? I thought they were normal animals that evolved, not creatures that fall from the sky. If this isn''t a dream, then our humanity is f*cked. We can''t beat something like this no matter how long we fight."


    The people on the other side kept cursing one by one.


    On the other hand, the people of the left wing couldn''t help but chuckle. It was hrious to see magical beasts falling from the clouds like rain. Even Michelle couldn''t help but shout.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. I''ll give you a forecast today. We will be experiencing a rain of magical beasts! Don''t need to bring your umbres as you will be crushed to death if you try to y in this rain."


    The soldiers couldn''t help butugh after hearing her words. Those creatures were falling at high speed. Because they didn''t have any magic whatsoever that could prevent them from falling, they made a bit of an explosion when they reached the ground.


    Not only were their bodies sttered around, but they also crushed the sea creatures around them. With this alone, they managed to kill around a hundred sea monsters. This astonished them.


    "Encore, encore!" Michelle shouted. Even when the battle was harsh, she wanted to make it more enjoyable. Of course, she was still cutting the sea creatures in front of her.


    Kai moved to the second ce together with Tasha and did this trick again. Every time they did this, they managed to kill around a hundred sea creatures. And after the fifth teleportation, they almost wiped the enemy out as the army also made a constant push.


    In just a few minutes, they managed to wipe them out.


    "Soldiers. We have wiped out the enemies in this ce. You can''t rejoice yet as hereby, we are going to make our way to the center field," themander said in a firm tone.


    This time, Michelle and Kai came to her. Michelle asked, "Commander, what are our casualties?"


    "20 dead, 47 heavily injured, the others can still fight," she stated before turning to Kai. "Boy, your n is absurd, but because of that absurd n, we manage to wipe them out in such a short time. We should use your tactic again when we arrive at the center field."


    "..." Kai pondered for a moment. "How about their terrain? We''re near the sea and don''t have any buildings with us. If there are buildings around, I am afraid it will be hard for positioning."


    "No. Our army has taken care of that, so the terrain is going to be simr to the terrain here."


    "Then, there''s another n I would like to try," Kai said. "Even though that n is great, it wouldn''t be enough to kill all of them considering the magic power."


    "That¡­ is true. I forgot that we''re here because we''recking in magic power and have weak magic elements. You guys also have a limit." Themander shook her head. "All right. Tell me about your n. I don''t have a n feasible enough at the moment anyway, so it will be good to hear all the ns we can get."


    "There''s a member of our group that can use powerful explosion magic. I''ll keep it simple. I want to make three or four lines of explosions around this area. We will then lure the sea creatures to our area and blow them all up," Kai exined.


    "Can that magic be controlled?"


    "More or less, but with timing. If needed, we will engage the front while the explosions will kill their backs," he said.


    "I see¡­ Then, it will depend on how good we can lure them." Themander thought about it.


    "Yes. If we''re the only ones that lure them, I''m afraid we would only pull a few hundred. If Commander could give us a few more soldiers and kite them to our area, we might be able to get more," Kai said.


    "I understand your n¡­ I can even take part in this and lead a few soldiers," themander expressed her agreement.


    "That''s not it. Actually, I would like to ask themander to do something else," Kai said.


    "What is it?"


    "To inform themander in the middle field to charge at the magical beasts as soon as we make a pincer attack from the side. This way, the enemies will split their forces into two since they only move based on instinct. If the center army can take part in this, then we should be able to conclude the war in the middle pretty quickly. Of course, I''ll also thin their numbers with the previous strategy."


    Themander pondered for a moment before nodding her head. "All right. I will ask him. But if you want to lure them, you will need my gunners since their weapons possess more power. They should be able to create more impact."


    She then went toward her soldiers. "I need the ten fastest gunners on me right now. The rest of you can rest for ten minutes before going to your positions."


    Not long after, the soldiers fell on their butt, tired. Soon after, ten female soldiers came toward them with their rifles.


    "You guys can follow his orders for the time being. You are the fastest and thepletion of our mission will depend on you guys. Don''t worry, It might be dangerous, but I will make the reward worth it." Seeing how Kai''s brain works, she decided to entrust these ten gunners to Kai before going to the middle army.


    Kai nodded. "We''re going to lure the sea creatures to this ce and make them fall into a trap here. I''ll give you detailed instructionster."


    He then left them to Michelle as he walked to Ayaka and Tasha.


    "Sister, I want you to stop participating when your magic power reaches ten percent. If there''s an unexpected situation, we can run with your magic." Kai said.


    "Got it."


    "Ayaka, make a few lines filled with your magic bombs. I''ll draw you their position after this," he instructed. "Same as Sister, rest on the rear after we wipe out the monsters in the center field."


    "Understood."


    "Follow me." He nodded. Kai then made a few red marks on the ground to show the positioning and n to Ayaka.


    After that, he led Michelle and the ten gunners toward the middle field. ording to his ears, it seemed that themander had convinced the boss and returned with fifty more soldiers.


    "Spread out and wait for my call," Kai ordered. Although this was his first timemanding the army, he just needed to order them like ordering their teammates, but more strictly.


    They were a hundred meters away from the monsters. After observing them, he tapped Michelle''s shoulder.


    Michelle nodded and summoned her two-handed sword. She took a deep breath before swinging it down.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The ck fire split the enemy line into two. Because of that, the monsters also noticed their presence.


    Kai then ordered, "Fire!"

 Chapter 87 - Emergency Mission (Part 3)

    Bam!


    The ck fire split the enemy line into two, making their presence known to the magical beasts.


    "Fire!" Kai ordered the ten people that had spread around the area to shoot. If he and Michelle were the only ones luring them, they might only get a few hundred at best. With the addition of the ten people spread around the area, they would be able to bring a much bigger number of monsters with them.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    "Hold your position. If we retreat too early, half of them won''t follow us," Kai instructed as he observed the sea creatures'' movements.


    Meanwhile, in the middle field, themander was shouting to his soldiers. "That''s not our reinforcement. Maintain your position."


    He didn''t want the others to get worked up and end up dying because they thought Kai''s team was a reinforcement.


    Seeing that, Kai nodded and focused on the monsters.


    500¡­


    600¡­


    700¡­


    The numbering to him kept increasing while the front was only twenty meters away, reaching his position in five seconds.


    "Run back to our position as fast as possible," hemanded out loud.


    The soldiers pulled back their guns and began to run as fast as they could.


    A few of them had trouble keeping up with their speed. Two of them were almost grasped by the magical beasts. It was inevitable that they felt too tired, considering how they also didn''t get any rest earlier. Kai and Michelle exchanged looks before going to help them.


    "The moment is upon us, this is the one and only easy chance of victory. Even if your feet give up and your bones break, we only need to run a hundred meters more!" Kai made a rallying call, hoping to inspire the others.


    Hearing that, they gritted their teeth and forced their feet to run. Even after the gruesome and tiring battle they had endured today, they held it to the very end, until finally, they arrived at their base.


    The fighters had readied their weapons to brace for the impact while the gunners started aiming toward the magical beasts to provide cover fire.


    "Aim carefully! Make sure you don''t hit ourrades!" themander ordered. "Fire!"


    Kai took a glimpse of the timer in his watch to see how long they needed to hold.


    01:30


    Kai nced at the red marks on the ground as he instructed. "We''re spreading out. Move closer to the closest red marks on the ground."


    The ten soldiers heard hismand, slowly moving to the center. The gunners started providing the cover fire.


    They were five meters away from the formation.


    They leaped into the air, passing by the other soldiers beforending right behind the formation. On the other hand, the full sh between the fighters and the magical beasts just started.


    "I''m sorry if I pushed all of you to your limits. You can rest now," Kai apologized after looking at them, who seemed as though they had no strength left to even stand.


    Michelle came to him. "Shall we?"


    00:40


    Upon checking the time once more, Kai nodded and moved to the front line with Michelle.


    "There''s no need to force yourselves forward! Just hold your position and maintain formation! Everything will be decided in less than a minute!" themander shouted.


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers roared as they were given another surge of morale and pushed the magical beasts back.


    "As expected from amander." Michelle smiled.


    "If amander in the field can''t even do that, then I worry about the quality of the army here," Kai said while observing the entire battlefield with his ears. They could destroy the enemy while maintaining little loss on their side due to Kai.


    "Michelle, go to the left. They won''t hold out," Kai instructed. "Tell Sister to get ready."


    Compared to themander, Kai''s exceptional hearing was able to observe the entire arena clearly. Due to this, he couldmand Michelle, Ayaka, and Tasha to reinforce the army as the situation demanded. And these reinforcements were what allowed the rest to finish their battle quickly.


    Naturally, as a result of sending away his teammates, his own position would struggle as hard as the others. However, Kai was using his full Zodiac ability to enhance his power and instinct to trounce the magical beasts one by one. Their hard shells were unable to protect them from his strength.


    5¡­


    4¡­


    3¡­


    "Ready for the explosions!"


    Upon hearing the warning, the gunners stopped shooting and closed their ears while the fighters gritted their teeth to endure the loud sound that was about toe from the explosion.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    There were three lines with an interval of twenty meters. Each line stretched from the furthest on each side, making sure all the magical beasts would be engulfed by the explosion.


    Kai closed one of his eyes, enduring the loud sound of the explosions while observing the battlefield. He needed to be the first to see whether his n seeded or not.


    A few secondster, his answer came in the form of a shout.


    "We did it! We killed seven hundred magical beasts with those explosions alone!"


    Hearing that, themander immediately ordered out loud. "There are only two hundred left. Use all of your strength and end this battle!"


    "Ooh!" Seeing the number became equal, they roared and started killing the remaining two hundred quickly.


    On the other hand, themander came to Kai. "Your n has seeded. We have gotten rid of almost a third of the middle army''s enemies without sustaining a loss."


    "But they still have at least two thousand left." Kai sighed. "And we can''t use this strategy anymore, she''s used all her magic power."


    "This is fine. We can conclude the battle with teleportation magic. Maybe take another thousand and our army will be able to handle the rest." Themander nodded.


    "Yeah. That''s the n." Kai agreed.


    "Still, the biggest contributors to this battle are you and your group." She suddenly saluted. "On behalf of the soldiers, I would like to thank you and your group foring to our aid."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Anyway, the soldiers are pretty exhausted. We should give them a little break first. If not, I''m afraid they''ll be owned by the magical beasts."


    "Indeed. I''ll return to my soldiers then." Themander nodded and left.


    After that, Kai walked toward Ayaka and asked. "How much magic power do you have left?"


    "Not much. Only around ten percent, I guess. Sorry, it seems I won''t be able to join the other fight."


    "Don''t say that. You''ve killed more than eight hundred magical beasts in this fight alone." Kai shook his head. "Go back to the base and rest there. We''ll pick you up in a few hours."


    "Okay." Ayaka nodded her head.


    He nodded before turning his head to Tasha. "Sister, are you ready? We''re going to trample down the enemy with the teleportation magic."


    Michelle suddenly appeared and said, "Right, right. There will be a rain of magical beastster. It''s such a shame we can''t film them. It would be such a great video."


    "That aside, Michelle, there''s another thing I want you to do," Kai said with a serious expression.


    Seeing Kai''s expression, she dropped her carefree attitude and listened to him.


    ¡­


    After another fifteen minutes, the soldiers had killed all the magical beasts and rested for ten minutes.


    Themander met Kai again and told him to move out together.


    They marched toward the middle battlefield. Although they had reduced the enemy''s number by almost a thousand, it didn''t change the fact they were still outnumbered by one to seven.


    All of them were observing the intense fight. They forgot that if they didn''t have reinforcements, they would''ve also had such an intense fight.


    On the other hand, Kai was thinking of a n. Because the number thinned up a bit, he could see the battlefield more clearly this time.


    "One¡­"


    "Two¡­"


    "Three¡­"


    "Kai, have you found it?" Michelle asked.


    This piqued the interest of themander. Hence she also came to him, listening to what he wanted to say.


    "Yes. We''ll gain a huge advantage in three steps." Kai said.


    "!!!" All the soldiers, his teammates, and even themander were surprised. They knew Kai was the one who handled their battle strategy this whole time, so hearing this made them a bit pumped up.


    "Commander, may I provide the n?" Kai said.


    "You have my permission. Besides, I doubt anyone would object after seeing your performance on our battlefield earlier," themander said.


    "Thank you." He looked at all of them and started exining his n.


    A few minutester, the soldiers had gone to their positions while themander roared, "Start!"


    Following that roar, Michelle appeared on the right side of the battlefield. "Shadow sh!"


    The dark fire split the battlefield into two again. There were around four hundred magical beasts in front and more than a thousand five hundred on the rear.


    After splitting the battlefield, Michelle ced her hand on the ground, making a ck magic circle. "Shadow Maniption, Wall!"


    A ten-meter-tall ck wall appeared on the right side of the battlefield, confusing the magical beasts.


    As soon as she saw the wall, Tasha appeared a hundred meters on Michelle''s right and teleported the enemy up high. This made a hole that the fighters immediately filled in, creating a gap that split the magical beasts into three groups.


    Seeing this, the gunners raised the guns and aimed carefully before themander shouted, "Fire!"

 Chapter 88 - Emergency Mission (Part 4)

    A few minutes earlier, Kai was exining his three steps.


    "First, I want Michelle to get past them and arrive on the opposite side of us. After that, split the enemy''s line into two. Just leave the front to four hundred or so to make them quicker to kill," Kai exined.


    Hearing this, she frowned. "But¡­ that won''t stop the enemy from advancing. The dark fire won''t do any damage to them."


    Kai shook his head. "No. It''s only to mark our battlefield. After that, make a huge wall with your shadow on that side. Magical beasts would think it is a wall that can''t be crossed even though it is just a weak wall in reality."


    "Mark?"


    "Yes." He nodded. "I want to split the battlefield into three, the front, middle, and rear, thus leading to the second step. After you make the wall, Sister will go to the middle of the enemy and teleport them up high to create a wall that will split the battlefield again.


    "However, I want the fighters to fill this hole to create a wall that prevents the rear from going to the front," Kai exined as he drew his n on the ground. He drew something akin to a worm that was split into three.


    The front and middle only had 400 magical beasts each while the rear had a thousand magical beasts.


    "Thest step will be for the gunners to kill the entire middle line. Because of Michelle''s giant wall, all they will think of is to rush toward you, but they would mostly be wiped out without reaching here since we''ll be quite a distance away.


    "If the middle armymander is capable, I''m sure he would make his troops make a frontal assault. Within ten to twenty minutes, we should have killed every single magical beast in the front group and the middle group.


    "Then, with ourbined forces, we can destroy the rear more easily." Kai finished telling his n.


    The others could also picture how the battle would progress. This filled them with confidence.


    "This might be a bit harsh for the fighters that hold the rear, but¡­" Kai nced at Tasha. "If Sister can teleport the magical beasts again and again, our loss should be minimal."


    "Indeed." She nodded.


    Suddenly, themander ced her hand on his shoulder. She asked, "Hey, why don''t you enlist in the army? With your brain, I am sure you can be a greatmander."


    He closed his eyes while shaking his head. The biggest contribution to this was his hearing ability. Without it, he wouldn''t be able to grasp the entire battlefield. He also heavily relied on Tasha''s and Michelle''s abilities, so there was no way for him to utilize this in the normal army.


    "That''s a shame." She sighed in disappointment before ncing at her soldiers. "All right. You heard the n, to your positions."


    ***


    "Fire!"


    The gunners immediately rained the magical beasts with bullets. Because Michelle''s ck me blurred the vision on the front while their left was blocked by a ck wall, the gunnerspletely got all the attention of the middle group. The beasts started charging toward them.


    On the contrary, the middlemander looked at the battle with shock. Furthermore, the original n was to attack them while the left army made a pincer attack.


    What was in front of him was not an ordinary surprise attack¡­ Nheless, he managed to grasp a basic idea of this n and took out his big sword beforeing to the front.


    "All soldiers in the middle army. The left army hase to our aid with the entire army. We can''t let the left army be the star of this battlefield. All troops, charge!" He roared as he charged at the very front.


    "Ooh!" The soldiers were filled with energy, especially when seeing theirmander lead in front of them.


    The fighters turned into killing machines and started butchering the beasts with all their energy while the gunners provided cover fire.


    Seeing how the middle army started their charge, Kai decided to join the battle. He looked at themander, telling her what he wanted to do. "Commander."


    Noticing the situation and Kai''s intention, she narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to join the battle?"


    "Yes. I''m going to help our fighters." Kai nodded.


    "All right. I willmand the gunner group and eliminate the middle group. We will immediately help you as soon as we finish them¡­ together with the other army," she said.


    "Yes. Thank you." Kai saluted as he made his way toward Tasha.


    He looked at Tasha''s condition and discovered that nothing abnormal had happened.


    He pulled his swords and released his killing intent before starting his killing spree. He had rested his strength bymanding soldiers from the rear this whole time. All of it was for this.


    He cut through his way with brute force, killing all the magical beasts in his way, arriving at Tasha''s position in just a few seconds.


    "I can take care of this area, Sister can go back and rest," said Kai with a serious tone. He noticed that she was slightly out of breath after continuously sending these magical beasts to the sky. Judging from the sounds on the battlefield, there were only about five hundred magical beasts left, and most of it was thanks to her.


    She wanted to say she could still fight. However, regardless of how she constructed aint in her mind, she ended up losing the argument. Without any choice left, she nodded and said, "Call me back if needed."


    "No need. Reinforcements should have arrived by then."


    Taking thest glimpse of his back, Tasha finally retreated from the battlefield.


    Not long after, Michelle helped them and concluded the battle in less than twenty minutes with both armies'' assistance.


    At this point, Kai already checked the condition of thest battlefield with his ears. He also noticed that themander of the middle army wasing toward him.


    Looking at the angry look of themander made him wonder whether he did something wrong or shouldn''t have taken control.


    Themander blew his expectation away with a salute. "Thank you foring to our aid. I heard about your aplishment from Commander Maya. We might have lost half of our soldiers before other reinforcements arrive¡­ Sh*t, why aren''t they here yet?"


    It was then that Kai realized why themander seemed so angry.


    ''So, that''s how it is. He''s angry at the reinforcements, not me.'' Kai nodded his head before saying modestly, "We could win this because the soldiers are strong."


    "As you said. I am proud of them." He nodded. "Still, we need to rush into our right army. They might be at their limits already."


    "We do need to let the soldiers rest first. Imagine how fatigued our army must be. We won''t be able to defeat them, even with ourbined army and guns." Kai shook his head.


    "Indeed. I will inform the soldiers first. What are you going to do?"


    "I will scout the battlefield first."


    "All right." He nodded as he walked away. "Soldiers. You can rest for ten minutes. Thest battle will be brutal, so try to recover as much energy as you can in these ten minutes."


    On the other hand, Michelle sneakily appeared behind him. "Kai¡­ do you think the reinforcements will arrive before we finish the battle?"


    "I don''t know¡­ considering the timing, they should be able to arrive before the battle ends." Kai nodded as he turned back.


    "Still¡­ without Tasha and Ayaka, there are only two of us¡­ You can go rampage and leave your back to me." She smiled.


    "Actually¡­ I''m thinking of epting my identity as a Zodiac. This power has been helping me for so many years, and I can''t count how many times this power has saved my life.


    "If I truly utilize this power, I might be able to exert twice my power and I''m sure our battle will be easier that way."


    "Kai¡­ you¡­"


    "Just look at the three of you. All of you almost killed a thousand magical beasts each. Tasha even surpassed the one-thousand mark.


    "What about me? I only killed around two hundred magical beasts. Most of my skills are either support skills or scout skills. The attack-type magic is a double-edged sword that might kill me in the process. So¡­ believe in me." Kai smiled.


    "Why are you telling me now?"


    "It''s because the right army is in terrible condition. I might need to unleash this powerpletely to win the fight. Of course, we''ll retreat if we have to," Kai exined.


    Michelle clenched her fists in reluctance, but she finally relented, "I''ll make sure the rewards we get from them are worth the effort you put in."


    Kai smiled as he knew that by ''them'', she was referring to the student council.


    After resting, the troops started marching toward the left battlefield. The situation had be too chaotic and the left army had lost half of their number. On the other hand, they only managed to kill 600 magical beasts.


    They lost so much because of their terrain disadvantage. Closest to the sea, the magical beasts were concentrating their number on this ce.


    Furrowing his eyebrows, Kai tried toe up with a n. Bothmanders visited him to discuss their n.


    "We are going to pincer them from here. However, because the situation is not that good, I want you to lead one hundred fighters and fifty gunners to aid the right army. After that, we will make arge-scale withdrawal to get a better terrain before ambushing them. The right armymander should know that position and we shall follow you from the rear." Themander of the middle army instructed Kai.


    "Wait, that''s too reck-!" Kai stopped Michelle fromining. Even so, this didn''t mean he agreed with themander''s n.


    "Rejoice, everyone. Our reinforcements have arrived." Kai smiled as he heard three helicoptersing this way, telling everyone he had another way to reject the n.

 Chapter 89 - Emergency Mission (Last Part)

    "Rejoice, everyone. Our reinforcements have arrived."


    The moment he said that, they turned their heads to look at the empty sky.


    "What do you mean our reinforcements have arrived?" The femalemander asked, not seeing or hearing anything.


    "Technically, they''re still five kilometers away from this ce." Kai shrugged. "We can wait for a bit and attack them together."


    "How do you know?"


    "A bluff." The malemander narrowed his eyes, thinking that he just wanted to buy time since it would be too risky. "Since you don''t want to go, then I will go. Commander Maya can take charge of the troops."


    Looking at the malemander, Maya looked at Kai and Michelle with an apologetic look. "Please don''t take offense. He is just frustrated after seeing his soldiers die."


    "Just be silent for a bit and you''ll be able to hear it." Michelle sighed.


    "..." Bothmanders exchanged looks, confused by her statement. Because of this argument, they had lost a minute, letting the helicopters sound to ring on their ears.


    "!!!" As Kai said, they were reallying. Nodding at each other, bothmanders agreed with Kai''s previous statement. They immediately came back to their units to prepare for a pincer attack.


    "Thanks." Kai nced at Michelle.


    "It''s fine. I just did it for myself." Michelle closed her eyes. "I might use my family''s influence to beat the crap out of him if he dares to force you¡­"


    "..." He smiled and patted her head. "You are always like that¡­ Still, thank you."


    ¡­


    After another minute, the people could see three helicopters.


    A group of four came out of the first helicopter. Two of them were males and the others were females, appearing to be the elites group from the government. They jumped out of the helicopters, continuing with their flying ability.


    The first male was a middle-aged man with long red hair, holding a female on his arm while flying with his Fire Wing. The female then stretched her hand, making a huge blue magic circle.


    From the magic circles appeared forms that were closed to ice cubes. The cubes were small, close to the ice cubes that people used for drinks.


    At the same time, the other pair was alsobining their attack with this pair. They made two green magic circles at the same time, appearing to be wind magicians.


    Using the same magic, they made two torrential gusts that fused and created a stronger tornado. At this time, the ice was enveloped by the wind, causing the temperature of the tornado to decrease.


    However, it was not their real intention. Inside that tornado were hard ice cubes that were capable of prating even the hard shells of those magical beasts and that was precisely what they wanted to use as their weapons. The group wanted to utilize it to its full potential by using this tornado.


    The tornado swept away the magical beasts around the right army, helping them in that hopeless situation.


    Some of them were blown away and managed to survive, but most of them died, prated by the ice cube.


    The moment theynded on the ground, they started rampaging around to kill as many as possible.


    "With this, it should be enough for us to pincer from here," said Kai while observing the situation.


    Bothmanders didn''t have any objections as they went back to their troops.


    "All troops, charge!"


    "Ooh!"


    Kai and Michelle also marched together with the soldiers. In front of them was a two-meter crab. They were ready to kill it, but suddenly, a bullet prated its body and killed the crab. Kai and Michelle instinctively turned their head to see who interrupted them.


    Kai knew that it was a sniper, but Michelle suddenly sighed the moment she took a glimpse of that person.


    ¡­


    On the second helicopter, a woman with long pink hair was lying down, aiming her sniper at two people that piqued her interest. "Fufu¡­ My family informed me of something interesting two days ago. To think Michelle Graham would make a group for someone¡­ Why don''t you target some more, so I can kill them before you can even touch them? Fufu¡­ show me your power, the first-ever Zodiac, Leo."


    She wanted to see what kind of man managed to move the woman called Michelle Graham.


    ¡­


    "You know her? Who is she?" Kai asked. "She seems to want to kill-steal me."


    "That is Sagittarius, Isabelle Fisher." Michelle gritted her teeth. "To think she''s our reinforcement. I''m starting to regret joining this emergency mission. In fact, how could the student council president not know about this?"


    Little did she know, she was a reinforcement that was tasked to protect the third helicopter.


    The helicopter only had a person, the most important reinforcement in this ce, Pisces, Evan Young. They wanted him to heal the soldiers that were injured in this battle, reducing their casualties as much as possible.


    "..." Kai was speechless. He just wanted to avoid trouble, but why is it that all sorts of troubles kepting to his life? "Let''s just ignore her and finish this battle first."


    "All right."


    Kai shifted his gaze and carefully sized up the Sagittarius. He thought, ''If she wants to kill, then I''ll let her kill."


    He started moving toward a magical beast that was killed by the sniper again. He smirked and repeated the process over and over again, using her to kill the enemy.


    Michelle chuckled upon seeing that. "This is truly hrious. Without swinging his de, he''s killed more than a hundred magical beasts."


    On the other hand, Isabelle was raging on the helicopter. "Does he have no pride? How dare he use me like this!"


    She aimed the sniper right in front of Kai.


    Itnded right in the ground right in front of him, telling him she was angry. Kai paid no heed to this threat as he continued to move around.


    With his extraordinary hearing, he could know when she would shoot. Taking advantage of this, Kai had perfect timing to annoy her while killing the magical beasts.


    He kept doing this until they finally got rid of the magical beasts.


    All the soldiers andmanders were happy with the result, throwing a party to celebrate this victory.


    Evan Young also started healing the people injured in this battle.


    Kai was observing him the entire time to see what kind of power he had, recalling that he was one of the Zodiacs. To his surprise, Evan managed to bring someone who almost died to full health.


    His ability blew his mind, causing him to wonder whether they should invite him or not. After all, he learned from Michelle that he wasn''t a part of any group.


    Although he wanted another vanguard to help him in the front, he could do just fine as long as he had a healer. Deciding to observe his character first, he came to the party with that intention.


    At the party, the people were talking about the rain of magical beasts and the strategist, who were obviously Tasha and Kai. If one needed to choose a person that contributed the most, they would undoubtedly choose him.


    Kai and the others joined the celebration as a formality, nning to go back the next day. It was at this time that the pink-haired woman walked toward him.


    Seeing this, Michelle facepalmed. Herees the trouble.


    "You¡­ I challenge you to a duel." Isabelle pointed her finger at Kai.


    "There you go again. Searching for another person just to prove you''re strong," Evan Young interjected.


    "What did you say?!" Looking at him with disgusted eyes, she snarled.


    "Nothing." Evan simply shrugged his shoulder. Even so, in a very low tone, he added, "Your efforts will be rewarded someday even without doing that¡­"


    "??" Kai nced at Evan, thinking of something interesting. He couldn''t understand what he said, but he knew this thing was not as simple as that. He would love to find out about this Evan from Michelleter.


    "To think the group ranked 8th in the academy wants to bully our new group¡­ Your shamelessness is truly surprising." Michelle walked toward them and said.


    "Michelle¡­" Isabelle narrowed her eyes. "You can''t have a personal duel between magicians, but we can do a group battle. I want to see how powerful a group built by an S-rank magician and Leo is."


    "Hmph, It''s still uneptable for a group in such a high ranking to challenge a new group." Michelle snorted.


    Isabelle smirked, remembering the report about Michelle''s past. Michelle was the current number one in school, so she always wanted to challenge her. Unfortunately, she didn''t have a group, making her unable to be challenged. She kept searching for information that could rile her up to make an unofficial duel and found an interesting piece of information.


    She often visited United Japan, surprisingly, for a man the same age as her. The moment she found out that he was the first Zodiac ever created, and this made her want to challenge him too.


    Looking at their rtionship, Isabelle could see a gap which she could take advantage of.


    She slowly walked toward Kai and acted like she stumbled. This should be enough to make Michelle angry.


    "Ah!" The moment she stumbled, she threw herself toward Kai.


    "!!!" Michelle opened her eyes wide, not because she was surprised by her action, but because Kai moved sideways, letting her fall on her face instead of his embrace.


    Bam!


    "..." The party turned silent before Michelle''sugh rang in everyone''s ears. "Haha¡­ What do you think you''re doing? Seriously, you need to find a good man like him. He knows you''re just faking that stumble and dodged you¡­ Haha, Evan Young, we need you to heal her face¡­ maybe her heart too. Haha."


    On the other hand, Isabelle was raging as she stood up and walked away, leaving the ce with a nosebleed. "Just you wait."


    Evan only sighed helplessly and walked away too.


    The next day, they went back to the ce where they ced their belongings and retrieved them as they made their way back home.

 Chapter 90 - Two Suitcases

    Kai and the others were chatting in their room. After that mission, Michelle got $250,000 and 2,000 points as the original reward for killing the wolf, including the giant crystal.


    They also managed to help the Left Army and Middle Army with minimum casualties. Even the army and the student president personally gave their thanks. Of course, the student council rewarded them greatly for the emergency mission.


    They got $300,000 and 10,000 points. Kai decided to use that money to buy all the equipment they needed. They would be able to buy them easily by using Michelle''s or Ayaka''s money, but they agreed to not involve their families in this.


    The rest of the money would be split to five, as one-fifth of them would be the group''s cash.


    They were waiting for another high-level mission to get a big reward like this one, albeit it was hard to find them. Two dayster, Michelle asked him to go to their base first as she had something to do.


    Tasha and Ayaka, who had been waiting for them, were surprised. Tasha asked, "Where is she?"


    "I don''t know. She has something to do." Kai replied, looking at Ayaka''s device. "Do you research another thing?"


    "Yes." She nodded.


    Before he could ask the details, Michelle opened the door, bringing two briefcases with her. She ced the two briefcases and smiled. "Finally, these two have arrived."


    "What is in these two cases?" Kai asked.


    "You won''t believe it." She smirked as she opened the first briefcase, letting them see two des'' handle devices. "This is your weapon, Kai."


    "?!" Ayaka''s heart skipped a beat after hearing Kai''s weapons. His current weapons were the two swords that she gave him a few months ago. Although she wanted Kai to use her weapons, she did not stop Kai from changing his weapons. She took a glimpse at the device.


    It was a blue metallic sword''s handle with a strange white pattern.


    Kai grabbed one of them, activating it by channeling his magic power. The real de that had been hiding inside the handle came out, revealing a one-meter long blue sword.


    "The concept is to make a coupling between the handle and the de, enabling the de to vibrate without affecting the handle. It will be funny if you start vibrating because of this sword. Well, to solve that issue, we put a coupling and a few shock dampeners." Michelle chuckled, exining the system. "How about you test it first? You have researched magic for this in the past, right?"


    "Yeah." Kai nodded, looking at Tasha and Ayaka before making a bit of distance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before making a small magic circle on the sword.


    The magic circle was a bit different as Kai made a magic circle that looked like a ring, rotating around the de.


    The magic circle made a weird sound for a second before it stopped. The energy from the sound then transmitted to the sword, making the sword vibrate. The vibration started slowly before picking up speed bit by bit until it finally became a high-speed vibration.


    "So, this is a vibration sword¡­ The concept of this is to make a high-speed vibration, thus increasing its sharpness." Michelle said as she threw a briefcase to him. "Test cutting this."


    Kai raised his sword, trying to cut the briefcase. However, he felt something wrong as the vibration suddenly stopped mid-air. Because of that, the sword could not cut the briefcase, deflecting it to the ground.


    "!!!" Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka widened their eyes, seeing the same thing as Kai. Michelle asked, "Why is the vibration stopped?"


    "..." Kai closed his eyes, analyzing what just happened in those few seconds. After a minute, he answered. "It seems because of my magic."


    "Your magic?" Michelle looked down, weighing something in her mind. On the other hand, Ayaka could not hold her curiosity, considering this was the first time she saw Kai researching magic. "What is the concept of this magic?"


    "It is about Soundproofing ability. Soundproofing works in one of four ways. One is to block the noise by adding mass to a structure to the point that sound energy is reflected or converted into heat by the mass of the new structure. The second is to add anotheryer, stopping the sound vibration from traveling through to the second structure.


    "The third is sound absorption, which is when sound is absorbed by a material, therefore reducing the amount of sound that travels through a structure. I use this concept for my Sound Instion Room. Meanwhile, I use the first way for this magic.


    "You may notice it by seeing the ring magic circle. I use that magic circle to make a space that couldpletely reflect the sound, making the particles collide with each other continuously, thus increasing the kic energy.


    "However, the moment I swung the sword, the vector changed, leaving the magic circle," Kai exined, wondering why he did not think about this.


    The otter three nodded, understanding his concepts, albeit understanding and using it to make new magic was different.


    Michelle said, not having any expectations. "How about making a sphere magic circle? This way, the particles won''t escape."


    He shook his head. "The main thing in this magic is not the particles but the kic energy. If I make it that way, the energy might escape through the little gap around the sword, thus giving me a hard time maintaining the magic."


    "Then, how about changing the shape of the sword? I think you can make a metallic sphere in the de. That way, you can reinforce it with magic so the sound couldn''t escape." As expected from Kudo Group, who was in charge of making and researching weapons in United Japan, Ayaka suddenly gave a reasonable solution.


    "..." The others could somehow picture the sword. As long as Kai did not mind about the shape, it should be no problem. Kai nced at Michelle, asking for her opinion.


    "I can ask the professor for this. She should have a few experts in this area, but¡­ you need to wait again." Michelle answered.


    "I don''t mind about waiting."


    "Well, she might work extra fast if you are the one whoes to her¡­" Michelle said, making a smug face.


    Kai''s body shook as he immediately shook his head repeatedly. "I won''t."


    "She is nice, you know, as long as you can ignore her habit. Besides, she truly cares about you since you are her first¡­" Michelle suddenly stopped, forgetting that Ayaka was here. She did not know about Zodiacs yet, so she would hide it until Kai told her¡­ Albeit, she stopped at the perfect time, making Ayaka misunderstand.


    "First¡­" Ayaka shuddered, looking at Kai withplicated expressions.


    "Gahaha¡­" Michelleughed. "It''s not what you are thinking. Anyway, I will send the weapons back along with the request."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded. Remembering the briefcase, Kai asked, "What is in the second case?"


    "This is for you too¡­ but with Tasha." Michelle answered.


    "You mean¡­" Tasha and Kai instantly realized what was inside the second briefcase.


    Michelle opened it, revealing a pair of bracelets. The bracelets were white without any decorations. "The concept about this bracelet is by syncing magic frequency. Normally, this would be impossible since every person has a different magic frequency. Your case is possible because the magic power inside Tasha''s body is yours.


    "Actually, the professor could think of something like this because of both of you. The first one is because you have Sound Magic and she is a bit interested in frequency and such. The second one is Tasha''s sealing ability.


    "Combining these two concepts, she managed to make something like this. Of course, there are manyplicated things I can''t exin since I don''t understand any of them. Anyway, you can try it." Michelle handed the bracelets to Kai and Tasha.


    They exchanged looks before wearing the bracelets together. Tasha''s bracelet suddenly made a blue magic circle.


    Tasha felt her magic power was drained a bit, making her a bit ufortable. At this time, Kai''s bracelet made another blue magic circle, appearing to be the receiver. It took only three seconds before the warmth spread from his hand to his entire body.


    This was his magic power, he thought.


    "How is it?" Michelle asked, opening up a report sheet to send back to the professor.


    "I could not say the exact number, but I feel I have received more than ten percent of my original magic power. At first, it is a bit ufortable and there is still a stingy pain in my arm. It should be gone after a few minutes."


    "Yes. I have the same feeling as Kai."


    Michelle nodded, taking notes for the professor. "The professor wants me to check you for a few days. If you still feel ufortable after an hour, it will be better to take it off for the time being.


    "If there is another symptom, you might want to check your condition with the professor."


    "..." Kai did not want to meet the professor but still nodded his head with great difficulty. Tasha did not mind though, considering Kai would be the center of her attention.


    "Well, If I have this magic power, I can make another magic¡­" Kai said.


    "Oh, new magic? What is the type? Attack, Support, Scouting?"


    "Attack Type." Kai pondered for a moment before replying.


    "What is the concept?" She asked, but before Kai could answer, someone opened the door and shouted.


    "Haha¡­ I havee to challenge your group, Lion Group. To think that you use Leo to be the symbol, as expected of my rival, Shadow Queen, Michelle."

 Chapter 91 - Points

    "Haha¡­ I havee to challenge your group!" The one who opened the door was a pink-haired woman, Isabelle Fisher.


    She had been silent for a few days, making Michelle think that she would note. Sadly, the nightmare finally came.


    "I... We refuse," Kai replied.


    "You¡­ I still haven''t forgotten about the previous thing you did, Leo." Isabelle crossed her arms,ining. "Are you even a Zodiac? To think you don''t dare to ept a challenge. I can''t believe you are the first Zodiac."


    "Zodiac?" Ayaka was clueless. She took a few nces at Kai, wondering if he would exin about the Zodiac or not.


    "We don''t have any obligation to ept your challenge." Michelle stopped Isabelle.


    "Indeed. You don''t need to ept my challenge." She nodded, making them think she would stop, albeit she had another trump card. She looked at Michelle and smirked. "Think about this. He is the first ever Zodiac, right?


    "I am also a Zodiac¡­ I am sure many people are curious about what kind of kid two Zodiacs would produce?"


    "!!!" All of them instantly realized what she wanted.


    "Hehe¡­" Isabelle grinned, continuing her exnation. "That''s right. Do you think I did not do anything in the past few days? Too bad, I have been exining the possibility of Leo and Myself to my family.


    "That''s why if you ept this challenge, I will leave you guys alone. I will also stop them from making this thing happen."


    "You B*tch. If you want a Zodiac, you can take that Evan Young or that brute man." Michelle gritted her teeth.


    "Hmph. Pisces does not interest me while I don''t like that brute man, Taurus." She snorted. "Besides, I am sure many people are wondering what kind of man that Michelle Graham fancy and about the first zodiac ever created."


    Isabelle made a smug smile, thinking she won the argument.


    "I agree." Kai suddenly answered, epting the challenge.


    "Oh. This is truly surprising. For Leo himself to agree about this proposal¡­ Do you find me ugly?" She looked at Kai, making a sexy pose.


    "Why do you think you fell on your facest time?" Kai harrumphed, striking back at her.


    Michelleughed as loud as possible, making fun of her.


    Isabelle''s face turned red, ashamed. She gritted her teeth and said, "Since you have agreed, we will have a group battle one month from now."


    She turned and walked away, but Kai stopped her. "Wait. There is another thing to do."


    "What?" Isabelle red at him.


    "I want you to make a written agreement. I don''t like the possibility of you making your family and the government pair up with someone like that," Kai said with a serious face.


    "Fine!" Isabelle suddenly thought of a good n, making another threat. "If my group wins, then you need to promise you can''t stop me from doing that."


    "That is not possible," Michelle answered. "I will make the written agreementter. You cane back tomorrow to sign it."


    "Hmph." Isabelle walked away, leaving the room with anger.


    Kai then scratched his cheek with his finger, turning toward Ayaka and Tasha with an apologetic look. "I am sorry for deciding this."


    "I will protect you from that vixen (her)." Tasha and Ayaka said at the same time, agreeing upon something.


    "Well, the duel is one month from now." Kai sighed as he turned to Michelle. "I need you to gather the information about her group¡­ and maybe I want you to gather the information about Evan Young too."


    "... Evan Young?" She furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Kai with a confused look. "I can understand if you want to know about our enemies¡­ Still, Evan Young? Are you nning to recruit him?"


    Kai shrugged. "I don''t know. But his ability is useful. If his character is okay, I don''t think I would mind about having him here. I am the only man here anyway, it will be good to have another male in our group."


    "..." Michelle looked at him before ncing at Ayaka and Tasha. "I don''t particrly mind about it, but I don''t know about the other two."


    Tasha and Ayaka exchanged looks before shrugging their shoulders. Ayaka thought about his well being, thinking it would be good to have another male to chat with. On the contrary, Tasha thought there would not be any potential candidate if Evan Young joined their group.


    "Fufu¡­ Why do you seem to be against the idea of having her on your side?" Michelle asked. "I mean, she is pretty and a good body. She also has a good family background and she herself is strong."


    Tasha and Ayaka pushed their hair behind their ears, trying to listen to Kai''s answer.


    Shaking his head, he answered ambiguously. "I just don''t like the idea. I want to choose for myself."


    Michelle and Tasha smiled upon hearing this while Ayaka blushed, wondering whether she was one of the lists. Michelle said she was a potential one, but... If Kai decided that, then her opinion would not matter.


    "Well¡­ Just like my element, I will be your shadow and support you in the back." Michelle smiled.


    They all forgot about Kai''s new magic because of this incident.


    "By the way, what is this Group Battle all about? Is there any benefit in epting the battle?" Kai asked Michelle.


    Hearing that question, Michelle simply walked toward theputer and projected the screen so everyone could see it. On the screen, there were ten names with numbers beside them.


    Dawn - 113100


    Golden - 108500


    Brave - 105400


    Bronze - 101800


    Thunder - 91300


    Tempest - 88400


    Grace - 81300


    Eagle - 78900


    Honor - 77900


    yer - 72500


    "This is the first ten groups in our generation. These numbers are their points right now. Well, there is nothing good about these numbers other than recognition.


    "Well, there are many who fight for fame and pride¡­ I mean, they have a huge background and it would be too shameful if they are not the best.


    "I don''t care about such a thing, so I never created a group again after my former group graduated. Even my father gave me permission to do anything I wanted. So here I am.


    "As for this group, this is more like a ce to hang out with you guys and do missions. I don''t really care about points as long as we are at the top 100 and get our personal helicopter. By the way, we need forty thousand to get into the top 100.


    "There are two ways to acquire points. Firstly, we can get it from a mission or emergency mission. The second is from Group Battle. If we beat our opponent, we would get ten percent of our opponent''s points.


    "This point will reset the moment one of our group member graduates. Considering you can recruit an elite third year to your group despite being a first year, I think such a rule is normal. This is to prevent someone from taking advantage of the system.


    "Most groups consist of people of the same year. There are other reasons besides this rule. If you graduated from this school together with your group, you will be thrown into the frontline and help expand our border.


    "However, if you have the same group, you would know each other''s fighting style and the others, thus increasing your survival chance. Anyway, they made rules after considering so many things." Michelle exined.


    Kai and the others could rte that. "Well, since we still have a month, do you want to go for another mission?"


    "I personally don''t mind that, but how about the others? Besides, there is a cooldown period of a week. We can''t take any mission right now. This cooldown period is to make the others rest.


    "You can say that the mary reward is great. However, sometimes, a few reckless ones tried to get as many missions as possible¡­ This led to many unnecessary deaths despite being too tired for a mission. They thought they would be able to get money for their family, lover or whatever, but what they got was death. The school then made this rule to prevent them."


    "I see. Then we basically have free time for the time being." Kai nodded. He wanted to research another magic to begin with, so he had no problem with this rule.


    "Yes. Everyone is free to do research on their own¡­" Michelle said, taking a nce at Kai. "Maybe, we can have a date after this."


    "!!!" Tasha''s eyes shed while Ayaka kept ncing at him, hoping she could have one too. Although she had yet to reach Michelle''s or Tasha''s level, she had realized she also liked Kai.


    Kai shook his head, making an apologetic look. "Maybe after the group battle¡­ I want to focus on this first."


    "Fine." Michelle shrugged as the others also nodded inwardly.


    ...


    A few dayster, they could receive a mission again. However, they were not as lucky as they were previously, they could not find a good mission, so they decided to hold on.


    The next day, they started searching for a mission again but found nothing. Finally, on the third day, they found a mission. Surprisingly, the mission was not from the school''s system. Instead, it wasing from the student council.


    Michelle and Kai decided to go to the student council room.


    "I have been waiting for both of you." The president greeted them with a simple smile. "A very good job back then. I don''t have anyints about the wolf mission, and could only give praise for the emergency mission."


    "Enough about the pleasantries. Just give us the mission." Michelle stopped him.


    "Fufu¡­ After having her man beside her, she doesn''t want to hang out with us anymore." The vice president chuckled.


    "No. That''s not what I mean¡­" Michelle turned to her with an apologetic expression.


    "Alright. Since she wants to finish this as soon as possible¡­" The president gave her a paper. "This is the mission."

 Chapter 92 - Second Mission

    "This is the mission." The president gave her the mission paper.


    Kai and Michelle read the mission together.


    Mission: Escort


    Description: Escort Evan Young to the Brazil Front Military Base.


    Reward: $500,000 and 10,000 Points


    "..." Speechless, they blinked a few times to check whether their eyes were ying with them or not. Both of them exchanged looks, thinking the same thing before turning their heads to the student council president.


    "Are you sure this is a mission? Not your way to boost our points, right? I know you take care of me, but I don''t want it this way¡­" Michelle looked at him withplicated expressions, not knowing whether to be happy or disappointed.


    "I know. I would never do that." The student council sighed, keeping the situation in suspense.


    "Then why!" Michelle mmed the table.


    Noticing he was not lying, he suddenly had another thought.


    "It seems the boy understood the mission." Mia Carr, the vice president, smiled upon noticing Kai''s expression.


    "!!" Ayaka turned her head, hearing Kai suddenly said. "Undercover mission?"


    "Why do you say that?" The student council smiled a bit before asking.


    "From the previous emergency mission, even though the school sent Evan Young, there was only one person escorting him. And there was this mission that looked very unrealistic in terms of rewards. So, I am suspecting there will be another danger to be worth this reward." Kai answered.


    Mia Carr smiled as she pped her hands. "It seems it is a good choice to leave Michelle in your hands."


    "That''s right. This is an undercover mission. Because of the mission system, we can put any more information on the mission, so I will exin the real mission." The president''s expression turned serious.


    "We have a military base in Maraba, which is our front line at the moment. Even with our situation right now, there are still certain groups that want to hinder us¡­ basically, they are like a terrorist organization.


    "This organization''s name is D''Ruler. ording to our information, their hideout is on the Santarem. I want you to investigate them."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "I think you should ask Elites for this¡­"


    "We had sent several elites but always left with empty hands. They are using a terrain advantage in order to escape from our eyes. However, it would be different for you, Kai Carter."


    "So, it''s because of my hearing, you chose us for this mission?"


    "You are half correct." The president replied. "It''s true that your extraordinary hearing is a good weapon for this. However, we have several reasons.


    "Firstly, the reason why we would send Evan Young there is not to heal the soldiers¡­ I mean, he will heal people, but that''s not his main role."


    "..." Michelle was enlightened. "A bait?"


    They knew Michelle had more information than Kai, so she knew about another thing. The president then exined. "It seems their leader is heavily injured and they want to use Evan Young''s ability to heal him, thus making him a great bait. He also has been informed about this."


    "Still, I can''t understand why you chose us for this mission. If you just want to locate them, can''t you just choose Isabelle Fisher? I am sure she will be pretty effective with her special eyes." Michelle felt something was missing.


    "They would be wary if we sent her team to escort Evan Young. However, it will be different if we send you. They would only know the name of Michelle Graham. As for Kai Carter, Tasha Carter, and Kudo Ayaka, they will only know that these three are new people in the US base.


    "That way, their attention will be focused on you while the other three are free to move. There are several elites that will help you in that base, but if they somehow miss someone, you will need to fight them.


    "Meanwhile, Kai Carter would locate their base. You just need to locate the base and send the location to us. The military will do the rest." Bryan exined.


    "..." Kai closed his eyes, pondering the mission. He could locate them before reaching their ce or revealing himself since his hearing had arge range. If they sent Isabelle Fisher and her group, not only would they be wary because of their prestige, Isabelle might need to reach a high ce so she could observe her surroundings.


    They wanted to take advantage of their new team to take care of this. "I understand the reason. But we still have the option to reject¡­"


    "Sadly, you don''t have one. The school will disband your group and take back all of your rewards." Bryan sighed. "This group has been guing us for so long. Having a potential threat behind the backs of the military is certainly not good.


    "With the forces the military has dedicated to the war against the magical beasts, the unknown threat right behind us will cause the army to worry. Because of this, we can''t send a full force to expand our border because we need to spare more soldiers to protect the base. Besides, our army can''t march for long because they might get ambushed by the terrorist.


    "Because of that, the government wants to use any means to get rid of this organization. Tch." Bryan clicked his teeth,ining. "We don''t need another enemy other than magical beasts."


    "..." Seeing this reaction, he knew that the President was against using them for this mission. Most likely, it was the order from the higher up. Kai took a glimpse of Michelle''s expression and noticed how unsure she was with this mission, so he decided to speak. "Even so, our enemy right now is the terrorist¡­ and they are certainly elites. For students to fight elites like this¡­"


    "The army will try to do anything to destroy the terrorist, so you don''t need to fight them." The president tried to assure him, but with him talking, if the army somehow missed someone, this mission was risky. Because of that, the student council added, "In any case, if the situation bes more dangerous, we will surelypensate you."


    Kai only wanted to keep ''them'' safe and did not need anypensation. However, seeing the troubled look in Michelle''s face, he knew he had no choice other than epting the mission. "I¡­ Agree."


    Michelle could only sigh and nodded her head too. "However, we will decide our own battle n and the army will move ording to our n."


    "This¡­" Bryan had trouble epting Michelle''s condition because they had their own n ready. Taking a glimpse of Kai, he pondered for a moment. "I will try to negotiate with them. Because of the battle in Prince Rupert, he has a certain reputation in the army."


    "Then, when are we leaving?"


    "As soon as possible, so tomorrow."


    "Let''s go." Clenching the mission paper, Michelle took Kai out of the student council.


    "Wait." Bryan stopped them, taking out a pen from his desk. The pen was a four-color pen. "Take this with you."


    Kai received the pen, confused. "What is this for?"


    "The pen has a tracker inside. If you found the base, use this pen and leave it there. ck for the north, blue, for the east, green for the south, and red for the west. Each time you tap will be recorded as one kilometer. For example, you tap blue twice, it means the base is two kilometers from the east. The army stationed in Venezu will move as quickly as possible."


    Kai nodded, taking the pen. After that, they left.


    "Are you sure of handing this mission to them? Even though they are pretty special, it is a bit hard to fight elites, you know." Mia Carr asked Bryan with a concerned face.


    "I don''t have any choice." Bryan mmed his hand on the table before clenching his fists. "The conquest of Brazil is too important. The government is trying to set up a ry point in Brazil to destroy the S rank magical beast in Argentina.


    "If they manage to do that, then they should be able to take control of the whole southern continent in less than a decade. However, the terrorist might destroy their n. That''s why the higher up want to destroy this organization no matter the price."


    Mia let out a long sigh. "No wonder. Back when the civilization overturned, the magical beasts cornered us to a measly Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Because of the hard work of many generations that we manage to get the entire US back, killing a few S rank magical beasts and expanding our frontline to Canada in the north and Brazil in the south.


    "It seems the government is seriously trying to overtake the entire continent."


    "No. They are nning more." He shook his head with a serious expression.


    "What do you mean?" Mia narrowed her eyes.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Michelle and Kai were walking around the corridor and because of that talk, he managed to understand the reason why they needed to take the mission.


    The moment they arrived, they were greeted by the anticipation from Tasha and Ayaka.


    Michelle started exining their mission, making them frown. After that, Kai started telling them the battle n. "We will split our group into two. The first group will be in charge of Evan Young''s safety while the second group will be locating the enemy base.


    "The first group will be Michelle and Ayaka, while the second group is Sister and me since I want a speedy operation. I hope we can settle this in one or two nights. Any questions?"


    All of them shook their heads. Michelle closed the meeting. "Alright. We will meet again tomorrow and leave."

 Chapter 93 - Second Mission (Part 1)

    The next day, Kai and Michelle went toward them after submitting their mission to Mano Yuki as the reason for their leave.


    They met with Tasha and Ayaka, who were ready to go. However, before that, they were waiting for another person.


    *Knock Knock*


    "Come in."


    "Thank you for having me on this mission." Evan Young came in and greeted them, bringing a suitcase with him. "I have not properly introduced myself back then. My name is Evan Young from ss B, the same as Miss Kudo Ayaka. As you might already be aware, I am a Zodiac, specifically Pisces."


    "I am Kai Carter." Kai pointed his finger at Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka. "This is Michelle Graham, Tasha Carter, my sister, and Kudo Ayaka."


    Evan Young nodded. "Alpha, Miss Alpha, Sister, and Friend."


    "Wait, wait¡­ That is very wrong." Tasha immediately stopped him before pointing her finger toward herself and said with a serious expression. "I am also Miss Alpha."


    "...Whatever." He simply shrugged his shoulder, not caring about it.


    "Anyway, you know about the real mission, right?" Kai asked, remembering what Bryan said yesterday.


    "Yes. I am aware of that. I will be the bait while your group finishes your own mission. However, I need to say this first." Evan Young looked at all of them. "I can only heal you and can''t help you in a fight."


    Kai nodded. "Michelle Graham and Kudo Ayaka will ensure your safety while my sister and I will locate the base. I wish to finish the mission within two days since it will be dangerous to stay longer."


    "I have the same thought. However, tracking an enemy that the elites can''t is hard."


    "I will take care of that," Kai assured him.


    "I will just do whatever I need to do, such as healing the soldiers and acting as normal as possible. I will try not to hinder your mission and if you need any help, you can ask me, except for fighting."


    "Then, we have a deal?" Kai nodded and stretched his hand.


    Evan Young nodded his head and shook Kai''s hand. Evan then led them to a helicopter parked right behind their school.


    This was the first time Kai and the others saw the vast field filled with helicopters. Because of his healing ability, Evan was given a helicopter for himself, so he could travel anywhere.


    Kai was determined to raise their ranking and got one of these helicopters. They then flew toward Front Brazil Military Base. Normally, this would take longer, but after reinforced by magic and magic core, the helicopters could fly faster. This was why Kai and the others could travel so fast with a little helicopter from Korea to Russia.


    It took them approximately six hours before arriving in the military base.


    They went to the general''s office, meeting the one in charge of this base.


    The general was a female with blue hair tied into a bun, a beauty on top of that with a pretty face and gorgeous body. She appeared to be older despite her young appearance, albeit no one said anything about that.


    All of them saluted as Kai started reporting. "Lion Group has escorted Evan Young to the Front Brazil Military Base."


    "Good work." She nodded. She looked at Evan Young for a while before saying, "We would appreciate your support here since we have many wounded warriors in this base."


    "?!" Kai was wondering why she paused a bit when she looked at Evan."


    *Knock Knock*


    Someone was knocking on the door and opened it. Another female came inside. She had short blue hair with fierce eyes. Even so, it only made her elegancee out. She appeared to be the general''s assistant, handing a few documents to her. "These are the requested documents."


    "Good work."


    The assistant then looked toward the five kids and asked one of them. "Are you Evan Young?"


    "?!" Kai was confused about why this person started talking with Evan. He thought these two were suspicious, but when he saw the general''s expression, he knew these two were not on the same side.


    "Yes." Evan nodded.


    "That''s good. I am relieved now that we have you, the soldiers will be safe." She smiled.


    "I will do my best."


    *Cough!* The general faked a cough while staring at her assistant. The assistant immediately left the room.


    "Anyway, I am sure you have a long flight, so you can go to the dining room and ask one of the chefs to make you something. After that, you can start working." Themander nodded, did not say anything about her assistant''s behavior.


    They then left the room, walking toward the dining room. However, on the way, Evan suddenly tapped his shoulder and said, "Can I talk to you after this? Just two of us, if possible."


    Kai pondered for a moment and nodded.


    After entering the dining room, they asked the chefs to make them something. It seemed they already knew they wereing, so they simply nodded before cooking something.


    Kai was surprised that the dishes were excellent. "This is satisfying¡­"


    "Well, the soldiers are warriors. A warrior is a person who is willing to risk his life, who is prepared to fight, away from the family, while risking their lives in the front line.l


    "In fact, they don''t really get the recognition they deserve. I know that many people who can only sit back in the safe area recognize them as heroes, but there are also many that don''t care about that.


    "Well, we are also walking in this path, so we can only struggle to survive and tell the tale for the next generation," Michelle said with a smile. "Since I also love the stories from my grandfather. Anyway, that is why the condition on the front line has improved. Of course, if this is only in the Military Base, if you are on a mission in the middle of nowhere, then you should procure your own food. Of course, I have improved my cooking skill to make sure you won''t die because of hunger."


    "Wait. Are you sure you are better than mine? I can cook many things." Tasha snorted.


    "Heh¡­ I am training under a 5-Star chef." She crossed her arms, making a smug smile.


    "Kh¡­" Tasha continued to fight back while Ayaka could only look down, embarrassed because she was the only one who couldn''t cook. Kai only smiled when watching this.


    After a while, they wrapped the things up and headed back to the infirmary since Evan came to heal people.


    When passing the restroom, Evan tapped Kai''s back a few times before signaling him to talk. Kai nodded and said to the girls, "Sorry, something came up."


    Michelle and the others only nodded, waiting for them.


    They were going to the bathroom, the same one, making a misunderstanding for the people. Luckily, there was no one around, so it was safe.


    However, they had a more serious discussion inside as Kai erected a small Sound Instion Room.


    "I have set up a barrier. We can talk." Kai nodded after checking his Sound Instion Room.


    Evan Young nodded as he opened the suitcase, revealing a smallptop. While waiting for the booting, he said, "Have you realized that both General and His assistant have weird behavior?"


    "Yeah. However, whatever it is, they surely are not on the same side." Kai agreed. He was surprised why Evan suddenly said this though.


    "Hmm¡­ Let me check them first." Evan started typing with aplicated thing and in a few seconds, he got two profiles, the general''s and her assistant.


    "The general''s name is Cindy Ashley. 41 years old, rising general. She is stationed here because of her achievement in various battlefields in South America. On the other hand, her assistant is a new one in this ce. She was stationed at Belem before.


    "There are no suspicious records in their profile. Surprisingly, both of them are hostile with each other currently, making this situationplicated."


    "Yeah. They both know they are on the opposite side, but we don''t know which one ising from the terrorist." Kai agreed. "By the way, you are good withputers and how can you get this data?"


    "I am using my family''swork to open their profiles, but thank you for thepliment." He continued his job, searching one file after another. "My power is just weak water magic. For some reason, I can''t use any offensive magic even though I have a good amount of magic. Because of that, I tried to fill my shorings by this."


    Kai nodded, not asking more questions. They just met not long ago and he thought it would be rude to ask more personal questions. "Anyway, we can just ask them if they are the terrorist or not and it will rm them."


    "Yeah. It seems they really infiltrated the army. So, how are you going to do this?" Evan asked since Kai was the one in charge of this mission while he was only a bait. He already did all he could, so he gave the rest to Kai.


    Kai pondered for a moment, trying toe up with a n. "Since we don''t know who the bad guy is. Then we can''t trust anyone. I will try toe along with you while healing the soldiers and mark all the suspicious people¡­ Albeit, I will need to move out during the night, so Michelle Graham and Kudo Ayaka will protect you."


    "Alright. I will go along with your n, but my beastly instinct is telling me that tonight will be dangerous." He said.


    "Same." Kai agreed as the instinct from the Magical Beast was tingling. "In fact, every single one of these guys is terrorists until proven otherwise."


    Kai also sent a message to the girls saying, ''Trust no one.''

 Chapter 94 - Second Mission (Part 2)

    After sending the message, he and Evan came out with a serious expression, telling them not to talk about it.


    On the other hand, they started going to the infirmary where Evan Young started healing the soldiers. Meanwhile, Kai was focusing his attention on the general and her assistant.


    They did not have any weird talk or anything, so Kai was unsure which one was the terrorist. However, if the highest inmand were the terrorist, this base would be screwed. Unfortunately, he did not have enough information to prove that she was not.


    Kai scratched his head, trying toe up with a feasible n but to no avail.


    Michelle came to him, touching his head because he looked very serious. She smiled, "Don''t overthink it. Rather than thinking something uncertain, just look around you and think from something certain."


    Kai''s body shook a bit before looking at Michelle with an empty stare. One second¡­ Two seconds¡­ Five seconds, he suddenly grabbed her hands, thinking she was the answer. "I have found the solution to my problem."


    "Eh?" Michelle blinked a few times, confused. "What do you mean?"


    He suddenly walked to her and pushed her to the wall before mming his hand on the wall. He suddenly moved his hand right beside her cheek, making other people think they were doing something inappropriate.


    "Ehm¡­ Kai, I am happy about this, but I think we need to consider the time and ce first." Michelle said with a low voice but did not push him away.


    Hearing that voice, Ayaka turned her head and was shocked to see Kai doing something inappropriate.


    However, Kai knew that this room was full of cameras and such. Afraid of them finding out, he did this. He simply whispered, "Get inside my shadow and go to Evan''s Shadow. Remember to trust no one. Follow me, I will lead you to a ce without surveince."


    Kai then held her hand and dragged her somewhere. Ayaka did not know what to do, looking left and right to seek help from Tasha. Surprisingly, Tasha already saw this but ignored them. She knew Kai would not do something like that in a ce like this, so the only reason because he was nning something.


    "Ehm¡­ Sister Tasha, they¡­" Ayaka kept ncing at the ce where they exited.


    "Don''t bother with them. Haiz, this is why I need to educate my brother." Tasha replied with a very unusual answer, making Ayaka confused. It looked like she was disappointed in Kai, but she would surely never do that. Because of this, Ayaka thought of another possibility.


    Meanwhile, Kai and Michelle were going right under the stairs where there was no surveince.


    Creating a Sound Instion Room, Kai quickly said. "We don''t have time. Enter my shadow and go to Evan''s shadow. Don''t trust anyone and only appear at thest second."


    Michelle did not say anything and nodded. She sped her hands, making a small magic circle underneath her feet. "Shadow Walk."


    She then came inside Kai''s shadow, looking like she just took an elevator down. After that, Kai released his Sound Instion Room and sighed.


    After around twenty minutes, Kai then came out of that ce and walked toward the infirmary again.


    He had predicted that they would make a move very soon. Because in their respective room, the general and her assistant were looking at the footage. They never thought there was someone who would do something lewd to the famous Michelle Graham.


    Because of that, they observed Kai more carefully, trying to search for more information from this guy. With this, they would think Michelle had gone away when they were busy observing Kai Carter.


    Kai did not do anything other than watching from the side as soon as he arrived at the infirmary. Of course, Tasha yed along by scolding him for what he did.


    After around two hours, Kai saw Evan''s face bing pale. He walked toward him and tapped his shoulder. "Are you alright?"


    Evan turned his head, never expecting Kai would talk to him. However, without anyone noticing, Kai''s and Evan''s shadows were connected because of this action. At this time, Michelle used her Shadow Walk again to move from Kai''s shadow to Evan''s shadow.


    Tasha had expected this when she saw Kai approaching Evan, so she kept staring at the shadow. The moment she saw their shadow bulged a bit, she knew Michelle was there. She did not know Kai''s n but decided to trust him.


    Evan did not feel a single thing when Michelle entered his shadow, so he only replied. "Yes. I am just a bit exhausted after continuously using my magic. There are only a hundred soldiers left, so I should be able to finish in thirty minutes.


    "Is that so?" Kai nodded. "I will wait then."


    Evan then started tending people''s wounds again.


    He already saw Evan''s ability and could only say he was impressed. For people with shallow wounds, Evan simply covered it with a bubble of water, closing the injuries without any trace.


    A few of them had deep wounds, needing the hospital''s assistance, but just like before, the bubble started healing them.


    If Kai needed to describe his power, his power was like the water tank in the story. The big water bubble was like the cylinder, containing the healing water.


    He even wanted to invite him because of his power since if they were injured, Evan could heal them.


    They continued to wait until he finished. Surprisingly, the moment he finished, the general came inside the room. "Good work."


    Kai and the others immediately turned their heads, seeing her expression. Because of Michelle''s disappearance, she needed to step up their n.


    She looked at Evan and the others, saying. "Good work for all of you. This is the key to your room."


    What made the situation weird was the keys. There were only two keys. The first key was for Evan while the other key was in Kai''s hand.


    This was weird because normally, they should be separated with genders. Kai became more and more suspicious about her.


    "Since you are a group, I think there should be no problem in sleeping together." The general exined her reasoning.


    She clearly wanted to separate them. She thought since Michelle disappeared, it seemed she only needed to be wary against Michelle, not everyone else. As long as she separated them from Evan, they couldunch their n tonight.


    Seeing this, Kai epted the key gratefully. "Thank you, General."


    "Nothing. You deserve rest, so you are done with your mission for today. You can rest until further notice." The general nodded. "Your room was in the third barrack."


    Kai and the others nodded, walking away from the infirmary.


    Kai and Evan exchanged looks, thinking the same thing. ''The general was suspicious.''


    Luckily, they were in the same barrack despite having a considerable distance from each other''s room. To avoid any suspicion, Kai did not go to Evan''s room and left the twodies in the room alone.


    They bid goodbye to Evan before entering their room. Kai immediately observed their surroundings, searching if there was any camera or whatever. Ayaka and Tasha also helped him with that.


    After around half an hour, they did not find a single observation device in their room. Inside the room, there were two bunk beds for four of them and a single desk together with a wardrobe.


    "I don''t find anything." Kai shook his head.


    Ayaka and Tasha nodded, not finding anything either. Tasha finally asked, "So, is Michelle inside Evan Young''s shadow?"


    "Shadow?" Ayaka was confused a bit before she remembered Michelle''s element. "Ah."


    "She has not told you about this ability yet since she does not really want to use that ability¡­" Kai replied.


    "Because she just wants to get inside your shadow, right? She is just a stalker." Tasha snorted.


    "Well, it is really an ufortable technique since basically, she fuses with one''s shadow, which means she experiences what the real body experienced. Experiencing something that should not be done or watching something that should not be seen." Kai shook his head helplessly. "This is something necessary, so I will do something for her after the mission."


    "You are certainly right. Like experiencing a man relieving himself¡­ this is why she does not want to stay inside other''s shadow." Tasha rolled her eyes.


    "Ahaha¡­" Ayaka could not say anything.


    "Anyway, when the nightes, we will go to Santarem," Kai said to Tasha before turning to Ayaka. "As for you, if you hear a loud sound or anything, go to Evan Young''s room and protect him."


    Both of them nodded.


    Kai then fell on his bed, trying to figure their situation out again. Even with his Extraordinary hearing, he could not find anything suspicious.


    In the end, night came and it was the time for Kai and Tasha to go. He looked at Ayaka, handing her a paper containing two people''s identities that he got from Evan. "This is the data for the general and her assistant. Don''t trust anyone or at least fake your trust and never let your guard down. From my observation, these two are on opposite sides, unless you are sure which side they are on, just consider them as terrorists."


    "I¡­" Ayaka was doubting if she could do it alone from here, considering Michelle was in Evan''s shadow.


    "Don''t worry. If there is anything wrong, Michelle will help you." Kai nodded as he fixed his clothes, ready to go out. "Besides, we are not going for too long."


    Tasha was also preparing herself.


    "Then¡­ Good luck." They then left with Tasha''s teleportation.


    At the same time, whether it was Ayaka, Evan, the general, or even the assistant, all of them had a serious expression, knowing it was the time to begin.

 Chapter 95 - Second Mission (Part 3)

    Kai and Tasha were on their way toward Santarem, trying to finish their mission as soon as possible.


    They traveled with Tasha''s teleportation magic and because this was an infiltration mission, each teleportation was only two kilometers away, so Kai could check the condition ahead with his ears.


    It took them an hour just to reach this ce with teleportation magic. Santarem was a city near the Amazon River, making Kai confused as to where the terrorist would hide.


    Since it would be very obvious, they should not make their base right inside the city, so Kai and Tasha proceeded there with caution. It turned out he was right. There was no one inside the city, or at least, he did not hear a single person or magical beast, making it very quiet and creepy.


    "No one." Kai shook his head.


    "As expected¡­ Where are we going next?"


    He took out his device first to check the map. "We areing from the south and found nothing. We need to cross the river first if we want to go to the north. I check the water situation, so I can be sure there is no magical beast in the water anymore. That''s why the enemy base is unlikely to be there since they would need a helicopter or boat to cross the river, making them very noticeable.


    "There is a river on our left called Tapajos and we can make it as our anchor point if we search to the west. On the other side, we don''t have anything particr until it reaches the coast. So, I think we should search for the west first. It is still 10 pm, we have time to search." Kai exined.


    "Alright. The west is it." She nodded as she created another teleportation magic circle.


    Sadly, they did not find anything suspicious along the way despite being careful not to leave anything passed them.


    They arrived at the edge of the river, sighing. Tasha asked, "Do we have any clue other than Santarem?"


    "I have. This is why I also suggested the west." Kai nodded. "There are noticeable areas in our south where there are also a few clues¡­ How do I say this name? Alter do Ca¡­ Chao, Para? Anyway, it is along with Pindobal and Amaranai. And this is what confuses me¡­"


    "Confuse you?"


    "ording to the map, basically they can''t go to the north or west because they are blocked by the river and unless they want to be caught, it won''t be a good move.


    "If they set their camp around this area, they could only run to the east or south, making it very easy to cross them," Kai exined.


    "Is there any report across the river?" Tasha asked.


    Kai checked the information he got from the student council president and shook his head.


    "I feel we would have some clue if we search that area."


    "There are only scattered small inds around the river¡­" Kai said.


    "Well, isn''t it perfect to be their base?" Tasha shrugged.


    "Are you thinking about an underground base?" Kai shook his head.


    "Anyway, we don''t lose anything either in checking those ces, except an hour or so," Tasha said.


    "Alright. We are going there after we search these three areas." Kai agreed.


    They then proceeded around carefully, but as they had expected, they did not find anything. Because of that, they decided to go in the opposite direction ording to Tasha''s intuition.


    And in that ce, Kai was shocked because he finally heard two humans. They decided not to teleport again and closed in on foot. Surprisingly, Kai found around eight people in the area.


    "There are eight people around the area and they are pretty scattered," Kai informed as he pointed his finger. "Two over there, and two over there. The rest are in the same ce."


    "How big can your Instion Room be?" Tasha asked.


    "Since I have gotten back ten percent of my power, I can make around fifty meters."


    "That will be a bit hard, but doable. Assuming they are elites, we need to somehow ambush them."


    Kai pondered for a moment before saying, "I can be the bait while you snipe them. In the meantime, the others would not hear them because I will set up an Instion Room. They are not in the air right now and have quite a distance, so I doubt they can see my barrier."


    "Are you sure?" Tasha worried.


    "Yes. I can use my Luby to distract them and I have confidence in my closebat." Kai nodded. "We can retreat with your Space Magic anyway."


    Tasha paused for a bit before she agreed to his n. "Alright. Be careful out there."


    Kai nodded as he made a magic circle, creating a map. "We are going to attack the enemies on our ten first. We can try to get some information from them¡­ probably."


    She looked up, trying to see the enemies'' actual position before looking for her sniping position. "Alright. I have the position."


    They then disappeared, going toward their own position.


    Kai was using his beastly instinct and his ears to go through thend. He crept within the darkness as he suddenly appeared from behind the enemies.


    As one would expect from elites, they sensed his presence and turned back while Kai immediately used his magic to create a Sound Instion Room.


    "Enemy!" The male shouted as the female took out her radio.


    Seeing this, Kai immediately snapped his finger, creating a magic circle that would produce a loud and disturbing sound.


    "Kh!" Both of them tried to open their eyes despite this loud sound. The male even uttered, "Take care of him first, there might be anoth-!"


    Before he finished his words, he felt something wasing from their side and targeted the female. Sadly, his reaction was a bit slow because of Kai''s magic, letting her head be pierced by Tasha''s lightning arrow.


    "Wha-!" He gritted his teeth as he took out his spear, shing downwards.


    Seeing this, Kai also swung his sword to block his spear while using his other sword to strike at his neck.


    Unfortunately, the elite immediately ducked down and swung his spear toward Kai''s feet.


    Kai jumped and spun his body, striking him again from above. The male quickly raised his spear, blocking Kai''s two swords.


    "..." Noticing his movement, Kai could see that this man was on another level than the woman. He snapped his finger again and tried to attack at the same time.


    Unexpectedly, the man only gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and swung his spear to blow him away.


    Kai used his powerful strength to stop his spear.


    He was surprised that the little kid had so much power, but his spear was still sharp so Kai could not get close while making a magic circle on his left hand.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    Of course, Tasha immediately prevented that, aiming at his left hand.


    "!!!" The man immediately tried to destroy the arrow with his spear, and Kai instantly took that chance with his insane reaction speed.


    He sliced his left hand while continuing his sh toward his body.


    "Argh, Sh*t!" The man used the spear handle to block Kai''s sword while blocking Tasha''s arrow with just the thin spear de. Unfortunately, Tasha''s arrow still held more power than he expected, making his spear spin.


    Kai only smiled as his sword slid on the spear''s handle, cutting a few fingers that tried to hold the spear.


    The man immediately kicked him, so he could make a distance, but Kai had predicted it with his ears.


    He simply grabbed his foot to throw his bnce and struck his right arm with his sword. The blood immediately sttered around like his left hand. And Kai threw one of his swords to use his left hand to m the enemy''s head into the ground.


    "So, care to tell me what do you know¡­" He looked at him with killing intent.


    "Ptui." He spat on Kai though it was dodged. "I never thought I lost to a brat like you!"


    "That''s right. You lost, so please give me the information I need." Kai said nonchntly.


    "Do you think I will- Argh!" Before he finished his words, he screamed painfully as Kai just stabbed his right thigh while trying to spin his sword to make it more painful. "Nope, you won''t tell me."


    "That''s why let us y a game since I don''t really have time. Every time you refuse to answer, I will stab you with my sword like earlier. Let us see whether you are broken first or dying first." Kai smiled like a devil.


    After that, he kept screaming without saying anything, making Kai sigh. Tasha also came over after realizing he had died. He looked at Tasha and said, "No clue. It seems we need to target the weaker one and hope they tell us any clue."


    "I see." Tasha nodded, not minding about the blood around her.


    "Anyway, we are going to fight with the second party first before killing thest group."


    "What if we get our information in the next group? Do we ignore thest group and head to their location?" Tasha asked.


    "No. We are still going to kill that group. They couldmunicate with each other and I am afraid if we don''t take them swiftly, they will notice and inform their headquarters. If that happens, they will either prepare for a fight or run. I don''t want to go through this mission again, so I hope we can finish them tonight." Kai exined.


    "Alright. You are the leader." Tasha nodded.


    After taking a breather for a minute, they went toward the second group.

 Chapter 96 - Second Mission (Part 4)

    At the same time, chaos was also starting in the military base.


    The general called her assistant to her office, wanting to discuss something.


    Sipping her coffee, the general heard the voice of someone entering her room. "Have you finished the documents?"


    "Yes, General." She nodded, handing her the documents on her hand. She then asked, "What does the general want to talk with me? Is there any mission for me?"


    The general handed a paper to her. "That is your mission."


    The assistant took the paper and started reading it, albeit the paper only had a word on it. It said, "BITCH!"


    "!!!" Her body shook as she heard the general shouted, "Come in!"


    Two people, a man and a woman, came in and suddenly ran toward the assistant to apprehend her.


    "What are you two doing?" The assistant shouted, not knowing what just happened. Her body was pinned down by both of them and even if she used her magic, these two would stop it. "General, tell these two to stop."


    "Don''t kill her since she still has her use." The general then stood up, walking toward the door, but she was stopped by the assistant''sughter.


    "Hahaha¡­ Fool. You think tonight is the best way to act, right? Sorry, but I feel the same!" The assistant red at her. "General, do you like the coffee?"


    "!!!" Looking at her expression, the general felt something off. Her body felt a bit stiff before she realized she could not move her body.


    "General!" Both of her supporters were surprised, creating a chance for the assistance to retaliate.


    Feeling their grasp loosen, she used her magic.


    "Sh*t." They realized what just happened, gritting their teeth the moment they saw a magic circle.


    "Spark!"


    The purple-colored magic circle suddenly released a lightning attack, electrocuting both of them.


    "Gah!" Both of them shrilled out loud. The female fell down, letting out a bit foam from her mouth. On the other hand, the man was not better. Even though he was still conscious, he could not move his body as blood also came out of his nose.


    "First Lieutenant Risa, Why do you-" He red at her, wanting to ask her something, but his head was impaled to the wall by a single kick from her.


    Risa then looked at the general after the situation turned around. "Just as you said, you still have a purpose for our organization, General Cindy Ashley."


    Risa took out hermunication device and ordered, "Team A will go to the general''s office and take her with us. Team B will go with me to kidnap Evan Young. The rest of the team will create chaos in this base. As soon as we get these two, we will retreat."


    "You! You terrorist bastard! Our situation is already not good with the magical beasts and you want to make more ruckus." General Cindy could only shout after hearing many explosions sound outside.


    "Hmph. You know nothing! You don''t know our reason to fight!" Risa gritted her teeth, recalling the scene a few years ago.


    She was the same as Cindy, a soldier that wanted to fight for the country, especially for humanity.


    She also led a group and fought bravely in the front line. However, at one particr mission, they were surrounded by too many Magical Beasts and were forced to escape. Unfortunately, they were unable to escape, so they asked her alone to escape while buying time for her.


    With regret, she ran toward the military base to request for help. Unexpectedly, her hope was betrayed again as the general in that military base did not want to send help and said to her, "Although it saddens me, there is nothing we can do because we don''t have enough people and there were around ten thousand magical beasts."


    She tried to talk back but was ordered to stand by on the base. She knew that they had enough people and they just did not want to spare any resources because it was not worth it. After all, just to bring a group that might already be wiped out would cost more soldiers.


    It gave her the shock of her life. They had been fighting together for a few years, but the general wanted her to abandon them and promoted her to shut her up. She was angry at that time and immediately rushed back toward her group, ignoring the order.


    And at that moment, he saw another group helping her group. After fighting for a few minutes, they managed to break through. She lost two of herrades and took the rest back to the military base since the other party let her do so.


    Unfortunately, when she came back, all she got was punishment for disobeying an order. The same applied to her otherrades. They decided to defect to that group and infiltrated the military base for them.


    The leader of this group was injured, so after hearing about Evan Young''s ability, they staged a grand n to kidnap him and this was the moment.


    Recalling this, it gave another surge of determination in her heart. She punched her face once, creating a blue spot right on her cheek.


    She killed the two people that tried to apprehend her earlier. Surprisingly, she painted their blood on her to make her look heavily injured.


    Before going out, eight people came in. "We have neutralized the people outside. Although there will be many soldiers that will try to attack us around the base."


    "You guys take care of her." She said to the first four before looking toward the other four. "All of you will try to attack me when I get Evan Young to create a situation where it looks like I want to rescue him. If we get away from the base, we will retreat."


    "Understood." All of them nodded and Risa immediately ran outside.


    A few soldiers died in front of theirputer because the raid and they could hear magic shes.


    Most of the soldiers did not know what happened. They could only see that they were attacked by their ownrades. Still, some knew about this and immediately tried to fight back, creating a battle between soldiers.


    After knowing they were terrorists, the ignorant soldiers immediately helped to fight back.


    On the other hand, Ayaka already arrived at Evan''s room, sweating because of the rush. "Are you alright?"


    Evan nodded his head, sighing. "Yes. Hearing all these sounds, I know there were many terrorists around here. In fact, I am wondering how you would fight all of these elite soldiers¡­"


    "Since you are given this room, they would certainlye here. We are going to go to another ce first." Ayaka said.


    "I know." Evan nodded. "I will just follow you."


    Kai did not give her any suggestions about this, so she could only say. "It will be better to get out of this chaotic situation¡­ we should go to the north."


    The best she could think of was to go to Kai''s position, but it was also the most logical answer. Kai already said to treat all of them as terrorists until proven otherwise, so it would be better to escape from ''terrorist base'' and go to the friend they could trust.


    Evan Young nodded and started walking, but the door was opened by someone else. It was the injured Risa.


    "We need to run!" Risa shouted while acting like she was in pain. "I managed to escape somehow from the general, but she wille here soon. We need to leave this ce."


    Seeing this appearance made them believe her for a second before they remembered what Kai said. In fact, if there were Kai here, he would immediately realize that she was lying. For an injured person that rushed into this ce, her heartbeat was too slow. At that time, Kai would instantly act to approach her before killing her.


    Albeit, in this situation, Ayaka recalled another thing Kai had said. He said to fake her trust, so she decided to y along while trying to see whether she was a terrorist or not.


    "Hurry up!" Risa shouted.


    Ayaka immediately grabbed Evan''s arm and dragged him away. They were following Risa, making Evan confused.


    "It''s them!"


    They suddenly heard a voice from behind. Turning their heads, they could see four people with the same military clothes as Risa. One of them immediately made a magic circle and shot out a purple lightning strike toward Evan, trying to paralyze him.


    Risa simply came in between and raised a magic shield to block that attack. "We need to get out of the base."


    She shouted as she kept blocking the iing attacks while Ayaka and Evan ran outside.


    They could see how chaotic it was on the outside. Explosions, dying soldiers and the others, making them wonder why they would do something like that despite having the same enemy.


    Ayaka could only shake her head, wondering what to do. It looked like Risa and those attackers were not on the same side, so she tried to figure which one she should trust.


    Sadly, she took too long and they had arrived outside the base safely. Unexpectedly, the instant they came out, Risa immediately raised her speed, catching up with Ayaka and Evan. Neither of them realized until she was right behind Ayaka and took out her gun.


    She aimed the gun right in front of her head, pulling the trigger.


    Evan realized something was off and turned her head only to see this. "Kudo Ayaka!"


    Ayaka turned her head and opened her mouth in surprise, looking at the gun''s muzzle as well as Risa''s smirk. She could only think, "Kai¡­"


    "Bam!"

 Chapter 97 - Michelle Showed Her Might

    "Bam!"


    The gunshot, albeit only shot toward the sky. A voice of a woman echoed, "This is what he means by thest second¡­ And what he meant by ''don''t trust anyone'' was to never let your guard down. It seems you need more experience."


    Michelle appeared from Evan''s shadow, deflecting Risa''s gun to the air while slicing her neck.


    "Michelle Graham¡­" Risa was too surprised by her appearance. She thought Michelle disappeared to handle another mission. To think she only came inside Evan Young''s shadow and appeared at thest moment, no one could predict it, especially with that stunt from Kai Carter.


    Her head was flying as she looked at Ayaka, saying. "Take this knowledge to your head. You need to grow faster since we can''t always protect you¡­"


    She turned back again, ring at the four terrorists. "Well, we need to remove four of them first."


    "!!!" Ayaka realized what she said. "Follow me."


    She took a few turns, trying to escape from their eyes. The four were surprised when they saw Risa dying just like that, but they still needed to acquire Evan Young, so they had no choice other than to go after them.


    Sadly, the moment they took the turn and saw them. A magic circle suddenly appeared right below them, glowing bright red.


    "Sh*t!" They realized they just walked into their trap.


    "Boom!" Ayaka''s magic bomb exploded, sting them to smithereens.


    Michelle was the first to react when she saw all four of them managed to make a magic shield, protecting them from the explosion. Although they took a quite amount of damage, they were still not easy to beat.


    That was why she decided to at least cut two of them down by using this precious chance. She waved both of her short swords that had been covered by a dark fire, releasing a kind of sword attack.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Because of the momentum, they could not dodge this attack. Despite using a magic shield, two of them did not manage to block an S rank magician''s attack.


    The attack cut through the shield and split them into two. She said to Ayaka, "Good job."


    Although it looked like Ayaka was in the wrong, there was actually noint about her performance. She only let her guard down for an instant when they entered the woods, trying to think about their n. However, that instant was what would cost her life.


    "Evan Young, move back a little and Ayaka would protect you from any other potential enemies," Michelle ordered before turning back to the two enemies in front. "I will handle those two."


    "Are you sure? I can support you." Ayaka worried as the two enemies seemed to be elites. They could take the two because of the surprise attack, but this time, they were prepared.


    "It''s fine. Because Night is my territory." Michelle smirked as a ck magic circle, appeared on her back, giving her a certain power.


    "Moonlight Shadow."


    There was this strange fire that kept gushing out from her body, giving others anxiety. Just like Ikeda Kenzo''s light element that could give him a boost of strength and speed under the sunlight, Michelle''s Dark Power also gave a power-up in this dark night.


    Another magic circle appeared on her eyes, giving her the ability of night vision. She clenched the two short swords, making the two enemies rmed.


    "She''sing!" One of them shouted as she took out her gun. Herrade also took her sword and charged at Michelle as the vanguard, but she miscalcted her new speed.


    Michelle appeared in front of her, swinging her sword on her neck.


    She ducked down to avoid the swords, but Michelle immediately turned her body around and swung vertically from above.


    Out of reflex, she dodged to the side, but she suddenly realized that dark fire was gushing out from her sword. It was at that moment, she knew her target was herrade. "Alisha!"


    "Shadow sh!"


    The sharp dark fire charged at breakneck speed, trying to cut a person called Alisha into two. However, because of the call, she somehow managed to dodge to the side and avoid death.


    "Ah!" Alisha screamed in pain, watching her right hand cut by Michelle''s attack because she waste for a split second.


    "Tch!" Michelle clicked her tongue as she tried to attack the sword user again, who was creating a blue magic circle on her hand. At the same time, Michelle''s magic circle appeared right beneath the sword user''s feet, manipting its shadow to rise from the ground and grab her.


    "Water Jet!" The sword user shot out high-pressure water, trying to blow Michelle''s away. Unfortunately, her attack shot toward the sky, because the shadow pulled her wrist.


    Michelle then swung her right sword, trying to attack her heart.


    Despite being restricted by her own shadow, she somehow was able to change the grip on her sword and pulled her hand to block this attack.


    Sadly, Michelle did not stop there as she swung her other sword, aiming to cut her from her head.


    Because her sword was stopping Michelle''s other sword, she had no choice than making a magic circle to block this, albeit she saw that Michelle''s sword released the dark energy again, telling her it was her doom.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The overbearing attack from an S rank magician shattered the magic circle and killed the enemy.


    Michelle had no time to waste and immediately charged at her.


    Seeing this, the enemy tried to shoot her a few times but kept missing her. As herst struggle, she made a magic circle right in front of her gun. The moment she shot her gun, it was converted by the magic circle, creating a very powerful attack.


    Michelle cut her down and immediately turned around, shouting. "Ayaka!"


    Knowing she could not hit Michelle, she chose to attack Evan Young with all of her power. However, Ayaka also saw this and two magic circles. One was her fire armor, enveloping her with fire and creating a big fire shield on her hand, while the other one was a magic shield.


    Ayaka created twoyers of shield and appeared a few meters in front of Evan.


    "Kh!" As she had expected, the attack was powerful, destroying her magic shield almost instantly. Luckily, her fire shield was far stronger than her magic shield.


    The force was pushing her three meters away before exploding, letting Ayaka take the full brunt of the explosion.


    Luckily, she had covered her full body with fire armor, letting her receive the attack without any injury.


    Michelle also could not help but raised her thumbs up, saying. "Nice."


    She came back to Ayaka and Evan, "We will make a distance with the base first since it is the most chaotic ce right now. And I think we can only wait for Kai to arrive."


    "Not going to him?" Ayaka asked.


    "Yes. If we keep moving, there is a possibility that the enemy might spot us. So, I suggest we search for a hidden ce and stay there until tomorrow. I believe no one has difficulty in staying outside, right?"


    Both Ayaka and Evan nodded. In fact, it was the basic ability they needed to have. "Any of you hurt? I can heal you."


    "Nope. You can-!" Before she finished her words, she saw four people carrying someone and because they were not that far, the other party also noticed them. "Sh*t."


    Michelle was surprised to see the general was the one who was carried by them. Kai said that General Cindy and Her Assistant Risa were on different sides. Seeing that Risa was the terrorist, the one who carried Cindy would most likely be terrorists.


    "Run!" General Cindy shouted, uttering all the energy she had. On the other hand, the terrorist saw their team was wiped out and was enraged. The leader said, "Team A has fallen, I am sure leader Risa is also down. Call Team C and D to our position right now! We will kill them and take Evan Young with us!"


    "Yes!" The others also started charging toward them.


    "Run!" Michelle ordered, making Ayaka and Evan turn around and run. She used her Shadow sh to buy them time.


    Ayaka asked, "Are we going to kill them?"


    "Didn''t you hear what they said? If we are going to be surrounded by ten elites, it will be better to run. Our mission is just to scout the enemy base and be Evan Young''s bodyguards, not to subjugate the terrorists." Michelle answered. "We might be able to finish them shortly if we can make another surprise attack, but seeing theirrades have been killed by us, they will surely be alert."


    "Indeed, They can also use the general as their shield." Evan suddenly broke his silence.


    "Yes. That''s the problem. By the way, from the look of it, she is in a paralyzed state, considering she is awake but can''t move. Can you heal her?" Michelle asked Evan.


    "Yes. As long as they are not dead, I can heal them, but it will take some time since I need to dissolve the medicine... Unless they use a very potent one." He nodded.


    "Your healing ability¡­ Why don''t you join our group?" Michelle suddenly asked an unexpected question.


    "We are in this situation and you are asking that?"


    "True¡­ Well, Kai seems to be interested in you."


    Evan was astonished at first before having a disgusted expression. "Is he?"


    "No. Your efforts will be rewarded someday, even without doing that¡­ is what makes him interested in you."


    "!!!" Evan recognized that line and looked away. However, before he answered, Kai, the one who was interested in him, appeared right behind the enemy, rming both friends and foes.


    "Change of n, we are going to strike them now and talkter!" Michelle stopped and turned around while creating her swords.

 Chapter 98 - Lion Group

    Half an hour ago,


    Kai and Tasha were standing in front of four dead bodies, who were supposed to be thergest group. The bodies were covered by blood.


    The battle was hard-fought but was worth it because he got the information he needed for the mission. It seemed that their base was in an empty city called Cameta, around the southwest of Belem''s Military Base, where Risa was stationed earlier.


    Looking at this, Kai thought there would be a high chance for Risa to be the terrorist. Sadly, even knowing this would not help him since he could only put his trust in Michelle and Ayaka. Because of that, Kai and Tasha tried to search the base as fast as possible.


    After around half an hour, Kai picked up a loud sound, consisting of many footsteps around the area. The supposed empty city turned out to be a terrorist base.


    "More than three hundred people¡­ and with this timing, we should safely assume there are more who are currently asleep. If I want to focus on counting them, we need to get closer, but the mission is only to locate the enemy base. I suppose we should call it a day." Kai tried to count the people by their footsteps before turning to Tasha.


    "Yeah. This is their battle, not us." She shrugged.


    Kai then took out the pen and pushed the blue button three times, signaling it was three kilometers from their position before throwing the pen on the ground.


    After doing what he needed to do, he nodded to Tasha. "We are going back to the base. If what I predicted was right, then the base would be chaotic right now."


    Tasha took a deep breath before teleporting them again and again toward the base. Until Kai suddenly shouted, "Stop!"


    Tasha, who was in the middle of making a magic circle, suddenly had her heart skip a beat. "Is there something wrong?"


    "Michelle and the rest are running toward us from that direction," Kai said, pointing his finger toward the southwest


    "Hm? How far?"


    "More than three kilometers, we can teleport to two kilometers ahead and another teleport right behind them to make a sneak attack," Kai said.


    "Alright." She nodded and teleported them there before looking at Kai.


    "They are still moving. On my signal, teleport us for another one kilometer." He said on his signal because even for her, teleporting at an exact range such as 1435 meters would be too hard. That was why he decided to wait for a bit more, waiting for the others to reach that ce.


    After around one minute, Kai suddenly shouted. "Now!"


    She used teleportation magic as quickly as possible.


    Appearing right behind the enemy, Kai immediately charged at them with his swords, trying to break their formation. Seeing the condition of the general, Kai realized that she was on the same side.


    Because of that, his charge was to save her. Tasha also took a few steps back before drawing her bows.


    "Ambush!"


    At this time, Michelle already swung her sword. "Shadow sh!"


    This attack instantly created a gap in their formation and Kai quickly took that chance to attack the one who had General Cindy. There were two people that tried to stop him, but Lightning Arrow struck one of them while the other got a fiery bird.


    Kai only smiled as he snapped his finger in the middle of the enemy, creating a very disturbing sound.


    "Luby."


    *Ding!*


    All of them tried to endure the excruciating pain on their ears, but he managed to loosen the grip of the one who carried the general. He took the general and threw it toward Michelle.


    "Michelle!"


    "I know." Michelle made a ck magic circle, raising Cindy''s shadow to grab her real self. "Shadow Maniption Doll."


    The shadow then brought her to Evan, so he could heal her. After making sure of that, she then started charging to help Kai, who was inbat with four enemies. "Ayaka, protect both of them."


    Kai swung his swords toward the iing attacks, which were spears. He instantly showed his powerful strength and blew these two always before ducking down because the other two were shooting at him.


    At this time, Michelle had arrived, swinging both her swords toward one of them. She decided to kill one person at a time while Kai fought the other three.


    After knowing her for so long, he already knew what she wanted to do andpletely held these the other three as long as he could.


    "Bam Bam!"


    Kai turned his head, avoiding another two shots from the enemy. He then tried to kill the spear user with his sword.


    Although the spear user could only be on the defensive because of his strength, Kai also could not pass through her. After shing another thirty seconds, Kai noticed Michelle was going to use her Shadow sh.


    He then swung both of his swords from above, trying to pin her to the ground. The spear user tried to fight back with her strength, but Kai suddenly released one of his swords as his hand moved toward her neck and grabbed it. He gritted his teeth and raised her before throwing her toward Michelle.


    "Michelle!"


    "Shadow-" Just when Michelle wanted to use her Shadow sh to attack her enemy, Kai''s shout immediately made her turn her head and smirked. She halted the sh a little bit and made a swing on her back. "-sh!"


    "No, you won''t!" Her opponent was trying to stop her, but a purple light suddenly pierced her head. It was Tasha''s arrow. The reason why she hid after the first attack was for this moment.


    With her arrow and Michelle''s Shadow sh killed an enemy respectively, only two other enemies left that tried to escape. Sadly, they could not because Kai immediately stopped them.


    They tried to shoot him, but with his ears and reaction speed, no bullet managed to hit him. Seeing Kai manage to corner them, Tasha immediately sent another arrow.


    Unfortunately, they already knew her position as one of them shot her arrow. Little did they know, the arrow was only a distraction for Kai to catch up. He leaped toward the one that destroyed Tasha''s arrow and swung his sword.


    The other one wanted to stop him as she aimed her gun toward him. Unbeknownst to her, the moment Kai pursued them, Michelle also chased them but right behind Kai so they could not see her figure. However, when Kai leaped toward his target, it gave Michelle''s a good line of sight to the other one.


    "Shadow sh!" She instantly swung her sword, killing her target. At the same time, Kai''s sword already reached his target''s neck and sliced it.


    "Fu." Kai let out a long breath after killing her. Before looking at Michelle or the others, he turned his head toward Evan and General Cindy, who managed to raise her body again.


    She came toward Kai with a serious expression before making a salute to him. "Thank you for your help. If not, Evan Young and I might be taken to their base. At that time, no one could tell what they would do."


    "Evan Young''s safety is our mission or at least our front mission. So, no big deal." He said.


    "So, what are you going to do now?" She asked.


    "I think we will wait in this ce until the situation is under control. After all, fighting the terrorist is not our mission." Kai said. "Though, I heard eight people''s footstepsing toward us. They are still three minutes away."


    "They are the terrorists." She nodded. "I would like to ask for your help to eliminate them. Since I can move now, I can handle a group of four easily while your group handles the other one. I will report your achievement to the army and school after this."


    Kai took a glimpse of Michelle''s and Tasha''s expressions to check their condition and nodded. "Only this one. I will not help with the base."


    "That''s enough."


    "Evan Young, you are going to stay here for a while. There should be no enemy other than them in a five kilometers radius." Kai said.


    "Alright." He nodded.


    After seeing this, they decided to move out.


    ¡­


    At the same time, inside the military base in the US base was chaotic too. They were preparing for a big raid ording to the information Kai provided. At first, they did not believe Kai''s information, but because of one man, they decided to believe it and prepared the soldiers.


    The mysterious man was none other than Michael Graham, Michelle''s father. After hearing about their mission, he immediately gathered the information and came toward this military base. It was a mission that the government forced his future son-inw to take.


    He would surely force his way to join the mission. Even the general could say nothing after debating with him.


    In just one hour, around four hundred elite soldiers were already lined up, waiting for the orders.


    The general and Michael Graham walked toward them for the briefing. "We have the location of D''Ruler. It is in the empty city called Cameta. This will be a big scale raid and I don''t want any failure.


    "toon 1 to 3 will be our vanguards while toon 4 to 7 will be our main attackers. toon 8 and 9 will set up a perimeter around Cameta to make sure no one could escape.


    "If I can be honest with all of you, the one who found their location was only a student. Don''t you guys feel ashamed to make a student risking his life to discover their location?"


    "Yes, Sir!" All soldiers shouted at the same time.


    "Then move out! Failure won''t be tolerated!" The general shouted.


    "Yes, Sir!"

 Chapter 99 - Visit

    The army had a chaotic battle that night, whether in the military base or the terrorist base. Luckily, the army managed to catch them off guard and struck a great first blow.


    They mainly used helicopters and transport aircraft that could hold more than 20 people, letting the soldiers fight instead of relying on their weaponry. Unlike fighting with magical beasts, the enemies would be able to steal or attack their fighter aircraft, resulting in more loss to their side. Even without them, the elite soldiers managed to control the enemies swiftly.


    Although the terrorist fought bravely, they were eventually routed by the main force. The army also found all names that were disguising as the army.


    The general ordered his soldiers to split up to several bases and wiped the terrorists out, including the terrorists inside Brazil Military Base.


    Kai and the others went back to the base while Evan started healing the injured soldiers. Unfortunately, the talk about recruiting him was forgotten by them.


    The next day, Michelle''s father sent a group to pick them up because he worried if they missed someone.


    As soon as they arrived at the US Main Military Base, they were greeted by Michelle''s father, Michael Graham.


    "Father, what are you doing here?"


    "I have three reasons for being here. First, I need to make sure you were alright, also to ensure the army would dispatch their soldiers as soon as they received Kai''s signal. Besides, I am still angry with the government, who has taken advantage of my son-inw.


    "The second reason is to inform you guys that the mission has finally ended. The situation is still pretty chaotic, but this will surely reform the army. The army will surely use all of their soldiers to conquer Brazil. Meaning, students might be able to participate in a mission.


    "Third¡­ This is a bit rted to the first reason¡­'' He paused a bit, ncing at Kai.


    "Uncle?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what kind of trouble he had gotten into.


    "No¡­ I mean, you forgot to visit Michelle''s Grandfather, AKA my father¡­ In fact, he is the one who forced me toe here." He sighed.


    "..." Kai opened his eyes wide. He indeed forgot about this matter, because he spent too much time with Michelle when he just arrived at this base. "Sorry."


    "Anyway, Michelle''s birthday is next week and we will hold it at our resort in South Carolina." He then looked at Tasha and Ayaka, "You two cane too. They are pretty curious about you guys, especially about Kudo Ayaka."


    "Ehm¡­ Will do." Kai nodded.


    "Alright. There is a vehicle for you ready outside the base that will take you to your home."


    "We will be going then." After Kai said that, Michelle led them outside.


    ¡­


    The next day, they started going to school again. The school went as usual and without a mission, the group rxed in their room after school.


    It turned out next week, the start of fall, 1st September was really a very special day. The first was, of course, Michelle''s birthday.


    She received a bunch of presents since she was popr. Even Tasha gave her a present on this special day.


    As for Kai, Michelle asked him not to give her any presents. Instead, she requested his time for a date.


    Kai had no problem with that and dedicated a day just for her. They tried everything they could, like eating in a good restaurant, shopping, watching a movie and such. Even so, at the end of their date, he still gave her a present, which was a matching ne.


    He brought an expensive one with the money he got recently. In fact, the majority came from Michelle''s fight. Because of the difficulty of the task and their achievement, the student council raised the reward, filling Kai''s and Tasha''s pockets. As for Ayaka and Michelle, they only stored it, thinking of donating to the group if needed.


    Michelle did not really mind about the present since she could practically have anything she wanted. That was why she asked for Kai''s time as her present as she thought it was the most expensive thing. And the ne was a good bonus at the end.


    The second reason that made this day special was because of theing of Shirotsuka Sanae. After recovering and processing the paperwork, she had officially be a teacher in Sacred Elite Magic School.


    She was introduced as Mano Yuki''s assistant before bing their instructor. Having a familiar person as their instructor was a plus while Michelle did not really mind because she was her teacher''s friend. If they only had a fifth person, it would be perfect.


    It was at this time, Michelle gave him the information about Evan Young. Kai was certainly surprised by Evan''s profile and managed to pique his interest while Michelle shared the same sentiment.


    Tasha''s and Ayaka''s opinions also changed after seeing his profile and agreed with Kai''s decision to invite him to their group.


    As Michelle expected, they were interested in Evan''s past as well as his rtionship with their opponent, Isabelle Fisher.


    Kai then met Evan, trying to persuade him to join. Surprisingly, Evan swiftly nodded his head without hearing his argument. Although he said because he wanted to rest from his responsibility to heal people here and there, Kai knew he had another reason. At that time, he tried to ask a few questions to him and was amazed by his answer. Unfortunately, Evan asked for him not to tell anyone about it, which he agreed.


    Besides, Evan''s ability was really unique. Not only his healing ability was precious, but hisputing skill could also increase their stability. And with Sanae taking charge of the HQ, their group was perfect.


    Lastly, but certainly not the least, the good news came from Graham''s Family. ording to Michelle, it seemed she would have a little brother or sister in 9 months. She told Kai the reason why her mother was pregnant was because of him.


    Kai was startled upon hearing that, but Michelle quickly exined. It turned out Michael had a good mood because of Kai''s appearance and became a bit energetic. Although it was a bitte, Daisy Graham managed to conceive a second child.


    The entire Graham family immediately threw a party. Kai was invited but he rejected and only sent his regards.


    Kai rejected because the next day was the promised day. Although Evan did not join, the rest were going toward Michelle''s family resort, including Shirotsuka Sanae, who tagged along because of Mano Yuki. As Michelle''s teacher, she certainly had enough qualifications toe to a party like his.


    Kai was wearing his casual clothes while bringing a few changes. This was his usual style if Michelle''s family visited him in United Japan, so he did not really care about his appearance that much.


    Michelle was the same. She just wore a sweater with long pants while bringing some personal clothes. Tasha also had a simr preparation as her. The only different one was Ayaka.


    They were going to stay there for three days, so she brought a bunch of stuff, afraid of forgetting something. Ultimately, she brought two suitcases along with her.


    Of course, none of themughed at her, and she somehow felt more embarrassed than she was supposed to. She epted the invitation because Michelle said that her grandparents were curious about her and the amount of support of her family, telling her not to lose.


    Hearing it, she could only ept her fate and follow them to South Carolina.


    As for the two teachers, Mano Yuki wanted to pay her respect to Michelle''s grandfather as he was the one who saved her back then. Sanae also wanted to say her thanks to him, but her real intention was the expensive wine.


    Both of them were wearing semi-formal outfits to meet him since they respected her grandfather too much.


    The journey was not longer than three hours before theynded. And of course, seeing how eager Michelle''s grandfather was, he quickly sent his butler to pick them up.


    "Young Lady, Master asked me to bring you to the estate." The butler said without any expression.


    As far as he could remember, the butler was a stiff one who only thought about Graham''s family. Back then, Kai tried to talk with him, but to no avail.


    The butlerpletely ignored him and after several attempts, he gave up. That was why when he saw the butler, Kai only nodded to him, who nodded back. And that was all for their greeting.


    He opened the car door for everyone politely, asking them toe in. After that, they drove them toward a certain estate near the sea.


    Ayaka and Sanae, who did not know about this, thought it would be too dangerous to have a settlement around the sea, as there was a certain possibility for flying beasts or sea creatures to attack them. However, for those who already knew about it, they would know it was because of this estate, Graham family was known as the guardian deity of South Carolina.


    They indeed stemmed from Colorado, but after several generations of hard work, they were rewarded South Carolina for their effort. That was why the family usually stayed in this area while the current head took charge of their estate in the capital since the US moved its capital to Colorado after the incident.


    While wondering that, the car had stopped and the butler opened the door. They had arrived. When they came out, they saw an old man where Kai and the others immediately paid their respect.


    "Good Afternoon Sir!"

 Chapter 100 - Talk

    "Good Afternoon Sir!"


    The old man had short white hair. He had a huge scar on his left eye and lost that eye. He wore his eyepatch on a usual day but seemed to have forgotten about it when Kai arrived, showing his empty eye.


    He rushed here and smirked with that scary face. "Wee to my house, you brats. I hope you enjoy my reception."


    Hearing his words, Kai instantly knew it was directed at him and raised his guards as he heard two footstepsing toward him.


    Michelle also realized what her grandfather meant and swiftly led the guests inside, ignoring her grandfather. Everyone was unsure except Tasha, who also knew the meaning. Seeing Tasha stepped forward, they decided to follow her, albeit ncing at Kai a few times beforeing inside.


    Kai took out his swords, swinging toward his back and left. Ayaka could see two figures trying to kick him.


    She was shocked, opening her eyes wide before ncing at Michelle. "Ehm, he¡­"


    "Don''t worry. He is my grandfather, Nathan. Well, you can say it is his greeting to Kai and he even brought my two uncles with him." She sighed. "Anyway, if they are just fighting without magic, I doubt Kai would lose with his strength and hearing."


    And it turned out she was right. Kai suddenly dropped his swords before grabbing their feet and throwing them away.


    "Let''s go." She dragged Ayaka away, leaving Kai alone.


    Nathan only smirked as he saw this, saying, "Heh. You brat is still as powerful as ever. At least your strength and reaction speed."


    "Good afternoon, two uncles." Kai greeted them first before answering, "This is still not enough."


    The two uncles in his mouth were Michael''s little brothers, the second and the third son of Nathan Graham.


    "Fufu¡­ It is good to have that desire since we don''t know what wille our way in the future," The second son, Bryan, said.


    "Indeed. You need to have a powerful strength to protect your family. And if I am not wrong, big brother has another kid now?" The other uncle, Albert, asked.


    "Indeed. I have been informed about the new baby. Sadly, the baby is still too small, so we have not known its gender yet." Bryan nodded.


    "Well, if it is a son, we should teach him not to have multiple wives as the family sessor. Besides, Michelle would also be happy with that." Albert nodded.


    "You two¡­" Nathan shook his head, looking at Kai. "Well, I have not certainly told you about our family tradition, right?"


    He shook his head.


    "Well, in our family, if you are the head, you can''t have more than one wife, just like me, the previous head. I am blessed with three sons and a daughter though. But if you see all my brothers, you will see them usually have more than one wife.


    "And now, after so long, I am the only one who is still alive. They have been sucked dry by their wives Hahaha¡­" The old manughed before saying, "Just kidding."


    "Well, just look at these two. Albert has two while Bryan has four. If you marry Michelle, then you will be the head of this family, but only seeing Tasha, I doubt you can maintain the tradition. That''s why even though we are supporting your rtionship, we are still urging that brat, Michael, to have another child.


    "If you can''t, then we will have your second or third uncle''s child to be the family head¡­ Albeit, this happy newses at the perfect time.


    "This way, you also don''t need to follow the tradition and I can entrust Michelle to youpletely." Nathan sighed.


    "..." Kai never heard of this from Michelle. The tradition was important indeed, yet he was confused about why there was such a tradition in the first ce.


    Looking at his expression, Nathan exined, "I am sure you are confused with the tradition. The original purpose of this tradition is not to let the family fall into the lust path, especially in this kind of society.


    "If the family head does not have this thought, no woman could try to charm him other than his wife. At the very least, he would not be manipted by others. The second reason is if you have a family head that only focuses on his wives and each of them has their own intent or ambition, it will be chaotic the moment it crashes.


    "It will be different if the one who has multiple wives is just a normal family member. No matter what they want to do, they would still need to bow down upon the big family. If they try to usurp the head, they would need to follow the tradition since no one would support them.


    "All in all, the rule is there to ensure the family won''t be ruined. This is why it is very good news to hear that brat finally got another kid. By the way, since family tradition does not bind you two anymore, I request a kid! As soon as possible." The old man said.


    "Make it two!" Bryan nodded.


    "Why are you asking a child like ordering food?" Kai interjected.


    "Michelle''s and Kai''s child¡­ call big brother''s kid uncle with ''Uncle,'' this¡­ is really hrious." Albert blinked as he just thought it was a great idea. "Well, if you don''t want Michelle anymore, there are still Mia and Eva."


    Kai just could not believe these three. He was wondering how the conversation became like this. Shaking his head, he replied, "No. No one can rece her."


    "..." Hearing that, they just shrugged and smiled. The old man then walked toward him, patting his shoulder. "Anyway, let''se in."


    Kai nodded before feeling a sense of dangering from above. He instinctively received it with his sword.


    "Bam!"


    He was surprised by the weight of this attack as he took a glimpse of it.


    It turned out to be the old man''s hand with his glove, trying to hit his head. The two uncles also moved ording to this, attacking Kai''s once again.


    "If you don''t want to change the window today, then stop." Kai made a green magic circle as he threatened them.


    Surprisingly, the threat worked as the two uncles stopped on their tracks. Bryan said, "Oh,e on. Why don''t we continue a bit longer since I am a bit curious about the true power of a Zodiac."


    "Brother, you do know he has yet to ept that power¡­" Albert nced.


    "I know¡­ Still, it sucks because it''s been a few years since thest time we met him in United Asia." Bryan sighed.


    "Indeed¡­ talking about United Asia¡­ to think there is such an incident in there¡­"


    "Yeah, even though they have been living together for a few hundred years in harmony."


    "It is normal." Nathan broke his silence. "There are many patriotic people in United Asia, EU Base, or even in this ce¡­ The difference is their background and ambition.


    "You can say this one has a good background, time, and enough ambition. Unlike their government, our government is focusing on magical beasts. This is to prevent any revolt or something like that and create a good government system.


    "Of course, it can only be achieved with a powerful government. If our government is at the same level as them, our family might also try to take over the country¡­ or at least, the most ambitious person in our family, my grandfather."


    Hearing that, they quickly imagined one person. The conqueror of the east, Max Graham. He was known by his title because, in his time, he was able to conquer the entire eastern United States.


    Because of his achievement and the power he held at that time, a desire to control the entire base crept inside his heart. Unfortunately, though he might be someone who couldy waste magical beasts or the entire base, he would never be someone who was capable of raising and nurturing one.


    After many persuasion efforts, he finally let his desire go. He was awarded South Carolina and retired in exchange for his effort in conquering the Eastern United States.


    "I really love his tale." Bryan closed his eyes, smiling.


    "That''s right. Nurturing is far harder than destroying." Albert sighed.


    The old man nodded. "It is already hard to take care of everyone in the family, let alone the entire base. So, our Graham Family does not really see the president seat as a throne, but as a hard job.


    "That''s why we rather have enough power to protect our family from injustice, whether it is from the government or other families than fighting them directly."


    Kai nodded. "Yeah¡­ though can you put your hand away?"


    He asked because Nathan''s hand was still trying to pummel him.


    "Haha¡­ Are you tired already? If you are already tired with just something like this, then I need to prepare some medicine for you¡­ in case you are too tired to do the deed." The old man continued with his joke,ughing. The scary face he had earlier was reced by warm and gentle eyes. The scar still made him scary though.


    "Enough with the joke¡­" Kai sighed. "I think everyone is waiting."


    "Fine. We will have another sparringter." Nathan rolled his eyes away.


    They then came, searching for the others who were waiting for them in the backyard for a long time.


    There were almost a hundred people on there, making Kai realize how big this family was. After all, he was sure not everyone could attend the party.


    After getting released by Nathan, Kai made his way toward Michelle and the others and enjoyed the small party.

 Chapter 101 - Nathan And Ayaka

    The party was big and luxurious. Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka already dressed up beautifully, wearing a dress that suited their characters. Kaiplimented each of them and sat on the side since this was not really his thing.


    A few tried to have a conversation with him but disappointed by the result. And they could not approach him as Michelle and Tasha stood on his side. He did not mind since the star of this party was Michelle.


    No one would have a party this big except two people who were Michelle and Nathan. As the former family''s head, Nathan deserved a party like this while Michelle was the current S rank magician in the family.


    ...


    In the middle of the party,


    Nathan observed Ayaka carefully. He was aware of Tasha and Sakura, thinking it would be no problem to pair them up with Kai. It was different for Ayaka, who only knew Kai for two months. He only recognized the Kudo Group in United Asia, not her. He wanted to see if Ayaka was a person that would lead the family to ruin or not.


    When their eyes met, Nathan closed his eyes for a few seconds before calling her to him. "Come here."


    Ayaka was a bit unsure about this, thinking of calling Kai. Surprisingly, she buried that thought as she walked toward him with a serious expression. "Greetings, Elder."


    "Umu." He nodded while sending a fierce re at her.


    "May I know if there is anything I can do to help Elder?" Ayaka asked politely.


    "There is certainly something I want to ask you." Nathan paused a little, creating tension between them. Luckily, no one realized this other than Kai, thinking it was just a small chat. Surprisingly, his next statement shocked Ayaka. "My request is simply for you to stay away from Kai."


    "Wha-" She wanted to rebuke him, but Nathan only put his finger on his mouth, telling her to shut up for a bit.


    "Tasha also has been with him for a few years. And I could say that both have ovee strive and carnage together with him¡­ which I can understand. And that mysterious Sakura, I don''t really care about her, but it is true that she managed to change him.


    "As for my own granddaughter¡­ Michelle has been with him longer than Tasha. In her heart, there is only him. Even the family is number two in her eyes. I won''t say anything about their experiences, but I could say that Kai would always be the number one for her.


    "She trained, trained, and trained¡­ In the extreme weather or even when her body was tattered, her hands were bleeding, or it was too hard for her to stand anymore, she still stood tall and trained.


    "At that time, I was wondering why, but do you know what she said? She said, ''Even facing a million beasts is easier than seeing him hurt.'' She trained for him and he trained to protect her. Ultimately, I epted their rtionship.


    "However¡­ Now, we have you who suddenly intrude on their rtionship. A pest who can''t do anything without support.


    "I have investigated you, Kudo Group''s princess. You are just the same as the other youngsters. Ignorance. Spoiled by your family and won''t be able to do anything without them." Nathan narrowed his eyes.


    "No. I am not!" She was amazed by the story, but when he said something about her, she took offense.


    "Ho? You can only achieve everything because of him. To be honest, you are his source of trouble. Because of you, his family is in danger, and without your family, I doubt he will take you to this base. Correct me if I am wrong." He released a kind of pressure.


    "-!" She wanted to say something, but he did not say anything wrong.


    "Each girl on his side has something special. However, I don''t find that in you. If I am not wrong, you want to get stronger to help your family before you help him¡­ Then, doesn''t it mean if your family wants you to kill him, you will kill him?"


    "It¡­" Ayaka paused a bit. She closed her eyes, seeking the answer. "You are half right¡­ I do find my family is number one while he is the second. However, if my family wants to kill him, I won''t kill him."


    "Empty words. What? You are going to say, you will only watch from the sideline and not help any other side? Or do you want to help him and fight your own family? Can you even do that?" He snorted.


    "No. My family and I were just a stranger to him a few months ago. Even with his sister''s reputation, our path is not crossed. I admit I got close to him because I idolized his sister, but I realized what pulled me in was him, not her." Ayaka''s expression turned serious. She continued, "If the friction between is happening because of me, then I will dlyy my life down. With that, I will sever the rtionship and the friction between us¡­ because I know he deserves more."


    "..." Nathan stared at her for a while before saying, "I will ept that answer for now?? Unfortunately, that still does not change the fact you are only his burden."


    "I¡­ I wish to get stronger¡­ I am sick of being nothing but a burden to him. If I know how to get stronger, I will take that path no matter how dangerous it is!" Ayaka clenched her fists.


    "Hoh¡­ no matter how dangerous it is? This is certainly not light." Nathan paused for a few seconds. "There is one method that can get you stronger¡­"


    "One method. What is it? Please tell me."


    "It''s simple. Go to the frontline without a person beside you. You will be able to think for yourself, utilize your magic efficiently and so on." He smirked. "The problem is¡­ whether you dare to take it or not."


    Ayaka was taken aback, not expecting such an answer. It was like he said, if she went alone to the front line and fought magical beasts alone, she would need to use her brain to make the strategy. Because she would die at any moment, she would try to make the best decision for survival. She would also try to use her magic efficiently, so she would not use up her magic.


    She suddenly remembered the words her grandfather once said.


    ''There is nothing better for training than a real battle.''


    Thinking of this, she realized what he meant by that. She clenched her fists, thinking of leaving Lion Group for a while and headed to the front line alone.


    If she managed to survive, then she could proudly stand by his side. If she died, then Kai would certainly deserve a better girl than her.


    Looking at her expression, Nathan knew this girl would certainly do it. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Alright. I should stop teasing you¡­"


    "Tea¡­ sing?" Ayaka opened her mouth, confused.


    "Yep. Teasing. Do you believe that the front line is the best? If you want to suicide, then it is true that the ce is the best. If you''re going to get stronger, there are many more ces than that ce. You can get a powerful soldier just by creating them. Still, if you want an elite soldier, then you need to throw them to gather as much experience as they could.


    "Strength, Brain, and Experience. Only if these three are fulfilled, you can be an elite. Kai, Tasha, and Michelle have been equipped with these three things. As for you, you clearlyck experience. And if I throw you out there, I am worried about my intelligence. Besides, there is no way the army would let you do so." Nathan shrugged his shoulder, looking at her dumbfounded face.


    "Although this does not mean I approve of you, I will tell you one thing. This is rted to your Fire Magic. You must have felt that the winter would restrict your fire magic, right?"


    Ayaka nodded.


    "It is because of the cold, or it can be said the power of nature. Your fire might not be as powerful as usual, or it would take more magic power to maintain it, or even be extinguished by the cold. Actually, there is another powerful strength that lies inside your body."


    "Another strength?"


    "Do you know what Michelle''s element is?"


    "Darkness or Shadow."


    "Nah. In the past, her element was darkness. She can''t even use a Shadow, which became her main power now." He shrugged. "He managed to awaken her power, thus the shadow power was born. It is a power inside all of us, but only certain people could awaken them. Even I can''t awaken it."


    "What is this power?"


    "You do realize that we can imbue science thingy into our magic, right?" He asked.


    "Yes."


    "Just like a Sci-fi book, there is always fiction behind science. If you say that your current power is science, then this other strength is your fictional strength.


    "A few people have managed to awaken them in the past, but there is not really research about it. We don''t even know the condition to awaken it. However¡­ I do believe if you can awaken that power, you will be able to contend with Tasha or Michelle. Anyway, don''t say anything about this to anyone. Including you, sh*tty brat."


    "I..." She never heard anything like this back in United Asia. Little did she know what he told her was a state secret. Kai rolled his eyes when he heard this from afar.


    "Alright. This old man should shut up now and let the young do their own thing." Nathan sighed before recalling something. "Actually, there is one more thing¡­ and close your ears sh*tty brat as you should not hear this."


    Hearing that request, Kai sighed and used his Sound Instion Magic on his ears, confusing the people around him.

 Chapter 102 - Battle Plan

    The party progressed smoothly and Ayaka also came back not long after while Kai removed the magic. He did not know what they were talking about, but there was this determination and doubt in her eyes, halting him from asking questions.


    In the end, Kai could only say, "If you need any help, just ask."


    Ayaka could not make a big smile because of all the things she just learned. She nodded. "It''s fine. I will be alright."


    She knew if Kai wanted to hear their conversation, it would be easy for him. Knowing he did not listen to their conversation meant he trusted both Nathan and her. And this was the thing she needed at the moment.


    She walked past him before turning around, staring at his back. All past memories kept reying in her mind. She just realized despite knowing him for only a few months, they had gone through a lot. She said inwardly, ''Wait for me. I will definitely walk beside you, not behind you. This time, it is not an empty promise.''


    Time was all she needed. She might not be able to make it at the group battle against Isabelle, but there was still time until they needed to take the third mission. If not the third mission, then the fourth mission. She set a time limit to herself and if she could notplete her objective before the time limit, she would take the other road.


    Michelle took a glimpse of her expression and knew exactly what kind of expression that was. It was the same expression she had when she started her training. Looking at Ayaka now, she could only smile and cheer for her silently.


    On the other hand, Tasha was leaving the party as she could not stand with the rich people. They unted and so on, trying to impress her. She did not have the same patience as Kai, so she left.


    Two hourster, the party finally ended where Michelle led them to their own room.


    Michelle tried to get the same room as him but was stopped by a single word of Kai. The same applied to Tasha. They could only sulk in their own room. On the day, they would stroll around in the city.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka did note or talk to him when they were here. Every time she was inside her room, she would only stare at the ceiling with nk eyes. She knew her goal but did not know where to start. The only thing she could do was to try anything she could think of.


    ...


    And just like that, three days passed by,


    They went back to school. Shirotsuka Sanae and Mano Yuki had already gone back after a one day holiday. Yuki aside, Sanae certainly could not get a long vacation considering she was a new teacher.


    After going back, Sanae searched for any information about Isabelle Fisher and the others, albeit she could get it easier just by asking Evan Young.


    When they finally came back to school and gathered in room 420 again, the first thing they discussed was the uing battle.


    Evan handed them a few papers containing their opponents'' data.


    He exined, "They have two A rank and three B rank magicians. The first one is a man named Nichs. He is using a shield and a spear. He is 18 years old, B rank, Earth Magician. He can make a huge Earth Wall and if my prediction is correct, he will try to make a base orbyrinth so Isabelle can get a good and safe sniping position.


    "Then there is this twin. The elder is Eve Burton, A rank fire magician, while the younger one is Eva Burton, a B rank fire magician. I heard when they arebined, they can bring down three A rank magicians.


    "The fourth person is another A rank ice magician, Tommy Jackson. This person is very powerful and might be the greatest factor in this match. It can be said this person is the strategist of this group.


    "However, as expected, the most important person in this group will be their leader, Isabelle Fisher. Although she is only a B rank wind magician, her power is no joke, specifically her sniping ability. She can shoot a sniper while running and most importantly, she is very urate."


    Evan finished his report and sat.


    Kai looked at this detailed information and it seemed he was correct in bringing him here. He looked at this muscr brown-haired man, the twin blonde teens, blue-haired prince, and pink-haired annoying leader.


    He nced at Sanae''s expression, asking, "Does Teacher want to give any input?"


    "The arena has not been decided yet, so I don''t know what kind of ce will be the battlefield. However, I have made a few simtions for the battle and I think you want to know about this." She closed her eyes, recalling the battle simtions.


    "It''s a rare urrence to see you put effort like this, Teacher." Kai smirked.


    "Shut up. It is only a few hours of work and don''t you know since I have be your instructor, I can get ten percent of your hard work? Including the fifteen percent you put for the group''s purpose, all of you only get fifteen percent of the money." She rolled her eyes. "That''s why I should, at least, be a good instructor. I can revert back to thezy teacher though."


    "Nah. This is good." He shook his head.


    She nodded and continued, "Well, through all the simtions in my head, the enemy will most likely split themselves. After all, if they are trying to fight all of you at the same time, they will lose.


    "As for the pairing, I assume Nichs will fight Tasha, Tommy against Ayaka. As for the twin and their leader, their target would be either Kai and Michelle. Since Michelle is a well known S rank magician, they might have their leader to fight her. Still, considering her interest in you, she might fight Kai while the twin holds Michelle back."


    "Well, I apologize since I can''t really fight and be a burden. If you are injured, I can heal you in a jiffy. As long as we have time, you can fight again and again without injury. That''s why I will stand behind." Evan added.


    Kai closed his eyes, running a battle simtion inside his mind. With his shield, Nichs would pose big trouble to Tasha. As for Tommy, he had an elemental advantage against Ayaka. Kai considered the interest of Isabelle and became her opponent while Michelle handled the twin.


    Ayaka suddenly said with an ashamed tone, "As expected¡­ I will be the target again since I am the weakest link."


    As she said, all of them had their roles. The twin was functioning as a shield that protected their general, Isabelle. Nichs acted as a buffer, not letting Tasha, the Lion group''s biggest factor, change the tide. Last but not least, Tommy became their spear, thrusting their weakest link and gained the advantage.


    Kai took a glimpse of her expression and said, "We have a miracle doctor in our team that won''t let anyone die. We have three swords that can prate their defenses and I believe we also have a guardian deity that will block everything they throw in our way. The moment their spear, Tommy, is broken, we will gain a huge advantage in the battle and I need to say, our winning probability will go as high as 90 percent. That''s why it''s on you, Ayaka."


    Ayaka''s body shook. Even though she became a burden, Kai still trusted her for the most important position. She thought Tasha would fight Tommy while she was stalling Nichs. The trust Kai put on her hand felt so heavy. She looked at the others who had confidence in her and clenched her fists. "I won''t disappoint you."


    Looking at her expression, he smiled before turning to his sister. "Sister, do you like to y an extreme difficulty game that makes you try again and again?"


    "Of course not." She shook her head before realizing what he meant. "I see. So, that is the n."


    "Yes. I am leaving it to you." He nodded before telling Michelle''s the n. "If I say, I will defeat Isabelle Fisher-"


    Before he finished, she already answered, "It''s obvious. I am your shadow and my job is to support you. You don''t need to worry because no one would interfere with your battle. My request is beat her to a pulp!"


    "Don''t be really hard on her. Even though she is annoying, she is a good girl. She is just¡­ too energetic." Evan interjected.


    "Hoh¡­ this is really interesting." Michelle grinned, looking at Evan with a teasing nce.


    Evan had no change in expression and replied, "Nah. She is just someone that wants to prove her effort does not go to waste. If you can get past that annoying side of her, you can see her as a good friend."


    "Fufu¡­ It would seem that our Evan has feelings for Isabelle." Michelle teased him.


    "Nope." Evan shook his head. "I just want to warn you if you beat her to a pulp, she would try anything to fight you again. If you don''t want to be bothered by her, then I suggest you just show the difference in power but not do anything excessive."


    "Tch, you are boring." She clicked her tongue.


    "Well, sorry about that." He shrugged.


    "Anyway, it seems we have our n already. There is still a week left before the fight, so make all the preparation you need." Kai looked at all of them. "Anyone want to add something?"


    "No." All of them shook their heads.


    "Alright. Then the meeting ends here."

 Chapter 103 - Group Battle (Part 1)

    A weekter,


    The night before the battle,


    Ayaka walked to her balcony, looking at the beautiful night sky. Her hand gripped the balcony railings, shaking. The thought of messing up in tomorrow''s battle crept in her heart, making her unable to sleep.


    "Grandfather¡­ Please watch me in tomorrow''s battle. No matter what it takes, I won''t disappoint anyone." She closed her eyes and swore.


    Meanwhile, the others were also making their preparations.


    Michelle was training her magic in her backyard. Tasha was wiping her bow, making sure she could use it tomorrow. Evan Young was typing something on hisputer, searching their opponent data to make sure he did not leave a single thing. As for Sanae¡­ she was sleeping soundly in her room. For her, having a good sleep before a battle was the greatest preparation. Albeit, she did it too much as it was only 8 PM.


    Lastly, Kai was shaking inside his room, sweating like crazy. He tried to raise his shaky hand and smirked. "This is it. I can use it as my trump card."


    Although he was rushing a bit, he finally finished his magic idea. After that, he fell asleep while smiling.


    The same applied to the enemy. Isabelle knew what to do in tomorrow''s battle. Even though the lion group was created not long ago, they were full of insane people. Two Zodiacs and two S rank magicians, that alone would be enough to destroy their group if they were not careful.


    As for her subordinates, they also knew the weight of this battle. If they messed up a little bit, the point would not really matter, but their reputation would.


    The next day,


    All parties assembled in their respective rooms. The news spread like crazy and almost all students gathered inside the auditorium. If they needed a ticket to watch this match, it would sell better than a cold drink in the hot summer. Some students did not even care whether they got a seat or not.


    After all, they knew this was a battle between the current 8th group and Michelle Graham. If that were all to it, the room would not be this full. The most surprising thing was the leader of Lion Group was an unknown young man instead of the famous Michelle Graham.


    The middle and bottom groups could learn many things from this battle, while the top group treated this battle to investigate their soon-to-be rival.


    The students looked around, finding each group like the 1st rank group - Dawn, or even the 2nd rank group - Golden and many others.


    An hour before the battle, a student and a teacher came in, sitting in amentator seat. The student had a brown-haired coconut haircut and wore big round sses.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. Today we will witness a legendary battle between Eagle Group and a new group called Lion Group with me as thementator from Studio Group, Diego. ording to the information, the famous S rank magician, Michelle Graham, created this group not long ago. However, I am curious as to why she is not the group leader. Instead, she gives it to an unknown man called Kai Carter. And it would seem his sister, Tasha Carter, is an S rank space magician. This group is undoubtedly overpowered.


    "If I am not wrong, they were citizens of United Asia Base not long ago. For this question, I believe I should ask someone for it. That''s why, for today''s asion, I have a special guest that will help mement on the match and know more about this Lion Group. Please give warm apuse to Michelle Graham''s personal teacher, Mano Yuki."


    The apuse from almost every student in the school echoed inside the huge auditorium.


    "Mano Yuki here. Well, I can''t really say anything about this group since they are new. As for that question, I think it will be fine to say these two things since some of you already know anyway. Kai Carter is the son-inw of Graham Family¡­ wait, he is still her fiance, so not yet¡­ and as far as I know, Michelle never beat him in a physical fight alone."


    Her words silenced the loud auditorium. They were stupefied, wondering if their ears were ying them.


    Even Diego, who was beside her, dropped his jaw to the ground. Even though Michelle was an S rank magician, her closebat prowess alone was one of the tops in this school. Hearing she could never win a single time against this mysterious personpletely bewildered them.


    "Teacher. I would like to ask another question. ording to the data, Kai Carter is a Sound Magician, right? Sound Magic is basically useless in a fight, so if his closebat technique is that good, why is he not in the Military Academy? I think it will be the best ce to nurture his power? But hearing he is her fiance, is heing to this academy just to chase his love?"


    Yuki simplyughed. "Haha¡­ You are certainly true there. Firstly, Sound Magicians are normally useless in a fight. With his physical power, it would guarantee him the same amount of prestige as Michelle. Lastly, he hase to this academy for that, but the request came from my student''s part. That''s why all the pantsy guys here could not interest her! Haha¡­ Ah, if you try to do anything funny to that guy, you might move the entire Graham Family, so be careful."


    Many men who secretly chased Michelle had their expression darkened. They finally knew why they could not impress Michelle as she already fell in love with another man.


    Envy and Jealousy started filling the atmosphere. Luckily, this did not affect Diego as he noticed something off from her statement. "Normally? Do you mean he is not a normal Sound Magician¡­ no, I should say, is he an unorthodox magician?"


    "As you all understand, people would always have an element in their bodies. The normal elements would be Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Wood, and Metal, the eight basic elements.


    "Rarer elements like Light, Darkness, Space are hard toe by, making them a bit special. And just like Sound Element, those elements were also considered as useless in the past.


    "And at one generation, an unorthodox magician, who had either those three elements, appeared. The element slowly became popr as they put their experiences within their notes and after some tweaking, even a normal magician would be able to wield that special magic. In other words, the Light, Darkness, or Space Magician right now is the effort of heroes in the past.


    "And just like those guys in the past, there is this person called Kai Carter, who possesses a Sound Element. With his uniqueness, he understands Sound more than us. And maybe in a decade or so, we might see another rise of Sound Magician after going through another magic tweaking process. After all, we need to eliminate his uniqueness inside his magic before we can let normal Sound Magicians use it.


    "And maybe, another element such as time mighte in the future. However, I don''t know if it wille when we overtake the Earth again from Magical Beasts or in the fight. After all, we might not witness the appearance of another unorthodox magician. Well, I can say I am lucky since I am the teacher of this unorthodox man''s fiancee." Yukiughed again.


    "..." All the people were tongue-tied like they just heard something amazing. The top groups started clenching their fists, making sure they would not miss a single detail in this match.


    "Well, it seems there are only thirty minutes before we start. Hence, we will draw the ce to be their battlefield so that each team can prepare their battle n. As you know, we have ten ces for a group battle. In fact, this group battle itself is a preparation battle against terrorists as each group would have their own ns to counter their enemies." He stood up and raised his hand. "Without further ado, let us draw the ce!"


    The giant screen inside the auditorium shed, showing ten ces in ck and white. It started rouletting before it stopped to a in. When it revealed the true image, it was a vast wheat field.


    The screen disyed the entire map and Diego exined the map. "It would seem we have a vast wheat field, albeit after harvest, so there is no wheat. On the right side of the battlefield, there are woods and further on the right are hills, which should be the boundary of this battlefield. And we can see an abandoned vige on the other side.


    "There is too much exposure in this ce, giving Isabelle Fisher an advantage. What do you think their n would be, Teacher Yuki? I bet it will be utilizing the hill or woods on the right since the vige could not let you avoid Isabelle Fisher." Diego turned his head to the side.


    "Yeah. After hearing the sniping ability of Isabelle Fisher, I would certainly utilize the hill. However, as you might already be aware of Tasha Carter''s space magic, we should watch out for her since we won''t know when she would appear.


    "This is where Nichses to y. He can''t be too far and too close to Isabelle Fisher as to prevent Tasha Carter from ambushing her. If I am in Isabelle''s ce, I would certainly thrust my spear through the weakest link, Kudo Ayaka, before attacking Evan Young. He then can turn the tide of the battle and destroy this OP group." Yuki gave her insight.


    And as expected, Isabelle also came up with the same strategy.


    On the other hand, Kai smiled upon seeing the ce.

 Chapter 104 - Group Battle (Part 2)

    Kai smiled upon getting the battlefield. On the battlefield, there were two camps with equal conditions, red and blue. The red team was Lion Group, while thetter was Eagle Group.


    Their earlier battle n had already nailed the ce, so Kai only added the specific.


    "Ayaka will stop Tommy in the woods. You have the trees, burn them down." Kai smiled at Ayaka before turning to Tasha. "Sister, you will go further to the hill. Maintain your position at the middle of this arena, so you can either teleport to their position or Ayaka''s position. You have an elemental advantage, so you can manipte him any way you want."


    "Understood." Ayaka nodded.


    "Haha¡­ he will be my punching bag today." Sheughed, wondering what kind of expression he would have when he met despair.


    "Michelle will go with me across the wheat field. If we meet the twins, drag them to the vige area to make sure no one would ambush us from the left. I will handle Isabelle Fisher by myself."


    "Alright. No one would interfere with your fight."


    "Evan will hide in the forest and be ready to heal someone if needed."


    "Yes. An open field would be very dangerous if Isabelle is our opponent. I will try to get to a good spot."


    Kai nodded before turning to Sanae. "Teacher is in this room, right? I mean as themander."


    "Yes. Since this fight is with humans and even terrorists would not be foolish enough to create a base inside the swarm of magical beasts. That''s why we are free to usemunication devices and radar. I will give you direction in this battle. Though I am sure you don''t need to use a map¡­ so I will just help these guys." Sanae shrugged.


    "That is fine. My sister''s ce would be the critical one that needs your constant observation. If the enemy is too deep to our side, she can teleport and ambush Isabelle. And if she is too deep, their spear, Tommy, will be shattered. Though I prefer to defeat her alone as to shut her up."


    "Kai¡­ Be careful," Michelle said with a worried expression. She felt a storm might brew in this battle, and the center of that storm would be him. After all, Isabelle could not be underestimated.


    "Yes." He acknowledged as he also prepared a trump card for her. "Alright. Since we have agreed with the n, take your position."


    They nodded, not hearing anything about thementary from outside. They walked to the five tubes prepared for them to enter the battlefield.


    However, Ayaka called Evan before going inside the tube.


    "Evan." Hearing he was called, he turned back and looked at her with a confused face.


    Knowing Kai''s ability, she did not say her request. Instead, she was telling him something with her device, forcing him to read it.


    All of them were teleported to the field. They were inside a barrier circle that would open as soon as the battle started. Kai searched his surroundings with his ears, looking for any weird ces.


    Tasha looked up to the sky, finding a blue translucent ss that seemed to be the barrier boundary. She looked around and noticed they were inside a barrier block. ording to her calction, the barrier was around five kilometers horizontally, while the ceiling was only around two hundred meters.


    A few minutester, Kai opened his eyes, finding nothing.


    "The battle will start in a minute, prepare your weapon," Sanae stated.


    Their weapons had been scanned and inputted to the system, giving them a perfectly simted sword.


    Kai and Michelle took out their swords, Tasha checked her bow by pulling the string a few times, and Ayaka clenched her spear.


    Michelle did not use Shadow Walk again, as many people would watch her. If this ability were exposed, she would be in great danger. Even in her family, only her parents and her grandfather knew about it.


    "3¡­"


    "2¡­"


    "1¡­"


    Sanae counted down and the barrier immediately vanished as soon as the count reached zero. Kai ordered, "Go! I wish you luck."


    Tasha made a pink magic circle, teleporting her, Ayaka, and Evan to the forest before using it once more to teleport her to the top of the middle hill. The hill was not really steep, but it was enough to hinder Nichs, she thought.


    Meanwhile, Kai and Michelle ran on the wheat field, exposing their position. Kai opened his Echo Location magic and let Michelle see it.


    The radar showed her that their enemies had yet to move as he predicted.


    ¡­


    On the other side,


    Isabelle was flying to the sky by using her wind magic, looking at the entire field with her sharp eyes. This was to make sure Tasha did not teleport to their position right of the bat, ambushing them.


    She found Kai and Michelle on the field, Ayaka on the woods and Tasha on the hill, albeit barely because of the distance. Although she could not find Evan, she did not consider him as a worthy enemy.


    There were two possibilities in Tasha''s teleportation. Firstly, she might teleport the entire group to ambush their group. This would make the thing escte quickly and they had prepared for this scenario. The second scenario would be using her teleportation to ambush one of them. They could just eliminate one of them at a time and won the fight. Though she felt they were not going to use this strategy as the people outside would not ept such a thing. Of course, she knew as long as they won, it would not matter, so she also made some preparation for it.


    Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Kai decided not to use both strategies, wasting the time they spent making ns. She then raised her fist, signaling the other to proceed with n C.


    Noticing her signal, Nichs made a huge green magic circle on the ground. Like Kudo Chiyo with her ice magic, Nichs also created a small hill to get Isabelle''s good sniping position.


    She then stood on top of the hill, taking out her white sniper rifle. The weapon itself was close to uracy International AWM, or more known as AWM. This weapon had apanied her for a few years as she learned all things rted to sniping ability.


    Sheid down on the ground, putting her sniper rifle in front of him. The Twins, Eva and Eve, were guarding her. At the same time, Nichs and Tommy went to the enemy''s ce together before separating midway.


    After Kai and Michelle entered her domain in a minute, a smile appeared on Isabelle''s face. "Let''s see how you are going to fight this."


    "Boom!"


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the auditorium, the people were confused, forcing Diego to ask. "Oh! It would seem the two teams have taken their positions, and this ce soon would be chaotic. Let us see what kind of battle they will show us!


    "Wait, Everyone, wait! Let us observe the battle from earlier. I thought the Lion group would utilize Tasha Carter''s space magic in this battle, but it would seem I was wrong. Teacher Yuki, can you exin this to us? From your perspective, why does the Lion group not use their biggest advantage?"


    "Nah. You are wrong. They are using their advantage to the fullest." She shook her head before exining it more clearly. "Firstly, both teams knew Tasha Carter''s space magic would be a game-changer. That''s why the Eagle group should have prepared for it. You can see it from how their team did not move for a while.


    "They were utilizing Isabelle''s eyes to check the enemy''s movement, giving the Lion group a precious few minutes."


    "Precious few minutes?" Amazement appeared on his face.


    "Indeed. Just by looking at their teams, I know the Lion group will be on the defensive. After all, if they don''t defeat Ayaka and Evan, they would probably lose. That''s why these few minutes will be precious for the Lion group, especially Ayaka. Just take a look at her." She pointed her finger to Ayaka on the map, controlling the camera. Since this was inside a simtion room, they could watch every person or the entire battlefield like watching TV.


    Diego turned back to the screen and shouted, "As expected of Teacher Yuki! Everyone, take a look at Kudo Ayaka right now. She is¡­"


    He continued to make amentary for each person.


    On the other hand, Kai and Michelle were running smoothly in the empty wheat field. Just like how Isabelle watched her, Kai also observed her every action with his ears.


    Until at one point where they arrived at the two kilometers mark, Kai pointed his finger toward the small hill, specifically toward Isabelle.


    "Dodge to the right," Kai said, warning her from the iing bullet as he heard Isabelle pulling the trigger while smiling because Kai could pinpoint her location.


    Michelle jumped to the right without any hesitation, and three secondster, a hole appeared right where she was. She could somehow sense it, but it might be hard to sense it if the twins upied her.


    "No bullet wille to you. Trust me," Kai said, making her smile.


    Both leaders knew what to do and immediately shouted. "Go!"


    Michelle and the twins were going toward the vige on the left. On the other hand, Kai took a deep breath before letting out his beastly instinct.


    She arrived in front of the twins not long after, preparing for a fight. The same applied to the others.


    Nichs arrived at the foot of the hill as Tasha aimed at him with her lightning arrow while Tommy entered the forest with precaution, looking out for traps. Ayaka appeared right in the deep of the woods, creating a mysterious atmosphere.


    Their respective battles would soon start.

 Chapter 105 - Group Battle (Part 3)

    Kai took a deep breath, listening to every person in this ce. It would seem each respective fight had begun.


    He pointed at Isabelle with his sword, telling him that the de would soon kill her.


    "Heh¡­" Isabelle smirked as she aimed her sniper rifle at him. She also wished to have a fight against him alone, not caring about the others'' fights. She channeled her magic power to her sniper rifle, making it shine.


    She pulled the trigger, shooting out a green bullet toward him. This bullet was made by wind, making it faster than the average bullet.


    It arrived at Kai within two seconds from the previous three seconds. Unfortunately, Kai heard the sound and simply took a step to the right, avoiding the bulletpletely.


    "I see. A hearing powerful enough to predict my bullet trajectory. Well, If hees closer, it will be harder to react as my bullet would arrive in an instant. I am wondering how he will proceed." Isabelle smiled as she kept shooting him.


    On the other hand, his beastly instinct came out as he started running toward her.


    Every time she pulled the trigger, his ear would pick up and predict the trajectory, letting him avoid it without a waste movement.


    Kai''s advance was unstoppable as even though she had fired more than ten bullets, she had yet to hit him or even graze him once.


    And with another two minutes, Kai finally arrived at the one-kilometer mark, needing a bit more before climbing the artificial hill.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the people outside also created a ruckus.


    "What is this? She has shooted him ten times, but no bullet has managed to hit him. Isabelle Fisher is the number one sniper in our Magical Academy and to think she can''t hit him. Is she ying a game with us and would turn the tideter?" Diego shouted.


    "No. She just simply can''t hit him. I won''t go into details, but you can say he can easily dodge the bullet. It''s just¡­ I don''t exactly know his limit, so with the distance keep getting shorter, the bullet that needs two or three seconds to hit him now only needs one second or less." Yukimented.


    "He can just hold her back in this distance and wait for the others to finish their respective battle and defeat Isabelle Fisher together. Is this their n?" Diego asked Yuki.


    "No. I don''t know why, but I feel that Kai Carter would finish her by himself. In order to do that, he would need a n in climbing the artificial hill," She answered.


    "A n¡­ Wait¡­ with hisrades having their own respective opponents, there won''t be any helping from them so he could advance the hill. Even a normal person like me knows it¡­ except he already has another n that I can''t think of."


    Yuki nodded. "That''s right. I feel he already has another n to climb the hill. The fact that he clubs the hill himself, he must be assured that he will win this fight. In other words, for Isabelle, who is well versed in reading her opponent with her eyes, she should know that without revealing her trump card, she will certainly fall to Kai''s secret n."


    Albeit¡­ despite all theirmentary, when they took a look at Isabelle, she just smiled.


    After reaching the one-kilometer mark, she did not shoot him anymore. Instead, she gave him precious time to reach the foot of the hill.


    This made Kai doubt whether she had something ready for him on this hill. Seeing that she would not shoot if he did note up, he could only proceed carefully.


    She made a bigger smile, looking at Kai, who started climbing the hill. She stretched her left hand and surprisingly took out a second sniper rifle.


    "If you can dodge one, how about two?" She smirked, shooting both snipers at the same time.


    "!!!" Kai also noticed the sound, making him leap to the air. Unfortunately, this was her n. As soon as he was in the air, she shot another round of bullets.


    Kai opened his eyes wide, noticing a weird trajectory of the bullets. ording to his ears, the two bullets would likely crash to each other a few meters before reaching him.


    Although he did not understand her n, he turned his body around, avoiding the bullets'' original trajectories. It was when the bullet collided Kai realized her n.


    When the bullets collided with each other, both of them would deflect each other, making another trajectory. And their new trajectory was his head and foot.


    Kai gritted his teeth as he forced his hands to move, barely blocking these two bullets. Even so, it did not hold enough power to receive the impact and the bullets blew him away to the bottom of the cliff.


    Diego rose from his seat and roared. "What? What? What? Two¡­ two sniper rifles? Did she just use two Sniper Rifles?"


    The normal students gasped while the top groups sweatdropped.


    Yuki shook her head helplessly, saying, "It would seem that we have underestimated Isabelle Fisher this whole time. If you look at it carefully, you will notice that Kai knew there would be two bulletsing at him.


    "Despite that, why does he need to use his swords to block the bullets? The answer is simple; within these two bullets hold a great secret that could change their trajectories. And I am sure Kai has noticed it too that with the collision, the bullets change their trajectories."


    The people could only drop their jaws in shock. They never heard someone could utilize a sniper rifle that extreme.


    Kai, who was blown away to the bottom, had another problem he needed to solve.


    He looked at Isabelle while wiping the blood on his mouth. "This is not in the data¡­"


    Isabelle simply smiled as her eyes turned into eagle eyes and she said, "I am wondering if you can reach my ce, Leo? If you can''t even reach my ce, then you can''t win. Why don''t you show me the power of the great lion?"


    Obviously, she said that to taunt him. Because of those words, Kai''s expression turned serious.


    Though he could not see her eyes, he felt the beastly auraing from the top of the hill. It seemed she had epted that powerpletely.


    He furrowed his eyebrow. It was certainly one of the top-level techniques to even pinpoint the trajectory, but it still had a weakness. For that, he took another deep breath and advanced again, trying to confirm that weakness.


    Isabelle aimed at him again, trying to make him jump again.


    Hearing the bullets, he took up the challenge and leaped. The bullet changed its directions again, but Kai had prepared for it and was able to block it. Although, because of the force, he was blown away again, he was able toe up with a feasible n in climbing the hill.


    There was a slight change in his expression and Isabelle did not miss it. That slight change was telling her that he had a way to climb this hill. She simply smiled. "Come."


    Kai began climbing it for the third time and Isabelle shot him again, forcing him to jump. Surprisingly, this time, Kai did not jump. Instead, he stomped the ground, creating a stable footing in the uneven ground. Using that, he turned his body around and used his extraordinary strength to destroy both bullets.


    Since he had a good footing, he managed to block the bullets entirely, not letting them push him back to the ground.


    "!!!" Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows and pulled the trigger again.


    Kai noticed that the bullets would change their trajectories again, so he predicted where the bullet would go. Even if he could not block one of them, he could block one of them and keep advancing. That was why when the bullet came, he shifted his body to the left and struck the bullet with his sword.


    He smiled and climbed the hill with confidence. When he reached the two hundred meter mark, Isabelle smirked. "Let''s see how you handle this one then."


    This time, she only used one of her sniper rifles and created a magic circle right in front of the rifle.


    "!!!" This made his beastly instinct roar inside of him, telling him no matter what it was, it would be dangerous. Kai raised his hands, creating a green magic circle.


    "Oscition Shield."


    "sma Wind!"


    The shot this time was like aser, but if one looked closely, it was a concentrated shot of a few small wind tornadoes. The tornadoes werepressed together, creating a far stronger attack.


    The coalition immediately pushed Kai''s back for a few meters. Luckily, he had gotten back ten percent of his magic power or this shield would break. He reinforced the shield and let the Oscition force around his shield to do their job. They slowly chipped away bit by bit the wind energy until it reached a reasonable point and Kai then deflected it to the sky.


    "!!!" Everyone dropped their jaws as they could not believe what just happened. Sadly, unlike the audiences, Kai and Isabelle still needed to fight.


    Kai started advancing again, not letting her shoot another one.


    When there were around fifty meters between them, Isabelle jumped to the air and floated around, at a height where Kai could not reach her. She aimed her sniper toward Michelle with thest attack again.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows as he heard her saying, "Hahaha¡­ As expected of Leo, making me even curious about you. Although I have lost in this fight, our group will still win this battle. I will kill your teammates one by one first. Fufu¡­ we still have that agreement anyway, so I can''t afford to lose."


    Kai looked up and sighed.

 Chapter 106 - Group Battle (Part 4)

    Outside,


    Diego screamed, "This¡­ This¡­ I want to say it is dirty but I can''t. Even Isabelle herself has recognized that she lost and Kai has forced her to fly to win. As a Sound Magician, he would not be able to reach her.


    "Argh. Even though I should be neutral, I can''t say this is fair to him. Unfortunately, I can''t say anything as in the outside world, something like this easily happens and there is no trick or whatsoever. There is only a winner and a loser with life at stake.


    "We might be able to say that in this situation, Isabelle might lose the battle but win the war. However, there is one thing that I find confusing¡­ Isabelle''s sma Wind is famous throughout our school and I am sure when one meets this attack, they could only dodge it, not block it or deflect it like him. The neutral magic shield should not be that powerful¡­"


    As for this, she also did not know as Michelle never really talked about Kai''s power. She answered, "Well, as you might already know. Neutral Magic is something that anyone can use and this Neutral Magic Shield ising from a concentrated Magic power that strengthens the air around us, creating a shield that is capable of blocking any basic elements.


    "Different from that Neutral Magic Shield, we usually infuse our own element to get a stronger shield. As for the details, I think I should not exin it to you as you should have learned it in ss. From my observation, Kai''s Magic Shield is infused with his Sound Element. If you ask what is the concept or how he could do it? Don''t ask me, I also don''t know about it." She shrugged.


    "This is really intriguing. Though I want to keep looking at him, with how the thing esctes, we should check the other battlefield too. I am sure each fighter has their own interesting fight so that we will take a look at the rey." Diego decided to change the topic.


    ¡­


    In the Vige,


    Michelle swung her sword toward the twins. By using the houses in the vige, she had been preventing Isabelle from hitting her. Even if she knew Kai would take all of her attention, she would still take a precaution. And she had restricted most of her power by doing this, making her at a disadvantage.


    Though the twins could not get the upper hand, she also could not defeat the twins, buying enough time for Isabelle to finish Kai. Besides, she could not use Moonlight Shadow and Doll because the time was set at day.


    If she used her Shadow sh blindly, she would just create a perfect path for Isabelle. Ultimately, like how the twins believed Isabelle would defeat Kai, she also believed Kai woulde to defeat her so that she could use her full strength.


    For the time being, she decided to buy time until Kai defeated them¡­ or so she thought until she got a message from Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "You need to finish your battle as soon as possible. Isabelle almost killed him."


    "..." This message startled her as she could not believe the message. This was Shirotsuka Sanae''s information when she saw Isabelle using two snipers.


    "She is using some kind of trickery. Anyway, just finish your battle."


    "Okay." Even though she said ''Okay,'' she was still thinking about what she should do to defeat the twins without revealing herself to Isabelle.


    She looked around and found a bigger building that she could use. She shed the ground to the left and right, creating a wall of ck me.


    "Shadow sh."


    One of the shadows shes charged at the twins, making them jump to avoid it while the other one did not hit anything. She made these two shes not purely because she wanted to hold the twins back, but also to camouge her position. With a line like this, it would not be that easy for Isabelle to know her location.


    "Fire Cannon!" The twin would not let her do what she wanted. They created a magic circle at the same time, shooting out a fireball that would explode upon contact like a cannonball.


    This huge explosion certainly would blow her cover away, giving away her position. Unfortunately, Isabelle was too upied with Kai, so despite focusing an attack from Isabelle''s direction, she did not sense any single attack.


    This only meant that Kai managed to grab her attention fully and he was fine, not like how Sanae''s described him. She smiled as she entered a bigger house, forcing the twins to chase her.


    If they somehow managed to lose sight of her, she would certainly disappear and make her way toward Isabelle.


    Michelle swept away the building with a single nce, learning the structure and such. The building was not really that big as it was closed to a one room apartment. She smiled, nning to use it as her advantage.


    "Bang!"


    The twins mmed the door, entering an empty house. They were wondering where Michelle could hide in a small ce like this.


    Unfortunately, Michelle did not hide anywhere as she was right behind the door. The moment they entered, she closed the door and made a magic circle.


    "!!!" Noticing this, they turned around only to see Michelle finished her magic.


    "Dark Room." Darkness started spreading through the entire house, enveloping the house with a ckyer. If she could not get an advantage in the day because of the sun, she simply needed to create an environment that benefits her.


    The darkyer even closed the window that should have illuminated the room. Luckily the twins did not break anything and let a hole in the house. If not, she should use another house where everything was connected.


    When the room was finally enveloped by darkness, it took away their vision. It was at this moment Michelle started showing her advantage as she activated two of her magic.


    "Night Vision."


    "Moonlight Shadow."


    The former gave her the vision while thetter enhanced her prowess. She originally made this magic to gain an advantage against Kai, but his hearing was unstoppable. No matter how she learned to move without making a sound, Kai would undoubtedly pick it up. Hence, this move was abandoned by her and only at this moment, she finally used it again.


    The two shadow swords blended with the darkness, allowing her to move around without anyone noticing.


    "Don''t panic. Use our me to light up the room." Eva ordered as a magic circle appeared on her hand. Eve also used the same magic, trying to illuminate the room.


    Unfortunately, their efforts were futile as the moment they made a fire, Michelle''s sword already reached their hands.


    Without a killing intent and the desire to attack the twins, Michelle used her Shadow sh on a smaller scale, to avoid breaking the house and gave her position away.


    The twins might notice if she tried to use the technique toward their body, but they would not notice if she attacked the air in front of them together with their hands, which were in the way.


    Pain transmitted to their brain. Eva endured the pain as she stretched her hands to the right side. "That''s where you are! Fire Cannon!"


    "Boom!"


    The room lit up a bit, but when they looked at the ce, Michelle was nowhere to be seen.


    "Sister, we need to feel her movement, not see her movement," Eve shouted.


    "I am on it." Both of them were locating Michelle''s movement.


    If Kai were here, he would know that Michelle took advantage of the dark to enter their shadow, making thempletely blind as they could not feel Michelle''s presence.


    "I can''t sense her anywhere!"


    "Look again!" Eva roared as she also could not sense her presence. She thought Michelle must have attacked them to make them think she was here. And the truth was she used that moment of confusion to leave the house and moved toward Isabelle.


    She sweatdropped, noticing how they were yed with. She shouted, "Not good. She must use this chance to escape. st the house right now! We will leave and protect Isabelle!"


    "!!!" Eve sucked a cold breath as she created a magic circle to st the entire house.


    Little did they know Michelle was always with them.


    "Boom!" The explosion sted the door, showing the exit. The darkyer also began to vanish, starting from the door.


    "We are go-!" When the twins was about to move, they realized another presenceing from behind them. It was at this moment, they knew they f*cked up.


    Michelle smiled,ing out of their shadow.


    "Die!" She sent their heads flying, concluding the battle. They could not even utter a single word before they died, while the audiences also could not see anything in the dark room.


    Although the light started illuminating the room, it was still not enough to reach the twins, so her Shadow Walk was still a secret.


    She managed toplete her objective. She came out of the house only to see Isabelle on the air.


    "What is the situation, Teacher?"


    "Isabelle used her magic to fly, nning to kill all of you first before fighting Kai together with the others. Has she used those flying drones?"


    "No. She must sense how sharp Kai''s reflex is, so she might think it is futile to fight him in closebat. Besides, he can dodge all of her attacks even if she attacks him continuously. That''s why she is nning to end the other battle first." Sanae answered.


    "Hmm¡­" It would take her a few minutes to reach that position and Isabelle could shoot a few rounds within that time. In the end, she could only ask, "How are Ayaka''s and Tasha''s situation?"


    "Ayaka and Tasha are¡­"

 Chapter 107 - Group Battle (Part 5)

    Tasha versus Nichs


    This might be the most unbnced fight in this battle. Not only the hills around gave a huge advantage to Tasha, but she could also move from one hill to another by single magic. This would lead to an endless chase, exhausting Nichs before killing him.


    However, the battle turned into something unexpected, Tasha did not move to another hill, making a distance. Nichs had prepared for this and was nning to create a huge stone bridge, connecting from one hill to another.


    That was why when he carefully climbed the hill while dodging Tasha''s lightning arrow, he was confused. There were only a hundred meters between them and she should use her magic around this time. Instead, Tasha released another arrow that was blocked by his shield.


    He gulped down, nning to charge at her. With this gap, he should have reached her before she could activate her magic. After gathering his resolve, he charged at her with his fastest speed.


    "!!!" Tasha looked surprised and made a pink magic circle below her feet.


    Unfortunately, the moment she activated the magic, Nichs arrived in front of her, shouting, "You won''t get away!"


    He aimed his sword at her neck, forcing her to leap back. He thought he managed to stop her from using her Space Magic. As long as he could keep his distance with her, he should be able to stop her from teleporting.


    "She can''t use her Teleportation anymore as long as I stay close¡­ is what you thought right now, I think." Tasha smiled as she pped her hands. "Unfortunately, that magic circle is not for me, but you."


    "!!!" Upon hearing that, he realized her n. He tried to exit the magic circle, but it was toote.


    Tasha waved her hand and said with a smile. "Good luck to try again."


    "You-" He did not finish his words and disappeared. In a split second, he was back on the foot of the hill, needing to climb again to stop her.


    Tasha could smile, but he could not. As for the spectators, they opened their mouths in amazement. Out of all possibilities inside their heads, Tasha did not use any of them and blew their minds away.


    "This¡­ I should not call Isabelle unfair. After seeing this, I should say it is a creative way to use the technique. Although she can''t prate Nichs''s shield or Earth body, she can''t keep teleporting him again and again to exhaust him." Diego shouted. Every word was full of energy as he was excited to see what would happen next.


    Yuki could not help butment, "No. There is actually one more thing to consider. She might use this to anger Nichs. If Nichs makes a rushed decision, Tasha would surely use it to either kill him or teleport to her teammate and help them."


    "In any case, we can only see what would happen next."


    In the battlefield,


    Tasha kept teleporting him back to the foot of the hill, keeping him far from her. This certainly infuriated Nichs before he suddenly heard a crack on his shield.


    "!!!"


    This was Tasha''s original n. She would keep teleporting him while striking his shield at the same spot continuously until it broke. And when both of them saw this, Tasha was excited while Nichs sweatdropped.


    Unexpectedly, before they could make another move,


    "Boom!" A huge explosion destroyed a part of the forest. Tasha turned around and asked, "Teacher Sanae, is that Ayaka?"


    "Tasha, Ayaka ising to you!"


    "So, she kills her opponent faster than me¡­" Tasha made a weird face.


    "Yes. Thatss¡­" Sanae could only shake her head, recalling what happened earlier. She even asked her to go to Tasha instead of Kai as this battle was easier.


    A few minutes ago,


    Ayaka was keeping Tommy at bay, albeit barely. His Ice magic extinguished all her me techniques while her spear was at the same level as him.


    As the battle progressed, she slowly lost her advantage and was forced to retreat deeper into the woods.


    "Dragon Crane!" She struck her spear continuously, aiming at all his vital spots.


    On the other hand, Tommy took his time in defeating her, carefully observing his observation to see whether there was a trap or not. She looked at the injuries he had inflicted on her hands, body, or feet.


    Ayaka''s defeat would only be a matter of time. He blocked not only all these thrusts but also added a few more injuries to her body. Although the wounds were superficial, they still hurt. Yet, despite all of that, Ayaka did not scream and be even more focused.


    After fighting her for a few minutes, he suddenly realized that Ayaka''s movement got better and better. It was like she used this fight to improve her battle style.


    "!!!" She was using him as her training partner, which could not be allowed. He shifted his stance, changing his defensive style to the offensive. He stabbed the ground with his sword.


    "Ice Wave!"


    Ice started sparking from the ground, spreading toward her like a wave. Ayaka did not jump, making her vulnerable on the air. Instead, she made a magic circle, sting all these ices to smithereens.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!"


    The explosion also stopped the ice from spreading forward, giving her a chance to counter-attack.


    "res!"


    She shot out a few fire small tornadoes toward him. Tommy only snorted, seeing this unworthy technique.


    "Ice Creates Phoenix!"


    His blue magic circle froze the air around before creating a huge ice phoenix. It flew toward Ayaka, extinguishing all the fire tornadoes in the way.


    Ayaka pped her hands, creating a huge to catch the phoenix.


    "Fire Net!"


    This could roast a Rank A magical beast alive with its intense heat, let alone an ice phoenix.


    The phoenix slowly melted before evaporating. Little did she know that there was another attacking from behind the phoenix.


    It might be able to catch that big phoenix, but it could not stop smaller objects. Tommy took advantage of that and shot a few ice arrows toward her.


    "!!!" Ayaka''s hand was covered with me as she created a shield of fire, blocking these ice arrows.


    "Kh¡­" She bit her lips, enduring the pain as one of the arrows managed to pierce through the shield and stabbed her left hand.


    "I can''t let him down¡­ I will win." With that determination, she kept enduring the pain as she lured him deeper and deeper.


    And when they arrived at a particr ce, she finally smiled.


    "!!!" He finally noticed he went too deep. Because she had too many injuries, it tempted him to advance as to finish her. However, it would seem it was her n all along.


    He turned around, trying to escape, but Ayaka did not let him. She activated all the magic circles around the area.


    Around twenty magic circles appeared simultaneously, circling around their position with Ayaka in the center.


    Those magic circles exploded at the same time, forcing him to move closer to Ayaka.


    "Kh!"


    She did not stop there. Ayaka activated the second round, which made a smaller circle, forcing Tommy to get closer to her position again.


    After two more rounds of explosions, she was finally close enough to him. She shed her spear downwards but was still blocked by Tommy''s sword.


    "No matter what trick you throw at me, I will defeat you!" Tommy shouted as he pushed her back.


    Ayaka was still smiling as fire started covering her body from top to bottom like a knight in full armor. "Then, how about this?"


    The same magic circle appeared right under their feet, albeit the size was three times the previous magic circles.


    "As long as you are dead, I havepleted my mission." Ayaka smiled, looking at him with full determination. "Magic Bomb Activated!"


    "You¡­ Why¡­ you go to such an extent?" Tommy could notprehend her action. This was simr to a suicide bombing.


    To answer this question, Ayaka made a bigger smile and said, "It''s a foolish thing, the human heart. Sometimes we fail to operate logically and act on emotions. I should have realized this sooner. For me, he could do something like this. If I can''t do the same, what qualification would I have to stand by his side?"


    "You-" Before he could finish his word, the magic was activated, creating a huge explosion that even rmed Tasha. On the other hand, Ayaka closed her eyes, recalling the scene where Kai used a supersonic attack to butcher the magical beasts with his life at stake.


    "Boom!"


    Tommy was reduced to ashes while Ayaka was blown away. If not because of the fire armor that covered all her body, she would certainly have the same fate as him.


    She was rolling on the ground before a tree stopped her. Her body was covered with blood as well as burn marks. In fact, half of her body had burn marks, making her look scary.


    Even so, she still raised her hands, looking at the horizon, "I still need to help him¡­"


    Unfortunately, because of her wounds, she could not help him. That was why she asked for a helper in this battle.


    ¡­


    At the deepest part of the forest, a young man could not help but shake his head helplessly and started running. "Human Heart, huh¡­ It''s certainly a foolish thing, but notughable."


    He remembered when Ayaka suddenly stopped him before entering the simtion tube, asking him for a favor.


    Not long after,


    Even with her fuzzy consciousness, she managed to stay awake as she was enveloped by warm water. It was ticklish, but the pain started to disappear. After another minute, she was able to move her hand and looked around.


    "Evan, thank you."


    "You still need to wait for another minute if you still want to go."


    "Yes."

 Chapter 108 - Group Battle (Part 6)

    "Anyway, Ayaka wille to your ce right now and help you. I know you are striking your arrow at the same time and waiting for it to break, but I am sure our goal is to defeat the enemy group, right?"


    "Alright, Teacher. Give me Ayaka''s general position, and I will try to coordinate with her." Tasha nodded.


    "I want to send her to Kai, but he does not really want the help." Sanae sighed.


    "Teacher, have you heard about the contract between him and that Isabelle?" Tasha asked while pulling the bow.


    "Contract?" Sanae furrowed her eyebrows, confused. She had yet be a teacher when the contract thing happened, so it was normal for her not to know. "Is Kai fighting another big family like in United Asia? It seems I need to change my job and nationality again. Wait, It''s not like I am going to join you guys if that happens again¡­"


    "Ahaha, you misunderstood him, Teacher. Kai never really searched for trouble, and the contract was made a few days before you joined us." Tasha chuckled, making her miss the target. "Oops."


    "What is the contract?"


    "If we win today, she is not going to bother us anymore. If we lose, trouble (Isabelle) will visit us every day." Tasha shot another arrow.


    "Isn''t that bad? For your information, I am not paid for that, so you take care of that problem."


    "We just need to win." Tasha shrugged. "Still, this guy is surely irritating."


    "Why don''t you crush him to death?" She suggested.


    "Crush him to death? How?"


    "You are on the hill." Sanae gave a simple hint.


    "Ah, I see." She came to enlightenment. "In that case, I need Ayaka toe up here."


    "They must know the death of that ice element guy, but do not know Ayaka''s position. I direct her to go around and climb the hill, so when that shield guy is still conscious on his back, Ayaka will reach the top with her flying ability."


    "Get it. I will teleport that guy again first." Tasha nodded. "Wait, why don''t Ayaka just tell me this? Oi, girl, where is your voice?"


    "I am here¡­A battle from before took a toll on me, sorry." Ayaka said with a hoarse voice as she had yet fully recovered from that st. Evan only managed to heal her burn marks and broken bones. It was enough for her to move, but it was still hurt just by moving her body.


    Evan could only shake his head after looking at the determination in her eyes, and let her go.


    "You should rest, you know." Tasha furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I still can move, so it''s not a problem. Pain can be endured as long as we can win, and by defeating Nichs, cough, our win will be assured. I will arrive in less than a minute." Ayaka said weakly.


    "..." She could not say anything more to this girl. "Alright. Kai and Michelle should have no problem handling those three, so you only need to help."


    "Yes."


    Tasha sighed, cutting themunication off and muttering to herself, "You stubborn girl."


    "Let me step on my game then." She put her bow down before pping her hand, creating a magic circle. The magic circle was purple instead of pink, symbolizing her using lightning magic.


    "Electric Lance."


    A bright purple spear wasing out of the magic circle, flying toward Nichs. Surprisingly, just after flying for one second, a pink sphere appeared, swallowing it.


    Nichs was confused, wondering what she was doing. He saw Tasha with a pink magic circle again, realizing it was for the sphere. That magic circle teleported the sphere five-meter above him, releasing the lightning spear it swallowed earlier, like shooting a bullet.


    "Not good." He made a magic circle below his feet. "Earth- Not good, I won''t make it."


    The spear already reached his ce, forcing him to use his shield as his only defense. The force from the attack was no joke, making him kneel before pinning him on the ground.


    "Boom!"


    Tasha''s lightning spear exploded, leaving Nichs to be speechless. He never expected that Tasha would be like this if she were serious, making him wonder if the previous one was only her ying with him.


    It could be said the most underrated person in the Lion Group was Tasha, not Kai. She usually used her Lightning Arrow to support the team and Teleportation Magic, the only difference was how she used it.


    No one had yet to see Tasha using a different technique. The only time she used a different technique would be in the first mission, striking the wolf and this was precisely what she did as a follow-up attack.


    Tasha released another arrow, using it as a catalyst to draw a magic circle in the sky.


    Lightning struck forth toward Nichs. Fortunately, his eyes did not wander after getting pinned on the ground, allowing him to this attack. "Earth Defender."


    The mud raised, forming a sphere to protect Nichs from the lightning. This sphere also functioned as a conductor, channeling the lightning to the ground.


    "Crack!"


    Nichs raised his shield as soon as he heard the cracking sound of his sphere. The lightning broke the mud wall, striking the shield before exploding.


    "Boom!"


    For those who focused on Nichs, they were wondering if he was still alive or not. Unbeknownst to them, Ayaka had arrived at Tasha''s position, destroying the tip of the hill to make a giant boulder for Tasha.


    Tasha smiled and teleported it right above him.


    When Nichs saw this one, he could only chuckle. He nced at his shield, that had been snapped into two by thest strike, and muttered, "It''s insane. I have lost."


    He closed his eyes, letting the huge boulder crush him to death.


    ¡­


    Outside, people sucked a cold breath, thinking, ''Poor Nichs.''


    "This¡­ I am speechless¡­ I really want to say this first. Poor Nichs. From the start, he was yed by Tasha Carter.


    "Firstly, he bes a punching bag for her Lightning Arrow. Secondly, she made him restart his progress by teleporting him to the foot of the hill again and again. This is my personal opinion, but it would make me better if Tasha actually teleported to another hill, making me chase her rather than teleporting me to the start.


    "However, I am wondering why Tasha does not use thest three attacks from the start? I mean, I am sure she can defeat Nichs that way." Diego nced at Yuki.


    "Hmm, I actually don''t know the reason. Even my student does not really see her using other magic that often. However, there is one thing for sure about her. She is an S rank magician." Yuki exined.


    "This¡­ Have we actually underestimated her this entire time?" Diego came to a realization. "From my information, she killed many magical beasts by sending them to the sky, teaching the sea creatures how to fly¡­ or that''s what the soldiers told me. After that, she only used her arrows, killing them one by one.


    "That ability alone is scary, and somehow, I can picture her sending people like that. Unless we have the ability to fly, we would have a nightmare for the rest of our life¡­ Literally, since we would only have a few seconds in our life.


    "Luckily, this time, there is a border limit up to a few hundred meters in the sky, not allowing her to use this ability.


    "Anyway, those abilities might hinder us from realizing the fact that she is an S rank magician with Lightning and Space magic. In fact, rather than Michelle Graham or Kai Carter, the one that we need to wary the most would be her." Diego exined his thought, shocking the entire room.


    The top groups inside also noticed this before he exined. Michelle aside, they had yet to see the real power of an unorthodox Sound Magician with their own eyes, so they could not judge it too early. After all, Kai and Tasha were a family. They might even try to investigate Carter Family after this as this family might rise to be another prominent family with these two alone.


    Fortunately, Kai was not originally from here. This would hide the fact that Tasha was only his step-sister. If they knew about it, they would not think that highly of this Kai Carter.


    "Anyway, Teacher. With this, I could say that the defeat of Eagle Group is guaranteed, right?" Diego paused a bit, trying to say without shooting the Eagle Group down. "I mean, they have lost four of their members, leaving only Isabelle Fisher.


    "I know her reputation as the number one shooter in this academy, but I still doubt she can turn the situation around. It''s not that they are weak, their opponent is just too strong. They have two S rank magicians, one unorthodox magician, and the famous healer, Evan Young. It can be said this team will shake the group ranking in the near future." Diego said.


    "I really want to say yes, but I will refrain myself as a teacher. I can only say that as long as you don''t give up, the possibility will never reach 0%. Which team would win? We would not know before all the opponent team''s heads flew off." She shook her head. "Though I still need to give a thumbs up to Kudo Ayaka."


    "!!!" Diego realized he forgot this girl because of the hype. All of this would not happen if Ayaka failed to kill Tommy. And the way she sacrificed herself¡­ could only be described in one word¡­ scary.


    "Hehe¡­ Don''t underestimate us, women. We can tolerate most of the things, but if you touch our reverse scale¡­ I don''t think I need to say anymore." She smirked.

 Chapter 109 - Group Battle (Part 7)

    After killing Nichs, Ayaka wanted to head toward Kai, but Tasha stopped her. Even if she flew toward them, Tasha would teleport her back, so she could only stay here.


    "Just take a look at your pale face¡­ Haiz, you are reckless." Tasha sighed. "I am sure it hurts just by moving slightly."


    "This is not a normal world, so I can be reckless again and again, considering I am not as strong as you. In fact, even the people outside won''t have much expectation of me." She looked down, a bit disappointed.


    "Thisss¡­" She shook her head helplessly, snapping her finger and creating a magic circle. "Teleportation."


    They arrived back in the woods, finding Evan to tend her injuries.


    "Heal this reckless girl first." Tasha pushed Ayaka to Evan.


    "Sure." He simply nodded, wrapping Ayaka''s body in his healing bubble.


    "Listen here. No matter what you do today, never do something like that again? I am sure even Kai would talk about this after the match," Tasha said.


    "Umm¡­" She could only look down.


    "Anyway, just rest here since Kai will end the fight for us."


    Little did they know that Isabelle was in the sky, trying to find Tasha and Ayaka.


    Michelle was far from this ce, while Tasha and Ayaka had their own respective opponents. This might be the simplest but most brutal n for Kai Carter.


    As long as she had enough time, she could shoot them down one by one from the sky before defeating him from the air. Probably, this was their ultimate n by riling Kai.


    On the ground, Kai was staring at her, looking very pitiful. Even if he was an unorthodox sound magician, it was still impossible for him to reach her.


    The fact that they had fallen for the enemy''s plot and that defeat was but mere moments away made others lose hope. For Kai, who was well versed in reading into the future with his mind, it was all more clear.


    It was at this time, Kai showed a change of expression, making them gasp. It was a smile instead of a dispirited look.


    "Outyed me?" Kai shook his head.


    "This¡­" Isabelle dropped her jaw, noticing that her teammates were already gone, leaving only her in this ce alone.


    Even without Sanae telling him, he already knew that they had finished their battle, though he needed to have a talk with Ayaka after this.


    "You¡­"


    "You are thest," Kai smirked, dropping one of his swords to the ground before raising his hand toward her. "With ten percent of my magic power, I can finally do this."


    A green magic circle appeared on his hand, creating a cylinder like a cannon.


    Isabelle noticed the change in the atmosphere, looking at Kai with confusion.


    "What are you doing?" She pointed her weapon at him."


    "You will experience it right now." He smiled, activating the magic circle. "Resonant Beam."


    Even after activating the magic circle, it did not shoot anything or produce any sound, making her even more confused. She thought it was just a bluff to make here down, so she aimed her weapon at Ayaka, trying to kill as many as possible. Even if she died, it would only after she killed at least three people.


    She looked through the scope, carefully aiming it for her head to make sure she died with this shot. Unfortunately, Kai''s attack finally arrived.


    ''Shaking?'' She blinked a few times, feeling that her eyes were shaking. She put down her weapon, looking around to adjust her eyes. The shaking did not stop. Instead, it was intensified. It felt like her eyeballs were shaking and would soon jump out of the socket. She started seeing colored lights at the periphery of her vision and ghostly gray regions in the center.


    "Kh¡­" She bit her lips, looking down because of the pain until she saw Kai and realized what happened to her. "You¡­"


    Kai smirked. This was the magic that everyone had forgotten to talk about after she challenged his group for a battle.


    He took the concept of breaking a ss with sound if the sound was at the same frequency with the ss.


    The low frequency of sound and its corresponding long wavelength made it much more capable of prating her body, creating an osciting pressure system. He could make different parts of her body resonate depending on the frequency.


    Because sniping relied on eyes the most, as long as he stopped her eyes, it would solve the problem. This was why he was targeting her eyeballs. Because he could not really test this magic to Michelle and the others, Isabelle would be the perfect experiment.


    At first, he used rtively safe sound levels, below 100 dB, that urred at 19Hz, making her eyes start twitching. He slowly raised the intensity to 110 dB, thus giving the current effect. Luckily, she decided to go down after this effect. It would be worse if he actually used more.


    And he used the concept of Long Range Acoustic Device to send the sound wave as the sounding from the LRAD was also rtively directional. It did not disperse as much as sounds from typical speakers. People next or behind the device like him, could still hear the sound, but were not as loud. Kai even used his Sound Instion around his ears as protection.


    He had gone through trials and errors to check the sound waves'' phase, the size of the magic circle, and the properties of the air to create more directional sound. Unfortunately, he had yet to see whether this technique could kill the magical beasts or not.


    He knew about the frequency of human eyeball, which was 19Hz, as for magical beast eyeball, he needed to go through another round of trials and errors.


    This was a good technique to fight people in an open area since not only was it lower the range than the human ear could hear, it was deadly.


    Unfortunately, if he showed more, he felt his life would be targeted as the danger level of this technique was simr to Michelle''s shadow walk. After all, he could assassinate someone without him noticing by this technique.


    The magic circle disappeared as he looked at Isabelle. She said, "Since it is like that, I will defeat you first. I haven''t revealed this technique to anyone, so be grateful and die."


    "..." Kai was dumbfounded, saying inwardly, ''Girl, I have shown you this technique that I haven''t revealed to anyone, Why don''t you be grateful to me, fall from the sky, and die?''


    She threw her weapon to the air, pping her hand. Unlike Kai''s light green magic circle, her magic circle was dark green. Four balls wrapped by the wind rose from the magic circle, giving an ominous pressure. The four orbs were hovering around her, creating a rectangle.


    "God of Wind, Aeolus."


    He furrowed his eyebrows, sensing a dense wind power in those orbs.


    *Fwoosh!*


    A change of sound was enough for him to recognize a movement from the orb on the top left.


    "It''sing!" He leaped backward, observing what those orbs could do first. At first, he wanted to use his Luby to disrupt her brainwave, allowing him to break those orbs with the loss of control. Unfortunately, he was too far and the sound would not hurt her enough to make her lose focus.


    "Bam!" The orb shot a condensed wind bullet, creating a hole right on Kai''s previous spot. Seeing the effect, he deactivated the sword in his left hand and made his Oscition Shield.


    He charged at her with his shield in front, thinking it would be enough to stop those orbs.


    Isabelle only smiled and released the second orb. "This is my ability I have suppressed for a long time."


    After the second orb shot its bullet, the third and fourth orb released its bullet in session. Kai was not afraid of him after witnessing the effect on the ground. Compared to her sniper rifle, these green balls were like pistols.


    Kai raised his shield, blocking the bullets without any hesitation.


    "!!!" Another attack came from the front. He adjusted his form and pushed his shield forward, giving more force to fight this new attack.


    "Boom!" The attack came from Isabelle''s sniper rifle. Unlike their first position, Kai was not pushed back as they were on equal ground.


    He looked around, noticing the movements from the orbs and leaping toward her.


    The orbs aimed at him, shooting him down, but Kai simply raised his shield to block two of them while using his sword to destroy the other two.


    As soon as he arrived in front of Isabelle, he shed his sword downwards.


    She might be a sniper, but her closebat ability was also top-notch, allowing her to fight even Nichs to a standstill. She simply raised her weapon, blocking Kai''s sword before using the orbs to shoot him.


    "!!!" Kai took a step back, avoiding those bullets before changing his stance again as Isabelle had activated her magic and shot him.


    He had noticed that she needed a few seconds before she could shoot either her sniper rifle or the orbs. In an instant he blocked the attack, he released the magic shield and took out his sword again, making a full round attack.


    Her closebat might be good, but for Kai, who could predict the movement by a simple movement, it was still far too low.


    The moment Kai''s swords reached her sniper rifle, he faked it by pulling the swords back and kicked her sniper rifle to the air.


    "Kh." She gritted her teeth, shooting him by using the swords.


    Kai merely jumped in order to avoid and did not forget to im her life. One second after hended on the ground, her head fell, concluding the match.


    "You are a strong opponent." Kai closed his eyes.

 Chapter 110 - Group Battle (Last Part)

    "You are a strong opponent." Kai closed his eyes before hearing the sound of a trumpet from hismunication device.


    In the middle of the battlefield appeared a huge ''Congrattions'' word.


    Shirotsuka Sanae announced it to all of them.


    "Congrattions on winning. I will wake all you up from the simtion chambers in a few seconds."


    "Thank you for taking themand, Teacher." Kai smiled.


    "Nah, I didn''t contribute anything in this match." She shrugged, walking toward the simtion chambers and pushing a button to wake them up.


    "!!!" Kai and the others came back to reality at the same time, and Sanae opened the chambers'' doors.


    "Haiz, I need to reveal three magic this time." Tasha sighed.


    "Haha¡­ The twins are easy to beat and think you reveal three magic for such an easy opponent¡­" Michelle chuckled, stretching her hands before turning to Kai. "Though I am interested in knowing those magic, the most interesting one is Kai''s magic. What is that magic, Kai?"


    Kai pondered for a while, ncing at Evan and Sanae before shaking his head. "I think it''s better not to disclose it for everyone''s safety."


    Michelle and Tasha instantly recognized his meaning and stopped asking.


    "Fine. It''s better that way, maybe you can tell me in our private time." Michelle said while licking her lips. "Hurry up and be 18 years old already¡­"


    "Wait!" Tasha stopped her, not letting her take another step forward. "I should be the one who teaches him that. I am his sister after all."


    "Huh? Of course, this is a girlfriend''s privilege. Besides, you are his sister..."


    "I am adopted, so it''s legal." She snorted.


    "Alright, enough." Kai sighed before turning to Ayaka with a serious expression.


    She gulped down, preparing her heart to receive Kai''s anger. Even though she was scared, she still looked him in the eyes, not regretting her action.


    To her surprise, Kai did not say anything for a few seconds before putting his hand on her head. "I have many things to tell you, but for now, good job¡­ and thank you."


    The others rolled their eyes away, remembering what Ayaka did.Ayaka could only clench her fists, not knowing why she wanted to cry. This might be the first time for her to experience something like this. The pain she felt earlier, the efforts she put in, all of it felt worth it at this moment.


    The feeling was more intense than when her parents or grandparents praised her from achieving something good. She finally broke thest chain that bound her from making a particr decision.


    After Kai patted her head, he walked to Evan, Michelle, and Tasha, "All of you too. Thank you for your hard work."


    "Well, how about we celebrate it? My treat. I have a good ce for that and made a reservation earlier." Michelle suggested, smiling.


    "It''s a good idea." Kai agreed.


    "Yeah. I will eat until I am full. Maybe I should bring some for mom and dad¡­" Tasha nodded, wondering how much she needed to bring home.


    "I don''t have any objection. It''s a good opportunity to rx with everyone¡­ Just say this is for that birthday party." He nodded.


    "I don''t mind as long as I get good wine." Sanae licked her lips.


    Ayaka did not make a sound as she just stared at them, clenching her hand like she was thinking something serious. Kai noticed this and turned around, stretching his hand with a smile, "You are going too, right?"


    She blinked a few times and reached his hand, smiling brightly. "Yes."


    "Alright. We are going to a party today. Let''s go." Kai nced at Michelle.


    "Sure. Follow me. It''s not that far from the school." She nodded and walked toward the door, opening it. To their surprise, a group of five were walking in front of their room, staring at them with a surprised look.


    The two groups had the same thought running inside their brain, ''What the heck with this timing?''


    This was another meeting between Lion Group and Eagle Group. Michelle said awkwardly, "Well¡­ I will close the door first, so all of you can walk first. Don''t mind us."


    "Wait." Before Michelle could close the door, Isabelle stopped her. She walked forward, ncing at Kai a few times. Kai and the others frowned, wondering if she wanted to annul the contract or whatsoever. Instead, she just bowed her head and said, "I apologize for picking a fight with you guys. Although it was only for taunting you, I truly went too far.


    "Don''t worry. I will keep my words and won''t bring you guys trouble. I admit you guys havepletely defeated us."


    Kai was surprised to see her admitting like this, wondering what he should say in this situation. Suddenly, Evan broke his silence. "This is why you should never challenge anyone just like that. You have been like this for a long long time."


    "Shut up. I don''t want to hear from the likes of you." She snorted, ring at Evan. "You can only stay in the safe area while letting your teammate fight, you should be ashamed."


    "Oi oi. I am healing them and supporting them as much as possible." He rebuked her im, recalling the information, healing and the other supports he had given to the team. "Heh¡­"


    She looked at him with disbelief, taunting his pride.


    "You¡­" Evan gritted his teeth, seeing how unreasonable she was. He did not notice that his words were precise and too hurtful, making the other want to fight back.


    "Anyway¡­" Kai walked between them, stopping the fight and saying his piece. "Your Eagle Group is strong. If I don''t utilize many tactics and other risky factors, we would not have won. We would crumble as long as we lose one of our teammates, so it is a great fight."


    "Uhm." She nodded, thinking whether she could ask about thatst magic of his. After all, no one knew that she experienced something really bad earlier, forcing her to go down. In the end, she shook her head and said, "Anyway, we will be going now."


    "Yeah." He nodded, waiting for a while until they disappeared from his sight. "Let''s go."


    "Ooh!" The others nodded awkwardly before Michelle led them to a certain restaurant...


    On the other hand, their fightpletely brought chaos in the auditorium.


    "This¡­ We¡­ We might have witnessed the birth of new top groups¡­ No, I should say this group might destroy the other top groups, including Dawn and Golden. Ah, I am speechless even though I need to say more about them." Diego scratched his head, thinking of what to say.


    "Well¡­ There are many variables in this group. Each individual is great. Kai would certainly not let any of you slip past his detection range. Michelle is already well-known for her power, while Tasha is still holding back her real power. If you can''t defeat Evan, it will be hard to defeat them. Last but not least, it is the unpredictable Kudo Ayaka. I wonder what kind of stunt she will pull next time. Though I doubt they will ept another group battle." Yuki exined the Lion group''s strength.


    She might have some doubts about Ayaka, but her stunt made her think otherwise. She just sighed, hoping thatss would not pull that kind of stunt in the real world. Sanae was there, so she thought it would be fine. However, she needed to give Sanae a message, reminding her about thest incident that almost killed her.


    "With this, the Lion Group reaches rank 145th with 34890 points while the Eagle Group falls to 10th ce. And I, Diego, thank you foring to watch the battle. Have a great day."


    "On behalf of other teachers, Imand you to take a note of this battle as this will prove to be a good example. I feel your homeroom teacher will analyze it in the ss." She added.


    In the corner of the room, a handsome man crossed his arms, looking at the screen. It was still disying the participants'' pictures. He brushed away his blue hair and closed his eyes.


    One of his subordinates came to him, "What should we do about this group? Their existence is threatening our group."


    "Hmph. Michelle Graham and Tasha Carter might be powerful, but their weakness will be Kudo Ayaka and Evan Young. As long as we can defeat them, the battle is ours to take. As for that Kai Carter¡­ he is an enigma. Still¡­ Sound Magician¡­ I can think of a way to restrict his ability." He exined with a serious expression. "Hmph. They might be a strong group, but our Golden Group is stronger."


    On the other corner, there was also another group consisting only of females. Their leader was a pretty girl with purple hair tied into a ponytail. "What should we do? I think we should prepare to challenge them as to keep the pride of the third year."


    The leader shook her head. "Prepare is good, but without us moving, the Golden group will certainly make a move first. Besides, we can''t be certain that they would challenge our group and vice versa.


    "Just take a look at Michelle Graham. She never really cares about the points ranking, so I assume she is not searching for a position. If I take a look at their leader, Kai Carter, she has the same eyes as her. So, rx."


    Her teammates could only look at her with a confused expression, trusting their leader.


    She nodded before secretly furrowing her eyebrows. The magic that forced Isabelle to the ground piqued her curiosity. There was no sound, sign, or whatever, so it really confused her. She decided to investigate itter together with the Carter Family.

 Chapter 111 - Nathans Mission

    On the other hand, Kai and the others went toward the restaurant, enjoying their first win in the group battle. Kaipletely butchered Ayaka with all his words on the way there, only leaving her alone after they reached the ce.


    The ce was more like a family restaurant, giving a more warm atmosphere around. Michelle ordered a private room along with food and drink, especially for Sanae.


    They gulped down all the food and drink in an instant, tasting very delicious delicacies. After a while, Kai found out that the restaurant was Graham''s family restaurant, and she even asked a personal chef to cook for them, leaving Kai speechless. Luckily, no one noticed that fact yet, or else, she would get bombarded with questions.


    It was just a friendly party and ended in two hours or so. Kai was startled upon seeing Sanae''s state. Even after drinking a few bottles, there was no trace of drunkenness in her face, not even a tinge red.


    If Kai and Tasha actually saw the figures in the bill, they would be shaken. Fortunately, it was a private restaurant, and Michelle covered the cost.


    After the ending, Kai only told them to do their own thing. They could hang out inside the room, research their magic, or whatever they wanted until the cooldown period for taking the mission ended.


    ¡­


    Monday next week,


    "Ya." Michelle and Kai came inside their group room, greeting them with a cheerful smile. This was the day where they would get the next mission, and they wanted to get over with it so that they could get more free days.


    "Well, we are going to search for a mission today. With our pace, we can get into the top 100 ranks in two or three missions, so I want to get a mission with big points." Michelle exined.


    "I don''t have any problem." Tasha shrugged, ncing at Evan.


    "I am fine with it. We will get more free time if we finish soon anyway, which is a plus for me. Besides, I usually have my own helicopter provided by the military, so I can go anywhere to heal. Now that I have joined you guys and the military takes back the helicopter. I personally prefer such leisure." He nodded.


    Ayaka looked very troubled, ncing at everyone back and forth.


    "Ayaka? Is there a problem?" Kai asked.


    "Ehm¡­ No." She smiled awkwardly. "I don''t have any problem¡­"


    Kai stared at her for a few seconds, thinking it would be best to talk to her when they were alone.


    Sanae also had the same thought but waited for Kai to move first. No one talked for a minute, so she broke the silence, saying, "I don''t have any problem since you are the one who fights in the front line, not me. I will just give you advice for the mission and be done with it."


    Michelle nodded to her before looking at Evan.


    "Alright." He nodded, walking toward theputer and projecting a few missions on the table. Just when they were about to read the missions, Michelle received a message in hermunication device.


    She read the message and furrowed her eyebrows.


    "What happens?" Kai noticed the change of expression and asked.


    The answer came in the form of disgust, throwing themunication device to Kai. Kai was confused about why she was like that and read it himself, but soon he heard her saying, "We are not government dogs."


    He found out why she was annoyed in the first ce. The message was like this:


    ''Kai''s achievement in Prince Rupert brought the attention from the higher up. And now you have even destroyed the Eagle Grouppletely, it bes a hot topic in the bureau, forcing the student council to assign another mission.


    ''You shall go to Port Military Base in Cuba and assist their fight against the sea creatures. This time, Kai Carter shall act as a deputymander, controlling the army to fight against fifteen thousand sea creatures and five thousand flying beasts that are predicted toe in two days from pacific ocean direction.


    ''We have informed the general over there about this which he has epted. You shall takemand for our three thousand soldiers, five hundred elites, and five hundred special military academy students and bring us victory. The teacher will also go with you this time.''


    Kai''s expression darkened upon this point, but he kept reading it.


    ''PS: This requestes from Michelle''s Grandfather, Mr. Nathan Graham. For any furtherint, you can direct it to him.''


    "..." Kai was stupefied, wondering whether Michelle had read this or not. In the end, he opened the contact and searched for his name, calling her directly. Others were confused,


    "Oh, my lovely granddaughter, have you seen the request?" He picked the call and asked with a happy tone.


    "It''s me," Kai said with a poker face, shocking him.


    "Oi oi, you brat. Isn''t the normal one where you call your girlfriend and get picked up by her old man or something, not the other way around?" Nathanined.


    "Can you please act like your age just once?" Kai sighed.


    "Isn''t it fine? An easy-going grandfather is more preferred than those strict old men. Besides, I prefer this way as to enjoy the world more. Haha¡­"


    "Kai, why are you calling my grandfather?" Michelle recognized the familiar voice and asked.


    "You must not read the messagepletely. The mission ising from-" Before he finished, Nathan continued, "-from me. Gahaha¡­"


    She immediately took the device from Kai and shouted, "Are you going to kill him in this mission?"


    "Gahaha¡­ Just listen to me first. There are a few reasons for this, so let me exin this first before youin," He said nonchntly, not feeling any guilt with this mission. "First reason is to make others recognize Kai. Although we don''t really need a cheap thing like that, Kai still needs some recognition.


    "I believe Kai wants to lead a normal life, right? Just think about this, if the famous Michelle Graham marries an unknown guy, what will others think about this? They would surely not ept.


    "However, what if Michelle Graham marries the ''Kai Carter''? This will immediately quell any unrest from it. We might not be afraid of problems, but if you want to lead a peaceful life, I believe we need this recognition to suppress the media or normal families to make trouble.


    "That''s why this is necessary, so to fasten the process, I issue this mission with my best friend. His son is the general there, so I believe you can learn many things and ride this wave to make him famous. After all, your achievement in Prince Rupert and Lion Group is not enough."


    Michelle paused, pondering the matter. After a minute of silence, she asked, "A few reasons¡­ What is the second reason?"


    "You want to get into the top 100th, right? I just use a bit of my connection in the military to fulfill your wish. And thest reason¡­ Nah, never mind. ept the mission and get over with it. As soon as he gains enough recognition, we will hold a grand wedding. I don''t care if you will drop out or not, but I request a great-grandson or granddaughter. Anyway, I want to talk to Kai."


    She let out a long sigh, handing the device to Kai.


    "What is the mission?" Everyone was curious.


    Before handing the device to Kai, she connected the device to theputer, asking Evan to projected it on the screen.


    "Wha-! I also need to join?" Sanae looked at this mission with disgust.


    When Nathan heard it, he quickly told Kai to convey his message. "Teacher, if you join the mission, there will be a separate marypensation to you. Also, you will get a ten percent discount if you buy wines in the previous restaurant."


    "!!!" Sanae blinked her eyes andughed. "Haha¡­ You should tell that first. The wines there are pretty delicious. I am in."


    "..." Nathan bought over Sanae in an instant. Kai stared at her with a poker face, thinking, ''Money is scary.''


    "Anyway, your hearing ability and brain are good. Rather than going without ambition like you, it''s better to follow my n. From what I know, if you go like this, you can only retire around twenty yearster.


    "However, by making more achievements inside the school, you can ''retire'' or work inside the base after only five years. Besides, I doubt the situation in United Asia will die soon, so if I were you, I will join the army and rise through the ranks just to save my little sweetheart over there, if you know what I mean."


    Kai looked down for a minute, sighing, "Alright."


    They were too upied by this mission as they did not see Ayaka reading something in hermunication device. If only they saw her grim expression, they would stop her from what she would say next. Unfortunately, she had gathered enough resolve as she walked toward Kai.


    "Ehm? What is it?"


    "I¡­ I can''t participate in this mission."


    "Why? Is there any problem with your family?" Kai asked with pure concern.


    "Yeah. I need to do something." She nodded.


    ''She is lying.'' The thought shed in his mind as soon as he heard that. He did not know why she lied but decided to trust her. "Alright. Since you have something to do, we willplete this mission with just five of us."


    "Ehm." She nodded. On the other side, Nathan also smiled mysteriously.


    "Because this is a special mission, a military helicopter will carry you there tonight. I will send you theplete mission," Nathan said.


    Mission: Defend the base.


    Description: Takemand of the soldiers and kill those creatures.


    Reward: $500,000 and 15,000 Points


    After checking the mission, Kai looked at them and said, "We will meet again tonight."

 Chapter 112 - Sanders

    South Carolina, Graham House,


    The moonlight shone brightly, illuminating two old men in the backyard. They were sitting on afy couch, staring at each other with a weird smug smile.


    "Are you sure they can manage this?" The first old man asked with a worried expression.


    "They are fine. This grandson-inw of mine is very slick in escaping, so even if he fails, nothing will happen." Nathan shrugged.


    "Oi, we are still talking about a few thousand of our soldiers." He red at him, telling him to get serious.


    "I know. I want him to umte experiences in the front line as much as possible since he will marry my lovely granddaughter. If we are talking about his brain, as far as I know, every time he gives an order, it''s only after he has fully calcted in advance how many of them he expects to die. Being smart alone is not enough¡­" Nathan sighed.


    "So, you are training him by using my son?" He was a bit annoyed.


    "Of course." He admitted it with a poker face, not feeling any guilt in it. "Though I also have another objective in mind."


    "That littless?"


    "Yeah."


    The old man narrowed his eyes. "It''s all good, but I feel the movement of Magical Beasts this time is very weird. Unlike a normal horde, they give a stench."


    "Someone is controlling them?" He furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Yeah. Usually, Magical Beasts are moving with their instinct, but this time, it gives a weird stench to my nose. This is why I allow that brat to take control of the base. I remember that he managed to locate a base that those useless elites could not. Maybe, he could discover something from this incident."


    "I see¡­" Nathan looked down, pondering for a while. "Well, Tasha can use teleportation magic to escape, so I guess it''s fine."


    "I won''t underestimate them if I were you."


    He tilted his head in confusion, noticing that they were not on the same page. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Who are they?"


    "This is because you have retired from the military too long, and you make this n without discussing it with your son¡­" He sighed. "They are¡­"


    They continued discussing the matter, making Nathan''s expression darken. At first, he thought about canceling the mission, but he stopped. Ultimately, he chose to believe Kai''s power except still sending 500 elite soldiers from their Graham House.


    ¡­


    On the other hand, Kai and the others just arrived at the military base, meeting a brown-haired middle-aged man. His muscr body gave a sense of ferocity, telling them he was a fighter like them, not an office general.


    "Ah, you are¡­" Michelle instantly recognized this person. As the son of her grandfather''s best friend, she had seen him on a few asions.


    "You must be Sir Nathan''s granddaughter, Michelle. A pleasure to meet you here." He nodded before finding two men beside her. He checked which one had the headphones and said, "You are Kai Carter, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I have seen your report about the battle in Prince Rupert and the record of your battle against the Eagle Group. Although part of it is because my old man says so, I wee you as my deputy.


    "I will treat you as my intern advisor in this base and let you takemand of the army. However, when I feel I need to step in, you won''t give any orders anymore, are we clear?"


    "I understand." He certainly understood how absurd it was for a student tomand the army, more so a young man less than 18 years old. If not because of the good record where he managed to save the soldiers in Prince Rupert, he would decline even if the request came from his old man.


    "Good. A pleasure to work with you, my name is Sanders. Just call me, Sir Sanders or general Sanders," He stretched his hand for a handshake.


    Kai knew they could not get too familiar. Even Michelle should call him the same despite their rtionship, so Kai smiled and shook his hand. "Yes, Sir."


    "We have an empty room in a barrack, so assuming you have no issue in sleeping with your entire group, then I will lead you there. We can talk tomorrow morning."


    Kai nced at his teammates, including Sanae, and saw no qualm for them. "Thank you, Sir."


    Sanders then led him to their room and left.


    The room had one table for reading and five bunk beds, which was supposed to be a small ten-person room.


    Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, since there were only five of them, they agreed to take each bunk bed for themselves, using the top bed to ce their luggage.


    "What are we going to do tomorrow?" Michelle asked Kai.


    Kai did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked over the map, finding the terrain around the area.


    Seeing this, Sanae also took out hermunication device and searched for the map before furrowing her eyebrows.


    "Fifteen thousand sea creatures and five thousand flying beasts¡­" Sanae muttered to herself, weighing something in her mind.


    The room fell into silence as Evan was just staring at them, not doing anything. Michelle walked to Kai, sitting beside him as she looked at the map without saying anything. On the other hand, Tasha simply had no interest in this as she was never good with this kind of stuff.


    *Sigh*


    Kai let out a long sigh, followed by Sanae''s sigh. Michelle tilted her head in confusion, "What is it? Is there any problem with this battle?"


    "I will just let him exin it." Sanae shrugged, pointing her finger at Kai.


    Kai let her see the map and asked, "ording to our position, where do you think we will fight?"


    "Hmm¡­ This base is close to the sea, so around this base." She answered with an unsure tone.


    "Well¡­ The magical beasts would surely spread out if we fight around the base, so we need to move our fronts elsewhere. ording to the information provided by Sir Nathan, they areing from The Bahamas. If I am the general, I will move my soldiers to three fronts.


    "I will station a thousand soldiers in the hill on our left, giving them a terrain advantage. In the middle, there is a small town that we can use to slow them down. On the other hand, in the right field, we only have arge wheat field, without any advantage at all." He exined.


    "So, they are going to have the most brutal fight?"


    "You can say so, but there is another problem with this¡­ and I assume this is the reason why Teacher sighed." Kai nced at Sanae, who nodded her head.


    "You are right. The problem is the number. They have twenty thousand while we only have four thousand. It''s already far too disadvantageous considering we are not fighting sea creatures alone. I will also split the same way as Kai, with a thousand reserve soldiers to fight the flying beasts. As for the problem, you can exin it." Sanae shrugged, not wanting to say more.


    Kai nodded and continued. "Their number is too big. With how the magical beasts usually move, they will certainly split evenly. For example, if the right army is hit by five thousand sea creatures alone, they would need at least two days before they could fight them¡­ In other words, the soldiers would fight tirelessly like magical beasts, leaving them at a disadvantage."


    "That is the purpose of the terrain?"


    "Yeah. The middle and left armies should be able to finish them by splitting their groups into two and having a rotation. This way, we can conserve the soldiers'' strength.


    "Unfortunately, the right army has none of that. Even if we send our reserve, we need to be wary of the flying beasts." He sighed.


    "I somehow understand it." Michelle nodded. "Should we go to the right army and kill those magical beasts? I mean, Tasha could teach them how to fly again."


    "My limit is two thousand," Tasha added, afraid they would put too much expectation on her.


    "Three thousand left¡­ still not enough with that open field and no pincer attack¡­" Kai closed his eyes, picturing how the battle would progress.


    Evan suggested to him, "I can stay in the right army, healing most of them. Although I can''t recover their energy, with a few hours of recovery, they should be able to enter the fight again."


    "Yeah. That''s what I am nning, but I still need to see if I have any other ways." He looked at Sanae and asked, "Teacher, do you want to add something? Maybe I am missing something. Please share your wisdom."


    "My wisdom? Why do you say it like I am old? I am only 7 or 8 years older than you." She snorted.


    "Well, I have a few suggestions, but won''t affect your n that much except this one advice. Take a look at the town''s position." Sanae shrugged.


    Kai could not understand her advice and took a look at the map again. He stared at the town, the hill, and the wheat field for a few hours, formting a n. He smiled, "Interesting."


    Sanae just shrugged, making a little smile.


    ¡­


    At the same time,


    Ayaka arrived at her destination, finding a run-down house in front of her.


    She left the group for a while just to seek a person, ording to Nathan''s instruction. Gathering her resolve for thest time, she finally took a step forward and rang the bell.


    "I have been waiting for you,e in."


    A woman''s voice was heard from inside, prompting her to open the door. She gulped down before opening the door slowly anding inside. "Excuse me."

 Chapter 113 - Tabletop Strategist

    The next day,


    Kai and his group gathered in the meeting room, nning to talk about the battle. Besides the general were three people, two females and one male. They released a powerful pressure that riled up his instinct.


    The first one was a young woman, the same age as Sanae apparently, giving a cold gaze at him. The second female was a middle-aged woman, close to the general''s age, smiling at him to break the tension. On the other hand, the other manid back on his chair, ying with his gum.


    "Ahem, These three are my subordinates, and each of them is in charge of a thousand men. I have told them that I would let you make the battle n, and I will step up as soon as we have an emergency." Sanders took out a few papers, handing them to Kai.


    "I will exin the basic stuff about this base to you. We currently have fifteen for both fighters and gunners. And Five hundred elites who can fight twice or thrice of their number easily and five hundred privates from the military academy.


    "ording to our information, Graham Family also sent five hundred elites to us, but will only arrive tomorrow noon. So, let me ask Kai Carter, if you are the general here, what will you want us to do?"


    Kai''s expression turned serious as his first test came. He walked toward the map, starting to exin his original n.


    "I will split the army¡­" Kai exined the same n as he said to Michelle and the others, getting nods from every person in the room as a sign of approval. The generals also had the same thought as him, including the risk of the right army.


    "Good, you have the same thought as me." General Sanders smiled. "To think you have reached this level just by little information and terrain, it''s good enough for a student."


    Those words made Kai''s smile, not because he took it as apliment, but more as a challenge. "General, may I give a suggestion?"


    "Oh?!" Sanders furrowed his eyebrows, ncing at his subordinates, who changed their expressions. "Alright. Let''s hear it."


    Kai then pointed at the city in the middle. If one looked carefully between the three terrains, the city was further on the front than the other two. "I want to use the city as an anchor point to split the enemies entirely to our favor."


    "!!!" The general opened his eyes wide, surprised by the n. Even the malemander stopped ying with his gum and listened attentively.


    "Continue."


    Kai nodded. "If we station the troops slightly lean to the right side, we can somehow make more magical beasts go to the left army and less to the right. Hence, I propose to exchange three hundred gunners from the middle army with three hundred fighters from the left army.


    "After all, the middle army will take the full brunt of this strategy. If there are not enough fighters, the n will fail. Meanwhile, with the terrain advantage, the gunners will show its true might, and wipe the sea creatures out. At the same time, we have lifted a portion of the right army''s burden.


    "Our reserve will stay until the flying beastes. I know that the magical beasts will still attack us even at night. With this n, I am sure we can somehow split the soldiers into two to conserve our stamina since we only need to buy time until the sunes up." Kai exined with passion.


    *Whistle*


    Kai looked at the malemander, who was whistling after listening to his exnation. Heughed, "Haha¡­ this kid is interesting."


    "Indeed." Sanders shook his head helplessly, wondering what kind of monster did his father send. "In tabletop alone, you are slightly better than me. However, the battle on the actual battlefield is different from the tabletop battle.


    "Will we be able to maintain ourposure even when enemies are drawing near to y us? Do you think you will be able to calmly give orders that will result in actual people getting killed by the beasts? Giving a suggestion is easy, but we need to take ount of the morale of the soldiers, casualties and such.


    "For example, my original n is to use Graham family''s elites to help the middle army before helping the right army with a portion of the middle army. This will make the soldiers think the middle army is victorious, thus raising the morale of the right army.


    "On the other hand, your n does not calcte the reinforcement from Graham Family so that I will dispatch them the same. After the right and middle armies have destroyed all magical beasts in the area, they will relieve the left army."


    Sanders carefully inserted his opinion. He did not want Kai to get over the top but also not to shoot him down. After all, many geniuses might fall over if they shot him too hard, resulting in sealing their true potential. On the other hand, if they got over the top, it would only lead to more casualty, so normal was the best.


    "General, how about I and Mia change ces? I was originally in charge of the right army because of the severeness, but with this, I think I should takemand of the middle army." The malemander smirked.


    "Granted." He decisively agreed.


    "There is one more general." Kai stopped their excitement.


    "Hmm?"


    "Actually, as you might know, my twopanions are S rank magicians. I believe we can speed up the process by having them join the battle¡­ and I am nning to ask them to go to the middle army. They could kill a huge portion of the enemy by using their uniqueness.


    "And I am sure you have known Evan Young''s ability, so I ask him to join the left army to heal the little fighters they have. Although he can''t recover their energy, the left army should have enough time to buy time until theirrades could recover by utilizing the terrain.


    "Lastly, I ask my teacher to apany Evan as his guard in this battle. To be honest, I can think of this n thanks to my teacher hinting me." He smiled with appreciation.


    "Hahaha¡­ If I am not wrong, there is an S rank that can use Space Magic¡­ I have read the news about your ability. What is it called again? Teaching them how to fly? That is surely hrious but powerful. If I can witness it in this battle, I have no qualm." The malemanderughed so hard until he nearly fell off his chair.


    "Hoh¡­" On the other hand, the general narrowed his eyes, staring at Shiratsuka Sanae. "If I am not wrong, you have some experience in the army back in United Asia, right? May I know if you have joined any squad back then?"


    "Elite Snake Corp."


    "!!!" Not only the general, but all his subordinates also fell into silence, staring at her. It was one of the top ten elite groups, famous for its extraordinary piercing strength. The group contained three toons and could prate a swarm of magical beasts to save their ally. Even a person like him knew such an existence. "No wonder."


    "Actually, I have another request. I would like to observe our actual battlefield to ensure we can utilize the terrain," Kai asked.


    "Haha¡­" The malemanderughed again, staring at general Sanders. "General, just admit and give him a max score already."


    "Sigh¡­" Sanders shook his head helplessly. "I want to give him a hundred twenty. You might not know about him, but I heard he has an extraordinary hearing that can observe up to a few kilometers. In other words, he should be able to observe the entire battlefield progress just by hearing it.


    "His brain is extraordinary, and if he has gained enough experience, he would surely be a fierce general on the battlefield. Though I am also afraid that his subordinates will be too dependent on him, limiting their own potential.


    "That''s why you need to heed this advice. When one''s genius shines too brightly, it casts a shadow."


    Kai bowed his head, understanding his advice. He did not know why, but Ayaka''s image shed on his mind, making him think if this was what she felt back then. He thought, ''By taking charge, it seems I have limited her potential¡­ I should reflect on it and give her and the others a chance.''


    "Alright. Introduce yourself first." General Sanders looked at his three subordinates.


    The first cold beauty stood up, giving a salute to him. "I am Sarah, themander of the left army. You don''t need to worry about your friend''s safety as I will ensure his safety personally. And¡­ This Sarah will only serve the strong."


    Jack only raised his hand, not standing up. "Jack, Though I may look like this, I am pretty sturdy. I usually y the defense role and see the most brutal fights. Just leave the city to me, I will ensure the split is around 65-35 since it would seem the ideal in my head."


    "Marsha here, nice job, young man. Why don''t I apany you in checking the battlefield? I can provide you the necessary information and take you to the sky, making it easier for you to observe." The middle-aged woman smiled gently, inviting him.


    Kai nced at Michelle and Tasha, seeking their approval.


    Seeing this, she added, "Ahaha, Don''t worry. I won''t steal your man since I am not into a younger one."


    "Isn''t this why you are still single, old hag?" Jack smirked, seeking death.


    Marsha grabbed his head, turning to Sarah. "Sarah, open the window please, I need to throw garbage."


    "Here." Sarah obediently opened it.


    Marsha then threw Jack before boosting him with her wind magic, sending him far far away.


    "Old Hag!" Even then, Jack did not learn his lesson and yelled as he flew away.


    Kai and the others could only stare at them, speechless.

 Chapter 114 - A Voice From The Sea

    Before going with Marsha, Kai asked them to find an area where they could use their full prowess. Although the n was carefullyid out, he might not be able to assist them in the battle.


    The reserve position, which was not far behind the middle army, allowed him to observe the entire battlefield with his own hand. Considering his presence in this ce was a strategist instead of fighter ormander, Michelle and Tasha had no qualms and let him go. On the other hand, Evan and Sanae were busy discussing their positioning since they would have the most brutal fight.


    After instructing what they needed to do, he walked outside the base and found Marsha right in front of the exit.


    Marsha was looking at the sky when Kai exited the base. This base would soon be chaotic, and many soldiers would die. Hearing the clicking sound of the door, she turned around and smiled. "Have you finished your business?"


    "Yes." He looked at Marsha and took the opportunity to ask, "Where will we go first?"''


    The question made her chuckle as she pointed her finger at him. "Though you might not have the authority, you can be considered as the boss in this battle just like your original mission. In other words, I will be your subordinate in this battle, so you can choose where you want to go. Or are you bothered by Sarah''s response?"


    "No. I mean, I am just a student while you are elites."


    "You are off the mark there." She raised her palm, making a stop sign. "What differentiates you and an elite like me?"


    Kai looked down, pondered for a moment and shook his head. "I don''t know."


    "It''s experience." She crossed her arms, ready to give a little lecture. "This is the biggest misconception students have. We, elites, actually don''t have anything special other than our experiences. Just like a normal school, they cram all the knowledge into you and throw you out after you graduate.


    "Whether it is a normal job or soldier job, it is the same. You apply everything you learn in the school, learn what you can or can''t do, and get experience. After several years doing such a job, you would be skilled in doing that particr job and so on.


    "It''s not like we are stronger than you in terms of magic power, and talent. In fact, we are the same. It''s just because we have been fighting for so many years that we can use our power more skillfully, know when to act, where to strike or how to attack, can we finally be a little different from you?


    "Remember when General Sanders called you a good strategist in a tabletop battle, not in the real battlefield? You possess a little experience on the battlefield. How can you know the soldiers will follow your order to the death? How can you know the soldiers would not run in the face of death? Even General Sanders did not know it, but with the experience he has, he could somehow predict it more urately than you."


    "So, don''t becent about what you have and learn everything you can. Eventually, you will be an elite like us." She had talked too long and decided to end it with advice.


    Kai looked down, pondering her words for one minute before smiling at her. "Thank you."


    "Sure. So, where are we going, little strategist?"


    "Right Army, Middle Army, Left Army and then Reserve Army."


    "Sure." She nodded, pped her hand, and made a green magic circle, boosting them to the air.


    Kai was startled, not expecting that the wind could carry him. This never happened when he was with Sanae, so he deliberately thought it was not possible.


    "It took me a few years to master my magic control, so I can carry you like this, which is another example of how useful experience is."


    Kai nodded, not knowing why but thinking about Commander Jack. If he were here, he would surely say, ''As expected of an old hag, she loves to boast her age(experience).'' and get thrown away once again.


    As if she had an instinct in that sensitive topic, she turned to him and said with a serious expression. "One more piece of advice, just don''t be like that guy, Jack, who has no courtesy. Be a man that can be polite and respect others, okay?"


    "..." Kai chuckled and nodded.


    She then pped her hand to produce a forward movement at the speed of a normal person''s running speed.


    It only took them a few minutes before they could see a huge wheat field with an army camp in the center. They did notnd per Kai''s request as his purpose was to observe the terrain, albeit they decided to walk around the camp for a few minutes because of Marsha''s urging. Her reason was to get him ustomed to the people on the battlefield and know the atmosphere around them, whether it was anxiety or full of fighting spirit.


    The soldiers were pretty energetic. Kai knew the reason as the female soldiers idolized her, and the male soldiers were feasting their eyes with her appearance. It could be said the most popr person in this base was her, and sometimes people called her the mother of the base as she often took care of them. Unfortunately, Kai never cared about it and just let her do her own thing.


    Noticing the bored look on Kai''s face, she shook her head helplessly and walked toward him. The curious gazes from the soldiers made Kai walk even further.


    "Sorry, we will talk again tonight. Do your job first, and shall someone not finish their work, you know what will happen."


    Something beyond his imagination happened as soon as the soldiers heard her order, despite not giving it in a strict way. All soldiers instantly straightened their back and saluted. "Yes, Ma''am."


    Then, they dismissed themselves and began working their jobs. Kai could notprehend what just happened and stared at Marsha for a few seconds.


    "You should join me earlier. They are good boys and girls."


    He carefully examined the soldiers and shook his head. "It''s impossible. Even after you said all of that, I am still a student. If they know their lives are in the hand of a random student, they will cause a ruckus. This must be the reason why General Sanders does not appoint me as an official."


    "Sigh..." She pped her hand and carried him again to the sky without replying to his statement.


    They continued their journey to the middle army. Though their discipline was notparable to those in the right army, the soldiers looked very powerful. ording to Marsha, they were Jack''s personal soldiers, muscle brain type soldiers. In fact, most of the fighters in this base were under Jack. Only because they were stationed with Marsha or Sarah, they slowly thought of things other than fighting.


    Jack assured Kai that they would surely position themselves in the best spot after looking at how the magical beasts marched. Idiotic as he may be, Jack was by no means a fool. Even Marsha acknowledged his eyes on the battlefield.


    Kai felt relieved knowing his sister and Michelle were in good hands. As long as he was not a fool that only knew how to charge, it was fine.


    After talking for a few minutes with Michelle and Tasha, Kai continued to the left army and met Sarah. Unfortunately, she did not say anything to him and only focused on her own job. She ignored even Sanae and Evan as she said, "You do you, I do me."


    In the end, Marsha could only apologize for her attitude. Sarah had conveyed her intention clear, telling them that she only would talk to the strong. Though Kai showed his strategical prowess, she had yet to see his other ability.


    He decided to ignore her and checked the actual terrain himself. The hill was steep and would be deadly to Magical Beasts if used correctly.


    Marsha agreed with him and told Sarah about it, since she did not ignore her.


    Then, he finally went to thest army, the reserve, which wasmanded by General Sanders himself.


    "Oh, you are finally here." Sanders put down the matter on hand and walked to him before signaling Marsha to go back to her army.


    "Do you need something from me, General?"


    "How is our terrain? What feeling do you have after observing my soldiers?"


    "The terrain can be used to destroy the magical beasts if used in the right way. As for the soldiers... I only know their fighting spirit is high." Kai crossed his arms and used his hand to support his chin.


    "It''s good enough for now. From what my old man said, you don''t want to serve the army very long, right?"


    "Yes." He answered, embarrassed.


    "Haha... you don''t need to feel that way. There are many people like you since we have no obligation to fight. I just want you to promise me not to rest your weapon even if you are not in the front line anymore. We don''t know if civilization will be overturned once again."


    "Yes."


    "Good then. I will exin the situation around the base. Firstly, our soldiers..." Themander continued exining to him the general situation before noticing Kai''s abnormal expression. "Kai? Kai Carter?"


    It was at this time, Kai heard something he would never expect.


    "Lkhfkdit."


    "Sh ktha muoa."


    "Theoi."


    Kai froze upon hearing this conversation, and his muscle tensed abruptly. One of them had a frequency of a dolphin sound while the other one had a frequency close to a human''s voice. Those two voices came from their north, and most importantly, it wasing from above the sea.


    "Kh." He knew nothing about thisnguage and even wondered whether this was a humannguage or not.

 Chapter 115 - Emergency

    "Kh." The more he tried toprehend thenguage or the tone, the more his veins on his head bulged.


    "Kai Carter!" General Sanders shook his body, calling back to reality. He could not find the reason why Kai suddenly looked like he was possessed, but it made his heart skip a beat. His father and Nathan Graham had entrusted his safety to him, so him acting like that made him sweat.


    "Ah... General, sorry I was too focused." Kai shook his head, regaining hisposure.


    Seeing how he came back brought him peace of mind.


    He went around him, observed him from top to bottom, and asked, "What just happened to you?"


    Kai didn''t answer straight away. He thought for nearly a minute before saying, "I''ll ask you something strange first."


    "Sure, ask me," General Sanders said with a serious expression.


    "Do we have any people in our north? I mean above the ocean."


    "Above the ocean?" He expected some strange questions, but this one truly toppled them. He recalled every mission and transport around this area before shaking his head. "As far as I know, no."


    Kai fell into silence once more before saying, "General knows about my hearing, right?"


    "Yeah. I have been informed."


    "Actually, I have heard two... people (?) or whatever, talking in a strangenguage. Most importantly, ording to my ears, one of them talked in the same frequency as a human voice, but another one talked in a dolphin''s frequency, around 30,000 to 40,000 Hz. Unless you have my ears, you won''t even understand."


    "Wha-" He stared at him with empty eyes for nearly a minute. Aftering back to reality, the general didn''t say a word. Instead, he nodded as a gesture for Kai to recount his story.


    Kai hesitated for a moment, then honestly said, "The dolphin voice felt like a male voice while the other had a female voice. They are located in our north around four-kilometer ahead."


    General Sanders crossed his arms, recalled something in his mind and asked him another question. "What is the limit of your hearing? I mean, the frequency?"


    "Normal humans can hear 20 to 20,000 Hz, but I can hear 0.5to 100,000 Hz." Kai fell into silence after answering him. In fact, because of this hearing frequency, he could use the Echo Location magic. He tried to reproduce their tone in humannguage, hoping Sanders would understand. "They talk like this, ''Lkkndit,'' and ''Sa kita moar'' or something along the line."


    He tried his best to reproduce it but fell short.


    "This might be bad..." General Sanders scratched his head, thinking about how to deal with this. He looked at Kai, one of the most important lives in this base and grabbed his shoulder.


    "Prepare your luggage as you will go home tomorrow."


    Kai was stunned by that order, furrowed his eyebrows, and asked to confirm if he heard it right. "I need to go back tomorrow? What do you mean, General Sanders?"


    Sanders realized the importance of Kai''s hearing ability and thought about how to secure his safety first. He took hismunication device out of his pocket and checked the schedule before saying, "You and your team will go back tomorrow as soon as the reinforcements arrive."


    Without waiting for Kai to respond, he walked away from him and started typing something.


    ...


    In Graham Family''s Manor,


    The two old men, who were rxing by ying chess, got interrupted by the sudden high-pitched sound from theirmunication device.


    "Sorry, it''s mine." Nathan grabbed themunication device beside him before another squeaking sound startled him.


    "It''s mine this time." It was the same old man from yesterday, General Sanders''s father, Ethan. He also opened hismunication device, halting the game for a moment. "My son is calling me."


    "My son too." Nathan was surprised as he exchanged looks with Ethan, feeling something wrong.


    "Son, why do you call me?" Both of them picked up the call and asked at the same time.


    Like father like son, Sanders and Michael answered at the same time. "Father, we have an emergency!"


    "Wait, wait, wait. Calm down and tell me what happens?" They really besties as they answered with the same line.


    "That has appeared, and they will attack my (Sanders''s) base."


    "!!!" Their eyes met and realized how important this information was. ording to the way they called him, Sanders would surely know more, so Nathan decided to hang up his call. "Ethan is in front of me, and his son is calling him. I will listen to their conversation rather than having a confusing discussion with you."


    Ethan ced his device on the table and activated the speaker so Nathan could hear their conversation. "I am in Old Nathan''s house, tell me what you mean by ''that'' has appeared!"


    "This..." Ethan looked at Nathan and nodded.


    Nathan''s expression turned dark as he asked, "How are my Kai and the others?"


    "They are still in the base. Considering they areing from the north of our location, I am requesting a reinforcement. I have told Michael to bring more reinforcements as a rescue squad. On the other hand, I hope you cane from South Carolina to our base before noon."


    "Good decision. If ''that'' really appears, then it''s a bad choice to send the kids back right now with their current location. They might even die on the way." Ethan nodded, pinching the bridge between his eyebrows before asking, "Are there any student groups around you? Check it and order them to gather in your base. We can''t rescue them in a separate ce if they are too far. This battle would surely escte to something bad."


    "Understood. I will immediately check it."


    "How long will the magical beasts arrive at your base?"


    "Dawn, around 5 AM."


    "Sh*t." Nathan gritted his teeth and mmed the table with a furious expression. "If we attack them carelessly, we would be the one who gets destroyed. We can only arrive there right before noon, around 11 AM. I can bring two thousand elites with me, and I will ask the military here to spare some soldiers and transportations."


    Sanders exhaled and answered, "I n to abandon the base if they have killed half of us."


    "We can build another base if it''s destroyed, but it''s hard to train soldiers. I will talk it out with the government after this incident, so you don''t need to worry." Ethan assured him.


    "Understood."


    "I want to ask one thing, is Kai over there? How is his strategic ability?"


    Sanders recalled Kai''s n and realized why his father asked that. "He is good. Because of our distance between four armies, I will ask him to takemand of HQ using his hearing."


    "Good. He can buy time as long as he ys the card right."


    "Yes." Sanders nodded before falling into deep thought. "Kai''s n is using all of his teammates, should I recall them and have them wait inside the base?"


    "No. It''s better if they are somewhere around you since ''That'' is like us and hard to predict. Instead, ask Kai to observe their every move, " Ethan answered.


    "Alright."


    "You just need to hold out for a few hours. Remember, your opponent is as smart as humans and can employ techniques. Because your rank is not high enough, I give you special permission to tell Kai about this, but you need to tell it as vague as possible. After they are rescued, Nathan or I will exin it to him personally."


    "Understood. I will fulfill my duty as the general of this ce." Sanders nodded.


    On the other side,


    "You are going?" Nathan asked with a serious expression.


    He nodded. "With how you have entrusted your little Michelle and grandson-inw to my son and me, It''s obvious I am also responsible for it. It''s been a while since Ist fought."


    "You are not rusty, right?" Nathan asked him seriously without having a single intention to tease. He wanted to make sure not to bring someone useless in this mission, considering how dangerous it would beter.


    "Of course not. Still, it seems we have another opportunity to fight together again."


    "Good." Nathan nodded and said to Sanders. "Do your own task well, I will surely bring you reinforcement before noon."


    "Thank you, Sir Nathan." He hung up the call.


    As soon as the call ended, Nathan shouted, "Bryan, Albert, get your asses right here!"


    The shout echoed through the entire manor, startling many people, especially those two, whose names were called. They were rxing inside the mansion before they immediately opened the window near them and jumped out, running toward Nathan as fast as possible.


    "Father!" It only took them a few seconds to appear in front of him.


    "You two are going to assemble all our men, leaving a few enough to protect the shore. I will fill you the detailster."


    "What happens, father? Where are you going?" Bryan asked.


    "I am going to our South Carolina Military Base to ask for a few helicopters and others. Anyway, your time limit is dawn." Nathan did not waste another minute and quickly leaped to the outside.


    "Understood." Bryan and Albert still answered despite knowing their father would not hear it.


    "Do you need my help?" Ethan, who was left behind, asked Bryan and Albert. This South Carolina was not his jurisdiction, so Nathan was more effective in talking with the army. In that case, helping these two men would be better than doing nothing.


    "No, no. We arepletely fine with the task. Thank you for your concern, Sir Ethan." Bryan politely declined his suggestion and left. "Then, please excuse us."


    "Still... Why did they appear at a time like this?" Ethan looked at the sky, pondered for a moment and sighed because he did not know the answer.

 Chapter 116 - Eve Of Chaos

    After hanging up the call, Sanders nced back at Kai.


    "General..." He wanted to say he heard it all, but stopped, fully knowing Sanders also understood it.


    "As you have heard. We have an emergency because of ''that'' appearance. Don''t ask me about this matter as my position is not high enough to tell you this military secret. I can only tell you one thing. You need to treat this as a battle between humans. A strategy versus strategy. I will change the reserve army as a special roaming unit to help the other armies while fighting the flying beasts."


    He sent something with hismunication device. "The message contains all the code used in the military. I don''t know if they could decipher ourmunication or not, but try to use them as much as possible."


    "Understood." Kai wanted to ask a few more questions but decided to hold it for the time being. One of his questions was about the usage of radio. And by the looks of it, he could use the radio for this battle with a restriction. Firstly, he could only talk to the general andmanders as to prevent aggroing the magical beasts. Second, there were too many codes to remember, so he needed to start memorizing it.


    Sanders nodded and turned back as he assembled a few people by a single call. "I have a few jobs for all of you. First, check every student in the area and our surroundings, including Guatem to Panama. Second, inform the bases from Colombia and Venezu to prepare for an attack against the Magical Beasts horde. Third, tell the othermanders to prepare to abandon the base at any notice. I will exin the details in the meeting tonight and make sure to maintain the army''s morale."


    Those people left as soon as they received the order. On the other hand, the general came back to him, forgetting onest thing. "I want you to be careful against this opponent. If something happens, you and the others will retreat first by using the base helicopters to Colombia.


    "Thanks to your hearing ability, we could somehow prepare for this and have some hope to hold them back. Besides, I want you and your group on the battlefield as I fear they mighte from behind.


    "Currently, we have two reinforcementsing from the west and the north. The west is your rescue squad focusing on escorting you or any other students around the area. Meanwhile, the one in the north ising from Graham Family targeting the back of our enemy right now."


    "I heard that we couldn''t be careless in dealing with our opponent, but how about sending their army to ambush the flying beasts instead?" Kai asked. Considering they wereing from the Pacific Ocean, the Graham Family should be able to ambush the army from South Carolina.


    "This..." He did not say it was a good n or a bad n because of a certain reason. Not knowing if he could disclose it or not, he only patted Kai''s shoulders twice before saying, "Just ask where everything started to Michelle''s grandfather or my father. They will surely tell you if you are qualified. After all, you are a Zodiac and have a big reputation... or at least, in the bureau."


    Kai looked down, pondered for a moment, and sighed. "I understand. I will only focus on this battle right now though I wish some kind of clue on how powerful my opponents are to make a better judgment."


    "Hmm..." He pondered for a moment, thinking about what he could say or not. In the end, he could only say, "Just think about fighting an S magical beast with human intelligence."


    "That''s... quite dangerous." Kai narrowed his eyes. Though he never fought an S rank magical beasts, he heard it would need many elites just to defeat it. Thest record even said they needed three S rank magicians, and one of them almost died. Along with them, they also brought an army close to ten thousand just to clear the area around because a single roar from an S rank magical beasts would bring many magical beasts nearby.


    ording to the record, even after killing the S rank magical beast, they were still in pursuit of more than a hundred thousand magical beasts from the magical beasts on the ground and in the sky.


    In fact, Michelle might be called to fight this magical beast sooner orter, considering she was one of the S rank magicians. He would surely not leave her alone, so he was nning to apany her.


    Kai felt this chance was precious to grasp the behavior of magical beasts. He even remembered about his new magic, Resonant Beam. Theck of tests in living magical beasts restricted his ability to the fullest.


    The first thing that came to his mind when making this magic was whether he could create a resonance with magical beasts, allowing him to kill them from inside. Just like how he used a sound wave at 19 Hz to vibrate human eyeballs, he should be able to shake magical beasts'' brains as long as he found the right frequency.


    Knowing his mission in this battle, Kai took a deep breath before recalling something. "Sea Creatures... That''s right. They are sea creatures."


    "Hmm?" He tilted his head, looked at him, and patted his shoulder. "Anyway, I need to go. We will have a meeting with many people tonight, but I am not nning to let you join because I want to keep our morale high. Please understand."


    "Don''t worry. I know by bringing me there will pummel their morale. After all, no matter how many flowery words you say, it is hard to convince someone to leave their lives on the hand of an unknown student." Kai nodded understandingly.


    "Thanks." When he was about to leave, he remembered another thing. "Don''t tell anyone about this, including Michelle. As for Pisces, Evan Young... With hisputer skill, I am sure he can look it up. Just don''t mention anything to him before the battle. In fact, I want you to battle without hoping for anything."


    "Understood." He nodded.


    After getting the confirmation from Kai, he finally left, not returning and telling him he forgot to say another thing again.


    Meanwhile, Kai crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and tapped his forehead a few times. ''They are sea creatures... Unlike the ground magical beasts, not many of them can stay on thend. In fact, the beasts will probably either be crabs, snails, turtles, and the like. There is too much that humanity does not know about sea creatures that restrict me in this, but I should not be emphasized in that. Just like I don''t know about them, they are also unaware of my hearing ability. I will use this hearing ability to counter their every move while testing my power. Still, the reinforcement... I think I will fight without putting the reinforcement in my n.''


    "Why are you putting on such a dark face? It''s enough for my element to be dark, not you." Michelle had finished her business in the middle army, so she came to check on him.


    Kai didn''t show a look of surprise as he pondered for a few seconds before saying, "No. Just trust me, okay?"


    She frowned.


    "I always trust you. I always want to be a hero on the battlefield, and you approve of that, so I know you won''t send me to my death."


    Kai closed his eyes and smiled before thinking of his n for tomorrow.


    "Are you still going to be here?"


    "Yeah. Let me be here for a while." Kai nodded and watched her leave. In the meantime, he started looking at the battlefield in the worst case possible. He was confident in teleporting fifty people to Colombia if he released all of his power and Tasha''s space magic. By that time, he would require to sacrifice close to four thousand people.


    He might not be a hero or something, but it would certainly leave a bad taste if he abandoned that many people. Then he slowly cracked open the other possibilities.


    As if he was too absorbed with his thought, he did not notice that the bright sky had turned dark. Michelle and the others were waiting for him in the base, not wanting to disturb him at the moment after seeing how serious he was.


    Kai shook his head, walked to the base, andid down on his bed. Michelle asked about what happened, but he refused to answer since he promised Sanders. He rolled around his base while memorizing the military codes.


    ...


    The next day, Kai woke up early, only to find his group woke up earlier than him.


    As the one who had been beside him for a long time, Tasha noticed a change of his expression and asked. "Looking at your expression, do you have a change of n?"


    "Yeah. Sister, I want you to save your magic power from the start." He smiled at her with his blurry eyes before turning to the others. "Michelle also needs to conserve your magic power. On the other hand, Teacher should use all of your power to get rid of as many monsters as possible. Evan might need to watch out for himself in this battle."


    Kai thought with how they positioned themselves, if the enemy were truly intelligent, they would surely attack the left army with their numeric advantage. In other words, if they could chip a portion of their number, the battle would not be as dangerous anymore.


    "!!!" On the other hand, the others had a trace of surprise on their face and realized whatever was bothering his mind, it would surely be bad.


    "Leave the middle army to me." Michelle and Tasha answered at the same time.


    "As long as the magical beasts act with their instinct, I can take care of myself." Evan nodded, assuring him. Different from him, Sanae could onlyin. "Sigh... maybe I should leave this group or at least take a break like Ayaka."

 Chapter 117 - War

    Kai and his group walked toward the meeting room.


    In there sat a few men and women waiting for the general toe.


    Jack quickly rose from his seat, walked toward Kai, and deliberately put his hand on Kai''s shoulder, acting like a buddy. "You heard it yesterday. General Sanders has officially raised this man''s status as our temporary advisor. Though the highestmand would still be in General Sanders''s hand, as long as the general does not cut in, you guys should follow his order."


    When they were about to put an unhappy expression, General Sanders walked in, smacking the book on his hand to the back of Jack''s head.


    *p!*


    "What are you doing here?"


    Jack froze upon hearing his voice. He turned around and smiled while stroking the back of his head. "Oh, General. I am just introducing this little guy to the others."


    General Sanders rolled his eyes, pushed Kai forward, and reintroduced him. "This is Kai Carter, and he will takemand of our entire army. I have a few reasons for this, but there is no way I will put a newbie without several good reasons. If you trust me with your life, follow this kid''s instructions because the next war will be a big one."


    "Yes, Sir." All of them instantly rose and saluted to him.


    Sanders nodded and turned his head toward the Lion Group before looking at Kai. "Our n has not changed. Buy enough time until the reinforcement arrives. If we have passed our limit, immediately order a retreat."


    "Understood."


    "Alright. Go to your position. The enemy will arrive in one and a half hours."


    They gave another salute before leaving the room.


    Sanae carried Evan like baggage and flew to the sky while Tasha and Michelle teleported to the middle army, leaving Kai alone in the middle of the reserve army.


    It was still 4 AM. The darkness still enveloped the world, and the cold air created tension in the atmosphere.


    Kai took a glimpse of the soldiers'' expressions. Most students from the Military Academy tensed up, knowing the sea creatures woulde in an hour. On the other hand, the elites were joking with each other, like bonding in the army.


    He took a deep breath before looking to his right, finding Sanders a few meters away.


    Without needing to organizing his words, Sanders said a line he always used when leading the army. "The path you have chosen is a path of sacrifice. And it is by oveing these trials that you will grow stronger. There is no such word as we are stronger, or they are stronger. Only the victor is the stronger one. Now it is time to etch our name as the stronger one today. Good luck to you."


    "Yes, Sir." Kai saluted to Sanders, who walked away after saying his piece.


    Not long after, the soldiers took their position under Sanders''s instruction. He did not know why, but this looked like traditional warfare in the past, except the weapons were magic weapons, and they had guns instead of bows.


    Kai stopped nning and rxed his mind.


    One hourter,


    Kai slowly opened his eyes, sensing many footsteps on the shore. He rose from his seat, put on the radio that was connected to the threemanders and Sander before saying, "They have arrived. The middle army will see them in around three minutes."


    "!!!"


    ¡­


    In the middle army,


    Jackughed abruptly, nced at Tasha and Michelle, and smirked. "Your boyfriend is truly ridiculous."


    Tasha made a smug smile while Michelle pointed her finger at Tasha. "She is his sister."


    "We are not blood-rted, so it''s safe." Tasha snorted before ring at her.


    "Though I want to joke around with you guys a bit more, it seems we need to finish our business first." Jack shook his head helplessly as he walked toward the soldiers.


    They positioned themselves outside of the city to be an anchor point before using the city to kill the magical beasts. The fighters made a fewyers of ''V'' shape position consisting of two hundred fighters each.


    ording to Jack''s n, it was the best ratio to split the enemy. The very frontyer would certainly take serious damage while theyer behind them acted as a reserve to fill the hole if someone died. The two others were ready to nk the enemy from the right, preventing them from going to the right army after a certain number of magical beasts.


    As for the gunners, they were there to support the main fighters. Although a few could use their magic, most of them better used their magic power to shoot the gun as it was only wasting their magic power.


    Michelle stared at the gunners and fighters. She could think like this because of their current situation. If Kai went into the military academy, he might certainly be like them. Although Kai''s prowess would not let him die like cannon fodders, the potential of his death was still high.


    Kai certainly would not want that, making Michelle very adamant to it. She turned to Tasha. "Though Kai asks us to save our energy, I think a few big moves are fine. Don''t you think so?"


    "Indeed. The moment they stop the magical beasts from moving to the right army, I will use my Teleportation Magic to make it easier.


    "In any case, the top priority is to survive," Michelle said with a severe expression. "I don''t know what Kai hides from us, but it''s certainly something bad."


    "I agree with you. Though¡­ Don''t you want to be a hero?" Tasha smirked, teasing Michelle.


    Michelle wasn''t surprised by her teasing as she had no change in expressions. She looked at Tasha with a small smile. "That is just a childhood''s dream¡­"


    "How can I never have a dream like that?"


    She did not say anything for a few seconds before taking out her two shadow des.


    Tasha thought Michelle was going to attack him. Instead, she saw Michelle turn around, walking to the front. "Tasha¡­ I leave my back to you."


    A hint of astonishment appeared on her face as Tasha took out her bow.


    It took another minute before everyone could see a horde of sea creaturesing from the horizon. Most of them were giant crabs, snails, slugs, turtles, and octopus.


    After the evolution a few centuries ago, mollusks could travel easily through the sea, and some even gained the ability to live in thend for a while, such as the octopus.


    Their size came in variety, but the smallest one was around half of the human''s normal height. And this battle was not like the one in Prince Rupert, their one thousand needed to take the full brunt of fifteen thousand sea creatures. This alone would certainly lead to numerous deaths.


    Tasha furrowed her eyebrows, raised her hand, and created four lightning arrows. At the same time, Jack raised his Warhammer and roared. "Here theye, soldiers. The fate of this battle depends on our hands. Let us show what we are capable of!"


    "Yes, Sir!" The soldiers shouted in unison, shaking the ground a little with their loud voices.


    "Gunners, take aim!"


    The gunners and Tasha aimed at the very front of the sea creatures, waiting for Jack''s order.


    100 meters¡­


    50 meters¡­


    Jack had yet to give an order, making the soldiers anxious. It was when the magical beasts were only ten meters away from them, Jack shouted, "Fire!"


    The bullets and arrows flew at the same time, piercing through the sea creatures.


    They rolled around because of the momentum, moving toward the soldiers. There was a difference of speed between rolling and running, so many magical beasts tripped over these gigantic bodies. Some even needed to walk over them.


    This was what Jack wanted as he shouted his second order. "Fighters, use your shields! We will stop their momentum and create the first wall!"


    They did not know what he meant by the first wall but still took out their shield at the same time. The soldiers had been trained with many drills so that they could obeymands in the shortest time possible.


    Besides, with Jack leading them in the very front, how could they not follow his order.


    "Here we go! Brace for the impact!"


    *Bam*


    The rolling magical beasts were stopped by the soldiers, creating a ''V'' wall and forcing the magical beasts to split.


    "We will retreat fifty meters." Jack wanted to utilize theserge bodies just to be their boulders, so there was no excessive death for the soldiers. Just as Sanders said, Jack might not look like it, but he was an intelligent guy.


    The magical beasts instinctively moved around the bodies. Unfortunately, they could not see the soldiers very well because of their size, forcing them to move forward to the left and right armies. Meanwhile, a portion of them came back and charged at the middle army.


    At this time, Michelle came to the front, waiting for the magical beasts toe to their way.


    "Soldiers! It''s time for us to show our strength. Fighters, make sure you can keep up with me. No need to go to the front. Just holding them here is enough. Gunners, help us in the best way possible." Jack gave hisst order before charging to the front with his Warhammer.


    In an instant he ordered, Michelle appeared right beside him.


    "Cheeky Graham Family''s girl¡­" Jack smirked as he swung his Warhammer, crushing a two meters tall crab''s shell.


    The same as him, Michelle''s shadows sh were strong enough to cut a hard shell, slicing a snail into two. "Damn you snail. You should be slow!"

 Chapter 118 - Ayakas Battle

    In the run-down house somewhere in Arizona,


    Ayaka''s body kept twitching. Even though she had stayed in this house for a day, she still could not get used to the sight. She felt that even after living for weeks or even months, she would still not be able to stand the house interior.


    All she could see was a study desk made of burly wood in front of her. Right in the middle was a thirty centimeters dying mouse with many stab wounds. The wounds were slowly regenerating, but it abruptly stopped as soon as the mouse died.


    To the left of the mouse was a stack of neatly arranged books, numbering about eight. The wall on her right was a dark and greenyered creepy wallpaper with yellowmps attached to them.


    Diagonally beside themp was a giant tube shrouded in a pale green glow. It contained something that threw Ayaka off.


    A lion''s corpse.


    In front of the tube sat a beautiful middle-aged woman with a devilish body. She had grey colored hair and beautiful silver eyes. Her expressions remained t despite watching the tube and taking a few notes.


    "Professor, can I get an answer already?" Ayaka asked with an impatient voice.


    "Haha, you are really an impatient girl¡­ Even Kai is more polite than you." She turned around, made a teasing smile, and walked toward her.


    It turned out the beautiful middle-ageddy was the ''Professor'' that Kai was afraid about.


    "Although you are blessed with a good aptitude, it''s hard for you to achieve it. There are many factors that I need to consider, but above all, it''s about my promise to that little guy." She put down her notebook on the table as she leaned on the wall.


    "I need it, I need power!"


    "You are just power hungry. You are still a student, and I have read all of your records. To be honest, you are already a top talent among your peers." The professor rolled her eyes and shrugged.


    "It''s not enough. If it goes on like this, I will be left in the dust." Ayaka paused for a moment, recalling the past matters that brought her to tears. "Not long ago, I wasn''t even qualified to know that my grandfather died and my family was on the brink of extinction. Then Kai stretched his hand to me, helping my family and me from the brink of death.


    "Despite wanting to help my family or him, I am powerless. They keep telling me that I can get stronger and take my time, but I am a woman who has her own dream and ambition. Those encouragements to me feel like an insult! That''s why I decide to take the risk even knowing I might not be able to meet him and my family again the next day! Even if the risk is huge, please, I beg you."


    "Pfft." The professorughed abruptly as she made a coffee. The clicking sound of a ss and a spoon filled the room created a tense atmosphere. This situation made Ayaka think that the professor did not have any intention to answer her as she put down the cup, sitting on her chair.


    "Professor!" Ayaka slowly became frustrated after not getting any answer. If the professor just rejected or epted her request, it was not this irritating.


    The professor ignored her for a few minutes until she finally finished her coffee. "Ah, I finally finished this. If feeling alone can beat someone or go through this, then Humanity might have reimed the Earth. Unfortunately, that is not the case."


    She did not let Ayaka talk as she rose from her seat, walked toward the door, and said without any emotion. "Follow me."


    Ayaka did not understand her and just followed her. The run down house was quite big as they needed a minute before arriving in a room she never entered.


    There were a few tubes inside the room. The professor walked toward aputer, typed a few things before looking at Ayaka. "Go inside one of them."


    Ayaka did not know what she wanted to do, but this might be her answer. Therefore, she walked inside one of them and entered a simtion world. It was arge white room without anything in it. She looked around, wondering what the professor wanted to do with this room.


    A few secondster, the professor came inside while putting her hand inside the pocket of her white robe.


    "Well, you have many shorings to even be qualified. So, I will train you for now." She said before yawning like Ayaka was worth nothing in her eyes.


    "But professor¡­" Ayaka didn''t understand her meaning and was afraid to hurt her.


    "If you don''t want to get the chance, it is fine by me. I am just testing you. If you want to get it, thene at me with whatever you have. If you can hit me once, then you pass." She said without a change of expression.


    Ayaka looked left and right, not knowing what to do. Ultimately, she took out her spear. If she could only get it with force, then she needed to do it. "I am sorry, Professor. I need to have it."


    Looking at Ayaka pointed a spear at her, the professor yawned, raised her hand and waved her finger back and forth to taunt her. "Juste. I still have many things to do."


    "Here I go!" She narrowed her eyes and charged at her, thrusting her spear on the professor''s heart.


    She should end this battle instantly by killing the professor, or that was what she expected. In reality, her vision suddenly turned upside down as she was lying on the floor.


    The professor only snorted. "Weak."


    Ayaka had yet to realize it, but it was clear from the professor''s point of view.


    "Get up." The professor looked down at her like looking at trash. "As I said earlier, if you think emotion alone can let you defeat your opponent, then the Earth has already been reimed by humanity."


    Ayaka looked up, rose from her position, and reached out to her spear before noticing a sharp paining from her hand.


    "Argh!" The excruciating pain jolted her mind, freezing her brain for a few seconds. She ced her hand on the painful area, but noticed something wrong.


    In an instant, she looked down, only finding her arm was bent in a weird direction. "Aahhh!"


    Her tears came out as it might be the hardest blow she ever received. In fact, when she died in the simtion room back then, it was a quick death, so she did not really feel anything. But this pain was killing her from the inside.


    "Heh¡­ I have turned the pain reduction to zero, so you will feel all the pain like in the real world. I feel I have not introduced myself, right? Then let me introduce myself first. I am Ria Ross. People know me as a mad scientist, and I research many things, including the fusion between Human Blood and Magical Beast Blood, calling it Zodiac.


    "I saved Kai a few years ago when I visited United Asia¡­ To be specific, it was after the raid of flying beasts that struck Tokyo. The little brat who was dying just to save a littless had no other choice than fusing with the blood of a magical beast to survive. Despite having wounds all over and almost died, he uttered no word other than asking me to help the littless.


    "Compared to you, his determination alone far surpassed you. He managed to survive by relying on that will. Though it might also be the greatest setback in my life. At first, I was intrigued by his hearing and extraordinary magic power, but...


    "After healing him, I taught him all the necessary things he needed to protect his loved one from knowledge, soft skills, tobat. I became his instructor for about three years before I let him graduate from my training¡­ Well, you can also say I am Kai Carter''s Master." The professor finally introduced herself.


    Ayaka was stupefied, never expecting this kind of introduction. There was only one thing that kept reying in her mind.


    ''Kai''s Master?''


    The thought alone startled her. She once thought about how Kai could be that strong, but knowing that he had a teacher put her mind at ease.


    "And I have said it before¡­ If you can''t even have the same amount of willpower, I won''t let you take the test. However, there is another thing that I can apply to you to train your will. The simplest way is to kill you over and over¡­ let see¡­ one hundred times should be enough for now. Just tell me when you want to stop, you are free to go."


    Ayaka gritted her teeth and rose from the ground while enduring the pain. Even if she could not use her right hand anymore, she would continue fighting with her other hand. She created a magic circle, pointing it at Ria.


    Unfortunately, Ria was nowhere to be seen. It was at this time she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her chest.


    She flew toward the wall, finding that Ria just kicked at her chest and breaking a few bones.


    "Come on! Kai has died more than a thousand times," Ria said nonchntly.


    If Michelle were here, she would say, ''That is the reason why Kai doesn''t want to meet you.''


    As for Ayaka, she could only spat blood to the ground and looked at Ria with blurry eyes before falling to the floor.

 Chapter 119 - First Phase Of The War

    Not long after the battle started, the right army finally got theirpany. Marsha, who usually smiled through the day, put her serious face on before releasing her killing intent.


    The soldiers gasped, finding a new side of Marsha. Her gaze was so cold, freezing them in the spot, and her eyes became sharp before she shouted, "All fighters will follow me as we will hold the magical beasts. Gunners, all of you focus on killing them one at a time. The middle army has sacrificed themselves to direct half of our enemies to the left army. If we can''t even deal with these puny numbers, be prepared for the consequences!"


    "Ye-Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers never expected Marsha to have this kind of side. Her warm nature shed on their mind as they clenched their weapons, thinking, ''We will surely win the fight.''


    Their surprise did not end there. Marsha dropped another bomb by taking out her ive in front of them. The first weapon came in thought after seeing Marsha would be a delicate weapon. Even if it were not a rapier and such, it would be a spear or sword.


    Unfortunately, their expectations were shattered twice, as they felt nothing would surprise them anymore. With a determination as well as disappointment, they picked up their weapons and roared.


    "Attack!" Marsha quickly gave her orders as she ran across the field to meet these many magical beasts.


    "Uoh!" The yell echoed in the battlefield. Whether they were women or men, they shouted on top of their lungs, charging toward the magical beasts.


    The gunners started shooting the magical beasts, killing them one by one. Unfortunately, just like the battle in Prince Rupert, a single bullet was not enough to kill the magical beasts. They started grouping together and aiming at one magical beast at a time ording to Marsha''s instruction.


    With five people shooting at the same spot simultaneously, it created a hole and killed the magical beast in a split second.


    For some reason, Marsha smiled and swung her ive, blowing away a giant crab. The crab took a few sea creatures behind it and stopped the momentum of the magical beasts.''


    For them, such events were already beyond their imaginations.


    Momentarily, the soldiers thought of two options: The first option was stopping the charge of magical beasts to protect the gunners on the back. The other option was to use the momentum that Marsha made and pushed the magical beasts. Unfortunately, thetter carried a huge risk as the magical beasts might pass through them and destroy the gunners'' formation. Coming to a conclusion, they spread out to receive the entire charge of these magical beasts.


    The battle escted quickly into a full brawl between the two parties. Marsha kept killing the sea creatures as much as possible, showing her prowess to her soldiers. This would raise the soldiers'' morale and eventually rout all of the magical beasts.


    ...


    In the left battlefield,


    Sarah narrowed her eyes. With the better view from atop the hill, she could see how many the magical beasts were.


    The same applied to the soldiers. Although they already anticipated this sight, they still could not help but tense.


    "Don''t be afraid!" She shouted. Even the fighters at the bottom of the hill could hear her voice. They looked at her with great anticipation.


    "Fighters, just keep the magical beasts away from the hill. Our gunners would surely kill all of them to support you. Dying is not allowed! Do you understand?"


    "Yes, Ma''am!"


    "Here theye!"


    "Uoh!" The fighters became a wall with that surge of morale.


    Shirotsuka Sanae quickly descended the hill and threw both of her star knives. A green magic circle appeared right beside the star knives, boosting its speed to create a speed fast enough to shatter the magical beasts'' shell.


    The soldiers stupefied for a second before helping her to defend the hill. There was even a trace of surprise in Sarah''s cold face. Although she had heard about an Elite Snake Group that was proud of their firepower, it was still hard to believe a C or D rank like her could have that much power.


    Unfortunately, Sanae did not care about her thoughts and continued her killing spree.


    One minuteter, she found a group of magical beasts climbing the hill, but she instantly appeared in front of them, creating a giant magic circle on the ground.


    The magic circle generated a huge enough wind tounch them a few meters to the air and crashed on other magical beasts.


    Sarah furrowed her eyebrows as she shouted, "Soldiers. Support the fighters now and be careful of friendly fires."


    "Yes!"


    After giving her orders, she took out her spear and descended the hill to join the fight.


    ¡­


    In the reserve army, Kai sat in a chair and closed his eyes, observing every movement of the magical beasts.


    It was ording to the actual n. Although the ratio between the three armies was slightly unbnced, it was still within his expectation.


    Currently, the right army had around two thousand magical beasts swarming their area while the middle army was still waiting for his order. On the other hand, the left army was under the swarm of five thousand sea creatures.


    Tasha and Michelle had yet to do something special while Sanae was fighting like crazy in the left army. She stood out like a star, throwing her star knives around and killing arge number of enemies. For the time being, her killing count was the highest in the entire battlefield.


    "How is it going? Is there any movement from the enemy?" General Sanders asked, wondering if Kai was asleep or just paying attention.


    Kai slowly owned his eyes, rose from his seat, and answered with a serious expression. "It''s ording to the n. I haven''t heard any voices today, so we can assume they are still not here. And I believe you should also get ready, Sir. The flying beasts horde woulde in five minutes. The battlefield most likely situated between the middle and left armies. If possible, I want you to get closer to the middle army instead of the left army.


    "Although the left army is better in dealing with magical beasts with a high number of gunners, they have taken more magical beasts than any other armies, so¡­" Kai didn''t continue.


    "I see. If I am the enemy, I will move a portion of magical beasts and rout the left army first. However, if we are closer to the right army, we can send reinforcement to chase the magical beasts in case they attack the left army¡­" General Sanders realized his n instantly. "When are you going to make the wall?"


    "In a minute or so, until the magical beasts in the right army almost reached three thousand," Kai answered without hesitation.


    "Alright. Just beware that the army might pull some kind of stunt sooner orter." General Sanders turned around and left without waiting for Kai''s reply.


    In exactly a minuteter, Kai rose from his seat and ordered. "Wall."


    With just a single word from him, the middle army quickly realized what they needed to do, or at least Jack.


    He roared to the soldiers. "Here ites, soldiers. The two reserves will go nks on our right to stop the enemy advance and form a wall. We will keep a portion of them on us while directing the rest to the left army."


    As soon as they heard themand, four hundred fighters went around, cutting off the magical beasts'' flow to the right army. They created a formation to receive the magical beasts before erecting a barrier.


    Unbeknownst to them, Tasha and Michelle were nning something. As soon as there was a stop in the flow, a few magical beasts turned around to help the others, but Michelle intercepted them.


    She pped her hand, created a magic circle to envelop more than fifty giant sea creatures and teleported them to the sky.


    The battle was hard-fought, so the soldiers had yet to realize what was going on until the magical beasts were low enough toe into the scope of their views. It was at this time, their focus was distracted a bit and nced at the sky.


    Jack quickly realized what this was andughed. "Gahaha, It''s really a magical beast rain. This is really hrious!"


    "Boom Boom Boom!" The giant creatures fell down on the magical beasts, killing both of them instantly. It spread around the area and stopped the momentum, giving a chance to the soldiers to reinforce the wall.


    At the same time, Michelle appeared out of the blue, shing her sword downwards.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The sword shot out a powerful sword strike and left a dark fire on its trail. She aimed perfectly where the wall should be. With this position, the soldiers could easily topple the sea creatures and direct them to the left. If Jack were not stupid, she would y along with this n.


    As she predicted, Jack quickly recognized the ck fire and thrilled with it. "Haha¡­ those two girls are really the best. As one would expect from two S rank magicians."


    He quickly shouted. "Soldiers. Follow the ck fire and set up twoyers of defense behind it. Hurry up before the magical beasts realize they could cross the ck fire easily."


    The soldiers had their captains that took charge of them and quickly set up the defense ording to the n. The gunners behind them went around to the back of the new set up defense.


    With the momentum on the right and the wall in front, the magical beasts would have no choice other than to the left.


    "This will quickly make the left busy and maybe put some expression in that cold beauty," Jack smirked, picturing Sarah''s surprised face.

 Chapter 120 - The Enemy Start To Move

    As the battle progressed, the sea creaturesing to the left army began increasing, adding an expression on Sarah''s cold face. She stopped fighting in the front line and climbed the hill again to observe the situation.


    The battle just began for thirty minutes, and all she could see was a huge swarm of magical beasts. Even her fighters started getting overwhelmed.


    "Four¡­ No, five thousand... Although it will take a while, more will being. Looking at that clown, we will most likely fight seven thousand magical beasts with our one thousand. This will be a gruesome battle even with high ground advantage." Sarah clenched the spear in her hand and looked at Shirotsuka Sanae, who was killing those magical beasts like a machine.


    "That woman won''tst long if she continues killing that way¡­ I have made this hill be a traditional fortress, so I can only watch what would happen next."


    She shook her head and came to the gunners. "Gunners, look at my signal and aim the magical beasts around there. I will lead the fighters to push them back."


    The gunners stopped shooting for one second, ncing at her. Unfortunately, with theck of force from the gunners, they pushed the fighters a little bit, startling them as they quickly shot again.


    Sarah pped her hand, made a magic circle, and created a small ice crystal. Unlike Jack and Marsha, she had enough power to use her magic, making her not reliant on her weapon.


    "Ice ster."


    The ice crystal didn''t explode or something. Instead, it was grabbed by Sarah as she made her way to the front line. Using her agility, she leaped around by stepping on the giant shells until she reached a certain point where she threw the ice crystal inside.


    *Boom!*


    An explosion urred in the middle of the enemy, creating a huge spike of ice that was very visible to the gunners. The moment this crystal made its appearance, the gunners understood what she meant earlier and started shooting at that area, holding them back.


    At this time, Sarah already came back to the fighter line as she shouted, "All fighters will charge alongside me. We need to restart the battle and push them out of the hill. In this period of time, you are not allowed to go back to get healed, as this will be a very important mission! Do you understand?"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The fighters shouted in unison.


    "Good." Sarah nodded, raising her spear and cutting down one of the beasts as she said, "Charge!"


    "Ooh!"


    ...


    Just like the left situation, the middle army also had their difficulty. The first and foremost problem was to direct the magical beasts to the left.


    Due to their number and size, it was hard for Jack to calcte how many had passed through them. Even though Kai would be takingmand on the timing, it was still put him to ease just to know how many they had directed.


    With their limited one thousand, five thousand giant sea creatures made them look like an endless stream. For Jack and the soldiers, it could pummel their morale bit by bit.


    He looked around to see his soldiers'' condition, and he couldn''t say they were doing good. Tasha and Michelle helped them, but not much. After the first magical beasts rain, Tasha didn''t do it anymore because she wouldn''t have enough magic power tost the whole fight.


    Jack had no clue about Tasha and Michelle other than their achievement, so he could only nod and let her do what she wanted.


    Halfway, Tasha even pulled back, stationing herself with the other gunners while Michelle fought together to conserve her strength.


    They continued to endure the full brunt of the magical beasts, slowly pushing them back to the city.


    Suddenly, Michelle appeared in the middle war, right beside Jack. "It will be hard to maintain our position like this."


    "I know that already." Jack gritted his teeth, observing his soldiers'' faces. "Even if we retreat to the town and start phase two early, we won''t be able to take down all of them considering the unbnced number of our fighters and gunners. That''s why I can''t order a retreat."


    "Seems we only have one choice." Michelle sighed after confirming Jack''s opinion. "Commander Jack, as soon as you see my skill inside the enemy, it means there is a gap inside their rank. I want you and your soldiers to push them back even a little."


    "?!" Jack had a hard time picturing what she wanted to do. "Even if you are that Michelle Graham, I can''t follow your order on a whim. I still need to take care of the lives of one thousand soldiers."


    "Argh!" Michelle was frustrated. If Kai were here, Jack would surely nod his head without thinking much, but Michelle didn''t have any aplishment in the army. After all, for a few years she was in school, doing missions and other things, she onlypleted normal or special missions. There was no rtion between those missions and the army, so Michelle wasn''t famous in the army, making it hard to trust her n.


    She pondered for a moment before saying, "Remember thest ck fire attack? I will cut down every magical beast in a single line to create a gap for you to push back."


    "!!!" Jack furrowed his eyebrows, pondered for a moment, and asked, "But are you going to be alright?"


    He noticed it earlier, but that technique carried a huge amount of magic power, so he felt Michelle couldn''t use it many times.


    The answer came in the form of a smile. "There is still a few minutes before the sunrise¡­ It''s not going to be what you think. If you don''t trust Michelle Graham, then please trust the eldest daughter of the Graham Family."


    As soon as Michelle said her piece, she disappeared,ing back to her position.


    Her shadow power needed more magic power to operate under sunlight, and the sun already shone on the horizon, but it still needed a few minutes before illuminating this battlefield.


    Under the darkness, Michelle might be able to use her twice of her power with half effort. And in this situation, with the little darkness that would soon be washed away, it was still enough for her to conserve a portion of her power.


    Michelle wanted to take advantage of this to give thest push for the army until Kai''s order arrived.


    After bing punching bags for these magical beasts, the soldiers had terrible expressions, forcing Michelle to think of this possibility.


    She rose both of her swords, enveloping it with her shadow magic. The dark zing fire was even bigger than the previous shadow sh used to guide the army. After channeling in magic power, she shed downwards, shooting out a powerful sword sh.


    The two sword strikes cut down every single sea creature in their way. Even a turtle was split into two cleanly, including its shell.


    Michelle''s dark me rose to the sky, even higher than the giant sea creatures, signaling Jack to move.


    She didn''t stop there. The moment the gap was created, she ced her hand on the ground, creating a ck magic circle. Her shadow slowly spread out toward the dead magical beasts, reviving the shadow of the dead magical beasts.


    "Shadow Maniption Doll."


    The two parts that had been split cleanly slowly attached back like stitching the two parts into one. Around twenty giant shadows rose in the battlefield, stopping the magical beasts advance.


    This would drain a huge amount of magic power, but it was worth the effort as Jack would certainly make a turn around in this situation.


    Although Jack was not aware of what happened in the middle of the enemy, the ck wall alone was enough for him to make a decision.


    "Tch, Though I don''t like it, there is no other way." He clicked his tongue,ined, and turned around beforemanding the army. "All of you can see that ck wall over there? We need to push the magical beasts to that wall. There are only five hundred in front of us at the moment. Fighters will pair up with the person beside you and kill the magical beasts. Remember, you only have one minute to kill the magical beasts. If you understand, then go!"


    Jack shattered the magic beast in front of him and led the group to charge.


    After one minute, Michelle started sweating, feeling that she had lost around a third of her magic power in only one minute.


    Luckily, Jack''s group managed to catch up, setting up a new wall in front.


    Michelle quickly retracted her magic, letting the giant shadow crumble. She let out a relieved breath before resting for a while.


    In the reserve army,


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows, never expecting Michelle to be that reckless. Considering Tasha had more than enough magic, she should do that instead. However, he could somehow understand Michelle''s reason, which was supposed to be the worst-case scenario where Kai needed to use the teleportation magic. However, even after spending half of the magic, Kai should still have enough to teleport twenty-five people to Colombia.


    He could only sigh and observe the other battlefield before hearing another thing from the enemy.


    "Skelta Sia Mita."


    "Morg?"


    "Khtls Snonmen routnal."


    "Roa!"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding a single thing in their conversation. Due to the tone both creatures produced, one thing was for sure, they were going tomand the magical beasts.


    In that instant, Kai even believed that the enemy would move their magical beasts to the left army and ready to swarm them. However, the sound of flying beasts started echoing inside his ears, making him recognize their real n.


    He rose from his feet, turned around, and shouted to the leader of the base.


    "General Sanders!"

 Chapter 121 - Kai Joins The Battle

    "General Sanders!"


    The shout somehow made his heart skip a beat before he frowned. Seeing the seriousness in Kai''s expression, General Sanders quickly shouted, "It''s time for us to join the war!"


    "Yes, Sir!" No one had yet to realize that the enemy this time had more than their usual swarm, so they replied with salutes and energy.


    Sanders nodded his head before turning back to Kai.


    That gaze alone already asked a question that Kai quickly answered, "They are going toward the gap between the middle and left armies."


    "What?!" Sanders''s body shook, never expecting the enemy to y this dirty.


    By situating themselves between the middle and left armies, they could help each army if needed. Together with their numerical advantage, it would make the transfer between units easier.


    Things would be different for the human army. The reserve army that consisted of elites and military school students would have no leeway to reinforce both armies. Besides, if they fought too close to the sea creatures horde, they would be noticed and pincered. The same applied if they wereing too far back, the flying beasts could easily attack the middle army, and no one could save them.


    The position would be the most important part of this battle, and Sanders knew it.


    "Don''t worry. I will make sure to get the perfect ce for you." Sanders assured Kai by patting his shoulder.


    "General, as soon as we move to the second phase, I would like to enter the battle also," Kai said with a serious expression.


    Sanders wanted to say ''no'', but the word stuck on his mouth. "Are you sure? You-"


    The n was for him to test his new magic on the magical beasts, and this was the exact time where he could do a real experiment. After all, even though the simtion world was good, it didn''t provide enough data about frequency and such. And he wouldn''t have many magical beasts to experiment in a normal mission. Only at a mission like this, he could efficiently study his magic.


    Sanders pondered for a moment before asking, "Which army?"


    Without organizing his words, Kai answered with the part he had preparedst night."Middle Army. Rest assured, General. I am not nning to join the battle in the front from the start. Of course, I will wield my swords and take down as many enemies as possible if the momentes. In any case, bying to the middle army, I can ask my sister to teleport me back if needed."


    Sanders didn''t immediately answer. He knew about Kai''s prowess as one of the Zodiacs, but it was in the form of paper. After pondering for a few seconds, he finally gave Kai a nod. "But be careful and use the radio if needed."


    "Yes, Sir." Kai nodded before adding, "We are going to the second phase in around ten minutes."


    "Alright, I will take note of it." Sanders turned around and walked toward the reserve army. "All of you follow me."


    "Yes!" They started moving northwest.


    Kai gave another look at the reserve army. Although it had a thousand people, the elites would probably do the most work while the students tried to shoot the flying beasts, albeit missing them most of the time.


    "Ten minutes." Kai also sent a message to the radio, informing the three armies for the second phase.


    Marsha didn''t care about the information as her hand was already full of three thousand magical beasts. Although she might be able to win if this was all, it would still take a few hours.


    On the other hand, this was good news for Jack and Sarah. With the second phase began, Jack could finally start routing the enemy inside the town, making their gunners have a bit more advantage. For Sarah, it would mean the nightmare finally stoppeding, and she only needed to deal with the rest. Although it would lead to many injuries, they should be able to destroy them unless something unexpected destroys the bnce.


    "Good." Sarah took a deep breath, continuing her killing spree.


    In the middle army, Jackughed loudly, echoing in everyone''s ears.


    "We will destroy them in ten minutes fes, so tighten your pants and guard this position for ten minutes!"


    The soldiers became fired up as they used everything to push the enemy back.


    Michelle also heard it and let out a relieved sigh, "He ising here then."


    Tasha couldn''t hear it since she was with the other gunners, but they could somehow predict what just happened.


    ¡­


    Not long after, General Sanders finally arrived in their position with the reserve army. He furrowed his eyebrows the moment flying beasts entered his scope of vision.


    Most of the birds were a type of Barn Swallow as he easily recognized them by their deeply forked tails. Barn swallows usually migrated to South America during winter and then returned once the weather was warm.


    "Still¡­ This is still Autumn, and we should fight all these birds in December or January usually¡­ ''That'' must do something about it andmand the magical beasts to have an early migration¡­" Sanders muttered to himself with his personal experience. Many soldiers in the base also knew about this type of bird as they had fought them a few times when they were migrating, so they also had the same confusion but one without answer unlike Sanders.


    "Let''s do it, soldiers. This is the type that we usually encounter in winter. Only the timing is different! Elites who can fly will kill the closest magical beasts while the other and students will provide the support."


    "Yes, Sir." Knowing their enemy made them pretty confident about it as they quickly organized their position.


    Sanders also took out his weapon, which surprisingly was a Gatling gun, pointing it at the birds.


    ...


    Ten minutester,


    The time finally came as Kai finally gave an order.


    "Move to the second phase."


    Hearing themand, the happiest one would be Jack as he quickly shouted with a smile. "It''s time fes. We are going to retreat. Allpanies will move ording to the n on my signal."


    "Yes."


    All eight hundred fighters moved in sync, retreating bit by bit to the town. For the gunners, this was the signal they had agreed upon for the second phase.


    Tasha quickly appeared on the battlefield and teleported many magical beasts to the sky, creating another magical beasts rain. Her real aim was to create a gap, so the magical beasts would focus on them instead of moving to the left army by following their otherrades.


    Just like how Tasha moved, the gunners also raised their guns to the sky and pulled back to the town. All of them entered a building to gain higher ground so that they would have a better field of vision. Meanwhile, with the sync in their movement, they managed to retreat inside the city, moving toward a high popted area and nted a few bombs on all high buildings in their way.


    Not stopping in that ce, they moved to a different area, which was supposed to be a park formerly.


    After regrouping in an open area, Jack observed the magical beasts'' movements.


    The magical beasts destroyed many buildings on the way, but most of them still needed to climb the rubble to reach the army. This rubble was enough to slow them down, preventing the army from being surrounded by magical beasts.


    They began to get closer and closer as Jack narrowed his eyes, waiting for the right time. After waiting for another few seconds, he finally counted down.


    "Three¡­"


    "Two¡­"


    "One¡­"


    "Light them up!" Jack shouted. All the fighters that were in charge of nting the bombs pulled the triggers.


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    A series of explosions urred on the battlefield, destroying all the foundations of tall buildings. Without foundation, the building started crumbling to the ground. Some big rubbles had enough weight and killed magical beasts instantly while some smaller ones buried many magical beasts together.


    There were around twenty explosions altogether to shatter around three tall buildings, but it was worth it. First, they had buried around three hundred magical beasts with those twenty explosions and rubbles. Although the number was insignificant of their thousands of beasts, the rubbles that scattered around made them even slower than earlier.


    Jack quickly gave another order. "Firstpany will follow me to block them from the left side while the secondpany will rece our position. The thirdpany will hold the right wall while the fourthpany will spread around the three walls and rece those who fell in battle."


    (A/N: toon usually has 20-50 soldiers while apany has 2-4 toons.)


    "Yes, Sir." The firstpany consisted of two hundred soldiers who followed Jack to nk the magical beasts from the left.


    With the fourthpany bing the reserve, they finally made a receiving formation in a bell shape. They were nning to let the magical beasts inside their formation and finish them inside. And to finish the entire n, Jack shouted for thest time, "Fifth Company, make sure you don''t hit friendlies."


    The fifthpany consisted of two hundred gunners, who had taken their ces a bit farther from them but on top of the roof. This allowed them to have an easier time targeting the magical beasts.


    The first wave of magical beasts came inside their formation and was quickly intercepted by the three walls, preventing them from going anywhere. They might be able to go back, but it was already filled with magical beasts, so they were trapped as soon as they entered the formation. Besides, the magical beasts only acted with instinct, so unless they weremanded to do something, they would continue forward.


    This was the best n that Jack coulde up with for receiving the magical beasts.


    After another minute, Kai finally entered the battlefield and came to the building where Tasha was stationed.

 Chapter 122 - Emergency Situation

    "You havee." Tasha smiled and said after noticing his presence.


    "Uhm, yes." Kai nodded.


    "How is the situation?"


    Kai pondered for a moment and said, "Firstly, it will be about the number of enemies of our respective army. The right has three thousand, we have six thousand, the reserve has five thousand, and the left has six thousand.


    "I don''t know why, but the reserve army is rolling right now. They are killing at a rate far faster than any of us. Though I feel the general is pushing it too far. In any case, we are in the stalemate with our enemy right now."


    He told her because he wanted to reorganize his thoughts by saying it out loud.


    "It''s good then. Although our situation is still unfavorable, we can win this." Tasha nodded and fell into silence. She nced at Kai a few times while shooting her lightning arrows. "Kai, you are hiding something, aren''t you?"


    Kai didn''t answer as he only stared at her for a few seconds.


    "It''s fine if you can''t say it. Just your reaction alone is enough for me to know you have been hiding something and that something is a big secret." Tasha shrugged, drawing her bow again.


    "Sorry, Sister. Even though you and Michelle are the two people I trust the most, I can''t say anything about this." Kai said while closing his eyes, picturing several reasons.


    "It''s alright. I shouldn''t ask about it anyway." Tasha smiled before changing the topic. "Anyway, what are you going to do with our current condition, and what do you want to achieve bying here?"


    "I won''t do anything about our current condition yet. As for what I want to achieve, it''s simple. I want to master my new magic because only by experimenting in this kind of battlefield, I would get a better result." Kai smiled.


    "Your new magic? Ah, we forgot to discuss it back in the Lion Group Room."


    "I just want to find the right frequency of sea creatures and destroy them from inside if possible." Kai smiled.


    "Oh, right. Just like shattering a ss with sound at a certain frequency."


    "Yeah. Though I need to search for every magical beast frequency since just like crab and turtle, they have their own frequency."


    "That magic is going to make you a wanted person, you know. After all, you are like thest boss where you can kill someone by shattering their heart with frequency." Tasha smirked.


    Kai shook his head and sighed. "It''s not something that omnipotent. Just say a person''s eyeballs, I can only destroy their eyeballs after more than ten seconds. At that time, if they wear sses, the time needed will increase. And if they have another preventing measure like a te or something, almost no sound wave woulde around them unless I use high energy but low frequency. Unfortunately, it would take too much magic and not worth it since I can just send their head flying with my sword."


    "True enough. They might even change ces if they are getting some symptoms. If it''s a magical beast, they would most likely charge at you. As long as you keep your distance, you can bring them down." Tasha smiled, giving her opinion about the magic.


    "That''s basically my n."


    "Though I really wish you would have the Vibration Sword. After all, it will increase the sword sharpness extremely and might even cut steel like cutting tofu."


    "It''s just a concept. I have altered the magic, and we only need to get the new swords to test the power." Kai shrugged.


    "What if that person wants you to visit her?"


    "Ehm¡­" Kai nced left and right, not knowing what to say. He ended up ignoring the question as he raised his hand, pointing it on a magical beast.


    She stopped talking and smiled, continuing her job. Besides her, Kai created a green magic circle.


    The process of this was extremely tedious. Kai could only check whether the frequency was right after three seconds as the magical beasts would react to it. In other words, if he targeted one magical beast, he could only test twenty different frequencies in one minute or one hundred. And he also needed to control the intensity of the sound.


    It would require months to test all of it, so he could only test in a brief period and noticed the difference with his ears.


    He raised his left hand and created another magic circle. This magic circle was his Sound Instion Room, while its purpose in this experiment was to prevent the sound from distracting the people around. Although it wouldn''t trap the soundpletely, it should still be enough to reduce the noise to a significant degree. He needed to do this because, unlike the first time where he shot it to Isabelle, he would use the frequency that could be heard by human hearing.


    Michelle also noticed Kai''s presence on the battlefield. She just took a glimpse of his condition and continued killing the magical beasts.


    With Kai observing this battlefield, there should be nothing wrong unless there was an unexpected threat that was hard to discern with hearing alone.


    The battle continued for three hours without much progress. From his point of view, they had killed around seven thousand magical beasts in total while having almost five hundred casualties. It could be said that this progress was one of the best scenarios they had, but this also made Kai suspicious.


    If the other party had intelligence at the same level as a human, they should notice it too and act ordingly. He didn''t know why, but there was an uneasy feeling shaking his heart this whole time.


    The battle continued for another hour, and the intense feeling finally reached its peak as he suddenly heard another voice from the sea.


    "Skrat Kri."


    "Qui!"


    Kai heard them talking again, making him furrow his eyebrows. He was wondering what kind of n they would use again as he muttered to himself. ''Is this the intense feeling I got the entire time? What are they nning to even make this feeling? The animal instinct usually warns me about danger, so this must be something dangerous¡­''


    The voices continued like having a conversation. Just likest time, he tried to discern the message by the tone alone, and he felt they were having a conversation about their n.


    After around a minute, the dolphin''s voice suddenly intensified, and the real battle finally started.


    "Roar Roar Roar!"


    A series of roar echoed through the battlefield. Not only in this battlefield, but also on every battlefield. Kai didn''t understand theirnguage, so he focused on hearing and trying to see any change.


    It was at this time, Tasha''s expression turned serious. "Kai, be careful."


    Tasha made a purple magic circle on her hand, pointing it to the front. In terms of sight, Tasha was better than him. In this chaotic battlefield, even Kai might not be capable of discerning if someone targeted him unless they released their attack. However, the moment she said that the animal instinct inside him was tingling, noticing an iing attack.


    The green magic circle on his hand vanished as he took both of his swords, searching for someone that made this sensation.


    On the other hand, Tasha made a lightning spear but had yet to release it.


    "Here ites!" By investigating the battlefield after Tasha''s warning, Kai finally spotted one magical beast that was doing something irregr.


    "Electric Lance!" Tasha finally released her magic as she saw a blue lighting toward their ce.


    Thence and the blue light shed, creating a shockwave that shook the entire battlefield.


    Jack made an unpleasant expression and shouted, "What the heck is that? Oi oi, don''t tell me there is an A ss magical beast here? And seeing how it''s attacking us in this timing?? This one should have unlocked not only its magic but also its intelligence."


    "Target on sight! An intelligence A ss magical beast is spotted in my area." Jack quickly informed the others.


    "Is this really the only thing I feel?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating all his attention to his ears before noticing that the others also experienced the same thing.


    In the right army,


    Marsha leaped to the air, avoiding a crab strike from its sharp w. Surprisingly, the crab pierced the ground, creating a hole enough for many people inside.


    Marsha swung her ive before the hard w blocked it. "This is certainly going to be troublesome¡­"


    Just like her, the left and reserve army also had their respective opponent. However, Kai noticed something that no one would ever notice.


    "This is not good. I need to go to the left army!"


    "Kai? What happens?"


    "Sister, teleport me to the left army." Kai grabbed her sister before releasing an oscition shield to block another blue light.


    "Boom!"


    "The left army is in danger right now!" Kai''s voice startled everyone. "I don''t have enough time to exin, but we need to reinforce the left army."


    "What is this all about, Kai Carter?" Sanders frowned as he might not have some leeway to reinforce the left army with their current condition.


    "General, there are many things to exin, but if we don''t reinforce the left army, this battle will be as good as lose!"


    "Kid, are you underestimating me?" Sarah couldn''t take it any longer and said coldly.


    "If you think you can fight another two thousand flying beasts and one intelligence A rank beast, then feel free to say I am underestimating you!" Kai roared to the radio.


    *Thud*

 Chapter 123 - Reinforcement

    "If you think you can fight another two thousand flying beasts and one intelligence A rank beast, then feel free to say I am underestimating you!" Kai couldn''t dy it anymore, so he roared even to the superior.


    They fell into momentary silence before Sanders suddenly said, "If you think reinforcing the left army is a good idea, bring one hundred elites and all military students with you. I and my four hundred elites will stop the three thousand flying beasts in this ce."


    "Kai, bring one hundred fighters and one hundred gunners from this ce." Jack also scratched his head, knowing it was already hard enough to stop this many magical beasts with a thousand alone.


    However, their victory is on the line here, so he could only grit his teeth and send a reinforcement.


    "No. They are too slow. I am going there with teleportation magic. Though I can still bring the reinforcement from the reserve army as long as the left army can hold the magical beasts for a while."


    "I will try," Sarah said with a troubled expression. In front of her was a giant octopus. Not only this octopus could brazenly live on thend, but it was also ridiculously fast. Every attack was countered perfectly by this octopus, and even her magic was also blocked easily. She nced at Sanae and shouted, "Shirotsuka Sanae, You are a member of Snake Elite Corp, right? Can you take care of an intelligent A rank flying beast alone?"


    Shirotsuka Sanae opened her eyes in shock as she didn''t hear anything about the talk they had on the radio. Without asking anything, she answered, "If it''s only to buy time, I can."


    "Good! We don''t need too long because there will be reinforcementter."


    "Alright. I will try it."


    "I will also send three hundred gunners to you."


    Sanae didn''t understand what she meant but still nodded.


    Meanwhile, Kai appeared in the middle of the reserve army, finding the battle between the general and an A rank barn swallow. Unfortunately, he couldn''t watch it any longer as he looked around to see which one would be the reinforcement group.


    "He hase!" General Sanders said after noticing his presence. He said without turning around, "He is the one in charge of this battle. All of you will follow him and help the left army."


    One of the elites came to him. He was a middle-aged man, the same age as the general. "I am Roga. Although I don''t want to believe it, the general order is absolute, so please take care of us. I will be in charge of them since they might don''t want to listen to your order."


    Kai only nodded to answer his greeting before saying, "We don''t have time."


    "Yes. I am aware." He raised his hand and shouted, "All troops move out!"


    Kai turned back and ran toward the left army.


    ¡­


    In the left battlefield,


    The flying beasts finally arrived, making the soldiers tremble with their presence. Their situation was not good from the beginning, and they would even get attacked in this situation. At this point, each soldier really wanted to curse.


    "Shoot them!" Sanae ordered three hundred gunners to intercept the flying beasts before she also flew to the sky with her wind magic.


    Sanae frowned as her alone wouldn''t be able to stop them from getting to the hill. She created a huge tornado to keep the birds at bay while the gunners shot them.


    At this time, a gigantic bird flew toward the tornado and pped its wings, blowing the tornado away.


    *Squeak*


    "!!!" Sanae furrowed her eyebrows and threw her star knives toward the bird, but was blown away by a single p.


    She might be a perfect opponent for a bird because she could fly. However, her wind magic turned out to be an absolute bane against this bird.


    "Fu." Sanae took a deep breath, searching for a gap to exploit. The bird rendered her useless, and she couldn''t stop the other birds from getting into their gunners.


    As she predicted, they dove down to attack the gunners first, and Sanae quickly threw her star knives to intercept them, but the bird blew them away again. "Tch. Be careful."


    She released all of her wind element as to prevent the bird from destroying her wind maniption.


    "Since you want to be killed first, then I will kill you."


    "Boom!"


    "Argh!"


    Just as she said those words, a loud sound echoed through the battlefield. She turned around, and it turned out they actually had two other intelligent creatures, a turtle and a lobster.


    "This is not good!" Sanae and Sarah cursed at the same time.


    At the same time,


    "Boom!"


    An attacking from the right exploded in the middle of flying beasts as a few of them turned around to see what happened.


    "!!!" Sanae and Sarah turned around and smirked as their reinforcement finally arrived.


    "Let''s go!" Kai and a hundred people started charging toward the hill.


    *Squeak Squeak*


    The leader who was fighting with Sanaemanded the other birds.


    "I will take all of you down!" Sanae smirked as she created a huge green magic circle. "Whirlwind de"


    A huge tornado came out of the magic circle, carrying Sanae''s star knives. It spun around at fast speed, moving around to the other birds and cutting them down one by one like a sharp de. She couldn''t use this technique earlier because of the hard shell from the sea creatures, but it was a deadly weapon against these birds.


    She nced at Kai and was shocked that they were nning to climb the hill while being surrounded by flying beasts.


    Meanwhile, Kai took a deep breath before releasing his ferocious aura. He looked up, finding the birds that starteding down.


    "Sir, let me take care of it!" Roga shouted as he increased his speed to pass Kai. However, Kai suddenly increased his speed, leading the group from the very front.


    The moment the bird dove down, striking Kai with its beak. Kai simply leaped and rolled around a few times in the air before sending a dropkick right onto the head. He found another birding at him, so he jumped and used his sword to kill it.


    *Sque...ak*


    The bird let out a weak shrill as Kai''s kick was just that strong. It shattered the bird skull and cracked the ground by the sheer force alone. A kick containing a few hundred kilograms strength killed a bird in an instant.


    This certainly sent a shock to the other elites, never expecting Kai would have this much strength.


    There was another thing that made them couldn''t look away from this young student. At first, they thought that Kai might unquestionably be a prodigy in the strategist world, but bing a fighter and personallying to the battlefield was a whole other matter. In this field, where things unfolded ''instantly,'' they were wondering how he would fight.


    However, their imagination was shattered as Kai was charging in front to boost the troops'' morale, which was praiseworthy and killed a single bird in one kick before leaping to another bird and killing it with a single swing.


    As someone who was on the battlefield for a few years, Roga quickly shouted, "Are you guys really elites that will have a student leading from the front? Men, move up as we will rescue the left army!"


    Without even saying anything, their pride was triggered and roared as they started killing the pack of birds that wereing at them.


    Roga looked at Kai''s back and somehow had his heart moved by this young person. He didn''t know whether to ssify this youngster as a genius or a reckless brat, but it was certain that the n was going well. The scene from a few minutes ago shed in his mind.


    ...


    A few minutes ago,


    "Commander Kai, this is going to be rough¡­ I have been in the base for a few years and encountered this type of bird every single year. From what I know, the bird will most likely dive down and attack us the moment we help the left army." Roga stopped Kai before the bird spotted them. "I suggest we go around this ce and climb the hill from the other side."


    Kai halted his movement and pondered for a few seconds before shaking his head. "It will be toote. Taking a look at their condition, they would copse in less than five minutes. We can onlye from the front."


    "But Sir, we still need to-"


    "No. I am talking about another n. If they attack us¡­ no, I should say it''s better if they attack us."


    "Sir?"


    "I can''t exin too much, so I will just say this. If they attack us, it will lift a portion of the burden from the left army. As for the military students, it''s better for them to go around this ce and climb the hill safely. They are not good with this anyway."


    "!!!" Roga was startled by Kai''s n. "Sir, you mean¡­"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "You guys are elites, right? Can I expect something from all of you?"


    "Yes, Sir!" Roga saluted him from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡­


    He shook his head while wielding his ive, cutting down every single bird that tried to attack him while running.


    "Follow Sir Kai, and we will relieve the left army!" He shouted. Kai''s n was simple. He nned to use a godspeed and unison movement from the elites to destroy everything that was in their way. That was the reason why he made the military students go around. They were a burden in this n after all.


    "Roger that!"

 Chapter 124 - Bad Situation

    Kai''s group entered the hill area with lightning speed, killing every single flying beast that came their way.


    As one would expect from an elite group, they were really reliable.


    Seeing this progress, Sarah quickly shouted, "Hold your position everyone. Our reinforcement has arrived! They will arrive at the top in two minutes, so use everything you have in these two minutes!"


    "Yes!"


    Although she said those words, she sucked a cold breath because even with Kai''s group, it was not enough to deal with two intelligent beasts.


    "Boom!"


    "Shit!" Sarah turned around only to find the two magical beasts closing to her position. It would seem they wanted to kill her first. "This is going to be a brutal fight¡­ If we can''t hold them on this hill, they will start swarming the general''s army before sweeping the middle and right armies¡­"


    "Boom!" She pped the octopus''s tentacle away with her spear. Although she could fight the octopus to a standstill, it was hard for her to defeat this octopus because of theck of firepower. Besides, the soldiers around her started dying before they could even get healed by Evan.


    "We are going to retreat to ourst line of defense!" She shouted.


    "!!!" As soon as they heard ''Last line of defense,'' they knew the situation became pretty dangerous. Without wasting any time, they quickly blew the enemy away and climbed the cliff.


    The gunners started raining their bullet, halting the beasts advance.


    The sea creatures started climbing the hill as Sarah roared. "Set them on fire!"


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    A series of explosions came out of the ground. Just like Jack, Sarah also utilized everything in their possession. It might not be cost-effective, but it was enough for stopping their advance for a few seconds with a wall of dead magical beasts.


    Within those few seconds, the elites group finally arrived.


    "We are through!" Roga roared as they sessfully climbed the hill.


    Kai checked the military students'' position and found them not far from the foot of the hill. In around five minutes or so, they should arrive in this ce. With five hundred more gunners, he could see a working n.


    "For now, the group will split into two. The first group will fight the flying beasts while preventing them from reaching our gunners, the other group will stop the magical beasts advance.


    "Roger!" No one had anyint about Kai anymore after seeing his conduct, strength, and bravery. Instead, their heart filled with respect.


    "Bam!"


    The wall was shattered by three existences, an octopus, a turtle, and a lobster. The octopus was Sarah''s opponent, so Kai quickly turned to the turtle.


    "I am going to fight with the turtle while you stop the octopus. Thirty gunners should aim at the lobster!" Kaimanded the army as he raised both of his swords while advancing toward the turtle.


    He had a few reasons why he wanted to fight the turtle. Firstly because of its size. With five meters in height alone, under the turtle were many magical beasts. As long as he took it down, he could kill all the magical beasts below him and created a superior wall on this hill. The other reason was because of its speed. Although it had a considerable speed, it was still too slow for him and his ears.


    So, he decided to fight it instead of the lobster. Besides, he could aim at its feet since the turtle might suddenly enter its house and kill the magical beasts.


    With those objectives in mind, Kai leaped toward the back of the turtle without any magical beasts hindering him.


    The first spot would be the turtle''s eyes.


    As he expected, the turtle went inside the shell, albeit it was only the head. This clearly told him that his n failed.


    After having the first n failed, he quickly went to its leg and sliced it with his sword.


    *ng*


    Kai opened his mouth in surprise, not expecting that his sword broke at a time like this. "How hard is this turtle¡­"


    "What should I do with this turtle. I can''t even cut its skin, let alone its shell. If only I had a vibration sword¡­" Kai thought about it while looking around the turtle while muttering to himself, "And I still need to fight the lobster¡­"


    "Bam!"


    Despite having been shot by many gunners, the lobster continued rampaging around because no one could stop him with that hard shell. In fact, the small bullet would never pierce its shell.


    It killed many fighters while climbing the cliff.


    On the other hand, Evan was treating many soldiers at a time. All of them were fighters that needed to fight in the front line again if they wanted to win, so he didn''t have the time to care about anything besides him¡­ except that moment came¡­


    "Bam."


    "Guah!" The lobsters shattered the fighters'' formation as it looked at Evan while pounding its w at Evan.


    "Oh, sh*t!" Evan couldn''t help but throw a curse at this point.


    ¡­


    In the middle army, Tasha shot every single blue light that wasing toward the army, preventing it from attacking their army.


    Luckily, the beast itself didn''t have any intention toe closer, so while she took down the blue light, she had some spare time to kill a few magical beasts.


    It was at this time she suddenly felt something amiss. The position of battle, the timing, and the unexpected magical beasts, it felt like all of that came so perfectly.


    ''Is someonemanding them? No, there should be no one capable inmanding magical beasts¡­'' Tasha couldn''t help but think this. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she thought, the answer would nevere.


    "Michelle!"


    Michelle, whose name was called, nced at the voice direction and confused as to why Tasha suddenly called her name. "What?"


    "Come to this ce right now. Something is not right," Tasha said with a serious expression, making it hard for Michelle to reject.


    Michelle didn''t have any specific obligation in the army, so she quickly left the battlefield and leaped to Tasha. "What is it?"


    "Electric Lance." Before answering her, she noticed another blue light and shot it down.


    "Boom!"


    "Everything is not right on this battlefield. Don''t you feel everything is very coincidental? It''s like we are fighting a human who controls magical beasts¡­"


    "..." Michelle fell into silence, looked down, and pondered something over. "I feel I have read something like this somewhere¡­ Hmm, the report says there is actually someone that controls magical beasts¡­ but we don''t know if it''s a human or something else."


    "Something else?" Tasha furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I don''t know." Michelle shook her head and sighed. "I don''t read that information, so I don''t know a single thing, and it might only be a rumor."


    "Even so, just like how Kai acts this whole time, I fear there is something bad worrying him¡­ Just take a look at when he wanted to reinforce the left army. Don''t you think it''s strange?"


    "!!!" Michelle finally realized what Tasha was talking about. "I see¡­ So your point is someone who might be able to control magical beasts, intrude this battle, and Kai goes to the left army to see it? Finding it was too dangerous, he went there by himself¡­"


    "Yeah. This is what I thought." Tasha bit her lips before creating another electrce to shoot down another attack.


    "True enough. If it''s the normal him, he should ask one of us to apany him. Besides, Evan and Teacher Sanae are in that ce¡­" Michelle paused and fell into deep thought. "I should go there¡­"


    "That might be our choice. You can leave this ce to me. Considering my opponent is a snail that can only shoot out that light blue thing, I can kill it sooner orter with my lightning. I need to release my power though." Tasha wanted to go, but she also needed to see the bigger picture.


    Sadly, they only guessed half of his original intention right.


    "I will tell that person first before you teleport me."


    "Sure."


    Michelle disappeared for one minute before reappearing in front of her.


    "Are you ready?"


    "Yeah."


    "Teleportation!" She snapped her finger, creating a pink magic circle for Michelle.


    "Be careful." Michelle smiled.


    "You too." Tasha nodded before her eyes turned sharp, looking at the snail. She drew her bow, pointing at the sky.


    "Lightning Storm." The arrow flew to the sky right above the snail as it slowly became a catalyst to create a purple magic circle. A bolt of lightning struck forth, sting the snail.


    Meanwhile, Michelle had arrived on top of the hill.


    "Tch." She looked around and noticed that she was teleported in the middle of the battlefield.


    "Michelle?" Below her was Kai and a giant turtle, fighting in a useless battle.


    "Kai! What are you-"


    Before finishing her words, Kai cut in by saying, "Let''s talkter. You deal with this intelligent A rank turtle, I need to go somewhere else!"


    Kai didn''t wait for her to reply and quickly leap toward the lobster.


    "Wait- Argh!" Michelle gritted her teeth and threw a shadow weapon to Kai.


    "Thanks."


    She swung both of her swords on this turtle shell as soon as shended. "It''s because of you!"


    "Shadow sh!"


    "Roar!"


    Unfortunately, the sh didn''t do anything. Instead, the turtle suddenly whacked Michelle with its tail.


    "!!!" Michelle sensed the iing tail and blocked it with her sword, albeit the force still blew her away before crashing to the ground.


    "Boom."


    The dust kicked up. Behind the dust was Michelle wiping the blood flow that came out of her mouth.

 Chapter 125 - Lion And Eagle

    In the US base,


    Ayaka was lying on the floor, having a nk look on her face.


    "Are you giving up now? You have only died for sixty times¡­ Just like I said, your motivation is just a weakling." The professor looked down on her like looking at garbage. "I have said earlier. If you don''t have a will, it''s useless if I give you that since you won''t be able to pass it."


    After enduring so much pain for the past few hours, she would surely get a small trauma. She had experienced everything from cracking bones, tearing muscles, to even slow and painful death. At a time, she even started hallucinating about her life and other things, including Kai.


    However, hearing the provocation made her hand twitch before her consciousness slowly returned.


    It took her a few minutes before she finally said, "I can continue."


    Spatting the blood on the floor, Ayaka slowly rose from the floor while staring at Ria Ross. "I finally realize why Kai doesn''t want to meet you."


    She pointed her spear at the professor, "And another thing is... I feel like I can get stronger just by watching your movement¡­ even though I need to die many times."


    "Yeah. That''s why, die one more time." The professor disappeared again, kicking her right on the head and cracking her skull.


    Not long after, Ayaka was revived and started another battle against the professor.


    ¡­


    At the same time,


    Her friend, Evan Young, was in the face of death.


    "Evan!" Kai used his fastest speed to rescue him. As soon as he arrived, he grabbed him and leaped out of there.


    "Bam!" The lobster w pierced through the ground, killing two fighters on the ground.


    This was one of Kai''s miscalctions in this scenario. He thought thirty gunners would have enough power to at least slow it down. Unfortunately, it didn''t bring any effect to the lobster.


    The lobster swiftly moved, not letting Kai and Evan escape.


    "Tch." Kai raised his hand and created his Oscition Shield, preparing to block the w. If he had a better stepping, he might get out of this situation just with a single leap, albeit the situation didn''t let him do so.


    Suddenly Kai turned to the left, hearing something from the sky. When the lobster w was about to hit him, a bullet sted it from the left. Although the bullet could not destroy the w, the force behind it was enough to blow the w away, giving Kai a precious time to escape.


    Two kilometers in Kai''s left soared a helicopter in the sky. The helicopter brought five people in it, and one of them was a pink-haired girl who just shot her sniper rifle from afar.


    "We need to get there right now since the situation is very chaotic." She ordered the pilot.


    "Roger." The helicopter flew straight to the hill before stopping one hundred meters before the hill. "I am sorry, but I can only deliver all of you to this point. If I continue, the flying beasts will surely chase me¡­"


    The pilot wasn''t scared of some flying beasts. He just considered the cost and other things if the helicopter was destroyed.


    "It''s fine at this point. You go to the base after this."


    "Roger."


    The pink-haired girl then turned to the other four and said, "We are flying to the hill."


    "Yes."


    They jumped off the helicopter and flew toward the hill. Luckily, no magical beasts were nearby, so they arrived safely.


    "To think you alsoe here¡­" Kai nced at the pink-haired woman. "Or do you have a mission nearby?"


    "It''s a mission nearby. I am sorry if my presence is not weed. After all, we still have that agreement." The pink-haired woman sighed before saying, "We will take care of this lobster for you."


    "No. I want two of you or at least that shield guy to protect Evan while he heals the soldiers. The rest of you will help the fighters down there and stop the enemy." Kai instinctivelymanded them as he forgot they didn''t know he was themander in this ce.


    "Although we have lost to you, this doesn''t mean you can just order us like that." Tommy furrowed his eyebrows.


    "He is themander over here though. The General has officially raised his rank tomand the army for this battle." Evan helped Kai in the argument.


    Tommy absolutely could not believe it and prepared to rebuke him once more, but five hundred Military Students finally arrived as one of them came to him. "Sir, we have sessfully climbed the hill. Our men are attacking the magical beasts right now."


    "Split into two groups to take care of the sea creatures and the flying beasts."


    "Yes, Sir." The female quickly left as she knew their situation was dire, albeit her presence just turned the situation around, making the eagle group stunned.


    "I don''t care if you don''t believe me or whatever. Just follow my order for the time being until the situation is under control." Kai stared at the lobster that wasing toward him and turned to Isabelle. "Actually, I want you to help me in fighting this lobster."


    "Alright." Isabelle nodded her head before ncing at her teammates, "Follow hismand for now."


    "Yes." They, including Tommy, could only nod as Evan made a smug smile.


    Then, Kai leaped toward the lobster while activating his animal instinct. Isabelle and Evan felt a jolt on their heart after feeling the wild beast inside Kai. He, who didn''t use the animal blood inside himpletely in their battle, finally used it in this ce.


    Seeing this, Isabelle smiled as she turned around and leaped to get a sniping position.


    "Oi, Isabelle, thank you." Evan didn''t forget to shout, conveying his gratefulness.


    "He can block it with that shield anyway, so you don''t owe me any thanks." She shrugged.


    Meanwhile, Kai swung both of his swords toward the lobster only to get intercepted by its ws. He furrowed his eyebrows and continued attacking him with his sword before he finally noticed that the lobster had the same level of speed as him while predicting with his ears.


    If this were a battle between humans, it would be like two people exchanging blows with two swords. It was amazing to see, but it was the worst thing Kai wanted to see in this case.


    Kai retreated a few steps back, observing the lobster. Everything looked so tough to crack, except its legs. "I will target the legs first before its body or maybe its arms."


    He took a deep breath before jumping forward.


    The lobster sent the two ws toward him, but Kai didn''t even flinch. He kepting toward the lobster without having any intention of blocking it. The lobster thought he was going to suicide, but the ws were blown away by a bullet from the right.


    Without even looking, Kai knew that Isabelle was ready to shoot. This shot allowed Kai to dodge the ws and go around its body before striking all the left legs of the lobster.


    The slender legs made it look like a weak spot, and Kai used his full power to sh them with both of his swords.


    *Squeak*


    The lobster let out a sound as it fell after losing its bnce.


    Kai didn''t stop there as he looped around and cut down the right legs. The lobster tried to stop him, but the bullet prevented him from doing so.


    The lobster fell to the ground as soon as it lost every leg. Although his hands were a bit numb after slicing the legs, it was worth the effort since they could kill this lobster sooner orter.


    Then, he continued to probe every part on the lobster body to see if there was anything he could cut other than the antennas.


    "Bam Bam!"


    The lobster still attacked him despite having no legs. Even after going around the lobster, it still surprisingly could twist its body.


    In the end, Kai struck at the thin part of its arms, but to no avail.


    Isabelle noticed Kai''s intention and aimed at the part he struck earlier. A magic circle appeared in front of her gun before shooting out aser.


    "sma Wind."


    "Bam!"


    "!!!" Kai focused on the strike and was surprised seeing it pierced the army. Without wasting a single second, he quickly struck the same spot and shattered the arms. "As expected, her firepower is insane¡­"


    The next bullet also pierced the other arm as Kai shattered it once more. Without legs and arms, Kai and Isabelle barraged him with powerful attacks until it died.


    After killing the lobster, Isabelle appeared beside him. "To think I need to fight alongside you¡­ Anyway, what should I do next?"


    Kai shrugged and cut to the chase. "Anyway, we don''t have the time to chat. If this hill is going down, the enemy will stampede the other battlefields. So, we need to hold the hill as long as possible.


    "There are two magical beasts that we need to kill: A flying beast and an octopus. I will deal with the octopus while you attack the bird. That''s all." Kaimanded.


    She pondered for a moment, recalling a few hours earlier. They never expected to be contacted not by the school but by the government. The detail was to head to the Cuba Military Base and wait for further order.


    Not long after flying toward the military base, they were attacked by a few magical beasts that were supposed to be living in the water. After fighting for a while, they managed to kill them and head to this ce, never expecting this ce was under heavy attack.


    Hearing hismand, she nodded and leaped toward Sanae to get a better sniping position.


    On the other hand, Kai came to Sarah and said, "I will help you."


    Sarah furrowed her eyebrows and stared at him before ncing at the lobster. "Thank you."


    "I got a special teammate that could be considered the bane of the lobster." Kai shrugged as he narrowed his eyes, staring at the octopus.

 Chapter 126 - Tasha And The Snail

    In the middle army,


    Tasha had been shooting her arrows nonstop while striking down the blue lighting from the snail. She had yet to make another move after using the Lightning Storm on the snail. The magic didn''t go through the shell as the snail instantly went inside its house. After being blocked by the shell, the lightning continued rampaging around and killed a few magical beasts in the area.


    In an instant, a thought arose in her. It immediately made Tasha turn decisive. She was not the kind of person who fought unnecessary battles because of Kai''s influence. Instead, she had already imagined the situation when she faced the snail, ignoring instead of focusing.


    Fighting an impossible to beat opponent would only drain one''s magic power. Rather than focusing on it, she chose to wait until the army finished the other magical beasts before attacking it together¡­ or that was she thought until a huge blue ball appeared above the snail.


    "What is that?!" Tasha felt something different. She pointed her hand again, creating ance and shooting it toward the ball before it couldunch.


    "Electric Lance!"


    The lightningnce pierced through the air and made its way toward the blue ball. Tasha''s aim was to destroy the ball and created a huge explosion to kill the snail and other magical beasts nearby. Yet, the reality moved differently than the picture on her mind.


    As soon as the Electric Lance touched the blue ball, it was absorbed instead of destroying the ball.


    "What?!" Tasha''s eyes opened widely as she couldn''t believe what just happened. She didn''t know it was just a huge chump of energy. By absorbing the Electric Lance, the ball suddenly contained Lightning Element. If she shot it right after the snail released the ball rather than in the creating process, she would be able to destroy it.


    Unfortunately, Tasha didn''t have the leeway to test that. The lightning started sparking around the edge as the snail shot the ball.


    "This is not good." Tasha narrowed her eyes, observing the ball that would soonnd on the army. "They are going to be obliterated!"


    Noticing the emergency of this situation, Tasha shifted her bow, snapped her finger, and teleported right above the army.


    Just like Tasha, Jack also figured this ball out and quickly shouted. "It''s not good fes. We need to retreat as quickly as possible if you don''t want to die!"


    In the instant he finished his speech, Tasha appeared above the army and sped her hand, creating a pink magic circle in the air.


    Even though she was still falling, it didn''t take away even a little portion of her focus. A pink magic sphere rose from inside the magic circle, creating the same sphere as the magic she used in the group battle.


    "Spatial Lock!"


    Just like the blue ball absorbing her lightning, the pink sphere acted like slime and swallowed the blue ballpletely.


    "Kh!" Tasha never expected to get a huge resistance from the blue ball. Even after swallowing it, the blue ball tried to absorb her space magic.


    Another magic circle appeared and teleported the blue ball right above the snail. "Teleportation."


    Tasha pulled her bow, aiming at her Spatial Lock before she finallynded on the ground.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    The arrow flew like a bullet, piercing the pink sphere. Surprisingly, the sphere that could contain a huge lump of energy popped out like a balloon.


    After losing its momentum, the blue ball slowly descended, making the snail tremble in fear. It sneaked inside its house to protect itself from the ball.


    Unfortunately, the other magical beasts didn''t have the capability to think of that action. As soon as the blue ball touched the snail''s shell, it created a huge explosion, engulfing the snail and other magical beasts.


    "Boom!"


    "What is that?" Jack snarled with aplicated expression. He turned around, finding Tasha a few meters behind him. "Is that thing going to descend upon us earlier?"


    "Yeah." Tasha nodded before looking at the after-effect of the explosion. She climbed a little tower nearby just to check if the snail was dead or not.


    Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the snail didn''t die, but it was still covered with wounds. Even its shell had some broken parts scattering around the area.


    "Commander Jack, I need to strike at the snail before it could rise again," Tasha shouted as she created another magic circle to teleport her.


    "O-oh?!" Jack was stunned for a second and turned around only to see an empty air.


    Tasha already appeared in the middle of the enemy, surrounded by magical beasts. A few magical beasts noticed her presence and charged at her, but Tasha simply pped her hand to make another teleportation magic.


    "Teleportation!"


    A few magical beasts were swallowed together with the snail before appearing two kilometers in the sky. The first thing that came into view was a broken shelled snail, falling at high speed. Next, she caught around ten magical beasts that prated the cloud and fell together with the snail.


    After confirming the falling with both eyes, Tasha teleported herself out of the enemy territory. She still needed to confirm the snail''s death, so she only teleported herself to a high building around the area and hid.


    It would seem the snail had yet to give as it raised both of its eyes while creating a blue light between its eyes. The snail shot right to the ground it would fall onto.


    "Boom!"


    The dust kicked in and rose from the ground, making it hard to discern what happened to the snail.


    "What?!" Tasha''s sharp eyes could barely see behind the dust, but she could confirm that the snail was safe. "That was insane¡­ Is this what it means to be an intelligent A rank magical beast?"


    Although she could barely see the process, she could figure what just happened in that instant. She hid behind the wall, crossed her hands, and thought, ''The snail used that big explosion to give a force to knock it back to the sky. However, it fell too fast, so the explosion only used to soften the impact. Still¡­ the speed was too fast, together with the explosion, it should be half-dead. This is the perfect time to kill it.''


    Upon realizing the opportunity, Tasha pulled her bow, showed herself from behind the wall, and shot the arrow to the sky.


    "Lightning Storm."


    The arrow became the catalyst to create a magic circle in the sky before a bolt of lightning struck forth.


    The snail noticed and looked up with its tattered body. It created another blue light between its eyes, trying to destroy the lightning or the magic circle.


    Tasha obviously wouldn''t let it. She aimed her bow toward the snail and released two arrows.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    With the snail''s current state, it still could sense the iing arrows, but its physical ability didn''t let it react in time.


    The two arrows pierced both eyes as the snail trembled. It shot out the blue light between the eyes toward the sky, but with the loss of both eyes, it missed the target, allowing Tasha''s lightning struck at him.


    "Boom!"


    The snail wasn''t protected by its shell anymore because it had been shattered here and there. Tasha''s lightning exploded and swallowed the snail.


    Letting out a loud dying shrill, the snail finally died.


    "Control." Tasha released a few arrows toward the snails again. "Lightning Piercer."


    Kai taught her not to lower her guard to the dying enemies, especially the intelligent one. After all, they might even fake their death, no matter if they were beasts or humans.


    She remembered a few years ago. There was one enemy that pretended to be dead. Luckily, Kai separated everyone''s heads to make sure they were dead, so the enemy couldn''t retaliate.


    He didn''t separate their heads just to show her, especially with humans. There were many cases that human technology could even bring someone dead alive, as long as it didn''t pass a certain amount of time. Even with their beating heart stopped, Kai still did such a meticulous job. Tasha obviously wouldn''t let anything escape, especially this snail. It could even survive a two-kilometer free fall, let alone faking its own death.


    "Fu." After checking the snail really died, Tasha took a deep breath, feeling relieved. "Fortunately, I am here instead of Michelle. Looking at how ipatible they are, there will be many soldiers that die in the process before Michelle could kill it."


    "Roar Roar Roar!"


    The magical beasts spotted her, and a few of them changed their directions toward her.


    "Oops. Time to go!" Tasha shrugged and teleported herself back to the army. She looked at Jack and shouted, "Commander Jack, that intelligent A rank magical beast has died. We can start routing the magical beasts without any worries."


    Jack nced at Tasha before shouting. "Do you hear it, guys? Our biggest threat has disappeared. It''s time we push them back and show the pride of Cuba Military Base!"


    "Yes, Sir!" The shouts from men and women soldiers echoed through the battlefield, raising their morale.


    Jack nodded and sent a report to the radio. "This is Jack, we have killed the special magical beast. Over."


    "I have also killed the special magical beast in my ce," Marsha interjected while looking at the giant crabs that had been shattered by her brutal strength. "We will have a delicious crab for tonight''s dinner. That''s why we need to survive."


    "Same here. Though we still need to deal with three other beasts," Kai said. "The situation is a bit chaotic but still under control."


    "I have sent one hundred fighters and one hundred gunners to the left army. They are going to arrive in the next fifteen minutes," Marsha said with a relieved tone.


    "Good work all of you." General Sanders could only say this as he was still upied with the flying beast.

 Chapter 127 - Turning The Situation Around

    At the same time, despite having told the situation under control, Kai and Sarah still had trouble killing the octopus.


    Kai leaped toward the octopus and struck forth with his two swords. The swords managed to touch the octopus skin but slipped away from it.


    "Tch." Kai narrowed his eyes, thinking about what to do. The sticky mucus that covered the octopus made his attacks slip. The same applied to Sarah, making them somewhat frustrated.


    It was a transparent white mucus, albeit no one would think about something lewd because of its appearance. Even Sarah''s ice was blocked by this sticky mucus and covered Sarah disgustingly instead of lewdly.


    Kai had been dodging the sticky mucus from the octopuspletely, but the mucus already covered his swords. However, he could see the difference between his sword and Michelle''s shadow sword.


    Unlike the sword he always used that might not be usable for this battle anymore, Michelle''s shadow sword only had some parts covered with mucus.


    ''The sword has some kind of resistance for this mucus? But¡­ I still can''t cut the octopus.'' Kai pondered for a moment while dodging the octopus attacks. After around a minute or so, he finally got an idea to kill the octopus.


    "Commander Sarah, take care of this octopus for a while. I have got a n," Kai shouted and left without waiting for Sarah''s reply. Besides, Sarah''s personality made him lose hope to wait for a reply, so hepletely ignored her and leaped to Michelle.


    "Kai?" Michelle shed the turtle''s feet once more before ncing at him. "What are you doing here?"


    He took a glimpse of the turtle''s condition. Wounds almost covered its entire body: From the cut wound on its legs or even some crack on its shell. Michelle had been ruthless this entire time. "Can you make me two huge swords? I will use them for this battle instead of a normal sword."


    "!!!" Michelle instantly realized what he was going to do. The magical beasts had some hard shells to crack that a normal sword alone might not be able to cut, so he must be nning to use it to utilize his extraordinary strength.


    Unfortunately, she only guessed what he would do after fighting the octopus. As of now, he only thought of it as a weapon that could let him beat the octopus.


    Michelle nodded and created two two-handed swords before infusing more magic power inside them to add some weight to it. This would surely let Kai utilize his strength. Although he might sacrifice his speed a bit, he would gain a considerable amount of destructive power.


    He didn''t have this idea in the battle of Prince Rupert because there was no need for this type of sword since the battle could be solved pretty easily. However, this battle turned into chaotic, and the number was no joke. Kai seriously wanted to finish this battle as soon as possible by utilizing these two swords.


    "Take this." Michelle threw both swords before the turtle tail came out of its shell and struck her.


    Kai noticed the attack and leaped to the air, grabbing both swords mid-air. Hended in front of Michelle and struck on the turtle tail.


    "No, you don''t!"


    Kai gritted his teeth and channeled every ounce of strength in his body before both the tail and him were blown away by each other.


    Although Michelle was surprised, she quickly released a follow-up attack by sending a Shadow sh, running through the shell and arriving at the tail.


    "Roar Roar Roar!"


    It gave a cut wound on the tail. There were a few wounds there already, and the new wound struck a few of them, making it more painful.


    Kai felt the heaviness of the shadow swords and nodded. These two swords would give him the power he needed right now.


    "You are sacrificing half of your speed to use these two swords, are you sure you are going to be alright?" Michelle asked worriedly because this was the first time Kai used something like this.


    "It''s alright. There is only one hour left before your father arrives from our west. I feel your grandfather will alsoe at the same time. As long as we destroy all of these troublesome ones, we can easily hold for an hour." Kai nced at Sanae and Isabelle. It would seem that side needed more time.


    The A rank bird might have some wounds here and there, but Sanae also had some injuries on her. Isabelle only needed to snipe them, albeit the birds would always distract her and protect the bird boss. Even her firepower that could crack open the lobster''s hard shell was rendered useless because the bullet would explode the moment it touched the shield bird. In the end, Sanae could only fight the bird alone unless Isabelle could snipe the bird through.


    Kai looked back at Michelle. "In any case. I am going back."


    "Be careful."


    "You too." Kai nodded before jumping forward.


    Sarah noticed Kai''s presence and asked, "What is your n?"


    "Can you freeze its tentacles? Even a portion is fine since the sticky mucus will also be frozen. At that time, I will strike at your ice and cut one of its legs. We might not be able to kill it in one strike, but after losing all tentacles, it will be a piece of cake." Kai smiled as he nced at Sarah.


    Sarah sucked a cold breath after taking a glimpse of his eyes. She felt that his eyes were wider than earlier, and it released an aura of ferocious beasts.


    She shook her head and regained her calm. "Understood. I will coordinate with you."


    "Follow me." Kai leaped toward the octopus and raised his weapon, seeing the octopus mmed one of its tentacles at him.


    "Bam!"


    "Tentacle on my left," Kai shouted at Sarah while holding the tentacle back. The octopus mmed another tentacle at him, but a cold aura came from his left.


    "Freeze!"


    A right of ice appeared on one of the tentacles, freezing the sticky mucus and making it look like a ring.


    Without hesitation, Kai leaped to the left, dodging the m of the second tentacle. The octopus sent another tentacle to attack him, but Sarah jumped past him and blocked the tentacle.


    Seeing how she worked, Kai had no time to waste and strike at the frozen area with all of his power.


    "Ha!"


    The sword shattered the ice, and without the sticky mucus covering it, it also managed to sh the tentacle. Fortunately, Tasha also made the two-handed sword a bit longer, reaching almost one and a half meters. It cut the tentacle cleanly from top to bottom.


    "Good. We finally made some progress." Kai looked at Sarah and pointed at another one. "We will bring down this octopus in five minutes."


    For the first time in her life, she respected someone younger than her and shouted, "Understood!"


    After knowing the way to win, they moved in sync like a pair that had fought together for a few years, albeit it was only because Kai was aware of her movement with his ears and acted ordingly.


    Just like Kai''s order, the octopus finally died within five minutes as Kai delivered the killing blow.


    "This octopus finally died!" He looked at the octopus while sighing.


    Sarah saluted before asking a question, "What should we do now, Sir Kai? Should we kill the turtle since it''s almost died?"


    "I will handle the turtle. You go help with the bird. After that, just deal with the rest of the birds since I am going to help the soldiers with the sea creatures."


    Sarah narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Understood. I shall carry my duty perfectly."


    Kai tilted his head in confusion, wondering why she acted differently. Unfortunately, Sarah already went away.


    ''Well, with the addition of her, Isabelle will also get a chance to fire, so I don''t need to worry about them anymore.'' He took a few deep breaths.


    Then, Kai closed his eyes for a second before opening it back, revealing sharp eyes, unlike his usual eyes before leaping toward Michelle.


    "Kai?" Michelle looked at him in amazement while dealing thest blow on the turtle.


    *Thud*


    The turtle fell as Kai finally descended on its back.


    "No. I have activated it for a while." Kai shook his head with a smile. "There is actually nothing wrong with this¡­ other than these eyes since I only borrow a little bit of its power. Am I too adamant on this?"


    "Nah. Everyone will be like you. After all, if not because of me, you won''t need power like this." She smiled gently.


    "Besides, this power is quite useless since it only increases my strength and instinct¡­" Kai sighed.


    "No. I feel it''s far more useful than you expected. After all, Take a look at Isabelle''s Eagle Blood that gave her Eyes and an additional affinity for wind maniption. Or even Evan''s useful healing ability. All of you got the same level of ability. In fact, you, as the first generation, got a lot more. If you ept the blood fully, your eyes will be strengthened like a normal lion."


    "Well¡­ I still have one thing that I am unsure about if I truly ept it¡­" Kai said apologetically.


    "Hehe¡­ I know you are thinking about me. Since your birthday ising soon, do you want to go there¡­ Maybe after the new year?"


    "..." Kai pondered for a moment before saying, "Ask me again near the date¡­"


    Michelle didn''t push him too far. She knew Kai might not be ready to meet her again, so she nodded. "Okay."


    "Still, we need to fight a few thousand beasts while preserving our power." Kai turned back to the monster after catching his breath. "It would seem we need to fight together in closebat. What do you think?"


    "Fufu¡­ I am in the front, right? It''s my dream after all."


    Kai closed his eyes and smiled abruptly. He certainly remembered her dream to be a hero on the battlefield. Although she had matured after a few years as her dream changed from a hero to a powerful warrior of the Graham Family, she still had a trace of the past dream in the depth of her heart.


    "You have been fighting for me in the shadows and always supporting me. This time I will let you shine." Kai smiled as he looked around if there was a good spot to strike until he finally heard from the left.


    "Bam!"


    "Argh!"


    "Michelle, that way." Kai pointed his finger before exining his n. "We will close that gap before moving toward the furthest position and chipping away their number. It might be better if we can create a wall of dead magical beasts in the left so as to restrict the enemy''s movement."


    "Sure." Michelle raised her sword and shed downwards, unleashing a ck shockwave that struck the gap between the soldiers. "Shadow sh!"


    "Let''s go!"


    "Sure." Kai nodded as he followed right behind Michelle.

 Chapter 128 - Mermaid

    Meanwhile, Michelle''s grandfather, Nathan, had flown over the Antic Ocean right beside Florida before arriving at Bahama.


    The journey was unusually peaceful as if they were going to fly over the ocean, some magical beasts would attack them. No matter how small their number would be, at least one magical beast would attack them.


    Following the safe journey, they didn''t see a single sea creature hovering around the sea surface.


    Nathan didn''t like this because the sea looked like the calm before the storm. The thing that made him ufortable was not the peacefulness, but the thought about what kind of nightmare the people at the base experienced.


    They couldn''t send a radio message for them because of the distance, so Nathan could only grit his teeth while clenching his fists.


    "Father, I am sure they are still alright. Kai might not look at it, but he is a prodigy of his own. Considering Professor Ria Ross had taught him, his head should be above the rest." Bryanforted him even though his hands were shaking.


    "I know that¡­ but there is too much uncertainty in this mission alone. If I know this would happen, I won''t send him there to gain experience." Nathan med himself. At first, he thought that this mission would surely give Kai a battlefield experience and might even give some rtionship with the army. Unfortunately, his careful nning turned into a nightmare.


    "Father, Is a Protector really there?" Bryan asked.


    "Yeah. Judging from how Kai described them, I am sure they are there. However, please refrain from talking about it because it''s still a military secret. I will tell Kai about this as his rank as a Zodiac, and a student of Ria Ross would allow him to learn their identity¡­" Nathan let out a long sigh. "I thought I only needed to tell him after he graduates from school¡­"


    Nathan sighed.


    After encroaching for a few more minutes, the pilot finally notified them.


    "We finally see Cuba. Although it''s only barely, we can see many huge magical beasts swarming around the field." The pilot scanned the nearby area before they noticed a dolphin swimming around a human. However, when he focused on the ''human'' as he was curious why a magical beast would hop around her, he saw a kind of fishtail under the water.


    "Gerry, do my eyes fail me?" The pilot asked his co-pilot. "At first, I see a human female floating on the sea with a dolphin hopping around her¡­ But when I focus my attention, the female has a fishtail¡­"


    "What are you talking about, Don? Although this world has be like this, no¡­ maybe because the world has turned like this, you are hallucinating of a mermaid." His co-pilotughed.


    "Take a look at that!" He pointed in the direction of the human female, so his partner could testify his sight.


    "This is¡­" Gerry dropped his jaw after seeing the fishtail. They were flying an aircraft carrier filled with soldiers and had lowered their altitude since they were going to jump down after arriving at the ce. This allowed the pilot to have a sight on the sea, albeit barely. Even so, it was enough to let them see a shadow underneath the water.


    Seeing his partner''s reaction, the pilot immediately sent an announcement. "We have met an unknown creature on the sea. Her appearance is like a mermaid with a human body and a fishtail. Asking for an order."


    "!!!" Nathan''s expression darkened after this announcement. Ethan also had the same expression as he also boarded this ne.


    They exchanged looks and confirmed that it was their target.


    Nathan turned around to see both of his sons and said, "After this, you are taking themand. Michael should also arrive at this moment and work together with him after you arrive. The children are our priority."


    At the same time, Ethan grabbed the phone that connected them with the pilot.


    "Increase our altitude and pass them in the sky. Tell this to the other carriers as well and make no contact with the creature that you see. Tell them not to inform the soldiers," He ordered the pilot.


    "But Sir¡­ We are going to miss thending point since we need to lower our altitude once again before we reach the safe limit to let the soldiers out." The pilot was hesitant as he could already see the ce where he could drop the soldiers.


    "Shut up and follow my order. My order is also General Nathan''s order. Even if you need to miss the target slightly, it''s fine because the creature you see is more important. And open the door, Nathan and I need to fight that creature."


    "Sir?" The pilot was really hesitant as this was not ording to the standard operation procedure.


    "I ammanding right now? Do you hear my order, soldier?" Ethan was out of time, so he just snarled.


    The pilot paused for a few seconds before his hand reached a button while saying, "Yes, Sir."


    Ethan quickly dropped the phone and walked toward the back of the carrier with Nathan without any parachute. The soldiers were staring at them, but didn''t dare to speak anything after hearing Ethan''s rage.


    "Let''s go." He looked at Nathan, who nodded his head. After a nod, both of them jumped off the ne.


    The mermaid seemed to have noticed their presence as it turned around and looked up.


    Ethan released his Fire Wing and grabbed Nathan before cing him on the surface of the sea.


    Surprisingly, Nathan didn''t sink. Instead, he was walking on water, staring at the mermaid with narrow eyes.


    "Kai, you should be able to hear me from here, so I am going to tell you this. Whatever you learn after this, don''t tell anyone about it, including Michelle. I only allow you because of your identity¡­ Ria Ross would eventually talk about it with you if not because of this event. So, please understand." Nathan left a message. If Kai could hear the mermaid, he should be able to hear his voice too.


    "For what reason, a person like youes to this ce¡­" Nathan released his killing intent.


    "Tria Tabuta Gereo!" The dolphin looked angry at him, spitting unknown words.


    Nathan only nced at the dolphin for a second before looking back at the mermaid.


    "It''s because humans are foolish!" The mermaid that had been talking in a strangenguage since yesterday suddenly spoke in a humannguage. "The truth could only be disclosed to those who are qualified. Unfortunately, you are not one of those."


    "Then, what do you mean about qualified? And what is the requirement?"


    The mermaid didn''t answer him as she looked at the dolphin with a poker face, signaling him to go back.


    A staff that had been underwater earlier finally revealed its appearance, rming Nathan and Ethan and making them retreat a few meters. The staff was made of pure gold with a radiant green jade as its eyes. It had beautiful fin patterns as a decoration toplement the green jade''s beauty.


    Despite having a beautiful appearance, Nathan and Ethan could only stare at this wand with dread.


    The moment the mermaid raised the wand, a whirlpool slowly appeared on the sea surface before gradually rising to the air. The height of this water alone reached more than fifty meters to the air, forming a half-person body.


    It looked like a water elemental, a half body monster made of water. It raised one of its hands and pounced at Ethan on the air.


    "!!!" Ethan swiftly made a red magic circle before shooting arge fireball.


    "Hmph. Your puny fire wouldn''t work to my water elemental." The mermaid snorted.


    "Heh, is that so?" Normally, water would extinguish a fire, but Ethan had another trick on his sleeve. As soon as the fireball touched the water, it exploded, sting all the water on its hand. This explosion destroyed its palm.


    The mermaid wasn''t too surprised about this, since these two old men must be prepared to face her. If not, they would go with those nes and help those people on thend. She only smiled while waving her hand. "Yeah. I said so."


    The hand that had been sted by Ethan suddenly regenerated and made its way toward Ethan.


    "Water Jet!" At this time, a voice came from above the sea as three moon-shaped water flew at the hand and cut it into pieces.


    Without the support of the main body, the hand finally dropped to the sea and became normal water again.


    The mermaid wasn''t flustered as it continued regenerating the water elemental while moving its other hand to Nathan.


    "I believe you should also be paying attention to me¡­" Nathan made a smug smile as he was preparing a shield for the next attack.


    Suddenly, the water elemental opened its mouth and shot high-pressure water toward Nathan on the sea.


    "!!!" Nathan realized the hand was not the main attack and quickly made a magic circle as the water slowly rose before gradually forming a sphere to protect him. "Water Barrier!"


    "Nathan? Are you alright?!" Ethan couldn''t help but shout, noticing something wrong with that attack.


    After a few seconds, the water stopped and revealed Nathan''s appearance.


    Nathan was already wet all over his body. His hand already created a barrier to protect him as the water barrier had a hole right in front of him.


    "Oi oi oi¡­ Seriously?" Nathan let out a long sigh, not expecting to be that insane. He noticed that the mermaid snapped her finger to control his water barrier so that her attack could go through.


    "As I said earlier, humans are so foolish." The mermaid said with a pacifying tone, looking down on Nathan and Ethan.

 Chapter 129 - Turning Around The Situation

    Meanwhile,


    Michael also had entered Cuba''s sky as the pilot and co-pilot could see the magical beasts.


    "General Michael, we have spotted the horde of magical beasts."


    Michael quickly rose from his seats and went to talk with the pilot. "Are they fighting on the hill?"


    "Yes. Although they are swarmed by the magical beasts, they are not at a disadvantage. I can see a few special ones, but are we going ording to the n?"


    "Go ording to the n. We have a number here and don''t have enough time," Michael answered after pondering for a while. Michael signaled his assistant to take care of the preparation.


    They were flying inside a military cargo ne. With Graham Family''s and Ethan''s Reputation, they managed to acquire five military cargo nes capable of carrying a hundred people at once, while seventy-five of them were paratrooper soldiers. In other words, almost four hundred soldiers could immediately join the war and start the evacuation.


    "But Sir, we have spotted a huge number of flying beasts around the hill. We are afraid we can''t get too close to them."


    Seeing the battlefield''s condition, Michael pondered for a moment before saying, "Get us as close as possible and drop there. After that,nd the ne on the military base and be prepared to take off again."


    Following his words, certainmunication was captured by the radio.


    "This is Hercules, asking formunication with the general. Please respond."


    Themunication rmed the pilot as he searched around before finding a military cargo ne behind the magical beasts. It was a bit far, but he was somehow still able to find them. "Sir¡­ We get in contact with another group. Although it''s barely, we could see theming from our ten. We have yet to confirm their number. They are asking to talk to you Sir."


    Michael closed the phone and quickly entered the pilot cabin. He put on the headset that the pilot gave him and asked, "Michael''s speaking."


    "Brother, we have confirmed the protector. Father and Sir Ethan are fighting against her. Father''s order is to evacuate the kid. However, we can''t go to your position."


    "Bryan, huh¡­ Our priority is the kid. With your direction, you should be on top of the middle army. Drop there since Michelle and Tasha are there ording to Sanders. After that, ask the middle army to the right while your group is going to the left army." Michael didn''t give aplicatedmand.


    "Understood. I will also ask some of my men to escort Michelle and Tasha to the military base and get the general idea from themander in charge."


    "Good Luck." Michael took off his headset and headed back to the soldiers. They had a massive preparation and were ready to jump off the ne.


    Michael quickly grabbed his equipment as a few secondster, the door was opened.


    "The sky is clear to drop off."


    As soon as the signal to drop was on, the soldiers began jumping off the ne. Following them, the other four nes also dropped the soldiers.


    ¡­


    On the battlefield,


    Not only Kai, but all soldiers also heard the roaring of airnes'' engines. They took a glimpse of the military cargo nes in the sky.


    Sarah swiftly used this chance to encourage the soldiers. "Listen up, Soldiers. Our reinforcement hase. Use your all in these few minutes as we will win this battle!"


    "Yes, Ma''am!"


    The soldiers got pumped up, knowing that this battle would end up in their victory as soon as the reinforcement arrived.


    On the other hand, Kai could only frown as his ears picked up a distress sound.


    "One battle on the sea, big reinforcement on the middle army, and one reinforcement on our left." Kai retreated from the battle as he formted the n.


    He knew that the reinforcement in his left would surelye to take him away. However, the distress sound of Michelle''s Grandfather made him hesitate.


    Knowing that the situation became pretty bad on Nathan''s side, he had no choice than to man up and turn the situation around.


    As he thought about the n, the reinforcement finally came.


    "Attack!"


    "Boom Boom Boom!" A few elites quickly used big magic to trounce the magical beasts as they entered the left battlefield.


    They swept the magical beasts on the hill before climbing the hill to help the soldiers that had a hard time dealing with the sea creatures.


    With the battle turned into a stalemate, the general, Michael, appeared before Kai.


    "Kai, where is your group? We need to have you and your group retreat from this battle." As soon as Michael came, he roared.


    "A mermaid? A protector?" Kai nced at Michael with a doubt.


    "As you might have heard, you can ask about it to Father. For now, we will retreat with all students in the area." Michael shook his head with a severe expression.


    To his surprise, Kai shook his head and rejected it. "No!"


    "I am not saying this as your father-inw or Michael Graham, but I am ordering you as a general in the army!" Michael rebuked him with an intense aura.


    "I am not rejecting it because I am stubborn."


    "Then what? I will give you thirty seconds to exin yourself before I bring you back even with force."


    "Sir Nathan and this Sir... Ethan¡­ are having a problem at the moment. They are pressured by this so-called protector. If it goes on like this, I am afraid they would lose."


    "Even though they are already old, both of them were former highest rank generals in the army. So, they should be able to hold out for a moment."


    Kai pondered for a moment before saying, "But if we destroy the magical beasts here, we can make the so-called protector retreat. I could somehow hear around one thousand soldiers as our immediate reinforcement. If it''s like this, we can turn the situation around and wipe the magical beasts out within an hour.


    "I am sure without the magical beasts, this seeming protector would surely retreat back to the sea. This is the best scenario. If the situation turns slightly to what I predicted, I will immediately go to the base and retreat." Kai exined his n with determination.


    Graham family had helped him when he almost died in ska. Judging how the battle situation, Nathan and Ethan would surely fight the mermaid until the battle ended since they sent Michael to rescue him.


    Kai had no problem picturing how Nathan and Ethan could fight her for one or two hours, but the problem was after that. If the reinforcement needed to escort them, the battle in this ce would be a bit longer.


    At that time, he wasn''t sure whether Nathan and Ethan could still hold her back. After pondering for a few minutes, this was the best conclusion he could think of.


    Michael fell into silence. He exactly knew what kind of being the protector was as he had fought one of them when he was in the military. It was a hell fight for him, and despite battling for a few hours, the protector didn''t die. Instead, it ran away after killing a few most elite people in his team.


    Like Kai, they were blessed by a high amount of magic power and used their magic consecutively. After listening to Kai''s words, he fell into deep thought.


    "The battle here is only focusing on the flying beasts and sea creatures. As long as the elites could hold off the sea creatures for around thirty minutes, the gunners surely can kill the flying beasts. After all, we have around a thousand gunners at the moment.


    "Then, we can help the fighters and elites to rout the magical beasts in this ce. Judging from the reinforcement on the other army, they can send half of them to deal with the flying beasts of our reserve army, and the rest would pincer this position from behind. As long as I have Tasha rampaged on the middle army, I can be sure they would only need a few minutes to rout the rest beforeing to our direction. With-"


    Michael raised his hand, stopping him from talking. "Alright. I understand your n. I heard that you take themand of this entire battlefield, is that true?"


    "Yes."


    "Good. Tell all armies to do exactly your n. I will inform the second reinforcement." Michael nodded before taking out the radio. "Bryan, lead our reinforcement to rout the magical beasts there before going to my position. We have a change of n to get the best result we hope for. I will exin itter, so don''t ask anything for now."


    Without waiting for an answer, Michael switched the line of his radio. "Delta-1 and Delta-2, where is your position? Over."


    "Delta-1 here. We will reach Cuba''s airspace in two minutes."


    "Head to the hill and torch our enemy from the back. Over."


    "Delta-1 Roger."


    "Delta-2 Roger."


    Kai was happy about this even though he didn''t show it on his face. He quickly took out his radio and said, "Commander Jack. I need you to inform my sister that she doesn''t need to hold back and send all the magical beasts flying."


    Jack also saw the reinforcement on the air, so heplied. "You got it."


    "Soldiers of the left army, it''s time for us to turn this situation around. Gunners, let the reinforcement take over your job and change your target to the flying beasts. Make sure you don''t leave a single flying beast alive. Fighters coordinate with the reinforcement to hold for about thirty minutes as we will attack the sea creatures with our full force after that." Kai suddenly shouted tomand the army.

 Chapter 130 - End Of The Battle

    The situation turned pretty serious after Kai''s rallying cry. He just wanted to boost the army morale, albeit many of them didn''t recognize him.


    Only the reserve army realized his identity and roared with high morale.


    "Oh!"


    The shout spread around the battlefield. Even though they didn''t know why they were cheering, they just followed the roar before realizing the meaning of the information from earlier.


    It gave them hope to win this battle.


    Without wasting their time, they killed the magical beasts one by one.


    The situation brightened a little as around a thousand gunners suppressed the flying beasts. The soldiers that Michael brought were also no joke. They were pummeling the magical beasts from one side to create a wall that Kai instructed Michelle.


    As soon as the wall was created, they quickly moved around and attacked them from another side.


    Kai could finally let out a breath of relief. Not only the soldiers had done their best, but his Lion Group also fought bravely. It was a shame that Ayaka didn''t participate in this war since she could learn many things.


    ...


    After a few minutes, Kai heard two noises, faster than sounds, flew toward them.


    It happened in an instant as a few explosions urred in the back of the enemy.


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    The soldiers only knew the explosions wereing from an ally, and a few secondster, two fighter jets flew above them.


    The soldiers cheered once more, and surprisingly, it was far louder than the cheers from his rallying cry.


    Although he didn''t care about it, it still slightly hurt his feelings.


    Michael appeared beside him and patted his shoulder. "This is the battlefield. You need the rank and officially recognized by the army and soldiers, especially if you want to get help to rescue your little sweetheart in United Asia. Even if the government doesn''t support you, the army here might support you."


    Kai could only nod his head. "I know. We need power to grasp everything. I am not someone who wants to achieve big, but I don''t mind supporting Michelle to achieve something big. After every wish has been fulfilled, I will just retire and enjoy my life."


    "Haha¡­ I shouldn''t teach my soon to be born child something like this so that he could lead the family well." Michaelughed abruptly, patting Kai''s shoulder a few times.


    Kai shrugged before saying, "The baby is still one month old, you are too ambitious. Then, He still needs a few years before you can teach something like this."


    "Hoh¡­ are you saying you want to give me a granddaughter/son first?" Michael smirked, teasing him.


    Kai only stared at him with a poker face and had no intention of replying to him.


    Michael sighed and apologized. "Sorry, It''s a sensitive topic for you. Well¡­ considering Ria Ross''s skill, it''s only a matter of time."


    Kai sighed and changed the topic.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the middle army was having a surge of morale. Not only Tasha started killing the magical beasts like crazy, but the reinforcement also came at the right time.


    They quickly controlled the situation.


    "Tasha." Bryan came to her after dealing with the magical beasts. Jack also ran toward them, asking for an order.


    "Sir Bryan." Tasha nodded, putting down her bow.


    "You are themander of this army, right? Bring the middle army to reinforce the right army. My army will go to the left army and helpthe reserve army." Bryan nodded.


    "Sir Bryan, I wish to follow you. I believe the reserve army will need my bow." Tasha looked at him with a severe expression. She had been preserving her magic power this whole time. Despite having used the teleportation magic a few times, she had yet to exhaust her magic. She could still fight one more battle to help the reserve army.


    Although he wanted to reject her, it was true that having more people would be good. He called out loud, "Albert!"


    The third son of Graham Family quickly appeared as he nced at Tasha before looking at Bryan.


    "Change of n. I will lead half to the reserve army while you lead the rest to the left army. Brother Michael is there anyway, so there should be no problem."


    "Alright."


    Both armies moved in unison. It took only two minutes before seeing the reserve army.


    Their situation certainly did not look very good, considering they needed to hold a few thousand flying beasts with four hundred people.


    They might have killed more than a thousand magical beasts, but half of them already died in battle. Even Sanders was frustrated by seeing this scene.


    On the other hand, he could only keep this up without giving anyint because the left hill was more important than this ce.


    A few hours passed, and he once wondered when would Kai sound a retreat? Although he didn''t know Kai that well, he still knew that Kai would never choose the worst possible action.


    The moment the reinforcement came, it took him only an instant to know the battle situation. The situation might not look good, but it was still salvageable.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    "Ice Piercer."


    General Sanders heard the voice in the midst of the battlefield before finding one lightning arrow and one ice spike flew toward the sky, piercing one magical beast respectively.


    "!!!" Sanders instantly realized and shouted, "Soldiers. Our reinforcement has arrived. This is the time we deal with these flying beasts. Make sure no beast is alive as we will avenge our fallenrades."


    "Yes, Sir." They nodded with a smile because they had been waiting for this moment.


    On the other hand, Albert took half of the reinforcement to give a decisive attack on the left battlefield.


    ...


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    The two fighter jets were still bombarding them with the few missiles they had. The missiles were still effective against the magical beasts. However, if they used this in their invasion, they would rm the magical beasts nearby, and before long, they would swarm them.


    Only at a battle like this could they use the fighter jets since they knew no magical beasts would be attracted to it. Besides, with the size of magical beasts alone, it was certainly not very effective.


    After two more rounds, they came back to the US base. With how costly they were and not very effective, they didn''t have many of these things. The US base would rather make many cargo nes and helicopters, so they could send their people conveniently rather than crafting this type of ne, thus resulting in the high number of cargo nes and helicopters that even students would have the luxury to use.


    Kai looked to the side, noticing the reinforcement would soone after the fighter jets finished their bombardment.


    With how the soldiers reacted earlier, he decided not to shout anything again and only muttered to himself. "This is thest sprint¡­"


    ...


    One hourter,


    "Mukta Teria Pi!" The dolphin suddenly broke its silence in the middle of the battle.


    Under the premise that every word from the enemy was equally dangerous and made them unable to obtain more information, Nathan and Ethan attacked her again.


    "Water Jet."


    "Fire Arrow."


    "Tch!" The mermaid clicked her tongue before controlling the water elemental to destroy both attacks.


    "It would seem I need to go back," said the mermaid as she fixed her red wavy hair. "It turns out that my every move has been calcted¡­ No, I couldn''t say it is calcted because you all were getting flustered every movement I made..."


    The mermaid could learn the battle state because the dolphin used its Echolocation ability.


    A dolphin sound frequency range was 0.5 to 150 Khz. The lower frequency vocalizations, which usually less than 50 Khz, were likely used in socialmunication. Meanwhile, the higher frequency or above 40 Khz, were primarily used for echolocation.


    In other words, the dolphin could also see the battlefield movement like Kai before transmitting everything so the mermaid could decide their next n.


    "Hmm¡­ Judging how they intercepted my every movement and the fact that you old human talked in a low voice¡­ I see." The mermaid paused for a moment before saying with a smile, "He must have good ears¡­ to the point he could use the same ability as my pet to locate the magical beasts."


    "!!!" Nathan and Ethan turned serious. With just a single exchange with her, she could already realize Kai''s power. This would truly be a troublesome opponent as her brain might even be higher than other protectors.


    "Hmm¡­ Since our position has be a bit closer to thend, I suppose he/she can hear me from this distance." The mermaid made a smirk as she said, "Humans are foolish creatures, not knowing their death is around the corner. Despite being hit once because of their foolishness, the humans still repeat the mistake. O'' Human, you, who listen to many things that others aren''t able to, could you hear the shrilling out of this? Shall you manage to listen to the shrill of this, it would be the moment I invite you to my home to learn the truth."


    After saying all those words, the mermaid dove down and disappeared from the sea along with the dolphin. Nathan and Ethan were not going to chase her. It was not like she was fast or something, but the sea was too dangerous.


    Unlike the Magical beast on thend, the number of Magical Beasts on the sea was even higher. Even before the civilization was overturned, they could only take a glimpse of the wonder.


    It was too dangerous for them to venture to the sea if they couldn''t even take back thend. Rather than risking their life on this, Nathan and Ethan exchanged looks before going toward the battlefield.

 Chapter 131 - Protector

    "Haha¡­ This guy is good!" Ethanughed out loud, patting Kai''s head.


    "Still, you are pretty reckless. I have ordered you to retreat alongside Michael, but you suddenly have a change of mind and disobeyed mymand." Nathan sighed, not knowing whether to praise him or mad at him.


    "It was needed. After considering all things, I changed my mind to strike back at our enemy."


    "You should be praising him, Nathan. After all, this boy changed his mind to make the best decision at that moment and saved us." Ethan shrugged.


    "Though I want to ask for the answer regarding that¡­" Kai looked at Nathan and Ethan, expecting an answer.


    "Alright. I will answer your question after this." Nathan nodded while looking at the party. After having a big battle, they should enjoy themselves with a big party like this. "We are going back tomorrow, so meet me after this party."


    He left Kai alone after that.


    As the hero of this war, the general andmanders from their respective armies thanked him. Although only a few soldiers that knew he was the one whomanded them through the battle, the thought alone was enough.


    His presence slowly disappeared, and before long, he slipped out of the party.


    After the party, Kai walked outside the base without anyone apanying him.


    Inside the hangar were Nathan and Ethan, chatting about some random things while waiting for Kai.


    It was easy for him to locate both of them even without Nathan telling where to meet.


    Nathan nced to the right as he noticed Kai''s presence. He waved his hand, asking Kai toe and sit beside him.


    Kai nced at the round table with three chairs and nodded. He walked to the base without rushing while checking the base''s situation and whether they were alone in this ce.


    "Don''t worry. I have told Michael to make them drunk until tomorrow." Nathan assured him before sipping his wine.


    "Yeah. I also have informed my son." Ethan shrugged, looking at Kai slowly sitting on the empty seat. "In any case, I want to thank you first for taking themand of this war. Not only you disy your ability brilliantly, but we also lose only a third of our soldiers. Even my son wouldn''t be able to do that."


    "This is only because of my ears," said Kai humbly. "Besides, the soldiers did a good job. Without them fighting bravely, we wouldn''t win the battle. And if General Sanders has this hearing ability, he would surely do a better job than me."


    "Indeed." Ethan nodded before continuing, "Anyway, you are going to learn about the beings called ''Protector.'' Only you can know this because you are one of the Zodiac as well as Ria Ross''s apprentice. Your rank is still in process thought. It usually takes a year or so to give you the perms for information and other secret things."


    "Thank you, Sir."


    "Just know that this is still unofficial, so don''t tell others about it. In fact, just treat it as non-existence. The official document will be given to you after the process is finished." Ethan finished his pieces and nced at Nathan, asking him to continue.


    Nathan pondered for a moment before exining, "Hm¡­ I don''t exactly know where to begin this as we also don''t know about the protector that well. They are something like magical beasts but have human intelligence and such. They are not always mythical creatures in your mind, such as mermaids.


    "Back in the day, I met a talking frog from the sea. His power was so strong, and it ended with my group being defeated. There are many conspiracy theories in the higher up because of this protector thing.


    "However, there is certainly one thing that is for sure¡­ Kai, if I ask you where the magic power came from, can you answer it?"


    Kai fell into silence. After reading books or attending lectures, not a single time, they discussed this. He was wondering why Nathan mentioned this when they were talking about mermaids and realized the answer. "Under the ocean?"


    "That''s correct. Then, which ocean do you think?"


    There were only five oceans on Earth, and one of them was answered. Kai pondered for a moment before answering, "Pacific Ocean?"


    Nathan smiled and shook his head. "It''s the Antic Ocean¡­ more urately at Bermuda Triangle. We have tried locating the exact locations, but we don''t know anything except for the general position. At first, I thought you could hear the sound if we sent you there since sound can travel better in the water, but the n carries so many risks.


    "First, we need to carry you by ne because you wouldn''t survive if we travel with boats. Then, we need to get closer to the water surface or enough for your head to dip inside the water. Before long, we would be attacked by tens of thousands, if not one hundred thousand magical beasts. Yeah, that''s not possible.


    "If we want to use this n, we can only stay around two kilometers (6,500 feet) and deal with the flying beasts. In other words, we can''t search for anything right now. We need to conquer thend and the sky before exploring the sea like the old Earth.


    "That''s it. What do you want to ask about this protector? I will tell you the information and my personal opinion. You can search the information legally after getting the formal document." Nathan finished with a shrug.


    Kai looked down, weighing something in his mind. "Why do they call us, Humans, foolish?"


    Nathan and Ethan widened their eyes, not expecting this to be the first question he asked.


    "We don''t know." Ethan shrugged.


    "Maybe they are more intelligent than us, so they call us foolish?" Nathan joked.


    Listening to their heartbeat, he believed both of them were serious. However, he just felt there was another meaning behind those words, especially thosest words. He asked, "What do you think about thosest words? What is the shrill of this?"


    Nathan and Ethan fell into silence. Ethan nced at Nathan and sighed before turning to Kai. "Actually, I don''t know. We are also thinking about this, hoping you know about it. After all, the protector itself has a dolphin beside her, so I thought your hearing could listen to that."


    Nathan nodded in agreement. "I want to ask you that question to be honest. Now I know you also don''t have the answer. I will also search for the answer, but seeing the message is directed to you, you are the one who needs to search for the answer."


    Kai looked down and nodded. "There is no point in thinking about it. With how mysterious they are, I might only find the answer in the future through some coincidence¡­ I doubt it though. And since it looks like a big problem, I wouldn''t mind not finding the truth."


    "Haha¡­ With great poweres great responsibility can go to hell." Ethanughed out loud. "I am not a fan of this either. After all, one should do something they want. That''s what makes us human."


    Nathan coughed a bit. "Of course, if all of them are like you, then this world is screwed already. Sometimes, you need to give up your will to fight for the better. Though if you just fight blindly for the sake of humanity, then it''s better to make a robot. I also wouldn''t marry my granddaughter off to you."


    "Haha¡­ You know what, this old man''s opinion is exactly the opposite of mine. He is the real fan of those sh*tty words. I fought it out with him, and both of our opinions merged and became what he said just now."


    "Alright. We end this topic here and end the discussion. Any more questions? If not, apany these two old men through the night." Nathan looked at Kai before pouring wine for him.


    "Actually, there is one more question¡­" Kai looked down, hesitant to ask.


    "What?"


    "It''s more a general question. Why are they called protectors and what beings are they?" Kai suddenly asked the first question that he should ask.


    A trace of surprise appeared on Nathan''s face before he started exining. "Right. We haven''t talked about it because of your absurd first question¡­ Let see¡­ You have known that the magical beasts are ranked from F to S, right?"


    Kai nodded.


    "And inside those ranks, there are the intelligent type magical beasts which usually only appear on A and S rank magical beasts. You have seen the A rank here and the S rank in Russia, that Snake God or something.


    "Actually, there are two more ranks above them. SS and SSS rank magical beasts. The protector is the SSS rank magical beast. As for why we call them Protectors¡­ They called themself like that. They said, ''We are the protector of Earth, preventing the Earth from extinction.'' and some other bullsh*ts."


    Kai looked at him for a few seconds, noticing something off. "What''s about the SS rank magical beasts?"


    "They¡­" Nathan hesitated to tell him despite his rank and exchanged looks with Ethan.


    "If you want to learn the SS rank magical beasts¡­ It''s better to ask your teacher about it." Ethan answered.


    Kai tilted his head before thinking about one thing. "Is my teacher rted to this?"


    Nathan and Ethan didn''t answer him and sipped their wine.


    "Just ask her already, she is quite missing you. Your birthday is on 1st December, right? Why don''t you visit her? I am sure you will get many presents from her." Nathan shrugged.


    "Ugh¡­" Kai still felt a bit repulsive to meet his teacher because of a bit of trauma from his side.


    "Haha¡­ Alright. Time to end this serious conversation. Just enjoy the wine after the battle," said Ethan nonchntly.

 Chapter 132 - End Of The Day

    The next day,


    Colorado, US Base Main Military Base,


    Kai walked out of the cargo ne.


    "We surely have done a hard mission this time¡­" Michelle walked beside him while stretching her body as if she was tired from this mission.


    "Indeed. Some time off would be nice." Tasha appeared in the opposite direction of Michelle, ncing at Kai with a hidden intention.


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds before nodding his head with a smile. "Maybe some days off would be nice."


    "I agree." Michelle and Tasha answered at the same time.


    Kai smiled before turning around to inform Evan, albeit¡­


    "Huh? What did you say? You were lucky that my group was around your ce. If not, you would already die," Isabelle snarled.


    "My Leader''s shield is not easily broken! Even without your help, we can get out of the way pretty quickly." His eyebrows twitched as he shouted back. "You already saw how powerful his shield was in the group battle."


    "Kh!" As if it was a good counter, Isabelle couldn''t rebuke that im. Even with her full power, Kai''s shield was still intact. She gnashed her teeth and changed the topic. "Then, what about when your leader asked me to help him defeat the lobster and other magical beasts?"


    "He just used the most efficient way to end the battle. By the look of the battle state, we could just buy time for a little longer until the reinforcements arrived." Evan shrugged.


    Meanwhile, Michelle nced at Kai with confusion while watching these two. "Why are they fighting?"


    "It''s nothing special." Kai shook his head with a smile. "Did their family have any rtionship or whatever?"


    "No. I never heard about it. Isabelle''s family is around our Graham Family level. On the other hand, Evan''s family is one or two levels lower than our family. From what I know, there is no rtion between these two families." Michelle closed her eyes as if she recalled a piece of memory. "Though I know that these two are from the same school before transferring to our school."


    "Heh¡­" Kai was amused as he grinned. "This is interesting."


    "Oh. Now that I think about it, it''s really something hrious. I can see why you thought Evan was interesting back in Prince Rupert and asked me to investigate his background." Michelle chuckled.


    Tasha silently observed the fight between Evan and Isabelle as if she was watching a soap drama between a couple.


    "Though I am not sure about it. I will just let them have their time." Kai smiled.


    "Still, you haven''t answered my question. Why would they fight like this? Who instigated it?" Michelle asked.


    "It startedst night. Isabelle came to Evan and bragged of her achievement. Even with Evan''s patient, he could no longer hold it and snap, resulting in this fight." Kai shrugged. "As for why she would brag to Evan¡­ I don''t think I need to answer the question. Surprisingly, Evan also answered her."


    Michelle and Tasha chuckled before noticing that Kai already walked away.


    "Let''s go home first," Kai said as he was wondering where the vehicle to take them home.


    A few minutes after thending of their cargo ne, the next ne alsonded. Michael came out of this ce and quickly walked to Kai.


    "Kai,e here first." Michael stopped a few meters from them before calling Kai toe.


    Kai exchanged looks with Tasha and Michelle before walking toward Michael.


    Michael grabbed him before whispering, "I am sure you already know about the secret¡­ but don''t talk about it to anyone. Even if you want to ask your teacher, ask her when you are alone with her.


    "With how mysterious they are, the fewer people know, the better. After all, we can''t let others know that there are legends like mermaids or talking animals."


    "Don''t worry. I know the weight of the information. I won''t easily bber such a thing." Kai nodded, assuring him.


    After getting a nod from Kai, he sighed. "Anyway, with this mission, your group would surely enter the top 100 and get your personal helicopter. Just don''t break it for a dangerous mission because the state has concentrated its resources on military transportation. We can somehow build that many, but if one is destroyed, it would still give a powerful blow to our pocket."


    "I am wondering where you could find money to build those many helicopters¡­"


    "As you already knew in the fight against Magical Beasts, we would need mobility as our top priority. That''s why we are not making any tanks or other simr things. Instead, we focused on transportation since it would be the best one¡­ And since when I said money?" Michael smirked.


    Kai tilted his head in confusion before slowly realizing his meaning. "Resources?"


    "Haha¡­ it seems you have gotten the answer. That''s right. With the condition of our right now, we can easily grab other countries'' resources. Of course, it would also be hard missions for the soldiers, but the gain is still worth it¡­ It can be said we have been centering the resources from the countries around us to build a giant base. I am sure other bases also did it like that.


    "Let''s talk about United Asia. They must have gathered many things from Korea and China. Even though they were fighting on the China border, if you closely observed them, there would be some small scale invasion to acquire resources. They would transport it with cargo nes or military helicopters.


    "This can be another reason why we don''t build many tanks." Michael grinned as patted Kai''s shoulder. "Anyway, go back first and rest. Go to the first gate of this base; my butler is waiting for you there. As for Evan and the Eagle Group, their respective families are waiting in the second gate."


    "Alright." He nodded.


    "Then, see youter. I still need to see the reports. Ah, it sucks to be a family head like this¡­ too many jobs." Michael walked away whileining.


    After watching him leave for a few seconds, Kai turned around and walked to Tasha and Michelle. "Our transportation is waiting for us at the first gate."


    Tasha and Michelle exchanged looks and nodded.


    Then, Kai shouted to Evan and Isabelle. "I don''t ''know'' why you keep fighting with each other like a couple, but your respective families are waiting for you in the second gate."


    "We are not!" Evan and Isabelle rebuked him at the same time.


    "Whatever." Kai shrugged before looking at Evan. "I am sure we wouldn''t have a mission for the time being¡­ or at least until the middle of December. So, you can do whatever you want. Whether you still want to hang out in our usual camp or having a date. You are free for a month."


    "Understood." Evan nodded.


    "Heh¡­ How about you start training your physical ability? That way, you wouldn''t be a hindrance to your group." Isabelle smirked as she teased him once again.


    "I have been training." Evan snorted.


    "Then, why don''t you show it? You are still a hindrance on the battlefield."


    "Tch. I shouldn''t heal your teammates." Evan gnashed his teeth.


    On the other hand, Isabelle''s teammates could only smile, understanding this word fight. They knew about Isabelle''s little backstory and could rte why she would be like this, so they just watched them from the side.


    Kai shrugged. "Anyway, I have told you, so I am going now."


    Without waiting for them to reply, Kai already slipped away and grabbed Michelle and Tasha.


    They walked toward the first gate, searching for Michael''s butler, albeit with such a butler, a car suddenly arrived in front of them.


    The butler came out to open the car for them. "Please."


    They nodded.


    The journey to Kai''s house was less than fifteen minutes. Tasha observed his expression and said, "I will prepare the bath for you."


    "You can use it first."


    "Nah. I still have something to do. Besides, mom and dad aren''t here, so I need to call them first." Tasha waved her hand.


    A few minutester, she told Kai that the bath was ready.


    Kai entered the bathroom, taking off the clothes before entering the bath. Feeling the rxing hot bath, his mind found peace.


    He looked at the ceiling. The memory from the battlefield couldn''t help but resurface at this time. The focus was not on how he brought four thousand people to the victory against all the odds, but how he led more than a thousand soldiers to their death.


    "A path of sacrifice¡­" Kai raised his hand like he wanted to grab the sky. "I didn''t put a thought in this because I was upied with the battle, but those who died would surely have a family¡­"


    His hand started shaking. Even though he was a bit indifferent to a matter like this, it still shook his mind. After all, no matter how big his achievement was, he was only a student. Even with a world like this, a normal high school student would surely have a doubt in their heart after sending more than a thousand people to their death.


    Then, another memory shed in his mind. He muttered to himself, "Is this why the protectors said we are foolish? What is the''s shrill? Have we done something wrong this whole time? And¡­ should I believe what they said?"


    Kai held his hands, seeing them shaking. Michelle''s dream also entered his mind.


    "A hero, huh¡­ in a path of sacrifice, could that still be called a hero?" Kai paused for a minute before muttering, "I shouldn''t think about this. Just like how she supports me, I will also support her wish. If everything turns out to be wrong, then I will be there for her to receive the punishment."


    In the bath, Kai thought many things and not until one hour passed did he finallye out.

 Chapter 133 - Ayakas Battle

    Kai came out of the bath and found his sister in the living room, preparing tea for him.


    "Have you calmed down?" Tasha smiled and waved her hand, asking him to take a seat.


    "Yeah. Thank you." Kai nodded as he took a sip on a warm tea.


    "Looking at your expression earlier, it feels like looking at me from a few years ago." Tasha smiled as she also took a seat beside him. "Do you remember that?"


    Kai closed his eyes, sipped his tea, and nodded. "It''s a few years ago when you killed humans for the first time. If I am not wrong, you can''t even eat a tomato for a month."


    "Haha¡­ Right. Tomato¡­ Mom and dad were worried at that time because it was too sudden. Luckily, that happens was only for a month, and I acted normal again. On the other hand, it''s normal for you to have such an expression after leading such a big scale war." She gently smiled.


    "Where are mom and dad?" Kai asked.


    "Oh, they are shopping for daily necessities."


    Kai nodded, and the room fell into silence again. "Anyway, how about you take a bath first?"


    "Ah. Alright." She nodded and left him alone, so he could think about it more, albeit she missed his intention.


    Kai pulled out hismunication device and searched for Ayaka''s contact. "How are you doing?"


    Sadly, the answer didn''te even after a few hours, so he could only retire to his bed.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile,


    Ayaka was wearing in white clothes, looking like a patient. After getting a lot of preparation from the professor, she was finally ready to take the fight.


    On the other side, Ria Ross brought many blood bags with her.


    "... Professor, if I may ask, how many bags are you going to inject into my body?" Ayaka asked with aplicated expression.


    "Ah. Don''t worry. I am only nning to inject two bags inside. The rest are Human blood that ispatible with you."


    "Human blood?" Ayaka was astounded.


    Ria pondered for a moment before saying, "I should exin it to you first. There are three possibilities for this experiment. First would be a sess. The blood would fuse in your blood and stay dormant. It might be like instinct or whatever, but you would be able to control your blood, whether you want to activate them or not¡­ or so what Kai told me. I didn''t participate in the creation process of Pisces, Sagittarius, or Taurus, so Ick data."


    "Meanwhile, the second possibility would be when you half seeded. For this, I will describe the process itself.


    "When I inject the blood into your body, the animal blood would be active and chip away your human blood. This will cause a reaction, and you would feel pain. This is why I want you to get used to the pain first.


    "After all, you need to use your magic power to fight back. Kai could easily do this because of his unwavering will and his magic power, making this operation so easy. On the other hand, you are a princess that has been livingfortably for many years and only tried to shed your empty shell not long ago.


    "At the same time, your magic power is quite high for a normal person, but still notparable for the animal. You would find trouble in fighting the animal blood. In other words, the only way I can do to increase the chance is to make you used to the pain. This allows you to stay calm under the treatment because I will be injecting the blood into your body when you are awake.


    "The animal blood would eat your magic power, blood, and organ before recing it with its own, leading to the second and third possibilities. You will either die or turn into a half-magical beast. Dying is fine since you won''t cause trouble, but if you turn into a magical beast, I would need to kill you. Well, Kai would probably hate me after that.


    "Ah, if you are wondering what kind of half magical beast I am talking about. You wouldn''t be a man''s dream, such as ears and tail. Instead, you would look like a monster. It''s literally half-magical beast half-human. Your hand might be human, but your feet might be animal and so on.


    "That''s why I am asking if you are ready for this? Have you gathered your resolve?" Ria Ross exined while preparing the blood bag and all equipment.


    "I am ready," Ayaka answered without any hesitation.


    "One more thing I need to add. I won''t inject any pain-killer to you because you need a natural body without having unique substances in your body."


    "Understood. I will do anything as you say." Ayaka nodded before bowing her head.


    Ria paused for a second. "Alright. The blood that I will inject you is from Wildebeest, specifically Blue Wildebeest. This species can be considered as one of the fastest animals on thend. In terms of speed alone, it is equal to Lion¡­ which is Kai''s magical beast.


    "Of course, a power like this sounds too good to be true. Kai''s lion blood is hungry for prey¡­ if he continuously used that power, his instinct would slowly take over him and attack his own teammates. That''s why he never uses it extensively.


    "As for the Pisces and Sagittarius, I am not really sure, but from what I saw, Pisces lost his attacking ability. In other words, he is only a weak person who can only heal people. On the other hand, I am not very clear about thetter one, so I won''t spread any misinformation."


    "Do you have a question about this?" Ria Ross asked before finishing her preparation.


    "No. I don''t have one. I will leave all of the important things to you, Professor." Ayaka paused for a moment before ncing at her with hesitation. "Actually, I have one request¡­"


    "What? I don''t like having to fulfill other requests¡­ Since you are Kai''s woman, then I would allow it." Ria nodded.


    "This is not aplicated request. I just want to ask if this operation ends up a failure. Can you hide it from Kai? And tell my family that I have died because I was reckless and charged at the magical beasts alone?"


    "Oi Girl. Let me tell you one thing, I hate to promise someone something, but I didn''t like how you leave it up to fate more. Come on, if you only have this little determination, I will just cancel this and be done with you." Ria shrugged. "Listen, I have broken my promise with Kai because of you, so rather than having that weak will, it''s better for you to say you are going to seed. Alright, since you have no other question, I will begin the operation."


    "Yes, please do." Ayaka sighed as she looked at the blood slowly flowing before entering her body slowly.


    "The first blood bag is still normal. I will start pumping the second one before replenishing your blood."


    Ayaka nodded as she sweated profusely. She began experiencing pain not long after the blood came inside. It was like something sucking her blood and spread the pain. Luckily, the pain was still bearable as she didn''t let out a single sound.


    As soon as the second blood bag was emptied, Ayaka let out an ufortable moan. She started suppressing the blood within her body.


    "The process is going well. However, be ready as the real fight would be when the blood enters your organs. It would be a battle of endurance, so I hope you can seed. I hate funerals." Ria shrugged as she continued monitoring Ayaka''s condition.


    Ayaka had no time to deal with her joke, so she only closed her eyes to grasp a better focus on her magic power.


    "I can do this." She muttered to herself. Unfortunately, the pain started growing even further, jolting his body and mind at the same time. Even though Ayaka was ustomed to the pain to a certain extent, the pain that umted in this operation was beyond her imagination.


    "Argh!" Her eyes opened wide as she let out a scream.


    "This is going to be troublesome¡­ Blood percentage is going down while the heart rate is also going down." Ria Ross quickly grabbed another bag to inject it into Ayaka. "Don''t lose to the fight¡­ Haiz, I should kill her two to three hundred times first before injecting this."


    "Argh!" Ayaka couldn''t hold it anymore. It wasn''t just her blood that was swallowed by the magical beast blood. Her organ started getting infected and released a more painful wave to her nerve system.


    The pain continued to her heart, liver, and so on. Her body was covered with pain as her body started shaking uncontrobly.


    Her eyes started looking like a magical beast faster than Ria expected. This would only happen if Ayaka couldn''t endure it anymore.


    "What should I do? The only one who can fight the blood is herself¡­" Ria Ross pondered for a moment without letting all information escape unnoticed.


    "What am I going to with this?" She gritted her teeth before looking around. "If this continues, then the only result would be a failure¡­ but what should I do?"


    Ria Ross looked around, hoping for enlightenment.


    Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the answer came in the form of blood. She looked at a cupboard with many blood bags inside it.


    She appeared instantly in front of the cupboard and opened the lid. These blood bags were her personal collections.


    Ria was a bit adamant about using this, but she gritted her teeth. She didn''t have any choice other than grabbing the blood bag and injecting it into Ayaka''s body.

 Chapter 134 - A Raid?

    The next day, Kai went to the school for the sake of reporting his mission and receiving his reward.


    Many students were busy with the ss while he walked nonchntly in the corridor. He didn''t break any rule since students wouldn''t need toe to the school after finishing a mission. In other words, this was his day off.


    Michelle could get it instead of him or maybe in a few days. However, this mission would allow him to get into the top 100, giving his group a personal helicopter. The amount of paperwork needed to be dealt with was tremendous, so he decided toe as the leader of Lion Group.


    The student council would help him with the paperwork, so no reason for him to be cking.


    After walking for a few minutes, Kai arrived in front of the student council room, knocking the door a few times.


    *Knock, Knock!*


    Kai waited for the response as he heard two people inside. After a few seconds, a male''s voice resounded from within.


    "Ah, it must be Kai Carter. I have read your message. Please,e in."


    "Excuse me." When Kai heard the voice, he opened the door and went inside.


    The two people inside were precisely Bryan and Mia, the student council president and his vice.


    A smile appeared on Bryan''s serious face as he greeted Kai, "It''s been a while, I guess since you usuallye here with Michelle."


    "Well, I am the group leader, so I thought I would handle this myself," Kai replied with a genuine concern for Tasha and Michelle.


    "Sorry, but there are only two of us here since the other two are in ss. We are going to update your group points and ranking in a minute," Mia said while walking toward a table with a stack of papers.


    "Yes. Thank you for your help." Kai nodded.


    "Come here first, so you can check your current ranking." The president waved his hand, telling him to go to his table.


    Kai slowly walked toward him.


    The president was typing his keyboards before projecting his screen on his table. The screen only had one name.


    76th Lion Group - 56900 Points


    "Yourst mission earned you more than twenty thousand points. I will transfer the money after this. If I am not wrong, it is one million or something. This shows the appreciation of the army." The president retracted the screen.


    "After all, you havemanded the army bravely. I heard from my father that you are fighting gantly on the battlefield, takingmand of four thousand people, and directing the reinforcement. I would like to thank you for your effort as the military base could be operated like normal again soon enough." Mia added as she walked toward Kai while bringing a few pieces of paper.


    "Your Father?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Ah, did he not introduce himself?" Mia lifted her eyebrows before replying. "My father is themander of the Middle Army, Jack Carr."


    *Thud!*


    Kai opened his mouth in surprise, remembering what kind of person Jack was. He was utterly speechless. Even after taking a few deep breaths, the words still didn''te to his mind.


    "Fufu¡­" Mia chuckled like she expected such a reaction. "What? Do you think we are nothing alike?"


    "Ehm¡­" Kai thought for a moment whether to answer with a ''yes'' or a ''no.''


    Without waiting for him, Mia continued, "Haha. No need to be like that. I heard it every now and then. Unlike his free spirit, I am more like my mother. But I could assure you he is a greatmander and father."


    "Yes. He is indeed a greatmander. Without him, the middle army would probably copse." Kai nodded in agreement. Although he couldn''t see it by himself, his ears still recorded the situation in the middle army, and he knew that without Jack, it would be run over by the military beasts.


    Mia nodded before discussing the business again. "Since you have officially be the top 100. Your group will receive a personal helicopter¡­ though you will get it from the group that you kick out of the top 100. There are a few things that you need to take care of your personal helicopters.


    "It would be great to have personal transportation for the mission, but you also need to take care of the helicopter with care. First, the helicopter couldn''t be destroyed, as it would cost a great resource. The pilot has been informed about it too, so he would never go too close to the magical beasts.


    "The school would pay for the maintenance, but the fuel would be on your group. Of course, it looks more like a burden instead of an excellent transportation. However, since you have entered the top 100, more difficult missions are avable to you. You will get more money and points that way.


    "If the helicopter is somehow destroyed, then your group would need to pay it. Before you can pay it, the school or rather the government wouldn''t give you another one. Do you have any questions?" Mia finished her exnation.


    "There is one. What about the pilot? Do we need to give a share to him?" Kai thought for a moment and said.


    "No. The government will pay for them."


    "Alright." Kai nodded.


    "This is the information about the helicopter and all the things you need to know. As for the official form, let''s sit there so we can fill it. I will guide you in filling the forms." Mia smiled as she guided him to the couch before handing the forms.


    While Kai was filling the form one after another, the president suddenly remembered another thing.


    "Ah, I almost forgot about this. There is a raid event in the school for the top 100 groups. This is a mandatory mission as well as a joined mission with the military. This can be hard or an easy mission. We, the student council, will also join this mission." The president suddenly interrupted as he walked around the room as he searched for something. "Ah, this is it."


    "We have found a nest underground in Quebec, Canada. ording to the military, there would be many creatures inside the nest and cohabited with each other¡­ mostly bugs such as ants, termites, earthworms, or even mice.


    "ording to the scout, the nest was huge with many tunnels and many magical beasts, making it impossible to search the entire nest. There are around five thousand soldiers that will participate in this with an addition of us and another five hundred people from Military School.


    "The military wants to train us through this raid. Of course, even though this is training, it would be a real battle. That''s why they ask that no groups below the top 100 can participate. This shows how important this mission is.


    "Our mission is to exterminate all creatures inside the nest or at least to understand the scale of the nest. I believe your ears are capable of perceiving all those missions, so I am d that you join the top 100. I believe with your track record, you will also takemand of the army¡­ or at least a portion of them."


    Kai was astounded, never expecting another big mission after thest war. "How to resign from the top 100? Somehow I don''t want to enter this position again¡­"


    "Haha¡­ I know how you feel. We, the student councils, also deal with a raid mission like this from time to time. In fact, there will always be at least one raid mission every year. The purpose of this mission is to train the students as well as expand our border."


    "..." Kai paused for a moment and sighed. "I feel like another person would certainly make me join this mission."


    "Haha¡­ If you are talking about Sir Nathan, he is the leader of this operation."


    "Yeah. There is no way he would leave me alone." Kai sighed. Resigning of his fate, Kai asked, "When is it?"


    "After the new year, the specific date is still unknown. ording to the information, the ant takes fifty percent of the poption there, so we are going to attack them in the middle of winter.


    "Although ants have a big poption and can be seen in various ces from spring to autumn, they go into hibernation in the winter. The body temperature of ants changes in response to the atmospheric temperature. In winter, their body temperature falls so greatly that their movements inevitably grow sluggish. Therefore, the military wants to use this chance to attack their base."


    "I can understand their reasoning." Kai nodded and looked down, thinking about something.


    "Depending on the result, the battle willst from days to weeks. Unless we know that we can''t wipe all of them out within a month, the mission would most likely get canceled as the army will take over."


    "How big is their tunnel?" Kai asked, wondering how many people would fit inside the tunnels.


    "They areing in different sizes. It''s like each species has a different size, so we can''t really judge it. Of course, if you are asking about the ant, the hole is around ten meters in diameter. It is pretty big, so we can send around a hundred people at a time."


    Kai couldn''t picture it with only this information. Knowing that Nathan would most likely invite him to this mission, it would be better to ask him for more information at that time.


    He didn''t talk about it anymore and continued filling the form.


    It took them two hours just to fill the form because he needed to fill at least fifteen pages and some rifications.


    After finishing his task, Kai stretched his hands tiredly before saying goodbye to Bryan and Mia.

 Chapter 135 - Ayakas Condition

    After receiving the reward, Kai quickly made his way back home.


    Surprisingly, upon entering his house, Michelle was the one who greeted him.


    "Hehe¡­ I know you are going to school." Michelle smirked before ncing at Tasha, who suddenly appeared beside her. "Have you done all the paperwork?"


    "Yeah. We can use the helicopter anytime since we just need to call one day prior." Kai nodded, telling them the necessary information.


    "I already know about it, so you don''t need to worry." Michelle pointed her finger to Tasha and smirked. "But she needs some lessons about it. Should I, the great Michelle, teach you?"


    "Hmph. If I am going to have someone teach me, it would be Kai." Tasha snorted.


    Kai didn''t say anything. Instead, he just threw the guides that he got from Mia. "Just learn everything from here. I have read it on my way here, so I don''t need them anymore. It''s only about fuel, schedule, and some Standard Operation Procedure. Well, I am the one who needs to deal with them, so you don''t need to learn anything."


    Even after telling her that she didn''t need to read it, Tasha kept the papers, thinking that she could manage a portion of what Kai required to do. Kai already did many things, so it would be better to read them.


    Kai looked at Michelle and Tasha for a few seconds, wondering if he should tell them about the raid mission. He ended up not telling them because the mission itself had yet to be announced officially. Besides, Nathan would surely be the first to inform them.


    "By the way, it''s almost November. Then, there is your Birthday in December. Do you want anything for a present?" Michelle asked him directly since she was in a dilemma. As a rich girl herself, she could buy practically anything in Kai''s mind, but she was afraid that Kai wouldn''t be happy with an expensive item. It was better to ask him first and buy them as there was no need to surprise him since by the end of the day, Kai would be able to hear it.


    "I don''t need anything at the moment. If I can choose, I rather have a quiet month." Kai shrugged.


    "Ah, for the mission? Or me?" Michelle asked.


    "Mission, of course."


    "We can just take a mission at the end of November. We need to take another mission in December, but we usually don''t, because it would be hard to fight in the snow. Of course, on some asions, there would be some battles, but most soldiers usually celebrated the new year in the base peacefully. That''s why if we take one at the end of November, we only need to take another one in January if not February." Michelle grinned, trying to beat the system.


    "Oh. Let''s go with that." Kai nodded in agreement. "We can just take a simple mission."


    "Sure." Michelle nodded.


    "By the way, have you contacted Ayaka yet?" Tasha asked.


    "I have but no reply yet." Kai shrugged. "She must be training or participating in family matters." Kai shrugged.


    "Yeah. You are right." Tasha nodded before walking to the living room and reading the papers.


    Meanwhile, Michelle was talking with his mother.


    ...


    While they were talking about Ayaka, the real person finally opened her eyes after being unconscious for a whole day.


    The white ceiling and the reeks of blood jolted her mind as the memory from the previous operation resurfaced in her mind. It was unbearable pain, and she was wondering what kind of person the zodiac was before.


    Kai, the first zodiac, would surely have no prior information or guidance as Professor Ria also didn''t know what would happen to him. Evan and Isabelle, at least, had some information even though there was only Kai as the example. There were two other people besides them, and they managed to endure the painpletely.


    Ayaka remembered that thest blood that professor Ria injected could calm the berserk of the wildebeest blood. She observed her surroundings and noticed that she was still in the operation room.


    Her entire body was still too weak. Even after struggling to move them, the best thing she could do was moving her finger.


    It was two hourster before Ria entered the room. At that time, Ayaka could already move her hand.


    "It seems you are fine¡­" Ria said with aplicated expression. "Congrattions I guess¡­ You have won the gamble."


    "Gamble?" Ayaka asked with a hoarse voice. "What gamble, Professor?"


    The answer didn''te immediately as Ria Ross checked her condition, blood pressure, and other things first. After ensuring everything was normal, she grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed.


    "Tell me about your experience first, especially about the part when you couldn''t endure it anymore." Ria opened her notebook, preparing to take a note about Ayaka''s experience.


    Of course, Ayaka knew it would be better to discuss the operation first before going to that idle topic. She thought for a moment and said, "When the first blood entered my body, it was fine as the pain was endurable. The pain suddenly spiked up when they began eating my organs: Heart, Liver, and so on. After that, the second type of blood entered my body and reduced the pain. It was like the blood helped me control the wildebeest blood."


    "Hmm¡­" Ria recorded it on her personal note and stared at it.


    "Professor?" Ayaka tilted her head and called her as the professor began immersing in her own world.


    "Well¡­ there are three types of blood inside your body right now. The first is your human blood. Then the other two were magical beasts blood: Wildebeest and Leafcutter Ant blood. A few days ago,I checked your blood to see thepatibility with the magical beasts while I was training you. At that time, Wildebeest came at the top while Leafcutter Ant came at the third."


    "Which blood that came to the second?" Ayaka asked, wondering why she chose the third one instead of the second one.


    "It''s Wild Boar''s blood." Ria paused for a few seconds. "This blood and Wildebeest blood are very active, so if I inject the Wild Boar''s blood into your body, it will create a reaction against the Wildebeest blood. From my hypothesis, it would cause rejection and a high chance of death. That''s why I am using the Leafcutter Ant¡­ Leafcutter Ant is a passive magical beast, so it should be able to contain the Wildebeest Blood."


    Ayaka was astonished, but she only understood half of them.


    Noticing the confusion, Ria continued her exnation. "You should know about Leafcutter Ants before they evolved, right? How would they swarm food with their colonies and could easily be killed? That''s the principle I used. With the Wildebeest started taking control of your body, the Leafcutter Ant would get threatened and attack the Wildebeest. After that, you could easily suppress both types of blood."


    "I see¡­" Ayaka sighed before looking at Ria with a serious expression. "Thank you, Professor."


    "Don''t be too happy yet. You are literally bing a human with two animal blood inside. There are still too many unknown factors that I need to observe first. That''s why you are going to stay at least a month in this ce for further observation. We are going to see what kind of power you get too, and with your rtionship with Kai, I don''t mind helping you to get your new fighting style." Ria shrugged.


    "Ehm¡­ Sorry for doing all of this for me." Ayaka didn''t know what to say. Despite all resolves in her heart, she couldn''t withstand the pain in operation.


    "No need to beat yourself. You can be considered as one of the Zodiacs right now. As for which zodiac you are, I need to test your ability first and leave the registration of your abilityter. For now, don''t tell Kai you have be one of the Zodiacs. I am going to tell him myself." Ria sighed, finding the future look bleak.


    "I will also tell him at that time. After all, Professor only did this because of my request." Ayaka shook her head and said with determination. Even if Kai would be angry in the near future, she would just use the time for forgiveness.


    "What? Are you going to suck up to me with this? Sorry but all your effort would be in vain because I would only take one student in my life." Ria shrugged.


    "No¡­"


    "Anyway. Recover first. You should be able to movepletely tomorrow, so meet me tomorrow to start our training."


    "Understood."


    Then, Ria left her for another day before she rechecked her.


    By the next day, Ayaka was already walking around while stretching her body. It even astonished Ria Ross.


    "How is your condition? Do you find anything about this new ability?" Ria asked.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t know what this is, but as soon as I can move my body again, I feel light. In fact, I could move faster. I feel like If I am running right now, I will run through the wall¡­" Ayaka exined. She was also confused by this sudden change as it felt like it was not real.


    "I see. There is an increase in power and speed." Ria took a note.


    "Besides, Look at this, Professor." Ayaka suddenly walked toward her bed before lifting the bed with her two hands.


    "Hmm¡­" Ria Ross narrowed her eyes as she didn''t sense any magic power. This would mean she had a great increase in strength.


    "Alright. Put that bed down, and if you run and destroy my wall or any other things, I would be mad and chase you away. Are we clear?"


    "Yes."


    "Follow me. We are going to check your physical ability."

 Chapter 136 - Sound Levitation

    After getting two-day rest, Kai and the others went to the school again,zing around in their room.


    Kai had nothing to do other than researching for another sound-based attack or support magic. At first, he wanted to take the Levitating Concept since it could float him in the air. Unfortunately, he couldn''t imagine how he used it, considering he was a close-range fighter.


    If he was a Sniper, Gunner, or Archer, he could shoot his enemy down from the sky. With how he fought in closebat, he needed to move around a lot. Meanwhile, the Levitating Concept didn''t work because the concept required two tes.


    "You are researching again?" Michelle sat down beside him. On the other side, Tasha was also researching something, so she didn''t pay attention to him and Michelle.


    "Yeah. What about you?" Kai nodded before asking her back.


    "Training my shadow." Michelle pointed to the shadow behind her. The shadow was massaging her shoulder like a human with fluid and precise movement. "I need to have perfect control of one shadow first before moving into two and so on. In thest war, I realized that my control wasn''t good enough. It might be enough to move around in the open field with a few basic movements. However, the intelligent Magical Beasts made me think otherwise. If I can fight alongside my shadow, I can build up a group of myself. My current target is five shadows with fluid movement."


    Kai nodded and turned back to his own research. All of them had their own share of works, including Sanae, who needed to make an assignment for the ss. Kai told her that he could see what kind of assignment he made, so he thought it would be better to make it in her own office.


    To his surprise, Sanae only answered him with, "It''s peaceful here, and I can drink orze around. I don''t even need to put on a facade as a good teacher."


    The statement perplexed him since he thought Sanae was a special teacher who lovedzing around. However, she said because she was still in the trial period, the teacher contract could be terminated at any time, so she needed to put up a facade for a while.


    At that time, Kai''s poker face turned into a smile,ughing at this silly matter. In the end, Kai let her do what she wanted. The assignment wasn''t hard to begin with, so even with or without a sneak peek, it was done in a matter of minutes.


    "By the way, are you going to get another magic concept?" Michelle asked while looking at the research paper.


    "It''s Sound Levitation," Kai answered nonchntly.


    "Levitation?" The word of Levitation piqued Michelle''s curiosity. It looked like Kai wanted to fly in the sky, so he researched this. After all, there were five members in their group, but the only person who could fly was Ayaka. If they jumped off the helicopter, only Ayaka and one other person would be ready inbat.


    It would be a different case if Kai learned flying ability. They would be able to jump and join the fight right after since all of them would be able to leave the helicopter. Of course, Evan wasn''t in the calction because he was a healer.


    "It''s nothing useful from what I see. I have tried to twist some concepts to make it useful in battle, but I don''t have high hope." Kai shook his head in disappointment.


    "What do you mean?"


    Kai didn''t answer her immediately. Instead, he made two magic circles in front of him. The magic circle was spherical, albeit the two were split into half and opposed each other.


    "This magic required two magic circles. The bottom magic circle takes the role of a transducer, a vibrating surface that makes a sound. In contrast, the top magic circle takes the role of a reflector. A sound wave travels away from the transducers and bounces off the reflector. This condition allows the reflecting wave to help to suspend objects in midair."


    Kai put on his headphones, as Michelle quickly asked. "Is this going to be loud?"


    "For me? Yes."


    Michelle only looked at him with condolences.


    Before continuing, Kai put anotheryer of Sound Instion around his ears. He activated the magic circle before pulling the teacup on the table. His finger dipped inside the tea, wetting his finger.


    Michelle was astounded. She thought Kai was going to drink it first before giving a demonstration. At the same time, Tasha, Evan, and Sanae were interested in it too, as they nced at Kai while doing their own things.


    He let the tea droplet fall in the between two magic circles. The surprise came at this time as the tea droplet, which was supposed to fall, floated without any sign of falling.


    Astonishment filled all the people in the room. These two magic circles weren''t his new magic. It was a magic circle to produce sound, while the other one was a magic circle to reflect the sound wave. His vibration sword magic circle had the concept of these two.


    After floating for a while, the magic circle as Kai took off his headphones.


    "That''s the concept of Levitating Sound in a simple way." Kai sighed.


    "Why are you disappointed? Can the magic circle make you float in the air?" Michelle asked.


    "No. I set this magic circle to 22 Hz, which is on the edge of human hearing. If I use more frequency, you will hear the loud noise like attending a rock concert. It was super loud to only levitate a little droplet like this. If I want to use it to levitate my body¡­" Kai didn''t continue, but the other realized what would happen.


    "I see. Not so promising about the concept, I guess." Michelle made a weird smile.


    "That is only the original concept. I think I can tweak some concept and rece it with magic¡­ but there is no promising lead at the moment." Kai sighed.


    "I understand the importance of this magic since we have our own helicopter right now, just don''t overwork yourself," Michelle advised.


    "Yeah. I can use half the concept to soften the falling though. Like I make a magic circle on the ground with enough power to soften our fall. Then we can jump off the helicopter." Kai said before looking down, finding a problem. "But I will also need some catalyst because I wouldn''t be able to make a magic circle too far away from me."


    "What are you guys talking about? If you want to jump off the helicopter, you can just ask me. I will teleport us together to the ground." Tasha couldn''t help butment.


    "You know the answer." Kai shrugged while pointing his finger at Tasha.


    Michelle chuckled before grabbing the teacup and reced it with a new tea.


    "Thank you."


    After satisfying their curiosity, Sanae and Evan focused back on their job.


    Kai also began his research again, but...


    Suddenly, hismunication device rang. This was not his usualmunication device, but the device that Sanae gave in the hospital. She said that this device was connected to another device, which was supposed to be in Sakura''s hand.


    He had been refraining frommunicating with her because the situation there wasn''t stabilized yet. That was why when he received a message from her, Kai frowned his eyebrows, wondering if the message was a good one or not.


    "Ya. It''s already a decade since ourst meeting¡­ Maybe not since we have met in the school. Unfortunately, at that time, you didn''t realize my identity, so it''s such a shame. On the other hand, if you see this message, I am sure you know my identity already from a certain person.


    "Though I want to talk to you, I am afraid I can''t. Firstly, after a few months, the situation in United Asia has calmed down. Because of the loss of both sides, there are many daily reports about deaths in the News. In the end, Tokyo has be a disruptive city, and many start leaving the city. Even the school is suspended there.


    "The situation turns into a cold war between the north and south with Tokyo as the epicenter. Don''t worry, I am safe here, and there is no possibility of a big scale war happening soon¡­ or at least for around six months.


    "That''s why if you are reading this, enjoy your life at the moment. After everything is fine, I will go to your ce and meet you. Although I miss you, it''s better we meet after the peacees to thisnd once again. At that time, let me have some private time with you.


    "PS: I will try to send once a month, and please don''t reply to this message. Even though the situation has calmed down a bit, I still need to be careful."


    Kai fell into silence, staring at the message. This might be the first time he heard the word of Sakura or Yajima Haruko after a decade.


    Michelle noticed his expression and peeked at the message. "Oh. The way this message talks looks like Sakura."


    "Yeah. This is themunication device that Teacher Sanae gave me." Kai nodded while ncing at Sanae.


    "It''s good then. At least she is safe. We can meet her in the future, so no big deal. After all, if the situation turns chaotic, the other families from each prefecture wouldn''t look at this in a good way and might band together to stop the war," Michelle said.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded before looking at the ceiling. He muttered inwardly, ''Take care.''

 Chapter 137 - Ria Ross

    The days passed quickly, and even after a month, Ayaka had yet toe back. At first, Kai worried about her, but seeing there was no action from her family, she should have told them what she was going to do. In that case, Kai shook the thought away and patiently waited for her.


    After all, seeing how her family should act, they would be the ones who searched for her. Instead, they acted like nothing happened even after he called them to ask about her. They only said Ayaka went for a training session but left any other information nks.


    "What are we going to do now? It''s only a week away from where we should take another mission. Are we going without her again?" Tasha asked while cing her head on the table. It would seem that after a month, she got bored with the research and wanted to have some actions.


    It couldn''t be helped because they didn''t do anything other thanzing around this whole time. The stress would umte to the point they lost motivation to even do some research. Besides, they were not passionate researchers, so the stress built up quicker.


    Kai thought for a moment before deciding to contact Ayaka again. Unfortunately, there was not a single reply from her.


    "Well, just wait for another week to our deadline. If she doesn''te back within a week, then we will just grab another mission." Kai shrugged while staring at Michelle for a few seconds.


    "Hmm? Do you need anything from me?" Noticing his gaze, Michelle replied with a smile.


    "Actually, can I borrow yourmunication device?" Kai asked.


    Although the request surprised her, she quickly took out her device and gave it to him before asking, "For what?"


    Despite her question, Michelle already handed themunication device to him, showing her trust. It wasn''t like Kai actually wanted to do something indecent or weird with her device. He just browsed through her contact before finding a certain name.


    Kai copied the number and dialed it with his device, and handed it back to Michelle.


    With just a few numbers, Michelle recognized who it was and asked Kai with a serious expression. "Why do you call him?"


    Before Kai could exin, the other side already picked up the call and asked, "Hello, who is this? Are you a terrorist who would suddenly say I kidnap your granddaughter, soe here and bring some money?"


    "..." The aged voice still had a glimmer of a joke, making Kai and Michelle speechless. Tasha and Sanae also recognized this voice as they had met this person while Evan was listening carefully.


    "It''s me." Whether he was frustrated or amused by this old man''s joke, Kai said with a tired expression.


    "Oh, My Grandson-inw. It''s rare for you to call me, and is this your number?" Nathan happily replied.


    "Yes. I get your contact from Michelle''s device." Kai answered honestly.


    "Then why do you call me? Are you going to tell me I would have a great-grandson or granddaughter?"


    "No. I want to ask you about Ayaka''s matter. Seeing how you told her something and didn''t want me to know, I wonder where you sent her?" Kai asked.


    "Ah, her? It seems she didn''t tell you about it. Well¡­ since she has already gone to that ce, then there is no point in hiding it from you." Nathan let out a long sigh.


    Meanwhile, Kai was enlightened with those words alone and facepalmed before supporting his head with his hand. He realized where she went and what kind of thing she would ask. "Alright. I know why she is missing for a month."


    "You know? Are you sure you didn''t have any misunderstanding?"


    "I just want to ask why you think it''s the best way for her to get stronger?" Kai asked with an annoyed tone.


    "I never said it''s the best way. I only offered her two ways, a safe way or a desperate way. I have watched the battle between you and Eagle Group, and I can understand her frustration. That is the reason she went there¡­" Nathan replied honestly.


    "Alright. I am going to hang up." Kai sighed before putting his device down.


    But before hanging up the call, Nathan added another thing. "Why don''t you call her? I am sure she is missing you."


    Everyone thought Nathan asked Kai to call Ayaka. Still, only Kai and Michelle realized the word ''her'' on his mouth pointed at another person. That person knew him even earlier than Tasha before disappearing from their life.


    "Well, it''s only a call, so I guess it''s fine." Kai pondered for a few seconds before replying and hanging up the call.


    "Is she¡­" Michelle looked at him with aplicated expression.


    "Yeah. like what you are thinking." Kai nodded in frustration.


    "Who is her? I thought she was Ayaka, but it seems I am wrong." Tasha couldn''t help but ask.


    "She is my Teacher, the one who taught me everything from fighting, scouting, and all the things for three year. She goes by the name Ria Ross," Kai replied.


    "Ria Ross?" The first two people that reacted to that name were Evan and Sanae. Evan knew her because the zodiac originated from her hand. In contrast, Sanae knew her because Ria Ross was a special person in the world.


    "Ria Ross¡­ Do you mean the genius rank S magician who killed the S rank magical beasts in Canada around a decade ago?" Sanae remarked with a shocked face.


    Evan stared at him as he remembered the fact that Kai was the first-ever Zodiac.


    "Yeah. She led a hundred elites to fight an S rank magical beast. The battle was hard-fought as she lost around half of the super elites. You could say the loss was hurting them since those fifty people weremanders that were capable of leading an army with their prowess and brain.


    "After killing the magical beast, the tired Ria Ross holed herself in her research room away from people. After another three years, she was frustrated and thought aboutmitting suicide. At that time, a few people asked her to rest and flew to United Asia or Europe United Base, and she chose United Asia. Surprisingly, she came right when the tragedy happened.


    "I was only six years old at that time and almost died because of the injury. It was at that time I met her, and she brought me back to life with the cost of being the first-ever Zodiac. She created a Zodiac power because she thought she could revive a near-death person with it, AKA, her fallenrades. Albeit, the only person she could save was me.


    "Maybe it was pity or something, Ria Ross injected the blood into my body and saved my life. She treated me like a responsibility or something and took me in as her student. My parents even knew her, but she told them to keep it a secret as to prevent her name from being used or me being targeted.


    "After that, she taught me for a year before finallying back to this ce. It seemed she found another reason while the little me¡­ is having a bit of trauma with her." Kai???s face turned pale as he recalled the matter from a decade ago. "She killed me almost eleven thousand times within a year as a part of the training."


    Michelle looked away while the other gasped. A 6-7 years old young boy died almost eleven thousand times in a year, they couldn''t imagine how Kai still survived up to this day. However, Sanae could finally rte why Kai would have such a personality and strength.


    "By the way, why is Ayaka going there? Does she want to train under her?" Evan asked.


    "No. You and I are staring at the reason right now." Kai looked at Evan mysteriously.


    After a few seconds, Evan realized what he was talking about and eximed, "Zodiac Power."


    Kai sighed again before dialing a person.


    It would seem that the person from the other side didn''t expect such a call, as she said with a bit of a flustered tone. "Ya, my beloved student. Why do you call me at this time even though you have been avoiding me for almost a decade.???


    "Say that after you killed a kid for eleven thousand times," Kai answered.


    "Oi oi. It''s not eleven thousand times. It''s only 10,950 times since it''s thirty times per day."


    "And you even remember the exact number¡­" Kai let out another long sigh. "Anyway, I want to ask you about Ayaka. Is she with you right now?"


    "Eh, I thought you were going to be angry at me¡­"


    "The request muste from Ayaka, not you. If you truly injected the blood into Ayaka''s body, you must have done it for me."


    "Hehe¡­ Such a good student you are¡­"


    "Anyway, answer my question."


    "She left this ce two days ago. Has shee back to school yet?"


    "Eh? She has left?" Kai remarked with astonishment.


    "Yeah. Well, I won''t give you a big spoiler, but I think I can tell you this. She is Aries."


    "Aries¡­" Kai thought for a second why she named her Aries, but not a single thought came to his mind.


    "Anyway,e to my ce after the new year. You will surely regret it if you don''t." Ria Ross said with a happy tone before ending the call.


    "..." Kai fell into silence while ncing at all people in the room before he heard footsteps in front of the room.


    Outside the room, a brown-haired youngdy slowly walked toward the room with her heart rate kept increasing. She didn''t know whether she was anxious or excited, but she had prepared for this a long time ago.


    She gulped down and halted for a minute in front of the door before finally opening the door.

 Chapter 138 - Ayakas Power

    Ayaka opened the door. What met her was Kai''s solemn expression, while the others had weird expressions.


    This kind of reception quickly made her tense as she gulped down. She thought, ''Have Kai and the others found out?''


    Little did she know Kai and the others just knew about it. Kai sighed and waved his hand, asking her to take a seat.


    Ayaka walked toward an empty seat like a robot. Her body was so tense after finding that gesture. Like Kai, who had an animal instinct, Ayaka''s instinct also sharpened and noticed that Kai already found out about her.


    Kai''s eyes never left her as she slowly sat down in front of him. He put down his hand on the table while his other hand supported his head before saying, "So, this is the reason why you left us for a month¡­ Do you want to say something, miss Aries?"


    *Gasp!*


    Ayaka''s heart skipped a beat, looking at Kai with a guilty conscience.


    "Meeting my teacher and asking her to do something that she promised me not to do again." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Ayaka''s presence became smaller. Biting her lips, Ayaka looked Kai on the eyes as she said, "I apologize if it made you ufortable. Professor Ria only did it because I begged her, so if you want to hate someone, you can hate me."


    Kai''s expression didn''t change as he continued staring at her.


    "I¡­ I know I am a selfish person. Part of it is because of you, and another part is for my family. Even if you hate me and expel me from the group now, I wouldn''tin. I can only say I don''t regret it." Ayaka exined honestly.


    Kai could hear her heartbeat, so the moment she lied, he would surely pick it up. In that case, she could only gamble it all.


    Evan and Sanae looked away because this was their matter. On the other hand, Tasha shrugged her shoulder while Michelle also watched her expression.


    "You don''t regret it?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Ayaka looked into his eyes with a determined expression.


    After a minute, Kai finally closed his eyes and sighed. "If that''s how you feel, I couldn''t stop you. I am happy that you think of me before making such a decision, but have you been informed about the price that you will bear by my teacher?"


    "Price?" Ayaka tilted her head in confusion.


    Kai facepalmed as he sighed. "It seems I really need to go to her ce after the new year. Of course, you are going there with me."


    "For what?" Ayaka asked.


    "I will exin itter since there is no point in knowing it right now. It''s not an immediate price, and even I have paid that price. So, don''t worry too much." Kai sighed yet again while crossing his arms and leaned back.


    "Uhm¡­" Ayaka nodded obediently, still feeling a bit guilty. She thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I have received a little training from her¡­"


    Ayaka couldn''t help but gulp down before starting to tell her story. It was a scary experience that would traumatize her for the rest of her life. "... I have found my own fighting style. I believe I can help you with this."


    She wanted to show her power first before exining it, so she abruptly stood up and grabbed the table in front of her.


    Surprisingly, Ayaka managed to lift the table up a little bit without having any difficulty. She didn''t raise the table high and quickly released it before sitting down. Kai and Michelle frowned as they took a glimpse of Ayaka''s speed.


    "This is my power. A certain ident forced Professor Ria to inject two types of blood into my body, Wildebeest and Leafcutter Ant."


    This statement shocked Kai and Evan at the same time. They were also Zodiacs, and they knew such a case shouldn''t be possible. Only Kai could slightly understand as he muttered to himself, "Did Teacher make a breakthrough?"


    Kai shook his head before asking Ayaka to continue.


    "I have gotten Wildebeest''s speed and Leafcutter Ant. However, I couldn''t run nimbly because of the speed. The same as my strength¡­ Kai, could you raise your palm and pointed it at me?" Ayaka asked.


    Although he didn''t know what she wanted to do, Kai raised his right palm.


    Ayaka suddenly threw a punch on his palm before astonishment filled Kai''s heart.


    "This¡­" Kai finally realized what was going on. "I see. That is your weakness¡­"


    "Yeah." Ayaka nodded. The others watched both of them with confusion, hoping for an exnation.


    Noticing their expression, Kai began exining. "Just like a coin with two sides, bing a Zodiac also has advantages and disadvantages. My Lion Blood can grant me a little increase in my eyesight, a great boost in strength and speed¡­ but the more I use this power, the instinct will take over. At that time, I might attack my allies. If I fight in full strength, I could only hold it for an hour."


    "Ah, you are talking about her weakness?" As expected of Evan, he instantly realized what Ayaka was talking about as a Zodiac.


    This time, Ayaka was the one who answered him. "Yes. The advantage of my two blood is speed and power. However, if I use Wildebeest''s speed, one of thend fastest animals on Earth, I couldn''t make an agile movement. In other words, it''s more like a charge rather than fast closebat. Professor Ria asked me to perfect my control of the Fire Wing to help me maneuver, but I''m still in the middle of my practice.


    "Meanwhile, I get the ability of Leafcutter Ant of lifting something twenty times of my body weight. At first, I thought it was going to be my jaw, but it would seem my arms were the ones to transform. This ability didn''t increase my strength. Instead, it was more like the muscles in my arms reflectively stood the weight. The same as before, she asked me to get something heavy as my weapon so that I can get a powerful strike.


    "I came back two days ago and used one whole day to design my new spear concept. My family would build it as fast as possible. I am sorry if I trouble all of you." Ayaka finished her exnation with an apology.


    She didn''t mind talking about her ability with these people since she trusted them.


    "I see¡­ My teacher taught you a bit about your fighting style." Kai nodded. "Anyway, I''m d that nothing happened to you. We are going to have another mission in a week, so you can get ustomed to your body first and maybe have some practices with us."


    Ayaka smiled at him even though she was sweating inside. Recalling how she almost turned into magical beasts made her unable to tell Kai about it.


    Meanwhile, Michelle came to her, filled with curiosity. Training with Ria Ross would mean brutal training. In that case, there was one question that needed to be asked. "So, how many times have you died?"


    Ayaka''s body trembled. It was easy to see she was pretty shaken about it. She looked at Michelle while sweating. "Ehm¡­ She killed me a hundred times for preparation and another a hundred times in practice."


    "Oh. Only two hundred times, you are pretty lucky then." Michelle chuckled as she came to Kai while patting his head. Kai rolled his eyes while shrugging. Looking at Kai''s expression, she didn''t continue.


    "What do you mean?" Ayaka asked.


    "Haha¡­ you will hear it pretty soon." Michelle grinned mysteriously, enjoying both Ayaka''s and Kai''s expression.


    "Alright. We still have time, so you all can do anything you want." Kai shrugged before turning to Evan. "Could you search for a mission? If possible, make it three missions so we can choose which one suits our current situation."


    "Leave it to me." Evan nodded.


    ¡­


    Time flew by.


    Ayaka had gotten a new weapon and asked the other opinions on how to coordinate with them, considering her closebat wasn''t weak anymore. In other words, Ayaka could easily be a vanguard or a magician that bombarded the enemy with her magic.


    Kai also took part in the process, and six days passed in an instant.


    They gathered once again in the room as Evan presented them with three choices. Kai quickly chose a mission that suited their current situation.


    Mission: Bison Extermination


    Description: Fifty C rank bison have been spotted in Prince George, Canada. Their rank is high because of their strength, speed, and moving in a herd. Please proceed with caution.


    Reward: $250,000 and 2500 Points


    "I choose this mission because Ayaka is still getting ustomed to her power. We can use these fifty bison for an experience of her power and our newbination. Do any of you have an objection?"


    All of them shook their heads while Michellemented, "Still, Prince Rupert again¡­ Sigh. I just hope we don''t have any emergency mission again."


    All of them chuckled as Kai shrugged. "Don''t raise any g. We won''t have that much bad luck."


    "You are right. I just hope that after this mission, we can have a long rest for your birthday, Christmas, and New Year." Michelle stretched her handszily.


    "I agree with you. Luckily, I still get paid as a teacher, so I can get some wine to pass the winter¡­ especially without a boyfriend." Sanae let out a long sigh.


    Kai and the others didn''t say anything¡­ no, they were rather not to.


    "Alright, Teacher. You are staying here since it''s only a normal mission, so don''tin." Kai looked at her before turning to everyone else. "I will inform the pilot after this. We are departing right after lunch."


    "Right. We have our own helicopter now, so we don''t need to match our schedule with anyone." Michelle eximed happily.


    Kai nodded before leaving the room to hand the pilot request.

 Chapter 139 - Preparation

    The next day, Kai made his way toward the school with his sister, albeit with teleportation magic. They had no ss today because of the mission and quickly came to their base.


    In the room, no one had yet toe as there were still three hours before taking off. The journey was around two hours, so everyone took it easy.


    Meanwhile, Kai still had another thing to do, so he turned to his sister and said, "Sister, I will meet the pilot first. You can wait here until the otherse."


    "Wait. Let mee with you." Tasha, who was sittingfortably on the couch, abruptly stood up and walked to Kai. "You can let me handle this kind of thing, you know. After all, there is already too much burden in your hand."


    Kai looked at her and wanted to tell her to let him handle it. Unexpectedly, he nodded and said, "Alright. Just go with me first since this is the first time."


    "Sure." Tasha happily smiled, following him to the back of the school.


    There were three helipads around the area, while only one of them had a helicopter. Kai and Tasha exchanged looks as they walked toward the helicopter, finding a middle-aged man.


    "Hmm¡­" The middle-aged man also recognized both of them. He came out of the helicopter and stretched his hand. "You must be Lion Group''s Kai Carter and Tasha Carter. I am Rick, your pilot, until you leave the top 100."


    "Nice to meet you." Kai nodded and shook his hand. ording to the papers that Mia gave, they usually had one exclusive pilot until they had no right on the helicopter anymore. If the pilot in question couldn''t go, there would be a substitute.


    "I am not a strong man like you guys and can''t even enlist in the military. The only thing I could help in this era is to pilot the helicopter and safely deliver you guys. Don''t worry. I have ten years'' worth of experience under my belt." Rick said while pumping his chest with confidence. "Besides, I still have wives in my house, so safety is a must for me."


    Kai stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes. I am looking forward to our cooperation."


    "Alright. Now that the introduction has finished, it''s time to talk about the business." Rick''s expression turned serious as he took out his device. He opened the map and started exining. "I have read through the mission. Our target is around Prince Rupert again after the Bison migrated from Canada and somehow passed the line. Well, it can''t be helped since the border is too vast."


    Kai nodded in agreement. The border was too vast and ever-changing, so it was hard to keep an eye on every nook and corner. Even if they set up a kind of wall around, it would only be used for a certain period before they needed to set up another one after pushing the magical beast to a deeper area.


    "Anyway, I am going to carry all of you to Prince Rupert. Considering they have no flying beasts or beasts that could shoot a helicopter, I can get pretty close. However, I want to ask you first whether you want to jump off the helicopter or want me tond it first?"


    To answer that question, Kai needed to look at Tasha first.


    Tasha crossed her arms and pondered for a few seconds. "There is another thing I want to add. If I use the Teleportation Magic inside the helicopter, to teleport all of you will require a big magic circle¡­ at least bigger than this helicopter. In other words, if I want to teleport you all at once, then I can only do it after we jump off the helicopter to avoid teleporting the helicopter¡­ or parts of the helicopter with us."


    "If I may ask, how long do you need to make the magic circle, youngdy? It''s to calcte my altitude and other things." Rick asked politely.


    "It won''t take too long. Maybe a hundred meters above the ground is enough." Tasha thought for a moment and said. "If everyone jumps together, then yes."


    "Young Lady. Although it pains me to say this, the helicopter only has two doors in left and right. Even if we cram it together, only four people can jump off at the same time." Rick said with a troubled expression.


    "Let me answer that question." Kai suddenly took over the conversation. "We have a healer in our team so that he won''t fight with us. After you drop us off, pleasend in a nearby area or just stay in the sky for a while."


    "Hmm¡­" Rick closed his eyes for a moment before answering Kai''s request. "The fuel that we use can fly the helicopter twelve our straight. I myself have no problem flying it that long. As long as we can go back to this ce within twelve hours, I have no problem flying it continuously."


    "Yeah. I can assure you the mission is going to finish within an hour or two." Kai nodded with a smile.


    "I understand."


    "How about the fuel and maintenance thing?" Kai asked since he was required to ask about it ording to the guide.


    "You can leave it to me. The money you store in the school for those expenses woulde in the form of Magic Beast''s core and maintenance. I am usually the one to change the fuel. If we need to fly more than twelve hours, I can even change it midway. As for the maintenance, I will give you a follow-up."


    Kai looked down for a while, recalling if there were any questions he had yet to ask. He looked at Tasha, who nodded her head, and fell into deep thought. After a minute, Kai looked up. "I don''t have any problem with it. I''m looking forward to our cooperation."


    "Yes. Actually, I need to thank you." Rick smiled while scratching his cheek, embarrassed.


    "Hmm?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "My daughter is one of the gunners in Prince George. Your help has saved her life, so thank you."


    "Ah." Kai was surprised for a second before nodding his head,posed. Although he treated it like it was nothing special, it surely made him happy. "In any case, my sister or I will be the one to inform you if there is a mission."


    "Sure." Rick smiled gently. After serving as a pilot for a decade, he had seen many kinds of students and their attitude. There were arrogant, humble, not caring types, and so on. Kai was one of the humble students, despite his achievement.


    After his group saved his daughter in Prince Rupert''s battle, he¡­ or specifically, his daughter had been following his news, including the battle of Cuba Military Base. He found the name was simr when he learned that the Lion Group was searching for a pilot. Without hesitation, he quickly signed and picked up as their pilot.


    He couldn''t brag to his daughter because it wasn''t decided yet until they finished the mission. However, by seeing him here, he knew he had sessfully be a personal pilot for them.


    Noticing that the matter was finished, he quickly took out a board and a marker before handing it to Kai. "Can you sign this? I want to give it to my daughter so she can have the strength to fight in the front line. This is a father request and support for his daughter¡­ maybe with a picture."


    Kai''s eyebrows twitched, thinking why the situation turned out like this. He wasn''t a celebrity or something.


    Meanwhile, Tasha chuckled from the side before whispering from afar. "General Sanders, Commander Jack, Sarah, and Marsha also have their own fan base in the military. Isn''t it good?"


    Kai wanted to hit because of this teasing, but couldn''t do it in front of Rick. He only nodded with a smile. "Sure."


    Taking the marker and the board from Rick, he signed his name before Rick asked Tasha to take a photo of him and Kai with the sign so that he could send it to his daughter.


    After finishing all the matters, he returned to the room to grab all the things he needed, such as his radio. There was even a small camera on their shoulder to let Sanae see the scene. Depending on the situation, she might give some advice or order. She would also observe their condition if the group needed some reinforcement or not, taking responsibility to inform the base or group nearby to help them.


    Michelle and the others arrived one hour before the departure. Tasha quickly informed Michelle and Ayaka that Kai seemed to have a fan in Prince George''s base. Tasha and Michelle teased him for the whole time while Ayaka sat on the corner, thinking it felt weird to tease him.


    Sanae didn''t join them in teasing Kai, but she only made a smirk when Kai looked at her. Eventually, the excitement went down, and Kai shrugged the matter off.


    After finishing their preparation, the Lion Group finally left the room. Sanae quickly loosened her tie and raised her foot on the couch. Without Kai and the others here, she didn''t need to watch her image. It would be funny to see if someone actually forgot something, but as careful as them, they wouldn''t forget anything.


    Kai and the others met Rick and did some brief introductions. After that, they went inside with Kai, and Michelle took the door position. This was just a Standard Operation Procedure to prevent any attack on the helicopter.


    In fact, Kai already covered it with his ears, so there wasn''t a need for that. After checking for onest time, they flew to the sky.

 Chapter 140 - Battle Plan

    "I have spotted them." Kai opened his eyes. "They are five kilometers on our ten."


    "Really?" Rick was startled as he who was in the front, couldn''t even see anything other than trees. There was indeed arge dirt road, spanning for a few kilometers ahead. Kai''s direction was pointing at this road, so he quickly shifted their direction.


    At first, it was hard to believe that Kai could sense them, but the moment he saw them after flying for five minutes stunned him. Rick nced at Kai before observing the fifty bison in their front. Although there were two kilometers left, he could see it clearly from above.


    "I can get closer up to one kilometer. After that, I can only drop you guys and fly above you." Rick informed them while observing the bisons'' movements.


    They were pretty calm at the moment while crossing the dirt road toward their direction.


    Kai looked to the side andmented, "The dirt road is huge¡­ But there are trees that we can use as a diversion. I want this mission to be focused on Ayaka so that I can grasp the extent of her power. Do you have any objection?"


    Although this question targeted Ayaka, he also wanted to see others'' reactions since he always led the group. Fortunately, his worry was unnecessary.


    "I am staying in the helicopter and healing the injured, so I don''t have any objection." Evan was the first one to answer.


    "No matter your decision, I am taking the support role with my bow. In fact, I can stay in this helicopter and attack them from above," Tasha said nonchntly.


    "Except for the order of retreat, while you are holding the rear, which is basically suicide, I have no qualms," Michelle answered with a smile.


    Ayaka looked down for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "I will do my best."


    There was a trace of confidence in her eyes, but not overconfidence. As long as she was careful, this should be an easy mission.


    "Alright. Here is my n." Kai paused for a few seconds to get their attention. "Ayaka and I wille from the front while Michelle and Tasha will strike from behind on my signal."


    "Eh? Are you sure about that?" Michelle seemed to have a little objection while Tasha exined her qualms. "Although they are only C rank magical beasts, there are fifty of them."


    At this time, Ayaka broke her silence, stunning them. "I see. You want to separate them?"


    Astonishment appeared on Kai''s face before he nodded with a serious expression.


    After getting trained by Ria Ross, she managed to learn a few things from her as to prevent her from being dead-weight. With the same teacher, Ayaka could understand how Kai thought at this moment. She saw Kai''s nod and began her exnation.


    "I will use my magic bomb to separate them into two groups. Maybe 10-40 or 15-35¡­ Michelle and Tasha will eliminate ten to fifteen bison while we take on the rest."


    "In any case, we can use Ayaka''s Scarlet Explosion and firebirds to chip away their number, so don''t worry about it," Kai added, assuring the unrest in Michelle''s and Tasha''s hearts.


    "If you say it that way, then I agree with the n." Michelle nodded.


    "Sorry, Evan. Although we have you, I want toplete this mission without an injury." Kai looked at Evan, afraid of him feeling being left out.


    "Eh? Kai, are you an M? Do you really want to get injured?" Evan looked at him with a weird expression.


    "Of course not." Kai wanted to say that he worked hard in the previous mission, so if he didn''t have any job in this mission, he would feel he wasn''t needed in this group.


    "Don''t worry. I am not a petty person. I have the power to heal, but I personally don''t like to heal other people. It''s better toplete the mission without an injury." Evan made a little smile to strengthen his point.


    "Alright. Time to go." Kai nodded before ncing at Rick, to which he replied with, "You can jump off in three seconds."


    Rick said three seconds was to stabilize the helicopter.


    Kai and Michelle opened the door. Ayaka walked toward Kai while Tasha was standing by beside Michelle.


    "Go!"


    The instant Kai gave the signal, both of them jumped off the helicopter, falling to the ground at high speed. At this time, a pink magic circle appeared right beneath their feet as Tasha said, "Teleportation."


    All of them appeared right on the dirt road, looking at the bison far away. Seeing how close the helicopter was, the bisons noticed it. Luckily, it would seem they had noticed Kai''s and the others'' presence.


    Kai instructed, "Ayaka, ce the magic bomb in this ce. Tasha and Michelle can use the woods to mask your presence and stay there until the magic bomb explodes."


    "Sure." Tasha nodded while patting Michelle''s shoulder as she created another magic circle. "Teleportation."


    Kai watched them disappear before turning back to Ayaka. "Are you alright? Can you handle it this time?"


    "I will try." Ayaka nodded with more confidence than usual.


    "Still, I am wondering what kind of spear you request from your family¡­"


    "Do you want to try it?" Ayaka took off the white bracelet on her right wrist before handing it to him.


    Kai stared dumbfoundedly for a few seconds before taking the bracelet. "Summon."


    "Kh!"


    The moment the spear came out of the shell, he almost dropped it down. Veins began appearing on his hand, never expecting this kind of weight. He looked at Ayaka, "What is the weight of this spear? I need almost all of my power just to swing this spear, I guess¡­"


    "It''s 670 kilograms. I wanted it more, but the technology is not there yet." Ayaka looked at the white spear in Kai''s hand. It was a simple spear without any decoration, but if one took a blow from this spear, it would be like a blow from a Warhammer. The spear would casually crush their bones.


    Kai took a deep breath before he raised the spear and yed it around his hand. "As expected. I can''t use something like this since my movement will be restricted. My limit is around 250 kilograms."


    He remembered the two-handed swords that Michelle gave him in the big war. Though he also sacrificed some of his speed because of the weight. In fact, he wanted a vibrating sword before the Sound Levitation since it would increase the sharpness. Then, he could literally cut almost anything.


    Of course, he needed to experiment it first. Like if he struck something with his sword, would it cleanly cut the object or would a portion of his vibration be transferred to that object. When he thought about it, the concept itself was a little simr, like a chainsaw trying to cut metal. It wouldn''t go through at one strike, but would surely leave damage on the metal.


    At first, he thought it would cut anything cleanly because he saw many videos about that. The problem was all the videos cut in slow motion. Different from him who needed to fight at high speed. In the end, he shook the thought off and focused back on the spear.


    He handed back the spear to Ayaka and said, "It''s really hard to use."


    "Ahaha¡­ For me, this spear feels nice. This is like a heavier Warhammer in spear clothing. Without this spear, I would be the same as a normal girl. It''s like I can lift them but not throw them." Ayaka smiled.


    "Alright. Tasha and Michelle already took their position. Let''s get serious, shall we?" Kai paused for a few seconds before saying, "Use your firebirds and target them. I don''t mind if you only kill one or two bison, but I want you to certainly kill them. In other words, concentrate your attack on one or two.


    "After getting their attention, send another wave of firebirds to set up a distance from one of them as we retreat a few meters to get a safe distance with your magic bomb."


    "Understood." Ayaka nodded before pointing her hand on the bison.


    A red magic circle on the tip of her hand as a few birds made of fire came to life. "Firebirds."


    Ten birds flew out of the magic circle, making their way toward the bison.


    Noticing presencesing to them, the bisons turned around, albeit Ayaka''s firebirds already arrived in front of them.


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    A series of explosions resounded across the region as the ten firebirds split into three groups and struck three bison. Surprisingly, it hit at the same spot, creating a hole in the bisons'' bodies.


    "Roar Roar Roar!" The bison didn''t take this lightly as it roared as loud as possible before noticing Kai and Ayaka around one kilometer away from them.


    "Roar!" Another roar came from the front bison, telling his friends to charge at them. The bisons started moving their feet before making their way toward Ayaka and Kai.


    Ayaka sent another wave of firebirds without hesitation. However, the firebirds that were one meter above the ground suddenly dove and struck the ground right in front of the bison. These explosions confused those bison for a few seconds, especially those in the back because they couldn''t see Kai''s and Ayaka''s figures when the dust kicked up.


    This created a gap from each bison and gained Kai''s approval. "This is good. We will retreat thirty-meters back."


    Ayaka nodded and followed him as she sent thest firebird. Because it was hard to time it, the magic bomb was set for an hour, which was basically impossible for the fight tost that long. The purpose of this was so Ayaka''s firebird could explode right on the magic bomb, breaking the barrier that held the magic bomb.


    Around two-third had passed the magic bomb while Ayaka''s firebird had arrived. It was at this time the firebird finally exploded, causing a massive explosion.


    "Boom!"

 Chapter 141 - Ayakas Power

    "Boom."


    The huge explosion sted five bison into ashes and separated a third of its herd with a wall of fire.


    "We have killed eight bison and separated twelve of them with the wall of fire, which means thirty of them are charging at us," Kai reported ording to his ears.


    "Alright. Should we control those bison in this ce while killing as much as possible?" Ayaka asked while pointing her spear at the bison.


    Kai smiled as he took out his swords. Like having the same instinct, both of them jumped forth at the same time.


    There were three bison in the first row. Kai struck the left bison''s horn to stop his momentum before using it as a pivot point to spin his body in the air.


    On the other hand, the bison couldn''t stop its momentum, passing Kai a little bit and giving him a precious chance to strike them.


    Kai obviously wouldn''t let this chance go. With the spinning force from earlier, Kai swung both of his swords to their neck. Due to him spinning clockwise, he struck the right bison from above while another one from below. Nheless, their neck didn''t have the same hardness as their horns, and Kai''s strength was enough to slice their neck.


    At the same time, Ayaka also didn''t need to use such a trick as Kai. The spear that contained more than half a ton unleashed its true might. She raised the spear high before swinging it down.


    The bison wouldn''t let her and tilted his head a bit to block Ayaka''s spear. Unfortunately, the confidence in their own hard horns became the weapon that killed them.


    There was a different concept between Kai striking at his full power with a light sword and Ayaka using her spear''s momentum and weight. In terms of the destructive power alone, Ayaka might already surpass him.


    "Ha!"


    She built all the momentum she could was just for this. The spear that was blocked by the horn quickly shattered the horn along with the bison''s head. It didn''t stop there. Instead, it continued and struck the ground, creating a small crater on the ground like she pounced the ground with a huge hammer.


    The spear stuck on the ground, but this was Ayaka''s target all along. Without a single waste movement, Ayaka pushed the spear''s handle to the ground yet again, even though it was already stuck. This acrobatic motion allowed Ayaka to shoot herself to the sky while pulling the spear out of the ground by using the momentum.


    At the same time, a pair of fire wings appeared on her back, allowing her tond perfectly on the ground before running toward the bison at high speed to create another momentum. This was Ayaka''s current fighting style after training with Ria Ross, reflecting her new body''s capabilities.


    Without taking a single breath, Ayaka mmed her spear to the next bison. A magic circle appeared on her hand after killing two more bison as she retreated a few steps.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    "Boom!"


    A sh of red light followed by an explosion appeared in the midst of bison rank. It killed another five bison in the process and sted a few of them toward Ayaka.


    Looking at the flying bison, Ayaka made another magic before a of fire appeared a bit farther from her. The bison, that were charging at her, quickly changed their direction and went around the, but the ones that were flying had no such luck.


    The caught five flying bison. As expected, the weight of the bison pushed and stretched the toward Ayaka. Luckily, she had predicted this would happen and created a a bit farther from her.


    She looked at the fire that started cooking the bison.


    "Roar!"


    It was at this time, a bison arrived at her right after avoiding the. However, there was no trace of surprise on her face. In fact, no sign of her flinching in front of this bison. Because she knew¡­


    "Bam!"


    A loud sound produced by a kick right on the bison''s body was heard. Although Ayaka couldn''t see it because of the bison, her instinct could sense there was another presence behind the bison. And that presence was none other than Kai.


    Kai kicked the bison toward the fire nest, hoping for it to roast another one. He nced at Ayaka''s before another bison caught in his scope of vision. Unlike the usual time, Kai didn''t shout at her to inform her about the bison. Instead, he trusted her and turned around as he struck another iing bison from his direction.


    Ayaka had no time to thank him as she noticed the presence from her left. She spun around while swinging her spear again toward the bison, killing the bison in one single blow.


    It would seem that her power slowly became frightening, Kai thought. Even with his strength, he couldn''t shatter the horn like her unless he used the heavy two-handed sword that he used in Cuba''s battle. He could only aim at their weak point if he wanted to kill them in a single blow by using his speed and strength.


    Happy with improvement, Kai nodded and searched for another opponent.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka took a note on the state of this battle. She had killed seventeen bison from the start while Kai had killed eight. It would seem Kai was still superior in terms of closebat because she used her fire magic to kill thirteen out of those seventeen bison while Kai killed those eight with only his strength.


    Even so, Ayaka shook that thought off in an instant. Michelle and Tasha should have finished killing those in their side while there were still thirteen bison in their side. She wanted to see how many more bison she and Kai could kill without their help.


    Unfortunately, when another two bison charged at her, she realized that her spear didn''t have enough length to reach both bison in a single swing. Her quick thinking made her create a magic circle on her hand to shoot a few firebirds while she killed the other one with her spear. It was at this time a female''s voice resounded on her ears.


    "Lightning Piercer."


    An arrow pierced the wall of fire she made earlier and pierced the bison''s head. This was Tasha''s cover fire to let her focus on the bison in front of her. This didn''t make her sad. Instead, she smiled and clenched her spear tightly before killing another bison with her spear''s weight.


    The magic circle that supposed to lose its purpose still shot out ten firebirds. However, their aim wasn''t the dying bison. Instead, the firebirds flew past the bison and hit the two bison behind it.


    "Boom Boom!"


    The fate of these two bison was the same as those who were hit by firebirds earlier. Ayaka paid no heed to them and killed the rest of the bison with Tasha''s assistance. It only took them a minute to kill another four bison, albeit when they saw Kai and Michelle, they already finished their task and was waiting for them.


    Kai smiled at Ayaka while Michelle was looking at her mysteriously.


    Ayaka looked at her hand instead of them. She thought, ''This is my current power. Finally¡­ Finally¡­ I can see his back."


    She closed her eyes, imagining the scene that she saw previously. It was like a dark world where she constantly chased after Kai. Sadly, Kai left her on the dust no matter how hard she trained. Only after receiving this power, she could finally see his back. She hoped to grab his back when she seeded in mastering this new power.


    "Oi, what are you doing?" Kai''s voice echoed in her ears as she abruptly opened her eyes.


    "Ah yes," Ayaka replied and began walking toward him and the others.


    "How is your condition? I feel a great leap on your power and fighting style." Kai asked with a smile.


    "Yes. I am fine. There is nothing wrong with my body or instinct when I killed them or used my power. As for my fighting style, I should thank Professor Ria for this¡­ probably." Ayaka was grateful to Ria Ross, but deep inside, she hesitated whether she was really thankful after that training.


    Kai only smiled as he knew what she felt. He decided to change the topic, "Alright. We should clear this up and go home."


    "Yes." All of them shouted in unison.


    This scene astonished Rick in the helicopter. He could see it clearly from the sky how fifty C rank bison died in their hands within a few minutes. In fact, it barely took them fifteen minutes to clear them up.


    "Amazing," Rick eximed. "This is my first time seeing a group like this. They only have four people, but their firepower might be greater than all the top 100 groups I had served before."


    "Yeah. They are really different from the norm." Evanmented with a smile. He thought with the addition of the new Ayaka, their group was really full of freaks. Two S rank magicians and three zodiacs. This alone would shift the bnce of power among the top 100 groups.


    He leaned back on his seat while muttering, "I hope there is no group that will challenge us in a group battle. Well, I am sure you heard this too, right?"


    Of course, the ''you'' on his mouth was none other than Kai, albeit thetter only smiled because he never had a n in epting that as long as they didn''t push their limit.


    "Old man Rick, why don''t yound around their area? And we can go home after this." Evan said nonchntly.


    "Haha¡­ Sure sure. It seems I can tell this story to my daughter." Rickughed beforending the helicopter.

 Chapter 142 - Raid Mission

    After clearing their bodies, Kai and the others flew back home. Rick was grinning the entire time, confusing them, except Kai, who heard how he wanted to boast about this to his daughter. He didn''t say anything about it though.


    On their way home,


    "Say, Kai¡­ What are you going to do after this? We wouldn''t have any more missions until the new year, so are you going to stay in our usual ce or research the Sound Levitation?" Michelle asked while looking outside the window.


    Before Kai could answer, Tasha said, "I will be staying in room 420. I don''t know why, but I can concentrate more there."


    "Isn''t it usually reverse?" Michelle couldn''t help butment. Usually, one couldn''t concentrate when they were around many people, especially when they were talking and disturbing her concentration.


    "That''s why I said I don''t know. Besides, I can ask Kai to give me some music to change my brainwave to Alpha state." Tasha shrugged.


    Kai shook his head helplessly. Alpha State brainwave meant to be a rxed focus state where they usually had the most concentration. If it waspared to the people on a sport, it was the same as someone saying they were in the zone.


    "Then I can stay there too. I don''t have anything to do anyway, and I canpletely iste myself with the Sound Instion Room." Kai shrugged.


    "I¡­ I wille every other day to do some research on fighting video to polish my style. While I want to have some time to do some physical training since my family is going to help me with that." Ayaka also answered the question even though Michelle only nned to ask Kai.


    "I don''t have anything to do, so I will drop by every day. I hate my house anyway since they are pretty strict on me." Evan also joined the conversation.


    Kai looked at them for a few seconds, wondering whether he should let them know about the raid mission.


    In the end, he only asked Michelle, "Do you know about the Raid Mission that will happen once a year?"


    Kai''s question made Michelle and Evan dumbfounded, not expecting Kai to ask such questions. Michelle had a puzzled look on her face as she asked slowly, "Why do you know about the Raid Mission?"


    "From the student council," Kai answered honestly.


    Michelle fell into silence, and this silence made Tasha ask, "What is this Raid Mission?"


    Looking at Michelle''s troubled expression, Evan decided to answer that question. "Raid Mission is a mission that will only happen once a year. Only the top 100 groups will participate in this mission as it will be a joint event between Magic Academy, Military Academy, and the Army.


    "The government makes this mission because they want the top 100 groups to be an elite amongst the elites. They expect us to learn under the professional about their tactics and other things."


    "Top 100 groups?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes because he found this one to be strange.


    "It''s normal for you to have some suspicion. The biggest reason why it''s only for the top 100 groups is because of the difficulty. Last year, we needed to deal with a war bigger than the one we had in Cuba¡­ around twice as big if I am not wrong. Of course, there were many intelligent magical beasts, which caused many casualties on our side¡­ and I needed to heal them." Evan let out a long sigh as he remembered how he was covered in blood for a full day because of the number of casualties.


    After hearing that much exnation, Michelle took over. "We don''t know about this year''s target, and I might be asking about itter to my grandfather¡­ but the time is random, so you need to be prepared. Of course, I also participated inst year''s mission, since I was an S rank magician even though I didn''t have a group. As for this year, I would surely be counted as a part of the Lion Group¡­ I am still surprised to hear that question from Kai though."


    "Actually, I already know about the mission." Kai made a weird smile as he informed them. Their exnation made him decide to inform them because there was no point in hiding it. In fact, if they knew and had more time to prepare, it would be better.


    This statement stunned Evan and Michelle, wondering what kind of mission they would have this year. Surprisingly, Evan was the one who asked instead of Michelle. "Kai, what is the mission this time? Ah, I am going to be covered with blood again this year."


    "It''s a raid on an underground nest, hosting many insects¡­ but ants took the most poption there." Kai shrugged.


    Michelle gulped down and asked, "I am wondering¡­ No, I am convinced that my grandfather has stretched his hand on this matter, right?"


    "I don''t know what to answer. He indeed has a connection to this matter, but it''s not as simple as stretching his hand." Kai made a troubled look, wondering if he should exin it or wait for Nathan.


    "What do you mean?" Michelle gritted her teeth as she knew this matter wasn''t simple.


    "He is going to be the one in charge of this operation, or so the information says¡­" Kai let out a long sigh.


    "It seems that old man has lived long enough¡­ Should I send him to the afterworld?" Michelle sped her hands in anger.


    "Don''t say that. Although he wants a mission like the previous one in Cuba, he is taking charge of this operation himself, showing us how he wants to be responsible for this." Kai said with a gentle smile. He knew that this was the only way for Kai to be recognized by many people despite the risk of this mission.


    And the end goal of this operation would be bing famous and having a good rank in the military faster than anyone could. If he reached a high enough level, he could stay at home while enjoying the time with his family like Nathan.


    "I know that¡­ but this is overboard." Michelle had a difficulty to let go of this matter in her heart.


    "Oh, right. I also need to visit my teacher after the new year." Kai let out a long sigh. Every time he mentioned his teacher, the terrible memories of the past resurfaced in his mind.


    "By the way, do you know about the timing?"


    "After the new year, it seems they want to weaken the ants first with the winter. Although it might not be very effective, considering they are magical beasts now."


    "Indeed. It''s still plenty though." Michelle nodded while pondering over a matter. "Still, seeing your teacher first before going for a raid mission, I am wondering if this is another scheme or just a coincidence¡­"


    Kai also wished for the answer, but it shouldn''t be rted since his teacher wanted him to go there badly. If they were connected, it would be different.


    "Anyway, this is what the student council said to me¡­" Kai began exining what happened when he filled the form for the helicopter. All of them listened to him attentively, not leaving any single detail behind.


    It took him a few minutes to exin everything before everyone''smunication device rang at the same time.


    Seeing how they got the notification at the same time made them exchange looks with each other for a few seconds before checking the message.


    Raid Mission: Underground Nest (Canada)


    General in Charge: Nathan Graham


    Mission: Cooperate with the Army and Military School to conquer this Underground Nest. The details will be sentter.


    Michelle sighed after seeing her grandfather''s name, "Haiz, this new year is going to be a special new year."


    Evan was also disappointed with this as he didn''t like participating in this big-scale battle.


    "What can we do now other than preparing?" Kai shrugged as he was already resigned to his fate.


    On the other hand, only Ayaka had a certain determination. She was eager to use this new prowess to help Kai but remembered what Ria Ross said and quickly shook off the thought. She thought, ''I can''t be impatient¡­ I need to be careful.''


    As if he didn''t notice Ayaka''s change of expression, he said, "I''m going to my teacher''s house after the new year, so who wants toe with me? Ayaka muste though."


    "I will follow you," Tasha said while Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "I am curious about the genius who created the Zodiac Power, but I think I will pass. I have another n on that day." Evan shook his head.


    "Sure. All of you then¡­ Somehow I can see what she would say when Ie¡­" Kai shook his head and looked down.


    Kai''s depressed look made Michelle a bit sad, so she decided to change the topic to liven up the mood. "Kai, how about a date tomorrow? There is nothing we need to do after this, so we can have some rxing time once in a while."


    Kai looked up and locked into her eyes for a few seconds before nodding. "Yeah. You are right."


    "I''m the second then." Tasha rolled her eyes away while crossing her arms.


    Ayaka didn''t say anything, but she kept ncing at him, hoping for the same thing.


    On the other hand, Evan whispered to him, "Kai, I have meant to ask you this, but how many women are you going to have?"


    "Eh? I don''t know¡­ though I really don''t want too many." Kai sighed. "How about you?"


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t have attack ability, so if I have too many and those women bullied me, I would be in a bad spot. I will only have one to protect myself." Evan said realistically.


    Kai and Evan locked into each other''s eyes for a few seconds before shrugging.

 Chapter 143 - Nathans Appearance

    After returning to the school, Kai and the others bid their goodbye to Rick before making their way to Sanae.


    Kai did all the reports and submitted it to her within an hour, so they could go home before night came. He also needed to prepare for tomorrow¡­ for the next three days. Luckily, there was much to do for the rest of the year, so he didn''t mind having fun for three days straight before continuing his research.


    Kai even told Evan and Sanae he couldn''te to this room after sses. Evan only shrugged his shoulder as a response while Sanae clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    Michelle, of course, already prepared herself for today. She wore a smooth white sweater with a ck skirt to show the contrast.


    "Let''s go." Michelle smiled.


    "I need to change my clothes first." Kai looked at his school uniform and said.


    "It''s fine. We can get one on our date." Michelle said nonchntly, thinking it wasn''t a big deal to buy clothes just for a day.


    Looking at her smile, Kai somehow couldn''t reject her and nod his head. "Sure."


    Then, they began walking to enjoy the rest of the day. And the ce they first visited was none other than a clothing shop. It was only for Kai to change his uniform though, as they left the shop as soon as he had changed.


    Then they went to a restaurant to discuss what they were going to do today... albeit the talk became derailed after a while.


    "Kai¡­ What is he nning about the Raid Mission? Does he want you to takemand again?" Michelle asked while leaning on the chair.


    "Probably. I can picture a few of my tasks already, but only Sir Nathan can confirm which tasks I will do." Kai paused for a moment before saying, "There is one task that I absolutely need to do¡­"


    "And that is¡­" Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "To make the map for this Underground Nest. It would seem that the nest itself is very big to the point the scout couldn''t explore everything. In that case, I need to make a map so we can see the extent of their nest. I just hope that this cave is not too big." Kai sighed.


    "Can you even draw?" Michelle looked at him dumbfoundedly before making a weird smile.


    "No. If it''s some bad sketch, I can¡­ since my drawing isn''t really that bad. As long as they can differentiate the depth and such, it''s not a problem, I guess?" Kai shrugged while sipping his ice tea.


    "True enough. But the problem is still their number¡­ How many lives do the nest host there?" Michelle asked.


    "I think it won''t be too much of a problem if we are not too deep because we can secure the tunnel. Although the sound would echo like crazy, I wouldn''t let such a thing pass me again." Kai said with a serious expression. He couldn''t help but recall the time where he missed a single centipede in the training session with Ayaka.


    Although one of the reasons for that blunder was because there should be no underground creature, making him lower his guard from underground, it could still be considered as his mistake.


    There was only a serious expression on Michelle. She stayed silent because Kai had told them about that, and she was happy because it was only in a simtion room, not the real world.


    She gave Kai a minute to think about it. He would be like this when he wasn''t satisfied with his efforts, so rather than telling him it wasn''t his fault, she chose to wait.


    Kai noticed that he had thought for a few minutes and left Michelle in suspense. He made a weird smile as he said, "I''m sorry."


    "It''s fine. You can even think more anyway, and I will surely wait for you." Michelle ced her hands on the table while supporting both cheeks, looking at him with a big smile. "Besides, your ability is really going to be useful in this mission¡­ No, I can say that your ability is very useful in general. I am even scared that someone might target you."


    "Haha¡­ I can''t say anything about that." Kai rolled his eyes away, precisely knowing what her meaning was. In fact, not all the people that attacked his family targeted his sister, Tasha. There were some who were after his ability and wanted to train him as a spy. Luckily, Ria Ross''s training was proven to be effective.


    "Anyway, we shouldn''t talk about this on our date. Let''s talk about other things." Michelle grinned.


    Kai shook his head helplessly. He couldn''t win against this girl. "Yeah."


    ...


    The next day passed like yesterday, but with Tasha, not Michelle. However, he was kind of amused when he looked at Tasha. They mighte to a simr ce, but their taste was different. He realized that they might be simr but not the same.


    The date went smoothly like yesterday. Shopping, talking, and having some fun while strolling around. In fact, Tasha preferred walking around and chatting with him to watching movies. There was only a single reason he didn''t like watching movies. They would need to focus on the movie instead of their partner¡­ and this was particrly what Tasha hated.


    On the other hand, when he was with Ayaka, thetter asked more personal questions¡­ though it ended up being the talk about her current fighting style. Kai gave some advice about her current fighting style ording to his observation.


    He felt that Ayaka relied on her spear too much and neglected the speed from Wildebeest Blood, albeit Ayaka said she was fine because Ria Ross already gave some advice on them. Her current fighting style was only to let her get ustomed to her current body abilities.


    After all, Ayaka was slow previously and to ask her to jump around at a fast speed was impossible. It might even be her weakness if she did it recklessly. She asked Kai to wait for her until the new year since she would start using her new fighting style that incorporated her speed, power, and magic.


    Kai nodded and said she could take her time. In the end, they were too invested in talking, and they spent almost the whole day talking in a restaurant. Kaiughed at that part. Ayaka also didn''t regret today''s date. At the very least, she learned many things about herself and him.


    After three days, Kai could finally show up again, albeit Sanae greeted him with annoyance, saying normies and such beforeining about their eight-year gap but didn''t have a man yet. She even said that there was a conspiracy about this, especially when the males had less poption than females.


    Kai and the others were speechless to the point they gave her alcohol to make her drunk. At first, Sanae refused like a proper teacher before finally falling into temptation.


    It was at this time, someone opened the door and came inside. All the people in the room thought it was a teacher or something along the line to check on them. Their faces began to pale because they had stepped on and mine¡­ or at least that was what they thought.


    Kai was sweating profusely as he sat weakly on his couch, but he let out a long breath of relief upon finding who the person was. He had heard the footsteps outside but never expected that it woulde to their room. It was normal for him to think like that after hearing so many footsteps that passed their room for a few months and no one entered.


    Michelle''s body shook while trying hard to wipe the sweat on her forehead. She eximed out loud. "Grandfather!"


    They thought if a teacher came in, they would be doomed, especially Sanae. Sanae might get penalized, and her teacher qualification might get revoked, while they who fed her alcohol might get some lighter punishment.


    Who would ever think that the person in front of them would be the general in charge of the Raid Mission, Michelle''s grandfather? Even Kai couldn''t differentiate who the person was unless they spoke and recognized his voice.


    "Grandfather, what are you doing here? No¡­ let me hit you first!" Michelle corrected herself.


    "My cute granddaughter, I know that your Grandfather likes to joke around, but you still shouldn''t say you want to hit your Grandfather, you know." Nathan looked down with a sad look, appearing like he had been wronged.


    Sadly, the only thing he got was Michelle''s clicking tongue. In his vision, Michelle crossed her arms while staring at him with annoyance. "So, you haven''t exined the reason for you being here."


    Looking at her expression, Nathan knew he couldn''t y a little more. He straightened his back, closed his eyes, and raised his left hand to his mouth like he was going to be serious. "Cough. I have two reasons toe here. First of all¡­ Kai, happy birthday to you. I hope you can give me a great-grandchild as soon as possible."


    "Tha-" Kai wanted to thank her, but he lost his motivation after hearing the second sentence. He took a deep breath and acted as if he didn''t hear that before smiling at Nathan. "Yes, Thanks."


    "Then, what is the second reason?" Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Hmm¡­ I informed you two weeks ago, right?" Nathan looked into her eyes with a yful smile.


    "Informed me two weeks ago?" Her eyebrows twitched as she thought Nathan was ying with her before Kai suddenly recalled the memory of two years ago. He asked, "Is this about the Raid Mission?"


    "As expected of my grandson-inw¡­ That''s right, I want to talk about the Raid Mission, the extermination of Underground Nest in Canada." Nathan nodded before his expression turned serious.

 Chapter 144 - Talk About Raid Mission

    "That''s right. I want to talk about the Raid Mission."


    The aura from his body turned into something else, followed by his expression.


    Kai looked into Nathan''s eyes for a few seconds before stretching his hand toward an empty couch, "How about you sit first, Sir?"


    It was an empty couch no one used before because Michelle or Tasha would sit around him and left that one empty.


    Knowing that this would lead to a lengthy conversation, Nathan walked toward the empty couch and sat down. "My lovely granddaughter, how about making me tea or something?"


    Michelle ignored him and looked away. Tasha obviously had no such intention either while Ayaka didn''t know what to do. On one hand, his advice was really helpful. By directing Ayaka to Ria Ross, it gave her the power to stabilize their entire group. On the other hand, the advice almost took her life in the process.


    Her fingers flinched as she took a step backward before stepping out of this matter. If Michelle didn''t even want to make him something, why should she? It wasn''t like she wanted his attention.


    Nathan shrugged his shoulder to brush away this simple matter before looking at Kai with a serious expression. "So, what are we going to talk about anyway¡­ Hmm, how about you tell me what do you know about the mission first and what do you want to achieve?"


    Kai paused for a moment before telling him the talk with Michelle about the mission, all the things he might do if he was there, and their roles.


    Listening to his strategic thinking made Nathan smile, not because of other things. He liked it because he felt like talking with a veteran.


    "It''s a good thing to know that you have understood your mission." Nathan nodded before pausing for a few seconds. "I want to rify a few things first with you. First is your role in this battle. I want you to be the strategist in this raid."


    "A strategist? Does Sir want me to have the same role as the one I have in the Cuba War? I mean, the original one, not the emergency one." Kai was startled as he stumbled on his words.


    "Yeah. I want you to make the n for this raid after making the rough sketch of the underground map. Don''t worry. I will have someone to draw it better after your rough sketch. However, I want you to understand that we are fighting in aplicated area." Nathan answered, followed by a warning.


    "I know. This is aplicated terrain for us. If we are pushing too deep, we might get surrounded by many creatures. In other words, I need to set up their pace, area clearance, and a few things. We can''t be too fast, but we can''t be too slow either. It''s aplicated n indeed." Kai looked down, weighing all the things he needed to consider.


    Nathan closed his eyes and smiled. This person was a really talented one. He said inwardly, ''No wonder Ria Ross chose him as her student. He has a strong will to survive, can adapt easily, has a talent in both fighting and nning, and, more importantly, his unique hearing and magic. Is this what they mean by talents are attracting each other? He also has my granddaughter, S rank step-sister, Zodiac girlfriend, and another Zodiac as his friend.''


    Thinking at this point, he felt there was no need to worry about the future. Nathan smiled and said, "Yeah. You need to consider all of them before making your perfect n."


    "Still, it should be better to split the army into a small fifty people group tounch such arge scale invasion. Making a few anchor points so the front lines could retreat to a few ces in case they are attacked by many magical beasts. Besides, we can make them change positions and such depending on the front line situation." Kai fell into deep thought.


    Nathan added, "You also need to consider the radio. We can''t use the radio there to avoid the magical beasts from detecting us. Of course, if we make a huge scene, they would also notice us nheless."


    ???Yeah. That''s why the timing is important. If we are too fast, the vanguard might not be able to hold the magical beasts influx."


    "Alright. There is no point in thinking about it now. You have two months for this, so take your time. I will send you the map that our scouts made so that you can create a little n based on that." Nathan nodded.


    "Understood."


    "Well¡­ No need to think that deeply. Although you are the strategist, there are a few talented generals and me to observe your n. Then we can discuss it if we feel the detail is somewhatcking. After all, it''s nice to have more pairs of eyes and brains for this kind of big operation." Nathan assured him with a gentle smile.


    "Yes. I appreciate the gesture. But do you think all the people there will hear me out? After all, I am only a student."


    "Prince Rupert and Cuba. Those two ces have be your trademark and huge record in your career. Of course, the government also wants to see what kind of monster will grow by giving you more opportunities like this. In fact, when I suggest to them about your position, no one raises a singleint." Nathan smirked, recalling the matter a few months ago.


    "Really?" Kai looked at him, still a bit doubtful.


    "Yeah. Besides, I have known a few people there, so there should be noints from them. I can ask them to beat those whoin too by the way." Nathan grinned.


    "I will try my best about this." Kai nodded before ncing at Michelle and the others. "What about the others?"


    "If you are talking about your Lion Group, they are going to move with you. Even though you are our strategist, there should be no problem with you moving around while I am watching the fort. Now that I think about it, you also need to see the qualities of the top 100 groups from the Military Academy and Magic Academy. After all, we are making a big raid with six thousand people in it." Nathan nodded.


    "Yeah. There should be many tunnels underground¡­ And all of them are important. If the magical beasts destroy them and retake the tunnel, it will be dangerous for the whole situation. Especially for the middle group or the back one that is closer to the entrance. If the entrance is blocked, then the people inside will be surrounded." Kai sighed, thinking it would be a chore.


    "Don''t worry. We can have five hundred people as our reserve to prevent that from happening. I am sure the reserve can move before the people get surrounded." Nathan said nonchntly.


    "Yes. I will consider them all before presenting the idea to Teacher. After Teacher acknowledges the n, I will exin it to the army." Kai paused for a second and said.


    "We are going to fight with bugs, so I hope none of you have a fear against them¡­ right?" Nathan narrowed his eyes, looking at everyone''s expression, including Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "Sir Nathan. Why do you look at me? Don''t tell me¡­" Sanae''s face turned pale.


    "You are their teacher, of course, you need to go." Nathan nodded while staring at her with an eye that didn''t ept rejection. "Besides, all teachers in top groups wille as well. So you have friends."


    Sanae wanted to say, ''I just want to chill in the safe area.''


    "Oh, right. Your Friend, Mano Yuki, will also participate in this, so I don''t think you have an excuse not to. Besides, I believe she will invite you soon." Nathan shrugged like he just won the conversation.


    "Well¡­ if you say it like that, I can only go along with the mission. And since Sir Nathan is the one leading it, the mission shouldn''t be too dangerous despite having a greater difficulty." Sanae thought for a moment and said.


    "You can''t say that. Although I am takingmand of this mission, it''s not solely because of Kai. The mission itself has a very high difficulty. Even a thousand of the soldiers there are from my Graham Family. I trust them more than the normal soldiers from the Military. I hope you know the importance of this mission." Nathan narrowed his eyes.


    Sanae looked down for a minute, weighing something in her mind before looking up with a serious expression. "Yes, Sir."


    "Besides, Kai is the strategist of this mission. After finishing the mission, thepensation is great, you know. I believe you can even buy one year''s worth of wine." Nathan teased her.


    "Ehm, I know that I love wine¡­ But I think more rationally when ites to a high difficulty mission like this. The reason I epted the previous mission in Cuba was because I thought it wasn''t that hard. If I knew about the intelligence beasts, I might think it over." Sanae scratched her cheek, wondering if her reputation was already so bad in this new ce.


    Kai and the others chuckled.


    "Alright. That''s all for me. An old man like me shouldn''t bother you. You have time until the end of January where we will start our raid¡­ and don''t forget to go to your teacher before it because she is requesting you. You can even ask her about the n to be honest." Nathan rose from his seat before starting to walk toward the door.


    Kai nodded and bowed to Nathan. "Yes, Sir."


    Nathan nodded and left the room.

 Chapter 145 - On The Way

    *Ding!*


    "We are departing in five minutes. Please sit down on your seat to prevent tripping over when the train starts elerating."


    A train attendant came over and said before turning around and informed the others. Kai looked out the window and watched many people outside, wandering around.


    "We are going to arrive in three hours by train, then take a taxi for thirty minutes before we can arrive at Professor Ria''s house," Michelle said while looking at the pamphlet about the train.


    Kai turned his head to the side and nodded at Michelle before ncing over the person in his front and diagonally.


    "Well, this might be the first time I meet such a person. I never see her and know about her, so I am a little curious." Tasha, in his front, said with a smile, wondering what kind of person that could instill a deep fear inside Kai.


    On the other hand, Ayaka was ying with her hands, specifically her nails. It was easy enough to learn how bothered she was with this. Even so, she was still going to visit her because Kai asked them.


    "Don''t put your hope too high. She is psycho." After replying to Tasha, he turned around and watched the people outside. Michelle and Tasha understood how he actually didn''t want to meet her. In fact, if she didn''t threaten him, it might be a few more years before he could meet her face to face. After all, texting her or chatting on call was different from meeting face-to-face.


    That''s right. It had been almost two months since Nathan visited him.


    December came in an instant. It would seem that Nathan was truly busy with the preparation. Kai''s birthday was supposed to be on 2nd December, but Nathan visited him before that and even congratted him. When his birthday came, there wasn''t a single word from Nathan. Even Michelle''s message had no reply.


    At first, the way he congratted Kai was confusing, but they could somehow understand it after learning his situation.


    Kai asked Michelle''s father, Michael, toe to his house for his birthday. Unfortunately, he only congratted him on a message and said he couldn''t. Only Michelle and the others coulde to his birthday. Surprisingly, Evan also celebrated it together, saying he just didn''t have a good time at home.


    It couldn''t be said as Party since they only ate some home-cooking and then went their separate ways.


    After the birthday, there was nothing important in particr. Ayaka had good progress in her new fighting style. It would seem that in closebat alone, she could already defeat Bapletely. She still had many areas for improvement, but the general issue had been solved, and she could bnce both speed and power.


    Her father and mother also asked her for sparring to see her power. At first, they never expected that Ayaka decided to be a Zodiac. They were clueless about it. When Ayaka said it was a fusion between Human Blood and Magical Beast Blood, their expression distorted, having many thoughts about this.


    However, it was easily solved when Ayaka mentioned Kai''s Zodiac power and identity as the first Zodiac ever created. They couldn''t help but feel relieved that Kai was actually the first. The sole reason was because they were unsure whether their only daughter had be a monster or not. In the end, they decided to leave it to Kai after seeing how attached their daughter was to Kai. Besides, Kai wasn''t actually against the idea.


    Of course, the sparring was still going on. They fought a few times, but as expected from an expert like them. Even though Ayaka had superior physical abilities, they could easily pick up any ws in her fighting style.


    This made Ayaka fired up and improved by leaps and bounds. As a parent, they were certainly happy with this and tried to spend more time with her before eventually fighting her with magic.


    In the end, they said if she had enough experience, perfected her fighting style, tactics and other things, she would easily surpass them and even her grandfather. Kudo Yoshihiro, Ayaka''s father, wanted to say it would be soon. Unfortunately, he wished to see her aim even further, so he refrained himself¡­ especially from saying how proud he was. He didn''t want Ayaka to be proud of this and kept having the need to improve. He kept grinning though whenever he talked about it with Kudo Chiyo, his wife.


    On the other hand, Tasha and Kai didn''t have anything to do other than making a few ns for this raid mission. Tasha''s was Kai''sst trump card, so she needed to be present in this nning session to let her know about her role.


    Tasha was fine with it and quickly put down her research. She listened to Kai and gave a few suggestions based on the ns, creating a better n than they expected.


    They continued brainstorming the ideas while asking Shirotsuka Sanae for inputs. She was astonished to see the high-level n they were asking, especially when the requirement of timing and other things. It was hard to pull this n off without coordination from each group, but it would seem they would seed.


    The only question she had in mind was how to exin thisplicated n by using a simplemand. This was the homework that Sanae gave to them. Kai and Tasha could understand that if they used aplicated exnation, there might be some misunderstanding in the execution, so they started working in that area.


    Evan didn''t have any change. He was always busy with hisputer while Kai and the others didn''t want to disturb him.


    Meanwhile, Michelle once flew back home to ask her grandfather for more exnation about the raid mission. Unfortunately, she couldn''t find her grandfather, and her two uncles couldn''t help her much with it. She ended up going to Michael, but no avail. Thetter kept saying he didn''t know anything and asked her to wait until the official order.


    Michelle keptining out of frustration and ming Nathan and Michael the whole time. She just wanted to y her part as the girl of the strategist of this mission. Unfortunately, she couldn''t help with anything.


    Kai said it was fine, but she still med herself. In the end, Michelle did some practice with her shadow again, forgetting about this problem.


    And before long, the New Year finally arrived. They celebrated the new year with their family, except Michelle, who was left behind by her family because of this reason. Kai asked her to celebrate it with his family instead and she agreed. His mother was thrilled with this and had a great time with Michelle and Tasha.


    Two weeks after the new year, Kai needed to visit his teacher. Reluctant as he may, he could only drag his ass over because there was no telling what kind of absurd thing she would do in case he didn''te. Knowing Ria Ross''s personality, it would only be a matter of time to blow the matter up.


    Kai let out a long sigh while watching the people outside. He felt a slight push to the back as the train started moving. The scenery started to move as the train left the station.


    "Kai, your teacher wants to give you something, right? What do you think about it? What kind of item does she want to give you?" Michelle asked while ncing at him, observing his expression.


    "I don''t know. Knowing her personality, there are unlimited possibilities to be considered." Kai shrugged.


    "Really? Maybe she wants to give you the Vibration Sword? After perfecting the design, she should be able to give the perfect Vibration Sword for you." Michelle said with a smile.


    "That''s good then. With the Vibration Sword, I would have higher confidence in this Raid Mission. Besides, asking her some questions about the n will also give us a greater chance of survival." Kai nodded in agreement.


    "Still, do you think it''s really only Vibration Sword? I mean, she gave it to me a few months ago so I could deliver it to you. If this time she only has a Vibration Sword, why doesn''t she give it to me like the previous time?" Michelle looked up while crossing her arms, thinking of the real reason.


    "Oh, right. She said he would regret it if he doesn''te. I wonder what kind of item she will give to make her say that." Tasha was also curious.


    "When I stayed at Professor''s ce, she often smiled weirdly when talking about you. Maybe it''s rted to that." Ayaka said while recalling the scene back then.


    Kai sweatdropped while staring at her with a dumbfounded face. "Don''t tell a scary story."


    "It''s not a scary story though¡­" Ayaka muttered but understood where he wasing from.


    Three hourster, they arrived and quickly searched for a taxi.


    After half an hour, Kai arrived at the rundown house Ayaka visited a few months ago. In fact, he received her address from Ayaka, not her. Although he was a bit reluctant, he gritted his teeth and opened the taxi door.


    The others followed him from behind as he walked toward the house''s bell and pressed the button.


    Surprisingly, unlike Ayaka''s case, it only took her a second to open the door.


    *ck!*


    A woman opened the door with a happy expression. This was the same woman that Ayaka met a few months ago, but this time, she had a brighter expression. She made a little smile and put her hands inside the whiteboratory robe''s pockets and said, "Yo, my beloved student. You have finallye."

 Chapter 146 - Vibration Sword

    "Yo, my beloved student. You have finallye."


    Seeing the familiar face that had instilled a trauma into him, Kai''s face distorted a little bit. With a normal expression, Ria Ross pushed the door wider and waited until Kai regained his calm before saying, "Come on, you brat. I didn''t teach you to have that kind of expression."


    Kai took a deep breath before he said with difficulty. "Nice to meet you again, Teacher. It''s been a few years."


    "A few years? It''s been ten years, six months, fifteen days, and twenty-three minutes." Ria Ross snorted. "By the way, the timing is when Ist saw you at the Airport a decade ago."


    "You even know the exact time¡­" Kai sweated profusely, trying hard to control his calm expression.


    "Haha¡­" Sheughed out loud before taking a look at Michelle and the others. "Hmm¡­ You even bring the Shadow Princess, Space Girl, and Little Aries."


    "Space Girl?" Tasha opened her mouth in surprise, not knowing where the nickname came from.


    "Little Aries¡­" Ayaka twitched a little bit as she had been calling her with that name after finishing the operation.


    Meanwhile, Michelle didn''t have a change of expression because many people in school called her that.


    "Anyway,e in first." After pushing the door wide open, Ria Ross walked inside while waving her hand to ask them toe.


    Kai took the first step inside, following Ria Ross to her study room, where Ayaka asked her to make her a zodiac.


    "Wee to my house and also, happy birthday, Kai." Ria sat down on her chair as she greeted them once again. "As you have seen, this is my study room."


    "Uhm." Kai thought for a moment and said, "Why do you call me here?"


    "Haha¡­ Why do you ask that question? Do you want to go back now?" Ria ced her hand on the table before supporting her chin.


    "No¡­" Kai nced left and right, not knowing what to answer. He took a deep breath and looked at her with a serious expression. "I mean, Teacher isn''t someone who suddenly asks me like that. I think Teacher has something important and wants me to see it."


    Michelle and the others didn''t let out a single sound and watched how their conversation unfolded. Only Michelle knew that Kai actually overcame his trauma a few years ago because he knew everything she did would consider him first. If not, she already continued the Zodiac project instead of giving it to the government. However, Kai didn''t act with confidence because no matter what he did, Ria always outsmarted him. No one would be happy when they always lost unless they were a masochist.


    "You are right. I have a few things to tell¡­ just like the reason youe here." Ria Ross proved Michelle''s thought once again. "Let see, you areing here¡­ first is for that girl, little Aries. The second reason would be the uing Raid Mission in Canada. The third is to fight me again."


    "Everything except the third reason is right." Kai closed his eyes and shook his head helplessly.


    "Hahaha¡­ I let my intention slip." Ria Ross fixed her grey hair while grinning.


    "You are purposely letting it slip."


    "Haiz. This is my fault to teach you not to leave small details¡­ you are picking it on me right now." Ria sighed in defeat.


    "Teacher, We have enough of your jokes." Kai scratched his cheek, putting a weird smile.


    "Fine." Ria shrugged before turning around and reaching a long briefcase behind her seat. Sheid the case on top of her table before opening it.


    "!!!" Four of them were amazed as soon as they found out the thing inside the case. It was a pair of swords they saw a few months ago.


    The ck handle with a few white straps to soften the contact with the hands. The sword had two colors: ck as the base color and a green pattern like Kai''s magic circle. One spot stood out the most. Right above the handle was a spherical metal. It looked like a ss made of metal while the inside was empty.


    Ria looked at the swords first before exining, "I have remodeled ording to your problem. Thanks to the concept of little Aries, I only need to search for a metal that wouldn''t break because of the vibration."


    "Ah. It''s Teacher''s specialty." Kai nodded with a smile.


    "Specialty?" Ayaka was the most curious one about this. She had stayed inside this house but knew nothing about it.


    "Teacher, what kind of training do you actually give?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, not expecting Ayaka not to know Ria''s magic.


    "Hmm¡­ I only taught her Martial Arts to refine her fighting style. She¡­ I don''t use my magic at all." She shrugged.


    Ayaka looked down, ashamed, andmented, "Professor Ria. You don''t need to mind talking about me. You can just say I am too weak for you to use your magic. You don''t even use your hand."


    Kai stared at Ayaka for a few seconds, knowing how she felt. In fact, he could only make her use her hand after four months of continuous fighting. Kai exined, "She is A rank Earth Magician. However, she somehow managed to evolve her magic like Michelle''s Dark Magic into Shadow Magic. So, her magic now is Metal Magic. In fact, Michelle got the inspiration of Shadow Magic from her."


    "Yeah. It was after you became a Zodiac. I thought about getting stronger and somehow stumbled at her ce." Michelle nodded. Ayaka was astonished to hear this, while Ria Ross looked annoyed.


    "Enough about that talk! Take a look at the body of the sword first¡­ I havebined a few metals and made it durable to work under high vibration. It''s not really hard to make this because there is already a record of this from the previous era. The problem would be this spherical thing that will hold your vibration." She pointed at the spherical spot.


    Kai and the others observed the spot. "How much vibration can this take on?"


    "I used the Supersonic de video as my reference. The wave can vibrate the de twenty thousand to forty thousand times per second. It''s only used in bakeries though. This one can handle one hundred thousand to one hundred fifty thousand vibrations per second. The sphere was very brittle previously and kept breaking. It only stopped breaking after I changed the metal into the hardest one that I could synthesize."


    Kai nodded before taking out the sword from the case. "Can I test it, Teacher?"


    "Sure. Just get a bit farther away, since this is a double-edged weapon." Ria Ross nodded before pointing at an empty space in the corner. "You can try to swing it around in that ce."


    Kai nced at the empty spot, nodded, and walked there. He made a few swings and said his experience. "The weight is the same as my previous sword, and the length is also simr. The sphere is disturbing me a little, but there should be no problem in the performance. I just need some little adjustment."


    "Sure. There should be no problem with the design. How about you activate the vibration?"


    Kai nodded and created a magic circle that enveloped the sphere. This spherical magic circle was to reflect the soundpletely, so it would keep crashing to the metal and let the sword vibrate.


    Kai waited for a while to let the sword vibrate. Although he couldn''t pinpoint it, it looked like the sword was vibrating one hundred thousand times per second. There wasn''t a change in the sword''s appearance because it vibrated at speed high enough to be not visible with naked eyes.


    "Cut this one." Ria threw a wooden log at him.


    Without hesitating, Kai shed the wooden log. Surprisingly, it had no resistance from the sword as it was sliced into two by his sword.


    Ria didn''t stop there. She quickly grabbed a piece of metal and threw it. "This one next."


    Kai sliced the metal once again.


    *ng!*


    Surprisingly, a metal clicking sound echoed across the entire room even though the metal was sliced into two.


    "How is it, Kai?"


    "There is a resistance from the metal for a split second and takes away a portion of the vibration."


    "Hmm¡­ As expected. This is why we separate fantasy and science." Ria let out a long sigh.


    "Yeah. It can coexist, but it wouldn''t be the same as our expectation." Kai nodded.


    Michelle and the others were confused by their conversation but kept their silence until Ria exined it. "There are a few problems in this Vibration Magic. The first problem will be science itself. People tend to think it will be an overpowered weapon. Yet, in reality, we need the material that can stand the vibration. And another one is the resistance he felt earlier, he will need to keep pumping the sound to create more vibration. In other words, the fantasy story has been broken by this science.


    "The second problem is about the design. It''s hard enough to make a design that can stand a high amount of vibrations. You can''t even see the sword vibrating because it''s vibrating very quickly. And there is this shock breaker, so the vibration doesn''t flow to the handle and the user. It took me three years just to design this.


    "After that, the sharpness. It indeed increases the sharpness but not at the level it can cut through anything. The metal I threw at Kai was a brittle metal, and it already gave a resistance. If it were a hard magical beast''s shell or a harder metal, he might not be able to cut it. Of course, he can just increase the amount of vibration, but ites back to the first problem. The conclusion is this Vibration is good but not overpowered¡­ Such a shame." Ria Ross shook her head in disappointment.

 Chapter 147 - Birthday Present

    The disappointment of the professor affected Kai also. They could somehow understand the reason after the exnation. It could be said that the reality was different than the expectation, or at least, it wasn''t possible to reach the expectation yet in this era and technology.


    "Anyway, you already have an increase in sharpness. I have seen the report about you fighting the turtle that led you to change with Michelle. With this Vibration Sword, you should be able to cut its shell¡­ probably." Ria shrugged and rose from her seat, walking toward an alchemy table with many kinds of tubes containing weird colored fluid.


    Kai followed her movement and made a weird expression when she walked back and brought one of the tubes.


    "And this is my real birthday present for you." Ria shoved a tube containing a blue liquid to Kai''s hand.


    "This is¡­" Kai looked at the small tube in his hand and furrowed his eyebrows, as he knew it was for him from the moment she picked it up.


    "This is what I have promised you back then." Ria smiled.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Kai gasped while staring at Ria with a dumbfounded face. "You have finished it?"


    "Hmph. Who do you think I am? As I said a few years ago, I will do my best for my only student." Ria made a smug smile.


    "Uhm, Thank you very much, Teacher." Kai bowed his head out of habit.


    "Although it has been sessfully created, I need to test it first." Ria waved her hand, telling him not to thank her yet.


    "You are right. I was too excited earlier." Kai took a deep breath. "We need to test it first. How do we use it, Teacher? Knowing your skill, I am fine to be the experiment subject."


    "It''s not an experimental subject. The first and thest thing I said to you as an experiment subject was when I injected the lion blood inside you. I have already done the necessary experiment, and I just want to see the effect¡­"


    "Yeah¡­" Kai nodded with a smile before asking, "So, what should I do? How do I use it?"


    Ria paused for a few seconds and said.


    "First of all¡­ Strip!"


    "Eh?" Kai blinked a few times, wondering if he heard it right. "Strip?"


    "Ah. I used the wrong word." Ria waved her hand, apologizing to him.


    "Right?" Kai nodded, followed by weird smiles from the others.


    "I don''t want you to strip, I want you to ejacte and give me your sperm!" Ria Ross finally corrected herself, albeit the correct one invited more misunderstanding.


    Kai''s face distorted as all the gratitudes he had on her vanished in a split second. "I''m leaving."


    "Oi oi. I really want your sperm to see whether the medicine is effective or not. This is the reason why you never do the deed, right?" Ria quickly shouted as she looked Kai walk away.


    Kai halted his steps before turning around with an annoyed face.


    "What do you mean?" Ayaka was stupefied, confused with this discussion.


    Michelle and Tasha exchanged looks and made a weird smile because they knew the reason.


    Ria turned to Ayaka and started exining. "I didn''t tell you this from the beginning, because the medicine is ready. But the magical beast blood is far superior to you think. Their gene will be carried into your child. That''s why Kai doesn''t want to do that. Even if you use a condom or something, there is still a chance to make a child."


    Kai rolled his eyes before saying, "It was five years ago when you said this to me."


    "Haha¡­ At least, I have solved this problem already. I want to have thest check of your sperm to make sure it''s effective. Anyway, I should continue talking about the risk. When a child is born with one or both parents being zodiac, the child will carry the gene of the magical beast(s). However, you need to know this is a reality, not a fantasy.


    "Like Kai''s Vibration Sword, the child might have some animal features, but it won''t be like cat ears or tail. It would be worse like fur¡­ Maybe your child will be covered with furs, or they might have paws instead of hands. When that timees, will you be able to say you love the kid? It''s easy to say you will love them, but it will take a lot of determination to fulfill that love. At that time, your kid might even be hated by others." Ria closed her eyes and sighed. "I should stop here."


    Kai looked at the medicine in his hand before asking, "This medicine can make the animal gene dormant, right?"


    "Yeah. Though your partner also needs to take another medicine. The medicine will kill only the animal gene. For now, I only have medicine to kill the Lion gene, and each zodiac will need some tweaking to match their blood. In other words, Aries can''t do the deed for the time being, but the other two can." Ria said nonchntly.


    "I see. How about the rest? Like Pisces and Sagittarius?" Kai asked.


    "They are the same as you right now. Anyway, rather than talking about them, I need to talk about Ayaka first." Ria''s expression turned serious as she called Ayaka by her name rather than her nickname. "The situation is moreplicated on the female side, especially when you decide to have a kid. The gene might have been eliminated in the first phase. However, they need to take a daily nutrient for the baby, and the gene might alsoe along with that time. That''s why if you want to conceive a child, you need another medicine to make the magical beast gene dormant for at least a year."


    Ayaka gasped as she never thought that far. She nced at Kai''s expression, wondering if he was mad because she turned into a zodiac or that?


    Kai nodded and let out a relieved sigh. "I see. Teacher has everything covered."


    "Of course. I needed to think that as well before I turned her into a zodiac." Ria snorted.


    "Anyway, you can put your luggage here and stay for a few days. We can have thest test for the medicine before I give you a go." Ria smirked. "Hehe¡­ Little Virgin Boy."


    Kai stared at her and let her say whatever she wanted only because of the medicine.


    "So, do you want to test the medicine first? Or finish our talk first?" Ria asked.


    Kai pondered for a moment before saying, "Let''s talk first. There are many things that we need to talk about."


    "Sure. First of all, I want to know more about my student. What kind of magic are you researching right now?"


    "Sound Levitation." Kai simply said the topic.


    "Oh. That one is a pretty cool concept, but how is your ear?" Ria Ross only thought for a few seconds before she found out the weakness of the concept.


    "It might be possible with Sound Instion Magic, but if I use it continuously just to float in the air and observe my enemies, it''s better to use my ears more than my eyes." Kai shrugged. "Though I admit, if I can move freely in the sky, it will be pretty useful."


    "Move freely? Do you mean flying?" Ria asked.


    "Yeah."


    Ria looked down for a while before saying, "I can''t really help you with Sound Concept since those ears are the only ones that can help you to understand the sound."


    "Thanks. This Vibration Sword alone is enough for the time being. As for the Sound Levitation, we will see itter." Kai nodded. "How about we talk about the things I want to ask?"


    "Right. We have finished the vibration sword, the medicine, and your magic. Now we should talk about that." Ria nodded. "As you know that my research is rted to you, so all the animals in this will be rted to strength, speed, instinct, and eyes. These are the four abilities you received from the lion blood."


    "Yeah. The eyes don''t really stand out that much though. It only makes my eyes a bit better than normal humans. It was far below eagle eyes even though Lion has pretty good eyesight," said Kai while crossing his arms.


    "Indeed. Ayaka has received the Wildebeest, which symbolizes speed and Leafcutter Ant, which symbolize strength. And the animal instincts mixed together into one entity. Thus I give her the name of Aries." Ria exined. "I still need to register her identity as a zodiac to the government, so they can give some power with that identity."


    "Thank you, Teacher." Kai bowed his head.


    "You better thank me. How about fighting me after this? I want to see your progress after a decade? Listening to your achievement on the battlefield makes me curious about your current prowess, you don''t mind, right?" Ria Ross smiled, revealing her real intention once again.


    He became speechless and looked down.


    "Don''t worry. We will only have one match, not a hundred matches."


    With the assurance from Ria, Kai finally nodded. "Alright. As long as it''s only one match."


    Michelle and Tasha were astonished while Ayaka was eager to see Kai''s real prowess. All of them were looking forward to the fight.


    "Let''s talk about the raid mission then. I''m sure you have gotten a pretty clear n as my disciple, right? How about you show me right now?" Ria smirked, changing the topic and nning to tease him about his n.


    Kai gulped down before walking toward her. "Fine."


    "I hope you don''t disappoint me too much, my beloved student."


    The bar had been set as Kai handed her a few papers and began talking. "Alright. First of all, we are going to talk about¡­"


    Kai began his exnation.

 Chapter 148 - SS Rank Magical Beast

    "... That''s my n. Does Teacher have any suggestions?" Kai finally finished his thirty minutes long exnation. In the meantime, not a single word was spoken either from Ria and other girls.


    "Suggestion? Nah, I don''t want to give you suggestions for this mission because it''s just an easy way for you. Instead, I will give you some homework, so you will know what you are missing and search for the answer yourself." She shook her head and answered calmly.


    "Alright. This is Teacher''s style of teaching anyway." Kai nodded. "There should be one and a half weeks before the mission. Maybe I will stay here for one or two days and work on it after I get back."


    "In that case, I will give you the assignmentter." Ria nodded, leaned back to the chair and closed her eyes, formting a few questions and writing it down.


    Suddenly, Kai broke his silence with an unexpected question.


    "By the way, Teacher¡­ I almost forgot to ask this, but I need to ask you this. What is SS rank magical beast?" Kai asked.


    Ria opened her mouth in surprise while her face appeared a shocked expression. Her hand slipped out of the table, but she didn''t fall because her other hand held onto her chair.


    Michelle and the others had a confused expression before it turned into a shocked one. They couldn''t understand why a person like Ria, who had been in control this entire time, suddenly had such an expression.


    "SS Rank magical beast?" Michelle had a distorted face while she asked. She never heard such a term before, so this clearly shocked her. If Kai asked such a question, it would mean he already knew such an existence. The problem would be what kind of existence an SS rank magical beast was?


    Ayaka and Tasha couldn''t help but recall the S rank magical beast they met in Russia, the Snake God. Recalling such a beast made them think of how puny their existences were. And to think there was another existence beyond that snake¡­


    *Gasp-!* Ayaka closed her mouth with her hand while Tasha looked at Kai with the sweat beginning to appear on her forehead. "What do you mean, Kai? The highest should be an S rank magical beast, right?"


    "Teacher, can you answer that question? When I asked Sir Nathan, he said to ask you." Kai asked with a grim expression. Seeing her reaction already let him know that she had some knowledge about it.


    "That Nathan? I really shoulde and beat him up for good." Ria bit her lips while mming her table. A few secondster, she suddenly looked up with another shocked expression. "Wait¡­ if you are asking me that question, it would mean you have known about ''That,'' right?"


    Kai looked around and nodded his head. "Yeah. Teacher is right."


    "Haiz. I should have predicted that you will ask that question after the battle in Cuba. I have miscalcted that Nathan would exin it to you and asked the other one to me. With your ears, you should know about ???that'' on the battlefield¡­ Wait. Now that I think about it, the report isn''t correct. The reason for the battle wasn''t numerous magical beasts. Instead, it should be that."


    "Why does the teacher ask? Isn''t it in the report with your rank?" Kai asked with a confused expression.


    "That old man was ying with his life." She narrowed her eyes and released killing intents.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do you think that old man would send you into a mission like that without my permission? No. He needs to ask my permission first. I agreed with him because of his proposal about his n and asked him to give me the reportter. It seems I can''t trust that old man anymore. Fine then." Ria was seriously pissed about it.


    "So¡­ Can Teacher answer my question?" Kai looked at Michelle and the others before turning back to Ria.


    "Two S rank magicians and a Zodiac¡­ They indeed have a rank to ess more information. However, I can only tell you about the SS rank magical beast, not that unless you ask me individually. It''s only because of my identity you can enjoy that kind of rank after all." She shrugged.


    "Yeah. That''s fine."


    "SS rank magical beast is¡­" Ria paused for a moment, staring at Kai for a minute.


    "Teacher, what is it? The suspense is too long, you know." Kai made a weird expression while his fingers were twitching because he didn''t know what she was thinking.


    "I have given you the answer." Ria merely answered with a simple but meaningful line.


    Kai fell into silence and looked down, weighing something in his mind. ''She has given me the answer? Is she ying around because Sir Nathan lied on the report? No, Teacher wouldn''t direct that anger at me¡­ Then, she must have answered my question, but there is no word that describes it¡­ Wait, word?''


    He looked up and stared back as he realized the answer. "Teacher, don''t tell me¡­"


    "Oh, you are quick to catch on," Ria smirked proudly.


    "What is the answer?" Tasha furrowed her eyebrows while Ayaka crossed her arms. Both of them began thinking about the answer. On the other hand, Michelle gasped before unconsciously muttering, "Kai? The SS rank magical beast is Kai?"


    "!!!" Tasha and Ayaka came into a realization as they looked back at Ria to check the answer.


    "That''s right. I am staring at an SS rank magical beast¡­" Ria nced at Ayaka for a few seconds to strengthen her point. "The SS rank magical beast is the Zodiacs, which means Leo, Aries, Pisces, Sagittarius, and Taurus."


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh. "I see. Sir Nathan didn''t want to talk about it because Teacher would be the best person to answer this question."


    "Yeah. Don''t worry. Even if the whole world treats you as a magical beast, I will just destroy the world together with the magical beasts." She shrugged. "As long as I am alive, no one in this base will mistreat you.


    "Then, when I pass away, you will be able to fend them off by yourself. Besides, with the medicine, your children won''t bring the curse of their parents. Though I can''t say anything if the government creates more zodiacs. At the very least, the ones that I care about will be fine." Ria smiled gently, treating Kai like her own child.


    "Thank you, Teacher." Kai was moved.


    She wanted to enjoy this kind of mood, but couldn''t. Her expression turned serious again as she said, "There is also another kind of SS rank magical beasts out there."


    "Eh? Do you mean someone from the Europe Union Base? There is a zodiac in that ce, right?" Kai asked.


    "No. I''m not talking about that." Ria shook her head with a grim expression. "I am talking about the failed experiments."


    "Failed experiments?" Kai frowned before releasing his killing intents. This was the exact reason why Kai asked Ria to stop the Zodiac after him.


    "It was only after they kicked me out of the project. They tested on a bunch of the people and turned them into half-beast half-human. As I said earlier, it wasn''t like the movie. Instead, their appearances were¡­ horrendous. Most of those who survived were locked inside a cell, so they could get more data¡­ but after a certain ident, all the failed experiments managed to escape from that ce and scattered around the continent. No one knew about their locations, and the government couldn''t do anything."


    "Is it fine to talk about it to us?" Michelle, who knew about the rank and ssified information well-enough, asked.


    "It''s considered the same topic, so don''t worry." Ria brushed her anxiety away with a single sentence. "Anyway, the animal genes in their body already dominated their human genes¡­ so the magical beasts treat them as their own and don''t attack them at all. If you met them, can you kill them for me? After all, the failure part came from my own experiment."


    "It''s the government fault, not you. With your experiment, I could live, so I am not ming you, Teacher." Kai smiled gently. Looking at her ashamed expression made him want to change the topic. He let out a long sigh first before he asked, "That''s right. You want to fight me, right? How about we do it now?"


    Ria stared at him for a few seconds before smiling. "Yeah. We should. The rest of you may watch our match. I am sure it will be beneficial for you."


    Kai took the first step toward the door before Ria passed him and guided them to the battle room.


    All of them entered the practice room where Ayaka trained with Ria. This was the battle between a teacher and a student, no one would actually interfere.


    Kai nced at Ria, who already entered the simtion tube, waiting for him inside the stage she had prepared. Michelle and the others stopped not far from Kai before their attention was taken away by the screen above the simtion tube. They saw Ria Ross with her poker face appear in a in white room, waiting for Kai to arrive.


    Knowing that he had made her wait, Kai quickly entered the simtion tube and entered the white room. The room was quite big, considering it was a 50x50 meters room.


    "Are we going to fight here?" Kai asked while looking around the room.


    "Yeah." She nodded while stretching her palm toward him before pulling it back again mysteriously. "I have inputted the data of your Vibration Sword, so you can call the swords here."


    Kai nodded with a serious expression, closed his eyes, and imagined a pair of swords from earlier. A secondter, they appeared right in front of him. He took both of them and swung it a couple of times to check if they were the same swords.


    "How is it? It''s the same, right?" Ria asked while inserting her hands on herboratory white coat''s pockets.


    "Yeah. There''s no problem." Kai nodded before rxing every muscle in his hands and pointing his swords against his teacher. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening it again. However, his eyes were not the same anymore. The eyes turned into sharp yellow eyes, releasing killing intents.


    "The time limit is thirty minutes. If no one is defeated by that time, it''s your win." Ria Ross said and stomped the ground with her right foot. A greenish silver magic circle appeared on the ground before a white sword slowly emerged from within. The sword length was the same as Kai''s, but without any decorations, as it was made of magic. "Start!"


    As soon as Ria shouted, both of them leaped forward and shed their swords against each other.


    *nk!*


    The clicking sound of metals was the starting sign of this great battle.

 Chapter 149 - Kai Vs Ria (Part 1)

    *nk!*


    Kai and Ria shed their swords against each other in the middle of the room.


    A magic circle appeared on her hand, pouring the magic power into her right hand. On the other hand, Kai pushed her back with his strength. Even Ria would lose in terms of strength.


    "Heh. You can control your strength now? Back then, you broke every single thing you touched because you couldn''t control it¡­ You even needed to lie to your parents for a week-long school trip. I used my status there to have the school make a fake letter to your parents." Ria smirked, taunting Kai. She jumped backward before looking at her hand, feeling Kai''s strength.


    Kai wasn''t flustered, hearing every embarrassing thing he did a decade ago. Instead, he smiled and said, "Said a person who killed a kid eleven thousand times. You shouldn''t be known as a genius, but a kid killer."


    "Heh. I just want the best for you, my beloved student. Look, taunting me is the same as asking me to kill you. But seeing you are brave enough to provoke me is the proof that my training is a sess." She smiled before leaping toward him again.


    It only took a single look for Kai to realize that she was faking the attack. He shed his sword right in front of her face while preparing for another change.


    As Kai predicted, she continued her swing toward Kai''s neck before leaping right above Kai and swung her sword directly at the back of his head.


    Kai merely smiled upon seeing this. He turned his wrist and swung the sword in apletely different direction. Knowing how hard it was to kill her in a single strike, Kai was nning to take one of her legs first. Meanwhile, his other sword went toward the back of his head, protecting his head from her sword.


    Just like how he predicted her, she also predicted him.


    ''Got her!'' As soon as he thought that, Kai heard another sound


    *Rumble!* *Rumble!*


    ''Tch. She read me.'' Kai thought after pinpointing the exact location of the sound. He gritted his teeth and shifted his sword again, but it was a bitte.


    A sword with the same appearance as the white sword in Ria''s hand appeared from the ground. It punctured out of the ground and flew toward Kai''s right hand.


    He pulled back his hand, but the sword still grazed his upper arm before it stuck on the ceiling. Kai gritted his teeth and leaped forward, making a distance to Ria.


    "Hehe¡­ Why don''t you continue? You can get one of my legs earlier." Ria smirked and teased him after escaping unscathed.


    "For what price? Your sword will cut my hand if I truly attack you. You can just rece your foot with a sword¡­ though it may not be as best as moving with a real foot, it might only decrease ten percent of your prowess. But for me? I will need to fight you with only one hand. I will be far at a disadvantage." Kai snorted.


    He exined his train of thought from earlier honestly and made Ria smile. "The 7 years old you will continue though."


    "That''s when I didn''t have any experience. I only believed that I would be satisfied if I could get one of your feet. However, I am not satisfied with only that." Kai took a deep breath before releasing his killing intent once more. "I am fully intended to bring you down this time."


    "Hoh, are you sure you can do that?" Ria pointed her finger at Kai''s wound and said, "That wound is already a point for me."


    Kai took a deep breath, ignoring her words. He looked at his own teacher like his mortal enemy and his prey as to release a stronger killing intent as well as an animal instinct from his body. A magic circle appeared and enveloped the two spheres of his swords. "Vibration Sword."


    "You are using it already?" As soon as she uttered those words, she jumped forward and struck Kai''s swords a few times. "Do you think I will let you?"


    Kai didn''t say anything and kept backing away despite getting struck by Ria. Her aim was to disrupt the vibration to prevent Kai from activating it. After all, even her sword wouldn''t be able to handle Kai''s vibration swords.


    It was after chasing him around for a few minutes, Kai finally made a counter-attack. Kai said with a smile, "It''s my trump card. How can I use it so early?"


    "!!!" Ria Ross looked at Kai, specifically his finger in which a green magic circle appeared. She gritted her teeth and thought, ''Sound Attack!''


    She quickly created a magic circle on her ears. Although it wasn''t as effective as Kai''s magic, it was better than nothing. Yet, despite her efforts, Kai already finished his magic before her. He snapped his finger while covering his ears with Sound Instion magic. "Luby!"


    *Ding!*


    The loud sound echoed inside the room. Although she had many connections in United Asia, she didn''t know Kai''s magic at all. Hearing this loud noise made her head in pain. The two magic circles on her ears gradually disappeared. Even her sword started deforming as it was purely made out of magic, showing that she lost control of her own magic.


    Kai took advantage of that split second confusion to fully activate his Vibration Sword and swing it at his teacher.


    In the midst of pain, Ria Ross still retained her ability to think and parried Kai''s attack with her deformed sword.


    Unfortunately, Kai''s Vibration Sword was far better. The sh that also contained his extraordinary strength shattered Ria''s sword and made its way toward her neck.


    ''Got her!''


    The moment he thought that, a magic circle appeared on Ria''s cheek before a small sword rose. The sword looked like a fork, and its only purpose was to block Kai''s attack.


    Kai snorted at her, knowing it was futile since that metal wouldn''t be able to block this attack. At the same time, a magic circle appeared below Kai''s feet as another sword appeared. Unlike before when he didn''t have Sound Instion magic covering his ears, he couldn''t hear the swording.


    The sword flew at high speed, nning to pierce Kai''s head. Only after it almost struck him, Kai''s animal instinct sensed it. He tilted his head to the side to avoid the sword, but it was toote. The sword grazed him from his right cheek running to the right side of his forehead without running through his eyes.


    Not wanting to be outdone, Kai finished his swing.


    *ng!*


    Kai felt a bit of restriction on the small fork on Ria''s cheek, but it was easily cuttable. Little did he know, the actual purpose of the small weapon wasn''t to stop his attack. Instead, she used the little restriction it gave to force her head to move downward. She had proved such a thing was possible after knowing about the restriction and used it right after learning it from Kai. It only cut the upper section of the fork.


    Even so, the flying piece of the fork grazed at the same spot as Kai. Both of them jumped backward at the same time as the sound stopped echoing.


    Kai released his Sound Instion magic while Ria took a deep breath. Her cheek was inted like she was munching something, but after two seconds, she spat a teeth to the ground.


    "You outsmarted me for a second. It''s truly good to take a moment of pain to deal a deathly blow, but it won''t go so well if the opponent knows about your Sound Ability. Using the knowledge about the Sound Instion magic, I sent an attack from your blind spot." Riamented calmly after spitting the teeth.


    "I understand. I was too rushed earlier. If I built up the trap a little bit, I should be able to take you down." Kai sighed.


    "Nah. If it were the same movement, you would probably only take my ear, not more. Besides, my cheek is still aching right now because of your attack." Riained beforeplimenting him. "Though I can see how much improvement you made in a decade. I could say that I am proud of you."


    "You are still a barrier that I need to ovee before I can climb higher." Kai shook his head.


    "You are 27 years too early for that." Riaughed.


    "Please don''t say the difference between our age. It sounds too realistic." Kai made a weird expression. However, hearing it made it obvious that Ria treated him as an equal in talent and magic.


    "You are right. Then I should say the generic one. You are ten years too early¡­ Nah, sounds bad. Fine, you can surpass me in five years." Ria shrugged.


    "If it''s in closebat, I also believe so. But your fighting style is more suited to fighting magical beasts than humans¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes, not taking thepliment.


    "Haha¡­ You are right. Maybe I should take this one more seriously?" She grinned.


    Outside, Ayaka looked confused, not understanding Kai''s words. She muttered, "What did he mean by more suited to fighting magical beasts?"


    Michelle let out a long sigh after listening to her question. She answered with another question, "What do you think her title is?"


    "Eh?" Ayaka tilted her head in confusion and thought about her fighting skill. Hence, she said with an unsure tone, "Genius Fighter?"


    "Mad Scientist." Tasha was also interested in this matter and answered.


    Michelle shook her head with a helpless smile. "She was known as a woman loved by the swords."


    "What do-" Ayaka wanted to ask but saw Michelle point her finger at the screen.


    There, they could see a huge silver magic circle covering a fifth of the ceiling before a few tens of swords appeared and were ready to shower Kai with love.

 Chapter 150 - Kai Vs Ria Last Part

    Kai looked at the magic circle and took a deep breath, knowing the battle would be harder from now on. This magic circle felt familiar for him, making him think about the past. He gulped down, pointed his sword both at Ria as well as her magic circle, and murmured something almost soundlessly.


    Soon after, he pretended to close his eyes to focus on his hearing. In reality, he was baiting her to make the first move.


    "Sword Incarnation." Ria Ross smirked as she activated the magic circle on the ceiling. However, none of the swords actually flew toward Kai. Instead, she was the one who charged at him, swinging her sword.


    Kai opened his eyes with a trace of surprise. Nheless, he blocked Ria''s sword with the sword on his right hand. The Vibration Sword cut through her sword in almost an instant. It was at this time, he finally heard three noisesing from above. One of them came from right above him while the other two flew around and attacked him from the side.


    "!!!" Kai swung his other sword to the left, splitting the sword into two. On the other hand, He used his right sword to destroy the sword on his right.


    As soon as the swords shed, he realized something wasn''t right. The swords that flew toward him from the side continuously flew toward his head. And because it had been split into half, it would attack him from the front and back of his head before crashing into each other.


    He had seen something like this in his match against Isabelle. The sword would ricochet toward his head if they crashed, and the sword that came from above him was there to make sure the shattered pieces would go toward him.


    In fact, she thought about this possibility the moment Kai used his Vibration Sword. By having the swords bounced, she would be able to kill him. A surprise suddenly appeared on her face when she saw Kai ducking. Ria instantly remembered the battle between Kai and Isabelle and cursed her.


    The moment Kai ducked down, the only thing he could see was a kick from his teacher. His two hands couldn''t react to this kick, but if he received this kick, which was aiming at his stomach, he might receive more damage than he expected. He thought about using his foot, but it was sealed by ducking down.


    Noticing how hopeless he was, he gritted his teeth and took the kick head-on.


    "Bam!"


    "Gah!" He spat blood before the kick blew him away and crashed into the wall.


    "Boom!" It created a small crater on the wall before a few rubbles fell to the ground.


    Ria didn''t give Kai a chance and sent another three swords at him. Kai didn''t let out a groan even once and endured his pain beforeing out of the wall and rolling to the side. After this, Ria stopped her attack because Kai had regained his bearing again.


    "Hehe¡­ That match against Isabelle allowed you to avoid my attack." Ria smirked.


    "I admit that." Kai nodded. "If I didn''t encounter those ricocheting bullets, your sword would pierce my head before I knew it."


    "Hehe¡­ It''s good then. As long as you are able to improve yourself on every asion, I am satisfied." Ria smiled.


    "Still¡­" Kai paused for a moment, straightened his back, and bowed to her. "Thank you for your guidance."


    "As expected, you notice it." Ria Ross smiled before exining. "I can say that there is one good news and one bad news for your Vibration Sword. I will say the good news first. It is powerful closebat magic¡­ I have no doubt it will reach one of the top strongest closebat magic.


    "However, there is bad news as well. I don''t know if the intelligence beast will find this or not, but I''m sure humans will know about this weakness as long as they are experienced enough." She paused for a moment before continuing, "And the bad news is-"


    Before finishing her words, Kai already answered her. "It''s too powerful."


    "Exactly." Ria smiled and nodded.


    Outside the room, Tasha couldn''t help but exim, "Eh? The good news is powerful and bad news is too powerful... Is she joking around?"


    "Ssshh¡­" Michelle put her index finger on her mouth, gesturing Tasha to shut up before turning back to the screen.


    Ria exined. "Just like before, I use a weak metal for that sword. I''m sure you won''t even feel a restriction and cut those swords like butter. It could be exploited in a few ways and I use one of them. It might fail to kill you earlier, but you should note it down in your head."


    "Yes. I will be careful."


    "Well, that Vibration Sword is really useful, especially against magical beasts. Assuming you can cut down your enemy in one single swing, even I want such a technique." She shrugged.


    "Haha¡­ Teacher is already powerful. If you have this ability, I don''t have a chance to win against you." Kai smiled.


    "Oh. You sound like you can still win against me?" Ria smirked while narrowing her eyes.


    "Of course." Kai pulled back one of his swords before pointing his palm toward Ria. A magic circle appeared in front of his palm.


    Ria furrowed her eyebrows, not feeling anything about this. She thought this was his shield before realizing something off. The battle between Kai and Isabelle shed in her mind, specifically the scene after Isabelle flew to the sky.


    At that time, Kai used his magic circle mysteriously before Isabelle focused on him again. This was certainly strange because there was no sound or whatsoever.


    "What is-" Ria suddenly felt her eyes aching before going blurry. It felt like the eyes were shaking¡­ no, vibrating. "You!"


    Kai smiled. "As I said earlier, I am nning to win against you, Teacher."


    "Tch!" Ria gritted her teeth while sending another wave of swords from above.


    Unfortunately, Kai already focused on defending to buy time. Ria''s speed was indeed fast, but it was still within his range of power.


    She jumped to the side, but Kai kept pointing the magic circle at her, continuously shaking her eyes. The eyes felt like it wanted to jump off the sockets, so she knew it was the time to end it.


    Ria Ross sent another three swords toward Kai. Thetter simply smiled as he shed the three swords. This time, Kai had deactivated his Vibration Sword, so he only blew the swords away.


    Knowing Kai was only buying time, Ria blinked her eyes continuously, enduring the pain on her eyes. "This is really a good technique. You are attacking my eyes by attacking with a sound wave with the same frequency as my eyes. If I''m not wrong, it''s 19 Hz."


    "!!!" He knew that Ria had figured his technique out.


    "Why don''t you attack my heart? I am sure that I will die earlier than this." Ria Ross said.


    "Teacher, do you know how seismic surveys work?" Kai asked.


    "I know. This is still in the scope of your study. Wait-!" She suddenly came to a realization. "I see. So you are telling, a portion of your sound wave will be reflected by my skin, then some of it will be refracted. Summing it up, only a portion of the original Sound Wave wille to my heart.


    "On the other hand, the eyes are much easier to attack because it''s too exposed. No one would suddenly close their eyes just because of this since they are relying on their eyes to see their opponent.


    "And the moment they realize, they could lighten the process, it''s already toote for them." Ria Rossughed. "You must be saying; it''s faster to cut someone down than waiting for your attack to kill them."


    "Teacher has gotten the point." Kai smiled as he looked Ria Ross closing her eyes. However, he knew it was already toote as blood began flowing out of her eyes like tears. At this point, he could say that he had seeded in blinding Ria Ross.


    "Still, this is really dangerous because you can make someone blind without them noticing. If the government knew this¡­" Ria wasn''t flustered even though she just lost her vision. Instead, she acted like nothing happened.


    "I know. I might be targeted. That''s why I am not using it unless necessary or I know it''s okay." Kai finally leaped toward her after destroying her eyes. He shed at her neck to kill her.


    Unfortunately, Ria Ross got the better of him. She grabbed Kai''s wrist and redirected it somewhere before shing his right hand. "If you think I can''t fight without my eyes, you are still a naive boy. Although I am not like you, I can still use my ears and instinct to sense your movement."


    "!!!" Kai gritted his teeth despite going through so much pain by having his hand cut.


    "Even so, not screaming right now means you have gotten ustomed to the pain. This is another proof that my training is sessful." Ria Ross smirked.


    On Kai''s forehead, veins bulge out, hating herment. Even so, he still didn''t make a sound. Seeing how his hand and sword flew, he abandoned the magic circle on his left hand and grabbed the sword before shing at her neck once again.


    Ria twitched her eyebrows, barely sensing the attack. Luckily, she still had time to react. She tilted her body down, but Kai still managed to take her right hand. His sword continued toward Ria''s neck.


    At the same time, he also sent a kick at her head, hoping to crack her head with his extraordinary strength in case she still managed to escape from his sword.


    Seeing how the situation turned hopeless, Ria smiled.

 Chapter 151 - Ria Houses Last Part

    "Ah, that was nice." Ria Ross stretched her hands upward and said with a blissful expression. She looked refreshed after fighting Kai in that intense match. "Nice try, you brat."


    Kai''s simtion chamber and the person in question slowly revealed himself. He had a bit disappointed face, but still filled with energy.


    Kai looked at Ria and sighed. In the instant he thought he could win, Ria pulled the clutch and won. He closed his eyes to watch thest scene on his mind once again.


    ¡­


    Two minutes ago, when he shed at her and sent a kick as a reassurance, Kai thought he could win at that moment.


    However, Ria''s counterattack began. Three swords from the magic circle on the ceiling struck forth, aiming at his hand.


    It only took him an instant to realize that his hand and foot were aligned. He could easily shift his hand and changed his target a little bit to avoid these three swords. It was different for his foot. Having no ability to change direction as to retain his bnce, Kai decided to sacrifice his food at this point.


    He gathered enough resolve in his heart and slightly adjusted his hand to the side, avoiding the three swords. The aim became a bit off, but he could somehow adjust the target and aim to stab Ria''s heart.


    Kai looked at the three swords in which one of them pierced his foot, stopping him from kicking her. He gritted his teeth as he endured the pain, like how he endured the pain on his hand.


    "Ha!" Letting out a weak groan to pump his determination, Kai pushed his sword toward Ria''s heart before noticing something was off.


    *Crack!*


    Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed through his ears and this sound destroyed all his hopes. In this high-speed battle, it was already hard enough to adjust one''s movement like Kai earlier, let alone moving it to the second time.


    ''Wait!'' Kai suddenly widened his eyes, bit his lips, and understood everything from the beginning. ''I see. Teacher has beaten me as soon as I move toward her.''


    A sword suddenly appeared from the ground, striking Kai''s sword from the bottom. Even with all of his power, Kai could only adjust the sword so it wouldn''t fly off from his hand. He had stopped his Vibration Sword magic earlier, so he couldn''t cut through this sword like butter. Instead, it was knocked away and somehow ended up on Ria''s stomach.


    Ria took this chance to deal a decisive blow on Kai. A sword appeared right on her hand as she swung it while falling to the ground. Because of her position, she couldn''t sh his neck, but it was enough to split him into two right on his stomach.


    Thus the result between the sh between Kai Carter and Ria Ross.


    ¡­


    Kai opened his eyes and sighed once again. He looked at the three girls that slowly walked at him with a worried expression. They knew Kai was pretty shaken about the result, and they thought about how tofort him.


    Before they could say something, Ria already beat them with augh. "Haha¡­ Your progress is beyond my imagination. I almost died back there."


    "Are you trying tofort me? All I can hear is your sarcastic voice." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Ah, you found out?" She grinned.


    "I lost the moment I deactivated my Vibration Sword." Kai let out a long sigh. "By convincing me about the weakness of my Vibration Sword, you somehow instilled the thought about deactivating it in my mind.


    "In the end, I deactivated it and charged at you. The moment it happened, you used the first three swords as baits. Now that I think about it, the positioning of the three swords didn''t let me shift my hands to the right. In other words, you already knew about the attack from underground.


    "I don''t have the Vibration Sword anymore, so thatst sword strike managed to push my sword away. If I have it, your sword will be the one to be cut. Then, I will win this match. Even so, this is only me ranting about the match."


    "Haha¡­ I''m satisfied to see you know that much. I don''t need to worry about your observation skill either." Ria nodded, satisfied. "Besides, you have almost killed me. If you throw your bnce off to get one extra second, you should be able to sh my heart. The result will probably be a draw."


    Kai stared at her with a poker face, hearing her say ''Draw'' instead of victory. Even after all of it, she still thought he couldn''t win.


    "Don''t worry about it too much. You are still too young. If you beat me right now, the higher up will start looking at you like prey. I bet you don''t want your life to be restricted, so just get stronger for now. I will be waiting for you." She smiled.


    Kai closed his eyes and nodded. ''Thank you."


    "No, you can get some rest and meet me after fifteen minutes." Ria Ross thought for a moment and said. "All of you have a room. Ayaka knows that ce, so you can ask here where to put your luggage."


    She then left the room.


    Ayaka looked at their expression first. All of this was because of him, so Kai broke his silence. "We can grab our luggage first and put it there."


    Ayaka merely nodded and said, "Sure."


    After grabbing their stuff, Ayaka led them toward a corridor. Kai noticed that she somehow got too conscious about the only room in the corridor, but didn''t say anything. It was obvious that it was the operation room.


    There were around ten rooms inside this corridor in which the first room belonged to the professor. Kai just chose a room beside Ria''s room without thinking about anything.


    Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka also chose their respective room, not far from Kai''s room.


    Kai had amand from Ria to meet her after fifteen minutes, but only after an hour, he finally came out of his room. It was also done in a very sneaky way without rming the others. At first, Michelle banged his door, asking him whether he wanted to go or not, but got no response.


    When he opened his door, only Michelle waited long enough for him. "Professor Ria is waiting for you. Tasha and Ayaka are buying some stuff for our dinner."


    Kai made a weird expression and nodded.


    "Yo." Ria made an evil smile as she stretched her hand toward Kai, demanding him to hand over something.


    Although he was embarrassed because Michelle was here too, he still handed a ss tube containing a white liquid.


    Ria didn''t care about his embarrassment. She took the tube, rose from her seat, and walked toward the operating room.


    Kai and Michelle followed her without saying anything, especially Michelle. She shouldn''t speak anything about this matter to make Kai wasn''t embarrassed anymore.


    As soon as they went inside the room, she quickly opened the tube and separated it into a few tubes. She only needed a portion of it and poured it into a small ss cup. Taking out a few liquids from her collections, Ria began her test.


    At the same time, Michelle''s hand slowly sneaked inside Kai''s hand before holding it tightly.


    Kai nced at her and found the serious expression filled with hope. He smiled and held her hand back. She had been hoping for this time since a few years ago, and with one presented in front of her, she hoped¡­ wished for this medicine to be a sess.


    Kai also closed his eyes, hoping the same thing.


    Only after an unbearable half an hour did Ria suddenly straighten her back, looked at Kai and Michelle with a smile, and said. "It''s effective."


    The burst of happiness shed on Michelle''s heart and made her couldn''t hold it anymore. She hugged Kai tightly and said, "We did it."


    Kai could feel the anxiety from the shaking hands, so he hugged her back and stroked her hair. "Yes."


    ¡­


    At the same time, Ayaka and Tasha, who were not aware of the result, walked to buy some groceries for dinner.


    Ayaka looked down for a few minutes while walking toward the store. She took a deep breath and braved her heart to ask. "Why did we leave? You can do it together, we-"


    Even with all of that, the words stuck on her throat.


    Tasha''s expression distorted a little bit before turning into her poker face again. She shook her head while closing her eyes. "Ayaka¡­ Why did you stop? That was the reason why we left."


    Listening to her words, Ayaka couldn''t help but apologize. "I''m sorry."


    "Although we have recognized each other, it was still different from doing it together. We are not in some movies or whatsoever that we can just st our way to create a scene like that. What? Do you want to suddenly turn into a lesbian to y together?" Tasha paused for a moment and continued. "I might be able to do it together but not now¡­ I need time to ept that."


    Ayaka had no words to say anything because the deepest part of her heart also told her the same. "I''m sorry¡­ for asking a dumb question."


    They bought everything they needed but knowing that the deed had been done by looking at Michelle''s smiley face. However, neither Tasha nor Ayaka said anything about it and acted like nothing happened. Michelle also didn''t brag, respecting each other.


    In the end, they stayed for two days in Ria''s house, and only Ayaka couldn''t do it because the medicine for her animal blood wasn''t ready yet. Ria promised to finish her medicine as soon as possible.


    They did it in Ria''s house, not because they were perverts or something. They wanted Ria to check their bodies up after doing the deed, making sure there was no future problem.


    Luckily, after going several tests, none of them had a problem. Michelle and Tasha pumped their fists secretly.


    After finishing all the matters in this house, Kai''s group finally went home.


    In front of her house, a taxi to the station was already standing by. Ria saw them off but didn''t forget to say another warning to Kai.


    "I know that you are happy with the medicine, but do it in moderation, okay? There aren''t many supplies anyway. And don''t forget to wear protection or have a pill first for the time being because the medicine for pregnancy is still in progress."


    Kai nodded with a grim expression because he took this matter seriously. He wanted to be responsible for all the things he had done, so there was no way he didn''t heed her warning.


    "Teacher, Thank you so much." Kai bowed to her, showing his utmost gratitude.


    "It''s fine." Ria Ross smiled gently. "See you soon, Kai."


    "Yes. You too, take care of your health." Kai smiled as he looked at Ria, who waved her hand. They went to the taxi and finally went home.

 Chapter 152 - Military Campaign

    After reaching their house, Kai had no other thing to do other than working on his homework, especially the one that came from Ria Ross. It turned out that he stillcked a few things, so he quickly reinforced his current n. Only, he didn''t ask Tasha for help even though thetter had been asking him continuously.


    She had been more energetic ever since doing it with Kai. It looked like a dreame true for her because she never knew the reason why Kai rejected her this whole time. When she first knew that the reason was about gics, she was wondering what kind of burden that Kai carried this whole time.


    She even thought that Kai wasn''t a straight guy at first, and the guilty feeling began rising in her heart. She could only help him with this kind of thing, but thetter declined her offer.


    Kai looked at Tasha, who had nothing to do, wrote a few things, and asked her to remember every single thing. He wanted to cram everything to Tasha because her space magic would surely help in this mission.


    After giving her some tasks, Kai went back to his room and holed up for a whole week. He only came out of his room to take a shower, eat, and school. Even in the school, Kai didn''t talk much to think up more ns.


    Michelle and the others respected that and let him busy with his own things.


    The mission of the Raid Mission was already officialized when Kai visited Ria Ross. However, Evan was the only one in the room, so he took the official document and handed it to Kai.


    Inside the paper was only about the official order and basic information. The top 100 groups always got this every year, so they weren''t surprised. Kai read the information and incorporated the idea into his n.


    One week quickly passed by, and the time for the battle finally came.


    Kai opened his eyes after a long night''s sleep. He rubbed his fuzzy eyes and rose from the bed. On the top corner of his tableid a few documents that he had been working this entire week.


    He changed his clothes and washed his face before grabbing the document with him. In the first front page was written:


    Raid Mission (Underground Nest)


    Mission Reward: Unknown (Depending on the difficulty)


    Description: A full clearance of theplicated underground nest. The ce is filled with bugs, mostly ants, so proceed with caution.


    Kai ate his breakfast with his family and had a bit more time with them in the morning, knowing he couldn''t go back for a few days to weeks.


    After that, Kai and Tasha teleported right inside room 420. Only Shirotsuka Sanae had yet toe. All of them wore their usual battle uniform. It was a white school uniform coupled with long white pants. The white color was there, so people could differentiate any color easier.


    Poison, colored-liquids, and so on. However, they unusually wore a thick long sleeves uniform this time. At first, Kai thought it was to help them from the cold, but he noticed it was for something else. Remembering that their enemies were insects this time, he could somehow understand their worry.


    Not saying anything about their attire, Kai opened hismunication device, checking if there was a message. Just as he was about to look at it, someone''s footsteps echoed through the corridor in front of his room.


    *Bang!*


    That person suddenly mmed the door open and entered with another person.


    "Sir Nathan." Kai recognized the first person and greeted him, but he furrowed his eyebrows upon seeing the second person. It was a middle-aged man with wavy blue hair and deep blue crystal eyes. He wore a light green military uniform with a warm coat. "And¡­"


    The strict expression of this man suddenly turned into a warm smile. He looked at Kai with a gentle expression and said. "Hello. I''m Sherwin, the deputy of General Nathan for this Raid Mission. Because he might be busy, I will probably be with you for most of the time, Mr. Strategist."


    Sherwin walked toward him and stretched his hand forward, looking for a handshake.


    Kai nodded and shook his head. "I''m in your care, Sir Sherwin."


    "Oi oi. Do you forget about me?" Nathanined. However, when Kai and Sherwin turned around, they found Nathan sitting on a couch. Both of them couldn''t help but twitch their eyebrows.


    Before they could say anything about him, Nathan opened his mouth again. "Joke aside. I''m sure you already know the deal about this Raid Mission, right? We are going to that ce right now with me. There are severalmanders standing by in our encampment. As for your teacher, she has gone with the other teachers."


    Nathan''s expression turned serious, making Kai hesitate. Sherwin patted Kai''s shoulder and nodded his head, telling him it was the n.


    Kai sighed and looked at the girls and Evan. "Let''s go."


    "Good." Nathan abruptly rose from his seat and vanished. The next thing they knew, he had reached the door.


    Kai and the others followed him to the backyard, where a slightly bigger military chopper was standing by for them. No one was waiting in front of the helicopter, except for the pilot.


    Nathan nonchntly hopped inside and waved his hand to Kai, telling him to get in.


    As soon as all of them boarded inside the helicopter, they set off toward Canada. It was a long four-hour journey, but Nathan didn''t ask a single thing about the n in this journey. Instead, he was asking about his daily activities and such.


    Finally, an abandoned city came into sight. It was the nearest city from the Underground Nest, which only took five minutes toward the Underground Nest.


    It was a small city, but they somehow set up buildings as barracks to hold more than six thousand people. Kai could see and hear them from the sky before closing his eyes.


    Thest time he had a mission in the open like this was in United Asia when the incident happened. He let out a sigh, thinking how bad his memories were. After all, it was like the eve of chaos, especially the part where he found George''s corpse.


    Kai shook his head.


    There was another thing that disturbed him, but he kept it as a secret for now. He didn''t want to make the others worry for the time being, especially his group.


    Theynded in the city, and a soldier came, opening their door and greeting them.


    "Sir!" She saluted before stretching her hands to the side, asking him to go politely.


    "Thank you." Nathan nodded with a smile and walked toward their base. Kai and the others followed him because they didn''t know a single thing about this temporary base.


    "Sherwin, you can tell them about this base and show their room. I will bring this guy to acquire the most important thing in this mission." Nathan said before dragging Kai somewhere else.


    Michelle and the others already knew about Kai''s role in this operation, so they nodded and followed Sherwin without making a fuss about it.


    On the other hand, Nathan brought Kai to an empty room. Before entering the room, he took off his shoes and said. "Take off your shoes first."


    Kai didn''t know why he wanted to do that but still followed his order. Both of them entered the room, and Kai was startled upon seeing the room. It was quite a big room, but unlike the base that had many rubles around, this room was in white.


    The white color from this ce didn''te from paint or whatsoever. Instead, it was covered with a huge paper, enveloping the whole room without leaving a single spot.


    When Kai was still in amazement, Nathan called someone, asking that person toe.


    Kai didn''t know who it was, but he knew about his job. It should be the person who could fix his drawing.


    "Alright. We will wait for someone. In the meantime, I want you to tell me about the Underground Nest condition, such as their number and how big the ce is." Nathan said.


    "If you are going for an absolute detail, I need one or two days," Kai said before closing his eyes, getting the rough estimate. "This might be a bit troublesome¡­ I have underestimated the number."


    "What do you mean?" Nathan narrowed his eyes.


    "I have noticed this when we are in the sky, but this ce is still linked to the Underground Nest, specifically right beneath the ce we descended earlier. If we make a hole around fifteen meters deep, we will get inside the nest." Kai exined, still closing his eyes to get more focus.


    "The shape of the nest itself is close to a circle¡­ around three kilometers in diameter¡­ We are already above their territories, and I could somehow listen to their creeping around. If I can have some loud sound banging the ground, I could trace the area clearly, but I believe that is impossible." Kai sighed.


    "Yeah. If we truly make that loud sound, we will surely rm the enemy too much and possibly get swarmed by them. It''s better to raid their turf because we can control them more easily." Nathan nodded.


    Kai nodded before making a weird expression. "Well, I don''t know if this is good or bad, but we are actually close to the center of this nest. I will show you on the mapter."


    "Sure." Nathan was a bit surprised but still nodded his head like nothing happened.


    "As for their numb-" Before Kai finished, the door was opened, and a ck-haired girl came in. "Excuse me!"

 Chapter 153 - A Different Kind Of Light Magic

    *Creak!*


    "Excuse me." The door opened and followed by a woman''s voice. Kai turned around and saw a ck-haired girling inside the room. She looked like someone in her early twenties, not looking like someone who had served the military for long.


    "Oh, Via. You havee¡­" Nathan smiled before waving his hand, asking her toe closer.


    Kai noticed her right after she came inside this building. After all, no one would be bothered enough toe inside this building.


    "This is the one talked to youst time, Kai Carter. He would be creating the map with you, and this ce will be your workce. You can paint the wall as you like." Nathan introduced Kai to Via. "How about you introduce yourself first?"


    She nodded before looking at Kai politely. "Nice to meet you, Sir Carter. I''m Via Carman, and you can call me Via."


    "Haha¡­ Michael was the one who found your talent back then¡­" Nathan smiled gently, recalling about the past.


    "Yes." Via smiled and closed her eyes. "I was only a kid who couldn''t even enter either Military School or Magic Academy. After all, I was only a useless Light Magic kid¡­"


    "Light Magic?" Kai widened his eyes in surprise before turning to Nathan, asking for an exnation. "Is she an S rank magician?"


    "No. I wasn''t qualified as an S rank magician despite having Light Magic. After all, My Light Magic is more to a light projection. I tried every Light Magic in the world, but none of them suit me¡­ Until Sir Michael found my talent to be useful for him." Via closed her eyes and exined.


    "Why don''t you show your magic?" Nathan winked his eyes. He wanted her to show her magic to speed up the process.


    Via thought for a moment and nodded. She kneeled and ced her hand on the ground. "Projection."


    A yellow magic circle appeared on the ground. It shed a blue light before turning into a building projection, specifically this building.


    "This is my power." Via smiled before suddenly touching the building. "This is my power. My light magic is for Projection. I can project everything I see and transform them into 3D images like this."


    She waved her hand, pping the building. Surprisingly, the building crumbled to the ground, surprising Kai.


    "What is that¡­" Kai opened his mouth in surprise.


    "I can also control the image itself. In other words, I can build the Underground Nest map perfectly." Via smiled gently.


    "This is excellent magic. Back in the days, she even created SOS signals in the sky or created a terrain and battle simtion. Her power is truly useful¡­" Nathan eximed proudly.


    "I was just a useless person back then. If Sir Michael didn''t invite me to join Graham Family, I would only be the same useless person." Via shook her head and replied humbly.


    "Haha¡­ You don''t need to be modest. You have saved many lives with your ability even though you can''t fight, and you can take pride in yourself." Nathan smiled. "In fact, everyone could use their magic to help fight the magical beasts. They just don''t know how to use it."


    "Indeed." Via nodded in agreement.


    Kai looked down, thinking about himself. It was actually the start of him bing an unorthodox magician, especially with the help of his hearing.


    "Anyway, we should stop reminiscing because we need to finish many things," Via said before staring at Kai for a few seconds.


    "Hmm?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. "What is it?"


    "I need you to make the basic map first in this ce before I can create the image in projection. After that, we can do some editing in detail before I make the map into a digital image and distribute it to the army." Via exined.


    "I see. Sure, I will do my best to draw it. I''m sorry if my drawing is horrendous." Kai apologized for his skill first.


    "Don''t mind. The digital is better, so we should make the map as detailed as possible." Via nodded.


    "Though I can only roughly guess the map ording to the magical beasts and some of their vibration¡­ I can''t create one hundred percent, but seventy percent should be possible." Kai turned to Nathan, who was the leader of this campaign.


    "Oh, do you mean like some tunnel and such? It''s really hard to create all of them without using your ears and some explosions. So, I don''t really mind. We will ask the army to improviseter." Nathan nodded.


    "Then, I can start working on the map." Kai nodded.


    "Sure. I will leave you two alone since I need to do my job as well. Call me if you have any questions or encounter any troubles." Nathan waved his hand and left the room.


    Kai and Via exchanged looks for a few seconds before nodding at each other. "I will start working on the map."


    "Sure. I will be watching you and start making the projection. At a certain period, we can start discussing to fix some details. Are you fine with it?" Via asked.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah."


    Without saying anything more, Kai proceeded with his task. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, creating the tunnel inside his mind slowly but surely.


    Grabbing the marker on the ground, Kai began with two straight strokes followed with a wavy pattern on the top. He marked the first stroke with an ''X'' to show it was this building. Kai started making his way to the north of that ce, specifically toward the entrance.


    It would be easier to know their entrance and their location before filling the details.


    Via didn''t understand his intention, but still followed everything Kai drew. Especially at the part where the tunnel descended or ascended to another height.


    Kai drew it ording to the book, but it was still a bit horrible and sometimes made Via ask the details.


    However, no matter howplex the start was, it would never bepared to the details. As soon as Kai finished connecting the underground tunnel below this building to the entrance, he began drawing the detail around the entrance.


    The horrible part of this tunnel was how many tunnels suddenly up and down, creating a veryplex pattern. There was one fifteen meters below the ground tunnel and one at the twenty-meters mark. If Kai continued to deepen moreyers, he would actually lower it to a hundred-meters mark.


    Even Via was shocked, hearing how big the Nest was. In the end, Via asked to do it in several parts, which separated them by ground level. For the first part, Kai only needed to draw from the highestyer to twenty meters in depth.


    When there were severalyers within a single part, Kai used the wall to describe how it looked like.


    Via nodded and projected Kai''s drawing slowly. And after finishing the firstyer, she asked Kai to check the projection. After all, it was normal to make a mistake due to Kai''s rough sketch, misunderstanding, and so on. Luckily, she had been doing this job for a few years, so she didn''t make many mistakes.


    After fixing here and there, Kai and Via finally finished the firstyer. Unbeknownst to them, they had spent almost five hours in this ce, and Kai''s belly started rumbling. After all, he hadn''t eaten a single thing aftering to this base.


    "I''m going to eat first," Kai said to Via and halted the project.


    "I can guide you there." Via nodded, offering him to show the way.


    Thinking it was the first time he was in this ce, Kai took her offer. "Thank you."


    However, his decision changed as soon as he came out of the room. In front of the door stood a table with a few dishes. Right on the corner of the table was a note from someone.


    Kai grabbed the note and read it.


    ''I know you are working hard, but you need to take rest too. I can bring the food for you, but you still need to sleep¡­ Eight hours of sleep so you can work your brain again. You already have so much burden, so this is the only thing I can do for you. - Michelle.


    ''PS: Ayaka used magic to warm the food, and Tasha brought the mattress for you with her teleportation magic. Thank them as well.''


    Kai smiled when reading this. He looked at Via and said, "Let''s eat."


    Via was hesitating to or not to take his offer. After all, his girls were the ones who brought it. However, peeking at the message that told her she could have it too, she nodded. "Thank you."


    She agreed with him because the message was from the youngdy of the Graham Family, Michelle.


    The food was still warm, and Tasha brought him a four mattress for him and Via. In this case, they could sleep in this building nicely, especially inside the room as there was a heater there.


    Kai asked a few things from Via, especially about the matter in the Graham Family. Surprisingly, he found out that Via already served the army for almost a decade under the banner of Graham Family and obtained recognition from the government. She was like a special officer in the army. Some families once invited her to join their family, but she rejected all of them because of how grateful she was to the Graham Family.


    Kai had a new kind of respect for Michael, who never let talent go to waste.


    They finished the meals and continued with the job as Kai wanted it to finish as soon as possible.

 Chapter 154 - Finishing The Map

    "There are around thirty magical beasts in this room." Kai pointed at one of the pathways on the map.


    "Alright." Via quickly added the information to the projection.


    They had been going for two days just to make a map. After finishing theyout, it turned out she could add some information such as the number of monsters. As for the size of the room, she could only roughly guess by Kai''s drawing.


    A few problems urred in this process. The first one they found was how a few tunnels suddenly had a dead-end even though there was supposed to be a continuation. However, Kai also couldn''t make such an assumption because there was simply no magical beast there. Rather than giving false hope, he decided to make it as vague as possible.


    The second problem was theplexity of the nest. A few untouched tunnels looked like they were not connected to the main Underground Nest, but Kai felt that was not the case. However, his solution was the same and let the army explore the area out.


    Luckily, Via said she could update the map in real-time, so she would adjust the map if she got the information from the soldiers who explored the area.


    Thest problem was the number. As expected, filling the number of each magical beasts in one specific''s area was easier said than done. Kai had been scanning it from time to time and just put a rough estimate.


    Kai didn''t dare to put the exact number because some beasts mighte or leave that ce. Nheless, they filled up the room so the soldiers could understand their situation.


    Finally, their two-day effort finished, and it could be considered a powerful weapon for this mission.


    "We¡­ We have finished our task¡­" Via wanted to quickly give the data to Nathan, but she was too tired. She fell and slept on the floor.


    Kai smiled, knowing how hard they had worked in the past two days. They didn''t get even a single sleep while continuously using their brains, so it was normal for them to get tired.


    In fact, if not because they were almost done, she might want to rest first and continue the job tomorrow. Nevertheless, Kai continued, saying it would be done in one or two hours.


    His eyebrows twitched, and his eyelid felt heavy. It also started taking a toll on his body. Before falling asleep, he carried Via to the mattress before sleeping on the other bed. "I will take a nap first."


    ¡­


    A few hourster,


    Kai opened his eyes again and noticed that Via had yet to wake up. He looked at the clock on his device, realized he had slept for almost six hours, and rose from the mattress.


    The sudden movement woke Via, who was on the mattress a few meters away from him. "Ehmm?"


    "Good Morning¡­ No, I should say good night?" Kai greeted her. As he said, they fell asleep at noon, and it was almost midnight.


    "Ah, yes. Sorry." Via rubbed her sleepy eyes. "How many hours have we slept?"


    "Almost six hours. It''s eleven o''clock now." Kai answered.


    "Hmm¡­ I will do the converting process and give it to Sir Nathan before sleeping again." Via said nonchntly. She didn''t fuss about the sleep or whatsoever and acted like nothing happened. Besides, Nathan would surely tell her to sleep after knowing about her condition. She would also adjust the map in real-time, after all, which would require a huge amount of brainpower.


    "I will also help you." Kai nodded.


    "I can handle it myself though. You can get more sleep." Via suggested.


    "Nah. I''m good." Kai shrugged before saying, "I want to see the result as well."


    Via thought for a moment and agreed. "Sure. Let''s go to my office then."


    Kai nodded and followed her. There was not much activity in the base right now, only doing some patrol.


    "Miss Via, can I ask you a question?" Kai hesitated for a few seconds before asking it. "Why do you think your Light Magic was useless? I mean, you can make projections like humans or beasts, scaring your opponent and ambushing them with your weapons."


    As an unorthodox magician, he was very curious about this.


    Via thought about for a moment, and a trace of sadness appeared on her eyes. "I have tried such a thing as well. Hmm¡­ I should tell you from the moment I knew my magic¡­ Back then, I was so happy because the government would, without a doubt, grant me the S rank magician title. Unfortunately, the moment they knew that my magic was actually some kind of light projection, they were disappointed.


    "My family is just a normal family with me as their sole daughter. They fought in the front line for a long time, and I always loved it when they told me their stories, so I idolized them. Unfortunately, the moment my result came out when I was four years old, my family broke apart.


    "My Father felt so disappointed at me and left my mother with my second mother, thinking it was the curse or injury of my mother to produce a useless me. Even so, my mother and I could still scrape by until I became an adult with our savings.


    "The happiness didn''tst long. After a few years, my mother fell and triggered her past injuries¡­ but couldn''t be saved anymore. The day I lost my mother, my former father took everything away, and I only had some money for a few days.


    "At that time, I somehow met the Graham Family and looked at their baby, Young Lady Michelle. Looking how adorable she was, I couldn''t help but use my magic to make a projection of her in which Sir Michael found out.


    "He said I was useful for him and offered me a ce. I skipped school and joined the army at sixteen years old under the banner of Graham Family. After racking some achievement, my father and second mother came, but I severed my rtionship with them.


    "Sir Michael taught me about my Light Magic. First, I could use it as a projection to give a signal. As you know, we can''t use Radio too much because the enemy would notice it. On the other hand, they wouldn''t be able to do anything if I made arge projection in the sky, signaling what they would do. Magical beasts wouldn''t know anything unless they unlocked their intelligence, which was a rare case.


    "My second magic was this one that I used to make a map with you while the third one was a simtion¡­ you could say it''s a video. Of course, I could use the thing you mentioned earlier. However, itcked several things that experts wouldn''t miss. Sir Michael could identify it instantly while you should also notice it. After all, it didn''t produce a sound.


    "I can scare a few beasts away with this projection or maybe make an illusion like they are under attack from many¡­ but I need to be close to use that magic. Sir Michael forbade me to use it because it was too risky. He said, my life was more important than this magic, so I sealed it away.


    "Ah¡­ I talked too much about this." Via fiddled with her fingers for a moment before saying, "What I actually want to say is¡­ I have nothing other than Graham Family, so I will always be one of the Grahams. Seeing you will surely marry Young Lady Michelle, I will eventually be your subordinates.


    "At that time, no need to hesitate tomand me for anything. I will help you, even if I need to risk my life. After all, Young Lady Michelle was the one who unconsciously saved my life¡­" She closed her eyes and smiled.


    Kai fell into silence. Normally, he could discern whether someone was lying from their tone and heartbeat. It might not be noticeable for normal people, but it was easily recognizable with his ears. However, she didn''t have a single trace of lying in those words. Just as she said, if she didn''t find Michelle to be adorable and created a projection of her, Michael might not find her talent. "Thank you."


    After that, Via said no more and entered her room in silence. She activated herputer and released her magic. Kai didn''t know the process, but he understood it was converting from her projection into 3D Digital Image.


    "I will also send you the copy ¡­ Give me your Device ID," Via said while stretching her hand to Kai.


    Kai opened his device as well as his ID and ced the device on her hand. Via pulled her hand to see the ID before giving it back.


    "Now, we will just need to wait," Via muttered while waiting for the process toplete.


    After a few seconds, Kai received a message which was from her. "You can use the normal projection and point it to the ground. It will create a 3D image."


    This was like when Ayaka searched for their first mission, only that time was a 2D image that she projected on the table. This time, it created a hologram of the map.


    Via also checked the one she sent for herself and observed it carefully.


    A few minutester, she asked, "How is it? This is the same as earlier, right?"


    "Yes." Kai knew she was just confirming the result. As soon as she got Kai''s affirmation, she sent it to Nathan before rising from her seat and stretching her hand.


    "You should go back now and get some rest. I will do the same as well." She yawned.


    "Sure. Good night." Kai nodded and left the room, heading toward the other girls ording to the noises.


    "Good night."

 Chapter 155 - The Meeting

    The next day,


    Kai slowly opened his eyes before feeling some pain in his head.


    "Ugh¡­"


    His left hand grabbed his head while his right hand took the device beside his pillow. He checked the time, and it was already past eight.


    "I overslept," Kaiined to himself.


    Last night, he entered this room that had especially prepared for his group. Even Sanae was also stationed here, considering they would move together. There were many empty rooms in the abandoned building.


    The Earth Magician had reinforced some structure so they could be used, and the soldiers only needed to bring some sleeping bags or mattresses given by the support team.


    His body rose from the bed, and he looked left and right, not finding anyone in this room. "As expected, everyone is already left."


    Kai left his bed and walked to the door. On the way, he felt a headache and staggered because he had slept for more than twelve hours, including the nap he took after finishing the map. Normally, he would still wake up just fine, but the task really took a toll on his mind, so he slept like a log.


    In the end, he didn''t leave the room first. Instead, he fixed his bed hair first and warmed up his body. His headache gradually eased, and he could move his body as usual.


    "Fu." Finishing his warm-up, Kai searched through the base, locating Michelle''s position. It looked like there was no change in the activity around the base even though he and Via had delivered the map. In other words, Nathan still observed the map before giving his approval.


    Thinking about it, he searched for Nathan and found he was sitting in his room. After finishing his first job, Kai didn''t know what he needed to do. At the same time, it didn''t feel right not to do anything andzing around the room.


    He ended up sending a message for Nathan, in which he replied almost immediately.


    ''Come to my office. You should know about my office with your ears, right? Well, if you don''t know, just ask someone about my office.''


    Kai smiled and shook his head helplessly after reading the message. He changed his clothes, wore his coat, and went to Nathan''s office.


    It only took him a few minutes before reaching his office. He knocked on the door a few times and heard Nathan''s voice from the inside.


    "Come in."


    Kai opened the door without hesitation and found Nathan ying around with the map.


    "Good work for this map. Although I have found some inconsistencies such as the sudden dead-end, no problem on my end." Nathan fiddled with the map again, observing the number around the map. "Yeah. Is this number¡­"


    "They are the number of Magical Beasts in that area. They are scattered, of course, but I can make it as a general one. Of course, they can move around, but unless they are moving to a big number, it should pose no problem as long as they are careful." Kai exined.


    "Fair enough." Nathan nodded.


    "As for the tunnel-" Kai wanted to borate it a bit more, but Nathan stopped him.


    "Wait. If you are talking about the n, then we can discuss it in the meeting today. I feel bad for your group members for not taking part in this, but considering the discussion would be with allmanders in this operation, they could only go through the process with other soldiers." Nathan sighed.


    "I¡­ Understand." Kai nodded, even though they didn''t talk for a few days already.


    "Anyway, we will go to the meeting after Via arrives¡­ So, she could do some battle simtion for us." Nathan pointed his finger to a couch located on the corner. "Sit there for the time being. I will summon all the people in the meeting room."


    Kai nodded and waited without saying anything. After another hour, Via finally entered the room. "I''m sorry for making you wait."


    "It''s fine. You two have worked hard for the past two days. We are not going to attack them until tomorrow anyway." Nathan stopped her from apologizing. He rose from his seat and said, "Let''s go to the meeting room."


    Kai and Via exchanged looks and nodded, following Nathan to the meeting room. Suddenly, Nathan slowed down his pace and said,


    "We have sixmanders this time in which two deputies would be assigned to each of them. IncludingVia and me, you will exin your n in front of twenty people. Are you ready?"


    "I''m ready." Kai nodded at him with a serious expression.


    Nathan nodded with a smile before opening the door, revealing the othermanders in this operation. However, he was a bit surprised when he found Michelle''s teacher, Mano Yuki, in this room. She sat down in the front row like the six others, including Sherwin.


    Noticing their presence, the people turned around and looked at Kai before narrowing their eyes. Only Yuki greeted him warmly by waving her hand and smiling.


    Nathan patted his shoulder once again, asking him toe in. After that, he said out loud, "I have made you wait,dies and gentlemen. We are going to discuss our current n."


    His words made all the people rise from their seats and saluted.


    Via tugged Kai''s hand before pointing at the two seats leaning on the wall. Kai nodded and walked toward those two seats, realizing it was their seats.


    He then observed the room.


    The room itself had nothing special other than the big table in the middle and six chairs right behind the table. Behind each of those six chairs were another pair of seats. ording to his knowledge, the six in front were a thousand menmanders while the two were their deputies. Normally, they were in charge of five hundred each.


    In front of everyone, Nathan took a seat and said to Kai. "These people are themanders of each army. You may use them as you deem fit."


    Without waiting for his reply, Nathan turned around and narrowed his eyes. He predicted theplex map right in front of their eyes.


    "Woah¡­" They were astonished for a few seconds, noticing what this map was. "General, is this the underground map?"


    "Indeed. It might not be a bit off, but I can proudly present you seventy percent of the map. There was even some information about the number of monsters. Although it wasn''t too urate considering they might constantly be moving, it was enough to give you a general view of their number."


    Themanders opened their mouths in amazement. "As expected from Miss Via Carman."


    "Of course, she can''t do all this alone, considering we don''t have any information about the actual map. That''s why I bring a helper, and he will also be the strategist of this operation." Nathan stopped their excitement.


    "Helper?" Themanders nced at a student beside Via while Yuki kept smiling at him from the beginning.


    Nathan asked Kai toe while thetter nodded and walked toward him, already expecting this from the beginning.


    "This is Kai Carter. He created the map with the help of Via Carman, and he will be our strategist for this operation. I have my deputy, Sherwin, to take care of the soldiers for the time being so that we can discuss our n here, undisturbed." Nathan said nonchntly.


    "Kai Carter? I feel like I have heard this name somewhere?" One of the 1000-manmanders pondered. He had ck hair like Via and a muscr body, making him look like a heavy fighter.


    Beside him was a green-haired woman with sses. No one could see her body because she had yet to take off her coat even though she was in this building. She fixed her hair and said, "He is the reinforcement¡­ No, it should be the hero of Prince Rupert. I don''t really follow his achievement in school, but outside the school, he also has an achievement in Cuba Military Base."


    "Cuba Military Base? Ah, I have heard that. The general of that base was Sanders, but the one who took themand of the army was a student¡­ So it was him." Another 1000-manmander nodded. He also had short green hair with an appearance close to the woman beside him. They looked like siblings.


    "Oh. If I''m not wrong, it''s the battle against twenty thousand magical beasts. He took themand of four thousand soldiers and held onto the end. It was only after the reinforcement came, the battle finally ended." The same as the other three, anothermander was a blue-haired beauty. She observed Kai.


    "Yeah. It''s indeed impressive, especially when you only lost a thousand people in that battle, which was supposed to be much worse. I read the record and thought they would lose around three thousand people¡­ But I was wrong." Thest unknown 1000mander said. She ced her hands on the table while supporting her chin.


    "You need to remember there are actually six intelligent A rank magical beasts there," said Yuki, supporting Kai.


    "These six people are the 1000manders, They are respectively Colton, Alicia, Henry, Kate, Faith, and Yuki. Just call them by these names, if they think you are disrespectful, I will hit them for you." Nathanughed.


    The sixmanders were speechless. Although the ranking was actually the one that matters, the age difference was too big, especially when Kai was only a student.


    "I don''t mind about all of this honorific thing. One should be in charge if they are capable. However, I still need to see how capable he is, not from the report but from my own eyes." The first one to speak was the one who thought he heard Kai, Colton.


    At this time, Kai didn''t answer him. Instead, he looked at the door before sweat appeared on his forehead.

 Chapter 156 - Discussing Plan

    Their eyebrows raised when they saw Kai looking at the door. Only a few people knew about Kai''s hearing, and the fact that he was looking outside meant there was someone there. But the question was who?


    With Kai''s expression, Nathan suddenly remembered a person. The one who could make Kai flustered with just her presence. He started sweating profusely, confusing the others too, including Via and Yuki.


    *Bam!*


    The door wasn''t opened but mmed. A grey-haired woman slowly entered the room.


    Kai closed his eyes, resigning to his fate. At the same time, he remembered what Ria said when they bid their goodbye.


    ''See youter.''


    These three words were never important enough for Kai, who was overjoyed by the medicine. Unfortunately, it also brought him to his doom as he never expected his teacher, Ria Ross, woulde to this ce.


    "Who are you?!" Colton, who asked the question to Kai, stood up and pointed his finger at Ria Ross.


    "Oh¡­" Kai widened his eyes.


    "Colton, wait! She is-" Behind him, Alicia stretched her hand to Colton and tried to stop him, but it was toote.


    Ria Ross smiled and snapped her finger. Seven swords quickly appeared from the ground and trapped him inside the sword formation. The first two swords locked his neck from the front and the back. The other four aimed at his hands and body, preventing him from moving. While thest one stopped right in front of his little brother.


    Colton''s body shook after this sudden attack. It might be possible to avoid this, but he just never expected that the person in front of him would suddenly attack like this. After all, if this woman were an enemy, Nathan would act first.


    As if he didn''t see or hear Colton, Ria turned and narrowed her eyes, not at Kai, but Nathan. "Ya, old man. Have you written your will yet after sending the fake reports to me?"


    "You know that I can''t report everything to you?" Nathan sweatdropped and raised his hand, asking her to stay away.


    "Heh. You need my permission to even give him a role in the army and you said you couldn''t report everything? I really should kill you." Ria walked slowly at Nathan, like a boss concerning her subordinates. However, Nathan could only see her as a death reaper.


    Before Nathan could say anything, Ria appeared right beside Nathan and sent a kick right on his face.


    The others obviously stood up when they watched this. Nathan was their general in this operation, and if he were hit like this, it would also damage their self-esteem.


    Out of everyone, there were three people who didn''t stand up: Mano Yuki, Kate, and Alicia. Alicia even shouted, "Everyone should sit still. You should already know by now about that woman''s identity."


    "The woman who is loved by the sword." Yuki closed her eyes and smiled.


    "She hasn''t participated in government activities since ten years ago, but she was indeed a hero of the era. Killing an S rank magical beast is easier said than done. If she actuallyes back to the front line, the general position will naturally belong to her. We don''t have enough rank to interfere with her actions." Kate added.


    The others wanted to rebuke them, but couldn''t. They looked at Nathan, who was sted into the next room, taking the full brunt of Ria''s anger.


    Not long after, the swords that locked Colton finally disappeared and he could finally talk. "Damn¡­ Is that really Ria Ross? I heard about her but never saw her in action."


    "Why is such a personing to this ce? Is she going to participate in this mission?"


    "If she is, it will be reassuring."


    Kai stood still, watching Ria beat Nathan ck and blue.


    After a few minutes, Ria Ross dragged Nathan back to the meeting room. His appearance was¡­ horrible. Blood flowing from his mouth and a few other parts such as his left hand that bent in a weird way and bruises all over his body.


    "Medic¡­" Nathan called weakly. "Aren''t you a bit too much? I still need to lead the operation after this?"


    "A bit too much? I just punished you lightly. If we are in the simtion room, I will kill you one hundred thousand times until you feel death is better than living." Ria snorted. "You are going to continue the meeting in this state. I don''t care if you call that Evan or some medicster, but you will continue in that state for this entire meeting."


    "Ugh!" Nathan looked down.


    "I heard someone is actually questioning my student''s capability? Is that you, Muscle Idiot?" Ria Ross took a seat on Nathan''s seat and forced him to stand despite his condition.


    "Ye-" Colton hesitated after looking at Nathan''s condition, wondering if he would survive. In the end, he thought the ''punishment'' would be more horrible if he lied. "Yes, Ma''am."


    "Since you don''t make an excuse and only question my student, you only need to stand in this entire meeting."


    "Yes, Ma''am. Thank you." Colton nodded furiously before walking away from his seat and sat on the corner obediently.


    "Now, is there anyone who wants to question my student¡­ or me?" Ria released her killing intent. "Don''t say anything about military code or government. They mean nothing to me."


    "No, Ma''am." Themanders saluted in unison.


    "You may sit." Ria nodded before turning to Nathan. "You can start the meeting. That is if you want to heal yourself sooner."


    "Ugh." Nathan only gritted his teeth and endured the pain. "Alright. We are going to start the meeting. As she said earlier, Kai Carter is her student, and if I''m not wrong, he became her student a decade ago. So, you can somehow rte how she crammed the knowledge into him and have these ten years as an experience. That''s why he did well in Prince Rupert and Cuba. Hence, I chose him to be the strategist in this war."


    "Don''t you worry. I will handle everything if needed." Nathan nodded before turning to Kai, "You can start telling your n."


    Kai nodded before going to the table, specifically the map. "I want to separate the army by their roles: Vanguard, Attacker, Defender and Reserve. Other than Vanguard and Attacker, they will have one thousand people each.


    "The Vanguard has one important job, which is to explore and secure the area ahead. In case they are having trouble in the front line, the Attacker group will move to the front. The Defender needs to make a rallying point in each tunnel, so when the Vanguard and Attacker had trouble, they could retreat to the previous area and have the Defender help them. Of course, the Defender will need to secure the path between the surface and the tunnel."


    Kai exined. He purposely didn''t continue about the Reserve as their job was obvious. "The entrance itself is situated in the north of this Underground Nest. We are going to fully control the ce around the entrance before slowly going toward the south."


    Via already knew about the n, so she suddenly walked toward him and used her magic. The same map appeared but suddenly tweaked by her. It showed a glowing red color to show how they were going to invade the nest.


    The red dot that was situated on the entrance slowly expanded. It spread only one hundred to the south, but all the way to the north. It even covered the level below them. In other words, Kai wanted to kill every monster in the north first before eventuallying to the south. This way, they wouldn''t need to worry about their back.


    "Timing is very important in this n," Aliciamented while watching the simtion.


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "I want-"


    Yuki raised her hand, signaling him to stop. "Don''t worry. We can brief the soldiers about it. They are not really stupid. We, themanders, are enough to fill them the details about the timing. The soldiers on the scene will make the adjustment."


    "But coordinating with them is a bit hard." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. That''s why we have your ears. You can oversee the general situation and send our reserve army or those Defender and Attacker groups to help the Vanguard meet the deadline. It''s like we can''t fight modern warfare because we are not allowed to use Radio. Hence, we are going with traditional warfare and sending a messenger." Yuki nodded, assuring him.


    "Yes. That''s my original n. I will need to choose a hundred soldiers that have the fastest speed¡­ But I will need to trouble someone for this." Kai looked at themanders.


    "Colton and Faith might be the best for the Vanguard unit, Henry and I have the strongest power and our units are as good as us. As for the Defender, it will require a calm and decisive person, so it should be Alicia. As for the reserve, Kate will be themander. Besides, General Nathan and Sherwin would also stay on the surface, right?" Yuki answered Kai with the role.


    "Indeed. We need to secure the surface first to make sure you are not trapped underground." Nathan nodded.


    "Sherwin must be registering the soldiers, so we can easily separate them and have the students blend with our groups. As expected, Alicia will need to deal with the soldiers'' distribution." Yuki nced.


    "Sure. I can do it." Alicia nodded. "I will make sure the soldiers and the students have a bnced synergy. With Sherwin registering their traits, it won''t take too long, I guess."


    "We are done with the general situation and n." Yuki nodded before returning the authority to Kai.


    Kai nodded and asked Via to zoom in the map to exin the magical beasts distribution. "I''m going to tell you about the details now."

 Chapter 157 - Ria Rosss Reason

    "Thus, the details of my n." Kai ended his exnation. It had already been three hours since then, but no one was actually tired except, of course, Nathan. He hadn''t gotten any rest and continued to participate in the meeting while standing. Although he had grown used to the wound, it was still hard to stay wounded like that for a few hours.


    As for the othermanders, none dared to talk about anything. They asionally nced at Nathan, but still discussed with Kai warmly. Of course, they didn''t act like that because of fear, especially on Ria''s scariness, but because of Kai''s sophisticated n.


    After an hour, they were dumbstruck and followed his exnation to the end. In the next hour, Yuki, who had the closest rtionship with him, began asking about some areas. Kai answered them one by one with patience.


    Ria Ross didn''t say a single thing in this meeting because every answer of his was already given by her as homework.


    It was only after thest hour, the othermanders began talking. The meeting had been covered within three hours, and Nathan officially stopped the meeting.


    "Alright. We have gotten the strategy for this mission. You guys can start preparing the soldiers and your own group. I will search Evan Young." Nathan tiredly said while clutching his broken hand. Via was worried about his condition, so she followed him.


    As for themanders, all of them exchanged looks, having no words to say.


    "Alright, you guys can do your business." Ria Ross waved his hand, gesturing them to go away.


    Themanders quickly rose from their seat, saluted to her onest time, and left the room.


    Outside the room, Kai could hear them talking.


    "Ah, it''s a good n. To think a student is able to construct such a n."


    "You are right, especially when he is still first-year. As expected from Ria Ross''s student."


    "Still, how can we actually know nothing about it?"


    "Indeed. Her fame was already resounded throughout the world as the hero of this generation, considering she beat an S rank magical beast."


    "True enough. Many actually want to learn her strength, from younger generations to some older men. Yet, no one would be able to put themselves in her eyes."


    "No one knows."


    They continued talking about Kai, Ria, and the n before going on their own way at the exit.


    Kai turned his head around and looked at Ria Ross. "Teacher, what are you doing here? I''m sure you are not that petty toe here just to beat Sir Nathan up."


    Ria fell into silence, stared at Kai, and let out a long sigh. She rose from her seat and fixed her long green coat. "How abouting with me for a second?"


    Kai epted her invitation. "Where are we going?"


    "Rooftop. I want fresh air." Ria walked out of the room and made her way to the top.


    The silence between them continued even though the loud machine and noises from soldiers filled the atmosphere outside.


    After climbing the stairs a few times, Kai and Ria arrived on the snow-white rooftop. Ria walked forth, ignoring the quite deep snow and grabbed the railing, looking down on the soldiers.


    "Teacher¡­" Kai called her name once again.


    "You want to know my reason, right? Actually, there are several reasons and one of them being Nathan."


    "Is it too hard to talk about it with me?" Kai asked carefully.


    "Nah, it is not hard." Ria shook her head. "Before exining myself, how about you answer a few questions from me?"


    "Sure." Kai nodded calmly, staring at her back.


    "When are you going to join the battle? I know that you are already excellent enough as a tabletop strategist. However, you still need to know about the actual battlefield." Ria Ross asked.


    "Hmm¡­ I will be going as a part of the Attacker Army." Kai paused for a moment and continued. "As for the timing, I am not sure. Most probably, I will go after two or three hours¡­"


    "Alright. Since you have chosen the timing yourself, I have no qualms about it." Ria nodded. "Then, considering Evan Young is better on the back, will you let him stay behind or still bring him to the front line."


    "I will bring him to the front line, and I''m sure Teacher already saw through my intention just by watching my n," Kai said while narrowing his eyes.


    "True enough. You are going to set up a few rally points underground and stationed Evan along with a few medics there, right?"


    "Yes. This is going to be a long battle, considering there are around fifty thousand magical beasts inside this nest. The shortest will be three days with a week to be thetest." Kai nodded.


    "Yeah. I can see the timing. At least, it''s better than most strategies the army would think up... as expected of my student." Ria chuckled.


    Kai smiled.


    "So, have you ovee the trauma of me?"


    "..." He fell into deep thought. "I know that you are training me for good back then, but it''s really a brutal experience as expected. Though I''m not as repulsed like I used to be, I still need a bit more time."


    Ria Ross closed her eyes and smiled, walking toward Kai before suddenly hugging him. "It''s fine. I have prepared for such a thing. In any case, you can go whatever you want and just know that I will always be in your back. Just like the situation in United Asia, you could easily solve it as long as you called me. Nevertheless, I was also to be med for this."


    "Yes. Thank you, Teacher." Kai closed his eyes and smiled. "Is this all? How about you talk to me about your reasons here, Teacher. After all, you aren''t acting normally."


    "Sure. However, I want to say one more thing to you. Listen well." Ria''s expression turned serious. "This path will require sacrifice, and you shall know that sometimes sacrifices are needed. Whether you are sacrificing ten thousand men to save a single person or sacrificing a single person to save ten thousand men, I will always believe in your choice. We are human, and we will always be bound by selfishness like me, who will abandon the entire humanity just to save my only student and family."


    Kai closed his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Teacher."


    After tightly embracing him for a few minutes, Ria released him and said. "The other reasons I''m here¡­ Do you hear anything wrong inside the Underground Nest?"


    "Hmm? Anything wrong?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. "No. I only hear magical beasts footsteps this whole time and some asional roar from them. Teacher, are you setting up a g for me?"


    "I don''t have that kind of attention." Ria shook her head with a serious face. If it were the usual her who would shake her head while joking, Kai wouldn''t need to worry so much.


    "Is there something wrong about the mission?" Kai asked.


    "You have heard about the SS rank magical beasts, right?"


    "Those humans that had turned into half-beasts and escaped from the base?" Kai''s eyes turned sharp.


    "Yeah. They escaped to the north, but I was not sure about their position. That''s why I didn''t participate in the Cuba War unless I knew that the SSS rank magical beast, the protector, would join." Ria Ross said. "I''m here just to check whether they are here or not, especially with my student participating in this mission."


    "I see." Kai nodded. "I could understand Teacher''s worry. You might probably think they have be that way because of your research, but for me, it''s always life-saving research."


    "That''s right. At least, I want to kill them with my own hands because of this blunder." Ria said.


    "Don''t worry. I haven''t heard a single thing about them in the Underground Nest. Since they are half-human half-beast, they should be able to speak, right? Yet, I haven''t heard a single word uttered in this ce." Kai smiled.


    "Well, I will probably watch your battle on the surface. I have alreadye here anyway." Ria Ross smirked.


    "I will try to not disappoint Teacher." Kai nodded.


    "Alright, enough about this serious talk. I also bring good news for you." Ria Ross smirked. "The medicine for that little girl has finally done. And after some tuning¡­ maybe in another year, I can get you medicine to kill the gic cell during pregnancy."


    "That''s good news." Kai agreed with the first one. As for the second one, he nced left and right with his fingers flinching. "I am not sure whether I am prepared to be a father yet. I still have some responsibilities, and the girls are still active at school and mission. Maybe after I graduate, I will think about it."


    "Sure enough. Better to be safe than sorry anyway." Ria Ross shrugged. "Besides, I''m not like that Old Fox who was at his death door, hoping to hug his grandchild before he died."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai let out a hollowugh, not knowing what toment.


    "Anyway, since the medicine is ready, you can use it after this mission. Maybe you want to do it at my house so we can do another test just for precaution."


    "Sure. I will bring Ayaka after this mission." Kai nodded.


    Ria Ross nodded and began walking downstairs. "I have said everything that needs to be said. The rest is up to you."


    "Teacher," Kai called her name to stop her. "You don''t need toe like this again in the future. If I have a mission in Canada, I will surely check whether the ce has them or not. And probably, I will finish them for you."


    Ria smiled and turned around. "If you can do it, that is."


    After saying those words, she walked away, leaving Kai alone on the rooftop.

 Chapter 158 - The Dawn Of The Battle

    The next morning,


    Kai slowly opened his eyes after having a good sleep. What his teacher said yesterday kept him awake until midnight, and it even haunted him in his sleep. In the end, he just got some light sleep and would wake up the moment he heard something unnatural.


    Luckily, nothing happened at night, and Kai could wake up withoutcking sleep. This mission might evenst for a week, so if he didn''t have a good condition even on the very first day, he would certainly have it worse in the next few days.


    After waking up, Kai took a look at his device to see the time and jumped from his bed when he saw it was already seven in the morning.


    Although the operation would only start at eleven, he thought he still woke up a bit sooner to do some preparations.


    He quickly fixed his bed hair and left his bed before noticing Ayaka standing beside the door.


    "Ayaka?" Kai was just sorting out his thoughts while preparing himself, but he realized that Ayaka was standing on the corner.


    "You have a good sleep?" Ayaka crossed her arms, leaned on the wall, and asked. "Looking at your expression earlier, are you upied with something?"


    "..." Kai''s eyebrows twitched. It would seem that her perception became a bit stronger since she usually would ask only the first question and wouldn''t think about the second question unless he mentioned it.


    "Yes. I have a good sleep." Kai nodded.


    "How about the second question? You look a bit off since yesterday." Ayaka asked calmly, hoping he would answer.


    "I¡­ No, it shouldn''t be a problem. I have confirmed there is nothing wrong for the past few days." A gentle smile appeared on Kai''s face. He grabbed some clothes from his bag, nning to change.


    "If you have any problem, just consult it with us." Ayaka closed her eyes and said before opening the door. "I will be waiting outside," said Ayaka and left the room.


    Kai stared at the closing door for a few seconds before shaking his head helplessly and changing his clothes. He took a deep breath, walked to the door, and opened it.


    Ayaka nced at him, but she raised her hand and pointed to the corridor with her thumb, asking him to walk instead of questioning him.


    Kai nodded and walked with her, thanking her inwardly from not asking for more.


    "By the way, how is everyone? I don''t really have much time to talk with you guys." Kai changed the topic to prevent awkwardness.


    "We are fine. Most of the time, we are just getting ustomed to how the army does their job. Just some signal that we can learn to ensure we don''t have mimunication." Ayaka shrugged. "Our job is nothing like you who needs to use your brain all the time."


    "Haha¡­ Anyway, we are going to enter the nest after a few hours. Theoretically speaking, the battle will be stabilized in one or two hours. At that time, we are going to move along the Attacker Team¡­ possibly with Michelle''s teacher, Mano Yuki." Kai gave a hint of his n.


    "Alright. That''s right, Teacher Sanae is moving together with us, right?" Ayaka asked.


    "Yes. The teachers are going to move with their own students to ensure that the students don''t do something foolish. Although we are from the top 100 groups, we don''t have many experiences with the army. They use the teachers who should have experiences to observe them."


    Ayaka fell into silence for a few seconds and nodded her head. She could rte to it since Ayaka was one of the worst examples. She might have potential and pretty good strength, but it was shattered when she met Kai. If not because of him, she¡­ Ayaka shook her head, throwing the thought of her mind.


    She couldn''t have a depressing thought before the battle to make sure she could fight with her best performance.


    "Anyway, the ce itself is going to let us fight fifty thousand magical beasts with our six thousand. If this was on the surface, we might need twice that number at the very least." Kai sighed.


    "I can rte that, especially when I heard about the battle in Cuba. I''m sorry that I couldn''t participate."


    "It''s fine. Everything is alright now. Besides, Teacher said¡­" Kai paused for a moment and shook his head. "I shouldn''t trigger a g here."


    He was nning to say that the medicine was ready but felt like it was triggering the death g. In the end, he would tell it after this ended to give a nice bonus.


    "What is it?" Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows, curious. "Is Professor Ria here?"


    "Yeah. She is going to watch over this operation¡­" Kai nodded.


    "I see. Then we shouldn''t make a terrible performance if we don''t want to get lectured." Ayaka smirked.


    "Nah. Unless it''s an official training from her, she wouldn''t pick it up. Of course, she still gives some warningter." Kai shrugged. "By the way, where is everyone?"


    "They should be outside, not having anything to do or talking with the soldiers?"


    Kai took out hismunication device and informed them to meet him right in front of the building.


    They waited for a while, and the Lion group finally assembled.


    "Yo, little boss." Sanae was thest one toe and immediately teased him.She called Kai'' Little Boss'' because he looked like one in the past few days.


    "Teacher, don''t call me that way." Kai shrugged.


    "Haha, aren''t you one? You are the strategist of this mission and not with us these few days¡­ only sleeping when you came back."


    "I have so much to do, so I''m sorry." Kai apologized, feeling bad. He feared that they would overthink and let the army control his schedule.


    "It''s fine. Just ignore her teasing if you are bothered." Michelle stopped him and crossed her arms. "Besides, you will be moving with us in this mission, right?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "We can go to headquarters first to prepare a few things."


    "Sure enough." Michelle nodded. On the side, Tasha didn''t say anything and just watched them converse. She looked down and fell into deep thought, remembering the message Kai gave yesterday. Although it wasn''t confirmed yet, the fact that Ria Ross went to the frontline herself uninvited was enough to increase the probability by twenty to thirty percent.


    Kai gave her a few tasks and asked her to keep it a secret. In this base, only three people knew about the possibility of SS rank magical beasts. Whether there would be the fourth person depended on Ria, and the candidate for the fourth person was none other than Nathan Graham.


    "By the way, do I need to go with the group?" Evan asked as he would usually work with the medics on the surface.


    "Yes and no." Kai thought for a moment and said.


    "Hmm? I will be working with my magic, but go with you first?" It only took Evan an instant to realize Kai''s answer.


    "Yeah. You are going with us and be a healer if we reach an anchor point. We will set up a few points, so you are going to move constantly." Kai nodded.


    "Geh, I should watch out then." Evan let out a long sigh.


    "Yes. Although we are moving with the attacker team with Vanguard watching our front and the Support Team will protect our back, we still need to be careful." Kai nodded.


    "Don''t worry. I might not have powerful strength, but I''m confident in my running skill if I''m prepared." Evan Young nodded.


    "Anyway, we should go."


    Everyone nodded their head and followed him to the headquarters. Because it was only for authorized personnel, Michelle and the others were staying outside the tent.


    Everyone was already standing by inside the tent, including Nathan, Ria, Via, and Sherwin. Their focus was on Kai as soon as he entered the tent and nodded their heads, seeing nothing wrong with his attitude. After all, he was still a student. Having him help with the strategy and map alone was already shameful, so there was no way they would beining.


    "Since all of us here, we will begin ourst briefing." Nathan nced at the clock. "We have two hours before the operation starts. Sherwin."


    He nodded and walked to the front. "I''m sorry that I didn''t attend the meeting yesterday, but you don''t need to worry as I have memorized everything about the n. We have checked the size of the tunnel and its number. Hence, we can have five hundred peopleing at once and quickly spread out.


    "At the same time, we need to worry about our speed and timing. Just like how Kai suggested it yesterday, we will deal with it by using a timer. We would assume that everyone has admirably seeded in their task within that time and move to the next phase.


    "Allmanders will stand by in their own army to lead them. Although most of you won''t be able to see them anymore after entering, it''s enough to boost our morale. This n is only possible because we have Kai''s extraordinary hearing to check everyone''s condition, so don''t worry, the help wille if you are in a perilous situation." Sherwin finished his exnation and stepped down.


    "Then, how about the brain of this n? Do you have anything to say, Kai?" Nathan nced at Kai, followed by others.


    "I am entering the nest after a few hours as nned. Even if I''m not here, I will still check all of your conditions. I can ask my sist¡­ Tasha Carter to ry the message." Kai added his circumstances.


    "Then, let''s win this battle." Nathan nodded and closed their speech.

 Chapter 159 - Operation Start

    "Operation Start." Nathanmanded, and Via quickly came out of the tent and sent a projection of ''Go'' to the sky, signaling the soldiers to enter the nest.


    Kai looked at Via and watched how effective she was. If it was a battle on the surface, Kai could somehow picture how she projected a number to tell everyone they moved into phase one or something.


    This allowed them to gain a unison movement from the army without using the radio. And this mission gave them a chance to see what kind of power both of them had when they were together.


    Kai didn''t say anything and listened to the footsteps. Just like their initial n, the people began swarming the Underground Nest. Surprisingly, Eagle Group, AKA Isabelle''s group, was one of the leading ones.


    On one hand, the small space of the tunnel would make her at a disadvantage. On the other hand, she could actually float a little bit to snipe most of the enemy, providing support. This would even get more effective in some wider areas.


    Outside, Isabelle smiled after receiving the signal. She couldn''t help but mutter. "He is already bing a strategist on this big scale mission? It''s frustrating."


    "He just bes a favorite of the General, nothing more." The elder twin, Eva, snorted.


    "You can''t say that, Eva. The previous head of the Graham Family isn''t that foolish. Considering his previous achievement in Cuba, it''s easy to picture why he would be the strategist." The younger one, Eve, rebuked her.


    "You are right. Without his own power backing him up, the famous Nathan Graham wouldn''t let him take themand." Isabelle nodded while entering the cave.


    The cave was made of limestone, looking very solid and sturdy. Although it was dark, they had some sort of light already.


    She looked at Eva and nodded.


    "Fire Light." Eva activated a magic circle and summoned a red-colored ball from within. The ball glowed brightly and lit up the room.


    Isabelle nodded to her before turning to their partner in today''s mission. It was a five people group from the army.


    However, Isabelle didn''t say anything. Instead, he looked at a middle-aged man with short blue hair and a strict face. "Teacher Gran."


    The middle-aged man turned out to be their teacher or advisor. He nodded to Isabelle and turned to the army. "Nice to meet you. We are going together, so I hope we can get along. I will be joining you guys in the front while my students will be the support, is that alright?"


    They only had an introduction because they didn''t know who would be paired up with who. The entrance was indeed big, but the tunnel itself could only hold around ten to fifteen people. It was equal to three to five magical beasts considering they were not as big as those sea creatures.


    "Yes. Pleasure to meet you." The captain of their group nodded and shook his hand. "We are fine with that. I hope this mission can be a good experience for the students since they are the future of our army."


    Gran nodded with a smile. They proceeded with caution, crossing this whole dark tunnel.


    They knew the tunnel wasn''t big, and twelve people were only a measly number from the actual six thousand. However, they needed to separate themselves into five small tunnels right from the start.


    The three hundred people were suddenly divided into sixty five-person groups, and they would go together with another group to make a toon. There was a difference between the student group and the army group. Each group had five people other than the student group because their teacher was considered as extra.


    Before them, three toons already marched through this tunnel in session. Isabelle and the others arrived at the firstrger area.


    The size alone was quite big, around thirty-meter in diameter. She felt like it could fit more than thirty magical beasts around here. The proof was the ant corpses scattered around the room.


    However, they also found two human corpses in this area. Isabelle shook her head and closed her eyes, looking away from those two corpses.


    At the end of the room stood eight people panting. It only took a second for Isabelle to realize they were the first group that wasing here.


    They encountered those monsters first and unfortunately died. After all, they were outnumbered at least one to three, forcing them into a disadvantage.


    "The fourth group has students, huh¡­" One of them muttered and furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Good work, all of you." The captain of Isabelle''s group said.


    "The second toon is leading the group right now, and your group''s turn mighte sooner orter. Be careful in the front," said the first toon leader before ncing at the corpses. "I will take care of the dead bodies and send our¡­ friends¡­ to the surface to get a proper burial."


    The captain nodded and said, "We are moving."


    Isabelle and the others couldn''t say anything other than moving forward. Isabelle looked at her teammates and swore she would protect her teammates.


    Just like the first one, they kept finding sacrifices from the soldiers. Isabelle could understand Kai''s n by sending wave after wave of soldiers. It might be a cruel n, but was the only one that had the least casualties and fastest speed.


    They could certainly send sixty people in session and fill the room like before to kill the enemy. It might get fewer casualties, but the soldiers would exhaust themselves together. On the other hand, with sending the soldiers by waves, Kai could conserve the next group''s energy by working the front group to the bone.


    However, this n allowed them to advance much faster and with little casualties. It was an annoying n, but no one actually refuted it.


    Of course, Kai would actually have the same experience like thister.


    Isabelle continued advancing through the tunnel, meeting the second group along the way. Just like before, they had two casualties and warned them they would be next after this.


    As a former top 10 group, Isabelle and her teammates had gotten used to this kind of situation. The tension didn''t make them nervous. Instead, it allowed them to focus.


    Even the captainplimented them in his heart.


    It was only after walking for a few minutes, they suddenly heard the sound of battle.


    "!!!" The captain said while looking at the next room a bit far from them. "There is a battle ahead. We will assist them. Keep your eyes peeled, and don''t let any of those monsters sneak attack you."


    "Understood." All of them nodded and ran toward the next room while taking out their weapon.


    They entered this forty-meter radius room and saw nine people fighting fifty monsters at once. Most of them were ants, while they could see a few earthworms.


    "Engage! We are supporting the third toon."


    Upon the orders, the five soldiers and Gran immediately came to the front and engaged a closebat fight. On the other hand, Eva and Eve went to the side, waiting for the right time to unleash their magic. The other two protected Isabelle from the magical beasts while she shot all these magical beasts.


    Of course, Isabelle knew she would have a short range of vision due to the tunnel''s size. That was why she didn''t bring a super scope with her. Instead, she only brought a red dot sight and was nning to shoot them down without it unless necessary.


    Although she could use some guns or handguns to fight, she still used her sniper as it had already be a part of her. She kneeled on one knee and straightened her back, getting into a shooting position.


    Her vision stumbled into a big three meters high ant that was trying to bite a soldier. She took a deep breath and shot right on its head.


    "Bam!"


    The bullet pierced through its head in a split second, and blood sshed toward the soldiers and other ants. Yet they acted like nothing happened and continued to fight.


    As for the saved soldier, she only stared at Isabelle and nodded her head before entering the battle once again.


    A sh of surprise appeared on the Eagle''s group, wondering what kind of will kept them fighting. Even though she almost died just now, she quickly got up and charged at another ant.


    Isabelle''s mind jolted and said, "We can''t lose to those guys, right?"


    "Obviously." Both men nodded. The ice guy, Tommy, slowly walked forward. "I''m joining the twins. Shield brain, you better protect our leader."


    "Of course, leave it to me."


    Isabelle smiled and pulled the handle on the right side of her weapon, and a bronze cartridge with some blue lines popped out and fell to the ground. If Kai were here, he would look at the bullet with great interest because the blue lines were the ones that exactly increased the power of her shot.


    Isabelle paid no heed to the bullet and aimed at the second target.


    She became peerless support in this area because she got some distance from the magical beasts, allowing her to kill them without worry.


    Bullet after bullet popped out, and each shot killed a single enemy. Although she needed to lower her fire rate to make sure she didn''t hit an ally, she could still kill a fifth of the enemies, and they could kill all the magical beasts in five minutes.


    Isabelle took a deep breath and rose from the ground before changing the magazine. "Good work, Isabelle."


    "Yes, thank you." Isabelle nodded before looking at the soldiers who were raising their thumbs to her.

 Chapter 160 - First Phase Is Completed

    "Move out!" The fourth toon captainmanded.


    They were thanking Isabelle just now because of her performance. Unfortunately, it was only at the level of thanks, because they still needed to continue the fight, especially since they had a mission.


    This was Kai''s strategy. As long as one of their team got heavily injured or fell in the battle, they could return to the surface before reinforcing their own team again. Of course, Kai wasn''t that heartless to have them fight continuously when none of them has died. He set an upper limit that if their toon had killed fifty magical beasts, they could change ce with the next toon.


    The third toon had one casualty, so they couldn''t lead the pack anymore. In other words, it was Isabelle''s turn to lead the toon in front.


    When their captainmanded, Isabelle and the others walked forward to the next tunnel. "Can Ie to the front?"


    An idea shed in Gran''s head. As the Eagle toon''s advisor, he certainly knew about Isabelle''s and the others'' strengths and tactics. He looked at the fourthmander captain and exined. "My student is the number one sniper in the Magic Academy. Seeing how small this tunnel is, I believe we can have her in front while two or three of us protect her."


    The captain lifted his eyebrows, pondering over the matter. "I have heard her name. Isabelle Fisher, the current genius sniper from Sacred Magic Academy. You must be nning to have her shoot the magical beasts down before they arrive¡­"


    "Yes. Most of these magical beasts were E to D rank. Her weapon alone could one-shot them in the head, and her skill is enough to ensure a one-hit kill." Gran nodded.


    "I know." He furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at his teammates, who were dominated by females. One of them nodded, and the others followed. He, as their leader, decided it was the best and agreed. "But since we have some turns here and there¡­ We will assume the original formation. Is that alright?"


    "Yes. We are aiming for the fifty magical beasts target." Gran smiled. Who would actually want their teammates to die or be heavily injured? Only a twisted person would love to see that.


    "Alright. ording to the map, we will have another two turns before fighting arge toon. After that, our vanguard unit is done because this is when the tunnel split once again."


    The toons nodded, hoping not to get injured. Isabelle came to the front with her sniper in tow. The loud noise from her sniper would surely echo inside this cave, so she brought a suppressor with her.


    Isabelle came to the front with her sniper in tow. Gran and the captain clenched their swords, making sure she was safe.


    Eva brightened her red-colored ball and moved it to the front, so they could spot the magical beasts in advance.


    One minuteter, a screeching sound slowly echoed through the tunnel as a red-colored ant charged at them.


    Gran took a defense position to take on this ant, but a small gunshot sound filled their ears.


    *Tap!*


    Eva''s light ball already covered a few meters ahead, so the moment the ant became visible, Isabelle pulled her trigger. It sted the ant''s head, leaving no hope for survival.


    They stared at the ant that was falling to the ground, ignored it, and moved forward. If they were too slow, the next toon would catch up with them.


    Just like how it was effective to have Isabelle in the front, they proceeded faster than any toons before them and stopped the moment they found a tunnel that would lead to a bigger area.


    "The area in front of us will be thest battlefield for the first wave team. The second wave will take over." The captain informed them. "ording to the information, there are around forty magical beasts in front of us. We have advanced a bit too fast, so we have time to discuss strategies."


    "How about leading them inside this tunnel?" Isabelle asked with a thoughtful look as if she was thinking something ridiculous.


    Gran furrowed his eyebrows. "Mind borating on your n?"


    The captain also had no problem taking as many ns as possible, so he could consider which one was the best.


    "Since the tunnel can only hold three magical beasts at a time, we can draw them into this tunnel and slowly chip away their number. The wall of dying insects will also slow them down," Isabelle said.


    Gran thought for a moment and felt it was a good n. However¡­


    "I still can''t agree with that n. We have dyed as much as possible to fight them in the winter to lower their ability. We can create a ruckus by fighting them and jumping around them." The captain shook his head. "That is a good n, but not the best."


    Gran also agreed to the decision, so he added. "Yeah. When we meet the team behind us and fight like that, they will have a hard time to react because of this darkness. We might stumble onto them and get swarmed by the magical beasts."


    "I know, but¡­" Isabelle closed her eyes, pondering what good reason she actually had. Unfortunately, even after thinking for a minute, she couldn''te up with a reason that let her convince them, forcing her to abandon the idea.


    "Still, it''s hard to fight all forty of them in this ce. Should we wait for the next toon to help us? That way, we will have twenty-one people, while those creatures only have forty. I believe it''s not hard." The captain suggested.


    "But¡­" Isabelle wanted to say it would bring displeasure from the soldiers because only their toon waited for another toon.


    Gran figured her out and assured her. "You don''t need to worry about that. The soldiers actually don''t think that way. Besides, do you know why we are ced in the Fourth position with two other toons behind us?"


    "No." Isabelle shook her head.


    "It''s simple. We can increase the students'' safety this way because we can rely on the fifth toon and have the sixth as our back-up. If we are in third, we couldn''t really do it because it will disrupt the entire n and slow down our pace. That''s why this position is perfect for adding students." Gran exined while the captain gave the nod as proof he was right.


    "I see¡­" Isabelle looked down, thinking something in her mind. "I will follow the order."


    "We have a three-minute interval with the fifth toon, so we can discuss a smaller n." The captain finally joined their conversation. "The students will help us from the side, especially Isabelle Fisher. The soldiers will fight them in the front line, and you will attack any insects that might kill us."


    "Understood."


    They continued talking with low voices because they were afraid that the magical beasts would hear them. Although they couldn''t use the radio because radio waves are easy to get picked up, they wouldn''t easily hear them like this.


    The next toon came not long after and bewildered when they found them sitting in this ce. The captain quickly exined their situation, and they agreed with the n.


    "Listen, make sure you don''t make too loud noises. We will be swarmed by them if those monsters next door notice us." The captain warned them onest time.


    They nodded and moved toward the next open area. The front had ten people that had the strongest closebat prowess, except the students.


    Isabelle and the others crossed the tunnel and found many magical beasts, moving around like it had never seen them.


    "Attack." The group quickly entered a fight with the magical beasts around them. As soon as the signal was up, Eva raised her light ball to shine the entire cave, providing nice lighting for the soldiers.


    Isabelle aimed her sniper and shot the first round.


    *Tap!*


    The battle just started, so there was no point in searching for anyone in trouble. Instead, she killed another one before informing the shield user, Nichs. "You are my eyes. Inform me if someone might die. I will kill as many as possible in the meantime."


    "Understood."


    Isabelle gazed through the whole room and found there were around thirty-five ants with five earthworms. The earthworm had a slightlyrger and sturdy body that could strangle someone to death if not eating them alive. On the other hand, the ants actually brought more trouble because its mandible might break their bone in a single bite.


    Luckily, the ant had a head, so she aimed at them for a one-shot kill. However, it was hard to hit the earthworm''s brain to kill it. In the end, she could only shoot them twice before letting the soldier split it into half.


    Isabelle''s role was very effective in this battle as she managed to kill fifteen magical beasts. They wereing from the magical beasts she killed herself and the one that fought the soldiers.


    Still, the soldiers managed to kill one magical beast at the very least and swiftly moved to either help others or hold another magical beast back.


    "Huft¡­" Isabelle let out a long sigh after confirming they were safe. She nced at the three tunnels that led to somewhere else.


    "Our job is done. The path has been divided into three, so we will stop here ording to the mission. After destroying the corpses, we will let the sixth toon to hold the pass until the next groupes." The captain said.


    They nodded their heads while feeling relieved when there was no death.


    Isabelle closed her eyes for a moment and thought, ''With this, the first step has finished¡­"

 Chapter 161 - Preparation Of The Second Phase

    "The first phase has seeded." Kai closed his eyes after listening to the sound all over the nest. He smiled after checking that no one rmed the whole nest or made the situationplicated.


    He checked his timer and still had another fifteen minutes before the first phase actuallypleted. What made him happy was the fact that all of them had finished and stood by on the first anchor point.


    The tunnel had many branches to go through, so the first phase was to get into those entrances and used it as an anchor point. The same applied to the second phase and so on before they eventually invade the whole nest.


    "Ten¡­ No, thirteen¡­ deaths." Kai calcted their casualties ording to the number of footsteps. It was only the first step, but they already had thirteen deaths. Had the army not killed almost seven hundred in this step alone, Kai would feel awful.


    After confirming everything, he opened his eyes and looked at Nathan. "General, we have thirteen deaths. On the other hand, each group managed to kill more than one hundred."


    Nathan nodded. They sent three hundred people that were separated into five groups consisting of six toons each, and this kind of result was already one of the best results. Nathan observed Kai''s expression and said with a smile. "We will have a team record their names and make a proper burial."


    "Permission to start the second phase ten minutes earlier from the schedule," Kai reported while checking the timer.


    "Granted." Nathan nodded with a serious expression before ncing at Via Carman. "Miss Via."


    "Yes." Via quickly went outside and created a projection in the sky. It said, ''Change of schedule. Phase 2 will start in 3 minutes.''


    Upon noticing the message on the sky, none of the soldiersined. There was one and only reason. The highmand wouldn''t change the schedule if the first phase weren''t going well. They would send another help if the situation went wrong instead.


    The second phase consisted of the other one thousand seven hundred soldiers from the Vanguard group to take care of the next paths before the attacker group went inside.


    "General. I will be joining my teammates and the attacker team. If everything is going ording to the n, the two thousand attackers will invade the nest in an hour." Kai reminded him.


    "Ah, right. You are going with this n." Nathan thought Kai would wait for a little bit longer, but it seemed he needed some preparation. "I will take themand here. If anything goes wrong, Sherwin can go with the Reserve Army to support. Besides, your teacher is also here."


    "Yes, I''m nning to have my sis¡­ Tasha Carter to teleport and send a message." Kai nodded before putting hismunication device in his pocket and put on his coat.


    "Alright." Nathan nodded before ncing at Ria Ross, who seemed to not care about it.


    "Want toe with me? I will also join my army¡­ I even have a good idea. How about pairing up with my group?" Mano Yuki walked toward him and said with a smile.


    "That''s a good decision. I support it." Nathan agreed without hesitation. "Besides, you and Shirotsuka Sanae are friends from the same squad. It will be good to see both of your performances together."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. Yuki was one of themanders in this operation, and it could be said she was very strong that nomanders would actually fight her. He felt there wouldn''t be many fights if he paired up with her.


    Instead, Yuki exined why she wanted Kai. "I know you are confused by my suggestion. The reason is pretty simple. The second phase will have Vanguard create a line to explore the entire north and block all the paths from the other parts of this nest. In other words, we, as attackers, need to kill every single beast in the northern part of this nest. I want you toe with me, so we can kill as many as possible."


    Kai pondered for a moment. What she said was true. His n was to put a perimeter and block the other parts while the attacker cleaned the entire area. That was why the first phase actually finished at a fast pace. They quickly went to their designated spot by choosing the right tunnel without going around blindly.


    If the perimeter had been set, the attackers who had the highest amount of attack power could create a stir and kill the magical beasts like no others. In other words, they didn''t really have any specific order or designated ce. Instead, they needed to spread around and cleaned the area.


    Yuki wanted to take advantage of Kai''s hearing to kill all of them, making sure they left no insect alive. If they seeded, they would use the same n over and over again, gradually chipping away their territories and numbers. Before long, this battle would end in their victory.


    "I don''t see any problem with that suggestion." Ria supported Yuki''s decision. "Besides, when I looked at the map, there were around ten thousand magical beasts alone in the northern area out of their fifty thousand. That''s why I want to make a target. Your group needs to kill at least ten percent of it."


    "Teacher¡­ It''s almost impossible to do that. You know that they only outnumber us one to five, right? As long as each of us kills five, it will be over." Kai scratched his head. "If I want to make that happen, we can only move at godspeed and kill them in an instant."


    "That''s why I am giving you a challenge. What''s the point if the challenge is so easy? If I just give you a mission to kill one hundred of them, you will finish it in a matter of minutes." Ria shrugged, not feeling anything wrong with her target.


    "Haha¡­ As expected from a woman blessed by the sword, you have a high expectation for your group." Yukiughed out loud. "Not that I mind though. I believe you also want to finish this battle as much as possible by having this kind of target for him."


    Ria stared at her mysteriously before closing her eyes and leaning on the back of her chair. She added, "If you fail, expect the same condition as that old man over there. I will let you off by sleeping with that kind of injury before letting others heal you in the next morning."


    Ria Ross pointed her finger at Nathan, making them recall his condition in the meeting one day ago.


    Yuki stillughed, but this time she was quite nervous. "I will do my best."


    It seemed she was afraid of the thought alone.


    She looked at Kai and nodded at him. "Let''s go."


    Kai let out a long sigh before nodding his head and taking his leave.


    "Your teacher is¡­" Yukimented on the outside but didn''t finish her words, afraid it would somehow go to Ria.


    "It''s fine." Kai shrugged. "Although I only trained for one year in the past, her ridiculous training helped me even now. Though the trauma is there, I am still thankful to her. She is the best teacher for me."


    "Why don''t you say it to her?" Yuki smirked.


    "No, I will refrain myself from doing that." Kai shook his head, slightly embarrassed. "Anyway, we are going with the others and sweep the entire area within six hours."


    "It''s a long time for us." Yuki nodded. "The narrow tunnels and small space give us an advantage because we don''t need to fight more than a hundred of them at a time. This decreases our casualties and improves our speed."


    "Yeah. This is also why we only have six thousand people instead of twenty thousand." Kai nodded.


    "Indeed. In the open field, no matter how advantageous you are, you still need atst a third of their number unless you want to get swarmed." Yuki agreed as she had experienced all kinds of situations.


    Not long after, they met up with Michelle and the others, including Shirotsuka Sanae. "Ya, Sanae. I''m going with you guys. I will be bringing four of my people here."


    After saying those words, she left for a while beforeing back with three females and one male. "They are my current teammates. I think it will be better to know them first. Start from Adrian."


    "Adrian. I am a vanguard together with Yuki. I can kill or buy time in the front line. Feel free to ask me anything." A brown-haired guy nodded.


    "I''m M, and the one beside me is Greta. We are the attacker here. If you want to kill a specific magical beast, ask us, and we will kill it even in the midst of the enemy. Of course, we can go back safely as well unless a thousand swarm us at the same time." A long blue-haired woman smiled and introduced the pink-haired woman beside her.


    "I''m Nita, a Vanguard as well. But knowing you, Kai Carter and Evan Young, I will handle the job of guarding Evan Young. I will make sure no magical beast will hurt him." A short ck hair girl puffed her chest. Unlike the others'' fully endowed body, she was stillcking. But Kai could see her muscle behind her uniform, backing up her im.


    "Evan Young, a healer." Evan didn''t need any other introductions as he was already famous. The same as Michelle as she only said her own name. "Michelle Graham."


    "Kudo Ayaka. Vanguard." After getting her new strength, Ayaka was more suited to be a Vanguard, especially in this mission.


    "Tasha Carter. Attacker. I will just support you if there are any magical beasts that would hit you. I doubt it will happen so often though."


    "Kai Carter." Kai also introduced his name alone because no way Yuki''s teammates didn''t know the strategist of this mission.


    "Shirotsuka Sanae¡­ I can be either an attacker or a vanguard."


    "She is also my best friend," Yuki added with a smile before saying. "We will wait then."

 Chapter 162 - Collaboration

    A few hourster,


    Another sign appeared in the sky, projecting ''Phase 3'' to all soldiers in the attacker group.


    Kai''s group was in front of the other, leading the pack.


    "You have brought your night vision, right?" Yuki put down a box full of night vision while handing one to Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "Yes. We bought it after getting our first reward." Kai nodded. "Besides, there should be enough light on the original path. We only need it for speed."


    "Yeah. We are attackers, so we emphasize speed. All of the attackers will need one night vision, so they wouldn''t be disturbed. However, another reason was the supply. There is no way we can give the whole six thousand a night vision because it won''t be only us who need it." Yuki nodded.


    Kai also understood. There were simply too many battlefields at the moment, so their resources were dispersed among those battlefields and military bases. Kai wore the watch and set the timer before saying. "One minute before entering the tunnel."


    The others took a deep breath, checking if they forgot anything.


    The moment the counter reached zero, Yuki and the othermanders in charge of the attacker group, Henry, exchanged looks without saying anything.


    They also leaped to the entrance, followed by their own groups, including Kai''s group. The other groups began entering the Underground Nest one by one.


    ording to Yuki, they didn''t need to activate their night vision yet, and Kai already knew about it as he was the strategist.


    As soon as they entered the Underground Nest, the tunnels were filled with blue lights. The light itself was quite bright and could illuminate the ce a few meters to ten meters on its surroundings.


    If one observed carefully, this light originated from a light bulb with a magic core as its fuel. They were nted on the wall, so magical beasts or soldiers didn''t identally step on it.


    Their group followed the light until they finally found the spot where they needed to start. It was a pretty deep ce surrounded by many magical beasts. Kai''s expression turned serious, and looked at Yuki.


    "Wear your night vision. We will meet them in a second." Yuki nodded.


    Kai pulled down the night vision and adjusted it to his eyes level. The dark world finally turned to green in his vision, and he could see in this darkness.


    As for Michelle, she wasfortable with this environment as she could shine in this ce. The dark energy started enveloping her before ck me gushed out from a few spots on her body.


    "Moonlight Shadow!" This was Michelle''s support technique, where she would get an additional strength with the power of darkness. Usually, she used it under the moonlight, but this ce was fabulous as well.


    She turned to Kai and nodded.


    "Kai, Michelle, Ayaka, Adrian, and I will enter first to gather their attention. M, Greta, Tasha, and Sanae wille right after and attack them. Nita will be here to protect Evan Young. Are we clear?" Yuki asked.


    "Yes. We should use this strategy when we are here rather than havingplicated fighting styles because we are not familiar with each other." Kai added.


    All of them nodded and looked at both leaders.


    "Let''s go." Kai and Yuki said in unison while advancing forward.


    This was a tunnel leading to another spacious area like the one Isabelle encountered a few hours ago. However, this one might be one of the biggest areas that could host almost a hundred magical beasts at once.


    Kai went inside the room and immediately started with a few magical beasts. "Three ants, one mouse, and one termite¡­"


    Noticing Yuki already leaped toward the magical beasts, Kai did the same and jumped forward. The ant in front of him was still confused, giving him a precious chance.


    Magic circles enveloped the spheres on his swords before giving him a nice amount of vibration. He shed his sword at one of the ants.


    The ants quickly used its mandible to grab Kai''s sword but were stopped by his other sword. In fact, its other sword cut this hard mandible in almost an instant. Kai''s sword that originally went toward the ant''s head sliced the head cleanly. "Ha!"


    The magical beast stared for a second when they saw this, never expecting it would turn this way. The ant just died with a single swing. Kai wasted no time and leaped toward a mouse that was the closest to him and shed his sword.


    Surprisingly, the mice fought back by sending its w toward Kai. Had his enemy only used a normal sword, the mice might be able to stop it.


    "Ha!" Sadly, his opponent was Kai. The moment Kai''s Vibration Sword broke the mice''s w, the sword moved forward and aimed at its head. The cut was very clear, and Kai felt little to no resistance in cutting something like this.


    Blood sttered as Kai sliced the mice''s head.


    On the other hand, Ayaka shattered the ant''s head with her spear, showing how powerful she actually was. Michelle also did the same. She sent her Shadow sh and channeled it with the magical beasts body.


    The Shadow sh circled around the ant body, cutting the ant into pieces.


    At the same time, Yuki used her one and a half meter long dual handed sword to cleanly cut the head. Unlike Kai''s Vibration Sword, she used entirely her strength and her weapon weight. The same applied to Adrian, who fought with his sword and spear.


    In a moment, they already killed more than ten enemies.


    "Scree!"


    The ants let out a sound to rm the colony in this room. More than eighty magical beasts didn''t hesitate and charged at them.


    Kai and the others already knew their role. They leaped to the air beforending on top of the ant''s head.


    The magical beasts swarmed at them, but all of them already killed the ants before jumping again to the center of the enemies. They were baiting them, so the next group woulde.


    "Lightning Piercer!"


    A lightning arrow was released from the darkness and pierced an ant''s head, creating a quiet hole and killing it almost instantly.


    The arrow became the signal that the others finally joined the battle.


    Shirotsuka Sanae arrived behind the magical beasts and released her star knives from the right and left. A green magic circle appeared on her star knives and boosted its speed and power with the wind.


    *Bam!*


    It crushed the skeletons. No matter if they were termites or ants, magic circles would appear again and again until they were shattered. At the same time, a few ants were also in the range of her swing, so after destroying the first two creatures, she enhanced her Star Knives again and killed a few more.


    On the other hand, Yuki''s teammates might not be shy, but none of them were actually worse than Sanae. She even got surprised by their power, thinking she already didn''t need her after observing her current team.


    Kai had no time to worry about her feelings even though he realized the sudden skipped beat of her heart. He continued in killing the magical beasts as quickly as possible.


    Maybe it was the difference in strength, or they were just lucky. Nheless, they killed a hundred magical beasts within five minutes. Thinking about this, Kai had hope in killing a thousand of them with this group.


    They didn''t have time to waste, so he came to Yuki and said. "There is only a passage to another room like this with only fifty magical beasts there. In that passage, we will have two tunnels. Do you want to go separate ways, or will we continue like this?"


    "We will go like this. Although splitting is very tempting, we should stick to the original n." Yuki answered. "You shouldn''t focus too much on the mission from your Teacher. I know that I''m scared of her, but it shouldn''t ruin this mission as a whole."


    "I understand." Kai nodded. "We will fight together for the rest of this mission, so we can know each other''s abilities and increase our efficiency."


    Yuki agreed with a smile. "Let''s go."


    Hearing her signal, the team didn''t waste a single second and ran to the next passage.


    Kai and Yuki took the front in this passage and killed the magical beasts that were roaming around this small tunnel with only one second lost from each kill.


    Sanae looked at their back while having a reminisce. She was the one who should be next to Yuki, just like in the past. However, she learned that after fighting in this base for a few years, Yuki''s prowess more leaned to this base''s style rather than her past style. In other words, had she forced herself to fight alongside Yuki, the result might not be like she hoped.


    Kai and Yuki still continued fighting the magical beasts. The group slowed down a little bit when they encountered the monster to match their pace. The moment they entered the next room, they overwhelmed the magical beasts with their powerful strength. At this step, Kai could assist Yuki by striking at a few monsters around her and bringing the magical beasts that targeted him.


    The two sides of magical beasts crashed with each other, and the fighting suddenly became easy. Not only her, but Adrian was also able to help Ayaka and Michelle by stopping the magical beasts and letting them kill it.


    On the other hand, the other groups didn''t have too much improvement. Although their distance and role didn''t really need them to coordinate, Sanae also became a reason. She looked like she waspeting with Yuki''s current teammates, so the other group became a rivalry instead.


    No oneined about this, because it was also good. Kai asked Tasha to watch them over, so they didn''t ''trip'' and get into trouble.

 Chapter 163 - Battle Style

    "Those two behind are B rank magical beasts." Kai pointed at the two ants behind the magical beasts pack. After finishing the first spacious area, they continued fighting the magical beasts without resting. Luckily, they didn''t need so much energy because their team was powerful enough to end a big battle in an instant.


    "You guys can take them on while we pave you guys the way." Yuki nodded and looked at the two ants that had bigger bodies than the rest.


    "Understood." Kai nodded before signaling Michelle to make the first move.


    "Shadow sh!" Michelle sent two sword waves, cutting every single insect on its way and creating a quite big path for them. "We will take this path."


    Yuki smiled and nodded before charging forward, ording to Michelle''s part.


    The ant in front of her tried to bite her, but she simply dodged to the side and shed her sword right on the joint that connected the head and the body.


    *Scree!*


    The ant managed to scream once before Yuki sent its head flying. Sanae also sent her two star knives to make sure no creatures coulde close while they were approaching the ants.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows when he looked at the two ants. They didn''t have any different from normal ants other than their size, so he expected to kill them as quickly as possible. The problem would be whether he and Michelle fought them separately or hunted one of them first before going to the other.


    In the midst of his thought, Kai noticed the slight movement from the ant. It looked like the two ants would ram them as soon as they arrived. Thinking about it, Kai said, "Michelle. You take one of them. I will end the other one."


    "Alright." Michelle nodded. "Want to see who is faster? Is your Vibration Swordor my Shadow sh stronger?"


    Kai smiled. "Their body is not big, so my Vibration Sword is stronger."


    "You won''t know until we finish." Michelle snorted before locking her eyes on the left ant.


    "There are only three ants left. Get ready." Yuki shouted.


    Kai and Michelle nodded and clenched their swords tightly.


    "Ha!" To speed up the process, Yuki struck another one in front of her while Sanae took the two behind it.


    *Bam!*


    The one that Yuki killed fell to the ground while Sanae sted the two against each other before Yuki appeared and struck both simultaneously.


    After killing the three magical beasts, Yuki moved to the left while Sanae moved to the right. They moved in sync and covered each other back. The reason they quickly changed their direction was to ensure that Kai and Ayaka didn''t have any interference while fighting these two ants.


    However, Ayaka and the others also noticed their movement even though they didn''t move together. As vanguards, Ayaka and Henry quickly helped Yuki and Sanae while Tasha, M, and Greta supported them. Nita, as Evan''s bodyguard, also moved up a little bit to protect the attackers and Evan while they were supporting from the side.


    Seeing this situation, Kai and Michelle couldn''t take their time. Kai''s Vibration Sword was already activated on both swords. However, the ants suddenly showed something surprising. Even though it had a huge body, it suddenly elerated to the point it had twice the normal ant''s speed. The power, of course, didn''t need to be mentioned.


    Unfortunately, their opponents this time were Kai and Michelle.


    Kai shed down his sword at their mandible.


    "!!!" The moment the two shed, he noticed resistance from the mandible, which meant it was stronger than the normal ant''s. Yet, the hardness alone was still notparable to Kai''s sharpness. It slowly cut through the mandible and moved toward the head.


    At this time, the ant noticed the sword''s strength and moved to the side, redirecting Kai''s sword to the side.


    *Scree!*


    Kai lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Normal ants would be killed by now, but this stronger ant was still able to dodge with losing only its mandible. The cut piece of mandible flew away and grazed his upper right arm.


    It used its thing to push Kai away, but it was gone with a single wave of his sword. Kainded on the ground and ran toward the bottom of the ant, shing his sword at its body. The blood began flowing like crazy, and when he got past the ant, he leaped onto its back before doing the same thing.


    Kai injured it heavily before moving to its head, striking it from the back.


    The head flew off, and the body gradually crumbled to the ground. Kai, who just killed it, looked at Michelle and found out that she already finished her job a few seconds earlier than him.


    The smug on her face slightly irritated him, so he pointed at the other ants, telling her they still needed to kill the remaining magical beasts.


    Michelle shrugged and leaped forward to help Yuki while Kai went to Sanae. Without the two bigger ants, the other creatures died one by one.


    "Fu." Kai took a deep breath after finishing the battle.


    This battle was also not like the battle in Cuba Military Base, where they needed to be extra careful so as to not let the enemy overwhelm them or hold their positions. This battle lets them attack and control the magical beasts, allowing Kai and the others to increase their speed.


    Kai fought like crazy, especially with his new Vibration Sword. He killed most of the magical beasts in a single sh because it cut them like butter.


    Tasha let him alone after they killed around three hundred magical beasts as there was no need to worry about him anymore. The same applied to Yuki, Sanae, and Michelle. Those four might be the strongest in this toon. It was proved even further when Nita, who protected Evan, imed that she never saw Yuki fight that freely.


    These four peoplebined into two groups. Kai and Michellebined each other''s strength and watched each other back. They had been fighting together before meeting Tasha. Even though Tasha fought with him the longest, it was undeniable that Michelle already knew Kai''s habit from when they were still kids. As frustrated as she might, Tasha already recognized this fact.


    Yuki and Sanae also began to get their fighting style back. These two best friends had fought together for a few years anyway. After their group killed more than two hundred magical beasts, Shirotsuka Sanae became the personal support of Yuki.


    The sight was more insane than Kai and Michelle. Yuki charged every magical beast with her dual handed sword. However, she also incorporated her new fighting style. If they were facing three hundred magical beasts, she would fight them one on one three hundred times rather than taking all of them at the same time. This technique required a high-speed movement to prevent any magical beasts from stopping her. At the same time, she should also kill the enemy with a single hit; otherwise, the technique would be broken.


    Sanae adjusted her style and kept staying behind her. When Yuki charged at one enemy, she would use her star knives to injure or even kill the enemies nearby, preventing any magical beasts from interfering.


    Yuki also did the same. Every time a magical beast managed to slip Sanae''s defense, she would protect her. Even all of Yuki''s teammates could only shake their heads as they had lost this battle. When Yuki was with them, she prioritized the team fight over the individual fight. Only at this time, she was acting individually and killed faster than she usually would.


    In the end, her teammates only helped Ayaka and left these four alone. They took a third of the magical beasts while those four also killed the rest.


    Ayaka''s movement and judgment also surprised them. They never thought that the fragile spear could crush the insects'' heads.Ayaka didn''t tell the secret behind the spear, so they were not shocked too much.


    Yuki led the group while Kai gave the direction until they finally killed seven hundred magical beasts that Yuki ordered to rest for five minutes.


    "Fu." Kai took a deep breath.


    "Good work, Captain." Evan came to him and handed him a water bottle. As he couldn''t help Kai in the front line, supporting and carrying the luggage was his main job this time.


    "Thank you." Kai nodded, smiled, and took the bottle. He leaned on the wall and took a big gulp.


    "Let me heal you." Evan nodded before healing two injuries on his hands. Looking at how many the magical beasts they fought, it was normal to have one or two injuries. For Kai, his injuries came from the big ant and another smaller ant.


    He thought he could let the ant injury him as long as it would take a faster time for him to kill it. His injuries could be tended by Evan anyway, so he could be a bit reckless.


    After healing him, he went to Yuki and Sanae, who also got light injuries.


    Yuki came to him afterward. "Yo, how is it?"


    "If you are asking about my injury, it''s fine." Kai paused for a moment and said. "But if you are asking about our progress, we need to kill another three hundred to finish the mission. Seeing there are still more than four thousand magical beasts, we should be able toplete it."


    "Alright." Yuki nodded. This took slightly longer than they expected because of theplexity of this nest. They needed to go back and forth to clean thempletely. "We should be able to finish in one to two hours¡­ More than two hours early than we expected."


    "You can''t say that because the fewer they are, the harder we can find."


    "True enough." Yuki nodded.

 Chapter 164 - Third Phase Has Finished

    "True enough." Yuki nodded.


    "Anyway, I am going to make a route for us first," said Kai while listening to the footsteps around their position.


    "Oh. We need to fight in an efficient way after all unless you want us to fail despite having so much advantage." Yuki grinned.


    "I absolutely don''t want to imagine what she will do to meter." Kai shook his head furiously.


    "I will leave you first." Yuki smiled before stretching her hands to him, asking for the bottle in his hand.


    Kai already finished drinking, so he handed the bottle to her. "Thank you."


    Seeing Yuki walk away, Kai closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. No one could escape from his ears, especially thest four thousand magical beasts around the area.


    They were currently in the north area of the Underground Nest containing ten thousand magical beasts. The middle and south areas had around twenty-five thousand and fifty thousand magical beasts respectively.


    Theplexity of the tunnels which were connecting with each other, the movement of the magical beasts, and the operation of humans were calcted in his mind. Each of them became a factor for Kai to create a good path where they could continuously move to a new path where they found monsters.


    The five-minute break turned into a ten-minute break as Kai finally broke his immersion and opened his eyes. The group that had been waiting for him since a few minutes ago stared at him, wondering if he had gotten the answer.


    "Let''s go." Kai smiled at them and pointed out the tunnel on their back. "I will guide all of you."


    All of them took out their weapons instantly and nodded.


    The group continued sweeping the entire north area of the nest. Most of the area consisted of thirty to sixty magical beasts inside, where they created a smallir for them. Kai used these spots to decide where he would go.


    They conquered another five of these and rounded their kill to nine hundred monsters. Kai still watched the marbles this ce had. From how they created aplicated like this, where he could go up and down or even left and right.


    The tunnel itself was dark, making him wonder how they could move around in this darkness. Earthworms aside, he didn''t know whether ants originally had something that could be used underground. He ended up shaking the thought off because it wouldn''t matter to him whether they originally had it or got when they evolved. His mission was still the same¡­ which was to kill them.


    Just as Kai predicted, their killing rate was slowly decreasing because of theck of monsters. There were some magical beasts that managed to get skipped by the soldiers, and all of them had a quite amount of distance.


    Although Kai instructed they needed to patrol the area around until six hours were up, the soldiers began gettingzy when the magical beasts became too scarce inside the northern area. They started walking instead and looked around while rxing.


    Kai couldn''t care less about them as they had admirably fulfilled their jobs. Out of ten thousand magical beasts, only around two hundred remained, and usually, the students would handle these two hundred magical beasts that might pass the front line.


    Unfortunately, there was no student that had a job like that, except Kai and his group.


    Kai could pinpoint their locations because of his hearing. He asked Yuki to split the group to destroy all of these magical beasts. Of course, the map had been marked by Kai to let her see where the magical beasts were.


    Yuki had no problem and brought her five-person team to do some cleaning, and the same applied to Kai''s group. Even Sanae rarely agreed with a chore like this. She said it was better than sorry, and the group finally moved out.


    On the way, they met a few teams that were patrolling around. Rather than having themzy like this, Kai instructed them to kill magical beasts in a certain location, making his job easier. He asked them to inform the next group they met to take down the locations he pinpointed. Yuki did the same thing ording to Kai''s instruction, and they got around one hundred people joining the fight before long.


    They destroyed the magical beasts''irs and finished the entire northern area. For the reward of their efforts, Kai informed them that their mission actually had finished. In other words, they had two hours of free time and could go to the surface to rest earlier. He told them not to spread the news for other soldiers and let them suffer because they didn''t do anything in particr.


    This one hundred people had no intention to inform them either. They had earned this rest with their hard work, so unless they were like best friends or family, they rather let them suffer a little bit. Nheless, they wouldn''t meet another magical beast after this, so they were not cruel to the other soldiers.


    After getting to the surface, Yuki and Kai reported to the main headquarters where Ria and Nathan stayed.


    "Phase three ispleted."


    "Good work." Nathan nodded. "Let us send the support team so we can move up our schedule."


    "Don''t." Kai shook his head. "It''s alright not to move up the schedule and let the soldiers work first. They won''t know anyway."


    "Don''t be like that. They are still soldiers, you know." Nathan shook his head. He could picture how the soldiers turnedzy afterpleting ny percent of their objective. However, it was better for them to rest because they can take the next missions more seriously."


    "Our schedule was made by also considering the amount of time they needed to sleep. With these three phases alone, we almost used a whole day. We would require another five days to finish this entire base, so it would be better to have the soldiers rest early," said Nathan, objecting to Kai''s decision.


    "I don''t mean to punish them a little. Looking at the fourth phase, where the support set up a small base in the Underground Nest, it will surely take time. Nheless, the support team wouldn''t go so deep and reach every team inside the nest. If we send them now and inform a few that meet the support, they will think it''s unfair." Kai shrugged.


    Nathan fell into silence and looked down.


    Kai used this silence to add another thing. "Besides, the foundation is the thing we need to be careful of."


    "I know that already." Nathan let out a long sigh. "Fine. It''s not like we lost much in either case. Killing ten thousand magical beasts and setting up a base on the first day is already quite an achievement."


    "That''s right. You need to be thankful to my student for this. Without his hearing ability, you won''t have a good grasp on the Underground Nest and howplicated the nest was. If you charge blindly, I''m afraid you will need a few months." Ria Ross decided to join the conversation. "Besides, it''s already a huge achievement to end a raid mission in a month, let alone a week. If I remember correctly, Michelle has used a few months in thest raid mission."


    "Kh!" When Ria said that, he had no words. As she said, thest raid mission was close to the graduation exam for the third year and continued for two months after the new curriculum started. Had Michelle not participated in this mission, she would already get Kai''s message.


    Kai learned this on his date with Michelle. He asked about what kind of mission that would take her that long. Although Michelle didn''t say anything about the Raid Mission at that time, it was easy for Kai to specte this was the only mission that would take too much time.


    "I''m thankful for his hearing as well." Yuki stepped forward and said with a smile. "If we don''t have his ears, he wouldn''t be able to clean the beasts this early and pass your requirement."


    Ria snorted, looking very proud of her student before staring at Nathan again. "Anyway, the fourth phase is only to have the support team inside and create small bases inside with the fifth phase to have the Vanguard advance once more. We have separated the nest into five areas: North, East, Middle, West, and South. Using this guidance, we will be able to finish them in five to six days.


    "However, the hardest part of this mission will be conquering the West, Middle, and South areas. Not only do we need to be careful with those three areas, but we also need to watch out for the magical beasts from the southern part of this nest. It''s better to use this opportunity to tell them this was a different style of the front line as we need to constantly watch out from magical beasts."


    After the long exnation from Ria, Nathan had no choice other than agreeing to her im. "Alright. We will continue ording to our schedule."


    Kai looked at Ria with a smile, watching how she murder Nathan with her words. He walked toward her and bowed. "Teacher, I have finished my mission."


    "Yeah. That little girl said it earlier. Well done." Ria smiled.


    Kai stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head, like he was telling her something. No one knew other than her about this gesture. Ria nodded her head with a gentle smile.


    "Then, I''m going to rest a bit. There is still half a day before the next operation."


    "Sure."


    Kai bowed his head once more to her and nodded to Yuki and Nathan before leaving the tent.

 Chapter 165 - Discussion On The Second Day

    As nned, the fourth phase began in two hours. The attackers, who were left behind by Kai, got a lecture from Nathan himself. He wanted them not to lower their guard just because the enemies were too lower in number.


    If these were Yuki or Henry, who lectured them asmanders from Attacker teams, they wouldn''t really think about it that much other than saying they would reflect on their action. However, it was different for Nathan. His achievements were already well known and so high that only a few could talk equal to him under normal conditions.


    The soldiers could only heed his words and not talk bad unless they wanted to get court-martialed. Even so, they were still humans, and some of them lost theirrades in this war.


    Nathan said, ''the only way to get revenge is to go ording to the n and kill those insects.'' Luckily, most of the soldiers would adhere to those words because Nathan warned them that if they did not heed this word, there wouldn''t be a punishment because he would end their lives as soon as he met them.''


    The rule and threat of Nathan were proven to be effective. Col ton and Faith, who were themanders for Vanguard teams, had created special units to make sure no one would actually go to the front line and ruin their entire n.


    Luckily, the soldiers had been instructed for the whole operation, so they knew they could get their revenge. It wasn''t like a mission where they couldn''t investigate the real reason their friends died, and they were forced to stand by, so no soldiers actually acted that foolish.


    In the headquarters, Nathan sat on his chair, waiting for the time to pass. It was a silent two hours because none of the soldiers fought.


    Kai and his group had dinner with Yuki''s group. This was their bonding period because they formed a toon in short notice. They praised Kai for his hearing and map while Sanae and Yuki got teased because of their friendship. It was a warm dinner nheless.


    Sanae decided to talk with Yuki first and asked Kai and the others to go ahead. Having nothing to do, they decided to end the day and go back to their room.


    Today, Kai had rxed a little bit from the tense situation that gued him. Even after a day of fighting, nothing seemed to be abnormal, so he could safely assume there was nothing there.


    He got a good sleep this time and woke up with a fresh mind. The others also woke up the same time as him, but he only told them he would meet them after finishing his matter in the headquarters.


    No one said anything to him, and waited like yesterday. This matter was very important to him because the one who needed to ensure the entire operation was him. Nathan could only oversee everything from the surface, but couldn''t check whether it went wrong or not.


    The moment Kai arrived, he was greeted by Via.


    "Good Morning. How are you feeling right now?" Via asked with a smile.


    Kai took a glimpse of the room and found Nathan, Ria, Yuki, and even Henry waiting for him. He smiled at them before turning back to Via. "Yes. Good morning. I had a good sleepst night, so I''m ready for today."


    Via nodded and stretched her hand to the others. "Let''s start the morning briefing."


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    They walked toward the table in the middle where a map of this nest projected above it.


    "We have finished the Fourth Phase early in the morning. Out of ten rooms that we could use, seven of them already became our temporary base. The other three were different than we expected, so we chose not to use them." Via pointed at the seven purple dots.


    Kai looked at the map and the seven dots. Ria seemed to have updated the map with green color in the northern area to tell them it was fine. These had been distributed to the soldiers since yesterday to let them know their current n.


    "Alright. We can use these seven small bases to ry some supports to the Vanguards and Attackers." Kai nodded, finding no trouble with the arrangement. His minimum was five anyway, so having an additional two strengthened the defense force alone.


    "Yes. We are nning to send the Vanguard in two hours ording to the schedule." Via paused for a moment and said. "This Underground Nest has a round shape. If we split it into three, we would get ten thousand and fifteen thousand in the northern and southern parts respectively, which means there will be twenty-five thousand in the middle.


    "The problem will be how we can sweep the twenty-five thousand, and your answer is to sweep them from the right. This is the most crucial part of the mission." Via stopped before looking at Kai with a serious expression.


    "Yes. I split the middle party into three, making them western part, center part, and eastern part of this nest. They were numbered seven thousand, ten thousand, and eight thousand respectively." Kai pointed at the western area. "I wanted us to strike at them, starting from the western part as they were the smallest in terms of number.


    "We can train the soldiers, especially our vanguard, to watch out. It''s simple to see that the Vanguard needs more extra work because they are not only fighting to defend from the middle area; there must be some monsters that woulde from the northern area. Hence, I was nning to use the support to make a temporary base so the vanguards could ask for help at any moment.


    "On the other hand, I want to replenish our soldiers with the Reserve army. We should have one to two hundred casualties yesterday. The essence of this n is time, and this reinforcement is for speed. We will do the same thing as yesterday." Kai exined as he took a deep breath, staring at Nathan and the others.


    "I don''t mind. With another two hundred from the reserve army, our attackers group will have two thousand soldiers again." Yuki nodded.


    "Yeah. The Vanguard should have isted them. If we can''t kill them all within the time limit, I think we should retire." Henry shrugged. "Though I bet we don''t have any specific strategy other than killing them, right?"


    "No." Kai shook his head. "We should be able to take the middle region on the third day if everything is going well. Depending on the number of our soldiers, we can speed our process up."


    "I doubt it is possible." Nathan shook his head and sighed. "It''s not like I am underestimating our soldiers. Still, I can say it is impossible to have more than five thousand five hundred soldiers remaining after the third day. From the first day alone, we have lost around two hundred thirty people. With another three days¡­"


    There was no need for Nathan to exin it. Kai''s n was to attack the east region and the south region at the same time if their number is still more than five thousand and five hundred. After all, they still need to fight around twenty-three thousand magical beasts. Kai thought it was impossible to do it unless they have more than a fourth of that number. Of course, it would be a different matter if Nathan chose to sacrifice more soldiers than he needed to.


    He also objected to this to ensure the lives of soldiers despite hearing the benefit of this n.


    Kai smiled and nodded. "It will be one day different anyway. We can have it more rxed."


    "Yeah. It''s not like we have a difference of a month or something. It''s just a day. We can wait that much." Nathan nodded. He began prioritizing the soldiers'' lives and said. "We are going to the original n."


    He thought about conserving soldiers because he learned that there would be another big movement from the government pretty soon.As for whether he would involve Kai again in this matter was still unknown because the danger was greater, so he didn''t tell him anything about it yet.


    "In that case, we will keep doing this until we conquer these three middle-regions before attacking the southern area with all of your forces like the original n. Is that alright with all of you?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. I am sure you will be like a hot potato after this battle. The top brass will-"


    Before he finished his words, killing intent spread across the room. On the side, Ria Ross already crossed her arms and looked very pissed. "As I said, I don''t mind fighting a government. If they are going to involve him without my permission, you can see me revolting."


    "Haha¡­ they won''t be able to sleep at night if you fight them." Nathanughed. "Don''t worry. I also want him alive."


    "Humph." Ria snorted.


    "Alright. We have set up the n for the second day. You are free to go with your group to prepare. There are still five hours before your groups move anyway." Nathan ended the meeting and sat back on his seat as it was not wise to continue about the topic.


    Kai and the others nodded their heads and left the room. However, Kai stared at Ria and shook his head first, telling her there was nothing wrong on the first day.


    This action confused Nathan. He wanted to ask about it, but Ria already sent a cold gaze at him, stopping the words in his throat. She then waved her hand to Kai, telling him he could leave.


    Kai bowed his head and left the room.

 Chapter 166 - The Progress Of The Second Day

    The next couple of hours were pretty uneventful for Kai. He listened to every single footstep and voice inside the Underground Nest, but none of them had trouble, which was relieving.


    Two hourster, the time limit for the fourth phase ended and the support team had been established. They were also recing the vanguard that needed to look out for iing enemies. It also gave them time to rest their body. Kai had been nning for their schedule long ago before he even asked Ria for advice.


    Not long after the support team finished their job and stood by inside the nest, the vanguard entered again and slowly marched toward the western part of the nest.


    Isabelle''s group also went inside along with the previous team, as there was no need for another arrangement as no one died in their team. They aimed for no death again for the second day.


    Although it was such a shame they were getting into the vanguard team and couldn''t kill as many magical beasts as possible, Isabelle had noint as long as there was no heavy injury on her teammates.


    She kept protecting them from any magical beasts that might hurt or even kill them as she gradually became the queen of the group.


    The same applied to the other student groups, especially the top ten groups. They were as good if not more powerful than the soldiers.Although they might not be able to bepared to the group of themanders personally led, they were also ranked pretty high up.


    The soldiers didn''t have any trouble with the students since, as long as they got more experience and applied their knowledge into the battle, they would really be the elite amongst elites.


    Kai was satisfied with the result of the Vanguard team. They immediately blocked the entrance to the middle and southern regions, isting the west regionpletely.


    At this moment, the attacker armies led by Yuki and Henry swept the whole western area. Their number was three thousand lower than the previous day, so they managed to kill all the magical beasts within three hours, one hour faster than yesterday. Even so, they had the time limit, so Kai didn''t say a single thing if they had finished their job. After all, Kai''s group was the one who mostly dealt with thest few hundreds of monsters.


    After the attacker armies came out, the support team slightly advanced and made bases in the western region. They took over the vanguard armies to watch out the iing magical beasts from the northern and middle regions.


    Kai gave the report to Nathan about their progress and spected the number of deaths for today''s progress. After that, he retired for the day. Once he thought when Nathan actually slept and found out that he was sleeping only around four hours each day to ensure the battle went ording to the schedule.


    Kai had an admiration for his action but had no intention of imitating him unless necessary. Even Ria Ross agreed with that decision because he would just unnecessarily exhaust himself. It would be better to retire early and focus on the next day.


    In the end, she just said that Nathan was a workaholic back in the day. That was why he only had a single woman in his life. He just didn''t have time for them. He became a bit guilty when his wife died, so he taught Michael, his son, to always spare some time for his family.


    ¡­


    The third day came, and the soldiers became more energetic than yesterday. They didn''t meet any resistance to their advancement and progressed very quickly. The normal raid mission would be one thatsted for a few months, and this was supposed to be a normal raid mission. Yet, they could finish the mission within a week.


    This short amount of time made all the soldiers happy. They could bury the deceased, get a holiday, and so on. At the same time, Nathan began spreading the rumor about Kai''s existence.


    In the attacker army, this rumor zed even further.


    "Hey, do you know that we have a student as the strategist of this mission?" A soldier asked as he just learned about it from the other group.


    "I heard it from another group." Another soldier nodded. "They said the student''s name is Kai Carter."


    "That''s right. From the information that I got recently, he was a Sound Magician."


    "He is participating in this battle as well as a part of the attacker team."


    "You should also put ''unorthodox'' behind it. After all, he was able to defeat Isabelle Fisher, the number one sniper in the magic school."


    "I also heard about him." Another soldier joined the conversation. "He is from United Asia and the fiance of Michelle Graham, the only daughter of Graham Family''s head. Still, he made the map for this war and also tookmand of the Cuba War, where the magical beasts outnumbered them five to one. I could tell you it was an insane fight since I took part in it. If he wasn''t there, we might lose more than two-thirds of our army. I overheard this from General Nathan himself, but it would seem Kai Carter might overtake him in less than a decade."


    Thest soldier that joined the conversation was a person from the Graham Family. Nathan gave him a task to spread Kai''s information. There were several reasons for this. First, Kai would get the recognition he deserved from the soldiers. By spreading this kind of information, Nathan hoped that by hearing Kai''s name alone, he would inspire the soldiers.


    Back then, he said it was fine to stay in the base after racking up some achievement. However, he added another condition that he would need to fight when it was necessary in case humanity would be threatened again.


    It would just create a mysterious and prestigious name for Kai. If Kai came back to the front line with that name, he might create a five thousand army like a ten thousand one because Kai was the one who led them. In the end, it was for Kai and his granddaughter. Even though Michelle might leave the house someday, she and Kai wouldn''t abandon the Graham Family at all, especially with the new little brother.


    He had seeded in the battle of Cuba and Prince Rupert even without his interference. The soldiers in Prince Rupert had seen himmanding the left army back then. At the same time, the two armies also knew about Kai being theirmander in Cuba''s grand scale battle.


    Without even spreading his achievement, those soldiers would certainly recognize him. And that information would spread among them naturally.


    The second reason would be to make it easier to give him the reward. After all, it would be troublesome if only themanders knew about this. When he gave a hefty reward for Kai, they would think Kai only deserved it because he was Nathan''s soon to be grandson-inw.


    As for the third reason, it was simply his selfishness. He wanted Kai to stay in this base or at least get pressure in the form of ''hopes'' that he would need to stay here and lead the army. Nathan was afraid that Kai would go back to United Asia or migrate to Europe Union Base and remain there for the rest of his life.


    Kai couldn''t stop the rumor as it would only make it worse if he said anything about it. He came to his group while ignoring those conversations and their gazes. Even so, the moment he came to his group, all of them grinned, wanting to tease him.


    He had expected from something like this when he realized Nathan was ''advertising'' him in the army. Although he was surprised when he saw Ria didn''t do a single thing and instead became supportive about this, Kai could only let go of such a thing. He tried to learn the reason himself since both didn''t want to exin it to him.


    At the very least, he knew that both of them were doing it for him while thinking about the limit of his patience. If they did something excessive, they would consider it over and over again.


    He ended up finishing the meeting early and left the tent.


    "Let''s wee the star of this battle, Kai Carter." Michelle grinned. The otherughed before they joined the teasing.


    On the other hand, Kai couldn''t say a single thing if he didn''t want to make it worse. He stayed quiet until the time for him to enter the nest arrived.


    As soon as they entered, no more joking around. Their faces turned serious, and went ahead with their own mission. Kai led them, like the previous two days, and they became the highest kill counts group in this entire operation. As for their respective kill counts, they were pretty simr in the counts.


    They were half an hour in, and their people managed to kill two thousand magical beasts out of their ten thousand. This middle area had the same amount of magical beasts like the northern area, so they expected the battle tost longer than the second day.


    However, when they started getting into it, they were shocked by a thunderous roar.


    *Roar!*


    The roar resounded through the entire nest. It was followed by the screeching sound of ants across the nest. Kai was dumbfounded because he felt there shouldn''t be a roar that came from a beast as insects didn''t roar like this.


    Once the roar was out, the magical beasts suddenly moved in unison, trying toe toward a few spots. Everything happened one after another, confusing Kai what just happened.


    However, Kai precisely knew one thing.


    They were in trouble.

 Chapter 167 - Taking The Full Command

    *Roar!*


    The roar shook the entire nest, and it was especially true for Kai, who could listen to the entire nest with his ears. The screeching sounds of other insects woke up the others near them, and it continued until every beast rmed.


    Sweats covered his head as his hands flinched. "This is really not good¡­"


    The others found Kai stopping for no apparent reason and looked at him while squinting their eyes. They had finished cleaning up all the magical beasts here and prepared to go to another one. Yet, Kai, who would charge in front, didn''t move from his spot.


    "Kai? What''s wrong?" Michelle walked closer while stretching her hand, trying to grab his hand and waking him up from his thoughts.


    "I¡­" Kai still had no response to that question. He knew they were in trouble, but when he wanted to answer, the words stuck on his throat. He asked himself first, ''What is the problem? The roar surely wakes every single magical beast in this ce, but why would there be a roar like that out of nowhere?''


    Before he could find the answer, the magical beasts suddenly made a big movement.


    "This¡­" Their movement was reflected in Kai''s ears and confused him.


    "What is it?" Michelle asked again with a low voice while walking closer to him, only to stop a few meters from him.


    Normal humans wouldn''t hear Michelle''s voice that was simr to murmur, but it echoed loudly in Kai''s ears. He nced at the others before staring at Michelle. "There is a sudden roar from the Southern Area, and the magical beasts suddenly make a weird move. They are suddenly entering a tunnel that I haven''t heard before because there is no magical beast before."


    *Gasp¡ª" They widened their eyes,sensing trouble woulde soon. Michelle took a deep breath before asking. "Where¡­ Where will the tunnel lead them?"


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t a single answer to that question yet. Kai didn''t say a single word for a minute as he focused his ears on this pack. At first, he believed the tunnel would be an escape route for them, but it suddenly turned around and made a path to the Western and Northern Areas.


    The paths that he never knew about were presented so suddenly. Kai had no way to decipher this action. Considering this was a big movement, he should report it to the highmand. However, the problem would be whether he could go back to this ce and meet these guys againter.


    Suddenly, the magical beasts horde split into three groups. The first group had around five thousand magical beasts and went toward the Western part. The other two groups had three thousand magical beasts each and kept charging toward the Northern Area before they turned around and came to one of the tunnels.


    *Rumble!*


    The sound of rocks crumbling down filled his ears as the magical beasts entered the room. At the same time, Kai heard the remaining magical beasts move toward the Middle Region.


    Kai gulped down as he looked at his teammates with widened eyes. "This¡­ We need to get out of here! Sister, teleport all of us from here!"


    He ran to Tasha and grabbed her shoulder with his shaking hands. "Teleport us to the surface right now!"


    "Wait, what? What happened?" Tasha grabbed his hands and stopped him. "Kai, calm down first and tell us!"


    "We have no time! All fifteen thousand magical beasts from the Northern Area are going to attack us!"


    *Thud.*


    The room fell into silence as none had the ability to speak at the moment. Their brain began processing the absurd information Kai just blurted out. A part of them wanted to believe it was not true as they couldn''t picture how the magical beasts suddenly moved that way. The other part couldn''t help but trust the words from the one who could hear everything in this Underground Nest.


    "Are you serious?"


    "Yes." Kai gritted his teeth. "Five thousand areing to the Western Region. There are two groups, three thousand each, going to the Northern Area. Thest four thousand areing toward this ce."


    "This ce?" Yuki furrowed her eyebrows, crossed her arms, and looked down. "We have two thousand attackers and two thousand Vanguard in this ce. However, the Support army is scattered around the Northern and Western areas. Are they¡­"


    "!!!" No one was stupid enough not to realize something this simple. Yuki pointed her hand at Kai while looking at Tasha. "Teleport him to the surface alone. All of you are going to stay with me in this ce."


    "Wait, we need to go out first!" Kai clenched his fists.


    "I can''t abandon my duty asmanders. If you are going to bring your group to the surface, I won''t mind as well." Yuki shook her head. "There are approximately five thousand magical beasts in this ce while we are surrounded by the four directions by a total of twenty-three thousand. We still can hold on for a while by utilizing the tunnels around us since they wouldn''t be able to swarm us with a thousand magical beasts at the same time."


    "I am going to stay here," Michelle stated with a stern tone.


    "Michelle!" Kai called her name out loud. Just like the war in Cuba, he always prioritized his family over the soldiers, and this hadn''t changed because he felt this was the right thing to do. If it would mean they were safe, Kai didn''t mind sacrificing himself and other soldiers. Yet, Michelle rejected him.


    "Kai¡­ Go to the surface and bring the reinforcement. If it''s you, I''m sure you can resolve this situation. I will be waiting for you in this ce." Michelle said while walking toward Tasha.


    That smile jolted Tasha''s mind as her expression turned serious. "Teleportation!"


    A pink magic circle appeared beneath Kai''s feet.


    "Wait!" His mind was full at the moment with this situation, making him unable to react to this magic circle. He quickly leaped, but still caught in the Teleportation Magic Circle and disappeared.


    "Are you sure about this?" Tasha looked at Michelle.


    "Yes. Kai will shine brighter when he is facing problems. I am sure you know about it as well¡­" Michelle smiled lightly before looking at Ayaka, Evan, and Sanae with a guilty face. "I''m sorry about this selfishness."


    "I believe in him." Ayaka shook her head and replied.


    "You guys are hopeless without me. We should create a small anchor point in this ce and bring all those injured men to me. That way, we can hold on for a little longer." Evan nodded.


    "I have gotten used to this. Still, we shouldn''t separate our way with the group just to inform the others. It will be too risky at the moment." Sanae shrugged her shoulder as if she didn''t care about this problem.


    "As Evan said, we will make a small base in one of the nned locations. After that, Sanae and I will move around while you guys are protecting this base. We will then set up more defense to the surroundings and create a natural Underground Stronghold." Yuki nodded. "We will probably need Alicia for this, but she is in the Support Group¡­ Well, fourmanders should be enough to create one even if it will be sloppy."


    They nodded solemnly while clenching their hands. Yuki shouted, "Let''s go!"


    The group began to move again.


    On the other hand,


    Kai fell to theyer of snow because of the sudden change of scenery. Before he could m his hand, his rationality took over his mind as he stood up and leaped toward the base. There was no pointmenting about their action, he could only deal with it in his way.


    It took him a minute to travel a hundred meters. Tasha had teleported him slightly toward the base, but she couldn''t pinpoint their location, so he didn''t need too much time to reach the base.


    Kai paid no heed of other soldiers and headed toward the headquarters.


    "Emergency!"


    "We need to mobilize every single soldier right now!" Kai shouted.


    "What happened?" The sudden shout startled everyone in the room as they narrowed their eyes.


    Maybe the snow had cooled his head down, so he managed to exin in a quick and simple way. "We have been attacked by all magical beasts inside the nest. There are six thousand attacking the Support Army in the Northern Area and will definitely go to the Middle Region. At the same time, there are seventeen thousanding from the other three directions while we still need to handle the five thousand in the Middle Area. I need the authority to mobilize the reserve army."


    "Granted!" Ria Ross answered instead of Nathan. "We have eight hundred people in the reserve army after recing the dead soldiers. I, Nathan, Sherwing can move immediately to lead the army. The originalmander can have some soldiers to protect this base."


    Nathan nced at Ria Ross for a second before nodding his head, giving him the confirmation as the highestmand. He turned to Via and ordered. "Code Red."


    Via stunned for a second before leaving the tent as quickly as possible. Code red was the signal when the mission was in the emergency and on the verge of failure.


    There was no need to ask anything about his exnation. It was easy to see that they were trying to kill the Support army first before encircling the Vanguard and Attacker armies.If they couldn''t break through this problem, their loss would be nothing but assured. Only one person would know how to break this process, and they were staring at that person.


    "Kai. You have the highestmand now. You can order everyone, including me." Nathan said with a serious face. "Now, what is your order?"


    "I¡ª"

 Chapter 168 - The Rescue Plan

    Nathan said with a serious face. "Kai. You have the highestmand now. You can order everyone, including me. What is your order?"


    With Nathan stepping down from his position, Kai needed to face the burden of the entire six thousand people in this base. Even so, no anxiety or fear in his eyes. Instead, decisiveness and seriousness were nted on his face. He had a reason for this as Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka were still inside.


    Kai fell into deep thought for a minute. "I have a n."


    "Let''s hear it." Nathan smirked as he raised his hand as if he challenged him.


    "We have eight hundred soldiers in the Reserve Army at the moment because of the resupply of soldiers for Attacker Armies. I''m going to split the soldiers into four groups." Kai paused for a moment as he walked toward the map while signaling Via toe closer.


    Via noticed that Kai wanted to use her ability and ran toward the map. She nodded and raised both of her hands to manipte the map with her magic. "I''m ready."


    Kai looked at the high ranking people in this tent and said. "Commander Kate will have one hundred soldiers to maintain the stability on the surface and protect the administration team if there will be an ambush."


    "Yes, Sir." Kate straightened her back and saluted to him before leaving the tent. She needed to pick the weakest soldiers from the Reserve Army, to lessen the burden of those who would enter the Underground Nest, and this would take time.


    "General Nathan and Vice General Sherwin will lead two hundred soldiers each, and your targets are¡­" Kai pointed at two spots before asking Via to make a red dot and expand them. The magical beasts that were going for the Support Team in the Northern Area were split with three thousand each, so Kai choosing this position was normal. "You guys take one each. Remember, you will fight three thousand with only two hundred. The risk is very high."


    "If this is an open field, it will be hard. Sadly, this is an underground nest where we won''t be surrounded as long as we have enough speed. We should be able to hold them back for one hour or so." Nathan snorted before ring at Sherwin. "Are you up to it?"


    "I''m someone who is more fit to be an Attacker Commander because of my attack power, so you can''t underestimate my power." Sherwin nodded and pointed at one of the red dots. "I will go with the right one."


    "Then I will go to the left one. I might as well go to the left one since Alicia should still be alive. She is suited in this defensive battle, so I might rescue her and have her takemand." Nathan then looked at Kai. "What about you?"


    Kai didn''t answer him for a while as he stared at his teacher, Ria Ross.


    ''He wants something from me.'' Ria quickly understood his intention. "Do you want me to go with you?"


    "No." Kai shook his head, confusing her. Yet, he startled her with his next words. "You might want me to bring you there."


    "¡­" Ria narrowed her eyes and released her killing intent. "So, are they¡­"


    "Although I have no concrete evidence because there is no clue or whatsoever. I have indeed heard a roar of a beast that shouldn''t exist inside this ce, causing every magical beast to suddenly move in unison and make this predicament." Kai also released his killing intent, hating whoever released that roar to the bone.


    "I don''t need concrete proof. As long as they might exist, I will go." Ria nodded.


    "What do you mean about this?" Nathan looked at them, confused. It looked like these two knew something he didn''t but hid it from the leader of this mission.


    "The lost children. I''m sure you already know that term," said Ria in a cold tone.


    *Gasp¡ª!" Nathan opened his mouth in surprise as he looked at her stare that seemed to pierce his bones with chilling needles. Lost children were the term of SS rank magical beasts, the children that had turned into magical beasts and escaped. That was why they were called lost children. To conceal the term of higher rank magical beasts, they used ''Lost Children'' for the SS rank magical beasts and ''The Protector'' for the SSS rank. If there were indeed lost children here, it would be dangerous.


    Paying no intention to Nathan''s exaggerated expression, Ria turned to Kai. "I will go with you. Seeing their movement, it should be in the Western Area, right?"


    "Yeah." Kai nodded before turning to Nathan. "So, I''m going to take care of rescuing Commander Alicia and have her set up a natural stronghold underground by using our soldiers."


    "Alright. I will leave it in your hand." Nathan had no objection about this decision since if he left his squad for too long, they might be engulfed by the magical beasts. "She is a goodmander, so you can trust her ability. Even with this pace, we might still be able to save more than three thousand soldiers. If we have her set up a stronghold, we should be able to kill all of those magical beasts in a day or two."


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "We are moving out right now."


    Nathan and the others nodded as they left the tent. The soldiers who performed administrative jobs quickly stood up and saluted them.


    When they arrived at the Reserve Army, they had been grouped with each containing one hundred soldiers. Kate didn''t know how the arrangement would be, so she separated them into eight groups while taking the eighth one. She believed even if they moved out, the group wouldn''t have like thirty-three people or something. Rather they would have fifty or a hundred. And separating in one hundred was easier than fifty, so she chose this arrangement.


    "Good work." Nathan nodded. "I will take the first and second."


    Kate nodded and saluted to him while Sherwin came and picked his group as well. "I will take the third and fourth then."


    "Yes. They have simr firepower anyway," Kate reported.


    "We take the fifth, sixth, and seventh group." Ria walked toward the three groups with Kai.


    Her face was obviously well known as one of the S rank magical beast yers. The moment they looked at her face, they were stunned for a few seconds before those who immediately recognized her began shouting.


    "General Ria Ross!"


    "General Ria Ross!"


    "General Ria Ross!"


    From the ranking alone, she had the same level as Nathan, but if the government needed to choose who would lead the army, they would absolutely choose her. So, her charm was far higher than Nathan''s.


    Ria released her aura as her expression turned serious. She raised her hand and clenched her palm, signaling them to be quiet.


    Her energy alone stunned them while her expression scared them. The soldiers suddenly put their hands on the back and slightly widened the gap before their feet.


    Looking at the soldiers in the rest position, Ria finally opened her mouth. "I want to say one thing. Those who can''t keep up with my pace will be abandoned. This won''t be like your usual mission, where you can take it easy and advance at your own pace. Instead, we need speed like none other as we only have three hundred soldiers to handle five thousand insects. I''m not going to sacrifice many soldiers for a few. If you want to suddenly turn around, fine by me¡­ but let us see whether you receive the notification from Martial Court or be killed by me first. Are we clear on this matter?"


    *Thud¡ª!*


    All soldiers were stunned as their eyes widened. They didn''t expect to hear this the first time Ria led them. Yet, a shout woke them up and forced them to answer.


    "Where is my answer?!"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers suddenly went to the straight position and saluted out of reflex.


    "Good. Now we are going to have my student to exin the general n. We don''t have time for this, so you need to improvise itter." Ria paused for a second only to see the weird expression in every soldier''s face. "My student is the current General for this mission after receiving the mandate from the acting General, Nathan Graham. If you have any problem, why don''t youe to the front and say it to my face?"


    The soldiers already knew about Kai''s identity as a strategist because of the rumor, but it was the first time they heard about him being the General of this mission. Luckily, there were many Graham Family members here, and one of them shouted.


    "We greet General Kai Carter!" A shout followed by a salute shook the army for a second before they suddenly did the same in unison. "We greet General Kai Carter!"


    Noticing the situation had been under control, Ria nced at Kai and nodded. "Your turn."


    Kai stepped up and looked at the soldiers. "I won''t talk too much here. If you don''t believe me or whatever, you can hate meter. But I have themand right now, so all of you are going to follow my order.


    "On to the n, I don''t have anyplex n at the moment. Your mission is to follow me. We are going through several wider areas, and I will break through from each area without killing everything. I want twenty people on the back to stay behind and kill the rest of the magical beasts in that area before following us again. Of course, we will ce a marker for you, so you won''t be lost. That''s all, any questions?"


    "We hear and obey." The moment they heard Kai would follow the group itself from the front shook their mind. That was the most dangerous position, and yet a student said something like that. They wouldn''t be called a soldier if they didn''t obey this. Ria Ross was also there to ensure the n, dispelling thest doubt in their heart.


    "Good. Now, let''s go!" Kai nodded.

 Chapter 169 - Student And Teacher Duo

    Kai and Ria moved toward the Underground Nest''s entrance, followed by Nathan and Sherwin. Ria halted her footsteps and turned around before shouting. "Remember, inside isn''t spacious, so all of you can get a group of ten to go together. Make sure you have a few meters distance with each group so you will have a good space if magical beasts attack you."


    Nathan and Sherwin also warned their soldiers about this. They were waiting for Kai and Ria Ross to enter first before they entered. The route might be different, but the entrance was the same. As long as they passed this, nothing would hold them back anymore.


    Listening to Ria''s words, Kai kept looking at the dim entrance. Although the soldiers had ced some lighting, it was still hard to see without a night vision. However, he didn''t worry about this. Instead, he focused his ears to locate Michelle and the others.


    The sound of magical beasts overwhelmed his ears; the sound of soldiers'' agony filled his heart. Yet, Kai had a hard time pinpointing their location because there was too much noise.


    "Don''t worry. They are strong. If the pushes to shove, Tasha will certainly teleport everyone to the surface." Ria came to him and tapped his shoulder. "Are you good to go?"


    "Of course. We are going to be at the front, right?"


    "Yeah. We need speed more than anything." Ria nodded before raising both of her hands. A spark of white light appeared inside her hands before it gradually turned into spears.


    Kai looked at her and recalled her title. The woman who was loved by swords. To be honest, the title was slightly misleading. People normally considered a sword as a weapon with a long metal de and a hilt with a hand guard. However, there was also a part of the world that recognized the metal de itself as a sword.


    Ria Ross actually could use a spear, a ive, a hammer and so on. Her nickname derived from her usual habit of using swords. And this time, she wanted to increase her speed by using spears that had a longer reach. She might even throw it to kill a magical beast.


    Kai never experienced her spear as well, so he couldn''t im such a thing. But he would do that if he had a spear.


    The spear didn''t have other colors except white like her swords. On top of the spear was a triangle de that was quite wide and long. Knowing the monsters inside this nest, she must understand that she needed a bigger de for her spear to kill them in a single strike.


    "You should know why I''m using this, right? Just beware of my movement." Ria smirked.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure you won''t hit me despite saying something like this." Kai shrugged. "Can you give me a few spears? I may need itter."


    "Sure." Ria nodded and synthesized a few more spears and a holster for him. "You should be fine in carrying these many."


    Kai nodded and took the five spears from her. He didn''t forget to wear the holster and attached the spears behind him. These spears were for throwing purposes since he might need to use itter. His strength allowed him to prate the insect skull and brought down the insect behind it.


    After finishing his preparation, he nodded to Ria before ncing at Via on the side.


    Via noticed his signal and projected the word ''Go'' in the sky, symbolizing the start of this rescue operation. The soldiers clenched their weapons and looked at Ria and Kai.


    Both of them raised their weapons and entered the nest as the rest of the soldiers followed them, running with their full speed just to keep up with them. They didn''t forget to nt a few lights ording to the n.


    The first part of this tunnel had no magical beasts as they encountered some soldiers that had yet to be attacked by magical beasts. Kai and Ria ignored them as these soldiers would be absorbed into Nathan''s or Sherwin''s group. The soldiers under them also had no time to inform if they wanted to catch up with their bosses.


    As they were running through this dark tunnel, Kai said, "With our pace, we will meet a portion of magical beasts, which is Sir Nathan''s job. After that, we need another three minutes before striking our target."


    "Tch, we shall do a favor for that old man." Ria clicked her tongue.


    They continued passing through the tunnels until they suddenly found a big room containing ten ants. It would seem the ants just came through the tunnel on the other side, so the room wasn''t filled yet.


    "Three ants are enough." Ria Ross said as she already marked the necessary enemies that they needed to kill to break through them. With their speed, they only needed to deal with the one in front of her that was blocking their path.


    Kai, as her student, obviously knew which three ants. However, he found out that one of them was a bigger ant like the one he encountered previously. But it would seem Ria already targeted this ant as she said, "I will take the bigger one. You clear the other two."


    "Understood." Kai nodded. He was also curious how Ria wanted to kill this ant, so he proceeded with the ant that didn''t take too long to end while ncing at Ria a couple of times.


    Kai and Ria arrived at their respective opponent. Kai met the first little one and shed its head with his Vibration Sword before leaping toward the second ant. The distance between them allowed Kai to nce at Ria before he suddenly widened his eyes.


    The giant ant plunged Ria by crushing her with its mandible, but thetter had no problem in dodging this. She simply made the same move as Kai by piercing her spear on its stomach, continued running through the back and created a long cut wound.


    ''She doesn''t lower her speed? What is she going-!'' Before Kai could finish his thought, Ria Ross had gone past the ant as she jumped with her right foot andnded with the left foot. It was at this time she showed remarkable athleticism by spinning her body in the air and threw her spear toward the ant''s head.


    The spear pierced through the ant''s head. Meanwhile, Ria jumped again with her left foot and spun her body back to face the front as she continued running forward.


    Kai was utterly speechless on how she could actually kill that giant ant without decreasing her speed even once. He suddenly heard a provocationing from her. "Are two little ants too troublesome for you?"


    "Tch!" Kai already arrived in front of thest opponent and didn''t strike the ant from the front since he would decrease his speed. To match with Ria, he needed to jump right beside the ant and spun his body while swinging his swords right on the head and its body, splitting the ant into three. Even so, he still somehow decreased his speed, making a distance between him and Ria.


    Ria kept teasing him by matching her pace with him and smirking. "You still have a long way to go. How about getting a long-range attack? That one that makes my eyes vibrate isn''t strong enough."


    "I will try after this Sound Levitation thing."


    "Oh. You are still clinging onto that topic?" Ria lifted her eyebrows. "Do you have a clue or something to fix the problem?"


    "My only clue is to create a powerful sound wave that can boost me to the air. I might need to modify my Sound Instion Room magic for this, so only the energy wouldunch me to the sky while the Sound Instion magic dampened the sound. As for the levitation thing, I will have more chances to make this happen after the first stage." Kai nodded.


    "I don''t know much about your Sound Magic, so I can only say¡­ Good Luck." Ria smiled. "If you need any specific tools or whatever, just inform me about it. I will make one for you or arrange a few scientists to make one."


    "Thank you, Teacher." Kai nodded.


    On the other hand, the first ten people that followed right behind these two were stunned. They had been watching how they killed the magical beasts without wasting a single movement this whole time. After they got ustomed to their speed, they began chatting while killing the magical beasts at that speed.


    The captain of this group couldn''t help but say. "Are they monsters?"


    "No, no. General Ria has been considered as one since a decade ago. If he is really her student, then he must be one as well. You hear the idiom, right? Geniuses are attracting each other," said the soldier beside him while shaking his head.


    These ten people only needed to follow them as this student-teacher duo sted their way. After a while, they didn''t find a single magical beast as they went past the Northern Area. Yet the group continued as nothing happened, and as Kai predicted earlier, they finally arrived at the Western Area and met the magical beasts there.


    Kai and Ria were forced to stop their movement as they narrowed their eyes, ring at the big magical beast in front.


    A two-meter gray mouse red at them with its red eyes. The ws on its feet or hands were sharp and long as if it had the power to cut everything. If Kai and Ria weren''t careful, that ws might kill them.


    "I will kill the mice with one shoot. You distract it for ten seconds." Ria said with a severe tone.


    "Are you sure? I might kill the mice before that." Kai smiled as he walked to the front.


    "Do it if you can." Ria smiled.

 Chapter 170 - Killing Another Intelligent Beast

    Kai retracted both of his swords as he pulled the two spears on his back. The killing intent began emanating from his body as animal instinct took over him. He had experience in dealing with the intelligent magical beast, so it should be easy.


    The soldiers somehow managed to catch up with him. Kai said, "Other soldiers will take care of the other magical beasts. I will handle that big mouse."


    "Yes, Sir." Kai''s killing intent and ferocious aura made the soldiers tense up and salute to him.


    As the battle opener, Kai threw both of his spears toward the mouse.


    The mouse simply snorted as it moved slightly to the right. It pushed the magical beasts underneath him and crashed one to death before looking at Kai as if it didn''t feel a single thing. On the other hand, Kai''s spears hit the wall and fell.


    Ria had yet to use her magic because the mouse''s attention wasn''t fully yet on him. If she created a magic circle at this moment, the mouse would certainly charge at her.


    Kai used the two spears to gather enough attention to cover the soldiers. This time, he took out his two swords again and leaped toward the mouse.


    "Scree!"


    The mouse roared as it shed its ws toward Kai. Unfortunately, Kai already activated his Vibration Sword before leaping. The vibration might not be fully activated, but it already increased the sharpness by several levels.


    Looking at the iing ws, Kai simply shifted his body to the side and shed his swords twice.


    *ng!* *ng!*


    The clicking sound of metal echoed inside the tunnel as if there were two metal shing.


    Kai continued flying toward the mouse after striking the ws. Looking at the size of this mouse, Kai was nning to sh one of its eyes at this charge alone. However, the mouse used its other hand to take him down.


    *ng!* *ng!*


    Kai struck the ws again, but this time a third of the ws fell. Kai''s Vibration Sword was already at its maximum capacity and became capable of cutting hard ws like this. He still charged forward like a cannonball toward the mouse''s head, but Kai suddenly clicked his tongue. "Tch!"


    He raised his left hand to the side and created a green magic circle. From the sound alone, he realized that the other hand that he struck earlier hade back to p him.


    *Bam!*


    The loud sound resounded across the room as if it mmed a brick wall. Even so, Kai furrowed his eyebrows as he felt the numbness on his hand.


    The mouse didn''t manage to break Kai''s barrier, but it suddenly changed its movement. Instead of pping Kai away, it was trying to push him against the wall.


    They were fighting inside a quite spacious room since the mouse''s size barely fit inside the tunnel. It would be advantageous if they fought this mouse inside a small tunnel since the mouse couldn''t dodge them. However, they needed to kill it in one hit since the mouse was powerful enough to run them down. Even Kai didn''t have confidence in stopping its charge.


    Kai slowly pushed to the wall as the mouse pinned him down.


    Ria noticed it was the time for her to make a move. She raised both of her hands as a green magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Another two magic circles flew out of this magic circle and stuck on her hands.


    She pulled her right hand as if she was drawing a bow. A giant white sword slowly appeared between this magic circle and gradually expanded. She still needed to charge this power for a while to reach its maximum power.


    On the other hand, Kai relied on his Oscition Shield to prevent him from being squashed to death. He didn''t have a panicked expression this whole time as it had yet to reach that step.


    The mouse pushed a bit more, and the wall began to crack. Even though he was pinned on the wall, Kai still stood on his feet. He was challenging the gravity this whole time, and the force from the mouse let him do so.


    Suddenly, Kai''s Oscition dissipated, and he jumped before the mouse squashed him. Hended on the mouse''s hand before running through it with his sword cutting the mouse.


    "Scree!"


    The mouse screamed in pain as it reached Kai with its other hand. Unfortunately, it was also Kai''s trap. As soon as it arrived, Kai jumped onto the other hand and cut it again like the first one.


    This time, he continued toward its shoulder before arriving on its head. From this distance, he might be able to sh its eyes and prate the brain, killing the mouse before Ria finished preparing her attack.


    However, the mouse suddenly turned around and opened its mouth. A blue light shone from the mouth.


    "!!!" Kai raised his hand and created a magic circle. "Oscition Shield."


    The mouse shot out aser beam from its mouth toward Kai but was still blocked by his shield. Even so, Kai couldn''t move forward as the force behind this attack was stronger than he expected. He noticed it when he realized he got pushed back little by little.


    He retracted one of his swords and took out one of the spears. If he threw the spear on its feet, the mouse might probably lose its bnce and allow Kai to kill it. Yet, it would be dangerous since this attack might be redirected to other people in this room. So, he changed his strategy by stabbing the spear deep at the spot he stood.


    As he predicted, theser attack slightly disrupted a bit because of the pain. Using that advantage, Kai struck the spear with his sword, making the spear deeper. In fact, it somehow pierced through and fell to the ground.


    Although he was still showered with attacks, he felt that the energy was a bit disrupted, and the force behind it grew weaker. He marched forward little by little, but the mouse made another sudden movement.


    The mouse shook its body left and right, trying to get Kai out of his body.


    "¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and stuck on the mouse by hanging on the sword that he pierced on the mouse. Yet the mouse pped Kai again. Kai was able to stop one of its hands, but the moment another one came to his way. He had no choice other than to let go.


    His right hand was grabbing his sword while his left hand blocked the first hand. He had nothing to block the next hand, so he decided to let go and jump.


    In mid-air, Kai couldn''t dodge. This was the real purpose of the mouse. It might have gotten injured heavily by Kai, but it thought he could win as long as Kai died. The mouse opened its mouth again and shot out another attack.


    "Oscition Shield!"


    Raising his shield once again, Kai managed to escape this attack unharmed. However, the continuity of this attack pushed him back against the wall.


    *Bam!*


    The mouse wasn''t nning to let Kai go this time as it continued pinning him down until the shield break.


    Sadly, the mouse didn''t know that inside a tunnel below Kai, Ria had finished her preparation. She had been waiting for a long time since she noticed that the mouse had a speed to avoid Kai''s strike. The moment the mouse had full attention on Kai and wouldn''t have the time to react to her attack was the time she made a move.


    Ria was still in the same position as if she pulled a bowstring. But she drew a huge sword instead of an arrow. This white sword had a four-meter length and made Ria look small. The width of this sword alone was half of her height.


    She aimed the sword toward the spot below the neck, thinking it was the weakest point as it shot out that beam from its mouth.


    "God Killing Arrow!"


    The sword flew at high speed and created a giant hole without anyone noticing. Kai could hear her attacking, but this blinding light that pinned him down was too bright to allow him to see what just happened. And suddenly, the light dissipated as the mouse died and fell to the ground.


    Kai didn''t notice the wound on the mouse, but he saw a deep vertical hole on the wall behind the mouse. ording to his ears, the attack managed to pierce fifty meters inside the wall.


    "This is a limestone cave, right?" Kai couldn''t help but ask himself. "Even Michelle can''t create such a deep hole¡­ As expected, she is a monster. Though it wouldn''t be that useful in closebat because of the time she needed to charge that attack¡­"


    "Knowing her personality, she might shoot it from afar and kill her enemy with this alone¡­" Kai answered the doubt in his heart.


    Hended on the ground and turned to Ria while thetter smirked. "I win, boy."


    "I don''t have anything to let me move in the air. If I have one, the mouse won''t be able to hold for a minute. Just wait until I finish my Sound Levitation technique." Kai snorted.


    "You are just using an excuse. In the war, no one will wait for you to create magic to counter them." Ria shrugged.


    "Do I look like a guy who will say that to my enemy?" Kai said with a poker face.


    "No way. I will whack your butt if you do something so foolish. For example, I can whack your butt with some needles in my palm. Don''t worry. You won''t die since we will use the Simtion Room." Ria smiled evilly.


    "I won''t meet you again for the rest of my life if you do that." Kai rolled his eyes away. "Anyway, we need to move forward and pick up the pace again."


    "Sure."

 Chapter 171 - Another Protectors Appearance

    Kai and Ria picked up their pace again. ording to Kai, they were going toward the boss, or that was what he could perceive with the sound. The one that controlled the roar was in this ce, and they needed to quickly kill it, hoping the magical beasts would be scattered to make it easier to kill.


    "We need to pass another room after this. The boss will be in the room after that," Kai informed.


    Ria nodded and halted her step before turning back to the group behind them. "Thirty of you are going with us to clear the other magical beasts around the mastermind. I want you a few more groups to stand by behind us while the rest will spread around the area. Make it a chain signal."


    "Understood." The captain from the first group nodded his head before ordering one of his subordinates. The chain signal in her mouth was more to the military way of message ry. It was simr to a ry race where the one person in the first group waited for the second group. He/she would ry the message to the second group and move together. At the same time, one person from the second group did the same and waited for the third group. It would continue until there was no more group behind them.


    Kai and Ria nodded at each other before moving forward once again.


    Storming around the enemy rank for another minute, they arrived at thest tunnel to reach the spacious room that hosted the boss.


    "Go!" With the magical beasts causing a ruckus around, the enemy inside the next room should already know about it. There was no point in sneaking, so they sted their way and stopped right after entering the room.


    "!!!" Kai opened his eyes wide as this was the first time he had seen something like this. On the other hand, Ria lifted her eyebrows as she clenched her hands.


    In this room stood thirty magical beasts, but the one that stood out the most was a big bear in the middle. Kai asked himself, ''Is that a bear or a human?''


    It was no surprise for him to get astounded. In front of them was a huge brown bear, but with a human head. The body, starting from its feet to its shoulder, was huge like a Bear and filled with fur. However, this one had a small neck and head, unfit with the situation. The head waspletely like a human head as if it was two beingsbined into one.


    "To think there are two moles that manage to get here. As expected from the Protector¡­ They have truly used me, but when I don''t think I regret it." The half-human half-bear said with human speech. His eyes locked at Ria before sending his killing intent. "After all, I can see the one that created this cursed power!"


    "Teacher, is this it?" Kai looked at this monster with a cold gaze. He couldn''t help but shudder at the possibility of his childrenter. If they had such an appearance, he might not be able to say he loves them¡­ Luckily, Ria''s medicine prevented this from happening.


    "He is indeed one of the SS rank magical beasts. I have read his information, and it seems he fused with a Grizzly Bear." Ria nodded before she turned to the monster again after realizing something wrong. "What do you mean by the Protector?"


    "Of course, he means me!"


    Suddenly, a voice resounded through the room before a sea magical beast that wasn''t supposed to be here made its appearance.


    "!!!" Kai and Ria clenched their swords, staring at this new magical beast. It looked like a seahorse, but with two hands and two feet as if it were a human. The pointed mouth let out a human voice that made them rmed.


    At the same time, the bear person stared at this sea horse with a cold gaze, recalling a certain matter a few months ago.


    ¡­


    Two months ago, he waszing in this ce since outside would be cold soon. However, everything suddenly changed when this so-called Protector stormed inside this nest.


    *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*


    No magical beasts attacked him as they considered them as an ally. However, the one that guarded his room outside was hostile ording to this bear person instruction. Yet, they were brutally killed by the seahorse. Even one of them was squashed to death by water spurted from that pointed mouth.


    "Who are you?" The bear person looked at the magical beast that instantly died before ring at the Protector. "What the heck are you doing in my ce?"


    "Your ce? I don''t think so?" The seahorse snorted. "I know everything about you, Human. Eric is your name, and you have failed in assimting with Bear Blood and be a monster!"


    "Shut up!" The moment he turned into something like this, his family quickly abandoned him, and those people from theboratory treated him as a monster instead of a human being. Fed up by their treatment, all those failed subjects gathered together and escaped from theboratory. They were then separated as to prevent being locked up by the government.


    All those treatments made him sick to be called a monster.


    "I don''t say anything wrong. A human being? Or a magical beast? You are neither of them. What are you other than a monster?" The seahorse snorted.


    "You Bastard!" He leaped toward the seahorse and pped it with his powerful arm. Suddenly, his view changed into the cave ceiling as if he was lying on the ground and stared up. "Eh?"


    "You are no match against me. You may have power, but you can''t control it. That''s why you won''t be able to defeat me!"


    "Shut up!" The bear person, Eric, roared as he charged at him again. Yet, a momentter, he was in the same position, lying on the floor while looking at the ceiling.


    "If you are not convinced, you can try again. But I think it''s better to listen to what I want to say first."


    Eric clenched his fists. Although he wanted to beat this person, he knew he didn''t have the power to do so. "Who are you?"


    "My name can''t be pronounced by human speech. Though having a name makes this easier¡­" The seahorse thought for a moment. "All right. You may call me Ra. I''m known as the Earth Protector, or if you are going with the scaling of a magical beast, you are an SS rank magical beast while I''m SSS rank magical beast!"


    "Ra? The Protector? SSS rank magical beast." Eric furrowed his eyebrows. He knew about the scaling up to SS rank magical beast since it was him. There were many questions in his mind, but there was one important question he needed to ask first. "What is your purposeing here? There shouldn''t be anyone who knows about me being here!"


    The seahorse shook his head. "There is someone who knows your location and sent me here. As for my purpose¡­ You can say I want to kill an individual."


    "Kill an individual?"


    "Yes. Approximately two months from now, those humans willunch an attack on this ce. I want to use this opportunity to kill an individual that I''m sure wille to this ce."


    "Who is this individual?"


    "We don''t know his name." The sea horse shook his head. "However, we know that he has extraordinary hearing. If I am a human, I will make use of his ability to control the entire strategy. The one who sent me here has been defeated by him in a strategic battle. It''s because we don''t know such a person actually exists."


    "Has been defeated? Then if you have been defeated, why will I trust you? I will also be defeated."


    "As I said, we have no prior information about such a person. That''s why we want to use the same strategy against him. He realized our presence because we talked. This time, I want none of us to talk like with a human speech. We will lure them to the middle region of this base and surround him from every direction. If a person like him were the head of their operation, he would surely target the mastermind first. That will be the time I kill him," said Ra with a cold tone.


    "That doesn''t mean I want to cooperate with you."


    "That''s why I''m going to give you something! I will teach you to use your power, and if we finish this mission, the one who sent me here will ept you as one of the Protectors. At that time, you will evolve to a higher being. You might even be able to defeat me and destroy the facility that has turned you into something like this."


    "¡­" Eric couldn''t help but gulp down, tempted by the offer. He wanted to take revenge on those people who abandoned him and turned him into a monster. "What do you want me to do?"


    "It''s simple. You¡­" Ra began exining about his n that would lead Kai into such a situation. He might hear the sound in the cave, but as long as no one actually created something special that could be recognized by those ears, Kai could only proceed blindly, assuming there was no n against him.


    This ce created a good trap to kill him.


    After hearing everything from Ra, Eric thought the n would only benefit him. Hence, he agreed to cooperate with him.


    ¡­


    Outside, Eric retracted his gaze before looking at the teacher and student duo.


    Ra smiled at Ria and Kai. "This is the first time I have seen the Sword Maiden¡­ Oh, it''s how we call you, so no need to think about it. And of course, you, who are able to hear something that shouldn''t be heard, o'' Truth Seeker. Our world is screaming, have you heard it yet?"


    "!!!"

 Chapter 172 - Rias Past

    "!!!" Ria and Kai narrowed their eyes as killing intent were emanating across the room.


    "You, Protectors, really love spewing bullsh*t everywhere you go." Ria snorted.


    Kai didn''t say anything. Although he didn''t believe this either as he never thought about it after he learned about their existence, the doubt was still at the bottom of his heart. The words that the seahorse said earlier made the doubt resurface.


    "Hoho¡­ Do you think I''m telling a lie? No, I never lie." The seahorse smirked as he said to Ria. "I am not like you who hide the truth of yourself. The Sword Maiden sacrificed half of herrades to kill a single S rank magical beast. No, I should say the Sword Maiden killed them herself."


    "You better stop talking, you damn beast." Ria released her killing intent even further. Those words made the memories she had forgotten to resurface.


    A decade ago, she led a hundred elites to fight an S rank magical beast, Golden Poison Dart Frog. That battle was necessary because it was in Colombia, a ce they needed to secure to take over Southern America.


    As a leading genius, she naturally epted the mission and went together with the people arranged by the military. She was a graduate of the Magic School back then, so she somehow knew many people in that group. Most people she knew hailed from the top 10 groups in her generation. With experiences, they would be able to bemanders or generals in the future. Even her group came together with her.


    At that time, the battle was hard-fought. More than ten thousand soldiers were suppressing the surrounding areas to ensure the battle against the S rank magical beast wasn''t disrupted. Ria and the one hundred people attacked the toad that was known as poisonous.


    When Ria led them, they were able to escape death from poison and such since she protected them with her sword. Unfortunately, it wasn''t enough. The frog''s skin was hard to the point it was imprable while the size was quite big, around three times of human size.


    If they continued fighting like this, their defeat was nothing but assured. She had no choice other than using her God Killing Arrow. To create the most powerful arrow that was able to break the frog skin, Ria required five minutes without any interruption.


    As an S rank magical beast, of course, it wouldn''t let Ria do whatever she wanted since she was the number one threat. The frog kept chasing her without minding the other one hundred people.


    At this time, four of her former friends in the same group finally took the courage. They charged right in front of the frog and stopped it with their body, fully knowing that other than its hard skiny a deadly poison that was capable of massacring many humans with a simple touch.


    Even so, they did it. Ria could still clearly remember what her friends said back then. ''Kill the frog and be the hero of this era. We will be watching you proudly up high.''


    Their actions were followed by the other elites. Some of them were the former top students, while some were older elites. They brought time with their own body, pinning the frog down with their mortal body. The corrosive poisons skinned them alive before they were melted by the same poison. Yet another person woulde again to stop the frog.


    Ria wanted to cry over them and charged at the frog, but she couldn''t. For the sake of those who had fallen, she needed to kill the frog. Blood flowed out of her eyes as she channeled her energy to that magic. When the five minutes were over, she shot through the frog, creating a massive hole in the frog. However, half of the people had died that day.


    The people began congratting her after it ended as if she was the hero. Yet, the true heroes were the ones who sacrificed their lives. Ria and the other fifty still visited their graves at this time, but the start was very hard for Ria.


    She was the one who made the others do such a reckless thing and bore the responsibility in her heart. Out of frustration, she flew to United Asia and met Kai, who was half-dead.


    The time had stopped for her, but meeting him finally made the clock ticking again. He, who was dying, still wished to fight to protect little Michelle.


    Kai was the recement of her friends in her heart, so she trained him by killing him continuously. She wanted him to know and get used to pain, so when he was in a perilous situation like her, he could still think the best possible scenario. Yet, something in her heart gradually changed.


    Kai was a brat that alwaysined about her training but still did it. Even when his body tattered or when he was sick, Kai didn''t give up and kept following her training menu to the end. Before she knew it, there was an indescribable bond between them, and somehow she learned how to smile again.


    It could be saved that her meeting Kai had saved her life. She was already in that age, and the pain of losing someone was too hurt for her. That was why she decided to consider Kai as her own child. She wouldn''t let this child die and be bullied by others.


    After one year, Ria had finally gathered the courage to go home and decided to research everything from him, her ''own'' son.


    That was why when the seahorse suddenly made her painful memory resurfaced, she had a quite extreme reaction.


    "I don''t say anything wrong. The friends of the group you had back in your school died because of you!" The seahorse kept taunting her.


    "Shut up!" Ria shouted as her right hand threw the sword at a very fast speed.


    The seahorse looked like he was surprised, and the sword somehow pierced his heart. Kai furrowed his eyebrows and leaped toward Ria. At the same time, the seahorse disappeared as it was his afterimage.


    The real one had moved slightly to the left and spurt out high-pressure water. Ria gritted her teeth and summoned a big sword from the ground.


    The big sword appeared in front of her as its purpose was to block this water. Suddenly,


    *Crack!*


    The sword cracked with only a single st of this water before it was shattered with the sheer pressure. The water kept charging toward Ria Ross and almost hit her hard.


    At the same time, a shadow appeared in front of her and blocked this water with his shield.


    "Kai¡­" Ria''s body shook for a second, realizing the person in front of her.


    Kai wanted to say something, but he noticed that his barrier also cracked. Hence, he grabbed Ria''s waist and leaped to the side.


    Without any shield blocking the water, it hit the wall and somehow made a crater.


    Kai nced at it for a second and thought, ''This guy is no joke.''


    "Kai, you¡­" Ria stretched her hand, but her body suddenly jolted by paining from her cheek. Before she knew it, she had already crashed into a wall. "You-!"


    "That feels nice." Kai nodded as he nced at Ria, who gradually came out of the wall and regained herposure. He then turned to the magical beast and snorted. "I have heard about her past. However, I also need to thank them at least once, considering without their sacrifice, my Teacher wouldn''t go to United Asia¡­ and I won''t be able to survive. As she supports me, I will also support her even if that means I will fight her memory and have her hate me for life."


    "You¡­" Ria wanted to say something, but the words stuck on her throat.


    Kai simply said, "What? The fact that I can punch you so easily is the proof you are distracted. My teacher is not that weak. She is a psycho that can kill a child, a woman who cares nothing about strangers'' words, but¡­ she is also the greatest teacher that I respect from the bottom of my heart."


    Ria clenched her hands and bit her lips. Her body was shaking uncontrobly as she thought, ''What am I doing?''


    She walked to Kai and apologized. "Sorry, to think it bothered me that much¡­ I thought I hade to terms with it."


    "Tch!" The seahorse clicked his tongue. He wanted to sow discord to make this easier, but it proved to be ineffective.


    "I will take care of the bear for you. Master can deal with the Protector," said Kai while staring at the bear person, thinking the situation was finally on his side. "After all, he is the same as me."


    His answer came in the form of magic.


    "Execution Room."


    Suddenly, a white line appeared from Ria''s right foot, circling around the entire room and returning to her right foot. After that, another four white lines appeared with the same patterns.


    She shouted, "Soldiers, pay no heed about the other magical beasts. Go to the next room and proceed onward if you don''t want to die here."


    Although they didn''t understand the reasons, they quickly escaped from the magical beasts in front of them and charged at the next tunnel.


    Of course, the magical beasts tried to stop them, but Ria simply raised her sword and shed it down to the right. Suddenly, a white shock wave charged, following the white line and shed a magical beast that tried to chase the soldiers.


    The seahorse and the bear were shocked for a second as they heard Ria continuing. "Now, you sh*tty horse, I will let you know what will happen if you have awakened me."

 Chapter 173 - Two Vs Two

    "Now, I will let you see what it means to anger me." Ria smirked evilly while releasing her killing intent.


    On the other hand, Kai glimpsed of her expression and nodded his head, knowing there was no need to worry about her again. He then turned to the two enemies in front of him and realized that all soldiers had gone inside the next tunnel.


    Ria nced at him once, and Kai knew it was the time to move as he disappeared from the spot.


    "!!!" It took an instant for the Ra to understand Kai''s aim and shouted to Eric. "Go to the next tunnel and kill all those soldiers."


    Eric immediately turned around and saw many magical beasts moving toward the tunnel behind them. They swarmed that small tunnelpletely, but a sh of light appeared in the middle of the swarm, and a small shock wave urred.


    Many insect parts were sted and scattered as a small figure appeared from that swarm, holding his two swords and looking down on Eric.


    "SSS rank magical beasts¡­ SS rank magical beasts¡­ What do you think makes you more dangerous?" Ria gazed coldly. "Your power might not necessarily be the same as an S rank magical beast. We have given you credit because you can move the magical beasts at will, not your power. Let this be a day for the human to wee their new hero as it kills both SS rank and SSS rank magical beasts!"


    "You are talking big!" Eric roared.


    "Eric!" Ra shook his head. "Go kill that brat for me. They are student and teacher, right? We can make her realize the pain of losing her precious student. I shall let her know the true terror!"


    "Unfortunately, you are not necessarily qualified to make me experience that terror." Ria snorted. "Your previous n was quite good if I didn''t have a disciple. In fact, you should strike me at that time rather than giving me more despair. This time, my student and I will bring you down together with the other magical beasts."


    There were still many magical beasts around him after killing the seven around the tunnel''s entrance. Kai took a deep breath as he looked at the magical beasts that were trying to stumble onto the corpses but still charging at him.


    Kai leaped to a few of them and shed them with his Vibration Sword.


    Suddenly, a shadow moved toward him at a fast speed as it rammed Kai with its w. He created a magic circle on his arms and slightly positioned himself to take this attack.


    From his right side, Eric appeared right in front of him, mming his giant bear paw only to find it blocked by a measly green magic circle.


    Feeling he couldn''t shatter this little magic circle as if something was repelling his w, he decided to push him to the wall.


    *Bam!*


    Kai had no change in expression even though he was in a dire situation. Instead, he simply waved his swords toward this paw, except it suddenly turned around when the other paw wasing.


    "!!!" Eric noticed that the first movement was a fake while Kai''s real aim was his right hand. Even so, he wasn''t scared, believing his ws were stronger than these two swords since he didn''t know about Kai''s Vibration Sword.


    Unfortunately, thisck of knowledge haunted him right at this moment.


    *ng!*


    As expected from a magical beast''s w, the moment he shed it, he could still feel the resistance. Yet, his Vibration was still far stronger than these ws as it cut the ws as if cutting nails with a nail clipper. The fearsome paw suddenly turned into something cute and hrious.


    Kai struck the paw with his second sword, sending the paw flying.


    The sh was too fast as the blood even took another second before it realized and spurted out of his hand. The sword continued onward, nning to take the other paw.


    Eric realized all of this and leaped backward before clutching his right hand.


    "Ah¡­ Ah!" He screamed on top of his lung as the pain didn''t onlye from the wound but also from what he could see. Sometimes knowing there was such a wound itself made a person more conscious about it, resulting in the wound to feel more painful, and this was what EC experienced right now.


    "Nice Kai!" Ria smirked. Eric might not notice it, but he had stepped on andmine. Beneath his feet was the white line Ria made earlier. She quickly shed that particr line and sent a white shock wave toward Eric.


    "Tch!"


    Ra suddenly appeared in front of the screaming Eric and raised both of his hands together, receiving this sword wave in Eric''s stead. "Kh!"


    At the same time, Kai also leaped toward these two, nning to kill either of them. However, Ra suddenly used his tail and grabbed Eric before throwing him to the side.


    Seeing this action, Kai knew that it was better to strike a powerful blow on this seahorse first before going to the screaming Eric.


    Suddenly, Ra swept his tail once again, sending blue crescent-shaped water. Kai opened his mouth slightly after learning about the state of this attack. It was still in a liquid state like earlier but forced to cut him. Water was one of the things he couldn''t cut even with a Vibration Sword. Hence, he raised his hand and created a huge green magic circle to protect himself.


    *Bang!*


    The loud crashing sound echoed through the entire room as Kai''s shield had a huge crack on it. Luckily, it was still able to hold on as he proceeded toward the seahorse. He shed his right sword toward the tail to cut this dangerous part to lessen the burden of his teacher.


    At the same time, Ria also appeared right in front of Ra and shed both of her swords toward his neck. Although her sword couldn''t prate his skin, she still needed to take away a portion of its attention, so Kai could deliver his attack. After all, he might be the only one that could pierce through Ra''s defense.


    Unfortunately, Ra was still one step ahead. A water bubble appeared beneath his feet before it burst out, creating torrential water upward. The water struck Ria''s and Kai''s swords at the tip of its de, causing both of them overwhelmed by the centrifugal force.


    Not able to hold their swords from such a force, their swords flew upward despite all the efforts they spent from holding the swords.


    Kai and Ria quickly leaped backward, ready for any other attacks. Noticing there wasn''t a single attack, Kai pulled out the spear on his back and spun his body mid-air, throwing the spear toward Eric. Like teacher like student, Ria also had the same thinking and threw a spear that she just synthesized.


    Ra gritted his teeth and appeared in front of Eric before creating the water wall to iste them in the corner.


    "!!!" The student and teacher duo also regrouped as they stared at the wall made of water. Kai nced at her, asking what to do with a single gaze. On the other hand, Ria simply pointed at his sword and made a horizontal gesture with his thumb in front of her neck, telling him to kill those two with his Vibration Swords.


    After that, Ria created chains and a sickle before throwing it to grab Kai''s sword that was stuck on the ceiling. "Your sword."


    At the same time, Ra hit Eric''s head with anger. "You fool. Can''t you stand that simple pain? You would die in that instant if I didn''t block their attacks. Besides, you need to stop underestimating your opponents just because you gain strength. You don''t even use your magic! Argh! You are making me frustrated."


    Eric''s body shook for a moment before regaining a little bit ofposure. He was just nning to hold him back by pinning him on the wall to let the magical beasts go inside the tunnel and attack the soldiers from behind. Unfortunately, that single n ruined his handpletely.


    "I¡­ I''m sorry." Eric''s body was still shaking, but he didn''t scream anymore as he began enduring the pain. Whether it was the potential to be a Protector or simply Ra that scared him, Eric''s mindset changed.


    "Make artificial paws with your magic," Ra ordered with a cold tone.


    He channeled his magic power to his hand and created a blue artificial paw. The paw was made of magic, while the other hand also made such a paw in front of the current one. Although it was slightly longer than his usual hands, he should be able to control it normally.


    Noticing Eric had regained his calm, Ra waved his hand.


    The water wall slowly dissipated as if there was no water from the beginning. Even the ground wasn''t wet. Ra and Eric slowly walked toward Kai and Ria with fierce eyes.


    Ra said with a harrumph. "You may have gotten the first advantage. However, everything will stop here since I have understood your weakness."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows as Ra was looking at him the whole time.


    "That sword might be dangerous, but it can''t cut something that doesn''t have a hardness." Ra figured this out when Kai decided to use his Oscition Shield. With such a weakness, Kai would be sliced by that water wave if he decided to sh it. This was the reason why he ordered Eric to form two artificial magic arms on both hands.


    Although it had some hardness, as long as Eric was careful to not let Kai reach his hand, he could regenerate that arms again and again until Kai was defeated.


    Eric suddenly jumped toward Kai and struck him with the magic paw.

 Chapter 174 - Lion Vs Bear

    Eric suddenly jumped toward Kai and struck him with the magic paw.


    Kai wasn''t a pushover and quickly shed his paw once again with the Vibration Sword. He could see the effort of putting this translucent ws to prevent him from cutting it, but he still felt it was stillcking.


    His sword was still longer than this magic paw, so Kai didn''t care about this additional paw. He sliced through this paw like it was butter before reaching the real arm.


    At this time, he felt dangering in his opposite direction. However, he remained calm and waved his other sword to intercept this as he knew it was also another palm.


    Eric should know that Kai would actually cut his hands again, but there was no change of expression on his face. That calm face of his brought a sense of insecurities in Kai''s heart before he realized something was off.


    He released his animal''s aura as well and let his instinct take over while ncing at the ws back and forth.


    It turned out he was right. Eric''s ws suddenly grew a few centimeters, trying to stab Kai''s hands.


    ''He must want to rupture my hands with his ws to pay me back.'' Kai thought as he gritted his teeth and forcefully stopped his swords that had been swinging. It took a lot of power to stop the swing, so a few veins appeared on his skin surface.


    The swords gradually slowed down while Kai finally had the time to gather enough energy on his feet and jump backward.


    ''It seems I have underestimated him.'' Kai narrowed his eyes, staring at the slightly surprised expression on his face.


    Eric obviously never expected that the person in front of him could release an animal aura. There were a few people who came to his mind, but only one could fit everything, especially on the teacher and student rtionship part.


    "I see. There are a few people that can hold such an aura in this base, but no one could fit the description since no one is actually the student of the Sword Maiden." Eric narrowed his eyes and released his killing intent. "You must be the first Zodiac, and without you, there is no way I will be like this!"


    He had a grudge against Kai this whole time. If only Kai didn''t exist, he wouldn''t experience all of those pains and turned into a beast like this. If Kai failed the experiment, the Government wouldn''t take this experiment from Ra''s hand and conduct it on their own. This hatred had grown day by day the moment he became a beast like this, and he kept thinking, ''Everything is his fault.''


    Kai had no change of expression as if those words just came in at the right ear and out of the other. He simply turned his head to Ria and shouted, "Teacher¡­ I just feel that this Sword Maiden is more befitting as your title. Why don''t you get your title updated by the Government?"


    "Huh? Are you seriously talking about this right now?" Ria shouted in confusion as she kept dodging Ra''s attack. "Besides, if I want to change it, I can simply do it from my house. Do you really want me to change it?"


    "You can?" Kai opened his mouth in surprise.


    "Of course, I can. After that, I can simply use the Government to spread the new title. It''s a little embarrassing, but I can deal with it since the requestes from my student."


    "Then, can I request you to change one, but not this title?"


    "What do you want my title to be then?"


    "Psycho!" Kai shouted as if he meant it from the bottom of his heart.


    "Alright, then. I will change it!" Surprisingly, Ria didn''t reject his idea and instead was eager to do it.


    "Wait¡­ What? Will you really change it?" This time, Kai was literally shocked. He had been acting this whole time to anger this bear in front of him since he felt Eric couldn''t deal with this sort of thing. However, Ria''s words just nowpletely blew his mind.


    "Of course, I will change it." Ria nodded with a smile. "As I said, I can do it for my student."


    Kai was slightly moved by her action. To think Ria would actually do such a thing that he thought as an embarrassment. However, everything vanished into thin air after Kai heard her next words.


    "And I will act the way befitting my title. Since I''m a Psycho, I can literallye to your house, introduce myself to your parents and reveal that you are a Masochist since you asked me to kill you many times ten years ago. Out of shame, I could only hide this rtionship with you for the past ten years and live alone in this base and so on. I have so many stories I can share with them." Ria shouted as if only she and Kai existed in this room.


    "Please forget about everything I said earlier." Kai shuddered by the thought of it as he could feel that Ria would actually do something like this. Even if he could exin everything to his parents, they might still believe in Ria if she revealed her status. Besides, Michelle and the others could testament her as long as she threatened them a little.


    "You bastard! How dare you ignore me this whole time!" Eric had been fuming in anger, looking at this duo. Kai''s n seemed to be sessful as Eric finally charged at Kai with anger.


    "Stop! They are baiting you!" Ra shouted, but he suddenly noticed a magic circle appeared around Kai and Eric.


    This was Kai''s Sound Instion room. It released a thinyer of barrier that was capable of blocking any sound from passing through either from the outside or the inside. It was not really noticeable even for a normal person unless they squint their eyes to focus, let alone an angered Eric.


    Albeit, Kai himself had actually never expected this was even possible. It seemed he had underestimated the hatred that had been built up inside Eric''s heart. And he would surely not let this opportunity pass.


    Raising both of his swords, Kai looked at Eric as if looking at an ant that he could crush at any moment. "You are simply an idiot. I will let you see what kind of power I, the first Zodiac, Kai Carter hold."


    Kai released his Lion Aura as his eyes became slightly shrank into sharper eyes. Both Kai and Eric leaped at the same time.


    Eric simply raised his two hands and struck Kai with the same move. Kai also did the same and attacked him with both swords, fully knowing that his arms would be ripped by these long ws.


    Yet, Kai could stille up with a strategy, unlike the angry Eric. He suddenly let go of his swords while creating a green magic circle on each hand.


    There was no sound for the contact between the magic circles and the ws, but it was easy to see that Kai had sessfully stopped Eric''s attack.


    Although he wasn''t an African Lion, he had once read material about his own animal blood, Lion Blood. At some point, he stumbled across a very old report where a Grizzly Bear killed an African Lion within a few minutes. The Grizzly Bear''s paw had gone into a lion''s skull, causing it to die instantly.


    The reason was pretty simple. In terms of physical strength, the muscles of the African Lion were stronger than that of the Grizzly Bear. On the other hand, the Grizzly Bear was heavier, longer and taller than the African Lion. In addition, it could stand on its feet for a longer period, allowing it to gain a massive advantage of this duel.


    Unfortunately, Kai was a human, and that advantage was literally gone. It might have a powerful swipe due to its body weight, but once stopped, Grizzly Bear would simply be a prey for the African Lion.


    After stopping the ws and the weight behind this swipe, the magic circles dissipated as Kai grabbed Eric''s two paws.


    "Let go of my hands!" Eric roared, struggling to break free from Kai''s grasp. He noticed that he could still push Kai away by throwing his body weight against him, but Kai also thought the same thing.


    As soon as he felt the sudden change, he acrobatically leaped on top of Eric and kicked him on the back of his head, causing him to fall down to the ground.


    He simply leaped once to grab his swords, ready to kill Eric.


    "You bastard! I will kill you!" Eric wanted to get up, but he was pinned down by Kai''s foot right on his neck. His neck was still considered as human, so one stomp from him would be enough to crush all the bones there and kill him. Yet, Kai didn''t do so as if he wanted to say something.


    "You are simply a moron. I don''t know about the Government and their research team, but I know my Teacher well. She is not a person who will give up on you just because you have turned into a monster. She will probably cure you or kill you right away, depending on your mental state.


    "I have my own investigation as well and know that she has protected every right on the subject of this experiment. The Government couldn''t force someone to take the experiment if they don''t want to anger her. That''s why I believe they have asked you too, except since you fail to bear all those pain, you decide to me it all on others." Kai paused for a moment and said in a cold tone. "You are pathetic. Farewell."


    Kai stabbed downwards, right into his brain, albeit this time, he didn''t manage to do it as he heard a cracking sound from the left, followed by his Teacher''s shout.


    *Crack!*


    "Kai, watch out!"

 Chapter 175 - When The Teacher And Student Get Serious

    "Kai, watch out!"


    The moment Ria''s voice resounded in his head, he quickly raised his left hand, creating his Oscition Shield to block an iing attack from the left. However, he realized that the push was hard to the point itunched him to the wall almost instantly.


    By the time he realized that his Oscition Shield, Ria already created a powerful shield that appeared from underground, redirecting the water to somewhere else.


    Kai was astounded after he saw that Ra finally appeared on Eric''s side again. He had known that his Sound Instion Room to be a double-edged sword. Eric couldn''t hear Ra while Kai couldn''t hear as well. This was precisely the reason why Kai built a slightly wider room in this small underground area.


    The time from when the attack broke his magic to reach him was enough for him to react and either block or dodge it. However, it seemed that Ra was still better than his expectation since he could attack him while being rammed by Ria. Even he couldn''t withstand Ria''s continuous attack while protecting someone. Yet, the seahorse actually could, showing what it meant to be an SSS rank magical beast or a Protector.


    Kai took a deep breath, calming his heart down and trying toe up with a n. Ra would probably use the same technique earlier to protect himself and Eric, so attacking him blindly was a bit hard. On the other hand, if they didn''t attack in this precious chance, these two would be able to restart the battle again.


    By the time he came up with a n, Ria already executed one. The white lines suddenly changed position as if she removed the first one and created this one. There were two focuses on this ring. One was for her, and the other was targeting Ra and Eric.


    She shed her sword two times, sending shock waves from two opposite directions.


    "Tch. I still fall short by a few seconds." Kai clicked his tongue, noticing yet another point that he couldn''t match her. He pulled thest spear on his back and threw it toward Eric''s head.


    Ra raised both hands, stopping the two shock waves with his bare hands while knocking the spear away with his tail.


    "See¡­ Just like you have noticed his weakness, I can also notice your weakness." Ria smirked, looking at Ra while ready to swing her sword once more.


    Ra furrowed his eyebrows, noticing how she positioned the line. It wasn''t only to attack him, but she was also nning to attack Eric even if he threw Eric again to the wall.


    Kai also realized what Ra''s weakness was and murmured to himself. "I see. It''s the area of contact. Before, we shed him from the side, so we have a huge area of contact, allowing him to st our swords away. If we actually shed him vertically, the contact area is only that thin sharp edge, so we won''t feel too much force. That''s why he actually used his bare hands to stop it instead of the water wall again."


    "I''m not the same as me from ten years ago. With my strength now, that frog wouldn''t be able to kill any of my friends before it dies in my hand!" Ria smirked.


    However, Kai somehow felt this smirk wasn''t directed to Ra. Instead, it was telling him something.


    Kai only realized it five secondster, and he quickly retracted one of his swords while creating a magic circle on that hand as if carrying a shield. He looked like a knight with sword and shield at this time, ready to attack them at any time.


    "It seems the one you choose to cooperate with is so useless." Riaughed, looking at Eric, who was still lying on the ground. The kick on the back of his head almost took his consciousness away. Even saying those words to Kai earlier took all of his energy before his consciousness became fuzzy.


    "Don''t be too proud, human. We are fighting on thend. If you are fighting me in the sea, you won''t stand a chance." Ra could only grit his teeth. As Ria already said, his prowess didn''t really have too much different than S rank magical beast, especially on thend. The only way to do it was to have Eric stop Kai while he was fighting Ria. Sadly, Eric seemed to be a burden instead.


    He thought about running away, but this teacher and student duo would surely not let him. At the same time, no magical beasts woulde to this ce because of those soldiers. Ra was on his wits'' end since Eric still needed one or two minutes to grab his consciousness back.


    At the same time, he couldn''t see any path to victory. ''Should I sacrifice this useless bear?''


    A dangerous glint came out of Ria''s eyes as she released her aura, swinging her swords twice. The shock waves attacked didn''te in the same direction from before, but still in the opposite direction.


    Ra quickly destroyed the two shock waves and nced at Kai. Surprisingly, Kai didn''t move this time. No, the correct way to describe him was that he moved forward slightly but stopped as if he realized Ra would destroy it instantly.


    "Why don''t you attack me again, idiotic seahorse? Do you think you are great? You are the invader this time, and you areining that you don''t have good terrain? As expected, an idiotic seahorse." Ria kept taunting him.


    Ra gritted his teeth and still didn''t move, waiting for Eric to get up again. Unfortunately, the chance he was waiting for turned out to be useless the moment he heard a groan from Eric.


    "Argh!" Eric screamed in pain while closing his eyes with his hands as if something was wrong with them.


    At this time, he noticed something was off. Ria didn''t make any suspicious movement other than taunting and attacking him. However, Kai didn''t do anything this whole time other than throwing the spear and changed his position.


    *Thud!*


    Ra looked at Kai, specifically his green magic circle. He suddenly thought, ''Is he this passive? No!''


    He got his answer almost instantly as he quickly noticed that the magic circle was pointing at Eric instead of forward like using a shield.


    A water bubble appeared beneath his feet and created a water wall to block Kai''s area. He suddenly realized that Eric''s symptoms lessened and knew it was truly Kai''s attack.


    "Tch, time to go to the second phase then." Kai clicked his tongue and muttered to himself. He ran around the room, going to continuously attack Eric while his consciousness was still fuzzy.


    The water wall was blocking, absorbing, and directing a portion of his sound attack, so the effect wasn''t that much of a big deal. Without saying anything, Ria and Kai knew that they needed to kill Eric before he recovered. Both of them only nodded once to form a mysterious n. Though the n between them was only to support each other''s n and improvised.


    Following Kai''s movement, Ra quickly raised the water barrier to protect Eric from this sound attack while looking out for Ria''s sword attack.


    However, Ria didn''t attack him for thirty seconds while Kai kept moving around until Ria felt it was the time and swung her sword. Kai abruptly stopped his movement as if he was scared that the attack woulde and sliced him.


    At this time, Ra didn''t mind since he was able to concentrate on these two sword attacks.


    Ra destroyed these two sword attacks as soon as possible but didn''t realize a third attack that came from behind the water wall.


    It somehow became his blind spot, and only after the third shock wave cut through his water wall that he somehow realized it before destroying it with his fist.


    "Argh!" The scream made him realize that Eric was still lying on the ground. The shock wave had cut his other hand.


    This one moment confusion created a chance for Kai, who had stealthilye right behind the water. Kai shed his swords at the same time from above to make sure the point of contact was smaller. It prated the water wall. Kai felt the force that was trying to blow his sword upward, but still manageable.


    "Ha!" Kai let out a roar as he tried to cut both Ra''s hands, albeit the force from the water slowed his advance.


    After slightly slicing a Ra''s shoulders, he somehow managed to react and ducked down.


    Unfortunately for him, this duo was a little bit abnormal. The moment Kai made his appearance, Ria already had another two sword strikes that came from his left and right.


    Ra blocked it again with his two hands, but there was suddenly one strike that was sent slightlyter than the two.


    "Gah!" Ra spat blood. Even though it looked like one strike, it was a few strikes that came one after another, slowly piercing through his skin.


    If one wasn''t enough to make a single wound, Ria simply thought about attacking a few times, and the result was in front of her eyes.


    But the attack wasn''t over yet. Due to theck of concentration, there was a slight gap in his water wall, allowing Kai to sh his swords with all of his strength.


    "Kh!" Enduring the pain on his back, he leaped a little bit backward as he knew there was nothing he could do other than avoiding this attack. He shot out water to st Kai away, so he didn''t kill Eric.


    Ria finally used this chance to send four attacks to Ra. The first three came from left, right, and behind him and were handled by his two hands and tail. Surprisingly, thest one ran through the ceiling and came from the front. It was at this time he realized what was going on and shouted, "Sh*t!"

 Chapter 176 - Win

    "Sh*t!"


    Ra finally realized their n. He thought he was their target by acting like they wanted to kill Eric. Ria and Kai even wound him twice to prove that. If he was fighting after these two wounds, they might be able to heavily injure him before killing Eric, who was still on the ground. Yet, their true target was Eric all along.


    These two wounds on his body were just baits for him to focus on defending himself. Yet, Ria actually sent a dyed attack that went through the wall, going to his blind spot before slicing Eric into two.


    Despite having these many disadvantages, Ra still managed to react. He might be away from Eric, but he could destroy the shock wave before it cut Eric into two¡­ Or so this was what he thought when he turned around and spurted out high-pressure water toward the shock wave, nning to st it away.


    Unfortunately, Kai leaped and positioned himself between Eric and Ra with his Oscition Shield.


    The water jet hit Kai''s Oscition Shield as he stabbed the ground with his sword and deactivated his Vibration Sword as to prevent him from cutting the ground.


    Like the previous time, Kai would always be pushed back by this water jet. However, he quickly tightened his clutch on his sword, using it to hang on until Ria''s strike killed Eric.


    "No, you won''t!" Ra poured more power inside this water.


    Unfortunately for him, Kai suddenly shifted his shield a little bit, pointing it a little bit upward. He redirected a portion of the water to the ceiling to lessen his burden just for a few seconds.


    *sh!*


    A few secondster, Ria''s attack finally cut Eric''s head, killing him on the spot. There was no scream or whatsoever, but Kai, whose back was facing him, could hear that Eric had died.


    Without wasting any energy, he quickly jumped and used the force from the water to retreat.


    At this time, Ria appeared behind Ra, shing both of her swords on his neck.


    "Tch!" Ra could only click his tongue when Eric died. The only possible option for him was to escape from him, albeit Ria and Kai each guarded the tunnels'' entrances.


    At first, he believed that he and Eric could do the same thing when Kai arrived to make sure they could kill him. Yet, their strategy became useless with Ria''s appearance.


    Ra grabbed Ria''s swords easily. Her strength was nothingpared to Kai, and there was no trick, such as Vibration Sword. He was ready tounch Ria with another burst of water from his mouth but noticed Kai''s movement.


    Behind him, Kai was moving, ording to Ria''s movement. It was possible with his ears as he was already a few meters away from Ra with his Vibration Sword.


    "!!!" Kai and Ria suddenly felt dangering from Ra as they saw water bubbles appear around him. They first thought it was another water wall, but something was different, especially when Kai shouted. "Retreat!"


    Kai quickly used his Oscition Shield, knowing he couldn''t stop his momentum while Ria jumped back as a few giant swords came out of the ground.


    Suddenly, the same water wall actually appeared from Ra''s feet, but it wasn''t going upward. Instead, it shot at them. Kai was blown away once more while Ria had an easier time since the swords could block it.


    "Kai¡­ Change of strategy. Follow my leadpletely!" Ria suddenly instructed out loud. They didn''t have too much time for this; he still needed to solve this Protector before rescuing the other teams. The only way to do it as quickly as possible was to let her be in charge.


    Kai had no objection to this n since he knew how dangerous Ria''s attack was.


    The white lines were altered once again. Kai didn''t know what she was thinking, but the position of the white lines was so perfect as if it was targeting Ra.


    Suddenly, many magic circles appeared on the white lines, numbering thirty magic circles.


    "I see." Kai took a deep breath as he felt the simrity of this magic and the one that she used in their fight. The answer came when he saw three magic circles summoned a sword each. The sword was slightlyrger than the one she used in their match, but it suited the size of the magic circle well.


    "Luckily, we are underground." Ria smiled and raised her sword before waving it downward. The magic circles shot those three swords as if they were bullets and struck at Ra.


    "Do you think this can stop me?" Ra snorted, slightly adjusted his position and dodged the two while blowing thest one with his fist. Albeit, he suddenly noticed a translucent barrier appeared in his surroundings. It was at this moment he realized he was baited by Ria. The real sword of this magic was her own student, Kai Carter.


    The moment he turned around, Kai almost reached him and had shed his sword toward him.


    "Kh!" Ra still managed to react and dodged this attack, albeit barely as the sword grazed his cheek and hand.


    "Wee to my execution ground!" Ria smiled as she released another wave of swords. This time, she even participated in attacking Ra while Kai kept regenerating the Sound Instion magic around Ra to blind his hearing for a little time.


    They sealed his movementpletely. Ra had used his water or whatever, but thebinations of the three swords that came out of nowhere, Ria''s normal attacks and shock waves, and Kai''s Vibration Sword were insane.


    Little by little, Kai and Ria wounded Ra even further until one time, Kai shed one of Ra''s hands.


    "You bastards! Since I can''t survive here, then I will bring you along with me!" Ra roared as he was already insane because of this bullying. His resistance was futile without any help here, and Ria and Kai had done a great job in creating this kind of situation. In other words, his chance of survival was zero.


    A sh of glowing blue light began to appear inside Ra''s stomach, running through his feet, hands, and head, forcing Kai and Ria to create a distance.


    "Suicide Water Jet!"


    Kai and Ria felt the dangering from this technique. Kai might be able to sh Ra into two before whatever this is exploded. However, this magic might not be stopped even after killing Ra. By that time, Kai would be in the epicenter of this attack, and even Ria might not be able to save him.


    In the end, she shouted, "Come to my position as we retreat to the tunnel behind us."


    Kai heard the order and quickly leaped toward her ce, arriving in front of him. Ria wanted to turn around, so they could escape, but Ra didn''t let them as he began to talk after Ria''s shout.


    "Do you think I want to do this? But I still have my job. O'' Truth Seeker. You have the potential to know the truth, yet your existence is also heresy to us, the Protectors. Delve into and ovee strife and carnage that wille into your way. By the time you reach the end, you will understand what it means by hearing the scream of our."


    "I don''t want the truth; I only want a peaceful life!" Kai couldn''t help butment after seeing how ridiculous his words were. He then nodded to Ria, who was ready to leap out of the room.


    "Unfortunately, you have no choice." Ra activated the magic inside his body before Kai and Ria could escape. Knowing his end was only two seconds away, he uttered hisst word. "Long Live Protectors."


    *Boom!*


    Ria and Kai instinctively turned around, feeling the danger on their back.


    "Sword Shield!" Ria used the same magic where a giant sword came out of the ground and acted like a shield. However, she used a few of them at the same time, creating a fewyered shields.


    Kai also stopped in front of Ria and created a magic circle. It was slightly bigger than his usual one as it could cover his body.


    After using everything they could, they finally had the time to see what kind of attack they were dealing with right now. The explosion urred inside Ra''s body and shot out a water attack in every single direction. It looked like a sea urchin from afar, but it spread across the room.


    Nothing in this room would be able to escape those pointed sharp water, including Ria and Kai. There were a fewing into their way, destroying every single shield that Ria summoned. It only stopped for a second when it reached Kai''s Oscition Shield, albeit the conclusion came in an instant.


    *Bah!*


    Kai spat out blood, smearing his hand with some of it.


    "!!!" Ria shuddered when she saw three needles pierced through his body. One was in his right thigh, one was slight to the left of his stomach, while thest one was in his left arm. The blood started to bleed, dyeing the uniform and the water red.


    His magic circle had so many cracks caused by countless needles as if it would break at any moment with three holes that the needles caused. After such an injury, Kai didn''t utter a single groan because of Ria''s training. He had gotten used to pain like this.


    Kai was panting and checked his body. The holes weren''t that big, only around a normal bullet. ''I had gotten many wounds like this in the past, so I should be okay. The stomach one was also around the edge, and by the look of it, it missed the vital area.''


    "Kai!" Ria shouted as he saw Kai almost fell on his knees and caught him.


    "I am fine, Teacher. The wound you gave me was far more deadly than this, so I should be able to continue." Kai said while panting. "Besides, I still need to finish this mission. Don''t worry."


    Ria was shaken by his words. She quickly checked the wounds.


    "Still, I wish I had more magic power in me¡­" Kai sighed with a little smile.

 Chapter 177 - Reaching The Middle Region

    "Still, I wish I had more magic power in me¡­"


    Ria almost forgot about this. Ny percent of Kai''s magic power was inside Tasha at the moment. If he had that magic power, an attack like this wouldn''t even make a scratch. However, Ria didn''t say a singlepliment or constion. Instead, she said, "You have chosen this path yourself. That magic power is also a curse like you."


    "Yeah." Kai smiled. Even though they were talking, Ria still did the first aid by using her own clothes. Her movement was quick and precise,pleting the first aid for all his wounds within two minutes.


    "Magic power is giving us superpower strength. They are usually increasing basic human ability. Like me, who is only a normal human, have the ability to be a human weightlifting champion before the Earth transformed. For you, all those powers go toward your ears, enhancing your ears even more. It''s even more so with that amount of magic power." Ria looked at him.


    Kai sighed. "Indeed. It didn''t increase my range, though. Instead, it increased the sharpness as if there was a sound amplifier near my ears."


    "I have created the prototype about it after finishing the first ten percent device, the one that you are using right now. I should be able to make it in another one or two months. But are you sure about this?" Ria asked.


    "Yeah. I think my limit is thirty percent." Kai nodded. "After all, I have a lot of magic power that gives out a very high volume to my ears, so I think thirty percent is the best. I didn''t have this problem when I was a kid since I had no magic, but now¡­ I might go insane if I need to live with it for the rest of my life."


    "Luckily, you met Tasha." Ria smiled.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded. Just like how Via''s Light Magic was different from normal, Tasha''s Space Magic was also the same. Her Space Magic slightly leaned to the Sealing Magic and, to his surprise, could also seal his Magic Power. He thanked his parents for adopting Tasha and Tasha herself.


    Ria wanted to talk about this, but they had more important jobs to do. She pulled him up and carried him on his back. "Although I want to have a talk with you, we need to search for Evan Young first."


    "Wait, Teacher. Let''s search for Commander Alicia first and bring her to the Middle Region, so she can set up a defense line." Kai didn''t object to being carried on her back since he couldn''t move so much with this kind of wound. He just stated his objective.


    Ria thought for a moment and shook her head as she began running onward with a sword on her right hand. "No. My first priority will be bringing you to Evan Young. I don''t care about your instruction right now."


    "Teacher!" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "I know what you are thinking right now. Firstly, you must think about dropping you in the Western Region, right?"


    Kai couldn''t answer her and looked down.


    "Without theirmander, Alicia, The Support Army will crumble. In other words, one of us needs to stay¡­ Or both of us. After that, there is a chance that Evan can''te to this ce or need a long time. And you must think that you can get another aid from the Support Army since it''s one of their purposes in this situation. However, your injury is quite serious, and I doubt the first aid willst you that long. The medics won''t be enough for me." Ria snorted. "Anyone can tell me I''m selfish, but I won''t care about those few hundred soldiers if my student has yet to recover."


    "Still¡­" Kai bit his lips. The n in his head was the best n for their current situation, but Ria seemed to be very stubborn on this matter. She taught him to withstand the pain and made a contradictory action herself. Out of frustration, he ordered even though he knew she would reject it right away. "Teacher, I order you to head to the Western Region."


    "Have you gone desperate?" Ria snorted. "I am not a part of the army right now. Your order means nothing to me. Besides, you dare to order your own teacher? Do I still need to teach you about respect? I know I am contradicting what I taught you in the past¡­ But you know what, you are the one who actually changed it. You give me the reason to be selfish for my own family no matter how wrong it looks."


    Kai gritted his teeth. Ria indeed taught him to make the most rational decision. However, he could only make such a decision when his families weren''t involved. In fact, he still held this belief in his heart dearly. That was why he always used his Oscition Shield and took the full brunt of enemy attacks.


    Ria seemed to have adapted this belief. Although it wasn''t literally the same, it was still very simr.


    Kai struggled a little, but Ria''s grip was too strong. If he distracted her more, it would be dangerous as they were in the middle of magical beasts.


    They also had passed the thirty men in front who happened to see them. They definitely thought it was weird at first as to why Ria would carry him but dispelled that thought as soon as they saw his wounds.


    Ria gave them an instruction to join with the original group as they stormed inside the swarm of Magical Beasts. Knowing it would be best to follow her wish, Kai decided to give her the instruction on where to go.


    Ria, obviously, didn''t believe him at first, thinking he still wanted to direct her to Alicia. Hence, she took a look at the map and finally confirmed that he didn''t trick her.


    Kai decided to help as well by throwing spears that Ria synthesized, albeit took all of his energy. His injured body really restricted his movement at this time.


    They were going to the biggest group inside the Middle Region since Kai informed her that Yuki was going to construct a sloppy natural stronghold.


    After another ten minutes, they finally made it.


    "Out of my way!" Ria shouted as she stormed inside the tunnel. They just arrived in the outer ring as they still had a few minutes of running before arriving into the center of this stronghold. However, they suddenly heard a sound echoing from the other side of the tunnel.


    "That voice! Professor Ria!"


    This female''s voice startled Kai and Ria as they recognized it.


    "Ayaka, huh¡­" Ria furrowed her eyebrows and didn''t say anything until they arrived in front of them. Yet, she could only see Ayaka and Tasha here, looking a bit tired. "Why are there only two of you?"


    "Professor!" A trace of happiness appeared in Ayaka''s face as if hope just came in, but it turned abruptly into a shock when she saw Kai on her back. "Kai! What happened?"


    "He needs treatment from Evan. Where is he?"


    "They are inside." Tasha quickly shouted. She was worried about Kai''s condition, but looking at his wounds, she wasn''t supposed to halt them any longer. As much as she hated it, she decided to say it. "I and Ayaka are in charge of this tunnel, so go ahead. We will stop every single magical beast here."


    "Alright." Ria nodded, noticing around fifty soldiers on their back. She quickly continued her way toward their headquarters in this stronghold.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka looked at Tasha with a confused look. "You are not going to do anything? I can stop them here alone."


    "No. We need to set our priority right." Tasha shook her head. "Besides¡­ He will be fine within a few minutes and start turning the situation around. Our job is to kill as many beasts as possible."


    Ayaka sighed and nodded. "If you say so, I will also help you."


    "Haha¡­ Though I hate to admit it, you are also one of us. I want to release this anger to the right ce. Can you keep up with me?" Tasha smiled.


    "The way I am now, I can definitely say, I will keep up with you." Ayaka smiled.


    "Soldiers. March forward!" Tasha shouted.


    ¡­


    Not long after going through the base, Ria arrived in their headquarters. It was quite a spacious room with around twenty people inside. Four of them were themanders of their respective armies, and they gasped the moment they saw Ria and Kai.


    They quickly saluted to Ria before ncing at the injured Kai.


    Evan was already beside them without even getting called. He said, "I will heal him right now. Can Professor put him down?"


    Ria nodded and put him down before looking at the fourmanders. "We don''t have much time. Kai Carter is the highestmand of this operation right now. Although I want him to take charge of this, we are in a dire situation, and he doesn''t have experience with this. That''s why I will take the lead and build a natural stronghold since I have created a few of them in the past. At the same time, he will be my ears and report all the status to ensure you are all informed. Four Commanders, can you obey my orders?"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" Themanders answered without hesitation.


    "Alright." Ria nodded and nced at Kai. "Little Hero, give me the status report."


    "Little Hero?" Kai was taken aback, confused as to why she suddenly called him Little Hero.


    "You have done a great job on this mission. I will exin itter. For now, I want to hear the report first tomand the soldiers."


    Kai nced at Evan, who nodded his head, telling Kai that he could talk while he healed him.


    "Alright! The situation is¡­"

 Chapter 178 - Ria Takes The Command

    "¡­ That is the situation." Kai finally finished his five minutes report.


    Right after he finished, Ria turned around and ordered as if she had known what to do for a while. "There are two Vanguard Units Commanders and two Attacker Units Vanguards. I want all of you split in three separate ways. First, Yuki will bring an additional two hundred men and go toward our left and rescue Alicia to set up a small base there to create the link between both of our ces. We can stop their advance and gradually kill them."


    "Understood. Please excuse me." Yuki saluted once more and left the room immediately, knowing she couldn''t waste a single second at this point.


    "Before separating you three, where is Michelle Graham? Her power might be necessary in this ce." Ria asked the threemanders as Kai still couldn''t find her.


    "She is roaming around the Middle Area to kill all the magical beasts so we,manders, can focus on dealing with the other four areas," Colton, the Vanguard Unit Commander, answered. "She is together with most of the student groups, numbering around three hundred."


    Ria could understand this type of order since the student groups usually took a mission of exterminating beasts in a certain area. Defending wasn''t really their strong suit.


    "Alright." She nodded and exined the next job. "Colton and Faith from the Vanguard Unit will stand by in the Eastern Region along with an additional five hundred men. Our target was the Eastern after this ce, but all of these things ruined everything. Your job is to prevent those insects froming our way. No need to push them back, just hold them back. Your units will suffer a huge blow because this will be thest ce to be relieved."


    "Yes, Ma''am. We will hold out no matter what, as this is our job!" Both of them saluted and left the room.


    Thest person was Henry, another Attacker Unit Commander. His motion was already set in motion even without Ria saying anything.


    Even so, Ria still gave her the general mission. "I need you to go defend the Northern Passage and hold there for a while¡­ And you can bring one hundred men."


    "If I may ask, will General attack them from the Southern Area?" Henry asked. This ce didn''t have any instruction or whatsoever, so he thought Ria would lead the soldiers personally to attack this area.


    "That old man deserves to be forgotten." Ria snorted. "Anyway, They should have kept those insects in check. As long as we have some soldiers, we should be able to. On the other hand, I¡­ No, Kai will confront the attack from the Western Area."


    "Me?" A surprise was nted on his face as he furrowed his eyebrows.


    Ria turned to Henry as if she didn''t hear anything from Kai. "Now, go! The moment reinforcementes, you need to move along with us."


    "Understood." Henry saluted like the others and left.


    Ria then finally looked at Kai. "You are going to lead the attack with all the students and five hundred soldiers to the Western Region. Of course, after they have finished killing the magical beasts in this Middle Area. I will leave the timing to you."


    "But they might only finish this job after three hours," Kai replied after learning the situation from his ears.


    "Three hours then." Ria nodded. "This will be hard because we need to fight for a day straight and somehow get a rest in between. If you can keep this up, we should be able to minimize our damage¡­ Two thousand¡­ No, two thousand deaths¡­ Almost half of our people."


    "I understand¡­ The field assignment will be on me, but what is my mission? Where do I need to attack?" Kai asked. "I know that Sir Nathan and Sir Sherwin are stronger than they look, but they won''t be able to finish those magical beasts alone. Even more so since we have lost around one thousand five hundred people because of this stupid surprise attack."


    "I know. We have around four thousand and two hundred soldiers at the moment¡­ ording to the damage report and your ears. When you bring the reinforcement to the Western Region, you can proceed to the Northern Region and coordinate with Henry. On the other hand, I will bring the rest of the soldiers to help the Southern Region before heading to the Eastern Region and attack them from three directions. "You know what I mean, right?"


    Kai fell into deep thought. Nathan and Sherwin only had four hundred, and even if they could absorb the original Support Unit that had been stationed in that area, it would only increase their number by a hundred. A total of five hundred soldiers alone might be hard to face six thousand magical beasts in the Southern Region without Ria''s help. In that case, he needed to finish the battle as soon as possible, so Ria could move from this position.


    "If I go to the Western Region with eight hundred people, we will have one thousand and five hundred soldiers there. I can station one to two hundred soldiers to make sure the beasts didn''t break through to Western Area and stabbed us from behind. After that, I will send a messenger to you and head to the Northern Area, and then¡­" Kai was finally able to realize her n. "Still, there are two problems remaining."


    "There is nomander that is capable of holding the army for the tired Vanguard Units. That''s why I am going to send Nathan to help Colton and Faith." She paused for a moment before continuing.


    "The second and most important problem will be Time! We need to hold our position first for three hours and make sure not to worsen our condition." She smirked while looking at Kai. "When you were in Russia and overwhelmed by the situation. You could actually set up a little stronghold and waited for a few days there. Of course, you needed around one hundred people, but it shouldn''t be that hard for Kudo Group to escape with a hundred people and not rely on your Teleportation Ability.


    "Unfortunately, you didn''t have knowledge about it since I had yet to teach you back then. This time, I will show you how to make a natural stronghold that uses Natural Terrain as our advantage. Are you ready to learn again?"


    Kai took a deep breath before looking at Ria with a serious expression. "Of course."


    "Good!"


    Ria began constructing the stronghold. Normally, she would do it with one of themanders apanying her since they knew their way around here and how many soldiers were stationed. But she had a choice to rely on Kai''s ears.


    Although the data wouldn''t be urate since it would take too much time if Kai focused in every single area, the ranged data was fine for her.


    She professionally moved the soldiers around, distributing them in perfect time and minimizing the damage. Kai had so much to absorb and learn to the point he couldn''t speak unless Ria asked for the rest of three hours.


    It was three hours for the others, but it felt like a couple of minutes for Kai and Ria. Nheless, Michelle and the other students had finished their mission and came back to the base.


    Michelle, as Ria''s student, came to their headquarters only to find thosemanders had been reced by Kai and Ria. There were also two students beside her. The female had long purple hair tied into a ponytail while the male had short blue hair. They looked like they had seen hell before their grim expression abruptly changed into shock when they saw Kai.


    "Kai! You havee." Michelle ran toward him while the others were staring at Ria Ross, recognizing her face.


    "Students, huh¡­ Where are the soldiers?"


    "They are in the back and asked us to report here." The female said, almost stuttered herself.


    Kai nodded at Michelle with a smile before looking at these two. He had seen this face when Michelle gave him the student data. They were the leaders of the first and second rank groups in the school. Golden and Dawn Group.


    "You know our situation, right?"


    "Yes¡­ We are attacked from four directions and waiting for the rescue squad." The male answered.


    "Your job is to follow him, the acting General for this mission. If you have any objection, you may say it now," said Ria with a poker face and pointed her finger to Kai.


    The two opened their eyes wide as they recognized Kai in a single nce. ''Acting General? Him?''


    There were many questions inside their heads, but all of them vanished the moment Ria released her aura. "Have you any objection? If you have, I will also use my authority to make your puny families suffer since I don''t have time to deal with a bunch of kids."


    They didn''t feel offended because they knew what Ria was capable of. Much less totheir dismay, they could only grit their teeth and salute Kai as normal soldiers greeted their superior.


    Ria knew these two identities and shut them down to make sure they didn''t bring trouble to Kai at this moment. She looked at Kai and nodded.


    "We are going to kill the beast in the Western Region and move ording to my orders. I will exinter since I want the soldiers and students to move first." Even though he knew about these two, he had no n in talking to them. After all, he only needed to deal with Yuki and Aliciater, not them. Hence, he wanted them to inform the soldiers and students.


    "Well, I will help as well." Michelle gave thest push by walking away to help the job as well. With Kai''s woman acting like this, there was no way these two would refuse Kai''s order. The only thing they could do was follow Michelle.


    The soldiers and students couldn''t rest and move toward the Western Area with Kai in front.

 Chapter 179 - Kais Resolve

    The journey to the Western Area itself wasn''t dangerous. Tasha and Ayaka met Kai but didn''t make a fuss. For Tasha, she was content to see Kai was fine while Ayaka kept ncing at him, wondering what kind of monster could cause him such an injury, especially with Ria beside him.


    Nheless, she wasn''t going to ask in this battle and might not ask in the future unless he decided to tell it himself.


    Kai led the group from the front, using his status as the acting general. Unfortunately, he couldn''t go fast like when he led the Reserve Unit as there were still several monsters ahead that needed to be pulverized first so as to prevent them from reaching the Middle Region.


    He even spread the army as soon as they entered the Western Region to sweep this area while marching toward Yuki and Alicia.


    "!!" Yuki was talking with Alicia, who seemed to be injured in her right arm. Yuki noticed him and locked onto his eyes. "So you are the one whoes."


    "Yeah. How is the situation here?"


    "It''s decent. We have suffered because of the Surprise attack and lost two hundred soldiers, but I have dealt with the situation. So the situation is basically a standstill right now," Alicia reported and saluted with her left hand.


    Kai could see the bandage on her right hand and decided not to say anything. "I have brought eight hundred soldiers here and spread them around."


    "That''s great! With the reinforcement I have earlier and Alicia''s Support Unit or Defender Unit, we should be able to clear this area pretty soon." Yuki eximed with a happy tone as if hope finally appeared in front of her.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "What is our current number?"


    "My unit still has five hundred soldiers, Yukies with two hundred, while you bring eight hundred," Alicia answered.


    "That''s good. We can clear this area within three hours if Yuki and I join the fight." Kai nodded and paused for a moment. He stared at Alicia''s right hand before looking right onto her eyes. "Although an injured person needs to rest, I''m afraid the situation won''t allow us. That''s why if you are unhappy with this mission, you can hate me all you want, but you still need to ept the job."


    "Don''t worry, Sir. My hand might be broken, but I can stillmand the soldiers." Alicia replied with a serious expression.


    Kai couldn''t help but smile. He continued, "If your mission is to hold the magical beasts from going to this ce, how many people will you need?"


    "May I know the number of magical beasts and their current situation?"


    "Originally, they had six thousand magical beasts, but it should be less as Vice General Sherwin and General Nathan have been leading the army to clean them up. Unfortunately, they only have a small number, not enough to kill them all. It will be different after we conquer this ce. Commander Yuki and I will go to the Northern Area to sweep them and make our way to the Eastern Region. The safe area in the Western Region allows my teacher, Ria Ross, to help the Southern Area." Kai exined the situation.


    "I see. We are still going to clear this ce¡­ But knowing their number and such, it will surely be a horrendous experience for the soldiers and students." Alicia let out a long sigh.


    "Even so, we need to have them tirelessly fought until we clean this area!" Kai said with a grim expression while clenching his palms. "The fault is on me¡­ To think I was yed by them."


    "Do you know anything about this strange situation?" Yuki asked. She also noticed the word ''them'' in his mouth and continued. "Maybe, there are intelligence beasts in this area."


    Kai thought for a moment. He didn''t know whether SS rank and SSS rank magical beasts could be disclosed, but he could certainly answer the question with this sentence. "Worse than them."


    Yuki and Alicia exchanged looks as an idea shed in their mind. There were only two things worse than intelligence beasts. One was the S rank magical beast. However, there were no magical beasts nearby since they would usually call all magical beasts if they felt threatened. Even if it were an S rank insect, ferocious animals like bears, tigers, and so on would stille.


    That only left with the second choice. Their rank might not be enough to know about the truth, but there was always a rumor that had been lingering in their ranks. There were still existences above S rank magical beasts, and they felt it was rted to this situation.


    Yuki quickly said with a troubled expression, "This is not your fault. Still, this is a problem. We need to deal with them as well."


    "No." Kai shook his head. "There is no more threat. If I could say, we are fighting with time."


    "!!!" Alicia narrowed her eyes and said, "If I don''t need to deal with anything, one hundred¡­ No, one hundred fifty people will suffice for me. Not only will I block them here, but I will also make my way toward the nearest general. This way, the sweeping process will be more effective."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Although I''m amander, my strength is the weakest." Alicia smiled weakly. "Your eye and mind for tactics¡­ could be said on par with the best of strategists. Yet you are also formidable enough to personally inspire men by leading the charge. However, I''mcking in thetter aspect and, in fact, not enough to achieve my current position. The only thing that allows me to reach this ce is my brain."


    "Indeed. She usually got the position as a strategist in a mission. If she says one hundred fifty are enough, then it''s truly enough. Trust yourmander a bit more." Yuki added with a smile.


    Kai looked at Alicia''s eyes for a few seconds before he nodded with a solemn face. "I understand. I will entrust this mission to you."


    "Yes, Sir. Leave it to me!" Alicia straightened her body and saluted.


    "Commander Yuki, we still need to finish this battle within three hours. In other words, you and I need to clear every nook and corner to make sure none of the magical beasts are able to attack us or Commander Alicia''s unit from behind. This will be tight, but will you apany me this time?"


    "Yes, Sir!" Yuki had no need for words for this man. Although his umted experience wasn''t enough, his individual might alone have exceeded her. She wondered if the Government bestowed him a rank, would Kai restart from the very bottom or skip the rank immediately. Yet, one thing was clear for her. Ria Ross would surely stretch her hand in this matter. She smiled inwardly. ''The future will be interesting from now on.''


    Reaching the end of their discussion, Alicia quickly shouted. "Get all of our messengers and spread them around to tell that we are going to kill all of these beasts within three hours. Failure is not allowed!"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" There were around twenty soldiers in the room, and almost all of them left the room in a hurry.


    Kai and Yuki then left the room together, leaving Alicia with a couple of soldiers.


    "They have gone¡­" Alicia looked at her own hand. Evan should be able to fix this broken arm immediately, but she didn''t have time for that. "Still¡­ A student, specifically that Ria Rosa''s student, can reach this level¡­ Is he going to have a meteoric rise like his teacher? It seems I also need to do my job well."


    Kai and Yuki cleared room after room.


    There was no more fight like the one he had with Ra and Eric. So, they were pretty much rxed as long as they could keep up their speed.


    In between, Yuki had decided to ask him one important question. "Say, Kai, why do you want to im the rank? Even without bing a general, you are still able to amass money to live leisurely with Michelle and the other girls. In fact, you don''t even need Sanae and Evan Young in your group. This way, you can even gather enough money together. I have heard from Michelle that you actually want to lead a simple life, away from battle like this."


    "I still have one person that I need to bring from United Asia." Kai shook his head.


    "That girl, right? Sanae told me long ago. To put it simply, you can just abduct the girl here, and everything will be fine. The condition in United Asia is not very friendly, and you can even make them do it willingly with Kudo Group and Graham Family status." She paused for a moment and continued. "There must be another reason."


    Kai shook his head helplessly. "I indeed can convince them that way¡­ But¡­"


    Yuki looked at him seriously. She wished to know not purely out of her curiosity, she needed to know it as Michelle''s Teacher.


    "Before I answer your question, can you tell me what your is opinion and challenges you have faced until now as Michelle''s Teacher?"


    "Most of them are private even for you, but I can tell some." Yuki nodded. "As you already know, I was on the verge of death when Graham Family rescued me. I had decided to be one of them and acted under the banner of Graham Family, and they somehow took an interest in my ability."


    "Thus, leading you to be Michelle''s Teacher?"


    "Yes. They took my experience as well, and the fact that I was from the same base as you, United Asia. Michelle didn''t have much information about United Asia, so I told her everything, and it might be the reason why she agreed to have me as her teacher despite having so many candidates who were better than me. Besides, I didn''t have many things to teach her as she had been training with her Grandfather the whole time and became this powerful.


    "I didn''t know If I was happy back then, but I knew I was attached to this girl. I was even surprised that she had a love interest in United Asia, and the boy was actually one of the people who suffered from the Magical Beast Riot a decade ago. Having no attachment left to the base, I told her everything about the riot.


    "Gradually, I epted my status as her teacher, but when we were alone, I was like her sister, nothing else. I faced many challenges and rumors that told me off, but Sir Nathan offered to teach me and asked me to climb my rank in the Army to shut them up. Hence, here I am, and I am happy now." Yuki finished her story with a smile.


    Kai nodded with a smile. "I also have many pressures under my belt with Michelle''s status, albeit the first cause would be in the childhood where we promised each other to be heroes in this era, like my Teacher. Of course, the thought had been changed years back, but I still had an obligation to be one¡­ Not because of promise, but a responsibility.


    "You can call it my foolish pride or whatever, but if I marry Michelle, what do you think the media will announce?"


    "Michelle Graham marries an unknown man called Kai Carter." Yuki pondered and answered.


    "Worse than that. They won''t even state my name there. It will be like this, Michelle Graham marries an unknown man from United Asia¡­ With my face censored. That''s why I will climb my way up as quickly as possible and retire early. The media will then say, General Kai Carter marries an S rank magician Michelle Graham. It could be said that none of the girls have the status that can bepared to Michelle, and by having this status, I can protect them from any negative opinions."Kai smiled.


    "Thus is why you say it''s your responsibility." Yuki nodded and smiled. "I think I know why Michelle is in love with you."


    Kai was slightly embarrassed to say this, but Yuki was one of Michelle''s closest people, he had a feeling to convey it to her.


    "I want to talk more about it, but I guess nothing that is more important from earlier questions, so everything can wait until this mission is finished." Yuki smiled from ear to ear.


    "Agreed."

 Chapter 180 - The Last Push

    "Have we finished all of them?" Yuki was panting as she asked Kai.


    Kai was also slightly out of breath. "Yeah. We have another thirty minutes from our original time."


    "Let''s go back and rest first."


    They had been roaming around for two and a half hours in a pair without having anyone''s help. Yet, they had killed five hundred magical beasts out of the original five thousand, showing how hard they fought this whole time.


    Knowing there was nothing to do, they decided to go back to rest on the meeting point. However, he suddenly had a bunch of peopleing toward him right outside the meeting point. They looked a little familiar, but Kai couldn''t remember who they were.


    "Sir!" They suddenly saluted him.


    "Eh?" Kai obviously was astounded. At first, he thought they wereing from Yuki''s army, but when he heard their voices, He remembered a certain unit. "Are you from the Reserve Army?"


    "Yes, Sir. We were the first thirty people, albeit half of us fell in battle."


    Kai looked down and apologized. "I''m sorry."


    "We are also angry and sad for our fallenrades, but we will direct it to the magical beasts here. Sir had an even more dangerous fight than us, no one would actually think badly about you Sir. In fact, we are ashamed to have you, a student, led us in the front andpletely obliterated the enemies."


    "I see¡­ I''m sorry that I can''t talk too much right now."


    "I know you are busy, so we will support you with anything."


    Kai didn''t know what to do and only nodded. "Thank you."


    He and Yuki then walked toward the meeting point.


    "I need a status report¡­" Yuki said on the way.


    "I tried to listen to it earlier and realized that we have at least lost four hundred soldiers in this battle¡­ And a few students from Magic Academy and Military Academy." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "We are fighting for speed this time, so I expect that the loss is quite serious¡­ Yet, it''s still lower than my expectation." Yuki nodded. "It must be the capability of themander. Beforeing here, how many people do you think have died from our original six thousand or so people?"


    "I don''t know the exact details."


    "A prediction then."


    "Around a fourth of them."


    "One thousand and five hundred¡­ It''s quite big, considering our loss wasn''t that big yesterday." Yuki furrowed her eyebrows. They only lost around four hundred people for the past two days, but to think they had lost more than a thousand on today alone. "Still, we might lose more if you didn''t notify us and took charge in the situation. In fact, the group inside might annihted, and we wouldn''t know until we went inside."


    "Teacher said we would have at least three thousand and five hundred people alive."


    "I see. More than half, huh¡­ Considering we were ambushed and now need to kill them all while being exhausted. It will lead to high casualty." Yuki thought for a moment. They might be able to pull back first in this situation¡­ However, the thought about being ambushed and so on would dampen the soldiers'' spirits, and the longer they prolong this fight, the harder to finish it. That was why Ria also suggested finishing this battle as soon as possible. "That''s good enough, I guess."


    Kai nodded. "Of course, we are trying our best to avoid it. I hope we can have more than four thousand people in the end."


    "Indeed. We can use our number to strike the Northern Region while the Southern Region will have Alicia, Sherwin, Sir Nathan, and General Ria. They should be able to minimize the casualty. Then, we can pincer them from two sides."


    "Two sides? We can do it from three sides." Kai smirked. "I''m sure my Teacher is nning the same."


    "Well, I don''t know the extent of your strategy, so I will just follow your instruction and lead the soldiers to the best of my ability."


    Kai and Yuki stopped talking for a while until they had arrived in their position, waiting for the others toe.


    Following the timing strictly, more than ten people came in front of him, including Yuki and Alicia. Each of them was responsible for the life of a hundred people and to ensure they didn''t stray too much.


    Kai stared at them sharply. Yet, before starting thest briefing, Kai turned to one messenger and said. "Tell the Middle Army they can proceed with their n. The time limit is¡­"


    Kai calcted the time they and Henry needed to eliminate the four thousand magical beasts as well as how long Ria and the others needed to deal with their situation. After calcting for a few seconds, he dered. "The time limit is two hours."


    "Yes, Sir!" The messenger saluted and left.


    He then turned to the leaders in front of him. "We only need to deal with four thousand beasts in the Northern Region and eight thousand in the Eastern Region. However, thest one will be together with all of our forces. So the time and difficulty are around the same. I know that you have fought continuously, and every battle must be hard. Even so, this situation forces us to end this battle today. I want you to bear with me for another few hours. I assure you that we will be victorious within five hours."


    "Yes, Sir!" No one had an objection toward him, knowing that he was the current acting general. Although the age quite confused them, Kai didn''t give an aura of ignorance, and the twomanders also didn''t state anything, so they believed in Kai for the time being.


    "We are going in five minutes!"


    ¡­


    Approximately one hourter¡­


    After entering the Northern Region, the soldiers were raging because they knew the magical beasts that ambushed them wereing from him. These remaining magical beasts only had themselves to me and died just like that.


    The same applied to the insects in the Southern Region when they were obliterated by four people. However, there was suddenly a shift when Ria met Nathan.


    They locked into each other''s eyes, nning the same thing in their mind. Nathan suddenly said, "You should go back to the Middle Region and help themanders that have been holding the magical beasts there."


    "No. You should go." Ria shook her head. "Your strength is how you can utilize formation and strategy to sweep the enemies while I have the strength to prate any kind of formation in magical beasts. That''s why you are going to help them, not me. We have Alicia to rece your soldier positioning while Sherwin helps the power aspect."


    "But if you go to the Middle Region, you can meet your student easily."


    "No. It will be hard to meet him since I don''t have his hearing ability, so I won''t know his position, especially in thisplicated underground nest. It will be better if I stay here. After all, I can lead the group to prate the enemy rank deep. At the same time, Kai has many capablemanders behind him, so he might also do the same, prating deep into their ranks and spreading his soldiers. We will win this in a few hours." Ria answered with a solemn expression.


    Nathan didn''t immediately reply to her. He pondered for a minute and said, "Alright. I will go ording to your n. Still, I am pretty lucky to have you joined this fight."


    "I participated because of Kai, not you. Besides, I have another objective myself which has beenpleted." Ria snorted.


    "Fair enough." Nathan nodded before beginning to walk away. "Then, I''m going."


    They only had another one hour before thest battle, but most of them had cleaned up the enemies, so they were pretty rxed. Kai would also check the nest after this to make sure no beast remained alive.


    Meanwhile, Kai''s group also had almost finished their battle as there were only one thousand magical beasts. Their number was even higher than them at this point, and the soldiers had the luxury to rx while killing the rest of magical beasts. Of course, Kai needed to confirm whether they had cleaned up the entire Northern Region or not.


    In the end, Michelle ended uping together with him since Ayaka and Tasha, who were watching the passage, followed Ria Ross instead ofing to him. Michelle had been acting alone this whole time, so she could move freely. Yuki was the one who actually asked her since she couldn''t apany Kai this time.


    The first destination for Kai was Henry''s ce. Kai might not be able to pinpoint it, but it was different if he got closer. Henry agreed to push forward and matched their pace with Kai''s group. Henry was one of the Attacker Armymanders, so this situation allowed him to release his pent up stress from defending.


    With the addition of his group, their number almost reached two thousand soldiers, while the magical beasts only had four thousand. It was an all-out ughter that even made Kai have little action.


    Finally, after the valiant effort of the soldiers, the Northern Group and Southern Group had closed in, ready to win the war at any time.


    The three leaders of their respective forces stood on the border leading to the Eastern Region afterpleting their own task. Only a few seconds left in the clock and the situation tensed up. The soldiers could also see the timer, and they were ready for thest fight, hoping it would end soon.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows, and the moment he saw the time reach zero. He, Nathan, and Ria shouted at the same time.


    "Begin!"

 Chapter 181 - The End Of The Raid Mission

    "Begin!"


    The soldiers quickly stormed inside the Eastern Region with an energy that had never been seen before. It couldn''t be helped. They had seen hell today from that ambush and finally could finish everything.


    Kai, Ria, and Nathan used that energy to bring all the soldiers and cleared this entire Underground Nest from Magical Beasts.


    Kai didn''t fight that much in thest region. He had another job after this, so he mostly rested his strength for what woulde after. Of course, no one actually disagreed with his decision. In fact, many soldiers from the Reserve Army spread the word of how gant he actually fought in the front line, especially those from the fronts that had seen his actual strength.


    Having Ria as his teacher also elevated his rumor. And finally, after the long day, they finished the battle and returned to the surface.


    Kai went back with Michelle and met up with Ayaka, Tasha. On the other hand, Sanae was talking with Yuki while Evan was still required him to heal the injured soldiers.


    "Kai¡­ You should have predicted the oue, right? Is this result one of the best oues?" Ayaka couldn''t contain her curiosity. Michelle and Tasha also grew curious, but their intentions were more to the concern of his heart. They were afraid that he would break down after many lives under hismand died.


    Kai looked up and rested his mind with this orange sky first before answering them. "Without the ambush, I can say this is one of the worst-case scenarios. If we take the ambush into ount, it will be one of the best scenarios in my mind."


    The girls observed his face and expression. He looked so calm that they even doubted him, but the thought vanished when they heard his next words.


    "I had many shorings, and I knew that I could make a better n¡­ If I used it from the beginning. Unfortunately, I was not at that level yet until Ipleted this mission. That''s why I wish to shoulder this weight and use this experience to save more soldiers'' lives in the future." Kai raised his hand up, grasping the air as if he was trying to grab the sky. Suddenly, he lowered his hand, turned around, and looked into the girls'' eyes with a solemn expression. "That''s why I rather think about my future instead ofmenting my past. I''m sorry for making all of you worry."


    He had realized his mistakes after seeing how they could actually kill twenty thousand magical beasts within a day due to the separation. Just like how he preferred fighting one on one multiple times to fighting against few at the same time, this separation actually gave the soldiers a leeway.


    For example, he could annihte four thousand magical beasts twice faster than fight eight thousand at once with his puny two thousand soldiers. The result was very visible on thest operation where he wiped them out from the Western, Northern, and Eastern Region.


    This was one of the aspects that he wished to improve while Ria''s teaching about making a stronghold with natural terrain was the other one. He had seen the goal and the path. The only thing he needed was time and experience to execute them.


    His expression assured them and couldn''t help but make them smile.


    "It seems that Michelle''s sacrifice is not going to waste." Tasha nodded jokingly.


    "You are picking a fight with me, Tasha?" Michelle red at her.


    "You were the one who said that you wished to stay inside out of your selfishness," Tasha smirked, teasing her.


    "That was not the sole content, right? You should say it first. Besides, you also agreed to that!"


    The two were fighting each other with words, livening the atmosphere. Meanwhile, Ayaka came to him and touched the holes in his uniform, specifically the one in his stomach. She looked a bit sad, but also worried. Even so, she still looked Kai with a gentle expression and said, "Kai¡­ You have worked hard."


    Kai smiled at her. "Thank you. Ayaka, Michelle, Sister, thank you for supporting me until now."


    Ayaka smiled brightly. Michelle and Tasha stopped fighting and looked away, scratching their heads embarrassedly because they let Ayaka take the points this time.


    "Anyway, I need to go first for thest meeting with the others. Tell Evan to not forget about his condition and have some rest." Kai nodded and turned around, marching toward the headquarters tent.


    The girls could only exchange looks and smile, bing friends again.


    On the other hand, Kai walked silently in the middle of the base while closing his eyes. He could hear many voices around in two buildings¡­


    "Uoh! My friend¡­ Why did you need to die?"


    "Why did you save my life?"


    "Magical Beasts were bastards! Even though I had avenged you, I won''t stop killing those magical beasts!"


    Although he looked pretty calm, he knew that the hard time was this parting time. No matter how he flowered his words, many people had lost their lives in this mission. He might not be in front of them, but he could still hear the pain and anguish in their voices. It must be mortifying.


    Nheless, he had decided to walk in this path and could only walk forward, especially when he finally arrived in front of their headquarters.


    Kai took a deep breath before entering the tent, only to find he was thest person to arrive.


    "Now, let us wee the hero of this mission. I am sure the Government can''t stay quiet after this, and Professor Ria can''t suppress them again from rewarding you." Nathan still sat on his usual seat, saying out loud with an extremely cheerful tone as if he wasn''t bothered with their casualty.


    "What reward? Many people died because of me." Kai shook his head. "If there are real heroes, it would be them."


    "Kai!" Ria suddenly shouted as she mmed the table until it broke into two. She red at Kai while releasing his aura, startling everyone in the room.


    Kai tensed up, not knowing what he said wrong. His heart began beating rapidly when he saw Ria stand up and start walking toward him.


    "It seems you have been thinking like this from when you led the battle in Cuba. Is that right?"


    Kai''s body shook but didn''t answer.


    Even so, it was enough for Ria to know what he was thinking. "You are like me from ten years ago! That''s why I will teach you right here and right now. Don''t think about those who fell in the battle. Instead, think that you saved four thousand soldiers'' lives. There are several more consequences that we need to pay if they sessfully massacre our people inside. They might roam around and strike the soldiers that have been keeping the border safe or make their way toward the base. How many lives do you think will die before we can stop them? If you can''t, I will train you once more for a year!"


    Her threat aside, he closed his eyes and smiled, knowing that everything she said was right. It was only a matter of perspective. The first one would be the perspective of the media that would make even a small mistake blow up. The second one would be how he should strive so as to not repeat the same mistake. "I''m sorry, Teacher. I was wrong."


    "Tsk!" Ria clicked his tongue.


    "¡­" Kai was speechless, not knowing why she clicked her tongue as if she wanted to train him for a year. Yet, this action of her cheered him up a little bit.


    *Cough¡ª!* Nathan faked a cough before saying, "Anyway, we should proceed with thest meeting first, so we can rest after this. Kate!"


    Thestmander, Reserve Army''s Commander Kate, stepped forward. "First of all, I''m very sorry that I can''t fight this time due to several reasons. Hence, leave the restoration and any idle tasks to me. All of you can rest after this."


    Kate paused for a moment and grabbed a paper in front of her. "I have gotten the statistics for our battle. There are 1,754 soldiers with light injuries, 954 soldiers with heavy injuries, and 1,954 deaths. Our original number was 6,272 people, including the teacher and other support staff. In other words, there are still 4,318 people alive.


    "The soldiers who have light injuries will be treated by medical teams while the ones with heavy injuries are handled by Evan Young. However, there are 496 people need to have an early retirement due to the injuries. We can only recover one 1,024 dead bodies because magical beasts ate the rest. Even so, we will hold a Military Funeral for all of them."


    "Granted. I will talk with the Government about it, so you can proceed with the preparation. I will make sure all of them get thepensation they deserve." Nathan nodded solemnly.


    "I understand. Then I will continue my report, the two special corpses will be handled by the military under General Nathan''s and General Ria''s supervision. All of the soldiers will be carried to the base the day after tomorrow while I and the rest of one hundred soldiers will stay behind to watch over the Underground Nest until the reinforcements from the base arrive to take over. That''s all the report."


    Nathan thought for a moment and nodded. "I will handle a few paperwork after this. But let me tell you this, all of you have really worked hard, and I thank you as the general. Truly, thank you."


    Ria Ross snorted, looking at his sincere face. Even so, she was still the first one to p her hands. The rest also followed to p their hands, knowing that this battle finally ended.


    Yet, Ria Ross didn''t forget to whisper something to Kai.


    "Meet me after this."

 Chapter 182 - Military Rank?

    As soon as the meeting ended, Ria and Kai walked together to the top of the building. It seemed to be a serious matter since she acted a little suspicious like this, but Kai also felt that this matter would be closely rted to the Protector.


    "Teacher¡­ What do you want to talk about?" Kai looked into her serious face. "Judging by your expression, it is either a serious matter for you or a grave matter for me. Else, you won''t have this kind of serious expression."


    "It''s about you but not really a grave matter." She shook her head.


    "Then, it''s going to be about the Protector?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Exactly."


    "But I don''t see the connection here."


    Ria took a deep breath first as if she just wanted to mention a troublesome matter. "Why did you think you don''t get Military Achievement this whole time?"


    "You have been suppressing it, right?" Kai asked, recalling what Nathan said earlier.


    "Indeed. However, I didn''t suppress them in the way you''re thinking."


    "Ha?" Kai opened his mouth and didn''t know what to say. He couldn''t read the conversation at all, and by the looks of it, it would surely be a hassle. "What do you mean?"


    "You actually have a military rank. Why don''t you log into your ount and check your current ID?" Ria suddenly uttered a weird request.


    Kai''s heart started beating rapidly, feeling something bad wasing. His anxiety was answered when he looked at his ID Card.


    ID: 0000016487448 (US Base)


    Name: Kai Carter - Chief Warrant Officer 4


    Age: 18


    Gender: Male


    Education: Elite Magic Academy


    Physical Rank: S++


    Magic Rank: D (720)


    "I don''t see it wrong, right?" Kai scratched his head for the moment, asking whether his eyes were ying with him or not.


    "You are not."


    "How can I be an officer?"


    "You know about Enlisted and Officer, right?"


    "Yeah. Enlisted personnel have specialties within the Military. They perform specific job functions and have the knowledge, skills and abilities to ensure the sess of their unit''s mission. Officers manage enlisted personnel. They assign missions, provide orders and give tasks." Kai nodded. Even though he originated from United Asia, he had some knowledge about it. To be honest, Officer was what he was aiming for in his future.


    However, all the things he saw literally shocked him. Never did he expect that he had a military rank this whole time.


    "I don''t have to exin it to you then." Ria nodded. "First of all, your achievement for the battle in Prince Rupert and Cuba didn''t go unrecorded. You proved yourself to be amendable officer yet with the specialty of Enlisted Soldier. Naturally, the Government wanted to confer you a rank befitting yourself due to your status as Michelle''s fiance and nned to nurture you since young.


    "Nathan and I agreed to it. In fact, you already had one after the battle of Prince Rupert. That was why Nathan offered you to be a strategist in Cuba. After that Cuba, he directly rmended you to be the strategist on this battlefield. Unfortunately, that battle had changed your fatepletely." Ria finished it with a disappointed sigh.


    "My fate haspletely changed?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "Will I get more trouble because of this?"


    "You will certainly get in a lot of trouble." Ria paused for a moment, creating a misunderstanding for Kai. He could only think about the bad side of his fate. Yet, it turned out to be different when Ria continued. "Normally, students wouldn''t have a military rank until they graduated, except you who have my backing and Graham Family, of course. The Government might hasten your progress by involving you in many missions and force you to ept the promotion."


    "Why would they do such a thing? It won''t be normal, and others won''t like it. They might even make trouble for me." Kai crossed his arms, appearing to be annoyed.


    "I said it earlier, the war in Cuba changed your fate. Although it was very vague and confusing, the Protector that we had not much information actually acknowledged you. Nathan obviously reported it to the Government because it was a matter of importance. Even I wouldn''t lie about it to the Government.


    "After this mission, they will be more convinced that you might hold the key to learn the existence of this Protector. If the Government raises your rank, they will have more excuses to send you into the wars and have more opportunities to learn about this Protector thing because there will be a huge chance for a Protector to appear. This is one of my reasons for joining the war." Ria nodded with a serious face.


    "I see¡­ To think the Government put such trust on me¡­ No, it should be my ears¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yeah. Of course, your abilities are also important. That''s why they are making you gain more experiences by sending generals like Nathan. My appearance is surely a good boost as well." She nodded.


    "Teacher, can I ask you one thing?"


    "Ask!"


    "What is the Protector anyway? Where do theye from?"


    "I know nothing about what they are¡­ while the ce theye from is only filled with rumors." Ria paused for a moment. "If you think rumors are not your cup of tea, then I won''t exin it to you."


    "Rumors can be right or confuse us. This is especially true when we know too much at one time, we won''t be able to discern which one is true or wrong anymore." Kai looked into her eyes and asked. "Does Teacher trust those rumors?"


    "Seventy percent."


    "Then, I will hear it."


    "You already know about the birth of Magic Power, right? And where did theye from?"


    "It''s the Antic Ocean, specifically the Bermuda Triangle, right?"


    "You are right." Ria nodded. "I won''t say anything like conspiracy theory saying there is an Antis or whatever there¡­ but I certainly know that those Protectors can only be spotted either from US Base or EU Base. There is not a single report in United Asia. Hence we specte that they are living under the Antic Ocean and most probably¡­"


    "They were the ones who created all of this mess?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "That is my spection. I can''t prove anything though."


    "I see. That''s why they want to see me having contact with the Protectors and somehow learn about the reason to see whether they are rted or not. If they are not rted, the Government won''t ce such an importance on me, and I will probably end up like Sir Nathan. If they are rted, they will push me closer to learn the truth." Kai let out a long sigh. "This is truly troublesome. I don''t wish to get involved in this matter."


    "Unfortunately, as long as you have that hearing ability, I doubt it will stop." Ria patted his shoulders, sad. "I have fought for you and somehow have you be an Officer instead of Enlisted. I want you to have more freedom and enough reason to refuse a few missions in the future."


    Kai smiled and closed his eyes. Ria was still thinking about him this whole time. "Thank you, Teacher."


    "Well, you can also gather enough followers and create a huge family. If you are tired, you can escape to United Asia and won''t be bothered by this matter anymore."


    Kai nodded. "Whether I will go back to United Asia or not, I will only decide it in the future."


    "One more matter." Ria thought for a moment and said. "Since a Protector has died in our hands, they will probably announce it to the media as a mutated Magical Beast that can control many magical beasts. In fact, they might put that seahorse at the same level as the S rank magical beast since the mass doesn''t know anything about this.


    "Although his ability was restricted in the Land, he was still very powerful. They might even resort to revealing our rtionship to the public and have you be the second hero after me. The mass will ept it because the apple doesn''t fall far from the tree, and you will be famous. No one can stop them again from promoting you."


    "¡­" Kai put on an annoyed face while stomping the ground lightly, suppressing his anger.


    "Anyway, I can also protect you that way, and not many people will bring you trouble as long as they know I''m at your back." Ria patted his shoulder to calm him down. "Just prepare for more trouble in the future. I will tell you one more thing. You are going to have another big fight soon. And I will also participate in that fight¡­"


    "A big fight? A mission?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, thinking about Michelle and the others in danger. He didn''t want to bring them into such a situation again, but Ria said a big fight. In other words, the possibility of it would be very high.


    "Yes. A big mission¡­ I don''t know the exact date, but I assume it will be after you be a second year. A fight of that scale will certainly be a Raid Mission. And it won''t be held next year. Thetest will be in November."


    "What is the mission?"


    "Extermination of thest S rank magical beast in South America, Brazilian Wandering Spider."


    *Thud¡ª!*


    They fell into silence as sweat appeared in this coldness. "Can I reject it?"


    "No. Even if you are back away, all S rank will most likely participate in this mission. In other words, Tasha and Michelle will participate in this mess with or without you. I will be the one to take charge of this operation due to my sess in thest fight against that toad." Ria let out a chill from her eyes. "So, what will be your answer?"

 Chapter 183 - Ceremony?

    "So, what will be your answer?"


    "A Raid Mission can''t be avoided, right? Kai let out a sigh.


    "That''s why Top 100 groups have such a luxury like a Helicopter that will bring you everywhere and the chance to get more money." Ria shrugged.


    "One more thing. There will be an award ceremonyter, and you will be the star! Don''t embarrass me, alright?"


    "So, you do care about your reputation¡­"


    "No. I''m just worrying that you will have an unforgettable moment in your life." Ria grinned.


    Kai snorted. "I won''t embarrass myself."


    Ria nodded. "As for the details, I will send it to your emails. Besides, the Government will send their agent to inform you about the ceremonial stuff and the clothes that you wear. So, you only need toe there while being guarded by them."


    Kai nodded. He didn''t really mind about this, though. After all, he would be able to climb the rank faster. If it was like this, he would soon have enough prestige to stand toe to toe with Graham Family.


    "If you have understood, you can go. Rest properly and prepare yourself."


    Kai bowed to her and walked away. However, he halted his footsteps before entering the door. "When do you want us toe to your house?"


    "Ah!" Ria almost forgot this matter. "The work for the ceremony might need at least a week. You cane after that. Just inform me first."


    "Alright." Kai then walked down the stairs.


    Seeing his back, Ria let out a very long sigh. "A person who wants to live peacefully will soon be bothered by problems. The crying Earth, huh¡­ Even if it costs my life, I will protect that kid. After all, he is my beloved student¡­"


    A few minutester,


    *ck!*


    "I have finished my job." Kai entered his room, where everyone, except Evan, had been waiting for him. They were chatting earlier and turned their heads the moment Kai entered the room.


    Michelle quickly rose from her bed and greeted him. "Have we finished the job, or is there another one in this base? We are going home, right?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "We can go home in two days¡­ They need to do some paperwork because we are ahead of schedule."


    Michelle thought for a moment and nodded. "Two days won''t be a problem since we don''t have anything to do."


    "Yeah. It''s almost night anyway, so it''s only a day or so." Kai shrugged before straightening his back and bowing his head. "Anyway, everyone has worked hard. Thank you."


    "Michelle did a good job of defeating the enemies in the Middle Region. Ayaka and Sister also did an excellent job of defending the passage toward the Western Region. It''s a shame that Evan is still upied with his matter. Of course, Teacher Sanae also yed a crucial role in this meeting. Thank you."


    Michelle and the others couldn''t help but scratch their heads, embarrassed. Michelle added, "Of course. Everything won''t be possible without you, Kai. Let''s not talk about this stuff."


    "I agree." Tasha and Ayaka nodded.


    Kai smiled¡­


    ¡­


    Two dayster,


    There were many cargo nes, mostly carrying soldiers back to the US base. Kai and the others entered the first one with a fewmanders to ensure the work they needed to deal after arriving.


    Surprisingly, Michael came to the base and took care of all the progress.


    "Leave the rest to me. You students can go home and rest even if you were the strategist previously." He patted Kai''s shoulders right after he walked down the ne.


    "He was the Acting General previously." Michelle corrected her father.


    "¡­" Michael was speechless, not because of Kai''s rank but his daughter. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh¡­ Strategist, Insult. Acting General, Honor. Unfortunately, you need to know that both are Officers of the army, daughter."


    "We are talking about your word, Dear Father!" Michelle smirked.


    "Fine fine. You win. I am toozy to argue right now because there is a more important matter." Michael sighed before pointing far to the right. "Go there. The butler has been waiting for you and will send you home. All of you, including your teacher and Young Family boy."


    After finishing his business with Kai, he quickly ran off somewhere.


    Kai looked at the others and asked. "So¡­ let''s go home?"


    "Sure." Michelle nodded, followed by the rest. They started walking toward the direction and went inside the car. They dropped Evan first, then Sanae and Ayaka before going to Kai''s house.


    They had school permission to have three days rest, and Kai used it to rest inside his house. Surpassingly, Michelle and Ayaka didn''te to his house. Even his sister didn''t disturb him and decided to train herself in the garden.


    The three days passed quietly as Kai rested his mind and focused on his research again. Only he knew that there would be another Raid Mission in a few months, and he believed Sound Levitation should be finished before that.


    Kai and Tasha came to school. It waspletely normal as they could enter and meet others like usual.


    However, everything changed when a knock echoed.


    A door was opened, and Sherwin entered the room, surprising everyone. If they looked down, they could see Sherwin brought a document and a uniform. He had a serious expression at this time, slowly walking toward Kai.


    "Kai¡­ This is your document and uniform for the ceremony in a week from now." Sherwin ripped the bag and took out his uniform, handing it to Kai. "Try the uniform first. I was using your measurement from the data you gave to the school, so if it was too big or too small, you could inform me, and I will adjust itter."


    Kai took the uniform and saw Sherwin putting the document on his table beside his research paper before going to the bedroom. On the other hand, the others werepletely clueless about what happened.


    Michelle rose from her seat and furrowed her eyebrows. "What is this ceremony, Sir Sherwin?"


    A sh of surprise was nted on his face. "He hadn''t told you yet?"


    Michelle looked at Tasha and the others, but none nodded their heads.


    "It''s nothing big¡­ Wait, it''s a big ceremony since his name will be known¡­ not only in this entire base, even the other bases too."


    "What? What kind of ceremony can make his name well-known?"


    "We can wait until hees back first and asks if he wants to tell you people¡­"


    "Why do we need to wait? I mean, it will be soon well known if it''s as you say." Michelle narrowed her eyes, looking at the closed door where Kai tried his uniform.


    "Well, he must be embarrassed¡­" Sherwinughed out loud. He had been too busy in the past few days and finally got a goodugh.


    "I wasn''t embarrassed. I just thought I didn''t need to tell you guys since you would know within a few days." Kai''s voice suddenly resounded across the room.


    All of them turned around and were surprised by his appearance. He didn''t put on his headphones this time since it would be considered rude.


    It felt a bit refreshing to see him without putting a headphone or left it hanging on his neck. At the same time, the dark blue four-pocket coat with belted waist, drab blue trousers, white shirt, dark blue tie. It suited his ck hair very much as Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka was slightly stunned.


    "How is it?"


    "Yeah. It suits my body, and I don''t feel any difort or whatever." Kai nodded.


    "Anyway, your ceremony is going to be held one week from now. The defense minister will be handing you the rank and medal."


    "I understand." Kai nodded.


    "The necessary information and documents you need are there. It should be clear enough for whatever you need to know. If you have any questions, you can ask your Teacher." Sherwin turned around and walked away. "I will go now, so you can exin it to them."


    Kai nodded and grabbed the document.


    Michelle and the others looked at him, no, his documents. Michelle managed to peek on the document and saw the one gold stripe on the document. "Why could I see a military rank there? Students can''t receive a military rank, right?"


    Evan, who was the only native beside Michelle, nodded to back up her argument.


    "Teacher said I needed it and I didn''t have a problem with it. If I have a high military rank, I can protect my family anyway." Kai shrugged.


    "It also means that EU Base and United Asia will know about it, right? I am talking about the Katsuragi Family." Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Yeah. I am prepared. If an assassines, I can use it as my reason." Kai smirked. "Of course, I need to increase my rank as soon as possible since I can move the army or base if they send an assassin. Besides, they need to settle with the Southern Family first."


    "If you have a clear image, I won''t have a problem." Michelle nodded.


    "I''m fine as well." Tasha nodded. "I am still a bit sour with the treatment, so I actually want to kill some of those people from the Katsuragi Family."


    "I have the same intention¡­" Ayaka clenched her hands, thinking about her grandfather.


    "Still, you are going to be a second lieutenant in a week¡­ And you are the only student who has this rank. I need to clear some vixen who willeter!" Michelle clicked her tongue.


    Kai chuckled. "Do you think I will be swayed like that easily?"


    Michelle rolled her eyes away.


    "Anyway, It will be the weekend by then, so I don''t need to take a day off from school." Kai shrugged and looked back to his documents, reading it carefully.

 Chapter 184 - News That Startled The Entire Base

    The next few days passed with a very big fuss.


    Kai found out that the Government released his information to the media, letting many people hear it.


    It was precisely three dayster when Kai just got back from school. He found his mother watching the television, specifically the news.


    He instantly understood the content as soon as he saw the title.


    The New Hero.


    It gradually changed when the presenter finally started exining the news. Besides her sat a familiar middle-aged man with his army uniform.


    "We have found a magical beast that has undergone an evolution in thest mission from the army, which is the Subjugation of Underground Nest, taking ce in Quebec, Canada. It''s found that this magical beast is originally a seahorse that has unlocked his intelligence and bes an S rank magical beast.


    "However, this beast seems to have the ability tomand magical beasts from his surroundings. With intelligence as high as a human, it canmand the magical beasts and challenge the army with tactics, making it more dangerous. Luckily, an eighteen years old boy killed it before it encroached upon ournd. With me here is the previous Vice-General of the battle, Sir Sherwin Shara."


    The presenter smiled widely while Sherwin nodded to her and the camera. She then continued. "Sir Sherwin, if I may ask, what do you think about this beast itself? And How dangerous is it?"


    "I have many thoughts about this creature, but there are two most important things. First, I can confidently state that this beast is more dangerous than an S rank magical beast. Normal S rank magical beasts or those that have unlocked their intelligence usually stay in their own territory unless something disturbed theirnds.


    "However, this magical beast cane to ournd out of its judgment. And this seahorse has the potential to bring many magical beasts to attack ournd."


    "Then, why didn''t the seahorse do that?" She asked.


    "The Underground Nest in Quebec is a major point, situated between our front line and US Base. I am sure that the seahorse wanted to destroy our subjugation party before attacking either our base or front line at the moment we wouldn''t expect. That''s why I believe this is more dangerous than a normal S rank magical beast."


    "I see. It''s very dangerous to the point I won''t dare to imagine." She nodded solemnly. "Then, how about the second reason?"


    "It''s simple. Their battle prowess was close to S rank magical beast despite being on thend. You could very well see why it was very dangerous to let such a beast roaming around."


    "Indeed. It can cause much destruction everywhere, and we certainly don''t want to see that." She nodded before pulling out a name. "Then, we must thank the person who killed this magical beast. The military has yet to reveal his name, but they will release the name soon. What do you think about this person, Sir Sherwin."


    "I was fortunate to have a cooperation with him in the previous mission. His name will be revealed in a military ceremony where we will make an exception for him and reward him with military rank. We have never done this to a student, but he is worth it. Even the president has big hope for this boy to grow.


    "His first achievement came from the battle in Prince Rupert. He led his group to aid a military base and managed to destroy more than five thousand magical beasts bymanding only a few hundred soldiers. That is a very incredible feat if you are in the military.


    "His second achievement was when he led four thousand people to win against twenty thousand magical beasts in Cuba. He became the strategist of that ce and turned the situation around with a very small losspared to a normal one. There were almost ten intelligence A rank magical beasts that were worth hundreds of beasts due to their ability. We usually called such beasts Commander ss, so you could see how big his achievement was.


    "Finally, hisst achievement came from thest subjugation mission. He led six thousand soldiers to fight fifty thousand magical beasts. However, we were ambushed by this new creature from all directions. Their number was thirty thousand at that time. Luckily, when hope vanished as we might be annihted. He led the soldiers and turned around the situation as well as killed this new creature, showing his martial prowess. I¡­ No, we truly thank him for his efforts and will reward him with Second Lieutenant Rank in a few days. We hope to see more from him in the future."


    *Thud¡ª!* The present fell into silence. She tried toe up with a question, but could only look at him in awe. These three achievementsing from an eighteen years boy alone would leave one speechless. Yet, it wasn''t over because Sherwin dropped another bomb.


    "If you know about another hero from this base, Ria Ross, you will get another shock. She has be his teacher for over a decade." Sherwin smiled as if he didn''t have any guilt revealing all of this.


    *Prank!*


    The sound of ss breaking filled the room as Kai and Tasha were startled, looking at their mother, who unconsciously dropped a ss.


    "Ah!" She finally woke up and started cleaning up. She looked at Tasha. "Who is that man? I think he suits my little S rank magician. How about going after him instead of your brother?"


    She never objected or agreed to her bro-con attitude this whole time. Of course, she wished for happiness, but if she could achieve such happiness without being one, she would hope for it.


    "Humph. We are not rted by blood, so it''s safe. Besides¡­" Tasha walked behind Kai and circled her hands on his neck as she said. "Since Mother has asked me to go after you, what do you think, Kai?"


    "Huh?" Their mother furrowed her eyebrows before realizing the meaning behind her words. "You¡­ Don''t tell me¡­"


    "Of course. My Kai is the greatest. He just never reveals it to you to not make you worry. If that ident in United Asia didn''t happen, Kai might not reveal it for a long time." Tasha smirked.


    Their mother facepalmed as she let out a long sigh. "These two kids, how many secrets have you kept secret to your parents this whole time?"


    Tasha only stuck out her tongue yfully.


    Kai shook his head as he thought, ''This must be their preparation if the Government wants to reveal my identity to raise the base prestige and soldiers'' morale. They might not open all of my profile to the public, but surely wanted to reveal my big achievement to increase it even further¡­ By the time I reach the General level, it will be very effective.


    ¡­


    In Young Family, Evan also received the same news. He could only shake his head, knowing this would happen. Even his father came out of his study room after getting the news from his butler and came to Evan.


    "Evan! You just came back from the mission, right?"


    Evan looked at this blue-haired middle-aged man and sighed. "You areing at me right now, even though you haven''t seen your son for a while?"


    "I was busy for a while. If you don''t believe me, we can go on a trip after this week to have time with family." He put on his strict but sincere emotion. Although this guy never showed it on his face, he showed his care with his action.


    "No. I''m good. If I tell you I know this person, what will you do, Father?"


    "You know him?" He narrowed his eyes. "Nothing. I will leave it to your jurisdiction. I said it long ago. As long as you give me many heirs for the family, I won''t force you to do anything."


    "You already know that it will be too dangerous for me to have an heir, right?" Evan looked at him for a moment before saying. "He is my captain."


    He ignored the first question and was shocked by Evan''s statement. "Your Captain? The leader of Lion Group, Kai Carter?"


    "Yes. He is an awesome guy that I respect from the bottom of my heart."


    "Since he is already your captain, then I don''t need to worry anymore." He nodded before sighing, looking at his only son. He thought, ''What I want is not an heir¡­ I can ask your sisters for that. What I want is you have a woman in your life rather than seeing you forever alone and put that lonely face all the time. Sigh.''


    "Anyway, our neighbor wille sooner orter."


    "That Roy Fisher!" He clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    Suddenly, a bell resounded across the neighborhood, followed by a shout from a middle-aged man.


    *Ding Dong!*


    "Haha¡­ James Young, you can''t hog all of the attention like this! I need to talk business with you!"


    Evan''s father, James, closed his eyes in anger as that person stormed inside his house and found him and Evan. Beside him was a pink-haired woman who was looking away, embarrassed.


    "Roy Fisher. I haven''t given you permission to enter my mansion!"


    "No need to say that. We have been neighbors¡­ or even inw for generations. Even your first daughter is with my second son right now."


    Evan already predicted this would happen, considering how close their two families were and the problem between Lion Group and Eagle Group. Although Isabelle didn''t know it was him, it wasn''t hard to deduce, it was Kai due to many encounters.


    Roy narrowed his eyes. "My opinion still stands."


    "Haha¡­ Look! We are best friends from childhood. So, cut me some ck! I have a discussion with you."


    "Get out!"

 Chapter 185 - Ceremony

    The rumor spread around for a few days.


    Everyone, whether they were students, teachers, citizens, soldiers, was talking about this mysterious person that had such a feat.


    However, the people from Prince Rupert, Cuba, or even the subjugation force who saw Kai''s performances with their own eyes knew he was the mysterious person. They rejoiced in their own bases. If they were not stuck inside their respective bases, they would tell the story to others.


    The whole base rejoiced to have such a person in the future. Yet, only those who purely wished for the better.


    Those who had their own pride as the strongest younger generations, those who thought about the prosperity of their own families or even those who had some problems with this issue, couldn''t necessarily smile upon this news.


    And this was how the US base greeted the start of February.


    Kai, who was the center of this problem, actually enjoyed his time in their room, doing his research about Sound Levitation. This research took him a very long time due to theplexity that he needed to deal with, especially with the loud sound that would burst his eardrums.


    Nheless, Kai spent his time leisurely while his group wasughing over this matter.


    It was only three dayster, specifically 4th February, Kai finally went to Colorado, fulfilling the summon.


    The white house had been moved to Colorado due to this catastrophic event. His father and mother obviously followed him. In fact, his entire group, including Evan, had been invited to participate in the ceremony.


    In the morning,


    *Ding!*


    Someone rang the bell in their room. His family went ahead, so they could talk with those who knew Kai. On the other hand, Kai was still busy with his uniform and stuff.


    "Wait a minute!" Kai shouted from the inside before reaching the door.


    "You are ready, kid¡­ No, I should say, Are you ready, Second Lieutenant Kai Carter?" Sherwin was the one waiting for him.


    "Please don''t joke about it, Sir Sherwin. You know that I am not good with that formal stuff, right?" Kai shrugged.


    "Haha¡­ I am too excited at the moment. This will be the first time I can watch this type of procession. After all, I was only a simple soldier when it was Ria Ross''s ceremony." Sherwin couldn''t stop grinning. "Anyway, we need to go right now."


    Kai nodded and came out of his room before going with Sherwin.


    Not long after, they arrived at the building for the ceremony. As expected, there were so many guards nearby, and Kai could hear them.He ignored them and made his way toward the hall, walking through the red carpet.


    Sherwin purposely chose the back door because there were too many reporters in front. On the other hand, there were only several media that had the privilege to follow this ceremony.


    Kai arrived on the backstage and waited with Sherwin.


    "We will stand by here and wait for the president to deliver his speech and call you."


    "I understand." Kai nodded before turning to a certain middle-aged man that slowly ascended to the stage.


    The middle-aged man had ck hair with several strands of white hair in between. His body looked insanely fit. Kai''s animal instinct was even roaring inside upon sensing the aura from this man.


    Kai was astonished and thought, ''So this is the president? I heard he had served the army in the past, and the report seemed to do justice for him.''


    "That is our president, Brent Joseph," Sherwin whispered.


    Kai nodded.


    The president looked upon the audience and cameras before saying. "I wee you to the White House. We areing here for a single young man that has gantlymanded the army a few times. His conduct and strength are one befitting the epitome of a soldier. Without further ado, let us call Second Lieutenant Kai Carter with warm apuse."


    *Apuse.*


    Kai slowly walked toward the stage and stood a few meters from the president. He looked at the people and cameras with a solemn expression.


    Many people gasped at this moment as they found out that this person was actually someone who migrated a few months ago. They knew because they knew his sister, Tasha Carter, as S rank magician. Yet, to think the brother was even more extraordinary from his sister. Many thoughts arose in their head.


    "Out of many things I want to convey, I would first convey my utmost gratitude¡­" The president continued his speech from his military achievement to Kai''s personal information, such as his identity as an immigrant and Ria Ross''s student.


    "¡­Hence, as a thank and appreciation of his effort, I, on behalf of the Congress, shall make an exception to raise his military rank despite being a student and raise his military rank as Second Lieutenant. Semper fi." After a long twenty minutes speech, he finally finished and walked off the podium, making his way toward Kai.


    Nathan was standing beside the stage all this time, carrying Kai''s Medal of Honor. He walked to the stage, stood beside the president, and presented the medal for everyone to see.


    Suddenly, the moderator started his speech.


    "President of the US Base, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Second Lieutenant Kai Carter, for conspicuous gantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond call of duty while serving as a strategist in Quebec, Underground Nest subjugation.


    "Without hesitation and with the permission of General-in-charge Nathan Graham, Second Lieutenant Kai Carter tookmand of the entire army in an attempt to stop a certain annihtion by thirty thousand magical beasts and a Mutated Magical Beast capable ofmanding magical beasts with strategies and tactics.


    "He managed to kill the Mutated Magical Beast and tookmand in subjugating the rest of magical beasts with minimum loss. By his undaunted courage, bold fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Second Lieutenant Kai Carter reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest tradition of the army."


    As soon as the moderator finished his speech, Nathan and Brent looked at each other as Nathan presented the medal to him. After that, the president went behind him and put the medal on Kai''s neck. He then moved to his front and shook Kai''s hand.


    "I have high hope on you."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded with a solemn expression.


    Another round of apuse filled the room.


    In the back, his father, James Carter, could only shake his head. "I fail as his father. To think I have be his burden this whole time."


    "Haha¡­ Don''t say that, Father. You have fulfilled your job as a father splendidly, I can vouch for you. Kai is just that different. Yet, he still considered you as the dearest family. Can''t you see it from his action? You are the best father he¡­ No, we can hope for." Tasha corrected him before hugging her mother. "Of course, mom is the same."


    The two parents couldn''t help but smile.


    Near them, Ayaka and her parents also attended the ceremony no matter how busy they were. There was also a sense of pride as if Kai was their own son.


    Even Kudo Yoshihiro almost cried and thought. ''Father, Ayaka will be fine. We don''t need to worry about her anymore.''


    Far from their seats, Roy Fisher and James Young were talking with each other. On the other hand, Isabelle and Evan looked away, annoyed. After all, they were talking about a marriage between the two, considering Isabelle and Evan were childhood friends like them. That was why Evan knew Isabelle and how different Isabelle acted to Evan.


    For Roy Fisher, Evan was already an included package with Kai Carter. On the other hand, James Young only thought about getting Evan a woman to brighten his life.


    "Still, United Asia has lost so much by chasing him away," said James while narrowing his eyes.


    "I agree. I wonder what kind of face they put right now?" Roy nodded in agreement.


    "Unlike our government system, theirs was worse since they were too useless against the families."


    "Indeed. What I want to see is the face of those who chased him away."


    Roy and James smirked evilly.


    "Still, they might send an assassin to him." James sighed.


    "Don''t worry. It won''t be too soon. The president should be aware of this situation. By presenting the Medal of Honor and military rank, he could openly protect Kai as well as make him stay in this base."


    "True enough. He must have made his preparation to guard Kai Carter¡­ No, it should be his parents."


    They suddenly turned serious.


    Meanwhile, in the Student Council Room sat four people astonished by the news. The president and vice-president, Bryan and Mia, exchanged looks and smiled.


    "It seems Michelle''s man is one of a kind¡­ It could be said he is a freak." Bryan took a deep breath to calm himself down. He was pretty happy to know that Michelle chose a man that could protect her.


    "Indeed. To think he is actually that Ria Ross''s student. It''s truly surprising." Mia nodded before looking at the other two. "How is it? He is a great man, right?"


    "Humph. I wasn''t questioning his credibility. I just worried about Michelle''s safety." The secretary, Lexis, looked away.


    "As long as that little girl is happy, I don''t mind." Theo, the treasurer, nodded in agreement.


    They first doubted him because he was only a new person in this base. Hence, they followed him in every mission by reading the report and were satisfied.


    Mia and Bryan smiled at these two and wished Michelle the best.


    The euphoria filled the entire base. The young men were inspired by him, thinking they could impress girls this way. The young girls looked at Kai''s face, wondering if there was one like Kai nearby.


    Unfortunately, these were not the end. They sent goosebumps for not only the US base but also the EU Base and United Asia, especially three important people¡­

 Chapter 186 - The Worlds View

    In United Asia, specifically inside Katsuragi Family Mansion stood many people, watching the big news of a new hero.


    The revtion shocked them to the core as they couldn''t expect the boy identity. Many men became candidates as they were already prominent figures in US Base, but never did they know the new hero, and Ria Ross''s student was Kai Carter. The man they chased away from this ce.


    "Akagi-dono." Ikeda Kenzo, who had joined forces with Katsuragi Family, obviously watched this news together with them. He looked at the distorted face of Katsuragi''s Family Head.


    "Damn!" Katsuragi Akagi released his aura and shouted in anger. "No. I should have expected something like this! He was already abnormal from his age alone, and I should kill him in this base to avoid future problems like this!"


    No one in the room dared to speak because they knew his anger was at the peak. Only Ikeda Kenzo, who was equal to him, broke his silence. "Akagi-dono. What should we do now? Send assassins to him?"


    "Do you think we can kill him now?" Akagi gritted his teeth and shouted. "Those southern barbarians still watch our movement. If we send too little, there will be no way the US base will let them live, and that brat must also have a way to kill them. If we send too many, those barbarians will attack us!"


    Even Ikeda Kenzo knew this, but Kai''s progress was actually beyond his imagination. He always believed that he was the abnormal one despite having an S rank magician as his sister. Yet, two emotions conflicted in his mind at this moment, preventing him from making a good question.


    On one hand, he was happy that he could see a young man that could shoulder all of that. On the other hand, he didn''t know whether his previous actions would lead to which future. Would it be where his family died upon Kai''s revenge? Or Where Kai didn''t avenge the grievances and stayed quiet on the US base?


    Kenzo closed his eyes and sighed. ''If that young man rises, the moment his swordes to our neck will be the day we perish¡­''


    "We can only fight the Southern Family first before doing anything to Kai Carter. There is also a possibility of him sitting there quietly without a single thought of revenge." Kenzo looked at Akagi.


    "I won''t believe that boy can think like that! The way he acts and thinks surpasses his peers and is very different. As long as there is a chance of revenge, I will eliminate him." Akagi shook his head. "The Southern Family is slowly crumbling because of our force, and the Government has pulled away from this affair. I will finish this battle within three years and kill that brat!"


    "Still, it''s not over a year, but that boy has reached Second Lieutenant Rank¡­ I believe in another year; he will be a Major. If he reaches General Rank, I''m afraid we can''t kill him. At the same time, they might try to attack us and join forces with Southern Family to remove our families." Kenzo sighed. What he actually worried about wasn''t the Katsuragi Family or their ambition, he just wanted to extend his lifespan even a little bit. Unfortunately, he had fallen deeper and deeper into Katsuragi Akagi''s plot to the point he couldn''t break free.


    "It''s only because of their S rank! If I can remove their S rank, I can destroy them within two years or less." Akagi released his killing intent. "Anyway¡­ I will change our tactics to speed up the process. If we are able to destroy them before that brat takes his revenge, we can absorb those barbarians for a moment to stop that brat from revenge."


    "He might bring US Base Soldiers to attack us¡­" Ikeda Kenzo sighed. The two continued talking about their n to end this situation.


    Meanwhile,


    Under the water, a certain mermaid just got the information from her subordinate.


    Her expression turned grim as she slowly took a deep breath and ordered the dolphin that apanied her everywhere. "Kiora Tril Aogo (We will proceed with the second phase)."


    The dolphin nodded and swum away.


    "Still¡­ To think the human killed him. Although it was on thend and Ra was our weakest one, his strength shouldn''t be underestimated. Unfortunately, I can''t watch the battle because it will raise suspicion. Besides, the original n was to have him escape there and inform me of everything¡­


    "I wonder if he knows why this earth is crying right now¡­" The mermaid closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. "Nheless, he should reach far enough. The problem is what will be his take in the future."


    The mermaid closed her eyes and looked down on the seabed, stroking the ground with her hand. "I wonder if humans will understand you."


    ¡­


    At the same time, this reaction also sent a shiver to thest base, EU Base.


    Europe Union Base¡­ As the name suggested, this base stood tall on previous Europeannd. Every country joined hands and decided to make capital in Austria due to the strategic location and was far from the sea.


    Their situation was very simr to US Base, where they started conquering Canada and South America or how United Asia expanded to Korea, China, and Southeast Asia.


    They had taken back up to Spain and Turkey as their border while having the previous United Kingdom as their western base. They even took back Sweden and Find on the north because they could start taking back Russiands with two fronts, Find and Brus.


    Inside a mansion in Austria, a certain girl smiled as she watched the news. She observed Kai Carter before putting her hand to cover her face.


    A magic circle appeared, and her face turned into Kai''s face. It would confuse everyone because it was very identical to the real one, of course, if her chest and clothes were changed ordingly.


    Suddenly, the magic circle broke, and her face changed back.


    "I see¡­ This is interesting. I could mimic everyone''s face with my ability as a Gemini, but I couldn''t do it on him. This only happened when I tried mimicking another Zodiac. This guy must also be one of the Zodiacs¡­ The question is which Zodiac¡­ Wait! I think I know¡­ Fufu¡­ This is really getting interesting."


    Thedy grinned as she fixed her long wavy white hair. "Arfan. Are you there?"


    A middle-aged man entered the room and bowed his head. "Yes, Mdy."


    "Do you think I can go to the US Base?"


    "Mdy?" The middle-aged man was confused by her question before truthfully answering her. "I am afraid you can''t go under normal circumstances. The Council won''t let you do such a thing."


    Thedy thought for a moment and said. "How about our partnership with the US Base? I am sure I can use that to go there. Just make me the representative."


    "Miss¡­ Your status is¡­" The middle-aged man was sweating profusely. If thedy in front of him asked for it seriously, she would get it no matter what. "You are our Zodiac miss¡­ The only Zodiac. If you are going there¡­"


    "Isn''t it better if I go there? Our partnership is concerning Zodiac. Hence, I shall go there." She smirked cunningly. "Besides¡­ The Council must want to know about this man to choose whether to get him or not. I am the perfect person to do this."


    "But¡­" The middle-aged man was still unsure.


    "Enough is enough. The representative should go to their base in three months, right? I will inform them to change it so they won''t be shockedter. Let see¡­ What kind of reason can I give them?" Thedy fell into deep thought and said. "That''s right. He is a strategist, right? We can bring him here if needed! Who knows if he will love this base and change ces? Isn''t it good to acquire a new hero?"


    "New hero?" Not listening to the recent news, he was confused.


    "Just say that I will try enticing him toe here. He has changed first from United Asia to the US base. It means there is still a chance to convert him. US Base has Zodiacs, while United Asia is governed by many families, giving birth to multiple magic practices, unique to each family¡­ He is an unorthodox magician, right? I believe he won''t think about bing one if he was born on the US base where they used generic magic or our ce. He has acquired the power from two bases, and I am sure this power can entice him. After all, we are developing something very different than them. Just say it to my father that I want to go. If he needs a reason, I will exin it to himter."


    "I understand." The middle-aged man nodded and went outside.


    On the other hand, thedy simply sat on her couch and looked at the screen again. "Evan Young, Isabelle Fisher, or that Louis Spencer couldn''t make my blood boil¡­ I never believed that they were the second generation of Zodiacs, but it seems I was wrong. To think the first-ever Zodiac is actually real and he had been hiding in United Asia this whole time. I need to investigate his whole information first."


    Due to her mimicking ability, she could feel the other person''s feelings. Yet, the only thing she could feel from Kai was pain.


    Normally, if her mimicking ability were undone, it would gradually turn her face back. However, the pain that could make one go insane shattered her focus, breaking her magic circle into pieces.


    "Let us see¡­ What kind of person you actually are Kai Carter, no¡­ I should call you, Leo?" She smirked.

 Chapter 187 - A Trouble Is Coming?

    When many people in the world were talking about him, Kai also faced the difficulty where he needed to talk with many people. Most people who came here were either from the media or prominent families. They only wanted to find one thing, which was whether this Kai Carter was a real deal or a fabricated lie created by the government.


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t find a single clue from him due to him putting a poker face all the time and answering them perfectly as if everything was scripted. Kai also understood that doubting him would be a natural thing to do as not only Nathan led that mission, but Ria Ross also participated in it. There were some rumors about Nathan instructing what to do, and Ria Ross killing the beast before letting Kai get the credit.


    Kai had predicted this kind of response and decided to ignore them. Even Nathan and Ria wanted to use this suspicion for Kai''s fame. After all, there was an idiom saying your enemies would know you the best. Although they weren''t his enemies, they would still investigate him. Before long, they would know everything was true and spread the words. It would be more effective to convince the mass.


    After dealing with these problems, he and his family were escorted to the hotel.


    "Kai¡­" His father, James Carter, could only pat his shoulders and sighed. "You have truly grown up¡­ No, you already are this whole time. I''m the one who didn''t realize it until now. Anyway, don''t think too much about your mother and father. Do whatever you want with your life."


    Kai smiled, shook his head, and looked at them with a solemn face. "What are you saying? I did everything I wanted this whole time. Having a happy family and seeing you and mother happy was and will always be included in my selfishness."


    James smiled and closed his eyes. Hugging him once, he left the room. On the other hand, Tasha was taking care of their mother and informed her what kind of life they would go through after this.


    At some point, Tasha red up when their mother talked about many families wanting to offer their daughters. Hence, she said there were already four people, including Yajima Haruko from United Asia, beside him, so he didn''t need more.


    Kai loosened his shirt and sat on a couch, opening his device. There was a single message, and it was from Ayaka.


    ''Congrattions on your promotion. Father and Mother can''t stop talking about you here, even though I tell them to stop.''


    Kai shook his head helplessly, reminding her of the promise he made with his teacher. He typed it out. ''Let''s go to Teacher''s house two days from now. I have promised her to take you there since the medicine is ready.''


    Ayaka was startled upon seeing this message. Her body started getting hot as she blushed. ''Yes.''


    She could only type one word before her body started shaking. Luckily, she was in the hotel, specifically in her room alone, or people might notice. Her body was staggering, but she still reached upon the window.


    The vision outside was fantastic, but she could see nothing. Her feet felt weak as she fell down on her knees. Remembering how terrible she was and bing his burden in the past, she couldn''t believe she had arrived at this step.


    ''If I didn''t meet him in the past, I might be married away with Katsuragi Takaki. Father would tell me that love and rtionship could be built¡­ No, I should also say it''s true. But I built one with the one I truly love¡­ I''m d.'' Ayaka couldn''t help out but burst into tears. She recounted every memory about Kai and the pain to reach this step, including where she died so many times fighting Ria. "I''m d¡­ I''m d I can stay until the end."


    When she had her reminiscence, Kai had another message from yet another woman.


    ''Congrattions on your promotion. It''s not even a year, and you have reached that stage. Unfortunately, I couldn''t show how happy I was when I watched the news to not raise any suspicion. The Katsuragi Family will surely make a big movement in United Asia upon this matter, and I will try to get as much information I can get.''


    Kai let out a long sigh, knowing he couldn''t reply to any of her messages. He could only promise to bring her out there as soon as possible in his heart.


    "Kai." Tasha walked toward him. "I''m sure there will be many peopleing to you after this incident. So, we are going to school or move to another ce with my Teleportation Magic in order to avoid them. And Sir Nathan has arranged some rank A magicians to protect our father and mother, so we shouldn''t worry about them for the time being."


    "I understand." Kai paused for a moment and said. "Sister, I''m going to Teacher''s house the day after tomorrow with Ayaka."


    "Ah, that girl." Tasha sighed. "It''s fine. Michelle and I can understand, and we have recognized her change and efforts, so I approve."


    "Thanks."


    "You should send a message to Michelleter."


    "I''m nning to." Kai nodded.


    "That''s good then." She walked away, leaving Kai alone.


    After having alone time, he informed Michelle about what he had in mind. Thetter approved his action, telling him she didn''t mind. Although both her and Tasha were a bit sour, they still considered Kai''s feelings and the current world''s norm.


    He didn''t forget to send a message to his teacher that he would arrive in two days. Ria only replied with ''OK.''


    Kai then rose from his seat and spent time with his family, since it was better not to go out at the moment due to his sudden rise in poprity.


    ¡­


    The day after tomorrow,


    In Ria''s house stood two people facing a single woman who was writing something so focused as if she didn''t realize the two in front of her.


    It was only after fifteen minutes that her train of thought finally cut off and looked up. "Oh. You both havee!"


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "I have the medicine ready to use, but I want to talk something with you first." She looked at Kai before ncing at Ayaka.


    "I will wait outside." Ayaka realized this was a secret, so she excused herself.


    "Thank you." Kai nodded before staring at his teacher. "Is there any problem with my promotion?"


    "I can say it''s not rted, but it''s also rted." She sighed. "I have bad news and good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"


    "Bad news," Kai answered without hesitation.


    "Trouble wille soon¡­ from EU Base on top of that."


    "What?" Kai widened his eyes. "Are theying to kill me?"


    "No. They aren''t going to kill you, but to rope you in."


    "Rope me in?" Tilting his head, Kai began thinking. "I know that the ceremony is that big, but I don''t think they will move this fast."


    "It''s because we have a partnership with them, allowing them to move this fast. Do you know the strength of each base?"


    "I only know about United Asia. Each family has a different type of magic practice, so there are so many magics that I can use as a reference. That''s where I have the idea to utilize my hearing to create magic with a different concept, and that''s why the Government is useless there."


    "That''s right. What do you think about US Base?"


    Kai pondered for a moment and said. "Zodiacs?"


    "You are correct. US Base strength is Zodiacs and how generic our military is. The Government wants to use my experiment to create twelve supreme fighters called Zodiacs, where each of them can lead an army. If I remember correctly, it''s called Super Soldier n.


    "You have seen Evan and Isabelle. Both of them were nothing back then, even though they came from famous families. However, it changed after bing Zodiacs. There is also another person called Taurus. At that time, they want to use these twelve people to createrge families and slowly create lesser zodiacs from them. In other words, they are nning to repopte while increasing people''s basic abilities.


    "However, EU Base came to their radar a few years ago. They decided to have a transaction between Zodiac and EU Base''s current strength. What do you think their strength is?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe Elemental Maniption?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Nope. It''s Exoskeleton."


    "Exoskeleton?" Kai imagined what kind it was, but could only think about robots.


    "It''s not a robot." Ria once again read his mind. "But it''s close to it. The Exoskeleton is more like a robot''s frame. They are using this to increase people''sbat ability. In other words, someone might have the same strength as you despite having a weak and thin body."


    "You said transaction earlier, are they¡­"


    "Yeah. It''s an exchange between Zodiac and Exoskeleton. Their representative this time is the first Zodiac born from this exchange, Gemini. Her ability is to mimic someone and even transform into that person perfectly. However, your ears should be able to detect whether the people in front of you are fake or not, so I want to warn you first. If they want to meet a representative or a guard, I''m sure they will choose you and let her do the rest."


    "I understand. I will be careful¡­ And when does this persone?"


    "It''s still three months from now. They informed us about the change of personnel yesterday, and the Government immediately informed me. I am sure they won''t like to lose you to EU Base." She smirked.


    "Don''t worry. As long as I have enough preparation, their representative wouldn''t be able to take advantage of me." Kai nodded. "Thank you for informing me."


    "It''s good then." Ria took out two vials of medicine and handed it to him. "Here is the medicine. Before you go, I will tell you the good news..."


    Kai nced at the medicine and looked back at her. "What is the good news?"


    "The good news is I can protect you more openly this time as in destroying a family if they make trouble. Of course, I need to present some proof before acting, but it''s easy enough to get proof. The Government also has spread this to the big families, so they know they will pay dearly if they anger me."


    "Still, we need to care about the mass''s opinions." Kai thought for a moment and said.


    "It''s fine. The Government will help me in suppressing the news as long as I present enough proof. They won''t be able to make a move this early because of this anyway, so as long as you can reach General Rank before they move, you can stop them without even doing anything."


    "I will try my best."


    "Let see... I want you to reach it before graduation. I and Nathan will help you by giving missions. Will that be alright?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "Now, you have only one job. Don''t make the girl wait and make her yours. I, your teacher, approve of her." She smirked.


    Kai smiled and bowed to her before leaving the room.

 Chapter 188 - Reward

    After returning from Ria''s house, Ayaka had a fresh and felt a little more mature than her usual appearance. Her zing me got milder a bit, but it was bing more stable than ever.


    She was even teased by Michelle and Tasha for a whole day, while Evan had an annoyed face the entire day.


    At this time, Nathan came to the school and appeared before them.


    "Did Professor Ria give you the bad news?" Nathan looked at Kai with a solemn expression.


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "Then, I''m not going to bother you with that. Just prepare yourself for it since they are going to spew every bullsh*t they know to get you. The Government might need to agree because the partnership is that important. As long as you are not swayed, then everything will be alright."


    "Does Sir Nathan only want to talk about this?"


    "No." He shook his head before putting a document down. "This is your current n."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and read the document.


    "You are free to do anything this month since the school only starts handing missions from March except there was an emergency or a raid mission. However, there is a mission for you in March." Nathan nced at Kai''s teammates and sighed. "Anyway, you know that SS rank magical beasts have escaped, right?"


    "Yes. They escaped to Canada, but their location is unknown."


    "We have gotten the information about it¡­ Albeit we need to confirm it first. I actually want to send you to confirm their position, but it will be too much favoritism, and you won''t get liked by the masses. That''s why the army will be investigating the rumor. After we confirm their position, you will be given a mission."


    "What is the mission? I mean, do you know anything specific? Do we just need to kill and be done with it? Where is their general location, and are there any other magical beasts around them?"


    "Don''t worry. I will answer your doubts one by one. The documents are still being prepared, so you can take a look at itter." Nathan paused for a moment. "Anyway, the ce we first spotted them was Yukon. They escaped and hid around there. I''m pretty sure they are still around, so we have a little bit of difficulty in tracking them. Hence, we need around one month or so. I will inform youter."


    "I understand." Kai nodded. "I will prepare myself in March. What about the mission?"


    "The mission is obviously to kill them. Our front line is still in Yukon Territory, so we might find them in the middle of magical beasts. If so, you are going to lead one hundred soldiers like how a Captain usually does.


    "You need to lead your group through their area and sneak-attack them. Our army will provide support afterward. I''m not the leader of this operation though." Nathan shrugged and thought for a moment. "If they are still within our border, you will kill them with only your group.


    "Depending on the situation, the reward will be different. You have been leading a high number group this whole time, so they are nning to test your ability to lead a small group such as this. One hundred people will be the same as a Captain Rank. In other words, if you strike the first scenario, you will be rewarded as Captain.


    "On the other hand, thetter scenario won''t give you much promotion¡­ You will only be a First Lieutenant, I guess." Nathan sighed. "We will try to find another mission for you after that."


    "Still, don''t you think that my promotion is too fast? I mean, one mission can skip a rank? If this is a normal situation, I will never get one." Kai furrowed his eyebrows. His earliest and best prediction told him that he needed around five years after graduation to reach General, but¡­


    "I know we are rushing, but we have another reason for it¡­ One that we can''t tell you yet." Nathan shook his head.


    "I understand." Kai let out a long sigh. He didn''t really mind about the promotion though, since it sped up his progress to reach his goal."When do you think you can tell me the reason?"


    "Hmm¡­ I''m not very sure. I have my own spection, but this has a high probability of being wrong. If you don''t mind, I can tell you my prediction."


    Kai thought for a moment. There was nothing wrong with knowing, but he was wondering whether the reason would make him think twice or at least kept getting in his mind. In this case, Kai wouldn''t want to take the risk by knowing it too early, but he also had his own confidence. Nathan said it himself that it might be wrong, so there should be nothing wrong to know when. "Can you tell me?"


    "General!" Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Get at least one star on your shoulder; you might be qualified."


    "One star!" Kai was dumbfounded. He still had many steps before reaching Brigadier General, so he buried this thought deep inside his mind.


    "That''s right. What is the reward for Raid Mission?"


    "Since this is an obligation mission, we won''t get any group points. After all, the mission difficulty will bring the reward to a new height. That''s why the students will be receiving money and a special reward from the school." Michelle exined.


    "That''s right. Kai should receive the most due to his contribution, but the money can''t be transferred right now because it''s too big. That''s why we are giving you another reward." Nathan nodded.


    "Do you know Savannah City in Georgia? The bottom of our South Carolina, where my Graham Family rule?"


    "Yeah."


    "It''s yours now," Nathan said with a poker face like it wasn''t a big deal. This was the first n to have Kai stay in this ce. If they made himfortable or raised his price, EU Base couldn''t think about poaching him. Besides, it was located right below South Carolina, so the Graham Family could watch him.


    "There is still a problem with security and such, but the Government promises to fix it if you finish this mission." Nathan pointed at the new mission he brought.


    "¡­" Kai looked at Nathan for a minute before sighing. "Politics."


    Nathan only shrugged as if it wasn''t his doing. "If you can fortify the area, your family can enjoy their time there. Anyway, that''s all for your reward."


    "Fine. I can sell thendter if I need money anyway," said Kai nonchntly. He thought it was a nice boost to his prestige. The only problem was that he didn''t know anything about governing a city.


    "Don''t worry. The Government won''t change the personnel, so it won''t trouble you."


    "Alright, then." Kai nodded.


    "One more thing. You might be the biggest contributor in thest mission, but we also have the fifth biggest contributor here." Nathan nced at Evan. "You healed so many people there, preventing almost a thousand deaths. That''s why you are eligible for this reward¡­ Though I don''t know whether this is a reward or not."


    Nathan took out a ticket and gave it to Evan.


    "This is a ticket for ten people."


    Evan twitched his eyebrows when he realized what this ticket was for. "Tch. Who is pulling the string? My father or Isabelle''s father?"


    "Both."


    "What is the reward?" Kai asked, curious about the ticket.


    "It''s a ticket to enjoy the beach in Miami. That beach there has been fortified many times, bing one of the most secure ces despite being surrounded by water. In fact, this is the only ce where you can enjoy the beach in this era. However, the fact that this is for ten people, I''m sure that my father wants me to take you guys there while bringing Isabelle¡­ I mean, Eagle Group." Evan said in annoyance.


    "Eagle Group?" Kai and the others were confused. There should be nothing between them after the battle, but he suddenly mentioned this with absolute confidence. There was only one probability, Evan had a rtionship with Isabelle, or their families had. "If I may ask-"


    "You don''t need to ask. It''s very clear that my family has a rtionship with hers. After your matter blows up, they are trying to make me together with Isabelle. That''s all. Our two families have been inws for many generations after all."


    "Anyway, you guys can discuss it with each other. The ticket is for June, so you can enjoy the summer there. Of course, it''s a VVIP ticket. It will be filled with perfect services." Nathan then left the room.


    "Hehe¡­ To think there is another soon to be couple here¡­" Michelle grinned beforeing closer to Evan.


    "I have been betrayed by my own student. I thought we were kindred spirits¡­ I will drink again tonight." Sanae sighed.


    "There is nothing between us. As long as I can prove that she is not the one, it should still be possible to break off this rtionship.


    "I heard that you two were pretty chummy back in Junior High School. Even though both of you had pretty rough lives there, you supported each other." Michelle smirked, nning to tease him more.


    Kai and the others were also interested and listened to what he had to say.


    "Nothing. It was only my obligation. My eldest sister is her brother''s wife after all." Evan shrugged. "Besides, I am a Zodiac. I know the possibility of me conceiving a child is basically zero."


    "What do you mean zero?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "I have no problem with that and only ask my Teacher for the medicine to make the animal blood hibernate for a while."


    "Is that true?" Evan''s expression suddenly brightened before shaking his head and bringing back his poker face. "Never mind."


    Kai only smiled and didn''t tease him any further.

 Chapter 189 - Mission

    Knowing that there was nothing to do in February, Kai decided to immerse himself in his research. Unlike the others, he knew they would face the S rank magical beasts in a few months. In fact, if he were themander, he would fight a spider in Autumn.


    He felt that if he didn''t have enough preparation, it would be very troublesome.


    Michelle had no other thing to do and thought about having a fun time with Kai, but decided to put that on hold. The situation on the base was still hyped, so it would cause more trouble for him to go out right now. The best would be after the mission. Hence, she decided to practice as well.


    The same applied to Tasha and Ayaka. They couldn''t help but feel something would happen soon, not for this mission, but for another thing. Ayaka had told them about Kai''s conversation with Ria. Although she didn''t know the topic of their conversation, it must be something serious. The only thing they could do was to get stronger.


    Time passed by smoothly. Before long, they realized they had spent a month without doing anything, except gathering in this small room and minding their own business.


    Suddenly, the door was mmed open as the student council, Bryan, came inside the room. Mia didn''t apany him this time.


    "You are really crazy¡­ No, do they want to kill you or something?" Bryan handed a paper to him, looking very frustrated. He also didn''t forget the document he brought with him.


    Kai tilted his head, not understanding why he acted this way. He looked at the mission and opened his mouth.


    Mission: SS Magical Beasts Subjugation.


    Reward: Unknown


    Objective: They have been spotted in Yukon Territory, specifically around the Ross River. You will bring Eagle Group with you and head to British Columbia Military Base and meet Lieutenant General Brad.


    "I have received the mission." Kai nodded and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Student Council President."


    "Why are you acting so calm? Do you not know what that ce is?" He mmed his door.


    "I know. It''s a bit far from the current front line¡­ I mean, it''s in the middle of magical beasts." Kai nodded as he recalled the map in his head.


    "That''s right. This is a suicide mission!" Bryan was angry because of Michelle. He had been acting like an older brother the whole time she was with him, so he was a bit frustrated by the mission. He took out the map and presented it to him. There were two colors, red and green, with a thin yellow line separating them around Whitehorse. This was the map of the front line, with the green area being their territory.


    "Look at this!" Bryan looked at Kai and pointed his finger at the map. "If you prate inside the Magical Beasts territory, your group will be surrounded easily!"


    "I have anticipated it." Kai still had no change of expression. Before Bryan said anything, Kai exined his reasoning. "Firstly, the distance between the front line and Ross River isn''t really that far. I also have a hundred people in this mission, so we have our own firepower. Considering the importance of this mission, they should give us elites, not new soldiers.


    "Secondly, we have my ears to locate the enemies and choose the best path. We have Sis- Tasha Carter''s Space Magic, so we can escape anytime if something goes wrong. Evan will be a great help in this part as well to ensure everything goes smoothly by healing all the soldiers in need. Then, I can use Isabelle Fisher''s eyes to look around.


    "This is not me being overconfident. It''s just I know that I need to do it and try to formte the n this whole time. Though the Eagle Group is a surprise for me, it shouldn''t change the n so much. In fact, I want to ask you, student council president. Why do you have this exaggerated reaction?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Michelle also thought the same thing because it wasn''t easy to make him like this. Even she could only see him being like this once before.


    "It''s because I am worried about you! You are going there without a single help!"


    Kai twitched his eyebrows, listening to Bryan''s heartbeat. He didn''t tell a lie, but it was also not the whole truth.


    Suddenly, Michelle opened her mouth in surprise. "Ah, Lieutenant General Brad¡­ His full name... Is it Brad Matthew?"


    "Matthew? I feel like I heard it somewhere¡­" Kai looked at her before ncing at Bryan and realizing something. "Isn''t President''s surname Matthew?"


    Bryan gritted his teeth but didn''t answer him. Yet, the answer was obvious for everyone.


    "If I may ask, is President getting angry because of this?" Kai asked carefully. He wanted to see his reaction and learned what kind of circumstances this mission had.


    "He¡­ He is a madman!" Bryan said slowly, but every word contained his anger. "He would rather sacrifice anyone to seed in the mission. He is a monster that feels nothing and only fulfills his duty as a soldier.


    "At one time, he decided to sacrifice my mother in the front line! He only told me that it was her honor to be useful to him. I was devastated because our family was actually a warm family before my mother died. After she died, he started ying with other women. I hate him so much! And I don''t want you guys to be sacrificed by that demon!" Bryan gritted his teeth, exining everything. Even a tear almost fell down from the corner of his eyes.


    Kai and the others were stunned. The cool and reserved Student Council President could look this weak. Michelle never knew anything about his past, since he always hid it behind his strong front.


    Knowing this, Kai suddenly fell into silence. ''If everything he said is true, I need to remake my n¡­ Besides, I am not the leader of that base, so I won''t be able to voice out my concern. That''s why I might only go to the base, receive the order, and immediately set off¡­ It might be better for me this way.''


    While Kai was formting his n, Michelle calmed Bryan down while Tasha patted his shoulders. She came closer and whispered something. "If needed, you can use my Space Magic again and bring everyone out of there. Of course, I don''t hope to see such a situation, but you can simply report it to the Government afterward. Unless they are fools, they will me that general."


    Kai also had the same thought. ''That''s right. I still have another weapon if the other person wants to use me like that. The Government is currently in a pinch because they want to stop me from being poached by the EU Base. If they don''t back me up this time, they will be foolish since I can use this ident as my reason to leave the base.''


    Kai took a deep breath before saying, "Don''t worry. I will make sure to protect everyone. Besides, the real reason why I need to bring Eagle Group must be Evan. With the joint efforts of the Graham, Young, and Fisher families, he should know that it will be troublesome for him¡­ Of course, if he isn''t insane¡­ I''m sorry if I''m rude."


    Bryan calmed his heart down as he stared at his eyes for a minute. "Fine. If you need anything, just inform me. The worry is because of that demon, so I am also responsible for this."


    "Sure." Kai nodded. "Has the Eagle Group gotten the information about this mission?"


    "I am going there right now," Bryan answered.


    "How about wee together?"


    "Alright. Come with me¡­ I think the whole group should meet them as well." Bryan thought for a moment and nodded since Kai must want to discuss it with them.


    Kai nodded and followed him along with the rest, except Sanae.


    However, the atmosphere turned heavy the moment they entered the Eagle Group''s room. Evan and Isabelle looked away.


    Bryan exined the mission to them, and Isabelle handled the matter beautifully.


    They offered them seats, but Bryan decided to leave after informing them. So this was another show-off between Lion Group and Eagle Group.


    Kai was frowning upon the atmosphere and sighed. "I assume you already know about the reason why your group is chosen as a part of this mission, right?"


    Not only Isabelle, but Evan also said out of reflex. "I''m sorry."


    Isabelle looked at him with guilt. She suddenly remembered the past case where she needed to stay away from him. "In the past, I¡ª"


    Kai shook his head and stopped her. "I''m going to say this first. The past is the past. I have forgotten where I put the document, so no point in talking about it anymore. I was also at fault back then because I was angry."


    "No. It was my fault." Isabelle shook her head.


    "Anyway, we are going to join hands for this mission. I want to ask you and your group first, do you have any problem with this mission?"


    "No. As long as you are alright with us, then we are going to follow your order."


    Eve and Eva didn''t say anything, but their eyes locked at Michelle, a woman that obliterated them. They nodded furiously as if they were scared of her.


    "I revere the strong, you are strong, so I will follow your order." The guy who fought Ayaka previously said while thest guy only nodded his head.


    "I don''t know about the soldiers, so I will probably have my group and your group team up the whole time. Hence, I am going to make ten groups with ten people each while we are hunting them." Kai took a deep breath and said, "Now, I will exin the details¡­"

 Chapter 190 - General Brad Matthew

    The next day, they met up in Lion''s group room before setting off with their helicopters together.


    Kai looked at the same middle-aged man, their pilot. He shook his hand and nodded with a smile. "We will be counting on you again."


    "Leave it to me."


    They flew to the sky and arrived at British Columbia Military Base in a few hours. Luckily, they flew at dawn, so they arrived before noon.


    A guy with orange hair immediately approached them as soon as they descended as if he knew Kai and the others would arrive at this time. He straightened his back and saluted to Kai.


    Kai looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows. Of course, he didn''t forget to salute back.


    "First Sergeant Baran greets Sir Kai Carter. I''m honored to be under yourmand again, Sir."


    "Again?" Kai widened his eyes and wondered which battle he was talking about.


    "Yes. I was with you in the battle for Underground Nest Subjugation. I was a part of your unit previously, Attacker Units."


    "Oh!" Kai nodded and smiled. "I am sorry to not recognize you."


    "Haha¡­ It''s normal for Sir. I only need to take care of a hundred men below me while Sir has six thousand men. This time, Sir will lead one hundred men to the magical beast''s territory, so I will be your assistance in this battle to make sure the soldiers here follow Sir''s order." Baran said excitedly. He was one of the few people that had been graced by Kai''s strategy, so he knew Kai''s prestige was genuine. He originally hailed from this base, so he was excited when he heard that Kai would lead another mission.


    Kai nodded solemnly, "I want to talk it outter since I still need to meet with this base''s general."


    "Yes. I will lead you to him." Baran smiled while stretching his hand to the side, asking Kai to follow him.


    "How about the others?" Kai didn''t follow him immediately and nced at Michelle and the others.


    "Oh. I was too excited earlier." Baran shook his head before looking at the guy behind him. "Herman. Can you guide the others to their ces? I will be taking Sir Kai Carter to the general."


    "Sure."


    Kai nced at him and thought for a moment. ''Now¡­ I need to see this person who is called a demon by his own son. After that, I will pick up the soldiers, rest for a day, and immediately leave the base¡­ Unless I can cooperate with him.''


    He followed Baran silently, going inside the base before reaching a door at the end of the corridor. He had no interest in the base itself since it was only for a resting ce for him.


    When the door opened, he felt a fierce auraing from the room, raising his instinct. Kai put his guard up and narrowed his eyes, looking at this middle-aged man. His spiky yellow hair increased his fierceness. Coupled with the beard running through from one side of his ear to the other ear made him look like a lion. His muscr body was perfectly hidden underneath his green military uniform.


    "So, you are Kai Carter¡­ No, should I say Second Lieutenant Kai Carter?"


    Kai saluted. "You can call me anything you like, Sir."


    He released his killing intent that he got after killing so many magical beasts in the front line.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and stood without having a single change on his expression as if he didn''t feel a single thing.


    "Hmph!" Brad harrumphed as he retracted his killing intent and said. "Come in. I have received the mission for the headquarters to assist you, and that guy over there will lead the rest soldiers for this mission. Because of the danger of this mission, I decided to send at least Corporals to assist you. They, at least, have a year of experience as soldiers. Do you have any problem with it?"


    "No, Sir." Kai shook his head.


    "The headquarter said your brain is exceptional, and if possible, I should listen to what you have said. I will give you a chance. What will be your order if you have themand over this mission?"


    Kai was surprised. He thought he wouldn''t have a chance to give even a single input, but the general didn''t seem to be like the one Bryan described yesterday. Although he released that killing intent, he only wanted to test him. Kai couldn''t sense a single thing as to why such a person would sacrifice his own wife.


    Little did he know that Brad only let him speak because he passed his test with flying color. It was rare to see someone standing in front of his aura, and that person was also this young. The same as Kai, he didn''t know that Kai was immune to killing intent, not because of his strength and experience, but his memory of dying almost eleven thousand times.


    "If I may speak, then I would like Sir to be ready to deploy the soldiers. At least, prepare the missiles. I know it''s costly due to the fact that we need more powerful missiles to kill magical beasts, it is still more effective than deploying the soldiers." Kai said with a solemn expression.


    "You brat, are you going to joke with me? Don''t spew a bullsh*t in front of me!" Brad mmed his table and showed his teeth a little bit.


    "I am not saying bullsh*t. I have two people in my group that can be useful for this operation. The first one has a kind of time bomb while the other one has a Space Element. Bybining these two powers, I can gather many Magical Beasts nearby. If General deploy the soldiers at this moment, we can strike many magical beasts at once. I am sure it will help Sir''s problem too." Kai wasn''t flustered and exined his reasoning.


    "Hmm¡­" Brad furrowed his eyebrows after hearing about the two people under Kai. He realized that Kai already prepared the n previously. "You still haven''t calcted two things. Firs is the potential of flying magical beasts. Bringing thosend beasts is indeed easy, but it will be different for Flying Beasts. The moment theye, my soldiers will be their prey.


    "The second problem will be the reaction of nearby magical beasts. You must have known that the magical beasts will join forces if they hear other magical beasts screaming for help. There will be a huge chance that the beasts wille and attack our base. As expected, your brain is exceptional, but you need more experience to make sure you don''t make a mistake." Brad threw hard criticism.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "It is true that there will be a chance for the magical beasts to attack this ce as an after effect. That''s why I am going to check whether such a n is possible with my ears. Just like Sir knows that Magical Beasts has their own territory, so I am searching for a gap."


    "You want to utilize the gap between them and measure how loud an explosion you can make?"


    "Yes. My hearing can range up to five kilometers, so I can observe them and signal the soldiers to bombard them. On the other hand, we will leave without doing anything if we have no gap to exploit."


    "Hmm¡­" Brad looked down, weighing something in his mind. "Can you even control the sound? The explosion is hard to control, let alone the sound."


    "I can simply look at it right now. The most direct method will be to check how big the explosion should be, and my ears will check it. It''s that simple." Kai shook his head with a smile.


    "Enough of your babbling. I won''t take this suggestion because there are many uncertainties."


    ''It''s still useless, huh¡­'' Kai closed his eyes and thought. ''Still, there is another thing that concerns me¡­''


    "If you don''t have anything to say, have that guy exin the current situation, location, and path."


    "Still, General, I need to ask you to ready the soldiers," Kai said with a solemn expression.


    "Haven''t you said enough?!" Brad mmed the table once more. "I am still the general of this base while you are only a mere second lieutenant. Even if the Government acts, I am still not in the wrong!"


    "I only want to tell you one thing that ising from the so-called experience," Kai said in annoyance, taunting him. "In thest Subjugation Mission, I learned that they could control the magical beasts with a single roar. If they were to unleash it, it would be catastrophic for your base, especially your unprepared base."


    Brad wanted to release his aura but retracted it before even letting them out. He knew that he was taunting him, but it would be trouble for a general like him if he couldn''t see the severeness of this matter. "Alright. You have my words. All soldiers will stand by tomorrow."


    "Then, I have onest thing to ask."


    "What?!"


    "I want to bring a radio with me. I will not use it if there is no real threat, so it should be safe to bring it. The moment the magical beasts suddenly have a weird movement, I will inform you ande back to the base. Will that be alright?" Kai asked with a serious face.


    Brad thought for a moment and nodded. "Fine. I will give you a radio and clear the channel just for tomorrow. Your team will need to cross the road for three hours before reaching the front line, where you need to go on foot. Prepare yourself."


    Kai saluted. "Yes, Sir."


    "Have that guy exin everything." Brad pointed his finger at Baran. "You two are dismissed here."


    Both saluted once again and left the room.

 Chapter 191 - Group Discussion

    Inside the meeting room, Baran stood in front of the room, right beside the projector.


    "I am going to start, Sir Kai." Baran smiled as he pointed his finger at the map.


    "Go ahead." Kai nodded while looking at the Ross River map.


    "First of all, we have spotted the mutated magical beasts on the east side of this river, specifically around this area. We only have five scouts, so I apologize since it took so long to locate them. Besides me, General Brad, and the scouts, there should be no other people who know it." Baran began his exnation. He said mutated magical beasts because that was the term the Government released not long ago.


    Kai narrowed his eyes. There was another reason why he dared to take on this mission despite being so dangerous. He simply knew that only a few people had talked about it before the Government''s highestmand was released. No information leaked for this mission, so it would be unlikely for the Protector to know about this. Hence, the danger level was lowered a little bit.


    The mutated magical beasts themselves were far different from Ra and Eric, especially Eric. Most of the Zodiacs were known for one thing; they were weak children at the start. Due to the high risk, the Government only enhanced those who were weak and bullied because they might have gotten used to pain and were easy to be controlled.


    Kai didn''t care about it. He only knew that the fact they were far weaker than Eric because they didn''t have the help of the Protector. Without all of this to assure his heart, he wouldn''t take it even if Nathan begged him. He would only go for it with enough men, power, and soldiers¡­ Or even a General like Nathan to participate.


    Yet, Michelle and the others should be enough to deal with them since their strength might not beparable to those S rank magical beasts. Even if they could train their strength in this short amount of time, they would still only be a B rank magician with some power behind their fist. It just showed how low they were previously.


    Kai kept listening to Baran while checking whether his n would work or not.


    "They are hiding inside a vige surrounded by around three hundred magical beasts. As for their conditions, I can say they are not really in good condition due to exhaustion after fleeing so long from the Government. That''s why this will be a perfect time if we want to strike them."


    "By the way, how many are they?"


    "Three people."


    Kai pondered for a moment. "Theoretically speaking, my group and Eagle Group can take these three on ourselves. If the soldiers can buy us time from those magical beasts, I am sure we can win this fight. I think we should call the others first before continuing this."


    "I understand. I will call them first." Baran quickly left the room while Kai continued his nning.


    Fifteen minutester, everyone came and sat down, listening to Baran''s report.


    "¡­ Thus the end of my exnation." Baran finished the report with a nod.


    Kai thought for a moment and looked at the others. "Ten of us need to handle the three SS rank magical beasts¡­ Or you can say Zodiacs. Luckily, they are not really fit forbat, so we can kill them as long as we are careful. Hence, I am going to separate you into four teams.


    "The first three teams will handle them. The first team is me and Ayaka. The second team is Michelle and Tasha. The third team is the twins and Tommy. The fourth team is a support team."


    "Hmm¡­ I''m not in the killing team?" Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Yeah. I am nning to have you and Evan together this time. Evan''s job is to heal ourrades, including the soldiers, so it will be crucial. Your job is to support the three teams and the soldiers, so it will be a hard job for you as well. And there is also a risk being targeted. You can somehow fight in closebat, right? That''s why I am putting you in the same group as Evan. With Nichs as the vanguard, everything will be resolved."


    Isabelle was astonished by the amount of trust Kai put on her. She never thought she had so many jobs this time. Although she got slightly annoyed to be paired up with Evan, thinking she needed to babysit this guy, she nodded her head nheless. "I understand. I will obey the leader''s arrangement."


    "How about you guys? Do you have any problem?" Kai looked at the others, especially Tommy and the twins. He was afraid that they would make a fuss with this arrangement because their ego would be hurt to know that they needed three people to kill a single person.


    Surprisingly, they only shook their heads without anyment or malicious remark.


    Kai thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, one of us will be enough to handle one Zodiac with their current condition. However, we are still in the wilderness. The fact that there are around three hundred magical beasts around the area means there is a high possibility of those inviting more helpers from their surroundings.


    "I am nning to utilize Space Magic this time to teleport all of you and the soldiers back to the base after we finish our objective. That''s why I want to make a small mission, or you can say it''s a target for all of you. You need to finish your respective tasks within ten minutes and regroup inside the city.


    "Ayaka will go around and create a time bomb while I create a Sound Instion Room to prevent the sound from being leaked out. I don''t know how big I can make, but I will do my best." Kai looked at his sister and said with a serious expression. "I need the magic power toplete this mission."


    "Sure. We can do itter." Tasha nodded.


    "If possible, I don''t want any casualties¡­ but is it possible?" Kai looked at Baran.


    "Our team right now isposed of at least corporals. We should be able to hold on for fifteen minutes with this number. It will be a bit different if we are outnumbered." Baran nodded. The soldiers had at least one year, so they should know what they were doing and stayed alive within that time.


    "Hmm¡­ That''s good enough for me." Kai thought for a moment. "There are some arrangements left, but it''s not confirmed if I can use it or not. I will exin itter¡­ probably."


    Baran nodded, knowing he was talking about the matter he discussed earlier with General Brad. "I understand."


    "For now, you can arrange the soldiers to have them stand by. We will depart at dawn."


    "I understand. I will prepare everything for you. Just pass me the message if you need anything." Baran nodded before leaving the room. "I will be in hangar number three with the others."


    Kai looked at the door for a while before ncing at hisrades for this mission. "Now¡­ I am going to tell you guys something about my n. This will look reckless, but I have calcted everything¡­"


    He began his exnation about his n from start to finish, including the one that Brad rejected. After that, he told them about the risk of this n and how they would react if there were an emergency. He didn''t forget about the part where they might rm all enemies nearby.


    Kai''s group had gotten used to this as they took mental notes of what they needed to do. On the other hand, the Eagle group finally realized why Kai became the leader of this operation and the acting general of the previous mission.


    They were stunned and finally felt that their loss was justified.


    "If possible, I want you to go ording to mymand tomorrow. The mission itself isn''t that dangerous, but the after effect might be a little dangerous." Kai looked at the Eagle Group.


    Isabelle looked at herrades and nodded their heads. "We will follow your order tomorrow. And I am wondering whether you are aiming for group ranking this time?"


    "I don''t care about those things as long as I get a private helicopter." Kai shrugged before rising from his seat. "If you have no other questions, we will end this meeting right now. See you tomorrow."


    They nodded and returned to their respective room.


    ¡­


    The next day, Kai woke up and prepared himself. The others were also the same and quickly left the room. Tasha stayed for a while because she still had another important thing to do.


    Kai walked slowly toward her and smiled while Tasha also smiled, tiptoed to raise at his face level, and kissed him in the mouth. A magic circle appeared beneath their feet as magic power gradually moved from her body to Kai''s body.


    Kai twitched his eyebrows. This magic power surely caused him trouble since his ears'' sensitivity was enhanced at this point.


    After around a minute, she released him and smiled. "It''s done. You have your magic power back and my Space Magic."


    "Can you still fight?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, worried about her. "I mean, I can move Tommy to help Michelle while you go to the Support Team and help us like Isabelle."


    "Don''t worry about me. Even with my Lightning Magic alone, I am still a B rank magician. I can still protect myself. Besides, we are fighting inside a building without electricity, so it should be pretty dark despite the sun being up there, allowing Michelle to get a boost on her strength. That''s why I am good." Tasha nodded and patted her shoulders.


    Kai looked at her eyes for a minute before nodding his head. He decided to finish his battle as soon as possible and helped Tasha.


    "Let''s go."


    "Sure."


    They then stepped outside, walking toward the meeting ce.

 Chapter 192 - Moving Toward The Destination

    Kai appeared in front of a hundred people, including a few drivers that were going to bring them to the front line.


    "Everything is ready, Sir." Baran quickly approached him and saluted.


    Kai nodded before taking a look at the soldiers. They quickly straightened their back and saluted as well.


    "In just a few minutes, we will go toward the front line and head toward the mutated magical beasts. I''m sure you have been informed of what you need to do, and I hope you can follow my order despite my young age." Kai humbly said to the soldiers. "I wish for all of us to finish this mission without casualty. This might sound like boasting, but this is actually my promise to you."


    "Yes, Sir!" The soldiers answered in unison.


    "Good. All of you can stand by inside the trucks." Kai nodded and nced at Baran. "Follow me a little bit."


    "Move out!" Baran nodded and ordered beforeing to Kai. "What do you need me, Sir?"


    Kai stared at him, hesitating to ask for a few seconds. "Actually¡­ I want to ask you what the strategy for the front line is? I mean, there are too many magical beasts in front of us, and when they are informing theirrades, it will be an endless stream of magical beasts. Of course, it will stop when there is a big gap between the battlefield and the monster, but they still need to fight for days."


    Baran looked at him, dumbfounded. Seeing how powerful his strategy was, he thought he had known this type of strategy, but it turned out otherwise.


    "Cough¡­ I will just use an example of our strategy. Firstly, we have three spots a few kilometers ahead of us. They are a city, a grasnd, and a hill. These three locations are a few kilometers apart from each other.


    "We will upy the city and the hill as our temporary strongholds with around two thousand soldiers each. With the terrain and other things, these two thousand soldiers can withstand ten thousand magical beasts for many days. After the situation calms down a little bit, we move our soldiers to upy the grasnd and push back the magical beasts."


    Kai thought for a moment and finally realized the n. "I see. The soldiers need to prate deep inside their territory and set up two anchor points on the left and right. They should be able to hold on for a few days, and it will be the time the middle army makes its appearance, killing the magical beasts in between.


    "However, there must be some magical beasts that escape or breakthrough this encirclement. Hence, the missions are issued to the students. The military can kill the magical beasts while training the students¡­ It''s two birds in one stone."


    Baran nodded. "Yes. There might be some air support for them if the number is too high, but we usually don''t do it because the loud sound might attract more magical beasts than it''s supposed to. After the mission, we also need to consider the troops'' cement, the next n, how we move, new anchor points, and recement for fallen soldiers¡­ That''s why we take too much time for this."


    Kai agreed with him and added. "That''s why we can only reach this far after several centuries, especially when our poption is this low¡­"


    "Though I don''t want to say it, it''s true." Baran sighed in disappointment.


    "How about magicians in the Army? I am not originally from this ce and somehow forget to learn about it." Kai scratched his head, embarrassed.


    "Alright. Military Academy usually has more students than the Magic Academy, and most of their students be privates in this ce as soon as they graduate. On the other hand, a part of students hailing from Magic Academy goes to the Government¡­ and are usually trained to be an elite that can be dispatched at any moment. However, there are certainly some thate directly to the army.


    "We usually have them training with others and equip him like the others. However, they are usually more popr and shoot through the ranking due to their Magic. I bet there are many of them in our group."


    "Asking them to fight like normal soldiers? Isn''t that a waste of their talent?"


    "You can say so, but we also need to consider the stability of our armies. We can proceed this fast because everything has a procedure, standardizing the entire process. They can reach higher rank easier because of their magic, and there are more options above, so I do think it''s a waste of potential, but it''s not that much." Baran shook his head. "Unfortunately, I can''t tell you anything since I''m a former Military Academy student."


    Kai nodded with a smile, patting his shoulders. "Everyone is important in the war, so hold your head high. Let''s go!"


    They were going with five trucks, with each bringing twenty of them, and the boring journey finally began.


    ¡­


    A few hourster,


    Kai and the others at a small city that was used to watching out for the magical beasts, and they were heading toward their designated area on foot. After settling everything with the person in charge, the drivers drove the trucks back while Kai ordered.


    "Move out!"


    The order was out, and the soldiers began running. It was around fifty kilometers up ahead, so they only needed around three hours while preserving their stamina.


    However, Kai abruptly signaled them to stop after ten minutes, confusing every single soldier.


    "Call all captains of ten men here. I am going to give my first instruction," said Kai to Baran.


    He nodded and called them to meet Kai in the front.


    Kai looked at his map even after the leaders arrived and had them wait for a minute. He then presented the map along while using his Echo Location magic.


    The captains had no knowledge about this, but they could see many red dots on the magic and somehow spotted a few gaps between the dots.


    "This is my magic, Echo Location Magic. Its purpose is to locate every magical beast in the area using my ears, so they are pretty urate. Now, there are around thirty magical beasts standing in our way. I want all of you and your respective groups to kill these thirty beasts without rming their surroundings. In other words, I want a swift sweep before regrouping.


    "The first and second team will go toward here¡­ The third and fourth¡­" Kai began his exnation and pointed to the area they needed to cover. These captains were dumbfounded by his ability and remembered the Government''s statement when they revealed Kai''s ability. If all these spots were right, they should be able to arrive at their destination without rming their surroundings.


    The captains gulped down and swore in their hearts not to be a dead weight. After a few minutes, Kai looked at them again. "Do you have any questions?"


    "No, Sir!" They said silently since they were outside. Baran could only smile at this because he was idolizing Kai deep inside his heart.


    "We will repeat this process over and over again until we reach our target, so we will immediately make a small meeting like this after regrouping. If you don''t have any questions, then move out," Kai instructed as he rose from his position, leading the Lion and Eagle groups.


    The captains also informed their soldiers about their battle ns and quickly moved ording to the n.


    Kai went toward the northeast and found six horses before asking them to stop.


    "Isabelle and Sis- Tasha will kill two of them. The rest will follow me and kill the other four." Kai instructed as he created a big Sound Instion Room. It covered around one hundred meters in the area. "Let''s go!"


    Kai didn''t wait for them to answer and leaped to the front. Michelle and Ayaka had gotten used to his style and followed him right after while Tasha already drew her arrow. The Eagle Group was startled for a second before Isabelle opened her mouth. "All except Nichs go! Else, the Lion Group will dominate this mission."


    They woke up and quickly chased them while Isabelle brought two snipers with her, aiming at one horse each.


    As soon as Kai and the others were already closed enough, Tasha and Isabelle shot at the same time.


    Kai leaped and went toward the furthest horse. The magical beasts somehow reacted to this but stopped once again when their threerades died with a headshot. Kai and Michelle shed their respective target while Ayaka threw her spear. All six magical beasts died just like that.


    Only a few secondster, the Eagle Group finally arrived.


    "You three surely take your time." Michelle smirked while walking toward Tasha and the others.


    The trio was absolutely stunned by her remark. If not because of Kai''s Sound Instion Room, Isabelle might need to be careful with her sniper rifles since they produced a loud sound, and they couldn''t fight like this.


    "Don''t mind her. We are just testing the water right now since we will repeat this over and over until arriving at our destination." Kai only waved his hand to the trio before going to Isabelle. "That''s the gist of our n, but I will make the Sound Instion Room smaller to avoid the magical beasts from noticing us."


    "As your order, Captain." Isabelle shrugged and smiled before teasing Evan. "Maybe I should ask Uncle James to teach you how to be a man like him."


    "You don''t need to. He already did and failed." Evan snorted in annoyance. "Besides, you were weaker than me in the past before I lost the ability to fight."


    Isabelle''s body shook, recalling her dark past. She gnashed her teeth and looked away. "Hmph!"


    Kai ignored both of them, retracted his Sound Instion Room, and ordered. "Let''s go!"

 Chapter 193 - The Doubt

    After the first fight, the group continued to the next path ording to Kai''s n, defeated every single magical beast silently, and made their way toward the Ross River. In the meantime, Eagle Group finally realized the difference between them.


    Kai''s maniptive mind and overpowered hearing ability had truly increased the Lion Group''s strength to an unprecedented level. In fact, even the first ranked group in the school couldn''t bepared to the Lion Group. The only reason why Lion Group didn''te on top was because of their starting point.


    Had Kai be a student from Middle School and built the group, the Lion Group would be the first group for as long as he was in the school, and no one would be able to question it.


    Isabelle was wondering what her father would think after knowing about this¡­ He might even force her with Evan in no time. She never thought about it this whole time because she felt she shouldn''t bear an heir due to the current blood. Evan only learned the medicine''s existence from Kai not long ago, let alone her who had no rtionship with Kai. Her thinking might change¡­ Though it would only be in the future.


    In contrast, Kai didn''t care about it at all. He only wanted to be a General to get status to protect Michelle''s and the others'' safety. That was his one and only humble wish.


    He keptmanding the group without having any weird thoughts like those from Eagle Group. He treated everyone in the group the same, except for his own group. There might be a little bit of differential treatment to his own group, but everything was within the limit, and no one would even bother with it.


    With hismand, the group could advance faster and safer than they had ever been. Killing the magical beasts silently, resting when needed, and running to close their distance faster¡­ Everything had been calcted by him. The soldiers were even fired up because of this, increasing their efficiency even further.


    After more than three hours, they finally arrived in a small town near the Ross River.


    Kai stopped and asked the leaders to gather. However, they were surprised when they saw Kai closing his eyes and not saying anything. Baran wanted to call him but decided to wait.


    It was the right move. Kai was focusing his entire being on searching for the SS rank magical beasts. He could hear Baran and the others perfectly, but it would break his focus the moment he listened to them attentively.


    One minute¡­


    Two minutes¡­


    Even after ten minutes, Kai couldn''t pinpoint their targets. There were several magical beasts roaming around the cities, so he didn''t know which ones were their targets.


    Everything changed when he heard a human''s voice.


    "We need to go to the next city after this. I feel like someone is watching us at the moment." This voice appeared to be female, but Kai could see that this person''s height was more than two meters, considering the position of the heartbeat and sound produced from her mouth.


    He could also hear giant and unnatural footsteps and convinced these were his targets.


    "There are three Mutated Magical Beasts in the city, like how it''s reported. They are walking together on the street right now, nning to go to another city." Kai opened his eyes and took a deep breath.


    "What should we do now, Sir Kai?" Baran asked hurriedly. They needed to act fast because it would be a problem if they let these three go to the next city. They might escape or control the magical beasts after this.


    Kai put his index finger in front of his mouth, telling him to be silent for a bit as he continued listening to their conversation.


    "That''s right. We need to survive first because that Eric decided to betray us and used us as bait." The second one was a male as hatred filled his voice.


    "If we can survive, I will surely take my revenge against him first. He was the mastermind of our escape, so I think we can go back to the facility¡­ They might treat us as an experiment object and have no cure for us currently, but the cure might probably appear in the future." The third one was also a male at the same age as Kai.


    The first female looked at them and sighed. "There is no cure for us¡­ We are already mutated too far. Besides, this is not an illness. We can only rely on ourselves now since the Government wants to kill us. Don''t you remember what happened to us when we first ran away from their ce? They would surely kill us if they found us."


    "It''s my fault. If only I weren''t tempted by the devil, I could still be a normal soldier."


    "There is no need to think like that. The Government doesn''t care about us, so I will destroy them after increasing my strength. Besides, we can control the magical beasts, so I wille back to that ce while bringing thousands of magical beasts. It will be more satisfying if I do it after recovering because I can see their despair! I wonder if they will make the same face as us at that time? You should know about this too¡­ So why are you hesitating?"


    "I¡­That''s right. I should also do it¡­ We are already on the path of no return."


    "You two¡­ I don''t know why, but I can''t help but agree with both of you. Let''s go right now. We will try to get ustomed to our new body ande back in the future." Thedy smiled weakly as she clenched her hands.


    Kai''s body shook as he gradually opened his eyes.


    "Sir?" Baran''s heart skipped a beat when he saw the sadness in Kai''s expression.


    "One is filled with hatred, one is filled with gentleness but is on the thin line separating good and bad, while thest one is a timid person but finds a new determination. Say¡­ Do you think it''s alright to kill these three?"


    "What do you mean, Sir?" One of the captains asked.


    Only Baran understood what he meant because it wasn''t a mutated, magical beast. Instead, they were formerly human before mutating into a half-monster.


    Kai couldn''t decide whether to kill or not to kill these three people. Unlike Eric, who openly wanted to kill him, these three weren''t his enemies, only his targets.


    "Sir¡­ We are only soldiers, so we can''t understand you."


    Kai clenched his hands. ''To think I will be shaken at this point¡­ Even though I have epted the mission confidently. I have killed many people, even in United Asia, but never hesitated because I knew they were aiming at my family. However, these three were different¡­


    ''They are going to be a potential threat in the future if I let them go, but my morals also hinder me from making such a decision. What should I do¡­''


    Kai thought for two minutes before he remembered his teacher.


    It was when he visited her with Michelle and the others. She said she would kill the failures without hesitation because they will only suffer for the rest of their life. He didn''t think about morals back then and promised to kill them as her student.


    ''I am pathetic¡­ I have promised her, but hesitate this whole time¡­ Teacher, am I wrong to think that they might still have the chance to be saved?'' Kai bit his lips and shook his head. ''No. I will see this matter to its end. Even if they hate me or people call me ruthless, I will kill them right here and now before they be a threat that might endanger my family as well.


    ''This is my job. I will take all the responsibility! I don''t know if I will regret this choice in the future, but I will end this matter once and for all.'' Kai looked at Baran with his new resolve. "My group will handle the three mutated magical beasts. However, we are surrounded by magical beasts¡­ I will need three teams to follow me into the city while the others will start sweeping the magical beasts from this ce.


    "Three groups will go from the right while the other three go to the left. I will mark their locations on the map, so make sure you kill the beasts silently. I hope we can do it without rming them."


    "We understand, Sir." The captains nodded with solemn expressions.


    "I will leave the dividing to you. I need to go back to my group." Kai nodded and walked toward the Lion and Eagle groups with a grim expression.


    "Kai?!" Michelle was the first to notice his expression and began to worry.


    "Have any of you killed a human?" Kai asked with a serious tone.


    "I have." Tasha and Michelle answered him without hesitation. Not knowing why he had such an expression, they decided to be as decisive as possible.


    Ayaka had an unsure expression along with the rest.


    Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows and asked. "Why do you ask this question? What is our target?"


    Kai nced at her and said, "The failed version of us."


    "!!!" Isabelle''s body shook as she looked at the confused expression of her teammates. "Eva, Eve, Tommy, if you three can''t kill, I will handle it as the group leader."


    Kai was slightly surprised by her reaction, never expecting such decisiveness from her. He could hear that she was shaken by the mission, but she managed to gather her resolve quickly.


    In contrast, Evan could only look at Isabelle and sighed.


    As the leader of this group and thest group of attackers, Kai patted Ayaka''s shoulder and said, "Just follow my lead."

 Chapter 194 - Meeting Their Targets

    Kai and the others had been standing by on top of a tall building, silently waiting for the time to pass. They purposely didn''t observe their target with eyes because Kai was afraid that these three people would know someone tailing them with their sharp instinct.


    Not wanting them to escape, Kai and the others simply sat down on the floor while looking at each other. They kept thinking about their target this whole time, as Kai''s question resurfaced in their mind.


    There would be two results in this type of scenario. The first one would be where these three were killed without bringing an after problem. The second would be they created a huge mess that might harm the army as a whole, and Kai wouldn''t want to see that.


    "Have you gathered your resolve? The moment youe out here, I want all of us to kill the three of them without fail. There won''t be any sympathy." Kai said coldly. "If you want someone to me, you can me me."


    Tasha suddenly patted his shoulder a few times and whispered something to him.


    Kai closed his eyes for a second, considering her suggestion seriously before nodding his head. He then looked at the rest of his teammates, who had confused looks on their faces.


    "What is the strategy?" Michelle asked.


    "I will teleport you guys to that building as soon as the battle starts." Kai pointed at the building near these three people. "After that, we will have the battle from the soldiers in this city take away their attention for a second while I am making the Sound Instion Room. Then, we can teleport right above them and ambush them¡­ And if possible, kill them at that time. Unfortunately, I am afraid it is not possible due to how fast they can react."


    "Good enough." Isabelle nodded before asking a question. "Still, I need to know how big your Sound Instion Room is¡­ I heard that it would break if someone strikes it. So, I might need to adjust my position to make sure I can help the soldiers and help the group at the same time."


    "Don''t worry. The building alone is not that far from these three beasts, so you don''t need to move. I can create a one hundred meter radius Sound Instion Room." Kai assured her with a smile. "You can pass my Sound Instion Room as long as you don''t use magic, other than that it will break."


    "Alright, then. I can put my two sniper rifles in different positions, so I don''t need to carry them while changing positions to avoid breaking the Sound Instion Room." Isabelle nodded.


    "Then I will take on the female one while Michelle focuses on the timid one, which leaves the hateful one to Eagle Group. Does that sound fair?" Kai asked.


    "Sure. My group has never killed a human before. Even though they are already half-beast, we can consider them as human¡­ So, I hope the captain can fix this mess if we are unable to kill him. Of course, I will try to kill him¡­ But whether I have the resolve or not at thatst moment, I don''t know." Isabelle nodded with a disappointed face. She had been gathering her resolve this whole time and could be said she was ready, yet the question was whether that they would remain or not when the moment came.


    "It''s good then. Just make sure you are hindering his movement for a while. They can''t fight a long battle in that state after all. I can kill them as soon as I finish my job." Kai nodded before informing Tasha''s change of n. "Anyway, Tasha is also going to be with you on top of the building. She makes this decision due to thendscape filled with tall buildings. That''s why Nichs, I want to ask you first."


    "Ask me anything." Nichs nodded.


    "Can you jump off that building in an emergency and protect the others?" Kai asked. This question was normal for him because he needed to be cautious when dealing with this type of person. They might be able to use magic like Eric, so it will be troublesome if they attack the building itself, not the people.


    "I can¡­ But I won''t be able to react fast enough because the fall takes time." Nichs shook his head.


    "Then¡­ Guard them from the ground. Isabelle, I want to ask you to use that four green ball magic to prepare for any attacks. You should be able to take two people flying, right?"


    "Alright. You are really too careful." Isabelle chuckled.


    "I will already die if I''m not careful." Kai shrugged before looking at the timer. "We have one minute left. Do you have any other questions?"


    They thought for a moment and shook their heads.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Baran was one of the team leaders who helped Kai inside the city. He understood that his Sound Instion Room might be visible to the beast, and they would attack him. Hence, these two groups were to protect the ''execution room'' from those beasts.


    "All of you already know your job, right? We only need to kill all the beasts without rming the entire pack." Baran reminded them once more. "Remember, they might scream when they are injured, so make sure to kill them in one strike. Luckily, there are no powerful magical beasts in the area, so we should be fine as long as we are careful. Understood?"


    The soldiers nodded solemnly as if they were ready to die to prevent that from happening.


    Baran smiled and checked the timing before standing up. "We are going in five seconds."


    The soldiers also stood up and took out their weapons before they heard Baran said. "Go!"


    They left the building, charging toward the magical beast.


    ¡­


    At the same time, Kai snapped his finger, creating a teleportation magic circle beneath their feet. This was the first time Eagle Group experienced Teleportation Magic, so they were slightly startled by the sudden change of scenery in just a blink of an eye.


    However, they still remembered their objective as six people quickly separated themselves and once again teleported.


    On the other hand, the three beasts suddenly halted their footsteps when they noticed the killing intenting from the soldiers. Yet, another killing intent also appeared above their heads.


    "!!!" The trio quickly screamed. "Ene¡ª!"


    "Sound Instion Room!" Unfortunately for them, Kai already activated his Sound Instion Room first.


    "Enemies!" The female finished her shout.


    Kai and the others looked at these three and slightly terrified. Kai might not have a disgust anymore after he encountered Eric, but it wasn''t the same for everyone.


    The female had a human face like Eric, but her body looked like a mantis. The usual front legs from mantis reced her hands, turning them into a scythe. It looked so sharp as it might be able to cut steel itself.


    On the other hand, the scary-looking male had a human body, but all other parts werepletely those of a wolf. His head was a wolf while ws and fur were covering his full limbs.


    Lastly, the timid male was looking like a horse¡­ However, only his head was a horse while the other parts were normal except the tail on his back.


    Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka were the first ones to be terrified. They finally realized what kind of horrifying baby they would give birth to if Kai didn''t ask for medicine. This was how afraid he actually was.


    They thought Kai must be exaggerating but still chose to respect his opinion. Kai even said he might hate them if they forced it, only to realize that Kai didn''t actually want to hate them. He just loved them so much and wanted the best for them.


    The same as the girls, Evan and Isabelle wanted to throw up. They didn''t see their appearances this whole time because Kai forbade them before the mission started. This order was to distract them for the time being and forced them to make a decision in the face of pressure where they needed to kill the three half-beasts.


    Even so, Evan and Isabelle thought it was the right choice to not open their hearts to love someone, in case they fell into despair after seeing this appear on their child''s body. Isabelle started shaking while trying to aim the enemy. Evan noticed this and ced his hand on her shoulder.


    Isabelle was surprised at first, but she noticed the shaking of his hand and smiled. Sometimes, knowing someone, who was even more scared than you actually cheered you up, would calm you down. Isabelle took a deep breath and calmed her heart.


    The fight finally started when Kai and the others descended to the ground. Kai activated his Vibration Sword and tried to sh her hand before touching the ground, but the female seemed to notice the sharpness behind this sword and leaped backward.


    Michelle also did the same as him and sent two dark sword attacks as soon as shended on the ground.


    "Shadow sh!"


    "!!!" The horseman shuddered once before his instinct took over and spun his body before shattering the attacks with a single kick. "Why do you attack us? Have we not suffered enough?"


    Michelle didn''t say anything. "I don''t have a grudge against you. But I only need to know that I will only increase his sadness if I don''t kill you here."


    Unfortunately, the twins and Tommy couldn''t do a single thing to thest person. In fact, he was the one who attacked them by appearing in front of the twins and swiping them with his ws.


    The twins obviously blocked it with their swords, but the strength behind these ws was immense, blowing them to the ground.


    Kai didn''t spare a single nce at the twins as he simplymanded. "The targets are these three. Kill them here. Failure is not tolerated."


    Ayaka, Michelle, Tommy, and even the twins on the ground nodded at the same time.


    "Understood, Captain."

 Chapter 195 - The Fight

    "Understood, Captain."


    After giving his order, Kai and Ayaka leaped toward the female simultaneously. Kai shed his right sword toward her neck this time while Ayaka moved slightly to the left and summoned her magic circle, locking the female movement.


    Noticing this movement, the female decided to act ording to her instinct.


    "!!!" Kai saw her suddenly ducking down and swiping her two hands to cut them down.


    Ayaka simply pierced the ground lightly and blocked the iing attack with her spear. Her spear handle was solid enough to handle the sharpness from this scythe while the weight behind it prevented her from getting pushed back.


    On the other hand, Kai didn''t care about this attack as he swung one of his swords, trying to cut it down with a single swing. Yet¡­


    *ng ng!*


    Multiple clicking sounds echoed through the battlefield. Not only her, even Kai was baffled. He never thought that the hardness on the scythe was higher than he expected.


    ''It seems I have miscalcted their ability?'' Kai furrowed his eyebrows before noticing a huge amount of magic power leaked out of the scythe. ''No. She has sacrificed much of her magic power to block my attack.''


    The female retreated a few steps before swinging the two scythes. Just like Michelle''s Shadow sh, she shot out two crescent attacks toward Kai as she chose to kill him first after knowing his power.


    Kai looked at these attacks running through the ground and struck it with his Vibration Sword. Surprisingly, the attack flew back toward her after getting struck hard by him.


    ''Huh? Normally it will break or explode when I strike it, but this one bounces?'' The question kept reying in his mind as Kai looked at these two attacks that destroyed the electricity pir behind him. It wasn''t the usual huge electricity tower, but it was a small and short pir at the height of a two-stories house and channeled the electricity to the houses around.


    The female shocked him once more when the two attacks suddenly exploded as soon as it cut the pole. However, it wasn''t a normal explosion as it shot the pole flying.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes, finding something interesting. He didn''t know why, but he felt that he grasped something earlier. ''That attack¡­ I feel like I can use it as the foundation of my Sound Levitation? I can first shoot smaller and lighter objects before shooting myself and eventually a heavy object. After that, I can try to maintain it to make me float in the air! If I can make the concept, all I need is some adjustment to prevent the sound from leaking as it really needs sound energy tounch something like that.''


    Kai finally got the concept he needed toplete his Sound Levitation. He never thought that the concept came from his own target. He took a deep breath and swore in his heart. ''I am thankful for this, but I still need to kill you. The only thing I can do is kill you painlessly. If only I have the way to save you¡­ I might find it in the future, but I am not confident I can protect you and my family from the potential troubles. You may curse me or say I''m selfish, but that''s me. I''m just a regr guy, not a hero.''


    Gritting his teeth, Kai leaped forward.


    "Ayaka. Help me! We are finishing this battle in a minute or two!"


    "Alright!" Ayaka observed his movement, realized what she needed to do, and started moving.


    On the other hand, Michelle was still fighting the horse boy. She never expected that she had so much trouble dealing with this person.


    "Fu." She took another deep breath and charged at him.


    The boy might not look like it, but there was this hidden side of him behind that timidness. His control of magic power was beyond her imagination. She never thought that there was someone like him bing a beast.


    The boy only stared at her silently and took a deep breath. "I might not have a huge amount of magic power, but I''m confident with my magic control."


    Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why don''t you just pursue the normal way? I''m sure that you can achieve it far. Besides, the Government won''t force you to join something like this."


    "What do you know? I know you! You are the S rank magician, Michelle Graham. You have the support of Graham Family and can get anything you want!" He snarled at her.


    Michelle had no change of expression. "It''s because you are weak and can''t even withstand the pressureing toward you. You must have felt that it is normal for you to fail because you are not talented¡­ However, I know a boy who was so talented that he was hurt by his talent to the point he sealed his own power. Yet, he finally climbs his way back up because he doesn''t have many things. No, I should say that he can withstand every single pressureing his way because he doesn''t have everything, unlike you, who have given up. Isn''t it the reason why you turn into something like this?"


    He wanted to rebuke her, but the words stuck on his mouth. Suddenly, he felt Michelle''s presence from his right and quickly sent another kick toward her.


    "!!!" Michelle could only stare at his feet silently. The magic power behind that kick was immense to the point it could withstand her power. No, he actually created a magic circle first to strengthen his foot like a metal. This could only be done for a man who had Earth Magic. ''He is my worst enemy¡­''


    Having no other options, she decided to use all of her magic power and transferred it toward her swords, ready to cut him down with her Shadow sh. "It seems that your ability has been enhanced by that horse blood¡­ The problem is you are still not my match!"


    "Hmph!" He simply snorted before feeling chill down to his spine as his instinct took over, forcing him to dodge to the side. Unfortunately¡­ "Ah!"


    He screamed out of pain as an arrow pierced through his shoulder.


    Michelle looked at this person, who somehow fell to the ground and appeared before him while swinging her swords.


    "Shadow sh!"


    "Tch!" He clicked his tongue and raised his feet, trying to block this attack.


    "Boom!" The crack appeared on the ground.


    Isabelle was smiling when she heard this loud sound. Unlike Tasha, no matter how powerful her suppressor, it wasn''t enough to silence the sounding from her bullet. She had yet to release a single bullet this whole time, so this loud sound was a perfect cover for her first shot.


    She aimed at thest person and pulled the trigger. It was hard to notice the sound of this bullet unless someone had the same ears as Kai.


    However, the boy''s wolf ears picked up something as he raised his hand to the right and repelled the bullet before looking at Isabelle and Tasha. "There is another enemy on that building!"


    Not letting him take a breather, Tommy and the twins moved at the same time.


    "Ha!" A thunderous roar resounded across the area. Luckily, the sound itself was stopped by Kai''s Sound Instion Room. If not, the magical beasts would already notice.


    "Your resistance is futile!" Tommy ced his hand on the ground, freezing the ground. The ice spread toward the angry boy as it froze his feet and locked him so he couldn''t go anywhere.


    Eva and Eve appeared right beside the boy and struck him with their fire swords.


    It was a dangerous situation for the boy, and he should have realized that he couldn''t do anything and started panicking but... He simply grinned and shed his two ws toward the twins.


    However, this attack was like no other attack he used previously. Behind this attack, extraordinary magic energy overflowed and created two powerful crescent attacks, flying toward the twins.


    "What?!" Eva and Eve were oblivious to such an attack. Having no preparation for the attack, it blew them away. "Ah!"


    Kai suddenly realized and nced at the boy. "This is not good!"


    The first attack flew toward the building where Tasha and the others were at while the other one went in the opposite direction, making its way toward Kai''s Sound Instion Magic.


    "Ayaka. I''m leaving her to you." Kai snapped his finger and created a magic circle below his feet while shouting. "Nichs. That one is on you!"


    Kai appeared again right on the edge of his Sound Instion Room, striking his swords toward this attack. Meanwhile, Nichs was already prepared to take on this attack. He raised his shield and created a huge brown magic circle on top of it and blocked the attack.


    "I''m done here. I will use everything I have to bring you out of this ce." The boy, who released the technique, released all of his magic power at this moment. "Looking at how they react, that thinyer of green ss is very brittle. As long as we can break it, we can summon every single magical beast around the area. I am fine dying here as long as I can drag them down with me¡­"


    *Bam!*


    As he was talking, Isabelle shot another round toward his heart. He only had the body of a human, so she was afraid to aim another part because she didn''t know whether it would kill him or not.


    Having released all of his power, he sensed the iing bullet toote and tried to dodge it, but the bullet ended up piercing the side of his chest before he fell down to the side due to the momentum.


    "Tch!" He immediately stood back up while enduring his pain as he looked at Kai.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment. "Change of n. Tommy, Eve, and Eva will assist Ayaka to kill the female. Make sure to finish the battle as soon as possible. I will handle that guy alone!"


    "Understood!" They replied in unison.


    Kai then took a deep breath and released his animal instinct.

 Chapter 196 - Fight Part II

    Ferocious aura gushed out of his eyes as killing intent started adding the intensity from Kai. The moment their eyes locked, the boy almost stumbled as if this aura wanted to engulf him.


    "Ha!" The boy roared as loud as possible, breaking this sense of illusion. He realized he was too scared earlier.


    Releasing his own magic power, the boy snarled. "I, Rizou, will kill you with these hands!"


    Kai still had no change of expression, looking at this person with disgust. This Rizou reminded him of Eric. Both of them could only put their hatred toward someone else because they didn''t have the strength to seed despite the chance being the same for everyone else.


    Kai raised both of his swords and leaped forward. Rizou also did the same and struck Kai with his ws.


    Unfortunately, the gap between their magic was too far. Even Michelle''s Shadow sh would get obliterated by Kai''s Vibration Sword in a single sh, let alone this unstable magic w.


    *ng!* The sound of shing between Kai''s Sword and Ron''s Magic w echoed across the region. They passed each other in the meantime before turning around once again.


    They didn''t charge at each other again because Rizou felt his right hand hurt. As soon as he realized what just happened, he screamed out of pain. "Ah!"


    All ws in his right hand were cut by Kai in that single exchange. None of the trios from before could even make a graze on his ws, but Kai somehow managed to do it very cleanly.


    Kai only smiled lightly. This was also why he reminded him of Eric. Both of them had too much pride in their own ability and thought they would win. However, Ria once said. "A guy who thinks he will win is totally open to attack."


    This was a difference of experiences. Knowing your weakness and thinking the worst possibility first instead of thinking his enemy was weak was something that Ria taught him.


    "You bastard!" Rizou charged at him again.


    Kai also ran forward, trying to strike his hands if not im his life. However, Rizou suddenly pulled his hands and spun his body, trying to kick Kai.


    "!!!" In this position, none of Kai''s swords could reach him. Yet, Kai remained calm as he kicked him right on his stomach before Rizou''s kick arrived.


    "Puah!" Rizou spat some acid fluids and flew away. Of course, he tried to retain his sanity and send a w attack to prevent Kai from chasing him.


    Unfortunately, Kai already destroyed this attack multiple times, and another one wasn''t a problem.


    "Cain. Ron. Break the barrier and shout as loud as possible. Our victory will be assured if one of you can do that!"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and leaped toward him, trying to kill him.


    "Unfortunately, none of you can escape here alive." He nced at the female and felt regret that he couldn''t kill her by himself, but there was no time to regret it as he pointed his finger toward the other boy.


    ¡­


    Cain, the female mantis, released her magic power and sent a shock wave through the ground to break the barrier, ording to Rizou, but Eva and Eve broke her attacks. Unlike Rizou''s, her attack didn''t pack too much punch, so the twins could easily break these attacks. They also created a spear made of fire and shot them toward Cain.


    Cain shed them up like cutting butter, but the real purpose of these spears was to buy time for Tommy.


    On the side, Tommy summoned an Ice Wall circling around Cain. Ayaka was also inside the circle as she was tasked to kill her.


    "I will be fighting you." Ayaka took a deep breath as a magic circle appeared underneath her. A zing red me appeared right on Ayaka''s feet, boosting her speed in a single jump.


    "!!!" Cain''s body shook as she never expected something like this.


    Ayaka had been Kai''s support this whole time, so she never needed to do this. However, Kai was taking that dangerous boy by himself, so she needed to handle this Cain with the support of Isabelle''s group.


    Ayaka stepped right in front of her and pounced her spear toward the girl. Cain blocked these attacks with her two hands, but Ayaka had already built her momentum.


    *ng!*


    The moment it struck her hands, the spear power and sharpness instantly shattered her scythe-shaped hands in which one of them was flying. This could only happen because she used a huge portion of her magic power to block Kai''s Vibration Sword earlier.


    Ayaka still used the momentum of her spear to spin her body and go around Cain. She was utilizing her Wildebeest speed to move to her back and stabbed her from behind.


    "Argh!" She never thought there was a girl this powerful behind that man earlier. Managing to react at thest second, she managed to shift her body a little and let it pierce her abdomen instead. Cain endured the pain and struck Ayaka''s with her broken scythe-shaped hand, albeit¡­


    "Argh!" She let out another scream when she realized the me was covering Ayakapletely, burning her back and blocking her scythe.


    "Fire Armor!" Ayaka smiled at her while looking at the burned scythe. She nced at the twins jumping to the sky and shouted. "Now!"


    "Fire Dragon!" The twins held hands while releasing two dragons made of fire from their other hands.


    Ayaka immediately pulled her spear out of Cain''s body and jumped out of the ice wall. Tommy immediately raised his Ice Wall and created a closed-half sphere to make sure no fire gushed out from this and hit the Sound Instion Room.


    *Boom!*


    The dragons exploded on the point-nk range, making the blue ice look red.


    It took them a few minutes to cool the fire down, and everyone thought she had died because there was no scream. However, a shout reverberated in everyone''s ears.


    "She hasn''t died yet!" This shout rmed everyone while Ayaka immediately raised her spear, looking at the ice intensely.


    *Bam!*


    Suddenly, the ice was cut into pieces before a shadow leaped toward the unguarded.


    "Not good! I won''t be able to dodge it!" Tommy was maintaining his ice wall this whole time, so his magic was expended a bit, and he couldn''t use his magic to block this attack. At the same time, his sword wouldn''t be fast enough to block it. He tried to shift his body as much, hoping to miss the vital, so Evan could heal him but¡­


    *Stab!*


    A spear pierced Cain''s heart from the back before she gradually fell down due to its weight and momentum.


    Behind her, Tommy could see Ayaka panting and utterly shocked. ''To think that the one who managed to kill me only because recklessness actually saved me in real life¡­''


    Meanwhile, Ayaka''s heart beat rapidly as this was the first time she killed a human¡­ Half-human. Her hands started shaking. Although she had experienced deaths, watched gory scenes of people''s deaths, and killed many magical beasts, she had never killed a human before. This was the first time she realized the difference between killing magical beasts and killing a human. It felt so heavy in her heart. Kai''s expression where he asked them if they had killed a human before resurfaced on her mind. ''So¡­ That''s why he asked.''


    ¡­


    Meanwhile,


    Michelle had her own struggle in beating this enemy of hers. It would be better if she fought the wolf boy instead of this guy due to how hard his body was. Every attack of hers was destroyed by his feet.


    She didn''t know why, but Ron gradually became fiercer and fiercer as time passed by, forgetting his timid personality.


    "How dare you kill Sister Cain!" Ron roared as he kicked Michelle, only to find it was blocked by Michelle''s sword. However, the force still pushed her back a few meters.


    ''I need another attack pattern.'' She adjusted her position tond, thought for a moment and smirked. cing her hand on the ground, two magic circles appeared below both Michelle and Ron. Both of their shadows rose.


    "!!!" The shadow behind Ron''s shadow held him on the feet, restricting him from destroying her attacks with that kick of his.


    Michelle and her shadow then released two Shadow shes each.


    "Don''t underestimate me!" Ron roared as he raised both hands, trying to shatter Michelle''s attack once more. "Horse has four feet, so my hands are almost as powerful as my feet!"


    "I''ve never underestimated you," Michelle smirked as she looked at her Shadow shes shing with his two hands.


    "Hmph! I will shatter these attacks again!" Ron punched these four shes before finding something wrong when he remembered Michelle''s words.


    Suddenly, he realized that he was losing in force. "Wait¡­ Why am I losing in power?! Impossible!"


    Michelle gazed coldly as she repeated the same answer. "There is no way I am underestimating you¡­ I even think you must have another secret power. That''s why I send a double attack since I notice that you didn''t dare to block both of my Shadow shes simultaneously. You would always destroy them one by one."


    "No!" He roared and tried to destroy her attacks, albeit¡­


    *sh!*


    "Argh!" Two hands were sent flying to the air as blood sttered on the ground. Michelle leaped toward Ron, trying to kill him in this sh.


    However, Ron still struggled for his life by pushing the ground as hard as possible along with his magic power. He created a small crater and destroyed the shadow at the same time, releasing himself free.


    He tried to escape for his life, but an arrow and a bullet sted his two legs.


    "Nice Job." On top of the building, Tasha smiled after releasing her arrow. Isabelle nodded with a smile. "Michelle will kill that man now."


    On the ground, Michelle took advantage of this situation and sent Ron''s head flying as she couldn''t block her without his limbs and died just like that.

 Chapter 197 - End Of The Mission

    Looking at how the other two had died in his group''s hand, Kai smiled as he leaped toward Rizou.


    "It''s already over."


    "No!" Rizou roared, sending an overbearing magic power to the surroundings.


    Kai felt his blood riled up as if it was responding to Rizou. "This¡­ This is like what happens if I overuse my Lion Blood! I will start losing my consciousness and go berserk! Still, why does the fur start to appear in his body? Shouldn''t it be a human body?"


    Furrowing his eyebrows, Kai contemted before realizing the difference between him and Rizou. It was a simple thing but made a different result. For Kai, his Lion Blood was mostly inactive, but Rizou''s Wolf Blood was dominating his human blood. Hence, the moment it was stimted even further, Rizou wouldpletely be a wolf¡­ No, a werewolf.


    Kai took a deep breath and assessed the situation with a cool head. The transformation aside, releasing his magic power like this was a kind of leaking it outside, so Kai never used this type of technique. In fact, no one would use it unless they wanted to assert dominance over their enemy. And he felt this might be the time to use it to scare Rizou once again. He might even stop Rizou from evolving.


    "Your magic power is still too low!" Kai''s magic power started leaking out of his body before releasing an overbearing pressure to the surroundings.


    Ayaka and the others wanted to help, but Michelle stopped them by raising her hand in their way. "This is his fight."


    "Even so, I don''t think there is any use to release his magic power, Michelle." Ayaka protested while observing Kai.


    "Right. It can only send pressure to his enemy while the technique is draining his magic power. I feel that Kai wants to test something in this fight. Nheless, you shouldn''t underestimate him too much. It''s hard to create pressure with magic power alone because you need a huge difference in magic power before it shows the effect. However, do you know how much Kai''s magic power is? You will see it right now!" Michelle smirked.


    "This¡ª!" Rizou was stunned when Kai released all of his magic power. His transformation slowed a little bit as if his blood was scared of this magic power. "No. I will kill you!"


    *Roar!*


    He roared to the sky and forced his blood to be active, transforming his entire body like a walking wolf, AKA werewolf.


    Kai didn''t miss that little detail. ''Did his blood get oppressed a little by my magic power? Does this mean magic power can influence the percentage of sess for someone to be a Zodiac? I don''t really support the Zodiac n, but if this discovery can save a few people from turning into a monster, I will dly offer the information. For now, I should kill him first before telling Teacher.''


    Rizou suddenly leaped toward him and pounced his ws.


    *ng ng ng!*


    From the head, body to feet, Kai defended every single attack from Rizou. He was quite surprised when he saw him not letting a single groan as if he didn''t feel any pain despite his hands bleeding. They shed almost ten times earlier, and Kai somehow was able to destroy all of his ws while injuring his hands.


    Rizou nced at his hands with blood flowing all the way down to the ground without saying anything.


    ''Does he lost his sanity?'' Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Rah!" Rizou charged at him again, even without ws. Yet, a series of shing metal sounds echoed.


    *ng ng ng!*


    Feeling the pointless battle, Kai sighed and shook his head. ''He really lost it. Will I turn into a lion if I lose my sanity?''


    Although he wanted to think more, Rizou already charged at him again, not caring about his wounds.


    Kai responded to the best of his ability while observing Rizou''s transformation. Sadly, he didn''t find another clue for another three minutes and decided to end the battle.


    "Close your ears!" He warned his teammates, changed his stance and snapped his finger. Ayaka and Michelle demonstrated to Isabelle''s group and asked them to follow his order. "Luby."


    *Ding!*


    The disruptive sound wave reverberated in their ears despite having closed their ears.


    "Kh!"


    "What is this?! Luby? This is not a song for sleep."


    Eve and Evained while Tommy bit his lips and endured the pain while observing Kai.


    "You are a wolf, right? Then your hearing should also get enhanced. It won''t be at my level, but that sound should hurt you." Kai smiled as he undid the magic circles on his ears.


    "Argh!" Rizou roared while closing his ears with his hands.


    Kai ran toward Rizou and kicked him on the stomach, blowing him a few meters away. He didn''t stop there as he appeared right above Rizou and shed both swords toward Rizou''s neck.


    Having regained his ability to move, Rizou ducked down to avoid Kai''s attack. Kai saw this movement and changed his target without hesitation and shed both of his hands.


    "Argh!" The two hands fell down on the ground as Rizou screamed out of pain. He looked at Kai in horror before spinning his body and running away.


    "!!!" Michelle narrowed her eyes and raised her swords before an arrow, and a bullet blew Rizou''s legs away.


    "Nice!" Michelle smiled and shed her sword before Rizou''s fell to the ground. "Shadow sh!"


    The dark shock wave ran through the ground and cut Rizou into two before shattering the Sound Instion Room. Meanwhile, Tasha gave a thumb up to Isabelle. "Good job earlier."


    "I was just matching your movement. Although I want to help the soldiers after this, it seems they have finished their mission without our support." Isabelle humbly said before ncing at their surroundings. She felt relieved as she didn''t find a single magical beast in the town.


    "Let''s regroup with the others first." Tasha nodded.


    Isabelle took both of her rifles and turned them into two bracelets. She then grabbed Tasha on the left and Evan on the right, flying to Kai.


    Kai closed his eyes for a second before forcing himself to change his mood. He smiled at Michelle and the others. "We are done here. Take a picture of their body as proof. After that, burn their body and store their ashes. They are still our kin nheless."


    No oneined, so Michelle took the picture before Eve, Eva, and Tasha burned their body. Tommy made three small ice boxes to store their ashes.


    He then looked at Tasha and the others. "Nichs, nice block! Isabelle also shot the enemies at the perfect timing. Meanwhile, Evan will start healing the injured soldiers after wee back. Is that alright?"


    "Yeah." Evan nodded.


    Kai then took out the map and marked them. "Eagle group will go ording to this path while the Lion group is this way. I will wait here with Evan."


    Michelle and the others nodded and split up.


    "Why don''t you go, Captain?" Evan asked while ncing at Kai''s expression.


    Kai sighed and looked at the map. "Nothing. I am just calcting the distance and direction to use Teleportation magic."


    "Now that I think about it, you used Teleportation earlier, right? Wasn''t that your sister''s magic? Besides, what the heck with that magic power? I felt suppressed. Did you hide it this whole time?" Evan asked so many questions at the same time.


    Kai smiled and scratched his head. "Well, you are my teammates for at least the next three years, so I think it will be fine to tell you about this. Basically, my sister''s Space Magic is a kind of Sealing Magic. I was born with powerful magic power as you saw earlier, but I asked my sister to seal it inside her body due to the torture. Besides, she also had low magic power."


    "I see. Two birds in one stone, is it?" Evan nodded and crossed his arms. "Is that also the reason she mainly uses her Lightning Magic instead of Sealing Magic?"


    "No." Kai shook his head. "I can just say that her Sealing Magic is quite scary if she uses it properly. There was once an organization that wanted her Sealing Magic and attacked us. Luckily, they were not that strong, so we somehow annihted that organization. From then on, she decided not to use that magic too much.


    "I will give you a clue to one of her magic. What will you do if you trap air in a certain space,press it, and have it exploded somewhere?"


    "I see. That''s scary. The trapped air will burst like an explosion. Coupled with her Space Magic, she could appear anywhere. However, it requires a huge amount of magic. I''ve looked into her profile and noticed no one wanted to adopt her due to her low magic power despite that powerful ability. I''m sorry for investigating you though. Really sorry. But I''m really curious why didn''t you use that technique to fend the Katsuragi Family away?"


    Kai sighed. "I won''t talk about you investigating us. However, remember that I''m a pretty vengeful person. As for your question, they would target our parents if we used that, so I couldn''t ask her."


    "Don''t worry. I know that." Evan nodded and didn''t pursue his question further.


    "Anyway, my magic power will stay in her body for as long as I want, so it''s not like I want to hide it."


    "I can somehow understand your pain. It''s painful to have that extraordinary hearing since much information will go straight to your head at once, you also can hear whether the people around you are lying or not, and in the worst case, your family is¡­"


    "You don''t need to say it. My parents will never do that, and this is the reason why I love them so much." Kai smiled.


    After another seven minutes, all soldiers and students came back.


    "Sir. With your instructions, we have sessfully avoided death. Only some of us are injured, but it can be taken care ofter." Baran reported and saluted along with the rest of the soldiers.


    "It''s also due to your ability. Anyway, let us go back first." Kai nodded and snapped his finger, creating a huge magic circle under them. "Teleportation!"

 Chapter 198 - Finishing The Business

    "Teleportation." Kai activated the Teleportation Magic and sent everyone right in front of the base.


    "What?"


    "We are back just like this?"


    "This is the legendary Space Magic!!"


    The soldiers were obviously shocked, including Baran. They looked¡­ No, revered Kai at this point. Isabelle and the others were also speechless when they knew Kai could use Teleportation Magic even though it was supposed to be Tasha''s magic. However, Kai had no intention of revealing his secret to them because they were from a different group, unlike Evan.


    Evan also knew his responsibility in keeping the secret, so he just shut his mouth even in front of his fatherter. Meanwhile, Michelle and Tasha were stretching their hands and walked toward the base nonchntly.


    "Finally, we can rest right now!"


    "That''s right. The reward is nice, and the battle ends in a day. Happy!"


    The group looked at them and twitched their eyebrows. They were in shock here, but the two girls actually acted like that, making them somehow annoyed.


    Kai also noticed their expression andughed. "Haha¡­ A nice mission is something fast and safe. The injured people will go with Evan to the medical room while Baran will finish the paperwork so the others can rest."


    "Where are you going, Sir Kai?" Baran asked politely, nning to apany him.


    "I am going to meet General Brad and hand him the pictures. After that, I will rest for a day and go back with my friends." Kai answered with a smile.


    "I see." Baran sighed and smiled helplessly. Although he wanted Kai to stay longer, he was still a student before a Lieutenant, so he saluted. "Thank you for your hard work."


    The rest of the soldiers saw this, straightened their back, and saluted. It was because of Kai''s n and ability they could finish this mission without a casualty.


    "Haha¡­" Kai saluted first before waving his hand. "You all have worked hard as well. Take care."


    He started walking toward General Brad''s room and knocked on his door as soon as he arrived.


    *Knock Knock!*


    "Come in!" Brad said with a slightly soft tone.


    Kai then opened the door and walked inside the room before reporting to him. "General Brad, the mission isplete. This is the proof."


    He handed the pictures that Michelle took earlier and projected them on Brad''s table.


    Brad narrowed his eyes and looked at the three people before nodding his head. "You have finished your mission indeed. Just like our information, the group consists of two males and one female, just like in the picture. Looking at their body condition, they won''t possibly be alive. I will contact the Headquarters about this mission, but I need to ask you a couple of questions."


    "Please ask, General." Kai nodded without expression as he didn''t want to deal with this person any longer.


    "First, how is the condition of the soldiers? How many people die?"


    "Although there are some people sustaining injuries, no one dies. I also have Evan healing them right now."


    "Alright. To the second question, is there any problem with the mission? Do I need to deploy any soldiers to prevent any horde?"


    "There is nothing for General to worry about. We killed all the magical beasts in our path silently and made sure no beast was following us. It continued until we reached the town from the information. Around there might be a few magical beasts that might endanger us, so I chose to kill them as well.


    "Meanwhile, the soldiers had disposed of the body ording to instruction while I burned the three SS rank magical beast bodies and stored their ashes. I hope General can allow me to bring them back to the US Base and bury them properly," Kai said gently.


    Brad clenched his fist before sighing. "Fine. I will report it to the Headquarters as well. They might probably ask you to hand the ashes as they will handle the burial."


    Kai nodded.


    "Then, for the third question, is there any potential risk from this base from getting attacked after this mission? I am not questioning your ability, but I am worried about your experience."


    "Nothing you can worry about. I double-checked our situation there and came back here with a way that wouldn''t rm them." Kai paused for a second and said, "It was Teleportation Magic."


    Brad stared at his eyes for a minute to check whether he lied or not. "Then thest question, when are you going back?"


    "Tomorrow," Kai answered without hesitation.


    "Alright. You can go now." Brad nodded and waved his hand as if he was asking him to leave. "Don''t forget to give the proof to Baran. He will handle the report for you."


    Kai nodded and left the room without saying anything. "My job is over now. I remember that we are going to Miami two months from now to rx¡­ I think we can have a normal mission this time, no, I will ask Sir Nathan to give us a normal mission this time. I know he is nning to increase my ranks, but I still need some rest."


    He sighed and took out hismunication device, calling Nathan''s number.


    "Oh, it''s a rare call from my grandson-inw! Have you finished the mission?" Nathan only asked whether Kai hadpleted his task, not if there was any trouble in the mission because he trusted Kai this much, unlike Brad.


    "I havepleted the task and will return tomorrow. There is no problem or whatsoever, so Sir doesn''t need to worry."


    "Then, what do you want to ask me? The Kai that I know won''t have a pointless call to this grandfather after all."


    "Haha¡­" Kai let out a hollowugh before asking. "I just want to ask for a normal mission next month."


    "Oh! Sure." Nathan answered nonchntly. "There are a few high-ranking missions in front of me, but since the request ising from you, then I will just throw these papers away. I was thinking about getting you another high-risk mission, so you could enjoy yourself for a full month in May. But I guess I cane up with another reason to have you exempted from the mission in that month."


    Kai smiled as he could see paper sounds flying around Nathan. He literally just threw the papers away. "Thank you for your consideration, Sir Nathan."


    "It''s fine. Though it''s better if you say something like, "To repay your gratefulness, I decide to fulfill one of your wishes, Grandfather!" or something along the lines." Nathan teased him again. "I will surely ask you to give me a child! Marriage cane after that since it will be nothing but assured for me."


    "Ahaha¡­ We still need to congratte Sir Michael and madam in June or July as well. However, I will refrain myself from fulfilling that wish of yours before I graduate. Besides, I am still waiting for my Teacher to give me the medicine." Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "That''s right. I almost forgot that you were such a responsible kid. You didn''t want to hurt my granddaughter and prepared the best. Fine, I can still wait for another two years or so. Meanwhile, I will surely throw a huge party when little Daisy gives birth to my little grandson. You wille to the party, right?"


    "Of course." Kai smiled. "He will be my brother anyway, so I will surelye unless you give me a tough mission at that time."


    "Haha¡­ My motto is family first, government second. I am loyal, but I won''t harm my family because of that." Heughed. "Anyway, you can search for your mission yourself next month."


    "Thank you, Sir Nathan."


    "Come on, when are you going to call me Grandfather?!" Nathan protested jokingly as Kai hung up before calling another number.


    "Teacher, I want to inform you about something."


    "Oh. What happened? Did you mess up and wanted to train under me again? My door is always open for you." Ria teased him like Nathan.


    "No. I found¡­" Kai began telling her the whole story about Rizou and how his blood got suppressed when he released his magic power.


    Ria kept listening to him until he finished before noting everything down on the paper in front of her.


    "I have tested that possibility, but it''s not that determined. Though most of the experimental blood only has the magic power below five thousand. It might be worth testing someone with higher magic power like Michelle or You. Well, you were indeed having an easier time from all the reports I had seen from the government¡­ As for Michelle, I didn''t want to test her unless she asked me, so rest assured."


    "That''s all."


    "Wait! Before you hang up, I have something to say." Ria paused for a moment and said. "Be careful on your vacation because I feel something will happen at that time. I''m not saying you will have a big problem, but my sixth sense is telling me that the representative will go to Miami instead of the white house. That''s why you need to be careful when you are there."


    Kai fell into silence for a minute and sighed. "Alright. I will be careful."


    "That''s all. I will inform you when I have finished researching the device for your magic power. It should be done next month."


    "Thank you very much, Teacher."


    "If only you were more open to me earlier, you might already have the thirty percent one."


    "Haha¡­" Kai chuckled, embarrassed. He hung up the call and went back to his group.


    He kissed Tasha again to return her Space Element along with his magic power and rested for the rest of the day.


    The next day, they flew off the base while being saluted by the ny people that came along with them in the mission.

 Chapter 199 - News About Gemini

    One monthter, Inside room 420.


    Michelle walked to Kai, who was busy with his research, and put the coffee she just made in front of his table.


    Kai looked up and smiled. "Thank you."


    "You''re wee." Michelle smiled. "Why don''t you rest first?"


    In the past month, they didn''t have many things to do after finishing their mission. Kai was doing his research for this past month because the thing that Cain did inspire him.


    He thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure. Do you want to talk about something?"


    "Actually, Grandfather came to me this morning and handed me a document for you." Michelle took out a brown envelope and gave it to him.


    "What is this for? Why would Sir Nathan give it to you first?"


    "I don''t know. This is your matter, so I didn''t peek inside. Grandfather also didn''t tell me anything." Michelle shrugged.


    Kai looked at Michelle for a moment before ncing at the others. They seemed to have a slight interest in this document, so he decided to open it.


    Inside the brown envelope was a blue notebook. The cover was only a in blue without any drawing, so Kai opened the page immediately. The first he saw was a photo of a woman with white hair. This photo was full-body, letting Kai see her long white wavy hair, a brown dress that reached her knees, and her developed body.


    "Why does this person here?!" Michelle put her hand in her mouth and gasped.


    This action instantly piqued the interest of the others.


    "Do you know this person?" Kai asked.


    "Of course, I know. Do you remember that there were two other Zodiacs outside the school?"


    "I see. She must be the Gemini. And her name is¡­" Kai looked at her name in the photo. "Sofia Campbell."


    "You are correct. She is the Gemini from the other base, EU Base." She nodded and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would Grandfather give you this?"


    Kai hesitated for a moment, and when he was about to answer, his device rang. It was a call from Nathan.


    "Haha! I''m sure you have received my package! Before you say anything, look at the Television! She is in the news right now."


    ''It''sing.'' Kai twitched his eyebrows and sighed. He looked at Michelle and said, "If you want to know, turn on the television."


    Michelle was bewildered but still turned on the Television.


    "We are currently with Sofia Campbell. I''m sure that we are curious about the statement of the Council about you going to the US Base. May I know for what reason you want toe to the US Base?"


    The white hair girl smiled brightly. "You know that we have a partnership with US Base, right? I aming there as the Council''s representative to oversee this partnership. However, I can''t tell you anything about the details of this partnership."


    "I see. This is certainly surprising. I have been following you in the news and thinking that you have no interest in this partnership, but it seems I was wrong."


    "Haha! This partnership will benefit both of our Bases, so how can I not be interested?Though I admit that there is someone that piqued my interest in the US Base." She smirked.


    "Hoh! To think there is someone like that in the US Base? I wonder who this someone is¡­ Wait, I think I know who this person is¡­"


    "Haha¡­ I think almost everyone in the world actually knows this person. He even managed to make the Government bend their rule for him, so tell me, can I sit still after learning his existence not long ago?"


    "As expected, It''s Kai Carter. Does Miss Sofia want to meet this gentleman?"


    "Fufu¡­ I think there is no need to hide this. Actually, the US Base has given us the representative name not long ago. And yeah, their representative is him."


    "Does this mean that the US Base has taken the initiative for this? And what would you do if you meet this gentleman?"


    "I don''t know what I will do. Firstly, this is only a partnership, so I can''t really do anything. Though I want to see which one of us is stronger." She smiled at the camera.


    "This¡­ This is¡ª!" Before the presenter said another word, the television was turned off by Michelle. She clenched the remote as her expression turned dark. "Who does she think she is?!"


    Kai nced at her and sighed. "It has been decided long ago. Teacher had warned of this possibility even before I got the promotion."


    "Who is that person?" Tasha looked at Michelle''s annoyed expression and furrowed her eyebrows.


    Michelle was not in the mood to answer her, so Evan decided to tell them. "A zodiac! The second and only daughter of the Campbell Family, Sofia Campbell. She was originally an Ice Element user who gained the ability to mimic someone''s face and body. However, she lost most of her strength due to the bacsh of the blood. But that doesn''t matter because the EU Base has¡ª"


    "Exoskeleton!" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Evan nodded. "Initially, she could only shoot her enemies down with her Ice Element, but everything changed when she equipped the Exoskeleton. This outfit gave her strength while she could maintain her magic attack. She is one of the top talents in EU Base, just like how Kai and Isabelle had an impact on this base."


    "By the way, you are talking about talent, but who are the others in this base?" Kai asked, thinking he needed to know.


    "Well, I don''t know if you know them, but the new ranking is you, Michelle, Isabelle, and Louis Spencer. I think Tasha and Ayaka only need some recognition before they are ssified as one, especially Tasha."


    "You are not on the list?" Kai was surprised that Evan wasn''t on the list. Although his healing ability didn''t have any strength, it was still a ridiculous power.


    "He is on the list. However, his ability makes the others confused whether they need to put him in the same list or another list, so he is like a shadow member in the top talent list." Michelle had calmed down and answered Kai.


    "Oh!" Kai nodded.


    "Anyway, may I know the details about this representative thing?" Evan asked Kai carefully.


    "First of all, my teacher had predicted this would happen, so she warned me first. As for the Partnership¡­ I don''t think I can tell you guys for now, but she is lying." Kai answered without a change of expression.


    "Lying?" Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Yeah. The one that suggested the change of representative was their side. It muste from her personally. Teacher said it was impossible for the Campbell Family to let her go unless she herself wanted to go." Kai nodded before ming that Sofia. "In any case, I just want to point out that I don''t have anything to do with this."


    "Hmm¡­" Tasha crossed her arms. "She is dangerous, especially her mimicking ability. Isn''t it easy for her to transform into us?"


    "Don''t worry. She can''t copy a Zodiac, so Kai and Ayaka were safe. As for Evan, you have met her once, right?" Michelle nced at Evan.


    "We had met her once when they gathered all Zodiacs in this ce. It wasst year. To be honest, I couldn''t grasp her personality. Unlike Captain''s calm and reasonable personality or your collected and obsessed character, I can''t tell a single thing from her. It was like she acted with her instinct." Evan thought for a moment.


    "Indeed. She was always moving ording to her heart. However, her brain was also another thing because she would n something crazy if she determined to do something. This might be the reason why the Campbell Family decided to let her go." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "I just want to warn you to be wary about her. She is a monster that is equipped with strength and wisdom that act unpredictably due to her instinct." Evan looked at Kai with a solemn face.


    "I will be careful. I should be able to recognize if she is impersonating someone I know, but it will be different if it''s a stranger. However, I think I can remember her as long as I see the real her once." Kai nodded.


    "Well, that''s that. We need to have an emergency meeting." Michelle narrowed her eyes before ncing at Ayaka and Tasha. "Girls. This is a dangerous situation for us."


    Ayaka and Tasha quickly realized what she wanted to talk about and followed her to another table. Kai and Evan were speechless by their actions.


    On the other hand, the three girls had solemn looks. Michelle said, "This is going to be troublesome. We already have four of us if we include Sakura¡­ I mean, Yajima Haruko. If she also wants to have him, we will fight."


    "But there is no saying that she is attracted to him like that." Tasha shook her head. "Maybe it''s only his strength or prestige. Maybe it''s like what she said. She is only interested in Kai personally and wants to learn why US Base made an exception for Kai."


    "There is another w in that argument." Ayaka shook her head. "Many people surely want Kai to the point they want to bring him over to their side. I believe her objective is to satisfy her curiosity while bringing him over. If we are still here with Kai, she won''t be able to seduce him. However, what if she invites Kai to EU Base, and¡­"


    Ayaka didn''t finish, but everyone could understand what she meant. Michelle nodded and said, "Your transformation is really scary¡­ To think you have matured up to this point. I am d that I didn''t kill you back then."


    Ayaka twitched her eyebrows, remembering the night where Michelle infiltrated her house. "Ahaha¡­"


    "Anyway, we should watch out for her. So, here is the n¡­"


    The three girls continued with their discussion while the guys ignored them and continued their job.

 Chapter 200 - Going To Miami

    Luckily, the following month passed without any ident. After finishing a mission to kill a pack of magical beasts, the group was finally freed from their duty.


    Kai slowly opened his eyes as he satfortably in a passenger seat to Miami. He nced to his left and found Michelle sitting next to him, looking at the window. Tasha and Ayaka were sitting in front of him while reading some fashion magazines. Meanwhile, Evan and Isabelle were sitting behind him and looked very annoyed as they looked away from each other. All of this was arranged by a few people.


    He closed his eyes and recalled the scene from two days earlier.


    ¡­


    It was a peaceful day before Nathan suddenly stormed inside their room. He was quite hyped for this as he shouted happily as soon as he entered.


    "Yo, you little brats!" Nathanughed before taking out five documents to them. "All of these are the documents for your one-week trip to Miami. You can do anything you want there since you are going without a guide."


    Kai nced at the documents and nodded before focusing back on his research. Meanwhile, Michelle was the one handling all of this and said. "Grandfather, what are you going to do after this? You are not nning to stalk us in Miami, right?"


    "Of course not! I''m not going anywhere." He shrugged.


    "May I know the reason why everything seems to have been arranged?" Evan picked up a document and read it. "First of all, sitting positions."


    "That''s not my work. It''s your father and her father. Anyway, I only arranged for the holiday. If you have some objections, you can go to your father. Most of your arrangements came from him," said Nathan nonchntly.


    Evan twitched his eyebrows while clenching his hands.


    "I approve of their actions. I will also do the same to my granddaughter if she doesn''t get along with my grandson-inw. Haha¡­"


    "This is why I hate you, Grandfather!" Michelle snorted and looked away.


    "Oi! You can''t hate me because of this. Do you know that I had once locked your Father and Mother in a single room for a month? I forbade them from using magic and other things other than the tools in the room. If they didn''t want to get together after that, I would certainly let them choose their way.


    "However, do you know what the result was?" Nathan smirked slyly. "They moved in harmony, and the result was satisfying¡­ And not long after that, they married and had you. Hmph, you should praise this grandfather! Well, I used a trick in that room, though. By giving them furniture for a single person, they needed to share all of them together, from bed, spoon, tes, everything! I wanted to do it for both of you, but I didn''t because you two were already together back then. Hahaha."


    Hearing hisughter made Michelle more annoyed as she red at this shameless old man. "I will ept all the documents for now, so Grandfather should go back."


    "Fine." Nathan agreed as he hadpleted his objective. Before leaving, he looked at Kai with a serious expression. "Truthfully, I just want you to enjoy a nice vacation because I have been pushing you to the limit recently. Rest well in Miami ande back. I choose this date because I want you to take a breather before dealing with that little Gemini from EU Base."


    Kai looked at Nathan in astonishment before smiling. "Thank you for your concern, Sir Nathan."


    "Haha¡­ This old man is very considerate, right? How about giving me a souvenirter? I want a baby as a souvenir."


    "I need to refuse." Kai twitched his eyebrows as he took back all of his feelings from earlier. "We need to take into ount that we are still in High School. I know that many High Schoolers have kids already as they take a break when they are pregnant. However, I need the medicine and an observer to make sure that the animal gene doesn''t get activated in those nine months. And don''t treat your great-grandchild as an item."


    "You are too responsible. I was clearly joking just now, so you didn''t need to take it seriously." Nathan shrugged before noticing Evan''s expression turned grim.


    "Anyway, I have been telling you over and over again, so I am starting to get bored with talking about my n. Please don''t ask again." Kai sighed as he remembered that he had told about this a few times already.


    "Fine." Nathan sighed, turned around, and started walking. "Anyway, I will leave first."


    Kai looked at Nathan''s back for a moment as if he was pondering something.


    ¡­


    Back to the present, Kai couldn''t help but worry about his next job. Although he had some countermeasures ready, he still needed to watch out for this Sofia.


    Having nothing to do, he decided to close his eyes and sleep while waiting for the ne to arrive. After another half an hour, he went out of the ne and headed to the airport gate before finding a butler standing in front of the gate. He looked like a normal hotel staff with his uniform.


    "I have been waiting for you, Sir Kai Carter and friends. I am honored to serve the young hero of the US Base. I am Marcus, and I will be responsible for bringing you to the hotel." He bowed politely.


    Kai nodded with a smile. "We will be counting on you."


    "With pleasure." Marcus nodded before looking at their luggage. He quickly opened the car trunk along with the door for them. "Pleasee in first, I shall put your luggage in the car."


    Kai nced at Michelle and nodded. All of them went inside the limousine and rxed for a bit.


    "By the way, who is going to pair up with who for the rooms? As expected, it''s going to be by gender, huh¡­" Isabelle asked Kai, who seemed to know everything.


    Kai shook his head, took out a paper from his pocket, and gave it to Isabelle. On the other hand, Isabelle opened the paper before her confusion turned into rage. She destroyed the paper and gritted her teeth. "Those two old foxes!"


    Kai chuckled as he remembered that there was ast message telling if she didn''tply, they would make them live together after this.


    Suddenly, he felt something wrong as he furrowed his eyebrows without anyone noticing.


    In the front seat, the driver or the hotel staff was driving like normal. There was nothing extraordinary about his appearance, but he suddenly smiled evilly even though he couldn''t hear nor see what Kai and the others were doing.


    When they arrived, Kai came out of the carst before staring at the staff.


    "Pleasee in." He put the luggage in the golden trolley and said to Kai. "I will guide you to the receptionists, and they will take over."


    Kai nodded as he kept staring at the hotel staff.


    After finishing the process, they were guided ording to their room, and Kai got a four-person room, sharing it with Michelle, Ayaka, and Tasha. This was a usual VVIP family suite on the top floor, so it looked veryfortable. Outside the window was a nice view of the entire hotel and sea. Meanwhile, Evan and Isabelle also slept together while the other four were separated into two rooms by gender.


    Suddenly, Kai instructed them. "Can you check your luggage first and tell me if there is something wrong?"


    "What do you mean?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Just check them first." Kai refused to say the reason and immediately checked his luggage carefully.


    Seeing him doing it, they started checking their luggage but didn''t find anything.


    Kai looked at them shaking their heads and let out a sigh. "Maybe I''m a little paranoid about this."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I just heard that the hotel staff that drove us earlier had his heart skip a beat as if he was excited over something. From the first time we met, his heart was so calm like he wasn''t surprised meeting me, and that sudden skip made me rmed. It''s fine if it''s only my feeling."


    Michelle stared at his expression for a while before saying, "Alright then. Maybe you are tired, so let''s use this chance to reset your tired mind."


    "That''s right. We can enjoy ourselves for a week. Sadly, it''s soon night, so we can only enjoy the sea tomorrow." Ayaka added. Meanwhile, Tasha didn''t say anything and simply narrowed her eyes, unlike her usual personality.


    ¡­


    At the same time, in EU Base, specifically in Vienna Airport, where Campbell was situated. A beautiful youngdy wearing sunsses was carrying her luggage as she waited for the ne. She didn''te alone. There was anotherdy following her around.


    "Are you sure this is alright, mdy?" She asked while letting out a big sigh as she fixed her long brown hair.


    "It''s fine! There is nothing wrong with this and just rx."


    "Still, if the family knows about this, you¡­ No, I will get into trouble." She shook her head furiously.


    "It''s fine. I have left a message at home, so you don''t need to worry about it. Besides, the real representative dealing with the negotiation itself will onlye a few dayster. We can simply regroup with him."


    "Is that so? I will trust the youngdy then." She sighed.


    "Sure. I just got the information that this person is going toward Miami, so why don''t we have a nice stay first before dealing with that stiff negotiation? Besides, you are going to be the next Zodiac, so you should be prepared."


    "There are still a few others. Due to the danger level of this, potentially there is only one of us that will stay alive and be a Zodiac."


    "Then, I choose you! You have been with me for many years, so of course, you need to seed! I have even told you all my experiences, so you can prepare yourself." She shrugged.


    "I know!"


    "Then, let''s go. We can board now!"

 Chapter 201 - Enjoying Their Time

    The next day, Kai was sitting on his beach chair, wearing sunsses. Next to him, Evan was sitting while waiting for someone.


    They didn''t do anything after settling down in their room yesterday, as it was already past 7 pm. They had a simple dinner and prepared for today.


    Kai had no problem sleeping together with the girls, and it wasn''t like they were ''hungry'' or something, so he had a nice sleep. They still needed medicines before doing it anyway, and they had yet to ask more from Ria Ross.


    As soon as the sun was up, they arrived at the beach filled with people. This was the only beach open in this world as it was protected heavily by the army. Naturally, not many people could enter this beach, and the Government forbade anyone from buying properties around here. That was why they could only get VVIP suites, not a private vi.


    Kai didn''t care about it and sipped the cold drink beside him before asking Evan. "Say, how is your first night with Isabelle?"


    Evan lifted his sunsses and looked at Kai with a dumbfounded look. "Are you seriously asking me that question, Kai?"


    "Haha¡­ I''m just curious. I have been observing you from time to time, and the arrangement from your two families gives me the answer. It''s not like you hate her, right?" Kai nced at him.


    Evan sighed and looked at the beautiful sea. "You are right¡­ But it''s a bitplicated between us, and I don''t think I can''t tell this even to you. Just consider us, no, me as aplicated childhood friend."


    "I am just curious. Of course, I won''t ask more." Kai looked at the girl. "You don''t have any arrangements with her again? I mean, there are still a few attractions you can try. I don''t feel like hearing there are any suspicious people though."


    "Nah. They won''t push their luck. This is already at the limit, and if they are going for more, both of us will revolt."


    "Do you mean ''elope''?" Kai smirked, teasing him.


    "Please don''t twist my words." Evan rolled his eyes.


    "Anyway, you haven''t given me the answer to my first question. How does the first night go? It''s a twin bed, right?" Kai rolled to his right and looked at Evan.


    "I wanted to sleep on the couch, but they had taken away the sofa and everything. She said it''s alright to sleep in the bed. There wouldn''t be anything happening anyway. I think you will also do the same, right? Even though your temptation was far bigger with three girls sleeping beside you. Anyway, you must have heard everything, so why bother asking?" Evan teased back.


    "As expected, it''s all about our blood¡­" Kai sighed. "As for thest question, I just feel like it. I can hear indeed, but isn''t it more interesting to hear it from you personally?"


    "Yeah. Looking back at the failed zodiacs that we fought two months ago made me want to throw up. I couldn''t imagine what I would see if I actually became a father. I felt that my answer was correct this whole time." Evan sighed and ignored the weird interest of Kai.


    "The Government might not have the medicine, but my teacher can make one. Do you want me to rmend you to her?"


    "I would love to." Evan smiled before sighing. "But I don''t think I will ask for one."


    "Hmm¡­ Is it because of your past?" Kai asked. Michelle once told him that Evan and Isabelle were bullied in the past because of their power. Only after they suddenly disappeared for a month did they finally transform and be like this. As for the details, it was unknown, and Kai didn''t feel like digging too deep into his friend''s past.


    "It must be Michelle who told you." Evan nced at Kai before closing his eyes. "Well, I was bullied and got this power to shut those bullies. Our families were simr, so it wasn''t like we could make a big war against them. It was different when I became a Zodiac. Their parents immediately transferred them to another school far from mine.


    "I learned that two of them died in a mission two years ago¡­ However, I just couldn''t bring myself to feel sorry. I even thought ''served them right'' at that time. I was that cruel, Kai. That''s why if you think we are not in the same line anymore, feel free to remove me from the group."


    Kai noticed that Evan didn''t lie. "That was cruel? I would probably do the same since I am a pretty vengeful person. As long as you don''t do anything to my family and the girls, I won''t do anything to you."


    The corner of Evan''s mouth raised a little as he said, "Then happy cooperation until graduation, Captain. We will see if we are still together after graduation."


    Kai nodded with a smile before teasing Evan again. "You talk like a gay though."


    "Oi!"


    "Anyway, feel free to let me know if you want medicine. I will inform my teacher about it. You are my friend after all."


    Evan closed his eyes, not saying anything. But deep inside his heart, he was moved.


    Kai then rose and looked to the side, finding four girls.


    Michelle wore a simple ck bikini, showing her smooth skin. Ayaka was wearing a jacket right now while Tasha wore a one-piece short white dress coupled with a big round hat. Whether she was afraid that she might unconsciously summon her Lightning Magic or was afraid of water, Tasha never wanted to swim.


    Meanwhile, Isabelle already walked past them and handed Evan a bag filled with food. Contrary to Michelle, she wore a simple white bikini and somehow made her look more innocent.


    Kai smiled inwardly before he looked at the girls. "Say how many people hit on you girls?"


    "So, you want guys to hit on us?" Michelle twitched his eyebrows. "Before I get angry, I will just tell you. It''s around twenty. All of them were either running away after realizing my status or teleported by Tasha. If they wanted to continue, Isabelle was ready to castrate them with her rifles."


    "Hmph. Just be grateful I don''t teleport to the middle of the ocean." Tasha snorted.


    "That''s right. We can start another rain like those on the battlefield but with humans." Ayaka nodded in agreement beforeining. "Besides, can they even be more creative? They are trying to unt something their parents have and mostly money. I mean, I think no oneck money would actuallye here due to how high the price is¡­ Can''t they even think about it?"


    "Well, they must have hit on you three. There is no way that this violent gi¡ªPuah!" Evan joined their conversation, but he was kicked by Isabelle before he said anything.


    She then looked at Kai as if nothing happened and asked. "By the way, where are the others? We brought lunch from the hotel."


    "Enjoying the sea. Eva and Eve are ying with what is the name again¡­ While Tommy and Nichs were apanying them." Kai answered.


    "That''s good then. At least they can have fun since we have been nning to go to this ce for a long time. This ce is he expensive anyway, so we have been saving the money from missions for this. It''s lucky we can go without paying a single cent. Compared to that saving, having Evan on my side for a whole week is a cheap sacrifice." Isabelle shrugged.


    Kai didn''tment and turned his head to Michelle. "What is our schedule after this?"


    "Well, we have agreed to have sightseeing around the area for the next two days. After that, we will have free time for another two days, so everyone can go wherever they want. And buying some souvenirs on the next day before we are prepared to go back the next day. As for the details where we will go, let''s talk about itter when we return to the hotel," Michelle answered.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Anyway, let''s call those guys first and have lunch. We can y after that."


    "I will call them then." Evan finally came back while stroking his stomach, where Isabelle kicked him earlier. He then walked toward the sea.


    Not long after, they had a good lunch and went back ying. Kai decided to apany the girls to y in the water along with some attractions until they were satisfied. Isabelle decided to rx on the chair, of course, with Evan.


    Kai took a nce at them and smirked. They had a really amusing conversationst night, and he nned to tease him, but the talk became a bit serious, so he refrained from teasing him even further.


    They spent half a day on this beach, and it could be said they had done everything they could try on this beach. So, this was why Michelle chose to go sightseeing instead of ying at the beach again.


    After watching the sunset, the group regrouped and started packing their equipment. They were nning to have some dinner after changing their clothes in the hotel. ording to the hotel staff, they could even lend them some grilling equipment, which the group agreed. They were nning to have a barbecueter.


    When they were walking toward the hotel, they encountered two girls. The first one had long golden hair tied into a ponytail while the other had long braided brown hair.


    The golden-haired girl somehow bumped Kai''s shoulder before she turned to him and apologized. "I''m sorry." She then turned around and began to walk.


    Michelle and the others thought nothing of it, but Kai suddenly halted his step and grabbed the golden-haired girl''s hand. He pulled her a bit and asked.


    "Miss, mind giving my wallet back?"

 Chapter 202 - All Parties Have Assembled

    "Miss, mind giving my wallet back?" No one would notice this and thought they somehow bumped onto them. However, it was different in Kai''s eyes and ears.


    "What do you mean, Mister? I don''t know what you are talking about." The golden-haired girl made a weird expression. "How do I give your wallet back when I don''t possess it?"


    Kai stared at her and looked at her butt, albeit what he truly looked at was her jeans'' ck pocket where she put his wallet.


    "Mister. Why are you staring at my butt? I am going to scream since you are harassing me!" She red at him.


    "You can do it, but we will see who will have thestugh," Kai smirked evilly, threatening the girl.


    The brown-haired girl tugged her shoulder. "It''s really a bad idea. I have told you not to do it."


    Kai nced at her before narrowing his eyes. "So? A thief?"


    Michelle and the others were surprised that they actually didn''t sense it at all.


    "I don''t know anything, Mister." The golden-haired girl smiled weirdly.


    "Just give me back my wallet, I don''t want to deal with this any longer." Kai sighed.


    "I am sorry, but that is not possible." She shook her head furiously before she started crying. "My grandmother needs money for her treatment, so I really need this money. This is the only thing I can do other than selling my body."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and pulled the girl to the point their face and lips were almost touched. However, there was nothing but terror in this situation as he released his aura. "You want to lie in front of me? Try again in a hundred years."


    The girl''s body was shaking before she slowly grabbed Kai''s wallet and handed it to him. She then grabbed her friend and ran away.


    Kai looked at their backs and tried to focus his hearing on these two. Little did he know that these two already knew about him, so he couldn''t get anything from them.


    The brown-haired girl typed something and gave it to the golden-haired girl. ''I have said it''s a bad idea to try tricking him with this kind of trick.''


    She replied, ''I only want to test his hearing. I have been training my zodiac''s power and learning how to do all stealthy things, but he could hear it just like that. Now that I have understood his hearing, I can see which n I can use next.''


    ''This is really a bad idea. What if he learns about our real identities? Won''t this idea be useless?''


    ''Nope. I just need to y the card right to make him y the rescue of a damsel in distress.'' She smirked.


    ''If you meet him like that, then it is going to be troublesome.''


    ''Don''t worry. I won''t use this face anymore. I can mask my presencepletely as long as I be someone else, including mimicking their voice.''


    ''Are you sure?''


    ''Of course. Besides, we are going to stay in this ce for at least a month. I can just say I am curious about their school, so attend it for a few weeks. I can y my card there, I guess.'' She shrugged.


    ''Uh¡­ I probably can''t help you at that time because I will¡­''


    ''You should fight your battle. Only you can help yourself in that battle, so Good Luck. I will be waiting for you.''


    ''Yes.''


    ''Then we will go to the beach again tomorrow.''


    ''Understood.''


    After conversing with texts, they nodded and walked back to their hotel.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Kai and the others had changed their clothes and enjoyed their dinner in the private garden.


    "Still¡­ To think there was a thief that dared to steal from you, she had picked the wrong opponent." Michelleughed.


    Kai looked at her and nodded. He didn''t utter a single word as if he had something in his mind.


    "That''s right. Luckily, she is not going to jail because we are on vacation. Though I can understand why there is a thief around this area. After all, this ce is filled with rich people." Isabelle nodded.


    "True enough. If I am a thief with high skill, I will surely go around this area." Evan nodded in agreement.


    Tasha, who usuallymented, stayed quiet and observed how the situation unfolded.


    Kai paused for a moment and sighed. "Don''t you think that she was too high-skilled? I mean, she managed to steal my wallet without anyone noticing and you guys are proud of yourselves as being powerful students in the academy? If she stole something important from you guys, what would you do?"


    They were stunned and wanted to be angry. However, what Kai said was true. Even Michelle and Isabelle looked down. Tasha finally broke her silence and asked. "Your words¡­ Don''t seem to be light. Why do you think about her skill?"


    "I have nothing other than a bad feeling about our trip here. I feel like there is something going on, but I have no proof." Kai sighed. "There was this hotel staff while this girl suddenly appeared in this ce. Although I could see she could steal in this rich area, I can''t just see the reason for such a high-skilled person to choose us.


    "It is harder to steal from many people, or you can say the risk is not worth the effort, especially if she only wants a single person''s wallet. It''s better to steal one from a single person or two. And can''t you see how big the road was and how she purposely came to our way? Everything looked staged but not for stealing." Kai''s expression turned grim.


    Michelle and the others became serious as they recalled everything from the beginning.


    "Anyway, this is a vacation. Our priority is to enjoy ourselves. As long as we keep vignt, the other parties wouldn''t try anything funny against the ten of us, unless they have an army." Kai pped his hand, trying to soothe the situation again.


    "That''s right. Because you all are busy with a talk like this that you forget we are grilling the meats. Anyway, I have put them on the tes there, so have a good meal." Michelle nodded and pointed her finger toward the tes on the table before she continued cooking the meats and vegetables.


    Kai took one of the tes and started eating, so the others could start as well.


    The others started eating, and the situation finally became cheerful again. Kai was feeding Michelle, who was busy cooking, while Tasha said she would do it. Michelle then unted on how she had been trained by a famous chef, and Tasha could do nothing because it was indeed far more delicious than her.


    Ayaka was giggling on the sideline as she watched how these three acted. The twins were feeding each other while Tommy and Nichs had a drink a bit farther from them.


    Meanwhile, Isabelle was stealing Evan''s meat the whole time, leaving the person with nothing but vegetables.


    It was an enjoyable feast, and the group finally decided to go back to their rooms after having some fun.


    ¡­


    When they arrived at their rooms, Kai was taking a bath while Ayaka was buying a drink. Meanwhile, Michelle walked to the balcony outside their room.She found Tasha, who was looking at hermunication device intensely. "Tasha, what are you doing?"


    Tasha turned around and smiled. "Nothing. I am just taking a breather from earlier."


    "True enough. Although we don''t know if it''s only Kai''s feelings or it''s actually real, we should stay sharp." Michelle sighed and reflected her action. "I just want a normal vacation where I don''t need to think about thisplicated thing, but it seems I have made trouble for Kai."


    "Haha. It''s fine to rx like that. I also want it!" Tasha chuckled. "Still, I feel like this trip is going to be horrendous."


    "True enough. The only thing I want to know is¡­ Who is their target?"


    "The first name that came to our mind would obviously be Kai. You must know it, right?"


    "Yeah. But we shouldn''t focus on only him and see the bigger picture. There is also a chance of Evan being the target too. Remember when we were searching for the terrorist back then?"


    "Of course." Tasha nodded. "Anyway, we shall enjoy ourselves while still sharp to our surroundings. We don''t want them to take advantage of our situation after all. You hear me too, right, Kai? We are here to enjoy ourselves, so think about it as a secondary. Don''t forget four of us will have a date starting from tomorrow."


    Michelle smiled and closed her eyes as she took a seat and rxed. At the same time, Kai also smiled while showering.


    ¡­


    Inside a small house in Phdelphia,


    A man wearing a whiteboratory coatughed. "Haha¡­ This week is going to be a happy one. I have made the necessary preparation to finally surpass her."


    "Don''t be happy too early. You still have many jobs to do. And don''t you dare to underestimate them." A person behind him said. This person could appear like anything but human. He had a weird body built while holding his golden trident.


    "If I manage to kill Kai Carter, I can get a bottle of your blood, right? Or if I can kill his friends or girls, I can get another bottle, right?" This green-haired guy looked back and smiled evilly.


    "We never break our promise. As long as you can do it, the blood is yours."


    "Great. Great!" He hugged himself as if he was horny before he looked at the ceiling like he was in ecstasy. "If I have that much blood, my research will surpass her. Haha! Just you wait! In five years, all of my achievements will rece yours, Ria Ross!"

 Chapter 203 - Meets Sofia Campbell

    Kai was already aware that there were many parties that came to Miami at this particr time, but he didn''t want the girls to be disappointed and returned without having fun. Hence, he asked Michelle and the others to choose the ces they wanted to visit and followed the schedule. He simply wanted to trap the other parties to make a move first and destroy them.


    The next day, they went inside the car with another hotel staff that was supposed to be their driver for today. Kai was curious about where the previous hotel staff was. After all, he was very suspicious, at least, for Kai.


    Kai let out a sigh of relief when he realized there was nothing wrong with the new staff this time, so he kept his calm and yed with the others.


    The chattering filled the car for an hour before they arrived at their first destination. Like how students would behave, they were enjoying everything and walked around the street while admiring the different types of beauty from their homes.


    Picture after picture was taken, and it was a great time for them. They went from one ce to another ce and took some pictures and enjoyed the food. The Eagle Group also had fun on this trip, which was excellent, and somehow Evan was closer to the Eagle Group on this whole trip¡­ Not that he cared though. After all, his hand was full of the girls, while Young Family and Fisher Family wanted them to be a couple.


    Kai ignored them and enjoyed his date with the girls.


    Little did they know that there were two people who got frustrated after miscalcting their n.


    "Kh! To think he changed his n as soon as he met us." Sofia had undone her mimicking ability and let loose her white hair while mming the table.


    "I don''t think they are changing their n. I mean, this city is highly known because of their beach, but ying on the beach for days will make them bored. That''s why they might want to see around the area first beforeing back to the beach."


    Sofia pouted.


    "Although Young Lady has learned about mimicking ability and has a high skill on espionage, reconnaissance is still your weakness. That''s why I will try to search for him after this and specte their next course. Of course, I will be careful not to have him spot me¡­ I might probably only use the cameras around the city."


    "That''s good. As expected of my Julia." Sofia nodded with a smile.


    "Haha¡­ By the way, he must be suspicious of your identity, Young Lady." Julia said as she worried about her.


    "Don''t worry. I purposely did that because I wanted him to notice me. You could say that I intentionally throw the bait while risking my fishing rod to get dragged into the sea by the big fish." She smirked.


    "Since you have calcted and thought about your action, then I will stop worrying about it." Julia sighed.


    Sofia gave a thumb up. "Anyway, your Father is the representative this time, so do you want to meet himter? I think he will reach this base in four days, right?"


    "Yeah¡­ But I don''t n to meet him." Julia shook her head. "Unlike Young Lady, my family doesn''t need me, and I had been living a miserable life before Young Lady asked me to be your attendant. That''s why if I can really be a Zodiac, I will still be a part of the Campbell Family, not Pearson Family."


    Julia recalled where her family abandoned her and sighed.


    Sofia scratched her head, thinking she just asked an unnecessary question. "I am d to have you as my attendant, and I really mean it. You might not have a powerful strength right now, but that''s why we are going for the Zodiac. If I am not wrong, the blood ising from a scorpion and the ability you will get most likely to be a Sand Maniption.


    "I hope you can level up your Earth Element Magic and increase your Magic Power. At the very least, you should reach B rank or A rank."


    Julia smiled genuinely in front of Sofia. After her mother died, her father looked as if he hated her. It was simply because she reminded him of her mother that he loved so much. Her death was very painful to him to the point he wanted to forget her. That was why she never met her father after that and ran away from home. Along with her measly E rank, no one cared about her as all her brothers and sisters were C rank magician at the lowest.


    And only after bing Sofia''s attendant that she finally restored her life. Julia felt she could endure everything, including all the pains of training and the pain she would feelter for Sofia. Sofia herself didn''t really have an attack power other than her magic or using her Exoskeleton, that was why she became her role model. She wanted to be like Sofia and assisted her whenever she needed her.


    "Yes. I will do my best, Young Lady." Julia smiled.


    "Come on, I told you to call me Sofia in this base to make sure no one suspicious of our identities." Sofia crossed her arms.


    "Sorry, Sofia." Julia smiled before looking at her screen. "I will start searching for them by hacking the city defense."


    "Sure." Sophia nodded with a big smile.


    If only Evan knew about this, he might be able to repel her or track her down. Unfortunately, there was no big expert like him in this city as most of them were working under the Central Government.


    That was why Julia could get free rein in this ce.


    ¡­


    Two dayster, they finally had finished their tour around the city and decided to go to one of the famous markets. They found this ce yesterday and decided to buy their souvenirs here.


    Kai was smiling all the time while shopping around the marketce. Of course, the money came from their own pocket. With so many big missions theypleted, they had no money problem right now.


    Suddenly, Kai met a girl in front of the street, staring at him mysteriously. He didn''t chase her away and ignored her, but the moment he learned her heartbeat and other things, he realized that the girl had the same sound as the thief he met in front of the hotel.


    Unlike the previous golden-haired girl, the girl had long blue hair running through her back. Kai only took a few seconds to realize and quickly tracked her down with his ears.


    "Sorry girls, I need to go to the toilet for a bit." Kai waved his hand and disappeared.


    The girls couldn''t react at all before they looked at each other and decided to continue shopping since Kai would call them if he needed help.


    Meanwhile, Kai was following the blue-haired girl until she invited him into a dark alley.


    He walked slowly toward her as his footsteps echoed inside this narrow alley. "So, what is the purpose of you following me?"


    "What are you talking about?" The girl turned around and smiled innocently. "You are the one following me. Are you nning to rape me in this dark alley?"


    Kai looked at her eyes for a few seconds and let out a long sigh. "Put down your pretense. I know that you are the same person as the golden-haired thief that I met a few days ago. Do you think I won''t notice? No, I should say you shouldn''t underestimate me."


    The girl sweatdropped as she finally realized how terrifying Kai''s hearing was.


    Hearing her heart skipped a beat, Kai continued, "Still, the ability to mimic someone''s face¡­ That is really convenient, even more so when your voice is also changed. Unfortunately, I can still find some simrities with your voice a few days ago. So, just drop your pretense, Sofia Campbell, no, Gemini."


    She smiled and pped her hands. "Truly remarkable, Kai Carter. To think that you are still beyond the report that I read, really impressive."


    She wanted to y innocent for a while, but she realized it would just make him mad because there was no point. She decided to reveal her identity and undid her ability.


    Her hair turned to white as her silver eyes looked at Kai intensely. Coupled with her fresh short-sleeved white shirt and ck mini skirt, she looked as pretty as Michelle and the others.


    "Nice to meet you, the first-ever Zodiac, Leo, Kai Carter." She bowed her head and lifted her skirt a little bit as a noble courtesy.


    "I believe the schedule is asking you toe in two days from now?" Kai squinted his eyes.


    "There is nothing wrong with meing here ahead of schedule, right? The money also came from my own pocket." Sofia smiled and narrowed her eyes.


    "So, you wasted that much money to stalk me? Your life is indeed a luxury."


    "Hoho¡­ I won''t take it that way, but it''s certainly a luxury. You can enjoy this type of luxury too, you know." Sofia indirectly admitted her intention by not answering his question.


    "I don''t need that kind of luxury." Kai shook his head. He didn''t reject the luxury, but the restrictions of that luxury. He didn''t want to trade his freedom with that, especially if he needed to leave Michelle and the others behind.


    "It seems Mr. Kai Carter has a problem with this?"


    "That is not something I should share with an outsider." Kai waved his hand calmly.


    "Indeed. I am only an outsider right now. But¡­" She suddenly appeared right in front of Kai and threw her fist right on his abdomen.


    Kai looked at her coldly and¡­


    *Bam!*

 Chapter 204 - Sofia Campbell

    *Bam!*


    Sofiaunched a surprise attack, trying to test Kai''s strength. She shook her head after feeling that her attack hit him. "It seems you are still so-so¡­"


    "So-so?" Kai''s cold voice resounded in her ears.


    "!!!" She immediately looked up and realized that Kai actually stopped her full power with his right palm.


    Kai looked down on her left hand along with her feet and noticed a few thin metals. All of the white metals were connected to a small circle right on her chest.


    ''So, this is the rumored Exoskeleton¡­ I heard that she doesn''t have strength, but that punch alone makes my hand numb¡­'' Kai thought for a moment and took a deep breath.


    "To think your reaction speed is this good as we¡ªpuah!" She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen before she flew away. In the air, she realized Kai just kicked her.


    *Bam!*


    She only stopped because there was a wall behind her¡­ Luckily, she managed to react earlier and summoned the Exoskeleton around her abdomen, preventing all the attacks from going through her body.


    Kai suddenly appeared in front of her and pointed his sword at her.


    "So, why are you following me?"


    "First of all, do you not have a courtesy? To think you raise your hand on a delicate woman like me¡­" Sofia said softly while trying to regain her breathing.


    "Hmm? Said someone who punched me earlier¡­ That force alone would blow me away further than you." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "It was only a test. You could react to that punch, right?" She made a weird smile.


    "Then, my kick was also a test¡­ Unfortunately, it seems Gemini is so-so." Kai shook his head in disappointment.


    "¡­" Sofia became speechless. All her words backfired at this moment. She gritted her teeth and said, "Still, shouldn''t you treat a woman delicately? Are you really a man?"


    "I am a man that knows what to do in a certain situation. I won''t hesitate to kill a woman or a child if necessary, let alone you." Kai snorted.


    Sofia''s face was distorted. She quickly snarled. "I am still a representative from EU Base, you know."


    "I am also US Base''s representative. Besides, I only know that the EU Base''s representative will onlye in two days, ording to the contract." Kai shrugged.


    "You¡ª!" Sofia was utterly destroyed in this exchange.


    "So, why are you following me?" Kai asked with a cold tone.


    "I don''t want to answer." Sofia looked away and crossed her arms. "You have kicked me¡­ Who knows what injury I need to bear if my reaction speed is not fast enough."


    "And do you think I will let you escape?"


    "I can just scream, telling those people outside that a man wants to rape me. Although polygamy is legal, it doesn''t mean rape is not a crime. Besides, it will surely be big news if you are the man who is trying to rape me." Sofia grinned slyly, thinking she had won.


    "Are you sure you want to do that?" Kai smirked as he stroked something in his pocket.


    "!!!" Sofia realized she had been had after she saw a camera on top of his pocket. "You are a devil."


    Kai didn''t have a change of expression and said, "I am a simple high school student¡­ Who is a bit more careful than others."


    Sofia gulped down and thought about snatching it, but remembering his reaction speed, he would probably dodge her. In the end, she decided to surrender. "Fine! I lose. You can ask me three questions¡­ After that, I won''t answer you no matter the consequence."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows, wondering whether she told the truth or not. However, he still proceeded with his question. "First question. Why are you following me?"


    "I am interested in you as soon as I see you on the news. I felt that you are different from other people, and I am right¡­ You are really different because you are a bad guy, a devil¡­ I like it though¡­" She looked away.


    "Second question. Why are youing to this ce earlier than the contract? I am sure that there are many discussions about me even in the EU Base, right?" Kai narrowed his eyes and made a peace sign with his left hand.


    "It''s true that there are many talks about inviting you to the EU Base. But I aming here not rted to that. I am simply curious about you and want to test you personally."


    "Thenst question. Are there any people with you?" Kai raised three fingers.


    "Yes, one."


    "Is it a man?"


    "It''s already the fourth question¡­ But I think I can answer it for free. No, I aming here with a female. Or are you jealous if Ie here with a man?" She smiled seductively and circled her hands on his neck.


    "Nope." Kai shrugged before looking at her hands as he remembered the woman that walked beside her a few days ago and realized it was her. "Last question¡­"


    "Oi¡­ I have said that I won''t answer any more questions. You sure are greedy." She pouted.


    "Nah¡­ It''s just a simple question. I am sure you can¡­ No, you will answer it." Kai said with confidence.


    "Ho? Ask me then." She smirked.


    "If I say ''Begone thot'', what will you do?" Kai said with a serious expression as if he meant it.


    "¡­" Sofia blinked a few times as she thought she heard the wrong question. However, Kai''s serious expression told her that she heard him right. She gritted her teeth before calming her heart down and smiling seductively. "I will then use my power to change the ''go'' into ''mi'' and have you said Be mine thot¡­ I don''t mind if you call me that way, even if it pains me. After all, there is no pain greater than the process of bing a Zodiac."


    This time, it was Kai''s turn to be speechless. He would never expect that this woman was so shameless. He thought for a moment, grabbed her hands, and released it from his neck. "You can go then."


    "You are really a better man than I have expected." She chuckled before she left by leaping to the top of the building. "Let us meet again, Leo. No, Kai Carter."


    Without wasting a single second, she already arrived at the roof.


    "Fufu, even if he let me go, he is still holding hismunication device. It will be bad if he has it because he can use it against me. That''s why I snatch it¡­" She grinned as she tried to grab the thing in her pocket, only to find it was empty.


    Sofia abruptly stopped as she checked all over her body and realized that she didn''t have themunication device. "He¡­ Bastard!"


    On the other hand, Kai sighed and looked at hismunication device in his hand. "Idiot. I can still hear you too, or are you trying to make me mad? Anyway, now I know that there seem to be two parties thate to this ce. Although I have yet to confirm if the hotel staff is really a spy or something, I need to be wary against them."


    He put themunication back into his pocket, came out of the dark alley and went back to the girls.


    "Have you finished your date?" Michelle asked casually.


    Kai widened his eyes in surprise. "Did you see it?"


    "No. I just saw that you were pursuing a woman earlier." She shrugged.


    "¡­" Kai sighed and told the truth.


    Michelle and the others furrowed their eyebrows when they heard this matter.


    "Tasha. We have been neutral in the past few months. Do you think it is possible to create an alliance for this?" She nced at Tasha with a cold tone.


    "No need to say it. Even if I am at war with you, we can." Tasha nodded a few times.


    "Then, I think our next action has been decided."


    "Yeah. She could even call herself a thot??? This might be a powerful opponent." Tasha narrowed her eyes.


    "I think it''s fine to give her a chance. My case is the same after all." Ayaka sighed. "I was immature back then and could only be his burden."


    Michelle and Tasha dragged her away, leaving Kai alone.


    "First of all, she said that she would change the ''go'' to ''mi''. It means she is going to haunt Kai like crazy like she said she would change begone thot to be mine thot. Isn''t she a pervert?" Michelle gritted her teeth.


    "That''s right. If we let her do whatever she wants, there is a possibility of Kai going to the EU Base. Even if he is not, are you sure you can do it with a pervert? I am asking you about the future."


    "Like I said, I was also such a case. If not because of his kindness, I wouldn''t be here by his side." Ayaka sighed.


    "You are different. At the very least, you were useless, not a pervert." Michelle rebuked her.


    "Ugh. Now that you say it, it really hurts." Ayaka looked away.


    "I said with the past tense since you are not right now."


    "Then, isn''t it also possible for her too?" Ayaka tilted her head in confusion. "I could change my characters means she also can."


    Michelle and Tasha started losing in arguments before Michelle thought of another thing. "There are already four women in his heart, if we add another more, it will be harder to have time with him."


    "That¡­" Ayaka looked down, finally getting baited. "I still think I will let Kai decide. As long as her personality can change, I think I will be fine."


    Michelle and Tasha looked at each other, wondering how they should persuade Ayaka. After thinking for a while, they couldn''te up with a single idea and decided to retreat. "We will talk about it again in the future."

 Chapter 205 - Emergency Situation

    Their peaceful day didn''tst long. After dealing with Sofia Campbell, another problem arose. However, the scale was far different. If the first time it were only Kai''s problem, this time, the problem would involve the entire city.


    *Thuuuud~!*


    The siren resounded across the city as they announced.


    "Emergency! Emergency!"


    "All citizens around the beach shalle out and take refuge in the city center."


    "All soldiers and magicians in duty or not. Please report your status to the military base."


    "There is an iing horde of magical beasts."


    It took a while before the panic started to happen. Kai gritted his teeth and quickly located Evan and the others.


    "This way." Kai led the girls, passing countless people before they reached Evan''s group that had yet to move from their spot. They chose a store to wait for Kai.


    "I am sorry, Kai. It''s better to stay in this shop when the city is like this." Evan apologized.


    "It''s fine. It is easier toe to you like this." Kai waved his hand as his expression turned serious. "Why would it happen at this time?"


    "I don''t know, but we probably should go to the military base." Michelle tapped Kai''s shoulder.


    Kai nced at her, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Alright. It''s better to check the military base to get more information."


    "Hey, who wants to bet Kai would participate in this battle as an officer?" Michelle grinned, trying to brighten the atmosphere.


    "What to bet?" Evan asked.


    "The one who loses will need to crossdress for an entire day tomorrow," Michelle stated.


    "I am choosing that Kai would surely participate as an officer." Evan bet without hesitation.


    "Tch. I also bet Kai would be an officer this time." Michelle gritted her teeth.


    "I also¡­"


    "I¡ª"


    Surprisingly, everyone turned out to bet the same option because it was clear as a day. Kai twitched his eyebrows as hemented, "Why would all of you believe I will get the position?"


    "Come on, Kai. Are you pretending you don''t know?"


    "That''s right."


    "Though since the bet has be this way, we can only cancel the bet."


    "Yeah. The people will start decreasing in two minutes, so we will rush to the base after that."


    Kai let out a sigh before looking at Tasha, who was fiddling with her device. "If you want to go to the base, we can simply ask Tasha to teleport us."


    They had the same thought from the start and only joked to brighten the mood. After all, who wasn''t annoyed when something like this happened in the middle of their vacation.


    "Let''s go." Tasha put down her device and snapped her finger, creating a magic circle underneath them. They then disappeared from the crowd.


    Meanwhile, Sofia also got this information and furrowed her eyebrows.


    "What is this?" Sofia looked outside the window of her hotel and sighed. "Let''s go to the Military Base."


    Julia thought for a moment. "Are you sure? Wouldn''t they know we are here ahead of time?"


    "It''s fine. Besides, we can use this opportunity to make them owe us. They won''t be able to attack us or anything if we participate." Sofia nodded. "Besides, can''t you feel the great zeing from the sea? Their number must be a few thousand, and the local military might not be able to handle this. That''s why they are asking others to participate."


    Julia sighed. "I understand. Young Lady''s instinct has told me it will be dangerous, so I will surely apany Young Lady."


    "Haha¡­ Thank you." Sofia chuckled before she went toward the door and left with Julia.


    On the other hand, the situation in the Military Base was also not that great. The soldiers were busy running around as they needed to handle many things.


    Inside the meeting room, ten people were holding a meeting while the general of this battle seemed to be a Brigadier General with a single silver star on his shoulder.


    "Damn. Our scout says there are around five thousand magical beastsing in one hour. This will be a big battle, especially since we only have five hundred soldiers that can be deployed. Even with the soldiers and magicians hidden among the citizens, it is far from reaching one thousand." The general mmed the table in frustration.


    "General, how about asking for reinforcement?" One of his aides asked.


    "I have already sent a distress signal, but they might onlye five hours after the battle starts. We can only hold on for the time being, especially with many VIPs in this city." The general sighed. He scratched his head as his ck hair swayed left and right.


    They could see the frustration in his action. Against the overwhelming odds, they were sure whether they could handle this storm.


    Suddenly, one of them smiled and rose from his seat. "General. I want to tell you something."


    "What is it?"


    "It seems the genius is here."


    "Genius? Who are you talking¡ª!" The general suddenly realized and rose from his seat in excitement. "Do you mean Kai Carter?"


    "As much as I hate to say it, his ability is extraordinary. If we give him the order to fight, I am sure we will emerge victorious."


    The general closed his eyes, contemting the matter before he let out a long sigh. "I will ask the headquarters for this."


    Without wasting a single second, he grabbed the phone and asked about the matter. The headquarters also confirmed that Kai Carter was on his vacation. After getting the exnation about the enemy force and other things, they finally gave the ''go'' to have Kai Carter be the actingmander. They said they would talk with Ria Rosster because of the emergency.


    The general took a deep breath and nodded. "He is in this ce, and the headquarter seems to want him leading this battle. That''s why all of you are going to follow hismand after him."


    "Understood." They shouted in unison.


    "Although it really feels sour to have a student rece me, I can say that this guy''s achievement is extraordinary¡­ To the point I can forget about that sourness." The general sighed. "For now, we are going to find any information we can andpile it to see the potential of destroying the magical beasts. After that, inform the soldiers that if they find Kai Carter, they shall ask him toe and meet me immediately."


    "Yes, Sir."


    "Dismissed!"


    A few people left the room, including the one that suggested Kai Carter to him. No one noticed an evil grin on his face as if he had seeded in something.


    At the same time, Kai and the others appeared in front of the base. They entered the base before Kai halted his footstep and turned around.


    There was thin ice spreading all over the air like it was a slide. Kai and the others could see two people literally sliding on the ice as if they were ying ice skating. Kai''s expression turned dark as soon as he realized who they were.


    "Sofia Campbell¡­" Kai clicked his tongue, wondering whether this person came here to make trouble or help them.


    As for the others, they were utterly shocked to hear that name from his mouth and abruptly turned around.


    Sofia had arrived and jumped high as if she was flying in the sky beforending right in front of Kai. She didn''t forget that big smile of her as she greeted him. "We meet again, Kai Carter."


    "¡­" Kai ignored her and looked at his teammate. "We are going to meet the soldiers here. Nheless, I am still a captain, so I am going to report myself to the general of this base."


    "Don''t ignore me." She pouted. "Even though I am here to help, you ignored me¡­ So cruel. Even back home, I have led an army as well, so I believe I can help you."


    "What do you want? I am sure you are not doing this for free, right?"


    "Hehe¡­ I just want you to delete the record." Sofia scratched her head, embarrassed.


    "What is she talking about? A video about her scandal, and it''s with you?" Michelle cut in and nced at Kai.


    Kai shrugged. "She is literally trespassing, so won''t it be bad if she is getting caught red-handed?"


    "Ah. So, are you going to use the video to ckmail her?" Michelle asked.


    "ckmail?" Sofia took a step backward before she looked at Kai with disgust. "So, you are a person like that."


    "You are free to believe whatever you want." Kai didn''t care about her im.


    "I am just joking. Though I am serious about my condition." Sofia nodded with confidence. "How is it?"


    Kai nced at Michelle and the others.


    "I don''t think it''s bad. Considering she is one of the most talented geniuses in EU Base¡­ Having her would be good for our current situation." Michelle finished her joke and turned serious. "Evan told me earlier that the base didn''t have too many soldiers. Depending on the situation, we might need more additional soldiers, along with the strong ones like her."


    Kai thought for a moment. "Fine. For now, you two will be working together with my group. If you can''t do that, you can treat this conversation as it never happened."


    Sofia had no reason to reject. Not only could she observe Kai''s military talent, but she could also see his strength in the front line. This opportunity was a godsend for her because she might be able to finish her mission sooner than she expected. After that, she could see whether it was beneficial to invite Kai with any means necessary.


    "I understand. I am an Ice Magician and a great fighter. Meanwhile, my friend is good with a spear and Earth Magic." Sofia nodded and introduced their abilities.


    Kai nodded before he realized someone was running toward them.


    "Are you Captain Kai Carter? Our general wants to meet you to discuss this battle," the soldier informed him.

 Chapter 206 - The Battle Begins

    "Are you Captain Kai Carter? Our general wants to meet you to discuss this battle," the soldier informed him.


    Kai nced at Michelle and the others before nodding his head. "Lead the way."


    "Yes, Sir." The soldier immediately led him to the general room.


    "Captain Kai Carter." The general looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "I have talked to the headquarter and agreed to have you lead the battle. Are you up to it?"


    Kai closed his eyes and sighed. It really came. Well, he couldn''t enjoy his vacation if he didn''t solve this soon, so he nodded with a solemn expression. "Yes, Sir."


    "Good. I will brief you on our current situation. There will be around five thousand magical beastsing from the sea¡­ And they will step on thend precisely on our only beach in thirty minutes."


    "What is the number of soldiers?"


    "We have five hundred that can be deployed immediately, and they have made their way toward the beach while there are an additional two hundred to three hundred soldiers and magiciansing from volunteers."


    "The number is a bit too low." Kai stroked his chin as he fell into deep thought. ''If it is like the Underground Nest, I won''t necessarily be afraid against these overwhelming odds. However, in this open area, this kind of number will cause trouble. Not only can we be surrounded, but they can also even move around and strike the city¡­ That is if someonemands them.''


    "Yeah. We have set up some defense mechanisms and authorized the use ofndmines. It should be able to kill a few hundred. However, we can''t really send a missile here because it''s too close to the poption, and the damage will be irreceable."


    "Is there any powerful Earth Magician or Ice Magician?" Kai asked.


    "There are six Earth Magicians in this base. What are you nning to do?"


    "I want to make a bell-shaped terrain to wee them. This way, we can hold them inside the beach alone. Of course, we will send enough fighters to fight them while supporting them with some gunners from above."


    "I see. A terrain, huh¡­ I have thought that as well, but the problem is we don''t have enough magicians for it. If I order the six magicians to create terrain like that, it will take their all to erect two great walls on the two sides, resulting in a direct path from the beach to the city."


    "It''s good enough. I will ask for my magician to erect thest wall. I only need the sides to be strong after all, since thest one is only for the gunners and such while we are mainly fighting them on the beach." Kai shook his head.


    "I see." The general nodded.


    "We should have five hundred people on the ground while the rest support them from above."


    The general pondered and agreed with Kai. "Sure. I will send themanders with you. All of them wouldmand one hundred people each with you as the highestmand. Make sure that you don''t have people above the terrain on the side because the magical beasts will try to destroy the walls."


    "I know. If that happens, they might try to make some maneuvers and attack the city instead."


    "This defensive battle will onlyst around five hours before the reinforcements arrive."


    "I understand. I will try minimizing our loss." Kai nodded.


    "I will let you do the rest then." The general stood up and saluted. "I, Brigadier General Abec,mand you to lead the army to fend off five thousand magical beasts."


    Kai saluted as well. "Yes, Sir."


    Kai then went out while pondering the matter before he realized there were three peopleing toward him.


    "Sir! We will be under yourmand in this battle. I am Silva, and they are Gillian and Alec. We willmand one hundred people each. Should we move out right now?"


    "We are tight in time, so we will head out immediately. Have the others move out. I will talk with my friends first."


    "Understood." The trio quickly left him.


    Kai then walked outside the base and met Michelle and the others.


    "How is the situation?" Michelle asked while the others paid attention.


    "Not good. They areing with overwhelming numbers, and we have many limitations in this ce." Kai nced at Evan. "I am still pondering where I should post you. Considering the battlefield, it''s too dangerous if we have you there since you will be healing in the middle of the battlefield. And there is a chance for intelligent magical beasts to appear¡­"


    "Should we set up a medical route to the base?" Evan asked. "I can stay inside the base and heal them. Looking at your expression, I am sure we don''t have reserve army or whatsoever, so I think I can stay not far from the battlefield and not necessarily in the base¡­"


    "Well, the military base and the beach are only five minutes away since there won''t be any traffic." Kai thought for a moment. "We can have you stay in the base since you will be protected as well. After all, I still need to think about your safety here."


    "I understand. We can have a few trucks to bring the injured people." Evan nodded in agreement. "I know that you are worried about me since we can''t use the radio to contact each other because the magical beasts would pick it up at your side. That''s why I will obediently stay in the base and heal them."


    "True enough. We will create a hole¡­" Kai fell into deep thought before realizing the previous three people hade to him.


    "Sir. Everyone is on the way there. We are waiting for you and your group to board thest truck."


    "How many trucks do we have?" Kai asked.


    "Twenty trucks. All of them can hold twenty to thirty people in one go."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "That means we can transport around fifty people lying down in one go¡­ Have the trucks all stand by on the battlefield. I have a use for them."


    "Understood. All of them wille together with us."


    "Let''s go then." Kai nodded as the threemanders led them to the truck.


    Sofia didn''t say anything this whole time and observed Kai carefully. She was curious about what kind of tactic Kai would use in this situation.


    They went toward the beach again and arrived at the temporary base where the soldiers were gathering.


    "I want the six Earth Magicians to erect two tall walls on two sides as we will use it to make a bell-shaped terrain¡­" Kai started instructing themanders ording to the n he came up with earlier.


    Themanders had no qualms about his strategy and quicklymanded the soldiers.


    Meanwhile, Kai looked at Nichs and asked. "Can you erect a wall to separate the beach and the city? I don''t need something strong, I only want a tall wall."


    Nichs thought for a moment and gritted his teeth. "I want to say yes, but I am afraid I don''t have enough magic power to do that."


    "I can help you if you want, you know." Sofia finally joined their conversation. "I am an Ice Magician while Julia is an Earth Magician. We can help him erect a wall."


    Kai narrowed his eyes. He didn''t really want to rely on outsiders like Sofia and Julia, but their situation didn''t necessarily allow him to do so. "I understand. I will need to ask for your help."


    "I have said that I will help you in this battle, and you will then delete the record. We have a deal, remember?" She grinned.


    "Fine." Kai sighed.


    *Rumble Rumble!*


    The ground started rising and made two tall walls on their left and right. Sofia looked at Julia and Nichs. "We should start as well."


    "Wait, Nichs." Kai stopped him and whispered something in his ears.


    Nichs opened his mouth and nodded. "I understand."


    They then made a huge magic circle, and a wall slowly emerged from the ground.


    "Have the soldiers climb ording to the n," Kaimanded.


    As soon as they heard the order, themanders and soldiers started moving ording to the n. They also noticed a small hole in the bottom of the wall that Nichs made. It was a small hole, but it was enough for many people to fit in.


    This hole''s purpose was to let the others pass by. Not only before the battle but also after the battle started, especially for injured people. Kai had instructed the soldiers to have twenty people stand by around it to carry the injured people to the trucks, and Evan would heal them in the base.


    With this, Kai had no worry about leaving Evan alone, considering the general stayed in the base as he was working on the misceneous things.


    "By the way, where would we go?" Michelle asked.


    "Tasha and Isabelle will stay here while the others will follow me to the ground." Kai then looked at Sofia. "I don''t know your fighting style and your friend. So, what is the best course for you?"


    "I will be staying here since I can rain them down with my Ice Magic while Julia can follow you." Sofia nodded.


    "Alright." Kai nodded before looking at Julia. "For now, you can follow me from behind."


    "I understand."


    Kai then jumped off the wall along with other people as themanders came to him as soon as hended.


    "They wille in a minute, Sir. We have prepared everything possible and only need to receive it."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded and looked toward the sea. He jumped off the wall because he already heard that they would arrive soon.


    *Rumble Rumble!*

 Chapter 207 - A Warfare Prodigy

    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    A series of explosions echoed through the beach as many magical beasts were utterly destroyed by thend mines.


    "The first wave ofnd mines has exploded. We manage to kill one hundred and fifty sea creatures." The report came right after.


    "Go ording to the n. We will only charge after all five waves have exploded," Kai instructed them.


    Themanders went to their positions as they waited for their turn toe. The sound of explosions began filling the battlefield as they saw how thendmines sted the giant sea creatures into a few parts.


    At the same time, it also dyed the sand with their red blood and filled the air with the pungent scent.


    The third line of defense. Exploded¡­


    The fourth line of defense. Exploded¡­


    Last line of defense. Exploded¡­


    "Sir, we have killed around six hundred magical beasts with five of them and somehow slowed their advance. At the very least, we are only outnumbered eight to one. Are we going to attack them?"


    "Wait!" Kai shook his head while waiting for the magical beasts to reach deeper ording to what he envisioned earlier. "I am going to send the signalter."


    "I understand."


    The suspense was killing the soldiers as they were wondering when they would start charging to these magical beasts.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and focused his ears, trying to calcte their number and position.


    After around thirty seconds of waiting and nning, Kai opened his eyes wide.


    "Move out!" Kai shouted toward the soldiers as they made their way toward the magical beasts like a spear. Three hundred soldiers were prating the enemy rank in a single line while the others were holding the rest to make sure no one passed them and entered the city.


    As soon as he ordered the army to rush, Kai ran with speed far faster than the rest, making a distance a few meters from the soldiers. The soldiers were gasping as they never saw iting. For a student to lead a charge into thousands of magical beasts, only an insane student would do it. Yet, there was a strange sensation in their heart that somehow energized them as they kept running toward the magical beasts.


    "Kill them all!" Kai roared as he reached in front of their ranks and shed his swords, cleanly splitting the huge crab into four.


    Once again, the soldiers were shocked. They might need one minute or so to kill a single magical beast, but the person in front of them actually managed to do it in a single swing. What kind of power was that?


    When they thought about it, Kai already entered the enemy ranks before the soldiers realized they would need to do the same.


    On the other hand, Silva took a deep breath and howled.


    ¡­


    One minute earlier.


    *Rumble Rumble!*


    The rumbling sound of the ground, followed by the breaking waves, resounded across the battlefield. The soldiers started clenching their weapons tighter as they watched the magical beasts emerging from the ocean.


    "They havee." Kai took a deep breath as he ordered themander. "Because we don''t have too much space, we will use the general strategy of the front line. First, we are going to prate their ranks from the middle before eliminating the left and right sides while using the wall to our advantage. Then, we will retreat and do the same strategy again and again. As for the proportion¡­ I will split the army into three groups. The middle army will have three hundred people, while the left and right armies will have one hundred each."


    "We understand." Themanders nodded before one of them asked. "B-but Sir, if the left army and right army are going to hold the army, we need the middle army to have the most piercing power. Who will be the ones actuallymanding the middle army?"


    "Isn''t that obvious?" Kai smirked.


    ¡­


    Remembering the question in their heads, themanders clenched their weapons even tighter. Never would they expect that a student could say that, but the face of Kai was still imnted strongly in their mind and might not be able to fade away.


    It was a face full of conviction and confidence. Kai looked at the three of them and said, "It shall be me!"


    It sent a shiver down their spines even until now. Gillian and Alec might end up as themander of left and right armies respectively, but for Silva, who followed Kai; he was trembling, not because he was afraid, but because he was filled with excitement.


    "Soldiers! Yourmander is only a student but still leading in front of us. Are you sure you can have a student to do all of this? Can you even call yourself a soldier? If no, then hear me!" Silva raised his ive and swung it with his strongest strength, crushing a sea creature''s carapaces. "Kill them all!"


    "Ooh!"


    The roar from women and men shook the battlefield. They wouldn''t lose to a student was what they thought as they wielded their weapons and started killing the enemies faster than they had ever done in their entire career.


    In the front, Kai''s lips raised, happy with the current development. He was risking his life to inspire the soldiers.


    "Shadow sh!" A dark wave cut two sea creatures beside him as Michellended next to him. "I know that you are forced by the situation to do this, but I think you shouldn''t prate too deep."


    "I won''t do that." Kai smiled, assuring her. "Our morale is already low due to our number difference, that''s why I did this. However, I have achieved my goal, so I will match the pace with our soldiers. You should also do the same and make sure we are not surrounded by magical beasts."


    "Yeah. How many do you want to kill in this first wave?"


    "Five hundred should be enough. The first one should be the highest to let the soldiers know that we can win, so I need to risk it a little bit."


    "I understand. I shall help the others then. You should take care of your back too." Michelle nodded as she leaped again.


    Kai watched her disappear in the crowd and began moving forward. The advance might be too slow, but the sea creatures also couldn''t surround them due to their big size. All in all, he would only get attacked by four magical beasts at once, which he could easily handle.


    Twenty minutes passed, and Kai felt they had made enough room to kill five hundred magical beasts. Hence, Kai shouted. "Spread out!"


    As soon as they heard his voice, they recognized the order and quickly spread out to the left and right. The left and right army also heard this and began advancing, sweeping the magical beasts.


    Those who were standing on top of the tall wall watched this action in amazement. They could see how the armies moved and how they overturned the situation.


    The armies cleanly swept the entire magical beasts under their execution zone until Kai shouted again.


    "We have finished the first objective. Run as fast as you can and regroup in your original positions. The Magical Beasts shouldn''t have the speed to pursue us."


    Hearing the order, themanders also helped with the regrouping process. Kai checked the army with his ears to make sure nothing went wrong before retreating along with them.


    "Everything is ording to the n." Silva instantly reported to Kai as soon as they returned to the initial formation.


    "Have the injured ones go to the base to recover for their injuries. Although I don''t want them to return to the battlefield, we still need them to fight for us." Kai nodded.


    "I understand¡­ We all understand. This is a fight for survival." Silva nodded before rearranging the group.


    Meanwhile, Kai raised his hand and ordered out loud. "Mow them down!"


    As soon as the order was out, a barrage of magic and bullets rained the magical beasts down. All of them wereing from the soldiers on top of the wall.


    "You are using this chance to let the soldiers rest?" Ayaka came to him and asked while observing the situation.


    "It''s only one of the purposes." Kai nodded.


    "One of the purposes?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes.


    "That''s right. The real reason why I do this is to grind those hard carapaces to the eptable level."


    "!!!" Ayaka finally realized his n. It was true that the giant bodies of the sea creatures were in their way, restricting their movement. "I see. If we do not grind them down, the magical beasts might go to the sides and break the wall."


    "Correct." Kai nodded. "Besides, we should be able to rest for two to three minutes, which I think is enough."


    Ayaka was astonished by his battle strategy. However, there was also another woman that did find this attractive.


    "Ice Spikes." After sending another ice magic, Sofia looked at Kai with astonishment. "This is certainly the way a general should direct the army¡­ No, I am not capable of doing this. The terrain aside, normally, the soldiers would continuously rain them down with magic to make sure they are not pushed back by the magical beasts, especially when the morale is low.


    "But he¡­ He put his life on the line to raise the entire army morale while destroying the enemy rank with his extraordinary ability. To think such a man is still in his second year¡­ And he even set up a medical route, supply route, and other routes, making this a temporary fortress.


    "Now that I think about it, I only see twenty people going back to the base and ten people dead. In exchange, they managed to kill ten percent of the enemy number¡­ With such morale, he should be able to finish the battle even before the reinforcementes. What a devil."


    Sofia realized the true extent of Kai''s n with a single nce. However, there was one weakness in this n, and Sofia knew it. "We still have a limited amount of magic power and supply; we won''t be able to fight them for long. When we reach the three hours mark, the soldiers will start getting exhausted. I think it''s also the time to use his trump card."


    Sofia mysteriously nced at Tasha. She must be Kai''s trump card. Even she had heard how she teleported the magical beasts to the sky with her teleportation magic. Hence, Kai''s n would most likely seed. This interested Sofia more because normal generals would think about holding out for five hours, but Kai actually wanted to end it before the time limit.


    She wondered how far he had looked ahead in this battle. Although she didn''t want to say it, Kai Carter was indeed a warfare prodigy. And EU Base really wanted this type of talent no matter the price.


    Unbeknownst to them, they actually had another problem, not on the battlefield, but in the military base itself.

 Chapter 208 - A Sneak Attack

    Inside the military base, the Brigadier General, Abec, was checking the documents and other misceneous things before a person came inside the room.


    If he weren''t upied by his work, he would realize this person was the one who suggested putting Kai on the battlefield.


    He brought a cup of coffee and put it on the general''s desk. "Here is your coffee, General. It''s really hard work, huh¡­ Working in a base like this."


    "Thank you." Abec thanked him while his eyes were still glued on the papers. "Well, how long have you been working in this base? There are many VIPs around this area, so I should do some paperwork for the time we used to repel the magical beasts along with the apology and so on. Even though I want to head the battlefield myself, I simply can''t."


    "True enough. Luckily, we have Kai Carter this time to lead the entire army. I saw the first trucking back with a few injured people and asked them about the battlefield situation. Can you believe that we actually killed more than a thousand Magical Beasts in the first few minutes?"


    "With our mines? I never thought they would be that effective." Abec shook his head in astonishment.


    "I can say it''s about sixty percent, but the rest is the result of the first assault."


    "How many people got injured?"


    "We don''t know yet, but ording to their spection, there are no more than fifty people."


    "Are you serious?" Abec was shocked as he unconsciously put down his pen and looked at him.


    "It''s the truth. In addition, we have Evan Young on this base. Most of the soldiers can go back and fight again after he heals them."


    Abec lifted his eyebrows as he was overwhelmed by emotion. He was too happy and excited, albeit no matter what he did, he couldn''t head to the battlefield right now. "Haiz, I still need to head to the shelter to apologize and finish all the paperwork. It sucks to be stuck in this base."


    He drank the coffee to calm his heart and looked at his paper again. "Anyway, I couldn''t be happier to see the development. I will just believe in our soldiers."


    "That''s right. I want to ask General for another thing."


    Abec looked at him while furrowing his eyebrows. "I am too busy to answer¡­ But since I am in a good mood, I will answer one of your questions."


    "Thank you." The man nodded and smiled. "I want to ask if this base doesn''t have you, what will happen to this base¡­ To the VIPs¡­ Or even to the soldiers?"


    "What are you talki¡ª!" Abec suddenly spat blood as he clenched his heart that suddenly hurt. In an instant, he looked at the coffee and realized what just happened. "You bastard!"


    Mustering thest bit of energy in his body, Abec tried to attack the man, only to be stopped effortlessly. And thest thing he saw shocked him. Unfortunately, his mind already went nk as he fell to the ground, died.


    ''Hehe¡­ We are the second generation of humans. It''s our luck that he found us and granted us this power.'' The man smirked as his hand changed into a bear hand with brown fur covering it. He thought, ''Do you know that we are getting offered by an existence that the government has hidden from us this whole time?


    ''ording to that person, we can turn into magical beasts and return back into a human after he learns the secret behind the so-called Protector''s blood. Just like how Zodiac was created, I would be the first and strongest second-generation Zodiac.''


    He had no qualm about activating the magical beast blood in his body and forced the transformation of his hand like Rizou. After all, he believed he could turn it back after the mastermind fixed him with the Protector''s blood. It was also one of the reasons why he decided to do this.


    ''Besides, I can simply run away from the base and control the magical beastster¡­ After conquering the human bases, the world has no choice and bes one of us. Just you wait; this world will once again evolve to a higher level.''


    Despite being filled with madness, he still didn''t forget about Kai''s ability and refrained himself from saying out loud. He kept the excitement in his heart and took out a radio. "Start!"


    Upon hearing his order, a few people suddenly turned into a monster as they suddenly made a ruckus around the base.


    At the same time, Evan was still healing many people with aplete focus. He only knew that this ce was safe, so he had no worry about going all out. Yet, that confidence attacked him at a ridiculous moment.


    His instinct suddenly told him about the uing danger. He stopped his healing and turned around while raising his hand. And he met a fist at the size of his head, pouncing his head.


    "Tch!" Evan tried to stop the attack with his hand, but he ended up blown away because of their strength difference.


    *Bam!*


    Evan struggled to free himself from the wall and looked at the iing person. It turned out that the one who attacked him was a tiger with a human build. It was walking with two feet and made his way toward him.


    "Who are you?" Evan was panting while asking the question but to no avail. The tiger guy didn''t seem to want to say anything and simply charged at him with his fist.


    "Don''t underestimate me!" Evan slightly adjusted his body to the left and grabbed his limb before using its body weight to throw him.


    The tiger was slightly surprised to see him ending up in this way. He had no knowledge about Evan having an ability to fight.


    "I might not have much power against magical beasts because of their hardness and weight, but throwing you with my Martial Art alone is enough." Evan clenched his fists and took a deep breath. ''I need to buy time for Kai to notice this. One minute¡­ No, two minutes, I guess. Sh*t. I really wish I could use offensive or defensive magic. I had tried many things, but none of them seeded. Even if I drown him in my water bubble, that one has a healing effect. Not only will it heal the enemy, but it also allows him to breathe inside that water bubble as well.''


    The tiger charged at him again with his fists, but he didn''t underestimate Evan this time.


    On the other hand, Evan was studying his fighting style before noticing it was the Martial Arts that the army had been practicing. "Why would the army have someone like you? You look like a Zodiac but not one of them¡­ No, you look like a failed Zodiac."


    *Roar!* The tiger was angry when Evan said he was a failed zodiac and stomped the person lying on the ground.


    "!!!" Evan furrowed his eyebrows and decided to charge at him.


    The tiger seemed to read his mind and threw another injured person at Evan.


    "Kh!" Evan was surprised and caught the injured person, but that cost him many things. The tiger person didn''t waste a single second and struck Evan by striking the injured person. The force was transmitted to Evan as well before he suddenly fell down to the ground, and another punch arrived. "Puah!"


    That strike alone broke a few of Evan''s ribs while instantly killing the injured person.


    "Heal!" Evan immediately regted the water in his body to heal all his injuries. The human body consisted of up to sixty percent of water, so he could heal himself without summoning a water bubble.


    However, the tiger also noticed that Evan had yet to fall unconscious. He grabbed his head and threw him to the wall before his hand gave another push and mmed Evan''s head.


    Surprisingly, there was a water bubble protecting Evan''s head. Evan only thought in this situation was to hold on as long as possible. He was sure that Kai should have heard the situation by now and organized the rescue party. As long as he could buy enough time, he should be fine. ''I will hold on, no matter what.''


    Seeing the determination in his eyes, the tiger was enraged.


    *Bam Bam Bam!* The tiger was trying to make Evan unconscious by banging his head against the wall continuously. Yet, the healing water bubble that covered his head reduced the impact and healed him in speed visible at naked eyes.


    Even so, Evan still felt pain this whole time as blood covered his face. His face started bing disfigured until it was hard to recognize him.


    ''Hurry, Kai. I might not be able to hold on for any longer¡­ Ah¡­ I am really pathetic that I can''t evenst a minute fighting this guy.'' Evan gritted his teeth as his consciousness started getting fuzzy.


    "What are you doing?" The person with the bear hand appeared from behind and noticed the tiger had yet to bring Evan away. Without saying anything, he realized Evan was still conscious. He suddenly appeared in front of him, punching Evan in the stomach. "You should do this."


    The impact was too strong as Evan immediately fell unconscious after spitting a mouthful of blood. "I am sorry, Kai."


    The bear guy snorted and thought, ''You won''t die just yet. Wait until your friendes to our base, we will make sure you die together with them.''


    ¡­


    In the middle of the battlefield, Kai suddenly heard Evan''s shout from the military base.


    "!!!" Kai abruptly leaped back, halting their advance.


    Michelle and Ayaka caught up, frowning. "Kai? What''s wrong?"


    Kai didn''t answer them as he was too focused on trying to figure out what happened. After close to a minute, Kai''s expression turned dark as he gritted his teeth. "Are you seriously asking me to fix this problem as well?"

 Chapter 209 - The One And Only Reinforcement

    "Are you seriously asking me to fix this problem as well?" Kai gritted his teeth when he realized what just happened.


    "What happened?" Michelle and Ayaka turned serious.


    "We have been had!" Kai looked around, wondering what to do. If he was toote to decide, Evan might die¡­ Or their objective is to kidnap him?


    "Silva, I will leave the front line to you for a while." Kai decided to retreat back to the wall and went to Tasha. "I need your Teleportation Magic immediately."


    "What happened?" Tasha frowned as Isabelle and Sofia came closer, wondering what happened.


    "The base is under attack," Kai informed them. "I don''t have time to exin, so I am nning to go there right now."


    "Wait! You can''t leave the battlefield. The soldiers'' morale will plummet if you, the acting general, leave." Sofia grabbed his hand.


    Kai clenched his fist. He was already not in the mood after listening to what happened in the base, especially to Evan. However, Sofia''s serious face made him hesitate. It was true that the defense would gradually crumble if he left the battlefield. And from what he heard inside the base, General Abec had died. Hence, no one was able to handle the army other than him.


    Even so, if he didn''t go to Evan, he would¡­


    Kai was contemting what to do before Sofia suddenly said, "I think it''s better to give this mission to us. We will go to the base and suppress the enemies. Judging from your look, they seem to be a third party, unrted to these magical beasts. That''s why Julia and I will tag along with your Lion Group and Eagle Group. Even though I don''t look like it, this is my specialty."


    Although she didn''t like this woman, Michelle couldn''t help but agree with her opinion. "That''s right. We might be students, but we have two S rank magical beasts and three Zodiacs with us. It should be enough."


    Kai closed his eyes for a second before letting out a sigh. "Fine."


    He realized that the enemy really chose the perfect time to act. It was as if they were coborating with the magical beasts.


    "Call Nichs and the others and have Tasha teleport all of you to the base." Kai finally gave his order.


    "Alright." Michelle disappeared and brought back five people with her.


    "The enemies are inside the base right now. Your top priority is to save Evan from their clutch. Don''t say it to anyone, but the general is dead. That''s why you can only rely on yourself and think they are enemies until proven otherwise." Kai warned them. "And onest thing, your captain is Michelle.


    "Understood." They nodded, and Tasha used her Teleportation Magic.


    Kai looked at them before he realized the enemy''s movement. "Wait¡ª!"


    Before he could warn them, they already disappeared. He shook his head and sighed before going to the battlefield.


    Silva came to him and asked, "Sir¡­"


    "It''s fine. I have handled everything. Though we need to adjust our strategy a little bit." Kai nodded. "Are you ready?"


    "Yes, Sir!" Silva nodded with a solemn expression.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Michelle and the others arrived inside the base and pointed their weapons at all directions while looking around to see any abnormalities.


    "!!!" They gasped when they saw many dead bodies scattered around the base, and it was still fresh.


    "Go to the medical room first. Evan should be there." Michelle ordered them.


    "I have seen the room. This way." Isabelle nodded and led the group with her weapon. They couldn''t advance too fast because there might be ambushes around and finally realized how much they relied on Kai''s hearing ability. No, they just got used to Kai''s hearing ability for the past year, but they still had the basic ability to handle this type of situation, so what they were doing was still considered normal.


    The group made their way toward the medical bay, only to find a broken wall with blood on it. They looked around and realized that there were ten people in this room.


    "Looking at the conditions of the soldiers, they shouldn''t be able to move around and get butchered like that. I had experienced Evan healing technique, and I realized how tired I was after getting the treatment. Considering their injury, I am sure they had no fight before dying¡­ That''s why I am¡­ also sure that all of these¡­ were from the fight against Evan." Isabelle said while clenching her fists. Blood rushed to her brain as she gnashed her teeth.


    "Isabelle. If you can''t keep your calm down, I will need to ask you to stand by inside this base or go back to the battlefield." Michelle grabbed her shoulders tightly. She was also angry to see that Evan was beaten like this. Even so, they still needed to keep calm in this situation, and Michelle did her job as the captain right.


    Isabelle took a few deep breaths before she nodded. "I''m sorry."


    "The only problem is where we should go? Looking at this situation, Evan hasn''t died yet¡­ So, it will be up to us to chase him." Michelle looked at them and somehow noticed Tasha had gone somewhere.


    "When we were outside, I could see a great ze. It must be where the kidnappers went!" Sofia said. "They went west!"


    "¡­" Michelle twitched her eyebrows. There was no way she could trust her words so easily.


    Suddenly, Tasha came back. "I just asked Kai. He said the enemies went to the west of this base."


    "!!!" Michelle and the others widened their eyes as they looked at Sofia in astonishment.


    On the other hand, Sofia pouted as no one actually believed her.


    Michelle narrowed her eyes and thought, ''Is this the rumored Sofia? The one that purely acts with instinct? She can see and feel what other people can''t? No, I should say this is her sixth sense?''


    "I understand. We will pursue the enemies right now." Michelle nodded.


    Tasha snapped her finger and teleported them outside the base.


    Michelle led the group and started pursuing the enemies. "We only have the general location of the enemies. So, we will ry you in locating them."


    "Hehe¡­ This is my specialty." Sofia grinned. Julia could only shake her head. Sofia was always like this from small. She often went toward this so-called ''ze'' of her, and all of them somehow turned out to be something important. That was why she had be so crucial to EU Base. With her Zodiac ability, Sixth Sense, and Ice Magic, EU Base would be a fool if they didn''t treasure her.


    After a few minutes of running straight¡­


    "It''s enough. They are turning this way." Sofia instructed as she followed the great ze in her eyes.


    Michelle immediately followed her direction without hesitation.


    "This direction¡­ Isn''t there a national park in front of us?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "That''s right. Why would they choose an open area like this?" Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    Before they could n their strategy, they had arrived at their destination as Sofia abruptly stopped.


    "What happened?" Michelle and the others stopped as well and looked at her.


    "Hmm?" Sofia suddenly frowned as she noticed something odd.


    "What is it?"


    "There is still a ze ahead of us, but there are many smaller zes around us¡­ In other words, we are surrounded." Sofia looked around and calcted everything in her mind. "There are around one hundred of them while the great ze has three people, but far stronger than the others. Be careful."


    As she said so, one hundred people gradually made their appearances.


    "We have been had. Their goal is most probably Evan and us. At that time, they are going to threaten Kai¡­ The question is, who dares to do something like this?" Michelle gritted her teeth.


    "Tasha. We might need your power." Sofia suddenly grabbed Tasha''s hands.


    Before Tasha could reply, the humans that surrounded them suddenly turned into magical beasts as they roared to the sky.


    *Roar!*


    Thebined roars were shaking the ground as Michelle started to sweat. ''What should I do in this situation?''


    "They are Zodiacs as well, right? But the difference is they have turned into magical beasts so suddenly¡­ Like what happened to the one we fought not long ago." Ayaka raised her spear while whispering to the group.


    "Tasha. We need your power. Your ze can engulf their ze." Sofia still had the same confidence. "If it''s you, we can win."


    Tasha furrowed her eyebrows and thought for a moment. "No. It''s not the time yet."


    "Not the time yet?" Sofia furrowed her eyebrows before she saw the same powerful zeing from the sky.


    "Purgatory Sword!" A familiar female voice resounded across the region as the group turned around.


    Five White Swords flew down, specifically toward the failed Zodiacs.


    This sneak attack came at the perfect time, preventing the enemies from moving until the five swords killed five of them. A female figurended on the ground before a huge white magic circle appeared a few meters above their heads.


    Tasha smiled and said, "Do you think I didn''t do anything this whole time? She requested me to update our current situation and finally rushed to this ce¡­"


    Michelle suddenly remembered how Tasha often yed around with hermunication device during this vacation. "So, that''s why you seemed to be upied with your device¡­"


    "Hmph. You smart-ass. I just thought that little Gemini over there would make a ruckus, but to think there is another party that wants to destroy my beloved student''s peaceful vacation. As his teacher, I should help him in a situation like this." It turned out that the one who came just now was Kai''s Teacher, Ria Ross.


    "Hmph. Do you bring the reinforcements?"


    "Is there any need for it? I will show you why I am scarier than the army!" Ria Ross smirked as she formed a sword on each hand.

 Chapter 210 - The Group Fight

    "Is there any need for it? I will show you why I am scarier than the army!" Ria Ross smirked as she formed a sword on each hand.


    "Tasha?" Ayaka also realized what Michelle figured out earlier.


    "Hehe¡­ You little girl. You are still a few years too young to fight this elder sister. I have been contacting her this whole time¡­ Though I have also sent a request for help from another guy." Tasha grinned.


    "Another request?" Michelle frowned, as Ayaka realized there was only one person that qualified for such a role as she looked at Michelle.


    "Your (My) Grandfather!" Both of them said at the same time.


    "Yeah. Graham Family hase earlier and will probably arrive in an hour or so. That''s why we should finish this as soon as possible and help Kai until the reinforcement arrives." Tasha nodded.


    Now that she saw it, Sofia finally learned why Tasha said it was not the time yet. It turned out she had prepared everything.


    "Anyway, our current objective is to kill these guys and rescue Evan." Tasha waved her hand as she drew her arrow.


    "Still, they can be ssified as SS rank magical beasts, right? And if we are fighting against a hundred of them¡­" Tommy remembered the previous failed Zodiacs two months ago. They had even a hard time to kill even a single of them, so he was a bit not confident of killing all of them here.


    "You little brats. If you only want to whine, you can leave immediately." Ria Ross snorted as she waved her swords. The magic circle above her head suddenly summoned three swords and shot them toward the enemies.


    This was the same magic that she used to fight Kai. The moment the swords arrived at the first enemy, they were blown away by a single wave of the enemy''s hand.


    Ria had no change of expression and kept advancing forward.


    "Attack her!" One of them shouted as the group started looking at her and prepared to attack.


    Ria arrived in front of one of them and shed her two swords from above, only to be blocked by the skin of this failed zodiac. The sh ended in an instant where Ria suddenly lost the grip on her swords as she fell down because of the momentum earlier.


    Having a chance to attack her, the monster tried to pounce her head with its fist. "Hmph!"


    Ria noticed this and smiled as she was falling down. She was still around his stomach level, and it turned out she was baiting him to show his weakest part, his stomach.


    She already knew that these guys had thick skin around their limbs, but the chest and stomach areas were not as strong as the other parts, so she precisely targeted it.


    "Kh!" The enemy also realized her target and tried to cover his body, but it was toote.


    Ria already summoned another pair of swords and shed him into two. She didn''t wait and threw the two swords toward the next person before grabbing the two swords that were blown away earlier and threw it to the same enemy.


    Of course, she had the same reaction with the guy earlier that died in her hands. This female monster blocked Ria''s swords with her strong hands by crossing her forearms in front of her head.


    Little did she know that Ria already arrived in front of her. She didn''t forget to protect her head and body to make sure Ria couldn''t kill her. But¡­


    *sh!* Ria cut her like butter. In her hand was not a sword. Instead, she was wielding a huge war ax and used that weight to cut the hard skin along her body. "Hmph. Do you think you are better than me just because of that body?"


    *Roar!*


    There were two enemiesing toward her and tried to attack her, but Ria suddenly jumped backward. "Nice. You have entered my execution zone."


    Without anyone noticing, there were a few white lines on the ground. They didn''t know what these white lines were, but they felt dread. If Kai were here, he would obviously remember this because this technique was a technique to channel a powerful shock wave. The only difference between this and the previous one was the fact that this line had its end, not a circle like the one she used inside a cave.


    "Die!" Ria shed her two swords and sent two shock waves that traveled on the white lines.


    "!!!" The two enemies realized the attacks. Realizing they couldn''t avoid this attack, they decided to put their hands slightly below their abdomen to block this attack.


    Ria smiled upon seeing that because there was another trick in that attack. As soon as they made contact with the enemies, it abruptly expanded and sent the enemies flying, and the direction was toward her.She used this chance and sent these two enemies'' heads flying. "Do you think I am afraid of a hundred of you? Even if you throw me a thousand, you won''t be able to defeat me. You are just like a little born baby that doesn''t know how to control your strength."


    Looking at how Ria could easily kill a few of them in an instant, Michelle sighed. "She really stands out."


    Meanwhile, Sofia also gasped as she started sweating upon seeing Ria Ross. In fact, she was somehow scared of her. ''So, this is Ria Ross¡­ The number one fighter of US Base, their hero.''


    Michelle ignored her and quickly joined the battle as well. Her shadow suddenly rose and formed another her as both of them wielded two shadow swords each. The two Michelles went toward their first opponent and shed their weapons.


    However, this attack was very different. Before the swords hit the enemy, his shadow emerged from the ground and grabbed both of the enemy''s hands and let Michelle and her shadow kill him.


    "Now, I see." Michelle furrowed her eyebrows before announcing out loud. "They are far weaker than the one we saw in our mission. They can''t utilize their magic and only rely on their physical prowess. As long as you are careful, we will win."


    Two people finally reacted and leaped toward her.


    Michelle nced at them once and searched for another opponent. Suddenly, an arrow and a bullet pierced both of their heads at the same time.


    "Isabelle! Try to find Evan with your hands. If possible, we will try to separate our group before they notice we have beaten these guys." Michelle ordered.


    "I know." Isabelle''s pupils glowed as it became slightly more pointed than a normal human eye. She looked around and found their base.


    It was a small room for resting in a national park. Isabelle could only find a single enemy through the window and wondered whether she should take him down or not. The thought vanished as soon as she found that person seemed to be talking with someone. She then decided to inform Michelle. "I have found them, but I don''t have the sight of Evan."


    "Professor Ria?" Michelle nced at her.


    "My beloved student wants you to lead the group, right? I will go ording to your n." Ria decided to use this as a chance for Michelle and the others to grow up. If they were too reliant on her or Kai''s ability and strategy, it would be bad for their development. Hence, she would only step up her game if the situation turned worse.


    Michelle gulped down and shouted. "Isabelle. Keep watching their movement. If they notice that their minions are beaten up, immediately inform us. We are going to break through and save Evan. The others will start killing these bastards. I know that some of you haven''t killed a single person, but if you are not going to kill them, you are going to be a waste in this ce. So, scram now if you don''t have what it takes to help Evan."


    Hearing her taunt, the twins, Tommy, and Nichs gritted their teeth and charged together to the enemies.


    "Julia. Watch my back, will you? I am going to fight a bit recklessly." Sofia grinned while ncing at her best friend.


    "I understand." She nodded, and they both ran toward the enemies.


    A guy that had transformed into a bison walked toward her and sent a punch.


    "You look like a minotaur in the myth, but I doubt your strength is simr." Sofia smirked as a few white thin sticks appeared all over her body as she threw a punch as well.


    *Bam!*


    "Moo!" Unexpectedly, the one that was losing. Not only that, but Sofia alsounched him to the sky.


    "Ice Ring!" Sofia shot out a piece of ice toward the enemy''s belly, and it circled around all over the body as soon as it touched the skin. She then leaped toward the minotaur and kicked its belly, shattering the ice along with the body. It turned out that the ice already entered its body, so it suddenly snapped into two and killed the enemy.


    "Earth Wall!" A magic circle appeared next to her before it was broken by another enemying from her left. As she protected Sofia from that attack, Julia appeared right in front of the enemy and blew his hand away with her spear.


    The force was stronger than expected, so the enemy lost his bnce.


    Sofia smiled and summoned an ice spear in her hand before throwing it with all of her strength.


    Having lost his bnce, the enemy couldn''t stop the spear from impaling his heart and died.


    "Good work. Make sure to follow me." Sofia smiled.


    "Yes."


    Michelle looked at this development and smiled. "The enemies might think that they can handle us with these one hundred people, but it will be the biggest miscalction they have ever made. As long as Isabelle keeps an eye on them, they won''t know that we have actually turned the situation around."

 Chapter 211 - Evan And Isabelle

    Inside the small house, six people were still waiting for their turn.


    "Hey, boss. It seems they are pretty useless." The tiger guy looked at the bear. "I mean, I can hear the loud sound outside, but it has been around ten minutes."


    "Don''t worry. You have experienced it yourself, the power of the Zodiac. They are slightly dyed since they are still two top groups in the magic academy." The bear guy shook his head.


    "I will wait for another five minutes. If they haven''t brought all those brats here, I will take action." The tiger guy pointed at the unconscious Evan, whose face was filled with bruises and scars. "I will turn them like this guy before killing them."


    "Suits yourself." The bear shrugged. "Just make sure you don''t kill them first because we still need to catch Kai Carter."


    "Fine." The tiger nodded and closed his eyes, waiting for the five minutes to pass.


    To their surprise, their peaceful time suddenly disappeared as a powerful explosion sted the entire building.


    "Boom!"


    The windows were shattered, and the door was pushed open. Inside the house, Evan''s figure was visible for everyone, and Michelle shouted.


    "Tasha!"


    Even before she finished, Tasha already teleported right beside Evan and created another Teleportation Magic. The glowing pink magic circle startled everyone as they turned around only to find Tasha and Evan were about to escape. Tasha didn''t forget to leave a smirk and a middle finger to them before returning to the group.


    Without wasting a single second, Ria came to him and checked his condition. "Some internal injuries, but his life is not in danger. Other than the excessive external injuries, I think he will be fine after he wakes up and heals himself. I just hope there is no mental scar."


    Isabelle fell on her knees after seeing Evan''s condition and dropped her rifle.


    The group was startled upon this abrupt reaction.


    ¡­


    A few years ago,


    In a certain ssroom, Isabelle walked in with dead fish eyes.


    "That is the youngest daughter of the Fisher Family¡­ To think they produce such a waste¡­"


    "That''s right. She is only an E rank magician without any special skills."


    "Her wind magic is also so-so."


    "Without her family, she wouldn''t even be able to enroll in this school."


    The people started talking about her every time she sat down alone in the ssroom. She had gotten used to this as she only had this little talent since small. She had epted it as a part of herself.


    Suddenly, a familiar guy in her headughed and snorted at those people. "You are only jealous of her. If you want to have a luxurious life? Why don''t you start practicing instead of spewing those bullsh*ts?"


    "What did you say?"


    "You¡ª!"


    He was an average guy with a gloomy expression. He was neither strong nor weak, but after that day, her life was indeed bing easier. Most of those who talked behind her back threw their insults to that guy instead of her.


    One day, she decided to call him out and asked. "Why did you do that? You wouldn''t have this miserable life. You are Evan Young, right? I know you since our families are close, but do you think I need your family to do this for me?"


    Evan shook his head. "I did it for myself, not you. So, you should go and not talk to me."


    "You¡ª!" Isabelle clenched her fists before she walked away. "Don''t expect me to say thank you."


    Evan leaned on the wall and sighed as he watched her back. "Your effort will certainly not go to waste. My strength can''t shut them up, but if I simply be their target, you won''t need to shoulder it all. I can see something in you that you can''t even see in yourself and somehow gets charmed by it¡­ Haha¡­ I''m pathetic. I should search for a way to get stronger, strong enough to shut those people."


    Not long after, they both got a mysterious invitation from the Government. All they wanted to get stronger, so they epted it without hesitation.


    They arrived in a certainboratory and were surprised to see each other there.


    "You?!" The two shouted at the same time, but the professor inside that ce already called them before they could say anything.


    Day after day, they were trained like crazy for the sake of creating a body capable of withstanding the paining from the blood. They didn''t talk too much in this period and treated each other as a rival. The guy wanted the strength to protect the girl, while the girl wanted strength to say she doesn''t need his protection.


    A monthter, it was the first injection they got. Both of them were fighting against the blood to show each other they had managed to beat the pain. Without realizing themselves, they had been relying on each other to ovee many things and finally started talking with each other.


    After the injection seeded, they still needed to train their physical prowess, magic, and other things to make sure they were fit to be a Zodiac. Isabelle was astonished by Evan''s Healing Ability, while thetter was happy with her progress. The two often practiced together until they got discharged a few monthster.


    "Hey. We have seeded in bing a Zodiac. After this, I want to start anew and create a group. Do you want to join me?" Isabelle asked.


    Evan shook his head. "After testing many things, I can''t even summon attack magic. Even those professors have given up on me, so I won''t join any group."


    "Why? Your strength is far more important than any attack magic. Do you know that your Healing Ability can save many lives?"


    "That''s precisely the reason why I won''t join a group. Besides, I will only be a burden if I join a group. Suppose I join you; you will only have four people fighting, not five. That''s why I will only stay in the rear, helping those in need, including you. If you and your group have ever needed any help, juste to me, I will make sure you recover to full health." Evan smiled. However, there was a trace of sadness and disappointment in his eyes.


    "Even after saying all those great things, why are you crying?" Isabelle gritted her teeth after seeing a tearing out of his eyes. "You should join me. Our family is also having rtionships from generation to generation. Even my brother is going to marry your sister sooner orter. That''s why you should join my group. I will take care of you."


    "That''s also one of the reasons why I shouldn''t join your group. I don''t want to be a burden." Evan shook his head again.


    "You bastard! Are you looking down on me? Is it because of my past record? I am too weak to even protect you?" Isabelle gnashed her teeth and grabbed his cor.


    "No¡­" Evan tried to exin, but no words came to his mind, making Isabelle misunderstand again.


    "You¡ª! Just say it!" Isabelle''s hands started shaking in anger. "Just you wait! I will create a powerful team, even without you. I will shut your mouth with that team. In the future, you are going to beg me to let you join my group."


    "That''s good." Evan closed his eyes and smiled.


    Isabelle released him and pushed him away. "Just you wait! You are going to regret your choice today."


    Evan fell on his butt and watched Isabelle walking away. He sighed and muttered to himself. ''You are a strong girl. I shouldn''t be in your way lest I hinder your progress.''


    After that, she created the Eagle Group and rose through the rank. Those who talked in her back didn''t even dare to show their face in front of her again. Meanwhile, Evan, who lost his attack magic, became the target of ridicule.


    Yet, Isabelle interfered every single time. Evan''s title as a healer also gradually spread in the school, and the bullies stopped, while some even escaped from him.


    Suddenly, Isabelle dragged him to talk with him alone. She shouted. "Why? Do you really not want to join my group that much?"


    As long as he became even more famous, Isabelle''s previous promise wouldn''t be fulfilled. That was why to not hinder her progress, Evan decided to do this and became a loner. No one actually knew why he did this, and no one bothered enough to ask him about it.


    Yet, Isabelle ended up crying that day and left him alone. After that, she finally got her fifth member, Tommy, and started acting coldly toward him. Even so, Evan still kept track of her progress from time to time, and he was happy with it.


    It was only a few months ago where a transfer student finally changed their status quo. Evan suddenly decided to enter their group even though he rejected her every time she asked him. She was curious about Kai Carter, but she was more frustrated. She decided to fight Kai''s group to prove that her group was stronger, and he should join her group instead of the new Lion Group.


    Unfortunately, they lost that day. She knew she had lost the opportunity to ask him again, especially with the contract with Kai. She thought about giving up on him, but they had been getting together for a few missions, and the feelings couldn''t go away.


    Now that she saw him getting injured like this, all those feelings erupted.


    "Who¡­" Isabelle grabbed her weapon and gradually stood on her feet. "Who beat him like this? Who?!"


    Isabelle''s roar echoed across the park as a green magic circle appeared underneath her. All the feelings in her heart finally burst out at this moment, especially...


    ANGER!

 Chapter 212 - Isabelles Rage

    "Who beat him like this? Who?!"


    Isabelle''s anger shook their hearts. They never thought that Isabelle would have this kind of reaction. Eva, Eve, and Nichs actually remembered that Isabelle left a spot empty for a quite long time. They had once asked why she would leave the seat empty, but Isabelle only said she had someone in mind.


    When Tommy finally appeared, they thought Tommy was the one in her mind. They never asked the question again and just epted it.


    It was at this moment, they finally realized that wasn''t the case. The person who was in her mind this whole time turned out to be Evan. They never saw iting because Isabelle always acted coldly toward Evan and that was also one of the reasons why they were this shocked.


    Nheless, the enemies didn''t even nce at Isabelle and Evan. They only observed the hundred people that were lying on the ground and clicked his tongue.


    "Boss, this is the result of you trusting that power too much! We should have fought them before this happens." One of the six people said to the bear guy.


    "Haha¡­ I will take that girl! She seems to love that boy, so I will make her the same as that guy." The tiger guyughed out loud.


    The bear guy gritted his teeth as he knew he needed to exin it to the professor after this. However, he had a big miscalction in his n.


    ncing over a woman on the corner of the enemy group, he clenched his hands. "Ria Ross!"


    If Ria Ross was here, there was no way they would be able to win. He thought about escaping, but Michelle was already one step ahead.


    "Professor, you get the leader. Sofia and Julia will get one. I and Tasha will get one. Ayaka will cooperate with Tommy while the twins will be with Nichs." Michelle paused for a moment and looked at Isabelle. "You have that guy alone."


    Isabelle clenched her hands and red at the tiger guy.


    "Remember, as soon as you have killed your opponent, go help the others. Will this n be alright, Professor?"


    "Sure. I should also be able to help you in the middle of the fight." Ria nodded.


    Isabelle immediately summoned four green balls above her head.


    "God of Wind, Aeolus."


    "You bastard!" The tiger guy was the first one to make a move, followed by the others that wereing toward them.


    She looked at the tiger guy who was charging at her and aimed her sniper rifle.


    "Boom!" She didn''t bring her suppressor here, so the sound echoed across the park.


    The guy simply dodged to the side and kept charging.


    The four green balls above her head shone and shot out one crescent de each toward the tiger guy.


    "Hmph, do you think this is enough to stop me?" The guy only snorted and brushed the four wind des away before throwing his punch toward Isabelle.


    Isabelle didn''t have a change of expression in facing this fist. She simply shifted her body to the side, tapped the forearm once to destroy his bnce, andunched him to the sky with her strength and wind.


    "Shoot him down!" Isabelle pointed her finger at the guy, and the four balls released another attack.


    The guy immediately raised his two hands and blocked these attacks. However, there was a difference between the first attack and the second attack, and he immediately realized it.


    ''What is this? Did they produce smoke earlier?'' The guy asked himself before he widened his eyes and shifted his body.


    There was a sudden movement in the smoke as a bullet suddenly emerged from within and flew toward him. Luckily, he managed to dodge it, albeit not unscathed. He jumped backward as he red at Isabelle before ncing at his right hand that lost three fingers because of that attack.


    "How the heck could that woman shoot a sniper rifle this close? Did she never need a scope to shoot?"


    "Do you think I am just a mere sniper? I have figured out my weakness after losing to that man and enhanced my closebat ability." Isabelle snorted and looked down on him. "I will make you regret doing that to Evan."


    "You are not capable." The guy gritted his teeth and charged again.


    Isabelle shot again, utilizing the same strategy. However, the moment he almost punched her, he suddenly disappeared from her eyes.


    "This is why you are still a baby born chick!" The guy''s voice resounded from behind her as he threw another punch.


    "Boom!" The thunderous sound of a gunshot echoed again before the guy suddenly fell down and screamed in pain. "Argh!"


    The man retreated again as he ced his left hand on his right arm, noticing it was gone. The bleeding also colored the ground red, and it continued flowing down, creating a small pool of blood.


    He looked up and saw Isabelle''s second weapon in her other hand.


    Isabelle took a deep breath and red at the guy. ''I have used my wind magic to stabilize my stance, but it seems I still need more practice. It''s already taxing to switch from weapon to hand-to-handbat continuously in the battle. I targeted his shoulder but got him at his elbow. What a blunder¡­''


    Isabelle didn''t wait for the guy to rise again and charged at him. She released another shot and four crescent des as cover fire to get close to the guy.


    The tiger could only run away and tried to buy time to stabilize his breathing.


    Isabelle paid no heed and kept advancing, trying to vent up her anger as much as possible.


    "Wait, Isabelle. Don''t go too far." Michelle shouted albeit she was toote.


    The guy already turned around and struck back. He blew Isabelle''s weapons into the air.


    "I will make you regret injuring me!" The guy roared as he punched Isabelle.


    "You think you are qualified?" Isabelle only snorted as the gunshot resounded once again.


    The guy suddenly realized he lost his bnce and looked down, watching how his feet were getting separated from his legs. He then looked up and saw the two sniper rifles hovering in the air, aiming at his two feet.


    Isabelle clenched her fists and punched the guy in the face as hard as possible. If it was her strength alone, it shouldn''t be enough. But Isabelle already used her Wind Magic, so she was able to blow a few teeth away along with the whole body.


    She nced at her weapons and caught them before rushing toward the guy again. The guy wanted to stand up, but Isabelle already arrived in front of him and shot him on the knee.


    "Argh!"


    Isabelle looked down with killing intent. "I have said earlier. I will make you regret your choice. Firstly, I will shatter your finger one by one, your arms, your legs. You will have the worst experience before dying!"


    "Argh!"


    A series of gunshots followed by screams echoed inside the park for a few minutes until the guy died due to excessive blood loss.


    On the other side, Ria shed the bear guy''s hands and legs before pointing her sword at his neck. "Who is the one behind you? You won''t get the Zodiac Blood unless the person behind you is powerful enough."


    "Hmph! You won''t get anything from me!" The guy spat his blood toward her, only to be blocked by her sword.


    "You are very lucky that we are nowhere near my house. You will feel something far more painful than the guy over there if that is the case." Ria pointed at the brutal death of the tiger guy. "Unfortunately, I think I will start my investigation from your blood and your corpse."


    Ria shed his neck without a single change of expression. She started procuring the blood and dead bodies to do her research to see the mastermind behind this incident. After all, this third party was something beyond her expectation.


    After collecting all the samples, she checked the others.


    "We have finished our battle." Michelle walked toward her and nodded.


    "Let''s regroup with that injured boy." Ria nodded and walked toward Evan and Isabelle while the others followed her.


    Isabelle didn''t notice theming closer and simply looked at Evan with lifeless eyes. At the same time, they couldn''t say anything either because of the shock and the regret in their hearts.


    Ria sighed and raised Evan. "I will be carrying him to the hospital and make sure he is fine. You guys can go back to the battlefield."


    "You are not going to help us?" Michelle asked.


    "No way. You already have my beloved students, so you don''t need me." Ria Ross smiled. "And don''t tell him about meing here."


    "Why?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. Kai should know about this since Ria had helped them a great time by defeating the one hundred enemies along with these six people.


    "I am not supposed to be here. Just like how you guys are on your happy vacation, this olddy shouldn''t intrude in your fun. That''s why, don''t tell him anything."


    "I¡­ Understand." Michelle sighed. "Still, he should have heard you with his hearing."


    "I have checked beforeing out. This ce is already outside of his extraordinary hearing range." Ria shrugged before tossing a device toward Tasha.


    "This is¡­" Tasha caught the bracelet and tilted her head in confusion.


    "It''s for twenty percent sharing. You can throw the ten percent device and change it with this new one. I think he already has the concept of his new magic and only needs a higher magic power to release the magic. This item should help him."


    "You should have given this to Kai, you know." Tasha furrowed her eyebrows.


    "No way. I have been covering him in the front for quite a while, it''s time for him to forge his own path¡­ The person who is standing beside him is not me, but you guys." Ria Ross shrugged and leaped to the air. "Anyway, see youter."


    Michelle watched her leave before looking at Tasha.


    Tasha nodded and created teleportation magic. "Teleportation!"

 Chapter 213 - A Pinch

    "Teleportation!"


    Tasha teleported them to somewhere near the terrain.


    "That is the wall. Let''s go." Michelle looked around, found the tall wall, andmanded.


    The others nced at it and nodded, raising their weapons. Suddenly, they heard a thunderous crashing sound.


    *Baam!*


    They quickly furrowed their eyebrows, especially when the loud sound was followed by the shouts of soldiers.


    "General!"


    Michelle opened her mouth in surprise as she looked at Tasha, "He¡­ No, we need to go right now!"


    Tasha nodded and followed Michelle to the battlefield. Ayaka summoned her Fire Wing and flew to the sky while the others decided to run toward the wall.


    However, what they found shocked them. There were many craters around the area. Although no wall had yet to be broken, the situation was perilous. Many dead soldiers around the area and their number must have surpassed Kai''s prediction. And the most important thing they had seen was the crater with dust kicked up. It was proof that the loud sound they heard earlier wasing from that.


    As soon as the dust settled down, the figure of Kai appeared in their vision and found that his body was covered by wounds. Even so, Kai still stood up while looking at the creature close to the sea.


    It was a crab. The crab looked like it had a humanoid form, albeit with six small legs. Its w looked strong and hard, while the edge looked very sharp. There was also something that took their attention. There were many wavy patterns around the ws, symbolizing that Kai managed to destroy a part of that hard shell.


    Even so, Kai''s situation was certainly far from good. He looked at the crab and the approaching Silva.


    "Sir Kai. I am afraid this is it. We have tried everything we can, but the enemies are too powerful. To think they have a monster like that." Silva gritted his teeth and red at the crab.


    Kai shook his head. "There is still a chance¡­ Do you believe me?"


    Silva thought for a moment and nodded.


    "Everything will change within ten minutes." His sound was filled with bravery, confidence, and n.


    Silva couldn''t shake the strange feeling inside his heart and nodded to Kai. "I understand. We still have three hundred soldiers for our fighter and two hundred for gunners. We should be able to withstand their relentless assault for ten minutes."


    Kai smiled and patted his shoulder before walking toward the crab. "Besides, our first reinforcement has arrived."


    As soon as Kai said that, he leaped toward the crab. "I killed a Protector previously with the help of my Teacher. Let this be the time I kill a Protector with¡­"


    The crab noticed himing and pounced his ws toward Kai. Suddenly, two bullets struck his two ws. The force behind each of them was enough to blow these ws away.


    On top of the wall, there was a woman who was handling two sniper rifles. Normally, she would be smiling, but because of the recent thing that happened, she waspletely in a bad mood. The only way to vent it up was to st the monster with her weapons.


    Beside her was another woman aiming her bow toward the sky. She released a purple arrow before it transformed into a magic circle. This huge purple magic circle startled the people on the battlefield.


    "Lightning Storm!"


    The previous arrow then gave birth to a lightning bolt, striking toward the crab.


    Kai smiled as he abruptly stopped his movement, letting the lightning bolt hit the crab.


    However, the crab was better than an ordinary magical beast. He was a Protector. Knowing full well that he couldn''t use his ws to block this lightning strike, he bent down and took it right on his back. That shell was harder than the ws, so it withstood Tasha''s Lightning Attack without any problem.


    Albeit, the real intention behind these attacks was to let Michelle, Ayaka, and the others catch up with him.


    "This is going to be a hard battle. Michelle, Ayaka, Sofia, and I will hold the opponent back. Eva, Eve, Tommy, Nichs, and Julia will help the others in pushing back the magical beasts." Kai nced at Sofia. "You are going to help, right? I will make sure I work you to death."


    "Understood." They shouted in unison while Sofia scratched her cheek, wondering whether she made the right choice or not.


    Michelle then handed a device to Kai. "This is the upgraded version of your sharing device. Throw that away and use this one. Tasha has been using one, so you only need to make some adjustments, and it will be alright. It''s from your teacher."


    Kai looked at the device and furrowed his eyebrows. He removed the current device and changed with the new one without hesitation.


    The magic power started filling his body.


    "Take a minute or two to get used to that state. Your Teacher said you could use your new magic with this, so you might probably need to use itter. Anyway, Ayaka and I will buy you time for now. Sofia will protect you for the time being." Michelle nodded and assured him. "Don''t worry. Isabelle and Tasha are supporting us."


    Michelle then looked at Ayaka as both of them nodded at the same time, charging at the crab together.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The two sword strikes were running through the ground. However, the crab didn''t find it amusing as he simply brushed it off with a single w.


    On his left, Ayaka arrived and struck him with the momentum and heaviness of her spear. Nevertheless, her strength was still too far from the Protector.


    "Only he is qualified to fight against me, Eru. Scram, you little chick." The crab caught her spear and shattered it into pieces.


    "!!!" Ayaka was surprised to see this and immediately flew away.


    Michelle frowned and created a spear, throwing it to Ayaka. "It''s not as powerful as your spear, but make do with it for now."


    Ayaka thanked her and attacked him again.


    Eru nced at this and yawned. He pointed the w toward Ayaka.


    "Fu." On the other hand, Ayaka was still trying to calm her heart down by taking a few deep breaths. Knowing that the spear was far lighter than her previous spear, she decided to use another strategy to deal with this crab.


    When the w almost hit her, she elerated. Bending down her body, she went around the crab and struck his chest.


    "Kh!" The crab felt that strike earlier and was going to catch her, but thetter already went around and struck his hard-back.


    Ayaka continued to do it. Using her speeding from the Wildebeest Blood, she was filled with a change of pace. From zero to max speed and struck at the Protector and from max speed to zero to turn around. She let the Wildebeest instinct take over her to make an unpredictable movement.


    "So, this is what Ayaka has been training about¡­ Because she is not relying on the heaviness of her spear anymore, she started changing to this pattern." Michelle smiled as she clenched her weapons tightly, not wanting to lose. A magic circle appeared beneath her feet as her shadow came to life.


    "Ayaka, I will handle the ws. You go search for his weakness and strike at that point." Michellemanded as she and her shadow ran in the opposite directions, trying to target the ws.


    "Alright," Ayaka shouted and attacked the Protector ording to the n.


    The two were fighting coordinately. Even Sofia, on the side, was amazed by their coordination. "So, this is Lion Group¡­ Interesting."


    "You worms!" Eru became angry as he finally released the might that he used to fight Kai. In a single instant, Eru sped up and struck both Michelles and Ayaka.


    "Kh!" Michelle and her shadow blocked these attacks and pushed back a few meters. Meanwhile, Ayaka''s momentum was disturbed, resulting in her having a weird sense of bnce, and this attack blew her away before crashing into the left wall.


    *Boom!*


    Michelle didn''t want Eru to have the freedom to move, so she gritted her teeth and shed the ground again.


    "Shadow sh!" Her shadow also did the same movement as her and struck Eru from left and right.


    "Tch." Eru clicked his tongue. After exceeding his limit for a split second, his body was still weak.


    At the same time, a few fireballs appeared and rained it down on Eru.


    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    The smoke appeared and surrounded Eru.


    Unbeknownst to all of them, there was another woman that finally couldn''t control her instinct anymore. She rushed toward the battle and emerged from within the smoke.


    On her hand, many white thin metal rods were attached, giving her additional strength.


    "I hope you do not forget me¡­" Sofia appeared with a smile as she punched the crab right on its stomach.


    The crab noticed this and immediately moved his two ws, albeit another two shots were fired, sting the two ws again.


    Sofia grinned and connected the attack, blowing the crab a few meters away.


    "Kh¡­ So hard¡­" Sofia clenched her fist after noticing how hard it was. Even so, her eyes were still locked on the crab.


    Sofia, Ayaka, and Michelle surrounded him from the three sides with his back facing the sea. They made sure the crab wouldn''t interfere with the war in any way. But it seemed they still underestimated the power of SSS Rank magical Beast.


    "I will show you why that guy can''t win against me!" Eru roared as water suddenly burst out of the sand and surrounded him. He punched the sand, and the water suddenly turned into crescent des running through the ground in all directions.


    Whether they were magical beasts or humans, the des shed them like nothing before destroying the walls on their right and left.


    Michelle also got this attack and blocked with her swords. Unfortunately, she needed every power and released another Shadow sh just to destroy a single water de.


    The price of her doing so was the annihtion of her shadow. It got cut into two. Because it was directly connected to her, Michelle spat out some blood as soon as it got cut.


    On the other hand, Ayaka released her Fire Net and evaporated the water gradually before it could reach her, albeit it took her quite a lot of magic power.


    The same applied to Sofia. She froze the water de by touching it directly. However, the strength behind it was far beyond her expectation. She looked at her bleeding palm along with the bending rods and let out a deep breath.


    The magical beasts noticed the gap between the left and right walls and started going there.


    "Not good!"


    "They are going around and head to the town!"


    The magical beasts were their concern, but their main concern was the Protector. In a single move, he overturned the situation.


    In the middle of the battlefield, when everyone thought about their bad situation, there was a guy that finally finished his preparation. Kai furrowed his eyebrows and stood up. "Thank you, you three. I have managed to fuse with the magic power. Let''s overturn the situation, shall we?"

 Chapter 214 - Turn Around The Situation?

    "Thank you, you three. I have managed to fuse with the magic power. Let''s overturn the situation, shall we?" Kai was still smiling despite the condition. He looked at Silva and ordered. "Have one hundred people in each broken wall. Just buy time as long as possible. The remaining soldiers will push from the middle with the help of the gunners."


    "I understand." Silva nodded furiously as he quickly took control of the army.


    Kai then walked toward Sofia and patted her shoulder before nodding to Michelle and Ayaka. "Go attack his body with your speed. Sofia and I will hinder his movement. Just make sure you watch out for his water magic because it''s far stronger than you can imagine. As for the ws, I think we will be fine."


    "Understood." The three turned serious as they formed their own battle scenarios in their head.


    Kai took out his swords and said coldly. "We will take everything away¡ªhis eyes, his joints, his ws, his legs, and finally his life. Remember to watch out for each other. I believe we will turn this situation around in a few minutes."


    "Hmph! Do you think you are capable of bringing me down, Human? Even though you are the one¡­ You don''t even know the meaning behind her word and what reason we would exist¡­ You won''t be able to take us on, especially with the water surrounding me." The crab raised his ws as water flowed outside the sand.


    Kai nced once before he charged toward the crab while shouting. "Beware of water attacks from the ground."


    "Yes!"


    Kai struck the right w with his swords. The crab naturally tried to attack him with the other w, except Sofia suddenly appeared and grabbed the other hand, holding it in one ce.


    Knowing they had restricted the movement, Michelle charged at the crab from the front and shed his body with Shadow sh. At the same time, Ayaka also thrust her spear from behind, trying to target his back or legs. However, all of it was for naught. There was no scratch or whatsoever in his body except the oneing from Kai''s attack.


    The crab didn''t say anything and acted as if he was not hurt. Kai didn''t know whether the crab was acting strong or not because he never interacted with a talking crab, so he considered their attack was a failure.


    "Watch out!" He suddenly heard a sound underneath their feet and rmed everyone.


    They immediately looked down and leaped to the air while Kai simply put a sword in front of him and another one on his left. Two spikes made of water appeared precisely emerged from where he expected them to, so the two water spikes were cut into two, missing him in the process.


    On the other hand, the other three were also targeted by two water spikes. Michelle simply shed them with her Shadow sh. Ayaka dodged them with her speed while Sofia froze them. However, they were too far because of the earlier leap and couldn''t react to the next attack, leaving Kai alone in front of the Protector.


    The crab used this chance and struck Kai with his ws, blowing him a few meters away. Albeit, there were two tiny pieces of shell flying in the air. In that instant, Kai still managed to attack the crab while blocking the attack.


    Even so, the crab didn''t act weirdly since Kai had been doing this from the start and immediately leaped toward Kai, trying to attack him again while he was still in the air.


    "You can''t dodge that way! I have seen all your tricks already." Eru shouted as he grinned.


    Kai simply smiled as he suddenly tilted his head to the left as two bullets flew past his ears.


    "!!!" Eru was surprised about this attack and immediately bent down to receive the bullet with his back.


    *ng ng!*


    As expected from a Protector, he still managed to react that way. However, Kai hadn''t finished. He went under him and waved his swords with Vibration Swords.


    "Die!" He struck at its body as strong as possible, only to find he made a small cut in his body while the remaining force sted him, forcing his body and head to face upward.


    It was at this moment Tasha''s magic circle appeared again as a bolt of lightning struck forth.


    "Kh!" Eru gritted his teeth and used his magic, summoning water pirs from the sand. It was then twisted to make something like a cage and stopped the lightning together.


    Seeing this, Ayaka, Michelle, and Sofia attacked once again. Ayaka and Michelle, this time, stopped the two ws while Sofia became the main attack.


    Suddenly, Kai''s voice resounded on the battlefield. "st him to his original position."


    Sofia didn''t know his intention but still did as she was told. She punched the crab, specifically in his wound, to make it more painful before blowing him away.


    When he was passing his original position, a red magic circle appeared on the sand as Ayaka smiled.


    "What?" Eru was certainly surprised about this, never expecting a magic circle in a ce like this.


    On the other hand, Kai heard her movement when she attacked the crab with Michelle and realized she nted magic there and that magic was none other¡­


    "Magic Bomb!" Ayaka activated the magic, and a huge explosion urred, engulfing the crab from point-nk range.


    "Hmm¡­ It''s not very effective." Kai furrowed his eyebrows and muttered to himself.


    "This is good. Really good!" An excited voice suddenly echoed from within the zing explosion before the crab blew the fire and smoke away with a single wave of its w. "To think a bunch of newborn chicks can fight this well, this is really good."


    "Hmph! We can continue if you want. Even though that wound is shallow, you will still die sooner orter." Kai was sweating inwardly. Ayaka''s explosion was very powerful, but it seemed it was still nowherepared to the monstrous SSS magical beast. He was wondering how much their actual power was reduced when they came to thend for a period of time because this one was really monstrous as he recalled Ra''s case.


    "Do you think you can win? I think this is the time I get serious!" The crab raised his two hands.


    Kai and the others didn''t know what he wanted to do. Kai tweaked his finger as a signal for Isabelle to shoot.


    *Bam Bam!*


    "Shut up!" Eru simply waved his w and deflected the two bullets. Suddenly, the water behind them rose around fifty meters high. It slowly turned into a human form ¡ª Upper body alone as if it were a water elemental or something. "Do you think we are like you? Humans can only use mana to use magic, like magic thrower. However, we, Protectors, might only have water elements, but we have a big difference to the likes of you. We are controlling the elements ourselves.


    "Now, Rise! Water Guardian, Khaigos!"


    The water elemental raised both hands as if it was alive.


    "Mow them down!"


    The water elemental then sent his fist toward Kai and the others. They thought it would be as simple as dodging it, considering it was not fast, albeit Kai realized right on time.


    "No! We need to stop that punch!" He realized as soon as he saw everyone on his back. They were still fighting against the magical beasts and had no way to respond to this type of attack. If the water elemental brought the flood in this environment, not only would it weaken their strength, it would also give the elemental advantage to the magical beasts. It was already catastrophic enough to hold them in this environment, and if they were also having this type of advantage, Miami would be done for.


    As if she was responding to Kai''s voice, Tasha suddenly appeared in front of the fist and looked at this water elemental without having an expression. She simply pointed her hand toward the fist as she created a pink magic circle.


    A giant pink sphere, ten meters in diameter, the same size of the fist, appeared in front of it. The sphere swallowed the fist entirely like it was slime.


    "Hmph! Spatial Lock! Begone!"


    After swallowing the entire fist, the pink sphere vanished into thin air as if it never existed. The water elemental couldn''t continue its attack with this fist and changed with the other fist.


    Tasha wanted to stop this, but Ayaka beat her first.


    "I can''t carelessly use this one on the battlefield earlier because there are friendlies. However, I can use it against this thing!" Ayaka pped her hand as a red magic circle appeared in front of the water elemental''s chest.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    *Boom!*


    The magic circle exploded, creating a hole in the chest and separating the body from the head and hands. The result was pretty obvious. Without the support of the water below it, the head and hands crumbled.


    Without anyone noticing, Sofia already walked toward the ocean and ced her hand on the water as she created a blue magic circle.


    "Freezing Field!"


    She sent an ice that spread toward the water elemental, creating a horizontal line between her and the body before freezing the lower body.


    Tasha found this as another opportunity andnded on the ground as she created another Teleportation Magic circle. However, this time the targets were the magical beasts.


    Around fifty of them suddenly appeared high in the sky, falling down at high speed. These magical beasts hit the frozen body and shattered the water elemental into pieces.


    "Nice! The weather is very nice today. To have another magical beast rain that can help us defeat the enemy." Kai nodded in approval.


    They nodded with a smile as they believed the water elemental was destroyed. But Eru suddenlyughed out loud as he shouted. "I just said it! We control water! As long as there is water, we are absolute!"


    As soon as he uttered those words, the water elemental regenerated and looked at them.

 Chapter 215 - Reinforcement

    The water elemental regenerated its body and red at them, ready to throw another punch.


    Kai''s expression darkened, noticing the situation had finally turned worse.


    Ayaka looked at Sofia and nodded before shouting at Kai. "Kai! We are going to hold this monster! You and Michelle need to take care of that guy. Tasha should also go back to your position."


    Kai was surprised to hear this, but he immediately looked at Michelle and signaled to move. They had no time to hesitate.


    Michelle waved her swords, releasing her Shadow sh. The target was none other than Eru.


    Kai followed the Shadow sh from behind with his swords, nning to strike him at his wound again as soon as he destroyed the Shadow sh. However, he suddenly heard a movement under the sand and immediately raised his swords to the front as if he was going to receive an attack.


    Suddenly, a huge water spike appeared and sted the Shadow sh instantly before moving toward Kai. He remembered this type of attack. It wasing from Ra.


    "Oscition Shield!" Kai used his strongest shield without hesitation.


    He felt the force was, in fact, stronger than Ra''s who used this technique from his mouth. It seemed his power had been reduced more than half because the crab could actually pull off a stronger move like this.


    Kai gritted his teeth and stabbed the ground, trying to block this attack¡­ Or at least that was what they thought. Little did they know, he actually remembered another thing. It was the fact that a Magical Beast actually died from this burst of water.


    He tilted his shield a little bit, creating an angle. Even though it was not at full power, he still managed to channel the water toward the magical beasts. Surprisingly, the strength was still stronger than he imagined, pushing the magical beast to the front and hitting the one in front of them. Although they were not dead, Isabelle and Tasha already knew which magical beasts to target, especially Tasha.


    She released her Lightning Arrow and electrocuted those few magical beasts. The reason why Kai thought it wasn''t good to have the field flooded, it was simply because the soldiers would also get electrocuted.


    He tried to lower their loss, but he also knew that they were on the verge of defeat. On one hand, it was really sad and would cause many problems if he lost this fight. On the other hand, the loss was really deserved. He didn''t manage to predict there was going to be a Protectoring.


    However, Kai also got another problem at this moment.


    "Bam!"


    "Argh!" A series of screams resounded across the battlefield as he realized that the enemy almost destroyed the left army.


    Kai thought for a second and shouted. "Have fifty people on the wall to reinforce the left army!"


    Silva ordered them, but the problem had yet to end. Michelle suddenly flew toward him with her back facing him. Kai instinctively caught her and asked. "Are you okay?"


    "You haven''t reached that level yet!" Eru shouted at Kai as he appeared right beside him, waving his w toward him.


    Kai raised another Oscition Shield, trying to block this attack. Unfortunately, everything was for naught. Eru blew him away toward the left army.


    Realizing he would crash on the magical beasts, he shifted his body, hugged Michelle, and activated another Oscition Shield on his back to reduce the impact.


    *Boom!*


    He gritted his teeth and put Michelle down while looking at Eru. Meanwhile, Sofia and Ayaka were also blown away by the water elemental.


    "Kya¡ª!"


    Sofia still saw the monster still want to attack them with his fist and immediately used her magic. "Ice Shield!"


    A tall wall made of ice suddenly emerged and blocked the fist.


    Ayaka took another deep breath and rose again, activating her Fire Wing to get his attention.


    Michelle was also panting in front of Kai. "Kh! That broke one of my ribs¡­ I could still hold on."


    She quickly summoned her Shadow to protect them from the magical beasts.


    "I am afraid this is the time we retreat¡­" Kai sighed as he listened to everyone''s movement in his surroundings. Suddenly, Tasha appeared before him and denied it. "No! We can''t give up! I still have around fifty percent of magic power¡­ I think I will release my own seal that I ce in my heart¡­"


    "Sister!" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting she woulde to such a conclusion. The seal she was talking about was not a physical seal. It was simply a psychological seal for her to not use her power to the fullest, especially her Space Magic. Unfortunately, their situation had already turned worse.


    "Don''t worry! This power is dangerous because I have your magic power. If I don''t have yours, I am just simple trash! In the worst case, I can simply return everything to you and refuse to do anything¡­" Tasha smiled with a sad tone. It was easy to see she was faking it even without Kai''s extraordinary hearing.


    "No¡ª!" As Kai said that word, he abruptly turned his head and saw a few ck dots far in the sky.


    "I will show you the true power of Sealing Magici¡ª!" Before she finished her words, Kai grabbed her hands with a serious expression.


    "It''s fine. You don''t need to show it now¡­ Everything is going to be alright." Kai smiled before looking at Eru, who was rained down by Isabelle''s bullets. He rose back on his feet and shouted as loud as possible. "All Soldiers, hear me! Our condition might look bad, but fret not! Just three more minutes! Please trust these three minutes of your life in my hand!


    "If nothing happens in these three minutes, all of you can escape from this battlefield as I, Kai Carter, will hold the rear for you! Please hear me out! Just for these three minutes. Believe me!" As soon as Kai said those words, he let his instinct take over, shed ten magical beasts in the surrounding, and ran toward Eru again while shouting. "Those who believe in me; fight with your lives on the line!"


    The battlefield turned silent because most of them couldn''t trust him. Kai was still a student, no matter how the world described him. They couldn''t trust their lives to a person like him¡­ Albeit, a few people suddenly roared, especially Silva, who was the loudest.


    "I, Silva, will follow Sir Kai to the death!" Silva roared and released every tiny bit of strength in his body as he sent some magical beasts flying.


    "I, Gillian, will follow Sir Kai to death!"


    "I, Alec, will follow Sir Kai to the death!"


    "I¡­"


    The armymanders were the first to shout and release all of their strength as if they didn''t care anything that would happen after three minutes passed. However, those words somehow reached the corner of the soldiers'' hearts as they also let out a rallying cry.


    Kai smirked as he charged at the Protector again.


    "!!!" Eru noticed the change in Kai and immediately struck him with his ws. Normally, Kai would dodge or deflect them away, but this time, Kai suddenly struck him with all of his strength. Even after getting blown away, he kept waving his swords again and again as if there were two different Kai.


    Tasha decided to go around and teleport some magical beasts to lessen the burden of the army while Michelle appeared behind the protector and struck his leg with all her strength.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Eru wanted to react, but Kai suddenly released another surge of strength, resulting in one of his legs being cut. However, Eru also realized that his attack became simpler. Knowing that reason, he decided to test him.


    "Kya¡ª!" Ayaka and Sofia were suppressed by the water elemental and almost got punched by the elemental. As soon as he heard the scream, Eru could see the sudden change in Kai''s expression.


    "Michelle. I will leave him to you for a few seconds." Kai took over his instinct again, gritted his teeth and leaped toward the elemental, raising his hand and creating another Oscition Shield. Luckily, he already got twenty percent of his power, so he could make a bigger Oscition Shield to block this attack.


    Unfortunately, it only redirected the power to him instead of the two girls, resulting in him getting blown away. He crushed into the ice wall before falling to the ground.


    He instinctively stood up and wiped the blood on his mouth before charging again. It was at this moment, the situation finally changed.


    *Thud Thud Thud~*


    Loud music suddenly echoed across the battlefield, making the soldiers turn their heads away. They were wondering why they would hear such a thing, and when they raised their vision, they saw a few cargo airnes. Without anyone saying anything, they realized those airnes were carrying many soldiers, AKA, their reinforcements.


    "They are our reinforcement!"


    "That''s right. We only need to wait for another minute before they start dropping soldiers off the airnes and a few more seconds before theynded."


    "Just like Sir Kai said! It is precisely three minutes! Do you know what that means, Soldiers?"


    Silva and the others shouted as loud as possible, trying to raise their morale. The soldiers were still stunned and needed another push.


    Kai grinned again as he shed many more magical beasts in his surroundings, creating a ruckus as big as possible. He didn''t forget to rush again while cutting on many magical beasts and shouted. "Soldiers! On me!"


    The soldiers finally woke up and saw Kai killing magical beasts and advancing like a train. There was only one thing to do for them¡­ and that is to fight¡­


    "Ooh!"


    The loud roars from the soldiers shook the entire battlefield.

 Chapter 216 - New Magic

    "Ooh!" With the roars shook the battlefield, the soldiers were revitalized.


    Kai kept causing a big stir to show that he was advancing with them.


    Michelle realized his movement and immediately pulled back while sending another Shadow sh to keep Eru from moving.


    Ayaka and Sofia raised once again as they stared at the water elemental. "You won''t pass us this time!"


    Whether they had a n or it was simply their pride, determination filled their eyes. And the battle started yet again.


    Far in the sky, Nathan, standing inside the cockpit, could also see these people fighting in absolute disadvantage.


    "General¡­ They only have around four hundred people left. From our report, their number was almost eight hundred¡­ but it seems most of them have fallen. However, we can''t spot their general, Abec."


    Nathan''s face was distorted, not because of the dying soldiers. He was angry, looking at how the Protector controlled the situation. The report said that it was five thousand magical beasts. Their seven hundred or so soldiers should be enough tost for long, especially with Kai and his group. Yet, they were in the middle of copsing, baffling him.


    Nathan looked down, contemting their battle strategy.


    "Do you want to contact other nes, General?" The pilot nced at him, ready to give a signal.


    "Bryan will take five hundred people to reinforce the right army, while Albert will take another five hundred to help the left army. One thousand soldiers under mymand will attack them from the front. I will take care of that monster over there." Nathan pointed his finger at Eru.


    "Roger that." The pilot nodded. Although they couldn''t usemunication tools, their airnes had been strengthened by some lighting. Right on the side of their cockpit, there was a big red-light bulb outside the ne. The same applied to the other side and the other ces around the nes.


    The pilot sent a Morse code to the other nes using this feature while the two spread the signal so the others could receive the order as well. This way, the magical beasts wouldn''t pick up theirmunication signal and stay under the sea. This had be another reason why the government chose to produce more of these cargo airnes because this technique was not practical for a high-speed air battle.


    "There are only thirty seconds before we are ready to drop off. I am going then." After giving his order, Nathan said goodbye to the pilots and left the cockpit.


    "Good luck. General!" The two pilots saluted until Nathan left.


    Meanwhile, Kai also realized their n due to his extraordinary hearing. Luckily, they were inside his hearing range due to the fact of how low they are flying. He took a deep breath and looked at Michelle. "Go help Ayaka and Sofia. I will handle him alone¡­ Soon, your Grandfather will help me, so don''t worry."


    Michelle hesitated for a second before nodding her head and leaping toward the giant monster.


    "Do you think you can stop me alone?" Eru red at him.


    "No. I just believe that you are going to lose in just a few minutes." Kai shook his head. He had realized the strength of the Protector, so he answered without hesitation.


    Back then, Ra was trying to help Eric even though he had been living on thend for a long time. Compared to Eru, Ra seemed to only use thirty percent of his original power. That was why he knew that even Ria might probably lose if she fought against the Protector in a situation like this.


    Eru gritted his teeth, couldn''t stand to see this calmness. Even though Kai was already injured all over, he should be able to hold him down for a few minutes. And the fact that the situation on the battlefield didn''t turn worse because Tasha sent many magical beasts to the sky, Eru knew that the situation would be overturned in a few minutes.


    He took a deep breath andughed. "Haha! Good good! I never thought that you could make me this desperate! You are indeed a man of talent, Kai Carter. Let us see whether you are still able to hold on after a few minutes because I will now fight with my life on the line!"


    Kai would never expect this type of response from Eru. He gritted his teeth and roared. "Ha!"


    The two leaped toward each other, shing a few hundred rounds in just a matter of seconds. Kai was punched and injured all over his body, but Eru was no better. After ignoring his defense, Eru was going for the offensive, not caring about his wound even a little bit. As a result, Kai''s wounds were far worse than his. Suddenly¡­


    *ng!*


    "Kh!" Kai''s sword was blown away by the w as another w was trying to punch him right on his stomach. "Oscition Shield!"


    The green magic circle appeared and stopped his w.


    Eru also felt the repelling force from this magic circle. Nheless, he realized the force was already too weak to stop his attack. Eru broke through the magic circle and punched him on the stomach, blowing him away to the magical beasts.


    *Bam!*


    "Thank you, Isabelle." Kai panted as he realized Isabelle shot her bullet at thest second to reduce the impact from the punch or else, he would get some broken ribs.


    Neither Eru nor Isabelle could hear Kai''s voice, and the former already charged at him.


    Kai noticed this and remembered onest thing that his Teacher had entrusted to him and immediately cut some magical beasts into some big pieces, sending them flying to the air.


    Tasha didn''t know why but she felt Kai wanted to do something different before recalling what Ria Ross said.


    "He already has the concept¡­ But hecks magic power. If the requirement is fulfilled¡­" These words shed in her mind before she opened her mouth in surprise.


    Kai created several magic circles around him, facing Eru. They were all behind the magical beasts'' parts.


    "To think I would use my magic before testing it first¡­" Kai muttered to himself before using his Sound Instion magic to close his ears. "Anyway, I can only risk it if I want to win."


    Eru furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing what kind of attacks Kai would show him.


    "I haven''t named it yet, but I will call this for the time being." Kai activated his magic circles as soon as the magical beasts aligned with his magic circles. "Sound st!"


    The magic circles released a high frequency and energy sound, blowing the magical beast parts like throwing a rock. They all flew like a bullet, and their target was none other than Eru.


    "What?" Eru was surprised and tried to deflect everything with his ws. There were still a few pieces left, with a whole giant crab flying toward him. He deflected it like the others, but Kai was actually using the crab as his cover.


    "Do you like my present?" Kai smirked as he shed Eru with his sword, creating a quite deep wound on his chest.


    "Argh!" Eru spat out blood as he saw Kai already a few meters away from him.


    "The magic is really taxing¡­"


    Kai''s condition was not any better. He was panting, trying to catch his breath. The new magic was indeed taking a toll on his body. The concept of the Sound st was taken from the Sound Levitation. However, he felt the force behind it was too weak.


    He had tried many things to strengthen the force but to no avail. One month ago, he finally found a rough concept on how to fix all the ws in Sound Levitation. First of all, the concept itself was something simr to his Oscition Shield. Vibrating the particles and sending powerful energy through the air.


    By using this concept as his lead, Kai went further with his research. He remembered he had something that could fix the power. Although it was a double-edged sword, it was only if he used it to its fullest potential. Ultrasonic Assassin. It was the name of magic that he used with Ayaka the first time they formed a team. This magic shredded him into pieces because of its powerful energy.


    To fix the w and incorporate it into the Sound Levitation, he toned down the energy a little bit. Unfortunately, the energy produced by it was too low. He had tested it, and it only seeded in throwing a small stone. That was why he took the Sound Instion Magic to another level.


    By creating a half-sphere behind the magic circle, Kai could release the energy from two sides of his Ultrasonic Assassin magic circle. The first one was from the front, and it had no problem. The second energy was reflected by the Sound Instion Magic and flew to the front. This way, the magic circle had no problem in sending this big magical beast fly.


    Oscition Shield, Ultrasonic Assassin, and Sound Instion. These three magic had helped him create support but offensive magic for him. Although he couldn''t achieve the desired Levitation yet, he believed it was only a matter of time before he seeded in his research in this area.


    However, using three magic at the same time was easier said than done. If he didn''t have twenty percent of magic power, he wouldn''t be able to use this at all. He was grateful to Ria for bringing it to him at the right time. Well, she already promised to bring it to him a few months ago, so¡­


    Kai shook his head and sighed. "I think it''s time for me to learn how to shoot."


    As he joked so, Eru roared. "You bastard!"


    Suddenly, another voice also resounded across the battlefield. It was full of curse toward Eru as there were three crescent-shaped water des flying toward him. "No, you are the bastard!"


    "Boom Boom Boom!"

 Chapter 217 - Overturns The Situation

    "Boom Boom Boom!"


    The wind des exploded as if it hit something. Everyone thought itnded on the Protector, but when the particles settled down, they realized a wall of water blocking the three attacks.


    Kai smiled, looking at the old man above the wall. "You arete, Sir."


    "I rushed here, alright? If I didn''t have any preparation and proceeded with the normal route, I wouldn''t arrive this fast." Nathan shrugged as he looked at the two thousand soldiers falling to the ground with their parachutes.


    "Bryan, Albert. After rearranging the soldiers, switch with the girls and take care of that water thingy." Nathan shouted.


    "Understood."


    Meanwhile, Kai took a step back, creating a distance between him and the Protector.


    Nathan arrived beside him and asked. "How do you feel?"


    "I still can handle this, and I need to see this battle to a proper conclusion. I shall assist you in fighting him."


    "Alright. Don''t push yourself too much¡­ Defeating him sounds nice, but my priority is to save you and Miami." Nathan nodded. "If you push him to the corner, it might be troublesome."


    "I understand." Kai nodded while clenching the only sword he had with two hands.


    "I will be the main." As soon as Nathan said so, he leaped toward Eru while taking out his two weapons.


    As Eru was about to knock the weapon away, he suddenly raised his w to block an attack from Nathan, who was still a few meters away from him.


    *Bam!* A gunshot sound echoed, followed by the clicking sound of metal.


    It turned out that Nathan''s weapons were a sword and a pistol. He waved his right hand to get a good cut on the wound Kai''s inflicted earlier, only to find Eru protecting that area heavily.


    Nathan observed his movement, halted his step, and raised his left hand, shooting the pistol.


    *Bam!*


    The bullet flew through the gap between the w and pierced the wound on his body. Eru spat out blood as he was surprised with this.


    Nathan then nced at Isabelle, telling her how she needed to do it. Whether it was her trust in Kai or the fact that she enjoyed being support, Isabelle never shot like Nathan, targeting the already existing wounds. Instead, she had been helping him this whole time.


    The old man realized this in a single nce of Eru''s body and told her that no matter her partner was, she should always go on the offensive. Nathan had high hope of her firepower, so it was better to teach her this early, or so he thought.


    Isabelle gulped down and took a deep breath. It wasn''t like she didn''t want to do it. It was just she thought Kai would be angry if she did that. After all, Kai had been fighting this Eru for a long time.


    Neither Kai and Isabelle actually grabbed each other''s personality. Isabelle thought so while Kai was still waiting for her shots. Yet, this was normal because they were not in the same group.


    Seeing the approval from Nathan, Isabelle changed her target and aimed at more deadly spots.


    Kai joined the attack and appeared right beside Eru. He swung his sword toward the joint of the w, forcing Eru to leap to the side.


    At the same time, the ice started spreading on the ground, moving toward Eru at high speed and freezing his feet.


    Eru noticed this and sent a strike toward the ice to break it before another two pairs of attacksing toward him.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Four shes ran through the ground and struck at his feet. Due to the fact that he had been injured all over by Kai, these four shes managed to cut his two legs, reducing it from the original ten to seven.


    When he turned around, he found Michelle with her shadow standing next to each other. And with the ice attack, she could see Sofia from earlier. If these two joined this battle because there were two new people keeping his water elemental at bay, thest girl should alsoe. Yet, there was no such person in his vision.


    Suddenly, Kai and Nathan leaped back, trying to not break their silence before a huge red magic circle appeared beneath Eru.


    "!!!" Eru looked around and found the girl in the sky, activating her magic. "Tch!"


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    *Boom!* A huge explosion swallowed Erupletely. Ayaka dared to use this magic because she had checked that there was no soldier nearby.


    Kai used this chance to rush toward Eru to take advantage of the smoke as his cover.


    At the same time, Eru thought the same and released his attack once again. It was the omnidirectional water des attack. Not only it tried to attack Kai, but it also blew away the smoke produced by the explosion.


    Looking at the water de, Nathan appeared right in front of Kai, creating a wall of water. As if it made the same surface, the water de ran on the water wall and shot out to the sky.


    Kai used this chance to get closer to Eru and shed his sword.


    Nathan didn''t let Eru react by shooting his gun a few times, specifically toward his wounded areas. The same applied to Isabelle. She released another two shots from the wall.


    Eru frowned, waved his left w to block two bullets while having his other hand to stop Kai.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t realize the detail of Isabelle''s shots. The moment he blocked it with his left w, he suddenly heard a cracking sound.


    *Crack!* Without a doubt, the sound came from the shell of his w. He knew that Isabelle shot twice, but he didn''t realize that the bullets would actually hit the same ces simultaneously, making a huge crack in his shell.


    Kai smirked as he struck at that ce again and deepened the crack.


    "D*mn!" Eru cursed as he finally struck Kai with his other hand, only to find himself already leaving his attack range.


    "I will be able to destroy that w with another attack," Kai informed.


    Nathan nodded after getting impressed by the marksmanship. Isabelle targeted very specific spots where Kai''s sword prated deeper. Using that ce as her advantage, she finally managed to break his defense.


    Kai utilized that and inflicted a deeper wound.


    Nathan started creating his strategy in his mind and decided to join thest strive.


    Judging at this development, Kai leaped again, facing Eru with his sword. They traded a few blows, and Kai specifically targeted his left side because of the w.


    Eru gritted his teeth and started dodging and parrying with his right w instead of his left w. Nathan, Michelle, and Ayaka also joined, aiming at his left hand. If they could take his left hand at this moment, their victory would be nothing but assured.


    With that thought in mind, Eru was overwhelmed by all of these attacks and sent another omnidirectional water attack, trying to blow everyone away.


    Michelle and Ayaka realized this and immediately retreated a few steps before Sofia''s ice emerged in front of them, creating a huge ice wall that redirected the water attack to the air like how Nathan handled it previously.


    They nced at Sofia and nodded, thanking her for the effort before moving again. On the other hand, Nathan was lucky because this attack couldn''t hit him. As for Kai¡­ he simply destroyed the attack with his brute strength.


    *Boom Boom Boom!* A series of explosions came from the side. The magical beasts also started getting suppressed by the armies while Albert and Bryan somehow managed to stop the water elemental from rampaging for the time being.


    Kai pumped his fist, knowing that the situation would soone to close.


    Meanwhile, Eru was still searching for a way to overturn the situation, only to find nothing. Getting cornered like this, the reinforcement that seemed to be stronger than an average soldier, and the fact that no one in the main party had yet to die in this battle already made him so concerned.


    "It''s time for you to die." Kai roared as he kept attacking with the others. The joy of bringing someone down who almost killed you multiple times was intense, and this was what Kai experienced right now.


    Eru frowned and looked at his surroundings, realizing that the situation was not in his favor anymore. If he continued this battle, he would die. Hence, Eru took a hard step in his life and decided to retreat by using these magical beasts as his shield.


    "Roar Roar!"


    The magical beasts heard his order and quickly changed their movement, surrounding Eru as a meat shield.


    "This is not good!" Kai and Nathan noticed that nothing good came if Eru seeded in escaping.


    "Hold him back!" Nathan ordered as he released another three crescent water des, sting many magical beasts to open the path for Kai.


    However, Eru almost reached the water. As soon as he submerged, neither Kai nor Nathan could chase him anymore.


    Kai looked left and right, wondering whether they had another card to use to prevent Eru from escaping.


    "Haha! I will leave for today. Expect me to get my revenge in the next battle." Eruughed as if he had already won.


    It was at this moment, a certain woman appeared right above Eru and summoned a magic circle right below his feet. She said, "You can escape as long as you reach the water, right? Isn''t the solution simple? I just need to teleport you to the sky. I wonder if a Protector will be mincemeat if I teleport them to the sky¡­"


    The woman was none other than Tasha. She activated her magic circle and smirked evilly. "Teleportation!"

 Chapter 218 - Killing Eru

    "Teleportation!"


    The next thing he realized, Eru found himself in the sky, falling at high speed.


    "Kh!"


    Tasha appeared in the sky and red at Eru as she pped her hands, creating a huge purple magic circle in the sky.


    "You say that your power is to manipte water, right? I will just simply create an environment where your water can''t reach you." Tasha smiled.


    "Do you think you are capable of bringing me down?" Eru roared, feeling insulted.


    "I still have forty percent of my magic power," Tasha muttered to herself and started focusing on her magic. She rather showed it by the action instead of words.


    Suddenly, four magic circles appeared above Eru as if they were connecting him with the sky. The ck thundercloud started to gather around the area, and thunder began reverberating in one''s ears.


    Eru looked at the ominous ck cloud along with the scary purple magic circles. Not only that, but he also tasted metal because of this sudden phenomenon.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" He realized what was going on and opened his eyes wide.


    The magic circle produced a huge amount of electrical charges as they slowly gathered around Eru. Just like how electrical charges concentrate around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people, or single trees. The charge in Eru''s body gradually connected with a charge reaching down from the clouds and¡ªZap¡ªLightning Strike!


    Of course, this was not a natural phenomenon. Everything was fueled by Tasha''s Magic Power. Hence, Tasha needed to activate her Magic first.


    Another humongous purple circle appeared right below the cloud, shining so brightly that almost blinded one''s eyes.


    ''I might have borrowed nature a little bit, but the power itself is notparable to a normal lightning strike, let alone the speed and temperature. However, it is still enough to be one of the deadliest strikes as it also contains forty percent of Kai''s magic power.'' Tasha gritted her teeth, feeling her magic power drained before yelling.


    "Lightning God''s Wrath!"


    *Zap!*


    The white-purplish lightning struck down, making its way toward Eru.


    "No way!" Eru roared as he summoned all the water in the air to form a shield, protecting him from this ominous lightning.


    "That is still useless." Tasha had no change of expression, watching Eru''sst struggle.


    The lightning finally struck Eru''s shield, revealing its true power. The water shield was instantly broken the moment it collided with the lightning.


    Eru gritted his teeth and blocked the attack with his right w. Unfortunately, the attack was far stronger than he expected, causing him to lose his right w.


    "Gah!" Even so, he was still as stubborn as ever. He sacrificed his entire right arm just to block this attack and escaped from death.


    The water elemental rose as high as possible, trying to catch him as they would submerge underwater after this.


    "Is that not enough?" Tasha gritted her teeth as she aimed her bow at him.


    "Little girl. Your strength is indeed powerful¡­ Judging from the magic power alone, you might be able to match the Princess¡­ Except, you are still too inexperienced in using your power. I will kill you with that boy in the future." Eru grinned, preparing for the attack from him.


    When Tasha was about to shoot him, she suddenly noticed the movement on the ground and stopped for a while.


    On the ground, Sofia already reached the water and created a blue magic circle.


    "Freezing Field." Sofia also released the rest of her magic power and froze the surrounding sea along with the giant water elemental, creating the liberty tower from ice.


    Michelle also didn''t like how Eru defeated her this whole time and shot out four Shadow sh.


    These four shes ran through the sand, continuing to the ice that Sofia made earlier and climbing the giant ice sculpture. It then flew like a rocket, shing Eru and deepening his wound as one of the shes managed to hit the wound Kai inflicted.


    "Gah!" Eru spat out blood, never expecting that the ants on the ground used this chance to strike him again. They were too persistent.


    Not only these two, but Kai also ran on the ice, following the trail and climbing the tower before leaping up high.


    Eru saw this and turned his body around as he pointed his left w to Kai, trying to summon the water to shoot him down.


    At this time, three people attacked him at the same time.


    *Bam Bam!*


    Isabelle''s bullets arrived first and hit the left w. Eru screamed out of pain as he noticed the bullet hit the same target, and that ce was where Kai said he could shatter it with another attack. The w instantly became useless because it wouldn''t be hard enough to block Kai''s attack.


    Yet, thisbination attack didn''t stop here. Nathan sent his water des and cut Eru''s left arm. Meanwhile, Ayaka''s fire magic sted all the particles away that would soon turn into magic, canceling his attack toward Kai.


    "Tch." Eru gritted his teeth and red at Ayaka, Isabelle, and Nathan. If they didn''t interfere, he could still block Kai''s attack, allowing him to have a chance.


    Now that he had lost his two arms, he had only one way to stop Kai''s attack. Turning his body around, he was nning to intercept Kai''s attack with his back.


    Kai knew that this would be thest chance to attack him and took a deep breath as he struck Eru''s back with his sword. The sword slid on the surface of the shell and kept running through until it passed him. Eru thought it was his victory, but¡­


    Suddenly, Kai flipped his body vertically and stepped on the air above him as a green magic circle appeared on the air. It was his new magic. And that magic could even send huge and heavy magical beasts flying, let alone Kai himself.


    As soon as he activated his Sound Instion magic on both ears, he activated it andunched him in the opposite direction.


    "!!!" Eru tried to turn around again, albeit their distance was already too close. "I won''t make it!"


    With the thought in his mind, Kai shed his neck with this Vibration Sword. Although there was resistance from the hard shell, Kai knew Eru wouldn''t be able to survive this after getting reduced to this.


    "I guess I lost today''s match." As much as he regretted it, Eru closed his eyes and grinned. He looked at Kai and his sword that almost reached him and smiled. "Remember. If you are going to solve the riddle in her words, you must look at the future."


    At the moment, Kai treated this as hisst struggle, not believing until there was another talk before. He kept his target and finally sent Eru''s head flying before the corpse fell into the sea.


    His trouble had yet to end as Kai looked up and found Tasha was still there. It seemed that her magic power was almost empty, so he decided to flip his body once again and used the Sound st tounch him again to the sky, trying to catch Tasha into his embrace.


    Tasha made the best smile on her tired face as she released her bow and stretched her hand, falling into his embrace.


    "Seriously, you are really reckless¡­" Kai smiled as he took a nce at her current strength. "Still, since when have you created new magic?"


    "Hehe¡­ I am not procrastinating this whole time, you know. While you were busy with your research, I researched the Lightning Magic and arrived at this new magic." Tasha smiled. "I will be telling you the detailster¡­ So, you should also tell me anything about your new magic."


    "Sure." Kai smiled. They might have a warm conversation right now, but that doesn''t change the fact they are falling at the moment. Even so, Kai didn''t have any change of expression as the green magic circle appeared in the air.


    This was also another use of his Sound st. By sending the energy upward, it could lessen the impact of two people falling.


    Although it needed some kind of adjustment, Kai and Tasha were still stopped by the magic circle. Using this chance, Kai created another one, not far below the current one, and leaped toward it. The scene repeated a few times as Kai slowly descended from the air as if he was walking down the stairs.


    Only one word could describe this scene: Magical. Because of the force from Sound st, Kai never actually touched the magic circle, so he looked like stepping and leaping on the air as if a prince carrying the princess to the ground.


    Tasha smiled the entire time and rested her head on his chest, feeling a bit tired after using all of her magic power. Kai didn''t say anything until hended on the ice wall that separated the beach and the city.


    Putting Tasha down gently, Kai turned around and made a serious expression. Some of the people were mesmerized by that scene earlier. Michelle pouted and looked away. Ayaka chuckled because she knew Tasha deserved that one. Isabelle shook her head, wondering if Evan could actually do the same while Sofia sped her hand and pictured the scene as if she was the one there. Even Nathan, Bryan, and Albert could only scratch their heads, saying one single word in their mind. ''Youth.''


    On the other hand, some of the soldiers were too upied with the magical beasts, only knowing that the enemy leader had died in that exchange.


    Kai swept the entire battlefield. He still remembered what Eru said as it kept repeating in his mind, but he had the priority here, especially as the general of this army. He raised his hand and shouted. "tten them!"


    "Ooh!"

 Chapter 219 - Hospital

    After the death of Eru, the magical beasts rank started crumbling by thebined efforts of the original army and the reinforcement.


    Nathan offered to take over, but Kai decided to stay on the battlefield until they finished the war. Even though he didn''t do anything other than standing on top of the wall, he still raised the army''s morale. On the other hand, people like Tasha and Sofia, who had spent all their magic power, decided to climb the wall and rest.


    After another hour of the gruesome battle, thest monster was finally killed.


    Nathan came again to him, asking for his opinion. "By the way, what do you want with the soldiers? Most soldiers that originate from this ce are too tired to do anything. And where is the general of this ce? I need to have a great talk with him¡­ How dare he skip a war like this?!"


    "If you want to talk to him, you need to kill yourself first." Kai sighed, realizing the real source of this kind of situation was the third party that wreaked havoc on the military base.


    "What? Where is his corpse?" Nathan instantly turned around, searching for Abec''s body. He thought he had wronged him, albeit all the sympathy turned into mockery after he heard what Kai said next.


    "No. There was a third party lurking inside the base, taking Evan and killing General Abec." Kai paused for a moment, noticing something was wrong. "Now that I think about it, where is Evan right now? No one actually apanied him?"


    Tasha, beside him, suddenly froze and looked away, realizing their mistake. "He is with Professor Ria in the hospital."


    "Teacher is here?" Kai dropped his jaw, dumbfounded. "Why has no one told me about it? If I knew Teacher came to this ce, I would ask her help, and our situation might not be like this!"


    Tasha couldn''t say anything as she stared at Sofia and Isabelle, asking for help. Unfortunately, both looked away as they didn''t want to get involved with it, especially Isabelle.


    "Ehm¡­ After watching you get hurt by that beast made us forget. Besides, Professor Ria also told us not to say anything to you." Tasha decided to blurt it all out.


    "It''s obvious she didn''t know our condition! If she knew about this, she would evene without hesitation." Kai scratched his head and let out a long sigh. "Whatever, we are safe anyway. The lecture cer."


    Tasha nodded furiously. Kai often lectured her like this in the past, when she first tried to fend off the enemies by herself. It was a scary experience, considering Kai got influenced by Ria Ross''s style a bit. Since he wanted to lecture her about this, there was no way she would go down alone.


    As she thought that, Michelle and Ayaka had a chill down to their spines as they immediately looked left and right, wondering what just happened.


    Kai looked at the battlefield and sighed. A few hundred soldiers had lost their lives, and the remaining ones were still injured. Not having Evan in this situation made it moreplicated.


    "You can go to the hospital right now and heal yourself. Maybe you can also meet Ria Ross there and have a chat with her. I will take care of the rest." Nathan smiled before jumping off the wall.


    Not long after, Silva came to him. "Sir! Thank you very much for helping us in this battle."


    "Do you know that General Abec has died?"


    "Or so I heard¡­" Silva nodded. "We have never expected there are enemies inside our base, so this is our mistake. Despite having a disadvantage, Sir didn''t retreat and kept advancing. That gant figure of yours is truly that of a General."


    Kai gently smiled. Even though he had some immunity for praises, it still felt good to be praised.


    "Let me have the honor to drive you to the hospital."


    "It''s fine." Kai shook his head, rejecting the idea. "I will go there myself. You should stay with the soldiers since they need you the most, not a student like me. However, can you pass this message to them? Everyone has worked hard, thank you."


    Silva was amused by the message. "I understand. I will pass it to them."


    After receiving Kai''s message, Silva jumped off the wall and had a good chat with the soldiers. On the other hand, Kai opened hismunication device and deleted the video from a few days ago.


    Sofia noticed this and thought it must be her video.


    "I have deleted the record, so you don''t need to worry about them anymore." Kai looked at Sofia. "Though I first thought you wouldn''t be of any use in this battle, it seemed I was wrong. So, I apologize for underestimating you¡­ And thank you for your efforts this time. Despite facing death, you are still helping me and the soldiers to win this war."


    Sofia grinned and raised her two fingers, making a peace sign. "Don''t mention it. You are going to make me embarrassed. Besides, I am not the type who will abandon my promise, so I will see the battle to the end, even if it means defeat. That''s also one of the things that a general need to see."


    "I just hope that you don''t cause any problem before the conference starts."


    "Don''t worry. We will just enjoy ourselves here since we havee."


    Kai nodded and looked at Michelle and the others, asking them to climb the wall as well.


    "How are you?" Michelle was the first to arrive as she felt she would be the useless one herepared to Tasha and Ayaka.


    "We can get to the hospital right now with the others and be one of the patients while waiting for Evan to wake up and heal us."


    "By the way, what is that magic?"


    Kai thought for a moment and nced at Sofia before saying. "I will talk about itter."


    Although she had helped them, he still shouldn''t disclose anything to her, so he wanted to wait until they were alone with only his group.


    "I understand."


    Nathan sent someone to drive them to the hospital. Although the city had been evacuated, the facility was still running.


    They didn''t wait and just upied one of the rooms together. Only Kai and Michelle needed the treatment anyway since everyone was only exhausted after using their magic power.


    However, when they reached the hospital, he decided to visit the only two people in the hospital.


    *Bam!*


    Inside there, they found Ria with a surprised expression and Evan, who was still healing his wound with his own magic. Some of his facial features might havee back, but his face could still be considered as disfigured.


    This was the first time Kai saw this and sighed. "Sorry, Evan. It seems my decision to have you stand by in the base was wrong."


    "Don''t mind it." Evan shook his head. "And look at you, you are covered with wounds. And I can see that Michelle suffers some internal injuries. Both of you sit next to me; I will heal you along with myself."


    Their eyes locked, and both of them had no choice other than doing what he wanted.


    Evan then created a water ball to heal their injuries while keeping the other one for him.


    Kai then looked at Ria. "Teacher¡­ Why didn''t you want me to know you are here? I almost got killed by a Protector, you know."


    Ria opened her eyes. "What? A Protector?"


    "Yes. I am not joking."


    "I came here while avoiding your detection range, so I didn''t know you were fighting the Protector." Ria red at Michelle and the others. "Why didn''t youe to me, especially Tasha? With your Space Magic, you can literally get me in a few seconds."


    Tasha looked away as she couldn''t utter a single excuse.


    "Ahem¡­ I will give you the lectureter, or Kai will probably do it for me." Ria wanted to scold them, but she decided not to because Sofia and Julia were there. "What happened to the Protector?"


    "He died under the joint efforts of these people here and Sir Nathan."


    "That''s good then. After you are healed, I will head to the battlefield to check their progress."


    "Yeah." Kai nodded. "And thank you for giving me the device¡­ It really helped me in the battle."


    "I was supposed to give it to you a week prior, but I had something to do, so it was also my fault. I am d that it can help you." Ria smiled before looking at Isabelle with a sly grin. "That''s right. You don''t know about this yet, but there was a certain girl that became crazy because her prince got injured, you know."


    "!!!" Everyone instantly realized who she was as they looked at Isabelle.


    "Ho. Tell me about it." Kai smiled with an amused face. There was no need to guess her prince because that person was exactly behind him.


    "Right! She obliterated that tiger guy and tortured him in rage¡­ If you even get into the movies, it''s without a doubt needed to be censored. I wonder what kind of story that these two have¡­" Ria smirked as she grabbed Isabelle, preventing her from escaping.


    When Kai wanted to say more, he suddenly realized that the water bubble that had been healing him disappeared. He turned around and saw Evan looking away, embarrassed. "Hoho. This is going to be interesting!"


    "Haha! I like it. As a reward, you guys cane to me if you want the Medicine. I can make sure that there is nothing wrong with your Zodiac Blood, you two little virgins!" Riaughed out loud.


    "What? We can do that?" Isabelle blurted out of surprise, but they could hear two voices asking for the same question. The first one was Isabelle, but the other one came from Sofia. She continued, "Where do I sign up for that Medicine? Seeing that Zodiacs'' creator is Leo''s Teacher, does that mean Leo is no longer a virgin? What should I do to get that Medicine? Do I need to be his girlfriend first? Where do I sign up for that? Oh, wait! I can seduce him first!"


    Sofia became a little too excited about this. She had once lost hope and decided to live alone. That was why she just wanted to do everything interesting to hide this feeling. Yet, the solution was right in front of her; there was no way she would let this chance slip.


    "That''s right. Julia is also going to be a Zodiac, so you can buy one and get two!" Sofia grabbed his shoulders.


    "Oh boy!" Riaughed. "Did I just give you another problem? Well, not that I hate it¡­"


    "You should fix it, Teacher." Kai red at her with an annoyed face.


    "Fine." Ria shrugged and looked at Sofia. "There are two things you need to do. First, have Kai ept you. Second, be this base citizen!"


    "Oi!"


    "You have a deal!" Sofia nodded her head furiously.


    "You can''t!" Julia shouted, livening up the situation.

 Chapter 220 - Magic Concept

    A few hourster,


    Kai and the others had recovered and only needed to wait until their magic power got recovered. At that time, Sofia decided to return to their hotel since Nathan had lifted the evacuation order, letting all people return to their activity. Unfortunately, the beach was closed for cleaning reasons, and they would only open it the day after.


    Sitting inside the hospital room with the others, Kai presented a question. "Are we going to go with the schedule?"


    Michelle thought for a moment and nodded. "There is nothing much to do in this ce, especially since we have explored the city. I think it''s better to buy some souvenirs for your family before we enjoy the beach on thest day. But it might be a bit stuffed tomorrow, considering most people will probably do the same."


    "It''s just one day." Tasha shrugged and stretched her handzily.


    The Eagle group also had no problem with the suggestion as they thought it was nice to buy some souvenirs for their families.


    "It''s decided then." Kai nodded with a smile.


    "That''s right. I have meant to ask this. What is that magic from earlier?" Tasha asked.


    "Hmm?" Kai thought for a moment.


    "We will take our leave now." Isabelle suddenly decided to return because Kai was going to exin something important. Although Kai didn''t mind them hearing about rewarding them for their efforts, he didn''t stop them either.


    The Eagle Group followed Isabelle and left the room.


    Kai sighed and exined. "It''s simply magic that I created afterbining three magic. Sound Instion Magic, Supersonic Assassin, and Oscition Shield¡­"


    Kai started exining how the thing worked. As expected, the Eagle Group was silent, hearing his exnation. They realized that Kai could do this because his ears allowed him to understand the sound better. Unfortunately, Kai couldn''t exin it scientifically and relied on normal science.


    "That is good magic¡­ I can see a few variations already. I think this will be your main magic in the future." Michelle thought for a moment.


    "Yeah. First of all, I can increase one''s speed and direct some maneuver as I wish. And this is not limited to a human. It can be used to an object, like a bullet or even a normal rock. By boosting them with this magic as I throw them, I canunch them to something close to a bullet."


    "How about asking Isabelle to train your shooting ability?" Ayaka suggested. "She is the number one shooter in the academy, right?"


    "No! It''s me!" Tasha pouted. "If you want to train, I can teach you everything about the shooting. An arrow isn''t really different from a bullet, and the fighting style that you have in mind is closer to me, right?"


    "Yeah¡­ At the very least, I won''t fight like Sir Nathan¡­" Kai confirmed together with a nod.


    They remembered that Nathan''s weapons were a sword and a gun. Ayaka then sighed. "I am sorry for misunderstanding it then."


    "It''s fine. I will just talk about my magic rather than this depressing topic." Kai tried to change the topic.


    Tasha supported his argument. "That''s right. How about exining how magic works? Maybe we can help you or something."


    "Hmm¡­ I can only use this because I have enough magic power after getting that device." Kai thought for a moment. "As you already know, my magic power is sealed inside Tasha''s body. This thing isn''t really exined in school, so I think it''s good additional knowledge.


    "First of all, let''s say that we have a bucket and a cup. These two can represent my and Tasha''s magic vessel, or so what Teacher told me. There is also another thing¡­ Just say it''s a big bathtub, filled with water(magic). If you get the water with a bucket and a cup, which one do you think will be able to get more? It''s the bucket, right? This will be my condition when I have my whole magic power. When my magic power is sealed inside Tasha, it doesn''t mean she will gain this bucket. She only gets the water alone. In other words, the bathtub might be filled with water, but she can only draw it with the cup.


    "That''s why you needed to use a few magic circles toplete your Lightning Magic, right?" Kai smiled, looking at Tasha as if he knew everything.


    Tasha nodded. "That''s right. I don''t know about this theory though. I only know that I can''t create everything in a single magic circle, so I choose to make it with five. I think my Teleportation also has the same condition."


    "Yeah. I have exined that to you, but not at this point. Well, this is Teacher''s research anyway¡­" Kai nodded. "I will continue my case then. First of all, I don''t have much magic power. You can imagine that I have this bathtub, but the water only filled ten percent of it. Then I try to draw the water with that bucket, do you think I can get a bucket of water? No? That''s my current condition.


    "I can only draw, maybe¡­ thirty percent of the bucket. This won''t be enough to fuel up to three magic simultaneously, so I can''t use my Sound st this whole time despite having the concept to use it. It is different now that I have twenty percent. You can say that I can fill a maximum of eighty percent of the bucket if I work hard to force the water inside.


    "You remember that I have once said thirty percent of my original magic power is enough, right? This is the reason." Kai nodded, pausing for a moment. "I can do whatever I want with this thirty percent of magic power, so I will wait until Teacher can make me one."


    "If you beg her, you might get it faster, you know¡­" Michelle teased him.


    Kai smiled, shaking his head helplessly. "I don''t want to burden her more than necessary. As much as I hate to say it, I have owed that person too much."


    "I see. Is this also the concept of making that device of yours?" Michelle asked.


    "Most likely. Teacher doesn''t really talk much about this, and I think I shouldn''t ask as well."


    "In any case, I feel that this concept will benefit us¡­ I am grateful for that. I will ask Professor Ria whether I can use this concept next time for myself, of course," Michelle said. Ayaka nodded in agreement.


    On the other hand, Evan stayed silent, wondering whether he could use it or not. Unfortunately, he didn''t really have an attack ability, so he decided to focus on his hand-to-handbat rather than his magic. It''s only for self-defense to prevent this type of ident from happening again.


    Kai smiled gently. "It''s fine to use it, I guess. I will also confirm it with Teacher and let you guys knowter."


    "Since we have finished discussing this, I think it''s time for us to go back. What will you do, Evan?" Michelle asked, ncing at Evan.


    "I think I will help the soldiers since I don''t contribute much on the battlefield." Evan nodded, nning to go to the military base.


    "I will have someone to apany you to¡ª!" Before Kai finished, Evan rejected the idea.


    "Don''t worry. I will call Eagle Groupter for this. Captain and the others have truly fought a tough battle, so I think you should rest first."


    Michelle grinned as she teased. "This is what he wanted to say. I want my girlfriend to escort me, so you normies need to go back right now!"


    "I see¡­" Seeing this, Kai decided to y along and immediately brought the others with a sad expression.


    "Wait! What? No!" Evan tried to correct them, but these three words were the only ones he could utter before Kai and the others left the room.


    When they returned to the hotel, Kai took a bath first since the girls went right after.


    "Ah! That nice¡­"


    "Yeah."


    "It must be because of our fatigue. That war was hard-fought and the most challenging."


    The three girls chuckled as they walked toward their bedroom, only to find Kai already falling asleep. They looked at each other and smiled, knowing that the one who had the most burden was Kai.


    "Let''s go outside first to enjoy the night breeze¡­ I also want to talk to you two." Suddenly, Tasha invited them with a grim expression.


    There was no need to say it. Michelle and Ayaka turned serious, realizing what she wanted to talk about. They followed Tasha to the balcony.


    "Judging from your expression, I think I don''t need to tell you this, right?"


    "Of course. Despite everything that happened, I was the most useless one in our group. Unlike you who decided to release your power or Ayaka who held the water elemental, I didn''t have any achievement in this battle other than getting beaten up by that Eru," Michelle said harshly to herself.


    "I also didn''t do much. My Fire was utterly useless against that thing." Ayaka sighed beforeforting Michelle. "While you hadmanded us brilliantly."


    "Don''t say that. I might hate myself even more¡­ If everything can be resolved bymanding a few people, I would not need this strength. Sigh. I was the useless one just because I couldn''t rely on my power too much during the day¡­" Michelle took a deep breath and clenched her fists. "Don''t worry. I know what to do¡­"


    "You are not going to be a Zodiac, right?" Tasha squinted her eyes.


    Michelle nced at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No. I have a n for this. I will make it before another big battlees."


    Ayaka also closed her eyes, knowing that she needed to do something to keep up with their progress.


    Tasha nodded before she said while looking at the sea. "I will release my limiter soon¡­ I think we have enough strength to protect ourselves now¡­"


    Ayaka was clueless about this, but Michelle perfectly understood what she meant. She asked with a shocked expression. "Are you serious?"

 Chapter 221 - Tashas Real Power

    "Are you serious?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    Ayaka tilted her head in confusion, looking at Michelle for an exnation.


    Michelle didn''t notice her action and kept asking Tasha. "Have you thought about it? Have Kai agreed on this matter?"


    "I thought about it just now."


    "Are you crazy? You will be targeted, you know."


    "I know. I am prepared for it. In fact, I have been thinking about this since a few months ago where we were trapped in the Underground Cave. If I use everything in my possession, I am able to obliterate the enemies¡­ Maybe a few thousands of them." Tasha closed her eyes and sighed. "Yet, I worried about Kai and our parents because the trouble wouldn''te only to me, but also them."


    "Isn''t that the reason why Kai forbade you?!" Michelle gritted her teeth.


    "I know. However, I am afraid that the next opponent will be a big one." Tasha narrowed her eyes, leaking her killing intent.


    "Those Protectors huh¡­" Michelle took a deep breath.


    "Yes. Normal means won''t be effective against them. I don''t like how the burden falls on his shoulders, so rather than looking at him in front alone, it''s better to join him on the side."


    "Fair enough." Michelle let out a long sigh. "If you have thought about everything, I won''t say anything about your decision. Just make sure you inform him about this."


    "I understand. I will surely talk with him before I am using it. For the time being, I n to train in those areas to ensure perfect control of my magic." Tasha nodded with a solemn expression.


    Michelle then noticed Ayaka''s clueless expression. "I don''t know whether Kai has told you about it or not, but Tasha''s Space Magic is a Sealing Magic. This magic is powerful, but she never shows her talent in this area because it''s forbidden. Kai asked her not to use this magic and make the others think she only has a normal Space Magic.


    "Let''s take a single example. There is a magic called Sealing Sphere. Due to her low inborn magic power, she can only summon three of them, so it''s considered a low side. Nheless, it''s still one of the most powerful magic. I will exin this magic a little. First of all, this magic can seal a certain amount of space.


    "The real power behind it is thepression power. Imagine if shepressed a certain amount of air and burst it out¡­ I don''t know how big the explosion will be, but it should be around your strongest Scarlet Explosion. And there will be three of theming in.


    "Despite the powerful magic, this magic doesn''t need a huge amount of magic power because it only needs to summon the sphere andpress. That''s all. You can see how powerful it is, right?"


    Ayaka thought for a moment and nodded.


    "And the fact that she can seal anything is also another problem. Let''s see¡­ How aboutpressing your Scarlet Explosion and let it explode again? From the theory alone, it should cause bigger destruction. Then how about carryingpressed water that can''t bepressed¡­ The sudden expansion will give a powerful shock wave capable of cutting your hand.


    "If I were her, I might even trypressing a huge amount of poisonous gas as my trump card," Michelle said with a grim expression.


    "I understand. The Government might want to get that power more than Kai''s power. I have once heard that there was once the same magician as her, but died in the battle." Ayaka suddenly remembered a certain matter.


    "I don''t know whether it''s true or not, but there is also another version of it. It''s said that he died because the Government thought he was too dangerous." Michelle shrugged.


    "¡­" Ayaka couldn''t say anything afterward, realizing how big the matter would be.


    "Anyway, I disagree with you using it unless Kai lifts the ban on your magic. You should know as well that your power will endanger him."


    "I know." Tasha nodded with a solemn expression. "Don''t worry. I am not nning to use it so soon. Kai has new magic, so I am thinking about polishing my Lightning Magic first while training my Sealing Magic secretly."


    "Wait? Kai should hear this, right? His hearing is¡­" Ayaka was confused once again.


    "Look at his state, and you will know. He is too tired for this, and usually, he doesn''t really like listening while sleeping. I don''t know the details, but he is programming his brain like that. Of course, he can still listen, but he chooses not to." Tasha looked at Kai with a gentle smile.


    "I also believe that you should talk about it to Kai before doing anything this dangerous." Ayaka nodded.


    "I know. So, can you keep this a secret first? I might probably do it where Kai couldn''t hear me." Tasha smiled.


    Michelle and Tasha looked at each other and nodded. "We understand."


    Little did they know that Kai, on the bed, clenched his fist despite closing his eyes.


    ¡­


    The next day,


    Kai rose from his bed, pretending like he didn''t hear a single thingst night. He looked at Tasha, Michelle, and Ayaka, who were busy preparing themselves for today''s fun.


    "Good morning. I am sorry about yesterday. Got a little tired." Kai apologized.


    "It''s fine. You can even sleep for another hour if you want. We will bring breakfast to this room and leave the hotel in one and a half hours." Michelle smiled gently.


    After finishing their preparation, the three girls left Kai alone in the room. Without anyone to talk to, Kai reached themunication device and noticed a single message.


    ''I am sorry to leave so suddenly. I have some clues about the leader of the third party, so I immediately went there without saying goodbye. Unfortunately, he had escaped. I will try to solve this issue as soon as possible, but I don''t know when I can solve it, so you should be more careful and contact me or have Tasha contact me if you notice something suspicious.


    ''It''s better you don''t know much about this, but I will tell you the identity of the person who targeted you. He used to work under me in the Zodiac n and became the Vice Leader of the project when the Government took over the project. It was at that time I left the project.


    ''His name is Matt. Anyway, you shouldn''t think much about this person and let me handle it. It seems he escapes somewhere, so I will start tracking him right now.


    ''Other than this person, I have another thing to inform you. It''s about Sofia Campbell. Just like how she is trying to entice you toe with her to the EU Base, you can do the same and have her stay in this base¡­ You know what I mean.


    ''From the Government''s perspective, it will be giving another fang to a tiger. Just look at you, two S Rank magicians and one Zodiac as your girlfriends¡­ There is no way the Government will give you up. Anyway, I will leave this matter to you. If you don''t find her attractive, I will support your decision. Political marriage is a thing, especially between the two bases, but I will fight the Government if you don''t want such a thing.


    ''I just want you to be happy like how you made my ck and white world colorful again a decade ago.


    ''See youter - Ria Ross.''


    "¡­" Kai became speechless. He didn''t need toment on anything about the first message about that guy because he trusted his teacher. However, the second one was really unnecessary.


    Kai let out a long sigh, thinking about the matter at hand. ''I need many things to do now¡­''


    ¡­


    After having their breakfast, they finally went around Miami, buying all the things they wanted to buy. It was a fun time for Kai since he could enjoy everything with the girls.


    At the same time, Sofia could only suck her thumb because she couldn''t predict where Kai would go. She understood Kai''s strength. Not only was he a brilliant fighter, but he could alsomand the army perfectly. With that extraordinary hearing, no wonder US Base made an exception for him.


    Sofia was trying to see whether there was a gap she could exploit to bring Kai back to EU Base. Besides, there was also that medicine. The value of that medicine was far too high because it allowed the Zodiac to give birth to a baby.


    She also knew about the US Base real n about Zodiac, so she knew that this medicine would certainly make their n seed. If she ignored the fact that the US Base had more advanced medicine and gics than them, she was pretty happy with this because they were closer to the future where the humans ruled the Earth once again.


    In the end, Sofia stayed inside the hotel room for another day because she was sure Kai woulde to the beach tomorrow.


    ¡­


    The next day, Kai went to the beach again with the whole group, and Sofia used this chance to visit Kai, talking from small things to big things such as the previous war and the conference in two days.


    The girls kept interrupting them every time Sofia tried to make a move. As annoying as it may, Kai didn''t do anything because he didn''t like it anyway. Sofia ended up getting a crushing defeat on the beach and decided to return to the hotel.


    The next day, their vacation had finallye to an end. The seven days had passed, and all of them went to the airport. He and the others were pretty satisfied with the vacation and boarded the ne with a smile on their face.

 Chapter 222 - The Negotiation

    After the vacation, everyone''s mind should feel refreshed¡ªexcept Kai.


    Kai still needed to finish a few paperwork in his hand and learned some information about what kind of conference he would attend after this.


    On the other hand, the girls didn''t bother him this whole time, and he knew the reason. He didn''t stop them or say anything about their actions because he respected their will. Nheless, they wanted to get stronger to help him, so how could he say no?


    Two days passed in a blink of eyes. Kai woke up after noticing a car park in front of his house. The suit and the documents had been prepared, so he only needed to wash himself for a bit and came out.


    To his surprise, the person he met this time was a middle-aged man with long blue hair. He felt that he had seen this person somewhere, but he couldn''t remember it.


    "Nice to meet you, Sir Kai Carter. I am Julio Chambers. I am currently serving as the vice-minister of defense. I have heard everything about you from my daughter. Even some people from our department are your fans you know." The middle-aged man smiled.


    "Chambers?" A certain figure appeared inside his head after hearing a familiar name. It was Michelle''s former friend, serving as the current secretary of the Student Council. "Ah! Are you Miss Lexi Chambers''s father? I have heard about her from Michelle."


    "Yes. I am her father, though she is too shy to admit it." He smiled gently. "Anyway, I will be your partner during the negotiation."


    "I understand. I am not that good at a job like this, so please guide me." Kai nodded and stretched his hand.


    "Of course." Julio shook his hand. "Pleasee in first. We can talk about some important things inside."


    Kai nodded and followed Julio to the car. They started talking about some important parts that might appear during the meeting.


    Despite how he looked, Julio didn''t talk anything about his daughter. He was very professional, leading Kai from one point to another without changing or mentioning a single clue about other topics.


    Not long after, they arrived at the venue where they were supposed to meet.


    The venue was not far from the school and military base since everything could happen in a conversation like this. In fact, the venue was built because of the past incident where an ambassador of another base got assassinated.


    Even though the goal was clear, which was to take another step in clearing the magical beasts, some people still felt threatened by something like that. Kai perfectly understood it because he had experienced it himself in United Asia.


    They entered the venue and waited inside a small room where the negotiation would convene.


    It was a spacious room without many things inside it. A red carpet covered the floor, and the wall had a beautiful but simple wallpaper. One side of the room waspletely filled with windows, letting the people inside see the scenery outside the room.


    Kai closed his eyes as soon as he entered the room, checking everything inside. After that, he began observing his surroundings and let out a breath of relief because he didn''t find a single suspicious thing or person. At least for now.


    Julio didn''t say anything about it because he knew Kai''s ability.


    A few minutester, a staff member pushed open the door, stretching his hand and asking the two people in front of her toe in.


    Kai already knew the second person since she had bothered him during the vacation. It was none other than Sofia. Meanwhile, he looked at the middle-aged man beside her with curiosity.


    ording to Julio, this man was Julia''s father, Peter. He said he would handle Peter, so he didn''t need to worry about this person.


    Julio smiled and walked toward Peter. "Nice to meet you, Mister Peter."


    "I am looking forward to our negotiation today." Peter nodded and shook his hand.


    Julio then went toward Sofia and gently said, "I am honored to see the rumored Sofia Campbell. Listening to your name is like thunder reverberating on one''s ear."


    "Fufu, I can''t handle such praise, Mister Julio."


    Julio then shifted to the side and introduced Kai. "He is our Kai Carter. I was surprised to hear Miss Sofia want to meet him in the process."


    He didn''t forget to add ''Our'' in Kai''s introduction as if telling them, ''You can''t snatch him from us.''


    "I should be the one to say that I was surprised. I never thought that the US Base would make an exception for a student to get an army rank. It made me curious to see the person in question." Sofia ignored the hidden meaning and looked at Kai. "Nice to meet you."


    "Nice to meet you." Since he had decided to delete the footage about her in Miami, he also followed along, acting as if he met her for the first time.


    Nheless, everyone in the room knew that Sofia had already met him in Miami. Peter knew about it from his country while Julio looked at the report of the invasion.


    Julio noticed this as well and decided to move on to the topic. "Anyway, I believe we should continue our negotiation since it will be a long one."


    "Agreed." Peter nodded.


    All of them sat on the couch and started discussing the topic.


    "We will bring a few specialists and one hundred exoskeletons. The specialists will be there to customize the exoskeletons for your elites. In exchange, we will have fifteen people from our base to have Zodiac Blood injected into their bodies.


    "If they fail, we will have them die and handle their cremation before bringing their ashes back to our base. Every person from our base already knows about this, and they are prepared to put their lives on the line." Peter concluded the meeting after a few hours.


    "Yes. The details are inside our contract." Julio confirmed everything. He was a bit sensitive about the condition of the new Zodiac subjects because he didn''t want to allow Peter to bring back their corpses. The EU Base might even use those as a way to recreate the Zodiac blood. "However, you need to take a note that this willst for a few months, considering we will train your elites, inject the blood, and have them ustomed to it."


    "I understand.I will leave everything to the US Base''s hand."


    After confirming everything in the contract, Julio''s expression then turned grim. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Peter. "Now that we have finished this matter, how about we discuss the matter that happened a few days ago? I heard that Miss Sofia snuck in and somehow ended up inside a battle."


    Peter and Sofia furrowed their eyebrows as they had predicted this woulde.


    "Rather than talking about that, how about we discuss the achievement of our Sofia Campbell? After all, she contributed so much in that battle, allowing the battle to take ce ording to your Kai Carter''s n.


    "First of all, he created an ice wall to trap the enemies. Secondly, he also helped Lion and Eagle Groups to rescue Evan Young from the enemy''s hand. Last but not least, she helped the battle against the SSS rank magical beast and his Water Elemental, giving you precious time. She even helped in thest strike where Kai Carter killed the Protector." Peter didn''t want to lose this argument and opened Sofia''s achievement in thest battle.


    "The n can be easily changed. Instead of a bell-shaped wall, we can simply use a V-shaped wall even without her help. Nothing much will change. On the other hand, I don''t think we needed her help in the second matter because Ria Ross had made her appearance at that time.


    "And this also included the third matter. If we call Ria Ross, we wouldn''t need her. It was only because she snuck inside Miami that she stumbled upon the battle. Even without her, our victory was nothing but assured." Julio snorted, turning the situation around.


    Peter also knew this information from Sofia. However, Sofia also added another useful information about this, and Peter knew it was the time to release it. "How about we ask Kai Carter himself? I heard that your teammates actually forgot to inform you that Ria Ross entered the battle.


    "If that was the case, her help was nothing but desirable. I would say this to you. She always acted with her instinct, and it would always be right. In the second matter, it was only due to her instinct that the two groups could locate the enemy''s camp. In other words, I could only say you refused to ept that her action actually gave you a helping hand." Peter narrowed his eyes.


    Julio and Peter began arguing after that. The intensity was not less than the previous argument, where they were discussing the contract.


    "We won''t be able toe to a conclusion with this kind of conversation¡­" Peter panted after talking for so long. He decided to conclude the meeting. "I have a suggestion about this matter. No matter what we say, we admit that Sofia Campbell was indeed at fault. That''s why we will let her be a transfer student in your magic school for a whole year. This is a good idea considering the school will have a new semester in two months."


    "Indeed." Julio also thought it was a good idea. During her stay, they could do many things to entice Sofia to stay in this base.


    "Still, you can''t deny that her presence helped the battle. Hence, Kai Carter muste to our base as an exchange student. Unlike our Sofia Campbell, we will just have him for three months. In addition, we will also provide him with a customized exoskeleton for himself."


    Julio''s expression turned serious when Kai''s name was mentioned.

 Chapter 223 - Kais Condition

    Julio''s expression turned serious when Kai''s name was mentioned. This was a sensitive topic for the higher up in the base, so he couldn''t treat this lightly. Meanwhile, Peter trusted Sofia''s instinct, especially when she brought the matter herself.


    Like how the EU Base trusted her instinct, he decided to bring the proposal to the base and got the approval almost immediately.


    However, Kai didn''t have such trust from the US Base because his ability was elsewhere. That was why Julio needed permissions first.


    He thought for a moment. Compared to Sofia''s one-year enrollment, Kai only needed to attend their military school for three months, and he would even get a customized exoskeleton from them.


    "I have a condition." Julio narrowed his eyes and continued. "I would like for him to be apanied by his group."


    "!!!" Peter widened his eyes, not expecting this suggestion. He fell into deep thought while stroking his chin. ''On one hand, if I allow this, we will have the chance to entice the entire team. ording to Sofia, Evan Young won''t be swayed by this because Isabelle Fisher is in this base.


    ''However, the rest of the group is his harem, so if we can entice Kai to stay in EU Base, we might be able to get the others. Nheless, they are still two S rank magicians and one Zodiac. We can even entice them first and get Kai Carter.


    ''On the other hand, Sofia might not be able to get closer to him. It''s like that matters though, since we are fine as long as he joins the base. What we should be wary about is the fact that the girls are harder to entice, especially that Michelle Graham.


    ''They might get in our way of persuading him. This is something that we don''t want to see. As expected, I can''t allow this one since the cons outweigh the pros.'' Peter took a deep breath and said, "Rejected. We let our Sofia enroll alone, so I hope you can do the same for Kai Carter.


    "At the same time, unlike this base, exoskeleton users usually fight alone. Since Kai Carter is new to everything there, we can let him operate together with Sofia. Besides, we have given him a customized exoskeleton for him. Together with the time limit, I believe we should be the one to add another condition."


    Julio narrowed his eyes. "Hoh! What condition are you talking about?"


    "Make an exception for Sofia and let her join the Lion Group as the sixth member."


    "!!!" Julio gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before he thought it wasn''t that bad at all. ''Now that I think about it, if we let them have close contact, she might have some attachments to Kai Carter himself. Although there is a risk, I believe this is worth a shot.''


    When both of them discussed something like this, Kai was fuming in anger inside. He screamed inwardly. ''Are you treating me like an object here? Are you serious? I have never thought of myself as a part of the US Base nor EU Base. I can live anywhere as long as my family is there as well. So, it doesn''t really matter where I stay.


    ''Besides, if I go ording to this n, I will also get a personalized exoskeleton. I can''t say I am not interested in it. Additional strength is weed, especially with my enemy''s power and how Tasha will soon release her limiter. One year and three months huh¡­''


    As they kept negotiating about it, Kai suddenly stated. "I will agree to this. However, I also have a condition myself."


    "!!!" Peter and Julio stopped and nced at him. They realized they were too excited talking about it, and the content might hurt him a bit, so they let him talk. "Please tell us."


    "Aside from my personal exoskeleton, I want another four exoskeletons. Considering you are trading me here, each base should give me two exoskeletons each. And it should be in advance." His voice was filled with resolve, making it hard to reject.


    Kai didn''t ask an excessive amount. He simply asked four exoskeletons for his girls, including Sakura.


    On the other hand, Peter and Julio thought that the exoskeletons were for the girls and Evan. Looking at his friendship, they knew if they managed to entice Kai and established a rtionship with him, he wasn''t someone ungrateful. This was indeed a huge enticement for both of them.


    "As expected, I would need to call my boss for this." Peter sighed. "If you don''t mind, I can talk with them now and ask. How about it?"


    Kai nodded.


    Peter then stood up and grabbed Sofia to ask her opinion.


    "I also need to call the president and my boss." Julio let out a long sigh. He was talking about the future here, so he couldn''t be a cheapskate, or he would leave the US Base.


    Julio also stood up, calling the minister of defense and the president.


    Without even theming back, Kai already knew the result from Julio. However, Peter and Sofia were sneaky as they contacted their base without talking. In other words, Kai didn''t know what kind of conclusion they arrived at.


    After waiting for a few minutes, everyone returned to the room.


    Peter agreed to Kai''s condition before Julio said anything. "We are fine with your condition as long as you join one of the battles as our strategist. My boss is curious about your ability, so that''s the only condition. Of course, we will do the fighting unless you choose to participate yourself."


    "I understand. I am fine with it." Kai nodded.


    On the other hand, Julio reworded what he wanted to say in his mind to make it more eptable for Kai. "As a citizen in US Base, the president will award you two exoskeletons. After all, your group is at the center of attention right now. Since we can''t customize the exoskeletons, you need to finish it before the group from the EU Base return.


    "At the same time, we can''t give you the exoskeletons yet because we want to prioritize the other fighters to have them first. This will be aplicated problem because you are still a student that will take a mission only once a month."


    "I know. I don''t want to rush it as well." Kai nodded. In fact, he wanted to keep this a secret at first, so the girls could focus on their training instead of the exoskeletons.


    "If you are fine with it, then we will handle everything for you." Julio nodded with a smile.


    Meanwhile, Peter used this chance to add another thing. "We are the same. As long as you need the exoskeletons to be ready, just ask one of our specialists to customize it for you. It will be our priority. If they are unable to handle your request, we will send another one for you."


    Peter and Julio red at each other with a sly grin. There was a spark between their eyes, shing with each other.


    Kai let out a breath of relief. He didn''t like how they were trying to take advantage of him, so he would also take a bit of it. At the very least, he could strengthen the girls.


    If he asked for a ridiculous request, they would reject him and might even think of him as an uncontroble person. In that case, there might be a chance for both bases to send an assassin to kill him, or the situation in United Asia would take ce again. At that time, he wouldn''t have any ces to stay unless he forced his way back to United Asia.


    However, Ayaka''s new Kudo Group or Michelle''s Graham family might get caught in the me. He needed to get stronger first before he rejected them.


    Peter then stood up and stretched his hand toward him.


    Kai subconsciously shook his hand, never expecting Peter would shake his hand first instead of Julio.


    "Truly a remarkable youngster. We are looking forward to your visit next year." Peter smiled like an old fox. He had two reasons for letting Kaie to their base one yearter. First, he could let Sofia see what kind of person Kai is and his abilities. They wouldn''t want to have him if he turned out to be a fake that US Base made.


    If everything were true, they would then have a long time to prepare. These two reasons were the most logical ones they could choose on the spot, showing him that they didn''t have anything to hide and genuinely wanted him toe.


    On the other hand, US Base seemed to be the losing one here because they couldn''t bepared to what EU Base promised him.


    After a series of handshakes between each party, they ended the meeting. When they left the room, Sofia asked to talk with him alone as a talk between two juniors.


    "Fufu, you are really interesting." Sofia suddenly came to him with a smile.


    "What are you talking about?" Kai yed dumb.


    "You know that you can''t avoid it, so you are trying to get your share. Now that I think about it, how much resources we need to give you if you decide toe." Sofia smirked, looking at Kai excitedly.


    "I just don''t like how they treated me as a trade object. Since I can only ept that, I would rather be an agent instead of an object." Kai shook his head.


    "Thus, the pay for an agent. Trying to work your words eh?"


    Kai shrugged.


    "Anyway, I am looking forward to working with you as a member of the Lion Group. Don''t worry. I will be obedient there."


    "It''s a pity." Kai chuckled.


    "Hmm?" Sofia narrowed her eyes, staring at Kai as if asking for an exnation.


    "Nothing. You will know itter." Kai shrugged and left the room. "Just make sure you don''t piss your pants when that happens. Haha¡­"

 Chapter 224 - Anthony Graham

    "That''s how it is." Kai rested his head on the table, saying nonchntly.


    The girls and Evan couldn''t say anything after listening to his story.


    After getting an agreement with the people, Sofia decided to return to the EU Base, leaving Julia together with the other Zodiac subjects. She was going to prepare everything for the next two months, where she enrolled in the Magic Academy.


    "This is going to be troublesome." Evan sighed.


    Kai shrugged as he already decided to do it. Of course, he didn''t tell the girls about their exoskeletons, so they only knew that he would most likely get an exoskeleton, increasing his strength even further.


    "What can we do other than ept it?" Michelle thought for a moment and said, "Besides, the mission gives you the exoskeleton. If I am not wrong, there will be another big mission not long after we be second-year students."


    "That''s right. It''s the Raid Mission. Albeit, I don''t think I can tell anyone about this until I receive permission from Sir Nathan." Kai shrugged.


    "Seeing the Raid Missione this soon¡­" Tasha narrowed her eyes as the girls'' expressions turned serious. They needed to speed everything a bit.


    "There is nothing for us to do anyway, so it''s better to increase our training in the meantime." Ayaka let out a long sigh.


    Evan looked down as if he gathered his resolve before he stared at Kai for a minute.


    "Hmm? Do you need anything from me?" Kai asked.


    "If you don''t mind, I would like you to teach me how to fight in closebat. I don''t really have any special weapons, so I think I will do it with my fists."


    "Ho?!" Kai smirked, nning to tease him since he must want to increase his strength because of Isabelle. However, the thought disappeared the moment he saw his determined expression. "Sure. I will be your practice partner. I don''t really have any advice about this, since I am using swords, but I know you will improve as long as we keep fighting. Besides, I also need someone to test my new magic, and with your healing ability, isn''t this perfect? If you don''t mind being my punching bag, sure, I will do it."


    "Haha¡­ This is give and take. I have taken your time by asking you to train me. That''s why I will also be your training partner. I will do it." Evanughed and shook Kai''s hand with a serious expression.


    "Then, it''s a deal." Kai nodded with a smile.


    "I don''t know if you have known this, but the school doesn''t have a vacation." Michelle suddenly interrupted them.


    "I know. We are a kind of soldier, so it''s normal to not have a vacation like this unless we apply for it or something special happens. Luckily, the school gives us a rest period of two months where we don''t need to go on a mission." Kai recalled the guide book about the school and nodded. "Seeing that we have fought in Miami, the school makes an exception and treats that one as our mission this month. In other words, June and July will be the perfect time to get stronger."


    "That''s good." All of them shouted in unison, pumping their fists.


    "Now that I think about it, Tasha''s and Evan''s birthday ising soon, right?" Kai nced at both of them. "Do you want anything? Ah! This is not a question for Evan. I will just buy a movie ticket for a couple."


    He didn''t forget to add another teasing in his serious question.


    "Oi!" Evan looked away with a tinge red on his cheek. He always thought about Isabelle first, but after the battle, they had a good talk. At that time, he realized that he never considered Isabelle''s feelings in his actions and felt guilty. That was why he started bing conscious of this girl, and Kai couldn''t help but tease him.


    On the other hand, Tasha grinned as if she had a perfect wish. "I also want something like Michelle. I mean, she got a date with you for a whole day, so I also want the same."


    "Is that all? You can ask me anything." Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Fufu¡­ That is all." Tasha smiled gently. "I just want to spend time with you alone. Is that not possible?"


    "If that is what you want, sure, I will make time on that day."


    "Great!" Tasha pumped her fist before she smirked at Ayaka and Michelle. "That''s right. I will also request the medicine from Professor Ria!"


    "!!!" Michelle and Ayaka realized her ns and stood up. Michelle even mmed the table and shouted. "That''s not fair. I didn''t go all the way back then!"


    Meanwhile, Ayaka looked away and muttered to herself. "My birthday ising soon as well¡­ Last year was a hell mess, so I forgot my birthday¡­"


    She kept ncing at Kai, embarrassed to say her request out loud.


    Kai gently smiled. "Well, I will simply make space on that day. It''s nothing to worry about."


    "That''s right. My brother will be born soon. I think it''s after Tasha''s birthday." Michelle added with a pout. "I think you want toe with me to the hospital and meet my parents."


    "Of course." Kai nodded. "He is my brother-inw soon, and he even saves me from trouble in Graham Family."


    "True enough. Still, to think you have be bolder." Michelle made a smug face.


    Kai shrugged.


    The group chatted for another half an hour before they started doing their own training.


    When June came, Evan''s birthday came, and he, of course, spent it with Isabelle. Tasha''s birthday also came two weeks after. Kai apanied her from morning to night, from house to hotel, from happy to super happy. It was already rare for them to enjoy their day like this due to their current situation, especially since Kai sometimes got flocked by people. As expected from the little hero of US Base.


    In the end, Kai decided to go in disguise, making sure that they had no problem spending their day in leisure. On the other hand, Michelle and Ayaka didn''t really care about this, respecting each other. It wasn''t like they were not jealous of seeing something like this. They simply knew that Kai wouldn''t differentiate them from their status. The only thing they could do was to make sure he didn''t have too many women, making their private time with him lesser and lesser.


    Their training also went pretty well. Evan usually got beaten by Kai and needed to heal himself from time to time. Unlike Ria''s ruthless training, Kai only beat Evan ck and blue, not killed him. The purpose was just to get him stronger anyway, so Kai proceeded with the training he wasfortable with.


    Evan could fight back for a few rounds after a full month of training. Kai felt happy as well since he was his teacher. This was the first time he felt like this, and it might also be the reason why Ria always said those words to him.


    In the end, Evan decided to buy a gauntlet as Kai suggested, and their fightsted even longer. Although he wouldn''t go to the front line himself, it was still necessary to know fighting skills to protect himself.


    In July, Kai rushed to the hospital along with the girl after getting the news from Michelle''s father.


    "Uncle!" Kai ran toward him without creating a loud noise. He had been trained.


    "Oh! Your group is thest one." Michael tried to keep calm. However, Kai knew that he was clenching his fist on the back, and his heart beat rapidly.


    "That''s right. If possible, I want you to give me a name for my child. My wife and I have talked about it. Since he is going to rece your position as the family head of my Graham Family, you are responsible for giving him a name. Besides, with your age difference, it feels weird to see him calling you brother instead of uncle¡­" Michael let out a long sigh.


    Kai''s response was unexpected. He stared at Michael like looking at a fool. "Are you sure you want me to give him a name? I mean, my naming skill sucks."


    Michael suddenly fell into silence, looking at Michelle for confirmation.


    "Ehm¡­ His naming skill is simple, and it sucks because of that." Michelle shrugged. "I don''t think my little brother will like his name."


    Michael scratched his head, not knowing what to do. Since he had given the opportunity to Kai, he decided to hear his opinion first. "Anyway, how about giving a name suggestion? I will think about whether I will give it to him or not."


    Kai thought for a moment and said. "Since Sir''s name is Michael and your daughter is also from M, Michelle. How about Manley? I hope he can be manly in the future."


    "¡­" Michael was stupefied while Michelle had the urge tough. She said, "This is why you are never matched against Mother!"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I have talked to Mother about this and prepared another name. Knowing your personality, you must haven''t thought of a single name for my brother." She shook her head in disappointment.


    "Ehm¡­" Michael couldn''t say anything as she was right. He always thought that this was a great idea, considering Kai would be his brother-inw.


    "His name is Anthony, Anthony Graham. Mother and I thought that. He is our priceless one, thus his name."


    "That''s a good name." Kai also approved. "It''s far better than mine."


    "I know. Just look at your magics, Sound st, Luby, and other things¡­ Ugh." Michelle teased him before a loud crying noise echoed through the hallway.


    "!!!" All of them widened their eyes and rushed inside the room.

 Chapter 225 - The Student Council

    As soon as they heard the baby''s crying sound, they stormed inside the room as they found the doctor carrying the baby and cleaning him up.


    "Ooh!" Michael couldn''t help but pump his fist and roar.


    "Congrattions, Father."


    "Congrattions, Sir Michael."


    Kai and Michelle smiled, looking at the little guy over there before realizing that Nathan was nowhere to be found. They thought he would be the most excited one to see this little guy, but it seemed they were wrong.


    "By the way, where is Sir Nathan?" Kai whispered to avoid disturbing thedy and the baby.


    "He has something to do, so I am going to film this and send it to him." Michael shrugged before he went to the doctor and carried the baby to Michelle''s mother, Daisy Graham.


    "Look at this little guy¡­ He will surely be a hero in the future."


    Daisy gently smiled, even though she was very tired. "Have Michelle told you about his name?"


    "Yes. I am sorry. To think my n is¡­" Michael didn''t continue since Kai was still there.


    "Fufu¡­" Daisy shook her head. "It''s fine. In fact, I''ve got the inspiration from you. Looking at how you treasure Kai, I know that we, including Michelle, will treasure this little guy too. That''s why his name is the priceless one, Anthony."


    Michael smiled and softly hugged her together with the baby. Daisy nced at Kai and Michelle. "You two should try to carry him too¡­"


    To his dismay, Michael decided to let go Anthony. Michelle carried him gently like how her mother taught her, followed by Kai. Unfortunately, Tasha and Ayaka decided to not join because this was a happy time for Graham Family, so it was better for them to wait for another few days.


    Meanwhile, Kai spent the rest of the day with Graham Family, weing the little guy with warmth.


    ¡­


    A few weekster, on thest day of the month, graduation finally arrived.


    Michelle brought Kai to meet with the student council to watch them onest time. As expected, the Student Council President gave the graduation speech with Mia as the female representative.


    Because of this, the student council would reshuffle as the new student council would take over the job. As for who would rece the current student council, no one knew.


    "Kai Carter. I want you to be the next student council president. Seeing your prestige in the base and the school, no one will dare to steal the seat from you, I believe." After the ceremony ended, the former president came to him together with his friends.


    "That''s right. With Michelle as your vice president, I believe there won''t be any problem." Mia smiled.


    "It''s not my position, and it won''t ever be." Kai''s answer was very different from their expectation, but none of them had a big reaction as if they had expected this.


    "Well, I also never expected you would ept. I was just kidding to be honest. If you epted, it would be great, but if not, then who cares?" The president shrugged, brushing the matter off.


    "That''s right. Who cares about the student council¡­" Michelle pouted.


    "Actually, that''s what I want to know. As you know that with the third year graduating today, there will be a huge difference in the school ranking, especially among the top 100. I have read the statistics for onest time, and you will be one of the top ten groups despitepleting a few missions.


    "If I am not wrong, it should be 7th, right Mia?" He nced at his vice president.


    "Yes. After losing to you, the Eagle group also has recovered and will soon be the 6th, one rank after you. I know that you won''t care about this, but I believe there are many second years that set their eyes on your team." Mia nodded with a grim expression.


    "Trouble again huh¡­" Kai sighed. "I have many problems right now and don''t think I will care about other students, including the Student Council."


    "Thought so. Still, there are three candidates that might aim for my seat. They areing from three top groups¡­ No, maybe they are the new top three groups in the school now. The former second rank group, Golden. The former fifth, Thunder Group. And thest group is the former tenth, yer Group."


    "Looking at these three, the yer''s group leader, Maddix, won''t be able topete with the two. After all, he is known as someone scary even in the second year¡­ It will be hard for him to gain votes from the students. Meanwhile, that Thunder Group''s Xavier falls short against the Golden group''s Janessa." Michelle thought for a moment before saying.


    "Why does the change in the student council affect our group?" Kai frowned as he didn''t understand the school''s system. He understood that there would be a reshuffle among the group because the group with third-year students would either get their points reset or disband entirely.


    "You are too focused on the matter outside the school. You know that I have been protecting you from making sure that the previous number one group, Dawn, to stop challenging you? You might not know this, but that''s the real situation." The president shook his head and sighed.


    "¡­" Kai stared at him to check whether he was lying or not.


    "He had been asking me to force the Lion Group to fight the Dawn Group. Of course, I rejected him all the time. That''s why you have a leisure school life. If the new student council takes over, your peace might be disturbed. Let''s see¡­ I can give you missions from time to time, especially a hard mission. This will create big trouble for you, but yeah, it will also create big trouble for me, considering the Graham Family and Ria Ross stay by your side.


    "However, there is more than I can do that can disturb you without annoying those two. That''s why you should be ready." The president let out a long sigh and patted his shoulders.


    Kai widened his eyes slightly. He knew that the student councils often said his name in their meeting, but he never paid attention to it. On the other hand, if what he heard was true, he will need some preparations to ensure the student council doesn''t mess with him.


    "In any case, Janessa will probably be the next student council¡­ As for her identity, I think you should ask Michelle about it."


    Kai tilted his head and nced at Michelle.


    "Do you remember General Ethan in Cuba?" Michelle asked.


    "Yeah. I do remember. That battle is a mess." Kai nodded before he realized something. "Does he have a son or daughter in this school? No, I should say daughter huh¡­"


    "Correct. Janessa is his daughter. Well, I have some contact with her, considering Sir Ethan is my grandfather''s best friend. However, if you want some information, I think you should ask Tommy from Isabelle''s group."


    "What is his rtionship?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Don''t you think that it is strange that Tommy joins Isabelle''s group as thest guy? And there are more, but I will list them for you at ater date. I only want you to know that he might be the vice president of the Student Council¡­"


    "!!!" Kai thought for a moment and asked. "Is she his sister or something?"


    Hearing this topic, Evan thought of something brilliant. He could direct his embarrassment by using a scapegoat, so he said. "Close! They are engaged. Ethan and Tommy''s father arerades in arms, and they have promised to marry them since both of them reach 3-Star General. Well, their situation is prettyplicated, but we have a kind of rtionship with the Eagle Group, so she might pull some strings on us in the future."


    "That''s not a good idea. As much as I want to get shocked by the news, I should think about what I need to do from now on." Kai sighed.


    "Yeah. Well, judging from Tommy''s character, he might oppose this, he also doesn''t want to join the student council. That''s why I am afraid that Tommy won''t have the power to resist her." She sighed.


    "I won''t pry about their private matters. What I want to know is how they will affect us, so I can create a countermeasure for this."


    "Actually, there is no need to do that. She will need around two or three months before the school starts to ept them as the new student council. After all, they want to confirm whether this student council sent the students to their deaths or not. That''s why you have another few months to do something about it. As for what to do¡­ The only way is to talk with her." The president let out a sigh.


    "I still have time to do it then." Kai nodded.


    "Do you mean the raid mission?" The president asked. "It''s true that she won''t try to pull some tricks behind your back for these few months, but you should still keep a watch against her. I am not saying she is a fool or not¡­ It''s just¡­ hard to see her real intent. Anyway, just keep a watch against her so she won''t bite you. She was the one that tried to rece me when I was in charge, after all. With your prestige, you are a threat. It won''t be too much, but it won''t be too light either."


    "I know. I will do anything I can in these few months." Kai nodded.


    Finally, the talk was over, and the rest of the group returned.


    The new semester started, and Kai got to be in the same ss as Ayaka and Michelle, albeit that joy didn''tst long because they had a transfer student.


    It was a white-haired beauty,parable to Michelle. She smiled brightly and introduced herself. "I am Sofia Campbell. Nice to meet you."


    "Good. Sit on wherever you want."


    Sofia smirked as he began walking toward Kai.

 Chapter 226 - Another Raid Mission

    "I am thrilled to meet all of you. As you already know, I am Sofia Campbell, and I will be joining your group as the special sixth member for a year." Sofia smiled and slightly raised her skirt as a greeting.


    They were inside room 420, where they always met. After that annoying introduction, the ss created an uproar, especially around Kai, so they decided to take this talk elsewhere.


    Tasha could imagine what happened earlier. "Let me see¡­ If I am transferring at this time, I will sit around you. Left and right is not possible because of Michelle and Ayaka, so front or behind. Which one is it?"


    "Behind," Michelle answered with a cold voice. Now that she became a second year, Michelle and Ayaka had the chance to be in the same ss, but Sofia ruined it all.


    "Many people muste to her ce with great interest, more than Ayaka and me. Kai doesn''t really have that much trouble because Michelle is calming down the crowd. However, Sofia will cause a big one because she is already famous in the EU Base. And before she spouts any nonsense, it''s better to rify with her first, so you bring her here." Tasha ced her hand on her cheek and rested it on the table.


    "Yeah. I need to discuss what she can disclose or not since I don''t want any trouble." Kai nodded. "I have told you guys about this before, and now that she joins this group, do you have an opinion?"


    "Just make sure that she is not disturbing everyone with some random stuff." Evan was the first to raise his hand. "I mean. I know that this will be Captain''s love nest, but you should also look at our teacher. She is ready to kill you¡ª!"


    Sanae grabbed his head and smiled. "You little brat. What did you say? Did you say I don''t have a boyfriend?"


    "I didn''t say anything, Ma''am. I apologize for my rude behavior." Evan immediately bowed his head.


    "You can only say this because you now be conscious about that little girl. Now I wonder whether you will choose to leave this group¡­ Well, if that happens, this group will truly be Kai''s love nest. Maybe I should join as well? Look at him! Even though he is not rich, there are still the Graham Family and Kudo Group behind him. If we also calcte his childhood sweetheart and this new girl. EU Base and Yajima Family will join the fray.


    "After that, I still need to calcte his military rank and exploit. I think he will soon be a rich guy as well. Still, I can''t stand how¡­ Wait, I should also tell this to the new girl." Sanae realized something and walked toward Sofia, grabbing her shoulder. "I need to warn you about one thing."


    "What is it, Teacher?" Sofia tilted her head in confusion.


    "This is the only reason why I choose to put him on my cklist." Sanae''s expression turned serious. "He is a problem ma. And you are also one of the problems."


    "Eh? What do you mean?" Sofia blinked her eyes a few times, confused.


    Sanae ignored her words because she recalled another thing. "Now that I think about this¡­ I don''t know if I should pity you or not since this is your decision. Anyway, just good luck, and try to enjoy your stay."


    Shepletely said the same thing as Kai back in the conference. These words always upied her mind because she didn''t understand what Kai meant.


    Before she could say another thing, the door was pushed open by an old man.


    "Yo, little brats! How are you? Do you miss me? It''s a shame that I can''t join the previous happy asion."


    "Sir Nathan!" Kai sighed.


    Just as Sanae told her about the problem ma, one of the problems just came to him.


    "I have a mission for you guys¡­ Well, it''s for all since this is a Raid Mission for your second year." Nathan grinned before leaping toward Kai and Michelle. "Oh, my granddaughter and grandson-inw, I am sorry that I couldn''t see little Anthony together with you."


    Their expressions were distorted as they were holding their anger. Kai let out a long sigh and asked, "Is this going to be the S rank magical beast?"


    "Correct." Nathan nodded before noticing the new girl. "Heh, to think I can see a thieving cat from the EU Base."


    Sofia''s eyebrows twitched as she forced a smile and answered him. "I don''t know what you are talking about. Besides, I have searched your Graham Family background and found a great story behind it. You never approved of Kai Carter even as your granddaughter''s friend in the past, right? Only after Ria Ross took him in, you decided to let it be? I don''t know what should I call you other than a sly old fox?"


    "Hoho! I didn''t know what you were talking about. I only approved their rtionship because I was moved by their determination and how he changed my granddaughter for the better." Nathan paused for a moment and said, "Isn''t the EU Base the same? You just can''t realize someone''s potential unless they are big, unlike me. Well, I am pretty satisfied with this grandson-inw, and Michelle also loves him, so who cares?"


    "Tch." Sofia clicked her tongue. "I am just thinking about giving him his exoskeleton now, I will just let you steal the show for now since we don''t need someone too old here."


    "Better to respect an old person like myself, little girl." Nathan snorted.


    Before these two could say another word, Kai decided to move on the conversation. "Anyway, Sir Nathan. I think it''s better to learn about the mission first. We are going to be pretty busy soon."


    "Fine." Nathan shrugged and handed him the document. "The mission this time is to kill thest S rank magical beast that gues Southern America. It''s a Brazilian Wandering Spider."


    "!!!" Michelle and the others widened their eyes while Kai squinted his eyes as he took the document. "When?"


    "Probably October. There are some characteristics that we need to adjust. First of all, we are going in October because we don''t want a spider to sneak among the trees. As you know, those areas are pretty awful with trees everywhere. That''s why we will wait until fall. Its size is around a small car, so I don''t think it will be able to sneak attack us if there is no hiding spot.


    "The problem will be its children. We have spotted several children the size of two humans. Although their power isn''t that big, only at B or A rank magical beasts, their poison is dangerous. One bite and you are out."


    Kai thought for a moment. "I thought they were in Brazil, but that ce has been taken over by the army, right?"


    "Yeah. That''s why they move to the south and reside within Argentina." Nathan nodded. "Anyway, the details are in the documents. We are going to have you as the strategist as well and because the situation is a bit special. They elevate General Ria Ross''s rank to 5-Star. So, she will lead this war. There will be four 4-Star Generals like me that will apany you. After all, we won''t be dealing with a single S rank magical beast. There is another major problem."


    Kai nodded with a solemn expression. "How many magical beasts out there for the base to mobilize four generals like that?"


    "Around one hundred thousand. Each general will have ten thousand soldiers to hold back this army while Ria Ross led a hundred elites with the lowest are A rank magicians. Our base has five S Rank magicians at the moment if we include your sister. Only three will be mobilized in this mission. In other words, other than Tasha and Michelle, only one other guy came."


    "Where are the two people then?" Kai couldn''t understand. This is a major event. Back then, they used all three S Rank magicians under Ria''smand, but they chose not to this time.


    "It can''t be helped. One of them needs to stay inside the base to ensure its safety while the other needs to take care of the army in the north." Nathan sighed. "That''s why they send four 4-Star Generals instead of two."


    Kai clicked his tongue. He finally understood the reason why they needed to protect their army in Canada and the base itself. There were two problems. The first one might be dangerous as well because they could create Zodiacs. In other words, the threat woulde from within, thus the real intent of having one S rank magician to stay inside the base. As for the other one, it was the most important factor in their n. The Protector.


    "Because the government doesn''t know where they will be attacked, they decide to station one of the S ranks in Canada since Southern America is full of soldiers. Is that right?" Kai asked.


    "Yeah. If the north doesn''t have any protection, they might target them, destroying our progress." Nathan nodded.


    "How about Graham Family''s army? Are they staying in the base to protect the potential attack from the sea?"


    "Basically. But the government has strengthened Cuba, so we should be able to react or at least get some information before everything happens, so we will only be reserves."


    Kai thought for a moment. "We can''t really get more soldiers¡­ Can''t we?"


    "Yes. This is the maximum we can get. The danger level might be higher than the previous Raid Mission, but I will assure you that we have no intention of losing. And because of this, although you are a strategist, your rank is still far below the others, so proceed carefully."


    "I understand. I will see what I can do¡­ I will also talk about it with Teacher." Kai sighed. ''To think that Teacher can be a Marshal. This is the title that can be received when the base makes a war. I think this might be our biggest battle.''

 Chapter 227 - Another Problem

    "Alright. On to the second matter." Nathan nodded and sent another document for him. "As you might already know, you are going to be included in the roster for the elites that were going to fight the S rank magical beast. There are a few more students that will participate in this. They are Tasha, Michelle, and Isabelle. Ayaka and Evan are going to join my army."


    Ayaka looked down as she nced at Tasha and Michelle with disappointment. It seemed that she didn''t have the strength to follow Kai.


    Nathan obviously knew how it felt to be left behind. Hence, he smiled and patted her shoulder. "I know it''s disheartening. But if youe to my army, I will let you join the higher up. Although you can only watch there, you will understand how the army works, and I hope in the future, you can also mobilize the army yourself, not as a lone fighter, but amander."


    Ayaka looked up and widened her eyes. She also felt the hidden meaning behind his word, which was the position ofmander under Kai. This word indeed raised her spirit again as she bowed her head. "Thank you for having me."


    "Sure." Nathan nodded with a smile before ncing at Evan. "As for you, it''s fine if you stay in the back, right? Well, I have gotten permission to let Eagle Group work under me. Although you can''t see her most of the time, she should regroup after defeating the spider. After all, fighting an S rank magical beast is much faster than destroying a hundred thousand army."


    "I understand. It''s not like I want her beside me all the time since she will nag me all the time." Evan shrugged.


    After this much talk, Sofia suddenly realized why Kai and Sanae said those mysterious words. She nced at them, asking for exnations, albeit the two only shrugged, confirming her confusion with their action.


    Nathan noticed her expression and made a smug smile. "If this youngdy wants to watch from the sideline, it''s fine for us. After all, the contract says you can choose to participate or not after seeing the mission yourself. This is not me provoking you."


    Sofia gritted her teeth. To think that she would need to join this battle, this was outside of her calction. Since the mission came this early, she had no choice but to participate because Kai would look down on her. If it came a bitter, she could deepen her rtionship first before making some excuses. Whether this was nned or not, she had truly been had. She smiled with a dark expression. "Of course, I will join."


    "Then, I wee you to my army." Nathan smirked as if everything was going ording to his n.


    "Tch." Sofia clicked her tongue.


    "Please be ready to get dispatched all times, alright? After all, Kai is in his training to be a young general. Of course, the mission difficulty is far greater than the normal students do, so you should be prepared." Nathan paused for a moment. "If you feel you can''t keep up, you are free to leave the group. I will use my connection to have you change the group for this one-year period."


    Sofia was speechless. The US Base knew how important Kai was to both bases along with her strength, and they were nning to have her assist him in this training and raise his ranks even further. This way, it will be harder to convince Kai to move. Sofia gritted his teeth, knowing she couldn''t do anything. "I understand. I have prepared myself for something like this."


    Nathan grinned before he received a message. He took out his device as his expression turned serious the moment he read the short message.


    "Sir Nathan?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Kai¡­ Call your teacherter." Nathan sighed and scratched his head, feeling troubled. "As much as I want to talk with you, it seems I need to go back."


    Without waiting for anyone to answer, he dashed to the door and left the room.


    Kai was amused and confused at the same time, wondering what kind of problem he had. He was wondering whether his teacher wanted him to call her was rted to this matter.


    Before that, Sofia decided to change the topic as she continued after a long sigh. "Anyway, I will be with you guys for a year. You can call me Sofia to make it not awkward. And now I understand what kind of problem I get into¡­"


    "Well, good luck." Sanae didn''t have anything to say other than these two words.


    "I know that you think this is absurd, but you should research your opponent first." Kai shrugged. "Besides, I have warned you months ago, so yeah, good luck."


    Sofia took another deep breath to calm her down before saying. "For now, I have a gift for you guys. You can treat it as my way to show my appreciation for this group."


    She took a few bottles from her bag and handed it to Sanae. "Teacher. I have heard that you love wine, so I brought you the finest wine from EU Base. I hope you like it."


    "!!!" Sofia blinked her eyes a few seconds before patting her shoulder with a smile. "You are really a good child. Now I pity you to experience all this."


    She then took a pair of shoes and gave it to Evan. "This can help increase your mobility. You can try itter and get ustomed to it."


    As for Michelle and Ayaka, she gave them some fancy clothes. She didn''t know what kind of thing they liked, so she chose whatever she could find.


    It was different for Tasha. She immediately handed a stack of presents for her, from clothes to a weapon. "This is a bow created by exoskeleton technology. The performance is top-notch, whether it''s from magic efficiency and power. Besides, you can attach this to an exoskeleton itself.


    "Of course, without an exoskeleton, this can act like a glove. For example, if you activate this, your left hand will be covered with an exoskeleton. You can even take a blow with this, so I think this will improve your performance."


    Tasha was Kai''s elder sister, so there was no way she would treat her like the others. On the other hand, Tasha didn''t know whether to ept this or not until Kai nodded to her.


    Seeing she epted the gifts, Sofia smiled. She was also a bit curious how powerful her real power is, but she felt she wouldn''t be able to see it any time soon. If she calcted this problem and that third party, it wouldn''t be wise to use that power until the situation forced her. However, she didn''t get disheartened, knowing that she had the same fire as Kai.


    After giving everyone, she then gave thest present for Kai. It was a ne with a silver ball hanging on it.


    "This is your exoskeleton. We have customized it for you ording to your body measurement and other things that I can''t speak about. Of course, this is based on our data. If you don''t mind, please try it first and check whether there is a difort or not."


    Kai nodded and stared at this ne for a moment before he decided to wear it. "What should I do now?"


    "Just channel your magic power into that ne. It will scan your body and summon the exoskeleton."


    Kai then walked toward an empty space. He took another glimpse at his group''s expression, knowing they were curious about it. "I will start then."


    Kai closed his eyes and channeled his magic power. Suddenly, he felt like ants were walking all over his body before he felt metals wrapping his body.


    He widened his eyes and raised his hand, opening his eyes to look at this new exoskeleton. Many metal words were covering his entire body, including his legs.


    "This exoskeleton is designed to increase your power even further and have the capability of defending an attack. Is there any difort at the moment? Like maybe the suit is too small for you, or some rods are tickling you?"


    "No. I don''t have any difort at the moment." Kai shook his head.


    "How about fighting me once to test this exoskeleton and see if there is some part that hinders you?" Sofia asked. "Well, I am also curious about you, so I want to experience your strength myself. It''s two birds in one stone."


    "Sure, but I will need to call my teacher first." Kai epted it while adding inwardly. ''I will only try the closebat though¡­ Besides, it''s not like I can hide my strength for an entire year.''


    "Alright." Sofia nodded with a smile as she wrapped everything and put her bag aside.


    Kai then left the room, headed toward the roof, and called his teacher.


    "Yo. How are you? Have the message been delivered, and how is that Sofia doing in your group?"


    "I am fine, and I have received the message from Sir Nathan. As for Sofia Campbell¡­ I pity her since she will soon have her very first raid mission, not long after she enrolls at our school."


    "Haha¡­ That''s good then. Just let that girl suffer, so we can know her real intention."


    Kai paused for a moment and asked. "Do you have a problem, Teacher?"


    "It''s not necessarily my problem, but the entire base''s problem." She paused for a moment and asked. "Do you remember I gave you a name not long ago, the one that wanted to kill you?"


    "Alright. I understand. He escapes, right?" Kai sighed.


    "Yeah¡­ I have told you that he had escaped two months ago. However, it turned out he has a few subordinates in the research center itself. And they did something ridiculous."


    "What is that?"


    "They have created zodiacs and have them escape."


    "Do you want me to search for them?"


    "That''s not the main problem."


    "Then what?" Kai frowned. That problem was already big enough, and yet it wasn''t the main problem.


    "They created those zodiacs with the blood of SSS Rank Magical Beast."


    *Thud~!*

 Chapter 228 - Rias Mission

    *Thud~!*


    The news stupefied Kai for a few seconds before he screamed. "What did you say?"


    "You didn''t hear it wrong. After that bastard escaped, he seemed to have smuggled a few samples of SSS rank magical beast. The blood from the one we fought in the Underground Nest. I think his subordinates used some of them to create three zodiacs while he himself still holds some." Ria let out a long sigh.


    "How about the current condition? Where are they? Looking at how close this timing with the Raid Mission is, it will be another trouble that we need to worry about. I have once thought that the threat of normal zodiacs is already high enough¡­ What kind of effect does the blood give?"


    "I am experimenting with it right now, but from what I can see, it is the same as a normal zodiac blood." Ria paused for a moment, changing her tone. "But you should know what kind of power this Protector had¡­"


    Kai drew a cold breath while listening to her serious tone. He knew exactly what the blood granted. "Strong Body or I can say indestructible body, along with element maniption?"


    "That''s right. Although I can''t say anything about it, the security camera managed to capture some scenes. Their skins became stronger than ever, and their strength is stronger than yours probably. But¡­ As expected, the element maniption is the most troublesome. Although they can only control water, they controlled the water inside the research center and blew the pipe, causing a huge stir in that ce. That''s why they could escape in the first ce."


    Kai''s expression turned grim. "Where are they? Considering the mastermind of this ident, I am sure they will attack us in the raid mission. Is there any n for this?"


    "There is no other n. We have been preparing this mission for a long time, so it''s not like we can back away. Nathan should have told you the change of n and how many people we will bring, right?"


    "I see. Now that I think about it, I had researched Teacher''s record when you fought the S rank magical beast. It turned out that there were only sixty thousand monstersing. However, Sir Nathan said we need forty thousand people to hold one hundred thousand¡­ In other words, the remaining wille from either this Matt person or the Protector itself¡­" Kai stroked his chin, wondering what he should do.


    "That''s why I want you toe to meet me, so we can discuss this n. Of course, in my house. We will hold the meeting two times. The first time is only with me while the second time with all those old-timers. Don''t worry. If they unt their seniority, I will unt my strength."


    "I understand. When do I need to meet you?" Kai asked.


    "Hmm¡­ I have a mission for you. You will leave tomorrow."


    "Understood. But Teacher, you haven''t answered my question."


    "We are going to meet a week after that. The same applies to next month."


    Kai thought for a moment. "Alright. I will keep it in mind. What is the mission?"


    "There are three people escaping right now. However, we have managed to heavily injure one of them, so he wouldn''t be able to escape that far."


    "Do you want to take advantage of my hearing?"


    "Not really. You should know that sometimes monsters went past the frontline, right? There is an influx of monsters in a certain region currently, so there will be a high chance to be in that ce."


    "Still, how many monsters do we need to fight?" Kai frowned. If they needed to kill a few hundred monsters just for this, it wasn''t worth it.


    "You only need to kill one. This is my mission. Assassinate the guy with your group alone. With your hearing and Sofia''s instinct, I believe you can locate him in no time. As for those magical beasts, I will send you a reinforcement. I will give you a coordinate and meet them in that ce."


    "Alright then. Since Teacher is taking care of this, I will follow your n."


    "Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier General. Before going to the EU Base, you are going to have a star on your shoulder, so I will keep giving you missions this year. Are you ready?"


    "I know that Teacher won''t harm me. I trust you." Kai said without hesitation.


    "Good. That''s what I like to hear."


    "Before that, I want to ask another question. If we kill this guy, they still have another two people capable of bringing magical beasts¡­ This is going to be a long fight, isn''t it? And do you know where that Matt is?


    "No. Our focus is to kill S rank magical beasts. After that, the magical beasts will slowly crumble, so I don''t think this will be a long battle. As for that bastard, I don''t know about his exact location, but we can safely assume he is in the south, hiding among the magical beasts."


    "Why did he do this?" Kai sighed.


    "I don''t know the exact reason, but I think jealousy? He was the leading scientist before I took over with my zodiac blood¡­ And I think he wants to prove himself or something. Unfortunately, he is doing this with my research as his base. Pathetic."


    "I understand. I will talk about the mission with you after I have finished thest mission. One more thing. Do you think I can talk about this with my group?"


    Ria didn''t answer him immediately because she knew the whole situation. As much as she hated to say it, she said, "No. I think there won''t be more than ten people knowing our situation. This will allow us to retain our morale and so on. In other words, other than you, me, and the people I will invite in our discussionter, it is hard for anyone to know about this."


    "I understand. I won''t tell anyone about this. Although the others might realize when we hunt this zodiac with the Protector''s blood, I won''t confirm it." Kai nodded with a solemn expression.


    "I want to add a goal for this raid mission."


    "What is it?"


    "Since it might take three mission and five mission to rank you up to Colonel and Brigadier General respectively, your goal is to reach this Lieutenant Colonel rank in this Raid Mission. In other words, you need to contribute many things."


    "I will try. It''s not like they are going to be that strict since I probably won''t get that rank if they don''t lower their requirement."


    "Alright. See youter in one or two weeks."


    "Yes, Teacher." Kai nodded before looking up, staring at the blue sky. He scratched his head and let out a long sigh. "This is going to be a long year¡­"


    After calming his heart down, Kai returned to his room and found the group staring at Sofia.


    Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Is there something wrong?"


    "She¡­" Michelle hesitated for a second. "She wants to fight you without the simtion device. Although we can heal your injury with Evan''s ability, this battle will give you a huge disadvantage."


    Kai understood her intention and what she meant by disadvantage. It was obviously his Vibration Sword. That sword alone would prate the metal rods of this exoskeleton, so unless he wanted to cripple her, he shouldn''t do it. The same applied to a few of his magic because it might cause a long-term effect. And yet Kai simply smiled and said, "I am fine with it."


    Michelle and the others were dumbstruck, blinking their eyes a few times. As for Sofia, obviously, this statement thrilled her. "Great. Where are we going to fight? We need an open field for this."


    "I don''t like being stared at by other students, so I think we can do it in Michelle''s house. You have a huge field for this, right?" Kai nced at Michelle with confidence.


    "I have it but¡­" Michelle looked down. How could she let another woman try to injure him in her own backyard? This is uneptable. Besides¡­ "My father is going to rage just like Grandfather you know."


    "Please help me convince him. Besides, she will be with us for a year, and I will probably have used all my techniques in front of her by that time, so there is no need to conceal it. Instead, it''s better to reveal it this early so we can cooperate better. What do you think, Sofia?" Kai smirked as he called her by her first name to show how he epted her inside the group.


    "I would love to. Since the great Leo has spoken, I will also use my power in this fight. Oh sorry, should I call you Captain or Kai?"


    "Kai is fine. It''s just a name, so no big deal." Kai shrugged before ncing at the girls. "You guys are not going to be mad at me with just a simple thing like this, right?"


    "Do you want us to act like those 2D girls? Please, they are outdated after the magical beasts overturned civilization." Michelle shrugged, followed by a nod from Tasha and Ayaka.


    "Oi, since when can you say something like that?" Sanae joined the conversation with a grin.


    "I learned it from you. Didn''t you sexually harass me with this kind of thing when we were in United Asia? Where Students will learn if it''s not from their teacher?"


    "Tch." Sanae clicked her tongue and looked away.


    "I just hope that they won''t follow your nonchnt attitude though."


    "You want to fight me?"


    Kai shrugged and looked back at Sofia. "We can leave school in three hours. Try to make yourselffortable first before we go to Graham Family. Will that be alright with you?"


    Sofia nodded. "Sure. I will follow your arrangement."

 Chapter 229 - Kai Vs Sofia

    As agreed, they went to Michelle''s house by car. Sanae didn''t participate in this because she had no benefit from watching something like this. Only Evan decided to watch the fight, so he could learn closebat from Sofia''s fighting style.


    Michelle had talked with her father about this and forbade him from visiting them, lest he would act like Nathan.


    Much to his dismay, Michael didn''t have any choice other than agreeing to this.


    The moment they entered Michelle''s house, the car purposely went toward the backyard. There was a quite big field there without any nts surrounding it. Even the ground was filled with dirt.


    "This ce is good for the fight." Kai thought as he peeked outside the window.


    "It''s so-so. You can get one more spacious than this as long as you request it in EU Base." Sofia interjected while observing Kai''s expression.


    Kai''s eyebrows twitched as he didn''t really like how she belittled Michelle. Of course, this was Sofia''s true intent. She wanted to confirm what kind of things he disliked to make sure she didn''t do it in the future. The only time she could do this was during the early period since she could say she didn''t know anything about it.


    "Never mind. It seems I was wrong." Sofia shrugged, stopping Michelle, who was about to rage. "I apologize if that makes you ufortable."


    "You¡ª!" Michelle took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to snarl at her, since the other party had apologized, she didn''t need to continue.


    Kai said nothing more and simply waited until the car stopped.


    The butler opened the door, and the group finally got off the car, walking toward the field.


    "This will be the ce of the battle. You don''t need to worry about the environment. Even my house is a bit far from this ce." Michelle shrugged, pointing her finger to the biggest building almost fifty meters away from this ce. "The rule is simple. The one who leaves the dirt and steps on the grass will lose. Since you are using my field for this, I hope you canply with this rule."


    Kai and Sofia nodded without hesitation as they walked toward the field, knowing that they shouldn''t dy it any longer. It was best to not stay here for long because Michael might blow up his fuss here.


    Michelle then signaled his butler to grab a few things before she walked toward the two, stopping right in front of the dirt field. "You may start."


    Hearing the unexcited start threw them off for a second before Sofia released her exoskeleton and raised her two fists. Her stance was close to boxing, but there was something different in this stance.


    Kai could feel it but didn''t know what it was. He took a deep breath, released the new exoskeleton he had and summoned his swords.


    "I don''t mind if you use your Vibration Sword." Sofia smiled, feeling very confident.


    "No need. I might identally cut youter¡­" Kai rejected her request instantly. "I am going for closebat today, and I don''t mind if you use magic as well since it won''t be a fair fight."


    Sofia''s face twitched. She knew it wasn''t a fair fight because she wasn''t a fighter like Kai, nor she had extraordinary strength. Her main strength was her magic. "I will start then."


    Kai nodded and raised his sword, knowing Sofia was about to move.


    Sofia then raised her hands, summoning four small magic circles behind her. "Ice Particles. Cube."


    The magic circles froze the air around them, forming a few small ice cubes around it before shooting them toward Kai.


    Kai looked at this and had no n to avoid this attack. Instead, he swung both of his swords in his front.


    To everyone''s surprise, when the group saw that the ice cubes passed him, they thought some of them hit Kai, but Sofia understood that not a single of them touched him.


    ''Is that really possible? It seems his hearing is not ordinary. I thought his hearing contributed only to its range, but it seemed it also improved his perception.'' Sofia frowned as she couldpletely see that Kai swung his swords and shifted it slightly to block every single ice cubes. "You can listen and predict the projectile? That is insane."


    Kai shrugged. "I am just showing my ability to you, but I won''t exin them."


    "Fair enough." Sofia nodded.


    "Is that all? Should we step up a bit?"


    Sofia took another deep breath as she leaped toward Kai. However, before she arrived at him, a few magic circles appeared again, shooting out another ice cubes.


    Kai noticed that these ice cubes were only distractions, and the main attacks came from Sofia. He simply smiled and walked a few steps forward before he waved his sword at her.


    "!!!" Sofia widened her eyes. Kai just grasped the weakness of this attack in a single nce. It was true that the moment he stood there and blocked her, he would be subjected to any kind of attack. The same applied if he tried to run away. The only way to stop this was to sh with her directly by walking a few steps forward, so the ice cubes would miss the target.


    At this moment, she knew that she had lost this exchange because Kai''s strength was far above her. In EU Base, she could do something with her exoskeleton, but the one in front of her was thebination of a powerful Zodiac and an exoskeleton. She clenched her fist and struck at Kai''s sword, only to get blown away.


    "Are you a fool? This is not like you. From how you fought in Miami, you shouldn''t use such a stupid move. If I am your enemy, I will already split into half." Kai frowned and said with a cold tone.


    "I know that. But this is the only technique I can use to see your reaction speed and observation skill. Just like the previous attack." Sofia smiled as shended on the ground. "Besides, you are not my enemy at the moment. There is no way Kai Carter is so foolish to kill me without any preparation."


    "It seems I need to step up my game." Kai took a deep breath as his expression turned serious. He leaped toward Sofia with the intention to finish this battle in this exchange.


    Her instinct was trembling as Sofia formed huge gauntlets with ws on her hands. "Let''s go then. I didn''t use this fighting style before because it wasn''t suited in the previous battle. Now that you are going to face me one by one, I will try to beat you."


    "Talk too much." Kai snorted as hepleted his swings, aiming at her neck and right foot.


    Sofia smiled and knocked both of his swords upward and downward. The one aiming at her neck went upward, passing above her head while the other struck the ground.


    Just like the gauntlets, a pair of boots that looked like a paw of an animal appeared, covering her two feet. Sofia raised her feet and sent a kick toward his stomach.


    Kai channeled his magic power and created a magic circle in front of his body, stopping the kick without a problem.


    "Tch." Sofia stepped on this magic circle, using it as a cushion to raise her body and send a round kick toward Kai''s head.


    Kai nced for a second before he bent down and sent the same kick toward her.


    It seemed that both had the same reaction as they ducked down, with their feet shed against each other.


    However, Sofia was the one at the disadvantage because neither foot was on the ground, taking away her bnce.


    Kai used this chance to send his sword. No matter how bad his form is, as long as the sword struck her, it should be enough to injure her.


    At this point, Sofia only smiled as if she knew about it this whole time. To counter Kai''s attack, she used the foot that stepped on the Oscition Shield to regain her bnce, spun her body around, ced her hands on the ground.


    Not only that, but she also used this chance to blow Kai''s away by doing a handstand and kicked him. It should be possible with his ugly pose as it posed not enough strength to maintain his position.


    Kai was also not a pushover. Using thest chance he had, he bent his knees before straightening it again, kicking Sofia''s foot and giving enough force for Kai to leap away.


    "!!!" Both of them were surprised this time. Kai leaped back a few meters away while Sofia stood back afterunching herself to the air with her hands.


    "Is that your instinct?" Kai asked as if he already knew it but wanted to confirm it again.


    "That''s right. Unlike you, I don''t have anything to hide. This sixth sense of mine can feel the enemy''s presence like seeing a great ze. I will know there is a person in that particr direction. A simr thing applies to closebat. I can sense which part of the body you will use, so I can counter that attack. Isn''t this one like your hearing? I heard you can listen to the movement of muscles, letting you predict what kind of attack and where they will go."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes. I indeed can. However, your sixth sense is a bit weird¡­ It''s like¡­"


    "Seeing the future?" She smiled. "Nah. My sixth sense isn''t that powerful. I will tell the reason if you can beat me."


    "Ho?" Kai''s expression turned serious as he smirked. "Then, we should test how powerful your sixth sense is!"


    Sofia grinned as both of them leaped toward each other at the same time.

 Chapter 230 - Kai Vs Sofia Part II

    They both shed again.


    Kai was the one on the offensive while Sofia took all his attacks head-on. To his surprise, although his strength was superior to Sofia, he couldn''t gain any advantage because she had mastered all techniques to push his attack away without restraining her muscles.


    Even so, Kai kept attacking her from left and right, bottom and top, for a few more minutes. There was no magic involved in this exchange because each other wanted to discern the extent of their physical abilities, including Kai''s hearing and Sofia''s sixth sense.


    Tasha furrowed her eyebrows when watching this before ncing at Michelle and asking. "Do you think he will lose?"


    "The probability is low."


    "So, you think he can lose¡­" Tasha narrowed her eyes.


    "I am just saying ording to what Kai believes. The question will remain unanswered until one of them falls to the ground." Michelle shrugged.


    "I somehow want to fight her¡­" Ayaka suddenly came and said while looking at Sofia. It was like her instinct riling up her animal blood.


    "You have no turn though."


    "I know."


    "Still, what do you think about her as arade?" Michelle asked the two.


    "From her strength alone, she will be a great addition to our group''s overall strength. Albeit, I am still wondering how annoying it is to have her." Tasha sighed, feeling problems woulde soon.


    "It will be a lie if I say I am not jealous or anything¡­ Unlike both of you, I have this kind of repulsive feeling about her." Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I will be supervising her. Just like how I did back then, I would eliminate her if she proved herself as a threat no matter the cost," Michelle said coldly as she nced at Ayaka.


    "Ahaha¡­" Ayaka scratched her head, knowing that she must be talking about her. "It seems I have escaped death¡­"


    Michelle shrugged and kept watching the battle.


    Seeing they had fought for a few minutes without magic, Kai decided to stop his attack and leaped backward.


    "You are good¡­ If you used your Vibration Sword, I would have died many times." Sofia smirked. "You kept attacking my weak points after analyzing my movement. That was insane, especially in closebat. If I didn''t have this sixth sense, I wouldn''t be able to counter it."


    Kai shook his head. "Your basic ability is excellent, not one that I canin about. Now that I think about it, your Zodiac Blood... Does ite from an Arctic Fox?"


    "Yes." Sofia nodded. "Arctic Fox is known as an animal that can change its fur''s color ording to the season. However, the effect has evolved into a kind of mimicry when turning into a magical beast. At the same time, its Ice Element has some affinities with my Ice Magic."


    "I see." Kai closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "That is a good ability. I think this is also the reason why I can spot you despite having used your mimicry skill¡­"


    "I guess. And my strength isn''t that strong due to the bacsh of the blood." Sofia sighed. "Well, you will know this eventually, so I think about saying it now. Besides, you are going toe to my baseter, so it''s all good."


    "¡­" Kai didn''tment on the base matter and simply looked at her Zodiac''s ability. "That''s good enough for me. The one that is truly useful is your sixth sense."


    "Just like your hearing." Sofia shrugged, telling Kai she wasn''t the only one.


    "Now I have seen your physical abilities, I will move on to the magic aspect." Kai nodded. Even though this was a fight between him and Sofia, this looked more to a test, checking each other''s strength. However, this soon changed as Kai finally released his animal instinct.


    Seeing this, Sofia knew that she couldn''t have a nice chat again until one of them lost. She took a deep breath and summoned the four magic circles again.


    Kai knew this and leaped toward her, nning to attack her before she couldunch her attack. At this time, Sofia smiled because she had sessfully baited him.


    A big magic circle appeared beneath her, and ice started spreading on the ground in all directions.


    "!!!" It didn''t stop there. Kai saw ice spikes emerging from the ground, trying to cover her and stab him. And with that area of attack, it was not possible for him to go around as it covered her from all directions. In the end, he halted his step for a second.


    Sofia then activated her magic circles and summoned four ice spikes with the size of a human arm. The tip of these ices looked very sharp.


    Kai looked at this and realized that he only had two options. ''Charge against these spikes to dodge this or retreat again¡­ But if I retreat, she will make another attack, and it will never end until I exhaust myself. There is only one thing to do then.''


    Taking a deep breath and activating his Vibration Sword, Kai shed the four spikes before leaping toward her. Albeit, his focus suddenly got distracted by these four ice spikes, so he refrained himself from making such a move.


    Instead, Kai stabbed his swords to the ground and grabbed the spikes with both hands while avoiding the other two.


    "Although I don''t know how strong I am right now, I feel I have surpassed the one thousand mark¡­ So take this." Kai threw the first one.


    "!!!" Sofia never expected him to use such an attack. She tried to make a magic shield, albeit it was toote. The spike shattered the unstable magic circle and made its way toward Sofia.


    It was at this time the exoskeleton showed its prowess. Sofia shifted her body, making sure that the ice hit the metal rod instead of her body. This was one of the ws of the exoskeleton. They had yet to create an exoskeleton that could cover a whole body, so the user was expected to do this if they wanted to block it. Fortunately, the one Sofia used had the most metal rods, so it was the closest to a full-body armor¡­ Even then, Sofia''s version only covered thirty percent of her body.


    The moment the ice hit her, the ice couldn''t prate the metal rod. In fact, the metal rod shattered the ice with its hardness alone.


    Unfortunately, Kai had yet to finish his attack. He threw another one toward her, but this time, he added magic into it.


    "Are you kidding me?" Sofia gritted her teeth when a magic circle appeared before Kai released the ice. And as soon as it passed through the magic circle, it sped up and increased its power. "Don''t underestimate me!"


    Unlikest time, she had the time to react and punched this ice. Kai just used his Sound st to give a boost to the ice''s speed and power. This was like what he did in Miami, where heunched several parts of magical beasts but with proper timing and technique.


    That was why when Sofia received it with her fist, she found the full force of a man with a thousand-kilogram strength along with his magic.


    As one would expect, the ice still couldn''t prate the exoskeleton or even bent it, but it didn''t mean the ice had no effect on Sofia. The powerful force and momentum pushed her back a few meters before she deflected it in another direction.


    Unfortunately, Kai had yet to stop his continuous attack. Using this opportunity, he jumped forward and swung his sword at her, nning to finish this.


    "Kh!" Sofia never expected she would face this type of situation. Luckily, she managed to react properly this time as she created a blue magic circle in front of her.


    At first, Kai thought this must be a magic shield before he felt the temperature drop slightly as a piece of ice appeared out of nowhere.


    "This¡­ No, is she freezing the water particles in the air and spreading it to make a shield?" Kai muttered to himself as he watched how an ice wall appeared out of nowhere. His sword ended up hitting this ice wall instead of her.


    Kai gritted his teeth andpleted his swing. The ice started to crack from that extraordinary strength before Kai ultimately broke it into pieces and made his way toward Sofia.


    Sofia smiled as she had bought enough time to prepare her next attack. As soon as he broke through the ice wall, she activated the magic circles above them. Raising her hands, she chanted. "Ice Executor."


    An ice cage formed above them, falling down to trap Kai. At the same time, a few ice spikes also appeared,unching themselves toward Kai. This was truly an execution. Not only Kai needed to destroy the solid-looking ice cage, but he also needed to do it under the heavy attacks from these ice spikes.


    Kai nced at the eight spikes that surrounded him as they flew toward him. Knowing that he couldn''t dodge this, he summoned his Oscition Shield to protect his back before shifting his body to the right to dodge the ice spike from the left.


    As for the onesing from his front and right, Kai simply shattered them with his swords.


    "Now¡­ Let''s see whether you can break my ice cage first or my ice hurt you first¡­" Sofia grinned as she thought she had trapped Kai in her n.


    "No, you! Goodbye." Albeit, thetter seemed to be unfazed by the whole situation as if he had a perfect counter for this. In fact, Kai smiled gently as he created a magic circle below her. "Sound st!"


    "!!!" Sofia just realized what he wanted to do. Despite that gentle smile, he was a sadist in doing this. Sofia gritted her teeth as she couldn''t escape from this one. The magic circleunched her up to the sky.

 Chapter 231 - Kai Vs Sofia Part III

    "Sh*t!"


    That was thest word Sofia uttered before she flew to the sky due to Kai''s Sound st.


    Kai didn''t forget to send another message out loud. "If you give up now, I will ask Tasha to teleport you back."


    Of course, he didn''t forget to use a couple more magic circles to send her to the highest limit where the low pressure didn''t torture her.


    ''This guy!'' Sofia really wanted to curse him but stopped as she tried to search for another way to help her.


    Kai thought there should be a single move that Sofia could use to escape from this situation. He had seen this technique when Sofia came to the military base from the hotel in Miami. She and Julia rode a thin ice trail to move in the air. Her movement was precise and fluid, so Kai thought she could use it by making trails in the sky.


    Sofia also thought of this, but the technique had one big w. As much as it could resist the physicw, it was still unable to defy gravity.


    The moment she created the ice trail, it would simply fall along with her. Even when the trail reached the ground, it would crumble as it couldn''t resist the momentum. Sofia was in a bind this time and even thought about giving up.


    ''This brother and sister duo¡­ Why do they like people falling from the sky? One is teleporting them while the other one isunching them. They are evil.'' Sofia gritted her teeth before she thought something crazy.


    She wondered whether this was possible or not but decided to try it.


    "Ice Trail. Freeze!" A magic circle appeared in front of Sofia''s eyes that she pointed at the ground, summoning another magic circle on the pointed area.


    Kai looked at this and signaled Tasha to move if she failed. It wasn''t good to have her die in this ce, especially on the first day. Tasha nodded as she activated her own magic circle, ready for the rescue.


    Suddenly, an almost vertical slide appeared. This slide made of ice was designed to receive her falling momentum before turning it toa horizontal movement.


    Kai could see her thinking upon watching this almost ''L'' design with a bigger curve, but it was still ridiculous. Although he didn''t know whether this could save her or not, he had decided to stop it and asked Tasha to rescue her.


    Tasha nodded and activated her magic circle, teleporting her next to Sofia.


    "Oi. I am still trying to¡ª" Before she could finish, Tasha already grabbed her hand and teleported them back to the ground, killing the falling momentumpletely.


    Even so, Sofia was still facing downward, so she fell to the ground with her face first.


    "What are you doing?!" Obviously, she was angry. Not only Tasha stopped her from doing an imaginative thing, but she also dropped her like that. At the same time, she immediately changed her expression to a calm and serious one. Her personality even turned into a polite one as she thanked her. "I apologize for my rudeness before and thank you for saving me."


    The reason was obviously Tasha. She was the only one she shouldn''t oppose in this base as she was soon to be sister-inw, or so she thought.


    "The battle has been decided." Tasha didn''t reply to her and ended the match.


    "Fufu¡­ Tasha has mellowed a bit." Michelle grinned as she walked toward her. "Now that I think about this, you gradually turn like this after entering this base¡­ I still remember in the past you wanted to kill all the girls that stuck to him."


    "And who has influenced me to be like this?" Tasha rolled her eyes.


    "It was not me." Michelle shrugged. "I only gave you my whole idea. I think the turning point is when you have quit being a virgin¡­"


    Michelle thought it was a good time to tease her, but she realized that a portion of her darkness seemed to have still remained. Tasha''s cold gaze, the leaking killing intent, and her clenching fists made her stop.


    "Just shut up." Tasha rolled her eyes and created a magic circle to teleport Michelle up to the sky, letting her experience the same thing as Sofia.


    "Oi! How can you team up with her?" Michelle shouted out loud before summoning her shadow. She had been experiencing many things with her shadowtely, and she realized she could freely manipte her shadow. And coupled with the concept of her Shadow Swords, Michelle turned her shadow into a parachute and flew down gently.


    "That''s how you do it. If you can''t even do something like that, it''s better to leave this group." Tasha ignored her again and snorted at Sofia. She was nning to be cold to everyone, so this girl feared her and returned to the EU Base.


    Unfortunately, the first time she did this seemed to have no effect on Sofia. After all, she only thought this when she knew Sofia wasing to the base.


    Kai let out a long sigh, wondering what he should do with this situation. On one hand, he wanted to solve this matter since he would choose whatever he felt in the future. On the other hand, he was more supportive of his girls rather than Sofia. This created a dilemma in his heart, and he ended up drawing a line with her for the time being.


    "Anyway, I think the match has been decided. You have some powerful ability, but what I find interesting is your control. I believe you can be the support with Ayaka as our main attack as she still possesses higher firepower than you. Michelle and I will be in front while Tasha will shoot on the monsters near us.


    "With this, our group should be able to handle fifty to one hundred magical beasts alone. Of course, we can even do more since you have the power to change the terrain. However, I do believe that you should try to get along with everyone first and get ustomed to our fighting style.


    "If you can''t do that, I won''t bring you on future missions. After all, they are more important to me." Kai exined the basicbat strategy while giving an important warning to Sofia. After that, he didn''t forget to diss her. "Well, I need to say that thest decision of yours was foolish. I can even shatter that ice slide and kill you at the right moment. You are too confident with your power, and I could say you are the weakest one in our group right now."


    "!!!" All the girls widened their eyes. They were shocked that Kai would bash her, but the girls actually liked it. Of course, how could they not? Sofia was still a stranger who was trying to steal their men, so this type of reaction was normal.


    "I am sorry." On the other hand, Sofia could only bow her head and listen to Kai''sints. The girls would be happy to see this anyway, so she epted all theints.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was watching this fight from the start with a beautiful woman inside the house.


    "Dear¡­ What do you think about this Sofia?"


    "A thieving cat," The man replied instantaneously.


    "Well, I do agree at some points¡­ But don''t you think she can be converted to be our citizen as well?"


    "Although it''s hard, it''s indeed feasible. I heard that there are two possible subjects that will soon be Zodiacs in the research center. And unlike her, they would likely have a power that is far stronger than her since the blood is rtively power rted.


    "You might already know about her mimicry ability, but in this world where our main enemies are Magical Beasts, that ability won''t be used that much. The only problem is her powerful instinct¡­ No, I should say her sixth sense.


    "This ability canpletely overthrow her Zodiac Ability. That''s why it will be hard to convert her. As much as her ability persists, I don''t really have that manyints if she wants to be Kai''s woman. But the fact that she is trying to convince him to join EU Base makes me hate her. Even Father is trying to make her ufortable so she can return prematurely."


    "True enough." She sighed before walking away. "Anyway, I will check little Anthony."


    "Sure. I will join you after this." Michael nodded, looking at Daisy''s back with a gentle expression. ''With Anthony and Kai, Graham Family will have another protector for another few generations. However, if the EU Base snatches Kai, I can''t predict what will happen to Michelle¡­''


    This problem had troubled him for a few months, even before Sofia came. He knew that Kai would be in the center of attention, and the other bases would surely entice him. United Asia wouldn''t be a problem because they had bad blood with Kai.


    After all, the Government there had disappointed Kai to the point he almost died. Meanwhile, a single family wouldn''t be able to contain Kai, including the two families that are currently in a war.


    That was why the only problem would be the EU Base. He had thought of several solutions to keep Kai in the base, but if thetter wanted to go there himself, he had no way to stop him unless he wanted to make a family.


    ''As expected, it seems I have only a single solution. This one has the highest possibility to retain him except being a general.'' Michael sighed inwardly. He knew what kind of thing he could speak and which topic he shouldn''t say in Kai''s presence since he would surely listen to it. That was why all of these were his thoughts with no way for Kai to know it.


    Michael watched the match until the conclusion before he turned around with a serious expression. ''I will inform my father to prepare it secretly in South Carolina.''

 Chapter 232 - The Mission

    After the fight concluded, Kai informed them that they were going to have a mission tomorrow, so everyone needed to prepare.


    In the night, Kai finally got the mission detail from Ria. It seemed to have just gotten its approval not long ago.


    [Mission: Assassinate the running away Zodiac and recover its body.


    Description: Meet the reinforcement in Costa Rica, and he will exin the rest.]


    Kai sighed and realized that this mission wasn''t for him to begin with. Ria just asked the government to include him in the mission. ''Still, who am I going to meet?''


    This question shed in his mind a couple of times during the night until he fell asleep.


    The next day.


    Kai and Tasha immediately teleported to room 420, preparing for their flight to Costa Rica.


    Not long after, they flew toward Costa Rica. Sofia tried talking with the group on this asion to know them better. Even though she was not a US Base''s citizen, she still needed to act her part, including bing a part of this group. Getting close to Kai could be der, she thought after learning Kai''s personality yesterday.


    The flight took three hours before they arrived at the coast of Costa Rica. Kai asked the pilot to halt the helicopter after noticing arge group around the coast to find out whether they were allies or not. Luckily, his hearing managed to discern their affiliation instantly, and it turned out, it was a regiment they knew.


    Without hesitation, Kai asked the pilot tond the helicopter in the middle of the army.


    Below, the soldiers furrowed their eyebrows, wondering who would be their partner this time. The government was ridiculous to have them halt their progress for another day just to take care of some students. Yet, their mind was blown away the moment they saw the first person toe out.


    At the same time, their general also hade closer without anyone knowing, ready to greet him.


    "To think the students that will help us are you and your group, Kai Carter." The middle-aged general smiled and stretched his hand.


    "It''s my pleasure to meet you again, Sir Sanders. I am sorry since my teacher seems to request it at thest minute." Kai smiled and shook the middle-aged man''s hand. It turned out that the one who was originally assigned this mission was Sanders.


    Before even Sanders said anything, around two-third of the soldiers, who had seen his figure previously and could see him now, already straightened their bodies and saluted in unison.


    Kai''s figure had been ingrained in their mind. He was the hero of the US Base, but more importantly, he saved their military base and their lives. Only a portion of the new blood actually knew him from the news, but most of them were still clueless. They were wondering whether to do the same thing as the other soldiers since the general had yet to give them instruction.


    "To think you have reached this point when you just be a second-year¡­ I am speechless." Sanders sighed. "Even my father has been talking about you recently."


    "Haha¡­ I am not that great. Just consider me as lucky because I could get Ria Ross as my teacher." Kai shook his head. He knew that Ria Ross must have pulled some strings to get the government to make an exception for him, so no need to get too proud.


    "That is your skill as well. No matter how much other people help you, it will be useless if you don''t have the ability yourself." Sanders shook his head. "Anyway, I will brief you on the mission this time."


    "Yes. I will have my teammates to greet you first." Kai nodded with a serious expression, knowing this would be a serious talk.


    "No need. You are going to act alone this time." Sanders grabbed his hand when he was about to turn away.


    "What do you mean?" Kai frowned, feeling something wrong.


    "The purpose of this mission is to have you learn a coboration mission. Think about it. You have always been in an important position in every mission, mostly a strategist¡­ But you also need to know that you won''t always be a strategist. From the next raid mission alone, you should know that it''s a coboration between four 4-Star Generals, so everyone is equal.


    "I have been instructed not to have you as my strategist and act with limited knowledge about this mission. You will report to me after finishing your mission while amodating my soldiers in your mission. However, you can''t order a single soldier."


    Kai tilted his head for a second and realized his role. "I see."


    Sanders observed his expression for a few seconds to see whether he was sad or happy with such an arrangement but to no avail. Kai didn''t have a change of expression and asked him about the mission.


    "The SS rank magical beast this time is a female zodiac with a sea horse blood. ording to the information, her ability to control the water around her had progressed by leaps and bounds, making it hard to kill her. As for her appearance, her mouth is close to a sea horse''s mouth this time¡­ So, don''t think too much about it.


    "She has been calling armies of sea magical beasts from the south of Mexico to Costa Rica. Luckily, we have killed many monsters in shallow water, so she has managed to gather only five hundred of them. I bring an army with the same number, so we should be able to suppress them quickly.


    "Your mission is to kill her before she can call another reinforcement¡­ I don''t know whether it''s possible or not since she is surrounded bynd again, but I want something certain. Unless she dies, the mission and the worry won''t stop.


    "After my army attacked their base, a few kilometers southeast from here, you are going to sneak inside. After killing her, you only have one job remaining, which is to make sure our soldiers don''t miss a single magical beast."


    Kai had been listening attentively and thought about the details. "How is her strength?"


    "She doesn''t have much, only around three to four hundred kilograms strength. It''s much bigger than a normal human, but it is too weak for you, right?"


    Kai nodded. He had passed the one-thousand mark with the new exoskeleton, so this one shouldn''t be a problem.


    "There is also a record of her having a hard skin, but I don''t think it will be harder than your Vibration Sword."


    "Yes. I will be careful. Even if she is injured, she is still a threat."


    "Sure. Now that you have received the mission, you shall follow the map I will give you immediately." Sanders took out hismunication device and stretched his hand, asking for Kai''s device.


    Kai handed it and watched how Sanders transferred the data to him before taking a nce at it.


    "Since it''s done. How about giving some words to my soldiers? They have been talking about you for a few months, so I think it''s good to hear your motivation words¡­" Sanders smirked while ncing at his soldiers.


    Kai scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. He didn''t know what to say, so he just stated his current condition. "Although I am not with you in this mission, I am still cooperating with all of you. I hope you can take care of all of us."


    "Yes, Sir!" The soldiers saluted and shouted in unison. Kai smiled and saluted back beforeing inside his helicopter.


    "Follow this route." Kai handed his device, which opened a map and asked the pilot to go to the destination. Meanwhile, Sofia was more and more curious about this Kai. The soldiers looked very sincere. They admired Kai from the bottom of their heart. In fact, she could see the zeing from these soldiers got strengthened when Kai said his piece.


    To think that his presence could raise morale, it was an insane feat that should only be possible for those who had served the army for a few decades, not a student like him. This was why Kai looked very mysterious. She remembered the scene in Miami, where she realized she also admired Kai secretly back then.


    The back of his looked dependable, worthy of putting their whole life in the line because somewhere in her heart, she believed he would lead them to victory. Coupled with his brave action, Kai was very charming, especially since the armies were filled with women.


    She kept thinking about this matter for the whole journey and waited for a few hours in a small city called San Marcos. Since they were waiting for the army to arrive, Kai counted the magical beasts surrounding the city and only found 563 magical beasts. It shouldn''t be that hard for their force to kill them.


    Kai looked down and studied the terrains while locating their target. The terrain had no problem since he could make several ns to infiltrate the city without the magical beasts noticing, but the target didn''t have any significant movement that allowed him to locate her.


    Luckily, he had another helper this time. Taking a nce at the beauty in his group, he asked. "Sofia. Can you locate the leader?"


    "Hmm?!" Sofia''s eyes brightened as she just got her first mission. She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground level. Her instinct allowed her to sense even those behind the building, so she managed to grasp the entire battlefield almost instantly. Pointing at her finger thirty degrees to the south, she said, "The biggest ze is over there. I don''t know if it''s the boss or because there is a high number of beasts there though."


    "It''s enough." Kai nodded before listening to the footstepsing not far from them. He took his swords out and informed them. "Get ready. We will move in five minutes."


    Just like his prediction, the group needed around three minutes to reach the city with their feet, so Sanders immediatelymanded.


    "Attack!"

 Chapter 233 - Fighting The Failed Zodiac

    "Attack!" As soon as the signal was out, Kai and the others turned serious.


    They followed the movement of the soldiers before ncing at Kai.


    "I will be leading you inside the town and use the soldiers as our camouge. Our enemy will escape after this, so I will use that to discern their movement and other things, confirming whether that ce has our target or not." Kai announced and didn''t forget to give another job to Sofia. "You are going to see whether the so-called ze moves to another direction or not."


    "Understood." Sofia nodded, locking her eyes on the target.


    Meanwhile, Tasha asked. "Are you going to use my teleportation magic?"


    "That''s the n. We will use it to get closer, and I will start from there."


    "Alright."


    As for Michelle, she seemed to want to do something from her looks alone. She sighed. "I want to try something, but I don''t know whether it will be useful or not."


    "You can do that. I trust your judgment." Kai nodded.


    Kai nced at Tasha and Sofia for a moment before shaking his head. He thought, ''As much as I want to get my magic power back, I can''t do it as of now because Sofia is with us now. I still don''t know whether it''s alright to expose this secret as well¡­ If I can, I might already trap their leader using my Sound Instion Room to prevent him from informing the other magical beasts.


    ''Besides, I can''t even order the soldiers this way¡­ I am afraid it will be harder than the usual mission.'' Kai thought for a moment and said, "Get ready. We are going to move in a minute. Make sure you are prepared for the attacks from magical beasts."


    The group nodded while Evan asked. "What is my role now?"


    "You want to see yourbat progress, right? Since thebat of this guy is quite big, you won''t join the fight for now. You can target the magical beasts if you want though." Kai shook his head. He couldn''t let Evan fight because he still needed to be polished even more before bing a decent fighter.


    "I understand." Evan didn''t take it to his heart because he knew his strength the best.


    "Ayaka¡­ I have a secret mission for youter." Kai whispered something to her, not letting the others know.


    Ayaka thought for a moment and nodded. "I will do it."


    "Good."


    Kai then signaled Tasha to start and pointed his finger at a certain building.


    "Teleportation!" The pink magic circle glowed, sending them toward the roof of that specific building.


    "He has begun moving." Kai and Sofia shouted at the same time before their eyes intertwined, noticing that they were focusing on the same person.


    "Follow me." Kai nodded as they started jumping on top of the roof, following their target. Not long after, Kai decided to jump inside a dark alley and continued their way behind the building.


    One minuteter, they spotted a single person running through from building to building, scattering either window or wall to let him through. Just like how the information described her, she indeed had the mouth of a seahorse. Other than that, he couldn''t see any change in particr, except her body that was covered with her clothes.


    There was a different intake of sound in that particr area, so he thought her body must have turned into that of a seahorse. He signaled the others to set up an ambush.


    This was the usual thing they did in every mission unless they had special instruction. Kai and Michelle would stop the enemy from the front while Tasha would support them with their bow. Ayaka would wait until the person lowered her guard before dealing a decisive blow.


    However, Sofia didn''t know her role in this battle, so she looked at Kai with a confused expression.


    "Ask Ayaka to learn about your role." Kai shrugged.


    "So, she is going with me and set up an ambush strike?" Ayaka asked for a confirmation.


    "Yes."


    "Sure." Ayaka nodded and began exining what she usually did in a mission. Sofia listened to her attentively, not wanting to make a mistake.


    "Let''s go!" Kai tugged Michelle''s arm as he changed his direction and created two magic circles in front of them.


    This was Kai''s Sound st. Due to this new skill, Michelle and the others had yed along, testing every singlebination they could use with this skill. And it turned out that Kai''s Sound st was more versatile than he thought to be.


    Kai and Michelle stepped on those magic circles andunched themselves toward the failed zodiac.


    "!!!" On the other hand, the zodiac seemed to have noticed their presence as she immediately summoned a water wall out of nowhere.


    Kai would surely not take any risk if he didn''t notice this and would simply go around this wall to hit them. However, the thought never appeared again the moment Michelle could control her shadow even more freely.


    Michelle only nodded to him as she created a ball of darkness that soon transformed into a te, covering their front like a car''s windshield.


    Kai didn''t stop her because he knew they would go through this water wall without much problem. And he would need to do his job right after.


    *Ssh!*


    The water was stopped by this shadow. The zodiac was taken aback at first before reacting to it by sending her arm to destroy this shield.


    If Kai were not here, Michelle wouldn''t be able to react to this because the shield was too dark for her to see. Fortunately, Kai''s ears could hear every single movement without the need to see it.


    *sh!*


    A sword suddenly appeared, shing through this ck shield and hit the woman''s hand. Moreover, he had even activated his Vibration Sword. Without any protection around her hand, the sword chopped and sent it flying.


    At the same time, Kai sent another strike toward her stomach to split her into two. Despite having the strategy, he wouldn''t care about the process if he could finish the battle sooner. Hence, he dared to attack this woman without giving his teammate a chance.


    *Roar!* The woman screamed before the water particles in the air gathered around her stomach and dampened the attack from his Vibration Sword. Just like how he expected, the woman used her evolved stomach to withstand this attack and took advantage of the force behind it to blow her away.


    However, Kai noticed that the roar seemed to be a calling roar instead of a struggling roar. The fact that many magical beasts suddenly turned their way and headed toward them reinforced his belief.


    As for the zodiac, she continued flying as far as possible to get a good distance with Kai before continuing her escape.


    It was at this time, Ayaka activated her magic.


    A huge magic circle appeared behind her, creating a of fire.


    The woman realized it would burn her if she were trapped there. That was why she turned around and pointed her hand toward releasing a bolt of water to suppress this fire.


    Ayaka smiled on top of the building as she muttered. "It will seed¡­ That is if I don''t have someone beside me."


    Sofia beside her nodded and created another magic circle, not far from the fire. The moment the water flew on top of it, the magic circle glowed and froze the water flying above it. Of course, Ayaka''s Fire Net might get influenced a bit because of the temperature, but it was still strong enough to burn her.


    *Roar Roar!* This time, she screamed in pain. The fire caught her and burned a portion of her front, except her body area. She gritted her teeth and sent another st of water, pulverizing the fire in an instant.


    At this time, Tasha released her Lightning Piercer with three arrows almost at the same time. Just like how the others had improved, she also made some upgrades to her technique. This Lightning Piercer that she could only use one time was upgraded to a three-times use.


    She released these arrows in session, so they could go to one spot.


    The zodiac couldn''t dodge this because she just freed herself from Ayaka''s Fire Net. Water started creating another wall to stop this attack as this might be the only way to stop them.


    Unfortunately, Michelle didn''t let her do so. She swung her swords simultaneously.


    "Shadow sh!"


    These two dark crescent-shaped shes ran through the ground, making their way toward the zodiac.


    "!!!" She noticed the iing attacks from behind and turned her body around, creating another wall of water. The reason Michelle and Kai could break through her wall before was that she didn''t reinforce it.


    Now that she had prepared everything and activated all of her magic power, she reinforced the wall to ensure that nothing would pierce through it.


    At this time, Sofia created another move and froze both water walls, but to no avail. Just like how the freezing didn''t affect the water elemental, the zodiac immediately reinforced the frozen wall with anotheryer of water. This way, it would just make it even thicker.


    "Tch." Sofia clicked her tongue after seeing the disgusting magic again. She had experienced it with Eru, so the hate had gone through her bones.


    Unbeknownst to all of them, Kai and Michelle already jumped in two different directions with the Sound st again.


    With her hands upied with the two walls, it would mean that both her front and back were unprotected. Michelle came from the front, facing the zodiac from head-on.


    She made sure that none of her efforts could make her turn around to stop Kai''s attack.


    Kai only smiled at this and stabbed her heart from the back.


    When everyone thought she was finished, she looked at the bloodied de and roared, using all her magic power to create a powerful water st to her surroundings.


    "!!!"

 Chapter 234 - A Hidden Scenario?

    "!!!"


    The water particles gathered around her body, creating two more water walls behind and in front of her.


    Kai pulled out his sword without hesitation and created his Oscition Shield. Michelle also did the same and created a wall with her shadow.


    Suddenly, the water walls moved and pushed them a few meters back, including Tasha''s, Ayaka''s, and Sofia''s attacks, giving the zodiac a valuable chance to either make a counterattack or an escape.


    It seemed the zodiac chose thetter as she leaped toward Kai with a water bubble covering her hand.


    A magic circle appeared in her hand as she punched forward as if she was hitting the magic circle itself. And it turned out that the water bubble in her hand became a few water streams. Just like when the water got an increase in speed when it flowed through a smaller tube, this magic took this principle to turn the water bubble that was supplied with a huge amount of water into a few streams with high speed.


    These streams flowed across the air, heading toward Kai like a snake. Kai furrowed his eyebrows and took a nce at his back, listening to the footsteps of the magical beasts that were getting closer to their position. It seemed the woman nned to use the magical beasts as a distraction, so she could escape. Unfortunately, she met Kai and Sofia.


    "The magical beasts still need around thirty seconds toe¡­" Kai calcted the distance and created an Oscition Shield to block her attack since she might take advantage of him, dodging the move to get past him. It was better to defend against this attack because he could make a full leap toward her.


    However, Kai underestimated the power of these streams. The moment it struck his shield, he was pushed back a few meters until he reached a brittle building. After several hundred years, the building looked as if it wanted to copse, especially when he saw the rubbles that had fallen from the upper floors.


    "She wants to bury me with this building?" Kai frowned before he saw how his teammates moved. Ayaka flew to the sky and aimed her firebirds toward her or dove down to rescue Kai. Sofia also created a blue magic circle to freeze this building or build an ice wall to shelter him. Michelle was ready to unleash her Shadow sh, while Tasha had prepared her teleportation.


    It was at this time the female zodiac made her move. Kai felt the pressure lessened and noticed that the woman had slipped past him.


    "No, you won''t!" Kai gritted his teeth and kicked one of the rubbles before using his Sound st to enhance it.


    The rubble with the size of a human head flew like a bullet, hitting the woman''s back.


    *Roar Roar!* She screamed in pain but didn''t stop using her feet. At the same time, the magical beasts had almost reached her. She thought she would be safe as soon as these beasts sacrificed their lives for her.


    Kai and his group obviously didn''t let such a thing. Kai clenched his swords and started running toward her.


    The others also chased all of them.


    *Roar!* Another roar echoed in the region, but it didn''te from the female. Instead, it came from the tiger that somehow managed toe to her front and protected her from this group.


    Kai looked at this five-meter tiger that sent his paw to squeeze him to death. Without wasting a single second, he created a green magic circle, not on his hand, but beneath his feet.


    *Bam!*


    The tiger seemed to have stomped Kai as the sound reverberated in everyone''s ears. Even the zodiac smiled as if she just escaped death, or that was what she thought.


    Suddenly, the tiger was split into two by a dark wave running through the ground, followed by a shock wave that blew this tiger apart.


    Kai made a small smile as he nced at his back, finding Michelle unleashed her Shadow sh. As always, she sent her attack in perfect time.


    With this, nothing stands between him and the woman. He created another pair of magic circles and sted the tiger toward the other magical beasts to prevent them from helping the woman. At the same time, the magic circle below his feetunched him toward the woman like a bullet.


    "!!!"


    The woman was about to turn around, but Kai already appeared with his swords. His lion blood had already stimted its aura, scaring the woman for a split second.


    Kai shed his swords toward the woman''s feet, separating them from the woman''s body and making her unable to escape anymore.


    This would be a perfect chance for him to kill this female, but Kai suddenly retracted his swords and made a huge leap backward.


    The woman was baffled at first and thought the attack had stopped since the magical beasts had arrived to stop him. It was at this time Tasha and Sofia appeared from the sky, unnoticed by the beasts.


    "Lightning Piercer!"


    "Ice Particles. Cube!"


    Tasha released her three arrows in session while Sofia released smaller cubes to create some more wounds to her body.


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    Tasha''s magic caused the sound, while Sofia''s ice cubes only made a small sound and wounds, but it was followed by a scream from the woman.


    "Sound st!"


    Kai stepped in again with his swords, looking at the woman and the two snails beside her. They looked like they were going to stop Kai even with their body¡­ Albeit, they needed to pass Michelle before that.


    Kai only smiled as he listened to the rumbling sound behind his back, followed by the dark waves that struck the two snails.


    "Kh!" The female gritted her teeth. She couldn''t even stand anymore because Kai cut her two feet, and yet no magical beast could help her in this situation. Not only the five of them had perfect coordination, but they were also extraordinary in their own way.


    Kai flew right above her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. His emanating killing intent made her instinctively create a shield to protect her head.


    *Snort!* Kai had never aimed at her head. He sliced both of her arms at her shoulder, making her unable to escape.


    What is strange is that all people from Lion Group had dispersed themselves from Kai, who flew past her, or Tasha, who had teleported back with Sofia. Michelle was already far away to begin with. Everything seemed to be nned for another action.


    At this time, a red glowing magic circle appeared a few meters above the zodiac''s head.


    She had been lying low this whole time after helping Kai just for this. Calcting the distance between her and the beast, she knew where and when she needed to use this attack. She couldn''t help but recall Kai''s special mission.


    ''When the zodiac is cornered, you need to use your biggest explosion and turn that person into smithereens. It''s better to do it, so there won''t be another case like this anymore.''


    She agreed to it, and here she is, flying not far from her and using her magic.


    "Scarlet Explosion!" Ayaka widened her eyes, pped her hand, and shouted as she activated the magic circle, causing a huge explosion to the surroundings.


    As for the female zodiac, who was engulfed by the explosion, it was hard to see whether she was still alive or not considering her state.


    When the wind blew the smoke away, they found nothing other than a few torn clothes that had yet to be burned.


    Kai leaped toward the crater made by the explosion and examined the zodiac''s previous location. "She''s dead. Let''s go back since we havepleted the mission."


    "How about the other magical beasts?" Ayaka asked while ncing at the iing magical beasts.


    "That''s not our mission. I am just following General Sanders''s order." Kai shook his head before saying. "I will tell General Sanders about the mission and leave."


    "We will follow you." Ayaka nodded and asked Tasha to prepare for another teleportation.


    Kai and the group killed the magical beasts in front of them first before running across the city, meeting the general a few hundred meters away from them. Kai told him everything, including the fact that the corpse was reduced to ashes.


    After that, Tasha teleported them to the helicopter and returned to the school. Meanwhile, the soldiers killed all the magical beasts before going back to their base. Of course, Kai still waited until the soldiers finished and confirmed they had killed all of them.


    The mission seemed to have concluded without any problem¡­ Or at least, all of them thought so, except Kai.


    The next day.


    A grey-haired woman walked inside the city, specifically where the battle against the zodiac took ce. She looked around and found a broken wall that looked artificial.


    "Hmm¡­ This way." She went inside a building, looking around the pile of rubbles as if she was searching for something important. Only a few minutester she finally found a woman''s body that had injuries all over her body. "This is the dead body¡­ It''s not perfect, but it''s fine. He needed to make a fa?ade for me anyway."


    "It seems I have requested something hard from my disciple. ording to him, he used Sound st to blow her away and have thatss Ayaka use her Scarlet Explosion to cover the truth. Luckily, no one realizes this, including Ayaka herself.


    "Anyway, I will recover the body first to see if there is another possibility to save those zodiacs that have turned into monsters. Maybe, I can also help my beloved disciple with a new possibility." She muttered to herself before grabbing the woman with her hand.


    She treated her wounds carefully and dressed her well. The wound and smell had been hidden due to this before she put the woman inside a huge back.


    Carrying that bag on her back, she finally disappeared again.

 Chapter 235 - Discussion With Ria

    The next day, Kai and the others returned to the school as if they never took any mission in the first ce. The atmosphere was bright and warm. Although Evan ended up not being useful in this mission, no one actually said something to him. His main job was to heal everyone, albeit not a single one of them suffered an injury.


    Hence, Evan poured his frustration of not being able to fight into his training.


    As for anyone else, they simply returned to their own schedule without care. No one realized the real reason why Kai asked Ayaka to use her Scarlet Explosion. In fact, they simply did not care.


    The days went by without any problem. After a week, Kai informed them he needed to take a break to visit Ria Ross. No one said anything because they knew Kai needed to discuss the Raid Mission with her.


    The next day. He arrived in front of Ria''s house.


    ''No matter how many times I see this¡­ This house still looks like a run-down house.'' Kai shook his head and rang the bell before thetter asked him to enter. He then pushed the open door and walked inside the house.


    In herboratory, he found Ria Ross looking at the female zodiac that he killed a week ago. "Teacher¡­"


    "Don''t worry. No one knows about her, so I will take good care of her. After that, I will properly bury her." Ria Ross waved her hand and shook her head. "I haven''t gotten inside the research center for a long time, so I need to research this alone to avoid their attention. I don''t want them to force me to give my research again."


    Kai nced at her face, noticing the big ck bag under her eyes. ''How long since herst sleep?''


    "What are we going to do today?" Ria Ross looked up and sighed. "Oh right. I almost forgot. We are supposed to discuss the idea about the iing raid mission. Let''s go to my study room."


    Kai nodded and followed her. It seemed she had prepared everything needed for today''s meeting, from the digital map on her table to a few documents containing the information.


    Ria took her usual seat while Kai took the other one facing her. "I have three topics for today."


    "Is sleep included?" Kai lowered his eyebrows and looked at his teacher worriedly.


    Ria slightly widened her sleepy eyes and smiled. "Fine. Since my student finally shows some care, I will have some sleep after we finish this topic."


    Kai nodded. "Then let''s cut to the chase. What are the three topics?"


    "Before that, I want to say something."


    "Sure."


    "I have said I am going to pick your missions this year, right?"


    "Yes. Did Teacher have a problem?"


    "No. I am just warning you first because I won''t pick any mission about war. I don''t want you to lead the army in your second year other than this raid mission."


    "If not war¡­ Then what is my mission? Am I going to assassinate some monsters or something?"


    "I want you to learn more about the truth that might be connected to the riddle that protector gave you. No, in fact, I am wondering whether these so-called protectors are the only ones out there or not. You might not know, but our is far more mysterious than you can imagine."


    "Mysterious? Still, our ability is limited. Even if I want to explore such a thing, I might not be able to travel due to the magical beasts."


    "Even before the appearances of magical beasts, our Earth has many mysterious ces that can''t be exined. Of course, I am going to send you to a few areas like that, so you might find that riddle. Those ces are hard to explore for many reasons, so I am going to use that for your achievement to elevate you into a general. After all, I want you to know more than a simple war general because there might be a time where you need that knowledge." Ria shrugged.


    Kai nodded. "I understand. I will follow Teacher''s arrangement."


    "Anyway, your hearing will help you in this mission, so I will exin more about this after discussing the topic." Ria paused for a moment. "For now, I am going to exin about the three topics. First will be the two possible threats: That mad scientist and the protector. I believe both of them will make a move at this point."


    "Yes. Where is that guy now?"


    "I don''t know where he is, but I believe he is hiding deep inside the uncharted territory. Thest time the S rank magical beast spotted was in Argentina, specifically Rosario. Hence, we are going to move with forty thousand soldiers to that ce. None of them have been explored by us, so there should be many magical beasts there.


    "And that guy must have hidden himself in the bottom of Argentina¡­ Around Santa Rosa or Bahia nca." Ria exined the general position.


    "Hmm?" Kai suddenly felt something odd when looking at the map. It was at the position where one should have expected something to happen, Buenos Aires. "Teacher. This one¡­"


    "Yeah. In this area, the sea rtively goes deep inside, and there is a river to boot. From what I can see, the protector will use this ce to travel."


    "I see. We are getting pincered from the south and east." Kai nodded. "So, we should have the spider to be on our west side or north side."


    "Yes. Though I believe the protector brings more trouble than that guy, so I suggest having the spider on the west side. This way, they will need to pass our entire army to help the spider."


    "Sure enough. We can position the spider in the northwest, but it will be too hard to make it specific like that. As for the threat from the south, we can simply create another small army to separate the south and west."


    "Yes. Since this ce is mostly natural terrain, I think we will employ traditional warfare. It''s to sh depending on the strength of the general. In other words, you should make the n and have the generals execute it ordingly."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "In that case, I don''t need a specific strategy, no?"


    "More or less. I will tell you about the four generals first. The first two are obviously Nathan and Ethan. Nathan might need to handle the protector. As for the south area¡­ I believe the third general, an old man called Paolo to have this. He is a man filled with strength. His strength is useful to brutally destroy the enemies.


    "Ethan''s strength is in his defense. He has taught his son, Sanders, in that way. It is the reason why Sanders is takingmand of Cuba Military Base. It''s an important ce to protect the bridge connecting North America and South America.


    "He will coordinate with the fourth general, Jose, to block the magical beasts that will help the spider. You might not know, but this person has been working with Ethan since long ago, so you can trust him to coordinate fluidly with Ethan."


    Kai pondered for a moment, processing all the information in his head. "What is Sir Nathan''s strength then? Why Teacher seems to be confident in cing him against the protector?"


    "I have no confidence in him. However, he is the most bnced than the other three. If it''s only to buy time, he should be fine. That''s why even Michael is stationed inside the center base or his own house. He has the same style as Nathan, while the second and third son have gotten used to being Nathan''s assistants. Their task is to stand by inside the base where they need to deploy immediately in an emergency situation."


    "I see." Kai nodded. "In that case, we will have the lineup as such. The problem is how long they can hold the magical beasts. Even though we bring forty thousand, the enemies might have three to four times our number. It''s too hard for us in the open area, so¡­ I think three hours to four hours is the maximum before we need to retreat."


    "If you are going to minimize the casualty, then yes. However, our target is the S rank magical beast. We are required to kill it before we can retreat. However, I will tell you the true terror of this magical beast known as an S rank magical beast¡­"


    Kai gulped down as Ria created the suspense.


    "Well, it''s not that bad. Thest time I fought such a beast, it could overwhelm us because we didn''t have a strong attack power capable of piercing through their defense. However, it will be different now with you and me.


    "Your Vibration Sword will be our strongest weapon. I might be able to take one of its legs while you can kill that guy with your vibration sword. Unfortunately, your sword is too small to split the spider. The only thing we can do is to cut the legs one by one before finishing him off."


    "Yes. That''s the only way." Kai agreed with her. "The problem is the poison. Can we safely assume that once we get inflicted by the poison, we will die?"


    "It''s better to assume that way. In other words, you can''t touch its body as it might also produce the toxin. There is also a chance to shoot its web containing the poison. It will be hard to fight because of this disadvantage, so you can understand my point of why it will take a long time to kill it."


    "Yes." Kai nodded before feeling another problem might appear. He didn''t know why the memory of the centipede appeared in his mind even though it was only a matter from United Asia. Suddenly, he realized what might happen. "We might have another problem."


    "Oh wait, my student. I haven''t finished listing the problem yet."


    "¡­"

 Chapter 236 - A Conspiracy Theory

    "¡­" Kai became speechless the moment he heard it. The n itself already had too many problems to cover, and she said she hadn''t said everything. Kai scratched his head, confused about how to deal with it.


    "The spiders won''t be alone at this point even though we have tried to separate them. Just like the previous time I fought an S rank magical beast, some of the beasts didn''t care about their injuries and broke through our formation."


    "Then your small elite group needed to deal with it as well?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. Around a third of us dealt with those beasts. Of course, there were some magical beastsing from the ground itself. Although some of the beasts that traveled inside the ground could be detected by Earth Magician to some extent, some of them managed to slip because they were going a bit deeper than most of the monsters."


    "That''s it." Kai nodded. "I was just about to discuss it with you."


    "I have experienced it. Since we have your attack power and my magic, we should be able to spare half of our elite group to deal with those beasts. Meanwhile, fifty of us will try to kill that spider." Ria paused for a moment before sighing. "Of course, this n will be very dangerous, especially for you."


    "I know. I will try to focus on the spider''s sound to dodge its attack while cutting some of its legs. Albeit, I am afraid my sword can''t kill that spider due to its giant body."


    "I will handle it at that point." Ria nodded. "I have perfect magic to kill it when it can''t move."


    "Now that I think about it, was the frog skin that hard?"


    Ria realized why he asked about this and answered ordingly. "Yeah. It was very hard. At the very least, no one in my group could cut that skin. It was only after I used my ultimate technique that I could pierce its head."


    "I see. My strength is crucial to this n then." Kai finally understood how crucial his position would be.


    "As much as I hate to say it, yes. You are the key to end this battle quickly. After that, we can try to kill that mad scientist before retreating to our base. The government will handle the rest of the monsters."


    "I understand." Kai thought for a moment andmented. "Still¡­ the mad scientist won''t be able tomand all of the magical beasts even with the two Zodiacs with him. In other words, they would probably be easier to fight than the other one."


    "Yes. We might fight two or three protectors at the same time¡­ That''s why I am focusing on Nathan to buy time for us instead of fighting them head-on. As long as we have enough time, we should be able to win."


    "As for the S rank spider side¡­ The spider must want to have the beasts to assist him." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yeah. Ethan should be able to receive them properly¡­ Well, just expect some to get through his defense, and you will be fine."


    "Noted." Kai nodded before realizing something important. "That''s right. Can I mobilize the Graham Family''s army?"


    "Now that I think about it, Nathan won''t bring his elite soldiers. You want to add them to your calction?"


    "I will only add them for an emergency."


    "Then, yes. You can move them."


    "And onest thing, how do wemunicate with each other? Considering the army is too big, and the enemies are intelligent enough to decipher our code¡­"


    "Via will be transmitting the code. Of course, we are going to make the code on the spot and change it every time we use it to make sure the enemies don''t know. It will be an ever-changing code that only I, you, and the four generals know. So, expect to remember many things."


    "Alright. I have gathered all the information I need." Kai nodded before his expression turned serious. He had been suppressing his curiosity this whole time, so he blurted it out at this moment. "That''s right. Since we have finished this talk, I want to ask you about what you mean by this world is more mysterious than I thought?"


    "I mean as it is¡­ Just think about it, the Earth actually held many secrets even before the magical beasts overturned civilization." Ria paused for a moment. "Take a look at the sea¡­ We couldn''t really discover the depth of the sea. We might be able to research about one, but we won''t be able to see the sea like how we discover something on thend.


    "That''s why I am thinking that the Protectors have existed since ancient times, protecting this from behind the scene."


    Kai widened his eyes. "Does Teacher believe in those conspiracy theories as well?"


    "Blindly believe them? No. I only believe it after some facts." Ria shook her head and said, "I start to wonder why the animals would suddenly evolve to magical beasts¡­ Why would the first ce magic power was discovered be in the Antic Ocean, specifically in the Bermuda Triangle?


    "Despite listening to many conspiracy theories, I somehow believe that some of them might contain some truth."


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds and asked, "Then¡­ Does Teacher want me to do something about this mystery?"


    "Yes. I am nning to send you to the Easter Ind." Ria nodded with a solemn expression.


    "Easter Ind?" Kai recalled everything he knew about this ind and said with an unsure tone. "I think this ce was known for its stone statues in the past¡­ What it''s called¡­ Moi?"


    "Moai." Ria corrected him before saying, "Yeah. This is what I want you to investigate."


    "On what basis?"


    "Your hearing ability. Unlike other people, you managed to get an acknowledgment from the so-called Princess of the Protector herself. That''s why I think you might be able to discover something that normal people couldn''t¡­"


    Kai shook his head. "You are overestimating me."


    "No. I am sending you to this ind because I have another thought in my mind. You know what¡­ Due to the size of the ind and the number of magical beasts, the government had sent a group of elites and researchers in the past¡­ It was at this time that one of them said they found a trace of magic power in those statues."


    "!!!" Kai opened his mouth in surprise and blinked a few times, having a hard time believing it. "It must be a coincidence."


    "Although we couldn''t measure the amount of magic power due to their structure and theck of technology, we were sure that every single statue in that ind contained magic power. It''s just¡­No matter how hard we tried, we couldn''t decipher the secret."


    "So, you want to test it with my identity and hearing ability?"


    "That''s part of the reason. The other reason is I am going to ask you to bring Eagle Group. Isabelle has sharp eyes, so she might be useful in this situation. At the same time, Sofia''s sixth sense might also be able to discover something. Hence, the three of you are going to test your luck in this ce."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "There is no guarantee that we will discover anything, you know."


    "Yes. I am not hoping for anything, but¡­ I feel that the riddle that protector gave you, you will find it in this type of journey."


    "!!!" Kai clenched his fists. He never had any thought about the riddle because he didn''t want to have another problem in his life, but it seemed he couldn''t avoid it. Even his teacher told him to solve this matter.


    "Of course¡­ I am not going to force you if you don''t want to. I just want to warn you that there might be a time where the knowledge can help you to solve the problem. After all, knowledge is the most wondrous thing that can help us understand our enemies better."


    Kai let out a long sigh. "I understand. I will go with my team and Isabelle''s team three weeks from now. Before that, I need toe up with a working n for the raid mission."


    "Yeah. Well, my n is to have you go to Easter Ind next month and the raid mission the month after. And I think you can rest your body from November to January. You might need to go to another ce in February, but we will see after the result in Easter Ind." Ria nodded.


    "If¡­ hypothetically we found something¡­ Sofia might report it to the EU Base, you know. And my standing¡­" Kai let out a long sigh.


    "I have expected this. We might have a joint operation with their EU Base. And we can''t finish this type of thing within a few months. Well, I have some ns, so we will wait until you have finished this mission." Ria shrugged.


    "I understand." Kai nodded with a solemn expression. "If I don''t have any results after two or three missions¡­"


    "I will abandon this idea." Ria nodded. "As for now, I think I will be able to solve your side effect if I fully understand the nature of the protector."


    "Alright. Thank you, Teacher."


    "I will send the details after the meeting next week with those old geezers. For now, you need to focus on your role as a strategist."


    "I understand. I will try to create a battle n ording to all those conditions."


    "Then I think it''s over. I am going to wo¡ª" Just as she was about to return to herboratory, Kai red at her, reminding her of her promise earlier. Hence, she immediately corrected herself. "To my bed and sleep¡­"


    She ran away and headed to the bed.


    Kai only came out of her house after he heard her breathing had stabilized like she was supposed to when sleeping. A human would have a different pace of breathing when they slept anyway, so he knew if she faked it or not.


    After that, he finally returned to his home and prepared for his school tomorrow.

 Chapter 237 - Talking About Mysterious Monuments

    As soon as he returned, Kai brought the news about the new mission that they would need to go.


    "¡­That is our mission." Kai raised his hands after exining for one hour. He reached out to the water bottle and sipped it to brush his dry throat.


    "This is the first time I heard it. I mean, I know about conspiracy theories since it never disappears, but Moai¡­ I can''t rte to it. I know that it''s hard to move those giant statues, but it is not at the level of this theory. If you want something supernatural, you should go to the Bermuda Triangle or something simr." Michelle blurted her confusion in one go.


    "I know. That''s why I am confused as well. But the fact that they contain magic power is still there, and we can''t brush it off." Kai let out a long sigh. "You can say that I am also pretty curious. After all, it never crosses my mind that a statue from a millennia ago can possess magic power."


    "Still¡­ We need to cross the ocean to reach Easter Ind. Will we be alright?" Sofia asked with a worried expression.


    "I think it''s fine. There are already a few scientists living on the ind, so it''s possible to go there. As for the ocean¡­ The Protectors are living around the Bermuda Triangle, or at least that is our spection. The sea in the opposite direction should be safe."


    "Since you are confident in this matter, I won''t say anything more." Sofia nodded with a solemn expression, remembering a certain matter back in EU Base. "Now that I think about it, I seem to have heard about something simr to this."


    "!!!" Kai turned around and stared at her intensely. Even the others also waited for her to speak about this matter. As much as they felt weird when people mystified things like this, it was by all means something breathtaking when they heard some proof like the magic power inside the stone earlier.


    "I will tell you. It''s a secret, but I don''t think it''s considered a state secret." Sofia paused for a moment, reassembling the information in her mind. "There are two spots that have been confirmed to possess high amounts of energy: Stonehenge and Carnac."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and pondered. "I know a bit about Stonehenge, but I ampletely clueless about Carnac."


    Michelle opened her device and searched for these two ces on the inte before projecting it on the table.


    "Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Ennd. It consists of a ring of standing stones that seems to have many conspiracy theories around. It was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Do they actually contain magic power inside them?"


    "Yes. I can assure you. I stumbled upon this thing when I was listening to my Father. If I am not wrong, the study didn''t result in anything other than the fact that these stones have magic power." Sofia nodded before sighing.


    "Teacher asked me to do it because of my hearing ability. Sofia''s sixth sense and Isabelle''s eyes are useful too, so¡­" Kai scratched his head, wondering what he should do. He felt that this would be a pointless mission, but he also wanted to see whether his hearing ability had something to do with this.


    "Well, it''s the mission from your Teacher. Of course, we will dlyply." Michelle smiled. "We will seed either way, so I have noints about a mission like this."


    "That''s right. We can treat it as a vacation." Tasha agreed with a nod.


    As for Kai, he ignored them and searched for the other one called Carnac.


    "Hmm?" Kai read it out loud. "It turns out to be another stone monument. It was built around 4500 BC to as soon as 3300 BC. Some stones are small, and some stones are big as if there is a meaning behind such an arrangement. And the way it''s making a line shape instead of a circle like the Stonehenge, I think this is suspicious. The only problem is¡­"


    "Yeah. It contains magic power." Sofia confirmed as she just opened the EU''s information database. Of course, she didn''t let anyone see this type of thing. "Now this is an interesting topic. What is the reason for this? And the fact that there might be something behind it makes me curious."


    "Although I have the same feeling with you, I doubt it will give us any result." Kai sighed.


    "I have a proposal for you, Kai. If we truly discover something on Easter Ind, I want to know about the truth. As for whether I can bring the information to the EU Base or not, we can discuss itter." Sofia smirked as she seemed to be up for an adventure.


    Kai shrugged. "Well, there is a chance for coboration since there are many mysterious things in EU Base. For the time being, you are one of us, so you can get any information that we get from a mission. As for how you use that information¡­ It''s your own choice."


    "Alright. Since that is the case, I will help you to the best of my ability." Sofia nodded with a smile.


    "There is something still I can''t understand." Michelle scratched her head in frustration. "The other two were constructed a few thousand years ago while the statues from Easter Ind were built around a thousand years ago. I think there is less chance for this to be something extraordinary."


    "It''s normal to see it that way. Now that we live in the 24th century, it''s hard to believe such a thing. But I want to tell you that the Earth is more mysterious than we thought." Kai used Ria''s line to convince Michelle.


    She contemted for a moment and looked at the information about Moai. "Moais are human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Ind between the years 1250 and 1500.


    "Well, there is a theory here saying that these statues are symbols of authority and power, both religious and political. To the people who erected them and used them, they were actual repositories of sacred spirit and believed to be charged by a magical spiritual essence called mana.


    "These statues were a representation of the ancient Polynesians'' ancestors. Thus, there might be something hidden in these statues." Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Well, rather than discussing the theory behind it, it''s best to prepare to see it with your own eyes." Kai shrugged. "If something like this is real, it will open many opportunities for us because we might reach closer to the truth as to how animals turned into magical beasts and why magic power started to appear on Earth."


    "Fair enough." Michelle nodded.


    "This might be something different than any other things we have encountered." Ayaka sped her hand and smirked. "If there is really a mystery on the ind, we might also fight something hidden there. So, I think we should proceed with caution."


    Kai and the others agreed to her.


    "Anyway, let''s wrap it for now. I only want to inform you about this and don''t want to talk too deep. After all, I need to do some nning for the uing raid mission." Kai sighed, brushing off the matter. "Evan. Go to the Eagle Group and tell them about the mission."


    "Eh? Why me?" Evan seemed to be reluctant to do it. Whether it was because of his rtionship with Isabelle or another thing, he didn''t care and said, "If it''s not you, then who will?"


    Michelle and the others only smirked at him, throwing a teasing nce as if they knew he was just embarrassed.


    Evan clicked his tongue, rose from his seat and left the room.


    Kai looked at the closing door and nodded his head, starting to make a n. He didn''t forget to ask about everyone''s opinion since there might be something unique in their mind. As expected, Sofia and Michelle were above the rest about this since they sometimes asked major questions and gave some advice.


    Of course, Kai didn''t say anything if it was a secret like the secret code. As expected, it was indeed good to have only the generals to know about the secret code. This way, they wouldn''t have a sh of opinions.


    He ended up refining his strategy and polishing it to the best level possible for a week of nning. It seemed that Ria Ross wanted him not to have so many thoughts because the ones who mostlymanded the armies are the generals.


    If they were too restricted by the ns, they would be too stiff to perform an emergency measure. In that case, it would be better to give them a casual n where they could improvise ording to their own need.


    The challenge in this n was to know the characteristics of each general and their positioning. Kai took every information he got from Ria and incorporated it into his strategy. Although it was rough around the edges, it should be enough to satisfy every general¡­ No, he should be calling themmanders. There is only one general in this battle, and she is Ria.


    After finishing his nning, he was invited to the embassy, where they were supposed to be meeting with the generals and the president. The president only wanted to know the probability of them seeding in the battle and won''t interfere in their battle.


    Of course, someone drove him to the meeting ce, where he met twodies and five old men.


    "Good morning, Mister President." Kai saluted and greeted the number one person in the US Base before looking at others. "Teacher, Sir Nathan, Ethan, Paolo, and Jose. And thisdy is¡­"


    "She is¡­"

 Chapter 238 - Raid Mission Planning

    "She is¡­"


    The girl was standing behind Paolo, so obviously, he was supposed to be the one who introduced her, but¡­


    "She is Paolo''s nanny. Isn''t that obvious?" Nathan snorted before making a smug smile.


    "You can''t be serious. She is my wife, not my nanny!" Paolo snarled and red at Nathan.


    "Pfft!" Ethan, Ria, Jose, and even the president, Brent Joseph,ughed upon this. Just like how they knew about Paolo''s personality, they knew how he just dug his own grave.


    Kai, on the other hand, waspletely stupefied. He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered to himself. "I don''t want to be rude¡­ Ugh, even with the gap of thirty years, it shouldn''t matter because this is for the sake of repopting the Earth."


    "Pfft!" All of them burst outughing. They couldn''t contain it anymore after seeing how Kai acted.


    "You brat! I am the youngest out of the old men here, and I am not even fifty years old!" Paolo mmed the table, corrected Kai, and tried to stop theughing¡­ With his face red because of the embarrassment¡­ Not very convincing.


    "Not fifty years old? But aren''t you forty-nine years old? And your birthday is in January!" Nathan teased him again beforeughing out loud.


    "Besides¡­" Paolo gritted his teeth as he was about to re up. "She and I don''t even have a twenty years gap!"


    After he said that, a hand suddenly grabbed his head, trying to crush his skull.


    "Argh!"


    When everyone turned around to see who it was that could make Paolo scream, they were shocked to see his wife be the culprit. Her expression sent chills down one''s spine even though she still wore her big and gentle smile.


    She then came closer and sent a dangerous glint toward Paolo. "What are you saying, honey? Not even twenty years? Are you mistaking? Are you saying I''m old?"


    "You are angry at that?" Paolo''s face became pale as he couldn''t believe that his wife was actually angry about age rather than the embarrassment.


    "Anyway, that guy is Paolo''s wife. You can call her Erica or Lieutenant Erica since she is officially Paolo''s strategist. Paolo himself can''t do anything other than storming inside the enemy and st his way toward the target. Hence, we are calling his wife his nanny. It''s not that wrong though." Ria finally introduced her to Kai.


    "Well, it''s good to have this happy atmosphere. After all, his first wife had fallen in battle, and his second wife passed away after giving birth to his son. This time she chose someone who could stay by his side and treasure her dearly." Nathan added.


    "I don''t know if you already know about this, but you should be aware of thest Zodiac, Taurus, right?" Ethan asked.


    "Yes." Kai nodded without hesitation.


    "He is his son." Jose continued the conversation.


    "Ah?!" Kai opened his mouth in surprise.


    "He is also a muscle brain like him! If only I meet you sooner, I can raise that boy to be a brilliant guy who can master strategy and brawl. And now he is like you, and the only thing he could think is to fight. Geez," Paolo''s wife, Erica, said while pinching Paolo''s ear.


    "I am sorry." Paolo couldn''t say anything other than those three words. In fact, he wanted to cry at this moment because of this embarrassment.


    However, none of the people inside actuallymented on this matter. They could see that Erica seemed to love Paolo from the bottom of her heart despite the age difference, and they felt happy for him.


    After all, Paolo had been serving the army for almost thirty years, he deserved this happiness after his dark past. Even Ria and Nathan, who never had the time to deal with something like this, lifted their lips a little.


    Kai also closed his eyes and smiled. At the same time, he suddenly thought of another thing that he could consider. He looked at Erica for a few seconds and fell into deep thought.


    "What, boy? Don''t say that you love me! I already have him!" Erica was taken aback and prepared to correct Kai''s way if he truly did what she just told him.


    Kai shook his head and smirked. "No. I just think a good idea."


    "A good idea?" Nathan lifted his eyebrows as it piqued his interest. It was a phrase that was hard toe out of his mouth, so it must be something special, especially when he saw how confident Kai''s face was.


    "Yes. I will exin itter if you don''t mind." Kai nodded before walking toward the screen and showed the map to them.


    "Before you start, I have something to say." Ria stopped him and looked at Brent. "I am going to have my student explore Easter Ind along with Sofia Campbell."


    "!!!"


    Brent furrowed his eyebrows as he suddenly turned serious. "Mind telling me more?"


    "It''s not a big deal. He will check the site by himself."


    "Still, it''s hard to go there. In the past, we needed a boat to go there. Because of these magical beasts in the sea, we were unable to do it and sent a helicopter. And yet we had many casualties just to reach that ce. You must know the risk yourself. Why do you want to send your student?" Brent red at Ria, wondering if she actually wanted to send her student to his death.


    "Don''t think I don''t know the fact that you are building a runway there. Knowing there might be a secret in that ce, you are doing everything you can to support the investigation. Now, you think I am reckless?" Ria snorted at him.


    Brent was the president of this base that was known for his thirst for knowledge. Because of that, he always sent some funds along with his hard-earned money to fund something like this. And to think Ria wants to take advantage of it¡­


    "Look at this. I am doing you a favor in this matter. You should know that my student got recognition from their side, so he might be a clue that you are waiting for. Hence, I am sending him there." Ria red back, not scared of this president.


    "¡­" Brent''s body shook after hearing her and thought it might be a good idea to do that. Still, he tried to change the target to something that needed a smaller cost. "There is actually another site to do this¡­"


    "No. I will have him go there. If you are worried about the cost, I can simply give you. I have too much money that I can''t spend anyway. How many do you need? One hundred million? Two hundred million?" Ria snorted and raised her hand as if her victory was nothing but assured.


    Brent closed his eyes for a second and nodded his head. "Alri¡ª"


    "Since I am the one sponsoring this trip, I want him to get there safely. So, I want the elites to send them there with a few fighter jets to apany him." Ria didn''t let him agree first and threw a condition.


    "Are you insane?"


    "What? Do you want to bet with me? If my Kai can discover something new, you pay me back all the cost. How''s that?" Ria smirked and looked down on him.


    "Kh!" Brent clenched his fists for a few seconds and sighed. "Alright. Since you want to throw your money away, I won''t stop you. But I won''t agree with your bet."


    "Hmph! Afraid of losing?" Ria shrugged.


    Brent snorted and looked away.


    Ria didn''t care about this small thing and looked at Kai. "There you have it. Now you can start your presentation about your n."


    ''How do you expect me to exin in this tense atmosphere¡­'' Kai sighed inwardly before taking a deep breath and exining the n since he had no choice. "This is the map, and we start from here¡­"


    Kai began his exnation, covering everything in his n. Although there were some questions uttered by the others, he managed to answer them wlessly. In the end, none of them found a singleint in his tactic and came to a tacit understanding.


    "Good work! You have done your job well." Ria apuded and cheered for Kai after everything was over.


    "It''s because of Teacher''s guidance." Kai shook his head and answered humbly.


    "If you can behave like your student, the base will know peace." Nathan sighed as he nced at Ria Ross.


    "Huh? Do you want to die, old man? How about we take this matter outside? Don''t worry. I won''t injure you too much and make sure you can return to the battlefield in one month." Ria sped her hand and cracked the bone on her fingers.


    "Alright. That''s enough." Brent stopped them before looking at Kai mysteriously and asking. "How big is the percentage of sess of this n?"


    "The worst will be sixty percent¡­. Well, I don''t know about the soldiers as well, so fifty percent."


    "Oi! You are too pessimistic. Our soldiers are better than you think!" Nathanined while the other generals also nodded in agreement.


    "Since that is the case, I will give the official order for this." Brent agreed after watching the generals'' expressions. They seemed to be confident with Kai''s n. After that, he suddenly remembered another thing. "By the way, I can see that you are a talented strategist. Coming up with a n like this already makes you extraordinary. In addition, Ria Ross seems to not help you in this n¡­ Still, I can''t see this great idea of yours. What did you mean by that?"


    Although he was only a president, he had served the army in the past and became a lieutenant general in his career. However, even he couldn''t recognize the great idea, or it might be because he hadn''t returned to the battlefield that his sense grew dull and couldn''t recognize the great idea himself. Hence, he asked.


    No one couldn''t reallyugh at him since he is the president of this base anyway. Suddenly, the room turned into silence, allowing Brent to know that he wasn''t the only one to get confused about what he stated earlier.


    Even Ria Ross, Kai''s teacher, couldn''tprehend and felt he had another n behind this. Ria Ross looked up, closed her eyes, and thought for a moment.


    Suddenly, enlightenment came to her as she opened her eyes wide as if shock ran through her body. She looked at Kai for a second, then turned to the president, andughed out loud. "Haha¡­! My student is really a genius! I wouldn''t be able to understand his n if he didn''t say he has a good idea."


    Ria seemed to have deciphered the n by how she nced at the president. And yet, no one had a single clue what this pair of student and teacher were thinking. Everyone was still working their brain but to no avail.


    They were dying to know Kai''s n as they looked at him to destroy this suspense that was killing them.


    Meanwhile, Kai smiled when watching his teacher, took a deep breath, smiled slyly, and finally opened his mouth. "Mr. President¡­ I have a request."

 Chapter 239 - The Talk Before The Departure

    Inside room 420, Kai and the others finally had the time to rx and began their research about Easter Ind.


    Of course, everything came from a legitimate source. After getting the president''s permission, he received a special rank to get the secret information about the ind, including the past research conducted there.


    The information blew their mind away.


    "Hmm¡­ There is something strange about this ind." Evan looked at the group.


    "True. Most of the statues should be around the edge of the ind, watching over itsnd. And yet, half of the statues had moved and gotten destroyed. From the research alone, they seemed to be destroyed by something instead of a natural process or disaster," Sofia added.


    "Yes. At first, I thought it was the works of magical beasts. However, I could see that wasn''t the case. The magical beasts wouldn''t be able to move these statues due to its weight." Ayaka agreed and said the part she just read.


    "No. You should look at this. There is something wrong with this. There should be people on this ind, but from the report, there was not a single person to be seen, not even their remains. In other words, these people had disappeared mysteriously." Michelle narrowed her eyes, focusing on this part.


    "Do you mean there is a possibility they are still alive?" Tasha realized the hidden meaning in Michelle''s words.


    "Possibly. Although the chance is low, it''s not zero. This might also be the reason why Teacher wants me to investigate the area. I can simply search around the ind to check whether there is still a living being there. Still, look at these statues¡­ I mean, the background." Kai looked at the green scenery around the statues.


    "Now that I think about it, it looks like a battle took ce there. From my point of view, the military in the past had troubles in fighting against these magical beasts, let alone these people. And to produce this kind of aftermath¡­" Michelle looked at a few giants craters around the scattered statues.


    Kai thought for a moment and asked, "I wonder¡­ If these statues actually moved themselves there. ording to the legend, they were ancestors of the Rapa Nui people, right? And they existed to watch over thend to protect them¡­"


    "!!!" The group widened their eyes for a second before making a weird expression. "That''s not a bit scientific¡­"


    "Well, the appearance of magic power alone is already unscientific. In fact, no matter how much I rely on science to use my magic, it''s only due to magic power and my hearing ability that I could make my magic. And again, it''s magic." Kai sighed. "I don''t want to ept it, but that''s the only thing I can see from this."


    "Then our first target is these statues then? We will search around the intact statues before looking at the shattered ones." Michelle asked for his confirmation before taking a note about it.


    "Yes. I think we should mark those in the center of this ind. The ones that are under the foot of the Terevaka Volcano." Kai nodded. "How about the Volcanoes? Do you know anything about it? There are two volcanoes here. Terevaka and Puakatike."


    "We don''t know anything about it, and the research also said nothing extraordinary around the volcanoes. We could check itter. Is there a time limit for this?" Sofia shook her head and asked.


    "No. But I don''t want to stay too long in that ce. Seven days at most," Kai thought for a moment and answered.


    "Fair enough. Unless something extraordinary is going on, I think it''s the best for us to not stay there for too long." Michelle agreed with his decision. "Besides¡­"


    "Hm?" Kai stared at her, confused.


    "Nothing. I will say it to youter."


    "Alright." Kai nodded.


    "We still have two weeks to prepare, so don''t rush everything. Take your time and see whether there is something wrong about the ind from the report. There might be some uncertainties on the ind, but I will take a dramatic measure in case we need to escape from there¡­ So, you don''t need to worry about your safety."


    "Yes."


    The girls already knew about Tasha''s ability and knew that Kai could make a teleportation magic father than her, so they knew everything was under control.


    After the meeting ended, Michelle whispered something to Kai before the two stepped outside the room. He looked around and found that there wasn''t a single person in the corridor, so he thought they could talk there.


    "Do you need anything?"


    "Kai¡­ Can you help me?" Michelle asked with a guilty face. She fiddled her finger and looked left and right.


    Kai could see her anxiety, wondering if this request is a bit something. Still, Kai offered his best smile and asked. "Do you need anything?"


    "Actually, I want you to be my training partner."


    "Oh? I thought you were going to ask something excessive¡­ I have been training Evan recently, and since he has some progress, I think I can let him train alone for the time being." Kai nodded. "But I can''t believe you to be someone who wears this kind of expression with a request like this. Is there something wrong with you? Maybe your family?"


    Michelle looked down for a few seconds. After that, she looked up and came to his ears, whispering something.


    Kai''s face turned from normal to shock to serious. The matter she just told him might be a bit troublesome to take care of. He might even ask Nathan and Ria to take care of the aftermaths. Luckily, he already got ranks from the military, and Brent Joseph seemed not that bad.


    With all of these cards in his hand, he should be able to protect Michelle for some time. And he would receive a general rank by that time.


    ''Well, the matter is not more serious than Tasha unsealing her Space Magic.'' Kai thought and nodded. "Alright. It should be fine to do that. I will help you with your training."


    "Thank you." Michelle smiled brightly and hugged him outside the room.


    ¡­


    Two weeks had passed. There wasn''t a big movement from the army or the magical beast, so Kai and his group could do their own things undisturbed. It was a precious peaceful time that Sanae loved so much. At the same time, she didn''t need to follow them to Eastern Ind.


    One day before their departure, Tasha and Michelle grabbed his hand and took him away from the room as soon as the school ended.


    "We are going!"


    "Obviously to the supermarket to buy our supplies for a week."


    The two girls seemed to be pumped up to show their cooking skills since both of them had the best skill in the group. Unfortunately, they simply only had a few opportunities to show that skill to him because they ended the mission too fast. The one that was the most memorable was the previous raid mission when Kai was tired after working hard with Via.


    Suddenly, Ayaka rose from her seat and followed her. She never cked off her training about this too, since the scene in United Asia reminded her about her uselessness.


    Tasha banned Kai from entering the kitchen to show her ability, so this was one of the few things that they could do to impress Kai.


    And yet, there was a single someone who just realized their biggest weakest. It was Sofia. Acting like a princess and having everything she needs were her daily urrences. However, she realized if she didn''t have any other qualities, she couldn''t bepared to the other girls. In that case, how could she finish her job?


    "Are you not going Evan?" Kai even asked only Evan instead of both of them.


    "No. This is theirpetition. As long as I get the same portion, I won''t have anyints. It''s delicious anyway." Evan shook his head.


    "Is there anything you can''t eat?"


    "They already know it. Just don''t bring cheese, Isabelle doesn''t like it."


    "Oh, as expected from the husband¡­ I am impressed." Kai pped his hand before leaving the room.


    "¡­" Evan twisted his eyebrows and turned to Sofia, who remained in her seat. "You are not going?"


    "¡­" Sofia gritted her teeth and looked away.


    "Oh! So, you can''t cook. Well, I think cooking is a basic necessity, especially since we are often dispatched to the frontline. It''s only because of Captain''s girls that I can ck in this area¡­" Evan shrugged beforementing. "Well, I think you better¡ª"


    Before he could finish his words, Sofia already screamed at him. "I know!"


    "I know that I need to learn cooking. Evan Young! You must have researched me, right?" Sofia gritted her teeth. "Kh!"


    "I have noint about food¡­ Just make sure you don''t say cooking is about feeling. As long as you love someone, the food will be good. It''s a bullsh*t. I am saying this because I will surely need to heal myself in case that happens."


    "¡­" She snorted and looked away.


    ¡­


    The next day.


    Kai and the others went toward the military base. Kai almost forgot to mention it to them, but Ria had asked for their bodyguards to send them safely. And when the girls saw how the fighter jets followed them, they simply had no word.


    On one hand, they thought Ria Ross was ying around about this mission, but it turned out she was dead serious. If not, there was no way for her to send all these people just to escort them.


    Luckily, it seemed they had no problem in the first meeting. After escorting the ne, the other nes turned around and returned to the base since they would escort them again on their way home.


    He and the group then finally stepped outside the ne.

 Chapter 240 - Carissa Mel

    In the southeastern Pacific Ocean was a vast ind, untouched after a few centuries. Only Brent, who thirsts for knowledge, finally dared to venture to this ind.


    Kai and his group also stepped on this ind today, feasting their eyes with the peaceful green scenery. Although the grass was slightly longer as it had grown for so long, the situation on the runway was mostly subtle.


    The small breeze wind brushed their skin and swayed their hair. Kai didn''t say anything about this and simply closed his eyes, checking if there were any magical beasts nearby. Isabelle also did the same, observing every single detail in her surroundings.


    "This is interesting¡­" Kai smiled mysteriously as he opened his eyes.


    "What do you mean?" Michelle nced at him.


    "Nothing. The ind is just too quiet for me." Kai sighed. "For an ind inhabited by magical beasts in the past, it is too quiet. At the same time, there is not a single living being or their remains here. Never mind, let''s rest first, and we will settle everythingter."


    As much as they wanted to say something, the group nodded and went toward the hangar where they were supposed to meet with the current leader of this ind. But Kai suddenly turned around, finding a middle-aged woman walking toward them.


    This action surprised her a little bit before smiling. "As expected from the person recognized by the president, even though I was walking without presence and little to no sound, it seems I am still incapable of passing your defense."


    "!!!" The group turned around and realized someone just got behind them.


    "It''s echoing in a high volume in my ears." Kai shrugged and asked. "So, why would a person with a high level here? To use your wind to camouge your presence and hide your footsteps, you must be one of a kind."


    "I am Carissa Mel." She brushed away her purple hair to her back and slightly bowed her head.


    "Carissa Mel¡­" Evan widened his eyes, having met her. He wasn''t sure before, but after hearing her name, he was convinced it was her.


    "Oh! Our little hacker here finally recognizes me." Carissa smiled at Evan.


    "You know her?" Kai nced at him and asked.


    "Yes. She is President Brent Joseph''s Cousin. If you can say the president is the one leading in the open, she is the one manipting in the dark. I sometimes shed against her if I wanted to learn some information."


    "Fufu¡­ My record is 20 wins, 10 draws, and 16 losses. Well, just brush this matter off me, since I also help you in the dark to make sure you are not arrested from learning many top secrets."


    "¡­ And those wins and draws were the ones with the highest authority level. You just let me win when you think the information is not a big deal."


    "Just say that I am curious about your potential and train you a little bit. Don''t you realize that your skill has grown since that time?" Carissa smiled gently, but she released an aura that scared Evan.


    "¡­" Evan gritted his teeth before hiding behind Isabelle. He wanted to say that Carissa had once appeared before him and told him about herself, including the offer to be her disciple. However, Evan refused because he was going for the zodiac project. Hence, she didn''t have a choice other than giving up on him. But he was too scared to do that in case she released the information about him.


    "Anyway, you haven''t answered my question." Kai stopped them and looked at Carissa, wondering if she had a hidden agenda.


    "Oh. That is rude of me. The reason I am here is to make sure you don''t break anything valuable in this ce. You can say that I am the protector sent by that Brent as well as your guide here. I have been here for two years, so you can ask anything you want to know."


    "Is that so?" Kai thought for a moment. "In that case, we will have twelve people in our group. Isn''t that too big?"


    "Not at all. Because we are careful here, we usually have a group of ten every time we venture to this ind. Although most of the magical beasts here have been exterminated, there are still potential threats from the ground and the sea. Hence, we are just putting countermeasures for this."


    "Then, how many people currently reside in this ce?"


    "Twenty researchers and sixty fighters. If you add me and your two groups, we have a total of ny-two people."


    "Is that any recent finding?"


    "You have seen it all in the information database. Everything in that ce is updated every day."


    "We have a n in our exploration, so should we follow your instructions or do what we want?"


    "I will follow your schedule. However, you need my permission first if you want to go outside this ce." She pointed at the metal fence in their surroundings. "As long as you pass that fence, that is my territory, so I need to follow you. If you are inside here, you can do anything you want."


    "I understand. I will give you our scheduleter and seek your opinion. For now, I think we cane inside first?"


    "Sure. We have set up four tents for this asion." Carissa nodded with a smile, guiding them inside.


    Even though she said four tents, it was military tents that were usually used for ten people. If they just sorted it by group, they would only need two tents. Unfortunately, there was already a secret order from higher up.


    "Kai Carter, Michelle Graham, Tasha Carter, and Kudo Ayaka will stay in the first tent. Evan Young and Isabelle Fisher will stay in the second tent. The rest of the Eagle group will stay in the third tent. And miss Sofia will have the fourth tent for herself."


    "What?!" Sofia walked toward Carissa and red at her, ready to re up at any moment. "Why am I the only one to stay in the fourth tent? You might as well put me in the first tent!"


    "We can''t do that. Miss Sofia is revered in the EU Base, so we don''t dare to treat you lightly. Hence, to avoid you having any weird rumors that can probably ruin your reputation, we can only do this." Carissa exined with a sad look as if she had decided something hard.


    "You! Don''t you think it''s a waste? The tent can hold so many people, it''s better for me to squeeze myself inside."


    "No, no. How can we do such a cruel thing? Just like how you treat the VIP from other bases, we will also treat you as a special guest. Unfortunately, this is the level that we can do due to theck of resources."


    Sofia was raging and cursing this woman. She even added thought that this woman had the third job, which is to separate Kai from her.


    Kai nced at Sofia for a few seconds before saying to Carissa. "We have brought our daily necessities here, so we won''t need your supply, including water. I will take all of them from the ne after this."


    "I will help you with the jobter."


    "We will explore the ind from the southern side and go counter-clockwise before making our way to the center of the ind and the two volcanoes. Will that be fine with you?"


    "Yes. Most of the shattered statues are in the southern area of the ind, so I think that will take the longest. Unfortunately, most of the buildings here have copsed and are unusable. If not, we can use them as our shelter. Anyway, I will guide you around this southern area for a day, then go to the northern area for another day. Then the other part on the third day. We will then check the center of the ind, including the volcanoes, for two to three days before we are moving to the statues in the center."


    "I will leave it to you in that area." Kai nodded. "For today, I think we will try to get ustomed to this ind first and rest. It''s still 3 PM, so we have time."


    "I understand. My ce is one hundred meters from here, so you can go there if you need any help." Carissa nodded and pointed her hand to the west.


    "Alright." Kai nodded and instructed the girl to help him set up everything in this ce.


    He then went toward the airne that was going to stay for a week here. Of course, Carissa had been appointed to be their caretakers as well. Luckily, the pilots didn''t really have anyints because a job like this was normal.


    After having loaded off their luggage, Kai distributed everything and went around the base. He also wanted to check whether there was a magical beast on the ind, but his range was too small to cover the entire ind, considering the base was built in the southern part.


    When he returned, Ayaka, Tasha, and Michelle had cooked their dinner. The Eagle Group and Sofia never tasted their cooking, so they were immersed by the taste.


    Kai tasted Ayaka''s cooking and thought it was fine. Although it wasn''t at Tasha''s and Michelle''s level, she had surpassed her mother, despite having little to no time to cook.


    Sofia ended up sulking because her pride just got hurt, knowing that she couldn''t fight them in this area. She then went toward her own tent and retired.


    The others also did the same as they reviewed all the information regarding this ind for onest time.


    As for Kai, he visited Carissa to have a great talk with her. They discussed what they could do and couldn''t do on this ind, the details of their n, and Carissa''s real mission.


    It turned out not only Brent, but Ria Ross also asked her to take care of him. The reason was simple. The unknown is the most dangerous threat, and the two couldn''t leave Kai unprotected in this type of thing.

 Chapter 241 - Day One

    The next day, Kai opened the tent as he headed toward the bathroom to fix his hair. He found Tommy inside.


    Kai only nodded as a greeting and did his own thing, like fixing his bed hair and brushing his teeth.


    After finishing his business here, Tommy should be leaving this ce. But he seemed to have another business with Kai as he stared at him for a few seconds.


    "Do you need anything?" Kai asked without a change of expression.


    "I just want to warn you."


    "About this ind?" Kai nced at him, confused.


    "No."


    "Oh. Is it about the soon-to-be student council president?"


    "You know? Ah, I think it''s not weird for you to know¡­" Tommy sighed. "That woman is dangerous¡­ She wants to control everything if she is on the top."


    "She is your fiance, right?"


    Tommy gritted his teeth and nodded. "As much as I hate to say it, yes. But I just want to warn you because she even tried to control my life. She even forced me to marry a few other women of her choice!"


    "Oh! The main girl searched for your harem members?" Kai smirked.


    "No! The reason why she chose them is that it would be easier to control them and me¡­"


    Kai''s expression turned serious before he asked, "Now that I think about it, the next raid mission will have¡­"


    "Her grandfather. Luckily, if it were not because of you, we would be under his army, specifically under her. I don''t have a particr feeling for her grandfather. I have even met him a few times. However, it might be due¡­ No, I shouldn''t say more than this." Tommy shook his head.


    "¡­" Kai thought for a moment. "If I tell you ''You are going to follow me for the entire year'', what will you do?"


    "!!!" Tommy opened his eyes wide. "What do you mean?"


    "If we have some leads about this matter, I will be going to another ce like this. In other words, you won''t get any problem in school until she graduates."


    Tommy gasped. If that were the case, she couldn''t manipte him and his group mission because the mission would be under the directmand of Ria Ross and President Brent himself. He also thought a mission with their group would be something amazing and enjoyable. Hence, there wasn''t a singleint if that really happened.


    Kai finished brushing his teeth, started walking, and patted Tommy''s shoulder. "Then, you can start praying that we will find something amazing on this trip."


    "¡­" It took him a few seconds before he could react. He turned around and saw Kai''s fading back withplicated expressions.


    Kai, on the other hand, went toward their tent to wake up the girls.


    An hourter.


    Kai and the others stood in front of the exit with Carissa. They had breakfast and brought their lunch.


    "Let''s go." Kai signaled them and walked outside.


    Carissa immediately guided them to the town that used to be the living ces for the inhabitants.


    There were around a hundred statues here, and yeah, all shattered.


    Kai looked at the buildings that almost copsed due to the passing time before finding another Moai beneath it.


    This one was the most intact because it was only split into two instead of shattered to pieces. Hence, he used this as the first subject.


    He looked at this overrge head statue that seemed to have a three-to-five ratio between the head and the trunk. He then looked at the heavy brows and elongated noses with a distinctive fish-hook-shaped curl of the nostrils. The lips protrude in a thin pout, albeit hard to see due to the fact that the broken part is here.


    He then checked the elongated ears along with the jaw lines that stood out against the truncated neck and began touching it.


    "The arms are carved and rest against the body in various positions¡­ Although this statue doesn''t have visible legs¡­ I think there is something different¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows before sticking his ears on the stone statue.


    He should be able to listen to any kind of sounding from the statue, but he did this to get a more urate view because he needed to check everything. Yet, not a single clue could be found from this statue.


    Isabelle also widened her eyes, focusing her entire being on this statue. She checked the stone itself before moving to the part where it broke.


    Sofia did the same and tried to find something with her sixth sense but to no avail. It was just a normal rock from her perspective.


    "Is there anything different between the shattered statues and the normal ones?" Kai asked Carissa.


    "There is one."


    "Ho?"


    "We just confirmed it with all the statues on the ind yesterday, so the report is still not there. But we have confirmed that all shattered statues¡­" Carissa took something out of her bag and ced it above the stone. It was a small box device that looked like a Nintendo, but the moment it touched the statue, it showed ''0'' on its screen.


    "What is this device? Is this device can detect ghosts?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered whether it could be rted to a paranormal thing.


    "Do you like those movies?" Carissa smirked before shaking her head. "And no. This is a magic detector device. As you can see, the zero on the screen means there isn''t a single magic power inside this statue."


    "No magic power? But the report¡­" Kai suddenly fell into silence as he realized. "I see. We need to check the normal statues after this."


    "Yes." Carissa smiled before ncing at the others, who seemed to realize a bit slower his meanings as well.


    "Are there any statues around here still in the normal state?"


    "No. The statues around here have been shattered. If you want, you can find those after we leave this ce."


    "¡­" Kai thought for a moment and looked at Michelle and the others. "I guess we will go ording to the schedule. So, we are going to explore this area, including the cities today."


    "Sure. I think it''s not best to split up and consider the number of houses that are still standing¡­ I think one day is enough." Carissa gave her permission.


    "Alright then. Let''s go around. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled and check any clues such as lore or items that might be rted to the statues."


    After that, the group began hunting for statues for another three hours. However, there wasn''t a single clue nor magic power inside those statues. They then started exploring the cities and stormed to many houses that still stood tall on thend, albeit barely.


    Even a few houses crumbled due to them. Luckily, Carissa didn''t say anything about it and treated it like normal. It seemed she had explored the houses as well, only to find nothing. In fact, a few houses should also copse because of her.


    Kai then ignored the problem and checked everything in the southern part of the ind.


    Finally, dusk came, and they decided to return before the sky turned dark. After all, it would be hard to see at that time, even with the natural light of the moon.


    The group had dinner and immediately headed back to their tents.


    Kai thought for a moment before raising a topic with the girls. "What do you think about this ind?"


    "Creepy."


    "Eerie."


    "Ruined."


    Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka answered him almost immediately.


    "Hmm? Why do you think so?"


    "I just can''t shake the feeling that there is something on this ind. The only problem is we can''t see it. That''s why I say this ind is creepy." Michelle exined.


    "So, you mean there is a ghost here?" Kai asked.


    "Not at all. I think it''s not a ghost, but something else. And it''s also not magical beasts¡­" Michelle shook her head and sighed.


    Kai nodded and turned to Tasha. "How about you?"


    "Mostly the same as Michelle. You know about my Space Magic, right?"


    "Yes."


    "The Space Magic in my body was tingling when we were in the town¡­ No, I should be more urate. It''s not Space Magic, but Sealing Magic."


    "!!!" Kai frowned as his body shook by that statement. "Sealing Magic? Does that mean there is a trace of that?"


    "Who knows? I might probably overthink it because we only have less than a hundred people on this ind¡­ And without lights." She shrugged.


    "Anyway, we should get another clue because we will check the normal statue tomorrow." Kai nodded and looked at Ayaka. "What do you mean by ruined?"


    "After looking around, I notice a few things. First, the destruction of the ind wasn''t due to the magical beasts alone. There might be some scratches here and then and some roaming¡­ But if you check more closely, there are a few craters around the area.


    "It should be either from a powerful force or something that weighs a lot¡­ And I don''t know if you notice it, but a third of the craters like that will have a statue buried there¡­ That''s why I think there was something going on in the past. And the fact that most of the houses are still fine or at least don''t show something like battle aftermath, I think this is not that simple."


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds before asking, "Was there any fights between the magical beasts and the inds? Or could the statues themselves move?"


    "¡­" Not a single of them could answer this question because it was their objectiveing to this ind.


    Kai took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. Let''s end it here. We will continue tomorrow."


    The girls agreed, resting their minds from this mystery.


    Day one ¨C Failed.

 Chapter 242 - Day Two

    As soon as the morning came, Kai opened his eyes and rose from his mattress, watching how the other girls also woke up. They had a tight schedule today due to the long journey to cover half of the edge area of this ind.


    No way would the girls bete today.


    "Good morning." Kai greeted them before picking up his toothbrush and leaving the room.


    They had the same preparation for today, including the briefing from Carissa. When they waited for Carissa, thetter surprised them. A car gradually appeared in front of them before the window slowly lowered, revealing Carissa''s face. "Hop on. I will be driving you guys to every single ce."


    Everyone knew that they would be able to travel faster with this on average and without using much magic power. Hence, everyone came in and sat on the back.


    Kai took the front seat beside Carissa as the leader. "Are we going to check every single statue like yesterday?"


    "It''s up to you. I will simply match the timing with you, so if you choose to check every single statue, you can''t stay too long for one statue." Carissa shrugged before stepping on the gas.


    Kai thought for a moment and replied. "I think it''s better to check everything. I don''t want to miss a single thing just because of our timing."


    "Alright." She nodded before opening the map of the ind and driving the car to the nearest statue.


    Unfortunately, the statues around the southern part had gone to the town, so they needed to drive for an hour around the coast, trampling the grass in their way.


    "Alright. I will use this time to brief you about the normal statues. As you might already know, it contains magic power. However, we couldn''t detect a difference between the normal statue and the shattered one other than the magic power. Even the materials are the same, so I don''t know if you can find something."


    "That is our job. We will see with our own eyes whether there is a difference or not. You have tested them scientifically, but we are going to check them in another way, hoping to find something." Kai shrugged as he watched the map, noticing that they were close to one of the statues.


    Not long after, Isabelle peeked as she pointed her finger to the front. "I can see it."


    Kai nced at her and looked at where she pointed at, only to find nothing. Isabelle''s eyes were indeed a cut above the rest. Nheless, the group tried to steal a peek, trying to see the statue themselves.


    It was only a minuteter that they could finally see the statue. The appearance was exactly the same if they ignored the broken part in the previous statues. At the same time, this statue stood tall in front of the cliff leading to the sea, facing thend.


    Suddenly, Sofia furrowed her eyebrows as she gasped. "No way!"


    "Sofia?!" Kai turned around, noticing something was wrong in her tone. The others, especially Carissa, also noticed it and looked at her shocked expression.


    Sofia rubbed her eyes a few times, checking whether she saw it wrong or not, but it didn''t change.


    "Do you find anything?" Carissa couldn''t contain her curiosity and asked.


    "I see a ze from that statue¡­ Although it''s very small, I certainly see the ze." Sofia opened her eyes wide.


    "What?!" Kai was the first one to shout. After learning about Sofia''s ability for a month or so, he had spected the extent of Sofia''s sixth sense. He even asked her to see something with her eyes to check her ability secretly.


    And the result was shocking. The so-called ze in her mouth only appeared when she saw a living being that capable of thinking. In other words, the change of the ze and the appearance of the ze¡­ Everything was there because the mind controlled it.


    No matter how weak the living creature is, the ze would appear as long as they have life in them.


    That was why Kai had such a reaction when she said she could see the ze. He could understand why Sofia was shocked like this.


    The group, on the other hand, waspletely clueless about this. They nced back and forth between Kai and Sofia, wondering whether one of them would exin something.


    "Sofia¡­ You don''t mind if I tell the secret of your sixth sense right?" Kai asked her first because he certainly wouldn''t want to displease her, not only on this trip but also on the rest of the year.


    "Ye-yes." Sofia nodded like a robot as she still couldn''t believe what she just saw.


    Kai told them about the living being thingy, and the group fell into silence. It was only a few seconds before they arrived that Carissa could react as she asked. "Is that statue really alive? That is stone you know."


    "I know. That''s why we can''t believe it either¡­ Unfortunately, the evidence is in front of us, so as much as I want to ignore it, I can''t." Kai shook his head.


    Carissa stopped the card a few meters from the statue and unlocked the car before the group came out of the car.


    The first to arrive was Kai, Sofia, and Carissa as they immediately touched the statue, wondering if they could find something.


    "Isabelle. Do you see anything different?" Michelle nced at Isabelle.


    "I am afraid, no. There is nothing different from the other statues¡­ At least, in terms of appearance. As for other things, I am not an expert in this."


    As they were talking about it, Tasha suddenly walked toward the statue and ced her hand on its belly.


    "Tasha Carter?" Carissa furrowed her eyebrows when she saw how Tasha walked and touched the statue like she was possessed.


    "Nothing¡­ I am just amazed by this statue. Although I was barely able to sense it, this time I am sure that this guy is rted to Space Magic." Tasha shook her head and looked at the statue again, wondering if she could do something with her Sealing Magic.


    She had blurted something about Sealing Magic yesterday, and she realized it just now. Luckily, Carissa was too far from them yesterday, so she hadn''t suspected anything from her Space Magic.


    Kai nced at her for a few seconds before returning to Sofia. "Is there any change?"


    "No. The ze is calm and small like the me on a candle without any wind around it. This kind of ze¡­ Usually rted to someone who didn''t think at the moment or mostly asleep. That''s why I am not sure about this guy."


    "Is the statue sleeping right now?" Kai and Carissa frowned, noticing the danger if what she said was true.


    They were wondering if they should step back at this point.


    Kai tugged Carissa''s hand and whispered. "I don''t know if I am just scared, or my imagination goes wild, but it''s the truth. They probably woke up back when the disaster came and fought the magical beasts¡­ I couldn''t imagine such a thing, but I think that is the most reasonable exnation from what we gathered so far."


    "I don''t know why, but I have the same thought. Since they have a trace of magic power, do you think they can use magic?" Carissa nodded and asked in a low voice.


    "I think so. Maybe they exhausted their magic power in the past, resulting in them in this state."


    "It is a possibility. Ugh! I shouldn''t watch too many movies, but I somehow can imagine a scene in my mind. The stone statues suddenly rose from their positions, made a golem body, and headed to the town. Since the magical beasts are there, the golem wants to protect the citizens ording to the tale of this ind and fight against these beasts." Carissa scratched her head, embarrassed.


    "And because it was hard to fight against so many magical beasts, some were destroyed there while some managed to return to their original ce. It might also be the reason why there wasn''t a single human on the ind and their remains¡­" Kai agreed to her statement as he also felt that way.


    "Hmm¡­ Do you want to watch a movie together in the future? I think you and I have a synergy," Carissa nced and asked.


    "Don''t joke around. I am worried that this type of scene indeed happened in the past, and they are going to awaken because we have unraveled the truth."


    "It''s not that easy to find the truth you know. If not, I won''t be stuck here for a few years." Carissa shrugged. "Anyway, since we have a lead here. Try to check it thoroughly. Then we will try the second statue to see whether there is a difference."


    Kai nodded and ced his ears on the statue''s belly, only to find nothing. This matter perplexed him again as he nced at Sofia. ''Is she the clue of this mystery?''


    Kai didn''t say anything first because he didn''t want to incite panic or excitement from them. After investigating for half an hour, he suggested moving to the next statue.


    Carissa approved and asked the group to return to the car while talking about their n. It incited excitement and anxiety from the group. On one hand, they were afraid that this would be more troublesome than they were supposed to be. On the other hand, they wanted to see the truth hidden inside these statues.


    Suddenly, a sound¡­ a very low-frequency sound at the level it was impossible to be heard by a human echoed.


    Such a sound shook Kai''s heart as he suddenly turned around with a surprised expression. It could garner such a reaction from Kai because it was very weak and creepy because it said.


    "Ce¡­nt¡­er¡­"

 Chapter 243 - Day Two Part 2

    "Ce¡­nt¡­er¡­"


    Kai''s heart thumped as he turned around, looking at the stone statue with a shocked expression.


    "Kai?" The others tilted their heads in confusion because they couldn''t see Kai''s expression. His next action bewildered them even further.


    Kai slowly walked toward the stone statue. After having this extraordinary hearing for almost twenty years, he could certainly pinpoint the location of the sound. However, what he couldn''t believe was the fact that the sound came from the statue itself. When he thought everything would be alright, this voice fluttered him.


    The voice itself wasn''t deep nor high-pitched. The voice was shaking, and it felt like it wasing from a person two to three years older than him.


    "Who are you?" Kai muttered in a low voice as he ced his ears on the statue again, wondering if he could listen to that sound again.


    "What do you mean by who are you?" As one would expect from the woman who controlled everything from the dark, she managed to read his lips and learned what he wanted to convey.


    "!!!" The group widened their eyes. This question certainly brought a big surprise. However, Michelle and Tasha immediately appeared beside Carissa and grabbed her shoulder.


    This was something important, and Carissa knew that. She took a deep breath to calm her mind and halted her step.


    If Kai were distracted because of the loud noise, it would be their loss. As for an outsider like Sofia, the excitement came in two forms. First, it would be great because she might understand the mystery. The second form came in the form of joyous news for EU Base.


    With a stone statue like them having a secret, it would mean those stones that also contained magic power like the ones in here would also have a mystery in them.


    If that were the case, Kai''s worth went up by a lot because the base would surely ask him to do some investigations like this. The chance would only increase if this mystery led to another great mystery or something that was even more amazing than mystery.


    ''Don''t get too excited¡­ I still have a year with him. In other words, I can learn more about this and bring the news to the EU Base. If possible, we can even do a coboration project with them, since there are many more mysterious objects around our base.'' Sofia shook her head and took a deep breath.


    Kai still closed his eyes and tried to hear anything. However, his expression gradually turned worse before he let out a long sigh.


    He opened his eyes, looked at his group, and shook his head. "It''s not good. I can''t hear anything from it¡­ Even though I surely heard it previously."


    "What did it say?" Carissa asked with a serious expression.


    Kai observed her expression first before saying, "Center."


    Carissa looked down and fell into deep thought. She tried to search for all information about the center, which probably meant to be the center of the ind. Unfortunately, there was nothing extraordinary in her mind.


    "Are you sure it was what the statue said?" Carissa asked again.


    "Do you think I have the time to lie to you?" Kai squinted his eyes as if he didn''t take her words lightly.


    "No. I am not questioning you." Carissa gritted her teeth and sighed. "Alright. Since we have gotten the clue, I will drive you to the center of this ind¡­ Not exactly the center, but to the statues near the center."


    "No!" Kai stopped her and grabbed her hand. "We will go ording to the schedule. For today, I want to cover half of the edge of this ind."


    "Why¡­ No, I see. I apologize." Carissa immediately corrected herself when she realized something wrong.


    "Isn''t it a waste of time?" Nichs, who was usually silent, suddenly spoke his mind. "I mean, it''s clear that we need to go to the center of the ind. We might even get more clues about it."


    "Nichs! That is enough." Isabelle raised her hand and stopped him from talking. She thought for a moment and said, "You want to confirm everything first?"


    "!!!" Nichs widened his eyes and realized his mistake. "I am sorry."


    "Yes. There might be another clue from different statues, so I want to collect those first before walking on the stage." Kai nodded and looked at Carissa. "Can I ask something from you?"


    "Depends on what you ask." Carissa nodded.


    "The information is updated on a daily basis right?"


    "Yes."


    "I want you to hold the information for the time being."


    "What?! Are you serious? Do you want me to turn a blind eye to this? Do you want me to lie to the president?" She shouted. There was anger mixed in her voice, but it soon dissipated when she saw Kai''s serious face. "I need to know the reason. Sometimes I need to postpone the report due to unordinary events. Even though I think this information is necessary to be reported, I want to hear your reason first."


    "It''s simple. I want freedom for a whole week."


    The others tilted their head in confusion, but Carissa seemed to notice the hidden meaning¡­ Albeit, barely. She thought for a moment and said, "borate."


    "If the president knows about this, I am not sure if he will send a reinforcement here or not. I don''t know the president''s temperament, and you might know more than me. So, I don''t want to take a risk by telling him about this.


    "Also, I believe the other researchers will participate in this information hunting. That way, I don''t want them to ruin this peace because it is their job. The reason is the same as the president, I don''t know their temperament.


    "Just look at us! We are students, no more no less. If we go to those ''Experts'', I don''t know if they will respect us since they also believe in their skills¡­ What if they said you kids just go there and y around? Thank you for the information, but this is our job. That''s going to be suck.


    "Hence, I don''t want someone to destroy this peace. I simply want to understand this without anyone interfering in this matter. Can you understand this reasoning?" Kai asked with a serious expression.


    Carissa didn''t answer him for a minute, so Kai added another thing. "Well, I can simply go home if you are reporting it. After that, I will go to my teacher and say I couldn''tplete the mission due to interference."


    "Is that a threat?" Carissa narrowed her eyes. Not many people dared to threaten her, but this guy just used his teacher to threaten her. She gazed at his group''s expressions before saying. "Alright. Take it as I am scared of your threat. The end result is going to be an advantage to the US Base, so I will hide this information for a week. However, I won''t take responsibility if the president asks you to do ounts."


    "In that case, he will need to talk with my teacher." Kai smiled as if it was nothing.


    "You are relying on your teacher''s prestige too much," Carissa warned him.


    "I know." Kai''s expression turned serious. "However, I can only do it because I need to get a high status as soon as possible. Only at that time, I can protect those who are close to me, including my teacher."


    "¡­" Carissa paused for a few seconds and sighed. "Like teacher, like student. I feel you are the same type of your teacher¡­ The one that can go rampage if their close one gets hurt. And we might get the consequences at that time¡­ In other words, you are like a double-edged sword."


    "If you are not willing to have him, how about giving him to me?" Sofia interjected as she walked toward her. "We won''t mind about this¡­ Well, at least I know I won''t mind."


    "Ho?! I want to say that you and your EU Base is also one of the possible targets." Carissa sneered.


    "So, you are still talking like this? I thought you were thinking of me as a human instead of an object that you can easily trade?" Kai narrowed his eyes and released his killing intent.


    "We are! Consider it as a sports yer¡­" They answered at the same time, feeling it was justified.


    "¡­" Kai obviously didn''t buy it, but he didn''t say anything right now. He simply had no strength to oppose the entire base by himself, and at a time like this, people should unite so they could face the magical beasts. He just recorded this in his mind and would probably take this out when it''s time to do ount.


    "Alright. Since that is the case, how about driving now? Let''s not waste our time." Kai pped his hand without a change of expression.


    The girls could only shake their heads. Not a single of them knew Kai enough. The fact that he went with the flow just meant that he took this conversation in a neutral stance, and most of them would surely turn into hostility. Only Ayaka managed to reach the opposite¡­ Albeit barely. Ayaka still remembered when Kai threatened her that he would rape her. She suddenly realized how mad Kai was since he might do so if she continued acting like a baby.


    Carissa thought for a moment and nodded, heading toward the car. After that, they began their search again, moving toward the northern part of the ind.


    They searched everything and made sure not to leave a single clue. They even took the same time as the previous one because the sound might appear at that particr time if not interval.


    After a long journey, the group returned before sunset. The ind wouldpletely turn dark after all, since there was not a single light. Even Carissa had no confidence in driving in that kind of situation.


    The journey didn''t take too long since the ind wasn''t that big, and the group decided to have a meeting as soon as they returned.

 Chapter 244 - Day Two Part 3

    "So, this is what I found today." Kai handed his note as he leaned on his chair.


    The group frowned when they saw the note that had been opened by Kai himself. On that page, he only wrote a few words that he heard today.


    Center


    Rapa


    Triua


    Moig


    Asure


    Dawn


    "Hmm¡­ This is looking bad." Carissa thought for a moment andmented as her face became pale.


    "What do you mean?" Michelle and the others couldn''t understand her words and asked.


    Carissa looked at them and nced at Kai''s expression. "You understand what I mean right?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded and sighed. "First of all, we have gone through one hundred statues today. Some of the statues said the same thing, some said different things, and some didn''t say anything.


    "From how I see it, there are supposed to be near one thousand statues on this ind. And most of them¡­ No, 673 were destroyed in the past and resided in the town. We will only have around one hundred statues more.


    "Looking at the statistics we have right now, there is a high chance that these 673 statues will give us a few more words. In that case, no matter what we do, we can''t unravel the mystery because these statues are destroyed.


    "That''s why this is looking bad for us. What is the use of the clue when we know we can''t unravel the rest? In fact, the president might order us to retreat and abandon this one." Kai exined carefully.


    The group suddenly furrowed their eyebrows and fell into deep thought.


    "Do you mean it''s better for us to retreat rather than wasting our time here?" Nichs asked. He seemed to be on edge recently since he had be talkative today.


    "Not necessarily¡­" Kai nced at Sofia. He wondered whether her sixth sense would give us some clues. Meanwhile, he also wondered why this Nichs looked very agitated, especially in his tone. "I want to ask you something, Nichs."


    "Sure. Ask me anything."


    "Do you feel anything wrong today? You seem to be different than yesterday¡­ So, I am wondering if you have anything you would like to say." Kai squinted his eyes, observing Nichs''s expression.


    The group, especially Sofia, was surprised as she herself stood up and grabbed Nichs''s shoulder. "Your ze is wavering."


    "!!!"


    "Your tone is showing anxiety¡­ Do you want to share something with us? Don''t worry. If you don''t want to, I won''t ask." Kai''s expression turned serious as he red at Carissa to not say anything.


    Nichs looked down, contemted for a minute, and looked up again. His expression had changed as he let out a long sigh. "I truly can''t hide it¡­ I don''t know why, but I feel my body has been moving without my permission."


    "Ho?! borate."


    "Alright." Nichs nodded and continued. "Today alone, I have more than ten asions where my hands and feet seem to move without my permission. It''s like I am attracted to the statues themselves¡­ And most of the time, it''s when the statues said something to you."


    "Is it possession? Do you feel another presence beside you? Or do they want to possess you? Nheless, I can see why you are agitated." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Do you want to return now?"


    "Kai Carter!" Carissa mmed the table and red at Kai. To think he wanted to go home just like that. At least, he should think about requesting reinforcement first instead of this.


    "Safety is my priority. I just want to tell you this¡­ I am someone who will not take a battle that I know I can''t win." Kai clenched his fists and red at her. Even his killing intent leaked a bit.


    The situation became tense as these two seemed to want to fight. At this time, Michelle and Ayaka appeared before Carissa and grabbed her hand. Ayaka grasped her tightly, using that powerful muscle coordination of her. She could lift a heavy spear far above her weight, so restraining Carissa shouldn''t be much of a problem. On the other hand, dark energy had been leaking from Michelle''s body. This was her skill that boosted her power in the dark. With the moon out there, her skill dramatically improved.


    "It''s better for you to calm down, Miss Carissa. You might be the one who helps President Brent in the dark, but that position is simply four years long, so you should calm yourself before taking action," Michelle said coldly. This kind of tone reflected her position as one of the most powerful families in the US Base, the Graham Family.


    "Just as he said, losing a friend here is the same as losing the battle. This is a special mission that can be canceled at any moment''s notice. I have checked the contract, and we know Kai has the ability to cancel it even right now," Ayaka added.


    Carissa clenched her fists and noticed that Tasha wanted to take out her bow but chose to remain silent. At the same time, the others also looked at her with hostility, especially those in the Eagle Group.


    Nichs had been like this, and they wouldn''t know what would happen to him because there was no symptom or whatever. Looking at Carissa''s action, they knew obviously she wanted to advance, even if it meant sacrificing someone. That''s why they didn''t like it.


    "I¡­" Nichs suddenly opened his mouth again and scratched his back. They looked at Nichs and listened to what he had to say. Nichs took a deep breath and continued. "I am happy that all of you worry me, but I believe I can continue."


    "Nichs!" Isabelle, as the Eagle Group Leader, obviously didn''t want her member to take a risk.


    However, thetter shook his head and smiled. "What I want to say is¡­ I don''t mind about this condition. At first, I was indeed agitated because I felt someone wanted to possess me, but when I saw how you all reacted along with this discussion, I have a different opinion now."


    "Unlike the war, this is a small scale mission where I don''t want to risk myrade''s life. If you think this is not harmful, you can borate on your condition, and I will see whether we can continue or not." Kai made his judgment.


    "I felt that the statue wanted to show me something."


    "Show you something?"


    "Yes. Just like how you have gotten some clues from the statue, I don''t feel any harmful intention behind my own, so I believe the statues also want me to have a part in this matter. Now that I have a clear mind, I can see it from this perspective."


    Kai looked at his expression for a few seconds and thought, ''What should I do? Let him participate and continue the investigation? Still, there is a possibility of him being possessed right now¡­ Or is this just me overthinking this matter? No. I should act this way to protect the group from any potential harm¡­


    ''From what I can see, there are already a few of us that have this kind of clue. First would be Tasha, who seems to feel something wrong with the statue, and it''s rted to her Sealing Magic.


    ''Sofia also has some kind of influence because of her sixth sense¡­ But I think the connection is not too deep like Tasha or Nichs. This Nichs is the most dangerous one.


    ''If we return to the base and check him in a psychiatrist and a doctor, I can rest assured. It''s far from this ind to boot. However, this ind is different. Staying here will be dangerous in case they are trying to harm here.


    ''And thest person is me. The only reason why Nichs became like this seems to be rted to me. If only I¡­ No, I should listen to the clues no matter what. Unfortunately, only a small portion can be unraveled this time¡­ It might not be harmful to Nichs for now, but if we finish visiting all the statues¡­ Will Nichs be possessed?''


    Kai couldn''t give an answer to this. "Haiz, to think I should make a hard decision in this type of mission¡­ Fighting seems to suit me better."


    Seeing their reactions, Michelle and Ayaka released Carissa and returned to their seats.


    Kai thought for a moment and asked Carissa. "May I know your magic?"


    Carissa hesitated for a second before raising her hand. A small wind gushed out of her hand and brushed their skin. "It''s wind magic."


    "Ugh. If only we have Julia here¡­" Sofia seemed to notice why Kai asked such a question.


    "Yeah. We can know whether Nichs''s case is special or not."


    "How about asking the others here? I believe there are a few earth magic users on this ind." Carissa offered a solution. As much as she didn''t want to do anything, it would be better like this because Kai started considering continuing the investigation.


    "But they are unrted to this." Kai shook his head.


    "No. We can simply ask them to apany us. As for keeping secrets, I can monitor them if you want. We can test for one more day and will go back as soon as the situation turns worse."


    "..." Kai thought for a moment before ncing at Nichs. "What do you want to do? And Isabelle, you are the leader of Eagle Group. You choose."


    "I believe in Nichs. If he wants to continue, I will leave the rest to you, Captain." Isabelle nodded.


    "I can do it. I won''t hide anything after this." Nichs nodded.


    "For the time being, his ze has regained its calmness¡­ No, it''s when we are arguing that his ze became stable. I can monitor him for you," Sofia suggested.


    "Alright." Kai let out a long sigh. "Is there a fighter with earth magic? I only need one."


    "Yes. We have."


    "We can bring him tomorrow. As soon as the situation bes dangerous, I want to abort the mission."


    "Alright." Carissa nodded. "Why do you need a fighter instead of a researcher?"


    "They don''t know anything about research, so they are the most obedient. And with your authority, I believe they will follow no matter what you say. At the same time, unlike the researchers, they only need to report to you, so I can control the information during this mission." Kai exined carefully.


    "Since that is the case, I will get one of the fighters for you." Carissa scratched her cheek lightly and said with an embarrassed expression. "Well, I want to apologize to you for acting like that. I am sorry."


    "It''s fine. I can understand the mission from your point of view, but I hope you can think from our perspective too. We are only students here, so I believe it''s not good to risk everything too early."


    "I understand."


    Kai nodded and looked at the group. "Do any of you want to add something?"


    The groups didn''t say anything, so Kai decided to end the meeting. "Alright. That''s all. We will follow the schedule tomorrow, so you can go back and prepare."

 Chapter 245 - Day Three

    As soon as the morning came, Kai and the group began their preparation for this day that Kai deemed to be dangerous.


    Luckily, when they met before setting off, Kai could see theirplexion, which didn''t seem that bad, especially for Nichs. In fact, he appeared to be pumped up today as if he just got a good night''s sleep and hyped for this adventure, even though everyone worried about him yesterday.


    He might also fake it because he didn''t want the others to worry. Nevertheless, they would abort the mission whenever Kai decided, so the group felt a bit safe.


    Finally, the person that Carissa brought was a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in herte thirties.


    She had long purple hair tied into a ponytail to avoid the strong wind. There seemed to be wilderness and a bit of killing intent reflected in her eyes, telling them that she had killed many magical beasts. She wore a normal white military suit and brought a spear on her back.


    "I am Lexa. I have heard everything from the leader, and I will surely tell you if I feel something different."


    "Nice to meet you. I am the leader of this group, Kai Carter. I hope we won''t get into something dangerous." Kai nodded and shook her hand. "As much as I want to talk about our mission, let''se inside the car first. I will brief you about our mission here."


    "Should I drive?" Lexa asked while ncing at Kai and Carissa.


    "No. I am driving the car. You can enjoy the ride since there are a few things you need to know." Carissa shook her head and sat on the driver''s seat. As usual, Kai also sat beside her.


    The vehicle itself was close to a mini-bus, so it didn''tck space even with twelve people on board.


    After that, the group headed to the western part of the ind before making their way to the north, where they left yesterday.


    Just like how they usually discovered the statue one by one, Kai found a few more words.


    After the first statue where Kai''s found another word, he stopped the journey for a moment to ask the two.


    "Nichs. How are you doing?"


    "I am fine, Captain. I do feel that this statue is trying to make me do something, but there is no abnormality in the movement. In fact, the control seems to be weaker than yesterday. Yesterday, I can only gain my body back after two seconds, but I can gain it back after one second." Nichs reported.


    "Hmm?! What does this mean?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and fell into deep thought.


    "I don''t know. Maybe I have gained a resistance for this type of thing?" Nichs tilted his head in confusion.


    "Or maybe you have gained another insight after our discussion yesterday¡­" Kai mumbled.


    "Yes. I think it''s like what you said." Sofia added. "When I saw his fire, it''s nothing like yesterday. Maybe it''s due to his mind. After settling down with his mind, he has grown some resistance to this."


    "I see¡­ If that is the case, I am less worried. Even so, tell me if you notice something different since we still have a hundred statues to go." Kai nodded and patted Nichs''s shoulder.


    "I understand." Nichs nodded.


    "How about you, Miss Lexa?"


    "I don''t feel anything wrong. It''s not like I am possessed or something, so I don''t know his feelings." Lexa shook her head and pointed her finger at Nichs.


    "So, Nichs is different?" Kai frowned and looked at Isabelle.


    "I don''t know. I recruit him to my group because he is always alone. Saying he is different doesn''t justify anything about this matter. As for his family, I don''t think there is anything extraordinary¡­" Isabelle shook her head.


    "Yes. My family is somehow wealthy, but I never did something suspicious or supernatural in my childhood." Nichs nodded. "Even if I am different from the rest, I won''t be aware of it. The government also can''t check something like this."


    "Fair enough. Do you want to proceed?" Kai asked hisst question.


    "Yes. I believe I can continue." Nichs nodded.


    Kai then gave a signal to Carissa, and she drove them across the western edge.


    When they went back to thest spot after observing every statue, Kai sighed as he sat down on the car.


    "I have gotten a few words." Kai sighed and passed the paper of his note to the rest, including Carissa. They read the five words on the paper.


    Mi


    Fure


    Geszu


    Rira


    Nisa


    "With this, we have gotten ten words. The problem is whether there are more words from those shattered statues. When I look at this, the words seem toe out every twenty statues we have found¡­ In other words, five words per one hundred statues.


    "This ind has nearly one thousand statues, so I guess there should be fifty words about this¡­" Kai sighed. "It seems no matter what we do won''t matter at this point."


    "It''s alright. If this is the case, I can''tin since you have done everything you could. I will report back to the president until you finish your one week on this ind as promised."


    "But I want to say something important to you for tomorrow. There are only a few statues in the center of the ind, but I think those statues are more interesting than those statues on the edge of this ind," Carissa said.


    "How so?"


    "The usual group is there where you can see another statue when you visit one statue, but there is one isted from the rest. It is standing alone, and you won''t be able to see other statues when you check this statue."


    "..." Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Why do I hear boss music?" Michelle suddenly interjected with a joke. However, not a single of them couldugh about this. They were wondering if this statue would be something like the boss of this ind, but they still needed to check it.


    "Nichs. How are you doing right now?" Kai asked.


    "It''s the same as yesterday, but I don''t feel any threat behind this." Nichs shook his head.


    "How about you, Miss Lexa?"


    "Nothing extraordinary. In fact, I don''t feel anything wrong with my body."


    "Hmm¡­" Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. After a few minutes, he decided. "Alright. We will visit the statue tomorrow. It might be because of the shattered statues that we won''t get all the clues, so I think there is nothing wrong with going there. I just want to warn all of you to be careful."


    "Yes."


    "Alright. Dismissed." Kai nodded and returned to his tent.


    The next day. They finally ventured to the center of this ind. As scheduled, they checked every statue there before going to thest one, which was located in the body of the mountain.


    The moment they found the statue, Kai checked everyone''s condition and heightened his hearing to see if something was wrong.


    Luckily, he found nothing suspicious. Even Sofia shook her head after checking everyone''s ''ze''.


    "Alright. Let''s proceed." Kai nodded and walked carefully toward the statue.


    It stood tall in the middle of a small in surrounded by tall grass, making it look eerier.


    Michelle wanted to lighten the mood again, but it seemed to be not the time to throw such a thing. Hence, she silently took out her de as she would start attacking the moment she spotted something wrong.


    However, the group, especially Kai, was surprised when they arrived in front of the statue without anything happening. Nheless, it sparked joy and relief in everyone''s heart.


    Kai took a deep breath.


    "My feeling is wrong, and I am d that nothing happened. We will proceed with this and check the entire ind tomorrow before going to the volcanoes." Kai smiled at the group and gave a thumb up.


    "Then, do you hear something from this statue?" Carissa asked with a mixed feeling. On one hand, she wanted to find the mystery behind these statues. On the other hand, she also felt relieved when the mission ended without any casualties.


    Kai didn''t answer her immediately and closed his eyes, listening to the sounding from the statue. "Ieka¡­ I think that''s what it is saying. Ieka."


    "Ieka¡­" The group muttered as they couldn''t find anything behind these words.


    "Now we have a total of eleven words¡­ Well, it''s twelve if you include the ''Center'', but I don''t know whether this is a clue for this strangenguage or not." Carissa let out a long sigh.


    "Yes." Kai nodded and nced at his group. "Since we have finished this mission, I think it''s the best for us to leave here with this and leave everything about these words to the researchers. Maybe they can resolve this wordbination."


    "I agree."


    "How about you, Nichs? Do you feel any difort?" Kai asked.


    "Nothing. It is true that I feel a reaction when you hear the word, but I am fine. Should we check the statue first? Or should we leave immediately?"


    "I think we can stay for a few minutes." Kai nodded. Since nothing happened to Nichs, Kai gave permission to check the statue.


    The group then came closer and checked the statue in the usual way. However, the moment Nichs touched the statue, he stopped moving as if his soul was taken away.


    "Nichs?!" Sofia was the first one to notice as she was watching him from the beginning. The ze representing him suddenly grew twice of its original size.


    "Stop him and bring him away!" Kaimanded as soon as he heard Sofia''s voice.


    Unfortunately, before everyone could react, Nichs chanted all those eleven words.


    "Rapa triua moig asure dawn, Mi fure geszu rira nisa." He pped his hand and said hisst word. Even when Tasha, Michelle, Carissa, and Sofia arrived, they couldn''t stop him because he needed to say one more word. "Ieka!"


    *Rumble!*

 Chapter 246 - A Talking Statue

    "Ieka!"


    *Rumble!*


    As soon as the magic word came out of his mouth, the rumbling sound shook the entire ind.


    Kai turned around and grabbed Nichs''s head before smashing it to the ground, trying to make him unconscious.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to do so because the ground began to shake and rise.


    "!!!" He gasped when he realized the ground below him together with the one that his people stepped on suddenly rose from the ground,unching a few meters in the air.


    "This is not what you think. Let me exin first." Nichs''s heavy voice turned into a deep and pacifying voice. His green eyes slightly brightened as if they were glowing. He noticed that the others were trying to beat him unconscious to save Nichs, so he suddenly pointed his finger to the statue. "I am Rapakha. The protector of this ind."


    Kai took a glimpse at where he pointed his finger and noticed that the statue glowed. Due to the blinding light from the sun, they didn''t notice this, so Kai fumbled for a second.


    On one hand, he shouldn''t believe whatever that guy said because it might be a lie to trick them. On the other hand, he couldn''t do anything reckless because there might be more consequences behind his action.


    "Even so¡­ We need to save him first!" Kai shook his head andmanded the group to apprehend Nichs and take him out of this ind.


    "No need." Suddenly, the one who possessed Nichs shook his head and fell to the ground, unconscious.


    "You can check your friend first. I only possessed his body to unseal myself. O'' Child of the sound, have you heard the Earth''s crying voice?" The voice continued, but it didn''te from Nichs. Instead, the statue was the one who said it.


    It didn''t open its mouth but seemed to produce a human voice.


    However, Kai was very familiar with this question. "This question! We need to run first. Tasha. Teleport us away! This statue is a protector."


    Tasha nodded and pped her hand, summoning a Teleportation Magic Circle that covered all of them.


    The statue saw this and glowed a bit brighter before anotheryer of magic circle covered and broke it.


    "!!!" Kai gritted his teeth, took out his swords, and activated his Vibration Sword.


    Michelle and Ayaka appeared beside him with their weapons in hands. Sofia, Carissa, and Lexa surrounded the statue, while the Eagle Group hid Nichs behind their back to protect him from this statue.


    "A Protector huh¡­ This is a nostalgic name that I haven''t heard since two centuries ago." The statue seemed to be filled with joy when he heard that name. "However, you are wrong. I am not a Protector that observes the Earth. I am just a Protector for my own people, the Rapa Nui people. I mean no harm. You can even check that boy and see whether he is fine or not."


    "You must be buying time." Kai gritted his teeth. As much as he wanted to check, he didn''t know what kind of secret this statue had, so it was better to be careful and suspected every single thing since it was the most logical thing to do.


    "I am not hiding anything. If I want to kill you guys, I think I have the ability to do so." He smiled before releasing his magic power.


    The statue suddenly floated to the air before the ground rose and enveloped this big statue. The dirt and the rock mixed and became a part of his body.


    A few huge rocks slowly became a joint of his four limbs, creating a ten-meter tall body. "Boy, I know your fear, but it''s wise to stand down now. You might be able to fight me with that interesting ability of yours, but you need a long time for that. In the meantime, the other statues will also arrive here."


    "!!!" Kai stumbled and nted his earsto the ground. His eyes were opened wide, and his veins began bulging out of his skin.


    "I am sure that you have heard more than two hundred of myrades screaming at you. You can consider this as a threat, but I indeed want to talk about something with you¡­ Such as my Rapa Nui people, what I am, and what my purpose is. I might not be like this earlier, but I certainly heard all your conversations. That''s why I want to talk to you, including about the matter of that Protector you spoke of."


    "¡­" Kai gritted his teeth before slowly rising from the ground since the sound had disappeared. He red at the statue and nced at his group.


    Michelle and the others had panicked and worried expressions, but the rest seemed to have fear instilled in their eyes.


    ''What should I do? Should I go with his demand and stand down? What if this is a trap? If it''s really a trap, can we really escape from him?! He just broke Tasha''s magic circle in two seconds. Even if I use all of my magic power¡­''


    "There is still a doubt in your eyes. It seems I need to fix that doubt forcefully." The statue shook his head before a magic circle enveloped Kai and the others.


    Kai activated his Luby to destroy this by disrupting the statue''s brainwave, but he wondered if a stone statue would have a brainwave or not. Ultimately, the statue''s magic circle finished first, and the magic circle on his hand suddenly broke.


    Not only that, but he also couldn''t utilize his magic again.


    "I can''t use my magic!"


    "What is this?!"


    It seemed the others were in the same situation, making them hopeless.


    Kai gritted his teeth. If they couldn''t use their magic anymore, they wouldn''t stand a chance against this statue. At this time, Tasha eximed in surprise. "This¡­ This is Space Magic! No, it''s Sealing Magic. I can''t do anything about this! Argh!"


    Kai sensed the fearing from the group before he looked at the statue and shouted. "Fine. We can talk. Please let them leave, and I will remain here."


    The statue didn''t answer him for a few seconds and looked at him with curiosity. "If you want it that way, I can unseal their magic. However, I can give you seats for a few people. They can listen to my stories together with you and let the others bring that boy back¡­ How is it?"


    "Wait, Kai. If that is the case, I need to stay too. I will protect you this time since it is my job." Carissa immediately walked in front of Kai.


    "Hmm¡­ Thisss¡­ You are not qualified to listen to my stories, but since you seem to be an important person where the boy lives, I think you can also join our conversation. However, you can only listen. The moment you ask a question is the time I send you off here. And the conversation I have with these kids will be a secret. Suppose you try to get the information from them. In that case, I will attack your home alongside a million of Magical Beasts and my proud people." The statue released his killing intent while looking at Carissa.


    "W¡ª"Carissa was just about to ask ''Why'', but the word stuck on her throat. She thought it would be considered as a question, so she could only suck her thumb and bow her head. "I understand."


    Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking about what he should do.


    Isabelle''s voice echoed in his ears. "Nichs is fine. He has woken up!"


    Sofia also reported from what she saw. "His fire is stable. But I would like you to bring him to the hospital to check his body thoroughly."


    "Boy¡­ I am thankful to you since you have unsealed me. And I would like to apologize for using your body, so I will grant you a reward¡­ Although I say it''s a reward, I will only awaken your power. Well, looking at your friends'' actions, I will ask you. Would you like to receive this reward?" The statue looked at Nichs. Unfortunately, he couldn''t smile, so his action didn''t really reflect his mood.


    Every eye locked on him, wondering what he would choose. Nichs slowly rose from the ground with the help of Isabelle before nodding his head. "Thank you for Elder''s intention. This Nichs will gratefully ept this gift."


    "Nichs?!" Everyone was taken aback by his words. He was the one that got the most powerful impact from all this, so they couldn''tprehend why Nichs would actually ept.


    "Don''t worry. When the elder possessed me, I couldprehend a little bit of his intention¡­ He has no intention of harming us. So, I would like to request Captain to lower your guard and listen to what the elder has to say," Nichs humbly said with a smile.


    Isabelle didn''t believe what he said since she still suspected him of being possessed. However, she realized that everything the statue said was about listening to their conversation. That was why she knew the statue shouldn''t be able to pry on their memory.


    Having that thought, she proceeded to test him. "Where is Eve''s and Eva''s birthmark?"


    "Each of them has half a butterfly in their butt!" Nichs instinctively shouted as if it was programmed in his mind.


    "Wait. What?!" Eve and Eva turned red from embarrassment. However, they realized that Nichs wasn''t possessed.


    With that reaction, timing, and answer, it was the normal Nichs.


    "It''s really him. This is a code that my group used in a situation like this. His reaction seems to have no lie behind it, so I guess we can trust his words¡­" Isabelle sighed, looking at Kai. She didn''t know what to do herself, so she left it in Kai''s hand.


    "I understand¡­" Kai decided. It wasn''t an easy decision, but as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn''t say no because their magic power was still sealed by the statue.


    "Alright. Come here child." The statue nodded, asking Nichs toe closer.


    Nichs nodded and started walking, albeit a bit slow due to his unstable body.


    The statue stretched his stone hand and gently put the pointed tip of his finger on Nichs''s forehead before it started shining.

 Chapter 247 - Rapakhas Gifts

    Green light began filling their vision as some of them closed their eyes, couldn''t endure the brightness.


    Kai frowned. Although it hurt a lot to open his eyes, he still watched the process. He would never abandon the person under him, especially hisrade. The Eagle Group had be a partner in his eyes. Even though their rtionship didn''t start well, everything had gone so well to the point he wouldn''t mind calling these guys hisrades.


    That was why no matter what happened, he wouldn''t lose to this blinding light.


    "What is this? I feel warm, but I think there is something inside me¡­ Is this the potential within me?!" Nichs was still absorbed by the sensation, forgetting about the rest of his team. He slowly raised his hand, but to everyone''s surprise, the earth began to shake and rise.


    It was a wall, the size of their car, but everyone who saw it noticed its difference. The previous stone wall had been reced by dirt¡­ But it was close to mud instead.


    Not long after the rising of the dirt, the light dimmed down, and everyone gradually opened their eyes. Kai lowered his hand to check Nichs''s condition more clearly.


    "Nichs¡­ Are you okay?"


    "Yes. I feel something strengthening in my body, but I don''t know what it''s yet." Nichs turned around and found his mud wall. "Yeah. This feeling¡­ This is the thing."


    "Hmm¡­ I have awakened your magic like that little girl over there." Rapakha pointed his finger to Michelle.


    "How did you know?!" Michelle widened her eyes. They never talked about this on their trip, so she started to doubt him again. She thought this guy must have the ability to see their memory.


    "It''s not that hard. I have checked your element when I seal your magic¡­ Now, I will release it for you." Rapakha raised his finger, creating a magic circle. A few streams of light flowed outside the magic circle and entered their bodies.


    Kai raised his hand and summoned his magic circle. "We can use our magic again."


    With Kai''s confirmation, Rapakha continued. "As for this boy¡­ He should be good enough now since he has awakened Mud Ability instead of his so-called Earth Magic¡­ Well, I call it Stone Magic instead of Earth Magic. Anyway, there is a gimmick to this Mud Ability. Watch me."


    Rapakha touched the wall and created a magic circle. Not long after, he retracted his finger and asked. "Touch the wall."


    Nichs touched the wall before he suddenly widened his eyes when he saw his finger pushed the touched area inside. "This¡­"


    Everyone grew curious, as some of them sneaked around and tried to touch him. Rapakha nced at Kai and smiled. "How about you do it too? But I don''t want you to touch it. Instead, you should give your best punch. Let''s see if you can destroy it."


    "¡­" Kai didn''t answer nor moved for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright. I will try it."


    Since Rapakha had requested him, it wouldn''t be wise to refuse. Besides, he was also curious about this wall.


    "You can use all your strength at once."


    Kai nodded. The others gave him some space and watched how things turned out. Kai took a deep breath and struck the wall with all his might. "Ha!"


    *Boing!*


    "!!!" Kai was taken aback by the texture before he shifted his stance. He was just about to be thrown back because the wall stretched stically and released that energy to him back. But¡­ As one would expect, the most important thing about this was the sticity. Not only it stretched like mochi, but it also had the power to absorb and release the attack. "This¡­"


    "This is Mud Magic''stent ability. sticity. Of course, it can also be the other way." Rapakha used his magic again and touched the wall. "Why don''t you test it again?"


    Kai felt the change and furrowed his eyebrows. He didn''t punch it first. Instead, he touched and knocked it gently. "This is hard¡­ The first one is soft. I see, the other way around."


    "Yes. How about you try to destroy it?"


    Kai thought for a moment and summoned his exoskeleton, reinforcing his hand. However, he actually wanted it to protect his fist since the rock felt sopact. He didn''t want to injure his fist because of this. ncing at Rapakha once again, he threw another fist.


    "Bam!"


    "Oh. That is pretty good." Rapakha praised him and nodded with a smile.


    The others looked at the mud wall and found it covered with cracks, but it had yet to crumble.


    "This is the power of Mud Magic. As much as I want to teach you about this magic, you have gotten your reward ording to my principle. So, you can only search for a way to master this ability yourself. Of course, it''s not limited to this wall alone. There are many applications of this magic, but I can only show you at this point. If I add more, those Protectors will surely attack you earnestly and won''t stop until you die, even if it means your entire home destructions." Rapakha looked at Nichs.


    "I understand. I felt Elder''s concern as well when you were inside my body, so I will try my best as to not disappoint Elder." Nichs nodded with a solemn expression.


    "Good child." Rapakha nodded. "Now¡­ There are a few people that have a connection to me. I will just call your name. Kai, Tasha, Michelle, Sofia, and Isabelle. All five of you, please step to the front. I want to give you something."


    The four girls looked at Kai first. They didn''t dare to step forward if Kai shook his head. After a few seconds, Kai finally nodded his head, so these five walked to the front.


    "I don''t have much, but I can give you advice." Rapakha turned to Isabelle. "Girl. You must have a time where you suddenly lost control of your eyes, right? I mean about the intensity of your eyes, such as at a time, you suddenly look farther or closer without your control."


    Isabelle widened her eyes. "Ye-yes. I think it''s my bacsh from merging with magical beast blood, so I treat it as nothing."


    "Still, it must be a painful experience for you since you can''t really focus at that time." Rapakha smiled and touched her forehead like Nichs. The light appeared again, but only for two seconds. "I have suppressed the blood in your body to the level that matches your human blood. You won''t experience such a thing again, I promise you."


    "Is that true?!" Isabelle opened her mouth in surprise. She sometimes took sick leave because of this symptom. Although what she got wasn''t as good as Nichs, her efforts also didn''t match up with him, so she thought Rapakha had already been graceful enough to solve this problem for her. "Thank you, Elder."


    Rapakha nodded with a smile before turning to Sofia. "As for you¡­ There is not much to say to be honest. I want to awaken your magical beast blood, but I am unable to do so since you and I are notpatible like that guy. So, the only thing I can say is about your Ice. Have you tried to mix ice with human blood, and have you tried to mix it with magical beast blood? Try it, and you will know what I mean."


    Sofia tilted her head in confusion but still thanked him gracefully. "Thank you for your knowledge, Elder."


    Rapakha waved his hand before turning to Michelle. "You seem to have a problem with your awakened magic¡­ Let me guess. It should be rted to the union. Seeing your state, the union must be with your body."


    Michelle''s body shook. No one actually knew about this except Kai, whom she asked for a sparring partner. To think that this guy knew about it, she finally believed this statue. "Yes. As Elder said so."


    "You are on the right path, but something is missing for you. Have you seen a human copte with themselves? Ask this answer in your mind, and you shall get the thing you are missing."


    Michelle''s body shook again. Just like that, she seemed to get her answer.


    "Ah. A smart girl. I like it."


    "Thank you for your guidance." Michelle thanked him politely.


    Michelle might take it like that, but everyone was certainly baffled by such a question. The elder said it in a formal way, but when they thought that line in their casual way. The question became, "Have you seen someone f*ck themselves?"


    Their eyebrows twitched, wondering what kind of enlightenment Michelle got from such a question.


    "Now to the two main dishes. I will start with the boy first." Rapakha turned to Kai and raised his hand. The ground started shaking uncontrobly before the stone where Rapakha had his slumber suddenly rose.


    At first, Kai thought he wanted to beat him up because he had done nothing but doubted him, but it seemed it wasn''t the case. The pir wasn''t that big in diameter, only a few centimeters.


    Suddenly, Rapakha grabbed the pir and shattered it. Everyone was confused with his action but saw something in his hand when he opened his hand again.


    "This is what I want to give. It will protect you and lead you to the truth at one point, but I can''t say more than this. Only you who possess that hearing ability are qualified to use this. Even those Protectors won''t get it from you. Of course, you don''t need to wear it the whole time. Only if you go to war or a ce like this, you should wear it."


    Kai hesitated for a second and watched this ne. The chains were made of gold, but as expected, the most intriguing part was the green jade in the middle. After some thought, he nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Elder."


    "Your hesitation is not wrong, especially if you care about your friends. I just want to say you shall do what you believe it''s right. Don''t let anyone, including this world, interfere with your decision."


    Kai took the word to his heart and nodded. "I understand. I shall remember Elder''s words."


    Rapakha then turned to thest person, Tasha. "Child¡­ You have a big potential inside you. I think you must have noticed this when you investigated this ind¡­ You should know that we are connected like how I am connected to that boy."


    Tasha nced at the direction he pointed at and found Nichs. This was enough what kind of connection they shared. "Space Magic."


    Rapakha observed her expression for a moment and noticed why she would say Space Magic instead of Sealing Magic. He knew she had Sealing Magic since she said it herself, but she must have her own problem to conceal it, so he decided to y along. "Exactly so."


    "!!!" The group looked at her. Tasha already had two magic in her body, if he awakened her Space Magic, she would be undoubtedly powerful. However, Rapakha''s next words shook them to the core.


    "Do you want to be my student?"

 Chapter 248 - Conditions

    "Do you want to be my student?"


    This question shook everyone''s heart as the atmosphere fell into silence. Tasha, the person in the center of this, tilted her head in confusion and asked. "What do you mean?"


    "It is exactly what I mean. I want to teach you everything I know about Space Magic because this is very important magic. Of course, I can''t teach you that much due to my limitation, so I think two weeks are enough to cram all the necessary knowledge. You need to figure out the rest."


    Tasha furrowed her eyebrows. ''Would he take advantage of this to get into my body? If that is possible, I don''t think I will learn from him. Still, everything he said from the start didn''t really seem to be one that had hidden intentions. He simply wanted to help us. Then, should I ept it? By the looks of it, he probably knows about my Sealing Magic since he mentioned the connection earlier.''


    Not knowing what to do, she nced at Kai, asking about his opinion. However, thetter replied with a smile. "I am not going to say anything about this."


    Tasha still found the hesitation in Kai''s eyes, but she shook her head and looked back at Rapakha with determination. "I will. Please teach me."


    "Well¡­ I can see the doubt in your eyes, but I won''t say anything about it. Having your civilizations overturned by the Protector, it''s normal for you to doubt me. Since you have epted this one''s offer, I will teach you the wonder of Space Magic." Rapakha smiled at Tasha before his gaze returned to Kai. "Now that I have given you the reward, I want to tell you about the secret of this."


    "Seeing you talk about your limitation and such, I guess, we won''t know about the full secret¡­ Right?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. As I said, I can''t interfere too much. I will tell you the reason when telling you my story. And from that, you are the one who decides what kind of answer you have found." Rapakha nodded.


    "Still, who can listen to your story?" Kai asked with a solemn expression. From how he acted, he spected that only five of them plus Carissa could listen to him.


    "I will just call your name. Kai, Tasha, Michelle, Ayaka, Evan, Sofia, Isabelle, Carissa. The reason I selected these people is their blood and magic."


    "I see." Kai sighed. "I, Ayaka, Evan, Sofia, and Isabelle have magical beast blood in our body. Tasha just agreed to study under you. And Michelle has awakened her ability. As for Miss Carissa¡­ She just got your permission. In this case, why can''t Nichs listen to this story?"


    "He is qualified¡­ But considering I have just awakened him, his body is still too weak. And I believe he shouldn''t learn many things because I don''t really find a determination to find the truth like all of you. It is dangerous to leave him with such a secret¡­ Of course, this doesn''t mean I am belittling him."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "In that case, where are we going to talk?"


    "Here. I wish for the rest to return to the southern part of the ind ande back here tomorrow."


    Kai didn''t know whether this was a good choice or not, but he agreed with him. Although it was a bit weird to see all members were chosen from his group while only Isabelle from their group, this mission was originally designated for his group. Eagle Group was only a plus because of their rtionship with Evan along with Isabelle''s power, while Nichs was a big plus.


    Hence, Kai threw a gaze to Carissa, asking her to persuade them.


    Carissa twitched her eyebrows before she walked. "Lexa. Drive them back to the base and let them enjoy their free time. Ask the doctor on this ind to check him too. I think it''s best for his group to stay with him for the time being, right?"


    Eva and Eve looked at each other and nodded. Tommy was a bit curious about this story, but he didn''t really see any reason for him to learn the story that might endanger him, so he also agreed.


    Lexa then asked them to follow her to the car and drove them back.


    As for the rest of the group stood before Rapakha, staring at him intensely. Kai said, "They have gone. I think we can start now."


    "Sure. But let''s make thisfortable for us first." Rapakha nodded as his body glowed again before the rock body crumbled as if he shed his skin. The original Moai statue descended to the ground slowly before it created a magic circle. The stones that fell off his body suddenly rose and formed into a different shape. "Stone Creation Magic."


    "This¡­" Kai and the others eximed in surprise, watching how the stone magically formed into a different structure. If what he heard was right, the stone was shaped into a huge thin block. Then a few smaller stones slowly turned into chairs along with a huge round table.


    "Please sit." Rapakha nodded with a smile.


    Kai looked at these chairs that positioned like a round table with Rapakha on one side, standing there. Well, he couldn''t be said standing since he was a stone without legs. He then took the seat in the opposite direction of Rapakha. The others followed him and took their seats before they got a surprise.


    "Soft?!" Each of them opened their mouths. The chairs that were made of stone felt so soft as if it was an expensive sofa. They remembered the magic Rapakha used earlier that turned the wall into mochi and realized why a chair could be like this.


    "Yeah. She will get this kind of furniture, including a bed, in her stay here. So, you don''t need to worry."


    Kai nodded with a solemn expression.


    "Now that we are here. Before I start, I want to say something about my tutoring session. First, I want you to empty this ind, giving us time to train alone."


    "What?!" Kai and Carissa stood up, opposing him.


    "Hey boy, I understand your worry. But do you think I have the heart to hurt someone who I want to teach? Never mind. She is an important person to you, so I won''t say much." Rapakha suddenly released his magic power and threatened him. "Follow my words, or don''t think about leaving. I promise you she will be alright if you heed my words."


    "Kai¡­" Tasha called his name and gently smiled at him. "I will be fine."


    Kai looked at her for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh. "I understand. I shall leave her in your hand. I don''t know how powerful you are, but if you harm her, I will do anything to bring you down even if it means I need to destroy this ind."


    "Haha¡­ Your attitude is the one to my liking. That''s right. A family should be like this." Rapakhaughed. "Sure. Do whatever you want."


    Kai nodded and sat down.


    Rapakha then nced at Carissa. "The same applies to you. You have no choice but toply. Besides, I believe the information I bring will satisfy your curiosity. And if you don''t heed this word or even send an army here, they shall face my wrath, and it won''t be something small."


    Carissa gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. As much as she wanted to say something, it wasn''t wise to do that due to the previous agreement. "I understand. I shall inform the base about this and have the people retreat from this ind."


    "Good." Rapakha nodded. "Secondly, I want you to prepare the water and food for two weeks before sending an aircraft to carry her back. I don''t mind if youe to explore this ind again, but I don''t want any disturbance during the two weeks."


    "Oh!" Carissa immediately nodded her head. Since she would get information and the chance to explore this ind again, it wouldn''t be that bad. She was afraid earlier because she thought Rapakha forbade them to enter the ind in the future, but it seemed to be not the case. "I can prepare it. And I think we need a day to transport all the necessary supplies for them¡­ Never mind, we can transport the supplies from the base to make it faster."


    "I will let you arrange it. And don''t bring it here. Instead, I want you to let it stay there. It can be considered to be her training as well."


    "I understand. We will just give her the information about the supply and let her handle everything by herself. Will that be fine with you?"


    "Sure."


    Carissa nodded after getting a satisfactory agreement.


    "Last warning. I want you to keep this secret only a selected few could know. I don''t mind if the leader of your territory knows about this, but make sure they are high ranking people that won''t easily blurt such information. As for the people here, you are permitted to exin it to your family if you deem it is necessary."


    "I understand. With my jurisdiction, I will elevate this story to the state''s secret with the highest level of security." Carissa assured him.


    Kai and the others exchanged looks before shrugging their shoulders. The information seemed to be dangerous, so they would surely be careful with it even with their family.


    "We understand."


    Rapakha nodded. "Let me introduce myself then. I am Rapakha, the chief of Rapa Nui People in the past. I was a bit unique since I traveled around the world in the past before settling into this ce with my people. Now, I shall give you the truth about this and what I found in my journey."

 Chapter 249 - The Truth Behind Magic Power

    Not a single person opened their mouth at this point. They were curious about what he found in his journey, especially anything linked to the Protector.


    Only Kai seemed to be bothered with all of this. No one thought anything weird about what he said earlier, but he remembered Rapakha calling him the child of sound. He didn''t know why but Rapakha said those magic words that the mermaid told him.


    "Hmm¡­ Where should I start?" Rapakha thought for a moment. "I will start with myself first and the journey. In the past, I traveled to many countries and saw their progress with my own eyes. However, I noticed something was wrong.


    "When I traveled in the past, I only sensed magic powering from a selected few. Even when I went to a big town, I could sense a few people having a ridiculous amount of magic power, but they weren''t aware of it."


    "Do you mean you had magic power in the past?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "That is correct. In fact, we were born with it."


    "Then how could we don''t know about it for thousands of years?" Kai asked again.


    "It''s because you were not aware of it. Only a selected few were aware. And only less than one percent of those people could utilize magic."


    "But now all of us here can use magic. In fact, all humans can use magic in the present." Kai tilted his head. If a magician was that low, he couldn''t imagine why there was this much difference. After all, Rapakha said everyone was born with it, no matter in the past or the present. Hence, it wasn''t logical to have this difference.


    "Yes. But I said it didn''t I? I said only less than one percent of them could utilize magic. Shouldn''t you think about why these people could use their magic?" Rapakha smiled.


    "Ah!" Kai widened his eyes as his body shook. "Is there a trigger?"


    "Correct. I give you ten seconds to think about the trigger. What kind of trigger does a human need to realize this magic power?" Rapakha nodded.


    The group looked down, thinking seriously. Suddenly, Michelle thought something as she said with an unsure tone. "Magic?!"


    "You are half correct." Rapakha smiled. "It''s Magic Power. You need to be aware of that magic power and absorb a certain amount of magic power to stimte and awaken the magic power inside your body."


    The group opened their mouths in amazement. They never expected such an answer.


    When everyone was thinking about magic power, Kai had another thought about it as he muttered in a volume everyone could hear. "If that is the case, then the day where magic power spread all over the Earth was the day where humans could use magic? Still, the history and this fact are not aligned¡­ Did I miss something?"


    "A smart child. It''s because of poisonous substances in the air." Rapakha gave him a clue. If Kai''s brain worked like this, he would certainly figure out what he meant.


    And it turned out he was right. The moment he said "Poisonous", Kai immediately took the hint and eximed. "Pollution!"


    "Yes. Although I have been spending my time in slumber this whole time, I can still learn the matter of the outside world. In fact, I had assimted with this ind, so I could listen to the people in the town. And I learned that the poisonous substance was called pollution.


    "I checked it a few times from my own Rapa Nui people and noticed that this pollution seemed to clog up the flow of magic power in your body. And for those who were born before the apocalypse day¡­ Their magic power was frozen by those substances."


    "So, that''s why the first generation couldn''t use magic. And it''s lined up with the history where their children turned into magicians." Kai nodded, feeling amazing after hearing the truth. Even Carissa drew a cold breath. They had researched this matter for a long time, but to think the answer was like this.


    "Yes. Take a look at the Earth''s condition right now. How much pollution does it still make every year?"


    "It''s not that much to the point it can be considered minuscule if wepare it to the day before the apocalypse," Kai answered.


    "That''s right." Rapakha smirked. "After their children were born, the magic power started purifying them and avoided absorbing pollution. Of course, since they still used those things that produced pollution in the early stage, the children would slowly grow weaker and weaker when they became an adult.


    "It was due to the intake of the pollution. And let me predict this since I didn''t know many things about the continents¡­ I believe there was a period where the children slowly got stronger and stronger as people started relying on magic power instead of those things that produced pollution.


    "And at this point, there is little pollution in the air, giving the perfect environment for magicians to flourish. You might have realized this, but there should be a time where humans could live longer and longer or the people retained their appearance for a period of time¡­ With the Earth slowly being purified, this would happen."


    Kai and the others blinked their eyes a few times. Carissa nodded and confirmed his information. "That is true. There is a period of time when people start relying on magic power instead of fuel. Although at that time they only thought the magic power was more efficient like nuclear energy but without radiation, that kind of period did exist."


    Kai couldn''t help but chuckle. "That is really funny. To think the truth is like that¡­"


    Tasha looked at Kai, who slowly leaned on his chair and turned to Rapakha. "Then does it mean if we can use this magic power to make the Earth free of pollution, we can reach the peak?"


    "You got the concept right, but the reality is not. Your generation has reached the peak. It is impossible to have free pollution because even in the past, people used fire to cook and other stuff that produced such a thing. It was just your generation that was the worst and forced the Protector to act."Rapakha suddenly dropped a bomb when answering Tasha''s question.


    The moment they heard Protector, they couldn''t help but rise from their seats, looking at Rapakha with fierce looks.


    "Haha¡­ You don''t need to worry. The Protector has existed for an unknown period¡­ Before I exin this, what kind of Protector did you meet in the past?"


    Kai immediately answered. "A mermaid and a dolphin¡­ I am not very sure about the dolphin. But after that, I killed a seahorse. And my group and Isabelle''s group managed to take down a crab."


    "Huh? You killed a Protector? Are you not joking with me? Although I know your attacks are very powerful, it''s still not enough to kill a Protector. They were monsters capable of massacring billions of human lives and causing natural disasters." Rapakha was confused and surprised at the same time.


    He recalled his encounter with the protector, and the only thing he could think of was how to run.


    "Yes. I didn''t lie."


    "Didn''t lie?" Rapakha paused for a moment before murmuring. "Wait¡­ Were they the new generation of Protectors? If that was the case, I can understand why they could die in the hands of them¡­"


    "Why did it sound so scary when it came from your mouth?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. If the protector could do something like that, humanity would have been wiped out a long ago.


    "No. I think they are the next generations. The protector I met in the past was from the previous generation. It could be said they were the true protectors of this world¡­ As much as I want to talk about this, I will hold it since I will talk about it in my story at some point."


    Kai nodded. "I understand. It seems we are not talking about the same protector. Still, can you answer one question from me first?"


    "Sure."


    "What kind of protector did you meet?"


    "I met a whale, and she originated from the Pacific Ocean¡­ The exact location was unknown, but my spection was between this ind and South America. She visited this ind to take my people when the magic power was released into the air. Well, this is not important, since I will tell you about what happened to this indter.


    "What I want to say is her ability. With a single burst of water, she could destroy the cliff that separated this ind from the sea. Not only that, the entire ind shook when she struck the ind with her head. And these wereing from her physical strength alone.


    "If she utilized magic power too¡­ Single magic might cause rain that wouldst for a month, or her burst might turn into a huge typhoon in the sea. Ugh, I once fought against her to protect the people of this ind, but I lost within a few moves."


    Rapakha shook his head in disappointment.


    The others also took a deep breath to calm their heart down. They even lost to Rapakha in a single move, but if they needed to fight against the one Rapakha spoke of¡­ They didn''t want to think about it.


    Kai also sucked the cold air as he could never expect that much difference between the protectors he fought and the one Rapakha spokeof. It just made the human so tiny.


    Even so, he also noticed another thing that made him curious. "Wait¡­ I think we once had something happening in that location¡­"


    "What are you talking about?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I am talking about the bloop sound. The original location was around that area before it was considered an ident because of the ice, but when we arrived at this, I couldn''t help but feel this incident linked to the one Elder Rapakha mentioned a moment ago."


    "!!!"

 Chapter 250 - The Truth Behind The Protectors

    "!!!" Carissa was the first one to react. She never expected Kai to have such a ridiculous idea. But on the other side, she couldn''t help but believe it was the case. "The first time it appeared, people diagnosed it as a sounding from an animal¡­ Butter, it changed and finalized with a different cause. Do you think it''s really the one?"


    "Yes. After listening to Elder Rapakha''s story, I can''t help but link many mysterious idents that couldn''t be exined by science to this." Kai frowned and exined his point.


    "Still, there is a missing piece in that story." Michelle stopped him. "A whale needs to go to the surface after a period of time, right? In that case, isn''t it weird since the bloop sound is never heard again after that¡­"


    "I think he is right." Rapakha suddenly replied with an unsure but thoughtful look. "She was capable of using magic, so she could stay underwater for a very long time. I don''t know how long she could stay, but I think a few decades should be easy for her."


    "Now that you mention it¡­ When the sound got recorded?" Kai looked down, pondering if he remembered such a detail.


    However, Carissa went one step ahead and opened the inte. "It was 1997."


    "Hmm¡­ The apocalypse day was in 2094, right?" Kai frowned.


    "Yes. If she could stay that long, I don''t see any reason she came to the surface and let out another bloop sound. Well, with almost a century, I think there were one or two that were not recorded..." Carissa nodded in agreement.


    "No. I think it was heard again in 2057," said Kai with an unsure tone.


    "Anyway, the bloop that you are talking about might be the sound of her bursting a portion of air underwater," Rapakha added.


    "It''s not that easy to believe, but there is no exnation that can describe it other than that. That bloop sound alone can be heard for five thousand kilometers¡­ If we consider water as an easier way for sound to travel¡­ It might be possible, especially with how the whale was described." Carissa scratched her head while reading the information.


    Kai facepalmed. "How can we fight something like that?"


    "¡­" No one said anything. They couldn''t even picture the whale''s power, let alone simting the fight in their head. Rapakha, on the other hand, sighed. "If you want to hear my conclusion from my experience¡­ You shouldn''t fight her if you want to live. I don''t know if she can be angered, but if she is truly angered, I think humanity will perish."


    Kai stroked his chin a few times, looking down with a thoughtful look. After a few seconds, he suddenly said in a low voice. "In that case, there might be more mythical creatures on Earth that have been hiding since Ancient Time."


    "You mean like Kraken and Megalodon?" Michelle nced at him.


    "Yeah."


    "What are these Kraken and Megalodon in your mouth? No one actually mentioned such a thing on this ind," Rapakha asked.


    "It''s an octopus and a shark basically," Kai exined in a very simple way.


    "Hmm." Rapakha paused for a moment and said. "I don''t know about the octopus, but I have heard a giant squid and a giant shark from her mouth. There are a few protectors in the sea and a few on thends¡­ I don''t know about the sky though."


    Kai thought for a moment. "Doesn''t this make them look like an ancestor of a species? You know there is a very big whale species, a giant squid, and a shark. If that is the case, doesn''t it mean the protectors are ancient creatures, not mythical creatures?"


    "I think you can consider them as both. No one knows their age, and no one knows the extent of their power. They are both ancient and mythical." Rapakha corrected Kai''s statement.


    "In that case, should we start giving them something like a virgin to the sea to pacify their anger?" Michelle grinned.


    Kai twitched his eyebrows and gently chopped her head. "Don''t joke around."


    Michelle stuck out her tongue and smiled.


    Kai sighed and shook his head with a smile. "Fine. Let''s talk about another thing¡­ Since Michelle is talking about sacrificing things to pacify them. How about we discuss the way to prevent them from moving? From the story, they didn''t really act this whole time, so what made them actually move?"


    "It seems your brain has be sharper¡­" Rapakha said with a happy tone. "Anyway, I don''t know much about it. But they have been acting from time to time in history."


    "Eh? Really?"


    "Yes."


    "Do you think why I, a human, decided to turn myself into a stone statue?"


    "A hobby? Just kidding."


    "Haha¡­ I wish it were a hobby, but it was not." Rapakha shook his head. "I traveled around the world before going to this ind as soon as I returned to my family. And the cause of it was due to the warning of the whale.


    "There were nearly a thousand of us that could use magic in the tribe. However, our tribe was a peace-loving tribe. We didn''t attack and made us prosper in our own way. It was at this time the protector deemed us to be dangerous to Earth.


    "In exchange for the whole tribe, all people, who could control their magic power, were obligated to seal themselves. At that time, we were transported to this ind. As soon as we reached the ind, we ended up agreeing to her request. Using my magic, we sealed ourselves with the volcanic ashes and became a stone statue that protected this ind.


    "At that time, I thought it was a threat from her. But it seemed not to be the case. Over time, I realized it was a premonition instead of a threat. It''s like she had seen the future of this and asked us to seal ourselves to protect our tribe in the future.


    "Although the tribe had their memory erased and the record deleted, the moment the so-called apocalypse came, I unsealed this body of mine and summoned all of my brothers and sisters to protect this ind from magical beasts.


    "We managed to protect a majority of them, but she then came again, asking her to take them away to the bottom of the sea, so she could protect them. I agreed to her request again because I thought it was a good choice. She then swept this ind, grasping every single human and magical beast''s corpses before submerging again." Rapakha closed his eyes, ending his story.


    "¡­" Kai and the others fell into silence as if they just heard something amazing. Kai felt something amiss in thest few sentences, so he asked. "In that case, for what reasons did you agree?"


    "It''s simple. First, my tribe will be able to live and reproduce in that ce, and she will raise them to be the protector. Second, with my tribe knowing about me and the others, your leader will surely extract this information with any means necessary. Isn''t that right?"


    "Ipletely agree." Kai nodded with a solemn expression. "Though I don''t know about the first reason."


    "If you know more about the protectors, I doubt you will reject it. Well, we, humans, have our own thoughts and views over this matter, so I won''t impose my ideal. But I agreed to the first reason, and I can''t say anything more about it." Rapakha shook his head in disappointment.


    "I understand." Kai nodded before proceeding to the next question. "What do you mean by them appearing a few times?"


    "Don''t you think there are many weird ces on Earth? The ones that can''t be exined by science?" Rapakha smiled.


    "!!!" Everyone widened their eyes in amazement.


    "Pyramid, gigantic structures, and so on. I believe you are familiar with these terms, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Well, the advancement of humanity for the past few centuries was brought by what you called technology. However, it was different in the past. The advancement was brought by magic power. The city then started to flourish, and knowledge becamemon.


    "At that time, civilization would surely grow¡­ To the point it would endanger Earth with its progress. With your technology, you should know many civilizations that flourished suddenly turned into a wastnd without apparent reason, right?" Rapakha smiled.


    "There were many civilizations like that¡­" Kai confirmed his words with disbelief. "The scientist never knew how they could have such advanced knowledge and cultures despite being traditional¡­ If we assimted this knowledge to those legends¡­"


    ''Everything was real.'' This thought appeared in every person in this room. They never expected that magic power gave birth to many legends around the world.


    "There is not much I can talk about. However, there are two things that I can tell you. First, the protectors have been protecting the Earth from destroying itself due to its inhabitants all around the world even until now. However, these actions only destroyed a single tribe they deemed dangerous.


    "There was one time they turned the world into chaos like this to destroy a whole civilization. I don''t know which civilization it was since I assumed everything about it had been erased¡­ But I am sure it was a mighty civilization.


    "And the ce where it started was a ce called goli¡­tepe¡­? I forgot its name."


    Carissa instinctively searched it on the inte and somehow got autocorrected by the search engine. "Do you mean Gobekli Tepe?"


    "Yes. That''s the name."


    "Oh¡­ How I like the search engine''s autocorrect." Kai shrugged while joking.


    "It was an altar that became the ce where the Protector used to influence the whole world. And as you could expect from the Protectors. The moment it came, a whole world turned into chaos and the civilization overturned.


    "And I actually praised your civilization because you could still retain a portion of humanity and adapt to the new world. And I don''t think I need to tell you about the reason why the Protector decided to overturn the whole world again, right?" Rapakha narrowed his eyes.

 Chapter 251 - Kais Mind

    "Yes. Pollution was the problem that almost destroyed the whole world. And now that I think about it, it''s only because of the magic power that the Earth is slowly restored." Kai nodded in agreement.


    "Still, Gobekli Tepe is in Turkey. It''s a bit hard to go there because it''s still an uncharted area, filled with magical beasts." Michelle thought for a moment.


    "And what kind of civilization required the protectors to do something like that?" Sofia furrowed her eyebrows.


    "True. Maybe we can research everything first before deciding." Kai nodded and stopped them from thinking any further. It would be best to listen to what Rapakha had to say first.


    "I don''t have anything to say. Well, from my experience in meeting the Protector two times, I can say that although she acted like she was looking down on me, she had the power and wisdom to do so. And she even calcted my own benefit like this one." Rapakha shrugged.


    "If her power were like you described, it would be normal to act that way. Still, knowing that she acted on behalf of the Earth¡­ As long as we know what is good for Earth and what is not, I think we have no problem?" Kai narrowed his eyes, looking at Rapakha for confirmation.


    "Yes. You don''t need to think that hard because it''s as simple as that. Everyone is the key, but they usually have a golden key¡­ And it''s you." Rapakha smiled. "Have you heard the Earth''s crying voice?"


    "What do you mean by that? All the protectors that I have seen only told me about that line, but they never gave me a single clue or whatsoever. What is this crying voice all of you talking about? But since you are using it, it also means that you knew about it, not from them. Instead, it muste from the whale¡­ If that is the case, is there any difference between the old and the new protectors in terms of purposes?"


    Rapakha didn''t say anything. He simply looked at Kai with a solemn expression. "The ultimate goal is the same. But I think the way they handle it is different. Just like how a kid wants to unt their power and gather achievement¡­ I think they can be considered this type."


    "What?!" Kai gritted his teeth. "So, you are telling me they acted that way just because of something stupid?"


    "I think you are the same. Tell me, what is your goal, and how do you achieve it?" Rapakha narrowed his eyes.


    "I¡­ I just wanted to be a powerful person with influence, so I can protect my family." Kai paused for a moment. "I onlypleted mission after mission they threw at me¡­ I see. I think I am a hypocrite if you see it this way."


    "Yes. They do the same. They want to do it to protect the Earth. And they are thinking about the ways to do that, only to arrive at this type of conclusion. I don''t say you are a hypocrite, but I can say you need to see it from another point of view.


    "On one side, you might be a rising hero, but on the other side, you might be a deadly weapon." Rapakha nodded with a thoughtful look.


    "Then, am I a deadly weapon to them? That''s why they want to eliminate me?"


    "No. Everyone is a deadly weapon that can do either bad or good to Earth. While you¡­ You can listen to almost everything to the point you can be the easiest person to convince. If you are thinking yourself a tough nut to crack, you better think of it from another way.


    "Anyway, you are you. As much as I want to say everything, I shouldn''t do that, lest I also convince or make you do something because of my ideal. After all, everything I said came from my personal experience, view, and interpretation.


    "You are still a white canvas. Whether you want to be painted ck, blue, red, or any other colors¡­ It will depend on yourself. I am here just to provide the brush." Rapakha smiled.


    "I¡­" Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds and sighed. "I am sorry for my earlier outburst."


    "It''s fine. Everything has two sides. I like your smart brain, but I also don''t like it at the same time. On one hand, it can let you understand many things easily. On the other hand, you can overthink it and lead you to your own misunderstanding.


    "That''s why I have one thing that I need to say no matter what. Your choice will never be wrong because there is simply no right and wrong. That''s why you shouldn''t let anything or anyone cloud your eyes. You shall walk in the path you believe in. That is enough." Rapakha gently smiled.


    Kai, in fact, was wiser than him when he was young. However, he was also afraid that someone used his character to convince him.


    Kai closed his eyes for a minute, absorbing Rapakha''s every word. He didn''t know why, but there was a sudden weight in his heart that gradually lifted up when he tried to understand his word. Many wanted to say something at this point, but they forced themselves to stay silent, letting Kai fix his issue first.


    It was only after three minutes that Kai slowly opened his eyes. He let out a long breath and made a solemn face. "It looks like my sense of urgency is a bit rushing me and preventing me from taking the best action. Thank you very much."


    Sofia gasped when she saw Kai''s ze. His ze looked like an unsettled me that red up continuously just a moment ago. However, it transformed into a new form. The me wasn''t as zing as before, but it looked more tenacious and calm as if it was an undying fire.


    Rapakha smiled. "Don''t say it like that. It''s nice to be like that when you are young, but since you have matured up a little bit, you may want to take a look at everything around you from your new perspective."


    "Yes. I will." Kai nodded. "By the way, I want to ask whether I will be alright after killing a few protectors¡­ Although they were not as strong as the previous generation, they were still nheless a Protector."


    "It''s fine. Protectors shouldn''t attack humans in the normal case. Since they are stepping up their game, they need to bear the consequences themselves if something happened." Rapakha nodded.


    "I understand." Kai let out a breath of relief. "In that case, I will do whatever I can for now."


    "Good. Since we have finished discussing you, I will then move on." Rapakha paused for a moment. "It''s about a ce where I trained my magic."


    "You didn''t train your magic inside the tribe?"


    "No. I will be just a mediocre warrior in that case. As I said, I traveled around the world in the past and met with different kinds of people. It was an amazing experience if I say so myself¡­ Anyway, there was once a tribe that didn''t live like normal people.


    "Instead, they were living in a separate space. Of course, even though I said it like that, it was still inside this world. In any case, they wielded weird magic called Mystic, and that was the ce I learned many things about this world." Rapakha closed his eyes with a smile.


    "A separate space?" Kai twitched his eyebrows. "That is¡­"


    "I know. It''s not logical in your mind, but I will tell you about Mystic first." Rapakha stopped him and continued. "Mystic is another form of magic, only for the chosen ones. This is the concept that the protector uses. Instead of using your own magic and throwing it to your opponent, you are using your magic to manipte your surroundings."


    "It might not be that different from your magic, but when you go deeper into this field, you can learn to manage your magic power more efficiently while making a more powerful magic." Rapakha smiled.


    "I see¡­ Mystic huh¡­ Now that I think about it, why would Elder use magic instead of Mystic? Does Elder deliberately change it just to match our terms?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "You are bing sharper, aren''t you?" Rapakha was satisfied with Kai''s growth. "Yes. I was matching your terminology after what I learned from those people that came to this ind and killed the magical beasts on this ind."


    "Of course, what I used earlier was thebination of magic and mystic. With my magic, I summoned a stone wall like this while I changed its characteristic with my Mystic. Unfortunately, I can''t teach you anything about Mystic.


    "If you want to learn it, you need to go to that ce and meet the people there. The ne that I gave you was what they gave me. They told me to give it to the person with an extraordinary hearing. Unlike normal people, you can listen to something that we can''t hear¡­ Still, I am also confused as to why such a person will be so important.


    "In any case, everyone has the chance to change the world. A person with a special ability just has more chances in doing it, so don''t lose heart." Rapakha paused for a moment. "If you are going there, the ne will surely react.


    "Unfortunately, I can''t give you the location. They said if you were fated toe, you woulde as long as you search about it. If you were not fated, then please pass it down to someone who has it in the future, so the history won''t be lost. That''s their message." Rapakha finished his exnation with a long sigh.


    Kai fell into deep thought. Since they didn''t know anything about this ce, he could only search blindly. In that case, there was only one thing that he could do for the time being. He nodded and thanked Rapakha. "I understand. I will do so."

 Chapter 252 - Fight

    "Now that I have conveyed everything that I want, and I can convey. If you still want to ask another question, you can ask me."


    Kai and the others fell into silence.


    "If¡­" Kai opened his mouth and hesitated for a few seconds. "If I¡­ If I do nothing about this, will the other side continue opposing us?"


    At first nce, there seemed to be only one path for him to follow, but since Rapakha told him to do whatever he deemed to be right, he needed to ask this question.


    "It''s a good question." Rapakha smiled before the next word disappointed them. "Unfortunately, I don''t have the answer with me. Just like I can''t predict your future path, I can''t say anything about their actions as well."


    "Then, I would like to ask Elder''s opinion. If Elder is in their ce, will Elder keep chasing me?"


    "I will," Rapakha answered mysteriously. Even so, his sound filled with confidence, making Kai hesitate once again.


    "Why?" Kai was confused.


    "I don''t know." Rapakha shook his head. "Even I don''t know the answer. However, I can tell you that the answer you seek is the answer to their question."


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds and asked. "Earth''s crying voice¡­"


    "Yes. I don''t know what the answer is, but I am sure they won''t stop until you give your answer." Rapakha''s tone turned grim.


    "Doesn''t a question like this is a simple answer between yes or no?" Kai asked again before falling into deep thought. "I guess¡­ It''s not."


    Rapakha didn''t say anything. He simply stared at Kai, who slowly looked up.


    "In that case, are they going to harm my family?"


    "With any means necessary."


    "Then it''s fine if I consider them as my enemies, right?"


    "Yes or no. Those who want to harm you are the enemies. If you let your anger go to those unrted, you will need to fix the problems until the end of your life. Of course, only a fool will tell you that he/she is plotting against you. So, you can''t drop your guard either. However, I can tell you that unless it''s absolutely necessary, they won''t do things like that."


    Kai thought for a moment. "I understand."


    "Then, I think it''s time for us to go to thest thing I want to do." Rapakha nodded with a solemn expression while ncing at all people except Carissa.


    The seven didn''t know what he was thinking, so they became a bit tense when the gaze was on them. They were wondering what he wanted to do since Tasha seemed to be a part of this as well.


    "What is it?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, and his expression turned grim.


    "I want all of you to fight me. Of course, the olddy there is not included." Rapakhaughed. "I want to see all of your power."


    "¡­" They widened their eyes and blinked a few times. Kai was the first to ask. "Do you mean you want to fight me, Tasha, Michelle, Ayaka, Sofia, Evan, and Isabelle¡­ Us seven? I think that is a bit¡­"


    Kai hesitated to ept this. He wasn''t going to say it was fair. In fact, it was very unfair. They had no doubt they would lose even if Rapakha attacked them alone. Hence, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.


    Rapakha also understood his worry and assured him. "I will be fighting with a mud doll of mine, and I promise I only fight you with my Stone Creation Magic, not my Space Magic. How about it? Don''t you want to see my strength and realize the gap between us? I think seven of you won''t be depressed even if you lose. Instead, it will give you more motivation to improve yourself, so I am going to bully you."


    "¡­ I think thest sentence is unnecessary." Kai twitched his eyebrows. "Still, I need others'' opinions first."


    "I am fine with it. I also want to see the progress of my training." Michelle nodded with a serious expression.


    "Since he is not going to use his Space Magic, I am going as well." Tasha agreed. "Besides, I am curious to see how a person fights without Space Magic. Even though my other magic is Lightning while his is Stone¡­ I think I will learn a lot in this fight."


    "I¡­ I also want to fight him." Ayaka raised her hand. "Isn''t this like how we first fought where I lost miserably? I wonder how much I can fare if I don''t underestimate someone together with this gap."


    "Well, I can only heal you, so I will probably not do anything in this fight." Evan shrugged.


    "Fufu¡­ Fighting someone with this fierce ze, I am fired up." Sofia grinned. Not only would she get so much knowledge and experience from this person, which would benefit the EU Base, she could also satisfy her own curiosity.


    "Since everyone wants to do it, I don''t mind." Isabelle agreed without saying anything more. It seemed she was pretty eager to do it.


    Kai scratched his head and sighed. "There you have it."


    "Boy, you haven''t agreed¡­" Rapakha reminded him.


    "Why are you saying it like you actually want to fight me the most?" Kai twitched his eyebrows and made a weird smile.


    "Of course. I want to beat you up." Rapakha didn''t bother to hide it.


    "¡­" Kai didn''t know how to answer this.


    "It''s simply my way to show my love. After all, I am a bit jealous of your hearing ability. Unlike you, they didn''t put any particr interest in me. Only one protector seemed to notice my existence."


    "I don''t want this attention. You can take it." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Haha¡­ That is not possible. Now your answer?"


    "Yes. I agree with the fight." Kai scratched his head. "Anyway, it will be a good opportunity to learn many things before the big fight."


    Kai nced at Michelle, who smiled at him. She said, "Fair enough. S rank magical beast is not easy after all, especially one with poison."


    "Hoo¡­ Poison, eh?" Rapakha smirked. "Magical Beasts are supposed to have a hard body, and since this one also has a poison¡­ It''s going to be a troublesome opponent. How about this? We are going to add a condition. We can fight for a few rounds, but the moment you are hit, you are out."


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting him to amodate them this much. However, he saw the matter again and realized he just wanted to make it hard for them. The Protectors had a hard body along with powerful magic and strength like Rapakha even though they had different magic.


    On the other hand, if he put another condition such as poison, the intensity would increase far higher.


    Kai had no reason to refuse this offer even though he could already sense the pain. The others seemed to have agreed with this additional condition, so Kai said, "Thank you for your guidance."


    Rapakha nodded. "You guys can have some preparations for an hour. Since the sun is about to set, we are going to fight when it''s dark. Don''t worry, the little girl should be able to light it up with her fire magic, right? And I think it will be advantageous to the Shadow Girl."


    Ayaka and Michelle exchanged looks and nodded.


    Rapakha then nced at Carissa. "You can''t watch our fight."


    "Why?" Obviously, it was normal for Carissa to ask this question. However, she soon regretted it, especially when she saw a sly smile on his face. It was at this moment she realized she had been had. She mmed the table and rose from her seat. "I am leaving."


    The condition for her to stay was to not ask any questions. And remembering how Rapakha said this fight to be thest event, it meant that the session had yet to be over. Since she asked a question, albeit unintentionally, she needed to pay the price as well.


    Without saying anything, Carissa left the house and flew toward the base. Since she was flying, it took her only a few minutes before arriving at the base.


    Meanwhile, Rapakha summoned a magic circle as the ground rose and slowly formed a human body.


    ''This must be the doll that will be fighting us.'' Everyone thought. The doll itself looked like a middle-aged man with a perfect body. Its muscles told them it was a powerful fighter.


    "This is me when I was thirty years old." Rapakha introduced the doll before he closed his eyes and magic power fluctuated. Soon, the doll gradually moved its body. Although it couldn''t blink its eyes, it had no problem in moving its mouth and the rest of the body.


    The stone statue then became standstill as if there was no life in there anymore. On the other hand, the y doll walked outside the house and waved his hand, telling them to follow him.


    However, when everyone left the house, Rapakha had found his arena and pointed his finger toward a certain in, a bit farther from the house.


    He then ran before a magic circle appeared on the ground. The moment he stepped on it, the ground rose andunched him to the sky.


    "Don''t mind me. I am stretching my body since I am a bit stiff with that stone." Rapakhaughed. When he was about to reach the destination, he created another magic circle on the ground, and a stone pole rose to match his height.


    "Impossible. We are in the mountain, and with that speed, the stone might copse or his body will get hurt." Kai widened his eyes before he saw something startling.


    The stone pole suddenly became stic and curved to the point its tip almost touched the ground. That way, Rapakha managed tond safely without suffering any damage.


    He waved his hand again, telling them toe here. "This is our arena."

 Chapter 253 - Plan For The Battle

    "This is our arena."


    "¡­" Everyone couldn''t listen to a single thing due to the distance, while Kai stayed silent because he was still surprised by how flexible he was in using his magic. At first, he thought Rapakha would run or ask Tasha to teleport him together due to the distance. And yet, he shattered his expectation right off the bat.


    In the end, the group stared at Kai, wondering what they needed to do and what he was talking about.


    Kai let out a sigh and said, "It''s fine. Teleport us there."


    Tasha nodded, snapped her finger and created a Teleportation Magic Circle, and the group disappeared.


    Rapakha lowered his vision and saw Kai appear first, followed by the others. "If you want to stretch your body or think about a strategy to beat me, you can do it now. I will see what kind of trick you are trying to throw at me."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Follow me."


    They walked behind Kai before watching him create a Sound Instion Magic and shaped it into a half-sphere. At the same time, he also covered the ground with it for perfect istion. Although Rapakha didn''t confirm or say it himself, Kai believed Rapakha could listen to everything through the ground. Whether he could do it in the form of a y doll or not, it wouldn''t matter.


    "So, what is our strategy?" Kai let out another sigh and asked.


    However, the answer came in the form of staring, specifically from all of them.


    "Come on. Don''t rely on me too much. I am also stressed out regarding this matter. Listening to so much information at once with each of them being surprising¡­" Kai shrugged andined.


    "I am nning to go all out from the start. He is not someone we can beat if we don''t go all out." Michelle said mysteriously as if she had a trump card.


    "Fair enough. He also didn''t limit my Space Magic, so I think I can use it. I don''t know if it is alright to teleport him to the sky though." Tasha nodded. "As for my lightning¡­ I will be participating actively in this fight instead of supporting you like my usual role."


    Kai nodded. Even though it was a test from Rapakha, Kai felt something would go wrong if Tasha used her Space Magic, especially with Sofia in the group. As for Isabelle and Evan, it wasn''t like he didn''t trust them. He simply thought it was better for fewer people to know about Tasha''s real Space Magic.


    Ayaka, on the other hand, agreed and said one strong suit to him. "I am ready to make some explosions, whether it''s Magic Bomb or Scarlet Explosion. If needed to be, I am ready to wield my spear and fend him off."


    Finally, Evan, thest person in Lion Group, said. "I will be watching all of you from a distance. If you need me to heal someone, just teleport them to my position. Though, I believe he is going to take me out first."


    "I will be returning to that hill, helping you guys from above there. I don''t know if he will go there personally, but I think I will be taken out before Evan," Isabelle added right after Evan finished.


    "As for me¡­ I don''t really know my role in this battle. I can try to support you with my ice, but its strength is limited, especially with a strong opponent like him. In addition, my exoskeleton probably can''t hold a candle against him¡­ But I will try." Sofia was a bit more passive in a fight like this. She realized her strength and weakness and didn''t make an empty promise.


    Kai thought for a moment and decided after listening to them. "Evan will be at the same ce as Isabelle. It''s not that hard to teleport someone to that hill, and if he indeed attacks both of you first, you two should be able to hold out for a few seconds until help arrives. Oh, wait. Why don''t we use the ce near that stone house? He certainly won''t destroy that ce, will he?"


    "Ah!" The group was surprised as they thought it wasn''t a bad idea. With how Rapakha talked and acted, the ce where he stayed would be safe, especially with the Stone Statue around them. In fact, they could even bring that stone statue and make it their shield.


    Isabelle and Evan exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. "Alright. Our ce has been decided. You might want to ask him first though."


    Kai nodded mysteriously. He understood their concern because Rapakha might use that ce as a reason for him to beat them. After all, he said it himself that they shouldn''t do anything to anger the protector and needed to know what kind of thing would make them angry.


    Kai nned to ask him with a little trick to camouge his intention. After deciding what to ask, he moved on to the others. "Michelle and I will go to the front as usual while Tasha and Ayaka will not be that far from us to support. You two probably need to fight as well, but Ayaka can fight while Tasha can teleport to make a distance."


    The three girls nodded, having no problem with the n. Only Sofia''s position remained undecided.


    Even Kai needed time to think where he should ce her until a certain dangerous thought shed in his mind.


    "Sofia¡­ I need you to y a bit of a dangerous role for me. Are you up to it? If not, I will go the usual way and have you be support as well."


    Sofia looked down and fell into deep thought.


    "How is it?" Kai tilted his head because Sofia had yet to reply to him after one minute, thinking she would probably reject the idea.


    Different from his expectation, Sofia agreed to his request. "Alright. Elder Rapakha will surely not kill anyone here anyway, and even if he wants to kill somebody, he/she won''t be able to fight back. In that case, I will take advantage of that and y a dangerous role. And since it''s dangerous, it''s important, right?"


    "You will be a bait though." Kai answered with a poker face.


    "Wha¡ª?!" She blinked, shaking her head. "What?"


    Kai scratched his head, embarrassed. "Listen to me first."


    "Alright." Sofia pouted as if she just got betrayed.


    "I want you to go further away than Ayaka and Tasha, supporting us from the back."


    "Now I see¡­" Sofia instantly realized his n. "You want me to stay alone, so Elder Rapakha will think of me as someone who can be taken out instantly, right?"


    "Basically, yes."


    "Still, he is not someone who will fall for something like this." Sofia furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I know. Even so, having you in that position will allow us to do a few things. First, you can start creating terrain that will give us an advantage. And I bet he is going to use that wall again to stop my attack. If we seed in creating a terrain that restricts him from using the ground, I think we have a chance of beating him."


    "I doubt that is possible, but I will try." Sofia nodded.


    "Thank you." Kai slightly bowed his head and continued. "The second thing you can do is to focus on protecting Michelle or me. Rapakha might slowly get agitated by the fact that his attack can''t connect because of you. And if he indeed goes toward you, we will proceed with the original n.


    "You shall hold him for a few seconds with your exoskeleton. Michelle and I will go toward your ce at the fastest speed. At the same time, I want Ayaka to nt as many magic bombs as possible. Make them explode if you feel it''s right."


    "Alright then." Sofia didn''t say another word andplied after knowing the extent of her role.


    "Then I think it''s time to start. Do any of you need any preparations?" Kai asked for onest time.


    To everyone''s surprise, Michelle suddenly rose and created a ck Magic Circle beneath her feet. The dark magic power started flowing before her shadow gradually shrank.


    However, Kai already knew this magic because he became her sparring partner a long time ago. This was¡­


    "Shadow Possession!" Michelle uttered the name of her magic. It turned out that her shadow didn''t actually shrink. Instead, it was absorbed by the magic circle before it assimted the shadow and integrated it with Michelle''s body.


    The ck rose pattern slowly formed on her body, starting from the feet to her face. Unlike the feet and hands, the body pattern wasn''t visible. Yet, her looks and her aura changed drastically.


    On her face, there was a single ck rose formed under her right eyes as if it was a tattoo.


    Although he had seen this a few times, Kai still couldn''t help butment, "You look like a gangster that covers her body with tattoos."


    "Haha¡­ You still say it even though you like it." Michelle made a smug smile.


    Kai shrugged and decided to exin it. "Since she can''t enhance her strength in the day, she covers herself in the darkness¡­Which is her shadow. And I am sure that she is going to be stronger than a normal power-up even in the dark."


    "Yes. I am hiding this for our fight against the S rank magical beast, but I think I can power up this technique once more before the battle. That''s why I choose to use it now." Michelle nodded.


    The rest stared at her for a few seconds before nodding their heads.


    Kai then continued, "Let''s¡ª"


    Suddenly, Rapakha pped his hand even though they were still talking.


    *Rumble!*

 Chapter 254 - Fighting Rapakha

    *Rumble!*


    Kai and the others were startled by this sudden move as they took out their weapons and aimed it toward Rapakha. However, it turned out to be their misunderstanding. Because the sky had turned dark, Rapakha thought it would be nice to have a few giant pirs, so Ayaka could torch it.


    When Rapakha saw their flustered expressions, he simply smiled, knowing that Kai had yet to undo the Sound Instion Magic.


    Kai nced at his teammates, noticing they didn''t have any more preparations to be done and opened the Sound Instion Magic.


    "We are done."


    Ayaka then didn''t wait for Kai to say it and headed toward the closest pir. She scanned it first, wondering which part she could torch.


    Rapakha noticed the confusion and said, "You can burn the whole pir. I have imbued my magic power to that pir, so it''s burnable. Each fight willst thirty minutes, which is the time the me needs to burn the pir. Don''t worry about the grass as well. The fire won''t affect them."


    Kai nodded and asked. "So, are we going to fight here? I don''t know if you already realize it or not, but a few of my friends aren''t ones that fight in a close quarter."


    "It''s fine. They can go wherever they want. I assure you there is no magical beast roaming around here, including the sea and the flying beast. If you want to use my stone statue to protect them, you can do it. I won''t mind."


    "¡­" Kai slightly clenched his fist and tried to act like he wasn''t surprised. The others did the same, but as expected, their acts weren''t as good as him, so Rapakha picked it up and grinned. "I see. You are nning to do that. Never mind. You can do it as I say. Even if you don''t do that, I won''t attack them since those who are in the arena are my targets."


    Kai narrowed his eyes, wondering how much lie mixed inside it.


    "Anyway, you will know it in the battle, so let''s go." Rapakha wanted them to start when he saw Ayaka had lit up all the pirs.


    It turned out that the pirs were really unique. They could brighten a huge area like res that the military used to light up the dark.


    In this case, they wouldn''t have a problem in their sight with this darkness.


    "Isabelle¡­ I don''t think there is a problem for you to shoot with this light, right?"


    "Yes. Besides, I will be protected by the darkness, so I will do everything I can to help you." Isabelle nodded.


    "Alright. Evan is better to hold some items that can shine, so we know your location and teleport someone injured."


    "I will handle that." Evan stopped him, knowing what he needed to do.


    "That is good then. If everyone is ready, let''s start." Kai raised his hand andmanded.


    The group then dispersed while Isabelle brought Evan to the hill with barely any light. After confirming they had arrived, Kai raised his sword, pointing at Rapakha.


    "Good! Come!" Rapakha smirked.


    The moment that word came out of his mouth, Kai, Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka charged toward Rapakha.


    However, what they got was nothing but traps installed on the ground. A few magic circles appeared on the ground the moment they stepped on it, and the ground raised.


    "!!!" Four of them realized it was a bit toote, and the groundunched them to the sky¡­ Albeit, they managed to react only after a few meters in the air.


    Kai used his Sound st to kill the momentum andunch him back to the ground. Tasha teleported herself back to the ground. Michelle summoned her shadow again and pulled her back to the side instead of letting the ground throw her to the air, while Ayaka used her Fire Wing to fly and descend.


    "Nice reaction." Rapakha smirked. "At first, I am going to bully you a bit if you fall into that trap. Besides, all of you looked too focused. I noticed it when I couldn''t listen to your conversation or called all of you. That''s why I knew there must be some magic that prevented sound from going out.


    "Since that was the case, I nted a few traps on the way. Well, that is your homework for now. I know that you are discussing your n, but each of you needs to watch each other back. From the looks of it, only Kai, Michelle, and Sofia are watching continuously. Hence, I am using your line of sight to create a few traps in that blind spot.


    "You can round up, but your eyes still need to be sharp. Or you can turn around and talk while facing each other''s back, so your field of vision bes wider. Anyway, that is for you to fix. Continuer!"


    The group never expected that Rapakha would actually give them an actual lecture instead of a real fight. No, it might be a real fight, but he just casually pointed out the mistakes they made.


    With this, Kai became even more eager to fight this person. Not only would he get a precious experience, but he would also know if his fighting style had ws or not in the eyes of an experienced person like Rapakha.


    "Proceed swiftly but with caution," Kai instructed and charged at him again with the same speed. However, he didn''t forget to be vignt against any traps that would appear at any moment.


    Rapakha didn''t do anything after this, confusing Kai and making him wonder if he had a trap in this ce. And in the blink of an eye, Kai had arrived not far from him.


    "Wall." Rapakha lifted his index finger a little bit, and the same exact wall as Nichs''s appeared. And when he saw the enhancement on the wall, he figured out that it would be the super stic wall.


    Kai involuntarily smiled as he shed his Vibration Sword forward.


    *Zap!*


    The sword went in and cut the wall like it was butter, allowing Kai to sh the wall into two. Without this wall, Rapakha wouldn''t be able to do anything¡­ Or so he thought.


    It was at this time Rapakha made his move by raising his hand. As the magic circle appeared, the smaller rocks on the ground flew toward his hand and attached themselves there as if it was a ma, covering his hand and lower arm. After that, Rapakha threw that fist at Kai.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and activated his exoskeleton. With the strength of one thousand, he struck this stone, trying to either cut it or smash it.


    Unfortunately, Rapakha showed them what it meant to be hard and strong.


    *ng!*


    Kai expected that the Vibration Sword could cut it, but he could only see it as a shing sound with very hard rock to the point it was simr to the protectors'' skin.


    At the same time, Rapakha suddenly connected that stone arm into the ground and made it bigger to blow Kai away.


    "!!!" As soon as he found out what he wanted to do, Kai immediately used his Sound st and leaped above him before throwing another sh to the back of his head.


    Rapakha could easily destroy this strike, but he suddenly sensed another presence emerging from the darkness.


    "Oh, you are pretty fast." Rapakha nodded at Michelle, who had gone faster and stronger than the one in thest battle, but she was surprised by Rapakha''s nonchnt attitude.


    She was about to strike him together with Kai to make him use his two hands, but another magic circle appeared next to Michelle.


    "I know what you are nning, but I have another arm." Rapakha smiled as he grabbed Kai''s sword and threw him away while summoning a giant stone arm and punched Michelle.


    "Kh!" Michelle immediately protected herself with the sword and flew away due to the momentum from the hand. Kai was basically the same.


    It was at this time, Isabelle and Tasha released their shots the same time.


    Rapakha didn''t hesitate and used his main hand that was free this whole time, covering it with rock and sting the arrows and bullets with a single wave of his hand.


    Seeing how their attacks failed, Ayaka decided to go in, so Rapakha didn''t chase her teammates before they reorganized themselves.


    Rapakha looked at her and swept her with the same hand, trying to blow her away.


    Ayaka realized this and shifted her feet to gain more momentum than she had right now. In addition to the weight of her spear, Ayaka struck that hand, pushing it back.


    "Ho?! Such a powerful attack." Rapakha slightly widened his eyes in amazement before he summoned the same arm that punched Michelle. "How about this one?"


    Ayaka realized that she couldn''t handle this, nor she could avoid it. That was why she spun the spear and struck the hand with the spear''s butt. This movement allowed Ayaka to soften the impact with arger contact area and used the momentum to push her away, creating the distance between the two.


    "What good hand coordination, and the choice of your moves are great. It seems you have been taught by someone with good skills, but seeing how it''s simr to how that guy moves, I guess it''s the same person¡­" Rapakha smiled before raising his hand and created a hard wall to his left.


    Ayaka was stunned. She never expected that Rapakha would be able to see through the style in just a nce. However, Ayaka had another trick up in her sleeve as a magic circle appeared on the ground, specifically thest ce where she stepped to boost her momentum.


    "Magic Bomb Release!"


    Ayaka channeled a bit more magic power, and the magic circle exploded.

 Chapter 255 - Fighting Rapakha Part 2

    *Boom!*


    The explosion immediately engulfed Rapakha, scorching him inside an intense heat. Yet Kai could hear a distortion of the sound as if it was directed by something behind that fire and smoke.


    "He is perfectly fine¡­" Kai shouted, realizing that Rapakha must have used something to block the explosion. That was why the sound was directed to the left and right instead of passing his body.


    "What a hearing¡­" Rapakha smiled as his figure was revealed when the smoke was blown away by the wind. However, they found a half wall in which the other half had fallen to the ground. It might be due to the strong st, but it was still surprising to see Rapakha''s defense shattered like this.


    ''We still have a chance¡­'' Kai thought as hemanded. "Attack him again!"


    As soon as he uttered those words, Kai leaped toward him with both swords in his hand.


    "Freezing Field!" Suddenly, Sofia released her magic, freezing the ground around them to surround Rapakha. However, she did this to stop Rapakha from using the ground as well since she thought he couldn''t use his magic unless he touched the ground.


    Little did she know that it was just her misunderstanding his magic. The moment Rapakha saw this, he raised his hands and punched the ground, shattering the ice before throwing another strike with his fist that had been covered with rock.


    This time, the strength was far extraordinary and shattered the entire field of ice.


    It was at this time, Kai arrived in front of him, waving his two swords.


    Rapakha only smiled as another magic circle appeared on the ground in front of him, where Kai would step on it within a second.


    "So fast!" Kai thought as he gritted his teeth and shifted his right foot a little bit to get a good footing, so he could stop his momentum and change direction.


    Rapakha smirked as if his n just seeded and threw a punch toward Kai.


    Having no bnce himself, Kai parried that punch with his sword, but because he decided to stop earlier, he got blown away instead.


    It was at this time Kai realized that Rapakha just made a fake move. The magic circle beneath his feet was nothing but a distraction. ''He believed I would stop and used that chance?''


    "So, you have realized it, but it''s toote." Rapakha grinned before he raised both hands to the side where Michelle and Ayaka appeared to follow up Kai''s attack.


    "Shadow sh."


    "Fire Thrust."


    Michelle''s Shadow sh was no longer a surprising move. However, Ayaka seemed to have mastered new magic.


    The magic circle appeared on her spear''s tip before it shot out a torrential me. She simply used the same concept of her ''res'' to create a torrential fire to increase its prating power, but this one had more speed and precision.


    Rapakha covered his two hands with stones and stopped the two attacks with a single grab that shattered both attacks.


    "!!!" He also felt another two iing attacks from two different directions. He raised one hand toward Isabelle''s original location while raising his off hand to grab Tasha''s arrow in another direction.


    However, due to Ayaka''s and Michelle''s previous attacks, he got himself in an awkward position. As a result¡­


    *Bam!*


    He managed to fend off Tasha''s attack, but his other arm was getting pushed back by the bulleting from Isabelle. When he nced at the bullet, he realized it was not a normal attack like the previous one. Instead, it was a full-fledged magic attack.


    Because of that, Rapakha had his bnce thrown.


    Kai used this chance to make his move.


    Rapakha nced at him and thought. ''I can still regain my bnce before he arr¡ª!''


    He was dumbstruck when he saw a magic circle in Kai''s right foot.


    "Sound st!" Kai stepped on it, and the magic circleunched him to Rapakha. Using this chance, Kai struck Rapakha.


    Although his bnce was off, Rapakha still managed to react and protected his body with that stone arm.


    *ng!*


    Just like before, the stone was very hard to the point it looked like metal. However, Kai saw a glimmer of hope that radiated from the fact that his sword managed to cut half of the stone that covered his arm. Using this chance, he pushed the sword even further with his strength.


    Rapakha nced on his right and summoned another giant arm, punching Kai with this.


    However, Kai also created a magic circle before bending his body a little. His eyes watched how the stone arm almost hit him on the face, but luckily, it passed above him.


    "As expected¡­ The arm might be powerful and hard to stop from head-on, but it seems it''s not strong against redirecting. Even my Sound st could redirect it a bit." Kai smiled before trying toplete his swing.


    "Yes. That is if you don''t underestimate me, but you are still even now." Rapakha smirked.


    "!!!" Kai suddenly heard a loud voiceing from the opposite direction and found another arming toward him.


    "Shadow sh."


    "Fire Thrust."


    Michelle and Ayaka appeared again, stopping the hand with their magic.


    "Freezing Field." Sofia didn''t want to lose and freeze the ground again, separating him from the ground.


    Kai''s eyes shed, knowing this would be the first chance for them to cut down his arm.


    "That''s why I am saying you are still underestimating me." Rapakha mysteriously grinned as he swiftly moved his other hand to strike Kai.


    Kai nced at it and summoned another Sound st, coupled with a full swing from his other hand. The moment it struck the hand, Kai felt that the hand was stopped, but before he realized it, he suddenly felt a sharp paining from his abdomen and flew away.


    "What?!" The others dropped their jaws to the ground, not expecting that to happen. Kai was the strongest out of them physically. He should be able to stop that attack, especially with the help of his Sound st. And yet, it pushed him like it was nothing.


    "No. I shouldn''t say you are underestimating me¡­ Because I am misleading you to underestimating me." Rapakha smiled evilly.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes as he recalled every scene of their battle. "You¡­ You have been acting this whole time?"


    "Ah! I was just making you think I was serious before I suddenly got pushed back by you guys, so you thought you had a chance to win. Unfortunately, you shouldn''t believe what you saw and content with what you achieved. Keep your eyes peeled on every asion." Rapakha grinned.


    Kai''s body shook as he thought. ''To think he would do something like that¡­ No, he is going to train us, so he wants us to be a little bit of not honest? Wait¡­ Doesn''t it feel like I think I can win and lead me to underestimate him and leave my back open?''


    Kai was stunned as soon as he realized Rapakha''s n. "I would be dead if Elder didn''t hold back earlier¡­"


    "Hehe. I really liked that brain of yours¡­ Unfortunately, it can be your weakness as well as you tend to overthink a simple matter. That''s why sometimes you might end up misunderstanding something yourself.


    "Just think it like this, it''s not you or I who are stronger. Instead, the winner of the battle is stronger. That way, you won''t underestimate your opponent and will keep preparing for the worst case. I am sure your body can react to solve that problem." Rapakha nodded with a smile.


    "Thank you for your advice." Kai slightly bowed his head before charging at him again.


    Rapakha looked at his stone hand that had been recovered.


    Michelle, Ayaka, and Sofia had retreated after knowing their n failed. Michelle hid within the darkness again, trying to search for his weakness.


    Sofia also did the same as she stepped back to ensure their distance. Meanwhile, Ayaka decided to switch positions with Michelle and became the vanguard.


    Rapakha sensed another iing attack from two different directions, which came from Tasha and Isabelle, so he stopped their attacks again with his stone arms.


    Kai, on the other hand, charged from head-on and struck his hand with his left sword.


    Obviously, Rapakha didn''t let this slip. He had understood how powerful Kai''s cut was because the stone earlier had been strengthened. The hardness could beparable to those hard shells that those Protectors had.


    Even Kai''s Vibration Sword couldn''t cut it open in a single sh. Hence, he deflected the sword with the back of his hand.


    Kai smiled at this point. He also understood what Rapakha just learned. By using his main offensive to be the bait, Kai let his other sword strike his foot instead. The foot had yet to be strengthened by the stone, so he should be able to attack it.


    Just like him, Rapakha also read that he would read this move and created a magic circle right on the back of his hand that he used to deflect Kai''s sword. With this angle and his focus, Kai wouldn''t have enough time to react.


    "Stone Creation Magic."


    Rapakha summoned a rock that would push Kai and pin him on the ground.


    Isabelle, on top of the hill, surely wouldn''t let this and shot the stone.


    *Bang!*


    The stone was shattered by the bullet and blew it away with the momentum.


    Kai listened to his surroundings and created a Sound st tounch him away from that position.


    The previous times, Tasha would attack Rapakha together with Isabelle. And she still did it even on this one. It was just she directed her arrow elsewhere, specifically the sky.


    A purple magic circle appeared as a purple bolt of lightning was charged and released toward Rapakha.


    "Lightning Storm."

 Chapter 256 - Fighting Rapakha Part 3

    "Lightning Storm."


    The bolt of lightning struck forth.


    Rapakha sensed an urgency and pped his hand. "Grand Mountain."


    *Rumble!*


    The ground started shaking before rising and sticking together on top of Rapakha''s head. He had realized where the bolt lightning would hit and made it thicker than any other parts.


    Just like how the ground could conduct electricity, these stones dispersed a portion of the attack while the main lightning attack somehow got stopped by the thickyer of stones.


    Kai widened his eyes upon this sphere-shaped roof that managed to block Tasha''s attack. Looking at Rapakha now, he knew he was in his weakest state. And yet, he knew he couldn''t attack him due to the electricity because he mainly attacked with his physical ability.


    ''I think I need some magic that can be used to attack others without my sword¡­'' Kai thought.


    Still, he also had his teammates that weren''t restricted by such a condition.


    Rapakha also noticed that and immediately shut the first person down by creating a very tall wall.


    "Tch." Isabelle clicked her tongue. With this kind of stone, she wouldn''t know the enemy''s position. Besides, Rapakha''s wall shouldn''t be that easy to shoot through. "As expected¡­ Even though he won''t attack me, he still stops me from attacking.


    "Well, the darkness is hard to navigate, but I have wind magic. I will put this to use and do some distractions." Isabelle smirked.


    "Distractions? I know about changing your position by flying, but what do you mean by distractions?" Evan furrowed his eyebrows, confused.


    "You can''t realize it?" Isabelle grinned, nning to tease him. "Well, try to see my movement, and you might realize what I want to do. Captain should also realize my movement and match it."


    "Fine." Evan pouted as he watched Isabelle flying to the sky as she wanted to shoot from a higher area before he saw a shocked look on her face.


    A moment earlier, as soon as he erected the wall, Rapakha smiled. Because the wall was wide and tall, no one realized what kind of wall he made, even with Kai''s hearing ability.


    After sealing Isabelle''s line of view, he proceeded to block the others.


    "Shadow sh."


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    "Ice Particles. Cube."


    Michelle''s and Sofia''s attacks were going through the gaps and headed toward Rapakha.


    To respond to the two attacks, Rapakha coated his feet with stones and kicked Michelle''s Shadow sh toward Sofia''s ice cubes. Some of them were destroyed, allowing Rapakha to hit the rest. He couldn''t do it earlier due to her aim being diverse, but since the number had decreased, he had no trouble in kicking those cubes.


    On the other hand, Ayaka made a magic circle right in front of the few pirs.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    *Boom!*


    A thunderous sound of an explosion filled the silent night as it hit a few pirs that had been transmitting the electricity. Because it lost its conductor, the electricity flowing on those pirs went berserk and enhanced the explosion.


    "Good Good Good!" Rapakha''s voice resounded through the smoke. Even though the explosion hit him and the pirs crumbled, his voice seemed to be brimming with energy. Unfortunately, the lightning strike didn''t hit him due to the explosion, but he should get a certain amount of damage.


    That was why Kai suddenly felt something was wrong and kept his eyes peeled.


    Sofia, on the other hand, saw something amazing. Rapakha''s fire remained unfazed, but the location was moved two meters back.


    When the wind blew the smoke away, they saw it and further realized Rapakha''s true strength.


    They realized that Rapakha had yet to move a single step, and all of those attacks only managed to move him two meters back.


    "Seriously?" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "All of you have an amazing ability. Sound Magic with strong physical ability¡­ You might want to get some attack magic. That Sound st can be used as an attack, but it''s mostly to support your own attack or ability. That''s why I am suggesting you to get another magic.


    "As for the shadow girl, your ability is unique, but I think you need to have stronger attack power. I think that is your homework for now???


    "The fire girl has strong magic and a unique fighting style. However, you might want to learn about controlling your power. Let''s look at your explosion, if you can control your magic to the precise degree, I think you can use magic inside magic. How about making that torrential fire carry your explosion magic? The one that you used first¡­ Well, you need to train hard to attain control, so good luck.


    "I won''t say anything about the lightning girl since I will discuss it when I teach you about magic. Now, the problem is the ice user. You are the same as the shadow girl,cking power. I know that it is enough to kill humans with that magic, but what are your true enemies? Magical Beasts, right? They have a powerful defense, so keep that in mind.


    "As for the one in the distance, tell her that she needs to work with her closebat ability. No enemy will leave someone like her alone¡­ Well, I probably don''t need to worry about her because I found a fighter aura inside her. Just keep doing it and be a good all-rounder."


    Rapakha gave advice for each of them, which they gratefully epted. In fact, some of them already realized their problems and had been working toward it.


    Michelle created Shadow Possession, but it seemed to be not enough. She nced at Kai, and a thought crossed her mind, making her smile.


    Ayaka was surprised by what the elder said just now. She never thought it was possible, but since it wasing from him, training her control to the highest degree might be good for her.


    As for Sofia, she just realized it. Although she had been working to increase her power, she just never thought she would face those protectors and this person. Since she had been entangled in this matter, it would probably be a good idea to learn a few more offensive magic.


    Lastly, Kai remained silent. He had realized it, but he still thought about what kind of magic could turn into a powerful attack. The thought never appeared in his mind, and the concept was still vague. A few research pieces could be used as a base, but none of them was realistic to him.


    That was why Kai didn''t know how to respond. Instead, he stopped the problem for the time being with the exoskeleton.


    When Rapakha nced at their expression, he knew what kind of progress they had about this. He let them for a minute before he said, "Let''s fight again."


    This was what made Isabelle surprised. She never expected that none of them was moving when she peeked over the high wall. Unfortunately, she couldn''t hear nor read their lips to understand what they were talking about.


    There was another one that shocked her. It was the thickness of the wall. Due to the angle and height, they couldn''t see the thickness of the wall. Only after she flew up that she could see how thin it was. If she continued to press that trigger, she might break the wall and hit Rapakha.


    Never would an image of Rapakha ying her came into her mind. Even so, she read thest one as a challenge and immediately aimed at his head.


    *Bam!*


    Rapakha took a glimpse of her location and smiled while stopping the bullet with his palm and closing it. "What a dangerous one."


    Kai widened his eyes and shouted. "It''s enough. Let''s continue!"


    This shout was like a wake-up call for the others as they readied their weapons again.


    Kai leaped toward Rapakha to give the others time to prepare their attacks.


    Rapakha smirked as he summoned a few spikes from the ground and shot them toward the girls in the arena.


    This allowed Kai to arrive without any problems, but Rapakha let Kai hit his abdomen that had been reinforced by stone.


    "!!!" Kai opened his eyes wide. His sword managed to prate a portion of the stone, but it stuck afterward.


    He then sensed another attacking above, so he looked up and found Rapakha''s hand mming toward him.


    ''I need to abandon my sword¡­'' This was the first thought that came across his mind, but suddenly, Kai gritted his teeth and recalled how Rapakha handled them until now. If he didn''t take a risk and improved, he might not be able to get a clean hit on Rapakha.


    In that case, there was only one thing that he needed to do. He spun his body around and kicked Rapakha''s hand with the help of his Sound st to enhance the power, pushing Rapakha''s hand away.


    With the sudden change of bnce, Kai quickly adapted to his new position with head below and legs above. He used another Sound st to boost his sword to make a cut.


    It was at this time, Rapakha realized Kai''s movement, immediately used his other hand to grab his foot, and threw him away.


    "Great¡­ You are great. I think you know what to improve in that fighting style of yours. You are ying too safe. I know that it''s good to have no injury, but when someone who is equal or more powerful than you is ying aggressively, you will soon realize you are at a disadvantage." Rapakha smiled before looking at the sword on his belly. "Still, because of the new style, your sword is stuck on my belly now. What will you do? Ask me to give it to you?"


    "No." Kai shook his head and smiled as he adjusted his body position. "I have a friend."


    *Bam!*


    A thunderous sound echoed before Rapakha looked up, knowing it wasing from Isabelle. He raised his hand to stop it, but suddenly¡­


    *Bang!*


    The bullets hit each other and ricocheted. One of them hit the ground, but the other one hit Kai''s sword, blowing it away from Rapakha''s body.


    The sword flew to Michelle''s feet, and she kicked it to Kai.


    "This is what I mean." Kai smiled, grabbing his sword.

 Chapter 257 - Fighting Rapakha Part 4

    "This is what I mean." Kai smiled. The sword had returned to his hand in an instant. The proof that he managed to impress Rapakha was the fact that his expression changed, and made a smile.


    "That one is good." Rapakha nodded. "I won''t say anything like what if you don''t have your friend, because I know that you dare to do something like that because your friends are beside you right now. So, for this¡­"


    He pped a few times. "To think that you managed to catch me off guard, it takes a lot of skill."


    "No, no. Elder is simply ying with us. If you fight seriously, we won''t stand a chance. And you even give us a handicap by not using your Space Element." Kai shook his head, replying with a humble tone.


    "Well, I am just going to give you some pointers, so it doesn''t require me to hurt you," Rapakha admitted that he had been holding back this whole time.


    At first, he wanted to say he wasn''t to boost their confidence, so they could perform better, but it would just go into their heads. He decided to tell them the truth, and how they interpreted it would depend on them.


    Rapakha didn''t continue for a whole minute as he thought. ''Kai should have no problem after this. With a new fighting style, his offensive power should increase. As long as he has time, he will get used to the new style.


    ''Isabelle and Tasha don''t have any problems in their fighting style. In that case, I will focus on the other three.'' Rapakha took a deep breath before he suddenly raised an offensive stance.


    "!!!" The group was startled as Kai shouted. "Here hees!"


    Even without him saying those words, the group knew that Rapakha would seriously attack them instead of standing there while taking all their blows. In other words, Rapakha would be very dangerous at this point.


    Kai gritted his teeth and leaped toward him, shing both swords.


    In response, Rapakha simply smiled as he stepped back, and a magic circle appeared in his original position.


    "That stance is a bait?" Kai frowned as he watched how stone spiked from the ground, trying to pierce him. Luckily, he managed to slow his movement first and shed the sword in his main hand to destroy those spikes and defended himself with the sword in his off hand.


    Yet, the attack he was expecting didn''te. Rapakha took a huge leap to get closer to Michelle and Ayaka.


    "!!!" Kai realized that Rapakha actually baited him to take on the bait, so he could leave him in the dust. He couldn''t help but mutter, "How many moves does he actually predict before he makes a move?"


    This was truly shocking. In terms of battle experiences andbat ability alone, his teacher might not be able to defeat him. And if he brought the remaining stone statues to attack the US base, it would be dangerous.


    Rapakha, on the other hand, didn''t have this intention. He simply wanted to see what kind of future the Earth would have in the hand of the youngster in front of him. And to see that none of them could die before they influenced the world. Hence, the only way to solve that was to strengthen them to the limit he had.


    The moment he arrived in front of these two, Rapakha threw a punch toward Michelle.


    Knowing he would do this, Michelle already prepared something as she released a magic circle beneath his feet.


    "Shadow Maniption." Michelle smirked as Rapakha''s shadow appeared and stopped him from moving.


    As Michelle was about to attack, Rapakha snorted and broke free in an instant, moving at speed faster than he had even shown, continuing his punch.


    "What?!" Michelle gritted her teeth and shifted her sword downwards to block this attack.


    "Strength. You need more brute strength. Even when you don''t have strength, why are you still using that feminine sword? Do you think your man will not like you if you show your brute side? If that were the case, just leave that man!" Rapakha shouted and blew her away.


    Rapakha then turned around while summoning a stone pole from the ground, looking at Ayaka, who was going to strike him with her spear.


    *Bang!*


    The two shed before Ayaka realized something wrong. She instinctively activated her Fire Armor before an immense pain spread from her left waist.


    "Your body is your weapon, not that spear. That is just a tool. Why are you so fixated on that tool?"


    A thought crossed in Kai''s mind after listening to those wordsing out of Rapakha''s mouth. Although he didn''t know his aim, he knew that he was saying those words, so the two could improve.


    Even so, seeing your women getting hurt in front of you wasn''t an easy matter. Kai attacked him again from behind.


    "Hmph!" Rapakha snorted and struck him with his fist.


    Kai didn''t know whether this was another bait or not, but there was one thing he could do.


    He stomped the ground with his right foot beforeunching his body one meter above Rapakha.


    Rapakha didn''t care and tried to attack him with his staff.


    It was at this time Kai elerated once more using his Sound st. He passed Rapakha and stopped his momentum by using another Sound st. With this, he positioned himself right behind Rapakha and struck him with his sword.


    *ng!*


    "His pole?!" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting Rapakha to block his attack with a slight movement from his pole. However, he suddenly realized his mistake and thought. ''No. My attack pattern is too simple. In that case, I need one that can''t be predicted.''


    Letting his instinct take over, Kai created another Sound st again tounch him in another direction and repeated it again and again, making him look like a pinball. And yet, he didn''t forget to strike a few times with his sword, giving many cracks on Rapakha''s stone body.


    Rapakha was surprised by how fast he adapted and improvised. ''He is full of talent¡­ Still¡­''


    Kai thought Rapakha couldn''t react to this attack, but he suddenly slipped on one of the Sound st and rolled on the ground.


    "Still, your body can''t handle that kind of speed without getting used to it. Letting you attack my body a few times is a low price to pay to wait for you to slip up." Rapakha said as he appeared right above Kai, punching his abdomen.


    *Bam!*


    That punch packed up with power because it created a small crater on the ground. If Kai didn''t have protection from the exoskeleton, he might have spat blood by now. Luckily, he somehow managed to lessen the impact even further by blocking it with his swords.


    Even though the swords touched his abdomen, the impact wasn''t that hurt.


    "Fortunately, I could react¡­" Kai, on the other hand, was full of shock. He never expected Rapakha to send that kind of attack.


    "You!" Michelle and Ayaka appeared not far behind him, trying to attack him. And yet thetter turned around, smirked, and took a huge leap to leave them behind.


    Michelle and Ayaka, who were on the move, forced their bodies to stop, but they didn''t have enough time to stop Rapakha, who was going toward Sofia.


    "Not good!" Tasha and Isabelle shot him.


    It only took him a nce for Rapakha to shift his body and let the two attacks miss. He continued heading toward Sofia and smirked while throwing a punch.


    Sofia gritted her teeth, knowing she couldn''t escape from this attack. She activated the exoskeleton and used all of her strength to stop this attack.


    *Crack!*


    A cracking sound echoed when the two hands collided before a small crater below Sofia was created. In a normal condition, Sofia wouldn''t be able to hold a candle to this punch. Even so, she utilized her right hand to the fullest to hold the attack even for a few seconds.


    She lifted up her left hand and created a few spear-shaped ices, and rained Rapakha with them. This action was taken because she found Rapakha leaving his stone armor to gain speed. Hence, his body shouldn''t be powerful enough to stop these spears.


    "Ice Spear!"


    Sofia swung her hand down as the spears understood hermand and flew down.


    Rapakha smiled as he summoned magic circles, rising spikes that matched the spears in number.


    Each of them shed, not leaving a single behind to hit Rapakha.


    Michelle and Ayaka were going to help her, but Kai suddenly grabbed their hands.


    "Kai?!" Both were confused with this.


    But Kai shook his head and whispered. "Remember his words earlier and try to improvise."


    "!!!" The two were taken aback.


    Michelle was the first one to react because it was too absurd. "What does he mean by brute force¡­ Wait¡­ I think I understand."


    She recalled when Kai wielded two big swords on Cuba''s battlefield. Kai shouldn''t be an expert on that, resulting in his speed decreasing. However, there was one solution that could be used to limit that negative effect. It was the most important in swordy.


    Footwork


    ''Still, changing it right now is impossible because I need to learn a new type of footwork first. And mastering them takes too much time, so it won''t be possible to use it here. I might even not make it for the raid mission. But there are a few months of holiday that I could use¡­ I will perfect it during that time.'' Michelle had a solution and smiled. ''Still, I should try to use it first.''


    She raised both hands before enveloping her two Shadow Swords with even stronger energy, forming into two two-handed swords. "It''s a bit heavy, but I think I can manage."


    Ayaka also had the same enlightenment as she remembered the kick from Rapakha. It must mean to rely on her body, like increasing the weight of her boots. It should be easy for her to wield them with her current strength.


    Seeing how the two realized what they werecking, Kai smiled and stopped them again. "Listen to me. I have a n."

 Chapter 258 - Fighting Rapakha Part 5

    "Freezing Field!" Sofia released another Freezing Field. Because of her ability, she was more used to fighting in this type of environment.


    The ground turned into ice as Sofia raised both hands, summoning a few more ice spears.


    Having enough time to regain his power, Rapakha immediately covered his body with stone and sent a punch to her while the other hand went to her ice spears.


    ''Where are Kai and the others?'' Sofia was baffled and nced to the side, only to find Kai chatting with Ayaka and Michelle without much care about his surroundings.


    Obviously, this made her twitch her eyebrows as she couldn''t swallow this kind of thing. Kai promised to head toward her as soon as Rapakha attacked her, but it turned out he wasn''t a man of his words. She didn''t know why, but her heart was filled with disappointment now.


    ''Am I that unworthy? Or am I that unimportant? Or does he want to get rid of me?'' Many questions shed in her mind, but Rapakha sealed all those thoughts with his fist.


    Having no choice other than relying on herself, Sofia gritted her teeth and ran away, leaving an ice trail on her ice field.


    Rapakha noticed something was wrong but still chased her. He believed that as long as he was careful with the ground, it would be fine.


    Sofia kept running while blocking Rapakha''s punch with her magic shield. Unfortunately, all of her magic got shattered by a single punch.


    It was until one minuteter that she finally finished running. She panted even though she was running for only one minute. Every time Rapakha hit her magic circle, it would throw her bnce off, making it very hard to keep running.


    *Pak!*


    Sofia pped her hand and smiled. "Never mind. I should rely on myself like always."


    A magic circle appeared before blue light shone on the ice field. Then, a few blue lines appeared, connecting one side of the circle to the other side, making it look like a pizza.


    "Ho! I have noticed that you were baiting me earlier, but I am impressed with this magic and yourself. To think there is someone who will be a bait but keep fighting as if you are the main attacker¡­" Rapakha nodded with a solemn expression.


    "I will defeat you!" She gritted her teeth, activating the magic circle. Ice spikes emerged from within the ground as the magic circle shot them to the sky before it turned around and headed toward Rapakha.


    "Let''s see whether you can withstand this as well! Unlimited Ice."


    Rapakha looked at this and turned his staff into a pole. He looked at the magic circle and noticed that he was on the edge of the magic circle. In other words, those lines near him didn''t produce any ice spikes.


    Seeing this, Rapakha immediately understood the mechanism. Not only would the ice behind him appear when he moved forward, but it would also rain him down from all directions, making a perfect execution ground.


    That was why Sofia decided to corner him to his own wall, but didn''t know it was thin.


    If Rapakha destroyed the wall and escaped from the circle, Sofia wouldn''t be able to do anything. However, he didn''t have such a personality.


    "Running away?" Rapakha smiled, thickened his staff''s head area, and made it into a club instead of a pole. He swung his stone club, shattering all the ice that came toward him.


    Still, Sofia was nheless the most powerful younger generation in the EU Base. When he shattered all those ices, the magic circle released it once again, sending multiple crystals that would kill him.


    "Die!" Sofia roared and pointed her finger at him.


    Rapakha smiled and leaped toward her, swinging his club again and shattering the ice spikes again. At this time, many Ice Spikes appeared on his back because he got closer to the middle.


    It was at this time Rapakha showed his real strength and shattered the ice spikes again, making his way toward Sofia.


    ''Impossible. This ice is not that easy to shatter, and yet¡­ If only there are a few people protecting me, I can keep using this magic until my magic power runs out¡­ Unfortunately, those guys betray me¡­'' When she thought about it, a shadow appeared right from her back, swinging his sword toward Rapakha.


    "Sorry for the wait." Kai apologized to her. The moment the two weapons shed, it sent a shock wave strong enough to blow the grass around.


    Kai then activated his sound st to go around Rapakha, trying to attack him from behind like earlier.


    Unfortunately, Rapakha wasn''t someone this easy to trick. He grabbed Kai''s feet and threw him.


    "Michelle, Ayaka."


    "Shadow sh!" Michelle appeared behind Rapakha, swinging her sword toward him.


    Although it wasn''t as powerful as Kai, it should be able to shatter her defense. Hence, he decided to grab the sword to prevent the attack, but Michelle''s sword suddenly slipped out of his hand, continuing her shadow sh.


    However, it struck the wall itself due to the direction.


    It was at this time, Ayaka appeared, thrusting her spear toward his neck.


    "Fire Thrust."


    The torrential fire was released from the top of her spear. Rapakha noticed that this girl seemed to have understood his weakness.


    Everything should have weaknesses. He understood that concept well. Even his technique had limitations and weaknesses. And one of them was areas that could hinder his movement because they needed a full movement without stone hindering them. And one of these areas was Ayaka''s target.


    "!!!" Rapakha had no choice but to dodge this one, allowing the Fire Thrust flying toward the wall.


    Michelle almost cut the wall into two, and with this magic, the wall cracked to the point it would crumble in any second.


    And this was the time when Kai finally fulfilled his role. He specifically passed Rapakha to have Rapakhaunch him to the wall without giving a clue to Rapakha.


    That was why he managed to arrive right in front of the wall as he utilized his exoskeleton and shattered the thin wall.


    *Crack!*


    *Rumble!*


    The loud sound started filling the atmosphere as the wall crumbled.


    Seeing this, Kai returned to his position by leaping toward Rapakha again with the help of Sound st.


    To everyone''s surprise, Rapakha nced at Sofia instead of Kai. "This is what you arecking. When I saw your expression and their actions, I found that you have darkness in your heart.


    "Have you got betrayed by someone before? No, I think I can safely assume you have. That''s why I found nothing but thinking about betrayal the moment you saw them. Let me guess, you all must be trying to bait me to attack you, so the others can help you while ambushing me, right?


    "The moment it didn''t go ording to your way, and they didn''t help you, the feeling grew to its peak and clouded your eyes.


    "Little girl. No matter what happened to you, it shouldn''t cloud your eyes like that. There will be many people that you can trust in the future¡­ And make sure that your eyes can clearly see them." Rapakha smiled.


    Sofia''s body shook as she remembered her day in the EU Base. She was still 14 years old at that time, ying around with her fiance.


    However, one unexpected thing suddenly urred. Her family business went bankrupt, and when she investigated what happened, it turned out the culprit was her fiance that she loved so much.


    At that time, being heartbroken, her father used thest bit of her connection to have her be the first Zodiacing from the EU Base. And it turned out she survived out of fifty people that wereing with her.


    Not long after, she somehow managed to fight back and regain her family business and killed her fiance with her own hand. It was at that time, she decided to trust herself and wanted to be stronger¡­ Strong enough to the point other people wouldn''t dare to betray her. And when she saw Kai''s chatting earlier, it somehow triggered that past.


    "Still¡­ Do you think you have a chance to fight me while protecting this little girl?" Rapakha smirked as he mmed his right hand toward Sofia''s head.


    "Didn''t you say it earlier? I dare to strike you at this point because I have trust in my friends." Hearing his provocation, Kai smiled. He wanted to nce at the person far from his back, but he had no time. And yet, that person was very familiar because it was none other than Isabelle.


    The crumbling sound might be hard to see. Not only would it be covered with dust, but the moving rocks covered the mission.


    Except, there was this exceptional sniper who imed to be the best sniper in the world. Shooting through moving objects and choosing the gap she wanted to go through to make a perfect shoot¡­


    "Hehe¡­ As expected, he will understand my action and turn it to our advantage." Isabelle, on the other side, smiled as she aimed through one gap and put all her focus into this. A magic circle appeared in front of the bullet hole.


    "sma Wind!"


    *Bam!*


    A few torrential winds flew toward Rapakha before it fused together and gotpressed to create a stronger attack.


    This was the attack that almost shattered Kai''s Oscition Shield, and Isabelle had strengthened this due to her frustration of losing that group battle.


    Still, to think that the technique would actually be used to help the guy who became the sole reason she upgraded the technique... It was hrious.


    "This is what I mean by trust¡­ We are lucky to have the number one sniper to assist us." Kai smiled.


    The torrential magic, with the size of a bullet, flew through the gap between rubbles, hitting Rapakha''s right hand.


    Although it wasn''t able to destroy the stone that covered his armpletely, it created a big enough crater for Kai to attack.


    "Wha¡ª!"

 Chapter 259 - Fighting Rapakha Part 6

    "Wha¡ª!" Rapakha was taken aback, never expecting somethinging from that ce.


    Kai used this chance to use his Sound st to increase his speed even further, so Rapakha had no chance to regain his bnce back.


    Rapakha was startled that Kai appeared in just an instant, swinging his sword toward the crater that Isabelle''s bullet created.


    "Ha!" Kai used another Sound st to increase his power and struck at that spot. He even created another magic circle right behind Rapakha''s arm, so it moved to the sword direction, making it easier to cut.


    The conclusion came so sudden. Kaipleted his swing and somehow struck the ground as well, showing how much force and momentum he put on the sword.


    Seeing this, Rapakha couldn''t help but smile. Although this was far from his full power, the fact that these kids could take one of his arms was proof of how talented they are.


    ''It seems theter generation is full of geniuses¡­ And hopefully, that ice girl can understand the concept of trust again. Don''t be like me, who ultimately fought alone because I never asked the others to train the magic to the highest degree¡­ If I had friends that fought against the Protector¡­ Could I have a chance to deal huge damage to her?'' Rapakha thought.


    He didn''t dare to think about defeating a protector because the power difference was too far. However, these seven kids might turn into something dangerous in the future. If they grew in number, it would be catastrophic even for a Protector¡­ That was what he believed.


    Even though Evan didn''t do anything in this battle, he, in fact, turned out to hold the most important person. If they didn''t have him here, they wouldn''t have fought him with all of their power like this. They would have consciously or unconsciously held back so as to avoid being hurt.


    ''The young will surpass the old¡­'' Rapakha nced at them and stopped moving as he said. "Good! I think this is where we stop."


    Kai and the others finally put down their strong fa?ade and looked down while panting.


    Kai was the most tired one in this group because he had been using so much magic. At the same time, Isabelle brought Evan after seeing how they suddenly looked rxed. She realized that the fight was over and flew to them.


    "Haha¡­ It was a hard fight." Kai said as he walked toward Michelle and Ayaka. Seeing this, they gathered around them¡­ They, except Sofia.


    After feeling bad because of their earlier actions, Sofia still had no heart to gather with them,ughing as they just fought a hard battle.


    Rapakha slowly moved toward her with a smile. "You are not going to join them?"


    "I¡­" Sofia looked down.


    "Well, do you remember what I said earlier?"


    "!!!" Sofia, of course, remembered the very details. However, she couldn''t bring herself to go there. "I¡­"


    "I am not expecting you right now. I can see that you were devastated by an ident in the past, and you still are¡­ But I believe there will be a day where you can trust your back to someone fully.


    "I could see that you acted like you are friendly to them, despite faking it. And I think that boy also realized it. Seeing how you are so distant to them, do you note from their ce?"


    "No. I am from far away." Sofia shook her head.


    "Then, I believe he is waiting for you to open up a little. I know that he is wary against you, but I think that worry is justified. Just like you who creates your own little fake, he also waits for you and keeps doing things like this despite faking it himself¡­


    "After all, I noticed that he cared for you less from the way he talked until now." Rapakha paused for a moment. "I know that you are a good child, so I think I can expect you to make up with your past in the future.


    "I have some expectations in you because I know that we can''t do everything alone¡­ And I don''t want you to regret not having friends like me."


    "I have a friend!" Sofia pouted. "Her name is Julia. She is not with me right now because of a few things, but she will return to my side soon."


    "Return to your side huh¡­" Rapakha let out a long sigh. "You sound like someone above her instead of her equal."


    "!!!" Sofia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, but not a single word came out of her mouth. She simply had no argument to rebuke him.


    "Anyway, that is myst piece of advice for all of you. The rest will be up to you, so I can only wish you luck from here. I hope that all of you can reach your end goal and have a new beginning." Rapakha smiled.


    As soon as Rapakha left her side, Michelle and Ayaka came to her, pulling her to the group to enjoy their victory¡­ Albeit, Rapakha suddenly said, "Of course. This battle is my win."


    "What?!" The group snarled as if they just heard something they absolutely didn''t want to hear.


    "As I said, this battle is my win." Rapakha smiled. "If you are not convinced, I can let you attack me again and see whether you can defeat me again.


    "This time, I won''t beat around the bush and attack you. If I can''t defeat you within thirty seconds, I lose. How is it?" Rapakha smirked.


    The group was obviously provoked by such words. They had fought hard for this victory, but Rapakha imed it was his victory. And now they thought about it, Rapakha never said who won previously.


    Kai looked at the group, who was eager to fight to prove it was their win. They only needed to endure for thirty seconds anyway, so they believed they could do it because Rapakha had a hard time dealing with them earlier.


    Having no chance to persuade them, Kai sighed and nodded. "Then, thank you for your guidance."


    Kai was the first one to move because he was the captain. He struck his two swords at Rapakha''s, but thetter covered his arm with the stone again.


    However, Kai suddenly felt something was amiss, especially when his instinct was screaming at him, asking him to retreat.


    Rapakha, of course, didn''t let him retreat. Instead, he threw a punch directly toward the swords.


    Kai gritted her teeth. He had expected the impact, but it felt stronger than before. He thought he could still make it, but¡­


    ''What is this? Why can''t I deflect it or do anything?'' Kai thought with a shocked expression as Rapakha mmed him down to the ground and somehow redirected his punch to the ground at thest second.


    *Bam!*


    The power of the punch suddenly created a whole new crater with a radius of twenty-five meters. They werepletely blown away. Even Kai could understand that if the attack actually hit him, he would be dead.


    Everyone''s body shook as they immediately raised their defensive stance, only to be greeted by Rapakha''s magic.


    Suddenly, numerous spikes appeared from the ground, trying to pierce them. Everyone tried to react, but Isabelle and Evan didn''t manage to escape, getting locked by these numerous spikes in a very weird position.


    "God of Wind, Aeolus!" Isabelle still managed to react by summoning her four wind balls as they shot the spikes so she could break free.


    At this time, a box of stone was summoned from the ground. Isabelle immediately shot the wall with her attacks again, but the stone suddenly bent instead of broke.


    It was at this time, she realized that Rapakha had enchanted the box with his mystic like that unbreakable mochi wall. And the fact that it was a full box, she couldn''t see anything outside.


    Sofia, Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka immediately retreated as they were going to stall time until thirty seconds passed. Even Tasha summoned her Teleportation Magic.


    Rapakha saw this and summoned another few spikes to destroy the magic circle before three hands appeared from behind, left, and right. And her front was blocked by the spike. Unless she managed to jump, it would be impossible to escape from this.


    She gritted her teeth after noticing that she didn''t have enough time to leap, so she released her lightning magic, holding the hands back. The one behind her stopped due to the enclosed space of the left and right hands.


    That was why she only needed to stop these two hands from crushing her to death.


    This left Michelle, Ayaka, and Sofia. Ayaka, unfortunately, couldn''t release her explosion because Kai was near Rapakha as it would only injure him.


    Rapakha used this chance to create another arm to hit her. After fighting against her, he realized that Ayaka wasn''t actually powerful. Instead, she seemed to have unique coordination that allowed her to increase how much she could hold at a time.


    And when she couldn''t gather enough momentum to parry this attack, the armpletely suppressed and pinned her to the ground.


    "Freezing Field." Sofia summoned her ice field again, but Rapakha only snorted, moving the pir that Ayaka''s burned for light before throwing them to Michelle.


    Using this blinding light as they needed to adjust their eyes for a split second, Rapakha took the chance to leap from his position and appeared right before them.


    "!!!" It was at this moment Sofia and Michelle realized they couldn''t do anything before Rapakha hit them. Yet, when they thought it was over, Rapakha didn''t attack them. Instead, he walked past them without doing anything and said, "I think this is enough proof to say I am the one who won, right?"


    "¡­" No one could say anything because the answer was obvious.


    "Still, I said that we would fight many times. I stopped you earlier because thirty minutes had passed, not because you win. And since that is the case, who is up for the round two?"


    "¡­" As expected, no one said anything. Not because the answer was obvious but because they were speechless.

 Chapter 260 - Post-fighting

    *Pant¡­ Pant¡­*


    The panting sounds echoed from all directions as six peopleying down on the ground. They gazed upon the beautiful night sky filled with bright stars.


    If they were in a big city, they probably couldn''t see it. And with how tired they got from so many practice battles with Rapakha, they felt the night sky looked even more appealing.


    Evan started going around to heal their wounds.


    When he healed Kai, Rapakha suddenly walked to him, patting his shoulder.


    "Healing ability is very rare. It is an ability that can change the tide of a battle. However, you haven''t explored all of its wonders. Healing ability might help other people, but it will surely help you. This is my advice." Rapakha smiled.


    Evan couldn''t understand what he talked about because his priority was to heal others. However, he still recorded what he said in his mind, hoping he could increase his power like him.


    Kai gradually rose his body and looked at Rapakha while sitting on the ground. "Elder. Why did you help us? Now that I have seen everything from our battle, it seems you have another reason for helping us. I bet it''s not because you only want to reward us, right?"


    Rapakha thought for a moment and shook his head. "You don''t need to know about it for now. But I can assure you that it won''t disadvantage you."


    Kai narrowed his eyes, staring at Rapakha for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Since Elder said it that way, I shall not mention it anymore."


    "Still, I want to warn you. Your path might be filled with blood, so you need to be careful."


    "I will take care of all of my problems." Kai nodded. "Besides, I feel like I have a clue to how I should get stronger."


    "That''s good." Rapakha nodded.


    Listening to their conversation, Tasha got up. She had been using all of her Lightning Magic and Teleportation Magic. Yet, none of her attacks were capable of bringing him down. Even when she teleported him to the sky, he simply turned the ground to the perfect ground to receive him.


    Tasha thought that only her Space Magic could make a difference. Unfortunately, she couldn''t use it yet due to her limitation. She thought for a moment and clenched her fist.


    Michelle, on the other hand, closed her eyes. Her arms were numb after handling two big swords for a long period of time. She was too tired to even do something after this.


    Still, a smile was nted on her face as she couldn''t help but feel excited to know that there was a huge possibility waiting for her. Although her strength wasn''t enough to handle the two swords, she knew that everything would be fixed as long as she got perfect footwork.


    As for Ayaka, she also found something ridiculous. She nned to make some heavy equipment and wore them all over her body. At that time, she could choose which one would be the perfect equipment for her. This was her family line of business anyway, so researching and making them shouldn''t be that hard.


    After that, she could start working on control. Since it was better to set your target high, Ayaka decided to get perfect control.


    Isabelle had a simr thought. She needed more variations to make her bullet be unpredictable in the future.


    However, only Sofia had a different thought than them. Instead of thinking about her improvement, she kept staring at Kai with a guilty expression.


    Although Kai didn''t help her as soon as possible, there was actually no wound in her body. It wasn''t due to Evan''s healing. Instead, this happened because Kai kept blocking Rapakha''s attack, where she thought she would be hit.


    She felt guilty because she didn''t trust him. Yet, her past still hindered her from thinking of him as someone she could trust her back to. In the end, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.


    Kai also noticed this and learned everything from Rapakha. Although he didn''t know what gued such a girl, it would be best for him to know about it, so they could make their coordination more amazing for future missions.


    However, he also didn''t want to corner her like that. The only thing he could do was to wait for her to open up to them herself.


    "By the way, when are you going to leave?" Rapakha asked.


    "The pilot is on the ind anyway. If you want me to leave, I can do it right away. But the scientists here might need some time because we need the base to send an airne to bring them back." Kai answered.


    "I see." Rapakha thought for a moment and nodded. "What are you going to do here then?"


    "I am nning to investigate you. Other than that, maybe touring the ind with the girls."


    "Hehe¡­ Such a sweet tongue. I was alone in my entire life, not because I didn''t get married, it was because I chose not to marry. After seeing the protector, I simply had no confidence to fall in love because I was afraid to not have enough power to protect her." Rapakha sighed.


    Kai was surprised to see Rapakha opening up like this. Evan already left his side after healing his wounds and went to the others anyway, so Kai decided to prolong this talk by saying. "I am the same. I am afraid that I don''t have enough power to protect myself.


    "But there is this girl called Michelle telling me that family is built not by one person. Whether it''s two, three, four, or more, she doesn''t care. What she cares about is that the family will be helping each other, protecting and watching each other''s back, and bing their strength and weakness.


    "The strength to protect and keep the family going. And the weakness, so they can keep going for a better future, hoping to turn all the weaknesses to strength." Kai smiled while recalling that scene. It was also at that time, Kai fell in love with Michelle.


    Looking at his expression, Rapakha smiled. "I see. What a splendid girl¡­"


    "The others are also doing everything they could to help me like how I try to help them. And at that time, I realize that this might be the love and family that I dream about. We are getting stronger to protect each other and be their strength at their weakest. That''s why I know that I need to be responsible for each of them.


    "I respect their wish and will try everything in my power to fulfill their wish. And they¡­ They are even prepared to throw their goal and wish just to give a push on my back. How can I disappoint them? I know that the bases want to repopte the Earth, but that''s why I don''t want to have someone contradictory with them even if I need to sacrifice my own love for that person.


    "I think at that point, it''s not love anymore. It''s lust. Luckily, I don''t have a case like this yet, and I am not nning to have one in the future." Kai couldn''t stop smiling when he talked about the girls.


    Rapakha could tell what kind of person Kai is. "Then, I shall give you my blessing. There is a belief that the head of Rapa Nui people can give a blessing to their most respected person¡­ That''s why I am praying for you to achieve your goal. I don''t know how the world will spin in the future, but I decide to gamble it on you, young man."


    Kai''s body shook, never expecting Rapakha to do this. They were not close enough to do this, but Kai could feel that Rapakha was sincere about this. He bowed his head with a smile. "Thank you, Elder."


    "Good. Let''s go back to the house first. You can y around the ind until everyone is going home."


    "I understand. We shall enjoy ourselves here." Kai nodded and followed Rapakha to the stone house along with the others.


    After sleeping through the night in that house, Kai toured the ind and enjoyed the beauty instead of investigating.


    Of course, they returned to the base first, finding that Carissa had taken care of everything. The pick up woulde in three days to iste the ind for a few weeks. They decided not to bring back any equipment because President Brent still wanted to investigate the ind.


    Even if he couldn''t get anything more, he hoped there would be a chance to use that ce to be their base to cross the Pacific Ocean. Besides, they might be able to find anything about the Ancient Protectors in that area.


    Kai understood his intention and didn''t stop him. However, his ability was limited, and his time was rted to the mission, so he didn''t have any intention to stay on the ind unless his teacher asked him.


    But Ria Ross would surely keep her silence because there was no point in sending Kai there. Instead, she was nning for something bigger, and she kept it secret from Kai and the others until she had gotten the information needed.


    Of course, Kai also had no problem. He also wanted to see what kind of truth behind this apocalypse anyway. As long as it wasn''t too dangerous to the point it was impossible, he would surely participate.


    He could ask for more reinforcement anyway, so there was no need to hesitate.


    Three dayster. The airne came, bringing every scientist and fighter on the ind. Kai also returned together with them. Of course, the jets were also dispatched because Kai was in the airne. President Brent would surely keep his promise anyway.

 Chapter 261 - Talking About Flaws

    *Yawn*


    Kai gradually opened his eyes when the airne was about tond. He had enough fun on the ind before he needed to fight that spider. The group seemed to have their own thought about the iing raid mission and seemed to be pretty eager to experience it because they knew what they needed to improve before going.


    When they returned to their house, they seemed to busy themselves with all the things they needed to improve.


    Just like before, Michelle asked Kai to apany her in practice. Ayaka began her research about the perfect control after submitting her request for her equipment. Tasha began her training with Rapakha. She even updated her progress every day to Kai, and he didn''t find it annoying because he knew that Tasha was alright.


    Evan seemed to be pondering the meaning behind Rapakha''s advice to the point he came to Isabelle to ask her opinion. He didn''t dare to disclose the matter to his family for the time being, lest they got caught into something big.


    As for Sofia, she only sent an apology to him without any apparent reason.


    And finally, a few weekster, Kai was reading a research paper in their room before someone knocked on the door.


    "Is that Tasha?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. Tasha was supposed to return today after finishing her training, but when he listened to the footsteps, it sounded pretty heavy. That kind of sound shouldn''te from Tasha. In other words, there was someone behind that door. "Come in."


    "You thought I was Tasha¡­ But it''s me, your beloved grandfather-inw!" Nathan entered the room righteously while pumping his fist as if he just won. His smile was irritating everyone. Even Sanae started getting bored with his acting.


    Michelle suddenly appeared behind him andunched a sneak attack.


    Nathan already sensed her. She seemed to want to grab his cor and throw him out. But Nathan made aplete turn around by grabbing her hand and threw her at Kai. Of course, he threw her so her head would dive first, and his target was none other than Kai''s lips.


    And just like that, the two kissed. Nathanughed again. "Haha¡­ Sneak attack is fine but looks at this granddaughter. Not only have I forgiven you, but I also give you the chance to kiss your husband."


    "Why do I need a chance to kiss him?" Michelle immediately snarled after regaining herposure.


    Kai also twitched his eyebrows. Even though he didn''t mind being kissed by Michelle, Nathan wasn''t someone that generous. In fact, he seemed to be using that to make Sofia angry. What a petty but thoughtful guy.


    "Anyway, why do youe here, Sir Nathan?" Kai sighed and asked.


    "Ah. I am goin¡ª" Before he finished his words, a magic circle appeared out of nowhere, stopping him from opening his mouth.


    "Teleportation." The magic circle waited for no one. As soon as it waspleted, it teleported Nathan somewhere as a familiar figure appeared.


    "Ya! It seems everyone is disturbed, so I think I should send him off first." Tasha grinned. She even changed to a school uniform, telling that she had returned home to change before going to school.


    "You should tell me if you have arrived. I woulde to grab you." Kai was surprised a bit to see his sister.


    "Haha¡­ It''s fine. I was using my Teleportation Magic anyway, so it didn''t take too long." Tasha smiled.


    "By the way, where did you teleport him?" Michelle asked and continued with an expectant look. "Tell me you sent him to the afterlife."


    "Oi oi¡­ Don''t kill your grandfather just like that¡­" Nathan appeared again while scratching his head. "She teleported me to the rooftop. Still, to think she could even do this to me now, you must have improved your ability that much from your training. It makes me curious as to what training you have undergone."


    "That is a secret that Elder Rapakha told me not to tell anyone." Tasha smiled. "Well, I also can''t really use much because I haven''t mastered it yet. It will take a while to practice it as well."


    "Anyway, that was good magic and timing earlier." Nathan nodded.


    "Thank you."


    "By the way, I need to talk with you. How dare you to teleport your grandfather-inw to the roof?!" Nathan put an angry face.


    Tasha only smiled and asked him. "Or do you want me to send you to the girl''s changing room?"


    "Eh?!" Nathan''s body shook as he instinctively said. "No."


    "Hahahaha! Do it next time! No, you must do it right now!" Michelleughed out loud. "I want to see how the powerful but humorous general bes known as a perverted general."


    "My dear granddaughter, your reputation will also be hit if I have such a title, you know. And I will im that your husband is with me."


    Michelle''s body shook as she tried to search for another way to corner him. "No. If it''s him, the girls will instead flock to him. Wouldn''t that be even more detrimental for you?"


    "Now you say it, it''s certainly true. Anyway, if you still dare to do it, I will arrange another marriage that he can''t escape. Hehe¡­ I have many connections you see." Nathan grinned as he confronted his own granddaughter.


    *Cough!* Kai decided to stop these two immature acts and asked. "What are you doing here, Sir Nathan? If it''s about the ind, I have submitted the report myself."


    "No. It''s not for that. I am going to discuss the matter of our Raid Mission." Nathan shook his head.


    Kai''s expression turned serious when he heard that before asking Tasha. "Can you close the door?"


    Tasha nodded and closed the door before Kai offered Nathan to sit.


    "What is this about? Do we have any problems in the deployment?"


    "There is no problem as of now. Since ''they'' are not hiding their movement, we can expect them to appear on the battlefield. The problem is their number. We don''t have enough power to determine how many magical beasts they bring."


    "I think it won''t be that much. Even if they can use the river toe to us, bringing too much will also be a problem." Kai shook his head.


    "I think the same, but there is that mad scientist. Although I can see how serious you are going against those Protectors, you arecking in the matter of this scientist."


    "Hmm¡­ Now that I think about it, it''s indeed as you say. Our current situation is too focused on the Protectors. Even though I should know that we shouldn''t be too fixated on them because it will be hard to kill them¡­" Kai clicked his tongue, realizing the w in his n.


    "Don''t beat yourself hard. We didn''t realize it too earlier, so we are also part of the fault here." Nathan smiled. "Since this n is yours, I am thinking, what do you want to do with him?"


    Kai thought for a moment. "Nevertheless, rather than fixating over enemies that are hard to kill, we should focus on our force to kill this scientist first."


    "Are you going to use your trump card on him instead of the protectors?"


    "No. It will be hard to do that. I want to make a special detachment force with an army of two thousand fighters from either General Ethan or General Jose."


    "If that is the case, you can ask Jose for it." Nathan nodded.


    "Alright." Kai nodded. "Besides, my goal is not only the scientist but also the protectors. Anyway, my teacher is going to be a part of our original n, but I am going to lead this new special force."


    Nathan looked down and yed with his chin. After a long five minutes, he finally understood Kai''s n. "I see. That''s what you are aiming for."


    "In that case, you might want the best of the best from his army to ensure its sess." Nathan nodded. "I will request it to him myself."


    "Thank you very much." Kai paused for a moment. "I have another request in that case."


    "What is it?"


    "I want my group to apany me, including Sofia."


    "!!!" Sofia widened her eyes. She bet Kai didn''t want to take her, so she didn''t achieve anything in this base. Yet, he seemed to have another n. Whether it was a good or bad n, it was good enough for her as long as she was included.


    "I can understand that. In that case, I will have Isabelle''s group to standby too."


    "No. Isabelle is fine, but I don''t think I need her group here. Besides, you should know that we fought against Rapakha together with only Isabelle. Although I can''t say the details, I only want you to know that I need her." Kai shook his head calmly.


    "I see. Alright. I will have her group to protect her. Unfortunately, that Tommy seems to be upied with that matter."


    "It''s fine."


    "No, no. Do you know who his fiancee is?"


    "It''s the current Student Council President, right?"


    "Then do you know about her other identity?"


    Kai tilted his head along with the others before Evan mentioned it. "General Sanders''s daughter."


    "What?!" Kai and the others shouted out loud while blinking their eyes.


    "You are right. She is that man''s daughter and a prodigy in a defensive war. It''s said that her talent is even better than Ethan himself. That''s why she has this kind of pride in her heart."


    "Now I see why Tommy said she is dangerous." Kai nodded in understanding. "In any case, it won''t affect our n. I will do everything possible to eliminate the immediate threat and weaken our enemies as a whole."


    "Since you have decided, I will then leave." Nathan nodded. "There are three more days before we march to the battlefield andunch the operation the next day, so get plenty of rest ande with your best condition."


    Kai saluted. "Yes."

 Chapter 262 - Ria Ross

    Just like that, three days had passed.


    Michelle seemed to have more confidence than before, and Kai certainly knew the reason. Ayaka had gotten a few new pieces of equipment. Tasha was the most rxed one because she had done everything she could after Rapakha''s training.


    On the other hand, Sofia had apologized to them because she made the situation awkward due to the fights with Rapakha. She then recovered and gradually became normal again.


    Evan, on the other hand, was looking at his device to see whether they had an announcement to go. At the same time, he was also curious about Sanae and asked. "Teacher. Are you going to participate in this mission like the previous one?"


    "No. The school has ordered us to standby here. The operation this time is too big, so it''s better for us to not join, so you can directly see what kind of battlefield with a few hundred thousand magical beasts in it."


    "The school is not worried about their students then?"


    "Not really. The army has taken care of that, so if you want to me anyone, me then, not me." Sanae shrugged.


    Kai nodded. "Alright. In that case, we are going to set off, Teacher."


    "Yes. Be careful out there." Sanae nodded.


    Kai and the others then left the room, heading toward their personal helicopter and flying to the sky.


    Half an hourter, the helicopternded on the military base, where Kai was greeted by the generals.


    Kai tilted his head, wondering what was going to happen. These four would surely gather attention if they were in the same ce, let alone greeting a student.


    "May I know what is going on here?" Kai politely asked.


    "Nothing. We are just curious about the little devil who is going to fight with us today." Jose smirked.


    "That''s right. Besides, he seemed to have undergone an interesting training far from here." Nathan nodded in agreement.


    "Well, I just hope for a safe battle." Ethan shrugged.


    "Haha¡­ You need strength to do that." Paoloughed before getting smacked by his wife.


    "Ehm? Then, should we have a meeting?" Kai asked.


    "It''s fine. You can put down your luggage first because we are going tomorrow. And the meeting shouldn''t take that long." Ria suddenly appeared and said nonchntly. "I am too tired from having too many meetings."


    "It''s a pain in the ass to exin everything to the soldiers and us, right?" Nathan grinned, teasing her.


    "That''s right. You three idiot old men, why can''t you simply listen to my order and ask nothing." Ria let out a long sigh.


    "These three are pretty cute despite their age, you know." Jose smiled.


    "They are dumb." Ria shrugged before grabbing Kai and dragging him inside. "Anyway, let''s go inside first. The meeting will be held in three hours. I don''t want it to be more than half an hour."


    "¡­" The generals only smiled when looking at their back before Jose smiled to Kai''s teammates. "Come inside. They are going to your room."


    "Ah, yes." Michelle and the others were startled and immediately followed Kai.


    As soon as they put out their luggage, Ria asked him to follow her as she wanted to talk about something.


    They went to the rooftop. Ria leaned her back on the ceiling as she looked up. "Say¡­ What do you think about fighting an S rank magical beast?"


    Kai thought for a moment and genuinely said, "I don''t think the spider is stronger than Elder Rapakha."


    "¡­" Ria scratched her head. "Have something hit your head?"


    Kai shook his head. He could clearly remember how hard it was to fight Rapakha. Even with allbinations he could think, the first attack that took his arm somehow became theirst clean hit.


    Although the poison would be dangerous, they had trained their dodging ability since Rapakha didn''t hold back with his attack.


    "Since you think of him with that high regard, what do you think if I fight him?"


    "I don''t think you will win." Kai shook his head.


    "He was that powerful huh¡­ I think it''s time to say goodbye to my ''Teacher'' title."


    "Eh?"


    "I think I will ship you to Easter Ind, so you can train more there."


    "¡­" Kai widened his eyes before shaking his head. "No, no. You might not be the best teacher that I can hope for, but I think you are the most suitable one for me. I think of you more than my teacher."


    "Eh? Do you like a taboo rtionship?" Ria made a face of disgust.


    "I mean, I see you like an older sister¡­ No, a mother is more suitable."


    "Oh. A Teacher-Student rtionship is an insult. A Mother-Son rtionship is an honor."


    "Can you stop teasing me already?" Kai rolled his eyes. "I seriously think of you like that. Now that I see the past, I can see this matter clearly. That''s why I want to thank you for everything."


    "Now you sound like someone who will nevere back. What is the word again? Ah! You are triggering a g, you know."


    "Teacher¡­ I am certain that there is a screw loose in your head right now. Or are you afraid?" Kai smiled.


    He expected that his teacher would tease him again, but that tease never came. Instead, she didn''t say anything for a minute before hugging him.


    "Teacher?" Kai was startled at first, but he felt her shaking hands and rapid heartbeat, knowing that she was anxious.


    "I am sorry¡­"


    "Teacher?" Kai called her name again, wondering why she was like this.


    "The truth is¡­ I am really scared to fight against this S rank. Not because I will lose, but because of the thoughts of me losing something more precious than the battle itself." Her shaking voice resounded in the depth of his heart.


    Kai closed his eyes and realized. She wasn''t teasing him earlier. Instead, she wanted to reject his thought because if he thought of her as his mother, she was afraid to lose this ''son'' of hers in the uing battle. She was afraid that the previous incident where her teammates all died happened again.


    That was why she kept teasing and correcting his words.


    Realizing this made Kai happy. He slowly raised his arms and hugged her back. "Don''t worry. I am not the weakling I used to be. Even if needed to be, I shall be the one to end this fight for you."


    "Teacher¡­ Can I ask you something?"


    "What is it?"


    "When you have something bothering you, can you call me? I know that my current power might not be of any help, but I still can listen to your problem. I want to repay you for all the things you have done for me." Kai smiled.


    "Silly kid. You have thought of me as your mother, right? Then do you think the love of a mother is something that asks for a return? Besides, you have done enough for me by pulling me from that darkness."


    "Teacher¡­"


    "Yes?"


    "Do you know that we are triggering a g right now?"


    "Absolutely. But this is real life. Screw those gs that only appear in a story."


    "Haha¡­ I know you are going to say that." Kai smirked.


    "Anyway, let''s talk about business." Ria took out another device from her pocket. "This is thest thing that you want me to make. With this, you will have thirty percent of your magic power. I think this is your dream item, right?"


    "Yes. I should be fine with this thirty percent since I think more than that will just be a waste. I think I can use all my magic with this amount." Kai nodded.


    "It''s good then. There is one more thing that I want you to know."


    "What is it?"


    "I think I can make a drug to suppress your animal instinct¡­ The one that wants to make you insane. Hmm, controlling your animal instinct might sound more appropriate. The concept is mellowing the instinct to the point you can assimte with it and control it."


    "You havepleted the drug?" Kai opened his mouth in surprise.


    "Yes. Thanks to you for bringing me the corpse of that girl."


    "I was just leaving her there. Since the request came from you, I couldn''t say no."


    "Anyway, I can replicate the DNA to mellow the animal instinct. This way, your fighting prowess should increase because you don''t need to hesitate and unleash your instinct. However, I need a bit more time toplete the drug, so I hope you can wait."


    "Seeing how my genius teacher can solve my problem is already like a ray of the miracle that will soon fall upon me." Kai shrugged with a smile.


    "Heh¡­ You can sweet-talk now." Ria smirked.


    "Haha¡­" Kai chuckled.


    "Now that I look at you, you look more confident than before and¡­ a bit bolder. I think you don''t hesitate anymore." Ria observed him from top to toes.


    "Yeah. I think I have seen the path. I don''t know where the journey will end, but I know where to start." Kai smiled.


    "Heh, quoting something like that¡­" Ria smirked, nning to tease him, but Kai suddenly grinned.


    "And I also want to show the result of my training in this battle." Kai smiled.


    "Heh¡­ It''s something that I should look forward to." Ria nodded.


    "Anyway, I think we are done around here since Teacher has also livened up a bit."


    "True enough." Ria paused for a moment. "Hence, I am going to brief you about our current situation."


    Ria talked about a few things regarding their deployment and strategy. Although there was no major improvement in his n, he still needed to know the very details.


    Kai thought about it and understood the npletely before he and Ria went to the meeting room.

 Chapter 263 - Last Meeting

    Inside the meeting room, the situation appeared to be very tense since they were going to go tomorrow. They would have too many responsibilities tomorrow, so they should take this seriously to ensure there was no w in their mission.


    And yet, the moment Kai entered the room and started the meeting with a single statement.


    "Tomorrow¡­." Kai took a deep breath and made a solemn expression before continuing. "As for the n for the attack on the S rank magical beast I shared with you before¡­ Depending on how the battle goes, you may discard it as you see fit."


    *Thud!*


    The situation became even colder after that statement. Paolo suddenly mmed the table, finding Kai''s statement to be ridiculous.


    "Just casually dropping that n we spent so much time and effort on?!" He looked very angry because Kai just said it was fine to throw away that n so easily.


    It was at this time, his wife''s hand grabbed the back of his head and mmed it on the table. "Darling. You need to calm down first and see the situation."


    "This is why a muscle brain is always a muscle brain¡­ You can only attack your enemies without any thoughts. In fact, you would fail as a general if you don''t have your wife behind you¡­" Nathan snorted.


    "Fufu¡­ Though he is still energetic despite his age, you know." Erica smiled while teasing him to ease the atmosphere.


    "Alright. Let''s stop it now." Ria stopped them from going in that direction. She quickly interpreted what Kai said with simple words. "Since I don''t want this meeting to be that long, I will just tell you what he means¡­ It''s not that hecks confidence in the n itself. But simply that staying flexible is of the greatest priority. It just goes to show how many unknown factors may affect the attack¡­"


    "Oh¡­ Oh!" Paolo took a while before nodding his head as if he understood.


    "I trust you to make the appropriate decisions as the situation develops," Kai added with a serious expression.


    "Hehe¡­ Look here. My student can talk big now." Ria pumped her chest proudly.


    "¡­" Kai rolled his eyes, but the generals were responding to his statement.


    "Don''t worry. We have been handling so many situations like that." Nathan nodded with a smug smile.


    "True. I will do my best to not let any magical beast disturb our n," Ethan added.


    "I am only supporting Ethan''s army, so I should be fine." Jose shrugged.


    "Haha¡­ I am going to show you how good I am¡­ Or my wife is¡­" Paolo corrected his statement after sensing a dangerous auraing from his back.


    "Understood. I shall leave the rest to you." Kai bowed his head.


    "Then, it''s my time, huh¡­ Via will be handling the signal for us. And I am afraid we can''t use the signal after the Protectors arrive because they will simply understand us and make a counter." Nathan exined their condition, especially around Via since she was one of the Graham Family''s forces.


    "About that case¡­ I am not nning to rely on the signal that much for this operation." Kai shook his head.


    "I know. I am just telling you." Nathan shrugged.


    "By the way, I have separated my unit as per your request. There will be my vicemander to lead these two thousand men. He will obey you without asking a single question. Just be wise in using them as they are people." Jose looked at Kai with a serious expression.


    "Thank you very much." Kai bowed his head. What Jose sent were her elite units that she specifically trained in the base shemanded previously, so they were like her flesh and blood. That was why he bowed his head to show his seriousness for this matter.


    "As long as you know it, then I will leave them in your care."


    "As for me, I have nothing to say basically. During the fight against the S rank magical beast, I will be your sturdiest shield and prevent the magical beasts froming to you. However, if it''s too deep underground, then there is nothing we can do, so I need to apologize in advance."


    "I know. I will be the one watching them." Kai nodded.


    "And the moment you have killed the spider and rampage to another battlefield, I will be watching your back, so no beast is going to hunt you from behind."


    "Yes. Thank you very much."


    "As for my army, there is nothing wrong with them except they are going to fight head-on, so don''t expect so much from my army."


    "¡­" Kai didn''t answer this. Instead, he was asking apletely different matter. And he grew curious about it since long ago. "If I may ask, why do you treat me like an equal here? I mean, I am just a student and certainly can''t bepared to you."


    "Why not? After my granddaughter was born, I realized how talent defied age. You might not have the experience and strength needed to be our equal, but your talent has made up the gap." Ethan was the first one to answer.


    "True. All the people here¡­ Starts from the bottom, moves to the five men leader, one hundred men captain, etc. And yet, you are able to skip that process and almost be our equal this soon. That''s why if we treat you as garbage, how are we meant to treat other soldiers?" Jose smiled.


    "You are my grandson-inw. It''s your job to surpass me. And I believe you will grow faster when you get responsibilities. That''s why you are my equal." Nathan didn''t forget to unt Kai''s status, of course.


    "I am far simpler than them. I can see that you are quite a warrior yourself. I had some doubts previously, but when I see your aura again, I can see that you have found your own path. Only those who have lived for long know what is the meaning of their life and their principle¡­ And yet, you have gotten it when you are a student. Thus, you are the same as me then." Paoloughed out loud before getting another smack from his wife. "What? Why did you hit me again?"


    Erica only looked at his teary eyes with a smile and said. "You just told him he is old¡­ That high school thingy is not able to fix that problem. Anyway, what we see is your skills instead of your status or age. If we don''t give freedom to the young, they won''t be able to escape from this prison called age."


    "As for me¡­ You are my student. Those who dare to look down on you will face my wrath!" Ria Ross made a smug smile, feeling very proud.


    "And that is the most important reason," Nathan added jokingly before he dodged a few knivesing toward his head. "Oi oi. I was joking!"


    "Don''t worry. You are going to the afterlife because I am just ying with you¡­ Of course, ying with throwing knives." Ria smiled while forming many knives with her magic.


    "Thank you." Kai smiled.


    "Still¡­ It''s only us who are thinking that way. Many Generals don''t see you that way. Even though you are racking up achievements. You are still too green. They are afraid that you are going to fail if you are too fixated on your achievements.


    "Some of them are trying to beat your confidence to let you grow slower but wiser, while some are jealous of your talent and truly want to beat you. In any case, they know they are responsible for many lives, so they know what they can do and what they can''t. And the ordering from higher-up is still enough to shut them down for the time being.


    "If they know you personally, I believe they will think of you like us. That''s why keep walking in your path and don''t get swayed." Nathan smiled, finally acting like a good grandfather-inw.


    "Heh¡­ To think you can say those lines¡­ I am impressed. I thought you were going to say it was a joke." Ria snorted.


    "What did you say? Even if you are his teacher, I won''t hold back against you!"


    "Fine by me. Let''s see which of us will win this time!" Ria smirked. She looked pretty pumped, especially after knowing Rapakha was far stronger than her.


    This incited the fighting spirit in her heart to once again improve her ability. She felt like going somewhere quiet to train herself once again. At first, she was satisfied just by watching Kai grow into a splendid man, but she changed her thoughts.


    She secretly clenched her fist, swearing to train aftering back home. And with that, the group meeting had ended. "With this, the meeting is over. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the military base near the spider. Most of the soldiers are already there anyway, so make sure you rest well because we will see a hellish battlefield tomorrow."


    They nodded with a solemn expression before leaving the room.


    ¡­


    The next day, Kai and his group walked toward the airne that would take them to the next base. And Ria seemed to take the same one with them.


    This raised a certain thought in his mind that he forgot to say.


    "Teacher¡­" Kai grabbed Ria''s hand, stopping her.


    Looking at his expression, he seemed to have something important to discuss, so she asked. "Do you want to dy the departure a bit and tell me what bothers you this much?"


    Kai looked at the others and noticed that they were watching him. Hence, he suddenly activated his Sound Instion Magic to stop them from listening to their conversation.


    "So, what do you want to say to the point of making this Sound Instion room?" Ria furrowed her eyebrows while observing their surroundings.


    "If I may make a request of you before we set out¡­" Kai''s expression turned grim while Ria tilted her head in confusion.


    "?!"

 Chapter 264 - Arrival

    "Move out!" Ria shouted in front of forty thousand people.


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers saluted and shouted in unison before starting to walk.


    Kai looked back and gradually turned his vision to the sky. They just arrived at the temporary base they could make before going to the spider. It took approximately two hours of running before they entered the spider''s territory.


    After that airne carrying them to this base, they approached the border with the military trucks. It took a lot of trucks to bring these forty thousand people.


    Even so, the journey went without a hitch. At the very least, he didn''t hear a single thing that would lead to a problem.


    The soldiers passed him as he could be considered as a special officer at this point.


    Ria spotted him and walked to him. "Do you have anything in mind?"


    "Nothing." Kai shook his head as their eyes intertwined. Ria wore the same uniform as the one in the previous raid mission. However, the stars on her shoulder weren''t four anymore. Instead, it was five, symbolizing her status as the Marshal, the one with the highestmand in the base in time of war.


    "You are going to inform us the moment you find the spider, right?"


    "If the data is correct about its size, I should be able to find it as long as we enter its territory." Kai nodded before pointing his finger toward the soldiers, signaling Ria to get moving now.


    The two then started jogging to catch up with the group, heading to the uncharted territory.


    They continued for two hours straight. The four armies found some monsters in the meantime, so they took care of them while moving. And as expected, the moment they passed the border, the magical beasts began to appear more often.


    Kai had predicted this situation, and the group slowed down their march, so the loss could be minimized. The two hours journey became four hours, but the loss was only about four hundred in total while they had killed more than five thousand magical beasts.


    There was nothing but feeling secured to have this manymanders at one mission because they arranged their own army to perfection.


    Ria was protecting Kai by running beside him. She could see that he was closing his eyes to focus his attention on his ears, listening to their surroundings.


    ''This is a hard task for him¡­ Not only that, but the spider also barely make any sound or move. He needs to do this¡­'' Ria thought for a moment. ''Still, we need his ability.''


    While she was thinking of this, Kai didn''t leave a single sound, whether it was weak or strong. He kept searching until, at one point, he found somethingrge.


    "This¡­" Kai muttered to himself.


    "You have found it?" Ria immediately asked.


    "Yes, but¡­" Kai hesitated for a second, wondering if they should have gone that way.


    "What happened?"


    "Not far from the giant spider, there are around a hundred spiders. I believe they are from the same species."


    "It''s fine. Our elite group should be able to handle it. We can stick to the n." Ria nodded with a serious expression.


    "Not only that, I have found a concentrated area of magical beasts¡­ It''s in our seven. The spider is in our eight¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ It''s hard to believe it''s a coincidence. Hence, we can safely assume they are our other enemies."


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    Ria called Via without hesitation, asking her to send a signal.


    Just like that, a projection appeared in the sky with "B8 - 6" written on it.


    It meant formation B while moving to their eight. Themanders immediately changed their position ording to the formation while watching their six.


    They had made several formations. The first one was A, where they could engage the spider freely. They only needed to surround it while stopping the magical beasts from helping the spider. This one was the second formation. It was a receiving formation for another iing enemy.


    Nathan and Paolo came to the front while Ethan and Jose went to their right.


    Luckily, they had yet to be noticed by the enemies.


    Kai gradually walked to the front while carrying his weapon. Ria, Tasha, Michelle, and the other elites also followed him.


    Looking at these one hundred people, Kai said, "The spider is a bit more than a kilometer in that direction. The moment it hit five hundred meters, we are going to sprint to that ce."


    "At the same time, I want all of you to focus on the smaller ones first. Kai and I will be holding the bigger one for a while. After that, as nned, ten of you will be supporting us while the others watch out for an attacking from the surface or underground." Ria added while ncing at these people.


    Since they shouldn''t leave a huge roar, they simply nodded. They were the most elites chosen from each army. They knew not all of them could fight against the S rank magical beasts. But they were not like a kid who thought they deserved to fight such a being.


    Instead, they thought supporting and defending the main attacks were the most important jobs. After all, without them fending the enemies, the main attack couldn''t focus on the spider.


    Their aura was more ferocious than the Ria and Kai because of this. The two, on the other hand, smiled at each other, knowing that their army had prepared to go for the worse.


    After another minute, Kai and Ria leaped at the same time, leading the army from the very front even though there was still one kilometer. Their reaction simply due to seeing a city in front of them. The group immediately reacted and followed right behind them.


    Seeing this sudden movement, Ethan and Jose immediately shouted on top of their lungs. "The arrow has been shot. Formation C! Surround the city!"


    It created a chain reaction to the entire army, including Nathan and Paolo. They also shouted to their soldiers. "Formation C. We are going at full speed! The city is not that big. Spread out and circle around the city."


    The group had been trained to not let out a sound even after getting an order. Instead, they let their bodies react naturally as they slowly changed their positions before running at their full speed to their eight.


    At this time, the Student and Teacher duo already led the entire army from the very front.


    "Three magical beasts spotted. Two on our right, one on our left." Kai informed her while knowing there were a few more magical beasts before they could meet the rumored S rank magical beast.


    "I take the right. You kill the left one." Ria nodded as the two monsters came into her vision. They were a snake and a fox.


    Meanwhile, the one that attacked Kai was a mutated cow. Unlike the normal animal, this cow had sharp horns capable of piercing through their body.


    Unfortunately, their enemies were the monstrous duo. The moment they arrived in front of them. Kai struck his sword at the cow''s horns, cutting it before the swords sent its head flying.


    The horns might be hard, but it still was not strong enough to block Kai''s Vibration Swords.


    Meanwhile, Ria also took only a split second to butcher these two monsters. She first struck the snake that seemed to block her sword with its fang before letting the fox bite her.


    Unfortunately, the snake didn''t know Ria let it stop her sword, so she could leap to the air with that force that killed her momentum.


    And the moment she saw the snake''s head from above, she shed it, separating the head with its body.


    *Roar!* The fox wasing to her.


    Normally, Ria could kill the fox with a single strike, but she was currently upside down. The soldiers were wondering how the fiercest fighters in the US Base would turn around the situation.


    The answer came in the form of a kick. Ria let the fox bite her boot, only to find a magic circle appear right after. It was at this time the fox knew it was the worst move he could use. Unfortunately, a sword emerged first, not letting the fox to react.


    Ria immediatelynded after spinning her body and continued running. And just like that, the three magical beasts got their lives taken by this duo.


    The soldiers were amazed by not only their coordination but their attack pattern. However, they also knew their limit and didn''t n to replicate such a move in a battle this big. Even the one hundred people of Ria''s personal army only admired her silently. In fact, they thought they couldn''t have it otherwise because Ria needed to step down if she wasn''t that capable.


    ''Follow the general!'' The elite group had the same thought as they also started killing because the closer they were, the more magical beasts around.


    With that, the group started facing some problems, forcing the two to decrease their speed.


    They ran across the ck asphalt road while being stormed by many beasts. Even so, the group continued before Kai turned left on the corner. "It''s here!"


    The moment they heard it, their body started to tense up, knowing the big battle would soon start. Yet, the moment they turned around, not a single spider could be seen.


    ''Where is the spider?'' The moment they arrived at the scene. She looked around, searching for the spider. They seemed to arrive in a small town with a size of less than one kilometer in radius. The spider had built a giant web between two tall buildings. She saw it after Kai jumped, trying to make the first move to hinder the spider from moving.


    However, as one would expect from an S rank magical beast, its reaction speed was far greater. It immediately moved its body as its voice resounded across the region.


    "Scree!"

 Chapter 265 - Battle Start

    "Scree!"


    This sound filled the atmosphere around the town and soon to be followed by a series of roar from the beasts in their surroundings, creating a chain reaction a few kilometers away.


    Luckily, Nathan protected the group on the east of the town while Paolo took the south direction. Ethan and Jose moved ordingly to blockade the town on the west and north. As for the rest of the monsters inside, Ria needed to take care of them.


    Still, the problem was Kai jumping first.


    He saw the two front legs of the spiders move, trying to ram Kai with those two legs.


    However, Kai took the first initiative and struck the two legs before it could hit him. And as expected, the legs were so hard to the point his sword only left a scratch there. It seemed to be stronger than the protectors'' bodies.


    Suddenly, Ria appeared right near the left side of the spider, trying to cut the giant web with her sword. But to everyone''s surprise, the sword stuck instead of cutting it.


    "Sound st!" Kai saw this and immediately created the magic circle forty-five degrees to his right foot. He stepped on it,unched himself, and appeared before her because he noticed the spider tried to attack her with the other''s legs.


    "Change role?" Ria asked with a smile.


    Kai nodded. Ria was supposed to cut the web while he distracted the spider, but it seemed she didn''t have the sharpness to cut this one. Hence, it was better to change roles, trying to make the spider fall to the ground.


    This spider had the size of a car, so in terms of build, they were not that much since it wasn''t like they were fighting a dragon as if it was a flying tank. That was why they were d to not have a huge monster.


    After all, a huge body came with advantages and disadvantages. They could be easily attacked with that huge body, but sometimes humans'' speed was not fast enough to cover that huge body. If they also had a certain speed, that kind of monster would be a mass killing weapon, just like the snake in Russia.


    Thinking about this, Kai took a deep breath and used his Sound st tounch him mid-air. The direction was none other than the first web that Ria couldn''t cut.


    Still, it was in mid-air, and Kai didn''t have his Sound Levitation magic. Because of this, he attached himself to the right tower by stabbing his sword to its wall before trying to cut the web with his sword.


    "Wait¡­" Kai immediately halted his movement when he was about to strike the web. "This looks like mochi ¡­ If I cut it too fast, the web will stick to my swords. Still, I can''t levitate, and Ayaka is not here. What should I do with the rest of the web?"


    As he thought about this, he tried to cut one of the strings with his Vibration Sword. He didn''t dare to go too strong and fast.


    He sliced the string slowly. The sense of touch was like cutting a soft cake. It was soft but sticky. If he were careless, the web would stick in his swords, making it unusable.


    "Kai?!" Ria was shocked that Kai cut it at that snail pace.


    "I am sorry, Teacher. This is the best way to cut it." Kai shook his head. The texture might not like Rapakha''s wall, and the strength was nowhere near it. Still, he hated the sticky.


    He kept mentioning it in his head due to how frustrated he was. However, Kai kept going and cut a string after going at it for one minute.


    "This will be bad¡­ If I cut at this pace, I need around twenty minutes before I can send the spider down." Kai thought for a moment. "The rest of the group might also have finished their task and started killing the spider¡­ No, I shouldn''t think about this. I need to keep at it."


    After shaking his head together with his thoughts, Kai went to the one lower than him since it also stuck on the building.


    ''Still, how am I meant to cut it?'' Kai thought, trying to find a way for the ones hanging on the air.


    Suddenly, Ria snorted. "You can ask me for your footing."


    "Ah!" Kai almost forgot about it. Ria Ross could summon a sword from her magic circle, so it should be fine to draw a sword handle and became a footing for Kai.


    "Take all the times you need." Ria smiled before fighting the spider again.


    The group also began to butcher the magical beasts¡­ Or so they thought.


    *Scree!*


    *Roar!*


    The surrounding monsters became berserk because there was an intruder. They attacked the people without any conscience.


    "Everyone, be careful!" Tasha suddenly shouted. She was one of the people supporting the entire group from afar. Due to this, she had a clear vision of the magical beasts and their condition. "Most of them are A rank magical beasts!"


    "!!!" The group was rmed by the information, never expecting them to have such strength. However, the thought vanished the moment they remembered they are fighting an S rank magical beast at the moment. If that wasn''t enough to be protected by many A rank magical beasts¡­ Then they didn''t know which one would be enough.


    "Those who are facing B rank or below, immediately kill your opponents and help the others." Kai listened to their conversation andmanded the group.


    Even though themander was Ria, she had stated that Kai''s word is her word. If they disobeyed, they would lose their lives because Ria was an entric one.


    They received the instruction and nodded. At the same time, Kai had cut the third string, heading toward the fourth string.


    He stepped on the handle, specifically the sword hilt Ria built earlier. He saw the monsters attacking their surroundings and took a deep breath, knowing they needed to immediately cut them down before another wave of monsters came.


    At this time, the situation turned ording to their expectation. Just like how they prepared for an iing battle, Ethan and Jose furrowed their eyebrows the moment they saw around thirty thousand beastsing toward the city.


    "Old Ethan. Here is our enemy." Jose nced at him. They were flying above, so they could get a clear grasp of the enemy''s position.


    Ethan obviously understood and formted the n in his mind. "Jose. I will take care of this thirty thousand with my army alone. You are going to prepare for another wave because there will be more monstersing."


    "How many do you think wille?" Jose asked.


    "Looking at the current opener, I think there will be around one hundred twenty thousand monsters. The second wave will be filled with fifty thousand, while thest one has forty thousand. That''s why you are going to prepare instead of joining this battle." Ethan exined with a solemn expression.


    "Hehe¡­ Now that you mention it, I really want to see the power of the famous Fortress General." Jose smirked.


    "It''s nothing fancy, but it''s notme. Besides, every general that reaches three stars will have their own title as a symbol." Ethan shrugged, telling her it wasn''t a big deal. "Besides, you also have one¡­ Eh? Night Arrow Jose?"


    "Hmph!" Jose rolled her eyes.


    "Well, I am going to fight like usual, but I think I will put in more effort. My granddaughter is fighting with me anyway, so it''s best to show my powerful style to teach her how to manipte the formation because every single formation is useful to deal with different types of approaches." Ethan smirked.


    "Oh! That genius granddaughter of yours. The one rumored to have more talent than you?"


    "Yes. She is smart and should learn many things in this battle. Still, I also have the duty to beat her down again as to prevent her from being arrogant." Ethan then pped his hand before creating an ''O'' with his index finger and thumb.


    The officers under hismand immediately recognized the signal and moved ording to the instruction. He had brought all high-ranking officers, at least five hundred men''s captains, or above. So, the army could perform a high battle maneuver even with only a single hand signal.


    Just like how the situation settled, another ze appeared on the other battlefield, specifically in Paolo''s direction.


    Paolo and his wife were watching the entire army from a tall house near their ce before they found dust kicked by many magical beasts.


    "Husband. Do you remember our n?"


    "Of course." Paolo nodded with a solemn expression. "But it''s frustrating to know that I can''t go all out because there is another unknown threat from another direction."


    "Yes. Sir Nathan will handle that, but there is no telling the threat won''te. Anyway, I have gotten special instruction from little Kai. You should also have received it, right?"


    Paolo remembered that and nodded with a solemn expression. "Whether he is too careful or not, he is one of a kind young man."


    "Indeed. If only I met you sooner, I could turn our little kid to be like that."


    "There is no need to say that. As long as you love the kid, I am satisfied." Paolo took a deep breath. "Still, I think there are around twenty to thirty thousand magical beastsing to us. The leader would surely be that idiot scientist¡­"


    "Yeah. The army has assumed their position. We are good to go. It''s your turn." Erica smiled.


    "Thank you." Paolo nodded before jumping to the front. It was an action that garnered attention from the whole army.


    Soon, they started spotting magical beastsing toward them. It was at this time Paolo shone brighter than the others.


    "Turn yourselves into beasts, O soldiers of Paolo. It''s time for the hunt!" As soon as he finished the usual phrase, he immediately charged toward the numerous beasts with his club in hand.


    Seeing this incited their fighting spirit even further as they followed him and shouted in unison.


    "Ooooooh!"

 Chapter 266 - Shadow Possession - Union

    The battlefield started getting heated up, but the one that had been scorched by that ''heat'' was those inside the city.


    Kai was lying on the ground, specifically a crater.


    "It''s really a monster." Kai gritted his teeth. Not long ago, everything was ording to their n. Kai managed to cut half of the spider''s web while Ria was guarding him. Yet, he never expected that there were so many underground creatures below their ce.


    Although his sensitivity in the ground was weakened by the fact that he didn''t ce his ears on the ground, it still gave him the sound from two kilometers downwards. And yet, around one hundred creatures suddenly bypassed that barrier and headed straight to them.


    The creatures were obviously ones without eyes because deep underground, they had no light to see. Still, Kai never expected that the onesing were far stronger than a normal magical beast.


    Due to the extreme environment inside the ground, they had a resistance to poison and heat. Their body was also strong as they would be crushed by rock or heat if they didn''t have that body.


    The moment they resurfaced, their elites started to have trouble. Their current opponent was already powerful enough for being a Rank A Magical Beast, and with the addition of these guys, it was catastrophic.


    Kai obviously tried to help them, but the spider attacked him first. He deflected the attack with all his strength but still couldn''t kill the momentum, resulting in him falling to the ground.


    It was at this time Tasha finally made the first move. She appeared on the ground, specifically in front of Michelle, who was fighting against these two guys. A few people, including her, managed to injure their enemies to a certain degree.


    If they waited for another few minutes, these people should be able to finish their fight. However, Tasha realized that the situation would worsen if it weren''t solved as quickly as possible.


    "Tasha?!" Michelle opened her eyes wide.


    "I don''t have Kai''s ears, but I believe there might be more monstersing to the surface. That''s why we need to kill at least half of them so we wouldn''t get overwhelmed by their number."


    Michelle was deep in thought while parrying her opponents'' attacks. Suddenly, her shadow shrank, absorbed to her body before many markings formed on her body.


    "Shadow Possession!"


    Her aura gradually turned fiercer as her swords became a bit bigger. Although she couldn''t make the swords to be two-handed swords, increasing their size and weight was still within her ability.


    "Shadow sh!" She shed forward, sending two dark waves toward her enemies. Her enemies were a dog and a white lizard. It was obvious that the dog was the one from the surface while thetter came from the underground.


    However, the two seemed to have the same reaction speed as both leaped to the side to dodge this attack.


    Tasha appeared right above the dog, pulling her bow. A purple magic circle appeared right in front of the bow and released the arrow from point-nk range.


    "Lightning Piercer!"


    *Bark!* The dog still tried to escape and bite Tasha''s bow, but the arrow shattered its head like sses.


    Noticing her movement, Michelle immediately went to the other one. Because the lizard had no eyes, it tracked Michelle''s movement from her aura and smell alone, immediately turning its head to the side. After that, the lizard bites Michelle''s sword.


    "If it was a month ago, I might not be able to beat you in this strike. Unfortunately¡­" Michelle suddenly waved her other sword.


    The lizard immediately moved its body, trying to catch the other sword, but Michelle''s aim wasn''t the lizard''s body. Instead, she went straight to the mouth.


    Since the sword got bigger, it meant it had more reach than usual. She took advantage of it and released a dark wave using that other sword as a medium from the sword that got bitten.


    "!!!" It clearly saw Michelle''s move.


    Her Shadow sh could only be used on the ground because the dark wave itself could only travel on the ground. And yet, Michelle just made it travel by using her own sword.


    The Dark Wave then circled around the lizard''s body and cut it into pieces.


    She looked at Tasha and smiled. "It seems you are bolder than your usual fighting style."


    "It''s still iplete. Just like yours." Tasha shrugged.


    "Fair enough." Michelle shrugged while ncing at their situation. "Our job is to help those elites, starting from the strongest because they have injured their opponents like me."


    "No. Your job is to go to Kai. I know that you have been sneaking behind us and training with him¡­ It''s time to show your progress. In the meantime, I will teleport all these monsters to the sky." Tasha shook her head, having another n in her mind.


    "!!!" Michelle opened her eyes wide. "Are you serious? All of us are scattered, so if you use that many Teleportation Magic, won''t your magic¡­"


    "Don''t worry. I have trained my magic with Elder Rapakha for a few weeks. I can somehow control my magic power as to not waste a single magic power due to my current control. Teleporting all of them won''t be much of a big deal, so go!"


    "¡­" Michelle looked at her for a few seconds before nodding her head with a solemn expression. "Then, I shall wish you luck."


    "You are the one who needs it." Tasha smiled.


    The two then leaped to their own destination. Tasha immediately appeared from one battle to another, teleporting many magical beasts to the sky.


    "Woah! This is the legendary magical beasts rain that we have heard inside the base?"


    "It''s marvelous!"


    Many eximed in surprise and astonishment. However, the S rank spider saw this and wouldn''t let Tasha do as her wish.


    The moment it saw this situation, it suddenly leaped and spurted out its web all over the area, trying to soften the ground with a fewyers of its string.


    "No, you won''t!" Ria gritted her teeth and summoned many giant swords to block a few areas.


    And yet, the spider seemed to not care that much. It might be because he had done his best that those who could survive meant they were not lucky.


    At the same time, as one would expect from A rank beasts. Although it wasn''tparable to the S rank magical beast, they still had enough intelligence to slowly move their body in the air, so they couldnd on the webs.


    Half of the town was covered in a white sticky web. They looked like a between buildings that would catch the falling magical beasts. And the fact it came from the S rank magical beast, it was strong enough to not be cut by something other than Kai''s Vibration Sword.


    However, as one would expect from the elites. They immediately thought of another way to kill these falling beasts.


    Many magic circles appeared on the ground or in their hands. The Fire Magicians shot a barrage of me magic to burn the web while sting the monsters. The Earth and Ice Magicians immediately created a huge wall that even pushed the web itself.


    With the hard ground like this, the web that stuck on its surface wouldn''t have an effect. At the same time, the Wind Magicians immediately blew the magical beasts that might be saved by the and pushed them outside the range of the web by using their wind magic.


    The other Magicians also did the same, synchronizing their moves to match the situation. If they were not capable of doing this, there was no way they coulde together with Ria to this ce.


    Those who didn''t manage tond safely got either crushed into pieces or died mid-air. Tasha let out a long sigh, feeling a bit drained. But she still nced upon the east where Kai fought the spider.


    ¡­


    In the meantime, Michelle arrived right behind Kai.


    "Kai¡­ Let''s do it!"


    Kai nced at her before listening to their surroundings. After checking it was safe, he nodded.


    "Shadow Walk!" Michelle then sneaked inside his shadow.


    "Oh! I have never seen anything like that. Did she just enter your shadow? Wouldn''t it be a powerful weapon, especially for espionage missions?" Luckily, only Ria was in the area as she eximed in amazement. She stepped to the side to avoid the spider''s attack.


    And yet, the surprise didn''t end there.


    The same marking as the ones on Michelle''s body suddenly formed on his body. The same ck rose appeared right below his eye.


    "Shadow Possession! Union!"


    "Ho?!" Ria could somehow understand what they were doing.


    "If I don''t have darkness, then I shall be the darkness itself. That is the concept of Shadow Possession. However, there is also another famous idiom. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. I shall be her light that will shine brighter than others, so the shadow can get darker as she envelops me with that shadow to increase my strength." Kai smiled.


    Michelle nodded in agreement. She realized this concept to be the missing piece of what shecked. Rapakha was the one who made her realize this as she quickly trained this step with Kai as soon as they returned to the base.


    This was the Shadow Possession ¨C Union.


    Still, if one asked where Michelle is right now? She was inside the ck markings on his body.


    "And this alsoes with another benefit." Kai smiled as he raised his sword before swinging it down. "Shadow sh!"


    The dark wave ran through the ground and climbed the wall, shing a portion of the tower.


    "With this, Michelle can channel her Shadow Power to me. I only need to channel it at the right time while she controls her own ability¡­ And of course, this can''t be used if the partners do not trust each other and know them for a long time to the point they know each other''s habit." Kai smiled and continued.


    "And with this, I shall bring the spider down with your help."

 Chapter 267 - The Battlefield

    "And with this, I shall bring the spider down with your help." Kai smiled.


    "Hoh?! Still, I don''t think your job will change even with that¡­" Ria shrugged. "Just cut those strings first, so we can fight this spider on the ground."


    Kai also understood that and nodded his head. "Alright. I will be able to handle it faster."


    "Good!" Ria smirked as she leaped to the spider again.


    "Ugh! I am still feeling a bit weird with you inside me." Kai said inwardly.


    "Your word choice¡­ Anyway, do you think I don''t feel it''s weird? Ugh, the stick in the pants¡­ I can feel what you feel when I am in this state, you know." Michelle alsoined.


    "Luckily, I don''t share your feelings because my shoulder will soon be stiff if that were the case." Kai chuckled.


    "Nevertheless, you said it despite being enamored by it."


    "¡­" Kai had two choices. Told her that Tasha has bigger ones or lied that he was a butt-guy or a justice thighs lover. Either way, he would end up getting beaten by Michelle after this. Hence, he simply ignored her and asked, "What are we going to do with this?"


    "Changing the topic, eh? Never mind then. Still, it''s weird since I can''t hear a single thing except feeling the pain from your ears."


    "I am also clueless about my ears, and I apologize for the pain."


    "It''s fine. I can endure the pain, but the curiosity is killing me."


    "Ahaha¡­ I think it''s better for you to not hear what I can." Kai shook his head.


    "Alright. Let''s get into the business then." Michelle let out a sigh and looked upward. "Leap toward one of the strings. I will give you something to hang on, so you can cut them more effectively."


    "Alright." Kai nodded. Although he didn''t know what kind of thing she would make, he trusted her, especially after training with her in this state for a few days.


    Kai leaped toward the string directly, but before he touched it, a dark aura covered his hand, slowly forming a w-like thing.


    He took a glimpse of it and understood what Michelle wanted to do, so he raised his hand toward the string. The w-like thing flew out of his hand before entangling with the string. It turned out to be a grappling hook made of Michelle''s Shadow Magic.


    With this, the distance between him and the string wouldn''t be a problem, and he didn''t need any more footing.


    Kai immediately used his Sword to slowly cut the string. Fortunately, the string was pretty solid, giving him a nice base to hang on.


    He cut the stringpletely before they started falling. Michelle made another grappling hook so he could attach to another string as the other one disappeared.


    It was at this moment the spider noticed what was happening and considered Kai as a threat. It immediately turned around and spat out more string that should be released from its other end.


    It took Ria by surprise as well, but Kai could hear the movement inside the spider''s body and knew the spider wanted to do something with its mouth.


    As soon as the string came out, Kai created a huge Sound st to blow the web away.


    "Why did you use Sound st instead of your Oscition Shield?"


    "I don''t know what would happen when it stuck to my shield. Rather than worrying about it, It''s better to st it away." Kai shrugged while cutting the string in front of him. "Anyway, let''s make this fast."


    "Yes."


    Just like that, the duo started cutting the strings one by one. The spider tried to attack them again, but Ria ensured it wouldn''t happen again. Although she couldn''t hurt the spider, she still did a very good job of distracting it.


    Finally, after several minutes, he finished his job. The string fell down to the ground together with the spider.


    Michelle also retracted the shadow, and Kainded on the ground.


    However, they couldn''t do a single thing before Kai heard the footsteps of many magical beasts. It didn''te from the South where the army engaged the scientist or the west where Ethan had a defensive battle. It came from the opposite direction, the east.


    "It seems our prediction is correct. They havee." Kai said while ncing at the sky in the east direction.


    "Hmm?" Ria turned serious after listening to Kai.


    However, the one who turned serious was not only her. The whole ten thousand soldiers, especially theirmander, Nathan, had a change of expression.


    They were fighting a bit farther away from the city because this fight would surely be troublesome. That was why he was nning to fight in a grass in instead of a forest because the wood wouldn''t slow them down.


    Beyond the horizon, numerous magical beasts began to make their appearance. They trampled the forest and stomped the grass. Sea Creatures from crabs to seahorses were in sight, but the one that took their breath away was a woman on top of the biggest beast in their rank.


    She had red wavy hair. However, she seemed to be wearing some sort of traditional clothes. It was a tight red long dress, buttoned sideway from her right chest to her left waist. At the same time, her fish tail had changed into a full-fledged human''s feet.


    She appeared like a zing sun that descended after taking pity on the magical creatures. And yet, there was a sense of anxiety and fear filling their heart if they took a glimpse of her appearance.


    "Commander! I believe their number is fifty thousand." A blue-haired guy rushed to Nathan''s side and informed him.


    "Fifty thousand huh¡­ This might be a bit bad." Nathan narrowed his eyes while watching the confident eyes of that mermaid.


    He then nced at his left, finding a beautiful woman who was clenching her spear tightly. "Nadia. This will be a hard battle for you."


    "Commander. I am ready to fight to thest man." The woman didn''t have a change of expression. As she said just now, she had prepared toy her life on this battlefield.


    The only reason she could say that because she saw the enemy separating their army into three. Two more protectors appeared before the mermaid and bowed their heads as if telling them about the hierarchy.


    "Princess¡­ Should we move ording to your n?" The first protector was a sea urchin. He had this ball-like body with little four limbs. However, each needle on his body looked very sharp to the point they would one-shot people with a single thrust. The skin was ck due to the original color, with his eyes filled with blue color.


    "Yes. Although my little dolphin can''t follow us, I am still confident with this number and our abilities. We are going to break through their position and head to the city beyond this in. That''s where the fun is." The mermaid nodded.


    "Fair enough. His Echolocation is very powerful in this type of situation. As expected from Princess, he was a loser before, but you know he would be useful for you." The second protector was a Marlin. He had a long pointed dorsal fish on his back. His pointed nose was standing straight as if it was a sword. His two arms also shared the same characteristics as his nose, leaving him with no human-like hands.


    "We are going to separate our force into three. Unsi. You are going to lead ten thousand beasts and go to the south. I am sure they will be stopping you, so you don''t need to go too deep. Just make sure you make them busy."


    "Understood."


    "Marline. You will bring twenty thousand beasts and prate as deep as possible. If you can, you shall break through their formation and head toward the north. From the information, they don''t really have anyone blocking on the north side. Hence, you shall strike their army on the west side from behind. We shall work together with the beasts called by that spider."


    "Yes."


    "If you two seed in your mission, that old man will surely divide his army even further. At that time, I will end him. It seems he is that man''s grandfather-inw, so I believe he will be very useful." She smirked.


    The two then nodded before ordering the magical beasts to move.


    After watching their movement, Nathan responded and separated his army into three as well.


    "Nadia. You will have five thousand soldiers and go slightly to the north. They are nning to attack either the city or our army."


    "Even if I perish, I shall make them pay and stop them." Nadia nodded while bringing her soldiers.


    Nathan could only sigh, knowing Nadia''s personality. He then looked at the man and said, "Your opponent is only going to buy some time. Of course, as long as there is a gap, they might break through your position and head to the Paolo Army.


    "I understand, General. I will be adjusting my way. The one I am worried about is Nadia."


    "You two are my right hand and my left hand on the battlefield¡­ If anything, I don''t want to see either of you die before me." Nathan sighed.


    "I am fine. But Nadia is a bit worse. You know her personality, so¡­" He let out a long sigh before walking to his own army.


    "Ardus," Nathan called his name as thetter turned around with a confused expression. After looking at his face for a few seconds, Nathan said, "Good luck to you."


    Ardus slightly opened his eyes and smiled. "May fortune be with you."


    They took their own ce. Nathan and the mermaid looked at each other, observing their intention. The silence abruptly filled the battlefield to the point they could hear the wind blowing around their ears. And yet, this situation made them lower their eyebrows while clenching their weapons tighter.


    Suddenly, Nathan''s and the mermaid''s eyes shed as they raised their hand and shouted. "Begin!"

 Chapter 268 - Gods Arrow

    "The situation bes pretty heated there," Kai eximed.


    "How many?"


    "Fifty thousand."


    "With the addition of the twenty thousand on the south and a hundred thousand on the west, we are surrounded by forty thousand magical beasts at this moment." Michelle frowned. "Isn''t this situation pretty bad?"


    "Don''t worry. I have a n and have informed the other generals about it. However, the n can''t proceed if we don''t kill the spider as quickly as possible. If we want to minimize the casualty, we also need to do it right. That''s why¡­ Lend me all of your power, Michelle."


    "All of my power? Even if you ask one hundred twenty percent, I shall give it to you." Michelle smirked as she channeled her magic power to Kai, creating ayer of ck suit to cover all over his body except his head.


    "Match my move!"


    "Yes."


    Kai took a deep breath and stepped forward.


    "Scree!"


    "Shut up, you lousy spider!" Ria Ross used a huge club to hit the spider, but it broke after hitting its head. Although the spider turned a bit due to the force, there was no scratch on its head.


    Kai immediately created an attack pattern in his head, wondering which legs he should cut first.


    "Teacher, let''s swap our ce. I will be hindering this guy while you prepare your arrow." Kai appeared.


    "Are you sure?" Ria furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I am sure. Your arrow will take thirty minutes to charge. And I believe that is the fastest way to kill the spider. During that time, I will try to take a few legs so this guy can''t escape." Kai nodded while making his way toward the spider before he nced in another direction and smiled. "Besides, I am not alone."


    "Fire Spear!"


    "Lightning Break."


    "Wind Shield!"


    A spear made of me along with a ball filled lightning flew toward the spider before a barrier appeared, covering the spider.


    *Boom Boom!* The spear exploded, and the me engulfed the spider. At the same time, the lightning also sparked, electrocuting the spider. The Wind Shield was the one that kept these two attacks froming out.


    "I am sorry, Supreme Commander."


    "Yes. We arete."


    "No, no. We arrive at the right time."


    Two women and one man stood tall above a building, smiling at Ria and Kai. Except, Tasha and Michelle, these three were part of the tenth main attackers that would help Ria to take down this spider.


    *Bam!* A house turned into rubble as a monster crashed into that.


    One man and four women finally made their appearance. And with how the man was holding a giant hammer together with his bulky body, he must be the one who threw the spider earlier.


    "We are here too!" The guyughed.


    "After getting help from Kai Carter''s sister that is¡­" One of the women added because she didn''t want Tasha''s help going unnoticed.


    The guy only shrugged.


    Kai listened to the surroundings and noticed that Tasha was still helping the rest, so she would probably take a while beforeing here.


    "Teacher!" Kai shouted while staring at her with a serious expression.


    Ria gritted her teeth andmanded out loud. "From now on, themand is in my student''s hand. His word is my word. I will prepare my magic to kill this spider!"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The group shouted.


    "Jacob. Youe with me to hold the spider back. Xin and Drey will try to distract its attention and probe any weak points. The rest will suppress the spider with your magic from afar. Make sure you dodge every single attack because it will be the time you die!" Kaimanded as he arrived in front of the spider, allowing Ria to jump backward.


    "Understood!" The group immediately moved to their position. Jacob was the bulky guy, so Kai expected him to help with his power, like fending off an attack from its legs. As for the other two girls, they were two women behind Jacob. They both had wind elements. Although they didn''t really have that much attack power, they were the fastest and the most flexible among them, so they were the best choice to be in the most dangerous position.


    "Thirty minutes start now!" Kai shouted, striking the spider''s mouth with his Vibration Sword.


    "Scree!" It roared once before parrying Kai''s attack with his mouth.


    *ng!* As expected, it was very strong to the point it didn''t leave a graze on it.


    "Doryaa!" Jacob leaped to the side of the spider, banging the spider''s head with that giant hammer of his.


    Of course, the spider wouldn''t let a beating like this go away. The moment the hammer hit its face, he moved the front leg. With the power and hardness alone, it should be able to pierce the guy''s body easily. And with the poison that could be excreted on its legs, it would be a fatal attack on Jacob.


    Seeing this, Jacob prepared to hit the leg with his hammer andunched himself using that powerful force to get away, but Kai was a bit greedy for this.


    A ck wall appeared between Jacob and the leg, giving Jacob a precious footing to leap. Jacob saw what Kai just used. A ck shadow was extended from his right foot to this wall. And his face¡­


    ''Ah, I see!'' Jacob thought as he leaped toward his original position. If the leg wanted to hit him, he needed the one in the opposite direction to do this. Of course, with this sudden change of direction, Jacob didn''t forget to hit the spider''s head once more, blowing it in the opposite direction.


    However, it was the same direction where Jacob flew to, so it was bound to hit him.


    "I can stop it," Michelle informed him as she stretched her shadow, creating another wall that separated Jacob from the spider. Every single string that the spider spurted out stuck on the ck wall. Yet, not a single of them remained the moment the shadow shrank.


    Michelle was assured that her shadow was fine because she could stick to the string with it, opening another pattern for Kai.


    "Give me a Warhammer." Kai requested as he retracted both weapons. With its legs returning to their original positions after they failed to hit Jacob, Kai wanted to use that opportunity to attack the joint, hoping for it to break, especially with his one thousand kilogram strength.


    Michelle, obviously, created a Warhammer, channeling a big amount of magic power to it to weigh it up.


    "Sound st!" Kai used his Sound st to instantly arrive in front of the thin leg while swinging that giant Warhammer. "Ha!"


    *Bang!*


    Kai was surprised because he didn''t feel a heavy impact from the sh despite the loud sound. And he suddenly found a purple substanceing out of its leg.


    ''Poison? Is the poison that strong to the point it can dissolve the hammer almost immediately?'' Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    ''I think so. The leg moved a bit, so the leg only hit the handle. By using that poison to weaken the handle even further, it cut down the handle, making the hammer itself fly away, thus the loud sound.


    "I know that. Still¡­ I can''t use my original sword to fight this one, can''t I? If he dissolves my swords, I need to bring them to Ayaka to repair them."


    "Yeah. So, which weapon do you prefer to fight this guy?"


    "Since I n to destroy its legs, so Teacher can have an easier time, I will have one a bit heavier. Two-handed swords please."


    "Sure. Here are your two two-handed swords." Michelle summoned his order perfectly, making the same sword that he used in Cuba''s war.


    Suddenly, he leaped backward after noticing the fluctuation of magic power.


    The rest of the people released their magic power to hit the monster.


    "Explosion."


    "Wind Gale."


    "¡­"


    The five shot the spider down while creating a little smokescreen. Two women sneakily ran below the spider''s belly, poking every ce they could and leaving before the spider attacked them.


    "I don''t see one."


    "Same here."


    "This is going to be a troublesome one¡­"


    "Agree."


    "Still, we should finish our mission. Failure is not allowed."


    "Don''t worry. I know."


    The two conversed before they retreated, allowing Kai and Jacob to take the front again.


    "Good work, all of you. Let me handle this again." Jacob was full of energy. Although he never fought together with Kai, he somehow understood what Kai implied just by seeing his action.


    On the other hand, Kai still hid behind Jacob to observe the situation a bit more before Ria''s voice rang inside his ears. He retreated while ncing at his back.


    "Arrow!" Ria had also started summoning her arrow. The amount of magic power needed to power it up was insane, so she needed a long time to do it. And the fact that she needed to perfect every part of the arrow took her a lot of time.


    However, even before it was fully charged, the arrow had materialized. The arrow was ten meters long and three meters wide. Ria was acting like she was pulling the bow even though she was channeling her magic power into it.


    Still, the appearance of this arrow was mesmerizing. Despite being called an arrow, its structure was that of a spear. The long and circr handle took two-thirds of the entire structure. As for the tip of the arrow, it was a triangr-shaped sharp-pointed arrowhead. There seemed to be a weird pattern that was holding most of the magic power in this arrow.


    Of course, if there was an arrow, there should be a bow. Unlike the usual bow, this bow was created purely from multiple magic circles, adding theplexity of the bow. Yet, it looked majestic, scary, and powerful at the same time.


    "God''s Arrow, Lokraisha!"

 Chapter 269 - Fighting The Spider

    "Good. Everything is in order now." Kai confirmed that his teacher had started building up her magic. This was the magic that killed the previous S rank toad. And it also came from a bitter memory of her since all of her friends were killed because the charge was too long.


    However, Kai swore that he wouldn''t let such a thing happen again. At the very least, not on his watch.


    "Jacob!" Kai roared as Jacob just got blown away by the spider. The spider seemed to ram its head to Jacob to create such a force. Luckily, Jacob managed to block its head with his hammer, not allowing the spider to even touch a single string of his hair.


    "Sorry. But the spider will surely focus on our Supreme Commander because of that magic." Jacob exined the reason. He just attacked it to distract the spider as he realized the spider would lock on something that had a chance of killing him.


    Kai immediately understood the situation and shed his des, sending a ck shock wave through the ground.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Since Jacob was flying toward him, Kai purposely sent the wave next to him. Jacob thought that Kai couldn''t strike the head because of him, but Kai''s aim was more mundane. He never expected to kill this monster without a long battle because of how hard the spider''s skin was. Hence, his real target was those thin legs. Although the skin was strong, it still looked like the weakest part of the spider itself.


    Of course, even though it looked like Kai was the one who used the Shadow sh, it wasn''tpletely true. Kai only made the motion of the Shadow sh while Michelle was the one controlling the magic. They had been practicing hard, so they could fight like this.


    The moment the Shadow sh hit the front legs, it halted for a few seconds, trying to cut the hard legs.


    "Attack!" Kai shouted.


    The magic squad immediately rained the magical beast with their magic again. And with the fact that the spider got stopped by Kai''s Shadow sh, Xin and Drey wandered around the spider again, searching for a weak spot on his body.


    Kai fell into silence, stopping his attack for a bit. Noticing his action, Jacob decided to have another round with the spider.


    "Hmm¡­"


    "Kai¡­ What are you thinking right now?"


    "My fighting style is going to get slower because of the bigger sword. Although the exoskeleton has somehow closed the gap, it''s not at that point¡­ That''s why I am nning to use my body to attack."


    "Are you ins¡­" Michelle suddenly stopped after realizing his real n. "I see. I will keep up with you. We have been training for this, but it''s not perfect yet."


    "It''s not perfect because we haven''t fought against magical beasts or people. That''s why we haven''t polished it yet." Kai took a deep breath. "Don''t worry. I am not nning to use this as my main style to fight this spider. After all, I will be a fool to use something unusual even for myself to fight a spider that can kill us in a single attack."


    "What are you aiming for?"


    "I am trying to search for its weaknesses. Whether it''s eyes or legs, I am going to use that tounch my first strike. The time limit is thirty minutes. We need to immobilize the spider within thirty minutes so Teacher can hunt it down with that magic." Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "How about your Vibration Sword? Do you think you can destroy its skin?"


    "Probably. But it will take a bit longer, and I doubt the spider will let me just like that."


    "Then what are your main aims?"


    "Legs, mouth, eyes, and butt. It can shoot out the web from its butt and mouth, so I want to block it if possible. Still, it''s better to strike on its eyes and legs first because that will be our main concern."


    "I understand. I will control my shadow magic to conjure a weapon all over your body. If you raise your knee, I will make a sharp deing out of it. If you sweep your elbow, I will make a sharp scythe to strike the spider."


    Kai smiled as he said, "Thank you."


    "Now, go!"


    Kai nodded and leaped toward the spider while shouting. "Jacob."


    Jacob nced at him and knew he wanted to step up. He immediately leaped to the side, allowing Kai to move freely.


    Seeing this, the spider immediately struck Kai with his two legs.


    Kai smirked as he stepped to the right, so he only needed to focus on one leg. At the same time, he stretched his left hand as shadow stretched out of his elbow, curving like a scythe toward the spider''s eye.


    The spider noticed the iing attack from its six eyes and slightly tilted its head, making the scythe miss its target.


    At the same time, it increased the force behind the leg to m Kai down. However, Kai finally showed his move right after this as a magic circle appeared next to him.


    "Sound st."


    The magic circle created a little shockwave to push him to the side, allowing him to dodge the spider''s legs. After that, he took another step to the side, pulled his left hand, and struck the other leg with his main hand. This didn''t stop there.


    "Shadow sh."


    Michelle immediately released her Shadow sh as it ran across the body before circling around the leg as if it was trying to search for an opening.


    When it moved its leg to stop this, Kai already moved around the beast, heading toward its butt. However, right before he was about to strike around there, the spider shot out the web continuously.


    Kai halted his movement and nced over the string. The poison looked very strong as it managed to create a small hole in the building that got hit by that string.


    "That web is dangerous. We need to leap above it to go around it." Michelle warned him.


    "But I think that might be its weakness too¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "After all, it looks like the spider doesn''t want anyone toe near it, right?"


    "True enough."


    ??Still¡­" Kai suddenly leaped onto its body but stopped before he touched it. The spider should be able to excrete more poison in its back, so it wasn''t wise for him to step on it. At the same time, he used his Sound st to arrive on the other side of the spider.


    "Shadow sh."


    Heunched another attack that swirled on the spider''s body before he returned to the front of the spider.


    "The spider''s movement is a bit slow, but its reaction speed is insane. The eyes and the butt seem to be its weakness. Legs are hard, so it needs more time to break. As for the mouth, I am afraid I can''t go there yet." Kai let out a sigh.


    *Boom Boom Boom!* His retreat was followed by the bombardments from other magicians.


    However, Jacob was utterly shocked to listen to what he said earlier.


    ''Seriously? This guy only needs one round to know that much? Even Drey and Xin are not that capable¡­'' Jacob frowned.


    "I haven''t searched the other parts though. There might be some hidden spots on its legs that might be weak, such as its joints or ces filled with muscles. There is also its head and body, whether it''s from the top or the bottom. We need to search for a way as quickly as possible because things will get real soon." Kai informed them with a serious expression before he nced at his two swords. "Still¡­"


    The two swords melted a bit after striking its legs. Luckily, he didn''t use his Vibration Sword because it would get troublesome when he dealt with the problem outside.


    Michelle immediately recalled the shadow swords before making new ones. Kai smiled. "It''s new again."


    "Hehe¡­ You better thank me. Besides, it will be hard for you to bring down the Spider without a Vibration Sword, right?"


    "Yeah. I think the ces that have no poison are the mouth and eyes. Other than that, I don''t dare to unleash my own sword." Kai nodded.


    "Now that I understand why you said it''s hard to destroy its leg, despite it being another weakness."


    "Yeah. That poison turns that weakness into a deadly weapon. In any case, I will keep striking it after the first attack hit the spider." Kai smiled before signaling Jacob and the others what to do with a hand signal. It was a simple and generalized signal, but they should understand what he really meant when they saw the situation.


    "Attack its eyes!" Jacob was the first to react as he shouted ording to Kai''s instruction.


    They immediately followed the instruction and released a little magic toward the eyes. And as expected, the spider tried to protect its eyes.


    That was when Kai and Jacob went around the spider. However, the spider still managed to react and attack Kai that it deemed dangerous.


    Kai looked at the iing leg without a change in expression. Two people suddenly appeared between them and struck the leg, holding it back, so Kai could go.


    Jacob seemed to go a bit farther for his winding up, but Kai didn''t care. The magic earlier was to smokescreen to hide their intention for a few seconds.


    During this time, Kai summoned a shadow spear and ced it right in front of its butt. Of course, he made sure to not touch the butt as to avoid being sensed by the spider.


    Jacob ran as fast as he could and leaped to the sky. He utilized not only his speed but also gravity to increase his strength. After all that built up, Jacob smirked and struck the spear''s butt with every ounce of his strength.


    *Bang!*

 Chapter 270 - Tasha

    "Scree!" The spider screamed when he felt his butt was pierced by something.


    Kai and Jacob immediately leaped backward because they knew the spider would release its web from there. And it turned out they were right. The moment it spurted out, the shadow spear melted due to the poison.


    Still, Kai looked at the spider and saw how the hole was dripping out blood. He had noticed this ce earlier from when the spider released its web when he was about to strike its butt. The ce that was protected like that was bound to be one of its weaknesses. And he developed a simple but devious n to get the first strike.


    And due to that strike, the spider turned around, looking at Kai and Jacob with its red eyes. Realizing that the spider was focusing on them, they took another leap back to make a distance.


    "We seeded." Kai thought while smiling. ''The n is to bring its attention to us for the time being while damaging its body. Luckily, the first strike seeded. In this case, we can focus on striking its butt or eyes. I will be doing the opposite and continuously hit its legs. I believe it will start crumbling soon.''


    "We have no change of n. Keep attacking the eyes and butt." Kaimanded when Jacob was about to attack.


    After nodding to Kai, he leaped toward the spider.


    The spider shot out a poisonous thread, but Jacob had expected it and jumped to the side, only to meet its right leg.


    Jacob struck the leg with his hammer after noticing that the head had turned around and was about to shoot another string toward him. However, he put only a bit of force to this strike, allowing the spider to pinch him to the ground. But before he touched the ground, a green magic circle appeared, blowing him away.Of course, the direction was where the spider''s head couldn''t spit its string.


    It was the support from Kai, so he was not going to waste it. The moment he slipped, he stepped on the ground andunched him back to the air. Taking another spin, he struck the floor with his hammer. "Force Lance!"


    A dark green line appeared from his hammer, running through the ground like a cable before a magic circle appeared right below the spider''s head.


    It pulled the ground and turned it into a spike that struck the spider from below.


    "Nice one." Kai smiled and ced his hand on the ground, creating a ck magic circle. "Shadow Maniption. Bind!"


    Michelle had created a technique to control the shape of her shadow, and Kai''s creativity added spice to her magic. One of the results was this magic. A few chain-shaped shadows emerged from within the magic circle, flying toward the spider and clutching its body.


    "Now!" Kai shouted, knowing the chance would only be a few seconds.


    Seeing how the chains were able to restrain the spider, the supports immediately released another barrage of magic toward its eyes.


    "Scree!" The spider released out a roar before a series of explosions urred.


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    By the looks of it, the magic hit the eyes, but the spider moved its giant body and blew the winds.


    "¡­" Kai frowned. Others might not notice it, but he listened to the sound and realized what happened. ''The chain cannot contain him because of theck of strength in the magic itself. However, as a surprise, it can stop him for a few seconds. But it seems there are toxins everywhere other than its body, eyes, and mouth. The chains melted in a split second, and the spider let the magic hit his head instead of eyes.''


    This monster was indeed a troublesome opponent. The spider let out another scream before it leaped toward Kai with its giant body.


    "Seriously?" Kai twitched his eyebrows and leaped back. Unfortunately, the spider moved one step ahead and shot out its string from the mouth.


    "Sound st."


    "Oscition Shield."


    Kai used a twoyered shield. The outer one was his Sound st, protecting him from the string by blowing it away in all directions. Luckily, he was going backward, so the residualing above him and below him either flew to the sky or stuck on the ground.


    At the same time, this was the first time he received an attack like this, so he used his Oscition Shield to ensure his safety.


    Seeing this, Jacob appeared next to the spider and swung his hammer. The spider had predicted this as it moved its front leg already.


    "!!!" Jacob sensed the iing leg and stopped his swing for a split second, allowing the spider to strike on that hammer instead of him. "That is dangerous. To think this spider intelligence is so high¡­"


    Jacob had no choice other than retreating. He nced at his hammer and found a hole in the middle of his hammer. "That poison is annoying as well. If that spider doesn''t have this poison, we can easily win."


    He clicked his teeth, ncing at Kai, who was still struggling with the string.


    Suddenly, a few magic flew toward the spider''s eyes again, trying to blind the spider.


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    This time was a bit different. Xin and Drey moved to the eyes, trying to destroy at least one of them.


    After getting into this situation a few times, the spider seemed to have understood something. The moment the two women came into his vision, he stopped spurting string and leaped to the sky, headbutting the two.


    "What?!" Obviously, the duo was startled. They immediately raised their weapon and used it to ensure they didn''t touch a single string of their body,


    Kai listened to the sound and clicked his tongue. He used his Sound st to move as fastest he could to grab the two women and flew to the sky.


    Jacob felt relieved when he saw the two women were saved and immediately used himself to distract the spider even for a few seconds.


    Kai nced at the two and asked, "Are you alright?"


    "Yes. We didn''t get hit. Thank you."


    "Good." Kainded on the ground and released the two before looking at the spider. ''What to do? As much as I want to teleport this guy to the sky, it is probably the worst move. Not only can the spider spurt out strings to cover the entire town, but it could also use its string tond safely. Even if we somehow were able to let him fall, I bet it won''t die¡­''


    He was searching for a way to severely injure the spider, but nothing came into his mind.


    "Excuse me, I think I noticed something¡­" Drey tugged Kai''s arm.


    "What is it?"


    "The spider seems to easily lose its movement. For example, the spider can walk straight, but it''s hard for it to walk in a different direction unless it turns its giant body. As for the jumping part¡­" Drey paused for a moment, not very sure about thetter.


    Xin understood thest part and gave her input. "He is weak in jumping to a diagonal direction¡­ But I think diagonal to the back is more severe. That''s why I believe we should attack the spider from the side instead of the front and the back."


    "That''s right. The spider still has a blind spot on the side and the back, despite having six eyes. That''s why we should prioritize this attack pattern. Then, we can return to aim the eyes if the situation goes wrong." Drey added.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the spider with a serious expression. "I see¡­ if that were the case, we could go ording to your way."


    Drey and Xin exchanged looks and smiled before jumping toward the spider again.


    Kai, on the other hand, took another serious look at the spider''s movement. "What are we going to do¡­"


    "I am wondering what to do as well. Although your power has been strengthened, it stillckspared to the spider''s defense¡­And it''s especially useless against its poison."


    "Do you think you have another technique to increase my strength?" Kai asked.


    "No. You have seen the technique¡­ In fact, we haven''t used our original strategy¡­"


    "I am sorry. The spider is moving a bit too weird, so I can''t utilize it properly."


    "We need a solution, not an excuse."


    Kai thought for a moment as an idea came into his mind. "I will try to use the attack pattern I polish in the fight with Rapakha. I believe I can pressure the spider a bit with that kind of attack."


    "Gah!" When he just got an idea, he heard his teammates letting out a sound, so he turned around.


    Kai nced at the others, who somehow got blown away by the spider.


    The spider turned around, locking its eyes on Kai. It seemed the spider felt Kai more dangerous than the others.


    "¡­" Kai squinted his eyes, focusing on the spider. He released his instinct to the fullest extent, preparing to have a full brawl fight with this spider.


    The spider seemed to notice this aura as well, and his body flinched a little as if it was startled by Kai''s sudden Lion Instinct.


    It stood there for a few seconds before the two released its ferocity, and the spider charged forward.


    Yet, the brawl got stopped because of interference from someone who finally appeared in the fight.


    "Lightning Piercer." A female''s voice rang in his ears as an arrow flew toward the spider, specifically its eyes.


    The moment it saw the arrow, the spider halted its step to let the arrow miss. Kai didn''t know why, but the spider should be able to easily use its hard head to block such an attack. But the reality was different.


    For whatever reason, it avoided Tasha''s attack as the person herself appeared on one of the buildings near them, saying. "Haha¡­ Who needs me? I havee!"

 Chapter 271 - The Situation

    In the Northwest Area, specifically on Ethan''s and Jose''s camp.


    Ethan was standing above a tower made of magic, so he could oversee the entire battlefield. Jose furrowed her eyebrows while approaching Ethan. Looking at his serious expression, she asked, "Ethan¡­ Do you think you can handle these beasts with half of our soldiers? I know about your reputation, but this is still far too difficult. Besides, there is also¡ª"


    "Jose," Ethan called her name and smiled. "You don''t understand the principle of defense. Do you think I can defend this area alone? No. If I don''t have my subordinates, I won''t be able to withstand these many monsters.


    "I have divided our twenty soldiers into twenty groups. I extract the two groups so they can rest for a bit. While the remaining eighteen were divided into two again. With five hundred people knowing what to do¡­ It''s enough to hold back five to ten times their number for a few hours because the chain ofmand is not that high with that number.


    "The group army can also move quickly and urately. With those thirty-six groups, I should be able to withstand one hundred eighty thousand magical beasts. Of course, even if it''s reduced to ten thousand, I can still hold about a hundred thousand. That''s why I am confident in dealing with them.


    "Besides, the moment the spider dies, they will be scattered and unorganized. Defending it will be much easier."


    "I see¡­ I don''t really understand the concept of your defense formation, but since you are confident, I shall leave it to you. Just inform me if you need anything, and I will aplish the task."


    "Haha! Your role is somewhere else, right?" Ethan grinned.


    "¡­" Jose closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "Yes. Still, do you think he will seed? I don''t doubt Ria Ross''s power, but I don''t know if it''s alright to trust him that much¡­ I know that his power and his talent is extraordinary. Even though I have said I treat him as my equal, it doesn''t mean I trust him one hundred percent."


    "The main factor of this n is the death of that spider. If we manage to kill the spider during the expected time, we have the chance to win the war. And I don''t want to think what will happen if we fail¡­" Ethan sighed. "As for Kai Carter himself, I have an opinion regarding him."


    "Mind sharing it with me?"


    "As far as his intelligence is concerned, he might be one of the smartest people in warfare." Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Of course, it''s only regarding warfare. His battle sense and fighting ability are top-notch, but I can''t trust those two more than I trust his war n. Do you understand?"


    Jose fell into silence, remembering Kai''s original n. She let out a long sigh again. "Never mind. The gamble is on, and we can only hope that the group can kill the spider. I will rest for now."


    Ethan nodded, watching Jose walk away.


    "Who will grasp the tide of the battle, and who will be swallowed by it? I wonder." Ethan shook his head and focused back on the battlefield.


    At the same time, the situation in the south wasn''t that good. Their situation might be the best of all armies, but theycked something. Theyck a person that could pierce through the enemy rank like an arrow.


    Erica was watching the battlefield and furrowed her eyebrows.


    ''Husband has been stopped by two failed zodiacs. It seems they are fighters since they can hold my husband for a long time. And the power granted by protector blood is really extraordinary¡­ Other than these two, his left-hand and right-hand men were upied with another two.


    ''If only one of them is able to pierce through, we can gain a huge advantage. It seems we can''t do anything for the time being. I should wait until the battlefield moves.'' Erica thought while looking on her left. Her eyes didn''t seem to be watching the left nk. Instead, it was far beyond that.


    It was Ardus. He was still ring at the Sea Urchin from behind his army. Although he needed to face the enemies five times of his number, he still didn''t have any n in conceding.


    After fighting under Nathan for a long time, he was able to recreate a few of Nathan''s strategies. In fact, he was the second brain on Nathan''s former army, the only person that seeded his position. That was why he could handle this situation without panicking.


    Even Unsi, the protector, didn''t manage to break through his first line of defense that easily. And thetter also knew it.


    Unsi then decided not to get heated up and y along with his strategy because he knew the first to crumble was not Ardus or Nathan, but the farthest one, Nadia.


    Nathan was pinching the bridge of his nose as he got too many thoughts at the moment. "How is our condition?"


    "Their middle army has yet to make a movement."


    "Don''t worry about them. They are most likely to move when one of our wings gets broken through. As long as we keep an eye on them, they won''t move." Nathan brushed it off with a nonchnt attitude.


    Yet, one of themanders asked. "Should we send reinforcement to our wings in that case?"


    "No. Three thousand is a minimum for us to watch their twenty thousand." Nathan thought for a moment and asked. "How about Nadia''s army?"


    "They are struggling as Sir has expected. Commander Nadia has been able to stop their relentless attack while going around the battlefield, but they will be broken through sooner orter."


    Nathan clicked his tongue andmanded. "Send a messenger to Nadia. Tell her that she ought to stop going around for a few minutes before shing with that protector. It doesn''t need to be serious. Just use some trick to buy time and retreat."


    "I understand. I shall convey it to her."


    Nathan clenched his fist, never expecting that the situation became so bad because they miscalcted the number of protectorsing. They thought it would only be two people, so he nned to intercept the leader himself while leaving the other one to Adrus and Nadia. But it seemed they were more careful even though they had that much power with them. It might be due to the two deaths not long ago, but it certainly affected his situation greatly.


    He turned around and whispered. "I hope you can win soon."


    Of course, Kai could hear this voice, but also couldn''t at the same time. He knew there was a voiceing around this area, but because too many people were talking at once, he couldn''t pinpoint it just like usual.


    Still, Kai himself had no time to bother with that kind of message because he was about to enter a great fight with the spider.


    "Tasha, back me up."


    "Roger!" Tasha smiled and pulled her bow again.


    Kai, on the other hand, slowly walked toward the spider. Thetter also did the same. And when the distance between them remained a few meters, both of them leaped.


    "Scree!" The spider roared and spat out the thread from his mouth.


    Kai activated his Sound st tounch him diagonally to the right, going around its legs. He then spun his body and used his swords like a chainsaw, hitting the legs multiple times.


    When thest strike hit, Michelle sent a Shadow sh, running through the spider''s body. The spider tilted to the right, pointing its bloodied butt toward Kai.


    "Nasty." Kai twitched his eyebrows and used his Sound st tounch him to the top of the spider.


    At first, he was nning to use another one to leap to another side, but Michelle suddenly extended his legs with the shadow, making a special footing that wouldst for three seconds before the poison on its body touched Kai''s feet.


    Because of that, hended right on his back, sending as many shes as possible along with the Shadow sh.


    Those ck waves covered almost all of the spider''s body before Kai leaped to the other side and used his Sound st to help him maneuver again while hitting the spider''s legs.


    Still, the spider expected Kai toe from that direction, so it tilted its head, trying to headbutt him.


    "Lightning Piercer!"


    It was at this moment Tasha released its arrow toward the eyes. And to everyone''s surprise, the spider leaped to the side again.


    "Again?" Kai muttered to himself before creating a bit of distance between them.


    Meanwhile, Jacob and the others were pretty shocked.


    ''What the hell is that youngster? How can he move like that? Even war veterans don''t dare to use such a pattern because they are unable to do that. What kind of reaction speed needed to do that?'' Jacob frowned, never expecting that he had underestimated Kai this whole time.


    ''No. This must be because of our Supreme Commander''s guidance. He is her student, so she must have honed him to the highest degree. I wonder if I should anticipate his growth or fear it? Nheless, it''s good as long as these skills are directed at the magical beasts, not humans.'' Drey also had her thoughts.


    The same as her, Xin halted her step. Are we even needed here? If he keeps that up, he will be able to cut the spider sooner orter¡­ Albeit, the guy might not have enough magic power and stamina in order to fight like that for a long time. Hence, he needs us¡­''


    While many had their own thoughts, Kai suddenly shouted. "Tasha! The spider seems to be afraid of your lightning. Hit him hard with that, will you?"


    "With pleasure."

 Chapter 272 - A Tool

    "Tasha!" Kai shouted after striking the spider''s mouth from the side. The spider was trying to either spurt him from his mouth or hit him with his leg.


    Yet, it abandoned that thought the moment Tasha released her arrow again.


    As expected, the spider seemed to be afraid of lightning. Although Kai didn''t understand the reason, he immediately shifted his bnce tounch another strike.


    The spider, on the other hand, leaped to the back while trying to spat another string from its mouth, only to find Kai had moved to another ce with his Sound st.


    It then tried to search for Kai''s location before sensing another arrowing toward him. Hence, he decided to shoot the arrow down with its web.


    The moment itnded on the ground, Kai appeared on its right side. His weapon had turned into one shadow ive instead of two swords. The ck energy covered the de as Kai struck the back leg as hard as possible.


    "Shadow sh!"


    On top of that, Michelle controlled the Shadow sh and made it circling around the legs. It was the exact same road to boot.


    Since making it go around the body didn''t do any damage, she rather made it in the same track, so it could cut twice, thrice, and so on until it grazed the thin leg.


    "!!!" Kai found it interesting because he listened to the sound and realized it got a bit deeper. Whether it was a millimeter or even less than that, the n was indeed working. As long as they kept doing it, cutting the leg without his Vibration Sword would not be a pipe dream anymore.


    "We got this." Michelle was also pretty happy about it.


    Kai didn''t put it on his face, but he was also excited. He then leaped to another side because the spider was about to turn.


    Suddenly, the spider leaped to the sky, trying to hit him with its giant body.


    Michelle immediately summoned a scythe from his elbow that he used as a support to hold the spider body from touching him. After that, he used another Sound st tounch him.


    Jacob, on the other hand, observed Kai''s battle. He seemed to feel there might be something they could do, but he didn''t know what it was. That was why he decided to step back a bit to remember it.


    Luckily, Tasha''s lightning seemed to be controlling the battle. Just like how the current arrow flying toward the spider that was in mid-air, the spider shifted its giant body, so it could shoot down Tasha''s arrow.


    Because of this, the spider was off-bnce, so he noticed it couldn''t change the ce itnded. And Kai found out that the ce where it wouldnd was near the biggest tower that it attached its web first.


    Seeing this as an opportunity, Kai leaped toward the building, entering it from the window. He then aimed forty-degree lower and waved his sword.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The dark wave ran through the ground, cutting the concrete floor. Due to the inclination of the cut, the top part of the building slid and fell on top of the spider.


    *Bam!*


    "Scree!" The spider finally let out a scream in pain. This scream was good news for them because they finally found a ray of hope.


    He smirked and winked at Tasha as if he was telling her his n.


    To everyone''s surprise, Tasha seemed to understand what he wanted to do. She released another arrow toward the spider.


    As much as it wanted to drown in pain, the spider leaped out of the piles of rubbles to save its life.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and muttered. "That spider¡­ Why is that spider so afraid of lightning?"


    "Maybe it''s his weakness?"


    "No, I don''t know why, but I feel that is not the reason. I am going to have Tasha''s magic to hit it first. If that is truly the weakness, I will summon all lightning element magicians in our elite group. If it''s not, the situation will not be in our favor." Kai sighed.


    "Alright. Should I grab the arrow and throw it to the spider?"


    "Yes. Just change its direction. The power will be boosted with my Sound st." Kai nodded.


    "Affirmative."


    Kai then leaped again to the side of the spider, striking the same spot from earlier.


    As expected, it got a bit deeper again. At this rate, he should be able to cut this leg within three to five strikes. It would take him five minutes to do this, so he could only break another three before Ria finished the casting of her magic.


    Hence, the moment the spider tried to dodge another iing arrow, Kai used his Sound st to go near it while positioning himself above the spider.


    A thread made of shadow grasped the arrow as Kai spun her body to change the arrow''s direction before he created Sound st Magic Circle,unching the arrow toward the spider.


    "Scree!" The spider never expected this, so he spurted out a thread from its mouth, sticking it to one of the buildings in front of him.


    To everyone''s surprise, the spider suddenly pulled himself by using the string to avoid the arrow.


    "!!!" Kai was surprised, but he suddenly picked up another sounding from the ground. "Jacob!"


    "Ye-yes?!"


    "Since you are free right now, go there while thinking of your n." Kai pointed his finger to an open area. "Do you know how to y ''whack a mole''?"


    "!" Jacob widened his eyes before smirking. "Understood."


    He moved his giant body toward the designated area and jumped on top of the building near that to observe the ground.


    A crack suddenly appeared on the surface as a sign of an iing monster. Kai wanted him to whack this magical beast to death with his giant hammer, thus calling it ''whack a mole''.


    Jacob stood on the edge of the building, ready to jump as soon as the beast showed its head.


    A few secondster, Kai''s prediction was right. It might be due to the intensity of his battle or because Kai simply ignored it until thest second. Nheless, a small centipede suddenly split the ground open, peeking the surface to help the spider.


    Unfortunately, a gori with a hammer was already on top of him.


    *Bang!* He hit the centipede''s head as hard as possible, crushing its head to a mince-meat. "Got you!"


    Kai, on the other hand, had his own hands full with the spider. After pulling itself from a dangerous situation, the spider finally regained ground as it spurted out string toward Tasha.


    Tasha teleported herself to the building that Kai destroyed earlier and released another arrow.


    Kai kept doing this for two minutes, thinning the leg. And he could finally see blooding out of it.


    "Michelle, keep it up. Just a bit more."


    "I know. I will try to break that leg!"


    "How about your magic power?"


    "I have used twenty percent. How about you?"


    "Around that. Just make sure you are not overdoing it, okay?"


    "Don''t worry. I know my limit." Michelle nodded. "By the way¡­ At this rate, we can''t finish our job within thirty minutes, you know."


    "The best is ruining one side. It should be able to stop the spider, but we will see whether the spider has another trick."


    "Yeah. That''s what I am talking about. I am afraid we need to at least break six of them."


    "It''s easier said than done," Kai said before ncing to the right.


    "Sir!" Jacob suddenly appeared, seeming to have a n.


    "What?"


    "Do you know why tools are so f*cking convenient?"


    "¡­" It took him a few seconds before he realized what he actually wanted. "Ho! It''s a good idea. Humanity invented tools because it can help our job, creating a more powerful force than a normal human could exert. We are aiming at my spot."


    "Understood. I shall match your movement." Jacob nodded. This was a brilliant idea, especiallying from Jacob himself. Him being an elite among elites might not be a coincidence.


    Kai then smiled and leaped toward the spider. Tasha released another arrow, forcing the spider to jump up.


    "Support! Hit its head!" Kai shouted.


    All those magicians immediately released their magic toward its eyes again. Even Drey and Xin chose to support him instead of interfering in his battle.


    With this many magic, the Spider decided to not use its string to pull him again, afraid it would ruin himself.


    Unfortunately, this was the first step to his demise.


    *Boom Boom Boom!* The moment explosions urred, Tasha calcted the spider''snding spot and teleported the rubbles, trying to bury the spider alive.


    *Bam Bam Bam!*


    It was Kai''s real signal. Everyone thought Kai only wanted Tasha to shoot another arrow, but it turned out he was nning to use the rubble to hit the spider.


    This might be the loudest moment, but it was certainly effective. The people were amazed once again by Kai''s ability.


    "Scree!" When the rubble fell, the spider let out another scream.


    Kai finally found his opportunity. He created a tool that looked like a spoon, but the head was a trapezium instead of an oval. It looked like a breaker hammer that was usually used to break asphalt, but this was the desired shape that Kai envisioned.


    He ced it on the spot where the leg was thinned and was careful to not let it touch.


    Jacob already did his winding up and jumped again before hitting the back of the tool to the best of his ability.


    "This is a tool that can destroy the road just by putting a bit of pressure¡­ The spider leg that has been thinned should be¡­"


    *Crack!*


    The cracking sound was like a melody in their ears before the leg broke and flew.

 Chapter 273 - Killing The Spider

    "Scree!"


    The spider screamed as his leg just got blown away.


    "Got him!" Kai muttered to himself. Even though the weapon in his hand was slightly deformed due to the poison on the spider''s leg, destroying it was the biggest proof that they could win this.


    "We are going to proceed with this. Match my movement, Jacob." Kaimanded.


    "Understood."


    Kai took a deep breath and leaped again toward the three legs. He noticed that the blood dripping from the current legs contained poison, considering it slightly melted the asphalt.


    "I need to take that into ount as well," Kai muttered before striking the three legs and sending the Dark Wave to thin the legs.


    "Scree!" The spider was thoroughly angered by Kai. It spun its body as quickly as possible and tried to ram on Kai.


    "¡­" Kai didn''t dodge this time. Instead, he struck the spider''s mouth, waiting for it to open its mouth and releasing its thread.


    Yet, the spider moved its right leg to attack him instead.


    Kai was surrounded from two directions. He could simply use his Sound st tounch himself in another direction. But once again, he struck the spider''s leg with his sword. Then, he used that momentum to spin his body.


    "Michelle. A few throwing knives, please," Kai requested while throwing the sword right toward the spider''s eyes. As expected, it immediately stopped when its eyes got targeted.


    A few ck knives appeared on his hand as he threw them right inside the spider''s mouth.


    "You have thick skin outside, but I wonder how it is inside?" Kai smirked, remembering that the inside of his butt was soft. That was the reason he could injure it. He hoped this was the same.


    However, before it reached its mouth, the spider released its thread and melted the knives away.


    "Just kidding." Kai smirked as he threw a few more throwing knives from its eyes while using his Sound st tounch himself to another leg.


    Jacob had finished his winding up, so all he needed to do was to appear right before the leg and pointed his weapon to this leg.


    *Bang!*


    Another hit struck, sending another leg flying. The spider immediately lost its bnce to the left behind because the one he struck was the second left leg from the back.


    Another volley of magic rained the spider down to cover on their retreat. This was Kai''s n this whole time.


    Jacob nced at him and felt impressed. ''Amazing. He was buying time earlier while trying to injure the spider with some tricks. The moment I was ready, he stopped the spider''s movement and arrived at a designated spot with that weapon of his. After that, my colleague helped us in regrouping, so we can charge again for another leg. And to think this person is only a student¡­ What a monster.''


    "Don''t think too much. We still have jobs to do. I hope you can keep up with me." Kai warned him. He had realized that he couldn''t be hesitant on every asion. This was the best lesson he got from Rapakha. That was why he could use some bold moves like that.


    ''I lose.'' Jacob smirked and nodded, swearing he would help this kid to beat this spider. Even when no one believed that this kid was the biggest contributor, he would fight all of them just to tell the truth.


    After another fifteen minutes.


    "Got him!" Kai shouted and created a shadow from the left side of the spider. A few chains came out of the ground, strangling the spider before pulling it to the left.


    Due to the loss of four legs, the spider couldn''t stand up. Even leaping with the other four legs was not possible.


    Still, the spider released all of its power to pull its body to the right side, waiting until the chains melted by its poison.


    But it was only his wishful thinking. Five magic flew toward him, raining him down from the right side.


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    The explosions pushed him to the left side again, making him unable to move.


    At the same time, Jacob used the smoke produced by the explosions as a cover toe closer to the spider, specifically on top of the spider as he smashed its head as hard as possible.


    *Bang!*


    That loud sound echoed in everyone''s ears.


    Because of his momentum, Kai summoned his Sound st to send him flying in another direction, allowing him to dodge the iing attack if he didn''t want to die.


    After all, the next attack wasing from the strongest magician in the entire US Base, Ria Ross. Kai had timed it perfectly to make sure the spider only copsed at this time. If he destroyed thest leg on the left side, the spider might have the time to adapt and think about another n to move its body. But with this¡­ It''s game over!


    "Thank you for buying me this much time, especially without dying!" Ria Ross shouted as loud as possible, so everyone could hear her voice.


    The previous bow didn''t have any change, but the arrow was shining with white light. There were two torrential energies, ck and white, circling around on the tip of the arrow.


    "Take this attack! I have poured half of my magic power to this!"


    "God''s Arrow, Lokraisha!"


    The arrow flew faster than a bullet while releasing an overbearing pressure. The shock wave around it was also crazy to the point it was sting the building around her.


    And that kind of attack wasing toward the spider, even for an S rank magical beast, it shouldn''t be able to defend this, let alone, one that had been immobilized.


    Seeing this arrow, the spider still managed to struggle for onest time. He realized that it was futile to dodge because it was hard for him to move after getting hit by so many attacks. Hence, he spurted a huge amount of string from its mouth, carrying a powerful poison.


    He wanted to melt a portion of that arrow, so he could survive, but¡­ The arrow was too powerful and fast. There seemed to be a wind barrier in front of it as well due to the pressure it brought, blowing the strings to all directions just like when Kai used his Sound st.


    "Scree!" It let out its dying scream.


    "!!!" Kai suddenly noticed something, but even so, he wasn''t fast enough to react.


    The arrow had arrived in front of the spider.


    It was also at this time the others realized. The arrow wasn''t on target, no, it was wrong. They should say that the spider used itsst struggle to push himself to the left. Since he didn''t have any other choice, it decided to use the binding force from Kai to move its body to the left. Even if it was only a bit, it was enough for it to escape death because the arrow actually hit the right side of its body, obliterating twenty percent of its right body along with the joints of the four right legs.


    And because of the angle, the arrow struck the ground fifty meters behind the spider, prating the hard ground for two hundred meters before exploding.


    *Boom!*


    As much as Kai wanted to be astonished by the sheer power of that attack, he immediately shouted. "It''s still not dead!"


    "Scree¡­" Although the sound was low, the spider still managed to let out a sound. It was still half-dead, so it might still be able to do something even in that state.


    "I have been waiting for this." Tasha smirked, releasing an arrow to the sky. The arrow turned into a magic circle and released a bolt of lightning.


    "Lightning Storm!"


    The lightning struck the spider, roasting it with the heat carried by the lightning.


    Yet, when everything was over, Kai still picked up the same sound like the one before. It was as if the spider wasn''t injured by that small lightning attack.


    He was shocked, but more importantly, he needed to get back up and leaped toward the spider.


    "Jacob, help me!"


    Jacob''s body shook. Although Kai''s intention was still unknown, he knew that Kai wanted to deliver another attack to the spider because he saw Kai''s summoned another dark spear on his hand, pointing it toward the spider''s head.


    Kai created a small magic circle to protect himself from the blood that would be spurted out from this.


    As for Jacob, he was already above him, striking the spear''s butt as if it was a nail.


    "Ha!"


    *Bang!* He hit it with all of his strength. The spear pierced through the hate and appeared on the other side of the head.


    Kai listened to the sound inside the spider, noticing it got lower and lower.


    "Go to eternal sleep¡­"


    The spider didn''t know why, but a scene appeared in his mind.


    It was a few hundred years ago where he had yet to evolve into something like this. It was a rainy day where he hid under the tree leaves to protect himself from the rain.


    Suddenly, lightning struck the tree he was on, splitting it in half and burning it. As for him, he obviously fell from the tree. Although he wasn''t hit by the lightning, it was still the scariest moment of his life and remained the same even after he evolved.


    He fell so high from the tree to the point he lost consciousness. Even after a few weeks, he had yet to recover. That was why he was so scared of lightning.


    Remembering this incident, he realized his death was due to his fear of puny lightning. He regretted it deeply but couldn''t do anything as his vision became blurry. And gradually turned dark¡­

 Chapter 274 - Not Going According To The Plan?

    Kai leaped to the ground after confirming the spider''s death and fell on his butt.


    "Sir Kai, Congrattions!" Jacob smiled.


    "It''s thanks to everyone. Besides, my teacher did the most damage to this spider. If not because of that arrow that brought this spider to a half-dead state, it would be hard to win." Kai sighed.


    "Tasha. Can you get Miss Via to this ce? We can''t dy much longer because the battlefield is a bit concerning¡­" Kai nced at Tasha, who just teleported next to him. "She should be waiting in the east of this town."


    "You are overworking yourself." Tasha let out a long sigh but still went to get Via.


    Ria Ross alsonded beside him after leaping through a few buildings. She looked at her own mess first. It was truly a spectacle to behold.


    A crater with a one-hundred meters radius was made just because of an arrow. It had a depth of thirty meters to boot. To influence thendscape like that, it couldn''t be done by someone other than his own teacher, Ria Ross.


    "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher."


    "No. I was sitting outside the battle this whole time and used half of my magic power to give a killing blow. I was uselesspared to you." Ria Ross shook her head.


    "Ahaha¡­ You are still amazing. Anyway, we need tounch our n right away." Kai then nced in another direction where Tasha brought Via perfectly timed with his nce. "Miss Via¡­ I am sure you know what to do, right?"


    As one would expect, for a new personing here, their breath would be taken away by the giant spider''s body. Via gasped before changing her focus on Kai. "Ye-yes. What should I do?"


    "Give the signal to everyone to gather here."


    "I understand." Via nodded and raised her hand. She made a small projection that could only be visible to the people around the area.


    Kai closed his eyes for a bit, listening to everyone''s footsteps. Some of them were still fighting the magical beasts but immediately left it after confirming the signal.


    After another minute, he opened his eyes, seeing how the people started toe. When everyone had gathered, Kai smiled. "Because we have in the spider, we are going to the next n. Everyone here, except Tasha, will go with my Teacher and follow her instruction."


    "Do you think they areing with that thing?" Ria Ross narrowed her eyes.


    "I don''t know. At the very least, I know that even if they bring that animal, they will station him in a ce that I can''t hear. And he will be put into the same situation as me. In other words, each of us won''t be able to probe each other." Kai nodded.


    "If that is the case¡­ I should be able to do it. I still remember what you want me to do." Ria nodded with a solemn expression. "All soldiers are now following me. We are going to the north of this city."


    "Yes, Ma''am!" They immediately followed Ria leaving the city.


    Meanwhile, Kai took another minute to rest his strength before standing up.


    "I can''t understand your n¡­"


    "Just look at it. I am sure you will like it." Kai smirked. "Let''s go to the East Army, I am going to borrow two thousand soldiers from them."


    "Where are we going after that?"


    "South. We are going to kill that scientist." Kai smirked evilly before giving another instruction to Via. "Put a cube with D-1-P-2 on it. That''s my signal."


    "Understood." Via changed the signal and expanded it so everyone could see it.


    ¡­


    At the same time, the signal startled everyone on the battlefield.


    Whether they were enemies or allies, they would see it even if they didn''t want to see it.


    This was a secret signal that only themanders like Nathan would understand.


    In the west battlefield, Ethan already noticed the disturbance when he saw the magical beasts get disrupted by something, making their movement a bit sluggish.


    ''Without a doubt, the spider has died.'' When he thought about that, he saw the signal.


    "Ethan!" Jose appeared before him almost immediately. She seemed to be rushing after getting the signal.


    "Oh! It seems the situation will be a mess after this." Ethan smirked.


    "I believe so¡­ Anyway, I will be separating my soldiers into three parts."


    "Yeah. Kai will need two thousand to kill that scientist. And we should start watching our backs because the situation on the east battlefield didn''t go so well." Ethan nodded. "Five thousand soldiers, that''s the maximum you can use to intercept if the army on the east battlefield got broken through."


    "Alright. I will do my best to prevent them from ruining our formation." Jose nodded with a solemn expression. However, there was a trace of doubt in her eyes as she looked at the blue sky and muttered. "Besides, he¡­ Never mind."


    Ethan nced at her and smirked.


    On the other hand, Paolo''s army also didn''t do any better. Although they were able to lock the battle into a stalemate, Paolo was frustrated by the fact that he couldn''t kill these two bastards.


    ''Their power is too crazy even for me. If they are alone, I won''t have any problem, but their movements arepletely those who are used to fighting together. It seems they are a twin or something¡­ Never mind, I can''t recognize their animal face because of that blood.'' Paolo shrugged before he saw the huge signal in the sky.


    He opened his eyes wide for a few seconds and grinned. The enemies were also startled by such a signal, but the professor immediately shouted. "Don''t worry about that signal. It wasing from Graham Family''s Via. It was harmless!"


    The twins in front of Paolo heard it and started attacking him again. At the same time, Paolo grinned and shouted to his wife.


    "Erica! Prepare for an interception!"


    "Understood!" Erica nodded. "Five thousand soldiers. Follow me. We are going around!"


    Erica led the army from the front. She was originally stationed behind Paolo as a reserve army, so her army was still energetic. In fact, the reason Paolo couldn''t destroy the professor''s magical beast army was that he only used five thousand soldiers.


    The reason he reserved these five thousand soldiers was for this.


    The soldiers looped around their left nk and struck the magical beasts from the left.


    "Crush them! Make sure they understand the power of our army."


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers shouted, began their killing spree from the left side.


    "What?!" The professor was dumbfounded, realizing that his own army started copsing.


    ¡­


    At the same time, the one who had it worse was Nathan''s army.


    "General¡­ The situation is not looking good. Although the right-wing has the ability to stop them, they are getting suppressed by the enemies. The same as them, the left-wing almost got broken through. Around one thousand soldiers have been killed in that area¡­"


    "One thousand soldiers?" Nathan narrowed his eyes.


    "Ye-yes!" The man was scared because he thought Nathan was angry.


    Yet, a smile suddenly appeared the moment the signal arrived. He looked at the content andughed out loud. "Hahaha!"


    "General? Do you know what that signal is?"


    "That''s the signal of our counter-attack!" Nathan paused for a moment, making everyone curious. He thenmanded. "Tell Nadia and Ardus to proceed to n D! They will understand what I mean."


    "Ye-yes! Right at this instant." The man repeatedly nodded before informing the two wings.


    "And inform that Isabelle Fisher to proceed with our next n!" Nathan shouted.


    The group began working their ass off because the battle reached the climax.


    On the left-wing, Nadia saw the information sent by the change of the g. The color of the g was changed from white to blue, so she thought. ''It''s n D, huh¡­ This is going to be interesting!''


    Nadia investigated her army''s condition and realized she only lost around one thousand.


    She smirked as if she had been waiting for this moment and shouted. "All soldiers! It''s time to make a counter-attack. We are going to shift to typhoon formation! Make sure the back holds out!"


    The moment they heard the order, the people started going around, creating something like a 2D typhoon. The soldiers were circling around the area, trapping the magical beasts inside them. With the Marlin Fish led his army in front, he got trapped inside this ce, watching how his magical beasts got ughtered from behind.


    However, he only smiled as he immediately noticed a fatal w in this formation.


    "Follow me!" Hemanded the magical beasts and kept charging ording to the original direction. He prated the ranks with speed faster than everyone''s expectation, and before long, he arrived in the tail of the formation.


    "Break!"


    "Gyaa!" The soldiers screamed out of pain. They were thest line of defense that trapped him inside that dangerous formation. Yet, the moment he broke through, even with only half of his original number, he could change the tide of this battle.


    "Hahaha! I have broken through!" He roared.


    "What?!" Nadia opened her mouth in shock as if she didn''t believe it just happened. She had underestimated the power of the protector along with its magical beasts.


    ¡­


    Just like her, Ardus''s army was also holding ten thousand magical beasts. The moment he got the signal from the main army, he immediately shifted the formation. The soldiers suddenly split into two, leaving only the back army to be the wall that blocked the enemies from breaking through.


    If one looked from above, the formation looked like a ''U''. And those two vertical lines suddenly pressed the enemies like a sandwich.


    Unsi narrowed his eyes and checked the entire formation. Suddenly, he realized the weak point of the formation.


    "Keep charging forward." Hemanded it as well. Because of the sudden shift of the formation, the soldiers on the back didn''t have enough time to prepare themselves, resulting in them being the weakest link of their formation.


    That was why the moment the magical beasts struck them, they immediately broke through the army and headed toward Paolo''s army.


    "Good. It''s time to obliterate these humans!"

 Chapter 275 - A Trap?

    In the middle of a small river leading to the port of Buenos Aires, a small dolphin was swimming around. Even though he should not be living in freshwater, the dolphin seemed to have no problem living here.


    Someone''s footsteps echoed in the area as a turtle appeared before him. It was a walking turtle. With that green body and dark green shell, he stared at the dolphin. "How is the situation?"


    "Scrata Skions (No problem)!" The dolphin replied.


    "That''s good. I aming here because those old fogies were making a ruckus about it. I have told them to not interfere with the matter of humans, but they don''t want to hear me."


    "Reuit Qeo Wuity (There is a person with that ability)."


    "I know. Still, it''s better to let him grow naturally. They seem to have another agenda for creating such a ruckus with a single boy alone. From what I saw, they didn''t really care about our brethren that got killed, so it must be something else."


    "Tuu Skions (Not my problem)."


    "Yeah. You are still a little boy that can''t even go to thend yet. Anyway, I am here because I need to protect the princess, so I will just wait here until everything is over."


    "Terue Guidmo Sika (They are not people who go down without a fight)."


    "I perfectly understand that. That''s the reason you are here. It is to watch if they have a weird move. The moment they are showing a weird movement, I will head over there to supervise the situation. Meanwhile, you are going to prepare to retreat ording to our movement there."


    The dolphin nodded.


    "Anyway, I don''t have any powerful offense, so a battle like that is not my strong suit. But if anyone wants to kill our princess, let''s see if they have enough ability to destroy my defense." The turtle sighed.


    "Zio Sphiver (What''s about the spider)?"


    "That spider is powerful and has a simr strength to us. In fact, they could be called a protector of thend. If not because we are living in the sea, the humans might have hunted us down like the spider. In any case, we won''t do anything since we are here just to screw the humans around to let that boy grow even if I am against it."


    "Sui¡ª"


    "What do you want to say?" The turtle furrowed his eyebrows before noticing something was wrong. "Did something happen?"


    "Stwio Taha Pvinces 3000. Pa (They are attacking Princess''s army with only three thousand. Foolish)!"


    "Three thousand? I thought Princess still has twenty thousand magical beasts¡­" He furrowed his eyebrows.


    The dolphin nodded. "Usi da Mrline Sute Mional (Unsi and Marlin manage to break through their formation)."


    "So, they are just desperate¡­" The turtle thought for a moment and said. "I am going there."


    The dolphin tilted his head and couldn''t understand why the turtle wanted to go there.


    "You need to grow up a bit more, young one. You haven''t seen anything yet. The fact that they are desperate is more than enough for me to join the battle. Because everyone, whether humans or protectors, can do anything unbelievable if they are desperate. That''s why I am going there to prevent bad from happening. I am nheless one of the elders, so I will protect the princess. Wait here and see the overall situation. I wille back if the situation stabilizes. If not, you shall return to the sea without mymand."


    The dolphin nodded repeatedly.


    "Then¡­ I am going. Luckily, the evolution has increased my speed to a great degree." The turtled waved his hand and leaped.


    The dolphin watched his back and hoped he could be someone like that in the future.


    Little did he know he was in imminent danger.


    Ten kilometers north of this dolphin, two people seemed to have their secret rendezvous point. The first one was a female with grey hair. Her face was a bit tired due to using too much magic power. While the other one was a male.


    He looked at the female and reported. "Supreme Commander Ria, our Graham Family has blocked the entrance to the sea."


    "Good."


    "But do you think there is an animal like that? I mean, the river is freshwater, you know."


    "Michael Graham¡­ I trust my student. Besides, with the appearance of that mermaid, the probability is high. And after calcting that guy''s ability, I am sure that the dolphin has the same range as Kai. Hence, we need to blockade the two sides, the entrance to the sea and the upstream. We need to kill the dolphin without fail."


    "I understand. We have created a few thick stone walls to prevent the dolphin from breaking through. And my soldiers are ready to search across the river. Still, I want to ask why would a dolphine here?"


    "Because we don''t really have that much information about the Protectors, we need to treat every single thing as precious information. The mermaid brought that dolphin in the past, so I think she has a special attachment to that dolphin, considering the other two protectors didn''t bring anyone with them."


    "I can understand that. So, we believe that the mermaid brought the dolphin with her and they can''t bring him to thend¡­ The only ce near and can be used as a scouting point will be the river?"


    "Yes. Kai said that." Ria nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. "If the dolphin is not there, then we won''t need to care about it. If it''s there, kill it no matter what."


    "I understand. I will lead my Graham Family troops and start our investigation from the shore. The moment we meet again, we will go ording to Kai''s n."


    "That''s about it." Ria acknowledged it with a nod. "By the way, how many people did you bring?"


    "Since I need to leave two thousand to Bryan and Albert to watch over the coast, I can only bring three thousand Graham Family soldiers."


    "Three thousand¡­ That will be enough." Ria nodded. "Let''s go then."


    Ria and Abraham went to their own position.


    Ria returned to the elite group, meeting with Jacob. "Our mission is to walk by the river. There is a possibility of a magical beast staying there, so keep your eyes peeled. If there is one, we will kill it no matter what it takes. After that, we shall head to the battlefield with the reinforcement."


    "A reinforcement?" Jacob and the others were surprised because they knew nothing about this.


    "Don''t think too hard. These are the additional soldiers that my student brings to win this war. If you want to thank someone, thank himter. Those who do not shall be beaten by me." Ria Ross shrugged. "Anyway, they are numbering three thousand anding from the Graham Family, so you can expect some qualities from our reinforcement. Their leader is Michael Graham himself."


    "Ho!" The group looked at her with amazement. Although Michael didn''t go to the battlefield very often, his name was already etched in almost everyone in the base. So, hearing his name alone made them think they would be able to win this fight.


    "Follow me," Ria ordered her one hundred elites to go down the river.


    "Yes, Ma''am." They had positioned themselves more than ten kilometers from the battlefield itself, so the dolphin shouldn''t be able to hear their footsteps first.


    The group started running in a long line to make sure they didn''t leave anything. Their eyes locked on the water so as to not leave any detail. They might even do an additional investigation when they meet a hole or something.


    Even so, the investigation kept going until they entered the dolphin''s hearing range. The person in question suddenly turned around, looking at the west.


    ''What is this?'' The dolphin seemed confused. He couldn''t understand why there would be so many footstepsing from upstream. ''Should I report this to the princess? But no one is with me to send the message. Should I hide inside the water because they might just be passing by?''


    ''Still, I can hear around one hundred peopleing¡­ Are they going to set a sneak attack on the princess? No way they can shake the Princess with only this many. As expected, I should just hide until they pass. If Elder Turtlees back, I will report it to him.'' The dolphin was about to submerge, but he suddenly turned in the opposite direction.


    ''What?! This¡­ This¡­ There are a thousand¡­ No, two thousand¡­ Three thousand peopleing from the other side.'' The dolphin was startled by the sheer number alone. Three thousand alone might not be able to create a mess, but if they arebined with the three thousand from the original army, they might be able to stir a ruckus.


    ''Not only that, Unsi and Marlin just broke through, so they won''t be there with the princess¡­ Wait?! Just broke through?'' The dolphin fell into silence before realizing something ridiculous. ''All of this are a trap? This timing, the position of the soldiers¡­ These two groups will meet up and make a sneak attack! I need to help the princess, but how?''


    The dolphin thought for a moment, and a brilliant idea came to his mind. ''Nheless, I am still a soon to be protector¡­ Since I have no means of telling the princess, I shall stop these people alone. Even though I am not sure with the three thousand people, I should be able to stall if not kill the group with one hundred people¡­'' He nodded and started swimming.


    Little did he know that the leader of that small group was actually scarier than three thousand people¡­

 Chapter 276 - Strategy

    Meanwhile, the east battlefield didn''t have any leeway after the enemies broke through their two wings.


    Nathan stood above the others as soon as he witnessed such a scene.


    "I have never thought that my own left hand and right hand actually let their enemies breakthrough their formations. And here I am¡­ Can only sit and watch how everything is going¡­" Nathan shouted with a solemn expression.


    All soldiers'' eyes locked on him as their bodies became tense, knowing that their time had arrived.


    Nathan nced left and right, observing their expressions before shouting. "Now, I am going to handle this myself. All soldiers!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    "Move out! I am going to show you how we are going to win!" Nathan shouted with confidence.


    The soldiers were absolutely stunned. Many thoughts appeared in their mind, but not a single of them led to the victory. When they looked at their right and left wings, both were chasing the enemies instead of helping them, so there was no way that three thousand soldiers could win against their twenty thousand.


    Yet, the confidence in his eyes was like someone who had grasped the entire battlefield. And only for that reason they got an urge to yell. "Yes, Sir!"


    "Move out!"


    The soldiers started going to their position, marching carefully toward the enemies.


    On the other hand, the mermaid had utter disbelief. "This¡­ Am I not hallucinating? Are they marching at me? Are they actually this foolish?"


    Of course, with her in the helm, there was no way these three thousand soldiers could harm her twenty thousand magical beasts. Even Nathan had no opportunity to kill her because thest time they fought, the princess was the one with the upper hand, even with Ethan helping Nathan. Hence, this action was nothing but suicidal.


    Suddenly, a turtle appeared behind her with a weird expression.


    "Elder?! Aren''t you with¡­"


    "I leave him there because he said they are moving, so here I am."


    "With due respect, I believe I don''t need your help¡­"


    "Little Princess, I am here to ensure your safety. Besides, I have taught you myself that a desperate enemy is dangerous, right? The fact that they are moving in like this, especially after getting both of their wings prated by our force, means they are desperate.


    "If the two wings don''t get stopped, they will kill their soldiers. Even with the spider dying, they won''t be able to recover from their loss for a period of time. Hence, I am here to ensure your highness''s safety¡­ Even if you reject."


    "¡­" The mermaid narrowed his eyes. This turtle was known to be stubborn even amongst the protectors, so she clearly knew she had no chance in persuading him. She could only sigh and nod her head. "But¡­ Can you hide for now? Because I still believe I can do it."


    "Certainly. I will be chilling in the middle of the beasts here, so feel free to move ording to your n." The turtle nodded.


    The mermaid nodded and nced over the magical beasts before raising her hand. "The foolish humans have been ughtering animals in the past, and now all of you have the power to hunt them back. Show me your current power and make the humans know what it means to be hunted."


    "Charge!"


    The magical beasts roared in unison before marching to meet Nathan''s army.


    ¡­


    At the same time, Marlin was marching toward Ethan and Jose. And yet, before he even met the magical beasts on the East, he met five thousand soldiers with a woman leading them.


    It was none other than Jose.


    "Haha! Do they actually want to piss me off? To think they have an audacity of putting two women to stop me¡­ I will make sure all of you are going to die today!" Marlin shouted like a mad-man.


    "Do you have something against us, women? Do you think we are not equal? You will realize you are wrong, you damn fish!" Jose snorted and raised her hand. "Soldiers! Prepare to receive our guests."


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers moved ordingly to their usual formation.


    Before they hit, Nadia, along with her soldiers, appeared in the corner of her eyes. She and her soldiers were right in their tail. "That is our reinforcement. We shall make this ce as a guillotine¡­ And they will be the de!"


    The soldiers recognized what she wanted to do and formed the formation.


    "Kill them all!" Marlin snorted. He charged from the very front, and the moment he arrived right before Jose''s army, he waved his hands, killing the soldiers in his way as if they were never there.


    And yet, Marlin suddenly noticed that their momentum decreased to the point that it became hard to continue because the soldiers were swarming them in a timely order.


    Nadia also arrived and started killing the magical beasts in their tail, causing a huge stir on their back.


    "We are going to be the de. Prepare the same formation!" Nadia ordered the same formation as the one that Marlin managed to breakthrough. However, the difference was suddenly shown.


    The magical beasts started getting killed one by one as if they were engulfed by a whirlpool and sank to the bottom.


    Little did he know that this formation was actually a unique formation in Nathan''s army. It was called Guillotine Formation. Ardus was the one who usually held the enemy back, while Nadia was the one cutting the enemies down. With Jose''s army as a recement, the formation had beenpleted.


    "Do you think you can break through that easily? You are overestimating yourself¡­ It''s not you who can break our formation, but we are the one letting you break it," Nadia said as she sneakily went ahead and appeared right beside him, swinging her weapon.


    Marlin widened his eyes as he instinctively parried her attack, but he suddenly looked in another direction where Jose appeared mysteriously as if she had been there this whole time.


    Jose rested her spear in her hand, cing it down, so the handle touched her back. She smiled while narrowing her eyes to the point killing intent leaking out of her eyes. "Little Nadia, I shall assist you in this matter. Let''s see whether he can survive from us, women¡­ Because women will be the scariest creatures if they are pissed off!"


    "Yes, Madam!" Nadia nodded and released her killing intent as well.


    The situation became pretty heated as these three would soon engage in a fierce fight.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Unsi, who had prated Ardus''s army, was making his way toward Paolo''s army. The moment they found those ten thousand soldiers after marching for a few minutes, a smile appeared on Unsi''s face.


    He roared to the beasts to show his excitement and shouted. "Kill them all!"


    *Roar Roar!*


    A series of roars echoed on the battlefield.


    Obviously, Paolo and Erica knew this as well. Paolo stared at Erica with a serious expression before nodding his head.


    Erica nodded back and shouted. "Soldiers. It''s time to turn around. One thousand of you are going to be the wall on our back. Make sure that not a single of them strikes us from behind, especially that idiotic professor. The rest are going to turn around and receive these ten thousand magical beasts."


    The people had pale expressions, but the moment they heard Erica''s voice, they regained their calm a bit and turned around.


    "We are going to create a fouryer of defense, consisting of one thousand soldiers each. Each line shall support each other to stop their momentum. Do you understand?"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" The soldiers started to regain theirposure as they gritted their teeth, swearing that these magical beasts won''t get anything other than their own corpses.


    Paolo''s had twomanders like Nathan, and these twomanders had their own vices, leading five hundred soldiers each. This time, it turned out that these four vices actually hid inside Erica''s army.


    As if they had been instructed before, the four shouted.


    "First line! Create four rows of soldiers with two hundred fifty people each."


    "Second line! Create five rows with two hundred each."


    "Third line! Create¡­"


    "Fourth line! Create¡­"


    And with the four vices supervising the distribution along with the formation of their soldiers, the four lines of defense were constructed within a minute, ready to take the full momentum of Unsi''s army.


    "Hmph! Do you think a mere human can stop me?" Unsi snorted and tried to ram them with his magical beasts.


    And yet, the first line of defense suddenly struck back at him.


    *Bam!*


    "Gya!"


    "It hurts!"


    Many screams resounded across the battlefield as Unsi broke through the first line.


    "Haha! That''s what happens if you block my way!" Unsi was at his peak after getting momentum from defeating Ardus.


    Erica, on the other hand, also saw Ardusing all the way here. She nodded at him, and he nodded back at her as if they had some sort of agreement.


    "What are you nning?!" Unsi narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. "No matter what, I only need to break through your defense, and I will win!"


    "That is if you can¡­" Erica smirked.


    Unsi snorted and kept pushing through.


    Second Line¡­ Destroyed.


    Third Line¡­ Destroyed.


    "Haha¡­ With thisst one, I shall im the victory!" Unsiughed before he was stunned by the sight of the fourth line. Unlike a long four or five rows of soldiers, thest line was a shorter line but consisted of ten rows of soldiers.


    The first three lines that had been swept to the left and right became a wall on each respective side instead.


    The four lines formation suddenly turned into a ''U'' formation, the same one as Ardus used earlier.


    Erica hadpletely grasped Unsi''s prating ability. If the one in front of her was Marlin, she might not be able to hold on, but Unsi was only a sea-urchin, it didn''t have that extraordinary attack power like Marlin.


    Seeing this, Ardus charged at Unsi with a single line formation as Erica did earlier.


    "Wait, this¡­" Unsi suddenly realized something wrong as he looked at the back.


    "You¡­ You are letting me go all the way here! You¡­" Unsi opened his mouth in surprise.


    Ardus''s army had arrived before them and perfected Erica''s ''U'' formation and made it rectangr, trapping Unsi''s army inside.


    "That''s right. Now sit here and rx until the battle is over¡­ You won''t be able to break through anymore¡­ No, I won''t let you!" Ardus smirked.


    "Fufu¡­ That''s right. Everything has been calcted¡­" Erica suddenly heard a loud sounding from behind, specifically Paolo''s right side. An army of two thousand finally made their way from the East Battlefield, and their leader was none other than Kai Carter. Erica smiled and continued. "¡­ By him."


    This was the surprise that no one could ever predict. Two thousand soldiers suddenly appeared on their battlefield, marching toward the twenty thousand magical beasts that the professor brought.


    Kai listened to the movements on the battlefield to confirm everyone''s position. After that, he checked it with his own eyes before locking his gaze on the professor. He nced at the soldiers on his back and smirked.


    "Soldiers¡­ Time to hunt!"

 Chapter 277 - An Assassin?

    "Time to hunt." Kai smiled. Michelle was still sticking in his body to increase his power, while Tasha was following right before them.


    There was another female beside him. She had elegant long purple hair, and the mole on top of her right lips made her appear unique. It wasplimented more by the weapon of her choice, two pistols.


    "Sir Kai Carter, which is our target?"


    Kai was a bit unsure whether to answer her because he didn''t know whether someone would hear about it, so he shook his head. "As much as I want to answer your question, can you believe me and follow me?"


    "¡­" The woman thought for a moment. She recalled the scene where she was meeting general Jose in the base. It was when she was working inside her office that the general visited her. She said, "I have a mission for you. I can''t say much at this point in time, but I want you to follow every order Kai Carter made on the battlefield and assist him in any way possible. The tide of battle will depend entirely on his effort."


    Although it confused her, Jose never spoke that highly to anyone, including herself. She usually would beat someone up with her words filled with insults about their ipetence, so she knew it must be something very important.


    Hence, the woman nodded. "I, R, will follow yourmand. The other soldiers have prepared for the worst as well."


    "I hope we don''t meet something like that." Kai smiled and continued his way toward the magical beasts. "And make sure you keep up with my pace so as to minimize the casualties in our side."


    "Understood."


    "A few meters left¡­ Ready your weapons!" Kai shouted as he thought. ''Michelle!''


    ''I am here.'' Michelle replied.


    Kai was using his own swords again, but dark energy suddenly covered its de as he waved his swords downwards.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The two dark waves traveled on the ground, cutting the magical beasts. Yet, it didn''t prate that much, especially when it stopped the moment it struck the tenth magical beasts.


    "Strike!"


    "Ooh!"


    Kai and the soldiers began prating the magical beast''s rank, closing in on the professor.


    The professor widened his eyes at this moment. He never thought Kai Carter woulde to this ce because his information told him that he would be fighting the S rank magical beast. And the fact that he came here¡­ "Did¡­ Did he already kill the spider?"


    Kai''s prating speed wasn''t a joke. Within just a minute, he hade halfway through their left wing. Within three to four minutes, he might arrive in front of him.


    The professor immediately gritted his teeth and shouted. "Kill him! Anyone, kill him! Magical beasts surround him and ram him to death. We will win if we kill him!"


    "!!!" The fighter he left in that area immediately turned around, but Paolo seemed to have been waiting for this moment.


    As soon as he saw the change in their movement, he immediately shouted. "All soldiers! You have been waiting for this moment! Use all of your strength and kill them all!"


    "Yes, Sir!" They shouted in unison while swinging their weapons. With that roar earlier, the battlefield suddenly moved as Paolo''s army began pushing back their enemy.


    It also forced the fighter from the professor''s side to stop the enemy instead of chasing Kai.


    Due to this, Kai had an even easier time prating their ranks. The disorganized magical beasts became the perfect target.


    The two thousand soldiers closed in, and if one observed them closely, they would see many parts of magical beasts flying around.


    Kai and R used all their strength to keep up their pace while the soldiers behind them made sure the surrounding magical beasts didn''t destroy their formation. In fact, this was the reason why Kai wanted to have a fast pace.


    With a pace like this, the enemies wouldn''t have a chance to react properly, allowing Kai to do anything. The only way to solve this was by sending a strong fighter with a huge number, but the Professor had sent all of his fighters to handle Paolo''s and his officers.


    There was no way he could stop Kai''s momentum.


    "Swarm him! Just swarm him!"


    The professor was scared out of his life despite having the power of the zodiac, specifically from the protector''s blood itself.


    Some magical beasts turned to another direction to stop Kai''s advance, but Kai''s advance here¡­ Was like that of a bullet, prating through the enemy''s ranks at unbelievable speed.


    *Bam Bam Bam!*


    He cut down all the magical beasts in his way with his own strength, sending them flying in all directions.


    Even Paolo, who was causing a stir among the enemies, was impressed by his skill.


    Kai Carter still continued with his momentum as if these magical beasts were nothing but something that he would ughter in an instant.


    And for the second time in one day, Kai would betray all expectations.


    The moment he arrived before the professor, he swung his sword toward him.


    "Do you think I am a pushover? I still have the powering from the protector''s blood! You won''t be able to kill me!" The professor shouted out loud as he swept his ws.


    This blood had strengthened his skin to the point it would withstand a normal attack, but it was still a cheap imitation. Even the protector would have many injuries in his body when it was hit by a Vibration Sword, let alone a cheap imitation like Zodiac


    *Bang!*


    Two bullets shot through the ws and pushed them away.


    The bullets were shot from the sky as a woman figure holding two sniper rifles appeared in everyone''s vision. The sniper was none other than Isabelle. "Hehe¡­ Your special reinforcement hase!"


    Kai only smiled and cut the two ws by striking the joints with his strength. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He had specifically asked Nathan to send Isabelle to her way just for this. He said, "You might have the blood in your body, but you are still too weak to fight me."


    The moment he lost both arms, the professor knew he fuck*d up.


    "Unlike my Teacher, who has both brain and martial arts, you are simply a big brain that has turned into an idiot because of your jealousy. Even if you try all the tricks in the world, you won''t be able to defeat her." Kai uttered those words and sent his head flying with both swords.


    He halted his steps for a second to check his surroundings before looking at Paolo.


    Paolo also remembered the secret mission Kai gave him.


    It was yesterday.


    Kai suddenly met him and Erica in private, asking them about this mission.


    "Eh? By separating Nathan''s small army into three armies, you are going to make the enemies think about breaking through the two wings to arrive at our and West Battlefields? After that, we will hold them for you while you are to personally lead a detachment?" Erica eximed in surprise.


    "Are you serious?" Paolo sweatdropped. Even though he wasn''t good with tactics, he still understood how reckless this n was. "I''m not really good with this sort of thing, but their target is you, right? Isn''t having the target appear before them like that kind of a bad idea?"


    "He is right. You are also Ria Ross''s student. Even more so given our opponent is those protectors." Eric agreed with him.


    "If someone is needed to lead a detachment, then allow me to handle it!" Paolo asked.


    And yet, Kai simply shook his head. "I am thinking of bing an assassin in the battlefield that hunts down their weakest link, which is the professor. He has a powerful body but doesn''t know any martial arts and strategy, so I will eliminate him first.


    "All I need you to understand is that if I spot even a single opening on the enemy, I shall pounce upon it." Kai looked at both with a serious expression.


    "An opening¡­ Do you mean¡­" Erica immediately realized his n.


    "Yes. The moment you stop the reinforcement from their side, the professor must be trying to push that side to eliminate you. But it also means that he is going to sacrifice the other side a little bit. And that is the opening I am aiming for." Kai nodded.


    *Hiss!*


    The couple fell silent as they looked at him with a heavy heart, thinking, ''Is this really a student?''


    The thought alone sent a shiver all over their bodies. And Erica even added, "Against an opponent that doesn''t know the target use such a tactic, our sess is guaranteed."


    Paolo''s body was shaking, staring at the daredevil in front of him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, saying, "When that day is upon us, you have my word that I shall eliminate all of the enemies."


    ¡­


    Paolo couldn''t contain the shock on his face as he looked at Kai in the middle of the enemies, looking back at him with a solemn expression.


    ''What a man¡­ So this is¡­ Ria Ross''s student, the first among students, Kai Carter.''


    Kai nodded at him as if he was telling, "I entrust the rest to you, General Paolo."


    ''You may count on me!'' Paolo clenched his weapon tighter and nodded back before ordering out loud. "Spread the word to all our soldiers. Ria Ross''s student, Kai Carter, has personally in the mad scientist."


    The units immediately did as they were told.


    However, Paolo didn''t want the momentum to stop, so he shouted again, calling his right and left hands. "Joshua, Maya!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    "Onward!"


    "Leave none alive!"


    The two used all of their strength to push back the enemies, including the fighters that were stalling them this whole time.

 Chapter 278 - A Pincer

    After killing the professor, Kai''s army and Paolo''s army seemed to have gotten a new kind of momentum. The soldiers became more energetic as they trounced the magical beasts.


    Even R behind Kai was watching his back as a mysterious feeling crept into her heart. Although the professor wasn''t abatant and he would be killed within a few rounds, she never expected that there was a sniper waiting for her chance.


    In other words, Kai had nned all of this in advance as if he knew how the battle would proceed. It might also be the reason why he asked for the finest elites from Jose''s army.


    R couldn''t help but smile, understanding why Jose wanted her to follow Kai''s every order.


    Kai, on the other hand, lifted his head a bit and raised two fingers.


    ''What do you want to do, Kai?'' Michelle couldn''t understand the earlier signal, so she asked.


    Kai didn''t answer her immediately. Instead, he focused his entire strength to break through from the magical beasts, heading toward the Unsi''s army.


    With the addition of Erica''s five thousand soldiers, he was fighting against seven thousand soldiers right now. If Alex came his way, there was no doubt he would soon copse. He himself might be able to escape under their relentless attack, but this would endanger the princess because all soldiers in this ce would march toward the main battle on the east.


    For the sake of stopping Kai, he needed to sacrifice himself. Even if he needed to be cut or something, he needed to hold them back with his little army.


    Kai also saw this and nced at R. "This is your turn. Can you help them to stop that protector until general Paolo finishes his battle? I will handle the rest of the soldiers."


    "I am going alone, Sir?" R was surprised of course. The soldiers were her responsibility, but it seemed Kai had another n. She was put in a dilemma where she needed to choose whether to sacrifice her duty or her soldiers.


    She thought for a moment and gritted her teeth. "I understand. I don''t know your n, but I know that you are an extraordinary person, especially on a battlefield. If not, General Jose wouldn''t lend you the soldiers. I will leave the soldiers to you, Sir."


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a solemn expression. Ardus alone wasn''t enough to hold Unsi back since Erica couldn''t really fight. Hence, R was the only solution since he needed Tasha and Isabelle in the uing battle.


    Kai continued his way toward those armies, camouging his real intention.


    *Bam Bam!*


    Unsi raised his hand, deflecting the bullet from Isabelle. Unlike the professor, Unsi was stronger and more experienced, so doing something like this was just a piece of cake.


    He then turned back to Kai, ready to stop him, but Kai''s army suddenly turned in another direction, avoiding direct confrontation. Instead, he kept running toward the east.


    "Wait. What?!" Unsi widened his eyes.


    ¡­


    In the meantime, the east battlefield was filled with tension.


    "Foolish human! Do you think you can defeat me with your puny strength?" The mermaid snorted, looking down on Nathan. She was standing above a tall magical beast, making it look more majestic.


    Nathan had no change of expression. Even though he was advancing, he didn''t move his soldiers too deep. Instead, they slightly retreated as soon as they killed a magical beast, allowing them to maintain their position and preventing the enemies from surrounding them.


    "You say as if you are looking down on me even though you can''t do anything but a sneak attack? We are aiming at the spider, but you only dare to appear because you know we don''t have enough soldiers to handle you. See? You are just a coward." Nathan smiled, taunting her back.


    The mermaid turned serious. "A coward huh¡­ It seems you still don''t understand the situation you currently in. If we want to destroy your little base, we can do it. You should just know your ce and hole yourself in there."


    Nathan suddenly furrowed his eyebrows as if he sensed something wrong in her words. Although he understood the power of the protectors, he also questioned himself why the protectors didn''t destroy them entirely.


    When Michelle told him about the mystery of Easter Ind, he came to a realization. There seemed to be some sort of rules that kept the protectors from doing something more. And her words just reinforced the doubt in his heart.


    From the past few hundred years, they rarely appeared to the point it looked like a rumor instead of a fact. Or they might have appeared, but the majority of people were just not aware of it or refused to believe it. Only when Kai actually went to the battlefield, he heard it and turned it into a fact.


    That was why the security level of this information was so high previously and only went down after Kai brought them some facts to the point Nathan and Ethan faced the mermaid herself.


    Nathan thought for a moment and said, trying to probe some information from the mermaid. "Since you are that almighty, why don''t you just annihte us once for all? Even if we need a few thousand years, we will kill all of you."


    "You know nothing of our strength. Even if you face me right now, you will die within thirty minutes."


    "Hmph. Just say if you can''t. The fact that you are targeting Kai Carter makes it more believable. At the same time, he might be a threat in the future, so you want to annihte him." Nathan snorted.


    "A threat? You are thinking too highly of yourself. We simply think he has the potential to be one of us."


    "One of you?" Nathan squinted his eyes. Rapakha once said that his tribe was protected by the protector and integrated themselves to be a protector. However, he also understood that the protector before them was only a new one, and they were not as powerful as the original protectors. Hence, he doubted the mermaid told the truth.


    He smiled and pointed his finger. "He is human and won''t be one of you. So, go back to the water and never bother us anymore."


    The mermaid smiled. "It''s our decision, not yours."


    "Hmph! Then I can only destroy you here."


    "With only you here?" The mermaid snorted.


    "Do you think I would waste my time if I am going to fight you alone?" Nathan smirked.


    When he said those words, the mermaid seemed to notice something, along with the turtle hiding behind her.


    They looked toward their right, finally noticing the dust kicked up to the air. She never thought that Nathan was distracting her this whole time while probing information from her.


    Although she had expected to give a few pieces of information to confuse him, she never thought Nathan would manipte her to this extent. She looked down at the turtle and noticed that the turtle didn''t really care about it.


    He only watched the west and fell into deep thought. He never thought that there would be someone who managed to do this.


    He leaped on top of the magical beast, finally revealing his appearance.


    "!!!" Nathan widened his eyes and sweatdropped as he muttered. ''There is another one hiding?''


    Nathan was not the only one getting shocked by this. The mermaid also had a shocked expression as she looked at the turtle. "Elder¡­ Are you serious?"


    "Yes. I can feel their movement¡­ Although their number is only around three thousand, I believe they really want to take you down."


    "What about him?"


    "I don''t know. He is smart, so he might be able to hide. If not, he should have the power to escape. The problem is where is this armying from?"


    The mermaid gulped down before the army revealed their appearance. And obviously, Ria was the first one to appear.


    "That is¡­ This ce''s strongest person?" The turtle squinted his eyes. "This might be bad. She must have killed the spider if shees here. But it''s too fast. There must be something wrong with our information. Princess, I will bail you out if the situation turns worse."


    "What? We can still¡ª"


    When she was about to say she could win, Ria Ross shouted. "That is our target. No matter what our opponents are, they are going to die today."


    "Ooh!" The Graham Family''s soldiers roared as they advanced together with Ria, ramming the right side of the enemy.


    The turtle closed his eyes for a second when Ria''s army hit them before shaking his head. "Have you not realized it yourself? They are not the type to do something meaningless. They fully intend on killing us."


    "But how?" The princess gritted her teeth, looking very frustrated.


    The turtle thought for a moment before finding something was wrong. They were hit from the front and the right, but¡­ What if they actually knew there might be someone keeping them on tab, letting Ria Ross go to the river. And with this kind of army, they should havee from another ce. In other words, this was a reinforcement that only a few knew.


    If he were the one knowing all of this, he would silence the ears on the right¡­ In that case, there would be¡­


    "We have been yed." The turtle smiled helplessly. "Unsi and Marlin are trapped in the middle of their armies¡­ And there is something else. No. Something ising!"


    As he said those words, footstep sounds started echoing in their ears as everyone turned to the left.


    The mermaid widened her eyes, seeing the one leading them. "Kai Carter!"


    Leading the two thousand soldiers, he finally arrived at the battlefield, striking the enemies from their left.


    Nathan smirked as he said, "An eye for an eye, a pincer for a pincer!"

 Chapter 279 - The Answer

    A few days ago, Kai met him face to face, hoping to discuss a very important part that would lead to their victory.


    "Are you serious?" Nathan narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. Before theye, I want you to spread the army as wide as possible to make them conscious about the west and south battlefield. At that time, both of your deputies will allow them to break through on my signal.


    "General Jose will separate herself from General Ethan and hold them back while one of your deputies helped him in stalling them. The same applies to the one in the south. With these conditions, my Teacher will lead the reinforcement from Graham Family and hit them while I bring another few thousand to hit from the other side."


    "This is very risky. You are aware that this is a double-edged sword, right? It might be able to catch them off guard, but this also means that they are able to hunt you down easier because you areing to them yourself." Nathan red at him, not very fond of him risking himself like this.


    "I know that, but this is the only way to get aplete victory. The moment they shift their target to me, both you and Teacher can start pushing them back. There are three possibilities in this scenario."


    "Three?"


    "First, we can take down the protectors without any problems. In that case, we won''t need to worry about anything and eliminate all the magical beasts. Second, the protectors are trying to escape, but I am sure that the magical beasts won''t be able to prate our ranks if they don''t have a protector leading them. Hence, there should be one or twoing to the two wings¡­ At the very least, we can kill one more protector. That is already a good scenario.


    "Third, I die before I can achieve anything. Though I don''t really want it, so that''s why I want all my group to assemble when the timees."


    "I see¡­ So that''s why you request all of those to the president?"


    "Yes."


    "¡­" Nathan closed his eyes for a few minutes and nodded. "Alright. I will go ording to your n. However, I will bail you out even if I need to sacrifice my life¡­ So, make sure youe out alive."


    "I understand. I won''t let you die before seeing a great-grandchild." Kai smirked.


    "Hehe¡­ I have seen my great-grandchildren from Albert and Bryan¡­ The only one left ising from you." Nathan smiled and patted his shoulders. "I am counting on you."


    ¡­


    On the current battlefield, Nathan opened his eyes as he took a deep breath.


    ''As expected from a prodigy.'' Nathan looked at the turtle instead of the princess and felt the dangerous area from him.


    The turtle looked back and saw the hesitation in his eyes. It came like a ray of hope in this hopeless situation as he nned to use that hesitation to counter him.


    He looked at the mermaid and said, "Princess. There is still a way for you to win."


    "What is it?"


    "Since our purpose is to take him to our home, then there is one thing to do."


    "¡­" The princess fell silent before turning to Kai. "I understand. I will use all my power to do this. Although it''s a bit restricted, my opponents are not like yours."


    "Hehe¡­ This old man doesn''t really rte to water, so I am good." The turtle assured her with a smile before looking at Nathan and Ria.


    When she saw this, Ria nced at Michael. "I think you should go around and help Kai."


    "I understand." Michael didn''tin or question her as if he understood the real intention from those protectors. He immediately disappeared from the battlefield like a ghost.


    Kai, on the other hand, kept pummeling the magical beasts, making his way toward the mermaid.


    At the same time, a woman flew to the sky and floated above Kai.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    *Boom!*


    "Ice Wall!"


    The explosion blew away a few magical beasts while the ice wall made a space for them to descend.


    "I havee."


    "I am just fulfilling my task."


    Kai smiled, looking at Ayaka and Sofia. "Yes. But before this, we still have a job to do. Reserve your power because we are going to need it."


    The two nodded and followed him.


    But when they were about to charge, a water elemental formed right in front of them. Although it wasn''t as big as the one they saw in Miami, it still had five meters in height.


    The mermaid stood tall on the shoulder of the elemental, looking down on them. "Since you have delivered yourself,e with me. You can be a protector yourself."


    "Doesn''t that mean I need to abandon them?" Kai stared at her without a change of expression.


    "It''s your honor to be a protector. Don''t think about your worldly desire."


    "Heh? You said it when you worry about that little dolphin?" Kai smiled, taunting her.


    "You!" She gritted her teeth. Although she could imagine what happened to the dolphin and tried not to think about it, Kai really hit her hard with his words. "You barely have enough qualification to be one of us, don''t overestimate yourself!"


    "Heh?" Kai chuckled. If she was talking about qualifications, he knew that Mystic must be one of the qualifications. "I am too weak right now, but it doesn''t mean I will be in the future. In fact, I might be able to beat you in one on one a few years from now."


    "Young Man¡­ I suggest you ept our invitation. If you agree to be one of the protectors, we shall note to thend for hundreds of years. And if your women are threatened, we can help you in solving that problem by simply overpowering them." The turtle''s voice resounded in his ears.


    "In your words, I can''t see the picture of me being with them, so there is no need for negotiation. There is also another option for me." Kai paused and smiled. "I can just lead a huge army and kill all magical beasts onnd, sky, and water. I might not be able to do it in my lifetime, but there will be a time where the magical beasts will perish from¡­"


    Suddenly, he stopped his words as if he got possessed.


    "!!!" The turtle and the princess furrowed their eyebrows, thinking. ''He¡­ Is he¡­''


    Kai facepalmed as heughed out loud, startling his allies and enemies.


    "Kai?!"


    "So, that''s how it is." Kai shook his head helplessly. "The current civilization was built by magic power and the crystal that magical beasts have as the base. If there is no more of this, what will happen to the current civilization?


    "The answer will be either copse or change to another source. If it''s the former, they will return to the starting point. If it''s thetter, the Earth will be like the previous state. If this is what you mean by the Earth''s cry, then I guess I have answered it, right?"


    "What a clever young man, but unfortunately, you only understood ten percent of what you should understand. I somehow really want to bring you to my home right now and make you one of us." The turtle smiled while ncing at the turtle.


    "Ten percent?" Kai widened his eyes.


    "If you want to learn everything, you should considering to us. At that time, you might have a change of heart and think bing a protector is the best thing you can do."


    Kai hesitated for a second but still shook his head. "I won''t be one of you. I will prove it by ying her today."


    "If you want to try, thene!" The mermaid snorted. She was impressed by Kai. Because the dolphin died, she needed to avenge him by turning Kai into one of them and have him serve her.


    Kai looked at her and said, "Ayaka¡­ You are going to help me as a Vanguard. Sofia will help with your magic and make sure to protect yourself. I doubt I can protect you from this point on."


    "Hmph! Since you are going to take this path, don''t me me for killing those you love!" The mermaid raised her hands, raising both hands of the elementals before mming them to the ground.


    Meanwhile, Ria had arrived in front of the turtle. "I don''t know what you are talking about, but I will need to help my student, you know."


    "I have heard of your name. Even though we are living in the sea, we have witnessed your rise by ying that toad. I respect you from the bottom of my heart. As much as I don''t want to say this, but I want you to know that your power is not enough to get past me." The turtle smiled before introducing himself. "I am Juven. You can take pride if you can injure me no matter how small it is."


    "Not only will I injure you, but I will also kill you." Ria Ross looked at him with confidence.


    "You can try." The turtle raised his hand like a gentleman as if he looked down on her.


    *Bang!*


    A loud sounding from another direction startled them as both nced, finding many magical beasts flying.


    "I hope you do not forget me," Nathan smirked as he also had arrived.


    Ria Ross snorted at Nathan. "Just make sure you don''t hold me back."


    "Hehe¡­ Respect me a little bit, will you?!"


    "If you are worthy of my respect, that is." Ria Ross and Nathan exchanged looks and smiled before leaping toward the turtle at the same time.

 Chapter 280 - Fighting The Mermaid

    As the situation turned pretty intense in another ce, Kai thought it would be better to cut the mermaid first before thinking about this. At the very least, he got some clues about why they tried to attack him. And looking at how the turtle seemed to like him to the point he invited him himself, Kai thought there must be something more about this.


    He took a deep breath as his team had gone to their respective positions.


    "Soldiers, take care of the surrounding creatures and make sure you are not hit by her because I am afraid I can''t protect you," Kaimanded and warned them at the same time.


    "Yes, Sir!" The soldiers could also understand that and spread around the battlefield. With their eight thousand soldiers, twenty thousand beasts shouldn''t be a problem. The only problem would be these two, so Kai needed to kill or at least stop the mermaid from interfering.


    He leaped toward the mermaid with his Vibration Sword, finding that the elemental moved at the same time as him. It sent his fist toward Kai, but thetter had no change of expression in the face of this. Instead, he seemed to have predicted it as a magic circle appeared below his feet,unching him a few meters upward.


    The mermaid looked up¡ªFollowing his movement¡ªand pointed her finger as a small water ball appeared in front of her index finger, shooting it like a bullet.


    Instead of dodging this, Kai decided to use his Oscition Shield to see the power behind that bullet, but the next thing he found was a small crack on his shield.


    ''Seriously?'' Kai was in disbelief. The mermaid should have been weakened because she was on thend, but he could finally understand why the turtle called her Princess. She deserved such a title with this amount of power.


    "Ho! You are able to withstand that attack?" The mermaid squinted her eyes in a bit of excitement, but before she could do anything, her vision was taken away by the movement from the side.


    She lifted her left hand and created small torrential water before clenching it as tight as possible. Two bullets suddenly fell when she opened her hand again. The torrential water earlier used to soften the impact while her strength alone was so strong to destroy the bullet.


    Ayaka already went around her and appeared behind the mermaid, swinging her spear with all that momentum.


    At the same time, Sofia created a few huge ice spikes and shot out toward the mermaid.


    The mermaid nced left and right. She finally lifted up her golden staff and stopped Ayaka''s spear before blowing her away while destroying the ices with her bare hand.


    "Kai!" Because she was locked by the two, Kai had enough time tounch himself downward. His two hands were already on his swords, ready to sh her.


    The mermaid narrowed her eyes and smirked.


    "I am not alone." Those were the words of her as shemanded the elemental to crush Kai with its two hands.


    "I am also not alone." Kai smirked.


    "!!!"


    Suddenly, a shadow appeared as he punched the two hands. To everyone''s surprise, the punches generated wind pressure, blowing the water hands.


    "Leave the water elemental to me."


    "Thank you, Uncle Michael!" Kai smiled as he shed his swords downward.


    "Tch." The mermaid had no choice but to jump off the elemental, saving herself.


    "¡­" Kai observed the entire situation, including when he struck the elemental body.


    Although it was a bit hard to the point he could step on it, the medium was still water. He asked Michelle, "How is it?"


    "No. I can''t channel my Shadow sh even though it''s hard enough to be stepped on."


    "Is that so¡­" Kai sighed, knowing that he couldn''t take advantage of it. He nced at the mermaid and smiled because he was the one looking down on her now.


    Michael walked behind him and said, "I will handle this elemental."


    "Yes. I will leave it to you, uncle." Kai nodded. Michael was the current head of the Graham Family, but he received the title, not because of his status as the first child. Instead, he received recognition from the family because of his fighting style.


    He had no weapon and armor, but his fist was far stronger than a normal person. Not only that, the way he used his wind magic was very peculiar.


    Just like how he blew away the elemental''s fists, he used that punch to channel a torrential wind, creating a powerful force that could stop it.


    His weapon is his body and his armor is his wind magic. That was Michael''s statement about his fighting style.


    To be honest, Kai felt this peculiar fighting style quite interesting. Sound and Wind were a bit simr in a sense because the sound needed air to travel while wind directed it.


    After assuring that nothing woulde from his back, Kai signaled the group to get closer before he charged at the mermaid again.


    "Don''t think you have won just because of an earlier surprise attack." The mermaid snorted.


    A magic circle appeared on Kai''s hand as he flicked his finger.


    *Ding!*


    The sound traveled through the air, but the mermaid simply raised her hand, creating a block of water. The sound might not be destroying her concentration, but it should affect her even a bit¡­ If she didn''t add a twist to the wall that is.


    "You humans were the one producing this, right? I should give my thanks." The mermaid smirked as the wall turned into an Acoustic anechoic chamber''s wall. It was a wall used to make the world''s quietest room. With that triangle-shaped pattern, she managed to perfectly block the Sound Wave from Kai.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting that she would use something like that. However, lightning magic flew from behind him, striking the wall.


    "Electric Lance." Tasha knew Kai was about to go around her, but it would mean that such a technique could be used again to stop him. She didn''t want the mermaid to think that way, so she destroyed the wall, allowing Kai to go straight.


    Kai smiled and shed his sword.


    The mermaid rechecked everyone''s position before she took Kai''s blows head-on. Kai leaped back again as he eximed in surprise. "Seriously?"


    His Vibration Sword could only graze the golden staff, this was the first time he saw this.


    "This was created with the hardest material. Even normal protectors weren''t this hard." The mermaid paused for a moment. "I have acquired enough data from you, so I know that as long as I am fast enough to pull back, your weapons won''t be able to cut my staff."


    "¡­" Kai''s expression turned serious as he charged at her again. He took a nce to the right.


    Obviously, it didn''t escape from the mermaid''s eyes as she shifted her position to the left and raised her staff to block Kai''s swords.


    *ng!*


    He struck the staff from above, trying to pinning the mermaid down even for a few seconds. During this time, Ayaka ran as quickly as possible while releasing all her killing intent.


    The mermaid tried to block Ayaka with her staff, but she suddenly felt a pain spreading from the other side. She took a glimpse and gritted her teeth, flying away.


    Ayaka indeed came from the right side, ording to Kai''s nce, but he set up another ambush on the other side. With Sofia''s camouging technique, she was able to mask her presence like that of a magical beast and punched her on the stomach.


    Kai didn''t let this chance go and leaped to the sky, trying to use gravity to pin her down to the ground.


    The mermaid spun her staff and stomped the spear butt to the ground, giving her enough force to stabilize her form.


    "Tch." Kai clicked his tongue and struck the staff instead of the mermaid.


    "You are not strong enough to stop me." The mermaid said before feeling the iing attacks. Two water walls appeared on her left and right as she strengthened it like a rock to block two bulletsing from the left and an arrow from the right.


    Kai moved his hand away and pointed her palm against one of the water walls. He remembered that the elemental was hard but still like water, so he tried to blow away this water.


    "Sound st!"


    The green magic circle generated a shock wave that hit the water wall, but it only jiggled, not destroyed.


    "As expected, you know that we can manipte the characteristic¡­" The mermaid narrowed her eyes as she asked with a cold tone. "Who taught you that? The practice level of your home is not enough to learn about this."


    Kai kept his poker face as he kept his ignorance. "Manipte? You can manipte the characteristics?"


    The mermaid frowned, wondering if he was acting or not. She gritted her teeth and clenched her grip. "I am going to make you talk when we return!"


    "We? I have no n toe with you. No, do you think you cane back?" Kai snorted.


    "As expected, you were the one nning all this." The two twitched their eyebrows as both of them tried to get all the information from their opponents.


    "You are going toe with me dead or alive." Kai released his killing intent. Since Isabelle''s and Tasha''s attacks couldn''te, he decided to press down the mermaid, but to no avail.


    It seemed that their strength was equal, but Kai had used all of his strength, including the exoskeleton, so Kai might have no other trump card to increase his strength while the other party might still have something up in her sleeve.


    The two then continued shing with their strength as the situation became intense.

 Chapter 281 - Ilareca

    *Bang Bang Bang*


    The sh between Kai and the mermaid was still going on. Even Tasha and Isabelle had no way to help him because she was utilizing his instinct to the fullest,bined with his unpredictable attack pattern that took advantage of his Sound st.


    On the other hand, the mermaid was not a pushover. Her skinny figure actually contained so much power.


    Kai couldn''t get an advantage during this whole time.


    Knowing that he would lose in terms of stamina, Kai decided to use Michelle''s power as well. The moment he struck her staff, a shadow spiked, creating a sharp pointed de from the back of his palm toward her right eye.


    "!!!" The mermaid tilted her head, avoiding this de, but Kai used another one from the other hand. It was a curved de that was trying to cut her neck from behind.


    "No, you won''t!" The mermaid grabbed Kai''s wrist and spun as if she was dancing. This was only meant to change Kai''s center of gravity as she struck him on the right thigh.


    The hand hit the exoskeleton instead, pushing the leg to the ground. He felt a bit numb in that area, but it wasn''t enough to injure him. Seeing that her hand was still clinging to him, he grabbed it as well and waved his sword to cut that.


    The mermaid stopped Kai''s sword again with her staff.


    Kai indeed failed to hit her, but he seeded in stopping her.


    Tasha and Isabelle finally had the chance to release their attack.


    However, she created three walls instead of two this time.


    "Tch." Kai clicked his tongue. She might have understood Sofia''s trick even though she only saw it once.


    That was why all of them got stopped by the water wall. Even so, Sofia still didn''t let this chance go and froze the water walls.


    Kai waved his sword to strike her neck but got stopped once again by her staff. Little did she know that Kai released the Shadow sh through the wall he almost hit. It was in her blind spot, so she shouldn''t be able to see it.


    The Shadow sh went around and sparked when it reached its destination.


    The mermaid noticed it at thest second and tweaked her head. Fortunately, the Shadow sh still managed to reach her cheek instead of the original aim, her neck, grazing it.


    Blood dripped out of that small graze.


    "To think I will be the first one to get injured in this battle." The mermaid narrowed her eyes.


    Kai didn''t stop there. He let go of one of his swords, allowing his hand to slide past her defense. A magic circle appeared, surrounding his fist, as he punched the mermaid right on her face.


    However, the princess also managed tond a hit on Kai''s waist since there was no stopping between her after Kai let go of his sword.


    *Bang!*


    The conclusion came in a sudden. Kai wasunched to the side but didn''t forget to grab his sword with Michelle''s shadow thread. If one observed the situation, there was a bulging ck sphere on Kai''s waist. That was Michelle using her shadow magic to give a soft pillow to lessen the damage.


    Meanwhile, the mermaid had a few scratches on her other cheek because Michelle created a glove with some spikes on it.


    The relentless attack had yet to stop. Now that Kai had escaped from the mermaid''s grasp, Ayaka finally made her move, creating a magic circle beneath the mermaid''s feet.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    *Boom!*


    The explosion engulfed the princess, but it was soon dimmed down, revealing the mermaid using her water magic to suppress it.


    "All of this just for these scratches?" The mermaid smirked as she stopped the bleeding with her water. "Still, you are more tired than I am. If I continue with this pace, you will be exhausted before you know it."


    "At the very least, those two protectors will die before you can defeat me." Kai smirked.


    "Do you think they are so easy to kill?"


    "No way. But if they can beat ten thousand soldiers with a few people of his caliber, then I am assured that sooner orter they will go down." Kai pointed at Nathan.


    "Haha¡­ Do you think I am bringing a nobody? You are underestimating them." The mermaid chuckled.


    ''She is bluffing.'' Kai thought but couldn''t give away his thought from his expression.


    ''He is panicking. I can take advantage of this situation and send some help to them. It will break this stalemate as well.'' The mermaid also had her own thought as they both searched for a way to win.


    Not only were they engaging in a physical battle, but this psychological battle was also as intense as their battle.


    What they told remained as truth before proven otherwise.


    "Then, we will see who emerges victorious!" Kai ran toward her while going for another round. The others started helping him as well.


    The next ten minutes became even more intense as the mermaid was using her full strength to stop the relentless attack from them while controlling the elemental.


    As much as Michael wanted to help them, the elemental was stronger than he expected. To think that the mermaid was still this strong despite controlling this guy, Michael didn''t know how he would fight her when she was in full power.


    Kai took a nce at the situation on the other big battle. Ria Ross and Michael looked frustrated as if they had no way injuring the guy. In fact, the turtle was kind of ying with them. He simply utilized his magic here and there to block all their advances and attacks.


    It was the first time they experienced what it meant to fight an absolute defense. They simply had no way to defeat him.


    Ria wanted to use her God Arrow but realized she wasn''t able to do so. Not only would the mermaid prevent them by moving in an unpredictable manner, but the turtle was strong enough to push Nathan away and charged at Ria Ross. Hence, there was no point in using that.


    In the end, Kai abandoned the thought that one of them could help here and let them focus on the turtle instead.


    At the same time, the battle had changed so much. The soldiers began picking their pace because the magical beasts had reduced to thirteen thousand after this long. This might also be because the soldiers were fighting a bit more forcefully, so the number went down pretty fast. However, this also meant that their side also took a considerable loss.


    Even though there was no instructioning from the higher up, they realized how hard for Kai''s group to fight that princess alone. If they could eliminate all those magical beasts first, they would be able to surround the mermaid, allowing them to kill her.


    Hence, the soldiers decided it themselves and fought without holding back.


    "Haha!" The mermaidughed as if she was insane. It was clear that she was at a disadvantage, but the way she acted¡­


    "Be careful. She is still nning something." Kai warned them.


    "You can take pride that you can push me like this, but do you think this is my full power? I am not that good in close quarterbat because I mainly use my magic to fight people."


    "Hmph! There is no water in this area. Even if you draw everything from the air, you won''t have enough like the one in the ocean!" Kai snorted.


    "Really? I feel like I am surrounded by water though." The mermaid made a smug smile. "I ask you once more,e with me, and I can guarantee you that the protectors won''t go to the surface for a few hundred years."


    "That is impossible. Besides, you are just bluffing." Kai shook his head.


    "Then, we will see whether I am bluffing. The one that has the Darkness Magic should have transformed it into Shadow, right?"


    Kai fell silent before he realized what she meant by surrounded by water. "Not good!"


    "You won''t be able to escape." She smiled and raised her hand. "Just like her, I can indeed control water, but it also has transformed. I can control blood! And where do you think we are now?"


    The answer was obvious. It was on the battlefield. Many lives had been taken, and blood had been spilled, dyeing the ground with even a redder color. At the same time, the magical beasts also had more blood than humans.


    With a single hand, she controlled the blood that had been spilled as it formed a giant elemental the same size as the one she made back in Cuba''s war.


    "No, you won''t!" Michael gritted his teeth and leaped to the air, facing the elemental right on its stomach. He threw his fist with all of his strength, trying to make a giant hole in the stomach, but an arm wasing toward him.


    He had no other choice than to use his fist to stop that.


    *Bang!*


    The wind pressure broke the elemental''s fist again like how it was earlier. Other than a bigger size, the elemental seemed to have no other special characteristic, Michael thought.


    When she saw his expression, the mermaid smirked as she lifted up her finger, recovering the hand and letting it hit Michael.


    *Bam!*


    Michael crashed on the ground, startling everyone.


    "Seeing you have pushed me to this state, I will tell you my name. reca. That is my name." The mermaid finally introduced herself as she smirked.


    The elemental raised both hands and looked to the sky as if it roared to the sky.


    "Now, bow down to me!"

 Chapter 282 - Kais True Plan

    "Now bow down to me!"


    The elemental raised its fist and mmed it down.


    Obviously, Michael wouldn''t let the attack connect. He leaped to the air, specifically in front of the stomach, and threw his fist.


    "Gargantuan Fist!"


    The magic circle appeared as his fist released a torrential wind bigger than he ever made, destroying the stomach of the elemental. With this, the elemental should have difficulty moving because it needed to plug the hole, but Kai suddenly felt something was wrong.


    "Sound st!" He activated his Sound st, blowing Michael away as the elemental''s fist almost hit him. "It''sing!"


    *Bam!*


    The fist created a loud sound. But that was not the scariest thing. That fist managed to create a huge crack on the ground while the one that hit directly by the fist went down a few centimeters.


    "Are you serious?" Kai narrowed his eyes. He found that the mermaid was using her power to do something, so when he saw it still moving even though Michael injured it, he knew she was the one doing something to the elemental.


    "I believe she is using her power to make the blood be weightier," Michelle informed him.


    "Yeah. I have the same thought." Kai nodded, ncing left and right to see if he could use something to gain another advantage. After all, Michael might not be able to handle this elemental alone.


    "Uncle. I will have Sofia to assist you."


    Michael wanted to say no, but he had no luxury to reject it. He knew what kind of battle he would have, so he nodded before starting to worry about Kai. "Are you sure you can do it with fewer people?"


    "We change to n C."


    "n C¡­" Michael thought for a moment and nodded. "I understand. Should we inform them too?"


    "No. It will be too obvious if they know we are aiming that." Kai shook his head.


    "Alright then." Michael raised both hands as the wind began covering them. He was ready for another round with the elemental.


    On the other hand, the summoner, the mermaid, furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what n C was. If she were him, she would trick them by using no n but camouging it with n C. However, she knew that the human might have at least n D if they know they were going to face them.


    Hence, she believed that n C is real. The only thing she needed to know was their objective.


    Kai took a deep breath and let her have no time to think. He charged with his swords again, trying to suppress her.


    The mermaid had no choice other than apanying him. But this time, Kai suddenly created his Sound st magic circle around his fist as he struck the mermaid with his fist instead of his sword.


    "Gah!" reca was shocked to get hit by such a fist as she always knew that Kai''s Vibration Sword was his highest chance to injure her.


    Little did she know that Kai was actually trying to mimic Michael''s fist power with sound. He managed to seed. Nheless, the Sound st couldunch a magical beast corpse to the sky, so it must hit her hard.


    On the contrary, reca managed to recover within a second before swinging her staff, summoning a few blood spikes toward Kai.


    "!!!" Kai clicked his tongue and created an Oscition Shield, blocking all these attacks.


    He knew that her aim was those people behind him, the soldiers that were fighting with magical beasts. He had vowed to protect them as much as possible, but if they were in the way, he wouldn''t save them.


    "The punch earlier¡­ I took Uncle Michael as an inspiration. Although it could only increase the strength of my punch, it was enough for the time being." Kai smiled and decided to use this to up his game, stopping the mermaid from leaving.


    The sh turned serious again, but Kai and the others managed to fight as long as possible.


    Kai also had a few injuries because of this fight, but the mermaid seemed to be out of breath. If this were in the sea, she would be able to win easily, but they were the ones intruding theirnd, so she couldn''tin and kept fighting him for another thirty minutes.


    When the situation became a stalemate, another factor came to the battlefield, trying to disrupt the bnce.


    Kai nced to the back and found a huge and round beast covered with needles like a pufferfish while a fish with a long pointed nose ran toward them.


    The two seemed to have undergone a hard fight. Not only were they trying to break through the army, but they also needed to abandon the entire magical beasts with them and regrouped with the princess. They needed to do this because the princess was in danger.


    "Princess! We areing!" Unsi and Marlin roared as they ran as fast as possible to hit the soldiers from the back.


    "We are sorry for getting baited!"


    reca smiled, looking at Kai with confidence. "Now I have both of my aides¡­ Although they are on in the best condition, your defeat is imminent."


    "Heh¡­" Kai chuckled.


    "Why are youughing? What is funny?"


    Kai pointed at the back of the two protectors as a huge army pursued right behind their back.


    "!!!" The mermaid widened her eyes.


    However, the surprise didn''t stop there. The moment they set their eyes upon the mermaid, they raised their hand, signaling the soldiers for the next formation.


    The soldiers then divided themselves into more than twenty groups consisting of five hundred soldiers each. They scattered themselves around the battlefield, nning to make a different time attack from all directions.


    This was an encirclement they were hoping for. All those twenty groups would hit and cause destruction of their own, making the enemies crumble.


    Kai nced at the four people leading these two armies. On the right side, Jose was in the front while Nadia followed right behind her. On the other side, Paolo and Erica switched roles since Erica only needed to control the army in the South Battlefield to eliminate the remaining magical beasts before moving to help Ethan. Meanwhile, this side was more important, so Paolo was the one leading it and asked Ardus to be his deputy for the time being.


    With these four coordinating, they managed to gather ten thousand soldiers to pursue these two protectors.


    However, the eyes of these two generals were locked on Kai as they remembered when Kai met them along with the president, specifically after he exined the three uing possibilities of their war.


    "If we fail to kill them during the set of time and don''t send a signal at all, the two armies will eliminate the magical beasts and create a small hole for the protectors to leave," Kai stated.


    "What?"


    "They will regroup with their leaders!"


    Of course, the two rejected the idea.


    Kai ignored them and continued. "The moment they are regrouping, your groups should have eliminated the magical beasts, leaving only them. Meanwhile, my group will have trimmed their number into half.


    "During this phase, we will have around fifteen thousand soldiers to surround them from all directions¡­ And the fact that they are returning must mean whoever leads them is someone important¡­ Important enough for them to disregard their life.


    "At that point, you can use it as your advantage and injure them as much as possible. With this, we will gain a huge advantage. We will challenge them with my teacher, my group, the three generals here, and fifteen thousand people. After fighting them for two times, I understood that they would most likely escape."


    The four generals and Ria thought for a moment and nodded.


    "I have watched the clip and can understand your point. I can see why you want to do this. I have no objection." Nathan nodded.


    "I am the same." Paolo agreed.


    "Well, I will be stuck in the West Battlefield, so I won''t say anything." Ethan shrugged, feeling left out.


    "I will follow the n." Jose also gave confirmation.


    "Still, what do you think they will do if they escape?"


    "They will have someone to hold the rear¡­ At that time, we shall kill them." Kai continued before looking at President Brent. "That''s why I would like for Mr. President to forgive me because I am not sure how much we can do. I believe we can get one of them, but I don''t know if we can get more."


    The president lifted his eyebrows as he apuded. "I once was a general, and I felt like I really wanted to return to the battlefield to fight alongside you. That''s why you can do what you want with the battle. Our objective is the spider while the others are bonuses. Hence, this is my order, show them the might of our US Base!"


    "Understood." Kai smiled.


    ¡­


    On the battlefield, Kai looked at the mermaid and continued. "What is funny? This is funny. If you can beat all of us in this situation, I better go hide in my house instead of going to the battlefield, lest I would get killed."


    the mermaid halted for a second before the turtle let out a long sigh. "Such a talented young man. It seems that the battlefield is revolving ording to your n huh¡­"


    "You are the variable that never appeared."


    "Ho! This old man is honored to hear such praise." The turtle nodded with a smile before taking another nce at the battlefield once more. "We are stuck here¡­ The only thing to do is¡­


    "Princess, please leave."


    "That''s right. Elder, please take the princess out of here. We two will redeem ourselves by holding the rear."


    The princess had a grim expression as she finally decided. "We¡­"

 Chapter 283 - Kais Contribution

    The surrounding soldiers began their relentless attack from the front, left, right, or even behind. They were trying to shake the magical beasts by hitting them from all areas.


    The mermaid was gritting her teeth. Kai''s true n was to kill her with this formation.


    "Princess!" The turtle shouted, demanding the answer.


    "We¡­" reca couldn''t decide. On one hand, it was too embarrassing to lose to Kai. Even though they were onnd, she still brought three other protectors and fifty thousand beasts to help the twenty thousanding from that professor and the hundred thousanding from the S rank spider. If this wasn''t a shame, then what is?


    On the other hand, if she couldn''t admit this defeat, she might lose her life in this battle. She might still be able to kill a few thousand, but she would be exhausted to continue. Even the turtle might not be able to bring her away from here if she was stubborn.


    Unsi and Marlin finally returned to that ce and roared. "Princess. This is our fault! Please escape. We shall hold the rear."


    "You two¡­" reca was still hesitating. The fact that they wanted to die here just to hold the enemies back made her really want to stay.


    "That is enough." The turtle couldn''t wait anymore and appeared right behind her, grabbing her waist.


    "Elder, please tell them that even in our death, we showed the pride of the protector."


    "And please escort the princess back."


    The turtle nodded solemnly before ncing on his right and left, finding Ria and Kai going toward them.


    However, Unsi and Marlin stopped them.


    "You won''t be getting them."


    "You need to kill us first."


    "With my name, I shall protect your honor." The turtle said hisst piece to the two before leaping out of the battlefield.


    "Wha-! Wait please."


    "It''s better to stop, Princess. You already know yourself what will happen if you stay. That''s why you shall engrave this in your brain because your future task should be obvious. I am sure you don''t need me to go over it in detail.


    "There is no doubt that from now on, you will be the one that leads the magical beasts on every asion to redeem this. I expect that you will take this knowledge to heart and continue to grow even further¡­


    "If he can go to our side, that will be the best, but if he doesn''t join our side, then we need to kill him first. After all, that prodigy who has appeared this time is an enemy of an unprecedented level. We have well and truly been beaten by them this time.


    "What a pain¡­ No matter which era we observe, the people who are considered to be the strongest will always be defeated by the appearance of even more powerful individuals. And we are simply the one that gets beaten this time. It seems that for a while yet, this battle will revolve around that man as the center.


    "This is why you shall not give up here and see what you can do to win, even if it means doing something you don''t want. Anyway, what you do will depend on you. This old man is here only to support you." The turtle then nced at Kai with a serious expression. "Do consider my invitation, young man. We shall meet again in this field filled with red blood. At that time, I shall color the field with even a redder color!"


    Kai obviously could listen to his lecture. Invisible pressure struck his heart as he knew the elder would make the princess evolve even further. At that time, he might not be able to do anything like this again.


    "Should we pursue them?" Ria came to him along with Nathan, Paolo, and Jose.


    "Do you think you can pursue them? Over our dead bodies!" Marlin and Unsi shouted, ring at them.


    "They said¡­" Kai shrugged while ncing at the four. "It''s better to get the one in front of us than bite more than we can chew."


    "Fair enough." Ria agreed andmanded. "Me, Nathan, Jose, and all deputies under us will bring that sharp fish down. The rest will fight that Sea Urchin. As much as I want all of you to restrain them and bring them alive, I think it''s best to kill them here.


    "The protectors mighte to us with this reason and protect them. At that time, the base will be in chaos. I will take responsibility for this decision."


    "Understood."


    The group finally marched ording to the instruction, trying to bring the two protectors down. The magical beasts had no chance against their soldiers, especially now that the battle had shifted in their favor.


    The soldiers kept killing the magical beasts one by one. Although they got casualties on their side as well, mostly due to the magical beasts knowing no fear, it could be ignored.


    All powerful fighters were gathering around the two protectors. They had gotten many injuries before because they recklessly broke away from the trap as they rushed toward this ce, so the fight concluded before long.


    Kai had the honor to deal thest blow to Unsi while Ria killed the other one. The soldiers were so hyped, shouting theirmanders'' names. But the moment they announced that everything was Kai''s n, they started shouting his name.


    However, it became like this purely due to the hype. If one actually looked from afar, they wouldn''t believe that a student could do something like this, especially with four generals and Ria Ross.


    In fact, there were people unhappy with how they glorified Kai Carter. They believed that the US Base was covering him because they were afraid of Ria. Just like the brighter the light, the darker the shadow, many people were happy with him, but even more people were unhappy.


    They thought Kai was just Ria''s puppet or the base''s dog. Only those in higher ranks could understand Kai''s uniqueness.


    It was also the reason why Kai didn''t care about his reputation in the eyes of the masses. They couldn''t do anything to him anyway since those who were cunning and scheming would be from the higher up.


    After killing the rest of the magical beasts, the group started marching toward the South Battlefield, sweeping the magical beasts in the southpletely before making their way toward Ethan.


    Unfortunately, Ethan''s situation wasn''t really that good. He somehow managed to buy time, but the enemies still had almost one hundred thousand while he still had ten thousand.


    Their current casualties had reached ten thousand, but the group still fought admirably. Kai and all generals fought together side by side, eliminating the magical beast one by one.


    Because of their number, the battlested for a few hours and finally took down all magical beasts. In total, they had killed around one hundred fifty thousand magical beasts. If they fought without any n, the casualties might reach thirty thousand on their side.


    However, Kai''s n was to divide their number again and again. Just like how the princess''s fifty thousand magical beasts got separated into three.


    Ardus joined with Erica to destroy Unsi''s ten thousand beasts with their seven thousand. The same applied to Jose and Nadia, who destroyed Marlin''s twenty thousand with their ten thousand. After that, they finally fought the rest of the twenty thousand with a total of fifteen thousand soldiers.


    Looking at that n, one could realize how monstrous Kai was, and allmanders knew that.


    Even then, Kai was the one that strategized the battle with those one hundred thousand magical beasts. He used his hearing to look at the condition of the battlefield, allowing him to send reinforcement to all areas that couldn''t hold those beasts.


    Although he didn''t appear to be something special, if they were themanders of many, they would understand that Kai''s timely reinforcement was the one that kept their casualties low.


    When the battle finally finished, they returned to the city to grab the spider''s body along with the two protectors'' bodies that had been brought to the city.


    The signal had been turned on, and themanders asked the base to send people to pick them up.


    At that time, Kai had another meeting with the generals.


    "Yo, Our Hero hase!" Nathan raised his hands, greeting Kai as if he was on steroids.


    "No one can stop me from saying you are the MVP of this battle." Jose nodded.


    "Well, it''s true. If only I have a daughter¡­ I will pair you up." Paolo nodded before ncing at Erica. "Should we make one?"


    "You shouldn''t think like that!" Erica chopped his head. "I want to have one, but that''s not my intention alright."


    "Hehe¡­"


    "I have one, though she already has a fianc¨¦." Ethan shrugged. "Anyway, your n was superb, and your timely reinforcement was beyond what I could achieve. In fact, I want my daughter to study under you."


    "Please no. I have my hands full already¡­ Although we have been cooperating with Eagle Group. I don''t think it will work like Isabelle and Evan." Kai shook his head.


    "True enough. I know how bossy this little granddaughter of mine. Well, I heard you don''t want trouble, so I will tell her not to bother Lion and Eagle Groups." Ethanughed. "Just tell me if she is too much. I will spank her."


    "Haha¡­ You should!" Nathan nodded repeatedly.


    "In any case, I want to say that you have outdone yourself. When I think you need a year to reach the general level, I think it won''t be needed anymore. In fact, you might be able to reach this level with this battle alone." Ria made a genuine smile. "I am proud of you."


    "I¡­"

 Chapter 284 - Suspicion

    "I am afraid it''s not possible. Nheless, I am only a little captain. It''s impossible to skip a few ranks even if all people here vouch for me." Kai shook his head.


    "Fair enough. But do you have any thought about your promotion? Although it''s true that your contribution is the biggest, only a few know about this. That''s why the base won''t be able to give you a huge leap in the promotion." Nathan nodded in agreement.


    "It''s fine. I am not worried about it." Kai smiled, assuring them.


    "Well, I will make sure they give an honest promotion." Ria cracked her fingers, ready to beat people in charge of this.


    "Haha¡­ Look at you right now. It''s really different killing the S rank magical beast in the past and in the present, eh?" Nathan made a smug smile, teasing Ria Ross.


    "Old man¡­ Do you want to die?" Ria narrowed her eyes and released her killing intent. She looked serious because her past experience was a bit out of the limit for her.


    "I didn''t want to remind you about your past. My point is now that you have Kai, you are cheered up. Do you know how messy you were a decade ago?"


    She snorted. "You have escaped death this time."


    Nathan shrugged while ncing at Kai. "Anyway, I noticed something weird earlier."


    Kai tilted his head before finding Nathan''s word was not only to him. Instead, it was a kind of reminder to everyone as the group suddenly fell silent, ncing at Nathan.


    "Don''t you think they know a lot about us? I mean A LOT!"


    They immediately furrowed their eyebrows, realizing how they actually understood them from the conversation. Ria and Kai are especially conscious about this because they met the mermaid and that turtle longer than the others, so they could somehow understand Nathan''s view.


    "Aren''t you overthinking it, Nathan?" Ethan tilted his head in confusion.


    "True. The information muste from that professor. Since he is dead now, there won''t be any leak of information again." Erica tried to solve the doubt.


    "I agree with her." Jose nodded.


    "No. You guys didn''t fight them from the start, so you didn''t know anything. But they said they have been observing us this whole time. If they are not rted to our base this whole time, they won''t know about my name." Ria strengthened Nathan''s point.


    "I have the same thought. There are a few asions that I think they know too much." Kai added.


    "But how do they actually learn our information?" Erica asked. There were too many ws in this argument, so she didn''t want them to just jump into the matter without knowing anything.


    "First of all, I don''t think this is the work of that dolphin¡­" Kai started the topic by diminishing the first doubt.


    "Yeah. The dolphin doesn''t have enough range to know about us moving, so I don''t think it is rted to him. Besides, I have killed the dolphin, so we don''t need to worry about it anymore." Ria added. "In any case, I think it''s worth investigating."


    Before they started this simple meeting, Kai raised his hand and asked, "Are you sure I can participate in this matter?"


    "It''s fine. You are more than qualified to know about this." Paoloughed, patting his shoulder a few times.


    "Yeah. This is not official anyway." Jose nodded in agreement. Kai''s ability was far too good to be excluded in this matter.


    "Alright. We are going to discuss how we are going to investigate this spying activity done by the protectors? No matter how you put it, they are still magical beasts, right? It''s hard for them to appear with that body," Paolo said with a nonchnt expression.


    "It''s true, but didn''t you see the mermaid? She was standing with two legs like she was a human. In fact, I couldn''t differentiate her if I didn''t know her appearance beforehand." Ethan''s observation denied Paolo''s im.


    "That''s true. Still, from what I have found, there is not a single protector who has that kind of ability beside her. Can''t we ssify her as a special case?" Jose narrowed her eyes.


    "I think we can, but for them to monitor us¡­ I think this special case was sent." Ria agreed with Jose.


    "In that case, what should we do? It''s not possible to see all the people in the base face to face while figuring out if it''s a human or an impostor." Nathan presented another problem.


    "That is true. There is nothing we can do about that." Ria let out a long sigh.


    "What if their ability is like Sofia Campbell?" Kai finally broke his silence.


    "!!!" The group widened their eyes in surprise, never expecting this. However, the only one that could understand such camouge would be Kai.


    Only Ria knew the extent of Kai''s hearing, so she immediately dispelled the doubt. "I don''t think it''s possible to investigate them like that even if you are in charge of this operation. Sofia Campbell is a special case because she was approaching you openly, and you knew the sound of your teammates, so it''s useless."


    "This is getting nowhere." Jose tapped the table with her fingers.


    "Nathan. What if you are sent to be a spy? What will you do?" Ethan asked.


    "Me?" Nathan looked down, falling into deep thought for a minute before finally answering him. "I will disguise myself and blend in. Well, I don''t hear a single high level information, so they must haven''t infiltrated our high level."


    Ria took another look at the previous battle and realized that. They indeed knew a lot of information, but not a single of them was top secret information. If not, they might already know that Kai had encountered Rapakha on Easter Ind and the fact that he knew many things about protectors.


    "I agree with him." Ria finally gave her verdict.


    "That is still not confirmed. What if they have an agent from our own rank?" Kai suddenly presented another problem that caused a headache to everyone in the group.


    "Are you saying one of us actually made a deal with them?" Ethan narrowed his eyes.


    "I mean¡­ The professor is an example. Since there is one, there might be two or more. That''s why this slowly turns confusing." Kai sighed, leaning his back on the chair.


    "Do you think there has been a weird incident in the base recently? Or maybe a few people that acted weirdly?" Nathan asked.


    "I don''t think so. I am not really interested in the government, so I don''t really pay attention to it." Paolo shook his head.


    "I am the same."


    "Me too."


    The group agreed that all of them were themanders of the field, so they didn''t really have any time to follow the matter in the base. Ria, on the other hand, didn''t want to be rted to politics.


    "How about we discuss this with the president first? Because there is a chance that our own men are actually a double agent, we should not disclose this to anybody else except the president."


    "Yeah. We need to be careful."


    "How about this¡­" Kai suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. "Because we can''t sow any discord among us because there is bound to be a problem if we start suspecting each other, I believe we need to stay silent for a while and only tell the president.


    "After some time, we can then tell the vice president before telling another person and continuing until it spread among the members inside the white house itself. Just make sure that you tell them that this is an important secret only for them and threaten them that they will be killed the moment words go out.


    "I know that we might not be able to stop the rumors, so we need to be fast. The faster we are, the faster we can search for a spy."


    "That is a good idea. The spy will either escape or create a rumor to confuse us. If we move fast and control the spread of the information, then we can narrow the people that have the potential to be a double agent." Nathan nodded his head with a serious expression.


    "I will talk about this to the president then." Ria volunteered. In fact, she was the only one qualified to talk about this to ensure the secret of the information. If the white house was clear of suspicion, they could start working on the investigation in the other areas¡­ Though, they would give this matter to the one more suitable than them in dealing with a matter like this.


    "I have no problem too. Rather than creating a ruckus to something that has yet to be proven, it''s better to clear our most important ce first, the white house." Jose nodded.


    "I agree with this n. My army will be stationed in the north soon, so I don''t think I can be of any help." Paolo also raised his hand with a serious expression.


    "Well, I will be reinforcing the border as a Defensive Specialist, so I will be the same as Paolo for the time being because we are not stable yet because of this raid mission." Ethan let out a long sigh.


    "In that case, I will return to South Carolina and hole up while doing an investigation of my own." Nathan shrugged.


    "Then it''s decided." Ria nodded before looking at their table filled with food. "Since we have finished our discussion, let''s celebrate first."


    The group grabbed their wine and cheered.


    A few hourster, a group of trucks finally arrived, sending them back to the nearest base where the soldiers could finally be sent back to the main base. Kai and the others finally returned home after a long battle.

 Chapter 285 - The Next Plan

    "Everything is ording to his n. At first, he only gave us the general n because wecked information about many factors. Even so, when there were a few days left, he suddenly approached as, giving a few specific ns," said Jose.


    She was in the middle of an interview with the press right now, answering everything regarding Kai''s promotion.


    "Indeed. At first, we asked him to be our strategist, but I believe his contribution alone is far above the Marshal, Ria Ross. I can assure you that is true with my reputation. Of course, we need to take into ount that his achievement can''t really be shown to the public. That''s why we agreed to let him get Lieutenant Colonel Rank instead of a star."


    She had been talking for like an hour, exining Kai''s n and achievements on the battlefield. Although most of them couldn''t be proved, she still maintained her professionalism and respect for Kai.


    The nning stages¡­ The sudden turns of events¡­ Nothing could actually be proved to the media, except the dead bodies of a spider, a dolphin, a sea urchin, and a marlin fish. That was why Kai could only skip the Major Rank.


    As for the ceremony, it was still discussed whether they would have one or not.


    Meanwhile, just like how Jose was busy with this talk, another person had her hand full of talking.


    She was Ria. Since she took the responsibility, Ria exined everything about the battle and the suspicion about spies to Bryan.


    Bryan decided to follow her n.


    After that, Ria finally brought another matter to the table.


    "Mr. President¡­ I have a suggestion about the next progress of Kai and his Lion Group." Ria Ross''s expression turned serious.


    "Oh?" President Brent narrowed his eyes. "Please tell me."


    "At first, I was only thinking about Kai himself and never looked at anything about his group. I thought it would be fine if he could grow. However, the previous battle proved me wrong." Ria paused for a moment. "There is a limit for a single person, so I believe we need to increase the power of his teammates as well."


    "Then what is your suggestion? They are going to have a break soon, right?"


    "Yeah. But I believe they still have two months before the break, so I am nning to give two missions for them¡­"


    "Two missions?"


    "Yes. The weakest link of the group is, without a doubt, Evan Young. I know that his ability is more leaned to healing ability, but even a healer needs to know how to fight. That''s why I am going to pair him up with Isabelle to go for a separate mission."


    "Isabelle Fisher?"


    "Yes. Their rtionship aside, Isabelle Fisher has the ability to fight in close-quarterbat while having the reputation of our top sniper. If there are only two of them in a group, Evan Young can only take the vanguard, especially with his affection for that girl.


    "With this pressure, Evan Young can grow even faster. This has a quite high risk, so I am suggesting for us to ask his opinion first. If he agrees, he will have the mission. If he is not, I think I will let Kai do anything he wants."


    Even though Ria said she let Kai do whatever he wants, it wasn''t because Ria trusted Kai. She simply lost hope in Evan because he had no desire to improve. He would be too big of a burden sooner orter, so it would be better to leave him at this moment. The protectors would surely target him in the future.


    It sounded heartless, but she just couldn''t bear it if anything happened to Kai in the future.


    "I can understand your concern, but aren''t you slightly paranoid?"


    "Are you going to underestimate the protectors? I am sure you have read the report yourself. Although their strength is notparable to that of the previous generation, they are still stronger than me. At the very least, we need a few elites to fight them." Ria narrowed her eyes.


    "Still, how will that kid fight?" Brent tilted his head in confusion. "His water has a healing ability. Even if he throws high-pressure water toward his enemy, they will be healed instead of getting pushed back. That''s why I am hesitating."


    "He has been learning about hand to handbat from my student. From what I can see, we can provide one of the exoskeletons to him. I know this cost a lot, but if we are losing against the protectors in the future, the price is too much for us to bear." Ria shook her head and sighed.


    "I can understand your concern¡­ Still, I think hand to handbat is too useless to fight magical beasts, no?"


    "I don''t think so. It will entirely depend on their strength. On one hand, he could heal himself while fighting the monster. On the other hand, he seems to be practicing another thing¡­"


    "Are you talking about Mystic? The new concept of magic that actually bends the characteristics of an object instead of summoning it like magic?"


    "I think Mystic is real." Ria nodded. "Just like you said, magic is the one summoning something from the air. But Mystic is the one that upgraded them. You should know that I have majored in many subjects, including medicine, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Too much of medicine will also kill you." Ria smirked.


    Brent blinked his eyes a few times, wondering if he just heard it wrong. However, looking at Ria''s confident smile, he knew it was real. "Do you mean¡­"


    "Yes. If Evan can''t change his water to another property, he can simply control the dosage. If he can create a super medicine that bes a poison instead, I believe he can fight toe to toe against Kai and the others."


    "Poison huh¡­ Now that you mention it, there is an S rank magician from EU Base that is specialized in poison, right?" Brent asked.


    "Yes."


    "How about we ask her to train Evan?"


    "President, are you serious?"


    "Although she looks ominous by having a title such as poison master, I have met her a few times. In fact, she is very gentle, unlike her title."


    "But how do you even n to negotiate it with the EU Base?"


    "Well, I want him to learn the art of medicine from the Katsuragi Family from United Asia, but your precious Kai has friction with them, so I rather choose her. He might be a hostage instead if I send him there. That''s why Poison Master is the way. Knowing about poison means she needs to know about medicine herself to encounter the poison. As for the negotiation¡­" Brent thought for a few minutes.


    Ria waited patiently until ten minutester, and Brent finally got an answer.


    "We will use that Sofia Campbell."


    "Are you going to use the person herself? Or¡­"


    "Of course, taking advantage of her. If I am asking her, we will be in debt. Since she has sent the information to the EU base regarding Rapakha, I will use that as a negotiation piece.


    "Gobekli Tepe¡­ It was said to be the first site for the protector to overthrow the world¡­ If I send Kai there to assist the investigation, I believe we cane to an agreement.


    "Kai and his group along with Isabelle will go to Turkey to investigate that ce. I will let the EU Base to send their elites with Sofia Campbell as the leader. Of course, there will be a few more soldiers in charge of protecting them from afar because that ce is still filled with magical beasts.


    "They are dying to know about the protector themselves because they have been hit by them a few times, albeit they have yet to get attacked by the protector themselves as we do.


    "This knowledge and information will be very useful to them, and I think it''s best to share them. That''s why this n is a win-win situation for us¡­ Just a bit dangerous."


    Ria looked down and fell into deep thought. "If that were the case, we should train Isabelle''s group as well. I will ask a few people to train them, so they can keep up with the Lion group''s and Isabelle''s progress."


    "Yes." He nodded. "Since you are going to solve that matter, I will handle the negotiation. I will try to raise our cards as much as possible to ensure your student safety¡­"


    "Yeah. I will be leaving it to you." Ria nodded.


    "Haiz¡­" Brent let out a long sigh as he finally rxed a bit. "When do you think it''s best to send them there?"


    "They are going to have a holiday from January to March, so I think we can send them in April. In November and December, we can train them by using the missions, while the three months holiday can be used as personal training. What do you think?"


    "Since I have that much time, I surely can get the best term in this negotiation." Brent felt more confident as he assured Ria.


    "That''s all I want to talk about. The details of the missions in November and December will be decided by me, and I will send you the detailster." Ria rose from the seat and turned toward the door.


    "One more thing before you go."


    Ria stopped and nced at him again.


    "If you encounter any spies, kill them no matter who they are."


    "If it''s not rted to Kai''s happiness, I will kill them," Ria answered in a roundabout way. This meant that as long as they were rted to Kai one way or another, she wouldn''t act at all to the point she wouldn''t even report.


    "That sounds like you." Brent smiled and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the door closing.

 Chapter 286 - The Teams Desires

    Theid-back days finally came. They only needed to finish the mission in November and December toplete the year and enjoyed their three months vacation from January to March.


    Kai and the others were doing their own things. It might be due to Kai''s perfect n they had a sense of urgency to increase their power. Michelle realized that she only had time to assist Kai. At first, she thought it was alright, but she realized it wasn''t the case.


    She hoped with her power transferred to Kai, they would be able to give birth to a new kind of power. If she and Kai were one hundred respectively, she hoped they could at least be two hundred while she stayed inside his shadow. However, it wasn''t the case. At most, they could only be one hundred fifty or less. This certainly disappointed Michelle.


    After numerous thoughts in her mind, she realized that the problem was not the skill. Instead, it was her power that was holding Kai''s back from his fullest potential. That was why she swore to get stronger as soon as she returned to the base.


    She was nning to reinforce her fighting style ording to Rapakha''s suggestion, but that was not all. She needed to increase the weapon on her hand and a stronger one at that if she wanted to fight those protectors from now on.


    At the same time, all of them had the same thought, including Kai. He wasn''t satisfied with the result because she let those two protectors run away.


    There were a few things in his mind that he wanted to try, and he decided to practice it now because he had gotten thirty percent of his magic power. His magic power alone was between the S rank and A rank, so it was more than enough for him to do many things.


    His serious expression told everyone that he would do a bit crazy thing to get stronger. However, none of them asked him to stop because of the burden he was carrying on his shoulder.


    The least they could do was to keep up with him. And the one that had that resolution after Michelle was Ayaka. She sensed an urgency to get stronger because the protectors woulde back stronger than ever, so if she weren''t prepared to deal with them, they would die.


    And she didn''t do many things in thest war, so the pressure came to her as soon as she reached her home.


    When she thought about it, she realized there were many things she could explore with Fire Magic. Unlike Kai''s Sound Magic, Michelle''s Shadow Magic, Tasha''s Space Magic, or Evan''s Healing Magic, her Fire Magic was the mostmon and easy to learn.


    She forgot that fact because she was too obsessed with the power she got from the magical beast''s blood. Back then, she was only a little girl who focused on honing her fire magic, unlike the present case. In fact, thest time she created new magic was when they were in United Asia before the hunting event began.


    Back to basic, she thought with a serious expression.


    At the same time, Tasha had the same vigor as Michelle. However, she knew she couldn''t release her Space Magic¡­ At least until Kai''s reached General Rank. But at that time, she might have graduated first. After all, Tasha was the third year now while Kai was a second year.


    She closed her eyes and recalled everything Rapakha taught her as she couldn''t help but mutter. "I think that is the only thing I can do right now."


    "Tasha?" Kai nced at her while frowning. He didn''t know when he stopped calling her with her name instead of sister. Whether it was because he thought it was easier to call her that in front of his teammates or because he finally saw herpletely as an individual that he would like to date and marry, none of that mattered because the most important thing was how she called her.


    "Nothing, I just realized I couldn''t do much unless I do things my way. Next year, I should have graduated and joined the army. That''s why this might be thest time I can be a part of this group." Tasha looked at them with a sad expression.


    The others looked down¡ªcouldn''t say anything to her. Even Michelle sympathized with her to the point she suggested, "How about failing your test intentionally? You won''t care that much, right?"


    She was so against the idea of having the same grade as Tasha, but they seemed to have gotten closer to the point considering each other as a sister.


    Tasha smiled and nodded. "It''s true that I don''t think anything about that, but it will make our parents sad. Even if they know about the reason, they won''t let me take this path. That''s why I am going to do everything I can in thest few months¡­ Kai, you might want to increase your strength and rank quickly because you won''t be able to hold me down after that."


    Kai gulped down and smiled. "You are giving me all the pressure, Tasha."


    "Hehe¡­ Well, there should be no more joint operations this year, so I will use the chance well." Tasha smirked before ncing at Sofia with a thought in mind.


    Sofia felt Tasha wanted to tell her something, but she didn''t know what it was. She had thought about getting stronger, but she had yet to understand what it meant to get stronger for the team.


    Kai was still her priority, but that''s it. Neither the girls nor the team was on her list. It might sound rude to the team, but she was only an agent from the EU Base whose sole purpose was to ensure that Kai fell in love with her and the EU base.


    She shook her head after finding no answer and focused on her n for the time being. Rapakha said she needed to work on her trust with her teammates, but none of it mattered as of now. That meant the only thing she needed was toe up with a creative way of using Ice Element.


    "Captain¡­" Evan suddenly interjected.


    "Hmm? What is it?" Kai asked while furrowing his eyebrows.


    "I have a request for you."


    "Sure. Ask away."


    "I want to join you in the front line, fighting the enemies with my own fists."


    "Oh?! A rare ambition from you."


    "I know, but I think I can be more useful if I am in front. Besides, I still remember where a monster almost killed me when I was healing soldiers. Let me get some experiences to enhance mybat ability."


    Kai thought for a moment. His request was reasonable.


    As thest person and the most useless person in the group, Evan had a big problem that he needed to ovee. It was his power. Although Kai had trained him, it wasn''t to the point he would be able to fight toe to toe against a Protector. In fact, he might not be an opponent to an A rank magical beast.


    That was why he needed to get something that could be used as an attack for Kai to recognize his ability and let him fight in the front himself.


    However, finding the way was easier said than done. He needed to practice hand-to-handbat. For him, who had no experience for it since young, it was hard. However, he found a way to decrease the gap by using his magic.


    Ria Ross had sent him the message about it. The training would be hard, but it was feasible. There was even a weaker version of the n, but he needed to make the right thing and study medicine. That was why during the past few days, he was reading medicinal books.


    Kai didn''t know whether this book was his answer, but it never hurt to let him try it. Hence, he nodded and said, "Granted. You can fi¡ª"


    *Bang!*


    Suddenly, Isabelle pushed the door open as she searched for Kai, who was sitting on the corner. She walked toward him with a solemn expression.


    "Isabelle¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, thinking there was an important matter. Usually, it would be a joint operation with the group, but it seemed there was something different in today''s matter.


    "I am sorry for interrupting you, but there is something I need to discuss with Evan. Can I borrow him for a bit?"


    "Sure." Kai nodded.


    Evan''s face turned pale. Every time she had this expression would be when she met a serious problem, so he knew it would be troublesome. He gulped down and greeted her. "Ya¡­ How are you?"


    "Skip the pleasantries. Follow me."


    "Is it something important? Can we discuss it here?" Evan asked with an unsure tone. He was scared to leave with her alone at this point, and he thought it would be better to stay in this room because Isabelle wouldn''t do anything excessive.


    "Fine!" Isabelle epted it in an instant as she handed him two documents. "You have two options."


    Evan nced at the first document and then the second document. However, his pale turned pale when he read the second one as he asked, "Are you serious?"


    As if she ignored his question, Isabelle continued. "The first option is to follow me on a mission. In other words, a separate mission, and I believe this mission is hard¡­"


    The group exchanged looks, wondering why Evan had this expression on him. If it was a mission, it should be fine, they thought. But the moment they heard the second option, they were stunned.


    Isabelle bit her lips and clenched her fists as she said, "Else¡­ We are going to get married next week. Choose your poison."


    "¡­"

 Chapter 287 - The Separation Of Evan

    "Else¡­ We are going to get married next week. Choose your poison."


    "¡­"


    Evan and the others fell silent, never expecting such a wording out of her mouth. They dropped their jaws and widened their eyes.


    "Congrattions?" Kai couldn''t help but congratte them with an unsure tone, especially because Isabelle said ''Poison'' that confused him too much.


    Evan looked down and scratched his head, looking at Kai. "This is not a matter that should be congratted, Captain."


    He let the others see the second document.


    "What?!" Kai facepalmed. The second document turned out to be their marriage form. ording to the administration, they only needed one week to process this. That was why Isabelle said they would marry each other next week. And the marriage form wasplete, including the signs.


    "Because of the pressure of the two families, especially after we agree to date, our two fathers plot against us and somehow get our signature. They thenpleted everything without us knowing. Only a dayter, they inform us about it and somehow ckmail us to do everything.


    "I don''t mind marrying her, but I know it''s not now. The reason is simr to why you haven''t married the girls. And everything will surely be hard if we marry now, so we can only ept this mission to buy time¡­ At least until we graduate." Evan let out a long sigh.


    "So, that form is fake?" Kai noticed something was off about the form.


    "This is the photocopied one. If not, we have ruined this form¡­ No, Isabelle won''t evene here and rip this form herself."


    Isabelle closed her eyes with her hand and sat next to Evan. "In other words, if we don''t agree with this, they will send the right form to the government. After that, they will do everything to make us bear a child¡­"


    "I can somehow understand your frustration¡­" Kai nodded in understanding. Although it wasn''t as extreme as them, Nathan indeed pushed him like this. Stil¡­ "You can just reject or escape from your house, right?"


    "As I said, I have no problem in marrying her, but the moment we decide to escape or something¡­ They will make us marry another person¡­ At the very least, our sailing won''t be as smooth as right now." Evan sighed.


    "Isn''t it because you have gotten stronger now?" Isabelle harrumphed.


    "How can you say that? I train to protect you on the battlefield because you are a goddamn sniper¡­ And you are ming me for this?" Evan looked at her with a sad expression as if she just wronged him.


    "You can wait until you graduate if you want to get stronger."


    "When?" Evan rolled his eyes. "The day when I got beaten by terrorists and had you avenged me still lingered in my mind¡­ I know you can see the best option for us, but I still have my own pride, okay?"


    The two argued a bit more. As much as they were shaking their heads on theplexity of this matter, they knew that Isabelle and Evan were a good pair. Evan didn''t want to have multiple wives because he didn''t want conflict and lost control of all of them, especially if they fought against each other. It would ruin their family altogether. At the same time, Isabelle got stronger to protect Evan, whose fighting ability was subpar.


    Their families took advantage of this. From another perspective, they could see the reason they sent this mission was to strengthen them as an individual and as a couple. The marriage was the one that made it worse.


    "Ahem¡­" Kai coughed to get their attention, trying to calm the situation down. "Anyway, I know that you two love each other but can''t ept the second option. How about the first option? What is the mission?"


    "It''s a missioning from the president of this base himself, not the president of the student council, making us unable to reject this. The mission is to assume a group of two, which are me and this guy and head to Nunavut. Due to its terrain, it''s perfect for my sniping ability to kill the monsters.


    "We are assigned to clear a certain region containing around a thousand magical beasts. I can do it alone since I am the sniper, but Evan is there to protect me in this matter. If there are monstersing after me, he shall fight those monsters.


    "I think this is a good mission myself because I know Evancks experience, so this is the ce to gain fighting experience¡­ Still, I am unsure because the danger is a bit higher." Isabelle nced at him worriedly.


    Kai smiled. "I think this is fine. Evan''s fighting ability is by no means weak. Although there are a few parts where his movement looks a bit stiff, I think he justcks experience. If you are alright with this mission, I won''t say anything. But I need to confirm it again. You are going to have a separate group from Lion and Eagle Groups, right?"


    "Yes." Isabelle nodded.


    "I think we will have a mission soon, but how is your group?"


    "We will also get a new mission since my father said there is a n to increase the Eagle Group''s overall strength. And because Tommy is the fiance of our student council president, his growth is necessary, so they approve this idea. As for what kind of mission it is, I don''t know." Isabelle shook her head.


    Meanwhile, Evan sneakily read the first document, containing the mission. Since he had no choice other than epting this mission, he decided to professionally browse the entire document. After that, He asked, "By the way, when are we going?"


    "Five days from now."


    "I believe they are going to make us do another mission in December. The threat won''t be as effective as this, but I think they will always have a way to do this, so¡­" Evan hesitated to say it, but Isabelle understood his concern.


    "It''s fine. I will let them do whatever they want for now. We will have a three months holiday after that, so I will prepare my weapon to make them unable to give us a mission like this. How is it?"


    "I will help you by gathering all those data. Or want me to dig up all my father''s embarrassing pictures? It has been locked in hisputer, but I should be able to do it after the holiday. What do you think?"


    "Good. They can threaten us, but that doesn''t mean we can''t do the same. I will let them know the pain we are going through." Isabelle grinned, nning to take her revenge against her parents.


    Kai only shook his head and smiled. Looking at their synergy really made him rx because he and the girls had a simr rtionship.


    "That''s why I am sorry, Captain. For the time being, I can''t go with the group." Evan apologized.


    "I know. You don''t need to worry about this. We will do just fine." Kai patted his shoulder and smiled. "Besides, there are still five of us in the Lion Group. We know how much we are relying on you¡­ In fact, it''s only because of you that we can fight without restraint, knowing that you will simply heal us if we get injured.


    "However, it''s also good for the others to get a bit more careful as to not getting injured, treating as one injury could lead to death. So¡­ Let''s get stronger together during this period and create a better team next year." Kai stretched his hand.


    Evan smiled and shook Kai''s hand. "Thank you, Captain. My choice of joining you wasn''t wrong."


    Kai nodded and nced at Isabelle. "Please help Evan."


    "I will beat him into shape." Isabelle snorted.


    "Ahaha."


    "Do you need my help in the strategy?" Kai asked.


    "I don''t think so. The current n is just to hide and shoot. If we calmly end them one by one, I think I can kill all of them within a few days."


    "Well, you only need to kill those beasts from one spot. I think you can even kill three hundred of them in a single day."


    "Yeah. I have seen the terrains, and I think there won''t be many beastsing from a group. As long as I use my suppressor to not make a loud sound, I should be fine. Meanwhile, if I get a huge grouping, Evan can be my meat shield¡­ It''s a bit tiring, but I think I can finish this mission within three days." Isabelle exined. Sniping took concentration, so it was normal for Isabelle to say that.


    Many people thought sniping was just to aim and shot when they were alone, they also needed to consider many things such as positioning, waiting for the right time to shoot, and so on. She might need at least a minute to kill one, so it was a long process.


    Kai nodded but didn''t say anything. Instead, he turned his head to the door, feeling the iing danger. He facepalmed as if he didn''t want to see what would happen next.


    *Bang!* Just like how Isabelle entered the room with a bang, an old man suddenly entered the room with a smile on his face. The old man was none other than Michelle''s grandfather, the only old man that seemed to have so much idle time, Nathan Graham.


    He apuded for himself andughed. "Haha¡­ I havee."


    Kai''s expression darkened. At this point, the only reason he woulde was to give them a mission or an important announcement. And with how Isabelle and Evan had gotten their own mission, Nathan''s objective must be¡­


    "I have a few good news for you and one bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

 Chapter 288 - The Next Mission

    "I have a few good news for you and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"


    Kai and Michelle were the first to close their eyes as if they didn''t want him toe at this timing. Kai had his hearing, so he noticed at thest minute because Nathan was trying to camouge himself with the other students loitering around their corridor. As for Michelle, she had been with him since she was born, her instinct was like a metal detector finding the metal.


    The two turned around, leaving Nathan only to look at the other three girls along with the couple.


    He pouted and asked, "What is this? Don''t you want to see me, my beloved granddaughter? Come here and hug your grandfather."


    "You should just hug your own pillow back home." Michelle rolled her eyes.


    "Fine¡­ I know you are in your rebellious phase, so I won''t be persistent." Nathan shrugged, treating it as nothing.


    Kai then greeted him with a slight nod. "It''s been a while, Sir Nathan. I think it''s better if we can cut to the chase."


    "You two are so cold¡­ Even the little boy was crying when I hugged him."


    "I think it''s because you are a bit too excessive." Kai twitched his eyebrows, correcting his problem.


    "There is nothing bigger than grandfather''s love. You say that motherly love can let you grow into a good child, while fatherly love is so strong to the point it makes you stronger as well. Since I am your father''s father, AKA your grandfather, the grandfather''s love is far stronger than this. No, it''s the strongest!" Nathan puffed his chest, feeling very proud.


    "Fine fine. If that is the case, then you should also consider your granddaughter''s feelings. For now, let''s get into the business, shall we?" Kai smiled.


    "Fine." Nathan shrugged. "So, which one do you want to hear first."


    "Since there is only one bad news, I want to hear it first."


    "Alright then. I have a mission for you guys."


    "Us? Do you include Evan right now?"


    "Ehm¡­ No." Nathan shook his head, already knowing why he asked such a question.


    "Alright. What is the mission then?"


    "It''s a simple but hard mission. Due to some parts, we can''t really send you to any ancient structures that might have the answer to what is happening to our right now. Hence, we decide to station you on the north, specifically in Yukon Territory.


    "There is a sign of that volcano is going to erupt soon. And I think I don''t need to exin what will happen if the volcano erupts, right?" Nathan put on a solemn expression.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and nodded. "I understand. Every time a volcano erupts, the monsters will migrate to a safer ce. And at one point, our base is considered one. That''s why there will be a huge monster hordeing to our frontline located on the border of British Columbia and Yukon Territory.


    "They will be the first to get the impact, and if the iing magical beasts are too many, they will most likely get wiped out."


    "That''s right. That''s why this mission is perfect for you."


    "Hmm?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "This is the mission." Nathan put down a paper on the table, piquing everyone''s interest. They took a look and only found a number.


    3000.


    "Sir Nathan. What is this?"


    "This is your mission. B rank beast is one point, A rank beast is five points, intelligence beast is ten points. Your job is to kill those magical beasts until you get three thousand points."


    "You serious?" Kai widened his eyes before mming his table. "We need to kill three thousand magical beasts alone in that area. We can use the military, right?"


    "Nope. You can''t. This mission is only for your group. In other words, you can either kill three thousand B rank magical beasts, six hundred A rank beasts, or three hundred intelligent beasts. Your choice."


    "What if we meet a B rank intelligent beast?"


    "You can sum both points together."


    "Oh, one magical beast like that is worth fifteen points?"


    "Yes."


    "It looks easier, but this is still hard. Do you know how long it will take toplete this mission? I need at least two weeks."


    "That is your mission. If you seed in this mission, the next mission won''t be that hard, and you will be promoted to Colonel. I don''t think it will be that hard to get a star on your shoulder within half of the curriculum."


    "I can understand that, but I can''t really sacrifice everyone''s time just for me."


    "I think it''s fine. I want to practice, and having a living being as my opponent is wee." Michelle stopped him before pointing her finger toward the other teammates. "I think they have the same opinions as me."


    "Indeed. I can be a bit more reckless in this mission." Tasha grinned as if she wanted to create big trouble for the magical beasts.


    Ayaka also nodded her head while Sofia shrugged as if she had no choice.


    He stared at them for a few seconds before nodding to Nathan. "Alright. We will go. It''s dangerous because we might gather many magical beasts, you know."


    "It''s fine. You can escape to the front line and ask for the help of soldiers at that time. Of course, you are not allowed to do this intentionally."


    "I understand. I will y with your rule, so you don''t need to worry about it." Kai nodded. "Besides, I can see that you want me to fight those beasts that are lower than B rank, right? Their number is far higher than the targets, so you want our group to at least kill five to ten thousand magical beasts, no?"


    Nathan smirked. "So, you have realized it. That''s right. Even though you can kill those many strong monsters, they are still low in number. Think of it like this, the record said there are one million billion ants living before the apocalypse. And there are approximately nine million species living on Earth.


    "I am not saying they have the same number as the ant, but there are too many magical beasts on Earth. Three thousand are too low¡­ In fact, we are killing around fifty thousand a day in the north and one hundred thousand in the south. That is only those on the surface, not underground and sea. If we calcte the other bases as well, we kill around one million magical beasts every two days.


    "But if you consider the ant poption alone, you need one billion days to wipe them out." Nathan sighed.


    "Still, the poption and territory are growing, so I think we can speed up in the future," Kai added.


    "Fair enough. Well, you must have noticed there are numerous creatures crawling beneath the US Base, right?"


    "Yes. But they are unlikely toe out." Kai nodded.


    "In a normal circumstance, that is¡­"


    Kai narrowed his eyes. "I just hope there won''t be such a thing. Creatures from the sea and underground are far more numerous in this world, so it will be troublesome if they areing out."


    "Yeah. At most, a few of them are appearing around the base because they have sensed the surface. In the base, there are police maintaining the public order while there is another special unit that handles the appearance of these monsters. Well, they are not that many, so you don''t need to care about them."


    "I understand. In any case, you want to tell me that I need to kill many beasts while I live, right?"


    "Yes. I know that some species of fish can''t go to the surface like those crabs and their friends. We can assume that they are the same unless there is a trigger. At the very least, a man-made trigger won''t be able to cause it unless they drop an S rank magical beast in the middle of the US Base."


    "I know." Kai nodded. "Anyway, we should stop talking about the mission here."


    "Indeed." Nathan handed the document to him. "You are going to go to the British Columbia Military Base and head to Yukon Territory to fulfill your mission. You can activate the video function to record everything live because there will be someone monitoring you behind the screen.


    "This mission is crucial because we need to thin their number, especially their strong monsters, so when the volcano erupts, we won''t faceplete annihtion. That''s why I am handing this mission to you, Kai Carter and Lion Group."


    "Yes, Sir." Kai saluted with a serious expression.


    The group''s expression turned serious as they finally understood the seriousness of this matter. They never expected they were living on top of so many magical beasts. In fact, Kai might be hearing all those creatures crawling underneath this building.


    Of course, most of the creatures that are close to the surface had been exterminated, leaving only those in a deeper area.


    "When will we set off for this mission?" Kai asked.


    Nathan looked at Evan and Isabelle. "Kids, when are you leaving?"


    "In five days, Sir."


    Nathan nodded and turned back to Kai, "Hereby, you are to set off within three days."


    "Understood." Kai knew Evan and Isabelle were going to use their helicopter because Eagle Group had their own helicopter to transport the other four.


    "That''s good then."


    "How about the good news?" Kai asked.


    "The good news¡­ Well, I bring a few good news with me from school, mission, activity, and promotion. Which one do you want to hear first?" Nathan smirked.


    Kai thought for a moment and answered.

 Chapter 289 - Good News

    "The school first."


    "Alright. In the school, you won''t be getting any harassment from the Student Council because the student council president, Ethan''s granddaughter, has promised to not disturb you unless necessary. Of course, we can''t predict the future, can''t we?"


    "I understand about the condition. There might be a time where I need to move because of some problems, so I don''t really mind as long as she is not openly annoying me." Kai nodded in agreement.


    "That''s great. I will ry the message to herter." Nathan paused for a moment. "I am sure you want to know about your promotionst, so which one do you pick next?"


    "My mission then."


    "I don''t know if I consider this as good news or not, but there is a chance that you will go to the EU base after your three months holiday. I think thises with advantages and disadvantages."


    "Yes. I understand. I can get used to the living environment there, but there is a chance for them to approach me." Kai nced at Sofia and thought, ''Well, I can gather information from the surrounding as well, so I won''t be at a disadvantage when I need to go there alone in my third year.''


    Sofia noticed Kai''s nce and looked away as if she was embarrassed because Kai understood what would happen when he arrived there.


    Kai shook his head and returned to Nathan. "The next one?"


    "The next one is your activity. Since you are nning to train yourself to match that of a protector, you have ess to all military bases in case you want to spend your holiday to hunt magical beasts. This includes the entire Lion and Eagle Groups."


    Kai thought for a moment. He found no use ining to the frontline at this period, but it didn''t mean the others think the same. He could listen to their excitement based on their heartbeats alone and decided not to say anything other than thank you.


    "We will use this opportunity well." Kai nodded.


    "Then, I will talk about your promotion. Because we sense nothing useful in this promotion, we have decided not to make a grand award likest time. It''s enough for the media to spread it. Besides, there is this mission you need toplete, so I hope you can understand."


    "Don''t worry. I have no interest in this so-called promotion." Kai waved his hand, telling him he was fine.


    "Good. Although we didn''t hold any promotion awards, we will hold one for you when you have that one star on your shoulder. This is good to inspire others, but other generals might pick on you."


    Kai contemted and smiled. "Is my ranking a special ranking or a normal one?"


    Nathan grinned and came closer to him like a sly fox. "It seems you have understood my intention. That''s right. The star you have is a normal one. And I think the normal one benefits you the most because you can be considered as equal to other brigadier generals, including their authority.


    "If it''s a special one, there will be many authorities erased in your document because of your age and your status as a student. That''s why you will have the normal one, and I believe your ability is already far above your peers.


    "Experience wise¡­ I can''t say anything about this because you have executed many battles perfectly. Although I think thest battle was the perfect battle, the others were not that different. Still, I am expecting you to fail."


    "Fail?" Michelle frowned, ring at her grandfather with a cold gaze.


    Kai raised his hand, stopping her. "I know why you want me to fail. First of all, if the track record is too good, other people will have a hard time believing it. And one can learn or even evolve to another level when experiencing failure. That''s why you want me to fail."


    "Hehe¡­ You know me well. By the way, every joke of mine is a failure, you know. They didn''t give any effect on you, at least, the one that I like." Nathan joked around.


    Kaiughed and said, "That is just your way of showing your love to your family. I have noints other than sometimes it gets annoying. Well, it will work just fine after some time, just like my rtionship with my teacher."


    "Yeah. You were so afraid of her before, but both of you mended the rtionship. Now, you look like a son to her." Nathan smirked.


    Kai only smiled, responding to Nathan''s words. "Anyway, since there is no promotion. I think it''s time for us to prepare for another mission."


    "Yeah. Do you need anything?" Nathan nodded and nced at the others with a serious expression.


    "I don''t need one. I have a concept about magic, but I will go to a simtion room to try it before leaving the base." Kai shook his head.


    "How about you four?"


    "I am the same. I have a magic that I am interested in, but it will take time. Maybe I can use the simtion room to increase the speed of myprehension, especially since I can try many things there." Michelle had the same opinion as Kai.


    Ayaka hesitated for a second as if she wanted to ask him something, but decided this wasn''t the best time to ask it. Instead, she only said, "I would like to stay home. I have a huge field there where I can use my Fire Magic freely, so I am going for intense training."


    Tasha pondered at the moment and asked, "Can we not do the video thingy?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I want to do something that might invite many parties because I poke their interest. That''s why it''s rather bad if we use that." Tasha scratched her head while looking away.


    "I understand. As long as we get the proof, there is no problem."


    Most monsters have ears, so I will get all the left ears. If they have no ears, I will get their other parts. It will be a trust-based mission though." Tasha offered a solution.


    Nathan furrowed his eyebrows and felt it wasn''t enough. "I know it''s hard to kill so many monsters, so I think you will most likely split up. If you are alone, you can do this¡­ But if you are not, you need to activate your video function. That''s the limit I can stretch."


    "I understand." Tasha nodded. She was nning to use her Space Magic during this mission, so she should be fine to use teleportation magic since she had created a few rains of magical beasts in the past. She would settle the rest with her Lightning Magic. On the other hand, when she was alone, she had another thing she wanted to do. Hence, this was enough for her.


    "By the way, if you find a nest, please report it or destroy it. I know some nests are so big, containing a few thousand, so you can report those. As for a smaller one containing like one hundred or two hundred beasts, I want you to destroy them. Don''t forget to mark them and send the data to the baseter."


    "I will check the number of magical beasts inside the nest." Kai raised his hand, offering help. "My ears should be able to count them, so please tell me if you find a nest. The nest itself might not be a simple hole. Instead, it will look like a natural entrance or something that you don''t even realize exists. That''s why I want all of you to be careful if we decide to split upter."


    The group understood his concern and nodded with a serious expression.


    Nathan was satisfied with their response and continued. "Sofia Campbell. How about you?"


    "I have no ns for the time being. I will simply train and train. If possible, I would like to visit the zodiacboratory before going¡­ Can I?"


    "If I remember correctly, your maid is undergoing the adjustment there, right?"


    "Yes, she is my friend. It''s been a few months, so she should be in thest step of the process. I have heard that she has seeded and two other females."


    "If it''s your maid, I can let you see her. However, the other females are off-limits for now because they are emotionally unstable. Even she is a bit unstable at a time and has trouble adjusting her power."


    "It''s fine. It won''t take long. I just want to know about her condition because she is my best friend." Sofia nodded with a smile.


    "Sure. I will arrange it for you as a reward for the previous battle. You can go there the day after tomorrow."


    "Understood. Thank you." Sofia didn''t have the heart to confront the person who was helping her, and Nathan also had some respect not to poke where it hurt at a certain time like this. After agreeing on this, Nathan simply turned to another person, Evan.


    "Evan, you will have a personal exoskeleton to help you fight in the front line. Go to the research center after school today and try to get ustomed to your new strength."


    "An exoskeleton?" Evan opened his eyes wide, never expecting he would get one of them. He thought if one got it, they would be those fighting in the front line like those generals and other soldiers. So, he was grateful to get one, especially at a time like this. "Thank you, Sir."


    "Don''t mind it." Nathan waved his hand, gesturing it wasn''t a big deal. "Isabelle doesn''t need anything, right? Actually, I used your contribution to allow Evan to get that exoskeleton."


    "It''s fine. If it can protect him while strengthening him, I don''t have any problem even if you use every single of my contribution." Isabelle sincerely smiled.


    Evan looked at her with a smile, feeling lucky to have this girl in his life. "Thank you."


    "You are going to treat me tomorrow."


    "Sure."


    "Since I have finished all my matters, I will leave now. So, goodbye." Nathan suddenly left like a wind.

 Chapter 290 - Strategy Meeting

    The group was astounded by how fast Nathan actually left the room. It was like he had never appeared.


    Kai twitched his eyebrows, understanding the reason. ''He must have sensed the weird atmosphere in the room, especially about the separation of Evan from my group. He doesn''t want to deal with it, so he escapes.''


    "Anyway, we have a mission right now. ording to Sir Nathan, we will only get a hard mission for this month while we can have an easy one in December. Considering the mood of the holiday ising, I think this is the best scenario for us, so let''s work hard to the bone this month." Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, looking very stressed.


    "By the way, can I bring him somewhere else for now? I need to have a strategy meeting with this guy." Isabelle pulled Evan closer while asking Kai with a serious expression.


    "Sure. If you need me to prepare anything for you, just let me know. After all, Evan is still under my responsibility." Kai nodded.


    "I understand. I will notify you if the needs arrive." She slightly bowed her head as a goodbye gesture and dragged Evan outside. Evan could only wave his hand to them and smile weirdly.


    "Well, I think we need another nning session, no?" Kai nced at the girls.


    "Indeed." Michelle nodded and opened a map on the table.


    Kai brought the document and handed it to the girls.


    Ayaka then started the meeting. "This is going to be hard, especially with that thirty thousand points. We have ssified the magical beasts from F to SSS. F to D are the mostmon beasts that we will always encounter. Well, if it''s in a pack, a D rank beast will be their leader if it''s only a weak pack.


    "After that, there is a C rank monster. They are one in every five beasts we encounter. In fact, having a D rank beast as a leader of the pack is very rare because most of them belong to this rank. Unfortunately, they are not counted for this mission, so we shall skip them for now.


    "The next rank is B rank beast. Starting this rank, the beast will have at least a smarter instinct as if they can tell if there is any trap or not. Well, unless it''s too obvious, they won''t find it. Half of their poption are usually aloof, waiting for their prey. Half of them are leading a pack and creating a territory. So, you can say that we might need to kill around ten beasts, C rank or lower, just to kill one of them.


    "Then, we have A rank magical beast. This is the hard one. To put it in a simple word, this is the upgraded version of B rank beast, but they have the ability to use magic power just like us, making the fight harder. The B rank can do as well, but they are not that powerful to the point you can simply ignore it.


    "I think we should make A rank magical beast as our main priority because around two-third of A rank magical beasts recorded should have a pack of their own. And in that pack, there should be multiple B rank beasts¡­ And it might even surpass ten or twenty depending on the size of the pack.


    "Lastly, the intelligent beast¡­ This is a special beast that has enough intelligence to control their own pack. From my resource, this type of beast usually appears if they have ambition. I have heard that many of them are actually killing other magical beasts just to control their territory.


    "Only B rank or higher can be an intelligent beast, but unlike the normal ones, they are aggressive. The moment someone enters their territory, they will surelye to fight us." Ayaka exined the ssification first as the introduction.


    "That''s when my earse in handy." Kai nodded. "Unless there is an S rank magical beast that oversees them, they won''t make a big group. Even in history, there will only be around ten thousand magical beasts at max, while S rank magical beasts can gather a few hundred thousand magical beasts in their surroundings.


    "I want our target to be the territories instead of A rank magical beasts. This way, we can get several A rank and B rank beasts while raiding the small nest or territories. Of course, we will sweep everything in our way."


    Sofia frowned and asked, "Should I help you as well?"


    "That is good. I can locate them while you are looking at their power level." Kai nodded.


    "We are a pretty good match, don''t you say?" Sofia smiled, trying to flirt with him before stopping unless she wanted the other girls to scrutinize her. Just one step at a time, she thought.


    Kai shrugged. "In any case, this mission won''t end unless we kill at least thirty thousand of them, so be prepared for a long two weeks."


    "Are you serious?" Michelle nced at him. "Thirty thousand within two weeks... That is at least two thousand a day. Our group of five needs to kill that much in a day."


    Kai smiled and asked, "Are you scared? This means that each of us should kill at least four hundred magical beasts each day."


    "Scared? It''s definitely a no." Michelle snorted and thought of a good idea. "How about we make a smallpetition among us?"


    "Interesting," Tasha interjected while smiling. "We should count our own kill¡­ Or at least, using the system counter to do that."


    "Yes. We will track our own kill and see who has the lowest kill when this is all over. The loser will have a punishment¡­" Michelle nodded.


    "What is the punishment though?" Sofia needed to ask first as she felt it was pretty useless topete with each other.


    Seeing Sofia reacting to thispetition, Kai felt the need to step up. He suggested, "How about this¡­ Instead of the lowest kill, we shall decide the prize of the winner. How about the winner can ask the losers anything, of course within logic¡­ I said losers because all four who don''t win are the losers. And it''s effective for a week."


    "!!!" The girls widened their eyes. If they won, they could have quality time with Kai while ordering the other girls to stay away. The most tempted one was Sofia. This was what she was waiting for.


    Like this, Kai managed to keep the morale high while manipting Sofia''s interest in using her in this operation. And he didn''t forget to add two more rules. "Of course, we won''t count anything while we are doing this as a group. One more thing you need to know if you have a heavy injury, you will be ineligible to receive the reward."


    "¡­" The girls fell silent. They precisely knew that Kai added this condition to prevent them from being reckless. But they also knew they couldn''t afford to have a big injury just for this. After all, if they were going to spend the rest of the days in the hospital, they wouldn''t be able to spend time with Kai alone.


    "I need to announce one more thing." Kai''s expression suddenly turned grim. The hype from before turned serious. "After A rank magical beast is an S rank beast, but I doubt we will meet them during this operation because thest S rank beast in America Continent is in ska. After that, there won''t be any Zodiacs, SS rank magical beasts, to oppose us because half of them are us, and the base shouldn''t have them roaming around.


    "But this doesn''t apply to those protectors, or you can say SSS rank magical beasts. There is a chance of them appearing out of nowhere, so I want you to stay alert. Sofia, I want you to keep checking the power level. You have seen their power level, so I think you should be able to sense them even if they are trying to sneak on us."


    "I understand." Sofia nodded.


    "Tasha, I want you to teleport all of us away as soon as there is a distress message from any of us."


    "Alright." Tasha nodded.


    "In that case, we need a few pieces of equipment. First will be the radio. It''s suggested to not use it while fighting those beasts, but it''s fine during an emergency. The second thing we need is a re. Although we won''t split up too far, I think we should have this, so Tasha knows our exact location. She can go to Kai first to scan the area, but I think it will be toote if those protectors appear, hence my reason for this. Thest thing will be a tracker. If the first two don''t work, you can activate the tracker. It might incite the magical beasts toe to you as well, but we are also able to track you, so hang on until the help arrives."


    "I agree with Michelle. All of you should have these three items with you. Even if we need to split up, we need to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sleep together as a team to ensure that all of you are fine. If you are not present, we are going after you," Kai said with a stern tone.


    "Do any of you want to add anything?"


    "Should we create our own little base just to know where we are going to regroup? It can be moved every day but only once a day." Ayaka raised her hand.


    "That is a good suggestion. Killing those many will thin up the area a little bit, so we can go to a denser area. However, I don''t want to go too deep because those beasts that we left behind might haunt us together." Kai epted Ayaka''s suggestion. "And the rest?"


    The other girls thought for a moment and eventually shook their heads.


    "With this, I end the meeting. Three dayster, we are setting off, so just rx for another two days." Kai smiled.

 Chapter 291 - Meeting Brad Again

    Just like how he instructed the group, they didn''t have anything to do other than staying in the room.


    The group only had rested for a week before this mission, so the morale was a bit low. That was the reason Kai suggested apetition among themselves.


    And the rest of the two days, he decided to stay silent while observing the others'' expressions. They seemed to be pretty eager for thepetition, making him feel assured. As long as he was careful out there, they should be able toplete this mission without a problem.


    When the third day came, he and Tasha went to school earlier to discuss the matter with their pilot, and he agreed about the arrangement.


    They then flew toward British Columbia. The journey took a few hours and was pretty boring.


    It was only when he was about to arrive, he suddenly remembered the general who was in charge of the British Columbia Base and facepalmed. "Ugh¡­ I miscalcte something."


    "Kai?" Michelle''s face turned pale as she looked at Kai with a worried expression. Having miscalcted something was a serious problem, especially if it wasing from Kai.


    "No¡­ It''s not about a n. We have gone to this base once, and I''ve just remembered who is the one in charge here." Kai closed his eyes with his hand, looking very frustrated.


    "Now that you mention it, it''s the former student council''s father, Brad Matthew." Michelle gasped.


    "I think I should deal with him again¡­" Kai let out a long sigh. "In any case, this is going to be annoying, at least for me."


    Sofia tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What happened?"


    Kai thought for a moment and shook his head. "It''s fine. You don''t need to know about this small thing."


    He wasn''t someone who told everything to the girls, especially with a small matter like this. The girls knew this because Baran, his deputy in that mission, told them what happened, else they wouldn''t know.


    Since Kai didn''t want to talk about it, the girls decided not to say anything.


    As he had expected, the moment he arrived at the military base, Baran was the one who greeted him. But this time, he also came with another young man.


    "Eh? Student Council President?" Kai widened his eyes as soon as he came out of the helicopter.


    "Ahaha¡­ Please don''t call me with that title again. I have graduated, you know."


    "I apologize. I didn''t mean too; I was just a bit shocked." Kai scratched the back of his head.


    "It''s fine. It''s been a while since I have been here, and fortunate enough to be a Corporal. Just call me Brian since my rank is below you."


    "Eh? But your name is with ''Y'' no?"


    "It''s fine. There is someone who has the same name, so¡­ Yeah, it''s just to call me, not a big deal."


    Kai fell silent and decided not to butt in. "Still, it''s surprising to see you here. And what''s about the other members of the Student Council?"


    ???They are with me, of course. Truly¡­ I am blessed. When I was about to split the group because of my personal reason, they decided toe with me. And the reason I am here¡­ Yeah, I just want to prove that I am worthy." Brian took a nce at the office not far away from them.


    "I see." Kai noticed this and nodded before ncing at the girls. "How about you four? Do you want to visit the others first? I will handle the mission negotiation myself."


    Michelle and the others exchanged looks and nodded.


    He then looked back at the two and said, "I am going to the general''s room. Since I have gone here once, I still remember his room."


    "I understand. Because there is no prior information, I believe the general wants you to go there alone."


    "Yes. Can you guide the girls for me? I believe we are going to set off in an hour or two."


    "Yes, Sir." Baran and Brian saluted.


    Kai felt a bit ufortable to see his senior in school actually saluting him, especially when he knew that he had been helping him this whole time. But he decided not to say anything because his rank was far higher than him because it could also mean that he was looking down on him.


    He simply nodded and walked toward the general room. Looking at the familiar hallway, he smiled and stared at the wooden door at the end of the corridor.


    *Knock Knock!*


    "This is Kai Carter."


    The surroundings fell silent for a few seconds before an aged voice echoed from inside the room. "Come in."


    Kai gently pushed the door open and walked before him, watching the stern face of Brad Matthew.


    "It''s been a while, eh, little brat." The voice was filled with disbelief. "To think you have be a Lieutenant Colonel¡­ I am wondering why the headquarter allows it. You need to gain a few more years'' experiences to have this position."


    Kai didn''t say anything despite all his words and waited patiently until Brad got tired from b*tching about his position.


    "Never mind. I have been instructed by the headquarters about your mission. There will be a team monitoring you from here. And it seems the headquarters also send someone to supervise them and make sure that the recording is a secret. In any case, I won''t do anything for you about this mission."


    "I understand. My mission this time literally doesn''t have a connection with the base, albeit I have been given permission to retreat to this base if the situation turns dangerous."


    "So, I''ve heard." Brad nodded before raising his device to show a map to him.


    Kai noticed the red line near the border of British Columbia and Yukon Territory.


    "If I may ask, what is that line, General?"


    "It''s our line of soldiers. There are a few camps around that area since we are marching toward Yukon Territory. Unlike you, they need to ensure that all magical beasts die, so their speed is too slow to march.


    "I have gotten the information about the volcano, and the nearest spot is this ce." Brad pointed a dot near the red line. "This is a temporary base, so we can keep sending the supplies and anything to help them. In any case, there will be a total of three thousand soldiers in this base, so if you want to escape, you can go there."


    "I understand. I shall be careful as to not y along with death, including your subordinates'' lives." Kai nodded.


    "As long as you know it¡­ I don''t care if you are recklessly charging at the enemies or whatever. Just make sure you think about the responsibility of your action. My soldiers also have the responsibility in the base such as family. At the very least, you should know that their lives are not to be sacrificed for your life."


    ''Ho?'' Kai was slightly astonished. Brad always talked many spicy words, but this might be the first time he found that Brad was actually responsible for the lives of his soldiers as if he cared about them. He might not be able to express himself that well, resulting in his bad rtionship with his own son, or so he thought.


    It was not like it was his position to butt in their private life, so he just believed Brian could mend their rtionship.


    He nodded and pointed his finger to a certain spot before moving to another spot. "My group ns to start from this ce to this ce. We might not be able to kill all the magical beasts around the area, but I am sure we can thin their numbers to a certain degree."


    Kai told him his n. It was necessary because Brad must have gotten the order to monitor them as well and head to their ce as soon as an emergency appeared.


    "It''s not the best spot, but I think I can ce more soldiers there to clean up the ce." Brad nodded.


    "I think that is the best. After all, if the volcano erupts, the first ce that will get affected by it is this ce. It''s the best time to thin their numbers."


    "The best time?" Brad narrowed his eyes. "You are overestimating yourself, kid."


    Kai frowned as their eyes intertwined. There seemed to be a spark between their eyes, but Kai decided to blink and end the matter. "I am sorry, General. In any case, I will be doing my best out there, so I appreciate it if you can clean up the ce to ensure the base''s safety."


    Brad closed his eyes for a few seconds and retracted the map. "Anyway, you can get a truck for luggage. You can go to Baran to handle anything else."


    "I understand. I shall leave now, General." Kai nodded and left with a calm expression.


    After getting permission from Brad, he returned to meet the girls and had a small talk with the former student council group. Mia seemed to have a pretty heated argument with Brad because of the way she talked this whole time about how he couldn''t put trust in his own son and kept suppressing him.


    The other two were also supportive about this because they were capable, albeit it was still not enough to be acknowledged by Brad Matthew.


    They ended up talking for a whole two hours before Kai decided to go with a military truck to help them carry their luggage for a few weeks.


    After saying their goodbye, Michelle drove the truck. Well, she had been trained by her family to drive everything, except flying vehicles.


    Kai was beside her, directing the route.


    Brad watched how the kids left the base with their vehicle and tapped the window before scratching his head. There seemed to be a mixed feeling in his heart as his face was not reallyfortable before he said inwardly, ''Come back alive.''

 Chapter 292 - Hunting

    "How is the situation?" asked Michelle while driving the truck. Her eyes kept ncing back and forth between the road and the guy who just entered the vehicle.


    "There is nothing extraordinary." Kai shook his head and retracted his weapons. "There are only a few needs to be eliminated, so we don''t really have any problem."


    "Alright. I will maintain our speed and course." Michelle nodded as she recalled what happened earlier.


    Five minutes ago, Kai suddenly opened his eyes, saying, "Tasha, Sofia, meet me at the top of the truck."


    He opened the window and slid outside, gliding using the handle above his window tounch him to the top of the truck. Tasha and Sofia also appeared from behind the truck.


    "There is a group in our way. It''s three kilometers from here, so I want you to teleport us both in that direction."


    "Only you two are going?" Tasha asked with a calm expression.


    "Yeah. Are you up for it?" Kai nced at Sofia.


    "How many?"


    "Twenty."


    "Good." She nodded and cracked her finger as if she was getting ready to fight. At the same time, the exoskeleton started appearing all over her body.


    "You and Ayaka are to assume defensive positions because we might encounter some problem."


    "Don''t worry. Nothing will reach this truck." Tasha nodded before snapping her finger, summoning a Teleportation magic circle on top of the truck.


    "Michelle, keep going forward, we will meet there within two minutes."


    "Understood."


    Kai then nodded before the two disappeared.


    Just like how Kai predicted, the two were standing in the way and came inside while the truck was still moving.


    She found twenty magical beast corpses lying on the ground and realized they were not able to fight Kai and Sofia at all even though there was a C rank among them.


    They then continued their way like this, trying to reach their destination before the sunset because it would be troublesome to drive without any light around them.


    Kai and Sofia fought a few times until they reached their destination, but there were two times Ayaka participated because they found a B rank magical beast on their way.


    And they somehow reached the ce ording to their schedule, and it was still 5 PM.


    Kai asked them to kill all the magical beasts around the area and set up a camp there. And as expected, the girls cooked while Kai set up a tent for them. Because she couldn''t cook, Sofia decided to help Kai and sorted all the items they needed to use tomorrow.


    Finally, they gathered around a heater¡­ Not a campfire of course, unless they wanted the magical beasts to notice it. Although it was still November, the air was already pretty cold.


    They had a rotation for guarding the night, and Kai was the first one, letting the other girls sleep first.


    The next day, he woke up and scanned the entire forest, finding nothing was wrong.


    "What are we going to do now? Should we pack up first?"


    "No. We will pack up tomorrow. We will go around here and change to another ce tomorrow," Kai said while rubbing his sleepy eyes. He had listened to his surroundings and noticed there were around five thousand magical beasts around them, so he thought this ce would be fine.


    "Our target is three thousand points, so we need to get at least two hundred points today." He nced at Sofia. "How is their power level?"


    "Ayaka has taken me to the sky earlier to see the entire situation. I don''t think there is a problem. I saw a few A rank beasts, but I think it''s a bit farther from us. As for our surroundings, there are only B rank beasts." Sofia confirmed. She didn''t dare to lie to him because Kai could easily pick it up. If she didn''t know this ability, she might lie to him, saying there was nothing in their surroundings and exploit those A rank. Unfortunately, lies couldn''t escape his ears.


    Kai nodded and stretched his hand, creating a radar that had his Echo Location magic. "Choose your direction and clear that area."


    "I will go to Northwest."


    "Northeast."


    "East."


    "South."


    "I will take the West then." Kai nodded. "After lunch, we are going to clear the North Area, which has many A rank magical beasts."


    "Understood."


    "Then, let''s prepare first and split up. Remember¡­ Those who are covered in injury shall not be eligible for the reward." Kai warned them again to prevent them from being reckless.


    The girls nodded repeatedly. "Don''t worry. We won''t make you worry."


    They then took all their equipment and split up. They came from the Southeast, so the area was basically cleared, leaving only seven other directions to go. Aside from the North, they could choose all six directions, albeit there seemed to be one ce that couldn''t be covered, Southwest, but it wasn''t really a big deal.


    The group could take care of it after returning from the north region. They had agreed upon this before evening to this ce.


    "We will see each other in five hours." Kai nodded to the girls and disappeared, running toward the west with his fastest speed.


    It only took him three minutes before ncing at his left, finding a group of horses. He sneaked around them and checked whether they had any B rank magical beasts.


    "Found it." Kai''s vision stopped on a white horse that seemed to grow a horn after its evolution. "One B rank and ten other horses."


    He sneaked behind the horse without making a sound and created a magic circle underneath his boot,unching him toward the white horse.


    Sensing the fluctuation of magic power and an iing presence, it turned around and lowered its head, trying to block Kai''s sword.


    "Hmph." Kai snorted, activated his Sound Instion Magic, and struck the white horse with his sword.


    It got stopped by the horn for a second before Kai stepped on the ground to get another boost of power, slicing the horn along with the horse head with his Vibration Sword. "Do you think you are a unicorn?"


    "Hii?!" The white horse couldn''t even think before it fell down, died.


    The other horses were surprised to see their leader just die in front of their eyes and charged at Kai, trying to ram him.


    Kai wasn''t afraid and charged at them without hesitation. He swung his swords forward, killing another two. But four horses immediately turned around, trying to ram him from another direction. The other four also came at him from the opposite direction.


    "That is thest thing you want to do when fighting against me." Kai smiled and leaped toward the group in his right. He cut another two horses before riding one of them. At the same time, the one beside him already died with a single thrust from Kai, leaving only this one to charge at the four.


    "Ngi?!" The horse was surprised and tried to stop, but they were too fast and ended up hitting each other.


    Kai already leaped before the impact, waving his swords to kill the remaining five with a few waves of his sword.


    "Including the time I used to sneak around, I used three minutes in total." Kai let out a sigh and took a breather. "I have two magic in mind to increase my attack power, but they are still in progress¡­ The only thing I have done during the past week ispleting my Sound Levitation magic. Haiz, this will be tough."


    Kai sighed and leaped to another ce. This time, a group of B rank monkeys. He furrowed his eyebrows, seeing these brown-haired monkeys. "They are troublesome because they are hanging around the tree."


    Formting the fight in his mind, Kai decided to use another trick.


    The Sound stunched him again, not to the monkeys, but to the trees around them.


    He sliced the tree diagonally, so they would fall down after getting cut while using his Sound st continuously and acted like a pinball to cut all the trees within five seconds. He didn''t forget to create his Sound Instion magic to prevent the loud sound from the crumbling tree.


    "Kikaka!" One of them monkeys pointed his finger toward Kai after leaping from his own tree andnding on the ground safely. He panicked a moment ago because they never expected Kai to attack them, so this time they would take care of Kai properly.


    Kai looked at these twenty-five monkeys in which five of them were B rank and smiled.


    Three B rank monkeys came toward him while those who were not grabbed a rock around them, ready to throw at him.


    Kai waved his sword to cut the first monkey, but because they were ready for his attack, the monkey shifted his body to avoid it whileughing at Kai. Unfortunately, thatugh didn''tst long because Kai''s other sword cut him.


    The other two were surprised but realized Kai shouldn''t be able to stop them because he just used his two swords to kill the first monkey. They threw a punch at him from two sides, albeit Kai was one step ahead of them.


    "Sound st." Above their head appeared a green magic circle, releasing a powerful sound wave andunching the two monkeys down until their heads stuck inside the ground.


    Kai spun his sword and stabbed both of them.


    "That''s three!" Kai nced at the other two B rank monkeys before one of them raised their hand, "Kikaka!"


    All monkeys threw their stones at the same time. If this were someone else, they would need to dodge or create a shield. But Kai was able to follow all the stones'' movements. He avoided all of them as he moved closer to the two.


    The moment he walked past those stones, he leaped toward the monkeys and shed them. "That''s five. Now it''s time for the others."


    Kai smiled and hunted them.

 Chapter 293 - Lunchtime

    A few hourster, Kai was out of breath. Although he didn''t use his magic power that much, he had been going all out with his body. And it was normal for him to be short of breath like this, but the scenery before him was amazing.


    There were fifty magical beast corpses lying on the ground. The blood dyed the ground red and covered it with a pungent smell.


    "I think there are fifteen minutes left before lunchtime. I can kill another group, but I think I should stop here because my stamina can''t really keep up." Kai sighed and started walking back toward the camp.


    To his surprise, Tasha was already there, baffling him.


    "Tasha?"


    "Oh." Tasha nodded while preparing the meal.


    "I am surprised." Kai gently smiled and walked toward her. "Do you need any help?"


    "Cut me those veggies." Tasha pointed her hand to the nearby vegetables before asking, "Why are you surprised?"


    "I thought you were going toest with your Teleportation magic."


    "Haha¡­ You misunderstood me. I want to win thepetition, but I don''t want any of you to torture yourself because of it, so the least I can do is to prepare your meal." Tasha smiled.


    "Thank you."


    "What thank you? There is no need to say thank you between us." Tasha shrugged. "Besides, I am not giving up, you know."


    Kai chuckled. "Fair enough."


    He had heard the shattering sound of magical beasts. He could see many magical beasts raining down from the sky the whole time.


    "What is your kill count?"


    "Since the kill count is including the C rank or below, I have killed four hundred fifty beasts. If we raid those in the North and probably the Southwest, I think I can reach six hundred today alone. What about you?"


    "One thousand." Tasha shrugged.


    "Ahaha¡­ You are using too much of your magic power, you know. It''s not like the physical strength that we can recover just by resting. To use that much magic power, you need around two days to recover, especially because we still need to hunt more after this." Kai nced at her.


    "I n to use only my Lightning Magic after this, so the consumption is not that much. Besides, I want to test my control over my magic power today. If it was a few months ago, I think I would have used two-third of my magic power instead of the half by using the teleportation magic this much."


    "I don''t keep track of how many you used, but if you say so, then it should be right." Kai nodded.


    "Anyway, I won''t be using this trick after this, so don''t worry about me." Tasha smiled.


    "Are you going to use your Space Magic, no, Sealing Magic?"


    "Yeah."


    "So, you want topress air with your sealing magic and use it as a bomb?"


    "Probably. That''s why I am going to be a bit deeper two dayster, drop thepressed air, and leave the area. The magic consumption must be lower than what I use today." Tasha nodded.


    "If you are confident, then it''s fine. But you remember, right?"


    "Yes, yes. I won''t get the reward if I get heavily injured. Don''t worry. Just start nning our honeymoonter." Tasha smirked.


    "You really know how to pressure me, eh?" Kai smiled. "But do you think it will be this easy?"


    "Of course not. I predict that Ayaka will also go a bit deeper, utilizing her magic bomb to the fullest. By creating a dyed time bomb, she might be able to kill more beasts than me. As for Michelle, I bet she is going to hunt a bit more at night due to her magic. Though it''s a bit hard for us to fight during the night because of the limitation of our eyes. As for Sofia¡­ I don''t really know. I feel that she is still holding back."


    Kai thought for a moment. "Ayaka might do that while Michelle is really conserving her energy right now, so I guess I can let her go as long as she returns before 11 PM."


    "Haha¡­ A curfew?"


    "No, no. She needs enough rest to keep fighting, so I need to make sure everyone has enough energy to keep going." Kai shook his head. "Sofia, on the other hand, is really holding her power back. It seems she still has her trump card against many enemies, so I will just wait for it."


    "How many points do you think we have gotten as a whole?"


    "How many do you get from those one thousand beasts?"


    "Around seventy, I guess."


    "Mine is forty. If webine the other three, I think we can reach at least one hundred fifty. And with the joint operation after this and Michelle''s night expedition, we should be able to hit two hundred fifty points today alone."


    "If we can keep going at this rate, I think we can go home within ten days." Tasha thought. It was weird to say ten days because it was only two thousand five hundred points. However, judging how the group wanted to go all out after a few days of adjusting to this environment, that kind of pace seemed to be possible.


    "No. I think it''s still fourteen days." Kai shook his head. "The pace is right, but B rank or above monsters will be decreasing in number, so it will take more time to get them."


    "I forgot about that, but yes, you are right." Tasha nodded.


    "One thing that I want to remind you, make sure that you don''t leave a trace, so you won''t bring many beasts to our group," Kai said with a stern tone.


    "I know. My and Ayaka''s explosions surely produce a loud sound that can gather magical beasts from the surrounding. And the fact they will also start screaming to gather more beasts, I will make sure to confuse them. At the very least, they won''t know where to go." Tasha nodded. "I think the others also know about it."


    Kai smiled and didn''t talk anymore. He helped Tasha prepare the lunch, and two minutes before lunchtime, Michelle appeared, followed by Tasha and Sofia. They never expected Kai and Tasha had prepared this for them.


    It was true that they were hungry, but they realized it was a slick move from Tasha. She seemed to care about the others, but one thing she didn''t mention to Kai. With her preparing the lunch, she would have alone time with Kai during this period, so even if she didn''t win the war, she won the battle.


    Albeit despite thinking like that, they still ate the food with pure bliss.


    "By the way, how many points and kills did you get today?"


    "I only killed one hundred today and ten points." Michelle raised her hand. Although the number was small, she didn''t feel embarrassed at all. And no one made fun of her because she would be a devil during the night. Killing a total of six hundred might not be impossible for her.


    "I have killed around five hundred because of my current fighting style and thirty-two points," Ayaka answered. "Let me adjust it a bit more for a few days, and I will get serious."


    "I have barely reached the quota, four hundred, and twenty-five points." Sofia sighed.


    "That''s good. We have gotten one hundred fifty-seven points in total." Kai nodded with a smile. "After this, we will go to the north and wreak havoc there."


    "Is there a strategy for this one?"


    "I have listened to them for a while and confirm that the magical beasts are wolves. We will get as close as possible to them to decide about the n because we want to see their power level." Kai thought for a moment and answered.


    "I am sorry that I can''t really discern them unless they are close," Sofia apologized.


    "It''s fine. You have been helpful enough." Kai smiled, waving his hand to tell her it was alright. "In any case, we have a lunch break for one and a half hours, so rest well.


    The group nodded and finished lunch before going their own way to recover from their fatigue.


    As soon as the time came, the group immediately headed toward the north, finding their first target only five minutes away.


    "Sofia." Kai nced at Sofia when they had gotten close to the territory of a pack of wolves. "There are a total of one hundred wolves inside there. What is their power level?"


    "I think three A rank magical beasts, ten B rank, and the rest are C rank or below. I don''t see any beast dangerous enough, so I am sure there is no intelligent beast."


    Although they talked like this, Kai had created a small Sound Instion magic, ensuring the wolves would not hear anything from them. At the same time, Kai was also blinded by this, but luckily, they had Sofia that could be their new eyes in this situation.


    "I understand. The A rank magical beasts are our top priority, so we will kill them first. At least one of them. I, Tasha, and Michelle will try to assassinate those A rank monsters. As soon as we are done, you and Ayaka will use magic that can kill many of them at once. We can overpower the rest after that."


    The girls nodded their heads as Kai expanded a bit his Sound Instion room as they walked closer to the wolves.


    When they were in sight, Kai expanded the Sound Instion to the maximum, surrounding the entire area with his Sound Instion magic.


    The wolf also noticed the change in their surroundings and looked around, while there were three people creeping in the darkness as Kai raised two fingers and waved them down as if telling them to start.


    Two shadows and one arrow flew from the darkness, heading toward the three A rank wolves. And the great battle had officially started.

 Chapter 294 - Killing The Wolf Pack

    The wolves noticed them and turned around, facing the two iing people and one arrow.


    The left wolf only sent his paw to block the arrow, but a magic circle appeared in front of the arrow, turning the small arrow into a stream of lightning. The wolf size was around three meters in height, so its paw was quite big as well, albeit it wasn''t enough.


    *Zap!*


    Before anyone knew it, the lightning pierced the paw, stopping not far from the wolf''s head.


    "Wu?!" The wolf''s head retreated a bit, never expecting there would be something that was powerful enough to pierce his paw.


    "Hehe¡­ How is that? I have finally mastered the dyed magic circle after training with Elder Rapakha for two weeks!" Tasha grinned, feeling proud of it. "Albeit it wasn''t enough to kill it."


    Michelle nced at that wolf and clicked her tongue. She leaped to the right wolf''s head, waving her shadow sword.


    Just like how the previous wolf did it, this wolf tried to pounce Michelle to the ground with his paw.


    She had been practicing with Kai and learned how unique Kai utilized her Shadow Magic, giving her a precious time to understand how she used it for herself.


    The moment the sword struck the paw, Michelle released her magic.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The dark wave circled around the paw, just like how Kai thinned the S rank spider''s leg. However, this wolf was just a mere A rank magical beast, not the abnormal one like the S rank spider.


    It only took her one second before the wolf''s paw was cut. Using that chance, Michelle waved her other sword toward the wolf, trying to end it with one blow.


    Seeing this, the wolf ducked down and leaped as far as possible, only to hit the wall after that. Even so, it managed to escape death.


    It was different for Kai. He didn''t need two attacks like Michelle. Instead, he only let the Vibration Sword do the job and used his Sound st tounch him to create enough speed to cut down the wolf before it could even react.


    "AO!" The left guy immediately howled, ordering the other wolves to move.


    The weaker wolves began running toward Kai and Michelle.


    A magic circle formed between these two before a third figure appeared. It was Tasha.


    "Alright. Thisdy and gentleman, we need to leave." Tasha smiled, waited for three seconds, and teleported all of them a bit farther from this ce.


    It was at this time two magic circles appeared out of nowhere. On the right was a huge red circle with a fire symbol in the middle of it, while the other one was a huge blue circle with an ice crystal symbol on it.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    "Wild Freezing Game."


    The two that had been waiting for the chance to attack finally made their appearance. Because of the rush from the weaker wolves, half of them were inside the magic circle. Kai and the others might be able to buy a bit more time to get all of them in a circle, but the wolves might be able to react and leave the circle within one second at that time.


    That was why they risked it and used the magic now like how Kai instructed.


    An explosion urred from the red magic circle, engulfing those inside the magic circle with fire while blowing those on the outside away. At the same time, a huge ice shard rose and froze those wolves while letting the ones on the outside hit the ice with their heads.


    The two magic would obviously hit each other as well, but the ice was hard enough to withstand the impact of the explosion while the fire was hot enough to not be frozen.


    Kai watched this in amazement. It never came to him that his group was actually this strong. In fact, he might have forgotten the fact that they were fighting against ridiculous opponents this whole time that they forgot the fact that they had gotten stronger¡­ Much stronger than they used to be. Whether it was magic control, attack power, or anything else.


    Kai couldn''t help but feel excited, looking at how far they had gotten.


    "Michelle, let''s go. Tasha, support us," Kaimanded while running forward to take advantage of this situation.


    Tasha nodded and summoned a few arrows, aiming at the wolves.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka and Sofia also had found Kai and Michelle closing in and decided to do the same. Ayaka struck them with her spear or kicked them with her new boots while Sofia shot a barrage of Ice particles to mow them down.


    Kai took this chance of confusion to run past the wolves to reach the leader wolf.


    At the same time, the other wolf that just hit the wall saw this and charged at Kai from the back. Of course, this action was found by Michelle. She stepped in and blocked the wolf from the front.


    "Roar!" The wolf roared, shooting a beam toward her.


    Michelle ced her hand on the ground, creating a fewyers of dark wall to stop this attack.


    To everyone''s surprise, the beam exploded right after hitting the firstyer, creating a torrential wind that somehow also broke the next fewyers.


    Not only that, but the A rank wolf stomped the ground with its feet, creating another shock wave that brought down the rest of the wall.


    Tasha found this amusing and released the same arrow like earlier. The moment it wanted to hit the wolf, it turned into a powerful lightning bolt, and its target was the wolf''s head.


    However, it was stopped by an invisible barrier, spinning above the wolf.


    "Ho?! The wind is creating a barrier to block my attack?" Tasha narrowed her eyes and pointed her palm toward there, but stopped right after it.


    A shadow emerged from the ground, forming a wolf but walking on two feet. It punched the wind barrier with its paw, letting the arrow pierce its head.


    The wolf was smart enough to create another ball of wind that deflected the arrow but still ended up piercing his body. At the very least, it escaped death.


    The shadow then turned around and leaped on top of the wolf, pinning it down with its weight.


    Michelle ran toward the wolf and struck its head, only to find the other paw could still block her.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The Shadow sh ran through the wolf''s paw to the hand and ultimately to the head. Before it reached his main body, another wind stopped and blew the Shadow sh away, and another one appeared to push the shadow on his back.


    The wolf tried to fight back, but Michelle didn''t let him. Before the shadow got blown away, it already had a string attached to Michelle''s hand, and it pulled her straight to the wolf''s head, where she used her Shadow sh to cut his head.


    At the same time, Tasha also used the same technique and created a hole on its head.


    Michelle nced at Tasha and gave a thumb up before roaming around to kill the others.


    Kai''s opponent seemed to have the same technique, but with ice magic instead. This was also the reason why the wolf could avoid Ayaka''s and Sofia''s attacks. It managed to create an ice cube to protect itself.


    ''They seem to be stronger than we expect¡­ I wonder if this is normal in the front line since from all the beasts we hunted in the normal mission, all of them weren''t this strong. If this is normal, then no wonder the soldiers on the front line are elites filled with strength and experience.'' Kai thought while striking the wolf with his Vibration Sword.


    Because Kai had shown the strength of his Vibration Sword, the wolf created ice ws to fend himself, but Kai was one step further.


    He used his Sound st to create enough force to slightly move the wolf''s paw, so instead of hitting the w, Kai waited for a bit and cut the wolf''s entire hand instead.


    "Ao?!" The wolf howled again, shooting many shards of ice toward Kai. He thought Kai would cut it with his sword if he only used one big piece, but this was instead backfired on him.


    Kai used his Sound st to deflect it, so the ice shards hit the other wolves while making his way toward the wolf''s head.


    The wolf tried to stop Kai with its head after this, but he was too fixated on Kai.


    There was a fire spiraling from the left and an ice spearing from the right. It hit the wolf''s body at the same time. The fire spread around the body, burning the fox''s fur and body. And the ice spread and created a huge ice crystal on its body, throwing the bnce of this fox a little bit to the right.


    As for the two culprits who did this, they simply looked away and said in unison. "Oops. We didn''t mean to."


    From their tone alone, one knew they were joking. Despite facing so many weaker wolves, they had enough concentration and power to support Kai with this. He really felt gratified by how much his group had grown and wouldn''t let this chance go.


    He saw the opportunity and used his Sound st tounch him to the neck, slicing the neck off.


    "Ao!" The wolf let out another weak howl before it dropped to the ground, died.


    They then started killing the rest of the pack one by one without any problem.


    It took them only three minutes to kill the remaining thirty wolves as Kai checked them once more with his hearing before pping his hand. "Great Job. Really great job."

 Chapter 295 - Planning Their Next Course

    "Great job. Really great job." Kai smiled while Sofia looked around to see whether there were any magical beasts closing in.


    After confirming they were safe, she walked toward Kai along with the rest.


    "Doesn''t really feel like I have fought against a hundred magical beasts¡­" Ayaka mumbled with a carefree tone.


    "It just means that you have gotten stronger." Kai smiled.


    "Yeah. The past me might have no ability to use my magic effectively." Ayaka nodded and felt a bit proud of her growth.


    "Still, this is not enough. The fight felt easy, but our enemies were stronger." Michelle shook her head.


    "Fair enough. Maybe because we have been setting them as our enemies to ovee, we have gotten stronger than we actually think." Tasha nodded. "Everything needs a process. As long as we keep striving forward and don''t be proud of killing a mere small group like this, I think we will be fine. If you feel proud, I will make you experience free fall from the sky without a parachute."


    The girls rolled their eyes before Sofia mentioned a few things. "First, there is another great signing from our eleven."


    "Yes. I have noticed them too. It''s a small group, but there is a huge oneing right before it. I am assuming that this one is¡­" Kai paused as the others answered at the same time. "An A rank intelligent beast."


    Their expressions turned serious as Sofia nodded, confirming the im. Kai thought for a moment and said, "This one is much harder because it''s tough to sneak attack this beast."


    "Why?" Sofia asked, noticing that this beast''s danger level wasn''t really much higher than the three A rank beastsbined.


    "They are underground. I assume there is a small underground nest nearby containing around two hundred to three hundred magical beasts. I don''t know whose nest is this though." Kai shrugged while listening to their movement.


    "This is going to be difficult." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Not only our space is limited, we are not really aware of their terrain."


    "Don''t worry. Although I have said a nest, this one doesn''t really look like an ant nest with so many hidden tunnels. Well, I should be able to know if they areing, so it will be fine." Kai assured her before asking. "By the way, you said you want to say a few things. What is the rest?"


    "There is a single beast a bit further than us. I believe we should hunt that monster first." Sofia pointed in a different direction.


    Kai closed his eyes for a second to listen to the beast''s footsteps and confirmed it was there. Still, this beast felt massive. "The beast is huge because every step is big and creates a loud noise. I try to look at this beast with the tremor caused by him, and it seems this one is a ck bear."


    "It''s going to be troublesome then. I have heard that every time a ck bear appears, the base asks the base for an elite group to hunt this down. Not only does it have thick skin, but the strength is also far stronger. I believe it is a bit stronger than Kai''s current strength with his exoskeletonbined." Michelle exined while searching all information through her memory.


    "What do you know about it? And how powerful his defense is?"


    "I am not very sure. You can say that the ck bear is one of the strongest beasts in this area. I believe Ayaka''s fire won''t be able to burn its skin¡­ Only his fur, I guess. The same applies to Sofia''s ice magic. It doesn''t really feel cold, and unless you create a powerful attack, it won''t prate his skin."


    "That sounds like a thick defense." Kai nodded. "How about my Vibration Sword?"


    "I think your vibration sword can deal with it, but I am sure he is going to stop you no matter what. And it has the speed needed to handle your speed. In other words, it relies on us how we want to restrict it so you can kill it."


    "It will be hard indeed." Kai nced at Ayaka, who seemed to have something to say.


    Feeling his stare, she picked up a branch near her boot as a magic circle appeared and disappeared.


    "What is that?"


    Ayaka didn''t say anything and simply threw the branch as far as possible.


    *Boom!*


    The branch exploded, startling everyone in the area.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t do this if you have retracted your Sound Instion magic." Ayaka smiled before starting to exin. "As you can see, I have applied my Magic Bomb to that branch, making it explode within a few seconds."


    "You want to explode it inside the ck bear''s body?" Kai narrowed his eyes, catching her n almost immediately.


    "Yeah." Ayaka smiled.


    "I think it will work." Michelle approved the idea. "I never heard about them having a powerful inside."


    "If you can do this, I think we won''t have much trouble, and I can focus on fending the bear to create a few openings for all of you to attack the bear. How about it? I will act as the bait while all of you are going to injure it. As soon as you create a small wound, stuff a thing that has been coated by Ayaka''s magic bomb, and we will retreat." Kai suggested with a carefree tone.


    He didn''t want them to rely on his Vibration Sword too much because they might stop inventing powerful magic attacks. Hence, he agreed with Ayaka because he loved her creativity.


    "I don''t have a problem. Do you want me to stuff it inside with my arrow?" Tasha was the first to answer. "Ayaka will need toe to meter though and match the timing with the bomb."


    "One minute is enough, right? It''s not like the bear will sweep away a branch that is stuck to its wound." Tasha asked.


    "One minute is enough. I can get better timing and position to stuff it then." Tasha nodded. "But I shouldn''t reveal my position because the bear might be wary of me."


    "I believe the three of you are enough to injure the bear, right?" Kai immediately asked Ayaka, Michelle, and Sofia.


    "My Shadow sh will be enough." Michelle grinned.


    "No, no. Even Kai can''t withstand my full blow, I am sure I can make a deep wound in the bear''s body," Ayaka interjected.


    "If I freeze the bear first, it will reduce the power of its muscle, allowing us to create a wound easier, so it will be me." Sofia also made a bold im.


    "I know that you are eager to do this and thank you for that. This is a team fight, so you need to work with each other." Kai rolled his eyes. "So, how long can I expect you to kill the bear?"


    "Including the time of the bomb, five minutes." The three gave the same answer at the same time.


    Kai widened his eyes in amazement. They might have fought together to even give the same answer like this, and he couldn''t help but smile.


    "Since the matter of the bear is finished, we should talk about the nest again."


    "Yes. I have gathered a few information during this conversation since I can focus there." Kai nodded. "There are many screeching sounds in the nest, so I guess there are a few mammals there like Hares or Cored Pikas that seem to be living around an area like this¡­ Let''s think about our position as well."


    "Indeed. We are around an alpine. If we continue to the north, we will climb a little bit of the mountain¡­" Michelle looked down, falling into deep thought.


    "Well, the nest should be a bit warm, so I guess there will be bats and some bugs like ants there as well."


    "Yeah. They don''t really have many colonies to begin with, and the ants don''t really like cold, so I try to calcte them and find that the ants are mostly filling the entire nest, so you can expect a simr ant nest."


    "This is why I hate underground nests." Sofia gritted her teeth, looking very frustrated.


    "Anyway, their poption is roughly five hundred. Because of the tunnels the ants made, they are pretty scattered. I think we should be able to solve this by ourselves."


    "How many ants are there?"


    "I believe there are around one hundred beasts other than ants inside. And ording to Sofia, there is no intelligent magical beast, so we can use this to our advantage." Kai nodded.


    "Do you want to kill their strongest or clear the nest first?" Sofia asked.


    "Clear the nest first. Although their leader doesn''t really look like one, I don''t want to be surrounded while fighting the leader." Kai instantly answered.


    "I can guide you to all the tunnels then. You just need to tell us how many there are, and I''ll tell you their strength." Sofia nodded in agreement.


    "Alright. That''s settled then." Kai thought for a moment. "We will strike the bear first since there are only a few magical beasts surrounding the bear. Well, they are not that close, so we can assassinate them first before killing the bear. After that, we will clear the nest."


    "Before that, I have a question." Ayaka raised her hand.


    "What is it?"


    "I have remembered one more thing, so I want to ask whether we need to bring the crystals from the magical beasts we kill or not?" Ayaka remembered where they still gathered those crystals for some extra money.


    Kai forgot about it because he had gotten enough money from the government, so he never mentioned or thought about it again. "There will be too many magical beasts to dissect, so maybe I can strike a deal with the military base where we split with the soldiers and the base for this. This way, we can also give a portion of what we get to the soldiers to let them have a better life."


    "Alright then." Ayaka immediately brushed the matter away. It wasn''t like she needed this money, but she just wanted to make sure they didn''t waste it. If they had cooperation like this, getting a smaller portion was enough for them."


    After settling the issue, Kai said and started moving. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 296 - Hunting The Bear

    "That''s the bear," said Kai while observing the huge four meters bear standing on its two feet. It seemed the bear was walking around the forest this whole time without any aim.


    "Are you sure you can still hold your own against a bear that big? If I am not wrong, a single sweep from the bear would be far stronger than my momentum, especially the one that big," Ayaka asked with a concerned face.


    "I think it will be fine. I am not nning to face it head-on. That''s why you three are going to appear a bitter." Kai nodded. "By the way, what is his element?"


    "I am not sure. From the report, they have either water, earth, metal, and darkness."


    "Ugh. This sounds troublesome." Kai twitched his eyebrows before taking a deep breath. "It''s useless toin, so I am going now."


    "Yes. Be careful."


    Kai leaped toward the bear, activating his Sound Instion magic again to ensure that no one bothered them. They had troubled themselves in killing those monsters around this bear, so they needed anotheryer of precaution.


    The ck bear turned around, noticing the iing Kai. "Roar!"


    With a single roar, Kai slightly lowered his eyebrows when he noticed the bear''s handing from the left.


    Trying to see the bear''s real strength, Kai decided to take this attack head-on.


    "Oscition Shield."


    "Sound st!"


    Two magic circles appeared where the Sound st was in the outer position, trying to slow the bear''s paw using the shock waveing out of it. It affected the speed a little bit but wasn''t much, disappointing Kai.


    After that, the paw struck the Oscition Shield as he blew Kai away.


    "Seriously?" Kai widened his eyes, staring at the bear in amazement. He nced at his Oscition Shield that somehow got cracked by that paw. The S rank spider could also crack this shield, but it was normal because it was S rank. Yet this bear could do the same; it was insane.


    Rolling on the ground, Kai forced himself to stop by pushing the ground tounch himself into the air and using his Sound st to fly toward the bear.


    At this time, he was on the offensive and struck the bear''s paw.


    Suddenly, ayer of green light appeared, covering the bear''s paw as the bear waved it to stop Kai''s attack.


    "Sound st!" Kai didn''t want to lose and used another Sound st to give a nice boost in his swing.


    *ng!*


    The two objects produced a clicking sound, signaling the bear''s magic.


    "Metal, huh¡­" Kai thought for a moment. ''Why do I think this bear is stronger than a rank S spider? No, never mind. The spider magic is the poison that can be infused into everything in its body. I could only make it look easy because we could avoid itpletely with powerful teammates.''


    Kai pushed his sword a little bit more, slicing the bear''s magic and slowly made its way toward the skin.


    Noticing this, the bear swept with its other hand, trying to push Kai away.


    Kai didn''t want to get destroyed by that paw, so heunched himself with another Sound st and did it again until he was behind the bear.


    He nned to strike the bear, but his swords instinctively moved to the left instead because he sensed the bear''s pawing toward him.


    "So fast?" Kai opened his mouth in amazement. He remembered Michelle introducing the bear as a quick beast and could keep up with his Sound st. He now knows that it''s true.


    The two swords shed with the bear paw, and he managed to block it somehow without being pushed back. And again, this paw came when the bear faced the front, not to him, he couldn''t expect a strong attack from this position.


    He then decided to leap and run on the bear''s back, shing as hard as he could while doing so. However, he realized that none of his attacks resulted in injury. They were blocked by a certain piece of metal that covered his back.


    The bear also sent its paws toward Kai before reaching his head, so Kai jumped off the back.


    "Seriously?" He couldn''t help but tilt his head in confusion.


    The girls finally made their appearance.


    Even though Kai couldn''t do many things to the bear, he still managed to have one of its hands on the back, preventing the bear from using that hand even with his speed.


    That was why the girls came from the other side.


    The bear didn''t just let them attack him. He tried attacking them with his other hand, but Kai appeared and kicked him on its arm when it pulled back its hand. Now the bear has his two hands on his back.


    "Kh!" Even so, he was struggling because he realized that the bear strength was no joke and would probably throw him away in one second.


    Sofia appeared beside him and punched the hand with all her strength.


    "Thank¡ª" Before he said anything, Sofia already released her magic.


    "Frozen Punch."


    Ice spikes rose from where she struck, freezing the skin around that area.


    Meanwhile, Michelle found her not attacking the body and decided to do the same. She struck the bear''s leg using her Shadow sh.


    The dark wave circled around the leg, trying to cut it, but to no avail. Ayer of metal stopped it again.


    Ayaka then struck the bear''s body, trying to throw its bnce, but her hand suddenly felt numb when she got the feedback as if she hit a thick metal te.


    "This is why the bear is considered one of the strongest magical beasts in the area. Those who are ssified in this category would only lose to S rank magical beasts. However, we won''t need to worry much because the bear didn''t really have a huge magic reserve, so it would be weak in a few minutes if we continuously pressure him like this.


    "So, you can think of facing an S rank beast for around three minutes before it is just a weak beast," Michelle exined the situation while retreating.


    Kai and the others also did the same as they listened to her words.


    "Is that so? Well, I notice that the bear''s defensees from his magic¡­ Probably Metal Magic. In any case, I am going to hold it down for all of you, so try to weaken him as soon as possible." Kai nodded and charged at the bear again.


    The girls exchanged looks and nodded, agreeing to start their battle now.


    "Shadow sh!"


    The dark wave ran through the ground and struck the bear before Kai arrived, making an opening for Kai.


    "Thank you." Kai smiled, watched how the bear crushed the Shadow sh with his paw alone and slid between the bear''s legs. He didn''t forget to strike the two legs while he was at it.


    To his surprise, he managed to create a shallow wound on his feet.


    "It seems the bear has enough speed to match my speed, but his reflex is not enough to match my movement," Kai muttered before using his Sound st to move around the bear. He didn''t use his Vibration Sword for this because he wanted the girl to kill the bear on their own.


    Even so, confusing the bear should be enough for him, especially with his speed.


    Michelle was using her Shadow sh to wear down the bear and retreated. She repeated it until she found an opening or the bear used all of his magic power.


    At the same time, Ayaka kept swinging her spear, but a bit different than what she had been doing this whole time. Her spear was on fire, specifically only the de was on fire. But every time she shed the bear, the fire would actually fly and spread around as if she was trying to fry the bear.


    Sofia, on the other hand, used the same technique over and over again because it seemed to be the best one that she could use to wear the bear down.


    Kai nodded and kept holding the bear down with his unpredictable movement.


    Suddenly, Ayaka felt it wascking, so she shouted. "Kai! Could you knock the bear back?"


    He didn''t answer her immediately and observed his movement before nodding. "I can. When do you need it?"


    "Anytime you can."


    "I will help you as well." Sofia decided to join in this n because she felt they needed to weaken the bear''s defense first before even thinking about injuring it.


    Kai nced at her for a second and nodded. "Sure. Follow my lead."


    As he said that, he started moving unpredictably before striking the bear''s legs again.


    The bear had seen this move and sped his hand before pounding Kai. Thetter only smiled because the Sound stunched him back as he used another Sound st to send him to the bear''s head.


    Michelle struck the two hands with Shadow sh again to stop the bear from attacking Kai.


    Kai smiled and kicked the bear''s head, throwing its bnce toward the back. At the same time, Sofia appeared beside him and punched the bear on the face as ice rose again.


    With these two, the bear was going to fall down.


    Ayaka smiled and ced her hand on the ground as a magic circle appeared on where the bear would fall.


    "Fire Net!"


    *Roar!* The bear screamed out of pain as it stomped the ground, using it to stabilize its body and rose from the fire.


    On its back, ckened marks appeared as Ayaka couldn''t help but exim. "Haha¡­ Look at that, a perfect grill mark!"


    "If you want to think of this bear as food, you shouldn''t do this because it will damage the meat," Michelle shouted in protest.


    "¡­"

 Chapter 297 - Killing The Bear

    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows. Even though he knew that these two were joking, it was still a bit weirding from those who wanted to blow the bear up from the inside.


    "Can you two stop?" Sofia couldn''t help but shout.


    Kai thought finally a sensible person came, but what he got next was a little unexpected.


    "You should freeze it first, to enhance its vor. What is it called again? Icing?"


    "¡­" Kai facepalmed.


    "No, no. There is indeed a cooking method for that, but mostly it''s for fast food restaurants. And this is a bear! Are you sure you want to eat frozen meat?!" Michelleined and somehow was a bit serious with herment.


    "Hey, girls. How about helping me here?" Kai rolled his eyes before noticing a few iing attacks from the girls.


    Despite joking around like that, they were still trying to attack the bear.


    Kai could only sigh.


    They kept at it, trying to wear down the bear until at one point, Kai suddenly shed the bear''s w and created a deep wound on its paw.


    "!!!" The group picked this sign in an instant and observed the bear with their own eyes.


    Kai smiled and kicked the bear on the stomach to throw the bnce off. "Time to shine!"


    "Roger!" The three shouted.


    Michelle went around the bear and struck at the left chest. "Shadow sh!"


    Sofia also did the same but on the back. Kai noticed that she had been hitting the same spot this whole time, and what came next surprised him.


    "Freeze." Sofia froze the spot and suddenly gripped it until it crushed the ice. But because it had been weakened from the few previous freezing magic, the moment she tried to pull it, the bear''s hard skin immediately pulled out, revealing a bloodied red meat. The metal magic seemed to have strengthened the bear to a ridiculous degree to the point they couldn''t understand how big the gap is.


    With this, Tasha had two spots to target.


    "This is truly surprising," Kai eximed.


    "As I said earlier, you can treat this bear as a normal A rank magical beast when the magic runs out! In fact, if it''s another group, they might get heavily injured or die if they are not careful." Michelle shrugged.


    "Anyway, let''s push it a bit more until the "Arrow" arrives."


    "Understood."


    Meanwhile, Ayaka suddenly disappeared from the battlefield and went to Tasha, handing her a magic bomb that she imbued into a small branch.


    "Do you think it can hold my magic?" Tasha asked.


    "Not really, so if possible, try to only stab the bear with this branch." Ayaka shook her head.


    "Alright." Tasha nodded.


    Ayaka then returned to the battle while shouting, "Fifty seconds."


    The three nodded as Michelle summoned a shadow using the bear''s shadow. It grabbed the bear''s hands and locked him up.


    Sofia ced her hand on the ground and froze the ground until it spread and froze the feet as well.


    With this, they should be able to stop the bear''s movement for a moment.


    Tasha seemed to have positioned herself and released the "arrow" from within the wood around.


    Kai noticed the arrow and saw the bear sweeping his right hand to stop the iing branch. He leaped toward the hand and shed his sword, only to find the other hand managed to move after breaking free from the shadow.


    He instead waved his hand to the other hand and spun to send a kick toward the main hand.


    The branch now had no more thing that could stop it from piercing the bear''s wound.


    *Zap!*


    It pierced a few centimeters inside the bear with only its tip visible from the outside.


    30 seconds¡­


    The bear found that it was only a branch and thought nothing of it. He then waved his hand to strike Kai again, but the shadow bear already grabbed his hand again, allowing Kai to retreat.


    Sofia pped her hand and summoned a magic circle.


    "Ice Cannon."


    This magic circle suddenly shot aser-like ice hitting the bear''s body. The ice immediately spread all around its body and froze the bear along with the shadow.


    But to everyone''s surprise, the bear shook the ice as cracks started appearing on the ice, and it took him only a few seconds to escape from the ice. Still¡­


    20 seconds¡­


    With twenty seconds remaining before the branch exploded, Michelle suddenly emerged from within the shadow''s bear as if she had been hiding inside the shadow this whole time. She then struck the bear from behind and sent her Shadow sh all over his body.


    *Roar!*


    Kai listened to the scream and decided to make his move, waving his sword toward one of the hands. He specifically targeted the right hand because the supposed explode branch was on the left side. He just wanted to maximize the damage.


    Out of magic power, the bear slightly moved slower than before, and Kai finally took his arm before kicking the bear on the head.


    10 seconds¡­


    Michelle snapped her fingers and created numerous ck tentacles that started circling around the bear''s body.


    Those tentacles came out of the shadow bear''s body as if a piece of its meat was turned into a tentacle by Michelle. Nheless, it managed to stop the weakened bear because they could clearly see how the bear struggled to escape from the restraint.


    Sofia appeared from the left side of the bear while Kai matched her movement and came from the right side, punching the bear''s waist at the same time.


    *Roar!*


    5 seconds¡­


    "Run now!" Kai ordered while retreating a few step backs, confirming that the two girls had sessfully escaped.


    Sofia''s movement was precise as she already turned around and ran before Kai even said it while Michelle was retreating first after herst attack.


    Because he wanted to be safe, he used his Sound st tounch him away from the bear, creating a huge distance between him and the bear.


    The bear obviously didn''t like this and tried to break free and start charging at him, albeit the moment it gained his freedom¡­ Or you could say that the shadow was releasing him, the branch suddenly exploded, engulfing the bear from the outside and the inside.


    The me burned the fur until nothing was left while the organs were scorched by it before it sttered around because of the explosion.


    "Ugh, it is gross," Kai eximed while using his shield to block the shock waveing from the explosion.


    The same as the two girls that used their own respective magic to block the shock wave. Meanwhile, Tasha and Ayaka appeared as soon as it stopped, checking on Kai and the two girls.


    "How is it?" Ayaka asked. Her expression was a bit pale.


    "I think you don''t need to ask, right?" Kai let out a long sigh. This might be the worst thing they had ever seen while smelling this burned scent. The ck charred flesh of meatpletely made one want to throw up.


    "Yeah. I don''t think this one is this gross, my mistake." Ayaka nodded. "Even killing bugs are not this gross."


    "I have the same opinion, but I do know that this method is very effective. And if possible, I want to do it again. Maybe we can try to blow a protector up from the inside." Kai shrugged while trying to cope up with the smell.


    "I don''t think it will work because the protector won''t let a branch like that stuck inside his body." Michelle regrouped with him.


    "Yeah. But I believe I have gotten a new way to make abination attack with Ayaka." Tasha raised her hand while smiling.


    "And that is?" Ayaka was slightly surprised to hear Tasha''s intention.


    "Your explosion is one of the strongest weapons we have right now, and I think I can use my dyed magic circle to break the magic circle, destabilizing it."


    Ayaka slightly raised her eyebrows and realized what she wanted. "Because of that, the moment the arrow hits, my magic circle will explode, causing huge damage to that beast?"


    "Exactly. As you know, my Lightning Piercer has evolved to another level due to the dyed magic. It''s prating power is so powerful, but that''s it. It won''t have enough damage like your explosion cause. Hence, how about we make a customized arrow that I can bring with me?"


    "And you want me to cast the arrow with my Magic Bomb and set it for a long time?"


    "Yeah. You can set it for thirty days when we are on a mission, and if I don''t need it, you can simply turn it down." Tasha nodded.


    "That''s a good idea. Maybe we can try it out with branches during this mission. If it''s a good concept, we can start producing such an arrow. Well, with current technology, I canpress the arrow into a small fish bite ball, so you can carry many around." Ayaka nodded.


    "Sure. I will be relying on you." Tasha grinned and shook Ayaka''s hand. These two seemed to want to create something they shouldn''t have¡­


    Kai only looked at them in silence because he knew that this one would truly improve Tasha''s offensive power. Albeit, he had a slight concern about this. "It will be a bit taxing for Ayaka, no?"


    "Indeed. I think ten Magic Bomb is the best I can do before it starts affecting my battle." Ayaka nodded and looked down, a bit ashamed.


    "It''s fine. Ten is enough because this arrow will be a game-changer. And the arrows don''t need to be small. It''s not like I mind carrying a quiver with ten arrows on my back. Besides, I am thankful enough."


    "Alright. That''s a deal then." Ayaka nodded.


    "Then, rest up a bit, and we shall go to the underground nest." Seeing they had reached a conclusion, Kai said while retracting his Sound Instion magic.

 Chapter 298 - A Small Test

    Five minutester, the group went toward the underground nest containing around five hundred magical beasts.


    Kai needed to be careful in this area, not wanting to be ambushed by a Protector again, so he relied on Sofia in this matter.


    She checked a few times, ensuring there was no ambush or whatsoever with her special instinct, so Kai finally decided to search the entrance of this nest.


    It turned out searching for an entrance was harder than she thought because the entrance was a bit hidden.


    "Over here." Tasha pped her hand once and raised her hand, calling the others. They were walking around in the alpine, so it was a bit hard to move around.


    It took them around one minute before they could gather in front of a hidden entrance behind a giant rock. It was a rock that blocked their way, but they would find it if one traveled above it. However, none of his group actually flew to the sky in case they found a flying magical beast. If that happened, it would be troublesome.


    "By the way, Sofia, do you find anything in our surroundings? Because this battle will be quite big and loud, I am afraid they will attract magical beasts from the surroundings. And as you already know, I can''t create a Sound Instion this big." Kai asked while adding inwardly, ''Without all my magic power of course.''


    "Nothing big. There are three groups around us, but all of them are only a small ten to twenty groups. I believe we can take care of them in an instant, especially considering none of them was as strong as the bear earlier." Sofia shook her head.


    "Understood. We can proceed then." Kai nodded and entered the underground nest. Darkness immediately surrounded them as it was a bit too hard to see inside this ce.


    Kai relied on his hearing to react while Sofia used her eyes to see the iing dangers. Tasha and Ayaka put on their night vision goggles as Michelle didn''t really need one. In fact, she was the only one getting stronger in this environment.


    They were met with holes from left and right as the group looked at Kai.


    Kai thought for a moment and activated his Sound Instion. The group looked not at him but at their surroundings to ensure there was no blind spot.


    He then started exining their current situation. "We have arrived at the first junction. We can go to the front where we are greeted by fifty magical beasts immediately or go to the left and right, which have ten to twenty monsters respectively."


    "We will stick around with you because it will be safer to sweep an underground nest as a team," Michelle suggested without hesitation.


    "I agree with her. Besides, my bow doesn''t really work here unless we find a big room for me to use this one." Tasha nodded before shrugging as if it didn''t really matter. "I can do other things though."


    Ayaka and Sofia also didn''t have any problem and agreed by nodding their heads.


    "In that case, I will go ording to my own way as we will sweep every single magical beast from the perimeter before moving to the center of this nest. If possible, I want to make this as a test to see your reaction speed and technique¡­"


    "Are you going to do the thing as you did back then?" Tasha asked.


    "Yes. You might not have known it, but I have done simr things with Teacher, so I believe this is a good chance to test your ability." Kai smiled, looking at the fourdies. Kai wouldn''t suggest this if Evan were around because Evan wouldn''t be able to keep up their movement. But thesedies were different.


    They were strong fighters that should have the ability to keep up his movement. The problem would be whether they could or not.


    "Sure." Michelle smiled as a dark aura starteding out of her body. This was the technique that enhanced her basic body ability to the utmost limit by using the darkness, so she was pretty sure she could keep up with Kai.


    "Interesting." Ayaka was pretty eager to do this as well, considering she had the blood of wildebeest that boosted her speed.


    Sofia thought for a moment because she didn''t really have anything to strengthen her. Nheless, her ability was top notch, so she didn''t really mind. "I will do my best. But I am thinking of changing my position."


    "Position?"


    "I have been supporting you in the back, but now I want to move to the middle because too far from the target will make me lose uracy in this environment." Sofia nodded.


    "Alright. You can do whatever you want." Kai nodded.


    "Thank you."


    "I will also do the same then." Tasha raised her hand and decided to retract her bow as her hands suddenly glowed. Lightning started shing around her hands before covering them with this shy purple light.


    "This is¡­" Kai and the others were confused because this was the first time they saw this.


    "You could say that these two gauntlets made of my lightning could function as a pistol. I can shoot up a small Lightning Piercer with this. Although the strength is notparable to the one with the bow, I will be very versatile by using this to fight in a close environment like this." Tasha exined.


    "Sure. If you are confident in fighting with it, I won''t say anything. Just make sure you don''t endanger yourself." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Leave it to me." Tasha gave a thumb up.


    "Onest thing, because this is not a raid like the previous raid mission, if we make too much noise, the magical beasts might also run to the outside instead of searching for us. When that timees, I bet they are going to call a reinforcement, so make sure your step doesn''t really make a loud sound and don''t talk with each other, let alone shouting, so there wouldn''t be any sound echoing in the tunnel." Kai sent thest warning in which the rest nodded with a serious expression.


    Satisfied with their reaction, Kai decided to go to the left because he wanted an easy sweep.


    "Let''s go. In this tunnel, we will meet four magical beasts before finding eleven more in a bigger area." Kai pointed to the tunnel and walked inside it.


    When everyone entered, he picked up his pace, and the others started running to follow him.


    The first monster was a red ant, which they killed in a split second. It continued this way for another three beasts before they reached the bigger room at the end of the tunnel.


    Sofia and Ayaka were a bit nervous because they couldn''t use their magic because it would create a loud sound. Hence, Ayaka decided to fight with her spear alone during this time while Sofia created a smaller portion of ice like a bullet and shot them toward the magical beasts.


    Kai still maintained his speed as he nced to the back and nodded, signaling them to get ready.


    The group''s expression turned serious as they stepped inside the room and found eight ants and three hares.


    Without a word, Kai leaped toward the magical beasts, wanting to see their reaction speed. Because they needed to match his movement, they would need to understand which magical beasts he killed and which ones they needed to kill. This took a lot of concentration as the girls seemed to react a bitte.


    Michelle and Ayaka were in the front and immediately went left and right. If Kai destroyed the middle, they needed to sweep the entire magical beast group from the edge and push them to the Kai, so he could kill more.


    Meanwhile, Tasha waved her hands as two lightning arrows flew out of the gloves, piercing through their heads.


    Kai saw Tasha taking the first kill and decided to step forward, splitting two ants in front of him into two. At the same time, he used his Sound st to push them to the side, creating a weird wave that made the magical beasts stumbled.


    He didn''t care after that as he made his way before the hares.


    Suddenly, the temperature dropped because they suddenly experienced rain inside an underground nest. And it was not normal rain. Instead, it was a freaking ice rain.


    The ice cubes looked packed with power as some of them managed to pierce the hares'' body. Kai decided to retract one of his swords before using that free hand to create a small shield to block the rain while killing the hare that was under this heavy rain.


    Using his Sound st again, he jumped from hare to hare, cutting them with his Vibration Sword. And just like that, the three hares just died.


    And without anyone realizing it, Michelle and Ayaka seemed to have finished as well, making him impress.


    "Great job." Kai nodded while summoning his sword again. "Now we will immediately head to the next ce as soon as we clear an area. Make sure you don''t have a slight dy¡­ You can even treat it as you are in the middle of magical beast rank where you need to breakthrough by using speed. The moment you stop, the magical beasts will surround you and kill you."


    "You are saying a pretty scary thing sometimes." Michelle shrugged before grinning. "I am up for it though."


    "If that is the case, we can clear the nest within thirty minutes. That is an achievement by itself, so I will im the MVP (Most Valuable Person) in this objective." Ayaka nodded.


    "No, no. It''s me." Sofia raised her hand as if she took pride because she helped Kai defeat three hares instantly.


    Tasha only shrugged and nced at Kai, telling him to start.


    Kai nodded and ran again. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 299 - A Mole

    "Tasha!"


    "Leave it to me." Tasha slipped out of their defense, taking a considerable distance before shooting her lightning arrow.


    They had been raiding this underground nest for almost an hour, killing around three hundred magical beasts in the process. The time was a bit slow because they couldn''t use a big move that could kill many in an instant, but it was pretty fast in Kai''s eyes.


    Besides, they also took down all the monsters while exploring the cave. However, they got attacked in thest room before the biggest room.


    It seemed the leader of this nest had found Kai and his group and decided to make the first move. Because of that, the remaining two hundred magical beasts were storming their room.


    Kai decided and canceled the small test, asking everyone to go back with their own style.


    Tasha had been shooting her arrow for a few minutes, killing around fifty magical beasts. Kai and Michelle took care of their front while Ayaka burned their corpses to give way for the magical beasts to strike them. It was a bit insane, but it allowed Kai to direct the beasts to go through the gap between the corpses as he intended it, making the whole thing easier.


    Sofia strengthened the "wall" by freezing the corpses in the left and right, so the beasts couldn''t knock the corpses off and attacked them from another way.


    Kai looked at the three antsing and struck the first one as Michelle took another one. Tasha killed thest one, and Ayaka immediately cleaned them up.


    Luckily, the air cirction was enough. If not, they would have been poisoned from the smoke. And of course, Kai blew the smoke away by using his Sound st.


    This continued for another few minutes before Kai''s expression turned serious. "The boss ising."


    "The boss?" Michelle narrowed her eyes and asked. "How many magical beasts left?"


    "Fifty."


    "That is quite a big number. Well, it''s not a number we can''t handle." She shrugged.


    Kai thought for a second andmanded. "With that size, the strongest one will surely destroy the barrier. That''s why I will be taking care of the A rank magical beast while all four of you take care of the rest."


    "Sure." Ayaka nodded. "Just make sure that we don''t finish faster than you because it will be embarrassing."


    "Indeed. Kai should be able to kill the beast within a minute while we need to clear the remaining ones within two to three minutes." Tasha nodded.


    "You two¡­ Has my grandfather influenced you to the point you are always joking on every asion?" Michelle asked with a serious expression as if she didn''t want it to happen.


    Suddenly, Ayaka and Tasha fell silent as if Michelle was right.


    "It''s just a soldier''s joke, you know! We shouldn''t be too tense and joke like this from time to time because hunting like this will be boring and taxing without it." Tashaughed it off.


    "That''s true. If all the people like you, the group might finish this mission without talking a single word other than the nning. It will be too stiff." Ayaka nodded in agreement.


    "¡­" Michelle twitched her eyebrows, but before she could continue, Kai shouted. "Here ites!"


    *Bang!*


    The magical beasts were thrown off to the air, and the frozen corpses were splintered on the ground as a huge mole made its appearance.


    "This is quite big, and the strength is powerful," Kaimented before taking another deep breath andunching himself to the mole.


    The mole noticed Kai''s movement and waved his ws, sending three crescent-shaped waves toward him.


    "!!!" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and struck these three, cutting them down. Although the force between it wasn''t really that big, the mole''s next move made him speechless.


    It was waving his two ws in every direction, grazing all the rooms until the ceiling suddenly dropped upon them.


    "!!!" Kai looked up and tried to avoid this one.


    Michelle created a shadow wall to hold the giant stone, Sofia built two ice hands that hold the stone, and Ayaka made a fire to catch it.


    And they seeded in stopping the stone while ncing at Kai, who needed to leave because they needed to drop it soon or their magic would be depleted.


    Kai nodded and leaped, but he didn''t escape. Instead, he was heading toward the mole because he deemed this mole as dangerous.


    However, Tasha suddenly shouted. "Don''t go there!"


    Kai nced at Tasha before finding a magic circle right below the giant stone as the trio dropped the stone. The pink magic circle then teleported the stone right above the mole.


    "Eat your own attack, you idiot beast!" Tasha shouted and made a smug smile.


    Because of this, Kai turned around and retreated while killing a few magical beasts on his way.


    The mole looked up and never expected to see the giant stone to fall upon himself. His w started sparking yellow lightning as it struck the giant boulder, shattering it into pieces.


    "What the hell?" Kai opened his eyes wide as he couldn''t believe the mole could actually shatter that huge stone. Even the girls unconsciously dropped their jaws.


    "Sofia! Are you sure the mole is weaker than the beast?"


    "No, I think it''s true," Kai replied. "Taking another look at the mole, I believe everything about it is weak except that magic power and w. In that case, it''s time to dismember it, so it can''t use his w before killing it."


    Kai ran toward the mole while avoiding the smaller stone pieces that flew in all directions. This was aplete mess, but he still needed to persist. He even used his left hand to create a shield while avoiding this, making his way to the mole unscathed.


    The mole showed its teeth toward Kai before striking with his w. It shattered the ground as well, creating a small hole on the floor, but Kai didn''t care about this as he used his Sound st to boost his speed, reaching the speed that shocked the mole.


    "Ke?!" The mole nced to the right before noticing one of his arms had already disappeared from his body.


    Kai didn''t stop there. He went around behind the mole and took his other arm. This happened within two seconds, making the mole unable to react.


    "I should have done this from the beginning." Kai sighed before appearing right before the mole. He kicked the mole with all his strength, knocking it down.


    He looked at the juicy target (his chest) to strike as heunched himself again with the Sound st. However, the mole retaliated by moving his feet in all directions. It also had ws, and obviously, it could still make the same attack. But this time, the consequences were far more terrifying.


    The waves hit the ground, the wall, and the ceiling.


    *Rumble Rumble!*


    Kai listened to the ground in his surroundings and noticed the rumbling sound had turned into something far dangerous.


    "The cave will copse!" Kai shouted to Tasha. "Gather around me and teleport us to the surface."


    They obviously didn''t want to be buried underground, so they immediately stood beside Kai as Tasha made the Teleportation Magic Circle.


    The next second, they were already on the surface, looking around their surroundings because they didn''t know their current position.


    Other than the loud sounding from the crumbling cave, Kai spotted a few moreing.


    "Two o''clock. Five foxes areing. Michelle will take care of that. In the opposite direction, there are four horsesing. I will leave it to you, Sofia." Kai then looked up, finding a flock of birds. "There are around thirty birds in the sky. They have spotted us. Tasha will shoot them down from the ground while Ayaka will follow me to the sky."


    As soon as he finished ordering them, Michelle and Sofia immediately leaped toward their respective directions. Tasha looked up and pulled her bow while Ayaka summoned her wings. When thetter wanted to grab Kai to fly to the sky, Kai was already up there, making the birds focus on him.


    He justunched himself using the Sound st, but the moment he reached his peak and was about to fall down, a magic circle appeared beneath his feet, stopping him mid-air.


    "That is¡­" Tasha widened her eyes and smiled. "That must be his Sound Levitation."


    Ayaka noticed that as well but appeared next to him first before ncing at his Sound Levitation Magic Circle.


    ording to Kai, that Sound Levitation Magic Circle was hard to find. After all, he couldn''t make the volume too high if he didn''t want to be deaf and a few other problems that he had told the group. In the end, he created a high-frequency sound to maintain himself mid-air.


    It was kind of like his Sound Oscition, but he tried to amplify it. It took him trial and error to check whether it was working without harming his body or not since a sound weapon was known as a dangerous weapon that could cause permanent damage if one got radiated by it. Fortunately, he seeded and found the perfect frequency, intensity and other things, allowing him to float himself in the sky.


    When he just seeded, he wanted to lift a heavier thing, but there was a limit to it. He couldn''t really lift a huge magical beast like he did with Sound st because whatever he tried to float will start deforming if he used it continuously for a few minutes.


    Luckily, his Sound st didn''t have this problem because he only used it for an instant, so unless it created a sonic boom that could create a powerful shock wave, his body should be fine.


    Because of this, he somehow got enough understanding for the next magic he wanted to develop. He smiled and pointed his sword against the birds. "Now, let''s start by butchering you, alright?"

 Chapter 300 - End Of The First Day

    Kai created a Sound st to stop the flying magical beasts in their tracks.


    Tasha released three arrows at the same time while Ayaka flew to the side with her wings, killing the two birds near her.


    The Sound Levitation magic circle soon disappeared as another one made its appearance, but Kai tilted it forty-five degrees, so itunched him to the birds.


    "!!!" The birds tried to fly to the side, but Kai''s speed was faster than they expected. He took the life of the two birds before using his Sound st to the right side, bouncing like a pinball.


    Even though the bird could freely fly in the sky, their speed was somewhatckingpared to the boost that Sound st gave, allowing Kai to kill them one by one.


    On the other hand, Tasha aimed those on the left side because Kai separated them right in the middle. This way, Tasha and Ayaka teamed up to kill the remaining.


    Arrow after arrow was released while some of them got grilled by Ayaka''s Fire Net or the me from each swing.


    The group managed to defeat all thirty of them without much problem while Sofia and Michelle already waited for them as they had finished their job.


    Kai took a glimpse of the corpses behind them and made sure that not a single one of them were still alive by listening to the organs inside their body.


    "Alright. We have finished our job here." Kai announced with great relief before ncing at Sofia.


    "There are only two targets remaining unless we want to get too deep today," said Sofia while taking another look at the north direction.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "We are going to kill these two along with those in the southwest direction until the sunset. The next morning, we will move our base and start cleaning the area ording to today''s schedule."


    "That means we will only have around two hours to clean up the other direction¡­ Well, it''s pretty tight, but it''s alright." Michelle nodded.


    "By the way, I haven''t asked this, but have any of you killed an A rank beast alone?" Kai asked.


    "I have." Tasha, Ayaka, and Sofia raised their hands. It seemed they had encountered them in their respective directions, but it seemed they didn''t encounter more than one magical beast.


    Kai was surprised by Sofia''s action. She had clearly seen the north direction long ago, and she clearly could monopolize the magical beasts to win the littlepetition they had. But she chose not to. Whether it was because of her consideration for the group or because she couldn''t do it, Kai was thankful to her.


    "How much power do you need to kill an A rank magical beast? And is it possible for you to kill five of them at the same time?"


    "Hmm¡­" Tasha looked down. "If it''s only one, I can employ many techniques because I only need to watch out their movement along with the weaker ones that don''t really possess much threat. It will be different if I am fighting against multiple A rank beasts at the same time.


    "I have no vanguard that can hold them down for me. Although I am able to escape using my Teleportation Magic, it''s still hard to kill them," Tasha answered honestly.


    "I have the same opinion. Well, the A rank magical beasts are smarter than your typical magical beasts, so I will be surrounded unless I can thin their number in a single attack. Although I can use my Scarlet Explosion, I doubt they will fall into that trap unless I have a vanguard that catches their attention or I use my magic bomb with different timing." Ayaka nodded in agreement.


    "I can probably¡­ Unlike the others, my main ability and role are suited in the middle position. I have enough firepower to maintain their position in check while injuring them. It''s going to take a bit of toll, but they won''t be able to destroy me." Sofia shrugged.


    Kai and the others furrowed their eyebrows, wondering where Sofia''s confidence came from. Sofia hadn''t used all her strength yet, and they somehow believed that after seeing how confident she was.


    But this also made Kai understand how considerate she was to the team because she didn''t go to the north direction where she could get the most points despite having seen the magical beasts with her eyes.


    "Alright. I will take a note of this." Kai nodded. "I think it''s time to go to another ce. Michelle."


    "Yes. I have updated the data to the headquarters. They will surely send people here after we finish our mission." Michelle gave a thumb up, saying she had finished her job.


    Kai nodded again before setting out. The group followed him.


    They started killing the magical beasts from normal magical beasts to A rank magical beasts. This might be the most bountiful ce that they had ever visited during this mission as they managed to collect more than a hundred points in this ce alone, totaling a great number of four hundred points.


    It was only a day, but they somehow managed to reach this number, especially when Michelle took another hunting session during the night.


    When she returned, the group was still waiting for her.


    They looked refreshed and wet as they just took a bath.


    "I have ced the barrel, so you can wash yourself and dive into the hot water right behind the truck. Ayaka had reheated it as well." Kai nodded and gave her a towel to wipe the sweat on her face.


    "Thank you. It''s like I am being treated like a princess this time." Michelle smiled.


    "Haha¡­ You can even skip your watch out time and let me take it over." Ayaka raised her hand and teased her. The aim was obvious. If Michelle becamezy, Kai wouldn''t ept even if she had the highest point.


    After all, it was only because of them that Michelle could reach the top spot. Of course, the person in question also understood this and nodded. "Don''t worry. You don''t need to treat me that much. I can still gather cold water from the river not far from here. And I have rested enough during the day, so I should have no problem during my lookout time."


    Kai stared at her for a few seconds and nodded. "Alright. But don''t push yourself too much, okay? You can take a bath first and rest for a while."


    "Uhm." Michelle nodded before taking the towel from his hand and walking toward the truck.


    The tent had been set up, and the dinner was ready. As soon as Michelle finished taking a bath, they had a nice dinner.


    During the night, they wondered what they should do. They could do some research for new magic, but they couldn''t get the mood as they were still in the wild. So, they decided to gather around the heater while talking about random things.


    "I noticed this earlier¡­" Sofia turned to Kai and asked, "There is a joint operation between the two bases, right? I have been informed by my family about it. They''ve said the US Base wants to investigate a magical site like Easter Ind."


    "I know about it as well." Kai nodded.


    "Do you know which ce will we visit?"


    "Gobekli Tepe. We need to search if there are some clues in the ce where the first apocalypse happened," Kai felt he didn''t need to lie about this because she would know sooner orter.


    Michelle and the others, on the other hand, furrowed their eyebrows. "When is that?"


    "Probably April. It''s still just a n though." Kai shrugged. "And the operation is for our group."


    "Then how about visiting my hometown? I would like to receive you at my house as a guest." Sofia smirked.


    "I would like to decline your invitation." Kai raised his hand and shook his head. "I will just follow the contract."


    "Tch." Sofia shrugged. "Well, I will add that in the contract then, stating that you need to stay at my house during the whole trip."


    Kai shrugged as he didn''t really care about it. In fact, the more desperate she acted, the more annoying it would be. If she did that, she would only get less respect from Kai, and Sofia obviously knew that.


    "Never mind. You can treat me as saying something useless." Sofia smiled and waved her hands, brushing the matter off like nothing. "Anyway, there is already a positive response after knowing what we experienced during the expedition on Easter Ind. And I think the official agreement will be finalized soon¡­ Or at least, that''s what they told me."


    He thought for a moment and nodded. "No one has told me yet, but I have the same thought. With how beneficial it is, the two bases will surely spare anything to finalize the deal. Not that I really care because we might also get the biggest benefit while doing this."


    "Indeed." Sofia nodded in agreement. Although she seemed to receive nothing from Rapakha, the fact that Rapakha told her to trust her teammates more was the biggest advice he could give.


    After all, Sofia had been betrayed once by the one she could trust. And how she actuallypleted missions after missions alone due to her strength and exoskeleton, being not very close and drawing a line between each other had be a part of her nature.


    However, Rapakha believed there was a chance to melt that nature of her, and Kai knew that. Sofia specifically acted so well to her only friend, so he knew that inside Sofia''s heart was that of light.


    Kai didn''t rush this because he didn''t want her thinking of him badly, destroying this trust. So, he waited patiently until Sofia opened up first.


    "Ehm?" She noticed Kai''s stare and tilted her head in confusion. "What is it?"

 Chapter 301 - A Serious Situation

    One week had passed since Kai and the girls arrived here. After the first day, they stepped up their game and challenged a more dangerous ce that wasn''t far from them.


    And as expected, they kept moving the truck since it was their base.


    Tasha still held the highest kill count even though Ayaka had used her magic bomb to kill many magical beasts. Ayaka''s approach was to let out a single magic bomb to gather every monster in the area and kill them with a few magic bombs that she nted around it.


    Even so, she still couldn''t surpass Tasha as shepressed air by using her Sealing Magic. The moment the seal was opened, the air burst out and created an explosion. This way, Tasha could kill faster and more effectively than Ayaka.


    However, Kai noticed that the gap between the two was not that much, so Ayaka still had the chance.


    Kai was third in thispetition. He only did whatever he could in thispetition. Whether he would win or not, it wasn''t his problem. After all, it was not like he hated to give the reward to the winner.


    And because the three positions were very solid, Michelle had given up a long time ago and simply did it to fulfill her quota. After that, she would ask Kai to spoil her during the rest.


    Sofia, on the other hand, didn''t do anything special during this period. She might have the ability to win, but she seemed to have another thought and decided not to fight in thispetition.


    Kai obviously didn''t know the reason behind it, and he didn''t have any intention of seeking the answer. He simply acted like nothing happened.


    However, Sofia somehow started opening up with him as she often asked Kai for a talk, from some idle topics to serious ones. He didn''t reject her of course.


    And Michelle didn''t openly oppose her since Sofia didn''t seem to bring a bad intention in her action like how she usually seduced him. She even began wondering when was thest time Sofia acted like that.


    Nheless, the group seemed to have gotten pretty busy during this week because they were killing like crazy. This week alone, they somehow managed to get two thousand two hundred points. It would be possible to finish the mission within ten days, but none of them thought it would be easy.


    They set the time limit to fourteen days because they had noticed the decrease of monsters in their area. There were many more magical beasts deeper into the Yukon Territory, but they chose not to get carried away and killed those they hadn''t in the surroundings.


    This lowered the speed of the group, but it was the most reasonable one. After having their lunch, Kai and the others were resting in their camp while chatting about some idle topics until Michelle suddenly brought an important one.


    "Now that we have been here for a week, I believe those two should have arrived at their destination, right?" Michelle asked while looking at the sky.


    Kai nodded. "Yes."


    "Well, Evan has undergone a transformation due to the training with me, so he at least has the power to fend off a few magical beasts with his hands alone." Kai nodded.


    "He also has the exoskeleton, right?"


    "Yeah. He should have gotten it a few days ago. With that, I believe he can protect Isabelle well while she is killing the magical beasts."


    "Still, I am a bit worried about them. Even though Evan has gotten stronger, it still doesn''t change the fact that his ability is still a bit low."


    "Michelle¡­ The low in your eyes now is like someone who can defeat a B rank without much problem right now." Kai rolled his eyes.


    "Hehe¡­ My bad." Michelle stuck her tongue out.


    "But¡­ What if¡­ What if they are in trouble?" Ayaka asked. It seemed she was also worried about Evan and Isabelle. Maybe it was due to how long they had been cooperating with each other. He bet she didn''t think anything unpleasant anymore, including how she challenged their group into a group fight in the past.


    After all, Isabelle and Evan finally became true to themselves. The raging fire inside her that made her keep doing something reckless had calmed down as she acted only after considering everything. Evan was also the same.


    Kai still could remember how determined he was when training with him. As a man, he wanted to carry the responsibility of protecting his loved one, and Kai believed Evan would even put his life on the line just to save Isabelle. That was why he wasn''t worried right now.


    "Anyway, I have given Evan the most important strategy if he indeed met the worst situation possible." Kai waved his hand, telling them it was fine.


    "The most important strategy?" Michelle and the others widened their eyes, wondering what kind of strategy Kai gave. After all, this wasing from the genius of warfare himself, so it must be something special.


    However, much to their expectation, Kai only stuck his tongue and said yfully. "Running away of course. What do you want me to suggest except this? If you can''t defeat them, then run away until you can."


    "¡­" The girls facepalmed. They never expected that Kai would y them like this.


    Tasha nodded in agreement before adding, "Well, I think that is the best strategy one could think of. I have seen the documents of their mission and realized that they are stationed in the middle out of nowhere. The nearest soldier group is around fifty kilometers from them.


    "And if I were them, I shall teleport you all to that ce. In this case, Isabelle will be carrying Evan to the group. With her flying speed, I think they will arrive within ten to fifteen minutes."


    "Yes. From what I have seen, Isabelle has enough control to fly while shooting. Even carrying Evan wouldn''t be much of a problem I guess. That way, she could shoot the enemy down while running away." Kai exined.


    "I see." The girls finally bought Kai''s argument as they looked at each other, wondering what they would do if they had the same mission as them. However, it was pointless to think about it right now as they were better to stay their head in their own mission.


    "Anyway, if we are going to continue talking like this, it''s best to do it at night." Kai stopped them before ncing in the northwest direction. "We still have jobs to do."


    The girls nodded and followed him in that direction, exterminating more and more magical beasts.


    Little did they know that Evan was experiencing a situation where he could only run away.


    In Quebec, the two that the group was talking about seemed to be not in good condition.


    The young man was carrying the young girl on his back while covering her with his water bubble. Blood covered the girl''s head as she was trying hard to maintain her consciousness.


    "Just hang on. My magic should be able to heal you within three minutes for the first aid. You should have no problem with your head anymore," said the man while avoiding all kinds of obstacles.


    The woman gripped a bit tighter to respond to his words, telling him that she was fine.


    "Yes, yes. Just you wait¡­ When you recover, let''s beat them, okay?" He smiled, thinking it would be fine to destroy thempletely after this.


    *Roar Roar!*


    The magical beasts that were chasing them roared as they slowly reduced the distance between them.


    Evan took a nce on his back and sighed before noticing a magical beasting from his right. It was a lion.


    He looked at the iing w of the lion before leaping to the air to avoid it. Because of this, the distance between Evan and the horde of magical beasts shrunk even more.


    Evan gritted his teeth and ran as hard as he could, trying to maintain if notrger the distance.


    Isabelle was too injured to do anything, so he needed to solve this himself.


    *Cry!*


    A loud cry from an eagle suddenly filled the entire area as it dove to the ground, trying to hit Evan. Thetter stomped the ground and stepped on the eagle''s head beforeunching himself to the sky.


    If it were him a few months ago, he might not be able to do something like this. Luckily, the relentless training with Kai finally paid off.


    Because of the eagle earlier, some of the magical beasts actually hit the eagle as it was in their way. Although he couldn''t see it, listening to the eagle''s cry already gave him the visualization of what happened when an eagle got run by magical beasts.


    After he just passed the eagle, another problem appeared from his left. It was a monkey that was trying to tackle him.


    Evan leaped and kicked the monkey mid-air, but the monkey was a bit faster than he expected, resulting in him getting thrown off bnce after the monkey tapped his right foot.


    "Kh!" Evan gritted his teeth and used his water bubble to carry Isabelle in the air, so he could roll on the ground and stand back on his feet. What made him a surprise was the fact that he felt a wind brushing his body, helping the rolling and standing back process much easier and smoother.


    He looked up and saw Isabelle''s smiling before letting her down again and carrying her on his back.


    As much as he wanted to thank her, the situation didn''t allow him to rx because the magical beasts were still chasing them.


    "How could this happen¡­" He sighed.

 Chapter 302 - Emerging Danger

    An hour ago, the situation wasn''t asplex as the current situation.


    *Bang!*


    Isabelle sniped another beast next to Evan as thetter punched the other one to death.


    "Fu. We have finally finished." Evan let out a sigh of relief before regrouping with Isabelle.


    She stayed on a hill, so no magical beasts could hide themselves from her.


    "Van¡­ Good work." Isabelle smiled. She seemed to be calling him Van instead of Evan when they were alone. At the same time, Evan also treated her the same.


    "You too, Belle." Evan nodded as he was slightly out of breath after climbing the small hill.


    "This is the third spot, and we need to clear around fifteen spots. It will take us a few more days for this¡­ Probably a week." Isabelle let out a long sigh. "This is pretty tiring."


    "I agree. Still, let''s just thank them since they let us borrow a truck that has been equipped with many basic facilities, so we can treat it as a portable home."


    "I bet it was the works of our families. They must have pressured them to give us something like that." Isabelle shrugged.


    "Indeed. They have instructed us to bring the truck back to the base as they need it for another thing. I believe they are simply returning the truck to our families." Evan nodded.


    "Either way, how is your condition?"


    "Except slightly exhausted, my body is fine, and I still have half of my magic power left."


    "The training really works heh?" Isabelle made a smug smile.


    "Yeah. To think I can finally fight them from head-on after getting this exoskeleton. You might want one of these."


    "I don''t really need it at the moment. I can simply run to the sky with my wind magic, and my position is far from the front line." Isabelle shook her head, knowing it was just a waste of good equipment if it were in her hand.


    "I will try to ask itter. Maybe we can get one more, who knows. I just want to see you a bit more protected." Evan shrugged and looked away.


    "Haha. So, you are worried about me? Despite your usual poker face, to think that you have this kind of cute though." Isabelle teased him.


    "Is that wrong?"


    "Nope. I am thankful."


    *Cry!*


    Before they continued talking, they heard a loud cry from the sky as Evan immediately raised his battle stance while Isabelle pointed her weapon toward the sky while searching for the beast that let out the noise.


    "Do you find anything?" Evan asked.


    "Nope," Isabelle answered while looking at the details. They were on a hill, so the vision was clear, but there were a few buildings that were high enough to avoid Isabelle''s eyes. When she went through the gap of the windows in each building, a shadow reflected the light a little bit, making it unnatural.


    "In our three, behind the tallest building. I will snipe that bird from here." Isabelle informed Evan and tried to see where the bird''s body was.


    "The cry just now¡­ It sounded like an eagle."


    "Indeed. It has sharp eyes, so I need to take it out like this. If the eagle knows our position, it might be able to avoid my bullet. And you also don''t have the ability to keep the bird from moving."


    "Ahaha¡­ I apologize."


    "Never mind. Help me search around the building. The shadow is there, but I can''t tell which floor the eagle is, and I am sure it''s behind the building." Isabelle searched every window to see the eagle''s body, wondering how big the actual eagle is.


    "I have spotted a shadow that is not too big a few floors below the top floor," Evan informed her while looking at the building with his binocr.


    Isabelle nodded and slightly raised her aim before finding a three meters eagle flying in one ce as if it had no intention to move.


    This was weird because an eagle would usually fly freely in the sky. Nheless, Isabelle aimed at the bird''s white head.


    "Sniping with this weapon is so good since I don''t really need to worry about elevation if they are within one mile. And with my magic, it can prevent wind from getting in the way. You should also get a weapon, I think."


    "I was never a sports person, let alone fighting in close quarterbat. Only after getting trained by Captain I can finally fight like this. As for my weapon, Captain gave me a pair of gauntlets for the time being, but he suggested that I change my weaponter. What weapon do you think suits me?"


    "Hmm? I can''t picture you using a sword or spear. A shield is also not an option. Since Lion Group has everything covered, you can''t really adjust yourself to that position. Still, I think a pistol will suit you better. A dual pistol will be better."


    "What is your basis?"


    "Kai, Michelle, and Ayaka are holding the gate while Tasha is sniping their enemies. On the other hand, Sofia is managing the middle position, supporting the entire group from a rtable distance. I believe you are fit to be there, considering that Sofia will leave the group in a few months.


    "Look, you can support them at a distance where you can heal them at any given situation. Don''t you think it''s a good position?" She paused for a moment and said, "Anyway, sending."


    "Understood."


    *Bang!*


    Isabelle released the first shot, aiming toward the eagle''s head. Suddenly, the eagle turned around and saw the iing bullet. A wind barrier appeared right before the eagle, trying to block the bullet, but the eagle realized it was stronger than he expected. Hence, he only used his wind magic to deflect the bullet before soaring to the sky.


    *Cry!*


    Isabelle raised her aim and said, "Sending."


    "Go."


    *Bang!*


    The second shot was released as soon as the eagle revealed itself. Another barrier deflected it again as the eagle looked at them for a while before flying away.


    "Hmm?" The two immediately furrowed their eyebrows. "Target has escaped."


    "Sending onest time." Isabelle informed him that she would shoot one more time, but to no avail.


    "It''s gone."


    "Yeah. Judging from the power of that wind barrier, the eagle was supposed to be an A rank magical beast."


    "Sorry that I can''t stop the eagle, else you might have killed it by now."


    "Don''t mind it. If we meet again, we shall attack it again, but more sneakily."


    "Yeah. In any case, we might want to change our position after this."


    "Let''s rest first. We will go to the building in our nine to clear the next area."


    "Alright." Evan nodded. "Thirty minutes rest since I am pretty hungry."


    "There is a boiler there. I really miss going with your group, since I will be treated with many delicacies." Isabelle pointed her finger to a portable boiler they had before sighing.


    "Indeed. I should start learning how to cook." Evan nodded in agreement.


    "I can cook, but we need to return to our truck first, and it''s not at their level. By the way, what will we have for today''s lunch?"


    "Instant noodle."


    "¡­"


    "It''s a new vor."


    "That''s not the point¡­ Ugh, never mind. This will do. I will make a healthy one when we return to the truck." Isabelle scratched her head.


    "Thank you in advance. By the way, I think your suggestion is good. I will try to pick up a pistol for now and learn how to shoot."


    "Sadly, an automatic rifle is very costly. Not only the magic bullets are costly, but the equipment to withstand that many barrels are hard to make. That''s why we only have semi-automatic ones, mostly pistol and sniper rifle. There are some rifles out there, but only rich people can afford to shoot money¡­ You know what I mean."


    "I know. Though with the rise of Captain, I can surely afford it, I shouldn''t throw away my money just like that. It''s not like I need to use it that much." Evan shrugged.


    "Yeah. I will also help you with trainingter."


    "It''s like I am too reliant on you."


    "I don''t mind."


    Evan and Isabelle smiled as the former handed the cup to her. They ate while watching their surroundings, but luckily they didn''t find anything.


    When the resting time was about to end, a loud roar echoed from the west.


    "Five hares and one ape spotted." Isabelle narrowed her eyes.


    "They areing from our next ce, so I guess it''s time to burn the calories from earlier." Evan rose from the ground and stretched his body. "I will go there to handle them while you watch over the surroundings to see if they are alone or not."


    "Alright. The usual way then."


    "Yeah." Evan nodded and walked down the hill, meeting the six magical beasts. His exoskeleton already covered his body as he raised his battle stance.


    "Now, it''s time to warm up." Evan ran toward them, nning to finish this as quickly as possible, but another problem appeared.


    *Cry!*


    A loud cry filled the atmosphere once again as Evan involuntarily looked back, finding the same eagle above Isabelle.


    "What?!" Evan and Isabelle were surprised, never expecting that the eagle sneaked from behind the moment the six magical beasts grabbed their attention.


    Isabelle immediately rolled her body and faced upward, aiming at the eagle.


    *Bang!*


    Another barrier appeared again, deflecting her bullet once more. "I need to use my magic."


    The moment this thought appeared, a roar shook them as an ape climbed the hill and arrived next to Isabelle. The height was around three meters, but the weight himself looked to be more than a ton. The ape threw a punch that might potentially heavily injure Isabelle.


    "Not good!"

 Chapter 303 - Struggle

    "Not good!"


    *Bam!*


    The ape hit, kicking up the dust. However, Isabelle managed to react and flew to the sky.


    "God of Wind, Aeolus." Four balls of wind appeared beside her. Since the bullet was not enough, she decided to fight the eagle in the sky while trying to find the perfect time to shoot it down.


    However, the eagle only created another wind barrier, a little bigger this time.


    "Break!" Isabelle covered her fist with her wind and struck the barrier. The wind was there to disrupt the flow of the eagle''s wind, but little did she know that it was not a trap.


    The dust that was still in the air didn''t really show what happened to the ape, so there was no way she could react when the ape suddenly leaped to the air and grabbed her feet.


    "Isabelle!" Evan shouted. He never saw an ape jumping that high, but he also realized that it must be another A rank magical beast.


    Isabelle nced at the bottom and used her wind magic to st her to the sky, but she realized she only fell down as a result.


    The moment he took another glimpse of the ape, he found that the red ape had turned silver as if it was covered in metal clothing.


    ''It''s a metal ape? One of the strongest beasts?'' Isabelle widened her eyes in surprise, watching how the ape pulled her down, and the eagle stared at her as if everything was going ording to the n. In other words, the eagle was an intelligent beast.


    *Roar!*


    The ape didn''t merely pull her. Instead, he threw her with all his strength to the ground.


    "Sh*t! This is a metal ape, I will really die if he throws me like this!" Isabelle gritted her teeth, recalling how Evan offered to get another exoskeleton for her.


    "No!" Evan gritted his teeth and turned away. The six monsters didn''t allow him ording to the eagle''s order, but Evan didn''t buy it.


    He kicked the monkey to the hares before running back to the hill with full speed.


    During this time, the smoke finally disappeared, revealing Isabelle''s condition.


    She was a little buried under the soil as her consciousness gradually swept away. Her eyes couldn''t focus as blood dyed her right eye.


    The only reason she didn''t die was because of her four wind balls. It softened the impact and somehow kept her alive.


    However, the metal ape didn''t buy it. The moment it saw Isabelle still alive, he raised both hands, trying to pummel her.


    Isabelle used all four balls again and detonated them between her and the ape. Because of her blurry vision, all detonated a bit far from the ape.


    Although it pushed him back, the ape immediately recovered and headed toward her.


    The eagle let out another cry as if telling the ape to kill her.


    ''Evan¡­ Sorry.'' She gritted her teeth, unwilling to die.


    The ape waved his hands down.


    "Don''t you dare to touch my woman!" Evan shouted as he punched the ape on the face, blowing him away.


    He immediately checked Isabelle''s condition. "Bones fracture, bleeding on the head but not too deep that affect the skeleton and give a brain damage, but the back is the worst."


    Grabbing all pieces of equipment including Isabelle''s weapon, he then carried Isabelle on his back, covering her with a water bubble that would heal him.


    They needed to get away before the ape came back. At this time, the eagle was the one who reacted to him by diving, trying to stop him from leaving.


    The eagle never expected Evan to suddenlye from that distance. If Evan realized it, he might also question it, but he had no time to think about it.


    "Go away!" He turned around and aimed the sniper rifle toward the eagle before pulling the trigger.


    *Bang!*


    The powerful shot was released and hit the eagle''s barrier within. Because of the range, the eagle seemed to get thrown by the force, but Evan stumbled to the ground, almost dropping Isabelle.


    Isabelle always shot it on the ground, so he thought the recoil was only that much. He never thought it was to this degree, especially since he shot the eagle with one hand because his other hand was holding Isabelle.


    *Roar!*


    The ape seemed to have recovered and locked his eyes on Evan.


    Evan stuck the weapon to the ground, pulled the ck handle on the right side as Isabelle always did, letting the used bullet to fall off and the new one to go into the barrel, and he carried the weapon with him before running away.


    He never learned the name of the ck handle or any other parts of this sniper rifle, so he only imitated Isabelle without much clue. At the very least, he should have another lifeline with this sniper. It might not be possible to pull it again while running, so he would wait until he really needed to use it.


    "Don''t worry. You are going to be fine. They can only walk over my dead body if they want to hurt you at this point." Evan''s heart was pounding madly as he ran away at his fastest speed, only to find a series of roars filled the area.


    From the hill, he could see a few areas that had a few magical beasts, but if he needed to count all of them, there were around fifty magical beasts that would chase them, including one metal ape and one intelligent eagle.


    Even so, it didn''t stop him from running in the direction where he could expect fewer monsters.


    The ape and the eagle were chasing him as well.


    Many obstacles tried to stop him like branches, trees, and other things, but Evan passed them without much problem.


    The magical beasts in his surroundings starteding from all directions, trying to kill him. Evan dodged each of their attacks. He got a few wounds while doing it, but his healing power immediately stopped the bleeding.


    "Three minutes¡­ Just wait for three minutes. I am sure your consciousness will be revitalized, and you should be able to use magic at that time. After that, I am going to start healing your body, so you can move within five minutes." Evan assured her as he kept running for a while.


    *Roar!*


    The ape managed to close their distance, trying to punch Evan.


    When he was about to dodge the ape, the eagle dove down, and two other beasts came from his sides. Even if he managed to avoid this ape, he would be hit by the three iing beasts. Hence, Evan made the hardest choice in his life as he turned around and gritted his teeth, letting the ape hit him on the stomach.


    Isabelle was thrown into the air in the process, but it was still maintained by his water bubble, not letting her drop. At the same time, Evan managed to slightly positioned himself a bit higher than the fist, so the moment itnded on his body, he would be blown away to the air instead of getting pummeled to the ground.


    Still, the metal ape almost killed Isabelle with its strength alone, so getting hit on the stomach was thest thing you wanted to do.


    "Gah!" Evan spat a mouthful of blood before flying to the air for two hundred meters. He rolled on the ground as soon as hended and found that the ape was approaching faster.


    During this time, he still controlled his water bubble and carried Isabelle with him. As he said earlier, he wouldn''t let her hurt unless they stepped over his dead body.


    Isabelle let out tears at this moment as she noticed how many mistakes she made earlier that they could arrive at a situation like this.


    Evan was lying down while his butt still pointed to the sky as if he was trying to force his feet to force him back to his feet. His eyes still locked on the iing ape that was faster than the rest, trying to heal himself as much as possible.


    It took him thirty seconds before he could finally wake up and grab Isabelle''s weapon again before trying to carry Isabelle again.


    However, the ape already arrived and leaped to increase his speed, throwing his powerful fist toward Evan. This way, he would be able to kill both of them in a single strike.


    Knowing that, Evan threw his fist with the exoskeleton, albeit it immediately bent in a weird way.


    "AAAHHHH!" Evan screamed in pain. Knowing that he couldn''t contain the fist with his hand, he let it drop on his body, spatting another mouthful of blood.


    His consciousness started to disappear like Isabelle earlier, but the determination had yet to leave his face.


    Like the bear that Kai and his group faced, the ape still had a weakness. Its control over magic wasn''t that great, so it needed to stop using its magic to do some high movement. And this was probably the perfect time to kill it.


    His left hand still carried the sniper, so he used the ape''s big arm as the tform to rest the sniper and aimed at his head. It was only a half meter away from the head, so there was no way he would miss even with the recoil as long as he aimed at the chest instead of the head.


    The ape noticed this and immediately covered his head with his metal magic, but he suddenly looked up as if something hit his chin from below like an uppercut.


    There was no need to think. It was Isabelle''s wind. Due to the force, it revealed the neck of the ape as if Isabelle telling him to strike that area.


    Evan smiled and pulled the trigger. "Goodbye, motherfuck*r."


    *Bang!*

 Chapter 304 - Becoming The Hunter Again

    *Bang!*


    The bullet was shot as a fist-size hole appeared on the ape''s neck. The ape spat out blood and fell down, dying.


    Blood was dripping out of the hole, dying the slightly wet dirt red. Evan wanted to give a thumb up to Isabelle, but his body lost all of his strength as he fell down following the ape.


    ''How many ribs that attack broke?'' Evan thought, not having enough power to even talk. Even so, his water bubble already appeared, covering his body.


    Still, they were not out of danger yet. The magical beasts were still approaching at fast speed and would arrive here in a moment, but none of them could move right now.


    *Cry!*


    Evan gritted his teeth and nced at the sky, finding the eagle dive.


    It seemed the eagle tried to attack him first because he killed the ape.


    However, Isabelle suddenly appeared and waved her hand toward the eagle from the side.


    "!!!" Evan slightly widened his eyes. "H¡­ow¡­?"


    Isabelle ignored it and covered her hand with her wind. When it shed with the eagle''s wind barrier, they canceled each other, allowing her hand to travel past the barrier and hit the eagle.


    "Ku?" The eagle never expected this to happen and stared at Isabelle as he was blown away.


    She then turned around and lowered her body to grab her weapon before taking out another one. "I don''t know why as well. There must be something different in your magic because the effect was stronger than that of two days ago."


    "I¡­" Evan looked at his body and sighed. Despite this, he still couldn''t move at all as there were too many things he needed to heal inside his body.


    "You are a man, I know that. If not because of you, I would die. You could escape earlier, but you chose to bring me out of that dangerous situation and risked your life like this¡­ Thank you." Isabelle lowered her head and kissed him on the lips.


    She didn''t mind the taste of the blood. All she wanted to convey was her love, knowing that Evan would be the perfect one for her.


    Evan stared at her for a few seconds as if he wanted to say something.


    Seeing the water bubble had yet to pop out, she understood that it would still protect her during this fight.


    She smiled and rose from the ground, turning around and marking all the magical beasts she could find.


    "There are approximately forty-nine magical beasts, including the eagle in the sky." Isabelle raised her weapon as a magic circle appeared and pulled the ck handle, removing the used shell. "If you have enough control, you are able to do this without your hand, you know.


    "Well, justy down there and rx. I will show these magical beasts that their only fate is to die." Her weapons were on the waist as she carried them like carrying pistols. "I will show you what I have been training during this period¡­ And since you want to learn how to use a pistol, you might want to watch my movement because I will show you how to shoot a pistol¡­ Using a sniper rifle of course."


    A smile appeared on her face as she measured their distance.


    "There are still two hundred meters, one minute to reach here. I should be able to kill some." Isabelle sat down and used both her feet as the support before aiming both weapons toward the monsters.


    *Bang Bang!*


    Two bullets pierced a head each. Isabelle purposely targeted the bigger one in the front, so they could fall down and hinder the magical beasts behind them.


    *Roar!*


    A series of roars echoed, but Isabelle thought nothing and shot a few more rounds.


    As she nned, the beasts started stumbling, stopping a portion of the magical beasts.


    She kept doing it until the eagle found he would be at a disadvantage the moment Isabelle killed all those magical beasts; hence, he dove again, trying to kill Evan. This might be the only thing to get her attention.


    Little did he know Isabelle actually waited for this moment. As soon as he reached the distance, a magic circle appeared in front of Isabelle''s right weapon. She spun around and aimed at the eagle.


    "sma Wind!"


    The eagle felt confident with his barrier because he had deflected all the bullets from her. Although the distance wasn''t that great, he would probably get pushed back a little bit, but still had the chance to kill Evan.


    Due to that, it kept looking at Evan.


    Isabelle smiled. This shot was a few small tornadoespressed into one bullet, so the piercing power was far greater than a normal bullet.


    The bird released another wind barrier to deflect it again while halting his movement, so the deflect would go downward. Unbeknownst to him, the bullet this time was special.


    Not only the piercing power, but thepressed wind also disrupted the wind flow by expanding again, neutralizing the wind from the eagle. The real bullet then hit the eagle''s body, rtively close to his wing.


    "Tch. The wind was stronger than I expected, so it hit the joint of the wing instead of its head. I should have shot him with this bullet earlier instead of thinking it was scared and escaped."


    The eagle listened to Isabelle as it lost its bnce, hit the ground with its head, and rolled a few times before stopping with a broken neck.


    Its original purpose was to hit Evan, so the momentum was still great, causing all those damages. At the same time, Isabelle released all the hatred she had from earlier and walked toward the eagle, pointing her sniper to his head.


    *Roar!*


    A wolf suddenly leaped toward her, trying to prevent her from killing the eagle. As expected from the fastest magical beast that chased them.


    "Belle!" Evan shouted. It seemed he also experienced what Isabelle earlier said about his healing magic bing more effective. He could already shout after only two minutes. Maybe in another minute, he would be able to move and help Isabelle.


    "Don''t worry." Isabelle smiled as she raised her other weapon. The wolf only found one thing. The gun barrel was inside his mouth. "I said it earlier. You would see me handling this weapon like a pistol."


    He was supposed to bite Isabelle, but a secondter, he was in a life threatening situation. And Isabelle didn''t let this chance go. Her pose was like that of a cowboy, trying to shoot two enemies in the opposite direction at the same time.


    She pulled both triggers.


    *Bang!*


    The wolf had his head obliterated by the bullet, while the eagle managed to slightly shift his body a little, trying to stay alive in every way possible. Though, it was best if the shot earlier killed him because Isabelle was very dangerous right now.


    She nced at the eagle, and the four wind balls blew the eagle deep to the ground. The mud even started sinking.


    The eagle released its wind again to cancel out this wind attack from Isabelle, but she was one step ahead, pointing her weapon at the eagle''s head.


    "You have truly pushed us this far. It''s time for you to die like that ape over there." Isabelle snorted and released another bullet.


    The fleshes and blood were sttered, but there was not a single change of expression on her face. The smell of blood didn''t, and the disturbing sight didn''t even make her flinch.


    She simply turned around and red at the iing magical beasts. There were approximately thirty beasts remaining, and the distance didn''t allow her to snipe them again. Hence, she started carrying the snipers on the side in cowboy style.


    Evan struggled to turn his head but somehow seeded. He looked at Isabelle leaping to the front, confronting all the remaining beasts.


    "It''s time for the hunter to be hunted!"


    Isabelle started killing the magical beasts. She leaped, shot, leaped again, and shot again.


    Evan was impressed by how she toyed with the magical beasts. Of course, he understood most of the reason she could do something like that was due to her wind power, but it was still an amazing sight to behold.


    The shooting sounds kept going for another one minute until Isabelle finished all the monsters and returned to Evan.


    Evan closed his eyes for a second and checked his body. And as expected, he managed to heal most of the broken bones. He only needed to fix a few internal injuries before he could move again. This was insane.


    "How are you doing?" Isabelle asked. "Should I move your body so you can lean on a tree instead?"


    "Probably not. It still hurts, so I willy down like this for a while." Evan nodded.


    Isabelle nodded and finally dropped her weapon while checking their surroundings to make sure they were safe.


    Unlike the previous time, she didn''t want to provoke any magical beasts for the time being and proceeded to grab all the staff that was scattered due to Evan falling.


    "We escaped death this time. To think I underestimated the magical beasts and thought it escaped." Isabelle gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She looked deeply regretting her choice earlier.


    "It was my fault as well. We should move our position first before eating." Evan sighed.


    "Nevertheless, I want to thank you for saving me even though you could save yourself and didn''t gamble like this." Isabelle smiled and kissed him again. "In the face of death, your loved one might even abandon or sacrifice you, my dad said. And those who don''t are hard toe by and ask me to treasure them well.


    "I wonder why would someone like you love me¡­" Isabelle was curious about the reason and when he actually started falling in love with her.


    Evan smiled and closed his eyes.

 Chapter 305 - Evan And Isabelle

    Ten years ago.


    Inside Fisher''s Family Mansion, a boy walked toward the green garden with a tired expression. Beside him was a tall brown-haired woman wearing a maid uniform.


    "Young Master, you said you want to meet an acquaintance in this house, where is he?" She politely asked while looking left and right, finding no one.


    "That was just a lie. Even though this was the engagement for Elder Sister, it was simply too boring, I couldn''t stay there." The eight years old Evan sighed, pointing at a small but cool gazebo. "How about we wait there for a while? I will probably take a nap."


    "I thought you had a friend." The maid sighed, wondering what to do. She could report to the family head, but got punished by it because she interfered with the conversation, or she could wait here with Evan, but got punished as well because she went with Evan''s charade. Either case, she wouldn''t be able to escape from her job.


    She ended up following Evan to the gazebo. If the family head didn''t know anything about this, she wouldn''t get punished, so it was fine.


    "Young Master¡­ I think you should practice more. Maybe you should get a rival from this house, so you can continue improving because you don''t want to lose to that person."


    "It''s fine. I can do almost everything, and my magic power is quite high. I have started practicing my magic control, so I have done enough."


    "Ehm¡­" The maid fell silent. Evan took eight hourszing around while practicing for only three hours. ''How could that be enough?''


    "There is nothing happy in training, so why would I want to spend more time practicing? Besides, all the things that my teacher told me, I havepleted all of them half of the time, so I am just acting that I can''t do it to extend the duration. Hence, more free time for me." Evan shrugged.


    "Ahaha¡­" She realized once again how hard it was to raise this boy up. Evan had been under her care for as long as she could remember as she served thedy, his mother. "You should try harder, Young Master. There are many children that have power as strong as you, and there are even some that are stronger than you."


    "I don''t want topete with them. Even if I need to serve the army in the future, I will just stay in the rear and be done with it."


    "Come on. We can take a look at the nearest person near us! It is¡­" The maid thought for a moment. "It is the Graham Family. That''s right. Michelle Graham should be at the same age as you, but she is far stronger than you."


    "That''s because she has Dark Element. Coupled with her magic, the base has granted an S rank to her. What about me? I am only a B rank, barely because of my magic power. If my magic power is a bit lower, then I might only be a C rank."


    "That is just a rank."


    "Just a rank? My casting speed is not fast, so the enemy will destroy me before I can fight them. That''s why I have lost my motivation to improve. As long as I can do something, I will just cling on it."


    "But you have great stability and control, so I am sure you can defeat them. You just need to work hard on your weakness."


    "You don''t need to persuade me. I am just azy person. If I work even harder, I will end up bing the head of my family. It''s too tiring, so I am nning to get my sister to be the head instead."


    "To be a family head is an honor, you know."


    "Nope. It''s just a hassle." Evan shrugged and rxed his body, resting his head on the cool table.


    When they finally stopped talking, there was this sound ringing in his head.


    *Tak*


    *Tak*


    *Tak*


    "Ugh¡­ Who is making the noises?" Evan gritted his teeth and rose from his seat.


    "I believe it''sing from the opposite side. Probably behind the wall over there." The maid pointed at the white wall in the garden.


    "Let''s go there. If it''s a servant, we should be able to ask them to stop making noises." Evan got annoyed and walked toward the wall.


    The maid could only sigh and follow him.


    When they peeked, they found a small girl pointing her small hand toward a target thirty meters away from her.


    It was a small target tied on two trees with ropes.


    Sweat covered her head and body, so she must be pretty tired. However, the girl didn''t have a single thought of that. In fact, she was smiling this whole time as if she did something enjoyable.


    "Who is she?" Evan narrowed his eyes. "I thought I learned all the names from the Fisher Family, but I didn''t know her."


    "She is the youngest daughter of the Fisher Family. ording to the information, she is hidden from the outside world because she is a disgrace."


    "A disgrace?" Evan tilted his head in confusion.


    "Yeah. The rumor said that she is only an E rank magician and a low magic power. Hence, her future is limited."


    "Seriously?" Evan widened his eyes in surprise before finding it difficult to swallow. "Why is she practicing like this then? Considering the Fisher Family is a big family, she will probably get married off somewhere to increase their reputation."


    "I am not sure. But I agree with your opinion. She will probably be a political tool and lose her freedom to do something like this. In other words, everything she has learned so far will end up useless."


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t understand. She must know about it as well, but she is training this hard while having that smile on her face. Is she a masochist?"


    "As much as I would like to ask where you learn that word, I will refrain myself for the time being." The maid paused and nced at Evan while twitching her eyebrows. "I think the suitable word for her will be a muscle brain."


    "Still, how does she hit the target without fail this whole time? During our talk, she has fired a magic attack to the board thirty times, and yet, none has missed the target." Evan squinted his eyes before remembering a certain matter. "If I am not wrong, she is attending my school as well, right?"


    "Yeah. She is in the ss next to yours."


    "Now that you mention it, there is a girl bullied in that ssroom. That girl doesn''t have a surname because her family doesn''t permit her to bear that."


    "Well, her condition is prettyplex." The maid didn''t know where to start the exnation.


    However, Evan had be impatient and walked toward her. "Let''s go to her. I can ask her directly."


    "Wait, Young Master. It''s rud¡ª"


    "Hey, you! Why are you still practicing even though you have a poor talent? I can''tprehend."


    ''Haiz¡­'' The maid facepalmed, thinking this would surely reach the family head''s ears.


    "You are rude, you know." The little Isabelle turned her head and pouted. She took a deep breath and bowed politely. "I am Isabelle Fisher. I presume you are the only son of Young Family, Evan Young, yes?"


    Evan became even more patient and sighed. "And now you are trying to be polite¡­ You know that you are going to be married off in the future, right? You are simply wasting your time on useless things like this. If I were you, I would enjoy myself to the fullest before my freedom is taken away."


    "Hmph! It''s because you have given up." Isabelle looked away before pointing at the wall from earlier. "If I want to walk to that wall, I need to take a first small step. Even if I can only take that step once a day, I will reach that wall after a few years. That''s why I will not stop because I still believe I can reach my goal and get my freedom back. Besides, mommy and daddy are not evil like how you described them. Only those aunties and uncles that want to keep their image.


    "Mommy and daddy are still proud of me and support me. That''s why I don''t want to burden them and purposely to not state my family name. I still believe I can reveal my name is Isabelle Fisher to the whole world in the future. For now, I am practicing my skill to prepare for that day."


    "Do you think your father thinks of you like that? Take a look at your big brother, he is forced to marry my big sister despite his talent and strength. You cannot escape this fate as well."


    "I have heard the rumor about you. If you are a bit more diligent, you have the ability to surpass most of your peers, especially with you showing the fastest growth currently. If I have your talent, I will be stronger¡­ Strong enough to decide my own fate." Isabelle narrowed her eyes. "And don''t talk bad about my parents. If in the end I still need to marry someone that they decide, I willply because that''s what I want."


    "You¡­"


    "What?!" Isabelle raised her hand, pointing her palm at him. "If you talk badly of my parents again, I will hit you with my magic."


    "Hmph! Hit me then. I have seen your practice earlier, so I know that your magic doesn''t pack any punch."


    "Gnunu¡­" Isabelle gritted her teeth and shot it anyway.


    "You are just daydreaming. I have shattered my own dream because I know my own talent. That''s why I won''t be disappointed as you do in the future. It''s better if you abandon your dream and enjoy your life."


    Isabelle looked even more ferocious before leaping toward him while shouting. "Noooo!"

 Chapter 306 - Sacrifice

    "Nooooo!" Isabelle screamed and started hitting him.


    Evan was stunned when this happened. "What are you doing, woman?!"


    He obviously couldn''t sit back and fight back, instantly turning the situation around.


    "Young Master!" The maid tried to separate both of them, preventing the fight from continuing. If what Isabelle said was right, then the situation would beplicated when this matter reached the ears of the two family heads.


    "Don''t stop me. I will beat this unreasonable girl. How could she suddenly jump toward me and hit me?!" Evan tried to hit her, but she stopped both of her hands. Even when he managed to sneak around, Isabelle still tried to bite him.


    "Even if I can''t beat you with my magic, I will beat you with my body. I can still kick you, punch you, or even bite you. I know that I can''t use my magic well because I don''t have talent, but I don''t want to give up¡­ Don''t make me give up." Isabelle still bit his arm, but tears started flowing out of her eyes, dripping on Evan''s face.


    He was on the bottom right now with his right arm got bitten by Isabelle, but when he saw her crying like this, something in his heart broke.


    He always thought that it was better to enjoy something before doing your own job. The girl in front of him had no hope to gain her freedom, but she still tried and practiced to gain it even if it was useless¡­ Even if she knew it was hopeless.


    In fact, she was the first one to know it was futile to do this. She wanted to prove it was wrong, but somewhere in her heart told her to give up as well.


    Evan looked at the girl and loosened his arm while looking away. "Alright, alright. I''ve got it, so release my arm, please?"


    Isabelle hesitated for a few seconds before finally releasing his arm and standing back.


    Evan also got up with the help of his maid and turned away to leave. Before leaving, he halted his footsteps and said, "I''m sorry."


    Isabelle was astounded and stared at him with nk eyes until he left.


    Not long after, his father found him messy, especially his clothes that were covered with dirt.


    "Evan? What happened to you? Who beat you?" His father immediately squatted down and checked on him.


    "I fell when I was ying with my friend."


    "Ah, yes. I didn''t believe you at first, but you look different." His father squinted his eyes, wondering if Evan told the truth or not.


    Evan ignored him and turned to the middle-aged man behind his father. "Uhm¡­ Uncle¡­ Did¡­ Did she always practice in the garden?"


    Isabelle''s father furrowed his eyebrows and realized he was talking about Isabelle. Since Evan mentioned her, he must be ying with her just now. Knowing how much burden Isabelle carried in her tiny shoulder, he was d to see her having a friend (lie), so he answered. "Yes. She is a hardworking child."


    "What¡­ What do you think about her, Uncle?"


    "I am proud of her, and that won''t ever change." He put on his warmest smile, showing his genuine feeling.


    "¡­" Evan looked down and asked, "Father¡­ Can I go home?"


    "This¡­" He looked at Isabelle''s Father with a weird expression.


    "He must be tired. The engagement talk is almost over anyway, so you don''t need to mind about it."


    "Alright then. You can go home first." He nodded and patted Evan''s head.


    Evan then returned to the mansion, and something inside him definitely changed that day.


    He became hardworking and showed remarkable progress. His father learned that Evan was hiding his ability this whole time but didn''t punish him since Evan had changed for the better.


    Every week, Evan would take some time to visit the Fisher Family in pretense he was missing his sister. In fact, he just wanted to see Isabelle. And as he expected, she never stopped practicing even a single day.


    Time passed by, and three years had passed.


    Isabelle went to school without any change in her expression, hoping that the bully didn''t worsen. But one day, she found her table, which was usually filled with drawings, was clean. She then found a memo with a quote written on it.


    ''Hard work pays off. There is always one person who believes in you, and it is yourself. If you can''t believe in yourself, then don''t try.''


    The quote was weird, but it struck deep into her heart. Considering her harsh daily life, this quote was like a ray of hopeing from Heaven. Her heart filled with warmth.


    After that, the bullies started disappearing one after another as her school day started returning to normal.


    She waspletely clueless as to what happened. Evan never appeared in her thoughts because the timing was too far.


    The days continued, and before she knew it, three months had passed. And school became one of the happiest ces she ever had.


    It was at that time she met Evan again. He had changed drastically from the unmotivated man to a bully. Yeah, he was a bully. He was famous in the school as someone who took everything personally and beat other people up if they dared to decline him.


    Due to his growth, he had the ability to do something like this¡­ And this happened for three more years before a certain rumor started spreading.


    Evan''s growth slowed down to a turtle''s pace to the point people said he didn''t have any room to develop or the fact that he had exhausted all of his potentials.


    Slowly but surely, Evan started getting bullied. And of course, to maintain the pride of his father, Evan didn''t report this incident to him.


    On the other hand, her school life was still normal. Evan''s eyes slowly turned into that of a dead fish.


    When she passed him again in the hallway, she looked at him, wanting to greet him, but couldn''t find the courage because she was afraid that she would get bullied again.


    When she was about to return to the ssroom, she unintentionally eavesdropped on two people''s conversations.


    "Hey, you know what?!"


    "What?"


    "That Evan was protecting a girl this whole time, you know. What was her name again? Isabelle¡­ Yeah, Isabelle."


    "He fought all those people who bullied her and stopped that. Unfortunately, they started pranking her again. Though, the hatred is focused on him right now¡­"


    When Isabelle heard that, she was dumbstruck.


    ''I have been pranked again this whole time?'' She thought. ''But I haven''t experienced that thing for a while¡­''


    She fell into deep thought for a few minutes before realizing something. ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    That day, she didn''t do anything and went back home like usual. However, the next day, she came to the school earlier than anyone else and hid near the entrance.


    As she expected, Evan came to the school at 5 AM when no one else came to the school yet. The first thing he did was opening her locker. It was a surprise to see him having her locker key, but she realized that her father also had one. Evan must have got it from her father. Still, it wasn''t important.


    After opening her locker, there were many dripping juices and other things inside her locker, destroying all of her books. She always took a note on a different book, so she never noticed. But Evan reced the dripping wet books with a new one as if it was the usual thing for her.


    He then cleaned everything up, making it all the disasters from earlier never happened. It was still 5.30 AM, so Evan went to Isabelle''s ssroom.


    It turned out he borrowed the janitor''s master key for the ssroom and went inside.


    She followed him and witnessed him using a wet wipe to clean her table from all the disasters like earlier. Tears started flowing as she dropped to her knees.


    The janitor also came and saw her. She looked at Evan and sighed.


    "He has been doing it since the first time he entered the school. I have gotten used to seeing him doing this every single morning¡­ There was a time when I volunteered to help him, but he refused, telling me he wanted to do it alone as if it was his responsibility.


    "I heard many rumors about him around the school, but I didn''t think he deserves something like this. After all, he told me that he would be a bully just to protect someone because if he was the strongest, no one dared to touch her¡­


    "When I heard that, I wished I was a decade younger since I would really fall in love with him." The janitor let out a long sigh. "Seeing you like this, I assume you are the one he has been protecting and hasn''t gotten a single clue this whole time¡­ All I can say, cherish him, Miss, he is a man who deserves more."


    Isabelle couldn''t say anything. Her tears had been dripping this whole time. She just tried to hold her breath so as to not let out a single sound. The first time she saw him, she hated him because he wanted to make her give up.


    But it turned that he had been protecting her even if he needed to sacrifice his body and all his time this whole time.


    She regretted it. She wished to talk to him sooner because of the rtionship between their families.


    There was no need to say that the quote that had been cheering for her came from him. The guy that did everything after judging one''s talent actually worked harder than anyone else. But the only thing she did was avoiding him because she was afraid of getting bullied.


    Irresistible pain quenched her heart as she kept crying. Only tears could describe her feelings right now.

 Chapter 307 - A Big Idiot

    They didn''t meet that day because Isabelle returned home after witnessing that. She couldn''t face Evan anymore.


    She returned to her room, looking at the usual furniture andyout. However, the light failed to reflect on her eyes as the room was dark in her vision despite the numerousmps in the room.


    The bed might be the onlyfort she could get as the quilt closed her in.


    She recalled when was thest time she got bullied and realized that Evan became a bully in the school not long after that. In other words, he had been protecting her for years.


    ''Why did he protect me?''


    The only time they met was years ago, and it was a bad meeting. That was why she couldn''t understand why Evan would go to this length.


    *Creak*


    A middle-aged man pushed the door open, finding a huge round bulge on the bed, covered with a quilt. Next to the bed, he found a chair and grabbed it before sitting on it, facing the bed.


    "Isabelle¡­ I heard that you ran to the school earlier¡­ Why are youing back now? I mean, the ss should have just started right now."


    Isabelle''s body shook, paused for a moment, and let out a hoarse voice. "Father¡­ What should I do?"


    The middle-aged man was Isabelle''s Father. This was the first time he saw her like this, so he couldn''tprehend. Isabelle, in his memory, was a strong girl. She never cried despite facing adversity, but this weak side of her broke his heart. He abandoned all the work he had and headed to this room after the servant informed him.


    "Can you tell your father what has happened?"


    "I¡­ I have done the worst thing to someone who has been protecting me."


    "Hmm?" The father, Roy Fisher, thought for a moment and realized who she was talking about. "How about telling your father the whole situation first?"


    "Ugh¡­"


    "I know this is hard for you, but it''s Father''s fault."


    "¡­" Isabelle paused. "Why is it Father''s fault?"


    "I knew your situation this whole time but kept it a secret. I decided to trust you on this matter because you showed your strong side to me, so I would like to see you resolve the problem yourself. If I stepped in, they wouldn''t dare to bully you, but I didn''t.


    "I hated myself to do something like this, but I believed you could do it. After all, I knew you are a proud girl who wants to shut all the other families up with your own strength. Hence, I never stretched my hand to this matter.


    "Still, you have worked hard, dear daughter. Don''t me yourself because everything is your father''s fault." Roy''s voice was gentle and soothing.


    Even Isabelle flinched as she slightly opened the quilt, revealing her eyes.


    "You are talking about Evan Young, right?"


    "Uhm."


    "I have been talking with his father as well. And we have agreed to let both of you solve everything. No matter how hard you hide it from us, we will know it."


    "Father¡­ Can you tell me more about him?"


    "He didn''t really talk much, but I knew one thing. He always visited you at least once a week under the pretense of checking his sister."


    Isabelle felt useless and cried even more. "Your daughter is useless¡­ She couldn''t even realize it. Why would he protect me this whole time when all I had done to him was hitting him and biting him. The first time I saw him, I was the one pushing him and had him covered with dirt."


    "Is that so?" Roy gently smiled, correcting her with his own version. "All I know is that he fell when he was ying with friends and he asked me my view about you. Of course, I told him that you are a daughter that I can be proud of.


    "You might be the only person who could turn him into something like that. Whatever he felt in the past or even now, he did it because he wanted to. I genuinely believe that. Even if the chance is one in a million, you can try one million times, so you can seed. You are still young and have a long future in front of you.


    "As long as you get back up and try again, I believe there will be a time where you seed. And Evan was helping you, so your chance could increase with a good environment in school. What is his reason? That is the question you need to ask him. But can you ask him?"


    Isabelle gripped the quilt even tighter. Every word struck deep inside her heart. She didn''t know why but all of it was more painful than the hardship she bore until today.


    "Father¡­ Have you ever felt you want to do everything for someone no matter the cost?"


    "I have when chasing my second wife, AKA your mother. It was a life-threatening matter for me back then because it would cost me everything, including this family. Still, I poured every single bit of my energy to make it work. There was a time that I could only sleep two hours each day for a year or even went without sleep.


    "I needed to keep the family going and work out the rtionship between me, your mother, and your first mother. Everything paid off at the end, where both of your mothers didn''t fight anymore and treated each other as equals.


    "In any case, if you really wanted something, you should pour everything and risk it all. When you fail to do so,e to me, and I will resolve it. I am your father after all." Roy smiled.


    Isabelle fell silent for a few minutes before opening her quilt, revealing her messy appearance. She looked at her father with wet eyes and asked. "Father¡­ What should I do?"


    "I don''t know. The answer lies in yourself. How about you think about what you want to do today and go to school tomorrow?" Roy rose and patted her head. "One thing that I am certain, don''t run away, Daughter."


    After telling her everything needed to be said, he left the room and went back to work.


    The room turned silent for a whole day. The next day, Isabelle came to school with ck bags under her eyes, but her expression was that of a warrior.


    She intentionally came a bitter when they were on break.


    Evan was dragged to the roof as he was beaten by some ssmates.


    *Bang!*


    Isabelle mmed the door open and ran toward the six people beating him up, hitting the first guy on his face.


    "What are you doing?!" Evan was the first to question her.


    "Heh! The princess has arrived. Do you think we are afraid of you? The girls have asked us to beat you as well, and I don''t mind beating a wom¡ª!" The other guy shouted before pain spread around his jaw, realizing that he was blown away.


    "Treat women nicely, idiot." Evan snorted and kicked one of the females on the stomach. "And treat b*tches like this."


    "Shut up, all of you scums." Isabelle snorted and threw another punch at the female. The group wasprised of two males and four females to begin with, so her targets were those females that openly bullied him.


    "You are the one who should shut up!" The man she punched earlier had recovered and kicked Evan on the stomach. And the other two females hit her back.


    They started a full brawl. Evan handled the two guys while Isabelle kept all the other four upied, albeit their strength was inferior to all of thembined, so the fight slowly turned ugly for them.


    Not long after, they were the ones getting beaten up without the chance to fight back.


    A few minutester.


    *Ding Dong!* The school bell rang, stopping the fight.


    "Sh*t. Now I am covered with bruises like this."


    "You guys are lucky this time."


    "I really want to beat them more."


    "Idiot. The school teacher will patrol around the school when the bell rings. The school doesn''t really prohibit fighting, but if you get caught red-handed, trouble wille."


    "Tch."


    The group clicked their tongues and left the two alone.


    Isabelle and Evan then dropped to the ground, t on their back. Bruises covered their bodies, and they were tired as hell. The bell was ringing, but both of them couldn''t get up.


    Evan facepalmed and sighed. "What the heck are you doing?! They wille back to you! It''s hard for you to escape the bullying again, you know!"


    "It''s not like they have stopped to begin with. And I don''t like the term of sacrifice. Instead, how about you? Why would you do something like this for me?"


    "¡­"


    "You can''t answer? Or you don''t want to answer? Either way, I won''t answer as well!" Isabelle stuck her tongue out. "Unless you beat me up until I am hospitalized, I will keep doing this every single day."


    "You¡­ Idiot!" Despite cursing her, a smile appeared on his face.


    "We are idiots! It''s hurt to get beaten like this, but I feel this is the first time I can genuinely smile in school!" Isabelle grinned. "Since the school prohibits the use of magic in an unofficial fight, I can learn martial arts to beat those guys in the future. Then refuse any other official fights.


    "Besides, if they are relying on their family to create a fuss with this, I will also move my family. Just you wait¡­ I will beat them up like there is no tomorrow and make their school life the worst. And¡­ I have decided to not run away anymore! I will face everything properly this time. Thank you for teaching me that!"


    "You are really¡­ a big idiot¡­"

 Chapter 308 - The Backstory

    The two continued to fight their way out of the bullies, albeit getting beaten up every single time.


    Isabelle showed the fastest growth she ever had as the practice of martial arts finally paid off. She gradually fought back and beat them up.


    Unfortunately, Evan wasn''t as fast as her. He tried to train martial arts as well, but he couldn''t reach Isabelle''s level.


    It continued for several months until they got visited by an organization from the Government. It was when they had fought against the bullies again andid down, watching the blue sky on the roof.


    "Huft¡­ I still can''t beat them." Isabelle let out a long sigh.


    "Are you seriously saying that? Because of your progress, they have brought more and more people to us recently. And you say you can''t beat them when you have defeated twelve of them."


    "They can''t use their magic, so I have the advantage. You should step up your game soon since you can only beat four of them. We need to defeat the other fours before we im our victory." Isabelle panted while smiling.


    "They will just get more people here. How many people do you think bullied you in the past?"


    "Ehm¡­ I don''t know?"


    "There are thirty-five people, or you can say seven groups."


    "Wow?! Well, I need to be more shameless then." Sheughed.


    "¡­" Evan was speechless.


    *Creak!*


    The sound of the door opening rang in their ears as they immediately turned around. Normally, the teachers wouldn''t bother with them, so they were pretty confused as to why someone actually came here.


    Contrary to their expectation, the onesing were two people, a male and a female, wearing a ck and white formal suit. They also wore ck sunsses as they walked toward them.


    Evan and Isabelle immediately rose from the floor, ignoring the tiredness of their body.


    "Who are you?!" Isabelle shouted.


    They were surely not guests invited by the school, considering their clothing and aura.


    "We are from the Government. I am Blint, and the one beside me is Rei. We have a proposal to you guys regarding the project we are working on."


    "Rather than asking useless people like us, it''s better to discuss it with our family instead." Evan narrowed his eyes. The fact that they came to them instead of their fathers was already beyond ridiculous.


    Isabelle nodded in agreement as she slowly came closer to Evan, trying to protect him if the two before them were spies or killers. At the very least, they needed to get away from this unfavorable situation first.


    "We havee to your respective family and discussed this project with them. Because of the risk, they are slightly inclined to reject the proposal, but they have agreed to let both of you choose. If you are not convinced, you can call them first. We will wait."


    Isabelle and Evan exchanged looks before nodding their heads at the same time. Since they couldn''t trust these two people yet, they would call their parents one at a time, starting with Evan.


    "Do you need anything from me, Evan? It''s rare for you to call me in a situation like this."


    "Father¡­ I would like to ask you something," said Evan while staring at the two people.


    "Hmm?! Is this concerning Isabelle? What? You want me to discuss your marriage."


    "Can you get serious a little bit?"


    "Fine, fine. What do you want to ask?"


    "There are two peopleing to us right now, inviting us to join this project of theirs¡­"


    "Alright. They are real. I have been informed by the president himself."


    "The president? He is the one leading this project?"


    "Do you know Ria Ross?"


    "Of course. She is recognized as the strongest person in this base after killing an S rank magical beast."


    "But do you know that Ria Ross was originally a scientist?"


    "So, I have heard," Evan acknowledged.


    "She had a breakthrough in the way of medicine, and the Government took over the project. As for the specific reason, you need to ask them yourself."


    "I understand." Evan nodded and put down his device, ncing at Isabelle.


    Although his father had given the confirmation, he wanted to get another one from Isabelle''s father before trusting them. And it turned out they were correct. Both fathers told them about the projecting from the highestmand.


    "Before you give us your answer, we need to inform you that everything we need to exin will be military secrets, so you need to consider whether you wish to know it or not."


    "What can we expect from this?"


    "I believe you two should follow us first, so you can learn it directly from the head of this project."


    Isabelle and Evan thought for a moment and nodded.


    Four of them went toward a building where they met an elder that seemed to be the leader. They didn''t know his identity, but they were certain of one thing. He was a higher up even in the Government.


    "I am Greg, the one in charge of this progress. I have been informed by my subordinate earlier, so I won''t beat around the bush. What you can expect from this is strength¡­ You might get strength beyond your imagination, but if you can''t endure it, you will die." The old man narrowed his eyes.


    "What do you want us to do?" Isabelle asked.


    "You are going to fuse with magical beast blood."


    "What?!" Both of them were stunned, rising from their seats.


    "The one who has discovered this already seeded once. There won''t be any physical defects, at least in your appearance, so no one will know about you having magical beast blood flowing in your body.


    "At the same time, you will be granted powerful strength ording to the blood. And even I won''t know about it. Although Professor Ria Ross has seeded once with a hundred percent sess rate, this is still a high-risk operation, so I want to consider this carefully.


    "In case you reject, we will still let you live the way you are as long as you don''t say anything about this. After all, the moment we heard you spreading this information, you and your family will pay the price." The director exined.


    Evan thought for a moment and asked, "Why us? I mean, you should have no problem in getting experimental subjects, right? And we are just useless kids."


    "Because you have experienced more pains than anyone else. And the way you keeping back up has convinced me."


    Evan slightly furrowed his eyebrows before ncing at Isabelle.


    "To be honest, in terms of the requirements, no one is as strong as both of you. I have seen their talents, but that is all. The most important requirement is your heart. You want to get stronger no matter how hard you are beaten to the ground, and this is what I want from both of you."


    "There are other people as well? How many?"


    "Actually, this is not our first time doing this. There is also another one that has seeded, but I can''t talk much about it unless you are participating in this project."


    "Suppose I were to join, what should I do?"


    "You need to stay in a ce for a few months so we can observe your condition and so on. After that, you can do whatever you want with the power as long as you don''t break thew. You can continue your school life without our interference."


    "Since you have seeded once, I want to ask thest question."


    "Go on."


    "What is the fatality rate?"


    "Because we are carefully choosing the people, we don''t really test it to too many people. The sess rate is one in a hundred."


    "I see." Evan nodded and leaned back, allowing Isabelle to ask her questions.


    "Are you going to join?" Isabelle asked this question to Evan instead of the director.


    "¡­" Evan fell silent. "I think you shouldn''t ask this. How about we do this? Get two papers with Yes and No written on them. We choose our own answer without looking at each other."


    Isabelle contemted before nodding. They ignored the director and chose their own path. And to their surprise, both of them decided to join this program.


    And just like that, they looked at the director and said at the same time. "Please take care of us."


    "¡­" The director was speechless, didn''t know if it was due to their synergy or how easy they chose their own path. Nheless, they were the favored candidates, so it was good news to him. The director then started exining everything regarding the Zodiac Project.


    ¡­


    "That was the story¡­ And You already know the part after that." Evan smiled, looking at Isabelle''s face. He somehow ended upying down with his head on herp as thetter told him it was a reward.


    "There are many things that I want to say, but I am d that you are not treating me like the previous time. I mean, it''s frustrating to have you ignore me and act nonchntly as if there was nothing between us, you know."


    "I am sorry for that."


    "Well, I can understand your point of view right now, so I don''t really mind about it." Isabelle smiled from ear to ear before saying. "Still, to think that you have loved me since that time¡­"


    Evan knew she was talking about their childhood. Although it wasn''t really love at first sight, his feeling got reinforced little by little by watching her training. In the depth of his heart, he thought, ''Ah, this is the girl. I really want to support her¡­ Maybe, she can really change her fate unlike me, who has given up in that aspect.''


    And when she said it again right in front of his face, he was slightly embarrassed. He looked away with a tinge red on his face while murmuring. "Is that a problem?"


    "No¡­" Isabelle said with a long tone.


    Evan found that the sky was darkened, but he was wrong. It was Isabelle bending her body and lowering her head. He smiled.


    They kissed.


    Isabelle then rose again and smiled.


    "I love you too."

 Chapter 309 - Surrounded

    Meanwhile, the situation on Kai''s side was not as peaceful as those two.


    "I am sorry that I missed them," Sofia apologized while punching the beast near him.


    "No. This is my fault as well." Kai shook his head.


    "No, no. I should have noticed my own weakness sooner, not making trouble like this."


    "In other words, your eyes can see something like their power level or danger level¡­" Kai asked, wanting to confirm her ability.


    "It''s power level. I can see a fire representing their power level. But to think I mistook the intelligent B rank beast to a normal A rank beast¡­ I should have realized this first."


    "Save it forter. For now, we need to handle these magical beasts first." Kai used his hearing ability to scan the entire area, locating every single magical beast that woulde to them.


    Because of the low strength from the B rank magical beast, it managed to fool Sofia''s eyes since a normal intelligent B rank beast would be a bit more dangerous than the A rank beast.


    Luckily, they were fighting this as a group, if not, they would surely be the prey of these beasts.


    Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second beforemanding. "Michelle and Ayaka will be the vanguard with me and create a triangle formation. Your positions are on my five and eight respectively, while I handle the onesing from the front."


    "Roger!" Ayaka nodded and positioned herself ten meters next to the group.


    "It''s not like we can avoid this¡­ Time to get serious." Michelle smiled, releasing her shadow power as symbols after symbols appeared on her skin. She then moved toward her position, looking at the dense woods. Shadows were moving around the woods as expected. "Spotted thirty beasts. Coming here in one minute. Engage?"


    "No. Don''t expand the formation." Kai shook his head and moved to his own position. "Tasha will provide us with cover, and everyone else shall protect her. Prioritize thoseing from the air."


    "Roger." Tasha nodded and drew her arrows.


    "Sofia will act as a buffer between our formation, but your main priority is to support Ayaka."


    "Understood." Sofia nodded and stationed herself between Ayaka and Tasha.


    If this were the past Ayaka, she wouldin, telling Kai that she would be able to handle this alone. But Kai said this not because she didn''t trust her. Instead, it was due to the iing magical beasts. In other words, she would have the most dangerous position.


    No one understood why Kai gave Ayaka that position, but since he hadmanded that way, they needed to agree.


    "How many are they?" Tasha asked.


    "I am not sure¡­ But considering the B rank magical beast is not killed yet, we can safely assume there are more than three thousand. It will also cause a chain reaction, so we need to kill that beast as soon as possible. It is not going to go that far."


    "I have memorized the energy, so I should be able to spot it," added Sofia as she wouldn''t want to make another blunder.


    "I will snipe it then." Tasha nodded.


    "Understood."


    "Iing!" Michelle shouted as the iing magical beasts hade. She summoned her shadow swords and stepped forward.


    "Make sure you don''t go beyond the twenty-meters mark. If there are beasts beyond that, let Tasha handle it." Kai shouted and raised his swords. Ten iing cougars filled his vision, charging at him.


    He ran a few meters and shed two iing cougars that tried to strike him. Five more appeared from the front as if they thought nothing about Kai killing their brethren. The other three, at the same time, appeared from his right, king him.


    "Oscition Shield." Kai used the shield to stop the three cougars while shifting his body to the left and waving his swords to kill two of them.


    The three that had been left untouched had the biggest chance to strike him. However, three arrows pierced their heads simultaneously.


    Kai nced at Tasha and nodded before retracting the magic circle. The three cougars finally moved again. They were going to go around after hitting Kai''s shield, but thetter had calcted that they wouldn''t do it if he retracted it soon enough. And of course, this could only happen because he knew Tasha had been aiming for the cougars instead of helping Michelle.


    That was why the moment he retracted his magic circle, it slightly threw their bnces, and Kai didn''t miss this chance and beheaded all three.


    Although they would soon be surrounded by thousands of beasts, they were still scattered around the area, so it wasn''t like they fought those many beasts in one go. And the group would rather fight thirty monsters a hundred times than three thousand at once.


    That was why Kai and Tasha immediately turned to Michelle. Kai had checked that he had thirty seconds before the next wave, so he immediately picked up five pebbles on the ground and summoned his Sound st magic circle.


    It boosted the power of the pebbles, enhancing its speed. These five hit their heads, and the power carried was enough to knock them down.


    During this time, Michelle sneaked in and shed those five beasts. Her enemies were a pack of coyotes, so it was enough to kill them. However, another ten surrounded her and charged at her at the same time.


    Tasha released three arrows, piercing their heads. Kai threw another five rocks toward them, while Michelle killed the two before finishing Kai''s portion.


    Noticing that the situation had gone under control, Kai turned around again, watching a herd of sheeping his way.


    Unlike the normal sheep, these ones had a bulkier body and good speed. If one got ram by them, they needed to pray they wouldn''t die from getting stepped on.


    "Around forty¡­" Kai muttered as he kicked up the corpses on the ground andunched them to the herd using his Sound st, causing a distraction to the herd.


    He then went around and started his killing spree, lingering around the twenty-meters mark he created earlier.


    The group didn''t have much problem in the beginning due to Ayaka and Sofia. Their side needed to fight fifty or something Lynxes.


    A red fire started covering the tip of her spear as she calcted the timing on the Lynxes before walking forward. She nced at the left before going to the right as if sending a message to the one behind her, Sofia.


    Sofia, on the other hand,pletely understood the message and raised both hands, creating two pieces of ice crystal.


    "I am ready."


    Ayaka nodded, waited for three seconds, and leaped toward the right while releasing her wild instinct. This immediately took the attention of all lynxes here. The one heading toward Ayaka kept charging forward, but those that she tried to avoid turned around, chasing after her.


    "!!!" Sofia finally saw her chance and threw the two crystals into the air above the left side.


    "Ice Needles. Combust!" A magic circle appeared in both crystals as they exploded, releasing the needles stored inside as if shooting bullets.


    These needles were quite big as each of them was the size of a human finger. And the moment it rained the lynxes down, it pierced them as if it was nothing.


    *Howl!*


    They screamed out of pain while falling down one after another. Most of them were pierced in a few spots, and the blood dyed their fur greyish white fur to red.


    Ayaka smiled upon this and noticed that the advance from the left had stopped, so she only needed to focus on those in front of them.


    "me Fan."


    A magic circle appeared on her spear as she swung it. Suddenly, it burst out fire like a methrower. Not only it burned those in the front, but it also created a small firewall before them.


    *Howl!*


    The lynxes began wailing again. Some of them stopped in their tracks because of the burn, while the others had the courage to prate the firewall, only to find a caught thempletely and started burning them.


    *Howl!*


    "Perfectly cook lynxes¡­" Ayaka smiled, looking at the fabulous grill mark on their bodies, before piercing their heads to make sure they were dead.


    At the same time, some of them noticed this and went around. Because the left side waspletely halted due to Sofia''s attack, they could only go from Ayaka''s right. However, if a magical beast could think of this, Sofia obviously could do the same.


    "Ice Needles. Combust!"


    She used the same magic to stop them as well before delivering the killing strokes using another ice magic.


    Ayaka nodded and matched her by removing all the threats from the front. She retracted her fire and swung her spear through the firewall she created earlier, blowing the firewall off while shing those staying behind the wall.


    "Good work, time to finish this group."


    Seeing the situation, Tasha asked. "Kai¡­ We should be able to handle the situation here. Do you still want to warn those around us?"


    "No." Kai shook his head. "Although the situation is still bad, we should be able to handle this. Just focus on handling the flying beasts and locating the intelligent beast. As long as we can''t kill it, more and more areing. There are a few magical beasts that have suspicious movement, but I can''t see which one is the intelligent one. The others must be his subordinates or something tasked to inform the surrounding beasts.


    "For now, the situation is under control, and the intelligent beast will be impatient ande to us¡­ In a normal circumstance that is¡­" Kai''s face suddenly turned dark.


    "Kai?" Tasha called his name as the others had their expression turn to serious.


    "There is another waveing. This one is more organized¡­ Around a few hundreds to a thousand." Kai informed while clicking his tongue.


    "¡­"

 Chapter 310 - A Dire Situation

    "!!!" The girls turned their heads toward Kai with a serious expression.


    "How many?" Tasha asked as if she didn''t hear it right.


    "Around eight hundred to one thousand¡­ I can''t really say the specific because there are too many footsteps." Kai shed the magical beast that wanted to attack him while exining.


    "Wait a minute¡­ You say we might need to kill at least three thousand¡­ Did you count this group?"


    "Exactly so. I have scouted the surrounding areas, so the situation is not really bad. And calcting this group and one other group that have around three to five hundred, the others are small groups." Kai gave his confirmation.


    "That is quite a lot¡­ Wait. Is that the reason for this formation?" Michelle suddenly realized something was wrong when Kai gave the specific instruction to everyone along with how he positioned Ayaka.


    "Yeah. For now, the smaller one has yet toe here. And if my prediction is right, it will move soon, and the intelligent beast will make its appearance once more. Calcting the timing and such, Tasha will immediately stop the big group alone. Can you do that?" Kai asked.


    "Good enough for me. But this will cost me quite a bit¡­"


    "You don''t need to care about your magic power. Just leave it enough for us to teleport in case we need to run away. We will put thepetition on hold tomorrow, so everyone can rx and y around."


    "That is nice. I will handle them then." Tasha nodded before ncing at Ayaka. "I may need the explosion arrow soon."


    "We will talk about itter." Ayaka nodded while staring at the iing seventy magical beasts. "I need to handle these monsters first."


    "Don''t make me wait too long, okay?!" Tasha smirked and released her arrows.


    "I will try."


    Seeing the two had started again, Kai started killing again. He had predicted that the big group would arrive in twenty minutes because they just entered his hearing range, which was five kilometers. On the other hand, there were a few magical beastsing toward the small group. One of them must be the intelligent beast, but he didn''t know which one.


    Hence, he stared at the iing twenty magical beasts in front of him and started getting serious, knowing that the magical beasts would hit them continuously after this.


    This static conditionsted for five minutes before he suddenly heard that the magical beasts changed their direction. They originally woulde from Ayaka''s direction, but it changed to his location.


    "Ugh¡­" Kai bit his lips as he shouted. "Guys. I have good news and bad news."


    "Either news is bad! Don''t consider them good news in this situation." Tasha shouted.


    "No, no. Seriously. The good news is I have located the intelligent beast." Kai corrected her. He noticed a sudden movement of magical beasts after a single magical beast came to their group, so it should be the intelligent beasts, not his subordinates because they had been blended in.


    "Oh?!"


    "And the bad news?"


    "It''smanding the magical beasts directly, so I might need to make some adjustments to our position and n."


    "¡­" Tasha fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Ayaka. Give me a few branches filled with your magic bombs."


    "Sofia, switch with me for a minute." Ayaka nodded, knowing they were in a dire situation. With the intelligent magical beastmanding them, they might get struck from a different location, so they didn''t want to ruin this whole formation.


    The magic bomb could be considered Ayaka''s way to prevent the formation from copsing.


    "Sure." Sofia nodded and sped her hands. His exoskeleton already covered her whole body as she calcted the movement of magical beasts from her eyes alone and proceeded to kill them.


    On the other hand, Ayaka picked up a few good looking branches and started using her magic bomb. She set up a day to lessen the magic consumption.


    "Your arrows." Ayaka handed the branches to Tasha.


    "Ten good explosives." Tasha nodded before pulling out a quiver filled with arrows. She never used this despite having one because everything could be resolved within a few hours.


    She then put the branches on top of the arrows before attaching them together with a string. "I have picked up a few things earlier, and one of them is fiber from the tree in our surroundings. Its purpose is for these explosives of course."


    "Hoh?! I was worried a little because the magic bomb would be able to explode in your hand if you use your Lightning Arrow¡­" Ayaka nced at her, slightly surprised by the fiber.


    "Do you think I am that crazy?" Tashaughed. "I haven''t used it again after noticing such a thing is possible."


    "That''s good then." She nodded.


    "Alright. Time to make an adjustment." Kai took a deep breath and listened to the entire battlefield one more time. "Sofia, you go between Ayaka and me after finishing the current battle and face twenty beasts alone. Ayaka will also take the thirty magical beastsing to you next."


    "Understood."


    He handed the iing small group that suddenly changed course to Sofia, but it was at this moment he realized the group didn''t stop there. It brought and swallowed one other group, creating arger group, consisted of fifty or so beasts.


    "Tasha, focus on helping Sofia right now. I will help Michelle."


    "Alright." Tasha released another shot before turning in Sofia''s direction, finding a few shadowsing toward them.


    The moment he instructed them, he started shifting a little bit to Michelle and picked up a few pebbles along the way.


    *Roar!*


    A group of coyotes charged toward him as if they were trying to prevent him from moving.


    Kai summoned another magic circle and activated it when the coyotes passed it, blowing them to the ground. He then beheaded each of them and used the same trick to kill the rest.


    Michelle struggled a bit on her own, but Kai''s timely support saved the day. She and Kai managed to do their own jobs, while Ayaka used her magic power a bit too much before finishing her jobs. Still, none of them could rx yet because there were still many more magical beasts in the uing situation.


    In this half an hour or so, they managed to kill almost a thousand magical beasts. Although the name was great and the time was too fast, it could be done due to the fact that the magical beasts charged at them not simultaneously.


    Kai and the others could kill a few tens of beasts under one minute or two, so the number was about right.


    Meanwhile, Tasha released three arrows at the same time, piercing the heads of three marmots. Unlike normal marmots, these ones had a slightly bigger build to the point it reached one meter in height alone. The sharp ws would be their main weapons.


    Seeing this, Sofia also created a blue magic circle on each hand.


    "Ice Particles. Streaming Spear."


    Ice Spikes flew out of the circles in a parabolic trajectory, bombarding the magical beasts.


    However, one would notice that the target leaned to the side.


    "Hmm?!" Kai narrowed his eyes, realizing Sofia''s true aim. "Sofia! Need help?"


    "I am good. I can handle them alone," Sofia rejected him as she seemed to be very confident in this matter.


    Listening to Kai''sment, Tasha instantly recognized the movement of the marmots.


    She then aimed a little bit to the left, starting to main them down. People might think she did it because they were nning to kill them from the left, but Tasha turned to the opposite side and began shooting them.


    It would confuse someone, but Sofia only nodded her head, sending her thanks to her. She then ced her hand on the ground and created an enormous magic circle. That magic circle gave birth to a few more in front of it, creating a line of ten magic circles.


    The rain of the ice spikes had stopped due to this, but the marmot couldn''t spread fast enough as Sofia activated the magic circles first.


    The marmots turned pale as they realized Sofia was trying to guide them to make a line like this by using the magic earlier. It was the sole reason why she aimed at the side and did nothing to the center.


    "Ice Wave."


    Spikes after spikes rose in session, piercing all the marmots above it. The crystals were bigger than anyone could expect too. With a height of two meters, it lifted the bodies off the ground.


    Blood started dyeing the blue ice red, but Tasha still needed to do the follow-up. She aimed all the heads present, making sure they died.


    "Mission aplished." Both of them gave each other a thumb up before finding Kai making a sudden movement.


    They followed his line of sight, and Sofia shouted. "I have spotted the energy."


    "I know. It''sing in Michelle''s direction." Kai nodded andmanded. "Tasha, aim the magical beast and kill it."


    "I know." Tasha pulled the arrow and released it through the magical beasts rank without hitting a single of them. It flew toward the intelligent B rank magical beast, which turned out to be a red fox.


    "¡­" The red fox didn''t find this arrow to be dangerous, so it simply leaped to the right, considering it was aiming at his head leaning to the left side. This allowed the fox to avoid the arrowpletely, but it was startled by another arrow that appeared out of nowhere.


    Tasha obviously didn''t shoot this arrow, so the fox wouldn''t notice. And when the fox saw it, it didn''t fly like the first one. Instead, it was falling down due to gravity,pletely not moving forward.


    "!!!" The fox sweatdropped when it saw the arrow started glowing.


    *Boom Boom!*

 Chapter 311 - Compressed Air Bomb

    *Boom Boom!*


    Two loud explosions echoed on the battlefield as the me burst out of the two arrows.


    Tasha had specifically teleported the second one, so it would appear at this timing, and it worked. She managed to fool the intelligent beast.


    "Sofia!" Kai shouted as he listened to the sound of the intelligent beast. He needed to confirm whether the magical beasts had died or not.


    "The fire ispletely extinguished. The intelligent beast is dead." Sofia nodded, confirming everything while holding these magical beasts back.


    "Good." He also couldn''t hear any sound from that spot, so he believed the beast had died. And since they had solved this matter, Kai could give another order to them. "This is my order. Tasha will go toward the left for three kilometers. There will be many magical beasts in your surroundings, but your main priority is to destroy the big group.


    "You can do whatever you want as long as you kill the magical beasts. This will be a bit taxing for your body, but this is the only way.


    "And one more person, Ayaka. You go to the right for about two kilometers and nt as many magic bombs as possible to obliterate or halt them. If possible, annihte them. But if it''s not, return here, and we will solve the entire situation. Just make sure you don''t'' start a huge fire."


    "Understood." The two girls nodded before Tasha asked. "Want a ride?"


    "I would love to." Ayaka nodded.


    Tasha then teleported her to her position before disappearing from the battlefield to handle her target.


    "Sofia will take Ayaka''s job for now. I will give another order in ten minutes. We will handle all these monsters first. If you need help, slightly lean to the other person, so they can help you."


    "Roger." Michelle and Sofia shouted as they took a deep breath. Sofia smirked and changed her style, mainly using her exoskeleton instead.


    Meanwhile, on Tasha''s side, she had started sniping the beasts in her surroundings. Although the big group had yet to arrive, some smaller groups were still marching toward Kai and the others, so it was best to eliminate as many as possible, lifting the burden on their shoulders. At the same time, it would make her position a bit safer with fewer magical beasts loitering around.


    In another minute, she finally found a huge pack of bison. She couldn''t even say it was a pack of bison anymore due to their number. However, a bigger one was among them, standing out as if he was telling others who''s the king.


    This made Tasha''s job easier as she drew three explosive arrows and shot them toward the leader.


    Noticing this, the bison suddenly turned left, trying to hide the arrows. However, Tasha aimed a bit more spread, so it would hit them whether they turned left or right.


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    The arrows exploded and hit the bison leader, but then she saw that it only burned one side of its body. Meanwhile, a few bison died due to the explosions, mostly those around the bison leader. It seemed they slightly jumped, shielding their king from the explosion.


    "Hmm¡­" Tasha contemted for a moment while touching her explosive arrows. However, she suddenly retracted her hands and pped her hand, summoning a pink magic circle instead of the purple one.


    This only symbolized one thing. She was using her Space Magic, more urately, her Sealing Magic.


    "It is time I show my progress¡­" Tasha smiled. Kai had specifically asked her to handle this and left none alive, so she was pretty pumped up.


    "Space Ball." Five pink spheres appeared above her heads, floating calmly despite the wind and other things.


    "Open!"


    The moment she gave the order, a hole was formed on their body before it started sucking the nearby air. It looked like someone blew out a balloon, but a bit more magical.


    Tasha smiled and sealed them when it had two meters in diameters.


    "Compress!"


    The pink balloon started shrinking, and this was the one taking her magic power the most. Butpared to how much she used when teleporting many magical beasts up in the sky, this was much lighter to use for her body and magic power.


    Before throwing the balls, he found that the bison turned again, trying to ram her. This was a good chance to finally show her strength. By grabbing one of them with her main hand, he threw the pink sphere toward the herd.


    And she didn''t dare to stand too close to it as she aimed a bit farther in their rank.


    When it reached its target, a magic circle appeared once again, dissolving the sphere in an instant.


    Thepressed air that was trapped there burst out, causing a huge explosion. But this one was not an explosion that caused the fire. Instead, it was like a burst of wind that could cut many things with the pressureing out of it alone.


    "Hehe¡­ This is my Compressed Air Bomb! The pressure is too high there, so the explosion is a bit too powerful." She smirked, watching how the air bomb actually cut many bison while blowing some of them far away.


    Thepressed air itself is not mmable. Although it is true that the temperature is rtively high, it still won''t explode like a bomb unless they added some specific elements and used Ayaka''s fire to make it explode.


    But the pressure alone was enough for them. Even Kai couldn''t easily block this off, so she was pretty proud of this one.


    She then proceeded to throw the other fours in their ranks.


    *Boom Boom!*


    A series of explosions resounded across the region as the bison were butchered so easily.


    Tasha kept using the Compressed Air Bomb and killed as many as possible during this time while maintaining her magic power so as to not reach the limit Kai ced earlier.


    "Haha¡­ Die!" Tashaughed while seeing many bison fall down to the ground. Even the leader was scared of Tasha as she looked like a demon right now.


    They tried to charge at her, but she would easily teleport to a distance while leaving the bombs there, so the ones charging at her would die. Then, she would start throwing more bombs on them.


    In the end, the herd decided to run away toward Kai like how they were ordered to do in the first ce. Unfortunately, that sealed their fate as Tasha chased them to the end to kill them.


    Kai sealed her ability for this reason. If the government knew about this, they would take advantage of her abilities and try to control her.


    As long as he became strong enough, he could oppose the government in case they decided to ce the restriction on her, especially control her. Just like how Nathan and Ria Ross would be in his back no matter what happened, he needed his own reputation to have enough strength to do this.


    If they ended up getting expelled from the US base, Sofia would surely ept them with an open arm. Instead of controlling her, they might cooperate with her while cing some restrictions with the agreement of both parties. As for United Asia¡­ He didn''t care about that ce anymore except for Yajima Haruko.


    Although it was pretty childish of him to love someone he didn''t even realize until now and only relied on the childhood memory, no one could read the human heart. They might find it ridiculous, but it was just him being him.


    Nheless, the only thing they needed to do was to get stronger. And by releasing this limiter for a while, Tasha understood a few more things regarding her Sealing Magic.


    Meanwhile, Ayaka wasn''t losing in terms of explosions. She nted many magic bombs in the direction, and when the group of moose walked above it, Ayaka used her Scarlet Explosion to light them up.


    And the result¡­


    *Boom Boom Boom!*


    Another series of explosions shook the battlefield as this one was more critical than the one Tasha made. Still, the consumption was heavier than her, so it was to be expected.


    Ayaka then started killing the rest of the moose like how Tasha chased her own targets.


    The situation for them on their sides was basically under control. Still, their targets were only one thousand and five hundred beasts. On the other hand, the main group was still under a heavy attack from more than twenty thousand five hundred magical beasts.


    Sofia kept holding, albeit barely because she wasn''t a real closebatant, so she slightly leaned to Kai''s side and asked for his help.


    Noticing this, Kai shifted his position a bit. This way, Michelle would handle forty percent of their surroundings while he and Sofia handled the other sixty percent.


    "Kai, this is not going to work. The magical beasts won''t stop and keeping for a few more hours."


    "That is right. The army has always dealt with this situation. We need to retreat first."


    "No." Kai shook his head.


    The two narrowed their eyes since Kai seemed to have a n to break this stalemate.


    "Michelle¡­ This is my order. Go to the perimeter and create a gap between them. This way, we will stop the magical beasts." Kai ordered.


    Hearing the order, she nodded. Considering the number of monsters and their reactions, the army would need to fight continuously for twenty-four hours. However, there was a time they could have a break. It was when there was a gap between the enemy, so the ones that were originally located in those gaps couldn''t transmit the distress signal to those behind them.


    Michelle''s objective was to create that gap.


    "Shadow sh!" She sent a Shadow sh before disappearing from the battlefield.


    Sofia, on the other hand, was stunned. "Are you serious? Do you think we can handle them alone?"


    "Probably not. But that is only if we are alone¡­ I will buy time for them." Kai smiled while jumping a few times as if he was stretching his body.


    "?!" Sofia tilted her head in confusion.


    "You didn''t realize the fact that I chose the easiest direction this whole time?" Kai slightly furrowed his eyebrows.


    "!!!" The clue immediately shook her heart as she gasped. "You have been saving your energy for this?"


    Kai smiled as he nced at all the monsters in his surroundings and marked them as one, two, three, and so on¡­ To see which one he needed to kill first.


    He crossed his arms as he leaped a bit higher this time, falling down on top of the forty-five degrees magic circle. "I will be handling them with my full speed. Some will pass me, so I want you to handle them on your own. Thirty minutes will be the maximum, so use everything you have."


    Sofia gulped down as she summoned a huge magic circle underneath her feet. "Understood."


    "Alright now¡­" Kai stepped on the magic circle andunched himself toward his targets. "Time to kill."

 Chapter 312 - End Of The Mission

    With only Kai and Sofia remaining in this encirclement, Kai decided to step up his game, using all of his ability to the utmost limit.


    And as one would expect, it was a disaster. He went around the field while wielding his sword, using the Sound st to enhance his speed to another level. This way, the magical beasts lost their lives before reaching Sofia.


    Sofia also did everything she could to support Kai. She kept hitting all the magical beasts in the opposite direction while spinning in the clockwise direction.


    Seeing this, Kai decided to let it flow smoothly as he swept everything in the same direction.


    Five minutes had passed, but Kai''s stamina started decreasing due to the fact that he had never gone to this length.


    "Ha¡­" Kai panted while shing a few magical beasts.


    "You can rest for a minute," Sofia shouted. Considering Kai had killed more than two hundred magical beasts in only five minutes alone, it was already too insane, especially since he killed them with his sword instead of magic.


    During this time, Ayaka and Tasha had been killing the two groups. Kai kept listening to their sound to know when he could stop, so Sofia''s worry needed to be ignored.


    "I can stop them for a moment, you know."


    "Nope. It is not a good idea. They are going to spread around the area in that case."


    Sofia narrowed her eyes and recreated a scene where she used the technique she wanted to use earlier. And it would create a fifty-fifty chance for them to move ording to Kai''s worst prediction. Although she had the confidence in controlling her power, Kai didn''t want to take a risk, especially with their current predicament.


    "I understand. We shouldn''t endanger them¡­" said Sofia, a little bit sad. Kai must ce far more importance on the three girls than her. ''It can''t be helped¡­''


    Kai noticed her expression andforted her. "No. The reason why I don''t want to take a risk is that they might incite more magical beasts in our surroundings."


    Seeing that he became more considerate, she couldn''t help but smile. "Thank you. It is fine."


    Kai fell silent. That was certainly not a lie from him because he was afraid the beasts would return to their original position and rmed the beasts that had yet toe. Michelle had been creating a gap as well, so Tasha would be required to teleport them away.


    Unfortunately, Sofia misunderstood him. As much as he wanted to correct her, he had no time to deal with it.


    He kept killing the magical beasts for another ten minutes until Tasha and Ayaka returned. They helped the two that had been holding on their own until there was not a single magical beast anymore in their surroundings.


    After that, they regrouped with Michelle before returning to their own basecamp.


    However, they met another problem because they still needed to have a reflection time.


    "Apologies. That was my fault."


    "I said it before. No one was at fault." Kai shook his head, helping her up. "We have been relying on our ability this whole time, but we have forgotten the fact that our abilities are limited as well."


    "That''s right. If you think that the fault lies in your ability, then it will also be our responsibility since we don''t care about anything so long you say it is fine." Michelle nodded while bandaging the wounds on her body.


    "I agree." Tasha and Ayaka nodded their heads simultaneously.


    "So, don''t think much about it." Kai smiled.


    "Uhm." Sofia looked down and gave a slight nod. This might be her biggest mistake she hadmitted during her stay here, and the fact that Kai and the others forgave her just like that melted something in her heart.


    At the very least, in this group, she could treat them asrades, while outside the group, she would consider them rivals.


    With Sofia finally starting opening up to them, the group spent the entire next day to recover their magic power. Unfortunately, they couldn''t heal their wounds since Evan was away.


    The group then began their operation again the following day and racked up some kill counts, especially for these two people, Tasha and Ayaka. They were neck in neck for winning thispetition.


    Eight dayster.


    "Yes! I win!" Tasha jumped and pumped her fist, couldn''t contain her excitement.


    Ayaka pouted and sat on the ground, looking away.


    The difference between the two was only thirty points. This was certainly a small difference since they had killed around a few thousand magical beasts.


    "Hehe¡­" Tasha made a peace symbol with her right hand.


    "Well, I feel bad right now." Kai nced at Ayaka while scratching his head.


    "Fair enough. After all, Ayaka is the only one that canpete with me during this mission." Tasha nodded.


    "Since Tasha allows her to win the second ce, how about you take her for dinner or something? It won''t be a full day, but I am sure that is enough." Michelle offered a solution.


    "That is a good idea." Kai nodded and asked Ayaka for that.


    "If that is the case, how about having dinner at my house? My parents seem to want to see you again¡­ They couldn''t visit you earlier because they were too busy with the house,pany, and other things." Ayaka asked.


    "Is that so?"


    "Yeah. They also have information regarding United Asia that they want to share with you." Ayaka nodded. "But since they have been ignoring that, I think it is not that big."


    "Oi, oi. Don''t set up a g, will you?" Kai let out a long sigh.


    "I did not!" Ayaka pouted.


    "Anyway, I will visit your house at ater date. It''s been a while since I visited both uncle and aunty, so I will surely have time for them." Kai nodded. They were his future inw, so it would be best to meet them again before it became toote.


    Ayaka nodded. "Alright. I will tell them about it."


    "Sure." Kai then turned around, facing Tasha with a calm face. He pped his hand and walked toward her, "So¡­ What does the winner want for the reward?"


    "I want you to spend time with mom and dad. We usually spent our summer vacation on a family trip, right? We have been too focused on ourselves and neglecting them this whole time, so I want to use this for a family trip." Tasha gently smiled.


    Kai was shaken when he heard her request.


    "This¡­ To think it''s been this way¡­ I am sorry, but girls, I will extend it for three days." Kai looked at Michelle, Ayaka, and Sofia.


    With the parents came into the picture, none of the girls raised an objection. No, they even thought three days were not enough and suggested to take a longer one. After all, they knew he loved them to the point he would sacrifice everything for them.


    However, Kai only received the thought and rejected the idea. He thanked the girls and decided to close the mission, going back with the truck to report their status.


    As soon as Brad received the report, he stared at the file in disbelief. To think a mere five people group could finish this mission in two weeks. Thispletely baffled him.


    However, the group from the headquarter had nothing to say about this, so they must have reallypleted the mission without cheating.


    As for how they could do that, the key must lie in Kai''s leadership. Even he had learned about Kai''s reputation in the base, so he could somehow imagine himmanding the group to move ording to his n.


    In the end, he admitted defeat and let out a long sigh. He still put a stern face when he met him since he didn''t want Kai to be too proud of his achievement lest he would make a mistake, but his tone had mellowed a bit.


    Suppose he could maintain that when he met his son, Bryan would probably feel overjoyed. Unfortunately to them, he just couldn''t do it.


    After submitting the mission, he returned to their home. The first thing Kai did was asking his parents to have a family vacation. They never had one even though they started living here a year ago. Usually, they would go somewhere during the summer vacation, but Kai and Tasha were too busy to improve, so they wanted to redeem themselves by asking them to enjoy family time in Miami.


    Their parents felt gratified and had no heart to reject them despite knowing how hard their lives had been going in school. These two were their greatest children. In fact, their mother had already approved their rtionship not long after settling down here. Only their father had been adamant about it up until now.


    Seeing this, Tasha finally passed thest hurdle. She locked herself up in her own room, unable to contain her excitement.


    And the proof was there when everyone saw her having a ck bag under her eyes. They onlyughed it off while the father realized how his feelings had been stressing her. He decided to pull a little trick this time to make it up by asking them to be the event organizer.


    Kai and Tasha approved that and sent the money to him, saying they didn''t need to care about the amount they needed to pay for this vacation.


    It seemed Ria Ross had been pulling the string in this matter too, because they got a special discount. Kai gave his thankster, but more importantly, the family trip had been scheduled. It was going to be three days before the weather started getting too cold.


    The next day, they met in school and headed to their usual room, but Kai suddenly felt something was wrong.


    When he pushed the door, three gunshots were heard.


    *Bang Bang Bang!*

 Chapter 313 - Information

    *Bang Bang Bang!*


    Everyone thought it was a terrorist shooting at them, but the reality was different. On the other side of the door in their left echoed a series of gunshots.


    "Hmm?!" Tasha narrowed her eyes and tugged Kai''s hand.


    Kai nodded and pushed the door open without any change of expression, finding Evan inside.


    "Ya! It seems you all have finally returned from your mission." Evan waved his hand and put the gun down.


    Kai almost jumped out if he pointed the gun at them. Although he doubted Evan would shoot them, it was for safety reasons.


    "What are you doing?" Kai asked while ncing at the gun.


    "I am training to use guns. At the very least, I will be able to participate in a fight actively instead of watching from the sideline." Evan smiled.


    "But aren''t your magic¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    ording to Evan, he had tested it before, and every time he incorporated magic into his bullet, the water would just heal the wound it just made, so he couldn''t understand why Evan suddenly wanted to do that.


    "I am not going to use my magic. Instead, I will properly use magic bullets. Before, I don''t want to burden my family that much because this will be very expensive, but I believe with you here, everything is covered." Evan chuckled.


    He didn''t mean to say Kai was the source of money. Instead, it was the mission that would be given to him. Due to his special status, Kai''s mission was a very high level one, resulting in millions of dors in a single mission.


    The bullets might be expensive, but he should be able to cover it even with the money split into five.


    "If you are getting those bullets, you will need the best one, you know."


    "Yes. I have settled my bullet choice. Due to the huge amount of magical beast core infused into the bullet, each bullet cost five hundred dors each. The result is also great as it will be able to prate A rank magical beast without difficulty. Considering I can get a few hundred thousand every mission, I think I should be able to maintain my wallet." Evan nodded, giving a confirmation that everything had been under control.


    "I see. Since you have thought it through, I won''t say much. In that case, how about buying from our own group?" Kai turned around, facing Ayaka with a grin.


    "That''s right. Kudo Group is producing weapons and ammunition." Evan understood his intention. "Well, I don''t mind buying them with the market price."


    "It''s fine. Since you want to do this, I will just sell them at cost price. Though, I want you to test the bullet ability, including the types that wille out in the future. You can say it is an investment." Ayaka waved her hand.


    "I don''t mind." Evan nodded. "I can also save up some to buy other things."


    "In that case, we have a deal."


    They then shook hands.


    "I will keep practicing then."


    "Sure." Kai then brought everyone outside, idling around in the main room.


    He looked at them before taking out his device. It should be the usual time for Haruko to send a message, but it seemed she had gotten a little bit too busy.


    Only after another two hours that the message finally came.


    ''Ya, I am sorry since I am a bit toote this time. How are you? I hope you are fine. I have been following your news this whole time, and I am really proud of you.


    ''I have been joining the army since a few months ago, but considering the conflict between the Katsuragi Family and the Southern Family still continues, there is no big movement yet.


    ''And I also apologize since I can''t really give you any information about their war because I am in Korea right now, fighting to raise my ranks just like you. Well, I am training my squad to have the ability to help you in case you are returning here to solve all the grudges and gratitude you have here.


    ''Anyway, I believe we will have a big movement after winter because the conflict will slowly be lessened and turned into a cold war instead. During this time, I can''t do anything because they are going to protect everything about their information and the moment I dig it up, they will catch me.


    ''Hence, I am biding my time to build a personal unit to handle that situation, allowing me to help you in the future. And don''t worry about me, tell Tasha and the others to keep getting stronger, because I might overtake them.


    ''Last but not least, there is a rumor that Ayaka''s grandfather is still alive. I believe it ising from the southern family''s side, but I think this is credible.


    ''Considering the power of Kudo''s group in Tokyo, there were many families that wanted their power. However, they were too strong, considering they were once a number one weapon producer in the base.


    ''I think they never wanted to extinguish the entire Kudo Family because it is one of the chess pieces that can take down the tyrant of the south. If my spection is correct, then they are keeping Ayaka''s grandfather as a weapon when the Kudo Family enters United Asia again.


    ''And when you began showing your prestige in US Base, they started to ce more importance into it. This is still a rumor though, so don''t expect much. I will try to confirm the information.


    ''Talking about rumors, there is another rumor that the Katsuragi Family has absorbed every family in the north of United Asia and started expanding toward the south. In other words, they may take over Aomori, Akita, and Iwate soon. But this is also just a rumor, I need to find whether it is true or not. After all, if it were true, the Southern Family wouldn''t be able to stay still any longer.


    ''In any case, this is all I have to say. I wish you luck. See youter.''


    Kai pinched the bridge between two eyebrows and contemted this matter.


    "Kai?!" The girls obviously noticed and put down the matter at hand.


    "Did grandfather give you another trouble?" Michelle asked. The one who usually made Kai like this was her grandfather, so she thought it would be the case.


    "Nothing. Change of n, I will being to Ayaka''s house today."


    "Eh?!"


    "I am sorry, but this is an urgent thing. I don''t know if it''s possible though."


    Ayaka thought for a moment and said, "I will call my parents first."


    She then rose and called them in the corner.


    Meanwhile, Tasha and Michelle stared at him, waiting for an exnation.


    "There is a big movement in United Asia. Just like how I am improving both of my influence and power, the Katsuragi Family does the exact same thing. They are biding their time to turn every situation in their favor.


    "As much as I want to increase my influence, I can''t rush it because the citizens here will distrust the government, making my reputation bad. When the timees, I can''t use most of my ns. Hence, I am nning to increase my strength for the time being.


    "You can say there is only one more mission before we can have a nice holiday. However, I want to use this vacation to train myself because the time is near and the problems are too much for me to handle." Kai sighed.


    "Train¡­" The girls looked down, contemting this matter.


    "My father said okay." Ayaka had returned from the call and overheard his intention. She continued, "I don''t have a problem with that. I think we should separate for the time being, so we can improve our individual ability."


    Tasha nced at Ayaka''s expression and finally nodded. "I understand. I can probably ask for a personal training room and practice this technique that I always want toplete."


    "True. I can ask my family to do that as well, because I do feel something is pulling me back, as if something is telling me toplete certain magic in my mind first before doing everything else. There is also a new fighting style that I am currently refining." Michelle also gave confirmation.


    "I have no problem too." Ayaka nodded in agreement. "I have a thing that I want to try. Not gonna tell you what it is though."


    They then turned to Sofia, the only one who had yet to answer.


    "I doubt I can train here. Considering the timing for Julia, I will need to return to the base first with her during this holiday. However, I promise that I won''t ck in my practice and return after three months," said Sofia with a downcast look.


    To be honest, she had no help in this base if she wanted to practice her magic. After all, many high ranking people wanted her to stay away from Kai, so she didn''t snatch him from them.


    So, the best way to get stronger was to return to her base. This also meant that she needed to sacrifice three months from their agreement. But when one thought about it, they would think it was a good deal since she would gain Kai''s trust this way.


    Kai, on the other hand, added something that shocked the others. "During the training, I might probably have no time to reply to your message, so I apologize in advance."


    "Eh?" Michelle suddenly felt something was wrong as she realized what Kai wanted to do. "Are you sure?"


    "Yeah. I am going to practice with my teacher again, so it''s going to be a death march for me." Kai let out a long sigh, thinking the nightmare would soon start.

 Chapter 314 - United Asias Situation

    Later that day, Kai returned to his house first to change his clothes before going to Ayaka''s house.


    And as expected, he got a warm reception from Kudo Yoshihiro, her father. He had fun during the dinner, and it seemed when they built this ce again, they had emphasized the family even more.


    Maybe it was due to the loss of their grandfather that the family must spare time to have dinner together. The dinner also had nothing like a cold and silent atmosphere, but they still joked around, paying attention to their manner.


    Kai smiled at this. Although it looked unsightly, he just liked this type of family more because it was the only thing that united the family.


    After dinner, Kudo Yoshihiro stared at him with a mysterious gaze. It looked like he had trouble, but he also tried to look through Kai.


    "Is there anything wrong, Uncle?" Kai asked.


    "Nothing. I just realized that you are calling me Uncle, not sir like a certain someone. It means I win, right?" He slyly looked away.


    "¡­" Kai was dumbfounded when he talked about it. He never put a thought into this, so he didn''t know what to say regarding this matter.


    Because of the hardship they endured in the past, Kai had grown ustomed to call him uncle. And just like him, Nathan had been a strict grandfather in the past, so he becamefortable in calling him Sir. Of course, he called Michael with Uncle, but if Yoshihiro bragged about this to Nathan, there might be some frictions. It was a joke fight, but if the asion wasn''t right, the situation might turn ugly.


    "There is nothing wrong with that, right?" Kai decided to y it safe. "Besides, there is something that I want to tell you."


    "What is it?" Yoshihiro narrowed his eyes.


    "I have gotten news that there is a possibility that Sir Kudo Taro is still alive."


    nk.


    nk.


    Cough Cough.


    Ayaka and her mother dropped the sses in their hands while Yoshihiro choked because of the news.


    "I haven''t confirmed the news yet, but due to the scale of the previous Kudo Group, there is a chance that they are trying to control it to fight against the Southern Family. If I am not wrong, the one that attacked him was that Ikeda Kenzo, right? I once shed with him, and he let me go easily."


    "Is that true?" Ayaka mmed the table and rose from her seat. Kudo Chiyo also looked at him with disbelief.


    "Ikeda Kenzo is the current second-inmand in their operation, so I can''t see why he is letting my father go. I mean, I am happy that my father is still alive, but why?" Kudo Yoshihiro stuttered. He could give a better response to this, but his mind became a mess.


    "I am not sure about that. There is a chance that he is staying inside the Ikeda Family. If that is the case, his current treatment shouldn''t be too bad, and we will be able to rescue him easier in the future. If he is in the Katsuragi Family, we need to rescue him first before solving that family. Either way, I can''t do anything until I graduate." Kai let out a long sigh.


    Kudo Yoshihiro felt bad and moved at the same time. Kai''s consideration and help would be much appreciated, but he also didn''t know whether he was qualified to receive his help. Since the past, he had been burdening him with many problems to the point he almost died.


    He never expected that the guy in front of him that once he looked down actually became the national boyfriend. Well, it was only a rumor inside the base, saying that Kai''s prestige and skills were enough to shake any family.


    It wasn''t exaggerating because Kai had the help of the entire base itself and the president. The president already ordered that whoever touched him would be chased by the entire base. And even a position such as minister wouldn''t be enough to escape from this.


    Yoshihiro stared at Kai for a minute before nodding his head. "Thank you for everything you have done for us."


    "It''s nothing." Kai waved his hand as if it was not a big deal.


    "Since you have brought good news for us, I shall share all the information I have got from our spies that have been staying there this whole time." He took a deep breath and began his exnation. "As you already know, we have recalled the people we have left during that perilous situation.


    "Some of them decided to stay and kept sending information about what happened in United Asia. Due to this, we have gotten some useful information.


    "The first will be the current strength of each family. The leader of the entire Kyushu is the Southern Family. This has been known for at least a decade, so let''s not argue about this. However, Hokkaido is a bit special.


    "Katsuragi Family can control the situation at a certain level, but they are unable to control all families there, unlike Southern Family. This situation has changed when they have an S rank in their rank, Ikeda Kenzo.


    "They take the rein right now, and from our source, they have most likely finished uniting the entire Hokkaido under their banner through might and medicine.


    "Down to the south, they will arrive in the Tohoku region. And with the help of the Ikeda Family that is said to be the strongest family in the Tohoku region due to Ikeda Kenzo, they will most likely absorb them to wage war against Kyushu.


    "This will certainly create a power that will seriously harm United Asia. I have no more intention in staying there, but this is certainly a problem for you."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows, thinking how it would trouble him. However, he couldn''te up with a single reason, so he asked. "What kind¡ª"


    Just as he was about to ask, he remembered a certain person he left in United Asia.


    Yoshihiro looked at his shocked face and let out a long sigh. "It seems you have realized. That''s right. After conquering Tohoku, the Katsuragi Family will surely move again, absorbing either Kanto or Hokuriku Region.


    "Both are quite small in terms of area, but Kanto has a big poption there. If I am the Katsuragi Family, I will certainly absorb the Kanto region first.


    "And there is this little prefecture called Gunma. It''s in the middle of three regions. In other words, it''s the heart of the region. If I have settled down in Fukushima of Tohoku, I will surely go to Gunma since it will be closer to everywhere. I can go to Niigata, Tochigi, Saitama and so on.


    "I am sure you already know this. Yeah, the strongest family in Gunma is none other than the Yajima Family. That''s why the moment they conquer Tohoku, the Yajima Family will be in imminent danger.


    "If they are able to sniff about your rtionship with Yajima Haruko, I am afraid she will¡­"


    Bang!


    Kai mmed the table and gritted his teeth. "Are you crazy?"


    This sentence was not directed to Yoshihiro. Instead, Kai was angry toward the Katsuragi Family. He had underestimated their ambition.


    "Originally, they nned to handle the Southern Family first, but because you destroyed their n, they changed their strategy and conquered other ces first. If they managed to do that, they would surely rece the government.


    "And with the strength of seven regions, the Southern Family won''t stand a chance. Of course, the Southern Family is trying their best to persuade those in Chugoku and Shikoku Regions, upward their territory, but it''s not as good as Katsuragi Family.


    "After all, they are considered a mafia in that ce. And unlike the Katsuragi Family, they have no extraordinary features such as medicine, weapons, and other things. They are known only for their strength.


    "This is why the two regions distrust the Southern Family, ying hard to get. If the Southern Family uses force to control them, they will only be seen as tyrants, and sooner orter, they will be betrayed. In a war like this, getting stabbed from the back is thest thing you want to do.


    "Hence, the Katsuragi Family is going to win this long battle." Yoshihiro finished with a sigh. The matter was tooplicated.


    Kai closed his eyes and calmed down. He nced at Ayaka, who was smiling at him as if telling him that she would be on his side even if he wanted to join the war.


    Because of that, he tried to look for a bigger picture and asked. "Suppose the n continues smoothly, how long will the Katsuragi Family need to conquer Tohoku?"


    "Two years. That is how massive Ikeda Kenzo''s influence is in that region."


    "I don''t really care about United Asia, but it''s different if they are aiming at the Yajima Family. And when the war breaks out, there is a chance that the protectors appear to create more chaos. United Asia is the one handling entire Asia, so losing them is a great loss for us. Hence, I n to stop the war while fulfilling my revenge."


    "In that case, we are happy to cooperate." Yoshihiro nodded.


    "For now, I need more information about them. And before graduating, I will be a few stars general. Using that, I will conclude this matter." Kai nodded. "Of course, I will also try to rescue Sir Kudo Taro if the rumor about him is still alive is true."


    "I understand. I will ask my teams to keep investigating the matter."


    "Thanks." Kai nodded, thought for a moment and decided to leave after that.


    Ayaka didn''t stop him because she knew Kai had so many things to think about right now. She simply messaged him after he returned.

 Chapter 315 - Evans Request

    The next day, Kai brought his family to Miami, using the special service that Nathan and Ria gave for his effort in every mission. He and his family deserved that much.


    His parents were obviously overwhelmed by the service because they could enter the first beach opened in the world after the apocalypse. And the service provided by the government was everything but ordinary.


    Staying at the finest hotel and the top floor to boot, getting all services the hotel and the beach management provided, and many things else. The only instruction from the government was to make sure the family had an enjoyable vacation.


    It started getting chilly, so they didn''t go to the beach that much. Instead, James Carter rented a car and toured around the city, enjoying delicacies and attractions.


    The family tripsted for three days before returning to their home. Kai always smiled when he saw his parentsughing or smiling. Everything was worth it.


    As soon as he returned home, he found Evan had messaged himself.


    ''Can you call me when you have returned?''


    He read the message and immediately called him.


    "Hello, Captain."


    "Yep, you need something from me?"


    "One thing."


    "Ho? What is it?" Kai thought for a moment as an idea shed in his mind. "Do you want to quit the group?"


    "What did you think to even reach that conclusion?"


    "Nothing. It''s just you seem to be a bit different when you return from your mission, so I thought something must have happened in that mission. But considering there is no injury or whatsoever, I guess you may want to switch teams."


    "Nope. You can''t be more wrong than that, Captain. I have owed you many things since the first time I joined the group. Nheless, I want to inform you that I will always be with this group until graduation. As for after that, I am not entirely sure, considering I am someone who can heal. My power might be needed somewhere else."


    "I understand." Kai nodded. "So, what do you want to talk about?"


    "Can we meet up?"


    "Sure. When and where?"


    "How about today? I will let you decide the ce."


    "Sure enough. I have juste back, so only you have school today. Considering you want to meet me like this, it must be something important, so I guess it''s fine. Let''s talk in a coffee shop near the school, how about that?"


    "Alright."


    "We will meet after school ends."


    "I understand. Thank you."


    He then hung up and let out a long sigh. So many problems needed to be solved, and he couldn''t handle anything easily.


    Kai stared at an empty space, sorting all the thoughts he had. After that, he went toward the school and waited for Evan there.


    Half an hourter, Evan walked inside and found Kai inside. He immediately approached him and sat before him. When he saw the half-empty cup, he apologized. "Sorry for making you wait."


    "Nah, it''s fine. I am sorting my thoughts this whole time, so it doesn''t feel like I have been waiting for long." Kai waved his hand as if it was not a big problem. "So, what do you want to talk about?"


    "Actually, I want to discuss our next mission."


    "Next mission? It''s going to be a month away, you know?"


    "I know. Because of that, I need to inform you first."


    Kai frowned and realized it must be something that would take a long time to process, so he nodded. "Tell me."


    "Sure." Evan hesitated for a second before saying, "Actually, I want to request to participate in the next mission."


    "Eh?!" Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Isn''t that given?"


    "No, what I mean, the mission is only for two of us." Evan dropped the bomb, shocking Kai.


    He fell silent for a minute and asked. "Why?"


    "As you know, I have started practicing my shooting skill. I am nning to polish it even further on the battlefield. However¡­"


    "However, you won''t have that chance if others are participating." Kai continued Evan''s sentence.


    "As much as I don''t want to say it, then yes." He nodded. "And I want to show you my progress, so you can see whether it''s alright to let me wield a gun or not. After all, we are going together for another year.


    "If you tell me it''s going to be a mess, it''s better to seal it and only use it when I havee to the army. If it''s otherwise, I can start using it to support the team. My position won''t be the furthest one again. Instead, I will be moving along with Sofia to support you.


    "That''s why I would like you to see it beforehand." Evan looked down. The main reason for this was that he didn''t want the girls to get involved. Remembering thest mission, he realized how much he improved his strength when he was alone with Isabelle.


    The dangerous situation from back then was a reminder to him as well, so he asked Kai instead of Isabelle.


    Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, looking troubled. "Asking Isabelle might be the best way for this, but she is from another group. Michelle and the others can''t do missions as well if I agree to your terms. On the contrary, I can give them precious time to catch up with whatever they are working on.


    "The advantages and disadvantages for this are equal, so I can''t really decide. And since you ask me personally, it means you don''t want to involve the girls in this situation. I can understand that, but I really need to think about this.


    "In fact, I need to discuss this with my teacher because she is the one giving me the mission. Her original n would be calcting the strength of our six, so it will be very different if we are going without the girls¡­" Kai thought for a moment and asked. "Do you mind if I ask my Teacher first?"


    "Then¡­" Evan widened his eyes as his expression brightened.


    "Yeah. Personally, I agree with your request. I would like to see your potential in a fight, and there might be a huge leap in ourbat prowess as a team. Sacrificing this month''s mission is just a small price to pay. I will tell the girls about this, but I need to get confirmation from my teacher first."


    "I understand." Evan repeatedly nodded, staring at Kai with a happy expression.


    Kai smiled and called his teacher.


    "Yo! You are calling me? Such a rare asion? So, what do you want? If you want the medicine for pregnancy, I haven''t made it yet since you say you want to graduate first. I am working on your new sword right now. I even halt the progress for the medicine to stop your berserk state when activating your blood."


    "No, no. There is an issue I want to address."


    "Sure. Just tell me. Who do you want to beat up?"


    "Do you want me to be a violent person?"


    "Gahaha¡­ Don''t mind me then. So, what is your problem?"


    "My next mission¡­ I want to participate with only me and Evan."


    "Hoh?!" Her voice sounded amazed, not surprised or shocked. In fact, she found this amusing. "Sure."


    "You don''t want to hear the reason?"


    "Nah. Your judgment ability is not something I should bother anymore. I don''t mind hearing it though."


    "Well, it''s for Evan''s improvement as an attack magician."


    "Alright. I understand that well, I will approve it. Is Evan with you now?"


    "Yes. Why?"


    "No one told this to him yet, but do you know the reason he got a mission with only Isabelle?"


    "For his improvement, right?"


    "Yeah. But the real reason is to prepare him for his training during the three months holiday. He is going to train with a renowned magician from EU Base who specializes in poison."


    "I have put this in a speaker, so he can hear it too, you don''t mind, right?"


    "Sure. So, brat, now that you have listened to the n, what is your thought?"


    Evan blinked his eyes a few times, thinking the matter seriously. "I appreciate your efforts. Since it can make me stronger, I won''t say much about it. And there is one thing that I find strange. This is also another reason why I want to take a mission with only both of us."


    "Ho?! Tell me."


    "Apparently, my healing effect grew stronger during thest mission. I didn''t know the reason though. At least, I knew that the usual time got halved because of this."


    "Hmm¡­ You brat. From what I know, this might be your awakening. You know about Michelle''s Darkness Element that transformed into Shadow Element, right? This is a simr case. The magician that I will introduce you to is the same as well."


    Kai and Evan exchanged looks and kept listening.


    "From what I know, your Water Healing Magic has transformed into aplete Healing Magic. In this case, healing can also be interpreted as medicine. There are many medicines that can give you strength for a period of time, so I believe your ability is simr to this one.


    "The condition of awakening is different from person to person, so no need to think about it. As for your new magic, you need to experiment with it yourself, but since your base magic doesn''t really harm people, I believe this one is the same. Just make sure you don''t overdose someone, alright? Well, you can save the overdose symptom with your basic healing magic, so I won''t say much."


    "I understand." Evan nodded.


    "Since we have finished here, I will hang up this call."


    "Before that, I have something to say, Teacher." Kai stopped her.


    "What?"


    "I wille to your ce during the holiday to train."


    "¡­" She fell silent for a few minutes before a loud shout burst out the speaker. "Hoooooray! I shall make a party for myself!"


    "¡­"

 Chapter 316 - Laura

    "¡­" Evan stared at Kai with a weird expression.


    On one hand, he was slightly concerned about his well-being because he heard many things about her training being torture and such. On the other hand, he sympathized with Ria for not having Kai with her, especially with that sound of happinessing from the call.


    Kai shook his head and sighed. "Anyway, I will be calling you when the holidayes."


    "Sure. You can call me whenever."


    "Take care of your health too."


    "I am not going to drink. Just open up a juice or something and eat cakes. I am in the nice part right now, and your news has made me fired up." Riaughed and hung up.


    Kai then let out a long sigh and rested his head on the table. "Anyway, the problem is fixed now. I realize that the reason why you talk this early is because of my teacher, right?"


    "Yeah. I am just afraid that she has gotten a mission for you, so I feel bad if I ask you a bitter and have her change the mission. And there is no guarantee she will change it."


    "I just need to say thest piece, and she will change it even if I inform her at thest minute."


    Evan raised his eyebrows with a small smile. "Your teacher treasures you well¡­ I am envious."


    "I won''t deny that, but the excitement from earlier probably came from the fact that she could train with me again. Haiz, I feel that this three months holiday will surely kill me a few hundred times, no, more than a thousand times." Kai let out a long sigh.


    Evan was shocked when he realized Kai didn''t lie. He then remembered how Kai actually died more than ten thousand times in the past during the one-year training.


    Kai shrugged. "Either way, the n won''t change, so there is no need to overthink it. On the other hand, you should also keep practicing, so you can show me what you can achieve in this one month of peaceful days."


    "I understand. I won''t disappoint you." Evan nodded.


    Kai nodded back and watched Evan leaving. He then rxed for a little longer and decided to return to his house.


    The next day, the group did their job inside their usual room like nothing happened. Because of the severity of this matter, Kai decided to tell them after they got the mission.


    And just like that, three weeks passed by.


    A message came to them, telling Kai to meet the council president.


    Because this was the first time the two would meet face to face, Michelle decided to apany him.


    "Kai, where do you think the next mission is going to be?" Michelle asked. "This probably won''t be too big, right? Considering the one handling this is the student council president, not my grandfather."


    "Actually, I will probably go with only Evan this time."


    "Hm?" Isabelle tilted her head in confusion while narrowing her eyes.


    "I had a talk with Evan a few weeks ago and requested my teacher to assign the mission only to Evan and me this time. That''s why I believe we won''t get a big mission."


    "This is the first time you said this¡­"


    "Yeah. I thought the rest would be against this, so I kept it a secret until we received the mission."


    "I see." Michelle nodded with a sigh.


    "You are not angry?"


    "Nope. It''s fine to have that, and I am sure you are not someone who epted something like that without any apparent reasons. Although it''s true that I want to show you my new fighting style, I will refrain myself after the three months training. At that time, you might lose against me, you know."


    "Heh." Kai smiled. "I am looking forward to it."


    "The others also have started their training and achieved something from that. Now, I am wondering if the boys are fighting the girls in our group, who will win¡­" Michelle grinned as if she was trying to taunt him.


    "That is a good idea. Maybe we should do that once before the holiday."


    "Sure. I will ask the others about this. But make sure you don''t pull your punches just because we are your girlfriends, you know."


    "It will be just an insult to you girls, so I won''t do that. Well, I will still not attack you in a brutal way, my heart can''t withstand seeing that." Kai shrugged.


    "That is good enough." Michelle nodded. "Considering the timing of this mission, we will hold it on thest day of school. What do you think?"


    "Sure." Kai nodded as they arrived at the student council room. He knocked on the door a few times until there was a responseing from the inside, telling them toe in.


    He then pushed the door as both entered the room, finding a woman sitting in the president''s seat. She had light blue hair reaching her waist and sharp blue eyes.


    Next to her stood a woman that seemed to have just served the piping hot tea for the president.


    "Greetings. This is our first meeting, I guess." The woman smiled and stretched her hand as if asking Kai to take a seat.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded. "Still, I have heard of your reputation in school, so nice to meet you, president Laura."


    "Yeah. I have gotten the instruction from my grandfather, so I won''t do anything against you. I think I need to tell you this first¡­" She sighed.


    "Haha¡­ I just don''t want an extra problem. As long as I don''t have any probleming from school, I think I can lead aid-back school life."


    "Aid-back school life huh. I can rte since you have missions far more dangerous than any of us. That''s also the reason I want to contact you. I simply can''t see you as a patriot, considering you just came to this base a year ago."


    "You¡ª" Michelle wanted to rebuke her, but Kai simply waved his hand and stopped her.


    "I know, and I don''t have any intention in calling me a patriot. I am also not a patriot of United Asia." Kai shook his head.


    She narrowed her eyes and sighed. "I see. In that case, let''s cut to the chase, shall we?"


    "Much appreciated."


    "Then, this is your mission." She handed a paper to him.


    Kai read it with Michelle.


    "In the middle of Chile, there is a disturbance caused by magical beasts. To be more specific, it''s on the west of our Raid Mission. They have spotted around a thousand magical beastsing from there, and it will go more and more as time goes on."


    "The reason?" Kai asked.


    "They were hit by a rare typhoon recently, causing destruction in the area. Because of this typhoon, the magical beasts are pushing back. Hence, the new base there wants you to eliminate the leaders of these magical beasts."


    "Is there any report about the leaders?"


    "No."


    "So, they want me to investigate this myself?"


    "Nope. But ording to them, they areing from the mountain range, so there is only one ce to find the leaders. It''s hard for the army because the magical beasts will surely attack them, but you are different. They want you to annihte the leaders while they are paying attention to the army."


    "Still, the leaders won''t be unguarded."


    "But it''s not going to be as much as the ones attacking the army."


    Kai stared at her and nodded. "I understand the gist of the mission. I will confirm it again, I only need to take down the leaders, right?"


    "Yes. But because we haven''t identified which are the leaders, you need to check every powerful beast in the area."


    "I don''t mind. It won''t take too long since I can find them easily." Kai nodded.


    "Then, there is one more thing I need to ask you."


    "Sure. What is it?"


    "The moment your sister, Tasha Carter, leaves the group¡­ What will you do?"


    Kai twitched his eyebrows as he thought she wanted to take her away. But he realized that graduation was around the corner. He calmed himself and sighed. "Why do you ask?"


    "I mean, your score will be reset to zero because she graduates. You won''t be in the top one hundred anymore unless you finish a couple of missions."


    "I will just ask the government for a mission." Kai nodded.


    "There is actually another way to get it back. Do you want to hear it?"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Michelle.


    "Now that you mention it, I haven''t checked the rank for a long time." Michelle nodded and opened her device, finding the school rank. And it turned out they had been staying in 5th for a long time.


    "Well, those who are in the top four are third years, including me, so I don''t me you for getting 5th. When the third years graduate, we will leave the ranking, including you who have Tasha Carter."


    "Fair enough. So, what is your point?"


    "You will probably reach top rank with this pace, so I know there will be unrest within the students. Because most of us are taking many points from the group battles to stay ahead of you, they will question the ability of your team.


    "After all, you got those points from the government itself and never had any other group battle. No one could judge your ability and think that you are just getting everything from your influence. I know you don''t care, but many will happen to this school because of that.


    "So, I am here to propose a n. This will be a win-win solution. Would you like to hear it?"


    Kai nced at Michelle and nodded. "Sure. Tell us."


    "I want you to hold a group battle just once more."

 Chapter 317 - A Bet

    "I want you to hold a group battle. Just once more," said Laura with a serious expression.


    "Ho?!" Kai tried to see the hidden meaning behind this, but he couldn''te up with anything because he didn''t really entangle himself with the matter in school.


    "How are you going to do that? Don''t tell me it will be us fighting a few groups?" Michelle seemed to have realized her true intention.


    "Indeed. The moment your points return to zero, you can fight against the next top five groups in the academy. Beforeing to a conclusion, I would like to exin everything first¡­" Laura stared at Kai, asking for his opinion.


    "Okay."


    "Certainly." Laura nodded. "And I am sure you already know this, but because they keep doing missions with your group, they, the Eagle Group, will be one of the top five groups. However, I understand if you don''t want to fight them, so we can do the battle with only the other four.


    "This way, the new students will be able to see the strength of the current top five and also your group. From what I have heard, your group is very different from any of us here to the point that not even my group can hold a candle against your group.


    "Hence, even if I have graduated at that time, I would like to set up this group match. I have a few reasons for this. First, we can set up a minimum requirement for the new students, allowing them to see the top groups'' strength.


    "Second will be the strength of our ace, which is your group. Since your reputation has be well-known, the number of new students this year explodes. There are at least five times from our normal applicants, making the teachers do another round of elimination to select forty percent of them.


    "The third reason is to make you their role model. As you might know, many have the same opinion as me, considering you as an outsider. Although your contribution is recorded in the media and government, the people haven''t witnessed anything yet. Hence, they think you are only a scapegoat for the government to incite the eagerness of the new generation.


    "Thest reason is due to the pressureing from the teachers and higher-ups in this school. I know that everything can be solved with your influence, but can you treat it as your contribution to this school?" She finished her exnation with a sigh.


    Kai looked down while stroking his chin a few times, falling into deep thought. "I see. This is a peculiar situation. First of all, you want me to win against four top groups while showing my skills. At the same time, I need to pull my punches for a moment, so the four groups can show their skills, allowing the students to see the gap between them.


    "Then, after everything is prepared, I will be defeating them. The problem is we won''t have any agreement with the four groups and treat this as a scripted fight.


    "No matter how good a scripted fight is, some might still see through it. That''s why you want to hold this fight with this condition." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Laura admitted defeat and answered. "You are really¡­ Never mind. Yes, that''s the gist of the situation. But there is still an agreement between you and the four teams."


    "And what would that be?"


    "It''s the reward in case you win. Have you forgotten it already, the reason why I proposed this?"


    "Ah! Points."


    "Yes. Because their points won''t be zero like yours, they will have around a hundred thousand points before graduation. Even if we take only ten percent of their points, you will get at least forty thousand points in the case you win. This should be enough for you to return to your top one hundred positions."


    Kai felt this proposal was not bad at all. The forty thousand points were slightly higher than the one he neededst year to enter the top one hundred, so it wasn''t a bad fight to get all those points in a single match.


    On the other hand, he also wanted to see how strong his group ispared to other groups. After all, they had fought against many battles at a far higher level, so he wanted to see the gap between them.


    "And I have heard that Sofia Campbell will need to return to EU Base at that time, right? This means your group will only have four people, which is perfect. What do you think about this? One person fights one group." She smiled, offering a solution.


    "There are two missing parts in your proposal earlier." Kai raised two fingers. "First will be the timing. If you have heard that Sofia Campbell will return, you must have heard that I also will go with her for a few months."


    "Indeed. That''s why I can speed up some things, allowing you to fight on the transition date. We can simply make a special announcement about your fight, and it will settle it. After all, I know that you won''t like it if your group gets low treatment during your stay there." She thought for a moment. "There is approximately one month for the graduation to the first day of the school. We can choose a date within that one month, and you can choose it yourself. I will prepare the stage for you."


    "Will the studentse?"


    "If it''s only a battle between two top groups, half of them will surelye. However, this is different. This is your group fighting against four top groups. It will incite so much hype from them to the point, the new graduates, including me, will see that match before going to the army."


    Seeing her confident face, Kai let out a sigh and agreed. "Alright. I will leave this matter to you."


    "Sure." She nodded. "What is the second missing piece?"


    "Evan''s strength. Evan is our healer, so are you sure you want to consider him as ourbatants?"


    "Now that you mention it, I forgot that he could only use healing magic¡­ Even all the attack magic he used will be converted to healing magic in the end." She facepalmed. "How could I forget about this¡­ What a blunder."


    "Well, there are two solutions. First, Evan and I will fight together. This way, it can still be counted as two people fighting two groups." Kai smiled. He remembered how Evan wanted to show his progress in the mission, so he believed he should be able to support him.


    "Hmm¡­ It can be considered as such, but it is a bit risky, don''t you think?"


    "I agree. But it will depend on the second solution." Kai smiled. "I will be training Evan to be strong enough to defeat the whole group. I don''t know what will happen, but even if he loses, no one will speak ill about him. After all, I am sure he will put up a great fight before that."


    "Indeed. With his identity as a healer, it''s normal to be regarded as a great fighter if he can put up a great fight against a top group." She agreed.


    "Still, I am wondering why you went all the way to set up this fight¡­" Kai furrowed her eyebrows, finding something odd about this whole thing.


    Although it looked like she wanted to mess him up with this arrangement, Kai knew that her intention was pure. She truly wanted to help him.


    If she answered she just wanted to help all students as the president, Kai would doubt it.


    However, the next thing they saw shocked him and Michelle.


    Laura looked away embarrassedly. There was a tinge red on her cheek as her face became hot. "We-well, you and your group have been together with Eagle Group, right? I just want to thank you."


    It took them a whole minute to process her words before Kai and Michelle exchanged looks and chuckled.


    The reason turned out to be Tommy. He had been showing huge progress in his strength during the coboration between the Lion Group and Eagle Group.


    "Wha¡ª" The president became flustered as she waved both hands as if telling them to forget it, but her mouth said otherwise. "But he is still not good enough. He needs to learn more and keep increasing his strength. And there is this¡ª"


    She kept talking for a few minutes before she realized what she had done and looked down while covering her face with her hands. "¡ªUah! What did I just say¡­ Please forget about it. Don''t let him know."


    "This girl is that, right¡­" Kai nced at Michelle with a smug smile.


    "Yeah¡­ Shockingly, yeah."


    "There you have it¡­ She just wants the best for him, albeit it looks like she is ordering him around. It looks that way though. And you know what? She can''t stop talking about him when we gather in this ce, ugh, her voice is killing me." Her assistant finally opened her mouth while patting her head. "There there¡­"


    "Wha¡ª You are bullying me. Uuuhh¡­"


    "President Laura¡­ Shall we have a bet?" Kai smirked.


    "A bet?" Her face was still red, and her eyes kept wandering away, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "Yeah. Each of my group will fight against one group without any help. If the top groups manage to defeat even a single of us, you can consider this as my loss. I will hide this from Tommy. But if we win, I want you to have a date with Tommy and tell him the truth. This can be served as a motivation for my group as well... So, how is it? Since Evan is joining as a solo participant like me and the others, the odds are against me." Kai smirked.


    Michelle sighed inwardly, knowing that Kai wanted to help Tommy because he was a member of Eagle Group.


    "I¡ª" Laura didn''t know whether she should ept it or not. But considering he might tell Tommy the truth, she nodded while pouting. "I agree."

 Chapter 318 - Talk

    "Good." Kai nodded before handing the paper to Michelle. "We will talk about the details at ater date. Is that alright with you?"


    "Yeah. I need your confirmation first before nning everything. And now that I have received it, I will begin¡­ It will take a few months, but it will surely finish in April or May. We will talk again at that time." She nodded in agreement, but she still had a hard time hiding her embarrassment.


    "Alright. I will leave this matter in your hand." Kai nodded. "What are you going to do with the other four teams? Will you inform them about this? Or have you informed them?"


    "I haven''t told them anything about this because they will surely get angry."


    "Sure enough. To challenge my group alone is a kind of looking down on them."


    "But don''t worry, I will persuade them after at least half of my n has taken ce in this. You don''t need to worry about it because I will make sure they use their full strength to fight you by that time."


    Kai nodded and thought for a moment. "I will also handle anything from my side."


    "Sure."


    Kai and Michelle then left the room, returning to their loved room.


    As soon as they entered, the thought about telling them immediately vanished from his mind. First, he thought it would be better to tell Tasha a bitter because he epted this was due to her graduation.


    Sofia also had the same reason as she would leave the group at that time, so this battle didn''t really concern her.


    He could tell Evan while doing the mission in Michelle''s hand right now, so that left Ayaka. Since it was only one person, Kai nced at Michelle, signaling something.


    Sensing his gaze, she nodded as if she understood the meaning. He had told her about it while walking back, so she would be the one to inform Ayaka when Kai left for a mission with Evan.


    "Anyway, this is the mission." Isabelle handed the mission paper to Evan. "Prepare yourself to meet the expectations ced on your shoulders."


    "I will do my best." Evan nodded and read the mission.


    After that, Kai picked up the research paper he read earlier, albeit everyone except Kai had their own research paper because they would use the meaningful holiday to increase their strength. None of them wanted to let others stay ahead.


    Kai nodded and continued his job until Evan asked him.


    "When are we going?"


    "It will be in three days. It will take a few days in normal circumstances, so I don''t want our schedule to be packed up. Meanwhile, we will also hold a battle among ourselves. It will be me versus you guys on thest day before the holiday."


    "I see." Evan nodded and asked, "What is the n?"


    "I won''t think about aplicated one. We will simply swipe them up from one area to another while finding the leaders. It will take a bit longer, but I am sure you will gain a lot during this time."


    "Thank you." Evan smiled and agreed to the arrangement. Although it was his selfish wish to do the mission with only the two of them, Kai still thought the best.


    "I am going to be harsh on you during this mission, okay?"


    "Sure. I will be sure to keep up with you."


    "That''s good then. We shall leave in two days and stay a night in the current base to observe the situation. We will start our mission on the third day."


    "Oh?!" Evan was surprised as to why he made this arrangement. Usually, Kai would surely leave at thest minute or the exact same date, so they didn''t need to wait that long. But it seemed he had another reason for doing so.


    Nheless, Evan had no reason to reject it. "Alright then."


    The day passed just like that. The following day had no difference except for Evan and Kai discussing the details of their ns and the preparations. As for the fourdies, they had their own talks during this time.


    And finally, the day hade. Kai met Evan in front of the school, heading toward the newest Military Base built in Argentina.


    "Hmm¡­ So, this is what it looks like when the base is in the middle of construction." Evan muttered while looking at the window.


    They were flying above them right now, giving a nice view of the beast from the air.


    "Yeah. We couldn''t cross Chile this time because it will be dangerous, so I couldn''t scout the magical beasts from the air. That''s why I will get some information from the base first."


    "Is that why you want toe earlier?"


    "It is one of the reasons. The other reason is to use the time to listen to everyone''s conversation. With a scale of mission this big, I believe the other soldiers will know it as well. I can gather a few interesting information with the rumors that are spreading among the soldiers." Kai smirked.


    "Now I understand." Evan nodded. "By the way, what do you think about this base, Kai?"


    "Hmm." Kai observed the base for a moment and said, "It''s going to be difficult to fight arge battle using this base. But it will be a different case if the constructions have finished."


    "¡­" Evan fell silent as though Kai just answered something that waspletely different than his expectation. He looked at many construction workers and their equipment. The process itself was indeed fast, considering they used around a thousand construction workers to finish this job.


    But it was necessary because they needed to tackle many magical beasts at the very front.


    "Anyway, I have something to tell you."


    Evan tilted his head in confusion. "What is it?"


    "We are going to fight the top four groups as soon as Tasha graduates. And each of us needs to take on a single group."


    "As soon as Tasha graduates? And each of us needs to take them by ourselves?" Evan widened his eyes. With these two points alone, he knew it would be the time they reset their points as Tasha left the group. At the same time, Sofia would also return to the EU base, allowing them to match their numbers.


    Still, Evan couldn''t believe whether he was able to fight a single group alone or not. "Are you sure?"


    "Yeah. And the only way to win is for all of us to beat them." Kai smiled.


    Evan facepalmed and sighed. "Oh my goodness¡­ Captain, don''t you put too much expectation on me?"


    "Haha¡­ You will need to train during the holiday with this in mind." Kai grinned. "For the time being, there is a big advantage you have right now."


    "What would that be?" Evan furrowed his eyebrows.


    "It''s your new healing magic. What else?"


    "Ah!" He just researched his new magic and learned that it had a second ability. Other than healing people, he could enhance people''s abilities this time and boost their metabolism. This ability will mainly increase their physical ability.


    "If your performance suddenly goes up, it will surely shock them for a moment. Although we can''t underestimate the top groups in this academy, you should be able to take one of them with that surprise attack. I am sure that all the experiences you have will allow you to do that."


    "Well, I will take the weakest group because that''s the only chance I can win." He shrugged. "After all, I am just a newborn baby to them."


    "Nope." Kai shook his head. "You are the ancient one that just woke up again."


    "!!!" Evan was surprised. He must mean about his experiences during his hard time with Isabelle. "Haiz¡­"


    "I didn''t mean to dig up your past, but when I was searching about Isabelle for the group battle, I found this information. Well, that''s also why you can have that fighting sense when you were training with me, right?"


    "Yeah." Evan smiled. "That wasn''t the greatest memory, but it was enjoyable. Although I didn''t manage to improve, I understood more than I could imagine. Unfortunately, it only appeared after training again with you... After all, your brutal training almost instilled a trauma in my heart, you know."


    "Ahaha¡­ The fight to the death is the best way to stimte someone''s talent. My teacher said that. And I believed that as well. The proof is you." He smirked.


    "As expected, like teacher like student. Both of you are a sadist." Evan shook his head. "I am still thankful for that though."


    "Haha¡­ But seriously, I am hoping you can show me your capability during this mission." Kai smiled. "We don''t have much time for this uing battle."


    "It''s fine. I will make sure to catch up. Even if I need to be beaten up, I can simply heal myself with my magic. I will just need to avoid their killing blows, and I will be fine. Just like you said, I might be able to create a gap with my enhanced physical ability¡­ It will be for a moment, but I am sure I can heal myself during that period."


    "The only thing you need is attacking ability then." Kai nodded.


    "Yeah. I am still using one pistol at the moment, but my goal is to use two to increase my firepower."


    "Alright." Kai nodded.


    They then waited for a few minutes until the helicopternded inside the base.


    As soon as Kai came out of the helicopter, he was surprised by the two peopleing toward him.


    He simply didn''t expect to meet two familiar faces in this base.


    "General Paolo and General Erica." Kai widened his eyes before he instinctively saluted.

 Chapter 319 - Mission

    "General Paolo and General Erica."


    "Yo!" Paolo waved his hand while grinning as if he had expected him toe.


    Meanwhile, Erica nodded to him and saluted back. "Good work foring here."


    "Yes." Kai shook their hands before introducing Evan. "This is my friend who will finish this mission with me, Evan Young."


    "I know you! You were the one who healed our soldiers in the war." Paolo nodded and shook Evan''s hand.


    "Nice to meet you." Erica also did the same.


    "Still, I never expected to see both of you here." Kai chuckled, not knowing whether to feel relief because he met an acquaintance or feel pressured because they became his boss.


    "As you already know, I am the muscle while she is the brain. During the construction process, she is the master in charge of construction and the deployment of the army, while I am the one protecting this base. The others can''t defeat us at this, so we are tasked toplete the construction process here."


    "I see." Kai nodded. He had witnessed Erica''s brilliance, so he knew it wasn''t an empty word. As for Paolo, his strength could be considered top ss because he rose through the ranks with his prowess alone. With these two, the base shouldn''t have any problems.


    "We have heard the report about youing, so it''s better to greet you here," said Erica while stretching her hand in the opposite direction. "Now, let''s go inside."


    Kai nodded and followed the couple.


    They walked toward the meeting room where the couple and themanders under them met. Paolo took the front seat while Erica prepared the presentation. Kai and Evan took their seats as well and waited.


    "While we are waiting, I want to rify first. You two are going to be the only onesing, right?"


    "Yes. Because of a few reasons, only us who are going toplete the mission." Kai nodded.


    "Alright." Paolo nodded without saying much. He had deep satisfaction with Kai''s performance and had been digging all his information. He realized that if Kai said two people are enough, it would be enough. Although he would ask a few questions if the condition became truly ridiculous, he would be satisfied with a good exnation from Kai.


    "Still, don''t underestimate the magical beasts that much, alright?" Erica warned them with a smile.


    "I understand." Kai nodded. "Is there something suspicious around here?"


    He never asked this question during his mission in Yukon Territory because it was too far from where the protectors usually spotted. However, this base was near the ce where they fought against the S rank spider, so him asking something like that was nothing extraordinary.


    "I don''t think so. There are a few things that can be questioned, but there is nothing extraordinary. I doubt there will be a protector around." Erica shook her head.


    "Yeah. Maybe they have taken too much loss during thest battle¡­ After all, they have lost two protectors at the same time. As for the magical beasts, I doubt they will run out anytime soon." Paolo sighed.


    "Now that you mention it, this ce has be the frontline, right? How many soldiers are there in this base?" Kai asked.


    "Because we have a joint operation with the military base in Chile, we only have seventy thousand soldiers. We ce ten thousand around the coast to watch out any iing enemies from the sea and forty thousand to expand our border."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Where are the other twenty thousand?"


    "Ten thousand are our reserve soldiers¡­ Basically, they are the soldiers you can see around the base. The other ten thousand are helping Chile right now."


    "I see." Kai thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, how many soldiers do we have in the southern frontier?"


    "Because we need to spare soldiers around the base and the military base in each region and the fact that this era is filled with blood, we have around fifteen million soldiers¡­ Well, half of them are in the reserve army while the other half are scattered." Paolo thought for a bit. "Since we have that much, do you think we should spare more for thest mission?"


    "Yes¡­" Kai nodded.


    "That''s what I thought at first, but not possible. Maybe because you are too focused on each region battle, you can''t see it now, but if you are looking at the entire base, we don''t have anywhere enough to speed up our process¡­"


    "An entire base, huh¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes. "I see. I also need to see the number of casualties and the threats."


    "Yep. There was a big threat from the protectors, so many soldiers reinforced each region, leaving only us with tens of thousand soldiers. And the fact that the retired soldiers are too much, we can''t really spend more just to get them injured."


    "While fighting, we need to maintain the number and other things¡­ It seems that my view is still too narrow."


    "I don''t say it''s too narrow. You just haven''t started experiencing how those people in the base control the soldier distribution. Trust me, I have seen it once and don''t want to see it again. I simply can''t handle it." Paoloughed.


    "Well, they are thinking about how to distribute soldiers and resources to us. Meanwhile, we, the field generals, are required to use what we''ve got to destroy magical beasts. That''s all."


    "Yes. I can see that." Kai nodded. "Thank you. This is new to me."


    "Haha, you haven''t joined the army yet, so don''t think much about it." Erica shook her head. "Anyway, let''s go back to the point."


    Kai nodded, looking at the map projected on a whiteboard.


    "As you already know, we are coborating with Chile Military Base in this campaign. After the spider died, the control that it had in this region disappeared. Many powerful beasts, intelligent or not, started making their own territories.


    "There are some that don''t want to adhere to this and banded together to challenge those beasts that have territories. Unfortunately, during this process, they create another territory in ours. Hence, we are eliminating them right now."


    Kai looked down and nodded. He was slightly surprised by the control that an S rank magical beast had over their territory. And it turned out that their territory was bigger than he expected.


    He never thought this once, but this made him understand the fact that killing an S rank magical beast would lead the magical beasts to make their own territory. This proved how everything couldn''t be resolved just by killing their leaders, but¡­


    "Of course, there is also an advantage to kill the strongest beast first or you can say their leader. First, they will lose the leadership, stopping the chain ofmand from the magical beasts.


    "In other words, we don''t need to fight one million beasts in a single time. Instead, we can fight one hundred thousand ten times. Thetter will require fewer resources than the former, so it will benefit us even though it will take a bit longer.


    "Anyway, some of these beasts are making their territory now, and their numbers are around eighty thousand. This is a huge number, but we are nning to kill their leaders first to scatter the magical beasts even further before eliminating them one by one.


    "And this mission lies on your shoulder now." Erica finished her exnation with a smile.


    "Oi, oi. We are talking about eighty thousand magical beasts, you know¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "I know. However, not all of them are fighting us. Half of them are fighting those leaders as they are trying to snatch their territory to increase their power. Because of that, it will be a battle of time. Suppose we can kill the leaders before they absorb another territory. In that case, we should be able to eliminate the rest within one or two weeks.


    "Hence, your mission is to sneak around them while most of the magical beasts are paying attention to us." Erica finished the exnation with an order.


    "What is the time limit?"


    "From what we have seen, there are a few leadersing to the territory beside them and almost sessfully kill their leader, so¡­ Around three days starting from tomorrow?"


    "Hmm." Kai looked down, falling into deep thought.


    "Do you have a suggestion?"


    "If we are assuming the prediction is correct, I will use the first day to reduce their number. Then, the second day will be where I kill the leaders. This way, the soldiers can upy the territory. However, I would like the soldiers to stop there.


    "Since they want the territory, just let them kill the magical beast in charge there. I am sure they are going to return to the original territory to inform their friends about it. That''s where we areing."


    Erica furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you think the magical beasts are that intelligent?"


    "Nope. It''s just the basic instinct. Even if they are magical beasts, they are originally an animal. It makes me sick to say this, but most of the time, animals are more trustable than humans¡­ So, I am sure they will return."


    "In that case, I will inform the Chile Military Base to hold their position. Do you want to lead the soldiers too?"


    "No. My mission this time is to kill the leaders, so I will simply do just that." Kai shook his head.


    "That is a shame, but that''s inevitable. If there is a different situation, we have a fewmanders there. I will give you a written order to take over the army if the situation goes wrong."


    "I understand. I just hope it''s not necessary." Kai nodded.


    They then talked a few more things before a soldier led them to their own room to rest.

 Chapter 320 - Mens Talk

    The next day, Kai woke up early in the morning and immediately headed outside to wash his hair. It was a bit cold today, considering it was near Christmas already.


    Evan woke up not long after him, finding Kai outside.


    "It has be a bit cold¡­ Isn''t it?" Evan asked while shaking.


    "What are you saying? We are in Argentina, you know. It''s already Spring."


    "It''s still cold though."


    "You can go run for half an hour to warm your body." Kai smirked.


    "I¡­" He turned around and walked inside. "I shall make a coffee instead."


    "Make me one too. Same as you."


    "Sure thing."


    Kai then turned around and looked around with a serious expression. He never went to a base in the middle of construction, so he was a bit curious as to why everyone was a bit tense. Even the information he gathered yesterday was about how they needed to prepare for the worst.


    However, he soon got the answer. Although they had secured a border down to the south, it was not like they were far from this base. And the fact that the formation in Chile got broken through, they believed there might be another attack like that, creating a heavy atmosphere around the base.


    He sighed and decided to go back inside, eating his breakfast and getting some canned food for their ration.


    After that, Erica led them outside and lent them a truck. Kai was the one driving while Evan checked all their equipment behind.


    It took them over five hours just to arrive near the location, and Kai intentionally stopped a bit farther from the two armies and the magical beasts.


    If the army was in the south while the army from the new base upied the east and the army from Chile came from the north, Kai was situated in the northeast, allowing them to reinforce either army.


    However, Kai''s choice was a bit unique despite choosing that ce as his camp.


    "Kai¡­ Are you serious about this?" Evan stared at him in disbelief after listening to his n.


    "Yeah. We are going to strike from the middle. Because the magical beasts are upied by the two armies, the middle area won''t be that thick, so it''s perfect for checking your ability."


    "But¡­" He was still not convinced. Although it was not the thickest part, the magical beasts might turn around and eliminate them first instead, so he felt it was too dangerous to go there. "I believe we should attack them from the side¡­ Probably going from the left side of the army on our left. It might be a bit too the coast, but I believe that is the best ce to hunt them."


    "Yeah, it''s the perfect ce." Kai nodded in agreement.


    And this only confused Evan more. "If that is the case, then¡­"


    "Unfortunately, the magical beasts will surely not allow us to make a surprise attack for the second time, right?"


    "!!!" Evan finally realized why Kai dared to endanger himself.


    "It''s 1 PM right now, so even if we fight, it will stop at 6-7 PM. It will be too dangerous to fight during the night. We shall let the army handle it themselves, and because we attack them from this direction, they will face the two armies first before arriving at our doorstep." Kai smirked.


    "Then¡­" Listening to his n, Evan immediately looked at the map again and understood his npletely. "I see. The next day is the day where we kill the leaders. Today, we can infiltrate a bit deeper to their ranks, so you can listen to their movements to discern which ones are the leaders because attacking the middle allows us to get closer to them¡­"


    "Exactly so." Kai smiled. "After scouting the area with my ears, we shall strike all the ces I have marked to eliminate all the leaders. And that will be the perfect time to use your n to make a sneak attack on them."


    Evan let out a long sigh. "I am really no match for you."


    "No, no. The fact that you can discern my n is already enough. It means you have been improving at a great rate. I am looking forward to your achievement after the three months training." He smirked. "We can''t lose, or else we won''t have a helicopter for our mission¡­"


    "I will definitely try hard for myself and my heart. I am sure that not only Isabelle will not spare me, but Michelle will also lecture me for a long time and keep nagging every time we go on a mission."


    "I can certainly see that." Kai nodded in understanding. "I just hope that she won''t vent it on me."


    "You sure have it rough, huh. I mean, you have multiple girls with you while I only have Isabelle. At the very least, my life will be peaceful for a long time¡­"


    "Haha¡­ They are very understanding, so I won''t say much."


    "True enough. You have Michelle, Tasha, Ayaka, and your childhood friend. By the way, are you going to keep ignoring Sofia''s advance?" Evan asked.


    "Sofia, huh." Kai let out a long sigh. "Yes. As long as ''I love him, so the base can get benefits AS WELL,'' I will keep ignoring her. I don''t care about which base I am in, but I certainly don''t want to have someone with that thought in mind."


    "Fair enough. We are building a family here. If they are thinking of the base more than family, you will ignore them¡­ I can rte because I might do the same thing." Evan nodded. "But many don''t think like you do, you know."


    "I know. Anyway, I am nning to draw my line for that and let fate take over this."


    "Haha¡­ Though I am wondering if you are going to simply love someone who loves you back? Or maybe in the future, you have a new teammate, and she loves you. Will you love her back?" Evan made a smug smile as if he just asked a hard question.


    "That''s a good question. Unfortunately, I have no answer for that." Kai shook his head. "But I do have a maximum limit. I don''t want to have so many wives, you know."


    "Fair enough. Too much is a problem as well. There might even be a civil war between the wives in the future¡­ Not that I hope you experience such a thing."


    "True. Anyway, I won''t have that many because I don''t want to handle many problems in the family." Kai sighed.


    "Fair enough."


    "What if Isabelle wants you to have a second wife? Or maybe your family gets you another one?" Kai smirked. Since Evan had been asking the whole time, he decided to strike back with this question.


    "Ah¡­" Evan realized Kai''s intention, but he needed to answer since Kai answered his question. "If it''s the former, I will see her myself and take her to meet Isabelle. If it''s thetter, I will fight it out with my family until we get a solution."


    "Haha¡­ Sounds like you¡­ But I thought you never fought it out with your parents before?"


    "Ehm, yeah. It was due to my personality, but I have a responsibility now¡­ I can''t just abandon it, right?" Evan put on a genuine smile.


    "Haha, it seems after getting together with Isabelle, you have started to man up." Kaiughed.


    "Please call it responsibility¡­" Evan corrected him. "And we should get going¡­"


    "True. By the way, do you bring your suppressor?" Kai asked.


    "Yes." Evan walked to the truck and grabbed two white cases, presenting them to Kai. He then opened it and showed a white gun with aplicated design. It seemed it was customized to fit his needs.


    "As expected of Kudo Group, they are good." Kai nodded.


    "Yes. It suits me perfectly. I have tested the power as well. I won''t have a problem killing A rank magical beast unless they have a very hard shell. With my current healing ability, my mobility has increased too, so you don''t need to worry about me that much." Evan assured him.


    "That''s good."


    Evan then picked up the round white suppressor next to the gun and put it on.


    Kai was curious about the second case, so he opened it, only to find many magazines.


    "I also got a holster that has been customized to hold not only my gun but also twenty rounds of magazines. In total, I can shoot for four hundred times before resupplying in the camp."


    "I see. Twenty bullets each mag¡­ It''s good enough. Your position is to support us from behind, so I don''t think you will need that many bullets each day, but I think it''s fine to bring that much if you have enough strength to carry them." Kai looked at him with a serious expression.


    "Yes." He nodded and inserted the magazine before shooting the ground once.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and realized what he meant by shooting the ground. "I think the sound is low enough for us to not get noticed. At least, it will have around ten to twenty meters in diameter before the sound bes hard to hear."


    Evan nodded.


    "Prepare yourself now. We are going to the front line in ten minutes."


    "Roger that."


    After Evan wore the holster and prepared everything, they ventured out to where the magical beasts were. Kai was the one leading the group with both swords in his hands.


    Meanwhile, Evan was following him while holding a gun with both hands. He didn''t point it to the front or anywhere else like an amateur. Instead, he kept pointing it down, so no one would identally get hurt.


    It took them a few minutes until they found their first target. It was a huge lizard spanning over five meters long.


    "For now, I want to see how urate you are. You are going to be the one to kill it."


    "Understood."


    "Then¡­ Beginbat." Kai nodded and leaped toward the lizard.

 Chapter 321 - Evans New Strength

    Kai spun his swords, wielding them in reverse. Because he nned to give this beast to Evan, it would be best to handle this lizard with the back of his sword.


    "Shaa!" The lizard roared as it immediately shifted its focus on Kai and Evan.


    "Hmm? B rank huh¡­" Kai took another deep breath and observed the lizard''s movements.


    It slithered on the ground and faced him from head-on. Its long tongue aimed directly at Kai''s head, trying to blow it out.


    However, Kai stepped on the ground as hard as he could and slightly bent down before striking it from below. The force pushed the tongue to the air, stopping the lizard''s movement.


    Kai didn''t do anything after that because he considered it a test for Evan. This was the first chance for Evan to attack, and if Evan didn''t realize it, he needed to teach him that.


    Fortunately to him, Evan had moved to the side and aimed his pistol toward the lizard''s head.


    ''Pistol''s bullet might not be a match for Sniper''s bullet, but it doesn''t mean it is useless. Isabelle said the reason she could give high output damage was due to her aim. As long as I shoot their weakest part and vital areas, they will surely go down without fighting." Evan thought and aimed toward the lizard''s left eye.


    *Bang!*


    The lizard saw this with that big eye and immediately moved to the side to protect to avoid being hurt.


    Evan smiled upon watching this as he adjusted his aim before releasing another shoot. This time the bullet hit its eyes, rendering its vision useless.


    With this liberty, Evan used his Healing Magic to boost his physical ability to close in before jumping to the top of its head. He quickly struck his fist that had been strengthened by the exoskeleton and created a powerful impact that pinned down the lizard''s head to the ground.


    This might look reckless, but Evan needed to do it to find the very vital area, the lizard''s brain.


    His pistol couldn''t cut the lizard''s neck nor could it blow the head like Isabelle. The only way to fight it was to feel the body''s interiors and hit them.


    In this particr case, Evan searched for its brain. Using that healing ability of his, he located the brain and aimed his gun again. "Goodbye."


    *Bang!*


    With another shot, the lizard was still in shock and fell down.


    Kai checked the lizard and confirmed it with Evan.


    "It''s dead."


    "That''s good." Evan nodded and inspected his surroundings to see whether there were any magical beasts around. It seemed it had be his habit to do this. Or it could be said that was how impactful the near-dead experience he had during his previous mission.


    "Don''t worry. We won''t need to fight for three minutes." Kai assured him before asking, "Was hitting the head your idea?"


    "Yes. I didn''t have enough firepower to kill that big lizard with my pistol alone, so I chose to sense the brain first by using that shock wave from my fist and my healing ability. This way, I was able to get a good grasp of its position and fired."


    "That''s a good strategy." Kai approved the strategy before saying. "I see. Let''s check it for another two or three beasts before I am going to conclude something small."


    "I understand." He nodded.


    The two then proceeded deeper. Noises started filling Kai''s ears because they got closer and closer to the horde of magical beasts.


    Contrary to his expectation, the magical beasts were split into two perfectly, not allowing any magical beasts to ck off or change direction.


    It also gave trouble to Kai because if he woke them up, he would be besieged by them." After thinking for two minutes, he suggested. "Unless there is an intelligent beast, we will continue."


    "Roger." Evan nodded while following Kai right behind him.


    "Hmm¡­ We are going to the left." Kai changed direction when he heard something.


    Evan didn''tin and kept following him as if nothing happened.


    They ran for about thirty seconds before they found a group of horses charging to the front.


    "The main army from magical beasts are a bit farther from this, so it should be fine as long as we don''t mess it up." Kai nodded.


    "I will do my best." Evan took a nce at this group of four horses before aiming at one of them.


    Kai didn''t say anything and went in the opposite direction.


    Seeing the two wereing, the horses tried to make an impossible ny-degree turn, but it ended up making a curve turn.


    Kai took advantage of this and used his Sound st to speed up,unching himself to the second horse from the front.


    Evan furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Kai doing something like that. Normally, it would mean that he wanted to kill one or two horses in that movement, but the fact that he still used the back of his sword bothered him.


    He realized what he was nning and went straight to the horse with his fastest speed. And as he expected, Kai hit the second horse''s legs.


    The third horse saw the stumbling second horse and tried to avoid it, but to no avail. It tripped and gave Evan''s a precious chance.


    *Bang Bang!*


    Evan, who had made his way over the field, released his shots, albeit barely. "You are asking too much for me¡­"


    Even though he said that, Evan still managed to aim his two shots urately on each horse''s head.


    Kai only made a small smile when he heard that before changing his focus to the fourth horse.


    Unlike the third one, it had arger distance from the second horse, so it had enough time to leap over.


    Unfortunately, Kai rotated his sword and hacked the fourth horse.


    Evan saw this opportunity and released another bullet toward the first horse.


    "!!!" Because Kai neglected this one, it had finished turning around and made his way toward Evan.


    The expression on his face had yet to change as he calmly looked at how the first horse dodged his bullet, but due to its speed and direction, it could only lift his head, avoiding the bullet from prating his brain. It still hit around the head area though, making it look very painful.


    Even the horse screamed in pain while still making his way toward Evan.


    Evan looked at the horse with a serious expression but remained still as if he had no intention to dodge or move.


    It was at this time that Kai finally showed up, beheading the horse.


    "You were not going to dodge?" Kai asked.


    "I saw you in the corner of my eyes with your sword in normal conditions, so I knew you were going to kill it. That''s why I didn''t have the intention to move." Evan smiled while watching how the momentum of the horse kept charging at him before falling down two meters in front of him.


    "Never mind then. Your field of vision is big despite aiming with your focus, showing that you focus not only on your aim but also a certain degree of your surroundings."


    "Thank you."


    "And you haven''t missed yet. I don''t know if your uracy will remain when we are surrounded by many, so I am going to test itter."


    "I will do my best. Due to the use of magic, the guns don''t have a huge recoil anymore, so I can aim more stable than ever. There is no gunpowder in the bullet as well, so it should be fine if I keep my head cool¡­ Though, I will be in trouble in facing too many opponents at once."


    "Yeah. You need experiences to see which one will being first, so you can target them first."


    "Exactly." He nodded. "That''s why I am trying to get as manybat experiences as possible right now."


    "That''s good to hear. I will help you in that regard." Kai thought for a moment and asked, "Still, I think you need a bit more firepower, you know."


    "I agree, but it''s not like I can bring rifles or something simr, right? It will surely drain my wallet after all."


    "No, no. There are a few special bullets, right? Although it''s a bit expensive, I think it''s fine to buy some. I mean, there are some that still use gunpowder inside the bullet, but instead of exploding to give the bullet speed, it explodes after it hits the target to create bigger damage. I think you can use this to give you more firepower."


    "Ah! If it''s like a rifle, it will be like a normal mode and a grenadeuncher mode."


    "Yes. The concept is like that." Kai nodded. "That way, I am sure that you will stand a chance against ten beasts simultaneously. If you have gottenfortable enough with that condition, we can start increasing the number of magical beasts you can handle."


    "I see. I will ask Ayaka about the bullets after this mission and prepare myself ording to that vision."


    "Of course, if you find another good strategy, it''s fine to think nothing of these suggestions." Kai smiled.


    "Don''t joke around. Your advice is one of a kind, especially on the battlefield." Evan rolled his eyes.


    Kai shrugged. "Anyway, let''s continue killing these beasts. There are around thirty beastsing from our nine. It''s still one hundred meters away."


    Evan turned around and found a group of cats. Unlike normal cats, these cats had undergone a transformation. They looked like a tiger instead of a cat.


    Still, they could see the difference and deem them as cats.


    "Thirty of them. The strategy is the same. I match your movement, you match mine, and improvise." Kai instructed as he jumped to the front, facing the cats.


    "Roger." Evan raised his pistol, smiled, and shot.


    Bang.

 Chapter 322 - Throw

    After killing the group of cats, they went deeper and pierced through the enemy ranks. Because of the stabilization due to magic that had been implemented to the gun, Evan managed to shoot pretty well, especially without a recoil every time he shot.


    Although he could say that when they fought against many opponents Evan''s uracy decreased by at least thirty percent, he still managed to aim at their heads with half the amount of his bullet.


    Both of them managed to synchronize their movements during this time, allowing better cooperation between the two.


    Kai could see a good future in Evan''s marksmanship and gave his confirmation after killing around five hundred beasts. As they expected, it took them a few hours to kill this much, and the sky had turned orange, signaling their retreat.


    "Kai," Evan called him while looking at the numerous magical beasts charging at them. "We need to retreat. I am sure the beasts won''t follow us after around two kilometers."


    Kai thought for a moment but couldn''t answer him. He listened to the area and noticed there was something biging their way.


    "This is going to be a problem¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the dust kicked up by that dangerous beast. "I think we can''t really retreat."


    Evan also noticed that, but he thought it was only because a group of magical beasts came together, but it seemed it was something different. "What kind of beast will we face?"


    "I am not sure." Kai shook his head. "I only know that it is big¡­ Very big."


    "Should we retreat? If this is something hard, I think it''s best to not be near many of their beasts."


    Kai nodded in agreement. "Yes. I think we should retreat for five hundred meters. But it''s best to let the magical beasts see us first before running away."


    "Alright." Evan agreed while shooting any magical beasts that tried to charge at them until they could see a huge animaling from the front.


    The animal had a long, slender body, short legs, and a bushy tail. They also had a long neck and a small head with a ttened forehead and rounded ears.


    The top of the head, the back and nks, and the tail had coarse ck guard hairs with buff-colored tips over a softer undercoat, giving them a grizzled greyish color. The feet were webbed, with five toes ending in sharp, curved, ws.


    "This is Grison!" Evan recognized it. "But considering it''s around this area, it should be a Lesser Grison."


    "If I am not wrong, they have a smaller sizepared to Greater Grison, right? How big that thing is?" Kai frowned. "I am afraid this one is different from the rest."


    "You bet." He nodded. "For now, let''s retreat. I will provide cover fire for us too while you maintain our course."


    Kai nodded back as they turned around and ran.


    To their surprise, a roar echoed from behind them as they instantly recognized whose roar it was without even looking. The sound came diagonally from above, so it was easy to recognize it.


    It was thirty meters long with a height of around ten meters tall, so it was normal that Kai and Evan decided to retreat upon seeing this.


    But the moment they heard the roar, Kai immediately understood what kind of beast this grison was.


    "He is one of the leaders." He warned Evan beside him.


    "!!!" Evan turned around, shot a couple of bullets, and reloaded while running again. In that instant, he could see the difference in the movement of magical beasts.


    "I don''t feel safe in five hundred meters. We shall go back for one kilometer before killing these guys." Kai contemted.


    Evan only looked at him when he was like this and kept shooting the beasts that tried to chase them.


    "There are around two hundred beasts in our surroundings that move alongside that grison. I will handle the big one while hindering the rest. I want you to focus on the weaker ones first." Kaimanded.


    "Are you sure? If we kill the boss first, their movement will be in disorder, you know."


    "Nope. I don''t think it will. Do you remember that they are supposed to have multiple boss ss monsters?" Kai asked.


    "Ah!" Evan fell silent as he realized what was going on. "The beasts will simply go ording to their original n, huh."


    "Yeah. That''s why we are going to eliminate them here and now." Kai nodded.


    "One more thing. Do we need to hold the fort?"


    This was a good question. Kai alone knew that he couldn''t stop the advance of this boss monster and hundreds of magical beasts. Hence, he would be reckless the moment he decided to hold the fort. Meanwhile, they could keep making an assurance that no beasts woulde their way from either the Chile Army or New Army.


    He ended up shaking his head. "No, but the limit is two kilometers. During that period, we need to annihte the entire group."


    Evan thought for a moment and nodded. "This is killing me. I only have one hundred more bullets, you know."


    "Yeah." He nodded. "I never expected that ourbination became that good during this period, so I was a bit too excited to see the continuation."


    "Reflecting time is forter. What should we do right now?"


    "Use all your bullets." Kai grabbed Evan''s wrist and carried him on his shoulder.


    "!!!" Evan was startled, but he soon realized that this position allowed him to focus on getting rid of the beasts pursuing them. He aimed toward the magical beasts and bombarded them with bullets.


    "Change of n. You have five minutes. Use all your one hundred bullets right now."


    "Easy thing to do." He smiled while shooting them. "We should be thankful for the fact that we are a bit deeper because it means we can retreat safer."


    "But you can''t deny the fact that we won''t be chased by this many if we stay in the safe zone."


    "I agree." He nodded.


    The duo started reducing the enemy''s number during these few minutes, and the grison finally realized their aim. Never once Evan shot him, so it was pretty obvious with his intelligence to understand the real goal.


    Because of that, the grison used his power. They had been known for their speed when they were small. It didn''t change when he became big.


    He sped up, closing the distance between him and Evan.


    "Oi, Kai. It is approaching us!" Evan screamed but kept shooting the other magical beasts.


    Kai could also hear the footsteps. No, in fact, the grison produced a tremendous shake to the ground when it started running at full speed. It truly gave one a heart attack at this point.


    "Kai¡­" Evan nced at him as he realized that the distance between them remained only twenty meters left. This way, the beast only needed ten seconds to approach them."


    "Just shut up." Kai kept running without looking back.


    Since he looked very confident, Evan didn''t bother him anymore. He had been killing around seventy magical beasts with his ny bullets, so he could feel the number was decreasing.


    He still nced back and forth to see this guy but said nothing.


    ''Five meters!'' Evan eximed inwardly as his heart skipped a beat. The grison seemed to be ready to ram its paw as soon as it reached them, so he wondered whether Kai had any trump card to fix this.


    "You are not calm." Kai let out a long sigh. "Do you think it can handle my speed?"


    "Ah!" Evan finally realized that Kai still hadn''t used his Sound st to boost his speed this whole time or the grison would have been left in the dust.


    "Yeah. If it ising closer, we should just speed up." He smiled and activated his Sound st to create a distance between them.


    And just like that, their distance became fifty meters again.


    "Sorry. I haven''t gotten ustomed to the front line, so I panicked earlier."


    "It''s fine. Ites from experiences after all," said Kai nonchntly.


    Evan shot for another minute before he was out of ammo. "I am out."


    "Alright. I shall share your mission." Kai nodded. "I am going to handle them at this distance until the promised distance. Before I reach there, I want you to replenish your bullets and wait for me there."


    "Oi. I am not abatant like you." He felt like he was being abused by a cruel boss. Running at that speed would be his limit, even with his exoskeleton.


    "If it''s a normal you, it won''t be possible. But you have your new magic now." Kai smiled. "Go."


    He tossed him to the air before using his Sound st tounch him as far as possible.


    "Don''t freaking throw me so suddenly! Warn me first, you goddamn captain!" Evan screamed as he should have flown a few hundred meters with that magic.


    Kai then took a deep breath and smiled as he leaped a bit higher than usual to turn around while observing the situation.


    As he expected, he had run far enough to the point the grison would be alone for a minute or so. He should be able to injure this beast during that period.


    He raised both swords and smiled before creating a Sound st magic circle on the ground where he was supposed tond.


    Noticing this, the beast immediately decreased its pace and slightly raised its body as if it wanted to use its w to hit Kai.


    Meanwhile, the magic circleunched Kai at a speed that the beast couldn''t react to, especially with his body still moving.


    "It is not so easy to change pace from max speed to zero, you beast." Kai smiled and shed downwards.

 Chapter 323 - Fighting Alone

    "!!!" Kai furrowed his eyebrows when he suddenly saw the grison move faster than ever. In fact, when he realized he couldn''t stop, and Kai wasing, it decided to leap to the front with an unprecedented speed.


    Kai struck his head with his Vibration Swords, but to his surprise, the grison summoned Earth Wall to stop both swords for a moment.


    After that, it head-butted the wall along with Kai, who was behind it.


    "Seriously?" Kai gritted his teeth, protecting his body from this with his hand. He was blown away to the air before he used his Sound st to decrease his momentum beforending on the ground unharmed. "Luckily, I have the exoskeleton that reduces the impact¡­ It''s a bit numb, but I should have no problem in wielding the sword like normal."


    As he said, if he didn''t have his body covered by an exoskeleton, he might be injured to the point it crushed his bone.


    In this exchange alone, he realized that the grison was actually different from the rest of the intelligence beasts he had fought. This attack power alone was close to that of a ck bear, one of the strongest A rank beasts.


    "To think I would need to face an intelligent A rank beast, this is going to be a problem." Kai took a deep breath as he stared at the grison. "At least, I am not going to fight against an S rank or a protector."


    He released his animal instinct and let it take over.


    "A few seconds have passed, and now I only have a minute left¡­" Kai gritted his teeth and jumped forward.


    The grison seemed to have the same thought. This time, these two had a simr mind as if they knew what each other was thinking.


    Kai waved his sword, trying to strike the grison''s head, but thetter immediately rose and sent a paw toward him.


    Unfortunately, it couldn''t catch Kai off guard again. And the powerful Vibration Swords finally showed its true might.


    ng.


    A sound of a sh between two metals rang in their ears before the grison realized paining from its own ws. When it nced downward, it found out that Kai just cut its ws.


    "It''s for health reasons. You shouldn''t have a long nail, so I cut it for you." Kai smiled, taunting the beast. He was trying to taunt the magical beast. If it were truly an intelligent beast, it would surely understand him somehow.


    And that was what Kai had been waiting for this whole time.


    The moment the grison roared as if responding to Kai''s provocation, he disappeared.


    "!!!" The grison widened its eyes and felt an iing presence from his right.


    "Hmm." Kai furrowed his eyebrows as he realized that this beast had a stronger perception. If it was a normal one, he might be able to get close enough to strike him, but he needed another one second with his current speed.


    And that one second was enough for the grison to wave its hand, trying to swipe Kai away with that giant paw.


    Unfortunately, if this was the first time it showed such a great reflex, Kai might need to retreat. It just¡­ it already allowed Kai to see its capability in the first surprise attack. And this second asion just reinforced that fact.


    Kai didn''t panic and kept getting closer before he used his Sound st two times tounch him like a pinball past the paw, arriving right before its arm.


    He waved his sword to cut the arm but found another Earth Wall trying to strike him from below.


    "I have seen that move as well." Kai snorted and struck the wall with his off-hand, making him spin in the air.


    This was still within his expectation as he used that force and cut the hand as if it was cut by a saw machine.


    *Roar!*


    The grison screamed in pain as it looked at the paw that fell off his arm before using its other hand to blow him away.


    He summoned two Sound st magic circles, one was next to him and the other one was beneath that giant paw.


    Itunched both objects at the same time.


    Kai flew away to avoid that giant hand while the paw flew toward the magical beasts, making them either stumble or hit by that, stopping their movement for a little longer.


    Unfortunately, it couldn''t stop the entire enemy. The right side of the enemies kept pursuing him as if nothing happened. In fact, they were quite angry when they saw the grison lose its hand to Kai.


    Even so, there was nothing they could do before they caught up. After seeing this, Kai picked up a few stones on the ground before running away like he nned to.


    He didn''t forget to release his killing intent and stick out his tongue to provoke the giant grison.


    "Grrr." The grison gritted its teeth and tried to chase him. However, he wasn''t as fast as the normal him because it had lost one paw.


    Seeing this, Kai grasped all the stones he picked up earlier and summoned his Sound st before throwing it.


    The Sound st amplified the speed of the stones as it flew toward the right side of the beast. Due to losing its right hand, it certainly couldn''t protect the beast in that direction unless it stopped.


    If he truly did that, Kai would surely escape. After taking its right hand, there was no way the grison could let Kai do that.


    It kept charging at him without looking back. And this allowed Kai to reduce their number as much as possible.


    Still, he miscalcted something.


    "This is not good. I will be reaching the mark within a minute if I keep going at this pace¡­" Kai muttered before letting out a long sigh. "It''s time to create a huge disturbance, I guess."


    He leaped again to the air, using the same move as he did to surprise the grison. However, his current targets were the magical beasts behind the grison.


    *Roar!* The grison caught this move and sent his paw to p Kai to the ground, nning to kill him like a fly.


    Kai only activated another Sound st to give another burst of speed, avoiding this attack. The moment he was about to crash into the beasts, he waved his swords and started his killing spree.


    Magical beasts'' bodies started to fly to the air as Kai slowly made his way from the left side to the right side.


    The magical beasts tried to attack him, but none of them were able to hold him down. In fact, they couldn''tst even a single hit.


    The grison nned to leave it to his underlings but realized that none of them was useful. It then began making his way toward Kai without caring about his subordinate. Most of them were stomped to death because of this.


    When Kai saw this, he smirked while killing the monsters around him. He even purposely stayed in one ce for a few seconds so that the grison could arrive.


    *Roar!*


    A loud sound reverberated in his ears as a paw struck forth.


    A green magic circle appeared beneath his feet as itunched him to the right side, letting the paw earlier strike the ground while killing a few beasts in the process. This surely made the grison even madder.


    It chased Kai no matter the cost.


    "Comeee." Kai utilized the same strategy. It seeded a few times before the grison changed its attack pattern. Instead of striking him from above, it swept the entire magical beasts along with him to push him away from there.


    "Oi, oi. This is insane." Kai gritted his teeth. If he jumped, the grison would surely m him down whether using its hand or its head.


    "I guess I will take this one." Kai sighed before using his Oscition Shield to block himself from the beasts. After all, if he stuck with them while getting swept, the beasts had the chance to strike him. That was why he used this giant Oscition Shield, bigger than his body, to protect himself.


    Still, the force was enough to disturb his n as he rolled on the ground,pletely surrounded by beasts. The one on the left side rolled farther than him because there was nothing to stop them. Meanwhile, he, in the middle, and the beasts on his right side stopped right away due to their sacrifice and immediately charged at Kai.


    Kai rose from the ground instantly, but in this position, he could only do another swing with his main hand. If he hit the grison, he would be struck by the iing magical beasts and vice versa. This was a serious situation as one wrong decision might prove to be fatal.


    Even so, Kai didn''t even nce at the magical beasts. He created an Oscition Shield on his right but ignored the rest.


    *Roar!*


    Those who hit the Oscition Shield roared while those who came from behind him tried to bite him.


    Kai knew about this, but he kept focusing his attention on the grison in front of him as he struck its paw, cutting half of the paw.


    *Roar!*


    The beasts behind him let out another roar before biting him.


    It was at this time Kai smiled as he heard a few gunshotsing from his left.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Three shots echoed as the beasts behind him flew to the side as if something just hit them. The momentum still pushed them toward Kai, but because of these shots, they were a bit to the right, missing him just a few inches away.


    "Nice shots." Kai smirked.


    "Haiz, you are pushing me too much, Captain. What will you do if I were not in time?" Evan let out a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 324 - Finishing

    "Haiz, you are pushing me too much, Captain. What would you do if I were not on time?"


    "I have been keeping track of you. It''s within my calction." He grinned. "Or else why would I ignore them?"


    "Hmph! I should wait until the magical beasts hit you first before helping you. I can heal youter." Evan let out a long sigh.


    "Haha. I know you can''t do it," said Kai with a confident look. As a healer himself, Evan should know what it meant to heal someone else, especially hisrades. There was no way he would let Kai get hit by those magical beasts if he could help him.


    After all, Kai had been doing the same thing for him during this period.


    "Anyway, I will be handling this big one. You can focus on the small ones. Some of them will surely go to me, but you don''t need to concern yourself with them. Meanwhile, the others that get past me, you need to handle them alone." Kaimanded.


    "Receive the order." He smirked and started shooting again.


    Just like Kai predicted, the grison immediately roared, ordering the beasts to charge at Evan first as he seemed to be weaker than Kai.


    The magical beasts then started to go around them.


    "Oi, oi. How convenient are you to have your subordinates follow your exactmand after you kill many of them?" Kai eximed beforeunching himself to the grison''s head with his Sound st.


    "!!!" The grison panicked for a moment and bent down his body, so Kai didn''t sh his head.


    "Not good enough." Kai smiled and created another magic circle tounch him downward, allowing him to step on the grison''s head.


    He waved his sword downwards, trying to cut the head, but the grison immediately rolled over, trying to get Kai off his head.


    "¡­" Obviously, Kai jumped a little bit to not get knocked out, but he soon saw an iing pawing from the side, nning to p him away.


    Due to that, he activated his Sound st, trying to cut down thatst hand. However, another rumbling sound echoed in his ears as he nced toward his back, finding the ground rising.


    "I won''t be fast enough." Kai instantly knew that the ground spike was to hold him down. And the grison had been nning to do that for a while to disturb Kai''s movement. The paw would then hit him in this way.


    In other words, the beast was also improving during this fight, making Kai see it in a new light.


    "Seriously?" Kai clicked his tongue and turned around, facing the paw with his left hand and the spike with his other hand.


    Because the two had the same strength overall, he was pinched by two giant stones that were trying to crush him.


    Kai gritted his teeth until the magic circlepleted andunched him out of these two things that pressed him.


    After that, hended on the ground and started killing the magical beasts instead of going back to attack the grison. He realized that Evan wouldn''t be enough to deal with this many.


    "There are still around two hundred, huh¡­" Kai observed the situation while killing this, disturbing the entire rank of magical beasts that were going toward Evan.


    He managed to do it for a minute before the grison finally stabilized its body and swiped his w to bring Kai into the same situation before Evan helped him.


    Seeing this situation, Kai leaped to the air, avoiding this attack.


    However, the grison suddenly opened its mouth as a green light started forming inside his mouth.


    "Wait. What?! Do powerful magical beasts have the ability to shoot out a beam from their mouth? Is that a given?" Kai eximed in surprise while activating his Oscition Shield.


    The beast released the breath that turned seemed to be a green light ball and hit Kai''s magic shield, creating a huge explosion that blew Kai away.


    It was at this time, Kai smiled while getting blown away. His Sound st Magic Circle appeared behind him,unching him to the ground before he appeared below the grison and struck its body.


    *Roar!*


    The grison''s roar echoed in his ears. It would never expect that the smoke produced by the explosion turned out to be Kai''s smokescreen that allowed him to get closer to hit him.


    In other words, Kai also tried to amodate the progress that these beasts had and fought it on its own terms.


    He didn''t stop there as he immediately went toward the other hand and cut it off.


    Without any hands, the grison shouldn''t be able to run again unless it decided to use only his two feet. Even so, it was only at walking speed. It wouldn''t pose much trouble for them.


    After cutting the hand, Kai decided to nce at Evan while he was in mid-air. He saw Evan stepping on the magical beasts and hopping from one another as he kept shooting them.


    He never thought that Evan would be that acrobatic, but it might also due to his newfound power.


    At least, he seemed to be able to withstand the magical beasts'' attacks for a few minutes. In the meantime, he needed to kill this beast first.


    "Without arms, you pose no more threat to me." Kai snorted as he started going around while dealing some damage to the giant grison.


    In the meantime, the grison ordered half of the beasts to attack Kai instead, but they were not capable of stopping Kai''s advance as he continued using his Sound st to make great maneuvers.


    After around two minutes of continuous attacks, the grison finally fell down to the ground, died.


    Kai couldn''t catch a breath as he immediately went to relieve Evan from the magical beasts'' onught.


    He then acted as a vanguard as they killed the remaining beasts.


    "We have finally finished!" Evan stretched his hand, tired after fighting for so long.


    "Haiz. That grison is certainly hard. I am even wondering why it would be like that?"


    "What do you mean?!" Evan frowned.


    "That grison can improve."


    "A magical beast that can improve?" Evan widened his eyes. "From what we have known, there are only intelligent magical beasts, but they are only controlling the beasts around them like a boss. They can''t improve their fighting style or anything."


    "But that one is certainly can. It might have analyzed my attack pattern and do whatever it takes to disturb it. Luckily, my pattern is not something that can be easily defeated, or else, I might be the oneying over there." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Is this a new type?" Evan narrowed his eyes. "Or is there any intervention from the protectors?"


    "I am not sure. Either way, this is something we should report. I don''t know, but I feel that it will only happen to intelligent magical beasts." Kai sighed.


    "Should we bring back the body?"


    "You can bring that one back?" Kai pointed his finger toward the giant beast while staring at Evan with a weird look.


    "I mean, we can ask for reinforcements toe and bring them back for further research." Evan shook his head.


    "If that is the question, then no. The sound of them dragging this big one will attract the monsters in the surrounding. At the very least, it can only be tomorrow or the day after."


    "I understand. I will report it to them first, so they can pick it up at dusk. I think everything should have been concluded by that time, right?"


    Kai thought for a moment. "I am not sure. I have located three groups during this time that are separated from each other but in harmony. That''s why we might need to face three magical beasts like this tomorrow."


    "Seriously? I might need to bring more supplies." Evan let out a long sigh. "How is their strength?"


    "A hundred beasts are surrounding them, but it shouldn''t be a problem. The problem is their positioning."


    "Hmm?!"


    "They might be separated, but they are not that far away from each other. In other words, the two of them may aid it if we are not fast enough."


    "That is a problem." Evan looked down, falling into deep thought. "There is a time limit, and there might be a chance that the two will show up at the same time."


    "Indeed. That''s why we need to risk it and deal with the first one before the two arrive. After that, we will strike the second one and kill it before the third arrives. There is a reinforcement option, but I think we shouldn''t rely on that. But just bring a re gun in case we need to call reinforcement."


    Evan nodded. "I understand. I will bring the re gun with me."


    "Yeah. What do you think about the n?"


    "I think we can employ another tactic."


    "Hmm?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "I will be kiting the third one while you are dealing with the second one."


    "That''s a no. You will be exposed to danger. They are strong, you know." Kai shook his head.


    "But that is more efficient. I have no doubt that we won''t be able to kill the second one before the thirdes. I know that you are avoiding putting me in danger because I am still a greenhorn, but please trust me a bit more. If it''s running, I can still do that with my newfound ability." He smiled.


    Kai gritted his teeth. As Evan said, he had considered that n as well, but because Evan would be exposed to far greater danger, he decided to go with the current n. Still, with him asking for it, he couldn''t dismiss his thoughts like a dictator.


    "I have one condition."

 Chapter 325 - Alpaca

    "What is the condition?" Evan asked with a serious condition.


    "It''s simple. If you are surrounded, I will be helping you. I will also monitor you at any given time."


    "Alright, I agree." He nodded. "I know my weakness well, and how concerned you are about my safety, so I won''t say anything about this. Anything other than that, I would like to make a full decision."


    "It''s your part, you are the one filling the details. I won''t say anything other than our general n." He nodded. "Besides, I have been letting all of you much freedom unless it''s necessary."


    "True enough." He nodded. "By the way, you don''t mind if I take care of all the other magical beasts first, right? Kiting is fine, but I think I can kill around half of them while waiting for you to take down the second one."


    "It''s your choice."


    "Alright." After agreeing to these terms, Kai and Evan decided to go back to their camp, resting through the day to recover from their fatigue.


    Kai was trying toe up with another n that might be better than the one he made on the fly while Evan was wiping his pistol, preparing everything possible.


    The next day, they both looked at each other before Kai noticed how Evan brought two cases with him.


    "Bullets?" Kai seemed to recognize his intention and asked.


    "Yeah. I don''t know how many monsters we need to kill since they might order some of the magical beasts to gather around them instead of fighting the two armies. That''s why I am nning to make depots where I can resupply."


    Kai closed his eyes and contemted for two minutes before nodding. "I understand. If the situation hasn''t changed, I know two perfect spots to make depots. The first depot will be the firstyer where we can assemble there to resupply. And I think we can bring some food and water bottles to that ce.


    "As for the second one, it will be around the coast where we can ask for the Chile Army''s help." He suggested but didn''t insist on using those two spots.


    Knowing his consideration, he nodded. "I will leave it to you. I am not good with this anyway."


    "Alright then. Let''s go."


    Kai and Evan then set off early in the morning toward the coast of Chile, trying to sneak around the Chile Army and the magical beasts.


    This allowed them to wait for the three intelligent beasts to order their beasts to attack the humans again.


    As soon as they arrived, Kai asked Evan to wait until around nine in the morning before he deemed it safe to go inside their territory.


    After making the two depots, they stopped for a while.


    "I will say this again. I will take on the intelligent one while you handle the others."


    "I understand."


    "Let''s go. The time limit is one and a half hours."


    As soon as Kai said it, they immediately ran toward their first target.


    Although he could listen to their footsteps that could be differentiated into three different groups, Kai couldn''t discern which one was the strongest or their leader.


    Hence, they needed to check which one was the leader, making it even more dangerous. Even so, they could only do it with minimal information, storming in their territory.


    Kai had been leading the group this whole time, making sure they didn''t run into a group of magical beasts, rming the enemies.


    The process took around an hour before they finally saw their target.


    It was a group of a hundred magical beasts, consisting of many types of magical beasts. However, Kai could clearly see the difference between them.


    There was one beast that clearly cut out the rest. It was an alpaca. The size of this alpaca wasn''t really different from the normal one, but there was this aura that seemed to be clearly above the rest.


    "Hmm¡­ This one seems to be a long-ranged beast." Kai narrowed his eyes. "Maybe it can spit out poison¡­ Albeit, that''s the first thing thates into my mind as soon as I see this guy."


    "¡­" Evan fell silent for a second. "I don''t know why you have such a thought, but whatever the case, it''s going to be like what you said a long-ranged beast. I am afraid that it will use all the magical beasts while throwing something at us."


    "Yeah." Kai nodded. "That''s why I want you to dedicate the first shot to hit this guy while I be the bait."


    "Understood."


    "Alright then. Good luck to you."


    The ce was a in without anything to hide other than tall grasses. Even so, it wasn''t enough to hide the entire body, so they were a bit far from the center itself.


    That was why Kai needed to run around thirty meters before the beast could spot him.


    The alpaca immediately ordered the magical beasts to attack Kai.


    "Nice," Kai muttered when he saw this and went around to gather enough attention, so Evan could run toward the field to make a sneak attack.


    Still, as he expected, he found the alpaca staying in the middle of their ranks, looking at Kai as if it wanted to attack him.


    So, Evan could seed in attacking this guy, he needed to make huge chaos among the magical beasts under him. To do that, he ducked down, cing his hand on the ground to summon a giant magic circle.


    "Sound st." Kai decided to pour more magic power than he usually used to ensure that the battle would surely go well.


    Around thirty magical beasts wereunched to the sky, but not too high to the point it could cause serious damage to them. Still, it was enough for Kai to gather the alpaca''s attention as it narrowed its eyes and opened its mouth.


    "Here ites!" Due to the beasts flying in the air and the others were still trying to close that gap, there was nothing between Kai and Alpaca.


    Hence, the alpaca suddenly shot out a green spit or something that flew toward him at high speed.


    He instantly summoned his Sound st since it still had time to travel. The forceing out of the Sound st blew out the spit; although it couldn''t send it right back to the Alpaca, it still hit a magical beast that soon filled the gap between them.


    The magical beast was a cougar. As soon as it hit by the spit right on the face, the face melted as it howled in agony before dying.


    "¡­" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting to be this great. "That one is dangerous, I guess."


    After seeing this, Kai immediately used his Sound st tounch him to the alpaca before the beasts that he sent to the air earliernded on the ground.


    "!!!" The alpaca spat out the same poisonous thing again, trying to stop Kai in his advance.


    Seeing this, Kai purposely halted his footstep as if he was trying to avoid it like a newbie. However, Kai had made a careful decision during this process.


    As soon as he avoided this attack, another attack was released. The attack came from none other than Evan, who had sneaked behind the alpaca.


    The gun still let out a sound despite using a suppressor, and the alpaca picked it up as it turned around to see it, so it could avoid the bullet.


    Unfortunately, it was not able to avoid the attack with this timing.


    The bullet pierced through its head¡­ Specifically, its left eyes and tore the bridge between two eyes. Although it couldn''t destroy the other eyes, he was satisfied during this time around.


    Still, the current appearance of that alpaca was horrific.


    Kai didn''t look away, but he certainly felt a bit bad to see the wound.


    The alpaca was swaying left and right before it roared to the sky. Finally, the proud alpaca found itself being hunted by two people and decided to call the backup.


    At the same time, the magical beasts finally chased him again from behind.


    Evan shot a few of them as Kai made his way toward the alpaca.


    Thetter suddenly opened its mouth, releasing a kind of green tornado that was filled with poison. With that size alone, it would surely swallow Kai as a whole, so Kai immediately summoned his Sound st to blow it away from him like a fan.


    It seeded and even hit some of the magical beasts on his right, but the others caught up at this point.


    He had no choice other than to turn his body around and shed a monkey at the size of a normal human behind him while calcting which ones he should attack next.


    Evan helped Kai by shooting a few more, but thetter pointed his finger toward the alpaca. "Kill¡ª"


    He wanted to ask Evan to kill the alpaca, but he got interrupted by the other beasts.


    "!!!" The monkey he had shed suddenly held his feet as it used thest bit of its energy to restrain Kai. Kai immediately killed the monkey to free himself, but the other magical beasts had caught up during that split second, trying to stop him from moving.


    Suddenly, the alpaca charged at Kai while opening its mouth. He summoned his Sound st to blow the spit away, but to his surprise, the alpaca didn''t actually intend to attack him using that.


    On the contrary, it had another reason, especially with how he coordinated with the magical beasts behind Kai, trying to stop him from moving.


    Kai waved his other sword, but the alpaca bit his sword to stop that swing. To his surprise, the alpaca made a ridiculous move he would ever think.


    "Seriously?!" The alpaca opened its mouth again, letting Kai''s sword sh his mouth. However, it still released itsst attack, trying to kill Kai by smearing it with poison.


    Spat!

 Chapter 326 - Confirmed

    The green poison that came out of the alpaca''s mouth melted the ground.


    Kai didn''t blink as he somehow managed to create his Oscition Shield and boosted its power a little bit. Normally, it would only reduce the impacting from an attack, but because he poured more magic power, it was able to deflect the spat from earlier, throwing it back to the alpaca.


    Unfortunately, unlike his Sound st, the Oscition Shield couldn''t blow it away, so most of the poison fell to the ground instead of hitting the alpaca. Nheless, the alpaca had died under Kai''s de, and he somehow managed to escape unscathed.


    "Seriously?!" Kai took a few deep breaths before turning around.


    Evan''s heart skipped a beat when he saw that and felt he was pretty lucky to avoid that.


    "Captain, are you alright?!"


    "I''m good. Focus on defeating the rest first and head to the other two. I will exinter." Kaimanded while shing the magical beasts.


    Evan nodded and started picking up his pace, killing them at a faster rate than Kai.


    In just three minutes, they finally finished dealing with all the beasts.


    "How is your stamina?" Kai asked as soon as they finished.


    "I am good." Evan nodded, assuring him by waving his hand nonchntly.


    "That''s good then. Follow me. I will exin on the way."


    "I understand."


    The two then headed toward the southeast, where they would separate at a certain point to fight their respective battle.


    "I am d that your shield is fast enough. I am not sure if I can regrow something that has melted, you know."


    "Yeah. That''s why poison might be the most dangerous thing in the world." He nodded. "Anyway, my Oscition Shield activation is faster than Sound st, so it''s convenient. Unfortunately, it doesn''t hold the same strength."


    "I see. That''s why you often use your shield instead of Sound st even though it''s stronger."


    "Their purpose is different too, so I don''t want to be reliant on one magic."


    "I can see that."


    "Anyway, your enemy is over there. There is a chance that the enemy might ignore you and chase after me, so if you can, you should assassinate it at that time."


    "I understand. Well, you only have fifteen minutes to kill the leader and the rest of the magical beasts. Do you think you can?"


    "I am not sure now. From what I have seen, the magical beasts are bing smarter than ever. I don''t know what caused it, but that''s the case. Just like earlier, where the dying ape released thest bit of its strength to grab my feet. The monster this time might be more troublesome than we expected."


    "Hmm? But can''t you avoid the movement by listening to them?"


    "I can, but do you think I have prepared a scenario where they choose to bring me down together? At the very least, I can prepare a minimum counterattack, but there are too many possibilities on how to bring an enemy down together with a hundred beasts¡­ At the very least, I need to make a simtion battle in my head first, albeit we don''t have that much time." He let out a long sigh.


    "I see."


    "Anyway, it''s time to go on our way." Kai reminded him.


    "Good luck to you." Evan smiled and stomped the ground as he changed his direction ording to Kai''s.


    Kai, on the other hand, kept running straight and only adjusted the angle of his direction a little bit to match the movement of the magical beasts.


    Not long after, the group finally came into his vision as he checked on them first.


    ''Should I use my Sound Instion Room so the magical beasts on Evan''s side don''t make an unpredictable move?'' Kai muttered while observing the enemies.


    The leader this time was a chinchi. Just like the previous experiences, the chinchi had the size of half-human, looking very ferocious.


    And this time, the fur was red along with the eyes.


    "Cruck!" Suddenly, a magical beast informed the chinchi of Kai''s position.


    "I am found out?" Kai narrowed his eyes, seeing how it ordered the magical beasts to charge in his direction.


    At the same time, it released a few fireballs toward Kai and had it explode around him, preventing him from going around.


    "As expected, this guy is seriously bing smarter¡­ I need to prepare for the worst then." Kai let out a long sigh and checked everything in his surroundings.


    Unfortunately, they were situated in the middle of a road, so it was hard to take advantage of the environment since there was nothing to be taken advantage of.


    He jumped once to build up his momentum and charged toward the magical beasts, shing with them head-on.


    As he expected, the magical beasts were more ferocious than he expected. It might be due to the loss of the alpaca and grison, but he couldn''t find any way that these beasts knew such a thing.


    Unfortunately, he could think nothing as he kept swinging his sword while ncing over to make sure the chinchi didn''t do anything.


    But to his surprise, the chinchi had prepared an attack for him by summoning a few fireballs over his head.


    "Does it want to drop it here? There are the beasts under him¡­" Kai eximed in surprise as he tried to leap out of this onught.


    And as he expected, the moment he left, the chinchi immediately threw all the fireballs at him.


    Kai had prepared for this and used his Sound st to go one step faster, avoiding this.


    He didn''t dodge in a random direction. Instead, he went straight toward the chinchi, trying to finish this as soon as possible.


    Kai shed his sword downwards, aiming at the direct head.


    Suddenly, his sword was stopped by a wall of me that received his Vibration Swordpletely. Unlike the magic that had solid form, this one was intangible. The force that was bursting from that form somehow managed to stop his attack.


    Every time he met a beast like this, it never ceased to surprise him. He needed to know the source of their power-up, but his teacher might be the one that could investigate it.


    He raised his head when he sensed heating from above his head, finding three fireballs.


    The three fell down.


    ''It dropped the balls?'' Kai widened his eyes as he immediately used his Sound st tounch him to the sky before using the Sound Levitation to check his surroundings.


    ''Did it die because of its own attack?'' Kai thought while hoping it was true. However, he couldn''t sit still anymore because before the smoke was cleared up, many magical beasts used each other to leap to the air, trying to strike him down.


    Due to this, he was forced to deactivate his Sound Levitation and fell down to the ground. He focused everything on his hearing and found the heartbeat of the chinchi. It was weaker, so he didn''t find it instantly after the explosion, and this might be the chance to eliminate it.


    He leaped toward the chinchi and shed its head without further ado before he noticed a red-colored ball above its head.


    The chinchi used thest bit of its strength to create that unstable fireball that would explode as soon as it lost control. In other words, it would blow out when the chinchi died.


    Realizing this, Kai put out his Oscition Shield as big as possible while preparing his Sound st to escape.


    *Boom!*


    The fireball exploded, and the me would soon surround him. It was at this time the Sound st shone, sending Kai away from being surrounded by the me.


    With this, he managed to kill the magical beasts, but he didn''t feel like a victor. Not only the beast kept pushing him back with all those suicide attacks, but Kai could onlynd a hit that didn''t decide the match.


    The smoke cleared up a bit because of the shock wave from the second explosion. Although it produced a new smoke, it wasn''t as thick as the first one.


    He couldn''t find the chinchi''s body, so he confirmed it was dead and reduced to ashes.


    To think he would kill the magical beasts with just a single opening, it felt surreal.


    "Still, I have two jobs left." Kai red at the magical beasts that he avoided once and started killing them as this was one of the jobs.


    It took him a few minutes to get rid of every single beast that seemed to be scared of him as soon as the chinchi died.


    After killing them, he took a breather first and reassessed his situation and Evan''s condition.


    "The magical beasts'' movements were too absurd. They immediately tried tomit suicide and drag me together without fighting back. It''s like there is someone manipting them to make such a move, but who?


    "If I think about it, the only possible answer is the protectors, but I don''t hear anything about them. And I think they are not in my range the whole time, so it''s weird to see something like this. I wonder if the two armies are suffering from this?" Kai thought for a moment and let out a long sigh.


    "Anyway, I can only investigate itter. I need to¡ª" Kai suddenly fell silent when he listened to the battlefield. The soldiers pushed the magical beasts back. It even passed the ce where he killed the alpaca.


    "And this one is even more absurd. How easy it is to push them back?" Kai eximed in surprise before he found a single group with another one hundred monsters that separated themselves from the magical beast army and headed toward Evan.


    With this situation, they might arrive soon.


    "Not good!"

 Chapter 327 - Fighting Three Suicide Beasts

    "Not good." Kai instantly ran as fast as he could. However, the dilemma struck his heart as he couldn''t choose whether to go to Evan or to stop the group of beastsing toward Evan''s position.


    He had been checking Evan this whole time, and he could listen to how he kept shooting his gun while running.


    Many fast monsters had caught up with him and attacked him. Injured, Evan kept killing them, albeit it had turned into a burden since it made him pour too much magic power to his wound and new power.


    "Six minutes. If I can''t handle the leadering here in six minutes, I will immediately go to Evan and help him." Kai gritted his teeth and used his Sound st to speed up, going toward the new group within ten seconds.


    He stopped in front of them while holding his two swords. His heart suddenly started beating crazily as if it had something to say to him. At the same time, three beasts seemed to look more menacing than the others as he realized that the leaders of this group were not one but three. "Seriously?"


    Getting surprises after surprises, Kai couldn''t stop himself from saying "Seriously" during this mission.


    The first monster was a deer. It had a pair of big horns that looked very hard. It might be able to destroy a rock or take down a tree if it got rammed by the deer. When it saw Kai, the deer immediately looked up as a torrential wind appeared above its head.


    The second beast was a cougar, but the color and pattern made it look like a tiger. However, the one that caught his eyes was the lightning that sparked around his feet.


    Last but not least, he needed to confront an intelligent orange mingo. If he wasn''t wrong, back before the apocalypse, it was called Chilean mingo. It suddenly stretched its wing as it summoned four fireballs on its sides.


    As he was about to think of retreating by using the re that Evan brought, the other monsters immediately went around him separately, trying to slip past him to attack Evan.


    "No, you won''t!" Kai gritted his teeth and used his Sound st to leap toward his right, trying to kill them first.


    However, the cougar didn''t let him as it used its power to arrive before him within a second. Its speed wasn''t losing to Kai at all.


    Kai used his Oscition Shield and stopped the advance for a second to kill a beast. It was at this time the other two made their move.


    The deer sent a wind tornado toward him as the mingo infused its fireball into this wind, creating a powerful fire tornado.


    "Sound¡ª" Kai stopped and immediately changed his magic. "Oscition Shield."


    Kai almost forgot the fact that his Sound st couldn''t fight a wind element magic. The fact that sound needs medium to travel would surely not be effective against the wind that could disrupt the flow of air easily.


    Because of that, he chose to use something concise and didn''t travel long. Unfortunately, the time he needed to change his magic made him unable to use the full potential of Oscition Shield, allowing the fire tornado to blow him away as soon as it hit.


    The tornado didn''t harm him in any way because it only struck his shield, but like someone using a shield, if the user couldn''t handle the force, it would blow them away.


    And Kai experienced this as he got blown away for twenty meters. To his surprise, he lost track of the cougar for a second before noticing it wasing toward his back using that lightning speed.


    "Tch." Kai spun his body and waved his sword toward the cougar, trying to kill it by a surprise attack.


    The cougar saw this first and changed its direction, heading straight toward his feet instead.


    "Sound st." This time, he finally used his Sound st to create enough power to spread his legs wide, allowing the cougar to pass the gap.


    When its head passed, Kai closed the gap, clutching its neck with his feet before spinning andunching him to the ground.


    The mingo flew to the sky and created a massive fireball, dropping it right above Kai and the cougar.


    Meanwhile, the deer made a barrier of wind that trapped him inside a certain area to make sure that he couldn''t escape that massive fireball.


    Knowing he had no choice other than to go up, Kai raised his hand and snapped his finger.


    "Luby."


    *Ding!*


    A high-pitched bell rang in their ears as both mingo and deer lost control of their magic.


    Obviously, the barrier and the fireball disappeared within a second. Kai took that chance to sh the cougar''s head before it could have the chance to disrupt him again, killing it.


    Noticing how Kai made such a disruptive move, they immediately got closer to him, afraid that their magic would give him enough time to cast that move again.


    This was what Kai actually wanted.


    The moment the two came close enough, he used his Sound st tounch himself to one of them.


    His target was the easiest one to kill, the mingo. Unlike the deer''s hard horn, this mingo shouldn''t have any body parts that could stop his Vibration Sword. At the same time, the me couldn''t stop his Sound Wave.


    But to his surprise, the mingo didn''t move and look at Kai with a fierce expression.


    Because it was situated in the sky, it might think it had an advantage, but Kai used his Sound st tounch him and maneuver in the sky, so that advantage was basically non-existent.


    To his surprise, the mingo suddenly covered its body in fire and flew toward Kai instead as if it wanted to get burned alive with him.


    "Maniac!" Kai gritted his teeth and used his Sound st tounch the mingo back to the sky while blowing a bit of its fire.


    Due to this, the deer''s wind magic caught up with him as it created a very dangerous ball filled with torrential wind. It felt like it would rip him the moment it hit, so Kai used Oscition Shield to protect himself, albeit he got blown away once more.


    "Annoying. They are trying tomit suicide in every single way, making it hard for me to follow their movement because I don''t know whether they wanted to attack me or the other beasts or even their attacks to boost it even further." Kai clicked his tongue, using the time he got knocked back to think.


    "I guess I can''t really finish this soon without making a sacrifice." Kai took a deep breath and leaped toward the deer this time.


    When it saw himing, it erected a wind barrier to protect itself.


    "I will rip that apart," Kai shouted as he waved his sword. But a momentter, he realized that he was trapped inside a wind barrier too.


    The sound of the mingoing from behind rmed him even further as he snapped his finger again to disrupt the flow of the wind and the mingo.


    Using this chance, he turned around and waited for the mingo that couldn''t stop due to its momentum and nned to strike it down in a single sh.


    However, excruciating pain jolted his brain as the wind that should have dispersed earlier actually hit him.


    ''What?'' Kai instantly realized what just happened. When he used the Luby to break their concentration, the deer reinforced its own barrier to making sure no sound wave wasing toward him. Even if a portion of it came, it wouldn''t affect its performance at all.


    It then tricked Kai into believing he failed to control the barrier, but it was not true at all. The wind dispersed, but it formed again right behind his back and hit him.


    Even with his hearing, it was hard to spot it because the earlier outburst of wind camouged it. And that force that hit him was like a truck hit him on his back. If it wasn''t because of his exoskeleton, his skin might be ripped apart from that force alone, allowing one to see his flesh.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t stop here. The force contained from the wind was also enough tounch him in the mingo''s direction that kept charging at him with that fire body.


    Knowing that he needed to finish this as soon as possible, he clenched his teeth to prepare for the pain as he used his elbow instead to stop the mingo before dropping his sword and using the same hand to grab the mingo.


    "I finally got you!" Kai smirked as he shed the mingo into two.


    He immediately released it too and checked the burn mark in his hand. If not because he knew Evan was able to heal a wound like this, he might choose to fight in a different way.


    He simply needed to rush toward Evan. The moment he killed the mingo, he didn''t go back to the deer. Instead, he ran toward Evan''s direction, leaving the deer alone.


    Without thinking, the deer immediately charged at him with all his might, but it was at this time Kai used his Sound st tounch himself back, heading toward the deer.


    Because of their speed, the deer shouldn''t be able to respond with any magic, so this was the perfect chance for him.


    He shed his sword with all his strength.


    The deer also had its pride on its horns as it lowered its head to block Kai''s sword.


    To everyone''s surprise, Kai suddenly found himself spinning as it was clear that he was losing in terms of momentum and power.


    But it was fine, everything was within his prediction. He used that spinning force to sh the deer''s neck with his other sword.

 Chapter 328 - Scheme

    Bang.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Evan kept shooting the magical beasts and killed around eighty monsters since the start. However, he felt that everything really took his stamina. Not only did he need to avoid all the attacks, but he also needed to keep running at full speed and aiming at them as urately as possible.


    Unlike Isabelle or Tasha, he had nothing to show in terms of marksmanship, including experiences.


    "It has been almost one and a half hours since the start of this operation. Where is exactly the captain?" Evan screamed while moving a bit closer to the first depot. His bullets were almost empty, so he needed to get the ammunition he left in the first point.


    As for the leader monster that had been chasing him was a Darwin Fox. If not because he kept shooting this animal, he might be able to wipe the rest of the magical beasts.


    Using its speed, the Darwin Fox managed to keep his attention on him, allowing the others to attack Evan.


    However, Evan started getting the hang of its movements, so he began creating the perfect n to make a surprise attack.


    Still, it was easier said than done. The fox might not be moving with life on the line, but the rest of the magical beasts were hindering his movements.


    And the situation turned even worse when he saw numerous monstersing to him in unison.


    "Oi?! This is going to kill me." Evan screamed in despair, making the fox find the chance to strike him from the side.


    It was at this time Evan actually smiled as if his n had seeded.


    As soon as he sensed the small iing object from the side, he turned around and shot immediately without aiming. If everything was ording to his n, the small fox should be right where he stopped.


    "Spot on!" Evan grinned as he stopped right when the aim was on the fox.


    Bang.


    Because of the sudden increase of swiftness, the fox could only block the attack with its paw, sacrificing one of them to save his life. At the same time, the power of the bullet sent him flying.


    Evan continued to smile when he saw a shing from that direction as well.


    "Go!"


    ¡­


    A few minutes ago.


    "Huft." Kai started panting after everything was over as he looked at the magical beasts that kept going in Evan''s direction. They would soon arrive at his ce, so he didn''t have the time to wait for long.


    After catching up his breath, he used his Sound st to run as fast as possible, only to find Evan was surrounded by many beasts and barely pushed them away with his pistol.


    Without wasting a single second, Kai instantly leaped toward the leader, the Darwin Fox that was trying to hunt Evan down.


    "Ha!" Kai shed his sword forward, albeit was avoided by the Fox.


    "I thought you left first with the reason to let me grow or something."


    "Sorry. There was another grouping for you and the one that brought these magical beasts. Well, they had three intelligent beasts too, so it took longer than he expected." Kai apologized while making his way toward Evan to cover him.


    Evan also supported him, so they could regroup. "You sound like you have experienced something dreadful earlier."


    "I was almost dead, you know." He let out a long sigh.


    Evan then realized Kai''s burned hand. "I see. I can understand that. I will heal youter, but our priority is¡­"


    "Yeah. Follow me. We are breaking through first to regain our ground." Kai nodded as he finally arrived before him before leaping again in another direction, trying to breakthrough. "Let''s go."


    Evan nodded and aimed the gun toward the magical beasts behind them, slowing them down to not stop them from breaking through.


    As soon as they were outside the encirclement, Kai positioned himself between Evan and the magical beasts.


    "The fox is hiding behind a magical beast. There might be a chance you are getting attacked, so be careful."


    "Roger." Evan nodded.


    The two then began theirst killing spree thatsted for around twenty minutes before they managed to annihte every single beast.


    After that, Kai leaned back a nearby tree before falling on his butt, panting. "This is harsh. To think I will be this exhausted after just a few hundred beasts. Have I be weaker?"


    "No, no. I think it''s due to the difference that the magical beasts have this time."


    "True enough. They tried to drag me down together but failed to do so." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "If we were fighting against beasts like this in the future, we would need to be extra careful."


    "I agree. It''s tough because you can''t predict what kind of move they will make. Unlike the usual fighting style, they don''t fear death, and their attack patterns are diversified since they can kill me in many ways just like that. It scares me to see how a desperate persones at me in the future." Evan let out a long sigh.


    "Anyway, we have finished here. After scanning this ce, I don''t think we need to help the army to do their job."


    "We can go home then?"


    "Yes. And don''t forget we will spar. All of you are going to fight me." Kai smirked. "I am looking forward to it."


    "I don''t know why you are so excited, but I guess it''s fine. I just want to make sure you are able to cut down your girls." Evan nced at him with a serious expression.


    "If it were just a simtion world, I wouldn''t have any hesitation. If it were real, I would have no hesitation as well, but it''s them who stabbed me instead of me stabbing them." Kai smiled. "As for you, I will mutte you¡­ Just kidding."


    "Don''t say a scary word like that. I know you will do it." Evan tried to retreat as if he was scared of him.


    "Haha¡­" Kaiughed out loud. "I think the pain is not there anymore. You can finish the rest of the treatment on the way. For now, let''s get all the supplies first before returning to our camp."


    "Sure." Evan nodded before rising back.


    ¡­


    Unbeknownst to them, there was a woman leaning on a tree while closing her eyes as if she was waiting for someone. Not long after that, a shadow appeared in front of her, and it turned out to be a walking shark.


    "Are you sure about this?" He asked.


    "What are you talking about?" She nced at the shark with an innocent look.


    "As soon as you returned after that war, you immediately came to thend again and taught all those magical beasts. At the same time, to think that you have started teaching every single intelligent beast, I am wondering whether you are sure to let them die just like that."


    "Of course not. The ones who died in this ce were sacrificial pawns. They were necessary to understand one thing."


    "One thing?"


    "That human¡­ No, I should call him by his name at this point, I guess. What I have learned during this meeting is Kai Carter''s weakness." She smirked as if she thought something crazy.


    "His weakness? Does he hold that much value?"


    "You have been in slumber this whole time, so you don''t know our current n yet. However, you know his value, right?"


    "His ears. The ears that can hear anything."


    "Yes. Humans are ssifying it as a hearing enhancement, but they never know the real worth of that hearing ability. For a person having that ability, he holds three fates. The first is toy low so we don''t take advantage of his ability. The second is to surrender and swear his loyalty to us. The third is to die."


    "But there is the fourth one¡­" The shark narrowed his eyes.


    "What is it?"


    "He is the one who has thestugh. In other words, we lose."


    "Are you on our side or on the human''s side?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "I am on your side, of course. And please call me a realist instead. I am always considering the worst possible thing that will happen in case everything fails." He let out a long sigh.


    "¡­" The woman looked at him for a few seconds before putting down the matter. "Either way, with the information rally by the magical beasts, we can get the report from them, including how he reacts. After all, he is not really chasing those who stay underground. As long as we send everything to the underground first and have them send the information, he won''t know it''s us."


    "I agree. By the way, are you nning to take him down right now? We might be able to meet him and capture him since there are only two of them. And his teammate has healing magic instead of space magic, I think this is the best chance to get him," The shark asked politely.


    "No. He already has a suspicion about this, so the moment we enter his hearing range, he is going to retreat. Don''t forget the fact that he can remember someone''s heartbeat. And he will surely recognize mine. As for you¡­ I don''t think you alone can catch him since he is so slick."


    "Is that so? Either way, we have finished our original goal, so I guess it''s fine. This kind of thing is possible only because they have defeated the spider too¡­"


    "Yeah. Unbeknownst to them, because they kill that spider, everything in this area is easier to control. Besides, he has killed many of us as of now, so I will try to get some hostages first to make him fall into despair."


    "That is a bit hard, don''t you say? His family is well protected while those who are on the battlefield are great fighters on their own."


    "It''s fine. This is a long-term n, and we also have our spies on their side. We can try to build up a little bit until the timees." She smiled. "For now, let''s return. I have gathered enough data."


    "I understand."


    The two then disappeared.

 Chapter 329 - Report

    "Are you sure about that?!" Paolo and Erica dropped their jaws as soon as they listened to Kai''s report.


    After finishing their mission, they decided to camp outside first to check the movement from the magical beasts before returning to the best the next morning. Luckily, the magical beasts had no drastic change, and the humans could proceed ording to the n.


    However, when they heard about the magical beasts bing smarter, they werepletely shocked, especially with the part where Kai specified their true aim.


    They would never expect that magical beasts could make a suicide attack. And they were the so-called leaders of magical beasts to boot.


    Have they evolved into something like a suicide squad? This question lingered in their minds for a long time.


    Even Kai couldn''t make any conclusion due to how random it was. Paolo and Erica understood that as well and told him good work. After all, Kai almost died a few times already.


    Fortunately, he managed to turn around all the situations with his current ability. If he didn''t have any improvement after this vacation, he would be in a dangerous situation.


    They were still in the middle of the report as Kai was sitting in front of a round table, facing Erica and Paolo.


    Erica suddenly asked a question that might be too obvious for everyone else. "Did they make an attack pattern like that just for you?"


    From the information alone, it was easy how different they were between fighting him and Evan. When Evan helped Kai to grab the attention of the fox, it never used any suicide attacks. It kept sticking to the basics as if everything had been programmed that way.


    However, it changed drastically when Kai appeared on the battlefield. It tried to injure or kill Kai with whatever he got, even if it meant sacrificing its own life.


    That was why Kai also drew the same conclusion as her regarding this pattern. "I believe yes. As expected, there is only one suspect, huh."


    "Yes. Without a doubt, it must be the works of the protectors. Still, I can''t believe how they are actually using the magical beasts to make such an attack." Erica pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking this hard matter.


    "But there is a possibility of them using the same tactic against normal soldiers after I leave, so please be careful about it," Kai warned her.


    "I understand. All the soldiers will be notified by tomorrow."


    "Hmm. Although it''s pretty obvious that the protectors are the ones behind this, is there still a possibility that a third party is the real perpetrator?" Paolo asked, wanting to take this into ount as well.


    "There is indeed a possibility, but it''s too low for our current situation. There are only two possibilities that the humans can teach Magical Beasts. They are either a special case like having the ability to talk to an animal or a Zodiac, one that fails and turns into a partial Magical Beast instead. These two are the ones having the possibility of teaching them." Erica shook her head.


    "I don''t know about the former, but I have personally in thetter. And it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth¡­ As much as I am ruthless to the enemies, I have realized from that day the fact that I have forsaken humanity in my heart. Instead of thinking of saving them first, I thought it would be better to kill them to end their misery." Kai let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes.


    "Don''t beat yourself like that. There is simply no medicine to cure them at the moment. Even your teacher might not be able to produce such a thing in at least one or two decades. After all, it''s easy to fuse gics, but it''s hard to separate them. Or at least, that is the case for the current evolved gics. That''s what your teacher told me in the past." Erica shook her head and put on a gentle smile.


    "Uh." Alex looked down.


    "Anyway, we have no information about the former case. If we know there is a person that can talk to an animal or, in this case, a magical beast, he or she will surely be famous. And the government won''t sit still," Erica added.


    "In that case, the only possibility is the protectors. Unfortunately, I didn''t hear a single indication about theming to the battlefield, so I guess they have trained them even before this fight?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Little did he know that the protectors indeed came, but they stayed outside his hearing range. If Kai knew it, he might immediately call back up and pursue the magical beasts with Erica and Paolo.


    "That''s the only possibility." Erica arrived at the same conclusion. "The magical beasts have been terrorizing us with their strong physical abilities. Although we have grown ustomed to their attack patterns and other things, the mortality rate is still above thirty percent. And there are still heavy injuries and disabilities¡­ It boosts up to fifty percent in total. That''s why we give them a hugepensation for their service."


    "Haiz. Many peoplee and go every single year. From the military academy alone, we have around fifty thousand people joining every single year. If we add the three thousand elites from the magical academy, it''s still too low for the current rate."


    "But don''t we have civilians that apply for the positions?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. It''s indeed a case like that. However, only a few of them are actually able to rise in power. A famous example of this will be Brad Matthew. He is the current highest power that rose in power despite starting from a mere soldier that had no knowledge or specialty at the start." Paolo nodded. "Even I started as a Military Academy''s graduate while Erica hailed from the Sacred Magical Academy."


    Kai widened his eyes when he heard Brad Matthew''s name from his mouth. Never in his wildest dream that Brad would be someone like that.


    But now that he thought about it, the reason why he was always so upset was due to his experience that raised from his rank because he knew how hard it was to raise from the very bottom that he wanted to deny Kai''s existence.


    And Kai believed that he had lost manyrades in arms in the past, so Brad didn''t want him to experience something simr.


    ''I see.'' Kai''s view of the man called Brad Matthew had changed when he realized all this. And he didn''t want to make the former student council president reliant on his prestige because he must know that it would prove to be fatal when one charged against the enemies without having any real experiences.


    "Anyway, is that all you notice?"


    "I guess." Kai hesitated for a few seconds, trying to recall every scene he found during the fight before nodding his head. "They are trying to make such an attack. Well, there is one more thing. I met three intelligent beasts simultaneously, and they even attacked another intelligent beast just to kill me, so I assume the sacrifice is not limited to a normal beast. At the same time, their movement is a bit weird. I think it''s better to see their movement again and check whether the current n is still usible."


    "Alright. We will take that into ount and check their entire movement. If that''s all, I think you can go home."


    "Yes, thank you. By the way, I will inform my teacher about this as well." Kai nodded and rose from his seat.


    "Sure. We will be the one dealing with the government side." Paolo nodded.


    "You can go rest now and return after having lunch here. If you don''t mind, you can even stay here for a little longer." Erica smiled.


    "Ahaha¡­ They are waiting for me, so I need to go back. Besides, I have a feeling that you will meet a few of the girls soon." Kai shook his head.


    The girls hadn''t shown their ns for the uing training, but he guessed a few of them were trying to get enough real experience on the battlefield to increase their strength and efficiency. Some were going to strengthen their magic or invent new magic. And some were going to polish and consolidate their strength.


    As for the specific person who followed one of the three courses of action, he had no idea. He could only put the trust in the girls and met them again in three months to show their strength.


    "I see. We are looking forward to meeting them." Erica nodded with a smile. "Don''t worry. They won''t regret choosing this base for their training."


    "With the current situation, I am hesitating whether to ept it or not¡­" Kai let out a sigh.


    "Well, there is still a week before anyone can join this base. I believe it''s enough time to see whether the magical beasts have be smarter or not. Suppose you were their target. In that case, we would know the reason behind their change."


    "You are going to use them to prove that?" Kai slightly frowned, didn''t like the idea.


    "Don''t worry. Their safety will be our priority. In fact, if I am mobilizing them like that, this guy will be the leader of that operation." Erica smiled while patting Paolo''s shoulder.


    When he felt her tap, he immediately pumped his fist. "Of course. I will ensure that."


    "¡­" Although he still didn''t like it, he knew it would be best to trust them in this matter. "I understand. Please help whoeveres here."


    "Sure."


    Kai then left the room, heading back to their room to meet Evan.


    After talking about the necessity they needed to do and had lunch there, they finally flew back toward the US Base, specifically their school.

 Chapter 330 - Shirotsuka Sanae

    The next day.


    "We are back." Evan and Kai arrived at school and greeted the girls as they seemed to have agreed upon something, especially with that serious look on their faces.


    When they saw these two guys, they immediately dragged Evan to another room.


    Alex could hear them saying we needed to make a n for the fight and so on, but when they discussed the real matter, they stopped talking. Kai could hear them typing something but had no idea what they were writing about, so there was no chance of him knowing their n.


    "It seems the girls are going for a big n this time." Shirotsuka Sanae, who never bothered about their matters, finally opened her mouth.


    "Oh?! I have almost forgotten you are here, Teacher."


    "Oi! I am still your instructor, you know. Well, I haven''t been instructing you in your missions, so I can''t really say anything."


    "It''s fine. I believe the group can get stronger faster this way." Kai nodded. "Besides, you have been dealing with all the matter and equipment purchases for us, so we feel a bit bad."


    "I can''t really leech off you guys, so I need to work for my pay. Since practically, I have received a sixth of what all of you are making every single month. It''s far more than what I have done, so at least, I should help you guys in any way." She shrugged.


    "¡­" Kai looked at her with a weird expression, wondering if he heard it wrong.


    "What?!" She found herself insulted when Kai put on an expression like this. He must be thinking something bad about her.


    "Nothing. I am just impressed by the fact that you can say something like working."


    "It''s true that I don''t hate free money, but I am not a leech." She gently hit his head. "Luckily, all of you don''t have any grade problems. If you have one, I am sure you are going to beughed off."


    "Absolutely."


    "No, no. Should I fail you right now?" She smirked as if she thought something brilliant. "I mean, there were many rich people in the past that dropped out of school, so I am thinking of creating one myself."


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "And it will surely be a juicy topic when they know that the soon to be general Kai Carter suddenly drops out of school because his grades are atrocious."


    "No, no. I am sure that it will cover the news if we have the teacher of Kai Carter actually don''t want to do anything, but still get a million dors in a year." He grinned.


    "Your mouth has evolved, huh."


    "You too."


    Both of them smirked before brushing the joke aside with augh.


    "Anyway, what I want to tell you is that the girls are nning something big. Even I don''t know what it is. Or do you want me to be your operator during the fight?" She smiled.


    "That doesn''t sound too bad. After all, I am at a big disadvantage in fighting them alone. Not only has Evan increased his attacking ability, but the others also have improved significantly. If I need to say¡­ I would say that their chance to win is sixty percent."


    "Oh?! Only sixty percent? You are pretty confident, aren''t you?"


    Kai shrugged. "Well, there is a huge chance that the environment they are going to use for our mock battle is something dark, either the night or inside a building. This will boost Michelle''s overall strength since she will be the one holding me down.


    "With the addition of Evan as a mid-range attacker, their position will be 2-2-1. Michelle and Ayaka will be the vanguards, while behind them are Evan and Sofia. If needed, Evan can go back to help Tasha on the very back, while Sofia can alsounch a surprise attack by moving up.


    "That will be a solid n¡­ At least, for me." Kai nodded before he felt something was amiss.


    "That is your conclusion when you believe that the ce will be something that gives Michelle advantages, right?"


    "¡­" Kai fell silent as he realized that there would be many ns they could use in case they didn''t pick a dark one. At the same time, their visions wouldn''t be limited. Even with night vision, he believed that the other girls would have trouble fighting in the dark. "Interesting."


    "Do you want me to be your navigator?"


    "Yes, I hope you can help me in the fight¡­ Because I believe the chance of them winning this time is around seventy percent instead." Kai pinched the bridge of his nose as he stumbled across something interesting.


    "This fight will be very different from any other fights you have, especially ones with magical beasts. They have the luxury to create a situation they prefer because of your arrogance. Why do you think it''s a wise idea to give them the luxury to choose the area?"


    "Ahaha¡­ I just wanted to give them the freedom to choose the battlefield, so they could create a concise n, allowing them to go even further in this field. I hope in the future they could still make a simr n even without me around them." Kai smiled, genuinely exining his thoughts.


    "Since you have a reason, I won''t say anything. Rather than that, I have a concern about what you will do in your third year. You know that you are going to be in a four-person team, right?"


    "Yes. With Sofia returning to her country and Tasha graduates, there will only be Michelle, Ayaka, and Evan left. And the fact that I have to leave in the first three months where we need to adjust our positions with the new members¡­ Make me feel like stupid." He let out a long sigh.


    "Don''t worry about them. I might participate in a mission to move my body a little bit during that time." Sanae smiled, assuring that nothing would happen to them when he left for three months.


    "Thank you, Teacher." Kai bowed politely, showing his gratitude.


    "It''s fine. The problem is the remaining nine months. Are you going to have a new member? Or just stay in this situation?"


    "I will probably go with a four-man team until graduation. After that, I will go wherever Tasha is stationed and raise my rank there."


    "Since you have a clear picture of your n, I don''t need to worry then. Well, I will surely get a huge cut if I supervise other than your group."


    "You should start investing your money instead of splurging them in wine."


    "I can''t help it. Don''t worry. I have been saving most of them."


    "By the way, Teacher, I might be going back to United Asia after graduation. Do you want to follow me?"


    "Are you going to fight the Katsuragi Family or staying there peacefully?" Sanae looked at him with a serious expression before letting out a long sigh. "Never mind. I will go with you this time. I have a grudge against them as well."


    "I will contact you about the details¡­ Maybe a yearter."


    "Sure."


    A soon as he nodded, he found a messageing into his inbox, so he immediately opened it and read it.


    ''I have gotten and read through your report regarding this incident. This is something unprecedented because no one is able to train magical beasts. However, it doesn''t mean that the magical beasts can''t be trained.


    ''In fact, if you are considering police dogs or any other smart animals, you will realize that it''s possible to train them. And ording to the research that I have been reading, their brain is actually more developed than back when they were just a mere animal.


    ''However, if you are living back where people don''t even know how to converse, you will realize that they are utter fools. They will slowly learn the words, efficient ways to fight, and other things¡­ But this will only happen far in the future.


    ''The problem is there is someone (possibly the protectors) who trains and increases their growth rate. This is a major problem for us because we might find a beast talking in a human voice in a few years.


    ''And if the protectors are doing this in masses, they might be capable of creating an army that can lead thousands of magical beasts themselves to attack the base in an organized way. This is my current concern.


    ''The possibility is there, and the catalyst happens to increase it. And I believe if we don''t solve this as soon as possible, humanity will face another big crisis like what we experienced during the apocalypse.


    ''All in all, I will cooperate with the government regarding this. Probably, the scientists that have gotten closer to the truth are those who are on Easter Ind. Due to the fact that they are dealing with magical things, I believe they will have some knowledge. And the government is currently researching magical ces like Eastern Ind. Either way, those people will probably return in a week or so, and the investigation will start.


    ''Don''t worry. Our training time won''t be interrupted. Love you, my disciple.''


    "¡­" Kai fell silent when he read thest sentence. Even with the world crisis, she didn''t care as long as she could mess with him.


    "How should I say this? Congrattions?! I mean, your teacher loves you so much."


    "Love me so much that she can''t wait to kill me a few more thousand times? That kind of love is too heavy¡­" Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Haha¡­ That''s your problem. In any case, I will be helping you during your mock battle in a few days." Shirotsuka Sanae then returned to her work and let out an aura that told him not to disturb her.


    Kai could only sulk alone and decided to read some research papers for his new magic.

 Chapter 331 - Before The Fight

    After several days of nning, the time for the mock battle hade. Despite having Sanae''s promise to be his navigator, the battle was still one versus five.


    They finished their work for thest day first before driving to Michelle''s house, borrowing the personal training room.


    Of course, Michelle had prepared everything. From six training capsules to the necessary data. When they entered the mansion and arrived in front of the house, an old man suddenly pushed open the door and leaped toward them.


    "Oh! My granddaughter has brought my grandson-inw home." The target of his hug was obviously Kai.


    Instead of dodging, Kai decided to use his Oscition Shield to stop him, and Nathan ended up crashing into it.


    "You must be so shy." Nathan pouted.


    "I am not. Please act ording to your age."


    "Why do I need to do that when it''s not necessary? It won''t give me money or anything. Instead, there is this research that if you are acting like a certain younger age, you can live longer. I am nning to live long enough until I see my great-grandchildren."


    "¡­" Kai couldn''t rebuke him again as he only let out a sigh. "Anyway, I think you have read the report, right?"


    "Are you talking about the fight or the intelligent beasts? If you are talking about thetter, I have sent the order for investigation¡­Or Michael has! If it''s the former, I am wondering why you are so cruel to want to kill your own wife?" He sobbed.


    "Quit your acting." Kai scratched the back of his head. "It''s just a mock battle. It''s not like we are fighting for different reasons?"


    "Oh?! Are you talking about family fights that end up in divorce? Wait a minute. Don''t tell me you are the guy who will answer the question ''What is the reason for a divorce'' with ''Marriage,'' right?"


    "The answer is true, though. But no, I am not that kind of person. Why are you even asking right now? Haven''t you seen enough already? I am not going to change drastically in a short period of time."


    "Ahem!" Suddenly, someone''s voice was heard from behind as Michael showed his appearance. "Father, you should stop bothering him. What if he bes too bothered with your action and ends up leaving your granddaughter?"


    "I will chase him to the end of the world and tie him up. After that, I will use an aphrodisiac and make them do the deed." Nathan answered with a serious expression as if he would do that for real.


    "I shouldn''t ask that." Michael waspletely speechless to face this old man. "And I somehow can''t picture you bringing our five thousand soldiers that are scattered all around the base to chase him down."


    "You are truly my son. You can even know my exact thought."


    "Anyway, I think the kids can''t really stay for too long because they are not going to stay for the night. That''s why it''s better to let them finish their battle first before talking like this."


    "Aiya. Now I am taking back my words from earlier. Are you really my son?"


    "Yes, I am. I know you are nning to buy time long enough until it has be toote for them to go back to their home and end up staying for the night." Michael twitched his eyebrows, starting to be irritated.


    "I am taking back of me taking back my words."


    "Are you not tired talking like that, Father?"


    "Nope!" Nathan stuck out his tongue yfully. "What? I am not dignified? It''s fine. I don''t care about my personal image anymore. As for the image of the Graham Family? You are the one who needs to keep it."


    "Ugh!" Michael was hopeless to fight this shameless old man. Even Kai could only shake his head, not knowing how to help him. At the same time, Michelle had been fuming inside this whole time as she suddenly grabbed her grandfather''s cor from behind and dragged her. "I am going to talk to this old man. Give me fifteen minutes."


    "Oh, my granddaughter. How can you do this to your grandfather? Look at your cousins! They respect this grandfather of yours."


    "I will be leaving this household when I am married!" She gritted her teeth andined as she kept dragging him inside.


    "I will keep visiting you! I need to y with my great-grandchildren. Even Kai has be 4-Star generals, the great-grandchildren can''t escape from me!"


    "You are the bad influence!"


    After that conversation, their voices couldn''t be heard anymore. Michael Graham looked at them awkwardly.


    "I apologize for his behaviors. He is just a family man back in the home, so you will see it every now and then." He let out a long sigh. "Anyway, waiting for my daughter to correct my own father, it''s better to make thest preparation for your mock battle. What do you think?"


    "Sure." Kai nodded. Even though they had yet to fight, his energy was already drained.


    Meanwhile, the one who got shocked the most was none other than Sofia. Kai, Ayaka, Tasha, and Sanae had gotten their share of a surprisest year while Evan had seen him every now and then before Sofia came.


    When Sofia found how he acted, shepared it to the one she met this whole time. Nathan Graham would surely throw some sarcasm to her every time he got a chance. That was why this transformationpletely blew her mind.


    Kai and the others entered the room. Evan patted her shoulder, smiled weirdly and shrugged his shoulder, telling her that she didn''t need to mind that much.


    She ended up switching her brain off and just forgot about the earlier Nathan, so she could keep her focus on the battle.


    "By the way, I have inserted every single data that you need in the mainputer. And Shirotsuka Sanae can help you by giving you navigation about the terrain and such." Michael led them through a few corridors. "You don''t mind if we are watching, right?"


    "Yeah. It''s fine." Kai nodded.


    At the end of the door was a thick wooden door. Even though it looked like a wooden door, when Michael opened it, its true appearance was revealed. It turned out to be a thick two meters metal door.


    As soon as they entered, they found a white room with some sort of machinery. In the corner of this spacious room were ten capsules. "We have a mock battle five versus five sometimes."


    "Yeah. He is telling the truth." A woman suddenly walked in and headed toward one of the machines.


    "Aunty." Kai immediately bowed politely when he saw her appearance.


    "It''s been a while, dear. We haven''t really met each other since you are dealing with this formal guy or that idiotic father." She smiled.


    "Ahaha¡­Both of them have their own quality."


    "Indeed. This formal and stiff guy is cute in a sense. He is smart as well." She smiled before exining. "I will be handling all the necessary support and data assessment during the fight. You don''t mind, right?"


    "Now that you mention it, I almost forgot that Aunty''s job was an operator."


    "Yeah. I used to support this guy who always used the tactic in the book and never showed any unique and daring strategy. Well, it was easier to recap anyway."


    "Can you not tell them that?" Michael scratched his head again, not wanting the kids to know as he would get embarrassed.


    "Fine. Good old days. Anyway, your teacher can use that screen to understand the terrain when it''s built. I can''t really give you the picture yet since the match has yet to officially start." She pointed her finger toward a machine.


    "I understand." Sanae nodded politely and headed toward her station.


    Daisy Graham then activated the capsules before ncing at the two people that just entered the room. It was Michelle and Nathan. To their surprise, Nathan had this big tape on his mouth, preventing him from talking while he was walking with rope circling his body, so he wouldn''t create a mess.


    One thing that appeared in their mind was the fact that there were ropes in their house. It raised a question in their mind. ''Where does she get the rope?''


    "Bondage?" Tasha was the first toment.


    "No! It is my grandfather''s prevention measure."


    "It''s fine, Michelle. I have known that you have a heavy taste. From our first meeting alone, you have warned me to change unless I want you to kill me." Ayaka corrected her as if trying to pity her.


    "But won''t that target us?" Tasha nced at her with teasing eyes.


    "No, no. It''s probably for this guy¡­" Ayaka pointed her finger at Kai.


    "That''s if you can beat him in this match first, right? He won''t ept to do it voluntarily." Tasha smirked as she shook Ayaka''s hand and said, "Let''s go then."


    "Yes." The two then entered the capsules without waiting for Michelle to correct their words.


    Evan patted Kai''s shoulder and immediately entered the capsule without a word, while Sofia only shook her head disappointedly and did the same.


    "I will ept everything about you." Kai looked at her weirdly before walking to his own capsule!"


    "NO!"


    "Dear. It''s your loss. Just ept it and get inside there." Daisy smiled.


    "Ugh!" Michelle looked down¡ªdejected¡ªand slowly made her way toward the capsule.


    After that, Daisy activated the machine and informed them. "Here we go. You will be teleported in three¡­two¡­one¡­and go!"


    Kai heard it and closed his eyes.


    As soon as the count reached zero, he was teleported inside the realm they created. A chill breeze brushed his body as his mind was jolted by the coldness as he immediately looked at his surroundings.


    It was a forest that was covered in snow. The snow itself wasn''t really that deep, but for him, who had Sound st shouldn''t be a problem since he could simply walk above the Sound st instead of having his feet buried by snow.


    As for the time setting, it was obviously at dusk. Michelle would soon have the advantage, and they could still have their sight for a period of time. Still, this type of environment never appeared even in his wildest dream, and he couldn''t help but shout.


    "Seriously?"

 Chapter 332 - Plan

    Kai listened to his surroundings to see the size of the arena.


    "Teacher?!" Kai called Sanae when he didn''t find the other party.


    "I will be inputting the data." Sanae nodded and typed a few things on the keyboard.


    Suddenly, a blue screen in front of Kai showing the rough size of the map and the distance between him and them.


    Sanae''s voice suddenly rang in his ears. "This is usually transmitted in your device if it''s in the real world. It''s just I have never experienced being an operator, so I can only show you the information that Madam Daisy gave me here and not in the real world."


    "That''s enough." Kai nodded. "To think having an operator makes this easier."


    "Well, the operator''s job is only giving you the terrain data ording to the satellite and analyzing it before sending it to you. However, the front line is a bit hard to utilize the operator because you can only ask them for a report situation during the time you are not fighting or away from the battlefield."


    "Maybe I should get one? I think there should be people who aim to be something like this in school, right?" Kai asked while looking at the five dots that had yet to move. Since Michelle and the others were still discussing their n, he decided to ask a few questions.


    "If you are aiming to have one, I am suggesting to take someone from the older one. Well, you might probably only get one from the first year since all the older ones must have gotten into the group. And yeah, they are included as a group member. In other words, they are also fighting with you."


    "Not staying in the base? In that case, I shouldn''t really get one since when I graduate, I won''t be able to take care of the operator since Tasha will join my group again."


    "True enough. Evan is probably the most suited one to be an operator, and I have asked him. Unfortunately, he rejected the idea because he was bad at analyzing stuff."


    "Such a shame." Kai sighed before he remembered Via, the light magician that Nathan brought up. With her kind of skill and talent, she must be a good operator even if she couldn''t fight.


    "Anyway, most groups don''t have an operator because most of them are working for the government itself, analyzing the data. If you happen to find one that can fight, you are lucky."


    "I see. Either way, I have no n to get one this term because I have even surpassed the limit. If not because of the government''s exception, Sofia wouldn''t even join my group."


    "True enough. Anyway, you are going to have a year with a four-person group, you should start thinking about it now."


    "Yeah. I will do it." He nodded before finding the dots in the radar had started moving. "Alright. They have moved."


    "The size of the map is approximately ten kilometers. Two kilometers to the right, you will find a power nt that has good hiding spots. I think you can limit Tasha''s ability there."


    Kai thought for a moment and observed their movement. Although they were not far away from each other, they were still separated. He immediately realized that they were trying to bait him.


    "No. The building is a trap. They want to utilize that area. There might even be some explosive gas in the power nt. Ayaka will probably st it." Kai shook his head.


    "I checked it just now. Yes, your prediction is right. It will surely create a huge explosion if it blows up." Sanae confirmed his suspicion.


    "Is there anything I can use on the opposite side?"


    "None. If you go to the front, you will fight them in a field. It will be a disadvantage for you. To your right is a mountain range, while on the opposite side, behind the power nt, you will find a forest. Where do you want to go?"


    "They have really nned it through." Kai smiled. If he chose the first one, his movement ability would surely be fine since he could step on his Sound st. Ayaka might probably melt the snow with her fire magic to make it easier for them to move. At that time, he would have a great disadvantage.


    If he went to the left, they could take advantage of both the forest and the power nt. In that case, the safer choice would probably be the mountain.


    Either way, he would y right into their hands no matter what they chose.


    "Are you going for a safer choice?"


    "No. Let''s go to the left instead."


    "Are you serious?"


    "Yeah. Since we are going to their trap no matter which side we choose, it''s better to fall¡­Wait, I have gotten a more interesting idea." Kai grinned.


    "Oh?!"


    "I will be staying here." Kai smiled evilly as he looked at the tree right beside him and leaned his back on the tree. "Can you give me theyout of my surroundings?"


    "If I am your opponent, I will surely call you a son of a b*tch." Sanae smirked as she immediately gave theyout to him.


    When Daisy saw this, she smiled and went toward Sanae. "This boy is surely fascinating, isn''t he?"


    "Indeed. I have nothing but praise for this guy, and I think Evan and the girls have missed one spot where he can actually fight without falling into their n." Sanae nodded.


    "Instead of going to the most obvious ones or making an unexpected move to turn the situation around, he simply waits for them in his original position. This way, Michelle and the others need to chase him to this ce because the condition for their victory is to kill Kai. And with a ce like this, they won''t get the ground to fight him." Daisy smiled.


    "Hoho! This is why the boy can make the protectors run for their money." Nathanughed.


    "I really hate if there is someone like him as my opponent." Michael agreed. "He does not think what kind of n he needs to escape this situation. Instead, he is acting as his opponent right now, thinking how they will move if he makes such a move. Predicting the prediction, I guess."


    "Yeah. He calctes what the opponents will do and take that into ount." Nathan nodded beforeughing again. "Look at this, my flower and son! I have brought you a good son-inw."


    "Indeed." Daisy smiled as she remembered the one who epted Michelle''s rtionship with Kai was him.


    On the other hand, Michael looked away embarrassedly. "Yes, yes. You are the best, Father."


    "Hehe¡­This guy is doing anything to keep him away because he doesn''t want her sunflower (Michelle) to get snatched." Nathan put his hand on Michael''s shoulder while teasing him.


    Michael couldn''t say anything.


    "Alright, Father. It''s time to stop. This dearest husband of mine is too embarrassed for this. And it''s not like this was the reason you epted their rtionship. If not because you knew that his teacher was Ria Ross, you will..." Daisy tried to stop Nathan from bragging since he wouldn''t stop for at least fifteen minutes.


    "Okay, okay." Nathan pouted and looked away, knowing it was true.


    "By the way, there is something I am concerned with. We are assuming that they have missed this spot, but what if they are actually not?" Sanae furrowed her eyebrows and asked.


    The three then suddenly shut up and realized they had weeks of preparation.


    Kai could create the super n against the protectors a few months ago due to the time and all data, including the ce where they would fight. Because of that, he could move the four armies well and defeat the protectors.


    If the others actually had prepared for everything¡­They couldn''t imagine what would happen.


    "Anyway, let''s watch."


    The four then watched the screen with a serious expression.


    Meanwhile, Kai was trying to understand the terrain. Unlike the others, this terrain consisted of a small hill and trees every now and then.


    After waiting for three minutes, he nced at his right as five of them were standing not far from him.


    "You havee." Kai smiled.


    The five didn''t say anything, but Kai felt the calmness in their hearts and realized that this was indeed inside their prediction.


    "I see. It seems you have created every single ce in this map and turn them into a trap."


    "Should I say as expected? With your ability to listen to our heartbeat, you already know whatever we are thinking." Michelle smiled.


    "I want to say that you can only do this because you can create the terrain, and it won''t be possible in the real world. But since you use your own advantage well, I won''tment on it."


    "But you still said it just now." Michelle pouted.


    "There is one thing that makes me curious. Who created the n?" Kai asked.


    To his surprise, neither of them pointed at themselves. Evan pointed at Michelle while thetter pointed at Ayaka. Ayaka pointed at Tasha, and Tasha pointed at Sofia. Lastly, Sofia pointed her finger at Evan.


    "Oh?!"


    "Michelle came up with the overall n. Tasha came up with the terrains. Ayaka thought of the traps. Sofia managed the harmony between each terrain and trap. As for me? I just barely thought about what you would do," Evan exined.


    "I think that pays off." Kai smiled.


    "Indeed." Michelle nodded and raised his hand. Ayaka immediately went toward her while Evan and Sofia hid behind them. Lastly, Tasha teleported herself to the top of the hill.


    "Actually, there is another question in my mind."


    "Sure. We can answer it for you." Michelle smiled as though the victory was assured.


    "Why are you so sure this n will work out?" Kai smirked and shed the tree behind him. A magic circle then appeared andunched the tree to the top of the hill. "Sound st."


    "Be careful!" Michelle shouted.


    The snow on top of the hill suddenly fell down as soon as the tree hit a certain spot, creating an avnche. Kai thought of this when he studied the terrain and thought it would be possible to do it.


    "Now! It''s time to fight!"

 Chapter 333 - No

    "Now, it''s time to fight." Kai smiled, nning to buy time for the avnche to get down.


    Tasha suddenly appeared again as the others regrouped with her almost instantly as though they had nned this. Ayaka flew to the sky while Tasha teleported the others to the top of the mountain, free from the avnche.


    "Since you like it that much, I will let you have fun with it alone." Tasha smirked as they disappeared.


    "Tch." Kai realized he was getting tricked by them. They, in fact, wanted him to create this avnche himself, especially because Tasha stayed on top of the hill. Just the possibility of her creating this alone already forced him to make a move first.


    And if he went to the sky, he would face Ayaka that was ready to blow him back to the ground.


    At the same time, Sofia created a slide toward the bottom right above the avnche. Michelle also rode that slide while activating her Shadow Possession, boosting her power.


    Meanwhile, Evan seemed to follow the slide but by running on the snow instead to maintain his speed. It was obvious that he tried to use the avnche to create a cover for him, so Kai didn''t break through and hit him.


    Kai looked at Ayaka above him and used his Sound st.


    Ayaka''s face turned serious as she created a magic circle between them, trying to blow him away.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    "Sound st." Kai decided to use two Sound sts. The first one flew toward the explosion, prating Ayaka''s fire, albeit he found that the shock wave was entirely engulfed by that.


    Knowing the power of the shock wave was not enough to prate that st, he used the second Sound st tounch him in another direction, avoiding the fire.


    "Lightning Piercer." Tasha released her arrow before it suddenly sped up by turning it into a lightning bolt.


    Kai realized that the speed was far faster than him using the Sound st. He shifted his body slightly to the side, dodging this arrow, but it was Ayaka''s turn to attack him. She went around her own explosion and struck the arrow using the momentum just like a baseball.


    The arrow flew toward him again while she swung her spear in another direction.


    Because of this, Kai was forced to use both swords to stop these two attacks. However, this might probably be the first time he experienced Ayaka''s real power.


    Although it wasn''t that far, it managed to win against his strength that had been boosted by the exoskeleton.


    Kai obviously didn''t let this go ording to their way. When he spun in the air, he didn''t forget to stretch his right foot to the side and kicked Ayaka.


    Her Fire Wing suddenly closed up, protecting her body from the kick, but the power was still enough to blow her to the ground.


    Unwilling to go down without a fight, Ayaka created a Fire Net behind him.


    With that signal, Sofia made a magic circle as hundreds of small ice cubes flew toward Kai. The amount was also enough to send all of them in all directions other than Kai''s back.


    At first, Kai could escape from the Fire Net byunching himself at Ayaka before striking her. Due to these ice cubes, he only had one way to go, it was to the front where Michelle waited for him.


    If he went to the right, the left would also chase him from behind and vice versa. The same applied to the bottom and top.


    The only way he didn''t need to worry about the iceing from behind was to go forward.


    Without a doubt, he needed to fall right into their trap.


    Kai gritted his teeth and used his Sound st while using his Oscition Shield to block all the ice cubes from the front.


    As soon as he went out of that trap box, Michelle appeared before him as she swung her sword.


    Kai used his Vibration Sword but ended up making a Sound Oscition Shield instead. When the sword struck, her Shadow sh went around the magic circle, shing it into pieces. At the same time, Kai waved his sword toward her, trying to use the most vulnerable moment to inflict damage to Michelle.


    Michelle easily put her swords in front of her to stop that attack. They never fought against each other anyway, so they didn''t know whether Kai''s Vibration Sword or Michelle''s Shadow sh would win if both shed.


    However, what she never expected suddenly happened. Her vision was suddenly shaking as she miscalcted the distance and the direction for a split second. She immediately pulled back because of that, but it was toote.


    Kai''s sword had arrived, creating a quite deep graze on her right arm while using the other sword to sh in apletely different direction where he suddenly heard a gunshot.


    "Oi, oi. You are very merciless to me." Michelle pouted. "I am the first to get injured."


    "Doesn''t that mean you are the weakest one?" Kai smirked.


    "What did you say?!" The one who shouted this wasn''t Michelle. Instead, it was Nathan. "You bastard! How dare you hurt my granddaughter first! You should hit that Sofia first before hitting the others!"


    Nathan usually watched this in silence. It was just he couldn''t ignore thest thing he said, whichpletely destroyed her.


    "Father¡­ Chill! He is only taunting her." Michael restricted him.


    "Even if he doesn''t mean it, he can''t say it! I need to beat that bastard! Let me join!" Nathan shouted. "I will teach that little bastard!"


    "Father. Silent or leave?" Daisy stopped him as she said with a cold voice. She hadplete control in this room because no one could enter without her operating the machine. If Nathan actually went inside, she could make him stay in a certain world in their database for a period of time. In other words, he wouldn''t be able to watch this fight anymore.


    Knowing all of that, he looked down and closed his mouth.


    Daisy smiled. "Just watch the fight first."


    "Uhm." He nodded as Michael finally released him.


    Meanwhile, Kai was searching for an escape route as it waspletely dangerous for him to fight them without a trick.


    ''Teacher, can you hear me?'' Kai asked.


    ''Yes. I can hear you. Do you need anything?''


    ''When is the avnche going to arrive right below me?''


    ''Calcting¡­It''s seventy seconds.''


    ''Thanks.'' Kai nodded before assessing his situation once again.


    With Tasha sniping him from afar, fighting in the sky would be a foolish move. However, the others were trying to keep him in the air as long as possible, so it might be their strategy.


    Tasha released another arrow to the sky, which turned into a magic circle. A lightning bolt then struck forth.


    Kai used his Sound st to avoid this. It was annoying to keep dodging this because Tasha''s attacks were mostly to make him unable to dodge another strike. In other words, it purely tried to restrict his movement.


    Even if he knew the attack would strike with his hearing ability, it was still hard to avoid it.


    Kai thought for a moment and saw Sofia sending a few big ice spikes toward him. At the same time, Evan mixed his attack in the gaps between the ice spike. And there was even Tasha''s Lightning Piercer. Everything was mixed into thatbination attack, making the attack even moreplicated in Kai''s ears.


    Not only that, he could see Ayaka preparing another Scarlet Explosion that would surely blow him away when he was busy dodging their attacks.


    There were still twenty seconds before the avnche arrived, so he needed to stay in the air for that period of time before going down since it would be a more effective way to destroy these five people.


    Even so, dodging these attacks to maintain his position would be a bad decision, so he decided to retreat.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!"


    An explosion suddenly urred on top of his head, preventing him from going up to escape. This way, he would either go to another ce to escape or fight them on the ground.


    To their surprise, Kai decided to go for something more extreme and unpredictable. He used both Sound st and Oscition Shield before charging at the iing attacks.


    The Oscition Shield broke when Tasha''s Lightning Piercer hit it, and his Sound st broke after sessfully deflecting the bullet. Unfortunately, it shattered the edge of the magic circle, so he couldn''t use it anymore.


    Due to that, he used his Vibration Sword instead to block all of these and failed to block one of Evan''s bullets, piercing his right arm.


    After checking it was alright, he finally broke free from thebination attack and headed straight to Evan, their weakest link.


    "Not good!" Sofia immediately leaped to space between them to stop Kai.


    "You are going to move." Kai took a deep breath as he swung both swords. "I didn''t do this to ourst battle, but I don''t mind killing you today."


    Sofia saw the iing Vibration Swords and smiled. "Is that so? Then try me."


    A pair of huge ice hands suddenly formed from her back as it tried to tten Kai.


    When he saw this, Kai simply used his Sound st to get past through it.


    "Got you." Sofia smiled as she already threw her punch from below. She already moved even before Kai used his Sound st as though she believed Kai would do something like that.


    "!!!" Kai looked down at the hand that almost reached him. To her surprise, Kai suddenly smiled and said, "No, you."

 Chapter 334 - Cut

    "Nope." He stuck his tongue out.


    Sofia was confused for a split second, and a magic circle already appeared right in front of her stomach. For her, who was focused on Kai''s face, she almost missed this one and was toote to react.


    The moment she realized it, she had been blown away by the Magic Circle that turned out to be his Sound st. Itunched her toward the avnche, and she somehow ended up crashing right before the avnche.


    Not wanting to get swallowed, she created an ice wall that would protect her from this avnche.


    "Bam!" A loud noise reverberated in everyone''s ears as it hit Sofia''s ice wall.


    Suddenly, Kai appeared again right next to her as she instinctively raised her guard to avoid any sort of attacks from Kai.


    Thetter obviously knew this and ignored her instead. He then shed the ice wall and paved his own path to go through the avnche before using his Sound st to fly toward Evan.


    "Evan,e here!" Kai smirked.


    "!!!" Ayaka immediately flew to the sky to protect Evan while Michelle created a rope from shadow and attached it to Ayaka''s hand as she got carried to the sky, heading straight toward Kai.


    "Kh!" Sofia also rose back up and summoned her ice again.


    Due to her advantageous position, Tasha already released two arrows to stop Kai in his tracks. Unfortunately, without the help of the others, she had no chance to hit him.


    Kai created an Oscition Shield to block the arrow as he made his way toward Evan without decreasing his speed.


    "Wait, what?! No! It''s not fair!" Evan shot a few times before turning around and running away from Kai. "Wait, Kai. Defeat the others first! Don''t go by the book."


    "Even without the book, it''s normal to eliminate the weakest link first. Come here, Evan." Kai smirked as he got closer and closer toward Evan.


    Michelle and Ayaka also arrived not far from him, but Kai should be able to hit Evan one or two times, depending on Sofia''s ice magic.


    "Spread!" Sofia gritted her teeth and created a giant ice wall that separated Kai and Evan.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t enough to stop him.


    Due to the distance between them, the power behind this ice wall had been significantly reduced, so Kai punched it, crushing the wall in one punch.


    To everyone''s surprise, Evan didn''t use this chance to get a bit more distance. Instead, he turned around and shot a few times, believing that Kai would make such a move.


    When she saw this, Tasha teleported to Evan''s side and created another one to retreat.


    However, Kai didn''t let this chance go and snapped his finger. "Luby."


    *Ding!*


    The high-pitched voice burst everyone''s ears. Even though Tasha had got the hang of it due to the continuous usage, it still slowed her activation speed down, giving Kai an opportunity to catch up.


    "!!!" Seeing Kai had arrived right before him, Evan aimed his pistol with one hand while using his other hand to send a punch from another direction.


    Tasha also aimed at his neck, so it was three attacks versus his two swords.


    Kai only smiled and waved his left sword while creating one Oscition Shield to block Evan''s bullet and his punch. As for Tasha''s arrow, he nned to stop it with his right hand.


    Evan ended up retracting his hand to avoid it from being cut while his bullet got destroyed by Kai''s shield. Meanwhile, Kai saw Tasha''s arrow and cut it into two before using the same sword to strike Evan''s hand that was holding a pistol.


    But to his surprise, the one that cut his hand was the left hand instead. Just like his punch, the first swing was a fake. The real aim was to cut him with this kind of attack.


    "Tch, I lose in terms of experiences." Evan clicked his tongue and caught his pistol before shooting Kai with his remaining hand. He didn''t forget to apply his magic to stop the bleeding, allowing him to fight even longer.


    This might be the perfect chance to kill Evan, but Kai suddenly spun his body around, using the practically untouched right sword to strike two shadows that appeared from behind.


    nk.


    Michelle and Ayaka had caught up. Evan decided to make a distance and retreat with Tasha''s teleportation.


    Kai saw this as another opportunity. When he shed his de with Ayaka''s spear, he realized that his Vibration Sword didn''t do much damage, which baffled him. Luckily, he obliterated Michelle''s Shadow Sword, or else he would start doubting the power of his own strongest attack.


    "I have asked your teacher about the protector''s skin material and upgraded my spear ording to that spec. Although it was only a concept, this still couldn''t be considered cheating, right?" Ayaka smiled.


    "¡­" Kai only frowned and decided to use a different approach. He struck the handle of her spear instead of the de, wondering if she had strengthened that part as well, but it turned out she had.


    Michelle, on the other hand, realized that her Shadow sh was the one losing against Kai''s Vibration Sword. She then decided to use another n to hold him back.


    "Shadow Maniption." She summoned her and Kai''s shadows. Her shadow was to create another attack power while Kai''s shadow was to stop his movement.


    Unfortunately, Kai already saw this through. After confirming the emerging shadow behind him, he shed it without even bothering to look.


    "Tch!" She gritted her teeth and summoned a wall behind him instead, trying to make him change direction.


    At the same time, Ayaka used her Fire Net to stop him from going to the left while Sofia summoned a huge ice roof. This way, Kai only had two choices. Beat Ayaka and Michelle first or went to thest direction where Tasha and Evan waited for him to release their shots.


    "¡­" Kai nced at the ice wall and realized it was constructed in a way it would be able to hold down in case he destroyed the foot of the ice wall instead. The construction looked like a table with four legs, so it was futile to destroy it.


    As for Ayaka''s Fire Net, it was the only one to have no opponents. Not only was the Fire Net extremely hot, but it was a strong because it could even catch a ten tons beast.


    This way, he needed to create an escape route to breakthrough Michelle''s shadow wall, which was obviously the weakest.


    It was at this time Michelle went inside Ayaka''s shadow and boosted her strength.


    "Hehe¡­" Ayaka smiled as she then started back and forth while thrusting her spear continuously with the speed of wildebeest.


    With her current spear, Kai''s Vibration Sword was useless for a period of time. This would be the perfect time to fight him one on one.


    Ayaka engaged him with close quarterbat, not allowing him to escape until Sofia, Tasha, and Evan had regained their ground.


    Kai gritted his teeth, knowing that their power was basically the same due to Ayaka''s momentum in each blow.


    Frustrated by her, he summoned a magic circle underneath her feet, ready tounch her to the sky. However, like when she was inside Kai''s shadow, Michelle informed Ayaka that small detail, allowing her to step back before gettingunched into the air.


    "Oops!" Ayaka stuck her tongue out.


    Kai didn''t let her go and tried to strike from above before ncing at the right.


    If he continued his swing, Tasha''s arrow would hit it to the point it would blow him away.


    "This is not going to work," Kai muttered inwardly as he used his other hand to attack her from the side. Since Tasha was going to take care of the one above her head, she poured all her strength to block the sword from the side.


    Bang.


    The shing sound was so loud to the point it looked like there was an explosion.


    She then pressed that sword down, albeit got overwhelmed by Kai right after. It wasn''t a strange phenomenon since her strength was that of a normal human. In other words, that strength was useless unless she had momentum and Kai took advantage of this, ignoring Tasha''s arrow.


    The moment it hit her spear, it sent a shock to her body before Kai continued the swing, knowing that Tasha aimed at his sword instead of his life. There was no probability that she would hit him, so Kai prepared himself and acted at this very moment.


    He tried to cut Ayaka''s left hand, which would surely decrease her power exponentially.


    Each blow was powerful to the point she barely protected herself from this swing.


    Tasha''s arrow finally came even though she didn''t send anything earlier. The lightning arrows hit the sword again and again, surprising even Kai.


    ''Did she predict my movement?'' Kai asked inwardly before using this chance to step forward, entering Ayaka''s attack range.


    He didn''t n to let Ayaka recover and used this chance to give big damage to her.


    "I will take this one." Kai smiled and waved his sword toward Ayaka''s left arm. This should decrease her strength by far if he seeded.


    Sofia, who had been waiting this whole time, finally created two magic circles, one on the ground and one on the air.


    "Stop what you are doing!" Sofia summoned a big cage of ice that should be powerful enough to stop Kai''s swing at least once.


    Thetter suddenly ced his other sword on top of the sword he wanted to use to cut Ayaka''s arm to give a big boost in strength and ultimately cut it.


    "What did you say?" Kai smirked.


    "shing her arm is a capital crime. Execute." She activated the second magic circle as around two hundred ice needles surrounded himpletely. With how limited the space to move in the cage, it would be hard for Kai to escape this.

 Chapter 335 - Plan E

    Seeing so many small spikes surrounding him while the cage held him in ce, there was no way he could leave this ce.


    At the same time, the cage itself was created with bars, so without shing it twice with both swords in all different directions, he couldn''t create an opening before the spike hit him.


    Kai gritted his teeth, feeling that he might require a sacrifice for this.


    He analyzed all the needles for a second as they flew toward him.


    "Take this." Sofia grinned. "This is my payback."


    Kai calcted the impact and immediately used his chance to deactivate his Vibration Sword and spun the cage as the bar struck down every single needle.


    "Haha, you might need a bigger cage to trap me. And don''t forget to connect it to the ground so I can''t spin it." Kaiughed before shouting. "Tasha, I know what you are trying to do!"


    Tasha smiled and released her arrow without thinking much about what he said.


    The arrow was unlike Sofia''s needles that only randomly flew at him. Tasha had calcted everything, including the spin.


    The arrow flew past the cage, and Kai noticed it in disbelief. He shifted his body to the side and gritted his teeth. "Kh!"


    It was toote.


    The arrow pierced him in the right forearm.


    "Oh, Kai! You shouldn''t underestimate your Sister so much! That kind of spin is not enough to stop my eyes and arrow. Isabelle should be able to do something like this." Tashaughed.


    "Our archer is damn too good." Kai didn''t think about it that much as he just realized how skilled the one supporting them from behind was.


    "Haha. Do I get anything since I am the first one who hit you?" Sheughed out loud.


    "I will think about it! Probably!" Kaiughed too while enduring the pain before throwing the cage away toward Sofia''s direction.


    "Ice Wall." She immediately created a wall to stop the cage.


    Kai took this chance to go toward Sofia since her vision was covered.


    "Sofia!" Michelle and Ayaka shouted.


    "I can see him!" Sofia replied as she looked at the hiding giant energy ball that represented Kai. She created another magic circle, nning to hit him with this magic.


    However, Kai had predicted this as he summoned his Sound st. Sofia''s eyes could only see someone''s danger level, so he couldn''t really see if that person currently used magic or not. When the Sound stunched him to the side, she waspletely taken aback.


    "!!!" Evan widened his eyes as he screamed. "No! Why the heck are you targeting me again?"


    "Come here, Evan." Kaiughed as he shocked Sofia, Ayaka, and Michelle at the same time. Rather than cutting Sofia, who seemed to be the perfect target to eliminate, he aimed at Evan first.


    "NO!" He aimed at him and released a couple of bullets, only to not a single bullet to hit.


    It was at this time, Tasha suddenly appeared beside Evan, nning to rescue him with her teleportation magic.


    When he saw this, there wasn''t a shocked face. He simply smiled as though he had predicted everything.


    "Wait! He is¡ª" Evan suddenly recognized his n this whole time and looked at Tasha.


    "Toote." Kai created another magic circle he had prepared earlier. It was his Sound st. The magicunched him like a bullet, traveling at his maximum speed.


    "Targeting you!" Evan finished his sentence, but it was already toote. Despite the magic circle that slowly formed underneath them, Kai almost reached their position.


    ''I can''t make it!'' Tasha had no words to say. It turned out that his real target was her all along. Because she was the only one who could see his movement at that time, she reacted this way to protect Evan, only to find herself getting targeted instead. She created an arrow in her hand while swinging both arrow and bow, trying to strike him down.


    Unfortunately, no matter how experienced she was, her ce was never in this ce. She nned to challenge Kai in closebat? That might probably be thest thing she wanted to do. And yeah, it wasn''t like she had an option.


    Kai struck her bow and arrow simultaneously as the swords continued on their paths, shing Tasha.


    "Nice fight." She smirked while closing her eyes. Her body soon disappeared from the battlefield as her consciousness went back to her real body.


    Meanwhile, Kai swung his sword toward Evan, but Ayaka and Michelle already appeared next to him, protecting him from the sword.


    Michelle''s Shadow sh was behind Ayaka''s enhanced spear, so she was there to give support for Ayaka.


    When he saw this, Evan released another sword, forcing Kai to leap backward.


    They had a distance from each other again. Kai fell silent as he didn''t like how things were going.


    He realized that fighting against all of them was very taxing for his magic power and his mental strength. Not only that he needed to avoid all their attacks, but he also needed to find a perfect time to kill them.


    Luckily, he managed to eliminate Tasha first, so there wouldn''t be any more teleportation. In other words, they had no chance to run away from him.


    "Ice Field." The ground began freezing and created a quite huge freezing arena that seemed to be advantageous for them since they had trained for this.


    Kai used his Sound st first to fly to the sky, not wanting to be frozen at that spot.


    "No, you won''t escape." Ayaka used her Fire Wing to catch up with him, trying to best his speed so she could hit him back to the ground.


    Unfortunately, Kai''s Sound st gave a more powerful boost that let him escape.


    "Ice Mountain!" Sofia had been waiting for this moment and immediately activated her magic, creating a slide that went toward the sky like a tower.


    Michelle nodded as her sword already hit the tower and sent a Shadow sh toward Kai.


    The ice then started expanding to the sky, trying to catch up with him.


    "It''s faster than Ayaka''s speed?" Kai muttered in a low voice before he used another Sound st to avoid this attack.


    Ayaka didn''t let him and summoned a few fireballs that turned into birds.


    The birds flew toward him in all directions before he used his Sound st a few more times to avoid them.


    Suddenly, he realized that every single time he avoided this, the firebirds turned around. In other words, Ayaka must be directing them manually. With that in mind, he nned to visit her first, especially since she only had one arm.


    Ayaka looked at him and smiled. "I know you areing."


    A Fire Net suddenly appeared between them.


    Michelle and Sofia, on the ground, nodded at each other. An Ice Wall emerged from the ground and hit right their feet,unching them into the sky.


    "Shadow Maniption." Michelle activated her magic again after getting close enough.


    Kai''s shadow became alive once again, trying to stop his movement in the air. At the same time, Sofia wanted to stop his movement by using the same Ice Cage like the one from a while ago. This time, she didn''t forget to add the bottom to make sure Kai couldn''t escape.


    Ayaka then thrust her spear forward.


    Kai dodged to the side before finding something wrong with her spear.


    "Magic Bomb." Ayaka smiled as the tip of her spear exploded.


    The cage fell down while being covered in smoke.


    They stared at this silently before Sofia shouted. "Not good. He is still alive."


    Kai cut the cage and retreated a few meters back while smiling. He panted a little bit as the symbol of them pushing him this hard.


    "What is funny?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows, feeling something was wrong with his smile.


    "Nothing. I just know how the protector felt when they fought us. Although this can be considered praise, don''t becent. I have no tough skin like the protectors that make me keep moving to avoid your attacks. On the other hand, the protector is like a fortress, so there is no need to avoid any weak attacks. But I can see our progress. I still remember how weak we were in the past, and I can proudly say that we have been through a lot." Kai smiled.


    "Indeed. That''s why you shouldn''t feel too proud right now. We areing for your neck." She smirked.


    "Such an ominous phrase, especiallying from my own girlfriend." Kai looked sad and wronged.


    "Quit your acting. You have defeated Tasha first, so you are thest one who can lecture me about that." She shrugged before raising her hand. "n C."


    "So, you have several ns?" Kai smiled as he saw the other three started moving ording to their n.


    "Since you have been quite a rascal, I will tell you. You are going down with this. The wound that Tasha gave reduced the performance of your right arm, so just surrender while you can."


    "If you have n C, I have n E." Kaiughed.


    "You are still joking around, kill him now!" Michelle decided to stop listening to his bullsh*t and ended this fight because Kai must be buying time this whole time.


    "No, no. I seriously have n E." Kai shrugged as he saw the three moved at the same time. Evan went toward Michelle''s behind as he nned to attack him from there. Sofia and Ayaka upied his two sides while Michelle walked toward him.


    "Why don''t you exin to me your n E?" She smiled.


    "With pleasure. In fact, it''s pretty simple." A magic circle suddenly appeared right in front of his feet.


    "Wha¡ª" Michelle suddenly realized what he was aiming for and shouted. "Stop him!"


    "Toote." Kai stepped on his magic circle and flew to the sky while looking at them. "My n E is simple. Escape! Bye, have a good day!"


    "¡­"

 Chapter 336 - A New Equipment?

    With his current position, Kai ran away in the direction where they came from. In other words, it was toward the other party''s base. Because he knew that the entire map was a trap to stop him from using his ability, he decided to use their own base that must have no trap in it. After all, with them closing in and Tasha''s ability, there wasn''t a need to do something like that.


    Unfortunately, Tasha had been taken away, and he realized the change in their n. Theck of sharpness from their original n couldn''t escape his eyes, so he chose to do this, creating a big advantage for himself.


    "Teacher, can you give me theyout of their starting point again?" Kai asked Shirotsuka Sanae. At the same time, he kept track of the four people who chased him with their fastest speed.


    They kept sending him their attacks while moving as fast as possible, but their speed couldn''t keep up with him, so there was a considerable distance between them for a period of time, giving leeway for Kai to observe their position.


    "Sure." She sent the image immediately while looking at Tasha''s concerned face.


    "Kh¡­Is this battle already lost because I died earlier?" Tasha gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, ming herself.


    "It''s not your fault. You have done your best." Sanaeforted her.


    "No, no. If this girl uses her Space Element in a better way, I believe she can conclude the fight herself." Nathan snorted.


    "You know that I have no n in using my Space Magic, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "Besides, it''s not like you know the extent of my Space Magic."


    "It''s true that I don''t know anything about your Space Magic. But I do know that the stone in Easter Ind took you in because of your Space Element. With how you described the stone to me, I could roughly understand his strength. In other words, your Space Magic will give you twice if not thrice your current power. Am I wrong?" Nathan''s face turned serious.


    Tasha didn''t answer him since she couldn''t rebuke his im. It was indeed as he said. After getting trained by Rapakha, her most powerful skill was neither her bow nor Lightning Magic. Instead, it would be her Space Magic. Although she could only use one or two things he taught her, that alone was enough to turn around the situation.


    However, she desired nothing but a peaceful life with him. The moment her Space Magic became open for everyone to see, it would be where she lost her freedom. After all, this strength was as dangerous as Kai''s brain and unorthodox magic.


    Even though the others were here, she still couldn''t believe Sofia one hundred percent as Sofia would surely report her Space, no, Sealing Magic to the EU Base. When they heard it, they would start inviting her like Kai. If they were alone, they wouldn''t have much of a problem. Unfortunately, they had their parents who didn''t have any ability to fend off this kind of storm.


    That was why she held back her desire and kept using her Lightning Magic even if it meant she didn''t use her ability to the fullest.


    She just needed to wait a bit more until everyone was strong enough. And if Kai had be a General, it wouldn''t be that easy to target their family.


    Nathan understood this well and stayed silent, giving up the joke that might turn into a huge debate.


    "Either way, the situation remains the same. If your group doesn''t have any ns lying around, they will start falling down sooner orter." Nathan nced at her.


    Tasha bit her lips and kept looking at the screen.


    Sanae shrugged. "I am not going to tell him what we are talking about."


    Tasha nced at her and let out a long sigh. "Even so, I can''t really say anything about our n. It''s true that with me out of the picture, they will go with n C, but they will be like a turtle when the prey escapes. And that''s the current situation.


    "Besides, I don''t really trust you, Teacher. You can simply activate the microphone and let him listen to the conversation himself, so your point is still valid. That''s why it''s impossible to get any information from me." Tasha shook her head.


    Sanae made a weird smile as she turned her microphone off. "In my defense, the microphone has been staying alive from the start of the fight. And I have promised to be his operator for this mission, so I am just doing my job."


    "See¡­" Tasha shrugged before letting out a long sigh. "The rest will depend on four of them."


    Seeing that she couldn''t get any information from Tasha, she returned to her own screen, waiting for Kai''s next instruction.


    Meanwhile, Kai kept studying the terrain. Unlike the other terrains, this one was simr to a in, but with more trees. However, it didn''t reach the point it could be called a forest.


    He went through a few pictures before finding it odd. He couldn''t find a ce where they would nt a trap. It seemed they didn''t prepare for this, so he kept moving toward their base with his full speed.


    When he reached there, they had a two minutes gap.


    Kai utilized those two minutes to check the surroundings, wondering if there was a trap or not. Only one woman needed to be feared in this type of area. It was Ayaka.


    Her magic bomb wouldn''t be spotted, so as long as they knew where they nted the magic bombs, they would be fine.


    Kai thought there must be a single mark around the area, so they knew where to avoid and hit. Unfortunately, he didn''t have enough time to do this, let alone making a full investigation.


    The only thing he could do was to do a quick survey before asking. "Is there any information about the magic power in the area?"


    "None. We are able to measure the magic power in the air due to an instrument. However, it''s like when you try to check nuclear radiation, so the area is too small. So, there is no equipment to do it yet."


    "In other words, there is no data that can be applied to scan the area?" Kai sighed.


    "Yes." Sanae nodded.


    Nathan frowned and nodded a few times. "Now that you mention it, I believe this type of thing is needed. And if possible, make it so the satellite can scan this. There was once research about this, but it kept failing until it was shut down because no one knew how to make equipment that could scan an entire globe. However, if we scale it down like an area, maybe a small town, I think this type of instrument is good."


    "What do you mean, Father?" Michael couldn''t help but ask.


    "There is a spy in the base, right?"


    "Ah!" Michael drew a gasp as he nodded with a serious expression. "Do you want to measure a whole area at a time?"


    "Yes. It''s fine if we make it like a radar interface, allowing us to investigate one''s magic power. This is a dangerous weapon because many families will surely use this to bring someone with huge magic power, but if we can keep this as a government tool for at least a hundred years, I believe it''s enough for us to utilize it to its limit."


    Michael thought for a moment and added. "After that, we can find someone with a very powerful magic power that can be either a talented person or spies¡­ Most likely, magical beasts that have shapeshift ability."


    "Umu. We can start cleaning up those bastards."


    "But the research was taken down before, right?" Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "Although I can understand if we scale it down, we might be able to seed, but it still requires time."


    "Either way, that kind of thing is bound to appear sooner orter. Since we can start researching it now, why can''t we?" He smirked. "In fact, Graham Family can be the sole sponsor for this project."


    "The government will me us if we use this kind of thing, but if we are cooperating with the government and bing a sole sponsor, it''s easy for us to get our hand on this thing. I see. We can do that. Unfortunately, it will require your help, Father." Michael understood what Nathan was thinking.


    "Of course. Your influence is still not powerful enough for this." Nathan shrugged. "I willy down the foundation for you. The rest will be up to you."


    "Yes. I will do my best in that area."


    Nathan nodded. There was another reason he wanted to handle this. With a technology that could be used in many ways, Michael, who would be the leader of this project, would surely gain a big boost in his reputation. Given the situation, he might reach four stars general sooner than he predicted. This would give Graham Family a big advantage over other families.


    Michael also understood the severeness of this matter and nned to do whatever it took.


    "Thank the bratter." Nathan smirked as Kai just gave the idea to reconstruct that research.


    "I will." He nodded before looking at Kai wandering around the area.


    The group then continued watching the battle.


    Kai didn''t stop even for a second, but he simply couldn''t see any kind of signs that could give some clues for him.


    "Tch. I don''t know if I should be careful or not, but I think I can stall the fight a little bit." Kai nodded as he saw how Michelle and the others surrounded him.

 Chapter 337 - Payback

    Kai looked at Ayaka''s movement closely to not even miss her nce. After all, it might be the clue to her Time Bomb that she had hidden in this area if there was any.


    With her current condition, Ayaka would be the first one to be eliminated, but there was a possibility that she used this to her own advantage.


    "I will win in this ce." Kai grinned, making a tough face as if everything was going ording to the n.


    "You think you can defeat us here?" Michelle also did the same.


    Not a single person knew that these two were just bluffing. There wasn''t a single n, but as long as the opponents thought that way, they could use it to their advantage to make them a bit more careful.


    "Shadow sh." Michelle released the first attack as a ck sword sh ran through the ground, going directly to Kai.


    Kai, on the other hand, raised his sword and shed the Shadow sh in just a single swing. There wasn''t even a single resistance before the Shadow sh disappeared.


    "Is this really all your strength, Michelle? It''s already dark you know." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "It''s not dark enough." She shook her head. "I haven''t gotten the full power-up."


    "¡­" Kai fell silent before ncing at Ayaka. "You are next, Ayaka."


    "No, you. You will die here." Ayaka smirked as she raised her spear with one hand. "Even if I only have one hand, it''s still enough tost me a couple of hours. Within that time, you will die."


    "I am looking forward to what you can do." He smiled and looked at Sofia. "Your skills are amazing. I have seen how big your potential is, and I hope that you can be a strong person after the three months training."


    "I am not going to be left behind by them. My objective is still the same." Sofia shook her head with a serious expression.


    "Haha¡­If you are talking like that, it just makes the whole situation sound fake, you know."


    "It''s better than hiding my real intention."


    "Well, maybe that''s why I have started thinking of you as my friend, genuine friend." Kai smiled.


    "That''s the second best thing I will hear today."


    "Oh? What is the best thing then?"


    "Of course, it''s the victory!" Sofia smirked as she raised her arm, summoning another blue magic circle on top of her head.


    "Fu! Unfortunately, you can''t hear that today." Kai shrugged before looking at Evan. "Come on, Evan. Why did you run from me this whole time?"


    "You are going to kill me in a split second if I face you head-on. You know it better than me." Evan snorted as he felt he was the one who was being teased.


    "Haha. Your reaction was priceless before." Kai wanted tough but suppressed the feeling.


    "Oi!" Veins started bulging out on his forehead as Evan raised his pistol to the side and shot it.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes, wondering if it was a misfire or something. He just couldn''t believe that the bullet flew toward Ayaka.


    To his surprise, Ayaka had already swung her weapon, hitting the bullet like a baseball. The small bullet suddenly flew toward Kai.


    "Frozen Falling Stars." Sofia activated her magic as the magic circle on her hand summoned another one, thirty timesrger, in the sky.


    Four balls of ice then emerged from the magic circle, falling down toward Kai.


    Kai raised his hand, ready to snap her finger. The four immediately covered their ears to avoid being disturbed by the sound.


    After that, he summoned four magic circles simultaneously, each pointing at them before the first magic circle disappeared. He purposely used that motion to fool them and send his real attack.


    Their eyes suddenly became blurry.


    "This is his frequency attack!" Michelle shouted. "Avoid the magic circle. Make sure it doesn''t directly face you."


    When Michelle instructed them like this, Kai already made his way toward his original target, Evan.


    As soon as he arrived in front of him, he shed his Sword downward, nning to end him in this one strike.


    Michelle and Ayaka appeared again. Due to Ayaka losing her hand, Michelle needed to provide more power to her, or else she would lose instantly.


    Kai saw this and let his sword go, allowing him to bend his body a bit more than he was supposed to. In that position, he clenched his fist and struck Evan''s abdomen.


    "Gah!" Evan spat out a mouthful of blood and was blown away.


    Sofia appeared next to him.


    Having anticipated this movement, Kai bent down even more and threw a kick toward her.


    Sofia blocked it with her hand. Luckily, Kai had already lost its bnce, so the power of the kick wasn''t that much.


    It was still something she could handle. At the same time, she punched Kai on the stomach, trying to replicate what he did to Evan, albeit he was Kai, not Evan.


    When he saw the punching, a magic circle appeared and stopped her fist.


    Grabbing his sword again, he struck the two weapons from above again before using that as a support tounch him to the air with his body spinning.


    "Sound st." Kai activated another magic and flew toward Evan, trying to use this confusing situation to kill the second person.


    "Fire Net."


    "Ice Wall."


    Ayaka summoned her Fire Net right in front of him while Sofia created a giant ice wall on each side of the Fire Net, stopping Kai in his tracks.


    Michelle used this chance to catch up with him. Her shadow also rose and summoned a pair of Shadow Sword before releasing the same attack as her.


    "Shadow sh."


    Kai used his Sound st again to stop his movement. When hended on the ground again, he turned around and shed Michelle''s Shadow sh.


    To his surprise, the power in this Shadow sh was far stronger than he expected. It must be due to the dark environment that enhanced her power to a different level. Evan shot him with a few bullets, but the bullets were blocked by Kai''s Oscition Shield.


    "Tch, you are so good to the point you don''t need to look where I am pointing at." Evan sighed.


    "It''s not me. I just used a shield, big enough to cover my entire back." Kai smiled. Just like he said, this wasn''t possible if he only had ten or twenty percent of his magic power.


    Before anyone could say anything, Michelle had arrived.


    She suddenly confronted his sword even though her Shadow Sword couldn''t stop his Vibration Sword. However, Michelle suddenly held his wrist instead and summoned a shadow, grabbing the right hand. They then pulled it back at the same time, stopping Kai''s right hand from making a move.


    "This is my full power." She smiled.


    Since the night had finallye, she managed to use the boost that the darkness gave her to the maximum and stopped Kai.


    Kai gritted his teeth and turned around to shake her off, but her position remained the same, only leaving him to face Evan instead of Ayaka and Sofia.


    Sofia followed her move. She used her full power, including the exoskeleton, just to stop his other hand from moving. She literally buried Kai''s left hand in her embrace, just to stop it.


    "Now!" Both of them shouted at the same time.


    "¡­" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting an attack like this. Evan appeared in front of him with his pistol and shot him. "Oscition Shield."


    The shield blocked every single bullet.


    Listening to Ayaka''s movement, she seemed to be heading toward him as well, so he decided to free himself first.


    He had an option tounch himself to the sky to shake them, but he realized that every time he flew to the air, he was always rained by attacks. In that case, he chose the second option.


    Due to his hand being buried in her embrace, Kai''s hand reached slightly lower than her abdomen. There was no kindness or gentleman in the war. He pressed that area with a bit of power.


    "Kya!" Sofia''s body shook as she never prepared for something like this. To think Kai would utilize this kind of attack. However, they had agreed that no matter what happened, they needed to stop Kai. Sofia gritted her teeth and kept clinging to his arm, enduring whatever he did to her. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like Kai just wronged her.


    Noticing how Sofia acted, he nned to fly because the first n wasn''t very effective.


    It was at this time Ayaka used her fire to create a small explosion that boosted her speed for a second, heading straight to Sofia.


    After finding that Sofia was harassed by Kai''s evil hand, she decided to go toward Kai from her direction.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes when he listened to this and prepared for another Oscition Shield at Ayaka''s direction. ''Evan is shooting from the front. As long as I know where Ayaka ising from, I will be able to stop this attack once. After that, I will be able to free myself.''


    Kai thought that everything was within his calction, but unbeknownst to him, thetter had chosen the fastest but most brutal way to strike him. One that never appeared in his mind.


    Ayaka swung her spear, cutting Sofia into two. The spear continued making its way toward Kai.


    Kai reacted at thest second and shifted his body to the right, making Ayaka''s spear miss just slightly.And he was so focused on Ayaka, his arm had been frozen this whole time.


    "It''s payback time." Ayaka smiled.

 Chapter 338 - End

    "It''s payback time."


    "I will be leaving the rest to you three." Sofia smiled as her body disappeared.


    Michelle and Ayaka turned serious. Even though they had discussed that either she or Michelle would be sacrificed to inflict serious damage to Kai, it still made them feel bad to kill their ownrade even though it was clearly the best choice.


    Kai used this chance to swing his sword as the two immediately retreated a few meters back.


    Looking at his hand on the ground, he used his sword as support, feeling a bit weak due to the blood loss.


    "This is the technique that you can only use here." He sighed while deactivating his current sword and hanging it on his pants. As for his sword, he took the one his severed arm was still holding and used this one instead.


    "Of course we know that, but since you want us to fight here instead of the real world, it''s better to take advantage of the system." Ayaka shook her head and


    "I am notining or whatsoever. I am just surprised with how daring you are." Kai sighed.


    "Either way, this is thest stretch. You only have one hand and lost too much blood." Michelle pointed her sword at him.


    "Yeah. Your right arm is not that strong anymore, while Ayaka also only has one arm. She is in the same condition as me." Kai looked at them with a serious expression. "Besides, the only reason you could fight me this well was due to Evan strengthening you with his new magic."


    "Even so, we won''t be dying like a fool since Evan also has healed us. As for you¡­ It''s better to surrender. This is our win." Michelle snorted and jumped toward him. Ayaka followed suit and thrust her spear.


    Kai shed Michelle''s sword first before blocking Ayaka''s spear with his sword.


    Michelle instantly made another pair of swords while Evan shot him.


    Without his other hand, Kai was forced to use his Oscition Shield to block Michelle''s attack, but it ended up being destroyed with her Shadow sh. At the same time, Evan''s bullets flew past the shattered magic circle.


    Kai shifted his body to the side, but Ayaka suddenly pushed him back, forcing him to stay on his feet.


    Luckily, Kai''s strength was stronger than her. He managed to walk one step to the side, having only his already cut arm pierced by the bullets.


    "Kh." He had grown ustomed to pain, but if it was a continuous pain like this, it was hard to endure it like this. And he was also tired from losing too much blood and getting attacked this whole time.


    Michelle continued her strike where another Oscition Shield blocked her again. Not wanting to make the same move, a ck magic circle appeared on their feet before a wall of shadow emerged from the ground, trying to strike his abdomen and ultimately blew him away.


    Kai clicked his tongue and raised his foot, stopping the wall with his foot. After that, he used another Sound st to blow Ayaka away.


    Having read this, Ayaka activated her Fire Wing before getting blown away, so she could immediately decelerate and attack him again.


    Seeing there were two seconds of leeway, Kai swung his sword at Michelle.


    It was at this moment Michelle summoned his shadow. Normally, one of his hands would be able to strike this, but because he didn''t have two hands anymore, the shadow sessfully grabbed his body before throwing him into the air.


    "¡­" Kai observed the entire situation first. Since he had gotten to the air, he nned to take advantage of it and used his Sound st tounch him toward Evan.


    Ayaka had predicted it as she pped her hand. "Fire Net!"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and used another Sound st to stop him. Before he used another one tounch him in another direction, Michelle had arrived next to him, swinging her swords.


    Kai also struck both swords with his own weapon, only to click his tongue as Ayaka''s spear arrived.


    With that distance, she obviously threw her spear. However, Michelle summoned her own shadow and caught the spear before using it to push Kai back.


    As long as that spear was still here, he wouldn''t be able to cut anyone else down. However, with the current situation, Michelle and her shadow managed to win in terms of strength, blowing him away.


    Kai was spinning in the air. Evan used this chance to shoot at him but was blocked by the Oscition Shield.


    He thennded on the ground before leaping three times to stop the momentum.


    Michelle and Ayaka surrounded him again from two different reactions while Evan maintained his distance so as to not get killed by Kai in a single mistake.


    He checked the surroundings.


    ''What should I do? Behind me is a tree¡­'' Kai suddenly realized what he needed to do and shouted. "I am really at a disadvantage."


    "Losing one arm is big for you because your fighting style is focused on dual-wielding so much. And you will be weakened as time passes, this is the day we im our victory." Michelle smiled.


    "Just surrender. We won''t bully you after this." Ayaka smirked while looking at him with a teasing nce.


    "You are so sure that I will be losing?!" Kai snorted before a magic circle appeared right on the ground behind him. It was right between his legs and the tree.


    ''Sound st?! Want to escape?!'' Ayaka and Michelle thought the same thing as they leaped toward him. ''I won''t let you.''


    It was at this moment Kai suddenly adjusted his feet and stomped the tree instead of the magic circle, so instead of going up with his Sound st, he leaped toward Ayaka.


    "!!!" Ayaka was shocked and instinctively put her spear to protect her, but she was toote.


    Kai cut both of her feet as her body fell down next to her. He spun his body, nning to strike her down with onest sh.


    Seeing this, Michelle increased her speed and struck Kai down. "Don''t you dare to touch her!"


    To her surprise, Kai made another turn just to direct his swing at her instead of Ayaka.


    ''He read me?'' Michelle widened her eyes before she found Ayaka''s spear faster than him, appearing right between him and Michelle.


    Ayaka must know that her spear wouldn''t be able to pierce Kai at this point, so she left it to Michelle. However, a green magic circle appeared right on the spear''s butt as itunched the spear straight where Evan was.


    "Wha¡ª" Evan and Michelle were shocked.


    Evan tried to avoid this sudden attack but to no avail. The spear impaled his right arm, almost cutting it. Either way, he couldn''t use this hand in a short time, let alone at a time like this where the conclusion woulde at any moment.


    "Kh!" He gritted his teeth and immediately covered it with his bubble to stop the bleeding.


    Meanwhile, Michelle realized that with her speed, she wouldn''t be able to stop in time. Her swords were also not strong enough to stop Kai''s Vibration Sword.


    Kai used this chance to cut the two Shadow Swords along with her, but thetter managed to avoid the fatal blow by sacrificing her hand.


    "Impossible." Ayaka''s voice echoed in their ears as Evan on the opposite side of her could see what just happened.


    After cutting Michelle''s hand, he released the grip, making the sword fly toward Ayaka. With the pain of losing her legs and the unbnced body, she had no chance of defending herself from Kai''s sword.


    Ultimately, the sword pierced her heart, and she died on the spot.


    Evan grabbed the pistol that fell to the ground after being pierced by the spear and shot him.


    Unfortunately to him, Kai''s Oscition Shield already formed and blocked the bullet.


    "Michelle, leave!"


    She suddenly heard Ayaka''s voice and knew what she was trying to do. Her shadow then threw her away.


    Seeing this, Kai also realized what they were nning and summoned a magic circle to avoid this.


    Michelle wouldn''t let him go away and sent her Shadow sh toward him.


    When he was about to create another Oscition Shield, he was forced to create one on his left due to Evan shooting him. Because his left hand was no longer there, he had no way to stop this other than Oscition Shield, so Michelle''s Shadow sh managed to break the Sound st magic circle.


    "Luby!" Kai didn''t want to go down just like that and changed his strategy.


    The high-pitched sound echoed in everyone''s ears, but to his surprise, Ayaka''s magic circle was still formed right below his feet.


    "You have used that technique on me the most. I have grown ustomed to it already." Ayaka smiled with her right eye closed as if enduring the pain. "I will bring you down with me, love you."


    Kai gritted his teeth and leaped back while moving his Oscition Shield to the front. Not wanting to let Ayaka''s attack go to waste, he released another shot.


    Due to this, Kai tilted his head to the side and had his ear destroyed by the bullet. At the very least, he didn''t die from this. This was all his thought.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    "Boom!"


    The magic circle finally showed its might, engulfing her and Kai.


    Sadly, Kai managed to get away from the epicenter and used the force to blow him away. However, he was covered with burn marks. His clothes almost got burnedpletely.


    Evan aimed at him once again, only to find himself dead right after.


    Kai managed to throw hisst sword to him before the Scarlet Explosion. This was insane.


    Even so, without any strength left along with his weapons, Michelle decided to end this. She appeared right before him and stabbed him with her swords.


    "We finally won." Michelle smiled, knowing they couldn''t feel proud of this messy win.


    But Kai shocked her once again. "That is if you kill me first before I kill you."


    Before hisst breath, Kai''s finger was right next to her ears. This was the magic that he had sealed this whole time, and Michelle would receive it at point-nk range.


    "Ultrasonic Assassin!"


    Snap.

 Chapter 339 - Explanation

    "Ahaha¡­" Kaiughed as soon as he exited the training capsule while the rest looked at him with a weird face as if they were disgusted with how he was a sore loser.


    Nathan let out a long sigh and walked toward him before patting his shoulders. "Listen up, brat. I know that doing something like that is necessary for war, but why can''t you just give the win to them? They have trained so hard to defeat you."


    "You just don''t like I used it because Michelle is the one that kills me, right? Well, thest man standing is still me, so I win." Kai shrugged while looking away.


    "Haiz. To think there is someone even more shameless than me. Kid. If you want to form a family, you need to know when to admit defeat and say sorry. That''s your responsibility. And this is even more true when you have multiple wives. If you don''t know when to stop, there will be huge friction between you and your wives, creating various problems. Take this as a grandfather''s advice."


    "Ugh¡­But earlier, it was a war, not a family problem."


    "That''s not my point. Anyway, just put this inside your mind and make sure you remember it. I don''t want to see my daughter or daughter-inw suddenlye to me crying. You hear me?"


    "Ye-yes." Kai nodded.


    "Good. I know that you have a vision for your own family, but advice from your father or grandfather will prove to be useful when the timees, even if it''s only useful for one time after ten years or more of marriage."


    "I understand." Kai repeatedly nodded.


    "Since I have said my piece, let''s discuss the strategy of the war with these folks." Nathan pointed his finger toward Michael and the others, including the girls.


    Kai looked at them and found Michelle and the others were trying hard to hold theirughter. They must feel happy when he got reprimanded like this, but he just let it go.


    "First of all, what was your n from the beginning?"


    "I didn''t have one. I made one on the spot when I learned about theyout. Still, I indeed felt the importance of having an operator." He nodded.


    "We can talk about an operatorter. For now, I want to ask you about the n you made on the fly."


    The rest started listening to him attentively as Kai began his exnation. "First of all, my n was to search for a ce to fight them. After knowing that every single ce is the carefully nned terrain, I chose the ce that had the most advantage for the current me, which was my own spawn point.


    "Unfortunately, it seemed the terrain just gave them the same advantage, so I changed my n to kill one or two in this ce before going to another ce, so they needed to adjust their own position again. This would leave a gap in their positions, especially after getting used to the first terrain.


    "And so, from what I could see, I needed to kill Tasha first because she would be the one preventing me from getting to another terrain. I formted a n to bait Tasha out, and you might already notice it, but I failed a few times."


    Tasha thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. She indeed felt being baited a few times, and only thest one she had finallye to help and died.


    "After killing Tasha, I tried to kill one more, which was the one supporting, increasing their ability, and healing their wound, Evan. Unfortunately, after various attempts, none of them seeded." Kai let out a long sigh, feeling frustrated just remembering about it.


    "Hehe, if I were like the previous me, only having my healing magic, you wouldn''t target me, right?" Evan smirked.


    "Yeah. As I said earlier, your new magic that could enhance one''s ability was very powerful and dangerous to your opponent. However, if they didn''t know you had an ability like that, you wouldn''t be targeted. That''s why your main mission is to hide that magic."


    "Don''t worry. After mastering this technique, I have learned that I can enhance the water inside your body instead of creating a water bubble that was visible from the outside. This way, no one should know about the trick yet except the people here."


    "That''s good." Kai nodded. "Anyway, I never expected that Ayaka would try to cut me like that."


    "Should I say as expected of my n?" Ayaka asked before ncing at Sofia.


    "Yes. That''s the only way to injure him at that moment, so I couldn''t reallyin. Besides, Michelle was in the position as well. Unfortunately, my position was better than her, so I should say it was because of me choosing a better position I could help you in almost killing him?" Sofia thought for a moment before shrugging.


    "Indeed. The credit is for both of us." Ayaka nodded in agreement.


    "And with Michelle, Ayaka, and Evan as myst opponents, I was on my wits'' end. In fact, if you waited for another ten to twenty minutes and weakened me with the blood loss, I would be defeated without having a chance toe back. Sadly, you were going for the kill." Kai smirked.


    "Indeed. Let me make an example with my own experience." Nathan added. "I have fought many opponents, and there is one type that I always feel the most troublesome¡­"


    "The one that doesn''t have an interest in anything other than battles that they can definitely win." Kai and Nathan said at the same time.


    They exchanged looks and smirked as if they were thinking the same reason. Nathan decided to exin this. "A person like this is not a person who takes risks. No matter how tempting the bait weid down is, they will never take it. And the more worked we get, the more casually and rxed they will evade us.


    "No matter what time, a man like this can always see right through you. There was a time I fought against this guy. And as you know, my temper¡­Me getting angry and chasing him too far, only to be countered, became the norm in all my battles with him. That''s why if you met this type of person, you needed to wait patiently and destroy all the pawns first before catching the big fish. Well, obviously, this guy beside me is not a person like this."


    Nathan didn''t forget to add thest sentence while pointing his finger at Kai. "He took the risk and tried to turn the overall situation into his favor by his brain. Meanwhile, I was the one who chose to battle with tactics ording to how my opponents moved unless they got on my nerves.


    "You might have seen Paolo. He was the guy who thought nothing and charged at the enemy. After the enemy made their move, he would adjust his strategy by instinct alone. Luckily, the girl, Erica, managed to tame that wild beast.


    "The other type is Ethan. If he were ordered to hold a base or an area, he would move to a favorable ce and turn it into a fortress. Unless you cracked your head open and made something unusual, you were unlikely to pierce his defense. Of course, you could overwhelm him too, but you would realize that you lost twice as much. There are many types of generals, but these four are the most popr ones."


    "I am the second one, by the way." Kai also added, telling the others he was the same type of Nathan. "Of course, I am calmer."


    "You brat, are you sulking because I gave you advice earlier?" Nathan rolled his eyes.


    The people in the roomughed before Nathan turned serious. "With the earlier progress, if Kai were the fourth type like Ethan, you would have lost without injuring him. Anyway, try to make your own path and know your strength, so you don''t lose your way in your own personal tactics. This doesn''t only apply to a general who is leading thousands of soldiers, but it can be for a small group of five."


    "Yes, thank you." Michelle and the others thanked him, sticking this in their mind, so even without Kai, they could do much more.


    "Exin yourst strategy," Nathan asked Kai to continue.


    Kai nodded. "It was just a full brawl. My strategy remained the same. Kill Evan first. Unfortunately, because Ayaka and Michelle would always go between him and me, I needed to do something that would catch them off guard."


    "That was where that Sound st trick wasing, huh." Nathan nodded. "By making them think you were nning to escape, you forced them to stop you. It was at that time they were the most vulnerable. Due to the position, you couldn''t strike both of them."


    "One more thing," Kai added. "Since they had a chance to stop my attack if I was going straight, I chose to stay as low as possible, so they needed to swing their weapon first to stop my attack. This would give me a split second to cut their legs. Without mobility, they would be an easier target that bound to make a mistake because they would panic for a second."


    "I see. I panicked that I couldn''t fight anymore, so I threw my spear, so Michelle''s Shadow Sword didn''t lose to your Vibration Sword. But it turned out to be the one you were waiting for."


    "Yeah. Using that, I tried to kill Evan, albeit the positioning was a bit off, and I didn''t have my bnce after that move. Luckily, I still struck him. During thest stretch, I tried to stay calm even though I knew I would be pretty much done for.


    "That''s why I killed Evan using my sword since Ayaka chose to bring me down with her. Last but not least, when I almost died, Michelle lowered her guard down. She didn''t notice she missed my heart. In fact, she must haven''t realized I shifted my lower body a bit to readjust my heart position just to stay alive longer." Kai nodded.


    When Michelle heard that, she drew a gasp while looking at him with a weird look. She wanted to say something, but words stuck in her throat, knowing it was her fault.


    At the same time, Tasha and Sofia nodded at each other, realizing the loss they suffered this time was well-deserved. Evan and Ayaka thought they could do something more for the team if they didn''t die there.


    Kai utilized Evan''sck of experience and Ayaka''s panicked state well. They truly wanted to go back and reflect on this match. Not only would it be useful for their fight in a group battle a few months from now, but they could use this knowledge on the battlefield.


    "Alright. Since we are done here, let''s have dinner first. I want to talk about the operator too."


    They exchanged looks and nodded.

 Chapter 340 - An Operator

    After dinner, they didn''t go back yet as they were waiting for the exnation from Nathan.


    "Alright, you want to know more about operators, right? For this, I think it''s better for Daisy to exin it to you." He looked at Daisy and nodded.


    Daisy then started exining. "An operator has three main jobs. The first is to get all the data for the entire missionyout like if there are any buildings, slopes, hills, or even mountains. Their second job is to locate the enemy and predict their movement. Knowing where they go allows you to create a n ahead of n in whatever terrain you want.


    "The third job is to fight alongside you. Of course, there are two meanings for this "fight." The first is literally fighting in the front line, while the other is to fight as your operator. Maybe it''s a kind of a shadow member of your group. We recognize it as a sixth man.


    "If you are going to have an operator, you can find one among your peers. You are still too young, so it''s better to grow together with your group. The operator and your group will have an easier time if it''s something like this.


    "Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to suggest this for your group, you are more suited for the second option, which is to get an experienced operator. Why did I suggest this? It''s simple. Your group''s growth is far too tremendous for a normal student to catch up with you.


    "Suppose you are asking me about this when you just be a freshman, I will ask you the first option. Well, it''s better to move on and don''t indulge in that. Although the operator has an important job, it''s not like the group can''t function without one around." She shrugged. "So, any question?"


    "Nope. I only have one problem that I feel concerned about. That is whether they are counted as the member of my group or not. If it''s thetter, it''s good because I might be able to search for one. If it''s the former¡­I already have six members, so it''s not good to add another one." Kai sighed.


    "Indeed." She nodded while ncing at Sofia. "Well, they are not counted as a party member unless they are assuming a fighting role in your group. We can take the example of your teacher. She currently has the role of an instructor. If she is working as your operator, she won''t be counted as the seventh member because she just stays inside the school.


    "But if Evan is your operator. Then he is included because he does have a portion of fighting. That''s why I believe your current condition needs one operator that is not counted. You can probably hire one and pay them money for one mission. You do have cash lying around, right?"


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "We do indeed have a quite amount saved up for our group, but I don''t want to hop from one to another for various reasons. At the same time, I want someone that I know to take the position, so it won''t be too awkward for us."


    "In that case, why don''t I ask, Sister Ba?" Ayaka suddenly offered a solution. "I mean, she is pretty good at doing her work like this. At the same time, she used to be a fighter on the frontline, so she has the experience, which is good. I don''t know the details, but I think she changed her job to an operator three to four years ago."


    "Oh?!" Kai looked at her with amazement. If Ba could do it, he felt there was no problem. Not only did he know her ever since he got a weapon from Kudo Group, but he also went through a lot during the escape. The rtionship between them was pretty good to be honest.


    "What do you think?" She asked.


    "The suggestion is good, but let''s not be hasty to decide. I want to ask everyone''s opinion first, no, I should say, I need to see her skill first and whether she can assist us or not."


    "Let me ask first." Ayaka pulled out hermunication device and called Ba. After a series of beep sounds, thetter picked up.


    "Hello, Ayaka? It''s rare to see you call me. Do you need anything?"


    "Big Sister used to be an operator, right?"


    "Yeah. Because of various reasons, I converted from the frontline to an operator for two years. And the ident happened, so I never worked as an operator anymore, considering it has been so busy to set up the new Kudo Group. Well, since the whole situation andpany have been established, I start thinking about rejoining the army either bing an operator or fighter. Maybe, I can train the younger generations from Kudo Group also."


    "That''s great."


    "Great?" Her voice was full of confusion.


    "Yeah. My group and I are talking about an operator, and I remember you. That''s why I am calling you to check whether you have free time or not."


    "You are not asking me to be your operator, right? I mean, I am already an olddy, probably the same age as your teacher, so I shouldn''t intrude on your school life." Ba still hesitated.


    "I know that, but there will soon be a big transition after changing the terms. Sofia will return to EU Base while Tasha graduates. That''s why we only have four members, we need your power the most. And Kai also needs to handle the business for three months straight, so we will be down to three members."


    "So, you want me to join?"


    "Yes. The sooner the better since you can get used to our fighting style for thest few missions." Ayaka nodded.


    "I see. That''s something worth considering. I don''t know a single person in the army, and the family has its own instructors, so this one is truly tempting. I have been following you guys too, so I can understand what you have gone through and how much you have gotten from all those missions. However, this is not something I should decide alone, maybe you should talk to your mother and father first and see whether you can get their approval."


    "Hmm¡­" Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows while looking at Kai. The call was on speaker, so everyone could listen to their conversation. They never expected that there was an experienced operator candidate in their own circle.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded.


    "Alright. I will ask themter."


    "Sure."


    "I will finish the discussion first before going back, so I am going to hang up."


    "Alright. I won''t take your time any longer."


    "See youter."


    "See youter."


    Ayaka hung up and looked at Kai and the others, noticing the amazementing from their eyes. But she saw there was a single person who wasn''t happy with it. It was none other than Nathan.


    "Tch. I have been beaten by a little brat. I was just going to nominate Via here." He clicked his tongue. "I mean, she should have more experiences since she was studying under me. And her Light Element was useful in various situations."


    "I know your goodwill, and she won''t probably reject it if the requestes from you, but I don''t want to risk it. I mean, her skill is extraordinary on a battlefield, so it''s a waste to have her with us." Kai shook his head.


    He had worked together with her a few times, so he understood her quality and works. However, the problems were stated above, so there was no point in considering it.


    "Anyway, there is no point in this talk anymore. Since you are going to have an operator, I don''t have anything more to say. I am just going to tell you another matter." Nathan let out a long sigh before staring at Kai.


    "Hmm? Is it about me?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Yeah. Your rank has increased once again, and you have officially be a colonel. Only one more to be a General. Considering you have three more missions before Tasha''s graduation, I believe you can get the status. Just make sure that you aim as high as possible during your school day because you won''t need to obey someone when you graduate." Heughed.


    "Ehm¡­" Kai didn''t know what to say. He checked his email and found the letter from the army, saying his rank has been upgraded to Colonel.


    "Since you are nning to train from January to March in your Teacher''s house, it''s better to spend the remaining days with your family, especially the new year."


    "Why do you sound like I am going to die?"


    "You are not?" Nathan looked surprised¡ªmouth wide open.


    "I will die, but it''s just a battle simtion. I am not going to die for real, alright? Anyway, I will use these few days to n for whatever I need to do and probably make a schedule for me to follow." Kai nodded while admitting defeat to Nathan.


    "Yeah. You can do that. For the others¡­You all can do the same as him. Spend your time with your family while writing down your n, so you know precisely what you need to do during this holiday." Nathan nodded in agreement before looking at Sofia with a teasing nce. "Yeah, you need to spend your time with your family. This means you can go home earlier."


    Veins bulged on her head as she wanted to punch this old man to death. But considering he wouldn''t meet Kai and any other else until next year, she should return like what Nathan said.


    As for the others, they indeed needed to make a concrete n because their "training" would be as intense as Kai.


    "Enough with the teasing, Sir Nathan." Kai sighed. "Anyway, it''s time to go home."


    "Sure. I will ask the driver to send you back."

 Chapter 341 - Resolves

    "By the way, what is your n for this three months holiday? You can choose to not answer." Kai asked Michelle before leaving as the others seemed to be curious as well. Since he had told them he would train with his teacher, he wanted to know about the others as well.


    Of course, there was no force to talk about it. If the others had difficulty to say it, they could simply shake their heads.


    Michelle thought for a moment and exined. "I don''t really have any concrete ns because I don''t know how long I can master one thing. For now, I have three objectives. The first is to find my new style with weight oriented. Just like Rapakha said, I didn''t really have a powerful offensive ability, so I want to change that by using dance instead. A dance that would let me continuously use two two-handed swords to pressure my opponent.


    "The second objective is to increase my control over my shadow that would allow me to get an advantage even in the day. I mean, you can feel it as well, but my control over my shadow is a bit too weak. If I can have them move like me, my offensive power will increase greatly, especially with the current style that I am pursuing.


    "As for thest objective, it''s still a secret. I don''t want to say this one." She stuck her tongue out.


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I wish you luck in this training and see the stronger you after this training."


    "Yep, thank you." Michelle smiled and asked. "What about you?"


    Kai thought for a while. "I will be following your style, so there are a few objectives that I want to achieve during this training session. First, I want to create new magic to increase my attack power. As you know, my strongest attack is Vibration Sword, but if I miss it, I need to defend against the enemy''s attack because it is my most vulnerable state. Two swords won''t cut it this time.


    "The second is to beat my teacher. I don''t have a big hope for this, but I wish to defeat her at least twenty times out of a hundred matches. Yeah, it''s pretty low, butpared tost time, I should be able to do it. My teacher is also improving by the day, so I don''t know the result of this training.


    "As for myst objective, I simply want to learn more about war and strategy from her, so maybe I will be hopping from one battlefield to another with her to learn this. I don''t know if it''s possible to raise my rank, but yeah, that''s about it." Kai finished his exnation with a smile before looking at Tasha and the others. "How about you guys? Why don''t we talk about this while we are at it?"


    Tasha and the others hesitated for a second before Tasha chose to tell them.


    "Unlike both of you, I don''t have a concrete n for this. For now, I will be improving my Space Magic and Lightning Magic. Probably, one more lightning magic to increase my attack power. After that, I will probably go to the battlefield for one or two months to increase my strength and see what kind of system the military employs.


    "I need to do this because I will be graduating one year earlier than you guys, so I need to adjust my schedule to match this. When youe to the army, I will be your greatest support to the point you don''t even need to look at your back because I will be the one protecting it." Tasha smiled and gave a thumb up.


    "As expected of an elder sister, this is the power, huh." Michelle narrowed her eyes, teasing her.


    "Do you want to challenge me, Michelle? I don''t mind having a one-on-one when we are back to school."


    Michelle shrugged. "Instead of fighting, it''s better to see who can contribute more in thest three missions before your graduation."


    "Fair enough. We shall settle our grudge in those three missions." Tasha nodded.


    "Good enough for me." She shook Tasha''s hand while smiling.


    "It''s my turn, or do you want to go first, Evan?" Ayaka asked.


    "I will go first then, so I don''t forget about it." He nodded while taking out his device to take a note. "First of all, I am going to the EU Base for this training to train under a poison expert."


    "Wait, you are going to the EU Base?" Sofia gasped before remembering a certain person that was known as a poison expert. "Don''t tell me, that poison expert in your mouth is madam¡­"


    "Yeah. It''s her. The president has talked to her, allowing me to study under her tutge. Of course, the one that nned all of this was Kai''s teacher, Ria Ross. I can''t express my gratitude enough for this opportunity since this is a perfect time to explore this new ability of mine. I have heard about the details, so I guess I will be flying with you, Sofia."


    "I don''t really mind. It''s not like I have a private ne for myself." She shrugged. "Are you going to take your woman with you?"


    "No. After talking about this with her, she decided to stay in the base to increase her fighting ability. She wasn''t sure about this, but she might join the army with her own group to get experiences. So, some of you might find her on the battlefield. When that timees, please take care of her." Evan bowed his head.


    "Don''t worry. We are like brothers and sisters with Eagle Group." Kai smiled while patting his shoulder.


    "Thank you." He nodded. "In addition, I will be increasing my uracy during this time, and if possible, I want to use two pistols simultaneously."


    "That''s a good n. How about you, Sofia?" Ayaka asked her first since she wanted to gost.


    Sofia hesitated for a second and exined. "I have talked to my father regarding this idea. Although he was quite furious because I will waste three months¡­Ehm, as you already know about my mission in this base¡­ Anyway, I will be increasing my ice ability since I know that I am a bit behind all of you guys. Don''t worry, I won''t be a burden after this.


    "For now, I have a few things prepared such as Ice Magician tutor and military instructor. I will pursue both magic andmanding ability. I won''t let Kai handle everything alone, so I will try to increase my ability as a strategist.


    "There is one more thing¡­" She looked down while scratching the back of her head as if she wanted to do something embarrassing. "I will increase my proficiency in my mimicking ability. I might even be the most beautiful woman and sedu¡ªAhem, never mind. I was too excited, please forget it."


    "¡­" The others were dumbfounded and looked at Kai, who remained silent.


    "Listen to me, Captain. This ising from the love coach, me, Evan." Evan shook Kai''s shoulders and gave a thumb up. "Since you are training with your teacher, you should ask more for that medicine that allows you to¡­Ahem, you know."


    Kai twitched his eyebrows and grabbed his hands with his full strength before Evan screamed in pain.


    "Ouch, ouch! What are you¡ª" Evan stopped when he saw that Alex was smiling, but that smile was nothing but scary. He fell silent, looked down and apologized. "I am sorry, okay? I won''t continue and tease you more."


    Kai sighed. "Ugh, I can''t say anything other than¡­Good Luck?"


    Michelle and the girls shrugged as if this was something normal. Tasha decided to be the one saying this piece to him. "Just make sure you don''t forget that we are sacrificing our heart as well just to ept another person in the family, okay?"


    Kai looked down, feeling guilty. Although he didn''t say he epted Sofia, he still gave her a chance.


    Sofia looked down and remained silent.


    Seeing the awkward situation, Ayaka decided to end this with her objective. "First of all, I will finish the two orders first: Tasha''s Special Explosion Arrow and Evan''s Explosion Bullet.


    "For Tasha, it''s a bitplicated because we need to understand her lightning principle and make itpatible with my magic as well. This will take a lot of trials and errors. And I think the cost will be a bit high, so we won''t really produce many of them at once since the specialists will make them by hand.


    "Different from her, Evan''s Explosion Bullets are not that different than the one we have. We can sell the ones we already have, but I guess there is room for improvement, so I will try to form a team to increase their efficiency and other things.


    "After that, I will consolidate my power by using heavy-weighted armor all over my body. As Elder Rapakha said, if I fully unleash this potential, my strength won''t lose to that of Kai with his." Ayaka pumped her fist. "And I will be joining the army if I have the time. The purpose is simr to Sofia''s."


    Kai raised his hand to the stomach''s level.


    The others realized what he wanted to do and put their hands above his hand, stacking up.


    "Since we have set our goal, let''s meet again three months from now and be stronger than ever. It''s time for the lion to sleep and rest, so we can stand back up again brimming with energy."


    "Yay!" They raised their hand and cheered.


    After that, they came in the car prepared by Nathan as Kai opened the window and talked to Michelle onest time.


    "Before we leave, I want to inform you guys that I will be giving you a big present when all of us have seeded in training, so make sure you don''t injure yourself, alright?" Kai smiled, keeping the present mysterious.


    Only Sofia knew about this as it was included in their negotiation and knew it was the time to give them.


    "Alright, see youter in three months." Kai waved his hand to Michelle as the driver stepped on the gas, slowly leaving the mansion.

 Chapter 342 - Supersonic Sword

    One weekter, Kai smiled at his parents in front of the train that would soon leave the station. "I will be going for three months. Take care, alright?"


    "Yeah. Unfortunately, Tasha can''t see you off."


    "She is busy with her matters, especially since she is preparing for her graduation. She will be gone for a month or two too."


    "We know it." James Carter nodded and patted Kai''s shoulders. "We can only watch the news from home and can''t help you with a single thing in your job. Although you might have grown tired of hearing this, I will say this no matter how many times I need to say it. You will always be our pride and joy, so please take care of yourself."


    "Of course. You two should also take care of yourself since Tasha and I won''t be home for a few months."


    "Don''t worry. We both will be fine." James nodded while smiling at his wife that agreed with him. "Go pursue what you want. If you feel tired of everything, juste back home and talk to us. We will lit the fire in your heart once again."


    Kai smiled and hugged his father and mother beforeing inside the train. "I am going."


    "Yeah."


    The train soon moved, heading straight to the station near Ria Ross''s house.


    The journey didn''t take too long, and Kai immediately went toward the rundown house that had a very different look between inside and outside.


    He knocked on the door of the rundown house.


    As if she had been waiting for him not far from the door, she opened the door one second after he rang the bell.


    "I have been waiting for you." She smiled.


    Kai looked at her messy clothes and the bag under her eyes. "Did you sleepst night?"


    "I did! I am a responsible adult."


    "How long?"


    "One hour."


    "That can only barely be called a nap. What adult?" Kai sighed and opened the door wider, so he could go inside. "Have you cleaned your room yet? You didn''t clean your room thest time I came here with the others. And Ayaka told me you didn''t clean it when she came alone."


    "Ahaha¡­" Ria Ross scratched the back of her head and looked away.


    "Anyway, I will be living here for three months, so I will clean this ce up first. For now, how about you sleep for a few hours."


    "I will eat first and take a shower." She let out a long sigh as if Kai would keep nagging her unless she did everything necessary.


    "¡­" Kai sighed. "I still remember how you never cleaned up your room even when you trained me a decade ago. Geez. You need to enjoy your time, you know."


    "Shouldn''t you be grateful that your teacher is a workaholic? You can get everything in time, and it''s not like I have any problem in daily life." She shrugged.


    "You are going to copse soon, you know. Maybe I shouldn''t ask anything from you like I did in the past ten years. Right, I heard from Sir Nathan that you led a better life when I didn''t¡­"


    "Fine, fine. You just want me to rest, right?" She sighed. "You were always like this. Even though I had bullied you the whole day, you kept nagging me to rest with you because you didn''t want me to fall sick."


    "So, you do realize that back then, you gave me a trauma?" Kai twitched his eyebrows in annoyance.


    "That wasn''t trauma. You just got used to pain. That''s the most basic thing you need to have on the battlefield other than fear resistance like opening your eyes when your enemies attack you or techniques," She proudly imed.


    "Whatever. Anyway, what did you eat daily?"


    "I just ordered it online or some instant noodles."


    "I bet you ate them when they had be cold because you were too focused on your research."


    "They tasted the same." She shrugged as if it wasn''t a big deal.


    "Anyway, you will have a healthy lifestyle when I am living here. If you don''t abide by this, I won''t follow any of your instructions."


    "Fine. Even if you want me to burn all my research, I will do it." She gave a thumb up, telling him that he was more important than everything she had.


    "Yeah, yeah. Go get a healthy lunch first and take a shower. I will handle everything." Kai sighed.


    "Alright. Before that, do you want to eat too?"


    "Nope. I have eaten not long ago." Kai waved his hand.


    She and Kai then went to the room where she found her device and ordered food there.


    Kai facepalmed when he saw the room. Papers were on the ground, and everything looked messy, including the trash.


    "I will take a shower right now." She immediately escaped.


    Kai looked at her back and shook his head with a helpless smile. She looked more energetic when he came, so he just ignored everything and proceeded in dealing with this mess.


    A few minutester, she returned to the room, finding Kai had thrown all the trash and fixed a portion of the mess.


    He nced at her and said, "I have heated the food."


    She looked at her table, finding the food she ordered earlier while piping smoke. Walking to the table, she sat down and started eating.


    "By the way, how are you doing, Teacher?" Kai asked.


    "I am good. I have found a solution for the side effect of your Lion Blood that makes you go berserk. However, I still need various tests to see if it''s safe for you or not and wait for the highest quality materials. And I found out that the solution can increase your strength even further as if it unleashes the suppressed ability in that blood."


    "That''s good to hear, but won''t that be snatched by the government again?"


    "I have never submitted or discussed this with other people, so I am good. It''s not like anyone can hack me." She shrugged. "The reason I didn''t do anything with my baby, the zodiac project, was because I had enough with it. Well, you could say I was content with just you."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Thanks."


    "Hehe. Oh right, I have meant to ask you this question, but what is your purpose foring here? I know that you want to train, but I don''t know the specific."


    "I will be figuring out the new magic that I have been working for."


    "Ho? I am a little curious about it."


    "Well, you will know eventually, so I guess there is no need to hide this." Kai hesitated for a second. "The conceptes from the Sonic Boom."


    "Ah, so that''s why you want me to create a weapon far stronger than the one you have right now." She nodded in understanding. "Although I don''t really know the details of your n, I can somehow understand that the Sword needs to withstand the pressure."


    "Yeah."


    She recalled everything she knew about the sonic boom and muttered. "Sonic Boom¡­The phenomenon of a shock wave was created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. The shock wave itself is enough to cause small damage to the surrounding. And I believe it canplement your Vibration Sword and bring out something far more terrifying than a normal Sonic Boom. If it can cause substantial damage, I believe it is deadlier than your Vibration Sword alone."


    "That''s the concept, but I don''t know if I will seed."


    "But you know that a sonic boom does not ur only at the moment an object crosses the speed of sound; and neither is it heard in all directions emanating from the supersonic object, right?"


    "Yeah. The boom is a continuous effect that urs while the object is traveling at supersonic speeds, but it affects only observers that are positioned at a point that intersects a region in the shape of a cone behind the object." Kai confirmed.


    "Then, how are you nning to use it? The continuous effect alone is hard to achieve."


    Kai smiled and took out his weapon, slowly swinging downward. "You see this sword? It''s a normal swing, right? But Teacher should already know that it cuts the air."


    "Indeed." She nodded, fell silent for a moment and opened her mouth in surprise. "Interesting."


    "Yeah. That''s why I want to try it. When I swing my sword downward, it cuts the air. However, we can exin this in another way. Because the sword travels here, the air is forced to move, resulting in a wind flow from the bottom of my sword to the top of my swords. Just like how airnes fly because of the difference of velocity between the air flowing on the bottom and the top spot of the wing, this one uses the same technique.


    "Of course, instead of the difference of two, I will ssify it as three parts. The bottom of the sword, the sides (left and right), and the top. This way, I can generate enough wind pressure to make the sound flow.


    "After that, through my Vibration Sword magic, I will amplify it even further, so the swords vibrate faster than the speed of sound. It will increase the Sound Wave in the sides before flowing to the top of the sword. Of course, the front has quite powerful energy too, when I use this concept, but it''s nothingpared to the sides and the top of the sword.


    "That''s why I asked Teacher for a stronger sword. It''s to have a more powerful sword body to withstand the speed of sound. As for the thunderp sound every time Sound Boom urs, I will try to fix it by controlling the frequency. As long as it''s above human ears can perceive, it will be alright." Kai smirked.


    "Interesting. This time, you might be able to kill me if you seed in this technique. I am looking forward to it."


    "Yeah. That''s why you need to sleep first. I want to fight you in your top condition. Of course, a month from now." Kai smiled.


    "You bet."

 Chapter 343 - Teacher And Student

    After cleaning up the entire house, he looked at the clock and sighed. "To think it''s already 8 PM. I should order something to eat."


    "How about going out with me?" Ria suddenly appeared with her sleepy eyes.


    "I was about to order something since I realized you have woken up." Kai looked at her messy clothes.


    "How about we eat outside? It''s good to refresh our mind before having intensive training, you know." She smiled.


    "Fine. You should wash yourself first and change your clothes. It''s quite freezing outside."


    "Sure. Gimme ten minutes." She waved her hand and walked back to her room.


    Kai looked at the pile of documents she needed to cover this whole time. Seventy percent of them contained the research about him, starting from his new sword, Sound Concept, Lion Blood, and so on. The rest thirty percent only had the investigation and data about Tasha and the others.


    He just had no heart to decline her teacher after seeing her doing this much to him.


    Walking straight to her table, he smiled. "Thank you."


    He waited for eight minutes, and Ria had finally dressed herself up.


    Unlike her usualzy appearance, she had tidied herself up a little bit. Instead of having her hair get messy by just keeping it loose, she tied it into a ponytail, making her look energetic.


    After having enough sleep, the bag under her eyes reduced so much to the point it didn''t look there was one from the beginning.


    She had a one-piece purple dress, reaching her knees. To fight the cold, she covered herself with a long leather coat and high leather boots.


    As for makeup, she never used it to the point she never had one to begin with. Even so, people might mistake her as someone who just entered her prime, not someone who was the same age as his mother.


    "What?! Did I mesmerize you, naughty boy?" She smiled and walked toward him.


    Kai pinched the bridge of his nose and massaged it for a few seconds before looking at her again. "Who are you?"


    "Oi, oi. I am your teacher! I have finally dressed myself up, and you are this rude." She crossed her arms as if he just wronged her.


    "Ahaha, I was kidding. I never saw you this beautiful in the past two years, but I remembered your appearance back when I was still a kid." Kai put on a gentle smile, happy with his teacher. Even when meeting with the president, she wore either a military uniform or the usualb coat, making him a bit concerned.


    "Now you say it. But this teacher doesn''t approve of this taboo rtionship."


    "Do you think I approve that?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Who knows¡­You are someone who will marry his sister with the reason not rted by blood, so there is no telling."


    Kai twitched his eyebrows and sighed. "I am just thinking whether I should put your picture on a dating site. I am sure there will be many people lining up."


    "Don''t you dare." She bbed the back of his head. "I don''t have any intention of getting married. Just let me carry your childter. I don''t want to have one myself because it will take everything from me. It''s not like I am a man who needs to work hard to repopte this."


    "Haha. Anyway, let''s go. I am a bit hungry."


    "Sure. It will be my breakfast."


    "I will fix that time of yours during my stay." Kai rolled his eyes. "No, I mean seriously, you should probably have a husband that can control your time and schedule."


    "It''s an assistant, not a husband." She shook her head. "Anyway, let''s go. We will go with all you can eat."


    Kai smiled as they both walked. ording to her, the store wasn''t far away, so she often visited the ce.


    However, Alex was baffled when he saw what it was. It was simply a festival with a hundred stalls on a long road in a certain marketce. "This¡­"


    "This is the marketce in this area. I oftene here because there are many menus here. And they are pretty cheap, considering this ce is always like this every day. Come,e. What do you want to eat?" She grabbed his hand like a girlfriend would do and dragged him inside.


    Kai wanted to tell her about the hand, but she looked like an elder sister right now, so it was fine. He decided to enjoy this rxing time with her.


    The two then started eating, trying thirty stalls in just an hour as if their stomachs were a rubber.


    After filling their empty stomach, she just clung to his hand while enjoying the walk without any aim.


    "Kai, do you remember the first time I met you?"


    "Yes."


    "You almost died due to a magical beast, but to my surprise, when I arrived there, the beast had already died, perplexing even the genius me. Do you remember what happens back then?"


    "I think I have told you about this? There was someone using a mask killing the magical beast. After killing the beast, that person disappeared."


    "That was a strange case that I couldn''t even solve. There might be something hidden in United Asia, but I don''t know if you have the will to discover it."


    "I have gotten used to living here, so I currently have no n in going back other than helping Sak¡ªI mean, Yajima Haruko from the bnce and payback for what the Katsuragi Family has put my family into a troublesome situation." Kai sighed.


    "I know that desire well. In fact, I am supportive of that idea to the point I want to join you when the timees, but who knows whether I can move again or not. If I can, I am going to investigate the one who helped you and thank you for saving my student."


    "Well, it''s your choice. I can help you, but I won''t stay for too long in United Asia."


    "Yeah. Anyway, it really brings back memories when rxing with you. Now that I think about it, I have never had a time like this with you."


    "Yeah. The only thing you did every day was killing me, so there was nothing like this."


    "But I still fed you and washed your body."


    "That was only when I was a kid."


    "Well, this kind of memory is good once in a while. There are many things I want to talk about with you, but I can''t just bring myself to tell you other than any teaching materials."


    "I will be here three months." Kai sighed.


    Finding the hidden meaning in his words, she simply smiled. "Yeah. That''s good enough. Still, the memory of when you were a kid put a smile on my face every time I recalled it. The brat that looked like he had no will to live actually kept telling me to live. It was so hrious that it wasn''t even funny."


    "Just like how you saved me, I just wanted to tell you to live because you looked like me in the past." Kai shrugged.


    "Yeah, yeah. I remembered that. It was like our existence just gave a boost to each other, so we could keep living, fending ourselves off those hurdles in life."


    "You sound like an olddy."


    "I am still in my forties." She pinched his arm, annoyed.


    "Whatever. In any case, it''s true that the training brought me trauma, but I never once thought I hated you. In fact, I have been grateful to you this whole time."


    She smiled and closed her eyes. "I want you to rely on me more. You know what? When you suddenly came to this base, I almost had a heart attack after hearing you are heavily injured. I was sad that you didn''t call me because I would immediately board the ne and head to United Asia¡­And probably destroy the Katsuragi Family."


    "Ahaha¡­That was my fault. I should have ovee my trauma sooner."


    "But I guess it''s okay. It was only because they chased you out of that base, you could stay here." She made a genuine smile as if this was the "peace" she wanted this whole time.


    "I also heard that you were the one treating my family and me when I copsed back then. Because you were afraid of my mental state, you chose to leave me in Michelle''s hand. I am a bad student¡­"


    "No, no. You are my treasure that can understand me. And the opposite applies as well. I can understand your feelings and know that it''s not the time. If not, you would have called me." She smiled. "Alright. Let''s stop this depressing talk. Everything is alright now."


    "Yeah."


    "Oh, maybe one that is a bit more serious. It''s regarding your new sword. I have the prototype ready, but I need to test it first, so you can''t really use it right now. It will be ready in another two weeks to three weeks with my current prediction."


    "I am looking forward to using it. This will be the time you lose, Teacher."


    "It''s 25 years too early for you to challenge me."


    "Why are you using our real age difference?" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "Because I am sure I won''t be able to challenge you if we are the same age. As for right now, there is already a chance of you defeating me. And I still remember you have the ne that Rapakha gave you."


    "Yeah. Although I don''t know where the "promisednd" in his mouth is, I can put it on my neck while traveling around the world." Kai nodded.


    "You still need to reach one star general first before that." Ria sighed. "Well, let''s wander around for one more hour before going back, okay? It''s not like we have a lot of time like this."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

 Chapter 344 - Training

    The next day, Kai finally started his training. It wasn''t something big from the beginning, just testing some things for his new magic. After all, the concept was there, but not the execution.


    To do this, he specifically asked his teacher for the training world because he felt he might be injured from this training.


    When a week passed, Ria Ross came to him with a sword. The sword looked the same as his current sword, but the materials had been changed. The color was more apparent since it became a green sword instead.


    "Teacher, this is¡­"


    "Yeah. That''s your Sword. Since you are here, I have been working faster than I can imagine." She smiled. "Take care of that sword, will you? That''s the best one I have ever worked on. I don''t think any weapon can match the hardness of this sword."


    "Of course. I will be a fool if I don''t. Well, that is if the sword can withstand the pressureing from the Sonic Boom."


    "Have you figured out the magic?"


    "The basics are there. I just need some tweaking. You want to see it?"


    "Sure. I am curious. I will make sure to watch out the weapon that might kill me in our battle." She smirked. "I don''t want to lose to a brat like you."


    "Nope. You are going down." Kai shrugged as both of them went from the study room to the training room.


    Inside there was a huge monitor and some devices to control the virtual world just like those in Graham Family''s mansion.


    "Do you have any specific ce or environment you want to request?" She asked.


    "Nope. Just a normal one. I don''t mind if it''s just a basic white room." Kai shook his head. "Later, I want to see whether the wind or any other elements will affect my magic or not."


    "I see. For now, I will input the data of this sword first, so you can summon it in the virtual room." She nodded and began typing for a few minutes before pointing at the training tubes. "Choose any of them."


    There were five training tubes. That was why she let him choose.


    Kai nodded and took the left one, the one that he used when he fought against Ria Ross.


    "I have used the data of our real world to make sure that the Sonic Boom and other phenomena appear as how everything is supposed to be."


    "I understand. Thank you." Kai nodded with a smile while entering the training tube.


    "Alright. Transferring."


    Kai closed his eyes, and his consciousness teleported inside the white room. A huge screen then appeared in front of him where he could see Ria''s figure.


    "I will remain by your side until this training session finishes to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Are you fine with that?"


    "Yeah. Please take care of me." Kai nodded.


    "This is your sword." She said while summoning his new sword.


    Kai felt the sword first to check the difference between the real sword and this virtual sword. Fortunately, Ria''s skill was top-notch as she managed to replicate it perfectly.


    He then closed his eyes for a couple seconds, and two magic circles appeared, one on top of his sword and the other one was the ball on the de itself. Thetter generated vibration with the oscition speed near the speed of sound. In a normal situation alone, this sword was far sharper than the one he had previously.


    When the second magic circle was activated, it shook uncontrobly in his hand as he felt the wind blowing from the sword to his left and right.


    Kai stabilized the sword in his hand by using a bit more power.


    "I will try to swing it to see the response."


    "Alright."


    After getting the confirmation from Ria, he proceeded to swing it downward. The pressure moved from the sides to upward as he predicted. However, he never expected that it became a boost to the sword itself to create a more powerful swing, increasing the velocity.


    "Not good!"


    The force from the Sonic Boom pushed his sword farther than he aimed, hitting the ground. The Sound Wave immediately became unstable and uncontroble as it flew in all directions, including Kai''s body.


    It hit him on the stomach as if there was a boulder hitting him right on that spot, blowing him away to the wall to the point it created a crater just from the force transmitted from Kai''s body to the wall.


    "Gah!" He spat out blood as he felt some ribs were broken.


    "Are you okay?" Ria asked with a worried expression.


    "I am fine. The pain is still endurable for one more time. The magic is iplete, but I know that I should get used to the movement with the additional effect of the Sonic Boom first since I have settled down the problem with the loud sound produced by the Sonic Boom in the first week." Kai dropped to the ground, falling to his knees before activating his exoskeleton.


    "Alright. I will gather a few data and show you my analysis¡­Probably giving you some models of how the sound wave travels when you use that magic by making a model of how the air flows around you."


    "Thank you, that will help me a lot." He nodded before rising on his feet, ready for another shot."


    While he had made good progress, his teammates had also taken a step forward in their training.


    In EU Base, specifically in a garden of a certain mansion.


    "Oi, Evan. Have you done watering the nts?" A middle-aged bustydy shouted while checking the leaves of the current nt in front of him. Her appearance was simr to that of Shirotsuka Sanae, even though she was older than her and a bit younger than her peers. It must be the work of the nts here.


    "I have only done half of it. I need another fifteen minutes," Evan replied while keeping up with his work.


    "Can you even do your job? Why are you so slow?" She shouted.


    "I am doing my best just not to kill the nts." Evan sighed. He told her the truth. They both had the same magic, which was water magic.


    "I would have done it ten times before you even finish."


    "I am trying."


    "Come on. You need to control the basic characteristic of the water and your healing abilities!"


    Evan kept shouting back since this was how she trained him. To master the healing ability, Evan needed to improve his control over his water and its healing character, and one of the fastest ways to improve was to water the nts using that healing water.


    If he overdid it, the nt would wither because of overdosage. If he lowered the dosage, he would be too slow like the current him.


    Even so, Evan didn''tin about the whole training because he realized that his healing speed became faster by the day, so this training was worth the efforts.


    Meanwhile, Sofia also had the same progress as him.


    She had been training inside her mansion, specifically in her family hall.


    This training hall had been used for many generations, including her father and grandfather.


    Inside the hall were two people, one standing and one was on their knee. Sofia obviously thetter, panting.


    "Huft." She took a deep breath and looked at an old man that had gone past his prime. Despite his aged expression and body, she had yet tond a hit on his body for the whole week.


    "What? You want to stop?" He narrowed his eyes.


    "I won''t!" She gritted her teeth. "I have been training here for a week without any progress. Even though my movement has be more polished, I can''t still touch you yet, so I will be working on this. Make sure you don''t pull your punch."


    "Hoho. In my retirement, my granddaughter suddenly asked me to train her, so I couldn''t help but go here. I heard that you wanted to be stronger because of a man. You know how to rile me up, right?" He smirked evilly as if he wanted to do many evil things to both her and the man. "How is hepared to me inbat skill?"


    "¡­" She thought for a moment and asked him first. "How do youpare to the strongest person in the US Base?"


    "Are you talking about their S Rank magicians or that lunatic Ria Ross?"


    "His teacher, of course. Don''t tell me you haven''t followed any news?"


    "I have been fishing in the countryside, so I don''t know. I only learned that you visited the US Base when I was on the way here."


    "It''s Ria Ross."


    "Hoh?! Interesting." He smirked. "I myself am an S Rank, but that woman can be undefeated despite being an A Rank. Her skill and thinking are unique to the point we have trouble. If Ipare myself to her, it will be six to four, she wins."


    "Then, he can at least win two times against you. And he is training to be an equal of his teacher that is growing even more. If I don''t have strength, he won''t look at me. This is both for me and the base."


    "Hoh?!" His smile became wider as cracked appeared below his feet before it turned into a crater. The pressure, killing intent, and battle instinct emanated from his body. It sent a shiver to her body as she realized why her grandfather could be considered one of the strongest magicians in this base. "I would love to see him."


    "You will have the chance in a few months." She gritted her teeth and endured the pressure. "But now¡­You better not lose against your granddaughter first unless you want to be bullied by him."


    "Since that is the case, I will start my offensive too from now on and hit you for real. Every time you lose, I will spank you one hundred times. Be prepared for it." He smirked.


    "Are you going to kill me?"


    "Nope. Those are ps of love. If you do it every single day, humans can change and have a small evolution. You will have big butts after this, and I hear man love that, including me. Hyoho!" Heughed before disappearing from her vision as the battle had begun again.

 Chapter 345 - Doubt

    Unlike the three of them, the other three didn''t have that kind of peaceful training.


    In the Graham Family''s mansion, specifically Michelle''s room, the girl was lying t on the ground. Her eyes were fuzzy and unfocused. Water that she drank earlier flowed out of her mouth.


    She panted and started rolling on the ground. Her expression was distorted as though she was enduring pain all over her body.


    No one realized her current state because she had forbidden everyone from entering her room.


    The fuzzy memory of her past where she first met Kai appeared in her mind, giving her additional strength. She closed her eyes for a moment and clenched her teeth, enduring this.


    "I can''t be the weakest one." Her eyes regained their focus, and she took a deep breath. Even with her eyes letting out tears or her body and forehead were covered with sweat, she endured everything.


    At the same time, she wasn''t the only one to have ridiculous progress like that. Ayaka and Tasha had gone together to the battlefield, creating a two-person group.


    They were on top of a hill, facing a thousand magical beasts that were storming from below.


    "Tasha, what do you think about this?"


    "You and I are rivals in thestpetition, so I guess we could make a small bet in this situation?" She smiled while drawing her bow.


    "I don''t mind. But you must have used your Sealing Magic in thatpetition, right? If not, you wouldn''t be able to win." She smirked. "Are you going to use it again?"


    "There is only you and me here, so I guess I can do it. I will take care of this side, and you take care of the other side. We will see who kills more. Instead of a win-win situation, we will lose if the magical beasts manage to reach the top. It means thepetition is annulled and we need to have a punishment agreed by both of us. What do you think?"


    "I am fired up. And don''t forget the most important rule that Kai would say at this moment." Ayaka smiled while ncing at her.


    Tasha also smiled with her back touching Ayaka''s. Both of them thought and said the same thing.


    "The one who gets heavily injured will be disqualified."


    Ayaka immediately disappeared while Tasha released her arrows.


    ¡­


    The training continued for another week. In Ria Ross''s house, Kai was rubbing his belly.


    "I don''t know why but when I failed, it would go to my stomach most of the time." Kai sighed, feeling a bit sick.


    "Here. Take a look at this." Ria waved her hand, calling him to see the screen she was looking at.


    Kai nodded and approached her, finding a 3D model along with the airflow.


    She then yed the model and gave Kai the reason why it would always hit the stomach. The 3D figure hit the ground again, and the sound wave dispersed. However, the majority of the sound wave was umted on top of the sword because of how it was directed.


    It then flowed on top of his sword before reaching his stomach.


    "This is what happened. Because you are swinging your sword, the residual sound wave and air will flow to the back of your sword and, in this case, upward. From what I know, with how fast the sword is, the air flows around your sword first before going in all directions. Unfortunately, before it can disperse, it meets his body first, so yeah, that''s the reason." She shrugged.


    "It''s quite painful even with the exoskeleton, you know."


    "Still, the one that has the most brutal impact is the one that your sword hits. In other words, the ground. After all, the reason why this air can flow like this is mostly due to the sword hitting the ground. Either way, if you can control the Sonic Boom direction and your Sword, I think you will be able to deal huge damage to the protector''s hard skin."


    Kai stroked his chin and looked down, falling into deep thought. "What if it hits a person? I don''t dare to use something this dangerous if I don''t have enough mastery to wield it perfectly. After all, the most regrettable thing I can do right now is friendly fire."


    "I agree." She nodded in agreement. "However, you must work a bit harder." She smiled.


    "I know. I have already gotten the gist of it. If possible, I want to control it perfectly within two to three weeks. After that, we are going to fight." Kai smirked.


    "I have already understood this technique though." She looked at him.


    "It''s fine. Whatever the result, I will try to do whatever I can within a month of fighting you. After that, I would like to work on my strategy and other things."


    "Actually, I have one n for you."


    "What is it? Are you going to send me to the battlefield?" he asked with an expectant look.


    "Nope. There are two possibilities to erase the weakness of your Zodiac Blood." She raised two fingers while smiling. "The first thing is to erase it with medicine that I have been working on. It is going to be finished within one week or two. I can inject you with the medicine, and you can use your animal instinct for a long time without experiencing the bacsh."


    "I see. That is great. If I can use that instinct, I can increase my reaction speed by thirty percent." Kai nodded. "What is the second one?"


    "This one has a difficulty on another level. To put it simply, I can use the medicine to stimte that blood of yours and use that as a catalyst so you can control it perfectly. In other words, this won''t give you only the advantageing from instinct. You will get much more, such as an increase of speed and strength like how a lion fights." She smirked. "This one is a bit risky."


    "How risky is it?" Kai asked.


    "For the current you? I think around sixty-five percent to seventy-five percent. If you understand what ising toward you, I believe we can increase it to eighty to ny percent, depending on your control over your magic and pain."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "If it has that high sess rate, then I don''t think Teacher needs to ask me, right?"


    "I know that you will choose the second option. Even so, I want you to know first." She shrugged.


    "The enemies in the future aren''t half-baked opponents like humans. Instead, they are monsters that have been living for several thousand years to a hundred thousand years. If I don''t use any opportunity, I won''t be able to protect my family from them." Kai clenched his fist and looked at Ria with a serious expression.


    "I know your concern, but there is one more important thing you need to do." She looked at him.


    "Are you talking about the archeological sites?"


    "Yeah. We need to discover what kind of beings the protectors are. Even though they are saying they only want to maintain the bnce, I feel that''s not all. After all, there are many things that break that goal of theirs. No, I should say they kill people in the name of their goal without any reasoning." She narrowed her eyes.


    "Teacher¡­" Kai suddenly remembered something.


    "What?"


    "What will humans do when there isn''t a single magical beast anymore on Earth? Are we going to be a vegetarian?"


    "Hmm?! Interesting question. There are not many people who have that question in their head because of the imminent threat the magical beasts give them."


    "I believe this is what they mean about Earth''s cry. Like how we have exhausted many resources and let many animals extinct in the past, there would be a time where the Earth lost its food and water source. What will happen at that time?" He asked.


    "Probably Outer Space Exploration. We are indeed having trouble facing the magical beasts right now. However, I believe in one hundred to two hundred years. The humans will be able to turn this situation around." She thought for a moment before continuing. "This base will take over Canada and skapletely. The EU Base and United Asia will restore Russia, China, and nearby countries. When the timees, our poption should have grown as well, and the humans can start doing another n like space exploration."


    "Is that even possible?"


    "I don''t mean to brag but take a look at me. I am a genius that can do many things. There are many more geniuses that will appear from now on. If we are directed some resources to that area, the possibility is there, especially with this new source called magic. We might be able to do something more than what the people of the past could do."


    "I see."


    "Well, we won''t be the one to see it." She smiled. "If the humans go extinct because they have exhausted this world''s resource, that''s their own choice. Whether to explore thes nearby, they can choose to take their own lives like this. Either way, we won''t be there to witness it."


    "Yeah. I might have thought it too much." He let out a long sigh. "I just feel that there is something we need to know about these protectors. Their secret must be very important to us and the entire humanity. I will do my best, but I will say no to a suicide mission. After all, my family is more important than this base."


    "Fair enough. However, you need to remember that a suicide mission is a subjective opinion. If you don''t have strength, you will think an easy mission is a suicide mission. If you have overwhelming strength, you will think of an easy mission as a boring mission. That''s why you need to get stronger as soon as possible."


    "I will go back to my training then." Kai nodded.

 Chapter 346 - Subconsciouness

    "Are you sure to go through this now?" She asked once again while looking at Kai, who was lying on a mattress for an operation. Next to him was a blood bag and one bag filled with yellow liquid.


    This was the operation room where Ria transfused the zodiac blood into Ayaka''s body.


    "This is a perfect time. After two weeks, I have mastered the new magic and taken another week to calm myself down for this operation. I feel I am at my peak, so this will be the perfect time to face my weakness and control it." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Still¡­"


    "Teacher, I know you are worried about me, but there was another reason for this. With a little less than two months, I could use the first one or two weeks to control this new strength. I am sure that my strength will increase by leaps and bounds since you are the one doing it. As soon as I have perfect control, I will challenge you. We can use the spare time for me to learn the strategies and tactics under you." He assured her with a gentle smile.


    "¡­" She let out a long sigh before grabbing the blood bag. Hanging the blood bag, she exined everything first. "The medicine will be stimting the blood inside your body. I have spected that you will be a lion itself."


    "A lion? Like the failed zodiacs?"


    "No. It''s only in your subconscious level. In other words, you will feel the shock for a period of time that might reduce you to aa. To gain strength, you need to know the source first. That''s why you will need to understand the lion inside you. Of course, the technology I have here will teleport your consciousness to your subconsciousness where you can meet the lion.


    "But do pay attention to one thing. I don''t have the ability to help you when you enter your subconsciousness. Unless you wake up by yourself, I will just damage your brain if I force you out to the point you will face brain dead.


    "That''s why you need to handle everything without my help, and I can''t give you any information about what you can do or not. There is no guideline to that as well. Anyway, I can only say good luck to you."


    "Thanks. Don''t worry. You said the sess rate is high, right?" Kai smiled. "I am not worried, so you should support me as well."


    "Alright." She sighed and finally took the medicine bag, hanging it so the fluid could flow into his body. "Are you ready? You will need to endure pain when the medicine stimtes the blood."


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    She then let the medicine flow down the small hose before entering his body. When it came into contact with his blood, specifically his lion blood, the medicine caused a certain reaction as if someone came to his body and made a mess out of it.


    The blood became agitated as if trying to fight the medicine. However, only due to this process could the blood wake uppletely and start their cirction all over his body.


    "Argh!" Kai screamed out of pain. He never expected that the stimtion from the blood felt like nails impaling every single spot on his body.


    Grabbing the railing on the side of the bed, he crushed them with his grips alone. Ria understood the pain well and shouted. "Don''t give up. It will only be for a few minutes! You have endured the pain when bing a Zodiac. You can do it again!"


    "Argh!" Kai continued screaming for several minutes before a "ding" sound rang on his brain instead of his ears. It jolted his entire body, especially his brain. His consciousness became nk before it was shrouded by darkness, and Kai finally went into aa.


    Ria Ross grabbed his hand and ced it on her cheek. "If in the past I could send you with a smile like a psychopath, I can''t do it now. The emptiness in my heart has been filled by you this whole time. You gave me the meaning to live on, so you should seed as well."


    Tears gradually formed on the corner of her eyes before they flowed down uncontrobly. She clenched Kai''s hand even harder and said, "Please. No matter how high the sess rate is, I still don''t want you to take that risk."


    There was one thing that she never told Kai. It was written on the document she had this whole time.


    There was a sentence saying, "Up to 90% of sess, 5% of losing the consciousness and 5% of integration with the animal."


    What she didn''t want was Kai turning into a magical beast. Losing consciousness was just like aa. There was still a chance for him to wake up in the future. However, when he integrated with the animal and turned a part of his body into an animal, she would need to kill him.


    That was how she had been doing things this whole time. And there was this promise where Kai preferred to see the others sad for a few years than their whole life just because they had no human children. Even if they said they epted them, there would be rejection on a subconscious level that thought of it as disgusting.


    She feared that the most, so she was a bit weak on this matter despite the belief of Kai seeding.


    Kai, on the other hand, was falling into his subconsciousness as if he was falling down at low speed.


    ''What is this? Where am I? Why can''t I open my eyes? Why am I falling like there is no gravity here?'' Many questions appeared in his mind as he tried to move his body but to no avail.


    In the end, he chose to rely on his ears, albeit the result was practically the same or even worse. He couldn''t hear a single noise in this as if there was nothing existing in this ce. For him, who had grown up with noises echoing in his ears every single second, this emptinesspletely baffled him.


    The anxiousness grew inside his heart as he felt something was wrong.


    ''I need to do something, but I don''t have any clue. Teacher told me that she didn''t know what would happen and what I would encounter in my subconsciousness, so what should I do? Is this what it feels when you are in aa? You can''t hear and do anything, only thinking like this for a long time. No wonder there is a huge difference between before and aftera.'' Kai thought.


    While thinking about all the useless things that appeared in his head, he gradually felt that his body fell slower. Not long after that, he felt his back touching something.


    He then regained his ability to move, albeit slowly like moving on the moon. He slowly opened his eyes and prepared for anything he needed to face.


    What he found was nothing but nk space. Everything he could see was ck with some bright spots around him.


    "This¡­This looks like I am in outer space. It''s dark, but the stars are shining. What should I do here?" Kai muttered and looked around while checking his body. "There is nothing wrong with my body. It''s the same specs like when I went into the simtion room using the Training Tube. Should I explore a bit?"


    Even though he wanted to explore, he didn''t know what to do. Looking at his feet, he found that he was stepping into nothingness.


    There was only empty space there, but it felt like there was a solid tform supporting his feet, so he didn''t fall anymore.


    "Still, I can''t believe what I see in my subconsciousness. Teacher said that this technology was simr to that of a training tube that sent one''s consciousness to the virtual world. However, she tweaked it a little bit to change the virtual world into my subconsciousness.


    "I never expected there would be something like this in my mind. Wait. Did my teacher just achieve a scientific breakthrough with just this research? No, how would she know there was a space like this inside me? Did she test it on herself first before using it on me?" Kai''s face turned pale, feeling helpless.


    "It seems no matter how hard I try to repay all her kindness, it wouldn''t be enough." Kai closed his eyes and smiled. "If there is another life, I would love to be your biological son."


    Thinking like this, something jolted his mind as if there was someone calling him.


    He looked around, only to find nothing. However, he didn''t give up and shook his head, gathering his resolve once again. "I need to focus. I can report and talk about everything to my teacherter. It''s not like she wants another achievement like this since the government will just take it from her hand once more. That''s why I will gather all the information here first and tell only her, not anyone else, even the girls."


    With that resolve in mind, he stepped forward ording to his feelings. He headed straight to the emptiness.


    After walking for a few minutes, an altar suddenly filled his vision. The tform itself was quite big, around four times the size of a king-sized bed. The white pir surrounding him looked majestic, but that was all.


    He carefully approached the altar and found the lion there. To his surprise, instead of what he thought of a normal lion or a mutated one, the one he found was entirely different.


    It had a normal yellow and cream color body, but he didn''t find any fur around its head, but everything seemed normal until he saw two fangs sticking out of his mouth. The fangs were long and reached the bottom part of its mouth.


    When it sensed Kai''s presence, it gradually opened its eyes and turned its head around, finding Kai in his vision.

 Chapter 347 - The Bridge

    Their eyes intertwined. Kai''s body shook as he immediately leaped backward, trying to create a distance.


    This tiger is a bad deal. This was the first thought that appeared in his mind when he gazed at the lion''s eyes.


    "A human?" The lion suddenly spoke like a human.


    "Eh?!" That question jolted his mind. Due to the inability to summon his sword, he could only raise his defensive stance, preparing himself for any type of attack before asking, "Who are you? Why can you speak a humannguage? Are you a protector? Why are you not scientifically correct?"


    "It''s been two hundred thousand years since Ist lived. Unfortunately, I had enormous power that went through the blood of my children, sucking my own consciousness and splitting them into their own bodies when I died. Still, I never expected to see a human having my blood in your vein."


    Kai''s body shook and immediately shook his head. "I didn''t have this blood naturally. To save my life, my teacher injected this blood to bring me back from the death door."


    "So, you mean you killed my brethren and used their blood?" The lion slowly raised on his feet before roaring loudly, sending a shock wave toward Kai.


    Kai raised his hand, stopping the shock wave from going to his eyes. His eyes were still locked on the lion, afraid to take it away because it might be the end of him.


    "Are you aware of what happened outside?"


    "Outside? Now you mention it, I can''t really see what happened outside anymore. This only happened for thest fifteen years¡­Are you¡­"


    "Yes. A few yearster was when my teacher injected the blood into my body." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "I don''t know if I am your enemy or not, but haven''t you realized the world''s situation? I am sure you have noticed it, right? Especially since you are an intelligent being."


    The lion narrowed its eyes, ring at Kai for a few minutes before sitting again. "So, what are you doing here?"


    "I am here to control the blood¡­In other words, the poweres from the blood. Maybe we can say it''s your power? I am not very sure because I don''t have knowledge about this." Kai paused for a moment. "I also don''t know whether I am your enemy or not, but if we can talk, that''s better."


    The lion closed its eyes before opening them again. "You can consider me as a protector of the Earth. When I lived my life to the fullest, I protected the Earth from getting sullied. I have integrated this two hundred thousand years'' worth of knowledge into one single entity, which is me, thus allowing me to talk in yournguage."


    "I¡­" Kai suddenly remembered something that he might have to pique the interest of the opposite party. "Can you hear the Earth''s cry?"


    "You¡­How do you know that question?" The lion narrowed its eyes. He started observing him with interest this time instead of staring without any expectation.


    "I have a pair of special ears."


    "I see. So, you are the key."


    "The key?" Kai was taken aback when he learned another term for his existence.


    "You don''t even know who you are?" The lion snorted as if mocking him.


    "I just knew this not long ago." Kai shook his head, not thinking about the insult.


    "Hmm¡­That is interesting." The lion smiled. "Since I have died and don''t have any attachment to this anymore, do you want to know about your existence? I have witnessed every single era during the past two hundred thousand years."


    "I wish to know, but I can''t really trust you."


    "You are frank, huh. Never mind, I was living like you and ruled the whole continent in the past. Anyway, I will be talking about this. Whether you think I am lying or not, it''s your choice." The lion snorted. "Well, from where should I start¡­"


    Kai didn''t talk back this time, waiting for him to exin since he was quite interested as well. No matter if it was a lie or not, he should be able to grasp what happened in the past.


    After a while, the lion gathered its thoughts and started exining. "I will talk about what I mean about the key first. What do you think of the purpose of your ears? Or do you think it serves no purpose?"


    "It''s for me to listen to my surroundings? It''s just like normal ears but with more enhanced features?"


    "That''s why humans are still primitive to this day. You haven''t understood anything."


    "What do you mean?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, never expecting that the lion called humans primitive. Humans should be the most futuristic beingspared to any other animals that had lived on Earth.


    "Since you are a fool, I will just tell you with your simple word so even a fool like you can understand. Your ears have a purpose. It''s a bridge that connects humans with all other beings. Unfortunately, not many could withstand that burden and died right after they were born. Those who didn''t die became the key. This is the reason why I talk about this with you. Maybe, it''s a kind of fate as well. Anyway, I will exin everything from the beginning, so you, the key, can choose whether to open the Pandora box or not.


    "Why did I say bridge? It''s simple. You need to understand what we are saying among us, deciphering one at a time during your life. You, as the bridge, will choose¡­What will you be in the future? A broken bridge? An unfinished bridge? Or any other types of bridge. If you want to be aplete bridge, you should start deciphering ournguage.


    "We can understand your words, but you can''t understand our words. This is why I called humans primitive beings. I do admit humans are kind of smart, but they are too arrogant. They never pay attention to any other beings other than their own kin.


    "If you learn ournguage, you will know there is always a meaning why we exist. Anyway, that''s my first piece of advice for you. Try to decipher ournguage like how you humans created your ownnguage. You are not the first key, so I believe someone out there has deciphered somenguages.


    "Still, I didn''t rmend you to publicize that you had understood ournguage. There may be someone who is observing the key, thinking whether they should remove the key or not.


    "After all, the moment the bridge waspleted, he would be the strongest person on this, capable of ruling every single being in this ce. The protectors, including me, needed to maintain that bnce, not letting one species rulepletely over another. When we see either this or the bridge will soon bepleted, we will call the cmity to descend to Earth, resetting everything."


    When Kai heard this, he had numerous questions, but only one coulde out of his mouth. "Why did you advise me to learn thenguage then?"


    "I said it earlier. I have died and have no attachment to my duty, so I want to see what kind of fate my suggestion will lead the world."


    "You are telling me to die?" Kai widened his eyes.


    "Do I need to remind you, human? I am not your friend nor your parent. In fact, you are the killer of my descendant. Do you think I will suggest the future where you can say happily ever after? Either way, there is no key that won''t be used."


    He indirectly told Kai that he had no option other than going through all these problems. Whether he could emerge as a winner or not, it would be on his ability.


    "And if humans are moving like how I predicted them to be¡­They will soon meet another cmity." The lion smiled.


    "!!!" Kai instantly understood what he meant. "The protectors won''t do it unless a race rules every single being on this. In that case, if the humans keep going in this direction, there is a chance that they are able to kill all other beings¡­In that case, the protectors will once again reset it! Don''t say about going to another, it will be either we can survive through that or not!"


    Kai gasped and pinched the bridge of his nose.


    "You seem to be smarter than my expectation." The lion looked at Kai. "Well, if the key is not smart, you will only be thrown away. That''s that. Your fate has been decided from the start."


    "Even so, my end goal is not decided." Kai stopped him with a stern voice.


    "Ho?! I like your way of thinking. Then, I will tell you this one clue. You should know there are many civilizations erased mysteriously, right? They thought like you and went toward their own destruction. When the key appeared and became useless, the protectors controlled the key once more. That was why those people must have learned something about the protectors and ournguages. You hold the biggest key to this right now. If you seek knowledge about it, you better go to those people and understand thenguages. It''s when the protectors will take you seriously."


    "I will be targeted then?"


    "Not really. You won''t immediately be targeted. I should say this first. Every single race on this holds one altar. I, the representative of the Lion Race, once had an altar. If I sacrificed myself on that altar, I would release a massive catastrophe."


    "But humans don''t have an altar!" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "No, you are wrong. Humans indeed had it, but they lost it. I didn''t know when too, since I had died when it happened. Do you think I know everything?" The lion snorted, looking at how Kai fell silent. He chose to add another intriguing question. "What do you think the catastrophe is?"


    "That is¡­"

 Chapter 348 - The Real Identity Of A Protector

    "I want to ask you first. Do you know anything about your power?"


    "What power?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. He wanted to think it was his ears, but the lion seemed to mention a different thing.


    "The power that you use to fight back, including killing my descendants."


    "Do you mean Magic?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and looked down for a minute.


    "What?! You still haven''t deciphered it?" The lion looked down on the humans once again. "You humans suck."


    "Then, you know about it?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Of course. Do you think why can you even use something like that?" He smiled. "No, using your terms, I should ask it this way. What form do you think magic is?"


    "Form?" Kai was baffled when the lion gave him this question. Now that he thought about it, he actually never understood anything about magic. The public described it as something beyond science. Even though they had been deciphering them with the science, they still hadn''t had a major breakthrough to its identity.


    They only managed to create a certain wavelength to use magic. It was a kind of evolution that couldn''t be exined in wavelength. Still, if he needed to choose whether magic was solid, liquid, or gas, the answer was certain. "It''s gas."


    "Nope." The lion shook his head before smiling. "It''s solid."


    "Solid?" Kai widened his eyes. It was easy to see how shocked he was. "Solid? But I am sure the scientists have gone through a series of research about this, no? If it''s a solid form, they should have seen it inside a microscope!"


    His knowledge in this area was a bitcking, so he had no way to understand it. And the lion seemed to want to continue, so he fell silent, waiting for an exnation.


    "This is why you, the key, should learn one or two of ournguages. You can ask them what the form of magic is, and they will answer with solid. Unlike you, we have seen it with our own eyes." The lion smiled. "Unless you have a special urrence, it''s almost impossible to see it in a solid form. However, the magic you can feel is absolutely solid. I guarantee it with my name."


    "Solid¡­Solid¡­" Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. "Teacher should understand this better than I do, but she can''t enter here."


    "Anyway, I have almost side-tracked to this. Now that you know the form of magic, it will be easier to exin the catastrophe. Well, unlike you humans, the most primitive beings on this, who can only think about their greed¡­We actually desire to live in peace, staying inside our territory without any troubles.


    "However, you human ims that you want to rule the whole world and use us as nothing but livestock or enjoyment. Knowing that the humans have gone out of control, someone decided to sacrifice his/her life to bring the cmity. If you happened to be there, you would see the concentrated form of magic at the size of your head. And that would explode into pieces¡­I don''t know how much, but it can fuel the world with "magic" for hundreds of years."


    "What?! The size of my head and can disperse to the whole world and supply the world with magic for hundreds of years?" Kai''s body shook as a thought came into his mind. "If that is the case, magic must be very small particles, far smaller than atoms or molecules. Wait¡­Now that you mention it¡­ Don''t tell me."


    "Hmm? You seem to have realized something. Why don''t we hear it? I am curious as to how your brain works. Entertain me well, human, I might give you more information as your reward."


    Kai thought for a moment and shook his head. "Overpraised. I only thought about the "evolution" theory. Normally, we will evolve because we have been influenced by something physical. If we never walk for hundreds of years if not thousands, we will "lose" our legs. That''s why giraffes have long necks and we, humans, derived from monkeys?


    "Anyway, this magic particle should be influencing us and finally make us evolve with this concept. Due to how forced it was back then, the evolution only came on the newborn baby. The particles stuck in their body and allowed them to use magic.


    "But truthfully, this magic is something thates and goes in our body. The reason we have different amounts of magic power is due to how strong our bodies can attract the particles. That''s also why I have this hearing¡­


    "Not only that, if I use this information to look at the world from a different perspective, I can see that this "magic" is something that is temporary. In other words, it''s like oil and gas, they can be exhausted!" Kai gasped at what he had found.


    It even piqued the interest of the lion, and he praised him. "You are more interesting than I expected. Since I have promised to give you something, I will add this information. The protectors you know, might not be a protector."


    "Huh?" Kai was baffled by the statement. He had seen many protectors, especially thoseing from the sea, so he couldn''tprehend what he said. ''The protectors might not be a protector?''


    "Do you think anyone can be a protector?" The lion narrowed its eyes. "What do you think is the requirement to be a protector?"


    Kai thought for a moment. "Magic power?"


    "That''s one. What else?"


    "Language?"


    "That''s two. Next."


    "My ears?"


    "Nope." He shook his head. "It''s the ability to converse with another race. Only one can be a protector for a whole race. And one of them is standing in front of me."


    "Me?" Kai pointed at himself with a dumbfounded look. Of course, how could he not be shocked? He hated the protector to the bone, so he never expected him to be the one. "But¡­I am just a key, no?"


    "Yes and no. I used the term "key" just to make sure you know how important you are to your race. If it''s identity¡­You are a protector of the human race. There are a few requirements that one can be said to be a protector.


    "First, they need magic power far higher than anyone else. That will open your identity as the key since you can start learning thenguage of other races with those ears. After all, you can normally hear what you usually can''t.


    "Second, it''snguage. You need to learn at least tennguages before bing a bonafide protector. This can be useful for negotiation and any other things. Just like how you humans use words to be the basic conversations.


    "Third is to stand at the top of the race. No one is born strong. Even I, who was once a protector, was born as a weak child. I climbed my way to the top and became the protector that could decide the fate of the entire race. Speak can convince the masses, but power can force them. It might not work for everyone, but the majority will follow you.


    "That''s the three requirements. Of course, there is an in-depth exnation, but I will give you the basic information about it. The first requirement is a must. If you don''t have that magic power and ears, no matter how strong you are, you won''t be a protector.


    "As for thenguage, you should know that when you enter someone''s territory, you act like you are a native person there. It''s the highest respect you can show to other races. In fact, we, not human beings, have been able to understand your race''snguage. Even though it''s only for a protector like me, it still shows how you are still a primitive race.


    "Last but not least, power. This is the most important thing. However, you are such a waste in this area¡­No, you humans really suck. Instead of exploring the true power, you focus on exploring how to exploit this power. If I don''t call you idiots, what should I call you?" The lion snorted.


    Kai simply lost his words. With just these three simple requirements, he suddenly had a deep insight into the whole thing. "Since you said there is only one person that will be a protector, it means there will only be one person that has this pair of ears¡­But since you said that the civilizations in the past actually had one, you must mean in terms of generations. Every generation should have one protector.


    "Language is the same. When we are aware of othernguages, we can actually decipher them. Like how a baby learns theirnguage from their parents, we should understand what they are doing. In that case, the magical beasts who have been staying together in the wilds must have learned each other''snguages easily. Although we can''tpletely speak in theirnguage, it''s enough to understand what they say.


    "As for thest one¡­You said we are busy searching about how to exploit magic instead of learning the true power. Are you talking about how the magical beasts can be stronger? That is why I can see the so-called "protectors" that I have met this whole time are stronger than me. It''s not that they are naturally stronger, but they actually practice to get stronger."


    "This is why I prefer to talk with a protector instead of normal ones. They are too dumb to understand my words unlike you." He shrugged. "To answer your question, I will use this example. If you are a kid, your strength is low. As you grow older, you will get more power. However, if you train your body, you will be stronger than the one who is not."


    Kai facepalmed, finally understanding the real problem. "How can I get stronger?"


    "Don''t ask me. Ask your ancestor since we have a different method." The lion snorted.

 Chapter 349 - Zugg

    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "In that case, it seems I really need to search for a clue in the past civilizations. Anyway, I now have learned why there are only a few S rank magical beasts. They are just a few steps away from bing a Protector because they are the best in their race. However, it means there will be a chance that another S rank magical beast will appear. This is something ridiculous to believe, but we need to make a precaution for it."


    "I don''t know your terms, so I don''t understand what you are saying." He shrugged.


    "It''s just our terms." Kai chose not to exin it because it would be too boring to talk about it.


    "Oh, there is one thing that I almost forgot. Bing a protector means you have more powerful energy in your body, giving you a higher lifespan than the rest. Depending on the races, they can even stay alive for thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years. I myself only have one thousand years to live before everything bes too boring. I think you are even less. Well, I can only say, good luck to you."


    "That''s true. Humans have one hundred years to live normally after the cmity. It looks like we don''t have enough time, but on the other hand, the boredom will strike when we have a very long lifespan. It''s not like I want to stay in this world for a long time either. Besides, there will be a new generation of protectors when I die, so it doesn''t sound that bad." Kai shrugged.


    "Well, I remember something¡­" The lion furrowed its eyebrows.


    "What is it?"


    "You might want to watch out against the radical races. They want another protector''s life because it will increase their chance to conquer the world. And if you side with them, they might use you as a sacrifice to supply the thing you called magic for this world. Anyway, the fewer people know about this, the better."


    "Hoh? Are you worried about me?" Kai smirked.


    "Nope. You can go die for all I care. I just don''t want the world destroyed. You don''t know the fact that the magic power extracted from the sacrifice is also a ticking bomb that can partially destroy the world. If you have a few of them, the world will be destroyed."


    "True enough. One person''s life can supply the Earth for hundreds of years."


    "And other races might treat you differently when you, who were clueless regarding your own identity, suddenly acted like you are aware. They might probably target you."


    Kai nodded. "I will remember this for the rest of my life. I can''t afford to show everything at the moment because I am still far too powerless."


    "I agree with that. You suck. Humanity sucks." The lion didn''t forget to fulfill the quota of him talking trash to Kai.


    "Yeah, yeah. I heard it a few times from your mouth. I only see it as a motivation and be someone who is respected by other races. Only at that time can I safely protect humans."


    "You do what you need to do."


    Kai nodded, nning to leave so he could practice the new strength.


    The lion seemed to remember something and asked. "So, what do you want here originally?"


    "Ah. I almost forgot my initial objective." Kai sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "What I want bying here is to learn using the power of this blood. It has boosted my strength and sharpened my instinct, so I would like to use it to the utmost limit."


    "That is impossible. If you are trying to use my power to the utmost limit, you need pure blood of mine. The only thing you can now is just using a low percentage of it. Maybe one or two percent of my real power." The lion shrugged.


    "Ho?!" Kai narrowed his eyes. "You think I can learn your power?"


    "It''s simply because of the blood. You must have experienced where you lost yourself when using this¡­"


    "Yes. I almost hit my fiancee back then." Kai nodded.


    "Whatever¡­Since you want to use my power, I shall allow you. Don''t ask why. I just want to see whether a protector can use two protector''s power, so I let you¡­Not that I can see it though." The lion paused for a moment. "Anyway, there are a few things you need to know to use my power."


    "I am thankful if you want to teach me¡­Please tell me the requirements to use your power."


    "It''s simple. You should know what the source of my power is."


    "The source of your power? Blood?"


    The lion shook its head. "No, Idiot. I have been the king of the jungle in the past. As a ruler, I have my own pride. That pride is the driving force of my strength."


    "What? Pride? It''s kind of subjective, don''t you think? We can''t really measure something like that." Kai scratched his head in confusion.


    "You just need to show your pride and confront my blood with power. The winner takes all. Activate the blood in your body, so the blood will take over your body. When the timees, you need to suppress it with your own power. Do it repeatedly until the blood bows down to you. It''s as simple as that. The strong survive."


    "¡­" Kai knew that this lion might not be telling the truth, but from what he heard since the start of their conversation, the lion had yet to tell a single lie. That was the feeling he got after seeing through lies from when he was a kid.


    "I understand. I will do that." He nodded.


    "There is one more thing that you need to know with my power. Unlike the other protectors, my power only lies on two things. The roar of the king and my physical strength. That''s all I needed in the past. A single sweep of mine could even create ake, so even if you could only use a small portion of it, you should be fine, especially since you have powerful magic."


    The lion suddenly stood up and released an immeasurable pressure, pushing Kai to the ground. Not stopped from there, he felt killing intent and fighting intent covering his body. However, there was one more thing that he felt, albeit indescribable. It was mysterious, and Kai couldn''t grasp what it was.


    Looking at Kai''s expression, the lion retracted his aura and sat again.


    "Thank you for teaching me that." Kai bowed his head before asking. "By the way, is that roar of the king?"


    "You need to learn about it yourself." The lion shrugged.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "I think I can''t really return to this ce."


    "I don''t want yourpany. My previous strength should have been divided into my descendants, so it''s not like that much of a problem to be stuck here until you die."


    Kai fell silent. "I don''t know what to say. Do you still have a desire to be alive again?"


    The lion stared at Kai for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I shouldn''t being back to the world because I don''t have any more space there. Besides, I said it already¡­I don''t have any more attachments. Giving you information and help is only to satiate my boredom."


    "Whatever the case, I am thankful to you."


    "If so, then don''t torture my descendants or humiliate them. They are warriors, so if you encounter them, kill them instead. That''s the highest honor you can give to our races."


    Kai nodded with a serious expression. "I will follow your words to the best of my ability."


    "To the best of your ability?" The lion stared at him mysteriously before letting out a long sigh. "Nheless, you only have two fates. The first is to participate in the war of conquest, which will lead you to either victory or death. The second will be to rot away without aplishing anything. In other words, the "bridge" has stopped its own construction."


    Hearing this, Kai only smiled and shook his head. "What makes you think that there isn''t a fourth option avable?"


    "Huh? What is that? You are not going to say you want to unite every single race together, right? That naivety will consume you. Well, it''s not like you are someone like that."


    "Nope." Kai smiled. "I will be doing this on my way."


    "Well, I don''t really care. It''s not like you are nning toe back here or I can see the outside world again, so I have served my purpose. Whatever you do after this is none of my concern. I just want to give you onest piece of advice. Every single protector has a belief. You need to know the other party first before discussing something important with them unless you want to create an unnecessary war."


    "I am afraid of war, but I don''t make war easily. That I can assure you." Kai nodded. "Anyway, I think it''s time for me to return. This power of yours will truly help me. Thanks."


    "Hmph. I am just bored, so I want to see something interesting. Since you are done, go away. I will continue my slumber until every single descendant of mine dies." He snorted and returned to his sleep.


    Kai closed his eyes for a bit, bowed his head, and woke up by using the instinct to jolt his mind like how the lion taught him.


    Before he disappeared, the lion opened its mouth again. "Human¡­Thank you foring here and stopped my boredom for once."


    Kai widened his eyes, but he had started to disappear. He smiled and said, "I am Kai Carter."


    "Zugg."


    They couldn''t exchange other than their names before Kai disappeared.

 Chapter 350 - Talk

    "Ah!" Kai suddenly woke up while shouting.


    "Wha¡ª" Obviously, Ria was shocked by the sudden outburst and stared at him with a scared expression.


    Seeing that shocked face made him unable to resist teasing her since it had been all the way around. He raised both hands and bent his fingers as if trying to use them like ws. "Rawr!"


    This startled Ria to the point she summoned a Sword and swung it toward Kai''s head.


    Kai''s face turned pale as he bent his body sideways to avoid it and shouted. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to kill your student?"


    In that instant, Ria realized Kai was ying a trick on her. She acted as if she didn''t believe it and struck him again from above.


    Kai grabbed the sword with both hands and started sweating. "Wait, Teacher. I am sorry. I was just kidding."


    "No, no. There is no proof that you are my student. You might be the lion that takes over my student''s consciousness." Ria smirked.


    "Now you are talking about something unscientific."


    "What? Since you say you are my student¡­How about we go to the training room and have a round with me?"


    Kai knew that his teacher actually wanted to beat him up just because he yed this trick. He sighed and said, "Well, it''s true that what I have seen is pretty unscientific, but let''s talk calmly, should we?"


    "Unscientific?" Ria widened her eyes before finally removing her sword. She sat on the bed and red at him. "Tell me."


    "Can''t you say something nice? You are very different from the one I met a few days ago."


    "I shouldn''t act that sentimental to a student like you who tried to prank his teacher who was worrying about him." She snorted.


    "Sorry." Kai sighed. "Anyway, this is something you would like to hear, albeit I am not sure whether to tell you myself because there is a chance that you will tell other people about this."


    This was the first time she heard thising from his mouth, so she instantly realized why he said it that way. Her expression turned serious. "Don''t worry. If you ask me not to tell anyone about this, I won''t say anything."


    "Please do." Kai nodded before calming himself down for a few minutes. "Don''t say I am a narcissist, alright?"


    "Just tell me."


    Kai sighed and started his exnations regarding his identity as a newborn protector, the magic particles, and his fates.


    Ria Ross even wrote everything he said to see the matter better. "I see. So, humans are the same as any other species. They have the potential to rule the world, but none of them can. There is a rule that the cmity can only be used when one race has almost governed the entire."


    "Yeah."


    "Now that we are talking about this, I suddenly remember. Before the apocalypse, humans weren''t really that much of a threat to the whole world because they might be able to conquer thend and air, but they were unable to do anything underwater."


    "!!!" Both Kai and Ria exchanged looks, understanding each other''s thoughts as they both realized one thing and said what they thought at the same time. "Mankind threatened the sea because they had be capable of exploring the bottom of the ocean."


    Without saying, that was probably the reason why one of the protectors sacrificed themselves.


    And this led to another question. "So, are you aiming to be a protector? Full-fledged protector."


    "Yes. He said something about my fate, but whatever I do, If I want to control my own fate, I need strength even if it means bing a protector."


    "Still, you need to know how to cultivate your power, right?"


    "Yeah. I don''t know how to do it yet, but I am going for a full-scale investigation as soon as this training session finishes." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "I see. In that case, you might want to start searching for a way to increase your magic power, no?"


    Kai agreed. "However, the only problem I need to face right now is the location."


    "Indeed. Most of the regions on Earth have been upied by magical beasts. Only some of them can be investigated. I already have a few for you, but most of them are around the EU Base."


    "If I am not wrong, there is an ancient civilization in Peru?"


    She thought for a moment and asked, "Do you mean Caral?"


    "I forget its name, but it''s quite arge settlement in the past."


    "Yeah, you are talking about Caral. Well, I am not sure about this one, but I guess you can go." She nodded with a serious expression. "There are no activities there, so I don''t think it will be useful for you."


    "It''s better to check it first because this one might be the same case like the one in Easter Ind."


    "Well, there is that possibility. If you are so adamant about it, you can go. However, I will assign a separate mission for you."


    "That means the exploration bes a secondary mission?"


    "Yes."


    "I understand. Just don''t make it too far from that location."


    "Wait a minute. I have another idea. Why don''t you ask that stone on Easter Ind? Isn''t this easier?"


    "He said he wouldn''t help me more than that, so I felt like it would be a waste of time." Kai shook his head.


    "It''s better to try, right? Besides, you can use the Teleportation Magic to head there." She shrugged.


    "Well, true enough. After that mission, I will try to visit him¡­Probably alone."


    "You don''t want the others to know about your identity huh."


    "Yes, especially Sofia. I feel bad about her, but it''s better this way. As for Evan, he won''t be with me forever, so he shouldn''t know as well. I will only tell the girls, but at ater date. I can''t afford anyone to know about me being a Protector for the time being, including the president of the US base." Kai looked at her with a serious expression.


    "Don''t worry. Your secret is safe with me. Besides, I can see those high-ranking people trying to manipte you because of this identity. That''s why I am not going to let them." She smiled, assuring him.


    "Thanks. For now, you are the only one who knows about this secret. After all, you are the only one I can trust that coincidentally is strong enough to know about this secret."


    "Thank you for trusting your teacher." Ria patted his head with a gentle smile. She didn''t mention anything about the method to increase the magic power because she had no use for it. As long as Kai could get stronger, even if it meant she became the weakest person on Earth, she would dly ept it.


    "Still, don''t you want to research the magic particles? Now you know its form, wouldn''t this be easier for you?"


    Ria scratched the back of her head before letting out a long sigh. "You haven''t realized this, huh? Well, knowing that you are not very well-versed in this area, it can''t be helped. You should know that we have a virus and such, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "They are very small and need a special microscope to find them. And do you know what I am using now?" She asked.


    Kai shook his head.


    "It''s a thousand times stronger than that one. It can be said to be the most powerful one that is on Earth." She paused and asked. "Do you know what that means?"


    "You can''t find that. Even the most powerful light-focusing microscopes can''t visualize single atoms, so I feel this magic particle is close to this one." She thought for a moment. "Just use this as aparison. Think about how a ball as big as your head can power up the whole for hundreds of years. How much energy do you think contained in that?"


    "¡­" Kai fell silent as he could imagine it. If such a thing exploded on Earth, there was a possibility that Earth wouldn''t be round anymore.


    "That''s why it''s not possible to research that. However, I can work on the microscope¡­Albeit, I don''t have a vision of me actually seeding in this project."


    "In that case, I take back my words. It''s better for mankind to not know about this." Kai shook his head, stopping her instead.


    "Why?"


    "If you say it contains a powerful energy, there is a chance that mankind will use that energy ball to do something dangerous." Kai''s face turned serious.


    As he said that, Ria could imagine humans made a spaceship using that energy ball to power up the whole thing. When ites to that stage, they will, without a doubt, sacrifice their own protector. "What a foolish race we are¡­"


    "Yeah. Maybe that''s why he called us a primitive race." Kai shrugged.


    "Anyway, what are you going to do now? There is still time to continue your training."


    "I will be training to use the power of my blood first. To that end, I need an empty room so that I can stay calm."


    "I have one. It''s the ce where I am training."


    "Alright. I will use that room." Kai nodded. "Do you have any more questions about this?"


    "Nope. A huge burden just got ced on your shoulder, so you should fix that problem first. I will be working on the medicine for Ayaka and the others first. If your method is sessful, I will give it to them."


    "Thank you, Teacher."


    "No, I should be thanking you. I have more things to experience and learn for." She smiled, feeling pretty fired up.


    "That''s good then. Let''s fight when I have mastered this power." Kai slowly rose from the bed and followed Ria, who guided him to the training room.

 Chapter 351 - Challenging The Blood

    "This is where you will be training." She opened the door of thest room that Kai never went to. It was apletely white room without anything inside.


    "What is this room? I never opened this one because you sealed it this whole time." Kai asked.


    "It''s an istion room and stress reliever." She shrugged.


    "Stress reliever? Don''t you feel even more stressed in this ce?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. He had heard many things about the white room like how one isted themselves in a room like this, only to find himself slowly bing crazy due to boredom.


    "I mean, I often buy a few things that I can break and destroy everything here. I am sure sometimes you have a day where you feel like you want to destroy something just to release the feeling in your heart. This is the room''s purpose." She shrugged. "What? Do you think that your teacher never got any stress?"


    "Nope. I often felt it, and I always asked the girls to stay away from me. Right, it''s "Me Time." Fortunately, they understood me and didn''t say anything." He smiled as if recalling those scenes. "Of course, when they needed time like that, I would wait for them."


    "Well¡­" She stretched her hands. "This is the room. You can train here until you are satisfied. I will be monitoring you from the camera to make sure nothing happens."


    "Alright." Kai nodded with a solemn expression. He would be fighting with the blood power, so he understood that something might go wrong.


    "And what about your food? I can order them online and ce them in front of the door. Or do you want me to bring it inside?" She asked.


    "Please put it in front of the door. I feel I won''t be able to keep my head calm if I eat together like usual." Kai felt a bit guilty since Ria always had a smile on her face when they were together. Even though it didn''t seem that big, it certainly felt warm.


    "Don''t worry about me." As if she understood Kai''s feelings, she patted his head. "Justplete your training as fast as possible. After that, we shall fight. I wonder what kind of power you will have after this."


    "Yeah. That''s a deal. You should prepare yourself to lose." Kai smirked, taunting her.


    "Hehe, kiddo. I have all your training footage. I can learn your new skill and make a counter for it. Don''t think that your teacher is a pushover." She snorted.


    "Haha¡­We will see that after this. And I think we can use thest week to learn about tactics."


    "Sure. We have enough time for that unless this training takes too much time." She nodded. "I will be teaching you about normal tactics, gueri warfare, defensive battles, and natural fortress."


    "I am looking forward to it. Those tactics will be useful for me in the future, especially since there is a chance that a war will break out."


    "A war? Against the protectors¡­No, what should I call them now?"


    "I am not sure. It''s not like the others know about this, so we shouldn''t change the terms for now and just call them protectors." Kai nodded. "Besides, it''s very unscientific to meet the soul of a two hundred thousand years old lion inside my body¡­"


    "True enough. However, I believe because it has superior DNA and powerful strength due to the Magic Particles, its consciousness can stay inside the blood. Well, we need to have you reach his level to prove my theory." She smiled. "Are you ready to take the first step towards bing a protector?"


    "Yes, I do."


    "Then, war is indeed necessary. I mean, it was not our fault since they attacked us first."


    "I don''t know for sure. It was true that for me, they attacked me first. Even though it was unintentional, it became something big. As for what happened in the past, I didn''t know since I had yet to research it." Kai shrugged.


    "They indeed attacked us first, but we didn''t know their reason." She confirmed his doubt.


    "In that case, the protectors are indeed suspicious. Maybe they have a hidden agenda?" Kai nced at her.


    She nced back while saying, "And it''s rted to you."


    "The human once had an altar, right?"


    "You heard it yourself that the altar was missing¡­"


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Kai paused as both of them shuddered as if they just thought something terrifying.


    "They don''t happen to target you because they want to sacrifice you, right?"


    "But they needed to train me first to be a full-fledged protector if they want to sacrifice me and call another cmity¡­I mean, I don''t have enough power to do something like that yet."


    "Indeed. Well, they must have their reasons. If they want a war, we will give them. If they want you, I will make war. The only problem is whether they will release the information about you bing a protector. I mean, if they say you need to sacrifice yourself to a great cause, the masses will start thinking about that."


    "I don''t want to die, so I won''t sacrifice myself. Whether the people see me as a selfish person, I don''t care. After all, they are more selfish than me." Kai shrugged, not caring about it.


    "True enough. Anyway, it''s time for you to go." Ria smiled.


    After having enough conversation with Ria, he finally went inside the room. There was only white when the door was closed.


    He looked at the camera on the top corner and nodded once before sitting down on the floor.


    Closing his eyes, he tried to wake up the blood only to find himself not knowing how to do it.


    "Wait¡­He didn''t tell me anything about this." Kai scratched the back of his head. "What should I do? Should I use my sound magic to do this or use my magic power?"


    He thought for a moment and found a solution. "That''s right. I can use my magic power to stimte my blood."


    After getting the solution, he closed his eyes, focusing on his inner body. The magic power that flew like blood inside his body slowly flowed to his hands, feet, stomach, and even brain.


    As soon as hepleted the first cycle, he felt something was calling him. In an instant, he realized this was the method to stimte the blood.


    He started doing the second cycle and got the feedback again. Feeling it wasn''t enough, he kept doing it.


    The third time¡­The fourth time¡­The fifth time¡­When he finished the twentieth cycle, his blood felt boiling. It sent a shiver through his body before his mind felt a jolt as if a


    The blood slowly but surely tried to take over his body from sucking his blood.


    Not wanting to lose, Kai released his magic power to suppress the blood like how Zugg told him. Of course, he didn''t trust himpletely. There was a chance that Zugg only suggested this because he could take over his body.


    He had enough leeway to do something like this, especially with his teacher standing by in another room.


    With the peace on his mind, he suppressed the blood. Just like the exnation, the blood wanted to reign supreme, so it released its dominance.


    The sh between his power and the blood power immediately induced pain all over his body as he couldn''t help but scream in that instant.


    "Argh!" Kai gripped his pants and clenched his teeth, trying to endure this constant pain. He realized that he lost a portion of his control over this pain, so the only way to fight this was to get used to this kind of pain.


    ''Whatever, even if I be ustomed to pain, it doesn''t mean I am a Masochist unless I love the pain itself and act as if it''s a pleasure.'' He thought and tried to concentrate on this pain.


    "I will win this battle." Kai smiled and muttered with confidence even though he had trouble using that.


    Sweat started covering his body. His clothes were wet, so he decided to remove them, only enduring the pain with his pants alone.


    To Ria''s surprise, he kept going on for a whole day without eating. She wondered what to do when it reached this point. It was said that humans couldst a week without eating but could onlyst three days without water. Even though it became rtively longer due to magic, it wouldn''tst four to five days.


    If this continued for an unknown period of time, Kai''s life would be in danger.


    "I need to prepare for the worse." Ria thought and immediately ordered nutritious food while preparing for infusion. If it took longer than three days, she would storm in no matter what happened and inserted the infuse tube, so he could stay alive until he finished this.


    Meanwhile, Kai kept fighting against the blood despite his stomach bing a real "lion" that continuously asked him for food. His lips started drying too, but it didn''t mean he could lower his guard.


    The third day passed, and Ria couldn''t endure anymore. She went inside the room, even if it meant disturbing his concentration.


    However, it seemed Kai managed to deal with it as he looked at her and said in a low voice. "Wa¡­ter¡­"


    She immediately picked up a water bottle and let him drink to his heart content before recing it with nutritious fluid for his protein and such."


    "Thanks¡­" Kai''s face became better after getting the help.


    "Endure it. I will be here with you."


    Kai nodded and maintained his focus while Ria started bringing a few items to check his body condition to make sure there was no longsting effect due to this.

 Chapter 352 - Plan For The Future

    "Ha¡­Ha¡­" Panting uncontrobly, Kai used his hands to support him to avoid falling down.


    "Kai?!" Ria, who was beside him this whole time, looked at him worriedly before checking his condition.


    "Is there any problem with my body? If not, I would like to eat¡­" Kai looked at her with a pale face. It had been a tortuous six days. "I have never thought that it will take this long, and I can''t do anything about it."


    Ria monitored his data before nodding her head. "There is nothing wrong with the data. You should be able to eat, just don''t eat too much for several hours because your stomach will reject it and can''t digest it properly."


    She handed nutritious food she ordered not long ago while taking off every single instrument that was attached to his body. "You have done it, right? Would you like to rest first or talk while eating?"


    Kai forced a big haul inside his mouth before nodding his head to answer her question. After having a few bites, he finally started talking. "That was insane. I didn''t want to do it again. Anyway, it was better to do it since my memory was still fresh. I hadn''t slept for almost a week, so I didn''t know what would happen after waking up."


    "I see. I have supported you with some machines, but I need to check your body againter. Anyway, what happened?"


    "If I need to say it, it''s like reading a packed-action novel. You will find a smooth opening, climax, another climax, and a few more climaxes before reaching the ending." Kai sighed. "At first, everything went smoothly since it was still building up. When the blood became active, I felt severe pain all over my body."


    "Pain? Do you know what caused it?"


    "I am not sure, but I feel that the two blood in my body is shing with each other, trying to assert their own dominance. It turns into a full-fledged war from a brawl, so you can imagine the pain¡­That I am not sure of myself whether I can stay the same."


    "You are bing a masochist?" She smirked as she couldn''t help but tease him. "Well, looking at the girls'' personalities, I am sure Michelle will be the perfect one¡­"


    Kai shrugged. "Anyway, I don''t think I can experience something that is more painful than that. Anyway, I can suppress the animal blood with my strength, slowly taking over the blood. As you know, those who had experienced what it meant to have animal blood injected into you would understand what it means when your consciousness got taken over by the magical beast power, right?"


    "I see. It was something like that but several times more powerful?"


    "Yes. I mean, the animal blood that I have in my body stemmed from a Protector that could be said to be the ruler of the jungle. If you think it that way, I don''t think people need to be rmed since they might not experience the same thing. Either way, they still need to be prepared for it." Kai nodded.


    "I will note it down for future research."


    "Well, the pain kept increasing every single day until it reached its peak on the fifth day. You should have noticed the fact that I didn''t scream during the sixth days, right?"


    "Yeah. You only let out some groans every now and then, so I thought you had either grown ustomed to the pain or felt less pain." She nodded.


    "Yeah. The pain slowly decreased, and I could endure that kind of pain without a problem." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "After the pain receded, I could feel that the blood had finished its "war" and stop confronting each other."


    "What do you feel about your blood? Anything new?"


    "I am not sure. I can sense the animal blood better, but I think it''s more docile than I''ve expected. If I stimte it again, I think it will be lending its power."


    "Is it something like a parasite inside your body?"


    "Nope. I don''t think it''s like that. It doesn''t do anything to me, but if I stimte it, it wille to me like a dog meeting its master after being away for months. You can imagine how they will go to your foot while wagging their tails, right? That''s the feeling I have right now, and yes, I believe this blood will give me power more than I have before." Kai smiled.


    She nodded and took note of all his statements while maintaining her focus on Kai''s food, making sure that he didn''t eat too much.


    "Of course, I can''t let you see for now because the "war" has just been concluded. Besides, I need to take over the entire "government" system."


    "I see. It''s like you have finally made it as your subordinate, but you still need to get used to it, so the other party would help you willingly." She nodded with a serious expression.


    "Yeah. Still, I feel it will give me more strength¡­Probably, I can reach two thousand kilograms strength with the addition of the exoskeleton."


    "It''s double of your previous power then?"


    "Yeah. No matter what you said, the blood contained the previous protector''s blood, so I should say as expected¡­Even with a very low portion, the power contained inside it was still far too strong than your average person."


    "That''s indeed something encouraging in terms of research, but I doubt I can publish something like this either." She shrugged. "I mean, we will be too dangerous for the government. I doubt they will sit still when they learn about this."


    "Yeah. I don''t even know whether to give this method to Ayaka due to the dangerous level she would face. Besides, Exoskeleton should be enough for now, considering I have promised everyone a present."


    "That''s good then. I don''t think anyone can surpass you in terms of strength¡­"


    "Yeah, but you need to know that I will fight against other protectors, especially the ones that seem to target us." Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "If I don''t have enough strength, I will die. In other words, this will be a race of time whether I can get enough strength first or they realize everything first and kill me."


    "Indeed. Unfortunately, the future spotlight would be on you. I will be sitting on the back while watching your heroic deeds." She grinned.


    "Stop with the jokes. I am too tired to do that." Kai sighed. "Anyway, make sure you camouge my intention in getting a new source of power from the higher-ups. With how they act so perfectly, I have a feeling that there is a spy among the higher-ups."


    "Fair enough. From time to time, they have perfect timing¡­" She thought for a moment. "I will only be talking about this mission with our President Brent while his supremacysts. He has done a pretty good job, so I guess we can see him again in the next period¡­So, we will see him for at least five more years."


    "That''s good. Five years should be enough to do many things."


    "In that case, I will be doing what I need to do." She nodded.


    "Anyway, I think I have finished my food¡­Although I am still hungry, I can''t eat more than this, right?"


    "Yes. It won''t be good for your body. Just have enough to drink first and go to sleep."


    Kai then took the water bottle and drank it in one go. As soon as he finished, he sighed. "Then, I will be leaving everything to you, Teacher. You can bring me to the usual operation room to monitor me, but I really need to sleep. It''s been six days¡ª"


    Before he finished, he already fell asleep.


    Seeing that Kai would fall to the ground, she pulled him to his embrace, letting him sleepfortably. She looked at his big ck bag under his eyes and stroked his hair. "Seriously¡­What can I do to you? You have been reckless this whole time. Well, this personality of yours saved me when I had no motivation to continue living. It is true that we need to do whatever we want when we are still strong enough. Sleep well, my beloved student. You''ve worked hard."


    She predicted that Kai would sleep for the entire three days if she calcted the torture he experienced during the process, but to her surprise, Kai only took two days before waking up.


    He found a familiar ceiling when he opened his eyes and instantly recognized it. The pain started bing more apparent when he woke up. It was normal since humans usually felt a headache after having too much sleep.


    Even so, he felt that his body moved very well, and his senses improved slightly. However, he couldn''t really sense the difference in his ears. It might be due to his ears being too powerful to begin with, so he didn''t think much about it and continued to check his body.


    ''I can move my body without a problem. Other than the headache that will go away soon, I don''t think there is a problem with my body. I only need to adjust to my current state¡­'' Kai thought before rising from the bed.


    Coincidentally, Ria came inside the room and stared at him nkly for a few seconds. In her hands were piping hot instant noodles. She noticed that Kai''s eyes were glued on that, so she awkwardly asked, "Ehm¡­Do you want some?"


    She knew that Kai hated junk food, but to her surprise, Kai only smiled. "Actually, I am very hungry, and I feel like having one with you."


    "Alright. I will brew a few more cups for us together. We can start with this cup first¡­Here, take this." She handed the cup noodle before leaving. "I will get us bowls."


    "¡­" Kai stared at her nkly before shaking his head helplessly.

 Chapter 353 - Tricking The Trickster

    The next few weeks, Kai used this chance to familiarize himself with this new power while fighting Ria Ross.


    They fought seriously, trying to win with all their might. However, Kai had his own resolve and managed to fulfill this objective. They fought ten times each day with each fightsting thirty minutes.


    In these fights, Kai and Ria learned each other''s pattern to make a grand n they could use to beat them in the next match.


    Out of one hundred matches, thirty of them went to Kai while the rest went to Ria. Considering that his earlier expectation was low, Kai felt happy with his current achievement but wasn''t satisfied yet.


    He sought improvement. These two wereing up with their own trick, so they needed to constantly think about their fights, giving a perfect opportunity for both of them to create a battlefield situation.


    After all, Kai needed to face the protectors from the sea that he had fought several times. Ria trained his adaptability and discerning ability, so Kai could understand the opponent better than ever.


    She hoped with this kind of training, they would get more information and improve their strategy. For what? Kai and Ria agreed on one thing. This preparation was meant to be the pilot n of the big war that might appear in the near future.


    Not wanting to get destroyed, Kai chose this hard way even if he needed to exhaust himself. After all, if he needed to choose whether he wanted to live leisurely with the girls for the next few years but died after that or suffered during this war period to experience a long future, he would undoubtedly choose thetter.


    Finally, one week before the school started again, Kai and Ria faced their 300th battle.


    "This will be ourst fight. I hope you have prepared all of your tricks to beat me¡­" She smiled.


    "Of course. I will be taking you down on ourst match. Even if I don''t win the war, I shall win thisst battle." Kai smirked.


    "Hoh? Talking big, eh? Fine by me. Let me see your power then." Ria Ross waved her finger up and down, taunting him.


    "As usual." Kai smiled and made a distance before tossing the coin into the air. On his hand were his Vibration Swords ready to cut her. A smile couldn''t help but appear on his face as he felt this was the most meaningful training he had after a long while.


    Ria was the same. Every single time she faced Kai, she felt the need to improve, not wanting to be surpassed by him this easily. As long as she maintained her strength at the top, she could give Kai a goal to chase.


    After all, it was easier to chase her back rather than walking straight to his path that there was no way to tell which was right or wrong. As long as she raised the bar high enough, he should be fine. This was Ria''s motivation to improve.


    Looking at Kai''s Vibration Swords, she took a deep breath.


    "Ding!"


    The moment the coin hit the ground, both jumped forward, shing both their weapons simultaneously.


    However, Ria obviously couldn''t handle Kai''s strength, forcing her to use both her hands to barely hold his weapon back.


    "You are lucky to know the weapon stronger than my Vibration Sword. However, can you handle this one?" Kai smiled, trying to cut her with his other sword.


    As he said, Ria, the creator of his Vibration Sword and the researcher of the magical beasts, had found to create this powerful sword that had the hardness of that of a Protector''s skin.


    When the second de came, a magic circle appeared on their feet before five spear des emerged from within, shooting straight to Kai''s head.


    Not having the option, he took a step back and used his second sword to sh those five spears.


    "What did you say again?" She smirked.


    "I am saying, how do you dodge this?" Kai created a small magic circle that burst out Sound Wave. It was powerful.


    Ria lowered her hand just to block it. Even then, it looked hurt so much.


    "That Sound st is really annoying!" She clicked her tongue. After this training session, Kai learned how to create a smaller Sound st that seemed to be harder to create since it required him to concentrate the magic.


    However, this smaller Sound st had a power advantage over the normal Sound st. If one were hit by this, they would feel as if there was a blunt bullet hitting them in that specific area. The result was apparent.


    It gave a quite swollen mark over that area.


    "Sound st, Bullet Version." Kai smiled.


    "By the way, I haven''t asked this yet. Does it have a range limit?" She asked.


    "Yes. The most I can use without losing the power inside it is around this room''s size." Kai sighed. "I mean, the Sound Wave will go in all directions, so that''s the only range I can control it."


    "Even so, it''s already powerful enough. It''s as if you have a third hand holding a pistol." Riamented while maintaining her distance.


    "I agree with that, but I believe it has the potential to grow." Kai nodded, feeling fired up to improve this magic.


    "I agree." Ria nodded. "Well, what I hate from you right now is your strength. You were already ridiculously strong, so that strength is making you stronger. Since we were forbidden from asking during the fight, so there was no information leak, how about we make an exception in thisst fight?"


    "Sure. I am curious about Teacher too." Kai nodded. "Your magic activation is significantly faster that I feel like I should improve in that area as well. This way, I won''t have to worry whether to choose my Sound st or Oscition Shield."


    "Is that so? I have no advice for you since you can only achieve this with training."


    "Yeah. Haiz, how I wish to have 48 hours a day." Kai sighed.


    "Don''t be. How long are you going to sleep?"


    "Isn''t that question for you?" Kai looked at her weirdly. She was the one with the sleeping issue due to her workaholic nature.


    "Well¡­" She looked away before a magic circle appeared on the ground and ceiling simultaneously. Not only those two magic circles, but there were also a few white lines appearing in the room. "You shouldn''t talk with your enemy, you know. This is why. You have been surrounded."


    Kai only shook his head while smiling. "Who is my teacher?"


    "Me¡ª" When she answered him, she suddenly felt dizzy and her eyes were shaking. "This is¡­"


    Not wanting to wait any longer, she leaped backward, finding that between Kai''s thighs was a small Magic Circle.


    Yes, he hadpletely understood the concentration, so he could create a small magic circle for every single of his magic.


    What he used just now was the Resonant Beam that he usually used to shake their eyes, blurring their vision.


    They both proved themselves as shameless fighters that used every single trick just to defeat their opponent. And both managed to surprise each other with this trick.


    In the long term, Ria was the one having the advantage, but in the short term, he was. That was why he didn''t waste a second and chased her, not letting her recover.


    "You shameless student. Are you trying to make your teacher blind while we are talking?"


    "Aren''t you the one who wants to kill your student during the discussion?"


    Kai and Ria snorted as the two shed again.


    Luckily, Ria felt that the shaking eyes had recovered slightly as she used a Magic Shield to block the Sound Wave from it.


    This lowered her speed a bit, allowing Kai to catch up.


    As soon as he entered her range, she shed the first strike in order to stop his march.


    Kai didn''t think much of this single sword strike that ran through the ground. He simply used his Vibration Sword and sted it away while making his way toward her.


    Ria summoned a few white metals from the ground to support her power to sh with Kai.


    It was effective for a few seconds before both of them kicked each other on the stomach.


    Since he had his exoskeleton, Kai recovered faster than her and leaped forward, trying to cut her down with this opening.


    Ria also realized that she couldn''t swing to the front due to her momentum, so she changed her n and swung it to the back instead, sending the Sword Strike through the wall, ceiling, and ground, arriving behind Kai.


    Kai obviously understood the pattern, so he didn''t look back, only using his left hand to destroy it again.


    Ria suddenly smiled, making Kai nervous for a second before noticing the change on the Sword Strike''s path.


    He instinctively turned around and realized that it was a zig-zag instead of a straight line. When it hit his sword, he was blown away because of the sideway momentum, creating a distance to reset the fight again.


    "This¡­" Having enough distance from Ria, Kai looked around and found that the room was filled with bending lines. Unlike her usual lines of attack, this wasn''t straight but instead random. Kai wouldn''t be able to figure out the patterns in a short time, and by the time he learned it, Ria would have changed the pattern into another one.


    Still, what made him mad was the fact there was a loop in the room as if it was where a track went 360 degrees flip.


    He shouted with an angry tone. "Did you just freaking create a roller coaster track in this ce?"


    "Oi, oi. You are talking to your teacher here. Language."

 Chapter 354 - Full Power

    "You have been holding back this whole time?" Kai gritted his teeth while looking at the track.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about¡­" Ria Ross looked away.


    "It''s a foolish question, I guess."


    "There is only a winner and a loser. The one who is defeated is the loser, and you are going to be that." She smirked. Although she already knew that Kai could make a small magic circle, she didn''t know he could control it to even ce it between his thighs. However, it couldn''t be called holding back like her since he had shown the potential.


    Meanwhile, Ria never changed her track this whole time. And it wasn''t like she could improve to something like this within days or weeks. She must have trained it for a long time, even before he came to this house.


    "I am going to beat you today and shove those words to your mouth." Kai clenched his sword.


    "Try it. I will prove you wrong." She pointed her sword toward him.


    Kai created a few more Sound st magic circles, aiming at her. "Sound Bullet."


    A few shock waves flew toward her.


    Ria looked at Kai instead of the shock waves, finding whether Kai''s body leaned to the left or right. As soon as she confirmed it, she leaped to the right, avoiding both the bullets and Kai.


    However, Kai only smiled as his left hand was behind his body, and Ria couldn''t see it because he had moved slightly to the left like she predicted.


    When she saw two magic circles on Kai''s ears, she realized everything was a trap. "Sh*t!"


    Ding.


    The high-pitched voice echoed in the room, and Ria felt her eardrums wanted to explode. Her grips were also loosening.


    Kai used his Sound st again to cover the distance between them and shed his swords.


    Bam.


    The sound of ground cracking as Kai just made a crater with that strike, pinning Ria on the ground.


    He soon realized that Ria was not injured and found two pirs that stopped his swords.


    "Such a powerful blow." Ria smiled. Before Kai pulled back his swords, she used her hand to send another two Sword Strikes that attacked him from two different sides.


    Without having many choices, Kai directed both his swords to blow the attacks away before taking a few step backs. Ria would surely send another strike again if he stood there.


    Seeing this, Ria rose from the ground and let out a long sigh. "I have never expected you to try to fool me."


    "You always predicted my movement, so I have been thinking what your indicator is. After doing some research, it turns out to be my gesture." Kai smiled.


    "That''s why you used that to your advantage to hide the fact that you were using a magic circle¡­" She paused for a moment and summoned another pair of swords.


    They both took a deep breath before leaping toward each other. Both of them were stressed due to the high pace fight, and the umtion of all the fights from before really took a toll on their minds. So, they decided to sh with only their swords.


    The sh continued for ten minutes to cool down until Ria made her move.


    Ria pointed her hand on the ceiling as a magic circle appeared. "Sword Rain."


    Three swords emerged and flew toward him.


    Kai shed those three swords without a problem.


    Ria chose to use this opportunity to get close to him before shing her sword toward his neck.


    Kai smiled and released everything since the first fifteen minutes had passed. He wanted to finish this battle within the time limit, so he activated this instinct that he called Beast Intent. At the same time, he used this opportunity to activate his Sonic Boom for the first time.


    "Sonic Sword." Kai struck her sword.


    "Not good!" Ria widened her eyes and immediately created a shield in front of her. When the four swords shed, the Sound Wave that the sonic boom generated flew to all directions other than Kai''s direction. It was the result of his training.


    He had managed to control the direction after fighting this long. With this kind of power, Ria was blown away, and her shield was broken, albeit she still didn''t manage to cut her down.


    "¡­" Ria took a few deep breaths whilending perfectly on the wall beforeunching herself toward Kai again. "This is annoying."


    "It''s good then." Kai smiled and shed with her again.


    Ria was blown away once again due to the umted force from his strength and shock wave. She wouldn''t stand a chance against this, so she changed her strategy.


    ''What should I do? He has destroyed the Sword Rain and started using his full power, so I need a trick to wear him out first before defeating him¡­Or should I¡­'' Ria thought for a moment before shaking her head. She shed her swords to send the Sword Strikes again, confusing him.


    Kai could see that both strikes went to the same path, so he didn''t bother checking the lines and immediately struck with his left sword while maintaining his distance from it. Even if Ria changed the path again, he wouldn''t get hit.


    However, Ria shocked him once again because it was creating a straight vertical line using her white metal to climb the ceiling and struck him from above.


    "!!!" Kai instinctively blocked it with his swords. "Seriously? You can even make the vertical one, not just a slope?"


    The slope alone that slowly turned into a 360 degrees vertical turn was already shocking enough for him. But it turned out she could bend it even further like this.


    "You''re right." She appeared right in front of him while smiling. "Now, die."


    Kai gritted his teeth and stopped the sword wave with his right sword alone while the other sword was heading straight to his front to stop Ria''s swords.


    Ria ducked down and slid her sword on Kai''s sword.


    Noticing this movement, Kai created two Sound Bullets to hit her sword''s body, deflecting the swords. At the same time, another two Sound Bullets appeared next to her, trying to eitherunch or injure her.


    Ria put on a shield to block the bullets, but Kai sent a kick instead of the Sound Bullet, blowing her away.


    She sent another Sword Strike to him, but Kai was already fed up with all these lines on the ground.


    "Since you can create every kind of track, I simply need to destroy the foundation first," Kai shouted as he shed his sword to the ground. The Sound Waveing from the Sonic Boom sshed all over the ground, creating cracks after cracks on the ground.


    "!!!" Ria widened her eyes, never expecting Kai to ruin the entire pattern by destroying the foundation itself. However, Ria remained calm and said, "Do you think I can''t do anything about it?"


    Waving her swords once again, she sent another two Sword Strikes that were about to follow the tracks.


    Due to the scale of the damage Kai inflicted to the ground, he still had half meters to react. If these Sword Strikes could continue despite not having the track, he should be able to get away before it hit him.


    He used this measurement due to what Ria showed in the past. Her Sword Strike never flew off its track. Even if it was the momentum, it only leaned slightly to the front. This half-meter was enough for him to avoid the residual energy unless Ria was still holding back this whole time.


    It turned out Ria didn''t hold back as she appeared right after he turned around to destroy her attacks.


    She suddenly felt a punch on her stomach that blew her to the ceiling.


    Kai was acting this whole time. He never nned to destroy the two Sword Strikes because he believed these two wouldn''t hit him.


    That was why after she flew, Kai leaped toward her and waved his swords. The shock waveing from the Sonic Boom tried to cut her too if she tried to escape while some destroyed the magic circle.


    Unfortunately, Ria managed to get away while looking at him with a serious expression.


    "Where are you going, Teacher?" Kai smiled with confidence. "Only ten minutes left from the time limit. I am going to end you before that."


    "Since that is the case, I won''t hold back anymore. It''s not like we will fight for too long." Watching how Kai used his new power to the fullest, she should fight back with everything she had.


    A few white swords suddenly appeared as she closed her eyes. Her grey hair slowly turned white and glowed.


    "This might be the first time you have seen me in this form. This is the magic that I have been working for to kill an S rank magical beast, albeit I am not fast enough toplete this magic." She smiled.


    "The magic is fluctuating?" Kai narrowed his eyes and couldn''t help but ask. "What is that?"


    "Sword Saint Form." She answered, and the swords began to swirl around her. Suddenly, she opened her eyes as a sword mark appeared on her eyes.


    Kai got a shiver when she opened her eyes and instinctively raised both swords to block something. To his surprise, a shock wave flew toward him before turning into a sword.


    It hit directly on both swords and blew him away.


    Rolling on the ground, Kai used Oscition Shield to block the iing swords that had been swirling around her.


    nk.


    nk.


    nk.


    The power behind these swords was beyond his imagination. He couldn''t understand why the swords contained more power than usual, but he endured it all¡­Until one moment when his Oscition broke, and one sword passed it, stabbing the side of his abdomen.


    *Spat blood*

 Chapter 355 - Deception And Never Give Up

    "Gah!" Kai clenched his fists and maintained his vision on Ria, enduring the sharp pain he received just now.


    Ria seemed to have no intention of stopping here and created another sword that flew toward Kai at the same speed.


    Luckily, Kai had arger distance to reactpletely despite his bewilderment at her new technique. He used his Sonic Sword and shed it.


    The force carried by the sword collided with Kai''s Sound Wave, sending a shock wave to the surroundings. Still, Kai managed to remain calm and looked on the ground beneath his feet before jumping to the left.


    "Not fast enough." Ria pped her hand as multiple Sword Strikes ran through the ground, moving toward Kai from all directions. Unlike the previous version, the Sword Strikes actually made its own path on the ground.


    "Seriously?!" Kai gritted his teeth and observed their movements to see which way he could go. After contemting for a second, he halted his step and moved in the opposite direction while shing his way through that.


    To his surprise, the Sword Strikes that missed him didn''t change their direction. He instantly realized that the Sword Strikes were programmed before they wereunched. This gave Kai a chance to avoid itpletely, so he took this note in his mind and nned to use it when he had the chance.


    Meanwhile, his eyes observed Ria''s current condition. He was surprised by Ria''s transformation, but he could sense with his instinct that Ria''s magic power was leaking from his body. In other words, she could have this power-up but only for a few minutes.


    "What is that power, Teacher?" Kai shouted, trying to check something.


    Ria heard that question too but didn''t answer him. Instead, she raised her right hand as white swords hovered around her body. The swords suddenly flew toward Kai as soon as she waved her hand down.


    ''As expected, she doesn''t have much time in that state. If I can stay alive under her continuous attack for a while, I should be able to win.'' With this thought in his mind, he shed the first two swords.


    However, this turned out to be Ria''s surprise to him. The broken swords formed another three smaller swords that automatically flew toward him.


    Seeing three swords and six smaller swords flying toward him, Kai activated his instinct to the fullest. The first thing he did after that was leaping backward while creating six smaller Oscition Shields to block all the smaller swords.


    Due to his ears and instinct, he could pinpoint where all the swords were going, so the smaller Oscition Shields managed to perfectly block every single of them.


    Meanwhile, Kai shed another two swords and used the distance between them to block the smaller swords from those two before destroying the remaining swords.


    "What¡ª" Before he could even take a breather, Ria already created a spear in front of her eyes, aiming at Kai''s heart.


    "Go." The spear wasunched like the sword, but due to the design of the spear, it moved faster than the sword and contained more power behind it.


    Kai waved both Sonic Swords and struck it down.


    As one would expect, he still had problems cutting it down. The shock wave shook the ground, but Ria and Kai simply ignored everything other than each other.


    When Kai cut the spear down, Ria already summoned the five swords that already made their way to him.


    "Oi, oi. You devil teacher! Give your student a breather first." Kai shouted before handling the swords again with the same trick. "You are a fortress right now!"


    However, Ria finally made her move this time. If he stayed still and kept repeating the same movement, Kai wouldn''t have a chance to reach her, but it seemed she needed to do it.


    Kai listened to her steps and smiled, knowing that there was a chance for him to defeat her.


    The moment she appeared behind him, Kai leaped to the front, taking the full brunt of her attack, making a distance between the two.


    As he expected, Ria chased him with the two swords in the air and two swords in her hands.


    A few magic circles appeared in that chase, and Kai shot two Sound Bullets that destroyed the two swords in the air, turning them into six smaller swords before destroying them with the second volley.


    With this, Ria had no more defense that could protect her. He and Ria had a sh in that instant, resulting in Ria being blown away.


    Rolling a few meters on the ground, she stabilized herself and pointed her hand toward Kai while summoning another sword.


    This was the moment. The Sword broke into pieces, and her transformation was undone. Together with her shocked face, Kai concluded that this was his win and leaped toward her, nning to wrap this battle with his victory.


    Ria gritted her teeth and clenched the two Sword Swords. She sent another two Sword Strike¡ªOne from the front and one from the side.


    "It seems I aming on top this time, Teacher." Kai smirked and leaped toward her, nning to cut her down. Hepletely ignored the second sword strike that came from the side because he could simply outrun it while nning to use his sword to destroy the attack from the front as he made his way toward her.


    Due to the sword wave, Kai couldn''t see that she had actually stood up again perfectly fine. His ears picked up that movement but believed that it was her desperate action.


    When the sword strike disappeared after the cut, he realized that everything turned out to be not as he expected.


    Ria Ross only smiled. "Have you forgotten what I taught you in the past? My second rule of fighting?"


    Kai widened his eyes as a scene of his past self shed in his mind.


    A decade ago, Kai was lying down on the ground whileining. "Teacher¡­Why are you bullying me? Haven''t you done enough by killing me five thousand times? There is no way I can fight you¡­"


    Unlike the current Ria, the past her had short grey hair and fierce eyes. With that military uniform on, she lookedpletely like that of a general. She only looked at him and asked. "This is like you are asking the opponent that wants to kill you to screw themselves over because you don''t want to die and can''t fight them. Do you think they give a damn about it?"


    "But you said I am stronger than most of my peers."


    "In the battlefield, there is no such a thing as peers. There are only those who are stronger and weaker than you. That''s why no matter what you face in the future, never stop fighting." She thought for a moment. "Well, I do have one piece of advice for you in this case."


    "What is it? Even though I can''t use it against you, I can still remember it for the future case."


    "Good. Listen well. One of the most important things that you need to do to defeat an opponent who is stronger than you other than control is¡­How well you can deceive your enemy with false information. For instance, though you appear weakened so that you don''t look exhausted, you pretend you are.


    "Or though you have no strength left in your body, you suffer through without flinching, showing how strong you are. Since there was a chance that you would think everything is a lie, I used more magic power than I usually needed, but it seems it was very effective.


    "If you ever get another chance, you should try that as well. It''s crucial for nning and execution in battle. Because the opponent who thinks they can win will leave a gap in their defense at the right moment. Don''t miss that opening no matter what."


    When he recalled everything, Kai drew a gasp and looked at Ria with a dumbfounded look. He panicked a little and realized that everything was a trap.


    "You¡ª"


    "You had used this trick in your previous battle, but has the achievement gone through your head, raising your ego?" Ria smiled as she transformed again, and the two sword strikes changed their direction.


    Kai gritted his teeth and tried to create Oscition Shields but without enough time. The two sword strikes cut him right on the abdomen, separating his lower half and upper half.


    "This is the end." Without a doubt, Kai would die from something like this. Ria wanted to honor him for his effort and chose to kill him with that strange sword that had more power than any other.


    She blinked her eyes once andunched the sword.


    Maybe it was a desperate move, but he knew that he had no chance of stopping the attack, so he raised his hand before her attacks split him into two, creating five magic circles.


    Ria was amazed. It was his Sound Bullet.


    Even though she wanted to block it, she simply had no method left. Her transformation was undone because she didn''t have enough magic power anymore and tried to step back to avoid it.


    In this exchange, Kai was shredded into pieces with that sword and blood was sttered in all directions. But the five Sound Bullets Kai released in hisst move managed to perfectly pierce her vitals as well.


    She remembered the past scene as well, especially the part where she told him to never give up fighting.


    Kai obviously never gave up in that position, still trying to kill him despite knowing there was no way he could win.


    Her eyes gradually became blurry before she closed her eyespletely and fell down while saying.


    "Well done, but I still win."

 Chapter 356 - Reflecting

    When Ria Ross exited the training tube, she found Kai sitting on the chair near the system control, which was supposed to be her seat.


    "Congrattions. You managed to kill me." Ria smiled.


    "That killed you?" Kai raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.


    "You didn''t see it?"


    "Nope. I lost my vision right when I aimed the Sound Bullets at you. Because I believed you would move, I gambled in which direction you would move." Kai shook his head in disappointment.


    "That''s a shame. I thought it was not a coincidence, but it was good enough. You managed to beat me even though I hid my real power this whole time." She gave a thumb up and continued. "I didn''t n to beat you with this, but that was something necessary for you since you looked a bit overconfident after getting that blood power, magic control, and the sonic boom."


    "Fair enough. I thought I could do anything since I had a long-ranged attack which is my Sound Bullet¡­Or My Sound st in a smaller version called Bullet Version or Sound Bullet. As for the blood power, I have nothing to say. I feel like I gained a huge pride after mastering the instinct, probably the side effect? Either way, humble is something that can be trained. I will train in that aspect to counter the pride." Kai nodded, knowing what to improve.


    "It''s fine then. If you feel anything weird in your body because of that blood power, call me anytime. Besides, I have a few bags of your blood here, so I can test it again to see whether the current blood has a different characteristic than the previous one. How about your magic control?"


    "Everything is fine. Concentrating my magic in one spot allows me to create another one near it. With that strengthened instinct of mine, I believe I can pinpoint enemy attacks and use a concentrated Oscition Shield." Kai nodded.


    "That''s good. You have gotten stronger, and this is the end of our practical training. Tomorrow, we will move to thest stage of your training, which is the battle simtion training. We are going to have a battle in terms of strategy. Of course, real-time and prepared one, depending on the circumstances. For now, you can rest first." She smiled and patted his shoulders.


    "Before that, I need to ask you this first. What was that magic that could transform you into something¡­" Kai didn''t know the term and stopped talking while looking at Ria, who should know what he was talking about.


    She grinned and teased him. "Do you want me to tell you? How about begging me for it?"


    "If you don''t want to, I won''t force you." Kai shrugged. "Besides, you are my teacher. If knowing it is bad for me, you won''t tell me even if I beg you and vice versa."


    "You smart brat." She stroked his hair, looking at Kai fondly. The little man had truly grown up. Hesitating for a second, she decided to share it with him. "Don''t tell anyone else about this yet, alright?"


    "I understand."


    "That technique is stimting my body into the finest form. In other words, it''s a kind of releasing my limiter. You must have heard the terms of the limiter, right?"


    Kai contemted and answered. "Yes. For example, if I ask someone to run and tell him that he can stop when he can''t do it anymore, I am sure that he will stop when reaching his limit. However, this is the first limit which is a pseudo limit.


    "I can tell him to run one morep before he can finish. And surprisingly, he can still do it! He can even do a few moreps before reaching the second limit of his body. This second limit is called the body limit, while the first limit is the mind limit.


    "There is a third limit, and this is the most dangerous one. It will make you copse on the spot, and in a serious case, you might have some idents." Kai suddenly realized and narrowed his eyes. "You¡­"


    "Nope. I am only at the body limit. I trained when I had time, but I kept doing it until I really couldn''t stand up anymore. When I continued for a few months, I realized that something changed in my body. It was like having a breakthrough, albeit it took longer than I expected, so it wasn''t ready for the S Rank magical beast yet." She let out a long sigh.


    "Do you have any injuries? Even though the body limit is the maximum limit, I am sure it will give you some kind of injuries, no?"


    "Don''t worry. If we didn''t have Magic Power, I wouldn''t dare do something like this. However, this magic power allows us to recover a bit faster than normal people in the past. And the more magic power you have, the faster it gets. So, I have no injuries right now."


    "That''s good then."


    "Yeah. I didn''t know for how long, but I felt like when I reached that stage, I could understand my body a bit clearer than before. That''s when I realized a kind of imaginary limiter in my body. When I turned it off, I could release the magic power in my body at a bulk."


    "That''s why it was leaking?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes." She nodded. "Because the limiter is not there to restrain my body, obviously I have nothing to stop the magic power from leaking. For now, I can handle that state for about ten minutes, but I will be too exhausted to do anything after that."


    "What is it called?" Kai asked. "I wonder if I should learn that as well¡­"


    "Nope. This is what I really want to say. You will surpass me in the future, but I can''t afford to lose to you yet. After all, you have yet to reach your limit."


    "Then, are you saying you have reached your limit?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Nope. No one can tell their limit. However, I can feel a giant wall that will stop me in the near future. That''s why I have this technique to shatter and the wall for ten minutes." She smiled helplessly. "As much as I hate to say it, I couldn''t keep up with your strength, giving you more motivation to surpass me. When you graduate, I won''t stand a chance against you anymore."


    Kai''s body shook and immediately hugged her. "Teacher¡­"


    He wanted to cry after seeing how caring his teacher was this whole time but endured it. He shouldn''t show his weakness here.


    "Look at you. You shouldn''t be this weak. Don''t cry, alright?"


    "I am not crying." His tone was still clear but prated her heart.


    She smiled and hugged him tightly. "Your path is more horrendous than mine. I might not be able to share your burden anymore, but I won''t stop being your teacher and watching you from behind. Go and soar to the sky."


    Kai closed his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.


    "Enough of this." She slowly released him before making a big grin. "Doesn''t this mean you are still overconfident for challenging me, brat?"


    "¡­" Kai let out a long sigh. "Yes. You don''t need to talk about it again because I know I have made many mistakes during ourst fight."


    "Well, I apud you for remembering it at thest second."


    "You told me yourself that I should have never given up when fighting an opponent." Kai shook his head. "I thought that even if it was mutual destruction, it was still better than dying alone. Wait, mutual destruction?"


    "Hmm?!" When she was about to tease him again, she realized that Kai seemed to think about something important, so she stopped for a second and observed his expression.


    "Do you still remember when I reported about the magical beasts going on a suicide mission?"


    "Yeah. They sacrificed their lives to bring you down." She nodded. "We thought there should be a protector giving them a lesson to do that or it can even be an order too."


    "But there is one more problem. What if there are a thousand of them at the same time?" Kai asked. "This is going to be a big hurdle for us."


    She furrowed her eyebrows and looked down, falling into deep thought.


    "I wonder if I should make a barrier tool that could protect us from something like that?" Ria came to a conclusion that if they couldn''t stop them, they just needed something to protect them.


    "Yes, but I don''t think you should do it."


    "You don''t believe me?"


    "No. I will be asking Ayaka''s family to do this. It will give them a high standing too if this is important to us." Kai''s expression turned serious. "Her family is the same as mine, but unlike me, who received the favor from the president because of you, she doesn''t have anything to raise her family standing other than being a merchant family."


    "So, you want to use this to raise their standing and have the government protect it like other families that have been fighting on the front line?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "I see. That''s something interesting. Michelle and Sofia already have a high standing with their Graham and Campbell Families. The only one left is Ayaka since you don''t need to think about your little sweetheart in United Asia."


    "Exactly. That''s why I will be negotiating with them to prepare for the iing danger in a few years."


    "Alright. I will agree with you. Just tell me if they need a sponsor. I have been making a lot of money in my early days, so I can be their sponsor." She smiled.


    "Thank you, Teacher. For now, we should prepare for anything possible, especially regarding the protectors."


    "Okay. Go rest now. We will continue our talk tomorrow. I will take care of the recording first."


    "I will take a bath and sleep. You should take care of yourself too." Kai nodded and left the room.

 Chapter 357 - Playing

    Inside Ria''s study room, two people sat before each other. On the table in front of them, there was a small map with a realistic terrain that reflected the real world itself. And beside them was a box filled with a miniature of military equipment.


    Kai took a moment before making his next n, while Ria kept taking away his pieces that symbolized the soldiers.


    Suddenly, Kai made a surprise move when he actually used her piece to attack herself.


    "Wait. What are you doing?! That''s my piece." She was bewildered by his action and tried to push it back.


    Not letting her do so, he grabbed her hand and shook her head. "You can''t do that."


    "No, no. You are the one who can''t do that. That''s my piece."


    "Who said that is your piece?" Kai looked at her weirdly.


    "What?! That''s certainly mine¡­Wait a minute." She furrowed her eyebrows and thought for a moment, realizing Kai''s real intention. "Now, I see what you are doing."


    "No one can tell who is your ally and who is your enemy." He shook his head. "Of course, you can believe the people you trust the most, but it doesn''t mean you can let your guard down."


    "Fair enough." She had understood himpletely. "You are talking about the protector, right?"


    "Yes. If I am them, I will have a spy from our side to be a double agent. Unlike them, who don''t have an interest in us, they actually can incite our curiosity to pull us to their side. What I am afraid of is how many people have actually been bought by them."


    "This is still a baseless usation though." Ria shook her head.


    "I know, but it doesn''t mean we can let our guard down. Just like how they approached that whatever sh*tty professor, I believe they can do something like this. I don''t like having an enemy that can backstab me at any moment." Kai gritted his teeth.


    "But we don''t know who they are. What are you going to do with them?"


    "I am not sure. If they are from high-ranking people, they must know about my ability and make sure that I don''t have anything suspicious." Kai let out a long sigh. "This is why I hate people who are too greedy."


    "True, but there is a possibility of fear. I mean, you should know that we stand no chance against the protectors if theye with a full number. If that is the case, many people will cower. I feel half of them will surely defect from this side." She nodded. "For various reasons though. I mean, if you need to make a choice whether to have your wives killed or join their side, what will you choose?"


    Kai''s expression turned serious, and he looked at her without saying anything. After a while, Kai scratched the back of his head.


    "It''s normal to have that thought. If you are there, I am sure I will defect from here. You don''t need to answer me now, but I want you to be decisive when that timees. Of course, it''s better if this never happens in the future. I just want you to know that hard decisions need to be made." She gently smiled.


    "What if I ask you to protect them?" Kai gently smiled, but his expression looked helpless.


    It was time for Ria to fall silent, knowing that both his request and himself were special. Both of them now had their head down as they couldn''t answer the question.


    "Let''s stop talking about this and cross it when the timees, okay? I am not pessimistic of course, but I just want to be realistic. With how they are trying to catch me and kill those beside me, I feel like they want me to do something for them. If pushese to shove, I can be the bargaining chip." Kai smiled.


    "No. I won''t let you." Ria released her killing intent before realizing what she had done.


    "Let''s talk about something else, shall we?" Kai sighed and pped his hand once, turning the mood to neutral. He then said, "By the way, do you have a problem with me having a kid after graduation?"


    "Nope. The medicine will be ready at that time anyway." She didn''t have a change of expression. "This is your life choice. I want you to be careful with it. Well, ordinary people have kids from their high school, which is around sixteen years old due to the current situation.


    "However, the rule will start changing soon as soon as we capture the entire America Continent. I don''t know whether the government wants to push us to repopte the Earth or do it at our own pace, but this is something we won''t see in our generation." She shook her head. "Do you know that we might have controlled a few key points, but we haven''t cleaned up the rest of the magical beasts yet?"


    "Really?"


    "Yes. For example¡­The famous Amazon rainforest. We have locked it up with the three military bases in Peru, Brazil, and Columbia, but we still give missions so the students can help us. Even if they venture inside, they are not allowed to go to the inner circle."


    "This is the first time I heard about it." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "It''s simply for PR. They want to instill hope and make a good impression in the eye of the public by piercing through the enemy''s rank. That was why we had a mission to take care of that S Rank Spider. It was to establish a Military Base in Argentina and Southern Chile."


    Kai thought for a moment. "It''s a win-win situation. I mean, if we can have a base on the bottom of Southern America, we canunch an attack from all directions." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "This is what I will do if I have the highestmand."


    "Yes, but it will take a huge amount of resources and human lives." She let out a sigh and remembered a certain problem from Kai''s story. "Besides, there is a future problem, especially if we kill those magical beasts."


    Kai''s face turned serious. If they kept going at this pace, there would be a chance that the next three or four generations ahead would face another cmity since the protectors that were still alive wouldn''t let the humans do something like this.


    Besides, it would not be beneficial for the humans too since they couldn''t have a supply of meat and magic stone again.


    Suddenly, they thought of the same thing and looked at each other, knowing that they had arrived at the same conclusion that they deemed to be ridiculous.


    "You are not thinking the same as me, right?"


    "Using the protector life to create a life source that can sustain the Earth. And there is a chance that we can popte Mars. Like the sci-fi movies that we love to watch."


    "Yes. Besides, there is a chance that the human will try to kill you no matter what because they are afraid that they can''t control you anymore. What will you do at that time?"


    "I am going to build my own civilization¡­Or that''s what my most ridiculous thought at the moment." Kai shrugged. "I mean, there are many Ancient Civilizations that are still alive, right? I can simply hide there with my family and still maintain my status as a Protector. Besides, it''s not like I want to fight another protector."


    "That''s just a thought, but I guess you have watched too many movies."


    "Fair enough." Kai smiled before sighing. "Well, I want to live to the fullest until I die. Besides, I can take my own life when I have had enough."


    "Oh right. I almost forgot the fact that the protector''s lifespan is more than normal humans."


    "Yes. There is also a chance that normal humans can cultivate their power in the future. That''s what I am looking for. If it can be achieved, I think we will extend the peaceful time." Kai smiled.


    "In that case, are you nning to keep the secret of the requirement to be a protector to your death?"


    "Yes. I am going to y the fool when the timees. That''s why I only n to tell you and one or two girls."


    "Michelle and Tasha are the perfect choices. If it''s only one of them, they won''t be able to share their worries, so I am against it. For now, both Michelle and Tasha have the greatest mindset for receiving this secret."


    "Yes. I will be telling them after graduation. If they still ept me, I will hold the marriage." Kai smiled.


    "You look so confident." Ria also couldn''t contain her smile.


    "Of course. I believe in them." Kai nodded. "Besides, I would like to talk with another protector in the future. Maybe knowing a bit about the protector''s life will surely help me in the future."


    "Anyway, this is a check." Kai stopped her from talking about another topic and focused back on the game.


    Despite talking about this serious topic, they kept ying the simtion game against each other. This was also a part of the training since, on the battlefield, they needed to keep track of everything. In other words, multitasking was the requirement for this.


    Talking and ying were a lot of work, especially with a serious talk like this.


    The war ended when Kai took down Ria and celebrated by raising his hands. "Yay. I get the victory!"


    Unfortunately, there was no celebration from Ria. They soon fell into deep thought, focusing on the part where Kai chose to make a move where her piece betrayed her.


    Ria eximed with an angry tone. "Betrayal sucks."


    "No, Double Agent is."

 Chapter 358 - Goodbye

    When everything had finished, it was time for Kai to return to his home. He was walking outside Ria''s house and stopped to take another look at her.


    "Teacher. Don''t forget to eat, sleep, and take care of your health. I know that you are going to be skipping meals again after this. I¡ª"


    "Alright, alright. I know what you want to say. It''s annoying." Ria closed his mouth with her hand. "Want me to report every single thing I did to you?"


    Kai fell silent before stepping backward to release himself. "Then, I should go back now."


    "Yeah." Ria nodded while looking at the taxi that would bring him to the airport.


    Seeing her gentle expression onest time, he was satisfied and turned around, walking to the taxi. He put down his luggage and came in before his teacher called his name. "Kai."


    Stunned for a second, he opened the window and stared at her.


    Ria put on a big smile and waved her hand. "It''s the best three months."


    Kai couldn''t contain his smile and said, "Take care of yourself."


    Ria nodded and turned around as Kai finally left her house.


    Meanwhile, he wasn''t the only oneing back today. The others happened to be having their own goodbye with the ones that took care of them.


    Ayaka and Tasha were standing in front of a middle-aged man and a beautiful woman. The man had a big muscle which was Paolo''s characteristic.


    Yes, these two had been hopping from one battlefield to another, testing every single kind of battlefield. They learned many things about any different kind of situation and understood their roles.


    Of course, it didn''t mean they only pursued experiences here. They kept practicing their new magic, so they didn''tck the power to keep up with the others. There was no doubt in their eyes that the others would be so much stronger.


    Beside Paolo, Erica patted both their shoulders before hugging them. "It''s our blessing to have both of you in our base. It''s a good one month."


    "Thank you for taking care of us, Commander Erica. I can confidently say that this base gave us the most learning experiences." Ayaka smiled and hugged her back.


    "Indeed. I might being back here soon." Tasha backed her im with her own situation.


    "Is that so? Then, I am looking forward to our next meeting." She nodded before releasing them.


    After that, they looked atmander Paolo before turning to the soldiers around the base and waving their hands. "Thank you for all of you."


    "Uoh!"


    The boys and girls became crazy. It seemed they had be a celebrity in this base after what they did in the base. They even stopped whatever they were doing just to see them off.


    Paolo walked toward them with a smile and said, "Look at them. Not only the boys but the girls are also smitten by both of you. Well, I can''t say anything about it since everything is due to your contribution. You have indeed helped us all, so we are really grateful."


    "No, no. We just did what we were supposed to do. There is no such thing about students from the Magic School, the Military School, or even an independent Soldier Trainee. We all are the soldiers of this base. That''s all about it." Ayaka shook her head, putting on a genuine smile.


    "Yes. We have endured it together and emerged victorious." Tasha repeatedly nodded before looking at Paolo.


    "You two¡­" Paolo smiled before shouting at the soldiers in the base after finding them ogling these two figures. "Hey, you guys. Don''t think about it. You won''t be able to take their hearts. Besides, you can''t bepared to the boy they love! Give up. That''s my advice."


    The guys started screaming and showing their unwillingness while the girl kept saying whether they had a chance as well.


    Regardless, the situation turned warmer.


    "Anyway, I have both of your contacts along with your guy and that Ria Ross. Maybe it will be something we need in the future, but for now¡­" Paolo fell silent and his expression turned serious. Erica seemed to notice what he wanted to do and became serious as well.


    Suddenly, Paolo saluted and said. "It''s our pleasure to have you here. Thank you for your service."


    Erica followed him instantly.


    Ayaka and Tasha were startled at first, but the soldiers seemed to have picked up the intention of their highestmands, Paolo and Erica. The atmosphere became serious and silent before every single of the soldiers gave them a salute and shouted together. "Thank you for your service!"


    The voices were one, giving it a nice ring in one''s ears.


    Ayaka and Tasha were overwhelmed by the favor and saluted back.


    After two seconds, Paolo put down his hand before everyone followed suit.


    "Take care then." Paolo smiled.


    Ayaka and Tasha nodded and turned around, walking to the helicopter, whose loud sound got overwhelmed by the shouts.


    After closing the helicopter''s door, they flew to the sky while waving their hands until they couldn''t see the base anymore.


    At the same time, in the EU Base international airport, Evan stood before a middle-aged woman. Her beautiful hair was tied into a ponytail, giving a vibe of a serious person. However, what she showed to the public was theplete opposite.


    She hugged Evan to the point she clung to him while saying. "How about we extend another month?! Right, right. I can use my authority to have them lend you one more month. Look here. You are the perfect fit to be my sessor. Besides, my little angel is taking a liking to you.


    "How abouting to my house again and living there? I still have many things that I can teach you. You must want to do it, right?" She desperately tried to convince him to stay, but Evan only grabbed her and pushed her away.


    He dropped her to the ground and took a few steps back while putting one of his hands in front of him to deflect any kind of "danger."


    "What are you doing? As I said, I already have someone that I will marry in the near future. Besides, I am a Zodiac. It''s hard to produce an heir for various reasons! And don''t think about me living here. I am going to suffocate soon because of¡ª" Before he finished his words, a young ten years old girl hugged him from behind tightly.


    "You are leaving Leisa here? You brute!"


    "What¡ª" Evan became even more troubled, never expecting that the little girl came. When he found a butler that had been taking care of him near them, he realized that the little girl came here with another car.


    "Why are you here?"


    "Leisa just wants to stay together with big brother Evan." She pouted.


    "No. You are going to stay here. Besides, you know that I already have someone!"


    "Don''t worry. Leisa learned it from Mother. And Leisa can make something so we all can be drunk in pleasure."


    "Oi, you old hag. What the heck are you teaching to your ten years old daughter?!" Evan shouted.


    "I am teaching her everything." Her tone was filled with pride as if she didn''t do something wrong.


    "As expected, all your brain fluid is poison, not water anymore!" Evan then tried to break free from the little girl, but her grip became even tighter, not wanting to leave him.


    Evan was in front of a huge cliff. When Isabelle knew about this, there was no doubt that she would kill him even though he did nothing wrong during his stay here.


    "Hoho, look at you. All of you can''t stay calm." Suddenly, an old man walked with Sofia. Yeah, he was Sofia''s grandfather, the one that had taught her this whole time. He only nced at Evan and the little girl before making a smug smile.


    "What?! Do you want to taste my poison, you old sh*t?!" Evan''s teacher turned into her drill mode again as if she wanted to challenge him.


    "This is why you can''t keep him here." The old man shook his head in disappointment before turning to his granddaughter. "Remember. Our Campbell Family is one that family that couldn''t be underestimated. If you are pregnant, everything can be solved easily."


    "¡­" Sofia facepalmed and shook her head helplessly.


    "What?! It seems your little girl can''t even do something you request. This is why you old man is ipetent." Evan''s teacher used this chance to mock him again.


    "Hoh? Even though you haven''t heard my proposal." The old man had a slight grin before saying. "I want a powerful aphrodisiac, so I can ship them to the US Base. My daughter can use it after that. Do the deed first, and everything will follow. And with that, we can slowly get your student to be here with his help."


    "Hoh?" The idea piqued her interest.


    Sofia and Evan couldn''t contain their voice and corrected them at the same time. "Oi. You two know that we are here, right?"


    "Mother, mother! Can Leisa take part in this n too?!" The little girl ran to her mother and raised her hand cutely.


    However, Sofia and Evan already ran away from them. Evan didn''t forget to shout. "I am not a pedophile!"


    When Leisa heard that, she turned around. Instead of crying because Evan escaped, she only put both hands on her cheek and looked down like a maiden in love. "Then, I can still do it a few years from now."


    Both Sofia and Evan were stupefied as Sofia couldn''t help butment while running away. "Alright. We have a sex criminal here."


    "¡­"

 Chapter 359 - When Prank Goes Wrong

    1st April was the start of the new curriculum. The students finally returned after a long vacation. Unlike the previous year where they got work for a Raid Mission, the students had truly gotten their long vacation.


    Inside the Carter Family House, Kai was fixing his hair and uniform before Tasha''s voice rang on his ears.


    "Kai, we are going now."


    This might be an advantage in daily life since Tasha or any other family members never had the need to raise their voice when calling him.


    "I''ming," Kai replied with a loud voice and started walking toward the living room where Tasha was waiting. To his surprise, his parents were there too.


    Considering they had gone for three months, they missed them so much, so neither Tasha nor him said anything about it. They only recalled when their parents hugged them tightly as soon as they returned home.


    After finishing all the preparation, the two headed to school with Tasha''s Teleportation Magic and took the sses that day. After lunch, they only had one more ss before they gathered again in their usual room to pass the day.


    Kai headed straight to the room with Michelle and Sofia.


    "You two look stronger." Kai smiled.


    "Hehe, you too." Michelle smiled back.


    However, Kai noticed something was different from Michelle and asked, "Are you alright?"


    "Of course. I have settled everything already, so you don''t need to worry about me." She waved her hand.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows before giving her a mysterious statement. "Every now and then, there are people who seem to sacrifice a lot for others even though they can solve it easier when they tell the others about it."


    Michelle also understood his hidden meaning and kissed his cheek. "Don''t worry. I am fine."


    "Okay." Kai nodded, not wanting to pry her secret any longer. Although he worried about her, pestering too much might also destroy one''s rtionship, so he chose to trust her and stopped talking about it.


    "By the way, do you want to make a surprise for this April Fool''s day?" She asked.


    "Hmm?" Kai and Michelle frowned, wondering what she had in mind.


    "You see, there is interesting information about Evan." She smirked.


    "What is it?" Kai asked.


    "You should know the Poison Master of EU Base, right?"


    The two nodded.


    "She has a daughter¡­Currently ten years old. And there is Evan, a predator."


    "Alright. You don''t need to talk about it anymore. I''ve got it." Kai stopped her while nodding his head repeatedly, knowing what she wanted to do.


    "I am going to change then." Sofia grinned before leaving them.


    Kai and Michelle exchanged looks and understood their roles in this. They waited for Sofia to change.


    And as expected, Sofia looked like one.


    "I am ready."


    Kai noticed there was a different voice but wasn''t noticeable for normal humans, so he thought this was perfect to start.


    They then walked toward their room before mming the door.


    Bang.


    The group was startled but soon reced by confusion as they looked at Michelle and Kai, who seemed to be angry.


    The two red at Evan with a disgusted expression.


    Evan tilted his head for a few seconds before remembering that someone had certainly witnessed what happened in EU Base. His body became tense, and he gulped down.


    "Evan¡­" Kai nced with a cold gaze.


    "Y-yes!" Because of the situation, he couldn''t contain his calm and stood up suspiciously.


    With this alone, Ayaka and Tasha seemed to find something was not right. However, Kai''s expression didn''t let them ask about what happened, so they decided to see how this would y out.


    "I am disappointed in you." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "I have never expected that you don''t even spare a kid," said Michelle while shaking her head helplessly.


    "Spare a kid?" Ayaka and Tasha gasped and couldn''t contain their curiosity. "Did he kill a kid?"


    "No. He is the worst. He is a sex criminal." Michelle shook her head and uttered those words with killing intent.


    "I didn''t do anything!" Evan eximed, trying to exin everything, but Kai interrupted him. "Then, do you think corrupting a ten years old kid is not a crime?"


    "Like I said, I didn''t do anything. I just trained, trained, and trained."


    "Hoh? You didn''t do anything?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "I¡­I only yed with her like how a normal kid would y." Evan finally corrected his statement before adding his exnation. "I just helped my teacher to take care of her daughter. Since she helped me during my stay, I tried to give something back by helping her in this area."


    "Oh, really? Then what''s with the statements that shouldn''t be known for a ten years old girl? Especially with drugs?" Michelle added the fuel to the me.


    This certainly influenced Tasha and Ayaka as both of them looked at him with disgust.


    "To think I haven''t really known my ownrade that has fought together for almost two years."


    "I agree. We might need to call the authorities here¡­Wait, is there any international organization that deals with this type of stuff?"


    "I don''t think so. We should call the one in this base." Ayaka shook her head.


    "Let me exin!" Evan shouted before he dropped his jaw.


    Isabelle''s figure slowly became visible behind Kai and Michelle. Cold sweat started covering his body as he instantly rose to his feet. "I¡­"


    Ayaka and Tasha then realized what just happened and found Isabelle behind the two.


    "This problem¡­We are not qualified to deal with it, so we bring her. You two should deal with it." Kai let out a long sigh before walking to the side. Michelle also did the same, revealing Isabellepletely.


    The person in question only had a cold nce. She looked down on Evan. "Kneel."


    When Evan heard that, he instantly fell on his knees.


    Isabelle slowly walked closer to him without any reaction. The situation became tense since no one said anything.


    "I want to cry and run from this, but I just can''t. I¡­I¡­Am disappointed in you." Isabelle''s sad voice prated his heart.


    Evan looked down, feeling guilty. When he wanted to raise his vision to exin, he found a tear sshed on the floor.


    As expected of Sofia, she knew how to act.


    "I¡­" Evan wanted to wipe her tears but realized he wasn''t worth it.


    "Pfft!" Suddenly, Kai and Michelle couldn''t contain their poker face anymore and beganughing. And Kai deemed this prank should stop before it went wrong.


    Seeing the two had enough fun, Sofia finally smiled. "April Fool!"


    "¡­" Evan didn''t have a reaction for a few seconds as if his brain had a short circuit. "Did¡­"


    "Yes. This is all just a prank." Kai exined whileughing. He then pointed at the door that still opened. "That door¡­If you take a closer look, you should notice a thin translucent barrier. It''s my Sound Instion Room Magic."


    After realizing that, Evan instantly noticed the thinyer, and Kai finally retracted the barrier. The sound of people talking in the corridor could be heard again.


    Evan clenched his fist, wondering why he didn''t notice this. Even Tasha and Ayaka got fooled because of the issue.


    "Still, what a greatugh," said Kai with his hand on his stomach,ughing too much until his stomach hurt.


    "You bastard! I am going to kill you!" Evan shouted and mmed the table. "I almost got myself killed."


    "But seriously¡­I can''t understand how you charm this little girl¡­Just so you know, although the age limit is reduced from the previous civilization, you still need to be above sixteen, alright? You can''t do anything to a little girl like that." Kai warned him.


    "I know, but I am sure she was just kidding. It waspletely her mother''s fault, not me." Evan sighed, frustrated.


    "That''s not my problem. As a friend, I won''t say anything about your personal problem, especially in this area. But I think you should talk about it with Isabelle."


    "I know."


    "Still, to think a certain yer manages to grasp the heart of a ten years old girl. When I heard it back then, I was about to call the police to handle a pedophile." Sofia grinned, teasing him again.


    "Anyway, Michelle, can you close the door? I have retracted the barrier, so it''s better to be closed."


    "Sure."


    When she was about to rise from the coach, another familiar voice resounded in their ears. The group instantly turned around to see another Isabelle standing in front of their room. "Hoho¡­I certainly found something great."


    The group instantly gulped down, realizing that the prank had finally gone wrong.


    Sofia instantly changed her face again so as to not impersonate her anymore. Evan''s face turned pale while the others became tense.


    Isabelle, who just learned the news, brought the souvenir bag she brought. She slowly walked toward Kai with a smile before giving it to him. Her smile was still there, and she even thanked him politely. "It''s been a while. This is not much, but this is some appreciation from me."


    Kai''s movement was stiff, but he still managed to grab the back. He remembered there was also a present for Evan and Isabelle from his teacher, so he gave it to her. "This¡­is from my Teacher. I am sure it will help."


    Isabelle took a nce at it and realized what the present was. She bowed to him again. "Thank you very much. Please, give my thanks to your teacher too."


    "Y-yes."


    Isabelle then turned around and walked toward Evan. "Darling. Can you kindly exin all about this? Of course, we shall not disturb the people here, so let''s talk about it somewhere else."


    Evan knew that his life ended today. Isabelle didn''t let him go and immediately grabbed his cor, dragging him outside.


    She didn''t forget to close the door, but everyone could see her summoning her weapon before the door was closed.


    They looked at each other and blinked their eyes a few times, not knowing what to do.

 Chapter 360 - Presents

    The next day, Kai and the others found Evan miserable. He looked exhausted andcked sleep. Without even a single word, they knew what he just experienced.


    Kai patted his shoulders a few times and said, "You''ve worked hard."


    "It''s a blessing in disguise," Michelle added, fully knowing what the souvenir that Kai gave yesterday.


    Evan and Isabelle had broken through thest barrier due to their Zodiac Blood. Even Isabelle knew it was just a joke. And if it were true, what else could she do? She just wanted to talk it out, considering polygamy had be a norm in this era.


    Evan hated and loved Kai at the same time. It was true that the medicine he brought was the one breaking that barrier, and the joke became the "reason" for them to finally take that step, but he thought he could do it with something more romantic.


    Nheless, Evan still bowed and thanked him.


    "Anyway, I won''t bother with your problem anymore. Considering you all have gotten a huge leap in your strength, I have a present for you all." Kai smiled.


    "!!!" The girls were startled and almost forgot the fact that Kai actually wanted to give them something after the training.


    Of course, he had a separate present for Evan and Sofia.


    He took them out first. "This is for you two."


    Evan and Sofia grabbed the present, still wondering what they got.


    "You can open it." Kai smiled.


    Sofia was the first who took out the present, finding a small stick inside the wrapped box.


    "This is¡­" She furrowed her eyebrows and activated the stick.


    Suddenly, a shield popped out with the stick as the handle.


    "I don''t know your training menu, so I am not sure what to give you. The only thing I can think of is a shield. This shield is made of a synthesized material that can rival the protector''s shell. In other words, it''s strong enough to stop my Vibration Sword.


    "And you all don''t need to cheat again like when you fought against me." Kai nced at Ayaka, whose spear got buffed before.


    Thetter only looked away while pouting.


    As for Sofia, she smiled. "Thank you. I love it. Instead of Tasha and Evan, I believe I will be the one targeted the most, so this will help me."


    She ced down the white shield that had nothing on it before turning to Evan. The others then looked at him, wondering what Kai gave to him.


    He grabbed the holster inside the box and saw one thing that stood out. It had the same material as Sofia''s shield.


    His holster was one that ran through his chest and back, covering much more than the holster on the waist.


    "You might already notice it, but your holster is made of the same material from it, so you will feel a bit restricted. However, this one can help your exoskeleton in protecting your body. Besides, you are using two guns right now. This holster will bolster up your defense." Kai nodded.


    "That''s nice. Thanks, Kai." Evan nodded and put it on. He moved left and right before giving ament on the holster. "I don''t feel that much restricted¡­Just a minor adjustment in my movement will do. It''s perfect."


    "Well, I brought the medicine for you yesterday, but since Isabelle was there, I handed it to her."


    "Ah." Evan looked away, refusing to say something regarding that.


    Meanwhile, Kai turned to Ayaka first, making thetter think she was first. However, Kai didn''t give her anything. Instead, he asked her. "What is the progress for Evan''s bullet and the Explosion Arrow?"


    "¡­" Ayaka sighed and exined. "Evan''s bullet is ready. I have brought it with me already."


    She reached the bag she brought with her this morning and handed it to him. "There are fifty bullets inside, with each magazine containing five explosive bullets. Make sure you use it wisely."


    "Thanks." Evan nodded with a serious expression.


    Ayaka nodded back and continued. "As for Tasha''s explosion arrows, they are in thest stage. Just need a few tests, and she will be set to go. Probably in another week."


    "What is the spec?"


    "There is a circuit there, so if there is a lightning current from your magic, it will have a short circuit which breaks the protection of my Explosion Magic. The explosion itself is the same as my Time Bomb. Unfortunately, due to the unstable circuit, it can only withstand the explosion magic for thirty minutes. Any longer than that will just explode my magic."


    "That''s nice." Tasha pretty liked the time and the firepower. "How many are there?"


    "It''s a bit expensive since only a few have been able to create an item that can hold magic with time. So, I have only procured ten for you. I think we can start lowering the cost after having more research about it." She nodded.


    "Thank you. That must have troubled you¡­"


    "It''s fine. We do this because there is another potential in this arrow. If we add the magic that can add an additional force, we can make a bending bullet or something. This will be very useful on the battlefield, and the cash flow will not be a problem anymore." Ayaka shrugged.


    "Then, it''s time for the present." Kai then handed each of them a ne. There was their name on it, so no one would mistake someone''s ne.


    However, the girls quickly realized that the nes were simr to the one Kai wore. Michelle rose from her seat and dropped her jaw. "Kai¡­This¡­"


    Seeing the huge reaction, the others realized and panicked for a second.


    Kai only smiled and answered her. "Yes. It''s the exoskeleton."


    Because she wanted to be recognized as well, she chose not to hide this matter anymore. She opened her mouth, exining what happened during the negotiation. "In order to go to my base, Kai made an additional term which is to hand him a total of four exoskeletons. Wait a minute, this sounds wrong. It feels like you just sell yourself¡­"


    "I made this condition to counter that." Kai rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed.


    "Fair enough. Anyway, the scientists have adjusted the data to your size. Unless "some parts" get bigger, I think it will suit you. Well, you can adjust it easily to be honest, so why don''t you try it?"


    The three girls looked at each other and signaled each other. They decided to use it at the same time.


    The white exoskeleton started covering their body. It looked the same as Kai''s exoskeleton though some parts got tweaked to fit a woman''s figure like Sofia''s.


    Regardless, it fit them perfectly.


    "Anything you find wrong?" Kai asked.


    "Nope." Ayaka shook her head before identally stepping back. It was then she noticed the difference between with and without an exoskeleton. The step was very light and filled with power. If she couldn''t control her strength, she might injure someone at this rate.


    Besides, with her gaining more strength, it would greatly impact her momentum in a good way.


    The same applied to Tasha. Unlike the gun, the power in the bow and arrow can be increased with a heavier bow. If she could carry this much strength, it would be best to get a bow that could suit her current strength and had her usual bow to sit as a recement.


    "Ayaka. Do you mind if Ie to your houseter? I need a new bow." Tasha asked.


    "Sure. Do you want to stay for the night as well?" She smirked. The two''s rtionship had gotten better because of the time they spent together.


    Tasha also felt this natural because there were too many jokes they had thrown around. She only shook her head and said, "Nah, it''s fine. I will be quick."


    "Alright then." Ayaka nodded, grabbed another device from her bag, and handed it to her.


    Tasha activated the device and found a catalog for the weapons sold by the Kudo Group.


    "This one has it all, including our prototype. Not the one we sell in general." She smiled. "Choose your weapons now, and we can test that in my house."


    "Okay."


    While the two kept talking, Michelle had been testing her exoskeleton by moving around the room, punching and kicking the air.


    "A bit tight¡­Especially in this area¡­" Michelle embarrassedly pointed at her chest and ass.


    Tasha and Ayaka instantly exchanged looks and nodded at each other as if they nned something.


    Having the feeling of what these two nned to do, Sofia grabbed Evan and dragged her outside. "Come, you need to go outside."


    "Wait¡­Again?!" Evan didn''t understand why he needed to leave before Sofia rebuked him. "You grabbed Isabelle''s yesterday, so noints."


    She threw Evan to the corridor and closed the door.


    Tasha and Ayaka slowly walked toward Michelle. Thetter already knew what they were going to do and hid behind Kai.


    However, Sofia acted smartly and transformed into Michelle while ying around with her body. "Hmm¡­She has indeed grown a few centimeters. In the middle of the C cup, huh¡­"


    "Wait. You can do that?!" Michelle gasped and started panicking.


    Meanwhile, Tasha and Ayaka already gathered around Sofia and observed her.


    "A rival ising soon." Tasha furrowed her eyebrows while Ayaka looked away and snorted. "I am not sulking."


    "Oi! Don''t y with someone''s body like that," Michelle shouted.


    "¡­" Kai remained silent this whole time. In fact, no one noticed that he had already disappeared and chose to sit on the couch while waiting for them to finish their little teasing game.


    "Kai, help me." Michelle looked at him with a wronged expression.


    Kai let out a long sigh and put a document on the table. "Next mission."

 Chapter 361 - Missions

    "It''s the next mission. Call Evan back now." Kai sighed, deciding to stop them.


    Tasha and Ayaka raised their hands as if they gave up. Sofia also turned back and opened the door. "Come on in."


    "Ugh, as expected, Isabelle is the best. Though she is a bit scary¡­"


    "What did you say?" The aforementioned person suddenly appeared, but this time, she wasn''t alone. Tommy and the others followed right behind them.


    Evan froze on the spot before turning around his body, finding Isabelle and the others. "How¡­"


    "What?! It''s just a coincidence. I found you when you were about to enter the room, so here I am." Isabelle smiled. "And I can know what you are thinking of me¡­"


    "Wait, wait. I can exin." Evan hurriedly replied, trying to calm her down.


    "It''s fine. I understand." She patted Evan''s shoulder as if she had forgiven him.


    However, Evan could only feel a chill down to his spine since he knew there would be something bigter.


    "Why are you here?" Michelle found this a bit wrong before realizing the reason and ncing over the document. It was then she got the exact reason. "You¡­"


    Isabelle nodded. "Yes. The mission is a joint mission again, but I think the captain of this joint group needs to be the one exining the mission, right?"


    Kai let out a long sigh and nodded. "Yes. So, take a seat and rx."


    Michelle and the others then returned to their seat. Evan brought some foldable chairs for the Eagle Group, while Tasha made tea for all of them.


    "So, what is this mission that requires us to cooperate with the Eagle Group?" Michelle asked and took the documents.


    Kai grabbed the first ten papers and handed them to each person, including him. "I will exin the basic information first. Before that, I think you should know why I got such a mission¡­First of all, I asked for a specific request from my teacher.


    "It''s to explore a ruin in Peru. The ruin is known as Caral. Of course, I need Isabelle as well for this mission since we were together when we met Rapakha."


    "If you need only the captain, why don''t you request her only?" Eva asked.


    "I have a n for that, but unfortunately, I need to do something before we can explore the ruin. Considering there is a high chance that this expedition will be a failure, we will have another mission."


    "Another mission? May I know what that is?" Isabelle''s interest got piqued by this mission. The mission Kai received wouldn''t be something so small unless he requested as such. However, Kai wouldn''t easily ask for one, so it should be a big mission as well.


    Some of them had gone for intense training, so she wanted to see the power of her teammates, and the mission from Kai would be perfect for that.


    "I see. So, which mission do you want to exin first?" Isabelle asked.


    "I will exin the main mission first, which is the exploration. We will go to Caral in Peru¡­I will send the details to each of youter. I want to find anything that can lead us to something in the past. I know that archeologists in the past kept searching for something but to no avail, but we have another aspect¡­Which is our magic and unique ability. We will gather any information there for three days to a week, depending on the situation." Kai exined.


    "Not too long, not too short. I guess it''s fine. Any monsters?"


    "Yes. You must have received many missions in Peru, right? There are many monsters still residing all over Peru. I will exin why when we move to the second mission. Anyway, if we find anything, I will try to split the reward for all of us.


    "Of course, I can''t do anything if there is nothing. That''s why, if some of you want to return first, I won''t stop you." Kai raised his hand as if signaling them he wouldn''t do anything to them, whatever their decision.


    Suddenly, Tommy narrowed his eyes and hit the table lightly. "I don''t know your impression about us, but our Eagle Group will stand as one even if it means meeting a tragic death. We won''t go anywhere else¡­We will follow the mission until everyone returns."


    Kai widened his eyes for a second before turning to Isabelle. "You are blessed with good teammates."


    "Of course. They are my pride and my family." She smiled.


    "We will do the same thing!"


    "That''s right."


    Suddenly, Tasha and Ayaka raised the same statement.


    "Why are youpeting?" Kai shook his head helplessly. "I am wondering what the two of you have experienced back in the training session. To think you two are this close now."


    "We are far surpassed best friends now!" Tasha gave a thumbs up and Ayaka acknowledged it.


    Kai only stared at them for two seconds before turning his head away, ignoring them. "Anyway, this is the main mission. If we find nothing, you will still bepensated, but not too big. So, I will apologize in advance. I can infuse some money in the reward too."


    "Don''t." Isabelle stopped him. "We don''t really need money to be honest. What we want are experiences. The only reason why Ie here is that a mission thates from you will be a big mission. That''s why I am here."


    "In that case, I don''t need to mind about this aspect anymore. Well, that''s the exnation for the main mission. Do you have any questions?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. Do you think it is possible to have half of us protect us from any danger while leaving the others to explore the ruin? I mean, we need only you, me, Sofia, Ayaka, and Tasha, right? We probably need Evan as well since there might be toxic substances. He is a moving hospital after all."


    "Yes, it''s possible. We can talk about the detailster." Kai nodded.


    "Alright."


    "If there are no more questions, I will continue the secondary mission. This mission has a high difficulty because we are going to sweep the Amazon rainforest."


    The group widened their eyes, feeling weird. In the past, this rainforest was known as a very dangerous forest that had tribes, toxic nts, and beasts. Ever since the apocalypse, we could ignore the tribes since most of them should have died already. In other words, the beasts would be their main threat since Evan could handle the toxic nts.


    "Still, how many magical beasts are inside the Amazon?" Michelle asked.


    "There should be at least a million," Kai replied honestly.


    "What?!" They dropped their jaw to the ground, never expecting such an answer.


    Michelle also found it wrong. "Don''t we have a base in the surroundings?"


    "Yes, we do. This is what I want to exin to you." Kai sighed. "The strategy for the north and the south are vastly different. In the north, the army tried to sweep the magical beasts while slowly advancing. This will lead to a lower number of beasts that manage to prate their defense.


    "However, the south has a different strategy. Instead of going slowly and killing every single magical beast in sight, they decided to send arge group to deal with arge area. After clearing that area, they will start sending the resources to build a base from the air.


    "They didn''t deal with the magical beasts¡­And this is the exact reason why we only need one more base toplete the formation before every single base sends their troops to all directions to clean up.


    "You can now easily see why the South has more progress than the North. It''s due to this strategy, and this one has be the face of the army. With this kind of reputation, the masses will glorify the army, making more and more people join the army.


    "This is why there are still at least one million monsters inside the Amazon. In fact, I do feel there are at least ten times of that. This certainly makes the difficulty significantly higher, thus our mission is to kill fifty thousand beasts or more within two weeks. There are no rank criteria for this, so everything is about killing.


    "And I don''t think there is someone who wants to observe this, so it''s based on trust. As for the magical beasts'' cores, we will let the army handle everythingter. The soldiers who help will get ten percent; the army will get thirty percent while the rest will be split among us.


    "This is the mission, what do you think?" Kai asked everyone who seemed to haven''t processed the information from him.


    They contemted the details for a while before Ayaka asked. "Do we need a base or something? And do we have permission to make a huge explosion? I mean¡­Even though it''s a rain forest and the spring is not as hot as summer, we still can''t destroy nature easily."


    "If possible, don''t use something like that. However, we will meet the rivers, so it''s fine there. As for a base¡­Of course, we need a base of operation. I will handle the locationter."


    "Are we going to separate? Or keep sticking together?"


    "We will spread out but at a certain distance. I will make sure about the positioning as well."


    "You have so much stuff, eh?" Isabelle smirked.


    "Yes. I need an assistant probably." Kai sighed.


    "In that case, Sister Ba is ready. She can help you in this regard. I will give you her contact numberter." Ayaka offered a solution. "But I apologize if she can''te to the school."


    "It''s fine. Calling her is enough." Kai nodded. "Alright. In that case, do any of you have questions?"


    They exchanged looks and shook their heads at the same time.


    "Alright. We will go next week, so you have this week to learn all the information I will give youter." Kai nodded. "The meeting is over."

 Chapter 362 - Story

    A weekter, in the morning, the group had a meet-up before going to the Amazon.


    Isabelle came to Kai to ask one question. "Considering this area is pretty much an uncharted territory for us, do we need to contribute anything to the government?"


    Kai nodded. "I will handle the contribution. They only asked for a map and distribution data, including the data about the magical beasts'' distribution. There is also a chance that we encounter a dangerous beast, so keep that in mind."


    "Alright then." She nodded. "Anything else?"


    "No." Kai shook his head. "The rest will be exined by our operator."


    "Operator, eh? There are not many groups using an operator¡­" She smiled while observing Kai''s facial expression.


    "I have my own circumstances that lead to me hiring an operator." Kai shrugged. He then projected the call from Ba on the whiteboard.


    The two groups stared at the whiteboard, listening to the exnation.


    Ba''s face appeared on the top corner as she presented a map that had been marked here and there.


    "Ahem, hello. My name is Ba, the Lion Group''s new operator. After considering a few things, I have decided to ept the job offer, and here I am. Anyway, enough for my introduction and let''s go to the main point.


    "I have talked to Kai Carter and came up with a basic direction to where you should go. This is the n." She zoomed the Amazon Forest''s left area and continued, "You all will start from the left side of the Amazon Forest.


    "As you might already know, there are still many monstersing out of the forest that have been hunted by students. However, the powerful ones wouldn''t leave their territory just to explore the outside world. In other words, you need to watch out for them.


    "After entering the left side, you all will go along with the river and focus on the lower side of the map. This part alone should be enough to reach three hundred thousand kills. That''s why it''s better to take a safer course.


    "I will exin the details then. After reaching the forest, you all shall go three hours to this hill that you can use as a base of operation. This is a precious hill that is hard toe by, considering this forest is almost all t.


    "As long as you have a turn to watch out during the night, we won''t have a problem. If possible, make it two people for each shift to make it more secure. You can rest for the night after capturing the hill and clear out the perimeter.


    "The next day, you should go around the river before changing your direction on the fourth day onward. This is the diagram." She showed a gif that let them know where they needed to head ording to the time in the corner of the picture.


    Kai nodded since this n was the thought of him and Ba that had a few arguments whening up with a basic n.


    "Just make sure to report to me every day, and I will record everything for you. Make sure you return to the base first, so it won''t get picked up by the magical beasts. That''s all. Are there any questions?"


    The group looked at each other and shook their heads.


    "Alright. That''s all. Everything will be left in Kai''s hand as the captain of the group." Isabelle nodded and hung up the video call.


    Before leaving the room, Kai called a few names. "Evan, Ayaka, Sofia, and Isabelle¡­I want you to meet me after this mission, alright?"


    They didn''t know his intention of calling them but still nodded their heads.


    Without an objection from any member, they walked to the parking lot of the school, where they found two helicopters that had been waiting for them.


    The groups met their respective pilot, and Kai ordered them to move.


    The two helicopters then soared to the sky, flying straight to the military base in Peru. Kai chose this ce because it was the closest one to their target.


    It took them several hours just to get there, but the group didn''t feel the trip was boring. They decided to share their experiences during the training.


    Ayaka and Tasha told them how they saved the military base in Argentina and how they saw them off when they left the base. It was an epic story, considering both of them had saved a thousand soldiers and turned around the situation.


    And Tasha''s Teleportation Magic became even more famous since it helped them the most. Meanwhile, Ayaka''smanding ability had grown to a high degree that Kai could easily talk about strategy with her.


    This was surprising for him, considering Ayaka once was an annoying girl at the beginning. Nheless, he continued their talk with his story.


    They were surprised when they heard Kai''s win rate was around twenty percent. It was already high enough since his opponent was Ria Ross. Kai once again almost reached the highest level of Martial Prowess.


    However, Kai didn''t tell them about Ria''s transformation in thest fight and his instinct because he believed the information needed to be ssified for the time being.


    He also didn''t forget to mention his doubt in the government, saying there might be a spy there. He warned them not to mention anything to their parents because the spy might not be aware of their intention. They were still high school students after all.


    The group promised him. After that, Michelle told them the story of her self torture to achieve greater strength.


    When the group asked about her new strength, she didn''t tell them yet because it was still a secret. However, she indeed could wield a two-handed sword with one hand, so it was a major improvement.


    Kai and the others were actually curious about her new style, especially when she called her new fighting style a dance.


    Nheless, the group decided to end it there and gave the turn to Sofia.


    Sofia didn''t mind others knowing about this since she considered them to be close enough to know this.


    She mentioned a few things about her grandfather, who seemed to be an S Rank Magician. Kai had read the article back then and asked whether her grandfather was the famous Force Control, n Campbell. She confirmed it.


    What was special about this person was his intake of Wind Magic. He used the Wind to create an invisible force that was hard to see and hear, allowing him to sneak up on them. However, this power wasn''t for assassination since he was someone who actually led the soldiers from the front.


    When Kai told the story about n Campbell, the group agreed as to how this person could be considered an S Rank Magician.


    However, Sofia also mentioned him talking about Kai, especially about the child part. The group couldn''t say anything to her since it was pretty weird. She had stopped mentioning it for a few months, so they just got an aftershock when they heard it again.


    Either way, they met another surprise when she mentioned the aphrodisiac that her grandfather asked her to bring.


    Kai also understood her intention in talking about this and couldn''t help but smile. She just wanted to tell Kai that she wouldn''t use any underhanded tactic to obtain his heart.


    When everyone became curious, she exined the reason, which turned out to be her experience in this group. After learning from Michelle and the girls, she knew that the best way was this, so she only asked that Kai didn''t draw a line between them or intentionally shoved her off.


    Kai nodded and let nature take its course which Sofia agreed.


    This was when the situation began getting exciting. It was Evan''s story. They were dying to know how Evan could be a pedophile, which he strongly denied.


    It turned out that he found Leisa when she yed in the garden alone. Leisa found him when he brought a poisonous nt, and it became a misunderstanding.


    He didn''t want Leisa to be near the poisonous nt, so he escaped, but thetter thought Evan was ying with her.


    She kept chasing him until he got caught. Unfortunately, Leisa touched the poisonous nt in the end and immediately tried to heal her.


    When seeing this kindness and probably due to her loneliness, Leisa became fond of him and showed her knowledge in this term.


    Evan''s original purpose was to be stronger, so he listened to her as well after doing his chore from her mother.


    Leisa became even happier since that day and often visited him. Their rtionship gradually became better, but it was also misunderstood by her mother.


    The mother turned out to be more shameless than he could ever imagine, but Leisa was also one of his shocks.


    As soon as the mother decided to keep him in the EU base, she suddenly asked Leisa to be his wife which she instantly agreed.


    There was no hesitation in her tone either. But what made this even more interesting was the fact that they were talking about this in front of Evan himself.


    Since he didn''t need to meet them anymore after this, Evan yed along. After all, he had tried escaping from there, only to get caught by Leisa, who happened to be sharper than her mother.


    And she was even scarier than her. The first time she caught him, she told him that she sprinkled a poison powder in his clothes, allowing her to keep track of him.


    The idea became even more and more absurd from that day until in the airport, she wanted to make an aphrodisiac to capture him, which he declined by running away. Thus, the end of his story.


    The group had mixed feeling about this, not knowing what to say. Kai only patted Evan''s shoulder and looked at him with a sympathetic gaze while saying. "You''ve worked hard."

 Chapter 363 - Advices

    As soon as they arrived at the military base and just came out of the helicopter, Kai found someone walking straight toward them.


    Two stars on her uniform came into their vision, symbolizing her to be a 2-Star General, which should be known as Major General.


    She appeared to be someone in her thirties, almost forties, but they could sense the experiences she had in her life. She must have served the army for a long time, they thought.


    Kai and the others immediately saluted, which thetter saluted back.


    "Wee." She then shook Kai''s hand while holding down her green hair from the breeze.


    "Thank you for having us here." Kai smiled.


    "My name is Leona, and I am the deputymander here. I was tasked to guide you around and satisfy all your needs from my Supreme Commander. Do you want to meet my boss first? Or go to your room?"


    "I will meet him first." Kai nodded. "After all, I am here only for a mission. It''s best to show my face first."


    "Alright. Good." She nodded.


    He then turned around, looking at his teammates.


    "We can go too if you don''t mind unless there is something important." Michelle showed her interest ining to meet themander. After all, themander in this ce was someone special.


    Even Leona supported her stance by saying, "I believe themander wants to meet you all. Let me guide you."


    Seeing the determinate faces, he finally nodded and followed Leona with the others.


    As soon as they reached their destination, Leona opened the door while saying. "General Sebastian. They havee."


    The general seemed to be watching the condition outside the window since he kept staring at the window with his back kept facing them.


    Kai and the others could see that this general had four stars on his shoulder, symbolizing the same rank as Nathan, Ria, and the others. Considering they were in a warring state, it was easier to get achievement and rank, but it also came with risk, including to remain to stand by on the battlefield for a decade...minimum. At the very least, the government gave enough trust for the generals to handle everything here.


    This was reflected by the general''s action that suddenly released his killing intent and battle spirit to scare all the eleven kids.


    Kai and the others sensed this, but all of them had a stronger mental fortitude than average students, so none of them got affected by it. Kai even closed his eyes as if he enjoyed the feeling.


    When the general turned around, he found that his test wasn''t effective. However, Kai didn''t stop there.


    He gradually opened his eyes and released his instinct that had gotten stronger than ever before terminating every single intent in this room, turning it intoplete silence.


    Leona and even Sebastian were amazed by this power. Sebastian made a small smile and said, "You little brat. What the heck that Ria Ross made you eat?"


    Kai smiled before giving him a salute. "Sir."


    "You know who I am, right?"


    "General Sebastian, S Rank Ice Magician." Kai nodded with a solemn expression.


    "Good. Although we haven''t met this whole time, I am d to meet you now. Your achievement is astounding to the point it made me doubt you, but I guess now is only forty percent left from the original seventy percent."


    "Overpraise." Kai shook his head.


    "Haha¡­I think I am still underestimating you, especially the one you released earlier." Sebastian shook his head. "Anyway, let''s talk somewhere else. Leona, is the usual room usable?"


    "Yes, no one is using it right now." She nodded.


    "Then, let''s go." Sebastian nodded. Unlike Leona, Sebastian looked even older, might be almost fifties from Kai''s perspective. Even so, he still looked gentle and friendly like those in their twenties or thirties.


    The general brought them to another room, not far from them. When they entered, there were around a hundred chairs inside with a few seats as special seats in the front.


    "Sit first." Sebastian stretched his hand, permitting them to sit while he took the seat near the podium in front. He then ced that seat in front of them and sat down. "So¡­I have something important to tell you all. This forest is dangerous."


    "We know, Sir. Even so, we have a mission to kill magical beasts in the forest." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "No, no. You don''t understand me." He waved his hand left and right. "Do you know the reason why I am stationed here even though I can go to the military base in Argentina?"


    The group didn''t immediately answer his questions and gave a clear thought about it, showing Sebastian that they were not a rash group.


    An idea shed in Kai''s mind and he asked. "Is it the forest?"


    "Exactly. The majority of this forest is in Brazil, while we have around thirteen percent in Peru. However, what I want to talk aboutter is the case in Colombia who has the thirdrgest portion, which is ten percent."


    "Did something major happen?" This time, it was Ayaka''s turn to ask.


    "Yes." He nodded.


    "I started my journey all over the base before settling down in this forest that makes me a General. There is one thing that I want to warn you. The magical beasts inside this forest are more amazing than those from outside. Trust me. I have been dealing with them for more than a decade.


    "The reason I am here is to control the poption here to make sure they don''te out of the forest. I don''t know if you know, but we have several S Rank Magicians, but none of them can be deployed to the forest. Do you know why?" He smiled.


    "It''s to strengthen the defense around the forest," Ayaka answered.


    "There should be another S Rank Magician in Colombia¡­Oh, so that''s how it is. The danger is far surpassed my expectation." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "It seems you have understood this." Sebastian smiled before pointing at the screen behind him. "Leona, can you help me open the progress during that big mission?"


    "I understand." Leona nodded. She typed a few things and showed them a ten seconds video.


    The video showed a few colors, which were mostly red, yellow, blue and green. The blue, which seemed to be the army, surrounded the green that should be the forest. The yellow indicated the magical beasts while the red was to locate where they fought. In other words, the battlefield.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "In thest mission, the reason we didn''t help you were to maintain the stability of the forest. Three S Rank Magicians were dispatched, including me. And we had around three hundred people. How many do you think we lost that day? It was fifty thousand soldiers."


    "What?!" Kai widened his eyes, never expecting the situation went out of control. "Why?"


    "I don''t know. There was suddenly a movement when we were about to join the mission. When I reported the incident, they ordered Ria Ross instead. And your sister was kind of special enough to be considered an S Rank Magician. And thest one was stationed in the North to watch out for the enemy''s movement.


    "Back then, we werepletely baffled by the surprise attack that seemed to be heading in your direction, so I and all people there fought the magical beasts from the Amazon Forest to make sure you were not interrupted." He sighed.


    Kai opened his mouth in surprise, and the others also couldn''t contain their shock. Kai sighed. "I didn''t know it."


    "That''s why I am telling you right now. Every action will have causes and effects. Unless you are stationed in the headquarters, or we know as the Ministry of Defense. You won''t get notified by something like this unless you have someone to inform you there or a problem that might have their interference. Even I don''t know anything about the situation in the North.


    "We, the field guys, only take care of what we have right now and wait for an order from the central. That''s why¡­ Don''t fight with the central, or you might get sent somewhere you hate¡­Just kidding." Sebastianughed loudly.


    Meanwhile, Kai felt this information was very important to him. The fight somewhere might affect other ces, depending on the threat level. When he thought this way, the threat of the protectors from the sea became even bigger.


    Just with them getting found out by the people, they would start raising their force and head there. The other military bases may get impacted by it as well, due to theck of soldiers.


    Kai realized theplicated welfare and had some thoughts about it. No wonder Ria always won against him in strategic battles on a huge map, especially the one that involved multiple ces. She never exined to him, but he could understand it now.


    "I see. Thank you for your words, Sir Sebastian. I have found another weakness of mine, and I am d it''s not beyond repair." Kai smiled.


    "Is that so? That''s good then. You are the future generations that will need to seed us. If we are too stingy to share our knowledge and experience, the base will slowly decline. That''s something I don''t wish to see." He nodded with a gentle smile.


    "Yes."


    "Anyway, back to the topic. Not long ago, we got information from Columbia Base that they found something mysterious. Do you know about the pink dolphin?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded since it was one of the wonders of the Amazon Forest.


    "They found a Pink Dolphin again despite not seeing it for almost a hundred years. At that time, the soldier reported as if the dolphin was waiting for someone."


    Kai and the others frowned, thinking the same thing.


    ''Protectors?''

 Chapter 364 - Not Protectors?

    ''Protectors?'' They had the same thought, but Sebastian immediately corrected them. "Nope. It''s not like what you all are thinking about."


    "Then, what was it?" Kai frowned. "Who met the dolphin?"


    "We were not very sure too, but ording to our scouts, the one the dolphin waiting for had a big shadow, so we knew its size was big. Before we could proceed even further, the scouts said they got taken out by a series of attacks thatunched them without any hints. They couldn''t recognize what the attack was." He shook his head.


    "Then, the magical beast¡­Came from the forest itself?"


    "I believe so." He nodded. "However, we don''t know anything else. That''s why I can''t venture too deep inside the forest without a huge army. From what my soldiers said, the magical beast didn''t even release its magic power, but somehow the power it had was transmitted to them. When I showed my strength to my soldiers, they told me without hesitation that I would die if I faced the magical beast." Sebastian smiled.


    "What? Die? Can''t you escape? I mean¡ª" Tommy was shocked. S Rank Magicians were the dream of people since they were kids, so it was hard to believe that they would easily die. But before he finished his words, Sebastian already nodded his head, shutting him up.


    ''That shadow¡­ Don''t tell me¡­'' Kai frowned and thought of something. He then asked. "Was there anything else?"


    "Yes. The shadow told my soldiers onest thing. Go back, you are not qualified to meet me." Sebastian nodded.


    "!!!" This proved Kai''s doubt. His expression was darkened as he recognized who the shadow was. ''There is no doubt that the shadow is a real Protector. However, I don''t know which species it belongs to.''


    "You look like you know something." Sebastian narrowed his eyes, finding something from Kai''s expression.


    "Did the message get transmitted in humannguage?" Kai asked.


    "Yes." Sebastian nodded.


    Kai closed his eyes and felt the gazes from his teammates. Ultimately, he shook his head.


    "No? I feel like you are telling me it''s a secret. Is it something that I shouldn''t know? Even for someone like me?" Sebastian asked again.


    "Yes. Unfortunately, I can''t tell you anything about this." Kai shook his head.


    "I see. Then, do you have a suggestion of what we should do?"


    "I don''t know. Do you have the location of their meeting?"


    "Yes. Are you going to meet the shadow? Are you someone qualified? What are the requirements?" Sebastian became even more curious.


    Kai only shook his head. "Someone will meet him. Unfortunately, his identity still can''t be disclosed. And my ears will be the guide."


    Sebastian pondered what he said. ''Someone will meet that shadow? A human will meet the shadow that has the power to even kill me? Is that shadow an S Rank Beast? That might be possible, but there is something weird in this matter¡­But all I know is the man before I have the ability to reach that ce.''


    Despite Kai saying no, he still tried to join this operation by asking another question. "Can I join you?"


    "No. Whatever you do, you can''t meet that shadow because the consequences will be tremendous." Kai shook his head.


    He didn''t lie this whole time. That someone was him, and he told specifically that "his" ears would be the guide. The consequence was him knowing the truth about Kai''s identity as a protector from the Human Race, so it was big, considering it would influence the entire race.


    "I see. In that case, I won''t talk about this anymore. We are in the military, and there is always the term of state''s secret. You need to keep advancing your military rank to know more and more secrets, but it seems this one is out of my league. I mean, even in the past, there are some secrets that only the president can know like the nuclearunch code or some secret treasures." Sebastian shrugged. "I have gotten used to it."


    "Thank you for your understanding." Kai nodded.


    "I want to end this talk with onest question. Will it be a threat to humanity?" Sebastian asked. If it were more secretive than an S Rank Magical Beasts or the Protectors, it would mean the scale was bigger than them, so he needed to ask this, or he couldn''t sleep during the night.


    "Threat or not, I am not very sure," Kai paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "But I know it will affect mankind as a whole."


    Everyone drew a gasp, including Michelle and the others. They never thought Kai knew something like this and had been hiding the fact that he bore such a burden on his shoulders.


    Little did they know, Kai just knew about it not long ago, specifically after meeting with the Lion King.


    "Let''s go to our main topic then. Since you have thought about that shadow, I will continue about the risk you will face during the mission. For the time being, I want you to not venture that deep inside the forest because that''s where most magical beasts lie.


    "And you might not know this, but you will face Rank A magical beasts twice or thrice as many, so keep in mind that you need to watch out for an ambush."


    "I understand. May I know what happened to those beasts that attacked you during that particr mission?"


    "I don''t know if the timing is right, but they retreated not long after you defeated the S Rank Spider."


    "I see." Kai nodded. It indicated the possibility of a protector even more. Someone indeed informed that shadow that looked like controlling the army. "In that case, we will heed your words and change our strategy. At first, we are going a bit deeper, but we will only fight around the perimeter."


    "Yes. That''s much better." Sebastian nodded with a solemn expression. "In that case, you may rest now and start your mission tomorrow."


    "No. We will probably go to the forest first and camp there." Kai shook his head.


    "Is that so? I will lend you two trucks since I feel like you will need it." Sebastian nodded. "Do any of you know how to drive?"


    Kai, Michelle, Tasha, Isabelle, Tommy, and Nichs raised their hands.


    "Alright then," Sebastian confirmed that they could drive a truck and nced at Leona. "Bring them two keys, water and food supplies that willst them a month, and five tents, including the spare."


    "I understand." Leona immediately left the room and did her job.


    Meanwhile, Sebastian rose from his seat and looked at the map. "Can you tell me your base of operation?"


    Kai narrowed his eyes but still pointed to a certain area.


    "I see. I don''t know what you want to do, but I will take my own preventive measures. I will halt the progress of cleaning up Peru for a moment and station my soldiers around your perimeter, which is around here¡­Probably ten kilometers from your area.


    "Of course, I will be the one handling this matter. And do you think I should let the other bases know about this and ask them to prepare?" Sebastian nced at Kai.


    Kai didn''t know this answer. He nned to meet the shadow, but he didn''t know much about protectors, so he couldn''t say for sure whether they would attack him at any moment''s notice or talk to him first.


    However, he did know from the Lion King that the protector was not unreasonable, so it increased the possibility of negotiation. It seemed he needed to bring Michelle and Tasha as support. Michelle could enter his body to give him a power boost, so he wouldn''t get one hit by the shadow and Tasha could teleport them away.


    Fortunately, the protectors usually had no intention of fighting unless they were threatened at first, so after some thought, Kai made his final decision to meet the shadow.


    "I am not sure. I think it''s better to inform them, but not tell them everything about this until the moment. I will also bring a radio to give you information to update if something goes wrong." Kai nodded.


    "Alright." Sebastian nodded and printed a file for him. "This is the report about the shadow and pink dolphin. You may want to read it on the way."


    "Thank you for the support." Kai slightly bowed his head.


    "Don''t worry. My US Base needs someone talented like you, so I will try to support you as much as possible. Just know that even though we have pride as someone who has experienced many things in life, many of us still believe in the strength of the younger generation. Of course, there are some that believe you all are still too green, but you will meet two in ten people of the same rank."


    Kai nodded and shook his hand.


    Leona then came back with two keys and handed them to Kai. "This is the key. I have asked the soldiers to bring the resources to your truck, so you will know which one you will use as soon as you go outside."


    "Thanks."


    "Oh right. Does your Teacher know about this?" Sebastian asked again, still feeling curious.


    "Yes, she knows." Kai smiled mysteriously before turning around and beginning to walk to the door. "We shall take our leave then."


    Michelle and the others immediately followed him even though they had yet to absorb all the information he just gave.


    Sebastian let out a long sigh and leaned on his chair. "Haiz. The kids around him¡­I don''t know whether they know about how dangerous it is to go together with Kai Carter. Luckily, the one who knows this is me. If he went to the Base in Brazil and let that guy know, he would report it and might want to know what he talked about even if he needed to do something crazy. Well, Ria Ross will surely kill that guy though. Anyway, let''s keep this information secret for the time being. Something big might happen soon."


    "Ria Ross might have told him about your reputation though." Leona smirked.


    Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled. "Fair enough. Else, she won''t send him here."

 Chapter 365 - Meeting The Pink Dolphin

    "Hmm¡­" Kai hummed as if he was in deep thought. The others were a bit curious like General Sebastian, but they decided to not ask Kai. After all, he had clearly told the general that he couldn''t say anything regarding this matter.


    Besides, Kai would always be fair. If he could tell them, they would already tell them.


    Only four people had another thought regarding this matter. They were Ayaka, Evan, Isabelle, and Sofia. They were the four that Kai asked to meet him after this mission, so these two cases might be rted to each other.


    To that end, they started looking forward to it.


    Meanwhile, Kai kept analyzing the data he had, including the map where the shadow was spotted, while the others were either driving the trucks or dealing with the nearby magical beasts. They had no need for Kai''s instruction anymore since Ayaka took care of that.


    "We have arrived." Michelle''s voice rang in his ears as the trucks stopped. "Unfortunately, we can''t really go to that hill with the truck, so we need to go by foot."


    "Thank you." Kai thanked her, went to the top of the truck and looked at the small hill. "Tasha, can you teleport us there? I feel like we should bring the top as well."


    Tasha, who was on top of the truck this whole time, scanned the hill and nodded. "But we might need to take care of our perimeter after that. You sure?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "Alright. Gather everyone." Tasha raised a signal for the others to see. One by one, the group gathered again and came inside the trucks while Tasha pped her hand, using her Teleportation Magic.


    In a blink of an eye, they arrived on top of the hill. Kai immediatelymanded. "Other than Tasha and Michelle, all of you will take care of the beasts in this hill."


    "Roger that." They leaped out of the trucks and began securing the hill.


    Meanwhile, Kai, Tasha, and Michelle exchanged looks.


    "Do you need anything from us?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows.


    "There is something I want to talk about with both of you." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Whatever your viewter, I will take full responsibility."


    "What is this? This sounds a bit too big¡­" Tasha also began suspecting something was not right.


    "Yeah. If it''s too much, you shouldn''t tell us. Even though we don''t usually keep a secret between each other, there is always something that we necessarily keep secret." Michelle nodded.


    "I know, but this is something that I should say right now. I don''t want to wait until it''s toote."


    Tasha and Michelle exchanged looks, and Michelle decided to ask one question first. "Before that, I want to know why you are discussing this with us? There is still Ayaka."


    "I have put thought into it, and you two are the perfect ones to know about this. It won''t work if it''s only one of you know this." Kai shook his head.


    "Is this rted to the shadow?" Tasha asked.


    "Yes."


    Tasha and Michelle nodded at each other and said at the same time, "So, what''s the deal?"


    "Tonight, I want to visit the shadow. I am not sure of his current position, but I will try my best to find it."


    "So, is the reason you want to talk about this with us due to our skills? I mean, I can increase your strength entering your shadow, and Tasha has the Teleportation Magic that can bail you out at any time." Michelle frowned.


    "No. That''s not my original intention." Kai hurriedly replied before they misunderstood. "The reason I chose both of you is that your personality suits the requirement to know about this. And I know that you two can support each other in the future."


    "I see. We understand. We won''t tell anyone about this secret."


    Kai nodded. "It turns out that I am actually a protector."


    "¡­"


    The atmosphere became silent as they looked at him with bewilderment.


    "You serious?"


    Kai maintained his serious expression and nodded.


    The two then understood why he wanted to tell them about this.


    "I only knew this not too long ago." Kai sighed.


    "Not too long ago? Did someone say it to you? He/she might be lying to you, you know." Tasha''s expression turned grim.


    "Unfortunately, the one that told me was a remnant from two hundred thousand years ago." Kai sighed. "Do you think he would lie to me? Much less with his identity as another protector in the past."


    This time, Michelle and Tasha had no words to say. They simply couldn''tprehend it, but Kai continued when he saw their expression that asked him to continue.


    He told them about what he learned from the lion, including the reason for the apocalypse since his life would be threatened by it. Anything that was rted to the real meaning of "Protector," he told them.


    Tasha and Michelle gradually understood the importance of this matter.


    "I see. So, that''s what the protector is. In other words, those fishy guys are not a protector, but someone who actually has enough intelligence to do something like this and might probably be the second colony that is simr to that of the human race." Tasha nodded in understanding.


    Michelle thought for a moment while stroking her chin. "This is indeed something hard to swallow, but I don''t have the necessary knowledge to see whether it''s a lie or not. So, the reason why you want to meet the shadow is to get the recognition from another protector, right?"


    "Yes. I want to see whether I am really a protector or not. This wille with a big risk, but I would rather confirm this first before everything bad happens." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "I know. I will apany you in this meeting." Michelle finally agreed.


    "Same." Tasha nodded in agreement. "When are we leaving?"


    "Tonight. I want to properly face them before everything starts."


    "Alright."


    They then proceeded to build the tents and putting down the supplies. Two hourster, the group finally returned to the top after killing hundreds of magical beasts.


    After that, the group had their dinner and proceeded to rest with two people guarding the area.


    Kai, Tasha, and Michelle gathered outside the tent. It seemed all of them noticed their n and instantly walked toward them.


    Kai looked at them with a serious expression and said solemnly. "If neither of us returns by tomorrow, you all will abandon this mission and go back to the Base. Tell my teacher that the Human Race is in danger."


    "What¡ª" Evan wanted to shout because he didn''t understand him, but Ayaka stopped him. Although it felt a bit hurt that Kai didn''t tell her anything, it was enough to see he brought Tasha and Michelle with him. It would strengthen his strength anyway.


    "I understand. But don''t make me drag your ghost from hell." Ayaka red at him.


    "Yeah. Thanks." Kai smiled.


    He waved his hand, turned around, and walked to the darkness, descending the hill.


    When they couldn''t see him anymore, Michelle entered his shadow. The power from the night strengthened him and became twice as strong.


    After that, Tasha used her Teleportation Magic, and they arrived near the river where the scouts found the meeting between the dolphin and the shadow.


    "This is the ce." Tasha pointed downwards.


    "Yes. Thank you." Kai nodded and scanned the entire area before he noticed a huge number of magical beasts had surrounded them. "Prepare for battles."


    They took out their weapons and saw many glowing eyes inside the woods, and some even waited for him inside the river.


    "Tasha, ready your Teleportation Magic."


    When the light from the magic circle brightened the darkness a bit, they finally saw the beasts'' figures and furrowed their eyebrows.


    He thought that the shadow must have prepared for him and wanted to attack him. Else, how could they anticipate their movements?


    Suddenly, Kai noticed something different from these beasts. Even though they gathered around him, they had no intention of charging at them as if they were just statues.


    However, the surprise didn''t end there. The beasts lowered their heads as if greeting the three.


    ''Lower your weapons, youngsters. They mean no harm.'' A man-voice rang in their heads as if it was sent by telepathy.


    Kai immediately looked around and searched for where the sound came from, but the fact it came straight to his mind, he couldn''t find it, so the source of the voice said another thing.


    ''No need to be wary of me. I mean no harm. Try to look at the river. I am there.''


    Kai and the two turned around and looked at the river with their night visions, finding a dolphining out of the river.


    ''Hello. I have been waiting for you.''


    He remembered that the dolphin had a powerful hearing, and with the distance that wasn''t so big between their hill and the river, he realized that the dolphin must have heard everything he said.


    ''You want to see us, right? Yes, you can. But only you. As much as I want to say another thing, you two need to leave.'' The dolphin nodded.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes as he knew that the dolphin already found Michelle, who was inside his body.


    Michelle came out and Tasha turned around, looking at him to ask what they should do.


    Kai thought for a moment and clenched his fists. "You two should return."


    "But¡­" Tasha and Michelle obviously didn''t like it. The dolphin looked harmless, but he seemed to be strong, so they didn''t feel safe leaving Kai here.


    However, Kai was adamant and asked them to leave again. "Please."


    It was a hard choice, but Tasha decided to use her Teleportation Magic and send them back to the top of the hill, leaving Kai alone.


    Kai then looked at the dolphin. "Nice to meet you."


    "Yeah. Nice to meet you. The human race finally has its protector again after thousands of years."

 Chapter 366 - Discussion With The Dolphin

    "Yeah. Nice to meet you. The human race finally has its protector again after thousands of years." The dolphin then nced at the other magical beasts, and they then disappeared inside the woods, returning to their territories. "Sorry, but the talks between protectors are highly ssified."


    Kai was amazed and observed the situation. "I just realized my identity not long ago."


    "From the lion?" The dolphin asked.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes and became on guard. He didn''t know how the dolphin could see through him.


    "No need to be afraid. Don''t you know the legend of my race?"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I haven''t researched it."


    "Haha¡­Is that so? Then it can''t be helped. My power is rted to the mind¡­ That''s the only thing I can say about myself."


    Kai closed his eyes for a second before bowing his head. "Thank you."


    "Oh?!" The dolphin was amazed by his action. It was considered normal for protectors to not share the information about their skills since their power was necessary and too big to handle. If it was leaked and the other protectors knew, it would be a troublesome situation that might lead to its own death.


    That was why the dolphin didn''t tell him anything more other than the single clue.


    "What is your name, young man? Mine is Txpthep¡­Well, in yournguage, it''s Tristep or something along the line." The dolphin introduced himself.


    "My name is Kai Carter."


    "I see. Kai Carter. I don''t know how you gain that ability of yours, including the lion''s ancestor consciousness, but I need to remind you. You are the leader of your race, so refrain from getting influenced by those from other races unless you have a certain rtionship."


    "Thank you for the advice. I don''t have a n for doing that for the time being." Kai nodded.


    "That''s good then. We are too scarce in this world after all. Unfortunately, I can''t really travel too long because of my limitation." The dolphin sighed. "And the only one I can ask to y with me to deal with boredom is Clot."


    "Clot?" Kai tilted his head in confusion before suspecting it was the shadow.


    "She wille to us a bitter. Well, I have informed him to meet us, but considering herziness, it will take a while. In the meantime, how about we talk with each other? This is a rare asion that I can meet another protector like me." The dolphin smiled.


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded.


    "Since I am the senior here, how about I teach you a few things that you want to know."


    "Then¡­" Kai immediately took the chance and looked at his surroundings.


    "Ah, them? I just asked them to leave us alone."


    "No. The next thing."


    "Oh. You didn''t hear it wrong. No people should learn the talk between protectors. That''s why we are only eligible to be a full-fledged protector after learning manynguages that other species use. You know what I mean?"


    "I see. It''s a kind of not having a trantor, so you need to learn it by yourself."


    "I don''t know your term, but I think it''s something simr. Anyway, you can''t say a single thing about the talk between rulers. I hope that you can adhere to this unspoken rule among protectors. Well, I once ventured outside this ce and found two more protectors¡­And they were the ones teaching me about this unspoken rule. And that''s why I chased the two by your side away."


    Kai nodded. "I understand. I will keep it a secret."


    "Thank you."


    "Then, may I ask the second question?"


    "Sure. Ask me anything."


    "Are our existences dangerous? I mean, loving war or something." Kai asked.


    "Not really. Unless you have a hidden intention, we always love peace and want our race to live peacefully here. In fact, even the most prideful lion race doesn''t have that ambition. Only the humans dared to control the entire world¡­And, I think there was another one, but I didn''t get any information about them from my mentor."


    Since they started talking, Kai decided to sit down on the ground so it would make it easier for them to talk.


    "Mentor?"


    "Yes. My mentor is the granny, or that''s how many called her, including me. She is from Whale Race."


    Kai remembered Rapakha''s warning, and the whale must be the mentor he was talking about.


    "You seem to know my mentor as well? Have you met her? She told me not to meet her for a few decades, so I was stuck here." The dolphin sighed.


    "Ahaha¡­I don''t know actually. I only heard her from someone."


    "Oh? That''s good."


    "By the way, are youing here because you want to meet us or just to get information for your fake ruler?"


    Kai never expected to hear the word "Fake Ruler" from his mouth, but it seemed in the eyes of the protectors, another protector was their real ruler.


    "Nope. I am here just for myself." Kai smiled, assuring him.


    "Oh." The dolphin nodded and felt a bit more rxed.


    "I am curious about your strength actually. I mean, the magic particles were released not long ago, so how could you be so strong so quickly?" Kai asked.


    "To think you have already gotten the knowledge about the magic particles. I thought the humans had abandoned such teaching¡­Or did you learn it from the lion?"


    "Yes."


    The dolphin nodded. "In that case, I will exin it to you. If you be a full-fledged protector, you will learn how to preserve your power. It''s true that the magic particles were released not long ago, but some remained in this world. With that small amount, it was enough to preserve our strength. That''s why we didn''t get stronger this fast. We only released the preserved power."


    "Now I see. I have never thought that is the case. This is more intriguing since I have never thought the Earth I am living in until now is such a ce."


    "Huhu¡­Interesting, isn''t it? Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, you won''t be able to discover everything." The dolphin fell silent before asking Kai a serious question. "I want you to answer this honestly. Are you going to be a threat to this world?"


    Kai looked at him and fell silent for two minutes. He was gathering his thoughts to make sure he didn''t tell him the wrong answer. "Actually, I have no need of power as long as I can live together with my wives peacefully. Unfortunately, the world isn''t that peaceful, so I am required to take up a sword."


    "I can understand that, including that roaming mermaid." The dolphin sighed.


    "Eh? You know her?" Kai widened his eyes.


    "Of course. I have been observing your movement since that war. I even came to the river near it to follow the situation of the war."


    "What?! I never noticed you."


    "It''s my ability. Well, I even met a group that killed another dolphin¡­But not from my family. I didn''t know much about them, but one of them was far more powerful than the others. I used my power to attack their minds, so they didn''t discover me."


    "Oh?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "There was also a case of the sudden attack from this ce¡­"


    "I meant no harm¡­No, we meant no harm. The reason why we sent the magical beasts here was not to help either of you but to stop the war by the appearance of the third party. Unfortunately, we were stuck because your human race forced us to stay here. And I couldn''t really make my appearance since it would be a bit too political in the eyes of other races."


    "To stop the war?" Kai was bewildered by his statement. He never thought that the millions of magical beasts from this forest just wanted to end the war.


    "I said it earlier, right? We, protectors, are to assume the world''s peace. That''s our purpose. However, there are still some that want to have a bigger territory or even the world like you humans¡­Either way, as long as there is a need to create another cmity, we will, without hesitation, sacrifice our lives."


    "¡­" Kai fell silent, wondering whether he could say the same thing. Would he be able to sacrifice himself for world peace?


    "Haha¡­You, youngsters, only need to stay behind and let the old bones do the job. After all, you still have wives in your generations, but¡­You might feel different in the future. You will stop feeling anything and might even want to kill yourself because you don''t want to live anymore. Some of the protectors killed themselves after all." The dolphinughed.


    Kai sighed, feeling a bit relieved.


    "Look! That expression of yours is the one convincing me that what I said is true."


    He could only scratch his head, embarrassed.


    "Well, the young need to enjoy their lives more, so no need to think about difficult stuff." The dolphin nodded. "I just hope that when the timees, you don''t bring chaos to this world."


    "By the way, what will happen if a protector wants to rule the world? I mean, he/she must have felt stronger than anyone else, right?"


    "Nice question. The answer is simple. First, we call the cmity to cause a ruckus in his colonies. If it''s not enough to destroy them, the protectors mighte together to defeat him and reduce his race to a certain point that almost makes their race extinct. That''s all."


    "That¡ª" Suddenly, Kai stopped and rose from the ground, looking at the sky to his left. Something wasing, and it was big.


    "Don''t worry. I heard her in thest two minutes. My range of detection is farther than you. She is our guest."

 Chapter 367 - Joking Around

    In the sky, a shadow came into his vision, backlighting the moonlight and making it hard for Kai to see the species of this shadow. However, one thing for sure.


    ''It''s huge?'' Kai narrowed his eyes.


    The shadow slowly descended to the ground, revealing its true appearance.


    "Wha¡ª" Kai stepped back when he saw the protectornding in front of him with that giant body and immediatelyying down on the ground.


    Without any care of its appearance, she made herselffortable before greeting the two. "Yahoo¡­I have heard the news."


    "Clot. You are finally here. Youzy bum."


    "You know how I operate, right? I rushed here and only got an insult. Are you going to bully me again?"


    "¡­" Kai couldn''t say anything. A few things shocked him, but the first thing that lingered in his mind was the protector. It had a hairy body and sharp w, but more importantly, it looked like a sloth, but a giant one.


    Its height alone was around ten meters. He didn''t see it earlier because the sloth was too far, but the wingspan of this sloth was enormous.


    She looked at him and stretched its w. The speed was very slow as if she didn''t want to do it, but Kai waited for it and heard her saying. "Nice to meet you. I am Moclothesp, this guy calls me Clot, so you can call me with that name too."


    Kai was startled to see that the sloth was asking for a handshake, so he immediately shook her w.


    "Nice to meet you. I am Kai Carter. Just call me Kai."


    "So, what are we doing here other than greeting this guy, Tris?" She askedzily.


    "I don''t know. We will only have a warm chat with him and since the humans are spending their time to keep us in check. Maybe we can take this guy as a hostage." The dolphin said jokingly.


    "¡­" Even though he could feel he didn''t mean his statement, he still couldn''t dismiss it just like that.


    "Well, I am toozy to take care of him, so if you want to take the guy, you can do it. For me, as long as they don''t reach the deepest area, I won''t make a move¡­After all, they often spotted me in the past."


    "True enough." The dolphin nodded. "They were pretty good to my kin as well."


    "So, what do you want to do?" She asked Kai this time.


    "Ehm¡­Can I ess the inte?" Kai asked.


    "Inte?"


    "Yeah. I want to know more about you." Kai nodded.


    "Hmm¡­Show us?" The dolphin narrowed his eyes.


    Kai opened his device and started essing the inte, searching for their identity or myth in the human database. Not long after, he found the giant sloth''s identity.


    "This is me?" Clot asked.


    "Probably. This is the one that fits you the most¡­" Kai nodded.


    "What''s in it?"


    "You can''t read?"


    "Of course, we can''t. We can only speak othernguages. I mean, we only need to know how they talk and construct it in our minds, so we know how to use theirnguage. That''s all." Clot looked at Kai as if she was talking to a fool.


    "Yeah. If not, we will need a very long time to learn othernguages. That''s why most of us only learnnguages from the magical beasts around us. I don''t know if you have noticed it, but that''s the reason why the people of the sea only control their sea beasts."


    "!!!" Kai suddenly understood what he meant and recalled all the past events. ''It was indeed true that the protectors from the sea only controlled the sea beasts. There was one instance where we fought in an underground nest, but it was the zodiac that controlled the beasts, not him.


    ''In other words, the dolphin said the truth regarding them to only be able to speak with sea beasts. This was important information for Kai because it would be useful in future wars.


    ''Still, I am confused. I don''t know why the failed zodiacs could talk to the beasts around them. Or they might not be able to talk to them, but the other party was the one understanding them. And those intelligent beasts conveyed the order because the zodiacs were a kind of their family.


    ''That was the only exnation.'' He thought while looking at the sloth and the dolphin.


    "What? You are not going to read it?" Clot sulked.


    Kai hurriedly replied. "Of course I will read it. There is not much information around, so I will just say a few things. You are considered the mapinguari. The people described you as someone rted to a cyclops¡­I mean, a monster that has one eye.


    "And you often got spotted between the woods, making people worship you as a mythical creature or something."


    "Hmm¡­ That''s not too bad. But I am a Sloth. That''s what my mother told me in the past, and I have two eyes. Look at me."


    "Well¡­This is just folklore." Kai shrugged.


    "Me, me. I wonder what humans thought of me and my kin." The dolphin asked.


    Kai immediately searched for the pink dolphin and found more information than the sloth. He only opened one of them, and Clot immediately sulked again.


    "Why are you this famous?"


    "Hehe¡­You should appear more often." The dolphin looked content when he won the "fight" and asked Kai to read the information.


    "You are considered a mythical creature too. But your legend is around how you are a shape-shifting seducer of the night¡­ording to this legend, you morph into a tall, handsome and elegantly-dressed man. And often seduce the wives and daughters¡­" Kai suddenly hesitated to continue when he read further.


    "Pfft. Morphs into a handsome guy?"


    "Hehe¡­This information is perfect. I am indeed handsome. Just look at me." The dolphin shamelessly took pride in the information. "I indeed transformed into a human sometimes¡­Well, ording to their brain, since I could create some sort of illusion that made me look like one. And then, I talked to locals and such to improve mynguage and befriended them. So, I didn''t seduce them."


    "You, handsome? That''s thest thing I will think of." Clotughed happily.


    "Oi! You can ask my kin, and they will surely tell you how handsome I am."


    "They must be your subordinates." Clot mocked him even more.


    "¡­" The dolphin had nothing more to say.


    "Besides, we are different species. How do I even know you are handsome? I don''t even know whether this human is handsome or not."


    "It''s because you never went around. I often swam to the surface and met them to know them more. Well, that''s where I learned theirnguage." The dolphin snorted.


    Kai couldn''t help but smile when seeing their good rtionship. These two must have known each other for a long time. He then continued to look for the next information. "It''s rumored that you will take lone swimmers to the mystical underwater world of Encante, from which they can never return."


    "Oh. That''s my home. I never brought anyone to my home unfortunately, but trust me¡­ It''s beautiful. Do you want to see it?" The dolphin smiled.


    "That is something I like to see¡­But probably not now. I have many things to do."


    "Well, you can only watch around in my home, so I guess it''s not very important. You cane back a few decadester. But make sure youe back, alright?"


    "I will." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "And don''t be like this girl¡­She dares to say that my ce is not fit because of her extrarge body."


    "I am not fat."


    "You are¡­Why don''t you admit it?"


    "This is my slim version¡­"


    "¡­"


    Even Kai couldn''t speak anymore and decided to continue reading the article. "Anyway, from here, you seem to be inflicting a lifetime of nightmares. In here, it said, "If you point out a nearby river dolphin to a local fisherman, don''t be surprised if they refuse to look."


    "A weird way to say that making direct eye contact with a river dolphin is a perilous thing that will unleash a lifetime of nightmares."


    "Oh! I sometimes did that, but in my defense, they were the ones seeking death. We were and are peaceful creatures, but they often attacked us indirectly or directly. So, I snapped their mind and made them go through nightmares." The dolphin acknowledged it. "Well, it was only a year or so as punishment unless they killed one of us. But yeah, it might feel like a never-ending nightmare."


    "I never thought you were so cruel." Clot narrowed her eyes.


    "Well, they were first. I only retaliated. It''s like you who expelled many people when they invaded your territory."


    "True enough. I didn''t like them because they often destroyed my ce, so I beat them sometimes. Well, yeah. This is how we operate. As long as you don''t harm us, we won''t harm you. Tell the humans that. And sometimes, those guys go out of the territory and make things difficult, but yeah, I don''t really care about them because my kin is also inside my territory, in the deepest part of the Amazon forest. Don''t search for it." Clot nodded and looked at Kai with a serious expression.


    "Yes, yes. I also wanted to say that. You can''t expect your enemy to not point their sword at you when you are pointing your sword at them. We usually treat humans and other beings in this forest with kindness, and yeah, don''t betray that. As for other species? They are under my protection¡­Probably? Well, only those around my ce¡­ You are going to kill some beasts around here, right?"


    "Unfortunately, yes," Kai added unfortunately because he felt bad after knowing these two were actually pretty warm and friendly.


    "No need a second thought. Those in the outeryer and inneryer are those who don''t need us, so we are not obligated to protect them."


    "¡­" Kai ultimately nodded his head even though his expression was still down.

 Chapter 368 - Advices

    "¡­" Kai looked down.


    "Why are you looking down?" The dolphin asked.


    Clot remembered something and saidzily. "That''s the human society."


    "Now that you mention it, those people seem to be getting an order from higher up. So, the protector in your race is not that respected huh¡­It is only for the time being though, because sooner orter, you will soon be respected and feared." The dolphin nodded in understanding.


    "But I am sure that those people will try to control him." Clot added.


    "Fair enough. What are we going to do then?" The dolphin asked and turned to Kai.


    Kai didn''t know the answer. He had never put a thought into this future. Ignoring everything would be an option, but if they aimed at his family, the situation would be moreplicated.


    In the meantime, a question came across his mind. "How strong are you two?"


    "Me?" The dolphin thought for a moment. "My ultimate move can make all living beings die¡­The range is about the core area? Or what you humans called a small human town." The dolphin answered.


    "Just a small natural disaster." The answer from Clot''s mouth was something scary, but when she said it with her currentzy attitude, it looked like not a big deal.


    However, Kai remembered that her power was wind magic. If it was a small natural disaster, Clot must be able to summon a typhoon.


    "Well, my mentor can spurt out a powerful water stream that can shoot you to the sky. If it hits people, I am sure they will die." The dolphin recalled the memory with his mentor, the whale.


    "¡­" Kai never expected that the protectors could actually endanger the whole world if they acted together. No wonder their sacrifice could call a cmity that affected the whole world.


    He looked at himself with a sad expression, wondering. "I don''t know if I can be like you guys."


    "No need to be down. From what I can feel, your magic power is transferred to someone else¡­Hmm, if I am not wrong, it''s the woman beside you earlier. Well, it doesn''t matter if you take it back or not because the base remains in your body. So, if you decide to increase your power, you will be able to do it just fine."


    "Indeed. There is nothing wrong with your body too, so I guess you won''t have a problem in the future. Just believe what you think is right and make a decision that you won''t regret." Clot nodded, helping the dolphin assured him.


    Kai couldn''t help but smile. In the humans, he might be special, but when hepared himself to the protectors, he was nothing but a small ant. He realized howcking he was this whole time.


    "I am really grateful for your words." Kai smiled. "I will do my best to prevent the war, but I am not sure whether I can¡­The least I can do is to prolong it."


    "That''s also an option. If you can prolong it until the magic particles are spent again, all people will lose their power. Only us, the protectors, will keep living to witness the change of civilizations. If we deem that they are threatening the Earth, we will call another cmity." The dolphin agreed with Kai''s suggestion.


    "Yeah. That''s about it. And I think I have one more thing to promise." Kai thought for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I promise you that I won''t give any information regarding this ce, and if they ask me to participate in this war regardless of the rank, I won''t join them. At the very least, I don''t want another big war, especially with two protectors."


    "Haha¡­ That''s also a good solution. But you don''t need to protect us that much. I can see that you love the two girls beside you¡­If they are threatened, you will feel conflicted. That''s why you just need to say the necessary information. We will deal with the rest. And if you think they are pushing you too much, you should inform us. We can help you too." The dolphin assured him again.


    "Indeed. Only protectors can understand other protectors. If you are threatened, it''s our job to help you solve that problem because we are alone in this world. No one is as strong as us and people often fear our strength." Clot nodded.


    "That''s why you became a deity in the eyes of people."


    Clot closed her eyes. "I don''t really care as long as they don''t disturb me and make me do something unnecessary."


    "Haha¡­ Youzy bum."


    "Anyway, your promise is enough for us. Instead of sacrificing yourself, it''s better to share it with each other. If you can''t trust anyone, trust us." Clot stretched her w to tap Kai''s forehead. "So¡­I wee you from joining the club, new guy."


    Kai widened his eyes, never expecting the giant sloth to look this cool. Despite herzy attitude, she seemed to be someone responsible and nice to know.


    "Yes. Thank you very much. Ick many things, but I will do my best." Kai bowed his head.


    "If you learn othernguages, you might be able tomand magical beasts too, you know. Well, just make sure that they have no leaders because some usually have. For example, if you try to control the beasts around the outer area of this forest, you will be able to do it pretty easily.


    "However, it won''t be the same case if you go to the core area where we belong. They are very loyal to us and won''t listen to you. It might be the same for those fishy tribes. If you try tomand them, they will choose the fishy tribes over you. Unless you bring someone like my mentor, I doubt it will be useful." The dolphin kept giving him advice and everything was useful to him sooner orter.


    Kai felt the overwhelming favor and bowed his head as well. "Thank you very much."


    "Why don''t you be his mentor?" Clot asked.


    "Nah, I can''t teach anyone. That''s the pact I have with my mentor. How about you? You can do it, no?"


    "I am toozy to do it. Besides, he is better to learn it from another human because whatever they teach will suit him." Clot shook her head. "I am not sure whether there is another human capable of teaching him, but yeah, you seriously need a mentor. Even if it''s not a protector, as long as there is someone who understands how a protector fights, I am sure you will be one sooner orter."


    "I understand. I will do my part in this area." Kai nodded. He had a clue about their existence and had been searching for them, so Kai took their suggestions and became more excited to find an ancient civilization that still survived until now.


    The problem would be theck of information. He didn''t know whether the ancient civilization wanted to teach him about this or they might not even be aware of this power because of the passing time. If that time came, he might return to this ce to ask for their advice.


    "Alright. It''s time for you to go. I don''t have anything to say to you. How about you, Clot?"


    "Nope."


    "Do you want to say something?" The dolphin then asked Kai.


    Kai thought for two minutes before shaking his head. "I just want to thank you for everything. It''s all new to me."


    "Haha...Don''t hesitate toe here. We always wee a friend. Alright, see youter."


    Clot nodded.


    "See youter." Kai smiled, turned around, and looked to the sky. A magic circle appeared on the ground andunched him to the sky. After that, another pair of magic circles, one above and one below, stabilized Kai positioned in the sky, allowing him to stay afloat.


    He looked at the two and waved his hands. "I am going. Thank you for all the things you have told me. I will keep everything in my mind."


    "Yes. Don''t forget to visit me in the future. You will be amazed at my ce." The dolphin ducked down, swimming at a fast speed. Suddenly, it shot to the sky as if it was his way to send him off.


    Clot only raised one of her ws.


    Kai suddenly felt the wind enveloping him as if protecting him on his return trip. The wind was warm and block the chilly night breeze.


    He kept smiling and flew back to their base.


    To his surprise, none of them was asleep. They were waiting for Kai to return.


    "You guys¡­" Kai thought they had slept, considering the time was already 3 AM.


    "We are worried about you." Michelle rolled her eyes.


    "Indeed. Especially after you made us leave." Tasha nodded in agreement.


    Ayaka and Sofia exchanged looks and shrugged since the two had told him the reason.


    "So, you know about the shadow, Captain?" Evan asked.


    "Yes. But I am sorry, I can''t tell you anything." Kai smiled gently, not knowing how to apologize.


    "It''s fine. I guess all the things you said to that general were a lie," Evanmented.


    "It''s not a lie, you dummy." Isabelle turned to Evan and looked at him as if looking at a fool. "He is talking about himself. Everything is himself. The guide, the ears, and the person."


    Kai scratched the back of his head. "Yes. That''s about it. But I hope you keep this a secret. I don''t lie about the fact that it might affect humanity as a whole."


    "Don''t worry. We know about the severity of this matter. Well, as long as we keep this matter a secret and tell them we have no knowledge about what was happening here, we should be fine." Tommy nodded.


    "There is a drug as well, but everything is very vague, so he might be targeted in the future." Isabelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Right. We agree, especially if there is a new election. The change might or might not affect us." Eve and Eva nodded at the same time.


    "Haha¡­I am just proud to know someone like you. If it''s something because of me, I won''t hesitate to throw my life away because of my failure. This is a promise." Nichs gave a thumb up.


    Kai smiled as he felt blessed to haverades like this. "Thank you."

 Chapter 369 - Their Progress

    "Michelle!" Kai''s shout echoed on the battlefield.


    "Leave it to me." Michelle, whose name was called, immediately rushed to the left of their group, tackling a few magical beasts that tried to attack them.


    "Good. Kai and Evan will handle those on the right. Nichs, take your position in the front. Eve and Eva will support him. Tommy, be ready to see an opening."


    "Understood." All those who got called acknowledged the order that came from Isabelle and moved ordingly.


    They were in the middle of the forest, facing around one hundred beasts simultaneously. And the onemanding them was none other than Isabelle.


    Yes. Kai stepped down and let the others, such as Isabelle, Tommy, Michelle, Ayaka, and Tasha, be the squad leader.


    During the training with Ria Ross, he gained the wisdom that he wanted to apply immediately. He wished to train theirmanding ability. These five people offered themselves to be the leader after he stepped down.


    Isabelle was the captain of the Eagle Group, so she obviously had confidence in hermanding ability. However, Tommy was their strategist. The big n that their group used came from him, so it was obvious he would partake in this chance, especially taking themand of the Lion Group.


    It would be a wonderful experience because he knew the strength of the Lion Group. And to think this particr group became even stronger, the feeling was as if he was controlling a group of a hundred to fight.


    Michelle hadn''t shown her strength yet because she believed it wasn''t the time to make a huge move. Meanwhile, Tasha and Ayaka seemed to have a synergy with each other. If Kai fought them again like the previous mock battle, he might be beaten by them. If it were the past him, that is.


    Kai showed a big improvement here. Because of his strengthened instinct, his movement became even more precise and sharper. He could take down ten beasts within five seconds. His previous record was more than ten seconds, so it was obviously a huge improvement. But of course, he had yet to show his main strength, his Sonic Sword.


    Evan didn''t want to lose and supported all of them by increasing their power to another level with his new magic while taking down many beasts with his two pistols. His uracy went up a lot, and the beasts were at his mercy because of their body sizes that were mostly big.


    This group kept advancing like crazy, easily surpassing their original expectation. Kai was forced to renew his original n and timing.


    The next day, Ayaka and Tasha weremanding the team. Because they had trained together for the past three months, they learned practically the same. That was why all of them could find the simrity between their strategies.


    Still, Ayaka focused on the Lion Group and let them be the focal point on every strategy. Kai didn''t me her regarding this because she simply chose a stronger group to be the main n. Even Isabelle acknowledged that.


    However, they found that the timing became even faster because of her ns. As much as it looked underestimating the Eagle Group, she understood the importance of leading a group which gave her a passing mark from Kai.


    Different from Ayaka''s style, Tasha emphasized more about a team fight, incorporating the two groups into one despite their style differences.


    It was a bit rough from Ayaka''s style, but they still managed to take down their enemies just fine.


    When Kai inquired about the reason for her style, she only talked about how she was going to leave them in a few months and waited for another year until they graduated. In the meantime, there was no doubt she would be in charge of a group, whether it was a big group or a smaller one.


    With all those strangers, she needed to adapt and made sure of the safety of her group. Kai understood that as well since he had been leading many soldiers that he never knew.


    Last but not least, Michelle''s turn came up.


    Shemanded the two groups by the book. It was very conservative, considering she was more reliant on the ranged attacks. In other words, Tasha, Isabelle, Evan, and Sofia became the focal point of her tactic.


    This was modern warfare where they had guns that allowed them to fight enemies from afar. However, her style would surely make it hard for her to fight a stronger opponent with an overwhelming offense.


    Of course, Kai didn''t ask her to change her style because there was one important aspect that this style gave her. Even though it was hard to win against a stronger opponent, she wouldn''t lose against a weaker one.


    If Kai or the other four led the group, they basically put up too much on their force. Once they crumbled, it would be hard to recover and they also needed a fast response to avoid a total loss.


    Meanwhile, her conservative style made it easier to recover from such a blow and even created an opportunity to counterattack.


    To lead thousands, if not tens of thousands of soldiers, you needed to lead a small group sessfully. Ria taught him how he was actually lucky when he won the war. After all, he never had the experience to lead a bigger group and was immediately thrown into a huge war.


    Ria showed him how much themanders actually took his advice and order and incorporated them to make sure there was nothing wrong with his n.


    Kai learned a lot during that time and began fixing his mistakes. The precious experience on the battlefield allowed him to fix everything and made him more stable as amanding officer.


    So, when the others began their training, Kai gave some advice on what he had experienced. This led them to faster growth.


    In the end, Kai didn''t need to help them anymore near the end of their mission. It took them a week and two days to kill forty-five thousand beasts. And Kai didn''t even order them. If it was him, he could do it within a week while it took them fifty percent longer.


    They gathered in their camp for thest day briefing since they would return to the base tomorrow and headed straight to the ancient ruin.


    Kai took the hot can and a biodegradable spoon from Ayaka, who seemed to be the one in charge of food today. There wasn''t much time to prepare since they were going to barely finish this today, so Ayaka didn''t prepare any food for them, just some canned food.


    He sat down near the tents where they gathered.


    "So¡­Today is thest day, right?" Michelle asked.


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "Well, I am conflicted whether to end this as soon as possible and return to the base before dark or do it at our pace and rest here today."


    "Well, the base is more preferred since it hadfy beds," Michelle said. All the girls nodded their heads as they all agreed while the boys only exchanged looks, shrugging their shoulders. The girl seemed to be more concerned about how easy it was to wash their body in the base than here.


    Either way, Kai needed toe to a decision.


    "Bing a leader is harder than you can imagine. Even I can''t say myself to be a good leader¡­After learning the true meaning. There are three most important things to be qualified as one. The eyes to see the entire situation, the nning mind that will allow the group to fight assured as they know the n will work¡­And the ability to make a decisive decision. The reason I asked you guys to be the leaders was to discover these abilities.


    "Michelle had the first and the third, but she is too conservative. I don''t say it''s bad, but you can be more aggressive to pressure your opponent instead of letting your opponents pressure your soldiers. After all, the soldiers will be pressured if they don''t know how to attack as if you are scared.


    "From what I know, Even General Ethan had the time where he made a decisive blow that crippled the enemies back in the war against the Rank S Spider. The group morale increased crazily at that time, and it could resurrect an army in a perfect time.


    "Isabelle has the mind and the ability to make a decisive decision, but you don''t have the eyes to see the entire situation even though you have that marvelous eyes. In my opinion, you were too focused on one thing. Unless someone asked for a response, you would probably miss that.


    "As for Tommy, you have been the strategist of the Eagle Group, so I understand that you have the eyes and the mind, but youck thest one. Your order often came toote, resulting in us getting surrounded. Isabelle was probably the one who ordered the group during that time, but there might be a chance where you needed to take themand yourself, so remember this.


    "Last but not least, Ayaka and Tasha. You two have a lot of simrities, and yes, your w is the same as Isabelle, but specifically in learning about the group morale. Ayaka focused on one group while Tasha kept it together. I don''t say it''s bad, but it''s just too much.


    "You can have the group cooperate with each other by changing their roles repeatedly, allowing them to feel good from time to time to a role that suits them. Of course, in the decisive moment, you should send the best one because it''s the most important thing to deal the decisive blow." Kai took this time to lecture them.


    And they seemed to take it seriously as they contemted their own mistakes.


    Kai smiled and added. "Thus, the captain for today is¡­No one!"

 Chapter 370 - Progress Part 2

    Under the sun, Kai and the others were engaging two hundred magical beasts that were charging at them.


    However, none of them actually let out a sound or give amand.


    Kai, Michelle, Nichs, Eve, and Eva maintained their front, preventing the beasts from reaching to those behind them. Ayaka and Tommy acted as a buffer to see which one they could kill the most while Tasha, Isabelle, Sofia, and Evan killed the beasts one by one.


    Isabelle kept sniping the onesing for Kai because she believed Kai''s instinct was the one antagonizing them, so most of the beasts came after him.


    Still, there was a doubt in her eyes when they did this.


    ''That guy is seriously crazy in terms of training. I wonder how his teacher, Ria Ross, taught him? To make this brutal student is not simple.'' Isabelle thought, recalling what happened earlier.


    ¡­


    A few hours earlier.


    "There is no one who willmand the group today. In other words, we will do whatever we want to do." Kai smiled, stunning every single person in the group.


    They just couldn''tprehend his objective in making this rule.


    Even Tasha asked him. "Are you serious?"


    "Yes. I am a hundred percent serious. This is for the team." Kai nodded with a grim expression.


    "We won''t be organized then¡­" Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows before pondering the meaning of Kai''s order.


    "In other words, today, we will kill the same amount of what we have done every single day for the past week but with three hours less than the normal schedule. At the same time, we won''t be talking with each other." Kai exined what he wanted in detail.


    "This is absurd." Isabelle mmed the ground. "This will just lead us to a casualty. I won''t agree with this."


    "There is nothing wrong with the n." Kai shook his head.


    "We can''t talk doesn''t mean we can''t cooperate with each other¡­Right?" Ayaka seemed to have found the real reason behind his order.


    Kai pointed his finger at her with a smile. "Exactly."


    "What do you mean?" Everyone stared at Ayaka, wanting an exnation for the whole situation.


    "I am not sure myself, but that''s what I can grasp." Ayaka shook her head in disappointment. "I think you should exin the reason, Kai."


    "Alright then." Kai nodded. "I have several aspects that I want to improve for a group. The first will be individual strength. We are not here to have fun with friends, we are here to fight, so unless the individual strength is good, we won''t be able to cooperate at a higher level.


    "Second will be the trust. If you can''t even trust your teammate to protect your back, then it''s pointless to have a group like that. This is what I want to strengthen. I want you to trust them without even talking ormanding the group.


    "And this will lead to the third aspect, the coordination. It''s easy to get someone to move ording to your n, but it might influence the group just to listen to your order and it will be a guaranteed victory. I don''t want this, so I first asked all of you to lead the group.


    "With the addition of this condition, you all should observe what the others are trying to do and try to back them up without even the need for words. I believe you all can do it after a few hours, so let''s try it. If this is a sess, I am sure that the group will be able to move in a single direction without even amand.


    "When each person in the group can think the same solution they think the best, they will be even more flexible when the timees," Kai exined everything to them, ensuring there was no misunderstanding between them.


    When they learned the reason, they could somehow agree with his sentiment and thought it could work in the way he envisioned. However, they didn''t know whether they could do it within a few hours.


    Either way, they would try their best.


    "The only time we can talk is when we gather together to discuss our coordination or when we decide the way we will go."


    "Alright. We understand." Michelle nodded. "Is there anything else we need to know, Captain?"


    "Only one thing. Make sure you are aware of the people around you, and if you think someone is able to cover that up, don''t go there. The closest one will be the one backing them up¡­If they can, that is. Other than that, it''s free for all." Kai then looked at them with a serious expression. "Any questions?"


    After that, they started their mission for the day in that condition.


    Isabelle recalled it and couldn''t help but smile upon their first time. It was hrious and horrendous at the same time.


    Because of a few small things, the group started fighting each other, but since Kai banned talking, they could only re at each other. In the end, Kai smacked their heads to cool them off.


    Still, a few people feltfortable in this situation because they simply had gotten used to it.


    As someone who usually helped their teammates from a distance, Isabelle and Tasha always searched for an opening to support their teammates without talking, so this kind of challenge didn''t pose too much trouble for them.


    But Evan and Sofia had trouble because they couldn''t predict where they were going, considering the attack pattern changed when they couldn''t talk and acted based on their own judgment.


    Not only them, but the people in front were also confused. Mostly because they didn''t know who they needed to back up when two people had the same distance, leading to dyed timing.


    However, Kai and Nichs were the ones saving their asses. Kai aside, Nichs had been the one who took all the blows for the group, so there was no change in his pattern. As long as someone needed his help, he would block the enemies for them.


    As for Kai, he kept using his Sound st to ensure the safety of his teammates while taunting most of the magical beasts in the area. This allowed the group to start getting used to their current situation.


    Kai looked at the numerous magical beasts and used his Sound st to prate deep inside their rank.


    Seeing this, Michelle and Ayaka immediately covered him up by striking their rank from left and right. Nichs became the focal point to hold the fort while Eva and Eve began stirring the formation head-on.


    Bam.


    A shoot was released from Isabelle, piercing the head of a beast right behind Kai.


    When it was about to drop on him, Kai spun around and kicked the beast to the side, blowing away all the magical beasts on its way.


    Michelle, whose path was cleared, found a way to go to Kai, so she immediately picked her pace and sneaked around, finding another magical beast wanting to attack him.


    She nned to kill it before it reached her, but a wolf leaped through the group, aiming at her, but the momentum was stopped by an arrow that pierced through its head.


    The corpse fell down to the ground, hitting another beast in the process, thus slowing it down.


    It was obvious who was the one releasing the arrow. Michelle took that chance and struck the beast in front of her.


    When she leaped past the beast, she found Kai''s hand over his head as if asking her to grab his hand.


    Understanding what he wanted to do, she released her Shadow Sword and grabbed that hand tightly while maintaining her bnce. She then formed a sword on her feet and it even made a portion of her legs to be covered with shadow.


    Kai then swung her around with that longer reach, cutting down all the nearby monsters that just surrounded him.


    After getting that breathing space, he then leaped diagonally to Ayaka''s way as if he was trying to cut the beasts that came to Ayaka.


    Michelle swung her sword down.


    "Shadow sh."


    The sword strike formed a line in which cut down everything on its way.


    Kai smiled when he saw that line. It was precisely where he was going, so he acted as a buffer to prevent any more monsters froming to Ayaka while Michelle helped Ayaka.


    It was a brief moment before there was an explosion that decimated the magical beasts.


    However, due to their environment, the fire spread in the area and might cause a forest fire.


    At this time, ices rained over that area and extinguished the fire over time.


    Ayaka gave a thumb up to Tommy before continuing the fight.


    Tommy smiled and looked in another direction where the magical beasts appeared because of the explosions.


    When he was about to stop them, Nichs appeared before them and took their attention.


    Tommy used this chance to put his hand on the grass and froze the field, trying to slow down their speed.


    Obviously, most of them slipped and slid over the ice. Nichs stopped thempletely with his shield, so none of them hit Tommy.


    As soon as they stopped on their tracks, Eve and Eva appeared from the sides, obliterating them with the unique coordination that only twins like them had.


    Not long after, Kai''s group also had done with their portion and relieved the entire situation.


    Without even saying anything, they managed to coordinate together in order to defeat hundreds of enemies.


    All four, who were sitting on the back, watched all this and felt impressed.


    "This is amazing," Isabelle said in amazement.


    "Indeed." Tasha nodded her head, liking the current development.


    "No talking. I don''t want to get smacked again," Evan warned them.


    "The battle is almost over anyway." Sofia shrugged.


    Kai, who heard all of it, turned around, making all these people tense. However, a smile soon appeared on his face as he said. "Indeed. Everyone is good."

 Chapter 371 - Ah, Troubles...

    Seeing the confirmation from Kai, they all couldn''t help but smile.


    After experiencing the leadership of a few people, they understood each other better and knew what they were about to do, leading to a condition where they didn''t need to adjust their own part that much.


    It seemed Kai had been nning for this during the training.


    Isabelle, whose group benefited from this development, was thankful to him.


    Surprisingly, they managed to get the highest record of killing monsters with an astonishing number of one thousand magical beasts in an hour. This was the highest point even during this mission.


    This showed how important it was to keep the group going without giving amand.


    After finishing his task, they gathered again in the truck with amusement, staring at today''s hero, Kai.


    "What?!" Kai put on a weird expression.


    "Nothing. It''s just I wonder what is your n next?" Isabelle smiled.


    "I have no n. Only go back to the base and begin investigating the ruin tomorrow." Kai shrugged.


    "Oh¡­" She nodded. "There should be many monsters around there, right?"


    "Probably. I will split the group into two. The first one will be the defense group, holding the fort from any attacks outside the ruin. And the second one is the exploration group which basically consisted of me, you, Sofia, Evan, and Tasha."


    The group nodded. Ayaka then asked. "Who is going to lead the outside group?"


    "In this type of situation, Tommy will be the head while you take the vice position."


    Ayaka and Tommy exchanged looks and nodded at each other.


    "Everything is settled then. If none of you don''t have anything to say, should we go back right now?" Kai asked.


    "Sure. It''s almost 4 PM right now, so it''s the best time to leave." Isabelle agreed.


    "Tasha." Kai checked them again before calling his sister''s name.


    "Sure thing." Tasha nodded and pped her hand as a pink magic circle appeared on the ground, swallowing them and the trucks.


    In the next second, they arrived at the bottom of the hill and immediately entered the trucks.


    Tasha and Kai protected the first truck while Michelle and Sofia handled the second truck until they arrived at the base.


    The journey didn''t take too long either, only two hours, and they reached the base before the sunpletely set.


    ¡­


    "Can you guys take care of the equipment? I will report to the general first." Kai asked.


    "Sure thing," Isabelle answered while the others gave a thumb up to him, telling him to consider it done.


    Kai then headed straight to the general room after finding him still inside his room.


    "Knock Knock."


    "Come in."


    Kai knocked on the door first before entering the room, seeing the general still doing his job.


    "How is the situation?"


    Kai was confused by this question and realized what he was asking for. "I have gotten a clue and I will try to bring someone to it to check the actual condition. From my guess, it''s something big and strong. There is a possibility of another S Rank magical beast."


    Kai only illustrated the protectors as S Rank magical beasts since it was the only way to describe them as of now. It also helped him smooth everything up, shutting all the people up from their useless questions.


    "S rank magical beasts?" The general narrowed his eyes. "This is not good."


    "It''s still under investigation, so let''s calm down a little bit."


    The general red at Kai for a few seconds before taking a few deep breaths to calm him down. "So, there is a suspicion of another S Rank magical beast. This will need serious action from the higher up."


    "I can understand that. But considering this beast doesn''t really show itself too often, do you think it''s like the Brazilian Wandering Spider?"


    Sebastian contemted but ultimately shook his head. "True enough. This one is clearly hiding, so there is a chance that it is not as aggressive as the spider. But it certainly needs more caution than you think. First of all, the appearance of a new S Rank magical beast alone will make our foundation unstable.


    "As you can see, the reason why we can spread to Argentina is that we have killed thest S Rank magical beast. With another threat in our back, the people in front will realize they are isted from other bases and need to watch their back.


    "That''s why the central government wants to keep the investigation going to confirm whether the shadow is an S Rank magical beast or not. And with how you described it, this beast must be an intelligent one, far smarter than the spider.


    "There is a possibility ofmunication and nning, which make it worse. In any case, I will be reporting this to the central."


    Kai understood Sebastian''s concern and didn''t say anything regarding it. He only added one thing. "I don''t know their location, so this investigation might lead to a big number of casualties. From what I get, someone on my side is telling me to go back and not to make any contact with this creature, so I won''t ept a mission like this, including the Eagle Group, even if it means using my teacher''s influence."


    Sebastian narrowed his eyes. Using his teacher''s influence was thest resort and the most powerful one. In fact, among the army, Ria Ross was more revered than the president. This could endanger the entire base because if she wanted to do a coup d''etat, it would lead the base into chaos.


    Luckily, Ria Ross herself never intended to do so as long as she got her own freedom to do research for her student, Kai Carter. But when the government did something excessive, Ria Ross would surely be enraged.


    She, who wasn''t even an S Rank magician but had the power surpassing that of an S Rank magician, was a serious threat. But at the same time, if they removed her just like that, there would surely be huge unrest in the military, resulting in the soldiers to start doubting the government.


    After all, it was easy for them to think, ''If we continue our service and be someone powerful, the country will surely eliminate us unless we be their ve, not their soldiers.''


    Little by little, the army would be destroyed from the inside. And the protectors who were threatening the South America continent wouldn''t leave them alone, resulting in a catastrophic defeat.


    If that was all, they only needed to gather another batch of soldiers to reinforce them, but the economy in the base would copse and the people would grow unrest. There was a possibility that many elites in the country would defect and the base would start declining.


    That was how big Ria Ross''s influence mattered.


    So, as long as both the government and Ria Ross gave each other respect and negotiated, they should be fine.


    Sebastian thought hard regarding this matter and let out a long sigh. "You are even more mysterious than the information I have. Not only is Ria Ross a talented person, but her eyes in finding another genius are also the same, I guess. No, should I say geniuses are attracting each other?"


    "I am not a genius, just thinking a bit more than your average guy," Kai replied humbly. "But thank you for the praise."


    "Thinking huh." Sebastian took out his device and handed it to him. "This is the report regarding Peru. I know that you have researched the area, so I am just supplying the data about the magical beasts. There are approximately three thousand beasts around the ce, so I want you to be careful."


    "Don''t worry. My teammates are strong and I trust them." Kai made a genuine smile.


    When Sebastian saw that, he nodded his head. "Since that is the case, I won''t need to worry about you. But trust me, the moment the news about the new S Rank magical beast is out, including your information, there will be chaos anywhere. And I am afraid that you will be involved in that storm."


    "I understand. I will be careful."


    "Well, you are going to the EU Base in a few months, right?"


    "Yes."


    "You won''t feel it that much then unless there is something big happening. Just hope there isn''t. Ah, how I hate humans¡­They are so greedy to the point I want to cut them down myself." Sebastian let out a long sigh. "Don''t be swallowed by them, you understand?"


    Kai smiled. Just like how he expected, the government would surely take advantage of his ability if they knew about his identity as a protector. And this was the bigger storm than the one in Sebastian''s mouth.


    He was facing this big storm, so how could he not be prepared for a smaller one?


    Kai took another look at the report and got a few key information.


    "I will send the information after this. Do you need anything?"


    "I don''t think so. My teammates are doing great in taking care of the equipment and they are now replenishing our supply. As long as I have the information, we will be set to go."


    "Alright then. If you have anything, just inform Leona in the room next to mine. She will prepare everything for you."


    "Understood."


    "Then, hereby my order." Sebastian''s expression turned serious. "You and your group are to head to the Ancient Civilization, Caral. I will be leaving the detail to you."


    Kai saluted. "Yes, Sir."


    "Then, go. Rest well from your fatigue first." Sebastian then dismissed him.


    Kai nodded once again before leaving the room.


    When Sebastian saw his back, he sighed again while scratching the back of his head. "This is going to be troublesome. He is like Ria Ross. They both are geniuses but somehow pull many troubles to themselves like a ma. I will just retire when there are four stars on his shoulder, so I don''t get pulled into another storm anymore. Sigh."

 Chapter 372 - Night Fight

    The next day, the group gathered again in the field after a long night''s sleep.


    "I guess you all had a nice sleepst night." Kai smiled when seeing theirplexion.


    "Of course, unlike the sleeping bag, the bed is justice." Michelle nodded with a serious expression.


    "Anyway, we will have a long journey this time because the base is a bit far from our destination."


    "We are ready for that." Isabelle nodded while Ayaka asked. "What is the ETA?"


    "It''s about twelve hours of driving. Or should we teleport there?" Kai nced at Tasha.


    "That''s the best, but sometimes you can find something that might lead to another important thing, so it''s best to ride there," Tasha answered with her personal experiences.


    "Fair enough. We indeed found something like that a few times in the past." Kai nodded in agreement and turned to everyone. "That''s how it is. Any objections?"


    "Just one." Tommy raised his hand. "The journey will take a long time, so any shifts for the driver?"


    "Yes. We will switch every two hours." Kai nodded. "I don''t want any of us getting too tired when we get there. And we don''t want to get there toote, so we are moving at 5 AM, which is thirty minutes from now."


    After Tommy''s question, they didn''t have any more questions. Kai then instructed them to prepare all the things they needed.


    When they were going to the truck, he found Leona, who seemed to have predicted him.


    "Commander Leona. Do you need anything from us?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    She looked at his teammates and made aplicated expression.


    "We can talk over there." Kai pointed his finger to the side.


    Nodding her head, they walked a bit farther from the group.


    Leona still hadplex feelings about this, but she still reminded Kai. "There is a hidden danger in your mission. General Sebastian forgot to mention it yesterday. So, when I learned that you were going to leave right now¡­Yeah, I came here."


    "What is the danger?" Kai frowned. "Is it on the way or in the ruin?"


    "On the way." She thought for a moment and sighed. "There is a huge group in your way, so I think you will be meeting them soon."


    "How big?"


    "From what we know, there are at least two intelligent beasts and two thousand beasts. They just descended from the mountain a few days ago. We only stop the mission for students and create a relief squad to fight them."


    "So, you are going to fight with us?"


    "That''s the original n, but the general wants you to clear it yourself."


    "We can handle that, but it''s going to take a bit of our time." Kai thought they needed at least two days to arrive at the ruin now that he knew there were thousands of beasts in their way.


    "I will help you in any way I can. After all, the one who is supposed to be the leader of this relief squad is me."


    "It''s fine. I don''t have a problem with this. I just need more supplies." Kai shrugged. "We are a few days ahead of our original schedule anyway."


    "I am sorry to bring you more trouble, but I will report it, so you will be rewarded." Leona nodded before giving a salute. "In any case, congrattions on your advancement, Brigadier General Kai Carter."


    Kai saluted back before turning back to his usual way after putting that hand down. "Well, it''s not official yet."


    "Haha¡­There is no doubt that your achievement has surpassed many of us. I mean, it''s already hard enough to kill fifty thousand magical beasts with just a group of ten. Along with the other achievement, you have enough achievement to have that star on your shoulder. Just ignore those who are salty about it. They have traditional ways of thinking. Rather than believing in the younger generations who will lead the base in the future, they are just too proud of their own achievements, consciously or unconsciously."


    Kai made a small smile. "Thank you."


    She patted his shoulders while smiling. "I feel like I will see you again soon. That''s why I really want to see what kind of person you are."


    "Ahaha¡­I hope we don''t meet too soon. After all, it will be a war." Although Kai said it in a joking manner, they both knew it was true.


    Kai then nodded his head and returned to his teammates, telling about his discussion with Leona.


    As expected, the group felt it was a hassle. They could simply leave it aside and let the army take care of it, but Kai persuaded them.


    In the end, they agreed to fight those beasts.


    The group then finally set off from the beasts, heading straight to Caral.


    As expected, many beasts that were scattered around the road began their attacks, but Kai and the others simply eliminated them. They weren''t that big of a deal anyway.


    After returning inside, Kai checked the map and information about the horde of beasts. It seemed they were going to meet themter that evening, so Kai purposely slowed down their pace, so they could meet the group of magical beasts tomorrow morning.


    Ultimately, they covered enough distance on the first day and decided to stop.


    "Kai. What are the two intelligent beasts?" Isabelle asked.


    The group was also curious about it and listened to what Kai said while eating.


    "The first one is a Snapping Turtle while the other one is an eagle."


    "Snapping Turtle?" Michelle seemed to have found the weird thing in the report.


    Kai had been thinking about it too, but in the end, he gave up. "I know. Snapping Turtles normally live in the wends, so I don''t know where this onees from. As for the eagle, I think it''s possible."


    "They are also dangerous, you know?"


    "I know. One snap, you are gone. I don''t know whether the exoskeleton can withstand its jaw or not, but our weapons are surely not able to withstand it." Kai nodded.


    "This has be annoying." Michelle scratched the back of her head. "I mean, I don''t use normal weapons, so I don''t need to worry about my weapons. But the others are¡­Anyone brings a spare?"


    None of them raised their hands. Kai was special, so he obviously didn''t have a spare. It was hard to create it even for Ria Ross.


    "Yeah. And there is a good proportion between the flying beasts and those on thends, so it will be a difficult fight for Isabelle and Tasha. Well, I will be helping you guys after finishing the fight on the ground."


    "I will too." Ayaka and Evan immediately raised their hands, followed by Sofia.


    "Thanks for the help. Just focus on your task first. We should be able to stop them for a while." Tasha smiled while Isabelle nodded in agreement.


    "Alright. We will observe the situation tomorrow, and the arrangement wille after it. Okay?" Kai ended the discussion.


    "-Kay!" Theyzily answered and finished their food.


    ¡­


    During the night, Sofia, who was in her shift, suddenly opened the tent and shouted. "We have an emergency!"


    However, Kai had already woken up as soon as he heard the numerous footsteps. When she warned him, Kai was waking the others up whileing up with a n.


    "Wake the others up first," Kai asked her while pondering the matter.


    When the girls heard that shout, they woke up almost immediately. "What happened?"


    "We are in a bad situation," Kai answered with a meaningful reply.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Let''s have a talk with the others, so we don''t waste too much time. There are approximately ten minutes before they arrive here." Kai then left the tent, followed by the girls.


    Evan and the others also came out while looking at Kai, wanting to know his order.


    "I think you should be the captain in this situation." Isabelle instantly asked him to take the position because no one knew how to handle this situation.


    Kai nodded. "I never thought that they were charging at us. No, probably they are aiming at the base. To think they have reached this far with only one day. They probably will reach the base by tomorrow morning.


    "In other words, we need to stop them in this darkness." Kai looked around and knew that they had limited sight. It was so dark because their only source of light was the moon and stars. This was why they refrained from continuing their journey during the night.


    "Thousands of beasts in this condition? If I am not wrong, beasts have good eyesight during the night¡­Well, most beasts."


    "Probably. At the very least, I only know that the beastsing here have that ability because there is no way they wille if they can''t see." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "For the time being, I, Ayaka, Evan, Sofia, Isabelle, and Michelle are the better option to fight in this darkness. Well, we also brought night visions, so it''s better than nothing." Kai thought for a moment. "However, the rest will mainly protect our camps and support us from the back. Alright?"


    "Understood."


    "Night, huh." Michelle looked down for a few seconds, grabbing the group''s attention. Suddenly, she began to stretch her body and put on her equipment. "It seems I need to work a bit harder tonight."


    Shadow began streaming off her body, knowing that she just used the technique to increase her power during the night.


    The ants had good eyesight in the dark, so Ayaka was capable of fighting in the frontline along with Evan and Michelle. Isabelle would remain in the back. They took their positions with Kai and Michelle on the very front.


    "Are you going to enter my shadow?" Kai asked.


    "Nope. I am going to show you something more interesting." Michelle made a mysterious smile.

 Chapter 373 - Dark Michelle

    The silent night was broken by a series of roars.


    Kai and the groups put on their night visions and found many beastsing their way.


    "Tasha, Isabelle. They have entered your range. Finish them." Kaimanded when the beasts were only one kilometer away from them.


    The two smiled.


    Isabelle pressed the trigger, releasing her first bullet. However, she didn''t hold back from the very first shot and used her magic to boost the first bullet.


    "Wind Boost."


    Next to her, Tasha also released her bow. In front of it was a magic circle.


    "Storm Arrow."


    The arrow went through the magic circle and turned purple, flying up to the sky.


    When Isabelle''s bullet reached halfway and Tasha''s arrow reached the highest peak, they both smirked while saying. "Disperse."


    In an instant, the bullet burst out, releasing a couple of wind bullets. Despite its small size, it turned out to be filled withpressed wind.


    The moment it hit the magical beasts'' heads, it exploded, destroying their heads in the process. They then started going down, resulting in instability in their rank.


    Many beasts went around or leaped above them, but some were unlucky enough to trip over their dead bodies.


    At the same time, Tasha''s arrow also turned into lightning that gradually spread into a few branches, hitting the beasts and electrocuting some of them. The result was simr to that of Isabelle.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and raised his visions. "The flying beasts, huh."


    "What are we going to do?"


    "One more volley attack and you two can start killing those flying beasts," Kai shouted.


    "Roger!" The two replied while releasing their second attack.


    There was one more catch in their attack. They didn''t target those in the middle. Instead, they killed those on the outer side to make a wall of magical beasts on the side, forcing them to go to the middle where Kai and Michelle awaited.


    At the same time, Sofia and Evan readied their magic.


    Evan changed the bullets in his pistol to the explosive bullets while Sofia summoned a magic circle.


    Bang.


    Evan released his bullet to the left side, where Isabelle previously hit them while Sofia was on the other side, following Tasha''s attack.


    The bulletnded and exploded, creating another block of dead bodies.


    "Continue." Kai tried to calcte the best wide to make a wall, but Michelle suddenly summoned her shadow as they both stood on each side.


    "This is the width." To his surprise, both of them could say something.


    It startled him and looked left and right. If it were the real Michelle, he wouldn''t be this surprised to hear her talking, but the one on the right was clearly her shadow. Yet, it also could talk to him.


    What he found on the other side turned out to be another Michelle. Although it was a bit different, he could see that it also contained Michelle''s personality.


    Unlike Michelle''s blonde hair, she had white hair. Along with her golden eyes that shone brightly inside her white eyes that seemed to have turned ck, there was nothing he could spot other than her slightly tanned skin.


    "Yahoo!" She waved her hand to Kai with a big smile before walking to him and grabbing his chest as if she wanted to seduce him. "Handsome. Are you free tonight?"


    "What?!" The others couldn''t help but look at them.


    The real Michelle was embarrassed and shouted. "All of you! Continue! Don''t think too much about my Dark Side!"


    "Dark side? No, no. I am not your dark side. I am the real side you have actually abandoned. I am the desire that you have suppressed. I know that you are always trying to find a way to seduce him." The dark Michelle smirked.


    "STOP!" She screamed. Her face was red due to this embarrassment.


    Kai suddenly remembered why Michelle became a bit weak-willed after the training. And how she actually tried to hide behind him when Ayaka and Tasha teased him. He finally understood. It was the girl before him.


    She was the reason why she looked like this. Although it didn''t affect her daily activity, it was still visible to everyone who knew her.


    "So, is this a kind of dual personality?"


    "Not at all. Just like you, there is always a need to maintain your appearance in public, no? Something simr but a bit more extreme. She has a skill that can terror you with your own shadow and because of some weird things that happened, I was born." She exined.


    "We can talk about thister. For now, we need to handle this." Kai turned around and asked. "Can you fight?"


    "I am basically the second her. Of course, I can." She made an excited smile as she looked at the beasts.


    "Alright." Kai nodded and observed the situation before shouting to the team. "Nichs, Tommy. Ready for a wall."


    "Understood." The two men leaped from their position to the front, a bit farther from Michelle and Kai.


    After Sofia''s and Evan''s continuous attacks, the nted wall that kept shrinking to the middle was finally erected.


    When Kai saw that it was enough, he shouted. "Now!"


    Tommy and Nichs ced their hands on the ground as they both used simr to magic.


    "Ice Wall."


    "Great Wall."


    Two walls were erected, facing each other. Between them was a gap for about fifteen meters so Kai and Michelle could handle everything that came toward them.


    "You two will handle those that get past me," Kai said while looking at the beasts that started swarming inside the gap.


    Nichs and Tommy were strengthening the walls with their power, so they couldn''t fight in the meantime.


    Kai ordered the twins before he proceeded with the attack. "Eva, Eve. Protect those two. There are also some beasts that go around this trap. Take care of them."


    "Roger that." Eve and Eva replied at the same time as they chose their own side respectively.


    "Evan, Sofia, you support all of us to whoever needs it. And Ayaka, blow them up!" Kai shouted while taking out his swords.


    Ayaka made a sinister smile as she summoned her fire wings and flew to the sky.


    "Leave it to us." The trio replied.


    With this, all people had their own responsibility.


    Kai, who had distributed it well, finally had the chance to start his own fight.


    The first thing he did was releasing his fighting intent that hadbined with the Lion Instinct. It provoked the enemies as if there was a king of the jungle trying to make them submit.


    However, Kai''s instinct couldn''t bepared to that of the Lion King. That was why the beasts were enraged instead.


    This was Kai''s actual purpose. Now that he had gathered their attention, he could finally begin his attacks.


    Before he made the first move, the two Michelles summoned a scythe at the same time. They stood next to the wall with the scythe above their heads.


    "Let us do it first." The Dark Michelle smiled.


    Their movement was exactly simr, and they even released the same attack.


    "Shadow sh."


    This might be the upgraded version of her Maniption Doll magic. Instead of using another person''s shadow, she enhanced her own shadow to have the same ability as her. This way, they needed to fight two Michelles at once instead of one.


    The two Shadow shes ran through the ground, cutting the beasts near the wall. It continued until it lost power in which the Dark Michelle lost.


    "Ah. No way!" She pouted and looked at the real Michelle. "The ones in your line are weaker than mine, so I still win."


    "Whatever. I am too tired to argue with you." Michelle shrugged before retracting her spear. After that, she summoned two giant swords in each hand.


    She had seen this Michelle when she truly didn''t want to argue. In that case, she chose the same action and summoned the same swords as Michelle.


    "We are going first." Both of them said at the same time as they leaped toward the enemies.


    The moment they arrived, they struck the first enemies with the same one swing, showing that both of them were the same.


    However, it soon changed to another because it was the Sword Dance that Michelle had been practicing. Using that kind of big sword would make your movement sluggish, but this dance had conquered that weakness.


    As long as it wasn''t disrupted, they could continue overpowering their opponent.


    Kai watched the two and decided to start as well. He ran toward the group of magical beasts that seemed to be swarming the two Michelles.


    His swords were on his chest as he activated his Sonic Sword. The powerful Sonic Boom finally made its first appearance in front of his teammates.


    Kai swung both swords to a giant toad that blocked his way.


    The swords cut the body like cutting tofu. The blood was blown off by the powerful shock wave, and the body was shredded into pieces. The rest of the shock wave and the shredded body were blown away to the side, attacking the monsters on the two sides at the same time.


    Kai knew that the two could handle their own opponents, so he kept moving straight without needing to block or dodge because everything in his way was gone in an instant.


    The two Michelles widened their eyes, never expecting that his advance was like that of a bullet. The Dark Michelle couldn''t help butment. "Seriously? I can''t beat that."


    "Do we?" Michelle looked at her dark side with a dumbfounded expression.


    The answer was obvious. They looked at each other for a second before the Dark Michelle looked at Kai''s back and said out loud with a seducing tone. "Darling. You are so cool. How about a threesometer in the base?"


    The people on the back, especially Tasha, Ayaka, and Sofia, looked at her with a weird expression.


    "Shameful Michelle."


    "The real thoughts she suppressed this whole time, eh?"


    "Yes. Shameful Michelle."


    "STOP!!!"

 Chapter 374 - Killing Two Intelligent Beasts

    "You all. I will make sure to have you face your own reflection and use my magic to make them alive. At that time, everyone will know what you honestly think about others." Michelle gritted her teeth while ring at them.


    As soon as they heard that threat, they were stupefied and scared at the same time. Normal people would always hide one thing or another that they thought was fine to bear, but if their honest side blurted it out, they would surely dig a hold for themselves.


    No wonder Michelle became mild a bit after the training. She must be training that cursed magic.


    After that threat, no one made a joke anymore, lest Michelle would do it. Little did they know Michelle would surely do it no matter what they did next. This way, the group could know what kind of secret they held, so they had no more shame to say anything to the group.


    Kai, on the other hand, kept advancing forward until he became a bit frustrated with how these people did in this dire situation. "All of you. Move your asses!"


    "Y-yes!" The group shouted at the same time, knowing that Kai was pissed.


    Kai''s advance wasn''t unstoppable. Even the magical beasts couldn''t surround him due to his speed, Sonic Swords, and the width of the gap.


    It was perfect for Kai to show his superiority, only letting some past him.


    The two Michelles immediately killed them and followed him right behind, killing those that were beside him. Of course, they didn''t dare to stand right next to him because they would get blown away by that sword.


    It was a very dangerous sword that could cause more damage than his Vibration Sword. No, in fact, it appeared to be an upgraded version of his Vibration Sword since the Sword needed to move back and forth faster than his Vibration Sword to create a sonic boom.


    At one point, Kai managed to clear the entire gap by himself. Before he could do anything, he retreated a few steps back as he noticed an eagle flying above him.


    That eagle looked different. Even his instinct told him to retreat.


    "Michelles, go back!" Kai shouted. "Sofia! Above!"


    "Ah, I am called too!" The Dark Michelle was thrilled. She thought Kai would only call the real Michelle.


    It seemed Kai had seen her as another personality, thus treating her differently even though the essence was the same.


    Either way, they both nodded at each other and started retreating ording to his order.


    Sofia, who was upied by the magical beasts on the ground, immediately raised her vision as soon as she heard Kai''s shout.


    She found a huge ze in the air and acknowledged what Kai feared. "It''s the intelligent beast! The eagle! Wait a minute. In the ground, the turtle is also marching its way. With a size that big, it will trample our barrier!"


    Kai thought for a moment and shouted back. "Tasha. Handle that eagle. I don''t know if it will work against another Wind Element, but Isabelle is better to focus on your current task."


    "Roger that!" The two agreed with his order and moved ordingly.


    Tasha raised her aim a little bit and released her first arrow. "Lightning Arrow!"


    The arrow flew to the sky, and a magic circle appeared. The arrow turned into lightning, striking forth.


    The eagle noticed this and opened its mouth. Instead of stopping the lightning with its wind, it released its breath that turned out to be a fire.


    The breath itself formed a fireball and hit the lightning, extinguishing it in an instant. The fireball didn''t end there. It continued to the ground, hitting the spot behind Kai and Michelles.


    Seeing this, Tommy and Nichs, who kept watching the situation between their walls, immediately took off their night vision goggles. A fire explosion with a night vision was nasty. It would be too bright for their eyes to handle.


    The same applied to Evan while Eve and Eva luckily didn''t face the explosion, so they didn''t get this kind of shock.


    Despite experiencing the excruciating pain in their eyes, they looked at each other and nodded, maintaining the wall intact. Unfortunately, a part was already broken, but they didn''t want to let it be the downfall of their wall, so they cut the other part and maintained the shorter part where Kai and Michelles were.


    "Kai, we are abandoning the other half!" Tommy shouted, reporting what he was doing.


    "Understood. There is a chance that it will turn worse when the turtle is reaching this ce, so ready for a battle. I will be taking that turtle." Kai nodded. "Michelles, back me up."


    "Okay." The two nodded simultaneously and followed him when he was about to move.


    They once again stormed the enemy rank, destroying them like there was no tomorrow.


    Meanwhile, Tasha, whose arrow got destroyed, furrowed her eyebrows. She never expected that the eagle actually had Fire Magic instead of Wind which was supposed to be their general element.


    In this case, Isabelle''s wind element would be pretty useless against it.


    She thought for a moment and chose another n to take it down.


    There was no doubt in her eyes as she took a different type of arrow. She smiled and released it to the sky.


    Seeing another iing arrow, the eagle didn''t take it lightly. It opened its mouth again, using the same technique to destroy Tasha''s arrow. This time, it specifically targeted Tasha, who seemed to be in the way.


    When the fireball was about to hit the arrow, Tasha smiled and raised her hand. "This is my present. Explode!"


    The lightning she concealed in that arrow sparked, causing a short circuit in that arrow. This was the arrow that Ayaka had specifically prepared for her, so the effect of that was obvious.


    Boom.


    The arrow exploded and swallowed the fireball, causing another explosion in the sky.


    Before the eagle could react, another arrow pierced through the me caused by the explosion and headed straight to the eagle.


    "!!!" Seeing that dangerous arrow, the eagle tried to dodge it, albeit it was toote. It only managed to move its body away, resulting in the arrow hitting its right-wing.


    The eagle couldn''t fly anymore and began to fall.


    "Isabelle," Tasha called the one beside her while releasing another arrow to the sky.


    "Leave it to me." She nodded and changed her aim, shooting the eagle with her bullet.


    The eagle wanted to dodge it again, but the bullet was faster than the arrow by a little bit and pierced its body. Of course, the speed difference was minimized by Tasha''s Lightning Magic, so it was normal for an arrow to have a bullet speed. Else, there was no way they would consider bow as another weapon.


    Without showing mercy to the eagle that was practically dead, Tasha''s arrow hit the sky and summoned a magic circle.


    Lightning struck forth, hitting the eagle and roasting it.


    "You are merciless." Isabelle smiled whilementing on her style.


    "We should make sure if it''s death or not. You check if it''s still alive after all that or not. I will handle the aerial monsters for ten seconds." Tasha paid no heed of herment and focused on the task.


    "Okay." Isabelle kept following the eagle to see whether it was dead or not. After all, the body was still intact. After it hit the ground, she released another shot to practically destroy its body.


    "Now, you are the one merciless." Tasha used her own word to tease her. However, the two only smiled at each other.


    Meanwhile, Kai kept advancing despite so many magical beastsing his way. When he breached the gap once again, and the gap was gone, allowing more beasts to reach him, Michelles swung their swords, creating lines of fire for Kai.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Seeing the two lines next to him, he smiled while listening to their movement that seemed to be going to his side, ready to face those who woulde his way while he fought the turtle.


    Kai then narrowed his eyes, focusing his attention on the turtle. The size itself wasn''t that big, only twice his height, so around three and a half meters.


    What made this turtle dangerous was its jaws, so he would be avoiding it, which made his course clear.


    "You two. Make sure you can escape. I will be hopping on its back to kill it. Besides, unlike the normal turtle, a Snapping Turtle won''t hide inside its shell, so I will shortly kill it."


    "Roger. Do your best, Darling!" The Dark Michelle gave a thumb up while the real Michelle only nodded, not wanting to say anything because her other side was here.


    Kai shook his head helplessly as he raised his vision.


    The range was enough for him to hop on its back.


    However, the Snapping Turtle seemed to understand what he nned to do and stomped the ground, creating a crater that threw his bnce off.


    Kai shortened his steps to stabilize his movement, but the attack earlier turned out to be a fake. The real attack came from the ground beneath him that suddenly emerged,unching himself to the sky.


    At the same time, there were two A Rank Apes on the side, throwing a big stone toward him.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and clenched his swords even tighter.


    "I am sorry, but I am not the man who I used to be." Kai struck the two boulders. The sonic boom that it released sshed on the boulder, cracking it. Using that crack, Kai used more strength and cut it in half.


    A magic circle then appeared above him, blowing him toward the turtle''s head.


    The moment hended, the turtle had its head pierced by the Sonic Sword as Kai let out a breath of relief. "It''s the end."

 Chapter 375 - Reaching Their Destination

    "It''s over."


    The turtle screamed in pain as it flung its head for the sake of removing Kai from his head.


    Noticing that the turtle had yet to die, he gripped his sword even tighter to hang on until the turtle died. But thetter seemed to be more powerful than he thought. Despite waiting for half a minute, it was still pretty energetic, making him wonder if he missed his target, the brain?


    Since it didn''t die, Kai continued his second n. Due to this swinging head, he pierced the head once more with his other sword, so he could slowly walk to its neck like ying a ski.


    It was a bit hard, but Kai managed to reach it half a minuteter. He pulled the sword in his main hand and swung horizontally, cutting the turtle neck with his Sonic Sword until the head fell off.


    He then leaped on the turtle''s back to avoid beingunched and watched how the turtle died.


    "We are done here. Take off your goggles if you don''t want to hurt your eyes." Kaimanded out loud.


    The group immediately followed his instruction.


    Knowing that the order was a hint from Kai, Ayaka flew toward him and pped her hand.


    A magic circle appeared next to the turtle. Kai and Michelles immediately retreated from that ce as Ayaka activated the magic circle.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    Boom.


    The explosion engulfed hundreds of monsters. Due to the turtle, they gathered around him quite a bit, so this explosion was the most effective to wipe them out. In a rough calction, Ayaka just killed around three hundred beasts in a single explosion, let alone the shock wave it produced.


    "Two more explosions, and we will deal with the remaining beasts." Kai thought two more would be the most optimal option before he and the others changed their n.


    Ayaka acknowledged hismand and immediately released two more explosions in session.


    She simply chose the densest ce where many beasts gathered to make it more effective. And she was quite lucky to kill almost seven hundred in three explosions alone. Normally, she could be considered lucky if she could kill five hundred within ten explosions.


    The influence that the intelligent beasts were indeed strong. And it was at this time, Kai noticed something more about the intelligent beasts. It seemed the reason they could easily control the beasts around them because they were smart enough toprehend theirnguage.


    Normal beasts respected those who could speak in theirnguage since they could literally talk with them. At the same time, it was a kind of rank among the magical beasts themselves.


    Kai wanted to learn about thosenguages as soon as possible, hoping that this mission could give him a chance for it.


    Although he couldn''t show it easily to others, it would be handy if he could use it to protect himself during an alone mission.


    Nheless, Kai needed to end the fight first before he could think of another topic.


    Seeing that the beasts on thend remained only a few hundreds, he decided to move to the sky that seemed to have around three hundred flying beasts.


    A magic circle appeared beneath his feet andunched him to the sky, specifically toward one of the flying beasts.


    He shed its head, killing it immediately before moving to another target with his Sound st.


    At the same time, Isabelle and Michelle continued raining these beasts with their attacks to reduce their number.


    Ayaka and the others focused on the ground, making sure they finished everything first before helping Kai, albeit they both finished at the same time.


    They just fought more than two thousand beasts within an hour. This easily exceeded their record during their mission in Amazon Forest, but it was certainly because they gathered around the turtle and eagle that made them an easier target.


    After killing them, he let the others rest first while he took his radio to call the base.


    "This is Kai Carter. Over."


    "This is Peru Military Base with me, Ond. How can I help you, Sir?"


    "On the way, I have gotten a new mission that there are more than two thousand magical beasts standing in our way. It turned out that they were moving toward the base. We have eliminated them since they met us, so please confirm that missionter with the general and send some soldiers to pick their bodies and cores."


    "Copy that. I will pass the message to the general. Is there any other message, Sir Kai Carter?"


    "Nope. That''s all. We will continue on our personal mission. Over."


    "Understood. I wish you luck." The guy behind the radio then disconnected.


    Kai also turned off his radio and headed back to the camp.


    "So, what are we going to do?" Michelle asked while seeing the camp and the mountain of corpses. "Do you expect us to sleep near this stinky blood?"


    "Of course not. Tasha, teleport us one hundred meters back along with the trucks and equipment. We will continue our way tomorrow full speed without the Teleportation Magic. That''s all. Thank you for your hard work." Kai smiled.


    Tasha nodded and teleported them ording to Kai''s instruction. The stench of the blood that prevented them from sleeping had gone, so they started rxing themselves to calm their heart down from the earlier adrenaline rush.


    The Dark Michelle didn''t forget to flirt with Kai until Michelle unsummoned her. The group didn''t forget to tease her because they knew about her secret and only stopped after getting another threat from Michelle.


    In the end, it took them two hours before they could sleep again. Since it was him epting the mission, he offered to be on the lookout.


    They disagreed at first, but Kai told them that he would sleep on the truck during the day since all of them were awake, so there wouldn''t be a problem if he slept since Ayaka or Isabelle could take over.


    The next day, they did their usual activities in the morning and immediately packed their equipment to start their journey as soon as possible.


    After doing a few things, he then fell asleep. There was no need for replies from the general regarding the horde since they would see it when they arrived here.


    The group continued their journey peacefully. There were no magical beasts appearing in their way because Tasha and the others had destroyed them before they reached the truck.


    Although the range wasn''t as far as Kai''s ears, Isabelle kept watching out their surroundings with her powerful eyes, and Sofia tried to see if there was a ze somewhere that would threaten their group.


    Eventually, they reached their destination without meeting another trouble, and Kai had his good night''s sleep inside the truck where he couldy down on a sleeping bag since the truck was long enough.


    Kai and the group came out of the trucks and took a look at this ruin which was supposed to be their real mission.


    They had passed mountains just to arrive here, so it took them quite an effort. However, they couldn''t venture inside yet because it was already 4 PM.


    "Look at that massive building." Isabelle pointed at the Caral. A giant building that looked like an altar. This ce had been dug up once by the archeologist before the apocalypse, but due to the passing time, it began to be covered with sand again.


    "No, no. You should focus on that building. We need to go inside and search for every nook and corner." Tasha shook her head. "It will be a long time for all of you."


    "No, no. It''s a bigger problem for those on the outside. Take a look at its surroundings, there are many magical beasts there. We need to start cleaning those right away." Michelle focused on the magical beasts instead. There were around a thousand monsters surrounding the altar.


    Even Kai acknowledged it since he also found more and more in their surroundings. "If they came here together, it would be a bit troublesome."


    "So, are we going to set up a camp there right now?" Ayaka asked while ncing at Tasha that could teleport them inside the building territory.


    "No, we will camp here because it''s a bit far from any monsters around." Kai shook his head. "Still¡­"


    He couldn''t help but furrow his eyebrows when he felt something was wrong with this Caral. This ce hid something that he couldn''t see what it was. In the end, Kai asked. "Sofia, do you see anything right now?"


    The group widened their eyes as they looked at Sofia curiously. With Kai asking that question, it meant he was suspicious of something.


    Unfortunately, Sofia only shook her head. "Nothing. I think we won''t find anything in this ce."


    "Nothing is absolute before we do it." Kai shrugged.


    "So, have you found something?" She asked back.


    "Not really, but there is this feeling of missing something. Unfortunately, I don''t know what, and I can''t even describe it." Kai sighed.


    "Is that so? It will be an interesting ce then." Isabelle smirked, bing fired up.


    "No, no. Don''t start yet. We will make our n here. First of all, the group will be separated ording to the previous arrangement. For the detail, I want you to start clearing the monsters around there and move toward that area." Kai pointed his finger around the field before summoning his radar.


    The group saw the radar and found so many magical beasts near them. Michelle and Tommy looked a bit concerned since they would be in charge when Kai and the others went inside.


    "We understand." They both nodded.


    "Alright then. You will handle the details yourself. Let''s build our camp." Kai nodded. "But if I need to say, the circle next to the building is the one getting my attention."


    "¡­" The group fell silent and took a mental note before putting down their equipment again.

 Chapter 376 - Inca Empire And Nazca Lines

    Kai''s word was taken seriously. Even after resting for a whole night, they couldn''t help but look at the circle the next day.


    The circle was visible from their ce, and there shouldn''t be anything special in that circle since there was no roof or something that could hide something underneath them.


    Even Sofia tried to look at it with her eyes but to no avail. There wasn''t a danger or something in that ce, unlike the statues on Easter Ind.


    In the end, the group separated ording to their role.


    They gathered again near the trucks as Kai gave a signal to Tasha. "Can you teleport us to the area next to the circle? It will be our campground."


    Tasha nodded and teleported them.


    As soon as they reached the ce, Kai immediately let them do their own job. "Alright. The first group can start killing the magical beasts near our area. If there is something wrong, I wille out and inform all of you. At least, one of you should bring a radio if you are nning to go a bit farther from here."


    Ayaka nodded and grabbed a radio from the truck while Michelle scouted the area.


    "In that case, good luck." He nodded before turning around, facing the wall of the circle.


    Sofia ced her hand on the ground and summoned a magic circle.


    Staircases then emerged from the ground, allowing them to climb the wall without a problem.


    "Thanks." Kai nodded and looked at the group. "Let''s go."


    Evan, Sofia, Tasha, Isabelle immediately followed him, entering the so-called ancient civilization ruin.


    Since they were basically right next to the circle, they leaped to the ground, perfectly in the middle of the circle, before looking around.


    "It has been excavated perfectly in the past, but it seems this will take a lot of work." Sofia let out a long sigh.


    "Indeed." Kai nodded, seeing the dust that had covered the ground and wall. "For now, just clean it a little bit and check whether you can find something weird in this ce."


    The group nodded and looked around the circle.


    "Now that I think about it, isn''t Peru known for its Nazca Lines?" Sofia thought something from a tourist perspective.


    "Nazca Lines?" Tasha tilted her head since she never learned anything about tourism.


    "It''s a giant image of something that humans built in the past." Kai gave a simple exnation.


    "What kind of image? I think I have heard it somewhere, but I don''t think it''s something important. There is no use for those images, no?" Tasha tried to recall this matter.


    "Yes, but those people were normal humans. Unlike us, we might see something differently. Do you have any thought about it, Kai?" Sofia smiled.


    "Let me open the images first." Kai didn''t give an immediate answer and opened the link to search about it on the inte. "There are many images from a spider, a tree, a hummingbird, and so on¡­"


    Suddenly, Kai fell silent after finding something that piqued his interest. It was the image of a whale. Unlike a normal whale, this one had a horn or something above its head.


    Due to the constant meeting with others that mentioned the whale continuously, its name couldn''t help but stick in his mind.


    He wondered whether this whale here was the same as the one mentioned by those people?


    If that were the truth, it would open a big potential regarding this matter and one that he couldn''t talk to anyone but himself and his teacher.


    After all, the fact that these animals got animated into this form, it would mean they had the same status as the whale. In other words, all of them were also a protector of their own race.


    Other than the pink dolphin and sloth, there might be more and more protectors than he thought. And they were hiding somewhere, ready to make their appearance when the world became unstable again.


    He furrowed his eyebrows and felt trouble woulde soon, especially when dealing with those monsters from the sea.


    "Kai?" Sofia noticed Kai''s condition and called his name, but to no avail. Kai remained in his world, trying to figure out something. She called him again. "Kai¡­Oi..."


    Kai''s body shook as if he was startled by it. He shouldn''t have such a reaction with those ears, so it made him even more suspicious.


    "What happened?"


    "No, no." Kai shook his head repeatedly. "I just lost in thought."


    Since Kai refused to answer, she didn''t continue prying about this matter. "Is that so? Just be careful, alright?"


    "Yes, thanks." Kai took a deep breath and sighed. Whether what he spected was right or not would only matter in the future after getting more information.


    The simplest way would be calling the whale from the shore that was supposed to be under the Pacific Ocean, but he wasn''t sure whether this one was hostile or not, especially since he was the one calling her.


    Unlike Rapakha that had a history with her or the pink dolphin that was supposed to be her student, Kai was just a newborn protector that didn''t have their ability or know thenguage. In other words, he didn''t have anything to show other than his ears.


    Hence, Kai chose to lock that kind of thought for the time being. He had around a year to get more and more information not only from this continent but also from the other continent, especially Europe.


    He would surely find something or so what he believed.


    ''This really sucks. I need to learn everything and talk to them to ensure that the humans don''t have something to threaten them. If not, there will be a big war to wipe out the humans. Haiz. Why the heck I need to protect the human race when I can''t even talk to anyone about this.'' Kai thought while letting out a long sigh.


    "Anyway, are we going to check the Nazca Lines?" Sofia asked.


    Kai thought for a moment. "I think we can check them, but not all of them. Maybe only one or two because we are on a tight schedule. There are two images that I am interested in. They are the spider and the whale."


    Sofia frowned, thinking about his choice. It wasn''t really that weird to think about these two. First of all, they had encountered an S Rank Magical Beast, which was a Spider, so this would surely interest him.


    As for the whale, she didn''t know about the talk with the Pink Dolphin, so her assumption was rted to Rapakha, who mentioned the whale.


    "Alright then. But why are only these two? I mean, we should be able to pack up a few more since this ce won''t take too much time." Sofia asked while the others were listening.


    Kai shook his head. "Even if you want, I can only allow you to investigate one more pattern. That''s all. Other than these images, I want to see the supposed Inca Empire, precisely the Machu Phu and the stronghold Sacsayhuaman."


    Isabelle was the first to recognize these two ces. "Machu Phu is a citadel of the Inca Empire while thetter is literally a stronghold. From what I know, Inca Empire is one of the oldest civilizations that the Inca were able to construct "one of the greatest imperial states in human history" without the use of the wheel, draft animals, knowledge of iron or steel, or even a system of writing.


    "It''s very mystical, so no wonder you are interested in it. Maybe because of this weirdness, you want to see whether the Inca Empire actually built all those things with the use of magic and stuff?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "Of course, it was said that the Inca Empire was conquered, but there is a possibility¡­Never mind."


    Kai seemed to be a bit more mysterious aftering back from his training. He often hid something like this, making them wonder.


    However, Tasha understood that reason. If he said something too much and it was traced all the way to his real identity, there would be a huge reaction from both the Government and the citizens.


    Even Sofia might be his enemies in the future. To prevent that, Kai couldn''t say something that was rted to his identity.


    Seeing this, Tasha patted his shoulder and smiled as if telling him that it was alright not to say anything.


    The burden on his shoulders was far too heavy than everyone could imagine, so she only wished to be able to help him when the time came.


    Kai nodded and sighed. "Anyway, that''s the basic reason for my current n. If you don''t have any questions, let''s continue our mission."


    "Just one question," Sofia asked before bing hesitant while ncing over Tasha. She thought he didn''t talk about it because Isabelle and Evan were here, but Tasha seemed to know it.


    In that case, this one might be something that only he and his girls knew about it. It also meant that Sofia was not important enough in his heart.


    She couldn''t help but feel disappointed.


    Shaking her head, she brushed the matter and turned around, continuing what she did earlier.


    Kai understood her action perfectly and said, "It''s not about that. This is something that the government and my family don''t know."


    Hearing this, she got a bit better because only a few people would know about this. If he told her that the girls also knew this matter, she would feel jealous, with the way he worded it, there was a possibility that the girls also didn''t know.


    In that case, there was the absolute person who should know about this, Ria Ross. Considering she was already involved in this matter, she decided not to put another thought to it since it might be rted to his current life.


    Nodding her head, she continued her work without feeling down anymore.

 Chapter 377 - Weird Feeling

    "Kai! Come here. I think I have found something." Isabelle shouted. Although most of the ornaments were already covered with dust, she could still somehow figure it out due to the slight difference from an ordinary wall.


    After wiping out the dust with her hands, she saw a certain symbol.


    Hearing her voice, he quickly came to Isabelle to see what she found. "This is a symbol?"


    The drawing consisted of a few horizontal lines with a dot between them.


    "I am not sure." Isabelle shook her head. "I thought it was a morse code at first, but the dot and the line were not aligned. So, I tried to see the other symbols, but they were in a simr pattern with lines and dots. Maybe anguage?"


    "I am not very sure." Alex shook his head. "Can you find something on the inte? Maybe a published paper or record?"


    "I have tried, but I can''t find any rted results about this. I can find a few pictures of this, but I don''t think I can find anything more than that." She was slightly disappointed since there was no use in her finding this thing.


    "Well, the inte has already found this so that we can ask someone in the base regarding this symbol." Kai nodded, assuring her it was fine. However, a weird feeling suddenly crept in his heart as if something was calling for him.


    "Kai?" Noticing this, Isabelle frowned and checked his body.


    "Do you find something? Or maybe hear something?"


    "No. I didn''t hear anything weird, but there is this feeling that makes me a bit anxious." Kai pressed his chest while Isabelle checked his face. He looked a bit pale, so she tried to help him sit on the ground.


    "What is that feeling earlier?" Kai took a few deep breaths. He just got slightly ufortable after having that feeling, but he was fine now.


    "I don''t know. I didn''t feel anything." She shook her head.


    "There might be something here since you have such a reaction." She narrowed her eyes.


    "Yes. I believe so."


    "What did you feel? Can you describe it to me?" Isabelle feared that the feeling earlier was a kind of danger during this mission. Hence, it was better to stop the investigation before they got to the point of no return.


    "I think I am fine. The feeling itself was a kind of anger. I don''t feel there is something wrong with my body from that, only a bit ufortable because of it." Kai thought for a moment. "Still, if I need to choose a word to describe it, it''s anger."


    "Anger?" Isabelle frowned.


    "Yes." Kai paused. "That anger is not directed to me. No, I should say that the one making this symbol was angry. He/she was expressing that in this symbol¡­I mean, like how a painter or any other creative jobs, they could somehow transmit their emotion when doing their job, right?"


    Isabelle nodded in agreement.


    "It''s a kind of like that."


    "It still doesn''t make sense. Why could you feel it, but I couldn''t? If it''s something like that, I should be able to feel it too."


    "Don''t ask me."


    "Besides, the symbol is literally on the top corner of a corridor. Are you sure this is it?" She asked again, confirming everything.


    "Yes. The feeling indeed came from this symbol."


    "I still can''t understand the situation. Should I call Evan here?"


    "I think I am fine. I don''t feel anything more right now, so maybe it''s a one-time thing."


    Isabelle remained hesitant, but she decided to nod her head, trusting Kai''s decision. "Alright. But I should keep apanying you while we are looking around. If we pass Tasha, I will hand you over to her."


    "Yes, thank you." Kai took a few deep breaths and rose from the ground. He stretched his body a bit to see if there was anything wrong or not.


    After confirming there was no more difort, he nodded to Isabelle as if saying he had recovered.


    "How many symbols have you found?"


    "Let me calcte the symbols in this room." She narrowed her eyes while beginning to scrub the sand off the symbols to see whether they were really a symbol or not.


    In the meantime, Kai checked all the symbols to see whether he would feel the same thing again. He even helped Isabelle in scrubbing the dust off.


    Unknowingly, they had spent a few hours just to clean them up, but the result was amazing.


    Isabelle and Kai had their back touched as they looked around.


    "This¡­Do you see what I see?"


    "Absolutely. I think we need to call everyone else." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "I agree, but don''t you want to count them first?" She asked. "I can help you there. And you don''t have any more difort, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I believe this is a kind ofnguage," Isabelle said while counting the symbols in the corridor.


    "I have the same opinion, but there is nothing like that on the inte. If we have some kinds of experts deciphering the symbols, we might be able to learn the truth about what happened."


    "Indeed. Maybe they did find this back in the days, but their research disappeared when the world became a ruin. After all, other than those that were already spread over the inte, most of the ssified data were destroyed when the magical beasts overturned the civilizations."


    "Yes. They saved it online after all. Well, I can certainly agree with that kind of treatment since it''s easy to get into their online database. But now we arepletely clueless about this." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Haha¡­We can only work hard for it." Isabelle brushed the matter off with augh.


    "By the way, how is your rtionship with Evan? Everything is fine, right?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. Evan always hesitated in our rtionship because we were Zodiacs. However, thanks to your medicine, he stopped hesitating, so our rtionship isn''t that brittle anymore. Thank you."


    "No problem. I still want tough at the fact that we first start from oppositions¡­Especially due to an idiotic reason." Kai chuckled.


    "I am embarrassed to see the past me. To think I was that immature. Well, that loss woke me up, and I am d to know you as a friend."


    "Me too." Kai smiled. "Well, if you have trouble, just call me, especially if the matter is regarding Evan. I will kick his ass for you."


    "You don''t need to. My kick is the strongest¡­For various reasons." Isabelle smirked.


    "Evan seems to be scared of you that much. I wonder what will happen when¡­Never mind." Kai decided to stop before he mentioned the matter about the little girl from the EU Base.


    "If you are talking about Elisa, I don''t have a problem myself. Although it feels suck, I can somehow understand if that happens. I mean, in the past, I was taught to be someone''s mistress because I didn''t have talent, so now, I don''t really have a problem as long as he is open to it." She shrugged. "Well, I have talked to Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka and learned a lot from them. I just need to make sure he doesn''t stray from his path. Besides, like you, he also respects me as a woman and acknowledges my opinion. As long as he doesn''t have a drastic change, I believe our rtionship will remain the same."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "I wish you the best."


    "Thank you." Isabelle smiled. "By the way, I have finished counting. There are seventy-four symbols."


    "Hmm?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "What is it? Do you find something?"


    "I don''t know. I feel like the number is very familiar." Kai frowned. "Where did I hear it¡­No, I didn''t hear it, but¡­"


    After contemting for a few minutes, he suddenly picked up his device and browsed the research paper again. "Take a look at this."


    Isabelle came closer to him and looked at the article.


    "There are many Nazca Lines. Hundreds are simple lines and geometric shapes, but more than seventy are zoomorphic designs. Do you mean these zoomorphic designs? What is zoomorphic anyway?"


    "It derives from the Greek, meaning animal and shape or form. It can be considered a symbol for an animal." Kai exined.


    "So, does this mean something?" she asked.


    "I think so. They might have the same number as the Nazca Lines for animals, so I think the Nazca Lines and these symbols are rted. For example¡­"


    Hearing this, Isabelle continued his words and came to a realization. "They are the names for animals?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Then, do you find anything about the earlier feeling?"


    "No. But I still believe that symbol is somewhat special."


    "I will take their pictures and mark the one that you deem special. I want you to ask Evan to check your condition and ask them toe here." Isabelle still felt concerned about his condition even though there was nothing happening during the past few hours.


    "Alright, alright. I will do that."


    "Then, hurry up." Isabelle rolled her eyes.


    "Fine." Kai then walked across the corridor, heading straight to Evan''s position with his ears as his guide.


    In the meantime, Isabelle picked her device and started recording a video while taking some photos. She tried to look at the symbol that made Kai weird from any angle, but nothing happened to her, so she thought Kai was a special case.


    Just like how he solved the mystery in Easter Ind, he might probably get something from this ce as well.


    She shrugged and continued her job.


    Kai also found Evan after walking for a few minutes.


    "Evan. Can you take a look at my condition?!" Kai shouted from afar. His voice echoed in the corridor.


    But to his surprise, Evan didn''t answer him or anything as if he didn''t hear him.


    "Evan?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. ording to his ears, there was nothing wrong with the sound in Evan''s body. It was normal, but Kai still took out his swords while approaching with caution.


    Suddenly, Evan turned around.

 Chapter 378 - Ghost?

    "Wha¡ª" Kai gasped and gradually lowered his swords. "Who are you?"


    Although there was no change in his appearance, he could see that his eyes were shallow as if something went inside of him.


    However, Kai''s voice didn''t go through his ears as he said, "They are enemies."


    As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Evan copsed to the ground.


    Kai still didn''t know whether Evan was alright or not, so he didn''t catch him. He checked Evan''s condition first with his ears beforeing closer.


    "Oi, Evan. Are you alright?" Kai poked his head with his sword, trying to check if he woulde again.


    "Ngh." Evan let out a groan as his eyes slowly opened. His eyes were blurry, but he could recognize Kai''s figure. "Captain?"


    "Oi. Are you alright?" Kai asked again.


    "What do you mean?" Evan asked while looking around, noticing that he was on the ground. He quickly rose while asking out loud. "What? Why am I on the floor? Did something happen to me?"


    "You were possessed, I guess." Kai wasn''t sure whether it was a possession or not, but that was the closest one.


    "Possessed? What?" Evan walked a few steps back, scared. "No, no. I don''t want to get possessed. Force whoever possessed me out!"


    "I am not sure myself. I didn''t hear anything weird this whole time, so I thought you knew something."


    "I don''t know. All I did was search around this area, and I am still searching that area. That''s why I don''t know why I am on the floor earlier."


    "¡­" Kai blinked his eyes a few times. "So, ghosts are real?"


    "No! Ghost is not real!" Evan screamed while covering his ears with his hands.


    "Don''t tell me. You are afraid of ghosts?" Kai made a weird smile. He thought that he would get a response from Evan like, "What? You still didn''t believe in ghosts even though magic is real?" or something along the lines, but to think Evan was this scared of ghosts.


    "Ugh. Isn''t it a given?" Evan shrilled. "You should go to a ce where so many people died. You will surely see something happening before your eyes. And my job is to save those who are still alive among those who are already dead, so I often saw them¡­Ugh. I hate them."


    "¡­" Kai tilted his head in confusion. "I thought because you often worked in that kind of ce, you would have gotten used to it."


    "Are you an idiot? They are evil. I hate them. They often pulled a prank on me even though I tried to save their fallenrades." Evan gritted his teeth, remembering all the things that happened to him.


    "Really?"


    "What will you do when you are sleeping after saving those soldiers, and they flip your bed? And you do it hundreds of times. You will know my feelings."


    "Okay, okay. I know. Calm down a little, will you?" Kai sighed.


    Evan took a few deep breaths while looking around to make sure nothing happened.


    "Let''s go back, shall we? I have found something." Kai smiled, trying to gather because he thought it would be the best way to calm Evan down. Besides, he didn''t think Evan would investigate the ruin alone anymore because of what just happened to him.


    "So, what did you find?"


    "Symbols that might be anguage of the past and one time, I felt¡­" Kai didn''t continue as he had two thoughts in mind.


    The first was the feeling he had earlier actually came from the ghost. The ghost might want to possess him and tell Isabelle something. However, since it wasn''t working, the spirit possessed Evan, and there would be another person that the ghost might possess. This wouldn''t be good because Kai needed to take care of his teammates'' well-being.


    The second thought was the thing Evan or the ghost blurted out earlier was rted to the feeling he had. The ghost might want to warn him about the symbol that might signify a race and told him that they were enemies that couldn''t be trusted.


    The problem would be he didn''t know which one was correct.


    "How do we call a ghost again? I want to ask some questions!" Kai couldn''t help but mutter.


    "What? Are you insane? No, no! I don''t want to get into this kind of job."


    "¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head. "Maybe I will ask someone if they have a person who can talk to a spirit or summon a ghost."


    "You serious?"


    "Yes. I will be able to get more information that way." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Can I quit your group during that kind of mission?"


    "Feel free. I won''t force you if it makes you ufortable. After all, I pity you the moment I listened to your reasons. I thought you were scared because of a certain story when you were a kid."


    "Are you freaking kidding me? There is no way I will be scared if it''s only something like that. It''s just like how you are scared of your teacher because of your trauma." Evan rebuked him in a high-pitch.


    "I know, I know. That''s why I can understand your feelings." Kai patted his shoulders. "Anyway, I will do my own job regarding this matter. Of course, we will continue the investigation, but I think it''s fine to do it in a group of two."


    Evan let out a long sigh. "So, what are we doing now?"


    "I will lead you to Isabelle before searching for Tasha and Sofia."


    Evan nodded. He didn''t want to deal with ghosts anymore, so he epted his idea even though the best way was for them to grab the two first before regrouping with Isabelle.


    "One more question. Did Isabelle know this?"


    "Why do you want to know?" Evan narrowed his eyes while his heart skipped a beat.


    "Ah. I don''t need your answer anymore since your body is more honest. I will tell her of course." Kai chuckled, teasing him to loosen Evan''s body. He certainly felt how deep the trauma he had with ghosts. "This will be amusing!"


    "Oi, you bastard!" Evan shouted. Kai immediately ran toward Isabelle.


    Not long after, Evan was sitting down on the corner of the room, sulking because Kai told Isabelle his secret before leaving.


    Isabelle, on the other hand, hadn''t talked about it with him yet. After seeing how Evan reacted, she walked toward him and bent down.


    "What?! Are you going to tease me too?" Evan pouted.


    On the contrary, Isabelle only hugged him as she said, "It must be hard for you, right? Should I apany you when you are healing injured soldiers? Maybe I can do something about it."


    Evan fell silent and felt terrible to have doubted her. "Sorry."


    "It''s fine. Scared might be hrious, but trauma is another thing. What you have is not the former but thetter. That''s why I am concerned about you." She sighed.


    "Uhm, thanks."


    "Please rely on me more."


    "Uhm, I will."


    "That''s good then. Rest here first while I am searching if I can find another symbol in this ce."


    Evan looked at her and asked. "Did the captain find something here? And do you need help?"


    Isabelle thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure. I need your help. As for the captain, I will tell you while working. Is that fine?"


    Evan made a smile and rose from the floor, starting to help her.


    Meanwhile, Kai found Tasha in another corridor.


    "Tasha¡­" Because of what happened earlier, he was still on guard, not daring to approach others easily.


    "Hmm?" Tasha turned around and found Kai with his stance. "What happened to you? Are you going to ambush me or something? Or don''t tell me you want to do it here? I don''t think you have this kind of fetish."


    Hearing her response, he felt relief. It meant Tasha was her usual self.


    "I just wanted to grab you to gather in Isabelle''s position. Sofia next." Kai exined.


    "Oh? Did you find something?"


    "Kinda. That''s why I want you all to gather first, so I don''t need to exin twice."


    "Let''s go grab Sofia then. I will go with you." Tasha nodded. "By the way, I don''t find anything that requires me to use my Space Magic. That''s the reason why you want me here, right?"


    "Yes. Besides, I can immediately help the first group with you here."


    "Unfortunately, I can''t really make a pinpoint teleportation in a closed space, let alone abyrinth like this." She shrugged.


    "It''s fine. It won''t take too long." Kai smiled and started walking. "By the way, did you find anything?"


    "I only found a few things that didn''t have any value to us. Well, they could be money, but that''s not important right now."


    "So, no other information." Kai nodded.


    A few minutester, they found Sofia, who was cleaning up a particr room. The room was just a kitchen, considering he saw a cube with a small hole for firewood. It should be the traditional oven or something.


    Reminded of what happened to Evan, he asked Tasha to stop by tapping her shoulder twice.


    Although she was confused about his action, she still let him do anything he wanted.


    Kai gradually came closer and called her name. "Sofia."


    "Mhm?" Sofia nced back and saw Kai and Tasha. "What are you two doing? You are not doing it in this kind of ce, right?"


    "Alright. You are the normal Sofia." Kai nodded a few times. "We are going to gather right now, so I am here to grab you."


    "Oh?" Sofia nodded. "Sure."


    Sofia took another look at the room to see whether she missed something.


    "All is good." After a while, she nodded and turned back, following Kai as they returned to Isabelle and Evan.

 Chapter 379 - A Helper

    "¡­ That''s how it is."


    Inside the room filled with symbols, Kai exined his doubt about all these symbols.


    "So, a ghost possessed Evan and told you that it was dangerous. ''It'' in his mouth was pointing at the symbol that you felt different from the rest. And considering these symbols were probably the same as those Nazca Lines or you can say anothernguage that described the name of the animals." Tasha simplified his story in three sentences.


    "Yes. That''s basically the problem. Well, if this is true, it''s something important. I can ask my teacher for a personal team to decipher the symbols now that we have known what it means." Kai nodded.


    "So, what are we going to do?" She asked. "Are we going to end this investigation now?"


    "Nope. We will continue for one week before traveling around to see the Nazca Lines and the stronghold. However, since there might be a hidden danger in this ruin, we will have a group of two. Isabelle will go together with Evan while you with Sofia. I will be staying here for the time being to discuss this matter with Teacher." Kai then turned to Evan.


    "I don''t have a problem." Evan nodded.


    "No, no. I am asking whether you have checked my body to see if there is something wrong?"


    "I tried to heal it, but there was no effect, so I guess it''s okay." Evan nodded.


    "Alright then. And since you don''t have the problem with this arrangement, we can rest here for a few more minutes." Kai then looked at Isabelle. "Did you find anything else?"


    "Nope. There are indeed seventy-four symbols." Isabelle shook his head.


    "Okay, thank you." Kai smiled before rising from the floor. He went to a window and came out to the roof of that room and called Ria Ross.


    "What happened? It''s rare to have you call me during a mission. Do you encounter a problem? Hmm, looking at the time span, you should be in Caral, right?"


    "Yes. I have a matter to discuss, but before that, you are eating properly, right?"


    "Don''t worry. It''s at least twice a day."


    "¡­" Kai paused and sighed. "Well, it''s better than when you often skip a day''s worth of meals."


    "Haha. Don''t worry about an adult like me, Kid."


    "But you are not a responsible adult. How can I not worry?" Kai shrugged.


    "You have gotten good with your words, huh? So, what happened?"


    "I want to create a group to decipher symbols of the past."


    "Ho? Symbols? What kind?"


    "You know Nazca Lines?"


    "Those huge drawings, right?"


    "Yes. We have found something regarding this. It''s¡­" Kai began exining the matter again.


    After answering a few questions from Ria, he asked. "So, how is it?"


    "Okay. I will talk to the president about this. Since he has more connections than me in this area, I will just give this matter to him. Besides, I believe his cousin is dealing with this, right?"


    Kai suddenly remembered a certain woman figure who he met on Easter Ind. "I see. She is a good choice since I know her personally."


    "Yep. The president will probably give the mission to her and she will be handling the recruitments. If you don''t have a problem with this, I can ask him after finishing this matter in hand."


    "Sorry for troubling you, Teacher."


    "Sure. And how much can I say about this matter?" Ria didn''t want to blurt anything regarding his identity, so she needed to ask him first to see how much the rtion between him and this matter.


    "I think it''s fine to tell everything. Just make sure there is no slip up about my identity."


    "Okay then. If this is proven to be true, we might be on a high alert. And what do you think about the ruins?"


    "I am not sure myself. I still can''t understand why there are so many Nazca Lines. And my assumption is a bit crazy."


    "What is your assumption?"


    "Those pictures are protectors of the past. Many of them may have died, but there are some who survive. And the other drawings with different patterns describe something hidden or what happened in the past."


    "That''s indeed a wild guess, but it''s something worth considering. I won''t hint the president with anything rted to the protectors."


    "Thank you." Kai smiled. "If there is no progress, I will probably go to another ce where I can find an ancient civilization and ask them myself. It might be thenguage of another race, after all."


    "Now that I think about it, why could the ghost understand ournguage? Was it really just because it possessed Evan? I couldn''t wrap my mind about this."


    "Hmm." Kai''s expression turned serious. He just realized it. If the ghost were someone from the past, the way it talked would follow what he understood unless the ghost could gain memory and understanding from the host.


    He wasn''t familiar with ghosts, so he didn''t know about this. He thought for a moment. "There are multiple possibilities. First, the ghost is just fiction, and everything was just someone else''s magic. To use magic like this where I couldn''t even track it with my ears means that he/she hid pretty well or was too far from this ce.


    "If it was thetter, it might be another protector. However, if the first possibility isn''t valid, then the second possibility is it learned ournguage in that instant. Argh, there are so many possibilities in this." Kai let out a long sigh after realizing more and more possible futures.


    "Well, we can slowly discover what it is, so you should proceed to what you should do."


    "Yes. I will continue then."


    "Oh, one more thing."


    "What is it?"


    "Congrattions on your advancement, Brigadier General Kai Carter."


    "It''s already a thing?"


    "Yes. The top brass sped up some process. Once you are back, you will get the notice. There is even a possibility that you will be a public figure."


    "Ho?" Kai frowned.


    "They are nning to send you to Canada again. The volcano bes more and more unstable, so there is a possibility that it will explode. At that time, you will need to go to reinforce them. This will give you some sort of justification why the government gave all this to you, and it will incite the ambition of young men and women to join the army. A win-win situation."


    "I see. If only this volcano is considered a Raid Mission next year." Kai sighed.


    "Haha. With this kind of timing, I don''t think you will have the chance to participate." Sheughed.


    "Fair enough. I need to go to the EU base." Kai nodded. "Well, Michelle and the others are strong enough now and have enoughmanding ability, so I don''t need to worry about them."


    "True. That''s all. Do you have any questions about your advancement?"


    "Nope."


    "Alright, I will hang up then. See youter."


    "Yes, see youter." Kai nodded and sighed. He looked at the sky and remembered who was in charge of Yukon Territory, where the volcano was about to blow up.


    "I need to deal with him again, I guess?" Kai recalled how Brad Matthew talked every time he met and scratched his head, knowing that this would be a pain in the ass.


    "Anyway, let''s finish this mission first. I will think about another thingter." Kai shrugged and leaped back inside the room, finding the room was empty.


    "Since everyone has gone, I should start as well." Kai checked their positions first before going to another ce they had yet to discover.


    Unbeknownst to him, something big was happening on the other side of the.


    Not around that base, but a bit farther away, specifically in United Asia.


    Haruko was running in the dark while keeping a tab of something behind her.


    She panted after running away for a while.


    "There are still four more. To think it was a trap. Now that my identity has been discovered, it seems trouble will being to my family and me. What should I do?" Haruko muttered while running. "Well, they can disown me to save them temporarily while I am hiding. That''s the best solution at the moment."


    ording to the information, there was a huge trade between many families in the Northern Area that would affect her family that had remained neutral this whole time. And due to this, she took charge of this matter personally and led a group of spies to check the trade.


    However, it turned out to be an ambush. The other spies alreadymitted suicide right before they got captured while she was injured but managed to get away.


    Still, the pursuers kept following her.


    "Is this it?" Haruko furrowed her eyebrows, remembering Kai''s face. "It seems I can''t really fulfill my promise to him. Haiz. This is why bing a fighter sucks. One mission can decide one''s fate. Ah, I wish I had mymunication device at a time like this. At least, I can send myst message to him¡­"


    She sensed the pursuersing closer before surrounding her.


    Halting her step, she looked around and found four people.


    "It''s time to end this chase, Yajima Family''s Yajima Haruko."


    "Haha...Do you think I am afraid of you? I will fight all of you to the death!" Harukoughed while activating her magic.


    "Unfortunately, you are more precious when you are alive." The four assassins signaled each other to attack her.


    Haruko raised her magic, preparing to strike them.


    However, a shadow appeared from the side and unsheathed the katana it brought.


    The next second, the four assassins had their heads severed.


    Haruko widened her eyes, looking at the shadow that turned out to be a woman with a mask. Those four were undoubtedly elites of the Katsuragi family. Yet, the woman before her managed to kill them in one sh. It showed how much the difference in their strength.


    But if Kai were here, he would surely recognize this person because she was the one saving him when he almost got killed by beasts and saved by Ria Ross.


    She looked at Haruko and put down her mask.


    *Gasp¡ª!*

 Chapter 380 - Teacher Wants To Bring You Trouble

    "With this, we have wrapped out the investigation. I don''t think there is anything important we have left behind." Michelle said while stretching her hands.


    It had been a week since they started searching around the area. The group didn''t find any more evidence that could answer their questions. They also had finished looking into every nook and corner, so they thought it would be better to move on.


    At the very least, they had a clue that Kai talked about, so it was already a rewarding mission, especially when they came without any expectations.


    After that, they began roaming around Peru, looking at the two Nazca Lines and investigating the stronghold for one more week.


    The group left with disappointment because there was no more clue to be found, even though there was some kind of unsolved mystery that had yet to be solved in the previous ruin.


    In the end, Kai and the group decided to return to the base, resting their tired body from this long mission.


    After getting separated from Isabelle''s group, Kai decided to ask the group to discuss something in a restaurant.


    The group agreed and stopped by a restaurant.


    While waiting for the food toe, Michelle asked, "So, what is this thing you want to talk about?"


    "It''s about my promotion and next mission."


    "Now that I think about it, it''s really the time for your promotion. Congrattions, Brigadier General Kai Carter." Michelle smirked.


    Sofia blinked her eyes a few times. She remembered how fast he had that one star on his shoulder. Although the top brass was speeding things up and created a few exceptions for him, his ability was a real deal.


    As expected, the achievement he got from the Raid Mission where they defeated the protectors and S rank magician beast alone was indeed considerably high.


    The chance for him to go to EU Base became even smaller. Even Sofia couldn''t know what to do at this point.


    "Congrats." The others began congratting him while Kai only smiled, receiving it.


    "So, what is this next mission?" Tasha asked with a serious expression. The celebration was good, but it also meant that Kai would have a bigger responsibility. The job he would do from this point on would be even more dangerous, so she liked to hear it first before getting drunk in the celebration mood.


    The rest also decided to follow her while Kai took a deep breath, preparing himself to exin.


    "We are going to fight under General Brad Matthew this time to withstand the endless onught of the magical beasts."


    With this small information alone, the group already understood the mission.


    Michelle narrowed his eyes. "Volcano Eruption, huh."


    "Yes. I don''t know the details, but you can expect at least five hundred thousand beasts migrating to all directions, and we are the ones receiving it."


    "The problem will be how many soldiers we can muster at that moment. Because the battlefield will be so big for us to handle." Ayaka let out a long sigh. "This is going to be a big pain in the ass."


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "This is the first time I am going to fight in a defensive battle in this massive area."


    "Fair enough. From the looks of it, you won''t get any help from any other generals as well." Michelle nodded.


    "So, we will be relying on the officers there." Ayaka looked down.


    The two that had the mostmanding ability beside Kai fell silent as they tried to see what kind of trick they could utilize to y a defensive battle like this.


    "Well, I will try pulling some strings. Knowing that person, he will surely not believe me that much." Kai sighed. Brad Matthew would surely not let himmand the soldiers, so he decided to focus on what he could to help the entire situation.


    It would be better if this were unnecessary, but he didn''t know how much they woulde.


    "So, do you have any ns? Maybe a general idea of how you fight them?"


    "Only a little. Obviously, I will separate my force into five to receive the enemies while keeping track of each army so that they can help each other out." Kai shrugged. "Anyway, the one who willmand most likely not be me, so I will just do whatever I can."


    "Well, that''s true."


    "It''s better to wait for the mission detail, so yes."


    The group nodded in agreement. They knew how much thought Kai put on this matter, so they only needed to believe him while trying to help him in their own way.


    "If that''s all, then I guess we can consider this as a small party for your promotion?" Evan stated with a lighthearted tone.


    "I guess you can." Kai nodded. "I have truly pushed you guys too hard because of this. Maybe I can make up with something."


    "It''s fine. We have be stronger faster anyway."


    "Yep. The bigger the pressure, the faster someone will grow."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Well, someone from the government will surelye for promotion."


    "Probably your grandfather again." Tasha nced at Michelle.


    "Ugh. Now that you mention it, he always appeared at a time like this. Should I forbid him now?" Michelle facepalmed.


    "Nah, it''s fine. He is better than an unknown guy." Ayaka shook her head.


    "True. As much as I hate to argue with him, he is the best." Even Sofia approved this matter.


    "Alright. Just be ready that we will go at any moment''s notice since the volcano might erupt sooner than you think." Kai mentioned the mission again, reminding everyone that they might not have time to spare.


    "Sure, sure."


    The group then continued their small celebration, wondering how Kai would face the media after this as the youngest General in history.


    ¡­


    The next day, he and Tasha walked to the school like usual, but there was amotion right at the school gate.


    A huge number of soldiers were standing in front of the school gate, cheering for someone.


    "What is this?" Tasha asked.


    They just teleported here, so Kai needed time to see what was going on. There, he heard so many voices.


    "Look, General Ria Ross is here."


    "Ah, my idol!"


    "She is not an S Rank Magician but can achieve the highest ranking among the military, she is practically everyone''s idol."


    "That''s right. I came to this school because she was an alumnus here."


    "Why did such a persone to this ce?"


    "I don''t know."


    "But if I am not wrong, her student is in this school."


    "Right. Kai Carter, isn''t it?"


    "I am so envious."


    "His achievement is also not less than General Ria Ross. As expected from my idol."


    "You all are just exaggerating his ability. There is no telling whether he achieved all those."


    "Can''t you search it on the inte? Even many Generals were testifying his achievement."


    "I have never seen him doing that."


    "You fool. This is why you are a clueless student. I was among the soldiers he brought in the Raid Mission one year ago. I saw him charging inside the Underground Nest like nobody''s business. Back then, he truly kept up with his teacher. His ability is a real deal."


    The talk continued, but Kai already grasped what they were talking about.


    To put it simply¡­


    "Trouble ising." Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "What happened?"


    "The students'' opinions are diversified, which I have predicted, but if Teacher finds me here, they are going to start surrounding me." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Still, to think that Professor Ria Ross is the personing here¡­" Tasha narrowed her eyes. "What is she nning?"


    "I don''t¡ªAh, I f*cked up." Kai sighed as Ria Ross took a peek as soon as she found Kai''s presence.


    Everyone immediately turned their head, following her line of sight.


    Before they could react, Tasha used her Teleportation Magic while patting his head. "Good luck."


    "Oi! Bring me too!" Kai said, seeing how Tasha escaped by herself.


    "I have been waiting for you here. Luckily, I have information that you alwayse through the school gate unless something serious happens." Ria Ross smiled and waved her hand.


    "Ah! That''s Kai Carter."


    "What is this? The meeting between two legendary figures?"


    "No, no. This is a meeting between a teacher and her student."


    They began spreading the topic of their meeting until it became aplete mess.


    Kai scratched the back of his head while saying with a troubled face. "Ya, Teacher. I never thought you would visit me. How are you?"


    "I am great!" Ria Ross smirked as if she had a n behind all this.


    "May I know why you visit me? Or are you strictly visiting the school?" Kai asked.


    "Of course. I am here to visit you. I was about to sneak inside the school, but I thought this would be more amusing, so here I am, creating trouble for you." Ria Ross smiled. She must be enjoying this.


    "¡­" Kai wanted to smack her head, but he couldn''t afford to, at least with so many witnesses.


    "Besides, I am an alumnus here, so I thought I needed to show my face around. I am d the students wee me warmly." Ria smiled at the students, making them love-struck.


    "Yes, yes. I am d to hear that you are enjoying yourself. So, for what reason do youe for me?" Kai sighed.


    "Congrattions on your promotion for bing the youngest General in history." She smirked, blurting out the thing that would surely baffle every single student in this school.


    ''As expected¡­Ah, I am really screwed up.'' Kai thought as he looked at the students'' dumbfounded expressions.


    "Whaaaaaaaaat?!"

 Chapter 381 - Ria Ross

    "Whaaaaaaaaat?!"


    The crowd was baffled by the announcement. His rank was never publicized ever since he got that special rank. And in less than a year, he already had a star on his shoulder? Normally, it required at least a decade of service. Yet, it was only one year from him.


    No wonder the crown couldn''t believe it.


    Suddenly, many vehicles stopped by the school.


    With just a single look, Kai already recognized them. It was his worst enemy at the moment.


    He grabbed Ria''s cor and summoned a magic circle underneath his feet. He leaped to the sky, dragging her to the top of the school building.


    "What? He escapes?"


    "NO!"


    "We need an exnation for this."


    The crowd didn''t like it and demanded him to return so that they could ask him a few questions.


    It wasn''t like they came for nothing. Ria didn''t forget to shout something to them.


    "I will be delivering my speech after lunch. Make sure you go there." Ria Ross waved her hand while being dragged by Kai.


    He didn''t waste a single second and dragged her to the room where he usually met his teammate and pushed her to the chair, having her sit and waiting to be judged.


    The group was bewildered by the appearance of Ria Ross.


    "What is the meaning of this?" Michelle asked while furrowing his eyebrows.


    "I am just visiting you guys while giving a speech for Kai''s achievement. I have even invited the media to spread the news." Ria Ross exined with a nonchnt expression.


    "What the heck are you doing, Teacher?" Kai twitched his eyebrows. Although he didn''t really mind having his teacher doing all the things she wanted, this one was too random. He couldn''t understand what she wanted.


    "Why are you raising your voice against me, Kai? I am just trying to help you?" She pouted while ying with her dress. "Look, I even dress up a bit."


    "¡­" Kai indeed found that Ria put more effort into this. "Well, I do admit that you have finally dressed up like a normal human being."


    "Oi, oi. Is bullying your own teacher the norm here? I don''t remember raising you that way." Ria shrugged whileining.


    "Are you not aware how you usually dressed up?" Kai red at her, feeling a bit angry. Her usual dress was just a normal pajama or something that was easy to move on like a shirt and short pants. As long as there was a whiteb coat, she would be fine for anything.


    However, Ria wore a white shirt followed by a brown colored skirt. Luckily, she didn''t wear herb coat.


    "Anyway, we can discuss it another time. But why are you here?" Kai suddenly remembered what she said earlier and asked. "Help me? What kind of help?"


    "Here¡­" Ria gave the documents she brought with her. "This is your next mission. The defensive battle."


    Kai frowned and took a look at the document.


    Meanwhile, Ria continued exining her real motive. "It''s true that I am delivering this, but I also have another purpose. It''s to inform the world about your promotion.


    "I told you a few days ago that you would be the target of envy because of this promotion, so we need to give the world proof to show. First of all, I will provide a brief exnation about what you have aplished so far and why we agreed to push your promotion a bit faster than a normal student.


    "After that, you are going to use this mission to prove that you are worthy. That''s all. However, we have a problem. That is the mission." She let out a long sigh.


    "What''s the problem, Professor?" Ayaka asked while frowning.


    "Your mission will be defending Yukon Territory''s Military Base from a magical beast horde due to the volcanic eruption. Because this will be your chance to shine, the military won''t send a four-star general, which is supposed to be the only rank higher than Brad Matthew at the moment.


    "They will only send one hundred thousand soldiers and let you and Brad Matthew deal with it. That''s why you will fight in a tough battle in a normal sense, considering you are fighting against one million magical beasts¡­ That''s the rough calction, but it might be more." She exined.


    "I see. Ten to one ratio¡­This is a terrible ratio. How many soldiers inside the Yukon Military Base right now?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes.


    "Seventy thousand. So, it''s around a seven to one ratio. It''s not that bad, but it''s not that good either." Ria answered.


    "Indeed. The perfect ratio will be five to one, especially since we need to split up at least five groups to defend the base." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "That''s right. And one of the worst things that can happen is seeing how adamant Brad Matthew is in leading the operation. He said he couldn''t let the youngling ruin this base because he doesn''t have enough experience. If I am the one negotiating with him, he will already have a few broken ribs." Ria red up, wanting to beat that Brad Matthew as soon as possible.


    "What are we going to do then? Doesn''t it mean that Kai can''t do anything during this mission?" Ayaka asked. "Won''t this be bad because it will make Kai look bad?"


    "True enough." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "Not necessarily so¡­" Ria mysteriously smiled as if she had a n to deal with the situation.


    Suddenly, Kai called his teacher, stopping all talks in the room. "Teacher."


    They turned to Kai with a serious expression as if he grasped something from reading the documents.


    "What is it?" Ria''s expression also turned serious.


    "I have several questions, but I think the one question that I want to ask the most is¡­ The little stunt you did earlier¡­Is that a part of your n?"


    Ria smirked when she heard that question. Kai seemed to have understood what she nned to do.


    "As I said, I came to help you. If you think that I am doing random things by calling the media over here, standing in front of the school gate, delivering the speech about your achievement, and announcing your promotion, then do you think I am fit to be your teacher?"


    "I see." Kai let out a long sigh. "You are serious about this?"


    "Of course. You seem to have understood my real intention." She made a sinister smile. "No wonder you are my student."


    "Hmph. No wonder people don''t like to mess with you. You always did something like this!" Kai shook his head helplessly.


    The group nced at them back and forth, hoping for an exnation.


    Kai sighed and put the document on the table before pointing his finger to two uses.


    They gathered and looked closely at the things he pointed at.


    "Kai Carter may bring his friends or even groups from the school to help him during this mission topensate for all the terms above."


    "Kai Carter has the right for an army of thirty-five thousand soldiers and the right to be an independent army. He may move freely in the battlefield with that army as long as he makes sure that everything is under control."


    They took a closer look at the two uses but still couldn''t understand the meaning. They asked Kai for an exnation.


    Kai let out a long sigh while Ria was making a big smile.


    ¡­


    Four hourster, all students in the academy had gathered in the gym where Ria Ross would be delivering her speech.


    The student council and a few volunteers must have seen hell because Ria''s unnotified speech forced them to prepare everything as soon as possible.


    The work that usually required a few days was done in a few hours.


    The light in the gym went out before the president appeared in the middle of the stage, with one light illuminating her.


    "I am sure that all of you here have heard about what wille for this sudden event. Even we, the student council, don''t know anything about this, so we are just as confused as you. Still, I believe no one in this base doesn''t know her name.


    "She has shaken this base from the very bottom because she has shown that ranking won''t determine your achievement. She is also my role model other than my grandfather, who taught me everything.


    "She, who is an A Rank Magician, manages to climb the rank to the very top and defeat all S Rank Magicians in the country. At the same time, she is the first to kill an S Rank Magical Beast without being an S Rank Magician.


    "She has indeed shown the world that we shouldn''t give up and can be whoever we want to be. I believe I shouldn''t talk for too long, and let''s invite one of our alumnus, General Ria Ross, to take the stage." She delivered her brief speech, asking Ria Ross toe to the stage.


    Apuse filled the gym as they looked at the stage with great expectation, wanting to see the woman who changed the US Base as a whole.


    Ria Ross slowly walked toward the podium, shook the student council president''s hand, and smiled at the audience.


    The uproar became a frenzy. The students were in euphoria.


    However, Ria Ross only closed her eyes, faced the students, and opened her eyes again. There was this weird feeling when one looked at her. It was a kind of a unique aura that only she possessed.


    That aura mysteriously shut them up until not even a single sound could be heard in the gym. It was indeed amazing to see a frenzy turned intoplete silence with just a blink of an eye.


    Ria Ross then opened her mouth.


    "Thank you for the warm wee. I am¡­ Ria Ross."

 Chapter 382 - You Are Truly My Student

    Ria Ross''s introduction was simple but impactful. It sent chills down their spines. They never expected that silencing the room with just a blink of an eye and giving her name alone could feel this magical.


    The silence instantly erupted once again.


    This was the caliber of the strongest magician in the base.


    Since they had recovered from the first shock, Ria chose to raise her hand while clenching it, signaling the students to go quiet.


    It took them a few seconds before they calmed down their excitement.


    "I am d to see the current generation of this school. And I think you have known this, but I have a personal student in the second grade. His name is Kai Carter. The most important reason for meing all the way here is to inform you about something.


    "I believe many of you have already heard it, but I will say it again. Yes, I aming here to announce the promotion of my beloved student, Kai Carter." Ria smiled while pointing at the screen behind her.


    It was Kai''s profile.


    "I can swear that all the things I will announce are real. First of all, I am sure you are wondering why I suddenly announce to the world that I have a student? This all happened around eleven years ago. After killing the S Rank Toad, I went to United Asia.


    "I also didn''t know why but I met this young man named Kai Carter half-dead. Since I happened to be a scientist who learned about the human body, I treated him there before sending him to the hospital.


    "It just clicked to me when I talked to this boy and decided to take this boy as my student at that time. They thought that he was just a mere low rank magician, but I found something in him they didn''t discover, which turned out to be his real talent.


    "If you follow the news about me, you will realize that I went to United Asia for a year, right? I was training him during that year and what he had achieved this far was all his hard work. After all, I didn''t teach him more than the basics.


    "He improvised all the things he learned and adapted to it. That''s why he could achieve this." Ria Ross presented and began talking about his achievement, starting from when he first came to the base to what he did earlier.


    It took her an hour just to exin his deed in a bit more detail. And the media had been keeping track of it, making sure that every single word was recorded.


    This was surely big news. The military had only talked about his achievement as vague as possible, but Ria talked about the process and how he managed to climb his rank.


    The students began admiring him for what he had done in the past two years. If all were true, Kai and his group might have done more than the top 100 groupsbined.


    No wonder that the top brass kept pushing Kai''s rank. They simply wanted Kai to have more authority to do more things. After all, if you asked any other group whether they were confident in challenging fifty thousand magical beasts in the short two weeks, they would surely say no unless they came with a few thousand people.


    "Hence, this is the basis of his promotion. I am sure that you can understand why the government decided to make a special exception for him and promote him like this. That''s all about him. Now, I am sure that all of you feel dissatisfied about his special treatment, especially regarding his mission.


    "Why could he get such a mission? If I have the same mission, I can do it better than him. That might be true.


    "For this, I have a solution, and the government has agreed to this solution. I have noticed that some of you can have a long "free time" after finishing your mission each month. Hence, I have proposed to the government to add one more system to our curriculum. It''s a special admission for another ranking system, separated from the top groups.


    "The school will evaluate your group condition and power before giving you a certain rank. Of course, there is a moreplicated system for this, but I will briefly exin it to you. You can take another mission in one month, separate from the daily quota.


    "The mission you will get is rted to the military, and the military will be evaluating you, giving you points for every task. After you get a certain amount of points, you shall be eligible to start your military career.


    "This will be implemented next term and the trial period willst for two years. Just bear this in mind, the system is notpulsory and the danger is far greater than the normal mission you receive. We won''t bear anything if you die during a mission like this, so make no mistake. That''s all.


    "Before I go off stage, there is something that you might want to hear from my student, so let''s invite my student, Kai Carter, to the stage." She smiled while looking to the side.


    The students followed her line of sight, seeing Kai slowly making his way toward the stage.


    Whisperings filled the atmosphere. They were confused and excited at the same time. On one hand, they had the opportunity to advance their career faster. On the other hand, they would face more problems in the future.


    Since it wasn''t apulsory system, it was great enough to be considered.


    Still, the star of the day, Kai Carter, had yet toe up, so they wondered what he would say.


    Kai smiled as soon as he arrived before Ria. He bowed politely, greeting her.


    Ria then retreated a few steps back, giving him some space.


    He then looked at the students with a calm expression.


    Taking another deep breath, he finally opened his mouth. "As you know, I am Kai Carter. Teacher Ria Ross''s student from United Asia. I gained citizenship not long ago, so some of you might still consider me an outsider, but none of it matters to me.


    "Since my teacher has done all the talks, I will just cut to the chase so as not to bore all of you. What I want to say regarding my promotion is that it is not entirely true.


    "The government has indeed promoted me to be a Brigadier General, but there is onest test that I need to pass. The mission is to protect the Yukon Territory from the horde due to the Volcanic Eruption.


    "The number is more than one million beasts while we will be fighting with only less than two hundred thousand soldiers. I can''t make any promise, but I have confidence in holding them back.


    "This is to show you that I am worthy of having one star on my shoulder. And I am sure that you all will start gossiping about me on how I am just using my teacher''s rtion to gain this position or why a person like me became her disciple.


    "I don''t have anything to say about that other than jealousy. What? I bet many of you are provoked by my words earlier. Do you think you are great?" Kai provoked them even more with that calm expression.


    Many rumblings began to erupt, disturbing the silence a moment ago. They respected him for doing all that, but it didn''t mean that he could look down on them, especially when he only relied on his teacher''s connection.


    Most of them were cursing him for talking big.


    However, Kai simply responded by covering the microphone with his Sound Instion Array and snapped his finger.


    A high-pitched sound rang in the gym, making people''s ears hurt. It stopped them talking for a few seconds.


    He used that chance to continue. "You don''t like that treatment earlier? Then, feel free to show it to me. ording to the mission, I have the right to recruit people from the school, but I won''t do something like that.


    "I simply want to challenge you whether you are truly worthy of fighting me? If you think you are worthy, you can join this mission as my subordinate. I will show you my way of fighting, allowing you to see what kind of person I am.


    "After that, you will have your opinion. Scorn me, praise me, or remain neutral. It''s your choice. But if you can only talk big without even seeing it with your own eyes, then I have two words to say. Screw you." Kai smirked, ending his speech with a bang.


    Suddenly, the student council president took the microphone and looked at the students. "This is a challenge, I guess? I would really like to see with my own eyes your ability since I am still not convinced of what Professor Ria Ross said earlier. I am not saying her wordsck credibility. I simply want to witness it with my own eyes. Therefore, I''ve decided to join this mission of yours along with my group. As for the rest of the student council¡­The choice is theirs."


    "!!!" The students were shocked to see her be the first to participate in this ridiculous provocation.


    "My Eagle Group is not a pushover so that we will be participating in this too. Besides, it''s a perfect opportunity to "learn" from the great Kai Carter. I hope that you can entertain me, Kai Carter." Isabelle stood up and shouted.


    The students became even more provoked when they saw the two groups joining the mission. One by one began standing up and announced their participation.


    Kai smiled evilly while thinking, ''The mission allows me to recruit the students here, but the most important thing is that the use doesn''t state any limit. There are a total of five hundred people in the top 100 group alone, but it''s not enough.


    ''Haiz, Teacher surely has messed up Brad Matthew''s arrogance with this move. After all, in addition to the original thirty-five thousand soldiers, I can mobilize the entire school, which should have at least five thousand students. This will make my army have more numbers than the other armies.''


    Kai understood it pretty well and liked the n.


    At the same time, Ria also had a sly smile, staring at him as if telling him, "You are truly my student. You know me well."

 Chapter 383 - Program

    Bang.


    "This is ridiculous!" The sound of a guy mming his hand to the wooden table echoed in a room. There were ten people inside the room, talking about an important thing.


    "That''s right. How can you let her do this, Mr. President?" An old man gritted his teeth and looked at President Brent.


    The president himself remained calm as he understood their concern. He closed his eyes for two seconds before ncing at an old woman right beside him. "You are our Minister of Defense. What do you think about it?"


    "I actually agree to this. Although we need more manpower to deal with this situation, I believe this system will improve the situation of our military. At the same time, there will be more and more peopleing in." She nodded.


    "You can''t do this. Do you know how many people in the academy? We need at least one thousand personnel to handle the entire system." The old man who mmed the table earlier was none other than the secretary ofbor. "We will need a huge amount of resources to do something like this."


    "Oh, you are talking about the money?" The guy who supported him earlier suddenly realized they didn''t rebuke the president for the same reason, so he decided to remain silent.


    "I know what you are thinking, but we will be able to raise more talented people in a short period." She shook her head.


    "Still, the budget is already too tight to handle. I can''t really direct some money to this project."


    President Brent thought for a moment and asked, "That money¡­How many schools did you put in your calction?"


    "We have four schools all over the base, two magic schools and two military schools. If this is implemented, we need to deal with all of them or there will be a huge protest from the masses."


    The president furrowed his eyebrows and seemed to know how to proceed. "Focus on the Sacred Magic School."


    "But¡­"


    "It''s fine. I am going to use Ria Ross''s statement for this." He sighed. "What do you mean, President? Do you happen to know more than us?"


    "Yes. Ria Ross said there is a trial period of two years."


    "!!!" He widened his eyes before looking down with his hand on his chin.


    "What do you think? Can you do it?" President Brent asked.


    "I believe I can. As long as she announced it first, we will be able to calm the mass. Although there will be an influx of students for Sacred Magic Academy for the next two years, it means that the school can select students with higher quality.


    "This way, the project will have a higher sess rate. As long as the media keep covering the program, we will be able to make them a bit bored with this type of news or get used to it. After all, I am sure that when the system is implemented in all schools, it will lead to many deaths.


    "We can simply fight it with the facts from the trial period. As for the budget, I should be able to spare some if it''s only for one school. The problem will be personnel which should be recruited from the military." He nced back at the minister of defense.


    However, she looked away, directing the problem to a middle-aged woman that sat not far from her.


    "Hmm? You want the veteran to do it? Well, I can agree with this since there is a long history that veterans keep working as a bodyguard or something. I will try it. You should be able to get the answer in two¡­No, one week."


    "We have the deal then?" President Brent smiled. No one objected anymore after watching how it was settled.


    "But President, are you sure we are doing this? There will be many who don''t like this, especially wealthy families, because it means you are siding with Ria Ross?"


    "They are benefitted from it as well. If theyin, I will deal with them personally. Besides, I agree with her condition because she presented me with information."


    They frowned.


    "Yes, there is something dangerous inside the Amazon Forest, so we can''t venture too deep into their area or we will be wiped out. From what I can understand, their danger level is higher than the protectors that keep harassing us." President Brent sighed.


    "What? There is something like that in the forest? How can we not know about this? No, this is not important. We need to investigate and deal with it immediately. Or our bases to the south will be in danger."


    "That''s the problem. They are not aggressive. As long as we are not doing anything, they won''t do it. She guarantees us that if something big happens, she will be the one leading the suppression army."


    "Since she is nning to go to that length, we will try to do it since our objective is South America as a whole, not the forest."


    "Yes. As long as it''s safe, we can do anything about it after taking back South America. However, it doesn''t mean we will stop investigating it."


    "Understood. I will ask the bases near it to do it."


    President Brent nodded as his expression turned severe. "The other information is more urgent. It seems that we have something that is threatening us. There might be a connection with how this world turns like this."


    "!!!"


    "I don''t have much information about this, so I will be telling you again after Ria Ross sends me the full information. I want the military to stand by since we can''t afford to get distracted while dealing with the protectors from the sea."


    They exchanged looks and nodded.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the school''s gym.


    Kai let the uproar continue for a little longer. Most of them were gotten carried away by the atmosphere, so he knew that some would surely not jointer. However, he should be able to get at least three thousand to four thousand people, and he was satisfied with that number.


    The next thing he needed to do was inform them how to join and when they needed to go.


    "The mission will be held in three days. I have asked the military to send trucks to send you guys to the battlefield. That''s all." Kai smiled before taunting them once more. "I am waiting for you to judge me. Thank you."


    He walked off the stage with his teacher as not only those in the gym but the entire base were shaking with excitement.


    They gained two objectives during the speech.


    The first was to get into the Sacred Magic Academy to get that opportunity, while the other one was to follow Kai''s achievement.


    They wanted to see whether Kai really did all those missions. They were hoping to see what the students from the academy could rify when they returned to the base.


    Still, there was one thing happening that was outside Kai''s prediction. It was the birth of his own fan club.


    Seeing how he was so extraordinary, his poprity was skyrocketing, especially in a world filled with females. His overbearing and aloof attitude made him a national husband at this point.


    However, the person in question wasn''t aware of this. After walking off the stage, he let out a long sigh while staring at Ria. "At least, we have fulfilled the first objective."


    "Yes. From my prediction, you will get at least four thousand soldiers. Combined with your army, you will have almost forty thousand people. This will surely allow you to do many things, right?"


    Kai nodded. "Well, yes. The problem will be what should I do to let them see my performance while doing my best to protect the battle."


    "That''s what you need to think about." Ria Ross shrugged. "My objective here ispleted. I will just give you two pieces of advice. First, pick the first years that are able to get to the top 100 groups. They will be the witness for the first year. You can choose some little groups for the second and third year students since they are at least experienced enough to handle yourmand."


    Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. "I agree. We can''t really bring all the top 100 groups with me because they will notice that I am favoring them. And as much as I hate to say this, the haters have louder voices, so we need to shut those people up with this."


    "Exactly. As for the second one, you will need to let the students participate more. At the very least, they will need to have a say during the meeting with their superiors. Of course, you should allow those who are qualified."


    "I understand. We can allow Isabelle or someone to do that. However, we can''t do it too much since they will be too confident at that point. Probably only two or three can participate in the meeting. After all, even if your program is good, they will only start at the very bottom. They need to learn the reality first so they won''t expect too much." He nodded.


    "Yes. ording to the program, even you might only get a maximum of six promotions." She nodded.


    "That''s why we need to hype the program but also give them the understanding." Kai sighed. "This will be moreplicated."


    "No need to think about it, I will handle the rest. Just do what you need to do. Besides, they won''t be able toin to you since you are the predecessor. For example, you need to be as big as possible. Hahaha!" Riaughed. "If you don''t have anything, I will return now."


    Kai bowed his head. "Thank you, Teacher. And I will apply the knowledge I gain during the training in this mission."


    "Oh, it seems the magical beasts will have a hard time." She smirked before walking away.

 Chapter 384 - Brad Matthew

    Three dayster, Kai stood on top of the building, watching many military trucksing to the school.


    Each truck could bring around thirty people, so with the current number of the truck, they could get around four thousand eight hundred people.


    "So, what do you think about this number?" A female voice resounded in his ears as she walked closer to him.


    "It''s beyond my expectation. I believe this is the effect of my teacher giving her speech." Kai narrowed his eyes while ncing over the woman who came to him. "Sorry for making you stay here."


    "No worries. I know that you asked the others to fly first because you are worried about all these students. I am here just so we can teleport there immediately as soon as the trucks have set off." Tasha smiled while looking at the students who slowly entered the trucks.


    "Almost five thousand soldiers are here. One thousand more than I predicted¡­" Kai sighed.


    "From my perspective, the first and second year students are eager to participate. Since the third year will only have graduation after this, the two grades will have the opportunity to show their might when the program that your teacher made begins."


    "To be fair, I thought that too. They can simply say that they have done this and that, especially regarding this mission. Since I am the exception and umte more achievement, if they fight under me for just one asion, the evaluation will surely calcte it too." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "You don''t like where this is going on?" Tasha asked.


    "Not really. I have stated that their lives are their own priorities. The problem will be how I control them to make sure they don''t flee when they see so many magical beasts." Kai sighed.


    "Do you know about our terrain?"


    "Yes. I have forwarded it to those who I deem qualify to enter the meeting."


    "I see. What is the chance of us losing?"


    "With all of you here?" Kai asked.


    "Yes."


    "Thirty percent. I have never fought in a defensive battle like this, so my confidence is not that great, especially since there is no one higher than Brad Matthew."


    "Fair enough. It must be a headache." She smirked.


    Kai shrugged and saw thest student entering the truck. After waiting for another minute, they began their journey to the Yukon Territory.


    "They have gone, are we going now?" She asked.


    "Wait until I can''t see them anymore." Kai smiled. "Still, to think the teachers are participating in this too¡­"


    "Haha. That''s normal if I think about this. Firstly, they won''t have enough students to teach, so they might as well participate. They can protect the students that way."


    "Yes. They have many capable people after all." Kai nodded, remembering Yuki and Sanae. There were some of their peers in the school, so they knew that the teachers were capable.


    "Let''s go then." Kai smiled after watching thest truck disappear from his vision.


    Tasha snapped her finger and teleported them to the military base.


    As soon as he appeared in the military base, many people noticed his presence, especially since he would be leading almost forty thousand people.


    They were curious to see the student that had this kind of responsibility.


    Kai smiled and nodded his head to them while making his way toward Brad''s office. Tasha decided to go a separate way, searching for their usual group.


    Suddenly, Yuki sneaked behind him and hugged him from behind like that of a friend. "Yahoo, it''s been a while, Kai. This is the second time we fight together after the raid mission of the Underground Nest."


    "Teacher Yuki, it''s been a while." Kai nodded.


    "You just arrived?"


    "Yes."


    "Then, you are on your way visiting that gori?"


    "Yes."


    "Let me apany you then." Yuki smiled yfully.


    "By the way, can I know what the status is?"


    "The advanced teams that you sent earlier have gathered here, so you don''t need to worry about them. As for the situation of the volcano, even I don''t have that information."


    "I see." Kai nodded as the two headed straight to Brad''s office.


    Beforeing in, he wanted to confirm the matter again with her. "Are you sure it''s alright for you to visit him?"


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Yuki pushed open the door while shouting, "Yo, gori!"


    "Who is a gori? You damn woman." Brad snorted, but his voice didn''t really have a trace of anger, so Kai thought they might know each other.


    "I am visiting you; it''s you being honored." Yuki pouted. "Even General Nathan reprimanded you all the time."


    "Hmm? Why does Sir Nathan get involved here?" Kai frowned.


    Brad then noticed Kai and raised his head, stopping his work.


    "You don''t know? Brad Matthew studied under Sir Nathan, you know. He was so messed up and got reprimanded all the time."


    "I did not!"


    "Yeah, you were. Don''t lie. Or should I just tell all the things that happened when you were his subordinate?"


    "¡­" Brad clenched his teeth and red at her. "What do you want here?"


    "I am just here to apany him and learn insider information from you."


    "Go back. This is not the ce you ought to be."


    Yuki only stuck her tongue out and grabbed the nearest chair, sitting as if telling him that she had no intention of leaving. Even Brad gave up at that point.


    Kai became even more convinced that these two wererades before.


    Brad then turned to Kai, looking at that one star on his shoulder. He secretly clenched his fist and said, "Take a seat."


    Kai nodded and sat beside Yuki.


    "You can''t be honest, aren''t you?"


    "Enough. I am going to throw you out if you talk again!" Brad mmed the table.


    Yuki shrugged and stopped talking.


    "ording to the order, you have the army for yourself. Since she is with you, you can use her as your officer. I won''t send you any officer, so they can take care of your ass."


    "Are you sure? This means you are going to separate Kai from the rest of the armies, no? This is the most foolish question that I have heard today."


    "You don''t know a thing!"


    Kai narrowed his eyes and asked, "May I know my position in this battle?"


    Brad showed the picture of five armies standing side by side. The furthest left had one on it, while on the opposite side had five written on it. Brad pointed at the second army.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai was surprised. He thought he would get either the first or the fifth army, but it seemed Brad was gentler than he expected.


    "This is why I said you should be honest. Your tsundere character doesn''t suit you!" Yuki also noticed the reason why Brad gave that position to Kai.


    It had strategic hills. Next to him would be the main army which Brad himself would personally lead. At the same time, the first army would surely have either his left or right hand man. This already showed enough concern for Kai.


    No wonder Yuki said he was a tsundere despite his face and build.


    "Well, this will be a good one. In any case, I have considered all kinds of terrain here, so I should be fine." Kai nodded. "What''s the status of the volcano?"


    "ording to the headquarters, it will erupt in two days with one-day correction."


    Kai looked down while falling into deep thought. The technology had progressed, especially with the volcanic eruption. After all, every time it happened, it would influence millions of magical beasts. Since they only needed to deal with one direction, they only needed to face one million or so magical beasts instead of the full force, so it was quite relieving.


    "Will there be a chance that a protector is involved?"


    "No. On the battlefield next to us, an S Rank Magician is standing by. They should meet her first before reaching our position." Brad shook his head.


    "In that case, it should be enough, especially with forty thousand people¡­" Kai nodded.


    "¡­" Brad was scratching the back of his head, frustrated with the additional people he brought with him. He never expected that he would bring that many students, but he couldn''t also dismiss since he already agreed to the term.


    "In that case, I don''t think we need to worry about reinforcement, right?"


    "Yes. As long as we stand our ground, it should be fine. Well, there might be someone that messes up though." Brad narrowed his eyes, looking at Kai.


    Noticing his gaze and meaning, he talked back. "And I am currently looking at that person¡­"


    Brad got challenged as they red at each other for a while.


    "Gahaha. Gori, you have lost, you know." Yukiughed. "Even Sir Nathan said he couldn''t handle this kid, so you might be the one who slips up."


    "That''s true. I am not trying to look down on you, but this position¡­ You will be the one facing more enemies, you know." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Brad only looked away. "I am the one responsible in this base. This is my decision and responsibility. There is no way a student like you who gets a golden spoon from his teacher understands this."


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows. Instead of talking back, he decided to ask another question this time. "How about our resources?"


    "We have enough bombs and air support for one hundred to two hundred thousand beasts. How many can you kill using them will depend on you. For now, the explosives have been given to your army, and each army here will have one air support."


    "I understand. This is going to be an interesting fight." Kai nodded. "Is there anything else I need to know?"


    "None. Go to your army and prepare yourself. I can''t have you wet your pants in this battle after all." Brad Matthew snorted.


    Kai shrugged and rose from his seat.

 Chapter 385 - Natural Fortress

    "Alright, then." Kai stretched his hand while walking with Yuki.


    "So, what is your n? I can be your deputy for this defensive battle, you know." She smiled.


    "I appreciate it." Kai nodded as his expression turned serious. "Before that, I want to ask about your experience in a defensive battle, especially in a fort battle."


    "A fort?" She frowned and realized what Kai''s n was.


    *Gasp!*


    "You are nning to make a natural fortress?"


    "Yes. Forty thousand people should be enough to make a natural fortress within two days." Kai nodded.


    "Well, I have some experience, but I am not that good. Need more instruction from the boss." She shrugged. "It seems I am not fit to be your deputy."


    "It''s fine. I need your expertise. Besides, there is Sir Ethan''s granddaughter here. If I add one or two officers from the soldiers, we should be able to manage the entire army." Kai waved his hand as if the problem they were facing was not a big deal.


    "Is that so? I will trust you then." Yuki nodded.


    "In that case, let''s go outside first. I have the image ready, but I need to see the real thing before the students arrive here."


    "By the way, do you need her? Should I call her?"


    "Yes. I need Laura here along with Ayaka, Michelle, and one teacher with expertise like this. There should be someone beside you that can control an army in a battle like this, right?" Kai nced at her.


    "Of course." She nodded.


    "Let''s go then. I will wait at the gate."


    "Sure. Leave it to me." She smiled and walked to a different location.


    After a few minutes, she managed to gather all the necessary people and brought them to the gate where Kai had waited for them with a truck.


    Still, Laura didn''t know why he would call her. Although she had some confidence in a defensive battle, this scale was already beyond her power.


    "Ehm, may I know the reason why I am here?" She asked.


    "I need your expertise and knowledge from Sir Ethan."


    "But this¡ª"


    "Don''t worry. I am not nning to do that first. Just follow me." Kai waved his hand.


    "I understand." She was still hesitant but ultimately epted his invitation.


    Kai then turned around and started running with fast speed. The group followed him right behind while looking around to check their surroundings. There might be a detail that they needed to remember.


    Kai also took a few notes during this run, considering the beasts would most likely go here if he failed to stop them in his ce.


    After a few minutes, they could see three hills standing side by side.


    Laura, who had more understanding in a defensive battle, instantly recognized the potential of this ce and asked. "How about setting up the base here?"


    "That''s the n." Kai nodded. "For now, let me take a look at the hills first." Kai shrugged.


    She nodded. The hills were not that high, but they covered a vast area. They would have enough time to descend if there were a breach in their defense, and with this kind of hill, the magical beasts would be more inclined to destroy them first.


    After half an hour of looking at the three hills from all directions, he understood the gist of what he needed to make.


    "I have made the n before. The base is correct, just need a bit of adjustment." Kai nodded before looking at Michelle. "Bring me the picture."


    Michelle nodded and opened her device. The group looked into the picture of the base after being edited by Kai ording to his need.


    "This¡­ Seriously¡­" Laura blinked her eyes a few times as she couldn''t believe what she saw. "This is incredible."


    The group looked at her because they didn''t really understand the meaning behind this concept.


    As Kai was about to exin, Laura had begun pointing at the left hill and said. "Look at this hill, there are four entrances in this hill. With the natural terrain, we can direct the magical beasts elsewhere, separating the four entrances into sixteen.


    "It will give a huge advantage for our people to handle this kind of number. At the same time, I can see fences here and there. These fences should be enough to direct the magical beasts to a dead-end or something. We can even ask the soldiers to be a fence, but I think that won''t be necessary for the first half of the battle.


    "After ughtering them, we can simply throw them off the hill. Each slope has one or two ces to be a shelter from the magical beast corpses. And if we umte enough monster corpses on the foot of this hill, we can create a wall or some sort.


    "The same applies to the right hill. What makes this more interesting is the middle hill. From what I can see, this hill allows the movement of the soldiers more smoothly. In other words, the soldiers from the middle can go to the other two as a reinforcement. If we apply this and that, we will have a huge fortress ready."


    She just couldn''t believe what Kai hade up with. Although it wasn''t as good as her grandfather, she knew that Kai was already out of her league.


    "Yeah. We are using the natural terrain. I think forty thousand people will be enough to handle the transformation in two days. My prediction is one day, but since there are students, I don''t have much hope." Kai sighed.


    "It''s fine. The students are not that much in number." She assured him.


    "After that, we will set up a meeting and disperse the soldiers. Teacher Yuki, I will be counting on you in this part."


    "Leave it to me." Yuki smiled at Kai while looking at the terrain.


    "Teacher will be holding the left hill. Ayaka and one officer from the army will be helping you."


    "Yes, Sir."


    "As for the other hill, I would like to ask for your help." Kai looked at the other teacher. He never really met the teacher, so he didn''t care much about him. "Laura and Michelle will help you, and yeah, one officer from here."


    "I am not that confident, but I should be able to manage the soldiers. The rest will depend on the situation."


    "Sure." Kai nodded. "If we have too many magical beasts marching to the top, we will use the soldiers to push them off the hills, allowing us to create a temporary barrier for breathing. We should do it every two hours, so the students and soldiers can rest."


    The group acknowledged his order and kept listening. For Laura and the teacher Yuki brought with her, this was their first experience to see Kai in full charge. They realized why Kai got an exception.


    "I will send the details to each of youter, or Michelle will. I hope you can supervise the construction." Kai nodded. "That''s all about the hills. We will bring the soldiers here first and set up the headquarter for our army. Have the students rest for half an hour before directing them here when they arrive. And since the trees around us will be trampled by magical beasts sooner orter, we will cut them down and use them for the terrain construction.


    "After that, we will be setting up traps and explosives. I will need to survey the area for these because I don''t know about our supplies previously."


    After listening to his direction, the group nodded. Ayaka suddenly found something was wrong. "How long are we going to fight?"


    "My prediction? With that number¡­ Three days."


    "The night?"


    "Of course. I have prepared for that, so don''t worry." Kai waved his hand. "I can also go to the front line to gather their attention a bit and to inspire the soldiers."


    "Well, I can use my magic power. Tasha can also change the "weather" again." Ayaka agreed with the n. "Besides, I am sure that the army has capable people, right?"


    "Of course." Yuki was the one who answered her question. "Still, I am worried about that Brad¡­Or should I call him brat as in a brat instead? He is like a kid that the parents can''t free from worry."


    "I have expected it¡­ That''s the reason why I recruited the students to participate. With our number, we should have enough to spare¡­My prediction is that we can bring fifteen thousand people to other battlefields." Kai assured her. "Well¡­It''s my Teacher''s idea at first."


    "In that case, I can fight to the fullest. Should we set up an escape route?" Michelle asked.


    "There is an escape route behind the hill, but I will probably use it for sending reinforcement or going around them to attack from behind. I can''t give the details unless I have seen the situation itself." Kai looked down, falling into deep thought.


    "I don''t have a problem with this arrangement." Ayaka thought it was already good enough and didn''t have any more questions.


    "Same." Michelle raised her hands and stepped back.


    "It''s been a while to see you in charge. It feels nice to stand back and listen to an order. And it''s an understanding order, not a ridiculous one." Yuki also stepped back, feelingfortable with the current n. "I will go back to the base to bring the soldiers."


    Without waiting for Kai to answer, she already turned around and left.


    "I also don''t have a problem." The other teacher also agreed with the n and decided to follow Yuki instead. He felt a bit embarrassed to see all students were together while he was the only teacher.


    The rest then looked at Laura, waiting for her answer.


    "I¡­" Laura paused for a second before letting out a long sigh. "I finally understand why my grandfather thought highly of you. I''m in."


    "Alright then. Let''s turn this area into a natural fortress."

 Chapter 386 - Emergency

    Not long after Yuki left to call the other officers, she brought ten officers that seemed to be helpful for this battle.


    "I have brought them, Kai. The soldiers will arrive in an hour." Yuki reported while walking toward him.


    Kai looked at them with a calm expression and asked. "Before we discuss the battle n, I would like to ask if any of you trust me?"


    Surprisingly, eight out of ten raised their hands.


    "You may not know this, but we have seen you in that battle,manding the troops that change the situation," One of those who raised their hand said.


    "Hmm? What battle?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "The battle with that spider."


    "I see." Kai closed his eyes for a second. "What about the two of you?"


    The first one decided to answer honestly. "I can''t trust you one hundred percent, but I can follow yourmand."


    "I am about the same." The other one acknowledged it as well, making things smoother.


    However, Kai also noticed that the reason they could follow him wasn''t due to himself. It was due to his rank. Looking at their rank, they were ranked lower than him, so his words were the order here.


    "That''s fine. If you can follow mymand, it will be better than secretly trying to do something of your own. After all, it may identally mess up the entire n." Kai nodded. "Please follow my order. The rest will be your discretion. Are we good with this arrangement?"


    The two exchanged looks and nodded. They both saluted while saying. "Sir Kai Carter."


    "Good. Let''s go to the top of this hill first. We will be stationing ourselves there." Kai pointed at the middle hill while smiling.


    He took the first step to enter the hill before picking up the pace. He just wanted to show a bit of his strength, so they ced more weight on his words.


    Those officers seemed to understand as well. Concerning his strength, they had no moreints.


    Kai then began exining his n again to these officers but added more details thanst time.


    The officers finally realized Kai''s carefully thought n and recognized Kai as the leader of this army.


    As soon as they finished the meeting, they dispersed, starting their terraforming the hills and the woods on the foot of the hills.


    With so many people, the work went pretty fast, and Kai was quite satisfied with it.


    Since the trees would end up getting trounced by the magical beasts or devastated by their attacks, Kai decided to use them instead.


    The soldiers spread the trees all over the ground ording to Kai, unaware of their usage. After the woods, they had a small field where they nted explosives as a trap.


    Kai forbade them to use the explosives on the hill because it might cause andslide or something. At the very least, he didn''t want this fortress to get ruined by something stupid.


    Still, most of the soldiers picked up a gun here since they would be facing them from a distance. Isabelle obviously became a part of this squad.


    When he checked it again, there were around twenty-five thousand gunners in this army while the rest were fighters.


    After a while, the students finally arrived. Kai didn''t show mercy on them and quickly forced them to help with the construction, not letting a single of them off even if they were a part of the top 100 groups.


    But as one would expect, the busiest person would be Evan. He needed to take care of the entire army with the medic group. The rest of his group also had their own tasks, so Kai didn''t bother them and continued with his work.


    The next morning, Kai was watching the entire soon-to-be battlefield from the very top with a severe expression.


    "What are you doing here?" A female''s voice resounded in his ears.


    When he turned around, he saw Laura climbing up to his position. "No, what are you doing here?"


    "I am just catching fresh air." She shrugged.


    Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Tommy was mad at me. I am just here to chill." She sighed.


    "Just don''t push him too much, he knows you and respects you, but¡­"


    "I know." Laura smiled. "Well, I have been working for it, but as you can see, it''s not that easy. Anyway, I want to confirm the battle n for tomorrow."


    "Do you find a hole in our defense?"


    "Not really. I want to confirm it. ording to your n, we are going to defend the hill normally, but there is this one variable that I can''t understand¡­"


    "That''s the real n. Although defending the hill is good, we need one force to swipe the battlefield to create a gap in the enemy rank to allow people to take a breath. Even if it is only a few minutes, it will help the battle overall." Kai exined.


    "The n is to have the left hill send out their troops and swipe the battlefield, right?"


    "Yes. The number is not important. The strength is." Kai smiled. "I will be leading them personally.


    "I see. Then I will defend the right hill and try to give you a way to climb the hill. The moment you enter the right hill, you can return to the left hill with the passage from the center hill. I see. Now it''s clearer."


    "That''s the gist of it." Kai nodded. "That''s why the middle and right hills only have ten thousand each while the rest go to the left hill. Of course, I will normally stand by on the center hill, so you don''t need to worry if there is a mimunication. I will handle it immediately."


    "In that case, I don''t think I need to ask anymore. I am just impressed to see someone at your level even though you are one year younger than me. Is this the power of Professor Ria Ross?"


    "My teacher taught me on the previous holiday, so yeah. The restes from experience." Kai nodded.


    "Haha, having Ria Ross as your teacher is great, but the burden is also big. I don''t think I will be able to withstand it." She turned around. "Anyway, I have confirmed the n. Are you going back now? We are having a meeting after this, right?"


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "I will be going with you."


    She smiled and walked to their headquarters together. Almost all of them were present, so Kai waited for a bit more before hearing someone running to the tent.


    "An emergency."


    Suddenly, a soldier rushed into the tent while shouting, "We have an emergency."


    "What happened?" The officers stood up when they saw them, instinctively wanting to move.


    "The¡ª" Before the soldier could exin, they felt the ground shaking for one minute.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes. "The eruptiones earlier than expected¡­"


    The people in the tent had their expressions darkened because all of them knew that the construction wasn''t done yet.


    "How is the progress of our construction team?" Kai asked.


    "It''s in the finishing process. We can finish it by noon, but¡­" Laura answered with a hesitant tone before looking at the outside. Her face was filled with concern.


    "What are we going to do?" Yuki asked. "Shall we fight them like this?"


    "What is their ETA?" Kai looked at Michelle.


    "One hour from now."


    "There are four more hours before noon." Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. He suddenly looked at the people in this room and said coldly. "We will attack them with fifteen thousand soldiers."


    "What?!" The officers dropped their jaw, never expecting Kai to give that kind of order.


    "This is going to be bad, isn''t it?" Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows.


    "Yes. That''s why I will be leading the army myself," said Kai with a serious expression. "Have the soldiers here to speed up the process. I will buy them enough time toplete the construction."


    "I am sorry, Commander. I''m afraid I have to disagree with this mission. It''s a suicide. What we will be facing are countless magical beasts that have no end. We will be swarmed by them sooner orter. It''s better to defend them here." One of the officers who said he couldn''t trust Kai decided to voice out his opinion.


    Kai understood his good intention, but it just infuriated him. He mmed the table and shouted. "Then are you expecting me to wait here? No!"


    The officer thought Kai had lost it and wanted to argue with him, but Kai stopped him with a wave of his hand. "I will let you know this. I am rather losing one hundred people here and fifty peopleter than letting two hundred people die because of the current condition!"


    The officer gasped and felt that what he said was true.


    "I can''t give you any promise, but I will do my best to lower our casualties. I won''t let them die." Kai sent a cold gaze toward all of them.


    Even the officer that was about to rebuke him suddenly saluted. "Yes, Sir. I obey yourmand."


    The others smiled and nodded their heads.


    "Have four officers stand by here. The rest will help me lead the army. I only have one thing to say for you. Follow my lead. The details will be ording to your own style. That''s all. Anyone have an objection?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    The room fell silent as no one disagreed.


    "We will strike them! Those who are fearless will follow me," said Kai while walking away, and all the people in the room began arranging the soldiers and such.

 Chapter 387 - Starting

    Meanwhile, in another ce, the birds had begun flying to the sky while the animals'' roars echoed in the foot of the volcano.


    They seemed to have sensed that the mountain would soon erupt.


    The ground began shaking, and the smoke above the mountain became even bigger.


    Suddenly, a loud sound echoed in their ears before they heard a thunderp.


    Boom!


    The smoke flew to the sky, the molten rocks wereunched into the air, and the magma flowed on the surface. The volcano had erupted.


    The magical beasts began to panic, and the area was filled with noises. They were trying to escape from this predicament together with the other races.


    Suddenly, two loud sounds took over their sound, silencing all the noises other than the volcano. The magical beasts fell silent when they listened to it.


    Surprisingly, all magical beasts went in one''s direction. Even those behind the volcano went around it within a safe distance and headed straight toward the military base.


    Those that were fortunate enough to be in the direction they were heading followed the instruction without hesitation.


    In fact, they became even more enraged, trying to pummel everything on their way. No matter if it was trees or ruins, they smashed them without a care of the world.


    The first magical beast that let out a roar that controlled the magical beasts was a huge monkey that appeared to have the body of a gori despite not being one. And the second beast was a wildebeest, leading the ground to go around the volcano.


    Their movements were so organized to beyond belief. However, none of the humans were watching this because no one dared to venture to this area just yet.


    They only got the data and visual from the satellite to know that the enemies wereing to them. Little did they know, they missed out on an important detail.


    They would never expect that the magical beasts that were supposed to go in all directions changed their destination, increasing the original number in their prediction to three times.


    ¡­


    "Kai¡­We are ready." Yuki came to the top of the hill after finding him there.


    "We still have time." Kai shook his head. "We will wait another thirty minutes before marching forward. Have the soldiers pick up the pace."


    "It''s done already." Yuki nodded.


    "I see. Is there any response from the other armies?"


    "Only one. General Brad only said you have the full right tomand it ording to the agreement. I won''t interfere."


    Kai narrowed his eyes. "We will fight conservatively then so as to not mess up with their n."


    "I thought so." Yuki nodded.


    "How about our troops?"


    "Fifteen thousand fighters and two thousand gunners."


    "That''s good enough." Kai nodded. "My team?"


    "Everyone is ready except Evan."


    "Alright." Kai nodded. "Tell the soldiers to stand by. I will head there as soon as I think it''s time for us to go."


    "Sure." She waved her hand and descended the hill.


    "This is going to be a long fight¡­" Kai muttered while looking at the horizon. He couldn''t really mess up with the enemies because they will focus more on the armies beside him, which would affect their battle n. He didn''t intend to be their burden, so he decided to use another n.


    After a long wait, Kai leaped to the sky, used his Sound Levitation Magic, and gradually descended the hill, heading straight to the advanced group.


    He found Yuki and the others along with thousands of soldiers.


    When Yuki found him, she gave a gesture as if telling him to give his speech.


    Kai twitched his eyebrows. He didn''t really like giving a speech like this, but this seemed to be necessary at the moment.


    He floated to the air and shouted. "My name is Kai Carter, yourmander. I know that many of you have dissatisfaction with me being yourmander, but I don''t give a damn to it. Just follow mymand."


    "¡­" The soldiers blinked their eyes a few times as if they couldn''t understand what he was saying. That speech just showed how arrogant he was. Luckily, there were no students other than his group and a few important people to avoid unnecessary casualties. Otherwise, they would shout, not caring about Kai''s rank.


    "Just remember that mymand has gone to many trains of thoughts. That''s why I asked you to follow mymand." Kai''s expression turned grim as he saluted. "Still, it is an honor to fight by your side in this battle. I, Kai, will be right in front of you."


    The soldiers acted differently. Instead of shouting or pping their hands, they simply saluted back.


    Thest sentence of his was really a game-changer. Normally, the generals stayed behind because fighting arge number of enemies would exhaust them. Hence, they kept rotating back and forth. However, Kai said that he would be in front of them all the time.


    They perceived his words as the deration that he would be thest one to retreat. For someone who gave that kind of resolve, they needed to give a salute to him and watched whether he told the truth or not.


    "Alright, let''s move out!" Kai leaped to the sky,nding on the very front as he started walking toward the enemies.


    From their pace and the magical beasts'' speed, they would likely sh half an hour from the base, so it should be enough to give enough sense of urgency in the soldiers'' minds, especially those staying behind.


    Each officer quickly went to their group and shouted to move out, following Kai''s direction.


    On the way, Kai separated his army into four armies, left, right, and middle army, as well as the gunner army.


    Yuki was in charge of the left army while the other teacher took the right one. Isabelle led the gunner army while he personally controlled the middle army.


    They crossed another hill along the way before arriving in a huge in. This was supposed to be their battlefield since the magical beasts should arrive in a matter of minutes.


    Someone brought a binocr and saw something in the sky.


    "I have spotted something." She shouted. "The enemies are here."


    Kai''s expression turned serious as the army became tense. Although it was just a portion of the entire number, they needed to sh against two to three hundred thousand magical beasts for a few hours. This was something hard to do even for a seasoned general.


    Kai only had one order. "We will fight them in this in and slowly retreat our way to the hill we passed along the way. After the construction is finished, we will quickly retreat to our fortress."


    His voice resounded in everyone''s ears. It was a simple order, and they quickly acknowledged such thinking, at least, those who had experiences in the army.


    Yuki, Isabelle, and another officer came to him, asking for hismand.


    "The three of you are to remain standby. My middle army will open the path."


    "You are not going to pierce through them, right?" Isabelle recognized Kai''s n while shaking her head helplessly.


    "Yes. I have my own n for that. Besides, it will be quite serious, so you need to cover us from airborne attack. Okay?"


    "Roger," Isabelle said while smirking. She was pretty excited to see Kaimanding an entire army from up close, considering she was usually on the back or never saw his appearance during a mission like this.


    "Should I get someone to rece my position to help you?"


    "It''s fine. My group will be leading this." Kai smiled. "Besides, I can''t afford to have so many casualties in this fight."


    "So, you are going to torture yourself?" Yuki let out a long sigh. "Fine. I will do my job perfectly so that you won''t have anyints."


    "Yes. Thank you." Kai smiled and turned to the other officer. She only nodded her head, acknowledging Kai''s order.


    "Anyway, no need to be so nervous." Kai shrugged and stepped forward, listening to the numerous footsteps that would soon swarm this field.


    The dust kicked up by the magical beasts rose to the air. Not knowing why the soldiers began to suck cold air as if a storm swept the area.


    The magical beasts began to make their appearance from the woods, entering the huge in. Everyone instinctively clenched their weapons, steeling their heart to fight those monsters.


    Kai, who was slightly in a taller ce than the others, couldn''t see the end of the magical beasts. Not only it stretched to left and right endlessly, but the lines behind the monsters were also so long.


    Roar.


    Roar.


    A series of roars filled the entire field, making the soldiers cower a little.


    Seeing that the morale became pretty low, Kai shouted before running toward the magical beasts alone. "If you don''t know what to do¡­Just watch my back. I will lead you to victory. Those, who want to win, follow me!"


    The middle army was stunned for a second before they realized what they needed to do.


    Michelle shouted. "Follow Commander Kai!"


    Tasha shouted. "Let''s wreck the enemies! Follow themander!"


    The two shouts became four, became ten, and became one hundred, and before long, all of them roared and started chasing Kai''s back.


    Kai jumped to the air while activating his Sonic Sword. The moment hended, he waved his sword vertically, killing the first enemy and blowing it in two directions.


    He kept marching forward with that speed as if there wasn''t a single magical beast in his way.


    When the army saw that, they were in awe and their shouts were once again clearly heard on the battlefield. With that high morale, they began the first sh.

 Chapter 388 - First Clash

    The shock wave that Kai and his army brought shook the other two armies. They were especially watching how Kai obliterated the enemies in front of him as if they never existed in the first ce. He had yet to lose his pace since the beginning.


    With Michelle beside him, he perfectly pierced through the enemy rank, opening their formation for the army behind him to widen it.


    Kai kept checking the army''s progress and watched their movement to know when to give the next order.


    At the same time, the magical beasts that were not affected by his charge continueding closer to the other two armies.


    "Now! Split up into two groups and mess them up!" Kai shouted.


    The soldiers quickly followed his order and spread it to the left and right. They delivered the shock wave to the side, forcing the enemies who mostly faced forward to copse.


    "Michelle! Give them a big one." Kai smiled while ncing at Michelle.


    Thetter nodded and shed her sword to the left and right, releasing her Shadow sh to these two directions.


    This became a signal for Tasha to make her first move.


    Tasha appeared with her Teleportation Magic as Kai helped her to fly above the enemies in the front. Since the soldiers spread to the side, only a few people could take care of the ones before them.


    Tasha was the perfect solution for this situation. She quickly used her Teleportation Magic and sent those beasts to the sky, turning the weather into magical beasts of rain.


    It was a spectacr sight. Most of the soldiers had heard it by now about this phenomenon and felt d to see it with their own eyes.


    Tasha teleported a total of three hundred magical beasts, creating a quite gap in their rank, so the soldiers didn''t need to worry about them being attacked from this direction for a couple of minutes.


    Seeing the progress, Kai raised his hand before waving it down.


    This was the signal for the other two armies. They both shouted at the same time.


    "Forward! Decimate our enemies!"


    The armies began to move, shing with the enemies that were only fifteen meters away from them.


    As one would expect, it was a one-sided battle. Kai managed to increase their morale by charging from the very front and united the group as a whole.


    After fifteen minutes or so, Kai realized that the magical beasts from left and right would begin to surround them, so they needed to gain their distance again.


    "Let''s retreat!" Kai signaled the army behind him.


    "Retreat! We are going to retreat to the hill slowly. Our time is thirty minutes, and defend the hill for two hours." Yuki''s shout resounded in everyone''s ears.


    The three armies acknowledged the order since it came from Kai''s signal. They gradually retreated step by step, making their way to the hill.


    When they were only two hundred meters away from the hill they passed before reaching the battlefield, Ayaka finally appeared next to Kai.


    "Kai, sorry for the wait. I have rechecked everything. We are good to go." Ayaka nodded with a smile.


    Michelle, beside him, was confused as to what his n was that involved Ayaka. But in a fight like this, there would be one thing.


    "Good." Kai nodded before looking at someone from his army. He grabbed a random person and instructed him to shout.


    "Order from Commander Kai. All soldiers are to close their ears when the count bes zero! I will count from ten¡­Ten¡­Nine¡­Eight¡­"


    The soldiers were bewildered by this statement, but they kept the order into their hearts and anxiously waited for the count to reach zero.


    "Zero!"


    The soldiers retreated a few steps back and covered their ears.


    "Do it!" Kai looked at Ayaka with a serious expression while covering his ears with Sound Instion Magic.


    Ayaka nodded and activated the Magic Bombs she had nted during the time Kai brought in the first battlefield.


    Five giant magic circles appeared in the enemy rank and exploded, swallowing thousands of magical beasts.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    A series of explosions echoed, and the soldiers could see what just happened. They thought since there wasn''t an explosion anymore, the situation was under control, so they hurriedly took their hands off their ears and began their attack with higher morale.


    What Kai showed, whether his fighting skill, Tasha''s weird weather, or even these explosions had pierced through their hearts. Despite following the most reckless order possible, it turned out that Kai had prepared anything to ensure their win and lives.


    "Kill those in front of you and retreat to the hill. We will retreat again if the enemies begin to surround us." Kai shouted.


    "Uoh!" They roared and killed the magical beasts in their front.


    Because of the gap caused by Ayaka''s explosions, only around two hundred beasts in the very front, so the group quickly took care of them and retreated to the hill.


    The magical beasts horde in their left and right seemed to be slowing down to this explosion as they were wondering what just happened.


    Kai took this chance to bring the entire army to the hill and fought with a height advantage. This was especially true for Ayaka and the others from the school. He chose only those who were the best in school, so when he ordered them to release their magic, numerous magic flew down the hill, killing many magical beasts at once.


    "Continue! Shoot your magic every five minutes. Make sure you kill at least one of them with your magic or you are suck even though you are in the top 100 groups in the magic school." Obviously, Kai didn''t forget to provoke them to raise their fighting spirit.


    The students had more pride than the soldiers since they had less experience, so it worked well for the most part. And those who realized that Kai only taunted them decided to act as if they got baited. It was a good order overall as they reduced the burden that the soldiers had on their shoulders.


    Kai himself even fought on the foot of the hill alone, showing his Martial Might. No one could dispute that the strongest student in their school was Kai. He alone killed around five hundred magical beasts just by swinging his sword alone, not like Ayaka or Tasha''s magic.


    Yuki and the others respected his decision and didn''t help him down there. Kai said that he needed to do it to inspire the army.


    The soldiers felt something rising in their hearts. The person they thought made it through the connection, which obviously came from Brad Matthew''s opinion, opened their eyes once more.


    His achievement was real. In fact, they really wanted the media to interview them right now so they could tell them how true the information that Ria Ross announced during that speech.


    The fight continued for two hours, just like how he promised them to dy the magical beasts for several hours.


    They also had the time to retreat from this hill to their fort, which would take at least one hour. The construction should have finished by that time.


    ¡­


    Two and a half hourster. The army had almost arrived at the fort. Even though they were tired, their morale was pretty high because they could kill many magical beasts during the first exchange.


    "Now, run as fast as you can and climb the hill. Make sure you don''t get caught with the explosives." Kai shouted. "Tend the injured and recover as much energy as you can during this period. You shall return to the front line in fifteen minutes. Where is my reply?"


    "Yes, Sir!" The army moved in one breath, following Kai''s instruction with full trust. As much as they hated to admit it, Kai was indeed a capablemander.


    Yuki chuckled when she saw how Kai easily gained full control of the vanguard. Ayaka and Michelle saw through Kai''s intention during this time and exchanged looks. They could only shake their heads helplessly, knowing that Kai would have done it in a way or another.


    They would soon begin their defensive battle with a fully functional natural fort.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Brad Matthew was discussing their battle n in their tent, especially after Kai brought his army to the front. It would surely affect the overall situation.


    "That is the situation. What do you think, General?" One of the officers reported to Brad.


    "Our scout?"


    "They said there was no chance in the horde direction. They only slowed down a bit, and that''s all. We can safely assume that Kai Carter and his army is slowing them down, but not changing the overall situation."


    Brad thought for a moment. "I see. That is possible with those ears. As long as he doesn''t mess up, I think it''s safe to assume that we won''t change our original n."


    "I understand. That''s a relief since fighting with a fifteen minutes n will surely have some loopholes."


    "Yeah. And how is their movement?"


    "He keeps retreating, but ording to the scout that keeps track of their battle, they said Kai Carter had imed twenty thousand magical beasts with only one thousand casualties in which only half of them were dead. The rest could be expected to recover since they have the famous Evan Young in their medic team."


    Brad looked at the ceiling while closing his eyes. He was deep in thought, trying to understand Kai''s n.


    Suddenly, he remembered what his mentor, Nathan Graham, said to him in the past.


    It was a ridiculous one, but when one pulled it off, they would create an army of demons. He opened his eyes and asked again. "How many casualties did his army take yesterday?"


    "!!!" The officers tilted their heads in confusion until one of them rose from her seat and reported. "Roughly one thousand."


    "One thousand¡­Only one thousand?" Brad lowered his head with his hand on his chin. "I see, so that''s how it is."


    "General, do you happen to know what happened?" She asked.


    "He¡­No, I seem to have underestimated him." Brad let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 389 - Fight Commence

    "I seem to have underestimated him." Brad let out a long sigh as if admitting his defeat.


    "General?" The officers were confused by his action and tilted their heads.


    "He is just a famous person with no credibility to most of us. After all, only a portion of people had seen him in action. With this kind of situation, most of our soldiers wouldn''t believe him. And he also brought students who havepetitive nature because of their pride¡­


    "He indeed nned to buy time for the soldiers to finish the construction, but he also had a hidden agenda. This is the most important agenda. With his standing and reputation and the fact that the soldiers are gathered from many bases around us in an emergency, their morale is at an all time low.


    "Speaking inly, there is a huge gap between those who know him personally and those who never saw him in action when ites to their will to fight. Due to that, it would be impossible for them to fight as one army.


    "Hence, Kai Carter made the decision to wreak havoc on the enemy line in the name of buying time. However, he also carefully used the terrain to his advantage to reduce his number of casualties. Those who are aware of Kai''s fame might have mistakenly believed that Kai really wanted to buy time earlier.


    "However, as far as the others concerned, their impression of the earlier battle was of their army being on a relentless one-sided offense in which the magical beasts could not hurt them at all.


    "And thanks to that, those, who followed him, have found a new source of confidence. And confidence in themselves corresponds to morale. His soldiers could be considered an entirely different entitypared to yesterday. The moment he shows it to those who are constructing the fort, the confidence will spread even further..." Brad exined the whole situation while covering his face with his hand.


    "What?" Most officers stare dumbfoundedly at their general. They couldn''t believe that a student could do that.


    "We don''t need to take care of their own asses anymore. Prepare to intercept the horde. All of you go into your positions." Brad rose from his seat and ordered all officers.


    They instinctively stood up and saluted. "Yes, Sir."


    ¡­


    At the same time, Brad''s expectation was correct.


    Those seventeen thousand people who followed Kai during the first sh had high morale despite being injured and exhausted. They just never saw someone killing twenty thousand magical beasts while having a thousand as their casualties.


    On the battlefield, Kai was watching from the very top of the center hill, watching how the magical beasts began to arrive in their position.


    The moment they found humans on the hill, they stopped for once and roared. A series of roars followed right after that, shaking the entire ground.


    "What is this tremor?"


    "No way!"


    The soldiers were in disbelief, but some of them looked at Kai''s serious expression that seemed to have predicted everything. They chose to trust him and clenched their weapons, ready to fight ording to his order.


    Roar.


    Roar.


    The magical beasts finally charged toward the hill.


    Kai had yet to send the order to attack, making people confused, but no one dared to release the first shot.


    Yuki came to him and asked. "Commander. Your order."


    Kai didn''t answer her. Instead, he closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the footsteps. He could also hear the anxiety of people that were trying to calm themselves down.


    When the magical beasts were about to ascend the hill, Kai opened his eyes and raised his hand. "Do it."


    Yuki shouted while giving the signal to the other hills. "Do it!"


    The next second, a series of explosions urred on the battlefield, stretching far to the left and right.


    Boom Boom Boom.


    It was like never-ending explosions, considering they had nted all the explosives they had. Kai chose this as an opening to raise their morale again, making sure the first fight had the biggest impression.


    "Uoh!"


    The soldiers started cheering when they saw many magical beasts were obliterated by the explosions. After all, those explosions killed around fifty thousand magical beasts in one go. Even if they needed to fight one or two hundred thousand, they needed not fear because they still had their precious air support.


    "Fighters. Eliminate those who have gone past the explosions'' range and begin climbing our hills. Gunners. Aims those far away. Shower them with our bullets." Kaimanded.


    Soon enough, the gunners began to shoot the enemies like how people in the past were raining their enemies with arrows. Meanwhile, the fighters began cleaning the hill from those who managed to prate their defense.


    It was swept so easily beyond belief. However, the magical beasts kepting. Even with twenty thousand gunners, not all of them could kill the beasts. Some magical beasts even had a stronger defense that normal bullets couldn''t pierce.


    Those beasts managed to get into the foot of the hill, starting to climb the hill.


    Kai simply gave another order. "Rain them down with your magic. If you can''t, don''t im yourself as one of the students from Magic Academy."


    After getting his order, the students began showering them with their magic, not wanting to look bad in front of Kai. Obviously, the first ones to attack were those top 100 groups who followed him in the first sh.


    It took them half an hour before the entire horde could get closer to the hill. By that time, many monsters had died.


    The moment they entered the foot of the hill, they began to spread over the hill and began climbing. The fighters began to descend the hill to stop them while the gunners kept thinning their number as a whole.


    Kai looked at this situation while furrowing his eyebrows.


    Michelle stood behind him with a serious expression, knowing that he was raring to go. "Now?"


    "Yeah. I will go to the right hill." Kai nodded.


    "Do we need to change the attack area for the gunners?" Michelle asked.


    "I will ask you to do that. Tell the gunners that there will be a line where they can''t shoot beyond that. That will be the ce where the army I will lead right now to cut the line, allowing them time for a breather." Kai nodded.


    "I understand." She acknowledged themand and asked someone to ry the message to the two leaders for the other two hills.


    "Sweeping the enemies from right to left before retreating through the left hill and using the center hill for the bridge to cross over to the right hill. That way, we can keep fighting¡­" Michelle closed her eyes with a frown.


    "Yeah. That''s the gist of my n."


    "This will be a tiring day."


    "Depending on the performance from the first day, we can see how long we are going to keep fighting¡­" Kai exined his n, unaware of the fact that the enemies they faced this time were at least double the number they predicted.


    In other words, since they predicted they would fight more than two hundred thousand, they would need to fight around four hundred thousand if not five hundred thousand.


    It wasn''t like Kai''s soldiers were immortal. After fighting that long, his number would seriously be reduced, and the fight would take longer.


    However, they still didn''t know that they needed to fight that long. Kai only kept track of what they needed to do during the battle until he could see the end of the enemy line.


    Suddenly, someone rushed toward Kai and saluted. "Commander. The soldiers are ready to be dispatched at your order."


    Kai nodded and turned around. "Let''s go then. Where is Ayaka?"


    "She should be with Tasha, so the gunner division," Michelle answered.


    "We grab her first. Let''s go." Kai turned around and flew to Ayaka while bringing Michelle with him.


    They found Ayaka with Tasha and Michelle, who were busy sniping the enemies.


    "Kai!" Ayaka widened her eyes. "Do you need something from me?"


    "How is your magic power?" Kai asked.


    "!!!" Ayaka instantly realized his n when asking about her magic power. She looked at the magical beasts and said, "I am ready for two more rounds."


    "For now, we will take the initiative and use the first round. Tomorrow will be the second round. I am sorry to put a burden on you, but this is an emergency."


    "Don''t worry. I won''t be tired since I won''t really fight if I don''t have magic power, but you are going to be more tired than me. Michelle too." Ayaka smiled, assuring him. "You are nning to conserve your stamina for tomorrow, right?"


    "Yes. I feel like when our troops are exhausted, it''s the time for me to raise their morale again." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Then, I will steal the spotlight on the first day." Ayaka nodded.


    "Tasha, can I ask you to protect Ayaka? Maybe one or two Teleportation Magic will be enough. Your condition will be a bit harsher during the evening after all. And we still need to fight during the night¡­" Kai sighed.


    "I see. Don''t worry. If your n seeds, we should be able to deal with at least one hundred and fifty thousand magical beasts in one day and finish in the second day. In fact, we can start helping the other armies that day¡­" Tasha nodded in understanding.


    "Thank you." Alex smiled. "Let''s go then. Isabelle, I leave this post on you."


    "Okay, Captain¡­Oops, Commander." Isabelle smirked.


    Kai then turned around, leaving with the girls.


    Unbeknownst to them, the one in danger was not Kai but someone else.


    In the depth of their rank, a monkey looked upon the horde with his hungry eyes, ready to swallow their prey. The same applied to the one next to the monkey, the wildebeest. It had fierce eyes, looking at the horizon as if he could already imagine what kind of prey he would have during this battle.


    However, these two were not marching toward Kai''s fort. Instead, they walked toward somewhere else.

 Chapter 390 - Magic?

    "How is the progress?" asked Brad to the officer beside him.


    "It''s normal, General. However, we found something troublesome during the check we ran an hour ago."


    "And what is that?"


    "We have yet to see the end of the magical beasts. If it is around one million beasts, we should be able to see the end because their number is split into five. We have asked the other armies too and their replies are the same. I am afraid our opponents are higher than the original number we''ve predicted."


    Brad looked down and fell in deep thought. "What is that brat''s reply?"


    "He has yet to see the end despite the magical beasts lining up for five kilometers."


    "In that case, there is a high possibility that we will be fighting more than one million. Send specialized troops to scout our enemies again and ascertain their number."


    "I understand."


    "And have the officers meet me again. I will change my strategy a little bit."


    The assistant nodded before asking, "How about we ask Kai Carter to scout, General? With his ears, he doesn''t need to prate deep in the enemy line."


    "¡­" Brad gritted his teeth. "No. We won''t rely on that brat. We will send our own scouts. Request reinforcement from the headquarters. We need at least four hundred thousand soldiers to win this fight. If possible, bring other generals as well, especially those above my rank. This is an emergency."


    "Understood. I shall convey the message to the headquarter." The assistant turned around and left.


    Brad Matthew finally went toward the battlefield, observing the entire battle for a few seconds. The left side was quite subtle since most of them went toward Kai instead of him due to how spectacr Kai Carter "charmed" all these beasts.


    On the other side, the soldiers managed to hold on just fine.


    Suddenly, he found three magical beasts that were different from the rest on the horizon. The left beast was a monkey. It could fly in the sky by using its magic.


    Next to him was a giant wildebeest. Unlike the others, this one had a thirty meters tall body. If it charged at them, it would surely destroy their rank.


    The furthest one on the right was a falcon, flying with the same speed as the two.


    "!!!" Brad looked at his hand. "I am sweating?"


    His body trembled as he drew a gasp. "They are the bosses of this horde. Why are theying here?"


    Suddenly, he noticed that the wildebeest released lightning, covering his body with that lightning. It lowered its head as the lightning slowly gathered on his horn before fusing together to create a small bolt of lightning.


    However, Brad felt dread upon seeing that technique. "Not good!"


    Brad took out his spear and pointed it at the wildebeest. A blue magic circle appeared in front of him as he thrust his spear toward the magic circle.


    The moment it hit, the magic circle released sharp and thin ice. It kept summoning more and more ice until it reached the target.


    Seeing this, the wildebeest shot the lightning he stored earlier.


    It became the sh of lightning and ice magic. The shock wave could be felt by all people on the battlefield.


    Unfortunately, Brad''s Ice seemed to be weaker than the lightning and got destroyed. The lightning struck forth toward Brad, nning to obliterate them.


    As he was about to receive it himself, a middle-aged man appeared and stretched his hand to the front. "No, you won''t."


    A huge translucent blue screen appeared out of thin air, blocking the lightning until it dissipated.


    "What the heck is this? Magical beasts are using magic now?" He asked while ncing at Brad.


    "I am as shocked as you are¡­" Brad shook his head helplessly. "I have never heard anything about this."


    "So, we need to deal with this, huh. It sucks." The middle-aged man had two stars on his shoulder and began unbuttoning his shirt. "I will apany you then. But I don''t think someone is strong enough to deal with the third one. In fact, I feel like it will be too much of a burden for me just to handle one."


    Brad nodded before ordering someone behind him. "Send out an emergency code to the headquarters."


    "Emergency code? Wait a minute¡­ Don''t we have someone who can deal with them?" The middle-aged man furrowed his eyebrows. "What is his name again? Kai Carter?"


    "Are you telling me to give this important matter to a kid?"


    "You just can''t trust them. They are more capable than you think, you know. My son and daughter are so capable. They can even surprise me with their strength." He shrugged.


    "Shut up! I rather die than relying on a student."


    The middle-aged man sighed. "Well, I will take that wildebeest. I wonder if they are an S Rank Magical Beast. After all, A Rank Beast might be able to utilize their magic power, but it wasn''t at the level of magic like this."


    "Impossible. There is a huge difference between an A Rank and an S Rank. And we don''t have enough information to im it as an S Rank Magical Beast."


    "Well, it''s indeed as you say, but I am just worried that my faint heart can''t take the fact that I will need to face three S Rank Magical Beasts. Even Ria Ross can only take one with so many elites."


    "Can you shut up? I am trying to think here¡­" Brad snarled.


    The middle-aged man raised his hands in defeat before taking out his device. He took another look at the beasts to confirm their movement. Luckily, it seemed the first attack was only a greeting. They remained the same after that attack, giving him a bit more time.


    He typed a few words on hismunication device.


    "What are you typing?" Brad twitched his eyebrows.


    "I am writing my will¡­Just in case." He shrugged.


    "Are you trying to say we are going to lose?"


    "No. I am just indirectly insulting you by not trusting students just because they are students. I mean, I know that you have a trauma with a student, but you need to act professionally. I, Dun, will do so if I am the leader." He shrugged.


    "Shut up. No matter if they are powerful or not, students are students¡­"


    "That''s why you hate your son?"


    Brad didn''t answer it this time nor he became inplete denial like before. Instead, he released his killing intent.


    "Fine, fine. I won''t speak about it anymore. This is why I am worried about you." Dun let out a long sigh. He typed thest sentence while muttering it out loud. "I love you, my wives. Take care of the kids for me."


    "¡­" Brad clenched his teeth and shouted. "Fine. Call the kids here. Do you think they can leave their post and make their way here? If they lose too many soldiers, they will be the ones getting overrun by the magical beasts."


    "Oh, so, you are worried about them instead. It seems I have been wrong about you." Dun chuckled. "Well, that student has a sister with Teleportation Magic, right? He will probably arrive here, but it''s not like we can reach those magical beasts with this current situation¡­"


    True. If they were to reach those three beasts, they would be swarmed by the beasts on the way. They first needed to advance their troops to make sure their fight would go uninterrupted.


    The same applied to Kai. If he were here, he wouldn''t be able to fight alone. That was why Brad was against the idea the whole time. His trauma just spiced it up.


    "No matter how low it is, we need all the help we can get. And that kid has killed a protector before, right? I am sure he is strong enough to handle the beast." Dun shrugged.


    "Whatever. If he cane, thene. Even if he can''t do it, I will fix his mess." He snorted before reprimanding Dun for one thing. "And I never hate my son."


    "You are such a dishonest guy. Anyway, I think it''s time to go. Those three are starting to get closer again¡­" Dun pointed at the three beasts. "We will need to buy time until the reinforcementes. For example, we need at least four hours for the emergency reinforcement toe. As for the kid, I am not sure. It''s not like he can help us alone. We have no soldiers to spare to protect him while fighting one of the three beasts. I have read his report, but yeah, I don''t know how much is true¡­"


    Brad turned around and shouted. "Ken,e here!"


    A man with one star on his shoulder came and saluted. "Do you need me, General?"


    "You are the strongest after Dun and me here. I want you to stop the monkey while I am killing the falcon."


    "I understand. I will do my best." Ken nodded with a serious expression and looked at the monkey.


    Brad''s focus then returned to the three beasts and shouted. "All troops. Advance forward. The three beasts can attack you from their ce, so we will kill them first. To do that, you need to protect the three of us until we kill them. If you trust me, fight with your lives on the line. I, Brad Matthew, will be right behind you."


    "Uoh!" The soldiers'' roars echoed as they began to release more of their strength to push the enemies back.


    The three were waiting for the path to be cleared, so they could fight those powerful monsters with full energy.


    "Go!"

 Chapter 391 - Reinforcement

    Bang.


    "President Brent!"


    Someone rushed inside the president''s office.


    "What happened?" Brent furrowed his eyebrows and stood up, feeling something bad had happened after watching how the person in front of him was covered in sweat.


    "We have gotten an emergency signal."


    "Hmm? Have the academies and other bases supported them." Brent tilted his head in confusion. This shouldn''t be his responsibility, so he didn''t know why the woman rushed like this.


    "But¡­The base that gave the emergency signal was Yukon Territory Base."


    "What?!" Brent mmed his table. "What happened?"


    "ording to them, they are most likely to face more than three million magical beasts. At the same time, General Brad Matthew and his deputy, Dun, faced three magical beasts that can use magic."


    "What did you say? Magic?" Brent narrowed his eyes. "Three magical beasts? And they can use magic? Is there a record of that?"


    "No. We haven''t heard about it."


    "¡­" Brent pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is Kai Carter''s status?"


    "He has performed considerably well during the fight. However, he is not fighting against the beasts at the moment. And ording to Deputy Dun''s secret message, Kai Carter will bete and the one who called the shot was Brad Matthew."


    "Ugh. That hard-headed man." Brent gritted his teeth and punched the table. He quickly called Ria Ross.


    "Hmm? Do you need anything from me?" Ria''szy voice resounded in his ears.


    Brent gave a quick exnation about the problem, wondering if Ria had knowledge about magical beasts using magic.


    "What?" It turned out she had no clue either. "My Kai?"


    "He will bete."


    "You should send emergency support. Two hundred thousand will be enough to deal with the entire situation. However, you need to create the highest order, stating that my Kai willmand the battle."


    "Are you sure that is enough? We are facing three unknown magical beasts, you know. Even the S Rank Magical Beast doesn''t use magic, no?"


    "I agree, but its strength is not at the level of an S Rank Magical Beast, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Kai will surely solve the situation. As for the remaining beasts, you will need more soldiers to handle the situation. My Kai is enough to solve the remaining problem. If not, I will go there myself."


    "You are moving out?"


    "Ny percent, no."


    "You sure? Are you not overestimating your student too much?"


    "Not really. Kai will soon surpass me, and I am far stronger than I used to be. You know what I mean?"


    "Alright. You don''t need to exin. I will follow your advice." Brent nodded with a serious expression. He hung up the call and looked at the personing to his room. "Have our emergency troops move. They need a few hours to reach there, so I want British Columbia and Alberta Bases to send their troops as well. Each of them needs to send fifty thousand."


    "I understand." She quickly left the room, carrying the order.


    Meanwhile, Brent wrote a formal letter with a single order.


    "Kai Carter is to assume the leader of Yukon Territory Base with Brad Matthew as a deputy."


    He signed the document and sent it.


    "I have done everything I can. If you truly win, my position will be safe and your good image will get amplified." Brent let out a long sigh, sat on his chair, and looked at the sky, feeling a bit stressed.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the battle became tenser.


    "Uoh!" The soldiers kept advancing forward as Brad and Dun followed right before them.


    Fortunately, the three magical beasts seemed to be static, waiting for them to reach their ce.


    When the distance between them remained only fifty meters, the wildebeest finally made its move. The horns began charging the lightning bolt, ready to release its powerful attack.


    "Oh! It''sing." Dun frowned and leaped to the front.


    The wildebeest nned to attack the advancing soldiers, so he nned to stop it.


    "I will take care of the other two," Brad shouted.


    "Sure thing." Dun nodded. The moment the bolt of lightning struck forth, Dun pped his hands, summoning a giant shield. It then turned into a translucent barrier, blocking the lightning.


    However, Dun realized that the power behind it was stronger than the one he received a minute ago despite having taken Brad''s power into ount.


    "Kuh!" Dun narrowed his eyes and stomped his right foot, creating another shield behind his current shield.


    Crack.


    Crack.


    The lightning destroyed the barrier and hit the second shield, only to disappear because the power had been depleted during the first sh.


    "It''s hard indeed." Dun furrowed his eyebrows. "I shouldn''t have cked during my training."


    "If you didn''t, you would have reached the same level as mine. It''s due to yourziness that you only have two stars on your shoulder." Brad snorted while focusing on the bird.


    The falcon pped its wing, creating a horizontal tornado straight to Dun. It seemed to be angered when Dun blocked the attack again.


    On the contrary, Dun didn''t even look at it as Brad Matthew appeared in front of the attack, thrusting his spear. The magic circle released another beam of ice, shing with the wind.


    The monkey suddenly appeared next to him, punching him on the side and blowing him to the ground.


    Bam.


    Brad crashed onto the ground, but he looked safe. On the exact spot the monkey hit him was broken ice that seemed to just protect him earlier.


    "Kh. That power¡­" Brad clenched his teeth.


    "Brad, are you alright?" Dun nced and found that the falcon and wildebeest attacked him simultaneously.


    "Kh!" He summoned the two shields to block the two, but the lightning managed to pierce the shield, electrocuting him. "Gah!"


    "You bastard." Brad roared as he quickly recovered, standing in front of Dun. "You alright?"


    "Yeah." Dun quickly stood back on his feet and narrowed his eyes. "This is not going to be easy. Stopping one of them is my limit while we need to handle three. Hopefully, someone wille soon."


    When no one looked at him, the monkey sneaked around and arrived on top of the soldiers. It dove to the ground and struck the dirt. That fist released a powerful wind that blew away the soldiers.


    Their formation soon copsed as the magical beasts began to overrun their rank.


    "No, you won''t!" Brad appeared on the gap of their rank and ced his hand on the ground. A blue magic circle appeared below his feet as it summoned a few huge spikes from the ground, piercing the beasts. "Stand up! You all need¡ª"


    Before he finished his words, the monkey already appeared and punched him on the cheek, blowing him away again.


    Brad quickly rose, but the monkey had returned to his position in the air.


    On the other hand, Dun had trouble blocking the two attacks.


    Suddenly, what he feared happened.


    The eagle turned around and pped its wing, sending wind flow that seemed to be different from a normal wind. Suddenly, many soldiers flew to the sky, albeit only their upper bodies. The wind was powerful enough to cut them, turning the situation even worse.


    Dun focused too much on the eagle, not realizing that the wildebeest''s foot was about to step on him.


    Boom.


    "Commander Dun!" The soldiers shouted, never expecting that Dun just died.


    "Don''t just kill off yourmander, you little brats. I am going to spank you after this battle ends." Dunined as he managed to create a barrier connected to the ground to withstand the wildebeest''s weight.


    Brad summoned a few head-sized ice cubes and threw them toward the wildebeest.


    Since it wouldn''t be beneficial for him, the wildebeest retreated.


    "Huft." Dun let out a sigh of relief.


    "Shadow sh!"


    Suddenly, A female''s voice resounded on the battlefield as four giant ck fire walls emerged in the battlefield. It cut many magical beasts at once, securing a path to go toward the three magical beasts.


    "That''s our goal!" A man''s voice echoed right after before they heard roarsing from multiple people.


    Those, who were on the higher ground, saw a group of people numbering five thousand charging straight to Brad and Dun.


    "Oh, the reinforcement hase." Dunughed while saying. "You all are screwed!"


    Brad gritted his teeth. He never approved this, but he hated himself to admit that no one would be a better reinforcement other than this guy.


    The monkey saw them and quickly flew toward Kai, punching the air. It resulted in a torrential wind that would blow Kai''s group. If they took it, their momentum would stop and get swarmed by the magical beasts.


    To prevent this from happening, Kai used his Sound st tounch himself to the air, confronting the monkey by himself.


    His Sword suddenly released a powerful shock wave as he cut through the wind. The shock wave deflected the wind to the side, so it couldn''t reach his group.


    Seeing this, the monkey stopped using that magic and threw a punch at him instead.


    Kai already predicted it and used his Sound Levitation to slightly shift his body.


    The next second, they saw the monkey''s right hand fall to the ground.


    The monster that Brad and Dun had trouble with actually got shed easily by Kai? Was this a nightmare or a good dream?


    They didn''t know. The only thing they knew was that such a person came to the rescue.


    "Mr. President''s Highest Order. I shall take themand. Michelle. Go and handle the wildebeest for me. Commander Brad Matthew, focus on the eagle. Commander Dun, protect our soldiers."


    Dun and Michelle smirked. Even Brad couldn''t help but agree as they shouted in unison.


    "Roger."

 Chapter 392 - Michelles Might

    "Roger."


    Michelle quickly took over Dun''s job as thetter retreated only to create a barrier to prevent any attacks from the three beasts toward the soldiers.


    However, he still couldn''t understand why he arranged for Michelle to fight against the wildebeest.


    In fact, only Michelle and Kai came to this ce. There were no other people other than the soldiers.


    "Are you sure she can handle the beast alone? They can use magic, you know." Dun shouted.


    "I am well aware. I have been listening to your conversation and preparing myself here. Just trust her¡­" Kai shrugged as he focused on his own task.


    "It seems that you are not convinced with my ability." Suddenly, Michelle''s voice resounded despite her not opening her mouth. Yes, it was the Dark Michelle.


    She leaped to the wildebeest''s head while looking down on them.


    The wildebeest charged the lightning again before using it on himself. With his body covered in lightning, Michelle shouldn''t be able to get close to him, albeit everything was just an illusion for the wildebeest.


    The two Michelles stepped on Dun''s barrier while looking at the giant body.


    "It''s going to break our Shadow sh." The Dark Michelle easily confirmed that their attack wouldn''t be effective against this beast. "Do you mind if I go berserk?"


    "That''s the only thing we can do, I guess." Michelle sighed. "I will support you."


    "Fufu. I am the shadow of your heart¡­To think I will be stronger. Maybe you have a stronger darker side in your heart¡­"


    "A shadow¡­That''s true. But who said that darkness is bad while the light is good." Michelle closed her eyes with a smile.


    "Hehe¡­" The Dark Michelle smirked before waving her hand, shouting. "I and Michelle love you, Kai!"


    "Stop! Can''t you just do it already?!" Michelle rebuked her with a tinge red on her cheeks. To think she would say something this embarrassing in front of this many people and on this asion.


    Kai chuckled and waved his hand. He answered with a gentle smile. "I know. Can you finish the wildebeest for me?"


    The Dark Michelle cracked her hands as she smirked. "Of course. It will be over in an instant."


    Michelle tried to calm her heart down while jumping off the barrier and cing her hand on the ground. "Shadow Possession. Shadow Avatar."


    The Dark Michelle smiled and leaped to the air as she retracted her sword.


    "If I can''t cut you with a small weapon, then I just need to increase its size!"


    Michelle summoned a magic circle as a dark stripe popped out of her back, moving toward the Dark Michelle''s back.


    Suddenly, four giant scythes came out of the Dark Michelle''s back. Each scythe looked sharp and big enough to cut the wildebeest''s giant neck.


    "Now, let''s the hunt begin."


    The lightning spread around, striking the Dark Michelle from all directions.


    On the contrary, Dark Michelle simply floated in the air, using the scythe that seemed to be capable of flying.


    When she calcted all the lightning around her, she used the other three scythes to cut them down in the order of the closest range.


    "Puny lightning. Even if the lightning can brighten the night, it can''t rece the darkness. Know your ce, Beast." Dark Michelle looked down on the wildebeest and sent two scythes to both horns.


    It quickly charged the lightning again to st the scythe, but it was when Dark Michelle released the third scythe.


    The scythe pierced the lightning bolt, destroying it in an instant. However, the scythe also got obliterated by the explosioning from the sh.


    Luckily, the other two scythes managed to cut both horns.


    Roar.


    The wildebeest was angered and stomped its foot on the ground, creating a tremor followed by lightning to the surroundings.


    "No, you won''t break this barrier anymore." Dun appeared and stopped the lightning that came toward the soldiers while letting the rest hit the magical beasts.


    This movement was so big that even allowed Dark Michelle to slip past its defense and floated next to its giant body.


    "You can''t hit me with all that lightning." Dark Michelle smirked while raising her hand toward the beast as the two scythes cut the body.


    Still, the hardness from the beast''s skin was extraordinary. Despite cutting it with her full power, she couldn''t fully prate its defense.


    "Hmm, you are hard, but every living being will have a weakness. I will just find it now." Dark Michelle said while flying around the beasts while cutting it.


    As expected, it was hard to find it until two minutester, she coincidentally cut the head area where she found the perfect ce to sh. It was the neck.


    Noticing that Michelle would kill him, the wildebeest red at the real one. If it could kill the real one, the one that attacked him all this time would surely disappear.


    It released another lightning bolt as lightning struck forth, heading straight to Michelle.


    "Oi, oi." Dun sweatdropped and nned to help her, but Michelle''s face remained calm as she summoned ten ck walls from the ground, each grew in size.


    The lightning broke the wall one by one, stopping only after reaching the sixth wall.


    This was Michelle''s new maniption. After reaching the perfect maniption, she could reinforce her shadow, which significantly boosted her strength. In fact, Michelle might be the strongest one among the girls right now.


    "Oh, this cute little beast has yet to understand what it means to fight against us." The Dark Michelle smiled. "Let me tell you something, the string behind our back is connecting us directly. This kind, cute side of me reads your movement, and the beautiful, strong side acts on that. And the speed of our mental link and transfer is less than 0.01 seconds because¡­We are one."


    The Dark Michelle smiled and next to the wildebeest. The three scythes turned into a guillotine that could go up and down. Thest scythe was used as the de from above.


    Meanwhile, Michelle appeared on the lower part as she swung both her swords, using the two pirs that supported the guillotine as a foundation for her Shadow sh.


    "Shadow sh."


    "Executioner."


    The scythe cut the beast''s neck from above while the two Shadow shes cut it from below. The beast had no chance to endure it with its current condition.


    "Fufu, because we are one." The Dark Michelle chuckled as shended on the ground.


    "You talked too much." Michelle harrumphed. She recalled what happened two months ago.


    ¡­


    Inside her room, she was still struggling to perfect her own shadow. After all, her current shadow state was just like Michelle and her shadow. If she could perfect this, she could proudly im that they were two Michelles.


    The reason why she was on the floor, gasping for air, was due to the unpleasant feeling in her heart that wrenched her heart.


    Suddenly, she felt a movement on her heart as a shadow manifested before her, shapeshifting into her.


    "This is a body¡­"


    As if a voice crying out from the darkness of despair, the shadow held a few simrities to that of the real one. First, it would be the feeling of her family. There were only fun memories inside the family because they never forced her to do anything or turned her into a political marriage tool.


    The second one¡­The most important one, Kai.


    It was when she realized that the shadow was the same as her.


    Though they were the same, the Dark Michelle kept all the unpleasant things she had buried all this time. Even though it wasn''t madness or anything, she carried it all.


    ¡­


    Michelle couldn''t contain her smile when recalling that. "Thank you for your help."


    "Hehe¡­I am good, right?" The Dark Michelle raised two fingers while making a big smile.


    "Yeah, yeah. Albeit you talk too much."


    "Promise me¡­I get a date with Kai and let me control the body sometimes."


    "Got it." They were connected. Just like the Dark Michelle could understand what she was thinking, she could understand her feelings.


    Confronted by such a genuine feeling, she had no choice but to agree.


    ''Yes, this girl is not evil, just tactless.'' She thought.


    The Dark Michelle heard it as well andined out loud. "And I''ll have sex with Kai!"


    "You! Don''t you try anything funny! And what the heck are you saying in front of these many people!"


    "Fine, fine." The Dark Michelle released its own power to return to Michelle''s body. "I will let things with him go with the flow because I am you. Fufu, there are still more than fifty years."


    "Just go back!" Michelle was stressed by her before letting out a long sigh.


    "This is why I hate students!" Brad roared as he pierced the torrential wind from the falcon. He gripped the spear as tight as possible because it would get blown away, meaning that he lost, so despite the bleeding on his palm, he kept piercing the wind until he broke through.


    Unfortunately, he lost his spear during the exchange, but it didn''t stop him from attacking the falcon.


    He punched the falcon right on its face before bringing it down to the ground with him. The falcon retaliated by pping its wings a few times, but none of it mattered to Brad. Even though his body got injured by all the wind, he kept doing it until he pinned the falcon on the ground.


    "This is over, you bastard." Brad snorted as he summoned a magic circle beneath the falcon''s body.


    "Ice Gungnir."


    A few spear-shaped ice spikes appeared and pierced the falcon, killing it in an instant.


    Brad took a deep breath after confirming the falcon''s death. "You won''t be able to kill me in one on one battle."

 Chapter 393 - Dun

    "So, you both have finally finished your battle¡­" Kai let out a sigh.


    When they looked at him, it turned out that he already fought against the normal magical beasts. As for the monkey? It had been dismembered by Kai two minutes ago.


    It wasn''t a fight because the wind from the monkey would get split either by his Vibration Sword or the Sonic Boom produced by it.


    When they saw it, they quickly helped him fight the beasts. However, Kai sent hismand before they charged forward. "All troops, retreat. Without the three beasts, we won''t be defeated."


    The soldiers already heard about him getting fullmand of the army, so they quickly followed his orders.


    Even Brad followed the army, returning to their original positions. As soon as he arrived at the base, his assistant came to him and handed him a paper. "Sir, this is the direct order from Mr. President."


    Brad took it and skimmed it before giving back the document to his assistant.


    The soldiers there were staring at him. Brad was known as a prideful guy that kept badmouthing Kai. Of course, he had the skill to back his im. The people wanted to see whether Brad would give themand to him or not.


    Dun, who was his friend for a long time, closed his eyes while thinking, ''What are you going to do, my friend? Are you going to be adamant about it? As far as ability is concerned, I have noint with Kai Carter leading the army, but the problem is¡­ Will you give themand to him? Depending on your choice, there might be a potential of you being in the Military Court.''


    Brad looked down and turned around.


    The people around there gulped down as they couldn''t help but see his darkened expression.


    However, Kai only stood in front of him without saying anything. His face turned serious while waiting for Brad''s action. They couldn''t waste too much time in this, so he hoped that Brad could choose already, albeit when he checked his heartbeat, he seemed to have already made the decision.


    Suddenly, Brad raised his hand before giving Kai a salute. "Brad Matthew is reporting to the Supreme Commander of Yukon Territory Base."


    The people widened their eyes as they couldn''t believe what they just heard.


    On the contrary, there was no insult or mockery in Kai''s eyes. He simply saluted back.


    "Commander Brat, I would like to know about the original n for the entire battle. We will talk about it inside the tent." Kai nodded and started walking.


    Brad surprisingly turned around, walked beside him, and began exining the whole situation, leaving all people speechless. "We have¡­"


    "Seriously?" Dun couldn''t help but facepalm. "My friend, that hard-headed Brad Matthew, did that? Did I see it wrong?"


    "No, no. You are not wrong." Michelle shook her head.


    Suddenly, Kai returned outside the tent and narrowed his eyes. "All of you. Get to work already."


    Kai''s intimidation alone was already enough to make them scram, but they also saw Brad''s scary face above his head as they quickly escaped from the situation.


    Kai had an understanding of Brad in this battle. Although he was a prideful one, he seemed to have a backstory to shape his current personality. Still, the heart to protect the people that relied on him was real.


    For that, there was no more friction between Brad and Kai anymore. In fact, he could somehow understand why Brad was especially harsh toward his own son.


    It wasn''t that he hated his own son. He just simply loved him so much that he didn''t want him to participate on a battlefield and tried to force him to stay in the base. It was just like a father not wanting his son to walk in this bloody path.


    But the son also had his own reason. He kept trying no matter how hard it was to show Matthew that he could do it.


    The father and son really had something inmon. They both are stubborn.


    At the same time, Brad also knew that Kai''s ability was already above him. However, his pride never let him lower himself to match Kai''s rank. The direct order let him do that without suffering of his own pride.


    The two began their talk about the n of the whole operation, where Kai informed him about the reinforcement and other things.


    Meanwhile, Dun and Michelle stared at each other. Dun scratched the back of his head while having a troubled expression.


    "So, you must be Dun¡­" Michelle narrowed her eyes, mysteriously prying open his identity.


    "Sister, please don''t stare at me like that. You already have a husband." Dun joked around.


    "If I am not wrong, your real identity should be¡ª"


    "Sister, I know I am wrong, but please don''t bully me."


    "If you don''t talk seriously, I will be reporting your identity to Kai. I only want to know a few things." Michelle was fuming in anger.


    "Alright, alright. You win. What do you want to know?"


    "What do you want in this base? You are not supposed to be here."


    "What do you mean I am not supposed to be here? Look, I want to help Brad since he is my friend¡­"


    Michelle didn''t buy it and kept staring at him.


    "Fine. I will tell you, alright?" Dun pinched the bridge of his nose while letting out a long sigh. "It''s family''s order. I have been asked by my brother to see your guy''s ability."


    "For what?"


    "He doesn''t tell me. From the way he looked, it didn''t appear he had a bad intention, but who knows¡­"


    "Really? Not a bad intention?" Michelle snorted. "He is one of the S Rank Magicians, specialized in barrier magic. Hismanding ability is at the same level as Ethan, who is known as the Guardian Deity. However, he is someone that no one can understand his real intention. And you expect me to believe that he doesn''t have a bad intention?"


    "I know what you are worried about, but I also don''t know." Dun sighed. "Even though I just want to enjoy my life, Ugh, I hate working."


    Michelle narrowed her eyes. "We will see, but you should know that my Graham Family won''t stand by if you try anything funny."


    "I know, I know. Rather than worrying about my brother, shouldn''t you worry about the other guy? Thest S Rank Magician in this base."


    Michelle closed her eyes for a few seconds, falling into deep thought. "I will stop for today, but you should know that I will still report your participation to Professor Ria Ross. I have read the report of our officers here, and I thought it was a different person."


    "It can''t be helped. My name is umon in this base." He shrugged.


    "Since this matter is settled, I will stop bothering you. Just make sure that you are not doing anything crazy because, trust me, I can do something crazier." Michelle snorted.


    "Yes, yes. Shadow Queen." Dun nonchntly brushed the matter off.


    Michelle turned around and sighed.


    Kai, on the other hand, had a serious expression. He heard their conversation earlier and never expected that there was someone rted to one of the S Rank Magicians in this country. Michelle told him that there are five S Rank Magicians, including his sister.


    He had met the other two, Michelle and Sebastian. Dun''s brother seemed to be the fourth one, while his teacher also warned him about the fifth S Rank Magician.


    Unlike the other four, this one had a problematic behavior, thus forcing him to serve as themander in Quebec.


    As for Dun''s brother, who was known as Barrier Keeper, he was an amazing man outside. The masses loved him for his achievement and other things. However, if they were asked who they wanted to fight among the S Rank Magicians, he would be thest one to be picked. No one could understand his true thoughts.


    Kai sighed and thought, ''I am going to leave this base for three months anyway. I will use that chance to get stronger while rxing in the new environment. Yeah, let''s do that.''


    "So, what do you think about it?" Brad asked after finishing his exnation.


    "I don''t have a problem. With the first two reinforcement numbering one hundred thousand soldiers, we shall give forty thousand to the first and fifth army while the remaining twenty thousand will be sent here. What do you think?" Kai asked, hinting at him about his n.


    Brad was supposed to be enraged if he followed his usual behavior, but Brad turned out to be not that reckless. After getting the hint, he thought about it for a while and asked, "I can understand the gist of your n. Still, can you borate your n?"


    Kai smiled and put down five sticks on the table. "I am nning for a sweep by using the reinforcement. No one other than the officers know about their real number, so I want to swipe everything to the left to show that we have enough soldiers to even do that. This will lead to an explosion of morale."


    "So, you want me to lead people to the right?"


    "Yes."


    "It''s true that when they receive the reinforcement, they will normally think that we are in an emergency situation. However, if we follow your n, the two armies next to us will think that we have enough spare soldiers to do something like this. As for those furthest armies to the left and right, they will believe that the earlier reinforcement came from this central army. It will raise their morale¡­"


    "Yes. That''s my n. Because I leave my army there, I will need to show up. As for the right, you are the right person to do that. So, what do you think, Commander Brad?"


    Brad furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. "I, Brad Matthew, promise you that nothing will go wrong."


    Kai smiled and nodded back. "That''s more like it."

 Chapter 394 - Rain

    "Let''s go. We destroy the magical beasts right now." Kai shouted out loud.


    As he predicted, the reinforcement from two bases arrived. After getting their order, they split into four. The first two were to be a wall in their left and right armies while the other two would follow Kai and Brad.


    They were a bit surprised to see Kai Carter in front, but luckily, most of the soldiers came from British Columbia. There were many soldiers that saw Kai''s gant appearance during an emergency mission a year ago, so they willingly followed him. In fact, their morale was the highest among the other soldiers.


    They waited for a while until the first two groups could arrive at the furthest position.


    It took him fifteen minutes before he got information that everything had been set up. Brad also led his army.


    They were currently standing side by side until that one shout from Kai.


    "Ooh!" The soldiers responded to him as they ran forward.


    Kai and Brad sped up as both of them arrived in front of the magical beast rank a few seconds before the army could hit.


    These two wanted to set the example of what they should do.


    The moment they struck the first bet, it quickly became two, four, and before long, they had wreaked havoc on the enemy line.


    The soldiers who originated from the center army quickly opened the way so these two armies coulde out to strike their objectives.


    Not knowing why, they found Kai and Brad looked very assuring. Just by watching their back, they could fight against so many beasts.


    The sh escted into one big fight until they prated deep enough. Kai nced at Brad and said, "Then, Commander. I will leave the right side to you."


    Brad paused for a moment and turned around while saying, "Good luck to you."


    Kai smiled when he heard it. He shouted. "Now! Change direction. Follow the one in front of you and make sure you are not left behind."


    Michelle arrived beside him to help, but Kai sped up a bit more while gradually making his way toward the left. The soldiers followed him without anyint.


    Finally, these two armies went in the opposite directions of each other, cutting down so many magical beasts and creating a gap between their rank. This allowed the other soldiers to take advantage of it to rest or bring the wounded back.


    Kai and the soldiers kept charging ahead as long as Kai was in the very front. Michelle knew that he shouldn''t joke around or something, so she chose to stay hidden while supporting him from behind so as to not affect the army''s morale.


    After around ten minutes, the soldiers from his army found Kai, bringing another army with him.


    "That''s themander!"


    "Commander Kai!"


    The morale surprisingly rose just by seeing him return.


    Kai killed a giant beast and leaped on top of it while shouting. "Where is my vanguard army?"


    "!!!" Most of them looked around as if they got called.


    "Come down here right now. We will sweep them in a more brutal way!"


    "O-oh!"


    "Haha! It''s time for me to join then." Yuki shouted and leaped to the ground. "Those who don''t want to get left behind shoulde down right now. We will break through the enemy rank and follow themander."


    "Ooh!" The soldiers roared as they quickly followed Yuki''s footsteps, breaking the enemy formation just to regroup with Kai.


    At the same time, Kai kept killing the enemies but decreasing his pace, allowing his own army to catch up.


    When they regrouped, he shouted anothermand. "Continue like this for two hours."


    "Yes, Sir."


    Before going, Kai pointed at Isabelle while saying something that only she could see with her eagle eyes.


    ''Use the air support if the situation goes wrong.''


    Isabelle smiled and muttered, "Leave it to me. Nothing won''t go wrong."


    Kai smiled and began rampaging in the battlefield as he made his way to the furthest left. He didn''t count it, but he believed that his group already killed ten thousand beasts in thirty minutes. However, they also started getting exhausted after so much fighting in the first ce.


    Just like he predicted, the army managed to prate the enemy rank until the end of their line. The forty thousand reinforcement quickly made their positions, forming the wall.


    With how they positioned themselves, the magical beasts would get pinched by the army Kai''s brought and the original army on this battlefield. They were quickly wiped out since they only had one escape route, which was toward the middle army where Dun stayed.


    Kai quickly turned around and led the second charge to wipe all of them while returning to the headquarters, not forgetting to ask his Vanguard Team to return.


    As soon as he came back, he found Brad Matthew not long after he arrived.


    "Good work. Let''s retreat and have the soldiers rest. We shall do it again after one hour." Kai nodded.


    "Alright." Brad nodded back and followed him to the tent, where they discussed the n.


    The officers with them managed the soldiers and let them rest.


    They did this strategy a few times. All of their killsbined numbered up to one million and the sun was almost set, so Kai wanted to get another n to hold the magical beasts during the night since he couldn''t provide every single soldier a night vision.


    Brad agreed and offered a few suggestions.


    Suddenly, Kai looked up as if he heard something. "They havee¡­ Let''s use them to defend the night."


    "The reinforcement?" Brad narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. Let''s change a n then." Kai mmed the table as the reinforcementpletely changed the direction of the battlefield.


    Meanwhile, Dunughed when looking at the trucks bringing the soldiers. "Haha, reinforcementes."


    The reinforcement was one hundred thousand strong ording to the information. In other words, they would have no problem withstanding three to four million magical beasts as long as they kept fighting with this type of warfare.


    However, he froze when he saw someone standing on top of the first truck. He fell on his butt while pointing his finger toward the leader. "You¡­You¡­You¡­Why are you here¡­Brother?"


    "A direct order from the president, so I am here. Though, I don''t really mind since I have someone that I want to see." He leaped to Dun and smiled.


    Dun''s brother was also a middle-aged man, but unlike Dun''s messy and uncaring appearance, he tied his shoulder length hair neatly and acted like a gentleman. He turned around and found Kai Carter walking toward him.


    "Nice to meet you, Kai Carter. I am one of the S Rank Magicians in this base, Rain." He gracefully nodded, but his eyes were observing Kai''s expression to see what kind of man Kai Carter really is.


    Kai nodded. "I am Kai Carter. It''s my pleasure to meet you, General Rain. May I know what the order is?"


    "It''s nothing much, but there is a possibility of¡­ I think I don''t need to say it, right?" He smiled yfully.


    Kai''s expression darkened as he sighed. "It seems there is no other possibility. The fact that the magical beasts are evolving at this rate, someone must have done all this. And there is one suspect that I think all of you know."


    Rain smiled and said while narrowing his eyes. "The protector''s so-called Princess, the mermaid."


    "!!!" The group''s expressions turned serious.


    "I have been expecting them, but I don''t know whether they wille out or not."


    "I think they wille out. After listening to the battle progress, I believe that if they want to strike, it''s better to do it now. No, I think they will do it either tomorrow or the day after. We would have exhausted ourselves during that time."


    "¡­" Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. Michelle said that Rain''s strategy was like Ethan''s, so he must have said it for a reason. "In that case, we need a change of n."


    "I do agree. Your current strategy allows you to handle the monsters quickly, but I have observed something weird."


    "Would you mind sharing it with me? No, maybe we should enter the tent first."


    "It''s nothing big, I can say it here. One weird thing is the number of flying beasts. Don''t you think they are low in number?"


    "!!!" Kai instantly realized what he was trying to say. "I see. There will be a second wave."


    "How many do you think wille?" Rain asked.


    "It''s not going to be much. My prediction is around two to three hundred thousand. It''s nothingpared to the current number, but we will be devastated if theye with protectors." Kai nodded.


    "As expected from Commander Kai, I am impressed by your intelligence despite being a second-year student." He smiled.


    "For now, change the n for attrition warfare. Chip down the enemy number while we are preserving our own." Kai waved his hands, telling the other officers to quickly inform the other armies.


    Meanwhile, Rain didn''t leave him alone and asked. "How about formting the n in the tent right now?"


    "Before that, I want you to answer one question first."


    "Please tell me." Rain smiled.


    Kai''s face turned serious as he narrowed his eyes, staring at Rain. "What is the direct order from the president?"


    Rain''s smile became even bigger as he had the same serious expression as Kai. The others gulped down, not knowing how these two men could create this kind of pressure just by asking each other.


    If they were opponents from different sides, they would have shed already, destroying this ce. However, they were the people from the same side, so it was up to Rain to decide the oue of this battle.


    No one knew about the direct order at the moment, so Rain could lie and no one would know about it untilter. However, no one could read his thoughts. That''s why Kai wanted to make the matter clear first, especially since the other party was a four-star general.


    Suddenly, Rain straightened his pose and saluted. "Rain Stewex''s reporting to Commander Kai Carter. I shall assist you in this battle as your deputy alongside Commander Brad Matthew. I will follow your every order, Commander."


    Even with him lowering his status, he still generated the same pressure.


    "Yes. I will be counting on you." Kai calmly turned around and walked back to the tent. "For now, arrange the reinforcement to the ideal condition, Commander Rain. I am sure that this is your forte, right?"


    Rain''s body shook as he never thought that Kai would actually attack him like this. It was true that his ability was simr to Ethan in this area, but him leaving it like this put more pressure on his shoulders because his image would get smeared if he couldn''t do this perfectly.


    "I understand, Commander Kai. I shall do my best to not disappoint you." Instead of getting angered by Kai''s attitude, he clenched his fist excitedly while thinking, ''This kid¡­Is interesting.''

 Chapter 395 - Protectors

    The next day, Kai didn''t make any big move because he had adjusted his n ording to the information Rain brought. Of course, he helped him in the process since it was a precious experience to listen to one of the big names in the Military.


    Kai ultimately extended the battle from three days to two weeks because he felt that the protectors would appear within that time, depending on the condition of his soldiers.


    "So, what are we going to do, Commander?" Rain gradually walked to Kai who was watching the army fighting.


    Kai waited for him first until he reached a certain distance and used his Sound Instion magic.


    "What is this?" Rain took a step back, dumbfoundedly staring at the barrier Kai erected. It was a different kind of barrier that he used to make, so he wanted to know what it was.


    "This is my Sound Instion magic. No one can hear us." Kai nodded as he pointed at the surroundings. "No sound cane inside either."


    "I see, but I am still perplexed as to your reason for doing this." Rain narrowed his eyes, pressuring Kai for an answer.


    "I am just wary against our enemy. They once have a dolphin that can listen to anything in a certain radius. If the dolphin happens to be in the vicinity and listens to our n, it''s going to be problematic. After all, I don''t know if he is there unless he talks or something." Kai sighed.


    "So, does that mean you have a different n than the one we were working for yesterday?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "I want to see whether there is a protector or not today. I need your help."


    "I understand. I shall help you to the best of my ability. What do you want me to do?" Rain obviously had mellowed up a bit after seeing how Kai made his n and understood his train of thoughts.


    "Nothing. I want you to stay inside the tent without showing yourself while spouting some bullsh*t."


    "Hmm?" Rain looked down as if he grasped a bit of his n. "You want the enemy to think that you don''t let me fight or something? Are you nning to lure them out?"


    "Yes. I am going to be the bait. If I look exhausted, they will probably make a move." Kai nodded.


    "But won''t they catch our n?"


    "I am not sure. From what I know, as long as the princess is not here, they won''t be able to rival me," said Kai with confidence.


    "Ho?" Rain thought for a moment. "I understand the gist of your n. I will be your reinforcement when theye, right?"


    "Yes. I informed my team yesterday night, so they are ready toe here when they appear."


    "Do you know how they operate?"


    "I am not sure, but I know that they won''te here alone right now." Kai narrowed his eyes. "After all, they will die here. There is a possibility of two or even three protectors after this, so I want you to handle one of them for me."


    "Hoh? I haven''t fought against them, so I don''t know their real strength."


    "I believe that you can stop one. My team will stop the other one while I am dealing with the other one. This is the worst case scenario."


    "I understand. I will follow your n." Rain nodded, thinking that this would be the best chance to see Kai''s true power andpared it to his. This allowed him to see Ria''s real strength because he wanted to be the best magician on the base. ording to his information, Ria seemed to be a bit stronger than him, so if he could overpower Kai, he had a chance against Ria Ross.


    Kai didn''t know a thing about his motive and said. "Anyway, I am going to hunt for a bit to call them here. If doing this for three days doesn''t give any result, we will assume there are no protectors in this ce."


    "Sure thing." Rain nodded.


    Kai then brought his army to roam around the battlefield, killing many magical beasts as if he tried to end the battle in a few days. This would look like he was trying to exhaust himself, but Kai didn''t put on too much strength and the pace was a bit slower than yesterday. In other words, Kai still preserved his stamina even in this situation.


    A few hourster.


    A flock of birds suddenly emerged from the horizon, flying straight to the army.


    "What happened?"


    "Why would a group of flying beasts suddenlye at us?"


    "Inform Commander Kai!"


    "That''s right. Inform themander."


    However, Kai was on the battlefield and heard them from afar.


    "It seems that they havee." Kai narrowed his eyes and raised his hand. "Everyone. Retreat right now."


    "What?!" The soldiers were baffled because they never expected to hear that kind of order from Kai Carter.


    However, the officers quickly believed in him and helped the retreat process, making the others follow.


    Kai then used his Sound Levitation, floating in the air as he stared at the horizon.


    When Rain noticed the change, he came out of the tent and headed straight next to him.


    "Have Commander Brad Matthew direct the rest of the soldiers."


    "I have told him." Rain nodded with a serious expression.


    "You should wait. I am going to end this as soon as possible," said Kai while pointing at his right.


    Rain understood that there was a protectoring from that way.


    "You handle the second one until I can kill the first one. Okay?"


    "Roger."


    What Kai said and what he did waspletely different, but Rain understood that the fact that the enemiesing here at this time meant they knew the condition of the battlefield. They either had a dolphin that informed them about the current situation or they were watching from afar.


    Kai''s hearing range, so thetter was not possible. With this situation, Kai acted as if he didn''t know about the third protector.


    He then raised his hands with three hands pointing upward.


    Isabelle and the others already arrived. The moment she got the signal, Isabelle conveyed the signal to the others without speaking to make sure that the enemies didn''t know anything.


    Kai then closed his eyes and waited for them to arrive.


    After five minutes, he opened his eyes as two creatures came to his vision. The left one was a starfish, walking on his two feet and holding a shield and a sword. It certainly had this weird aura, especially when looking at the starfish that was covered with ck metallic color.


    Kai wasn''t sure about this, but it felt like the metallic color was the fish covering himself with steel. His skin would probably be one of the hardest he had faced so far, so he hoped that his Sonic Sword was enough to handle it alone. If not, he needed to resort to another thing.


    Either way, what he focused on was the second one. It was the same turtle as the one he met during the previous war. Its defensive power wasn''t a joke. He didn''t know whether Rain had enough strength to rival him in terms of defense.


    But Rain would surely fight the oneing from the right, leaving the turtle to the girls and the others. Still, fighting against a defensive turtle was better than fighting the starfish, so he chose to believe in them, hoping they could buy enough time until he killed the starfish.


    "I have never thought that you are going toe here¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes, ring at the turtle.


    "We have met again." The turtle nodded. "I am just helping these two youngsters to wreak havoc on your base. That''s all."


    "As long as I am here, you can''t do that." Kai shook his head. "Anyway, I am afraid that you three are to forfeit your lives here."


    "That''s a big tone, don''t you think?" The turtle smirked while narrowing his eyes.


    "I am aware, but it''s not like I waszing around this whole time. What? Are you nning for suicide bombers again?"


    "Ahaha. That''s just a small trick from the princess, nothing else. She was frustrated because you killed her little pet."


    "Pet, huh. Either way, my mission remains the same."


    "Commander. Why don''t we just beat these guys up?" Rain nonchntly said while looking down at them.


    "You are not qualified to talk, young man." The turtle raised his hand and gently pushed forward. Creating a small barrier that was going to blow him away.


    Surprisingly, another barrier appeared out of thin air, stopping the turtle''s barrier.


    "Hoh?" The turtle narrowed his eyes. "Since you want it this way, we both are going to destroy you now."


    Suddenly, a blue light flew from their right like that of a bullet.


    "Commander!" The soldiers who happened to see it roared, trying to warn him.


    Unfortunately, the blue light hit him first, exploding and producing a cloud of smoke that covered up Kai and Rain for a while.


    "Oops. Not both of us, but the three of us. My old age has made me a bit forgetful, you see." The turtle smirked.


    "Hehe¡­It seems he is right." Rain smirked as the smoke cleared up, showing him and his barrier still intact.


    He narrowed his eyes, trying to see who attacked him earlier. However, it turned out that the other party was so big that he only needed to raise his head a bit to see it.


    A red-colored ten-foot octopus slowly marched its way toward Rain. It seemed that it just released the attack from its mouth, so Rain marked it as one of the threats that might kill him.


    "I have been waiting for you, idiot octopus." Rain smirked as he raised his hands, summoning the translucent barriers.

 Chapter 396 - Fighting The Protectors

    "¡­" The octopus halted its step and stared at Rain, realizing that Kai had anticipated this. He turned to the turtle and nodded his head. "We shall eliminate them here."


    "Try it, Octopus." Rain shouted as the summoned barriers earlier closed in their distance, recreating the same move as the turtle. He nned to crush that barrier to make it feel like he got punched.


    The octopus raised its eight feet and mmed all the iing barriers like nothing.


    "¡­" Rain was quite surprised because this was the first time he saw his barrier break in an instant. Normally, people would need to attack it two or three times, but the octopus seemed to be stronger than he expected. No wonder people like Nathan or even Ria Ross had trouble with them.


    The octopus released another bolt of light from its mouth, but Rain''s reaction was faster than previously, blocking the attack before it could reach anywhere. In fact, they were in the middle of magical beasts, so no soldiers would be harmed.


    He stood on his barrier, several meters above the ground, and smiled. "I will be having a fun time with you, Idiotic Octopus."


    Meanwhile, Michelle already brought the group and faced the turtle. She even had summoned her Dark Version.


    "Ho. It seems that you have grown so much during the past few months." The turtle narrowed his eyes before summoning a giant shield, pushing it toward them.


    "It''s to defeat the likes of you." Dark Michelle didn''t hold back her words while summoning her swords.


    However, Michelle had a different opinion after watching how strong this person was during the previous battle. She linked up with Dark Michelle as thetter summoned her scythes.


    "These scythes will cut you down." Dark Michelle smiled as two of them struck the barrier while the rest pierced the ground as her supporting strength to stop the barrier.


    Surprisingly, she managed to do it.


    Michelle took this advantage to move around him and shed her sword. "Shadow sh."


    The turtle fell silent and created a barrier to block the iing attack. It was where Ayaka and Sofia appeared, both pointing their palm toward him.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    "Ice Spear."


    The turtle used his barrier to force Ayaka to create the magic circle not beneath him like the way she wanted to, but on his barrier.


    At the same time, a barrier emerged from the ground. Sofia''s Ice Spear was big. The length alone was longer than the octopus''s height.


    With the weight behind the spear, it should be enough to injure him, but the turtle was far better than she expected.


    The emerging barrier pierced the spear¡ªperfectly in the middle¡ªand broke it.


    "¡­" Isabelle and Tasha furrowed their eyebrows, wondering how they could prate that barrier. Although they didn''t want to admit it, the power of the barrier was far stronger than they expected. They believed that it was imprable by their current strength.


    "What should we do, Tasha?" Isabelle asked.


    "Stick to the n." Tasha nodded with a serious expression.


    "Fair enough. I will improvise after that." Isabelle took out another sniper rifle, nning to strike the barrier with both weapons.


    "Can you time it with my arrow?"


    "I am not sure. I need to keep adjusting it for a few hours before we can find anything. You don''t mind?"


    "The number one sniper needs a few hours? Are you serious?" Tasha smirked, taunting her.


    "Of course it is for the worst case scenario. My best prediction is thirty minutes, but we will be draining our magic power. You don''t mind that?"


    "If it''s only thirty minutes to sixty minutes, my magic power is far more than enough." Tasha nodded. "I will start moving in case our attacks are not effective."


    "Roger." Isabelle nodded and adjusted her scope. "What is the target?"


    "Let''s go with the head. From our distance, we simply need to adjust the aim a bit. The rest will depend on the timing." Tasha drew her arrow, preparing to release the first shoot.


    "First one. My arrow will reach the target in 1.2 seconds. You go with 1.1 or 1.0 seconds."


    "Okay."


    "Now!" Tasha released her arrow before Isabelle shot in session.


    One arrow and two bullets flew in session.


    As one would expect, the arrow and bullets had a different trajectory even though it looked like they would hit the same ce, striking the barrier that was stopped by Dark Michelle.


    "We will keep trying."


    "Sure."


    When the turtle saw this, he summoned a few more barriers to attack Dark Michelle so he could push his barrier again, but four figures suddenly appeared, destroying the smaller barriers and protecting Dark Michelle.


    They were Tommy, Nichs, Eve, and Eva.


    "Tch." The turtle clicked his tongue, noticing that it wouldn''t be that easy to break past them. It was like the S Rank Spider facing Kai and the other elites to buy time for Ria Ross. In that case, he needed something more special.


    "What should I do¡­" said him while narrowing his eyes.


    Meanwhile, Kai had an intense sh with the starfish.


    He kept smashing the shield with his Sonic Sword, but to no avail. The shield was made of the hardest material they could find, so it was impossible for Kai to destroy it.


    On the contrary, the sword was a bit worse than he expected. During the sh, the starfish kept deflecting Kai''s attacks as if he didn''t want to have both swords shed.


    Noticing this pattern, Kai took a deep breath and stopped attacking. "Why are you attacking us by bringing this horde?"


    "It''s for Earth. As long as humanity perishes, we won''t need to face other danger anymore."


    Kai narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"


    "I am sure that you already know it. You, humans, keep hunting us down while destroying the environment. If we wait for another ten years, the Earth won''t be a ce for living anymore. Rather than having such a race in this ce, it''s better to remove them no matter the consequences."


    "You know what? There is no good if you can''t find something bad. You can''t say you are living a better life when you don''t know what a bad life is. It''s a part of the natural cycle." Kai shook his head helplessly. "I do admit that humans bring bad things, but if there is no human, it will be someone else."


    "You think we are the same to the likes of you?"


    "Do you consider yourself a crocodile? Definitely not, right?" Kai shrugged.


    "You¡­" The starfish gritted his teeth and jumped forward. "I will kill you right here and right now, so no one can hinder our n."


    "Hoh? A n, eh?" Kai narrowed his eyes. He was sure that it was just a slip of the tongue, but knowing that they had a hidden n was good because they could prepare for anything that woulde to them.


    "¡­" The starfish fell silent as if realizing a slip of the tongue.


    "What? You are not talking right now?" Kai taunted him to get more information, but thetter had raised his guard, making sure that he didn''t give any valuable information.


    The starfish couldn''t handle Kai anymore and released its power, striking him with a powerful strike.


    "¡­" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, noticing the weight of the strike and used his Sound st to counter it.


    Bang.


    The shing sound was surely one of the loudest they had today. At the same time, that attack released a powerful shock wave, not only from Kai''s Sonic Boom but also from the starfish''s.


    "You¡­"


    Kai smiled and used his Sound st tounch him to the side before bouncing back using the same Sound st but from another direction.


    The starfish managed to react again by swinging both sword and shield.


    It was tough to follow Kai''s random movement, but as one would expect from a protector, he didn''t go down easily.


    Kai got some hits every now and then, but it only gave him a small crack, not more than that. The starfish''s metal skin was really hard.


    "Why are you defending this whole time? Are you sure you can defeat me like this? You are not like that turtle after all." Kaiughed.


    "You!" The starfish didn''t mind if Kai insulted him alone, but when he heard him mixing the old turtle in it, he became enraged, nning to chop Kai into two.


    "What? You want to kill me? I am not that easy." Kai snorted and struck the shield with both swords, finally pushing him back.


    "!!!" The moment he realized it, the starfish adjusted his bnce to stop Kai''s momentum. He couldn''t afford to make Kai gain more confidence.


    On the other hand, Kai was smiling brightly. That alone managed to rile up the starfish, but more importantly, he already had another n for this battle.


    Suddenly, just like how the octopus sent the first attack, Michelle also sent a support attack to Kai.


    "Artha!" The turtle shouted, but he was toote.


    Michelle''s Shadow sh could go over his shield, so even if he wanted to block it, he couldn''t.


    The starfish realized it and jumped backward, but Kai used his Sound st behind the starfish''s back,unching him back, so Michelle''s Shadow sh could hit him.


    "You¡ª" The starfish quickly rotated in mid-air, nning to stop the attack with his shield.


    Kai destroyed his n once again by sending a kick to push the shield away while stopping the sword with his own sword. Due to the Sonic Boom, he managed to even push him closer to the Shadow sh.


    "Sh*t!" The starfish cursed as he took the hit.


    Boom.

 Chapter 397 - Teamwork

    Boom.


    The starfish wasunched to the side from that explosion, giving Kai an opportunity to strike him a couple of times.


    "Kh!" The starfish clenched his teeth and saw that there were two spots that began bleeding. Despite the protection from his hard skin, Kai seemed to have attacked him enough, especially with his aims.


    He kept attacking the same area continuously even though the starfish had no problem in taking it. Yes, Kai had been in advantage this whole time.


    "It''s too shallow." Kai turned around and nned to hit a few more times, but the starfish already recovered and blocked all the hits.


    Kai didn''t give up and kept pinning him down on the ground with relentless attacks until he felt something was wrong.


    A bullet suddenly hit the starfish''s hand, allowing Kai to deliver a few blows.


    Kai widened his eyes, never expecting that Isabelle would help him.


    He indeed heard her shooting and the bullets weren''t flying to the turtle. It turned out that she shot between the turtle and the starfish before the two bullets hit each other, bouncing off to two opposite directions.


    The first one hit the turtle''s barrier, making him miss the second bullet. As for Kai, it was the best support he could get.


    "This is enough!" The starfish was angered before the dirt around them emerged from the ground, trying to pierce Kai.


    With his ears, he had heard the movement first and jumped backward, looking at the starfish with a serious expression.


    "I have underestimated you, but this time, I won''t. My name is Serta. Make sure to etch this name into your memory because it''s the name of the man who will kill you."


    "Hmph." Kai snorted. "Do you think you are qualified?"


    Serta quickly leaped forward. He struck the ground with his shield as many the dirt spiked all around Kai.


    However, Kai wasn''t scared of this attack. He simply struck the spikes with his Super Sonic Sword where the rest was handled by the Sonic Boom.


    Kai had no problem destroying the spikes and headed straight toward the starfish, nning to cut him again.


    The starfish charged with his shield on the front, pushing Kai back.


    "Sound st."


    A green magic circle appeared beside them as it blew them several meters away, stopping the charge.


    He then used another Sound st tounch himself to the starfish and struck the sword with both hands.


    Due to his shield getting sted by the momentum, he shouldn''t have the power to stop his attack, but surprisingly, the starfish''s hand turned into metal before summoning the rocks underground toe to the surface.


    The rock covered his hand as he caught Kai''s Sonic Sword.


    To his surprise, the rock was harder than his Sonic Sword, baffling him. Even so, he didn''t give up and ended up trading a few more times but to no avail.


    "I have only fought with your type of weapons recently just to test you. Since you have angered me, I should start getting serious now." Serta clenched his teeth while covering his body with the stones that happened to be harder than his body even though it was just a regr stone from the ground.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and took a deep breath. "This is going to be a troublesome opponent."


    Serta jumped forward and threw a punch, only to meet Kai''s Sonic Sword. However, the result remained the same.


    Kai lost and got pushed back. Before Serta managed to pin him on the ground, Kai''s Sound st already helped him escape.


    He then retreated a few steps and muttered. "Even with my current strength and exoskeleton, I am still not a match against the protectors? What should I do now? There are three protectorsing here, so we really need to do something as soon as possible. However, I can''t see it."


    "Out of my way!"


    Bang.


    Kai and Serta turned around. He knew that someone wasing, but they never expected that someone really breached the magical beasts to help Kai.


    And someone who dared to be this daring was none other than Brad Matthew. He had been sitting in the back this whole time but had gotten bored and chose to wreak havoc on the very front.


    When he saw Kai having trouble, he thought this would be the best time to show that he wasn''t a pushover.


    The starfish quickly raised his hands to stop the spear on Brad''s hand, but Brad made an unexpected movement by cing his hand on the ground.


    Two magic circles appeared, one below his hand and the other one was above Serta.


    "Ice Summon. Meteorite." Brad smirked.


    As soon as he poured enough magic power into it, a huge chunk of ice emerged from the magic circle, falling down.


    "Take this, you monster." Brad thought that if the rock was hard, he just needed to handle him with his weight. There was no way that this Starfish could stop a big rock like this.


    "!!!" Serta looked up and absorbed more and more stones from his surroundings before he formed a support pir for his arms to stop the ice.


    Bam.


    The shock wave of stopping more than a ton of ice block shook the entire battlefield, blowing the magical beasts near them.


    "Do you think I can''t hold this? Let me show you what will happen if I use your own Ice Cube to destroy your army." Serta smirked as he nned to throw the ice forward.


    Suddenly, Kai''s voice resounded in his ears. His tone was cold as if a death reaper just passed him.


    Serta widened his eyes and nced, knowing it was toote.


    Kai used the split second he focused on Brad to sh him a few times, destroying his armor and grazing his body. The wound was deeper this time, so his strength should get lower after this.


    "Gah!" Serta spat a mouthful of blood before the ice crushed him on the ground.


    "A perfect timing indeed. As expected from a three-star general." Kai smirked and looked at Brad''s face.


    "So, where is my thank you?" Brad rolled his eyes.


    "When you truly help me in defeating him, okay?" Kai smiled before seeing how cracks began to appear on the ice surface before it was getting obliterated by Serta. It shattered into thousands of pieces, crushing many magical beasts to death.


    Of course, many of them flew toward the humans, but Dun managed to react and protect them with his barrier magic.


    "You! I am going to kill you." Serta roared as he released all of his magic. "I am going to show you the difference between you and me. I will crush all the humans you hold dear."


    "Serta!" The turtle shouted his name to call him back from his anger, but thetter ignored him.


    The stones from the ground emerged in a volume that no one had ever seen before.


    Kai retreated to Brad and said, "This is going to be bad."


    Brad couldn''t answer immediately as he gradually raised his vision as Serta began building his body.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    Ayaka''s voice echoed on the battlefield. Knowing the danger that Serta would possess, she thought it would be her time to step up, but a barrier appeared, stopping her explosion.


    "Young Lady. Please focus on this old man¡­" The turtle smiled and protected Serta until he could fully function as a giant golem.


    However, Tasha finally acted on her own as she appeared on the battlefield, right behind Serta. She ced her hand on the ground and created a Teleportation Magic Circle.


    After seeing how the turtle couldn''t help Serta, the octopus shot out another beam of light, nning to disrupt her, but Rain managed to create the same barrier as the turtle, stopping the attack at thest second.


    "Where do you think you are aiming? Your opponent is me." Rain smiled and pped his hands, summoning two giant translucent barriers to crush the octopus.


    Before it hit him, the octopus used all of its legs and jumped to the sky, aiming at the soldiers instead.


    "Sh*t!" Rain realized the blunder and nned to head back, but Dun already leaped to the air and summoned arge barrier.


    The octopus ended up hitting the barrier.


    Unfortunately, Dun''s barrier was weaker than Rain''s, ending up cracking before the residual shock wave blew him to the ground.


    The octopus didn''t let this chance go away. He waved all of his legs and created eight crescent shapes that would soon kill so many soldiers.


    Boom Boom Boom.


    A series of explosions were heard.


    Dark Michelle was in the air together with the real one. She destroyed four of them with four scythes while the real her cut two. The other two were shot by Isabelle''s two sniper rifles.


    Finally, the octopusnded on the ground and made the ground vibrate for a second.


    Kai smiled when watching that they safely endured all those attacks, leaving Serta as his target.


    "What?!" Serta widened his eyes as he found that Kai was about to attack him.


    After getting the momentum from doing all that, Kai used his Sound st to send him flying straight to Serta''s head which was above forty meters.


    He struck with both swords even though he knew that he wouldn''t leave a scratch on this body. But Kai''s real aim was to throw him off bnce and it seeded.


    Serta began to fall on his back as Tasha''s Teleportation Magic was activated.


    The next second, Serta realized that he was falling from the sky and soon would fall upon the magical beasts.


    The turtle obviously couldn''t let him fall just like that. He created a translucent barrier with a forty-five degrees angle, nning to catch Serta and letting him slide the barrier so his big body could swipe the human soldiers.


    "Not good!"

 Chapter 398 - Tashas Real Power

    "Explode." Tasha''s voice resounded in Kai''s ears, followed by six explosions.


    Kai turned around and shouted. "Tasha. You¡­"


    "I am sorry, Kai. But I believe this is the best. As you promise earlier, right? I don''t need to hide it again, right? Since I only have two or three months until graduation, I think this is the time I can finally release all my power." She smiled as the giant body wasunched to the magical beasts, sweeping them to death.


    Kai closed his eyes for a second and sighed. "I understand. Don''t worry. If necessary, I would do the craziest thing ever."


    "Thanks." Tasha smiled as shended on the ground.


    Rain almost forgot the fact that Tasha was also one of the S Rank magicians. Even though her strength seemed to be on par with Michelle, the talk earlier made him realize that might not be the case.


    "I will be helping you fight the starfish."


    "Yeah." Kai smiled as she appeared next to him, facing the golem that was trying to get back up.


    Their shoulders touched as if they leaned on each other. Tasha aimed her bow toward the giant while Kai pointed his right sword forward.


    He recalled his past and couldn''t contain his smile. "It''s been a long time since west fought together. I will be counting on you."


    "Leave it to me." Tasha smiled. Instead of jumping forward, Tasha teleported Kai to the back of the giant while she released her arrow toward the golem''s head, where she believed the starfish hid.


    You¡­" Serta raised his hand, nning to stop the arrow with his hand, but he suddenly felt a powerful blow behind his knee.


    Kai smiled as he released enough strength to bend the knee, allowing Tasha''s arrow to slip past the finger and hit the head.


    However, Serta, who saw the arrow from point nk range, found a small marble filled with a white mist.


    The moment it hit the head, the marble popped out, creating a massive explosion.


    "Gah!" Serta lost his body bnce again as he fell on his back due to his body''s form, especially after Kai hit the back of his knee.


    Michelle smirked as she might be the only one other than Kai and the Carter Family, who knew about Tasha''s real magic. As the name implied, it was bonafide sealing magic. What she sealed earlier was air andpressed into a small ball.


    The burst air created a different type of explosion than that of Ayaka''s. It didn''t have a powerful fire or any other things because it only had a shock wave that was capable ofunching the giant golem into the air.


    On the contrary, Sofia, Ayaka, and any other people who usually came with Tasha and Kai gasped. They didn''t know what her real power was, but it was indeed powerful.


    "Michelle, what is that?" Sofia asked as she couldn''t contain her curiosity anymore.


    "Guess." Michelle stuck her tongue out before continuing her own battle with the turtle.


    Kai already arrived on top of the golem''s body and struck the head again, trying to crack it.


    "Watch out." Tasha smiled as shended next to him with five smallpressed air marbles and used the Teleportation Magic to send both of them away from the golem, leaving the five marbles to explode right on the head.


    Boom Boom Boom.


    "We need to crack that stone."


    "Elder Rapakha was simr to this guy, you know?" She smiled.


    "Ah, do you have a n?" Kai asked.


    "Yeah? I don''t know if it works, but I really need your help."


    "Hmm¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes when he heard about her n.


    "How about it?"


    "Let''s try it." Kai nodded in agreement as he jumped next to the golem head and snapped his finger, creating a disturbing high-pitched sound.


    "Argh!" The pain began spreading all over his body as his ears.


    Before he could get up, Tasha already created a few more marbles, exploding them tounch him to the air only tond again. However, the giant body moved on thend and even almost rolled on the ground. It killed around a thousand beasts in one fly, so Tasha''s n was to do it continuously, using him as their own weapon.


    After all, it wasn''t like Serta could easily control the giant body.


    Kai smiled and snapped his finger again, harassing him from the point ck range. Wherever Tasha sent Serta''s giant body, Kai would follow.


    "Tch." The turtle clicked his tongue and nned to help Serta, but both Michelles appeared in front of him, ready to jump ahead to stop him. With theirbination, he realized that it was impossible to escape easily.


    He looked around, trying to find something that he could exploit to turn around the situation. He turned to the octopus and found that Rain sealed him inside a box.


    "What should I do?" The turtle didn''t know what to do anymore other than retreating. Their condition was in stalemate, and sooner orter, Serta would die. It would be such a big loss if that happened. Yet, all the possible ns in his head would end up sacrificing Serta.


    The constant harassment and Tasha''s explosions really wore down his endurance. He never thought that the sound Kai produced would be that big of a deal.


    In fact, he nned to return to his normal form because this giant body turned out to be his greatest setback during the fight. Unfortunately, he realized that the moment he returned to his previous self, Kai and Tasha would have severely injured him first before he could do anything.


    Nheless, the result wouldn''t change. Tasha and Kai kept harassing him until they got the opening they desired.


    Crack.


    The moment she found a small crack, Tasha leaped to the sky as her body was covered by lightning. She raised both hands and created several magic circles, turning the blue sky to dark.


    Thunder started ringing on everyone''s ears as they couldn''t believe what she just did.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" The turtle gritted his teeth. "She is going to call lightning? This is already beyond what a normal can do! Is she¡­"


    He hesitated toplete his sentence because Kai should be the one to be the protector, not her. In other words, they must have missed something important that no one knew other than herself and Kai Carter.


    He raised his shield and summoned a translucent barrier in the sky, nning to stop the lightning, but Kai used the Sound st, flew to the sky, and struck the barrier with his Super Sonic Sword.


    Unlike before, he changed the direction of his Sonic Boom to the back, allowing him to increase the pration power in that one thrust.


    Still, Kai had done it a few times during the practice with Ria Ross and all of them ended up with him getting injured.


    There was one difference though. This time, Kai wore his exoskeleton. The Sonic Boom was shredding his clothes and grazed him here and there, but Kai was determined to destroy the barrier.


    He used his Sound st once again to boost his strength until finally, a huge crack appeared on the barrier as Kai shattered it like that of ss.


    He raised his vision and saw that the lightning was about to be fired.


    "Sound st."


    Using onest magic, he evacuated to make sure that he didn''t get struck by lightning.


    "Here I go." Tasha activated the magic circles. "Lightning God''s Wrath."


    Blue lightning struck forth, hitting the magic circles in session.


    "No!" Serta tried to summon a roof to direct the lightning elsewhere, but Ayaka decided to interfere.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    Boom.


    The explosion shattered all the rocks that were supposed to be his shield.


    "No!" Serta screamed as the lightning struck him.


    Just like natural lightning, it disappeared in an instant, unlike how it came down. The damage was also simr to how the lightning split a tree into two and other simr videos spread all over the inte.


    And this time was no different. The rock was crushed by the lightning, revealing the real body of the starfish.


    When Kai saw that chance, he quickly went on top of the giant body and struck his chest.


    Suddenly, the turtle''s voice resounded on the battlefield.


    "Serta. We need to leave right now. The situation has be unfavorable to us, especially since we are on thend. Our power has been reduced by fifty percent, but you¡­" The turtle didn''t know how toplete his sentence. For him, it was too cruel to ask Serta to sacrifice himself.


    However, Serta replied without hesitation. "Old man. You need to live. Since I am the useless one during this fight, I will fulfill myst duty."


    "No. You are not useless. Your opponent is just too strong."


    "No need tofort me, old man. Now go¡­" Serta''s body began shining.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes in surprise, knowing that he would probably do something like a suicide bomber. After all, he had experienced it back in South America.


    "Get away from here!" Kai shouted and returned to Tasha before carrying her out of the battlefield. "All soldiers. Retreat right now! He is doing something big!"


    Tasha knew that she wouldn''t be fast enough to send him away with her Teleportation Magic due to the size. Even thest teleportation required a few seconds. Before that time, the golem would have finished this strange magic.


    Seeing that the Octopus and Turtle were about to get away, they knew that whatever he was going to do would be too big for them to handle.


    They started retreating along with Kai. Even Rain released the octopus and summoned a barrier to protect the soldiers.


    "I have never thought that there would be a time I need to use this..." The light glowed brighter.


    "Eterna Grana."

 Chapter 399 - End Of War

    "Eterna Grana."


    The moment it was activated, spikes after spikesing out of the ground in all directions. Kai and the others had begun to retreat, so no one was injured, but it kept chasing them.


    Suddenly, Rain appeared between them and summoned a barrier that was supposed to be stopping it. However, the spikes kept marching forward, not flustered by the barrier.


    Only some of them hit the spikes and got destroyed, but since it traveled inside the ground, Rain couldn''t do anything.


    This time, Tasha and Kai tried to stop it. Kai simply carried Tasha with him while thetter released a few explosive marbles.


    Boom boom boom.


    A series of explosions urred and destroyed many of the spikes. However, the spikes grew back as if nothing happened and kept advancing forward.


    Ayaka followed the suits but to no avail. This technique never stopped.


    "It''s good that the magical beasts are dying, but if we let this continue, our side will suffer a serious loss too," Kai muttered while thinking of a way to escape from this situation.


    "Kai¡­" Tasha called a name aftering up with a n. "Can you listen to what I am saying?"


    "Do you have a n?"


    "Yes. I am going to seal that protector''s power." Tasha nodded with a serious expression.


    "Can you do it?"


    "Yes. Elder Rapakha told me the way. Although I couldn''t seal someone stronger, the weakened him should be possible. Without any more power, the attack should stop. What do you think?"


    "It''s better than doing nothing. I will carry you there because there is no telling that the beast has the reserve power to hit you or not."


    "I understand. I will be counting on you." Tasha smiled.


    Kai nodded and shouted. "All of you keep running away. I will try to deal with it."


    Without waiting for them, Kai already leaped above the spikes, using his Sound st. He made sure that he didn''t touch a single spike because he didn''t know what would happen.


    Kai''s movement was unpredictable, but he managed to get into the beast''s range without any injuries.


    Suddenly, Serta summoned two arms that were trying to grip him. However, Michelle and Rain had acted faster than anyone else here.


    Michelle threw her Dark Version to help Alex while Rain summoned his barrier to stop the iing two arms.


    ''I have never thought that the situation will be like this. Besides, I am afraid that his rise is something inevitable.'' Rain narrowed his eyes while thinking. ''He will soon reach this level in the new future. ''


    Kai, on the other hand, hadn''t put a thought in his next promotion. He simply desired to get stronger as quickly as possible, especially after seeing Tasha''s strength.


    The government would begin paying close attention to her, so he needed to have those four stars on his shoulder to protect her.


    Having this important thought, Kai arrived on top of the beast as he noticed that Serta was still alive.


    However, his eyes had lost their focus as he kept looking up even with Kaiing to his range of detection.


    Kai destroyed all the spikesing out of the ground while asking. "Tasha. You should do it because this will be our chance to end this battle."


    "I know." Tasha nodded as she bent down, staring at Serta''s body. She channeled her energy to his body as she overpowered the rampaging energy as if trying to break free from the control.


    However, Tasha kept fighting. The pain transmitted to her brain forced a small groan toe out of her mouth.


    Kai was dealing with all the spikes that came from their surroundings, so he could only ask without turning back. "Are you alright?"


    "Yes." Tasha smiled and kept sealing more and more energy as she progressed until one point, Serta gave up.


    The moment his real skin came back, Kai quickly stabbed it without showing any mercy as the monster ultimately died.


    After making sure that the beast died, Kai roared while raising his sword.


    "Uoh!"


    "Uoh!"


    The soldiers followed him, feeling happy that a monster like that died under Kai Carter, the rumored genius from the US Base.


    "We might have killed one of our greatest enemies, but we still need to face more than three million monsters. Keep your movement sharp and we shall im the victory." Kai let out a battle cry, which was followed by the soldiers.


    Kai never really showed himself to the public, so no one knew other than those he had met in the Spirit World.


    "Alright. Let''s go. We help our brothers in need." Kai shouted because the giant was covering behind the tree. Kai had no choice other than to leave this guy alone.


    "Uoh!"


    Kai maintained the army first as he asked Rain and Brad for another mission. They agreed and began sweeping the enemies with Kai''s strategy. It was proven to be effective, so they both had no qualms about the strategy.


    Besides, without them realizing it, Kai had been maintaining morale this whole time. The soldiers never fell into despair, especially during a war.


    It took them a whole week just to kill all the monsters, but everything was worth it. They sent a few air troops after the agreement and left everything in Kai''s hand.


    The battle continued. After all, even with the protectors running away, they were required to handle more than three million magical beasts. Luckily, Serta killed around two hundred thousand magical beasts during thest magic that disabled his function to move or talk. This made their mission incredibly easier.


    Kai and the others chipped their number away little by little, making sure to kill at least a few hundred thousand in a year. With the rotation of Kai, Rain, and Brad, the armies could fight even longer. Some even kept smiling despite having gotten an injury.


    This was how much the satisfaction was from having Kai in the army because they managed to grab a few good things.


    He didn''t forget about the explosive stuff that Rain brought with him, cing all those people up front, especially the jet." Kai smiled.


    He couldn''t contain his smile and used the air support, decreasing their number even further.


    Despite being so warm and lucky, the result remained the same. Even though it was anticlimactic, the war had truly ended.


    Kai quickly ordered all the soldiers to bring all the injured to get themselves healed.


    Rain came to him, showing his respect in this battle. No matter what, his achievement was the most apparent in this war. He walked to his tent, finding Kai shaking Brad''s hand.


    It seemed Brad was thanking him for his service and apologized for all the harsh attitude this whole time.


    Kai sent him off with a smile because he understood Brad''s personality better during the way. Although he was a tough guy, there seemed to be a history and goodwill behind his action. He felt a bit bad for the former student council president, but Kai believed that a family problem should be resolved by both of them together, not an outsider like him.


    Kai then turned around and looked at Rain. Brad also saw him and decided to let them talk alone, saying that he would handle the rest.


    Rain and Kai closed their distance as the former stretched his hand with a smile.


    Kai nodded and shook his hand.


    "Thank you. I really need to improve even further because my current ability iscking so much." He smiled.


    "No, no. You are already strong enough."


    He shook his head. "If I need to fight you or your sister, I feel like I won''t have the chance to win. As for Michelle, there is a possibility because my Barrier Magic has an advantage to it. If it''s on equal ground, I don''t know if I will defeat her. I really need to improve because the enemies from this point on won''t be that easy."


    "Yes. I might not be able to control the entire situation like earlier. That''s why we need to get stronger as soon as possible." Kai nodded in agreement. "Still, I am honored to have you apany me in this battle."


    "No, no. It''s me who should feel honored. I have never thought that Ria Ross''s student is a monster like herself. I thought I could stand a chance against you, but it seemed everything was just my wishful thinking."


    "You shouldn''t¡­"


    "It''s fine. Despite saying all this, I wasn''t disappointed with the result. Instead, I will be using this motivation to keep increasing my power because I know that someday it is needed." Rain smiled and gently bumped Kai''s chest and said. "You should keep improving because I might identally take your title in the future."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "I will. Are you returning now, Commander?"


    "Yes. My only mission is to help you during the war. Now that the war has ended, I need to return as soon as possible. Just make sure to clean all this up, alright?"


    "I know." Kai smiled.


    "I hope we can meet again." Rain shook Kai''s hand once again.


    "Yes. I believe that it won''t take too long for us to meet again." Kai smiled and nodded before saluting. "Thank you for your support, Sir."


    Rain saluted before turning around and walking away. "I am leaving then."


    Kai watched how he entered the helicopter. It seemed that he had satisfied his own curiosity regarding Kai''s achievement and power. At the very least, he had finished a problem.


    Kai turned around and saw that the soldiers began cleaning up the beasts scattered all around the battlefield. He shook his head helplessly and walked to the front, nning to help them.


    "This is going to take a long while¡­"

 Chapter 400 - King Of The Sea

    A few dayster, Kai and his family were rxing on the sofa. Because they had nothing to do, they looked for the news on their TV.


    It turned out that the news airing right now was rted to Kai''s achievement in the field.


    The first one was when they interviewed the student council president, who happened to be helping him during the battle as amander.


    She smiled and exined. "When I saw him roaming around the battlefield, I would never expect that someone could bring an army of soldiers that had never fought with each other before in perfect harmony. He led the army with the casualty that I would have never thought was possible. Even my Grandfather quickly praised him as soon as I returned home."


    "What was the most noticeable impact he brought during the battlefield?"


    "In my opinion, it was when he led the soldiers. His power was far above the rest, marching forward while killing the magical beasts without getting slowed down. In fact, most of his soldiers had a hard time keeping up with him despite them being together and following him from behind.


    "That might also be the reason why the soldiers adored him. He fought bravely and tirelessly in the frontline, making us not want to lose to him, albeit, in the end, we ended up agreeing that he had beaten us."


    Not long after, the screen was switched to a reporter asking a student for their experience with a simr question to Laura.


    "Back then, I managed to get chosen as one of the vanguards when our fortress had yet to bepleted. He led fifteen thousand people and stopped hundreds of thousands. Not only that, but he also killed so many beasts by himself and never showed any weakness in front of us. I felt that it wasn''t a matter of rivalry anymore. I just didn''t want to be a burden to him. That was just how good themander was. Just thinking about it made me feel goosebump every now and then."


    This time, it was a group of soldiers that got interviewed.


    The first soldier imed, "Commander Brad Matthew was already an offensive style general, but Kai Carter surpassed him in that regard. He never wavered and got stopped by the magical beasts no matter the condition. He even perfectly nned everything and had several backup ns when the first n failed. I wish to fight under him again."


    The second soldier said, "He led us during the first day, but because the center position got ambushed by the enemy, Commander Kai Carter needed to bring reinforcement there, so I couldn''t really say what happened during that time. However, I kept listening to myrade from the center position and never thought that a student was capable of achieving such a thing."


    Because of the second testament, the reporter now grabbed a soldier from the center position who Brad Matthew led on the first day.


    "On the second day, we got ambushed by three intelligence beasts that seemed to be a new type, considering they could use magic like us. The details are still under investigation, so I can''t give you any information. As for what happened during that day, the most memorable one was when Commander Kai Carter appeared on the battlefield as the reinforcement.


    "Commander Brad and Dun had trouble in fighting the three new type beasts, but everything was resolved under a few minutes as soon as he arrived. He was the first to kill the new type, allowing Commander Dun to protect us."


    Suddenly, another soldier came and denied his im. "No, no. If you are talking about the most memorable one is when three mutants came. Commander Rain and the Lion group took on the two while Kai Carter and his sister fought together with the giant.


    "When they were together, they had perfect coordination to the point that the enemy couldn''t do anything. In fact, this enemy had a giant body that could kill thousands of people in a few minutes with that giant body, so Commander Kai Carter and his sister were saving us by beating that guy. I would treasure this memory forever."


    The reporters kept asking many people, but those who were in the house, staring at each other.


    Tasha grinned and teased him. "Commander Kai Carter is the best, eh? Even people only knew me as your sister, not as an S Rank Magician."


    Kai gently scratched his cheek with a weird smile. "I only did my best."


    "Haha, should mom cook something for celebration?" She smiled.


    "That''s right. We should celebrate this." Tasha nodded in agreement. "Let''s go shopping, mom."


    "Sure." She nodded as the two quickly left the house with enthusiasm.


    Unlike the two, James had a smile on his face, but overall, he was pretty serious when staring at Kai.


    Kai turned to him with a serious expression, knowing that he wanted to say something. "Dad¡­"


    James let out a long sigh, leaned on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling. "Thank you, Kai."


    "What do you mean, Dad?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. "I only did my best as a son, nothing else. Why thank you?"


    "Look at your mom''s smile. The reason she can smile is not that your achievement is amazing, but because we can gather here again despite achieving so many things. I will be lying if we say we are not proud of you, but above all, we just want the family to be together.


    "Many people work hard for money, but they end up sacrificing their family and not having time to spend with their family whether they are their children or parents. That''s why your mom can smile today."


    "Dad¡­" Kai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then he realized he couldn''te up with the sentence. He felt that his brain worked perfectly during the battlefield, but when it came to family, he waspletely clueless.


    His father''s lesson was so important to him because he understood what family meant. Kai couldn''t contain his smile. "Thank you, Dad. No matter what, I will have time for family."


    James nodded with a smile. "That''s good. Besides, you have achieved one of your dreams, right?"


    "Dream?"


    "Yes. It''s about Tasha. You have be someone big enough to protect her."


    "Ah." Kai remembered how Tasha teased him. By making others look at him more than anyone else was also another type of protection for Tasha. Combined with his current rank in the military, not many would try to do anything funny to his sister. Kai genuinely felt relieved for the first time as he leaned back, following what his father did.


    Everything felt lifted up from his shoulders as he couldn''t help but say, "Ah, this is bliss. To think that rxing is this enjoyable."


    "Haha¡­Rest well. No matter what you do, Mom and Dad will be here waiting for you toe home." James was happy with how Kai developed to this day. "You and Tasha will always be our pride."


    "Thanks."


    ¡­


    Contrary to this rxed atmosphere, under the sea, the situation was intense, as if someone choked your neck.


    The turtle and the octopus were kneeling in front of the mermaid princess. Many other protectors were watching this scene because they never expected that the turtle woulde back in this state.


    "Can you tell me what happened?" The princess asked.


    They were on a small square stone tform. On the three sides were seats sat by the other protectors. As expected, a few were missing due to Kai killing them.


    "Kai Carter is stronger than ever. I believe that his power will soon catch up to us. His group has so much progress too, allowing them to stop me. And if we add the fact that they keep helping each other, it means that they will soon reach our level as well, though, it won''t be as fast as Kai Carter."


    After telling the conclusion, he began telling the whole story from the beginning, especially how Kai Carter and Tasha Carter killed Serta. The protectors were in an uproar as they never expected Kai to be this strong.


    However, the mermaid princess had another point of view. She focused on Tasha instead of Kai. "That Space Magic¡­I don''t think she is a Space Magician. Her power is closer to that human in the west. If I am not wrong, his name is¡­"


    Before she finished, a middle-aged man''s voice resounded in everyone''s ears.


    "Rapakha Barabas."


    The princess''s body shook and the other protectors turned silent. They stared at thest side of the tform, which only had one grand seat.


    The one, who sat on that empty seat, had a tail like that of a snake, but his upper half was a fish. The upper half had so many spikes all over its back.


    "Your Majesty." The princess bowed politely.


    "To think that man is moving despite getting watched by that old hag. It means that they have met him, which probably they came to Easter Ind, not the other way around." The king, AKA the real protector, closed his eyes. "That man''s sealing magic is extraordinary because it can even seal our power."


    "Do you have a suggestion to us, Your Majesty?"


    "My power has yet to bepleted. I need another one or two years. For now, you should harass them from time to time to halt Kai Carter''s progress. I don''t know his situation, but as expected of the Human Race''s Protector. He is dangerous."


    "I understand. I shall be the one leading the army next time."


    "Good. Don''t make it too often because that old hag might find out about this. If that happens, all of our efforts will go in vain."


    "I shall n everything for you, Your Majesty." She nodded with a serious expression.


    The king nodded with a grim expression as if he was thinking something.

 Chapter 401 - Different Point Of View

    Not only those under the sea were panicking, but everyone in the world just took the news as if a cannonball hit their face.


    In United Asia, specifically inside Katsuragi Family''s Mansion.


    Katsuragi Akagi mmed the table on his right, splitting it into two and letting the cup fall to the ground. The tea inside the cup soon wet the floor. Still, the tea was just a small matterpared to what he saw.


    Kai would be the most reliable ally, but if they were on a different side like the Katsuragi Family, he would be a terrifying nightmare.


    Ikeda Kenzo looked at Akagi''s expressions and shook his head helplessly. He thought, ''Ah. He is indeed a good seedling. I will probably die after everything is over, but I guess my choice of letting him go at that time was the right decision. Earth has hope now. Even if he is on the other side of the Earth, I have no qualm. Please don''t return here because the situation here is so messed up.''


    "Kenzo. What is your thought about this matter?"


    "I am not sure. Even though there are so many testimonies, I haven''t seen his fight with my own eyes. Unlike the S Rank Magician, Rain, my ability is leaning to offense, so I might be able to fight him toe to toe." He sighed.


    Katsuragi Akagi nodded before falling into deep thought.


    ''It seems that Kai Carter''s strength has surpassed me. However, I need to keep this lie a little longer.'' Ikeda Kenzo nced at Akagi and closed his eyes. ''I can understand his extreme patriotism. However, even if I have the chance to turn back time, I will choose this side again.''


    Katsuragi Akagi then called his assistant to the room.


    "Sir, how can I help you?" It turned out that the assistant remained the same as the one a few years ago.


    "How is the progress of the Yajima Family?"


    "We still haven''t gotten a single clue other than them suddenly disappearing in one night. I feel like there is another hidden power in United Asia, one that has been outside our awareness this whole time."


    "And do you think I will believe that bullsh*t? Who the heck are they? The one from the Government? If the Government had them, they would have enough strength to suppress anyone in United Asia. The same applies to the other leading families. They might have already be the leader of this United Asia. But you can see the proof. There is no one who can rival us. Even the Southern Family has been reduced to half of their original power by us."


    Ikeda Kenzo also didn''t believe it, considering that even the biggest weapon group, Kudo Group, disappeared, no one came to help them.


    "How about the assassins we sent?"


    "Unfortunately, Sir. The US Base Government has tightened their securities. None of our assassins managed to get into the Base." The assistant shook her head in disappointment.


    Akagi clenched his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been sending assassins after assassins to US Base, only to find them failing.


    "However, we have gotten another information from our informant, Sir."


    "What?"


    "Next semester, Kai Carter is to be an exchange student in EU Base. If we go there as soon as possible, we should be able to bypass their security before it gets tightened like the US Base."


    "Good! Send our assassins there." Akagi nodded with a serious expression. "Make sure that we all are sending Rank A Magicians."


    "I understand. I shall arrange it myself."


    "Continue the investigation about the Yajima Family. I don''t like how this is going."


    "Yes, I shall pass your message."


    "For now, let him enjoy the remaining time he has in the US Base."


    "But are you sure the assassins can do it?" Ikeda Kenzo suddenly opened his mouth. Kai''s strength was far beyond their imagination, so the assassins wouldn''t be enough to handle him. That was what he thought.


    Surprisingly, Katsuragi Akagi only smiled and exined his n which made Ikeda Kenzo scared.


    At the same time, in a small secret base.


    Yajima Haruko was sitting in a room, watching the television. Her eyes were fixated with the news as Kai''s face kept appearing.


    Next to her was a woman with a mask. She had never taken off her mask this whole time, but if one raised their vision, they would see a pair of white hornsing out of her forehead. She had long, straight ck hair that was tied into a ponytail.


    "Emma, do you see that?"


    "I am watching the news right now." Her tone was t as if she didn''t share the same excitement as Haruko had.


    "To think that he already has a star on his shoulder. He is so capable right now." Haruko gently smiled. "I wonder when I can see him¡­"


    "Until hees here by himself to settle everything. In the meantime, you will be under our custody."


    "You said custody, but you are giving me and my family a shelter to wait for the storm to pass¡­" Haruko narrowed her eyes.


    "Unfortunately, I can''t say much, but I think it''s fine to give you this small hint. I just want you to know that your life might change the direction of this world, so please be careful."


    "¡­" Haruko looked down before sighing. "I still can''t understand that. At first, I thought that Kai was a hero or something, but it seemed to be not the case. It''s not like I love him because of his status, but this curiosity is killing me."


    "I understand that it''s hard to contain that curiosity, but everything will be answered when Kai Carteres here."


    "Fine. I will endure myself. Besides, you promise that you are going to train me. When are we going to start?"


    "Next week."


    "Alright. Do you think I can fight side by side with Kai after finishing the training?"


    "No."


    "Such a fast response¡­" Haruko let out a long sigh, feeling slightly disappointed.


    "He is built differently, so you don''t need to think much about it."


    "Differently? Such a weird choice of words." She narrowed her eyes and looked at the girl beside her.


    "Still, I am grateful that you are helping me and my family, especially under the continuous attacks from the Katsuragi Family."


    "We just want peace, and your life can threaten that peace. Those who share the same opinion as us will certainly do the same. However, you don''t need to worry, you won''t be at the same level as him, but you can reach the level of those around him."


    "I will be looking forward to it." Haruko smiled, feeling pretty fired up. "By the way, are those horns real?"


    Just like the usual, every time Haruko uttered that question, she would stop answering all her questions.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, there was another family that looked at this news in a positive light. It was the Campbell Family. Yes, Sofia''s family.


    Her grandfather, who taught her during the three months of training, watched the news in his study room. Subconsciously, a smile appeared on his face when he confirmed everything the soldiers said with the report he had in his hands.


    "It turns out that I have underestimated him. If his strength can be considered higher than an S Rank Magician, his future is really limitless. There is no doubt that his teacher will lose against him in the near future. After that¡­Things will start to revolve around him."


    After contemting this matter for a while, he opened his mouth, calling someone''s name. "Nestar. You there?"


    "Yes, Chairman. Do you need something?"


    "I want to abuse my position right now."


    "Sorry, Sir. I think I''ve heard it wrong."


    "As I said, I want to abuse the power I have right now."


    "Asking for your confirmation, Sir. Are you¡ª"


    "I said this for the third time. I won''t say it anymore. I want to abuse my power."


    "This¡­It will seriously create¡ª"


    "You don''t need to worry about that. If theye, just tell them toe to me."


    "Then, may I know what you are nning?"


    "I am going to be the principal in my beloved daughter''s school."


    "Are you implying the Royal Magic Academy?"


    "Exactly. Just for a few months. That''s all. You can give the current principal a vacation while I am there."


    "This is going to be hard, Sir."


    The old man let out a long sigh. "It''s easy. You don''t know anything. Even if you tell the others, they will let me do this. Just shut up and tell them. Besides, I am going to create a big wee for an exchange student next year."


    Suddenly, something clicked in Nestar''s mind as he asked. "Are we discussing Kai Carter this whole time?"


    "You just realized it? You need to study more."


    "I apologize. It was nned that he woulde three monthster, so it slipped past my mind."


    "Anyway, tell those people that I want to do it."


    "May I ask two questions, Sir?"


    "Sure. Just don''t make it too long."


    "How far are you nning to go?"


    "I have my own report about his personality from my daughter. You don''t need to worry, I will just y it safe. Whether Kai Carter will stay here or not, it''s not in my mind right now. What I want to know is if my daughter will be with him or not in the future."


    "But I thought, Miss Sofia has gotten pretty close to him."


    "That''s not enough. I want more." He shrugged. "Alright. I don''t want to be bothered with you. Yourst question!"


    "Your actions¡­Is it rted to the news?"


    "Yes."


    "¡­" Nestar fell silent for a minute before saying, "I understand. I shall inform everyone involved."


    "Good. I will be waiting for good news." He nodded with a smile before looking back at the news. "Things will be interesting soon."

 Chapter 402 - Ugh

    "Now is for President Brent to award him with the official medal and star."


    Thus what the host said as Brent put all of his achievement in thest battle on either his chest.


    This was Kai''s second time getting the award in an official event like this, especially the one with all media covering him.


    Just like the first ceremony, Kai became famous worldwide. The reaction was even crazier than the first one since this ceremony allowed him to officially be a general¡­The youngest one in history as the former record was 20 years old while he was only 19 years old.


    Everything looked perfect on the television, but the same couldn''t be said for him.


    "Huft. Yesterday was tiring." Kai nted his face on the table while grumbling over what happened yesterday.


    "You only received the medal and talked with some middle-aged men and old men, no?" Michelle tilted her head in confusion. "Not many attended the ceremony yesterday."


    "Yes. That was the only schedule. However, you needed to add the fact that those people were trying to force a marriage into you shamelessly. Even when I rejected them, they kept changing their words, trying to make me agree to it in some weird ways." Kai''s tone was tired as if it took more stamina than the war.


    However, Michelle understood Kai''s misery perfectly and chuckled. "Fufu. So, you needed toe up with a constant excuse."


    "Yes. I thought that your grandfather was annoying, but if he were there, I wouldn''t need to suffer that experience yesterday. Ah, how I regretted rejecting him¡­"


    Michelle couldn''t contain herughter anymore. Her grandfather is annoying. That''s a fact that many know.


    When her grandfather attended the ceremony, his presence alone managed to keep fifty percent of them away while he easily handled the other thirty percent. Kai didn''t need to do much since he was only required to keep spouting bullsh*ts for a few minutes, and the award ceremony would have ended without anything big.


    However, Kai told Nathan that everything would be fine. He shouldn''t continue receiving his help because it would look bad to the public.


    "Haiz. You have it rough." Tashaughed. "Luckily, you have me. You don''t need to worry about traveling because I can simply teleport us away."


    "Yeah¡­But it''s not like we can escape easily from this room." Kai pointed at both the door and window in the room.


    He had set up a Sound Instion Magic to prevent any words froming into the room, disturbing the little piece he had. However, if they took a look at the window, they would find many girls standing in front of the building, keeping their focus on the room to make sure that Kai came out.


    Suddenly, Dark Michelle came out, hugged, and kissed him. She licked her lips and asked, "How about me shutting them up?"


    "Oi!" Michelle never thought that she would appear by herself and pulled her hair. "What the heck are you doing?"


    "You promise me that I can spend time like this."


    "It seems that I was wrong to give you more freedom to appear. You wouldn''t get my permission anymore to appear without saying anything." Michelle snorted.


    "In that case¡­" Michelle clung to his neck while pointing at another door in the room. "Let''s go there. I have a limited time, so we should do it when it''s possible."


    "You¡­"


    When Michelle was about to erupt, Kai already patted Dark Michelle''s head and said with a smile. "Haha. Maybe in the future, okay? It''s not like I don''t like you or whatsoever, but let this progress a bit more, alright? I am sure that you can wait for a little longer."


    Dark Michelle then released his neck and nodded docilely. "If that''s what you want, then I will be waiting. Since you respect my wish by giving me a chance, I won''t get too pushy either."


    "Thanks." Kai smiled and kissed her forehead. Unfortunately, there was no feeling in that kiss because Dark Michelle was only a shadow no matter how realistic she looked.


    Even so, it was enough for Kai to show his affection.


    Dark Michelle reciprocated the feeling by kissing his cheek before disappearing while waving her hand. "Alright. I will leave for now. I am looking forward to our date."


    "Yeah."


    Michelle let out a long sigh after receiving the power back. "How can you handle her that easily?"


    "She is nice and understanding. Because you are so passive, she loves teasing you. After all, both of you are the same Michelles." Kai smiled.


    Bang.


    Suddenly, the door was mmed open as Shirotsuka Sanae entered the room. Even so, none of them could actually see her due to the mountain of presents on her hands.


    She even closed the door with her foot and dropped all the presents on the table.


    "This is yours, superstar." She grunted after getting stuck outside the door for ten minutes just to bring all the presents from the girls outside.


    "Thanks for your hard work, Teacher." Kai scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.


    "What thank you? I went through hell just to enter this room."


    "Ahaha¡­ I can understand that well." Kai nodded in agreement as he had been enduring it since a few days ago after that news. The reporters kept waiting for him outside his house and his fan club was born.


    On one hand, he thanked them since he had everything covered, allowing Tasha to live freely with her power. On the other hand, this change really took a toll on his mind.


    And Sofia seemed to want to add another vor to this mixed feeling.


    "Actually, I have one good news and bad news for you, Kai. Which one do you want to hear first?"


    "I haven''t been in a good mood since two days ago, so I want to hear the Good news first."


    "Good news¡­The school principal has been reced. In other words, when youe to my school, you won''t need to handle the principal because the government is trying to deal with you seriously."


    "And the bad news?"


    "My grandfather is the one recing her."


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows. "Just asking, but why would he be the principal?"


    "Just theoretically speaking, if we put Sir Nathan and my grandfather face to face in a situation like this, they wouldn''t stop talking about their n for a whole day."


    "So, they are the same type." Kai facepalmed and sighed. "Haiz. When can I get time to live peacefully."


    "You won''t have it anymore. Haha, serves you right." Sanaeughed as she opened the present, which contained cookies and ate them.


    "And you are enjoying yourself with the presents?"


    "Then, you are going to eat everything?"


    Kai fell silent before correcting himself. "Please enjoy."


    "Good." She continued serving herself with all kinds of snacks from the presents the girls gave Kai.


    Meanwhile, Kai wondered whether he could still change what had been agreed upon. "Can I pay a fee to escape from this situation?"


    "No. My Base won''t take it lightly and there is a potential of war against each other, which we don''t want to see. That''s why, juste and marry me. Everything will be solved."


    "Well¡­ We can talk about it in the future. We have something more important going on, so¡­yeah." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "!!!"


    He soon realized that his words shocked everyone, especially Sofia.


    Unknowingly, tears came out of her eyes, falling into her cheek. Even Sofia couldn''t understand why it happened and started wiping her tears while asking herself with a confused tone. "Eh? What happened? Why was I crying? I was saying that because I knew that everything was going to be arranged and¡­"


    After knowing Kai for almost nine months, she had begun to change and calmed down. The desire that she thought was "arranged" hadpletely been suppressed by her real feeling. That was why when Kai said those words, her earlier expectation was shattered, reced by the genuine feeling.


    That genuine feeling rejected the idea and created a conflict in her heart, resulting in her tears.


    Michelle, Ayaka, and Tasha facepalmed. With the addition of Sofia, there were already five of them. No matter how they said it, they still had trouble epting so many people into the "family."


    Luckily, it was not an arranged marriage that forced Kai to marry someone since he himself said he would consider it in the future.


    At the very least, they already knew Sofia and her character, so it was easier to swallow. Still, the situation couldn''t be more awkward than this.


    "You all¡­Get a room already." Sanae let out a long sigh. "You bastard¡­ If only you were a bit older or I were a bit younger, I would eat you already."


    "Teacher, please don''t joke." Kai sighed as he wondered how to escape this situation.


    As the atmosphere became awkward, Evan subconsciously made a small heart on the table with a marker. Inside, he wrote three names.


    Evan.


    Isabelle.


    And¡­


    Leisa.

 Chapter 403 - News

    Unfortunately, another ce didn''t share the same sentiment.


    "Father. We have gotten the information from the bureau." Bryan came to meet Nathan, who was currentlyzing around in his chair, facing the garden.


    Nathan raised his sunsses and narrowed his eyes when he saw the document in Bryan''s hand.


    "What kind of information?" Nathan tilted his head before feeling something bad would happen soon.


    "You should read it yourself." Bryan handed the document.


    "¡­" Nathan grabbed the document and read it for a few minutes before turning back to Bryan with a shocked expression. "When was this confirmed?"


    "Because of the conflict there and all the process it took, it was around a week ago."


    Nathan facepalmed as his forehead began to sweat. He let out a long sigh while saying, "This is going to be soplicated."


    "What are we going to do, Father? This is already an internationalw, you know."


    He thought for a moment and rose before calling Ria Ross.


    "What? It''s rare for you to call me." Ria''s voice echoed.


    "I am going with a bang. What do you think?"


    "What the heck are you talking about, Old Man? Have you gone bald?"


    "Nope. I will send you the information I received earlier, and I am going to meet Kai right now. Send me your replyter."


    Nathan nonchntly hung up the call and looked at Bryan. "Prepare our chopper. I want to reach there within three hours."


    "Alright." Bryan nodded and quickly left him alone in the garden.


    Nathan just sat there and let out a long sigh, staring at the blue sky to calm his mind. "I am wondering if there will be a bloodbath or not. Well, I need to call the EU Embassy. Never mind, I will just let Ria do it."


    Nathan shook his head and walked to the family chopper, flying straight to the school.


    Meanwhile, Ria finally understood what he meant by going with a bang.


    She sat on her usual chair with her hand supporting his head, reading the information. She called the president and asked, "Do you know about the information I have received just now from Nathan?"


    "Yes. I was the one ordering it. I thought he was going to handle it first, but it seemed the news reached your ears first."


    "We are nning to go with a bang."


    "What kind of bang is this? You should know that this is involving internationalw, right?"


    "It''s not that big. I am just going to announce that Kai will be having a vacation in United Asia. Of course, I will send them to China or Korea for a mission to make it look like a mission while on his vacation.


    "With the news broadcasted worldwide, it''s a kind of protection from ourselves, threatening them to not touch them. However, I still believe that the Katsuragi Family will approach them. With the missing Yajima Family, my student will certainly raise his hand."


    President Brent facepalmed and sighed. "And this is going to create a tension between two bases. That''s why their government will absolutely make a move to protect Kai''s safety, and most likely, the South Family will join the battle, turning the country into chaos.


    "For us, it''s good since they are going to decline a bit, but we need to take humanity as a whole into ount. We can''t afford to lose too much or it will affect us too."


    "Don''t worry. I will use the mission to lure the rabbit out of their hole and eliminate them without anyone knowing. Unless they are publicizing the fact that Kai kills them, which also shows that they are targeting Kai, the truth won''te to light." Ria smirked, feeling pretty pumped up with this.


    "I see. So your n consists of two, the vacation and mission. The vacation is like protection to Kai Carter, allowing him to move around the base without any worry. And the mission takes all the attention where those power hungry people aim him. That''s where we end them?"


    "Exactly. That''s why this is a good idea. I am only wondering what mission should I have and I do need to contact the embassy for Sofia, you see."


    "I will deal with the embassy and political thingy. You should find a mission suit for him. And do you want me to send the team that has been protecting him?"


    "Probably no. My student is basically a human radar, so no one will get past him. It''s enough for your protection squad to eliminate all the assassinsing to this base. As for the rest, I will leave it up to him."


    "Alright. In that case, I will make sure that the EU Base doesn''t get into this picture since it will ruin everything." Brent nodded with a serious expression.


    "Brent, thank you."


    "What are you saying? I was one of the people you saved during the fight against that toad. You might think that you sacrificed half of the people there, but for me, you saved half the squad along with the entire army. Your group will certainly say that."


    "Ahaha¡­" Riaughed awkwardly before hanging up the call. "Alright. I will leave that side to you. Nathan will do the talking."


    "Okay, bye."


    Ria quickly searched for a mission, wondering whether there was a ce she could use to trap all of them.


    ¡­


    A few hourster, Nathan arrived at the school, storming inside Lion Group''s base without wasting any time.


    Bang.


    "You brat! I have a situation for you." Nathan stared at him with a serious expression. "This is grave news."


    "What is it?" Kai tilted his head in confusion because it wasn''t usual to see this old man act seriously. Even when he exined the Raid Mission, he would just nonchntly exin everything.


    "Your little sweetheart''s family, Yajima Family, has gone missing."


    "Oh? You are talking about that." Kai nodded calmly as if he had known everything.


    "What? Why are you not surprised?"


    "I already know the situation from her, albeit she doesn''t tell me where she''s at right now."


    "You have been in contact?" Nathan twitched his eyebrows, wanting to burst out his anger. He just worried for nothing.


    "Yes. It''s been more than a year already. The Katsuragi Family is about to destroy them, so they are taking refuge somewhere."


    "Ugh." Nathan facepalmed and took a seat before mming the table. "I want to beat you up."


    "¡­"


    "Anyway, what do you think about a trip to United Asia? I mean, this situation has be too big to just stop it."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Because of this news, I nned to send you to United Asia for a "Vacation" that allows you to search your little sweetheart while chipping down Katsuragi Family''s power."


    "I see. A mission under the guise of a vacation." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yeah. What do you think?"


    "You should focus on whether she can follow me or not, you know." Kai nced at Sofia.


    "Well, I am still an exchange student, so yeah, you need a¡ª" Suddenly, her device rang. When she grabbed it and opened the email from her grandfather, she corrected her answer. "You know what, I will be following you."


    The others were obviously confused by the sudden change. Sofia thought for a moment and showed the email to them.


    ''My beloved granddaughter. This is a piece of advice from your grandfather. Don''t reject your honeymoon."


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows and sighed. "Why do I feel that your grandfather is really a special person?"


    "He is." Sofia shrugged.


    "I feel like I can get along with this guy pretty well. Maybe letting you inside the family is not that bad at all." Nathan narrowed his eyes and looked at this message whilementing. "He should say make a baby or two while you are at it, but I guess he doesn''t have time at the moment."


    This time, the message from Ria Ross came. Nathan picked it up before staring at Kai. "It seems that you are going to Dalian."


    "Hmm?" Kai opened the map and searched for Dalian. "This¡­"


    "Yeah. United Asia has been expanding their border up to Dandong, northeast Dalian. With you getting rid of the beasts in Dalian, they will surely take this to create a temporary base. With the position, they can travel a bit safer to Yantai in Shandong prefecture."


    "If I am screwing up the Katsuragi Family¡­It''s certainly going to be big news. We need something to make people believe that I am there for the better."


    "Exactly. Unless the Katsuragi Family wants to admit that they attack you, you are free to eliminate any kind of threats. From my perspective, I can give you a month of vacation, two weeks for investigation and two weeks for this mission. What do you think?"


    "This is good enough for me." Kai nodded in agreement. "When do we leave?"


    "It''s up to you." He shrugged.


    "I mean, when do we leave for the announcement?"


    "Oh! We need at least two days to arrange the entire event, so probably in three days?"


    Kai had predicted that they were going to announce it. With them contacting the EU Embassy, they could prepare an answer beforehand, telling that everything was in agreement. This would protect both bases'' interests.


    United Asia had no choice to step up and started suppressing the Katsuragi Family even by a bit. This would force the Katsuragi Family to send more people to him where he could kill them, resulting in significant damage to the Katsuragi Family.


    "This is getting interesting." He looked around and asked. "What do you think about seven days from now?"


    "Can I bri¡ª" Evan raised his hand, but Kai already answered him. "You can."


    "I don''t have a problem then. She must be overjoyed with this." Evan smiled.


    "That''s good. I will send the documentter. If you need anything,e to the Graham Family, I will stay there for a week."


    "Thank you."

 Chapter 404 - Situation

    A few dayster, many media gathered.


    They all were curious about the statement from the government, telling them that they would send Kai to United Asia without an official agreement between the two bases.


    They all came to this room to listen to what they had to say.


    Nathan slowly made his way to the stage and looked at the reporters, who were ready to note everything he said.


    "We have decided to allow Kai Carter to have a vacation for one month. I know that you all are wondering about our decision, but when you think about it, you will realize that Kai Carter is just a student before he is a General. We wish not to put all the burden on his shoulders.


    "We don''t want to be the government¡­ the military that has no strength other than letting a student continuously fight on the battlefield.


    "After knowing that he can go to United Asia, he wishes to help them besides the fact that they almost killed him in the past.


    "That''s why I wish that United Asia will take into ount his patriotism. This can be counted as a warning as well from us. I won''t talk much since I n to have this session with Q&A. If you want to ask, raise your hands and I will answer one by one."


    Nathan gave them the permissions and every single reporter raised their hand. Nathan chose a random one from the crowd.


    "May we know whether the government is the one suggesting United Asia for the vacation despite knowing there are so many ces we have that can be used for vacation?"


    Nathan closed his eyes and sighed. "No matter what we say, United Asia is still his hometown. Even though he is now a citizen, just like everyone, we won''t restrict someone from going home. Next."


    "Is there a possibility of him noting back? Despite having such a talent, United Asia didn''t cherish him like our government, so there might be a chance that he is noting back."


    "That you don''t need to worry. The person imed that he is a US citizen. All we can do is to believe him rather than questioning him. Next."


    "We know that United Asia is in conflict. Isn''t it rather dangerous to send him not only for a vacation but also to help them?"


    "You are underestimating him too much. Not many know about this, but his strength is far beyond your imagination. He might be a student, but his strength is considered one of the top ten in our base. At the same time, he is going with his group.


    "In other words, Kai Carter will be apanied by two S Rank Magicians, Shadow Princess, Michelle Graham, and Lightning Empress, Tasha Carter. Even our Guardian Deity, Rain, wants to apany him, but this is his vacation, so we can''t allow that.


    "Even so, there are still the number one healer, Evan Young, and the number two sniper in the world, Isabelle Fisher. Other than these two, Sofia Campbell will alsoe with him, so this is not a matter between both our bases anymore. That''s why we hope there is no controversying from this vacation. Next."


    "¡­"


    Nathan continued answering question after question.


    Meanwhile, the news shook United Asia, especially the Katsuragi Family.


    Katsuragi Akagi narrowed his eyes and called his assistant. "Do you have any information from our spies?"


    "The information from our government. The spies there said that Kai Carter''s mission is to help us take the important Dalian of Liaoning Prefecture."


    "That''s good. It will be the perfect opportunity to kill him." He thought for a moment and turned to Ikeda Kenzo. "I want you to be the one to kill him. Although there are two S Rank Magicians, they are still students. I am sure that you can do it, right?"


    Ikeda Kenzo let out a long sigh and nodded. "Alright. I will go."


    "Good. I will give you the detailed nter."


    Ikeda Kenzo only closed his eyes afterward and no one knew what he was thinking.


    ¡­


    A few dayster, they arrived at the airport. Unfortunately, Isabelle couldn''t bring her group for this vacation due to several reasons, so only seven people were going to United Asia.


    As expected, many had been waiting for them in the airport. There were countless fans and media there.


    He was a kind of celebrity already, even though he was in the military. The trend already changed, especially in this world full of danger. The people with powerful strength would be more impactful than a normal celebrity.


    He boarded the airne. To avoid the big crowd, he and his group boarded the first ss.


    Still, Kai couldn''t help butugh when he opened the news again. "Pfft. Shadow Princess and Lightning Empress."


    "What? That''s just a code in the military. Every single S Rank Magician got it." Tasha shrugged.


    "Right. Even those who are not Rank S Magicians have gotten it, depending on their achievement. For example, yours have been created. Of course, it''s from your fans." Michelle smiled. "Prince of Sound. Isn''t it good? It suits me perfectly."


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows.


    "I heard it''s going to be official soon since the government likes it as well." Tasha nodded in agreement. "Though, Shadow Princess is too good for you. You are just a creepy stalker if we consider your Shadow Magic."


    "What did you say? You are also not an empress. You are just a human generator!"


    "Do you want to start a fight?"


    "Alright. We are in the ne. Please be civil or you are going to disturb the others."


    "Hmph." The two looked away and returned to their seats.


    Kai then came to Isabelle and apologized. "Sorry that you can''t bring your group."


    "It''s fine. They understand that as well and treat it as my vacation with Evan. I will pay them backter."


    "Is that so?" Kai smiled. "Well, it''s true, but unfortunately, you need to be with us all the time."


    "It''s fine. I know the situation is a bit dangerous and I am also curious about your hometown. I want to see what kind of useless government could abandon someone like you." Isabelle smirked.


    "Ahaha¡­"


    "Anyway, don''t mind about me. It''s the first time I visit another base, so I am curious about the differences of culture."


    "Anyway, enjoy the flight. We will be there tomorrow morning."


    "You too."


    After her, he finally visited Ayaka, who seemed to be bothered about this vacation.


    Ayaka was watching a movie as if trying to distract herself. When Kai came into his vision, Ayaka raised her head and asked, "What happens? Do you need me?"


    "I just want to talk with you."


    "It''s fine. Although many bad memories remain in my head, I won''t do something reckless. If it''s the previous me, I will probably attack them without hesitation, but I am not who I used to be. That''s why don''t worry about me."


    "Is that so?" Kai smiled. "You have truly grown up. I still remember when we first met. You called me because of my headphones."


    She looked away, embarrassed. "That''s my dark past. I was still too rash back then."


    "Right? You came at me in a pretty straightforward way, even in a fight."


    "Haha. Are youing here just to tease me?"


    "Nope." Kai shrugged. "I truly want to check your condition. But I guess I shouldn''t need to worry."


    "Thanks." Ayaka smiled and waved her hand as Kai slowly walked away.


    Last but not least, Kai visited the most important person on this trip beside him. One of the most important younger generations of the EU Base, Sofia.


    "Oh, you finally visit me." Sofia smiled.


    Unlike the others, he activated Sound Instion Magic this time. Kai nodded his head and smiled. "Yeah. Sorry."


    "Why apologize?" She shook her head. "I am just someone who tags along."


    "Even so¡­"


    "Anyway, I will give this to you." She handed her device to Kai.


    However, Kai knew that she was handing the email that she opened for him to read.


    "To put it simply, there are three terms. First, nothing can be reported if there is no evidence. Second, I will be following your decision when I am there. Third, most of the time, I should just spend my day ording to our previous agreement. Fourth¡ª"


    "Don''t you say there are only three terms?" Kai twitched his eyebrows, but Sofia only ignored him and continued. "I can''t go back unless I am pregnant."


    ''Never mind.'' Kai screamed inwardly and asked with a tired expression. "It''s from your grandfather, I assume."


    "You know my grandfather well."


    "It''s because of Sir Nathan. That''s all." Kai shrugged. "I don''t think I will be able to handle both of them together."


    "Same." Sofia smiled. "Anyway, that''s it. I have told you everything you need to know."


    Kai nodded. "Alright then. I think that''s all. I will see you tomorrow. Good night."


    "Yep. Good night." Sofia waved her hand while smiling, sending Kai off.


    Kai then returned to his seat. Because they took thete-night flight, he decided to sleep as soon as he reached his seat.

 Chapter 405 - Reaching United Asia

    The morning came and the nended on the ground safely.


    Because they would be greeted by someone from the government, Kai and the others let the other passengers leave first until they were thest people in the ne other than the pilots and flight attendants.


    "Let''s go." Kai smiled as he looked at his group.


    They nodded and followed Kai from behind.


    After thanking the flight attendants and the pilots, he left the airne and found three people waiting for them at the end of the corridor.


    The leader seemed to be a male with big round sses, followed by two women with fierce eyes. They seemed to be his bodyguards or something.


    Kai looked at this ck-haired man and nodded at him from afar.


    When he arrived, the man stretched his hand for a handshake.


    "Nice to meet you, I am Hanashita Koda from the ministry of defense."


    "Kai Carter." Kai nodded and shook his hand.


    Suddenly, Sofia felt displeased, especially after looking at the two women behind Hanashita. They were staring at Kai with a face of doubt as if he was just a decoration for the US Base.


    "No wonder that Kai Carter left United Asia. Even the weak Government can look at the hero of the US Base with contempt. That is something hrious. If he were to be born in my EU Base, he might not leave the base because we treated him dearly." Sofia snorted.


    Obviously, her words pierced the two hearts as they turned to Sofia.


    "What? You people are still using the basic equipment to test someone''s potential instead of their growth. That''s why he has no attachment to the base." Sofia shrugged.


    "Sofia." Kai sighed. "That''s enough. We are here just to enjoy our vacation, not to spite." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Sofia pouted and stepped back. Nheless, all the people who came here thought the same thing as Sofia. Tasha and Ayaka still remembered how the government couldn''t even protect their talents, especially Tasha, who was regarded as a Rank S Magician.


    After stopping Sofia, he smiled as if nothing happened. "I would like to apologize for her behavior."


    "No, no. We are the ones who need to apologize for being rude." Hanashita shook his head helplessly. "I have been instructed to guide you around United Asia."


    "I think there is no need for that. It''s only been two years since I left this ce. I still remember the ce here."


    "Unfortunately, the Government needs to ensure the safety of an important person from the US Base."


    "I still don''t believe you. After all, there was no way my teacher, Ria Ross, could go around this base without any guide or whatsoever in the past." Kai narrowed his eyes before releasing a bit of his killing intent. "What are you nning?"


    The moment they sensed the killing intent, the two behind Hanashita quickly jumped out, trying to protect him, but Ayaka and Michelle were already behind these two with their fingers on their necks.


    Hanashita, on the other hand, remained calm and said with an innocent face. "I have no n. My task is to guide you to wherever you want in United Asia. That''s all."


    Kai couldn''t believe him easily, considering the current situation of United Asia. There was a possibility of him being the spy that the Katsuragi Family nted in the Government to monitor him. Hence, he preferred to move alone without any forceing to him.


    "I just want to warn you that it''s better to stay away from me."


    "You¡ª" The woman behind Hinoshita wanted to rebuke him, but Michelle pressed her neck as if telling her to shut up.


    "You''re arrogant!" However, the kindness to the people of her hometown still remained in Ayaka''s heart as she only stopped her movement while letting her talk. But she soon regretted that idea after hearing what she said. She chose to press her neck too like Michelle did.


    "Arrogant, huh. I am not arrogant. Instead, I simply can''t trust the "Government" who couldn''t even do anything in the past, saying that they wanted to be my guide?" Kai snorted.


    Hanashita closed his eyes for a second before raising both hands. "I understand. I shall report this to my superior. Stopping you here will be detrimental for both of us, so I will let my superior decide what we need to do."


    "Good." Kai nodded and waved his hand, asking Ayaka and Michelle to stop.


    The two then finally released their necks and returned to Kai''s side.


    Knowing that it was useless to persuade him, Hanashita decided to return.


    "I won''t know what will be the decision of the higher up, so please bear that in mind," Hanashita said before leaving with his two bodyguards.


    Kai watched them left before sighing.


    "What are we going to do?"


    "Let''s check out first. We will use Teleportation Magic to get away from their eyes."


    "Alright."


    The group then moved to the counter to register their name while changing their money. After that, Tasha teleported them to a random location.


    Kai looked around and found that they were a bit farther from the city since they didn''t even step on the asphalt.


    Listening to their surroundings, Kai assured them. "It''s good now. No one is close to us."


    "So, what is your n? You haven''t told us." Michelle asked.


    Kai took out a document containing the summary of Haruko''s information.


    "ording to the report, Sakura¡­Haruko wasst spotted near Ibaraki in Kanto Region, but the specific location was near Tohoku Region, specifically Fukushima. I am nning to go there first."


    "At the very least, we know where we need to start the search, so it''s good." Michelle nodded, feeling assured that she didn''t need to search from the south to the north.


    "Yeah. After two weeks, the Yajima Family disappearedpletely. Of course, only those who were considered to be the core of the family were missing, so we could safely assume that someone was helping the Yajima Family for this."


    "Do you mean that either the Government or the South Family help them? I believe that the only one who could do this was the South Family because if the Government were capable of doing something at this level, it would just make things worse." Sofia narrowed her eyes. "I mean, they could save you but chose not to. I couldn''t forgive them because they were unqualified to be considered a Government.


    "Yeah, I know how you feel." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "But you need to consider the fact that United Asia has almost all Asia nationalities inside and their poptions are not small. Hence, they are ruling in their own territory, making the Government look useless." Ayaka corrected them, not to defend the government, but just to make sure they didn''t have a misconception.


    "I know. In fact, this is why the Government should have be stronger than ever. After all, if they have the power to govern all those families, they might surpass both US Base and EU Base in terms of development," said Sofia as if telling Ayaka that she knew it all.


    "As much as I hate to admit it, it''s true. The varieties give strength to the entire base, albeit it''s not properly controlled, so the base''s development is dyed to this extent." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "Well, that''s their fault." Ayaka shrugged. "They let those families snatch the talented people. If people like Kai can be absorbed into the Government, they will be the strongest influence in this entire base after one hundred years or so and no one could shake their influence just like our government."


    "That''s it. That''s why I don''t really like United Asia. Although I wish I could meet Kai in United Asia, not US Base, because I can snatch him easily." Sofia let out a long sigh. "Though, I don''t have that intention anymore."


    "I almost beat you." Michelle smirked.


    Tasha thought for a moment. "By the way, are we going to avoid all the other influences?"


    "Yes. I will consider them enemies until proven otherwise." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "In that case, we will shake them off continuously without thinking about the media''s opinion."


    "After finding them, where are we going to hold the vacation by the way?" Evan asked,pletely off topic.


    "Haha¡­" Kaiughed. "I don''t have a n for that. You can search on the inte. Ask yourself if you are going to honeymoon in this base, where do you think you will go?"


    "What? You don''t have a n for that¡­" Evan looked at him with a weird expression, wanting to hit him right at this instant.


    "Pfft. Don''t worry. We will search for a perfect ce for our holiday." Isabelleughed and patted Evan''s shoulder as if telling him it was fine.


    "Anyway, let''s go now. We can discuss other thingster." Kai decided to end the conversation and looked at Tasha.


    "Alright." Tasha nodded and pped her hand, summoning the Teleportation Magic Circle.


    From the airport, they needed around a couple of Teleportation Magic to reach Ibaraki. As soon as they arrived, Kai realized that they were in the forest, surrounded by trees.


    But to his surprise, no noises could be heard from this forest until at one point, he heard one behind him.


    Suddenly, Kai heard someone''s footsteps behind them and quickly took a look as he never thought someone could get behind him without being picked up by his ears. The others followed his line of sight and found someone approaching them.


    However, what made them surprised was Kai''s reaction. He pointed his finger at that person and stuttered. "You¡­ You¡­ You are¡­"

 Chapter 406 - Kais Past

    Eleven years ago, a six years old boy walked back with a girl of the same age.


    "Are you sure about this?"


    "Yes. For the first time in my life, I have finally found something I want to do." He smiled. "You already know about the condition of my ears, right?"


    The girl looked down, feeling sad. "It must be hard, isn''t it? If I were the one enduring that burden, I might have given up at one point. However, you are different than anyone I have ever seen before."


    "Hehe¡­ You are too." He smiled. "For as long as I remember, I can''t find the purpose of my ears, and for what reason do I need to endure this torture. However, it starts to change when youe to this ce. I feel like I am born to help you."


    "Kai¡­"


    "If you want to be the best, I will help you from behind. My ears are capable of doing that. That''s why I¡ª" Kai suddenly stopped talking as he looked to the left with a pale expression.


    "Kai?" The little Michelle tilted her head in confusion. She began to worry when his eyes turned sharp.


    "We need to¡ª" Before he finished for the second time, a sirene echoed before an emergency announcement came. "Iing horde of magical beasts. Every single person in the seaside is to quickly search a shelter."


    Without hesitation, he grabbed Michelle''s hand and pulled her as they started running from the coast. "We need to evacuate! Hurry up!"


    "What happened?" Michelle didn''t know and followed him.


    "There are at least a thousand magical beastsing to our location," Kai shouted.


    Soon after, the people from all the houses in the area began to rush out of their houses and ran straight to a deeper area, away from the coast.


    Michelle and Kai obviously didn''t have the physiqueparable to them, so one by one passed them before they got enveloped by the entire poption.


    "Michelle! Never let go of my hands!" Kai panicked as he tightened his grip.


    Suddenly, Kai felt as if lightning struck his brain as someone just kicked him. Kai realized that one of the adults just hit his head intentionally or unintentionally. His hand lost its power and finally let Michelle''s hand go.


    "Kai!" shouted Michelle while trying to reach him before she disappeared among the crowd.


    "Michelle¡­" Kai''s consciousness became fuzzy and his feet turned limp as he dropped to the ground. Because of their panicked state, the adults began to run over him, stepping on him without thinking anything.


    At the same time, the magical beasts started to appear in their sky, making them even more panicked. Kai could only cover his head and body with his hands while bending his body like a shrimp.


    Due to his ridiculous amount of magic power, his body was stronger than a normal human, but it didn''t protect him during this ordeal.


    After several minutes and the people began to notice him among the crowd, they began to go around him while looking at him with pity. Unfortunately, no one helped him because the magical beasts were just behind them.


    Creak.


    Creak.


    Boom.


    The magical beasts had arrived and started pummeling houses down while destroying anything they could.


    He panicked as his heart stopped for a second when the destruction filled his vision. All he thought right now was Michelle.


    Despite the sweet blood in his mouth and throat, the bleeding all over his body, and even his fuzzy consciousness, Kai only thought about returning to that hell to search for Michelle.


    "Wait for me¡­" Kai muttered in a low voice before finding a stick next to the wall. He tried to walk to grab it, but he realized that he couldn''t move his left foot no matter what. Surprisingly, it had already bent in a weird way.


    His pain already mixed with the ringing in his ears, so he didn''t let out another scream. His focus made him forget that problem for a second and used all the strength left in his heart to reach the stick.


    Holding it with two hands, Kai could walk again with the help of the stick.


    One step at a time, he slowly made his way toward where he felt Michelle be. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to find her voice.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Michelle had her back against the wall while pointing both palms toward a giant bird. Its height reached three meters. Yellow and red feathers covered its body as it looked at Michelle, nning to swallow her.


    A magic circle appeared on Michelle''s hands as a ck ball flew out of it, hitting the bird.


    "Dark Bullet."


    It hit the bird and made it turn its head, but that was all. It wasn''t injured or whatsoever. Instead, the ball pissed the bird as it stretched its wings and howled.


    Michelle''s expression darkened, knowing that this might be the end of her. Tears fell down as she muttered a few people''s names. "Grandfather, Father, Mother¡­ Michelle loves you¡­"


    One more blink, she couldn''t help but say the name of the boy she knew a few weeks ago. The one that created an impact in her life and could be said as her childhood sweetheart. She remembered when Kai told her that he would protect her no matter what. "Kai¡­ Help me¡­"


    "Ri!" The bird let out another sound as it began charging at her.


    Michelle closed her eyes and epted her fate.


    However, Kai had arrived and pierced the bird''s eye with the stick and knocked it away with his small body.


    To that instant pain, the bird flew to the side while Kai pulled the stick out of its eyes. This stick was theirst weapon, so it was better to have it with him instead of leaving it on the bird''s eyes like any other naive heroes.


    Almost falling to his knees because of his bnce, he stretched his hand to Michelle and grabbed her hand. "We need to go. Quick!"


    Michelle repeatedly nodded and ran without putting any thought. On the way, her focus remained on Kai as she was wondering what he had gone through to get this wound? Did he sacrifice himself to protect her?


    Unfortunately, that thought didn''tst long. The bird had recovered and red at them with one eye. It soared to the sky and dived, nning to kill one of them in this instant.


    Noticing this, Kai pulled Michelle into his embrace and shielded the charge with his own body, resulting in the bird hitting the side of his abdomen.


    It shredded Kai''s skin and flesh as blood began to flow out.


    Meanwhile, the bird rose again to the sky for another strike.


    "Michelle. You should go first!"


    "But you¡­" She looked at his wound and stuttered. "You¡­are injured."


    "Just shut up and go! The only way both of us can survive is you running to get any help. If you don''t do it now, both of us will die. Do you understand? Just look at my foot and you will understand!" Kai shouted with thest bit of his energy, nning to scare her away.


    There was no hope in him staying alive anyway, considering he would just lose too much blood and die. At the very least, one person would be saved from his action.


    Michelle gritted her teeth and ran as fast as possible, shouting and crying at the same time. "You can''t die! I am going to call anyone who can help."


    Looking at her back, Kai smiled and turned around. The bird was ready for another charge and Kai also prepared himself to make a counterattack.


    When the bird dove, Kai raised the stick despite feeling so much pain on his side.


    "Ha!" Kai nned to stab it another time, blinding both eyes, but the bird had predicted Kai''s movement and struck him with a wing instead.


    It knocked Kai down.


    Rolling on the ground a few times, Kai gritted his teeth as his eyes became blurry. He thought this must be how he died. Although he regretted it, it wasn''t bad either. After all, he could escape from this torture that his ears gave.


    Kai couldn''t move his body anymore and the pain felt numb. His body began to feel cold despite so many mes around him.


    The house next to him copsed as the rubbles reached him. He paid no heed of that house and closed his eyes. He would die anyway, so it was better to not see how he died and hoped that there wouldn''t be pain he needed to endure during hisst breath.


    ''I am sorry, Father, Mother. Kai loves you.'' Kai thought before someone''s footsteps ran straight to him with a speed he never saw before.


    The next two seconds, a shadow appeared before him, turning into a woman. She had a white and red hakama and wore a mask to hide her face. However, that mask was a very particr one, considering it was red and looked like an ogre or the people here often called it an oni.


    The bird saw this person and changed its target as the person released her killing intent. However, the woman simply pulled her de out and shed the bird. Or that was supposed to happen.


    Kai couldn''t see her swing. He only managed to listen to the wind produced by that sword.


    Before he knew it, the bird was already split into two and flew past them beforending on the ground.


    "¡­" Kai tried to stay awake as that person turned around. Yet, Kai still managed to point out his index finger to the right.


    The woman noticed it and saw another birding from their right and shing it like the earlier one.

 Chapter 407 - Oni

    Kai, who witnessed everything, simply couldn''t believe that a human was able to do such a thing. The swing was too fast for him to follow.


    At this time, he realized that he never saw the limit of humans. In the future, he hoped to achieve something like that, albeit he believed this was his final moment.


    After making sure there were no other beasts around, the woman raised her hand slightly as a white light ball appeared on top of her palm.


    "Go away," said the woman as the ball released a shock wave that couldn''t be deciphered by Kai''s ears. And surprisingly, all the magical beasts who felt it quickly flew to the sky, not wanting to linger in this ce anymore.


    She then turned around and looked at Kai. "Such a strong child. Despite having such injuries, you still looked out for others¡­"


    With another shock wave urring, the woman continued. "There will be someoneing for you. I don''t know who she is, but I can''t interfere more than this. I hope you stay alive."


    Kai''s consciousness was fuzzy, not realizing that the woman had disappeared from his vision.


    A few secondster, he saw another womaning to his rescue. The moment she saw a child with such an injury, she checked his wounds while saying. "Hey, boy. Don''t fall unconscious. Hey, talk to me. Can you open your mouth?"


    Her movement was fast as she tried to grab anything she had to cover his wound. Unfortunately, the wound was so severe that even she didn''t have confidence in rescuing him from the death door.


    However, everything changed when she saw Kai moving his hand. With thest struggle of his life, he opened his mouth.


    "Girl¡­There¡­Help¡­"


    Despite the limited words, the woman understood what the boy said and couldn''t help but cry. Yes, this woman was none other than Ria Ross.


    She recalled how her friend died during the battle. Despite knowing that she would sacrifice her life, her best friend kept smiling and cheering for her to kill the beast. Such a passion was the same as the boy.


    "You¡­No! I won''t let you die!" Ria shouted before reaching a decision. "I have a way to give you a chance to survive, but the sess will depend on you. Even if you survive, you may hate me in the future. Still, I won''t let you die right now!"


    She took out a syringe containing red blood and stabbed Kai''s heart without hesitation.


    The pain quickly woke him up as he finished recalling his memory.


    Kai looked at the woman and saw the horns that seemed to being out of her head instead of her mask.


    Ignoring those horns, he bowed his head. "Thank you for saving my life."


    "It seems that you have survived that ordeal." She smiled behind her mask before saying the important message. "As much as I want to talk with you, it''s better to change the ce first. I want to invite you to my humble home, but the only way to get in is to make you fall unconscious first. What do you think?"


    The others frowned. The moment they lost consciousness would be when their lives got threatened.


    But Kai made a quick decision and said, "I am speaking for myself. I agree."


    Seeing him agree, the rest followed his decision since he usually understood their situation better.


    "Thank you for the trust. I will bring you to my humble home and let you reunite with the Yajima Family." She nodded and summoned the same light ball as she did more than a decade ago. Her eyes shone behind her mask as their minds suddenly felt nk as if getting struck by lightning.


    Kai could resist this attack but chose not to. He simply closed his eyes and trusted his body to that woman. In any case, that woman had saved his life in the past, whether intentional or unintentional, he decided this would be thest time to pay her help back.


    ¡­


    An unknown timeter, Kai gradually opened his eyes, finding an unfamiliar brown ceiling.


    Surprisingly, the masked woman sat next to him as if knowing that he would wake up soon.


    "Good morning. Should I call you by your name or do you want me to address you with your title, Mr. Protector?" She asked.


    "As expected¡­" Kai rose from the bed with his mind still feeling fuzzy and said, "You are not a human, right? That pair of horns are probably real."


    The woman smiled as she slowly took off her mask, revealing her red eyes, cute nose, and small lips. But the most mind blowing thing was the hornsing out of her forehead. Nheless, to think there was a pretty face behind that ugly mask, even Kai couldn''t help but suck cold breath.


    "Yes. I am an Ogre, though, you may know me more with the term Oni." She nodded with a smile.


    "Are you the protectors? I think¡­No." Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "The Protector is my father, the Oni King."


    Kai let out a long sigh. "To think I would meet someone who is known only in legend. I don''t know what to say."


    "Ahaha. The present humans may not know about this, but we have existed alongside you since a few thousand years ago. Of course, we rarely showed ourselves simply because humans would treat us differently. As you know.."


    "Yeah." Kai nodded. "That meant the people who saw you immortalized their finding in the form of legend."


    "Much less the same." She acknowledged his im with a nod.


    "Though the stories have so many bad sides like you kidnapping people."


    "That can''t be helped because we indeed did something like that." She chuckled before exining what she meant. "There are three paths for an Oni to stay alive. The first will be to consume food like you people. We often stole the livestock, but sometimes we ate people.


    "Of course, the people we kidnapped were the bad guys who murdered so many innocent people. The second way is to reproduce. There are two more ways for this second way. We can either create a purebred between Onis or give birth to a half Oni by marrying a human.


    "This is another reason why we kidnapped people. In this case, we only kidnapped men and women who had no more value in their lives. Like when poor women couldn''t live anymore because she would die due to the harsh reality or a man that had been betrayed and would die soon. As for those important people¡­We never touched them.


    "My father and I are half Onis because we can adapt to the current human environments and eat your food without a problem, solving the issue of our necessity.


    "The third way will be turning someone into an Oni. We have our own process and the criteria are the same as the second way. This is how we survived for thousands of years."


    "I see." Kai nodded in understanding. "By the way, where are the people with me and how long have I been unconscious?"


    "Your childhood sweetheart has been taking care of your friends since early in the morning, so you don''t need to worry about them. As for how long¡­You have slept the entire night because of my power."


    Kai felt relief. "So, am I going to meet your father?"


    "Yes. It''s best for two protectors meeting face to face."


    "Was that also the reason why you saved me in the past?"


    "Yes. I believe you should ask my father about the reason."


    "How about the Yajima Family?"


    "They are safe. It''s normal for a protector to save another protector because if a protector were to act, the world would soon be in turmoil. For example, just think what will you do if United Asia were to be hit by ten tornadoes at once?"


    "Disaster¡­"


    "Exactly. My father will exin the reason to you in detail, so I think you should meet my father first before anything else."


    "I guess so." Kai nodded.


    "Then, let me guide you." She rose from her seat and turned around.


    When she was about to step forward, Kai asked. "May I know your name? It will be pretty awkward to talk like this without knowing your name."


    She smiled and nodded. "Just call me Mai."


    "I understand."


    She then walked to the wooden door and opened it.


    Kai took another nce at the room and found that the room was made of wood. Out of curiosity, he kept looking around while following Mai.


    It turned out that the ce hosting them was like a castle in the past, mostly made of wood and stones. There was a traditional pond as well, making him feel as if he traveled back almost a thousand years to the past.


    After walking through four corridors, they ended up in front of a giant wooden gate.


    The Oni inside must have noticed them as the door opened by itself without any sensor or whatsoever, creating creaking noises. The room was pretty dark to be honest with only a few candles at the end of the room.


    It was set beautifully on an altar where he could find someone''s shadow inside a box. His face and figure were hidden behind the bamboo curtain.


    "Wee to my humble abode, Kai Carter, Human Race''s Protector." A gentle voice echoed.


    Kai bowed politely and greeted back. "Thank you, Oni Race''s Protector."


    "Still¡­This formality stuff is killing me¡­" He suddenly sighed while raising the curtain, revealing his real appearance.


    Unlike the Oni in the past, his figure was thin but still emanated the aura of the strong. He wore round sses as if he couldn''t see well. His short spiky hair made him look like a yful person.


    "I assume we can talk easier like this."


    Kai nodded. "Well met."

 Chapter 408 - The Truth

    "Well met."


    "So, what did my daughter exin to you?"


    "It''s nothing important. We just discussed a few things in general, including the incident eleven years ago." This time, Mai was the one answering her father.


    "I see." The Oni nodded. "Before that, just call me Ishii. No need for formality because we both are protectors. I will call you Kai in exchange."


    "I understand. It''s my pleasure to meet you, Ishii." Kai nodded with a calm expression.


    "Likewise." Ishii smiled. He came out of the box, sitting on the floor. "Now, which one should I exin first¡­ Which one do you want?"


    "I want to confirm the person I care about first." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "It seems saving you was not a wrong decision back then." The guy smiled while closing his eyes. "I will just tell you my power. Well, it''s the stronger version than what my daughter has, Mind Power. I am sure you have felt it, right?"


    Kai nodded. "It''s powerful."


    "Well, you people call it Telekinesis, but I can also attack people''s minds. Well, I won''t go too much into details regarding my power and just exin the one that moves my heart to protect Earth." He smiled. "To put it simply, I have a mind that is too great to the point I can see the future."


    "Future¡­" Kai widened his eyes.


    "In the normal fight, I will be able to see two seconds in the future, so my prowess is quite good. With the power of Telekinesis, I think I am worthy of being called a Protector." Ishii''s face turned sad as he sighed. "Of course, using this ability will cost me a lot."


    Mai looked down with teary eyes. "Father lost a portion of his eyesight every time he used this power. He used it three times for you. The first was to predict the attack. The second was to check on you. The third time was to avoid the imminent destruction of the Yajima Family. That''s why he used sses."


    "!!!" Kai sucked a cold breath and looked at Ishii with a shocked expression.


    "No need to think about it." Ishii waved his hand. "Let me exin the third one first since you want to hear it. I saw the destruction of the Yajima Family in the near future because of the Katsuragi Family''s expansion.


    "To be honest, I could care less about this ce''s future because I know that me and my family can go by without interfering with United Asia. However, it turned out that the destruction of the Yajima Family would destroy this country to the point I would face you myself.


    "A fight between protectors is the peak fight, capable of turning the entire United Asia into a wastnd. Trust me, it''s how it works. Hence, I decided to shelter the Yajima Family to avoid any conflict with the Human Race''s protector¡­ You."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and asked. "Why? To be honest, you can kill me here right now because you have the ability to do so."


    "If it were the past me, I would dly kill you without hesitation. However, I met my wife¡­Mai''s mother. She taught me how beautiful this world is. Mai herself loved to stroll around while manipting people''s minds to make it look like she was a normal human.


    "Hence, I chose not to kill you because you would be the one protecting this beautiful city. And my daughter will be happy too." He made a genuine smile.


    "I see." Kai closed his eyes with a severe expression. "I understand. It''s not like I want to die too."


    "Haha!!! I still remember the report that Mai gave me about you eleven years ago." Heughed. "I told her to protect someone in Chiba where you took a vacation during that time. After learning your existence as a protector, I wanted you to grow up without interfering with your decision, lest I would bebeled as maniptive.


    "That''s the first time I used my power on you. And it turned out that the attack on that coast wasn''t an ident."


    "What did you say?" Kai dropped his jaw and stared in disbelief.


    "Yes. I have confirmed it myself. That attack was a nned one. I don''t know if you remember this, but Mai once used her Mind Power to force those birds to go away¡­"


    "I remember that scene." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "The birds abruptly escaped."


    "She used her Mind Power to convince the birds to go back. At the same time, she learned that they were just tasked by someone. After doing a few investigations, she realized that this someone came from the sea."


    "!!!" Kai''s face turned grim. "To eliminate me?"


    "Yes. Someone at Mai''s level must being to the surface and forcing the birds to attack. As you know, as a protector, you could easily control races for a war or something. Of course, the more intelligent they are, the harder it is to control, like you humans."


    "Why though? I couldn''t understand what they sought from me, especially since I was a kid."


    "You are a protector. That''s all it took for them to attack you, not allowing you to grow up. However, I have a premonition. Because of another protector of the same level as mine, I couldn''t really read this future, but I believe there will be great destructioning in the near future."


    "Destruction? A war?" Theo furrowed his eyebrows, falling into deep thought.


    "I am not sure." Ishii shook his head in disappointment. "There is a possibility that those in the sea are nning for something big."


    "I see." Theo sighed. "I can only prepare for this because there is no telling about what will happen and when¡­ At the very least, I know that something is going to happen."


    "Well, that''s just my hypothesis. At the very least, I have marked this United Asia as my territory. Unless they are nning to fight another protector, they will leave this ce alone."


    "Now that I think about it, there are three bases in the world: United Asia, EU and US Bases. Among the three, only United Asia didn''t suffer from the harassment. Don''t tell me¡­"


    "Exactly." Ishii gave a thumb up. "I warned them not toe unless they wanted to fight me. At that time, other Protectors would surely know about it. After that, no one can tell what will happen."


    "Understandable." Kai nodded in agreement. "Well, it''s not like I am nning to live here anymore. I will be leaving this ce to you, Ishii."


    "Sure. I just want to live in peace. That''s all." Ishii chuckled.


    "Though I will surelye for a holiday in the future. At that time, please don''t expel me, okay?"


    "Knowing your personality, I won''t do such a thing. I even mighte to your home to visit you in the future. Do the same for me, will you?"


    "Of course. A visitor like you is always wee." Kai gave a thumb up.


    "That''s good." Ishii smiled. "Anyway, you should be careful against those from the sea."


    "I know." Hearing Ishii warn him again, Kai still nodded without hesitation. "I will surely protect what I want to protect."


    "Good enough. Anyway, let''s move to the second one. I used my power on you when you left this base. Due to the uncertainty, I tried to see whether you could pass the tribtion or not. Since you could, I didn''t send someone to help you in secret this time."


    "Understandable. I don''t want to owe you so much."


    "You didn''t owe me anything." He waved his hand and continued. "Anyway, I just want to tell you that the whale is your friend."


    "The whale?" Kai narrowed his eyes. The people he met kept mentioning the whale, despite not having seen her once.


    "Yes. When you reached a certain level, she would surely meet you in her own way."


    "Is that so?" Kai narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit disappointed.


    "Yep. She is one of the oldest Protectors of this world, witnessing so many eras. If you have something to ask, it''s better to ask her. Just make sure you are polite to her or she will spank your butt."


    "Ahaha. I will be careful." Kai scratched the back of his head.


    "Since I have given you the information, I want to ask you this." His face suddenly turned serious. "What is your n for the Yajima Family? Will you bring them somewhere else or just let them stay here? I have given them some ess to the outside world, so there shouldn''t be a problem with food or anything. Besides, we also have TV and other modern technologies here for entertainment purposes."


    "Hmm¡­" Kai looked down and fell into deep thought. "To be honest, I am not sure myself. Unlike my family, they are a big family, so it''s hard to migrate just like that. And the Katsuragi Family will surely notice it. Besides, I want to discuss it with them before deciding this matter."


    "Fair enough. If we were in the past, a Protector like you only needed to say yes, and they would be gone, but I guess the current era is like this." Ishii shrugged.


    "Ahaha, you are disappointed?"


    "Nope. Just be true to yourself." Ishii stretched his hand above while yawning. "Anyway, I think it''s done."


    Suddenly, a random but ridiculous thought appeared in his mind. He couldn''t help but ask him. "Ishii¡­Since you have human blood in you, do you think you can teach me about Protectors? I mean how you be stronger and such¡­"


    "Unfortunately, I can''t. To get stronger, I have consumed the blood of my ancestors, allowing me to reach this level. Though, I can offer you some pieces of advice. What do you think?"


    "That''s enough." Kai repeatedly nodded.


    "Sure. Let''s talk about it."

 Chapter 409 - Explanation

    "Alright. What should I tell you first¡­" Ishii closed his eyes and crossed his arms while thinking.


    At the same time, Kai nced over Mia''s expression, finding it waspletely normal. In fact, she was the first to open her mouth. "I think you should talk about the core, Father."


    "Ah, right." Ishii nodded before noticing the doubt in Kai''s eyes. "Sorry, but Mia is my sessor. I have been training her. Unlike the other powers, I can transfer my mind power to Mia, allowing her to be my sessor, so I hope you don''t mind her staying here."


    "Of course. I don''t have a problem. Besides, I am not a full-fledged protector yet." Kai waved his hand, telling them it was not a big deal.


    Ishii nodded with a smile. "I will talk about the core. First of all, it''s not like what you are thinking. What I mean is the core is your power. What is the essence of your power and how you wish your power will evolve in the future? Those are the first two questions you should ask yourself."


    "What is the essence of my power? And how I wish it will be in the future?" Kai tilted his head. "I can''t understand. My power is Sound, so the essence is air?"


    "No, no. Maybe I should give you an example¡­" Ishii smiled and raised his finger to his forehead.


    Suddenly, a round-shaped blue light came out of his forehead. "This is the core of my power. It''s a kind of personification of your power. After understanding the essence of your power, you can form this core. Of course, everyone has a different core. Some are tattoos and some even have a physical body.


    "What is this core anyway? When I asked that to my Father, he told me that the moment I noticed the essence of my power, I would be able to concentrate the Magic Particles in my body. In other words, the core is a personification of our power that connects our body to our magic. That''s my conclusion.


    "However, even if you ask me about your core, I don''t have any kind of exnation to it other than what I said earlier. It''spletely different for each person." Ishii sighed helplessly.


    "A personification, huh." Kai looked down and thought. "This has be too unscientific¡­"


    "Ahaha." Ishii chuckled. "Magic alone is already unscientific. Well, you people are incorporating science into magic, so it might look like it can be exined by physics. But I want you to know, the people in the past have never once considered it something that exists due to your physicsw. Instead, they call it magical. My age is almost three thousand years old, so I have witnessed the changing eras.


    "From what I know, there are many people who can wield magic. Although they are small in number, the evidence is very clear. Do you remember the story about witches? And how they fought against them?"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and asked for a confirmation. "The fight between the Church and the witches?"


    "Yes. For an unknown reason, I believe that those people have taken Magic Particles in their body, allowing them to control the natural elements. From what I understand, it seems there is a small scale of apocalypse there because I haven''t felt any Protector sacrificing their lives to call the Great Cmity.


    "Though the Magic Particles in the air increases slightly. From my point of view, it''s caused by a dying Protector."


    "A dying protector, huh." Kai furrowed his eyebrows and looked down.


    "Yes. A protector will have a body that can withstand a huge amount of Magic Particles. When they die, their body will release the magic power into the air. If they die without using the altar, their magic power wouldn''t be amplified, so the Great Cmity¡­Or you can say the Magic Particles outburst wouldn''t happen."


    "Now it makes more sense." Kai nodded in understanding. He remembered how the first strange urrence happened.


    Everything suddenly changed when the animals began to evolve into magical beasts. If he believed that the name was Magic Particles Outburst, he understood the reason why the human couldn''t change into magicians in one instant.


    "I see. The reason why humans need one generation is due to the pollution¡­" Kai sighed.


    "Exactly. I have been using my power to protect this vige to make sure that it won''t get contaminated by pollution. As you might already know, pollution has started decreasing after the great outburst. It''s simply because they have a purifying power.


    "Unfortunately, humans have lived long enough to break free from the pollution. Even their babies have a certain amounting from their mother. However, the moment the magic particles enter a mother''s body, it would purify everything, so the baby will be pure enough to wield magic particles."


    "So that''s how it''s." Kai looked at the ceiling and wondered if something would change if humans didn''t pollute the Earth.


    "Still, I don''t me whoever it was that called the Great Cmity. The Earth was literally dying back then and they must fear that the Earth would be unsuitable for living. Before entering that era, they decided to take the matter to their hand and called the Great Cmity."


    "Fair enough." Kai agreed with him. The Earth from back then was a mess. The rising temperature and sea level, extreme weather, the change of season, and so on. Everything wasn''t like how it used to be.


    "Anyway, to the second question, what kind of power do you wish to have in the future? This will give you a more concrete imagination as to what your core will be."


    Kai nodded, still having no answer.


    "This is not meant to be answered immediately. Even I took two hundred years just to find it. Of course, I am azy guy, so that result could be expected." Ishii chuckled. "You should be able to find it pretty soon to be honest."


    "I understand. I will keep asking myself those two questions." Kai nodded with a solemn face.


    Suddenly, Ishii turned to the left and smiled. "Oh! It seems that your friends have woken up from their good night''s sleep."


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes and checked them, finding their voices. "How do you¡­ Wait, do you also have the ears?"


    "Every protector has these ears. You don''t know that this is a requirement?"


    "No, I think I have heard it somewhere, but¡­" Kai tilted his head in confusion. The one who said it was a dolphin whose hearing was already too good to begin with.


    "Surprisingly, Mia also has these ears too. I wonder if someone wants me to die, considering only one person can get it every generation. As long as the first one hasn''t died, the second one shouldn''t appear."


    "Father¡­You are not going to call me a bastard child, right?" Mia pouted.


    "You idiot. I will be punished by your mother in my dream. Even though it''s not real, it''s still scary." Ishii flicked her forehead whileughing.


    "Anyway, do you know anything about your ears?"


    Kai shook his head.


    "I guess I will exin it to you." Ishii sighed. "No wonder you want me to be your mentor. Anyway, the ears are known as the ears that can listen to everything. To put it simply, your hearing will be enhanced and understanding anothernguage will be easy."


    Kai nodded. "By the way, this may be a bold request, but can I search for a book that can exin other races''nguages?"


    "I am afraid no¡­" Ishii scratched the back of his head with a weird smile. "Our books are tranted to Oni''s Language. Even though I am talking with you, it doesn''t mean the others can. Other than me, only Mia can understand your humannguage. Though I can lend you the book to understand Oni''snguage or Mia can even teach you herself. It will probably not take too long."


    "That will be great. I can ask my friends to stay here for the time being while I am learning about it. Well, I can''t really stay here for more than two weeks, so I guess I can''tplete it."


    "You are underestimating our Mind Power too much. To be honest, with Mia''s Power, she can teach you everything within a week. Though you will face exhaustion until you get bedridden for one or two days." Ishii smirked as if challenging him.


    "Well, that''s good. I don''t mind as long as it doesn''t give me a longsting effect."


    "Don''t worry. It''s just exhaustion."


    "I understand." Kai smiled and turned to Mia before bowing his head. "Could you please teach me about Oni''snguage?"


    "!!!" Mia and Ishii were surprised to see Kai''s reaction. They never thought that he would lower his head. Despite leaving this ce, the habit remained. If he were to ask someone to teach him, he thought it would be normal for him to lower his head no matter his status.


    "I will. Please don''t lower your head." Mia bowed her head too. "If you don''t mind me being your teacher, of course."


    Kai raised his head and smiled. "Thank you. Please take care of me."


    "Yes."


    Suddenly, Kai remembered something. He took out his device and opened a picture, asking Ishii. "Do you know this symbol? What does this mean?"


    "Hmm¡­" Ishii frowned when he saw the symbol. After a few minutes, he let out a long sigh. "I see. So, that''s how it is."


    "Do you know something?" Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Can you tell me about this symbol? What does this symbol mean?"


    He smiled and nodded. "I will just cut to the chase. The symbol means Naga. It seems that the one sending those birds in the pastes from Naga Race or its affiliation."

 Chapter 410 - Meeting

    "Naga Race?" Kai frowned.


    "Yes. From what I know, there is a protector from Naga Race, governing the sea."


    "Do you know the identities of all protectors from the sea?"


    "I am not sure. I have met three of them, the Naga, Shark King, and the Whale." Ishii shook his head in disappointment.


    "That¡­" Kai looked down while contemting.


    "Even on thend, I have only met two more around here. I met the first one in Russia and the second one in India." Ishii continued. "Protectors don''t usually meet each other. Only the Whale is different."


    "Do you have a prediction of their number?"


    "Hmm¡­Including you¡­ It''s fifteen. That''s just my prediction, so I can be wrong."


    Kai closed his eyes and opened his mouth. "I have met two protectors other than the one you met. One of them considers the Whale as his mentor."


    "I see. I am not really interested in this, so you don''t need to tell me about them. Besides, I think I don''t have anything to say regarding protectors any more than this as it''s a sensitive topic."


    "I understand." Kai nodded.


    "I just want you to know that I will remain neutral no matter how bad your situation is. After all, unless the Earth bes unstable, I won''t move from here and just enjoy my life here." Ishiiughed. "If you don''t have any more questions, I think it''s better to meet your precious friends before they are worried about you."


    Kai sighed because he also heard what they were talking about in another room. Since Mia asked Haruko to exin it to them, they just simply couldn''t trust her just yet, even though Tasha and Ayaka knew her.


    After all, they never saw Kai and couldn''t meet him during this time, making them a bit wary against her.


    "I understand. I will return for today to calm them down. Besides, I think I will ask Miss Mia if I have another question while she teaches me Oni''s Language." Kai rose from the floor and lowered his head. "Thank you for your time."


    "No, no. I enjoyed our talk too. It''s been a while since Ist met another protector. Even if it''s a baby, a Protector is still a protector." Ishii waved his hand with a smile.


    "Let me guide you." Mia also stood up.


    Since there might be a weirdplication if Kai was spotted alone, she decided to lead him there despite him knowing the way with his ears.


    "Thanks." Kai smiled and followed Mia after giving his thanks once again to Ishii.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the lodging room, Haruko was sweating, trying to exin everything, albeit the others didn''t believe herpletely.


    "I have told you all the things I found here." Haruko sighed.


    "Even so, I need to see Kai first before I can trust you." Tasha shook her head helplessly. "I have known you for years, but we have lost contact for almost two years."


    "I can''t really give you permission to visit him because he is busy right now. I am sure that he will return in a few hours." Haruko scratched the back of his head. "I have told Kai everything¡­"


    "Besides, you have changed so much, so I need to see whether you are lying or not. Even if Kai likes you, I still need to screen you out." Tasha narrowed her eyes.


    "Indeed. Even if you are a childhood friend, we only met for a day. Back then, I believed you were genuine, but I couldn''t say the same right now." Michelle shook her head in disappointment.


    "What do you want me to say?" Haruko let out a long sigh.


    "Just lead us to Kai."


    "I have told¡ª"


    Creak.


    Before sheined again, the door was opened as a man''s voice echoed in the room. "That''s enough, all of you. I am here."


    Kai entered the room with Miaing inside together.


    "Kai!" They widened their eyes. Even Haruko was surprised to see him.


    "It''s been a while." Kai smiled at Haruko before looking at his group. "I am here now. In fact, I have been listening to your conversation since the beginning."


    "Ah!" Tasha looked away. "I mean, you can''t expect that we will trust everything after getting into this unknown ce and locked up without seeing you?"


    "I know, I know." Kai smiled and patted her head before looking at Michelle. "You too. Put down the grudge, okay?"


    "I just realized that it was hard to ept her because nothing was going on between you. I thought I had put it down and believed everything would be fine, yet, when I met her, I couldn''t do it." Michelle sighed.


    "It''s fine. That''s how you are, but can you let me deal with it here?" Kai smiled.


    Michelle nodded and took a step back.


    He then turned to Ayaka and smiled. "So, how about you?"


    "I don''t have an opinion. It''s not like you are going to change anyway." Ayaka shook her head. "Although I have met her in the past, it was just for a brief moment, so I nned to observe her for a while."


    "Yeah, yeah." Kai smiled and nced at Haruko. "You heard that?"


    Before waiting for her to reply, Kai looked at Sofia. "How about you, Princess?"


    "I am not a princess." She pouted. "Well, I am not yours¡­yet."


    After that, Isabelle and Evan were staring at him from the side until Kai turned his head.


    "It''s your problem, not mine. Though, I will try to investigate the outside if they don''t let me out for a period of time." Isabelle shrugged.


    "By the way, how is everyone''s body?" Kai asked Evan.


    "I have checked everyone. No one has any weird substance in their body. I haven''t checked yours though." Evan narrowed his eyes.


    Kai nodded before turning to Mia.


    "Since I have finished my business here, I will leave you alone first. If you n to do the thing we''ve agreed upon, you can return to the room you first woke up in. I will know when you are there." Mia waved her hand as she had put on her mask before entering the room.


    Unlike Kai, other people shouldn''t know her face because it wasn''t supposed to ording to the rule.


    "Alright. I will meet youter." Kai nodded.


    Suddenly, Tasha and the others narrowed their eyes, staring at Kai with a fierce look.


    "You are so good. One night is all it takes for you to get her," said Tasha while crossing her arms.


    "It''s not like what you think. She is just going to teach me something. Although I can''t say anything about it, I can promise you that it''s not like what you are thinking right now."


    "Is that so?" Tasha took a deep breath as her expression returned to normal.


    After assuring them, it was time to settle everything with Yajima Haruko.


    "It''s been a while. How are you?"


    "I am good. Though, It''s not as busy as you, Mr. Hero."


    Kai chuckled. "So¡­Did you even graduate, Miss Student Council President?" Kai shrugged while looking away.


    "Thanks to the situation, I''m not. Well, it''s not that important, so why should I care." Haruko shook her head helplessly. "Besides, if I want to join the military, it won''t be that hard."


    "Heh, It''s nice to have a big family as your background, eh?" Michelle yfully teased her.


    "Your family is even bigger than my Yajima Family, let alone after getting suppressed by the Katsuragi Family."


    "Even so, I don''t really utilize my family. I have been doing everything by myself."


    "But you can''t deny the fact that their influence alone is helping you, right? Besides, you are receiving help from Kai."


    "Your mouth has grown nasty after this whole decade." Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "You haven''t changed. Still, nasty."


    "Hmph." The two looked away while snorting.


    "Anyway, what are you nning to do?" Kai asked.


    "Right. You can follow us back to the US Base, but I don''t think it''s possible, no? I mean, you have your family here." Michelle nodded.


    "Yes. I am here to hide until the situation has been settled. Though, with your appearance, it will soon be big, especially with how you are aiming Dalian to be your mission. It threw United Asia into chaos a few days ago."


    "So, you are not going toe?"


    "Although I would like to, it''s not possible. First, I should be considered a graduate. Second, whether I am here or there, I will be enlisted in the military. Hence, I am better here because I can spy on the Katsuragi Family, giving you the update everything happened here."


    "I will support your decision." Kai nodded. "If you need any help, just call me. I wille here as soon as possible. Besides, I need to settle the problem there first before I can leisurelye to meet you."


    Haruko nodded. "I have gotten used to it."


    "By the way, that''s a bad move, you know. You won''t get a chance to get closer to Kai." Ayaka narrowed her eyes.


    "It''s fine. We still have a long time to spend, so I will just do it if it''s not possible now." She shook her head. "This is important, but we have a problem that will shake it, so I choose to be here. Though, if you want it, I can quickly go to the US Base right now."


    Kai smiled. "It''s fine. I don''t want to restrain you just because I want to. Everyone isfortable in the US Base and I am happy with it because I know they have their own things to do."


    "Michelle and your dream have gotten inverted." She smirked, looking at Michelle and Kai. The "Hero" dream was Michelle''s, yet, the reality turned out to be different. Michelle was the one supporting Kai.


    "That was just a child''s dream. I am an adult now."


    "Really?" She narrowed her eyes and looked at her chest.


    "Are you trying to insult me with that rag? You are not even an adult yet." Michelle snorted.

 Chapter 411 - Plan

    The fight continued as Kai stopped paying attention to them. Instead, he focused on Tasha, asking. "If I were to say that I couldn''t go with you guys for two weeks, what would you do?"


    "!!!" Tasha and the others widened their eyes, feeling something wrong with that question. Even Michelle and Haruko stopped and stared at his back.


    After contemting for a minute, Tasha''s expression turned serious. Her tone was calm as she pressed his chest. "I think I want to ask for the reason first."


    "It''s not possible to tell you." Kai shook his head in disappointment. He grabbed her hand and put a smile on his face. "But I can promise you this. It''s not something involving my life. It''s a super safe thing to do."


    Tasha closed her eyes and asked the second question. "What can we do?"


    "You can do anything. You may go anywhere in United Asia. I only need around a week, it seems, but it may take two weeks here in the worst case. Hence, I can''t bring you to go around this base."


    "So, we need to leave this ce¡­"


    "No. If you want to stay here, it''s fine. But I feel like you are going to feel bored." He smiled, knowing that everyone''s personality.


    "Fine. But you should finish it as soon as possible. We will tour around this base since no one will bother us, other than the Government and the South Family. Of course, I will deal with everything here." Tasha nodded before narrowing his eyes, looking at the two people who imed to be adults but fought over something simple.


    "Why are you staring at us, Tasha?" Haruko twitched her eyebrows.


    "Virgin kid should just stay quiet." Tasha snorted, shutting her up with that one sentence.


    "Vir¡ªWhat?"


    "That''s right. Why are you treating us like a kid?" Michelle narrowed her eyes.


    "Shut up. You are just a s*x maniac." Tasha harrumphed and crossed her arms. "If you don''t like it, why don''t you call the other one here?"


    Michelle halted for a second and looked away while pouting.


    "Anyway, there is Ayaka as well, who can guide you."


    "By the way, you can use me, you know." Haruko suddenly raised her hand as though she nned something. "I mean, you can appoint me as the guide. Since I am your childhood friend and from a big family¡­Although everything has disappeared right now, I can be your guide.


    "There are several advantages to this. First, I can scout around the area to ensure that no one takes advantage of you during this holiday. Besides, I havepletely understood how the government works, so I can simply refute everything they say.


    "Second, I can walk in the broad light, inciting the Katsuragi Family''s rage even further. From what I understand, you are going to fight them in Dalian, right? The more they feel this way, the bigger their reaction will be.


    "Third, I can tell the people that my Yajima Family is still there, making the Katsuragi Family halt their progress for the time being, giving you more time to prepare," Haruko exined everything the conclusion she reached when she heard the announcement a few days ago.


    "It seems that you have grown sharper." Tasha narrowed her eyes, observing her from top to bottom. "Ah, by the way, she can''t cook. Such a shame. Even Ayaka is far better than you right now."


    "Is there a need to beat me up like this again? Are you holding a grudge against me, Tasha?" Haruko scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed.


    "Of course I am holding a grudge. Have you forgotten all the things you have done back in school? If it''s not because of the vice president, I would have left already. By the way, where is she?"


    "To prevent herself from getting entangled in this situation, she entered the military as soon as she graduated, so I don''t have her position right now. Besides, I don''t want to mess this up, resulting in us having no contact during the past year." She sighed.


    "Fair enough. Maybe we will meet her during this mission, but I don''t care. I only need to know that she is fine." Tasha thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright. You are hired as a guide."


    "¡­" Haruko twitched her eyebrows. "As expected, you are really holding a grudge against me."


    "I have told you, no?" Tasha shrugged. Her hand suddenly pointed at the one next to her, Michelle. "Besides, do you think you can beat both of us with arguments? You can only do it when you have that status, Miss Student Council President. Now, it''s time for you to pay back for all the things you have done."


    "Can I still withdraw my proposal earlier?"


    "Hahaha." Everyoneughed.


    Evan and Isabelle simply watched them from afar, having their own time together.


    "By the way, how about you two?" Kai turned his head. "Are you going to act separately?"


    They exchanged their looks first before Isabelle waved her hand. They seemed to have made an agreement beforehand, so Isabelle exined it to them. "We will follow you. Although there is ny-five percent that the enemy won''t make a move, I don''t want to get trapped in that five percent. I mean, they have an S Rank Magician, right?"


    "Yeah." Kai nodded. "He is Ikeda Kenzo, a Light Magician."


    "Considering his age and achievement, I doubt that Evan and I can fight against him, especially with our fighting style. That''s why we have agreed to tag along. Besides, it''s not like we can''t have alone time, right?" She smirked at Evan.


    "Oh, you haven''t used all the medicine? I thought there were ten bottles at that time." Kai nodded in understanding.


    "Those are precious medicines. As long as we know that we love each other, it''s fine." Isabelle shook her head. Evan repeatedly nodded his head, agreeing to what she said.


    They had gone through this already, nning for their future. Although they might need to rely on Kai for the medicine, they didn''t want to be his burden too much. With how Kai had been helping them from the start, the couple really couldn''t thank him enough.


    Kai not only turned Evan into an independent and strong fighter, but he also brought them together, allowing them to reach their current degree of affection.


    "Alright. I agree with this." Kai contemted for a thing before giving the confirmation to their n. "However, I want you to keep me informed. Can you do that?"


    "Once every three days should be fine. Any more than that, the Katsuragi Family will know about it, I guess." Haruko exined while calcting the scheme in her mind.


    "It''s fine." Kai then remembered something and asked her. "That''s right. Where are your parents? I should meet them, no?"


    "Ehm, I think you shouldn''t for the time being. You know¡­Our situation is not good right now. I don''t want my family to think that everything happens because of you, making them think we are dependent. Besides, I don''t n to leech on your influence or something. I rather build everything from scratch."


    "Alright. I will respect your decision. When everything is solved, I will meet them once again." Kai nodded in understanding. It wasn''t good to press this matter. Besides, he also hadn''t met Sofia''s parents.


    Although they had yet to get together, their rtionship almost reached that stage after staying in the same room for almost a year while being showered by affection. Only thest few months were effective though.


    "Since we have the n ready, I will let Tasha deal with the details. If that is fine, I will go to her right now." Kai smiled.


    They exchanged looks. One by one began to nod their head, showing their approval.


    "Good. I will go now. The sooner I start, the sooner I will finish." Kai smiled and waved his hand, meeting Mia, only to find her leading him to Ishii.


    Kai told their n to Mia and Ishii. After understanding the situation, Ishii dered that he had no intention of getting involved in his problem other than sheltering the Yajima Family here. He also told Kai that he shouldn''te and go because it would make the barrier unstable.


    At the very least, he needed to wait for a week.


    Mia also had told Haruko regarding this matter, so she wouldn''t be dependent on this ce to hide her.


    Ishii also asked Kai to promise them to not get this ce involved with whatever he was doing.


    After getting his promise, Ishii finally gave him permission to handle everything and prepare for his study.


    At first, Kai thought that he could learn othernguages after studying the Oni Language, but Ishii couldn''t allow him to do that. He could only give him the chance to learn the Oni Language because it would be a breach of the ancient contract.


    Unfortunately, Ishii refused to tell him the exact contract. His only reply was to seek the Ancient Civilization of his own race.


    Kai obviously had no clue about it and didn''t know where to find them. Ishii, on the other hand, promised him to give a clue about their location if Kai managed to learn theirnguage within a week. It would be hard, but it was doable.


    The deal was made and Mia sent Tasha and the others to the outside of the ce in the same way. Unlike the dolphin who was eager to show Kai his ce, Ishii seemed to want to stay away from the outside world, which was understandable because people didn''t look at them kindly due to the legend.


    After everything was solved, Kai reached the room with only one table and a pair of chairs. Mia had been waiting for him, stretching her hand. "Let''s start, shall we?"


    "Please take care of me."

 Chapter 412 - Akkadian?

    "*%&$(&$%."


    "(&%($%$$&."


    "Ah, it''s finally over." Kai stumbled on the floor as he panted a few times. His consciousness was fuzzy as though he would sleep for a long time the moment his head touched the floor.


    "You have learned ournguage right now. Unfortunately, I can''t teach you anynguage because of the rule."


    "By the way, what is this ancient pact that prevents me from learning othernguages?"


    "Only their own race can teach their scion othernguages. If another race is teaching you anguage other than theirnguage, there are only three possibilities. First, you will need to give up your identity as the protector and be one of my Oni race. Second, you will be considered as our possession like that of a ve. Or third, our entire race has be your ve.


    "Hence, please understand that we can''t really allow you to learn any othernguage besides ours."


    Kai let out a long sigh and nodded. "I understand. I am sorry for making you in a difficult position when I asked the question."


    "It''s fine. You have no knowledge about it after all. However, if youe to us to teach you after learning about it, we can only see it as a deration of war." Mai smiled while narrowed her eyes.


    "Ah, yes. I understand." Kai nodded. "I won''t mention it anymore. Now that I think about it, I have a question."


    "Sure. Please ask."


    "What is the use of othernguages?"


    "You can govern other races using thenguage. In this case, you can govern our Oni Race, albeit my father and my words are more important than yours. But it will be different if you go to the magical beasts. You should know that in a certain area, there should be a magical beast acting as a leader, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Depending on their race, you can force them to obey you and allow them to govern the other races. This will allow you to mobilize so many magical beasts at once. There are Protectors that want to coexist, so it gives them something in exchange for their loyalty. There are some that force them to obey.


    "I hope that you are the former. Anyway, there are so many races in this world, so there are many leader-ss beasts. In other words, you should learn morenguages during this time."


    "I have no idea where I can find the ancient human civilization." Theo sighed.


    "I can tell you a clue about it. I don''t know their exact location, but I believe that they call theirnguage Akkadian." Suddenly, Ishii came into the room and exined.


    "Akkadian?" Theo narrowed his eyes and opened his device, trying to find Akkadian Language. "It''s a nativenguage to Assyria and Babylon. If it''s true, then their current location is around Iran and Iraq. However, I need to cross Turkey first before reaching that ce. This is not going to be an easy journey.


    "Not only do I need to hide this fact to the people by going alone, but I can''t go for a long time unless they will notice my movement and try to question me. I can probably bring Sofia as a guarantee, but I don''t know how far she will hide the fact." Kai narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.


    "You have your own circumstances, I guess. But I don''t think you will find it hard to find them as long as you utilize your ears and with that item of yours that carries a powerful Space Magic, I think you have gotten it already." Ishii shrugged while looking at the ne Rapakha gave.


    "Well, I will try it as soon as possible. Still, it''s not possible to do it in the next two months." Kai sighed. "Even though I really want to advance as soon as possible."


    "You are very greedy, aren''t you?" Ishii smirked. "Either way, the moment you know how to develop your body, your lifespan will grow, so no need to worry about it too much."


    "I know, but I have a lot to think, so I can''t afford to waste a single second. After all, I have my family¡­ If I were to be alone in the future, I¡­" Kai let out a long sigh, not knowing what to do when everyone became old and weak while he had yet to age.


    "You can still see your children. Besides, if you reach that point, this ce is open for you. We can y Shogi or whatever to pass the time. If you can''t stand it, there is still another way¡­" Ishii looked away.


    Without telling him, Kai already knew that there was always an option to suicide. For a human who had gotten used to living for seventy years normally, living one hundred years would be a blessing. However, if it were two hundred years? Three hundred years? They would surely start going insane.


    They watched the passing eras, the death of his children and grandchildren, and even more, the people would consider them a monster.


    "By the way, can I teach them something to prolong their lives?"


    "Your wives? Yes. However, they won''t be able topare to you. A protector has a normal lifespan of twenty thousand. Some are even higher. However, your wives? I think their talent can only give them like two hundred years or three hundred years at most."


    "I see." Kai sighed. "At least, it''s good enough. I can''t even see my future after living two hundred years, so I will decide when the timees."


    "Indeed. Actually, I have once thought about our role in this world¡­" Ishii''s expression turned serious as he looked at the ceiling, recalling what happened in the past.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows while Mia widened her eyes as though she never heard it from her father.


    "Our role?"


    "Yes. Don''t you think this is weird? From where did the magic particlese? Why was there an altar for each protector? Why could only one person be qualified as a protector? Why would we live a long life? Who set such a rule? I have been asking it for a long time and that theory that you humans called big bang theory¡­I don''t think such a concept is good enough to exin it." Ishii smiled.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes.


    "I feel like there is more to explore in this universe. Maybe I will live long enough to reach the point where we can explore space, exploring all the wonders this universe holds. Maybe at that time, I can give my mantle to Mia, journeying around the universe.


    "I wonder what kind ofnguage those people you called aliens have? I want to know it all. Who is the strongest being in this universe? I want to see that person. This is my motivation for living through all this." Ishii smiled. "I am sure that there are so many monsters stronger than us. Hence, I want to fight them to know where my limit is."


    "Motivation, huh." Kai let out a long sigh. "Such a grand motivation. I don''t know if I will have such a thing. I just wish to live peacefully with my wives."


    "That''s also a wonderful motivation. Well, how about you live long enough to reach the time for my ambition and explore the universe together with me?"


    "Who knows? It will be too long in the future. I might have lost interest in the worldly affair and chose to pass away." Kai shrugged. "But if that timees and I gain that desire, I hope that you still invite me."


    "Hahahaha! Sure. I will invite you of course." Ishiiughed before stretching his hand to the door. Soon, one wine bottle and three cups flew inside the room, hovering in front of Ishii. He poured the wine to all of them, handing them with his telekinesis. "Drink, drink. Let''s drink! You too, Mia."


    Mia looked mysteriously at his father and sighed. She knew that her father would never be the same after he lost his wife, AKA her mother. It was fortunate and unfortunate at the same time to meet Kai Carter. Either way, she didn''t need to worry about it for the time being.


    Kai took the cup and drank it. Before long, Mia caught his falling body and shook her head helplessly. "Father. I know that you are happy, but you shouldn''t give wine to a sleepy person. He hasn''t slept for three days."


    "Hahaha, sorry, sorry!" Ishiiughed and looked at Kai''s sleeping face. "I feel like he has a lot of potential, but he has no desire to get stronger than necessary. The reason why he can grow this fast like no limit is due to him not understanding the real power of a Protector. Once he gains the same power and status, he won''t have this significant improvement anymore.


    "Instead, his progress will be slower and slower until everything looks boring to him. To be honest, I pity such a person since I was once the same person like him." He let out a long sigh. "When I lost your mother, she told me to get another wife, not only to keep mepany but also to raise you.


    "However, when she told me like that, how could I even look at any other woman? They are not the same; no one can rece her. The time feels toe to a halt for me. Hence, I want to have this journey as myst journey and die by the de. I promise your mother that I will keep taking care of you and notmit suicide, but I have truly had it enough."


    Mia put Kai gently on the bed before hugging her father. "Father. You are the best father in the world. Whatever you choose, Mia will support it, but Mia just wishes that you won''t disappear so suddenly without telling me. And don''t worry, I will take care of all the Onis in this ce."


    "Ahaha¡­" Ishii chuckled before a genuine smile appeared on his face. "You are truly like your mother."


    "Because Father''s raised me well."

 Chapter 413 - Enjoy

    "Goodbye for now. I don''t know if we will meet again." Kai smiled and waved his hand.


    Mai nodded and smiled back. "This ce will always open for you. Pleasee and visit us in the future."


    "I will." Kai nodded. They were outside the vige right now without any way to know the position of their entrance. However, Kai could understand their situation.


    He had spent six days studying the Oni Language and slept for two days. This meant he had six days to stroll around United Asia with the others. And not a single time he saw the outside of the building. It might be due to Ishii''sck of ambition in the current stage, but it was just his simple way to protect his vige.


    "Then, it''s time for me to go." Kai smiled and turned around. He walked forward while waving his hand until he entered the pedestrian area.


    After that, Kai took out his device and called Michelle.


    "Kai? Are you done with your business?"


    "Yep. I am outside right now. Where are you? I will go to your location right away."


    "We are in Kanagawa right now. I will send you the exact location."


    "Sure." Kai then hung up and looked at the mail. After receiving the location, he quickly took the bus without forgetting to wear something to cover his appearance. Although he wasn''t as famous as when he stayed in the US Base, some people would surely recognize him.


    After one hour of traveling, he reached a restaurant where Michelle and the others waited.


    It was a simple family restaurant, so he entered the building after confirming that this ce was safe with his ears.


    He saw seven people sitting together. It seemed they got the farthest seat, so no one would bother them too much. Besides, this spot would be perfect for Kai since not many people would see him.


    "Here you are!" Michelle waved her hand and pulled him inside. "So, what is your progress?"


    "¡­" Kai twitched his eyebrows while asking. "You are not talking about my rtionship with her, right?"


    "Hmm? Isn''t that obvious?" Michelle narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as if thinking Kai was a fool.


    Kai scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I don''t have any rtionship or whatsoever and I have no n in doing that."


    "But she is a looker, right?" Tasha joined the fray as she began questioning him.


    "I do admit she is beautiful, but we are two different races. It''s not about the matter of being a zodiac or something anymore. Besides, it''s not like she or I have a n to continue. So, you all don''t need to worry." Kai shrugged.


    Michelle and Tasha still looked at him suspiciously while Ayaka chuckled. "You two are oversensitive. It''s not nice when you are asking those questions to him, even if you mean it as a joke. Of course, it''s more terrible if you are not joking. Anyway, trust him a bit more, will you?"


    Michelle and Tasha looked at each other and lowered their heads. "We''re sorry."


    Kai shook his head helplessly while smiling. "Haha, I can understand where you''reing from."


    Obviously, the reason why these two pursued this topic was due to his identity as a protector. If he were just a normal genius, they wouldn''t be bothering such a thing. Protectors were considered world ss in this area, so there was no barrier between races.


    "Anyway, what do you want to eat?" Sofia asked while handing the menu.


    "Hmm, I will have this one." Kai pointed at the menu before Haruko called the waitress.


    Since the group had finished, Kai ate alone until he was full before turning to Isabelle and Evan. "How are you two? Are the girls a bit pushy?"


    "Nah, they''re great." Isabelle shook her head with a smile. "Do you have any n for the rest of our vacation?"


    "Nope. I will just follow you guys around." Kai shrugged.


    "I see. We have explored all of the Kanto Region. Our n is to go around Chubu." Michelle answered.


    "I don''t have a problem. Besides, I need to think more about our n in Dalian. It''s going to be tough to be honest." Kai sighed.


    "Do you need help?" Tasha, Ayaka, and Michelle asked in unison.


    "It''s fine. I can handle it myself. I am just considering where to trap them because we don''t have a visual for the terrains. At the same time, I don''t have the information of their force¡­ I bet Ikeda Kenzo is going to fight them."


    As soon as Kai finished eating, they decided to start their n, going around Chobu. Although the excitement wasn''t like how they went without Kai, it was still fun.


    Kai enjoyed it a lot too. Although they couldn''t swim, they could walk around the coast to feel the breeze. It was heavily guarded as well, so it wasn''t like they would easily meet another magical beast in that area.


    After a joyful vacation, they finally gathered together on the coast of Yamaguchi, where it was the closest to South Korea.


    "It''s been a while since thest time we did this¡­" Kai smiled and looked at Tasha.


    Other than Michelle and Ayaka, no one actually knew that Kai could use Space Magic, so they couldn''t understand Kai''s choice to go here instead of the airport.


    Their impression became even more confused when they saw Tasha kiss Kai.


    Only Sofia could see something different.


    ''His¡­His fire res up while Tasha''s dims down? What is actually happening?'' her heart skipped a beat, trying to understand the situation.


    However, when she and the others were about to react, Kai suddenly looked toward them with a serious expression. Everyone could realize that he wasn''t actually staring at them. Instead, someone behind them.


    The moment they turned around, they couldn''t find someone behind them, confusing them again before Sofia saw a me behind the building.


    It turned out that the me was the man they met in the airport, Hanashita.


    "I have heard the report. Are you really not going to take the military n?" Hanashita asked with a serious expression after reaching their position.


    "Yes. I have told you about it, but since you must not want this information toe to an end this early, I have decided to say it again. I don''t need the government''s assistance to go there, nor do I need their help in my mission. Instead, you are the one who should move your military to Dalian tomorrow.


    "If you are not, I am sure that the citizens will look down on you even more, weakening your power," said Kai with a calm expression.


    Hanashita clenched his teeth before criticizing him. "This is a threat! Not a cooperation anymore."


    "It''s not a threat nor cooperation. I am simply doing my mission. Whether you want to take advantage of it or not, it''s your choice. You can say that we have no cooperation with the US Government, but people will believe that you are just trying to prosecute me after everything happened to me." Kai shook his head.


    Hanashita really wanted to beat this Kai Carter but couldn''t do so. He took a deep breath before asking. "Why tomorrow?"


    "Katsuragi Family. I am sure that you are aware of my conflict with them, right?"


    "So you want me to dy the military for a day while spreading the news, allowing you to deal with the Katsuragi Family today?"


    "Exactly. I am sure that they have been waiting for us there. It''s still 8 AM in the morning, so we have plenty of time." Kai smiled. "That''s all I want to say. I think you should go to work soon or else you will be put in a difficult situation."


    "You are the one putting me in this situation¡­" Hanashita let out a long sigh before turning around. "We won''t cooperate with you. We simply wish to get Dalian and will cooperate with you only for that objective, nothing else."


    Hanashita turned away and left them in frustration.


    After confirming that everyone had left, Kai looked at Haruko.


    "Ehm¡­ Can Ie? I know that I haven''t fought alongside all of you, but I can support you from behind. I promise that I will do my best not to be your burden." Haruko bowed her head.


    "That depends on everyone''s opinions." Kai nced at his group.


    "I don''t mind." Tasha and Michelle shrugged while Ayaka and Sofia agreed to this decision. Isabelle and Evan exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. "I don''t think it will be a problem."


    "That''s how it is¡­So, wee on board." Kai smiled. He then snapped his finger and created a Teleportation Magic Circle.


    "This!" Everyone, except Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka, dropped their jaw because they recognized this magic circle. "Kai. This is¡ª"


    Before they had enough time to say something, Kai already activated and sent all of them to South Korea.

 Chapter 414 - Tashas Past

    "Alright. We have arrived," said Kai while scanning his surroundings with his ears.


    Meanwhile, Sofia grabbed his shoulder and stuttered. "Y-you. D-did you just use the T-teleportation Magic?"


    "That''s not important." Kai shook his head.


    "This is very important!" Sofia shouted back. "We need to dis¡ª"


    Roar.


    Before she finished her words, a series of roars resounded as she quickly took a look at her surroundings, finding at least a hundred people in the area.


    "Ah! Annoying. I am going to kill them first." Sofia gritted her teeth and activated her exoskeleton. She jumped toward a pack consisting of thirty magical beasts.


    "Pfft. You are making the situation moreplicated, Kai." Michelle chuckled while taking out her swords, ready to move out.


    "I don''t need to hide it anymore since even Tasha''s sealing magic is not that important." Kai shrugged.


    Michelle shrugged and leaped forth. "Whatever you say."


    "Pfft. Anyway, let''s clear this area first." Tasha chuckled while taking out her bow. She then turned to the stunned Haruko and made a smug smile. "What? Do you want to go back now?"


    Haruko clenched her teeth and shook her head before summoning a magic circle.


    Ayaka, on the other hand, patted Evan and Isabelle''s shoulders whileughing. "Ahaha. You will get used to it in the future. It''s insane, you know. Anyway, it''s time for us to work. We shouldn''t waste too much time unless we want to fight against so many magical beasts before even going to fight the Katsuragi Family."


    Kai remained in his position as though he wanted to find something.


    "Where are the people from the Katsuragi Family?" Kai muttered. He had perfect trust in his teammates, so all his focus went toward searching the Katsuragi Family.


    Unfortunately, after two minutes, he had yet to find them, so he concluded that they were not around here.


    When he opened his eyes, he found his teammates had killed every single beast in this area.


    Surprisingly, Michelle stared at Haruko with a shocked expression. "You¡­"


    There was no doubt that Haruko could perform like them. The usage of her magic was not that far away from them.


    "What? I have been training this whole time, you know." Haruko shrugged. "Do you think I will let you surpass me that easily?"


    "¡­" Michelle had no word to say. "Well, at least, we don''t need to worry about you too much."


    "Haha." Harukoughed and returned to Kai. "What are we going to do now?"


    "Wait a minute. Instead of asking that question, why don''t we ask about his power? I know that I am rude, but that magic¡­It''s supposed to be Tasha''s¡­" Sofia stopped her while ring at Kai.


    "I know. That''s why I have been hiding it this whole time." Kai put on a gentle smile, expecting such a reaction. "This will surely cause another huge eruption in the US Base. Two Elements Magician alone is rare enough, let alone someone who is an S Rank Magician."


    "I am afraid that my grandfather will do everything he can to make you stay¡­" Sofia narrowed her eyes. "Even if it means breaking any contract. You see, we still have the Poison Master with us and a few others that can force you to stay."


    "So, you are going to do something to me?" Kai''s gentle smile hadn''t changed as his calm expression asked this question to Sofia.


    Sofia shook her head. "I can lie for you, but I need to know about this. After all, it''s better to know everything or nothing at all rather than getting just a piece of information. If I don''t know anything, they won''t get any information from me.


    "And if I know everything, I will know how to handle the situation, including what I can and cannot say. However, had I only known this level of information, I couldn''t even lie, even if I wanted to. Talking too much or talking too less will make them misunderstand the entire situation, so it won''t be good for you and for me.


    "That''s why¡­I know that this is shamelessing from me who is not even your girlfriend. May I know the power from earlier?" Sofia lowered her head as if pleading to Kai.


    Kai gently lifted her head and smiled. "So, you are going to lie for me?"


    "I¡­" Sofia hesitated for a second. "After knowing you for almost a year, I somehow started yearning for such a rtionship. When the others have their own dreams, you will support them without hesitation. In exchange, they will also help you in all situations.


    "I feel that it''s nice too. I have a dream which is to surpass my grandfather, who is the strongest in EU Base, but recently, the dream became two. I feel like I can aim at the sky as long as I''m with you, but it also means that I am prepared to do everything in the process for both of us. That''s why I will help you conceal this secret¡­"


    Kai smiled and stroked her hair while saying, "If you think that you don''t want to lie, it''s fine for me. But I really appreciate your honest opinion. Life is more important than a secret. The reason why I don''t really like the military is due to them having the need to keep something a secret for someone else instead of their own family.


    "For me, family is number one. Maybe, it''s because of my childhood, but my belief remains the same until now. For me, a base can''t bepared to a family. That''s why¡­ I will trust you."


    Kai then looked at Isabelle, Evan, and Haruko. "I think you three should listen to it as well. Different from Sofia, you three have enough integrity to keep this a secret, right?"


    "Of course. Though I prefer not to hear it¡­" Evan scratched the back of his head.


    "You are just going to have a hard time if you don''t hear it." Isabelle elbowed his chest gently. "But don''t worry, Captain. We will keep this a secret."


    Haruko also nodded her head since she had a suspicion. From what she knew, Tasha couldn''t teleport in a long-distance despite having so much magic power. So, there must be something she hid from her, albeit she herself had no interest in getting Tasha''s secret.


    Kai then looked at Tasha to see her opinion.


    His answer came in the form of a story-telling from Tasha herself. "Back when I was ten years old, I met Kai along with his parents. My talent as a dual magic user raised the bar to a very high level. Unfortunately, my magic power wasn''t enough to wield Space Magic, so most people gave up on me.


    "After that, there was someone interested in grooming as his bride, thinking that he would have an heir that would wield two magic like me but with more magic power because of his gene.


    "Not wanting to resign to my fate, I ran away from home and kept hiding from my own family. After almost a month, I was in a bind because I had used everything I brought from home. My clothes had be rugged and my stomach was empty.


    "Wandering in the street like a beggar, a miracle happened. That was the first time I met Kai who happened to be on vacation.


    "After knowing that my Space Magic was actually a Sealing Magic, he asked me whether I could seal his magic power inside of me or not. We kept meeting for a few days until one point, the experiment seeded and all his ridiculous amount of magic power was sealed within me, allowing me to wield both of my magic power.


    "When I was about to return it to him, he declined and told me to keep it. His only payment was me bing his friend as he told me, "I can go back to my family, proving that they are wrong."


    "However, I had a different idea back then. I told him that I wanted to be his supporter or whatever as long as I could keep meeting him. Although my appearance was a mess, I still had confidence that my appearance was pretty enough, so I didn''t even mind bing his "Maid."


    "No need to pay as long as I can just meet him and fill my stomach." That''s what I said to him. Surprisingly, he asked me to be his sister instead and introduced me to his parents.


    "Kai had suffered so much during his childhood, so Mother and Father agreed to adopt me from his request. However, everything happened so fast and my previous family was still searching for me because they wanted to take advantage of my body to get a genius heir.


    "After telling him everything, I was about to escape from home because I didn''t want to endanger the family. Of course, I would have returned his magic if he didn''t notice my intention.


    "I told him everything about my situation. And to think that I would have seen Kai be that decisive to protect me after that. Because the situation would be even more dangerous after that point, Kai decided to teach me how to use my power and became an elite during my childhood.


    "Although I was a mess at the start, I began to kill every single pursuer and those who tried to bring me back to the family. After all, my name was and will always be Tasha Carter.


    "All in all, we fought very hard until one point where we managed to take down the whole family. Reluctant as I was back then, I joined the government to protect the family and hid everything. And the time passed by and you all see me right now. That''s how my love story with Kai and the reason why Kai could use my magic.


    "To put it simply, what I have right now is Kai''s magic power and everything is possible due to my Sealing Magic since I sealed my own magic inside Kai''s body. Only Space Magic though."

 Chapter 415 - Come

    "So that''s what happened." Sofia narrowed her eyes and contemted. "I think I know what I should say in the future in case someone important knows about the fact that you can use Space Magic."


    "Thanks, Sofia." Kai smiled.


    "It''s fine." Sofia shook her head helplessly. "Unlike the others, my identity is too important. For example, if you married me, people would believe that either base forced you to marry me. That''s not what I want. People should know that we are doing this because there is love between us."


    "¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. As she said, even Michelle, Tasha, or Haruko couldn''t bepared to her identity as the granddaughter and the first Zodiac from the EU Base.


    If Kai married Michelle, people would see him marrying his own childhood sweetheart. A simr thing applied to Tasha with just a sip of the taste of a not blood-rted sister rtionship. As for Haruko, the Yajima Family or United Asia was not enough to be recognized as a part of the agreement.


    Hence, Sofia seemed to have decided to stop forcing her way. Instead, she wanted to let the "storm" pass soon before they announced their rtionship, even if their rtionship had been established for long.


    By using the power of rumor from her appearance around Kai, the people would talk about it every now and then, giving enough spice to announce the whole thing to the public. Only then would they be officially recognized by people around the world.


    "Anyway, now you know about this secret, I hope you can keep it a secret." Kai smiled before looking at Tasha.


    Tasha nodded and kissed him again, returning her magic inside her body.


    After that, Kai asked. "Do any of you have any questions?"


    "Nope. We can start moving to another ce." Michelle shrugged and looked at the others.


    "That''s right. We shouldn''t waste too much time here." Tasha nodded in agreement.


    "In that case, let''s¡­" Kai suddenly fell silent as though his ears picked up something.


    "Hm? Do you find them?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded and pointed his finger to the north. "They are that way. I don''t think they have noticed us."


    "Kai¡­" Tasha and Michelle suddenly got closer with a troubled face.


    "Do you need something?"


    "Actually, we want to request one thing from you." Tasha looked away, not knowing whether Kai would ept it or not.


    "What is it?" Kai tilted his head because he couldn''t understand why they acted like this.


    "There is a high chance that Ikeda Kenzo will be here. Tasha and I are nning to face him if possible." Michelle exined with a tired face.


    Tasha repeatedly nodded her head. "That''s right. We both are S Rank Magicians, so we want to see how far the gap between him and us. I mean, it''s true that Michelle can somehow fight Rain, the S Rank Barrier Master, but this is the first time we fight against an S Rank Magician. I hope that you can grant us this chance."


    Kai closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. He seemed to have suppressed them too much. Whatever people said, these two were supposed to be S Rank Magicians, yet, they never had the opportunity to go face to face against them.


    Although they could make aparison, they should still fight an S Rank Magician to see their progress. Unfortunately, Tasha had been stuck in the back with her bow while Michelle had been his support this whole time.


    "It seems I have wronged you this whole time. I shouldn''t hog all the stages from all of you because you can''t shine that way." Kai let out a long sigh. "However, if I can say one selfish thing, I don''t want you to get hurt.


    "Of course, I know that you don''t want me as well, so I have a proposal. You two may fight him, but we are not going anywhere. In other words, we will fight around the area to make sure that the worst wouldn''t happen."


    Michelle and Tasha epted it without hesitation. "We understand. We shall proceed ording to your n. But he is a Light Magician, so I suggest not to get too close because he can attack you."


    "I understand. A hundred meter should be enough, right?" Kai smiled.


    "Yeah." She nodded. "Besides, Isabelle''s bullet will arrive first." Michelle nodded and looked at Isabelle.


    "Don''t worry. I will be watching over you guys." Isabelle gave a thumb up.


    "Thanks."


    Kai then nodded as his expression turned grim. "Alright. Let''s go toward them. After knowing their number, I will give you my n."


    They agreed and followed him, opening the path.


    After several minutes, Kai finally got a good grasp of the enemy and opened his radar, showing how many people the Katsuragi Family brought.


    "First of all, there are one hundred people. We can safely assume that they are elites amongst elites. Hence, taking them will be hard with a few snipers among them. Isabelle. Get rid of them for me."


    Isabelle gave a thumb up. "They won''t know who beat them. Just make sure no one gets hit before I kill all of them, okay?"


    "I will do my best." Kai nodded with a smile. "Ikeda Kenzo is in the middle of their formation. Since they haven''t moved this whole time, I assume they are waiting for us, so I want Sofia to see whether we are in danger or not."


    "My eyes can tell us whether there is a trap or not, so we can approach them easily." Sofia smiled and prepared herself to kill humans.


    "Evan, I am not sure about this, but I want you to stay beside Isabelle to protect them. I am sure that they are trying to aim for her, so protect Isabelle well, okay? I''m not going to beat you or something since you won''t be alive since you need to exin everything to her." Kai smirked, teasing him before the battle.


    "What? You know me well, Captain." Isabelle made a big smile. For Kai and the others, it looked like a happy smile, but Evan could only see it as an ultimatum. There was no doubt that Isabelle would "kill" him when that time came.


    "I will do my best." Evan hurriedly replied while sweating.


    "I will leave Ikeda Kenzo to you, Tasha, Michelle."


    "Please leave it to us," they answered in unison. Aside from the fact that they wanted to see their limit, both of them actually had a goal. They knew that Kai being a protector would put a great burden upon everyone''s shoulder. Since they were the only ones who knew about this, they thought they should be a bit more responsible than the others.


    "Ayaka. I want you to go with me, facing them head-on. I am sure that I can gather most of their group to strike me."


    "So, you want me to make my appearance there?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes.


    "Yes. That''s the n. After that, we will start lowering their number while Michelle and Tasha fight Ikeda Kenzo."


    "No problem."


    "Next is Haruko. I want you to keep staring at me."


    "¡­" The others twitched their eyebrows as Haruko chuckled. "That can be easily misinterpreted, you know."


    "But that''s all to it." Kai shrugged. "I will keep telling you their position, so you should intercept them every time. I am sure that they will go around us and aim from behind or our back. Your job is to eliminate them."


    "Sure. I won''t let a single of them pass. Though I can''t really give you any promise since I have thergest area to cover." Haruko let out a long sigh.


    "It''s fine. There is Evan as our backup n, right?" Kai smiled at Evan.


    "Of course. I am a different person now." Evan nodded. "With Isabelle here, I don''t think they can get around us."


    "Still, the problem will be the magical beasts." Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows. "This battle will surely bring a lot of magical beasts to us. Do you have any ns for this?"


    Kai nodded. "Just like us, their back is also exposed to the beasts. Hence, we can safely assume that they are trying to end this as soon as possible. There will be a few chances to exploit and I want all of you to use it to end the battle faster.


    "However, the beasts will surely arrive first, so I want you to deal with it on your own. Ayaka and I will quickly protect you as soon as we finish the business. Just don''t kill all the beasts because we need them to eat their corpses to make it look like they die because of magical beasts. Understood?"


    "Roger."


    Kai and the others then started making their way toward their enemies. Kai had heard Ikeda Kenzo''s voice and assured that he was among them, so he wasn''t quite sure how this would turn out. Nheless, they had been preparing this whole time just for this.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, there were five people holding their sniper rifles around Ikeda Kenzo while the rest seemed to be busy patrolling around.


    "I am sorry, Mister. But do you think we are enough to handle them?" One of the snipers asked with a serious expression.


    "I don''t know." Ikeda Kenzo shook his head.


    "Even an S Rank Magician like you has no confidence¡­" The sniper furrowed her eyebrows.


    "He may be just too old." Another snipermented while ring at Ikeda Kenzo, thinking that he was lucky to stay alive until now due to the help of Katsuragi Akagi.


    Ikeda Kenzo didn''t feel offended. Instead, he acknowledged it with a smile. "Indeed. I am too old rig¡ª"


    Before he finished, his hand moved so fast to block the sudden bullet that almost hit the arrogant girl''s head.


    "I may be too old, but by no means have I cked this whole time." Ikeda Kenzo smiled and rose to his feet, looking in Kai''s direction, seeing only six of them. "You''vee."

 Chapter 416 - Fight

    "You''vee." Ikeda Kenzo smiled when he found Kai and the others.


    "¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and said, "Even if you are acting because of an order, I need all of you to die here."


    "Ho. You talk big. Is this because you are famous in the US Base?" Ikeda Kenzo''s expression turned serious as he disappeared.


    It turned out that he used his fastest speed to leap toward Kai while swiping his hand that was covered in white light.


    Kai only stared at him without a change in his expression as if he had expected this attack. At the same time, a scythe went around his neck before hitting Ikeda Kenzo''s hand.


    Dark Michelle came between them while swinging her scythes.


    Kenzo stopped all of them with his hands. Due to the light covering them, Dark Michelle couldn''t pierce his hands, but at least, she had fulfilled the requirement.


    Meanwhile, the real Michelle, covered in ck tattoos, was already next to Kenzo, swinging her sword.


    A white light fluctuated from his body as it formed a shield, blocking Michelle''s sword.


    However, Michelle''s strength had been boosted by the exoskeleton. It was enough to blow him away in that unstable form.


    Boom.


    Ikeda Kenzo crashed to the ground as the two Michellesnded not far from him.


    Before he could rise from the ground, Tasha had released her arrow, creating a big magic circle in the air.


    A bolt of blue lightning struck forth.


    Kenzo raised his hand as he summoned a white magic circle. A white ball emerged from it as it flew toward the lightning, leaving a white trail behind that made it look like he shot a beam instead.


    The ball hit the lightning directly as they pulverized each other.


    "Your opponents are us," said Michelle while staring at Ikeda Kenzo coldly.


    "Really?" Kenzo smirked as his body released white light from his body. The second round was going to start soon.


    Meanwhile, Kai and Ayaka already appeared in the middle of their enemies.


    "Do you think you are capable of defeating all one hundred of us?" One of them shouted while shooting a re signal, so they all could gather. "We will show you what it means to be the elites from the Katsuragi Family."


    "Attack him! As long as we kill him, our mission isplete."


    Suddenly, three magic circles appeared above their heads.


    Kai and Ayaka raised their visions as a bolt of lightning, a fire pir, and an ice cube fell right above them.


    Ayaka pped her hand and summoned her own magic circle.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    Since the magic circle was above their heads, it engulfed all three attacks at once.


    Still, the enemies were better than this as twenty of them used their own magic to attack him while Ayaka was disturbed by the first three attacks. At the same time, another twenty were trying to close their distance to him.


    Kai analyzed their magic before activating his Sonic Sword. He took a deep breath and swung the sword as quickly as possible. The burst from the shock wave deflected all the magic that came to him.


    Luckily, Ayaka had regained her control back and created another magic circle toward the enemiesing from the right side. "Fire Net."


    She chose Fire Net to slow down the enemies while Kai dealt with the rest.


    Unknown to them, they made one miscalction. Isabelle had been waiting for them to do this and released her bullets toward the left side. Because of her position, the moment the bullets pierced their first target''s head, it continued toward the second person and so on.


    "What?! Where is the sniper?" The assassins from the Katsuragi Family panicked for a second and shouted. Because Ikeda Kenzo didn''t say anything about the bullets, only the snipers seemed to have noticed it and were desperately searching for Isabelle''s position to kill her.


    "We are searching this entire time." One of the snipers shouted in anger.


    "Half of the snipers are to assist us while the rest search for their¡ªAaaahhhh!"


    Kai didn''t let him finish because he was part of the vanguard, so he killed him first before focusing on the others.


    Still, the order was received and the snipers shot him simultaneously.


    Kai simply tilted his body to the right as both bullets missed. Isabelle then released another two bullets, killing the snipers that targeted Kai.


    "Gah!"


    "There! The sniper is at our two!" One of the snipers shouted and slightly changed her vision to kill Isabelle.


    But Kai used this chance to break through their formation by killing another two people in front of him and went straight toward the snipers, leaving Ayaka behind.


    "He ising! Surround him!"


    "We need reinforcement."


    "No! Half of us are going to stop him. Ten of you will kill that Kudo Ayaka while the other twenty are to go around them and kill the sniper. She has a bodyguard next to her, so be careful!"


    The battle turned chaotic pretty soon as Kai halted his steps after being surrounded. Meanwhile, Ayaka took a deep breath and looked at the enemies, preparing for another breakthrough to help Kai.


    The assassins seemed to have enough confidence that everything would go ording to their way. It was true that humans were capable of high-level movement and strategy unlike the magical beasts and this battle looked like he challenged a hundred intelligent beasts at once, but they forgot¡­ Their target was none other than the rising star, Kai Carter.


    Kai snapped his finger and created a disturbing sound that took away their concentration for a split second. He used that chance to kill another two people.


    "Argh!"


    "Are you sure it''s a good strategy to separate your force? Isn''t your target me? I am here, so kill me!" Kai smirked evilly as heughed to taunt them.


    The people that attacked Ayaka hesitated for a second, wondering if they should help them instead. Just like Kai, she didn''t miss that chance and shot a few firebirds toward them, bombarding Kai''s area.


    At the same time, Haruko took the same hesitation as an opportunity to make her first move. She had appeared behind the group that was going to attack Isabelle and shed two necks with her short swords.


    Isabelle also took another two lives to help Haruko.


    "Focus on your task!" Someone seemed to be frustrated by this result. Due to Kai''s reputation, his presence was very huge in this battle, making them hesitate every time. However, only some understood that Kai was nothing more than the biggest bait their enemies threw at them.


    To think they would use their target to be the bait, they were either confident or foolish. But with them knowing Kai''s battles, they knew that Kai thought he couldst for a long time under the onught.


    Haruko smiled and released a burst of wind that wounded her enemies. That wind was not an ordinary wind. It was the result of her training with Mia, a sharp wind.


    She took a Wind de as a reference. It could create a crescent-shaped de of wind that could sh one''s neck, but Haruko decided to make it explode as soon as it appeared, creating a powerful wind that carried its sharpness.


    This was a perfect move to take their attention as well as lowering their abilities. Without a doubt, the battle would be easier for her.


    Kai, on the other hand, focused on his enemies instead. Due to the space between them, they came at him, five at a time.


    Kai waved his swords and sted three weapons that came his way before dodging the fourth one. Unfortunately, his back was hit by a sword. Although it was too shallow for a wound, a hit was a hit.


    Kai clenched his teeth and spun his body, using the Shock Wave from his sound wave to blow them away. After that, he used his Sound st tounch himself to another side, cutting another two heads.


    "We can hit him!" The one that grazed Kai shouted. "No matter how good he is, he doesn''t have enough strength to kill fifty elites at the same time."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and changed his strategy. He relied heavily on the Sound st to toy with them.


    However, some of them could contain his speed and tried their best to stop him, but Kai kept killing them one by one despite being injured from time to time.


    ''This is truly hard. Even the almighty S Rank Magical Beast can be killed under the onught of so many people, so I guess this is my condition right now?'' Kai recalled the time when the Brazilian Wandering Spider was surrounded by them.


    Unlike the spider, he still managed to kill some of them, so it was better. If only he had the ability to kill multiple enemies at once, this battle would be easier. ''Never mind. As soon as Ayaka or someone else finishes their job, the situation will change. I only need to endure it for now.''

 Chapter 417 - Fight Part 2

    While Kai and the others fought against the assassins, Michelle and Tasha had trouble with Ikeda Kenzo.


    They had underestimated the power of this old man.


    *Pant*


    *Pant*


    Michelle looked at Kenzo with a tired face while the Dark Michelle suffer the same condition. They both were exhausted because of the constant fight against him.


    "To think you are this powerful¡­" Michelle said with a smirk.


    Of course, Ikeda Kenzo wasn''t that much better than Michelle. Wounds covered his body and blood dyed the skin red. Despite being able to move faster since he was under the sun, Michelle managed to keep him at bay as Tasha managed tond a few hits during the battle.


    "You two are less than twenty years old, but this powerful. This old man wants to retire just imagining it." He let out a long sigh.


    "What the heck are you saying? She is almost twenty-one years old." Michelle pointed at Tasha with a poker face.


    "Hoho. Is that so?" Kenzo smiled and raised his hands. He summoned a light ball that suddenly shattered as if something cut it three times, turning the original one ball into eight pieces. "Light Bullets."


    Dark Michelle used her scythes to destroy four of them while the real Michelle leaped to the side.


    "What?" Michelle frowned when she noticed that the two balls that almost hit her turned around, chasing after her. Knowing that running was useless, she shed the two balls without hesitation.


    As for Tasha, she simply raised her hand and created a pink shield, enveloping the two balls with a translucent pink mucus as if it was coated in a strawberry vor silicon.


    She grabbed both spheres and threw them to Ikeda Kenzo.


    "¡­" Kenzo noticed the difference in his light ball and quickly erected a barrier for himself, only to find it was the correct decision. When it almost reached him, Tasha deactivated the coating and exploded the magic bullets.


    "You are truly using interesting magic this whole time. Your Lightning Magic is powerful, but that weird magic is far more dangerous," praised Kenzo while looking at his surroundings. He noticed that Kai and others had killed a third of their numbers. With the magical beasts approaching, he really needed to end this as soon as possible¡­s, the talks he had been doing until now was to buy himself time to catch a breath. He thought, ''My age is not suitable to fight anymore¡­''


    "Just surrender. We will kill you painlessly." Michelle harrumphed. "Besides, if you don''t bring trouble to us anymore, we will spare the Ikeda Family. Isn''t this what you want? I''m sure that a man of your caliber can see that you have no chance of winning against us. Unless you are mobilizing the entire United Asia, there''s no way you can defeat our US base."


    "Indeed. But this old man fights for his own ideal, so I hope that the two misses can forgive this old man because I will fight to the bitter end." He smiled.


    "Tasha!" Michelle shouted.


    "Spatial Lock. Magic Field." Tasha created a huge pink magic circle before a pink half-sphere was erected. It spans thirty meters in radius, making it look quite big. It barely reached the other battlefield.


    "!!!" Kenzo frowned and raised his hand. A white magic circle appeared as he shot out a white beam toward the barrier, only to find it was engulfed by the pink barrier as though it was a bottomless pit.


    "You won''t be able to prate this barrier." Tasha smiled. This was one of the magic Rapakha taught her. Although it didn''t have offensive power, the barrier could practically seal any attacks that came into their way.


    However, it required a huge amount of magic power, so even Tasha couldn''t maintain this barrier for a long time despite having most of Kai''s magic power.


    Michelle understood what she needed to do since they had talked about it before fighting him.


    She ced her hand on the ground as a ck magic circle emerged. It released a dark shadow that enveloped the barrier. Due to theck of offensive power, the barrier didn''t seal the shadow magic, so this was a perfect chance to seal Ikeda Kenzo''s power.


    The moment the shadow enveloped everything, no one could see anything inside the barrier. However, Tasha already put on her night vision while Michelle never had trouble to begin with.


    On the other hand, Ikeda Kenzo tried to create a light ball to illuminate the darkness but to no avail.


    "You better prepare your grave, old man." Michelle smirked. Her voice echoed inside the barrier, making it hard to locate her. Meanwhile, the Dark Michelle had been moving this entire time, sessfully going around Kenzo.


    The moment she saw an opening, Dark Michelleunched all four scythes toward him.


    "Die! Shadow sh." Michelle shouted as she released two sword strikes toward Kenzo in order to take his attention.


    Unfortunately, Ikeda Kenzo seemed to haven''t used all his might this whole time. He raised both hands and waved them vertically, creating two crescent-shaped lights.


    It turned out that the two hit Dark Michelle''s four scythes simultaneously before blowing it away.


    Dark Michelle prevented the scythes from hitting the barrier while Kenzo''s attacks vanished as soon as they hit the barrier.


    At the same time, he stopped Michelle''s Shadow shes with only his fingers before snapping it into two.


    "You shouldn''t be too reliant on your eyes alone," said Kenzo as he closed his eyes. In other words, he had been able to sense all the attacksing into his way, so this darkness advantage was nothing.


    "Yeah! And you should know that this is my turf." Michelle''s power ricocheted because there was no sun inside this barrier, allowing her to use the full potential of her Shadow Possession.


    Kenzo''s hands were enveloped in light as he began to sh with Michelle''s swords and scythes.


    "Huft." While she was hitting Kenzo''s finger, Michelle''s breath became even vaguer as if she gradually became one with the darkness. Despite how intense the fight had be, Michelle''s head and heart became cooler and cooler until one point.


    Zap.


    A fast stab pierced Kenzo''s shoulder.


    "!!!" He opened his eyes and pushed her away before leaping back. "No wonder you are strong. So, this is your trump card. Not only will this ce seal most of my power, but it will also strengthen you. If I''m not wrong, the other girl''s magic is not space magic. Instead, it''s Sealing Magic.


    "To be honest, this is more dangerous than Space Magic because you can literallypress air and seal it as a bomb. But I guess there is a limitation to do that. She then sealed the air around this area and turned them into a barrier which allowed her to stop all my attacks."


    "I thought you were smart, but I guess you are a fool." Michelle shook her head in disappointment. What Kenzo said was true, but there was no way that she would admit it, right?


    Instead of talking, she decided to pressure him again to prevent him from assessing his situation.


    However, Kenzo only took this as another advantage as he spoke. "I see. There is something wrong with the barrier and it''s not like my guess was wrong. Since the Sealing Magic girl hasn''t shot another arrow this whole time¡­There must be a weakness to this barrier. It''s either that it''s too consuming for you to do another activity or physical attack is the one that works!"


    Once Kenzo said those words, he grasped Michelle''s wrist in exchange for a stab on the side of his stomach before throwing her toward the edge of the barrier.


    Tasha clenched her teeth and teleported right before Michelle and stopped her from hitting the barrier.


    At the same time, Kenzo smirked. "Found you!"


    He ced his hand on the ground as a giant white circle appeared, enveloping him with light. Just like Michelle''s possession, Ikeda Kenzo had one that could forcefully raise his strength during the dark.


    Michelle felt dread as she and her Dark Persona charged at him together.


    Kenzo took this chance and increased his speed to the limit so he could reach Tasha''s location before turning in another direction, breaking through the barrier with his physical body.


    His voice then echoed on the battlefield, rming everyone.


    "We lost. Retreat!"


    On the contrary to the attention it brought, Tasha was more concerned about another thing as she roared after feeling that her chest was touched by the old man.


    "What''s the problem with that old man? He dared to sexually harass me?"


    However, Michelle had a different opinion when she looked at her. There was under a note in Tasha''s pocket as she quickly scanned the area, finding that the old man had escaped. Since Kai would be able to pursue him, Michelle decided to check the note first before informing Kai.


    She walked toward Tasha and grabbed the note.


    "What are you¡ª" When Tasha was about to erupt, she noticed the paper in Michelle''s hand. "What is that?"


    "This must be the note he stuck on you. Because of our clothes, only yours have a pocket." She pointed her at her chest before shaking it. "And identally touch this big melon of yours!"


    "¡­" Tasha clenched her fists and took a deep breath. After knowing the real reason, she became calmer before asking, "What''s in the note?"


    Michelle shook her head in confusion as she also let Tasha see.


    The moment she opened the note, the two couldn''t help but suck a cold breath.


    "This... This is impossible," Michelle muttered in shock.

 Chapter 418 - Good News

    "!!!" Kai turned around and frowned as the assassins began to retreat.


    "Should we chase them, Kai?" Ayaka asked with a serious expression.


    "It seems Tasha has gotten something. I''m going to check her condition first before deciding our next move." Kai shook his head and walked toward Tasha and Michelle.


    Ayaka followed him from behind while signaling the group to gather. During the fight, they managed to kill more than fifty people from the Katsuragi Family. Considering they were all elites, it should be quite a big blow to them.


    When Kai and Ayaka arrived, Tasha and Michelle stared at him before handing the paper to Ayaka.


    Curious, Kai took a peek at the letter and widened his eyes in shock. Even Ayaka couldn''t help but cry, hoping it was true.


    When everyone saw this paper, they would see the bigger line written on it.


    "Kudo Taro is alive."


    No wonder that everyone was shocked, it told them that Ayaka''s grandfather, Kudo Taro, didn''t die back then.


    "This¡­ This is a lie." Ayaka wanted to burn the paper, not wanting to see hope, albeit she didn''t have the power to do so. Because¡­Deep inside her heart, she still wished to see her grandfather.


    "Look at this." Kai pointed at the smaller words beneath that sentence. It was a series of one-word puzzles, but Kai could feel that it was telling them something.


    Ikeda. Basement. Safe. No. Speak. Camera.


    "What does it mean?" Tasha furrowed her eyebrows while trying toe up with something.


    However, Kai already understood the message. He quickly used his Sound Instion Magic, so no sound could be heard from them. "Hmm, I don''t know if this is wrong or right, but I think Ikeda Kenzo wanted to tell us that Ayaka''s grandfather is still alive.


    "He is currently inside the Ikeda Family''s basement¡­And yeah, he is safe and sound there. I feel like he is safe because the Ikeda Family is the ally of the Katsuragi Family. At the same time, he couldn''t speak anything because there were many eyes looking at him.


    "And yeah, he himself might have a hidden camera in his body to make sure he didn''t betray them. However, everything became possible when Michelle used the Dark Room. The camera was blind for a few minutes.


    "After gaining some trust as he kept fighting, Ikeda Kenzo could mask himself as one of the Katsuragi Family''s allies while giving you this message." Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "I don''t know if this is wrong or not, but I believe it''s worth checking. The only problem is whether we can go there or not.


    "With the loss of so many elites, I''m sure that Katsuragi Akagi will put Ikeda Kenzo in close supervision. Hence, even though there is a possibility of Kudo Tarou''s is alive, we can''t move." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Then¡­ Doesn''t that mean Ikeda Kenzo is not their ally?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows, feeling something was a bit suspicious.


    "Probably so. I have met him in the past and know that he is an entric man. The reason he joined Katsuragi Family''s side was his health and theck of a sessor, so he couldn''t afford to die just yet." Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "In addition, he once spared my and Tasha''s lives when we tried to infiltrate the Katsuragi Family. His belief seems to remain the same." Tasha added his point before looking at Kai. "What are we going to do?"


    "I think¡­" Kai turned his head toward Ayaka and waited for her to respond.


    She must have gotten a big hit when she saw this news. Unfortunately, she couldn''t do anything at the moment.


    The others had regrouped with them as they were confused with Ayaka''s expression.


    Thetter closed her eyes for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "I will go ording to our schedule."


    "Are you sure?" Kai asked. His voice was gentle and filled with worries.


    Ayaka shook her head and smiled. "I would be lying if I said I don''t want to go there. But I needed to see the bigger picture and learned that the highest chance we could rescue my grandfather was to follow your schedule. Our current strength was not enough to challenge all of them and your reputation would take a big hit during this time, so I wanted you to believe me that I''m fine."


    Kai stretched his hand, wiping her tears. Although a little hesitant, Kai ultimately nodded his head. "I understand, but don''t overdo it, alright?"


    "Yes. There will be a time when I will rescue my grandfather, showing him that I have grown up." Ayaka smiled. "Besides, I believe that I can do it in one or two years. In other words, I will just wait for the same amount of time I have spent in the US Base. That''s not a big deal and grandfather is young enough to not die from old age."


    "Yeah. I promise you that we will rescue your grandfather in the near future." Kai smiled. "Just wait a bit more, okay?"


    "Un." Ayaka nodded in understanding. "Though, can we postpone our n for an hour or two?"


    Kai agreed without hesitation. "Of course. Take all the time you need."


    "Thanks." Ayaka smiled and walked to a nearby tree. She dropped on her butt and leaned on the tree while covering her face with her knees. Although there was a choice to go a little bit farther, she didn''t want the others to think that she would disappear just like that. It would be unfair to Kai.


    "Anyway, what are you nning with this information, Kai?" Tasha asked with a grim expression. One misstep might turn the entire situation upside down, so she needed to hear his n first.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t tell anyone other than our group. Even Ayaka''s parents are included. In the future, I will mobilize a small army to attack the Katsuragi Family while someone in this group will help me rescue him. This way, no one will be able to leak our n." Kai smiled.


    Tasha thought for a moment and agreed before stepping down.


    Kai then turned to Haruko. "Don''t investigate the Ikeda Family because there is a possibility of them sniffing out our intention."


    "I understand."


    "Isabelle, I hope that you too can keep this a secret."


    "I consider Ayaka as a friend. Since she decided to wait, I wouldn''t be that foolish to even say something like that." Isabelle''s expression was serious and her voice was genuine. After getting along together for more than a year, she had understood everyone in the Lion Group.


    "I don''t need to worry then." Kai contemted for a few minutes before muttering. "For now, Sofia also needs to stay silent because this will cause a big eruption from the EU Base. After all, this matter is closely rted to me, so they will surely not let it pass.


    "Besides, I''m going to go there soon, so it will just create an unending problem." Kai let out a long sigh before his expression returned to normal. "I believe we should get going soon. After Ayaka recovers, we will head straight to all ces with dense poptions.


    "Although I will be in charge of the n, I want Isabelle to be the leader of this operation with Michelle as her deputy. It''s training time."


    "¡­" Isabelle widened her eyes. Kai seemed to have a lot of confidence in his n to allow her to be the leader. Nheless, it was only for the fight, so she didn''t need to think that hard. "I understand. I shall ept the position. Please take care of me."


    Michelle also acknowledged Kai''s words and looked at Isabelle. "I will deal with the front, you aremanding the back."


    "Sure thing." Isabelle nodded. "Evan, Sofia, and Tasha will be with me."


    "Kai and Ayaka will be under me then." Isabelle nodded and asked, "What''s the n?"


    "I will wait for Ayaka to finish her business first." Kai shook his head. "Besides, the magical beasts are following Ikeda Kenzo and the assassins, so our position is rtively safe. We only need to wait and create a good strategy to handle them and my ears are still listening to their movements."


    The group then decided to have a break until Ayaka finished crying.


    After crying for thirty minutes, her heart felt relieved as if a big burden disappeared from her shoulders. Ayaka truly carried such a big burden when the Kudo Family was chased out of the base, but everything didn''t matter anymore as she knew that her grandfather didn''t die.


    As long as the Ikeda Family took care of her grandfather, she could rescue him sooner orter. In fact, the only reason she could be this calm was due to the rate of Kai''s growth.


    In just a mere two years, Kai managed to be a general, so she thought there wouldn''t be anyone to stop him after another two years. This way, no opposition would appear if he moved the army to help.


    Ayaka took a deep breath before tying her hair into a ponytail. She summoned her spear again and gradually rose from the ground, walking back to Kai and the others. Although her eyes looked a bit swollen, they could see the resolve and calmness in her eyes, so Kai gave permission for her to continue their mission.


    "I''m sorry for making you all wait." Ayaka bowed to apology. "I will do my best during the third year too, so please take care of me."


    "Don''t worry. I can assure you that the situation will be solved within two years." Kai smiled and nodded. He then looked at the others and smiled. "Alright. With Ayaka here, let''s talk about our n in conquering this ce."

 Chapter 419 - Construction

    "Kai!" Michelle shouted as a new group of five appeared on the battlefield.


    Kai turned around and found five tigers leaping toward them in unison. He simply used his Sound st to reach their position before killing them in one stroke.


    "Michelle, ten left." Kai pointed at the remaining ten before letting out a breath of relief. "We are done here. Let''s go back and have lunch."


    Michelle and Dark Michelle cut those beasts simultaneously before the Dark Michelle disappeared. Though, she didn''t forget to say "I love you" to Kai.


    Tasha teleported them to their base immediately since they needed to prepare food. Their base was next to the hill which covered one side, so they didn''t need to worry about it during the night and focused their attention on the other side. They set up a tent under three trees that were cool enough for them to rx during the day.


    "Who is in charge again?" Kai asked.


    "Me." Tasha raised her hand. "Anyway, we have chicken meat this time and I think Ayaka has found some vegetables in the mountain. How about the rest of our supplies?"


    "We used a bit more salt than we expected."


    "It doesn''t matter then." Tasha shrugged. What they brought to this ce were only spices since Tasha and Michelle could cook. Ayaka, Isabelle, and Kai could do it as well, but their cooking couldn''t bepared to those two. They really put it all into this.


    "Alright."


    Kai prepared the ingredients while Tasha cooked most of them.


    It only took her half an hour to finish cooking an extravagant meal, which everybody liked.


    After eating, Kai turned to Michelle. "That''s right. How is our progress?"


    "We have killed more than one hundred thousand monsters in this area. As for the area¡­I think we have cleared twice of your hearing range. I''m not sure about this either."


    "That''s good enough." Kai nodded with a serious expression as if this was normal.


    Meanwhile, Haruko still had the same reaction despite being with them for a whole week. If this were the past her, she would have jumped out of fear. The number was just impossible. But if one took another look at it, they had two S Rank Magicians and one genius general.


    If they had an army, they would have progressed more than they could imagine. Unfortunately, this was United Asia''s territory, not the US Base''s.


    She simply sighed and kept listening to their conversation.


    "When is the reinforcement going to arrive?" Kai asked another question.


    "I have sent the signal to Grandfather, so we can safely assume that they have gotten it. ording to the information, United Asia has prepared their materials to make a small base and waited for our signal. I think they will arrive soon."


    "That''s good then. At least, they trust us enough to send the army since the US Base can''t really prove that we canplete this mission. They will still doubt our strength because we only have seven people here."


    "Yeah. Anyway, I have another report for¡ª" Before she finished, Kai put his hand on his mouth as if he heard something.


    "Finally, they havee." Kai opened his eyes and smiled. He then turned to Tasha. "Show them our location."


    "Sure." Tasha nodded and rose from her seat. She raised her vision and pulled her bow upward before releasing an arrow that created an explosion in the sky.


    Boom.


    Kai nodded with a smile as he was sure that those people had received their message before continuing the report.


    Not long after that, Kai rose from his seat and turned around, finding many people starting toe out of the wood.


    Kai saw a snake on this guy''s shoulder and recognized this symbol. He recalled the teacher that apanied him to the US Base, Shirotsuka Sanae.


    Unlike the US Base that adopted the US Army System, United Asia emphasized eight groups instead. Snake Group was one of the most powerful groups in the base, so he should be able to expect something from them.


    Surprisingly, Kai found another group in the mix. It was a turtle. From the way that these two walked, they seemed to have the same power.


    The one from the snake group was a male with long light green hair tied into a ponytail. His expression was grim while staring at him as he walked. The other one was a female with short ck hair. Unlike him, her expression was t as if she wasn''t interested in whatever they were doing.


    Kai also began to walk and greeted them. "Nice to meet you."


    "We have gotten the information from the government." The male nodded. "I am Yaku¡­ Just Yaku, amander from the Snake Army. I have been tasked to supervise the entire construction."


    Kai shook his hand. "I''m Kai Carter. I''m sure that you have heard of me being the helper of this operation. My mission is to stay for one more week here, so I will help the protection team."


    Hearing the word "protection", the woman stretched her hand as she greeted him. "I''m Okuda Yoriko from the Turtle Group. My mission is to protect the construction."


    "Ah, I see. I will be working with you then." Kai nodded. "For now, I should give you information about our progress."


    "Indeed. We would like to hear that."


    "Before that, how are the materials?"


    "We have enough to construct a simple base within two months. We can upgrade that baseter after sending more people here. After all, we can''t really bring everyone here because we don''t know about your real strength¡­Only your reputation that has been spread by the US Base." Yaku exined his and everyone''s doubts.


    Kai nodded in understanding. He had expected this, so he continued. "Our progress isn''t that good. During the past week, we can only kill around a hundred thousand magical beasts around this area.


    "After calcting thendscape and other things, I have made a slight adjustment to the position and chosen this ce as my base. If you want, you can inspect thend a bit more and ask your superior about it. Or you can even go back to the original location¡­I don''t mind."


    "Wha¡ª" Instead of amazed by Kai''s vision, both Yaku and Yoriko were focused on his kill count. One hundred thousand beasts in just a week? And they only had eight people to boot? Yaku and Yoriko were speechless, unable toprehend how they did it.


    Although there was a chance of him lying, both knew that a portion of it was the truth. After all, for the past ten kilometers from this area, they didn''t encounter any single magical beasts which meant that Kai''s group had ughtered them.


    "Did you kill them all?" Yaku couldn''t help but ask for confirmation.


    "Yeah. I killed them." Kai nodded with a poker face. "Anyway, I would like to focus on the construction instead of this. Can we?"


    "Ahem." Yaku coughed to clear his throat and calm his heart down before apologizing. "I''m sorry for my remark. Certainly, we can discuss the construction n. Although I need to inspect thendscape once again, I would like to apologize if, in the end, this ce can''t be used. After all, we have a different terrain, which results in a different design for the military base."


    "Yes, I know. I''m just suggesting it. You can even create a mini base here while using the original location as your main base." Kai nodded.


    "Thank you." He smiled before opening the blueprint as well as the map. "This is¡­"


    Yaku began exining the entire n for the construction before inspecting their current position. Unfortunately, Kai''s judgment might be true, but the government didn''t take his suggestion because the current blueprint was unusable and they needed another two weeks to finish it.


    By that time, the magical beasts might have migrated to the area that Kai cleared and began to swarm them.


    Yaku kept apologizing to him because of this order even though thetter didn''t mind it at all.


    While the two guys discussed their n, Michelle decided to talk with Yoriko. Of course, Tasha became the trantor here.


    The device might be able to recognize the voice and became an auto-trantor, but it was easier to hear it from Tasha.


    They talked about the defense area and the group''s current progress, showing that they had opened a ten-kilometer radius of open space without a single magical beast in it.


    Michelle didn''t forget to mention the fact that the area would be soon filled with beasts again, but Yoriko had created a suitable n to sustain this project until they finished the construction.


    ording to her, the base spared them one thousand workers and thirty thousand soldiers. She nned to increase that number a bit more to make it even safer.


    Michelle didn''t reject that idea since it meant that Kai could rx a little bit. After that, Michelle proposed several ns which originated from Kai and the others.


    Ultimately, it took them three hours just to finish their discussion. Kai also ended the talk not long after.


    Luckily, Kai asked Yaku to unload the material first while they talked, so they could immediately start after the agreement.


    It was closed by the handshake of two sides as Kai left everything in Yaku''s hand before working with Yoriko. And once again, Yoriko was speechless when Kai took over as the strategist, showing his two years of experiences that were worth more than a decade due to how hard each battle was.


    They then started guarding the mission for another week before leaving the battlefield with Teleportation Magic while camouging it as new transportation from the US Base.

 Chapter 420 - Earthquake

    Somewhere in California, a red-haired man walked down the street with his girlfriend. "Do you want to visit the coast before going home?"


    "Sure." The girl agreed with a smile.


    It was a peaceful day just like any other. However, it soon changed when the girl suddenly dropped to the side as if someone tripped her despite the fact that no one was beside her other than her boyfriend.


    "Kya¡ª"


    "Wha¡ª" The man widened his eyes before his knees were shaken due to some sort of energy from the ground. "What is happ¡ª"


    Before he finished, he saw the closest tall building near his position began swaying left and right. "Earthquake!" shouted the boy as he hugged his girlfriend, trying to protect her.


    "Aaaah!"


    The girl screamed out loud, panicked. She ended up hugging him tightly.


    Everything began to shake before all the people, vehicles, and any other things that moved came to a halt.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Boom.


    Many people crashed due to the earthquake and some even exploded. Screams of the people filled the entire area as they tried to take a cover in this messy situation.


    The ground kept shaking for a few minutes. Cracks began to appear and some buildings had copsed. People were panicking everywhere, but it was hard for them to move due to this earthquake. Explosions began to ring in their ears one after another.


    The people only hoped to stay alive in this situation before they could even search for an escape route.


    After a total of five minutes, the ground stopped shaking and the people looked around them, finding so many red lightsing from afar. It brightened the sky red and covered the cloud with its own ck smoke.


    "What is happening?" The boy drew a gasp as he didn''t have enough strength to stand up.


    Suddenly, everyone felt the vibration from their device.


    [Emergency Situation]


    [9.2 megathrust earthquake. High probability of tsunami. All citizens in California are ordered to migrate to higher ground or far from the coast as the tsunami has a high chance of bringing magical beasts from the sea.]


    "What? This is a mess!" The girl shouted and dropped her device on the ground, seeing the unrealistic number.


    "!!!"


    "Run!"


    "We need to get into the higher ground as soon as possible."


    "Hurry up!"


    More and more people started to react and brought the closest people with them, trying to flee from the tsunami.


    Crack.


    Crack.


    Crack.


    Suddenly, a series of cracking sounds echoed as the people near that ce could see a huge crack on the ground. It spread to all directions, had the size of ten meters in radius and kept getting bigger.


    "Out of the way!"


    "Run!"


    They, especially the ones above the crack, panicked and ran with their lives, knowing something bad would happen if they didn''t escape.


    Unfortunately, their luck was too low as the ground crumbled as if swallowed by the Earth. It didn''t stop there.


    Countless screams resounded and got louder and louder before rats, ants, and many other animals that were living underground suddenly escaped from the hole, terrorizing everyone in the area.


    They killed all the humans in sight without any exception.


    When everyone thought that the situation couldn''t get any worse, the crack became even bigger before a giant brown-colored mole emerged from within. Despite only showing half of its body, the mole already reached five meters high.


    When the couple''s eyes intertwined with the mole, their faces became pale.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t have a chance to even scream as the mole swiped its w, creating a powerful shock wave that cut them into few pieces along with the building behind them.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the airne, Kai and the others had the chance to talk with each other since the first ss could turn the seats around and hide thepartments.


    "Huft. That''s a lot of work." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "Indeed." Michelle agreed while leaning on the chair. "To think we needed to kill so many magical beasts even with the help of the Turtle Group."


    "To be honest, that Turtle Group deserved its reputation as even I couldn''t find an army like that other than Sir Ethan''s army," Isabelle recalled their fight together and praised them.


    "You probably should include General Rain''s army since he has enough reputation. Though, I don''t have any experience with his army." Sofia nodded.


    "Haha, indeed." Evan nodded as he sat on the seat''s handle since only four of them had a seat. The same applied to Ayaka since she sat next to Kai.


    "At least, we will have enough time to rest before¡ª" Kai suddenly fell silent and looked at his right, specifically the sky beyond the window.


    "Kai?!" The group frowned, thinking it was a flying beast.


    However, Kai''s answer came in the form of a shout before grabbing Ayaka''s body. "Isabelle, grab Evan! Anyone who hears me, hang on to your seat right away! This is an order from Brigadier General Kai Carter!"


    The people were confused as some of them followed what he said instinctively while some even shouted, questioning him, albeit no one finished their sentence because the airne turned left to the extreme as the ne was turned almost ny degrees.


    People also began to scream as some of them fell to the side of the cabin, getting injured due to the collisions.


    After that one turn, the captain quickly reported what just happened.


    "Everyone tightens your seatbelts and follows our crews'' instruction if we want to survive."


    Although panicked, the crews gritted their teeth and shouted. "Fasten your seatbelt. Grab your mask. Put on you first before helping the others."


    The people tried to follow the instruction with their shaking hands. Luckily, the ne had returned to normal after that single turn. However, the people panicked when they saw two fighter aircrafts flying beside them.


    Kai grabbed the mask and put it on Ayaka before loosening his seatbelt so Ayaka didn''t get thrown again. Meanwhile, he tried to calm his heart down before rising from his seat, walking straight to the pilot cabin.


    There were two crews on his way, but Kai only shouted. "I''m Brigadier General Kai Carter. I need to meet the captain."


    They instinctively made way for him as Kai banged the door while shouting. "This is Brigadier General Kai Carter. I need to know our situation!"


    The third pilot, which was the reserve pilot, opened the door for him after recognizing his face from the media. Of course, this wasn''t possible normally. Only someone as famous as him could have this special treatment.


    Kai stormed inside the cockpit and asked, "Who is the captain? Give me the headset too. I need to know our situation."


    The co-pilot turned around and recognized his face. He grabbed his own headset and handed it to him.


    "Sir!"


    Kai nodded and wore the headset while asking, "Are we connected to them?"


    The captain nodded. "We don''t know the situation right now. They are threatening us to make a quick turn to the left."


    "Let me talk to them." Kai nodded. "This is Kai Carter. Name yourself pilots."


    "This is Major Roy speaking. I''m sorry, Sir Kai Carter. I don''t know if you are inside the airne, but the situation is chaotic. This is a direct order from Lieutenant General Shepherd."


    "I need to know the situation."


    "We just got hit by an Earthquake with the power of 9.2 megathrusts. Too many casualties, but the real reason you are not allowed to pass California is the aftereffect. The control tower is also destroyed, so we can only afford to do this to contact the airne."


    "Tsunami? No." Kai Carter narrowed his eyes.


    "There are thousands of magical beastsing out of a hole next to the coast. The military is moving right now and we will be escorting you to go around California and head to the Wyoming International Airport through Washington."


    "The number¡­"


    "Yes. They are multiplying continuously. I''m afraid there are already more than one hundred thousand magical beasts."


    "No one predicted the earthquake?"


    "I''m not sure, Sir. This is not my scope."


    "I understand." Kai thought for a moment and asked, "If I were to ask you to escort me near the coast, would you follow my orders?"


    "I''m afraid not, Sir. I can''t disobey mymand."


    "Contact the Headquarter right now. I need this ne to bring me near the coast and have them descend low enough for me and everyone else to jump. I will handle the rest."


    "¡­" The pilot was hesitant at first but soon followed hismand, contacting their headquarters and saying what Kai asked him.


    Kai already knew the answer from their conversation but still waited for the pilot to say it.


    "The headquarters can''t allow that, Sir. However, if you still wish to do that, we are allowed to escort you five kilometers away from the coast and lower our altitude for you to jump. And only if you and your group are doing it together."


    "I understand. That''s enough for me." Kai nodded. This ident reminded him of the thing that happened to him more than a decade ago. It was also the coast at that time, but this one was a natural disaster since it was an earthquake.


    At the same time, with that distance and altitude, he should be able to reach the coast with several teleportation magic. Tasha alone should be enough to send them there before reaching the sea.


    "Roger that. We shall escort you to the dropping point. I ask the pilot to follow us."


    The pilot nodded.


    "Do any of you have a radio to contact the military?" Kai asked.


    "We have one." The reserve pilot nodded and tried to reach the pilot before giving it to him.


    "Thanks. It''s time for me to go and you don''t need to worry about the door. I have someone with teleportation magic." Kai thanked the pilots with a serious expression before returning to his group.


    When he returned, his group, crews, and passengers looked at him with a pale face.


    "Everything will be alright. There are two escorts. Calm the others as well." Kai waved his hand while informing them. He then told another thing to his teammates. "Tasha. Ready for teleportation magic. We need to go."

 Chapter 421 - Mole

    After discussing what happened, Kai and the others helped the other passengers to calm down, ensuring that nothing would happen.


    Luckily, each airport only had several airnes that would be able to fly internationally due to the safety restriction. There were only three more nes that needed to be directed while a few more were canceled. Either way, there shouldn''t be unnecessary deaths for this incident, except for those that were unfortunate to be there at the scene.


    Fortunately, the pilot had been flying above the cloud this whole time, so no one in the ne could see the danger lurking right on the coast.


    Suddenly, the reserve pilot came out of the cockpit and whispered to Kai. "We can''t lower our altitude anymore or the people will know about it. However, we should be close enough to the altitude that can allow you to jump."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Thanks. That''s enough. Maintain the course for a minute."


    "I understand, Sir." The pilot saluted.


    Kai saluted back before asking Tasha to teleport them down. Since she could teleport up to five hundred meters, the altitude she reached shouldn''t be able to destroy their body even if they fell without equipment.


    Right before they teleported, Kai just waved his hand and said with a yful tone. "Alright. Have a nice day, everyone."


    The others had a weird face when they heard Kai said something like that, but they couldn''t utter their disbelief since Kai and the others already disappeared.


    Finally, Kai and the others fell at a fast speed toward the empty sea. However, they could see a giant mole that seemed to have noticed them as well as it looked toward them.


    "Isabelle. Cover fire. Tasha. Keep teleporting us toward that mole. It seems that it is the mole that causes this." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "I need around a minute to use my teleportation magic ten times to reach that point. Be ready." Tasha nodded and summoned a magic circle.


    "!!!"


    "We need the information, by the way," Michelle asked as they went closer and closer every time they teleported.


    "I will brief you after defeating the mole." Kai nodded.


    "Roger." Michelle acknowledged themand and summoned all the ck tattoos to power up.


    However, something big happened right before thest teleportation magic.


    The mole raised its w and shed downwards, sending a powerful wind pressure that came their way.


    When Kai noticed it, he used his Sound st tounch him forward and activated his Super Sonic Sword. Yet, the moment he shed the wind pressure, his momentum stoppedpletely before Kai suddenly felt something was wrong.


    The shock wave produced by the mole ultimately blew him away.


    "What?!"


    "Kai!"


    The group was baffled as they never saw Kai lose against an attack from a magical beast.


    Michelle stretched her shadow and grabbed him, pulling him up as Tasha activated thest teleportation, sending them right in front of the mole.


    The mole noticed them and lowered his vision.


    "Fighting here will be hard for us because thousands of magical beasts keeping out of that hole. Tasha. In my signal, teleport all of us toward the north. I heard the movement from the military there." Kai shouted. "For now, Sofia, dump a chunk of ice in that hole to halt their advance for thirty seconds. Isabelle, Evan will support us from behind and ready to leap toward us when Tasha teleports us. The rest of you, help me."


    "Understood." The group quickly moved ording to his instruction.


    A blue magic circle appeared in the sky at a bigger size than the hole. "Ice Neb."


    A round-shaped chunk of ice emerged from the magic circle, falling down the sky and hitting right in the middle of the hole. The shock waveing from it shook the entire battlefield and took all magical beasts'' attention. However, the magical beasts inside the hole had a problem in moving from that area.


    Tasha, Isabelle, and Evan began raining them down with bullets and arrows while Sofia decided to be their guards, protecting them from being surrounded.


    Meanwhile, Michelle summoned Dark Michelle as they took their positions. Seeing that Michelle took the left direction and Dark Michelle was behind the mole, Ayaka went toward its right and raised her spear.


    Due to the emergency situation, Kai had no intention of holding back. He leaped toward the mole and leaped to the air, straight to the mole''s face, and shed his swords.


    Yet, he ended up swinging to the left and right instead as the mole tried to squash him to death. But the shock came to him when he saw the mole''s palm.


    ''What? Did it stop my swords without even getting a single scratch?'' Kai widened his eyes and gasped. At the same time, he was pressured from both sides as he gradually lost his power.


    Ayaka ran straight to the mole and used its giant body as a stepping to reach the mole''s arm before hitting it to save Kai, but to no avail. "What? I used all the momentum I got, but it didn''t push it even a little bit?"


    On the other side, Michelle also did the same thing as she struck the mole''s arm with her Shadow sh, keeping it circling a few times. This attack usually would cut something. Even the S Rank Spider was no exception.


    Yet, she noticed something different from this mole as the whole body looked like it was reinforced by something. "Kai! Something is wrong with this mole."


    "I can see that, but I don''t know what''s wrong with it." Kai narrowed his eyes and searched for a way to break free from the mole''s ws.


    Ayaka raised her hand and created a magic circle above the mole''s head. "Scarlet Explosion."


    Boom.


    Kai protected itself with his Sound Oscition Shield, so he was fine. However, the mole seemed to have no injury either other than loosening its grasp.


    Kai fell to the ground and prepared for another strike, albeit he was beaten by Dark Michelle who extended all four of her scythes toward the mole. Two hit the two arms while the rest hit the legs, preventing it from moving.


    "Now!" Dark Michelle shouted.


    Kai bent down his knees as he activated his Sound st. Unfortunately, he failed once again as he looked down on the ground after hearing a rumbling sound.


    The ground rose five meters andunched Kai to the sky, but thetter shouted. "Tasha. Now!"


    "!!!" Tasha widened her eyes and teleported the support team to the mole while looking up, finding Kai using his Sound st to descend. She, without hesitation, activated her Teleportation Magic one more time. "Teleportation."


    The group suddenly vanished from the coast.


    Arriving at the new ce, they were greeted by the sound of explosions from all directions. It was chaotic as they could see so many beasts out there.


    But there was someone who noticed something different on his battlefield. If Ethan were the guardian of the battlefield, he would be known as the guardian of the base. That person was none other than an S Rank Barrier Magician, Rain.


    "Kai Carter!" He instinctively called his name out loud as he stared at the mole that Kai''s group seemed to have trouble with. "When did you arrive?"


    "I was on my way home and met this." Kai sighed while going around the mole to take its attention, so the others could return to their position. "Anyway, will you join me in this battle, Sir Rain? This mole is not ordinary. Its abilities far surpass that of an A Rank Magical Beast. No, I should say it is close to¡­"


    "S Rank Magical Beast!" Rain drew a gasp as he hurriedly replied. "If what you said is true, I need to contact the entire force within the base. We will talk about its originter."


    "Understood." Kai nodded as he led his group began attacking the base with their members.


    Kai''s assumption was unrealistic, but he made a few points. Although the mole didn''t have a deadly poison that one attack was what it took to take one life, it had insane defense and great control over the ground.


    Even if there were a low probability that the mole was actually an S Rank Magical Beast, they would still need to mobilize the entire army that had been stationed inside the beast.


    And the one who imed this was none other than Kai Carter. Theoretically speaking, Rain had recognized his strength as one of the strongest in the base and his teammates could be considered general ss level in terms of fighting power.


    Yet, this group seemed to have no power in harming the mole to the point they needed to teleport toward a safer ce.


    It took only all these for Rain to decide his next move. He turned around and pointed at his assistant. "DEFCON 1. We need all military personnel to arrive here immediately."


    His assistant dropped his jaw as he never expected that the situation was that dire. DEFCON 1 was a kind of defense readiness condition from the Department of Defense. This DEFCON 1 was the highest alert, telling people to be in maximum readiness and immediate response.


    If they thought about it, it was actually a normal measure. After all, S Rank Magical Beast would certainly turn this base into a wastnd with its hundreds of thousands if not millions of magical beasts. And it appeared so suddenly after a catastrophic earthquake that seemed to appear out of nowhere.


    "Hurry up!" shouted Rain.


    "Y-yes." His assistant hurriedly went back to their temporary headquarter.


    As soon as he moved, Rain turned around and leaped toward Kai. "I will be fighting by your side for the time being and confirm this big guy''s threat level. If it''s not S Rank Magical Beast, I will lower the alert level."


    "Understood." Kai nodded with a serious expression and looked at the mole as he leaped again.

 Chapter 422 - Counter Attack

    After getting the news about the sudden appearance of an S Rank, every single soldier was moved.


    In Nebraska''s Military Base, many soldiers began entering the aircraft, from helicopters to military aircraft, preparing for a big war.


    In another military base, the situation was the same as they flew in session, heading straight toward California.


    Even Kai''s teacher, Ria Ross, wasn''t spared in this.


    Another general that usually focused on maintaining the orders within each base suddenly appeared inside an auditorium. There were around fifty people inside with a star on their shoulders and four out of them had four stars.


    However, there were some who couldn''t attend this meeting, so they actually made a video call, so they could participate in the briefing as well since those people were on their way toward California.


    "I am sure that you all are currently in a mess, but the base is currently facing a catastrophic level threat; an S Rank Magical Beast has appeared in California." The man began his exnation as he pointed at therge screen behind him, showing the mole''s appearance.


    "However, due to the sudden powerful earthquake that hit us a while ago, this mole suddenly appeared out of nowhere. ording to the information, we spected that the mole and the others had been staying underground, far from us to the point that they wouldn''t mess with us.


    "That''s¡­ The initial state. Unfortunately, everything changed when the earthquake hit. Although we didn''t have the data right now, we concluded that something must have happened underground in the fault lines, harming these beasts'' habitat.


    "With the mole in charge of this group, they went to the surface. There are already more than two hundred thousand beasts in the area and the number keeps increasing every second. But that''s not the most important thing. What we need to worry about is the mole.


    "We have suspected that the mole is an S Rank Magical Beast." Hisst statement shook the entire room as they widened their eyes in shock. "Before youin, I will show you the video that General Rain took in the battle."


    The screen changed into a video where Kai and the others appeared in it.


    "Wait¡­ Isn''t that¡­" Many recognized his appearance as they looked at Ria Ross.


    "Yes. That''s my student, Kai Carter." Ria acknowledged it and watched the video.


    The video showed Kai attempted to cut that mole in every way possible with the help of his teammates. Rain also helped him while recording the footage by blocking every single attack from the mole with his barrier.


    "That mole is dangerous," said Ria with a serious expression. "And it''s no doubt an S Rank Magical Beast."


    Because the people might suspect her showing favoritism, the host asked. "May I know the basis of your statement, General Ria Ross?"


    "What my student used in the video was called Super Sonic Sword. It''s basically a high vibration sword coupled with the power of a Sonic Boom¡­ The phenomenon when you surpass the sound speed.


    "With only the Vibration Sword, he managed to injure the S Rank Spider back in Argentina. Yet, an upgraded version couldn''t even graze that mole. I think I don''t need to exin more, right?"


    The people were shocked. Obviously, everyone had heard about Kai Carter''s achievement during that battle and the statement about the hardness of the spider''s shell. Hence, they concluded that Kai Carter also had one of the most powerful offensive magicians in the base.


    If such a person couldn''t even graze it, there was only a glimmer of people who had the potential to do it.


    Suddenly, a General raised his hand, asking. "There should be another S Rank Magician called Tasha Carter, right? Why doesn''t she just teleport the mole to the sea?"


    Everyone thought it was a solid question, but the host showed another video. "There is another thing that I want to show you. I''m sure that you have heard about her making the battlefield have weather called Magical Beast Rain, right? She basically teleported the magical beast to the sky and had it died like that. And when she did it this time, something absurd happened¡­Take a look at this video."


    The video changed. This time, Tasha used her Teleportation Magic and sent the mole to the sky. With that height, the mole should at least suffer an injury, so they thought it would be like that.


    However, the mole proved them wrong. A stone pir emerged from the ground, piercing through the sky.


    It even reached the mole''s height as it grabbed the pir and descended to the ground at high speed.


    Kai cut the pir down with the help of Michelle, but it was futile. The mole had reached enough distance to the ground as it leaped to the air, creating a powerful shock wave that destroyed the area around it and¡­ Yeah, uninjured.


    "They have tried to do this. Looking at the pir height, we can safely assume that the mole can create a bridge on the sea. At that time, we won''t be able to predict where the mole will go. And there is also a threat from the sea and a tsunami on top of that. There is already a prediction that the tsunami will hit in another twenty minutes. We don''t know what will happen to this fight, so all of you are hereby to go toward the battlefield.


    "Prioritize the ice and earth magicians to stop the tsunami by creating a barrier. Eliminate all the magical beasts in the surrounding so as to lower the number of casualties. I will be sending your post after this. And onest thing, this is a message from the President."


    He showed another video where President Brent stood in front of the camera.


    "I won''t take your time since this is an emergency. I only want to say, we have two priorities. The first being the mole, while the second one is the citizens. Last but not least, I shall elevate one person to be the general of the army, bing the supreme leader of our entire army.


    "Henceforth, for this mission, with my authority as the president, I bestow Ria Ross the authority as the General of the Army. Kai Carter shall serve you as your deputies. The rest shall support them ording to your tasks." After announcing Ria Ross''s supreme position, the president saluted with a grim expression.


    Everyone instinctively raised from the seat as they saluted back.


    President Brent lowered his hand, followed by Ria Ross and all generals here. She then shouted. "Move out!"


    Every single person in the room quickly departed from their seat to march toward the battlefield.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the situation was also not that much better in California.


    The city was enveloped by fire and smoke. The sound of screams lingered in four corners. Magical Beasts kept hunting humans while the military tried their best to suppress them.


    Their efforts were supposed to be enough, but they miscalcted the power of an S Rank Magician Beast. They could call beasts upon beasts continuously until the nearby area was empty. And this showed how many beasts actually hid underground.


    Luckily, there was only one hole they needed to focus on, so this situation was redeemable even with so many casualties.


    Kai and the others were still facing the mole without knowing what to do. The mole''s defense far surpassed that of the S Rank Spider, so even with Michelle''s Shadow sh, there wasn''t even a dent on it.


    "Kai!" Isabelle shouted with a serious expression as though she found something. "The mole''s fur is the one that is strong. I can see the difference in their fur. If you can blow the fur away, I''m sure you can cut that monster."


    Hearing the information, Kai furrowed his eyebrows while trying to find a way to clear that fur.


    Rain didn''t want them to deal with this alone, so he shouted. "I can create a small barrier for you to push the fur. Although the space is not going to be big, I''m sure it''s enough for you. However, I need someone to cover me because it will take all my focus."


    "Michelle, Ayaka!"


    "Roger." The two plus Dark Michelle leaped toward Rain. "We will help you."


    "Understood. Let''s go." Rain nodded.


    Kai quickly leaped toward the mole''s head and shed his sword, only to find it stopped by the ws.


    At the very least, the mole''s eyes were focused on Kai, so the small group went around the mole.


    To prevent it from moving, Sofia created another huge boulder of ice on top of the mole but to no avail. The mole shed it with its w before throwing the smaller portion toward her.


    Little did the mole know the real attack was not her but Tasha. She had teleported to the sky and created four magic circles in session.


    The thunder began to be heard behind the white cloud. "Lightning God''s Wrath."


    Blue lightning struck forth, hitting the magic circles in session. Each time it passed through them, it became stronger and stronger until it hit the mole.


    The mole summoned many spikes to divert the electricity, but the piercing power of the lightning itself was too great for the spikes to handle. It broke through and hit the mole''s hand after it tried to move to protect its head.


    Unfortunately, the lightning didn''t manage to pierce the mole''s hand.


    But that was all they needed. Dark Michelle stopped the numb mole''s body with her four scythes while Rain pped his hand, summoning a small barrier that pushed out the fur in one space like when a human brushed their hair, showing the white head''s skin.


    Kai also had used his Sound st to go around the mole, finding that empty space. Without hesitation, he struck that little area and pierced a bit of the mole''s skin as red blood sttered around his sword.


    Roar.

 Chapter 423 - Great Battle

    Roar.


    For the first time in history, a mole roared like that of a tiger. However, the most terrifying thing behind that roar was the fact that the magical beasts turned around as if they were trying to help the mole.


    "This is bad." Kai frowned and took one step back. "We have an issue. The magical beasts are heading this way!"


    Rain contemted for a few seconds before shouting back. "ETA?"


    "Two minutes."


    "Not enough. We need to move to a different area. Do you think you can do it?"


    "We need to stop the mole''s movement for a few seconds." Kai then turned to Tasha. "How is your magic power?"


    "It''s enough. The lightning earlier took twenty percent, but we could still teleport more than ten times," answered Tasha while releasing its arrow.


    "How long will the soldiers arrive?"


    "The first batch will surelye within ten minutes. It should be enough to stop them until the next batch."


    "Alright. Tasha. You heard him. Conserve your stamina as we will teleport in my signal." Kai nodded.


    He only realized how hard it was to fight a single S Rank Magical Beast. Previously, they could keep fighting because there were so many soldiers protecting them, so no magical beast appeared in their fight.


    But they didn''t have anything this time, so Kai needed to take that into ount.


    Suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind as he asked. "Do you think we can use air support?"


    "This is an urban area. If we do it, the bacsh is too great. Even if we can''t kill this mole, it''s better than the bacsh."


    "Understood. General Rain, I know that my position is below you, but can you listen to mymand in this battle? I will try to kill this mole as soon as possible." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    Rain smirked. "Fine by me. I will be your deputy in this battle as long as you can kill this mole."


    "Roger." Kai then turned to the others. "I will cut another two spots during this. Michelle, you don''t need to hide it anymore. Dark Michelle, your job remains the same. Ayaka, if there is an opening, use your explosion to throw its bnce off. Isabelle, Evan, you are to protect me from the ws."


    In that instant, the group nodded in unison as Michelle leaped toward Kai before entering his shadow.


    "Shadow Possession. Union." She submerged into Kai''s shadow before Kai possessed the same tattoo as Michelle''s.


    "Ho?" Rain was astonished at first but returned to normal right after as he went around the mole to create another barrier on its back.


    Kai, on the other hand, shed his swords as both released a ck sword strike, running through the ground. "Shadow sh."


    It hit the mole''s feet before climbing the mole''s body and going as far as its eyes.


    Surprisingly, the mole prevented it from happening by using its w. He even summoned another spike below Kai''s feet tounch him to the sky.


    Michelle already reacted to it by creating a spike below his shoes, so Kai didn''t getunched. Right after the spike stopped growing, Kai leaped toward the mole who happened to swing its w and create the same wind pressure in order to cut Kai.


    "Sound st."


    A Magic Circle appeared next to him, blowing him away slightly to the side. Seeing Kai avoid his own attack, the mole prepared for another attack, but this time, Isabelle shot with her full power, sting the mole''s hand.


    Not wanting to lose, Evan changed his bullet into an explosive bullet and aimed at the mole''s other hand, so it wouldn''t stop Kai again.


    Rain turned out to have positioned himself and created a barrier where Kai could strike.


    "Kai Carter. This is your chance."


    Kai nodded as Michelle had prepared her Shadow sh. The moment he struck the mole''s body, he pierced its body as Michelle''s Shadow sh extended the de to create more serious injury.


    Sensing that power, the mole roared even louder before he heard a big movement from underground. "Not good. Everyone jump!"


    Although they didn''t know what happened, they jumped to the air before numerous pointed spikes emerged from the ground, trying to hit them. Some of them didn''t jump high enough, but Rain managed to react and summon a barrier to protect them.


    "Isabelle, Eyes!" Kai shouted.


    "Roger." Isabelle smiled and released another bullet toward its eyes.


    Because the mole was too focused on Kai who managed to injure him twice, Isabelle''s bullet flew unnoticed as it pierced the mole''s right eye.


    Ayaka then followed with a magic circle.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    Boom.


    The explosion hit the mole from the right, which became the mole''s blind spot just now. Although that explosion wasn''t enough to injure the mole, it managed to throw the mole''s bnce off.


    Kaiunched himself with the Sound st and kicked the mole''s head, so it would fall on top of those sharp spikes.


    Bam.


    Surprisingly, both the spikes and mole''s body was strong enough to not break. Finally, Sofia, who had been conserving her power until now, made her first move.


    Another block of ice appeared in the air and fell on top of the mole, pushing the mole to the ground with its weight.


    The spikes pierced the mole''s skin a bit but soon snapped into two as the mole fell on the ground.


    "Gather!" Kai gave the signal for the teleportation magic. Isabelle asked Evan to carry her weapon while she carried Evan to the sky with her flying magic.


    Meanwhile, Sofia continued her attack to stop the mole from moving.


    "Ice Shackles."


    Huge shackles emerged from the ground as it chained the mole''s neck and four limbs to the ground by nting itself deep underground.


    As Rain made his way toward the mole, so Kai could hit it again, a series of roars echoed on the battlefield would soon be filled with monsters.


    Sofia ced her hand on the ground and created a massive blue magic circle. "One more shot, Kai."


    Since she hadn''t used too much magic, she poured a bit more into this attack. The moment the magical beasts were close enough, a series of ice spikes like what the mole did earlier emerged from the ground, killing many magical beasts at once. Still, her main goal was stopping the advance of the magical beasts just for a bit.


    Rain created a pair of translucent barriers for Kai to attack while Tasha prepared the Teleportation Magic Circle.


    When both of thempleted their magic, Kai shed the mole again until it screamed, angering all the magical beasts in the area.


    After that, Tasha teleported them slightly to the north to avoid this madness.


    Obviously, they were in the middle of soldiers because this was where Rain came earlier.


    "General!" The soldiers recognized Rain in an instant.


    "This is mymand. To the south, there will be tens of thousands of magical beastsing. Buy me time, so we can kill this S Rank Magical Beast! We have no time, Hurry!" Rain shouted.


    "Yes, Sir." The soldiers shouted and hurriedly ran from that scene, despite being curious about the S Rank Magical Beast. After all, only a small portion of soldiers could see the battle against an S Rank Magical Beasts, so they wanted to watch such a fight.


    But they also knew that if the army of magical beasts weren''t stopped, the S Rank Magical Beast would threaten the entire base, killing hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.


    "Kai Carter. We should be fine until the first batch of soldiers. I need two minutes to report the situation and give our location so they can act ordingly." Rain shouted.


    "I got this." Kai nodded. "There are three spots where I can strike right now, so you should go."


    "Okay." He leaped to the side and pulled out his device. It was true that this would be noticed by the nearby magical beasts, but since the soldiers had created a wall to stop the magical beasts'' advance, there was nothing to worry about other than the mole.


    Meanwhile, Michelle came out of Kai''s shadow as she signaled Ayaka to aim at the wound on the back with Dark Michelle while she and Kai focused on the front.


    "Don''t make this mole blind because it might go rampage without any direction. It will probably harm the city more than what we want." Kai warned the group, telling them that one eye was enough.


    After feeling the ground, the mole quickly used its magic again to create spikes.


    The group leaped to the air to avoid this, but the mole seemed to have a different n. It flipped its body and prepared to submerge underground.


    "!!!" Kai created a Sound st for both him and Tasha,unching them toward the mole. "We can''t let it escape, Tasha."


    "Okay." She acknowledged the order and used her Teleportation Magic as soon as theynded.


    Kai took the mole''s attention until Tasha teleported them to the sky.


    Yet, it seemed they were trapped in the mole''s scheme as the mole summoned its towering pir and grabbed it. For Kai and Tasha who didn''t have any stepping, they became a juicy target.


    The towering pir extended some of the rock to kill them, but Kai used his Sound st to jump to Tasha, carrying her like a princess before floating by using his Sound Levitation Magic.


    Their eyes intertwined as the mole was angry and created a small tform in the sky, but that wasn''t all. Below that tform, several pirs came out to hit and pin the others to the ground.


    "All of you, dodge!" Kai shouted.

 Chapter 424 - Die

    Other than Kai and Michelle, all of them were below the tform, so they became the prey in an instant.


    "Teleport¡ª" Tasha clenched her teeth as she realized it was toote. "I won''t be able to make it."


    Ayaka also tried to use her Scarlet Explosion, but it was toote. Isabelle, on the other hand, could take one or two people away with her flying magic, but some would be injured unless Ayaka thought the same thing.


    Suddenly, Dark Michelle leaped to the sky and shed all the spikes that might kill them. "Tasha!"


    "But you¡ª"


    "Hurry up!"


    Tasha looked down and continued, fully activating her magic to teleport everyone, excluding Dark Michelle, out of there.


    The group was also in anguish, thinking they had lost someone already. Of course, they knew that Dark Michelle would probably return to being a shadow and enter Michelle''s body again, but it didn''t mean she wasn''t a part of the team.


    At the same time, if it were someone else, they would have died, pierced by those spikes.


    "All of you calm down!" Kai shouted in anger, even though Michelle already informed him what was happening. There were two purposes of this anger. First, he wanted the others to stay calm after seeing him angrier than them. Second, he was really angry.


    "¡­" The group looked at him as Ayaka signaled what they needed to do.


    The group nodded as they took their position while watching Kai fighting the mole alone.


    Ayaka pped her hand and shouted. "Scarlet Explosion."


    Boom.


    A giant explosion urred and snapped the pir into two. Those two above became unstable before Kai used his Sound Levitation to fly. On the other hand, the mole didn''t know what to do other than falling from the sky.


    Sofia arrived right below the mole as a huge ice spike emerged, trying to pierce the wound that it suffered earlier.


    At the same time, Isabelle released a bullet from its blindspot, hitting the same eye that she took earlier, resulting in the mole focusing more on the pain instead of the spike.


    Evan shot an explosive bullet that turned into a smokescreen, so the mole had no chance to see the spike.


    However, the mole was better than they thought. It spun its body in all directions and sent those countless and destroyed both its own pir and Sofia''s spike.


    "Tch!" Sofia gritted her teeth and leaped back, avoiding the mole from stomping her to death with that giant body.


    On the contrary, Kai was thanking them inwardly as he saw through the smoke and found the wound on its back. He stabbed the wound and waved his sword as far as possible before the mole shook its body, throwing him away.


    But the most shallow wound became the most severe injury in an instant, so Kai was happy with this improvement.


    Rain seemed to have finished and was about to head to their position, so Kai wanted one more hit at the very least.


    Kai raised his forefinger as a signal of what he wanted them to do.


    The moment they saw it, Ayaka charged at the mole with her fastest speed, thrusting her spear toward the wound.


    The mole had stood up and avoided her, albeit barely.


    Ayaka clicked her tongue and saw that the mole was about to hit her.


    Michelle used both of her sniper rifles to strike the hand and blow it away while Ayaka touched the mole''s skin and went around it before leaping away.


    To stop the next movement, Tasha released the explosive arrow while Evan used his explosive bullet.


    Both of them hit the mole at the same time, triggering the magic circles that Ayaka had nted earlier. This was Ayaka''s magic bomb and from the look of it, she nted at least ten in that small time frame.


    Those ten Magic Bombs exploded at the same time, creating a huge st and sound on the battlefield. But Kai couldn''t stop here and charged against the shock wave and shed the mole, right on its wound that had been exposed by Ayaka''s explosions even for a little bit.


    Kai took a deep step on the ground and used all of his power to this sh. The wound became even deeper, but Kai ended up shing the asphalt, so there would be a sword mark here that people would never forget.


    The bleeding became even worse, so Kai was expecting that the mole would die sooner orter.


    "Although I hate to admit it, my power is not enough to kill S Rank Magical Beast right now. I can only let it die by itself." Kai clicked his tongue before Rain came into his vision. He shouted, "This mole shouldn''tst too long with the constant blood loss. Now we need to y it safe and wait for it to die."


    "Roger!" They shouted in unison.


    Kai led his group in this battle and kept attacking the mole for another five minutes. Since Rain had returned, Kai decided to create one or two more wounds, so the mole would die soon. Though, he ended up creating three.


    In any case, Kai felt that the mole''s strength slowly decreased over time, making him and his team be even more fired up, expecting it to die.


    After all, this would be a great achievement. For Rain, this would mean that his status became close to Ria Ross even though Kai had the biggest contribution.


    As for his teammates, they would be famous as they could kill an S Rank Magical Beast with a small squad. This was something that Ria hadn''t done before.


    Yet, the biggest winner of this achievement was none other than Sofia. With her identity as the granddaughter of the strongest magician in EU Base, Sofia would have shown her capability.


    The public would think of them as a couple matched by Heaven. More and more pressure woulde to Kai to marry Sofia.


    If this were the past him, he would reject her without hesitation no matter the consequence, but the past few months were indeed something special, so he would just say wait for a while as he would marry her with the others together.


    ¡­


    A few minutester.


    Roar Roar.


    The mole roared again, but each roar was significantly quieter than the previous one. And finally, after a long effort from Kai and his group, they managed to take down another S Rank Magical Beast.


    Of course, Rain also took a big part of this since it was due to his barrier they could wound this barrier.


    Looking at Kai''s group that was too tired to move, Rain let out a long sigh. "You all are indeed the next generation magicians that will protect this base."


    "You are also a part of this." Kai shook his head. "We would''ve lost if you were not here."


    "That''s because of Isabelle Fisher''s observation." He shrugged.


    They began praising each other for a while before Rain said, "Still, the biggest contribution of this battle is you, Kai Carter. I''m afraid those people will be panicking to find a suitable reward for you. I wonder whether you will have one or two stars after this."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kaiughed to brush that away. "I would''ve never thought something like this could happen to the US Base."


    "Nor can I. We already know that we live on top of magical beast nests. Due to theck of paths to go there, they are called passive nests with no way out. However, I don''t know why there will be such a big earthquake hitting this coast."


    "I think we need to get away from here," Kai suggested while thinking about the tsunami that would soone.


    "No need to worry. The tsunami will be handled by the army of Earth and Ice Magicians, directing its powerful wave to somewhere else. We are safe here unless my army is losing against those beasts. Nheless, the reinforcement will soone, so you all should rest after this. I will deal with the rest."


    "Yeah. We will do that." Kai epted since his teacher should be a part of this suppression operation. "Anyway, what is the status?"


    "I''m not sure. There are at least four hundred thousand magical beasts around the area and we have no way to know how many more wille out. Still, unlike when they have a leader that can order them around, we can suppress this number in a day or two before cleaning up the entire area in a week."


    "After that, there is restoration huh." Kai sighed. "I wonder if someone wants to live here again¡­"


    Kai looked at the ruined city and shook his head helplessly.


    "That''s where you are wrong." Rain smirked.


    "This ce will soon be even more expensive, you know. I think you should get a mansion in this ce as a part of your reward."


    "Why?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "The army will surely explore the tunnel that the mole created and fully explored it to make sure there are no more secret enemies. After that, this ce will be one of the safest ces in the world since you have no threat from underground. I mean, that''s one of the police''s jobs, no? Killing monsters that somehow escape from its underground nest." Rain shrugged.


    "I see." Kai nodded with a serious expression as he could rte to what he said. "The price will be extremely expensive. And there is a chance that establishments will be made here, including the second beach in the world."


    "Exactly. I will probably buy one too." Heughed.


    Suddenly, Kai raised his vision as if he heard something.


    "Oh, you heard something?"


    "Yes. Our reinforcement hase." Kai nodded while looking at the mole.

 Chapter 425 - Promotion

    "Our reinforcement hase." Kai smiled as he raised his vision, looking at the airnes that seemed to be bringing so many soldiers at once.


    "They are toote. We have killed the S Rank Magical Beast."


    "Well, we haven''t made sure whether this mole is an S Rank Magical Beast or not." Kai shrugged. "Aren''t there steps to ssify a magical beast?"


    "Yeah. But from its ability alone, I can vouch that this is an S Rank Magical Beast. Besides, I have recorded our fight to be analyzed, giving more value to this mole''s rank."


    "Video?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. Most of the battle will surely be hidden from public eyes, but we need some of it to show. After all, the people will start getting angry due to their loss." Rain let out a long sigh and looked at this destroyed city.


    "I see. The video is to show that the military still has enough power to handle them and make the fact that this attack is due to the Earthquake."


    "Yeah. This is the life of someone who stays on the base instead of the battlefield. Unlike them, I need to record everything since trust is so important."


    "That''s¡­" Kai stopped, not knowing what to say. "Anyway, I think we should move to somewhere else first¡ª"


    Before he finished, Kai heard his teacher''s voice as she leaped out of the airne. A soldier brought her down with her flying magic as Ria headed straight toward Kai.


    When she realized that all of them had stopped fighting, she was stupefied and looked around, finding the mole.


    "You beat it?" Ria asked with a shocked expression.


    "We beat it. General Rain was a big help." Kai smiled.


    "No, no. It''s¡­" A ry of praises circted again before Ria stopped them with a re.


    "Since you have killed it, I don''t need to worry about it anymore." She then looked at Rain, who had the bestplexion and asked. "What about you? Are you nning to stay in the rear?"


    "No. I''m going to continue fighting."


    "I think I''m done. I almost use all my magic power because of this guy. I think the rest of my group is the same." Kai sighed.


    "Well, your job is to be my deputy, but I think this can be dismissed with your achievement. Instead, you are going to be my deputy." She turned to Rain with a serious expression.


    "With pleasure."


    Ria Ross nodded and looked back at Kai. "You can rest here for a while. When you have restored your power, you will fulfill your responsibility. As for the others, I don''t mind if you go home now, but I don''t think you will return without him, right?"


    The group looked at each other as they nodded their heads in unison.


    "Anyway, we are going to clear this ce and explore the underground nest, so it will take a few days if not weeks. You will also find your families here since everyone is deployed."


    "We understand, Teacher." Kai smiled. "If only we kill an S Rank Magical Beast next year, we would have gotten enough points to be an exception, no?"


    "Yeah, but I think it won''t be that hard for you to get it. Even if you don''t, you will be an officer as soon as possible." She shrugged. "Well, enough talking. I need to go right now. Let''s go."


    Rain nodded as he followed Ria away while waving his hand to the kids, saying his goodbye.


    Meanwhile, Kai and the others decided to visit the nearby temporary base and rest there. Of course, Kai didn''t forget to drag that giant mole''s body to the base as it was their trophy. The cheers echoed in the base as this was their third S Rank Magical Beast.


    After a few hours, although their magic power had yet to recover fully, they were already strong enough to move.


    Kai led his group to his teacher before starting tomand the army with his group, killing all the enemies on the surface.


    It took them three whole days since they needed to search for every nook and corner, so no one would be injured again. Kai and Sofia''s ability was useful in this situation. Kai could search for monsters in a wide area, while Sofia could locate people or beasts hiding inside a building or something.


    Then, Ria Ross led everyone inside the hole that the mole created. Kai and Sofia obviously apanied her, locating every single beast inside the tunnel.


    Unfortunately, Kai didn''t have enough time to create a map for this ce, so they ended up taking a whole week to explore it fully. If the majority of the beasts didn''te out of this hole, there was no way they couldplete it this soon.


    Kai and the others couldn''t celebrate yet because there were so many deaths in this incident, both soldiers and citizens. It could be considered one of the worst that could happen in this case after the apocalypse.


    The mourning weeks started as California was closed for a moment to restore all the buildings. Still, just like Rain''s prediction, investors began toe because they knew that a huge nest underneath California had been cleared.


    Kai and the others returned to school, hiding from the media since the battle between his group, General Rain, and the S Rank Magical Beast was published, stunning the entire base.


    Even Ria visited them, but in a worse state. The moment she arrived in their room, Ria dropped to the ground.


    "Teacher?" Kai widened his eyes and helped her, letting her sit in his usual seat. "Why are you so tired?"


    "I handled so much paperwork." She sighed. "And this is going to be more troublesome than I think¡­"


    "What do you mean?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.


    "The reason for the Earthquake is still unknown. Earthquakes are indeed a natural phenomenon, but we are not sure whether someone is actually pulling the string or not because the calction doesn''t match up."


    "¡­" Kai''s eyebrows twitched as he knew there were beings that could do something like that. After all, he had friends that could create a real tornado or tsunami, so he knew it was possible.


    "Anyway, I don''t want to talk about it anymore. I am bored of that topic. What I want to say is your promotion."


    "Ehm¡­ I don''t really care." Kai shook his head.


    "Well, it''s rted to mine too, so I think you need to hear this."


    "Okay?"


    Ria looked at his face for a few seconds before closing her eyes. "They have decided to skip Major General and officially promote you to Lieutenant General."


    "!!!" Even the others were surprised by that generosity. Michelle narrowed her eyes and asked, "Professor, are you serious? If we are talking about the position under the general level, I can still ept it. But the gap between Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, or even General are big individually."


    "And you have surmounted that big step by ying an S Rank Magical Beast." Ria Ross shook her head in defeat. "Actually, I believe this is their way to control you in the future."


    "What do you mean?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Because they are going to officially increase my rank too."


    "What?!" They shouted in disbelief as they stared at Ria Ross''s serious expression.


    "Are you going to be an official General of the Army?" Kai asked. "Isn''t that rank only handed in the time of war?"


    "There is a belief that something is lurking in the shadow, so we are on high alert. Thus, making me the General of the Army is their first step to counter that. Not only can I "control" you as your teacher, but my own power is higher than anyone else. That''s why they have agreed to make me the General of the Army."


    Kai made a weird smile. He knew that his teacher never officially became a General of the Army, so he was happy with this promotion. At the same time, he thought it would be fine for him to reach that point as soon as possible. "Well, congrattions? It''s not like you are going to the battlefield, right?"


    "Yeah. My station is here and my duty hasn''t changed. But it''s still annoying to answer the people''s expectations."


    "Anyway, your authority has been upgraded. Isn''t that nice? You would have more say."


    "That''s nice, but I need to handle all those paperwork. Ugh, I don''t want to go back."


    "Ahaha. If you need my help, I will go to your ce from time to time. And I think there is only one month left before the advancement. I also need to see the student council president for the battle before going to the EU Base." Kai sighed.


    "Right. You are going to face many troublesome people without my help."


    "I will do my best to prevent it from happening." Sofia suddenly spoke. "I know that my grandfather is pulling some strings in the shadow, but it also means that he has stopped many people from participating in it.


    "At the same time, as long as I stretch my hand to deal with it, I can deal with them all¡­ Not all, but the majority of them. But I can guarantee you it won''t be more than five people."


    "Now that I think about it, they won''t have time for it since I''m nning to go somewhere." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Somewhere?"


    "Yes. It''s a dangerous ce, so none of them can keep up with me." Kai shrugged.


    "Ehm¡­" Sofia looked at him with hesitation.


    "If you end uping, I don''t mind, but there is no telling what will happen during the journey. Anyway, we will talk about thister."

 Chapter 426 - Ceremony

    As expected, since this was a major catastrophe for the US Base, the reward was also great. All of them gathered inside a huge hall with the president standing in front of them with a few people on his back as his assistant.


    If one took another look at it, they seemed to be holding the insignias for the reward.


    Ria Ross stood next to Kai and his teammates, including General Rain.


    "Tomemorate the heroes that fought bravely in one of the greatest disasters in history, we shall officially start this ceremony. They have fought gantly in thest battle that had enough potential toy waste the entire base. Without further ado, we would like to invite Mr. President to the stage."


    President Brent rose from his seat and walked toward the center of the stage as he looked at all the soldiers that were going to be officially promoted on this asion.


    "First of all, we would like to give our thanks to all these heroes and the great soldiers that sacrificed their lives during the battle. We wouldn''t forget what you have done for the country.


    "Now, let''s call the first hero, Major Stephen. He has¡­"


    The narrator talked about his deed in a simple manner as the person walked to the stage and received a medal of honor from President Brent.


    The situation repeated for two hours since there were truly so many people that needed to be awarded.


    But the wait paid off since they were going to announce thest few people that significantly turned the course of the battle.


    Rain''s name was the first to be called.


    "General Rain Lambert participated in the battle against an S Rank Magical Beast before serving as a temporary vicemander in the suppression." The host announced his deed in a simple way ording to the script.


    Rain stood up and walked toward the president like that of a soldier.


    Brent smiled and put on the insignia before shaking his head. "Thank you."


    "My pleasure." Rain smiled back and returned to his seat.


    After him, Sofia''s turn came and the host began to talk. "Despite being an exchange student from the EU Base, she gantly fought together to kill the S Rank Magical Beast. We would like to formally give our thanks to her."


    Brent put on the medal of honor before shaking her hand.


    The others also got one after her as they were called one by one in session. Finally, there were only two people who had yet to get the badge: Kai Carter and Ria Ross.


    Although Kai''s contribution was the biggest, Ria Ross''s promotion was the most important, so he ended up going first.


    Still, the president didn''t want to let it feelckluster as he presented a video for everyone to see, especially those who watched this ceremony.


    It was the video of him killing the S Rank Magical Beast. Of course, many would surely doubt it, so they showed a bit of the fighting part where Kai Carter created those big wounds on the magical beast''s body.


    The hall was astonished by his achievement. Even the masses couldn''t believe what they saw, especially the ones that saw him inside the airne.


    "Kai Carter and his group were returning from their vacation before they jumped off the ne without hesitation to do the mission they had yet to get. Despite the danger, Kai Carter decided to take on the S Rank Magical Beast alone, which ended up meeting General Rain Lambert in the process.


    "With the strength of these eight people, they managed to kill the fifth S Rank Magical Beast in history or the third in US Base history. We can''t thank them enough as this Magical Beast had the potential of bringing five hundred thousand beasts from the hole to wreak havoc in our beautiful base.


    "And as you can see, the strength of the beast is too high for an ordinary person to go against it. Thus, we proudly announce that Kai Carter has officially be the Lieutenant General of the US Base and elevate his rank to S Rank Magician."


    The people here couldn''t help but p their hands.


    Kai walked to the president, but he already had a new uniform that showed three silver stars on his shoulder, symbolizing his rank as a Lieutenant General. As for the S Rank Magician, it was due to his unorthodox way of handling magic. Still, he truly attained that peak and showed the entire world that he was qualified to get this rank.


    President Brent smiled, put on the medal of honor in his uniform and shook his hand. "It''s my pleasure to put this medal on you."


    "Thank you, Mr. President."


    "No. It''s us who should thank you." He smiled and hugged him to show his appreciation.


    After getting released, Kai turned around and returned to his seat.


    "Next is the greatest award. She killed an S Rank Magical Beast in the past and saw the talent Kai Carter had. Instead of a D Rank Magician, which wasn''t high but wasn''t low either, Ria Ross thought of him as an S Rank Magician.


    "She became his teacher and taught him everything from fighting tomanding ability. Had she not found the diamond in the rough, this incident would end up as a disaster. At the same time, she served as the leader of thest suppression mission and explored the entire nest, making sure there wasn''t any more Magical Beast hiding underneath California.


    "Thus, we proudly announce that from today onward, Ria Ross is our General of the Army. Holding the only five-star insignia on her shoulder, she shall be our Guardian Deity that protects the base in an emergency situation like this, so the citizens can feel safe."


    The apuse for her was not losing to Kai as this was actually a well-deserved title since Ria Ross still held the title as the strongest in the entire base or even the world despite not bing an S Rank Magician.


    And if they actually announced her inventions that changed the world, people would recognize her as the scariest person on Earth.


    Ria smiled and walked like any others. Still, that five-star insignia on her shoulder took everyone''s breath away as they could finally see another General of the Army after thest one who passed away fifty years ago.


    They could bet that there would be more General of the Army in this generation since there were two more candidates that seemed to be suited for such a title with their achievement. They were none other than General Rain Lambert and Lieutenant Kai Carter.


    However, Rain knew his limitations since he only supported Kai and the others during that battle, so he unlikely took that position that he didn''t deserve.


    Meanwhile, after putting the medal on her uniform, Brent took one step back and saluted.


    Ria saluted back before the other officers instinctively rose from their seats and saluted as well. The majority of the people behind the screen who were watching this scene couldn''t help but do the same.


    This was the greatest honor one person could have as she could actually move the soldiers without permission. But it also meant that such a position was left in the hand of someone that could be fully trusted.


    Although there was a bit of controversy going on about Ria''s promotion, it was necessary because Kai Carter would surpass her sooner orter. And when that time came, the government might be held ountable.


    Besides, it wasn''t like Ria''s ability was worse than the previous General of the Army, so they ultimately agreed to this promotion.


    The ceremony then came to a close as it was followed by a grand banquet for all the people to get to know each other.


    Still, there were more people around Kai as they were offering so many things from treasures to wives. Some even wondered whether he would create a powerful family like Graham Family, Kudo Group, and Campbell Family, but Kai had no such a desire.


    He simply wanted a normal leisure life after everything was over, so he rejected all their "gifts" politely so as to avoid making unnecessary enemies.


    Last but not least, there was another ce that would receive the impact of Kai''s influence. It was none other than the school. They would surely receive so many applicants this year since many adored Kai and treated him as their role model.


    As long as there was "I graduated from Sacred Magic School where alumnus Kai Carter once was a part of it or even more amazing they were students when Kai Carter was still a third year" spread in their heart, the hype wouldn''t go down soon.


    In fact, Kai already knew this would happen. He only pitied his instructor that had been apanying him since he was in United Asia, Shirotsuka Sanae. He felt like he should do something for her since she would be a hot modity" after this.


    Though, he also smiled and said to himself. ''Teacher. You don''t need to thank me. Many potential husbands will surelye to you. Your rant of not having a boyfriend won''t seed after this.''


    After getting acknowledgment from everyone, Kai finally escaped from that hell and returned to his house.


    Of course, they had another celebration back home. His mother cooked all the things they loved, but Kai and Tasha surely savored everything without leaving anything behind.


    It couldn''t bepared to the tastiness of the food that the white house could offer, but Kai and Tasha felt peace inside this house. And this was called¡­ Family.

 Chapter 427 - Discussion

    The next day, Kai returned to school. As one would expect, there was a huge banner for him alone while the rest were portrayed in a single banner.


    So many fangirls had been waiting for him this whole time, especially in this current world situation where the poption was dominated by females.


    Of course, Evan shared the same problem since he was the only male beside him. Isabe ended up escorting him to his room to avoid direct confrontation while Tasha teleported Kai. Meanwhile, Sofia, Michelle, and Ayaka had a better situation since not many males dared to approach them, considering they were considered Kai''s girlfriends.


    And even if they wanted them, there was no way they could beat Kai who had the same achievement as his teacher.


    At the same time, it would draw hatred toward them, so it was better to remain neutral. A fan was alright, but an admirer¡­ they would be lucky they were still alive.


    Still, no matter what everyone had to say, Kai''s fan base grew even bigger. If before they were admirers, the news turned them into worshippers.


    Had Kai be a yboy, he would be able to sleep with any of the girls he wanted. Unfortunately, Kai had his hand full with Michelle and the others and had no intention to do something like a one-night stand.


    Hence, Kai ignored all their messages since the best way for him to reply to them was by his action. As long as he kept racking achievements, there wouldn''t be much of a problem.


    After getting inside his room with Teleportation Magic, Kaiid down on the couch with a tired face. Next to him was Evan, who happened to have the same expression.


    "Say, Captain. Can I somehow stay silent for a while?" He asked. "I mean¡­ Hide inside my house until the situation calms down."


    "Well, I have a suggestion for that." Kai nodded. "And I have the same n, actually."


    "Really? I want to listen to this suggestion of yours."


    "How about we go for another mission for next month which happens to be ourst mission? After this, if we don''t want to go to school, no one can say anything."


    "That''s a good idea. Possibly something that doesn''t take too long."


    While the two talked, Michelle overheard their conversation and tilted her head in confusion. "Wait a minute. Wasn''t the S Rank Magical Beast considered as one mission?"


    "Ah, now that I think about it, the previous S Rank Magical Beast was announced as a Raid Mission." Kai looked at the ceiling before nodding his head.


    "So, does this mean we don''t need to go to school anymore? There is still one more left before graduation."


    "Well, we need to have a mock battle with four groups where each of us needs to handle one. Tasha and Sofia can''t participate, okay?" Kai nced at them with a serious expression.


    "I know. I will graduate by then, so I have no intention of staying here. Instead, I will be racking up achievement after achievement to show that I''m not a paper tiger." Tasha smirked.


    "Well, I will probably return first to prepare everything for you¡­ Mr. Exchange Student." Sofia stuck her tongue out.


    "Ahaha." Kaiughed before turning to Evan. "So, I think we only have one mock battle. If you lose, we lose."


    "Why are you saying that to me? Well, I do know that I''m the weakest, but is there a need to say it right on my face? Anyway, I will do my best in this mock battle."


    Kai nodded. "I have informed the student council president, you know. Do you want to apany me to meet her to discuss the mock battle?"


    "Right now?"


    "Five minutester."


    "Sure. But are you sure we can survive out there?" Evan made a disgusted face as if he really hated this much attention. Even in his house, his parents threw a party while his sisters visited him while crying in tears.


    He couldn''t help it as well since the previous Evan was "useless" and "unruly". He acted like punk and ignored almost everything. Yet, he became one of the heroes that saved the base, receiving the medal of honor himself.


    Not only had he turned himself into a new leaf, but he also became something that one could take pride in. Although there were some debates on the inte, mostly between fangirls, talking about Evan''s bad past, it didn''t really affect him since Evan admitted that he did something bad in the past and apologized for it.


    Of course, most of them actually protected Evan because everything he did was for his beloved childhood sweetheart, Isabelle. He became even more popr since the public only knew there was only one girl by Evan''s side.


    As long as they could get his heart, their status would be ridiculously high.


    Kai patted his shoulder andughed. "Don''t worry. I will lead us with my ears."


    "Alright then." Evan agreed as Kai rose from his seat.


    He took out his device and called his teacher to tell her not to send another mission to them, so they could rest after that high-stress battle.


    After that, Kai waved his hand, leading Evan to the student council room, where he found twenty-five people inside it. The first five in front of him were none other than the Student Council Members.


    "Well, well. The hero has finallye." Laura, the student council president, smiled, greeting him. "It''s nice to meet you again."


    "Indeed." Kai smiled back before ncing to the right. There were two groups on his right, the one sat on the couch while the other one didn''t. On the opposite side, he also saw the same arrangement.


    "Let me introduce them." She pointed her hand toward them politely and spoke. "This gentleman is the leader of the Golden Group, Samuel. Except for your and Isabelle''s groups, his Dawn Group holds the highest record right now. Behind him are his teammates.


    "As for the one next to him, they are from one of the full offensive style groups in this school, yer Group. They are strong, you know." She smiled before pointing at the one in front of them. "They are from the Grace Group, known as the female paradise since everyone was a girl. Their style is rather defensive, which is good for me.


    "Last but not least, this female is the next student council president candidate, the leader of Tempest Group, Maria Smith. She is the most bnced group out there."


    "Why are you even bbering all the information about us, President Laura?" Samuel narrowed his eyes.


    "I mean, you can obviously search his fighting style on the inte easily. However, I know that he won''t search for yours because on the battlefield he currently faces, there is little to no information about the enemies. So, he has been getting ustomed to it." Laura shrugged.


    "Fufu, that''s interesting. I wonder if I should also do that," said Maria with a calm expression.


    Kai might not know this, but Maria and Samuel had met right after he finished his group battle against Eagle Group in the past. They were talking about his group and how they needed to deal with him.


    Obviously, they had been following their progress ever since, not wanting to lose against someone in their generation. If not because Kai was already too far away, they would have challenged him in the Group Battle.


    Still, even though they had stopped, it didn''t mean that the previous data was forgotten. After knowing that there was a chance to fight Kai, Samuel had been preparing himself.


    His previous arrogance was nowhere to be seen since Kai had shut him up with his fighting prowess, but it didn''t mean he had no intention of winning.


    He looked at Kai and said, "If we are fighting, I will be aiming for your neck."


    Kai only smiled and nodded. "I will be looking forward to it."


    "I think you all know that there is a condition for this fight, right?" Laura asked before exining again. "Anyway, all four groups will attack the Lion Group together where the Lion Group, without Tasha Carter and Sofia Campbell, has to handle each of your group alone. In other words, it will be a one versus five battle."


    "Tch." Samuel clicked his tongue but didn''t say anything. Even though he was frustrated by this arrangement, he knew his limit. There was no way that he could defeat the entire Lion Group alone, especially since Kai was also recognized as another S Rank Magician and someone who was able to y an S Rank Magical Beast.


    "I do have one requirement though." Kai raised his hand. "As you might already know, if someone on our side loses, we will lose. Hence, I would like for Evan to choose his opponent first since he is originally a healer. I think you can give me this much of a leeway, right?"


    "Hmm, I can, but it depends on what the other four groups have to say."


    The four leaders looked at each other and nodded their heads in unison. Samuel then looked at Evan as if saying, "If you dare to pick us and prevent us from fighting Kai Carter, you are dead."


    Evan shrugged, knowing his own limit. With that limited information, he knew there was one group that even he could defeat.


    He pointed his forefinger toward the all-girls group, Grace Group.


    "Evan, I will be reporting this to Isabelle." Kai facepalmed.


    "Why? Don''t you think this is the best choice?"


    Kai smirked beforeughing. "Anyway, since Evan has chosen the Grace Group, I think the arrangement will be like this¡­ I will fight the Golden Group, Michelle will handle the Tempest Group, while Ayaka fights the yer Group. Does anyone have an objection?"

 Chapter 428 - Next Semester

    After that discussion, there was no more schedule for the rest of the semester other than studying. Even Kai didn''t do anything big other than hiding inside the room while thinking about his next n.


    A month passed and the graduation came. Even though Tasha had more achievement, as one would expect, the student council president, Laura, still gave the graduation speech.


    Kai and the others attended the graduation, including their parents. As much as he hated to say it, he wanted Tasha to stay because he couldn''t help but worry about her well-being.


    After promising that she would contact him from time to time, he decided to let her go. Of course, Tasha kept hugging her like there was no tomorrow, showing how Kai didn''t want to part with her.


    Ayaka and Michelle got annoyed and dragged her before the Carter Family had the time alone for graduation. They took a picture with their parents as well.


    But they soon got swarmed by students who idolized Kai, wanting to take a picture with him and Tasha together.


    Kai ended up giving them time to do that and satisfied their desire. After that, Sofia got a call, informing her to return to the EU Base to prepare everything for Kai''s transfer.


    She was satisfied since thest time she was in this base, she could meet Kai''s parents, introducing herself to them.


    Fortunately, Kai''s parents were easygoing, so they just epted the idea, thinking that the more the merrier. As long as Kai chose them without any pressure, it meant that Kai had known the girl and trusted her enough, so there shouldn''t be a problem.


    Both parents even volunteered to drive them to the airport the next day. Of course, they ended up having a small party with all the girls in Kai''s house. It was a small party, but it felt very warm.


    They bid their goodbye in the airport without a fuss since Sofia knew that Kai would go there in a month, so it was just a temporary farewell.


    Finally, two weekster, it was the start of the new terms. Because of what happened in the base, most of the current first-year students idolized Kai Carter as an S Rank Magician, the youngest Lieutenant General, and one of the most powerful magicians in the base.


    To that end, Kai was asked to deliver a speech to which he agreed.


    During the wee ceremony, Kai took the stage with a smile. He looked at the two thousand first-year students who got epted today.


    "I wee you to this academy. I don''t know if you already know me or not, but let me introduce myself. I''m Kai Carter. Currently, I''m the captain of Lion Group, though, one of our members has graduated recently.


    "Anyway, I am not good with words myself, so I will only say three things. First, you don''t need to look at your talent because the one who can measure your talent is yourself. There is no machine in this world that can urately tell your exact talent, so keep working hard.


    "Set a goal for yourself. You have worked hard, but it''s not enough? Search for another way. I did it in the past after all. The machine told me that I was only a D Rank Magician. After changing my way of thinking, I finally reached this step and considered an unorthodox S Rank Sound Magician.


    "Second, do research because one does not simply get to aim big without any proper research and goal. This is the most important step to avoid getting killed along the way. This is what I believe¡­ As long as you are still alive, the chance remains, so keep working hard and smart.


    "Third, keep listening to your instructor. They are the best ones you can get." Kai smiled and finished his speech with onest message. "I will be leaving this base for three months after this, so do your best in the meantime, okay? I am looking forward to your improvement during the time I''m away. And once again, wee to Sacred Magic School."


    The students stood up and apuded as hard as they could. His speech wasn''t something great, but it truly came from his experience. It also meant that these three were the best advice they could get from him.


    The principal then came to the stage with a smile. He was a middle-aged man with short spiky ck hair. He never saw him to be honest, so he didn''t care and only yed along for the next thing.


    "I can assure you that our teachers are good enough to give the best advice for you. After all, every single of our teachers has at least a few years of service in the military, so I hope you can do your best to improve in this school.


    "And I would like to announce something that you all may like. It is about a group battle that Kai Carter will personally host. In this battle, he will be fighting four top groups at once. I hope that this battle can inspire you to be stronger. Don''t forget to get achievements for what you have done as you may have the chance to be an officer when you are still a student. Not only will it smoothen your career path, but it can give the base a sense of security.


    "We will hold the battle tomorrow in our auditorium at 9 AM, so don''t bete, alright?" The principal smiled and left the stage together with Kai.


    After that speech, there was a series of important messages that needed to be addressed, but Kai had left the building.


    Instead of going home, he decided to stay for a while, watching the students from the roof.


    "Ah, to think I would be able to meet Senior Kai Carter today, I feel blessed."


    "Indeed. He is an honest person, showing his concern without flowering his words."


    "Right? Even though he is the youngest Lieutenant General, he stays humble. There is no trace of him looking down on us."


    "Indeed. Now I am wondering whether I still can look up to an idol. I feel like my heart has been swayed by the military superstar."


    "Haha. Why don''t you be another star in the military?"


    "Eh? Should I?"


    "You should. I''m just afraid there might be another trend of group bands in the military."


    "But that sounds nice too."


    "I don''t care. I only want to look up to one person. He is Senior Kai Carter."


    "Haha, look at you. You are lovestruck."


    The majority of the students were talking the same thing, so it was truly him that brought such an enthusiast to the school. He just hoped that they didn''t die on the battlefield since it would be such a sad thing.


    "To think that fate turned this way¡­" Kai sighed and looked at the sky. "I was just a slightly weird person who wanted to have a normal school life and get enough achievement to retire early. But who would''ve ever thought that I could be a Lieutenant General this fast?


    "The credit obviously goes to my teacher since she has helped me with so many things." He smiled and disappeared from the roof, heading to his home.


    However, little did he know that most people couldn''t get a wink of sleep because of the excitement the battle gave to them. They already heard the rumor about the battle on how Kai and the others needed to handle one group each to win the battle.


    And yes, they imagined how Kai would actually beat the group he encountered.


    The one who got the most pressure was obviously the leader of the Golden Group, Samuel.


    He ended up staying up through the night, watching the moon while picturing how the battle would progress. He recalled what Kai said before leaving the student council room.


    Kai''s face was still vivid in his memory.


    "First of all, I don''t want to give you a bad image. I don''t mean to be rude or look down on you, but I think it''s better if you can show your fighting prowess first, so the first-year students can understand your strength as well as your team y. This will benefit them in the long run.


    "Second, I will fight back when the time hase, so please keep up with me, alright? I know that you all are thinking I''m arrogant, but instead of thinking about such a useless thing, I want to focus on what we can give to the new students.


    "Whatever the reason¡­ Whether it''s rivalry or anything, human lives matter the most. Hence, I will make sure that this is going to be useful for them.


    "Thirdly, our agreement is to each person handling one of the groups here alone. But it''s to kill them, right? It doesn''t mean anything about helping each other out as long as we don''t kill their targets. This is also what I want to show them. No matter how hard the situation you are going through, you need to help each other out instead of thinking about your personal gain.


    "I know that this is a bit too much to ask, but I hope that you can cooperate with me." Kai bowed to them without hesitation. There was no anger or shame in that expression of his as if the entire thing was his genuine feeling about the fight.


    Even the four groups couldn''t say anything when he acted this way and ended up agreeing.


    "Golden Group agrees to this suggestion. However, we will still aim at your neck seriously."


    "I''m looking forward to it." Kai nodded.


    "Tempest Group also agrees."


    "Grace Group will help you in this n."


    "My yer Group too."


    "Thank you." Kai smiled.


    Thinking about this memory really pissed him off. It wasn''t because he hated Kai. He was disappointed in himself as he couldn''te up with an idea like this.


    He let out a long sigh. "Still, it doesn''t mean I''m going to pull my punch."

 Chapter 429 - Group Battle Part 1

    The next day, almost every single student and teacher came to the school. They all had one thing inmon¡­ Witnessing the power Kai Carter had that allowed him to be Lieutenant General and kill an S Rank Magical Beast.


    In the auditorium, close to four thousand people were waiting for the match to start.


    "I wonder what kind of fight will we witness today?"


    "Right. If the media is allowed to be here, I think every single of them will enter this ce."


    "Either way, many bring their camera, so I''m sure it will go all over the inte pretty soon."


    "I agree. This is a huge match after all."


    The auditorium was filled to the brim. Even some teachers and students needed to stand. Suddenly, thementator, who turned out to be the samementator that hosted Kai''s previous battle, entered the arena with Shirotsuka Sanae.


    "Test, test, test. Anyone can hear me, right?" He asked while testing his mic. "Yep. I think we can start. Teacher Shirotsuka, thank you for apanying me for this match."


    "I''m their instructor, so I will tell you what I know." Shirotsuka Sanae nodded with a serious expression.


    "Alright." He grabbed his mic, stood up and shouted with excitement. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Today, we will witness a legendary battle between Lion Group and four Top Groups, Golden, Tempest, Grace, and yer groups.


    "I will be yourmentator for today''s match. Let me introduce myself. I am Diego from the Studio Group. Teacher Shirotsuka, I wonder what do you think about this match?"


    "I am not sure myself, but knowing Kai Carter''s character, I think he has something he wants to show to all of the people here. I will try to discern what he wants to say and tell it to you guys. I hope I won''t turn it into a lecture." Sanae chuckled.


    "Oh! Such a rxed attitude from the king."


    "No. Not attitude; it''s his duty. No matter his rank, I believe this fight has two purposes."


    "Two purposes. May we know about these two purposes?"


    "The first is to settle everything with the top groups."


    "Indeed. My blood is boiling to see what kind of match they will have today. What''s about the second purpose?"


    "It''s for all the people here. He is a third-grade student, so he must think he has a duty to teach something to his juniors. After all, isn''t this the original purpose of this fight? They want to show the experience of the seniors in this school, so the new students can learn?"


    "I see. So, that''s how it is." Diego became even more excited as he shouted. "Do you hear it guys? I know that you want to cheer someone in this battle, but don''t forget to take a note, okay?"


    "Without further ado, let''s call the fighters out." Diego then pressed the button on the table as the sign.


    Kai and his group, who had been standing by this whole time, noticed it and nodded at each other, entering the training capsule.


    "Oh, oh! This is it. I was once amentator in his battle as well, so my happiness went through the roof when they told me that I could do it again." He then zoomed the camera to Kai and his group. "As you all can see, they are the remaining members of Lion Group: Kai Carter, Michelle Graham, Kudo Ayaka, and Evan Young. I wonder who will fight who, considering that they are required to kill all the enemy groups by themselves."


    "I have insider information, so I think it''s fine to tell you guys. Kai Carter will be fighting the Golden Group. Ayaka has the simrity to yer Group, so she will handle them. Meanwhile, Michelle will handle the Tempest Group. Evan deals with thest one." Sanae exined with an uninterested expression afterughing so hard the moment she heard Evan''s mission.


    "Anyway, I think we should start the battle right now. What do you think, Teacher Shirotsuka?"


    "Yeah. That''s fine."


    "Alright! Without further ado, let''s start this battle in 3¡­2¡­1¡­" He pressed another button on his table to inform the fighters about the battle.


    Kai and the others turned serious as Kaimanded. "Just like our n. I will take the left and Michelle will be the right. Ayaka and Evan will handle their opponents in the middle."


    "Understood."


    The group nodded as they started moving to their position.


    Kai''s battlefield turned out to be a forest. He knew what his opponents wanted to do and adjusted his n. "I see. This is good enough."


    Five people arrived before him as they stared at Kai intensely as if they were ready to murder him.


    Kai smiled and looked at this group that consisted of three men and two women. "So, I think we can settle it as soon as possible. What do you think?"


    "You''re dead." Samuel gritted his teeth and shouted. "Start."


    A blue-haired female suddenly leaped to Kai''s left and created a blue magic circle, shooting ice spikes toward him.


    Kai didn''t have a change of expression as he avoided the attack effortlessly.


    Suddenly, a muscr guy appeared above him and mmed his body against him, trying to pin him down.


    But Kai stomped the ground and grasped the man''s head, stopping his momentum.


    "What? He is this strong?" The big man was bewildered as he never expected that Kai could stop his momentum this easily. This meant that behind his small build, Kai actually held a monstrous strength.


    Before hended on the ground, Theo spun his body and used that momentum tounch the big guy toward the female.


    "Watch out." The man couldn''t avoid the collision, but luckily, the female managed to react and jumped as high as he could.


    Kai took this chance by leaping toward the girl with his sword. But a ive user and a sword user arrived before him and swung their weapons to stop his advance.


    Kai didn''t pour his strength at this time and allowed them to blow him away.


    However, that gave Samuel the chance to strike Kai as he summoned five me pirs that looped around him, striking from the front and behind simultaneously.


    "¡­" Kai already heard their movement and summoned a pair of shields to block this two-direction magic.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    A series of explosions echoed on the battlefield, but this was the same as a smokescreen for both Kai''s eyes and ears, allowing the two to move.


    It turned out that their real intention was to hit Kai''s head because of his position and shields.


    "Now!" Shouted the sword user while swinging his sword toward Kai''s head.


    The ive user followed suit and struck Kai.


    Unfortunately, they had yet to seed because Kai still stopped their attack by using both his swords. He spun his body and struck their weapons for the second time, pushing them back.


    As soon as hended, he jumped toward the sword user and shed him.


    But the muscr got into his way as he rammed him with his body.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and got blown away, crashing into the tree. However, the muscr guy screamed in pain while pressing his arm. Not long after, they found a trace of blood as it flowed out of his wound.


    "What?! Did he actually hit him while avoiding everything?" Samuel widened his eyes in surprise as he pped his hand, summoning three magic circles at once.


    Kai frowned when he found that William could do something like this. The person who could utilize more than one magic circle at a time should have a big reservoir that could store so much magic.


    "I see. No wonder this guy can be the way he is now." Kai smiled while looking at the circles on top of him and the two sides. Instead of waiting, he created two Oscition Shields simultaneously, stopping the fire that emerged from the magic circles.


    Meanwhile, Kai used his sword to deflect the magic and destroyed the magic circle. "You are good."


    "What are you saying? You are a monster." Samuel clicked his tongue, knowing that Kai had yet to get serious in this fight.


    "I''m not." Kai shrugged.


    "Hmph!" He snorted. "You are going down today."


    "I''m looking forward to it." Kai smiled before noticing that the first female seemed to be busy, summoning walls after walls in their surroundings. Although he could destroy her here, he decided to wait a bit more, so the Golden Group could have a better show next. Hopefully, it would be interesting enough to motivate the students.


    That nce was read by Samuel, thinking that Kai wanted to kill her first. Hemanded. "Stop him!"


    Although they couldn''t understand the reason, they nodded their heads and charged at Kai.


    "Tch." Kai grabbed the muscr guy''s neck and threw it toward the ice magician, trying to break her concentration. However, the sword user interfered and caught that guy even though he needed to be pushed a few meters back.


    Meanwhile, Kai leaped toward the ive girl and punched her on the stomach while saying, "Sorry, I don''t have a grudge, but this is war. I can''t show mercy."


    The ive girl clenched her teeth and resigned to her fate, only to find that Samuel appeared behind her and caught her.


    When Kai was about to do a follow-up, he raised his head, finding a huge fireball on top of his head.


    "Now!"


    Theo never expected they would use something this big in this closed space, but when he believed that this guy must have a secret, the curiosity settled down.


    "Oscition Shield." He activated his shield on top of his head and stopped that st from hitting him.


    Boom.


    The smoke surrounded him again, but they seemed to have a n already as they didn''t move.


    Once he raised his vision, he saw a huge te made of ice emerged from a blue magic circle, falling on top of the "arena" that the ice girl made, bing its lid to lock Kai inside.


    Bam.


    With this, Kai Carter had been trapped.


    "This is the arena we have prepared to in you, Kai Carter. Taste its might," shouted Samuel as he was excited to see whether he could take down Kai or not.

 Chapter 430 - Group Battle Part 2

    "This¡­ To think we would have faced something so exciting just a few minutes into the battle." Diego shouted before looking at Sanae. "I''m sorry, Teacher. But would you like to say something about the fight?"


    "Kai Carter has yet tounch his attack." Sanae paused for a moment to give the time for them to realize before continuing. "Anyway, he is trying to show you the power of the Golden Group. If you take another look at it, you will notice how the Golden Group actually takes care of each other.


    "Before Kai Carter can hurt them, one of them will be taking that hit in the ideal form, slowly sealing his movement. This will give you an illusion of them suppressing him, which can stress your opponent. Even the Magical Beast will realize this and start doing something different. That''s when you can kill it in one strike.


    "In other words, you need to make sure that your allies are safe while fighting your enemy. This is a principle," exined Sanae while staring at Kai''s movement.


    "I see. Do you hear it, everyone? Your allies are the priority because you can keep fighting as long as you have allies." Diego shouted while shifting the focus to someone else. "Let''s go see someone else.


    This time, it was Michelle''s time to shine.


    Michelle encountered her enemies with a serious expression. Unlike Kai, she had no intention of holding back, so she quickly summoned both swords.


    She looked at the five people before her and said, "I need all of you to go down in five minutes."


    "Are you looking down on us?" Maria Smith, the leader of Tempest Group, narrowed her eyes.


    "I am not. However, I have a job to do and I don''t want to waste my time." Michelle smiled as she summoned Dark Michelle. "You handle the other four. I''m going to handle her alone."


    "Sure thing." Dark Michelle shrugged before four scythes emerged from her back as she smiled. "Let''s y with me."


    She jumped toward the group before Maria appeared right before her, trying to knock her down with her spear. However, Michelle came and struck her spear, using her Shadow sh to cut the spear handle.


    Snap.


    Maria widened her eyes as she saw her weapon snapped on the first attack. "Impossible."


    When the other four wanted to help her, Dark Michelle sent each of them a scythe, blowing them away.


    "What power!"


    "What''s that?"


    "A clone?"


    They were confused because this had never happened before. In other words, this was new magic that Michelle created herself. And the strength behind that magic was far more powerful than anyone could think of.


    Seeing that her other self had controlled the situation, Michelle jumped toward Maria with her swords, ready to cut her down.


    "Kh!" Maria gritted her teeth and threw her spear toward her before using her magic, which was fire magic, and turning that fire into a spear.


    Even though she felt that her hand was melting, she endured it and wielded that spear while slowing down the burn.


    "Interesting." Michelle smiled and bent down, shing both swords on the ground. "But that''s useless."


    "Shadow sh."


    "!!!" Maria frowned when she saw the iing Shadow sh and decided to dodge it. She raised her hand as a magic circle appeared above Michelle''s head.


    "¡­" Michelle sighed and ced her hand on the ground as her shadow expanded beforeing out of the ground, creating a roof above her.


    The fire ended up hitting that roof and exploded.


    ''It couldn''t even reach her?'' Maria gritted her teeth as she never thought that Michelle had be this strong. It seemed that the sess of Kai wasn''t because of his ability alone. Michelle must have contributed to it.


    She sent another Shadow sh toward her.


    Maria tried to fight it instead and threw her spear.


    The fire spear exploded and blew away the Shadow sh.


    "It''s working. I will¡ªGah!" Before she finished her thought, something seemed to hit her from behind as the pain began spreading all over her body. She looked down and found out that she had been stabbed by a scythe. "What?!"


    She looked at Dark Michelle, who turned out to be aiming for her instead of the other four. She looked at Michelle, who already went toward the other four, preparing to attack them.


    "You¡­ You tricked me." She couldn''t finish her words as she died with regret.


    Michelle, on the contrary, focused on her objective and killed the other fours.


    This battle ended within three minutes, even faster than Michelle''s prediction. The timepletely stunned everyone that witnessed it because they never thought Michelle was this strong.


    However, they also didn''t know what to think about her trick. It was kind of unhonorable to do something like that.


    Diego, who noticed the unrest in the students'' hearts, quickly opened his mouth and directed everything to Shirotsuka Sanae. "Oh! I''m surprised. Michelle Graham manages to beat the Tempest Group in an instant. What''s this concept, Teacher?"


    "It''s simply the difference of experience and skills." She sighed. "First of all, her strength is already above them the moment she summons that clone of hers. However, the main part is when Michelle actually said that she was going to handle her while her clone took care of the other four.


    "Her opponents believed that was the case and fought her with that thought in their mind. If they had more experience, they would be able to see through that simple lie and Maria Smith didn''t need to die.


    "Unhonorable? I don''t think so. On the battlefield, you need toe up with anything you can to win. Although this is a bit contradictory with what I''ve said earlier, I will pull an example of Ria Ross for this.


    "When she and one hundred people fought against an S Rank Magical Beast in the past¡­ The fight that made her famous. Herrades prepared to die and held the frog down, so she could kill that frog. Why? Because they have been fighting for hours without casualties because Ria Ross had been keeping the frog at bay.


    "However, the situation would be worse since the S Rank Magical Beast had millions of followers. If they didn''t hurry, this situation would be disastrous.


    "Knowing it, her teammates decided to sacrifice their lives, so she could kill it. This is what I mean by doing everything you can. There will be a time you need to choose whether to protect your honor or life.


    "I can''t express my admiration to those who fell in that battle and I don''t have any intention to mock them by telling you as an example. When you go to the battlefield, make sure you have the heart to do something like that.


    "Even Kai Carter has tried to sacrifice himself to win in many battles. Setting oneself as a bait¡­ I think that''s not unhonorable at all. It''s clever." She smiled and finished her exnation. This was always a debatable topic, but she thought she had exined it pretty well.


    "Thank you for your lecture, Teacher." Diego thanked her before switching to another person. "Let''s take a look at Kudo Ayaka then."


    This time, Ayaka had been surrounded by all five people, trying to attack her from all directions. However, Ayaka''s agility seemed to be better and every time she swung that heavy spear, she would blow someone away.


    Her battlefield was near Evan, so he could see his fighting progress. Although Evan was suppressed this whole time, he still managed to escape with his speed that had been boosted by his magic.


    Even Grace Group became frustrated to see Evan running away like a coward. However, they forgot the fact that Evan was a healer instead of a fighter. It was normal for a healer like Evan to run away since Evan didn''t have single offensive magic due to the limitation of his magic.


    Yet, the Grace Group suffered injuries because of his bullets and explosives.


    Suddenly, Ayaka raised her hand diagonally and summoned a magic circle. "Go!"


    A fire pir emerged from the magic circle before curving to the ground due to gravity.


    "Watch out!" One of the Grace Group''s members shouted, noticing that fire magic.


    The group halted their movement as the pir hit the ground, turning it into zing soil.


    That was when Evan bent his knees to use the me to cover his body before changing his bullet to an explosive one and shooting it toward one of them.


    Bang.


    The bullet flew. The mepletely blinded them, and when it reached the woman, it was toote.


    The bullet exploded and killed a single of them while injuring two others.


    "Nice assist." Evan smiled. This help truly overturned the entire battle.


    Meanwhile, the yer Group realized that they might have been prohibited from killing someone from the other group that wasn''t their opponent, but it didn''t say anything about helping them.


    Ayaka just reinforced Diego''s words about a team needing to take care of one another.


    "Damn. We were too careless. Suppress her right now." The leader of the yer Group shouted.


    Ayaka saw their movement and smiled before turning around and running from them as if she had no intention to fight them right now.


    "Don''t give her time. She might help Evan Young again or vice versa."


    They nodded their heads and watched out for a bulleting from Evan''s direction.


    Suddenly, Ayaka turned ny degrees to the left,pletely changing their direction.


    "Chase her."


    When they changed direction, Ayaka smiled and pointed her hand again to the sky, preparing for another cannon.


    "She is going to attack them again. Block her!"


    All four of them quickly jumped to block Ayaka''s attack the moment sheunched her, but it turned out to be another trick.


    With them in the air, there was no way for them to dodge anything before theynded.


    Hence, Ayaka gave them a big surprise as a magic circle appeared where they were supposed tond. It was her Magic Bomb that she''d nted not long ago. And the timing was perfect.


    "Surprise."


    The group''s face became pale as they gritted their teeth.


    Boom.

 Chapter 431 - Group Battle Overwhelming Victory

    "I am sorry, but I really need to do this," said Evan while pointing his gun at the Grace Group leader''s head.


    "Haha, this is your win. There is no need to apologize. Although the support was a surprise, you didn''t break any rules. We are the one who needs to be ashamed because we can''t do anything to a healer who has no offensive magic." She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.


    After hearing thest word, he pulled the trigger, killing her.


    Meanwhile, the cheers outside had turned into an uproar as they never expected that the situation turned this way.


    Diego stood up and shouted. "This¡­ Is this the real power of the Lion Group? Even I can understand what they have done to win against the two groups. First of all, Kudo Ayakaunched that attack to warn the Grace Group that she could hit them, allowing Evan Young to kill two people.


    "However, there was another meaning to that move. The yer Group, who had been chasing her obviously knew that the situation would be worse when Ayaka hit the Grace Group once again. Hence, they chose to protect them.


    "It turned out to be another feinting from Kudo Ayaka where she used that opportunity to kill four of them. Without having any support, Kudo Ayaka overwhelmed the captain of the yer Group in one on one.


    "It''s truly a marvelous fight since we can see that even if their position was not near each other, they still looked out for each other and helped them. This is how a top group fights in a battle. I want everyone to remember it because you have seen yourself how effective this technique is." Diego then turned to Sanae and asked. "What is your thought about this, Teacher?"


    Sanae thought for a moment and answered. "It''s like you said. From what I have heard from Kai Carter¡­ He wanted the group to understand what the others could do. In other words, they could help each other without even talking. I''m sure that the other top groups can do this as well, but this is just a in difference in power.


    "What the Lion Group had faced this whole time were far greater threats than anyone of you could imagine. I would just leak one of their missions which I considered to be a less dangerous one. They once had gone to the Amazon Forest and annihted fifty thousand magical beasts within two weeks.


    "Although this was done together with the Eagle Group, you should understand the difficulty of this mission, right? And there were some more dangerous missions, which I couldn''t disclose. Kai Carter always said to aim high to progress faster, but you shouldn''t forget to make your safety the priority as he himself doesn''t like to see any of you die." Sanae finished her exnation and closed her eyes.


    "Thank you once again, Teacher Shirotsuka." Diego thanked her politely before his vision returned to the screen. "With this, there is only one match left. It''s the battle of Kai Carter and the Golden Group."


    However, the moment he changed the screen to Kai, he was stunned to see the messy battlefield. The ground was ripped as if it was hit by something big. The trees were shredded apart, with splinters spread all over the area. They couldn''t see anyone there other than Kai, who happened to kill Samuel.


    "This¡­ This¡­ What exactly happened earlier?" Diego dropped his jaw. "This can be counted as Kai Carter''s victory, but we need to see the actual footage first."


    He changed it again to a recording of when Kai was trapped inside ice blocks.


    Kai stood there while focusing his hearing on the sound in his surroundings. Suddenly, he took two small steps to the right before a spike came out of the ground, trying to pierce his head.


    Then, he raised his vision, finding something above the ice ceiling.


    He activated his Oscition Shield to block whatever it was while looking at the surroundings, specifically the people he located with his ears.


    Boom Boom Boom.


    A series of explosions urred as Fire Magic bombarded the ice ceiling. This was supposed to hit Kai because of the position, but Samuel realized that there was a magic circle beneath it, blocking those explosions.


    "What?" He widened his eyes before looking at his teammate, shouting. "Seal the lid again."


    "I understand." The Female Magician created another magic circle to trap him again, but Kai''s voice echoed in the area. "This is it. I will start right now."


    "Kh! Hurry!" Samuel shouted, panicking.


    Kai didn''t give him time to do it and leaped to the ice block that emerged from the magic circle. Activating his Super Sonic Sword that caused a Sonic Boom continuously, he shed that big ice into two.


    The two parts were thenunched to the side, hitting Samuel and the other guy.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Because of the size and sudden show of power, the two barely reacted. Although they managed to block that ice block, they were still blown to the ground.


    Kai then looked at the ice magician and created a Sound st,unching himself toward her. "I''m sorry, but you''re going to die first."


    "Hi!" She leaped back to avoid Kai but to no avail.


    The other two charged at him to protect their teammates, but Kai already predicted it and summoned two Sound Oscition Shield above him, blocking their attacks simultaneously.


    Then, he used Sound st to send the two flying while making his way toward the Ice Magician.


    Knowing that she couldn''t escape death, she gritted her teeth and ced her hand on the ground, summoning a giant magic circle.


    Walls of ice emerged from the ground, creating a smallbyrinth to stop Kai for a few seconds, but she underestimated Kai''s prowess.


    That small wall was nothing in his presence as they were cut like butter with the vibration before the ice destroyed the wall near them because the Sound stunched them.


    It took him one leap to close his distance with the female magician as she tried to attack him for onest time.


    He couldn''t help but feel impressed by her determination and smiled. "You''re strong. Keep doing it, okay?"


    Although she knew that the magic didn''t have enough time to be fired and felt immense regret to be eliminated this soon, she couldn''t help but smile when hearing his praise. "Thank you."


    Theo smiled and deactivated his Super Sonic Sword as it only became a normal Vibration Sword and cut her neck.


    He then looked around and found that Samuel was the first to recover, so he went straight at him with a normal pace.


    "I''m not going to let you." He summoned a magic circle, ready to fire an attack.


    At the same time, the big guy managed to recover not long after him and charged at Kai to stop his movement.


    "Fire Missile."


    A cylindrical fire flew out of the magic circle.


    Suddenly, Kai smiled and halted his movement before creating a Sound Oscition in front of him.


    "!!!" Samuel dropped his jaw before shouting. "Watch out."


    Kai''s real aim turned out to be his teammate. He must believe that someone woulde after him when he did this. Taking advantage of it, he used this chance to direct Samuel''s attack to his own teammate.


    "You!" Samuel gritted his teeth, regretting his choice.


    Unfortunately, everything was toote. The fire already hit Kai''s Oscition Shield and exploded, engulfing his teammate that couldn''t dodge in mid-air.


    Still hearing the heartbeat from the muscr guy, he smiled and retracted his shield. After locating that figure of his, Kai raised his foot and stomped the guy, pinning him to the ground before shing his neck.


    This was a simple trick but quite good in a battle like this.


    Because Samuel already knew his intention, Kai turned around and charged toward the guy he blew away before killing the Ice Magician. She was alone this time, so it shouldn''t be that hard to kill her.


    Remembering what happened to his big teammate, he hesitated tounch his magic since their position was aligned. If Kai dodged it, he would just murder his teammate again.


    However, Kai once again took advantage of this situation and shed his sword downwards.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes when he saw her raising her sword before jumping two meters high without even a posture to do so. "Wind Magic?"


    "Either way, it''s not good enough." Kai smiled and sent another strike with his other sword. The girl tried to block that sword but didn''t know what kind of power it held.


    This sword was the Super Sonic Sword. The moment it struck her weapon, it snapped into two before cutting her and the tree behind her into two. The Sound st also shredded the tree, blowing away the splinters.


    He then turned around and headed straight to thest teammate.


    Seeing this, Samuel couldn''t contain his anger and charged at him instead. His teammate seemed to be ready to intercept Kai, so Samuel could hit him at least once.


    But they simply underestimated Kai''s speed too much. He activated another Sound st to increase his speed.


    It was fast enough to shock his opponents as he cut another one into two along with the trees nearby.


    That one big swing caused the trees to fall, and obviously, Samuel had his own share too.


    The moment Samuel''s eyes raised a bit, Kai smirked and leaped toward him, kicking him on the stomach.


    "Gah!" Samuel spat a mouthful of blood before he realized the disparity between them. Instead of regretting the battle, he smiled when he saw Kai arrive before him. "As expected from Lieutenant General Kai Carter. It''s an honor to fight you."


    Kai smiled. "You will be getting stronger from now on. I guarantee it."


    "Thanks." Samuel closed his eyes as Kai cut him, ending the group battle with a shock.

 Chapter 432 - Departure

    "Overwhelming. There is nothing I can say other than this word to describe the fight. Lion Group has shown an unprecedented level of fighting ability. There''s no need to doubt again the fact that they have fought an S Rank Magical Beast, which ultimately got killed by their leader, Kai Carter." Diego stood up and shouted out loud.


    "If I need to tell you about my current feeling, it''s nothing but excitement. The Lion Group has just set a new record, far surpassing that in the academy." He then looked at Sanae and asked. "What do you think about Lion Group''s strength, Teacher?"


    Sanae pondered for a moment before exining. "I have nothing to say other than powerful. Let''s take a look at Evan, who is the healer of the party. He has no offensive battle, but the way he moves has been honed to that degree. I''m sure that not many students can catch him when he''s running.


    "If I am not wrong, he can enhance his ability as well, but I''m not well versed in this since I''ve never asked him.


    "Then, let''s move to Kudo Ayaka. She has power and speed under her belt, allowing her to manipte the entire battle by showing an unbelievable fighting style that emphasizes momentum. She also can use her powerful Fire Magic¡­ As expected from an A Rank Magician. Something like this is to be expected.


    "Ah, I don''t mean to make the other groups look bad. They are strong if you take another look at them. Unfortunately, the Lion Group is simply too strong. But this is also the reason why the government makes an exception to their captain, Kai Carter. Now you can see the difference between normal people and a Lieutenant General, right?


    "Anyway, before talking about him, let''s discuss Michelle Graham. I''m sure that you think she is too reliant on tricks, but I can assure you that you haven''t seen anything yet. That scythe is something that can kill the mutated magical beast while her sword can cut almost everything.


    "If you don''t know about the S Rank Magical Beast, you can imagine having thick steelpressed to cover them. If you don''t trust me, you can search for it on the Inte. I''m sure that the government has made a statement about it.


    "Last but not least, Kai Carter. Not only his ability, but his mind is top-notch. He has be a strategist ofrge battles a few times, and everything leads to victory. Hence, I believe he must have devised the n for this battle.


    "For his strength, I think I don''t need to exin it again, right? That powerful Vibration Sword can almost cut everything. And the Sonic Boom phenomenon is more than enough to damage an S Rank Magical Beast.


    "I can only apologize to the Golden Group who needs to fight him. That''s all my opinions. I don''t think I will add anything more." Sanae finished her speech with one warning that she wouldn''t answer any more questions.


    Diego understood that and thanked her.


    "I believe that this battle can''t show their real strength, but I can assure you that they''re far stronger than what you have seen. I''m sure that all of you are excited to try it yourself, bing the second Kai Carter, right? I will pray for your sess.


    "Hereby, I announce that the Group Battle has officially ended. Thank you for your time toe all the way here. Diego out." Diego closed the screen, signaling that everyone was over.


    Meanwhile, Kai and the others met the groups they fought earlier.


    Kai shook Samuel''s hand with a smile.


    "Thank you." Samuel thanked him. Although frustration remained on his face, he seemed to have grasped something more important other than winning or losing.


    "I like your expression. I wish you luck." Kai nodded.


    "If it''s not bothering you, I wonder if I can ask your advice for our group?" Samuel asked with a hesitant tone.


    "Sure. If you don''t mind."


    They started discussing what he found unnecessary before talking about their strength. Samuel was amazed by the extent of his knowledge.


    On the other hand, the other three also exined what they saw from their opponent. Since this would lead to an improvement, Michelle and the others also asked about their weakness.


    This battle turned into a good exchange between students, which satisfied Kai.


    "How about having a party? It doesn''t need to be in a fancy restaurant. Just a regr one where we can talk." Kai invited them, to which the other three also agreed.


    After contemting for a while, the four groups epted his invitation as they all went toward a nearby restaurant.


    The students and teachers who watched the battle also discussed the battle, though most topics were just them praising Kai''s strength and idolizing him.


    This was how the group battle ended, which seemed to be a win-win situation. At the very least, he could satisfy the new students and his opponents.


    Soon after, they returned to their home.


    Knowing Kai would soon leave for the EU Base, Ayaka and Michelle visited him daily while bonding with his parents. Of course, Kai noticed that both his parents and the two girls had been hinting at each other about marriage.


    After a long while, they seemed to agree to hold the marriage within two years after Kai graduated. In other words, it would be when he was 21 or 22 years old.


    It was consideredte in this era to be honest, but this was Kai they were talking about, so this number was rather eptable for both parties.


    His mother was in euphoria since there would be a hint that she would get a grandchild soon, which Kai rebuked by telling her that it would only happen in three or four years at the minimum.


    Even so, the thought of marriage alone was already enough for her.


    Kai also believed that two years after graduation would be a perfect time to handle it since he nned to get the fourth star during his third year. After that, he would consolidate his rtionship with both Sofia and Haruko during the two years while preparing their marriage.


    After that, Kai needed to settle the conflict between him and the Katsuragi Family. There was also a n to rescue Ayaka''s grandfather. And Kai wanted to settle it before his marriage.


    He had many things going on with his priority leaning on his identity as the Human Race''s protector.


    Those from the sea had given enough hints to make them realize that they were trying to destroy the entire US Base, so he needed to be the real protector as soon as possible. That was why he would need to go to the ce Oni Protector, Ishii, had told him.


    And there seemed to be someone pulling the string the moment he arrived at the EU Base, so he needed to negotiate with them again, even if it meant extending his stay there.


    After another two weeks, it was time to part.


    Kai went to the airport apanied by his family. Of course, Ayaka and Michelle tagged along. Even Nathan, Ria, and President Brent came to see him off.


    "Sofia is the limit, okay? Don''t you dare to look for another woman." Michelle pouted and looked away.


    "Ahaha, I know. I have my hands full with you guys, so how can I search for another one? Besides, I''m not actively searching any of you guys, you know." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "That''s¡­ true. Anyway, just be careful and take care of yourself. I am ready to head there at any moment''s notice."


    "Sure thing. I will endeavor to prevent such a thing from happening."


    "Good." Michelle smiled and kissed him before letting Ayaka say her piece.


    "Well, I don''t have anything to say other than be careful. What you n to do is extremely dangerous, so¡­ Ugh, I''m not good with words." She flustered and ended us kissing him. "Anyway, take care of yourself."


    "Of course. Your wish is mymand." Kai smiled.


    Nathan then stepped forward as he clung to Kai while shouting. "I don''t want you to go. I''m sure that they are trying to pull something when you''re there."


    "Grandfather!" Michelle''s eyebrows twitched as she pulled him off. "You''re bothering him."


    "But granddaughter¡ª"


    "Grandfather, it''s enough. This time, it''s really annoying. I trust him, so I will believe that he can handle everything thates his way. However, even if it''s a joke, what you are doing is too annoying."


    "Ugh. Now you have be like my daughter-inw, your mother. It seems that I can''t sleep well tonight." Nathan dropped to the ground andmented Michelle''s change.


    Meanwhile, President Brent shook Kai''s hand and smiled. "I wish you luck. Although I don''t want to admit it, their technology is the best among the three bases. Of course, we have our own technology and research, but I believe you should understand their technology and probably acquire it for yourself."


    "Ehm, that''s the n. I will just see which one can help me." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "And I''m sorry for making you be here."


    "Don''t mind. No one knows about it and it''s not my working hours yet, so it''s fine. Anyway, good luck."


    "Thanks." Kai nodded before turning to Ria Ross.


    "I only have one thing I want you to do." Ria patted his shoulder before clutching it.


    "Teacher?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Sofia''s grandfather is the EU Base''s strongest, right? Beat him for me."


    "Eh?" Kai blinked his eyes a few times, not believing what he just heard.


    "Yes, beat him for me. Since I can still beat you, it means that if you are above him and I''m above you, it will solidify my position as the world''s strongest." She gave a thumb up.


    "Ahaha." Kai shook his head helplessly. "I''m curious about his strength, so I will do it if there''s a chance."


    After saying goodbye to all of them, he turned around and waved his hand while walking toward his ne. "Then everyone. I''m going."

 Chapter 433 - EU Base

    Wee to Charles de Gaulle Airport.


    Kai looked at that huge signboard as he finally arrived at his destination.


    "Well, my departure is not announced, so only a few people wille to get me, which is lucky on my part," Kai muttered while looking around as he looked around. He opened his device and activated the trantor mode as it would record the voice of people near him to trante them. "Well, I''m not good at French, so a trantor might help."


    "Hmm¡­" Kai walked forward, looking at all types of merchandise that spread in so many stores. He would probably buy something for the others, but he would only do it on his way home.


    After messaging Sofia, he waited for a second because he was sure that Sofia would message him back as soon as possible.


    And it turned out he was right.


    "We are right outside. You just need to walk a bit more from the departure area and you will find me."


    Besides that message, Sofia kept muttering his name as if giving him a signal where to go.


    Of course, no one heard her, but for Kai, it was loud enough for him to get the direction. He followed the sound and soon found three peopleing to get him.


    The first person was none other than Sofia. She waved her hand as soon as she found him, to be exact, his giant "me" that she recognized. After all, not a single person could bepared to that me that symbolized Kai''s danger level.


    "We''re here," shouted Sofia, wearing a big smile.


    Kai nodded with a smile before looking at the person next to her. The first one was a middle-aged man wearing a formal suit. He had spiky hair, sharp eyes, and a muscr body. He was emanating a powerful aura like the ones he had seen so far.


    He then continued to the second person, who seemed to be an elderly man. He had the same hair color as Sofia''s and even the same length tied into a ponytail.


    Despite his old age, his eyes hadn''t lost their luster and his face had yet to be filled with wrinkles.


    There was no doubt that this old man was an expert.


    Kai came over with a smile and introduced himself. "Hi, it''s a pleasure to meet you. I''m Kai Carter."


    The middle-aged man stretched his hand and shook Kai''s hand while saying in English, "It''s our pleasure to invite the genius Kai Carter. I''m the minister of defense, Arnaud Kan. If you feel Arnaud is hard to pronounce, just call me Kan. I am responsible for your safety here, so if you''re going somewhere important, please tell me first."


    "I understand. I will inform you about it. But if possible, I would like to not invite attention. Hence, I would like to go to another ce by myself, but I think that''s impossible, right?"


    "Ahaha, that''s impossible." He shook his head helplessly and continued. "Although you are forbidden to go alone, as long as someone can guarantee your safety. We can allow you to make that trip."


    "I understand. I will inform you when that timees." Kai nodded before turning to the other person.


    "Ah, this is my¡ª" When Sofia was about to introduce her grandfather, he already cut in while shaking Kai''s hand. "Hello, I''m Jules Campbell. It''s my pleasure to see the soon-to-be strongest person in the US Base. My blood is boiling right now. How about we have a go?"


    "Ahaha, I can''t say that I don''t have the interest, but maybe next time?" Kai shook his head. To think that the person his master wanted to beat was him, he truly couldn''tprehend. "For now, I want to fulfill my side of the condition first. Maybe we can fight when I''m about to return."


    "Indeed. I will wait for you." He nodded with a smile before his grip became stronger and his smile disappeared. He released a killing intent as he shouted. "You brat, I''m still not giving you my granddaughter!"


    "¡­" Kai''s eyebrows twitched before he forced a smile and said, "Of course, I''m here to discuss it as well. I wonder if you have the time to discuss it with me along with Sir and Madam Campbell."


    "Eh?" He suddenly stopped and stared at Kai with a dumbfounded expression, not expecting this answer. It soon turned into annoyance as he said, "Oi, oi. That''s not the line you''re supposed to say, you know. Can''t you actually fulfill this old man''s wish? I really want to say that line with you reacting properly."


    "Hahaha, is that so? You shouldn''t tell Sofia about your intention if that''s the case." Kai remained calm and handled this grandfather well. "I couldn''t promise to do it soon, but I swear that everything will be settled in three years. I hope Sir Campbell can understand my circumstances."


    Jules narrowed his eyes and shook his head helplessly. "Whatever. Come to my houseter since you want to talk about it. It''s not going to be long anyway."


    "I will." Kai nodded. "By the way, I am supposed to go to the academy, right?"


    "I will send you to the academy dormter. For now, let''s continue the negotiation." He then turned to Arnaud and asked, "How about you exin it to him while we are going to the embassy to deal with the paperwork a bit?"


    "I understand." Arnaud then turned to Kai. "I will be informing you everything you need to know here, including the academy. Is that fine?"


    "Yes."


    "Then, let''s go to the car." Jules turned around, leading them to exit the airport.


    Meanwhile, Arnaud started talking. "I''m supposed you already know about the government system, right?"


    "Yes. Unlike United Asia''s decentralized government, which is controlled by a single family in their region and US Base''s democracy, this one seemed to be maintaining their border. No, should I say, despite the big incident back then, it remained as European Union?


    "This may look like United Asia, but they all have their own program and report to the union. So, the synergy is there." Kai nodded in understanding.


    Arnaud nodded with a smile and exined. "Exactly. Back when that happened, only five areas remained: France, German, Spain, Nethends, and Austria. The others were either wiped out or managed to seek refuge here. Luckily, we have gained back Sweden on the north and the entire west area, Italy, and up to Pnd to the east.


    "All the people who came from there had returned to their own country and formed a government from scratch. In total, we have eleven countries right now.


    "Now, you are in France and will attend the La Martiniere School as a third year student. This school system is a bit different than yours. Unlike you, who form a group, we fight alone because we have the technology to do something like this. Of course, there will be someone controlling the deployment, so I''m sure you will see itter."


    Kai agreed in amazement as this was also the result of his research about the EU Base. "I am looking forward to seeing something like that."


    "Haha. You can when you enter the school. I believe there is a ss for a special unit. All of them have an exoskeleton, you know."


    "Ho? That''s an interesting ss, I guess?" Kai smiled. "I wonder what the chain ofmand here is. I know that my rank is useless here, but I think my words still weigh a lot, right? Unless you are trying to shut me up?"


    Arnaud let out a long sigh and nodded. "Yes. Although your words weigh a lot, we can''t really give you any leadership because it will hurt the people''s trust. At most, we can give you an advisor role or a captain position for an elite group. That''s all the things we can give you."


    "I have no hope for this when Ie here, so I don''t really mind. However, I just want you to know that I won''t agree to a ridiculousmand." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "I understand that. I will also tell those people about it." He nodded before adding, "That''s right. There is something that you need to know. Unlike the US Base that allows you to get a mission once a month, this ce only allows you one week break. We believe that fighting on the battlefield will give you more benefits than studying in the school since most subjects are about battles."


    "I understand. I don''t mind that since I only have one request, which is to investigate one ce. After that, I can follow the instructions." Kai nodded before noticing the noises from the outside. "I think we''ve arrived."


    "Yeah." Arnaud then looked at Sofia and Jules, asking, "Would you like to apany us?"


    "Nope." Sofia shrugged. "I''ll be waiting here."


    "You can go. That stuff tires me out," Jules said nonchntly.


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai chuckled before signaling Arnaud to continue, even if it were only two of them.


    Arnaud understood and opened the car door, leading Kai inside.

 Chapter 434 - Campbell Family

    Afterpleting the paperwork, Arnaud led Kai''s back. Right in front of the car, he shook Kai''s hand and said, "We will be sending our agent to monitor you as well since we can''t afford to have you move so freely."


    "Hmm? Can''t you just ask Sofia to do it? And it''s not like I''m nning something like that." Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "We would like to, but if we consider Sir Jules''s character, I''m afraid that you won''t know what kind of trick he will pull off. That''s why we are sending our agent too. Don''t worry, I believe that her strength is good enough for you." Arnaud nodded. "The missions will be directed by the academy, so I won''t say anything for now."


    "I understand. I will do my best here so as to not create any trouble." Kai nodded with a smile, assuring him.


    "Thank you. That''s what we like."


    Kai then returned to the car as they drove toward Campbell Family''s mansion.


    As one would expect from a big family with the strongest magician as the former head, the mansion was huge. The area alone was three times the size of a football field. They needed more than ten people to take care of everything inside the house.


    Kai listened to every single sound in this house. As expected, the family''s head had been waiting for him, especially after getting a call from Jules.


    "So, what do you think about this house?" Jules asked with a poker face. There was no telling what he was thinking.


    Kai fell silent for a moment before answering, "Troublesome."


    "Indeed. It''s hard to maintain this kind of lifestyle, but I don''t think you will regret having one house like this in the future." He smiled.


    "Why so?"


    "You can build a special research center and other things. Besides, your family can move around without feeling restricted. No matter what you want to say, you have multiple wives. There''s no way you will only have one kid, right? When you be older, it will feel even more cramped.


    "Although I don''t mean to look down on your kid, it''s hard for your kid to surpass you, so it''s best to prepare everything for them, you know." He exined his reasoning.


    "That''s¡­ reasonable." Kai looked down with his hand supporting his cheek, contemting this matter. As he said, it might be good to think about the future, not about ten years from now, but a hundred years from now.


    Because of his identity as a Protector, he believed that he would live for a few hundred years. Although at that time he would have gone somewhere to hide himself, there was no way he could abandon his descendants just like that.


    Jules''s reasoning really touched his heart as he knew that this advice was something he needed to consider. He smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the advice. I will seriously think about it."


    "Good. That''s all I want to say. For now, let''se out and meet my son." He returned his smile and came out of the car.


    There was a middle-aged man standing before them. His silver, shaggy hair revealed a thin face. His round green eyes emanated an aura of the unknown as if it were the calm before the storm. Unlike Jules, who kept his beard, he didn''t have a single of it on his face, making him look a bit younger than his actual age.


    He wore a in shirt and left it unbuttoned at the top for a more casual look. The jacket fit covered his thin body and even made him look bigger. He wore pants that had the exact style of the jacket, both in color and pattern.


    "I have been waiting for you, Kai Carter." The man stretched his hand while introducing himself. "I''m Bastien Campbell. My wife, Regine, is inside, preparing the lunch for us by herself. She seems to be eager to do it, so you can expect something good since she was a chef."


    "Thank you. My name is Kai Carter. Please call me Kai, Sir Bastien."


    "In that case, you can call us uncle and aunt too." He nodded as he shook his hand. "When I first saw you in the news, I thought you would be big sooner orter¡­ But this is outside my prediction. It seems that you are a far bigger man than I have seen you this whole time."


    "I am thankful for the praise, but I''m just a simple man trying to live to the fullest, you see." Kai smiled.


    "Ahaha, indeed. With your status, you can certainly deal with many things while ignoring most of them. Either way, let''s go inside first."


    Kai nodded as Bastien led them inside.


    The interior of the house was simr to that of the Graham Family''s mansion, so he thought nothing of it and only focused on Jules''s movement.


    He suddenly grabbed Bastien''s shoulders while saying, "Come on, Bastien. You should hear this. This guy¡­ doesn''t even want to y along with my joke. You should tell him to do it."


    "Father, let''s not bother Kai. He must have been exhausted due to the long fight. Besides, it''s your fault. You should act more properly. Look at the family, if you don''t have Grandfather and me managing the family, our Campbell Family would have declined under your leadership.


    "Also, don''t squander too much money. We have been in the red because of you. And if you think this is not enough, I have a ton ofints to you. I hope you can hear every single of them." Unlike Michael, Bastien shut Jules up without mercy.


    "Oi, oi. Don''t embarrass me in front of my soon-to-be grandson-inw." He harrumphed. "Besides, if I take anothermission from the union, we can easily go over our loss."


    "Then how about you go right now? Don''t worry. It will only be a month. We won''t miss you. And do you think it''s that easy to manage the family? A person can attain so many riches, but if he doesn''t know how to properly manage it, he will be poor again." Bastien shook his head helplessly.


    "Ugh, Son. How about backing your father up a bit?"


    "I am helping you right now¡­ helping you to fix yourself. And we have gotten theint from the alliance. It''s true that you''re the strongest in the world, but no one can stay as the strongest forever. You should be more careful and not make unnecessary enemies.


    "Fortunately, I have dealt with it and gained their approval for this position. But you only have three months for it before the former principal takes office again. If not, I will just sell you to the union since I''m sure we can get enough money tost for seven generations."


    "Son, you are merciless, aren''t you?" Jules''s eyebrows twitched, looking at his savage son.


    "If you are a proper father, I won''t say something like this since everyone, including me, makes mistakes from time to time. Unfortunately, you are too willful, so we have gotten so many problems because of you."


    "But I get you allies."


    "Ten allies can''t bepared to a hundred enemies." He facepalmed and red at him. "Anyway, just stay inside the academy starting from tomorrow. Or you won''t realize what I will do to you until it''s toote."


    "¡­" Jules looked down, feeling sad. "Fine."


    Kai couldn''t help but smile when listening to these two. Although he didn''t say it, Bastien truly loved and took care of Jules.


    They then arrived at their destination, the dining room. As one would expect from a wealthy family, their dining room was so big. The table was long enough to even host more than twenty people.


    The golden chandelier in the middle of the room increased the exquisiteness of this room. There were two pairs of windows on the other side of the room where they could see the rxing garden and gave enough light to the room.


    "That''s right. Where is brother?" Sofia suddenly opened her mouth.


    "He¡­ He is still on the mission. I thought about introducing him to Kai Carter, but it''s impossible right now." Bastien shook his head in disappointment, recalling how he had convinced him toe back but got rejected.


    "Come on, Bastien. You should know about this, but Richard is holding the fort, so he truly can''t return. As the person who just came out of the grueling warfare, I''m sure you know this¡­ Warfare is not something to be treated lightly."


    "I know it, Father. But there is no important movement from the magical beasts, so it should be fine to return for a while. It''s just one day." Bastien clenched his teeth before sighing. "Well, I can''t me him as well since this is his choice."


    He turned to Kai and apologized. "Sorry for making you see that. And as much as I want to introduce my son to you, I''m afraid it''s impossible."


    "Don''t worry, Uncle. I can understand that. It''s also the reason why I''m nning to settle everything first in three years before settling down." Kai shook his head.


    "I see. I won''t say anything about your vision. If you think you don''t know where to go, you cane to me for advice. I will try to offer you a solution." Bastien nodded with a smile before looking at the door.


    Creak.


    The door was opened as someone gradually entered the room with a trolly. The one who brought them was a female in herte twenties.


    Her light green curly hair braided to avoid touching any food when cooking. Bright amber eyes set appealingly and brought a joyful atmosphere with her.


    She wore a white dress wrapped around her waist and covered them with an apron. She looked at them while smiling. "Ah, you all are here. Come on, let''s eat. Talking is best with a full stomach."

 Chapter 435 - Marriage Talk

    After finishing their meal, Bastien thought for a moment and asked Kai with a serious expression. "So, are you going to start or do you want me to start?"


    Kai understood what he wanted to say and nodded. He politely lowered his head and said politely. "I would like to ask Sir Bastien for Sofia''s hand in marriage. I know that I''m asking much, but I can''t really do anything for three years from now.


    "I can''t say anything about the reason, but you can say that this entire world is in the middle of the sea, waiting for the big storm toe." Kai''s expression was serious and his tone was severe.


    "You know something we don''t know?" Bastien frowned and realized something. "Your government know about this as well?"


    "No. It''s only me." Kai shook his head. "Well, maybe my teacher knows about it too. But all the main matter, I''m the only one."


    "Ahaha, it seems that our soon-to-be son-inw has been battling something that we don''t know. I think I need to thank you." Regine was humming with a smile, fully believing what he said.


    "You believe me?" Kai widened his eyes in amazement. This could be easily interpreted as a lie because this was the only thing he knew.


    Regine also understood that, but she exined. "Lie or not, I know that you indeed have something important. The moment you know about the talking magical beasts you called Protectors, that''s the only thing we need to know. After all, I''m sure they are rted to this.


    "Unfortunately, when your government and even your teacher don''t know much about this, I''m sure that we''re not supposed to know it either, but if you need any help, just call us. Although we consider things for the union most of the time, we are still fighting for humanity.


    "That''s why you don''t need to worry about the date. Your promise alone is enough for us. Besides, you are underestimating your position too much. I don''t know if you have realized it or not, but the moment you speak one thing, the whole world will know about it. You can easily raise people''s opinions to protect yourself or attack someone. This is the importance of your words." Regine exined clearly with a smile.


    Kai was taken aback by that response. When he heard about Sofia''s grandfather, he thought he needed to argue with them, but it turned out that her parents were so reasonable.


    "I think my wife has said everything. I will only add two points. First, I don''t care about your problem, but we can''t govern a ce without its citizens. The only reason why humans can unite is because they have a mutual enemy. Hence, call us when you need help. Of course, we won''t stretch our hand if you''re trying to have your revenge against the Katsuragi Family.


    "Second, I don''t like a break up. I''m sure that someone like you must have considered everything andmitted to your own promise, so I will watch over your rtionship until both of you are ready. Even though I don''t have multiple wives for various reasons, I don''t condemn it either unless it''s too big.


    "I mean,e on, you''re expecting me to say that you will give everything to your wives when you actually have ten or more? I can''t believe something like that. The family will be messy sooner orter when you have a child and you need to apply your strength to make your own words heavier.


    "I don''t wish to see such a toxic family. Since you have your own problem, I will try to assist you in any way you can. After all, the son-inw is the father''s greatest ally that will make his daughter happy. That''s why I wee you as Campbell''s family son-inw." Bastien smiled.


    Sofia also made a big smile when she heard her father and mother talking. This was a unique family since she had an unreasonable but adventurous grandfather, a firm and calm father, and a lovely and caring mother.


    "Right¡­ I would also like to thank you since Sofia has grown up a bit because of you. I was worried that she would turn like her grandfather, but it seems love indeed can change a person." Regine smirked, teasing both of them.


    "Indeed. Even visiting you was just her own whim. She wanted me to process everything for her. Haiz, looking back now, I can see why I''m always smiling recently." Bastien facepalmed and shook his head helplessly.


    "You don''t need to add that detail, right?!" Sofia shouted, feeling embarrassed.


    Kai smiled and enjoyed this atmosphere. They then discussed various matters regarding the family, EU Base, US Base, and their rtionship.


    It was just a light talk, but both sides could learn from each other pretty well. As one would expect from Bastien, he always shut his father up, not letting him talk nonsense to Kai, unlike Michael.


    Unknowingly, the sun was about to set when they finished their talks. It just showed that the talks were both important and interesting.


    Even Regine became more spirited to challenge herself in the kitchen again, while Kai ended up taking a bath with both Bastien and Jules, talking about a few things in a rxing bath.


    Not long after, they had dinner before Bastien brought him a few things.


    It was his uniform for the academy. It was a set of a smooth white shirt with a simple logo on the left chest. On top of the shirt was a white vest to make it more elegant, especially with few golden stripes on the sleeves. The pants were white without any things on them. It seemed they needed to wear gloves too, but other than that, he didn''t see any strange things to be worn.


    "This is your uniform for school. There are a few things you need to do in school and understand them, so I will leave them to Sofia tomorrow."


    Kai took the uniform and nodded. "I understand. Thank you very much."


    "No need to be so formal. You should try to take a rest first, though, I know that you are not tired." Heughed. "Anyway, because your departure wasst minute, you will need to go to school tomorrow since it was already started two days ago. I can''t really hog you all the time, can''t I?"


    "Yes. I will try to rest my body."


    "Then, Sofia, I will trouble you to guide him."


    "Okay, Father." Sofia gently nodded before stretching her hand to the door, asking Kai to leave with her.


    Looking at them leaving, Bastien''s face mellowed before closing his eyes. Suddenly, his wife came closer as he pulled her into his embrace. "We don''t need to worry about her anymore, right?"


    "Yes. She has grown and someone can take care of her better than us. We only need to get our son a wife." Regine smiled, albeit that smile soon disappeared as she noticed something. "That''s right. Where''s Father?"


    "Eh? He is with us just now¡­" He turned around and didn''t see a single person other than them. It was at this moment the two realized that Jules once again wanted to do something. "Ugh. Your father-inw is annoying."


    "No, no. He is your father."


    "Whatever. I will drag him back to this room in this instant." Bastien released his magic power as he walked out of the room.


    Meanwhile, Sofia and Kai had arrived at the guest room¡­ or it was supposed to be a guest room, but the only thing he could see was that this was someone''s room.


    The king-sized bed had been arranged for a couple to use. Next to the bed was a dressing table where he found some makeup on it. Although the room was in, he noticed the sweet smell that seemed to be the same as Sofia''s.


    "Ehm¡­ Don''t tell me. This is your room?" Kai blinked his eyes a few times before ncing at her.


    "Yes?" Sofia smiled and closed the door, locking it so no one could bother them. "This is fine, right? You feel reserved to do it back in the US Base because the others are there, right? I have talked to them about this as well, so I know."


    "¡­" Kai fell silent, watching her expression wrenched in pain. She must have been holding back for a long time and as she said, he had been holding back because he wondered how to break the news to them. "I am sorry¡­ for everything."


    "It''s fine. I can understand." Sofia shook her head.


    "But¡­" Kai was about to say something, but Sofia already knew what he wanted and closed his mouth with a kiss. She then walked to her dress table before taking out two tubes filled with medicine that he was familiar with. "That medicine¡­"


    "After talking to them, they gave me this medicine. It''s to prevent pregnancy and to hold the Zodiac Blood froming out, right?" She smiled and handed one of them to him.


    Kai was stunned as he never expected that they had been doing this behind his back. But when he took another look at the incident, it was truly his fault. Still, this was something special, so he didn''t want to do it because of his mistake.


    Instead, he made a little smile and patted her head before gently lifting her chin to face him. He took medicine and drank it in one go.


    Seeing this, Sofia also drank until thest drop without hesitation.


    The two smiled at each other and kissed.


    Their long passionate night just started as Kaiter became "tired" andpletely forgot about his jetg.


    ¡­


    The details are omitted.

 Chapter 436 - Roselyn

    The next day, Kai and Sofia had arrived at the school. The building was simr to his school back in the US Base, but the scale was farrger as if it was for more students. The moment they entered, they found a giant field where many students actually fought against each other.


    Right in front of him, the student took his breath away, not because of her beauty but due to her weapon.


    "What''s that?" Kai asked.


    Sofia smiled and pointed at the white spider legs that were on her back. "That''s also a part of the exoskeleton. You can say it''s the extension. If the exoskeleton is normally used to defend your body from iing harm and boost your physical abilities, those legs can actually be controlled to move together with you and be your weapon."


    "Heh?" Kai narrowed his eyes as the technology piqued his interest.


    "Can you see there is something on her neck, running through the back side of her cheek and connected to her head?"


    Kai nodded. "Yes."


    "That''s connecting the legs to your brain. It will move ording to the brainwaves. Of course, calcting your own brain waves is hard and needs so many trials and errors. Even that person needed around two years to reach this level of control."


    "You know her?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. She is the escort that Arnaud talked about, you know." She stuck her tongue out.


    Kai took a step back and widened his eyes. He once again checked the girl.


    She had long light blue hair tied into a ponytail to tidy it up. Her blue emotionless eyes showed that she couldn''t be easily shaken by something, so Kai felt that this girl wouldn''t talk too much.


    At least, she wouldn''t be so annoying.


    The girl spun her sparring partner''s body and struck her on the stomach, ending the match right there.


    "Thank you, Roselyn. It seems I can''t win against you today." Her opponent chuckled as she fell on her butt. "I''m tired."


    "No. You''re already strong enough." She shook her head.


    Suddenly, killing intent spread around before moving to target her. She flinched, took a few steps back, and took out a shield while blocking the sides with her eight spider legs.


    Raising her head, she found a male that perfectly fit the description Arnaud told her and instantly realized who he was.


    ''Seriously?'' Roselyn gulped down, wondering if someone like this truly needed protection. In that killing intent, she literally felt as if Kai was in front of her, choking her neck.


    Kai, on the contrary, never really used this type of move because he never felt the need to be in the US Base. But since the Union wanted to monitor him, she needed to be someone capable or else she would end up bing his burden.


    He didn''t mind taking care of a few people in the US Base, but he had nothing to do with the EU Base other than Sofia, so he wanted to see this person''s ability.


    At the very least, she seemed to be sensitive enough to sense a killing intent from fifty meters away, so it should be enough for her to escape if he ordered her too.


    ''So, that''s Kai Carter¡­'' Roselyn took a few deep breaths and calmed her heart down. ''How many magical beasts has he killed? Few thousand? No, I believe it''s already beyond tens of thousands¡­ No way, is it really above one hundred thousand magical beasts?''


    She wiped the sweats on her forehead and tidied up her appearance as she walked toward Kai Carter with a serious expression.


    Her sparring partner was confused by her action, but it was answered when she saw Kai Carter staring at them from the school gate.


    While waiting for her to arrive, Sofia decided to introduce the girl. "She is the number three of this school. Because of her specialty as a defender with that shield you saw earlier, she has been nominated to escort you around.


    "Her name is Roselyn. Well, you have been informed that our school doesn''t have the US Base''s group system, but we have something simr. To be honest, you are to search for a mission alone. The mission itselfes from the military, so there are many people who wille for that mission on the due date.


    "Then, you basically need to team up with those people there ording to the orders from above. In other words, unlike the US Base that teaches the synergy for each group and has themsted for long, the Union wants adaptability from the people here.


    "After all, if someone from a team dies, the remaining people are required to get another person or continue as it is. That''s why we don''t adopt the group system. Of course, the synergy won''t be as good as yours."


    "I see." Kai nodded in agreement, knowing the reason why they implemented such a system. He contemted until he heard that Roselyn had arrived before him.


    "Hello, I am Roselyn Breguet. I can''t speak Japanese, but I think my English is good enough to keep up with the conversation." Roselyn spoke in English and stretched her hand. "It is my honor to help Kai Carter during his stay in this school."


    "I am Kai Carter. Nice to meet you." Kai nodded. Although he wasn''t pureblood Japanese and United Asia, in fact, had so manynguages, they still used Japanese to talk on a daily basis. It was to honor Japan to take them in as a refuge in the past. Even though they changed the name to United Asia, they still held it in high regard.


    However, Kai and his family still spoke English from time to time back in the house, so he didn''t have a problem talking to Michelle in the past and had no trouble talking with others in the US Base from the start.


    Still, he wondered whether he should learn French, so she could speak easily in this ce then realized that it wasn''t worth the time. Instead of learning othernguages, he better learned other races''nguages.


    They shook hands with a smile.


    Kai could see that her spider legs had beenpressed to a simple box attached to her back. It was around a lunch box in size, so she shouldn''t have any problem or whatsoever to have it attached on her back.


    "I don''t know if you have heard this, but I have three primary jobs. I will apany you anywhere you want to go since I need to report it. Of course, you have your freedom in your room or bathroom unless you act suspiciously. Then, if you have any requests to the Union, I will do my best to ry your message to them.


    "Third, I am going to fight together with you in every single mission and you are allowed to make me do anything." She exined while raising three fingers.


    "Do anything, eh?" Sofia suddenly smirked and looked at her. "Including sexual activity?"


    "Ehm¡­ Yes." Roselyn nodded with a poker face even though she hesitated for a second. She thought and took one step back, putting her right hand above her chest and her left hand on the waist. "My bust is 85 cm, my waist is 86 cm. I have confidence that I will be able to bear a good child."


    That was a pretty but unusual introduction. Even Sofia was amazed by the boldness.


    However, Kai shook his head and sighed. "You should say it when you''refortable with it. Anyway, I won''t make you do something like that. Don''t worry."


    As one would expect, the hesitation in her tone was easily caught by Kai''s ears.


    On the contrary, Roselyn felt both relieved and hurt at the same time as she facepalmed. "I wonder if I should be hurt to see you not finding me attractive or feel happy that you''re a good person. Well, I''m a direct subordinate of the Union and they ask me the same thing as they want from Sofia. I should say this from the beginning since I don''t want a misunderstanding or offend you in any case.


    "After all, the moment we surrender ourselves to the Union, we need to follow anymand no matter how ridiculous it is." Roselyn let out a long sigh before smiling. "Anyway, that''s everything. Do you have a question?"


    "Not really." Kai shook his head. "I am just wondering if I can call the people in the US Base since I don''t know whether the Union will tap it or not."


    "Ahaha, even I don''t have the answer to that question. But I can ask my superior about it."


    "Nah, it''s fine. It''s only three months anyway, so I can bear with it." Kai shrugged without a change of expression as if he had prepared for something like this.


    Little did Sofia and Roselyn know that Kai had gotten a direct line that allowed him to call the people close to him and the government if she felt troubled or just wanted to share his love with his close ones.


    "Anyway, I''m new here, so I don''t know anything. What should I do first?"


    "The school has a seminar every single day for each grade, but not many participate in it because they don''t have an interest in it. And most of them are on a mission, so I don''t think you need toe to the seminar.


    "Grandfather haspleted the registration process for you, so you only need to grab the key to your dorm from him right now. After that, I can guide you around the school," answered Sofia with a poker face.


    "Well, I need to follow you wherever, so please excuse me. I hope you don''t mind." Roselyn gently scratched the back of her head with an apologetic smile.


    Kai thought for a moment and decided. "Let''s deal with the formality stuff first."

 Chapter 437 - Three Courses

    As they agreed, Sofia led Kai to the principal office while Roselyn chose to tag along. As one would expect, they gathered attention everywhere they went. Kai''s reputation was already worldwide, while Sofia and Roselyn were famous on their own.


    Still, most of them were actually gossiping about Kai and Roselyn since they thought Roselyn had be Kai''s partner on the first day. They might have actually contacted each other before that.


    Kai didn''t answer nor rify this matter since he would just get a bigger reaction from them, so it was not worth his time.


    He only walked without looking at them. Yet, he didn''t know why but the men''s stares contained killing intent.


    Sofia shouldn''t be the problem since her rtionship with him had been announced, so the real reason must be Roselyn.


    Deciding to figure things out, he listened to all their conversations and understood that Roselyn had a reputation for being one of the four "queens" of the school alongside Sofia.


    The queens possessed everything from Family Background, Money, Talents, Skills, and Beauty. They were the most idolized people in the entire school, so no wonder they released their killing intent.


    With Sofia in his front and Roselyn behind him, he truly looked like a king. They felt jealous because they wanted to change positions with him.


    There was also the fact that Kai didn''te from a big family, so his "status" was quite low, making them think that everything he achieved came from the Graham Family or any other big family in his harem.


    Kai couldn''t care less about this because strength was what mattered. If he killed them, they wouldn''t be able to do anything unless they came back to life.


    After what felt like a long one-hour walk, they finally arrived at the principal office, where he needed to handle another troublesome guy, Sofia''s grandfather, Jules.


    Knock.


    Knock.


    Sofia knocked on the door and opened her mouth. "We''re here."


    "Come in." Jules''s voice came out as Sofia reached the handle and opened it.


    "Excuse us."


    The room was simr to that of a Student Council back in Sacred Magic School. One big table for the Student Council (Principal) at the other end of the room and two big couches for others to sit on.


    "You''ve finallye. I''m tired of waiting for you." Julesined and noticed Roselyn behind Kai. He clicked his tongue and threw a palm-sized white card toward Kai. "This is your room key."


    Kai grabbed it without a problem and checked the key, finding "09" on it.


    "I have settled every single document for you other than these two that require your signatures. After that, you can go around the school, go to your dorm, or even start listening to the lectures. I don''t care." Jules shrugged. "If you want a mission or something, ask my granddaughter to guide you to the billboard where you can find a mission¡­ Hmm, never mind. I have another solution."


    He opened a drawer on his right and found another device. "This is a new device. You can use this in this ce. Ask her to link it up with the billboard, so you can check the mission in your room."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and thought there was a tracker inside. However, it wasn''t like they would see or listen to anything since he would only y by the rule.


    "Thank you." Kai nodded his head politely and signed two documents after taking a close look at them so he didn''t get cheated.


    "In that case, I will guide him to his room." Sofia nodded and waved her hand.


    "Yep. You can go now." Jules let them go just like that.


    Even Kai expected he blew up about something stupid, but it seemed he could act professionally as the principal.


    They went straight to the dorm where everyone lived.


    Suddenly, Sofia nced back and opened her mouth. "I think you don''t need to follow him for today. It''s not like he is going to do anything right now. I can guide him as well."


    Feeling a bit suspicious, Roselyn shook her head. "I''m afraid I can''tply with your request. I have been tasked by the Union to follow him anywhere other than bathroom and bedroom unless it''s necessary."


    Sofia sighed and turned back as Kai nced to the side, finding a certain ssroom. "Hmm? What''s that?"


    "Engineering Room. In this school, we separate three specializations. The first will be trained like a soldier. In your US Base, it''s like thebination between the Magic School and Military School. We train both aspects together.


    "The second specialization is her." She pointed at Roselyn. "Fighting with an exoskeleton. Well, you can consider me as one too, but when you have gathered enough merits through the school systems, you can request a unique exoskeleton extension like her spider legs. I don''t have any interest in those, so I can''t show you anything.


    "Thest one is Engineering. Their school materials are to research exoskeletons and create their own unique exoskeleton. Of course, this only happens recently since the Union seems to want to spread it worldwide.


    "That''s the reason why we agreed to US Base''s request to make your own exoskeleton. In any case, it''s going to spread sooner orter, so even the US Base will start sending students to learn here.


    "Anyway, all three respect each other because an exoskeleton won''t be able to do anything if the engineers don''t want to make an exoskeleton for them. The supply will be cut if they offend the basic course people since they upy most of our numbers and gather the materials for them.


    "And you may end up getting beaten up if you offend an exoskeleton user," Sofia exined everything he needed to know in this school.


    He nodded with a serious expression, knowing the reason why they could live in harmony.


    "Well, the entire school will eventually hate you if you create amotion here because these three are helping each other to survive," added Roselyn with a smile.


    "Yeah, I can see that. I just hope that someone is not foolish enough to mess around with me by throwing a fake im." Kai narrowed his eyes and released his killing intent.


    Roselyn sweatdropped as she could foresee a bloodbath if this guy were offended. With him being able to kill an S Rank Magical Beast, his skill might already be on par with Jules, their strongest. If those two joined up, no one in the Union would be able to stop them.


    That was why they sent her to check on him and try to seduce him even though she didn''t want to do it. His power was just that absurd.


    Although this was only for the higher-ups, Kai was actually more famous for his other ability. It was hismanding ability. Without any doubt, Kai could be considered a genius in warfare. If he ordered Campbell Family''s soldiers and fought together with Jules, they would truly be unstoppable.


    Kai could understand that as well, so he felt that someone might try to mess it up by creating a problem for him. For better or worse, it would influence the entire school and ultimately the entire base.


    Thus, Roselyn''s other mission was to sustain a safe environment, so Kai didn''t pull any tricks. She had gotten permission from the Union to eliminate people that would disturb this peace anyway since Kai was a double-edged sword.


    And due to this agreement, they couldn''t kill Kai as well or they would be condemned by all the people in the world, including their own citizens.


    Noticing her thought, Kai smiled. "You''re going to have rough days."


    "I have prepared for it." She let out a long sigh. "Just be gentle to me."


    "¡­" Kai fell silent as this girl pretended to misunderstand what he was talking about. What Kai meant was a serious problem, while she replied as if she mentioned the lewd problem.


    In the end, Kai decided to stop talking and followed Sofia until they arrived at the white building next to the main school building.


    This dorm could host more than five thousand people at once, so the students could have a good living environment without the need to return to their homes.


    After another few minutes, they arrived at room 09, where Kai would live for the next three months.


    Suddenly, Sofia did something no one would think of. She opened the door with the same key card as the one in Kai''s hand.


    Even Roselyn dropped her jaw to the ground as she thought that what she just saw was an illusion. ''They had us¡­ The Campbell Family had us.''


    Kai entered the room while asking nonchntly. "Why do you have¡ª"


    He stopped the moment he took a look at the room. It had a simple closet and one regr-sized bed, barely enough for two people. Other than that, the room only had one table and one chair. None of them were actually for two people.


    Yet, Kai found another suitcase with women''s clothes. There was no doubt that those clothes were Sofia''s. In other words, Jules''s n was to make them cohabit with each other to grow their love by sharing everything.


    "What a sly old man¡­" Kaimented with a poker face and shook his head helplessly.


    "This¡­ Don''t tell me¡­ you two are going to live together?" Roselyn asked, flustered.


    "You can already see the answer. Why do you even need to ask it again?" Sofia shrugged and entered the room like how she had been doing for thest couple of days.


    Kai only sighed and cared no more. He didn''t mind sleeping together with her since both knew that they couldn''t do anything unless they had the medicine. In other words, no matter how clever the n was, nothing would happen.


    The only thing that would increase was their affinity with each other since they basically shared everything.


    Roselyn gasped and shouted. "I''m going to live here too!"


    "There''s not enough space." Sofia suddenly made a small grin as she teased her. "Are you sure you want to intrude on our love nest?"

 Chapter 438 - Negotiation

    After getting shut up by both Kai and Sofia relentlessly, Roselyn ended up falling silent for the rest of the day.


    Kai, on the other hand, had another interest in the Engineering Department since he wanted to see what kind of exoskeleton they could produce at this point.


    Although he himself didn''t have the need to add another exoskeleton to help him fight, considering his sword was the sharpest sword in the world, he still wanted to see the creativity of the people in the Union.


    After all, there might be one or two that were beyond his imagination as he ended up using it. Of course, he would negotiate with them to get the right for the exoskeleton.


    In his room, Kai asked Sofia. "Do you know a ce to buy the exoskeleton?"


    "Well, there is no buying option, but I think you can ask someone to invent one for you or ask for the right to wear it." Sofia nodded. "Do you want to buy something?"


    "Yep," Kai admitted that he wanted to buy it, but it might not be for him.


    "I can lead you to that ce. Do you want to go now or unpack your luggage first?"


    "Let''s go there immediately," answered Kai without hesitation. He didn''t want to waste the opportunity and took everything he could within these three months.


    "Before that, I want to ask you one question."


    "Sure. Ask anything."


    "Where do you want to go? Don''t worry about this woman. She will probably tag along because of the mission. And if it''s dangerous, my grandfather may end up following you. Probably one more guy from the Union, who is most likely Arnaud."


    "Do you know anything about Akkadian Language?"


    "Akkadian? I think I have heard it before." She looked down, falling into deep thought.


    Suddenly, Roselyn recognized it and asked, "Is it Akkadian Empire?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "I''m going to search all the Akkadian Empire''s territory."


    Roselyn quickly searched it up on the inte. "It was the first ancient empire, uniting Akkadian and Sumerian speakers. Their territory is toorge for us to search, so it will take months even with one thousand people. And with so many beasts in that territory, it will be even harder to search for anything."


    Roselyn didn''t agree with this idea because it was far too dangerous.


    On the contrary, Sofia only hummed and nodded her head. "Alright. When do you want to visit that territory?"


    "I am not sure." Kai shook his head. "I''m still thinking about the opportunity."


    "Are you crazy?" Roselyn grabbed Sofia''s shoulders and shook her. "This is madness. No. This is suicide. You can''t expect us to agree with this, right? I''m not going to have my target of protection just go to this ce."


    Listening to her words, Sofia shrugged and said, "You just need to protect him then. It''s not like there is an S Rank Magical Beast or something in that area, so there shouldn''t be a problem."


    "Are you listening to me? There are still hundreds of thousands of beasts if not millions. This is a suicide mission."


    Kai sighed and stopped Roselyn by grabbing her shoulder before opening his mouth. "That''s it, Sofia. We will go after my period here ends. With this, they won''t have the right to stop me again. Just think of me as a suicidal person."


    "What are you saying?" Roselyn gritted her teeth. "Do you think you can go away just like that? There''s no way that the Union will give you permission to do something like that. They will do anything to stop you."


    "Then what? They will stop me and use that information to go there by themselves?" Kai made a mocking smile since he had no doubt it would go to that road at some point.


    Roselyn fell silent because she knew that the moment she reported this, many people in the Union would seize this opportunity to go there. Of course, the military would also focus on expanding in that direction to see what kind of important thing Kai wanted to find.


    Unfortunately, Kai dropped another bomb that made it impossible for them to get something buried underneath thatnd.


    "Still, no matter what trick you can do to me, I can simply return to the US Base and have my own expedition here. The EU Base has no right to stop me that way. What? Do you want to seize it from me first? Try it, you will know that it''s impossible to go there." Kai''s smile was filled with confidence.


    There were two keys they needed to open this space that contained ancient people. The first would be the ne Rapakha gave him and the other one was his identity as the Protector, which was more important than the former.


    "Well, I have reported it in the past," Sofia added while ncing at his ne.


    In other words, Sofia just directed her attention to the "key" that Kai held. To get this ne from him, there were only three ways because of his ears. The first would be seizing it by force. This move would certainly get condemnation from the citizens since Kai was the number one "idol" in the world.


    At the same time, Kai''s strength was too strong. With the Campbell Family backing him in this base, it was practically impossible to get it from him unless they moved their entire force.


    The second way was getting his approval by asking him in a polite way such as an agreement between two bases. However, it seemed that Kai had full custody of the item, so he by no means had an obligation to hand it over to the government.


    Even if they tried to pressure him, he still had Ria Ross, Nathan Graham, or even General Rain, with whom he had gotten close for thest few months. In other words, this option was also a no-no.


    That left thest option, seduction. Yet, this was the most reasonable option in Roselyn''s mind. She herself had prepared for something like this and would offer her body to Kai whenever he wanted it, albeit this didn''t include the fact that Sofia had seduced him for a year only to be his potential wife a yearter.


    It was possible, but she only had three months to do it. And Kai didn''t like a rushed rtionship, so the chance was practically impossible. All in all, the three options were practically useless to get the key.


    The only way out was to agree with all his conditions and coordinate with him in this mission.


    Hence, Roselyn would likely report this incident and force Arnaud toply with his demands even if they needed to go on a suicidal mission like this.


    Unfortunately for her, she just displeased him earlier because of the earlier conversation. Although it was understandable since the concern was his safety, Kai seemed to not like it.


    Roselyn gulped down and finally lowered her head, begging Kai. "Please¡­ You can do anything to me if it pleases you, but I hope that you can do this mission together with the Union."


    Kai smiled as she had taken the bait. He knew that it was possible for him to go with the US Base, especially his teacher. But the protector that threatened the safety of US Base had their eyes on the base, so if they sent an expedition team to this ce, he would be noticed by them, making the enemies speed up everything.


    If a protector truly moved, the US Base might be wiped out the next day. In that case, he had no choice other than to rely on the EU Base to take action even if they got a bite of the benefits he would receive.


    Either way, the biggest reward would be him learning other races''nguages, so his existence would be the biggest threat to the whole world.


    Whether they wanted to fight him as an enemy or treat him as a friend, it would be entirely up to the world leader. And Kai knew that the current president of the US Base would choose to side with him.


    Luckily, Brent was elected twice, allowing him to take the reign for another three years. That was why he said that everything would be over within three years. Everything was within his calction.


    After getting the confirmation from Roselyn, Kai acted as if he was pondering over it seriously.


    Each second felt like an eternity for Roselyn because if Kai rejected this, there would be something awful for her in the near future.


    Thinking that Kai needed one more push to agree to her as this had be a part of their lives in ''shady'' negotiation, she started unbuttoning the vest, preparing to do anything for the sake of one nod.


    Unfortunately for her, that courage had been blown away by one sentence from Kai. "If you strip, I''m going to disagree. Let me think a bit more to see if doing it with US Base is more profitable or not."


    "That¡­ I can try to help you negotiate with the higher-ups about it."


    "Try, eh?"


    "I will definitely convince them. No, please. We agree to every demand of yours as long as it''s rted to the expedition." Roselyn changed the terms and agreed on their behalf. After all, she had read all the reports involving Kai and the ne was indeed some sort of key to a certain space ording to the report. That was why she had to do anything for Kai to agree.


    "Fine. You can tell them about this expedition. If they don''t agree, it means this is over. I just want to remind you that no matter what you try to do, you won''t seed. My conditions are simple. Only five people can go and they will be directed by me. I can''t guarantee the reward, but I can promise that you will get something good. Last but not least, I want full closure about my identity to the agents who will participate in this expedition even if the Union is asking for that information."


    After stating that term, Kai ced his hand on her head and patted her a few times. "Let''s get along, shall we?"

 Chapter 439 - Reporting

    "Ugh." Arnaud gritted his teeth when he heard about the report. He was staying in his room because Roselyn said she had something important to talk about, but he never expected that it was this important.


    In front of him was a blue screen with Roselyn''s face on it as they were in the middle of a video call. He facepalmed and supported his head on the table with his hand, letting out a long sigh.


    "I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have agreed to those terms." Roselyn apologized because she thought Arnaud was disappointed in her because she had been reckless.


    However, thetter shook his head helplessly and exined. "I''m not ming you. In fact, I want to praise you for reaching an agreement. Though I believe that this is his n all along."


    Roselyn looked down with a sad expression, knowing that Kai tricked her earlier, pressuring her to make a decision. Unfortunately, nothing could be done because Kai''s words were far heavier than her imagination.


    His conditions were clear. Join him and you would receive the benefit. There was no room for negotiation. Why? Why would he state something like this right at the beginning? Was it because Sofia asked him? No.


    No. Due to the fact that he was new here, no one, even Roselyn, could grasp this man called Kai Carter fully, so this was the best way to raise his worth far above his actual worth and pressured them to agree.


    "What an enigma¡­ That guy can''t be measured by the standard anymore." Arnaud closed his eyes, pondering what he should do with this information. "For now, I will convince the Union since this might be a great clue for us, considering Sofia Campbel once got something good from the Easter Ind Expedition.


    "There is a possibility that this one is bigger than that because the stone gave something so important to Kai Carter. ording to that stone, this ce would have ancient civilization, so I''m hoping that this is not a trap to bait us.


    "After all, you can see the wonders of the world like pyramids and such and contemte how they were even built. There is only one thing that can be used as an exnation."


    Roselyn realized and dropped her jaw. "Magic."


    "Exactly." Arnaud praised her for getting that agreement solely for this since the ancient civilization might be more important than he thought. "If we can even have a portion of ancient civilization knowledge about magic, we may be able to create something better than an exoskeleton. It will only strengthen the Union."


    "¡­" She closed her eyes, not knowing whether to feel relieved or angry. She felt useless in front of Kai Carter, yet, Kai said that he was looking forward to their cooperation¡­ No, her cooperation. In other words, Kai had the intention to bring her there.


    At the same time, this sentence could be used to protect her from the Union, especially if they tried to punish her because she was too rash. Even though Kai indeed pressured her to agree to this promise, he still protected her from the danger.


    "Still, to think that Kai Carter would do something like this¡­" Arnaud narrowed his eyes, looking at her. "Hmm¡­"


    Roselyn knew what he was thinking about her and looked away. "I''m not someone important."


    "There is still a chance. You should grab it."


    "It''s impossible." Roselyn shook her head helplessly. "The time is too short to be even considered."


    "How about sending you as an exchange student this time?" He smiled. "Or do you hate him? After all, he pressured you to do something like this."


    "I don''t know. No, I don''t hate him. He just did something like that because we were strangers, but I probably could say that I like his personality."


    "Whatever. I only want to say one thing. Don''t let your emotions hinder your judgment. I will handle this case, but there might be people that will try to make a fuss sooner orter, so do your job well, okay?"


    "I understand." She saluted him.


    "Then, good night. You should rest for now. I will send you the reply three dayster. For now, tell him that it will take time toe to a decision, but I should be able to convince them. The expedition can get the approval one or two monthster."


    "Yes, Sir." Roselyn then ended their call and swiped the screen, making it disappear. She took a step back and let out a long sigh before looking at her own room. Something seemed to be calling her and she wondered whether she had to do it or not. "Whatever¡­ I need to do this."


    Meanwhile, Kai and Sofia sat face to face with serious expressions. "I''m sure you know it, but this ce is truly cramped."


    "I know." Sofia nodded and looked at the closet, which was filled with their clothes. Her eyes then wandered to the table, the only ce that was empty in this room since no one had the need to use it other than cing their device or something.


    The bathroom was the same. They had a shower and a bathtub, so it was pretty nice, but they would be able to hear each other even if they closed the door. In other words, for the rest of his stay here, they wouldn''t have any privacy and need to share everything together.


    Kai and Sofia didn''t really mind that. The only problem would be the bed.


    Kai thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think about the bed?"


    "Why don''t we sleep together? It''s not like that''s a problem for you, right?"


    "I don''t mind, but¡­"


    "Temptation?" She smiled. "Don''t worry. I will properly take care of you like the others when we were in the US Base."


    It was true that none of his girls ever did it properly when they had no medicine. But it didn''t mean that''s all to it.


    "Besides, I don''t know if I can return to the US Base after three months, so isn''t it fine for me to be a bit more selfish here?"


    Kai took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine, you win. I won''tin about it. I just want no one to hear something like¡ª"


    Before he finished his words, he seemed to hear something going on next door and facepalmed. "Ugh. And now this happens¡­."


    "What''s happening?" She tilted her head in confusion.


    Since he looked to the left, Sofia decided toe out of the room and peeked to the left, finding Roselyn with her suitcase.


    "Ho? Roselyn." Sofia narrowed her eyes, watching how Roselyn negotiated something with a girl next door.


    "!!!" Roselyn froze for a second and stiffly turned around. "Ya, Sofia. Why are you here? Do you need help or something?"


    Sofia didn''t say anything and kept staring at her to make her nervous.


    Roselyn flinched as she wondered what she should do when the situation was like this. There was no doubt that the girl was the original tenant and Roselyn seemed to be making an agreement with her, so they could exchange ces.


    The only reason was to monitor Kai and do everything possible. She was also aware Roselyn brought a sound jamming machine with her, preventing her report from being heard by Kai. That was the reason why Kai didn''t see thising.


    "What are you doing here?" Sofia made an evil smirk as if she nned to do something.


    "I am here just to exchange ces with my ssmate here. There''s nothing wrong with that, right?" Roselyn answered her question calmly.


    "Don''t you mean you are trying to intrude on our ''Love Nest?'' That''s not something I can appreciate¡­"


    "Didn''t you start from a homewrecker?" Roselyn snorted and stated the fact to p Sofia''s face.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about. I started from being hisrade."


    "Whatever you want to say, I am toozy to deal with you who like to twist every single word to your own convenience." Roselyn shrugged. "Besides, this is legal in this academy, so I haven''t broken a single rule."


    The two stared at each other with fighting intent as if they wanted to p the cheek of the opposite party.


    Sofia thought for a moment and revealed a small grin. "I wonder if you can still say something like that after a few days."


    After saying her piece, Sofia returned to the room and let Roselyn finish the exchange, settling down to her new room.


    Meanwhile, Sofia walked to Kai and exined her good idea.


    "Kai, can you use your Sound Instion Room for this room and the one next to us?"


    Kai let out a long sigh. "I don''t know if you are trying to prank her or annoy her¡­ I will just do it for you once, no more after that since I know that it''s thetter if you keep continuing this. It''s just mean."


    Sofia took a deep breath and calmed down. "Yes, I know. Just this once. I won''t do something like this again. If it''s too much, I will exin everything to her and apologize, okay?"


    Kai looked at her eyes and sighed. "Fine. Just this once."


    He immediately erected the Sound Instion Room for the two rooms. If he deemed this went too far, he would stop her and lock the room with his Sound Instion Room. At the same time, he would be disappointed in Sofia.


    As the time passed by, Roselyn had finally finished settling her luggage andid down on the bed, exhausted.


    She thought that staying near Kai would allow her to do everything together, so this was something necessary after seeing the arrangement.


    However, her night had just begun when she heard Sofia''s voice from the next room.


    She kept moaning for an hour as if they were in the middle of their night activity.


    Roselyn''s face couldn''t help but blush as she never expected that Sofia would do something like this. Whether it was true or not, she couldn''t help imagining what was happening next door.

 Chapter 440 - Interest

    The next day, Kai came out of the room with Sofia before turning his head to the left, finding Roselyning out of her room too. Herplexion seemed to be not that healthy, and Kai knew why she would be like that.


    Kai didn''t want to be that demanding and told his girlfriend to do this and not to do that, so he agreed to yesterday''s request. However, he was also not someone who would allow his girlfriend to do anything too far, so he limited that thing only once.


    After all, Roselyn was just a poor soul that needed to be there because of her own mission, not her will.


    "Anyway, you should rest if you are not doing well¡­" said Kai while wondering what he needed to do for today.


    "No. It''s fine." Roselyn shook her head and exined. "Anyway, the agreement will be finalized within three days ording to my superior. What do you want to see today? I will guide you to the room and exin everything to the teacher with the formal notice from the Union."


    Kai thought for a moment and said, "I wish to see around the exoskeleton then. It''s not like I''m interested in the two other courses¡­ I will probably watch themter."


    "I understand." Roselyn nodded with a serious expression as she led Kai to his destination. Sofia remained silent the whole time since she couldn''t do anything other than apanying him during this period.


    Even her grandfather had been notified by the Union about their bottom line. The only time she could do anything freely would be when they ventured to the ce Kai wanted to see.


    Either way, their first stop would be the room where the exoskeleton was produced. There were many teachers and students inside as they worked on many projects side by side.


    In fact, this room looked like a factory instead of a ssroom.


    The width alone reached one hundred meters, allowing many people to work on the project while getting supervised by the teachers.


    "The teachers here are professors that used to work on the exoskeleton program. Instead of doing it half-heartedly, the Union sent all the professors here to take in a fresh new idea from the student while teaching them how to build it from a young age. This may require some advanced engineering, but the technology allows people to be a student in this area as long as you have a bit of talent."


    Kai nodded in agreement, knowing that the students here seemed to be serious about their own jobs.


    Roselyn decided to go to one teacher as the head supervisor and showed him the notice. After calling Kai and talking about the few requirements he needed to obey in this ce, he finally gave him permission with Roselyn as his guide.


    The trio then began venturing the entire room. They saw many types of exoskeletons, from an extended de that woulde out of the exoskeleton''s wrist to something that looked like a robot.


    The variations truly surprised Kai as he observed each of them carefully while asking some people that would be more than happy to answer his inquiries. Of course, he would leave as soon as someone told him to leave them because he was a nuisance.


    Suddenly, one person piqued his interest. The exoskeleton actually built a concentrated shoe and glove.


    "This¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and raised his vision, finding a woman with red hair. Her hair wasn''t that long, only slightly reaching a bit lower than her shoulders. However, she tied it neatly to avoid being a nuisance to her work.


    She wore the same uniform as them but coupled with some fluid that covered it to avoid dirt and such from the equipment.


    Noticing Kai''s presence, she stopped what she was doing and looked at Kai in confusion before finding Sofia and Roselyn behind him. At that moment, it just clicked and she realized who they were.


    She quickly tidied her appearance and offered a smile. "Wee."


    "Hello. I am Kai Carter." Kai made a gentle smile. "I am sorry if I disturb you."


    "It''s fine. I''m not in the important part." She shook her head before continuing. "Besides, I''m honored to see the legendary Kai Carter in front of me."


    "Ahaha, I''m just a normal student like you." Kai waved his hand as if telling her it wasn''t a big deal. "Can I ask you a few things about what you make here?"


    "Sure. Please ask me anything. I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability."


    "From what I can see here, why are you doing everything separately? Are you trying to build full body armor?"


    "Not really?" She tilted her head in confusion. "I love watching a battle between Martial Artists, you see. So, I grow up and want to be one. To do that, I need to build my own equipment."


    She then touched her equipment one by one while exining. "This glove was inspired by the Boxing Glove. This boot was inspired by Taekwondo, thinking that if a normal one didn''t allow me to one-hit kill the magical beast, I would have used this shoe to fulfill it. Of course, I know that I''m insulting the Martial Arts, but I still think this is my answer to my dream."


    "I see. Do you think I can order one from you?"


    "Really?" She was more than happy to take this order since she was also short in cash to do this research.


    "!!!" Meanwhile, Roselyn and Sofia widened their eyes, never expecting that Kai would be interested in this. Normally, the students would be more excited about sharp weapons, so they thought Kai would get a de or something.


    However, Kai''s real aim wasn''t a sharp de and the like. It was the exoskeleton for his girlfriend. This one seemed to suit Ayaka so much if he could add more weight into the exoskeleton, so he didn''t hesitate to use his money to buy this.


    "I can do it, but I''m afraid I don''t have enough funds to make you one. And do you have any preference?"


    "Well, I want something heavy? The heaviest thing you can get for both shoes and gloves. Don''t worry. I can cover the expense. If I am satisfied, I will pay even more."


    "That will be great." She nodded with a smile. "As for something heavier¡­ This is a bit challenging because we can''t really dump all the materials into it as it won''t be flexible like how the exoskeleton should be."


    "What is the maximum weight you can put on?"


    "I am not sure, but I think I can give you two hundred kilogram shoes¡­ The gloves will be two-thirds of the shoes'' weight."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Yep, I don''t mind."


    "I understand. Do you have a time limit for me?"


    "I am not that strict, but since my stay here is limited to three months, I hope you can do it within that time."


    She contemted for a minute before nodding her head. "I can as long as I have enough funds. There is a weight test as well, so I''m afraid that I will fail a few times. Normally, I can re-use the materials, but it will take more time to do something like that."


    "Yeah. I don''t mind." Kai nodded, thinking that he already had too much money in his ount after so many achievements anyway, so he didn''t mind spending some.


    "By the way, Kai¡­ Carter." Roselyn stopped him and said, "There is a document you need to sign if you want to bring this to the US Base, especially the non-disclosure agreement, even if the US Base wants to take it by force."


    "Yeah, I know about it. Either way, they will be satisfied with just the news about the possibility of the exoskeleton going public." Kai shrugged. "And I have enough confidence to stop them even with force."


    Roselyn closed her eyes, knowing that Kai truly had that power. She thought for a moment and nodded. "I understand. I will ask for the document from my superior and give it to you tomorrow."


    "Sure." Kai nodded and turned around, asking the female again. "Anyway, how much does it cost? Do I need to send the deposit first? I don''t understand how it works here."


    "Ah, may I get your contact? I can send everything there along with the proposal and design." The woman suddenly remembered and continued. "By the way, I''m Leslie Leroux."


    Kai nodded and sent her his contact address for business purposes. "You can contact me here."


    "I understand. I will finish it as soon as possible." Leslie nodded with a smile. She seemed to be fired up for this project. Not only could she be Kai''s acquaintance, but she would also receive more funding from him as long as she satisfied his requirement. This was a win-win situation for her and there was no way she would let it go.


    After reaching an agreement, Kai then shook her hand before taking another look at the rest of the people.


    Unfortunately, none of them managed to pique his interest, so he just left the room, happy with his finding.


    Roselyn then guided him to a few other ces that revolved around exoskeletons, but he only nodded his head most of the time.


    They only used that day to go around the school, introducing their various facilities, especially the training space right in front of the school gate.


    Roselyn even asked whether Kai had any interest in having a spar with her, albeit she took that back after getting the warning from Sofia.

 Chapter 441 - Kai Vs Arnaud

    For the next three days, Kai ended up meeting with Leslie continuously, discussing their project. After learning that there were so many programs and measurements needed, Kai needed to contact Ayaka for all her measurements, saying that he was making a present for her.


    Ayaka, of course, answered every single question, expecting the present.


    Unfortunately, he also said that he hadn''t found anything yet for Michelle and Tasha, so he apologized personally to them.


    After three days, Kai finally met Arnaud again over a coffee. The two stared at each other for a few minutes as Sofia stood behind Kai while Roselyn waited behind Arnaud.


    "You won''t budge off your requirement?" Arnaud opened his mouth first, uttering a question.


    Kai nodded. "Five people¡­ I, Sofia, Sir Jules, and Roselyn. You can choose thest one. There is no guarantee of sess, but you will surely get something big when you have reached there. I will be the one in charge of this operation."


    Arnaud closed his eyes for a few seconds beforeing up with four conditions. "First, we are allowed to record the process for documentation. Second, we can do anything for you other than you telling us to sacrifice our lives. Third, if the situation has gone wrong, we are to call the Union to send reinforcements. Fourth, if we fail now and want to do it again in the future, you are to do it with us again, but we will send more people this time. You are not allowed to reject it."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. "I understand. I will agree to it, but only when we are in agreement that you are allowed to call the Union for reinforcement. After all, our level of emergency is different."


    Arnaud agreed without hesitation. "Alright. I will ept the terms. I will finalize the contract, so you can sign it tomorrow. The dispatch will be at least three days from now unless you have another requirement."


    Kai nodded and stretched his hand. "Deal."


    "Deal." Arnaud shook his hand with a serious expression before joking around. "Do you know how much those people poked on me?"


    Kai shrugged. "You''re an S Rank Magician too, right? Are you participating in this mission? Or is it someone else?"


    "It''s me because I have more knowledge regarding this area. My magic is Lightning Magic, but it''s a different approach from your sister."


    "I know. Do you want a spar to know each other''s power? I don''t know about your and Sir Jules''s power¡­ While I can somehow understand the extent of Sir Jules''s power through Sofia, I don''t know anything about you."


    "Sure thing. This will be a light spar, so we don''t need any virtual field. We will just use the school training ground to trade some blows. I think without a weapon is enough, right?"


    "As long as you use your magic a little, I''m good." Kai agreed, thinking that it should be enough to measure Arnaud''s power.


    "Then, let''s go." He nodded.


    The two then stood up as Roselyn sweatdropped, wondering what kind of fight would happen in school since those two were S Rank Magicians.


    Obviously, when they entered the school, both Kai and Arnaud became a trending topic as many students stopped what they were doing to watch their fight.


    Arnaud took off his suit and pulled his long-sleeve until it was above his elbow. Kai also did the same and had Sofia taken care of the vest while stretching his body.


    "What is this?"


    "Are two S Rank Magicians going to fight?"


    "This is only a spar it seems."


    "Still, it''s exciting to watch Sir Arnaud''s fight."


    "What do you mean? You should know that his opponent is the rising star Kai Carter, right?"


    The students kept whispering with each other before an old man suddenly appeared in the middle of the field.


    "Oi, oi! Do you guys want to do something exciting without telling me? I''m the principal at this school, you know."


    "Temporary!" Arnaud corrected him with a poker face.


    "Do you want to fight Arnaud? I don''t mind teaming up with him." Jules''s eyebrows twitched.


    Arnaud only shrugged. "This is only a light spar. No one will win in this fight."


    "Whatever. I will be the referee. Any objections?"


    "Do what you want." He shrugged while Kai nodded his head casually.


    "Fine. Then start." Jules once again pulled another absurd move,pletely stopping their rhythm for a second.


    Even Kai widened his eyes, looking at Jules with a dumbfounded expression. "What?"


    Suddenly, Arnaud appeared next to him as if taking advantage of his shock to hit him with his foot, but the situation turned out otherwise.


    Arnaud crashed to the ground a few meters away from Kai.


    "You pretended to be in shock?" Arnaud made a smirk before raising both hands because Kai didn''t even give him a chance to talk.


    Kai sent a kick toward him and blew him away again while saying, "No one will give you time to do something. If you see the chance, trick them or end them right away. That''s the best way."


    "Oi, oi. You''re giving a lecture now?" Arnaudined and saw Kaiing at him with a round kick. Not wanting to be in his mercy, Arnaud rolled a few times and stood up before another kickunched him away.


    However, Arnaud managed to maintain his bnce this time andnded on his feet. "That kick hurts."


    "Don''t lie." Kai snorted and jumped forward, sending a punch.


    Arnaud deflected his hand to the side as the two began to have normalbat. "You do realize that your strength is absurd evenpared to mine, right?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Kai harrumphed and punched straight to his face, only to find Arnaud disappeared.


    It turned out Arnaud leaped to the air and made a backflip with his right foot stretched to the limit, trying to hit Kai''s head. If Kai took another look at him, he would find lightning sparked around his leg, boosting his speed and power.


    Kai turned around and blocked his attack with the Sound Oscition Shield, only to find that the kick was stronger than he imagined.


    Itpletely shattered his shield and went straight to his face.


    Kai raised his left hand to block this kick which had been disabled of its power due to the Oscition Shield. At the same time, he also smiled and said, "Your kick hurts."


    Arnaud couldn''t help but smile. "You''re lying."


    Kai chuckled as he grasped his ankle and spun his body, mming it to the ground.


    Another lightning spark urred again as it suddenly bounced off the ground, heading straight to Kai.


    Two Magic Circles appeared and blocked the lightning strike while Kai punched Arnaud on the ground.


    Arnaud was forced to use his exoskeleton unless he wanted a broken bone and took that hit head-on.


    Bam.


    A small crater was created on the ground as the dust kicked up, hiding them.


    Suddenly, Kai''s figure emerged to the sky as if he escaped from something.


    When the dust settled down, Arnaud finally made his appearance with lightning covering his whole body.


    "To think I would be forced to use this first before you even use your exoskeleton. I wonder if I should feel ashamed or say as expected of the rising star of the US Base that managed to kill an S Rank Magical Beast¡­ I''m confused."


    "Neither." Kai snorted before looking to his left, finding that Arnaud had appeared when he said that one word.


    His left hand waspletely in the way of his kick, blocking his kick. At the same time, his right hand supported his left hand to withstand this attack. Yet, he felt dread of this kick and summoned his exoskeleton to protect his body.


    And he was right. The moment the kicknded, Kai was pushed back a few meters even though his feet didn''t move. "That''s a strong kick."


    "Well, thank you." Arnaud smiled as he appeared before Kai''s eyes, punching his stomach.


    Kai managed to react to this as well and used his right hand to stop it, but that position forced him to grab his hand a little as he felt the lightning electrocuting his right hand, making it numb. If he didn''t have his Magic Power, it would be dangerous for the body.


    "Wait, this Lightning Magic¡­ I feel like¡­!!!" Kai grasped something indescribable when he saw how Arnaud''s body was covered in lightning and how every attack carried that power. To repay him, he took one step back to invite Arnaud before taking another step to transfer all the force umted in his lower body to his fist.


    "Not good." Arnaud felt something wrong and raised both hands to grasp this one punch from him.


    Bam.


    Arnaud wasunched again beforending on the ground a few meters away from Kai. This time, Kai didn''t move at all.


    The two stared at each other without saying anything for a minute before Kai and Arnaud lowered their fists at the same time, knowing when to stop.


    The twoughed without apparent reasons before Arnaud said, "I''m impressed with your skill. You are known for your sharpest sword, so I feel like I won''t have the chance to defeat you."


    "No, no. I''m sure that Sir Arnaud hasn''t even used half of your power. It''s me who should be prepared or I will lose without knowing the reason." Kai smiled. "All in all, thank you for the fight. I feel like I know what kind of magic should be my next magic."


    "Hoho? I end up inspiring you? I''m honored." Arnaud chuckled and nodded. "Thank you for the fight."

 Chapter 442 - Before The Expedition

    "Thank you for the fight."


    The students couldn''t believe that it just stopped there even though the fight would start getting interesting.


    Some of them actually understood their fight a bit, especially with how their moves differed from their expectations. Some people actually questioned why they would make such a movement and when they arrived at the answer, they couldn''t help but feel shocked.


    Nheless, the fight was pretty great and almost all students enjoyed it.


    Kai and Arnaud shook hands, showing that the fight had ended.


    "I need to go back to my office and finish all my work since I need to prepare for a long trip this month."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai chuckled and nodded. "Then, I will need to go around the school first to learn more about the school."


    "Haha, sure you do. Anyway, I''m going." Arnaud turned around, grabbed his suit, and left the school.


    After the fight, since it took all the attention to this field, Roselyn asked him to leave with her, to which he agreed.


    Sofia followed suit while Jules dispersed the students.


    As soon as they escaped from the crowd, Kai took out his device and called his teacher through a secret channel. "Teacher. Can you make a pair of gloves and shoes for me with the same material as my swords?"


    "For what?"


    "Combat."


    "Glove is not possible right now as it''s hard to make that metal flexible. The only thing I can make for you is the shoes."


    "I understand. That''s enough."


    "Do you need me to send them there?"


    "If possible."


    "Alright. I will work on it. It should arrive within seven days. Give me the details and other things to meter, so I can start working on it."


    "I understand. Thank you, Teacher."


    "No problem. Just one "I love you, Teacher" is enough for the payment."


    "Ahaha, yes, yes. I truly love you, Teacher. Thank you." Kai chuckled.


    "Got it. Now all you need is to wait."


    Kai nodded and put it back in his pocket before finding a weird expression on Roselyn and Sofia''s faces.


    "What?" Kai tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what was inside their heads.


    "Do you have an illicit rtionship with your teacher?"


    "No. She is like my parents. Well, I have once mentioned her being my godparent to my own parents, but I haven''t conveyed it to her yet."


    "Did they agree?"


    "They have no reason to not agree." Kai shrugged. "I have told my past to them and how I met my teacher, so they are understanding."


    "¡­" The two looked at each other with a dumbfounded expression, wondering what they should do with this information.


    "I don''t mind if you tell the others since it will reach her ears at some point, but I hope that you two can keep it a secret for the time being," said Kai nonchntly.


    "Well, I don''t mind." Sofia was the first to answer, considering that his status became even higher if Ria Ross truly became his godparent as well as his teacher.


    Roselyn, on the contrary, needed to think about it because this information would cause a huge reaction to the higher-ups.


    Since Kai''s expedition might result in something big, she would just wait until the grand prize was revealed. If it were too big, she didn''t need to tell this information to her superior. She wouldn''t offend Kai too.


    After contemting for one minute, she nodded. "I understand. I shall keep it secret for the time being."


    Kai nodded and turned around. "And all that''s left is for me to explore this school and try to learn anything in this school while waiting for the expedition. Oh, right, can you tell Sir Arnaud to postpone the expedition for a week, Roselyn?"


    "Do you mind we are going in a week?"


    "Yes."


    "I can ry it to him, but I don''t know his reaction, considering that he needs to reschedule his n."


    "Ahaha, isn''t it fine to have more preparation?" Kai answered her question with an assurance that would make Arnaud think for a while.


    "I understand. Let me inform him." Roselyn took out her device and called Arnaud. The conversationsted for three minutes before Roselyn could say, "It''s fine."


    Kai nodded and thanked her. "Alright. Time to go."


    After that fight, Kai then did whatever he wanted in the school since there weren''t many things to deal with.


    Since the expedition was postponed, Kai decided to go sightseeing. Obviously, Sofia became hispanion, only to find Roselyn getting between them because it was her job.


    Anyway, Kai didn''t care much about it since he didn''t n to do anything in the EU Base. Kai went from one ce to another, looking at the city, citizens, and even some small details, wondering if they had something good in his eyes.


    He even visited some shops to eat or even buy weapons. He truly wanted to see all kinds of things that this ce could offer.


    Although they ended up going around for two days straight, Sofia was pretty happy about it, thinking it was their date. Of course, because of the prank she pulled on Roselyn, she didn''t tease her anymore, feeling bad about it.


    No matter how she worded it, Roselyn only acted that way because of her job and the order from above. Feeling ufortable the longer she thought about it, she decided to apologize to her.


    Roselyn understood her intention as well, knowing she just wanted time alone with Kai. She only said to not mind it before she apologized to Sofia since she couldn''t do anything about the order.


    After acknowledging each other, Sofia became closer to Roselyn and joked around her. Kai didn''t care much about it as long as they got along. He worried that their rivalry would end up making them unable to fight together in the expedition.


    Seeing them like this just made his heart feel relieved.


    However, Kai ended up staying untilte to see everything France could offer during thest two days.


    Five dayster, Kai finally got the package from his master, containing the new shoes he wanted. The shoes themselves were in white and had no decorations or logo. Despite having filled it with some soft cotton, the shoes were a bit too stiff considering it was made of metal.


    Kai ended up using thest two days to get used to the current box. Obviously, Sofia and Roselyn were watching his training. Sofia could find something was wrong with his shoes, while Roselyn didn''t notice it.


    Finally, after two days of self-training, the day of the mission arrived. Kai brought a bag of spices and a tent for the expedition. Jules brought all the necessities for bathing and such. Arnaud brought all their clothes while the girls brought their own stuff.


    ording to Kai, this journey would be dangerous to the point they couldn''t even use a car or something since the terrain wouldn''t be that good.


    After agreeing to the condition, the military then sent them to the front line for a ride before they needed to continue the journey on foot.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the US base, specifically in Room 420. Michelle received Kai''s email and read it.


    "Is it Kai?" Ayaka asked with a poker face.


    "Yep." Michelle nodded before finding Ayaka sitting next to her to read it together. She didn''t mind, but theyter found many pictures of him and Sofia¡­ and Roselyn. "What? There are so many pictures with her? Who is she? Is she a potential wife again?


    "I''m going to teach him a lesson after promising us to not do something behind our backs." Michelle gritted her teeth and started typing back. "Are you not angry, Ayaka?"


    She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Ayaka maintaining her poker face as if she didn''t feel anything after reading the message and just ying with her device.


    "I am not angry as long as he is telling us about it. What did he say about her again?"


    "She is the agent the Union sent to watch him and seduce him."


    "Then, that''s all. You should know that seducing is the impossible way to get him. And even Sofia needed a long time to even be recognized, so tell me the reason for me to get angry¡­" She smiled and continued ying with her device.


    Michelle widened her eyes, never expecting to hear such an answer from her. She thought for a moment and realized that she was pretty childish.


    Then she looked at Ayaka, bing curious about what she was doing all this time and peeked at her device.


    In that instant, she widened her eyes and gasped. It was just an email. But that email was a report about what Kai did and the recipient was none other than Tasha.


    "You are angry, aren''t you?" Michelle made a weird smile.


    "Not at all." She chuckled.


    "¡­"

 Chapter 443 - Journey

    In a certain barrennd where they could see so many soldiers fighting against the magical beasts, Kai finally came out of the military truck while looking at the scene.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai looked around to see that the military truly operated alone. There were only around twenty people to cover such arge area, but he noticed that all of them had exoskeletons to increase their strength.


    After Jules came out of the truck, he exined. "That''s our elites. If you go to the battlefield with us, you will find them now and then. What do you think?"


    "They are good but not efficient." Kai simply told him the only thing in his mind after looking at their performance for one minute.


    "I know, but our death rates are far lower than the US Base or United Asia when employing this method. Unfortunately, we can''t provide all the soldiers with it yet, so yeah¡­" Jules shrugged.


    "But it certainly gives me insight. It will be nice to have an elite troop. The US Base also has elite troops consisting of powerful magicians, but they are low in number, so I have no choice other than tomand a normal army. Well, this kind of troop can overturn the entire battlefield if released in a perfect time." Kai narrowed his eyes, imagining the armies in the US Base.


    "Indeed." The one who answered him was not Jules but Arnaud. No matter what anyone said, Arnaud would be the leader among the S Rank Magicians and also the one who managed to keep the entire base in check even though Jules was stronger than him.


    In terms of warfare, Arnaud was far better than Jules, so if the Campbell family really confronted Jules, they would lose because of theck ofmand. That was why they feared Kai Carter for his strength andmanding ability.


    "Anyway, we have a long journey after this. We need to cross approximately another eight hundred kilometers from here to reach Syria. That''s where the real search begins, right?"


    Kai nodded with a serious expression. They would then go to Iran and Iraq to check everything. "Our ETA?"


    "I''m not sure myself. If we go at our full speed, I''m sure we can arrive in ten hours. Unfortunately, we need to deal with the magical beasts on the way, so maybe a day?"


    Kai thought for a moment and asked, "I''m sure that you know I''m themanding officer in this mission, right?"


    "Of course. We will be following yourmand." Arnaud smirked as if challenging him.


    Roselyn gulped down, wondering whether she should be here or not. Still, if they truly got something big in this expedition, she might be able to receive a big award. And all of it came just because Kai wanted her toe.


    "Anyway, I and Roselyn will be in the front because we are specialized in this area. Sofia and Sir Jules will support us from behind. Sir Arnaud will kill every single magical beast I want to kill." Kaimanded while looking at their expressions to see if they had any objection or not.


    Sofia only shrugged her shoulders since this was her role the whole time she was with Kai and it was the one she was mostfortable with.


    Meanwhile, Roselyn panicked and couldn''t help but ask. "Am I fit for this job? I mean, I have a certain confidence in my skill, but I don''t know if I''m good enough or not. I''m afraid that I will do badly and be the burden of this team."


    "Just follow my order and trust your skill. If you mess up, there are two people that will clean up your mess." Kai shrugged and pointed his thumb to Jules and Sofia.


    "That''s right, Brat. No need to thank me." Jules nodded his head a couple of times before ncing at Arnaud as if trying to pick a fight with him.


    Arnaud, on the contrary, asked Kai about his role. "Do you need anything specific for my role?"


    "No."


    "That means you want to take advantage of my Lightning Magic and my speed to eliminate the monsters that see us, but you can''t reach, right?"


    "Yes. Well, I will be guiding you guys through the safest route, so you won''t meet as many monsters as you usually find on a mission, but I''m sure that there will be many asions where we need to fight. So, I''m going to rely on you to make sure that no magical beasts will inform theirrades about our location."


    Arnaud pondered for a moment before agreeing to his role. "I understand. I will do my best."


    "We may need to kill a few thousand if not tens of thousands of magical beasts before reaching our destination. Keep up with me, okay?" Kai smiled as he brought all the stuff and stretched his body, preparing to go.


    The rest followed him as soon as he ran forward. "Alright. Let''s go."


    Kai and Roselyn were in the very front with Arnaud right behind them. Jules and Sofia were watching those three''s backs while preparing their magic. Despite wanting to show his superiority to Arnaud, Jules knew it would be a bad decision to continuously do it as it might result in the failure of this mission.


    When they passed the elite soldiers, Kai found five beastsing from the front. They turned out to be a group of horses with speed as fast as them.


    "Roselyn, how many horses can you kill in an instant?" Kai asked.


    "I''m not sure¡­ I have confidence in killing one, but I can do my best for two."


    "Then go for two. I will handle the rest." Kai nodded, wanting her to get used to the high-level maneuverability.


    Arnaud and Jules were silent as they observed Kai''s movement to check whether Kai deserved his reputation or not.


    Roselyn gulped down and stepped on time to the left to avoid hitting Kai while pulling out her sword. Because of Kai''s killing intent, three horses were taken away and had no change of direction while the other two slightly turned to the right, matching Roselyn''s movement.


    It was at this time, Roselyn took a big step to the right to confuse the horses. Once again, they followed Roselyn''s movement while watching out to not hit theirrades.


    When she saw that the horses focused on their group instead of her, she took another step to the left,pletely leaving the horses'' trajectory.


    She shed her swords downward to strike the farthest horse''s head while using her eight spider legs to kill the horse before her eyes. And she managed to kill both at the same time without any problem.


    Arnaud couldn''t help but smile and turned around to show that smug of his to Jules, but ended up regretting it because he missed a split second of Kai''s performance.


    If they were asked whether Roselyn was a good fighter or not, they would say "yes". However, Roselyn was shocked when she saw Kai in front of her while running at the same speed.


    This only meant one thing. Kai didn''t slow down even once when killing the three horses while she needed to do so by taking the first three steps and swinging her sword.


    The two elderly could also see the result while thinking about what just happened.


    "Oi, Kai Carter. Did you just kill the three horses without decreasing your speed?" Arnaud couldn''t help but ask in amazement.


    The answer didn''te from him. It was Sofia. "Sir Arnaud, you need to know that this is just a basic thing in the Lion Group. When Michelle, Kai, and Ayaka were in front, I, Tasha, and Evan didn''t even need to adjust ourselves to them. We only needed to avoid the falling corpses and continued running."


    "What?!" Arnaud widened his eyes. "Are you serious?"


    "Of course. We often went straight through the enemy''s ranks, so we needed speed, sharpness, and technique. Michelle once said that she just couldn''t ept losing to him after seeing how he and his teacher opened the path of a small underground tunnel without losing their speed. You can say that their groups are the number one offensive group in the US Base."


    "¡­" Arnaud''s face was twisted as he shook his head helplessly. "No wonder so many people want him. Should I say as expected of the rising star, Kai Carter?"


    Sofia shrugged. "Anyway, all we need is to keep moving. Roselyn¡­ Don''t be sad. Watch his movement and try to do it on your own. I''m sure you can do the same thing sooner orter. This is essential for us to reach our destination as soon as possible. Well, I prefer we arrive before night."


    Roselyn looked back and made a weird smile before nodding her head. "I understand."


    She then turned to Kai and said, "Please take care of me."


    Kai smiled. "Sure. Make sure you keep up with me. If you fail, just let the two old men behind us deal with it."


    "Oi, brat." Arnaud and Jules shouted simultaneously.

 Chapter 444 - Journey Part 2

    The group continued their journey, going through Syria. Luckily, they managed to reach their destination one hour before dark.


    Setting up the tent, Arnaud asked Kai. "Can I see the route? I mean, we are going to Iraq and Iran. It''s a vast area if you ask me, so it''s better to have a route."


    Kai took out his device and opened the map. He showed him the simple one.


    "Hmm¡­" Arnaud furrowed his eyebrows. "So from your map, we will cross southern Iraq until we reach Kuwait. Then we will return to Iraq through the second bigger city, Basra, before making our way to the capital Baghdad and reached far to the north to the city of Erbil."


    "Yes. I''m sure you don''t mind having this kind of schedule since it''s the perfect one to reach northern Iran¡­ What is the city name again¡­" Kai nodded and thought for a moment.


    "Tabriz. From there, we will go with a vertical zigzag to search all the areas until we reach Teheran and Isfahan."


    "Yep. We will go northeast after that until we reach the border between Iran and Turkmenistan. Only at that time can we go all the way to the south while following Afghanistan and Pakistan''s borders before running near the Persian Gulf to go back. If we don''t find it by that time, then this mission will be considered a failure."


    Arnaud contemted for a moment and asked, "Do you actually know what you''re dealing with here?"


    "Yes, but I won''t say anything about it unless we find them. I have a friend that tells me they are here." Kai nodded. He wondered what Arnaud would think if he knew the informant was someone who could destroy the entire EU Base with ease the moment he was provoked.


    "I understand. Although there are ws in some areas, I think this is the most effective way to find them."


    "Don''t worry. My ears have a five-kilometer radius, so we should be good enough." Kai nodded, assuring him that this expedition had a good chance of sess.


    "Alright. Since you have a vision already, I''m going to follow you through this course."


    "That''s good enough. With our speed, how many days do you think we need to cross this route?"


    He looked down with his hand on his chin, falling into deep thought. After a while, he opened his mouth. "With my calction, we need around three weeks if we only need to run. Since Roselyn has started getting used to your current pace, I think it will be a month if we need to handle those beasts."


    "Is there any powerful magical beast in this area?"


    "Some powerful A Rank Magical Beasts. As for the S Rank Magical Beast, we have found one in Sudan, one in Kongo, and one in Zimbabwe. On the northern side, there are three across all of Russia''s territory, two in China and one in India. Unless there are new S Rank Magical Beasts, I don''t think we will find them."


    "That''s good, but don''t say that too obvious, you know. It''s going to appear." Kai shrugged. "I mean, even my holiday got disturbed by a sudden appearance of an S Rank Magical Beast."


    "I know, I know. I won''t say it again." He shrugged. "Though I''m sure there are still many intelligent beasts in this area, so it''s not like we are going to have a good time."


    "Don''t worry about the intelligent beasts. We can deal with them easily. The problem will be our supply. Because we don''t have a truck since we are going through a ce with hard terrain, we have limited water supplies."


    "Ah, now I see your true n. You are nning to get water supplies from all these areas, right?" He pointed to a few areas.


    "Yes."


    "Well, we will see whether they are pure or not."


    "Agreed. For now, I don''t think we have a problem."


    After agreeing to him, Arnaud handed back Kai''s device before asking, "Do you happen to have an idea of selling your information to the Union? We can grant you millions if not billions depending on the information."


    "I don''t have any information that is worth your millions." Kai shook his head, humbly rejecting the idea. If he truly opened it all, even if they gave the entire EU Base to him, Kai still felt it wasn''t enough.


    After all, the fact that there were many other magical beasts that could potentially rule the world through military might was priceless.


    Arnaud also had the gist of it, but he knew that there was no way he would be able to acquire it unless they dared to pay the price. After all, he only shared this secret with his teacher, even if it was a little. Unless they had the same status as him, no one would know about the information, which only the protector of each race had the right to know.


    "Anyway, we will have a long journey ahead, so it''s better to think about it instead of mumbling about this useless thing." Kai shrugged and walked away, finding Roselyn preparing the food while Sofia and Jules scouted their surroundings.


    Arnaud looked at him with a serious expression before shaking his head.


    They continued the night as usual.


    When the morning arrived, they quickly packed up their staff and started their journey to Iraq.


    The journey went as nned. They killed all the magical beasts in their way. Roselyn managed to get used to Kai''s fighting style slowly. Arnaud went around like crazy under Kai''s order to kill the potential monsters that would ambush or inform the other monsters and was impressed by Kai''s ears.


    Sofia just maintained her support for Kai while her grandfather took care of Roselyn since she didn''t have much experience in an expedition like this.


    However, Kai and the others were unaware of the fact they would meet something out of the ordinary in Iraq.


    In a certain ce, there were two people, one man and one woman. The woman had long ck hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a red hakama while running through the desert. Meanwhile, the guy wore a white one.


    They would look like a normal couple, but if one took another look at them¡­ They are¡­

 Chapter 445 - Encounter

    The first week was rather fulfilling. Not only could he train Roselyn a bit to match their pace, but the group didn''t bother to fight with each other anymore.


    "Sir Arnaud, three on our left," Kaimanded while listening to the footsteps of three magical beastsing before focusing on the ten in front of them.


    Arnaud nodded as lightning covered his body. His power and speed were boosted greatly as he raised both hands like a boxer.


    The three magical beasts roared, but Arnaud disappeared from his position, moving so fast. Even Kai got taken aback at first, but he seemed slower than Ikeda Kenzo, so he simply took note of his speed and was done with it.


    Arnaud appeared right next to the three beasts and threw a punch forward. The lightning sparked and obliterated the three beasts in an instant.


    Kai took down the onesing for him with ease as the group continued forward. Their current location was that of savanna, so their position would be exposed all the time.


    Luckily, they had found a nearby forest where they could cover their appearance while crossing this area.


    "We are going to use that forest since we are already at the edge of this savanna. We can have lunch there." Kai informed the group and listened to the movement.


    "Right. It''s still five kilometers though. We need a few more minutes to reach there."


    "No worries. Take our time. There are still fifty beasts to kill." Kai smiled as he had nned their movement as soon as they entered his hearing range.


    The group was not surprised anymore and followed hismand wholeheartedly since Kai had proven himself during the past week.


    However, there was one weird thing happening on the edge of his hearing range. Right in front of the forest''s entrance, he found two people''s footsteps marching toward them.


    "Hmm?!" Kai narrowed his eyes and asked Arnaud, "Are you sure there is no person who has stepped upon thisnd?"


    "Yes, why?" Arnaud answered with bewilderment.


    "Because there are two peopleing out of the forest soon." Kai pointed right in front of them.


    "!!!" The group couldn''t believe what they just heard, but Arnaud took this more seriously. The moment Kai gave the direction, the lightning sparked again as he said, "I''m going to check them."


    Kai nodded and Arnaud disappeared right after, moving faster than anyone else to help whoever Kai found. After all, they never found someone venturing this deep.


    In his mind, they were either refugees or an original survivor that hadsted for centuries. If it were thetter, their knowledge would benefit the entire Union, so he wanted to secure them no matter what.


    Yet, he couldn''t even be more shocked when the two made their appearances.


    The male had silver hair and cold blue eyes, but the most noticeable thing on his face was a pair of horns. If Kai were here, he would recognize these horns, but Arnaud just misunderstood him, thinking he was a Zodiac.


    But it also contained a problem since he never heard of any Zodiacs other than Kai and the others. At the same time, his clothes were close to that of Japanese Hakama, so he had no clue about this person. There was no way United Asia had a Zodiac.


    He then looked at the other one, who turned out to be female. Her ck hair and facial features appeared to be someone from United Asia. And the fact that the male seemed to be holding her hand as if dragging her somewhere made Arnaud think she was kidnaped from United Asia all the way here.


    The male seemed to have the same thought as Arnaud as he raised his right hand that was holding a huge ck sword.


    Seeing this hostile action, Arnaud couldn''t help but release his lightning toward the sword to blow it away.


    "Lightning Discharge."


    The male clenched his teeth as his ck sword turned red before he smacked the lightning to the side, blowing it away until it exploded to the ground. He then shed forward to cut Arnaud.


    "!!!" Arnaud dropped on his knees to dodge that swing and pulled both hands, nning to strike the male''s abdomen to knock him out. "Great Lightning Sh¡ª"


    Before he could finish the magic, Arnaud was sted several meters away as the male just kicked his face.


    "What a strong kick¡­" Arnaud quickly raised from the ground and looked at the male with a serious expression. "Who are you?"


    The male didn''t respond and quickly turned around, nning to escape. Unfortunately for him, Arnaud didn''t let him go as he appeared again despite blooding out of his mouth.


    "I shall take you into custody first."


    The male obviously found that offensive and kicked Arnaud again, but thetter seemed to expect this kind of attack and received it with one hand.


    Arnaud then jumped to make the male slip, but it didn''t go as he nned as another kick sent him away again.


    Bam.


    If Arnaud didn''t have his exoskeleton, he would be in trouble by the two kicks alone as it would probably crack his school.


    "It could even spin its body to send another kick? This guy must be a human¡­ Yeah, a Zodiac. As for his backstory, I will hear it after capturing this guy." Arnaud clicked his tongue and chased him again.


    The male got angry because of Arnaud''s persistence and raised his sword. The red-colored sword emitted powerful magic energy before the male swung the sword downwards.


    A red-colored sword strike ran through the ground, creating a small shock wave to its surroundings.


    "!!!" Arnaud widened his eyes and jumped to the side before observing the aftereffect for a split second, finding something unbelievable. At least, that was what it looked like to him. The sh created a two meters deep hole that stretched over thirty meters straight.


    Even he had no ability to do something like this.


    Knowing that the person before him was probably so strong, he nned to receive Kai''s assistance.


    ''I will buy time for now. And there is also the female¡­ Should I rescue her first?'' thought Arnaud before jumping to the air as the male just sent a low kick.


    Arnaud would probably be even more annoying sooner orter, so he nned to kill him first. After all, he could sense a powerful personing toward him and he would reach this ce in a minute, so he needed to run away as soon as possible.


    He let go of the woman''s hand for a bit and jumped toward Arnaud with both hands on his sword.


    ''What is this? I feel fear?'' Arnaud widened his eyes as if he got disturbed by the sudden transformation of the male after letting the woman go. This simply meant that the man would get even stronger.


    Gulping down, Arnaud raised both hands and started moving to the left and right to confuse the male.


    If this were a normal person, he would have been defeated already. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was not an ordinary human¡­ or he couldn''t even be called human anymore.


    The male simply struck the ground with his giant sword, creating a crater.


    "!!!" Arnaud found himself in a dangerous situation because his feet didn''t touch the ground because of the sudden strike.


    He stepped on the ground first, but the earlier pause disrupted his rhythm as his opponent managed to catch up and stopped him from using that confusing movement.


    "Kh!" Arnaud raised both hands and created three Magic Shields next to him to block that sword, but all of them ended up getting shattered into pieces. Luckily, it bought enough time for him to duck down and retreat a few steps, going toward the woman.


    The male found his attention and quickly protected her again as if he was afraid this woman got stolen by Arnaud.


    "Whoever you are¡­ You are going to pay for this." Arnaud threatened the male while clenching his fists, ready for another round.


    His opponent also took one step back beforeunching himself forward, swinging his sword. The two seemed to have forgotten the fact that Kai was able to see them already and used his strength to reach them.


    That was why when Arnaud took one big step forward to hit the man, Kai appeared between them, confusing both people with his action.


    "Kai Carter! Move!" Arnaud shouted, knowing that his attack would surely hit Kai if he didn''t dodge.


    The same applied to the male, but he didn''t say anything since there wasn''t a need to do so.


    Surprisingly, Kai didn''t do anything. Even his swords were not in his hands. He stomped the ground, crossed his hands right in front of his chest, and opened his palm, trying to receive both fist and sword at the same time.


    Two green-colored magic circles appeared on his hands. "Oscition Shield."


    The lightning was blown away as Arnaud ended up hitting the shield without any power.


    The same applied to the male because he couldn''t cut this magic shield. Before the two could recover, Kai''s magic circles disappeared and their momentum forced them to get closer to Kai.


    He then grabbed Arnaud and the male''s wrists and opened his arms wide, spinning them to the air.


    "!!!" Arnaud widened his eyes and shouted. "What are you doing, Kai Carter?"


    Even Jules couldn''t say anything regarding this person because he never saw someone having horns on his head. Sofia had some understanding about it, but she couldn''t confirm it yet since the only one she met was Mia.


    When the malended, he clenched his sword, knowing that there was a strong opponent here.


    Right before he jumped forward, Kai suddenly shouted with the only other racenguage he had learned.


    "**$&%$ (Cease Your Action!)."

 Chapter 446 - Shinkai

    "**$&%$ (Cease Your Action!)."


    "??" The people who came with him had no idea what he was saying. In fact, he looked like moving his jaw weirdly while the sound came out.


    However, it was different for the couple. The woman dropped her jaw while the male narrowed his eyes and said instinctively. "*$^& (Oni Language?)"


    Kai simply waved his hand to the others to stop whatever questions they wanted to ask him and decided to focus on the Oni before him first. "*@&$&* (Who is Ishii to you?)."


    "*#@*^ (How dare you speak our Protector''s name without honorifics!)."


    When he was about to erupt, Kai suddenly released his killing intent and shouted. "*$#^*#$&^ (Shut your mouth, Oni! You are in the presence of the Human Race Protector!)."


    "!!!" The Oni couldn''tprehend. Human Race Protector? He didn''t know about it at all.


    "*$^&#&%$ (I have once visited your vige and met Ishii and his daughter, Mia, myself. Depending on your words, the two races'' futures can go either to war or in harmony. Do you think Ishii wants a war?)."


    The moment he heard this, he quickly realized that Ishii truly had met him. All Oni knew Ishii wished for their lives to go by peacefully, but no one other than the humans in the Oni Vige would know. Considering Kai''s face was not among them, no one other than the Protector itself knew about this wish.


    When both he and the female human realized it, they exchanged looks for a split second before dropping to their knees.


    "(We would like to apologize for our rudeness, Sir Protector.)" The Oni lowered his head and showed no resistance.


    Arnaud and the others dropped their jaws to the ground as they couldn''t believe what they were witnessing. The Oni''s ability was far from normal and Arnaud believed he could be on par with two S Rank Magicians, yet, the same Oni actually kneeled in front of Kai. His face also contained fear on it.


    Before Kai said another word, he suddenly looked to the right, where he found something powerfuling their way. The footsteps were light, yet, with so many footsteps echoing in the area, Kai believed they wereing for the Oni.


    "(They are chasing you?)" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "(Yes, Sir.)"


    "(Their strength?)"


    "(Their leader is what the human called an S Rank Magical Beast. We have been running for more than a day.)"


    "¡­" Kai contemted for a moment and asked, "(What is your purpose foring here? If I''m not wrong, Ishii doesn''t want to do anything with the outside world.)"


    "(Sir is right. However, my wife is actually one of the tribe members of a certain ce in Iran, so she would like to visit them back. I''m escorting my wife there with the permission of our King.)"


    "(And during the journey, you met this one?)"


    "(Yes.)"


    Kai thought for a moment and took out his ne, showing it to the woman. "Do you know about this? Or do you speak only the othernguage?"


    Kai tested the woman to see whether they talked Human Language or Oni Language. The woman seemed to know both, but because she had be a part of Oni Vige, she answered Kai in thatnguage. "(Gamut. The Protector Seal. It is said to be missing for hundreds of years and some said it''s trying to find its master.)"


    "(A certain someone gave it to me.)" Kai shrugged and looked to their right. "(With your strength, I''m sure you can fight against the beast that chased you, no? Why are you running?)"


    The Oni didn''t answer before Kai realized the reason was the woman. He shook his head helplessly and continued, "(I''m nning to visit the tribe as well to learn more about my role as the Protector. The two women behind me will protect her well while we and the two old men take on the beast. After that, you are going to show us the way to the tribe. What do you think of this proposal?)"


    The Oni looked at his wife as thetter nodded her head. He then agreed to Kai''s proposal, adding, "(I can stop the beasts around him as a showdown. However, there are three warriorsing with that beast. They are loyal to their master, but their strength is notparable to us.)"


    "(I can have the two to handle those three. Meanwhile, we can take on the boss. As you know¡­ My strength is still not at the full-fledged protector''s level. That''s the reason I''m visiting the tribe.)"


    After facing Arnaud, he knew his strength and believed there shouldn''t be a problem. He thought for a moment and lowered his head. "(My name is Shinkai. The fourth best fighter of Oni Vige shall assist you in your voyage.)"


    "(Good. Prepare yourself for a fight. I will tell my people first.)"


    "(Understood.)"


    Kai then turned around and looked at them with a serious expression. "I know you have a lot of questions. I don''t want to answer them right now because there is an S Rank Magical Beasting toward us."


    "!!!" The group quickly turned their heads before Sofia asked, "Kai¡­ Are they¡­"


    "Yes. Don''t say anything other than that. If you want to have a huge war that can potentially destroy the entire EU Base, you can say everything about your hypothesis. Just so you know, I won''t say anything regarding this matter." Kai shrugged and looked at Arnaud. "Your question will be answered when we arrive at our destination. Whether you''re going to report it to the Union or not is a separate matter."


    "¡­" Arnaud gulped down as he wondered about the rtionship between this weird person and Kai.


    Kai ignored him and continued, "I want Sofia and Roselyn to protect the woman. Make sure no harmes to her since she will lead us to our destination after this."


    Roselyn was not sure and looked at Arnaud while Sofia nodded without hesitation.


    "There will be three powerful monsters you two need to handle. We will be showing you which three," said Kai to Arnaud and Jules. "Don''t attack other magical beasts other than those three because they will be docile. If you want to know what I mean, just don''t ask any question and see it with your eyes."


    "Before that, I want to ask you¡­ Are you really a human?" Jules narrowed his eyes.


    "I am a full-fledged human. My family also came from United Asia. I can assure you that I''m on human''s side." Kai nodded with a grim expression. His tone told them that Kai was sincere, but he truly hid something big behind him.


    Remembering Kai''s promise that all questions would be answered when they reached their destination, Arnaud decided to nod his head. "I understand. I shall ask no more."


    "Oh wow¡­ Are we going to face a stampede? Just look at the dust kicked by them¡­" Jules suddenly said in amazement. "With the size of the dust alone, I''m sure there will be at least a thousand of them or even more."


    Arnaud also observed the situation and saw that all the monsters in this Savanna began roaring at each other as if they were weing this group.


    At the same time, Kai asked Shinkai, "(Is there a potential for negotiation? Even I don''t want to kill needlessly, especially if the other party is rted to a Protector.)"


    Shinkai shook his head. "(I have tried and it doesn''t respond. Hence, I believe he is just getting stronger with enough luck to be like this.)"


    "(Then I don''t need to worry about anything.)" Kai nodded.


    Roselyn and Sofia then approached the female and asked her to follow them to the back while these four faced those beasts. After Shinkai saw his woman was taken care of and knew that a protector''s promise was worth a fortune, he began concentrating on the uing battle so as to not disappoint the Protector.


    When the monsters beganing out, they found a three-meter high bull leading the entire pack filled with so many species.


    The bull had red skin and bloodshot eyes. The white horns seemed to have killed so many living beings to the point almost everything was painted red.


    Finding Shinkai with someone else, the bull roared to the sky, inciting the other magical beasts to do the same to scare them.


    Jules and Arnaud gritted their teeth and took a step back while raising their hands, preparing to take any immediate action. Still, with so many magical beasts moving in unison like this was unprecedented. Even they couldn''t predict that only two thousand magical beasts managed to scare them like this.


    The bull, on the other hand, suddenly coated its skin with magic, turning it into ck. Without even touching it, Kai and the others knew it would be like shing with moving metal or even worse.


    Roar.


    Suddenly, the Oni roared, telling all the beasts not to interfere in this matter.


    Jules and Arnaud needed to reevaluate Kai Carter the moment they saw thousands of magical beasts just stopped on their track and fell silent.


    The Oni then pointed at three magical beasts. The first one was a giraffe. Unlike a normal one, this giraffe had ck skin as if it was covered by metal. The second one was an elephant with fire covering its body. The third beast was a gori. Just like Arnaud, his body was covered by Lightning and seemed to like a fistfight too.


    "You have those three targets," Kai shouted to Arnaud and Jules as they began to go around them to face those three.


    Meanwhile, Kai and Shinkai walked toward the bull. "(Kill him as soon as possible.)"


    "(Yes, Sir.)"

 Chapter 447 - Toying

    Roar.


    The bull''s voice echoed in the vast savanna, yet, due to Shinkai, all of them didn''t dare to move unless they had full loyalty from the magical beasts themselves. It was the sameparison between a shepherd and a normal man.


    Unless they gained the loyalty of the sheep, a shepherd wouldn''t be able to move them because there was another shepherd before them.


    The metallic bull then focused on Kai and Shinkai since he couldn''t do anything about it. He charged forward with horns on his front, nning to kill them both.


    Shinkai raised his sword to the side and stomped the ground until it cracked. His sword turned red, filled with so much magic power from him.


    Right before the bull hit him, Shinkai swung his sword, shing with the bull''s horn.


    Unfortunately, as one would expect from a sh at this level, Shinkai was pushed back. He used the giant sword''s body to push back until he finally stopped the bull. Still, if one took a closer look at the trail, the bull managed to push Shinkai more than ten meters back.


    Not wanting to waste this chance, Kai went around the bull, nning to attack him from the side to behead its head.


    But the bull somehow found him and used its magic. Several walls emerged from the ground, trying to stop him.


    There were nomotion behind the wall and no powerful magic used as Kai traveled. In fact, it was this sense of peace that had caused the bull to notice something was wrong.


    When he raised his vision a bit, he found several walls had beenunched to the sky before he found Kai cutting thest wall as if it was butter.


    A panicked face started to show in the bull''s eyes. It was apparent that the bull had not expected that a human could be this powerful.


    When Kai emerged from the wall, his eyes slightly squinted, checking his target again because some fine dust got into his eyes. However, his vision was able to recover very quickly. And he managed to understand the essence of this bull''s power.


    The bull seemed to have two main powers. The first would be the Earth Magic that he used to create all these walls. And this magic was so refined to the point the dust was able to be replicated. This might be the first time he faced something like this.


    The bull''s second power was none other than the metal magic dding his body. Although he suspected that the bull didn''t have enough control to coat the ground with metal magic, he didn''t dare to grab a conclusion before fighting it a bit more.


    When Kai arrived next to the bull, he stomped the ground to create a rotating force and hit the bull''s neck with his Super Sonic Sword.


    ng.


    The bull seemed to have expected it as it reinforced the metal magic dding his neck to something stronger to the point a visible red metallic color appeared among the ck color.


    "(Be careful. It can get even stronger.)" Kai informed Shinkai while jumping to the air.


    Acknowledging his warning, Shinkai then observed Kai''s movement, wondering what he nned to do.


    Kai spun his body with his right foot slightly pulled back as if he was prepared to send another kick.


    When he was about to cross the bull, Kai finally had the perfect angle to send a kick toward its lower neck where it was unprotected, nning to give him a shock to make the bull fall.


    Unfortunately for him, the bull seemed to be better than he thought as it covered its own head with this red metal as if he''d grasped Kai''s n.


    It was at this time Kai showed his real intention when a magic circle appeared right before his foot.


    "Sound st." Kai smirked and let everything flow perfectly.


    The Sound st blew his foot away, forcing him to spin in the air and his right foot destination was none other than the bull''s stomach.


    "!!!" Even Shinkai didn''t expect that despite seeing every action. There was no way the bull would be able to predict something like this.


    Yet, Kai surprised them once again when he surpassed their expectations. He had a new pair of boots made of the synthesis metal only Ria Ross could create. And that metal was able to withstand the Sonic Boom''s pressure.


    When Kai''s foot was about to hit the bull, a magic circle appeared on the back of his foot as it slightly vibrated to the point it went past the Sound Barrier, creating a Sonic Boom. The shock waveing from the Sonic Boom helped to increase the speed a few times.


    Bam.


    A loud sound echoed in the savanna as Shinkai or even Jules and Arnaud dropped their jaws to the ground.


    Arnaud could only shake his head helplessly while muttering, "Did I do something wrong? He has grown even stronger."


    The scene where Kai thanked him because he learned something stuck in his mind. His job was to acquire the impossible Kai because of his strength and the Union instability. Yet, Kai just surpassed that expectation again and evolved. No one could contain him anymore at this point.


    Jules simply facepalmed, wondering whether he still had enough energy to counter that attack. The metal bull that covered its whole body with metal magic had its abdomen slightly leaned to the side because of the force before the entire bull was blown a few meters away.


    Kai didn''t stop there and chased the bull together with Shinkai. He only signaled Shinkai to let him do something first.


    Understanding his signal, Shinkai slowed down and ran right behind Kai to see what kind of action he took. After recognizing it, he nned to strike the bull.


    Thus, Kai finally had the room to test the might of his new boot. When he arrived right before the bull, thetter wanted to stand up, albeit Kai''s foot was already above his head.


    The magic circle appeared again and caused another Sonic Boom to the side, so it didn''t harm Kai''s body,unching the foot to the ground.


    ''Did he n to step on the bull?'' Shinkai widened his eyes, but since left and right were not possible, he decided to wait from behind until that shock wave stopped, only to find himself stunned before he could do anything.


    After all, the moment Kai''s foot reached the bull''s head, it continued to push the head to the ground with enough strength to cause a small crater on the ground. The crater was around three meters, yet, it wasn''t supposed to happen, considering Kai''s strength should be lower than this.


    However, only Kai and Ria Ross knew that there was a big difference between the shoes and the swords. His sword caused a Sonic Boom to increase its sharpness because that amount of vibration would be able to cut almost anything. Yet, the shoes had arger point of contact, so Kai asked Ria Ross to focus on the power instead.


    With thatrge point of contact, the moment it hit something, they would feel as if a giant hammer with great power and speed struck them.


    Thus, the result wasn''t an exaggeration at all. But the one who was stunned by this result was none other than the one who followed him the longest among them, Sofia Campbell.


    Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Her mouth stuttered as if she wanted to say something but was unable to do it.


    This might be the biggest shock she had ever received. Her face turned pale and her feet went limp. She simply didn''t know what to do anymore with this guy.


    "Sofia¡­ What is happening to you?" Roselyn tilted her head in confusion. Even if she was shocked by his strength, it shouldn''t be that much.


    "Have you forgotten what he said already?" Sofia sweatdropped and facepalmed.


    "What did he say?" Roselyn was confused before she opened her mouth in shock, realizing what she meant. There was only one thing that shed in her mind. "S Rank Magical Beast¡­ He is toying an S Rank Magical Beast?"


    "It''s not supposed to happen, especially since I haven''t seen him for only a month." Sofia scratched the back of her head. "What should I do again to catch up with him?"


    "You what?!" Roselyn blinked her eyes a few times as she couldn''t believe what she heard. Catch up with him? Her only thought was just to think how he didn''t leave her behind because of their difference, yet, Sofia had been thinking about catching up. Roselyn finally realized why Sofia could be one of Kai''s girls. The difference between their resolves was just that vast.


    Unfortunately for her, the shock had yet to end because Sofia had another thing to say. Her eyes were able to recognize the danger level of a certain living being at an imagination level as if she saw a great ze.


    Kai ssified this beast as an S Rank Magical Beast and no one would be able to refute it. Yet, this wasn''t that much importantpared to what she saw. "Back when the mole attacked the US Base, Kai couldn''t do anything alone as he needed people''s help to kill that monster. But¡­ What am I witnessing at this moment? The bull''s ze is even stronger than the mole and it''s already getting toyed by him while the Oni hasn''t even attacked it yet."


    Roselyn was bbergasted, wondering if she heard it wrongly. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, Sofia''s words stuck in her mind as she couldn''t help but shout.


    "What?!"

 Chapter 448 - Doubt

    While the two got shocked, the woman behind her looked at them as if looking at fools. Kai Carter was their absolute king as well as their strongest fighter. If he truly gained his throne as the Human Race''s protector, Kai would have killed an S Rank Magical Beast in a single blow.


    Her eyes were filled with doubts because she never visited any ces or followed the news. After setting off for a journey, she never visited any living cities and went around the ces with her group.


    Unfortunately, she got into an ident and separated from the rest of her group. Wanting to survive and return to her home, it turned out she couldn''t do it and needed to hide from one ce to another.


    The journey ended up getting even worse because she gradually drifted away from her home all the way to China after one year. Surviving skill was the basic thing they needed to learn in that civilization, so she could somehow kill some weak monsters as well as searching for herbs, so staying alive might be hard but not impossible.


    When she arrived in China, Shinkai actually met her, finding that her clothes were not simr to the people in United Asia. It was then he suspected her as someone from another ce.


    As he was one of the top fighters in Oni Vige, he somehow learned about her identity and asked to go back to Oni Vige first to ask Ishii whether she could return or not because of the distance and territory.


    Before Ishii gave an answer, she actually told him that she would like to be his wife since the people back in her home thought she had died because of the ident.


    That answer stopped Ishii from expelling her and took her in. Then at one point, she suddenly missed home so much to the point she didn''t feel like doing anything.


    Shinkai became concerned and begged Ishii to let him go with or without his wife''s permission. No matter how hard she denied him, Shinkai knew that she was missing home. There was also a chance that they needed to be separated when they returned since everyone in their territories was a bit overprotective to their own kin.


    Even so, Shinkai wanted her to be happy and settle everything. She knew that kindness in his heart that had been shown since they first met. That was why she married him.


    Unfortunately, because of this, she never came out of Oni Vige, making hermon sense limited to Oni Vige and her hometown.


    That knowledge gave her enough understanding about the Protector and the fact that someday someone woulde to that ce. The Race Protectors were Earth''s great defenders, ensuring that everything was alright.


    Hence they were blessed by everything, especially the strength to enforce the rule and protect the entire race. She once heard that a protector was a kind of a natural disaster itself since they could use magic close to a natural disaster.


    Thus, she couldn''tprehend why the girls didn''t know their protector, Kai Carter''s real worth. She had heard that someone once visited their ce a few hundred years ago and left to seek the protector, so she thought that person had told everyone about this type of thing or at least made their important people know something about their protector.


    Since the people around him seemed to be important enough, she thought they should know about it. Unfortunately, they seemed to be clueless, so she wondered which one went wrong. Did the person in the past tell them something? If yes, then it wouldn''t be lost even if the world was ruined because of the apocalypse.


    She wanted to believe that the person didn''t tell them anything, but there was the item to tell the world that Kai Carter was the protector on his neck, so she was baffled by the whole situation.


    Either way, she observed the battle carefully.


    Kai, on the contrary, understood why they were talking about him, but he simply ignored them, feeling great about this new power. To think that something so simple would give him this kind of benefit.


    He seemed to have a misunderstanding about the concept of magic this whole time. He admitted that his magic was nasty. From Luby to Super Sonic Sword, they were good in their own way.


    However, the doubt started to appear in Kai''s heart when he realized the power behind his magic just by slightly changing its purpose. The Vibration Sword that was capable of cutting anything could be changed into a massive destruction weapon like his boot. If he chose a spear or a mace instead, the power would be more catastrophic.


    There was an option to discover more about his magic to search for another way to use it, but he needed to focus on the mission first.


    After shing the bull''s body until it cut through since the bull had exhausted itself because of the continuous attacks from him and Shinkai, Kai finally took a deep breath of relief. "(We''ve finally killed it. Good work.)"


    Shinkai nodded and replied, "(Sir, I think you may want to talk to my wife about the story of the protector first while we''re on the way there.)"


    "(I don''t mind.)" Kai agreed without hesitation. "(I have never heard any of it myself, so I''m curious. Well, to answer your earlier question, I only learned the Oni Language because I just realized my role not long ago and somehow visited the Oni Vige, meeting Ishii and his daughter. After talking about various things, I requested him to teach me the Language.)"


    "(You can learn it easily in your¡­ Wait, I see.)" Shinkai shook his head helplessly, realizing that there wasn''t a single record about the protectors in Human History. Those who ventured outside and watched the changing eras would surely know that it was better to keep this matter secret.


    Just like the witches a few centuries ago¡­ He might be mistaken and killed because they couldn''t ept that someone had the ability while they did not. Then, in modern society, his body might be aboratory rat instead of a proper human being.


    That was why Kai had no idea about his identity. Although he didn''t know from whom he knew about it, he chose to remain silent and believed that Rapakha gave him the information instead of any other people.


    Different from them, those who believed that Kai was the ruler of the entire human race would treat him like that of a king. Even if they had the power to overturn all the civilizations to help the protector, they couldn''t do it because no matter what anyone said, they were still humans.


    Meanwhile, Kai asked another question, "(What do you think about this world? This world that will soon turn chaotic.)"


    "(There''s nothing I desire other than a peaceful Oni Vige.)" Shinkai shook his head, indirectly saying that other than Ishii''s request, he wouldn''t interfere with anything in this world.


    "(At least, we''re done here. Let''s rest first and continue our journeyter.)"


    "(I understand. If I may suggest, it''s better to go from tomorrow morning because the bull''s death will cause a bit of chaotic situation.)"


    "(Sure.)" Kai nodded and returned to Sofia and the others with a smile.


    Not long after, Arnaud and Jules killed their opponents before Shinkai''s roar dispersed the magical beasts.


    Both Arnaud and Jules had this re after finishing their job as if they wanted to say something, yet waiting for Kai to say it. Of course, how could they not? Kai was able to talk with anothernguage that they believed wasn''t a humannguage. And the fact that this person was so polite to Kai, it was easy to see the difference in the hierarchy.


    With a single roar, the guy might be able to control tens of thousands of magical beasts to attack the Union. If Kai were also at the helm, the result would be disastrous. They didn''t even have confidence whether they could win against him or not, considering Kai was famous because he was a genius of warfare.


    Still, the fact that Kai just killed another S Rank Magical Beast so easily truly shocked them. There was no doubt that Kai might have surpassed his teacher, Ria Ross. And if he were to be given one more year to develop in high school, he might be the strongest person in the world¡­ The youngest one on top of that.


    This would turn the world into chaos. There might be a huge ruckus in United Asia because he had a grudge against the Katsuragi Family that once wanted to kill him.


    Either way, they still followed Kai to rest on the side. Even though there were many monsters nearby, Kai seemed to not care about them because they had been ordered not to attack them.


    When the night came, Kai looked at their curious faces and shrugged. "I won''t exin anything. There''s nothing I can tell you. Besides, I think someone will answer everything when we arrive, so just wait for¡­"


    Before finishing his words, he turned around and asked Shinkai, "(How long the journey will take again?)"


    "(Two days by foot, but if Sir wants to use some beasts, we can reach that ce before night if we leave tomorrow morning.)"


    "(I can''t talk to them though.)"


    "(Don''t worry. I will be handling everything.)"


    "(Then, I will be relying on you to get them. I think it will be a good experience for me too.)"


    "(Thank you very much, Sir.)" Shinkai surprisingly thanked Kai for that decision. But when he nced at his wife, his intention was already discovered.


    He wanted to ride a beast so that his wife would have an easier time.

 Chapter 449 - Arrival

    When the next day came, Kai washed his face with the little water they had. Sofia and Jules had woken up a few hours ago because they needed to watch out through the night.


    Still, they seemed to be arguing over something. And the fact that they used their devices to talk meant the talk was important and most likely concerned about him.


    Considering they just witnessed something so absurd yesterday, Kai could understand her action and chose to trust her.


    Roselyn and Arnaud seemed to have been arguing how to report this type of incident to the higher ups too. Due to how insane this incident was, they were not confident they could convince the higher ups they all were true.


    Because of the continuous fight, Arnaud didn''t activate his camera while Roselyn was too shocked to do that. But they needed to convey the fact that Kai indeed killed an S Rank Magical Beast with only another person that was suspected to be a zodiac.


    After a few hours, they agreed to understand the whole circumstances first before they knew what to report and what they couldn''t afford to report. After all, Kai promised them that most if not all their questions would be answered when they reached their destination.


    A possibility that they would receive a greater power was also there, so they agreed to talk to Kai first before giving the full report. If Kai was displeased, there was a chance that a catastrophe would appear, so it was wise to discuss the matter with him every time they got something new.


    While waiting for the others to get ready, Kai stretched his body and found Shinkai next to him.


    "(Good morning.)"


    "(Good morning, Sir.)"


    "(Are you sure we will arrive today?)"


    "(Yes.)"


    "(In that case, what are we going to ride today?)" Kai thought for a moment and looked at the right, "(There are zebras over there.)"


    "(Then we shall ride those.)" Shinkai nodded in agreement. After calcting their number again, Shinkai visited those zebras, having a small talk.


    Since they had magic power, even without a saddle, they wouldn''t feel anything because of shaking, so Kai wasn''t that bothered with it.


    Not long after, Shinkai returned with seven zebras. "(I have returned, Sir. This is the best one, so please ride this one, Sir.)"


    Kai nodded. Although he didn''t really care about the best or anything, he couldn''t just shake it off that easily, especially after that careful thought from the other party. "(Thank you.)"


    Shinkai lowered his head and left to his wife.


    Kai then moved to the zebra that Shinkai chose and stretched his hand gently, not touching him yet. Suddenly, the zebra slowly leaned his head to Kai''s palm and gently brushed it, showing his approval.


    "I will be counting on you." Kai smiled and stroked the zebra''s head.


    The zebra let out a sound to show his approval.


    Meanwhile, the others still hesitated because never in a million chances would they think of riding a magical beast. Kai also understood their worry and said, "Don''t worry. They are not dangerous. In fact, we can go without killing any magical beasts anymore because he and the zebras will tell the others to stay away from us.


    "With their help, we will be able to reach the destination today." Kai gave a thumb up before trying to hop onto the zebra. "I''m counting on you, okay?"


    The zebra nodded and slowly walked around them.


    Surprisingly, the zebra put more effort into making Kai morefortable. Even when it tried to run around, Kai didn''t feel anything and praised the zebra instead while stroking his head.


    "This¡­" Sofia looked a bit hesitant, but since Kai already showed them, she was the first to move closer to the zebra and stretched her hand like how Kai did it the first time. The zebra gave the same reaction to her and even lowered its head as if he recognized the rtionship between Sofia and Kai. It was a kind of animal instinct, but the zebra waspletely right.


    Sofia couldn''t help but smile as she gently hopped onto the zebra and gently stroked his head. "I''m counting on you."


    The zebra nodded and walked toward Kai as if telling him that everything would be fine.


    Arnaud and Jules exchanged looks and knew they shouldn''t be surprised again. They shook their heads helplessly and rode the zebras too.


    Meanwhile, Roselyn just finished the chore and handed them their bags while shaking her head. Kai and the others thanked her since they forgot about it and had her do it alone.


    After another five minutes, they all were ready to set off. Kai asked the zebra to go to the front and said, "Alright. Let''s not waste any more time and go to our destination."


    The zebra began running from slow to its max speed. As expected from a magical beast, its speed was faster than a normal zebra.


    Nheless, Kai raised his hands, feeling free from any restraint while enjoying the breeze. "This is nice¡­ Hahaha. I want to do something like this once in a while."


    Sofia and the others facepalmed as Kai didn''t know what would happen if people knew about this. Kai might be an experimental subject or even the enemy of humanity. However, thetter never cared about such a thing, knowing that everything was going to be alright.


    With a Protector from the sea bing their enemy, if Kai actually abandoned them, humanity would be wiped out of the map. And ording to the information he had gathered until now, this hidden ce seemed to be going to recognize his status and epted him among them.


    At that time, this ce would surely be the new home for him, his girlfriends, and his family. Kai didn''t know if he had the heart to be ruthless, but he surely wanted to see how much they regretted their choice to be his enemy.


    When they crossed the savanna, they found that the magical beasts actually ignored them, proving Kai''s words even further. They realized that with Shinkai''s power, they would be able to control the magical beasts.


    Arnaud believed this was thetent potential of a Zodiac but couldn''t say anything because he hadn''t ascertained Shinkai''s real identity.


    Jules, on the contrary, decided not to care much afterst night''s argument. Since Sofia chose to be with him even if he were a devil, Jules decided to let her go, hoping that she would visit them from time to time.


    Jules seemed to have given her permission if she wished to follow Kai to the US Base. Of course, there would be so many things that needed to be done before she could go there again, but more or less, she could do whatever she wanted, especially since she wasn''t the current sessor.


    After two hours, Shinkai finally came to Kai and said, "(Sir. Before going there, do you wish to know a bit more about this ce? My wife seems to want to tell you something.)"


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded.


    Shinkai''s wife then went to the front and lowered her head politely. "(Greeting my King. First of all, I would like to thank you for helping this lowly one and apologize because I can''t speak the humannguage with so many people around us.)"


    "(That''s fine by me since they shouldn''t know this before reaching the destination.)" Kai waved his hand, telling her it wasn''t a big deal.


    She nodded and continued, "(There are actually three things you need to know before they tell you the rest. The first will be the custom. Because of our policy, outsiders are not allowed. It''s to maintain our secrecy and such.)


    "(I know that this is too much, but we have someone with mind magic that will wipe their memories about this ce. Of course, if My King wished to make an exception about this custom, you can do it. But we still need to wipe important memories about it, especially the location.)"


    Kai closed his eyes and sighed. "(As expected¡­ Ites to this, huh. Well, it''s been hidden for thousands of years, so I won''t break that tradition. But they still need to know a few things.)"


    "(Yes.)" She nodded. "(The second thing will be about Magic Power. My King can know the method to get more magic power inside your body, but other than your families, no one is allowed to learn this method.)"


    "(I understand. With the current situation, letting them learn it won''t be that much of a difference, so I can wait until everything is settled.)"


    "(Last but not least, we beg you not to tell anyone about this ce.)"


    "(Hahaha. Just like the talk between protectors is prohibited from being known, I will keep everything a secret. You don''t need to worry about it.)"


    She lowered her head again and slowed down, leaving Kai alone in the front.


    Kai looked at the sky and let out a long sigh, feeling that trouble would being soon.


    ¡­


    A few hourster.


    Suddenly, after venturing for so long, they found two humans, one male and one female, standing in the middle of nowhere. The guy had long ck hair tied neatly on his back. His deep blue eyes watched Kai carefully to check something. He wore a blue shirt buttoned all the way to the top and ck long pants.


    The girl, on the other hand, had blue hair, a bit shorter than the guy''s hair. She looked the opposite of him, especially with her ck eyes and ck shirt. She looked like wearing jeans, but there seemed to be some patterns on them.


    Feeling their gaze, Kai decided to leap off the beast andnded on the ground gracefully as he slowly walked toward them. There seemed to be a movement as well from behind him. Yes, the one who moved behind him was none other than Shinkai''s wife.


    All three of them suddenly kneeled on one knee, lowering their heads politely. "We greet Our King."

 Chapter 450 - Priests And Priestesses

    "We greet Our King."


    Everyone was stunned when they heard this sentence. Without a doubt, they spoke English, yet, it was weird to hear it because of Shinkai and his wife, who had yet to say something in English. The silencepletely stunned them, but only Kai actually noticed the difference between this ce and other areas they had crossed.


    There wasn''t a single noise from the magical beasts in his hearing range. Instead, all of them appeared to be the voices from the area before him.


    Still, no one seemed to be able to listen to their voices, so it was no wonder this ce hadn''t been discovered for thousands of years.


    Seeing the expression on Kai''s face, they knew Kai was a protector because every single protector would be born with a pair of ears that could hear everything.


    The male finally introduced himself. "We are the 44th generation of Priest and Priestess of Emulda Kn. My name is Devain Agur and she is Leah Arnell. We would like to greet you at our humble pce, Emulda Kn."


    "I''ve heard that no outsiders can''t enter¡­" Kai said with a hesitant tone, stopping to see their expressions.


    Leah smiled and exined, "If My King permits, they shall be exempted from those rules. But we''re surprised to see you''ve met one of us, Aulia Kernell."


    "I met her on my way here. She and her husband have guided me to this ce." Kai nodded.


    "Oni¡­" Devain narrowed his eyes, contemted, and nodded in understanding. "I understand. I shall be informing this matter to the grand priest. For now, I would like to invite you inside. Would you mind following me?"


    Beforeing to a decision, he turned around and looked at their expressions. Arnaud and Roselyn were ready for this, so they nodded their heads. Even if they died, it would be recorded as having fallen in a mission.


    Sofia didn''t care much about any of those things. Seeing himing to the other side alone was already enough for her to go to the other side.


    Shinkai was also the same since he came here to apany his wife to meet her family. Thest one that had a problem with this was none other than Jules.


    He also had another responsibility which was his family. If he went back, he could still stay strong to protect the family, but if he died inside, the Campbell Family would start declining. He was sure that the Union would use that opportunity to suppress his family.


    But when he took another look at it, if he died in this ce, Arnaud would also die, so he believed his son would be able to handle everything. Besides, with Kai and Sofia''s rtionship, Kai wouldn''t really let their family decline just like that, so Jules decided toe as well.


    After getting confirmation from their expressions, Kai turned around and nodded. "Sure. Let''s go inside."


    The Priest and Priestess then rose from the ground and pped their hands at the same time.


    p.


    A pair of magic circles right behind them before the ne he got from Rapakha started glowing.


    "It is resonating..." Kai narrowed his eyes and found a circr torrential air appear between the Priest and Priestess like that of a portal. Behind them, he could find a stone road along with a few buildings on the sides. Still, what took his focus was none other than the giant building on the end of the road.


    The structure had a simple cube shape, but there were some slopes around them, making it different from any other. There were also tall stairs that seemed to be the main entrance.


    "So, this is the ce¡­" Kai took a deep breath and gradually walked toward the portal before stopping right in front of it. "I can hear many people around the entrance."


    "They are just doing their daily activities. Please pay no mind to them." Leah exined with a smile, standing right behind Kai together with the Priest.


    After contemting for a few seconds, Kai decided to enter the portal while signaling the others to follow him.


    Surprisingly, the buildings seemed to be made of bricks and cement, yet, Kai could notice that the house seemed to follow the style of a few hundred years prior.


    Kai fell silent the moment he entered the portal because people began to notice his presence, followed by many outsiders along with their Priest and Priestess.


    "Someone is escorted by the Priest and Priestess?"


    "There are also outsiders."


    "There''s even an Oni of the east."


    "What is happening here?"


    "Is he¡­"


    The people started whispering to each other in anguage Kai and the others couldn''t understand, but Kai got the gist of what they were saying from their tones and heartbeats. They were doubting his identity.


    Before anyone could have a misconception, while Devain closed the portal, Leah came forward and rified. "Please give us our way. Our King hase. The world is in turmoil, and there''s a chance that this ce will be targeted in the future."


    "¡­"


    The people hesitated once they heard it. To everyone''s surprise, each person began to kneel on one knee, saluting Kai.


    Kai looked at their attire and found so many current trend clothing styles. Some also even used traditional clothes from a few countries. They seemed to have gone all over the world to observe the trend and the world''s development, incorporating that knowledge into their own ce.


    "¡­" Kai didn''t know why, but the path to go to the biggest building had been opened.


    Leah and Devain walked to the front and stretched their hands. "Please this way."


    Kai nodded and followed them without saying anything to the people there. He didn''t know theirnguage, so it was better to keep his silence for a moment.


    The group reached the big building after a five-minute walk and started to climb the building.


    He looked left and right to see these orange-colored stones that looked like the pyramid''s but slightly different. He didn''t know this material, but he understood that the pyramid must be built by people with power.


    In other words, when the Magic Particles were still dense in the air and strengthened the human''s physical abilities, the humans built all those monuments.


    ''It is not a legend anymore.'' Kai thought while checking their surroundings. From his ears, he could perceive around ten thousand people living in the city. He could also find many fields, from food to sports.


    Considering they needed to live here for thousands of years, he thought they also needed some fun things. In fact, he found others listening to the television.


    This ce or he could also call it this cage, was isted but not isted at the same time.


    When he raised his vision, he could see a thinyer of barrier that seemed to be hiding this ce from the real world. But they could still see the scenery outside and experienced rain. As for the water, they seemed to have their own way of acquiring it, along with other things from the real world.


    Still, when he took a look at this ce, the people didn''t seem to be that bad, at least in their happiness.


    "This is a good city." Kai couldn''t help but mutter.


    The group halted and looked at him before taking a nce at the city.


    Devain nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the praise, My King. We''re proud to cultivate this entire town."


    Kai turned back and continued going up. "Anyway, I think we shouldn''t waste any more time. I can hear someone grumbling about my arrival."


    What Kai said was the truth. He indeed heard a female''s voiceing from inside this building. Yet, there seemed to be another man besides her, smacking her head, saying, "You can''t say that."


    "That¡­" Leah scratched the back of her head, wondering how to introduce that person to him. "I think it''s better for My King to meet her yourself. She is the previous generation Priestess, Arba Eaon."


    "I''m sure that someone is next to her, waiting for you. He is our mentor, the previous generation Priest, Aston Maian," added Devain while stretching his hand. "I believe we should hurry up. After retiring from their position, they have be the Grand Priest and Priestess, whose purpose is to train the next generation like us."


    "I see. Then, we shouldn''t let them wait." Kai nodded with a gentle smile.


    When they arrived at the top, they needed to go through abyrinth. At the end of this byrinth" were two giant stone doors where Devain and Leah opened the door for him.


    "Please wait here for a moment." Leah stopped Kai''spanions before they entered together with Kai and closed the doors.


    Sofia and the others had no other choice than to wait, so they tried to discuss this matter.


    Meanwhile, in the room, Kai found an old man greeting him on one knee.


    "I''m honored to see you well, My King. I''m Aston Maian, the Grand Priest of this Emulda Kn." The male was an old man with a long white beard. His figure was petite, but he was by no means malnourished.


    Next to him was a woman that seemed to be slightly older than Leah. Unlike the guy, she wore a slightly revealing outfit that showed her cleavage and a miniskirt. Shezilyid down on her side while using her right hand to support her head.


    "Oh! The King has finally arrived. I''m Arba. Wee!"


    "Oi! You need to¡ª" Aston raised from the ground and stretched his hand to Arba''s head to force her to bow before Kai, but they soon heard a giggle from Kai.


    They were stunned and looked at him, finding him smiling gently.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Kai Carter. There''s no one here that will judge you for your character, so I don''t mind."


    "¡­" Arba widened her eyes before slightly revealing her canine. She smirked, "Interesting."

 Chapter 451 - Roles

    "Interesting." Arba widened her eyes and slowly rose from her position, straightening her posture and facing Kai politely. "It''s my honor to meet you, My King, Kai Carter. My name is Arba Eaon. I would like to apologize for my actions."


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you."


    From the start, Kai already knew that Arba intentionally antagonized him because she wanted to test two things. The first would be his temperament. How much anger could he contain? If his pride was hurt by something like that, she needed to reconsider teaching him the power befitting that of a Protector. After all, the world might be a dangerous ce to live if such a person actually held this much power.


    At the same time, he wanted to see how developed Kai''s ears were. Although she intentionally did it, her tone and heartbeat didn''t change at all, so it was hard for someone to pick it up. However, Kai seemed to be better than she thought. Kai could only find this w was due to the fact that these two talked in English instead of theirmonnguage this whole time.


    So, she politely greeted him and apologized.


    "As much as I want to talk with all of you here, I believe we should finish our purposes first since I can''t really let the people outside wait for too long."


    "That''s what we would like to ask first, My King. Why would you bring an Oni to this ce?" The old man, Aston, asked.


    "He is just a husband wanting to see his wife''s family while fulfilling his wife''s wish. That''s all." Kai shrugged.


    "Aulia Kernell?" Aston narrowed his eyes and turned to Davian and Leah, who nodded their heads, confirming Kai''s words. He then looked down while contemting, "I see. I can understand if that''s the case. He can stay for a period of time, but I''m afraid he can''t live here forever."


    "I''ve met with the Oni Protector and from my point of view, I think you can let her stay there. I''m sure she won''t be mistreated. Of course, her own family will decide that after discussions."


    Aston agreed without hesitation since it was the best option for them. "I understand. Devain¡­ Can you handle this matter?"


    "Yes." Devain nodded and left the room, fulfilling the mission as soon as possible.


    "As for the others¡­ I am not sure what My King is nning to do."


    Kai contemted for a moment and asked, "What is the rule of this ce?"


    "Does My King n to keep their memory intact?"


    "Yes. I think you can understand my intention, especially with the fact that this ce has actually followed the news all over the world with their technology." Kai smirked and looked at Aston with a serious expression.


    "Indeed," Aston admitted that the best course of action would be allowing them to get some information from here. Unfortunately, they still needed to erase a portion of their memory. "Still, I would like My King''s permission to erase their memory. We can''t allow them to know the location and a few other things. If it''s about our culture and some information, I don''t think we have a problem, but we can''t afford to have many people aware of us.


    "Even the fact that they have some sort of way to pinpoint our location is already too dangerous for us. And this will apply to your wife as well." Aston looked down in disappointment. He didn''t want to do this, but the rule stated to protect the entire city.


    Kai let out a long sigh and said, "It can''t be helped. However, make sure you don''t touch anything else. And how do you know she is my wife?"


    "There are two ways. First, I have been following My King''s news, so I know that you have some sort of rtionship with Sofia Campbell. Second, I can use Mind Magic. It''s easy to see your affection toward someone."


    "I see. It''s quite terrifying magic, eh."


    "I would like to apologize because I can''t control what I can see."


    "Nah, it''s fine. This also means that I don''t even need to tell you about such a thing and you will understand what you need to do. Seeing yourposure, I believe you are not someone who will easily make a wrong choice."


    "Thank you very much." Aston lowered his head and continued, "In that case, I shall ask Leah to prepare the guest rooms and have them stay there first before exining all the things they need to know."


    As soon as Kai nodded his head, Leah left the room and guided them to another ce.


    At the very least, he could monitor them with his ears. With two S Rank Magicians, they should be fine for the time being.


    "So, what are we going to discuss here?" Kai asked.


    "That depends on your wish." Arba finally joined the conversation with a nonchnt tone. She seemed to have gone back to her carefree state.


    Kai didn''t mind such a thing since it would make this meeting a bit more casual. But Aston simply couldn''t let it go and red at her.


    "Arba!"


    "Why? Why are you so stiff, old man?" She shrugged. "Even if he doesn''t tell me anything, why are you trying to find faults in me?"


    "You know about it yourself." Aston clenched his teeth, wanting to beat her up. Unfortunately for him, it was just a pipe dream because Arba''s magic was more suitable for fighting than him. In fact, he couldn''t even hit her once if they fought against each other.


    "What did you say?" Arba narrowed her eyes, nning to beat this guy again.


    "Ahaha¡­"


    Kai''s chuckle suddenly stunned both of them as the two fell silent, staring at him. Kai was amazed that the two would stop with just a chuckle and decided to give them an answer. "I want to learn othernguages and get stronger. I''m afraid a certain protector will make a move sooner orter."


    Arba and Aston turned serious the moment Kai mentioned a protector. They had been following the news about Kai, so they knew which protector would make a move.


    They exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. Aston then asked, "It seems to be the case¡­ But I wonder how long My King will stay in this ce? Teaching you something will require a long time, so¡­"


    "Well, I think I can stay for three months. After that, I need to return¡­ In fact, I need to prolong my stay in the EU Base for this. And due to this, I will be leaving my team in the US Base for six months¡­" Kai let out a long sigh as he couldn''t really spend too much time.


    Aston took a minute to calcte everything and replied to him. "In that case, I will be teaching you the majornguages. Instead of learning all thenguages, I will be teaching you one Major Language every week. Since you say you have three months, it means I can teach you thirteen to fourteen Major Languages.


    "Thenguages will consist of Bird Language, Wolf Language, and so on. I will give My King the detailster. Of course, the first thing you will need to learn is none other than our Akkadian Language. If you know thisnguage, the others can be finished within a week even with another training."


    Kai didn''t know how impactful theirnguages were, but this was his first step to protect his family in the US Base. Unlike the previous time, he didn''t n to run away again if a powerful enemy came to him.


    "I understand. I will leave it to you." Kai nodded.


    "In that case, I will be teaching youbat techniques." Arba smirked. "Well, after watching your news, I believe you are good enough already, so I don''t need to fix your basics or anything. I will focus on a few things instead. How about it, Aston? You don''t have a problem, right?"


    Aston clenched his teeth and looked away.


    Kai only smiled while watching their conversation. Even though they looked like they annoyed each other, they didn''t seem to hate each other.


    Seeing there was no objection from Aston, she raised her hand along with three fingers, exining. "Then, I will be teaching you three things. The first will be the way to increase the Magic Particles inside your body. Because you''re the Protector, you should have the natural affinity for this. Although you need time to get stronger, you should be able to one hit an S Rank Magical Beast within six months¡­ That I can guarantee.


    "The second one will be Magic or the more popr term in this ce¡­ Mystic. As you know, the way we''re handling Magic Particles is different from what you know. Hence, I will teach you how to control the Magic Particles. I''m sure you can do something big with this technique, especially if you have enough Magic Particles in your body.


    "Last but not least, I will be teaching you S*x technique."


    "Hold up!"

 Chapter 452 - Talks

    "Oi, Arba!" Aston raised his voice after getting infuriated by Arba this whole time.


    "Why?" Arba tilted her head in confusion. "The purpose of the Priestess is to conceive the King''s kid, so we will have a sessor to rule over us in the future, right? Then, the role of the Priest is to be the King''s guard and brother¡­ If the King is a male. If it''s the queen, then the role will be exchanged. I''m still a Priestess, you know."


    Kai, on the contrary, heard something he didn''t like as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Ho? I seem to have heard something interesting."


    "Look, he agrees with me!" Arba pointed at Kai as if she just won.


    Only Aston, a master of Mind Magic, could understand that Kai was displeased by her statement and their roles. And if he remembered how popr Kai was with women and only chose to be faithful to a few significant others without having any scandal, it just made his anger even more understandable.


    Because of Arba''s loose mouth, he needed to think of a way to appease his anger.


    "Please don''t listen to her. She is just joking." Aston tried to exin the situation, but Kai simply shook his head and gave his answer. "I quit. I will search for another way."


    "!!!" Arba widened her eyes in bewilderment as she found Aston facepalming while gnashing his teeth. She soon realized what this meant and quickly apologized. "My King¡­ Listen to me. I was just joking! You couldn''t take a joke like this?"


    "The joke and your tone are enough for me to conclude that it''s real." Kai shook his head and rose from the ground. "I will try to find another way to get stronger. Some Protectors will surely give me a bit of pointer."


    "Wait, wait!" Arba suddenly appeared next to Kai and held his foot. "Wait a minute. Let me exin! We can abolish that rule right now. The King''s words are absolute! That''s right. As long as you say it, we don''t need to go through with it."


    Kai looked down on her with a cold gaze as if telling him, ''That''s on the surface. I''m sure you''re going to have her seduce me or something directly or indirectly.''


    Arba''s face turned pale as she realized her mistake. She didn''t gather enough information about Kai because she thought Kai would be just like any other potential King Candidates that didn''t manage to survive until they reached here.


    That was her biggest miscalction. And now, she needed to face the consequences while wondering how to solve the issue.


    "My King, please wait a moment. I know that you''re disappointed in this matter, so please let me exin it instead of her." Aston faced Kai with a grim expression.


    "What? Are you going to trap me inside here and do everything to your bidding? Or are you nning to kill me if I don''tply?" Kai snorted in a cold tone. "Just try then! I have that kind of resolve beforeing here."


    "No, no." Aston shook his head with a long sigh. "I know that My King has no intention of getting into a rtionship with someone unknown. We won''t implore it any longer and it''s my fault that Arba has said something like that because I have never told her all the small detailed information about you. I will take the me for this. Even if My King wants me dead, I willmit suicide in front of you to appease your anger. Just please¡­ Hear me one more time."


    Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds, contemting this matter. Unlike Arba, Aston was a serious type. He would surely do what he said to prove his point. Since he came here to get stronger, even if it displeased him, he needed to swallow the matter for the time being.


    He took a deep breath to calm his heart down and said, "Okay. I will listen to what you have to say."


    "Thank you." Aston nodded before signaling Arba to return to his position and shut her mouth.


    Knowing what she had done earlier, she looked down with a sad expression and stayed silent.


    There was another reason why Kai had this kind of outburst. Just like how Arba wanted to test him, he wanted to test their limit. And he managed to see their situation along with the importance of a Protector to a certain race.


    He had so much advantage in this talk, so he should be able to keep the group that came with him alive.


    He walked a few steps forward and sat down right in front of Aston on the floor, looking at his face. Arba scratched the back of her head whileining, ''It seems this one doesn''t have a sense of humor. He looks serious all the time like the old man.''


    If she muttered, Kai would hear it and quickly leave this ce, but because it was only in her mind, she was safe¡­ Or It was what should''ve happened. When she released that kind of thought, Aston couldn''t help but feel it and pped his hand once before something flicked Arba''s forehead, making her fall down on her back.


    "So, I have two questions first." Kai raised two of his fingers.


    "Please ask anything. I will answer it to the best of my ability."


    "First, you''re stronger than me and I don''t think you need me or anything, so why don''t you just create another king?"


    Aston gulped down as he never expected this kind of question came out of his mouth. He shook his head and replied, "I''m sorry, but it''s not possible. There are several reasons for this. First, the All-Hearing Ears are gifted to a unique individual. This is the very basic requirement to be acknowledged as a Race Protector.


    "Then move on to the second reason. If we kill you or let you die after making contact like this, we will be condemned by all other races, especially the intelligent ones. For example, the Oni Race that came with you will surely pass this information to his King before spreading it all around the world.


    "At that time, we didn''t have a face to protect anymore. I believe you also have made contact with several Protectors. If such a thing happens under our watch, there''s a high chance they wille at us and destroy us. The possibility bes even higher if they''re your friends.


    "Third, there will be a huge uproar all around the world. Just like in the past, a coup d''etat will surely bring so many things inside that kingdom. The effect will be amplified when we take the whole race into the picture. There''s a possibility that the Human Race will cease to exist."


    Kai listened to his reasons and nodded, understanding a bit of their reasoning. A protector was someone beyond reason because their entire existence alone could wipe out a single race with ease if that particr race had no protector to defend them.


    Hence, his value in the eyes of these people was far higher than he first expected. He then asked his second question, "Then, what will you do after I have finished my training here?"


    "We will abide by your wish. ording to our rule, we''re to send the Priest and Priestess with you to assist you in your endeavor, but the first rule states that our King''s words are absolute, so no other rules can overrule your decision. Of course, please pay attention to your own words because people will question your ability as a ruler by watching your actions on a daily basis and your words.


    "If the people see you as a douchebag that keeps ying with women and killing men, I''m sure there will be some kind of plot going on behind you. We will try to keep them under control, but we can''t finish it all.


    "However, your reaction earlier gave me enough answers that you will do just fine. That''s my belief." Aston put on a gentle smile.


    "¡­" Kai pondered for a moment before agreeing to their terms. "I understand. As much as I hate to say it, I need power. World''s scream, eh¡­ At the very least, humans have gotten better in controlling pollution, so I think they''re worth protecting for the time being."


    Aston didn''t reply to him and waited for him to finish gathering his thoughts.


    "I will follow your advice and ask for your teaching when I''m here."


    "I understand. I will do my best to turn you into a full-fledged protector. Before that, I would like to ask one important question."


    "Sure."


    Aston was a bit hesitant, but he needed to know Kai''s stand in this matter. "Suppose I won''t try to ask them to do anything other than their normal roles¡­ In that case, would My King disagree with having them by your side? As long as you say you don''t want to do something, they won''t do that."


    Kai squinted his eyes and looked at Aston''s eyes before making a decision. "They have their roles. I will just be like an evil guy if I dismiss this type of dedication. However, I would like you to exin to me how they be the Priest and Priestess."


    "I understand. Although I want to exin it to My King right now, night has alreadye. How about we go to your room first, so you can meet with the people you bring here and tell them what''re you going to do for the next three months? After that, we can start your training while I''m exining all these things one at a time."


    After a few considerations, he indeed needed to quell their unrest first before talking about this. He ultimately epted his suggestion. "I understand. Let''s do that."

 Chapter 453 - Condition

    He was guided to his room by Aston and Arba together. Because he got rxed a bit after getting the assurance from Aston and Arba, he finally looked at the details of this ce.


    The stone seemed to be a polished limestone. It was so smooth to the point he thought the stone was polished by magic.


    He couldn''t find a painting or something in the corridor, making it look pretty dull. Still, for a ce like this, it was already amazing to see traditional-style buildings from the edge of this ce to the center. If the people from the three bases knew there was a ce like this, they might try to get information or even invade them.


    And if a terrorist organization learned it, they would seriously upy it for their own benefits. This ce would soon be a battlefield. Hence, he understood the reason why Arba and Aston wanted to hide it.


    At the right of the corridor, he found several doors and a grand one at the end. Behind the doors, he listened to several voices echoing in his ears. Sofia and the others seemed to be gathered in one particr room, getting an exnation from Leah.


    Since that was the case, Aston and Arba decided to lead him to the grand room at the end of the corridor.


    "This is your room." Aston opened the room carefully, showing him the interior.


    Right behind the doors was a vast green-colored carpet that seemed to be covering all the floor. Next to the door on his left was a drawer for important essories. He could even put his bag down on top of the drawer.


    He thought there was a giant bed, but he realized the fact that this ce was small and had many people living in it, space obviously got narrowed down a bit. The room became a bit of a minimalist room as his bed was still a double-sized one, but there was no space next to the bed other than the hangingmps.


    Diagonal to his left was a pair of table and chair if he wanted to write something, while beside it was a closet. It would be good since he needed to stay here for a period of time. On his right was another door that seemed to be the bathroom.


    "I''m sorry for such a small room." Aston apologized to him, feeling ashamed.


    "Nah, it''s fine. From the echo alone, I can sense that the other rooms are smaller." Kai shook his head. "Nevertheless, this room has it all, so I can''t reallyin. But I''m quite impressed by the fact that there is an air Conditioner here."


    "Ahaha, not all electronics are bad. We''re using that don''t release pollution while making our lives a bit better here. As you can see, our resources are limited in this kind of space. Sooner orter, we need to start building multi-story buildings to prepare for the influx of poption.


    "At least, there''s a birth control rule here and managed to keep our poption a bit under ten thousand from five hundred people for a few thousand years."


    Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Anyway, I am fine as long as I have a roof for three months."


    Aston nodded and extended his hand to the outside, "I think it''s time to meet your friends."


    "Yeah. Let''s go." Kai followed him to one room. As expected, it was smaller than his room. All five of them stuck together in one ce, with Leah giving them a little information to bring home.


    "How is it going, Leah?" Aston asked.


    "I have finished telling them about all the things they can bring to their home. Right now, the topic is about My King''s identity."


    "Actually, I have another solution. How about having a representative staying here when he is training in this ce? The others can return to give the information. Of course, I need to recheck what kind of information you have to ensure that our location is not known by outsiders." Aston offered a better solution after knowing Kai''s personality.


    Arnaud and Jules exchanged looks before staring at Kai with aplicated expression. They never thought Kai was someone that important.


    "What is exactly the information they can bring back?" Kai asked.


    Since Aston was busy talking to Leah, Arba decided to exin it to him. "There are three things. First, it''s our ce. We call it a mysterious organization that will back you up and our strength if you and your family are threatened.


    "Second, it will be your identity. Of course, we''re not telling them that you''re the race''s protector. What they will know after Aston''s Mind Magic Removing is that you''re our leader and a very important one that can stop other species that will destroy this ce.


    "The third thing we share is the truth about Magic Particles as well as the Altar. You can say that there''s an ancient weapon in a hidden ce that it''s impossible to find despite searching for thousands of years. When humanity is about to annihte a certain race or destroy the Earth, that weapon will be another warning for them. We don''t give them any method or whatsoever since the Magic Particles Theory is enough for them.


    "With their knowledge and science, I believe they can understand it and arrive at another conclusion than us. Also, we will be changing the ce in their memory instead of removing it. We will just throw a random area on Earth to redirect their attention."


    Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes, contemting the three things. He nodded, "I see. Our mission is to search Iran and Iraq, so they will know if the memory is removed. It''s better to misdirect them."


    While Kai had a chat with Arba, Arnaud and Jules seemed to have agreed on something. Jules then said, "I believe both of us will return to the base. First of all, we''ve more influence than the two girls, so our words will be more trustworthy if we want to exin it to the Union.


    "As much as I want to leave my daughter alone here as a representative, I don''t know if she will feel lonely or not, so I will have another one beside her. At least, she can be herpanion to wait for Kai Carter here.


    "Last but not least, it''s to add a bit more strength for the return trip. I''m sure that you''re going to do something amazing again like controlling the magical beasts, but I just want to make sure."


    Hearing Jules''s exnation, Aston came up with another idea and said, "Alright. I will ept it. I will also allow the two girls to learn how to get stronger while they''re here. However, the training method will be removed from their memory before returning from this ce."


    "That¡­ I can agree." Arnaud nodded and tapped Jules''s shoulder a few times.


    "In that case, please rest for the day. We will send you back tomorrow." Aston agreed and went outside.


    Arba then took Leah while reminding them once again. "There''s no connection to this ce, so it''s impossible to send information you''ve gained. And I just would like you to know, the moment the information spread, you all are guilty. We won''t spare any effort to destroy the entire base if necessary. After all, many ancient civilizations have learned it in the past."


    "¡­" Arnaud closed his eyes, feeling troubled. He indeed learned the history of ancient civilizations. All of them stated the same. Despite having so many advanced technologies and knowledge, they disappeared without a trace.


    If all of them were rted to this new information and these guys, they might indeed have enough power to tten the Union. More importantly, Kai would be displeased by their actions.


    After knowing that Kai was actually a Race Protector, which would be removed tomorrow, they knew Kai had the ability to create a natural disaster. No, his existence alone was a walking natural disaster. Such an opponent was not what the Union could handle.


    As soon as the door was closed, Jules let out a long sigh and said, "Well, I came searching for copper only to think I got silver. But it turned out you are gold. What should I say¡­ Sometimes my luck is¡­ It is almost frightening."


    "¡­" Arnaud twitched his eyebrows as he couldn''tprehend how this man could be this shameless. He then exined their decisions to Kai. "Anyway, we''re going back, leaving Sofia and Roselyn here. Do you have a problem, Kai Carter? Or should I say, My King or Your Majesty?"


    "It''s just a symbol. No need to be that polite." Kai shook his head. "As for your decision, it''s up to you."


    "Then, that''s good." Arnaud nodded. "Do you have a message that you want to pass? Although it''s impossible to send a message from here, I think it''s possible if it''s you. You can simply give the message to that old man and get his approval to show that you''re fine in this ce.


    Kai thought for a moment and agreed. "Well, I will write er."


    "Anyway, to think you are someone with this kind of power and mission¡­ What should I say other than thank you and sorry?" Arnaud scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. "I''m sorry to leave humanity''s fate in your hands even though you haven''t grown up yet. And I also want to thank you for everything you''ve done.


    "It turns out that the battles the US Base have endured at this point because they want to eliminate our race along with you, who have the power to protect it. And if you''re in the EU Base instead of the US Base, we would have suffered from their attacks too. For now, I will try to convince the Union to side with you and help you on any asion. But that''s only in the future."


    "Thank you." Kai smiled.

 Chapter 454 - Training Schedule

    "Still¡­ A Protector, huh." Sofia let out a short sigh while looking at Kai. "I won''t say that I''m not shaken with this truth, but I can honestly say I don''t have any regret bing your girlfriend. Since things havee to this point, we can talk about it tomorrow."


    "Yeah. Sorry. I didn''t mean to hide it from you, but this status weighed so much. It would''ve been better for me to shoulder it alone."


    Sofia touched his forehead to stop him from talking while shaking her head. "Nah. That''s not true. From my perspective, I can see that the reasons they are openly showing their information are due to them having full loyalty to this ce and you.


    "Hence, they have the right to retain the information. Unfortunately for me, I am still tied down with my Campbell Family. That''s why I don''t have that right. Of course, I''m not saying that it will be soon, but eventually, I will know about it all whether it''s from you or them.


    "That''s why they put me at ease by telling me all that information. Still¡­ I believe Tasha and Michelle have known about it."


    Kai nodded while closing his eyes. "I have told Tasha and Michelle that I''m a Protector. However, they haven''t known anything other than what it meant to be a Protector. Of course, I''m talking about Race Protectors, not the fake ones the US Base are handling."


    "I see." Sofia nodded and replied, "Well, we have three more months in this ce. I have hidden many secrets from you too, so I don''t have the right to be angry with you for hiding something. But this is just my selfish wish, don''t disappear so suddenly without news, okay?"


    Kai nodded with a smile. "Yeah. I will do my best."


    "What is this, Jules? I feel like my heart has been rejuvenated again. Ah, I feel like I need to get another wife." Arnaud covered his eyes, pretending to be crying as if he just watched a good drama.


    "Chill dude." Jules shook his head helplessly, knowing everything was a joke. As much as he wanted to joke around, this problem was concerning his granddaughter. He wanted to take it seriously.


    Luckily, Kai and Sofia seemed to be handling the rtionship maturely, not making an assumption or another and messing up the rtionship. He wished the three months made the situation clear for them to continue their rtionship. At the same time, he felt guilty for not being able to openly say, "You don''t need to be tied down to the family," for various reasons.


    He failed to be her grandfather.


    After settling down her messy heart, she stepped back and looked at the others, wondering if they had any messages they wanted to give to Kai.


    "I don''t have anything to say other than please take care of my granddaughter. I can''t say many things about it." Jules let out a long sigh before lowering his head until it almost touched the floor, remembering that Kai came from United Asia.


    "Please don''t say it like that. Sofia is my girlfriend. It''s my job to protect her." Kai shook his head. "I am not the best protector out there who can put their race above their family, so yeah¡­ I wonder if it''s still alright with me bing a full-fledged one."


    Jules smiled, feeling assured. As he said earlier, Kai wouldn''t be the best person out there to be a leader, but he was certainly a good head of a household.


    "Since most of the information will be wiped out tomorrow, I only need to remember two things. To give full support to my son and granddaughter for whatever they want to do in the future without questioning the loss and family sustainability. Secondly, I need to tell them we have no need to worry about the Union for no reason."


    "Oi, don''t say it like that, especially in front of me." Arnaud couldn''t help but cut in. "I need to know that I should''ve beaten up Jules Campbell in this ce¡­"


    "Pfft." Jules stuck his tongue out, teasing Arnaud. "No need to say anything, you suck, Arnaud."


    "Do you want to fight against me, Jules? You''re the strongest, but your age keeps growing and your ability gradually decreases because of your aging body. I feel like I have enough power to challenge you right now."


    "Hmph. You''re still not enough, kiddo." Jules shrugged.


    Arnaud paused for a moment and shook his head. "Anyway, I only know that Roselyn is the new S Rank Magician and proceed with the necessary procedure to level up her authority. This also means that she is independent enough to create a household.


    "After all, no matter how bad the training in this ce is, I can feel that even if there are ten of me, I can''t even defeat that woman. That''s why I know our Roselyn will have the same strength as an S Rank Magician and officially be my sessor. What do you think?" Arnaud nced at Roselyn with a smirk.


    Roselyn was overwhelmed by everything, especially since she just tagged along. To think the mission became this important and would bring this much change to her life, she was baffled and happy at the same time.


    "Thank you very much." Roselyn then turned to Kai and thanked him again.


    Kai simply waved his hand, telling her it wasn''t within his calction, so she didn''t need to thank him.


    After finishing their discussion, Kai raised his hand, opening the Sound Instion Magic he ced in this room to avoid the people outside from listening to them. He then said with a calm tone. "So, what is the current n?"


    Aston pushed the door open with an apologetic smile as he said, "We will have dinner for now. It''s already 7 PM after all. Arba is cooking right now to apologize for her earlier behavior. I hope My King doesn''t mind¡­"


    Kai nodded. "Well, I don''t even think about it anymore."


    "That''s great." Aston nodded and stretched his hand. "How about following me to the dining room? There will only be us, Arba, and the current Priest and Priestess."


    Kai nodded and decided to follow him. Since the "leader" had agreed, there was no reason for the others to avoid going there. They would have already died if the other party wanted to kill them after all, considering the gap between their power.


    The dinner was yet another great catch from Devain since he started hunting after settling Shinkai''s problem.


    He grabbed a giant bull outside that seemed to be Arba''s specialty. The food was nice and the reception was weing after solving the misunderstanding between them. Aston seemed to be more open too, since Sofia and the others already knew pretty much anything they needed to know about Kai.


    Still, Sofia felt that Devain and Leah stared at Kai too much. Most of the time she caught them staring at Kai with observant gazes.


    Kai, for sure, noticed them too, but he ignored them because it was the first time a Protector reached this ce after a few thousand years. It was no wonder they got so engrossed in it.


    Of course, Kai still kept the fact that the Priest was to try to be his brother while the Priestess was to seduce him and bear his child in mind. If they were to know him with that thought in mind, he would create a certain boundary and avoid them.


    If they were not, he didn''t mind bing their friends. After all, they were the ones considering him a King, not himself. Kai only thought of himself as another person who happened to have a bigger responsibility.


    Arba then took their attention when she pped her hands a few times, asking the people to stop talking.


    Aston was the first, followed by Leah and Devain. Kai quickly understood the meaning and fell silent, looking at Arba with a serious expression.


    "Let me exin about the training first." Arba nced at Sofia and Roselyn. "Both of you are going to learn from Leah and Devain since Aston and I need to give all our attention to him. Of course, we will try to spend our time if we''re free, guiding you a bit.


    "Although I can''t say you will reach the Oni''s level, you should be able to hold against an S Rank Beast for a period of time without losing. Well, to put it simply, if the two old men behind you are fighting together, you should be able to beat them¡­ I guess?" She tilted her head, not quite understanding the power difference.


    "Do you have anything you don''t like or any preference in training style?"


    Roselyn and Sofia''s eyes intertwined as they seemed to agree on something. Both shook their heads at the same time, saying, "We''re okay with anything as long as we can get stronger."


    "I understand. Well, you have only one hour break to meet him every day¡­ If you have no problem, you can extend it when taking a shower." Arba shrugged. Sofia obviously didn''t care since they had done it already, but Roselyn looked down, feeling embarrassed.


    "That''s all. The training will start tomorrow after saying goodbye to the two old men." Arba paused for a moment and took out a piece of paper, handing it to Kai. "This is your training schedule. Please look at it yourself."


    Kai nodded and found there were four important schedules other than a break for eating and shower. The first would be his Magic Training with Arba, where she would teach him how to wield magic properly. After the lunch break, he would be hammered with knowledge by Aston until dinner. After that, he would be practicing how to increase the concentration of magic particles in his body. Last but not least, eight hours sleep¡­ Need to maintain a healthy sleep schedule.


    Kai replied, "I am fine with the schedule."

 Chapter 455 - Atlantis And Epic Of Gilgamesh

    After resting for the day and sorting out their thoughts, Arnaud and Jules had their memories removed and altered a few things to make them logical. They also had their bodies and devices checked to avoid any form of information leaving this ce.


    Kai didn''t say anything the whole time to the point they saw someone using their Teleportation Magic to confuse them and leave them near their base, so it would be safe for them.


    Since Kai assured them, Roselyn and Sofia knew they were going to be fine.


    They finished not long after and the two girls were led by Devain and Leah to another ce while Arba approached him.


    "Yo!" Arba waved her hand and came to him casually. Despite yesterday''s problem, she seemed not to get bothered anymore.


    Kai simply shrugged and decided not to hold so much grudge to the point he was petty. After all, the problem wasn''t that big of a deal.


    "Follow me to the training field. There is something I want to say while we''re walking there."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded, following her on her side. "What is it all about?"


    "I''m talking about the current enemy of yours. From my point of view, it seems the one bothering you is that guy¡­" Arba sighed.


    "You know him?"


    "Not really. But I feel like I have read enough records about him and his past deeds."


    "Ho? Who is he?"


    "He is a Sea Race Protector¡­ Specifically, a Mermaid Race Protector. You must have heard many legends about mermaids, right? Such as mermaid tears, enchantresses, and how they killed people by pulling them into the sea?"


    "Yeah. Don''t tell me. They''re real stories?"


    "Yes. The Mermaid Race has so much grudge with our sides even until now. It happened a few thousand years ago, I guess¡­" Arba sighed and recalled the records.


    "I''m sure you''ve known about Antis, right?"


    "Antis?" Kai widened his eyebrows and looked at her with mouth wide open, never expecting such a story woulde out of her mouth. "Antis¡­ That Antis?"


    Arba smiled and nodded with a serious expression. This was certainly something she needed to know when she received her training as a Priestess. She started recounting the information. "Yes. History portrayed it as a utopia, but it was simply because they were different from us. Their building structures, the location that was close to the sea, and their cultures were vastly different¡­


    "We didn''t know about it back then, but it turned out they were different because they were Mermaids. ording to the information we have, they came to the surface to seek destruction¡­ Specifically, Humanity''s Destruction.


    "We didn''t know the reason why they actually wanted to kill us, but no one could give a better exnation other than revenge or pride. Anyway, someone managed to cast a powerful Illusion Barrier that turned all the mermaids into humans, making them no different from us.


    "Then, those people would begin to show their power as a utopia and people''s dream, manipting them from shadow. Also, they became a trading kingdom soon after and influenced the world''s economy.


    "Not satisfied with such an aplishment, the Antis began to snoop around even more until at one point, our Race Protector caught them red-handed. It turned out they had several reasons for creating Antis.


    "First was to manipte the world''s economy, making humans go into an economic crisis. At the same time, if they hoarded all the items from them, no one would find them anymore because everything went to the sea for the so-called Sea God Blessing.


    "In any case, the Antis became even wealthier and prospered until they were big enough to be like this.


    "Second was to avoid direct confrontation with our current Protector while building their n to eliminate all humanity from this.


    "Third was to get information from all over the world about the humans and everything, making them knowledgeable. Like a certain famous person said, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will sumb in every battle.


    "Understanding and employing this saying, Antis indeed grew big enough to influence the world. That was until our Protector decided to destroy them." Arba let out a long sigh after exining the story.


    Kai, on the contrary, was confused with the entire information. There were several big questions in his mind, but more importantly, there was one thing that needed to be asked. "What''s the timeline again?"


    "To answer that question, I think it''s better to give you another question¡­ Do you know the King of Uruk, King Gilgamesh¡­ The one that is known to have possessed all treasures under Heaven and a Demigod."


    "Wait a minute¡­ I think there''s an epic poem about Gilgamesh written in Akkadian¡­ Don''t tell me¡­" Kai drew a gasp and looked at Arba with a shocked expression.


    "Yes. King Gilgamesh was a Human Race Protector, a powerful one on top of that. People at that time called his power was delivered by Heaven as he turned into a Demigod. And Antis actually existed in that time period.


    "Most of the history is not right, but some of them are indeed telling the truth, albeit the so-called Magic Particles hadn''t been mentioned even once in it. That''s why they can''t be exined by Science since this Magic Particle can''t be defined by Science."


    "I want to know more of what happened back then. It all started when they slew the so-called Bull of Heaven that turned out to be Bull Race Protector and Humbaba, which turned out to be another Protector. Later there was a record of the past telling us that all four of them got yed by the Mermaid Race Protector.


    "After finding out Gilgamesh knew about their scheme, the Mermaid Race Protector used another maniption technique to execute him. Unfortunately for them, the one that got sacrificed was his best friend.


    "Knowing that humanity would be attacked by all the other races if he sought revenge without any proof to show his innocence to other Protectors, he began his journey, which people knew about the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, the truth was him finding the clues of Antis'' involvement in this event.


    "Still, hard work sometimes went unrewarded. King Gilgamesh, who had reached the end of his journey, decided to make another turn to save humanity. He used the Altar and his life to create the same apocalypse as we all experienced a few hundred years ago.


    "However, due to him calling himself a journey to reach immortality, he spread the rumor he chose immortality and went to Heaven. At the same time, the Magic Particles were increased on this and people knew it as blessings as he intended.


    "The Sacrificial Altar was made for other Protectors to see what was going on. They began their investigations because Gilgamesh didn''t have a reason to use that Altar, and he would''ve lived for a long time.


    "And the reason came to light not long after that. All Protectors were enraged when they realized the Mermaid Race Protector had manipted them to kill all four Protectors in this mess.


    "Getting attacked from left and right, Antis then submerged again, waiting for the time to pass to avoid their responsibility."


    Kai took a deep breath and shook his head helplessly, feeling like he just listened to an amazing story. He never thought that the story changed drastically when you threw Antis into the picture.


    "Before dying, he created a small group of people, precisely five hundred people, to seclude themselves to hold the truth. There will be someone who will reim the throne and end the long hatred against the Mermaid Race.


    "Hence, we kept searching for proofs while maintaining all the information we had. We didn''t have any contact for thousands of years to keep this secret. Because of the changing era, the group decided to have a pair of Priest and Priestess to keep the secret by making them like a Vige Chief."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and said, "And they are you¡­"


    "Yes. We have three purposes. First, we''re to serve the next king that will end this long grudge against the Mermaid Race. Second, we need to gather all the information we can, so other protectors don''t make any more mistakes like they did in the past.


    "Last but not least, we act as the keeper of the past as well as a ce for the new king to reim his throne. Of course, we don''t have a throne. It''s only a symbol."


    Kai let out a long sigh, processing all this information. He just never expected that everything came from the Epic of Gilgamesh and Antis. Contemting for a minute, he said, "And I am supposed to take care of that role?"


    "We don''t know. As much as we hope to be that way, King Gilgamesh never said any specific details. To this date, we''ve seen three Human Race Protectors. Of course, only you came to this ce." Arba exined. "As for whether it''s your role or not, that is a question for you to answer. We don''t wish to impose our beliefs on you. If needed, we will mobilize our elites to help you on the battlefield, but it''s better to do it in thest battle because we don''t want trouble from other protectors."


    Kai closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Well, I can''t answer that now. Still, if I needed to choose my family or this race, I would''ve chosen my family."


    "We will respect your decision." She nodded, knowing that if there was no Human Race, his family also couldn''t continue living in this world unless he became a certain someone who repopted the Earth.

 Chapter 456 - Manipulation

    They arrived in a barren garden with sand as the stepping ground. He looked around and found the ce was surrounded by limestone and cement. The field was close to that of a football field, so they had plenty of room to practice.


    Considering Kai, the Race Protector, who needed to use it, he indeed required a ce this big or his power wouldn''t be able to be contained.


    They reached the middle of the field as Arba turned around, facing him with a serious expression.


    "And so, I will be teaching you how to use your power."


    "Now that I think about it, I remember that the magic is called Mystic in this ce¡­"


    Arba nodded. "Yes. I will exin the difference between Magic and Mystic. I have studied your so-called magic and realized that you need to force the Magic Particles out of your body before shooting magic with a certain sequence. Mostly it''s about your movement."


    "Yes." Kai nodded, confirming what she said was right.


    "And now, I''m going to exin what mystic is." Arba paused and raised her hand, summoning a green magic circle on her hand. She then released the magic to the air, creating one straight line. "This is Magic called Wind Bullet. It''s literally shooting a bolt of wind in a particr direction. I assume you know about it, right?"


    Kai agreed with her.


    Arba then continued, using the same magic. However, this time, the small ball formed by wind curved and went straight to the ground, kicking up the dust. "This is the Mystic version. Do you understand?"


    "I can understand the difference, but I don''t think you''ve done anything¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes. "No. You must have done something, but I don''t know how you twist the trajectory."


    "That¡­" Arba pointed at Kai with a smile. "Trajectory. This is the difference between Magic and Mystic. Magic allows you to shoot something, but Mystic gives you the ability to direct it ording to what you want.


    "Direction!" Kai frowned and contemted.


    "To put it simply, we''re determining the direction of the vector where our magic will go. This is called Mystic. It requires practice to do something like this, of course. And I''m going to exin it to you right now. However, I would like to ask you to attack me once. I believe you have Sound Magic, right?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded and asked, "What kind of attack do you want?"


    "Whatever you like."


    Kai fell into deep thought and raised his left hand to create a Sound Instion Magic to prevent the sound from going out. After that, he raised his other hand and snapped his fingers.


    ck.


    Ding.


    The moment the snapping sound echoed, a magic circle appeared and released a high-pitched noise that would disturb anyone around them.


    "Luby."


    The Sound Wave flew in all directions, including her. However, Arba simply raised her hand and created a small wind barrier that eventually covered her own body. After that, she continued to expand it and created a small dome to protect many people inside.


    Surprisingly, when she enveloped him, he couldn''t hear a single sound as if everything just disappeared. Even Kai was shocked.


    "This¡­" Kai looked around, observing the Wind Barrier.


    "I''m using my Wind Power to create a barrier that reflects any sound froming in. After watching the video when you killed an S Rank Mole, I realized that you have mastered releasing your magic and changing its characteristics. For example, you can change the frequency to something that no one can hit while the shock wave remains.


    "If you can direct the shock wave, I think you will be able to do something even more amazing. For example, how about you hit me with your sword that causes a sonic boom, isn''t it?"


    Kai frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"


    He was worried that Arba couldn''t do anything to it, considering it was his most powerful technique.


    Arba simply nodded her head and said, "Although I don''t say it, even if there are ten of you attacking me together, you won''t be able to defeat me. I''m strong. That''s a fact, so please no need to worry about my well-being."


    Kai contemted for a moment and took out his sword. He used his Super Sonic Sword and raised his hand. He nned to stop right after it hit her, but Arba raised her finger and created a small magic circle.


    The Magic Circle dispersed the Sonic Boom immediately and suppressed the sword, preventing it from vibrating. This was his first time finding something that could stop his sword other than a hard surface.


    "This¡­ Canceling? No. It''s like¡­"


    "Yes. I''m just directing your Sonic Boom to somewhere else with my wind while circling your sword to prevent it from vibrating. Well, I can only slow it down since the vibration is so strong to be handled like this."


    Kai took a deep breath, understanding that power. He thought for a moment and sighed, "To think my power can be neutralized that way."


    "I believe you won''t have any problem next time if you have mastered this power. Hence, I suggest you learn this intensively, but sincenguage is also important, it''s better to do it this way."


    "Well, I guess that''s good." Kai nodded. "I feel like I can do many things about it."


    In Kai''s mind, the scene where he owned the bull shed, reminding him that he could do so many things as long as he used it in the right ce and right direction.


    "Do you wish to try fighting me?"


    "Hmm¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and nodded. "I am curious."


    "Sure. My ability itself isn''t that great since the density of Magic Particles in my body is around S Rank Magical Beast level. However, this also means I can demonstrate the power of vectors to you." Arba took a few steps back and said, "No need to worry about me. I will handle everything you throw at me. Make me fall once, you win."


    Kai raised both of his swords while taking one step forward. This was his stance to charge forward, but he then saw Arba''s stance that made him hesitate.


    She didn''t even raise a single stance, but that alone made him ufortable as if she was trying to do something big.


    It was then he realized something different from her. This was not a killing intent or something, but purer. He took a deep breath and said, "Magic Power¡­"


    "Exactly." Arba smiled. "This is an intimidation technique. By spreading your Magic Power around you, the enemy will sense something that makes them ufortable. The purpose is like killing intent. In fact, you canbine it with this technique, raising the intensity even further. In short, by learning how to control your Magic Particles'' direction, you can direct your magic and anything else thates together with it.


    "That''s why its first name was Magic Maniption before it was renamed Mystic." Arba then raised both hands and had both palms facing Kai. Her right foot was in the front, slightly bending down to lower her center of gravity. "Let''s go. I will only use a bit of my power and won''t make something big out of it."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath to fight this weird feeling. The Sonic Boom appeared again on his swords as he used his Super Sonic Sword Magic.


    While he prepared himself, Arba seemed to have no intention of moving and remained in her position without opening her mouth. However, there was still a trace of gentle expression on her face as if this fight was just child y.


    Since she was so confident, Kai summoned a Sound st on the ground as he leaped with his fastest speed while leaning his body to the right, sending a kick to her side.


    Arba lowered her right hand and grabbed the kick. Surprisingly, the momentum didn''t push him back, forcing Kai''s body to go around her body only to find a small Magic Circle on her back. Then, Kai''s vision fell to her feet, finding two more Magic Circles.


    In other words, Arba controlled her power well enough to block that kind of momentum without even being serious. The Magic Circle on her back was formed to kill his momentum and stopped her from falling. Meanwhile, the two on her feet were to prevent her from getting blown away and somehow tripped.


    In addition, she leaned slightly forward to make the catch even easier for her.


    "Seriously?" Kai made a weird smile before feeling the grip on his foot was tightened. "Oh no."


    Right after that grip, Arba took another step forward and spun her body, making Kai spin with her in the center.


    Kai gritted his teeth and endured the headache due to the spinning while creating a Magic Circle to bail him out.


    Noticing this kind of movement, Arba then let his ankle go. The centrifugal forceunched Kai to the ground and rolled a few times until the momentum ended.

 Chapter 457 - Give Up

    "Kh¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes, looking at Arba with a serious expression. "Just one set of attack patterns made me like this¡­"


    Arba simply smiled and said, "This is just a start. Would you like to stop now?"


    Kai gritted his teeth and rose from the ground, "Let''s go for the second round. I''m not done yet and I''m nning to defeat you."


    "That''s good. I hope you can defeat me soon. Still, I just realized this¡­ After feeling your magic earlier, you seem to have so few Magic Particles in your body."


    Kai frowned and shook his head.


    "I see. It seems you were born with the Magic Power, but there was something that made you lose it."


    "It''s to protect someone I love. Fair trade." Kai shook his head before making a serious expression as if telling her that not a single insult could she utter to that person. Of course, how could he ept if Tasha was getting berated in front of him?


    "Don''t worry. I won''t repeat the same mistake twice. I won''t say anything ridiculous since it''s your choice." Arba waved her hand, telling him that he didn''t need to worry.


    Kai nodded and raised his swords. "Then, I''m going again."


    "Come."


    Kai thenunched himself with the Sound st again, spun his body, and sent a round kick from above.


    When she was about to block it, she saw a magic circle appear. The Magic Circle created a vibration for the shoe, strong enough to cause a Sonic Boom.


    It boosted the power behind Kai''s kick, and surprisingly, Arba needed to summon four Magic Circles. One each on the right elbow and the left one, another below her butt to push her up to the air while the other one supported her entire posture on her back.


    A crack appeared on the ground before the power released its true might, turning the crack into a five meters wide crater.


    However, Kai understood that the one who made the crater was not him. It was Arba.


    Right before the hit connected, Arba realized the power behind his kick and raised her own foot. Using the power from his kick as well as her own power, she created a small crater on the ground, leaning below the surface, making his kick miss its target.


    "That''s a good kick to be honest. If your swords are your sharpest ones, then your shoes are the strongest." Arbaplimented Kai with a smile. She knew that it was something amazing to even use something like that because Kai had yet to understand how to manipte the flow of energy. T


    She took a deep breath and said, "I can see why you''re among the strongest. In any case, I have realized that you seem to have no knowledge about what''s happening around you. May I know the extent of your knowledge?"


    "Nothing. I don''t have any information. Please treat me as such." Kai slightly lowered his head and looked at this woman.


    Arba seemed to be understanding and said, "Anyway, I don''t have a n to go all out because I''m afraid of destroying this ce. I can''t say anything about my power, but it''s quite good, you know."


    "Yeah. I know." Kai nodded before using Arba''s hands tounch him back to the air.


    When he was about to get counterattacked, Kai managed to escape byunching himself into the sky again. While hovering in the air, he thought for a moment about how to defeat Arba, considering both of his strongest magic just got deflected that easily.


    After contemting for a while, hended on the ground and closed his eyes, raising his hands. "Let''s stop."


    Even Arba widened her eyes, never expecting Kai to actually give up just like this even though he wanted to defeat her.


    "Seriously?" Arba blinked her eyes a few times.


    "Yes. I know your power. I hate to say it, but I don''t have the slightest chance to win against you."


    "Ehm, I have never expected you to give up this easily, especially since you''re the Protector." She scratched the back of her head, wondering if she thought Kai that highly.


    "Why would I waste my time to do something that is not possible? And it does not require me to fight to the death, so rather than wasting my time here, I would like to start my training instead." Kai shook his head.


    "Well, you''re not wrong¡­ Though I still wish you would fight a bit longer."


    "Nope." Kai waved his hand a few times, telling her the answer remained the same. Of course, fighting would be a way to gain experience, but from the two exchanges, he concluded a few things.


    "First of all, there''s something I am severelycking. I''ve realized my poor choice of magic, especially about my current magic set. First of all, I don''t have a glove to do the same as my feet, making you able to focus on my shoes alone. Although it''s true that I''m holding a sword, it can be another weapon that can be utilized properly.


    "That''s why I would like to learn this method as soon as possible, so I don''t need the boots and gloves at the same time while releasing the same power. Second, this directional attack thing is really good. When I fought you, I kept preparing myself for your attack. For example, your wind attack that could be programmed to loop around me and hit me in the back is extremely dangerous in my opinion, so it takes a lot of my focus just to make sure nothing goes around me.


    "After all, if you start employing tactics in your movement, it''s going to be even more troublesome. Last but not least, I haven''t asked you this yet. What is your strengthpared to any other human in this world?"


    Arba smirked and answered his question without hesitation. "The very best. No one will be able to defeat me even if all the top fighters in this world join hands. Of course, you''re going to be stronger than me in the near future."


    Kai narrowed his eyes and asked, "How is your strengthpared to our enemy?"


    "Hmm¡­" She thought for a moment and said, "I will take the Mermaid Princess as an example. Ten of her will be able to defeat me. But I have heard you won against the turtle, right?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded.


    "Actually no!" Arba shook her head. "The Turtle hasn''t used all of his strength. There is also another one serving directly to the king and he is the true strongest aide. My strength is exactly at his level. We''re meant to be the strongest helper of the Protector, even though our strength will be much lower when the Protector reaches the peak."


    "I see. But you don''t have any intention of leaving this ce, no?"


    "Well, if My King can take me as your concubine, I will be more than happy to leave." Arba smiled, only to get another cold re from Kai. She stuck her tongue out and said, "Well, the earlier statement is not a lie. Anyway, what I''m saying is, I will leave¡­ But it''s only at thest battle. We can''t afford to have our real identity discovered yet because they will do everything they can to erase us, meaning erasing the evidence."


    Kai closed his eyes and understood the importance of their lives. He nodded in agreement. "I understand that. Don''t worry. Although it hurts to see my girlfriend get her memory erased, I still need to see the bigger picture in this current situation."


    "That''s why this is something that we can''t change even if we need to confront you." She shook her head in disappointment. "Anyway, let''s talk about it."


    "Yeah. Please teach me how to get stronger, O'' Strongest Human." Kai smirked.


    Arba smiled. "Thank you. Alright. Now that we''re discussing this, I will be telling you about the real way to control your Magic Power. It''s¡­"

 Chapter 458 - Reactions

    Meanwhile, in the Union Base, Arnaud and Jules just woke up from their hallucination.


    "Woah?!" Jules shouted out loud while looking around to see if they were safe or not. "What the heck happened?"


    Arnaud narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I don''t know. There is a huge gap within my memory. I only know a few things like that person said and it seems we have agreed to leave that ce."


    "Yeah. Returning here from Pakistan¡­" Jules frowned and contemted for a few seconds. "I guess we have our mission. Let''s return shall we?"


    "Agreed." Arnaud nodded with a small smile. "We will talk on the way."


    "Sure." Jules and Arnaud then began picking up their pace while having small talk. "So, what are the things you know?"


    "I only know that we visited somewhere in Pakistan and learned there is a huge mysterious organization that has survived for so long there. Their strength is far above the three bases, so it''s not wise to challenge them. From what I know, they can kill a single S Rank Magical Beast in one on one. That''s why it''s better not to challenge them in the future.


    "I don''t know if the Union will swallow it easily, but we have served our purpose. I personally have no intention of going to war because there''s something inside me telling me to avoid any confrontation with them. Hence, I will trust this one.


    "Kai Carter seems to be a special person in their organization. Although Kai himself doesn''t know about it, he is regarded that highly for different reasons. It''s better to create a mutual rtionship with him instead of forcing him to do something. That''s why I asked Sofia to stand by there.


    "Last but not least, the Magic Power that we have thought this whole time is actually a Magic Particle. They have a physique but smaller than an atom. That''s why it''s hard to find them. It''s impossible to recreate it with science or that''s what I know ording to the information."


    Arnaud exined everything to him before asking, "Do you have any other information?"


    "No. My knowledge is the same as yours." Jules shook his head and sighed. "It seems the one that is protecting Kai Carter is bigger than I thought. Well, he will be my grandson-inw, so it''s fine."


    "Oi, oi. Are you nning to destroy the Union?"


    "Nope." Jules shrugged and continued, "I simply have no intention of using my granddaughter anymore after knowing this. First of all, the fact of Magic Particles alone is already enough for us. This will make our research be even faster, especially regarding the exoskeleton.


    "There is a chance that we will be able to create a sustainable exoskeleton or the more extreme case¡­ We will create an unmanned robot that is powered by Magic Particles."


    Arnaud nodded in agreement. "Indeed. That''s a huge boost in development. But I believe Kai will inform the US Base as well. We only have the advantage because of our current research."


    "Still, I''m worried about the fact that their lives will be in danger." Jules let out a long sigh. "First of all, if we tell this to the Union, there is a chance it will leak to a terrorist organization. Although they are condemned and in small groups, they are still like a tumor."


    "Indeed. They are still thinking about wiping out humanity when we''re on the brink of extinction. But I now have a different perspective regarding them." Arnaud narrowed his eyes and released his killing intent. "They will try to kidnap them, right?"


    "Yes. First of all, I have a n to save my daughter. As long as she is with him, she won''t be harmed. After all, Kai can listen to almost everything around him. Kai himself won''t be a problem since the only way to kidnap him is to send a person that can kill an S Rank Magical Beast, which is impossible to find. The only problem will be your agent, Roselyn."


    "Ugh." Arnaud gritted his teeth, knowing it was true. "You''re nning to send your granddaughter to the US Base again?"


    "She will live together with him sooner orter, so I guess it''s fine. Maybe I should ask her to stay in Kai''s house after the three months training and three months school period." Jules thought as if he just got a brilliant idea.


    "Oi, oi. I''m not going to process the paperwork for you."


    "What paperwork? I only know that my granddaughter is in love with someone and chases him to the US Base. That''s all." Jules shrugged. If it were this way, it would make the entire situation easier to swallow.


    However, Arnaud knew the importance of this matter. When he was about to reply, Jules stopped him and red at him, asking his opinion about Roselyn''s safety.


    "ording to the information, Roselyn should have the ability to fight against an S Rank Magical Beast after three months, so I don''t think I will need to worry about her that much. Still, I will send some agents to protect her in secret." Arnaud sighed.


    "Indeed. Well, we can wipe them out with that ability too." Jules frowned and felt this was a good idea. "Maybe we can purposely leak the information to them to destroy them. Roselyn will be strong enough to protect herself. The only problem will be drugs."


    "Yes. We need to n it carefully. If it''s too much, we will cancel the project. After all, Roselyn might be stronger than you after this training." Arnaud grinned.


    "Haha, I will be waiting for it. I feel like getting stronger again today." Julesughed. "Well, it''s time for the youngsters to surpass us."


    "Us? No, it''s you. I''m still young." Arnaud shrugged. "I''m one generation below you."


    "Whatever." Jules didn''t care since he had both Kai and Sofia. The Union wouldn''t be able to receive their wrath if they nned to do something funny to his Campbell Family after all. There was no point in worrying.


    "That''s right. Now I''m afraid the terrorist organizations will start moving to the US Base too. Kai still has a weakness which is his squad. I don''t think we need to worry about an S Rank Magician like Michelle Graham and Tasha Carter, but there are Kudo Ayaka and Evan Young.


    "Kudo Ayaka''s fighting prowess is quite high and she is moving together with Michelle Carter most of the time. The problem will be Evan Young. He is often going with Isabelle Fisher and her group. If it continues, I''m afraid there is a chance they will attack them to lure him out."


    Jules''s expression turned cold as he nodded in agreement. "In that case, we will have to notify the US Base to start protecting them in secret. Kai Carter''s family is also a target of priority. All I know is that if Kai Carter is disappointed in humanity, we will go extinct."


    "Agreed."


    "Well, we also have a message to his group, so I think it''s better to send it together with this warning." Jules pondered the matter and continued, "For now, I will contact my family to start closing the gate to avoid any spies in my family. After that, I will begin moving around my elites ordingly."


    "I will buy time as long as possible by "making the report". The best I can give you probably seven days. I want you to send a private message to the US Base too, informing them about Kai''s matter. We have a written statement from him about his condition too, so it''s not that big of a deal."


    "Don''t worry. Leave it to me." Jules nodded. After that, the two continued talking about the problem and headed back to the base.


    Two dayster.


    Michelle sat down on the couch with a serious expression, looking at Evan and Ayaka. "I don''t think we will have a good time after this, considering Kai will stay for three more months than expected. What do you think about it?"


    "What can we do? I have been informed to avoid going alone too because Captain faces a quite big problem." Evan shrugged.


    "Well, I don''t have a problem. Maybe we can stay together?" Ayaka asked Michelle.


    "Fair enough. Maybe I can ask Kai''s parents about us staying over until Kai returns. If we exin the situation, they will agree. Kai will probably agree since it''s just a matter of time. We can protect them during the night too while the other secret agents protect them during the day." Michelle nodded in agreement.


    "I''m not going to stay together, okay?" Evan raised his hand and rejected the decision. "I will just stay together with Isabelle. I think both of us are targeted, so it''s easier for us to protect each other."


    Michelle agreed and said, "Yeah. You can do that. I will inform Tasha about this matter."


    "Sure. I hope she doesn''t mind." Ayaka smiled.


    "Of course, we will be together for a long time, so it''s best to do it this early. Although Tasha dislikes the idea, it has been diminished, so she will agree without hesitation."


    The two nodded with a serious expression.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Tasha, in the base near ska, sat down and watched the scenery while feeling the chilling breeze to cool her down.


    "Hmm¡­ I see. I think I need to step up my game." She smiled before sensing someone behind her.


    "You are in trouble, girl?" A middle-aged woman came to her with a smile. "I have returned to the battlefield due to your request, so I will be teaching you to the best of my ability."


    "No. Kai is going to soar even higher, I can''t afford to stay like this, Ma''am."


    "You don''t need to be polite when we''re alone. This is only a temporary position, so let''s just enjoy our time."


    Tasha smiled and turned around, looking at her. "Yes, Professor."

 Chapter 459 - Progress

    After getting the exnation from Arba, Kai proceeded with his training. Of course, Arba''s training came first. He tried to do everything possible ording to Arba''s instruction.


    He wanted to finish it as soon as possible but to no avail. When he tried to control his Magic, he ended up either letting it go like usual or exploding.


    Obviously, Arba didn''t have any confidence in Kai seeding in one day. Her prediction was around thirty days for the minimum control.


    After Arba''s training during the day, Kai needed to face another hellish training that drained his mental energy. He had experienced it during his stay in the Oni Vige, and his impression remained the same. Mind Magic indeed exhausted him even more than physical training.


    Kai, of course, didn''tin and epted all the teaching. The knowledgepletely destroyed his perception of the world. It turned out that the world was moreplicated than he thought.


    Before the apocalypse, humanity had more than two hundred countries. But in the past, there were around the same number of species. Of course, it was just in arger category.


    For example, Birds would be a big country and have onenguage. But if one traveled a bit more into them, they would realize they had many traditionalnguages such as Eagle Language, Pelican Language, and so on.


    What Aston taught him was the bignguage so he could understand and talk to them. Although it also meant he understood their speech from far away, he couldmand them.


    At the same time, he realized that this would change the perception of the magical beasts. Just like him, the Magical Beasts wanted to survive. When he killed them, he kept hearing them letting out a sound. And by learning theirnguage, he would realize that they didn''t want to die as if begging for his forgiveness.


    The pain, despair, and struggle would gradually influence his mind. Aston even specifically warned him because he didn''t want Kai to go crazy.


    Surprisingly, Kai''s answer remained simple. He told him that he was a crazy bastard because normal people wouldn''t be able to take on all the noises that kept ringing in his head.


    He could also block their voices with Sound Instion Magic in his ears, preventing their voices froming to his ears.


    After several considerations, Aston decided to trust him and taught him all the things to the best of his ability.


    The two training sessions had finished, and he still needed to do onest thing. It was to increase the number of Magic Particles he could absorb inside his body.


    Kai learned the method and showed improvement immediately. Even Kai himself was surprised by the result. Within three months, he felt like he would have gotten the same amount as his full power. This way, he didn''t need the only thing that shared the Magic Power inside Tasha and let her have the Magic Power permanently.


    Roselyn and Sofia also started their training. Although he didn''t know what kind of training they endured, he knew they didn''tin and kept doing what Leah and Devain wanted them to do.


    To his surprise, Kai often saw Leah and Devaining over to help him with his chore and other things while trying to talk to him politely.


    This continued for a few days until Kai suddenly controlled his Magic Power to bend a little.


    Arba dropped her jaw and told him it was impossible, showing him the evidence. However, Kai had done so many self-studies in his life, so training this new type wasn''t that big of a deal for him.


    That was the reason he could keep up this fast. Understanding that Sound Magic was rather scarce in the world, Arba ended up epting the exnation while thinking of him as a Protector also yed a role in his talent.


    He also managed to understand anguage within one week which wasprehensible.


    Kai always checked Sofia and Roselyn during break time, asking if they were okay. Since it was the only time they spent together, Sofia showed him her improvement day by day as a way to tell him that she enjoyed the training since he could get stronger.


    Roselyn was slightly shy about it, but she also showed him her progress while expressing her gratitude for Kai. The prospect she would receive in the near future would be far bigger than she expected to the point she might be one of the respected figures. And it only came within one mission.


    Kai truly changed her life and she would eternally be grateful for what he had done. The pay for the extortion he pressed on her far exceeded the mental stress she got at that time.


    Kai only brushed it off, saying it was the result of her choice.


    She even asked Kai whether he wanted to increase the number of his harem, to which he rejected the idea because he already had too many. Of course, a portion of it reached Arba''s ears and she kept nagging him to take her.


    Kai simply ignored her and went with his own training. It was no different than when Sofia first joined their group, so he had grown ustomed to it.


    He enjoyed the little time he spent with Leah and Devain more. After all, he wanted to understand what they felt and their vision about this ce, not from Arba, who understood it all, but from someone close to his age.


    To his surprise, he found Devain was only 19 years old while Leah was 18 years old. And he became a bit down when these young people were more powerful than him.


    Leah and Devain didn''t reject him for two reasons. Unlike his indifferent attitude back in United Asia, Kai had be a bit more talkative, so the conversation kept going. He even told them what it felt like to live outside this ce.


    They kept exchanging their views on different matters, creating a small bond of friendship between them.


    Seeing this progress, Aston simply smiled and didn''t intrude in their personal space. He even went all the way to Arba, asking her to tone down her attitude, to which she reluctantly agreed.


    The days continued just like that. He continued his training while thinking about everyone he left behind in the US Base.


    Kai didn''t know about their situation, especially how Michelle and Ayaka got epted to stay together with his parents. His family was very open with it and treated them like their daughters already.


    Kai himself took quite a long time with them, so his parents just thought of them as their daughters-inw even without marriage, saying it was their feeling, not the legal thing.


    Meanwhile, they kept getting updated by Evan and Isabelle''s situation. Due to them living together, the two families seemed to get even closer. Even the couple had already thought about their marriage.


    The two agreed that they would marry each other after graduation with only their close rtives as well as their groups.


    When they knew about it, Ayaka and Michelle kept pressing Evan for an answer and asked him about the wedding and so on until they were satisfied.


    No wonder they were that hungry. Kai asked them to wait for such a long time even though most of the students had married during their school days. Even Tommy finalized the deed with the former student council president.


    Due to him winning against the four top groups, Laura became more open to Tommy, telling him the reason why she was that strict when it came to him. Tommy realized he had misunderstood her the whole time.


    After that, their rtionship grew closer, and they decided to marry two monthster. Unfortunately, Kai couldn''t attend them.


    But what made the two groups surprised was the bomb dropped by Eva, Eve, and Nichs. The twins didn''t want to get separated and decided to take Nichs''s advance. They never even realized the three had progressed that way.


    The group obviously sent their congrattions and blessing since their bonds had been finalized. Although they didn''t know about their marriage, they were already engaged.


    Michelle and Ayaka were slightly jealous, but they didn''t say anything because they believed in Kai.


    Tasha was also informed about this and sent her congrattions only. She had the precious six months of training with Ria Ross as her mentor, so she couldn''t waste it.


    The others could understand it and respected her decision.


    Ria only told Evan that there would be a pregnancy medicine ready when they indeed married after graduation. Evan and Isabelle thanked her, even though both didn''t have the intention of having a kid first because Evan and Isabelle might need to go to the battlefield to help Kai.


    They simply wanted to thank Kai for everything he had done for them.


    Only Shirotsuka Sanae, who was sulking the entire time, wondering when she would get a husband too and saying something like, "I am eight years older than you guys, but I haven''t even found a single person." Or "It''s not like I''m jealous about your rtionship. I''m going to choose the best husband for me."


    They consoled her while teasing her of course. Even Yuki, her best friend, came from time to time to check on them.


    Still, like how Kai worked to the bone to get stronger, Michelle and the others kept practicing their skills, so they didn''t get thrown away by Kai''s prowess.


    ¡­


    Finally, three months had passed. Kai smiled and looked at the window from his small room and got ready to leave.


    After packing up his stuff, he opened the door, finding Arba, Aston, Devain, and Leah in front of his room. They lowered their heads politely as Aston said, "Congrattions forpleting your training, My King."

 Chapter 460 - Altar

    "Thank you." Kai smiled at them, knowing they had been waiting for quite some time. He asked, "I have done everything I can in this ce and I think it''s time for me to leave.


    "Let me check a little bit. I''ve understood thirteennguages, including yournguage. Meanwhile, I have entirely removed the restriction that keeps a portion of my magic power inside my body, so my sister can have that power permanently. Of course, my current magic power is higher than the original one that I''ve gotten since the moment I was born. If it''s necessary, I can ask my sister to return that power anyway, so it''s not a big deal.


    "Then, I think I can release my Sound Wave to one particr direction. Although it''s not going to bend around, curve, or even create a loop, it''s already enough for my current state. I''m nning to wreak havoc in this world a bit to test my power and keep getting stronger. I know the limitation, so no need to worry." He paused for a moment and asked, "How are the two girls doing?"


    "Replying to my King, if both of them work together, I believe they can take down an S Rank Magical Beast, like the mole you fought together without sustaining any injury." Aston summarized their improvement in an instant.


    "That''s great. It should be enough for the payment." Kai nodded before thinking about his other girls. "I''m wondering if I can still give a bit of pointer to a few others¡­"


    "That depends on who they are¡­" Aston felt a bit troubled but replied nheless.


    "They are my girls. I''m not doing it for my family and the others¡­ Only my wives will apany me for a long time, so¡­" Kai sighed.


    Aston contemted for a moment and replied, "I think you can do it as long as there is supervision from our Mind Magic User that can remove the information swiftly. We can try to put our trust in them not to give any information to the world, but we still need this kind of supervision."


    Kai closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, "That''s fine. It''s better to have them stronger to avoid any direct confrontation such as favoritism or something. Although they won''t say it directly, I feel like the feeling will appear in their hearts intentionally or unintentionally. That''s why I want to do this."


    Aston understood the situation and offered a solution. "We can understand. How about letting Leah and Devain return together with you? Leah has Mind Magic, while Aston is a Space Magic User. We have sneaked in the US Base and created our own identity, so they will be registered as such.


    "Of course, it will be suspicious if they just appear out of nowhere, so we can put another identity to them as your parents'' bodyguards. Aston can help Leah to go around the base to teach them from time to time."


    Kai was thankful for their generosity and nodded. "Yeah. I think that''s fine. But I won''t force Leah and Devain to ept this request."


    Leah smiled and politely nodded her head. "It''s my pleasure."


    Devain also agreed without hesitation. They considered Kai as their king, their friend, and the one they respected so much on a personal level. Even if their king was required to sacrifice them, they would offer their lives without hesitation.


    "Thank you. Well, it will be three monthster, so you don''t need to worry about it. Besides, I''m nning to take on a long mission as soon as we reach home, so we can train during the mission where no one can supervise us." Kai exined.


    The two nodded, understanding his situation. They had three months to prepare, so they might get another training session with Aston and Arba after this, but they didn''t really mind.


    After agreeing to Kai''s request, Aston then continued his matter. "Before leaving this ce, I would like to show you one more ce that you need to know. Please follow me."


    Aston turned around as the other three followed him without hesitation. Kai narrowed his eyes as he didn''t know what kind of thing he wanted to show him, but he decided to walk behind them.


    They went through anotherbyrinth before they found staircases leading to the underground. This was the first time he reached this ce, so he was quite curious about what kind of thing was hidden in this ce.


    The ce was pitch-ck as there was no lightning. But Aston kept walking forward as if the darkness didn''t bother him. After ten steps, he took one step to the right and ced his hand on the hidden switch, turning all the light inside the room on.


    "!!!" Kai squinted his eyes to adjust with the lightning and looked up, finding a long electricmp. It kept going until they needed to turn left a few meters in the front, leading to a certain ce.


    He then lowered his vision and looked at the wall. The size of this passage was around three meters wide and four meters tall, making it quite spacious. There was no pattern on the white polished limestone, so he couldn''t know what kind of ce this passage led him to.


    After getting enough light, Aston continued walking and turned to the left. It was when Kai found another spacious room underground that led him to other staircases going downward.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is this ce?"


    Arba slowed down and smiled at him. "I''m sure you will be surprised to see it."


    Kai tilted his head in confusion until he reached the room. It was vast to the point he thought there was a smaller version of this gigantic building he was in. The bottom of the room was more than ten meters below him as he found quite long staircases waiting for him.


    Right after the staircases, there was a red carpet that led him to a one-meter stone pir. What took his attention was not the pir but the translucent gem floating above it. The jewel was crystal clear to the point he could see through it without focusing his eyes.


    Below the pir was a magic circle that had been embedded for a long time. It looked to be inactive, but Kai quickly recognized what this ce was.


    "Ehm¡­ That floating gem, white pir, and magic circle are¡­ It''s like what I''m thinking, right?" Kai scratched the back of his head, feeling the situation would end up gettingplicated soon.


    "Yes. They are the Human Race''s Altar. The Altar that has been hidden for thousands of years. The White Pir is the Altar''s body, while the Magic Circle is the fuel. The floating gem is a kind of crown that allows you to activate the Altar.


    "There are two main functions. First, the Altar can be used as a catalyst to bring catastrophe to the world. Second, the King can actually use the Magic Particles in the air for your own personal use. That''s how a Protector bes a walking disaster. Even with all of your power, you won''t have enough magic power to use to create multiple natural disasters after all.


    "Sure, if you keep going at this rate, you can summon one disaster after fifty years, but it''s kind of the limit of the Protector, so yeah, unless you have the ''Crown'', I don''t think you can defeat another protector." Arba sighed, knowing that exining things and making him believe the exnations were two different things.


    That was why she added another thing, "We don''t n on giving you that crown because I believe your concept of Altar is only rted to the first one. That''s why you can fight against others first and learn more about your power as a protector before making your decision.


    "If you choose to get this crystal, we will always be waiting for you. I believe that''s also when we''re making our move to help you." Arba nced at Aston, telling him that both of them might only move when Kai actually became a genuine ''King''.


    "That''s¡­" Kai contemted for a moment. Although he understood where they were going, he still couldn''t trust them one hundred percent.


    If it came to this, he probably needed to visit Ishii to ask about it. He also remembered the Pink Dolphin and the Sloth in the Amazon Rainforest.


    Still, Kai nned to return to United Asia to settle things with the Katsuragi Family, so he thought about asking Ishii instead of the two.


    While he thought about it, Aston already knew his answer and said, "Since we''ve shown you the most important thing in this ce, I think we should wrap it soon. I''m sure you don''t want to let the two girls wait for too long, right?"


    Although Kai wanted to explore and observe the Altar for a little longer, he knew he could do it next time if he really needed it. Hence, he hesitantly nodded his head. "Yeah. But I want to ask you two things before we go back."


    "Sure. Ask us anything."


    "First, who was spreading the rumor that our Altar is missing?"


    "King Gilgamesh ordered us to spread the information because there was a chance that they were going to steal it. If we didn''t have the Altar and Gem, we are simply a race without power to fight back until we reim what is ours."


    Kai nodded and asked his other question. "Do you think it''s alright for me to talk about it with the other protectors? Of course, I''m not talking about the location and such."


    "Yeah, it''s fine. As long as you know that this is the most important thing to our race, it''s fine."


    "I see¡­" Kai contemted for a minute before turning around. "Let''s go back then."

 Chapter 461 - Teacher And Student

    After settling everything with Arba and Aston regarding the Altar, Kai returned to Roselyn and Sofia together with them.


    "You ready?" Kai smiled, asking about their condition.


    "Yes." Sofia smiled and said, "Well, it''s good to be back after three months."


    Roselyn nodded before bowing to the people behind Kai. "Thank you for your help for the past three months."


    "No problem." Leah smiled and waved her hand.


    Kai then turned around and nodded his head. "I think this is it. We can proceed ording to what we''ve discussed."


    "Yes. Leave it to us." Aston agreed before walking to Sofia and Roselyn. "I hope the two can think of nothing about this."


    Roselyn and Sofia exchanged looks and smiled. "Please."


    Aston then ced his hand on Sofia''s before a huge grey-colored magic circle appeared above their heads. Only after fifteen minutes, Sofia suddenly fell.


    Kai caught her gently and checked her condition. After knowing she was safe, he then turned to Aston. "Please."


    Aston understood his intention and moved to Roselyn, cing his hand on top of her head. He repeated the process and Roselyn finally dropped on her knees.


    "I have done everything I can." Aston gave the confirmation before looking at Devain. "He is a Space Magic User, so he will send you to the closest and safest ce to reach your home."


    "Yeah. I''m counting on you, Dev." Kai smiled.


    Devain only smiled before pping his hands twice. The barrier finally opened again, allowing them to leave this ce.


    Kai carried Sofia while Leah helped with Roselyn. After waving his hand to Aston and Arba, he left the barrier, returning to the outside world.


    After checking their condition, Devain then summoned a magic circle beneath their feet as they teleported two times to reach Turkey.


    ording to their current location, they would probably reach the nearest base in thirty minutes. Kai lowered Sofia and had her lean to a tree while Leah did the same.


    He then rose from the ground and extended his hand to Devain. "Thank you for helping me for the past three months, Dev. I will be waiting for you in the US Base next."


    "Yes, My King. It''s my pleasure to help you." Devain nodded and shook his hand. Although he was still polite, the two knew that if Devain wanted to call him by his name, Kai wouldn''tin about it. However, Devain had already gotten used to calling him by his title, so Kai also understood his condition.


    "Take care." Kai smiled before turning to Leah.


    He hugged her like two friends and said, "Thank you, Leah."


    "Of course, My King. Although you haven''t realized it yet, Devain has be a bit more talkative since you first came, you know¡­" Leah chuckled, teasing Devain in the process.


    "Wha¡ª" Devain was taken aback and looked at them with a weird expression, wondering if he did it wrong.


    Kai only chuckled and took a step back, looking at both of them with a gentle smile. "Anyway, take care of yourself until we meet again three months from now."


    "Yes." Both replied at the same time before they returned with Devain''s Space Magic before Sofia and Roselyn woke up.


    After they disappeared, Kai turned around and sat on the ground, waiting for them. In the meantime, he decided to call his master.


    "Ho? The little guy has a big guy now?" was the first thing Ria said the moment she picked up the call.


    "Haha, I''m d that you''re alright, Teacher."


    "Well, I''m on the battlefield right now, mentoring your sister a bit."


    "Really?" Kai was surprised because no one mentioned it earlier.


    "Yeah. When I was about to tell you, you had gone far away." Ria confirmed it.


    "Haha, that''s a shame. Well, I just want to let you know that I''m fine here." Kai chuckled. "Of course, I am far stronger than you now, Teacher."


    "Is this a challenge, kid?" Ria''s voice became cold. "Should I beat you again? If I can beat you, I''m going to spank your ass this time? Do you dare to bet?"


    "Hahaha! I don''t want to bully an old woman, so I will reject this bet."


    "Okay, you''re on. We will have a spar as soon as you go back."


    Kai didn''t reply and simplyughed it off.


    "Anyway, I will tell that Brent about your condition. You''re going to extend your stay for three months, right?"


    "Yeah. Although I don''t like being treated as a bargaining chip, I am not someone who will break my promise, especially since I''ve already gotten the payment upfront."


    "I see. I will notify the president after this. Do you want to tell him something?"


    "Only one. I''m going to meddle around and settle my grudge against the Katsuragi Family¡­ No, I will probably settle myself with Katsuragi Takaki and those who stand in my way in killing him." Kai suddenly corrected himself.


    "Ho?" Ria seemed to be surprised by his statement and said, "You''ve matured. I thought you were going to destroy the entire Katsuragi Family because of the past grudge. I had no doubt that you could destroy them and knew you would feel a bit guilty for all the innocent guys that attacked you out of order.


    "However, the reason I didn''t give you any advice or anything was to let you see the result of your own action because you would grow far stronger and kinder from that point on. It seems¡­ I don''t need to do that anymore since you''ve grown up."


    Kai made a gentle smile and looked at the sky. He felt like he had gotten calmer and thought nothing about revenge. In fact, the grudge between him and the Katsuragi Family looked bleak.


    He once heard a saying.


    "The best revenge is to show them that your life is getting better after they''re gone."


    When he thought about this, he felt like the reason he wanted revenge was a bit too petty. He just wanted to end everything with Katsuragi Takaki and continued with his life in the US Base. This also showed that he had no intention to return to United Asia and chose to stay in the US Base for the rest of his life.


    He closed his eyes and smiled, "Yeah. My action will certainly cause a chain of events, to the point it will affect the entire base. And if I destroy the Katsuragi Family, the South Family will use it to kill even more people. I don''t see it wrong about being patriotic, but I just need to pluck out one poisonous mushroom that has gone too far."


    "I will respect your choice, so you don''t need to mind the paperwork. I will also settle the problem with Brent. I think he will be overjoyed to hear this news because he doesn''t need to get a headache to deal with the aftermath." Ria replied nonchntly.


    "Haha, sounds right. I''m sorry to make you worry, Teacher." Kai smiled and continued, "I''m going to keep improving both mentally and physically. Maybe after this iing war ends, you can go immediately to your retirement. Let me take care of you."


    "I will hold that promise. No, say it again. I''m going to record it."


    "Right?" Kai chuckled.


    "Anyway, do you want to say something to the girls? They are missing you."


    "I miss them too. How are they?"


    "Tasha is with me right now, so I know her the best. Well, she has gotten all the magic power you''vest month, making the whole thing weird, but I know that the magic power will stay within your body if you die, so I can calm her down. To be honest, I feel like she has gotten far stronger and started aiming for my position. That''s all I can say about her.


    "Then, we can move to Ayaka. She has be the face of the Lion Group because of her tactic. It turns out the girl has the potential to be a strategist. She was just too childish and immature back when you met her in United Asia. After calming down and growing up for two years, she has finally started showing her full potential since you''re not there. She is too reliant on you for your information¡­


    "As for Michelle, have you heard about two people bing one? She is like that. Well, her prowess itself has gone far beyond both Tasha and Ayaka, so you will be surprised to see her in another three months. Anyway, Michelle and Ayaka are staying with your parents to ensure their safety and other things in their schedule.


    "It''s not your girl, but I will give you a bit of information about Evan. He has gotten together with Isabelle and ns to marry her after graduation. You can see his picture and find a ring on his finger. It''s teasing material. As for his strength, he has be a better shooter, but I don''t think there''s a big improvement on him, considering it''s his ability limitation. But yeah, his healing power is better now."


    Kai contemted for a moment and nodded, satisfied. "Just tell Ayaka and Michelle that I miss them and wille back soon. Keep working hard. As for Tasha, I''m offering advice to get Teacher''s ultra-deluxe training package which includes a thousand deaths. Just kidding¡­ Anyway, I also miss her and look forward to her improvement. We will be together again after graduation.


    "As for Evan, congrattions and don''t forget to invite me to their weddings." Kai chuckled and looked at the sky. "So many things have happened huh."


    "Yeah, that''s why¡­e back soon, kiddo."


    "Haha, I will, Teacher." Kai smiled and nned to hang up. Of course, he didn''t forget to say, "I''m going to end the call, Teacher. Just want to say I love you."


    "Yeah, Love you too, you brat. Now your next mission is to make me stop calling you brat."


    "Haha¡­"

 Chapter 462 - Discussion

    After finishing his call with Ria Ross, he noticed the different breathing rhythm from both Sofia and Roselyn, knowing they had woken up.


    "Hmm¡­" Sofia let out a weak moan as if she just got a good nap before gradually opening her eyes, watching Kai''s back. "Kai?"


    Roselyn quickly woke up, rose from the ground, and looked around as if she thought she made a blunder. But after confirming the ce was safe, she calmed down and let out a breath of relief.


    "You two have finally woken up." Kai smiled and asked, "How do you feel?"


    Roselyn and Sofia exchanged looks and nodded. "We don''t have a problem. Although there is a gap between my memories, I have this memory telling me that I''m going to forget a few things because I''ve followed you to a certain ce. And my strength has been strengthened to a certain degree."


    Kai nodded. "Yeah. What your memory told you is right. Unfortunately, I can''t say anything to you just yet¡­ Forgive me."


    "No worries. I can somehow understand your stance with the scrambled memories." She made a gentle smile, telling him it was alright.


    Meanwhile, Roselyn thought of another thing. In her memory, the one thing that Arnaud mentioned about her bing an S Rank Magician shed in her mind. She just couldn''t get over the shock that Kai had done all these favors to her.


    "Ehm, thank you, Kai."


    "No need to thank me. No, you''ve thanked me enough." Kai waved his hand, asking her to stop. "Although I want to ask you more about this matter, I guess we need to return to the base first."


    The two girls agreed without hesitation and nodded their heads.


    "Sure. Let''s return."


    The two then went to the nearest base before confirming their identity and their purpose. After getting all their information, they finally flew to the sky with a helicopter and went back to the school.


    Arnaud and Jules had been notified too by Kai as they quickly arrived in front of the school to see both girls.


    "Grandfather!" Sofia hugged Jules. Although she had prepared for the memory loss, she still felt insecure when she faced it herself.


    Jules also understood it since both he and Arnaud felt weird when there was a gap in their memory. They even took their time to drink together every now and then just to confirm that they were fine.


    Roselyn, on the other hand, lowered her head to Arnaud. "Thank you for everything, Sir."


    Arnaud shook his head and said, "No. You''ve achieved everything by yourself. There is no luck in the process. The fact that you could be someone noticeable for me in both strength and attitude was your effort. The fact that Kai has chosen you over anyone else was also the opportunity that you''ve attained yourself. No need to thank me."


    "Still, everything would be useless if I didn''t have a great mentor like you." She smiled.


    Arnaud ultimately nodded his head before taking out a document, handing it to her. "Take this."


    "!!!" Roselyn''s heart beat rapidly as she wondered if this document was what she thought it was. She gulped down and took the document carefully as she didn''t want to ruin it.


    When she opened the document and read it for a few seconds, she was stunned and looked at Arnaud.


    Arnaud only smiled at her and ced his hand on her shoulders. "Congrattions for bing an S Rank Magician. You''re now allowed to choose your own mission and create your own family. Even if you want to bring all the kids over, it''s your choice. Since you''re like me, the Union will pay for the expense for a certain amount.


    "Also, you have the right to decline a mission too as long as there is an appropriate reason. Most of all, you''re going to be my second inmand for the time being until you know what you want to do and what position you want to achieve.


    "After a bit more training in that aspect to match the jobs, you will truly attain that position. Of course, we need to check your prowess first before giving you a rank in the military. We can schedule it next time or over text, so we will talk about itter."


    Arnaud ended the conversation by extending his hand with a gentle smile on his face as if he was watching his own daughter. "Still, the most important thing I need to say¡­ Congrattions, Roselyn. I''m proud of you."


    Roselyn leaped and hugged him to express his joy. "Thank you!"


    "Haha! You''re too happy." Arnaud chuckled before turning to Kai. "I don''t know what happened, but I have informed the Union about it. For the time being, they won''t take any action, but there is always a hidden threat. I want you to be careful from now on. Well, with your power, you won''t need to fear anyone to be honest, but just in case. Roselyn will continue her job to be your supervisor in this base until you leave the base."


    "Yeah, sure. I don''t mind." Kai nodded and smiled at Roselyn. "Congrats."


    "Thank you."


    Kai then asked, "Is there a big chance with the current n because of these circumstances?"


    "No. Everything will go ording to the contract. But I guess it''s still indirectly implying that it''s impossible to direct you. In other words, those people will just tell you to do something and how do you want to do it, it''s your choice. There won''t be any reinforcement as well because you don''t need it. No, in fact, they will just be your burden."


    "Ahaha, I won''t say it like that." Kai shook his head. "Anyway, I will be fine from now on, so no need to worry. Just tell me if something happens."


    "Sure thing." Arnaud nodded. "Well, most of the information will go through Roselyn. And since she has be an S Rank Magician, she has gained so many information esses, allowing her to say everything to you. Of course, I hope that you don''t pressure her to give you important questions."


    "Haha, I''m not a spy or a double agent, so I won''t go to sensitive things." Kai shook his head. "By the way, is there any movement from suspicious organizations?"


    "Hmm¡­" Arnaud looked down, pondering. "There are several movements, but mostly from small thugs around here. Well, we can easily monitor them, so it''s fine. Besides, Roselyn has the privilege to kill them too if they''re aiming for your lives.


    "As for therge organizations, I don''t think they''ve made a move. Maybe¡­ Just maybe¡­ they will as soon as you leave this base for a mission. That''s why I''m going to postpone any activity to three dayster after Roselyn and Sofia receive their new ranks.


    "We can have them to be the "superior" and "order" you to do something. This way, you won''t need to listen to other people and just do what you want to do. To be honest, the fact that Roselyn has gotten stronger is enough for me and the base, but hey, people are greedy. You need to watch out¡­ Well, your ears won''t let something like that happen anyway, so¡­" Arnaud shrugged since he didn''t care about the fate of those who tried to mess with Kai. Thetter had enough strength to destroy this base, so why would he go all the way to offend him just to save a few useless lives who did bad things despite humanity''s suffering.


    "Sounds good enough for me." Kai asked, "Can I see the assessment too? I''m kind of curious."


    "I''m afraid that is not possible. First, we can''t afford to give you any information rted to the military other than in an emergency. Second, the assessment won''t take a long time, so I hope you can just stay in the school during the meantime. I can be your partner if you want."


    Kai waved his hand and thought about another thing. He pointed at Jules and said, "I think I will just go with him and have a spar until they''re done."


    "Oh?!" Jules''s eyes brightened as he nodded. "Sure, sure. Come to Campbell Family Mansion. I''m fired up."


    "Then, I think we''re done here." Arnaud nodded and turned to Roselyn. "How about you return to your home first? I think the kids will be overjoyed with your news. Haha! Don''t worry. They are fine. I made sure they''re fine."


    Roselyn contemted for a moment and agreed. "Yes. I think they will be happy with this news. I will return home for now. Though I can''t really stay with them for the night due to our limitations, it''s fine."


    "Hahaha! I can get you special ess though. No, you''re already an S Rank Magician, so you have that right." Arnaud shrugged. "By the way, I forgot about your document, Sofia Campbell. Essentially, you''ve also be an S Rank Magician, but we still need some approvals along with the power test from the military. The official information update will go together with your rankster."


    "I don''t need the ranks." She pouted and looked away, muttering, "I''m going to sneak out again after this anyway."


    Kai chuckled, feeling that she would just go to the US Base after he left this ce. Considering Kai already gave a powerful Roselyn that was stronger than Jules and Arnaudbined, they shouldn''t be hateful and let go of Sofia.


    Roselyn suddenly tugged his hand and looked at him shyly. "Ehm¡­ I would like to thank you personally¡­ Do you happen to have time? I would like to invite you to my home."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure. I don''t have any ns right now."


    "That''s great." Roselyn smiled brightly.

 Chapter 463 - Erentia

    Arnaud said, "Then, you''re free to go for today and rest for tomorrow. You can go to school again the day after."


    Kai and the others nodded as Arnaud finally turned around, leaving them with Jules.


    After saying a few things to Sofia, Jules also returned to the Campbell Family.


    Roselyn was still in euphoria as she couldn''t contain her smile.


    "Now that I think about it, if I''m not wrong, you''re an orphan, right Roselyn?" Sofia asked politely, not wanting to be rude while bringing such an insensitive topic.


    "Yes." Roselyn nodded. "There is an orphanage half an hour away from here. But if you mind, then I don''t think you shoulde with me. I don''t want to bother you."


    Kai shrugged. "It''s fine. There is nothing I can do in the dorm anyway." Kai shrugged.


    "Indeed." Sofia agreed with Kai before saying, "It''s still 1 PM, so I think it''s a good time for a visit."


    Roselyn nodded and stretched her hand. "Then, please follow me."


    She then guided them to the orphanage where she grew up.


    The building didn''t seem to be that worn down. It was a two-story long building that seemed to be able to fit more than a hundred people. Considering the distance from the entrance and the building, there should be a yground and a garden between them.


    Kai could even listen to the waves ofughter and excitement from the kids.


    With just a slight nce from the outside, he could see many drawings on the building''s wall to brighten the orphanage.


    All in all, from this point alone, he knew this ce was a good orphanage.


    Roselyn then stopped right before the entrance and waved her hand to the entrance with a big smile on her face. "This is the ce I grew up. It''s called Erentia."


    Kai nodded and finally made his appearance before slightly turning his head to the side and lowering his vision, finding a cute red-haired girl.


    She looked at Kai with her big eyes with amazement before she spun her body and shouted, "Big sister has returned with a man! Emergency meeting! Emergency meeting."


    She kept shouting while running to the yground where most of the children were.


    "Wha¡ª Alicia!" Roselyn was taken aback and shouted. She then looked at Kai, wanting to exin.


    Sofia then walked past Kai and decided to tease her. "Heh, the big sister is bringing a man home¡­"


    "Sofia!" Roselyn shouted to stop her. After training together with her for three months, their rtionship improved and they didn''t spite each other anymore. Instead, they just teased them to make the other party embarrassed.


    Roselyn then awkwardly stared at Kai and said, "Ehm¡­ Let''s enter the ce first."


    When they were about to enter, Kai suddenly raised his hands to the side before two kids came out and jumped toward him. The first one was a seven years old boy with spiky blonde hair while the other one was a female of the same age with brown hair.


    Both of them raised their hands as if they wanted to attack Kai.


    "Attack him!"


    Before Roselyn could react, Kai already appeared right before them with his hands above their heads.


    "What? He disappears?" The boy widened his eyes and tried to find Kai but to no avail.


    "No, he is here?!" The female, on the other hand, managed to find her and looked at Kai, who suddenly appeared next to them.


    Kai simply ced his hands on the kids'' heads before putting a bit of his strength to force them tond on the ground. Thending was smooth to avoid anything that could potentially hurt the kid. Kai even patted their heads a few times.


    "You two are energetic, aren''t you? Well, just be more careful next time. It''s not polite to greet a guest with a kick," said Kai with a smile.


    The two kids were simply stunned and didn''t understand how Kai could do something like this. Still, they found it cool to see Kai do these amazing things that even their sister couldn''t.


    The boy literally looked at him with adoration, saying, "So cool!"


    The female looked away as she couldn''t stare at him in the eyes.


    Roselyn couldn''t take it and shout. "Jacque, Timothy! What are you two doing to the guest?"


    The boy instinctively answered, "We heard that Big Sisteres back with a guy, so we wanted to test him. Jacque told me the n."


    "There it is¡­ His bbermouth." Jacque closed her eyes, resigning to her fate.


    "You two!" Roselyn''s eyebrows twitched as she gradually walked forward, nning to punish both of them.


    "Haha, it''s good to have you this energetic." Kaiughed and stroked the boy''s head before stopping when someone was about to open the door again.


    This time, it was a middle-aged woman with gentle eyes. She had long red hair like Alicia and wore a white shirt as well as a long skirt. "I see. You''ve returned, Roselyn."


    "Auntie!" Roselyn''s expression instantly changed and she looked at her before finding two more people behind her. The first one was a thirteen years old female with blonde hair tied into twin tails. She dressed in a loose shirt and short pants, looking at Kai with azy expression as if it was so hard for her to open her eyes.


    The second one was a fifteen years old female with long ck hair. She wore a one-piece dress that was neatly tied on the waist with a ck belt. She politely greeted Kai when their eyes intertwined. "Wee."


    "Felice and Sonia are here too?" Roselyn smiled and waved her hands.


    "Wee back, Sis." The older female gently smiled at her while the younger one only nodded her head.


    "I see, so this is him." The middle-aged woman walked toward Kai and smiled. "May I presume you''re the famous Kai Carter?"


    Kai already had activated his auto-trante function, but since the other party could only speak French, he only nodded his head with a smile.


    "Ah, I''m sorry. I forgot the fact that you''re not from here."


    "It''s fine." Kai waved his hand before Roselyn tranted it for him.


    "How abouting in first? The kids are ying outside, so it won''t be too noisy."


    Kai nodded again before releasing the two kids.


    "Please this way." The middle-aged woman then asked him to go inside.


    When they were about to enter the building, the two kids, who attacked Kai out of the blue, thought they managed to get away from it, only to find another hand grabbing their heads.


    Kai''s big and reliable hands that protected them from Roselyn had finally gone, so they gulped down the moment they felt this nostalgic feeling on their heads.


    "I need to talk with both of you first!" Roselyn red at them, sending chills down their spine.


    "No!" The two kids screamed.


    Meanwhile, Kai and Sofia arrived inside. The living room was spacious and filled with toys, but he found a few couches where the kids could sit down.


    "I''m sorry that it''s a mess."


    "It''s fine," Sofia replied this time without even Kai answering since she already knew Kai''s answer.


    "Ah, I''m sorry for not greeting you earlier, Miss Sofia Campbell. It''s my pleasure to meet you."


    "I''m just a normal high school student. You don''t need to be polite with me." Sofia shook her head.


    "Is that so?" The woman then let Kai sit on the couches before she and the other two girls sat diagonally from him.


    Surprisingly, thezy girl, Felice, sat next to Kai before dropping her head on hisp. "This is different from Sonia''s¡­ It makes me sleepy."


    "Felice?! What are you doing? You''re rude to our guest!" Sonia tried to drag her back, but thetter already closed her eyes and pped her hands. "You¡­"


    Kai was amazed at first but soon chuckled. "Haha, it''s normal for a kid to be spoiled like this¡­ Though, it''s not good to be thatzy."


    Felice slightly opened her eyes and pouted. "Why¡­ Why do people hatezy people? I mean, we''re not even doing anything."


    Kai looked at Felice, who seemed to be able to reply to him in English. He chuckled and said, "Maybe I should change my perspective about you? You''re notzy, but bored, right?"


    Felice widened her eyes for the first time and looked at Kai with a shocked expression.


    Even Sonia and the middle-aged woman couldn''t help but feel impressed by Kai''s observation. To think Kai would figure her out in an instant.


    "How¡­ do¡­ you know?" Sonia asked slowly because she still felt ufortable speaking in English. At least, it wasn''t as fluent as Felice.


    "Well, from her expression, her tone, her heart beat and so on. I know how she is feeling¡­ Do you think it''s creepy?" Kai smiled, thinking that if he mentioned all those things, they would feel ufortable. He just wanted to test the three people before him.


    "Big brother." Felice surprisingly just made her head morefortable in hisp and called him "big brother" as her approval.


    "Well, we''re surprised to see that someone could see through Felice in an instant. She always puts on thatzy face every day, so the others don''t know what she is thinking. Even I can''t say I understand her one hundred percent." The middle-aged woman shook her head in defeat, saying everything in English. She seemed to be not a normal person either since Kai could feel the rusty aura emanating from her body.


    Kai only smiled and ced his hand on top of her head, gently stroking her head. He wondered if this was how it felt to have a younger sister or something since he was the only child in the family while Tasha was more to a lover than a sibling. She was a big sister as well, so this was the first time he experienced it.

 Chapter 464 - Playing With The Kids

    After sorting out a few things with them, they began telling about Roselyn''s past.


    The middle-aged woman could only sigh when she recalled everything she went through, feeling ashamed of herself. "That girl¡­ is a strong girl¡­ She has been fighting for this orphanage since young. Even when the kids here were bullied, she would protect them. These two are the examples.


    "We once had a financial problem back then and could barely afford to eat. The girl didn''t eat during that problem and tried to take on a job to get money for the kids. After finally, she started working for Union and climbed through the ranks in public school.


    "She kept fighting in the frontline, wrestling with her life just to make sure the kids can happily live here. Haiz, I always wanted the girl to prioritize herself from time to time, but¡­" The middle-aged woman didn''t continue and let out a long sigh.


    Kai didn''t reply to her for a moment before smiling, "I believe the kids also know about it since they respect her so much."


    "Yes, indeed. A few kids took the initiative to ask me what happened and I told them everything. I wouldn''t dare to take credit or lie to them about this, so they knew that Roselyn had done so much for them even if she didn''t want to take the credit."


    Kai nodded and informed them. "Actually, the same girl has received the promotion to S Rank Magician."


    "!!!" Both the middle-aged woman and Sonia opened their eyes wide, looking at Kai. "You¡­"


    "I won''t lie about something this important." Kai shook his head, erasing all their doubts.


    However, Felice managed to understand the entire situation in an instant as she opened her mouth while her eyes remained closed. "Everything is rted to Big Brother. Big Sister''s promotion won''t happen anytime soon, so the only reason for her promotion is the mission that took her three months of her time.


    "From how you visited us together with Big Sister, you must be together with her this whole time to the point Big Sister told you about this orphanage. The fact that Big Brother is famous for your strength while getting surrounded by mysteries¡­ Or at least, that''s why the news keeps spreading a bit of information at the time, making it hard for us to understand youpletely while forcing us to idolize you.


    "In other words, the mission that took three months to finish has changed her lifepletely, turning her into an S Rank Magician, which I don''t know how¡­ For the time being, with how Big Brother portrayed Big Sister, she seemed to have gotten far stronger than her previous strength and everything happened in a mere three months.


    "After calcting a few more variables, Big Brother must be rted to this promotion," Felice exined while stillfortablyying down on Kai''sp.


    All four of them were stunned, including Kai. He never thought Felice would be this smart. Everything was pinpoint.


    "You are good¡­" Kai smiled and stroked her hair again.


    Felice only smiled and cozily enjoyed his hand.


    "Want to go back with me to the US Base?" Kai smirked.


    "As your wife?"


    "Haha, you should grow up first before even thinking about it." Kai gently flicked her forehead.


    "I have a great business for Big Brother. If you get Big Sister now, you will receive me as a bonus."


    "I''m here for a mission, not to search for a wife. I''ve got my hands full, you know." Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "Ah, that means I can''t enjoy thisp again."


    "Haha, you are notzy¡­ You just think too fast to the point you feel the world is revolving so slowly. That''s why you''re bored." Kai flicked her head again before raising his vision, finding a few peopleing inside.


    "Ah! It''s true. They are here!" One of the kids shouted, rming all the kids that he brought inside. They all looked at Kai with great curiosity as Kai fully knew that the two kids that tried to attack him in the front yard had told them about his existence.


    The kids entered and ran toward Kai.


    "Big Brother!"


    "Big Brother, are you Big Sister''s man?"


    "We''ve heard it from¡ª"


    Roselyn finally entered the room and tried to mitigate the entire situation.


    Kai only smiled since he couldn''t answer them in French. Instead, he asked Sofia next to him.


    After understanding what he wanted to say, Sofia opened her mouth. "He said he is not. He ising here to y with all of you guys."


    "y with us?!" The kids opened their mouths in amazement and quickly grabbed Kai''s hands, trying to drag him to the yground outside. "Let''s go!"


    "Mu¡­" Felice pouted when she felt the shake, knowing Kai would be taken away. She slightly got up to avoid falling over due to the sudden movement.


    As soon as Kai rose from the couch, the kids pulled him to the backyard, where he could find many things such as slides and other things that would interest the kids.


    There was a above them, so the kids wouldn''t feel that hot despite ying under the sun. Besides, it wasn''t like it was that hot even during the day.


    Meanwhile, Felice surprisingly dragged herself to the backyard and decided to sit in the corner, watching how everything unfolded.


    Sofia, on the contrary, waited for them toe back as she began talking about a few things with the middle-aged woman and Sonia.


    "Ah, I''m sorry for this disy¡­" Roselyn quickly approached Kai with a bit red on her cheek.


    Kai simply waved his hand with a smile, saying, "It''s fine. You should enjoy yourself more."


    After that, Roselyn was taken aback by Felice''s appearance since she rarely woulde out. And she didn''t need to figure it out to know Kai was the one who brought her here since thetter had her eyes locked on Kai.


    Before she could say something, a young boy suddenly approached Kai and tugged his sleeve. "Big Brother. Let''s y! Does Big Brother know anything about any game?"


    Kai thought for a moment before Felice, who surprisingly appeared next to Kai, said, "I will be tranting your words."


    Roselyn dropped her jaw to the ground, looking at Felice as if she was not the Felice she knew.


    Listening to her words, Kai took that offer. "Sure. Thanks."


    Kai thought for a moment before lifting the kid gently. "I can do this."


    Felice quickly tranted it, so the boy understood what Kai was saying.


    A Magic Circle appeared below the boy''s feet as he suddenly felt his body light due to something pushing him to the air.


    "Don''t move suddenly, okay?" Kai smiled. As soon as Felice tranted it, Kai began loosening his grip, letting the boy floating in the air.


    This was his Sound Levitation Magic and Kai had adjusted it slightly for kid use. "Now you can float."


    "Wha¡ª" The boy was surprised and tried to look down to check whether he was really floating or not. He then carefully moved his hands and feet, causing his body to shift a bit as if he was in a room without gravity. "This is interesting!"


    The boy seemed to like it as he slowly adjusted his body, spinning his body around. "Hahahaha."


    Theughter quickly picked the other children''s attention when they saw their friend ying something different.


    Another boy walked toward him and asked shyly, "Big Brother¡­ Can I do it too?"


    Kai simply smiled and lifted him up before creating another Magic Circle to levitate him. He told him to be careful too, which was tranted by Felice. Since the tone and the words Felice said were the same, he believed Felice told everything Kai said, so there wouldn''t be any trantion mistake.


    Looking at how happy these two were, Kai summoned more than ten magic circles at the same time, creating a certain track with his Sound Levitation. There were curves, slides, slopes, and so on, making it look like a small race circuit for a toy car.


    Kai then connected the two to the circuit in session, letting them float in the current like a fish following a sea current.


    "Hahahaha!" The two kids couldn''t stopughing as they were having fun with this new stuff. They didn''t know Kai couldn''t do something like this a few months ago. So, this was the result of his training. He could control the direction of his Sound Wave at this level.


    They could even spin their bodies around without identally leaving and falling to the ground.


    Since the other kids were interested as well, Kai made a big magic circle that allowed them to stay afloat, allowing almost everyone to y in a kind of zero gravity room. Some also decided to y with the track.


    Roselyn was worrying about their safety and watched over them anxiously, but she didn''t ask Kai to stop because the kids were having fun with this. And it wasn''t like Kai would being here again, so she just let them have this fun today.


    Suddenly, one of the kids knocked on the other. The collision bounced one kid out of the Magic Circle.


    Right after the kid fell off, Kai, with his super reflex, already appeared next to the kid and caught her gently, carrying her like a princess. "Are you alright?"


    The kid was entranced for a few seconds before nodding her head repeatedly.


    "That''s good." Kai smiled and asked, "Do you want to continue ying?"


    "Yes. It''s fun, Big Brother."


    Kai nodded and put her back above the Magic Circle so she could continue.


    Seeing that action, Felice quickly threw herself toward the magic circle and floated for a few seconds before she purposely left and acted as if she fell off.


    "Oh no." Felice tried to rm Kai but ended up getting ignored and fell down with her face hitting the ground first. She thumped and pouted. "This is not working."

 Chapter 465 - Felice

    Not long after the ying session, they returned to the inside. It was the time for the kids to study many things.


    Kai could find many subjects, starting from physics and such. The kids obviously didn''t understand most of them, but they were asked to learn to see what kind of things they loved. It was at that time the caretaker started nning their future carefully.


    Kai helped them with what he knew. Obviously, half of them were actually interested in fighting for the Union like their Big Sister Roselyn.


    Some kids asked about Kai''s experience and stories about the front line. In the end, Sofia was the one telling the kids about it since it would be good to see it from the third perspective. Kai also wanted to see what kind of perception Sofia had about him.


    The stories were pretty simple. She only told them about Kai''s power a bit, telling the kids that he could cut metal like cutting butter or lifting a car with his strength alone.


    After that, she told the kids about his strategy in the war and how Kai ruled the entire battlefield with his strategy.


    They obviously loved to hear it. Without even listening to them, the kids were staring at Sofia in amazement.


    While they were listening to the kids, Roselyn and Sonia began to prepare food for dinner.


    Suddenly, Felice tugged his hand and looked at him with a serious expression. "Big Brother, can I ask you about something? Ehm¡­ If possible, in private."


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded. He then pointed at the slightly less crowded area and asked, "How about there? I can use my Sound Instion Magic too, so no one can listen to our conversation."


    "Well, if possible, I would like to talk in a private area like my room, but I guess¡­ It''s not possible, huh." Felice looked down, feeling a bit sad.


    "Unfortunately, yes. I have my own integrity and rules that I won''t break." Kai gently smiled. There were two reasons why he wanted to avoid talking in a private area. The first one was to prevent any rumor about him staying in a room with a girl, let alone an underage one, even though the legal age had been lowered to 15 years old due to the apocalypse. Secondly, he didn''t want to make his girls jealous or had the need to lie to them about this private thing.


    Felice understood his concern and nodded, following him to a slightly less crowded corner.


    Kai then activated his Sound Instion Magic and asked, "So, what is your question?"


    "Actually, I don''t have any vision about my future. I don''t know what I want to do¡­ It just¡­ looks like a ck and white world." Felice sighed.


    "Being a genius is not easy, eh?" Kai smiled.


    "Big Brother is also a genius." Felice shook her head. "All your military exploits can only be achieved by a genius. That''s why I thought Big Brother could understand me¡­"


    Kai smiled and patted her head. "For me, I have a drive that forces me to keep going no matter how hard it is¡­ No matter how boring it is¡­ As long as I remember what drives me, I can continue. Do you have that?"


    Felice furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "Although I hate myself to say this, I''m indeed grateful for everything Big Sister has done for me, but it''s at the level where I will pay her back and end it there. May I know¡­ Never mind."


    "The only thing that drives me is my family. I suffered through my childhood because my ears are special, forcing me to listen to something I don''t want to hear¡­ Imagine, when you are only a few years old, you will listen to the neighbors telling you you are weird and don''t want their kids to associate with me or your friend actually talk bad about you behind your back¡­ At the same time, all those voices are reying in my head at the max volume."


    Felice looked at Kai with her mouth slightly open before shaking her head helplessly. "I might have gone crazy. Big Brother is strong."


    "Nope. I''m not strong. I have gone crazy, you know. However, the one thing that keeps me going is the fact that my family has never once said anything about my defect and such. They neverined, discussed the hardship of raising me, or cursed about these unique ears.


    "I want to repay them and take care of them for the rest of my life to show my gratitude for raising me. In my journey, I find someone who bes my strength and keeps pushing me forward. I want to protect all of this even if I need to shred my flesh and blood." Kai gently smiled before patting her head. "You don''t need to feel pressured. There is no telling when you can find something like that. It can be ten years from now or you may never find it.


    "But¡­ What I know is, the chance is never zero as long as you keep chasing it. Committing suicide is just the way of a coward who only wants the easy way out. That''s what I believe in." Kai finished his exnation with a smile.


    Felice looked at Kai with a dumbfounded look before closing her eyes. Suddenly, a smile appeared on her face as she said, "That''s a sweet story, Big Brother."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head, never intending to make it like that.


    "I see. I may not be able to find it, but from Big Brother''s story, I can still get that strength to go on." Felice smiled.


    "Yes. You want to pay Roselyn back? Do it. At that time, you may find another thing you want to do. No matter how small it is, you can keep doing it. If you want to give a homeless person money, how about you teach him how to make money and give him shelter? By doing so, you can do good while spending more time in this boring world. Before you know it, you have many things you want to do to the point you need to start rushing many things. Your everyday life will start getting upied." Kai smiled.


    Felice gently nodded. "Listening to Big Brother eases my heart. You don''t sugarcoat your words like other people who asked me to keep pushing forward without giving me the solution itself. Instead, you give me the positive and negative things I need to know and what to do in this situation."


    "I just don''t like giving an empty promise. Besides, I don''t give you any solution¡­ It''s only my personal experiences."


    "Actually, I feel like I want to do something."


    "Oh?!"


    "I want to be Big Brother''s wife?"


    "Hold up. What did you say?" Kai widened his eyes.


    "Haha, I''m joking." She chuckled. "But it''s true that I would like to do something for Big Brother. I feel like I will find something that I need in my life to keep me going forward. That''s why you don''t mind if I try hard to give you something back, right?"


    "Well, I don''t mind, but you shouldn''t make my girls jealous, you know." Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "I want to be a leading scientist. I want to decipher everything about Magic¡­ Why do humans have Magic and why the Magical Beasts evolve due to this Magic. Maybe, at that time, Big Brother doesn''t need to go to the battlefield anymore since I will solve the world''s problems."


    "That''s quite a big goal you have there."


    "That may sound like too big for a goal and it''s idiotic¡­ I don''t even mind if Big Brotherughs at me. But¡ª"


    Before she finished, Kai already patted her head again, "I won''tugh at you. If you think you can do it, then do it. Do you think it''s possible for me to be a General of the Army within one year? When they don''t know about my achievement, they will believe it''s not possible. But when I''m like this, it''s just a matter of time, right? It''s ridiculous but notughable."


    Felice smiled. "Then, I will probably start learning about Big Brother''s Magic first. From my perspective, I could see that Big Brother''s Magic is generated from science. Sound Levitation, Super Sonic Vibration, and other things¡­ As expected from the Unorthodox S Rank Sound Magician."


    Kai onlyughed it off, but Felice stopped him with a serious expression. "But! I found that the Magic you used earlier was slightly different from science. In fact, you have just broken the Physics Law by creating an invisible track for the kids to swim around."


    Kai''s expression turned serious, never expecting someone could see through it, let alone someone who didn''t know him. When he took another look at Felice, he felt that Felice might be able to do it. "So, what are your ns? I can give you a rmendation to anyone you want to meet, you know."


    Felice looked down, contemting for a minute before answering, "I have two people I would like to meet."


    "Ho?!"


    "The first one is your teacher. She is also a leading scientist despite the fact she is a General of the Army. I will make her my role model."


    "Haha, that''s a good role model you have." Kai couldn''t contain his smile. He obviously felt happy when his teacher was recognized by others.


    "Then, the second person¡­ I don''t know if I should say it¡­"


    "Just tell me that person. Take it as I''m interested in you." Kai smiled.


    "Is that so?" Felice hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "The S Rank Magician known as Poison Master."


    Kai widened his eyes but still nodded his head. "I understand. I will tell someone to arrange it. Maybe after you learn many things from her, you can move to the US Base to meet my teacher. I will be waiting for you in the US Base."


    "Yes!"


    "That''s right. One more thing. Since you want to decipher my magic, I will give you a reward if you manage to do it." Kai smiled.


    "Really?"


    "Yes."


    "What is the reward?"


    "The little truth behind what you called Magic and why no one manages to see through it until now." Kai smirked.

 Chapter 466 - Favor

    When Felice heard about it, she widened her eyes and drew a gasp, looking at Kai with a dumbfounded expression.


    Kai himself thought it was just a normal secret since it would be fine if humanity knew that Magic Power was actually a Magic Particle that was far smaller than an atom. As long as they didn''t know anything about protectors and such, they should be fine.


    "Big Brother already knows about it?" Felice asked, feeling unsure.


    "Yep. Let''s say I know more than you and the government." Kai smirked. "I am not lying to you just to make you interested in this matter."


    Although she still doubted this secret, Kai didn''t have any reason to lie, so she decided to trust him for the time being. This should keep her going for a few years. "I understand. The challenge is on. I''m going to prove that I can decipher Big Brother''s magic."


    The only reason he allowed Felice to learn about this was his belief in a genius like her. Her analytical skill was superb, so he thought her research would teach him something about his Sound Magic, allowing him to understand another Sound Magic.


    He patted her head again while Felice giggled, looking at Kai like her own brother. She didn''t know why but it was so easy to talk with Kai than any other people she had met this whole time. It might be the same reason why Ria clicked with Kai.


    In fact, if Ria Ross were here, she might have asked Kai to take her as his student. But without her, Felice seemed to have the same intention as she said, "Big Brother¡­ Can I change the reward? It''s true that having known the answer to the Magic Power is exciting, I feel like I can be happier with Big Brother¡­ So, I won''t say anything about bing your wife, but can I request to be your student? Of course, it''s not about research or something, I want to learn how to fight too."


    Kai fell silent and looked Felice in the eyes. "Are you sure? Why would you want to get stronger?"


    "I just want to protect myself. At least, I won''t be a burden to Big Sister if somehow we''re targeted by people." She shrugged.


    Kai contemted for a moment and said, "I will consider it after you put in some effort."


    Since Felice waszing around this whole time because she was bored, he decided to give a test.


    "The time limit is one year. I want you to impress me with your performance." Kai smirked.


    Felice looked down and nodded. "I understand. I will show you my change in one year."


    "Sure. Then, I will ask someone to let you meet the Poison Master. I want you to make sure you¡ª"


    Before he finished, Felice replied. "I won''t stand out that much to the point I can''t go anywhere. With my current background, it''s indeed hard for me to leave this ce if I''m bing too important in Union''s eyes. It''s not like I have an attachment in this base anyway, so I don''t mind relocating in the future.


    "I will keep building my strength and research in a year before showing you something that can impress you."


    Kai smiled and patted her head again. "I am looking forward to it."


    "Hehe."


    After learning with the kids, the food arrived. The meal was delicious and the atmosphere was cheerful the whole time. Felice remained silent while Sofia kept ncing at her, wondering what the two talked about earlier.


    However, since Kai wanted to keep it a secret, she didn''t press him with that matter, while Roselyn simply didn''t watch him this whole time. There was no way she would know about this ambiguous rtionship between Kai and Felice.


    With how Felice acted to Kai, she simply looked like someone who adored him and wanted to get closer to him as if he was her idol.


    Felice also didn''t show anything excessive since she knew Roselyn was here to keep an eye on Kai. And it was at this time, they announced Roselyn''s promotion.


    The kids obviously felt happy for Roselyn since she deserved it. She had been the best Big Sister for them.


    After eating, the kids took a bath. Roselyn and Sofia entered the bath with the girls before Kai and the boys used it.


    Although they didn''t stopughing or shouting, Kai didn''t mind at all and yed with them in the water or washed their backs.


    They had their fun and the fatigue had finally taken over them. Some of the younger ones were already sleepy as they returned to their rooms.


    Unfortunately, it was also the time for Kai, Sofia, and Roselyn to return to the school.


    Felice, Sonia, and all the kids, who were still awake, sent them off with smiles and waving hands.


    Kai had given his contact information to Felice secretly. And this was also the only channel that could be used to send a message to the US Base without the Union knowing.


    After returning to their room, Theo opened his device before Sofia couldn''t contain her curiosity anymore.


    "Who are you calling? It seems you have taken a liking to Felice¡­" Sofia asked while stretching her body on the bed.


    Kai smiled and asked, "Jealous?"


    "If it were the past me, I would have felt that way. But there is something in my heart telling me that I don''t need to be jealous or anything. In fact, it only makes me look like an annoying b*tch. It must be something I''ve learned in the memory gap." Sofia shrugged.


    "Hehe. Let''s say that this kid is quite unique. I can understand her more than anyone else here." Kai smiled.


    "She is like you?" She smiled.


    "I believe so. Do you want to keep her here?" Kai smirked and looked at her, only to end up seeing her chest that was barely covered since she stretched her hand upward, raising her loose tank top.


    "Hmm¡­" She thought for a moment and said, "If I say I won''t, will you believe me?"


    "Yes. Without hesitation." Kai made a genuine expression, showing it to her.


    Sofia nodded with a smile. "Well, it''s not like there is a benefit of keeping her here. If she can improve much faster with you, it''s good for humanity. I don''t know why but I feel our real enemy is not our rivalry or terrorist organizations. Instead, it''s a whole different thing. I only know if we keep fighting each other, we will lose."


    "You are not wrong." Kai confirmed her weird feeling and continued. "There is something you don''t need to know for the time being. But they will surelye sooner orter. I believe it''s within three years."


    "So, that''s why you put that limit?"


    "Yes."


    "Hmm¡­ I understand. I don''t know if I can help you or not, but I will do my best to help you during this time. I only want you to know I will be following you when you return to the US Base. I can''t promise it will be done immediately, but I promise I wille back."


    "Come back huh." Kai smiled and nodded. "Thanks."


    "No need to mind. It''s my decision." Sofia shrugged. "Anyway, you are calling someone?"


    "Yes." Kai then showed the contact to Sofia and called him.


    "Hello. Do you need anything from me?"


    "Yeah. I would like to ask for a favor."


    "Ho?" Arnaud seemed to be amused by this sudden call about favor. They didn''t owe each other any favor. Even the earlier mission where Sofia and Roselyn ended up bing the strongest agents in the EU Base had been paid because it was an agreement. Hence, Kai wanted to owe him a favor and it seemed to be personal. "I''m listening."


    "Can you give a personal rmendation to the Poison Master? I would like to rmend someone to study under her."


    Arnaud fell silent. "So, you are saying you want me to be this person''s guarantor instead of you? You should know that your status alone is enough to ask for a favor from her, right?"


    "Yeah. I don''t want her to be seen that way for now."


    Arnaud contemted for a moment and said, "I understand. I will guarantee this person and ask the Poison Master to take in someone. Of course, I won''t be responsible for this person''s fate after that, okay? If this person runs away from the Poison Master, I won''t say anything to make him/her stay."


    "Yeah. It''s fine."


    "Still, I wonder who manages to catch your intention."


    "You have been visiting the orphanage, right?"


    "Yes."


    "She is Felice."


    "Oh? Thatzy girl?" Arnaud was surprised to see Kai taking Felice seriously. From his impression, Felice seemed to have no ambition.


    "That girl is pitiful." Kai simply said this sentence that could be easily misunderstood.


    Arnaud decided not to pry it that much and said, "I understand. I will help you with her and promise you that I won''t influence her or anything. But Just so you know, I won''t take any responsibility if the Union puts her in their eyes."


    "Yeah. I''m aware of the challenge. I will be leaving her in your hand."


    "Sure."


    After that call, Sofia remained silent and wondered what he saw from Felice. But since they would be together from now on, the answer woulde sooner orter, so she decided not to ask.


    The next day, they wandered around the school as Kai asked about the exoskeleton he ordered a few months ago.


    Fortunately, she managed to fulfill his order and handed the exoskeleton to him when they met again. Kai quickly shipped the exoskeleton to Ayaka, so she could be stronger.


    Then, without having anything to do, Kai only trained by himself as Sofia gave him some space while handling the school''s matter and took the strength assessment as nned.

 Chapter 467 - Mission

    Three dayster, Sofia and Roselyn had finished their assessment and returned with their own proof as one of the S Rank Magicians.


    Sofia didn''t really release all her power to make Roselyn stand out more. After all, if she was known to be stronger, the Union might not let her go.


    But with them knowing Roselyn was stronger and could defeat Jules and Arnaud, they would ce more importance on Roselyn, not caring if Sofia would leave this ce or not.


    The only doubt in this scenario would be their attitude to Kai. Because their memories were removed, none of them knew Kai''s real strength. They simply knew Kai was strong, but they didn''t know how much stronger he had be.


    Due to this unknown threat, they decided to leave Kai in Rose''s hand again while handing one mission. This was also part of the agreement with the US Base. And they nned to use Kai to the fullest to expand their territory.


    When Sofia and Roselyn returned to the school, Roselyn asked for a meeting with Kai.


    They decided to do it in Kai and Sofia''s room. Before the meeting started, Roselyn activated his device and showed him a map.


    This took Sofia by surprise while Kai frowned. "It seems they are indeed nning to work me to the bone¡­"


    Roselyn made a weird expression, knowing Kai must have predicted what kind of mission they would receive. After all, the map she showed earlier was a map covering Pnd, Ukraine, Moscow, and Find, creating a giant square.


    "So, what is the mission?" Kai asked. "If I''m not wrong, you have taken over Brus¡­ So, you are not nning to say we are going to Moscow, right?"


    Roselyn gulped down and looked away.


    "As expected¡­" Kai let out a long sigh and asked, "Why not Ukraine?"


    "Let me exin the whole situation first." Roselyn stroked her cheek with her finger gently while making a forced smile.


    "Sure." Kai nodded.


    "After taking over Brus and Fndia¡ª"


    Before she finished, Kai already understood their goal. "I see. You want to attack Lituania, Latvia, and Estonia."


    Roselyn was speechless before remembering Kai was a genius in warfare. She simply nodded her head without talking back. "Our front, Brus, is surrounded in three directions. In the south, we need to face so many magical beasts from Ukraine. Then, there is Moscow, which is basically the main threat. Lastly, the north¡­ Lithuania and Latvia.


    "Many of our soldiers remained in Find, so they had enough confidence to break through Saint Petersburg and attack Estonia. Then, ording to the mission, there will be a huge shift in Brus. Instead of taking three fronts, they will move fifty percent of their force to stop any threat from Ukraine.


    "Twenty percent of the soldiers will back you up in the mission, which is to destroy all the threatsing from Moscow. The remaining soldiers will join the soldiers from Pnd to hit Lituania before making their way to Latvia.


    "And our specific mission is to stop all magical beasts from Moscow before making our way to Latvia to prevent any beasts from interrupting us when we attack Lithuania and Estonia."


    Kai sighed. "You are asking too much. How many monsters do you think we need to handle in Moscow?"


    "That¡­" Roselyn also understood the difficulty of this mission. "I will be themanding officer in this mission, meaning you can order me as you like and use the soldiers as you see fit."


    "Roselyn." Kai shook his head. "I''m sure you know this is not a matter that a few thousand soldiers can handle, right?"


    "I know." Roselyn sighed.


    "I have one demand."


    "May I know what it is?"


    "I won''t ept this mission unless there is another S Rank Magician handling all those soldiers. You, I, and Sofia will go to Moscow to wreak havoc there without thinking about the defense in Brus."


    Roselyn widened her eyes, never expecting Kai to ept.


    "If it were the past me, I wouldn''t ept it because I heard Moscow is extremely dangerous. But you and Sofia have gotten stronger, so I won''t mind epting it as long as they fulfill my own demand." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "I understand. I will convince them¡­ No, I will force them to agree with your decision." Roselyn nodded with a serious expression.


    "Then, give me the information about Moscow."


    Roselyn then showed another map. There were many red dots in Moscow as she said, "There are at least one thousand A Rank magical beasts in Moscow right now. But the most dangerous ones are thirteen Intelligent Beasts among them. Ten of them are near our border."


    Kai nodded. "We can kill them one by one, but I''m not sure whether they are in contact or not. You should take another look at their positions."


    Roselyn frowned and turned around, looking at the red dots shown on the map.


    "Focus on the ones near Latvia."


    Roselyn nodded and focused on four beasts near Latvia before she saw the bigger picture. "Wait¡­ This¡­"


    "Yeah. This kind of formation, they are luring us." Kai nodded. "The moment we enter Moscow, they will force all the Magical Beasts in Ukraine to go to hit Brus to devastate them. We won''t have any reinforcement. Then with this kind of formation, they will be able to send reinforcement to surround us, especially from Latvia.


    "In other words, they truly want us to hit Moscow first before going to Latvia. And this deliberate n¡­" Kai closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "There must be a very intelligent one. I''m suspecting that US Base''s enemy is among them to arrange everything. They are literally trying to kill me."


    Sofia squinted her eyes before getting worried about this mission. Even Roselyn started doubting herself, wondering if it was a good idea to proceed with this mission."


    "Even so, I''m curious what they have for me. I don''t think we will see many of them¡­ Probably one or two. I can handle one, but you and Sofia will fight the other one for me." Kai smiled. "That''s why I want one S Rank Magician in this mission to manage the defense since I can''t predict what will happen in this mission."


    Roselyn nodded seriously, taking note of what Kai said.


    "Do you have anything to say about the mission or the n?"


    "Nope. Since they''re trying to work me to the bone, I''m going to stay at least one and a half months in this one mission alone. Three weeks in Moscow and the other three weeks in Latvia. Still, this feels weird." Kai let out a long sigh.


    "What do you mean?" Roselyn frowned.


    "The ns make it look like I''m being targeted¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is there a spy from those guys within the Union?"


    "!!!" Roselyn widened her eyes in surprise. She certainly didn''t expect Kai to doubt the Union. This wasn''t as simple as Union working him to the bone, it was more like the Union sent him to his death. If Kai actually publicized the reason and his disappointment, the citizens would have lost their trust in the Union. "I don''t know¡­ I can pass this message to Sir Arnaud."


    Kai nodded. "Sure. Anyway, there is no change of n. We will go to Moscow and kill the Intelligent magical beasts while murdering a few thousand beasts on our way. Then, we will hit Latvia and wreak havoc in that ce."


    "I understand."


    "When do we leave?" Kai asked and tried to calcte the battle n.


    "In two days."


    "What is the number of soldiers that will defend Brus from Moscow?"


    "There are forty thousand soldiers. But all the elites from schools who have equipped the exoskeleton won''t be there, so we can''t count on them."


    Kai contemted for a moment and nodded. "I think that''s good enough. This mission will be more dangerous than the one we had a few days ago, you know."


    Roselyn nodded with a serious expression. "I have prepared myself. Since you have given me the opportunity to be an S Rank Magician, I should repay you as much as possible even if you think it''s fine."


    "Suit yourself." Kai shrugged, knowing Roselyn wouldn''t budge in this matter. He then turned to Sofia, "Are you going with me?"


    "You are still asking that question?" Sofia tilted her head in confusion.


    "It''s your hometown after all." Kai shook his head with a smile.


    "You have included me in your n this whole time and you''re asking me that question now? Don''t you dare to leave me out of this mission¡­" Sofia pouted. "Besides, I''m curious as to how strong I have be. This is a perfect mission to see the extent of my strength."


    Kai nodded and looked at Roselyn. "That''s all. I will leave the rest to you."


    "Yes. I will handle everything perfectly." Roselyn nodded with a serious expression while bringing the device back with her, walking to the door and opening it. "Good night."


    "Yeah, good night. Rest well." Kai waved his hand.


    Roselyn then left the room with a serious expression. In front of Kai''s door, Roselyn closed her eyes and leaned to the door with a tired expression. The pressure she received from Kai was indeed extraordinary.


    It wasn''t the aura of a fighter or veteran. It was a simple aura from a General that ordered the soldiers to fight with their lives on the line while minimizing their casualties. If Kai actually used the soldiers to the front line, he would surely be a goodmander that could devastate the magical beasts. But Kai chose to go with only her and Sofia to avoid any unnecessary casualties.


    ''So, this is General Kai¡­ No wonder he has be a General this young¡­ Lieutenant General.'' Roselyn thought before taking out her device. Arnaud''s name was on the screen as she pushed the call button.


    "Hello, Sir Arnaud."

 Chapter 468 - Highest Discussion

    In his office, Arnaud, who was busy dealing with the extra work, suddenly woke up from his workaholic mode by a call.


    He turned his head around and looked at his device, finding Roselyn''s name on it.


    He picked up the call and heard Roselyn''s voice.


    "Hello, Sir Arnaud."


    "Oh, Roselyn?! You don''t need to be polite to me anymore, you know. After all, you have be far stronger than me." Arnaud chuckled.


    "No, Sir. That can''t be done. Respect is something gained, not forced on you just because someone is older or higher than you."


    "Haha. Fine, I won''t say anything about it anymore." Arnaud paused for a moment and raised his vision, finding someone in front of his door.


    Knock.


    Knock.


    Someone knocked on the door twice before opening the door, peeking inside the room. He was a young man in his early twenty. He made a weird expression as he opened his mouth. "I''m sorry, Sir. But there is an important guest who is searching for you."


    "¡­" Arnaud furrowed his eyebrows, feeling that there was something big in this call since Roselyn must have exined the mission to Kai. Hence, he tried to probe things first with Roselyn. "Can you wait for me a bit?"


    "This is actually super important, Sir. It''s the revision of the mission n of our expansion from Sir Kai Carter. There are a few major deals that need to be taken care of."


    After thinking for a moment, Arnaud decided to prioritize Roselyn and asked the young man, "Can you tell her to wait for me a bit? There is an even more important matter I need to handle."


    "This¡­ I will tell her." When the young man was about to leave the room, a green-haired woman pushed the door open as she entered the room. She wore a long purple dress, hiding her curves not to make someone go into a trance. "So, is this important enough to make me wait, Arnaud?"


    The one who entered the room was none other than the Poison Master, Rena Alberona, Leisa''s mother.


    "I have felt your presence and know who my guest is. That''s why I''m putting you aside right now." Arnaud facepalmed.


    "Does Sir have an important matter?" Roselyn asked.


    "Oh! The sound¡­ It sure rings in my head¡­ Is she your girl? What is her name again¡­ Roselyn? The new S Rank Magician." She narrowed her eyes.


    "This¡­ Ma''am Rena." Roselyn recognized her voice as well.


    But to avoid any confrontation, Arnaud quickly stopped Rena. "I''m afraid you need to leave first. I need to handle an important business."


    "What is this business that you think an S Rank Magician like me can''t know?" Rena smirked.


    Arnaud felt things would end smoothly, so he decided to open the matter itself. "It''s about the uing war. What do you want to talk about? I will judge whether it''s more important or not."


    "Ho?! I''m sure it''s more important." Rena smiled and sat down before him. "Let me see¡­ The girl you rmend to me¡­ Felice, was it? I have done a background check on her and know you are visiting the orphanage every now and then. Yet, you have never rmended someone to me.


    "But everything changed the moment Kai Carter visited the orphanage. You suddenly asked me to take in someone. Since you are the closest agent to Kai Carter, I think it''s rted to him." Rena looked at Arnaud coldly and asked, "What are you nning, Arnaud?"


    "Kh." Arnaud didn''t know what to answer anymore.


    Meanwhile, Roselyn was surprised as she couldn''t help but utter that confusion. "Eh? Felice?"


    "Ho? This is more interesting since our little genius doesn''t even know about this." Rena smirked. "This is more interesting."


    "Oi!" Arnaud gritted his teeth.


    Seeing this expression was already enough for Rena toe to a conclusion that the war talk was also rted to Kai. Arnaud wouldn''t be pushing her off if that wasn''t the case, so she said, "Just let me stay here to listen to your war stuff."


    "¡­" Arnaud contemted for a moment and nodded. "Fine. Roselyn, tell me everything about his revision."


    "Ye-yes." Roselyn began telling him all Kai spection. When they talked about the positioning, Arnaud checked the map again and drew a gasp. Even Rena couldn''t contain her surprise.


    The positions were the information from their scouts since it was important for them if they wanted to clear a certain area.


    And when there was a spy involved in the Union, Rena and Arnaud''s expression turned ugly because they never expected to have a spy among their rank, especially from another race.


    "This guy¡­" Rena furrowed her eyebrows. "From what I can see, his point is valid. I can see how this battle seems to be nned to a certain extent."


    Last but not least, Roselyn told them about Kai''s request for reinforcement, specifically an S Rank Magician involvement in defense.


    Of course, since Kai had gained a close rtionship with Arnaud, he was nning to do it, but when he was about to answer her, Rena mmed the table and said, "I will go!"


    "!!!" Roselyn and Arnaud were taken aback. Rena wasn''t someone who loved to go to war and focused on maintaining stability while ensuring the safety of the EU Base. Yet, the same person actually wanted to go on a mission, it wasn''t something unthinkable.


    "You?!"


    "What? Defense is my forte, you know. Poisoning your enemies continuously and letting them suffer without even fighting, it''s something I''m good at." Rena smirked. "Besides, I''m curious about this Kai person and want to see what he looks like. And¡­ Probably knows the reason why he rmends this Felice.


    "Besides, I have flown to French just to meet you, you know. Are you just going to make me leave empty-handed? Instead of going your way, how about this? I will help Kai Carter in maintaining the defense in Brus. Meanwhile, you can send Jules to Find or Pnd to attack the three bases.


    "This way, the only S Rank in the base will be you, Arnaud. You can start your investigation because you are the most important person aside from the Union. And I can clear my name since I am not participating in this spy thing.


    "More importantly, I can see why the US Base treasures this Kai Carter¡­" She contemted for a moment and asked, "Roselyn. Where are you reporting your duty?"


    "This¡­ In my room."


    "Which room?"


    "My dorm."


    "Then I''m sure you can hear my words too, right? Kai Carter!" Rena suddenly assumed Kai would be able to hear their conversation since his ears were special.


    Kai himself only hit the wall once to let Roselyn know he was listening to their conversation. Since there was noint from his room, it seemed Kai agreed with Rena''s involvement.


    "Let''s see¡­ You are trying to grab this Felice kid from us, but you can''t expect us to let her go just like that, right? Hmm¡­ With your mission and involvement in the expansion, I think Lituania, Latvia, and Estonia will already be in our bag. And with your suspicion about the spies and the strong power from those guys. If they are proven to be true and Sofia and Roselyn, who are well known in this base, get the same recognition to boost the EU Base''s morale, I think it''s fine to protect this Felice kid and nurture it for you until the right time. I can promise that no harm will be done to this kid."


    "Oi, oi. You''re a terrible negotiator, aren''t you? This is not a negotiation. It''s a threat!" Arnaud furrowed his eyebrows.


    However, her terms didn''t get any rejection from Kai, so she said, "I will take your silence as a yes. And I am just taking advantage of the situation, especially regarding this threat you''re talking about. I''m afraid the situation will escte even further and impact our morale if the spy is someone in a higher rank. Hence, I feel like it''s necessary to present this agreement. I will guarantee that Felice can go to your side even if the Union wants her!"


    "¡­" Arnaud closed his eyes and waited for Kai''s response, but thetter didn''t say anything as if he agreed to their agreement.


    Arnaud couldn''t say anything about it since Kai was fine with her terms. "I will talk to Jules about this and I''m sure he will understand and join the fight. For now, I am going to start my investigation within the Union to see if there''s any spy or not. Since they are trying to corrupt the Union¡­"


    Lightning began to spark around his body, especially his desk. His eyes glowed slightly due to the darkness of the night as well as the blinking light that almost went out of control because of the lightning from his body, making his eyes a bit brighter. He gritted his teeth and mmed his hand with anger as he said coldly.


    "I''m not going to let someone destroy the Union."

 Chapter 469 - Rena

    After that talk, Kai rested his body for another day before going to Brus with Sofia and Roselyn. However, Rena, the S Rank Magician, decided to invite him when he left the base to go together.


    Kai then went to the military base and found Rena standing in front of the base, waiting for him. There were no people standing next to her, including the generals of the base.


    Kai didn''t care personally, so he just ignored it and walked straight to Rena while extending his hand. "Hello."


    "Hello." Rena smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I am sure this is the first time we met. I''m Rena Alberona. It''s an honor to fight together with you."


    Kai nodded and said, "It''s my pleasure."


    "As much as I want to say many things here, I think we should get going immediately. I have told the others that I will handle this personally, so no one will bother us." She offered a suggestion, which had a sweet ring in his ears.


    Kai agreed without hesitation. "Sure. Let''s depart then."


    Rena nodded and turned to Roselyn and Sofia. "It''s nice to see two new S Rank Magicians side by side. I have met both of you a few times. You both have grown up indeed."


    Sofia smiled and said, "West met a few months ago when Evan and I returned to the US Base."


    "Haha, indeed. Leisa often threw a fit, trying to gain Evan''s attention. Anyway, I won''t say anything about it and let her deal with this problem herself. In the future, she will understand whether it''s just puppy love, adoration, or something else. I will support her in every choice she has." Rena shrugged.


    "Haha¡­" Sofia chuckled. "Leisa must be happy to have a mother who will support her."


    Rena then turned to Roselyn. "It''s been a while since Ist visited you. You were small back then and hid behind Arnaud¡­"


    "That''s more than six years ago." Roselyn tried to correct her, but Rena justughed it off while making their way to the helicopter she prepared that would take them to Brus.


    No one approached them at all and the soldiers they met quickly saluted since all four of them were S Rank Magicians, even though Sofia and Roselyn were not popr yet.


    After a few minutes'' walk, Kai found a helicopter that was ready to take off any time. Rena simply pointed her finger at the helicopter, saying, "That''s our helicopter. It''s going to take a few hours since we can talk privately here instead of on the military airne. Do you happen to hate helicopters?"


    "Nope." Kai shook his head. "I don''t mind sitting for a few hours since we will only start the mission tomorrow."


    "Fair enough. Let''se in then." Rena entered first, followed by Kai, Sofia, and Roselyn. After that, Rena signaled them to take off.


    In the helicopter, Kai sat in front of Rena with a serious expression as he activated his Sound Instion Room and asked, "So¡­"


    Before he continued, Rena smiled and continued his words, ignoring the Sound Instion Magic since she understood his reason to be cautious. "Let''s talk about Felice."


    "¡­" Roselyn, who was like Felice''s elder sister, took a peek and tried to listen to their conversation. She just couldn''t wrap her heart since it was Felice''s future they were talking about.


    "I have heard the reasons, so what are you nning to do?"


    "It seems this girl is a bit special to you, eh?" Rena smiled and asked, "Why are you helping her to this extent? She is just a girl you know for a day."


    Kai closed his eyes and remained silent. Before answering her question, Kai chose to ask another question first. "What are you nning about this information?"


    "You are so stiff." Rena sighed and shrugged. "Well, that''s why it''s hard to take advantage of you. Anyway, I won''t do anything to her and will abide by my promise. I just want to know the reason to see how I should treat her."


    Kai took a deep breath and sighed. "Something just clicked between us. It felt like when I met my Teacher, Ria Ross."


    "Ho?! It seems geniuses indeed attract each other." She smirked and continued, "Interesting."


    "I want to warn you that if something happens to her, I will take her by force. No one can stop me, including the Union." Kai narrowed his eyes, staring at her coldly. "She views the world differently. That''s all I need¡­"


    "So, you are nning to take her as your student like how Ria Ross took you in?"


    Kai shook his head. "I don''t know yet. Everything depends on her. After all, for what reasons do I want to take in someone who doesn''t want to improve?"


    "Fair enough." Rena nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I will take care of her to the best of my ability without giving too much to her. I will also try to avoid the Union from knowing her. With Roselyn bing the face of the Union, they will focus on her instead of Felice. Also, as long as no one knows about your rtionship with Felice, they won''t think of her as anyone special."


    Kai remained silent and contemted for a moment.


    Rena then continued, "Well, I have satisfied my curiosity, so I won''t say anything regarding this matter to avoid anyone from overhearing our conversation. Instead, let''s talk about the mission. What do you want me to do specifically?"


    "I have two jobs for you to be honest. First, you are going to hold on to your position. You should ce traps after traps because this fight will be a long one and I''m nning to take my time with it, since I don''t like how the Union ns to overwork me."


    "Haha, sounds rough." Rena chuckled, understanding Kai''s reason. She herself refrained from going to the battlefield due to this. The Union kept asking her to do stuff for them, so she tried to make a political move and seeded in bing the "Guardian" of the base.


    The Union wasn''t capable of ordering her without a big reason anymore, so she could stay in the base most of the time.


    "I need to know the area too¡­ But I guess I will be getting this information from themander in charge of the area." Rena looked down and crossed her arms, contemting what she should do to maintain their position. "Anyway, I believe your superior is Roselyn, right?"


    Kai nodded and looked at Roselyn, "I will be leaving all the stuff to you, Boss."


    Roselyn was stunned as she never expected him to pull something like that. She felt embarrassed since Kai was the one leading the entire mission the whole time. In other words, she was just a stand-in figure.


    "So, for the second objective, I want you to separate the soldiers into two groups. The first will be the soldiers that can form a wall to separate Moscow and Ukraine. We can''t afford the bottom side to interfere with our mission after all."


    "Indeed. I will pay special attention to that area, so you don''t need to worry about it. I guess the remaining soldiers will keep protecting the border like usual?"


    "Yeah. And after three months, you should begin moving the soldiers to the north since it will be chaotic soon."


    "I understand. We won''t let a single magical beast go past the border. The problem will be the attacking force from Find and Pnd."


    "Nah, it''s fine. Whether they hit hard enough or not, I will try to handle all of them, so no side will copse if they underperform." Kai shrugged. "What I''m worried about is the potential "protectors" that will appear."


    Rena''s face turned serious as she facepalmed, feeling a headache just by thinking about it. "I have also gotten the rey from Arnaud. To let the entire base know they have two more S Rank Magicians, we n to promote Sofia and Roselyn through this matter.


    "If there is only one "protector", you can take the glory while Sofia and Roselyn are there to help you. If there are two protectors, I hope you can let them take the glory for one of them while you get the other one. This can reinforce their standing and status in the EU Base."


    Kai waved his hand as if it wasn''t a big deal. "That''s the n anyway. I believe Roselyn and Sofia are strong enough to handle them."


    "Such a guarantee from the great Kai Carter¡­ I feel relieved." Rena smiled. "Anyway, I think it''s a good idea to have someone backing you up in this base and I can see in Roselyn''s eyes that she is ready for everything¡­ I wonder if she has fallen for you¡­"


    Roselyn was taken aback and gently stroked her cheek. While feeling embarrassed, she answered, "My feeling to him is that of adoration and gratitude. I want to repay this debt that no one can ever replicate, but I am afraid it''s impossible. At the same time, I can''t really abandon my duty as one of the citizens of EU Base, so I can''t do anything to him. What if he told me to destroy the Union? I would be in a bind."


    "Hehe, you are a good girl, aren''t you, Roselyn?" Rena smiled. "Keep it that way and stay away from politics. It will turn you into a bad girl sooner orter. If the politic doesn''t manage to do that, it will surely seed in putting a huge burden on you, especially your mental health. Anyway, just keep fighting in the front line and retire as soon as possible. You will find your life happier. Don''t forget to marry a guy and have kids! They are cute, you know. For example, how about you seduce this guy?"


    "¡­" Roselyn''s eyebrows twitched and remained silent since every word that came out of her mouth would be used as a weapon against her.


    At the same time, Kai cut in by saying, "Alright. Instead of a useless topic like that, let''s talk about what may happen on the battlefield."

 Chapter 470 - Kais Strategy

    As they were talking about various things, they had finally entered Brus.


    Many ruined cities had entered his visions, making him wonder what kind of sight theplete city before it was ruined.


    The journey went peacefully, but one hourter, when they almost reached the border, Kai suddenly frowned and looked at Rena with a serious expression. "It seems the base is under attack."


    "What do you mean? The base is not far from here and I don''t think it''s been attacked yet."


    "I should word it better. The border is under a skirmish." Kai shook his head and asked, "Do you think you can have the helicopter reach that ce?"


    Rena nodded and informed the pilot to get closer as soon as possible.


    They then began to fly at high speed, heading toward the battlefield. Not long after, the group had a visual of the battlefield. As Kai expected, it was awful.


    There were around ten thousand magical beasts, while they only had five thousand at the moment. The magical beasts were pushing through the soldiers.


    "Oi, oi. Seriously? Our soldiers are more capable than this." Rena frowned, wondering why they couldn''t fight back even though the enemies were only twice their number.


    "There is ack of chain ofmand," Kai answered while observing the situation. "It seems the soldiers have been spread out, so they can''t handle it very well because they keep shing with others. For now, let''s have you be the spotlight and return to the chain ofmand. What do you think?"


    "Sure." Rena nodded. "What do you need me to do?"


    "Of course. Jump!" Kai smiled as if he didn''t say anything weird just now.


    "What?!" Rena widened her eyes and looked below them. "We are still five hundred meters above the ground, you know."


    Kai only waved his hand, asked the pilot to halt the movement, and jumped off the helicopter.


    Rena widened her eyes because she wondered if Kai could fly with his Sound Magic, but the person kept flying like nobody else and almost reached the ground.


    "Is he strong enough to handle the impact?"


    "No, no." Sofia shook her head helplessly and leaped off the helicopter. "Let''s go."


    "Wait, you too?" Rena dropped her jaw and tried to pull her back, but thetter was already out of reach, so she took another glimpse of Kai, finding a huge magic circle he created on the ground where he wouldnd.


    Before he hit the ground, the magic circle seemed to be slowing down his fall beforepletely stopping it. He then stepped outside the magic circle andnded safely on the ground.


    "Hah, to think the magic he used to y with the kids will be utilized this way¡­" Roselyn sighed and smiled at Rena. "Ma''am, I think we should go too."


    Without waiting for Rena to answer, Roselyn jumped off the helicopter since she needed to "supervise" Kai.


    Rena didn''t know what to say anymore. She could only shake her head helplessly and went off the helicopter while saying, "It must be nice to be young."


    Rena felt the resistance and wind blowing to the sky that slowed down her fall before slightly pushing her upward. She used that force to go slightly forward to leave the magic circle andnd on the ground safely.


    She looked at Kai with a weird expression before signaling the helicopter to return. After getting that signal, the helicopter then took off, leaving the four on the battlefield.


    "Unlike the US Base soldiers, the soldiers here won''t particrly like me taking charge. And it''s not like they know or idolize Roselyn or Sofia. Hence, it''s best for you to go there in a slightly elevated area for people to see andmand them."


    "What tomand? I feel like there is a need to reinforce the middle since they are the weakest right now." Rena asked with her view, wondering what Kai would do in this situation.


    "If you take a closer look, the right side of the army is the strongest to the point they begin to pummel the magical beasts in their way. That''s why they need to make their way to the center before returning to their position."


    "Ho?" Rena thought Kai would be the one to relieve them, but it seemed he didn''t want to make an appearance¡­ Or at least that was what she thought. And Kai broke it to her with his next words. "I, Sofia, and Roselyn will charge at the enemy after that, causing a ruckus as big as possible. At that moment, have the entire armyunch a counterattack."


    "I see. So you want to use the right side to recover the entire army before making a counterattack¡­ No wonder. If you areing here alone to relieve them, we will need to be on the defensive." Rena admitted her loss to the kid before her.


    He was indeed qualified to be a General at such a young age.


    She cracked her fingers, getting ready to fight. "Alright. You can count on me."


    Kai nodded and Rena disappeared, heading to the battlefield, specifically to the top of the building next to the battlefield.


    "All soldiers. Listen!" Rena shouted as loud as possible.


    Of course, her shout didn''t reach everyone''s ears. Only a portion behind them could hear her voice, but those people turned around and shouted her name after getting shocked for a few seconds.


    "It''s our S Rank Magician."


    "Rena Alberona is here."


    "Uoh!"


    Their shouts kept echoing to the point all the soldiers noticed her and turned around to see Rena''s figure.


    She raised her hand and pointed at the right side. "I will be yourmanding officer right now. We don''t have time to talk, so let''s end this mess first. Right side, go to the middle and make a swift sweep before returning to your position."


    The people on the right side blinked their eyes a few times before acknowledging her order. They then hurriedly changed their direction and hit the middle.


    With the pressure lifted from their shoulders, the center army quickly pushed the magical beasts back and thanked the right side for helping them.


    After making sure everything was fine, the right side returned to their position.


    Before she made anotherment, Kai, Sofia, and Roselyn made their appearances on the battlefield. They came from the left side.


    It started with Sofia summoning arge ice block like a meteor, dropping them right on the magical beasts.


    They were stunned because they never saw the magic that big. On top of the ice, Sofia stood and looked down at them. "I am Sofia Campbell, here to assist together with US Base''s Famous General, Kai Carter. There is only one thing we need to do! Follow us!"


    Sofia obviously gathered their attention since it wasn''t that hard after Rena reorganized the army.


    "Kai Carter?"


    "That Kai Carter?"


    Many began to question them, but since they were in the military, they obviously knew the rising star that became the center of the world, Kai Carter. And she said that person was in this ce?


    Before theymented anything, they suddenly heard a ruckus and saw a few magical beasts flying in the air.


    Themotion moved so fast as if there was no one stopping them. Some of them managed to see Kai and another person between the magical beasts and began to shout, saying it was true and following Kai to help.


    "Oh!"


    Kai then manipted them to eliminate all the magical beasts on the left side while sending that excitement to the center or even the further right.


    The soldiers tried to follow Kai and Roselyn and realized how different they were from them. Although Kai was good, Roselyn managed to keep up with him while Sofia kept helping them from above.


    The formation soon turned into an "L" shape and everyone could see that they were ready to swipe the entire battlefield.


    Rena just watched everything resolved in the back, trying to figure out how Kai thought about something like this. It was not a conventional method in the military since his strategy relied heavily on two things. The army morale and his strength.


    He used his strength to ensure everything and increased the army morale, resulting in them giving a hundred percent, if not one hundred twenty percent to fight together with him. This allowed him to overturn the situation.


    ''So, this is Kai Carter¡­'' Rena contemted for a moment before realizing the most important factor in this type of strategy. ''His ears¡­ no way¡­ His ears are capable of listening to all kinds of sounds on this battlefield. And he is utilizing his ears to listen to the soldiers'' conditions, their morale, the enemy''s movement, and how the battlefield moves.


    ''Only after understanding everything, he instantly adjusts his n and creates a new one. This¡­'' Rena sucked a cold breath. ''Is he really a human?''


    Kai wasn''t aware of her thoughts and continued with the battle, sweeping everything clean. After getting their enemies killed, the central area moved forward and helped Kai kill the remaining magical beasts.


    They never thought it was this easy to fight the magical beasts. They couldn''t help but cheer for Kai even though he was amander from another base. This just showed hispetence.


    But only Rena and a few other soldiers actually realized Kai, Rosely, and Sofia had left the battlefield as soon as they finished their battle. Kai had already brought a few supplies with them anyway, so they could easily disappear from the battlefield.


    Rena looked at them running to the northeast with Kai waving his hand, telling her it was her turn to rearrange the soldiers.


    She could only sigh in defeat while shouting. "Alright. All of you, listen to me."

 Chapter 471 - Their New Power

    After leaving the battlefield, Kai and the girls entered deeper into Moscow.


    While running and killing the magical beasts in their way, Sofia came to him and asked, "Kai, what are we nning to do? I mean, the schedule."


    Kai contemted for a moment and said, "Since we have three weeks here, we will stay in one location for two days before reaching another location to search for the next intelligent beast. From what I can see, they are aligned with each other, making it easier for us to go to them in session.


    "In other words, after dealing with this ce, we don''t need to have a long discussion before going there since they are pretty much arranged by them to lure us inside."


    Sofia nodded in understanding while Roselyn asked, "Then, do you think we should bite this bait? I mean, shouldn''t we make another n because we don''t know whether we are strong enough or not¡­"


    Kai also thought about it, but he decided to go for it for two reasons. First, this would be a good measurement to see how strong Roselyn and Sofia are after the special training. Secondly, Arba told him that he had yet to master all his power since he might grow to an even more terrifying level in the future, so he wanted to see his current power and limit to look forward to the things he could possibly achieve in the near future.


    "It''s fine. I have made a few countermeasures if things go south." Kai waved his hand, trying to assure them that everything was going to be alright.


    Sofia trusted him and said no more while Roselyn needed to ask one more question. "What is the probability of sess?"


    "I am not sure, but if I need to say it¡­ I will say sixty percent to seventy percent."


    "I understand." Roselyn nodded and chose to trust him as well.


    They continued to go deeper and deeper, ording to the map Roselyn gave him yesterday. Not long after, they found the Intelligent Magical Beast that had been controlling all the others.


    It was an ape. Its fur was red and his fist was covered in fire. No one needed to discern his element again since it was so obvious.


    Roselyn thought for a moment and asked, "May I use this opportunity to check my strength?"


    "No, no. I am the one who is going to defeat the ape." Sofia furrowed her eyebrows, arguing with her.


    Kai simply shook his head and said, "You two go. I will be handling all the beasts in our surroundings. I don''t care if you can''t work together as long as you don''t stand in each other''s way. That''s all."


    "Well, it''s not like I hate working with her¡­" Roselyn tried to correct him, but Kai already disappeared into the surroundings.


    It was true though. Roselyn and Sofia had been together for three months and they didn''t hate each other anymore. This time, they just wanted to test it first because they knew no one could test their strength if the ape needed to fight the two girls together.


    Some people might even consider this as a way for each girl to respect their rival.


    Since Kai wanted them to cooperate, they exchanged looks and nodded. There was an agreement between them without even saying a single word.


    Sofia went to the left while Roselyn went to the right. Their path curved, so the ape vision had a visual of them in both corners of his eyes. If he tried to see Roselyn, Sofia would disappear from his vision and the same applied to Sofia.


    Due to the restriction of his vision, the ape decided to go to Roselyn because she summoned her exoskeleton in her back, making her feel more dangerous.


    Roselyn smirked and raised his sword, summoning her wind magic. The control of her magic was so smooth as she formed a small wind sphere on top of his sword. It was none other than herpressed wind, one of the new things she devised in Emulda Kn.


    The ape continued getting closer and closer without any fear. Before reaching her range, the ape opened its mouth and released a breath of fire.


    "¡­" Roselyn narrowed her eyes since herpressed fire would explode if it hit the small sphere.


    Sofia already knew the predicament and came from behind while summoning a magic circle. "Freezing World."


    The moment she used that magic, the ground and anything above it in front of her froze in a fan-shaped area. This meant the back of the ape, the ground, and ultimately the me. It quickly froze and turned the fire into an empty ice shell.


    "I got you." Sofia smiled and gave a thumbs up.


    "Thanks." Roselyn smiled back and saw that the fire that covered the ape''s fists had disappeared as well. The ape widened his eyes in confusion, but Roselyn took another leap to cover their distance and stabbed the sword into his chest.


    Thepressed wind burst before the sword even hit his chest, creating a small dent on his skin as if the bone behind it was crushed. At the same time, the ape was blown away in Sofia''s direction.


    Another blue magic circle appeared on Sofia''s hand as she pointed it to the ape.


    "Ice Dragon."


    A huge dragon head, whose size was almost three times of the ape, emerged from the magic circle and swallowed him as a whole. The ape was caught between teeth, so her blue ice turned red in a mere few seconds.


    She didn''t use it for too long and spat what it had swallowed to the ground.


    The ape was rolling on the ground, but everyone could see ten holes on the ape''s body, stretching from his right shoulder to his left waist.


    Roselyn stepped forward without sympathy and severed the ape''s head before it could regain its bnce. "It''s over."


    "To think we can kill an intelligent beast this easy¡­" Roselyn was impressed by their change.


    "Let''s talk about itter. We should help Kai to suppress the magical beasts in our surroundings." Sofia waved her hand since she had experienced power ups a few times when she was with Kai, so this kind of change was still within her limit.


    Roselyn nodded in agreement and followed her moving around the area to kill as many as possible.


    ¡­


    When the night came, there were two sea magical beasts talking to each other on thend as if they didn''t need any water to breathe.


    The first one had a fish face with arge mouth and sharp teeth. It might even tear a human body in a single bite. The fish''s skin was dark green and its hand held a sword. His height was three meters, not that different from a human, but his body was buff.


    Still, the most noticeable thing from him was the small antenna above his head that curved to the front, carrying a small bulb on the end of the antenna. Yes, he was an Anglerfish.


    The Anglerfish looked at his partner for this mission. His partner had a small head despite his huge body that could bepared to the Anglerfish. In his hand were two giant shields with straight patterns from top to bottom.


    "Oi, m." The Anglerfish called him while making a serious expression.


    "You should stop calling me by that name." The m narrowed his eyes and slightly bumped his shoulder with the shield on his hand. The shield itself was a feature of his body, so no one could take it off his hands.


    "Fine, fine. Anyway, I have gotten the information that everything is going well. Kai Carter has entered our trap and will arrive in front of us within a few days. For now, we will be waiting for him until he is far enough from Brus to avoid any reinforcement.


    "In other words, we will be manipting the magical beasts around us to attack him. Although thend beasts instinctively don''t like us, we should still be able to work it out somehow. Besides, he is only going to this ce with two other girls instead of his full team.


    "There is no way they can contend with one of us. That''s why this is the biggest opportunity for us to kill us, Hatker." The Anglerfish smiled as all the waiting they got finally paid off.


    After receiving the news that Kai would be visiting the EU Base, the mermaid princess had asked them to kill him somehow. Unfortunately, not a single n could work because Arnaud kept everything in check.


    Kai was said to get a power up that made him a bit too confident, so they thought it would be the right time to utilize their spy and influence the other Union members to force Kai to ept their mission to this ce.


    They managed to seed and left him with only two girls of the same age. No one at his age would be able to follow Kai''s footsteps other than his group, so they thought their sess would be pretty much in the bag as long as they didn''t rm Kai, making him turn back.


    The m, Hatker, thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That''s good enough. I will be handling Kai Carter while you deal with the girls, Yuba."


    "What?! I want to defeat Kai Carter with my own hands." The anglerfish furrowed his eyebrows andined. "I don''t like your decision."


    "Do you think I''m joking?" The m looked at him with a serious expression.


    "Yes, you are."


    The two wanted the opportunity to kill Kai so they would be famous in their ce. After a while, the m finally made apromise. "How about this? We will use the remaining days here to decide who is going to fight Kai Carter and who is the one handling the girls."


    "Sounds right to me. The usual?"


    The m nodded as they began fighting for their own fight.

 Chapter 472 - Appearance

    Kai and the two girls began to kill all the magical beasts in the perimeter without any problem. The magical beasts started going into disarray as soon as Sofia defeated the ape anyway, so there wouldn''t be a need for Kai to control them and order them to leave.


    ording to Kai, not many magical beasts would go to Brus after their leaders died. In fact, the majority of the beasts returned to their nest, which was deep inside Moscow.


    Kai already ordered the two girls not to chase them. Their mission was to kill the magical beasts to buy time for the army to retake all three countries. And Kai didn''t n to do more than that.


    Roselyn felt a bit sad that there would be potential harm that those beasts might cause, but since she had gotten stronger, she had confidence in dealing with them in the future.


    Kai then led the group to take on the next few magical beasts ording to their schedule.


    As one would expect from these elite three, they managed toplete their objective within a day. The intelligent beast never stood a chance and died in an instant while over five thousand magical beasts died under the onught of three people. And they didn''t even work that hard.


    Kai used those days to rest while learning more about Union from Roselyn. He even visited some of the attractions in Moscow, albeit the ones that were close to them.


    After two weeks, Kai arrived in the seventh intelligent beast''s territory. This was when strange things started to happen.


    Kai quickly understood that this beast had abnormally prepared his attack as if he could see the future. Even Kai asked the two girls to proceed with caution.


    Yet, the battle ended with so much disappointment. The beast couldn''t even hold a candle on them and all his followers fled back to Moscow.


    Suddenly, Kai found something that made him perplexed.


    He stopped for a second and closed his eyes, listening to the surroundings. This caused confusion to Sofia and Roselyn, wondering if something went wrong.


    Kai didn''t exin anything and just listened to the sudden difference in movement. The magical beasts in the area suddenly stopped and gathered in an orderly manner. At the same time, he found that the magical beasts seemed to be approaching from outside his hearing range.


    Their movements were simply unrealistic unless they had another onemanding them. In other words, there might be another intelligent beast that suddenly came to their ce. But for what?


    After killing the seventh magical beast, he understood that these intelligent ones didn''t want to go to their opponent directly, so they keptzing around their territory like how they were ordered to.


    Kai didn''t want to talk to them and killed them to prevent any confusion if the Union read his report. The moment they knew Kai had gone in his way toward the full-fledged protector, they would send all their armies to kill him first.


    With this sort of limitation, he needed to see what kind of situation he was facing.


    Suddenly, a few roars came to his ears. Now that he learned theirnguage, he could finally understand what they were saying.


    "Move, move!"


    "We are going to prepare the best stage for those bastards."


    "If we don''t weaken these guys, those bastards will kill all of us."


    Kai''s eyebrows twitched, knowing that the magical beasts were threatened by them. He remembered when he first visited the Underground Nest and met a protector. At that time, the beasts followed their order, so Kai wondered if those beasts actually got oppressed as well.


    Facing this problem, he didn''t know whether to kill them or send them away. After all, whether humans or magical beasts, no one wanted to die.


    He thought for a moment and sighed. "Either way, I can''t afford to let a clue slip by that will mess the grand n up for a few magical beasts whose name I don''t know."


    "Kai?" Sofia called his name when he opened his mouth.


    Kai eventually opened his eyes and found their worried expressions. Kai simply smiled and assured them. "Don''t worry. I can handle this. I am afraid we will fight against the protectors right now."


    Sofia furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Roselyn. "Are you ready?"


    "Yes." Roselyn nodded with a serious expression.


    "There are three intelligent magical beastsing to us. Hence, I want to eliminate them first, so they can''t disturb us."


    The two nodded as Roselyn asked, "What are we going to do?"


    Kai pointed his finger at their right. "One of them is in this direction. You will find a wolf there."


    He then turned to a different direction and said, "This direction has a bear. I will handle thest one. After killing it, we will return to this ce to regroup."


    Roselyn nodded and walked in the wolf''s direction. "I will be going this way then."


    Sofia shrugged and chose thest spot and nned to handle the bear. Other than S Rank Magical Beasts, he doubted they had a chance against them anyway, so it didn''t matter who they needed to fight.


    "Go!" The moment Kai''s shout echoed in their ears, all three of them disappeared, carrying their own missions.


    Kai quickly made his way to thest opponent, a deer.


    When he showed up, the deer got flustered to see someone manage to appear out of his prediction.


    His horn began to be covered by lightning, but Kai used his Sound st to arrive right before the deer''s eyes.


    The deer shot the lightning, but Kai had predicted it. He wanted to test his new strength but realized the deer wasn''t worth it. Instead, he shed the deer''s neck in one stroke with his Super Sonic Sword, killing the deer in an instant.


    Unfortunately for him, there was another problem he needed to face. He halted his steps despite being surrounded by angry magical beasts. However, Kai didn''t even do anything because they knew Kai was too powerful to them and their leader had died too.


    Before he could send them away, Kai furrowed his eyebrows when he felt two presencesing in his direction at a speed he had never seen before. Without a doubt, they were the ones Kai had been waiting for.


    Kai didn''t say anything and waited for them to arrive while looking at his front.


    When the two figures, the m and the anglerfish, came into his vision, Kai raised his sword and smiled. "Took you two long enough."


    "Kekeke, you are still trying to act strong?" The anglerfish chuckled and raised the sword in his hand. "I''m going to chop you into pieces right now."


    "Do you think you are capable of killing me? Instead of fighting, I''m more curious since when have you plotted something like this? From the way I see it, someone must have prepared this kind of n to the point you would need to infiltrate the Union¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and looked at the anglerfish to antagonize him since he looked to be dumber.


    As one would expect from the anglerfish, he quickly shouted without any thoughts. "You¡­ How did you know? We had done it so secretly that no one would have suspected it."


    Kai smiled since he already got the confirmation. All he needed to do was to buy time for Roselyn and Sofia to finish so they could help him.


    "You should see your formation again. I thought you were going to ambush me in the next spot, but it seemed I was wrong."


    The anglerfish gritted his teeth. It was supposed to be the n, but Kai took his sweet time to reach them. Unwilling to waste any more time, the anglerfish suggested approaching Kai instead of waiting. It wasn''t like there were any traps they prepared other than themselves.


    After careful consideration, the m understood his intention and agreed with this notion. It obviously brought happiness to his partner. The anglerfish quickly summoned the remaining magical beasts around them to gather and go together with them.


    Even though they were unwilling, the intelligent beasts didn''t have any strength to protect themselves against these two people, so theyplied and headed to Kai ahead of them.


    Feeling that there was something wrong with the beasts, the two quickly made their way toward the killing zone where Kai had positioned himself to receive them.


    It was then the m started to think about what happened and why Kai would arrive before them without gettingte.


    His thoughts began to wander around as he couldn''t care less about the information his partner blurted out, knowing Kai would just be a dead person after this. He gathered all kinds of evidence he could find in his surroundings and found that the beasts that followed the deer had yet to die. In fact, not a single beast had died yet.


    Doubts started filling his heart as he remembered the past Kai would need a few hits to kill an intelligent beast. Within that time, the monsters should have attacked him and a few should have died.


    The m felt they needed to finish Kai as quickly as possible when he saw the wound on the deer''s body. It was one clean strike, meaning Kai must have done something so powerful that the deer couldn''t even protect itself for even a second to the point that no other beasts could react.


    ''He is buying time?'' The m realized what was going on and Kai''s n. It seemed they had underestimated Kai Carter''s improvement, so the m raised his shield and said, "We need to hurry to kill him."


    Kai simply smiled and raised both swords. "If you''re that confident with your restricted ability onnd¡­ Then, try it."

 Chapter 473 - New Fighting Style

    The anglerfish jumped forward and shed his sword.


    Kai took another look at the sword and realized it wasn''t a normal sword. He further confirmed it by striking the sword with his Super Sonic Sword, which didn''t even leave a single scratch.


    "Hmm¡­" He narrowed his eyes and said, "I see. Someone''s skin, huh."


    The anglerfish didn''t say anything, but that smug smile of his already told him pretty much the answer.


    Before he released another sword, the m charged at him with his shield in front. He nned to ram him so the anglerfish could sh him.


    Kai took a deep breath, raised his sword and waited for the m to arrive. This obviously grabbed their attention as they raised their vision, leaving a blind spoting from below. It was at this time Kai raised his left foot and kicked the m''s shield or more likely its shell with all his might.


    On his boot were two magic circles. The first magic circle was below his shoes, where it generated the power, while the other one was covering his shoes to direct the Sound Wave to go to a certain area he designated.


    This was the result of his training in the Emulda Kn. He named this magic as¡­


    "Echo Thruster."


    Despite his naming sense, the power was a real deal. The generated Sonic Boom released all its might straight to the shield.


    A shock wave flew out of the m''s body as if the Sound Wave just went through his body. Even the m couldn''t help but scream when his hand felt the excruciating pain inflicted by the Sound Wave before he gotunched several meters away.


    "Guah!"


    "Oi, Hatker!" The anglerfish''s body shuddered as he turned around to see his teammate.


    Unfortunately for him, an action like this wasn''t something Kai would pass on. He used his second sword to strike the de from above until the anglerfish''s sword stuck on the ground.


    "Not good." The anglerfish widened his eyes and saw Kai raise his other sword to strike him.


    When the Kai struck his body, the de only cracked a bit of the anglerfish''s hard skin.


    "I worried for nothing, huh." The anglerfish smirked, knowing Kai wouldn''t be able to kill him in one stroke.


    However, a magic circle appeared on Kai''s handle as the sword vibrated once more, creating a loud ringing sound.


    "Sonokic de."


    Ding.


    In that instant, Kai''s sword continued on its path, sliding on the anglerfish''s body before the anglerfish suddenly flew away.


    "Guah!" Just like the m, the anglerfish felt extreme pain on his chest before he saw his hard skin was cracked and some even started bleeding. At the same time, Kai''s attack actually released a kind of crescent-shaped sword wave thatunched him into the air.


    He realized Kai managed to trap his own Sound Wave and formed this crescent-shaped energy that looked like it was surrounded by the wind.


    But this sharp Sound Wave was none other than his Sonic Boom. He simply directed the Sonic Boom forward.


    Trees upon trees fell down as the anglerfish''s body destroyed their trunks on its way. He continued to fly for two seconds before falling down to the ground, rolling a few times until he stopped.


    Kai smiled and looked at their conditions. If this were him from the past, he wouldn''t be able to fight against these two at all. He would only be suppressed while searching for a way to escape. This would also lead Roselyn and Sofia into danger, so he was d he managed to learn many things from Arba.


    Kai smiled and took a deep breath, feeling a bit restless since he hadn''t gotten used to controlling the direction of his Sound Wave. It took a toll on his mind, so he nned to end this fight quickly.


    "What just happened?" The m rose from the ground and looked at Kai, who seemed to be able to repel them. No, they were the ones who couldn''t stand against him.


    "You¡­ What did you do?" The anglerfish, Yuba, stood up and roared,ing to him with a serious expression. Although the damage was only on his physical body, it was still shocking for Kai to defeat them in one exchange.


    "After fighting you all for so long, don''t you think it''s time for me to step up my game and beat you this time? I can''t afford to lose continuously or rely on my teammates when your ability is restricted on thend after all." Kai smirked and pointed his swords to them. "Now, let''s see what you guys have to offer. I alone am enough to defeat you."


    The anglerfish gritted his teeth and jumped forward since he thought he just underestimated Kai earlier. As long as he was careful, there was no way Kai would be able to defeat him.


    "I will let you know our real strength!" Yuba ran to Kai with his sword in the front, nning to thrust him.


    However, Hatker shouted in shock because he could see it from his position. "Yuba. Watch out!"


    Yuba widened his eyes and turned to the left, finding Roselyning to him. She swung her sword at Yuba''s sword to stop him.


    Yuba obviously didn''t care about her since her attack would probably be lighter than Kai. And yes, he was right. Her power couldn''t bepared to Kai, but it was different when eight metal spider legs emerged from the small machinery on her back.


    Four of the legs stabbed the ground while the other four grabbed Yuba''s body. When their swords shed, the four legs on the ground stabilized and pulled to gather more power from the ground to stop him while the other legs tried tounch him backward.


    This way, Roselyn managed to stop Yuba''s momentum in one move.


    Suddenly, another presence emerged behind his back. It was none other than Sofia.


    She ced her hand on Yuba''s back and summoned a Magic Circle.


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Ssh."


    Ice crystals emerged from his chest and he got pushed forward again.


    After stopping him, Roselyn had gained a bit of distance from him, so she ran forward and struck his body as she passed him.


    "Authority de."


    The wind that covered her de burst out and tried to open the crack Kai left behind and some spots even started to bleed.


    However, Roselyn dropped to her knees as she spat a mouthful of blood.


    "Gah."


    "Haha, I am someone from the deepest part of the sea. Do you think your ice is cold enough for me?" Heughed before turning around and spinning his elbow to hit Sofia on the face.


    Seeing this, Sofia raised her hand and activated her exoskeleton to repel that arm. Unfortunately for her, Yuba''s power was too strong for her to handle and she ended up gettingunched to a nearby tree.


    Still, as one would expect from the stronger Sofia and Roselyn, Yuba needed to fall to the ground too, because of their damage.


    "Kh¡­ What is this wound?" He thought Roselyn''s attack didn''t connect, but when he saw blooding out of his body, He had another perspective.


    To wipe the blood, he used his hand to cover the wound first, but he soon realized his hand felt numb before finding another ice crystal.


    "!!!" He just realized what the two women were doing and thought, ''Did she purposely let me hit her to attack me with this kind of technique?''


    After observing the development, Kai leaped to Yuba to deal with him, but Hatker quickly appeared before him.


    "You''re not going anywhere," shouted Hatker while raising his two shields. Before Kai did anything, the m changed its color.


    ''Magic?'' Kai narrowed his eyes.


    The m turned his body as well as the shield into a glistening surface. The color was ck with some white that seemed to be light that reflected on the metallic ck surface.


    "Pearl!" Kai immediately realized that ms produce pearls. Although it was only for a few species, it was enough for him to understand where his power came from.


    Hatker smirked and ran forward, trying to ram Kai with that huge shield. "I am far stronger right now. Let''s see whether you can destroy my defense¡­"


    "You talk too much." Kai snorted and struck the shield with both swords. "Sonokic de."


    The swords vibrated at the same time and created a cross crescent-shaped Sound Wave that pushed Hatker several meters back.


    Hatker was still showing his smirk as he tried to fight this violent power that knew no bounds. He said, "No wonder you canunch Yuba that far. Unfortunately for you, this is not enough to destroy me."


    Hatker pushed the Sound Wave back until it dispersed.


    "It''s¡ª" Hatker wanted to say something after destroying Kai''s attack, but Kai himself had appeared in front of him and sent another kick to him, using the same magic.


    "Sound Amplification." Kai used all his strength into this kick andunched him far away. He simply couldn''t contain that kick since he barely destroyed Kai''s Sound Wave.


    "Kh!" Hatker gritted his teeth,nded on the ground safely, and looked at Kai with a hateful expression. He seemed to be angry that Kai stopped him earlier since he had bragged about his good defense.


    At the same time, Yuba couldn''t do anything since Sofia and Roselyn locked him in that position, not allowing him to escape or help Hatker.


    "You are still far weaker than that turtle I have seen." Kai shook his head in disappointment and pointed his de at Hatker. "I may be enough to kill both of you, but I by no means n to do it. So, I hope you can fight me for a bit longer."

 Chapter 474 - Switch

    "Talk big!" Hatker gritted his teeth and tried to ram him again. This time, he didn''t n to get Kai to pounce him away using that same technique.


    He had recognized Kai''s new technique and skills that seemed to be different from the rumors. After acknowledging it, what he needed to do was to adapt to that kind of power and fight him again.


    When Hatker was about to reach Kai, thetter already swung his de to stop him.


    Hatker didn''t panic and stopped Kai''s sword without a problem since Kai''s normal Super Sonic Sword wouldn''t be able to cut his shield.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and used the magic again, but before he couldunch it, Hatker spun his body to avoid his attack.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes and raised his second sword, but Hatker had an advantageous position and rammed his shield, blowing Kai several meters away.


    Hatker took a deep breath and smiled. "Don''t think you have won, Kai Carter. You''re just a mere human."


    Kai squinted his eyes. Now that he wasn''t clueless anymore about his identity as the race protector as well as his role, he saw the world, especially these guys, differently.


    Hatker and Yuba were supposed to know about his identity, so he wondered whether they acted like they didn''t know or had been banned from saying so. If it was the former, they might slip up at one point.


    Still, with this useless thought, the fight went on. Kai charged at him and struck his shield again from the air.


    Before he mmed him with the second shield, Kai used his Sound st tounch him to the opposite side before hitting him.


    Hatker already felt iting and raised his second shield to the back. Although he lost the force of the swing, he managed to stop Kai''s strikepletely. And he even made it look effortless, as if he nned to taunt Kai.


    With how prepared Hatker fought against Kai, the winner of the previous bet among him and Yuba¡­ was probably him.


    Kai didn''t know this and expected he managed to separate the two.


    ''Hmm¡­ The two techniques, Sonokic de and Echo Thruster, I''ve mastered seem to show a great effect to these guys.'' Kai squinted his eyes, feeling happy that the three months he spent there brought him so many things.


    Hatker felt Kai nned to do something, so he rushed forward with his shield in the front.


    Kai kicked the glistening shield, but Hatker quickly reinforced his stepping to make sure the kick didn''t blow him away.


    Yet, Kai didn''t even use his magic and used Hatker''s shield to leap to the air, confusing him.


    "Huh?" Hatker furrowed his eyebrows and raised his vision. He halted his steps after pushing him, but he didn''t realize everything was a trap.


    Kai smiled and raised his finger. "Activate."


    "!!!" Hatker felt the fluctuation of magic power beneath his feet and lowered his head, finding a huge green magic circle beneath his feet. "This is the reason he didn''t do anything?"


    Before Hatker could do anything, the Magic Circle already shot him into the air like Kai.


    "How do you like my magic?" Kai smiled, showing off that his Sound st Magic was able tounch him to the air.


    Hatker snorted and protected his body with his shields since the air wasn''t his forte.


    Since they were still floating, Kai smiled and used his Sound st tounch himself to Hatker.


    Thetter tried to stop him by pushing his shield, but Kai used his Sound st again to avoid it, going around Hatker.


    Hatker lost his bnce due to hisck of experience. A m like him was rarely fought on thend, let alone in the air. He simply didn''t know how to move his body and slipped, giving Kai a big opportunity.


    Kai smirked and used this chance to strike his back with his sword.


    "Sonokic de."


    The Sound Wave formed the crescent-shaped attack and pushed him to the ground.


    Bam.


    The m gritted his teeth as blood began to flow out of his mouth. On his back was a giant crack Kai inflicted earlier.


    Kai didn''t let this go and used his Sound st to go to Hatker and strike him again, but thetter rolled his body and used his shield to stop Kai.


    Bam.


    A crater appeared beneath his body, but Hatker remained strong as he looked at Kai. "I see. It seems your power will work against me¡­ As much as I hate to do this, but¡­" Hatker took a deep breath and shouted. "Yuba. We will switch!"


    A few minutes ago, Yuba, who just got surrounded by the two girls, snorted. "You two just managed to ambush me. Don''t think you have the ability to kill me."


    "You talk too much." Sofia snorted and raised both hands since she basically never wielded a weapon. Her Cirction Ice Magic was based on this weakness and she used it to cover it.


    Sofia stepped forward as a magic circle appeared in front of her. She pushed that magic circle as hard as she could until her hand touched it.


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Drill."


    A huge pointed drill emerged from the magic circle and tried to create a hole in Yuba''s body.


    Seeing this kind of attack, Yuba raised his sword and deflected the drill to the left before his strength bent the drill.


    Roselyn also used this opportunity to close their distance as she waved her sword.


    However, Yuba managed to read her movement and jumped sideward to avoid her.


    Roselyn didn''t let him go and followed him, but Yuba turned out using that movement just to fake his real intention. Despite going sideward, Yuba''s body still faced backward, meaning he would have met Roselyn face to face if she followed him.


    And with Roselyn doing exactly what he was hoping for, Yuba raised his sword and thrust his sword.


    "!!!" Roselyn clenched her teeth and barely reacted to it as she used all eight legs to block it.


    The light bulb on his head suddenly shone brightly, blinding Roselyn. Even she needed to close her eyes because it hurt.


    Yuba used this chance to keep pushing his sh forward until Sofia appeared next to them and raised her hand.


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Hammer."


    She summoned a giant hammer and swung it down, nning to strike that sword to destroy it.


    Even Yuba felt a bit pressured because he didn''t know whether it would break or not, so he pushed Roselyn back while pulling his sword. The two then leaped off to avoid the hammer that somehow created cracks on the ground.


    "It''s been a while since I fought against another swordswoman¡­ I feel like I will be enjoying this." Yuba smirked as he looked at the remaining six legs, which he failed to cut earlier. "It''s a shame that I won''t be able to fight that Kai Carter, but I guess you will do."


    Roselyn still tried to recover her eyes before smiling. "You think?"


    Suddenly, he felt pain in his chest again before he lowered his head, finding another wound on the existing physical injuries. He then realized Roselyn actually used those legs to protect her body while she continued her attack. The moment Sofia separated them, it became the best time to hit him.


    He looked at Roselyn and smiled. "Interesting."


    Unfortunately for both of them, when Yuba was about to fight Roselyn again, Hatker''s voice resounded.


    "Yuba. We will switch!"

 Chapter 475 - Kill

    "¡­" Yuba fell silent and decided toe over to help him because Kai would be too dangerous to be left alone. "I have told you that I should be the one fighting him. And now you''ve ruined my excitement from fighting these two girls."


    Despite hisints, he still arrived in front of Kai while pointing his de at him. "I have made you wait."


    Kai didn''t waste his time with this guy and attacked him.


    "Tch." Yuba clicked his tongue and struck his de. Kai tried to sh him with his swords, but Yuba skillfully blocked all of them. "It''s not going to work anymore. The first one worked because you surprised me."


    Kai maintained his poker face and realized these guys were indeed stronger than the ones he had met. He took a deep breath and turned serious.


    "Something is weird¡­" Yuba muttered before he instinctively raised his sword, finding Kai disappeared. He followed Kai''s movement and struck him, who happened to attack him from the left.


    Blood dripped from his hand and entered the de before a huge shock wave shook them.


    "Huh." Yuba drew a gasp as he realized Kai''s strength just increased. He used his own blood to reinforce the de and somehow neutralized Kai''s power. "This¡­"


    Kai understood that Yuba seemed to be stronger than the m and leaped backward to gain a bit of distance. He thought, ''I used my Sonokic de earlier, but why didn''t it go?''


    At the same time, Yuba also narrowed his eyes and thought, ''I''m among the top ten in the power ranking, yet, this guy can neutralize my attack? I''ve used my blood instinctively to increase my de power, but this guy''s attack is that powerful?''


    Unlike the m, whose magic was able to turn himself into a pearl, the anglerfish had an extraordinary ability called Blood Magic. This magic allowed him to use his own blood to reinforce everything, but the more he used it, the weaker he became due to the blood loss.


    Even so, it should give him a ridiculous amount of power.


    Not daring to im that Kai''s attack was stronger, he charged forward and infused a bit of his blood again, hitting Kai from above.


    Kai narrowed his eyes and deflected the de with both swords to the side as the blood flew out of the sword, slicing all the trees and monsters in a fan-shaped area. The range reached at least fifty meters, making it look extremely powerful.


    "Huh?" Yuba widened his eyes, wondering why his blood magic didn''t work against him.


    Little did he know, Kai used his Super Sonic Sword to keep vibrating that the energy on his sword became unstable. He could only use it right now due to the ability to direct his Sound Wave and Vibration. There were many concepts that interested him too, but he could only walk one step at a time.


    The two continued to sh as Kai kept deflecting his sword, letting him waste his blood.


    Even Kai could hear the gradual decrease of friction inside his body. His face became pale and his heart seemed to get weaker the more he used this attack.


    Knowing that it would be bad to fight Kai in this situation, he decided to use his trump card.


    He mmed his sword against him with all his strength to lock him in that position.


    "Light!" The light bulb on his head shone brightly, blinding Kai. Yuba struck him, but Kai Super Sonic Sword hit his hand and antenna instead.


    "What?!" Yuba widened his eyes and saw Kai move with his eyes closed.


    Kai smiled and used his Sonokic de to cut his hand and antenna while saying, "Even if I''m blind, I won''t have any problem moving around."


    "¡­" Yuba clenched his teeth, wondering how far Kai understood his ears. Little did he know, when Kai practiced with Arba, thetter always asked him to wear a blindfold to increase the sharpness of his ears, allowing him to operate even without eyes.


    Even though Kai could do it, his level was only at the basic movements, not a real fight like this.


    And that created a chance for Kai to exploit as he finally cut Yuba''s hand.


    Yuba grabbed the flying sword and struck Kai with all his might, pushing him several meters back. "Don''t think I''m done here."


    Kai smiled and said, "No one said that."


    The two continued their sh.


    Just like Kai versus Yuba, the two girls also struggled to fight against Hatker.


    It was a new opponent, so they needed to adapt fast.


    Roselyn charged forward and struck the shield as hard as possible, but Hatker didn''t even flinch, let alone get pushed back.


    Hatker smiled because these two girls seemed to be easier than Kai Carter. As he said earlier, Kai''s power seemed far more effective against him than these two girls.


    Sofia went around him with a magic circle rotating in his hand.


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Drill."


    The same ice drill emerged from the magic circle and hit Hatker''s shield, but thetter simply made his shield face upward. With that hardness of his shield, the drill had no other way than going up before snapping.


    "This is starting to get annoying." Sofia furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what she could do in this situation. Roselyn also started thinking about it, but no one had an idea.


    However, Sofia came to a realization after she hit the shield with her hand. She almost forgot why she didn''t dare to fight the enemy with her hands due to the sharp sword.


    Fortunately for her, the enemy only had shields. He needed to crush her or m her to death or else he wouldn''t be able to kill her.


    She gently tapped the shield and summoned a magic circle. "Cirction Ice Magic, Ssh."


    The Ice Magic bypassed the shield as ice crystals appeared behind the shield and froze his hand.


    "Ah!" Hatker widened his eyes as his hand felt numb. He could still use them, but the power would get weaker.


    Sofia smirked and shouted, "Roselyn. Stop this guy for me, I will be able to weaken him. After that, we will kill this guy."


    Roselyn nodded and used all her six legs to grab the top of the shield beforeunching herself into the air.


    "Authority de."


    Hatker clenched his teeth and forcefully raised his shield to block her, but the wind that appeared and covered her de burst, pushing him to the ground until it cracked and buried his foot.


    Sofia took advantage of this chance and went around Hatker, specifically to behind him.


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Ssh."


    Hatker managed to react by spinning his shield to stop her attack, but the ice crystals that appeared behind his shield inflicted another damage on his hand again before he suddenly dropped to the ground and spat a mouthful of blood.


    "Wha¡ª" Hatker widened his eyes because he realized Sofia''s real aim. "You¡­ My back!"


    Sofia smirked and said, "That''s right. My aims are your hand and the crack on your back."


    Using those ice crystals, she let her ice magic hit the crack on the back and inflicted more damage to his internal body.


    "Try this then." Sofia didn''t want him to recover, so she went around him and came to his front with a magic circle in her hand. "Cirction Ice Magic, Drill."

 Chapter 476 - Clear

    "Cirction Ice Magic, Drill."


    The drill emerged from the magic circle and pierced Hatker''s body.


    Hatker dropped to his knees and spat a mouthful of blood as he widened his eyes, looking at the girl. He would never expect someone could defeat him this easily and they were not even a protector like Kai.


    "Kh!" Hatker gritted his teeth and circted his Magic Power to his body, turning his wound into a pearl. The blood that was dripping out of the hole suddenly stopped as if something just covered the wound.


    Hatker roared as loud as possible to order the remaining beasts toe to kill these two girls. The beasts began to roar as if responding to Hatker''s call.


    Sofia furrowed her eyebrows and knew things would soon be moreplicated. However, this action turned out to be the deciding factor for Kai to determine whether they had a reinforcement or not.


    After all, calling monsters as their reinforcement just showed they didn''t have any more backup to help them in this kind of situation.


    Hence, another roar resounded on the battlefield. Hatker and Yuba dropped their jaws because they never expected Kai could use thatnguage as well.


    "You¡­ You¡­" Hatker looked at Kai with eyes wide open. He couldn''t believe what just happened, especially since they had information about Kai. "How can you understand another race''snguage? You¡­ Have you understood your identity?"


    Sofia and Roselyn didn''t say anything even though they were curious. Their memory had been removed, but the lingering feeling in their heart told them Kai wasn''t something they needed to suspect. Although they didn''t understand it, they knew the feeling had been true this whole time.


    They might need to ask him to see his response, but they needed to focus on this battle first.


    Roselyn stepped on the shield and raised her sword.


    "Authority de."


    She once again struck the shield with all her might and cracked the ground again, turning it into a small crater. Surprisingly, the shield also cracked after the continuous attack from Kai and Roselyn.


    "Kh!" Hatker clenched his teeth and shouted, "Yuba. You need to leave right now and inform the princess and our king. We will need to destroy humanity as soon as possible."


    Yuba gritted his teeth. Not a single word came out of his mouth. He simply didn''t have that option because Kai had been overpowering him this whole time. He didn''t have the time to let go of Kai and went somewhere.


    "You are saying something interesting¡­" Sofia''s eyes turned cold as she formed another magic circle. "Destroy humanity? I don''t think you''re qualified to do that!"


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Ice Dragon."


    A dragon head came out of the magic circle and opened its mouth.


    Hatker tried to protect his body with his shield, but the dragon''s mouth was bigger than him. It bit Hatker from two sides. The first side was blocked by his shield, but the other side was empty because Roselyn took care of the second shield, resulting in three holes in his body.


    "This magic¡­ No, I should say¡­ This is Mystic. No wonder¡­ I should have realized it before it''s toote." Hatker gritted his teeth and realized Sofia''s magic. This was indeed something that wasn''t stated in the report.


    And their report was three months old because Kai and the others went to the battlefield as soon as they appeared, hearing only about their improvement.


    He looked at Sofia with blood covering his mouth. "You¡­ That training must be rted to those guys. No, should I say you have met those people?"


    Sofia and Roselyn didn''t understand his words, but they got a gist of it from the missing part of their memory. It must be due to those people''s interference.


    And since Kai had authorized it, he must have a good reason. Sofia could attest to it because Kai loved his family so much. Even though she was the most recent girlfriend, Kai never gave any different treatment.


    That was why she understood the importance of this mission would be to eliminate those people.


    Sofia raised her hand and summoned another dragon, but the pressure from Roselyn finally stopped as Hatker instinctively used both shields to stop the dragon from biting him.


    However, Roselyn was free at this moment as she appeared behind Hatker with her sword.


    "Sh*t! You humanity won''t win against us! Not thousands of years ago, not in the present!" Hatker roared.


    Roselyn then waved her de, slicing his neck. "Wind Saint de."


    Hatker''s head flew to the sky after getting sliced by Roselyn.


    On the other hand, Yuba seemed to be struggling against Kai as thetter had been suppressing him this whole time without any sign of exhaustion.


    As expected, Kai had increased the amount of Magic Power inside his body, Yuba thought. And he clearly understood what a Protector could do. Even their king could create a tsunami easily, so Kai must be able to do something big sooner orter.


    He understood that three months were not enough to evolve Kai to a full-fledged protector, so they still had time before he grew up.


    The problem would be how to inform their king. No n came into his mind in this situation because Kai''s ears would catch anything.


    "To think you have met them¡­ Those pests¡­ They hid themselves for the past few thousand years just to ruin our n once again." He clenched his teeth, cursing the people in Emulda Kn.


    Kai remained silent, not showing any information to both Yuba and the girls. He didn''t want them to know something they were not supposed to know.


    Kai took a deep breath and waved his swords a few times, gradually chipping Yuba''s de with the Super Sonic Sword.


    Yuba couldn''t use any big moves anymore because he had used all the blood he could spare. Even if he used everything, he would die before even doing anything. It wasn''t a matter of will or anything. It was bodily function.


    Yuba gritted his teeth and continued fending off Kai''s attacks in order to slip past him, but Kai didn''t let him. Of course, he couldn''t let him. As soon as the people of the sea knew about this, arge-scale war would happen.


    He did not have enough strength to fight them yet, so the best way was to prolong this as long as he could to make the preparation.


    Suddenly, Sofia and Roselyn appeared next to Yuba. Roselyn was ready to swing while Sofia was about to summon another dragon to bite him.


    Yuba was flustered for a split second, thinking whether he should raise his sword or not.


    Unfortunately for him, that split second was enough for Kai to blow his sword away.


    nk.


    Although the sword was still in his hand, albeit barely, Kai had broken his defense. With his sword above his head, Yuba had no other way to stop this attack.


    Before Roselyn and Sofia attacked him, Kai already waved his second sword to his neck.


    "Sonokic de."


    The Sound Wave created a shock wave and sent Yuba''s head flying. A secondter, trees behind Yuba got cut down.


    Roselyn and Sofia nced at the result and saw at least fifty trees going down in a straight line due to Kai''s Sonokic de.


    "¡­" They both were speechless and took one step back, so they didn''t get sprayed by Yuba''s blood.


    Kai took a deep breath and smiled, "It seems we''re done here."

 Chapter 477 - Warning

    "It seems we''re done here."


    Sofia and Roselyn nodded as they looked at Kai with a smile.


    "We have gotten the footage of the battle anyway, so we can show the Union about it. Of course, I''m going to crop some parts to lessen Sofia''s achievement as well as your performance. You don''t mind, right?" Roselyn asked.


    "Yeah." Kai agreed without hesitation. "That''s the n to be honest. I don''t like to show so many things to the Union and it will just make it harder for Sofia to leave."


    "Don''t worry. I will tone it down." Roselyn gave a thumbs up to him, assuring him that everything would be fine.


    Sofia, on the other hand, looked at Kai with a serious expression. She was a bit hesitant but still asked, "By the way, what was that roar earlier?"


    "Unfortunately, I can''t say anything right now." Kai shook his head helplessly. "It will be revealed within three years, so I hope you can be patient."


    Sofia squinted her eyes and sighed. "I understand. I will respect your decision."


    "That''s why, I hope you can cut that part too, Roselyn. If words go out, I''m afraid the humans will be wiped out from Earth¡­ and I''m saying it''s not in my hands."


    Roselyn nodded in agreement. If they heard Kai could stop the magical beasts, it would surely stun the whole world. And many people from all backgrounds will find this video and turn against Kai Carter.


    There might even be a connection between him and the beasts, making others suspicious. In other words, Kai''s whole career would be destroyed.


    Even if Kai didn''t take revenge, Ria Ross would disappear together with Kai. There were some others like Sofia, Tasha and the others¡­ And if all of them were gone, the US Base would be in chaos.


    After witnessing the power of the invaders of the sea, she doubted even if all the S Rank magicians in the world joined hands, they would be enough to handle the enemies.


    After all, they just showed there were still many invaders of the sea like Yuba and Hatker. The reason she and Sofia could beat one was due to Kai''s connection to this mysterious organization that blessed them with their current power.


    In other words, the moment humanity lost its connection with them, it was the day they set their course to extinction.


    Understanding the severeness of this matter, Roselyn added, "How about this? We still have three and a half weeks. During that time, I can start editing the video and you can watch the progress. You can tell me what the parts needed to be cut and so on.


    "Although I will send the cut version for fine-tuning, I will delete the full version before I send anything. I know that you have been working hard where no one sees you, so I will help you too regarding this matter." She smiled.


    He thought for a moment and smiled. "Thank you for doing this."


    Roselyn waved her hand as if it wasn''t important. "No need to thank me. I''m doing everything to support humanity. After all, the Union is still lowerpared to humanity as a whole. You don''t need to worry about this."


    "I understand. We shall do it your way."


    "Since you have finished discussing that matter, I wonder what we should do next? After all, we are now ahead of our schedule." Sofia stopped them and asked another important question.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. At the same time, he also observed the magical beasts'' reactions before releasing another roar.


    The beasts started to return to a deeper part of Moscow, leaving them alone.


    "I just sent those beasts home and this will probably be thest time I do it during the mission. Since we''re ahead of schedule, I think it''s fine to rest for a while. We can edit the video first before making our way to Latvia. There is no change of n for the rest of our journey."


    Roselyn nodded, agreeing to his suggestion. "Sure. Since we don''t need to do anything, I think it will be done within one or two days. Before that, I want to ask you two things."


    "Sure. I will answer to the best of my ability."


    "What do you think of our Union? I mean, the current state. I am afraid they will send you to another mission like this, so¡­ do you hate the Union?"


    Kai shook his head. "Not really. I only know there is a spy among them and that spy needs to be eliminated. I believe the Union is panicking right now because Sir Arnaud is investigating them. I am afraid I need to spill some blood after returning¡­ but we will see."


    "Well, I''m afraid you can''t do anything if the culprit is a leader of a certain country. We need to weaken his political influence first before eliminating him. Politics sure suck." Roselyn let out a long sigh, feeling the headache in dealing with politics. What Rena said about them was indeed true.


    "Haha." Kai brushed it off with augh and thought that must be the reason why his teacher, Ria Ross, stepped down from politics. He also didn''t like to be inside that storm, so he wanted to end the matter within two years before Brent stepped down from his position.


    From what he knew, Brent seemed to have a connection with Ria Ross and he didn''t appear to be that corrupt.


    There might be a huge change in authorities if the next president emerged, so he wanted to settle everything before it happened. After all, with Brendt in his second time, he surely couldn''t continue to be the next president.


    "Anyway, what is your second question?" Kai asked, continuing their conversation.


    Roselyn nodded and asked, "What are you nning to do after knowing the spy?"


    Kai''s expression turned cold as he said without hesitation. "Kill him."


    Roselyn''s expression became serious as he didn''t know why Kai made such a decision. Sofia didn''t say anything and remained to be a bystander.


    Seeing her confused face, Kai exined the real situation. "You should know about those creatures from the sea, right?"


    "Yes. Let''s just say we are still in a small war. Nothing big is happening right now, but there will be something big soon. Unfortunately for you, I''m still not ready for that big one. And this spy may be the catalyst to it, so I want to eliminate the problem at any cost."


    "What is the level of the catalyst?"


    "The big war wille as soon as the wordse out."


    "¡­" Roselyn sighed and nodded. "I understand. It seems our condition is getting worse without us realizing."


    "I don''t like fighting to be honest. I just want to enjoy my life, but since I need to do it, I will do it as soon as possible and be thorough."


    "I can understand. If you need anything, please ask me. I don''t know how much I can help you, but I will do my best. After all, I have my position right now and my influence will be bigger as soon as this video is confirmed. I am not your double agent, but you can consider me as your friend who you can ask for a favor." She made a sweet and lovely smile.


    "Thank you." Kai nodded and turned to Sofia. "Do you want to add anything?"


    "Nope. I just want to leave the EU Base as soon as possible, so I''m afraid I can''t interfere with this matter. After all, they may use that excuse to chain me in this base¡­ That''s why I would like to apologize in advance."


    "Don''t say that." Kai shook his head. "You''re a great help to me this whole time. Just focus on your current power first before doing anything."


    Sofia nodded and Kai continued, "Anyway, let''s change ces first. We need to go somewhere safe."


    The two agreed while bringing Yuba and Hatker''s bodies as proof. They even requested a helicopter to go to their area to bring these two corpses as their achievement.


    Whether they wanted to use these corpses to create their own Zodiac Research or not would be their problem. Kai didn''t care about their decision because they would pay dearly if they did it for something bad.


    And at that time, his power would have be so strong that he could easily resolve this problem alone.


    He just warned Sofia to keep checking about the body''s condition and personally confirmed it.


    After knowing the problems that might happen in the future, Roselyn agreed to do it and asked for Kai''s personal contact since she might need to consult with him from time to time regarding this area.


    Kai didn''t mind and gave her his contact. She had been a great help, so it was good to have her contact too since there might be a need to go to the EU Base again in the future.


    They then spent a few days in that area before making their way toward Latvia.


    They thought nothing would mess up this peaceful mission anymore and it would continue this way for thest three weeks¡­ Unfortunately for them, they couldn''t be more wrong.


    With Sofia and Roselyn''s sudden rise of power, they and Kai, who brought that change, became the center of attention of the EU Base. The Union wasn''t the only one watching them from afar, but many organizations, whether good or bad.


    And they took advantage of Jules and Rena''s absence along with the busy Arnaud tounch their n.


    One thing was sure. Something would happen in their visit to Latvia.

 Chapter 478 - A Mysterious Woman

    A weekter.


    Kai, Sofia and Roselyn had been killing monsters for a long time. Unlike Moscow, they didn''t have many intelligent magical beasts, making the sweeping easy.


    They were resting right now, having their lunch and rxing. After another one hour, Kai said, "It''s time for us to go again. There won''t be any change in our strategy. Since we''re near Estonia, we will assist them just simply by killing the monsters around that area. We have agreed to give one week for the middle area, Estonia''s border, and Lithuania''s border."


    "Yes. We''re ready of course." Roselyn raised from the ground while tapping her sword a few times.


    Sofia also nodded her head while brushing all the dirt on her pants.


    When they were about to leave, Kai suddenly heard someone''s voice.


    "Help me! Anyone!"


    It was a female voice, crying for help. Since they were near the border of Estonia, they thought this person was a soldier from there and somehow stranded near their position to escape the chase of magical beasts.


    It was a normal urrence, so he thought nothing more about it and said, "There is a woman in that direction. We will go there and help her."


    "Sure." The two girls didn''t find anything weird for Kai to help a "person". Although it was weird for someone to arrive in this ce, they understood the circumstances and believed Kai''s decision.


    They approached the girl without hesitation and found she was chased by three Magical Beasts.


    Kai and the others appeared and killed the magical beasts without hesitation as they looked at the woman.


    She seemed to be close to her thirties. She wore a military uniform while her long purple hair got swayed by the wind.


    "You three¡­. You are¡­" The woman seemed to recognize them as she drew a gasp. "You must be Kai Carter, Sofia Campbell and Roselyn Breguet. It is my honor to see you three."


    "Drop the pleasantries. What is happening here? Why are you here alone?" Kai decided to cut to the chase, not wanting to waste his time with her. If he wanted to waste it, it was better to waste it for himself.


    Sofia instantly tranted what he said to the woman.


    "Ye-yes." The woman panicked for a second and pointed to the northwest. "My team is a scout team, but when we''re scouting the area, we''re ambushed by magical beasts. The team asked me to leave to inform the army, but I almost died as well if you three didn''t help me. Please¡­ Please help them."


    Kai felt something was wrong with this woman, but he didn''t understand what it was.


    ''Hmm¡­ This is suspicious. Her words are true, but there is this weird feeling I get from listening to her voice.'' Kai furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment.


    Sofia and Roselyn looked at him, confirming whether they would go or not.


    "Let''s go to your friends. It''s better to save them." Kai nodded while figuring out the problem.


    After Sofia tranted what Kai said, the female leaped to the air to show her happiness before realizing she was in front of Kai. "Ah, I''m sorry. I have lost myself earlier."


    Kai still couldn''t find what was going on, but he decided to see what this woman nned to do.


    "Lead the way."


    The woman nodded and quickly moved in the direction she pointed earlier. Surprisingly, the woman didn''t even tell her name, even though he just saved her.


    He was suspicious of the woman''s identity and wondered whether they should continue or not.


    When the woman looked away, he typed something in his device before handing it to Sofia and Roselyn. Both of them couldn''t understand what Kai meant, but they got the gist of their situation.


    They didn''t show any kinds of clues to the woman as they continued at their pace while joking around with each other.


    Kai maintained his silence while observing their surroundings.


    The journey was uneventful and took one hour before Kai''s suspicion came true. There must be something going on.


    In the corner of his hearing range, he could feel a hundred magical beasts standing on top of a cliff.


    Kai suddenly stopped, stunning everyone.


    "Eh?!" Sofia and Roselyn halted their steps and turned to Kai with a confused face.


    He ignored them for a moment and ced his sword next to the woman''s neck. "You don''t need to continue your role y. I have seen what you want to do. What is your purpose?"


    The woman widened her eyes in surprise, never expecting Kai to know about it this soon. She thought Kai must be bluffing, but thetter already said, "I know there is an ambush ahead. They all have been standing on top of a cliff. You don''t need to pretend anymore or I will kill you right here, right now."


    The woman fell silent for a few seconds as Sofia and Roselyn suddenly raised their guards, looking at this woman.


    Thetter smiled as she turned around. "As expected from the genius Kai Carter, it''s hard to fool someone like you. Since I don''t see any point in wasting my time ying the fool, I should stop. I only have one demand. I want your secret for making those two girls an S Rank Magician."


    "Just for that?" Kai narrowed his eyes as he pressured her neck even more until it started to bleed.


    "That''s the only demand¡­ But I think you want to see this first." The woman showed a screen before her, so Kai and the others could see.


    There were two screens. And both of them had their purpose as the two girls shouted at the same time.


    "Julia!"


    "Kids!"


    Yes. The left screen showed Julia, Sofia''s main attendant that he met during her visit to the US Base. She was tied in a chair with her mouth gagged. There seemed to be no violence or whatsoever at the moment, but Julia was unconscious.


    On the right screen, she showed the orphanage, especially the kids. They all were crying and Kai could even hear their despair. Next to them were several armed men and women that wouldn''t hesitate to kill them upon order.


    "You!" Roselyn unsheathed her de before Kai grabbed her wrist, stopping her. He took another look at the kids before staring at the woman. "What do you want me to do?"

 Chapter 479 - Trust

    "What do you want me to do now?" Kai narrowed his eyes, ring at the woman. He wanted to kill her right now, but he decided not to.


    Suddenly, he heard something from the screen as if someone signaled him something.


    ''This is¡­ Morse code?'' Kai was stunned before realizing who could do such a thing. There was only one person who understood him among them and it was none other than Felice.


    In other words, Felice tried to make a small sound in a morse code to tell him something.


    ''We''re good here. There are four enemies around us. Because of the kids, we''re unable to move, but I can do something if the kids are not here.'' Kai interpreted what she wanted to say, but because the screen showed Julia was caught as well, he couldn''t make his move.


    He needed to save both of them even though he didn''t care much about Julia''s life. Only due to her rtionship with Sofia, he thought he needed to do it.


    ''What should I do here?'' Kai fell into deep thought before listening to the woman.


    "I want you to die after giving the method to get stronger. Only we are allowed to have this kind of information." The woman demanded.


    "That''s including your ambush in the ce we''re going now" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes."


    "I want to talk to them first to check their condition. All I can see is a video of them, so I don''t know whether you''re telling the truth or not. If you don''t agree with this demand, then I don''t need to care about them. After all, they''re only rted to the two girls behind me." Kai released his killing intent, oppressing the woman.


    The woman''s body shuddered before considering his suggestion. It was true that Kai didn''t have any weakness in this base, so what they could do was limited.


    If not because of his rtionship with the two girls, they wouldn''t try to do something like this.


    After contemting for a while, the woman nodded her head, agreeing to his request. "Alright. We have killed the monsters around here, so no magical beasts will pick up the signal and attack us. However, you only have one minute."


    "Ten minutes!"


    "You''re trying to challenge my limit here!" The woman shouted, ring at him.


    Kai didn''t have any change of expression. He was still cool and indifferent. He simply stated. "Woman, I don''t think you understand me¡­ If they die, I don''t really care. Even the government will only say it''s a terrorist attack. If you want me to cooperate with you, you better do the same thing."


    The woman gritted her teeth and replied. "Three!"


    "Eight minutes!"


    "Five. I won''t go any higher than that!"


    The woman was fuming in anger, but the time should be enough, so he epted. "Fine. Five minutes."


    "Five minutes for the total and only you can talk to these people."


    Kai nodded and said while pointing at Julia. "I want to talk to that girl first."


    The woman nodded and asked for a video call.


    He found that the video was taken not long ago since there wasn''t that much change in her gesture.


    "Julia," Kai called her name.


    Julia widened her eyes and saw Kai''s face appearing on the screen. When she saw Sofia, she couldn''t help but look down. "I''m sorry¡­ Even though I have gotten stronger, they still caught me. No need to rescue me. Even if I die, these people won''t be alive because the Campbell Family won''t let them off."


    Kai narrowed his eyes, feeling there was something she wanted to convey in those words. He thought for a moment before listening to her whisper when she looked down as if apologizing to Sofia and Kai.


    ''There''s a tracker in my body. If the Campbell Family is notified or finds me missing, they will be able to locate me.''


    It seemed Julia also understood the situation and wanted to take advantage of Kai''s extraordinary hearing.


    ''I guess someone who bes the personal maid of Sofia Campbell can''t be ordinary¡­'' Kai couldn''t help but smile. This smile could be misinterpreted by the woman because Kai added, "Don''t worry. Sofia won''t like to see you die, so I will resolve this matter and save you."


    Julia lowered her head as if thanking him, but Kai already said, "Change it. I only used one minute."


    The woman reluctantly stopped the call and changed it to the orphanage.


    When they saw Kai''s face on the screen, they all cried, calling his name.


    "Big Brother!"


    "Big Brother Kai!"


    Kai made the best smile he could and assured them. "Ahaha, Kids. I can hear you just fine. Don''t worry. I will be helping you right now. Just wait for me."


    There was a secret message in his words and only Felice could understand it. Just like other kids who were begging for his help, Felice muttered in a very low voice and took advantage of Kai''s extraordinary hearing.


    ''Madam was a former agent and I could buy time against two people. The two oldest can somehow help me, so as long as the kids are safe, we can move immediately.''


    Listening to those words was enough for him, he quickly made a pained expression when he saw the kids crying.


    "To think you would do such a cruel thing like this. Not only a full-fledged adult like Julia from Campbell Family, but you even take the children as your hostages¡­" Kai gritted his teeth and red at the woman. "Do you think the Campbell Family will let you off if they know Julia is kidnapped?"


    "Hmph! To think our hero can''t even understand how the real world works? As expected from a hero, you can only see those who walk during the day while ignorant to those who work during the night." The woman snorted.


    His previous sentences were actually another message to Felice. After hearing it, Felice understood that she needed to inform the Campbell Family about Julia. They might even send some people to help them guard the orphanage for the time being.


    Kai was directing her to this kind of situation.


    Hence, Felice tried to understand what Kai wanted her to do and worked together with him to save everyone.


    "Do you think you can release the kids first?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "You can still take the bigger ones. I don''t want the kids to have trauma because of this."


    "Hoh! Still acting like a hero? And do you think I will let you do everything you want just because you want to cooperate? You have been pushing my limit. How about I change my n? I will kill one kid if you waste my time again? Let''s see¡­ How about every ten minutes?" The woman smirked.


    "You¡­" Kai clenched his teeth. "You can just send the kids upstairs and lock them in their room. There''s no need for them to see this happening. It''s not like they''re going to run away."


    "One minute¡­" The woman ignored him and continued. "This is yourst minute to talk to those kids."


    "You¡­" Kai gritted his teeth, but he had conveyed everything he could. Felice should understand what he wanted, so he used the remaining time to assure everyone.


    "Don''t worry, kids. Everything is going to be alright. Just follow their words, okay? I''m sure it will be resolved within twenty minutes¡­ Just hang on." Kai smiled.


    Without waiting for their reaction, the woman stopped the call and red at Kai. "Your time is up. Now you better follow me or I will kill one kid every minute. You can try to kill me, but there''s already an order to kill all the hostages as soon as I die." The woman smirked.


    Kai clenched his teeth as if he wanted to do something but couldn''t. However, this was just him acting like the so-called hero.


    In his heart, he still worried about them, but not so much because he knew how capable Felice was.


    She had been doing crazy things and the first person he recognized not as a woman but as someone who was like him.


    ''You will pay dearly if you underestimate the person I have chosen. I''m sure she can do it¡­ I won''t ept her as my disciple if she can''t even solve something like this after all.'' Kai was smiling at his heart, but he couldn''t show any of it.


    While walking, Kai turned his head and smiled at Roselyn and Sofia. "Sofia, I know Julia¡­ I will save her. I promise. Roselyn, I''m sorry for involving the kids because of this problem. I promise I will save them, okay?"


    Sofia shook her head and said, "You¡­ You are not nning to die, aren''t you?"


    Sofia wanted to cry. Kai didn''t have any weakness and they had been relying on his name to protect themselves. The US Base had protected them by using their elites to guard those important to him and their rtives, but the EU Base didn''t do it, resulting in Julia getting captured.


    She thought Kai had some sort of n, but when she saw her smile, she didn''t know whether he had one or not. That was why she felt regret for not preparing enough.


    Roselyn, on the other hand, apologized to him. "No¡­ It''s not your fault. You won''t even need to care for them if not because of me¡­"


    If she could trade her life for his, she would do it without hesitation. Unfortunately, the three of them might need to die here if they wanted to be safe.


    She might not be able to do it, but Sofia might risk it because they might kill Julia anyway.


    "Hmph. The only way to save them is to die." The woman snorted and started walking. "Follow me."


    Kai was smiling like a devil inside his heart and followed the woman without hesitation. This would be a battle where he couldn''t control the battle directly and needed to trust those who could be trusted. Whether he woulde to the top or not, it would be settled within twenty minutes.

 Chapter 480 - Felices Perspective

    A few minutes ago, in the orphanage, Felice and the others were rxing in the living room, watching the kids ying around.


    However, everything happened so fast when a group of four appeared. They wore a full of ck suit that covered every part of their body other than their eyes. They all had a sword in their hands and shouted.


    "All you kids, if you don''t want to die, follow our words!" The only guy in the group shouted as he appeared in the middle of the yground and grabbed one kid before putting his sword on her neck.


    "What?!" Felice and the others quickly rose from their seats.


    When they were about to fight back, the enemies had taken many hostages with their swords on the kids'' necks.


    Felice and the others couldn''t help but halt their movement and shouted, "Kids, gather around us."


    This shout quickly gathered the kids. Although half of them were crying, they at least managed to gather them around.


    The remaining ones were released while they forced all of them to sit in one ce as the guy said, "You all have one choice. It''s to sit here. If you fight back, we will kill all of you immediately."


    The children were terrified and cried out loud and the enemies seemed to be annoyed. Before anything happened to them, Sonia quickly came forward and smiled at the kids.


    The enemy quickly brought her down, but the kids seemed to be influenced by her smile. Yes, she was actually born with magic simr to that of hypnosis. Her magic power was low and the power of hypnosis wasn''t that great, but it waspletely working for children like them.


    The kids stopped crying even though they were still terrified. Seeing that Sonia used her Magic, the group decided to tie her up and put a gag on her mouth.


    They also noticed that the children stopped, so they let her go and nned to use her again if necessary.


    At this time, many thoughts appeared in Felice''s head.


    ''Kh. What is happening? Why are we being attacked? Are they Big Brother Kai''s enemies?'' Felice looked down while falling into deep thought.


    "All of you are to remain here until we get what we want. If you keep annoying us, we will kill you one by one." The guy said.


    The madam rose from the ground and shouted, "You should know that this orphanage is protected by two S Rank Magicians, you surely don''t want to antagonize them."


    The guy released his killing intent, showing that he would kill anyone if she kept pushing him. "Woman, I don''t care about your things. In the end, even your S Rank Magicians can''t do anything in this situation."


    Listening to their conversation, Felice agreed because Roselyn and Arnaud were going their way toplete a certain mission. She also couldn''t go to Rena''s ce for a while since Rena needed to maintain the border.


    That was why they didn''t have any sort of protection at the moment.


    ''What should we do? Madam was a former agent and my magic should be able to stop these people. But they''re aiming at the kids, so I need to separate them from the kids.'' Felice closed her eyes and started contemting their n. She took a deep breath to calm her head and chanted one sentence that could cool her mind. ''I am going to be the great disciple of Kai Carter. If I can''t solve something like this, I won''t be worthy of him.''


    When she opened her eyes, she found the one thing that could change the entire oue for her.


    The mysterious group actually brought a camera and pointed it at them.


    ''A camera? Why? There must be something big behind that camera¡­ Don''t tell me they''re trying to ckmail Big Sister Roselyn? But she should be with Big Brother Kai¡­ Wait, since they are together¡­'' Felice just thought it a good thing.


    The group turned on the camera while saying, "Smile¡­ I''m sure you want to let your big sister know you."


    At that moment, Felice secretly ced her hand on the floor and gently tapped it. ''Big Brother Kai has an extraordinary hearing, but I don''t know how strong it is¡­ If he can hear the secret code I send, I''m sure he will try to reach out to me and I will also be able to judge how strong his hearing is.''


    As expected from a genius, she had learned the morse code at her age and seemed to have no problem conducting other research. Her achievement might be at the same level as Ria Ross in the future if not surpassed her.


    Her prayer was answered as Kai called them a momentter.


    "Kai Carter wants to speak to all of you. You have four minutes¡­ If you say something useless, we will kill you." The guy threatened them again.


    The kids were scared and started screaming at him, but Felice''s head became surprisingly cool in this situation.


    She looked down to cover her mouth to avoid anyone from thinking she sent a secret message. At the same time, her body kept shaking from time to time to make them believe she was crying.


    "Ahaha, Kids. I can hear you just fine. Don''t worry. I will be helping you right now. Just wait for me."


    When she heard Kai''s voice and his reply, she understood there would be a thousand different replies he could use to calm the kid. However, he said, "I can hear you just fine" in his first sentence. And that one sentence was the reply she needed.


    A smile appeared on her face as she quickly muttered in a very low voice. With the help of the kids'' crying voices, she could send a fast message to him by using her mouth. ''Madam was a former agent and I could buy time against two people. The oldest can somehow help me, so as long as the kids are safe, we can move immediately.''


    Replying to Felice''s information, Kai signaled her that there was another hostage from the Campbell Family. And he even gave a clue that the Campbell Family would do everything they needed to save her.


    Suddenly, she came to a realization as there was another reason why Kai mentioned the Campbell Family.


    ''Wait¡­ Did he mention the Campbell Family especially to me? He wants me to take advantage of the Campbell Family? Wait a minute, without their¡­'' Felice drew a gasp as she understood what Kai wanted. ''He wants me to call Arnaud since he has direct ess to the Campbell Family. Even without him, the Campbell Family will surely help us along with the other hostages. As expected of Big Brother, I''m truly not your match.''


    Before she could reply, Kai gave another hint to her.


    ''Releasing the kids while taking us hostages? No, that''s impossible in the current situation. But¡­'' When she heard Kai saying they needed to send the kids upstairs and lock them in their room, it was a direct order from him. ''That''s right. My Magic can do something about these four people for an instant before sending the kids to their room. If Big Sister Sonia protects them¡­ Madam and I should be able to buy enough time until the reinforcement arrives¡­''


    ''And¡­'' She heard Kai mentioning time, so she believed it was the time limit. And the Campbell Family would surely be able to move faster than that. ''The best would be five minutes and the slowest would be ten minutes.''


    After getting all the instructions she needed, she began to formte their n. ''For now, the swords are dangerous. Since I don''t use it, I should give Madam two swords while the rest will be handled by Big Sister Sonia to protect the kids. In other words, I should fight two people for a few minutes. I don''t know if I can do it, but I won''t be able to be Big Brother Kai''s disciple if I''m scared of this.''


    She took a deep breath and recalcted her n.


    ''It''s fine. I can do this. First, I need to blow them away using my magic and grab a device to call Sir Arnaud. At the same time, I will grab their swords and toss them to Madam. Madam will use it to free Big Sister Sonia, so she can lead the kids upstairs. I will try to help the others, but I am afraid I can''t since the enemies are elites. Buying time will be hard but doable.'' After looking at her n again, Felice nodded her head and was ready to execute it.


    She suddenly rose from the floor as a blue-colored magic circle appeared behind her. "Telekic!"


    Yes, her magic was none other than Telekic and her ability was quite huge. She pushed the enemies away while holding their swords with her power, so they stayed afloat.


    "Run to the second floor!" She shouted as she tossed the swords to the madam.

 Chapter 481 - Inexperience

    "Run to the second floor!" Felice shouted as the madam realized what she nned to do.


    Since the four shattered the window and flew to the garden before crashing to the wall, she should have some time to spare. She grabbed the sword and cut the rope that tied her hands while saying, "Go upstairs. Sonia, protect them!"


    Felice didn''t bother to wait for them and used her Telekic ability to half the children and flew them to the stairs so they could go as soon as possible.


    At the same time, she grabbed her device and called Arnaud''s number.


    "He¡ª" Arnaud picked it up immediately, but Felice stopped him and said only a few words in a hurry. "The orphanage and Julia Campbell are attacked. Help."


    Without wasting her time, she tried to hang up the call, but soon a fireball flew at her, almost hitting her. Luckily, the madam managed to react and used a Magic Shield to block the fire while shouting. "Kids! Hurry up!"


    Sonia also helped them as the children were crying while moving their bodies. They all ran upstairs under Sonia''s guidance before the madam said, "Felice, you should go upstairs too. The reinforcement should being soon. I will handle all four of them."


    Felice furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "If I run away here, I won''t have any face to see my future teacher."


    "I know your ability is strong, but don''t get too close. You have never fought against anyone, let alone elites. Just make sure you don''t go to the front and try tounch them away like earlier." The madam said.


    "Yes. I will try to stop two of them while Madam handles the other two. After that, Madam can help me." Felice suggested. "ording to Big Brother Kai, it''s going to end within ten minutes."


    "So, that''s not just a mere call?" As the madam uttered that question, she stepped forward, finding the four people had returned to the hall.


    "You¡­" The guy released his killing intent.


    Felice''s body was shaken since she never felt anything like this. This was the first time she felt death before the madam patted her shoulder while shouting. "Ha!"


    That shout shook her heart and made her forget the killing intent for a while, allowing her to adjust herself.


    "You''re not an ordinary caretaker¡­" The guy realized something from the madam and squinted his eyes.


    "You don''t need to know. Even though my battle sense''s grown dull, I am still tough enough to take care of you." The madam snorted and raised both swords.


    Before anyone started, Felice activated her magic again. The blue magic circle behind her created a strong force to push the four people back, but they somehow stood on their feet. The magic managed to push them two meters away, but it didn''tunch them anymore.


    "¡­" Felice clenched her teeth, knowing that her magic wasn''t strong enough.


    Even so, she didn''t stop there. She lifted all the items in the room, whether it was a carpet or a wardrobe.


    Sheunched all of them to overwhelm the enemies, but one of the women actually appeared between them and waved her hand to the side, blowing away all the iing items to the side of the house.


    "What a useful ability. So, you are an unorthodox magic user too." The woman smiled and looked at the girl.


    The madam already knew about her magic, but she didn''t know how capable she was using it, so she got slightly worried and went between them to avoid any harm to Felice.


    Felice, who got more protection, decided to use a stronger force than earlier and tried to grab the woman, squeezing her tightly.


    The woman felt the magic power that tried to crush her as if there was a giant hand grabbing her and quickly let out a burst of wind that blew the Magic Particles away and freed herself from Felice''s grasp.


    "That girl is dangerous. Catch her alive¡­ She will be useful in the future." The guymanded as he focused on the madam. His instinct told him not to underestimate her, so he didn''t dare to look away for a moment.


    "Felice¡­ You should go to the second floor to avoid any conflict. It''s not a matter of impressing Kai Carter¡­ It''s something else."


    "Madam, please let me be selfish this once." Felice shook her head and raised her hand.


    Seeing her determination, the madam understood and let her do it.


    While they talked, one of the women raised her hand and summoned a fireball.


    A magic circle appeared on Felice''s hand before the fireball suddenly hit something invisible. It was Felice''s barrier that she formed by using her Telekic Power.


    The guy shouted, "I will handle the older one with Merth. The rest of you handle the kid. If possible, capture her."


    "Roger."


    The madam wouldn''t let him and charged at them, but the guy already arrived in front of her and hit his hand that suddenly turned ck as if covered by metal.


    The madam tried to strike him but realized that his hands were too strong when the de actually didn''t do any damage. Though she wasn''t sure whether it was metal or not because she could clearly feel the soft texture of his hand despite its hardness against a de.


    When she was about to abandon her de because she knew fighting against all these guys in this area didn''t give her an advantage while exposing Felice to danger, the fire magician girl already appeared next to her with fire covering her fist.


    The madam summoned a magic shield to block the fire, but it allowed the other two to make their way to Felice.


    Because of the danger that Felice gave, the wind user raised her hand and created a wind spiral that tried to blow her away.


    However, Felice used the Telekic Barrier again before pointing her hand to the side, facing the giant couch next to her. Sheunched the couch at the wind user before her friend came between them while kicking the couch back.


    ''Kh! Instead of stuffing knowledge and ying with this boring life, I should have trained my power and understood it more.'' Felice regretted she didn''t meet Kai earlier and gained the spark of determination to get stronger and live a fulfilling life.


    Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret. She saw the woman that just kicked the couch leaped toward her, trying to catch her with both hands, so Felice went to the side while using her telekic ability.


    However, she did something different this time. Instead of stopping the woman, she boosted her speed, so she would lose her timing.


    Felice knew that her power wasn''t strong enough to stop her, so she chose this way to avoid her attack while making her way to confront the wind user.


    "What?!" The female widened her eyes in shock as she looked at Felice, thinking, ''Did she just boost my own speed and momentum to dodge it?''


    She remembered that her speed increased and threw her off bnce as Felice passed them to fight against the wind magician.


    She leaped to her and released all her telekic power and directed it to the female magician.


    Thetter formed a powerful wind ball on her hand and tried to counter Felice''s ability by blowing the power away, but Felice''s Telekic power was far stronger than her wind.


    The Magic Particles that bound to each other due to her Telekic Power didn''t get blown away and Felice managed tounch her to the corner of the room with her back hitting the wall.


    When Felice was about to turn around to handle the enemy on her back, the woman released another wind tornado.


    Felice widened her eyes and gritted her teeth as she formed a spherical invisible barrier to block the wind. Obviously, she reinforced it with all her power to make sure she could block it.


    Unfortunately for Felice, herck of experience as a magician showed at this moment. Even though her power was strong, there was no way Felice would have realized that the wind was just a distraction for the woman behind her to arrive behind her. It shattered the barrier in an instant with her powerful strength.


    And when Felice realized it, everything was already over. Her mind was jolted by an immeasurable pain as she spat a mouthful of blood. With her face looking down, she finally saw a hand piercing the side of her stomach, covered with her blood.


    Regret instantly filled her face as she couldn''t help but think, ''I see¡­ It''s impossible for me to be his student.''

 Chapter 482 - Pissed Off

    "Felice!" The madam widened her eyes and tried to help Felice, only to be stopped by the man.


    Meanwhile, the two that fought Felice walked to her and saw her dropping to the ground as blood began to dye the floor.


    "Tch. This girl made us¡ª" When the wind user was about to say something, the wind blew her hair before she sensed another person behind her.


    It was Jules''s son, the current head of the Campbell Family, Bastien Campbell. He red at the woman while asking, "She made you what?"


    The two sucked a cold breath as the room temperature dropped. No one could react when this man appeared and when they were about to see his face to confirm his identity, thetter already grabbed both women''s heads.


    Ice began to appear on top of their heads and slowly moved to their neck.


    At the same time, the two struggled and somehow managed to catch a glimpse of his face.


    "Bastien Campb¡ª" Before she spoke, Bastien used all his strength on his hand and shattered the ice, including her head. Meanwhile, he froze the other one for further investigation.


    The guy recognized Bastien, but thetter had already disappeared. The moment he realized, Bastien was already behind her and mmed both the guy and the fire user''s heads to the ground while freezing them. "All of you are bastards who pick a fight with children."


    After that, he made his way to Felice and lifted her up to check her condition. It turned out, Felice was still awake and fighting against her wound.


    The blood on the floor was the necessary blood to fool them while she used her Telekic Power to create a small barrier that prevents blood froming out.


    Although he wanted to praise this little girl for doing such a thing, he quickly asked, "Put away your hand. I will freeze the wound first and we will go to the hospital."


    Felice nodded and retracted the barrier. The blood ended up spurting out of the wound for a split second, but Bastien froze it instantly.


    He then looked at the madam. "In one minute, my subordinates will be here. If any of these guys show any sign of waking up, kill them. We have enough people to interrogate anyway."


    The madam nodded and Bastied quickly carried Felice to the hospital with her speed.


    After her stomach went numb, she opened her eyes and looked at Bastien. "Mister¡­ There is another hostage¡­"


    "Don''t worry. I have sent my wife and elites there. They should be able to finish it soon." Bastien assured her that everything was going to be alright. "I should praise you for calling Arnaud or I won''t realize it for another few hours."


    "I am just following Big Brother Kai''s advice," Felice answered. Her face was pale and her tone was weak, but she didn''t get any weaker than the previous one.


    "I see. That''s good. For now, I will let the hospital heal you and since the situation is not over yet, I will protect you in the hospital. This can be one of the repayments for strengthening my daughter." Bastien smiled. "Don''t say anything so as to not waste any energy and stay awake. I''m sure Kai Carter will be proud of you."


    Felice followed his instruction and remained silent until they reached the hospital.


    Meanwhile, at another location, Bastien''s wife, Regine Campbell, had also found Julia and opened her lock as the elites swept the entire ce clean.


    "Julia, do you know anything about this kidnapping? Who are they?" Regine asked with a cold expression.


    "I am sorry, Madam."


    "No need to say sorry. Just answer my question for now because I''m afraid the situation is not that simple." Regine shook her head.


    Julia began to tell her about what happened during the call and such before realizing that Arnaud''s call must havee from someone in the orphanage who managed to take advantage of the situation.


    Regine couldn''t help but smile as she said, "It seems a genius attracts another genius. Not only the teacher, but the student will soon be a teacher as well."


    Julia didn''t understand what she meant but didn''t ask anything.


    "Anyway, the rescue operation was sessful. And I don''t think you should go anywhere for the time being, Julia¡­ The condition is unstable right now, especially in the Union. Many people are taking advantage of this situation to do something against Kai Carter or the people he knows." Regine narrowed her eyes before letting out a long sigh, feeling the headache just thinking about this matter.


    Julia repeatedly nodded. "I know, Madam. I won''t do anything outside."


    "That''s good. In any case, this will create a certain big movement in the Union¡­ It''s better to watch it from the sideline instead of getting entangled with it." Regine smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, let''s go home. The others will handle the rest."


    Julia agreed as he followed Regine outside.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Latvia, Kai finally arrived at the ambush zone where he located fifty people standing on top of the cliff, staring at him.


    The people above wore a formal ck suit and ck sunsses, looking at him with a serious expression.


    "Who are you?" Kai shouted at the woman and, at the same time, called all those people.


    "It seems your brain is good for welfare only, not for something like this. You''re pitiful." The woman squinted her eyes and snorted. She chuckled and continued, "Do you think we will give you our identity?"


    Kai fell silent as the woman said, "All we want is the method to get stronger. Give it to use right now unless you want the children and that little maid to die. Ah, before that¡­"


    The woman looked at two women and one man, signaling them toe down.


    At the same time, she grabbed Kai''s weapon as she pushed him forward.


    Kai knew that this woman wanted the three people to beat him up first.


    "It seems that you''re not going to y this quietly." Kai narrowed his eyes and red at the woman.


    "Hmph. Your head is already too high. We need to lower you first before executing you. Then we will release the video to the world, making them know our power." The womanughed.


    "And you''re going to use my method to rule the world." Kai gritted his teeth.


    "It seems you''re not that foolish. Now, you are going to choose whether you want to save all the children or the entire world. I wonder what your little lover will see if you abandon the children to save the world." The woman made an evil grin as she was excited to see what kind of face he would make. She then looked at the three and said, "You three. Beat him up for me."


    "Yes." The three nodded and came closer.


    "If you make a move, we will kill the children immediately." The woman smirked.


    Kai kept ring at her before turning around to see the other three when they arrived in front of him.


    "You¡­ Are you going to beat me up?! You won''t be able to beat me." Kai appeared to be arrogant as he looked down on these three.


    The guy didn''t like his tone and raised his hand. "Then, I will show you how I beat you right now!"


    "No, you won''t be able to beat me." When he saw the man''s fist, Kai quickly lowered his head and leaped into the air. His eyes widened as the veins on his forehead bulged, showing his anger. He used his new magic on his boot and kicked the man''s head.


    The force was so strong that it sent the man''s head flying to the air without its body. At the same time, he used the second foot to kick the two women, showing the same result.


    He then grabbed his swords back and shed the woman''s feet.


    "Argh!" The woman screamed, but none of them could react as they saw Kai killing three of them.


    The woman fell to the ground before Kai ordered. "Roselyn, you kill all the people on the left. Sofia, make sure she doesn''t die ormit suicide."


    "You bastard, the children will die because of your choice!" The woman shouted in anger while enduring the excruciating pain.


    "No, I''m saving them¡­" Kai snorted and waved his sword to the cliff on the right as he released his Sonokic de that was so sharp to the point it cut the cliff diagonally before a huge shock wave destroyed the remaining connection the cliff had. A portion of the cliff fell down from that one sh and engulfed ten people into the rubbles. Kai said while releasing his killing intent. "I''m pissed off right now."

 Chapter 483 - Massacre

    "Wha¡ª" The woman couldn''t think of anything, especially under the excruciating pain after Kai sliced her two legs.


    Sofia grabbed her shoulders and froze the legs to prevent any more blood loss.


    "Kill him, kill him! Tell the others to kill the hostages too!" The woman uncontrobly shouted before Sofia put an ice gag on her mouth, shutting her up.


    At the same time, the ones working behind the scenes for these people quickly did ording to the order, only to find the rest had either died or got captured.


    "We can''t reach them."


    "They are dead."


    "Our base has been raided by the Campbell Family."


    Chaos began to spread among them as they didn''t realize Roselyn had reached the cliff, climbing it in an instant by using her wind power.


    When they noticed Roselyn''s presence and turned around, thetter already raised her sword and charged forward.


    "Wind Step." With the burst of wind below her feet, she leaped toward them and shed the first guy with her sword.


    Obviously, the people around here were elites, so they managed to react to her before more casualties.


    But Roselyn wanted to prevent them from escaping. She raised her sword as a huge tornado formed from her sword. She took one step to the left and waved her sword from the left, sweeping the people on the cliff to the ground below.


    This way, the people wouldn''t be able to im the cliff easily and escape since the only way to escape was from the front, where Kai and Sofia waited for them. Yes, to execute him, the woman seemed to have chosen the bell-shaped cliff that only had one entrance. Unfortunately for her, it was used against her.


    "What is she?! How can she wield such a powerful andrge magic? Is this the power from the mysterious method?" The people began to panic and excited at the same time, witnessing Roselyn''s change with their own eyes.


    Their greed started to take over their mind, thinking if they could get this method, they would be able to get this strong and be an S Rank Magician themselves.


    And due to this exact reason, Arba erased Roselyn and Sofia''s memories to prevent any leaks. Only Kai was qualified to store this information in his mind since he was the king. Even if he messed up, the one who could fix it was only him.


    With them having another intention to Kai, wanting to get the method by themselves, they turned around only to find Kai had disappeared, leaving only the woman and Sofia.


    "Where is he?"


    They tried to find him but to no avail.


    Kai had disappeared using his Sound st to reach the bottom of the cliff and go around them. As soon as he could ambush them, he matched his movement with Roselyn who seemed to n to swipe them to the bottom of the cliff too.


    "Stop that girl first. As long as we can take that girl hostage, we can win. The ones who have fallen to the bottom are to capture Sofia Campbell."


    The group began to reorganize themselves with Kai''s method in their mind. They couldn''t wait to get stronger within a short period of time using that method.


    Unfortunately for them, Roselyn had swept another twenty people to the bottom of the cliff.


    Kai then appeared from behind and ran toward them.


    With their attention grabbed by Sofia and Roselyn, Kai used his Sound Instion Magic to iste a few people and assassinate them without any sound.


    Suddenly, Roselyn jumped to the ground, nning to help Sofia. And at that time, one of them realized Kai had been butchering theirrades for a while.


    "Behind us! It''s Kai Carter! He has killed more than ten of us!" The woman shouted, informing the rest.


    Kai used their confusion for a bit longer and killed another four people by using his Sound st to reach their position in an instant.


    When he couldn''t take advantage of his situation anymore, Kai raised his swords and stared at them with a cold tone. "You''re going to die here. How about you y rock-paper-scissors to see who wins the lottery to be kept alive?"


    "You!"


    "Capture him."


    "He is strong, but he is still alone."


    "That''s right. There are still forty of us here."


    "Even if we can''t do anything, as long as the remaining guys capture the other two, we will win."


    "Fight!"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and shed his sword diagonally, using his Sonokic de once again.


    When they saw the moving air that was visible to the force Kai used to bind them together, they shouted. "It''s that technique again. Be careful. That attack can cut a cliff!"


    The group panicked for a moment, knowing there was no way they could withstand such a technique.


    They tried to dodge it, but some of them didn''t have time to avoid it.


    Kai used the fact that they were in the air to his advantage by advancing forward, cutting them down without resistance.


    No¡­ His Supersonic Sword was too powerful for a normal weapon to challenge it. The swords cut all their weapons along with their body.


    This was also the reason why Kai never used his Supersonic Sword or Vibration Sword against his girls. He simply knew that no weapon made by man could withstand it¡­ Unless they were made from the special metal that his teacher created.


    It was also the metal that he used to withstand this powerful vibration and sonic boom.


    He began to cut them down one by one like a devil who didn''t know any mercy.


    The enemies began to fear Kai''s power as their confidence disappeared after Kai cut fifteen of them. The same applied to the woman who witnessed such a scene.


    She had brought a hundred elites that could withstand S Rank Magician like Jules and Arnaud for some time if they were together, but Kai simply broke the logic of S Rank Magician and killed them like ughtering chickens.


    She then turned to the people below them that got separated into two. Those who handled Roselyn got blown away to the cliff.


    And as expected from the cliff, there were many sharp rocks or spikes that killed or severely injured the people sheunched at them. Only some of them managed to escape such a predicament and thought about escaping after seeing theirrades'' fate.


    There was still one hope. It was Sofia.


    She simply raised her hand and summoned a huge blue-colored magic circle. She poured her magic power into the magic circle and released it.


    "Freezing World."


    The moment the magic was activated, the ground and anything above it froze. It created a fan-shaped area and engulfed all the people that tried to attack her.


    Some of them managed to react by jumping into the air, but it just became a VIP seat for them to watch how their friends who got frozen died.


    A wind suddenly flew to their locations and engulfed these frozen statues, throwing them in all directions. When they hit any hard surface, they shattered into pieces before the blood began to flow again now that some parts of their body were exposed to the air.


    The woman looked at Sofia, terrified. The power behind that method was indeed great, but Kai and the two women were simply too strong for them. In that instant, she realized they could never get the method from Kai directly.


    Their strategy of getting hostages was right, but the woman couldn''t think of the reason why it failed. She simply was unaware of the secret conversation Kai and Felice had earlier.


    Seeing the remaining people in the air, Sofia raised her hand and pointed it at them.


    They were scared of the Magic Circle and knew they couldn''t avoid it since they were in the air. Some of them had saved themselves by using their magic like Wind Magic or any other magic that could push them out of her vision, but the rest could only stare at her helplessly.


    "Cirction Ice Magic. Ice Dragon."


    The dragon head emerged from the magic circle and opened its mouth. This time, its body extended so it could reach all those people.


    But what made them shocked was the fact that the magic could actually open its jaw as if it was alive. It was the first time they saw it.


    In other words, Kai actually possessed something that was far more dangerous than getting stronger alone. He had the knowledge to change the entire world.


    The two girls also understood its importance and never showed it to the world to avoid future problems ording to Kai''s instruction.


    It was never Magic, but Mystic. And in Mystic, it was normal for them to manipte the direction of their own magic. And Sofia''s Ice Dragon was just another magic. She simply manipted its direction to look like the dragon opened its mouth.


    Without them realizing, Kai and the two girls had killed seventy of them in the span of five minutes as if they were just a bunch of chickens waiting to be ughtered.


    Not wanting to die, the people began to run away in all directions.


    "I don''t want to die!"


    "NO!"


    "Save me."


    "They''re monsters!"


    Unfortunately for them, Roselyn had knocked them to this bell-shaped cliff, so even if they wanted to leave, they didn''t have any alternative other than slipping past Sofia. And yes, it was another invitation to hell.


    Kai, on the other hand, kept killing the people while maintaining his focus on the surroundings. He didn''t want anyone to escape since he would truly put his life at risk at that time. It also meant he couldn''t keep his promise to not let anyone know about it and revealed his true identity to those from the sea.


    The rest were quickly killed by the three, leaving only the woman and three other people among them to be interrogated.

 Chapter 484 - Handling The Situation

    After taking control of the entire situation, Kai asked Roselyn and Sofia to keep an eye on those people as he walked a bit farther away to ask Felice and the others the result of their operation.


    He took out his device and dialed Felice''s device to check on her, only to find Bastien appearing on the screen.


    "Hmm?!" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion. "Sir Bastien?"


    "Yea, it''s me."


    "Why are you¡­" Kai suddenly understood what was going on and became serious, asking, "Is Felice okay?"


    "She just entered the operation room not long ago."


    "What is her condition?" Kai widened his eyes and subconsciously shouted.


    "I am not sure. The enemy pierced through the side of her stomach with her hand, making a quite big hole there. She had used her magic to stabilize her condition until I could help her and bring her to the hospital but¡­"


    Kai drew a gasp as he quickly replied. "I''m going to call Evan right now."


    "She knew you''re going to do that and asked me to tell you to avoid calling Evan Young to this ce."


    "Why?!" Kai gritted his teeth.


    "She told me if you sent Evan Young here, she would be the center of attention because you would ask your friend to help a normal orphan girl. That way, it would be hard for her to leave this ce because of the attention since the Union will interfere."


    "It''s better than a matter of life and death," Kai shouted in anger.


    "Kai Carter¡­ I know this is hard for you, but how about you believe in her? She has been doing anything to be your student. Like always, you need to be calm."


    He clenched his teeth and said, "No. I''m going to call him right now."


    "Wait¡ª" Before Bastien could stop him, Kai already hung up and called Arnaud instead of Evan.


    When Arnaud''s voice rang in his ears, he hurriedly asked with a menacing tone, leaving no question or objection. "I need Rena Alberona''s number right now!"


    Arnaud never heard him talking like that and thought something must have happened. He instinctively replied, "Alright. I will give you her number."


    Kai then hung up as Arnaud sent him contact information. Kai didn''t waste even a second and called Rena immediately.


    Rena appeared on her screen in the middle of the battlefield, making the background sound a bit loud. She looked at him, confused. "What do you need from me?"


    "I want you to call Evan Young right now to heal Felice."


    "Huh? Did the girl get injured? But if it''s only a small injury, then you won''t¡­" Rena looked at Kai''s expression again and understood what was going on.


    She looked down for a moment and nodded. "I see. So you want me to call him because it could be interpreted as a call from a tutor. The same applies to Felice since I''m going to ept herter. We can camouge her importance with Arnaud and Roselyn¡­"


    "Your daughter should be happy to see him too." Kai narrowed his eyes, saying the reward while implying that she better called him right away.


    Knowing what he wanted, Rena nodded and hung up before calling another number.


    In the US Base, Evan, who was mingling with his guns, raised his head when he found an iing call.


    He checked it and took a step back, wondering if he should take it. However, he took a deep breath and picked it up, asking, "Yes? Can I help you?"


    "I need you to heal a person for me. Can you go to the EU Base right now? She will be in the middle of the operation at that time, but you should be able to heal her in an instant."


    "¡­" Evan narrowed his eyes and scratched the back of his head. "Ehm¡­"


    "Kai Carter is the one who requested it."


    "Alright. I will go right away." Evan''s attitude drastically changed when he heard Kai wanted to heal someone. It might be Sofia or someone important, so he would surely go there immediately if that person asked him, wanting to repay just a little bit of everything he had given to him.


    "¡­" Even Rena was shocked by the sudden change but cared no more. "Anyway, I will send you the hospital location. If you want to know something, it''s better to wait for Kai Carter to exin it to you."


    "Alright." Evan nodded and searched for an airne ticket. He booked one which was only thirty minutes away from the departure as he quickly came out of the school.


    Michelle was confused about his action and asked, "Wait a minute, Evan. What happens?"


    "The captain wants me there to heal someone¡­ Probably someone important." He shrugged and left immediately. "Anyway, I need to catch up on the ne right now."


    "O-oh?!" Michelle was still confused but didn''t stop him anymore since Kai was the one behind it.


    She pondered for a moment and decided to call Kai to see whether he would answer or not. Surprisingly, Kai''s face appeared on the screen as he was in the middle of nowhere.


    "Kai¡­ What happened? Where are you?"


    "I just finished handling a little problem." Kai let out a long sigh, feeling tired of getting angry all the time. He was anxious, but he had done everything he could.


    "Do you need any help?"


    "Well, if I''m with Tasha, I will teleport Evan to here immediately, but unfortunately, she is on the battlefield."


    "What happened? It''s rare for you to be flustered."


    "Well¡­ How do I exin this¡­" Kai gently stroked his cheek while contemting his choice of words. "Let''s just say that I am thinking about picking a student here."


    "Student? As in the school''s student? Are you going to kidnap this student to the US Base? It seems there is an otherworldly beauty there¡­"


    Kai closed his eyes and shook his head helplessly. "No, it''s like me and Professor Ria."


    "Ah." Michelle nodded in understanding before her eyes opened as wide as possible. She became even more shocked that Kai wanted to bring a student, especially from the EU Base. "Eh? What did you say again? A student?"


    "Yeah. Just say that I''m interested in this girl and see her potential. And she happened to be injured¡­"


    "Looking at your expression, it seems to be fatal injuries." Michelle squinted her eyes and remembered Evan storming out of the school so quickly. He even used his physical abilities to arrive at the airport faster.


    "Yeah. That''s why I want him to be here." Kai nodded.


    "Well, Professor Ria will surely be overjoyed by this news. Who would think Kai Carter is interested in someone not as his woman but his student." She smiled. "The student has be a teacher now."


    Kai only brushed it off with augh since he hadn''t finalized their student and teacher rtionship.


    "So, do you need any help?"


    "No. I''m going to handle this alone and I just want to make sure that you''re going to see hell after my return." Kai chuckled.


    "Oi, oi. What kind of hell are you saying? Are you s*xually frustrated there?"


    "No, no. You must have heard about Sofia and Roselyn, right?"


    She recalled there was an announcement of the sudden appearance of new S Rank Magicians. And Sofia was indeed among the two.


    She furrowed her eyebrows and said, "That''s rted to you?"


    "Yeah. And now I''m dealing with that mess." Kai nodded and said, "Anyway, I can''t say much regarding this matter since it''s better for you to be oblivious about it right now to avoid more problems. There are only two months left, so wait for me there."


    "I understand." Michelle nodded with a serious expression before asking, "Well, there are many things I want to ask, but I guess you have your own problems. I will trust you on this. Do you want to say something to the others?"


    "Nah, it''s fine. If I continue this call any longer, I''m afraid it will be tracked. So, I''m ending it here. Just say I miss them and don''t tell them about this conversation yet."


    "Okay. I miss you too¡­" She smiled. "Love you, see you in two months."


    "Love you too." Kai smiled and finally ended the call. He took a deep breath, calming his heart down.


    After a while, he turned around, saw Sofia and Roselyn in the distance, and walked to them. The moment he arrived, the atmosphere was filled with killing intent.


    Even the woman shuddered under his killing intent that seemed to have killed tens of thousands of monsters. It was just different.


    She raised her head in panic but couldn''t move due to Sofia''s Ice. The ice locked her hands and feet before nting it on the ground.


    Kai bent his knees and grabbed the woman''s hair, looking at her coldly. "Now that the situation has been under control¡­ I somehow need to vent my anger, so you''re perfect. I don''t personally like doing it, but since you''ve gone too far, then I guess it''s fine."

 Chapter 485 - Story

    The next day, Felice gradually opened her eyes as she remembered everything in an instant.


    When her eyes were wide open, she stared at the ceiling with a nk stare and tried to move her body. Surprisingly, she could move her body to the point she would feel no pain.


    Not believing what she just experienced, she quickly got up from the bed and felt nothing at all. This was impossible. Even if she woke up one yearter and her wound had already healed up and her body would be too weak to do this kind of movement.


    That was when she learned Kai must have the number one healer in the world, Evan Young.


    She looked left and right to see that person only to find the madam sitting next to her.


    "Ma¡ª"


    The madam shook her head to stop her from saying anything. She waved her hand and wanted to exin the situation first, not letting Felice do anything excessively even though she knew Felice had recovered and her waking up was the same as waking up in the morning.


    "I know that you''re confused, but I will exin everything to you, so get back to bed. Or else, I won''t say anything," said the madam while helping her toy down on the bed.


    Felice didn''t fight her since she knew the madam well. If she refused, she indeed wouldn''t get any answer for at least a few hours.


    "Anyway, after you got into the operation room, Kai Carter had contacted you, only to be picked up by Sir Bastien Campbell. He exined everything, including you refusing the treatment from Evan Young. Hence, he called Ma''am Rena Alberona to make her request for Evan Young''s assistance.


    "It turned out he had once visited this ce to learn from Ma''am Rena. Everything should be fine with that excuse. Do you understand?"


    Felice closed her eyes and realized she was still not matched with him. He used such a way around just to call Evan Young.


    "That way¡­ He respected my wish while still helping me at the same time¡­" Felice closed her eyes with a bitter expression. Tears started falling from the corner of her eyes as she said with a bitter tone. "In the end, he is the one doing everything."


    "No, Felice." The madam shook her head and stroked her hair. "You have done half of it. Without your help and your secret signal, everything won''t go this smoothly. Of course, I am assured that such a person takes care of you¡­ Even if my little Felice goes to the US Base, I won''t need to worry since she will be taken care of."


    Felice smiled before letting out a long sigh. "I want to get stronger¡­ I wish I trained my power this whole time instead of wasting my time inside my room."


    "You have all the time you need. Take one step at a time and you will find yourself achieving your dream soon¡­ After all, I know that my Felice is the world''s smartest child."


    Felice smiled. "Thank you."


    "Now it''s time for you to rest for a bit, okay?"


    "Yes." Felice nodded before remembering another matter. "That''s right. Where is Evan Young? I would like to thank him for saving me."


    "He¡­" The madam gently stroked her cheek with a weird expression, looking away as if she just witnessed something inappropriate.


    ¡­


    A few hours ago.


    The madam was sitting in front of the operation room, waiting for Evan to finish.


    Bang.


    The door was open as Evan pushed Felice''s bed with the help of two nurses, nning to take the bed to a normal ward.


    At that time, the madam leaped to him and grabbed his shoulder. "She¡­ She¡­"


    Evan smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Don''t worry. She is just too weak right now. I can heal the wounds but can''t do anything with the blood loss. Well, we have infused the blood, so she will be fine¡­ Just wait for a few hours to a day and she will wake up. I can''t let someone die, especially since my captain wants her alive after all."


    Listening to Evan''s casual tone and his chuckle, the madam didn''t know what to say. Usually, the doctor would make a serious expression even if they smiled when the operation seeded. As one would expect from the world''s greatest healer, she thought.


    "Thank you¡­ Thank you." The madam grabbed his shoulders tightly, feeling relieved.


    Evan remained still as he continued, "Miss¡­ May I know something about the child''s rtionship with my captain?"


    "I quickly came over here when I got the call, so I didn''t have enough time to ask for information." He smiled, not knowing anything about the kid since Kai only told their rtionship to Michelle and Ayaka.


    "This¡­" The madam hesitated for a moment but remembering that Evan Young was the member of the Lion Group, the group that Kai led, it should be fine to tell him their rtionship. "Well, Kai Carter has shown his interest in this kid. My kid also asked him to be her teacher, but I guess due to that interest, he epted."


    "Ho?" Evan was surprised that Kai could have something like that. He thought for a moment and muttered. "I wonder if I should tease him like how he teased me¡­"


    He still held a grudge when Kai teased him as a pedophile because of Leisa, but karma worked so fast.


    The moment that thought appeared, a female child''s voice echoed inside the hospital corridor.


    "Ah, there you are! You have finally finished the operation. Big Brother Evan! I havee and brought this with me."


    Evan''s body became stiff while the madam saw a kid with two men in ck suits protecting her. However, when she looked at the paper the kid brought, she dropped her jaw in shock. "Marriage Registration Form?"


    Evan''s turned around like that of a robot and saw Leisa with a terrified expression. "Y-ya, Leisa. What are you doing here?"


    "I came here as soon as my mother told me that you''re here. I wanted to pick you up, but since I had something to do, I couldn''t do it¡­" She looked down, feeling sad. However, her expression changed drastically into the brightest smile she could offer. "But it''s fine¡­ Since you''re here, we should go to my house and y for a while. Of course, don''t forget to sign this one, okay? I have filled everything about myself here."


    "Wait a minute¡­ There''s no way I will sign that form. I''m not going to marry an underage girl!" Evan shouted in panic.


    "Ah, does that mean approval?" Leisa became happier and interpreted his words positively. She said, "Doesn''t that mean it will be okay if I''m not underage anymore? Don''t worry, it will only be several years. We can use this time to get to know each other first¡­ Ah, you still need to sign on this form though. We can just put the date several yearster."


    "No way!" Evan started panicking, searching for an escape route.


    However, Leisa dropped another bomb. "But my mother told me that I''d gotten permission from Sir Kai Carter¡­ She told me that since you are here, you should stay for a couple of days. Besides, if you sign this form, Professor Ria Ross has agreed that she will give me the secret form for her medicine to suppress your blood. We can then y the hormone game."


    "You''re pretending to be innocent. I know that you''ve learned everything from your mother." Evan quickly turned around and tried to escape through the operation room, but the two bodyguards behind her had appeared next to him, cing their hands on his shoulders.


    One of them said, "I''m sorry, Sir. Although we don''t like to do this, we need to. We need to bring some money for the family, you see."


    "You two¡­" Evan gritted his teeth before getting dragged away by the two. "No, I''m not going to be a pedophile."


    "Ah, don''t worry. Thew won''t care much¡­" Leisa put on an innocent smile as she continued, "I only need the permission from four people: My mother, your father, Big Sister Isabelle, and you. I have contacted your father and Big Sister Isabelle had given her approval a few months ago while my mother showed her unconditional support.


    "Now, now, we should get back to the house first to get to know each other. I''m sure that you will give your approval in a few days¡­"


    "No way!" Evan refused while struggling on the floor.


    "But you have written my name when you''re lonely. It''s just below Big Sister Isabelle. I don''t mind though."


    Evan widened her eyes and gasped, remembering there was one time he indeed wrote her name out of instinct.


    "Sir Kai Carter has told me about it. Ah, he told my mother that it was just him trying to help his best friend''s love life."


    Evan''s eyebrows twitched as he shouted. "Captain¡­ No, Kai! You''ve sold me out, haven''t you?! I''m going to beat you up when you return!"


    His shout gradually became weaker as the two brought him to their car while Leisa followed them from behind with a big smile on her face.


    The madam and the two nurses werepletely bewildered by the scene as the madam couldn''t help but make a weird expression while saying, "Ehm¡­ Please don''t make loud noises in the hospital?"


    The two nurses couldn''t contain theirughter while bringing Felice to the normal ward.


    ¡­


    After listening to the story, Felice couldn''t help but chuckle, bringing an expression to her emotionless face. "Big Brother is indeed amusing. Well, I doubted he would sell his friend out if there were no feelings between them while the girl just tried to fake it until you made it."

 Chapter 486 - Leisa Alberona

    In Rena''s mansion, Evan and Leisa sat, facing each other.


    Evan took a sip of the tea Leisa personally brewed. However, thetter had been staring at him this whole time. Confused, he asked, "What do you want?"


    Leisa didn''t answer him and remembered her past.


    A few years ago.


    Leisa put on her school uniform. She was still a kid and wanted to experience the school for the first time.


    Suddenly, Rena entered the room and looked at her with a worried smile. "Leisa."


    "Mom!" Leisa leaped to her and hugged her legs while looking at her face.


    Rena smiled and patted her head while asking, "Are you sure you want to go to the school?"


    "Yes."


    "You¡­" She let out a long sigh, bent her knees, and hugged her tightly. There was a series of emotions transmitted into Leisa, but thetter was oblivious to it. Leisa only knew her mother was worried about her.


    Leisa smiled and said, "Mom, Leisa wants to do many things and knows many people."


    "Mom understands. However, your physique is slightly different from other children, so mom is worried about you."


    Poison was Rena''s strength and became his greatest weapon that allowed her to be an S Rank Magician, but it was also her biggest curse. The fate of the one meddling with poison was tragic.


    With her body containing so many poisons that had fused to her body since young, her husband''s life was taken not long after she was pregnant.


    Filled with sorrow, Rena still looked forward to the future while anticipating the baby inside her belly. Unfortunately for her, fate yed another prank on her.


    Leisa was born under a special body. Her body was contaminated by the poison in her body and forced to carry it in her blood.


    No one dared to carry her when she was first born because the residual liquid that covered Leisa''s body melted the towel and almost destroyed the nurse''s hand.


    It turned out, Leisa also released a special type of poison to the air subconsciously. If they had contact with her just for a short period, they wouldn''t feel anything at all, but if they went into her life without any protection, they would start getting poisoned until they died miserably.


    Knowing this, Rena started researching for a way to suppress the poisonous air she released naturally and managed to suppress it by forcing her to wear a ne made of special flowers. Those flowers were specially chosen by Rena to purify the gas that naturally left her body.


    Even so, this treatment seeded for a few years and Leisa was old enough to finally climb the first step of her education.


    She hugged her again and said, "No matter what, don''t take off the ne mom gave you, okay?"


    Leisa nodded with a bright smile, saying, "Yes, Leisa understands!"


    Seeing such a smile, Rena didn''t have the heart to stop her anymore and personally drove her to school.


    Leisa came out of the car and waved her hand to Rena while walking. "Mom, I love you."


    Rena also waved her hand and prayed for Leisa''s well-being. She had informed the teacher about Leisa''s situation, so they should know what to do with her.


    In school, Leisa found many new friends. Since she was always apanied by her mother, her caretaker and a few bodyguards, she was happy to know people of her age.


    She kept smiling andughing. Everything went normal.


    But there was another prank of fate¡­ When she yed with the other kids in the school garden, she suddenly fell to the ground andnded on her stomach.


    "Ugh." Leisa wanted to cry, but she held herself back, not wanting to ruin this beautiful day. She endured the pain as the kids started gathering around her, trying to help her.


    However, the moment she woke up, she saw her ne was broken. At that time, she realized her body would be releasing the poison air again and endanger the others. Her mother had shown her the horror in her early days because Rena didn''t want her to suffer because of her ignorance.


    That was why when she saw the broken ne, Leisa quickly rose from the ground and waved her hand to the side while shouting. "Don''te near me!"


    The kids were confused and some even thought Leisa showed hostility and began to cry. Although it pained her heart, Leisa kept shouting while using her hand to push them away. "Don''te near me."


    Some of the kids were still trying to help Leisa, while some tried to call the teachers. However, one of the girls suddenly grabbed her hand and refused to let her go.


    Leisa turned around and saw a ck-haired girl. This girl was her first friend and Leisa''s body began to shake, wanting to push her away but unable to do so.


    She could only keep saying, "No, no! Don''te near me. You will be sick."


    The girl didn''t listen to her and kept holding her hand while saying with a smile. "What do you mean? I won''t be sick just by holding your hand."


    "Please¡­ Please¡­ Let me go." Leisa started begging her to protect her first friend, but thetter still refused to let go.


    "No! I am your friend. If you have trouble, I can help you solve the problem."


    The teacher finally came out and found Leisa''s broken ne. She panicked and ran to them, quickly separating Leisa and the girl.


    "Don''t move. Don''t touch her." The teacher quickly called Rena, who happened to stay nearby because of her worry.


    Rena promised toe immediately, but the situation turned worse.


    Due to the low immunity of the kid, red marks gradually appeared on her hands that held Leisa a moment ago.


    "Wha¡ª" The girl panicked and felt the itchiness from those red marks before it slowly spread to her body. "What is this? Teacher? I feel so hot. Teacher, what is happening to me."


    The teacher gritted her teeth, picked Leisa''s ne and put it on her neck again while using her own hand to attach the broken part until Rena arrived.


    But the girl started bing terrified and looked around her, finding that all the kids were also frightened by her appearance, especially the red marks on her body.


    They all stepped back and some even ran away. It was then the girl realized what kind of mon¡­human Leisa was.


    She dropped to the ground and looked at Leisa, the daughter of the Poison Master, as if staring at a monster. "I am going to die. I am going to die."


    The girl suddenly dropped to the ground, feeling that her body was too hot for her to handle. Leisa and the other kids were scared, but Rena finally arrived at the scene. She instantly understood what had happened and ran to Leisa and the unconscious kid.


    A magic circle appeared on both of her hands. The first one was to temporarily seal Leisa''s poisonous aura, while the other was to absorb the poison that entered the girl''s body.


    "I''m sorry, Teacher. I will bring Leisa away right now."


    "Ye-yes. The girl seems to have gone back to normal too."


    "I have healed her. There won''t be any future problems with the kids." She nodded while looking at the rest of the kids.


    Not wanting to scare the kids anymore, Rena quickly carried Leisa and left the school.


    Leisa could only cry the whole time despite Rena''s effort to calm her down.


    Due to that incident, Leisa didn''t go to school for two weeks. After numerous calls from the school, Leisa decided to return to the school in order to check on her friend and other kids.


    Yet, the moment she entered the ss, all the kids looked at her with terrified expressions. She tried to talk to her first friend, only to find her flinching and stepping back while looking at her in horror.


    She was still small and subconsciously said what was in her mind. "You monster!"


    Leisa''s body was shaking and her face was distorted. Unable to endure the pain in her heart, she left the ss while crying.


    This time, there was a bodyguard that followed her and protected her, but the moment she reached home, she locked herself inside her bedroom and hid under her sheet.


    She cried and cried while shouting, "Why?! Why?! Why?! Am I a monster?! Why am I a monster?!"


    Rena wanted to enter and call her name, but Leisa kept shouting at her to go away until she eventually passed out because she was exhausted after too much crying.


    A momentter, Leisa woke up and saw her mother taking care of her with the gentlest look she could offer.


    "Mom¡­" Leisa started breaking again and cried. "Why am I¡ª"


    Before she finished, Rena had already teared up and hugged her. "Don''t worry, Leisa. Even if nobody wants you, Mom will always stay beside you."


    The two continued to cry. After some time, Leisa regained her calm and decided not to go to school anymore and locked herself inside the house where no one would need to suffer anymore.


    She had locked her heart and decided to live with only her mother, who showed her unconditional love and support. She eventually learned about poison from her to control her power better.


    It continued for several years.


    Suddenly, the heart that had been frozen for years started to melt when Evan came to the mansion. His healing ability neutralized any poison from her body or the ones around her.


    It was the first time she finally met another person that she could gradually open up to. When Evan was there, she offered the best smile of her life the whole time. When Evan wasn''t there, she cried, feeling overjoyed. It was the first time in her life she finally met someone¡­ Someone that wouldn''t leave her alone anymore. In that instant, she fell in love, thinking he would be the person she would spend her entire life with.


    Remembering the scene, Leisa smiled and kept staring at Evan''s face.


    "What?" Evan was troubled by her constant stare, but thetter was still saying with a cheerful tone. "Nothing. Hehehe¡­"

 Chapter 487 - Felices Request

    Three weekster, Kai returned to Brus after finishing his mission.


    Although he didn''t meet any attacker group on the way, he had listened to the situation around him, finding that not many monsters were alive in the epic center where they were supposed to create a base for further invasion.


    Kai didn''t care and continued his way to Brus.


    Surprisingly, Rena hadn''t gone back to her home, waiting for him.


    It was on the base they met, making Kai confused.


    He tilted his head and asked, "You¡­ You didn''t go back?"


    "Nah, I''m waiting for you first, hoping you don''t mind if you bring me back like how I came here. Either way, I have something I want to say."


    Seeing her serious face, Kai agreed and the group returned with a helicopter.


    In the air, Rena finally opened her mouth, telling him what happened. "Actually, I want to thank you for bringing Evan here. Although it was not intentional, Leisa had a great time."


    Kai shook his head. "If there is nothing between them, I wouldn''t even agree to it. However, my friend is a bit indecisive, you see. Only when Isabelle took charge would he begin to show his affection¡­ That''s why I agreed to your request."


    "Ahaha." Rena chuckled while remembering what Leisa had gone through in the past. She smiled, "If you need any help, just call me. I will do my best to help you."


    "Just take care of Felice. That''s enough for me." Kai shrugged. "Though what I want to do is¡­"


    Even though Kai stopped there, Rena knew Kai wanted to destroy the group that attacked them. But Rena stopped him with a shake of the head. "I think you should see this first."


    Rena showed a video call from Felice. She seemed to have a message for him.


    Kai fell silent and looked at her, waiting for her to talk.


    After a long pause, Felice finally opened her mouth. "Big Brother Kai¡­ I know that with your personality, you''re going to destroy the group that attacked us, but would you please give this matter to me? I would like to destroy them with my hand¡­ Of course, Big Sister Roselyn will help me together with Sir Arnaud.


    "I have also discussed the matter with the Campbell Family and they''ve agreed to this n. I promise you that while I''m training to get stronger andpleting the mission you gave me, I will destroy them within one year.


    "It may not be that hard for you to destroy them, but this is a kind of challenge for me to improve myself. I know that what I''m requesting here is too reckless and selfish, but¡­" Felice lowered her head. "Please."


    Kai narrowed his eyes while Roselyn and Sofia looked at each other. Roselyn obviously didn''t have any problem helping her, but Sofia, on the other hand, was surprised that her father would give in, especially after Julia was taken away.


    She thought for a moment and said, "Kai, there''s no way I can go with you immediately, so I can help her too during that time with Roselyn while looking out for this kid. Besides, I''m not going to let her do something too reckless and give you a daily report. We can''t trust Roselyn, right?"


    Roselyn pouted and looked away. She knew that with how she acted the whole time, it was hard for others to trust her. After all, Kai had threatened her a few times and somehow changed her ns. That was why Sofia believed Roselyn wouldn''t be able to endure Felice''s begging.


    He thought for a moment and asked, "Do you mind having Sofia with you?"


    "No. As long as Big Brother agrees, that''s fine with me." Felice shook her head without hesitation. "It''s not like I''m going to lie to you anyway, whatever the result. After all, for me, trust is number one. I don''t believe white lies that are supposed to be a lie used to protect your loved one. It''s just a show of distrust in my eyes."


    Kai closed his eyes for a minute before opening his mouth. "I will allow it. However, there is one more condition."


    "Please tell me."


    "Before you raid their bases, even if it''s only a small one, I want you to report the situation to me, including your n on how you would like to get rid of them."


    "I understand." Felice agreed immediately, but little did she know, the reason why Kai wanted that n was to teach her a bit about warfare, his specialty. Although he didn''t admit it yet, Kai was already satisfied with her performance and nned to take in the kid regardless of the result.


    "Alright then. You can do it." Kai nodded. "I will leave them to you."


    "Yes. I won''t disappoint or worry you anymore." Felice repeatedly nodded, assuring Kai.


    Kai only chuckled and said with a smile. "No need to rush. You have a long time."


    He felt happy in teaching her and wondered why Felice was cuter than normal. He then remembered when he first met his master, recalling the memory when she gradually smiled andughed with him even if it wasn''t funny.


    It might be the joy of having a student, Kai thought. At the same time, he didn''t know why he picked one year before, but when he had this thought, he realized it was something that his teacher had instilled in him.


    That one year was the same period of his training where he died more than ten thousand times until his emotion went numb, not knowing what to feel anymore. Although he had recovered it, he still remembered the scariness of the training.


    Knowing that Felice would take the same step as him, he couldn''t help but chuckle to see how simr they were. He just saw the small him within her.


    "Be careful out there, will you?" Kai smiled and said something that he didn''t receive back then. "Call me if you need anything."


    Yes, he had given his contact information to Felice, unlike Ria Ross, who disappeared so suddenly back then. His experience of getting chased and almost died made this decision to prevent Felice from experiencing the same.


    After all, her ability wasn''t like him, so it would be best to be in a safe environment first.


    Since he had discussed everything, Rena hung up as Kai stared at her with a serious expression.


    Kai lowered his head and asked, "Please take care of her."


    Rena obviously didn''t expect Kai to be lowering his head. Kai might be the strongest person in the world, so it was iprehensible for such a person to lower his head. Yet, the same person didn''t hesitate in doing it for the sake of his future student.


    This also put some pressure on Rena because she knew Kai treasured his future disciple. She took a deep breath and answered, "Yes. I will do my best to take care of her."


    After that, they had a small talk and flew for a few hours before arriving in French.


    He quickly came out of the helicopter, only to find someone waiting for him. He was none other than one of the S Rank Magicians, Arnaud.


    Arnaud had a serious expression and looked at him. He didn''t extend his hand while saying, "I have some bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

 Chapter 488 - Insanity

    Kai was speechless when he heard it. His eyebrows twitched and he said, "If all of them are bad, why do you want me to choose?"


    Arnaud shrugged and continued, "Anyway, I have three pieces of news for you. First, I''ve sniffed out the real mastermind."


    "That''s good. Isn''t that good news?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.


    "Well, because he is bad news. The culprit is the current prime minister of France."


    "¡­" Kai couldn''t understand why it was bad news, so he asked, "Is there any problem with his identity?"


    "Yes. He currently holds the strongest influence. Although I doubt there is another connection between him and other Union members, I''m afraid it will take time to weaken him."


    "Ho?" Kai looked down and thought. "It''s not like we can kill him and be done with it."


    "Don''t say such a scary thing in public, you won''t like to be exposed, right?"


    Kai shook his head and knew his concern. However, he had made sure that nothing would pick him out with his ears.


    "Anyway, why is France''s prime minister bad news?"


    "He is¡­ A scary man who ys very well in politics." Arnaud shook his head helplessly. "I''m afraid he will set us up if we go at him directly. That''s why we need another party to help us."


    "Another party?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes. The Prime Minister of Sweden. He has agreed to meet you, but I''m afraid it has be the second bad news."


    "What do you mean?"


    "He wants to show you something¡­ No, the true ruler of Sweden wants to show you something. Due to that, he wants you to go there by yourself to discuss this matter."


    "That''s easy, but¡­" Kai suddenly found something was wrong and continued, "If I go there, won''t the spy notice me?"


    "Yes. That''s why it''s a problem. We can''t get you there while avoiding his eyes."


    "We may find another way, but what I''m curious about is¡­ Did you say the true ruler of Sweden?"


    "Yes. The current prime minister is just a puppet. The real ruler is someone scarier than France''s Prime Minister. You can say that if you''re a prodigy in warfare, this person is a prodigy in politics."


    "Ho?!" Kai was amused by this information and asked, "So, this person wants me to go there without being seen¡­"


    "Yes."


    "Before continuing this topic, I need to know the third news first."


    "Certainly. As much as we have hidden it, our sudden disappearance made him suspicious. Hence, he had been looking for us this whole time and suspected that we got another outside help to increase Sofia and Roselyn''s power. Hence, he suspected that there was something going on and tried to sniff it from me or anybody else. That''s why our time is not that long anymore."


    "What?!" Kai opened his mouth in surprise. In their current situation, the source of power was the most important. That was why he had been redirecting all the attention to his secret method instead of outside help.


    However, the prime minister seemed to have understood that there was outside help. This would certainly interest those people from the sea.


    That was why he understood the urgency of this meeting.


    Kai thought for a moment and asked, "If I were to meet this true ruler¡­ What is our chance in defeating France''s Prime Minister?"


    "Eighty percent. Sweden has been preparing for everything this whole time and only waits for the right time to strike. And since you''ve got a great interest in this matter, they''re nning to make their move soon."


    "Fair enough." Kai nodded. "In that case, I will do it. What is the n you get and what is our time limit?"


    Arnaud then opened the map and pointed at Lithuania. "Because of the current invasion, I''m nning to send you here to be their reinforcement. The reason why I chose Lithuania is due to its location. First, I wanted to send you to Sweden, but you couldn''t go through Denmark.


    "Hence, I changed my n. The current n is to have you go to this ce and go around, passing Latvia, Estonia, Find and finally arriving in Sweden."


    Kai agreed without hesitation since it was better than sending him to the south or southeast, where their main battlefield was. However, he still didn''t have confidence in going around with the time limit and asked, "What is the time limit? Is there any restriction?"


    "The time limit is two weeks. The restriction¡­ I''m afraid you can''t go by vehicle. In other words, you need to go around by foot."


    "That''s an insane request you have there." Kai frowned as his expression turned serious. "If it''s only a one-way trip, I may probably be able to do it."


    "I know that, but this is the only way." Arnaud sighed.


    Kai looked down and crossed his arms, contemting his n. He then remembered that he had the ability to control the Magical Beasts. Although it wasn''t every single one of them, he should be able to use them to go around.


    The problem would be Find. There was no way he could show it there, so he asked, "How about Find? Do I need to conceal myself there too?"


    Arnaud had a pained expression but still nodded his head.


    "You''re indeed asking too much of me." Kai shook his head helplessly while zooming the map. He then pointed at the small ind above Latvia or West to Estonia.


    "If this doesn''t work, I''m going to make you ountable for it." Kai sighed and offered an insane solution. "I''m going to use this ind."


    "Huh?" Arnaud was confused by his choice before he dropped his jaw to the ground, unable toprehend whether Kai had gone crazy or not. "You¡­ You''re not going to say you want to cross the sea, right?"


    "Yes. That''s my n." Kai shrugged.


    "Are you insane?"


    "You''re the one who makes me." Kai yawned and said, "Anyway, I''m going to use this ind and go straight to the west to rest on this small ind called Gotska Sandon National Park before arriving at Stockholm.


    "This way, I can arrive there in three days. Using the same amount of time to go back, I will probably spend another three days in Sweden. The remaining five days will be used to work my ass in Lithuania."


    "You¡­" Arnaud was speechless as he couldn''t even rebuke him. What he said defied logic, but Kai himself couldn''t go along with logic. Hence, he thought Kai must have the power to cross the sea even though he would be swarmed by an army of fishes and any other sea creatures.


    Their number was far higher than those in the sky. That was why aviation was there while no ship dared to venture to the sea.


    "Anyway, I have given you my n. No matter how insane it is, it''s your job to trust me. Tell that true ruler to meet me there or we can pretend that this conversation has never happened. And¡­ You also need to make an excuse for me to leave Lithuania and venture alone. There''s no way the soldiers won''t realize I''m missing for nine days." Kai shrugged and patted Arnaud''s shoulder before walking away. "That''s it. I''m going to prepare for the iing trip."


    "I don''t know if you still havemon sense, but trust huh¡­" Arnaud was speechless, wondering whether he or even the true ruler could trust Kai''s insane method.

 Chapter 489 - Heading To The Shore

    After settling the n with Arnaud, Kai finally returned to the school without visiting the hospital. Inside his room, Sofia came to him with a serious expression, asking, "Are you sure you''re going to continue with this crazy n?"


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Yes."


    There was no doubt in his eyes that he could seed, making even Sofia ponder the true probability of him reaching Sweden within three days with that insane n.


    "Are you worried?"


    "Of course. What is that stupid question¡­" She shook her head helplessly and ced her hand on his cheek. "It''s going to be dangerous, you know."


    "It''s fine. It''s not like I''m nning to defeat a protector inside the sea." Kai shrugged, knowing that the protector wouldn''t even think about this n as he had already known the way to reach Sweden in three days.


    "It seems there is no way for me to follow you¡­ Maybe I can freeze a portion of the sea as we continue our way¡­"


    "That''s going to be suspicious for the others. Instead, you and Roselyn are to remain here or go for another mission." Kai thought for a moment and continued, "And with Felice''s condition, I feel like it''s right for Roselyn to visit her."


    "So, you want me to watch her from time to time?"


    "Yes. Is that too much to ask?"


    "Not at all. Although I can''t go with you, solving your worries is something I can do."


    "Thanks." Kai nodded with a serious expression and looked at her. "There is something I want to tell you."


    "What is it? Do you want me to do something?"


    "Yes. Can you ask for any information about this Prime Minister? I''m afraid there is someone standing behind him that protects him all the time. That''s why I believe it''s not the time to make a reckless move by killing him. And if the Prime Minister indeedes for us, eliminate whoever''s behind him. Of course, ask Roselyn for help."


    Sofia pondered and nodded not long after. "I understand. I will work together with Arnaud. Besides, grandfather is pressuring the organization that attacks us to prevent any more attacks. It''s also a good choice for us to remain here."


    "Yes. I will be leaving everything to you."


    "Sure."


    The next day.


    Kai woke up and gave a peck on Sofia''s forehead before heading out with minimum equipment.


    He gently knocked on Roselyn''s door.


    When Roselyn opened the door with her sleepy eyes, she lightly rubbed her eyes before finding Kai standing before her.


    She looked down and realized she was in her pajamas. She quickly fixed her clothes and asked in a panic. "Wha¡ªWhat do you want? I mean, do you need anything from me?"


    "Yeah. You should have received the mission from Sir Arnaud, right? I want to start the mission right now."


    "This early?" Roselyn tilted her head in confusion.


    "Yes. Since we don''t have much time left, I better go right now." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "I-I understand." Roselyn repeatedly nodded and quickly grabbed her device, slightly revealing her room.


    Kai didn''t have any interest in peeping into a maiden room, so he simply took a step back to wait for her.


    When Roselyn came out, she showed Kai that the mission had been approved and she just needed to take a record of his departure. "Do you need anything in your mission?"


    "No. Since it will be a hard journey, I will only bring my swords and two water bottles to dehydrate myself. It should be enough. Of course, it''s preferable that you can send me to Lithuania by helicopter."


    Roselyn agreed without hesitation. "That''s easy. I will make a simplemand for you. Just show it to the base and you will get a ride to Lithuania."


    "Thanks." Kai nodded and said, "Also, I would like you to be careful. I don''t have anything with me, so I can''t help you in this situation¡­"


    "Yes. I will be extra careful for these two weeks."


    "That''s good." He then patted her shoulder and said, "If something happens, you can contact the Sweden side since I will be back immediately. I don''t say this to Sofia because she will surely try to do everything she can to make me not worry, so¡­ I will trust this to you."


    Roselyn smiled and looked down, feeling a bit sad. She looked at his eyes and said, "I feel a bit envious¡­"


    Kai tilted his head in confusion and heard Roselyn continue.


    "I''m envious that Sofia can actually do everything for the man she loves and you also love her back unconditionally." Roselyn gently stroked her cheek with her finger and said, "Anyway, I shouldn''t talk about this since I need to focus on my mission."


    Kai didn''t know what to say and remained silent. After a while, he had received the document, turned around and said while walking away, "I believe there will be someone right for you."


    Roselyn waved her hand with a gentle expression before shaking her head, returning to her room.


    Meanwhile, Kai headed straight to the military base to ask for a helicopter to take him to Lithuania. After negotiating with the general and showing the document, the general asked someone to take him there.


    Kai was thankful and finished his journey even before 9 AM. It was still in the morning and he could see many soldiers preparing their equipment for the invasion.


    Kai, on the other hand, reported to the general in charge and presented him with the mission document. The general said he already knew since Arnaud had told him everything yesterday. He requested that Kai was to be deployed near Latvia so he could do a better job alone.


    Since the essence of elite soldiers was fighting alone, the general agreed to him and gave him the location near Latvia''s border.


    He was tasked to kill all the monsters there before returning to the base to create a small path for them to make a temporary base, connecting Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia in one straight line.


    Kai agreed with the mission, believing he could finish it within a few days after visiting Sweden.


    Since he had settled everything, Kai saluted him and quickly made his way out of the base, heading straight to the location. However, Kai changed his direction mid-way because he nned to go straight to the shore where he could reach the small ind. He already had his n to cross the sea anyway.


    ¡­


    After an hour of running, he thought it was enough for him to start his n.


    He suddenly heard a howl and quickly followed the sound, finding ten wolves moving together. The wolves had a blue body that seemed to have mutated from its previous color. Even so, the wolves still had brown fur, making them quite weird wolves.


    However, his eyes were fixated on the bigger wolf, whose fur was lighter brown. Its eyes looked into Kai''s eyes as if challenging him, but Kai simply smiled and said, "You''re the one. I want you to bring me to the shore."


    Yes, this was his n. He wanted to use his ability tomunicate and control the monsters to travel across the sea. Although it would be inconvenient to do it to the sea creatures, he nned to use a bird when he reached the shore, allowing him to finally experience flying with a bird.

 Chapter 490 - Fighting The Wolf

    Looking at the wolves, Kai suddenly stepped forward and howled. "(I want you to bring me to the shore north from this ce.)"


    The wolf leader was seemingly surprised as he never expected a human could talk to him. It let out a weak growl, replying. "(Human¡­ Talking to us? Who''re you?)"


    Kai narrowed his eyes and said with a serious expression. "(The King of the Humans.)"


    "¡­" The wolf suddenly took a step back as if understanding the importance of that title. He observed Kai''s movement and aura before replying, "(I don''t believe you.)"


    "(It''s up to you. However, I want to ask you how should I persuade you to take me to the shore.)"


    The wolf fell silent, contemting his offer. After a while, the wolf said, "(I will only recognize one''s strength. If you wish to ride on my back, even if you''re the king of the humans, you can only convince me with your strength.)"


    "(Shall be it!)" Kai''s expression turned serious as he put down his swords, nning to face him with his fists so as to avoid killing the wolf.


    Seeing Kai get ready, the wolf also told the others to stay away. He stared at Kai intensely, ready to jump on him the moment he noticed a slight movement from Kai.


    Kai noticed his intention and smiled, raising his guard. A magic circle then appeared beneath his feet,unching him to the wolf.


    In response, the wolf leaped to the front, confronting him head-on.


    He waved both his paws and his ws while Kai grabbed the paws with his hands, showing the same amount of strength even though the wolf was slightly bigger than his size.


    The wolves were surprised to see their leader couldn''t even push this human''s back.


    Kai noticed that this wolf was an intelligent monster and that was the reason he chose him to help him in his journey.


    The wolf suddenly changed its strategy and got away from Kai. He then charged forward in a zig-zag, trying to confuse Kai, but thetter already understood its intention from his footsteps.


    Kai would hear the slight difference between his normal jump and the one that nned to attack him.


    At that moment, Kai struck his w while protecting his fist with an exoskeleton to avoid any scratch left by the ws.


    Bam.


    Three star-shaped lights appeared above his head before dropping right onto him.


    Kai summoned his Sound st instead of his shield to blow all those attacks away,unching them to the side. Those three then hit the ground and created ice crystals bigger than the wolf''s body.


    If he were hit by it, he might be pierced by those sharp-pointed ice.


    Kai believed he needed to get serious to end this fight very soon, so he used his Sound st beneath the wolf''s foot,unching his bottom half to the air.


    Using that momentum, Kai twisted his body to spin the wolf before throwing him to a tree.


    Without waiting for any wolves to react, including the leader itself, Kai sent a kick to the tree trunk above his head and destroyed the trunk, showing that if he wanted to kill him, he could do it anytime.


    The wolf took a peek at the destruction that surprisingly affected the other trees behind him and realized that Kai needed to adjust his power to avoid killing him this whole time.


    Such a merciful act melted the wolf''s heart as he gradually rose from the ground and lowered his head. "(I have lost.)"


    "(You let me win.)" Kai smiled and took a deep breath before returning to pick up his weapons.


    The wolf saw his weapons and asked, "(My Master¡­ How strong are you if you wield those weapons?)"


    Kai thought for a moment and shrugged. "(I''m not very sure. But killing all of you within ten seconds is possible.)"


    "¡­" The wolf leader fell silent and finally sat on the ground. "(I shall apany you to the shore. I believe we can reach there within a few hours.)"


    "(That''s right. Do you happen to know any birds that can travel across the sea? I need his/her help to travel to somewhere.)" Kai asked, knowing that the magical beasts weren''t really that aggressive toward each other, so he thought there might be a chance for the wolf to know it.


    Fortunately, the wolf nodded his head and replied, "(If you desire a wing to help you fly over the sea, then I know someone. I can help you convince him, but I can''t really ask him to do a favor.)"


    Kai understood and said, "(It''s fine. As long as I can meet him¡­)"


    "(I understand.)" The wolf didn''tin since he somehow understood why Kai''s words were more persuasive than his. Although he didn''t understand it that much, he felt there was something strange in the way he talked, including thenguage. It was as if he was a superior being that everyone needed to follow.


    Even his heart was influenced in his first sentence.


    Kai wasn''t aware of this ability yet, but there was a slight change in his tone when he used thisnguage. Kai considered it as an ent, but it was something else and it was also the reason why magical beasts would follow someone superior willingly like those protectors of the sea.


    As for himself, since he had gotten what he wanted, Kai then walked to the wolf and asked, "(Can you guide me to him?)"


    "(Certainly. I believe his size is wide enough for Your Excellency to ride on.)"


    The wolf then rose from the ground and allowed Kai to ride on his back. Because his size was slightly bigger than Kai, Kai managed to hop on his back without his feet touching the ground as long as he lifted it a bit.


    Although it wasn''t thatfortable, he was able to conserve his stamina for whatever he needed in the future.


    As instructed, the wolf led him to the north, near the coast. However, there was a small hill they passed and the wolf suddenly turned around, trying to climb the hill.


    Kai himself had talked quite a bit with the wolves to check the condition of their living in this ce and the wolves happily discussed it.


    Even Kai was surprised to hear the hierarchy of the monsters.


    After a while, they became a bit friendlier toward each other, knowing that both of them were just trying to do everything to survive.


    Since there were only a few hundred meters to go, Kai jumped off the wolf''s back and ran alongside him, trying to find who he wanted to introduce to him.


    Surprisingly, the wolf led him to a dark cave, where Kai had difficulty seeing. Although he could hear the sound of their movements, he didn''t know the monsters'' species in the current situation.


    "I sense two presences inside¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    The wolf nodded in agreement, confirming his hearing ability.


    As if listening to his voice, a pair of golden eyes shed inside the dark cave before a shadow made its appearance.


    When it finally came out of the dark, the bird pped and extended its wing to the sides, showing its mighty figure. The wingspan from this bird was ten meters with its body height alone reaching five meters. It was a colossal bird.


    And the bird was one of the most dangerous predators in the sky, an Eagle.


    "(Leave right now. I shall spare no mercy if you take another step on this hill.)"

 Chapter 491 - Reaching An Understanding

    Kai looked at the bird in silence before narrowing his eyes, finding something was wrong with the bird.


    The wolf also noticed it and said, "(Damn, you. You don''t even recognize me?)"


    The eagle finally came to his senses before looking at the wolf with a frown. "(What are you doing here? This is my territory.)"


    "(I know. I''m here to guide a person to see you.)" The wolf shook his head and nced at Kai.


    The eagle then turned to Kai, finding he was a human. The eagle became a bit agitated as he asked, "(Why would a human trespass my territory? Since you want death, I will give you.)"


    "(He is no ordinary human. He is a King.)" The wolf stopped him before any fight started, not wanting the eagle to die.


    Kai, on the other hand, noticed something inside the cave. The breath was weak. This creature had a small size, but he could see a simr shape to the eagle before him.


    Hence, he asked, "(Do you have a problem? I can hear someone with a simr body like you inside the cave and its breath is very weak.)"


    The eagle widened his eyes and opened its wing, trying to stop Kai from entering the cave as if he was hiding something.


    The wolf then realized and asked, "(Your Son¡­ Did something happen to your son?)"


    "(He is fine. He is the son of the great me. There''s no way he will die from the fall.)" The eagle let out a loud cry until its voice cracked a bit, indirectly telling both of them that he wasn''t fine.


    Kai thought for a moment and said, "(Maybe I can see him first and ask a specialist to see whether I can help or not?)"


    Kai offered his help in order to gain the trust of the eagle, but the eagle rejected him immediately. "(I won''t trust you!)"


    "(He is the king.)" The wolf reminded him before helping Kai convince the eagle, "(I know that you don''t trust anyone with that pride of yours, but isn''t it fine just to let him see your son? It''s good that he can help him.)"


    The eagle hesitated again and nced at Kai and the cave back and forth.


    After a while, the eagle nodded its head and stepped aside.


    Before entering the cave, Kai actually took out his Device, calling his Teacher instead of Evan.


    "What? Do you need anything from me?"


    "Actually, I would like to ask a question. Do you know anything about eagles?"


    "How random¡­ And why the heck are you even asking me that kind of question? Don''t tell me. You can listen to magical beasts'' conversation right now¡­ I know that your ears are abnormal, but this one is beyond ridiculous."


    Kai chuckled and asked, "Can you?"


    "I am not a vet. You should ask a vet for this, but since it''s unprecedented for a human to talk to magical beasts, I guess it will bring a lot of controversy because of you. I will call my friend once and ask something necessary about it. What''s this all about?"


    "There seems to be an injured eagle, but I don''t know the exact details."


    "Okay. I will ask him first. You can check the eagle."


    "Understood. Thanks." Kai hung up and asked, "Can I meet your son?"


    Seeing Kai asking for his permission again even though he had stepped aside, the eagle finally stopped his attitude, knowing that Kai respected him. He then nodded. "Please."


    The eagle didn''t follow him inside even though he was still worried.


    Kai smiled and thanked him before entering the cave. The light was quite dim, so he used his Device to generate more light for him to see the front.


    He walked closer and closer to the eagle''s son, which had the same appearance as its father, except for the size. Before him was a small eagle half of a human''s size, but he realized that he was covered with blood.


    There were some wounds around his wings and body.


    When the eagle saw him, he became vignt, albeit his body was too weak to even move. He simply remainedying down on the ground as he heard Kai''s voice.


    "(Don''t worry. I won''t hurt you. Your father is outside as well. I just want to look at your condition.)"


    Knowing that his father had given him the permission as well as having no strength to fight back, the eagle dropped its guard and let Kai do whatever he wanted.


    Kai then took a few photos of him and sent them to Ria Ross to be examined.


    Ria Ross only gathered the information without leading the conversation to Kai meeting an eagle to protect him. At the same time, she realized that the condition was not bad at all.


    After a long pause, Ria Ross asked him to bring him outside to treat him while checking whether he had an internal injury or not since she couldn''t help him if he had one.


    Kai agreed with her and asked, "(Do you mind if I bring you outside? It''s too dark to understand everything.)"


    As soon as he gave the permission, Kai gently lifted him up and carried him to the outside, surprising both the eagle and the wolf.


    Before the eagle became angry, Kai had put his son down while pressing a few areas ording to Ria''s instruction.


    He soon heard a series of roars echoing in the area. It was a normal reaction since he had just used his Device to call his teacher.


    Since he didn''t want anyone to bother Kai, the wolf offered himself to calm the rest.


    On the contrary, Kai pressed the eagle''s body gently while asking, "(Do you feel pain here? If you do, just blink twice."


    The eagle surprisingly didn''t blink even when Kai pressed all the areas suggested by Ria.


    Knowing that the wound was just superficial, he assured the father. "(There''s no threat from the inside. As long as we patch up the wound and let him recover for a while, I think he will be fine.)"


    The eagle looked at him for a while, but Kai could feel the relief from his eyes and the sound of his heart.


    Since there was nothing to wrap him, Kai tore both his sleeves and pants, leaving him with only a sleeveless shirt and short pants.


    He washed them with the water he brought to barely disinfect them before slicing the clothes to a few pieces and drying them off by blowing Sound Wave to generate wind, allowing him to wrap all the wounds.


    The eagle son felt excruciating pain during the whole process, but he found out that the bleeding had stopped after Kai poured water on the wound and wrapped it.


    He realized that little pain was worth enduring because he could see that his son should be fine after a while.


    The mighty eagle finally lowered its head and said, "(Thank you, Human King.)"


    "(It''s fine. My Teacher and another person gave a helping hand.)" Kai winked his eyes.


    The wolf also returned and saw that everything had ended before turning to the eagle, revealing Kai''s purpose. "(Eagle¡­ He actually wanted your help to cross the ocean.)"


    "(Crossing the ocean?)" The eagle furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Kai. "(I''m sorry, Human King. Although I want to help you, I don''t think I can fly that far. The best I can do is to cover a great distance before the needs to rest.)"


    Kai then opened his map and showed him his n. "(Actually, this is my n. I''m going to this big ind to start the journey andnd on this small one to rest for a while. After that, I can continue the journey for a while before dropping to the ocean, making my way there to avoid anyone from seeing you. But if it''s not possible, then I will try to ask someone else or go there by myself.)"


    The eagle narrowed his eyes and didn''t really understand the map. However, he could see Kai had a n.


    "(I don''t know much about the distance and what you''ve shown me, but I can try to take you to the first one to judge whether I canplete the journey or not. What do you think?)"


    Kai smiled and nodded. "(That would be great. The distance from this ce to the edge of that ind was half of every flying session, so it''s a good way to judge it. And I really appreciate your help.)"


    Seeing that the eagle and Kai hade to an agreement, the wolf said, "(I can watch over your son until you finish your trip.)"


    The eagle nodded and knew that even though the wolf was not his friend or enemy, he indeed could trust him as he was a wolf of principle.


    Kai''s heart was also moved, knowing that the beasts were actually caring for each other. He then said, "(I think you should relocate from here sooner orter. If possible, go to the east as far as you can go. I don''t think they will be able to reach that area for at least a few decades¡­ Unfortunately, I don''t have enough strength to stop their expansion in my current state.)"


    The eagle and wolf looked at each other and nodded. The wolf replied, "(In that case, we will leave the area. It''s not that rare to migrate from one area to another anyway. After youplete your objective of course¡­)"


    "(Thanks.)"


    Kai, the wolf, and the eagle felt like they had reached an understanding. Besides, both of them could ask the other beasts to follow them to the east to avoid dying.


    At the same time, Kai could also clear this ce from magical beasts peacefully, allowing him to produce a big result for his mission.


    It was a win-win situation.

 Chapter 492 - Friendship

    After agreeing to bring Kai across the ocean, the eagle quickly lowered its head and body, asking Kai to hop on his back.


    Kai waved to the wolf and said, "(Goodbye.)"


    The wolf only nodded his head, not saying anything as if it couldn''t bear to separate from Kai.


    Now that he understood them more and looked at them, the magical beasts were actually cute. They were indeed aggressive, but there was a kind of charm that pets didn''t have.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t stay any longer, so he gently tapped the eagle''s back as the eagle tugged his son for a while before soaring to the sky.


    Kai held onto his fur and made sure he didn''t fall off by adjusting his bnce. No matter how intelligent they were, they had never once given someone a ride, so it was certainly not the best seat he would get.


    However, the eagle didn''t p its wings so much in the air while Kai asked him to maintain a certain altitude, so he didn''t get frozen or feel theck of air due to the air pressure.


    Understanding Kai''s condition, the eagle fulfilled his request as they flew ording to Kai''s direction.


    The wind kept pushing Kai''s hair and prevented him from having a quiet talk with the eagle. It seemed flying like this wasn''t that much of joy like those in fairytales.


    Seeing that Kai was unable to do anything, the eagle tried to form a wind barrier to prevent anything from touching him.


    When that happened, Kai was worried and asked the eagle. "(Are you sure you want to do this? Doesn''t it use your power?)"


    "(Don''t worry. I''ve gotten used to flying like this when teaching my son. I should be able to reach the destination or stop along the way since you say the distance is not that far.)"


    "(Well, if you''re too tired on the way, I can carry you on my back¡­ Probably.)"


    "(Hahaha, let''s hope such a thing won''t happen.)" The eagle let out a cry as if it wasughing at Kai''s joke. He just couldn''t imagine what kind of scene he would see if Kai was the one carrying him in the sky.


    Nevertheless, the two started making conversations, talking about various things.


    Kai was curious about the life of a Magical Beast, so he asked various things from survival to mating.


    It turned out that the Magical Beasts still needed to obey the junglew and shed with each other to survive. The reason why humanity never saw their bones or remnants on the ground was due to them eating the corpsespletely to fill their belly.


    They were also territorial people that would fight anyone that came to their territory. The wolf and the eagle once had a fight before bing a neighbor. It was a cute story in Kai''s ears and he couldn''t help but tease the eagle.


    The eagle told him that they didn''t need much food anyway due to their energy replenished by the Magic Power, but they certainly wouldn''t say no to food.


    At the same time, he learned that the Magical Beasts could also mate and produce offspring like a normal animal. The only difference was their power and thebor. Due to powerful Magic Power poured into the baby when they were in the womb, the mother couldn''t give birth so often and produced many at once.


    With the humans killing them to reim theirnd, their number gradually decreased. The eagle told him about his story, especially his son like a doting father.


    He could feel the love and care in his story, changing his perception of eagles. They turned out to be loving creatures even though they were kind of prideful.


    Kai also shared some of his stories about how he met his current family and his need to kill more magical beasts. The eagle was intrigued by his story and knew that the reason Kai wanted them to leave was to protect them, so he didn''t need to kill them. No, Kai simply didn''t want to kill them.


    The eagle was thankful that Kai wasn''t an aggressive king that would trample anyone in front of them. After all, he had once seen a king that destroyed anything in his way.


    Kai asked about the identity of that king, but the eagle refused to answer because it was kind of taboo to reveal the king''s identity as he and his race would be in danger. He also promised that he wouldn''t tell anyone about his identity.


    Understanding his situation, Kai patted his back and thanked him.


    Their rtionship gradually became better and the eagle finally reached the shore, crossing the sea easily without any sign of fatigue.


    After another two hours, they finally saw a big inding into their vision.


    Since the sun was about to set, Kai decided to take a rest on this ind before continuing the journey tomorrow.


    He set up a tent and a campfire as he sat next to the eagle. Due to itsrge body, the eagle indeed made Kai look small. In the end, he adjusted his position and leaned on the eagle''s body, showing a bit of intimacy as new friends.


    While rxing, Kai asked, "(I am still wondering what did you feel when I used mymunication device?)"


    "(Communication Device?)" The eagle tilted his head in confusion.


    Kai took out his device and showed it to him.


    "(Ah, that one. I was not sure myself, but there was something in my body that¡­ felt like rejecting it. I don''t know what it was, but it certainly made me ufortable.)"


    Kai thought for a moment, trying to see the reason. He might be able to break down the concept to allow humans to usemunication devices without fearing a magical beast would attack them.


    However, he soon realized that the primitive one, like the radio, was also picked up by them.


    After a series of thoughts, Kai asked him to feel his Sound Wave which didn''t do anything to him. It confirmed that the reason why they were able to feel theirmunication device was either from pollution or radio waves.


    Pollution was a broad concept after all. Sound Pollution, Air Pollution, Water Pollution and so on.


    He might want to wait for Felice toe to the US Base, so she could work together with Ria to solve this problem. It would also boost her name in the country, which was good.


    Unknowingly, Kai had been thinking about her more, especially her future. It was a kind of anticipation that he didn''t mind having inside his heart. No wonder Ria Ross didn''t mind doing anything for him.


    Getting his answer, Kai thanked him again and asked, "(That''s right. How do you feel about the journey? You still need to go back too, you know.)"


    "(I don''t have a problem.)" The eagle shook his head and told him that everything was under control. Instead, he asked, "(Are you going to return right after? I can bring you back to this ce if you want.)"


    "(That will be great, but I don''t want to trouble you more than this.)"


    "(Saving life is worth more than a few days. I''m sure my son can understand that. I don''t know if it''s the same as human, but our top priority is to pay back someone that we owe by multiple times.)"


    Kai suddenly turned sentimental as he looked at the night sky,menting. "(Humanity is supposed to be the same. But our intelligence and heart are often clouded by greed, lust, or anything that makes us unable to do it. That''s why most of the time, you will find that humans are biting the hand of those who feed them.)"


    Although Kai generalized the human, the eagle knew that everyone wasn''t like that. Kai was the perfect example. He looked at him and gently poked his cheek with his beak, saying, "(Humanity may be selfish, but I know there are people like you that will restore one''s faith in humanity.)"


    Kai made a genuine smile. "(Thanks.)"


    The eagle didn''t say more and simply yed with Kai. After a while, both of them fell asleep. Of course, they made sure no one woulde to them by informing the other beasts about it.


    The next day, they continued their journey to Sweden and flew to the sky for seven hours before arriving at the small ind.


    Unfortunately for him, Kai''s supply was rather low since he used one bottle to heal the eagle and headed there without refilling it on the ind.


    They searched from the sky but found nothing that could replenish the water, so Kai decided not to drink and stopped for another day on this ind, making sure that he and the eagle were not tired.


    When the sun came out of the horizon and brightened the whole ind up, the eagle and Kai continued their journey without a problem.


    Kai used his device to track their location and made sure he stopped before anything from Stockholm could see any sign of them.


    The eagle then descended to the sea as he rose and said, "(Thank you. We will meet again four dayster at the same time. What do you think?)"


    "(I understand. It should be enough time for me to ask other beasts to flee while I and the others leave thest.)" The eagle agreed as they had been talking about this for the past two days.


    Kai then jumped off his back into the sea while waving his hand. The eagle quickly flew away so as to avoid exhausting Kai''s energy by watching him.


    Kai thanked him once again before starting to swim to the shore.


    Meanwhile, on the shore, there was a middle-aged man standing behind a ck-haired woman.


    The middle-aged man asked politely. "Mdy, I don''t think it will be good for your health to stay here."


    "It''s fine. I''ve asked him such a ridiculous request, so I will be waiting for him here. This is the least I can do to show my sincerity in this cooperation. I will be standing here for a whole day."

 Chapter 493 - Sweden

    Thedy held her ck hair to avoid getting blown away before she suddenly found something weird in the ocean.


    "Hmm?!" She narrowed her eyes and saw that red spots gradually appeared on the sea as corpses began to float on the surface.


    The middle-aged man seemed to have recognized what was happening too and muttered, "Mdy, I think that is¡­"


    "Yes." She nodded and smiled. "What a guy, it seems I underestimated his power. He is no doubt the strongest person in the world."


    She quickly walked to the edge, wanting to see what was happening, albeit it didn''tst too long.


    After a few minutes, Kai had reached the ind and came out of the water, leaping to the ground where the two people waited.


    He was drenched before making sure that his swords, backpack, and device were still with him.


    "Ha, it''s a harsh journey." Kai took a deep breath while taking off his shirt, squeezing all the water inside it. He then looked at the ck-haired girl and the old man with a calm expression.


    The ck-haired girl quickly lowered her head and lifted her skirt a bit while crossing her feet. "Nice to meet you, Sir Kai Carter. I would like to apologize first for giving you such a ridiculous request. And I would like to thank you for epting it."


    The middle-aged man stared at him in shock and hadn''t recovered ever since. It was the girl who was weird since Kai just did something that couldn''t be replicated by anyone in this world.


    Even if they used a boat or something, it was already useless. Yet, the man before him actually swam across the ocean, showing that his strength was unfathomable.


    The middle-aged man knew that the moment Kai wanted them to die, they wouldn''t live past tomorrow, so he tried to calm his heart down.


    The woman, on the other hand, asked Kai, "I think it''s best to head back to my ce first. Do you need anything?"


    Kai pped his shirt a few times to dry it while saying, "Food and water I guess. A set of new clothes is good too."


    "Certainly." The woman signaled the middle-aged man to pick up everything they had prepared. "There are new clothes for you in our car. As for lunch, let me take you to the nearest restaurant."


    Kai didn''t reject her and stood before her, looking into her eyes. He wanted to see what kind of person was known as a genius in politics.


    Surprisingly, the ck-haired girl seemed to be only a few years older than him. She might be at the same age as Tasha in his opinion. However, her eyes truly felt different.


    Unlike any other pair of eyes he had seen, her sharp and calm eyes actually poked his heart as if telling him its superiority.


    Kai obviously didn''t ept it and stared with his own pride, showing her that he wasn''t someone she could see through.


    The ck-haired girl wore a one-piece white dress, making her look graceful with the contrast of her hair.


    She took one step back and introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, Sir Kai Carter. My name is Marsha Posten. I am the prime minister of Sweden."


    "I am not a man who knows a lot about etiquette, so I apologize for myck of etiquette in advance. I''m Kai Carter." Kai nodded and introduced himself.


    "As much as I want to talk with you, I believe we should go to the car first. I believe you are freezing in here." She extended her hand to the car, asking him to go inside first to change his clothes. The chilling wind brushed their skin. Although they still had a month to go before Christmas, the temperature had indeed gone down.


    Kai agreed with her and saw that the middle-aged man held his new clothes.


    Kai grabbed the clothes as they allowed him to change inside the car. Kai took their offer and changed into his new suit.


    Looking at this white shirt and long brown pants coupled with the warm sweater, he felt a bit refreshed after the long swim. He then grabbed the towel and rubbed his hair, drying them.


    After Kai opened the door, the middle-aged man and the woman finally entered the car. The middle-aged man drove them to the nearby restaurant, where they stared at each other''s eyes, including the middle-aged man.


    Seeing his gaze, the middle-aged man finally introduced himself. "My name is Firhan Shadah, the acting Prime Minister of Sweden. However, knowing that there''s someone better than me, I know that I will one day give this position to her, so it''s fine to work for her this whole time."


    Kai nodded as he didn''t care much about their background. He only wanted to know one thing and it was the sole purpose of this journey. "I just want to know whether you can bring down the French Prime Minister."


    Kai leaked a bit of his killing intent to show them that if they were just bluffing, he would take this matter personally and might do something bad to them.


    Firhan gulped down as sweats began to cover his forehead, but Marsha seemed different from a random girl.


    Instead of flinching, she had a smile on her face as she was excited to see that the conversation had finally gone serious.


    "As expected from the genius of warfare, even your killing intent makes me tremble in fear," said Marsha with a pale face. She then took a deep breath and calmed her heart down before continuing, "I can see that you don''t like wasting your time, so I will cut to the chase. When do you want him to fall?"


    "Ho? A bold im." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "It''s my confidence. I am not someone who likes to do something meaningless, you know." She then extended her hand and continued, "I can bring him down right now if you want."


    "That will be great, but I''m afraid you will face a consequence bigger than you can imagine." Kai shook his head, feeling that there would be a protector hiding behind the Prime Minister. If the French Prime Minister went down, the protector might do something unbelievable.


    "It seems that you know something I don''t know. Is there a threat¡­ A physical threat?" She managed to discover the problem immediately, amusing Kai.


    After thinking for a while, Kai replied, "Indeed. Just like me, who doesn''t know the depth of politics, the battlefield is scarier than you can imagine."


    The girl didn''t feel offended and agreed without hesitation. "I see. In that case, I would like to hear everything from you first."


    "No." Kai shook his head, not liking things proceeding that way.


    The girl understood his intention and corrected her words. "Then, each of us will ask a question in session."


    "Sure."


    "You can go first."


    Kai immediately took that chance without caring about "Lady First" and asked, "I want to know his weaknesses."


    "There are a few scandals that I can open right now to throw him off that seat. Although it''s better to exin it back in my ce, I will list three of them here. Magical Beast Blood, Inhumane Research, and Biological Weapons."


    Kai squinted his eyes and nodded. "I would like to see the detailster."


    "Certainly." The girl smiled and asked her question. "Then, it''s my turn. I want to know the threat."


    Kai thought for a moment and nced at the middle-aged man.


    "Don''t worry. I can guarantee his identity." The girl nodded. She knew that Kai acted like he trusted her even though he didn''t trust her even a little bit. The reason he started this conversation was to see whether the girl was indeed the true ruler of Sweden.


    Hence, to prove her identity, the girl suddenly took out her device and showed a few pictures and logs to show her conversation with Arnaud and other Rank S Magicians.


    "¡­" Kai contemted for a moment and finally opened his mouth. "You should know the invaders from the sea, right?"


    "No wonder. It''s going to cause a huge uproar if such a thing indeed backs him up." The girl obviously knew about the creature since they were fighting against them too, even though it wasn''t as often as the US Base.


    After a minute, the girl suddenly asked, "Suppose I get rid of the prime minister¡­ Can you guarantee the safety of the citizens?"


    "Nope. But I can help you kill it."


    "¡­" The girl closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "I see. It''s going to be difficult, but the situation is salvageable. I can even frame him¡­ It seems we really need to discuss thister."


    Kai nodded and nced at the door of their private room opened by the server bringing the food.

 Chapter 494 - Research

    After filling their stomachs, all three of them returned to a mansion an hour from the restaurant. It was a vi the size of a mega-mansion facing the sea.


    Because of Kai''s character he had shown since the beginning, Marsha didn''t say anything to him this whole time and waited until they returned to the mansion to grab her information.


    Marsha invited him to her study, where the middle-aged man grabbed the documents.


    "Let''s talk about the scandals. I have mentioned three of them to you, right?" She smiled and opened her device, showing him a few proofs.


    He could see three images from the screen. The left picture appeared to be aboratory with human skins hanging on the wall as if they were pieces of meat.


    The middle picture seemed to be in the same building and showed him three humans with animal hands. Andst but not least, the right one was a picture of tubes filled with red liquid.


    "These three are the proofs that can be used to strike him. The middle one is Magical Beast Blood Research, like yourself¡­" Marsha abruptly paused after this, looking at Kai''s reaction.


    Kai remained calm and nodded, knowing that his fate might be like this had he failed the transformation. He thought for a moment and asked, "How many people have be like this?"


    "Nothing goes like your teacher''s research, so I assume he has already made a few hundred people like this. They will feel vengeful if you''re aiming at them as they will soon be an army that will destroy the base."


    "I can see that, albeit I don''t think I''m capable of saving them." Kai let out a long sigh. He remembered the previous incident where he killed a failed Zodiac due to Ria''s request. He didn''t think about it easily and simply fulfilled her request.


    After a long while, he realized that such a thing wasn''t right. His master should have the ability to help them even if it took a few years.


    Kai closed his eyes and asked himself, ''I wonder if Teacher actually uses that chance to¡­ Wait, did she want their lives to¡­''


    Kai suddenly came to a realization of his teacher but had no way to confirm it. It would be wrong to call her right now, so he wanted to call her after this meeting. There might be a way to save those people.


    "I can do something about them."


    "Hoh?!" Marsha squinted her eyes and said, "Since you can deal with them, I can cover this incident afterward. Though, I am sure it''s better for me to get something from this research, right?"


    "All you will get from me is my fist. I don''t know if you dare to take it." Kai''s killing intent leaked from his eyes before he retracted it again. "If you think you can get something from something that I fix, then don''t think about it. It''s impossible."


    Marsha didn''t have a change of expression as if she had expected this kind of response. She just wanted to test Kai to see whether he was able to solve this issue or not.


    Since thetter had given her some assurance, she then negotiated the deal. "How about this¡­ I will be the one sending them to the US Government as a way to search for a cure. We will see whether they still want to return here or not after they''re cured."


    "That way, you have the possibility of getting benefit while making a good image of yourself, eh?" Kai saw through her with a nod. "Fine. The US Base will also get the research data about this, especially my Teacher, so I don''t think it''s a bad deal. And we won''t be giving you anything."


    "Yes. It''s enough for me. I can strengthen my influence with this." She smiled and pointed at the left picture. "This one is the inhumane research. In fact, all these three pictures are rted to each other, and we can split them into three attacks.


    "Due to the deformity appearing on the first research, they are trying to see whether they can turn the monsters into humans again by using human''s flesh and blood. I don''t understand what''s the logic behind it, but all I need to see is that it''s inhumane and cruel that needs to be punished."


    Kai agreed with this one. "Do you have the location of this research?"


    "Not at the moment. We''ve sent all spies to search for them, but they all died mysteriously. The only one we have is our double agent, but all people inside the research facility can''t see nor hear anything to enter the facility, so we don''t have someone that can give you the location. Though if you see this half-human half-monster, I believe they will tell you about the facility."


    "Then, it means I need to attack the prime minister." Kai contemted for a moment. "You will need to pressure him first."


    "Of course. Before that, let''s continue with the topic. The third one is the chemical that turns them into this. As you know, this chemical is mixed with a magical beast''s blood and they''re nning to release it to the outside, turning the world into chaos. I don''t understand why he wants it¡­"


    "You just need to know that someone wants humanity to go extinct." Kai shrugged, telling her a part of the mermaid''s mission.


    "Hmm¡­" Marsha could see theplexity of this movement, but she understood that Kai wouldn''t say anything regarding this matter.


    "Taking the bad apple out won''t solve the problem. It''ll just make another one appear¡­ That''s why I want a solution that can prevent this kind of research from appearing again."


    "Does this mean the US Base wants the monopoly of this technology?" Marsha smirked as if indirectly mocking him. "We can reveal to the public that the US Base has one too, you know. I wonder what they will think if their greatest genius is the first subject¡­"


    "It won''t affect me, but it will surely make people hate my teacher¡­ No matter how hard I defend her."


    She slightly raised her eyebrows when Kai said it won''t affect him. Kai seemed to have another solution to deal with the problem.


    "How about this? I would like future cooperation with the zodiac project just like this exchange program. At the same time, we will share the exoskeleton technology¡­"


    "That''s not something I can decide. I need to talk with the US Base first." Kai shook his head.


    "Besides, I think no matter how good the effect it will bring to humanity, this Zodiac Project won''t be epted by humanity as a whole. After all, it means that you''re abandoning humanity too."


    "That''s what amused me. Politics surely do have a way, right?" Kai smirked, knowing that everything could be solved if they yed the card right.


    "¡­" The girl closed her eyes and shrugged. She knew there was a way to dilute the information if they had some desired effect. They could simply choose a few elites like their exoskeleton and turn them into elite soldiers.


    With the cure that could turn back the people who had been affected, the fatality rate would go down drastically. They might even be able to mitigate the entire fatality rate in the near future. And if they used Kai as the publicity, there would be many people storming the government to be one.


    In the end, she let out a long sigh and said, "It seems both of us need a break."

 Chapter 495 - Teacher And Student

    During the break, Kai decided to take a bath as suggested by Marsha. Even though he was already dry, he by no means had cleaned himself after fighting against magical beasts and swimming across the sea.


    At the same time, he decided to call his teacher again.


    "What''s up? It''s the first time you call me this often."


    Hearing Ria''s voice, Kai couldn''t help but smile. "Well, I actually have a question for you, Teacher."


    "Sure. Ask everything."


    "Do you have a cure to turn half-human half-beast people?"


    "Ah, this¡­" Ria fell silent for a moment. "Before answering your question, I want to know the reason you''re asking me this question."


    Kai thought it was fine to let her know, so he began telling her the agreement.


    However, Ria''s focus was actually elsewhere. She simply praised Kai with a weird tone. "As expected of my disciple, you''ve surpassed me in endurance alone. Congrattions for bing the first man swimming across the sea."


    "Ahaha, I want to talk about this with you, Teacher, but I am afraid it''s not appropriate to talk about it right now."


    "I understand." Ria paused for another minute and decided to exin. "The exnation returns to the time I asked you to kill the half-human half-beast. There are two instances¡­ You must remember about the two, right?"


    "Yes. One was when there was an escape, and you asked me to take the body with me. The other one was when I killed three innocent people."


    Hearing the word "innocent", Ria felt guilty because she had asked her student to do something atrocious.


    She took a deep breath and decided to give him her reasoning. "In the former case, the body was taken to myboratory for further inspection. And as you already know, she became myb rat. The body has been properly buried now just for your information.


    "During the research, I have found the cure. Although it''s not perfect right now, I think it''s possible to treat those half-human half-beast creatures. There may be some side effects due to you abandoning your humanity once, but his appearance and genes won''t affect the future offspring. That''s what I''ve found.


    "And I think your strong blood is one of the cures. That''s why if you send them here, I can only make the real cure when you''ve returned. Of course, if you don''t want to heal them, I can simply search for an alternative."


    Kai was surprised that he was also an ingredient to cure them. He thought for a moment and said, "My teacher is the greatest researcher in the world¡­ She obviously will find a way to cure them without my blood. But time is money, I will give you my blood to cure them. Besides, this is my problem. I''m already shameless enough to ask for your help."


    "Haha. That''s fine. I''m here to help you." Ria chuckled before recalling another thing. "That''s right. I heard you epted a student, no?"


    "Yes. It''s not official yet, but this girl is a genius. She may be the best scientist, surpassing you in the future."


    "Hoho, you want me to be the number two now that you find the number one in your heart, eh?"


    "No, no. Without your guidance, I''m afraid she can''t do anything. But if you start talking to her, I am sure you will understand why I want her to be my student."


    "I will look forward to our meeting. However, there''s one thing I need to suggest in training your disciple. Makes her experience a thousand deaths!"


    "Are you nning to traumatize my student?" Kai''s eyebrows twitched. "I''m sure you know that I don''t want to see you for a decade because of that event, right?"


    "But that one was more than ten thousand deaths¡­ I am here asking for less than a tenth. I''m sure I won''t ask for something big." Ria Ross shook her head helplessly.


    "Well, I know the reason for that training¡­ It''s inhumane, but we will see."


    "Alright, then. I''m looking forward to it."


    "Anyway, I have something to ask too. There''s a possibility of coborations between the US Base and the Union. I wonder if President Brent has an interest. We can slow the curing process to buy enough time to prepare everything, so I think it''s a good deal."


    "Hmm, I see, so you want to go in that direction. Although I don''t mind, beast and human can''t be fused¡­ Make sure you don''t forget about this. Even the blood in your body is two separate types."


    "I know that, but I want to add one thing. I have understood my role after this mission and I want to add one rule. There will be someone with the same ears as me in the future and he can''t have this animal blood inside his body." Kai smiled, knowing that a human king should stay purely as a human, not a hybrid like him.


    "Well, it can be made into a rule, but I doubt the future generations will heed your warning. Hence, I suggest you make a note for future generations instead. You can publish books and articles to warn future generations. With me as the greatest scientist and your student, the wannabe scientist, I think it will give enough convincing power to the future generations."


    "Fair enough. I will do as you suggest." Kai nodded in agreement.


    "That''s good. So, how is it going? Tasha seems to have received all your Magic Power."


    "I can''t say much regarding that matter. I just want you to know that you can''t defeat me in my current condition and the magic power in Tasha''s body won''t affect me."


    "That''s a challenge for me, eh? I don''t like it. Do you want to have a fight with me? You should remember the absolute rule in our master and disciple rtionship¡­ Rule number one, I, the teacher, am always stronger than my disciple. If I lost against my student, refer back to rule number one. No matter how you''ve grown, you are like my dearest child."


    Kai smiled, feeling happy to know how much she loved him. He already considered her as his godmother in his heart and his parents already knew about Ria Ross, so there might be a time that she and his parents apanied him in his marriage.


    "Anyway, I have understood what you want to ask from the president. I will give you a reply in a few minutes. And don''t forget to send the little kid to my ce because I want to see her¡­"


    "She wille only a yearter. You should be patient."


    "Don''t worry. I waited for you for a decade, one year is just a blink of an eye to me."


    "Ahaha¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head, feeling that no matter how hard he tried to talk with her, he would be the one losing. It happened every single time.


    "Alright. I shouldn''t bother you any longer. Just stay safe there and I am missing you here."


    "I miss you too, Teacher. Say hello to the others for me, will you?"


    "Sure. Bye-bye."


    "Yep, bye." Kai then finished his bath and changed to a new set of clothes before getting an "OK" from the president.


    But due to theplexity of this matter, the president required a few months to finalize the contract. As long as the other party could agree, they didn''t mind signing it right away.


    After getting the reply he wanted, Kai confronted Marsha once again.

 Chapter 496 - Sealing The Deal

    After getting the replies, Kai met Marsha again.


    "I hope that you feel refreshed after taking a bath." Marsha smiled.


    "Indeed. The fatigue has gone." Kai nodded in agreement while saying, "Anyway, the president has agreed to coborations in the future. However, we would like to know your intention first."


    "Of course. I can send you the contractter and as long as there''s a discussion among us, I believe it can be done."


    "Good. You''re negotiating it with him. As for the rest, I can agree with a few conditions."


    "A few conditions¡­ May I know about the conditions?"


    "First, I don''t want to be tailed, so I hope you don''t send any spy to French. Also, what I do needs to be covered up."


    "I will manipte the media for a while. If possible, I would like to know the exact date of the attack, so we can have more preparation."


    "Certainly. I will contact you through Arnaudter. Killing a prime minister is indeed a great sin in front of thew, but I think it''s fine as long as someone else kills him, right?" Kai smiled.


    "Don''t tell me¡­"


    Kai smiled. "Yes. I want to let whoever behind him kill the prime minister. That''s why I need you to pressure him to the brink. If this can''t seed, then I will kill him with my own hand."


    "I understand." Marsha thought for a moment and asked, "I''m wondering why do you feel everything is so easy for you? You never suspect me?"


    "There''s nothing in this room that can escape my ears. I can sense many cameras and recorders in this mansion, but none of them is in this room."


    "¡­" Marsha fell silent, realizing Kai''s ears were more amazing than she thought. With those ears, Kai wouldn''t be at a disadvantage, considering the ears could also assist him in telling whether one was lying or not. "Those ears¡­ I really want to possess them."


    "Trust me, you don''t like having these ears." Kai smiled as he recalled how many times he almost died or wanted tomit suicide because of the unbearable ears. "Anyway, let''s focus on the topic. What is your n to destroy the prime minister?"


    Marsha thought for a moment and raised three fingers. "There are three steps that will seed within ten days. First, I will spread the scandals one by one every day, causing a chain reaction from the citizens to lower the prime minister''s position.


    "After that, I will beginunching my attacks on other Union Members to stop them from interfering in this fight while letting him know that no one would help him. In that case, he would have no choice other than to ask for help from the one who supported him.


    "At that moment, you will strike him down along with the other hybrids. I hope you can convince them to get the cure in the US Base because I can safely assume that those people have lost their trust in the Union. And I hope that all of them are under custody because I don''t want to deal with the future threat.


    "Last but not least, the cover-up. Unless you''re doing something too big, I can cover up almost everything. Unfortunately for you, the Union will take the credit for all this, including the corpse of the prime minister and the one behind him."


    "I can agree to the ns, but I need an assurance that your soldiers won''t enter the battlefield. I also want you to make sure whether there''s another spy in the Union or not."


    "I understand. I will do a thorough investigation after this."


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t know why, but I feel like you''ve got all the benefits this whole time." Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Should I say as expected from you? No wonder you''re called a prodigy."


    "We''re the same. However, both of us are working in a separate line of work, so I am d that I don''t need to fight against you. I''m scared that nothing I''ve prepared will work against you and your ears." Marsha shrugged.


    Kai chuckled, rose from his seat, and extended his hand.


    To show that the two had sealed the deal, Marsha shook Kai''s hand with a smile. "I''m looking forward to our cooperation."


    "Likewise."


    After a long discussion, Kai and Marsha had finally agreed with some terms. As one would expect from a genius in politics, she simply didn''t budge unless she got a huge benefit from it.


    But Kai was even more surprised when he noticed Brent knew Marsha. It seemed Marsha''s influence was famous among the higher-ups.


    Kai also agreed to take a rest in their ce for three days.


    During his visit, he couldn''t go somewhere else because there might be a spy from the French Prime Minister, so he was a bit bored inside the mansion. Hence, Kai mostly trained inside his room if there was no discussion going on.


    Marsha was curious but unable to find anything from Kai. Just like the others, she wanted to know the secret to increase the two girls'' power, yet, she didn''t pursue any further when Kai didn''t give her a single chance.


    After all, she also knew about the organization that tried to get the method. The organization itself wasn''t that big and good, but when they realized Kai could actually kill so many people easily, they knew unless they had the entire army, no soldiers were enough to stop him.


    In the end, Marsha asked him for a good rtionship like Brent and Kai decided to think about it, knowing Marsha''s strength in politics.


    Three dayster.


    Marsha took him back to the shore, where he appeared a few days ago. The waves were still raging on, making it a bit scarier to cross.


    Yet, Kai''s expression didn''t change as he already knew what it felt like to cross the ocean by himself. Even Marsha still couldn''t believe that a human managed to cross this terrifying sea where you found so many creatures inside.


    Even the most amazing submarine wasn''t enough to cross the ocean because other sea creatures would attack them as soon as they sensed them.


    And Kai, who not only needed to deal with them, but his stamina also decreased to swim.


    "Are you sure you can do this?" Marsha asked with a weird expression.


    "It''s fine." Kai waved his hand with a calm expression. "I have experienced it once."


    "¡­" Marsha facepalmed and let out a long sigh. "You''re simply too weird. There''s no way that someone can be alright after swimming across the ocean¡­ Well, it''s almost impossible to swim for three days. If there''s no ind between the twonds, I would have thought it''s impossible, but I guess you''re the miracle itself."


    "I''m just a normal human." Kai shrugged. "No matter how many times I cross the ocean, the fatality rate remains the same."


    "Indeed." Marsha then slightly bowed her head to show her respect for Kai doing such a ridiculous thing, especially due to her request. "I sincerely hope that you can survive."


    Kai waved his hand and walked to the edge of the water with a serious expression. Having prepared everything, he gradually submerged into the water with a calm expression while waving his hand to tell Marsha that everything was going to be alright.


    After he had enough distance, he started swimming in the water.


    Marsha kept watching the ocean for an hour after Kai disappeared. In the end, she shook her head helplessly, knowing that Kai was far more amazing than her.


    "He''s indeed amazing." Marsha turned around and returned to her car.


    Meanwhile, Kai continued swimming for a few hours before he reached the previous location, where he asked the eagle to wait.


    Because it was hard to pinpoint a single coordinate on the sea without a map and GPS, Kai didn''t find the eagle immediately. He needed to use his Sound st to go around the sky to check the eagle''s position.


    They had promised that if they couldn''t find each other, they would return to the ind because Kai would go there to avoid exhausting himself in the sea.


    Luckily, the eagle and Kai found each other when they both flew in the opposite direction.


    Seeing the eagle, Kai felt relieved since he would have a ride to go back to Lithuania.


    Kai waved his hand to the eagle while thetter let out a cry to show that he saw him. He hugged the eagle first before hopping on top of the eagle as they began their return journey.

 Chapter 497 - Bond

    "(So, how is your day?)" asked Kai in a lighthearted tone. After a series of serious discussions with Marsha, he felt tired and simply wanted to talk about something without thinking of any consequences.


    The eagle didn''t know his intention and simply replied with an innocent tone. "(Everything is good. Thanks to your warning, I''ve asked all subjects in my territory to migrate to the east.)"


    "(That''s good. How many?)"


    "(I am not sure myself, but due to how big my area is, I can only persuade around ten thousand magical beasts.)"


    "(The wolf?)"


    "(He is doing the same by using his subordinates. I''m pretty sure he is doing it better than me. Of course, he is taking care of my son today.)"


    Kaiughed when he heard that the ferocious wolf could take care of someone. But seeing how organized they were and how the wolf leader protected his kin, he could see iting.


    He thought for a moment and smiled. "(I guess all of you''re going to live. I don''t think your destination will be attacked in a few decades due to the supply chain, morale, and soldiers.)"


    "(I don''t understand what you said, but I can see that we''re going to live a long life. There is only one thing that concerns me. There may be a time where I need to be someone else''s subordinate because I have heard that there''s an absolute king around there¡­)"


    "(Hmm.)" Kai crossed his arms and looked down, falling into deep thought.


    The eagle, on the other hand, had something to ask. "(When that happened, I wonder if you need someone to help you.)"


    "(Eh?!)" Kai opened his eyes in shock and looked at the eagle''s back. "(You¡­ What did you say?)"


    Kai simply couldn''t believe what he heard earlier. He understood what the eagle meant. Thetter wanted to help him and became his subordinate.


    This kind of wish was something he had seen recently. It was when the S Rank Bull faced him and the Oni. There were still three magical beasts that fought alongside the bull even though the Oni had ordered them to stop.


    In other words, the eagle wanted to follow him even if they needed to fight against all odds. This was something unexpected even for him.


    Unlike those from Emulda Kn, the eagle desired it from the bottom of his heart, not some sort of obligation.


    "(Are you sure about this?)"


    "(Yes. I know that you have an army of humans, but I think I can do something more for you. I can fly like this and look everything from the sky, including the outside range of your hearing.)" The eagle tried to convince him as if he really wanted to help him.


    Kai thought for a moment and let out a long sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said with a helpless look. "(Listen to me. I''m honored to have you follow me, but¡­ I don''t think I can.)"


    "(May I know the reason?)"


    "(In the human''s eyes, all we can see from you guys is simply your ferociousness. Every time we encounter all of you, none of them protect us. No, I should say that all of them attacked us immediately to the point they informed others to help them.


    "(That was why when someone sees you together with me, it will be something weird and many will start bing suspicious. And unlike you guys, my supremacy is not something absolute unless I''ve enough strength.


    "(They may evene knocking on our door to get you to be ab rat. I''m sure you know about how they''re treated in the past. You will either be an animal in the zoo or an experiment subject. If it''s the former, you will live in a cage for the rest of your life. If it''s thetter, you will experience cruelty until your death. Hence, I can''t ept you.)"


    The eagle looked down and could feel Kai''s genuine concern. Kai didn''t reject him, but the warning was enough for the eagle to put down that desire.


    The eagle fell silent for a moment and said, "(I understand. I won''t ask it anymore.)"


    Kai smiled and patted his back. "(Well, I may need somepany when I''m retired. It''s not like I''m nning to do everything in my life since I can understand that humans have brought destruction upon themselves. I can only help them regain their freedom¡­ just a little before retiring and staying neutral like any other protector.


    "(That''s the best thing I can do to maintain the bnce of this world. Though, I can have a fun time with my wives, so I don''t really mind.)" Kai chuckled while looking at the eagle with a sad expression.


    "(I can respect that. If fate indeed ys out in such a wonderful way, we may meet again in the future. At that time, I hope you haven''t retracted your offer yet.)"


    "(Of course. Maybe I should let my kids fly on your back. I''m sure they will like it." Kai chuckled.


    "(Haha, maybe¡­ in the future. Me and my son¡­ You and your children. Flying together in the sky.)" The eagle smiled.


    Kai and the eagle continued their talks as their rtionship grew even further.


    He had all the supplies he needed during the journey, so Kai didn''t need to starve. The eagle also got some food from him while they continued to talk about all kinds of things.


    Kai wanted to know about his life story, especially how he met his wife. In exchange, he also told him how he met his wife.


    It was a good and warm atmosphere, surrounding them for a few days until they returned to the maind.


    The wolf and the eagle son were ying with each other when Kai and the eagle arrived.


    "(Father!)" The eagle stood up and pped his wing before turning to Kai. "(Thank you for everything.)"


    Kai observed the eagle''s body and saw that the clothes had been removed. The remaining scars were just too shallow and would disappear soon, so he felt relieved. "(You''re wee.)"


    After Kai jumped off his back, the eagle turned to Kai.


    "(There is actually something I would like to request. That is if you don''t mind.)" The eagle suddenly called him again with an unsure tone. He looked a bit hesitant to request it, feeling like the request was too much.


    "(Sure. Tell me.)" Kai nodded with a smile as if saying everything was fine.


    "(I wonder if I have the pleasure to know your name.)"


    Kai widened his eyes, forgetting the fact that they hadn''t even exchanged names. Kai facepalmed andughed until his body slightly leaned to the back. "(That''s right. That''s right. I forget that I haven''t given you my name. Nice to meet you. My name is Kai Carter. What''s your name?)"


    "(I don''t have a name. Please name me.)"


    "(Are you sure?)"


    "(Yes.)"


    Kai pondered the name for a moment and said, "(How about Gieth?)"


    "(Gieth¡­ I see.)" The eagle nodded a few times, confusing Kai.


    He tilted his head and asked, "(What? You don''t like it? How about Birdie?)"


    "I am Gieth, Kai Carter''s Eagle Warrior. I shall leave this ce for a while and hope that fate shall reunite us again!)"


    "¡­" Kai, the two eagles, and the wolf leaderughed together. In the end, Kai formed a bond with the three of them and decided to name the eagle son Rooth and the wolf leader Fenris.


    After that, Kai had sessfully finished his mission since he had driven away tens of thousands of magical beasts from the area with the help of Gieth and Fenris.

 Chapter 498 - Eve Of Chaos

    The promise got delivered almost immediately.


    Sofia was watching the news together with Roselyn. They decided to do it because it was blown up to the point everyone started talking about it.


    "We have important news about France''s Prime Minister. ording to our information, France''s Prime Minister is creating illegal and inhumane experiments. We can see there are humans with arms from different species. In one picture, we can see a human having a tiger''s paw, while on the other, we can find a human with two bull legs.


    "The cause is still unknown, but ording to the experts, there are two possibilities. First, the Prime Minister amputated their limbs before transnting a new one. Second, their body may have been mutated by transnting magical beasts'' genes inside a human''s body."


    The news showed the picture Marsha showed Kai a few days ago. The citizens erupted in anger when they saw that their own kin couldn''t be described as humans anymore.


    Demonstrations began to ur from one ce to another, creating chaos among the union as well.


    "This¡­" Sofia nced at Roselyn, speechless.


    Roselyn nodded with a troubled expression. "Yeah. I wonder what Kai is thinking by creating this chaos? I mean, I can see that this can drag the Prime Minister down, but I feel like he will be scrutinized as well if the truth about him being a Zodiac is revealed to the public.


    "If I were the Prime Minister, I would have revealed it and pushed Kai to perform the gic test. That way, everything would be revealed and as a result, the US Base would also take another great blow."


    "Agreed. And don''t tell me¡­ That ruler from Sweden actually agreed to Kai''s request because she could take down both the Prime Minister and the US Base at the same time?" Sofia narrowed her eyes.


    "I am not sure. Kai should also expect something like this if I can think about such a n." Roselyn narrowed her eyes in confusion.


    "Oi, oi. Don''t look down on yourself too much." Sofia sighed before her expression turned serious. "But yeah, I can agree with you. Kai may face a certain bacsh as well in doing this unless he has another trump card to get away from it."


    "Even so, are you sure you can handle it?" Roselyn asked with a worried expression.


    Sofia smiled without hesitation. "Of course. That guy has been challenging something far bigger than the three basesbined¡­ If I am afraid of getting shunned by those citizens, I won''t get too close to him. It''s ironic¡­ Isn''t it?"


    "What''s ironic?"


    "The fact that the citizens are not aware of the hidden enemies that want to eliminate humanity. And how Kai has been fighting against them this whole time." Sofia closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "His power alsoes from the magical beast."


    "Agreed. They''re talking about morals, but when deathes to their doorstep, they will ask for such power. Humanity is a hypocrite¡­ I do too." Roselyn smiled. "But at least, I won''t go telling other people about how they hate those who have abandoned their humanity."


    "Instead of talking about that, I need to tell you a message Kai gave me yesterday."


    "Hmm?" Roselyn''s eyebrows raised as she was surprised by the sudden message. "What is his message? Does he need help?"


    "You''re asking thest thing he needs¡­" Sofia shook her head helplessly and showed the message. "He wants us not to do anything for a few days until his signal no matter how terrible what wille next is."


    "What kind of thing will happen after this?" Roselyn drew a gasp and remembered the kids from the orphanage. "I think I should go to the orphanage. Although the security has been tightened around there, I am afraid they''re a perfect target to aim for."


    "Kai only said to stand by, so I believed he didn''t care where we stayed. In other words, we can stay inside the orphanage." Sofia looked down with a sad expression. "Unfortunately, I can''t go with you because I need to go with my family. The other instruction is to have us working together before making our move. That''s why if we get the signal, we will meet up first."


    "I understand." Roselyn smiled. "Don''t worry about me. Besides, I believe there''s something bigger than what the public can see. A genius in politics joins hands with a genius in warfare. Don''t you think this kind of strategy is too ordinary?"


    "Ho? Interesting." Sofia agreed with her and smiled. "I think this is just a normal storm. There will be a bigger oneing right behind and it will appear in a few days. If I''m not wrong, Kai will also return from his mission in a few days¡­"


    "Yes. All we need to do is to prepare for whateveres next." Roselyn nodded before Sofia felt the vibration from her device.


    She quickly opened it and saw Kai''s message.


    "There''s a possibility that those half-human half-beast people wille after you two. The Prime Minister may utilize them to create chaos and weaken my side before taking control of everything by force and cing the me on someone else.


    "I will keep pressuring him right now, so you need to be very careful. A protector may alsoe for your life. Hence, I want you to be together, not only for the task but for everything. I know that your power has exceeded that of S Rank Magician, but I still feel it hard for both of you to take on a single protector alone."


    "¡­" Sofia fell silent when she read the message before showing it to Roselyn, resulting in the same silence. They both stared at each other until Sofia broke the silence. "Those people? Why?"


    "I am not sure. The Prime Minister may have something in his repertoire that can control them. That alone is enough to control them. I don''t know their numbers, but there''s a possibility it surpasses my expectation, so we indeed need to face tens of failed Zodiacs.


    "On top of that, the protector maye for us, making the situation even moreplicated. I assume this protector is the one behind the Prime Minister."


    "Yeah. We may be able to buy time for one protector even if we can''t defeat him, but if we include tens of failed Zodiacs into the calction, I''m afraid it''s too much for us to handle. I guess I will be with you in the orphanage."


    Sofia agreed without hesitation. "Yes. Ask Arnaud for the school permission. I will also inform my grandfather about this, telling him to increase the security since anyone can be attacked right now. Luckily, Felice is not in France since she follows Madam Rena back."


    "Yeah. That''s a relief."


    "Anyway, should we kill those people or convince them?" Sofia narrowed her eyes and decided to ask Kai about it.


    The reply came in an instant as Kai told them to convince them. However, if they tried to attack them, they could restrain them. Only if the situation turned worse would they have permission to kill them. He would handle the rest.


    "That''s it. I wonder what his real n is¡­"


    "Yeah."


    Like they suspected, Kai had a secret n devised by both he and Marsha. It had even gotten approval from the president of the US Base, elevating the scale of the entire n.


    And everything would be resolved within a few days.

 Chapter 499 - Kerza

    Bang.


    A thunderous sound echoed inside the room. Unfortunately, only two people were able to hear such a sound in this soundproof room. The one who mmed the table itself, France''s Prime Minister, Oliver Jacquard, and a squid that was able to sit like a normal human.


    The squid had red skin and used two of its tentacles as if they were human legs while the rest acted as his hands.


    "That b*tch!" Oliver gnashed his teeth. Veins bulged on his forehead and his eyes were wide open as if they could fall any minute. His heart beat rapidly until he could listen to the beating sound in his eardrums, resonating with his organs.


    His face looked like he wanted to say something, but it was so red that it made such a thing not possible.


    Oliver simply fell silent with his hands on the table, clutching it as though he wanted to rip it apart.


    Instead of Oliver, the squid was the one breaking the silence. "I have told you not to underestimate Kai Carter. Do you think she is going to make any move if there''s no outside force? He must be the one pulling all the strings."


    "That''s impossible. He has gone to Lithuania. And his women have been stopped inside the base, there''s no way to contact her and convince her to do this type of thing. There''s no way that witch will y with fire for no reason!" Oliver refused to believe that Kai was involved in this.


    After all, the moment his first attempt to kill Kai failed, he started making Kai busy, forcing him to take missions. He also made sure to tighten the security around to prevent Kai from going around to meet Marsha.


    That was why he was confused why Marsha decided to take action. "There must be something going on. There are three S Rank Magicians in this base. Rena Alberona has gone back to her home without getting involved in any of this matter. Jules Campbell is also upied by the Red Ghost Organization that kidnapped their maid. Only Arnaud had been sniffing around. Even so, I know the capability of that man. He is not enough to move that witch!"


    "As I said, you''re underestimating Kai Carter. We have been suffering many losses every time we fought against him."


    "You''re the one overestimating Kai Carter. How do you think he can even get in contact with that witch? A mere phone call is not enough for something like this."


    "What if it''s enough?" He shrugged. "I can say it again and again. Whenever something big is going on, Kai Carter is the culprit. That''s the decision of the Sea Council."


    "You''re overestimating him!" Oliver mmed the table again and red at the squid. "Do you think he is some sort of God that can do everything?"


    "¡­" The squid fell silent, even though he was fuming in anger inside. Due to the restriction, he couldn''t say anything regarding Kai''s identity as Human Race Protector, so he couldn''t exin to him that humanity had been underestimating Kai Carter the whole time.


    After all, it was the same as underestimating their own absolute king. It was already a capital offense and they were to be executed if such a thing happened. Unfortunately, humanity was too foolish and prideful, making them unable to see the truth before their eyes. No, they might have seen the truth, but they just refused to believe it.


    "That''s all I want to say. Kai Carter is the culprit and my point still stands even if you don''t want to believe it."


    Oliver gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, trying to find a reason to rebuke him again. However, the squid already stated, "Human Oliver, I think you do not understand your position here. We''ve agreed to make you one of us and save you from humanity''s doom. If I said Kai Carter is the culprit, you''re going to believe it even if you hate it! Understand?"


    Oliver obviously didn''t like such a thing. He thought he could control humanity and made them under him. He would rule humanity under these sea people before rising through the ranks, allowing them to see that cing him on the bottom rank was wrong.


    Unfortunately, the squid didn''t see it that way. He had fed up with Oliver''s adamant attitude and ordered him to stop.


    "Now, I want you to send those people to hit those two women because I will be moving as well. This is the only way to take advantage of the chaos and kill those important to him. We will kill Kai Carter right now." The squidmanded as he remembered how his two friends that had been with him during their stay in the EU Base were killed by Kai Carter and two women.


    He wanted to avenge his fallen friends by killing those who he held dear.


    "They haven''t gotten any antidote yet, so they will follow your order now."


    "Hmph. They are just ungrateful pricks who can''t even appreciate all the things I''ve done to them. They haven''t realized that humanity is doomed and they should start adapting to their life right away. Utter fools." Oliver gritted his teeth.


    "Then why don''t you be one as well?"


    "If I were to be one, do you think who can you convince to help you? No one is as capable as me."


    "There''s still that woman."


    "You don''t understand her. You will only get surrounded by thousands of soldiers the moment you contact her." Oliver thought for a moment and said, "Wait for three days. I will take care of the media first before you can start your n. If you think you can do anything here, you''re underestimating humanity too much."


    "Humanity is just a piece of sh*t to me." The squid snorted. "I, Kerza, am the proud warrior of the Sea Council. I can kill thousands of your soldiers without being unharmed. Even your S Rank Magicians won''t be able to fight me."


    "But you''re scared of that little bastard, Kai Carter."


    "Who said I''m afraid? The only capable human is him. It''s easy for us to deem him as dangerous." Kerza harrumphed and realized there were already several fighters like him who died in Kai''s hand. "My strength is fifth among the council. My strength is beyond your understanding."


    "It doesn''t change the fact that you can only utilize a percentage of your power onnd."


    "Thend will soon be reced by water. You will believe me when it happens right in front of your eyes after we conquer humanity. You''ll realize that my king''s power is something that you want to avoid at all costs."


    Without wasting his time, the squid decided to rise from the seat and turn around, heading to the door. Before opening the door, he said, "Remember. You have three days. I will kill both women during the night."


    Oliver gritted his teeth and saw Kerza leaving the room. He really wanted to beat that guy up, but he knew how powerful he was. If not for their cooperation, he would have died long ago.


    At the same time, the one that told him about Zodiac''s secret was Kerza. He only didn''t have the right form to create an army of Zodiacs since his approach was different from Ria Ross'' form that was only capable of creating a few elites.


    His approach was to turn every single humanity to the perfect zodiacs, abandoning their humanity as a whole and evolving to another level. In order to do that, he needed to convince the media and the citizens first before using force to make them obedient.


    There was also a certain medicine that could slow down the transformation process. And those who didn''t want to turn into aplete one yet would follow his order just to gain the medicine.


    He crossed his arms and fell into deep thought. "I really need to eliminate that witch because she will be a thorn to my n. Kai Carter won''t be back for a while, so I can help that Kerza to kill the two women before killing that witch. After that, no one in the union will be able to stop me. If they dare, I will simply kill them too. This is the only salvation to humanity."


    Little did he know, he had been ying right on Kai and Marsha''s palm as Marsha had finally left Sweden during that chaos and headed straight to the Union Headquarter to proceed to thest stage.

 Chapter 500 - Debate

    Meanwhile, in the Union Headquarters, specifically inside their meeting room.


    Eight people assembled behind the round table, sitting on their chairs with an ufortable expression. All of them already knew what happened the moment they saw the news.


    Marsha and Oliver had been fighting against each other in the Union as the two strongest political parties. The fact that Marsha decided to make a move must mean she had some assurance she would win.


    That was why when Marsha invited them for an emergency meeting in the headquarters, all Union Members, AKA National Leaders, hurriedly emptied their schedule and rushed here. Everyone except the concerned party, Oliver.


    Bang.


    The sound of the door mmed open resounded in their ears as Marsha walked inside the room with a long ck dress. She tied her hair into a ponytail and wore silk glove arms.


    Her expression was cold and aloof as she walked gracefully to her seat.


    Marsha always sent the old man to attend this since thetter was the official Prime Minister. But the fact that she came here just gave a more powerful impact on them because every single one of them knew that whatever she wanted to discuss here would decide the fate of the EU Base.


    After taking her seat, she politely smiled at them as a greeting. "I am thankful that everyone has made their time for me."


    "Enough, Marsha. With youing here instead of that old man just shows how grave the situation is. You have started the war with Oliver and now what do you want from us?"


    "I know that some of you are on his side, but I''m sure that I can convince you today." Marsha smiled and continued, "There''s something you need to know before that. First of all, do you know anything about the war happening in the US Base?"


    "War?" Their expression turned grave as one of them said, "Do you mean the mutated monster? No, should I say, another intelligent race besides the Human Race?"


    Marsha nodded calmly. "Exactly. They''re the ones behind Oliver."


    "What?!" Everyone dropped their jaws to the ground, not believing what they heard. Normally, people thought they needed to wee other intelligent races because they might be able to coexist with them, but the political leaders had their own informationwork.


    Hence, all of them knew that this intelligent race was actually a threat to their lives. All of them had their own contact with those people, only to find all their subordinates were annihted like a pig.


    Just like if an alien race attacked them and showed no intention in negotiation, they would choose to fight against them. With this kind of information and experience in their mind, they all realized how grave the situation had truly be.


    Still, as one would expect from Oliver, his connection was too deep as they couldn''t waver with a simple statement. One of his supporters said, "I don''t believe it. You need to show us proof first."


    "Of course." Marsha smiled and took out her device before showing them a few pictures. The pictures turned out to be the two corpses that Kai, Sofia, and Roselyn killed.


    Kai realized how strong Marsha was due to these pictures.


    She already had a suspicion when Oliver wanted to send Kai and the two girls to a specific ce, so she investigated it with the help of Arnaud.


    As soon as she knew about the potential of two protectors, she quickly imposed an information lockdown, preventing anyone from this ce from knowing about the protectors.


    Since Kai would benefit from this and it was also a part of Kai''s n, Arnaud agreed to cooperate with Marsha and sent everything rted to the protectors to her instead of the Union.


    In other words, before they even thought about striking Oliver, the n was already in motion. From that moment, Kai understood why Marsha was known as a genius in politics.


    "These pictures were taken a few weeks ago in Latvia. Surprisingly, there were two of them hiding, waiting for Kai Carter and the two girls to arrive. I''m sure you already realize what''s going on, right?


    "Before saying anything, I have confirmed that the enemies have someone inside this damn base. I don''t need to spell it for you, right?" She made an evil smirk.


    "You¡­" The man gritted his teeth as his forehead started getting covered with sweat. "This is not a negotiation anymore. This is a threat."


    All Oliver''s supporters knew exactly what she wanted by showing these pictures. With Marsha''s informationwork, it was easy for them to get the connection between them and Oliver.


    Once Oliver was judged by the public as someone evil without having the ability to exin anymore, they would be dragged as well. In other words, not only would their political career end, but their entire life would be filled with condemnation.


    Marsha only needed to send those things in Public, removing half Union Members in an instant.


    The man closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and took a deep breath, calming his heart down. He asked with a frown. "What do you want us to do? No. I want to know why you do all this?"


    Marsha shrugged and raised both hands. "I think you already know the answer."


    "Kai Carter." The man mmed the table and looked away.


    "That''s right."


    "Why? What does he have to convince you to do this? Even if he is a God of War, I am not convinced that a person like him can convince you. Politics is enough to end his entire career."


    Marsha waved her hand as if asking him to stop talking. She shook her head helplessly and stated with a serious expression. "You''re underestimating me. God of War is all it takes for me to agree.


    "Let us take another look at the battle between politics and Martial Might, shall we? First of all, politics are just a matter of public opinion. We can simply turn everything into chaos in one single order. There''s no way that someone can lead to a coup d''etat in this present day because it''s impossible for someone to rally tens of thousands of soldiers at once.


    "However, God of War is different. Let me ask you something¡­ What organization do you think unites the entire world and brings world peace?" She smiled.


    No one answered.


    After waiting for a few seconds, she continued. "Nothing. Peace is just preparation for the next war. This is what I always believe. After all, when peacees, all nations will start developing their technology to prepare for the next war that may start from other countries.


    "In the past, we had The UN, and even then, they were still not enough to unite the entire world. And in the present day, we only have three Bases. There''s nothing that oversees us.


    "That''s where this one ising from. The only one that can unite us together is amon enemy. It''s ironic, but history has taught us. During World War I, the "Allies" appeared because they had amon enemy. The same applies to World War II. Do you think the Soviet Union and the United States would be an ally if Nazi Germany didn''t threaten them?"


    The man gritted his teeth and shouted back. "Why are you saying something like this? Do you think Kai Carter alone can do something like that?"


    "Yes. I believe it with every single cell of my body." Marsha widened her eyes and showed a kind of stare that invited no rebuttal. Just like Killing Intent, her gaze sent chills down one''s spine. That gaze felt like it was able to see through the future of one statement.


    All of them shuddered as they couldn''t believe Kai Carter was worth three bases. Even if he was stronger than S Rank Magician, they could simply start suppressing him by using the media before sending tens of thousands of soldiers at him. Along with S Rank Magicians, they should be able to win.


    Yet, Marshapletely believed that it wasn''t enough to defeat Kai Carter.


    "I believe that Kai Carter is enough to shake the entire world. Once he bes an enemy and joins hands with those people from the sea, I''m afraid Humanity will perish." Marsha took a deep breath. "I will say it again. I believe it with every single cell of my body."

 Chapter 501 - Terrifying

    "What made you believe such a thing?" The man began to doubt it when Marsha showed such a strong belief.


    "You asked earlier why I decided to proceed with this thing, right?" Marsha asked with a smile.


    They nodded with a serious expression.


    "During the mission to Lithuania, Kai Carter secretly met me."


    "Met you?" All of them widened their eyes in disbelief. "How? That''s not possible, especially with tight security."


    "Do you mean he deserted the mission?"


    "Not at all. He just used a portion of his time to meet me." Marsha shook her head.


    "Then, how? I believe he can''t go back to the Base¡­ Even if he wants to go around, he needs to reach Find, which basically has tight security due to it being in the frontline."


    "It''s simple. He showed me a miracle."


    "A miracle?"


    "Yes. I asked him to meet me to discuss this movement and he said I needed to go to the beach three days after he was dispatched."


    "Beach? Stockholm''s beach? Why?"


    "As I said, he wanted to show me a miracle." Marsha smiled and remembered the shock she received when Kai emerged from the sea. "When I arrived at the beach, standing and looking at the sea, I noticed that magical beasts from the sea were killed one by one and resurfaced.


    "There were around thirty Magical Beast corpses that I could see from the shore¡­ And the trail kepting closer and closer to the shore. I panicked for a moment, but a man suddenly emerged from the sea with a tired but okay face."


    "Kai Carter?!" They all dropped their jaws to the ground, not believing what she said. However, Marsha seemed to not be lying as well.


    "That''s right. Kai Carter just swam across the sea to travel from Lithuania to Stockholm. It required him three days to do it." Marsha nodded with a serious expression.


    "What?!"


    "Impossible!"


    "Is he human?"


    "He is a monster!"


    All of them realized the significance of that action. Crossing the sea was the biggest problem in this world. Not only would they need to be under a continuous onught from thousands of sea magical beasts, but they also couldn''t move that fast with the risk of sinking.


    Fighting the magical beasts in the sea was also easier said than done. The movement would be so slow because of the water while the sea monsters could move better than the humans on thend. It created a disadvantageous position for them.


    And even if they brought a boat fully equipped with weapons and thousands of soldiers, it was still impossible to cross the sea.


    Even if they miraculously seeded, eighty percent of them would have died.


    When they took another look at the graveness of the situation, they realized Kai had indeed shown a miracle.


    He was only one man facing thousands of sea magical beasts in their own home. In that disadvantageous position, he kept swimming with endless stamina while fending off the enemies continuously.


    It should have put so much strain on his body together with his mind because of theck of sleep, continuous fight, and had a hard time eating or drinking because of the situation.


    Could one man do something like that? How could they believe her?


    Knowing their doubts, Marsha opened another video that showed how Kai actually emerged from the ocean.


    What she told was the truth and with the time this video was taken, it matchedpletely with the data. Marsha even showed them the proof that not a single helicopter or airne helped him.


    In order words, Kai indeed crossed the sea for three days straight.


    "Aftering out, he indeed ate and drank like nobody business though¡­" Marsha chuckled.


    All of them had their eyebrows twitched as all of them cursed her, thinking, ''No, no. That''s not important. Why the heck are you even mentioning something that trivial?''


    They exchanged looks and gritted their teeth. As much as they wanted to believe it was a fake, the proof was already there. Still, it would be easier for them to pull a trigger on their head than believing this kind of story. However, they still needed to believe it.


    All of their faces were distorted.


    If a story with this kind of proof were fabricated by Marsha, she would be one hell of a genius in politics. If Kai Carter indeed did it without any help, he would be one hell of a scary man that could threaten the entire world.


    If a person of that caliber decided to betray humanity, let alone hundreds of thousands of soldiers, even if they sent all their soldiers along with S Rank Magician, it was impossible to defeat Kai, the genius of warfare.


    Kai would simply turn his back on them and join hands with the sea creatures. With Kai''s peerless talent in tactics, he would destroy every single of their bases before turning all three bases upside down.


    At that time, humanity wouldn''t be able to survive.


    There was a thought to have such a person controlled by threatening the one with him, but they realized Kai Carter''s real power. He could increase Sofia and Roselyn''s power into that of a level ahead of S Rank. That alone was scary because he could create all of his women and many people like that, making an army that terrorized the world even with only a few of them.


    If those people were orphans, there was nothing they could do to solve the situation.


    And Kai Carter still had this so-called mysterious organization that seemed to have enough power to level a base. It was proven when Jules and Arnaud had no choice other than toply with their policy in front of their power.


    The worst thing that could happen was thebination of all of them under the name of Kai Carter. Once Kai Carter wanted humanity to perish, he was indeed capable of doing so.


    Because they believed such a thing, their face became even paler. If the displeased Kai Carter, they might indeed disappear in a single night.


    Luckily, Kai Carter still cared for humanity. It was proven by his act condemning the alliance between the France Prime Minister and that mysterious protector.


    If France''s Prime Minister were not eliminated, humanity would indeed face the brink of extinction.


    "This¡­"


    Sweats covered their back and forehead as all of them needed to make a hard decision. This was not a negotiation anymore. It was a direct threat yed by Marsha and Kai Carter.


    Even if they wanted to continue supporting France''s Prime Minister, it wouldn''t be possible anymore. Marsha would also mess up their entire career.


    That was why they knew, the reason Marsha came here personally to meet them was due to her having checkmated them.


    They all looked at Marsha, whose eyes told them, "Youply, then support me. You don''t want toply, then it''s time for cleansing."


    One man asked with a rough breath. "You¡­ What are you nning to do with the Union?"


    "I don''t want to do anything after this. I only want to remove Oliver. That''s all. Other than that¡­ I will probably stay friendly with Kai Carter. Sofia Campbell and Roselyn have be our biggest proof that friendship is something beneficial. And as usual, I will be staying inside my sweet little home without directly messing with the Union unless something like this happens again¡­"


    Although unwilling, the old man rose from his seat and stated, "I, Find''s President, agree to vanquish the traitor of humanity, Oliver."


    That actionpletely forced a decision on all other members. One by one rose.


    "I, Italy''s Prime Minister, agree to vanquish the traitor of humanity, Oliver."


    "I, Germany''s President, agree¡­"


    "I¡­"


    Marsha smiled as she had seeded in "persuading" them.

 Chapter 502 - Convincing

    Three dayster.


    Sofia and Roselyn were telling a story about Kai until the kids fell asleep. However, they soon realized something was off.


    Without wasting their time, they asked the guards that protected the kids from entering the orphanage while they came out of the building.


    As one would expect, they realized they were surrounded.


    "Sofia¡­" Roselyn narrowed her eyes and looked at the darkness.


    "Yeah. It''s gonna be a sleepless night for both of us." Sofia nodded in agreement, looking at the emerging shadows.


    There were approximately one hundred peopleing toward them. Even though they were failed zodiacs with improved strength, Sofia and Roselyn should be able to handle them easily, so they raised their guard up.


    Luckily, they had a Sound Magician like Kai staying inside the orphanage to make sure the kids didn''t hear anything from the outside. Although the Sound Magician wasn''t as powerful as Kai, his power was enough as long as he could prevent any sound from entering the building.


    Meanwhile, Sofia and Roselyn walked toward the shadows that gradually entered the light, showing their appearance.


    All of them were mutated. Some had their limbs turned into a monster''s part, while some had their body, feet, head, eyes, and any other parts.


    One of the people dispatched by Arnaud came to them and asked, "Young Ladies, should I call for help?"


    "No. You have done enough by evacuating other people from this area. Just protect the kids, we will handle this." Sofia shook her head. "But please notify Arnaud that the battle has started."


    "Understood." The man nodded and disappeared, returning to the orphanage.


    Roselyn then shouted to those people. "Greetings¡­ I know that you''re here to attack us and it''s none other than this country''s Prime Minister who orders you to attack us. I only want you to know that whoever wants to step aside, we won''t kill you.


    "Also, there is a chance for you to recover. I''m sure that all of you don''t like to stay in that condition, right?"


    Roselyn''s voices were like thunder reverberating in their ears. The prime minister promised the exact same thing, telling them he had medicine to turn them back after some medication to slow down the process of mutation.


    Yet, they didn''t know who to believe. On one hand, Oliver had a solid background and influence in his hand. On the other hand, both Roselyn and Sofia were S Rank Magicians.


    Unfortunately for her, there were still some people who didn''t wish to return to their original form. And one of them even shouted, "Bullsh*t. Do you think we don''t know that there is no cure for this predicament?"


    Hearing that question, a series of shouts echoed in their ears.


    "That''s right. Don''t give us empty promises. We''re sick of it."


    "You all are the same. Ruthless."


    "Why do we even need to believe in you?"


    All of them had truly lost hope and got influenced by those who wanted to stay in their form easily.


    Even so, Sofia remembered Kai''s instruction. He wanted to minimize the damage so as to create a cause and effect for the media and the world.


    Hence, she tried to persuade them once more. "I am sure you haven''t known this, but the Prime Minister''s research is based on someone else''s research. That person is the best scientist in the world, Ria Ross. I am her disciple, Kai Carter''s girlfriend, Sofia Campbell.


    "My boyfriend has talked to his teacher and promised to treat all of you. Also, this is ssified information, but you''re not alone. There are others who are suffering like you, but they all have been relieved from that curse.


    "I can guarantee it with my Campbell Family on the line. I can even provide proof as long as you want me to show it and put down your mission."


    Sofia''s persuasion affected at least half of them. Her words choice indeed struck deep inside their heart. By revealing her status and connection, they started to believe that returning was possible.


    Also, Sofia could even provide proof if they wanted.


    Hearing the confusion in their midst, Oliver''s supporters quickly tried to lead the group again.


    "Don''t be swayed by their words."


    "They are just trying to buy time. If we wait here, there will be hundreds if not thousands of soldiersing here."


    Instead of convincing them, Sofia took out her device and opened a certain picture. It was two pictures that had beenbined into one, creating a "before and after" picture.


    The before picture showed a man with a tiger''s legs. Next to it was a picture of the same man with normal legs. However, there was certainly some trace of tiger legs remaining on them.


    "This is just a small proof. If we provide you with something clean like that of a human''s legs, you will say that the picture portrays the man before they even take that power and mutate. That''s why we provide you the man who is in the middle of his recovery.


    "It''s going to take time, but this is the proof that I can show you to convince you that solving your problem is possible."


    The picture shook their hearts even more because most of them were dying to have that chance. Oliver had been giving them medicine to slow down the process, but none of them had any hope in getting back their bodies despite numerous attempts.


    Seeing that the hope was still there reignited their hearts. They still wanted to live like a normal human.


    "They just edited that picture. Don''t believe them."


    "Don''t give us false hope anymore."


    Sofia knew that those people were the trouble, but instead of beating them, which somehow convinced them that it was fake, Sofia only shouted, "You have chosen to take that power and failed. If you have that kind of courage, I won''t persuade you anymore. You''re the one who needs to choose whether to believe us or not. I will respect your decision and apologize in advance that I have the order to kill those who try to fight us."


    Although they were not convinced, some of them seemed to believe them because those shoutsing from their group didn''t provide any solutions. They simply denied them without any fact to back it up.


    Hence, rather than staying in one ce with a slim chance to recover, they chose to try a new opportunity. Nothing worse woulde to them anyway.


    Seeing some of them actually walking to the side, Sofia announced, "If you believe us, please step aside. We will reach out to you after solving this problem. We also don''t want to trouble you and fight for us¡­ Your life is our priority after all."


    Sofia tried a gentle way to persuade them, gradually making those who told them about false hope the bad guy.


    For those desperate people who wanted to return to normal, it was enough to make a decision.


    Around sixty of them decided to step aside while the others couldn''t choose or they were Oliver''s supporters.


    "Thank you." Sofia smiled at them. "We will do our best to cure you."


    "You b*tches. Who do you think you are? Trying to convince my people with false hope?" One of the females shouted and stepped forward, ring at Sofia and Roselyn.


    "If you think it''s false hope, I don''t have any words to persuade you anymore. However, you will know whether it''s false hope or not within seven days because Ria Ross will be the one handling the entire problem. We also have reached an agreement with the US Base to cooperate to cure you." Sofia smiled and prepared to fight while convincing them a bit more.


    Luckily, another twenty stepped aside, making those who didn''t want to return and the ones who couldn''t choose low in number.


    "We''ve given you the time to choose. It''s time for us to act." Sofia raised both hands as a blue magic circle appeared behind her back.

 Chapter 503 - New Enemy

    The moment they saw Sofia''s Magic Circle, one of them shouted. "Disperse. If we can get the children inside the orphanage as our hostage, these two S Rank Magicians won''t be able to do anything to us."


    Seeing them disperse, Roselyn marked them one by one, wondering which one to hunt first. Sofia, on the other hand, raised her hand and activated her Magic Circle.??


    Five spears emerged from the Magic Circle as she aimed them toward the iing enemies. "Roselyn, you take care of the onesing from the left."


    "Roger."


    After informing her, Sofia then released all Ice Spears with the speed of a bullet. In that close range, they arrived almost in an instant and hit all of them and turned the area hit by the Ice Spears to Ice.


    Some of them were hit near the heart, so their heart got frozen the moment they touched them as they died on the spot. But some were still lucky. The spear momentum could only rip their arms or feet after turning them to ice.


    Meanwhile, Roselyn disappeared from her position. Her Exoskeleton had emerged from her back while she reappeared in front of them with a sword in her hand.


    "Gale Storm." Roselyn waved her sword to the right as torrential wind swept the area, blowing them away.


    "I can''t stand the wind pressure."


    "Ah!"


    All the people that came to her were blown away, crashing to the house, wall, or ground.


    Roselyn then leaped toward a few of them and cut three people''s necks before they recovered. There was no hesitation in her actions, but Roselyn didn''t forget to say, "Forgive me, our paths can''t go together anymore. I need to kill you."


    Roselyn looked sad when she said those words, making those who had stepped aside know that Roselyn indeed didn''t want to fight them. She sincerely wished to stop and cure them.


    "What?" Seeing their extraordinary prowess, the leader seemed to have realized it wouldn''t be that easy to get past them. He changed his strategy and ordered the remaining fifteen people. "Kill them first."


    Listening to his orders, all fifteen of them charged forward, trying to kill both women.


    Unfortunately for them, other than their extraordinary strength or speed, none of them had any special abilities.


    After all, only those untalented people agreed to this experiment because that was how Evan and Isabelle got chosen as Zodiacs.


    If they could handle their strength and speed as if it was nothing, Kai assured them the battle would end in an instant.


    Sofia showed the first proof by creating a huge blue-colored Magic Circle.


    "Cirction Ice Magic. Dragon Head."


    A dragon head, roughly four meters in diameter, emerged from the Magic Circle with its mouth wide open. When it reached them, the dragon bit them and pierced their bodies with those sharp teeth.


    "Argh!"


    Screams from men and women echoed in the middle of the night, but no one could hear them anymore since this ce had been deserted. Even the children were forbidden to go outside for the past few days due to theplexity of the matter.


    Seeing theirrades dying, those, who didn''t get bitten, hurriedly went around the dragon''s head and nned to strike her down.


    Sadly, Roselyn came from the right side of the dragon head and shed all the iing enemies while Sofia managed to use another Magic Circle with her other hand, stopping the rest.


    The leader took both Roselyn and Sofia by surprise when he tried to sneak past them to enter the orphanage even by himself.


    Since their leader had personally made his move, three girls from the peaceful group quickly came out and headed straight to the orphanage. It turned out all three of them were just faking it to make sure they had the perfect timing to take Sofia and Roselyn by surprise.


    At the same time, those with the beast''s hands destroyed Sofia''s Dragon Head and the Ice Magic she cast to stop them.


    With this, they had three ways to reach the orphanage while only Sofia and Roselyn took care of the entrance on the opposite side.


    Sofia turned around and shouted, "Roselyn, handle the three women first."


    Roselyn nodded with a serious expression as she changed her direction and cut down the trio. Sofia, on the other hand, used another magic to freeze the remaining enemies, leaving only the boss to reach the orphanage.


    However, three women emerged from the shadow, attacking him from three directions. They were the helpers that Arnaud gave to protect the kids inside and they finally had the chance to show they were not useless.


    Before they could even taste the power of the leader, they felt a gentle gale from the side, only to find Roselyn appeared behind the leader, sending his head flying.


    Roselyn felt relieved. "Luckily, he is not that fast¡­"


    "¡­" The three women were speechless, not having any words toment on her remarks other than "As expected from S Rank Magicians."


    Unfortunately for them, the situation didn''t go as nned. Despite their continuous effort, someone with enough strength was enough to fight against them.


    In the corner of the house, the squid had seen everything from the girls'' appearance to their strength.


    If other protectors thought observing was not needed because they were just mere humans, it was different for the squid, Kerza.


    As one of the strongest fighters, Kerza never underestimated his opponents, even if they were weakling. That was why he could climb the rank.


    This time, his opponents had some experience under their belts since they had helped Kai kill two of his friends. In addition, Sofia had gone to the US Base to kill some more, so they indeed couldn''t be underestimated.


    After understanding everything about them, the squid finally made his appearance, walking with two tentacles like that of human feet.


    "!!!" Sofia widened her eyes and sucked a cold breath. Even though she had expected this person to show up, she was still surprised when she saw him with her own eyes.


    After all, thetter showed an overwhelming me that reflected his danger level. The squid was far stronger than her. Even Sofia couldn''t see how to defeat this guy.


    Her only relief was the fact that they were going to fight onnd without any water source nearby. They should have enough advantage to repel him, if not kill him, she thought.


    "Roselyn. We are going to fight him. I can only see that our chance of defeating him is slim. Do you dare?" Sofia smiled while taking a deep breath, calming her heart down.


    "Even if I need toy down my life here, I will kill him." Roselyn nodded with a serious expression.


    The squid looked at the two girls'' expressions and felt impressed by their resolve.


    "You¡­ Why are you trying so hard? I am surprised by the fact you can glimpse my strength, but I still can''t understand why you are trying so hard to protect those children."


    "I am their elder sister. That''s enough for me." Roselyn smiled and raised her sword.


    "If my boyfriend can protect the world, I will be ashamed to not have the ability to protect an orphanage." Sofia shrugged and made another Magic Circle as she was ready to confront him.


    "Hahahaha!" Kerzaughed out loud as he was astonished by their answer. It was a simple, yet, irrefutable resolve. "You two amuse me. Alright. I have decided. In honor of your bravery, I, Kerza, promise that I won''ty my hand on those people inside the orphanage. I am here just to im both of your lives. I promise you in the name of the Great King, Neptune."


    Sofia and Roselyn exchanged looks. Although they didn''t understand the significance of that name, they knew Kerza was serious.


    "In that case¡­" Sofia flicked her fingers and activated the Magic Circle.

 Chapter 504 - Kais Entry

    "Cirction Ice Magic. Dragon Head!" Sofia summoned another Dragon Head to stop him on his track.


    It was supposed to swallow him, but the Dragon Head opened its mouth again before Kerza ripped it open.??


    "Ha!" Kerza showed the powerful strength he possessed. "That''s quite powerful Magic you have there."


    "¡­" Sofia gulped down as she understood Kerza''s strength. Even though his skin didn''t look that hardpared to any other self-proimed protectors, his strength was obviously higher than anyone. She might need to go a bit farther from the orphanage to avoid destroying the building.


    Roselyn seemed to have picked Sofia''s silence as a signal, understanding what she nned to do. They both had trained together, so they learned to trust each other more with this kind of silence.


    "Gale Sword!" Roselyn waved her sword covered with torrential wind and hit Kerza in order to blow him away.


    Unfortunately for her, the n didn''t work. Kerza formed another wall of wind that neutralized Roselyn''s wind in an instant.


    "What?!" Roselyn dropped her jaw to the ground as she couldn''t believe that her power disappeared just like that.


    "A wind user, eh? Interesting." Kerza smiled and praised Roselyn. "Your strength is indeed powerful and you have a talent in wielding that power. Unfortunately, your wind power can''t bepared to mine."


    "In that case." Roselyn leaped forward and shed Kerza with her sword as she slowed down after passing him. Yet, Roselyn gritted her teeth as her hands felt numb. "Ugh. My hands¡­"


    Kerza smirked as he raised all his hands that somehow got covered with a wind sphere spinning so fast around the tip of his tentacles. He looked like a boxer with multiple hands.


    Roselyn could barely follow his movement and red at him. ''He just punched my sword within that split second? A fast reaction speed, activation speed, and powerful strength. This may be hard for both of us.''


    She knew thatpared to Kai, her close quarterbat skills were still too low. That was why she thought Kai was the only one who could stop him while both she and Sofia attacked from the side.


    "Sofia, change of n. We need to deal with this guy here."


    Seeing her distorted face, Sofia knew she was in great pain. Hence, she summoned three blue Magic Circles behind her back and released the ice chains, circling all over his body.


    "Chains, huh." Kerza narrowed his eyes as if noticing the difference between normal chains and Sofia''s chains.


    Before he could say anything, Sofia''s chain kept extending and punctured the ground as if it was trying to sew Kerza to the ground.


    This is powerful, but not enough." Kerza smiled and released all his Wind power to crack the chains. It was not enough, but he did it once more to break free.


    However, Roselyn took the small advantage she had and struck his side.


    Kerza surprised her once more as the tentacle that was supposed to be his foot grabbed her sword, stopping it from cutting his other tentacles that had just gotten their freedom.


    "It''s not enough." Kerza shook his head in disappointment. Seeing Roselyn didn''t n to let go of that sword, he took a deep breath before releasing ck ink from his mouth.


    Roselyn dropped to the ground while looking at that high pressure ck ink. If she received it from this range, there might already be a few cracks on her ribs despite being protected by the exoskeleton.


    The wall was shattered and created a hole in the house behind it.


    "¡­" Sofia and Roselyn were speechless as if they felt the gap between them.


    "Cirction Ice Magic. Cage."


    A huge cage with horizontal bars appeared above Kerza''s head. She apanied that cage with another Dragon Head to buy them some time.


    After that, Sofia activated the red code to rm Arnaud, Jules, and Rena that the threat level was far too high for them to handle.


    The battle might also go beyond the level they had expected to the point it affected the civilians, so they requested backup.


    Kerza ripped the dragon apart once more as heughed. "Are you done?"


    "Do you think you can win against us?!" Roselyn snorted.


    "You already have the answer. Besides, it''s not my full power since I can''t unleash it unless I am in the water. You should feel lucky because, in the water, you would have died thousands of times." Kerza chuckled.


    "That''s only your assumption. Even if we lose, we still have Kai Carter. He will be the one who kills you." Sofia shook her head with a serious expression.


    "No. If I kill you, Kai Carter will be filled with sadness. I want to see his expression if he sees his little lover die. Will he break?" Kerza smirked.


    "That''s only if you have the ability to kill us." Sofia snorted.


    "You two may be strong, but you''re still not my match." Kerza shook his head helplessly and approached them with the intention to kill.


    However, he soon heard another person''s voice ringing in his ears while the presence came after that. "Then, why don''t we add one more?"


    "!!!" Kerza raised all his hands while turning around but got two of his tentacles chopped off.


    "Kai!" A smile appeared on Sofia and Roselyn''s faces as someone they thought was still busy with his mission returned.


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Sorry for making you wait."


    "I thought you were still¡­" Sofia stopped and realized Kai had been fooling all of them. This was the concrete n made by Kai and Marsha.


    By creating a desperate situation for Oliver, the one behind him was forced to move at this point. And Kai would pretend he was still on his mission and ambush the attackers.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t be fast enough as Sofia and Roselyn had solved almost all of them, but he managed to get the big boss'' tentacles. It should be enough for an ambush.


    "I have finished my mission. It turned out, instead of a time limit, there was another verse that told me to return early if I could finish my job faster. Such a scary girl in politics¡­" Kai shrugged with a carefree expression.


    After that, he turned around and looked at Kerza. "They may not be enough, but what if you add me."


    Kerza smirked and raised all his tentacles surrounded by a spinning wing. "That''s still not enough."

 Chapter 505 - Great Battle

    "That''s still not enough."


    "Then, we can only test it out." Kai smiled and leaped toward him with his Supersonic Sword.??


    Kerza, on the other hand, covered his tentacles with swirling wind again like that of a glove.


    Kai waved his sword at the same time as Kerza threw his punch.


    The collision between the two generated a powerful shock wave that made the windows from nearby houses shaking.


    The powerful wind neutralized Kai''s Sound Wave and prevented his Supersonic Sword from cutting the tentacle.


    Both of them felt each other''s power as they gritted their teeth, realizing their opponent''s strength was greater than their expectation.


    Kai and Kerza shed a few times before Kerza hit the ground with his fist, cracking the ground and making Kai leap backward to gain some distance.


    "¡­" Kai took a deep breath and raised both swords. "Sofia, Roselyn. This won''t be easy. I need your help. Also, evacuate the children right now. I am afraid this ce is going to be a wastnd."


    Kerza narrowed his eyes and didn''t say anything, knowing what Kai said was true. Their power was already at that level after all.


    "I understand. Roselyn disappeared to inform the three women that protected the orphanage. "I need you to evacuate everyone from this area. All soldiers are to remain to stand by thirty blocks from here. The enemy is far stronger than our expectations, so this ce is going to be a big battlefield. If any S Rank Magicians arrive,e to this ce with precaution."


    "Roger that." One of them nodded and proceeded with the order, knowing that it was probably the best choice after seeing that one collision was enough to create that kind of effect.


    "You''re not going after them?" Kai smiled and stared at Kerza.


    "I have told them that I wouldn''t hurt the children. In any case, my true aim is you. As long as I kill you, nothing else matters. Besides, those kids will die soon anyway." Kerzaughed.


    Kai knew it was their ambition, but he didn''t show anything to Kerza to avoid raising any suspicion.


    "That is if you can defeat me." Kai harrumphed and went forward once more.


    Kerza also walked to him and hit Kai with his fist, only to find Kaiing to a halt before kicking toward that tentacle. He also poured all his Magic Power into that kick as he released a Powerful Sound Wave that turned into a shock wave right after.


    "Echo Thruster."


    The generated Sonic Boom blew the tentacle away, but it was still intact to Kerza''s body. Only the wind covering that fist had disappeared.


    "¡­" Kerza and Kai clenched their teeth again as they realized they still underestimated their opponent. That attack was able to create enough force to injure the m, yet, Kerza could take it. But the most shocking thing was the fact he didn''t even push Kerza back. In other words, their strength neutralized each other and Kerza was on thend, restricting more than half of his strength.


    If this was on the sea, one hit was all he needed to take him down.


    Kerza, on the other hand, had some thoughts as well. He looked at Kai with a serious expression, thinking, ''He is getting even stronger? I have heard from the report, but his strength should be far lower than this. How can a normal human do something like this? Even though he is the Human Race Protector, he shouldn''t be able to exert this amount of power without practicing their Mystic. This Kai Carter is more dangerous than our imagination¡­ I need to kill him right here, right now.''


    After understanding his role in this battle, Kerza raised all his tentacles, preparing to kill Kai this time. His killing intent even leaked from his eyes as his intention couldn''t be clearer.


    Kai also raised both swords and challenged him again.


    "Ha!" The two shed again as their shes alone destroyed some asphalt, walls, or even windows.


    Not wanting to be a burden, Sofia ced her hand on the ground and summoned two Magic Circles simultaneously. "Cirction Ice Magic. Chains."


    The chains began to move underground.


    Kai could hear their sounds and quickly released a powerful Sound Wave from his sword. "Sonokic de."


    "!!!" Kerza grabbed that crescent-shaped Sound Wave, but he was pushed back several meters. He asked in his mind. "He has magic this strong?"


    However, before he could think of another thing, two chains emerged from the ground and leaped toward him like a snake, circling around his two tentacles and pulling him to the ground, stopping his movement.


    "What?" Kerza tried to shake it off before he sucked a cold breath, feeling the killing intent from the front and behind simultaneously.


    Kai went from the front while Roselyn came from the back.


    "Sonokic de."


    "Authority de."


    The two released their most powerful attacks, but Kerza somehow used hisst two tentacles to grab their attack.


    "Argh!" He even shouted as if he was struggling.


    He crushed the Authority de first before using all his strength to destroy Kai''s Sonokic de.


    Boom.


    A burst of shock wave shook the neighborhood as one of the wind gloves he used was rendered useless and blood began to drop to the ground.


    Yes, it was Kai''s attack that cut a bit of his tentacle. Even so, without Roselyn and Sofia''s help, he doubted he could do something like that before figuring Kerza out.


    "Ha!" Kerza released a burst of wind and shattered the chains into pieces before jumping backward while spinning his body.


    He sent a punch right at Roselyn''s face as thetter managed to put her sword in between, stopping that fist.


    However, his strength was too strong and the sword began to move closer to her face. To avoid getting injured and leaving the battlefield without being able to help Kai, Roselyn decided to throw herself and let the force blow her away.


    She floated in the air for two seconds beforending on the ground, rolling several times, and crashing to a wall.


    She coughed a few times with each cough releasing blood. Her body felt the pain, but she simply gritted her teeth, knowing if she went down now, Kai might be in a dangerous position.


    At the same time, Kerza and Kai had shed again to stop Kerza from going to Roselyn. Kai nned to protect Roselyn, but Kerza used this asion to his advantage.


    He struck Kai''s sword from below, resulting in himunching Kai into the air.


    As Kai was about to use his Sound st to return to the ground, a wind barrier that seemed to be a tornado swallowed them as both he and Kerza entered the eye of a tornado, stopping anyone froming to help.


    The wind tried to lift him to the sky, but Kai used his Sound st tounch him back to the ground, only to find Kerza had been waiting for him while pulling his fist.


    The moment Kai came before his eyes, Kerza used all his might to strike him.


    "Sonok¡ª Toote!" Knowing it was a failure, Kai quickly gripped the swords tightly as he used them to block that punch, only to find himself getting blown away like Roselyn.


    However, he was caught by Sofia beforending on the ground before Sofia ced her hand on the ground to stop Kerza. "Freezing World."


    Everything around her was soon covered in ice as even the tornado froze.


    Unfortunately, it couldn''t stop Kerza for too long as thetter shattered his own freezing tornado andughed. "This is certainly not enough."

 Chapter 506 - Hopeless

    "This is certainly not enough." Kerza had shown his overwhelming prowess.


    Kai quickly rose to his knees as he red at Kerza. ''He is different from any opponents I have faced so far. Luckily, I managed to get two of his tentacles, leaving only four as his hands and two as his feet. If not, we would be in big trouble.??


    ''What should I do? His strength can neutralize my strength. Sofia and Roselyn seem to be experiencing the same thing.'' Kai narrowed his eyes while trying toe up with a n. ''Whatever, I need to buy time first. I don''t want to let him run rampant in this base and everything may proceed smoother if we get Arnaud and Jules'' help since they''re the closest to us.''


    Kai came at Kerza again with his Sonokic de, only to find Kerza blocking it with equal strength.


    They continued to fight for another ten minutes as Kai tried all thebinations of his attacks coupled with Sofia and Roselyn. However, none of them seemed to be working because Kerza had been blowing or shattering their attacks one by one.


    They realized Kerza was far more dangerous than the two they fought in Latviabined. Although he hadn''t seen the real power of those people from Emulda Kn, he believed Kerza''s strength was close to that of Arba. If they needed to fight onnd, Arba would win, but Kerza would have the advantage if they fought in the water.


    That was why Kai kept thinking about all possibilities he would create aftering to a certain decision in this battle.


    Unfortunately for him, the conclusion came so suddenly.


    "I have enough!" Kerza snorted and appeared in front of Kai, sending his fist right to his face.


    Kai managed to raise his swords to block it, but the force blew him away.


    Bam!


    "Gah!" Kai spat a mouthful of blood as he crashed to the wall. The situation had be dire as Kerza managed to render their ability useless. Even Kai started losing hope in this battle. Kerza was simply too strong.


    He understood Kerza''s words and temperament. In this fight, Kai had used all his strategies and it gradually became repetitive, so Kerza must have found no value in him anymore.


    Sofia and Roselyn attacked him, but the result was the same. They all got blown away by Kerza''s absolute strength.


    ''Should I escape? The kids have been evacuated too, so we can leave right now. However, the entire base will be in turmoil and I can''t fulfill the agreement either.'' He never thought there would be a day where he needed to run again after that incident in United Asia.


    He couldn''t predict what this guy would do if he ran away, but he couldn''t see the way to defeat this guy. ''What should I do? Should I just run? There are too many uncertainties if I run, but I don''t have confidence in fighting this guy right now.''


    He took a deep breath and asked, "You¡­ You are one of the strongest, aren''t you?"


    Kerza made a smug smile as he introduced himself. "My name is Kerza. I am the fifth strongest fighter, so you won''t need to feel ashamed to die in my hands."


    "Not ashamed? My pride as humanity strongest can''t take it." Kai shook his head, shamelessly proiming the truth to buy time. "The fact that you''re fighting onnd has given you a huge disadvantage and you''re telling me that I don''t need to feel ashamed?"


    Kerza snorted. "Your measurement simply can''t withstand my power. You humanity is like a frog in a well. Ignorance! You don''t have the power to recognize the true might. Kai Carter, it''s too bad, but you are not my match."


    "Is that so?" Kai smirked as he looked at the sky. "I can hear it though¡­ The raging thunder."


    Kerza felt something was wrong and raised his vision, finding the sky turn bright as lightning struck forth.


    Next to the lightning was Arnaud with several Magic Circles. "Sky Lightning."


    As one would expect from an S Rank Magician, he could do the same thing as Tasha, calling the natural lightning from the sky to strike Kerza even if it took a huge amount of his Magic Power.


    Kerza quickly channeled all his power to the sky to hit the lightning. The wind tornado expanded to the sky and shed with the lightning.


    Bam!


    The thunderp echoed right after the strike as the wind dispersed, leaving only Kerza to handle the lightning himself.


    However, all four tentacles contained the lightning as the residue shattered the ground near him and turned it into a crater.


    "Kh!" His tentacles went numb as he received another attack from the ground. A hundred ice spikes of various sizes emerged from the ground and aimed straight at his neck.


    However, Kerza managed to hit the ground once and dispersed his wind to shatter all those ice spikes before even hitting him.


    Two people appeared on top of a house.


    "Yo, I hope you don''t forget these oldies. My power may not be as powerful as my granddaughter now, but I am still an S Rank Magician. Even if it''s small, I can do something to him." Julesughed as he finally participated in the battle.


    Arnaud, on the other hand, panted as he felt a bit exhausted from using the attack earlier. "Well, this is my base. I can''t really let an outsider protect it by himself. Even if I am going to die in this battle, I will still fight for my base!"


    Kai smiled as the reinforcement hade. "I appreciate it."


    "That old hag still needs at least thirty minutes to arrive. She is on the way here at full speed, so it can''t be helped." Arnaud informed him.


    "I understand." Kai nodded in agreement. "That alone is enough for me. With both of you here, I think we can slightly step up to the third worst-case scenario¡­ I guess."


    "¡­" Arnaud and Jules fell silent as they were dumbstruck by what he said. "Third worst-case scenario?" That alone had already given them enough information about what kind of enemy they were facing and the graveness of this situation.


    Kai sighed and calcted everything first to see the chance they would win.

 Chapter 507 - Kais Message

    Seeing the two peoplee to the battlefield, Kai charged toward Kerza and struck him.


    Thetter blocked his sword with his tentacle and blew him away, but Kai purposely leaped to the side, using the force to blow him in a certain direction.??


    At the same time, Roselyn and Sofia went ahead to stop him while Kainded on top of the roof, regrouping with Arnaud.


    He quickly used his Sound Instion Room to cover everything that they talked about.


    "Kai Carter?"


    "This is an emergency. I don''t have the power to contain this one and I''m nning to run away. However, since you''re here, I see some hope in defeating him."


    Knowing this wasn''t time toment on Kai''s n or intention, he quickly nodded with a serious expression. "Alright. You must have a n. I will follow yourmand."


    "I want you to tell Marsha three things. First, the monster is far stronger than me and it''s impossible for me alone to defeat it. Second, I want her to invite one or two media toe here with their helicopter, broadcasting this fight for several minutes. Third, I can''t say anything about a time limit, but if their lives are in danger, they will retreat immediately. I want everything to be solved within thirty minutes. This is the furthest limit we can go in order to stop him."


    "Understood." Arnaud nodded with a grave expression and quickly retreated a bit to call Marsha.


    Meanwhile, Kainded on the ground while saying, "I have a n. If you trust me, adjust your Magic Power and go all out. Everything will be resolved within thirty minutes."


    Kerza frowned and released his power a bit more while releasing his killing intent. "What did you say, brat?"


    "I am saying that you''re going to die in thirty minutes. Do you think I don''t know that you may possess the strength to kill us, but your overwhelming power is not enough to kill us within that time¡­" Kai smirked and raised his sword. "I am telling you,e at me, you f*cking slimy squid."


    "You!" Kerza gritted his teeth and charged forward.


    While Kai and the others were buying time for Arnaud, thetter already called Marsha.


    "Yes. Do you need anything?"


    "I don''t have time. Kai Carter wants me to tell you three things." Arnaud didn''t waste a single second and exined everything to Marsha.


    In that instant, Marsha quickly hung up and called one media under hermand, sending them to the battlefield.


    Luckily, it was still 10 PM, it wasn''t her time to sleep yet.


    Marsha quickly put on a coat while shouting, "We''re going back to the Union Headquarters!"


    The acting prime minister, who happened to be her butler, quickly came out of his room with a flustered expression.


    "What happened?"


    "I will tell you on the way."


    "Understood. I will get the car ready."


    After two minutes, Marsha had set off from her mansion, preparing to get the ne to France right away.


    On the way, Marsha told everything to the current prime minister, so he could prepare himself for a press conferenceter.


    "Mdy, I am afraid this situation is worse than we expected¡­ If Kai Carter can''t even pull it off, do you think someone can do it?"


    "I am not sure myself, but Arnaud told me there is a chance. Everything will be resolved within thirty minutes. I want you to prepare for a press conference right after regarding this matter." Marsha shook her head while trying to figure out Kai''s n.


    What they feared was the fact that Kai, the strongest human that might have the power to destroy a base, was actually useless against this opponent. In other words, his opponent might have the power to destroy the base after killing Kai Carter and the other Rank S Magicians.


    "Hmm¡­ It seems Kai Carter has thought it through." Marsha mumbled as she had started connecting the dots in Kai''s message.


    "What is it, Mdy?"


    "From the first point, he already stated that the monster is stronger than him. This means if humanity doesn''t unite, a monster like this will make us extinct. After all, there are a few more people like thising from the sea. And yes, we may need to officially tell the public about this threat."


    "I see. He once told us about the great war¡­ Doesn''t this mean it wille soon?"


    "Yes. With him asking for the world to unite, this war he talked about may be bigger than he expected. After all, even he pondered for a long time when I asked about our role in the battle. He had some level of confidence in dealing with them¡­"


    "In that case, we may need to start working in the military to prepare for the war. Oliver will be exterminated after this incident, so there won''t be anyone that will obstruct us. If we work together with Kai Carter, it should be able to work out. The problem will be United Asia. One of the biggest powers in United Asia is the Katsuragi Family, who has some conflicts with him."


    "Don''t talk about United Asia right now. It''s not important. Everything will be useless if we lose this battle." Marsha shook her head.


    "Then, what is the second one?"


    Marsha fell silent for a moment before continuing, "The second one is obviously to get the world''s attention. I''m sure he is going to do something big in front of the world and tell them we need to join hands. Though, I am not sure about the several minutes thing. I''m sure he has some ns."


    "Agreed. That''s why I''m going to make a statement about the coboration, right? We can use that to extend the contract for war cooperation. Of course, the US Base President will surely respond to this since he knows Kai Carter has never done something meaningless."


    "Yes. His side also has Ria Ross, so we are going to get busy for months if not years." Marsha nodded with a serious expression. "As for the third¡­ He can''t tell anything about the time limit, but he wants the media to retreat¡­"


    "Do you know anything about this? I can''t see a single clue of what he thinks."


    "I am not sure myself. Seeing he has confidence that everything will be solved within thirty minutes, I will just believe in him. We can talk about itter anyway." Marsha shrugged. "I have sent the media on their way, so they will arrive within five to ten minutes. This is gettingplicated very soon¡­ I wonder how Oliver has such a creature backing him up."


    ¡­


    While they were talking about the countermeasure, Kai had been fighting against Kerza for several minutes. Within that time, Kai suffered some injuries. Blood was dripping out of his wounds and his movement became a bit slower. If not for his Sound st, he couldn''t catch up with Kerza''s speed.


    The same applied to Arnaud, Jules, Sofia, and Roselyn. All of them fought against Kerza and managed to fight at a standstill, but their condition gradually turned worse.


    Kerza also used a lot of his stamina, but he should have enough stamina to kill them before getting away to recover.


    "This is useless. You won''t be able to defeat me. Thirty minutes, is it? I''m going to prove that I can kill all of you within that time." Kerza snorted.


    Kai smiled and ignored his word, raising his vision and finding a helicoptering closer. The helicopter brought a giant shlight as it illuminated Kerza, the main culprit.


    Seeing the reinforcement he hoped for hade, Kai shouted. "No need to hold back. Use all your power right now. Don''t care about our surroundings."

 Chapter 508 - Strongest Magician

    The helicopter shlight was the signal for the cameraman to record the battle.


    Kai smiled and waved his sword. "Sonokic de."??


    This time, he used a bit more power to make his Sonokic de unstable, resulting in the de bing even wider.


    "Huh?" Kerza furrowed his eyebrows as he didn''t understand why Kai would mess up in this situation. He simply destroyed the Sound Wave before him while leaving the rest to destroy more than ten houses.


    To their surprise, the houses that took the direct hit got split into two.


    All the people in that helicopter were astounded as they finally saw Kai''s real prowess.


    Although they didn''t understand, all four of them leaped to Kerza while unleashing all their attacks.


    "Authority de."


    "Ice Cirction Magic. Dragon Head."


    "Lightning Discharge."


    "Ice Saint Sword."


    Roselyn''s Authority de was grasped by Kerza even though it left a quite big sword mark on the ground that was even visible with naked eyes.


    Sofia''s Dragon Head swallowed Kerza from above. However, Kerza soon shattered it into pieces, albeit the residual ice began to freeze the road, covering the road, the wall, and even the house with a thinyer of ice.


    Arnaud''s Lightning Discharge was repelled to the side by Kerza''s tentacle, but that attack left a half-sphere trail on the ground as if something big just chewed the road before exploding, turning a house into rubbles.


    At the same time, Jules''s Ice Saint Sword was avoided by Kerza with a simple move, which was leaning to the side. The sharp sword continued to expand until it struck three houses in session, creating a hole through them.


    All of them used their strongest attack to give the biggest impact the world could see. They might not know Kai''s n, but they understood the gist of it after knowing Kai for a while.


    However, all of their attacks were rendered useless while Kerza blew them away with his wind again,ughing out loud. "Whatever your n is, there''s no way you can fight me. Even if youe together with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it''s still not enough. But¡­ that shlight is annoying me."


    Kerza looked up and formed a huge tornado to swallow them, but Kai leaped into the air with his Sound st and formed a huge Sound st to counter the wind. Meanwhile, Sofia followed his movement and froze the tornado with her Ice Magic.


    Kai stepped on the frozen tornado while ncing at the people in the helicopter. "It''s better for all of you to retreat and don''te back. This battle may destroy this neighborhood. Don''t worry. As long as we are here, we will continue fighting to ourst breath to repel this intruder."


    Listening to Kai''s voice, the pilot nodded while staring at him in the eyes. Although he wanted to salute, he had his mission from Kai and quickly flew away, not wanting to be his burden. The battle itself was insane, even from an amateur''s perspective. At this level, one mistake would literally end the match.


    If Kerza took them as their hostages, it was the worst situation for Kai and the others. As someone who retired from the army, the pilot left the scene quickly. They also had enough footage anyway.


    Kai then dropped to the ground and smiled. "This is not over. You will die in our hands. That''s all."


    "Then try it!" Kerza snorted and charged forward.


    The battle became even bigger. As Kai said earlier, the neighborhood gradually turned into a ruin, making one wonder whether they could live here anymore. Even the orphanage wasn''t spared from all this mess.


    Kai kept using all his power in order to suppress Kerza while the others attacked him, but as a result, he got more wounds than anyone else.


    In just a mere ten minutes, his body had been covered with wounds while his clothes were drenched by blood. The rest had a simr condition, but they had another problem which became their main problem.


    Their energy and Magic Power were used up. Their movement gradually became dull and their magic started to lose its power.


    It was even faster for Arnaud and Jules, allowing Kerza to gain back his momentum.


    At that point, Kerza used his all to beat all of them and exhaust them. However, with Kai and the others'' persistence, they also managed to strike Kerza a few times, resulting in him losing one more tentacle and some wounds on his body.


    His movement might be duller, but it couldn''t bepared to Kai and the others'' condition.


    After another ten minutes, Roselyn had been sitting on the ground, leaning her back on a destroyed wall. Her head was down and her consciousness had grown fuzzy.


    Sofia was lying down on her belly, staring at Kerza''s abnormal strength. Jules had a simr pose as Roselyn, but he wouldn''t fall far from his granddaughter. He would surely protect her granddaughter even if it were thest thing he did.


    Arnaud was on his knees, leaning to a small pir that was about to copse. They were one step away from the unconscious. Yet, Kai pulled it back with his action.


    Kai panted a few times and stood by his feet. He had no strength left to oppose Kerza, but his gaze remained strong. He stepped forward and ced his body in front of everyone who had no strength left to fight. All their bodies had been covered with blood and wounds, so it wasn''t possible for them to move anymore.


    "Kai¡­" Sofia wanted to raise her hand to reach his back, but she had no energy left to even move her finger. Even her voice was shaking. She wished to tell him that it was alright for him to escape, leaving them behind.


    Kai was someone who would eventuallye back to get his revenge, so she had prepared to die in this battle.


    Kerza, on the other hand, had some wounds on his body and his energy was depleted as well. He might be weaker than the protector Kai met in Latvia.


    Even so, with them bing this weak, the chance to win was zero. Even Rena wouldn''t make much difference on this asion, let alone with her still flying in the air.


    "You don''t have anything left. Since you''re so brave, I will kill everyone painlessly." Kerza snorted and paid hisst respect to Kai. Even if they were his opponent, Kai was still the Human Race''s Protector. That identity would always stick in his back for the rest of his life even if he were unaware of it.


    "Hmph! Do you think you have won?" Kai snorted.


    "Of course. You can''t even do anything to me. Even if I touch you a bit, you will fall to the ground." Kerza made a smug smile, celebrating his victory.


    Suddenly, a smile appeared on Kai''s face as he stated, "You couldn''t even kill us within thirty minutes. What a joke."


    "What did you say?!" Kerza got angry because he never expected the person who would soon die in his hand to even have the time to mock him.


    "I already said¡­ Everything will be resolved within thirty minutes. Now that I have aplished my objective, it''s time for you to die." Kai smiled.


    "You''re the one who is a joke. You can''t even see who''s losing! I am disappointed in you. I have changed my mind, I will torture you first before killing you." Kerza released his killing intent so strongly, enveloping everyone in this ce.


    Kai only put a finger in front of his mouth as if telling him to stay quiet. "I can hear it, you know."


    "Huh? It''s useless if you just want to buy some time." Kerza walked forward and approached Kai slowly, making the one behind him worried. They all wanted to rise and help Kai escape, but none of them had the strength to do it.


    They could only see Kai''sst moment with regret.


    However, Kai simply continued without fear in his eyes. "Right back at you¡­ After all, I can hear it¡­ The sound of humanity''s strongest magician."


    As soon as he said those words, Arba suddenly appeared right above Kerza. Her fist was also covered with a wind sphere like Kerza, but this one was much stronger than him. At the same time, Aston came to Kai''s front while using his power to create a transparent sphere to keep them safe.


    "Beating His Majesty like this is a capital offense. Prepare to pay it with your life, vermin." Arba''s tone was extremely cold.


    "!!!" Kerza turned around and saw Arba''s fist hitting him right in his face.


    She quickly pushed him to the ground with that punch before releasing all thepressed wind she used to cover her fist.


    Thatpressed wind released a terrifying power as the ground began to crack and turn into a huge crater that engulfed at least a hundred houses in their surroundings. At the same time, the powerful shock wave also swept the houses as if a hurricane passed this ce.


    Boom.

 Chapter 509 - Astons Observation

    Inside a small room, the Television was showing emergency news for all citizens. On the screen, there were five S Rank Magicians and one mutated monster that seemed to be too far if they wanted to call him a Magical Beast.


    "There is an emergency fight going on inside the base. In this video, we all can see the power of Kai Carter and the other four S Rank Magicians from our base. They all attacked the monster before them, only to find it was useless.??


    "Despite showing us so much strength, the monster was perfectly fine. ording to our information, the monster itself was brought by Prime Minister Oliver and it was said that the monster was created by the experiment and had gone out of control.


    "This is the result of that inhumane experiment. Kai and the others tried to put a stop to this madness, but Oliver turned out releasing the strongest monster he had created. This monster''s only thought is to kill all humans and bring us to extinction.


    "Can you even imagine what will happen if the five S Rank Magicians can''t handle this monster? Prime Minister Oliver had betrayed humanity and wanted to destroy humanity! Luckily, Kai Carter, the leader of this group, had assured us that he would win this fight no matter what it took.


    "Even our journalist almost lost her life just to take this one short video. The monster could destroy a helicopter from afar in an instant, she said. We hope the Union can handle this as soon as possible!"


    ¡­


    Two minutester.


    The sound of panting echoed inside the corridor as a female pushed mmed open the door before her, surprising everyone inside the room.


    Though, it was only two people inside, talking about a few things. They were none other than Aston and Arba.


    Aston furrowed his eyebrows, looked at the girl, and asked, "Leah? What''s wrong with you? It''s rare to see youing here thiste, especially with that kind of look."


    "Teachers¡­ You two need to see this." Leah said out loud in a hurry.


    The two didn''t understand her concern but still followed her to see the news.


    Aston started sweating as he frowned, muttering, "That guy¡­ If I''m not wrong, that guy is among the best¡­"


    "What should we do? It''s not the time for us yet." Arba turned to Aston.


    Aston stopped her with a serious expression while observing Kai''s movement. "This¡­ Seeing this kind of gap should be enough for His Majesty to realize whether he needs to escape or not. Yet, he is staying on the battlefield."


    Before continuing, he saw the squid attack the helicopter and force them to retreat. At the same time, Kai also told them that everything was going to be alright.


    He might just want to assure them, but he soon realized it wasn''t. It was a special message for them.


    "Arba¡­ We''re going to help him right now. You''re going to kill that monster."


    "Huh?" Arba tilted her head in confusion, not understanding his reasoning.


    "His Majesty is trying to tell us that he can''t do it alone for this one and ask for our help. Imagine, His Majesty has been doing everything secretly. There''s no way for such a person to go all his way to broadcast this so everyone can watch."


    "But they are just journalists. They may have caught wind of this battle and tried to get a scoop."


    "That will be the case if the situation is different. The EU Base is not safe right now because of the recent conflict. I have been following that matter to understand His Majesty''s move. He indeed wants us to go there."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I can''t exin much because time is essential, but we can go there with a Teleportation Magic and stay not far from there, hiding. During that time, you can ask His Majesty yourself to make sure if he really needs us or not. I think that''s enough for this one¡­" Aston offered a solution to the doubtful Arba. "Although I want to let Leah and Devain handle this, time is too important for us. There''s a possibility that our n is discovered by those people."


    Arba thought for a moment and nodded. "I understand. We shall proceed ording to your n."


    "Good." Aston smiled and started their preparation.


    A few minutester, Aston and Arba had arrived at the base. After getting the location from the news, they searched for that area for a while before hearing a loud sounding from the battlefield.


    The two quickly hid while Arba whispered to Kai. "Your Majesty. I am a bit perplexed by your signal, so I want to confirm it first. Since I can''t hear you, I will do a little test. If you don''t call for our help, please ignore this message. If you need our help to kill that guy, please insult that guy as much as you want. Not only can it anger the enemy, but I can also sneak behind him tounch a devastating blow."


    Listening to that, Kai smiled and acted tough, mocking Kerza all he wanted. After all, he was a bit frustrated because he couldn''t do a single thing for him.


    Arba and Aston nodded at each other as they began to move after getting the signal from Kai.


    ¡­


    Boom.


    Everyone, except Kai and Aston, dropped their jaws to the ground as they couldn''t believe what just happened before their eyes.


    Their only thought was, ''There is someone who can cause this much destruction with just a single punch?''


    Kai remained silent before saying to Aston, "She can use all her power. Just make sure that the enemy dies."


    "I understand." Aston nodded with a serious expression before rying Kai''s message to Arba through telepathy.


    "Kai, they are¡­" Sofia drew a gasp as she never saw someone this powerful.


    "Don''t ask for now." Kai smiled and assured them that everything was going to be alright. He then asked Aston, "What is your intake about the war that maye soon? I''m sure you''re already aware of this, right?"


    "Yes. It''s much sooner than I expected after killing this guy. Luckily, there''s no one who will broadcast us here¡­"


    "Don''t worry. They are also trusted. Whether you want to wipe their memory or not, it''s your jurisdiction. However, I don''t think it''s necessary anymore because they will be a great help in the next war."


    "In that case, I won''t do anything to them. I only want to ask how much Your Majesty trusts them¡­"


    "The two girls¡­ I trust them fully. The two old men, I trust them with a little threat."


    "Certainly. I won''t do anything to all of them then." Aston nodded before looking at Kerza, who couldn''t be recognized anymore.


    Because of that surprise attack and his current condition, Arba had been brutally punching him without stopping, releasing her anger.


    Yet, Kerza was still alive while looking at Aston. "You¡­ There''s no other human who is this strong unless¡­" Kerza realized something and looked at Kai. "You¡­ You are already aware of your status¡­"


    "You talked too much!" Arba sent another punch right on the right side of his head, crushing his little cheek until it burst out blood.


    "¡­" Kai only looked at the small crater that seemed to have a blood pool under construction.

 Chapter 510 - Settling The Matter

    "¡­" Kai pinched the bridge of his nose as he didn''t hear any sign of movement inside Kerza''s body. In fact, his body had been ttened to the ground by Arba.


    That powerful opponent had been reduced to that state without them being able to do anything, this certainly shocked everyone.??


    Although Kerza had been injured, his strength was still too powerful for them. Yet, the same person was rendered useless by Arba.


    "That''s enough, Arba." Kai stopped her with a serious expression.


    "Oh?" Arba stopped and rose from the ground, checking if Kerza was still alive or not.


    Aston then turned to the others while introducing himself. "It''s an honor to meet you. My name is Aston. I hope none of you tells anyone about our appearance here."


    Kai pointed his finger at him. "Yeah. As he said, I hope you won''t mention anything, even if it''s only a slip-up. A war is going to happen soon and if the enemy knows about them, we won''t have enough time to prepare."


    "A war? With them? Can we win? He is only the fifth strongest person, right?" Arnaud frowned as this gave him a headache more painful than his current wounds.


    "Yeah. That''s why I hope you don''t drink too, so as to avoid an unnecessary slip-up."


    "That can be done." Arnaud agreed without hesitation. "Besides¡­ These wounds¡­"


    "Right¡­" Kai nodded with a smile. "This condition will surely hospitalize you for a month at the very least. And you can''t drink for your full recovery for three to six months. I am nning to call Evan, but I guess he''s not going to arrive that soon because he is on a mission."


    "I see. So, that''s what your n¡­" Aston understood Kai''s n after observing his wounds and all the clues he had left behind.


    "Anyway, I think you two should go back." Kai turned to Aston and Arba. "For this, I am really grateful for your help."


    "No problem, Your Majesty."


    "Your Majesty¡­" Roselyn muttered with a confused face, looking at Kai. Since when Kai was royalty? she thought.


    "Don''t mind about it." Kai waved his hand before shrugging.


    "Before that, I need to warn you a bit, Your Majesty. You may be able to settle a bit of their doubt with these wounds, making them believe that you and these four people kill this monster, but it won''t be for long."


    "I know." Kai squinted his eyes. "I should be able to buy at least six months with this n. I am also constantly improving myself, so I need to be ready as soon as possible."


    "I understand. Since Your Majesty has a n, I shall return with Arba."


    "Wait a minute. I want to add something." Arba stopped Aston and continued, "This guy is the fifth, right? There are four more above him together with their own king. I''m afraid the scale is bigger than you think¡­ I think I can fight their number one, which is probably their princess, but I can''t handle the others. Aston is not someone who is good in battle¡­"


    "Well, I can do some things, but my overall strength has probably ranked either 9th or 10th. The two kids are stronger than me in this regard¡­" Aston agreed with Arba''s assessment.


    "Then, should we teach more people?"


    "I don''t think it will be enough."


    "I am nning to give this power to my Teacher because she is a very talented person. Even in this situation, I don''t think I can win all my battles against her." Kai shrugged.


    "Since it''s Your Majesty''s teacher, it''s probably going to be fine." Aston nodded. "As much as we want to follow the tradition, I am afraid we are too short-handed to do this. We should bend the rules a bit."


    "Yes, thanks." Kai then turned to the girls and old men. "If you join up together, I think you can kill one or two. I am nning to teach this power to all the girls, so they should be able to kill the third and fourth ranks¡­ All the remaining S Rank Magicians are to help my people to defeat the remaining powerful fighters. That''s the gist of the n."


    "That''s good enough."


    "I will send Leah and Devain to help you teaching them this power."


    "That will be great."


    "In that case, we will excuse ourselves." Aston and Arba nodded at each other before bowing their heads to Kai and vanishing into thin air.


    "¡­" Kai fell silent for a moment and looked at the four. "Well, you see, I have another influence that backs me up outside the three bases. Unfortunately, I can''t tell you anything about them. You only need to know they will help us in the time needed¡­"


    "Don''t worry about me. I won''t interfere with your decision unless it involves your life." Sofia was the first to answer since she believed Kai never did something meaningless.


    "Thank you, Sofia."


    "You have granted me this power and done everything to the kids. I can''t thank you enough. This is a small sacrifice to makepared to the favor I have received from you." Roselyn smiled, assuring Kai there wouldn''t be any slip-ups from her.


    "Thank you, Roselyn."


    "Well, this is a serious request from my grandson-inw, so I will do it. It''s not like I drink or anything unless it''s necessary. With this current condition, I believe I can take a year''s leave from any work." Julesughed. "I only need to see my granddaughter in her wedding dress and my great grandchildren. I will be satisfied."


    "Haha, I will do it as soon as possible. I will fulfill the promise I have said to you regarding marriage and such."


    "In that case, I don''t need to worry anymore."


    Seeing all of them had agreed, Arnaud raised his hands as if he had given up. "This kind of battle¡­ I need to prepare myself for this shit. To think I was unaware of all this for a long time. If only I had known about it a few years earlier, I could have prepared many things.... I am ashamed."


    "Please don''t beat yourself too much. It''s them being too secretive."


    "I will also work together with Marsha to help you deal with the Union. But there is one big question¡­" Arnaud took a deep breath and continued with a serious expression. "What are you nning with United Asia? Are you going to solve this problem before the war?"


    "Of course. Using my condition as an excuse, I will bring Evan and the rest of my team to this ce before going to United Asia for the remaining days I have to spend here. I am sure Marsha won''t say anything regarding this matter after seeing the condition of this neighborhood.


    "Anyway, if the Katsuragi Family won''t be a threat anymore, we can get the government to reinforce their rule and gather some force for reinforcement in the future."


    "That''s a pretty good n." Arnaud agreed. "Things are going to get busy soon. But¡­"


    Arnaud took out his device to call the ambnce. "Let''s go to the hospital first. It''s not good to have this wound for long¡­"


    "Indeed." Kai smiled and watched him calling the ambnce. He then went to Sofia to check her condition and stayed with her, which made Jules smile, waiting for them to be picked up.

 Chapter 511 - Aftermath

    "ording to our information, it took five S Rank Magicians to take this creature down. And all of them are heavily injured and have been admitted into intensive care in the hospital. They may require at least a few months to recover to full health in the hospital."


    The reporter''s voice echoed in Marsha''s ears as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She sat in a hospital room with a troubled expression.??


    "So, care to exin to me what''s happening right now?" Marsha asked with a frown. She was too tired to even maintain her polite facade in front of Kai.


    Next to her, Kai was lying on the bed with a smile on his face. Despite having wounds all over his body, he seemed to be pretty satisfied with her work.


    After a while, Kai decided to open his mouth. "I can''t say much."


    "Then, please tell me what you can tell me. I am too tired to even work on my words with you. Don''t you know how hard it''s to control the entire poption of the EU Base while influencing those in other bases?"


    "I know, I know." Kai chuckled. "To put it simply, they want to annihte us."


    "To what degree?"


    "Complete annihtion."


    "Do you trust this information?"


    "Ny percent and it''s also historically correct."


    "Historically correct?" She frowned. If what he said was true, then the humans had been living side by side with these creatures this whole time. In that case, the scale of this problem turned out to be far bigger than she imagined.


    "Yes. I can''t tell you the exact myth, but I can guarantee its authenticity."


    Marsha thought for a moment and asked, "So, you want to unite the three bases together?"


    "My original n is only the US Base. After knowing the true scale of this problem, I''m going to involve the EU Base. That''s why I agreed to cross the ocean."


    "How about United Asia?"


    "You should know my conflict with them, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I have told my side to focus the news on Evaning here a few days from now. However, the truth is he and my team will arrive here at night."


    "What are you nning to do?"


    "Of course, I am going to have Evan heal me."


    "I am asking for your real n." Marsha raised her voice.


    "Those few days will be enough for me to eliminate the Katsuragi Family. With the conflict between me and the Katsuragi Family, in the worst case, they will be swayed by the enemy. I''m sure you can understand the impact on the coalition, no?"


    "Yes. I can see the chaotic situation ahead. So, you want me to hide the fact that you have recovered¡­"


    "Yep." Kai nodded with a smile.


    "That''s easy. I can do that immediately. In fact, I can prepare the ne for you."


    "That will be good, but it''s better to send me to Korea instead. I will use Teleportation Magic to get there so as to not alert the enemy."


    "Sure. In that case, we need to send you a bit farther to avoid anyone from spotting us. And you may need to jump off the ne."


    "That''s okay. As long as we can get a ride to conserve our stamina. Three days will be enough to resolve this conflict."


    "I understand." She thought for a moment and asked, "What will you do after destroying the Katsuragi Family?"


    "It''s your job, you know."


    "I feel like my days are going to be ruined if I know you sooner¡­" Marsha scratched the back of her head. "There will only be work and work because of you."


    "Ahaha." Kai chuckled, not denying it.


    "I wonder what the payment for working like this is¡­" Marsha let out a long sigh. "How about you take me as your wife too? That way you can get someone in the EU Base who has control over the union and a sexy wife at night."


    "I will be too tired to do it. Although I don''t mean to be rude to you or the other girls, you''re too much for me to handle. I feel like you''re going to take advantage of me on every asion. To not disturb the harmony, I am afraid I can''t even consider that proposal."


    "My question still stands, what''s the payment for these extra works?"


    Kai gently stroked his cheek and said with an unsure tone. "I will tell you every secret regarding my identity together with the enemy after everything is over. How about that?"


    "That''s interesting." Marsha nodded. "Though, I may need to ask for a bonuster."


    "I will think about it." Kaiughed and said, "Anyway, I am going to tell you my next n to fight them."


    "Sure. Tell me everything¡­" Marsha nodded.


    ¡­


    Three hourster.


    Marsha''s butler, the acting Prime Minister of Sweden, stood in front of everyone and the media to announce a few things.


    Next to him was arge screen where he would post every picture rted to what he wanted to say.


    There were many reporters that prepared to ask him many questions.


    So, when he arrived in front of the podium, he hurriedly opened his mouth. "I am happy to be here to rify all the things happening recently. As you may be aware, yesterday, we got the news about Kai Carter and four other S Rank Magicians joining hands to defeat a single creature.


    "First of all, I am going to exin to you this creature first. They are another intelligent creature that seems to have inhabited the Earth since a long time ago, alongside the human. However, due to them living under the ocean, we have no knowledge about them.


    "We don''t have much knowledge about them except we have been fighting them since two years ago on our border. Because of the importance of their intelligence, we need to conceal the truth about it to prevent anyone from joining their side for one reason.


    "Their one and only ambition is to annihte humanity and bring us to extinction. I am sure all of you know about it. If someone wants to create chaos, they wille to them. That''s why we need to make sure no information can be found. For that, I hope all of you can understand. I will answer three questions regarding them."


    All people quickly raised their hands. He chose one of them.


    "For what reason do they want to annihte us?"


    "That''s something we can''t verify yet. Due to them living under the ocean, we can''t get any information since every expedition will result in failure. I believe all of us already know of the threat of the magical beasts inside the ocean."


    "I believe your reasoning can''t justify the reason for keeping it a secret. The citizens need to be aware of this!" Another reporter raised her voice in the name of "justice".


    "It''s enough to justify our action. First, we don''t want our citizens to be sleeping on their beds with a constant fear of the unknown. They maye to our base and destroy us immediately. Only after we get more information can we tell you about them and this is the perfect asion." He took a deep breath and smiled. "As I said earlier, it will be troublesome to have humanity join them in a time like this. Can you say the same words after seeing French''s Former Prime Minister Oliver?"


    The reporter was tongue-tied and looked down. Then another one got chosen and uttered his question. "May we know what happened to Former Prime Minister Oliver?"


    "I will answer it together with the next topic. Okay, moving on."

 Chapter 512 - New Ranking System

    "To the next topic, I''m going to present you with Former Prime Minister Oliver''s fate." He then pointed at the screen next to him, showing Oliver''s picture getting arrested by Rena. "After the incidentst night, we have arrested him. He will be judged with Martial Court Law in the Union Headquarters. Everything will be broadcasted, so we will make sure this court session will be fair and square.


    "That''s why I hope that every single one of you can refrain yourself from doing some demonstration and let the judges do their job. Our only promise is that the entire process will take less than two weeks. He is pressed for War Crimes and Inhumane Research. As a result, he should have a death penalty. However, the final decision will be made by the judges. I will allow three questions again."??


    After listening to his exnation, all of them raised their hands again. He simply chose three different people that hadn''t been chosen.


    "The citizens will surely feel uneasy if the judges give¡ª"


    Before she finished, he waved his hand with a serious expression. "That''s not going to happen. With the number of crimes he hasmitted, his best scenario will be a lifelong jail time without any pardon and visit from other people."


    "May we know what you think about the entire situation from Former Prime Minister Oliver''s involvement tost night''s battle?"


    "Afterst night''s incident, we have discussed with the US Base''s president. All I can tell you is that we have agreed to join hands to fight them, focusing our military on suppressing this imminent threat. We also n to work together with United Asia. In other words, we would like to unite together to eliminate this threat.


    "I am sure that all of you have seen the scale ofst night''s battle. Even right now, that ce has turned into a crater. Even with Kai Carter and the others joining hands, it was still not enough. So, only if we unite can we bring peace for humanity."


    "What will happen to the research subjects? I''m sure they don''t have any more ce to live with their current appearances. What will the government do about this?"


    He took a deep breath first and continued, "In the previous discussion, we have worked together with the US Base to make the cure for them. ording to the US Base, Ria Ross has been experiencing some sort of sess, so we are happy to know that there is a chance for them to recover.


    "We will update their progress once in a while because we take our credibility seriously. We should be able to see the effect within three months. That''s our only assurance we can give to you."


    After that, the butler continued with a more interesting topic. "In any case, I''m going to go back to the second question. Because of the threat of our enemy that has surpassed our imagination, we are going to add some more ssification to our ssification system.


    "President Brent has also approved of this ssification system. Hence, I dere that above S Rank will have SS Rank and SSS Rank. S Rank Magical Beast has enough intelligence and power to turn the entire wastnd into a wastnd while bringing many monsters. The mole that has appeared in the US Base recently is an example.


    "As for SS Rank Magical Beast, they have enough strength to destroy a single city in one single attack. Back then, the S Rank Spider that the US Base took down could actually cover the city with white thread in one single attack. Hence, this monster shall be ssified as SS Rank Magical Beast.


    "Last but not least, SSS Rank Magical Beast. They are the Magical Beast that has enough strength to turn the entire base into a wastnd. As much as I hate to say it, the monster we encounteredst night was such a beast. If Kai Carter is not a part of the exchange student, there is no telling what will happen to the EU Base. That''s why we ssify them as SSS Rank Magical Beast.


    "If we encounter any stronger monster than this one, we will ssify them as one step higher, the Supreme Rank Magical Beast. This one can bring chaos to the entire world and we hope we don''t encounter such a beast.


    "To further implement this system, the Union and President Brent havee to an agreement to elevate a few people''s ranks. For her achievement on the battlefield, reputation, and strength, we proudly announce that Ria Ross will be an SS Rank Magician.


    "The same applies to our newly appointed S Rank Magicians, Roselyn and Sofia. Although they are still young, from our records, they are stronger than S Rank Magician Jules Campbell, Arnaud Tron, and Rena Alberona. Hence, Roselyn and Sofia Campbell are to be SS Rank Magicians as of today. We are hoping to see their future achievements.


    "Last but not least, with his Martial Prowess, Warfare Achievement, and the fact that he has killed multiple invaders and led the entire team to killst night''s enemy. We proudly announce to every person in this world that Kai Carter is the one and only SSS Rank Magician.


    "All the necessities will be processed on their own bases. That''s all." The butler announced the biggest news of the day. This was also Kai''s n to further urately measure one''s strength to ensure the chain ofmand.


    The news spread to all bases in an instant.


    The people from the EU Base were taken aback by this announcement. They felt a bit dissatisfied with Oliver''s fate, but since the government wanted to fight for the hardest punishment and eliminate any potential threat, they needed to settle down for the time being. They would move the citizens if the judgment were not to their liking.


    Little did they know, this kind of movement came from Marsha. She simply wanted to see if there were any more traitors involved with Oliver. She nned to eliminate him and his influence thoroughly after all.


    They also felt relieved that those who had turned into a monster would have the chance to return to their former selves and start anew.


    However, the one that shocked them the most was the new ranking system. They never expected to see someone break the norm to the point the government needed to issue a new ranking system just to amodate him.


    Kai Carter would indeed go down in history. The EU Base knew about his rtionship with Sofia, so they felt happy to know that they had some connection with Kai Carter. Those in United Asia felt regretful and demanded their government to take action against their idiotic decision to abandon Kai Carter.


    After all, the man they abandoned had now turned into the strongest magician in human history.


    As for the US citizens, they were throwing a celebration. After all, Kai Carter was a kind of celebrity himself. Adored by many, the name of Kai Carter kept echoing among the people''s mouths.


    They were simply proud that Kai Carter was their fellow citizen. At the same time, Ria Ross was also crowned as a solid SS Rank Magician, unlike Sofia and Roselyn, whose achievement was still too shallow.


    Even President Brent gave his opinion and told everyone about their decision while rifying the news.

 Chapter 513 - Reunion

    Kai was watching the entire news with Marsha in the hospital as they tried to see if they missed something important or not. This was a n they brought up without a long preparation after all.


    "So, what do you think about this?" Marsha asked with a serious expression.??


    "I think that''s fine."


    "First of all, I should congratte you. Mr. First SSS Rank Magician." Marsha made a smug smile as if she was the one who crowned Kai for such a title.


    Little did she know, Kai''s power would just keep getting stronger as he eventually became the so-called Supreme Rank.


    "I wonder how much change you will bring to this world." Marsha shook her head in defeat.


    "Ahaha, I am going to retire soon." Kai shrugged.


    "Why?"


    "You should know the real reason why people can unite, right?"


    "So you think Magical Beasts are necessary? And you''re nning to spare the sea invaders."


    "Only the former. I can''t afford to do the second one." Kai shook his head.


    "In that case¡ª" When she was about to address another problem, she stopped when Kai stared at the door. Furrowing her eyebrows, Marsha turned around and saw the door opening.


    Suddenly, a female''s voice echoed inside the room.


    "What''s this? You have gone for five months and the next thing we know, you have three more wives?"


    "Who are they again?" Kai jokingly asked.


    "Isn''t it Roselyn, Felice, and this girl? You already forgot about them?" The door was pushed open as a blonde girl entered the room. She was none other than Michelle Graham.


    Behind her stood Ayaka and Tasha, staring at Marsha with a curious gaze while Evan kept looking left and right as if he was afraid of something.


    "Roselyn is not. She is just a good friend. Felice is my student. If he wants to be my little sister or niece, I will allow it, but I don''t want to get into another taboo rtionship. Tasha is the only one¡­ As for her¡­" Kai took a nce at Marsha''s expression. "She is the insane woman who made me swim across the ocean for more than two days."


    "Can you do a better introduction?" Marsha rolled her eyes and stood up to greet them.


    Kai chuckled and introduced her again. "This is Marsha, the current leader of the Union."


    "My name is Marsha. It''s my pleasure to meet all of you." Marsha politely nodded.


    Before Michelle said any words, Kai shouted, "Evan, what are you doing?"


    "I am trying to protect myself from your threat again."


    "Leisa won''t being here and I won''t call her." Kai shook his head. "There is something more important than her."


    "You sure?"


    "Yes. Why are you acting like a scaredy-cat even though I tried to help you be more honest with your feelings¡­" Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "¡­" Evan looked away as he couldn''t deny it. Although he had yet to admit it because of her age, Evan enjoyed the time they spent together. It would be better if the age problem were settled.


    "Can you heal me first?"


    Evan hesitated for a moment beforeing to him, starting to heal Kai. "What kind of battle have you fought to receive this kind of wound¡­ I''m surprised that you''re already this cheerful with this kind of battle. A normal person would have fallen into aa, you know. Magic Power exhaustion, blood loss, too many wounds on the body, several internal injuries, and broken bones¡­ Ugh, I am toozy to even say anything about the minor ones."


    "Haha." Kai chuckled while everyone turned serious, knowing all these wounds would be fatal to any of them. "I have died eleven thousand times."


    "¡­" Evan''s eyebrows twitched as he knew what he was talking about. He shook his head helplessly whilementing, "You know, that''s not the reason you can just give¡­ If I am a real doctor, I would have dissected your body in the name of the operation to see how you can even survive."


    "You sure someone dares to do it?" Kai made a smug smile. "Oh, wait. You haven''t heard anything about the news."


    "The news?"


    "Yes. It''s a long one, but I think you will understand itter." Kai shrugged.


    "Now that you call us here, what are you nning to do?"


    "I am thinking about rescuing Ayaka''s grandpa while solving the grudges between us and the Katsuragi Family. Though, since Evan is not involved in any kind, you can spend your time with Leisa during your stay." Kai smiled.


    "I am sure you need a healer."


    "Not really. I don''t have any ns to get hurt like this anymore." Kai shook his head. "Of course, if you want to tag along, I don''t mind, but is that really what you want to do?"


    Evan fell silent as the atmosphere turned awkward. Suddenly, he pped Kai''s chest and pushed him back to the bed.


    "Ah!" Kai clicked his tongue and raised his voice. "Hey, what are you doing?"


    "I am pissed. I want to make you suffer a bit." Evan shrugged while still healing Kai.


    "Alright, alright. I apologize, okay? But I truly meant it¡­ You are not involved in this matter, so I don''t want you toe together with us. Of course, I won''t stop you if you want toe too¡­"


    Evan paused for two minutes before letting out a long sigh, "Fine, I''m staying here. But it won''t be more than three days."


    "Of course." Kai smiled. "Since you must be tired today, we will set off tomorrow. I also want to bring Felice with me."


    "You''re spoiling the little girl too much." Michelle facepalmed.


    "What? Are you jealous?"


    "Nope. I am wondering whether you will be a degenerate or not¡­ We already have one in our group after all." Michelle rolled her eyes at Evan.


    "Oi. Don''t look at me with those eyes." Evan shook his head helplessly. "Anyway, the healing process will take one hour."


    "I have prepared your amodation. You can rest first if you want¡­" Marsha added.


    "Nah, it''s fine. We will wait until everything is done."


    "It seems we''ve got another problem¡­" Kai suddenly took another look at the outside as another person came in.


    It was Sofia. Her face was pale, but there was this determination reflected in her eyes as if telling them she wanted to say this no matter what.


    "Please¡­ Take me with you. I may not be directly involved in this matter, but I am still Kai Carter''s girlfriend. Let me do my part as well¡­" Sofia dropped to her knees as she had used up all her strength.


    "You shouldn''t move your body with that kind of wound!" Evan clicked his tongue.


    Seeing her state, Michelle was the first to give the answer. "I don''t mind. Her situation is simr to mine."


    "Well, for now,e here. Don''t push yourself right now¡­" Kai patted the side of his bed so she could receive Evan''s treatment too.


    "Anyway, it''s decided. I won''t bother you for three days. After that, there are a few things you need to do, especially regarding your new ranking, Mr. SSS Rank Magician." Marsha smirked and left that one piece of information to incite the curiosity of the others since they hadn''t heard the news.


    "What is this SSS Rank Magician?" Michelle asked while looking at Marsha, who left the room.


    Kai scratched the back of his head and let out a long sigh. "It''s going to be a long story."


    "We don''t need sleep, we need an answer!"

 Chapter 514 - Meeting Felice

    The next day.


    Kai and the others headed straight to Rena''s mansion to pick up Felice for this mission.??


    However, Kai didn''t tell Felice anything about this, so when they arrived in front of the gate, only Rena came out to greet them.


    "Well, this is certainly imposing." Rena smiled and looked at Kai and his teammates. There was a different feeling Kai exerted when he was together with his teammates. "You are certainly different from what I expect¡­ Should I say, it''s truly amazing to see someone change when they''re together with their original team?"


    "It''s called responsibility." Kai shook his head helplessly as he watched Rena opening the gate for them.


    However, the moment it was fully opened, another suddenly appeared and leaped to them.


    "Evan!" It was none other than Leisa.


    "Geh!" Evan''s eyebrows twitched as he saw someone falling onto him. In the end, he opened his arms and caught her to avoid her from falling to the ground.


    Evan ended up princess carrying her while sighing. "You shouldn''t do something like this¡­ It''s dangerous."


    "Ehehe¡­" Leisa only made a big smile, letting out a chuckle to express her feelings.


    "Look, he can''t just be honest¡­" Michelle chuckled, teasing Evan again.


    "¡­" Evan fell silent and looked away.


    "So, what are you nning to do? I don''t think you are here to deliver this guy, right?" Rena asked while ncing over Evan.


    "Yes. I want to pick Felice up for a little mission. Of course, Evan will stay here during this time out of his own will." Kai cheekily smiled as if he wanted to tease Evan.


    "What? Is that true?" Leisa''s expression brightened as she looked at Evan with puppy eyes, hoping everything was not just false hope.


    "Only for three days¡­" Evan sighed and answered honestly.


    "Yay! I love you!" Leisa circled her hands around his neck, refusing to let go.


    "Stop it. Don''t touch me until a few yearster!"


    "Don''t wanna."


    While those two started to flirt, Kai then asked Rena. "Where is Felice?"


    "She is inside. She will surely feel delighted to be going with you¡­" Rena pointed at the mansion behind her. "Let me lead you to her. And Leisa, I know you are happy, but respect his wish too, okay?"


    The group left Evan and Leisa together as they made their way to the mansion. Upon entering the mansion, they couldn''t see anyone to the point they thought this was just a ghost mansion.


    "Because of the entire mess, I need to give my subordinates some vacation. So, I am the one who maintains this mansion¡­ For another three days. Luckily, Evan is here so he can keep Leisapany."


    "How about Felice? Did she trouble you in any way? I would punish herter if she did¡­"


    "Nah, it''s fine. She''s been a great help to me. Though she considered it as a part of her training." Rena led them to the kitchen as they found Felice, wearing a white shirt and blue skirt.


    She turned around when she realized they got a visitor, revealing the white apron in front of her. Unlike her usual style, she tied her hair into a ponytail. It just gave a bit more energy to her poker face.


    However, that also soon changed when she spotted Kai among the visitors and realized he came together with his team.


    "Big Brother¡­" A smile appeared on Felice''s face. Due to herck of emotion on a usual day, the smile somehow elevated the mood of the entire room.


    "Felice, I think you are doing well these days." Kai nodded with a smile because of what happened around her.


    The rest also noticed there were towels floating in the air while wiping the wet tes. Next to her was a pen writing on white paper without anyone holding them.


    "Felice, you should take a break. Let me handle the rest." Rena smiled and approached her while looking at the dishes.


    "Is that so?" Felice thought for a moment and nodded.


    "Yep, you should spend some time with your teacher."


    "I am not his student yet." Felice shook her head. "I am just an intern."


    "Haha, whatever." Rena chuckled. "And the intern will take the field soon¡­"


    "Eh?" Felice widened her eyes and looked at Kai before hurriedly putting down all the tes and notes. She then walked to Kai as if expecting a rification.


    "Yeah. I am nning to take you to United Asia." Kai nodded with a smile.


    She quickly removed the apron and said, "I''m going."


    Kai patted her head and said, "No rush. Change your clothes first and bring some necessities. We can buy clothes in United Asiater."


    Felice nodded and left the room while holding Kai''s hand, wanting to show her room.


    "How have you been?"


    "I am good. There is nothing wrong with this ce other than the poisonous nts."


    "Is that so? I''m d then. That''s right. You seem to have gotten better control of your own power."


    "Yes. After realizing I don''t have enough control to fully utilize my power, it bes my priority." Felice nodded before snapping. She hurriedly turned around and politely introduced herself. "I apologize for my rude behavior. Let me introduce myself. My name is Felice Quint. It''s an honor to meet all of you."


    Michelle only smiled because she knew Felice was attached to Kai. "Hello, Felice. I''m Michelle Graham, just call me Michelle. To think Kai would kidnap such a cute girl like you¡­ Wait, isn''t that the reason?"


    "Yes, Big Sister Michelle." Felice nodded. "And Big Brother didn''t kidnap me, it''s my will to follow him."


    "Such an interesting girl¡­ Hello, I''m Kudo Ayaka. Ayaka is my given name, so please call me Ayaka." Ayaka came to her with a gentle expression.


    "Yes, Big Sister Ayaka."


    "It''s my turn, I guess. I am not a part of the team anymore after graduating, but I''m still around. Just call me Tasha. I am Kai''s step-sister."


    "I understand, Big Sister Tasha." Felice paused for a moment before looking at Tasha with a curious expression.


    "Do you want to ask me something?"


    "No, it''s a bit rude for me to ask that."


    "It''s fine. Just ask me anything."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes." Tasha nodded with a smile to assure her that it was alright.


    Felice was hesitating but still opened her mouth. "Then, if you excuse me¡­ I wonder if you have done it already? I mean¡­ The one where you said, "Hey, stepbrother, I am stuck. Help me."


    "¡­" The corridor fell silent before Michelle burst outughing until she dropped to the ground.


    "Hahahahahahaha! This girl is the best." Michelleughed uncontrobly as her tears came out of the corner of her eyes. "Stepbrother, I''m stuck! It had been lost for a few hundred years, but this is the right thing to say¡­ Pfft, this is good. I suppose I should say this is ssic."


    Tasha''s eyebrows twitched as she snapped her finger. A pink magic circle appeared beneath their feet. "Goodbye."


    Michelle quickly leaped to Kai and entered his shadow, stopping Tasha from teleporting her away.


    After the magic circle disappeared, Michelle came out and stuck out her tongue. "You fail. This girl just destroyed you¡­ I like this girl already."


    Kai patted Felice''s head. "Alright, alright. You already know, Sofia, so I think you should change your clothes first¡­"


    Felice nodded with a poker face and walked faster, leaving all of them behind.

 Chapter 515 - Jump

    After Felice finished changing her clothes, the group then headed straight to a military base.


    Marsha had prepared a special military ne for Kai and the others. She even took care of the information lockdown, making sure no one would know Kai had recovered. ??


    Because of their n, the seat wasn''t asfortable as the normal airne since this was a special ne for paratroopers.


    The seats were two long benches in each corner with a giant door where they all could jump off the ne.


    Kai stared at the scene in front of her in silence.


    "Say why did you choose Kai?" Ayaka asked while Michelle gave Felice some food.


    These two had been spoiling Felice this whole time because of Felice''s silence and poker face, making them think Felice was a sad, abandoned child.


    "Master could understand me better than anyone else," Felice answered honestly. Unlike other people''s encouragement, Kai only stated facts with some proof that came from himself.


    That was what Felice needed at that moment. It wasn''t some false hope but hope in the harsh truth.


    "I heard you are going toe to the US Base after a year."


    "Ten months."


    "Right¡­ Are you sure you want toe here?"


    "Yes."


    "By the way, I''m going to shorten the time limit¡­" Kai said with a serious expression. "One year is too long."


    "Eh? What''s this guy? He is a devil. Are you sure you want this guy to be your teacher?" Michelle asked with a concerned face.


    "Yes. I will do it, Big Brother." Felice answered Kai instead, showing her answer to Michelle at the same time.


    "Kai, I think you are too harsh¡­" Michelle made a weird smile.


    "She is too old to start to be my student. At least, I''m not nning the same thing as what my teacher did¡­" Kai shrugged and looked away.


    "Your Teacher?" Felice raised her eyebrows. She was curious about what she did as she found Michelle and Ayaka looking away.


    Sofia tilted her head in confusion while Tasha exined, "You see, Ria Ross once killed him almost eleven thousand times."


    "¡­" Felice fell silent and looked down. She couldn''t help but remember when she almost died and realized how painful it was. And eleven thousand times¡­ She couldn''t imagine Kai''s pain.


    "The pain reduction was zero and Kai was only 7 years old at that time." Tasha continued. "If I''m not wrong, it''s within a year¡­"


    "¡­" Felice looked at Kai with admiration. "Teacher, how could you even withstand something like that? Normal people would have gone crazy already¡­ Even I probably can only reach a thousand. At that point, I may have started changing to something unknown."


    "I was terrified and got a trauma after that¡­ To the point I wouldn''t even call my teacher when I needed her the most and almost died because of it." Kai added with a serious expression, telling her that it was hard for him.


    Felice nodded in understanding. Even so, she thought Kai was amazing that it only reached that point.


    She believed Kai would flinch or had some sort of psychological disorder from just hearing her name, but she knew Kai and Ria Ross had mended their rtionship, bing a better teacher and student.


    That was why she admired Kai deeply for withstanding such a torturous experience.


    "Anyway, getting ustomed to death will make you lose your fear. However, fear itself is not a bad thing. It''s something that shows you your weakness. After that, you just need to ovee it and grow stronger and kinder. That''s what I believe." Kai smiled.


    "I understand. I will follow Big Brother''s instructions without a fuss." Felice nodded with a serious expression. "I will get stronger and not tarnish your name."


    "It''s not that important. Just walk at your own pace, I rather see you relying on me than having you break because of the pressure." Kai came to her, bent his knees, and patted her head. "Understand?"


    Felice made a big smile and nodded.


    After a long talk, they finally arrived above Korea as the pilot came out of the cockpit to inform them.


    "Sir, we have arrived in Korea. Only three minutes away from our destination."


    "Thank you."


    "No, Sir. We should be the ones thanking you. If you were not in the EU Base, we would have experienced a catastrophe. It''s our pleasure to help you." The soldier saluted.


    Kai straightened his back, saluted, and extended his hand, shaking the soldier''s hand.


    "Good luck, Sir."


    "You too. Be careful on the way back." Kai then asked, "Open the door."


    "Yes, Sir." The soldier then quickly made his way to the door.


    Meanwhile, Felice tilted her head as she didn''t know about the n yet. "What are you nning to do, Big Brother?"


    "We are getting off right now."


    "Eh? But we are still in the air¡­"


    "Of course. What''s the point of jumping down if we are not in the air?" Kai smiled. "What? Are you afraid of heights?"


    "Ehm, not really. But there''s no parachute around here." Felice shook her head.


    "Why do you even need one?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "Your power alone can make you float."


    "Yes, I mean¡ª"


    Kai covered her mouth with his finger. "It''s okay. Just follow me."


    "Mhmhmh!" Felice wanted to say something, but Kai already jumped together with her, falling freely.


    The rest soon followed.


    "Yahoo!"


    Felice panicked a bit. She knew Kai also had enough power to stop the fall, but it was too reckless from her point of view.


    However, when she was about to say something, she was stunned by the view from the sky. There were many ruined buildings filled with trees and overgrown woodbines.


    The river in the south, the fresh looking scenery that seemed to blend with nature itself.


    "This¡­"


    "It''s ironic, isn''t it?" Kai whispered to her ears. "The world is this beautiful, but it''s ruined. However, it''s even more when I thought to myself how I don''t want the world to be restored to its former appearance."


    Felice remembered the world before the apocalypse. That world was quite chaotic. Ice on the north and south poles had been melting and the sea level increased. Pollution was everywhere, making the world hot and the weather extreme.


    Forest fires happened every year, making the world even worse. The world was on the brink of destruction for humans to live, she thought.


    That was why she understood Kai''s words. The current human had solved the pollution problem with Magic Power. The Earth also had been healing itself as the two poles had been saved from its predicament.


    At the same time, this beauty of nature before her was truly mesmerizing.


    She closed her eyes and savored the feeling behind Kai''s words.


    "Do you want to show me this sight, Big Brother?"


    "That''s a part of it, but I''m sure you will arrive at a different answer than mine. I just want to show you everything first before you make a decision. After all, it will be one of the most important decisions in your life."


    "Big Brother¡­" Felice smiled and nodded. "Thank you for taking care of me this whole time."


    "It''s only two months."


    "We will be together every now and then in the future." Felice made a cheeky smile, finally acting like her age.


    Kai patted her head with a smile before giving the signal to Tasha.


    They were all soon swallowed by a pink Magic Circle and teleported to the ground safely.

 Chapter 516 - Going

    "We have arrived onnd." Kai chuckled and nced at Tasha. "Thank you."


    "This should be your job¡­" Tasha walked to him and kissed him on the lips without hesitation, not minding the fact that Felice was between them.??


    Felice was surprised but soon noticed that Kai was glowing.


    Before she could react, Tasha already released Kai and took a step back.


    "You are even giving the magic power? I don''t need it, you know¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head.


    "I am just returning it to you." Tasha shook her head. "Besides, it''s not like I am nning to do something big here¡­ I will just support¡ª"


    Before she finished her words, Tasha quickly released her bow and summoned her Lightning Arrows, staring at the woods behind Kai.


    "There are thirty of them." Kai smiled and informed her.


    "How about you say it uponnding¡­" Tasha clicked her tongue before ncing to the side, finding Sofia walking next to her.


    "Let me help." Sofia smiled as she wanted to show her current power to everyone.


    "I''m curious as well." Tasha nodded with a serious expression. "We need to end it in an instant."


    "Okay." Sofia nodded and summoned a big blue magic circle behind her before waving her hands simultaneously. "Frozen World."


    The ice suddenly spread in a fan-shaped area, covering everything in ayer of ice. All the dirt, trees, and even the magical beasts were trapped inside the blue ice.


    The temperature also dropped as Felice sucked a cold breath, staring at this power that was truly far beyond her means.


    "Ho?" Tasha smiled and released her arrows. "I guess it makes my job easier."


    The Lightning Arrow flew straight at the monster before Tasha smiled. "Channeling."


    The Lightning Arrow sparked and somehow reached the other monsters around it, creating another wave of lightning.


    Kai could see a translucent sphere that seemed to be the source of the entire channeling of the lightning. "Your new magic?"


    "We are going to fight not ten monsters in the future, but tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands. I need something like this to help¡­" Tasha smiled.


    "Thanks." Kai nodded and took out his device. "I wonder where we are¡­"


    "We are going to teleport?"


    "Yeah. I want to settle things under cover of darkness, so we have another ce to go." Kai then asked, "I''m sure you have the thing I asked you to buy, right?"


    Michelle nodded as Kai wanted them to buy a long coat to cover them as they were a bit too popr to do something like this.


    "Here you go. Hokkaido is freezing, so it''s normal to wear a warm coat. Besides, I have gotten you a mask, so people will think you''re sick. Just don''t forget to wear sses and put on the hood." Michelle nodded and raised the big bag she carried when jumping.


    "That''s good. Thanks." Kai smiled and opened the bag, giving the coat one by one, including Felice.


    "So, how is that working, Big Brother?" Felice asked with a curious face.


    Kai tilted his head in confusion beforeing to a realization. "Ah, you mean my magic? Her Magic is sealing magic, she sealed her own magic inside my body. I will return it to herter."


    "Then, what''s about your Magic Power? You said she gave it back to you too¡­"


    "Ah, actually, even if I have two Magic Elements, my magic power is too low for me to keep up with those two. Kai gave me ny percent of my current magic, which is all of his magic." Tasha exined. "In my previous state, it would be hard for me to even keep my B Rank Magician identity, let alone bing an S Rank."


    "But Big Brother''s Magic Power is¡­" Felice nced at Kai, who had more Magic Power to do everything. She soon realized Kai''s Magic Power had been increasing. Even she never heard anything about someone''s Magic Power increasing since it was a kind of talent given from birth.


    That was also the reason why Tasha''s incident was too absurd for United Asia. Thetter ended up giving her the S Rank Magician title while thinking Kai''s Magic Power finally had its proper owner to use it.


    And Tasha''s former family wanted to snatch Tasha''s back from Kai while imprisoning Kai, so he didn''t die to prevent any of his Magic Power from disappearing from Tasha''s body.


    However, they didn''t know that Tasha had formed a strong bond with Kai and his parents. She and Kai grew too close because Kai taught her many things despite being younger. Thus, the reason why Kai and Tasha eliminated Tasha''s former family.


    However, the way of Tasha now¡­ She didn''t care about anything other than the Carter Family, including their abnormality.


    "You tell me." Tasha shrugged. "He has been abnormal this whole time."


    "Ahaha¡­" Felice remembered Kai once said about "The truth of Magic" to her when they first met, so that might be the reason why Kai''s Magic Power increased.


    "Anyway, talkter. We have found our coordinate, so I''m going to teleport us." Kai waved his hand and asked, "Sofia, do you think it''s okay for you not to act? I''m sure someone wants to solve their own problem¡­"


    Ayaka shook her head. "As long as my grandfather is alive, I won''t truly destroy them, let alone kill that old man. After all, both my grandfather and that old man have been trapped inside the Katsuragi Family''s scheme. If it''s destroying the Katsuragi Family, I don''t mind getting everyone''s help."


    Kai closed his eyes after feeling satisfied hearing her response and seeing her calm expression. "You''ve grown up¡­"


    "Hehe¡­ No one is going to stay like a child forever. I''m thankful that you put up with me back then¡­" Ayaka made a big smile, showing her white teeth.


    "Alright. I''m going to brief you about my n." Kai paused for a moment. "First, we are going to the Ikeda Family and meet Ayaka''s grandfather. Since we have around seven hours, we will stay in the Ikeda Family first, giving enough time for Ayaka to talk with him. After that, we will eliminate all the core members of the Katsuragi Family tonight while destroying all their facilities the next day. After settling everything, we will leave immediately. Understand?"


    "Roger." Michelle nodded with a serious expression.


    "I got you." Tasha smiled. "It''s a shame that we can''t really fight Ikeda Kenzo since I want to settle things with him, but I guess this is fine too."


    "Ahaha, I apologize if it kills your motivation. However, when you think of another way¡­ Ikeda Kenzo literally saved my grandfather from the entire conflict by faking his death and hiding him inside his own mansion. In fact, Ikeda Kenzo has been in a dangerous situation."


    "I will respect your wish." Sofia nodded while closing her eyes, preparing to teleport.


    "Since everyone has agreed, it''s time¡­" Kai snapped his fingers as the group was swallowed by the teleportation magic circle.


    The entire scene changed as Kai somehow teleported them to a beach with their back facing the water. It was the same beach where Kai left this ce by using their Teleportation for the first time.


    "This¡­" Tasha obviously remembered this beach.


    "The ce where our escape began¡­" Ayaka nodded with a serious expression.


    "We still have our journey to the north. But before that, we need to stop at someone''s ce first." Kai smiled and snapped his finger. "Alright. Let''s go to the Ikeda Family."


    The entire group disappeared from the beach once again.

 Chapter 517 - Meeting Ikeda Kenzo

    Inside Ikeda Family''s Mansion, Ikeda Kenzo just finished his matter and walked through the corridor, heading back to his room.


    It was a peaceful afternoon for him, albeit the atmosphere changed the moment he was about to reach his room.??


    He suddenly stumbled and felt immeasurable pressure, pressing him down.


    "Ugh." Ikeda Kenzo almost fell to the ground. He used the wall on his right to support his body, preventing him from dropping to his knees. "Who is releasing this kind of killing intent? No one noticed this level of killing intent? In that case, I don''t think many people can be the suspect¡­ And it''s not like they have no purpose ofing here uninvited. In that case, the only person who wille here¡­ I think there will be another storm brewing in United Asia. I''m sure you also heard me, right, Kai Carter?"


    His answer came in the form of a barrier that was erected from his room to right behind him. It was such powerful control over Magic, so he knew he wasn''t wrong.


    After that, he heard a male''s voice echoing inside his ears. "I hope you don''t mind about this sudden visit¡­"


    Because of the barrier, no sound traveled past it, so no one woulde to them. And Kai had made sure that no one was near the barrier.


    Knowing the real identity of the trespasser, Kenzo let out a long sigh, resigning to his fate. He walked to his room with a troubled expression and opened the doors, finding a young man sitting in the middle of the room.


    "Should I say it''s been a while¡­" Kai smiled and looked Kenzo in the eyes.


    "Ha, I wish I didn''t need to say it." Kenzo shook his head and walked inside the room before sitting right in front of him. "I suppose¡­ Your reason foring here is¡ª"


    "Yes. I am taking back Ayaka''s grandfather. It''s time for us to make a move. On one hand, I would like to thank you for protecting my grandfather-inw from his death. On the other hand, I want to beat you up because of your pursuit back then."


    "I am ready if you want to take my life, but please leave my family out of this. I know your personality and I know you have been aware of my reason." Kenzo nodded with a calm expression even though he could die at any moment.


    Kai closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the scene where they arrived here.


    ¡­


    The next second, they appeared between two walls. When they raised their visions, they saw two big traditional mansions.


    "I teleported us, but I feel this is a bit too lucky even for me¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head and said.


    "So, where are we?"


    "I am not so sure, but I heard someone mentioning the Ikeda Family two mansions to our right." Kai smiled and pointed his finger to the right. "And I believe that''s the only ce that has a basement where I can find a person sitting inside that ce."


    "Then, it must be the Ikeda Family. Not many families would have a basement, let alone with only one person inside. This must mean someone is keeping any other people from entering the basement other than that person." Ayaka nodded hurriedly.


    Even though she was calm, she was still excited about the fact that she could reunite with her beloved grandfather.


    To lock down the information, she even hid this fact from her parents even if it hurt her. She simply didn''t want the information to make the Katsuragi Family aware of her grandfather and put him in another danger.


    "I understand." Kai smiled and felt happy for her. "But don''t move without my instruction, okay? We''re going to infiltrate someone''s ce after all."


    "Yes. It''s been a year, so a few minutes don''t matter. Even if my grandfather is in front of me, I won''t move if you tell me not to move. I know you are not someone who does meaningless things."


    "Thank you and sorry." Kai nodded and located every single person in the area before teleporting them to Ikeda Family''s mansion.


    They just entered a small room where Kai could pinpoint the location with his ears before teleporting them again straight to the room where the person sat.


    They arrived inside another room. The wall was a simple white wall with no paintings or decorations, but he could see television in the right corner. The room itself was ten meters wide and five meters long, filled with a bathroom, living room, and bedroom. Everything a man needed was here.


    At that time, he heard a "bang" and turned around, finding an old man dropping to his knees.


    "You¡­You¡­" The old man was none other than Kudo Tarou, Ayaka''s grandfather.


    Because of what he said earlier, Kai started the conversation, "Grandfather-inw, I will let Ayaka and the others talk to you first. I need to do another thing in this ce. See youter."


    Without waiting for a reply, Kai already left the room with a Teleportation Magic. Ayaka also understood his words, so she quickly leaped to her grandfather and hugged him tightly, expressing her feelings at the moment.


    ¡­


    Remembering the scene, Kai smiled and looked at Kenzo. "You didn''t mistreat my grandfather-inw, so I should say you''re kind of my benefactor. That''s why I won''t do anything to you and your family. Also, as thanks, I''m going to inform my teacher about your current condition. She should be able to do something¡­"


    Kenzo closed his eyes as his expression turned serious. "What do you want from me? Sparing my life and my family from what we have¡­ No, from what I have done to you, it''s enough for the favor. As for the second one, I''m sure it''s not."


    "No. It''s truly my way to repay my favor. However, I do indeed have one request."


    "Say it."


    "I hope you can stop your rtionship with the Katsuragi Family. I don''t want to kill someone unnecessary in the big picture."


    "¡­" Kenzo let out a long sigh. "I guess that''s my only option. I can understand your request, but I also have my own problem. My family members are still around the Katsuragi Family. If you begin your operation, they will be involved with it."


    "I am not ying with you. I only want Katsuragi Family''s core members and their important facilities. This should be enough to make such a big family decline. It''s kind of like killing them after all. I also know that the Katsuragi Family is still an important piece of United Asia, so I won''t destroy them by my own hand.


    "The moment they begin to decline, all families they have suppressed this whole time will start chipping down their strength for themselves. The Katsuragi Family will not exist in the near future because of this, so my goal has been achieved." Kai smiled as he gave the information.


    "I can see that indeed. Without anyone knowing your involvement, the Southern Family will think it''s you, but because I''m alive, they will doubt that as well. After all, you will surely kill me even if I am an S Rank Magician. The other families won''t think much and believe the Southern Family is the reason. It''s not like someone dares to ask a question to me¡­" Kenzo chuckled. "That''s how you will destroy the Katsuragi Family without anyone knowing. Should I call you a devil?"


    Kai only smiled without giving him an answer, but it was already enough hint for his answer.

 Chapter 518 - Switching Sides

    "Still, I can''t really do anything currently." Kenzo shook his head in disappointment.


    "What do you mean?"??


    "There are still some of my people mingling with their force, so if I''m going to betray them, they will be the first ones to be eliminated."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. "I see. In that case, I will give you an alternative. Do you know their locations?"


    "I can check."


    "I will attack them tomorrow night, so I want you to check their location and guide them to a certain area. I will teleport them far away or send them to this house with Teleportation Magic."


    "Teleportation Magic? But Tasha Carter is in¡­" Kenzo suddenly realized why Evan Young announced that he would go to the EU Base three dayster to heal him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I can do that. It''s a one-way ticket for me, so I need to make sure whether you can do it or not."


    "Without having so much information, I have eighty percent assurance. If you give me urate information, I can guarantee it to you," said Kai with a serious expression.


    Seeing the confidence in his eyes made Kenzo start doubting him. After all, the Katsuragi Family had so many people in their ranks. It wouldn''t be wise to challenge them without any information.


    However, that doubt soon made sense when he remembered that a single sh from Kai could destroy so many houses in that area. He then asked, "How many?"


    "You mean my team?" Kai paused for a moment. "I have five at the moment, but all of them are strong. We should be able to eliminate three hundred people at once, but since what I want is the elimination of the core member of the Katsuragi Family, I guess we will only target a few people.


    "It''s easier to do with Teleportation Magic. I believe it won''t take too long. And I can minimize everything before leaving this ce. This is something you can ept, right?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. That way, the people should be able to escape from their grasp. After that, I can help you by spreading the information, allowing the change to be made step by step." Kenzo sighed. "There are two problems though."


    "The government and the South Family, huh." Kai looked down, knowing this kind of effect from Marsha. She had told him how to handle this entire situation and turned it into his advantage, so Kai exined, "I can solve it for you."


    "If the government is involved, I''m sure they''re trying to get anything to strengthen themselves from the Katsuragi Family. If you can stop them, the entire system will remain. As for the South Family, I can create a channel for you to negotiate, but everything will depend on you."


    Kai nodded. "Well, I can understand their stance, so I will try to negotiate with them. If it''s not possible, I will simply wreak havoc until they submit."


    "Do you think you can?"


    "Do you think they can stop me?" Kai sneered. "Anyway, don''t think too much. I will handle this for you."


    "I understand. I shall be helping you to stop the Katsuragi Family."


    "It''s so easy for you to change sides, eh?"


    "You are going to ask your teacher to treat me, so how can I reject it? It''s way better than the treatment from the Katsuragi Family. I am too tired mentally and physically. I just want to give way for the new generations to take care of this base." Kenzo shook his head.


    "At least, the negotiation is easy, so I won''tin." Kai then asked, "You should start asking their locations and give me some information."


    "Sure thing." To show Kai that he had switched sides, Kenzo called his secretary to gather the information of their own people before presenting a map to him.


    "Most of the core members are in Hokkaido, so you may need to go there. I don''t have the map, but I can draw you a rough sketch." Kenzo thought for a moment. "As for the front line¡­ I think it''s best to destroy a single base there to create confusion not only for the Katsuragi Family but the other families under them. With themotion from the mainmand and the front line, they will stop their advances for quite a while.


    "At that time, they will realize they can''t go on anymore as the Katsuragi Family will begin its civil war, trying to get the head position. If you can force the South Family to move to stop the war, then everything will end."


    Hearing his exnation, Kai nodded in agreement. "I can do it for the most part, but negotiation is not my forte, so I won''t give you any promise. Anyway, give me the list of their core members."


    "I will write it down for youter. And there may be one more person you need to eliminate."


    "Who?"


    "Katsuragi Takaki."


    "¡­" Kai remembered a certain student. It was the person who fancied Ayaka and tried to kill him in the process of the reform. Hence, he should end it properly. "I understand."


    "I willpile all the information for you. And since you have your reunion downstairs, I suppose I can give you the information tomorrow afternoon, right?"


    "Yes. Either way, whether you betray me or not, my chance won''t fall." Kai smiled with confidence as if he had another trump card if this one failed.


    This would surely make Ikeda Kenzo think twice before betraying him.


    "Don''t worry. If this situation can be solved quickly, I am prepared toy down my life." Kenzo shrugged. "Besides, it''s a partnership¡­ I am not his loyal dog."


    "Well, that''s your problem."


    Kenzo nodded with a serious expression before pointing to two ces on the map. The first one was located in Hokkaido, so it was obvious it was the Katsuragi Family headquarters. As for the other one, Kai assumed it was the frontline base.


    "These two are your targets. May I know the time limit of your n?"


    "I will settle everything before dawn. After that, I will talk with the South Family and the Government about this¡­ So, I guess two days is the time limit. I will then return to the EU Base."


    "I understand." Kenzo thought for a moment and asked, "Onest question. Is there any reinforcement?"


    "Nope." Kai shook his head and asked while rising from the floor. "Anyway, that''s all. Do you have any more questions?"


    "None. I will ask you if I find any."


    "Alright." Kai nodded and started walking, "I will be visiting my grandfather-inw then."


    "Yes. Please take care. I will also send some food and drink for all of you tomorrow."


    "Thanks for taking care of my grandfather-inw."


    "It''s nothing. I simply don''t wish to cover my hand with unnecessary blood." Kenzo shook his head.


    "And that''s what saves your life today." After saying those words, Kai stepped outside, heading straight to the basement.


    He saw Kudo Tarou sitting together with all the girls since they had many things to talk about.


    His expression had mellowed a bit after chatting with Ayaka for a while. Tarou raised his head when he sensed his presence and couldn''t help but make the gentlest smile he could offer. "You have worked hard."

 Chapter 519 - Talk

    Looking at Tarou''s expression, Kai replied with a smile. "This is our first meeting in this situation. I shall introduce myself one more time. My name is Kai Carter. I greet Grandfather-inw."


    Kudo Tarou closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling when someone finally called him grandfather-inw. He bowed his head to Kai. "My granddaughter may be a bit too much, but I hope you two can get along forever."


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "I promise to make her happy."


    "That''s good. I don''t have any more regrets now."


    "To be honest, if my grandfather learned this, he would surely flip," Michelle added with a smirk.


    Nathan might indeed flip his switch when he saw Kai calling Ayaka''s grandfather with Grandfather-inw instead of Sir.


    He had settled everything with Sofia too, so he might indeed need to talk about it with Nathan and Michael.


    "Ahaha, I promise you that I wille to them after returning to the US Base. I hope they can spare some time."


    "That will be good news for them." Michelle nodded. "I will tell them about it."


    "Yeah. Since everyone is there, I will also bring my parents together."


    "I will leave everything in your hand." Michelle was satisfied with his arrangement as they were indeed one step closer to marriage.


    "Haha, you have the guts." Tarouughed and patted Kai''s shoulders.


    "I may not be a perfect husband who can take care of everyone at the same time, but I will do my best to fulfill everyone''s needs and make sure that no one is scrutinized or whatsoever."


    "I have heard a few things from Ayaka. From what you experienced during the chase, your achievements in the military, your strength¡­ It must be very hard on you, boy."


    "It''s nothing." Kai shook his head. "It''s the burden I need to carry. Besides, everyone helped me on my path. Without Ayaka, I won''t be able to progress in the early stages. If I didn''t have Michelle, I would have died several times.


    "If I don''t have Tasha, I may have gone astray when I was a kid. Sofia also has helped me with everything, especially regarding the EU Base. Last but not least, there is another girl who has helped me in United Asia. Our memory is short, but we can make memories after this.


    "I would be lying if I told you it''s not hard, but because everyone is with me, I have the strength to go through everything. It''s a sense of responsibility as well as my determination."


    Kudo Tarou made a smile as he felt happy hearing those words from him. As he said, he might not be a good husband by marrying five people, but he would indeed do a good job in protecting the family.


    "I guess I don''t need to tell you anything regarding your rtionship. I believe you have matured to that point, so I just want to ask you, if you decide to do it, you shall see it through to the end." Tarou smiled and started chatting with the rest.


    They talked about so many things from their first encounter, which embarrassed Ayaka. She freshly remembered how cringy she was and it was nted on everyone''s head.


    It was even more embarrassing when Felice came into the picture.


    Felice simplyughed this whole time, understanding Kai a bit more from these people.


    After that, they began to share a few things about Michelle. It was the first time they heard the full story of how Michelle and Kai could be together.


    It was such a ridiculous story, but fate indeed worked mysteriously.


    Even Tasha shared her experience with the other girls. Listening to such an important story, Tarou decided to leave the room, giving the kids some space.


    He acted this way to see how far the kids'' rtionship had progressed. They indeed had understood each other, but they hadn''t shared their past. It might hurt sometimes, but when you shared that past with your other half, they could see how far you had gone in your own path, showing them they could do better in the future.


    It was a promise that no one needed to say but still gave them security in their heart.


    Kai also noticed that Tarou was outside the room, enjoying his time alone while wishing the kids the best. He was grateful to see such a grandfather-inw who was supportive and understanding to him and the girls.


    In the end, Kai also told them his rtionship with Felice since no one had heard about it yet, except Sofia. Even Sofia didn''t know everything as she was too busy with the kids back then.


    After a long talk, they had some sleep to prepare for their mission tomorrow night.


    Kai also asked whether Tarou wanted to join them to resolve some grudges against the Katsuragi Family, which he promptly declined after knowing Kai had enough strength to handle everything.


    He seemed to be simr to Ikeda Kenzo and had been talking to him this whole time. They even became a chess buddy since only Ikeda Kenzo knew him residing in this basement.


    After a few considerations, Kai decided to focus on doing everything with only the other five girls. He might fetch Haruko, but he wanted to solve everything first before visiting the Oni Vige.


    Kai simply wanted her family to return to their own home, so they could talk about marriage and other stuff.


    Ikeda Kenzo also came to him the next day. As promised, he sent all the information he had to Kai before consulting a few stuff.


    They decided the location of the pick up as well as the timing as Kenzo tried to rescue every single member of his family.


    But Kai also found something weird in Kenzo''s report.


    He told him that Katsuragi Akagi, the current leader of the Katsuragi Family, seemed to have another trump card other than him.


    This was also the reason why Katsuragi Akagi didn''t fear Kenzo even after realizing Kenzo had enough strength to oppose him the moment he switched sides.


    This piqued Kai''s interest because he could only think of one thing. Just like the EU Base that had been corrupted by those sea invaders, Kai believed this trump card was rted to them.


    The information allowed him to know what he wanted to do in this mission. It might annoy his friend a little bit, but it shouldn''t be that harsh because of the importance of their talks.


    When the night came, Kai finally gathered all the girls and said, "Tonight, we have a total of three hundred people to kill, separated in two locations. Felice¡­ You don''t need to kill currently since I want to have you learn how to do something like this.


    "After that, I don''t mind letting you do something in the future mission. For now, just observe, okay?"


    "I understand." Although reluctantly, Felice stillplied.


    "We will stay together for most of the time because it''s more convenient to do it with the Teleportation Magic instead of sneaking around. And my ears can locate them easily, so yeah, support each other and fight.


    "I want to show you something importantter, so that''s all." Kai smiled and rose from the floor. "Are you ready?"


    With serious expressions nted on their faces, the girls followed him and nodded their heads.


    They all turned to Kudo Tarou first and said, "We are going."


    "Be careful out there."


    Kai then snapped his finger, summoning the Teleportation Magic Circle to transport them to their destination.

 Chapter 520 - Preparation

    The atmosphere turned chilly as they appeared in the middle of nowhere. All directions were covered with in white snow that seemed to have never been contaminated by any human activities.


    "It''s bing chilly right now." Michelle sighed. "Luckily, we have prepared for it by wearing these warm clothes."


    "Anyway, it''s not like we are here to sightsee." Kai shrugged and closed his eyes, listening to his surroundings.


    He quickly teleported them to another ce and did it several times because he couldn''t really do a direct one without enough information. The defense of this ce would be far higher than the Ikeda Family after all.


    The group got closer and closer before entering the city. This was the main city in Hokkaido, Sapporo, so he needed to be extra careful to differentiate which ones were his enemies and which were not.


    Kai ended up teleporting them above a quite tall building where they could move around without anyone looking at them. After all, there was supposed to be no one on the roof at this point other than for surveince purposes.


    "Big Brother, is there a reason why we don''t take the highest building here?" Felice asked with an innocent face, not understanding why Kai chose a four stories building even though there were a few taller buildings a bit farther from them.


    "Two reasons." Kai raised two fingers. "First, the tallest building may not be a good ce to scout your enemy because it has a unique point of view, making your enemy aware of your position right away. For example, if you are a sniper and you attack someone from the tallest building, what will your enemy do?"


    "The elevation will be too high, so it''s easy to pinpoint the direction of the bullet, making my position known within seconds. Ah, I see. So, even though the tallest building gives us advantages, sometimes, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages."


    "Correct."


    "But you have your Teleportation Magic."


    "It''s as simple as covering your tracks, not letting your enemy get any information about you. The enemy has Space Jamming Equipment, so we may destroy it first before we can escape. Also, if the enemy knows you have a Space Magician in your rank, they will tighten their security to the utmost limit, making the situation even more unpredictable."


    Felice nodded with a serious expression, understanding Kai''s exnation. "How about the second reason?"


    "The second reason is to camouge this position." He then pointed in two directions, their front and back at the same time.


    "Take a look at our position."


    Felice turned to the left and saw a smaller building before her. After that, she took another look at the opposite directions, finding two taller buildings in session. And one of them was also under construction.


    "I feel like I understand what Big Brother wants, but I can''t exin what it is."


    "With one smaller building in front of us, it will be the start of their searching area. With this kind of trajectory, they need to suspect this building along with the other two behind us.


    "Because of the ridiculously tall building, they will think we are inside. This will surely make them think twice whether we were inside or not. And there was also a construction site, so it easily became a doubt in their hearts. No one supervises this building after all." Kai smiled and exined carefully.


    Felice kept absorbing the knowledge. She seemed to have learned a lot, even though it was just one question.


    "Alright. I have checked our surroundings. First, our target is three kilometers in our northeast, so we will infiltrate their mansion within a few minutes. Second, I want all of you to stay here while maintaining surveince. I need to help the Ikeda Family first."


    "We understand." Michelle nodded and pointed at Felice. "We will try to answer all her questions too."


    "Alright. Thanks." Kai nodded with a smile as he checked his clock once again.


    9:58 PM.


    It was one more minute from the promised time, so he quickly used his Teleportation Magic to send him to another ce ording to Kenzo''s instruction.


    He had promised to teleport all the Ikeda Family members in this territory after all.


    As soon as he arrived in a field filled with snow, Kai quickly checked his surroundings while looking at the screen, finding he was supposed to be in the right ce.


    It took him a second before finding those people that seemed to be stationed fifty meters away from him. He quickly used his Sound st to them and found a total of fifteen people.


    "Who¡ª" When one of them was about to rm the others, she recognized Kai''s face and stopped. "Kai Carter."


    "I am here to teleport you away." Kai nodded with a serious expression and asked, "Is this all?"


    "Yes. This is all of us in this area," she answered hurriedly.


    "That''s good." Kai then used his Teleportation Magic to send them back to Ikeda Family''s mansion while checking Kudo Tarou''s condition, making sure Kenzo didn''t betray him.


    After confirming his situation, Kai teleported again, heading to multiple ces to meet them and taking them back to the Ikeda Family''s mansion.


    It took him ten minutes to transport all of them, but before he returned to his team to raid the Katsuragi Family''s mansion, he chose to visit Kudo Tarou.


    Noticing his presence, Tarou raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked with a smile. "Do you need anything from me?"


    Kai took a deep breath and asked with a serious expression. "I would like to bring you away from this ce."


    "Ho?"


    "Although I can see why there is no need to bring you out of this ce, I can''t trust my enemy even if he has switched sides. Leaving you earlier is a part of my n because I want all of them to think you are here."


    "With this n, I will be safe from the danger." He smiled.


    "Yes. I apologize for not consulting you first and talk to the others."


    "To fool your enemy, you need to fool your ally. I can understand what you did there." Tarou thought for a moment and nodded. "I understand. Since this is a request from my grandson-inw, I will leave this ce."


    "That''s good. I will send you to a hotel in Osaka, the ce that has yet to be a battlefield. I will bring you back in two days."


    "Sure. I can stay quiet during those two days."


    "Thank you." Kai smiled.


    "Before that, I want to ask you something. How far are you nning to go this time?"


    "It won''t be too big. I will stop after the Katsuragi Family is weak enough to decline. However, I shall not harm innocent people to the best of my ability."


    "Hearing it makes me feel relieved. I am happy that you are avenging me and your fate back then, but I don''t wish to see a mass murderer before me."


    "Don''t worry. I may have imed many people''s lives with these hands, but everything is my form of retaliation. If they don''te for me, I won''te for them."


    Tarou nodded. "I understand. Let''s go then. I''m sure you don''t want to leave for too long to make those girls worry, right?"


    "Yes." Kai snapped his fingers as he summoned the Teleportation Magic Circle.

 Chapter 521 - Cruel Reality

    Upon returning to the group, Kai said, "Alright. I have taken care of everything. All we need to do is to head straight to our enemies and eliminate them."


    "Who''s our first target? Are we just going to eliminate every single person thates at us?" Michelle asked.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai thought for a moment and answered, "Katsuragi Akagi will be our priority, but we will eliminate all the core members we meet during our way there. But I guess it''s better to kill those who are separated first. Anyway, I will lead the wayter."


    "Roger that." Michelle nodded.


    "Alright. I will give you a bit of surpriseter, but for now, let''s do this." Kai smiled and summoned another Teleportation Magic.


    Michelle, Tasha, Sofia, Ayaka, and Felice made serious expressions as they prepared themselves.


    ¡­


    Katsuragi Family Mansion.


    "Hey, how long do you think this war willst?" A middle-aged man asked while sitting on a couch, looking at the beautiful full moon through the window of his room.


    Next to him was a young female in herte twenties. Her appearance was alluring and she wore revealing clothes that emphasized her curves, making them more appealing.


    She replied with a seductive tone. "I am fine as long as I''m with you."


    "Hmph. Look at you, you are the eldest daughter of the Akazawa Family, the only family that ruled the entire Sendai¡­ But now you are only a slut who is trying to seduce me." The middle-aged man snorted.


    "Please don''t say something like that." She didn''t have a change of expression when she heard that insult.


    She had no other way. To keep her family safe, she needed to sacrifice her life to please an elder in the Katsuragi Family to make sure her family didn''t get destroyed by the Katsuragi Family. There were several other people who did this too, unlike the Yajima Family.


    All the people knew about the Yajima Family''s disappearance. It was very mysterious as they all disappeared in a single night without any sign of battle.


    When other families investigated their mansion, they found nothing other than the servants who were also clueless about their disappearance.


    After that, they heard about the Katsuragi Family''s power.


    Katsuragi Akagi, the head of the family, stated that the Yajima Family had betrayed United Asia because they sided with Kai Carter. Hence, they removed them from existence and scared all other families by saying it was their trump card.


    Because of Kai Carter''s reputation in the US Base, they obviously understood why the Katsuragi Family decided to use this "Trump Card". At the same time, the Yajima Family couldn''t contact the outside world for the time being because they took refugees in Oni Vige.


    What made others believe it was Yajima Haruko who kept sniffing their ns. They all thought she wanted to have her revenge against the Katsuragi Family by giving information to Kai Carter about their cruelty.


    Unfortunately, Kai didn''t do anything when he visited United Asia.


    Katsuragi Akagi took advantage of that situation and overturned the entire situation, making them believe they had enough power to eliminate them.


    All families decided to submit to them because they couldn''t afford to have their families destroyed.


    And she was chosen to be married to an old man like this in order to maintain the safety of the family. There were many other females and males like this and they were treated so badly that some of them decided tomit suicide.


    The only way to stop that kind of treatment was to seduce them and make them feel good. That was the only thing they could do at the moment, hoping the war would stop soon.


    However, this soon changed when the door was mmed open and two figures came inside the room.


    "Who are you guys?!" The middle-aged man stood up and looked at the two masked people. The first one had a spear while the other one held a sword in his hand.


    They didn''t reply to him as the female thrust her spear at his throat.


    The middle-aged man quickly summoned a barrier to protect himself, albeit he underestimated how much power contained in that thrust.


    "Kh! What? It''s too strong." The middle-aged man was pushed back and stumbled, falling on his back. After that, the masked man swiftly sliced his neck and killed him.


    "¡­" The female widened her eyes as her body began to shake. Surprisingly, she didn''t shout and stared at them quietly before saying, "Who are you guys? Are you here to im my life too? No, please kill me."


    They saw her expression that became distorted as if she had given up on her life. Still, they never expected to find someone who wanted to die in this ce.


    The masked man, Kai, thought for a moment. He knew there were many people from other families, so he never nned to kill them since his targets were only the Katsuragi Family members and some high-ranking affiliates.


    People like her were just victims of this cruel war.


    The spear user, Ayaka, looked at Kai without saying anything.


    After careful consideration, Kai checked her body with his ears to ensure no device in her dress and said, "You have given up on your life. However, you are not my target. If you wish to die¡­" He stopped and tossed a de he took from another person when infiltrating this mansion. "I shall lend you this de. Choose for yourself whether you want to die or live."


    No matter how secretive they operated, the Katsuragi Family would soon find their infiltration. Hence, Kai lent her that de before using his Teleportation Magic to send her away from this ce together with all other people they rescued from this horrible ce. Without any more pressure from the Katsuragi Family, she would face the real trial whether she wanted to stay alive or not.


    "¡­" Seeing the Magic Circle, she closed her eyes with a pale face.


    After sending her, Kai looked at Ayaka and nodded, nning to regroup with the others who killed another three people while restraining the rest for Kai to send away after making sure no device could be used to inform the Katsuragi Family.


    Because of her strength, Sofia paired up with Felice as she froze the bad people while Felice restrained the other with her Telekinesis.


    Michelle and Tasha did the same, and the situation progressed very quickly.


    Within twenty minutes, they had eliminated 10 out of 121 targets, so they should be able to finish it in three hours because half of them were those who fought in the front line and gathered in one ce.


    The group continued its operation. Felice had a pale face, but she insisted on continuing because she knew the moment she chose to walk on this path. Sofia was there to support her, so Kai could only believe in Felice''s mental fortitude.


    ¡­


    After going with the operation for an hour, they finally stumbled upon the most important ce in the mansion.


    Kai opened the door with a serious expression, knowing there were two people inside.


    The first one was an old man with a tired face, looking Kai in the eyes. He let out a long sigh and remained silent.


    Sitting next to him was not a human but a squid. His appearance was simr to that of Kerza, but Kai couldn''t be sure unless the other person confirmed it.


    "You''vee here after two years¡­" Katsuragi Akagi said while ncing at the others.

 Chapter 522 - Identity

    "¡­" Kai remained calm as he already expected this. He simply nced at the squid before his vision returned to Katsuragi Akagi. "To think you are using outside help now¡­ Where is your pride? So much for patriotism, all I can see is just a hypocrite."


    When Akagi chased him in the past, he always wanted to unite this base again and turned it back to Japan. However, the fact that he epted another party''s help, it wouldn''t be the same Japan again.


    Hence, all his words just made him a mere hypocrite instead of a patriot.


    "You force me to use this help, Kai Carter." Akagi''s expression didn''t change and continued, "If you just have a slow life in the US Base, I wouldn''t need to care about any outside threat anymore. All I needed to do was to eliminate the South Family and I would have finished my job.


    "Unfortunately, you have stood in my way again. I don''t have any attachment to United Asia anymore? Bullsh*t. Blood can be washed away by blood. I know you are going toe here one day and everything I have achieved so far will be ruined by you."


    "In the end, you betray humanity." Kai shook his head and smiled. "I''m sure you already know what''s your fate after seeing what I have done to French''s Prime Minister, right?"


    "Hmph. To do it, you need to get enough power to defeat your enemy. That''s why I ept this help and invite another expert. I know that you barely killed him. Even with you using Evan Young''s ability and gathering your allies, it won''t be possible to defeat him¡­ After all, you can''t invite any of those S Rank Magicians other than your women. Not even your teacher cane because it will bring so much unnecessary attention. What do you have to say, Hero?"


    Kai''s expression darkened as he stated. "I don''t have anything to say to a traitor as well as my enemy. I will simply give you a choice, kill yourself or die in my hand."


    "For a genius in warfare, I''m sure you have heard of this. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Akagi rose and smirked, showing a button on his hand. "Your n will fail. You can''t escape anymore. The moment you want to teleport, I will press this button to activate the Space Jamming Equipment that has been installed inside this mansion."


    "That''s your conclusion. For me, you are the same as a dead person."


    "Do you think you have enough strength to fight against me, Kai Carter?" The squid snorted.


    "I don''t know you." Kai made a weird expression before shaking his head in disappointment.


    "You bastard! I can''t forgive you for taking my brother''s life. I am going to avenge him right now!" The squid rose while releasing his killing intent.


    "Oh, if the EU Base didn''t take his corpse, I would have made him into a cuisine." Kai sneered, ignoring the squid''s feeling.


    "Do you think you are good after defeating my brother? My power is just a bit weakerpared to my brother. If only you had all those four people together with you, you might have the chance against me¡­" The squid looked down on the girls and said, "Unfortunately, there is only one present. And you even bring a child here. She will be the first one to die."


    "You can''t even understand my reason for bringing her here. You''re utterly disappointing." Kai turned to Katsuragi Akagi. "I only have one thing to say to you, kill yourself."


    "Do you think you can capture and kill me? With him next to me, you won''t be able to do anything." Akagi snorted and looked away. "You are a fool. To think the rumored genius is overconfident¡­ I guess it''s a normal urrence for a genius to die because of his overconfidence."


    "Hahaha. Human Akagi, I will handle them. You can grasp that child and torture her in front of their eyes. I wonder what¡ª"


    Suddenly, Kai opened his mouth while releasing all his killing intent. His eyes turned bloodshot and his tone was extremely cold. He stated as if looking down on the squid. However, the wordsing from his mouth were anguage that no one ever heard except the squid.


    "(Shut up. A mere sea race has no right to talk when this king opens his mouth!)"


    Everyone widened their eyes and dropped their jaws in shock, staring at Kai with a dumbfounded expression. They obviously had no knowledge of what he said, but they could somehow understand that Kai truly said something like anguage.


    And it was proven by the expression nted on the squid''s face. He was taken aback by the fact that Kai could talk in theirnguage.


    "(Mermaid Language¡­)" The squid said something in the samenguage, confusing the others. However, the squid was the one who got troubled with thisnguage the most.


    Kai just showed him that he could talk in theirnguage, meaning Kai had started walking on the path of bing the True Protector of the Human Race. If he seeded in this path, there would be a huge sh between two Protectors that might soon be the center of every Protector''s attention.


    "(You¡­ You understand¡ª)" Before he finished, he lowered his vision and saw a pink Magic Circle. He quickly grasped Kai''s n.


    Kai wanted to kill him after knowing this and used this shock to teleport him somewhere that no one would notice if a fight urred.


    Akagi tried to activate the button, but it suddenly flew away from his hand. He raised his vision and saw Felice using her power to throw away the button.


    "(You!)" The squid shouted before all the people in this room disappeared without a trace.


    They arrived at the bottom of a mountain. It was t ground, so it should be perfect for a fight.


    As soon as he recovered, the squid shouted in humannguage, "You¡­ You have¡ª"


    "Shut up. I don''t care what you are saying. You want to massacre my kin, I won''t allow it." Kai released his killing intent once again while releasing his power.


    "!!!" The squid stopped for a moment after noticing the amount of Kai''s Magic Power. If this was the same Kai when he fought his brother, he could confidently im his Magic Power wasn''t on par with them.


    However, Tasha had given back the Magic Power for this mission, so the current Magic Power emanating from his body was enough to acknowledge Kai as someone who had the same amount of Magic Power as an SS Rank Magical Beast. If he developed a bit more, he might reach their top levels.


    Within a few years, Kai might achieve the realm of Protector. And this was something that needed to be prevented at all costs.


    ''My king needs to know about this. Retreat will be my top priori¡ª'' He stopped when he sensed another presenceing to this ce. The Magic Power emanating from this guy far surpassed Kai''s. No, it was close to their own king.


    "!!!" The squid turned around and shouted instinctively. "Why¡­ Why is your excellency here?"


    Ignoring his statement, the middle-aged man put on a gentle smile as his eyes intertwined with Kai''s. He walked a bit while saying with an annoyed tone, "This is truly a rather unpleasant invitation¡­ Don''t you agree, Kai Carter? To think you are trying to bring your party in front of my doorstep."


    Kai''s expression was grave and his tone was serene. "I apologize, but I need to do this¡­ Ishii."

 Chapter 523 - Ishii

    "I apologize, but I need to do this¡­ Ishii."


    "!!!" Everyone, especially the squid, looked at the neer and were astounded.


    Ishii ignored their reactions and red at Kai, releasing a bit of his killing intent. "Kai Carter, I have some respect for you, but I hope you can give me some respect for my territory."


    Kai closed his eyes and nodded. "I understand. However, I havee here for several reasons."


    "Several Reasons?" Ishii furrowed his eyebrows. "Tell me. If this is not important, I shall expel all those humans and have nothing to do with you anymore."


    "I know." Kai snapped his finger and covered his team with the Sound Instion Room.


    Although the girls didn''t understand his intention, he wasn''t someone who did something meaningless, so they believed in him and waited for him to finish this matter.


    "Yes. First of all, the war is going to happen soon. I want to know your stance in this war."


    "What? War?! It''s not a war, it''s the annihtion of the human race!" The squid shouted.


    Veins bulged on Ishii''s forehead as his eyes shed. Everyone got a chill down their spine the moment they saw his eyes shining.


    Ishii waved his hand and pointed his palm to the squid.


    Suddenly, the ground cracked and turned into a huge crater with the squid''s body crushed on the ground. The crater reached as far as fifty meters in diameter, engulfing all people, including Ishii in this ce.


    "A mere ve dares to interrupt the discussion between two Protectors. Know your position." Ishii red at the squid, who almost got ttened to death.


    "!!!" Everyone''s attention was grabbed by the result of a single wave of his hand.


    Even Kai fell silent, knowing this was Ishii''s power. The power came from a full-fledged Protector.


    ''What is this power?'' Katsuragi Akagi was covered with cold sweats, never expecting to find this kind of power.


    This power was beyond his imagination. If it took him a slight movement to crush this strong person, he might be able to destroy the base in one swoop.


    And to think Kai knew someone like him. Akagi couldn''t imagine Kai''s identity, especially since he managed to gain the respect of such a powerful person.


    However, he soon noticed the horns above Ishii''s head that seemed to be not from a human. He never saw an animal with that kind of horn, so he wondered if Ishii was also a zodiac like Kai.


    If he knew Zodiac could be this powerful, he would have turned at least tens of thousands of people into Zodiac no matter the cost. After all, if one of them became this strong¡­ Only one of them, he would be able to conquer the whole world.


    Unfortunately, it was not possible because Kai had gained it.


    On the contrary, Felice had another thought about this power. She couldn''t help but say, "This is¡­ Telekinesis. Its power is beyond my understanding, but it can be said this is the potential of Telekinesis Magic. A pinnacle of power?"


    Felice tried to discern this power and thought about how she could replicate this power. She looked down and fell into deep thought while muttering, "Wait a minute. He lifted the squid first before using his power to crush him to the ground. The force was too strong to do something like that, so¡­ Did he force the air above him to crush him?"


    While she thought, the others could only smile helplessly, wondering how much Kai had been hiding from them.


    They knew Ishii was Oni as he seemed to be more important than thedy they metst time. Still, they would never expect there was someone this strong among them.


    However, the tense atmosphere still filled the entire ce as Ishii demanded an exnation. "What do you mean?"


    "The war between the Human Race and the Mermaid Race is going to happen soon. I just want to warn you and know where you belong in this war."


    "Are you questioning me?"


    "Yes."


    "Are you truly questioning me? Do you have no respect? Do you think I don''t dare to kill you?"


    "No. It''s because I respect you that I wish to know this answer. I don''t wish to fight someone I know and respect." Kai shook his head with a serious expression.


    "¡­" Ishii fell silent and stared at Kai''s expression for a minute before answering him. "I will remain neutral. I won''t go anywhere from this ce. If you disturb me with this war, I will fight you. If those mermaids annoy me, I will fight their king. That''s all."


    "I understand." Kai closed his eyes and felt relieved. "I have certainly confirmed your intention. At least, the sh will probably happen in another Continent, so I don''t think it will harm you in any way."


    "What''s your other business?"


    "I wish to see your power. This is the only way to see it." Kai answered him honestly even if he was going to piss him off.


    However, Ishii didn''t react to this answer as he replied with a calm expression. "I can understand that."


    "I have prepared some consequences for this, but you''re rather calm."


    "I am annoyed, but you remind me of myself in the past. I''m also a curious person, so I won''t be a hypocrite and let this one slide. However, no more this trick, okay?"


    "Understood."


    "Also, I will give you this." Ishii took out a small red pearl from his pocket and tossed it to Kai.


    Kai caught it and looked at this small pearl. "What is this?"


    "It''s called Blood Sea Pearl. Go to Peru and toss this pearl to the sea. Someone will appear in front of you. She will appear in your war because of the scale, so you need to exin yourself to her. I''m sure she can assure that no other Protectors participate in this war as long as you don''t annoy other Protectors, especially harm their territory."


    "Are you sure about giving this to me?"


    "Yes." Ishii nodded. "Just be respectful to her."


    "Okay." Kai agreed without hesitation. "And the third one, I want to tell you one thing. It''s regarding any other Protectors. I need their location so as to avoid invading their territories."


    "That pearl will give that answer."


    "Alright. Do you think I need to know other things about Protector?"


    Ishii thought for a moment. "There is only one. Whatever you do, don''t make this ce worse by forcing any Protector to sacrifice themselves to bring back the cmity. With the additional Magic Particles scattered in the air, the Magical Beasts will be far more powerful than you can imagine. And there are some after-effects that will follow. You better ask your own people for this. I''m sure you have met them since I can see the leap of your strength."


    Kai nodded. "Okay, I will be careful. My goal remains the same and I will stop after that."


    "That''s good."


    "Onest thing, I want to tell you that there will be a great turmoil in this base."


    "I can see that." Ishii nced at Katsuragi Akagi and the dying squid. "Anyway, my ce won''t be involved in any of that. In fact, we are going to lock down our gate."


    "In that case, I want you to return the people inside. The situation will be safer for them to stay outside and return to where they belong." Kai then lowered his head. "For that, I am grateful."


    "Never mind. I have done my part to ensure the stability of this. The rest is up to you." Ishii shrugged. "When do you need them?"


    "In two days."


    "Got it."


    "Can you tell her that I miss her and will meet her in two days?" Kai smiled.


    "Your little wife is good right now. Do you wish to bring her alongside you?" He asked while ncing at the girls.


    "No, it''s fine for now. I have my n." Kai shook his head.


    "Okay."


    "That''s all I want to say. I will bring them with me. Is that fine?"


    Ishii thought for a moment and raised his hand. Suddenly, the crater started rising and returning to normal as if Ishii just turned back time. However, Kai could see that he simply used his Telekinesis to lift the ground up and patch them together.


    "I am done here. You can do anything you want as long as you leave this ce within a few minutes."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded.


    Ishii then waved his hand and disappeared from the scene.

 Chapter 524 - Ending The Matter

    "You¡­ You¡­ Who are you?!" Katsuragi Akagi fell on his butt as he stared at Kai with fear. This was the first time he saw someone this strong. And it turned out to be Kai''s acquaintance.


    He heard everything they talked about and understood that Kai would also have this kind of power in the future. Hearing it alone already sent a shiver down his spine. He regretted the fact he didn''t chase him in the past to make sure he didn''t survive.


    On the contrary, Kai walked to Akagi with an aloof expression. His tone was cold and filled with killing intent. "Your King."


    There wasn''t a single lie in his mouth, but Kai just brutally murdered Akagi with words alone.


    Katsuragi Akagi tried to swallow his fear and stood up. "I am Katsuragi Family''s Family Head, Katsuragi Akagi. I am still an A Rank Magician."


    He formed a water ball on his hand. "I can still¡ª"


    Before he finished, both his hands were already severed by Kai without a change in his expression. He snorted, "Old man. When was thest time you fought someone? Your twenties? It''s already more than three decades since youst used your power and this is what you get. You act like an amateur.


    "I believe you were not a good magician either in the past. I guess it''s easy to climb rank with a good family." Kai sneered, looking down on him.


    "Argh!" Akagi fell on his knees, wailing in pain. "You¡­ You¡­ No, don''t¡ª"


    Before he spoke further, Kai sent his head flying. "Don''t. Don''t beg for your life. You appeared strong this whole time and acted as if you had conquered United Asia¡­ Have some dignity, will you?"


    Kai closed his eyes, ignoring the headless corpse that fell to the ground. He retracted the Sound Instion Barrier with a snap of his fingers.


    "Ayaka, take care of him." Kai pointed at the corpse, asking her to burn everything. After that, he turned to the others and apologized. "Sorry, I can''t let you hear the conversation."


    "It''s fine. From your expression alone, we know it''s something so serious. Instead of getting angry at this useless thing, it''s better to trust you." Michelle shook her head.


    "I know that it will be revealed sooner orter." Ayaka agreed with her.


    "Yeah. It''s probably the one thing he fears this whole time." Tasha nodded.


    "Indeed. We will know everything before the marriage, so we should trust you. However, if it''s too much, don''t hesitate to rely on us, okay? We may not be able to help much in terms of fighting, but we can think of a solution together." Sofia winked her eyes.


    Michelle, Ayaka, and Tasha dropped their jaws and stared at Sofia with dumbfounded expressions.


    "What?" Sofia tilted her head in confusion.


    "Sofia has grown up." Michelle nodded as if she was her mother.


    "What the hell?" Sofia''s eyebrows twitched. She red at Michelle, only to hear Tasha saying, "That''s right. She is usually seducing him. I guess giving her some security allows her to mature."


    "It''s the right choice then." Ayaka nced at Sofia. "Either way, it''s not like another one will be hurt."


    "You three¡­" Kai shook his head and tried to close Felice''s ears. "There''s a kid here."


    "Big Brother, I am not a kid anymore." Felice pouted.


    Theyughed for a while before Michelle asked, "So, what will we do after this?"


    "Clean up the Katsuragi Family and destroy one of their bases to push them back. The chaos should be enough to stop their invasion and create civil war. They won''t be as big as the current state and Hokkaido will be split into a few as new fractions will emerge right and left." Kai exined.


    "That''s good then." Michelle nced at Ayaka. "Is that alright with you, Ayaka?"


    "Knowing that my grandfather is still alive, the only grudge I have is that escape. Hence, this is enough for revenge." Ayaka shook her head. "Besides, I would rather focus on my current life in the US Base with my family and Kai instead ofmenting over this useless grudge. It''s not like they can do anything to us anymore."


    Kai smiled and added. "Also, I will let you solve one more thing."


    "What do you mean?" Ayaka tilted her head in confusion.


    ¡­


    A few minutester.


    Ayaka arrived in front of a giant wooden gate. She took a deep breath and opened the doors, finding a huge room with several women lying on the ground without any clothes. All of them had wounds in their bodies as she could barely see any vital signs from them. Most of them seemed to have died while the rest were dying and might die the next day.


    The nasty scent filled her nose and made her want to puke. Blood was better than this scent, Ayaka thought.


    On the bed, she saw a young man sleeping on the bed.


    She recalled the memory she had buried in her heart and looked at the young man with an inted belly. His overall weight also increased and his nose was pinched by two plump cheeks.


    Even though he had grown two times fatter, Ayaka still recognized this person. He was Katsuragi Takaki.


    "¡­" Ayaka walked to the bed with a spear in her hand.


    A moan echoed from Takaki as he slightly opened his eyes.


    Looking at Ayaka, he couldn''t help but raise his hand, trying to reach her while muttering, "Is this a dream? Why would youe and haunt me again? Why do you leave me for someone else? I truly love you this whole time."


    "Say that again without any women in this room." Ayaka calmly replied as she raised her spear.


    "A spear? That''s right. You are using a spear as your weapon. Are you going tomit double suicide with me and have a good life together in the next life?"


    Ayaka''s expression was distorted. No wonder she never liked him. He was not only arrogant, but he was also delusional and couldn''t mature like her even after two years.


    Ayaka released her killing intent and prepared to thrust his neck.


    "No. I am happy with my life. It''s you who need to die, delusional motherf*cker." Ayaka stabbed his throat and heart to make sure she killed him.


    Of course, she stayed for a minute to ensure it, not wanting to have a future threat.


    After killing him, Ayaka walked outside and found Kai and the others.


    Ayaka sighed. "I am d that I can properly end things. He was the start of this misery¡­ He was the one who destroyed my family. His obsession turned my life upside down." Ayaka walked to Kai and gently hugged him. "Thank you¡­ Thank you for being with me. Thank you for not giving me up."


    Kai hugged her and stroked her hair.


    It took Ayaka several minutes to calm her heart down. And the group continued their operation. They killed all the people on Kai''s list.


    It was such a huge nightmare in the Katsuragi Family Mansion to find the elders and the sessor had died. Even their family head was missing and seemed to have died, judging from the scale of this event.


    After that, they also found that one of the front bases that would take over another territory was destroyed in a single night without leaving any survivors.


    Of course, with how big the impact of this incident, even the Katsuragi Family in their peak wouldn''t be able to close down the information, let alone in this chaotic situation.


    The news reached United Asia''s Prime Minister and the head of the South Family.

 Chapter 525 - Result

    As one would expect, the uproar in the Katsuragi Family couldn''t be contained as no one held the reins anymore.


    The information quickly spread to the entire base.


    An old man sat on his chair, looking at the information sent by his subordinate. He didn''t move for a whole fifteen minutes because it was too ridiculous to be true.


    However, another person mmed the door and rushed to the room.


    Bang.


    "Emergency. This needs to be the top priority." A young secretary handed another document while panting.


    "What is this?"


    "We have just gotten the information about the one who wreaked havoc on the Katsuragi Family."


    "And who is he?" The old man asked while putting down the earlier information while focusing on this news.


    "It''s Kai Carter."


    "Huh?" The old man frowned. "Isn''t he supposed to be in the EU Base, waiting for his treat¡­"


    The old man didn''t continue as he understood why Kai Carter was mentioned. He quickly looked at the report and saw one big paragraph in the middle of the report.


    "I will meet you at 5 PM. You can bring three people with you, but no one else could listen to this conversation. If there is another person, I will cancel this discussion and proceed ordingly. All I want is to return the peace to this base."


    "¡­" The old man pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that it was impossible to go against Kai Carter right now. His power was just too big. And if he added his influence that could literally move all S Rank Magicians in the EU Base and the US Base, it was too much even if all the families in this base united.


    He thought for a moment and said, "Call the Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and General Tatsuhiko."


    "I understand."


    The young secretary quickly took off to follow his order, knowing it was the top priority.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the South Family also understood the significance of this incident.


    They had even assembled all the high-ranking members of the family to discuss their next n in destroying the Katsuragi Family.


    The one leading this meeting was a middle-aged man with blue hair. He had a big bag under his eyes as if hecked sleep.


    However, it didn''t diminish the stern look on his face.


    He nced at an old man that sat next to him. "What do you think about this news, Father?"


    "Instead of the news, I''m more interested in someone who can create this kind of news." The old man smirked. "If this person can annihte the Katsuragi Family, doesn''t this mean this person can annihte us too? And even if this is a big group, my point still stands."


    It was a realistic point of view and every member understood it. That was why they had a heavy face this whole time.


    "We need to know what this person wants before making any move." The middle-aged man nodded in agreement and stated before he saw someone opening the door.


    "Master, this is urgent news. We have just gotten the information from Ikeda Kenzo."


    "Huh?"


    "What''s the enemy want from us?"


    "He is still alive?"


    The statement was followed by numerous questions before the middle-aged man mmed the table to silence them before saying, "What is it? Tell me."


    "ording to him, Kai Carter wants to meet with you and the South Family to cease any action before this discussion. He wants to meet you at 7 PM tonight."


    "What?"


    "Kai Carter?"


    "Are you sure about this?"


    "I see." The old man closed his eyes, pondering. Kai Carter was the biggest enigma in this entire process and if he were the one behind this incident, the situation might have an unexpected turn.


    The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and nced at the old man, understanding the situation. Kai Carter might not move alone and there was also this new ranking that glorified Kai Carter even more.


    Without a proper judgment on his ability, they had no idea Kai''s current strength.


    Hence, the middle-aged man stated, "I have decided. All personnel are to remain standing by. Anyone who moves will be decided by the highest familyw. If it''s someone else, we may be able to make a small move, but Kai Carter is different.


    "If we are too careless, there may be a war between this family and two bases. At the same time, he alone may have enough power to eliminate us like how he has done it to the Katsuragi Family. Understood?"


    After listening to that simple exnation, all of them thought it was understandable.


    There was even a video of him cutting multiple houses in a single strike. If it were his strongest strike, it would be hard for him to do it multiple times. But the end result of that fight was catastrophic. Hence, his strength was a real deal.


    "What are you nning to do, Father? I hope you''re not thinking about challenging him, right?"


    "Of course not." The old man shrugged. "I am interested in that, but if he doesn''t want to, then I won''t pursue that matter. I will simply ask. I won''t provoke him or anything."


    The middle-aged man nodded and continued. "That''s all. We will gather again here one hour before the meeting. Also, inform all people in this ce that if they spot him, they will report to us and lead him to the guest area. Make sure no one offends him until the meeting ends. Understood?"


    All of them exchanged looks and nodded.


    Of course, this kind of effect didn''t influence only the government and the South Family. It was literally all the families under the Katsuragi Family.


    Because of Kai''s deed in releasing all the hostages, everyone could somehow understand the situation of the Katsuragi Family.


    They wished to revolt against them, but then Ikeda Kenzo started spreading the news about the mysterious person that annihted them.


    He simply stated that he had changed sides because it was necessary to stop Katsuragi Akagi. At the same time, the one who wanted that change was simply too powerful as they managed to eliminate all important people in a single night without anyone knowing.


    Understanding the graveness of this matter, they decided to swallow their anger for a moment. Obviously, it was a hard thing to do, considering the Katsuragi Family had been mistreating their family members or even killing them. Even so, Ikeda Kenzo wanted them to remain in their home just for tonight because something big would happen tomorrow and they would realize this statement.


    Of course, everything was left to their discretion. Unfortunately, it was hard to gather all their forces and they decided to pull all the soldiers they had lent to the Katsuragi Family to their respective families, weakening the Katsuragi Family even more.


    During that time, all families in Hokkaido couldn''t contain their excitement anymore and started proceeding with a different n than those in the maind. It was so easy to know how hard they had been oppressed by the Katsuragi Family.


    After all, unlike those families, Hokkaido had been under one ruler this whole time.


    They wanted to take over the Katsuragi Family''s influence and expand. But with all families there sharing the sentiment, Hokkaido soon fell into turmoil.


    Kai also wished to stop this kind of conflict. Even if he couldn''t, he wanted to minimize the damage. Hence, it became the reason why he needed to meet the prime minister as well as the South Family.


    And currently, Kai was sitting in the room together with Michelle and Sofia, facing two men and women.


    "I am the Prime Minister. I heard you want to talk to me."

 Chapter 526 - Solution

    "I am the Prime Minister. I heard you want to talk to me." The old man faced Kai with a serious expression, not underestimating him in the slightest.


    "Yes. I want the government to seize this opportunity to stop the war. This should give back a bit of trust to the people." Kai quickly cut to the chase.


    The one behind the Prime Minister opened his mouth but stopped before saying anything. Although he was displeased to see Kai look down on the Prime Minister, he knew it wasn''t the time to be reckless.


    The Prime Minister closed his eyes and thought for a moment.


    "There are a few things that need to be done to gain back people''s trust in the government. Before that, I would like to ask you your reason for helping the government." The Prime Minister asked politely. "I may not be that useful in running the government, but I have promised to make sure my people do not suffer. If your aim is to make them suffer, I won''t agree even if you cut me down here and now."


    Kai shook his head. "I have no intention in harming the citizens. I am sure you have watched my fight in the EU Base. After knowing the n, I quickly baited the creature to that ce. Of course, all people have been evacuated. I hope that you can understand that my heart is with the citizens. I also don''t wish for them to suffer."


    What Kai hoped to achieve by telling him that fact was for the Prime Minister to understand that Kai never harmed the innocent citizens.


    Even the Prime Minister fell silent after hearing his answer. It took him a minute to continue the discussion. "I understand. Still, the government has limited power over the South Family. Even if we want to stop this war, it''s impossible unless someone stops them."


    The Prime Minister seemed to wish to borrow Kai''s power to stop the South Family. By using the citizens as the hostage, he indeed managed to y like how those in politics would act in this situation.


    Kai nodded. "I can stop the South Family for you. But you are also required to oversee the entire situation, ensuring all the people have been freed from the Katsuragi Family''s control. Also, you need to make sure that all the Katsuragi Family members return to Hokkaido."


    He thought for a moment. "Yes. We can do that. With the information I''ve been given, I can see your aim. There won''t be much resistance from the Katsuragi Family, so if you can handle the other side, we can control the situation."


    "That''s good." Kai nodded.


    "Still, there is one thing that has been making me unable to sleep at night." The Prime Minister smiled and asked. "I wonder if a person such as you know why the Yajima Family disappeared in a single night."


    This old man indeed tried to get everything from him.


    Kai smiled and said with a bit of a threat. "Let''s cut to the chase. I will answer your question with another question. How much do you think you know about me?"


    "!!!" The old man was stunned for a second before closing his eyes to regain hisposure. However, he understood Kai''s meaning.


    Kai wanted to show off his power, including the fact that he could make two new S Rank Magicians if he wanted. No, Sofia and Roselyn were the new SS Rank Magicians. It was even more tremendous for them.


    Even Ikeda Kenzo didn''t have the confidence to be an SS Rank Magician, signifying the fear of this achievement.


    "There is always something that can''t be asked, right?" Kai squinted his eyes, pressuring the Prime Minister.


    "Are you thinking of challenging the whole¡ª"The old man that wanted to berate him previously couldn''t contain himself anymore and shouted before stopping abruptly. He just couldn''t contain his anger and forgot that Kai had enough strength to challenge the entire base for a moment.


    "I apologize for his rude behavior." The Prime Minister apologized and bowed his head.


    "It''s okay. In any case, I want to tell you that the Yajima Family will re-emerge tomorrow or the day after." Kai shook his head. "If there is any harming to them, it means I am forced to move and revisit this base."


    "¡­" The Prime Minister pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I may know, what is your rtionship with the Yajima Family''s eldest daughter, Yajima Haruko?"


    Kai smiled and said with conviction. "I am her boyfriend."


    "Hahaha, the Yajima Family is so lucky to have you as their son-inw." The Prime Minister tried to act calm andughed.


    "That''s all I want to say." Kai shook his head. "This problem will be solved within two days. It''s up to you whether you can seize this chance or not."


    "I perfectly understand."


    Suddenly, a smile appeared on Kai''s face as he raised his tone. "Now that I have done you a favor, don''t you think you should give me something?"


    "What?!" The Prime Minister widened his eyes, never expecting Kai to be asking something.


    "It''s not that big of a deal." Kai shrugged.


    "May I know what it is?"


    Kai smiled mysteriously.


    ¡­


    One hour after the first discussion, Kai had arrived at the South Family''s castle.


    Guided by the maids, Kai walked across this stupidly humongous castle, wondering whether they would arrive within a few minutes.


    Luckily, the meeting room seemed to be not that far from the entrance as they arrived after walking for two minutes.


    The maids opened the giant gate that separated them from the people inside the meeting room, showing a total of twenty people sitting in the room.


    When they sensed Kai''s presence, they quickly stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him, not wanting to miss any single detail.


    Still, the most noticeable ones were the two people who stood side by side on the opposite side.


    Seeing Kai entering the meeting room, the middle-aged man rose and greeted them politely. "Nice to meet you. I am the South Family''s family head. My name is a bit hard to pronounce for you, so you can call me David."


    Because Kai had recognized his father, David continued his introduction. "Next to me is the previous head of this family. You can call him Erik."


    After that, he took another look at the two who apanied Kai for this discussion. "It''s an honor to meet the three of you. The SSS Rank Magician Kai Carter, The SS Rank Magician Sofia Campbell, and the only daughter of the Graham Family, Michelle Graham. I have heard of your intention ining here.


    "Since you wish to talk to us, please sit down. We can discuss whether the South Family will stop their advance or not here and now." David stated with a serious expression.


    "¡­" Kai didn''t reply to him. Instead, he looked at the old man who suddenly rose from his seat and walked to him.


    As if understanding his intention, Kai also walked toward without a change of expression.


    "I am curious about your strength." The old man smiled and stopped before him.


    Their eyes intertwined, but neither of them backed down.


    The old man raised his hand before a female''s hand grabbed his arm.


    The old man nced to the side, finding Sofia. Her expression was cold


    The temperature dropped as Sofia said with killing intent. "You shouldn''t make a move. We aren''t here to fight, but if a fight is what you want, we can give you and wipe out this family."

 Chapter 527 - Settling The Rest

    "Oh scary." The old man smiled and teased her. "Then, what if this old man doesn''tply?"


    He suddenly raised his hand as if he wanted to attack Kai.


    Sofia didn''t let him go anymore and used her magic. "Frozen World."


    In an instant, the floor was covered with ice and the old man was frozen in an instant.


    "What did you do?!" The middle-aged man rose from his chair, never expecting that Sofia''s strength was this powerful.


    Unexpectedly, the ice that froze him started to crack before the old man broke free from the ice and stepped back, panting. He felt the chilling sensation that tried to freeze his organs and blood.


    If it were an A Rank Magician, they would have died from that technique alone. Even he might suffer irreceable injury if he stayed for a bit longer inside the ice.


    And a girl this powerful was created by Kai and chose to follow him, no wonder Theo was an SSS Rank Magician.


    "I give up. I apologize if I offend you, but there is one absolute rule in this family. The strongest rule is this family, you see. If there''s another S Rank Magician among these guys behind me, my son will need to step down." The old man smiled, exining the reason for his action. "Anyway, you can call me Erik."


    "Even so, I can''t certainly let go of such an action. I wonder, what do you want to even pull such a thing? That sloppy rule is nothing but a mere reason for you to do it, right?" Kai made a smirk as if he understood the old man.


    "As expected from an SSS Rank Magician¡­ That''s right. However, I didn''t lie about the rule. It was indeed the reason for my action, but that wasn''t all." Erik sighed and said, "I wish to see how strong you truly are and it seems I am not even qualified to know your strength."


    Kai closed his eyes for a moment and said, "I don''t care about your circumstances, but just make sure you think carefully before you act."


    "Haha, now this old man is being lectured by someone a sixth of his age." Erikughed as if he didn''t care about it. "Sure, I will be careful."


    "Anyway, I have made my point clear beforeing here. I want the South Family to stop the war right now."


    "That''s possible, but we also have our reasons. My grandson, George, happened to be your ssmate, right? Do you think I, his grandfather, can just let go of this grudge? The Katsuragi Family needs to pay the price."


    "I can understand it. If I were you, I would have wiped them out." Kai nodded in understanding.


    "Right? I''m sure you can understand our reason."


    "But¡­ I was also in the midst of that situation. I even needed to kill three assassinsing after me in that activity. Despite facing Katsuragi Takaki, who should be his peers, George died. Can''t you see the difference? I survived because I was strong. Shouldn''t you me yourself for not even thinking about this? What''s about your informationwork? I would have fired all those people," said Kai with an extremely cold tone.


    "¡­" Erik''s body shook. He thought Kai was an anomaly, but he seemed to have underestimated him once again.


    They all clearly remembered that Kai needed to cross the Asia Continent to arrive at ska before being rescued by the Graham Family.


    They had faced countless life and death situations in that journey alone, yet, George couldn''t even survive the first one.


    For someoneing from a family that respected the strong, he surely did not qualify.


    Erik thought for a moment and nced at his son. From his expression alone, David seemed to be handing all the decisions to his hand.


    After contemting for a while, Erik let out a long sigh. "It seems there''s no need for negotiation. We willply with your request.


    "All our soldiers will be recalled here, but because we need to see the situation again, some of them will remain standing by to get more information. If the Katsuragi Family indeed starts declining because of what you have done, I can promise you that my South Family won''t make any move."


    Theo nodded, satisfied. It was obviously impossible to threaten them to recall all their soldiers because it was the same as them lowering their proud heads before Theo.


    Although Theo had a good reputation, it was hard for a family that had been prideful for so long to do something like this.


    The solution he arrived at with the help of Marsha was to give them some face after pressuring them with the worst possible option. This way, their condition wouldn''t be that significant.


    "That''s enough for me." Kai nodded. "Since we havee to an agreement, I don''t think it''s appropriate for me to stay here any longer."


    Kai snapped his fingers, creating the Teleportation Magic Circle.


    Before going, Kai said, "Say¡­ If I give you the chance to see the real power at the cost of many lives, do you think you will take that offer?"


    "What did¡ª" Erik opened his mouth in surprise, but Kai had disappeared together with Michelle and Sofia.


    They had returned back to the hotel where Kudo Tarou was staying. Felice, Ayaka, and Tasha were apanying him to make sure he wasn''t lonely.


    However, Kai returned just to drop Michelle and Sofia off before making another trip to the Oni Vige.


    With just standing a minute, a female figure emerged from thin air, meeting Kai.


    "(Greeting Your Excellency.)" Mia greeted Kai politely with Oni Language.


    "It''s fine to talk to me like usual, Mia." Kai smiled.


    "That''s something I can''t do." Mia shook her head. "Now that you have be the true Protector, this is something I need to do."


    Kai scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.


    "In any case, here theye." Mia smiled and turned to the side as a bunch of people began to appear out of nowhere.


    It was the first time they stepped outside again, so they were quite surprised and savored the feeling.


    Unfortunately for them, Mia quickly used her Mind Magic to erase the location of their Oni Vige so no one would know anything about them.


    At the same time, Kai walked forward before finding a young girl leaping at him.


    "Kai!" Haruko hugged him tightly.


    "It''s been a while. I hope you are doing okay."


    "I am feeling fantastic right now." Haruko smiled.


    Unfortunately, the reunion was short because Mia had finished erasing their memories and it was Haruko''s turn.


    "May I¡­" Mia asked politely.


    Kai nodded and smiled at Haruko, who seemed to understand that there was a need for this.


    She looked at Mia and smiled. "Thank you for everything."


    "You''re wee."


    Haruko became the same as the others as her eyes lost their light.


    "Your Majesty, their memories have been wiped out. It''s best to carry them back as they will recover within two minutes."


    Kai nodded. "Thank you, Mia."


    "I am honored to hear it."


    "Also, give my thanks to Ishii¡­ And an apology, I guess."


    "I will tell my father without fail."


    "Then, it''s time for us to go." Kai waved his hand and pulled Haruko to his embrace before creating a giant Teleportation Circle and transported them to their previous home.


    "Kai¡­" Haruko soon recovered and called his name while the others were uttering their confusion.


    "We will have a long talk after this." Kai made a gentle smile as if he understood the current priority.


    Haruko made the biggest smile she ever had for the first time in her life. "Yes."

 Chapter 528 - Departure

    After exining what had happened to Haruko''s Family, Kai proceeded to another important talk with her parents.


    He asked her hand of marriage and told them the circumstances.


    Knowing that he was her childhood sweetheart and someone who had enough strength to protect her, they finally let her go, wishing Kai and Haruko a happy life.


    Unfortunately, Kai could only promise them the marriage for the time being, but he was going to make it a reality as soon as possible.


    The parents didn''t really care about the date because they knew Kai was someone who held his promise, so they chose to believe in him and asked him to inform them a month before it happened so they could make some preparations.


    They also apologized for what they did, which was denied by Kai because he knew what they did was to protect Haruko.


    In the end, they had dinner together since Kai also told them he would be spending a night here before returning the next day.


    After the discussion, Haruko dragged him to her room. Kai also nned to do this since he slipped a bottle of medicine into his luggage.


    A few hourster.


    On the bed, Kai was staring at the ceiling, thinking about something.


    Haruko rolled once and looked into his eyes, "What are you thinking?"


    "I am nning to return to the EU Base after this. The ne is ready to pick me up, so I want to ask you toe with me."


    "I am sorry, but I don''t think I can." Haruko closed her eyes in disappointment. It wasn''t that she didn''t wish to be together with him. She had her own matters that she needed to handle in order to help him.


    "I will settle every matter you have in United Asia. That''s why I can''t go with you. Maybe after everything is done, I can finally live together with you." Haruko sighed and rested her head on his chest.


    "Sorry for making you do all this." Kai sighed.


    "You didn''t make me do this. It''s me who wants to do it. My family can also survive this ordeal thanks to you." Haruko smiled. "In any case, I am already the happiest after the talk about our marriage. I am the farthest away from you and I have never been on your side for so long unlike the others. I am afraid that you don''t like me¡­"


    "It''s not possible. You have been a great help this whole time. Without you, I won''t be returning to this ce this fast." Kai shook his head, denying it almost immediately. "Still, I think I haven''t said this to you¡­ I love you."


    She made a big smile. "I love you too."


    ¡­


    The next day, Kai bid goodbye to Haruko and her parents and returned to the hotel where they all gathered.


    Without wasting any more time, they checked out of the hotel and teleported to the beach before going straight to North Korea by using the Teleportation Magic.


    The pilot quickly contacted him about his position and adjusted ordingly. With Kai''s hearing range, as long as they flew low enough, he could easily find them.


    As soon as they returned to the EU Base, Marsha and Kai met again and staged Evan''s arrival.


    Obviously, it was the time Evan healed the rest of the S Rank Magicians, including Kai, who was supposed to beying down on the hospital bed.


    After getting covered by the media, Marsha continued her diplomatic discussion before the Union joined hands with the US Base.


    It was shown to the whole world that the Union had given all the people affected by Oliver to be cured of their curse.


    Even Ria Ross needed to make her appearance, promising them to handle the case with extreme caution. At the same time, that promise also ignited the desire to live again because she showed proof that she managed to make a breakthrough about the cure.


    For the duration of one year, she would treat them and send back all those peoplepletely normal.


    With the support of the citizens, the entire process ended smoothly and Oliver''s name had be the thing in the past.


    His recement was also someone picked by Marsha.


    Kai also thanked her for her continuous support by helping her with some additional support on the battlefield.


    After a long stay, Kai finally returned to the airport together with Sofia.


    He walked with a smile on his face and muttered, "It''s been six months."


    "Haha, I don''t have much memory for half of it though." Sofia chuckled, teasing him.


    "I am sorry, but at least you got strength. Nothing happened during that time either." Kai shrugged.


    "I was joking. No need to take it to your heart."


    Kai smiled and walked together before finding a group of people waiting for him.


    "Big Brother Kai!"


    All the kids from the orphanage quickly jumped to him, trying to hug him. Although it was a short period of time, most of the kids had begun to idolize Kai. Not only his strength but his kindness had melted their hearts after all.


    Kai greeted the kids with a warm smile, hugging them one by one.


    After that, Marsha and her butler came to him.


    "Thank you for the help this whole time. The Union has be clear right now. Although it''s impossible to deal with all the corruption inside, we are happy to eliminate the potential threat to humanity." She smiled.


    "It was my problem to begin with." Kai shrugged. "I''m d that I don''t need to worry about United Asia and this base in the future."


    "Haha. If you need my help, just call me. I will try to do it for you¡­ Of course, with somepensation." She chuckled.


    "You never forgot thatst part¡­" Kaiughed and shook her hands.


    After that, he bid goodbye to Rena and Leisa. Leisa was thankful for the opportunity to settle a few things with Evan, while Rena thanked Kai for all the things he had done for the base.


    Arnaud and Roselyn also saw him off without many words because they had been saying their thanks since they apanied him most of the time.


    Still, there was one problem. Jules truly came.


    "Please take care of my daughter." Bastien shook his hand.


    "Yes, I will do my best."


    "My daughter must have been annoying you at the start, so I apologize for her behavior back then."


    "It''s a thing in the past. People can grow." Kai chuckled.


    "Mother!" Sofia pouted and looked away before seeing Jules'' expression. "I wonder what will happen when Grandfather meets with Sir Nathan and Sir Tarou¡­"


    "Don''t¡­ Don''t give him the idea." Kai quickly stopped her helplessly before knowing that Jules would certainly do that from his expression alone. "Look! His expression tells you that it''s a good idea. It''s going to be a mess."


    "Hahaha." All of themughed.


    Last but not least, Kai met Felice alone. "Felice, will you be okay alone?"


    "Of course. I am going to prove to you that I am worthy of being your student." Felice pumped her chest proudly. "I have several tasks to do, so you will be surprised after another six months."


    "I am looking forward to it." Kai patted her head for a while before finally leaving together with Sofia.


    While waving their hands, the pair finally entered the gate and departed.

 Chapter 529 - Arrival

    As soon as he returned to the US Base, Kai saw many peopleing to greet him. Surprisingly, because of how grand the reception was, Devain and Leah managed to find Kai''s position and quickly sneak inside the ne with the Teleportation Magic.


    "My King." Devain and Leah greeted him with a bow.


    "!!!" Sofia was taken aback by their appearance as she never imagined there were peopleing for Kai.


    "So, you two havee or probably you have stayed here for a few days?" Kai asked.


    "We have been here several times to experience this world so as to assimte ourselves better when needed, especially for information gathering," Leah answered.


    "I see." Kai nodded. "I can understand that."


    "May we know how we should proceed?"


    Kai thought for a moment and said, "How about staying in my house?"


    "Wh-what?" Leah and Devain opened their mouths in surprise. Leah hurriedly asked for the confirmation. "Are you sure, My King? I am afraid this will bring a great inconvenience for you and your family. We are not qualified to do this¡­"


    "And also, stop calling me with that title. Just call me by my name like how others call me."


    "W-we can''t." Leah shook her head in panic.


    "Do you think I can exin your identities to them? Besides, if you are with my parents, I can be more assured of their safety and proceed more boldly against our enemies. And with you training together in my house, my parents will be happy because it will feel like a party. That''s why I am suggesting this." Kai sighed. "Albeit, I can''t really force you if you don''t want to¡­"


    Leah and Devain shuddered as they exchanged looks. They obviously didn''t want to reject it, but they didn''t know whether it was alright for them or not.


    "If you have some rules regarding it, I can order you if you want." Kai squinted his eyes as if telling them he was serious about it.


    "No, no. There is no rule about it, but are you sure it''s alright?" Leah asked timidly.


    "Yep. Now that you have agreed, start calling me Kai from now on." Kai nodded. "Also, go wait for me outside. As much as I want to introduce you to my parents, I can''t show you to too many people to avoid getting found out by our enemies."


    "It''s okay. We can understand¡­ Ka¡­i¡­" Leah looked down, feeling embarrassed.


    "That''s good enough for now." Kai nodded and rose, heading out of the ne with Sofia. "See youter."


    When Kai walked outside the ne, he could see many peopleing to get him.


    Although the information wasn''t spread, Kai could still see more than ten people lining up. The first was none other than President Brent.


    "I''m d that you are back here." President Brent smiled.


    "It''s my pleasure." Kai smiled.


    "Well, we can talk moreter, so I won''t hold you any longer from your reunion." Brent nodded and took a step back before ncing over to the side.


    Kai also turned around and smiled at the two people he wanted to see the most. He quickly walked to them as his mother hugged him tightly.


    "You''re back. Six months feels like six years."


    "Ahaha, I''m sorry for making you lonely." Kai''s expression became gentle. "I hope Michelle and Ayaka didn''t trouble you."


    "Of course not. We are happy with the fact they apany us."


    After being released by his mother, Kai hugged his father. "I''m back, Father."


    "I''m just d that you returned safely." James hugged back for a few seconds before patting his shoulders.


    Kai took a step back and saw the rest of the people.


    To his expectation, Ayaka brought her whole family with her because they obviously wanted to say their gratitude despite having done it multiple times through calls.


    Kai felt happy that their family had reunited again.


    However, that happiness turned into a surprise when Nathan grabbed Tarou''s shoulder like a buddy. The two seemed to have met and made a quite good rtionship as a fellow grandfather-inw.


    It might be due to Michelle''s younger brother that Nathan had never stressed too much about Kai''s rtionship anymore. Either way, it was good for him that everyone could get along.


    The girls, including Sofia, gathered while Kai reunited with his Teacher.


    "I''m back, Teacher."


    "I know. I believe you also have many things to do after this, but you should take a rest for two or three days." Ria nodded.


    "Yeah. I''m nning to spend my time with my family. Of course, it''s better if you join us, Teacher." Kai smiled.


    "We will see." Ria chuckled.


    Kai then continued to meet a few more people before going back together with his parents and the girls.


    Suddenly, Leah and Devain appeared before them with a slightly nervous face.


    Kai quickly stepped forward and introduced them. "Because they might get a bit implicated if they came out of the ne together with me, they waited for me here. These two are my friends from the EU Base. We''re like brother and sister there and they took care of me when I was there.


    "As much as I want to talk about them, I believe it''s better to get inside first to avoid people''s attention." Kai opened the door.


    Since Devain didn''t find anyone in the driver''s seat, he thought one of them would drive the car, so he quickly asked, "May I drive the car? I can use the GPS to drive since I don''t want to ruin everyone''s reunion."


    "Look. He just proved my point." Kai smiled and winked.


    "That¡­" His father obviously wanted to drive them back, but Kai had grabbed his hand and pulled them inside.


    Since Kai was a bit forceful, they decided to take the offer and entered the car together.


    After everyone came in, Devain began to drive away.


    Leah then introduced herself. "It''s an honor to meet you, Sir and Madam. My name is Leah Ishtar and the oneing with me is Devain Ishtar. Kai has been taking care of us since the beginning."


    "Ah, such a polite one." His mother smiled. "It''s my pleasure to know that my son haspanions during his stay in the EU Base."


    "Because of a few things, I want the two of them to stay in our house. Do you think it''s possible, Mom?" Kai asked.


    "Of course, it''s possible. We have a few spare rooms anyway." She chuckled and agreed without hesitation. "I won''t need to feel lonely anymore since all of you are here."


    "That''s good." Kai nodded while noticing the fact that Leah tried to work with her words to avoid saying Kai''s name because she still felt awkward about it.


    "So, what is your rtionship with my son?" A star appeared in her eyes as she had a great expectation since it wasn''t every day''s urrence that her son brought someone home.


    Leah quickly looked down, feeling embarrassed. She had a hard time with this answer because of what happened back in Emulda Kn.


    She knew that Kai had a strict rule when it came to the rtionship, but she also vowed to serve Kai, including night activities.


    Lying would be the best option, but she truly wanted Kai to answer this because of the importance of this question.


    Albeit, his mother didn''t wait for anyone''s answer because Leah''s action alone already struck her heart. "I see, I see. I have understood everything."

 Chapter 530 - Current Situation

    After getting their fun upon returning to the house, Kai gathered everyone inside his room.


    Michelle, Tasha, Ayaka, and Sofia sat next to each other. Leah and Devain sat in front of them, with Kai sitting in the middle.


    "Without wasting our time, I am going to say this. All four of you need to get stronger." Kai stated with a serious expression. "The enemy this time is far more powerful than we can imagine, so it''s best to do it as early as possible."


    "Get stronger?" All of them turned to Sofia, who had experienced it.


    "Yeah. I am gonna do whatever it takes to power you up." Kai nodded and turned to Leah and Devain. "I think it''s fine to tell them about our enemies, right?"


    "We will obey Our King''s decision." They lowered their heads in unison.


    "King?" Michelle squinted her eyes.


    "Tasha, Michelle, I''m sure you know my identity, right?"


    "A protector?!" Tasha and Michelle drew a gasp.


    "Yes. I am the current Human Race Protector. Of course, I only knew about it when I told both of you my identity. Before that, I had no idea." Kai shook his head. "But the reason why we could visit the Oni Vige was due to my identity."


    "Are you telling me that there are many other intelligent races other than us?" Michelle asked with a frown.


    "No." Leah shook her head. "Every race has the same intelligence level. In the past, the Magic Particles or what you called Magic Power are scattered to the entire. It was so rich that you S Rank Magicians in your ssification system was just a random strong person.


    "I''m sure there are many records about it, including ''Monsters'', which is basically the mutation of Magical Beasts.


    "However, because of the continuous usage of the Magic Particles, all races gradually exhausted the Magic Particles and our power gradually became weaker.


    "After a long period of time, there were many wars and destruction because of power sovereignty. The races who exhausted their Magic Particles would soon get invaded because they had no more way to restore their power.


    "Hence, the entire world fell into ruin and those who survived decided to gather together without having power in their body anymore. They started growing as a colony¡­ Humans, elephants, and other races adjusted themselves to the new environments.


    "Most of the evolution process had been exined in the basic history, so I won''t exin about it. At that time, humanity managed to be sovereign with their technology, ruling over many races. Or what you called Ancient Technologies.


    "We had no record when that happened, but there was another catastrophe, the same one as the one you recently experienced¡­


    "The purpose of this incident was to stop humans from ruling the entire world, so many Protectors were born after that. This became chaotic once again until finally, the King of Uruk, King Gilgamesh, decided to sacrifice his life to kill those who wanted to destroy humanity.


    "Those people resided in the bottom of the ocean and once resurfaced with the name as Antis. And they have been aiming at us for several thousand years.


    "For example, there was another one that destroyed ancient civilizations like the Maya Tribe or Ancient Egypt or other tribes. The only reason you couldn''t understand how the humans managed to build such a magnificent thing was due to Magic Particles.


    "To weaken humanity again, they killed the sovereigns of those tribes that were rumored to be another Protector¡­


    "And after so long, the next generation of Humanity Protector or you could call it the King of Humanity, has been born and he is sitting here with us." Leah finished her exnation with a bow to Kai.


    "Kai is Humanity''s King?"


    "Catastrophe?"


    "Other Races?"


    "Ancient Civilizations?"


    Leah nodded with a serious expression. "Due to how ridiculous it sounds, there''s no way humanity can ept it. Hence, we, thest truth seekers, followed King Gilgamesh''s order to end this long-suffering by destroying the race that wants to destroy our humanity."


    "And Kai is the one?"


    "Yes. Now that everything is clean¡­" Leah bowed one more time to four of them. "It''s my honor to meet you, my queens."


    "Queens?" They exchanged looks with a weird expression since they couldn''t easily ept such a status.


    Kai also knew that. So as to avoid making this room awkward, Kai said, "I want to get the strength to go against them. What do you think about our current force?"


    "I apologize first, but truth to be told, we stand no chance against them." Leah shook her head helplessly. "First of all, the duty of the king is to fight another king. Only you are capable of defeating their Protector. We will properly help you, so please rely on us.


    "After that, the Mermaid King still has tenmandants. The current 5th and 6th fighters have been eliminated, but it''s still not enough.


    "From our current situation, Ma''am Arba can fight their Princess, whose strength is only second to their king, on equal ground. If Ibine my strength with Devain, we can defeat the number two. This way, we still need to gather people to defeat the remaining six." Leah then looked at her brother. "My Brother can be looking for information around and dy the news of your arrival, so I will be the one teaching everyone here most of the time."


    Kai thought for a moment. "So, there are still six. What do you think about my teacher?"


    "I haven''t fought against her excellency, nor I have enough information to conclude her current prowess, so I can''t say anything regarding her."


    "If I told you she is stronger than Sofia and Roselynbined?" Kai asked with a serious expression.


    Sofia and Leah widened their eyes, surprised by his statement.


    "¡­" Leah thought for a moment and nodded. "If she can get a bit stronger, I believe she can defeat one of them."


    "That''s good." Kai nodded and pointed his finger at the four girls. "I don''t know if we have enough time to cultivate them, but if they can join together to defeat two, I think it''s enough, right?"


    "Yes. I am not looking down on them, but the time is too short." Leah shook her head. "Of course, I''m saying this when we both have an equal condition."


    "What do you mean?" Kai asked with a frown.


    "You may have underestimated the power of a Protector, my King. If Mermaid King indeed came to the surface, he would bring a tsunami with him to make sure everyone could take advantage of the water to power them up. Even if they couldn''t utilize a hundred percent of their power, they should have seventy percent of them. It was far more powerful than their usual fifty percent."


    "¡­" Kai sighed.


    "Tsunami?" The girls were confused, imagining the Mermaid King as a walking natural disaster.


    "Two more S Rank Magicians from the US Base, three S Rank Magicians from the EU Base, and one from United Asia. Do you think they can do anything?"


    "If they form two groups, they should be able to buy us enough time." Leah nodded.


    "Two huh¡­" Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. "This means we have five¡­ Only need one more person. However, I can''t really find someone who can do it. If we allow that one to destroy our people¡­ It''s not even funny.


    "As for the others, I hope our Generals and Soldiers could handle them too. But with the water advantage, I''m afraid we will be overwhelmed." Kai tried toe up with a way but to no avail.


    "The only way is to have two of the queens handle one each." Leah''s tone was unsure because she didn''t want to endanger them.


    "We can talk about thister. For now, I want everyone to get stronger. Okay?"

 Chapter 531 - Eve Of Chaos

    Surprisingly, everyone felt relieved after hearing the exnation.


    "I see. So that''s how it is ¡­ And to think you have been fighting alone this whole time." Ayaka bit her lips, regretting her current condition. She was still too weak for Kai to rely on.


    "This is the first time I heard this, but I think everything makes sense after all those things that happened around us." Sofia nodded with a serious expression. "I don''t mind getting stronger. On the one hand, people will think I''m a monster for having that kind of power. On the other hand, I can''t really leave my future husband to be called a monster by normal people alone, right?"


    Leah and Devain furrowed their eyebrows but remained silent. Despite her words, what she said was right. In themon people''s eyes, Kai''s power was too monstrous to even be called a human.


    Leah even added, "Actually, there were many ways to call a full-fledged protector in the past. Even King Gilgamesh called himself a Divine Being."


    "Although this sounds a bit rude¡­ Parents will leave us first. Then, our children will leave us for their own independence. Only our other half will always stay by our side for the rest of our lives." Michelle smiled. "Who cares about what people think? If this power can let me stay together with him, I shall ept it without hesitation."


    "Well said. As expected of my number one rival." Tasha nodded in agreement before giving a fist bump to Michelle.


    "Anyway, I will ask for permission to leave the army for a while to train myself here." Tasha continued, "What do you n to do?"


    "I''m going to convince my teacher first and start preparing other things. I also need to meet another person alone and do something in Chile." He sighed. "There are too many things I need to do right now. Of course, I''m not nning to waste my time."


    "If that''s the case, I will give you my Sealing Magic for now. It should be able to help you move around." Tasha smiled.


    "Thank you. That will help me so much." Kai nodded.


    "I will focus on my training here. We may need to do some renovation in the house to make a secret room or something." Michelle chuckled. "Depending on the importance, I guess we can ditch the school or just use their facility to train?"


    "School is good." Ayaka nodded. "We can tear down the room and make a spacious room for our training. We can work with the academy for that and ask for some support¡­ Probably from the president himself."


    "I agree with her." Sofia nodded and looked at Leah. "What do you think about going to school?"


    "Every ce is fine for me." Leah smiled.


    "That''s great. Since your figure is simr to mine, you can use my uniformter. We can stay there for a few months too." Tasha nodded.


    "Devain will be searching for any clue about our enemies, especially whether there is a spy or not, okay?"


    "I understand." Devain nodded without hesitation. "Please take care of my sister."


    "Sure." Kai made a big smile and gave a thumbs up.


    ¡­


    Little did he know, the sea race also began to discuss their options.


    With the mermaid king sitting on the throne, he looked at the eight creatures kneeling in front of him.


    His aura permeated the entire ce as he had a hard time containing his anger.


    "Father¡­ No, Your Majesty, please refrain from your anger¡­" The mermaid princess said with a timid tone.


    The king closed his eyes for a moment as the auraing from his body diminished for a bit. Still, it didn''t truly disappear.


    In that condition, he opened his mouth. "So, what do you think we should do?"


    The mermaid princess fell silent as she began to think. "I''m afraid Kai Carter''s improvement is already beyond our imagination. Hence, it''s time for us to make a big move. There are only eight of us remaining, so it''s better to test him to check whether he is already aware of his status.


    "Due to the ancient pact, we can''t eliminate a race that doesn''t have their Protector. That''s why we killed many protectors in the past and didn''t do anything to the human race.


    "To avoid making other races our enemies, we have been speeding things up, so he grows a bit to be acknowledged as a protector¡­ And I think it''s time for us to check him for real. If he already has that power, we can focus on our ns. As long as we manage toplete our preparation, we should be able to take action and eliminate all humans on this."


    He thought for a moment and looked at the others.


    The turtle raised his head and opened his mouth. "I agree with the princess'' idea. Kai Carter is a mysterious man. His power doesn''t rely solely on his strength, but also his brain."


    "Are you telling me I''m dumber than him?" The mermaid king squinted his eyes, releasing a bit of his pressure.


    The turtle remained calm and shook his head. "Of course not. Intelligence can be used for many things. His case, in particr, is for warfare. If we let him grow any further, we may need to handle the full force of the human race. This will make our objective harder because we are required to fight onnd. Even with Your Majesty''s power, we need to be careful."


    "You make a point." The mermaid king nodded with a serious expression.


    "I''m ttered." The turtle nodded. "That''s why I volunteer to be the princess'' escort and help the princess."


    "In that case, let me do it too. We have suspected there''s an intervention from some ancient tribes that know their power and past strength, so it''s better to bring me there." A Shark raised his head, offering himself to go with a smile. "This way we have three strongest fighters in the rank. I''m sure that it''s not that easy to kill us."


    "¡­" The mermaid king remained silent and looked at his daughter as if asking her the n.


    The princess smiled and said, "To do this, we are required to avoid destroying the humans too much and massacre is not possible. Hence, I''m nning to destroy two of their bases. Argentina and Paraguay Bases.


    "We only destroy the base and let the majority of humans escape. Since this is a sneak attack, we can split our force into two and destroy both bases, especially their weaponry. After that, we will gradually march to Chile Base.


    "I''m sure Kai Carter will appear in that base with their strongest strength. As long as we use our power to threaten him, he will surelye at us with all his strength. We will see whether he has the power already or not.


    "After confirming it, we will leave and return here, bringing you the news. Depending on the result, we may need to speed up our n." The princess finished her exnation with a smile.


    "What do you think, My King?" The turtle asked.


    The mermaid king fell into deep thought. After several minutes, he finally opened his mouth. "I shall agree to your n. The rest of you will stand by here and make sure you are ready to help them if they need it."

 Chapter 532 - Invasion

    Ria Ross'' house.


    "So, you want me to get even stronger because the enemies are beyond measure?" asked Ria with a cold tone. She never expected that her student wished for her to train again, not because of her interest, but due to their current situation.


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression, looking her in the eyes. "As much as I wish for you not to be involved in a battle anymore, this one is different. You are the strongest magician in the world if I haven''t received my power. Only you are qualified to do something like this."


    Kai suddenly walked to her and dropped to his knees. "I know that this displeases you, but I¡ª"


    When Kai was about to beg her, Ria stopped him and covered his mouth. She just realized the graveness of this matter.


    She thought for a moment and asked, "What will happen if I don''t do anything?"


    "Humanity extinction," Kai answered without hesitation. There wasn''t a single doubt in his eyes, making her feel goosebumps.


    Ria closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "I see. I don''t care about humanity''s extinction, but since this matter can even make my student kneel and beg me, I will train like I am going to die tomorrow if I don''t get stronger. I will pour everything into my training and help you."


    "Thank you, Teacher." Kai smiled.


    "You are seriously unfair. You already know that I will fulfill your every request and you dare to threaten your teacher with that kneel." Ria let out a long sigh.


    "I am sorry."


    "It''s fine. Magic Particles and Mystic¡­ The training to increase the amount of Magic Power in my body. This training alone is enough to increase my overall strength to a whole new level since I can use many new Magic. At least, I can do something with my God Bow." She thought for a moment and took a look at the other one.


    "And this Mystic¡­ Instead of using Magic Circle, Mystic is a way to control the direction of the Magic, allowing me to do something even greater. I have several concepts and images that I can use for the training, but I can''t really say something unless I understand the concept first." Ria frowned.


    "What are you nning to do now?"


    "I wish to go to Chile in seven to ten days from now. I will apany Teacher practice first while introducing you to human history. I also need to take days off from school."


    "I can talk to Brent about this matter. If humanity is certainly at risk, we need to do something about it. School is thest thing we need to think about right now." Ria shrugged.


    "Yeah, but I n to use the school as my base operation so no one can see through my n."


    "Well, I can understand that. Anyway, I will be experimenting with the technique after learning that one. But you also said that they might need to remove that memory¡­"


    "I will try to control the situation and tell them not to. However, I also need Teacher not to reveal the secret to other people, including soft and hard copies. If not, humanity may get a huge change and there may be another apocalypse in the near future. That''s something I don''t wish to see." Kai sighed.


    "I don''t understand what you are saying, but I can store everything in my mind. It''s not like I love to drink alcohol, so I''m mostly sober. And with me holing up in your ce, there won''t be a risk of me telling this secret." Ria Ross nodded.


    "Ahaha, the level of details." Kai chuckled. If Ria Ross told him not to worry about the secret, he would have believed, but Ria Ross took that chance to exin it in detail.


    "But are you sure that you want me to do this?"


    "Yes. Why do you ask?"


    "I am just afraid that I will identally destroy you if we have another spar." She shrugged and looked away with a smug smile on her face.


    "Haha, if Teacher can do that, I actually feel relieved." Kaiughed.


    After that discussion, they returned together to his house, so Leah could begin exining everything to her.


    It certainly piqued Ria''s interest. For the first time in her life, she had this me of curiosity burning inside her heart. She wanted to master this kind of technique.


    ¡­


    While they werefortably training in their ce, the soldiers couldn''t share the same experience.


    Paraguay Base.


    "Commander, what should we do?" A soldier asked themander, who just got the bird view of the entire situation from the drone.


    Themander furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "When will the reinforcemente?"


    "I am afraid it''s still five hours."


    Themander gritted his teeth and looked around his soldiers that got ughtered left and right. "Wasting too many soldiers will directly affect the entire military system. Also, that shark¡­ I am afraid only those from the main reinforcement can handle him. Even I can only buy some time. Killing a hundred soldiers with a single attack¡­ Are you joking with me? This is a massacre."


    "Commander! What should we do?" The soldier asked with a serious expression, knowing that if they dyed a bit longer, they would certainly suffer a huge loss.


    "An attack like this is certainly umon, so they must have a certain target." With the information about the sea race spreading to the entire world, themander knew that they were intelligent.


    Knowing that the sea race nned to do something, he tried to see what kind of thing would be their target.


    After thinking for a while, he understood the target. "Have all our fighter jets and heavy vehicles to escape. We will also wait for another fifteen minutes to wait for the remaining soldiers that are scattered around the area.


    "Then, we will do the tactical retreat to Chile Base since Argentina Base is attacked too. Tell the headquarters to send the reinforcement there and request the participation of the S Rank Magicians or above."


    "Understood." The soldier saluted before making his way to ry his message.


    At the same time, the actingmander of Argentina Base also couldn''t help with this development.


    She looked at the entire army that kept ughtering her soldiers. The one who brought all these soldiers was none other than the Mermaid Princess. Her portrait had been known in the US Base because of her appearance in Brazilian Spider Extermination, so she understood that her strength was far stronger than her.


    However, since she got attacked first, she had gradually pulled her soldiers out of the battlefield. With only twenty thousand soldiers left in the base, she said, "Alright. This is the perfect number to move. Bring all the trucks we have and send the injured first. The rest will march to Chile.


    "As long as we canst for one day, the reinforcement will surely arrive and rescue all of us. Back then, Kai Carter joined hands with General Ria Ross. And with this, I am afraid the two will need to take the field again or this war will be beyond salvation." Themander said while frowning. "Anyway, let''s move out."


    "Yes, Ma''am."

 Chapter 533 - Incoming War

    "Haha, this is good!" Riaughed before looking at Kai, who used both swords and got pushed several meters back. "What do you think about it, Kai?"


    "How about once more?" Kai smiled. "I still haven''t measured its power properly."


    "Sure thing," Ria smirked and waved her hand, forming a white light in front of her. The light turned into a sword and flew straight to him. "Fly."


    Kai took a deep breath and used his Super Sonic Sword to sh the sword, only to find it was impossible to cut even for him. He could only deflect it to the side.


    "How is it? I think I have gotten stronger than you again." Riaughed smugly.


    "Isn''t this the degraded version of your attack when you transform?" Kai asked.


    "Sword Saint Form? Yes. By using the hardest metal that I used to create your swords, I can pierce almost everything. After that, I simply need to boost its power and speed to create enough momentum like my God Bow, creating a powerful attack like this with minimal efforts." Ria nodded in agreement.


    "Well, that''s good." Kai smiled. "I can see that it''s usable in battle, but more importantly, you have something even better, right?"


    "Mystic, huh." She clicked her tongue, knowing she couldn''t hide anything from Kai. "That''s right. I can manipte this technique, making the sword fly in any direction I want. This will create a very versatile power."


    "I guess it''s no wonder why you are known as a genius." Kai shook his head helplessly.


    "Ho? This praise came from the genius of warfare¡­"


    "Compared to you, I am nothing. You are good with science and talented enough to wield this kind of power. You are simply telling others that they are trash." Kai shrugged with a nonchnt expression.


    "It''s fine, I already have a son." Ria made a cheeky smile, staring Kai in the eyes.


    "I guess you are right." Kai nodded with a gentle smile. He had recognized her as his foster parent and even his parents had already epted her as a part of the family.


    Suddenly, Ria''s device rang as someone called her.


    She reached her device and picked up the call after seeing the name. "What''s up? It''s rare for you to call me, Mr. President."


    Kai raised his eyebrows as this call piqued his interest.


    Ria''s expression turned serious as she looked at Kai for a moment before putting the call in the speaker so Kai could hear it too.


    "Kai is with me. You can speak right now," said Ria while waving her hand to Kai as if telling him toe closer.


    After hearing what she said, Kai walked to her and said, "I am here, Mr. President."


    "That''s great. You are going to be dispatched right away."


    "A mission?" Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "No. An invasion." Brent answered hurriedly.


    "Tell me the situation."


    "Paraguay and Argentina Bases are attacked by those sea invaders. This time, we have spotted three creatures that control them. They are the mermaid you faced back in the Brazilian Wandering Spider extermination along with the turtle. There is also another one which seems to be a shark."


    "!!!" Kai drew a gasp as he took a step back. "Are you serious?"


    "Yes. The people from the two bases have been evacuated, butbined with Chile Base, they only have roughly seventy thousand soldiers. As for themanders, there are two Generals and three Lieutenant Generals."


    After getting the information from Leah, he obviously knew what kind of shark came together with the two strongest fighters of the Sea Race. Hence, he understood the importance of this matter.


    He quickly asked, "Are there any more creatures following them? We need to make an investigation team to make sure it''s only three of them."


    "Is there a problem?"


    "A big problem. With three of thembining their force, this is going to be the biggest war we will face so far. In other words, they are starting to get serious about eliminating humanity."


    "¡­" Brent paused for a moment as his tone changed to grim. "What should I do?"


    He didn''t ask for Kai''s request anymore. Instead, he wanted Kai to tell him what to do because this might hold the fate of the entire US Base.


    President Brent didn''t want Kai to get a dyed chain ofmand, so he said these words.


    Kai also understood his hidden intention and said, "I need to know their number."


    "From our observation, there are roughly a total of one hundred fifty thousand Magical Beasts."


    Kai thought for a moment and answered, "We need at least double that number along with some air support. Also, call every single S Rank Magician right now, along with at least five Generals."


    Brent thought for a moment and replied, "I understand. I will put all the military personnel under yourmand. However, I wish you can control this situation so as to avoid the citizens from knowing. The unrest will be too great of a burden for us to bear right now."


    "Understood. I will do my best."


    "Alright. With my authority as the President, Kai Carter is to be promoted to General of the Army. He and all S Rank and SS Rank Magicians in this base are to solve the uing war in Chile Base. The enemy is going to reach the base in three days, so you are to reach the base within two days."


    "Yes, Sir."


    "That''s all. I wish you luck."


    As soon as Brent hung up, Ria asked, "What''s happening?"


    "What if you and I lead the invasion to the sea race when we have the power to destroy the whole civilization?"


    "¡­" Ria''s expression darkened. "Things are going to get crazy."


    "Yes. Teacher, will you be my vicemander in this battle?"


    "Haha. The student has surpassed the teacher." Riaughed and patted his shoulders. "With pleasure."


    "Good." Kai nodded and took out his device, calling Leah. When she picked up, he exined the situation to her and ended it with a question. "Do you think you can help?"


    "I am afraid I can''t help you in this matter. It''s true that if I help, we may be able to kill one of the strongest fighters, but there is no guarantee. And the fact they are mobilizing their top 3, they are prepared to fight against us.


    "Even if Teacher Arba is here, she won''t take the risk because the Mermaid King might show up in this situation or within the next three months to lead another invasion. That''s where we will lose everything." Leah rejected the idea.


    "I guess that''s the case." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Alright. For now, I want you to do everything in order to keep the base safe while Devain is to investigate their purpose. Make sure there are no other people beside them in this war."


    "Yes. There is also another thing I would like you to know."


    "Sure. What is it?"


    "If Your Majesty can survive this situation without being known or only some suspicions, we will at least have a year for preparation. If they know you have recognized your status, I am afraid we only have three months to prepare. You need at least six months to take the crown, so please pay attention to this situation." Leah warned him with a grim tone.


    Theo fell silent and closed his eyes for a few seconds before replying, "I understand. Tell Arba to prepare for the worst-case scenario too."


    "Understood."

 Chapter 534 - Beating To Submission

    Kai and Ria arrived at the Chile Military Base after a long journey. They literally headed straight to this ce.


    They were greeted by five people that seemed to have been waiting for their arrival.


    All of them saluted to the helicopter that was about tond.


    The soldiers were confused because they recognized all five of them.


    They were Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina Military Bases'' Commanders and their vicemanders.


    However, it soon changed when they saw who came out of the helicopter.


    The first one toe out was none other than Ria Ross, the one and only General of the Army that had been recognized worldwide.


    All of them couldn''t help but salute as they finally saw hope.


    And it became even more so as soon as Kai Carter made his appearance.


    The world''s first SSS Rank Magician, surpassing his own teacher.


    "This is Kai Carter¡­"


    "The headquarters sent him too?"


    "Kai Carter and Ria Ross. I don''t think we will see a stronger lineup than this."


    Ria and Kai saluted back and put their hands down, signaling them to stop saluting.


    The moment they put down their hands, the soldiers couldn''t help but cheer.


    "Uoh!"


    "We have the strongestmanders here!"


    "We are not afraid anymore."


    Ignoring their cheers, Kai walked to the five Generals before him. "I am Kai Carter."


    "Reporting to Supreme Commander Kai Carter. We have been informed by the headquarters that you are going to directly lead this battle as the headquarters also have increased your rank."


    "Yes. I think I will cut to the chase right away. I need a map of this area, including the terrains we can use against them. There is also a need for reassignment since there will be around twelve Generals with a total of three hundred thousand soldiers."


    "Understood. I am Raka, themander of Chile Base. I can provide you with all the information you need." A middle-aged man stepped forward and extended his hand. "Let me guide you."


    Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    Before following him, Kai added, "Teacher, I want you to survey the area around to check the ce for air support and other things. Their number is not a problem, but the ones leading them are¡­ If we show any weakness, they''re going to exploit it immediately."


    "Understood. I will find you a good ce together with the timing." Ria nodded. "I need someone to help me. The rest can settle down all these soldiers, making sure they''re assigned properly."


    "We understand."


    They quickly went separate ways, doing their own things.


    Not long after, Michelle and the others had arrived in Chile Base, followed by ten Generals, including Nathan and Ethan.


    The soldiers werepletely bewildered because this was the first time they saw all those famous figures in one ce. And all of them were led by Kai Carter and Ria Ross.


    They were excited and scared at the same time. They were excited to see all these powerhouses fighting together and suppressed their enemies. However, a war that involved all these people was surely a big one. They wondered how big it would be even though the enemies only had three leaders and one hundred fifty thousand magical beasts.


    Unfortunately, their answer couldn''t be answered for the time being.


    Kai needed to meet all themanders that would help him in this battle.


    He assembled all of them in a meeting room.


    Other than him, he invited Ria Ross, all twelve Generals, three S Rank Magicians, and one SS Rank Magician.


    It was such an amazing lineup, considering this was only a small battle in most people''s minds.


    "I don''t know if you know me or not, but I will introduce myself again. I will be leading this war as themander-in-chief, Kai Carter."


    As soon as they heard his introduction, someone mmed the table as a middle-aged guy rose from his seat.


    "I don''t understand this. We are fighting an enemy half of our number with these people¡­ Are you overestimating the war, kid?" The middle-aged man red at him.


    Kai''s expression turned cold as he looked at him. The middle-aged man had long blue hair. His eyes were fierce as if he had gone through a hundred battles. His aged body was still robust and wouldn''t lose its shine anytime soon.


    He was thest S Rank Magician Kai had yet to meet, General Shawn.


    "I don''t want to waste my time on you. Speak¡­ How do I make you submit?" Kai''s tone was cold as if he already expected something like this. He was looking down on Shawn directly.


    "What SSS Rank Magician? That rank is just for the hype of the people." Shawn snorted.


    "I am telling you right now. Stand down now or I am going to beat you up." Kai released his killing intent. "Can''t you even understand our situation?"


    "You are the one not understanding."


    Kai had enough as he suddenly disappeared.


    Shawn suddenly covered his body with some sort of shining crystalline skin that hardened into that of a stone. He raised both hands as Kai reappeared right before him with his right foot kicking his hands.


    Bam.


    A powerful shock wave shook the room, but none of them flinched because this was to be expected. Shawn was the hardest person in the world as his power allowed him to cover himself not with metal but with the hardest mineral in the world, Diamond.


    When everyone thought Kai failed to subdue Shawn, a Magic Circle appeared on top of his foot.


    They thought a Magic Circle like that wouldn''t help Kai that much, albeit they found it wrong after the next second.


    Bam.


    This time, the sound didn''te from their level or above their heads, it was the ground that generated such a loud sound to the point it began to tremble.


    "!!!"


    "Gah!" Shawn spat a mouthful of blood as he was crushed on the ground by Kai''s right foot.


    All the people stared at Kai in disbelief as they never thought Kai could defeat Shawn in one attack.


    Ria Ross only closed her eyes, knowing it wasing.


    "I am not in the mood to talk right now. If you can''t even stand one blow against me¡­ How do you even n to take on three people who are at least three times stronger than me?"


    "!!!" They couldn''t believe what they just heard. Kai was already strong enough, yet, he admitted that the opponents were three times stronger than him¡­ They instantly understood why Kai didn''t have any mood to talk, as this situation might turn the entire base upside down.


    "I am too young, I am underestimating the war, I am just the hype that the government creates, I am just a puppet, I am just a mere high schooler¡­" Kai looked at the remaining people. "Those who still object about me bing themander-in-chief stand up right now."


    None of them said anything as they realized Kai was indeed the real deal.


    "I am not afraid of the Magical Beasts. However, if those three fight together, we can only repel them. Even then, there may be a huge amount of sacrifice in order to repel them. However, I am aiming to hunt them." Kai finally took off his foot from Shawn and walked back to his seat. He sat and crossed his leg like a boss. Joining his hands together on top of his knees, he said, "Alright. Let''s start our meeting."

 Chapter 535 - Starting

    Bam.


    Bam.


    Bam.


    The loud stomping sound filled the atmosphere as a beautiful woman stood tall on top of a giant crab. She looked at the horizon with a serious expression.


    Suddenly, a turtle appeared next to her, kneeling. "Princess, we are going to arrive within five minutes."


    "Thank you." The mermaid princess nodded her head as she had turned her fish tail into human''s legs, allowing her to move without any problem.


    "How are we going to do this?" The turtle asked with a serious expression.


    The princess thought for a moment and looked to the side.


    As if he noticed her gaze, a sharknded on top of the crab. "You call me, Princess?"


    "I want you to strike deep into their formation. I''m sure they are ready to intercept you, but do you think they can stop you?" She smiled.


    "In terms of attacking, no one is better than me. Even if they intercept, none of them is strong enough to contain me." The shark nodded as if it was something to be expected. "Please entrust me with this role."


    "Sure. I will leave it to you." She nodded. "There is going to be a fierce battle next, so I want all of you to be prepared."


    "Understood." The two sped their hands and disappeared, marching together with all these 150,000 Magical Beasts.


    The moment they arrived, they saw Kai Carter using his Sound Levitation to float in the air, looking at him.


    Below him were also 150,000 soldiers with all S Rank or above Magicians and six four-star Generals.


    Looking at him, the princess snapped her finger as the water inside the ground''s pore rose, forming a small te that could be stepped on.


    She used it to stand in front of Kai and politely bowed her head. "It''s an honor to meet you, Kai Carter."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows because it wasn''t her attitude to be polite. Hence, she must be scheming something.


    If Kai was a King, he should have grown ustomed to this kind ofpliment, especially from the enemies. And she wanted to see whether Kai had grown ustomed or not.


    Unfortunately for her, she misunderstood Kai''s action. Him furrowing his eyebrows was just trying to think her action through, not because he felt ufortable.


    The one that convinced her was when Kai added, "This is not our first meeting. And it''s truly surprising to see my enemy act this polite. Why are you attacking us, monsters?"


    "Monsters?" The mermaid princess frowned as she shook her head. "Since you call us monsters, why do you even bother to ask? All we want to see is your suffering."


    "That''s certainly something I can''t give you." Kai raised his hand and pushed it to the top as a gesture to rally a cry.


    "Uoh!" The soldiers responded ordingly as they all cheered for Kai Carter.


    "Kai Carter!"


    "Kill all those monsters!"


    "Leave none alive!"


    "It seems that I can only show you our absolute power."


    "I don''t know your so-called absolute power, but I am ready to kick your ass*s." Kai raised his swords and looked at the enemy that stretched to the horizon. As expected from 150,000 thousand people, there were simply too many soldiers.


    Even his own formation stretched to one kilometer to each side.


    "There is something you don''t know." She smiled. "Our strength is beyond your imagination."


    "Our?" Kai took a nce at the side, finding a swording toward him.


    He quickly waved his de to the right and struck the sword, stopping its momentum with all his strength.


    However, this allowed the mermaid princess to make her first move.


    She extended her hand to Kai''s chest.


    When he was about to hit him, four shadows emerged from his back, turning into shadow scythes. All these scythes suddenly went straight at the princess, trying to cut her down.


    Clink.


    The mermaid princess furrowed her eyebrows when she felt the force of these scythes. It was powerful enough to stop her for a second.


    And within that second, Theo had finished stopping the sword and spun his body, kicking the princess on the stomach.


    "Tch." The mermaid princess clicked her tongue.


    Kai suddenly turned serious when he saw a turtle rescuing the princess.


    "Such a dangerous man." The turtle smiled in front of Kai before three green-colored screens appeared in session.


    Two arrows hit the shields and shattered two shields, only to disappear in thest one. To make such a precise shield and the judgment of the power behind those arrows alone made Kai understand how strong the turtle was.


    ''As expected from a top fighter. He could stop the arrows from Tasha and Teacher.'' Kai muttered inwardly before looking at the princess.


    "You won''t be able to defeat us." Kai narrowed his eyes.


    "We will see." The mermaid princess waved her hand, ordering all the Magical Beasts to charge forward.


    Seeing the dust kicked up by the Magical Beasts, the soldiers began to waver, but they soon realized everything went ording to Kai''s n.


    Kai also raised his hand and waved it down as if telling them to charge.


    However, this was a different gesture because a total of ten giant walls emerged from the ground, standing tall behind numerous soldiers.


    Five thousand soldiers had been waiting for their orders on top of the stone as they had prepared their guns and sniper rifles.


    They all had been aiming at the Magical Beasts.


    And with Kai giving another signal for them, all those people rained these Magical Beasts with bullets.


    "Don''t think about anything. Just kill all of them," shouted Kai before raising his left hand.


    "!!!" The turtle and the mermaid princess looked up, seeing ten fighter jets pointing their missile toward the Magical Beasts. There were also tanks and such, making their appearance in their surroundings.


    "Haha, it seems that they have prepared for this." The turtle chuckled before using a giant shield made of his own shell.


    He then raised his shield. "By the name of my king, I, Isa, am going to war to gain the glory of the Sea Race."


    Suddenly, a total of ten shields appeared, stretching from this ce to the side, trying to block every single explosive attacking toward them.


    "Gravity Shield."


    All those shields suddenly started getting disturbed and swaying left and right. As they got closer, their direction changed as if the shield had a power that managed to pull every single missile their way.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    All missiles and bullets disappeared in an instant as all of them only exploded for a second and the smoke had disappeared.


    "That''s an insane power you have there." Kai narrowed his eyes. "Gravity, huh."


    "It''s an honor to hear it from you." The turtle smiled and nodded politely.


    "Seriously, you disgust me. What''s the problem with talking politely? Either way, even if you are talking politely, I am not going to pull my punch." Kai shouted, "tten them."


    The bullets kept attacking the Magical Beasts and the shields as each bullet depleted a small portion of the turtle''s Magic Power.


    Knowing that it would be hard to maintain this power, the turtle retracted his shield and said, "Princess, I am afraid we need your power to deal with them. Please destroy those in the sky."


    The Princess nodded as she raised her golden staff with a serious expression.


    "I will show you the true depth of Magic."

 Chapter 536 - Clash

    "I will show you the depth of true magic."


    The mermaid princess lifted her hand as her staff started glowing.


    "Did you smell something?"


    "Huh?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    The soldiers suddenly felt a bit ufortable as they began to talk among themselves.


    If not for the fact they weren''t moving, they would have noticed the difference the moment the mermaid princess started her magic.


    Kai, who had a better angle from the air, noticed what was happening and looked down, specifically at the ground.


    Many soldiers noticed Kai''s gesture and followed his line of sight and found the dirt they stepped on had turned into mud.


    "What is this?"


    "Mud?"


    "No. Is this water?!"


    The soldiers raised their feet in session to check the sudden appearance of the mud. They were confused because they never expected the ground would turn into mud in an instant.


    Even those from above the walls stopped attacking the Magical Beasts because of the same surprise.


    "What is happening?"


    Kai realized what happened as water flow filled his ears as he looked at the mermaid princess. "You!"


    "It''s toote. You can''t do anything." The princess clutched her hand before the water began to rise from the ground, making huge but shallow ponds everywhere.


    "What is this?"


    "Water?!"


    Unfortunately for the soldiers who were still in shock, the princess did another thing to impress them. She gathered all the muddy water hidden inside the ground and formed a brown-colored water elemental. It had two human hands, a muscr body, and an elephant head.


    Its bottom was a circle where the water gathered. Still, the elemental alone reached as high as two hundred meters.


    "Let me see whether you have the strength to do something like this¡­" The princess smirked and looked up, staring at all those flying jets.


    The elemental suddenly opened its arms wide as if trying to embrace the fighter jets.


    All the jets quickly turned to the left, right or even upward, trying to avoid this colossal elemental. Unfortunately, one of them couldn''t escape and got swallowed by the water before exploding.


    Boom.


    "¡­" Kai gritted his teeth, knowing that the mermaid princess tried to weaken their morale. He thought for a moment and raised his sword, waving it horizontally. "Sonokic de."


    The Sound Wave that gathered around his sword flew straight at the elemental''s stomach where he nned to destroy it in one go to gain back the momentum.


    However, the princess already knew his n, so the elemental sped its hand before a giant sword made of water extended from its body.


    The elemental swung it down and struck the Sound Wave, resulting in a powerful shock wave that shook the entire battlefield.


    Boom.


    The shock wave woke everyone up from their surprise as they saw the giant sword had been cut. However, what Kai cared about was the fact that he couldn''t even prate the sword.


    ''Is this really the difference between me and her?'' Kai clenched his teeth, knowing that this situation was pretty bad for him.


    Knowing that he couldn''t raise the morale with that attack, Kai raised his sword and shouted while using his Magic to amplify his voice. "Take a look at your surroundings. Who''s beside you?!"


    The soldiers'' bodies shook as that shout made them realize they were still on the battlefield. They looked at each other as a me was ignited inside their heart.


    It was clear what to say in this situation and there was a sense of union between them and those around them. They all shouted in unison.


    "Our Comrade!"


    "Who''s behind you?!"


    "Our Family!"


    "Who''s in front of us?!"


    "Our Enemy!"


    The soldiers already knew what to say. And Kai took advantage of this to show another spectacr thing to raise their morale.


    "If you don''t know what to do, look at my back! Keep looking at my back because¡­ I will always be in front of you!" Kai suddenly leaped toward the mermaid princess.


    The water sword had recovered as the elemental tried to m him down to the ground.


    "Sonokic de." Kai waved his sword again and sent the powerful Sound Wave, sting the water sword. After that, he elerated using his Sound st to arrive in front of the princess.


    He struck the princess without hesitation.


    Clink.


    A high-pitched sound echoed on the battlefield as all of them knew that Kai was the first one to make a move.


    As he said, if they didn''t know what to do, they only needed to look at his back. Kai would always be in the front because he would lead them to the very end.


    "If such a monsteres to our base, what will happen to our families? What will happen to those we have sworn to protect. This is the battlefield to protect what we want to protect. And there is only one thing that we need to say!"


    The soldiers raised their weapons as their expressions turned serious.


    However, those who led the soldiers actually understood the hidden meaning in Kai''sst sentence. That sentence was originally for them.


    Sensing what they needed to do, all the Generals quickly shouted, "Onward!"


    "Onward!"


    They called for the same order in session as they also ran forward, marching toward all the Magical Beasts.


    The soldiers who saw them instinctively followed right after.


    "Move!"


    "Go go go!"


    "Kill those beasts!"


    The soldiers became energetic again as all 150,000 soldiers marched forward, heading straight to those Magical Beasts.


    The gunners also recovered from their shock, supporting the fighters from above.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Explosions echoed in their ears as the magical beasts got shot down one by one.


    However, the princess had yet to lose her cool. She simply stared at Kai with a smile. "So, this is your move¡­ It''s interesting, but it''s not enough."


    "You can say that after defeating me." Kai snorted and waved his des a few times.


    The princess dealt with all those attacks effortlessly as a series of clicking sounds echoed. They both tried to assess each other''s strengths to know what they needed to do.


    Suddenly, another series of explosions urred. Everyone thought it came from the tanks that just released another wave of attacks, but they soon realized that the sounds only came from their left.


    Even Kai was rmed by this sound and couldn''t help but take a peek at what happened.


    He saw the tanks flipped while being engulfed by fire. On top of one tank appeared a shark licking his teeth. Raising his head, his eyes intertwined with Theo as he looked around as if trying to find another target.


    "Ho? Do you think you can afford to look away when fighting me? I am not as good as you in closebat, but this is my territory!" The princess snapped her finger as the giant water sword burst out and dropped on top of them.


    Before drenching them, the water formed another shape.


    Multiple chains began to fill the space above them as the chains flew straight to him.


    Kai''s expression turned serious as he waved his sword again, trying to take down all these chains.


    "Sonokic de."


    Bam.


    The sh should disperse the water, but the princess somehow managed to keep them in one ce. Although the chains had been reduced to three from five chains, Kai still needed to take on these three without enough time to use another Sonokic de.


    "Not good."

 Chapter 537 - Sword Saint

    "Not good." Kai gritted his teeth and summoned a huge Magic Circle to protect himself. However, the princess'' strength was better than expected as the two of them managed to break through his shield. The left one grazed his left arm while the other one pierced through his right thigh.


    Luckily, the power had been reduced by a lot, leaving only a hole smaller than that of a bullet.


    Bam.


    Still, the force behind the attack blew him down as he crashed to the ground.


    "!!!"


    The soldiers saw that as well, but Kai already leaped into the air, not letting them feel any worry.


    "Point nk range, Sonokic de." Kai struck the princess, who blocked his attack with her staff. The sh summoned a tremendous shock wave.


    And Kai used this chance to shout while pointing at the shark with his other hand. "Teacher!"


    All of them took another look at the shark as Ria already jumped to the sky, locking on to the shark who looked back at her.


    "Ho? An interesting one ising." The shark smirked as he raised his hand in excitement. "I am Marza, the great prince of the sea. Let''s see what you, human, can do."


    "That''s something you can only understand in your next life." Ria Ross snorted as she pointed both palms to the shark.


    A magic circle emerged from thin air as a huge white sword emerged from the magic circle. It was made of white light, but it seemed to contain enough strength to rival Kai''s strength.


    The sword flew straight to the shark.


    The shark smiled as if feeling challenged by this attack. His side fins turned into human''s hands as it was covered with spinning water.


    Marza stomped the ground and punched the sword. The moment the two shed, the ground started rumbling before a crater was created below the shark''s feet.


    "This is great. This is great! Hahaha." Marzaughed uncontrobly as he felt this power. He increased the power in his fist as the sword began to crumble before turning into pieces like broken ss.


    But because he took his sweet time to destroy the attack, Ria already dropped on top of him with a sword in each hand.


    "!!!" Marza widened his eyes and instinctively traded a few blows, blocking all Ria''s attacks.


    "¡­" Ria, on the contrary, furrowed her eyebrows, knowing what Kai said was true. The power of the top three was not something they could handle easily.


    And with him bing Ria''s opponent, she decided to not hold back anymore.


    She ced her hand on the ground as multiple spears came out, trying to pierce his body.


    Marza spun his body and destroyed them all with a single wave of his tail.


    However, there was another thing left behind from that attack. On the ground, he could see multiple lines without any patterns or whatsoever. It waspletely random but seemed to be another trick that Ria used.


    It was clear that Ria was among the greatest fighters in the world ording to their information, so even he wouldn''t look down on her that much.


    Ria took his split second of confusion to wave her sword following the line. Suddenly, a white light ran through the ground on the line as if it was a train, looped around the shark, and hit it from behind.


    "!!!" Marza raised his eyebrows in surprise before snapping that attack with his tail.


    But that reaction alone gave Ria enough time to send another wave from different directions.


    "It seems the line is working as the rail. It''s like your so-called train." Marza smirked and raised his foot.


    "That means you only need to do this." Marza stomped the ground to create a deeper crater, destroying the white light on the ground. "This is¡­"


    As expected of Ria Ross, she didn''t give a sh*t of what Marza had to say. She used the time he destroyed her lines to transform.


    Her body was surrounded by white light as a glowing sword pattern appeared below her right eye.


    "Sword Saint Form." Ria''s expression turned serious as she finally stepped up her game.


    "What is that?" Marza frowned as he felt a sense of threating from Ria right now.


    Ria raised her hand with her palm open. On top of her palm appeared a white light that gradually changed its form to another sword.


    Her vision turned to the shark as Ria waved her hand, throwing the small sword on her palm.


    The sword suddenly became bigger like that of a normal sword and pierced through the air.


    "!!!" Marza instinctively used both hands to catch this sword, blocking it with his palms that had been covered with water. Yet, the moment he received this attack, he couldn''t help but say in amazement. "You''re kidding me."


    Marza was pushed several meters back, surprising both the princess and the turtle.


    ''Marza is being pushed back?'' The two thought the same thing, thinking the only problem in this army was Kai. They never expected to find another powerful Magician that could stand toe to toe against them.


    "You are strong!" Marzaughed as he looked at Ria, only to find her showing something even more terrifying.


    Behind her back floated a total of five swords that had the same energy as the previous sword.


    With a singlemand, she could send all these five to hit him.


    Marza was speechless. Not only him, but many people also got a shock of their life, understanding why Ria Ross'' position as the strongest magician could only be taken by Kai.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, several cameras recorded everything that happened in the battle live ording to Leah''s request.


    There were two reasons for these cameras. First, Leah would know whether this battle was beyond salvation or not because she needed to prepare to inform Arba about this. She then could teleport to this ce to rescue Kai and stop the battle, even if it meant a full onught from the sea race in the near future.


    The second reason was to ensure that no one was watching the battle to avoid the enemy gathering enough information from Kai.


    These two reasons became their main priority, but Leah couldn''t help but surprise when she saw Ria''s strength.


    Leah shouted inwardly, ''There is someone this strong? And she only knew about Mystic and Magic Particles a few days ago. If she learns it a few years, if not decades ago, I''m afraid she will be as strong as Madam Arba¡­ No, she might be stronger than her.


    ''Still, this is not enough for the Deep Sea Prince Marza¡­'' Leah gritted her teeth, knowing that Marza had one more trump card that he had yet to use. And with the fact that he was only fighting Ria with only thirty to forty percent of his full power due to thend restriction, he would eventually win this battle.


    Her doubt was proven as Marza''s expression changed.


    "You are great! Even though you are a human, your strength is this great. It''s such a shame that you are a human. If you are also a shark, I would have married you!" Marzaughed uncontrobly as water starteding out of the ground.


    The water then enveloped his hands and feet before making their way to his body and head, covering everything like full-body armor.


    Marza stepped forward lightly, but the water amplified his power and cracked it a bit. He raised both hands to the front while slightly leaning to the back. "Come, human woman. I, Marza, have recognized you as the human''s hope. I shall show you my Shark Boxing."


    "Just shut the f*ck up. Nobody cares about your little sh*t." Ria snorted and jumped straight at him, waving her sword.

 Chapter 538 - Seei

    "Just shut the f*ck up. Nobody cares about your little sh*t." Ria snorted and waved her sword.


    Marza squinted his eyes and struck Ria''s sword with his fist, blowing her away.


    However, Ria used that motion to spin her body and wave her hand to another side, sending two swords that had been hovering around her.


    "!!!" Marza clicked his tongue and sent a side punch, hitting the sword in session. If it were not for his full armor, Marza would be pushed back.


    But now that he had used his power, the water around his feet strengthened the connection between his foot and ground as he snapped both swords easily.


    "¡­" Ria''s expression turned grim as she sent the rest of the sword in three different directions, wanting to see how he would handle this.


    Unfortunately for her, she still underestimated Marza''s strength. Instead of dodging or doing something special, Marza simply stood there without any intention to dodge.


    "Ha!" Marza released his water that collided with Ria''s sword and burst it out, knocking the sword to the side.


    To her surprise, Marza seemed to feel nothing after getting hit by those three.


    "Haha, this is the difference between our power. You may be strong, but you are not at my level." Marzaughed.


    "That is something you can say after you defeat me." Ria harrumphed and leaped forward, trying to buy time for the entire army to destroy the remaining monsters so they could defeat the three with a sheer number.


    At the same time, Kai also instructed the girls to handle the turtle.


    Sofia waved her hand and summoned a giant dragon head. "Cirction Ice Magic, Dragon Head."


    The turtle smiled and said with his aged voice. "I don''t want to injure you all to be honest."


    "You can do it if you retreat now. There is no reason for us to fight." Sofia shook her head.


    At the same time, Tasha appeared next to him and ced her hand on the ground. "Teleportation."


    "Ho?!" The turtle smiled and looked down. "Where do you want to teleport me? I guess there is only one ce¡­"


    As he said those words, his scenery changed. Instead of standing on the ground, he was experiencing free falling.


    Looking at the enemy force on the ground, the turtle had another idea. He put his shield in front of him while trying to move slightly to the center of human soldiers.


    "!!!" Seeing through his small movement, Ayaka quickly shouted, "Tasha, teleport him back to the ground. He is trying to use his extraordinary shield and gravity to destroy our formation."


    Hearing Ayaka''s warning, Tasha used another Teleportation Magic to reach the turtle before transporting them back to the ground.


    "Why do you stop me¡­" The turtle smiled and looked at Tasha with gentle eyes. "If you are young, you are bound to make mistakes. Just make sure you learn from it."


    "Yeah, and I learned that I shouldn''t use the same thing against you." Tasha used another Teleportation Magic again.


    However, the turtle seemed to have recognized her n and mmed his shield to the ground, creating a small crater that destroyed the Magic Circle.


    "If you are thinking of sending me several kilometers away from this battlefield, you may need to think twice. I won''t let such a thing happen." The turtle''s expression became serious.


    Ayaka harrumphed and thrust her spear. "Ha!"


    The turtle used his shield to block this attack, but Ayaka showed the result of her training.


    Several explosions urred around her spear, but most of them appeared behind the spear, increasing the force of her thrust.


    Ding.


    The collision caused a powerful shock wave that somehow made the turtle take a step back.


    "!!!" The mermaid princess widened her eyes when she saw what happened. She thought, ''Impossible. She can push him back?! She can push back the one who is famous for his defense?''


    She stared in disbelief before Kai took that chance to kick her on the stomach. "Echo Thruster."


    The mermaid princess managed to block it with her hand, but Kai''s powerful Sound Wave blew her to the ground.


    Bam.


    At the same time, the turtle''s expression started bing serious as he looked at the three girls. "I''m certainly surprised. Although this is just a bit of my power, to think all of you are this strong. Let me show you a bit of my power. My name is Seei."


    "Cirction Ice Magic, Frozen World." Sofia obviously wouldn''t let the enemy use something big, so she tried to freeze him.


    Surprisingly, the turtle was trapped in theyer of ice, but it was still impossible to defeat the turtle.


    A secondter, the ice cracked before it was shattered into pieces.


    The turtle, on the contrary, stomped the ground with his shield.


    "Grand m." The turtle, Seei, mmed the shield to the ground again.


    However, this time, he sent a wave of Magic Power in all directions, turning the entire into a crater.


    Seeing this power, Sofia froze one of the energy waves while Ayaka struck the other one. Still, there were three mores that aimed at the army. They couldn''t afford to let it hit them.


    Tasha decided to cover her body with lightning before striking this energy with her bare fist.


    At the same time, General Rain appeared before one of them. He summoned his barrier and deflected the powerful Energy Wave to the air.


    Thest S Rank Magician also came with an angry expression. Kai just trashed him in front of other Generals, so he wanted to show everyone that he wasn''t useless.


    And as expected from an S Rank Magician, Dark Energy started surrounding his right hand.


    He grabbed this attack, imitating what Tasha did. However, unlike her, he was pushed several meters back before the energy was finally depleted.


    He gritted his teeth and red at Tasha. He just couldn''tprehend why a girl that young would be able to do it. No, why would those who involved themselves with Kai be this strong?


    It was something he couldn''t take in his heart.


    Unfortunately for him, Seei never cared about whether they could withstand his attacks or not. Instead, the turtle turned to the mermaid princess and said, "Princess, I''m afraid it''s time to use them."


    The mermaid princess was surprised for a split second, but she soon nodded her head, understanding the situation.


    "I don''t know what you want to use, but it''s not easy to do it in front of me." Kai gritted his teeth and pressed her staff with more strength.


    Unfortunately for him, the mermaid princess never had the need to step anywhere. She only needed tomand the magical beasts out loud.


    "By my name, reca, I order you, shoot all of them down."


    Ten Magical Beasts suddenly grew their bodies. Their height reached as high as five meters. They were monsters from various races, such as crabs, fish, or even snails.


    All of them looked around, saw the giant walls made of either ice or dirt and opened their mouths. All of them were gathering their Magic Power inside their mouth, preparing to use their power to create a breath or something even more powerful.


    However, Kai had recognized this attack and quickly shouted, "Protect the walls!"


    "!!!" All Generals and S Rank Magicians recognized his voice.


    The ten Magical Beasts suddenly shot out a light ball to a giant wall that gave the advantage for their gunners to help the fighters on the ground.

 Chapter 539 - God Killing Arrow

    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    A series of explosions echoed in everyone''s ears as they began to panic, trying to see whether the gunners were alright or not. That kind of attack would result in thousands of injured soldiers, so they needed to check the extent of the damage.


    Kai didn''t have a change of expression as he shouted, "Do you think we are ipetence?"


    The mermaid princess became serious and squinted her eyes, seeing through the smoke produced by the explosions.


    She arrived at the same conclusion as the soldiers who nced at the result. They soon realized the walls had yet to be destroyed.


    When the smoke was swept away by the wind, ten figures emerged from the smoke, revealing their appearances.


    "They¡­"


    "They are the Generals!"


    Nathan, Ethan, and other Generals destroyed their attacks, protecting the gunners.


    "Teacher!" Kai ignored their reactions and called his teacher out loud.


    "Huh?" Ria nced at him before seeing his expression, understanding what he nned to do.


    "Do you think you can afford to look away?" Marza smiled and waved his hands.


    However, Ria suddenly leaped back and continued running, leaving the battlefield. "I have no intention of dealing with you. Besides, I have bought enough times."


    "Huh?!" Marza''s body shook as he looked around, wondering what she nned to do.


    Unfortunately, that time was utilized by twelve people: the two S Rank magicians and ten Generals.


    "Do you think you all can stop me? Your power is far too weak." Marza shouted in anger, never expecting that the n was to fight him using all these people.


    Ria alone was worth more than these people, he thought. Hence, he thought Kai had another card up his sleeve.


    That belief was reinforced by the fact that Ria was missing from the battlefield. It took everyone by surprise because Ria Ross was a very important piece in this battle.


    The entire army might copse if Ria wasn''t present on the battlefield.


    Still, the ten Generals and two S Rank Magicians seemed to be determined in defeating him by looking at their faces alone.


    Barrier Magician, General Rain, said coldly, "It seems you are underestimating us. Even if you are strong, there is still a limit. You can''t fight the entire army alone."


    "Hmph. Do you think?" Marza smirked and stomped the ground, creating a small crater around them.


    "Yeah, I will let you try how you can fight against an army." Rain smirked as Nathan and Ethan raised their hands.


    Since their units were next to them, they were the onesmanding them. Seeing the signal, the two units split into two, creating a gap between them.


    "A gap?" Marza widened his eyes.


    Suddenly, fifty thousand fighters came out of nowhere as they charged through that gap with two Generals in front. The first one was the muscle-brain general, Paolo. He fought together with Kai as one of the Generals in the Brazilian Wandering Spider extermination.


    The same as him, the other general was a female. She also took part in that extermination and became thest general of that mission, Jose.


    Paolo leaped into the air and used gravity to reinforce his power before mming Marza with his Warhammer. "Try this one, you retard!"


    Marza''s expression turned serious as he struck this weapon with all his might, knocking it away. "You are the idiot."


    "Nope." Paolo stuck his tongue out as his performance was just to buy enough time for the other ten Generals to send their attacks.


    "Water Slicer."


    "Sword Shen."


    "Lightning Tulip."


    All of them released their respective attacks, trying to see whether the enemy could withstand it or not. However, to their surprise, Marza just stood there without doing anything.


    When their attacks hit his water armor, they were destroyed in an instant as if nothing would injure him.


    "Ho?" Paolo grinned excitedly.


    "It seems that I need to show you who is superior here." Marza gritted his teeth.


    Before he could send his attack, all those fifty thousand soldiers had passed them by looping around them and began killing the magical beasts, hoping to annihte the entire army of the Magical Beasts.


    "Yeah, yeah. You are the superior. However, you need to consider the lives of your subordinates. Do you think you can withstand the full might of our 300,000 soldiers along with us and Kai Carter?" Paolo pointed his middle finger at him before shouting, "Wife, handle the soldiers for me. I am going to be a bit busy."


    His wife, Erica, smiled as her expression turned serious. "Got it. Let''s go, it''s time to show the Paolo Army''s strength!"


    "Uoh!"


    The soldiers seemed to have been influenced by Paolo''s style as they began ughtering the Magical Beasts on the opposite side.


    Jose also didn''t want to lose as she picked up the speed while sending all the monsters to the air to show off a little bit. Her soldiers saw her action and heard her voice. "On me."


    "Uoh."


    Seeing the situation, the mermaid princess knew that they were at a disadvantage since those generals and magicians just needed to hold Marza for a while.


    "Do you think you can defeat us, Kai Carter?" The mermaid princess gritted her teeth, knowing that she had lost in terms of strategy. It was frustrating because Kai kept beating her this whole time. Not only back in their first fight, but also their second fight in the Brazilian Wandering Spider Extermination and this battle.


    Kai kept checkmating her in strategy alone.


    She had her own pride as amander and strategist, so this was truly unpleasant in her heart.


    Unfortunately, she would get another direct hit as the army behind Theo suddenly split up, opening the same gap as the one they made to let Paolo and Jose enter.


    "!!!" The princess widened her eyes as she thought there was still reinforcementing their way.


    However, she kept shing with Kai for a minute, but nothing came out. Yet, she couldn''t dismiss the feeling in her heart that wanted her to go away.


    "What are you nning?" The princess gritted her teeth.


    "What was your name again¡­" Kai smiled. "Ah, right, reca was it? I have a big present for you, Princess reca."


    reca''s body shook as she stared at his eyes, trying to figure out his thoughts.


    Before she had the chance, Tasha appeared out of nowhere and used another Teleportation Magic Circle, carrying him to the side.


    It was at this time reca realized what kind of present he had for her.


    On the horizon, there was a slight disruption of her sight as if there was an illusion.


    But that illusion soon disappeared, revealing two people.


    The left one was none other than Ria Ross, holding her giant bow. But the other one was the unique Light Magic User, the one that helped Kai in making a map of the underground tunnel, the maid of the Graham Family, Via Carman.


    She used her light magic to put a mirage that would camouge what they were doing. And it turned out Ria had been preparing for her strongest attack, aiming it at the princess.


    "Thank you for doing this." Ria smiled.


    Via shook her head and looked at Kai''s back. "Master Kai is indeed marvelous. Had I not met him back then, I wouldn''t think my Light Magic could be that useful. To think using my own Light Magic to create the same image as the scenery from there. It takes a very hard precision. Luckily, he has set up cameras everywhere, allowing me to fool them for a long time."


    "Haha, but there''s no need to talk that much. We have something important to do." Ria Ross smirked as she released her most powerful attack.


    "God Killing Arrow!"

 Chapter 540 - Ria Shocked The Sea Race

    One day ago.


    Kai presented one strategy that stunned everyone inside the room.


    "We can''t win against them," said Kai with a serious expression. "The best chance for us is to repel them with my teacher''s God Killing Arrow. This is an extremely risky strategy, but if you think you can fight against three creatures that can destroy a city with their own power, be my guest."


    Knowing this kind of information from Kai and Leah, Ria asked without hesitation. "What do you want me to do? It''s hard to make them take the bait and stay still, you know. Even the Brazilian Wandering Spider needed to be pinned down¡­


    "With all these strong people, what should we do to stop them from moving?" Ria asked while thinking of a solution by herself. She didn''t want to rely on Kai the whole time, especially in this field.


    "I can stop their movements. However, that will require Tasha to rescue me right before Teacher releases your arrow." Kai nodded and raised three fingers. "We need to do three things before executing this n. Before that, I would like to make sure that everyone is on this¡­"


    "I''m good." Nathan raised his hand without hesitation. Since his grandson-inw took the lead, he would support him to the best of his ability.


    The other Generals and S Rank Magicians seemed to havee to a conclusion.


    "We also agree with your n. Your ns were magnificent in the past, so we want to trust you." Ethan nodded.


    Kai smiled. "Thanks. Then, I will start exining the three things. First of all, we are going to show them our power to let them know that we are serious about defeating them. This one has two meanings. First, I want the enemy to think we haven''t known their strength yet, so we will be confident in defeating them. Second, it''s to make them know that we may have no other secret weapon on our sleeve.


    "Hence, the signal of this operation is when ten Generals that took the field made their move. Yes, before anything big happens, please don''t show your fighting prowess yet. This is going to be our signal. I don''t know what will happen, but I know that they will kill many of us, so I''m sure you will have the time to act.


    "After that, everyone is going to target the one that my teacher fought during the battle. This kind of movement shouldn''t need any coordination since all of you are going to rece her as soon as you make your move.


    "Then, we will send the two units under two Generals that will misdirect their thoughts into thinking we''re nning to do the same thing as them. And their mission is to eliminate as many magical beasts as possible. Of course, I hope the generals whose units are around you willmand your units to make way. This wraps the second thing.


    "Last but not least, I''m going to send someone to make a certain camouge so my teacher can gather enough energy to bring the strongest God Killing Arrow. Your target will be the princess since she is very important to both of them.


    "These three things will allow us to gain a massive advantage in this war. So, I hope that everyone can follow this n." Kai nodded. "I''m sure that the enemy will retreat after seeing her strongest attack."


    They exchanged looks, contemting this n.


    ¡­


    Remembering that meeting, Ria couldn''t help but smile and release the sword that acted as an arrow, containing all her magic power.


    "God Killing Arrow."


    "Princess!" The turtle shouted in panic as he clearly felt the power contained in that arrow.


    reca gritted her teeth and waved her hand to stop this attack, but deep down, she realized that her strength couldn''t stop this overbearing attack. This attack had a sole purpose. It was to go straight, destroying everything on its path.


    Because it had been programmed this way that Ria''s God Killing Arrow could contain this much strength.


    However, the turtle also had something simr in his repertoire. Instead of attacking, his power had been used to protect.


    The turtle arrived right in front of the princess and mmed the bottom of his shield to the ground, gaining enough foothold for the shield.


    "Seven Star Domain Gates!" The turtle shouted as a red metal gate emerged from the ground.


    Orange gate followed right after and continued with the color of the rainbow.


    All seven gates were aligned, nning to receive this God Killing Arrow.


    "!!!" The turtle suddenly felt an immense pressureing from his shield as the God Killing Arrow hit the first gate.


    This was the first time he received such a powerful attack from a mere human.


    "What?!" The turtle drew a gasp as the first gate was shattered into pieces.


    "!!!" reca and Marza widened their eyes. They never saw his "gate" getting shattered into pieces before because there wasn''t a life-threatening situation that required such a skill. Yet, they knew that this skill was his strongest skill.


    He might not have his full power since he wasn''t in the water, but the turtle could live onnd too, so the turtle was the least suppressed in this environment.


    With all that power, Ria managed to pierce through the first gate.


    However, their shock continued because Ria had broken through the second gate.


    The third gate tried to contain the arrow a bit longer as they saw what happened to the ground that the arrow passed.


    Surprisingly, there was a huge half-circle trail as if a giant worm ate the ground as it traveled. Yet, they couldn''t say such a thing because the ground had some sparks from inside, showing that the dirt might be engulfed by me very soon.


    "Such a powerful attack." reca raised her vision, looking at Ria. This was the first time she believed that humans might be harmful to their race because even a normal human could do something like this. If Theo wielded a more powerful strength than this one by bing a full-fledged protector, the war would be tremendously hard.


    However, that shock had yet to cease when the arrow shattered the third gate.


    "What?" reca dropped her jaw. Even with her full strength, she only managed to destroy five of them in total. After all, Seei was known as the strongest person in defense.


    He could even stop several attacks from Neptune, so his reputation was well-deserved.


    Yet, a human destroyed that third gate and had no sign of stopping.


    The fourth gate was shattered right after, making their heart skip a beat.


    ''How much strength does this arrow truly possess?'' Marza squinted his eyes with a slight fright filling his heart.


    He soon got goosebumps when the fifth gate was destroyed right before his eyes. Even reca couldn''t contain her shock as the arrow now shed with the sixth gate, the one that she never touched.


    ''This attack must contain all her strength, but it''s still surprising to see someone who hasn''t touched the true magic can push Seei to this point. If she knows the Magic Particles¡­ I''m afraid¡­'' The princess'' expression darkened.


    Fortunately for them, the arrow began losing its power as the size rapidly shrunk, turning that majestic and powerful sword into a normal sword.


    Still, the arrow didn''t go down without a fight.


    Crack.


    "!!!" They all heard the crack and saw a huge one appearing on the sixth gate.


    They felt relieved and scared at the same time as they looked at the person who managed to do such a thing.


    Ria Ross.

 Chapter 541 - Intervention

    Kai stood tall above the army, looking down on them. He raised his hand and shouted, "Kill them!"


    "Uoh!" The soldiers cheered for Ria''s terrifying attack. They all could see the shock wave produced from the collision and the burning ground as its trail. They realized this was the power that killed the S Rank Magical Beasts in the past.


    "Princess, we should retreat right now." Seei squinted his eyes, feeling something big was going to happen.


    "No, we can''t just return like this. At the very least, we need to kill that woman. Even if we can''t kill Kai Carter, we need to eliminate that woman right now. She is dangerous." reca shook her head as she became desperate.


    The power was too much of a shock to her. She feared the possibility of Ria bing as strong as her, the mermaid princess, whose power was second only to their absolute king.


    If that happened, no one could predict the future.


    Unfortunately, before the fight started again, a high pitched sound echoed. The sound is like that of a whale crying as if telling them something.


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows. He didn''t understand thisnguage meant this sound was a roar, not anguage.


    And the only one who could produce such a sound to the point it vibrated the ground was the Protector of the Sea, Whale Queen.


    "What is this?" The soldiers started panicking.


    "The ground¡­ The ground is trembling due to the noise."


    "It''s loud, but why doesn''t it hurt our ears?"


    It was such a disturbing yet wondrous cry from the Whale Queen. Unfortunately, not a single of them understood what was happening.


    "This is the Whale Queen." reca gritted his teeth.


    "It''s impossible. She is neutral this whole time¡­ Why does she¡­" Seei furrowed his eyebrows while Marza regrouped with them.


    To their surprise, Kai suddenly raised his head, looking at an unknown object flying toward them. The object was smaller than a human body, but those who knew it certainly got scared because they never expected to see such an intervention.


    "I''m sorry, but I need to stop this war," said him as his appearance was revealed.


    It was none other than the pink dolphin Kai met in the Amazon Rainforest, Tris.


    "Sir¡­" The sea race trio quickly kneeled in front of him, realizing the entire situation.


    "My mentor asked me to tell you guys that this war is over. Whatever you are going to do is going to hurt lives unnecessarily, especially with the fact that this happens without the oversight of both race protectors," said Tris with a calm expression.


    "¡­" reca and the others couldn''t say a single word. They simply lowered their heads, not saying anything.


    On the other hand, the humans didn''t know anything about this pink dolphin that somehow floated in the air.


    They all looked at Kai''s back, wondering if Kai knew about it as well.


    Unfortunately for them, whatever they wanted to know was not possible to be acquired.


    Tris simply turned around as his eyes shone in blue. The next second, all soldiers and magical beasts had their eyes shone like him and stood still as if they were hypnotized.


    "!!!" Those who were not hypnotized drew a gasp as they saw Tris'' power. Though, there were only five people who stayed sane this whole time: the sea race trio, Kai Carter, and Ria Ross.


    Kai might have seen Tris in Amazon Forest, but he certainly never experienced his power. To think he could hypnotize four hundred thousand living beings in an instant, as one would expect from a Protector or what people thought as half God.


    "I apologize, but only those who are qualified can hear this conversation," said Tris while turning to Kai. "I have destroyed all the cameras so as to prevent anyone from knowing my existence. In any case, let me inform you about my intention ining here."


    Noticing what happened, Ria quickly returned to the battlefield before Tris started his exnation while the sea race trio gulped down, knowing what he wanted to say.


    When Ria arrived, she waspletely focused and rmed at the same time, not understanding the entire situation.


    Tris simply turned to reca and stated, "You shall go back right here right now. If you continue this war, we shall deem it genocide. You may have already known, but I need to remind you there are only two actions that can decide the entire race''s future.


    "The first way is to gainplete control over that race because there''s no ruler who leads them. This is only allowed when you live in the same environment as them. Second, you can conquer the race when both sides have agreed to this war that holds the entire race''s fate.


    "This is the ancient treaty that has been agreed upon by 74 Protectors in order to restore the order of this. If this is broken, Earth can only find nothing but mes and destruction in every corner¡­


    "Since you can''t do the first way after Kai Carter is born, you need to go through the second route. However, what you are doing is not assassination but genocide. This is already beyond the agreement, so I dere with my right as the Dolphin Race Protector, this war is done.


    "If the sea race continues this war, I shall help the Human Race to thoroughly destroy the Sea Race even if I need to find Neptune myself." Tris squinted his eyes, releasing a bit of his killing intent.


    However, what was surprising was the fact that reca and the others started gasping for air.


    Kai didn''t understand this, but he thought this was a kind of attacking from Tris.


    Little did he know he was still underestimating Tris'' power. In that instant, the trio already entered his illusion and got stabbed to death a few times. This was Tris'' way of asserting his dominance.


    "We¡­ We understand." reca nodded furiously, not daring to disobey his word because Tris could kill them in an instant. "We will retreat right away. We apologize for making Your Majesty Trise here. We would like to apologize for making Her Highness the Whale Queen warn us."


    Tris nodded as the Magical Beasts began to retreat. Tris had yet to let go of his control and forced those beasts to retreat so they wouldn''t see his figure when they came back to their senses.


    "This is yourst warning. The two kings that oversee the war have yet to be fulfilled, so the war can''t be epted. Tell Neptune that we are always watching every movement on this."


    reca nodded and replied politely, "Yes. reca, the daughter of the sea, has understood Your Majesty''s words and shall ry this message to my father."


    "Good." Tris nodded and waved his fin. "Now, go."


    The trio bowed their heads once more before turning around, leaving the battlefield.


    When they had gotten quite far, reca took a peek at Tris, Kai, and Ria again while sorting her thoughts on what they should report to Neptune.


    Meanwhile, Tris was indifferent to her nce and turned to Kai with a warm smile. "Yo, it''s been a while since west met. I have gathered the necessary information from everyone''s mind¡­ I guess I can say it now. It''s my pleasure to meet the Human Race Protector, Kai Carter."

 Chapter 542 - Questions

    "It''s my pleasure to meet the Human Race Protector, Kai Carter." Tris smiled and looked Kai in the eyes.


    "I have many questions, but I want to make sure¡­ They are going to be fine, right?" Kai made a weird smile while pointing at the people behind him.


    "Of course." Tris nodded. "I am here just to stop the war ording to the ancient pact¡­ Well, my mentor asked me to do it, so yeah¡­"


    "Thank you." Kai thanked him with a serious expression. He knew how bad the situation would continue if Tris didn''t stop them. In fact, he had prepared to use his Ultrasonic Assassin to create a powerful st in the middle of the enemy.


    Now that he had learned how to control his power and became even stronger, he thought he could withstand the full force of his Ultrasonic Assassin for a little bit longer. At least, he wanted to injure the enemies as much as possible, forcing them to retreat.


    This attack should contain the same amount of power as Ria''s God Killing Arrow. After all, Ultrasonic Assassin was something he created in order to drag the enemy down with him. It would create a powerful Sound Wave that would tten the entire battlefield.


    He had used this magic once inside the simtion world, but the effect was far less than he expected because no simtion world could understand the magic he used.


    He took that as the conclusion because the theory and the simtion were too much different.


    Thus, Kai believed this magic could repel the enemy if not kill them.


    Luckily, he didn''t have the chance to do it or else he truly didn''t know what would happen.


    Tris tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why Kai thanked him. Either way, he hadpleted his job, so he wanted to wrap the matter up. "I need to tell you three things before leaving. First, don''t engage in any fight within a year.


    "This path of yours is going to be filled with blood, so this is myst warning to you. However, if you decide to keep threading in this path, you need to see it through.


    "The second thing I want you to know is this¡­" Tris closed his eyes as a yellow crystal, just a bit bigger than a marble, came out of his head. "You should get your own crown within one year or you won''t be able to protect humanity. I am not supporting violence, but this matter is already too far to be stopped, so at least I want you to get equal standing with them.


    "Last but not least, I''m going to watch every single one of your battles to the very end no matter the result." Tris turned around as he began to fly away. "Whatever the result, please remember that you are my friend."


    "¡­" Kai opened his eyes wide, surprised by Tris'' words. However, no words came out of his words as he saw Tris going away.


    "Female human, you too¡­ Your power is too great to the point you are going to share his burden. It will take your life sooner orter. You may find regrets in the future, but I can see that you''re going to be alright." Tris sighed as he became even farther.


    Kai remained silent, watching Tris'' back before he got telepathying inside his mind. A message that only he could hear.


    "Master wants to meet you within a month. You should meet her. I am sure you can learn many things from her as the Human Race Protector. I hope we can meet again together with thatzy girl¡­"


    After saying those words, Tris sped up.


    Kai couldn''t help but remember what happened back then. Although he was too serious the entire time, he actually enjoyed the conversation they had together.


    Tris was like his mentor, teaching him various information while making a joke every now and then. Clot, the Mapunguari, keptining, but she never left until the conversation was over. No, it was already surprising to see hering to that meeting.


    Still, what Kai could think at the moment was¡­


    "¡­" Kai fell silent, looking at the soldiers finally regaining their consciousness again. For the first time in his life, Kai had this feeling in his heart. It was suppression.


    Back when he dealt with the Katsuragi Family, he wanted to see Ishii''s strength, so he used that kind of cheap provocation to get Ishii to use his strength.


    It was sessful, but it certainly gave him a rough idea of what a protector could do.


    However, what Tris could do simply shattered that image in his mind.


    It turned out Ishii merely used a portion of his strength to crush one of their strongest fighters. It looked effortless and didn''t create quite amotion or aftermath.


    Ishii even put everything back as if nothing happened.


    However, after seeing Tris'' power, he had another idea. If Ishii were serious and nned to crush him, the entire army of three hundred thousand people would be crushed within one skill.


    Ishii only needed to wave his hand down and used his overwhelming Telekinesis to turn this ce into a crater.


    ''What kind of power does the Protector actually possess? Why do they keep this kind of power? Where is the source of this power? How does it turn and manifest for the Protector to use? When was this power manifested on Earth? And who actually made this power?''


    Six questions appeared in his mind, yet, none had an answer. All he had were two clues.


    ''I don''t know anything yet, but the reason why Tris wanted me to get the ''Crown'' as soon as possible is that this is the power. If I don''t want to die, I need to possess this power too.'' Kai thought for a moment. ''And the Whale Queen seems to have the answers from me. Should Ie to her right away? No, I have a month, so I should proceed carefully.''


    Seeing Kai silent this whole time, Ria furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Kai, you alright?"


    Kai nced at her and nodded. "Yeah. I just have too many things to process right now."


    "Well, I am the same, but¡­" Ria smiled and patted his shoulders. "No matter what, I will always be your teacher and foster parent. Even if you don''t recognize me anymore, I shall stand by you. Even if the whole world calls you a monster, I will boldly and proudly im that you are my disciple and my son."


    Kai made a genuine smile and said, "Thank you, Teacher. That means the world to me. You will always be my teacher and parent."


    Ria stopped talking and patted his shoulders a few more times before turning around to the army while looking at his eyes.


    "¡­" Kai scratched the back of his head, knowing what she was implying.


    "What is happening?"


    "Where is the enemy?"


    "We just fought them a moment ago, but we couldn''t find anything in a sh?"


    "What just happened?"


    "There are so many traces of our battles, including their footsteps."


    "They are running away?"


    The generals were as confused as the S Rank Magicians and soldiers. No one understood what was happening other than Kai and Ria, who witnessed everything.


    Tris had even erased their memory about him, ensuring everyone was clueless.


    Kai let out a long sigh as he muttered, "I guess I will have a lot of things to do."

 Chapter 543 - Misunderstanding

    "What is happening?"


    "Where is the enemy?"


    "What just happened?"


    "Why do I feel like there''s something missing in my memory?"


    "What is this power?"


    The soldiers panicked because they didn''t understand what was going on. They all knew they were on the battlefield, fighting against the enemies that wanted to destroy their base. However, the second they realized, the enemies were already gone.


    All they found were traces of numerous footsteps on the ground, showing that the enemies were there a moment ago.


    Even all the Generals were as confused and panicked as them.


    Suddenly, Michelle came out of Kai''s body while clutching her head.


    "Are you okay?" Kai gently asked while trying to support her body.


    "Yeah. It''s just a little headache. My mind went nk for a second and here I am¡­ What just happened, Kai?" Michelle frowned, feeling this matter wasn''t as simple as they originally thought.


    However, Kai simply sighed and said, "I will exin it together with the others. For now, I need to calm them down first."


    Like how Kai wanted to calm them down, there was another person who shared the same opinion as him other than Ria Ross.


    She was none other than Sofia. Experiencing this kind of situation twice, Sofia didn''t think much more, knowing that Kai would exin it to her if she deserved to know it.


    After all, she had gotten the information about the Protector as well. Sofia was aware that the talk between protectors was not something they could hear because the graveness of that matter could lead to a giant war that would bring the loser to extinction.


    Seeing Tasha and Ayaka having the same reactions as the others, Sofia grabbed their shoulders to calm them down, saying, "It''s fine. I think Kai will be exining everything to uster."


    "I guess you''re right." Ayaka remembered what Leah had shared about Kai''s status.


    Tasha also nodded in acknowledgment and started to calm down.


    They finally saw Kai flying in the air as his voice suddenly filled the entire battlefield with his magic amplifying his sound.


    "Everyone needs to calm down. I will exin everything."


    When the soldiers heard his voice, they all raised their vision and instinctively fell silent, knowing that Kai might be the only one who could exin everything to them.


    Even the Generals waited for his exnation.


    "There are mysterious entities on this that have been lurking around, ensuring that Earth can still go on without a problem. They are called Protectors.


    "Their power is so powerful that if they decide to destroy the US Base, they can do it as simple as flipping their hand. And one of them just came to this battlefield to stop the war, avoiding the worst possible oue of this war.


    "I don''t know why, but that mysterious entity had chosen me and my teacher as the witness and told us that we couldn''t go to any war within a year or else the same thing would happen to us.


    "He told me that your memory would be wiped out and you would be a retard. If you don''t believe me, it''s fine. However, think about what happened earlier¡­ I''m sure you have experienced it¡­ The mysterious entity had erased your memory for a few minutes because he didn''t want to be seen.


    "Imagine what do you think if he tries to harm the people in the US Base¡­ I''m sure you can understand what kind of catastrophe we need to face. Hence, I hope that everyone can return with me and cease any big war within a year.


    "They have been watching us this whole time and I don''t think I can escape from their eyes too. I know this is too absurd for you to swallow, but it is as it is." Kai let out a long sigh, wondering whether he could ept them.


    Little did he know, this exnation incited the hearts of the soldiers, especially the religious ones.


    "Is this the will of God?" Some of the soldiers dropped on their knees as they looked at Kai.


    "But he said there are multiple entities?"


    "Does this mean there are many Gods? Wait, the world also knows many religions. What if all of them are true?"


    "But why did Gods abandon us during the apocalypse?"


    "But we are still here, hey? What they don''t want is probably the extinction of humanity?"


    "That¡­ may be true."


    "What?"


    All of them were talking to each other, discussing Kai''s exnation.


    Kai maintained his expression, but in his heart, he started sweating. He muttered inwardly, ''How can this happen? Well, at least, this gives them something to think about. It''s not like I am rectifying a certain religion¡­


    ''Besides, Protector was worshipped like a half God in the past, so they''re not wrong?'' Kai started thinking about the effect his exnation would bring to the entire base.


    No, the entire world would soon turn into an uproar when they believed what Kai said. There would be numerous conspiracy theories, but they would soon be dispelled when Kai''s status was exposed.


    At that time, there was no point in concealing it anymore since his power should have be so strong that no human would be able to kill him.


    The same applied to his girls and family.


    However, their reaction was unexpected.


    They all looked at Kai with adoration as one of them said, "He is the chosen one. He is the Saint!"


    "But what religion?"


    "There are multiple religions, so can we safely assume all of them?"


    "Just believe what you have believed this whole time. It''s going to be fine¡­"


    "That may be true."


    "Kai Carter seems to have no exnation about his appearance as well."


    "Yeah. That must be it."


    "No matter what religion it is, we all know Gods and Goddesses do exist and have been watching us this whole time."


    "That''s right. Most religions are good¡­ They are teaching you to do good things."


    "They want peace, so we shall have peace for a year."


    "Still, it doesn''t change the fact he is a chosen one."


    "Yeah, he is a chosen one."


    Their talks became even more ridiculous as they began to glorify Kai.


    Ria was chuckling when she heard theirments. She wondered if there would be a new religion soon with Kai as the Saint¡­


    Sofia and the others also tried hard to hold theirugh since they knew the truth about the protectors.


    Many also didn''t believe what happened, but Kai only exined such a thing, so they needed to swallow it for now.


    They were sure that Kai would exin something to the president too. Whether they knew it or not, they would just wait and see.


    Kai was aware of this matter, but he also had the strength to reject the proposal, considering his strength was far above them.


    If Kai decided to escape, the US Base couldn''t handle the consequence, especially with how the soldiers glorified Kai. Many citizens would surely do the same after this incident.


    Kai could only ignore their reactions until everything came to light one year from now.


    After all, he believed the enemies wouldunch an all-out attack after the one-year peace period was over since Kai had been visited by another Protector.


    Although his objective in hiding his status was a failure, they gained a year to prepare for everything. And within that year, Kai would have imed the throne as a full-fledged protector.


    Still, he had several things to do, so he said, "All troops. Retreat."

 Chapter 544 - Later Discussion

    With that order, the entire forces retreated to Chile Military Base.


    Because of the report, even the president needed to join the meeting by making a video call.


    As expected, Kai needed to give more exnation to the president and other generals who participated in the previous battle.


    Luckily, Kai could maintain his innocence by pressing the point he had stated.


    After a long discussion with the others, he finally had the time to rest, knowing they couldn''t press Kai too much or they might lose him for good.


    The first one that would take advantage of the situation would be Marsha. As soon as she invited him to the EU Base, the US Base would be the second United Asia, bing another foolish base that abandoned the "hero".


    It would be even worse if the citizens believed what Kai said since it would mean Kai''s status became even higher.


    After dismissing all the Generals from the meeting room, Kai retired to his room while furrowing his eyebrows.


    Michelle, Ayaka, Tasha, Sofia and even Ria Ross visited him due to the importance of the matter.


    Sofia couldn''t help but say, "Yo, this lowly one greets Saint Kai Carter."


    "Pfft." Michelle and Tasha burst outughing. There was a big difference between a Saint and a Protector after all.


    Hearing theirughter, Kai only rolled his eyes and looked away.


    "You three should stop." Ayaka let out a long sigh, knowing that Kai only had that option to hide his identity.


    "Still, since the enemy has known your identity, is there a reason for you to hide the fact that you are also a protector?" Ria asked with a serious expression.


    "Unfortunately, yes." Kai nodded, confirming her question. "First of all, it will affect our morale, considering the terminology used by them and the real one is the same. They will think I''m one of them, lowering the trust between us.


    "I won''t be able to utilize or raise their morale on the battlefield, which is quite a hassle. On the other hand, if this matter is revealed on the battlefield, they will realize I''m truly a Human Race Protector. No other conspiracy theories wille out during that battle, knowing that the battle would be the one that decides the entire humanity''s fate.


    "Of course, I can simply ignore them, considering the power of the Protector is like that of a God. They are so strong that it''s hard for them to recognize Protectors as normal beings.


    "After that, although I am aware of the fact that I''m a Protector from their point of view, they have yet to understand the graveness of this matter. This will at least provide me with some sort of protection in terms of information and safety.


    "In other words, I can move freely around to prepare for the big war. There are various things I want to prepare for the war after all¡­" Kai looked down, falling into deep thought.


    "Do you need anything from us? We can do a few things to help you," asked Ria, thinking about the burden he needed to carry.


    "It''s fine." Kai shook his head with a smile. "All I want is for all of you to keep training to fight their strongest fighters. If it''s not due to his warning, I may get assassinated before the war even starts¡­ Not from them but others that may try to help them."


    "I understand. I should keep practicing to make sure I can cut down the shark by myself. I wonder if that shark fin is good for health, considering he has evolved." Ria looked up, seriously thinking about it.


    Kai chuckled and looked at the girls. "I wish you could do it too. Also, tell Felice we have another matter and I need to dy her training. She probably needs to wait a bit longer."


    "I will tell Felice about it." Tasha nodded.


    "Then I will take care of your parents." Michelle raised her hand. "That means I am going to stay in the house for most of the time. Leah will probably be with me, so yeah?"


    "In that case, I want Ayaka to do something for me." Kai smiled. "You are going to visit United Asia since you are familiar with it. I will list everything you need to do there."


    "I understand." She nodded. "I will do my best to fulfill all those missions."


    "Thanks. As for Sofia, I also need you to go back to the EU Base. I know that this is a big request, but¡ª" Before he finished, Sofia already put her finger on his mouth, stopping him from talking.


    "No need to say anything. I know my role here. Let me share your burden too." She smiled. "Besides, my grandfather may visit the US base sooner orter, considering he may have a good rtionship with Ayaka and Michelle''s grandfathers. I feel like they will understand each other."


    "Haha. Let them do what they want to do." Kai chuckled and turned to Ria. "I will ask Teacher to deal with all my school problems."


    "I will just make that bastard Brent deal with this." She snorted.


    If they were ordinary citizens, they would have dropped their jaws after hearing Ria Ross wanted their president to deal with school problems personally.


    Kaiughed.


    "Though, I''m still wondering why you choose this way? I mean, your power will be so great that we can''t do anything if you want to annihte us in the future. This also means the two Protectors can just deal with the problem, right?"


    Kai nodded. "Yes. If two protectors fight, the winner can annihte the rest of the enemy alone."


    "Then¡­" Ria frowned.


    "It''s restricted by the Ancient Pact. Unless the protector is offended by the opposite party who is not a protector, they can''t retaliate. It''s like letting the mortals resolve the conflict against other mortals. I can''t do anything to them unless they directly insult me or something.


    "If I don''t obey this Ancient Pact, I will be besieged by multiple Protectors, bringing another catastrophe to humanity. I don''t mean to say that this Ancient Pact is bad¡­ After all, without the Ancient Pact, the Protectors have no rule to restrict their movements, making the world chaotic.


    "Imagine if there were multiple apocalypses throughout history¡­ And a continent can be a ruin in an instant because of two protectors¡­ This is why the Protectors are restricted. Their power is too great and no one can defeat them, so they make a rule among themselves to ensure the stability of Earth.


    "In other words, it''s not our original mission to let the run its course. It''s us who wants it that way to prevent us from destroying our own home." He smiled. "Unfortunately, I can''t say much regarding this matter because of the nondisclosure agreement in the Ancient Pact, but yeah, you get my point."


    "I see. Too strong is also bad, huh." Ria chuckled. "Anyway, even if you are crippled, I will take care of you."


    "Thank you, Teacher. But please don''t hope for something bad." Kai shook his head helplessly with a smile on his face.


    "Anyway, I think you have made your point. All we need to do is to return to the US Base." Ria stretched her body while yawning. "I''m going to rest since I have depleted my Magic Power."


    "Yes. Please take care of your health, Teacher." Kai nodded with a serious expression.

 Chapter 545 - Report

    With the failure on their back, reca, Marza, and Seei returned to the underwater pce. They were kneeling inside a grand room filled with multiple creatures that had evolved to walk on their two feet and fight on thend.


    There were squids, crabs, and many more. They all stared at the three with their hearts beating rapidly.


    These three were the top three fighters of their kingdom, yet, they were repelled by the humans. They wanted to know what happened on thend to the point they returned here empty handed.


    It wasn''t a normal incident after all, considering Kai Carter had yet to be recognized as a Protector.


    Hence, they all wished to know what happened during the battle.


    reca also knew that the report was the only one that could save them from this situation. Hence, she had been preparing the words she would speak to their king to redeem themselves.


    Suddenly, the Mermaid King entered the room as the Magic Power began to tremble, causing a small ripple underwater.


    He wore a long red robe that covered all parts of his body. On his head, there was a red-colored jewel that seemed to be nted on his forehead, increasing the intensity of his red hair.


    His expression was certainly not pleased by the result. In fact, the anger that filled his eyes started to oppress the other creatures in the room.


    The atmosphere was silent because not a single person even dared to make a sound even with gulping down their saliva. They all knew that if they pissed the king even a little, their life would be gone.


    All of them simply kneeled or lowered their heads, depending on their body structure.


    Even reca and the other two ced their heads on the ground, knowing this failure had angered their king.


    The king walked past them until he reached his own throne, a few centimeters above the ground. He took his seat as his feet changed into that of a mermaid tail.


    "So, you still dare toe back here after your failure?" The mermaid king opened his mouth. His tone was extremely cold despite talking to his daughter.


    The three actually felt killing intent from his words alone, knowing that they might have the chance to die.


    After all, despite being the top three, they still failed to take down a mere human who wasn''t even a full-fledged protector. If they were not a failure and sat upon an empty position, then they could only die.


    However, reca steeled her heart and tried to exin. Knowing that a boring talk would mean her death, she quickly went to the point and the reason why they returned empty handed. "The Dolphin Prince interfered with the war and warned us not to attack the human race within a year."


    "!!!" All the people widened their eyes in shock. They knew this nickname because it was their king who called the Protector of the Dolphin Race'' Dolphin Prince''.


    However, the Dolphin Prince didn''t want to go under their rule and escaped to the Amazon Rainforest and started living with another protector in harmony there.


    Still, what piqued the interest of the Mermaid King was none other than the one that helped the dolphin escape back then, the Whale Queen.


    "If he was there, that old hag should also be there too¡­" said Neptune while furrowing his eyebrows. Although his expression hadn''t changed, his tone didn''t bring killing intent anymore.


    reca hurriedly replied, "Yes. We heard a loud whale''s cry that didn''t hurt one''s ear. Unfortunately, we found no trace of her on the surface, so we''re assuming the Whale Queen remained on the shore, warning us that she woulde personally if we continued."


    "¡­" Neptune frowned and looked at reca in silence for a minute before realizing something. "Is there anything you want to report?"


    "Yes." reca recounted what happened during the battle. "There are three important points in the battle that can''t be missed. First, someone managed to almost destroy Seei''s sixth barrier."


    "Sixth barrier? Sixth out of seven? Kai Carter?"


    "No, it''s another person."


    Neptune didn''t believe it and nced at Seei personally.


    "Her highness didn''t lie to my king." Seei shook his head. "If I get your permission, I can show the extent of the damage."


    "Fine."


    "Thank you very much." Seei rose from the ground and summoned all his gates, only to find himself summoning one fully intact and another one covered with cracks.


    All people sucked a cold breath as they never expected to see this kind of power. Seei was like an imprable fortress among them, so they could understand why they couldn''t do much in the battle. Even without the intervention, they would have a hard time dealing with these humans.


    "I require two years to recover all these shields." He sighed.


    "Not eptable. Since they want a year, I will personally lead the army after that period is over. Kai Carter mustn''t be left alive any longer."


    "Yes. In that case, I can only recover three gates and my sixth gate." He sighed.


    "Whatever." He waved his hand and turned to reca. "Then?"


    "Kai Carter''s Magic Power has increased drastically."


    "¡­" Neptune''s expression darkened.


    "However, ording to our information, Kai Carter is registered as someone who possesses low Magic Particles in his body¡­ Instead, it''s his sister that holds a ridiculous amount of Magic Particles. But when Sir Seei fought her, the number didn''t match up and his sister also possessed Sealing Magic instead of Space Magic."


    "So, he sealed his power inside that woman''s body?"


    "Yes. We thought he nned to hide his power, but it wasn''t that case. Everything was just a coincidence. For now, we have no information that seems to prove that Kai Carter has met any predecessor. I think there is no one anymore¡­"


    "Whatever. As long as I know Kai Carter has met another protector, it''s enough for the time being. This one year will be his final year to rx. After that, we''re going to annihte the human race." He harrumphed. "Anyway, my n will beplete within nine months, so there''s no need to waste too much time regarding this matter. And what''s thest thing?"


    "We haven''t found a single Jewel in his body, so we are assuming he hasn''t received any inheritance. Two out of our spies have been eliminated, but all of them can''t find anything regarding the altar and King Jewel."


    "¡­" He thought for a moment. "Most of our poweres from the jewel. It''s easy to steal the jewel, but each race has its own characteristic to suit the jewel. However, only the King candidate has a perfect body to withstand the jewel power.


    "If he has the jewel, he will be a great foe with power equal to mine, but if he doesn''t have one, we will simply make humanity extinct right after." He harrumphed and rose from his seat.


    His expression was still cold, but the hostility finally disappeared. He stated, "You''re pardoned, but you''re going to live in the Cold Cave for a year to atone this failure. Make sure you are ready for another war after finishing your punishment. Understand?"


    "Yes, My King. Thank you for your leniency.." The three replied in unison.

 Chapter 546 - Whale Queen

    After settling everything inside the Chile Military Base, Kai stood next to the runway and watched how the ne that brought Michelle and the others back took off.


    Kai only waved his hand and stayed in this base for a moment due to one reason.


    "Sir," a soldier called him.


    Kai nced at the soldier and smiled. "Do you need me?"


    "I would like to inform you that the base has started making its way to the other two bases to start the process of restoration."


    "That''s good. For the time being, you can think there won''t be any big war like the one we had not long ago." Kai nodded. "Just proceed with the n suggested by the headquarters. As long as you watch the perimeter, the base should be restored within months."


    "Yes."


    "Then, it''s time for me to go." Kai snapped his fingers as a pink magic circle formed beneath his feet. He waved his hand and disappeared.


    His disappearance had been told to others, so Kai could do everything he needed in order to defeat the Sea Race.


    And the ce he visited to do that was a beach. The beach in the corner of Chile where he tossed the red-colored gem he received from Ishii into the water.


    The wave sucked the jewel deep into the ocean as if the water was alive.


    After waiting for five minutes, he suddenly saw a change on the surface. On the water not far from his position, there was a small blue tform that could fit several people inside.


    Knowing that this was an invitation from the one he visited, Kai used his Sound st tounch himself into the air andnded safely on top of this blue tform.


    Surprisingly, the tform started moving as soon as it felt Kai''s presence, bringing him to the deeper water.


    After one kilometer, Kai suddenly picked up a loud sounding from the edge of his hearing range.


    In that instant, he realized the jewel was the key to meet the Whale Queen. After all, there wasn''t a single creature bigger than the Whale Queen around this ce.


    Kai waited a bit more since the tform carried him to the Whale Queen. When he saw a five hundred meters long giant whale, his heart began racing. He never saw a creature this big other than the snake in Russia. However, it was a different matter when the other party was a Protector.


    Their eyes intertwined as Kai gulped down, wondering what kind of person the Whale Queen was.


    Suddenly, a voice entered his head.


    "It''s the first time we met¡­" The voice was that of a female, but he noticed some cracks on it as if the whale had trouble talking due to her age.


    "Yes. I am Kai Carter. It''s my pleasure to meet the Whale Queen." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Whale Queen, huh. That''s the nickname that has been given to me by many people¡­ Sorry, but I can''t give you my name. It''s not like I don''t want to. It''s just that I have long forgotten my name." The Whale Queen replied slowly.


    Kai smiled and nodded. "I understand. Please think no more. Name is just something that we use to call others easier. There are only you and me here, so there''s nothing wrong with that. However, I would like to apologize if my words are rude or anything since I am not that good at talking politely."


    "That''s fine. Talking politely is tiring. As long as I understand you, and you understand me without any intention in offending the other party, that''s enough."


    "Thank you." Kai then waved his hand. "I havee here because of someone''s instruction."


    "I understand. Even if you don''t throw the jewel I gave to that brat, I would have invited you if you just stood on the beach."


    Kai then asked, "In that case, I have a question. For what reason did you invite me? What do you wish to talk about?"


    "There are several things you need to know regarding the Ancient Pact, especially the war. Two protectors are shing against each other¡­ That alone is enough to shake the world. That''s why there is an Ancient Pact that binds us to avoid destroying this.


    "I will tell you everythingter. For now, I want to say three things before inviting you underwater."


    "Please ask." Kai nodded.


    "To what extent will you take this war?"


    Kai raised his eyebrows. He thought this would be the second or third question, but to think this was the least important one, he was impressed.


    For this question, he already knew what he wanted, so he stated, "You should know that we can''t really venture into the bottom of the ocean. No, we can, but it''s not possible to fight there. My future power may allow me to do something about this, but if they surrender, that''s enough for me.


    "Of course, I can''t stand the Mermaid Race, so I will eliminate only that race while leaving those under theirmands go," Kai answered with a genuine expression, showing that he wouldn''t continue his massacre if he had fulfilled his objective.


    "The Mermaid Race and the Human Race have been in conflict for so long. I can understand your sentiment¡­"


    "No, I think you misunderstand my intention." Kai shook his head. "I am not someone who clings to the past. I simply wish to eliminate future problems without disturbing the Earth''s environment. I know that this life will end at some point, so I don''t wish for the future generations to bear the result of my naivety."


    "That''s good enough for me." The Whale Queen agreed after several considerations. "I can help you to establish your goal if you kill Neptune. However, I won''t partake in the current conflict because of the Ancie Pact restriction."


    "I appreciate your thought, but I need to ensure it myself¡­"


    "Sure." The Whale Queen didn''t bother with that topic anymore and continued, "The second thing is your Magic Particles and Mystic. Are you aware of these two yet?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded without hesitation. "I am aware."


    "Thank you for your honesty. Though, I already sense your Mystic Power, considering you are manipting Magic Particles instead of the sound. However, I need to make sure your understanding is as deep as Neptune¡­"


    "I have King Gilgamesh''s record," Kai answered in a roundabout way, telling her that he already knew everything.


    "¡­" The Whale Queen fell silent for a moment and nodded. "In that case, I won''t say anything regarding your Magic Particles and Mystic. All I wish is for you to gain enough strength to fight Neptune on equal ground. I don''t cheer for any particr race, so I want you to know that.


    "The third question will be regarding your Altar and Crown Jewel." She paused for a moment. "I know that you don''t know its whereabouts, but I can assure you that your Altar and Crown Jewel are not destroyed nor possessed by another race.


    "It''s simply stored in another ce because the Altar and Crown Jewel are indestructible and have the power to repel any race froming near it, including protectors. That''s why I hope you can search for it and assimte yourself with one as soon as possible."


    "Thank you for your advice." Kai nodded, not saying anything about Emulda Kn.


    The Whale Queen wasn''t intended to say anything about them as well, since she was unaware of them.. She simply said, "Then, let me invite you to a ce under my rule."

 Chapter 547 - Shekmesh

    "Then, let me invite you to a ce under my rule," said the Whale Queen as the tform below Kai''s feet expanded, forming a transparent sphere like that of a bubble.


    "This is¡­" Kai nced left and right.


    "It''s just to make sure you don''t feel the water pressure and have quite a long time to breathe."


    The Whale Queen even expanded it to twenty meters in diameter so Kai could breathe freely inside.


    Kai nodded. He was thankful for the gesture, but he wondered how he should look around inside the sea.


    Unfortunately, the Whale Queen didn''t care about his opinion and quickly submerged.


    She brought the bubble with her and dove to the sea bed.


    At first, Kai could see thousands of Magical Beasts. Even a normal fish had considerable power under the sea, so he understood why they couldn''t cross the sea yet.


    Kai looked around, staring at the deep blue sea. The light still reached the water near the surface, but as they gradually got deeper and deeper, the light became even scarcer.


    He only had a vision around thirty meters in front of him despite only diving around three hundred meters inside. Luckily, he could still hear various sounds with his extraordinary hearing even though it was quite suppressed by the water.


    "¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes and looked down, falling into deep thought. He muttered inwardly, ''Hmm, my ears don''t touch the water directly, so the hearing that is supposed to be stronger is gone. However, I can still hear around one kilometer in radius, so I guess this is fine.


    ''I can sense several magical beasts that seem to be releasing ominous presence. Though, the moment I ept the Whale Queen''s invitation, I have entrusted my life into her hand. After all, I won''t likely survive if the bubble pops out.''


    Kai let out a long sigh and kept observing his surroundings.


    They kept descending to several thousand meters before Kai suddenly took a step back in shock. "This¡­"


    "It seems you have heard it." The Whale Queen let out a sound before looking down. "Take a look at the bottom of the ocean."


    "¡­" Kai dropped his jaw to the ground when he saw a powerful source of light on the bottom of the sea. In fact, he soon realized it was multiple sources of light.


    There weremps and other things that generated light to brighten the seafloor.


    "This is¡­" Kai looked at the Whale Queen while frowning. It was true that this kind of sight was nothing but amazing. However, what shocked him the most was the fact he heard people talking. It wasn''t any othernguage but humannguage.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t understand theirnguage since they seemed to be talking in a traditionalnguage. Even his device couldn''t trante thenguage.


    "Who¡­" Kai muttered and tried to see the bottom of the ocean.


    "You will know when you enter." The Whale Queen reached the bottom in a minute andid down on the ocean floor next to the light.


    It was at this time Kai could finally understand what was under the sea. There was also a giant bubble that expelled any water. Inside this half-spherical bubble were multiple light sources and houses as if there was a town on top of the ocean floor.


    "A human town?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows as his bubble gradually came closer to the bubble.


    When they made contact, the bubble began to merge together as the Whale Queen said, "Pleasee in."


    Kai nodded and took a step forward, jumping to the floor that seemed to be made of limestone. There wasn''t cement or asphalt, but this limestone had been shaped cleanly to make a smooth road.


    He looked to his left and found multiple houses. Those houses had unique shapes as he saw a coral-shaped house with many holes around it. There was also a house made of multiple stones stacked together.


    He turned to his left, he found two people, male and female. Both of them were stark naked, but there wasn''t a slight embarrassment on their faces as if this was a natural thing to do.


    The female had slightly pale skin but matched her silver hair. However, he soon noticed that the male had simr facial features. Both of them had silver hair and eyes. Their noses were quite big, but their lips were small.


    The male had abs and strong arms, but the female seemed to have nothing of that. Instead, their skin was paler than the male.


    Their height was around the same as him and Kai couldn''t really say they were unhealthy since they seemed to have been living like this for a long time.


    When the two saw Kai wearing clothes, they were bewildered.


    "Gakuka?"


    "Gakuka?"


    Suddenly, an olddy appeared next to Kai. She had silver hair and silver eyes. And like him, she also wore beautiful white clothes and robes that covered all her body.


    To his surprise, the olddy said in a Sea Natural Language, which was learned by most of the creatures under the sea.


    "(I have returned.)" The olddy smiled at Kai before ncing at the pair on the side.


    The couple surprised him again when they suddenly fell on their knees, cing their heads on the ground as if greeting the olddy.


    "(This is¡­)" Kai made a weird expression, staring at the olddy. "(Are you the Whale Queen?)"


    The olddy nodded and said, "(It''s an underwater city I have created in the past due to a certain promise.)"


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes and took a step back, remembering a certain person. "(Are you talking about Rapakha?)"


    "(Ah, there is also that man. However, I''m not talking about him. Him in my mouth was the world''s strongest human who could fight two Protectors at once despite having equal power.)"


    Kai instinctively said, "(Is it King Gilgamesh?)"


    "(He was an old friend.)" The olddy nodded and turned to the couple. "(Anyway, gather all the people in the center. I want to introduce someone to all of you.)"


    "!!!" The couple panicked for a second and nodded their heads furiously before running away as ifpleting the olddy''s task.


    "Where is this?" Kai asked.


    "In the past, I promised an old friend to preserve humanity because of a certain fate that couldn''t be predicted for the past few millennia. I agreed to do it because of his wisdom. He was quite a frank man who thought nothing about politeness.


    "He talked to me casually to the point I thought they were rude¡­"


    "Ehm¡­ Sorry?" Kai made a weird smile while scratching the back of his head.


    "It''s fine. After all, that personality of his was the one that bound everything together. Not only can he easily make friends with others, but the people are willing to follow him. Yet, he was the scariest when he fought.


    "Either way, several millennia had passed, so I thought it was the time to tell you this promise¡­ Which is this ce." She raised her hands as if pointing to this whole ce.. "This ce is called Shekmesh, the ce to preserve humanity."

 Chapter 548 - Rapa Nui People

    "This ce is called Shekmesh, the ce to preserve humanity."


    "To preserve humanity?" It took him a moment before he realized what was going on. "So, he has predicted that a few millennia will be an era where not a single Protector can protect the race¡­ And he prepared this promise to make sure humanity survives if I fail¡­"


    The Whale Queen nodded. "He already knew that his doom would bring a disaster. Hence, he exchanged everything for humanity, including this promise. And I believe you already know who the inhabitants are in this ce."


    Kai thought for a moment and opened his mouth in shock. There was one incident that Rapakha told him about. It was when the Whale Queen wanted to bring the entire poption of Rapa Nui people under the sea.


    "Yes. I informed them there would be a sh between Human Race and Mermaid Race in the future and they will be the ones who witness the entire story. It took them several hundred years to evolve to their current appearance, and I believe it will take another several hundred years for them to adapt to the environment on the surface.


    "If you fail, I will talk to Neptune, ensuring humanity''s survival on thend. This is the only thing I can do." The Whale Queen let out a long sigh.


    However, Kai noticed another point in her words. "How about the people on the surface? I mean like Rapakha and the others?"


    "It''s entirely up to your choice whether you answer their pleas or not, O'' Human Race''s Protector, Kai Carter."


    "!!!" Kai drew a gasp and pinched the bridge of his nose, never expecting that the truth was like this. "I see. Thank you very much."


    "It''s fine. It''s just a promise." The Whale Queen shook her head.


    "In any case, this is the purpose of this ce. Let''s go meet them first, so they can see the Human Race''s sovereign." The Whale Queen continued while walking forward.


    Kai nodded and followed her while looking around, amazed by the environment.


    He could say that the ce wasn''t that bright. In fact, he was surprised that they could still survive without even getting sunlight.


    Instead of sunlight, themps were made from a green-colored stone which he had no knowledge of. Still, the fact that they could survive meant Neptune wouldn''t harm them anymore unless he nned to fight the Whale Queen.


    The Whale Queen herself was among the strongest and oldest protectors, so fighting her would need a considerable amount of resolve.


    At the same time, she had taught many protectors, so offending her would mean a possibility they would be attacked by those protectors.


    Kai ended up believing this ce to be thest stronghold of humanity if he indeed failed. Though, he would do his best to make sure he won the war.


    After walking for a few minutes, he finally arrived in front of arge field where all the people assembled. He counted them for a second and muttered, "Around a thousand."


    Although he wanted to ask what kind of food, lifestyle, and other things they had, it seemed he had no freedom to do it when the Whale Queen stepped forward.


    All people quickly fell to their knees, kneeling.


    "(May I know what do you have for us, Your Majesty?)"


    The olddy stepped to the side and pointed her finger at Kai. "(I have brought someone with me.)"


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows when he looked at these people. They all had simr features, but still¡­ not a single of them wore a single strand of cloth. It seemed they needed to do it to survive or it was a part of their evolution.


    Either way, Kai was indeed amazed by the fact there was a human civilization on the ocean floor thatsted for hundreds of years.


    "(Let me introduce you, Human Race''s Protector, Kai Carter.)"


    All of them raised their heads and looked at Kai''s face in amazement. However, their focus shifted to his clothes as some of them muttered.


    "(Is that¡­)"


    "(Clothes. The holy artifact of thend.)"


    "(It''s one of the symbols of the king.)"


    When Kai heard their murmurs, he made a weird expression while screaming inwardly, ''What the¡­ These people. This is just casual clothes and you are treating it as a holy artifact? What kind of knowledge has been instilled in these people by the Whale Queen?


    ''It seems they have some knowledge regarding basic survival things, but I don''t know whether they understand math or other subjects.''


    Still, Kai put on a smile on his face and said, "(I''m Kai Carter.)"


    To his surprise, their reactions became even more extraordinary.


    "(This is his voice.)"


    "(Such a gentle voice.)"


    Despite having a voice that wasn''t that much different from their ent, the people glorified him.


    Kai was smiling in bewilderment while wondering the purpose of the Whale Queen to bring him here and meet them. Luckily, they both could understand the Sea Race Language, so there wasn''t anguage barrier.


    But the Whale Queen dropped another bomb when she said, "This is the moment of truth. Your King is going to fight Neptune for your freedom. If he wins, all of you may return to the surface. So, you better pray for his sess."


    "(Ah! Our king is going to fight for us again?! Even when we don''t do anything for him¡­)"


    "(We¡­)"


    All of them kneeled and ced their heads on the ground, showing their gratitude. They could only do this because they had nothing to offer.


    "(I only wanted to let you know this.)" The Whale Queen turned to Kai. "Unfortunately, you can''t stay any longer than this. To be honest, I wanted to show you these people after the battle¡­ As much as I want to let you stay, I need to bring you back now that you are aware of these people."


    "¡­" Kai thought for a moment and nodded. There were many things he wished to talk about, but he knew he should follow what the Whale Queen said at the moment.


    Though, he still heard a fewments when the two talked.


    "(God Language.)"


    "(We don''t understand thenguage, so it must be the legendary God Language)."


    Kai''s expression started getting distorted the more he stayed here.


    Luckily, the Whale Queen extended her hand to the side, asking him to follow her back to the sea.


    Kai turned to the people and said with a smile. "(I am happy to meet all of you here. Unfortunately, I can''t stay for too long. I hope that I can stay here and talk with all of you after the war.)"


    "(Your words are too much for us, Your Majesty.)" All of them ced their heads on the ground again.


    Kai scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression before following the Whale Queen to the edge of the bubble.


    The Whale Queen summoned an air bubble for him again and brought him to the surface.


    Twenty minutester.


    "Hmm¡­" Kai thought for a moment and looked around the surface. He felt he had something to do but decided to turn around and headed straight to the surface with the Whale Queen.


    When he returned to the shore, Kai smiled and bowed, "Thank you for showing me everything, Whale Queen. I know that I can''t repay you or whatsoever, but please ept this bow."


    The Whale Queen replied, "That''s fine. However, please do note that I will remain neutral in the war. Whether humanity loses or not, I won''t give you my help."


    "I know. This is my job." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Then, I wish you luck." She then submerged again.


    Kai sighed and snapped his finger, using his Teleportation to send him to another ce.


    Meanwhile, the Whale Queen seemed to have another destination to go. She crossed the sea and surprisingly emerged from the water once again. The ce was a small deserted ind, but surprisingly, there was another person standing on the ind.


    The Whale Queen suddenly summoned the blood-red pearl and tossed it to the man.


    The man caught it and said, "Thanks. I hope he didn''t trouble you¡­"


    "He is not. However, you are the one troubling me." The Whale Queen stared at the man who finally revealed himself. "Oni, there is something I want to tell you."


    Yes, the man was none other than the Oni Race''s Protector, Ishii. He stepped next to the water with a serious expression.. "I''m listening."

 Chapter 549 - Return

    After his conversation with the Whale Queen, Kai returned to the US Base using his Teleportation Magic that Tasha lent him.


    It was a swift return to the point he reached home first before the others.


    When he came back, his parents had been standing in front of the house, waiting for them.


    Kai was surprised at first, but that expression turned into a smile as he opened his mouth. "Mom, Dad."


    "You''re back!" His mother quickly leaped to him and hugged him. "The battle must be tiring for you."


    Of course, everyone knew that there was a big movement from the military. After all, the base had been under the state of full alert.


    And due to the condition, the white house also released the fact they had sent all their best people to handle this problem. Some were convinced, but some weren''t.


    Yet, this was enough for his parents to worry about their son and daughter.


    His father asked with a soft tone. "Where are the others?"


    "It seems I have returned too fast." Kai scratched the back of his head. "They return with the normal procedure while I¡­ used a special way."


    "I see." James nodded.


    "Don''t worry, Dad. They are fine." Kai gave a thumbs up.


    "That''s good." James made a big smile and closed his eyes. "For now, let''s wait inside."


    "That¡­ you need Mother to agree." Kai chuckled and showed how tight his mother hugged him.


    James shrugged and returned alone while saying, "You deal with it."


    Kai shook his head helplessly and used the Teleportation Magic to send them inside.


    While his mother bothered him nonstop, the others had finally returned, including Leah.


    They all came back with a surprised expression on their faces, thinking Kai should return a bitter.


    "I thought you¡­" Michelle stared at Kai.


    "Ahaha, the work turned out to be faster than I expected." Kai chuckled.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine. Isn''t it good that he doesn''t wander around for too long? Who knows if he will kidnap another girl." The mother nced at Leah, trying to signal her something. "I don''t mind though. It means this house will be merrier."


    Leah looked away, not wanting anyone to see her embarrassed expression. As the priestess, she had been preparing herself to be the protector''s wife. The same applied to Arba, but due to her being the current priestess, the role had been ced upon her shoulders.


    Of course, if the king didn''t want her, no one could object to it. However, after living here for a while, she realized that the one holding the authority inside this house was none other than Kai''s mother.


    Although she did it unintentionally, she had been keeping herpany. Yes, Leah only helped her and stayed together because of her duty and thought this was just serving the king''s mother.


    She never expected that her actions would be considered as her trying to be a daughter-inw. But the situation had escted to this point. Leah didn''t have an intention to correct it, expecting to fulfill her duty as his wife. Though, Kai hadn''t epted her or anything.


    Meanwhile, Tasha shook her head helplessly. "Mom, another girl doesn''t mean another wife."


    However, all she got was a cold stare from her mother. "I know what you are thinking, Tasha. You have been like this. I still remember how you tried to make sure no girl came close to Kai. That''s right. There was an incident where you openly made the other girl cry because of your foul mouth."


    "That was in the past. I havee to terms with it. However, there is still a limit."


    "Then, seven is good."


    "You are not trying to say we can apany him for a day, right?"


    "There is still someone in United Asia, you know." Tasha facepalmed, wondering how she should exin it to her.


    Albeit, Tasha''s answer just piqued her interest as her expression brightened, and she asked, "Who is this? Come,e. Exin it to me!"


    "It''s Kai''s childhood sweetheart, Mom." Michelle stepped in and exined with a smile. "Do you remember when I yed together with Kai?"


    "Ah, you mentioned him meeting another girl."


    "Yes. That''s the girl. I can give you the detailster. Also, Kai has a student, you know. She doesn''t show her expression that often, but I can assure you she is cute. Of course, this one is off-limits. I''m going to strangle him to death if he dares to proceed further." Michelle nced at Kai with a cold gaze.


    Unfortunately, this just invited another catastrophe in the family to the point Michelle was dumbstruck like Tasha, not knowing what to say. "I see. That childhood sweetheart and this student. That''s seven."


    "Eh?!" Michelle dropped her jaw to the ground, staring at her dumbfoundedly.


    Tasha patted her shoulder while whispering, "Mentioning another girl will only make her think about the possibility of another wife."


    "¡­" Michelle was taken aback as if she justmitted a war crime. She looked at Tasha and gritted her teeth. "Isn''t this because of you pushing away all thepetitors to make Kai look unwanted? This is the result."


    "What did you say? I am doing this so there''s no one who will take advantage of Kai."


    The two began to argue, but suddenly their shoulders were grabbed by another person. However, when they looked at who it was, they began to sweat.


    "Mom?" Tasha gulped down, looking at the terrifying expression of her mother.


    "Ehm¡­" Michelle was speechless, never thinking that her own decision led to this disaster.


    Unfortunately, the hands on their shoulders moved quickly to their necks as she dragged her to the kitchen. "Good, good. Now, let''s go inside to tell me everything."


    "Wait, we can talk about thister, mom!" Tasha tried to exin.


    "That''s right. We just returned home. How about we rest first? We can tell you tomorrow."


    "I don''t want suspense. You are going to kill me with it. How dare you torture your mother with this¡­" She smiled and dragged them away.


    Kai scratched the back of his head, ncing at his father.


    James also didn''t know what to say and said, "Anyway, let''s go to the dining room. All your favorite food is already there."


    However, James also added, "Though, I don''t really mind. I am just a silent guy. She is a cheerful one, so this family never bores me¡­ Also, she is quite thoughtful, considering she only drags the two who always talk, rather than Ayaka, who is still a bit shy or Sofia, who is too polite."


    "Shy¡­" Ayaka looked away and remembered how she acted rudely to Kai when they first met.


    "Polite¡­" Sofia did the same, knowing politeness was thest thing Kai would say if he talked about their meeting.


    "Haha, of course, your mother told me that Leah is too reserved." He chuckled. "There is no need to control yourself in this family. After all, all the images you have created will disappear after two years of marriage."


    "¡­" Kai sighed and said, "At least, mom hasn''t met Michelle and Sofia''s Grandfathers. It will be a disaster."


    "That¡­ I can''t help but agree." Ayaka and Sofia smiled, thinking the scene would be amusing. If they threw Ayaka''s grandfather and Arba, it would turn into a big party.


    "Anyway, let''s eat. You can rest after that.." James smiled and walked to the dining room.

 Chapter 550 - Preparation

    When they had a family dinner, Kai suddenly dropped a bomb. "Actually, I''m nning to leave for a year."


    ng.


    Her mother''s spoon fell to the te as she stared at her son. "A year?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Although I can''t say this to the public, I can surely talk it out with all of you. The previous battle is nothing but a warm-up. The real one wille after a year."


    "What do you mean?" She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Kai worriedly.


    "I know what you want to say, mom. But this one is thest." Kai made a gentle smile, assuring his mother. "There won''t be anything like this anymore in the future. Just for this one, please trust me. I will end everything here."


    "Why you? You have been tortured by your ears since you were a baby. However, even after oveing this hurdle, you need to sacrifice your life like this¡­ I just want you to live a normal life¡­ I just can''t bear the world to torture you anymore."


    Kai shook his head helplessly. "The only way to avoid problems is not living. As long as we are alive, we will keep facing problems on a daily basis. Some are big, some are not. I think I can guarantee you that this is the biggest one in my life.


    "I know how you feel, but I wish you could support me this one time. Trust me. I won''t do something reckless anymore." Kai smiled and looked his mother in the eyes.


    They all knew what happened to Kai back when he was a baby since his mother told them nonstop.


    When he was just born, Kai had been crying nonstop to the point because of the uniqueness of his ears.


    Only when he went to a soundproof room did the situation be a bit better. Still, Kai''s ears were too powerful.


    For a normal person, this room could stop all the noisesing from outside, but Kai was still tormented by it. Only the sound intensity got lessened a bit.


    Every day he would cry for a few hours.


    His father used all the fortune he had to create noise-canceling headphones for him. Only then Kai regained a little bit more of his peace.


    It mighte like a blessing, but the torment had indeed strengthened Kai and made him a strong kid that wanted to continue living despite the pain in his ears.


    Of course, it was all due to his parents wanting to support him with everything they had, Kai gained such a strong will to live. If not because of them using their money and giving all their support, Kai wouldn''t live past one year.


    They even went into debt just to create an environment that could lessen Kai''s burden. Kai always wanted to repay them in his life.


    That was when he met Michelle for the first time. Michelle once mentioned Ria Ross at that time, telling him there was a genius professor that might be able to do something about his situation.


    It gave him the will to solve his problem before repaying all his parents had done to him.


    It was fate that United Asia was hit by a wave of monsters that almost took his life. It was also a turn of fate that Ria happened to be there and rescued him.


    If not because of his will, Kai wouldn''t survive after Ria turned him into a Zodiac.


    After that, he soon learned Ria''s identity and became her student.


    At first, they were using each other. Kai wanted to solve his problem, while Ria just wanted to escape from reality by teaching him.


    However, they soon became attracted to each other. Ria found the meaning of her life back and dedicated her life to herself, her fallenrades and Kai. That was also when she gave him the new noise-canceling headphones.


    Although the experience struck deep in his heart, Kai was grateful to Ria. After all, with his current power, he could begin to do something more for his parents.


    He often sneaked out and gained some money, using it to repay his parents'' debts before meeting Tasha.


    Life just continued to get better because of it.


    That was why Kai always put his parents as the top priority. He just couldn''t thank them enough.


    Remembering it, Kai smiled again at his mother. "Mom, trust me."


    Seeing such a genuine expression, his mother couldn''t help but close her eyes. "I understand. I will trust you."


    "Thank you." Kai nodded as they continued their dinner. Kai spent more time with his mother before gathering the girls in his room.


    "My king¡­" Leah looked at him worriedly because she knew Kai''s n.


    Kai chuckled and faced the girls with a serious expression. "Within this one year, I am going to another ce to gain the power to kill their king. I don''t know if it will be sessful, but this is the only way for humanity to survive. I don''t care much about strangers, but they, by no means, are unimportant.


    "We still need society, so our children can have a life like this." Kai smiled. "Anyway, I have epted my status and power¡­"


    They all heard from Leah that a race protector had the power of half God. And there was a chance that Kai would be a threat to the whole world. That might scare most people because Kai was like a walking disaster.


    Living in that kind of situation, they would also face the same problem.


    That was why Kai felt a bit too adamant in getting and using that power.


    However, Michelle hugged him while closing her eyes. Her lips curved a little bit as she said, "There is nothing wrong with the word to fear the unknown. If you can live with only one person who can trust you and see for who you are instead of what you are, then I will walk alongside you forever."


    "Wait, what do you mean by one person?! That one person is me, right?" Tasha grabbed her shoulder and red at Michelle.


    "Of course, it''s me." Michelle stuck her tongue out as the two started another argument, changing the mood inside the room.


    It was then Ayaka approached him and said, "Either way, if you didn''t save me, I wouldn''t have survived. Even my family wouldn''t see the present. That''s why I will do the same. If you are a monster, then I will also be a monster, so you are not alone."


    "That''s true. You should also add my ability, Mimicry, to the equation. There is at least another one in this world." Sofia chuckled while pointing at herself. "Besides, it''s not like we can''t do anything about it¡­ Right?"


    Leah ced her hand on top of her chest as if pointing at herself. "If you don''t mind me staying by your side, I can always ce an illusion to transform you into another person. No one will recognize you other than us."


    Kai smiled. "Sorry¡­ And thank you¡­"


    He spent the rest of the night talking about his ns to show that he had thought every detail. And since he might need it, Tasha told him to keep the Sealing Magic for the time being since he could teleport to anywhere in the world.


    It wasn''t like she had a hard time with her Magic Power reserve anymore, considering she had increased it due to Leah''s training.


    Kai then spent one week with his family because he didn''t know where he woulde back.


    ******


    Author''s Note: I need to be hospitalized for a few days.. Sorry , can''t update chapters.

 Chapter 551 - Father

    After spending enough time with his family, Kai finally stepped out of his house.


    However, his father had been waiting for him outside the house to his surprise. There wasn''t anyone that saw him off because he wanted to go before dawn.


    "Dad?" Kai raised his eyebrows and nced to his side, finding a man who calmly leaned his back to the wall while looking at the dark sky.


    "As expected¡­ You are really my son. Even I would have gone at this time since no one will expect it and there won''t be any unnecessary tears." James smiled and closed his eyes.


    "Ehm. I''m sorry." Kai scratched the back of his head and looked down.


    "It''s fine." James patted Kai''s right shoulder. "I''m not going to stop you. I will take care of your mom to make sure she is not sad. Though, I believe the girls can do it just fine."


    He stepped forward and turned to him with a serious expression. "I won''t talk much and put more burden in your heart right now."


    However, James soon found himself not having any more words to say and came to a halt. He clutched his head and sighed, "What did I want to say again¡­"


    Kai only smiled at him and waited until he finished, albeit the only thing he got was just a hug. The hug was tight and filled with emotions that seemed enough to convey what he wanted to say.


    There was even a tinge of responsibility ced on his heart.


    Kai didn''t know why but tears started forming in the corner of his eyes. "Thanks, Dad."


    "I am your burden, but I don''t want to bring you down because of my selfishness. I can''t do anything in this war other than believing my son. Whatever you do, Dad will always be proud of you." James patted Kai''s back and slightly tightened his grip.


    He didn''t want Kai to go. He didn''t want Kai to bear all this burden. He only wanted Kai to live his life happily. All these thoughts were conveyed to him, but the fact that he didn''t say any of those meant he trusted Kai.


    He trusted his son to be able to finish his duty by leaving this ce. He believed his son was able to bear all this burden. He wished his son to live happily after everything was over.


    And Kai, who received such a hug, smiled from ear to ear as he said, "Thanks, Dad. I''m going."


    "Yes, be careful on the way. We will always be waiting for you at this ce." James released him and patted his shoulders a few times before taking a step back.


    Kai smiled and made a bit of distance between them. After taking another look at his house and his dad as if seeing his family, he snapped his finger and summoned the Teleportation magic circle.


    "See you soon, Dad." Kai smiled as the light from the magic circle began to swallow him, carrying him to another ce.


    Kai took a deep breath and looked at his surroundings with a smile. He arrived in the middle of nowhere and could only see trees and ruined buildings.


    There were many magical beasts who spotted him, but before they could do anything, he already used teleportation again.


    "Just a few teleportations away¡­Emulda Kn. I''ming." Kai smiled.


    Another reason why Kai decided to go before dawn was due to the different timezone. As soon as he reached his destination, he covered his eyes from the blinding sun that was almost above his head.


    However, the people inside seemed to have noticed his presence too and quickly came out. The ones that greeted him were none other than Aston and Arba.


    "My King." The two dropped to their knees with their right hand on their chest and the other behind their back.


    Kai smiled and nodded. "Yes. I have told you about my purpose ining here, right?"


    "Yes. Everything is ready. The ritual can be done immediately. Though, you may need to prepare yourself because your body is not powerful enough to withstand the real power of the Crown Jewel," Aston exined with a calm expression, trying to see Kai''s reaction.


    "I only have one year. Do you think it''s enough?" Kai asked without hesitation. He wasn''t someone who was too optimistic, so he quickly cut to the chase to see whether it was possible or not.


    "It''s barely enough. Arba has prepared a training menu for you and it''s assumed you can gain enough resistance after five months. The ritual itself is around six months long since we need to let the energy from the Crown Jewel flow into you gradually."


    "There is also a need for adjustment," Arba added and thought for a moment. "You may also need to grow ustomed to your power soon."


    "ording to our information, there is a little gap between you and Neptune as long as you gain the Crown Jewel. After all, the majority of your poweres from the jewel instead of yourself."


    "It deserves its name, I guess." Kai nodded in agreement.


    "Yes. The only way you can close the gap is by controlling your power and using it efficiently. Unfortunately¡­" Aston closed his eyes and sighed.


    "Neptune has lived far longer than I do." Kai''s expression turned grim, knowing the gap between them was hard to surmount. Even so, he didn''t want to give up and clenched his fists. "There is still another way."


    Arba nodded in understanding. She said, "Yes. By using it creatively, you will be able to defeat him. At least, the chance is higher than controlling your power in an old-fashioned way. But it''s easier said than done, especially since you only have one month left when the timees."


    "I know. This is why I am nning to do it in an unconventional way." Kai smiled and raised his hand. "I have no n to lose. Besides, I have an idea where to go. I will require your assistance though."


    "We are ready to go through hell for humanity''s survival." Arba and Aston answered at the same time. "We shall support you in everything you do."


    Kai smiled. "Thanks. Let''s enter first to talk about this topic further. There are a few questions I want you to answer first and several matters to discuss."


    "Understood."


    *****


    Author''s Note: Sorry for the wait, I''m back.. There is an important announcement in the next chapter.

 Chapter 552 - Crown Jewel

    Arba and Aston led him inside, where they first talked. The room remained the same and Arba seemed to be a bitzier when she reached the room.


    Kai saw her leaning her back on the wall while stretching her body with a yawn as if she nned to sleep.


    Aston, on the other hand, red at her while coughing. "Ahem, Arba. What are you doing?"


    "We are going to have a long talk, you know. Why would you be that formal? It''s not like this is a business talk or whatever." Arba shrugged and added, "Of course, if my king doesn''t like me acting this way, I will talk to you politely."


    Kai chuckled and said, "It''s fine. Talk to me normally. It''s not like there are any other people here, so you don''t need to put a farce. Also, what I want to talk about is rather important, so if you can exin it to me in a way I can easily understand, that is enough for me."


    Listening to Kai''s words, Arba scratched the back of her head and straightened her back. "I understand. I shall answer your questions to the best of our ability."


    Kai nodded. "Then, first question, what is the Crown Jewel?"


    Aston and Arba exchanged looks, realizing that their king never wasted any seconds and quickly went to the point.


    Aston was the first to answer. "Crown Jewel is the manifestation of extra energy from Earth. Just like the sun keeps producing energy, our Earth also produces such energy. Of course, the quantity is far different.


    "And the sun is releasing its energy to its surroundings while Earth has its ownyers and crusts, preventing the energy from being sent to outer space. Hence, to let that amount of energy, the Earth produces the Crown Jewel."


    Arba raised her hand and continued, "After a long period of time, this Crown Jewel finally found its way to the surface through cracks and other gaps. It''s moreplicated since no one knows how it can go up, but the principle is like a volcano."


    "Is there a reason for the Crown Jewel to be wielded by a certain race?" Kai asked. "I mean, I have heard multiple times from people saying the Crown Jewel and the altar are for a certain race. So, I am wondering why it''s that way¡­"


    "Certainly. That pure energy source is obviously too strong for any living creatures. For example, you can think of it as a human wielding nuclear power. It''s hard to imagine, right?"


    Kai nodded.


    "This power is the same. The Crown Jewel contains a high amount of radiationing from the Earth''s core itself. A race that finds it begins to evolve and evolve until their body is strong enough to withstand the radiation.


    "At the same time, the radiation inside the jewel gradually disappears, leaving only aplete power supply. And due to the special radiation, that particr race has be the only one suited for that power."


    "So, humans also have evolved from our own Crown Jewel''s radiation?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. To put it simply, evolution theory is indeed true. However, we don''t know which race is our ancestor yet." Aston shook his head helplessly.


    "I see. So, we are the result of evolution and this Crown Jewel is for us. In that case, what happens if humans further evolve to another species? I mean, even in the past, there was a giant human or something."


    "The core is still human." Arba shrugged. "Normal evolution process changes the outer appearance and structure, but the evolutioning from the Crown Jewel is all about the fundamentals. Unfortunately, we don''t know what the fundamental of our own being is¡­ Why are we called humans? Why did we first call other races Spider Race, Snake Race, and others? No one knows, but the result is already in front of our eyes."


    Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. "I can understand the situation. Still, I really want to say this, it''s truly ridiculous¡­ To the point if it''s someone else telling me this kind of information, I would have denied it and distanced myself from him."


    "At least, my king didn''t react like Arba." Aston chuckled.


    "Oi!" Arba red at him, telling him to shut up.


    Meanwhile, Kai already said, "Ho? That''s interesting. Tell me."


    "When she first¡ªHuup!" Before he started talking, Arba already grabbed Aston''s and covered his mouth.


    "You old bastard, do you want to die?" Arba gritted her teeth and released her killing intent.


    "I''m just answering my king''s question." Aston used his Mind Magic to send his answer through their minds.


    Arba''s body shook as she looked at Kai with pleading eyes.


    "She tried to assume herself as monkeys, spiders¡ª" Aston continued, ignoring her pleas.


    At the same time, Arba''s face was darkened, so Kai waved his hand and said, "That''s enough. I thought teasing her, who always acted nonchntly, would be fun, but she is almost burst into tears, so we better stop."


    "Certainly," Aston answered without hesitation, changing the topic in an instant. "Either way, we can search the pastter and our future generations may find the answer too."


    Arba was taken aback and gritted her teeth, ring at these two who teased her. "Aston, you''re dead."


    "Why me?" Aston widened his eyes and pointed at Kai. "I''m answering his question."


    "In any case, you''re dead. I will kill youter." She snorted and looked away.


    "Haha." Kaiughed and asked, "So, the only one who can wield our crown jewel is me?"


    "Yes. This is rted to your own core. Every generation, the Earth will bless a child of any race with excess energy. And with the fact there are already so many Crown Jewels on Earth, the can''t produce more than that and choose to bless the child of the race.


    "This blessing will allow them to be connected to the. That''s why they will always have extraordinary hearings and we are telling people that these people can hear the Earth''s cry. Actually, it''s not your hearing, but that fundamental thingy that gets enhanced, allowing you to hear more than you''re supposed to." Arba exined with a nonchnt tone.


    *****


    Author''s Note: We''re already in thest arc. Tomemorate this achievement, I''mmissioning an art for this novel.. It''s down below on thement.

 Chapter 553 - Reasons

    "Well, I get the gist of the Crown Jewel now." Kai nodded with a serious expression. He started contemting his stance against this new information. At the same time, a question arose in his head. "By the way, how many Crown Jewels are there?"


    "The original number of Crown Jewel was 103, but due to the conflict and other things that led to the Protector using the altar, only 87 left," answered Aston while looking up, recalling the number.


    "Is that so?" Kai paused for a moment and asked, "This altar¡­ What can it do?"


    Arba suddenly formed a small green ball above her palm and started exining. "Imagine this as the Crown Jewel. When you start absorbing the Crown Jewel, it will be a part of your life. However, it will remain outside your body.


    "The altar itself is a tool made to destroy the concentrated energy from the Crown Jewel. There is no record of who built them, but I believe it''s man-made and the time is right after the Ancient Pact among the protectors was agreed upon.


    "This tool was created to assert bnce between the protectors, avoiding any unnecessary ughters. After all, they were made from a portion of the energy from the Crown Jewel, making them unable to be activated by another Crown Jewel.


    "Unfortunately, this same artifact became the tool of mass ughter that brought apocalypse into this very own. Although unintentional, the mass Magic Particles stored and concentrated inside the jewel would bring the entire civilization to ruin.


    "There is another ritual to activate the power of the altar, but I believe this is not something you need to learn right now."


    Kai nodded in agreement. "True enough. I am here to train to defeat my enemy. Crown Jewel will be my priority."


    "Yes. We will help you to the best of our ability." Aston agreed.


    "By the way, what is the motivation of the mermaid race to even attack us? I mean, this long grudge seems to be impossible to resolve with just a mere talk." Kai''s expression turned grim as he wished to know the root of the problems.


    "Actually, the fact that we are living on this alone has be the greatest shame in their history." Aston let out a long sigh while Arba gritted her teeth, releasing a bit of her killing intent.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Humans are known to be the most civilized yet brought the biggest destruction on this. They colonized many ces and thought they were the strongest race that ruled the world.


    "This caused them to exploit all kinds of resources without stop and restraint. You can say they''re the greediest creature on Earth. They ughtered other races, which was normal like any other races preyed upon us, but humans unknowingly made ranches for them to be raised and ughtered.


    "I can''t say much regarding this area since we, in Emulda Kn, also do it to survive. But deforestation, unrestricted mining of natural resources, or even other man-made disasters like a forest fire and such¡­ Those things make humans the most hated creature on this lovely." Aston closed his eyes with a long face.


    "¡­" Kai seemed to understand the situation as well, but he still said, "Though, we don''t do that anymore."


    "That''s right. However, can you say that in many generations after this, humans will not exploit it again? This time, they are shifting to Magic Particles as their main power source. But as you know, Magic Particles are decreasing any second.


    "When there are no more Magic Particles to use as a power source, what do you think will happen? There is a high possibility that the human will do the same thing again. What? Sr Power? The material alone requires a huge amount of resources and all those will affect the environment one way or another.


    "The mermaid race hates humans to the very core for the same reason. They don''t wish the races on thend to destroy the just because they can''t live on thend to supervise everything. Well, I can understand them since they have managed to rule the majority of the seven seas to make sure nothing goes wrong like those on thend.


    "And to prevent this disaster, the mermaid race wishes to destroy humans. In the past, our king always said, ''Human race can''t live without other races, but other races can live without us. Rules of the jungle are always the best, but a ruler will need to restrict that rule to a certain extent. Someone in the future will find a clear answer for this and I don''t know how long it will take.''


    "Along with hisst message, saying ''Human race is impossible to change. They will die because of their own mistake, but those who survive will learn from them. This is a never-ending cycle of the human race and it may even be called our curse.''


    "Hence, we, priest and priestess of Emulda Kn, wish to know your view of the human race, my king." Aston lowered his head.


    Kai closed his eyes and shook his head. "I''m afraid I can''t give you the answer you want at the spur of the moment."


    "Certainly, that''s why please let this old man stay beside you to hear your answer." Aston kneeled and ced his head on the ground.


    Kai waved his hand. "It''s impossible for me to give you the answer right now, but I can''t say so in the future. I may never find this answer, but if you still wish to stay beside me despite the unknown future, you can do as you please."


    "Thank you very much for your favor."


    Feeling the talk became a bit too serious, Kai scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression. After thinking about the answer for a moment, Kai turned to Arba and changed the topic.


    "Then, what''s about the training?" Kai asked with a serious expression. This was what he came for, so now that he understood the circumstances and what kind of power he would receive, he wanted to start the training immediately, not wasting another second.


    Aston scratched the back of his head and nced at Arba. "I''m not qualified to teach you in physical training. Only Arba."


    Arba''s expression brightened and rose from the floor, stretching her hands. "It''s finally my time."


    "If you wish to acquire more knowledge, you can meet me." Aston smiled and took a step back, letting Arba take over.


    Kai thought for a moment and put down the bag. "Can I trouble you to bring this to my room? I will go with Arba right now."


    "Certainly. Your room will be the one you used previously." Aston nodded without hesitation.


    "Thanks." Kai smiled and rose from the floor. "So, what are we going to do?"


    "Do you mind if we step out of Emulda Kn a bit?" Arba asked.


    "Sure." Kai nodded and nced at Aston.


    Aston snapped his finger and deactivated the barrier for a moment.


    Using that chance, Kai used his Teleportation to bring them outside. Because of his power, Aston remained in the room and let Arba take over.


    "I wish you luck, my king." Aston lowered his head again, seeing them off.


    Kai smiled while Arba licked her lips, feeling excited about this.

 Chapter 554 - Running

    "So, what are we going to do now?" asked Kai with a casual expression, wondering what kind of exercises he would need to do to build his body.


    However, Arba''s answer truly shocked him.


    "The first thing to do is run."


    "Run?" Kai raised his eyebrows, slightly feeling surprised by the normal training menu. He remembered that when he trained here, he did something more intensive, albeit he soon took that back.


    "Yeah. For now, let''s run to India." Arba smiled.


    Kai widened his eyes and said with a dumbfounded expression. "Come again?"


    "We''re going to run to India. We only have seven days for this."


    "Are you kidding me?" Kai took a step back and looked at this person who seemed to be too serious to joke.


    Arba let out a sigh and said, "I''m serious. We are going to India on foot. Is it too much to ask?"


    "No, but judging from the distance alone, we literally need to run at full speed and without rest to get there. At the same time, there are many magical beasts roaming around the area. If it''s only B Rank or lower, I can simply speed up, but if we are surrounded, it will be a fight."


    "Yes, is that a problem? I''m not going to lift my hand unless needed, though. So, killing the magical beasts is your job." Arba tilted her head in confusion.


    Kai scratched the back of his head, realizing that there was no normal thing to do while training to be a full-fledged protector. Resigning to his fate, he asked once again for confirmation. "Are you sure we are going to do this?"


    "Yes. Normally, we need to spend around ten years to make our body get used to this. That''s why the original n is to train from seven years old¡­ I mean, Leah and Devain have done it too. Aston and I practiced from when we were six years old.


    "Since you wanted to skip everything and went straight to the goal within six months, I can only do an extreme measure like this." Arba let out a long sigh. "Of course, the choice is on you. The enemies are already on our doorsteps, so it''s better to get going now."


    Kai facepalmed and started raising his hands to stretch. He remembered that Arba kept stretching while Aston was exining everything.


    Squinting his eyes, he asked, "So, you already know about this and have been stretching your body this whole time¡­"


    Arba looked away and gently stroked her cheek. "Well, you teased me."


    "I''m going to remember this." Kai snorted and stretched his body to make sure it was ready to face continuous strains.


    After a moment, Kai took out his swords while jumping lightly. "Okay, I''m ready."


    "Good." Arba nodded with a smile. "I will match your speed."


    "Hmph." Kai harrumphed and started running forward with his full speed.


    "By the way, I will be preparing your food and water, so you only need to focus on running," said Arba while following Kai.


    "Tch." Kai clicked his tongue as he soon found the first magical beast in their way. It was a lizard with a long tail and tongue.


    The lizard itself had a giant body that made it impossible to cross.


    If Kai took a few steps to the side, it would just decrease his speed, so the moment the lizard opened its mouth and shot out its tongue, he used his Sound st tounch him into the air while continuing that way.


    The next hurdle came when the lizard tried to smack him with his tail, but Kai simply waved his sword and struck the lizard''s tail with his Supersonic Sword.


    Because of the momentum and the restriction from the lizard''s tail, Kai''s body flipped in the air, spinning a few times.


    Luckily, Kai managed to regain his bnce and used his Sound st tond safely, continuing his journey.


    "Tsk." Kai clicked his tongue and realized that the journey was going to be harder than he expected. "Because of my speed, the restriction feels even harder. With just a slight tweak in my bnce, I would have rolled or spun a few times.


    "It will take more energy to adjust my bnce and the speed will decrease for a while. I need to adjust my speed and other things as well, requiring more energy than I expected. If I don''t do anything, I won''t have enough time to reach India within seven days, let alone rest.


    "In that case¡­" Kai felt if he didn''t improve during these seven days, the training would be considered a failure, so he changed his strategy slightly.


    He used his Sound st to send him into the air and utilized the force of his Sound st to speed up.


    To his surprise, Arba was staying next to him, running as if she could step on the air.


    However, he soon realized what she was doing was more impressive than he thought.


    "Did you just step on the air? No, it''s creating a small explosion force on the air with the air current. Your affinity is wind, right?" Kai asked.


    Arba winked her eyes and gave a thumbs up.


    Kai''s expression turned serious. Even though he still continued running, Kai''s mind wandered elsewhere.


    He was falling into deep thought, looking down and ignoring everything.


    Seeing Kai in that state, Arba couldn''t help but smile, knowing that her king realized what just happened and tried to work on it.


    Meanwhile, Kai muttered inwardly, "The Sound st magic circle itself is around sixty centimeters in diameter. That''s the smallest I can do to keep my bnce. However, what if I make it even smaller? I will use a smaller amount of Magic Particles to use it.


    "But this will make my bnce bad because I don''t have enough force to step like that on the ground." Kai thought for a moment and soon widened his eyes. "Wait a minute. The most important thing in running is the front foot to give an explosive power to move forward and the back foot to adjust my body tond.


    "What if I create a five centimeters magic circle on both areas? It should be enough to keep my bnce while maintaining my speed. At the same time, I won''t need to use more Magic Particles than I need to¡­ Can I do that?" Kai gulped down, not realizing that an eagle seemed to be flying from the opposite direction, trying to strike him down.


    In that instant, Arba increased her speed and stepped forward.


    Scree.


    The eagle let out a loud cry while Arba only extended both hands forward.


    She suddenly opened her arms wide as if opening something and soon the eagle was ripped apart with blood sshed to the side, not hitting her and Kai behind her.


    "I''m sorry, but my king is lost in thought. You shouldn''t disturb him." Arba smiled and continued protecting Kai during this time.


    Meanwhile, Kai started adjusting his magic circle, unaware of the eagle. He simply formed a smaller magic circle, cing it both on the front and back foot.


    He tried to step on the air andunched himself by using those small magic circles.


    Fwoosh.


    The Sound st let out a Sound Wave thatunched him like how he usually did. However, because the expected area was smaller than he thought, Kai''s body leaned to the right, almost losing his bnce.


    "O-oh?" Kai regained his bnce with a smile on his face. "I see.. It may not be perfect yet, but this may allow me to have enough Magic Particles to have some rest during the journey and reach the ce within the time limit. Ahaha, let''s go!"

 Chapter 555 - Improvement

    After that new intake of magic, Kai began to improve. Instead of wasting his magic power away, he used it more efficiently. All it took was a few hours of practice to get a handle of it and Kai would be good to go.


    Arba watched it happening with her own eyes, realizing that Kai truly had a good affinity with his magic.


    "Thank you, Arba." Kai smiled while continuing to run in the air.


    "It''s my job." Arba waved her hand with a smile. "Though, I''m afraid you are going to need to take over if you have stabilized your posture and grown ustomed to your new magic."


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "I think it will be fine."


    Kai stepped forward to be in the front again while holding his swords.


    "Still, I can''t understand what kind of body you are trying to create¡­ I mean, we are still running normally." Kai contemted for a moment but couldn''t find the answer. Running was running no matter the intensity, he thought.


    "Yes. However, there are a few catches in this run." She smiled. "First, you are required to have a certain amount of speed."


    "That''s just a simple difference between jogging and sprinting, right?" Kai asked.


    "Yes. However, the training takes you to another level because you are fighting air resistance. This friction will gradually kill your skin and rece it with another one. After all, your shape is not like a bird or anything that has evolved to be able to withstand the wind pressure and use it to their advantage."


    "I see." Kai nodded in understanding. "I can understand the concept, but I don''t know if it''s good¡­ I mean, from a medical perspective."


    "You alone have surpassed humans." She shrugged. "Especially after getting the excess energy of this."


    "Fair enough." Kai chuckled. "So, what''s the second reason?"


    "Second, it''s to build up your physical body like how you are running to keep your body fit. Because you are running at a certain speed, it will increase the speed of your improvement as well. Of course, this can''t be done by normal humans because they will be too exhausted to even do this kind of thing. Even I won''t dare to do it unless I''m 15 years old."


    "I guess the loves me so much." Kai smiled.


    "Yes. In fact, have you ever got sick?"


    "Ehm¡­ other than my ears, nope. Ah, I see¡­" Kai finally understood the reason. He always followed his parents'' words. They loved him and he loved them, so he thought it was normal that he was always healthy.


    However, even the healthiest person in the world would get a cold or flu within twenty years of their life. Magic Particles didn''t do much in this area.


    "Yep. More or less, the reason is just to speed up your progress, so yeah¡­" She shrugged.


    "Haha." Kaiughed before his expression turned serious when he heard a group of birdsing in their direction. "Hmm."


    "Have you detected something that will catch us?" She asked.


    "Yes. There are eleven birdsing." Kai nodded.


    "In that case, I will let you fight again." Arba chuckled. "Besides, I believe the current you will be able to destroy them without feeling anything."


    Kai nced at her and shook his head helplessly. "What do you expect from me? Kill them from a distance?"


    "That''s up to you."


    "¡­" Kai fell silent before thinking about another impossible thing. "Wait a minute¡­ I feel like I can do something about this."


    Kai looked at Arba''s face for a moment.


    Arba felt slightly awkward from his gaze and decided to tease him. "If my king desires my body, I shall serve you tonight."


    "Nah, you can do it by bing my meat shield in front of me right now." Kai chuckled. However, what Arba did when she ripped monsters apart without even touching them gave him inspiration.


    This new magic was rted to his Supersonic Sword, Sonokic de, and Oscition Shield. His Supersonic Sword made his swords vibrate at a very high speed, sharpening the sword to the point it could almost cut everything.


    However, this wasn''t enough. Several S Rank Magical Beasts could block it with their body hardness alone and it wasn''t like he could just stand a few minutes next to them to do it slowly, which enhanced its pration effect.


    To counter that one w, he gained a Sonokic de that contained both sharpness and power. Unfortunately, it also couldn''t fulfill his truest desire. The Sound Wave would gradually be less powerful after traveling to the air. Just like how the sound was hard to hear from far away.


    Hence, Kai took the concept of Oscition Shield. Instead of going long, he returned to basic and made it small, just barely reaching out a few centimeters from his swords.


    And Oscition Shield did this the best because it formed some sort of kic energy from the oscition around the shield surface to soften an attacking at the shield.


    Creating new magic was close to impossible, so he would try to reform his current magic to their most powerful form, like his Sound st.


    He raised his sword and summoned a magic circle, covering his sword.


    It was his Oscition Shield, but he had enhanced it with his Sonokic de. It gave both the power contained in his Sonokic de, but the sound kept going back and forth an inch from the sword''s de.


    This osciting energy was powerful and acted as a chain saw. And without getting any contact, the bird shouldn''t be able to stop his momentum or even slow him down unless its body was hard enough to create a form of resistance.


    But with the concentrated power of his Sonokic de that allowed him to cut a cliff into two, it was close to impossible.


    Seeing the power from the sword, Arba smiled and said, "I guess I don''t need to be the meat shield."


    "I was joking." Kai rolled his eyes. "You thought I was serious?"


    "No, but I didn''t lie either." Arba smirked.


    Kai looked away and shook his head helplessly. "Anyway, the birds are in front of us and I''m ready to take them down."


    "Sure thing." Arba slowed down her pace and hid behind Kai''s body, preparing to take any action if something went wrong.


    Meanwhile, Kai released this new improvised magic to its fullest potential.


    The birds had brown colors and flew without any pattern or whatsoever like geese. They all were random and just flew together without any care.


    Seeing such a thing, Kai quickly analyzed the perfect spot to hit them. He suddenly noticed a big gap that allowed him to go through after killing one particr bird.


    "The size¡­ Each bird is around one meter in height, and its wingspan is pretty good, so I guess this is a perfect time to test it. If this is a flop, my body will flip and I may lose my sword, but this is fine." Kai smirked. "If I don''t dare to do this, I won''t be strong enough to fight the enemy a year from now."


    Kai''s expression turned serious as he stepped on the air, increasing his pace for a moment.


    Cry.


    The birds released their cries and started changing their direction to swarm him. However, Kai used that chance to increase his speed to the limit, outrunning every bird except his target.


    He then waved his sword downwards. The bird''s body started getting distorted even before it made contact with the de.


    The distorted part was ripped apart like Arba did and continued until the de split the bird in half.


    Kai didn''t feel resistance as though his sword didn''t even touch the bird.. In that instant, a smile appeared on his face.

 Chapter 556 - Testing His New Power

    "Hmm¡­ There seems to be something powerful in front of us. Although I can''t say what it is, this one seems to be a beast." Kai warned Arba. They had been continuing their journey for two more days and Kai had been improving by leaps and bounds.


    There was one extra effect he got from this training. Because of them going so fast, he needed to identify all the monsters that entered his hearing range, forcing him to speed up or he couldn''t keep up.


    Thus, after bing ustomed to it, Kai could somehow feel the power from the enemy. They continued for a moment until Arba said, "Let''s have a break first."


    "Hmm?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and asked in confusion. "Are you sure? From what I have heard, it seems to be a tiger. And there are around thirty magical beasts walking together with the tiger.".


    "Yes. I''m serious." Arba nodded without hesitation. "Judging from the wind blowing around, I''m assuming this beast is ssified as SS Rank Magical Beast in your new ranking system."


    "Wind? You can even feel that?" Kai''s eyebrows twitched as he never expected Arba''s senses could be that sharp.


    "I have been spreading my wind, you know." Arba smiled and raised her hand, forming a circr wind. "This wind will allow me to sense my surroundings. Although it won''t be as good as your ears, I am able to sense them within 500 meters radius. Also, this one is more enhanced because I can judge their power level by stimting the Magic Particles near them."


    "Ehm¡­ I don''t understand, but I guess it''s fine." Kai nodded. "I will deal with them."


    "I will handle the other magical beasts. You can focus on the tiger alone. I believe this is a good chance for you to test your current power," said Arba with confidence.


    "Fair enough." Kai agreed and changed direction to where the tiger was.


    It took them a few seconds to reach the tiger''s position, finding a white tiger the size of a human walking slowly in a grass in. There were other Magical Beasts surrounding the tiger, but Arba alreadyunched herself to them.


    Bam.


    The ground turned into a small crater as Arbaughed. "Hahaha. Come here, little babies. I''m going to kill you."


    "Language. You don''t kill babies." Kai shook his head helplessly. He saw Arba forming a tornado thatunched all the magical beasts away to the side, leaving the tiger alone.


    Kai quickly made his way between them, so the tiger could focus on him.


    "Still, a white tiger, huh¡­ Albinism? I don''t see the white stripes, so I guess I was right¡­" Kai narrowed his eyes. "If I''m not wrong, a white tiger is a kind of legendary beast in Asia. I forget which country has that legend though¡­ Either way, I guess its reputation is well deserved. This guy is an SS Rank magical beast, only one step away from the SSS Rank beast. If it''s a protector, it would have be half god for Tiger Race."


    Roar.


    The white tiger released a powerful and loud roar while Kai replied with another roar in hisnguage. "(We don''t have a grudge. But I want to have a spar with you. Besides, my subordinates are just ying with yours, else, she would have killed them. I apologize for this, but I don''t have too much time.)"


    "!!!" The white tiger was surprised that Kai could use his ownnguage. The white tiger roared to reply. "(I only believe in strength. If you think you have that kind of strength, then make me submit. If you don''t have that strength, don''t me me for killing you because you have disturbed me.)"


    Kai smiled and raised his swords with a serious expression. He coated his swords with the powerful Sound Waveing from his Sonokic de. After using it for a while, Kai had gotten used to this kind of magic and gave it a name. "Supersonic Boundary."


    "Pfft. Has anyone ever told you that your naming sucks?" Arbaughed when she heard that name.


    "You better shut up or I''m going to ask for a recorded statement about your past from Aston." Kai looked at her coldly.


    Arba gulped down and closed her mouth. She pinched her thumb and forefinger together and swept her hand from right to left as if telling him that her mouth would be closed for a while.


    Kai shook his head helplessly and leaped forward with his Sound st. His speed went from zero to the top speed in an instant, allowing him to appear next to the tiger within a split second.


    The tiger widened his eyes and leaped back instinctively, avoiding Kai''s movement before he even arrived.


    Kai didn''t stop there and continued chasing him with his Supersonic Boundary Swords.


    Seeing that he couldn''t outrun Kai, the tiger released blue-colored energy and covered all his four feet with it.


    This allowed him to increase his speed which became even faster than Kai.


    "Hoh?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "(This is the first time I fight a beast this fast.)"


    "(You are still underestimating me.)" The white tiger roared and jumped into the air, waving all feet toward Kai.


    Suddenly, twelve crescent-shaped energy flew out of them.


    ''It seems each foot releases three of them.'' Kai furrowed his eyebrows and waved his sword, striking these attacks to test the might of his Supersonic Boundary.


    The moment the two were about to sh, the energy from the white tiger began to bend as if Kai''s Supersonic Boundary distorted the space. However, it was only the powerful kic energy that pushed the energy, ultimately bending them.


    At one point, the crescent-shaped energy snapped into two with the residual energy flew past Kai both to the ground and the air.


    Knowing that it would be good to fight him, Kai tried to predict the tiger''s movement with his ears and started matching its movement to catch up to him.


    Within a few seconds, Kai had arrived next to the tiger while saying, "I caught up with you."


    "!!!" The white tiger widened its eyes, not believing Kai''s speed was faster than him. He gritted his teeth and waved its right paw, swiping everything from behind.


    Kai frowned when the energy around the white tiger began to flow ording to the tiger''s movement.


    Kai summoned the Oscition Shield above him to block the Magic Power current. However, the tiger opened its mouth as if it was biting him.


    The mouth was projected to the air, forming a big enough mouth to devour him in one go.


    "Sonokic de." Kai waved his hand, cutting the mouth projectile. After that, Kai thought for a moment and clicked his tongue when he saw the tiger start leaving him behind. "I guess my speed can''t bepared to you."


    "(Hmph.)" The tiger snorted and waved its paw again to the ground. Instead of an invisible current, he formed his own paw on top of his head and used it to smash Kai.


    However, thetter used his sword to cut it effortlessly while saying, "Well, if my speed is not enough, I can simply raise it once more."


    "(Do you think you can do it?)" The tiger looked down on him.


    "One is not enough, so I just need¡­" Kai smiled and increased one more Magic Circle below his foot. This Sound st Magic Circle added the boost and increased his speed even further. "I just need two."


    "!!!" The tiger widened its eyes and saw the iing sword.


    Clink.

 Chapter 557 - Arrive

    The tiger obviously didn''t stand there just to see himself getting killed.


    In the instant Kai used his power, the tiger leaped to the side while covering his paw with magic particles, forming an extension of its ws.


    It then waved it to Kai''s swords, albeit getting cut down in an instant.


    Even so, the ws were made of magic particles, so Kai''s Supersonic Boundary gave a certain amount of shock wave because of the collision between magic particles, allowing the tiger to get to safety.


    "Ho?" Kai widened his eyes in surprise and began chasing him.


    The tiger started feeling threatened by Kai''s skill and thought of this battle in another way.


    The tiger stepped up his game by covering all his paws with magic particles, making them glow. The blue light reinforced the foot and made a small crack on the ground for every step the tiger took..


    "That''s quite a powerful force you have there." Kai squinted his eyes, analyzing the tiger''s power. He had his Sound st activated all the time, yet, the magic itself didn''t crack the ground like the tiger did.


    "Arba, do you know anything about it?" Kai asked out loud.


    Arba took a nce at the white tiger and replied, "Yes. But I don''t think my king needs something like that. You can certainly use it as long as you increase the power output of your magic."


    "But it won''t be that effective, right? I mean, it''s not efficient because I will end up wasting my magic."


    "Yes. If you have the crown, that problem won''t exist."


    "Either way, I think I can understand the principle. It''s just I don''t have a desire to copy it."


    "Actually, it''s something good, my king."


    "What do you mean?" Kai asked while parrying the tiger''s paw.


    "Have you ever thought about covering your own body with Magic Particles? This is something I want to teach youter, but the principle is controlling your Magic Particles to surround yourself, creating a kind of an invisibleyer around your body to lessen the damage you get."


    "Hmm? That kind of thing is possible, but I don''t think the three bases have done more research about it."


    "Well, it''s a part of Mystic Art."


    "Emphasizing the control, huh." Kai nodded in understanding. "When are you nning to teach me?"


    "In three months?"


    "Okay. I will observe it right now and learn it by myself. Maybe it will make my time easierter." Kaiughed.


    "Suit yourself. I am going to stop you if I see a sign of exhaustion." Arba warned him with a smile.


    "Okay, okay."


    The tiger red at Kai and let out a huge roar, releasing a sound wave to Kai.


    Kai quickly protected himself with his shield and heard the tiger saying, "(You have the nerve to talk with me as your enemy. And you have the audacity to have it that long.)"


    The tiger gnashed his teeth and waved his tail.


    Kai saw that his tail started releasing blue light that turned into his tail''s extension, flying to him like a whip.


    Kai waved his sword and cut it down, but surprisingly, the two parts reconnected as soon as Kai''s sword wasn''t in the way.


    "!!!" Kai instinctively jumped into the air and muttered, "That one is interesting."


    The tiger used this opportunity to change his direction and leaped toward Kai, trying to devour him.


    Kai summoned a Sound st magic circle on his right hand andunched his body sideways, allowing him to avoid the tiger.


    The tiger quickly turned around and chased him, but Kai suddenly created a surprise attack when he waved his sword backward.


    "Sonokic de."


    The tiger was rmed when he saw Kai attacking without even seeing his movement. It barely dodged the attack, albeit Kai took that opportunity to get close to the tiger.


    The tiger seemed to know that Kai wanted to end this fight right now, so he waved his paw tounch him away.


    Kai used his sword to cut the paw, but the tiger avoided his sword at thest minute and spun his body to get a chance for a sneak attack.


    With the body upside down, the tigerunched an attack from below right at Kai''s face.


    Kai couldn''t help but smile as if he saw iting.


    The tiger soon noticed where Kai''s confidence came from. It turned out Kai had let go of his sword as if he had predicted that the tiger would do something like this.


    Without his sword, Kai''s hand moved faster and reached the tiger''s body, punching his body and blowing him away.


    The tiger flew into the air and rolled a few times on the ground. It struggled to get up because Kai hit his weak spot.


    And Kai used that chance to arrive in front of the tiger, pointing his sword at the tiger''s neck and ending the fight.


    "(Thank you.)" Kai smiled and distanced himself from the tiger while sheathing his swords.


    "(You are satisfied now?)" The tiger released his killing intent, ring at him.


    "(Yes. I do feel bad fighting you, but this is an emergency. I can''t afford to have my own race wiped out from this world, you see.)" Kai shrugged.


    "(Now that you have beaten me, what are you nning to do?)"


    "(I will continue my training. In fact, I need to start running again right now.)"


    The white tiger paused for a moment and looked away. "(In that case, go. If we cross paths again, I expect us to fight again. I won''t lose next time.)"


    "(Haha, sure.)" Kai chuckled and turned around, nodding his head to Arba.


    Arba then released the magical beasts that followed the white tiger while regrouping with Kai.


    The white tiger let out a roar to get rid of the hostility of his followers and kept going.


    Kai also did the same and started running with Arba. He still had a long way to go.


    A few dayster.


    Kai arrived at his destination.


    In front of him stood a ruined building. The building looked like a castle that stretched far to the sides.


    The walls appeared to be red, not because of blood, but something else. He couldn''t help but smile once he arrived here. It was a gruesome journey because Arba kept annoying him with one task after another.


    Though, he couldn''t reallyin because each task trained him to be even stronger.


    Even Arba canceled a few tasks when she saw Kai was too exhausted. Although they were rushing, it wouldn''t be good if Kai became too exhausted to even practice. It would just dy their training even longer.


    After a long journey, they finally arrived at their destination.


    The first thing Kai did was to drop to the ground and stretch his body. He was lying down on the ground whileughing. "Hahaha. I have finally reached this ce. I am here, Red Fort¡­ I am here, India."


    "But we are going to continue our training here."


    "Can''t you give me one day off? No, just let me rest for a few hours. I don''t want to think about training right now."


    "You have two hours."


    "Thanks." Kai chuckled before closing his eyes. Surprisingly, he ended up falling asleep, unaware of what happened next.


    He didn''t know that Felice actually sent him a message.

 Chapter 558 - Ultrasonic Assassin

    After a nap, Kai woke up with a fresh mind. He saw Arba sitting next to him while watching their surroundings.


    "Mhm?" Kai yawned while stretching his body. It was a short nap, but it was certainly satisfying. "Sorry for making you wait, Arba."


    "It''s fine. I know that I pushed you too hard." Arba shook her head. "Besides, it''s all good now. You have recovered your stamina and we are ready to start the next training."


    "Indeed." Kai nodded in agreement..


    "Though, your student sent you a message right after you fell asleep."


    "Really?" Kai tilted his head innocently while finding a message from Felice. He opened it without hesitation, wondering what Felice had to say.


    "Big Brother, do you remember the day you told me all your magic? I''m sure you remember. I am sending you this message to fulfill the second requirement to be your student and wish to learn something about this so-called magic further."


    Seeing the first paragraph alone made him shake his head helplessly. "Such a dedication."


    Of course, he was happy that Felice did all this and praised her instead of getting angry. But it didn''t change the fact that the test was only a challenge to rile up Felice, not something he made to strengthen himself or something.


    Even so, he continued reading her message.


    "Actually, I have been thinking about it for a while, but I want to specifically mention one magic that you never used."


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes when he saw this statement. The magic he never used, he wondered if that existed. Then, he figured out which magic she mentioned.


    It was none other than his Ultrasonic Assassin. The magic released an earth-shattering sound and a powerful shock wave like that of a nuclear bomb. Due to the limitations of the simtion world, he couldn''t utilize it to its fullest potential, but if he used that magic, he would have be a walking nuclear missile.


    The sound wave that carried more than 200 decibel sound certainly had enough power to turn a region into a wastnd, depending on how much he poured his magic.


    However, it also meant his body would perish alongside this magic. After all, there was no way his body could withstand a nuclear missile.


    This realization alone piqued his interest, wondering what kind of aspect Felice saw from this impossible to use power.


    "I am thinking of building a certain barrel that can withstand your power. Of course, you need to lower the power of this magic unless you want to kill yourself. I believe you can do it since you have done it a few times with other magic."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and remembered how he gradually changed the characteristics of the sound. He certainly had the ability to do it since a long time ago.


    He wondered what was inside Felice''s head to the point she managed to realize all this. With his heart pumping in anticipation, he proceeded to read the next part.


    "This barrel will allow you to send a Sound Wave in a certain direction, allowing you to shoot a powerful bullet which carries only your power. Unfortunately, I can''t do much about it because of myck of ability to control the direction of the magic.


    "If I can control the direction, I''m nning to spread my power a bit¡­ Like a fan-shaped area. This will disperse the power enough and create a powerful sound wave that can destroy everything on its way. Of course, it will depend on the restriction you put in your Ultrasonic Assassin magic.


    "This is very dangerous magic and I can certainly ssify it as a double-edged sword even if you can control it. One wrong misstep will lead to a big disaster¡­ Well, I''m sure Big Brother knows this better than me. But yeah, this is what I have learned here."


    Kai facepalmed and shook his head helplessly. "This girl¡­ She is so brilliant."


    In his mind, he started visualizing the magic she thought for him. This magic might be the base magic of him, who became a new protector.


    After all, he remembered Ishii using his power to crush the enemy like nothing. He also had seen his friend, the dolphin, erasing one''s memory with just a single wave of its head.


    If he could control his Ultrasonic Assassin to a certain degree, he would be a walking nuclear. In this case, he might be able to fight against Neptune.


    His heart was pumped with excitement as he finally saw the path to survive.


    With this message in mind, Kai looked at Arba. "Say, I think I have seen my path. The path that can protect humanity from other races."


    Arba widened her eyes and stared at him with a shocked expression. "Ehm, congrattions? I don''t know this path, but if you think this is enough, this path should be strong enough to contend with that bastard, Neptune."


    "Ahaha, I don''t know, but it may be." Kai nodded. Although he was a bit hesitant, he knew that this might be the best shot he had against him.


    "Still, even with Mystic, I don''t have enough power to contain its full potential. I mean, the direction alone is a hard thing to control, then there is the power¡­" Kai let out a long sigh.


    Seeing the potential of this path, Arba bent her knees. "I, Arba, am ready toy down my life. This is the fight we can''t afford to lose, so even if this path you seek requires my life, I won''t hesitate to give it to you, my king."


    Kai smiled but still shook his head. "I am not a good person, but it doesn''t mean I will sacrifice my people unnecessarily. As you already know, I always tried to decrease our casualties."


    "By going to the frontline yourself," Arba added in agreement.


    "Y-yeah." Kai chuckled. "I am blessed with so many people, including my disciple."


    Arba shrugged while smiling.


    "Anyway, what is the next training? I am ready right now." Kai smiled. With him finding his own path and goal, everything seemed to be a challenge for him instead of a hurdle he needed to cross because he had no choice.


    He became a bit more energetic as he looked at Arba, saying, "Let''s go."


    "Actually, you are going to swim in the longest river in India while putting on some ridiculous weight. The time is going to be short too and you may need to fight the current."


    "Is that why we are here in Delhi?" Kai''s eyebrows twitched.


    "Yes. It''s not that far anymore, so we can get there today and start your next training. I mean, at the very least, you will need to experience the training onnd, in the water, and the sky."


    "In the sky?" Kai made a weird expression and shook his head helplessly. "I feel like I have been dragged to something ridiculous."


    "It''s necessary." Arba shrugged. "I had undergone such training too when I was chosen as the priestess. Leah hadpleted it too."


    "Though, it''s not as extreme as mine¡­" Kai rolled his eyes.


    "Ehm, yes." Arba looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Great poweres great responsibility. Your status is greater, so is your training."


    "It doesn''t work that way." Kai facepalmed and resigned to his fate. "Okay, we should go right now."

 Chapter 559 - Progress

    Kai then continued his training with Arba.


    Little did he know, the girls had been lying on the floor. Michelle and Tasha had their backs facing the floor while Ayaka and Sofia just couldn''t afford to turn their bodies around to lie on their backs.


    They all looked exhausted as their bodies were covered in sweat.


    In the middle of the group, Leah calmly walked to them while nodding her head. "I think this is good enough. We can step up a little bit."


    "What?" Tasha widened her eyes. "Are you serious? I can''t really move my muscles after all this. We have been carrying a bag of stones while running and doing exercises.".


    "Yeah. Both of my hands are shaking right now." Michelle raised her hands, showing the proof.


    Ayaka and Sofia, on the other hand, remained silent as Sofia gradually forced her way back up. She didn''t know why but she felt a bit nostalgic with this kind of treatment.


    And Sofia quickly connected the dots between her erased memory and this training.


    "This is nothing. I can still go on¡­" Sofia said while struggling to get up. Her body seemed to remember and somehow gave her a bit of encouragement by making her heart racing.


    To their surprise, Ria entered the room with two bags of stones. Unlike them, she effortlessly put the bag down while walking around normally.


    "How is the situation going?" Ria asked Leah.


    "It''s going pretty fast. I think we have some time to spare." Leah nodded, feeling satisfied with their progress.


    "Really? These weak girls can do it?" Ria furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head in disappointment. She had been wearing a sports bra and long ck pants, slightly revealing the abs from her continuous training since she was young.


    Despite having a huge workload, especially Kai''s stuff, she still managed to train her body and keep it in shape. That was why she never had a problem getting all this.


    Instead, she looked at the girls in disappointment. She said, "So, these girls can make it? It''s surprising enough since they don''t even try earnestly."


    "We have been training until our body can''t move this whole time anymore." Michelle corrected her while sighing.


    "Your mouth can still move, so that''s just your excuse." Ria shook her head. "And Ayaka, why the heck are you still lying there? Your blood allows you to lift so many bags at once."


    "Ehm, I''m carrying multiple bags and doing more exercises." Ayaka gently stroked her face.


    "Nah, it''s not enough." Ria disagreed and continued, "Kai has it rough."


    "My king is a bit different." Leah made a weird expression and tried to exin the situation to her.


    However, Ria snorted and red at her. "Huh? What did you say again?"


    Leah''s body shook as she recalled Ria was Kai''s adoptive mother. So, she quickly looked away and corrected herself. "I haven''t said anything."


    Ria harrumphed while saying, "I have been in contact with Kai and from what I have been told¡­ Kai seems to have optimized two new Magic. The first one is his Sound st. The new version allows him to use Sound st at a certain part of his body, meaning smaller magic circles and more powerful control.


    "The second one is the Supersonic Boundary. Basically, the chainsaw version of his Supersonic Sword." Ria looked down on them with a cold gaze.


    "Eh?" Michelle instinctively rose from the floor and stared at her, listening to the story attentively.


    "I don''t lie." Ria shrugged. "He might not carry this kind of bag, but he ran at full speed to India for his jogging alone."


    "What?" Tasha also rose from the floor, full of disbelief.


    "Yeah. He also needed to fight SS Rank Magical Beast along the way."


    "SS Rank Magical Beast? Like the spider?" Ayaka still remembered. Even with her current power, Ayaka didn''t know whether she was strong enough or not to kill the beast by herself. Even if she could do it, she would have suffered heavy injuries.


    She hurriedly rose from the floor.


    The same applied to Sofia when she heard what Ria said next.


    "Also, you should know Kai''s full speed, right? Imagine colliding with monsters at that kind of speed¡­ He is basically experiencing multiple crashes where one car hits another as they go in the opposite direction. The impact is so strong that it starts damaging his body."


    All of them seemed to have realized the graveness of Kai''s training. They only ran around the area without thinking about their lives since it was a safe ce. Meanwhile, Kai couldn''t let his guard down because he would end up dying without him knowing it.


    Compared to him, what they did was nothing.


    "You set your own limit. Unfortunately, it seems Leah has been too lenient on you as she manages to set a lower limit and instill it into your heads. If this goes on, I am thinking of showing my disapproval and only approve Leah to be a daughter-inw."


    Thatst statement riled everyone up as they rose from the floor while ring at Leah as if everything that happened was a part of her scheme.


    Of course, nobody thought that way. They didn''t say anything and simply turned around, leaving for extra training.


    "I still have some energy. I should practice a little bit." Ayaka shook her head and left.


    "I almost forgot one more training menu. I need to shoot some arrows." Tasha shook her head in disappointment.


    "I happen to face some trouble in my training, so I''m trying to figure out the solution." Sofia looked down while walking away.


    "Just stop your excuses. You all should just go and start practicing." Michelle let out a long sigh while saying, "I need to make sure you guys do not procrastinate anymore."


    "¡­" They all fell silent as they never expected Michelle to be that shameless.


    "See?" Ria pointed at them while shrugging in front of Leah. "That''s how you handle them. They are training hard, but not hard enough."


    "Ehm¡­ I believe they have done it hard enough." Leah gently stroked her cheek, wondering what she should say. She didn''t know why but Ria looked like Arba when she trained her.


    She always ended up working harder than ever despite feeling dying inside.


    "No worries. They won''t die in this ce. I''m going to resurrect them if they happen to die because of too much training." She snorted and left. "I leave the rest to you, Leah. Make sure they don''t be toozy."


    Leah wanted tough but ended up bing silent. She knew what kind of training Theo had to undergo to gain a strong body enough to endure the Crown Jewel.


    "He should have arrived at a certain ce and started the second training. I guess that''s fine." Leah looked down. "I should ask Devain to check the base''s situation as well to make sure we don''t have any spies within our ranks. Maybe he should start investigating the government¡­ I mean, they hold the biggest control over the poption, so that''s a good ce to start.


    "Still, this would have be easier if my king were the president for a lifetime. He is the king after all. Well, what can I expect? This is the other edge of advanced civilization." She shook her head. "I should start preparing as well."

 Chapter 560 - Six Months

    Everyone began their training even more seriously. There wasn''t a singleint anymore as the girls couldn''t help but imagine what kind of training Kai had to endure.


    In the end, one of them often called Kai to check his condition and asked him about his training.


    They soon found out Kai had indeed run from Emulda Kn to India while fighting monsters and improving his skills.


    After that, they realized Kai had been swimming in the longest river near them. He kept fighting and improving his magic.


    It didn''t stop there. Kai''s training became even more extreme as he progressed like climbing the cliff without his magic, flying in the sky and fighting all types of birds, and many others.


    When the girls saw what happened to him, they just didn''t feel like losing and began practicing like crazy..


    Even Leah practiced together with them. Of course, she had endured more despite her age, so her training was far worse than what the girls experienced. Although it was never reflected on her body, the girls were speechless when they saw Leah training her body.


    Leah was supposed to have Space Magic and her strength couldn''t bepared to Devain. However, seeing her doing something ten times harder than them, the girls felt they needed to catch up.


    Leah also had be the golden child in Carter Family because she still had time to do many things with Kai''s parents despite helping all the girls with their training.


    They soon realized Leah only slept one or two hours every day to refresh her mind while spending the rest doing all that stuff.


    If not because of her extremely strong body, she would have copsed. However, this kind of schedule continued for another six months.


    Although they were not ready yet, Leah believed that the girls should be able to handle the other side''s top ten fighters.


    Obviously, Michelle and the others also had realized their progress. They could gather more magic and made their way to SS Rank if not SSS Rank Magician while Kai practiced reaching World Rank Magician, thest rank of Magician.


    While they were training, Devain was still gathering information about the government. He simply couldn''t believe that the US Base didn''t have any spies. After all, both the EU Base and United Asia had their own spies.


    There was no way they didn''t send one to the US Base because it couldn''t match up with their information.


    He once thought about them removing their spies, but Devain still searched for this spy just in case.


    Unfortunately, he never found a single lead about this spy. Despite his failure, Devain kept monitoring the government until everything was ready.


    As for one of the most important people in the next fight, Ria had her own life training and researching in her house.


    She seemed to have found something interesting and when Kai asked her, it turned out Ria and Felice had been contacting each other. Felice''s suggestion about his Ultrasonic Assassin actually came from the idea they put together.


    Kai could see what happened when two geniuses were put together. With enough time, Felice might be able to rece her as the world''s greatest scientist¡­ Or that was what Ria said.


    Kai didn''t really care about it since he shouldn''t face another problem like this at that time, since the war to decide humanity''s fate was right on the corner.


    ¡­


    Six monthster.


    Finally, the time hade for Kai to receive his Crown Jewel.


    He started by taking a shower in his room while Arba and Aston prepared the ritual.


    They had put his clothes on his bed, which turned out to be white long but thin clothes. It looked like a bathrobe, but when he put it on, something jolted his mind.


    "!!!" Kai opened his mouth in surprise as he checked that feeling, realizing it wasing from the clothes. There were several patterns on the clothes that seemed to be electrocuting him with power only enough to numb his senses a little bit.


    At the same time, he felt the cool breeze that lowered his body temperature.


    Kai wasn''t that knowledgeable about this robe, so he simply wore it, following what Arba and Aston had for him.


    To be honest, Kai once wondered whether Aston, Arba, and everyone from Emulda Kn told him the truth¡­ They could just act like this for a while until he received the Crown Jewel before controlling Kai.


    He felt a bit terrible to doubt them, but that thought was normal, especially since Emulda Kn had no record in the world''s history.


    That was why Kai had been talking to other Protectors and bing their friends like the Mappuangari and the pink dolphin from Amazon or Ishii from Oni Vige.


    If something happened to him, the pink dolphin should be the first to find out what happened. After all, it had mind ability which overpowered Aston''s mind magic.


    After making that kind of preparation, he chose to be stronger, assuming everything was going to be alright.


    Wearing this robe, Kai came out of the room with a serious expression, finding Aston and Arba kneeling on one knee.


    "My King. Everything is ready."


    Kai nodded and said, "Lead the way."


    "Certainly." The two rose from the floor, turned back, and started walking forward.


    Meanwhile, Arba exined the robe, which surely shocked Kai. "My King¡­ You need a few months toplete this process and it will be extremely painful. That''s why we have a robe that can cool down your body all the time while numbing your senses to lower the pain.


    "But if you wish to change to another suit, we will prepare it for you." Arba checked Kai''s expression before getting a nod from Kai.


    "It''s fine. Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Kai nodded with a smile.


    She sped her hand and remained silent for the rest of the trip.


    They soon returned to the room where he first saw the jewel.


    It was a huge room with several light bulbs hanging on the ceiling. In the middle of the room, right after the staircases,id down a small stone pir.


    He remembered there was a red carpet leading to the pir, but he didn''t find any today. Instead, he found a full scale of the Magic Circle.


    There were two small circles in the magic circle, which seemed to be for him, considering the other was for the Altar.


    Beforeing in, Kai took a moment to see the floating green-colored jewel. The jewel itself seemed to radiate nothing, but Kai subconsciously raised his hand as if there was a connection between them.


    ''I see.'' Kai smiled and started walking to the magic circle.


    Arba couldn''t help but call him. "My king."


    Kai stopped and nced at her.


    "The entire process will be extremely painful, but you need to be awake for the entire ritual. At the same time, I will be helping you with food and other things, so you can focus on getting the power from the jewel." Arba scratched the back of her head while stuttering, "Actually¡­ I only want to say this¡­"


    She sped her hands and smiled. "May fortune bless you with its presence."


    Kai closed his eyes for a moment as his lips curved. He turned around and walked to the pir while saying, "Yeah. I will leave everything to you, Arba."

 Chapter 561 - Ritual

    Kai made his way to the bottom of the altar and stood in the middle of the circle.


    "What am I going to do now?" Kai asked with a calm expression.


    "The ritual is divided into four phases. The first phase is Preparation. In this phase, your body will be conditioned to suit the Crown Jewel''s energy. This will be a phase where you will experience pain because it feels like your blood is sucked outside and getting an injection at the same time. The rate will be rapid, making it painful.


    "However, it''s not your blood flowing. Instead, it''s your Magic Particles. Whatever you are experiencing in this situation, you still need to be awake because there is a big difference in what your body can do when you are asleep and awake.


    "The Crown Jewel will do the entire process, so you don''t need to care about it.. What you need to focus on is to endure the pain.


    "Also, the process will take a long time, so I will help you with everything you need. Even if it''s too painful for you, you still need to eat, drink and do activities normally. This way, you don''t need to adjust yourself in the next step because your body has been working normally.


    "After that, the second step will be like what I said¡­ Adjustment. However, we don''t have enough time to do this, so we would like you to do that during the first phase. Of course, if you think you can''t endure it anymore, you''re free to fall unconscious. It''s like a state ofa, but the Crown Jewel will be waking you up at thest second.


    "And if your body is enduring that kind of pain when you are asleep, I''m sure what will happen to your body. You won''t be able to move a muscle for a few months and therapy is needed.


    "Then, we are moving to the third phase. This phase is called Assimtion. After gradually changing your Magic Particles in the first phase, your body will also gather the original Magic Particles that have been expelled from your body.


    "These two will sh with each other for a while and the Crown Jewel will take over to stop the conflict, achieving bnce in your body. Of course, this is a painful process. The record said it''s like two small creatures flowing inside your blood while piercing through your flesh to kill each other.


    "Last but not least, the Closing Process. The Crown Jewel is finally in your possession in this situation and you will need to try and make a connection between you and the Crown Jewel. You will adjust yourself to know how to borrow the power from the Crown Jewel and other things. That''s all. If you are ready to do it, you can proceed by channeling your power into the Magic Circle.


    "The Magic Circle will distribute your power and start absorbing your power a bit to maintain its power. I wish you luck." Arba finished her exnation and took a step back.


    Kai closed his eyes and nodded. "Can I sit?"


    "Make yourselffortable."


    Kai then sat down on the floor, closed his eyes, and started concentrating.


    Even though he had prepared for this, confronting it head-on still made his heart racing. He didn''t know what would happen if he started this magic circle. But this was something he needed to do.


    Despite taking ten minutes to calm his heart and maintain his focus, Kai finally poured his power into the Magic Circle.


    As Arba exined earlier, the Magic Circle started to absorb the power in his body. Yellow lighting from the Magic Circle began to shine.


    But Kai didn''t even open his eyes and kept continuing his task.


    When the Magic Circle was glowing in every corner, the pir started to light up, making its way to the Crown Jewel.


    As if responding to the invasion of the Magic Power into its very core, the Crown Jewel released its power as well, inverting all the Magic Power backward. The glow turned green, matching the Crown Jewel''s color.


    With all the color changed, all that was left was for Kai to feel the energy.


    Suddenly, he felt his body starting to heat up as if the room gradually became an oven.


    What actually happened was the light in the Magic Circle began to change color rapidly from yellow to green to yellow to green again.


    It kept changing between two colors back and forth as if the two colors shed. This was the representation of the sh between the two powers.


    Unfortunately, everything changed the moment the yellow''s glow lost and disappeared.


    The power of the Crown Jewel began to invade his body.


    His fingertips started to feel that change. The intense heat his body experienced earlier was concentrated in his fingertips. It didn''t stop there, Kai suddenly experienced something that jolted his mind as he couldn''t help but scream.


    "Argh!"


    Kai opened his eyes and started gasping for air. He certainly wasn''t prepared for that.


    He instinctively raised his right hand but found nothing other than his normal hand. After that, the pain struck again.


    "!!!" Kai gritted his teeth and endured it this time. The pain felt like someone hammering a nail on his palm. If it were to stop there, Kai would be able to maintain his calm, but he once again started screaming.


    "Argh!"


    The pain turned out to be spreading. From his palm to the fingertips as though his nails were being pulled by a mysterious force, then it started to move to his arms before making their way to his body, his heart, and his brain.


    The pain was several times more painful than what he endured to control the Lion blood in his body and be a Zodiac.


    But little did he know this torture was just started. The pain he experienced right now couldn''t bepared to what he would experienceter.


    Luckily, Arba and Aston had prepared the robe for him. The cooling effect tried to prevent as much sweat as possible to avoid dehydration, while the electrocuting effect numbed his senses to lessen the pain.


    This was the time Kai started his endless fight with the Crown Jewel. A fight that was filled with an endless scream.


    "Argghh!!!"

 Chapter 562 - Kings Mark

    Kai continued screaming no matter the time. Despite preparing his heart to receive pain, the pain was beyond his imagination.


    If not because he had good mental fortitude, he would have passed out.


    Arba and Aston could only watch from afar, hoping that Kai could seed. They obviously didn''t know the degree of pain, but they knew that Kai wouldn''t scream just being stabbed by his enemy.


    That was why Aston quickly prepared everything Kai would needter while Arba watched over him.


    After a whole day, Kai was still screaming, but he somehow nced at Arba, maintaining eye contact with her.


    At that time, Arba realized what he needed and raised her hand, lifting the food next to her. She carried it carefully, so it didn''t touch Kai or the Magic Circle..


    As soon as it was near Kai, Arba moved it a bit closer to Kai''s face, so he could take a bite. Kai didn''t hesitate and took a huge bite since he was quite hungry after enduring all this pain.


    Arba made sure he got his drink and food whenever he wanted.


    Aston often reced Arba, but because Aston had been working for their intelligencework, Arba was the one watching him most of the time.


    The one thing that Kai needed was sleep. He had yet to sleep in the past three days and he didn''t feel like sleeping with all this pain.


    To his surprise, his body also didn''t feel like resting. There was a weird sensation that kept him going. And he thought it was the Crown Jewel giving him energy.


    At the very least, what he felt from his body was excitement.


    He kept enduring the pain that spread all over his body. He didn''t know why but he felt like being boiled alive. The pain made him think his body was going to melt, but there wasn''t even an instance of something like that happening.


    He simply endured that feeling and started getting used to the pain.


    Kai just felt his body begin to feel numb and the pain was reduced not long after.


    Still, he had endured two weeks of torture at that time. And during that time, Kai still moved around inside his circle, adjusting his body even further. This was the second phase that he needed to do.


    Even though every step he took made the pain several times more painful, he endured all of them to the very end.


    He stopped screaming after three months as if he had gotten hold of this torture. But that was the start of another phase.


    Kai found the skin on his hands began to solidify like that of a stone. Although he was numb to the sense of touch this time, he could still feel how his body changed.


    Kai didn''t know what this was and looked at Arba.


    Unfortunately, Arba couldn''t understand what was happening as well and asked Aston, who was also clueless.


    In the end, Kai didn''t ask anymore and observed the change in his skin.


    The solidified skin suddenly started to crack after a week. It made Kai, Aston, and Arba panic as they didn''t know what was going on with his body.


    However, their answer came when Kai became "Fat". It wasn''t fat, but Kai''s body still looked like it had expanded.


    This startled Kai, but when he checked his skin, he realized there was his normal skin between the cracks.


    It turned out his former skin was bloated and solidified to change with this new skin. Although he wasn''t sure about it, he felt his organs had experienced the same thing.


    In other words, his normal body seemed to be unable to withstand the power of the Crown Jewel. And this might also be the reason why the Race Protector would live several times longer than his kin.


    Even Ishii had lived for a very long time, let alone the whale that was said to have lived for two hundred thousand years.


    He could only sigh. Even though he had prepared for this, he was still sad to know that he would still live even when his great great great grandchildren had died.


    People thought immortality was good because they wanted to live longer, but when they reached a certain point, they wouldn''t feel the same. Their heart would be numb from the continuous cycle of life and death.


    Even Kai knew what he would face in the future was loneliness.


    Despite having such a thought, Kai didn''t regret choosing this path. Without this, he couldn''t live together with the girls and he didn''t know what kind of fate they would need to endure just by the fact they were Humanity Protector''s women.


    The conflict was there, but in the end, Kai chose this as the best path.


    He regained his determination and continued the process. The skin began to fall off like a rock on top of a cliff just snapped into two and fell.


    The hard skin melted and fused together with the Magic Circle. The same thing was happening all over his body and Kai''s appearance couldn''t be said to be the same.


    There were many marks and cracks on his body, but all of them recovered over time. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, there wasn''t much difference between his previous and current skin.


    The only thing that could be noticed in a nce was that this skin was brimming with energy. As soon as all his skin had been reced by a new one, the third process started.


    The assimtion process was when the two energies starteding together to coexist in one bnce, gaining their bnce.


    However, the process didn''t stop there. The two energies started to assimte to each other, making it the power that only Kai possessed. This was a unique power that each protector possessed.


    After another two months, Kai finally finished this Assimtion Process.


    When thest step began, the Crown Jewel surprisingly moved without anyone controlling it. The jewel floated in the air and starteding closer to Kai.


    Although he didn''t know what it was, there seemed to be something that clutched his heart. He didn''t know why, but his hand subconsciously rose, trying to reach the Crown Jewel.


    The jewel eventually arrived in front of Kai''s palm and didn''t stop until it gently touched his palm.


    "Kh¡­" Kai let out a small groan because he never expected another wave of pain to spread from his hand.


    He was lucky¡­ or rather he might be unlucky, but he had grown ustomed to this kind of pain and soon regained his focus as if nothing happened.


    His hand just rested on top of his knee while he felt the burning sensation that kept going. It felt like the Crown Jewel was trying to mark him with a molten rod.


    Kai didn''t care about it and just let the Crown Jewel do whatever it wanted.


    Six months after he first started this ritual, Kai finally stopped feeling any pain. All the feeling remained was a warm sensation that kept giving him energy.


    While closing his eyes, he rose from the floor and opened his right hand.


    The Crown Jewel floated inches above the palm, revealing a mark on his hand. The mark was circr with eight-pointed needles. It was like the Crown Jewel used its pointed tips to make it.


    "The King''s Mark¡­" Aston drew a gasp. His body was shaken, but when he saw the mark on Kai''s hand, he fell on his knees and ced his head on the ground.

 Chapter 563 - Last Preparation

    "The King''s Mark." Aston instantly recognized it.


    "Aston?" Arba tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean by the King''s Mark?"


    "It is as it is. You know about our Emulda Kn''s symbol?" Aston asked.


    Arba furrowed her eyebrows and recalled the symbol. It was a cross with four-pointed needles that connected it like that of a rectangle. "Yeah."


    "That was the previous king''s King Mark."


    "Don''t tell me, it''s King¡­".


    "Yes. King Gilgamesh once received the marking too that became our symbol. And now the new King Mark has been born. ording to the record, the King Mark represents their individual characteristics, so each king will have a different King Mark."


    "So, that''s how it is¡­" Arba nodded in understanding. Suddenly, the Magic Particles in the air fluctuated as both Arba and Aston turned around out of reflex, raising their guards.


    They saw Kai standing with a serene expression. The Crown Jewel was floating on top of his palm, giving Kai''s energy.


    "¡­" Kai frowned when he felt the Crown Jewel released a bit too much energy, resulting in the increase of energy density in this room.


    "Tsk." Kai clicked his tongue and tried releasing his power to lower the density once more. However, the power was beyond his imagination as the concentrated Magic Power hovered around his body, spinning in a circle.


    When it reached the peak concentration, the Magic Particles just flew in all directions, sending a small gust of wind, albeit a bit too strong.


    The ground cracked and the magic circle was ruined.


    Arba and Aston were astonished by the sheer amount of power Kai released. And it seemed to be something unintentional. If he gathered more power, he might destroy this room.


    "¡­" They had expected such power from a protector, but this was certainly their first time experiencing it.


    Kai, on the contrary, had weird expressions on his face. He scratched the back of his head while wondering if he had done something wrong, especially when he looked at the destroyed Magic Circle.


    He nced at Arba and Aston, asking, "Ehm¡­ Do you know how to rece this one? I mean, is the Magic Circle that important?"


    Kai also checked his altar and realized it was still intact without any scratches. He even wondered whether to call Ishii here or not, considering Ishii once returned everything to the previous position like nothing happened.


    Luckily, Aston exined it to him. "There''s no need to worry, My King. We can rece the Magic Circle ourselves. There are some manuals regarding it, so you don''t need to care about this room. As long as the altar and the Crown Jewel are safe, it''s good."


    "That''s good." Kai nodded with a sigh of relief. "I think I really need to leave this ce. I still can''t control the power of this Jewel. I don''t want to destroy anything here."


    "I understand." Arba stepped forward and said, "I will be helping you in controlling that power. Do you need me to bring something?"


    Kai thought for a moment and nodded furiously. "Yes. First of all, I love to take a bath right now. So, everything rted to it. Also, a good bed? Whatever the case, I haven''t slept for six months¡­ Maybe we can make a small hut to practice outside this area."


    "Certainly. I will bring all our daily necessities there." Arba agreed without hesitation.


    Kai then pointed at the right. "I will be near the river next to Emulda Kn and wait there."


    "Understood."


    After getting the confirmation, he snapped his finger, teleporting himself away from Emulda Kn.


    He sat next to the river while looking at the Crown Jewel that kept hovering around his hand. He tried to close his hand and raised it, only to find the Crown Jewel kept floating on top of his hand. "So, how do I deal with this? I mean, I will have trouble if I have the Crown Jewel with me all the time.


    "I should probably ask Arba about it since I''m going to learn to control the power of the Crown Jewel for one month. Also, the war preparation is going on too¡­" Kai took a deep breath and took out his device, calling Ria Ross.


    "Oh?! You are done?"


    "Yeah¡­ I want to know the situation in the base." Kai sighed. "Well, I don''t think I have much time left, right?"


    "Yep. It''s been a year, you know."


    "That''s why I want to know the development of the war." Kai asked, "What have we done for this war?"


    "Themand center has been moving around the troops and halting their progress to all other areas. They are shifting their focus to the US Base and South America. Hopefully, the war is there because the destruction can be minimized.


    "Though, we have evacuated the citizens near the coast along with your parents. They have been evacuated into the underground bunker together with the president. After all, you are the only one who can do this and you don''t want your parents to be endangered."


    "Okay, thank you for the consideration." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "As for the others¡­ we have noticed several movements from the Sea Race, including the gathering of Magical Beasts around."


    "I will tell them to not interfere. So, unless they are a part of the Sea Race, they should be listening to me."


    "Hmm, okay?" Ria paused for a moment. "Anyway, we have been hindering their movement to buy time for you. When will youe back?"


    "I''m not very sure. I am trying to control my newfound power, so I don''t really know when I cane back."


    "In that case, we will prolong it as much as possible. But I don''t think we can give you one month¡­ Probably only two or three weeks."


    Kai fell silent as he scratched the back of his head, wondering what he should do. The Crown Jewel ritual took longer than he expected, so he didn''t know whether he had enough time or not.


    "I guess I will take this to the extreme." Kai nodded. "Okay, tell the others that everything is going to start. Also, I will do my best to help even when I''m not there right now."


    "Understood. Though, do you want to leave some messages for them?" Ria asked.


    Kai smiled and thought for a moment. "I guess I have one¡­ Tell them that this is not the end."


    "A weird thing to say."


    "Ahaha, okay, it''s time for me to leave. I don''t have much time left."


    "Sure. See you in a few weeks."


    "See you in a few weeks." Kai hung up andid down on the grass. There were many things to do, so he nned everything in his mind.


    When Arba arrived, she found Kai sleeping on the grass peacefully. It was the first sleep he had in thest six months, so she only smiled and waited patiently.


    A few hourster, Kai opened his eyes again with a slight headache.


    "Ugh¡­" Kai rubbed his eyes while clutching his head. He soon saw Arba sitting next to him. "Arba."


    "Yes, My King." Arba pointed at the stuff next to her. "I have brought everything."


    "I can see that." Kai nodded and asked, "After I wash my body, do you want to follow me to do something even more extreme than our training?"


    "Ehm, what kind of training is that?" Arba made a weird expression.


    Kai smiled and gave her a very short answer. "The World."

 Chapter 564 - World War

    Two weekster, Ria Ross was meeting with the president together with all generals and S Rank Magicians.


    It was a huge conference room as they had so many things to discuss.


    "So, how is the situation going?" President Brent asked. "Have you gotten any news from Kai Carter?"


    "Ourst contact was one week ago." She shook her head. "There was nothing much to talk about to be honest¡­"


    "What do you mean?" The president and many generals furrowed their eyebrows.


    Although they didn''t admit it openly, they knew Kai was a genius in warfare and his strength was beyond theirprehension. And Kai not giving them much information truly felt like he was abandoning the battle.


    One of the generals raised his hand and asked, "Do you have any idea how many enemies we are going to face? Kai Carter has a secret influence, right? He should have some information."


    The other generals remained silent, listening to Ria''s answer.


    To his surprise, Riaughed at his question.


    "I''m sorry, I know that you are our General of the Army, but I don''t think it''s appropriate tough at this serious question."


    "Hahaha, sorry." Ria had a hard time stopping and waved her hand. "I just couldn''t help it after getting the answer from Kai a week ago."


    "Do you know anything?" President Brent asked with a serious expression. "How many are there?"


    "Truthfully¡­ He also doesn''t have an idea."


    "Ehm¡­" President Brent scratched the back of his head. "Then, why are youughing? I can''t find any reason for you tough at that question."


    "Y-yeah. But if you know the power of our enemy, you will stop bothering with the number and just bring all your soldiers to the battlefield." She shook her head helplessly.


    "What do you mean? We have gotten a good idea of their power. I believe our firepower and manpower are enough to deal with them."


    "Ah, you mean the ones on the battlefield back then? They can''t bepared to their king or you can say their leader." Ria shook her head.


    "Ehm¡­ What?"


    "Well, I can''t really say it this whole time because it will just anger the other party and send their army to us faster than we expected¡­ but now that we are already in this state, I can say it freely." She smiled. "Do you remember when our soldiers and generals lost their memory for a few minutes and the next thing they realized was an empty battlefield?"


    "Y-yeah." Brent nodded with a serious expression while other generals began to whisper, trying to figure it out.


    "That was done by another party with just a single wave of his head."


    "!!!" All of them suddenly rose from their seats with shocked faces. Even President Brent was no exception.


    "Why didn''t you tell us?" Another general shouted in anger. This was a piece of very important information that could overturn the entire situation.


    However, Ria onlyughed it off. "What? Can you do something about it? No, I should ask you this¡­ Can you stop a tornado or a storm?"


    "¡­" The room was silent as they had no answer until Ethan answered, "We can redirect it. With enough power¡­"


    "Yeah. If it''s a tornado, we can stack up the walls and destroy the air current. If it''s a storm, we can redirect the water. However, we have no idea about our enemy''s power and when they are gonna attack us." Ria sighed. "Tell me, do we have enough resources to create one countermeasure for everything?


    "Then tell me where they will attack us? Argentina Base? Paraguay Base? Or even directly to this base?" Ria shrugged. "If you have the answer, do tell me. Even if you can reinforce one or two, they may change their direction and attack us from the ce we least expected. At that time, we''re making our situation even more dangerous.


    "Many citizens will die in the process and the damage is too great for us to bear. That''s why I didn''t tell you. Instead of increasing the unknown factor, I am going to let the enemies pick whatever they want. At the very least, they will attack us from the shore.


    "If theye to our base, we fight them in North or South Carolina and so on with all directions. That''s why this is better." Ria shrugged. "And if I leak the n, they may know about it¡­ Considering they have a spy on the EU Base and United Asia while we haven''t even found one in this base. You know what I mean¡­


    "I need you to remember one thing. We are dealing with someone that can cause a natural disaster as if flipping his hand. Can you understand that a small trick won''t work against him?" Ria Ross let out a long sigh.


    Ethan looked down and closed his eyes, not having the answer to her question.


    If they brought a storm with them, the soldiers would have a hard time dealing with them because their movement would be restricted while the enemy was like a fish in the water¡­ literally.


    "In that case, what is his n? Did he tell you anything?" Brent asked.


    "He only told me to move as many soldiers as possible. There is a high chance that the enemies will hit our base directly, which is good. Set up several defense lines and don''t engage their king. He will take care of him.


    "And because their fight will cause massive destruction, he can''t give a singlemand and ns. That''s why he wants all of us here to think about countermeasures ourselves instead of relying on him." Ria smiled and said to the generals. "That''s why we are here discussing this matter, right? Let''s start the meeting for our biggest war in history¡­


    "All of you have those four stars on your shoulders. Are they decorations? This is not a small-scale war like what you have experienced in your life. We will bring at least two million soldiers to the battlefield and the enemy will surely bring more as you can''t count how many fishes are swimming in the ocean."


    She hit the table with her forefinger and announced with a grim expression. "Everyone¡­ Make no mistake. This is a World War."

 Chapter 565 - The Start

    South Carolina.


    At the coastal South Carolina, a soldier was staring at the sea together with her friend. "I have been here for a long time, but no matter how long I stare at the sea, it still makes me want to say how beautiful it is¡­"


    Her friend furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged. "We don''t have that liberty anymore. Traveling across the sea is impossible because of the sea Magical Beasts. It''s been a few hundred years that humans can''t do anything about this¡­"


    "Yeah. I hope that in the future the sea can be crossed again. Even ying on the beach alone needs to gamble with your life." She sighed.


    "I¡ª" When she was about to reply, her expression changed..


    Three giant crabs emerged from the sea, walking on the beach. She quickly raised her gun and aimed at the crabs, "We need to eliminate them first."


    "This is Tango one. Headquarters, we spotted three crabsing out of the sea and we are nning to eliminate the threat. Requesting perm¡ª" The soldier tried to inform the base about the crabs but soon stopped when she saw more and more crabs making their appearance.


    "Tango one? Can you repeat that please?"


    Unfortunately, there was no answer from her because what she found was far beyond her imagination. Thousands of magical beasts emerged from the sea, moving toward the beach.


    Panicked, the soldier hurriedly informed them of the condition. "We have an emergency. Thousands of Magical Beasts areing out of the sea. I repeat, we have an emergency."


    When they heard the report, they quickly sent the information to the central base while getting the visual of what happened.


    "Call Commander Nathan!" Many soldiers who saw the visual from the camera next to the beach shouted in unison.


    In twenty seconds, Nathan entered the room and saw tens of thousands of Magical Beasts began to appear. "Holy¡­ Code Red. Tens of thousands of Magical Beasts have appeared, requesting back up."


    The soldiers followed hismand while Nathan calmly gave another order. "Send all our troops here. There is a high chance that the enemy is using this ce to gain control of the base."


    The moment they received Nathan''s report, all soldiers were mobilized.


    Tens of thousands might be a big number, butpared to millions of Magical Beasts, that number was only one percent.


    However, Ria Ross bent on sending the entire troops because she knew this was the perfect ce to attack them.


    Humanity would have less responsive timepared to any other city. Also, they could send an ambush from Washington or Dware had the enemy attacked Virginia or North Carolina. The rest of the states were simply too far from the center, which took them longer to attack.


    Hence, seeing the number of the enemies was enough for Ria to determine this attack.


    President Brent met Ria Ross for onest time.


    He was standing with a serious expression, asking, "Are you sure about this decision?"


    "Yes. The enemy hase. It''s time for me to go."


    "How I wish I could help you on the battlefield¡­ This is a war for humanity''s survival, but I can''t go with you to the battlefield because of this stupid position."


    "It''s nothing. You have your own task, we have ours." Ria shrugged.


    "Still, those bastards. Why did the EU Base and United Asia refuse to help? This is their fight too. I want to f*ck them up." Brent gritted his teeth.


    Riaughed and said, "They''re already here."


    "Huh?" Brent furrowed his eyebrows, confused. He had talked with the current leader of the Union, Marsha, and United Asia''s Prime Minister. Both of them refused to send their force because they were afraid the enemies would attack them when they were most vulnerable.


    Ria smiled and said yfully, "Have you forgotten who ourmander-in-chief is?"


    "Kai Carter¡­" Brent suddenly came to a realization. His body was shaking as he almost fell on his butt. "Don''t tell me¡­"


    Ria made a smug smile and left. "Trust us. You will have countless paperwork to deal with after this¡­"


    Brent closed his eyes and shook his head helplessly, defeated. "That''s something I can do."


    Ria left the room and headed straight to the deployment.


    Meanwhile, Nathan found more and more monsters emerging from the sea. The number was already beyond a hundred thousand and it kept increasing.


    "Kh¡­" Nathan gritted his teeth and said, "How do we handle this¡­ Our number is currently equal, but they will continue to appear¡­"


    He asked his subordinate. "What happens to the other coasts? In Rio and Buenos."


    The subordinates quickly contacted the one in charge of that mission and replied, "Sir, they are gone."


    "In that case, this ce will indeed be the epicenter of this war." Nathan clicked his tongue and contacted Ria Ross. "Ria Ross, can you hear me?"


    "Yep. Loud and clear." Ria calmly responded. "How many monsters are there?"


    "A hundred thousand¡­ More areing." Nathan waved his hand to his subordinates, "Call Ethan, Jose, and Paolo to head straight to the coast. They are going to defend it from the very front until reinforcements arrive."


    "We have the report, Sir. All three of them have arrived. Your granddaughter and her friends have been waiting for action too."


    "¡­" Nathan nodded and said to Ria, "How many wille to our aid? And how long do we need to wait?"


    "We have moved our force close to your area to be honest, so the reinforcement will keeping¡­ Starting from fifteen minutes. I will be there in thirty minutes. As for our number, considering we need to guard the surroundings, there will be a total of two million soldiers." Ria answered while checking the data.


    "Okay, I understand. I will buy you enough time." Nathan thought for a moment. "Do you have any information about Kai?"


    "I have sent him a message and he will be there as soon as possible. There is still one more task he needs to do, he said."


    "Understood." Nathan then asked, "I will be waiting for you."


    ¡­


    While those two were talking, Michelle and the others had arrived not far from the beaches. They were standing on top of a tall building together with Jose and Ethan.


    "Are you sure we can use the radio this time?" Michelle asked, ncing at Ethan.


    "It''s fine. This kind of war is too huge, so eachmander will give orders ording to their situation. And this is a head-on confrontation, there''s no need to hold back. It''s not like we have an ambush." Ethan smiled and exined while looking at the numerous magical beasts and the soldiers that had been stationed on the ground.


    "This is my first time seeing so many Magical Beasts." Ethan still couldn''t help but astonish by the sheer number alone. The monsters stretched from the left corner to the right corner of his vision. The number was simply massive.


    "Five hundred thousands¡­ No, it''s close to one million already. They are really not holding back anymore. This sea race, I really want to beat them up." Jose harrumphed while observing the horizon.


    Suddenly, she found something weird growing on the horizon. She couldn''t help but squint her eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. "What''s that?"


    The rest came closer and followed her line of sight, finding a mountain rising above the sea.


    However, they soon realized what it was and dropped their jaws to the ground. It was simply impossible for it to happen, especially without an Earthquake.


    Leah couldn''t help but mutter, "Tsunami, huh."

 Chapter 566 - EU Base

    "Tsunami, huh." Leah furrowed her eyebrows. "They''re using a really shy way to start this war."


    "Leah?" Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. "Why are you so calm? If that tsunami reaches this ce, it''s going to be ruined soon."


    "Hmm. Well, it''s only forty meters in size. What do you expect?" Leah shrugged. "This is normal."


    "It''s normal?" Ethan''s eyebrows twitched as if he just heard something ridiculous.


    "Yes.. Their king ising at us¡­ With his power, calling multiple tsunamis is possible." Leah nodded and thought for a moment, "Though, I am not sure whether my king has arrived or not."


    "Your king?" Jose nced at her.


    Leah didn''t answer and kept staring at the tsunami.


    It started bing bigger and bigger as it got closer to the shore. However, they soon found eleven people on top of the tsunami, standing proudly as if they were looking down on the soldiers that were stationed on the ground.


    Leah turned around and asked, "Where are the elders?"


    "They''re going toe here in¡­" Before Devain continued, they heard the shrill of the soldiers. They obviously never expected a tsunami woulde without an earthquake or warning.


    "What is happening?"


    "How does a tsunami appear so suddenly?"


    "We are going to be wiped out if we stay here."


    Michelle clicked her tongue and said to Ethan, "We need to bring them above."


    However, they didn''t get the chance to act when Arba suddenlynded on top of the building. "Just tell them to use the buildings around as a barricade and reinforce it with your ice or earth magic."


    "Who¡­" Ethan turned around and saw a woman standing so carefree despite the tsunami approaching.


    "Me? King Kai Carter''s First Magician, Arba." Arba nced at them with a smug smile, looking very proud of her status.


    "Elder¡­" Leah came to Arba with a worried expression, ignoring the "King" title in Kai''s name.


    "He hasn''t arrived. We need to buy a bit more time." Arba smiled and looked at the eleven figures on top of the tsunami.


    The one in the middle had a body three times that of a human. His muscles were bulging and his expression was aloof. He stood on top of his fish tail with honor and pride.


    He was none other than the king of the Mermaid Race, Neptune.


    On his right, there were reca and Seei, followed by an octopus, a sea lion, and a jellyfish. On his left stood Marza, a shrimp, an electric eel, a stingray and a lobster.


    They were his new strongest fighters that were going to confront humanity.


    "In any case, cut down all the tallest buildings. We will make a barricade. This is the only thing that can allow humanity to have enoughnd to destroy them." Arba said as she was about to enter the battlefield. "I will break the tsunami, so you are responsible for the rest."


    Before Arba leaped to the beach, she turned to the left as if finding something. She raised her finger and pointed to the sky.


    After that, Arba leaped off the building andunched herself to the shore.


    Michelle quickly picked up the radio and shouted, "All troops¡­"


    She told them their ns and wanted to use their cumtive power to bring down the building. No matter the cost, they needed to stop them here. Since the buildings were going to be destroyed, they should be useful in this battle.


    When Arba arrived on top of the beach, looking down on tens of thousands of magical beasts beneath her.


    She raised her hands and sped them, forming a small tornado that expanded in an instant, sucking all the magical beasts to the air andunching them away.


    Even Neptune furrowed his eyebrows when he saw this power. reca even took a step forward and said, "Fath¡­ Ahem, My King."


    Neptune ignored her and red at Arba. "So, you are the rat that has been hiding for thousands of years."


    "My name is Arba. It''s a dishonor to meet the great Neptune. You reek of the sea." Arba snorted and raised her hands, forming several wind spheres. The size was around the head of a human, but when Arba shot them toward the tsunami, it burst and generated enough wind to create a shock wave that also traveled back to thend, destroying all the windows.


    On the other hand, all ten creatures next to Neptune raised their hands and used their respective power to block the shock wave.


    "You arrogant human, you all shall die today." Neptune raised his staff.


    Before he finished, Arba smiled and shouted, "Reform!"


    The shock wave that was blocked by the ten fighters suddenly turned into another form. It turned out the spinning air would move together and create a small tornado in front of the tsunami, sucking the water until it began to copse.


    "I know you''re going to block it." Arba smiled. "That''s why I took the liberty to spin my wind enough to form another tornadoter."


    Losing his foothold, Neptune was the first to fall together with the wave beneath him.


    It continued to spread to both sides, resulting in the others dropping to the water.


    The tsunami had been destroyed but also became the most terrifying form. This form contained so much power that it could easily kill humans if they were engulfed inside.


    "We need to destroy the buildings to form a barricade!" The soldiers began to panic as they needed to do it as soon as possible if they didn''t want to be swallowed by the wave.


    However, a huge magic circle appeared next to the beach as a female''s voice echoed in everyone''s ears. It stuck to their mind because of her ent.


    "Great Wind sh."


    Suddenly, a wind brushed everyone''s skin as they didn''t know where it came from. They all looked around, only to hear a rumbling sound.


    *Rumble!*


    *Rumble!*


    The sound began to echo even harder until suddenly, something snapped.


    All the soldiers dropped their jaws in shock as they saw the tallest skyscraper in the area, flying into the air.


    It didn''t stop there. The skyscraper floated for a few seconds before moving to another spot and gently put down on the ground.


    "All Earth and Ice Magicians are going to fill all the holes up to create a strong barricade." A woman with light blue hair ordered in a loud voice. She was followed by three people: an old man, a middle-aged man, and a mother.


    "It''s Roselyn." Sofia was the first to recognize her, looking at Roselyn standing on top of the building. "And grandpa¡­"


    Roselyn looked at the tsunami that was going to hit them and clenched her sword. She wasn''t strong enough to handle them, but she believed she could help the battlefield by cutting the magical beasts as much as possible.


    Roselyn shouted to all the soldiers and leaders of the US Base. "I am the SS Rank Magician Roselyn. I am here with three S Rank Magicians and two hundred thousand soldiers. I apologize for not being able to bring all of them, but we bring the mightiest soldiers from the EU Base. We request to join your fight for humanity!"


    Her shout bewildered everyone as they wondered how they could hear her voice in this open area.


    However, another figure flew to the sky and spotted Michelle and the others, saying in a disappointed tone. "She didn''t introduce me? Suck to be me."


    "!!!" Michelle and the girls were flustered when they saw this blonde girl that put on a poker face even in this situation. It was impossible to not recognize her.


    "Felice¡­"

 Chapter 567 - Reinforcement

    "Felice."


    Felice only nodded while pointing at the tsunami. "I think it''s better if we handle this problem first before talking. I will help you carry the building around to form a barrier."


    "That''s a good idea." Michelle nodded and nced at the girls.


    "Sure.." Tasha and the others agreed without hesitation. Tasha stepped on the ceiling while aiming her bow. "I will be here to protect all of you. Go!"


    Michelle, Ayaka and Sofia jumped off the building, heading straight to all the tall buildings in their surroundings, except for the one they used.


    "Shadow¡­" Michelle raised her hand and formed four scythes with her shadow. Unlike the previous ones, these scythes were far bigger.


    The moment she arrived in front of a building, the scythes cut down an entire floor, separating the building from its foundation.


    "Felice."


    "Okay." Felice raised her hand and lifted the building and put it to form a barrier.


    "It''s surprising you can lift this huge building. Its weight can literally crush anyone." Michelle nced at her while searching for another building.


    "Master taught me a little bit." Felice shrugged and went to Ayaka, who happened to melt the entire floor to separate the building.


    She simply brought the building together until she formed a long line.


    "We''re ready." Felice nodded to Sofia while peeking at the tsunami held back by Arba.


    Sofia nodded her head and waved her hand. "Ice World."


    In the instant Sofia used her magic, the ground froze and spread to all the buildings. It created a small wall of ice that plugged all the holes from the smashed windows.


    The protected soldiers saw all this in bewilderment. They never thought these few girls managed to do unbelievable things like this.


    "Uoh!" They couldn''t help but cheer when they saw the situation wasn''t as hopeless as they thought.


    Even if the enemy could summon a tsunami, they could still deal with it.


    The tsunami hit the buildings and dispersed through all its holes, absorbing its power. After that, the water hit Sofia''s ice and stopped.


    "¡­" Sofia furrowed her eyebrows and turned around, shouting, "All ice and earth magicians are to build the remaining wall to iste ourselves from all this water."


    "Yes, Ma''am!" They all worked quickly after getting the instruction that entered their heads directly.


    The one who transferred the information to their heads was none other than Leah. Her task was to create an informationwork that could work together with the radio while positioning the soldiers.


    However, Sofia turned around when the wave became bigger and hit the wall with full power, sshing the water to the top. At the same time, multiple magical beasts also flew into the air.


    If they let it be, the monsters wouldnd inside the isted area.


    It was Ayaka''s turn to make her appearance. She raised her hand and created an explosion in the air.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    The explosion wasn''t like the previous version. It contained more power and the me that shot out from this explosion was controlled, creating multiple tentacle-like me pirs that hit the magical beasts, blowing them away.


    However, they could still hear the shock wave emanating from the explosion and Sofia decided to create anotheryer of ice to block the shock wave.


    "Can you do it moderately?" Sofia shook her head helplessly.


    "Sorry." Ayaka smiled apologetically.


    On the other hand, Michellended next to Sofia and asked, "So, did Kai teach you about Mystic?"


    "Yes." Felice nodded with a serious expression. She remembered she got this technique when she suggested the utilization of his Supersonic Assassin.


    He told her that she made him realize the most important thing about his Supersonic Assassin.


    "That''s good, I guess." Michelle smiled while adding inwardly, ''The ones who can fight are Arba, Devain, Tasha, Sofia, Ayaka, Felice, Professor Ria, and me. This means we have eight while the enemies have ten. I guess we can only give the other two to Roselyn and other S Rank Magicians. They should be able to buy enough time for us.''


    "By the way, do you bring us reinforcement?" Ayaka asked while ncing at Roselyn and the other S Rank Magicians.


    "They''re on their way here¡­ Probably in thirty minutes." Felice shrugged. "We have prepared the strongest two hundred thousand soldiers for you."


    Roselyn arrived next to her and confirmed. "Yes. We have been waiting for a few weeks."


    "Ho? Can you tell us about it?" Michelle asked.


    ¡­


    While Roselyn told about her encounter, Marsha was sitting in her office while letting out a long sigh.


    She closed her eyes and remembered what happened three weeks ago.


    ¡­


    Three weeks ago.


    Marsha was still sitting on the same chair as she managed the Union. At that time, a Magic Circle appeared inside her room.


    "!!!" Marsha rose from her chair in bewilderment as she never expected someone would use something like this.


    However, the man''s appearance calmed her down again as she couldn''t help but call his name. "Kai Carter."


    After getting the Crown Jewel, Kai visited her right after with a smile on his face. Though, Marsha saw the floating green jewel on top of his palm that piqued her interest.


    Kai smiled and said, "Hello. I''m here to give you two options."


    "Huh?" Marsha blinked her eyes a few times as she thought Kai usually offered a trade or something instead of options. It was the same as him threatening her to make a decision. And she was correct.


    He quickly cut to the chase. "The first option is for you to be judged by the whole world as someone who cowers in fear when the rest of humanity is at stake, while the second option is to send your strongest soldiers to the battlefield."


    "I don''t understand. Are you talking about the war with the sea race?"


    "Yes. They will attack the US Base, not any other ces." Kai nodded with a serious expression.


    "Do you have any proof? If we send you all our soldiers, we may be annihted from having no one to fight." Marsha shook her head.


    Kai only smiled and stated, "I''m the proof. As long as I am in the US Base, they will only go there."


    "Ehm, what?" Marsha opened her eyes wide. "Since when did you be narcissistic?"


    "I''m not. Everything I said earlier is the truth. If you don''t cooperate, then the Union will fall after the war is over no matter if we win or lose this war." Kai shrugged. He nned to destroy the Union by using his reputation if they won, while the sea race obviously wouldn''t let them go if they lost.


    That was why Kai told her she only had two options.


    "Your decision decides your future." Kai shrugged. "I only want you to bring all your strongest fighters along with all your S Rank Magicians and my disciple. I will teleport them to Quebec and you''re going to stay in Washington while gradually making your way to North or South Carolina."


    "Wait, what? Can you exin it to me first?"


    "I don''t have time. I don''t think I will have enough sleep for the next few weeks. Anyway, if you agree to this, gather every single one of them in this ce within five days." After saying those words, Kai waved his hand and teleported again. "Bye."


    ¡­


    Remembering their conversation, Marsha couldn''t help but pinch the bridge of her forehead while sighing. "I hope this works, Kai Carter¡­"

 Chapter 568 - All Parties Assembled Part 1

    While they were talking, Arba suddenly fell from the sky and crashed to the ground next to them.


    Bam.


    The crash rmed everyone as Arba stood back without a problem. She walked as if nothing happened while assessing the situation, "Alright, girls. Can you all stop talking here? We''re facing a serious problem here."


    Devain regrouped with Arba and asked, "What should we do, Elder?"


    "Has Aston arrived?" Arba replied with another question while looking at the iing monsters that climbed the wall.


    "Yes." Devain nodded.


    "Take care of the magical beasts first.." Arba pointed at the beasts that had reached the top of the wall while rising to the sky, ring at Neptune and his top fighters.


    Neptune walked on top of the water with a calm expression. His golden staff was moving back and forth, but the focus was none other than the blue jewel floating on the staff''s head.


    "It seems your king has abandoned you or maybe he is too scared toe?" Neptune mocked them and looked down on them because they couldn''t do anything to them.


    Arba soon became hostile again as she snorted, "Nah, he just thought you were not worthy of his presence. After all, several thousand years ago, you couldn''t defeat our king without those tricks."


    "It was proof that I was smarter than him." Neptune snorted.


    "Really? Then I don''t think you are smarter than my king." Arba shook her head before thousands of people appeared out of nowhere.


    "Freeze."


    Neptune nced to the side, finding those thousands of people.


    However, what took his attention was the action of two people. One was an old man who floated in the sky.


    "I never thought that my life would turn out like this¡­" The old man sighed. "In that case, I, Ikeda Kenzo, shall dedicate my life to this battle."


    A white light suddenly shone from the sky before disappearing into thin air.


    In a sudden, a huge ssh urred as the water just split into two. A secondter, fifty magical beasts flew into the air while Ikeda Kenzo reappeared with wet clothes. "It''s your turn."


    "Don''t worry." Another old man nodded and raised his hands. All those magical beasts suddenly turned ck as if they had been dded with metal. He was none other than the other S Rank of United Asia, the former leader of the South Family. "I need a lighter here."


    "I should help." Haruko appeared and pped her hands, causing an explosion for each magical beast, shooting the magical beasts to the water to cause another ssh that obliterated everything around it as if releasing a cannonball.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    A series of explosions urred, rming everyone in the city.


    "Since when they came¡­" reca furrowed her eyebrows, noticing something strange from this battlefield. More and more people in a weird way, making her suspect there was someone controlling this battlefield.


    Haruko only smiled when she saw Michelle and the others reveal themselves on top of the ice wall. She winked at them and said, "I hope we are notte."


    "¡­" Michelle''s eyebrows twitched as she shook her head. "So, this is his n¡­"


    "Haha, we were surprised when he visited us to get all the help needed to win the war." Haruko smiled and looked at Roselyn, "I think he visited the EU Base too, right?"


    Roselyn confirmed it with a nod.


    "All the help he needed to win the war?" Neptune gritted his teeth and started releasing all his energy, making the water shake up and down. He raised his staff and controlled the water to rise, creating a huge spear that reached one kilometer in length.


    Most of the soldiers were shaken by the phenomenon. They never saw such a thing appear in their sky.


    "What''s this power?"


    The soldiers questioned themselves whether they had just witnessed a miracle or God''s wrath.


    "Charge!" Their doubt was dispelled when they heard a loud sounding from another direction as several ice bridges appeared on the water surface.


    They all headed straight to them.


    In front of them were the US Base''s S Rank Magicians and all finest Generals, bringing their soldiers to participate in this war.


    "Let''s go. We shall stand here as the patriot, not only of our base but also of humanity!" General Rain smiled and led his troops with a calm expression despite looking at the water spear.


    "Ooh!" The roars of the soldiers revitalized their morale and they knew they would be here to fight for humanity''s fate.


    "You see that." Arba snorted and opened her arms wide. "This is humanity."


    "Hmph. Then you should prepare yourself to face my wrath!" Neptune didn''t buy any more of her bullsh*t and tried to release the spear upon them.


    However, he was soon stopped by a loud cry from the sky.


    Cry.


    The cry was so loud that everyone could hear it, especially Neptune, who had heard their arrival five kilometers away. His hearing was as good as Kai after all.


    Soon, an eagle figure emerged from the clouds, bringing a white tiger with him.


    When they descended low enough, the eagle released the white tiger as thetter went straight to the water spear.


    Roar!


    The white tiger opened his mouth as the roar formed a sound wave that was strong enough to disrupt the spear, destroying its handle.


    With the handle gone, the water dispersed into the rain, making all humans know the spear wasn''t a threat anymore.


    "A tiger and an eagle?" Michelle dropped her jaw, not understanding the situation.


    "Don''t worry. They''re our allies." Arba''s voice was transmitted to all humans in the area with the help of Leah and Aston.


    The white tigernded on the water surface after slowing his fall with a wave of his paw. The tiger then stepped on the water as if stepping on the ground, turning around to see the angry face of Neptune.


    "White Tiger?!" Neptune turned to the tiger and shouted, "Do you know what you''re doing?"


    "I know. I have acknowledged the man who beat me, Kai Carter, as my brother. And I''m here to help him." He answered with humannguage so everyone could understand it.


    "You should know that you are also a protector!" Neptune shouted.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about." The white tiger pretended he didn''t know it and stated, "I am not even a full-fledged protector, so your opinion doesn''t matter. I also don''t have the Crown jewel with me, so I haven''t broken any Ancient Pacts.


    "I am here only to help my brother who needs my help¡­ With the self-proimed first servant¡­" The white tiger nced at the sky, specifically the eagle flying in the sky.


    Cry.


    The eagle let out a cry as if he rebuked hisst sentence. Suddenly, many birds dove from the sky, heading straight to the water and grabbing a magical beast before throwing them away where the ground was.


    All the magical beasts were crushed to death as they all couldn''t survive the fall.


    The eagle flew on top of them while letting out another cry.


    "(I am Kai Carter''s first servant. No one has that spot other than me.)" The eagle proimed it again as what he said to Kai back when he crossed the sea.

 Chapter 569 - All Parties Assembled Part 2

    "¡­" Neptune seriously had no idea when and where Kai met these two beasts. They all started popping out of nowhere. "How?! How?!"


    He gritted his teeth, looking at the iing soldiers from all sides.


    His ears already picked up more than a hundred thousand soldiers that would soon gather in this ce.


    Looking at this, Arba couldn''t help but smile, remembering her conversation with Kai right after he finished assimting with the Crown Jewel.


    At that time, Kai smiled and pointed his finger to the sky, saying, "The world."


    She was shocked as she didn''t understand what Kai meant at first.


    Kai tilted his head excitedly as he exined his words. "I am nning to travel around the world, fighting and adjusting my body to different kinds of environments.. This way, I will be forced to use my power effectively and learn it."


    "I can understand that. I will apany you." Arba nodded in agreement, understanding what he wanted. He must be inspired by their training where Kai ran between continents, swam between countries and flew across the ocean.


    He must want to recreate that environment to use his time effectively.


    However, Kai had yet to finish his exnation. "I''m not going to ask you to apany me."


    "Eh?" Arba widened her eyes in surprise. "But¡­"


    "I know that you are the strongest magician right now. However, you need to know that I''m a bit different after receiving this Crown Jewel. Hence, I''m nning to go alone." Kai smiled.


    "Still, you may need some help along the way." Arba insisted on going with him because she should have some role in this journey.


    Kai shook his head helplessly. "It''s not that I don''t want you toe with me. However, I want you to do something for me."


    "Do something for you? We can have Aston do all that stuff."


    "No, this is something only you can do. I want you to control the entire US Base."


    "What do you mean?"


    "You should know there are multiple bases in the continent, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I want you to make sure they are alright and eliminate all threats possible. In other words, you are there to make sure the enemies know it''s impossible to threaten us in this situation."


    "You want me to go to all bases and destroy any sea monsters around there?"


    "Yes." Kai nodded. "You should know that we have too many spots to attack, right? From Paraguay Base, Mexico Base, or even the US Base."


    Arba confirmed it. "They must being from the right, or you can say they will being from the Antic Ocean since it''s the ocean where they reside. They can''t go from the opposite direction because that ce is the Whale Queen''s territory."


    "And what I want you is to make your presence known that they can''t attack from any of those ces except South Carolina."


    "Eh? Are you going to involve the civilians?"


    "No. To be honest, there is a fifty chance South Carolina will be the target of their attack while the other bases don''t necessarily have that much danger." Kai raised his hand. "Instead of taking that fifty percent chance, I want you to increase that chance to one hundred percent. We can concentrate our force there while evacuating the civilians."


    "Ah. Instead of protecting all, you want them to definitely choose one where we can bring all our force¡­" Arba looked down, contemting Kai''s decision. From her perspective, his idea wasn''t bad at all, especially since they could join hands to do all this.


    "Yeah. I can use Teleportation Magic to send the soldiers, but I don''t think I can win against Neptune if I lose that much Magic Power before the fight even begins."


    "I understand. I agree with your decision."


    "Good. In that case, I am going."


    "Wait." Arba reached his shoulder. Seeing Kai turn around, she asked, "What are you nning to do?"


    Kai smiled. "I''m going around the world to convince people. Make sure the people from the base don''t know that the world will help us, okay?"


    Arba''s body shook as she gulped down, realizing the extent of Kai''s n. "Yes, my king. I will do it."


    "Good." Kai waved his hand while teleporting himself to another ce.


    ¡­


    Remembering that conversation, Arba knew that Neptune had fallen into his trap. She stood in the air, mocking Neptune. "You are nothingpared to our king."


    "Don''t be toocent, human." Neptune was finally angered as he raised his hands. However, when he was about to release his magic, Neptune raised his head as if finding another reinforcement.


    Five kilometers from where he was standing, a helicopter was floating in the air.


    A woman opened the door while a soldier was holding binocrs in front of her eyes.


    Her grey hair was fluttering, but she couldn''t help but smile when she saw Neptune talking to Arba. "Hold it for me, okay?"


    The soldier nodded with a serious expression.


    She then raised her left hand as if holding a bow. Soon, a white bow appeared in front of her before getting projected to a bigger bow in front of her.


    Her right hand formed a small arrow projected to the bow, creating a thirty-meter long arrow like that of a ballista.


    "The helicopter will shake a bit, hold it." The womanmanded while taking a deep breath.


    Suddenly, Neptune raised his head and had eye contact with her.


    "Hah, seriously?" The woman clicked her tongue and shot her arrow. "God''s Arrow, Lokraisha!"


    Boom.


    The arrow flew faster than a bullet, heading straight to Neptune.


    As if seeing iting, Neptune raised his hand and formed the same spear he created earlier.


    The spear didn''t fly to the arrow. Instead, it collided with the arrow like shing between two spears.


    The arrow split the water spear in all directions as the collision produced a shock wave that created raging waves below.


    Neptune saw the arrow seemed to be prating his spear slowly and remembered what Seei told him a year ago. "So, this is the arrow that destroyed your shield."


    Seei''s body shook as he felt it was far stronger than before. Even so, he nodded, confirming it.


    "It''s quite powerful indeed, but¡­" Neptune harrumphed as the water began to rise and engulf the arrow as if it was alive.


    In an instant, the arrow disappeared into thin air while the water fell down.


    "It seems we don''t need to wait anymore." Neptune squinted his eyes, feeling that he had done so much in this war. "They are going toe at us. You''re free to go on a rampage."


    "!!!" reca and the others had serious expressions on their faces. They all exchanged looks and nodded to each other.


    reca then pointed in multiple directions while giving hermands. "All top ten fighters are going to kill everyone in this istednd while the rest will bring the magical beasts to swarm those reinforcements."


    "Understood." All of them nodded and signaled to their own people, telling them what to do.


    "I will give you thirty minutes. Don''t force me to make a move." Neptune harrumphed and retreated. There was one reason he stopped his attack. Because Kai''s strength had yet to match his, he must be nning to exhaust his power to fight all these small flies. That was why he better waited until Kai made his appearance.


    Meanwhile, reca nced at Arba since both of them were the strongest from each side.


    Ria Ross, who was carried all the way to the battlefield, smiled and red at the shark, Marza. Devain also hade down to meet the others while his eyes intertwined with Seei, the turtle.


    Michelle stared at the octopus since both of them had multiple limbs. Though, in Michelle''s case, they were scythes.


    Ayaka locked her vision on the shrimp while Tasha smirked at the Electric Eel. Felice frowned when the sea lion red at her while Sofia smiled at the stingray.


    They all knew that thest showdown was about to begin.

 Chapter 570 - All Parties Assembled Part 3

    Despite having so many people, Michelle clicked her tongue and said, "We''re still short two people¡­ We need someone to handle those two."


    "All S Rank Magicians can join hands to handle those two," said Rain while counting the S Rank Magicians. Since they only had two S Rank Magicians remaining, they really needed the help of United Asia and the EU Base.


    However, there was another problem they needed to handle. There were still many Sea Race creatures that were weaker than their ten strongest fighters.


    "Leah and I can handle the other two. Buying time should be easy for us." Aston suddenly broadcasted his intention to everyone.


    Though, he soon picked another voice from the side. "I will be helping you with that lobster.".


    Everyone didn''t recognize this voice as they looked around to find the one who spoke.


    Aston was surprised when he realized it was the white tiger. Although he came here for Kai, if he killed one of them, he would be the Sea Race''s target. Aston didn''t wish for him to continue.


    "I appreciate the thought, but this is our battle, not you¡­" Aston respectfully rejected.


    "I am just loitering around here and stumbling upon your battle. I don''t like it, so I want to participate." The white tiger harrumphed. "To think I would need to make an excuse to do something like this¡­"


    "That¡­" Aston narrowed his eyes and used his telepathy again. "Thank you."


    "I am not doing this for you, humans. I''m just doing it for my friend." The white tiger snorted and stepped on the edge of the ice wall, staring at the lobster.


    Meanwhile, Aston and Leah jumped off the building and headed straight to the jellyfish. He didn''t forget to give Ria''smand to everyone. "Jose and the others are to lead their respective armies to kill as many magical beasts as possible. All other generals shall eliminate the threats as well. As for S Rank Magicians, there are others who can''t get top ten spots. They are also strong, so be careful."


    "Roger." All of them stepped forward and focused on their own task.


    Seeing all parties had met their opponents, the Sea Race started their war.


    reca suddenly leaped forward, signaling the others to fight as well. She waved her hand and formed a huge elemental. The muscr humanoid body looked down on Arba and smashed her with its giant fist.


    Looking at this fifty-meter body, Arba maintained her calm and also sent a fist filled with spinning wind.


    The wind prated the water and dispersed it as if her fist drilled the water.


    As she was floating in the air, Arba had time to react when several tentacles came out of the water, trying to grasp her.


    Suddenly, a tornado appeared beneath her feet and expanded to the ground, blowing all the water away and dispersing the tentacles in the process.


    "To think I need to fight a youngster like you¡­" Arba snorted, looking down on reca.


    "In that case, I will show you what it means to fight against the Mermaid Princess." She raised the water and formed a thousand small spears, ready to shoot her down.


    Meanwhile, Ria Ross had arrived and waved her swords against Marza''s fists. Their attacks were not shy like Arba and reca, but each blow was deadly.


    Suddenly, Ria Ross expanded her lines again where she could send a sword wave.


    Having experienced this beforehand, Marza nned to destroy the lines, albeit he soon realized the lines were underwater. All of them were connected to the one beneath her feet.


    If he wanted to destroy it, Marza needed to submerge for a moment and Ria Ross would have the chance to attack his teammate.


    "Tsk." Marza red at Ria Ross, knowing how troublesome she was. "You''re indeed one hell of a woman."


    "Shark fin is good for health, I guess I will have shark fin soup for tonight''s dinner." Ria harrumphed and waved her sword, sending the Sword Wave through the lines that started to submerge.


    "That is if you can kill me. No, you should try to kill me instead of those minions." Marza simply let Ria do whatever she wanted and watched how her sword wave cut through the magical beasts that were running on the ground. "I''m going to make you submit in this fight."


    "Impossible."


    Devain also endured such a fight. His entire body had turned to ck as if metal dded his body. His muscr body was revealed to everyone when he took off his shirt, bing half-naked.


    He punched Seei''s shield, which came from his own shell.


    Bam.


    A loud noise resounded on the battlefield as the hit produced a shock wave strong enough to create a big ssh to the water behind them since Seei chose to fight on thend.


    "Scarlet Explosion." Ayaka formed a huge fireball that was going to explode, obliterating anything in a certain radius.


    Her opponent, the shrimp, pped his tail. To everyone''s surprise, the water rose as if there was an explosion under the water.


    The shrimp controlled the water and formed a bigger water ball to envelop Ayaka''s Scarlet Explosion.


    Boom.


    Ayaka obviously didn''t want the fireball to be extinguished, so she exploded it right away. Unfortunately, the water still managed to withstand the st and burst in all directions, making rain.


    Ayaka harrumphed and created a pair of wings made of fire on her back. She jumped forward and used the wing to fly above the water to reach the shrimp before swinging her spear.


    Even her spear had been covered with her fire. When the spear hit the shrimp''s tail, it exploded, engulfing the shrimp.


    Unfortunately, as soon as the water returned to normal, she could see a small sphere that protected the shrimp from any harm.


    "¡­" Ayaka reassessed the enemy''s strength again while muttering inwardly, "This is going to be hard. None of us have enough time to train, so the only way we can win against them will depend on how good we are at improvising."


    On the other hand, Tasha had stepped on top of the ice wall to focus on her opponent, the electric eel.


    The eel was thirty-meter long, covered with slick but electrocuting skin.


    "You are weakpared to the rest¡­" Tasha pulled the arrow she made from her own lightning magic.


    The eel didn''t have a change of expression and kept staring at her. He leaped from the water to swallow her and Tasha released her arrow.


    The eel opened her mouth as if he nned to swallow the lightning arrow. Suddenly, Tasha smiled as if everything went ording to her n. It was at this time the eel closed his mouth and decided to take the arrow with his head.


    "Electric Head." The lightning around the eel''s head sparked to lessen the impact.


    The moment the arrow hit the head, there was a huge sparking from the head.


    The sparkunched the arrow away, albeit the arrow had exploded first. The lightning explosion was simr to the huge spark from the eel''s head, so the eel felt like he had just tasted his own medicine.


    After that, the explosionunched the eel back to the water where it moved back to gain some distance for another charge.


    "Hey, don''t run," Tasha shouted before chuckling.

 Chapter 571 - All Parties Assembled Part 4

    On the other side, Felice had been floating above the sea, staring at the sea lion that was swimming around her.


    She was the least experienced person among them, so she didn''t know if she could do it, but she would do it to the best of her ability.


    "A little girl, eh? They''re underestimating me so much." The sea lion snorted and rose to the surface, spurting out water. The pressure was too high and created a powerful torrent that would hit him.


    Felice frowned and raised her hand. Her poker face remained unchanged, but her fighting spirit seemed to have risen.


    "I am a child, but you are going to lose against this child." Felice snorted and used her Telekinesis to push the air in front of her to the water.


    When the two collided, the air dispersed the water until it stopped..


    "!!!" The sea lion frowned, wondering what Felice just did. She seemed to only raise her hand without summoning anything.


    However, he soon learned Felice''s power when the water around him started to float, bringing him into the air.


    In an instant, the sea lion formed several tentacles that flew toward Felice before getting blown away from Felice''s Telekinesis.


    The sea lion spun around in the air for a few seconds before returning back to the water. Meanwhile, Felice used her Telekinesis to pressure the air above the water,unching them downwards.


    "So, having trouble with the child already?" Felice harrumphed while looking down at the sea lion.


    On the other hand, Sofia had some problems catching the stingray because thetter had been flying around like it was nothing.


    "Dragon." Sofia summoned a dragon head from the magic circle and opened its mouth to devour the stingray. However, the stingray dodged it easily with a single p of its pectoral fin.


    It went to the side while waving his tail, sending a white-colored light. The light curved like that of a whip and when it mmed the ground, it cracked or destroyed Sofia''s ice.


    "Tch." Sofia looked at this flying fish that somehow could fly without wind or water to help him.


    After contemting for a moment, Sofia decided to test something.


    She ced her hand on the water and used her magic. "Freeze."


    Her magic froze the water near her in an instant and kept expanding. It affected the edge of the battlefield where she fought this stingray.


    "¡­" The stingray realized what Sofia nned to do, so he waved his tail to destroy theyer of ice.


    However, this was what Sofia expected the stingray to do. The moment he released an attack on theyer of ice, Sofia used another magic, forming numerous spikes on the surface.


    "Launch."


    All those spikes flew upward without aiming at anyone. Sofia nned to hit the stingray by doing arge area attack.


    Unfortunately, the moment the ice spikes hit the stingray, it broke. The stingray''s skin was too hard just like any other sea creatures she had fought.


    "Tsk." Sofia clicked her tongue and searched for another solution.


    Meanwhile, Michelle and the octopus had the same fighting styles. The octopus sent all his tentacles to strike Michelle, only to meet her Scythes.


    Instead of four, Michelle had eight Scythes this time.


    "This is going to be troublesome." While all of them were fighting earnestly, Michelle was worried about the other two since the S Rank Magicians had no strength to fight them. In the end, she asked her other personality, "Oi, are you there?"


    "I am always here." Dark Michelle smiled. "I am you, you are me. So, I will always be here."


    "I am going to summon you to take care of one of them. The rest can focus on the other one¡­"


    "Are you still thinking about the remaining sea creatures?"


    "Yeah. Their strength is close to our S Rank Magicians, so I''m sure they can handle them well. The problem is our number¡­" Michelle nodded, thinking about a solution.


    However, Dark Michelle simply stated, "So, have you forgotten him already?"


    "Kai?" Michelle frowned.


    "Yes. There is no way he is going to stand around just like that." Dark Michelle smiled. "Take a look at that white tiger."


    "!!!" Michelle widened her eyes and turned around, staring at the white tiger.


    The white tiger was fighting against the lobster. He pounced the lobster while thetter hit the tiger.


    Both of them seemed to be covering their paws or ws to strike at each other. It created a powerful shock wave that disturbed the water every time it hit.


    "Why are you butting in our fight? You don''t have the right to be here," said the lobster while ring at the white tiger.


    "So, you can fight together with other creatures while they can''t?" The white tiger frowned. "Such a hypocrite. Look at here, you have lobster, jellyfish, octopus, mermaid while the human only has themselves. This is not a fair fight."


    "We are the proud sea race, unlike humans."


    "No, you are not. I have heard there are more creatures like you who don''t im they are the proud sea race." The white tiger shook his head. "Either way, I am participating in this fight to help my friend. That''s all."


    "Hmph, do you think the human will thank you?" The lobster snorted. "They are just going to dissect you the moment they capture you. You have watched how they treated other creatures a few hundred years ago. They are the most selfish creatures in this world."


    "There is bad and good in this world. Like how you have seen the bad of this race, I have seen the good of this race. Whether they thank me or not, I don''t really care. I have repeated it to you multiple times. Kai Carter is my friend and brother. That''s all." The white tiger snorted and leaped forward.


    Last but not least, Aston and Leah fought against the jellyfish in order to buy time for the others to kill their opponents. They didn''t know whether they could do it or not, but they needed to do it.


    "Leah, right, left, right," Aston informed while looking at the jellyfish.


    The jellyfish had been floating in the air for a while, waving its tentacles in session.


    When Leah got the instruction, she sped her hand.


    A magic circle appeared on top of the jellyfish before a ruined house emerged from the magic circle, hitting the jellyfish.


    Thetter quickly dodged to the side and the splinters touched its tentacles.


    As if getting angry, the jellyfish started to raise its altitude and expand. The diameter reached as far as one hundred meters and its tentacle was ten times bigger than that of a human.


    The tentacle mmed one of the tentacles to the building Leah called earlier and crushed it into two.


    Leah was forced to jump sideways to avoid it while gritting her teeth. "What should we do?"


    When Aston was about to say something, a huge rock fell from the sky.


    The rock hit the jellyfish right in the middle.


    "What is that?" Leah gasped and realized the rock was shaped into a head.


    Michelle and the others widened their eyes in surprise as they never expected Kai would invite this guy too.


    The rock suddenly glowed and started growing its limb, turning into a five-meter golem with the hands just a little smaller than the jellyfish''s tentacle.


    "My name is Rapakha, the strongest soldier of Rapa Nui People. Our long awaited wish has been fulfilled on this battlefield. We shall fight together to destroy the sea race." Rapakha said and mmed his fist once more.


    Bam.


    The jellyfish''s body bent inwardly as the jellyfish started going down as if it experienced tremendous pain.

 Chapter 572 - All Parties Assembled Part 5

    Bam.


    The huge golem just smashed and forced the jellyfish to go down several meters before stabilizing its body.


    "Hahaha!" Rapakhaughed out loud while saying, "My life turns out to be pretty good. I hadn''t found my king when I was alive. But before dying, I have the chance to fight for my king. What a good time in life."


    Rapakha stood on top of the jellyfish as if he was riding it while praising Kai.


    "Eh?" Tasha narrowed her eyes as she was Rapakha''s student. He had taught many things she had used until now, so she never expected Rapakha toe here.


    "Good day to you, folks.." Rapakha looked at Arba, Aston, Leah, and Devain as if he recognized them. "It''s good to see that Emulda Kn is still safe and sound."


    Arba and the others quickly recognized Rapakha and bowed their heads, knowing that Rapakha was the elder who once visited Emulda Kh and left to find their king.


    "With you here, I think we can win." Michelle smiled and remembered how they fought in the past.


    "Haha, that''s for sure. However, I have also brought the reinforcement with me." Rapakha chuckled and pointed to the sky.


    Suddenly, several face-shaped stones fell down from the sky like that of a meteor. All of those stones hit the water and caused massive sshes to the point they created an area free of water within several meters radius.


    Magical Beasts were crushed and blown away while the rocks took that chance to transform like Rapakha, albeit a bit smaller.


    There were only fifty of them, but each of them had killed at least twenty magical beasts just with their entrance.


    And when they had transformed, they created a smallnd in the middle of the water, allowing them to challenge whoever dared toe to thend.


    They couldn''t say anything, but Rapakha obviously introduced them. "Haha, here are my boys. There are only fifty of them barely alive, but thanks to our kings, they can fight for humanity today. It''s time to show what Rapa Nui people can do, boys!"


    The golems smashed their small tform and created a shock wave that made the water raging on.


    After that, Rapakha said to Leah and Aston, "Just give this one to me. You should re-establish the informationwork. Our king asked me to pass this message to you."


    Leah and Aston exchanged looks and nodded, quickly returning to their post to follow hismand. With thework returning, they should be able to coordinate all humans better.


    "Kill those magical beasts!" The soldiers were fired up and crossed the water on top of the iceyer, making their way to reinforce the people at the very front.


    The generals led them and worked together with Leah and Aston to form a strategic approach with Ethan in charge of their formation.


    There were around a million people gathered by now and those one million were trying to fight numerous magical beasts that came from the sea.


    Suddenly, Neptune returned to the battlefield, standing above all of them with a serious expression.


    "It seems you are truly not putting me in the eyes." Neptune''s cold voice was transmitted to everyone''s ears as all of them were rmed and prepared for everything he might do.


    Still, Neptune''s power was beyond their imagination.


    With a single wave of his staff, Neptune formed a ck cloud in the sky and poured rain over them.


    This wasn''t ordinary rain. When the rain hit the soldiers, they pierced through them like that of a bullet.


    "Ah!"


    "What?!"


    "The rain is killing us."


    "Magic Shield."


    "Use your magic shield to stop the rain from hitting you."


    The confusion started when a few thousand soldiers died after their heads were pierced by the rain.


    "Tsk." Arba clicked her tongue and raised both hands, forming a huge tornado in order to blow the cloud away.


    Unfortunately, reca stopped her by having her Elemental hug the tornado, neutralizing each other.


    "You are not going anywhere." reca red at her.


    Neptune didn''t stop there. He stomped his staff and created a raging wave in all directions. The raging waves blew the soldiers away from the ice or dirt tform and the Magical Beasts started pulling them inside the water, killing them there.


    After that, Neptune raised his staff again and turned that wave into a sharp spike that destroyed multiple tforms in an instant.


    Most of the soldiers who were on top of the tforms fell to the water and became the perfect prey for the Magical Beasts.


    While those who were still alive quickly regrouped with those on top of the tforms, trying to survive.


    "Form the tform again!"


    Luckily, the informationwork was there as they all got themand on what to do, especially since Ethan, Aston, and Leah had a clear view from the top of the building. Sadly, there were at least a hundred thousand soldiers that had died within those two moves.


    ¡­


    In the US Base, EU Base, and United Asia, all people had been staring at the screen wherever they were.


    "Oh no!" The people around the world also watched the broadcast of this and were panic-stricken when they saw so many soldiers died in that exchange alone.


    They never saw someone kill so many people at once and recognized the threat they were facing.


    In fact, they had been watching this battle since the start as Kai had already asked Leah and Aston to take care of the cameras and surveince. With thest help of President Brent, Marsha, and United Asia''s Prime Minister, the fight was broadcasted to the entire world.


    There was no news channel or whatsoever, only one, this war.


    However, Kai also had another n for this broadcast. It was to show his power to the people around the world. He wanted to tell them, "This is my power and I use this power to protect you."


    This should at least prevent the government from abusing its power and demanding it because the power was too great for them to handle. At the same time, it wouldn''t make his descendants be seen as the children of a monster. He wanted all people to recognize them as the children of the hero. And they wouldn''t be scrutinized by others in their lives.


    And as soon as they saw Neptune''s power, they all hoped that Kai and the others could win this war because this was thest hope of humanity.


    They all saw Neptune shouting, "Haha. Humanity should perish. You''re not worthy to even breathe in front of me. There''s nothing you can do unless your king is not a coward!"


    "Since you have invited me, how can I note?" A magic circle appeared in the sky together with Kai''s voice that resounded in everyone''s ears.


    They all couldn''t help but stop and looked at the sky, finding a man emerging from the magic circle.


    He gradually fell to the ground, but his figure was there for everyone to see.


    He wore a long white shirt and ck pants. However, what made everyone stunned was the long robe he put on. There was a word embroidered in that white robe.


    Humanity.


    The green jewel kept floating around his hand, but there seemed to be no movement from the jewel other than following his palm.


    Kainded on the ground with a serious expression, looking at Neptune without any sign of fear before his eyes.


    Arba and the others knew this was the figure who would protect humanity from their greatest threats. The soldiers knew this figure represented the fate of humanity. The generals knew his strength was more than anyone else in this world.


    This¡­ is Kai Carter.

 Chapter 573 - Fight Between Kings

    "!!!" Everyone was staring at him and his serene expression.


    Hended near the white tiger who looked back at him. Kai said, "Thank you for helping me. Let me handle this."


    "I am here to fight for you. Are you going to deny it?" The white tiger furrowed his eyebrows.


    Kai shook his head with a smile. "No. In the end, I couldn''t endanger your life and your kin. Let us handle their top fighters. You can do whatever you want with the rest. I''m sure it''s not as big of a deal for that, right, Neptune?".


    Neptune frowned, understanding what Kai wanted. It was clear he didn''t wish for the white tiger to suffer his onught if humanity lost.


    "How dare you talk like that to him? Do you think you have the right to demand from our king?!" The lobster started getting angry as he leaped into the air and waved his w. "I am going to show you that even if you''re a King now, you won''t be able to defeat me that easily."


    "Wait, stop!" Neptune widened his eyes as he was the only one who understood the power of a newborn king. Even if he just became one a minute earlier, the power contained in his body was far more powerful than one could imagine.


    Unfortunately, he was toote. The lobster had arrived in front of Kai, trying to hit him with his ws. They had been covered with water, so he wouldn''t get easily defeated.


    Kai, on the contrary, looked at the w with a calm expression. When it was about tond on his face, the Crown Jewelnded on Kai''s palm as thetter clenched it tight.


    After that, he struck the w with a very light punch. "Ultrasonic Amplification."


    "No!" Neptune raised his staff, but it was toote.


    Both fists had collided and the next thing he realized, the lobster had his body disintegrated.


    All people were deep in shock as they saw Kai''s strength, albeit it didn''t stop there. The Sound Wave produced from his magic flew past the lobster''s body like a shock wave from a huge explosion.


    The shock wave created a fan-shaped area and split the water until it traced back to the sea, pushing all the water to the sides along with the magical beasts. As for those who stood in the middle of the shock wave, all of them had a simr fate as the lobster, either were crushed or disintegrated.


    In that punch, Kai just killed a few thousand magical beasts, showing that his power was equal to Neptune.


    Felice waspletely stunned. She still remembered the day she messaged him about one of his magic, Ultrasonic Assassin. And this Ultrasonic Amplification was the product of him manipting the direction and the sound produced by that magic, leaving only the mass destruction it would cause.


    Her body was shaken as she knew Kai dealt someone so easily with the magic she suggested. At the same time, she knew this was the only magic befitting him.


    A smile couldn''t help but appear on her face.


    Kai maintained his poker face and nced at the white tiger. "Please?"


    "Fine by me. Since you are so adamant about protecting his kin, I won''t pursue this any further. I shall respect you as another Protector," said Neptune with a serious face.


    Both of them heard his words and exchanged looks before the white tiger lowered his head down. "I understand."


    He turned around and walked away, trying to search for another prey to help Kai as much as possible.


    Meanwhile, Kai turned to Neptune with a grim expression and said, "You have done a great deal to this city. This is my wife''s hometown, you know."


    "There won''t be anyone''s hometown after I kill you," said Neptune while raising his hand. He seemed to have no more patience to talk to Kai and released his magic.


    The ck cloud started to gather on top of their heads, making the soldiers flinch.


    "There is that ck cloud."


    "Shield, Shield! We need a shield."


    "Protect yourself from above while maintaining your position."


    The soldiers were trying their best to prevent the same disaster from happening again.


    However, they had Kai this time.


    When the rain was about to pour down, Kai tossed the Crown Jewel into the air and activated its power. The Crown Jewel shone brighter as it formed a huge Magic Circle.


    "Ultrasonic Amplification. Blow it away."


    The Magic Circle released another Sound Wave that created a continuous shock wave that blew away everything that fell down from the cloud.


    The Magic Circle had a hundred meters radius, so it could protect all of them.


    "O-oh!" The soldiers cheered when they saw the Magic Circle blow away the rain and kept pushing it back until the ck cloud dispersed.


    However, their danger had yet to leave them alone because Neptune stomped his staff''s butt on top of the water and caused a massive wave that would once again swallow them to the bottom of the water.


    Kai couldn''t help them in this situation. Hence, he chose to do it another way and controlled his Crown Jewel to fly above the water not far from him.


    The Crown Jewel then proceeded in blowing all the water away, creating a massivend with not a single magical beast inside as they had been swept clean.


    "Rapakha," Kai called one name out loud.


    "Yes, Sir." Rapakha raised his hand and shouted, "It''s time for us to contribute onest time, fes."


    Ten golems suddenly leaped toward the massivend and looked at Kai and Rapakha for onest time. They all suddenly crouched on the ground as Rapakha raised his hands, using his magic.


    "Our body has been crafted by ash and rock. This is the time to use our lives to be useful one more time to the entire humanity." Rapakha summoned a brown-colored magic circle on each golem as all of them started to merge with the ground below.


    "Sealing Magic Release, Rising Mountain." Rapakha turned out to have ced his Sealing Magic on his golem to make the golem small. However, the real body was a hundred meters high.


    With all ten golems returned to their original form, they all merged together and formed and one meter higher than the water level. At the same time, thend became a three-hundred-meter radius tform that humans could step on to fight the rest of the enemies.


    "This ce shall be the renown Moai Hill in the future." Rapakhaughed.


    "Look!" The soldiers saw the risingnd despite struggling to stay alive.


    "That is our hope!"


    "Move!"


    "Let''s go!"


    They all had the same situation and seeing such a sturdy ce made them realize it was the ce where they should fight.


    "You won''t!" Neptune gritted his teeth and waved his staff to destroy the hill. However, Kai already appeared on top of him and struck his staff with his sword.


    "Sonokic de."


    The Sound Wave produced was also far stronger than he usually used. The shock wave shook the entire battlefield as Neptune was pushed back.


    Neptune hurriedly waved his other hand.


    The water began to rise to swallow Kai, but thetter continued to swing his sword, releasing enough Shock Wave to disperse the water below him.


    Kai looked at Neptune with a smile on his face, showing that the winner had yet to be decided.

 Chapter 574 - President

    In the US Base, many people gathered in a huge za to watch the war that was happening in South Carolina.


    They all witnessed what kind of destruction Neptune could cause with just a single wave of his staff. If the soldiers lost this battle, their homes would be destroyed.


    Seeing this kind of scene made them worry and sympathetic at the same time. This was the battle that would decide humanity, yet the only thing they could do was stay in this safe zone, looking at how the soldiers sacrificed their lives in the front line.


    However, they all saw humanity still had one hope to win the war when Kai Charter appeared on the battlefield. His power was equal to that of Neptune and he might be the only one who could defeat him.


    Some of the young generations, older generations, or even veterans who had witnessed the brutality of war with magical beasts couldn''t help but clench their fists.


    "Why have I retired?" One of the veterans couldn''t help but mutter. She turned around while walking with her rod supporting her body.. "I am going back to change. Even if I''m injured, I can still help with the medical team."


    A young man saw the veteran and her body condition. This was a battle of death, the moment the soldiers lost, they couldn''t keep their life too. Hence, instead of waiting and hoping for the soldiers to win, he decided it would be better to participate in the fight.


    He also turned around and started walking back. He reached for his device and called someone. "Hello, Dad. I''m sorry, but I am thinking about protecting the country."


    Starting from those two, more and more people overheard them and began to return. The battle was only a few hours away from them. Even if they needed to bete, it was better than never. They might die with a single wave of Neptune''s staff, but the soldiers there sacrificed their lives just to kill one magical beast.


    More and more people joined them until thirty percent of the people in the za left to fight.


    Suddenly, the screen changed, surprising everyone because the one who appeared before their eyes was none other than President Brent.


    "!!!" They all drew a gasp and looked at the screen.


    President Brent was in front of the pers with a serious expression. "I am sure that everyone has witnessed the war in South Carolina. I won''t take your time because I only want to say one thing to all of you. Please believe the soldiers fighting on the frontline. Pray for them so they can return triumph. Our fate is on their shoulders¡ª"


    Before he finished his words, the screen changed back to the war as if something had happened to the president.


    Meanwhile, President Brent forcefully changed the screen again for Kai''s request and it seemed he was right.


    Brent squinted his eyes and stunned everyone because it was weird for him to stop talking.


    However, a loud noise started echoing outside,ing closer every second.


    "Everyone¡­ Evacuate." President Brent pointed to the emergency exit on his right. "Now."


    "!!!" Screams resounded in the entire hall while several soldiers formed a wall in front of the soldiers as if they had prepared for what happened.


    "Mr. President." The soldier frowned and asked, "Let''s return to the bunker."


    "No." Brent stopped all of them and refused to move. "I still have one more mission as the leader of this country."


    Bam.


    The walls cracked and crushed as several red tentacles appeared inside the room.


    After that, the tentacles broke apart the door and the wall, tearing them down.


    He finally saw the real enemy hiding around him. It was a red octopus. The body reached was higher than the ceiling and the tentacle could loop around this room once.


    "So, you havee¡­" Brent smiled and raised his head, finding the octopus destroyed the ceiling above him and lifted it up, so he could see Brent in the eyes.


    "You''re courageous for not running away." The red octopus red at him and raised his tentacle, nning to m it down. "Imend you for not fearing my existence. I shall grant you a swift death."


    Brent had no change of expression and closed his eyes, recalling the meeting with Kai fifteen minutes ago.


    They were sitting before each other with serious expressions because Kai had something to say.


    "May I know what your n is?"


    "I would like you to give a speech."


    "A speech?" Brent furrowed his eyebrows and realized his n. "A bait!"


    "Yes. There should be a spy hiding somewhere in this ce. However, I couldn''t find him and needed to go to the front line."


    "The EU Base and United Asia have one, so this ce should have a spy too. His target must be me because this will be my most vulnerable time. They want to destroy our morale by assassinating me." Brent nodded in understanding.


    "Yes. However, the speech is also a way to encourage the people in this ce."


    "You mean¡­" Brent and Kai exchanged looks as they finally came to an understanding.


    Recalling the conversation, Brent couldn''t help but smile in the face of death.


    "Octopus¡­" Brent called his opponent and said, "Even if you kill me, you won''t be able to destroy our morale. Kai Carter is the true leader, not me."


    The red octopus snorted. "Let''s see what will happen after I kill you and bring your body around the city."


    "You are not his match, your king is not his match." Brent chuckled.


    "This is not funny, human. I shall kill you right now." The octopus harrumphed and waved his tentacle down.


    Meanwhile, Brent muttered inwardly, "Kai Carter. You are right. Since he ising after me, I shoulde to face him to lure him out. This is thest thing I can do for the people of this base, as this monster might terrorize us in the future.


    "Besides, by making my speech here, the people can inspire many people who watch the battles. These two are his original intentions, so it''s time for me to bring it to a close." Brent smiled and shouted to the octopus, "I will say onest thing, Octopus. Our Kai Carter is beyond your imagination, you shouldn''t underestimate him."


    "He couldn''t find me."


    "No. He has found you." Brent smiled.


    Little did the octopus know, there were two face-shaped rocks on the other side of the room, hidden behind his own escape route.


    Suddenly, the two stones started to expand and tore the ceiling apart, showing their tall golem bodies. The first golem caught the tentacle that almost hit Brent while the other leaped to the air and struck the octopus'' head.


    "Aghh!" The octopus screamed in pain as his body fell to the side because of the force.


    Kai left these two with the president because they were the only ones who could protect the president''s safety.


    "I have one more thing to say to you. Our strength may be weak, but throughout history, we keep surviving from wild beasts or any threats in our surroundings. And this shall continue for eternity¡­ We shall keep rising back again. This is Humanity!" Brent stated with conviction.


    There was still one cameraman that rolled the camera because he had an order to sacrifice his life for this moment. And this sacrifice of his allowed him to get the greatest scene of the president.


    And this scene was broadcasted to the entire world, resounding in the people''s hearts.

 Chapter 575 - Kai Vs Neptune

    Kai was still fighting against Neptune, but he had heard something interesting from the headquarters. Of course, Neptune also overheard their conversation.


    "Target has been neutralized and the president is safe. Extra Reinforcements are also on the way."


    Neptune furrowed his eyebrows while Kai said, "Unfortunately for you, it seems your n ends up as a failure."


    Neptune was gritting his teeth because he had got failure after failure.


    From the very first contact with Kai, there was only a failure. He was already fed up with it and snorted, "That doesn''t mean anything. As long as I kill you, the victory will be mine. I will have thestugh, Kai Carter.".


    "That depends on your ability." Kai smiled and asked Leah with her telepathy. "How is our heavy reinforcement?"


    "They are on their way. The first will be the air support," she replied while maintaining contact with the headquarters. Before she finished, she got another report. "Here it is. The first two."


    Kai raised his swords, preparing to attack Neptune.


    Neptune also raised his staff to send another attack, but both of them heard the same thing.


    "!!!" Neptune realized he had been had. He hurriedly waved his staff, but Kai already appeared in front of him, striking his staff with his swords. "What do you think you are doing?"


    Suddenly, two huge explosions urred in the water, kicking up the water to the sky.


    Because the shock wave could blow people away, the missiles weren''t that powerful. They just wanted to create enough support for Kai and the others as Kai instructed.


    Several more fighter jets flew on top of them, hitting their nks with their heavy weaponry.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    A series of explosions urred, killing hundreds of magical beasts. It didn''t look that much, but more and more reinforcement woulde, so they should be able to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions.


    This was what Kai expected from them, especially with tanks and other vehicles reaching this ce.


    Aston sent a message to Nathan, "Make sure you hit their rear. Avoid any friendly fires."


    "I know. Don''t worry." Nathan still sat in front of the screen while maintaining the entire chain ofmands with Leah and Aston.


    After seeing his side had started to regain their ground, Kai shouted, "Arba, I will be leaving this area to you."


    "Understood, my king." Arba nodded and smiled at reca, who seemed to have realized Kai''s entire n. She made a smug smile and said, "It''s impossible for you, a little princess, to challenge our king. It''s your mistake to even let him stay alive back when you first met him."


    "¡­" reca couldn''t answer because back then, she went back to report to ask their king''s opinion regarding Kai''s existence.


    Fortunately for Kai, Neptune wanted to end everything, allowing Kai to grow up. And he turned out to be the worst opponent for them because of his exceptional ability in warfare.


    Even in thest battle, Kai proceeded to nt all his tricks and release them one after another. They were the white tiger, the eagle and the birds, Rapakha and his people, Brent''s as bait, and this reinforcement.


    Everything was in his calction. Although he didn''t know whether he could kill Neptune or not, he wanted to have enough people so they could annihte Neptune''s armies.


    Meanwhile, Kai had the most important thing to do.


    He struck Neptune''s staff with everything he got, pinning him on the water''s surface.


    After that, he recalled his Crown Jewel and released all of its power, channeling it to his Sonokic de.


    As another Protector, Neptune obviously understood the power of the Crown Jewel. The moment Kai used that power, he activated his own power, lifted the water, and released it at high speed, neutralizing Kai''s extraordinary shock wave.


    The water and the shock wave shed. They tried to disperse each other.


    However, Kai had another thing in mind. While holding Neptune with his right sword, he rotated his other sword, nning to hit someone strong.


    "!!!" Neptune obviously noticed his movement and prevented him by summoning multiple waves from the water and struck him on the back.


    A smile suddenly appeared on Kai''s face. He had been waiting for this moment.


    The moment Neptune raised the water again, his own Crown Jewel needed to split its energy, resulting in the loss of his original attack that neutralized Kai''s power.


    On the contrary, Kai turned out to be faking that movement and used it to hit the back of his other sword, adding the power that broke through Neptune''s attack and hit Neptune''s staff and his chest.


    "!!!" Neptune gritted his teeth and was blown away at a speed no one had ever seen.


    reca and the others widened their eyes when they saw Kai managed to blow Neptune away.


    "What? Is he stronger than father?" reca widened her eyes in shock.


    Arba took this chance to attack her from the front. The wind that gathered around her fists expanded as she struck reca''s staff. "You shouldn''t look away when you''re fighting me, girl."


    reca knew it would hit her, so she raised her staff to block it, but Arba''s attack managed to break past her defense, blowing her to the water.


    Boom.


    A big ssh resounded in everyone''s ears as Arba began to make another wind tornado, nning to disperse the water.


    Kai was happy to know that Arba was fine. Hence, he gave hisst order. "Arba, you''re in control. Take care of everyone."


    "Understood." Arba nodded with a grim expression.


    After hearing her reply, Kai followed Neptune because he knew a fight of their level would create massive destruction. The soldiers might end up dying needlessly if they were caught in the middle of their attacks, so Kai had been nning to move away from the current battlefield.


    Bam.


    Neptune fell to the ground after flying for ten kilometers, with Kainding not far from him.


    "I suppose you''re trying to separate me from the rest¡­" Neptune squinted his eyes. "Such a thoughtfulness of you to even care about those insignificant people. I wonder if they will remember you and repay your kindness¡­ After all, history has shown you that the people you protect will try to control you and make you their ves."


    Kai smiled and shook his head. "To fight the greatest viin, they need a hero. After defeating the viin, the hero will have a happy life forever. Do you know why? It''s because the hero will disappear from the world."


    Neptune''s expression was serious when he heard his answer. Kai just told him that he would rather live in hiding instead of bing their ves or governing them.


    "All I wish is just a peaceful life with my family. Why should I get into trouble?" Kai chuckled.


    "You are also a different Protector than that bastard." Neptune harrumphed and raised his staff. "However, do you think you can defeat me?"


    A huge wave suddenly appeared from the horizon.


    "Another tsunami, huh. You really love water, aren''t you?" Kai chuckled and struck Neptune with his swords.


    Neptune blocked it and tried to slip past him, returning to the tsunami. He really needed to fill this ce with water if he wanted to win against Kai Carter after all.


    The moment Neptune merged with the tsunami, Kai tossed his Crown Jewel, producing a continuous shock wave that should blow the wave apart.


    However, Neptune controlled the water, forcing it to recover continuously and creating a bnce between the two powers.


    This marked the true start of the fight between two sovereigns.

 Chapter 576 - Michelle Vs Octopus Part 1

    On the original battlefield, Michelle was focused on her fight against the octopus.


    Her swords and scythes kept getting repelled by the octopus. None of them managed to injure each other yet.


    "Shadow sh." She waved her right sword and released a ck-colored Sword Wave, running through the ground.


    The octopus simply leaped back into the water to escape this attack before returning to the ground. After that, he countered the attack by mming two tentacles to Michelle.


    Thetter avoided it like the octopus, but the octopus raised the tentacles, cracking the ground and dragging it off with him.


    This huge boulder was a real threat to the other soldiers..


    Hence, Michelle reached the boulder with her scythes, cutting it into pieces before the octopus could even throw it to the others.


    Seeing it had been sliced, the octopus harrumphed and threw away the rubbles. He then mmed the ground with his tentacles again.


    Michelle obviously wouldn''t allow him to do the same thing. She quickly merged her Shadow Swords and created a longer and bigger one.


    She swung her new 5 meters sword to stop the tentacle.


    Bam.


    The Shadow Sword hit the water bubble that acted as a cover. The water was hard as if it was frozen.


    "¡­" Michelle clicked her tongue as her shadow suddenly disappeared. "Marite."


    Feeling the octopus had a slight advantage in terms of strength, Michelle froze her own shadow. This was new magic she developed from the concept of a shadow that would continuously follow the person''s action.


    Hence, she froze the shadow and created a reverse effect where the real body couldn''t move, giving an illusion she received an extra strength to withstand one''s attack.


    The octopus didn''t know she couldn''t move right now, so he kept trying to push her back as if he wanted to overpower her.


    The moment the octopus knew it was futile, Michelle retracted her shadow and leaped toward the octopus.


    "Shadow¡­" The ck fire around her sword grew stronger as she struck the tentacle with it. "sh."


    The Shadow sh ran through the skin, trying to rip the tentacle apart. Unfortunately for her, the octopus managed to react to her attack by sshing the water from his skin, blowing away the Shadow sh.


    "¡­" Michelle squinted her eyes, not pleased to know she failed to cut a tentacle.


    Still, a red mark on the tentacle showed that she was close to cutting his skin. If he didn''t react that quickly, he would have lost his tentacle.


    Not liking the fact Michelle could cut his tentacle, the octopus started getting angry. "You''re the one who forces me¡­"


    The octopus turned red before raising two tentacles.


    The water behind him rose and formed a small wave. However, Michelle could see the piping hot atmosphere along with some heat released from the water.


    "Boiling Water?" Michelle frowned and nced back, seeing the soldiers who fought together with her. "I won''t let you."


    She waved her sword horizontally, releasing a ck Sword Wave that flew to the bottom of the waves. Sadly, she was one step toote as the water had enough energy to move past her.


    "¡­" Michelle wanted to protect them, so she expanded her shadow and created a short but sturdy wall of shadow that received the wave with their body.


    The wave hit the wall and sshed around. Michelle, on the other hand, took a deep breath after feeling the impact.


    "It''s quite powerful." Michelle shook her head helplessly and started fighting back by expanding her scythe.


    On the contrary, the octopus grabbed the scythe with two tentacles while saying, "It''s no use. Your king won''t be able to fight against our king. He is too young to even be considered an opponent."


    "That''s something you believe¡­" Michelle smiled. "I still believe Kai has enough strength to defeat your king. This is a fact that I will believe no matter how hard you try to convince me. I am sad that I can''t help him in this situation because I don''t have the strength to even stand beside him. That''s why right now, I want to ease his burden as much as possible. And the first thing I need to do is to kill you."


    The octopus frowned and raised all his tentacles. "Then, let''s see whether you have the capability to do it or not."


    Michelle struck the tentacle with her small sword and somehow contained the giant tentacle. At the same time, her scythes tried to stop all other tentacles that were going to hit her.


    This was their basic fight until Michelle stepped up her game.


    A huge ck spike suddenly emerged from the ground, hitting two tentacles on the side and cutting it a little bit until the blood started to flow out of the wounds.


    "!!!" The octopus opened his eyes in shock and saw one of Michelle''s scythes turned out to be underground.


    Knowing that the spike was actually the scythe, the octopus grasped the spike, refusing to let go.


    Michelle tried to retract her scythe or basically her shadow, but the octopus somehow stopped it, preventing her from moving.


    "I got you!" The octopus smirked and sent all his tentacles to hit Michelle.


    Michelle clicked her tongue and struck several tentacles, repelling them away. However, she was immobilized. It was hard for her to turn around, forcing the scythes to deal with the tentacles on her back.


    She didn''t have a clear vision of them, resulting in a hit on her back.


    Bam.


    "Kh!" Michelle gritted her teeth because the tentacle hit her on the back. Although she had covered her body with shadow, it still hurt. She even took a step forward just to support her body.


    Gritting her teeth, Michelle came to a decision.


    "I think I really need you," said Michelle with a serious expression.


    Suddenly, her shadow expanded and rose as if it had a will of its own. The shadow then turned into a beautiful woman that looked like her. After that, there were several spikes that emerged from the ground and almost hit the tentacles.


    If not because of the octopus'' fast reaction, his tentacles would have been cut.


    "I have been waiting for this." Dark Michelle licked her lips while staring at the octopus. "We should have Takoyaki after this war."


    "Suit yourself." Michelle shook her head helplessly.


    "What do you mean to suit myself? I am you, you are me. I am just the desire you have to suppress." Dark Michelle chuckled while forming a pair of swords along with the scythes on her back.


    "Shut up. We better kill this guy first. I don''t like having an enemy watching our conversation." Michelle harrumphed.


    "Roger. After that, we can split up to help the others." Dark Michelle winked as if the job had finished.


    Hearing this statement infuriated the octopus as thetter said, "You¡­ Do you think you can stop me? I am going to kill both of you before killing the others. I will let you see that my power is beyond your imagination."


    "Yeah, yeah. I know you''re going to say something like that." Dark Michelle rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if she didn''t care about his statement.


    Michelle, on the other hand, nced at Dark Michelle with a smile. "I guess we need to prove it to him."


    "Yeah. Let''s get serious."


    Both of them suddenly had ck marks on their body as her strength drastically increased.


    "Shadow Possession."

 Chapter 577 - Michelle Vs Octopus Part 2

    "Shadow Possession."


    ck marks began to appear in both Michelles, strengthening her power even further.


    Even the octopus knew Michelle would be different from this point on. Not only had she cloned herself, but she also had this power-up.


    "Dark Prison." Michelle released the first move, creating a ck sphere that blinded the octopus.


    This ck sphere was visible from the outside and very fragile. The moment it touched a random attack, the ck sphere would crumble.


    And it happened a split secondter.


    Despite the urrence, the octopus instinctively raised all his tentacles, covered all his body because when the light illuminated them again, Michelle had already arrived on top of him, swinging her swords.


    "Shadow sh."


    Before the Shadow sh hit his tentacle, the octopus rolled like a ball to avoid it. However, it was forced to stomp the ground andunch itself into the air.


    It turned out Dark Michelle had already arrived behind him, waving her scythes to stop his movement so Michelle could hit him.


    "I''m not letting you go." Dark Michelle smirked and raised her hand. The scythes followed her hand movement and flew upward, trying to grasp the octopus.


    At this time, the octopus had returned to its normal form and struck all the scythes.


    "Tsk." Dark Michelle clicked her tongue and ced her hand on the ground. "Spike."


    Her Shadow suddenly emerged and formed a huge spike, growing at unprecedented speed to skewer the octopus.


    Because it couldn''t move freely in the air, the octopus tried to roll its body to the side and ended up getting pierced on one of its tentacles.


    After that, the octopus quickly destroyed the shadow to free himself andnded on the ground next to the water.


    The water rose behind him and formed torrential currents. These spirals of water seemed to contain enough pressure to at least break many bones in one''s body.


    Michelle didn''t dare to confront these spirals with her own scythes.


    Dark Michelle regrouped with her and nced at her. "What are we going to do?"


    "That''s obvious." Michelle smiled.


    The octopus sent all the torrential currents to hit both Michelles.


    Surprisingly, Michelle and Dark Michelle leaped to the side, avoiding the currents.


    "What?!" The octopus thought Michelle would destroy them because of the previous actions. Even so, he hurriedly said, "Haha, to think you would dodge this¡­ Fine, I will ughter all those animals."


    "You''re the only animal here." Michelle and Dark Michelle said at the same time.


    Suddenly, their scythes started moving and struck the ground.


    "Shadow sh."


    Each scythe and sword performed and released the Shadow sh, creating multiple Shadow shes on the ground, cutting the water from the side a few times.


    This created a gap between the water, forcing the edge to disperse because the octopus'' control had been cut.


    "What?!" The octopus widened his eyes.


    "Don''t underestimate us." Dark Michelle leaped to the front and struck the octopus with her sword.


    "Shadow sh."


    Bam.


    The tentacle suddenly fell to the ground. In other words, the Shadow sh managed to cut it.


    "Argh!" The octopus screamed in pain.


    On the other hand, Michelle''s situation wasn''t that good either. She dropped to her knees as she started sweating profusely. Michelle even used her hands to support her body from copsing.


    The multiple Shadow shes were beyond her power earlier. If only she had trained for another two or three years, she believed the octopus wouldn''t be her match.


    Unfortunately, she only had a short time. She gritted her teeth and started collecting herposure.


    "I can''t move for another minute." Michelle kept panting while assessing the situation. She needed to end the fight as soon as possible to preserve her Magic Power.


    Dark Michelle already found out about this and kept attacking the octopus.


    However, the octopus wasn''t a pushover either. The water rose and formed ten tentacles behind him.


    All the tentacles were huge and long. They could surely kill her.


    "You''re the one underestimating me." The octopus snorted and sent the tentacles forward, trying to kill Dark Michelle.


    Thetter tried her best to avoid them. Her scythes acted as her legs and kept moving around.


    The octopus found her weakness and flooded the ground. The water near the scythes erupted and destroyed them.


    "No!" Dark Michelle started falling down after losing the support and saw the octopus gathering the water in its mouth.


    He then spurted all that water forward, creating a high-pressure eruption that engulfed her.


    Luckily, Dark Michelle had linked her thoughts with Michelle, so she knew what wasing. She created a wall of shadow that blocked the water.


    Unfortunately for her, it wasn''t enough to contain the octopus'' attack. However, Dark Michelle only used it to buy her enough time to escape her own predicament, albeit her right hand was still hit by the water and ripped apart from her body.


    "Argh!" Both Michelles wailed in pain as their senses seemed to be shared.


    "Haha, so that''s how it is. Die!" The octopus sent all the water tentacles to smash Dark Michelle.


    Little did he know, even though Michelle couldn''t move, she could still use her magic from afar.


    Michelle''s shadow expanded and moved toward Dark Michelle. When it was right below her, a spike emerged.


    "What?!" The octopus quickly tried to destroy the spike, but Dark Michelle had utilized it as her foothold. She glided on it beforeunching herself on top of the octopus.


    "No!" The octopus realized what she nned to do. She wanted to kill him by causing mutual destruction. Even though their senses were shared, her death wouldn''t mean the same for Michelle.


    At the same time, the water octopus couldn''t protect her as they were still moving to hit the spike.


    The octopus quickly raised all his tentacles to stop her.


    However, Dark Michelle re-summoned all her scythes and struck all of them.


    "This is the end." Dark Michelle smiled and released another magic. "Shadow sh."


    "!!!" The octopus widened his eyes and saw how the Shadow shes moved around his body and cut him into pieces. "Impossi¡ª"


    Before he finished his words, his body began to fall apart and buried under the water.


    There was still regret in his eyes, but he couldn''t do anything more than this.


    Michelle spat a mouthful of blood because of the continuous usage of Shadow shes, panted a few times and took a deep breath to calm her heart down. She had done everything she could in this fight. However, the war was still going on.


    She took pride as the first girl Kai knew, so she always honed herself to the very limit, making sure he came out as the strongest. From the dark magic that evolved into her now shadow magic to her Dark Michelle, she made sure she had the strength to take care of everyone.


    After defeating the octopus, the first thought that crossed her mind was none other than to help the others instead of resting for a minute or two.


    "Oi!" Michelle called Dark Michelle and nned to discuss the n.


    The moment their eyes intertwined, the two Michelles understood each other and nodded.


    Dark Michelle said, "We need to help the weakest link as well as the one that can change the entire battlefield."


    "Yeah. I will go for thetter." Michelle nodded.


    As soon as they came to an agreement, the two Michelles disappeared.

 Chapter 578 - Rapakha Vs Jellyfish Part 1

    On the other side of the battlefield, Rapakha hadnded on the ground after the jellyfish furiously shook its body to throw him off.


    Rapakha took a deep breath and raised his hand. Suddenly, several spikes emerged from the ground. The spikes were so high that they kept rising until reaching the jellyfish.


    The jellyfish waved its tentacles and shattered the spikes before pointing three of the tentacles to Rapakha.


    Suddenly, electricity sparked around the tentacles and shot it straight to Rapakha.


    Rapakha casually summoned a wall of dirt that took the direct hit of the lightning.


    The jellyfish was impressed because he thought the wall would shatter into pieces. Instead, the wall withstood the entire power of his electricity and dispersed it to the ground.


    Rapakha raised his hand and created seven pink spheres. The spheres began to get smaller and smaller,pressing the air inside.


    After that, Rapakhaunched them to the jellyfish.


    Not letting the attack hit him, the jellyfish pped its tentacles to fly a bit higher. The purpose wasn''t to go up but rather to generate enough wind to blow away Rapakha''s Compressed Air Bombs.


    Boom.


    Rapakha already knew his n and exploded it right away, causing enough shock waves to blow the jellyfish even further.


    At the same time, Rapakha looked around him, especially his soldiers. They were fighting against other sea races that were out of the top ten fighters. Some of them managed to hold them well, while some lost their advantages.


    Knowing the battle couldn''tst for long, he needed to finish this battle in an instant.


    Rapakha ced his hand on the ground as thetter started to rise to the sky.


    After that, he leaped off the tower and reached the jellyfish again.


    The jellyfish obviously didn''t let Rapakha do whatever he wanted. He sent his tentacles to stop Rapakha by forming a that would catch him.


    Rapakha smiled upon this action and struck the with all his might.


    The tentacle also carried the electricity, so it spread all over his body.


    Rapakha smirked and said, "My body is made of stone and volcanic ash, I am immune to this kind of lightning."


    The jellyfish didn''t like it and sent a more intense electrical current. This lightning spark held a high prating power that somehow put some cracks on his golem body.


    The jellyfish didn''t say anything, but Rapakha could somehow understand what he wanted to say.


    "Don''t underestimate you? Hmph." Rapakha endured the lightning without letting out a sound. At the same time, he gathered thepressed air again, sending them on top of the jellyfish.


    "Eat this!"


    Boom.


    The jellyfish dropped several meters with the top of its head charred ck. Unlike Rapakha, the jellyfish let go of its tentacles after receiving that kind of damage, allowing Rapakha to reach the top of its body.


    Rapakha raised his hand and gathered another wave of Compressed Air Bombs, holding it around his hand.


    He then hit the jellyfish once again while exploding the Compressed Air Bombs around the jellyfish, trying to injure it as much as possible.


    The jellyfish didn''t like having Rapakha on top of his body, so two tentacles reached Rapakha''s tower and swung around.


    "!!!" Rapakha was frustrated when he dropped again because of the jellyfish''s action.


    Bam.


    Some rocks started falling apart because of the heavy impact and Rapakha struggled to get up.


    The jellyfish didn''t let this chance go. He gathered all his tentacles to shoot a bolt of mighty lightning.


    The lightning shed before his eyes and hit him¡­ Or that was what was supposed to happen.


    When the lightning was about to hit him, Rapakhaughed and summoned a pink Magic Circle in front of him as if trying to block the lightning. However, what truly happened was the Magic Circle absorbing the lightning.


    It then produced a pink sphere with lightning sparking around it.


    "Haha, thank you for creating this ultimate weapon for me." Rapakhaughed and raised the pink ball. However, he was assessing his body inwardly. ''Hmm, my current body won''t hold for long. My Magic Power is still there, but I can''t fight anymore if my body crumbles. It''s not like I can use all the dirt around me to rece them.


    ''I truly need to kill the jellyfish as soon as possible. My warriors have done the same and killed as many enemies as possible.''


    Despite such a perilous situation, Rapakha keptughing as if he was taunting the jellyfish while acting tough.


    Suddenly, Rapakha stoppedughing when he heard loud noises. He looked around and found several of his warriors had fallen. Some managed to win and some were still fighting.


    Rapakha took a deep breath and shouted, "O'' mighty warriors. You have done your jobs. Let us meet again in the afterlife. I shalle with you and bring all these guys here with me."


    "Sealing Magic Release." Rapakha released his Sealing Magic on the fallen warriors. They became thend for the other soldiers to step on. "O'' mighty soldiers. Let thisnd made of my brethren be the path for your victory."


    The soldiers and generals obviously heard his words. They couldn''t express how grateful they were to have this vastnd in the middle of the water Neptune created by using his tsunami.


    They all would remember Rapakha and his soldiers for the rest of their lives. After all, they were legendary characters that had protected humanity for thousands of years.


    After that, Rapakha ran toward the water and formed another six spheres. Three of them sucked as much water as they could while the other three gathered all the air in their surroundings. All of them then started topress whatever was inside them before circling around the lightning sphere.


    With this, Rapakha had one Lightning Compressed Sphere, three Water Compressed Spheres, and three Air Compressed Spheres.


    He thought about using thesest seven spheres to defeat the jellyfish.


    "Here Ie, you sh*tty jellyfish. Your lightning is powerful, but can you withstand your own lightning? Hahaha!"

 Chapter 579 - Rapakha Vs Jellyfish Part 2

    "Here Ie, you sh*tty jellyfish. Your lightning is powerful, but can you withstand your own lightning? Hahaha!"


    Rapakhaughed out loud, mocking the jellyfish.


    Thetter seemed to be offended and started charging the lightning around his tentacles. He pointed all of those to Rapakha and shot him.


    Rapakha easily avoided them by teleporting himself to the top of the jellyfish. Even though Rapakha''s magic was a Sealing Magic, just like Tasha, he was also good at teleportation stuff.


    He just refrained himself from using it this whole time to make the enemy think he could only use Sealing Magic.


    That trick seemed to be useful because Rapakha managed to arrive on top of the jellyfish safely.


    All seven spheres were aligned and Rapakha finally used his Magic. "Sealing Magic Release."


    All seven spheres suddenly exploded, bursting out whatever it contained.


    The three Water Compressed Spheres spewed out a huge amount of seawater. Because of thepression, the water contained a high pressure, creating enough force to scrap a bit of the jellyfish''s body.


    At the same time, the Air Compressed Spheres burst out an explosive shock wave, grazing the jellyfish''s body.


    However, the worst one was the Lightning Compressed Sphere. It contained the lightning from the jellyfish himself and that lightning was gathered from all his tentacles. The power that burst out of the sphere was unimaginable.


    It literally spread all over the jellyfish, burning him down.


    Rapakha was also not in good shape either. Although he managed to redirect the electric current from his body, the sheer amount of pressure generated by the lightning started cracking his body.


    As for the jellyfish, several ck spots appeared as if it was getting roasted. White liquids began to flow out of its body, dripping down to the tentacle before falling to the ground.


    The jellyfish fell for a few seconds, almost hitting the ground. However, the jellyfish managed to recover in time and pped its tentacles to stay airborne.


    After that, the jellyfish sneaked a tentacle to the hole of his body and reached Rapakha.


    "!!!" Rapakha widened his eyes, never expecting such an attack. After all, if it were a human, it was the same as them using their hand to go through their stomach just to grab something behind them.


    The tentacle grasped Rapakha''s arm.


    "Not good!" Rapakha tried to escape through his teleportation, but the moment he reemerged on the ground, his right arm was already gone while cracks were visible all over his body.


    The jellyfish just took that one second to rip apart Rapakha''s body and made his condition worse.


    Rapakha clicked his tongue, wondering if he could kill the jellyfish before his time ran out.


    When he thought about that, Rapakha''s body shook. "No. My mission is to kill this jellyfish. Even if I need to take him down along with me, I will do it."


    Rapakha regained hisposure and focus, trying to find something that he could use to kill the jellyfish.


    As if remembering something, he looked inside his heart and fell silent. He seemed to have found the one thing he needed, but there was also a hesitation lingering in his eyes.


    The jellyfish seemed to have no patience left as it began to move, trying to destroy him. Little did he know, this just made Rapakha gather his resolve faster.


    "I''m sorry, my warriors. It''s time for me to go and release all of you." Rapakha''s words were transmitted to every single golem on the battlefield.


    They were stunned for a second and soon understood what Rapakha nned to do.


    They wanted to say he had done enough since ancient times, but they couldn''t say those words.


    Only action could answer Rapakha''s resolve. Suddenly, the golems began to move in unison as if they had a n.


    Even Aston and Leah didn''t understand their movement, watching how the golems ran away from the battlefield. But they soon found out that the golems were not running away. Instead, they were trying to reach the water.


    They all jumped to the seawater as a huge magic circle appeared on top of their backs simultaneously.


    "!!!" Aston widened his eyes. "This¡­ Thank you, Elder. Thank you, warriors."


    All the golems turned into a massivend as if a vast hill emerged just for them, pushing all the water away so the soldiers could continue their fight.


    "Sealing Magic Release¡­" Rapakha''s eyes were filled with sorrow as he said, "Goodbye, my brethren. We shall meet in the next life."


    After releasing all his magic, Rapakha had no more worries in his heart. He looked at the jellyfish and summoned a Teleportation Magic Circle beneath his feet.


    The jellyfish quickly raised all his tentacles, ready to grasp Rapakha and throw him away so he couldn''t hurt him.


    Rapakha already knew the jellyfish would do such a thing and teleported below the jellyfish.


    "When you try to focus on one thing, you lose your focus on another thing." Rapakha smiled as his hand suddenly hit his own chest, cracking the stone. From there, a small green-colored jewel popped out.


    This jewel was used to store his Magic Power, allowing him to move. Now that he had removed it, he could only stay conscious of the remaining Magic Power inside the rock, which obviously wasn''t good storage for Magic Particles.


    Even in this situation, Rapakha smiled, thinking about Kai.


    "Long live humanity, long live the king, long live Kai Carter!" Rapakha crushed the jewel, detonating it.


    "Boom."


    The core exploded, engulfing both Rapakha and the jellyfish. Unlike an ordinary explosion, this one contained every bit of his Sealing Magic. This magic contained everything he had stored inside this whole time, including all the Magic Particles inside his body.


    The explosion of Magic Particles had the same concept as when a protector sacrificed their life to the altar, bringing the apocalypse.


    All the Magic Particles in the protector body exploded and spread all around the world. Obviously, the Crown Jewel made the explosion thousands if not tens of thousands of times stronger, but Rapakha''s explosion at least had enough power to kill the monster he needed to kill.


    The jellyfish was shocked and resigned to his fate.


    The smoke expanded as no one knew the condition of the two. However, rocks began to disperse in all directions as Rapakha had finally gone away.


    However, when the smoke was blown away by the wind, they found the jellyfish missing as if he had been torn into pieces.


    Whether it was fate or not, the dying Rapakha that somehow survived the st fell next to his student. The student he picked on a whim and thought he would never see her again.


    Yes, Rapakha''s head and half-bodynded next to Tasha.


    Their eyes intertwined for onest time.


    *****


    Author''s Note: The Clear Sketch is in thement section.

 Chapter 580 - Tasha Vs Electric Eel Part 1

    A few minutes ago.


    Tasha released her lightning arrow to the electric eel.


    She was stunned for a second when the electric eel swallowed her lightning arrow as if it was nothing. He wasn''t even injured or feeling any difort.


    Tasha didn''t like it and formed another lightning arrow, shooting it to the eel.


    "It''s useless. Your lightning arrow won''t work against me." The electric eel chuckled, staring at Tasha as if looking at a powerless girl.


    Tasha narrowed her eyes when she listened to his insults. However, a smile soon appeared as soon as her arrow entered the electric eel''s mouth.


    "Spark!" Tasha activated her magic and burst out a lightning spark inside the electric eel''s mouth.


    The electric eel widened his eyes, feeling the spark. But he quickly recovered while opening his mouth, letting out a cloud of ck smoke. "That''s quite good. But it''s not enough."


    "¡­" Tasha fell silent. The eel didn''t seem to be hurt from her point of view, so she wondered whether she should hit the eel on the inside or the outside.


    She thought for a moment as the eel moved around in the air, looking down on her.


    As if he had no patience left, the eel skin suddenly burst out electricity, covering his body.


    After that, the lightning began to form a small bolt of lightning on top of the eel''s head as thetter turned to Tasha.


    Suddenly, the bolt of lightning flew to Tasha.


    Not wanting to be hit by this attack, Tasha leaped to the side and allowed the bolt of lightning to hit the ground. However, she soon raised her hand and formed a Magic Circle, shielding her from something.


    When the lightning bolt hit the ground, it created a spark twice as big as Tasha''s.


    "¡­" Tasha furrowed her eyebrows, noticing their gap in lightning power. She also understood that her Lightning was the worse one among the two elements she had. Even then, she didn''t want to sulk because she didn''t have the Sealing Magic right now since Kai was in a worse predicament than her.


    Taking a deep breath, Tasha calmed her heart down. Her bow began to glow as Tasha fused more lightning power into the bow.


    The bow then transformed and expanded in size, almost reaching the same height as her. It was only twenty centimeters away from reaching the ground when she wielded it normally.


    The string was then formed by lightning, bing a stronger string than the one she used before.


    This bow was more solid and tough, so it should bring more power into her arrow. In other words, Tasha aimed at the eel''s skin, trying to prate it with sheer power, speed, and prating power.


    She formed another arrow on her other hand and pulled her bow, aiming at the eel, who was ready to swallow the arrow again.


    To avoid getting swallowed again, Tasha suddenly lowered her aim and turned left as if trying to hit someone else.


    "!!!" The eel noticed her movement and shouted, "What are you doing?!"


    The eel saw the shrimp and started flying toward him in order to stop Tasha''s arrow.


    At that time, Tasha suddenly turned back and aimed at the eel''s body.


    "!!!" The eel suddenly realized Tasha''s n andughed. Because he needed to make an S shape when moving, the skin suddenly pped and repelled Tasha''s arrow effortlessly, redirecting it to the ground.


    When the arrow hit the ground, it pierced through the ground and created a several meters hole.


    "¡­" Tasha was speechless. Her strategy turned out to be useless. "What should I do now¡­"


    The eelughed at her n, saying, "You won''t be able to defeat me. Your arrow is not strong enough to pierce my skin and your lightning is too weak to even bepared to mine. No matter what you do, you won''t be able to win. I will show you the power of true lightning!"


    Tasha gritted her teeth, wondering how she could win against this electric eel. Even if she couldn''t, she needed to find a way to buy enough time until someone could help her.


    After all, she had left her Sealing Magic to Kai, who needed it more than her. In fact, Kai had been teleporting people to this ce using that magic.


    She might be the biggest contributor on this battlefield, in a sense.


    Suddenly, she noticed an iing presence from her left. Raising her vision, Tasha saw a huge rock falling and piercing the ground a little bit. The rock didn''t shatter at all as Tasha observed this rock, wondering why it came to her.


    They all had agreed to make sure no one disturbed each other''s fight after all.


    However, she was shocked when she saw a pair of eyes on the rock, realizing his identity.


    Their eyes intertwined for onest time as Rapakha sensed something weird in Tasha''s body.


    "Your¡­sealing¡­" Rapakha said with a tired voice. He tried to stay alive for a bit longer with his remaining Magic Power.


    "Kai has it since he needs it more than me," Tasha answered quickly. As much as she wanted to shed her tears after seeing her teacher in this state, she knew Rapakha didn''t want her to waste his remaining time by screaming or something.


    "Touch¡­" Rapakha was grateful that Tasha understood his wish and respected it.


    Tasha didn''t know what he was thinking, but she bent her knees and ced her hand on Rapakha''s body.


    Suddenly, a small Magic Circle appeared, connecting both of them.


    Tasha felt the warmth of the Magic Power fluctuating around the magic circle as she soon understood what Rapakha wanted to do.


    "Can''t¡­ give¡­ Magic¡­ But¡­ give¡­ element¡­" Rapakha stuttered as his voice grew weaker and weaker. "You¡­ Disciple¡­ I¡­ Master¡­ Answer?"


    Tears couldn''t help but flow out of the corner of her eyes. Even at the very end, Rapakha still thought about her. Instead of passing like a hero, he wanted to pass away as a teacher, granting her his Space Element.


    In other words, Rapakha tried to use the remaining Magic Power to seal his Sealing Magic in Tasha''s body, allowing Tasha to wield it. Unfortunately, he couldn''t seal his Magic Power because he had destroyed his own core that contained all his Magic Power.


    Seeing such care from her teacher, there was only one obvious answer from Tasha.


    "I, Tasha Carter, am the student of the great warrior, Rapakha."


    Despite how short they met this whole time, there wasn''t a shred of doubt in her voice as she looked Rapakha in the eyes.


    Rapakha smiled as the transfer hadpleted. That smile would always be nted on her mind as it was thest thing she saw from her teacher before the rock turned into ashes and the wind blew it away.


    "I¡­ see master off." Tasha gritted her teeth, trying hard to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks.


    However, her danger remained the same as the electric eel obviously didn''t wait for her.


    He had been charging all the lightning inside his body and opened his mouth, releasing it all. The lightning formed a straight line to Tasha, who was seeing off Rapakha.


    Before the lightning hit her, a huge pink sphere appeared next to her, swallowing all the lightning. After that, it sealed the entrance and shrank in size,pressing the lightning like how Rapakha did to the jellyfish''s attack.


    Tasha gradually rose from the ground, ncing at the electric eel coldly.

 Chapter 581 - Tasha Vs Electric Eel Part 2

    "!!!" The electric eel widened his eyes, realizing that Tasha had one more power to kill him.


    Tasha squinted her eyes and released her killing intent. Her expression was solemn and her tone was cold. "I may not have the power to kill you earlier. However, this time is different."


    The sphere thatpressed the lightning floated on top of her hand.


    She poured a bit of her Magic Power and reshaped the sphere, turning it into an arrow.


    Aiming at the electric eel, she took a deep breath and pulled her bow. "How about you taste your own power?"


    She released the arrow like that of a bullet.


    Seeing such a power, the electric eel didn''t dare to swallow it anymore. Instead, he began to flee, avoiding the arrow.


    Tasha, knowing that the enemy wouldn''t dare to face that arrow, controlled it by giving additional lightning.


    It was her lightning, and that same lightning sparked, giving enough boost to change the direction of the arrow.


    The electric eel couldn''t believe his eyes because he had just seen the arrow turning in his direction.


    The arrow ultimately hit his tail and dissolved, releasing all thatpressed lightning.


    With his lightning bing the one that fueled the arrow, the st created from the explosion was much greater than Tasha''s lightning arrow.


    Boom.


    "Argh!" The electric eel screamed in pain, never expecting to find Tasha to use his own attack to injure him.


    However, what shocked her the most was Rapakha. Rapakha was his biggest miscalction.


    No one could ever predict that in hisst breath, Rapakha reached Tasha and Sealed his own element in Tasha''s body.


    With this, Kai didn''t need to return her Sealing Magic anymore as they both could use it together.


    Kai might not be able to use the Sealing Magic properly because he didn''t have the element, but Tasha could utilize Rapakha''s, allowing her to regain her superiority in this battle.


    And that explosion created from her Compressed Lightning blew the eel''s tail away. The tail flew several hundred meters into the water as the electric eel kept wailing in pain.


    Blood began to flow out and drop to the ground as if raining.


    The electric eel used all his power to seal his injured part, stopping the bleeding.


    Controlling such a thing required a huge amount of focus, so Tasha knew it was her chance to defeat him.


    "Now that our situation is reversed, why don''t you talk more?" Tasha smiled while raising her hand.


    A pink sphere appeared on top of her head, drawing all the air around beforepressing it. She also created another one and shot her lightning inside.


    With this, she had two arrows. She pulled the bow again and nned to shoot both arrows at the same time.


    "You don''t want to talk big again? Come on." Tasha looked down on him now, inciting his anger.


    As she expected, the eel couldn''t contain his anger and shouted, "Don''t think you already won! I am far stronger than you think."


    The eel''s body began to release lightning as the eel opened his mouth, gathering all the lightning inside his mouth.


    "Great." Tasha knew the eel wanted a showdown.


    When the eel shot out a lightning beam, Tasha sneakily tweaked her finger and hid the Compressed Air Arrow under her hand and released the Lightning Arrow first.


    Because of the trail left behind his attack, the eel didn''t realize the fact Tasha only used one arrow at a time.


    He simply saw his Lightning Beam stop for a few seconds, indicating that it hit the arrow.


    The sh created a continuous shock wave.


    However, both of their eyes remained calm as if they expected their own attacks to win this sh.


    The answer came so suddenly. The Lightning Beam shrank in size but kept going to Tasha.


    Tasha lost.


    "Hahaha. This is the difference between our power!" The eelughed.


    Little did he know, Tasha never nned to win this sh. Right before the lightning hit him, Tasha used her Teleportation Magic and sent her above the eel.


    "Yeah! How about you try this?"


    The eel heard her voice and sensed her presence, raising his head.


    "What?!" He was dumbfounded when he saw another arrow on her hand. And it seemed to be a Compressed arrow that contained a powerful attack. "How can there be an arrow in your hand? You haven''t made any other arrow yet¡­ Wait!"


    He suddenly came to a realization and gasped. "You didn''t shoot the other one!"


    Tasha smiled and released her arrow. "Correct. This is your prize."


    "Sh*t!" The eel gritted his teeth and pped its body to move away, but the arrow had already hit his body.


    He managed to cover his body with lightning, but the sphere exploded, releasing a huge volume of air.


    The air created a gush of wind that knocked him down.


    "Argh!" The eel screamed as blood flowed out of his mouth. The windunched him down diagonally, so he crashed to the ground.


    Bam.


    The pain jolted his mind. Even though he only had one bone in the middle of his body, he still felt it crack upon impact.


    "Gah!"


    Never in his wildest dream would he think he would be defeated like this, especially against someone who just managed to get her power.


    All the unwillingness that crept into his mind forced him to be awake and release all his Magic Power.


    The lightning sparked and cracked the ground as the eel body kept moving to show Tasha he could still fight.


    After getting the feeling back, the eel hit the ground with his head,unching him into the air. After that, he used his Magic Power to stay afloat, ring at Tasha.


    Unfortunately, Tasha also didn''t wait for him to recover like how he attacked her in the middle of receiving her inheritance.


    She hadpressed seven spheres and turned them into arrows.


    "My teacher has seven spheres that can defeat his enemy. And these seven arrows shall be the proof of the connection between me and my teacher."


    All the arrows then hovered around her body. They had been loaded by Compressed Air, so it would create enough force to knock the eel down.


    With a cold expression, Tasha shot one arrow at a time.


    The arrow hit the eel that just got back up in the air. The gust of wind pushed him down to the ground again.


    The next arrow then came and deepened the crater.


    Bam.


    Bam.


    Bam.


    Bam.


    Tasha rained him with six arrows in session, beating his body.


    The eel had been screaming nonstop, enduring all the pain from those air explosions.


    Tasha only had seven arrows, so as long as he endured one more arrow, he could use that chance to escape.


    That thought kept him awake this whole time, waiting for his chance.


    Unfortunately, when the seventh arrow hit him, it specifically touched his head.


    And that arrow wasn''t a Compressed Air. Instead, Tasha poured her lightning into that arrow, so the lightning would create a huge spark that directly hit his brain.


    "Argh!" The eel was electrocuted by the lightning as he felt his brain was fried.


    Tasha couldn''t confirm whether he had died or not, so she quickly showered him with more arrows until thirty holes appeared all over his body.

 Chapter 582 - Felice Vs Sea Lion Part 1

    Felice was eager to show her newfound power. She wanted everyone to see that she wasn''t someone useless like back then.


    In front of her was a sea lion. The body was big, weighing around several hundred kilograms.


    Felice took a deep breath and considered her magic, trying to find the way to win in this battle.


    After all, her enemy was among the top ten. Although the sea lion was a new member among the top ten to rece the two brothers killed by Kai and Ishii, the sea lion was still out of his reach.


    Hence, there was only one way to defeat such a monster.


    ''Showing something unexpected and taking advantage of it,'' Felice muttered inwardly as she raised both hands. Her body began to float several centimeters from the ground while staring at the sea lion.


    As if responding to her action, the sea lion used both hands or fins to hit the ground. "Ha."


    Suddenly, two walls appeared next to her, nning to crush her.


    As soon as they moved, Felice raised both her hands and pointed her palms toward them.


    "Ha!" Using her Telekinesis, she released a huge amount of pressure like what Ishii did back then. She was mesmerized by the strength that could crush one''s enemy with a single wave of her hand, so she sought the true power like this.


    The overwhelming pressure pushed both walls together and stopped its movement.


    The sea lion obviously didn''t want to embarrass himself for losing this type of battle. He poured more Magic Power to summon a few more walls behind those two walls, reinforcing the original wall and increasing its strength.


    "!!!" Felice widened her eyes when she noticed the walls were moving forward. Gritting her teeth, Felice released more Magic Power and focused on a certain spot.


    Crack.


    Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the middle of both walls, showing them her n had seeded.


    In the instant the sea lion was surprised, Felice released an even stronger pressure and thoroughly shattered the walls into pieces.


    "What?" The sea lion was amazed by Felice''s strength, not knowing that she used more Magic Power than him.


    "¡­" Felice remained silent and checked her condition, thinking, ''This won''t do. My Magic Power won''t be enough to handle a monster like him, so what should I do¡­''


    While thinking about her n, Felice rose to the sky and waved her hands down. "Pressure Release."


    The Telekinesis gathered the wind and turned them into a wall that kept blowing the wind down. This created a stronger pressure than the one she used to shatter the walls.


    It was also a simr technique to what Ishii showed her. However, Ishii had almost an infinite amount of Magic Power due to the Crown Jewel, so she wouldn''t be able to maintain this for long.


    Still, the power was extraordinary because the pressure she created pinned the sea lion to the ground. The weight cracked the dirt and turned it into a crater.


    Bam.


    "This¡­" The sea lion gritted his teeth and tried to escape. "Mountain wall."


    The dirt next to him emerged. Because the crater had the inclination, it forced the two walls to collide, creating a triangle-shaped home like that of a roof.


    This roof stopped the pressure for a second before it disappeared, but the sea lion managed to use that time to summon another attack.


    "Sand."


    Felice felt the fluctuation of the Magic Power from beneath her feet.


    The dirt turned into sand that seemed to be sucking everything inside.


    The sand pool was six feet in diameter, enough to swallow Felice if her feet touched the ground.


    Luckily, Felice was ten meters above the ground, allowing her to escape the worst.


    However, the sea lion obviously didn''t like it because several boulders of simr size as the sea lion flew into the air like a cannonball.


    "Hmm?" Felice widened her eyes and used her Telekinesis to repel them to the sides, albeit it was futile.


    The boulder''s momentum was beyond her imagination, creating a force stronger than the counterforce from her Telekinesis.


    When she pushed them to the side, they barely flew to the side and almost hit her in the process.


    On top of that, there were multiple rocks that were about to hit her.


    "Tsk." Felice clicked her tongue and tried to fly up, avoiding all these attacks.


    The sea lion had expected her movement since there were only two directions to escape: above or below.


    Since Felice chose the former, a huge wall emerged from the ground and snapped in half, falling on top of her.


    "Seriously?" Felice gasped and used her Telekinesis to push back. But the wall seemed to be heavier than she thought.


    "This is not a normal rock." Felice gritted her teeth, looking at the rock that had turned into a blue-colored rock. "What''s this rock? Its density should be far heavier than dirt¡­"


    She also noticed the iing rocks from all directions.


    Having no choice, Felice retracted her Telekinesis and fell to the ground, avoiding all those rocks.


    The rocks from below kepting to her, so she had no choice other than to keep going down until shended on the ground.


    But she hesitated at thest second because the ground had the living sand that would suck her inside.


    Knowing that she couldn''t escape, Felice poured all her Magic Power and used her Telekinesis to push in all directions. However, there was one direction that contained more power than the others. It was her back.


    Thatst effort allowed her to repel the stone on her back while she raised both hands. Two huge gauntlets appeared on her hand and blocked all the trees boulders.


    The momentum knocked her back, but she wasn''t injured.


    As soon as Felicended on the ground, she took a deep breath and looked at the sea lion''s expression.


    There was only one response from her. "I need to punch that face."


    Looking at the huge blue and white gauntlets, Felice chose to abandon her Telekinesis for a bit. Seeing the sea lion still continuing to fire the boulders, Felice looked around to find an opening.


    Suddenly, she leaped to the left and used her Telekinesis to boost her speed like how Kai utilized his improved Sound st.


    She slipped through the boulders and changed directions to the sea lion, using her speed.


    "You want to have a go?" The sea lion smirked and raised both fins as if he wanted to do some punching.


    Felice raised her right fist and covered it with her Telekinesis. This was the technique she had learned and improved herself in her training.


    The moment they came face to face, they sent a punch straight to each other.


    The two hands collided and produced a shock wave that cracked the ground beneath them.


    However, the sea lion wasn''t pushed back. He even had the time tough. "Haha, are you sure you have eaten this morning? You are too weak. I heard Kai Carter has taken a disciple, I wonder where she is¡­"


    Hearing such a taunt, Felice gritted her teeth, remembering all the hardships she had endured in the past year.


    "I am Kai Carter''s student." Felice shouted and showed such an energetic expression for the first time.


    The membrane that trapped all her Telekinesis energy suddenly dissipated, releasing a huge amount of pressure from her fist.


    "What?!" The sea lion was shocked by this sudden power as the blow pushed him several meters back.


    With his strength and body weight, it was close to impossible to do that unless you had a powerful attack.


    He raised his vision and looked at Felice with a dumbfounded expression.. She might be panting as if she was tired, but this just showed her potential, considering Felice started her training at thetest.

 Chapter 583 - Felice Vs Sea Lion Part 2

    "I''m Kai Carter''s student!"


    Felice dissolved her Telekinesis that surrounded her fist, releasing a pressure like no other. In that instant, the sea lion felt as if a giant boulder had just struck his hand.


    "Kh!" The sea lion widened his eyes, never expecting this kind of power from Felice. He gritted his teeth and pushed several meters back.


    Luckily, he managed to withstand that kind of punch. If not, he would be an embarrassment.


    He raised his hand and covered his fins with rocks that came out of the ground, creating a stone arm¡ªthe size of Felice''s metal arms.


    He pped his tail andunched his big body to Felice, sending a punch. "Whether you are his student or not, it doesn''t matter. What matters the most is your strength!"


    The sea lion punched her.


    Felice struck his fist with the same technique, and the two powers collided.


    However, the conclusion came so suddenly. Felice''s Telekinesis broke first and the pressure was dispersed to all directions.


    The sea lion''s stone hand hit Felice''s metal hand and cracked the front.


    "Gah!" Felice widened his eyes while gasping. The splinters from her metal arms grazed her fingers inside.


    Blood began to flow out of the wounds and Felice decided to jump back, regaining some distances.


    She raised her hand and checked the condition of her metal hand. The front area seemed to be crushed, making it unusable.


    "¡­" Felice furrowed her eyebrows and deactivated the right hand. She didn''t know whether her normal hand would be strong enough to handle that kind of punch or not.


    Her bones might even get crushed.


    "Hahaha! You are useless. You won''t be able to win against me." The sea lionughed, mocking Felice''s power.


    Felice clicked her tongue and stomped the ground, cracking the ground. After that, she raised her hands, and several giant boulders were lifted up from the ground, floating in front of her.


    Aiming at the sea lion, she shot all of them in session.


    The sea lion harrumphed and hit the ground with his left fin. Spikes soon came out and skewed the boulders, stopping all of them.


    "Not enough. You won''t be able to defeat me." The sea lion kept mocking her, showing their difference in strength.


    Felice, not wanting to lose, jumped forward while avoiding all the boulders.


    Even the sea lion was startled when he realized Felice was using the boulders to be her covers, making it hard for him to determine where Felice was.


    "No. This is not enough." The sea lion pped its tail and lifted up the entire chunk of dirt along with all the boulders and spikes, which should raise Felice to the air.


    However, Felice surprisingly appeared next to him.


    "What?!" The sea lion widened his eyes and came to a realization. "You always stayed on the farthest rock?"


    Although Felice didn''t respond, the answer was obvious. By using the farthest rock, she could avoid his attack and used it as the biggest cover to sneak around him.


    "I already said¡­ I''m Kai Carter''s student!" Felice snorted and punched him in the face.


    The sea lion flew to the side because of the Telekinesis force and rolled a few times on the ground.


    Felice didn''t want to let the sea lion recover, so she created a few more boulders to smash him. She was always proud whenever she said she was Kai Carter''s student.


    This title carried a huge burden on her shoulder. At the same time, it also proved that she was the one who Kai Carter recognized. There was no way she would be ordinary.


    Unfortunately, herck of experience became the one thing that restrained her from bing stronger than this.


    And the sea lion used herck of experience at this moment.


    Chains¡ªmade of dirt¡ªemerged from the ground, circling around her wrists and ankles.


    "!!!" Felice gasped and saw the sea lion already standing.


    "You¡­ You faked it?!" Felice just realized the fact the sea lion acted like he was injured after that punch. She noticed the rock around his right cheek that seemed to be the one blocking her punch earlier.


    Everything was just to chain her down in this ce.


    "Since you are so proud of bing his disciple, I will see whether you are strong enough to keep that title or not." The sea lion smirked and jumped forward, sending his fist that had been covered with stone.


    "Not good. If I take this, I will¡­" Felice gritted her teeth, seeing the sea lion that kepting closer.


    "Telekinesis." Felice released all her power and used her Telekinesis to shatter the ground and the chains.


    Bam.


    The Telekinesis created a crater beneath her and shattered the chains into pieces.


    Unfortunately, the sea lion had already arrived in front of her and was about to hit her stomach.


    "No." She quickly used her Telekinesis tounch the sea lion away, but his big body was too heavy for her.


    She might be able to lift a huge building, weighing a few tonnes. However, the sea lion had utilized his own Magic Power to repel her telekinesis, making it hard for her to lift him up.


    That was why she decided to fight him in closebat. Unfortunately, this was her mistake because the sea lion managed to trick her into this situation.


    "Sorry, Master¡­" Felice closed her eyes.


    Before feeling any impact, a woman''s voice echoed in her ears, saying, "Before apologizing to him, you should stay alive first. He surely wants to hear your voice."


    Felice and the sea lion''s bodies shook as they instinctively turned to the side, finding Dark Michelleing with her scythes.


    Dark Michelle waved her swords and released two Shadow shes.


    "Shadow sh!"


    "Not good!" The sea lion widened his eyes in shock and quickly stopped his movement. He wanted to avoid it by jumping to the side.


    However, one of Dark Michelle''s Shadow shes hit the fin that was about to hit Felice.


    The Shadow sh circled around the stone hand and cut through it until the fin fell to the ground.


    "Argh!" The sea lion screamed in pain while looking at the cut fin. The blood flowed out of his fin and fell to the ground.


    Not wanting to get any more attacks, the sea lion regained his distance and red at Dark Michelle, who came to the rescue.


    "I havee." Dark Michelle smiled at Felice.


    "You are¡­" Felice widened her eyes as this was the first time she saw Dark Michelle.


    "I am Michelle as well. Just don''t care about my appearance." Dark Michelle gave a thumbs up. "If you want, you can even call me, Master''s wife."


    "¡­" Felice''s body shook and made a weird smile. "Ehm¡­"


    "Why are you hesitating? Am I that suspicious?" Dark Michelle pouted while looking away.


    "That''s not it." Felice denied it and exined, "I believe it can be solved after this war."


    "Fine, fine. I will let you go for now." Dark Michelle sighed and pointed at the sea lion. "We need to kill that bastard before I lose all my Magic Power. Do you have any idea?"


    Felice furrowed her eyebrows and gulped down. "I actually have an idea."


    "Good." Dark Michelle nodded in satisfaction while bending her knees, asking her to whisper it to her ears.


    Felice told her a few things that put a smile on Dark Michelle''s face.


    "We absolutely need to do that!"

 Chapter 584 - Felice Vs Sea Lion Part 3

    As soon as they got the n, Dark Michelle said, "I''m going to handle him. You can handle the rest. Don''t worry! I will be fine."


    Felice hesitated for a second but chose to trust Dark Michelle. After all, she was made of Magic Power, not a real person.


    "I understand. Please be careful."


    "Okay." She smiled and ran forward, heading straight to the sea lion whose fin was cut by her.


    The sea lion tried to stop the bleeding while hitting the ground with his other fin, trying to stop Dark Michelle.


    Suddenly, the ground rose, lifting her up.


    Dark Michelle casually nted her scythes on the ground, making sure she wasn''tunched the moment the ground stopped.


    As she expected, she carried the momentum after the ground reached its peak. Luckily, the scythes acted as her anchor and tied her to the ground.


    After that, she climbed down the tall spike with her scythes as if she was a spider and leaped toward the sea lion when she was close enough.


    The sea lion realized Dark Michelle had more experience in battle. He would be at a disadvantage if he continued fighting this battle, so he aimed at Felice instead.


    "Launch!" The sea lion summoned multiple boulders and shot them into the air. The boulders made a parabolic trail andnded in front of Felice.


    However, that kind of speed was something Felice could handle. She used her Telekinesis to fly.


    Instead ofing over, Felice relied on Dark Michelle to stop the sea lion and moved to a different ce.


    "Are you going to flee?" the sea lion shouted, trying to stop her.


    Dark Michelle appeared between them and waved her sword.


    "Shadow sh."


    The sea lion instinctively leaped back to avoid it.


    "Oi, oi!" Dark Michelle made a huge smirk while looking down at the sea lion. "You are so proud when fighting that kid¡­ Now that you fight me, you are scared? Idiot."


    The sea lion gritted his teeth and summoned more rocks in his surroundings. "I am not afraid of you."


    Like Rapakha, the sea lion covered his body with stones to withstand Dark Michelle''s Shadow sh. Although her attack would still cut him, he could let go of the rock to avoid getting sliced.


    This was a perfect countermeasure against Dark Michelle''s Shadow sh. Or that was what he thought¡­


    Suddenly, Dark Michelle jumped toward him and waved her sword down.


    This time, she didn''t use anything special, avoiding using too much Magic Power from Michelle''s depleted Magic Reserve.


    That was also why she didn''t release all eight Shadow shes earlier, even though she could kill him with that attack. Michelle, after all, needed that Magic Power to change the battlefield.


    Thinking about it, Dark Michelle tested the toughness of the rocks.


    Clink.


    As she would expect from an opponent this level, her sword wasn''t good enough to cut the rock.


    The sea lion used that chance to hit Dark Michelle on the stomach, only to be blocked by all scythes.


    "Let''s see if I can cut this or not." Dark Michelle smiled and kept waving her swords one after another, striking at the same spot.


    Meanwhile, the sea lion half-parried her sword and half-attacked her. Every time he parried her, Dark Michelle would hit a different ce as if trying to change her attack pattern. And when he was about to attack her, his movement would be stopped by her scythes.


    They kept shing against each other for thirty seconds, showing their own superiority.


    Unfortunately, none of them managed to graze each other.


    "Where are your powerful attacks? You''re not going to use it anymore?" The sea lion made a smug smile, looking at Dark Michelle with contempt.


    Thetter simply shook her head and corrected him. "It''s not that I am not using it. I simply don''t need to use that fancy attack to defeat you."


    "You''re too proud, woman."


    Dark Michelle shrugged. "Fine, I''m going to correct my words."


    The sea lion was surprised to hear those words, but he soon understood the weight of her correction.


    "I won''t be the one who kills you; it''s the kid." Dark Michelle suddenly jumped backward while pointing her middle finger at him. "Die, sucker."


    The sea lion''s body shook as he instinctively raised his head, finding Ne floating with a four-story tall building.


    There was nothing unique about this building other than the pointed tip.


    Ne rotated the building and let the tip fall first, creating a huge de to kill the sea lion.


    "No!" The sea lion raised the ground again to protect him.


    However, the building and the ground destroyed each other, and dust covered the entire area, making them unable to see what was going on.


    The loud rumbling sound soon stopped as the sh ended.


    Felice hurriedly used her Telekinesis to blow away the smoke, so she could see the sea lion''s condition.


    To her surprise, the sea lion was still standing without any additional wounds. Felice opened her eyes wide, shocked by the revtion.


    Next to the sea lion stood several tall pirs that protected him. He might be surrounded by rubbles, but none of them seemed to touch him.


    "¡­" Felice clenched her hands.


    The sea lion noticed Felice''s expression andughed. "Haha, did you expect that kind of building to kill me?!"


    He looked so proud to the point Dark Michelle approached him with her swords. "Then, I am going to kill you myself."


    "Hmph!" The sea lion harrumphed and lifted her again to the air, buying time to collect himself. After that, the sea lion tried tounch the rubbles like machine guns.


    However, Felice also moved as if she wanted to fix her own mistake. She wished to kill him to show the world she was worthy as Kai''s disciple.


    "It''s useless, you little brat." The sea lionughed while shooting some of the rubbles to Dark Michelle, hindering her.


    When Felice was about to reach him, she suddenly halted her steps as if she hesitated at thest moment.


    "Huh?!" The sea lion was confused for a second and mocked her again. "You finally realized how weak you arepared to me?"


    "No." Felice shook her head. "I realize how idiotic you arepared to me."


    "What did you say?!" The sea lion gritted her teeth before realizing her true n. He turned around and saw Dark Michelleing after him.


    He raised his fin to shoot more rubbles, but Felice used her Telekinesis to push them down, preventing any rubble from flying.


    This was the first trap Felice made in order to make the sea lion focus on the rubble instead of the ground like he used to. However, he soon noticed it and lifted the ground instead, creating a wall.


    Unfortunately for him, he just fell on Felice''s second trap. He was too focused on Dark Michelle, allowing her to approach him.


    "What?!" The sea lion widened his eyes in surprise and lifted the ground around him to turn them into his armor. Felice shouldn''t have enough strength to break the armor¡­ Unless that armor was never worn.


    The sea lion suddenly felt something jolted his mind, numbing his body. It even stopped all kinds of actions from him, allowing Felice to arrive before him with herst metal arm in front of his face.


    "What¡­ is¡­ happening¡­" The sea lion was dumbstruck, not understanding what had happened to his body.


    Felice smiled at him. "The world''s strongest anesthetic made by the world''s greatest poison master. Can''t you see I am just buying time for it to work¡­"


    "When¡ª" Before he finished, Felice punched his head with all her power as the Telekinesis strengthened her attack, disfiguring the sea lion''s face in an instant.


    He was blown away andnded on the ground.


    Unable to move his body, the sea lion suddenly remembered something. "The building¡­"


    Felice already appeared before him, nning to smash his head. "Yeah. That building wasn''t meant to kill you. It was the hidden ce of anesthetic¡­ The gas that can render you sea monsters useless. It''s time for you to die!"


    Felice released all her strength and hit the sea lion''s head a couple of times until she crushed him.


    She didn''t hold back at all and released all the frustration pent up inside her mind. All those mockeries went back to him as the sea lion finally died under Felice''s hand.


    "I¡­" Felice panted and raised her head, shouting on top of her lung. "¡­am Kai Carter''s student!"


    Dark Michelle watched her from the side and smiled.


    "I already said¡­ She was the one who would kill you.." She closed her eyes and disappeared.

 Chapter 585 - Sofia Vs Stingray Part 1

    Just like the others, Sofia fought against her enemy, which turned out to be the stingray.


    This was the first time she fought against someone like this, but considering she was the longest who received training from Emulda Kn, she took pride as one of the strongest among Kai''s women and oftenpared herself with Michelle.


    She looked at the stingray that had a white bottom and ck skin on top.


    The stingray didn''t underestimate his opponents like the others. He knew Sofia was among the strongest, so he quickly descended from the sky, challenging Sofia in the ground.


    The moment he pped his two fins, the dust kicked up into the air.


    A magic circle appeared behind Sofia as she ced her hand on the ground. "Freeze!"


    The ice began to spread from her hands to a fan-shaped area in front of her. The moment the ice reached the dust, it began to freeze the cloud of dust.


    To her surprise, the stingray only needed to p his tail to break the ice apart, returning the dust to normal.


    "¡­" Sofia''s expression turned grim when she saw this power. The stingray seemed to be prepared to fight her, making this fight more dangerous.


    "I acknowledge your power, but it doesn''t mean I have the intention of losing." The stingray surprisingly raised the ground next to him and shaped it into a drill.


    With a single wave of his hand, the drill flew to Sofia like that of a bullet, forcing Sofia to dodge instead of taking it head-on.


    Not wanting to lose against him, another magic circle appeared before her eyes as a dragon emerged from the circle.


    The stingray controlled the movement of the dust and covered the dragon.


    The dust began to crack the ice and soon shattered it into pieces.


    Sofia had another n for the dust as she raised her hand. "Fall!"


    A huge magic circle, spanning over ten meters in radius, appeared above the sky.


    The stingray widened his eyes and looked up. He tried to surround the ice boulder with his dust and broke it into pieces, but the moment he did it, the ice pieces fell on top of him, hitting him in the process.


    At the same time, Sofia summoned two more boulders of the same size.


    "How about you take it again?" Sofia smiled confidently. There were only two choices for the stingray. First, he destroyed the ice boulder. However, due to the gravity, he would end up getting hit by the ice, so it wasn''t a good decision.


    His skin might be sturdier than normal magical beasts, but Sofia''s ice seemed to be able to freeze thatyer of skin, making it more vulnerable to the shock.


    He was afraid he got injured from underestimating those ice pieces. The same applied to everyone else, because Michelle and the others had trained so much that their skill couldn''t bepared to the past anymore. They managed to get a hold of a way to injure the enemy in their own way.


    This power rendered their tough skin useless, forcing the stingray to choose the second option.


    He jumped into the air and flew to the side, avoiding the boulders entirely.


    "You don''t dare to withstand my ice?" Sofia looked down on him, openly mocking him.


    Surprisingly, the stingray chuckled and replied with a calm tone. "There''s nothing wrong with me avoiding an attack."


    "¡­" The statement shut Sofia''s mouth as she realized the stingray was stronger than she expected. Unlike the others, the stingray didn''t mind the mockeries, making him extremely dangerous.


    "Instead of getting fixated over his pride, he is the type who will use all methods avable to defeat his opponent, huh." Sofia squinted her eyes, contemting her n.


    Because of his calm nature, Sofia changed her strategy to match his personality.


    However, Sofia also muttered inwardly, "This is going to be extremely dangerous for me. I am afraid I can''t escape this battle unscathed."


    Instead of relying on power, Sofia focused on speed and prating power. She ced her hand on the ground and froze it. Suddenly, three circr tforms rose from the ground as Sofia summoned three huge javelins on top of them.


    The javelin reached as far as ten meters and had sharp edges.


    "Don''t think your dust can destroy this fast enough!" Sofia shouted andunched them to the stingray.


    Thetter simply smiled and controlled the dust that had been covering him this whole time. The dust created a small tornado, bing a kind of tunnel for the javelins.


    With this, the stingray had more time in dissolving the javelins.


    His strategy seeded when the javelins shattered into pieces inside the dust. There was still quite a distance between them, so this scene was enough to make Sofia understand the stingray''s power.


    "Young Lady, it''s my utmost honor to fight you." The stingray smiled and maintained his calm manner.


    Sofia''s expression was distorted as she hurriedly formed a huge ice cage, throwing it to him.


    The stingray caught the cage with his dust, but he soon realized Sofia''s intention. The ice cage had an unusual form that made the dust shatter the wrong pieces, letting some of them fly past them and hitting the stingray.


    The moment they hit the stingray, the ice spread on the spot.


    "Kh!" The stingray closed his eyes in pain as he somehow felt as if a fire burned him. "An ice that can burn¡­ Dry ice¡­"


    Sofia smiled and looked at him. "Since you don''t underestimate me, I can only do my best to defeat you. No matter what method I need to use, I won''t hesitate to use it in order to kill you."


    The stingray was surprised by Sofia''s resolution and acknowledged her as his arch-enemy. "I understand. Let''s fight until only one of us remains standing!"


    The stingray dove down, carrying all the dust with him.


    Sofia ced her hand on the ground and spread the ice all over the dirt.


    When he reached thend to make a swift swipe against Sofia, two huge wave-shaped ice emerged from the iceyer on the ground.


    Just like her dragon, the ice wave moved like an ocean wave and engulfed everything between it.


    The stingray felt a few stings on his body due to touching the ice, but he managed to force himself through it by turning the cloud of dust into a tornado, allowing him to increase his speed.


    He arrived in front of Sofia and tried to hit her with his right fin.


    "Not good!" Sofia raised her hands and covered them with dry ice.


    However, she didn''t have the fundamental strength that allowed her to go against this kind of sweep.


    The moment the fin hit her, the dry ice shattered, and the finunched her a few meters away.


    She rolled a few times on the ground and struggled to get up.


    At the same time, the stingray had several red marks on his body due to the zing dry ice, including the part of his fin that hit Sofia.


    He flew into the air and prepared for the second charge to hit her.


    Meanwhile, Sofia had used her hands as her support and rose from the ground, staring at the stingray with blood flowing out of her mouth.


    Their eyes intertwined as they recognized each other''s strength and their real battle was about to begin.

 Chapter 586 - Sofia Vs Stingray Part 2

    "Ice Dragon." Sofia summoned another dragon''s head.


    The stingray created a small tornado to engulf the dragon''s head.


    A smile appeared on Sofia''s face as soon as the dragon''s head was covered with dust. She raised two fingers and poured more Magic Power. "Ssh!"


    "!!!" The stingray realized it was a trap, but it was toote.


    Suddenly, the dragon''s head exploded, creating a series of ice winds. The burst produced an icy shock wave that blew the dust away while freezing them.


    The stingray would face some problems to save them, so she thought this was the best she could do.


    The dust was dispersed and frozen, making it unusable.


    Using this chance, Sofia leaped forward while summoning a Magic Circle.


    The stingray pped its fins and created several spikes from the ground in order to stop Sofia.


    Sofia effortlessly avoided it by jumping into the air.


    The stingray thought he managed to catch her because he summoned a few more pirs that were going to skewer her.


    Unfortunately for him, Sofia already expected something like this. There was a trail of ice on her boots as it connected her to the ground.


    This was the magic she used back when she traveled from a building to the ground by sliding in a small ice trail she created.


    Instead of creating it first, Sofia managed to create the ice trail together with her movement. And this magic allowed her to catch the stingray off guard because she suddenly stopped and stumbled as if she was going to fall.


    The ice trail had stopped expanding and pulled her down.


    Sofia used this force tounch herself to the ground and avoided the pirs. Of course, she intentionallynded on the area without spikes and closed the gap between them.


    "!!!" The stingray widened his eyes in shock and tried tounch himself into the air, but Sofia had already arrived before him, waving her hand.


    "Ice Shock."


    The Magic Circle created an icy shock wave that made one feel a burning sensation just by touching it.


    And the stingray had half of his body sprayed with such a cold breeze. He couldn''t help but wail in pain. "Argh!"


    Sofia wanted tounch another attack, but the stingray managed to pull himself together and escaped into the air while enduring all that pain.


    Only when he was in the air did he gather the remaining dust to destroy the frostbite on his body.


    "¡­" Sofia clicked her tongue. "I can''t kill you that easily, huh."


    "Hmph."


    The stingray pped his fins to summon a few more giant pirs, but Sofia hurriedly sealed all the frozen dust under ayer of ice.


    After that, Sofia waved her hand and generated an icy wind to freeze the sea.


    The stingray obviously didn''t allow her to do it and confronted her by using his remaining dust. Because of the amount of dust, he maintained a certain distance with her and dispersed all her wind.


    The stingray then summoned a few more spikes to kill her, but Sofia increased the depth of her eyes to prevent it froming out of the ground.


    They expended their Magic Power without care. The dispersed dust destroyed the ice while the ice kept spreading until people could see two different sides standing side by side.


    "You won''tst long, youngdy." The stingray squinted his eyes, wondering what her intention was. He obviously had enough Magic Power to withstand this power all day, so Sofia must be plotting something.


    Suddenly, he looked up and realized what she wanted to do.


    She wanted to decrease the air above them to lower the temperature of the surrounding area. If shepleted this, she would be able to use her power more efficiently.


    "No! You''re not going to do this!" The stingray hurriedly poured all his power to the icy wind, overpowering Sofia.


    In the end, Sofia retracted her power while clenching her hands.


    Sofia panted a few times while looking at the stingray. She never expected to find herself in this type of situation, wondering what she should do.


    "My Magic Power isn''t going tost¡­" Sofia frowned. "I need to make a little sacrifice to kill this stingray."


    Steeling her resolve, Sofia said, "You can''t defeat me."


    The stingray harrumphed and shook his head. "That''s not something you decide."


    "You think?" Sofia smiled as if looking down on him.


    The stingray dove down and prepared to attack her again.


    She had yet to know that the stingray also thought about the same thing as her. They both wanted to end this battle as soon as possible. Although Sofia had exhausted her Magic Power, the stingray realized his body wasn''t going tost because of the injuries he suffered from her dry ice.


    Hence, the stingray wanted to end it with this movement even if it required a small sacrifice.


    He flew straight to her while forming a dust drill that would prate everything.


    As if responding to his attack, Sofia formed several thick ice walls. Unfortunately, these walls were not enough to stop the stingray because they immediately shattered into pieces upon contact with the drill.


    The stingray continued with the same speed while carefully observing his surroundings to locate Sofia.


    He didn''t find her until thest wall.


    As soon as he broke thestyer, Sofia was thest wall that caught his fins in order to stop him. She even froze her own body and formed a small wall to support her body to avoid losing against his strength.


    Before the dust destroyed her, Sofia smirked and said, "I caught you! Ice Boom!"


    "Kh!" The stingray gritted his teeth and looked Sofia in the eyes.


    The Magic Circle released a high amount of dry icy wind that engulfed both of them. Sofia was immune to this power while the stingray was frozen in an instant.


    However, the shock wave still blew both of them away. Sofianded several meters away while the stingray fell to the ground at the same distance. Still, his fins shattered into pieces and he wouldn''t be able to continue the fight anymore.


    As much as she wanted to celebrate her victory, she soon found something was missing from the stingray.


    "Wait, where''s the dust?" Sofia looked around, finding nothing.


    Little did she know, there was another thing that she missed.


    The stingray turned out to be severing his own tail andunched it using the dust.


    The tail flew straight to Sofia.


    "Holy¡ª" Sofia widened her eyes but couldn''t avoid it.


    The tail ended up piercing her stomach and creating a hole in it.


    "¡­" Sofia looked down and thought, ''Am I going to die¡­ Kai¡­''


    "I will bring you with me! Even if I need to die, I can make Kai Carter suffer¡­ That is if he can survive in the battle against my king¡­" The stingray tiredly red at Sofia, who was still shocked by the tail.


    However, his life ended soon when two portals appeared on the battlefield. One was before the tail and sucked the tail inside. The other one was on top of the stingray, releasing the tail.


    The tail then pierced through his head, shattered it into a few pieces, ultimately killing him.


    Leah made her appearance next to Sofia, who spat a mouthful of blood and dropped to the ground.


    She managed to catch her and teleported her to the top of the building where Evan stayed.


    Her hands were shaking, but Leah maintained eye contact with Sofia, saying, "Stay awake, okay? Evan is gonna heal you!"


    Evan also hurriedly went to her and used his magic to heal her.

 Chapter 587 - Ayaka Vs Shrimp Part 1

    Just like Sofia, Ayaka faced a simr situation. Her opponent was a shrimp.


    His body was three meters long and created an "S" shape instead of curving like "C".


    He had two pairs of walking legs that seemed to be sharp enough to be a de. It was like he was wielding two pairs of scythes.


    His body was red and showed no weakness.


    Ayaka, on the other hand, only wielded her spear and a pair of shoes Kai made for her to add the initial boost of her momentum.


    "So, how do I cook you¡­" Ayaka muttered while squinting her eyes. "Deep fry? Normal? Or¡­"


    Before she finished, the shrimp shouted in anger. "Shut up, Human! Your puny life wants to kill this lord? Impossible!"


    Ayaka ignored him and licked her lips as if she could taste him already. "This is gonna be good. You''re going to be the first seafood that I catch myself."


    The shrimp couldn''t contain his anger anymore and leaped toward Ayaka while swinging both his scythes.


    Ayaka ducked down and let him hit her spear.


    The spear rotated because of the force while Ayaka disappeared.


    Suddenly, the shrimp''s vision raised even though he was looking straight at Ayaka''s spear before realizing what had happened. He hurriedly turned around and saw Ayaka lifting his body easily.


    Even though he wasn''t that big, his weight was around three hundred kilograms. It wasn''t easy to lift him up, so the shrimp was stunned when he saw Ayaka raising his body.


    Ayaka, on the contrary, felt the shrimp light, considering her ant blood allowed her to carry something a few times heavier than her body''s weight.


    With the addition of intense training for the past year, along with the control over her Magic Power or Magic Particles, Ayaka could lift something more than ten times of her body weight.


    The moment the shrimp''s body was in the air, a red Magic Circle appeared beneath the shrimp and exploded.


    Boom!


    The Magic Circle caused a huge explosion, engulfing both of them. More importantly, that kind of explosion produced a powerful shock wave that helped Ayaka in turning his body over.


    She dove down head first like the german suplex but with the additional force from the explosion.


    As soon as the shrimp''s head hit the ground, it buried underneath the ground.


    Without underestimating him, Ayaka leaped forward and grabbed the spear that fell to the ground.


    The shrimp obviously didn''t like what Ayaka did and spun his body,ing out of the ground in an instant.


    After that, the water next to them began to rise as if the shrimp controlled it.


    "!!!" Ayaka finally recognized the shrimp''s magic. "I guess you don''t have anyone with fire magic in your rank. It''s either water, lightning, and wind¡­ I''m sad."


    The shrimp rebuked her while waving his hand, controlling the water to flood the area. "Keep underestimating us and you will pay dearly."


    Ayaka nced to the side and struck the ground with her spear. Another red-colored Magic Circle appeared and caused a fan-shaped series of explosions.


    The explosions dispersed the water easily while Ayaka smiled, "What did you say again?"


    The shrimp clenched his teeth and leaped toward her.


    Ayaka also nned to challenge him in terms of strength, wondering how far she could go with her momentum and strength.


    She waved her spear downwards while the shrimp caught her spear with four feet.


    Bam!


    The collision produced a loud sound to the surroundings along with the shock wave. However, the two seemed to have realized each other''s brute force.


    Ayaka tried to keep pushing down, but the shrimp didn''t budge. The same applied to the shrimp who tried to push the spear back.


    Seeing their strength was equal, the spear and the four legs went sideways as both Ayaka and the shrimp leaned to the right.


    Not letting go of the spear, the shrimp hurriedly summoned more water that seeped through the ground.


    From there, three water pirs rose, surrounding Ayaka.


    "Three Execution Pirs."


    Ayaka''s expression turned serious as a red me soon covered her entire body. After that, another Magic Circle emerged beneath her.


    "Scarlet Explosion!"


    Boom!


    The explosion engulfed both of them while blowing away all the water pirs. Ayaka was uninjured because her me armor protected her body.


    Meanwhile, the shrimp seemed to be fine as well with water covering his body.


    Both of them realized their magic countered each other, making this battle a long one.


    Unfortunately, Ayaka couldn''t afford a prolonged battle. The reason was the same as others. She didn''t have enough Magic Power tost that long.


    That was the only weakness the girls had in this battle. They simply had no time to gather more Magic Power even though they managed to increase the power of their magic and strength to the level of the sea race''s top ten fighters.


    Seeing that the battle wouldn''t progress as she imagined, Ayaka decided to make a risky move.


    She ced her hand on the ground and created a huge magic circle.


    However, the shrimp didn''t let her do whatever she wanted. He raised his hand, and a few more water pirs broke through the ground and resurfaced, destroying the Magic Circle.


    Ayaka only took a look at the magic circle''s condition for a moment and headed straight to the shrimp with her spear.


    Behind her spear was another Magic Circle.


    As if understanding her power, another water pir emerged behind him and flew to Ayaka at high speed, creating enough force to blow one away.


    Ayaka wanted to dodge it, but her momentum was too fast, so there would be a huge chance for her to slip when changing direction.


    Hence, Ayaka struck the water with all her might. The Magic Circle also released an incredible amount of fire and boosted the spear''s power, splitting the water into two.


    She continued to do it for a while and got closer and closer to the shrimp. But when she was about to reach him, the shrimp moved to the side while pping both walking legs.


    This forced Ayaka to move to the side because several water pirs came from several directions, trying to hit her stomach.


    If she received that kind of pressure, a broken bone was possible.


    Surprisingly, the shrimp continued controlling the water pir. Instead of shooting in one direction, the water pirs began to move like that of a snake, bouncing left and right.


    Ayaka soon realized these seven water pirs werepletely under the shrimp''s control, making it even harder to get close to him.


    It was clear the solution to this type of attack was dispersing them, but Ayaka chose another way, trying to outsmart the shrimp. After all, that was the only way to defeat a stronger opponent.


    A pair of wings appeared on her back as she jumped up and let the wing take over.


    The shrimp was surprised to see Ayaka flying, but he soon made the pirs follow her.


    Ayaka furrowed her eyebrows because she soon realized she couldn''t fly too high or the shrimp might target the others instead of her.


    After contemting for a few minutes, she summoned a huge Magic Circle above her head.


    "Scarlet Explosion."


    Boom.


    The explosion engulfed both of them again while evaporating the water.


    Ayaka dove down while the shrimp waved all his feet.. Inside the smoke, a clicking sound echoed in the area as it produced a powerful shock wave that dispersed the steam.

 Chapter 588 - Ayaka Vs Shrimp Part 2

    Boom.


    The shock wave blew all the steam away, revealing Ayaka and the shrimp''s appearances.


    The shrimp managed to withstand Ayaka''s spear while Ayaka tried to push him down with another explosion on top of her spear.


    Not wanting to get hit, the shrimp summoned a few water pirs and surrounded the Magic Circle. Instead of engulfing it, he spun the water, trying to extinguish the fire before it caused an explosion.


    His n seeded because no explosion urred until the Magic Circle disappeared.


    "Tsk." Ayaka clicked her tongue and looked to the left.


    "No one can save you!" The shrimp harrumphed and turned around, trying to take away her spear.


    "Scarlet Explosion." Ayaka summoned another Magic Circle beneath them without hesitation.


    Boom.


    The explosion engulfed them again, but the fire soon disappeared with Ayakaing out of the smoke unscathed.


    The same applied to the shrimp as he couldn''t understand Ayaka''s train of thought. He didn''t know whether Ayaka was careful or reckless because she kept changing between both of them.


    Ayaka raised her hand and summoned several star-shaped mes. This magic was inspired by her firebirds in the past. They might be useless, but this version wasn''t the same.


    "Fire Star!" Those ten fire stars flew forward, heading straight to the shrimp as if there were tracking on them.


    The shrimp tested their power by sending several water pirs to extinguish them.


    However, the fire stars soon formed a line with a certain gap between them. The star in the front hit the water pir and turned it into steam. That burst of steam dispersed the water pirs in the surrounding, allowing the stars to head straight to the shrimp, albeit thetter was already gone.


    "Huh?!" Ayaka widened her eyes, not seeing the shrimp anywhere. She looked left and right but still couldn''t find anything. "Where did he go? Did he escape? Did he use the smoke from the steam to hide?"


    When Ayaka was about to search for him, the ground beneath her feet started to crack.


    "Below!!!" Ayaka panicked and jumped up.


    Unfortunately, the shrimp''s legs had caught her legs and pinned her to the ground. After that, the shrimp made his appearance and sent a fist to her jaw.


    "Not good!" Ayaka formed a magic shield to protect her, but it was shattered in an instant.


    The shrimp ended up giving an uppercut andunching her into the air.


    "Kh!" Two of her teeth fell off from the impact as her lower jaw seemed to be broken, making her endure the constant pain.


    The shrimp took this chance tounch another attack.


    Ayaka raised her spear to block them, but the shrimp grasped it with his walking legs and hit Ayaka''s legs with his swimming legs.


    Not wanting to be beaten up easily, Ayaka raised both feet higher and knocked them down.


    Her n seeded because none of the attacks connected, allowing her to sustain her body, albeit she soon experienced pain from her stomach.


    She was blown away and crashed to the ground. Rolling a few times, she ended up stopping twenty meters from thending spot.


    "Argh!" Ayaka endured all the pain and rose from the ground. She looked up and saw her spear getting thrown away by the shrimp.


    And to make it even worse, the shrimpnded in front of her and leaped forward, nning to deal another strike.


    Ayaka hurriedly stepped to the side while raising both hands, covering her body with me armor. However, the shrimp reacted to her movement and hit her lower arms, blowing her away.


    "This is the end." The shrimp felt confident in defeating Ayaka and nned to maintain this superiority until he killed her. "I can''t cut you because of that annoying me armor, but you will die sooner orter."


    Not wanting to lose, Ayaka steeled her resolve and made a hard decision.


    Right before the shrimp hit her, Ayaka opened her arms wide and caught his walking legs for the first time.


    "Useless struggle!" The shrimp snorted.


    "No. Where do you think we''re standing?" Ayaka made a tired smile.


    "Huh?" The shrimp furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding her words.


    However, a huge Magic Circle suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    "What?!" The shrimp was dumbstruck because he didn''t feel the Magic Power fluctuating from Ayaka. That meant Ayaka didn''t use her power this time. "Then, where did ite from?"


    The shrimp looked around, trying to find the culprit.


    Ayaka chuckled and made a smug smile. "You don''t remember, huh."


    That smile of hers reminded him of a certain Magic Circle. It was the biggest Magic Circle Ayaka had summoned, but he managed to destroy it by summoning a few water pirs from underground.


    "Wait, this ce is¡­" The shrimp came to a realization and looked around him, finding more and more Magic Power fluctuation.


    Ayaka snapped her finger and revealed the real Magic Circle. It turned out, the big one was nothing but a fake. The real Magic Circle was not one, but around fifty Magic Circles.


    These Magic Circles were none other than Ayaka''s time bombs she prepared as the worst scenario.


    "I guess I need to use this." Ayaka smirked and covered her body with fire. "Let''s see¡­ Who is stronger? The water that covers your body or my me armor¡­"


    "You are crazy!" He shouted in anger while using his water to protect his body.


    Little did he know, she had this concept from the first time she and Kai hunted together. It was in the virtual world and Kai literally dragged many monsters with him.


    However, she made sure to adjust her power, making sure her body managed to endure everything. After all, she couldn''t afford to die since she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Kai.


    "Time bomb, release!" Ayaka smiled and activated the magic while pinning the shrimp down.


    The red light shone, blinding many people''s eyes. After that, a series of explosions urred in unison, engulfing Ayaka and the shrimp.


    Boom.


    Because of the number of explosions, they didn''t create mushroom smoke, but it certainly covered a part of the battlefield with it.


    Seeing such a scene, Leah hurriedly flew toward the smoke, trying to rescue her. Ayaka had told her about this n, so she had been standing by. Unfortunately, she couldn''t convince Ayaka to use a safer method.


    "Ayaka!" Leah shouted inside the smoke, trying to sense Ayaka''s body.


    She kept running around to find her before something tripped her over.


    Leah managed to avoid the fall, but she soon dropped to her knees and used her Teleportation, transferring her and the thing that tripped her.


    Luckily, the one that came out with her was none other than Ayaka. However, her condition was terrible.


    Seventy percent of her body was charred and almost all her hair was burned.


    She spared no effort in getting Ayaka to Evan, asking him to heal her.


    "Evan!"


    "I''m working on it." He replied in frustration as he was healing both her and Sofia simultaneously. After seeing Ayaka''s state, he couldn''t help but gasp.


    A water bubble hurriedly wrapped her and started healing her wound.


    "How¡­ is¡­ he¡­" Ayaka opened her mouth tiredly.


    "You should care about your body more. I don''t think you will gain any scars after I heal you, but your hair¡­ I''m afraid I can''t recover them. You need a long time to regrow it." Evan let out a long sigh, looking at this rash girl.


    Leah gritted her teeth and turned around, looking at the state of the shrimp. As soon as the smoke was cleared, she could only find several shrimp''s parts and his head. "He¡­ has died. You killed him!"


    Hearing her words made Ayaka feel relieved.. She finally lowered her guard and received the treatment fully. "I¡­ see¡­"

 Chapter 589 - Ria Vs Shark Part 1

    Despite all the fights on the entire battlefield, the fiercest one was none other than Ria Ross against the shark, Marza.


    Both of them were closebat fighters that focused on offensive battle, leaving nothing to defend themselves.


    From the very first move, Ria utilized her most powerful form without hesitation. "Sword Saint Form."


    Her body was soon wrapped in white light and a sword tattoo appeared below on her right eye. Five swords were hovering around her while she also wielded two swords.


    Marza squinted his eyes and said, "It seems you have be even stronger."


    Without saying anything, Ria disappeared and attacked him.


    "Tsk." Marza clicked his tongue and covered his entire body with water. Thisyer of water was far stronger than Ria''s swords as he simply raised his arm to block both swords.


    Ria never had any interest in his bullsh*t, so she decided not to say anything in this battle.


    Seeing her attack blocked, Ria took a step back and kicked his waist.


    Normally, Marza wouldn''t look at this kind of attack, but he found something interesting in her kick.


    Another white de, shaped perfectly to follow the line of her foot, emerged and hit his water armor. He waved his tail to smack the foot away before throwing a punch directly to her face.


    Suddenly, Ria''s sword turned into a shield, protecting her from that punch. She then waved her other sword that soon changed its shape into a mace.


    Bam.


    The collision between the armor and the mace produced a clicking sound along with a small shock wave.


    "Kh. I feel that one." Marza gritted his teeth and punched her stomach.


    A te of white armor formed before her stomach and contained the punch, albeit the force still blew her away.


    "¡­" Ria also felt the pain from the punch but didn''t show any reaction to appear strong.


    "An ever-changing magic." Marza gradually understood Ria''s magic, especially after a series of attacks. He never thought that someone could master something like this. He said, "How can you do something like this? Each shape is different and there are other details. And you''re still fighting me in closebat¡­"


    Ria raised her head, looking down at Marza as if saying, "I''m stronger than you."


    Marza took a deep breath and increased Ria''s worth. He thought for a moment and formed another shape from his body armor. It was a de.


    "I shall seriously fight you." He leaped to the front and waved his sword down.


    Ria took a few steps to the side before changing both swords into a ive, striking his abdomen.


    Marza used more strength to increase his speed and struck the ive, using gravity to help him.


    However, Ria simply overpowered him by summoning a pir from the ground that hit the handle,unching the ive into the air.


    With this boost, Ria knocked him away before stabbing him with the five swords around her.


    Marza raised his hands and tried to block his head that seemed to be the target of the swords.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    The swords hit the arms in session because Ria wanted to attack one same spot. And because of her strategy, there was a small gap between the water where Marza''s arm wasn''t protected by the water.


    In other words, Ria managed to break through his water barrier. On top of that, there was a small scratch that led to bleeding.


    "¡­" Marza felt the pain as his body started shaking. He could endure the pain, but he couldn''t bear the humiliation of bing the first to be injured.


    Marza''s eyes turned bloodshot as the sword disappeared from his hand. He grabbed Ria''s sword, so she didn''t move and punched her on the chest.


    "!!!" Ria was surprised when Marza didn''t raise his guard like earlier. She hurriedly struck his hand a few times in order to destroy the water barrier.


    Unfortunately, Marza''s fist also hit her on the chest, blowing her away.


    "Gah." She coughed a few times and looked at Marza''s hand that was also bleeding.


    "Okay. I have decided. I am going to kill you!" Marza red at Ria Ross and leaped forward. "Water Punch."


    The punch released a massive horizontal water tornado and engulfed her. But Ria Ross wasn''t someone who took the beating. Several white lights appeared from within and sliced the wave multiple times, revealing Ria''s appearance.


    She was unscathed.


    "Hmph." Ria Ross harrumphed while waving her sword.


    A crescent-shaped white light ran through the ground, leaving a white trail as it passed.


    This was Ria''s usual attack, but the shark soon noticed the difference.


    "Wait. This attack¡­ Aren''t you supposed to create the trail first? This attack formed the trail as it passed?" Marza knew that Ria''s strength had gone to an unprecedented level.


    She never thought Ria could be this much stronger within a year. He took a nce at Ria''s people as well and noticed their increase in power.


    He was shocked because they had gone past his expectations.


    "Is this the human''s adaptability that is said to be the reason they can survive and rule thend since ancient times?" Marza gritted his teeth.


    Of course, Marza hadn''t taken into ount their individual talent and the experience they had with Kai.


    They had constantly been pushing their limit just by bing his teammate. Those three years in high school weren''t a waste. If they hadn''t met Kai, their strength would be limited like Haruko''s.


    The one-year training they received from Leah was simply to let their talent bloom and reach its peak.


    With this newfound power, the entire group created their own fighting style that could surprise their opponents, making them shocked by their increase in power. This would create an illusion they were equal against them.


    If the sea monsters actually fought them in a battle of attrition, the girls would have lost. That was why Ayaka and Sofia gained those injuries. They needed to change the battle from attrition warfare to a sh fight, deciding the battle in an instant.


    And Ria, who already far surpassed them in the past, trained harder than anyone else to prove that her throne wasn''t for them to take.


    She raised her swords andbined them together.


    The two swords turned into a spear and Ria thrust forward. "Extend!"


    The spear extended at fast speed, catching up with the shark''s movement.


    "This is easy!" The shark stepped to the side, avoiding the spear.


    However, a Magic Circle suddenly appeared on the spear''s handle, aiming at him.


    Another flying sword emerged from the Magic Circle and hit the shark.


    "That is surprising, but¡­" The shark snorted and let the sword hit his water armor.


    As one would expect, the water armor stopped the sword easily.


    "See, this is my po¡ª"The shark turned back to Ria Ross, only to find her fisting toward his face. "What?!"


    Bam.


    The shark bounced to the ground a few times before stopping after thirty meters. He raised his vision and saw Riaing toward him. On her hands were gloves coupled with des, ready to break through his armor.


    "Shark in the deep." Marza gritted his teeth and ced his hand on the ground.


    Suddenly, the water burst out of the ground and formed a huge shark''s head, moving forward to devour Ria.


    Although Ria stopped, Marza witnessed his shark split in half with Ria holding a long two-handed sword.


    "Seriously¡­ This woman¡­ She can use every weapon.. She is the one blessed by the sword."

 Chapter 590 - Ria Vs Shark Part 2

    Marza took a few deep breaths as Ria approached him.


    She swung that long sword, carrying all the momentum she had.


    Marza was forced to form an additional shield to block this attack. Even then, the sword broke his shield apart and slightly cut the water armor. At the same time, the force was enough for him to gain another distance from her.


    "Wave." Marza ced his hand on the ground and water began to burst out of the ground.


    Ria narrowed her eyes, realizing that he might use this burst of water tounch her upward.


    Hence, she summoned another five swords around her and sent them to him.


    "Shark in the deep."


    The shark head reemerged and swallowed the swords, heading straight to her.


    Ria avoided it effortlessly and jumped forward with her spear in the front.


    "Ext¡ª"When Ria was about to thrust her spear, Marza already ran sideways as if he didn''t n to be trapped in another Ria''s trick.


    Little did he know, Ria''s trick was to make him move by faking this one thrust.


    "What?!" Marza opened his mouth in shock when he saw Ria following him instead of finishing her thrust.


    She then waved her spear to the ground and formed a crescent-shaped white light that approached him with a quick speed.


    Instead of destroying Ria''s attack, Marza chose to do something unique. For the first time in his life, he realized that taking a step back was necessary to win the war.


    He swallowed that pride¡ªthinking only the loser would move back¡ªand jumped a few centimeters above the ground. After that, he caught Ria''s attack with his hand and absorbed all that momentum tounch him away from Ria.


    This way, he could gain enough distance to n his next move, albeit he didn''t have that kind of chance.


    Suddenly, Michelle appeared. She had been staying low this whole time by looping around from one shadow after another, making her way to Ria''s battlefield.


    Now that she arrived behind the shark, Michelle summoned all her scythes and released her bloodlust.


    Blood began to flow out of her mouth despite not having any injury. It was clear she was pushing herself beyond her limit by using her own lifespan to supply the Magic Power.


    And everything was only for one moment.


    "What?!" Marza turned around and saw Michelle''s scythes going all over him.


    "Gah." Michelle spat a mouthful of blood while enduring the pain in her body. She used her remaining magic power to strike Marza.


    However, Marza used that split second chance to jump to the side. His only thought was to survive. H


    Unfortunately for him, one of the scythes still touched the water.


    Michelle used all eight scythe''s worth of Shadow sh and concentrated it in one single spot.


    "Shadow sh." Michelle released all her power and split the water armor around his arm.


    Marza clicked his tongue and kept moving, trying to go away.


    Not letting him go, Ria Ross reappeared behind him with a one-edge de. She bent her knees and cut the exposed arm with one stroke.


    "Argh! You little b*tch." Marza gritted his teeth and kicked Michelle on the stomach.


    "Gah!" Michelle spat another mouthful of blood and bounced to the ground a few times. When she stopped, Michelle didn''t move anymore as she had already passed out.


    "Thank you. The chance you made has turned into our favor." Ria squinted her eyes and saw Marza nning to cover his ripped arm with water.


    Ria obviously wouldn''t allow him to recover, or even worse, formed another arm with his water. Hence, Ria stabbed the exposed arm with another sword, preventing it from getting close.


    "Kh!" Marza gritted his teeth and jumped to the side.


    However, there was another sword wave that ran through the ground, hitting him from behind.


    "Argh!" Marza wailed in pain as the water on his back was exposed as well.


    With one sword nted on Marza''s arm, the four others flew toward his exposed back and pierced him.


    "This is the end." Ria spun her body and waved her de, trying to cut the exposed area.


    "Shark in the deep."


    Ria looked at the shark that was going to swallow both of them and retracted her de for a bit and used it to cut the water shark.


    Ria also didn''t wish to waste her chance, so she kicked Marza''s back while forming another de around her shoe.


    The de cut Marza''s side as blood began to flow out.


    "Argh!" With both injuries, Marza''s movement started to get sluggish.


    "She has created this chance for me; I can''t waste it, you see." Ria clenched her fist and covered it with a white glove.


    Because of her position, she couldn''t attack the back again, so she used all her strength to hit Marza on the stomach.


    The water armor stopped her attack, but Marza felt the punch that upset his stomach. Even then, Ria had no sign of stopping.


    "Haaaa!" Ria shouted, raising her own morale to push through the water armor. She even formed a white pir to boost her hand.


    Despite feeling her hand was about to snap, she continued. The water wasn''t idle either. They spread all over her hand and ripped her skin.


    Just like Marza, her hand was covered with blood, and excruciating pain jolted her mind.


    Yet, Ria didn''t let go of that fist and continued to push through until she finally broke the armor.


    "Wha¡ª"The shark couldn''t believe what he saw because human brute force managed to break through his water armor. He could understand if it was her magic, but thest one was simply her brute force.


    Unfortunately for him, his shock ended soon because Ria''s hand pierced through his body. And the moment her hand entered his body, several des popped out around her hand and destroyed all his organs by cutting them into pieces like that of a chainsaw.


    She continued to the head until he split it in half.


    "You¡­ are stro-" The shark was still in shock when he uttered hisst word. However, he couldn''t finish his words because Ria had ripped his head apart.


    "Hah!" Ria panted a few times as her body was covered with blood. At the same time, her hand seemed to be broken because she couldn''t feel anything from it, let alone move it.


    She hurriedly pulled her hand as the shark''s body fell to the ground.


    Looking back, she saw Leah recovering Michelle''s body.


    "Take care of her, okay," said Ria to Leah.


    "I understand." Leah nodded furiously. "What will you do?"


    "She helped me for one reason. I am the only one who can change the direction of this battle¡­" Ria shook her hand.


    Because she couldn''t move her hand, she summoned another pir next to her and ced his hand there. She just made sure her hand was straight, pointing at the front.


    After that, a huge light pir shed before her eyes and formed another weapon. It was a huge bow.


    Her other hand formed a long spear that became her arrow, pointing to a certain creature on the battlefield. "And I will make sure her help doesn''t go to waste."


    "God''s Arrow, Lokraisha!"

 Chapter 591 - Devain Vs Turtle Part 1

    If Ria''s battle was the fiercest, the toughest one was none other than Devain''s battle.


    He was facing the most powerful turtle in the world. He managed to climb his position by only defending his opponent''s attack.


    Hence, even Devain had no confidence in confronting him.


    Standing in front of the turtle, Devain took a few deep breaths. He didn''t know whether he had enough strength to kill him or not, but Devain had promised Kai to defeat his opponent.


    On the other hand, the turtle, Seei, raised his shell as his shield while saying, "To think King Gilgamesh made another group to maintain the record. We have some suspicions about it but have no clue¡­ It must be because of your small poption."


    "King Gilgamesh?" Devain narrowed his eyes, never expecting Seei to call him "King" in his name.


    "Even as an enemy, I have heard about his tale and respected such a man. Without our sophisticated n, King Gilgamesh would continue to grow and be the ruler of the. After all, not many Protectors can kill two Protectors alone." Seei shook his head.


    "That''s right. Your trick." Devain released his killing intent. "I wished that King Gilgamesh could do something like our current king. However, I no longer have such a wish. I only know that our king shall defeat your Neptune."


    "I won''t dare to draw the conclusion of their battle since both of their strengths are beyond my imagination. But I believe in my own king." Seei smiled.


    "Unfortunately, all of you are going to die right now." Devain snorted and remembered Kai''s instruction to all of them.


    After hearing that n, they couldn''t help but see their chance to win the battle despite the gap between their strength.


    Recalling his words, a smile appeared on Devain''s face as he raised his stance. His hands suddenly turned ck as if metal just dded them.


    "Devain," Devain shouted his name and jumped forward.


    "Interesting. I, Seei, shall be your opponent." The turtle smirked and ran toward him.


    Both of them stopped before each other as Devain sent a punch while Seei raised his shield.


    Bam.


    A huge sound echoed in the area from the collision. Devain and Seei had no movement as their strength seemed to be equal.


    They tried to push each other forward, but none yielded.


    Ultimately, Devain stomped the ground and turned it into a crater. With them losing their footholds, Devain spun his body and kicked his shield, pushing him back.


    That kick indeed blew him away, but Seeinded softly on the ground before charging at him.


    Suddenly, several 3x3 meter translucent screens appeared around Seei and moved together with him.


    Devain furrowed his eyebrows and lightly hit the ground, forcing some pebbles to rise into the air. A ck Magic Circle formed in front of him as heunched all those pebbles together.


    The Magic Circle turned them into ck metal.


    "!!!" Devain tightened his grip when the pebbles crushed upon his shield.


    ''Moving like a bullet but heavy like a cannonball¡­'' Seei muttered inwardly as his shield was pushed against him. Even so, he persisted and continued running forward until he reached Devain''s position.


    "Shield¡­" He pulled his shield back while Devain prepared to punch him.


    When he was about to m his shield to Devain, he took a step back as all the five screens around him trapped Devain inside with four walls in all directions and one on top of him.


    "Compress."


    Suddenly, two of the walls moved close to each other, trying to crush Devain.


    "¡­" Devain extended his hands to both screens before realizing he couldn''t stop them.


    He then stepped on the ground and deepened the crater around him, allowing a gap on the bottom. Using that gap, Devain escaped from the walls and rolled on the ground.


    However, there was a reason why the wall was translucent. The turtle could observe his movement this way.


    Before Devain could recover his stance, the turtle jumped on top of him and mmed his shield against him.


    Boom.


    Another loud sound echoed as the crater became even deeper. Luckily, Devain had enough time to cover his body with metal or the shield would have crushed his bones.


    "Kh." Devain clicked his tongue. The shield was bigger than him, so he had no way to attack the turtle like this.


    But this also meant the turtle had no more force to push him because his foot didn''t touch the ground. He used that chance to release all his strength to push the shield into the air.


    Unfortunately for him, this allowed the turtle to use his other magic. The shield that was about to crush Devain earlier regrouped with him and formed a sharp pointed tip to pierce Devain.


    "!!!" Thetter hurriedly rolled a few times on the ground to avoid it.


    Bam.


    Seei chased him and tried to m his shield, but Devain''s form was more stable than the previous one. His foot suddenly came from the side and kicked the shield upward.


    Seei tightened his grip to avoid it getting blown away, but it left him unguarded. And Devain used that chance tounch his body into the air while spinning like crazy. He used that rotation to extend one of his feet to Seei''s head.


    Bam.


    Seei was blown away like him and crashed thirty meters away from him.


    They both used the distance to regain their bnce and raised their stances again.


    "You are stronger than I thought¡­" Seei squinted his eyes. "This is the first time I have seen someone with this kind of power. Your metal power may be able to pierce through my defense like the princess and Marza¡­"


    "I don''t need that sh*t. All I need is to defeat you." Devain snorted and bent his knees. He grabbed the ground, and his fingers crushed it a little bit, going deeper.


    After that, he pulled the ground that turned out to be a ball, the size of his head. Devain covered it with his power while forming a long ck stick as its handle.


    "A mace." Seei was amused by his choice of weapon, but it didn''t matter to him as he continued to attack.


    Devain also approached him while swinging his ck mace.


    "Ha!" Devain shouted and smashed the shield.


    The turtle soon realized that Devain''s strength increased exponentially.


    "Kh." The turtle gritted his teeth and was pushed back for the first time in a head-on confrontation.


    ''This kind of power¡­ No, this doesn''t use much Magic Power. If that''s the case, then his magic is¡­'' Seei came to a realization as he looked at Devain in surprise. "Your Magic is Concentrated Metal! Instead of covering one thing with metal, you reinforce them by gathering a huge amount of Magic Power around it.


    "That''s how you can gain massive strength in every attack. But this magic also puts a strain on your reserve."


    Hearing those words, Devain only snorted, "Why didn''t you say it''s simr to your magic?"


    "You realized it?" Seei became even more amazed by Devain.


    "Our power is simr. You can also concentrate your Magic Power to form a stronger barrier. Those gates you used to defend Ma''am Ria''s attack were formed by that kind of power. That''s why the closer it is to your body, the stronger the barrier is."


    "Impressive. I have lived for five hundred years, but you certainly amuse me. Unfortunately, I won''t face another human since we will win this war." Seei charged forward.


    "Hmph. Useless talk." Devain snorted and approached him again with his mace.


    The mace and the shield soon shed once again, producing a shock wave to the surroundings.

 Chapter 592 - Devain Vs Turtle Part 2

    Devain waved his mace from the side, trying to go past the shield, but a barrier emerged as if it was the extension of the field.


    It was so strong that it blocked his attackpletely.


    Seei had been fighting Devain for a few minutes already and he realized Devain had been using his full power from the start as if he wanted to settle the fight as soon as possible.


    As long as he prolonged this fight, Seei should exhaust his Magic Power sooner orter. That would be the time tounch a counterattack.


    As if seeing through his thoughts, Devain snorted, "Do you think you can handle all my attacks?"


    "Hoh? I should be the one who asked you that question. Can you break past my defense?" Seei snorted while confidently blocking every single attack.


    "Then I will let you see the real attack." Devain smirked and smashed his shield once again, pinning him to the ground. "Haaa!"


    Devain seemed to try hard to destroy his shield, but this only invitedughter from Seei.


    "You can''t defeat me this way." Seei snorted and continued withstanding Devain''s power.


    "I know, I can''t defeat you." Devain smiled. "However, the king''smand is absolute. That''s why I will kill you here right now."


    Seei squinted his eyes and smirked, "Then, let me see how you can kill me!"


    "Fine¡­"


    Suddenly, they felt Magic Power fluctuation. It was a massive amount of Magic Power, so they could feel it even though they were a bit far from her.


    Both Devain and Seei turned their head to the left, seeing a huge bow.


    "What? That attack¡­" Seei drew a gasp as he remembered that particr attack that broke his gates.


    However, the current Ria had much more Magic Power than the previous her, so Seei couldn''t help but see the possibility of her arrow piercing through everything.


    But with Ria pulling that kind of big move, her opponent should have stopped her. It was the time Seei realized Marza had fallen.


    "Impossible." Seei gnashed his teeth and recalled the speed of her arrow.


    It wasn''t something he could avoid, especially with this kind of distance.


    Seeing this kind of opportunity, Devain leaped back without hesitation, allowing Ria to focus on Seei.


    "God''s Arrow. Lokraisha."


    Ria released her arrow as the Magic Power enveloping the arrow chipped away the ground beneath it, creating a huge trail on the ground.


    Seei also didn''t want to die, so he faced it with his strongest defense.


    "Seven Star Domain Gates!" The turtle shouted as a red metal gate emerged from the ground.


    Orange gate followed right after and continued with the color of the rainbow.


    All seven gates were aligned, nning to receive this God Killing Arrow.


    "!!!" The turtle suddenly felt an immense pressureing from his shield as the God Killing Arrow hit the first gate.


    This was the second time he received such a powerful attack from a mere human, but he also felt the difference in power from the previous God''s Arrow.


    "Argh!" Seei bit his lips when the first gate shattered into pieces.


    The arrow then hit and shattered it again.


    The scene was exactly the same as the one from a year ago. The arrow''s Magic Power continuously dispersed, but it also managed to destroy Seei''s gates.


    The sixth gate, the orange gate, didn''t breakst year, but Ria''s arrow was much stronger this time.


    It soon cracked the sixth gate and shattered into pieces. However, Seei soon realized he managed to chip seventy percent of its power with all six gates.


    Hisst gate was the strongest, so he ced his confidence in this gate.


    "Ha!"


    The collision produced the biggest shock wave of the day, second only to Kai''s Sound Wave. It blew away all Magical Beasts that tried to help Seei.


    "Come on." Seei felt his hand was about to snap when he contained this arrow. However, he used all his strength just to block this one particr attack. "Only ten percent of Magic Power left¡­ She fought Marza earlier, so this is not her full power. I should be able to handle it. Haaaa!"


    The moment the Magic Power was reduced to a mere five percent, Seei thought he got this.


    Little did he know, there was another devil that would take advantage of this situation. Instead of going toward his back, where the arrow sent all its Magic Power, Devain appeared behind the arrow.


    "What?!" Seei widened his eyes, never expecting Devain to do this kind of reckless move.


    Even though he was behind the arrow, the Magic Power was still rampaging around it. This ripped Seei''s shirt, which was the closest to it as the residual Magic Power even shredded his metal skin.


    "Such a powerful attack. No wonder he is our king''s personal mentor." Devain smiled and reached the arrow with his left hand.


    As he expected, the Magic Power broke a few bones and covered his arm with wounds. But Devain didn''t hesitate and channel his power into the arrow, turning the arrow into a ck-colored metal arrow.


    "Impossible!" Seei dropped his jaw to the ground as he saw Devain pulling his other hand.


    In that instant, he gave onest push to the arrow by punching its back. "Die, your turtle. This is the so-called sophisticated n! Not like your evil scheme in the past!"


    Bam.


    He hit the arrow with all his strength and the arrow finally broke through thest gate, stabbing the turtle.


    It continued to push through and created a huge explosion on the ground, reducing Seei''s body into pieces as all of them were blown apart.


    The explosion also engulfed Devain andunched him into the air.


    At the same time, Ria also dropped to her knees as she had no Magic Power left.


    "Ha¡­ Ha¡­" Ria smiled as they managed to kill Seei in this situation. There was only one opponent left and Devain should be enough to help Arba.


    Leah transported Devain back to Ria''s side while checking his condition.


    "Can you continue?" Leah asked with a worried expression.


    Blood was covering his body and his left arm couldn''t be used anymore for today.


    "Can Evan fix this body?" Devain asked and pointed at his wounds, especially his left hand that bent in a weird way.


    "Yeah. But it will take time¡­ Around thirty minutes, I think. He is also treating Michelle and Sofia right now," Leah answered with a disappointed expression.


    "In that case, I don''t need that." Devain held his breath and snapped his bone again, returning it to normal. Although he couldn''t use it, it wouldn''t go in his wayter. "This should be enough for now. My wounds are also superficial for now, so I think I can help Elder Arba."


    "Okay. I''m counting on you." Leah nodded. "I can''t fight anyone after all¡­"


    "No, no. You have done your job so well¡­ With all these fights going around, none of the Magical Beasts interfered with our fights. This is due to your cement of troops." Ria smiled and patted her shoulder. "Anyway, I will be counting on you, Devain."


    "Yes, Ma''am." Devain nodded with a solemn expression as he didn''t want to lose against Ria, who went all the way to help him.


    After that, Leah returned with Ria while Devain stabilized his body for a moment before heading to another battlefield.

 Chapter 593 - Arba Vs Mermaid Princess Part 1

    Still, the battle between the second strongest person from both sides was held on top of the water because Arba knew reca could interfere with them had they fought onnd.


    Arba was standing in front of her with a solemn face.


    "You have done a great job earlier." reca smirked while squinting her eyes.


    Arba knew what she was talking about and replied, "Your King was just too ipetent."


    "There are a few things you are not supposed to say." reca''s expression became serious.


    "Really? I am not afraid of anyone." Arba shook her head with a calm expression.


    "Hoh! You aren''t even afraid of your own king? I guess humanity will soon face another catastrophe when a person like you is not afraid of him."


    "You do not understand my statement. There is no need to fear him because he''s someone you can put trust in without instilling fear upon us. Unlike your king who has some sort of trust issues to the point you all need to fear him just to provide some security in his heart." Arbaughed.


    "You''re running your mouth." reca was pissed off by her statement and raised her staff.


    A huge humanoid body began to form above the water.


    "Water Elemental." reca waved her hand as the humanoid body raised its hands, forming a huge water ball.


    "Unless you''re underwater, you can''t win against me." Arba snorted, staring at the water ball that soon flew toward her.


    Arba simply raised her finger as a colossal barrier erected before her, dispersing all the water.


    "I think you need to look around you." reca smiled as she prepared another trick in the water.


    However, Arba picked her trick up and snapped her fingers, forming a mighty gale that pushed the water away.


    "Ehm, what are you talking about?"


    "¡­" reca squinted her eyes. She waved down her hand as the elemental followed her movement, trying to p Arba.


    Thetter covered her fist with torrential wind and struck the giant hand.


    The wind then dispersed the water, ultimately obliterating the hand.


    After that, Arba flew toward reca and struck this 60 meters humanoid body.


    The moment she hit the head, a tornado appeared and kept climbing down, dispersing all the water that formed the body.


    However, reca was still the strongest person after Neptune. She wouldn''t go down without a fight.


    Seeing Arba destroying the humanoid body, the water began to rise, forming a bigger body. This bigger body contained more Magic Power than she initially used to suppress the tornado inside, stopping the humanoid body from breaking apart.


    Little did she know Arba''s target was not the humanoid body. It was her.


    Arba reappeared next to reca and sent her fist.


    However, torrential water that matched the velocity of the wind appeared next to her, forming a spherical barrier that stopped Arba''s fist.


    "I know you''re going to do that." reca smiled.


    Arba nced to the side and saw the water elemental had recovered and its fist was about to hit her. She hurriedly raised both hands and created a wind shield to block this fist.


    The water elemental mmed her into the water, where reca gained the advantage.


    Surprisingly, reca already swam around her with her mermaid tail. She thrust her staff and formed a huge water tornado that engulfed Arba.


    "As I said, I''m stronger than you." Arba snorted and sped her hands together.


    Suddenly, a small wind sphere appeared in front of her. The sphere continued to expand rapidly and turned into a tornado that blew the water away from her, creating a gap without water in this artificial sea.


    Arba used that chance to fly up, avoiding the tornado as she watched how the sea returned to normal.


    After that, reca and Arba thought the same thing as they both raised their hands in unison.


    reca formed two water tornadoes that rose to the sky while Arba summoned two wind tornadoes to counter her.


    This sh created rain for them as they seemed to have an endless supply of Magic Power to continue for a long time.


    Not wanting to waste her time, Arba flew down while gathering the wind around her foot.


    She kicked the water and dispersed the wind, creating another small gap through the water until she reached reca.


    reca tried to block her kick with her staff, but Arba''s aim turned out to be her staff.


    She kicked that staff,unching her into the air. Then, she followed her and made the battlefield back in the air.


    Aftering out of the water, reca snapped her finger while looking at Arba, who also just left.


    A giant hand, made of water, rose and grasped her, trying to bring her back into the water.


    Arba gritted her teeth and spun her body, enhancing the wind around her body to create a small gale to break free from this water.


    "Waterfall." reca raised her staff as the elemental spurted the water inside his body to Arba.


    "Tsk." Arba used her wind tounch her away, barely avoiding the high-pressured water from the elemental.


    She returned to her original position while reca sped her hands.


    The elemental followed her movement and crushed Arba with both hands, but thetter managed to form a spherical wind barrier that ultimately created a hole in the elemental''s hands.


    Looking at her arrogant eyes, reca said, "Hmph. You''re too arrogant. I will put you in your ce."


    "That''s something I should say, brat." Arba snorted.


    "I am older than you." reca waved her staff down. "I am going to show you my real power."


    Suddenly, two more water elementals rose, surrounding Arba.


    "You won''t get away from this." reca squinted her eyes while releasing her killing intent, nning to kill Arba right now.


    Arba only smiled when he heard those words. "This is why greenhorn is bad."


    Her body was covered with the wind as she raised both hands.


    "I can''t do it well, but I think I can make a small one."


    Suddenly, reca raised her vision and saw the cloud on top of them begin to spin before forming a tornado.


    "What? Impossible. You can''t create a natural disaster." reca was shocked because the Protectors were supposed to be the only ones who could create something like this.


    She hurriedly asked all elementals to hit Arba with their hands.


    Unfortunately, everything was toote. The tornado already reached them and engulfed Arba in the process.


    That was when she realized Arba covering her body with the wind was to make herself invulnerable against the mighty wind.


    And this tornado continued until it reached the surface of the water before expanding, devouring all the elementals, including her.


    reca covered her body with a water sphere and barely avoided getting thrown away. She looked left and right, realizing none of her elementals survived.


    "You." reca gritted her teeth and observed the situation. They were inside the tornado that acted as a barrier to their surroundings. At the same time, she noticed there was no wind in this area.


    "If you disrupt the tornado¡­" She thought about an interesting thing, but Arba already knew about it and reappeared in front of reca, hitting her face.


    "I already know that, brat. Just go back!" Arba punched her face without using her wind to avoid breaking the barrier apart.. Still, her strength was enough to break her nose''s bone and knock her back to the water.

 Chapter 594 - Arba Vs Mermaid Princess Part 2

    When she was about to touch the water, her body suddenly stopped as a mysterious power wrapped her body.


    "What?!" reca widened her eyes and turned to the side.


    Arba also noticed them as her tornado was interrupted and dispersed.


    Suddenly, a man covered with ck metal flew on top of the water at high speed. His left hand was hanging uselessly, but his right hand was above his head, nning to hit reca.


    reca struggled to the point she formed a hand to stop the man, but a hole suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She soon realized an arrow had just created that hole on the giant hand, allowing the man to arrive before her.


    She waved her staff and struck the man, but thetter had enough strength to push her back into the air.


    "Kh." reca spun her body. "Water Droplet. Obey me."


    The water particles in the air suddenly began to gather around her as they covered her staff, creating a giant water spiral formed by her body''s rotation.


    The wind gently wrapped Arba''s hands as she struck reca. "Ha!"


    Bam.


    The collision dispersed both the wind and water to the side while blowing reca away.


    She spun a few times and used the water droplets to stop the momentum before everyone could continue attacking her.


    It was then she started looking around and recognizing all of them.


    "You¡­" reca raised her head and found all top ten fighters from their side had died. "How? How did they die? You couldn''t afford to kill them! Your strength wasn''t supposed to be this strong."


    However, she soon found the reason when only three of them helped Arba in this fight. At the same time, Devain couldn''t use his left hand, Felice was too tired to participate in the fight for a long time, and Tasha was covered with wounds.


    She realized they made a certain sacrifice to kill their top ten fighters. After all, there was no Michelle, Sofia, Ayaka, and Ria Ross, who was supposed to be the strongest among them.


    "You¡­" reca gritted her teeth and shouted, "You are shameless. You don''t have the ability to kill me by yourself and you call yourself the strongest humanity?"


    Arba closed her eyes and smiled. "As much as I want to rebuke your words, I don''t need to. After all, you taught us this tactic¡­ Wasn''t your Sea Race who nned the fight between our king and two other protectors? And you are calling us shameless to fight you in this situation? This is why I don''t like greenhorn¡­ This is a checkmate made by our king."


    All of them smiled when they heard thest sentence. They still remembered when Kai visited them for a brief moment, giving instruction to all of them.


    "You talk too much." Tasha raised her hand and a pink sphere appeared out of thin air. After that, she charged the sphere with her lightning beforepressing it as her arrow. She aimed her arrow and shot her.


    reca released the water droplet that let her stay afloat and started falling to avoid the arrow.


    Felice hurriedly raised her again with the Telekinesis, but reca dispersed the water droplets to stop the Telekinesis.


    "What? You can do that?" Felice widened her eyes and soon figured out what had happened. reca was using the water droplets to carry her Magic Power, dispersing the Telekinesis.


    Unfortunately for her, Devain was floating above the water with Felice''s help.


    Seeing Devain, reca waved her hand, raising the water to form two giant hands.


    He was soon engulfed by the hands while Arba took this chance to use her wind to redirect Tasha''s arrow and increase its speed.


    The arrow flew faster than her, catching up to her.


    reca blocked the arrow with her staff, but the lightning was released from itspressed form, electrocuting her.


    "Aaaaahhhhh!" She screamed in pain and crashed into the water, losing her consciousness for three seconds.


    The moment she woke up, reca looked around, finding something she could use. She hurriedly swam forward, using the water as her cover.


    Suddenly, she leaped from the water and Felice was right in front of her eyes.


    "I got you!" reca smirked.


    "No, you." Felice waved her hand upward, boosting reca''s momentum tounch her to the sky. "Go!"


    "What?!" reca widened her eyes and hurriedly summoned three water elementals to help her.


    Unfortunately for her, Felice used her Telekinesis to disperse the water, Devain created a giant metal fan and swung it to blow the elemental away, and Tasha''s arrow sparked on the very bottom of the elemental, making the rest of its body lose the water supply.


    Without her elementals, reca needed to face Arba alone.


    "No!" reca tried to spin her body, but Felice stopped her movement before dropping to the ground due to exhaustion. There wasn''t much Magic Power left in her body.


    Arba covered her fists with her wind power and sent both hands to hit her chest. Surprisingly, Arba caught her staff and used her wind to take it away.


    "Wha¡ª" reca dropped her jaw and saw Arba losing her momentum. This way, she couldn''t do another attack. "You won''t be able to attack me again."


    "Yeah. It''s not me after all." Arba smiled. "I am just an old woman. The youngsters should be the heroes, not me."


    Suddenly, a pink Magic Circle appeared next to her as Devain emerged from within.


    reca soon realized Devain''s aim was to kill her. Hence, she raised both hands, trying to protect her heart and head.


    However, Devain didn''t care about them and struck her stomach.


    Despite her tough skin, Devain''s metal hand pierced through her stomach.


    reca coughed up blood and thought it was impossible for Devain to pierce her skin because it was strong enough to withstand his power in this situation. After all, they were still falling and his punch would just boost her momentum.


    Suddenly, Felice dropped to the ground, struggling to get up. It turned out she used the remaining of her Magic Power to stop reca for a second, allowing Devain''s hand to pierce through her stomach.


    "Impossible¡­" Blood began to flow out of the hole and her mouth. reca was unwilling to die without aplishing anything, so she immediately grabbed Devain''s hand, trying to bring him inside the water to drown him.


    Unfortunately for her, Tasha saw through her n and appeared next to them while pping her hands.


    "Teleportation!"


    "No¡ª!" reca gasped as the scenery soon changed as they were teleported five hundred meters above the ground.


    Arba only raised her head and muttered, "You can''t use your water droplets anymore because it uses too much of your Magic Power. And in that state, you have no other choice than to die¡­"


    Still, reca had her own pride and her unwillingness gave her a bit of her strength.


    "Even if I need to die, I am going to make you suffer." She raised both hands, trying to snap Devain''s head, only to find it useless.


    Tasha''s arrow pierced her right hand and thepressed lightning sparked, obliterating her entire arm.


    Meanwhile, the other one could only grasp Devain''s head and had no strength left to snap his neck.


    Devain hit her head with his head, cracking her skull.


    "No¡­ N¡­" reca was unwilling, but her consciousness had already left her body.


    Tasha used her Teleportation to send them to the ground, letting Devain arrive on thend and create a small crater.


    Tasha and Arba surrounded them to make sure she had died.

 Chapter 595 - Kai Vs Neptune Part 1

    Meanwhile, in another ce, Kai raised his swords while Neptune waved her staff. This battle was on apletely different level than any other fight on the other battlefield.


    Kai even teleported them to Argentina, far away from the current battlefield. He wanted to avoid the worst-case scenario after all.


    "You have prepared to die¡­" Neptune squinted his eyes.


    He was right. Before leaving, Kai already asked Arba to bring his family members to Emulda Kn and hide until the next opportunity came. Without Space Magic, Neptune had no power to go back to the battlefield to kill them yet.


    That was why it was a good time to flee, even if Arba needed to use her force to bring them away.


    Still, Kai never had the intention to throw away his life in this battle.


    He took a deep breath and answered, "That''s a different case. I have no n in dying."


    "The feeling is mutual." Neptune faced Kai with a solemn expression. "I would have never thought that you could be this strong within such a short amount of time. Just like Gilgamesh¡­ I guess this is a feature only humans can have."


    "I don''t really care about what you''re talking about." Kai waved his sword as the Sound Wave traveled from his sword to Neptune.


    Neptune struck the Sound Wave and redirected it to the ground before finding a colossal and deep sword mark on the ground after impact.


    Since Kai had attacked him, Neptune obviously had no n in wasting his time anymore.


    "Rain!" Neptune raised his staff as the cloud began to turn dark and gather in their area.


    "Hmph." Kai harrumphed and tossed his jewel to the sky, trying to blow away the cloud.


    However, Neptune disappeared and his Crown Jewel returned to his hand.


    Kai raised his head and found Neptune above him.


    Then, rain began to pour down and became a deadly weapon for Neptune.


    A huge green-colored Magic Circle suddenly appeared in the sky, generating a low power Sound Wave that was only enough to stop the rain.


    Neptune, on the contrary, redirected the water to form a huge spear that struck the Magic Circle, shattering it.


    Kai then tossed his Jewel again.


    When Neptune was about to hit it, a pink Magic Circle transported the Crown Jewel to the sky, pushing all the clouds around the area, making sure no rain happened again.


    Neptune had predicted something like this; hence, he spread the rain. Using the water that just wet the ground, he formed multiple water spears,unching them to Kai in order to impale him.


    Kai''s expression hadn''t changed as he moved forward, heading straight to one of the spears.


    His sword cut through the water and split the spear into two before Neptune appeared behind him, waving his staff.


    "Water¡­"


    "Sono¡­"


    Kai spun his body while Neptune struck him. Their weapons collided with each other as water began to disperse in Neptune''s direction while a shock wave pushed Kai back.


    Kai took a few steps back before grabbing the pebble on the ground. He then threw it while boosting its speed with his magic.


    Neptune caught the small pebble and turned it into dust, showing his extraordinary skin.


    "¡­" Kai squinted his eyes and grabbed his Crown Jewel, holding it together with his sword. "Sonokic de."


    The Sound Wave produced by his sword was amplified by at least twenty folds, creating an attack at an unprecedented level.


    All buildings, trees, and ruins were cut horizontally as they soon got blown away by the shock wave produced a bitter after the swing.


    In one swing, Kai created a tnd within a one-kilometer radius.


    Even Neptune needed to avoid that attack as he didn''t wish to unnecessarily use his power to contain that kind of attack. Still, he could understand why Kai became a protector.


    As if not wanting to be outdone, Neptune raised his hand.


    Hearing the movement from the ground, Kai leaped into the air and saw cracks appearing on the ground, letting the groundwater flow out to the surface.


    "You think you can defeat me onnd? Water is all over the area." Neptune harrumphed.


    "But you can''t manipte the water in my body." Kai smirked.


    Neptune''s expression turned serious. "Then, I will shove all this water inside your body." Neptune snorted. Suddenly, the brown-colored water rose and turned into hundreds of weapons from swords to maces.


    Kai hurriedly jumped to the side while creating his Oscition Shield, protecting him from all those weapons. At the same time, those that chased him from behind met his Sonokic de that he dispersed to create a fan-shaped Sound Wave that obliterated all the weapons.


    After that, another Magic Circle appeared beneath Kai''s feet and sent him behind Neptune.


    Neptune widened his eyes and hurriedly waved his staff, blocking Kai''s attack.


    However, Kai''s swords vibrated even stronger and produced a Sonic Boom, boosting his power and ultimately knocking him away.


    While flying, Neptune clutched his hand as the water rose from one side.


    Kai turned around and found a huge wave, reaching over eighty meters in height.


    "Oh, wow." Kai was impressed when he saw Neptune creating a tsunami with only groundwater. He then shed his sword horizontally, splitting the wave into two.


    But this was where Neptune showcased his skills. The upper wave formed a hundred weapons while the bottom part carried the energy, turning the groundwater into a raging deep sea during the storm, trying to make Kai ufortable.


    Kai tossed his Jewel to the weapon and dispersed the weapons while Neptune used this chance to point his staff toward Kai''s back.


    His blue-colored Crown Jewel responded by infusing its power to create a raging water tornado.


    This one couldn''t bepared to the one reca used.


    Instead of spinning in one direction, it moved in all directions in that enclosed space. Anyone devoured by this wave wouldn''t know where he should head because he would be spinning like crazy.


    Kai clicked his tongue and summoned his Oscition Shield to block the water.


    However, Neptune yed another trick when a dragon head rose from the water and devoured him.


    "Annoying." Kai''s Crown Jewel returned to him and remained floating on top of him. It then generated the Sound Wave that blew the water away, ultimately destroying the dragon''s head. But Neptune''s water tornado managed to withstand that powerful shock wave.


    "Hmm?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "As expected from a protector, I guess."


    He shed the tornado diagonally using his Sonokic de.


    The Sound Wave cut through the tornado and continued to head toward Neptune.


    Unfortunately, Neptune had recovered and stood above the water. Instead of moving away, he formed another water spear with the same ragging current like the tornado and sent it to the Sonokic de.


    The two collided. The water was blown back while the wind pushed everything behind the Sonokic de backward.


    Neptune took that chance to devour both of them by summoning another dragon head from the water, suppressing both of their attacks.


    "This is good." Neptune smiled confidently. Even though Kai was strong, he still couldn''t see himself defeated by Kai.


    On the other hand, Kai was curious about something. He asked with a poker face. "If you have this much power, why don''t you just challenge King Gilgamesh with your strength instead of relying on cheap tricks?"


    Obviously, Neptune took it personally and waved his hand, creating a crescent-shaped water wave that ran on the surface of the water.. "There is no need to answer your question."

 Chapter 596 - Kai Vs Neptune Part 2

    "Shameless king." Kai chuckled, mocking him.


    Neptune raised his hand and created an even raging wave that sshed toward Kai. All the water that hit him would turn into a sharp object that could pierce his body.


    Hence, Kai surrounded himself with his Oscition Shield, blowing all the water away.


    Neptune then disappeared, swimming inside the muddy water.


    Although it looked like he didn''t like it, Neptune indeed managed to cover himself using this water. If not because of the protector''s extraordinary hearing, Kai might not be able to find him.


    The moment Neptune appeared, the water rose and formed a pir to surround Kai.


    Unfortunately for him, Kai had already prepared for his attack and used his Teleportation Magic to send him not far away from Neptune.


    "Sonokic de." Kai then waved his hand and cut the water pir, revealing Neptune''s appearance.


    He was leaning to the back and almost flipped to avoid that attack.


    However, a huge shark head emerged from the water, devouring Kai.


    Thetter even needed to use his Sound st tounch him to the outside. Because of the current, he ended up going in Neptune''s direction, allowing him to gain the advantage.


    Neptune used that chance to appear on top of his head, mming his staff.


    Kai waved both swords in two directions, trying to scare Neptune away. The right sword aimed at the fish tail while the other sword stopped his staff.


    As if seeing through this n, Neptune shifted his body to the side, barely avoiding Kai. But a small part of his fish tail was still cut by Kai''s sword.


    In return, Neptune let go of his staff for a second and punched Kai''s stomach.


    "Gah!" Kai spat a mouthful of blood as he fell to the water.


    Neptune quickly followed him because he could gain a massive advantage in this water, albeit Kai was better than he expected. Right before hitting the water, Kai managed to stop himself and used his Sound st to keep him floating.


    He obviously summoned another head to devour him, but Kai used his Crown Jewel to create a powerful shock wave to disperse all the water around him.


    Neptune used that water to form a spherical roof to trap Kai while forming a huge spear that was going to pierce through both the roof and Kai.


    Thetter hurriedly teleported to the side, avoiding the spear.


    Neptune waved his spear and formed a water tornado, but Kai clenched his fist and punched forward, generating the shock wave at the same level as the attack he used to kill one of the top fighters from the enemy side.


    The two shed and both of them neutralized each other.


    Kai used another Teleportation magic to send him to Neptune''s side.


    Clink.


    Neptune''s staff and Kai''s sword collided again as both of them wanted to see who had more power.


    Unfortunately, none of them moved.


    Seeing there was no improvement, Neptune controlled his water again while Kai used the Crown Jewel to disperse the water.


    Neptune''s Crown Jewel began to shine as it lifted all the water in the area to form a huge cylindrical barrier that reached the sky.


    The water began to form all sorts of weapons, trying to kill Kai.


    However, another Teleportation magic sent them out of the water pir.


    After that, Kai let go of his right sword and clenched his fists. He grabbed the Crown Jewel and hit Neptune on the cheek.


    Surprisingly, Neptune also did the same thing and hit Kai on the same spot.


    There was an Oscition Shield on Kai''s cheek while Neptune also protected himself with the small droplet that seemed to be his spit.


    However, the conclusion came suddenly. Kai''s Magic Circle broke and the spit lost its power at the same time, resulting in both of them hitting each other.


    Most of the power might have been lost, but their strength was still enough to blow them away.


    Kai gritted his teeth and red at Neptune, whose cheek was swollen. "You''re not strong."


    Neptune snorted and looked at Kai, who had the same condition. "You''re too weak."


    Kai and Neptune realized that they needed to somehow outsmart the other party to deal some damage. If not, this battle would be dragged for a few hours if not days.


    To do that, Neptune hurriedly dove down inside the water while Kai countered it by teleporting right above the water.


    He punched the water with all his strength, dispersing all the water to find Neptune.


    "Kh!" Neptune clicked his tongue and raised his staff, blocking Kai''s punch. Unfortunately, the punch was much stronger than he expected and pushed him to the ground and turned the nd into a smallke.


    "Tsk." Neptune tried to control his water, but none of them could push back Kai''s powerful shock wave.


    In order to fight back, Neptune controlled the water from farther away and summoned a huge elemental that extended their hand to Kai.


    Kai realized he couldn''t hit him and retreated using his Sound st before cutting the elemental into two.


    After that, Neptune arrived in front of him with water spinning around his hand.


    Kai raised both hands to block that punch, but the water quickly enveloped his hands, tying him up.


    "!!!" Kai widened his eyes as a punchnded on his chest.


    "Mhm!" Kai endured the pain as he heard the bone crack.


    Neptune thenunched him away before excruciating pain ran through his entire body. His body also flew in a different direction as he coughed blood.


    He realized Kai kicked him at thest second, breaking two ribs.


    "Mhm¡­" He gritted his teeth, realizing he might not be able to kill Kai unscathed.


    However, the one thing that was definitely unscathed was none other than thend.


    Kai just turned this beautiful ce into a nd then to ake in this battle while Neptune filled the water.


    Luckily, most of their shes urred in the air as they might end up changing thendscape of their surroundings as well.


    Both of them hurriedly regained theirposure and charged forward.


    Their sword and staff shed again and split the water below them.


    Neptune summoned another head to swallow Kai, but thetter changed his grip and made a circr sh that cut everything.


    Even Neptune needed to lower his staff to block it.


    After that, Kai grabbed his sword with his mouth and swung it toward Neptune.


    Neptune effortlessly blocked it, but he knew the real attack wasing from the punch that hit him in the chest.


    Neptune spat a mouthful of blood. Before getting blown away, he managed to pierce the side of Kai''s chest with his staff, missing his heart.


    "Kh." Neptune flew away with regret as three more ribs were broken. The pain was already spread all over his body, so he needed to end this soon.


    Even after defeating Kai, he might need some time to recover.


    Kai, on the other hand, tried to cover his wound to stop the bleeding by wrapping his sleeve to cover the area while pushing it with his Sound st.


    Neptune looked at Kai''s state and said, "You''re truly dangerous. You''re prepared to die and will do anything to kill me. I thought you were going to fight conservatively¡­"


    "Tell me¡­ If I fight you like that, can I win?" Kai snorted.


    "No." Neptune smirked.


    They both were heavily injured, but none of them showed any weakness.


    After a few seconds, they started shing again.

 Chapter 597 - Kai Vs Neptune Part 3

    "Hah¡­ Hah¡­" Kai panted as his body was covered in superficial wounds.


    Neptune also had the same condition. Both of them were trying to outsmart each other in this fight.


    Kai had the superiority in mind, but Neptune was stronger. Thetter managed to stop a few of Kai''s attempts, resulting in them being in the same condition.


    They had been shing for around thirty minutes. Their bodies also started to give up after these many wounds and blood loss.


    Neptune gritted his teeth and moved forward, not giving Kai any time to breathe. Kai also shared the same sentiment.


    "Sonokic de."


    Kai released a Sonic Wave to Neptune.


    Instead of blocking it like with his physical ability, Neptune summoned another head to devour it. His body couldn''t handle that kind of power anymore, even though he hadn''t even used half of his Magic Power.


    Crown Jewel''s supply of Magic Power was close to infinite after all.


    "Move!" Kai shouted, raising his own morale to continue fighting.


    "Ha!" Neptune thrust his spear, forming another water tornado.


    Kai also punched the air and formed a simr one with his Sonic Wave, neutralizing the tornado.


    He then appeared behind Neptune by using his Teleportation and waving his sword. "Sonokic de."


    "Water Sphere." Neptune formed a small ball of water that engulfed Kai''s attack.


    After that, Kai closed his right eye for a split second as the water turned into a spike and pierced his foot.


    "Kh!"


    Neptune clenched his fist and struck Kai on the chest while thetter stabbed his stomach.


    "Gah!" Both of them coughed blood and remained strong.


    However, Neptune still had thicker skin and a stronger body. He blew Kai away with his strength, destroying a few ribs.


    "Ha¡­Ha¡­" Neptune panted a few times, looking at Kai''s eyes which seemed to begin losing their focus.


    "You won''t be able to defeat me," said Neptune. "Though, I apud you for reaching this far. With this kind of injury, you can buy enough time for your wives to hide far away from me. I admit that I will need at least one year to recover from this injury and some parts can''t simply be recovered¡­"


    "Buying time? That is a term after I lose against you." Kai harrumphed.


    "Just take a look at yourself. You''re closer to your physical limit than me. You''re going down sooner than me." Neptune snorted.


    "That is something I decided. If it''s to kill you, I can fight even when I''m unconscious."


    "I apud your attitude, especiallying from someone who just became a protector¡­ I, Neptune, acknowledge you as my equal. Even if you die, I promise I will bury you and regard you as my greatest rival. No one will look down upon your corpse." Neptune raised his hand, saying with a full conviction.


    "Unfortunately, If I kill you here, you will die without a burial ground. I may not be able to invade the sea, but I will make them suffer because of your decision and this grudge that has gone through generations." Kai shook his head.


    "Fine by me. After all, I will kill every single human I can find, making sure your race extinct." Neptune snorted.


    "Extinction huh¡­ How many times has humanity gone to the brink of extinction? Yet, we have survived every single time, adapting to the situation. No matter what, your goal can''t be achieved. Humans will survive even a thousand years from now on." Kai smiled.


    "Hmph. We will see whose vision is true." Neptune raised his staff.


    With both of them reaching their physical limit, Kai did something unexpected. He made sure the Crown Jewel stayed in front of him as Kai concentrated, gathering all his power into his sword.


    After taking a few deep breaths, Kai waved his sword down. "Sonokic de!"


    "You''re insane!" Neptune shouted and drew a gasp when he saw Kai stroking his own Crown Jewel. "Do you know what you''re doing?"


    Kai remained silent and hit it with all the power he had while crushing it with his own Sound Wave.


    Clink.


    A shard, a hundredth of its original size, snapped. It was at this time Kai''s intention became clear.


    "Are you trying to create a mini-apocalypse?!" Neptune''s expression turned grim. This mini apocalypse had happened a few times in the past. They were not strong enough to influence the entire world, but it was enough to destroy a civilization, like the Maya tribe or any advanced ancient civilizations.


    And Kai seemed to be nning to use this power to kill him.


    However, Neptune thought of something else. This was a chance. He hurriedly charged forward while waving his staff. "Even with a mini-apocalypse, you need your own altar to do that. I have checked the water and found nothing wrong."


    Kai furrowed his eyebrows and tried to grab both the Crown Jewel and its shard, utilizing them together.


    "Wait, no. You''re going to use it together?" Neptune opened his mouth in shock.


    He struck both swords together and soon realized the one with a smaller shard was weaker than the one with the Crown Jewel. At the same time, now that the Crown Jewel lost a portion of its power, their strength wasn''t equal anymore.


    He shifted his spear to the side, pushing the weaker sword before striking the stronger one with all his strength, knocking Kai''s sword away.


    "This is it¡­ I thought you were going to use it to create a small apocalypse, but I guess you''re not at that level yet." Neptune smirked as he used this chance to pierce Kai''s stomach with his staff.


    "Gah!" Kai spat a mouthful of blood as the staff pierced through him.


    "I am going to flood your body with water." Neptune smirked, but that expression didn''tst for long.


    Kai grasped Neptune''s wrist with his right hand and locked it, so he didn''t pull out. He smiled, "I got you."


    Neptune widened his eyes as he thought, ''What is he nning to do? No matter what, I can channel my Magic Power into my staff and flood his organs with water. This way, it will surely kill him.''


    However, that thought disappeared when Kai raised his other hand.


    The long sleeve was ripped apart as patterns started shining on his hand.


    "Wait¡­ What''s that?!" Neptune recognized the pattern because it was a very important pattern. "The altar''s Magic Circle¡­"


    Kai made a big smile as he clenched his fists, holding the small shard of his Crown Jewel. "Goodbye, Neptune!"


    In that split second, Neptune understood what was going on. Just like the Crown Jewel, the altar could also be shattered into pieces.


    Kai used the same amount of power to chip away a bit of the altar and nted that shard in his own hand, hiding it underneath his flesh.


    Now that he had the altar, the Magic Circle, and the shard, everything was already aligned for him to create a small apocalypse. That was also why Kai said goodbye to Neptune.


    "You¡ª"Before he finished his words, Kai''s fist hit him on the face.


    A loud sound then erupted like that of a volcano''s eruption. There was once a record that Krakatoa''s eruption could be heard from thousands of kilometers away and Kai just replicated that power to kill Neptune.


    The shock wave it produced was far beyond his imagination as it surpassed that of an atomic st.


    Kai used all his Magic Power to protect himself and flew away.


    Boom.

 Chapter 598 - War

    On the other battlefield, Arba and Tasha continued to kill more and more magical beasts while Devain needed to get healed first before helping them.


    Although Leah didn''t stand out, she was one of the most important people in this war. Not only did she carry all the injured people to the medical teams, but she also helped Aston control the battlefield.


    Aston had indeed done a great job. He managed to move the entire troops while making sure no one bothered their top fighters.


    The soldiers had also moved ording to his directions and killed many enemies.


    His arrangement might not be as good as Kai''s, but it was more urate than Nathan, who couldn''t see the battlefield with his own eyes.


    Of course, the soldiers also did so many things on the battlefield, turning the war in their favor. A few generals had also died due to the sea creatures, but they managed to deal with them.


    Tanks and fighter jets had been deployed and kept hitting all those monsters, ttening them.


    The magical beasts also fought back and sank many of them while killing tens of thousands of soldiers.


    Still, this was the terror of the war. People were dying. Some managed to live but experienced heavy injuries and some trauma that would continue for years after their recovery. Blood dyed the hill red and created a blood river.


    Body parts from either humans or sea creatures were scattered around the battlefield.


    However, they needed to push forward and keep fighting until one side lost. This was a cruel war without an option to surrender.


    It was either you died or you won.


    Before the fight, the soldiers had been briefed on the scale of this war, but when they experienced it themselves, all of them thought the same thing.


    "This is hell."


    Despite seeing theirrades dying before their eyes, the group continued to push forward and kept fighting. They could only see Michelle and the others from afar and realize how small they could do on this battlefield.


    Even then, they wished to contribute, especially knowing that Kai was fighting a terrifying monster that could create a sharp rain that could massacre hundreds of thousands if not millions just by letting that rain continue for a few minutes.


    No matter how small they could do, they would contribute.


    The veterans, youngsters, and other people, who had a heart movement from seeing the battlefield, arrived on the battlefield one after another, from the closest area.


    The war had brought many changes: Rapakha''s sacrifice, flying magical beasts'' help, and many others.


    No one knew what would happen to thisnd as well, especially the new man-made hill.


    Suddenly, a huge Magic Circle appeared on the battlefield, stunning all of them. But they all knew who was about toe out of this Magic Circle because Kai was the only one who woulde to this ce with that kind of magic.


    Sofia and Ayaka wanted to head there immediately, but their bodies couldn''t move due to their injuries.


    Michelle, Felice, Ria, Haruko all wanted to meet him as they struggled to reach there with their current state.


    Tasha, Arba, Devain stopped for a moment to greet Kai.


    However, they all dropped their jaws to the ground when they saw his state. The entire world turned silent, including those who could only look through the screen.


    Kai emerged from the Magic Circle, but his whole body was covered with wounds and blood. His vision would have turned red as blood had covered it.


    His entire left arm and his right foot to the knee had gone with fresh blood continuously dripping to the ground. His body kept swaying left and right as he could barely walk due to the support of his right hand, holding the sword like that of a stick.


    There were many wounds in his body that made it even worse, such as some sharp objects that pierced through his skin and some holes that almost allowed them to see his bones.


    Without hesitation, Leah teleported her and Evan to his side while shouting, "Evan!"


    Evan''s heart skipped a beat when he saw Kai''s state. Despite having seen so many injuries, this was the first time he saw someone still alive after suffering these many injuries.


    "Y-yes!" Evan hurriedly covered Kai''s body with his healing water, trying to heal him as soon as possible. He wouldn''t let him die.


    Michelle, Felice, Haruko, Ria, and Tasha hurriedly appeared by his side.


    "Kai (Master)!" They dropped to their knees with tears streaming down their cheeks. They couldn''t imagine what had happened on the other battlefield.


    Arba clenched her fist and gnashed her teeth. The only one who knew what happened was her. After all, she was the one that nted the altar inside his arm.


    Arba refused to do it at first, but Kai ultimately persuaded her.


    Michelle wanted to grab his hand but didn''t wish to interrupt Evan''s magic, so she could only sit on her knees, looking at Kai.


    To their surprise, Kai still said two words about his injury. "We¡­ won¡­"


    He had no more energy to call their names anymore, but his will to live still remained, keeping his consciousness awake despite closing his eyes.


    And those two words stabbed their hearts.


    Michelle''s hands joined together, fighting that pain from seeing Kai in this state. She gritted her teeth and called those who could still fight, "Tasha, Arba, Devain¡­"


    With anger in her eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks, she red at them, "Leave no one alive!"


    These three wreaked havoc before the roar of victory shook their battlefield.


    Boom.


    The sound came from the south like the distant roar of heavy guns.


    They didn''t find an explosion that big anywhere on the battlefield, but that noise forced them to get on their knees and cover their ears.


    "What is that sound?"


    "Where?"


    Looking at a smile that appeared on Kai''s face, Michelle endured the pain from the sound and stared at the sky, muttering, "It''s¡­ the drum of victory¡­"

 Chapter 599 - Post War

    Four monthster.


    In South Carolina, near Rapa Nui Hill, stood tall a colossal building. There was a sign on top of it, saying, "Great War Museum."


    A middle-aged man was walking inside the museum with a seven years old boy who was looking around with great curiosity.


    Suddenly, they stopped upon a picture.


    It was a picture of Argentina''s newestke. Theke had a size of one thousand square kilometers.


    "Father¡­ Why is there ake here? I don''t think it''s irrelevant¡­" The boy furrowed his eyebrows, staring at his father.


    "Haha, you''re wrong. This is called Katune Lake. Its name derived from the fight between Kai Carter and Neptune. ording to the story, Kai Carter was the one who created thatke."


    "What? Ake this big? Can someone do that?" The boy opened his mouth in surprise.


    "Hoho, of course. Kai Carter is the strongest person in the world. Back then, he fought humanity''s greatest enemy, Neptune. I participated in that fight from the very start. I saw how Neptune called forth a tsunami and flooded the entire South Carolina.


    "He could even massacre humanity at an unprecedented level with just a wave of his staff. Even so, everything changed when Kai Carter arrived. He repelled the rain and dispersed the cloud by using single magic. After that, he carried Neptune to Argentina, so he didn''t injure any other people.


    "In that battle, Kai Carter could create a nd in a one-mile radius with a swing of his sword. And to kill Neptune, he created a punch that could be categorized as one of the worst natural disasters. That punch was at the scale of a Supervolcano eruption.


    "The sound traveled thousands of miles away and created a crater this big whichter turned into ake."


    "The sound!" The kid gasped and said, "Was the sound¡­"


    "Yeah. It was the sound you heard back then. The sound even traveled across the sea and reached United Asia and EU Base a few hourster.


    "Back then, I was too shocked because before the sound reached the battlefield, Kai had returned triumph. However, he also suffered a heavy injury at that time." He pointed at Kai''s statue next to them. "Look at his foot and left arm. That only reflects a small portion of his injury."


    "Father. He is so cool!" The boy''s eyes brightened.


    "Of course. He is not called the hero for nothing. The battle''s recordings are for everyone to see. The girls have be the role models for many people who wish to get stronger in the academy or military." He smiled.


    "I also want to be like them."


    "Haha." The father patted his son''s head with a gentle smile. "Work hard. I believe you can do it."


    "Yes." He nodded furiously before a certain question appeared in his mind. "That''s right. Where is he?"


    "Hmmm¡­" The father contemted while looking at the ceiling. "He is rumored to get married right now. But no one knew about its details. From the rumors, Kai Carter doesn''t like to get his private life invaded, so not many people can attend it.


    "Though I believe generals, his close friends and family are there. This is why I bring you here to learn all this. I would like to pay respect for the sacrifice he has made to repel the enemies along with all other fallen soldiers." He smiled.


    ¡­


    As he said, Kai was holding his marriage this time. After a long period of recovery, Kai was finally ready to marry his girls.


    Michelle became the clingiest one that stuck to him most of the time after seeing his injuries. She took care of him, making sure he could recover despite having no right foot and left arm.


    To fix his body, Ria and Felice coborated with each other, trying to make prosthetic limbs that could feel like the real hand and could function the same like his right hand.


    On the other hand, Ayaka and Haruko worked together in nning everything about their marriages. They made sure everything went smoothly, from the party to the dress.


    Surprisingly, Kai also epted Leah as his wife. She had been part of the family since a year ago and became busy taking care of her parents and settled all sorts of business they had.


    Sofia handled all sorts of interviews about Kai''s condition and his life. In other words, she was Carter Family''s spokesperson.


    Meanwhile, Tasha continued being with their parents because they broke apart when they saw Kai''s injuries on the battlefield. They always med themselves even though the condition wasn''t rted to them. She was there until everything returned to normal.


    Finally, after a long recovery process and preparation, Kai held their marriage.


    From the US Base, they sent President Brent and a few generals that Kai had seen like Ethan, Jose, and Paolo.


    From the EU Base, Marsha and Roselyn came and congratted him for his marriage.


    United Asia also sent their Prime Minister and the South Family''s representative to congratte him.


    Of course, the Yajima Family and the Campbell family also visited the US Base. They finally met with the rest of the families, such as the Graham Family, the Kudo Family, and Arba, who became Leah''s guardian.


    Surprisingly, there was a certain table that gave off a weird feeling. That table had Ayaka''s grandfather, Sofia''s grandfather, Michele''s grandfather, and Kai''s father. They talked like they had been friends for more than ten years.


    Still,pared to Kai''s status as a hero, there were only a total of a hundred people attending this marriage. It might be small, but it was certainly the most important marriage in the world.


    After that marriage, Kai and his family mysteriously disappeared from the world''s eyes, not wanting to get their private life invaded. And none of the world leaders mentioned anything about Kai''s whereabouts.


    Kai''s name then resounded across the world for a long time. His mysterious disappearance elevated his status even further as he became a global role model.


    All three bases only said, "When the world needs a hero, he will appear."

 Chapter 600 - 5 Years (END)

    Five yearster.


    Inside Ria''sboratory, Kai was standing while holding a soft metal arm that had been covered with ayer of skin simr to his original skin.


    "How is it?" Ria smiled. "This is the newest product. You can easily control it because it matches your brainwave and muscle."


    "I did the brainwave." Felice walked to him and gave a thumbs up. A smile appeared on her poker face. "Also, this arm will¡ª"


    Before she finished her words, two kids, a boy and a girl, stormed the room, running toward Kai.


    They all jumped to him, trying to get into his embrace.


    Kai immediately reacted and caught them both in his arms.


    "Yeay!"


    "Papa has a better arm now!"


    The boy had ck hair that looked like his. However, he had deep blue eyes, resembling Michelle.


    The girl had long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She cheerfully raised her hand when she felt the smoothness of Kai''s new arm. "Yeay, I get to try Papa''s new hand this time."


    "Haha, Ben, Nadia, you two shouldn''t interrupt someone talking¡­ Look." Kai moved his body, so they both could see Felice''s pouting expression.


    Surprisingly, another boy walked to her while nudging Felice''s white coat. He had short gray hair like Ria, but he was Kai and Sofia''s child. They didn''t know why but he seemed to be fond of Felice from a young age, resulting in a deep rtionship between her and Sofia.


    "You should say something, you know." Sofia suddenly appeared behind him while encouraging him. "Don''t be shy, Harry."


    Harry looked down before gently nodding his head.


    Sofia then turned to Ben and Nadia and said, "You two, your mothers are searching for you."


    "Ah!" Ben and Nadia gasped, but before they could move, Michelle and Ayaka had already appeared.


    "Found you." Michelle''s voice resounded in Ben''s ears as she arrived in front of Ben. "You haven''t done your homework."


    "No!" Ben shouted, but Michelle grasped him and lifted him up.


    "Come on. I will be apanying you and teaching you everything." Michelle shook her head helplessly. "You already promised me¡­"


    "Papa!" Ben extended his hand, asking Kai''s help.


    "Ben, you need to do your homework!" Nadia chuckled.


    "Yeah, and you say you want to help me make breakfast for your father?" Ayaka squinted her eyes as she appeared next to Nadia.


    "Ehm¡­" Nadia was afraid to turn around, but Ayaka had already poked her fat cheek.


    "Oh, so Nadia wants to make papa breakfast? Papa is happy." Kai smiled.


    "Y-yesh!" Nadia finally surrendered and looked at her mother, "Let''s go, Mama!"


    Ayaka ultimately smiled as she held Nadia''s hand, walking to the kitchen.


    On the way, they met four people. They were Haruko and Leah and their kids.


    Haruko gave birth to a girl with red hair. Surprisingly, she reminded Kai the first time she met Haruko, who happened to introduce herself as Sakura that time.


    She looked at Ayaka and said, "Mom! I want to learn how to use fire magic!"


    Ayaka made a weird smile and pointed at Haruko behind him. "Via? You can ask your mother, you know."


    "No. Mom sucks!"


    "Geh?!" Haruko''s body shook as she stepped back. "I''m not."


    Via stuck her tongue out.


    Meanwhile, the other girl came to Nadia while chuckling, "Huhu¡­ I have told you to wait a bit. Now you got caught¡­"


    "What do you mean I got caught?" Nadia pouted before admitting proudly, "This is tactical surrender."


    "Don''t be like that, Emily." Leah smiled and gently reprimanded her.


    Before they solved their problem, a pink magic circle appeared.


    A ck-haired boy suddenly emerged from the magic circle, running toward Kai. "Papa! I''m back!"


    Another magic circle then followed him as Tasha was chasing him while carrying a bag full of meat. "Jack, how many times have I told you not to use Teleportation inside the house? You can hurt others!"


    Both of them just came back from the supermarket, buying some meat to eatter.


    Jack ignored her and leaped to Kai''s embrace.


    "Easy, buddy." Kai smiled and caught him.


    They were the Carter Family. Kai couldn''t help but smile, realizing why his parents could support him a hundred percent when he was a kid.


    He himself felt he could overturn the world for his kids.


    To everyone''s surprise, they seemed to have an uninvited guest.


    He had ck hair and a long horn on top of his head. He wore a ck-colored yukata and big round sses.


    Leah, Ayaka, and Haruko instantly noticed him when he walked past them and recognized his face.


    "You¡­" Leah gasped.


    The man smiled and waved his hand. "Hello, hello. Congrattions on your marriage and children. Sorry that I can''t meet you at that time¡­"


    Kai already heard himing and looked at his face, smiling. "This is surprising. I would never expect you to visit me."


    "Indeed. I wouldn''t havee here if not because of that old hag¡­" He chuckled.


    Suddenly, Jack walked toward him, stopping him from meeting his dad. "Who are you, Mister? I am Jack, Papa''s bodyguard!"


    "Is that so?" He smiled and bent his knees, raising Jack up and letting him sit on his arm. "I am your dad''s old friend. You can call me Uncle Ishii."


    "Uncle Ishii?!" Jack widened his eyes before smirking, "Then, does uncle have a present?"


    Ishii stopped for a second, shocked by Jack''s words. He couldn''t help but chuckle and look at him. "You are more shameless than your dad here."


    "Superior Gene." Jack proudly admitted it, inviting another wave ofughter from Ishii.


    "Hahaha, I like you. Uncle will prepare your gift then."


    "I am looking forward to it."


    Ishii bent down and let Jack go before falling silent.


    Seeing his expression, Kai smiled and asked, "Jack, can you help your mother prepare the meat first?"


    Although unwilling, Tasha carried him out of the room. Felice and Ria also understood the importance of the matter. There was no way a Protector woulde here without any apparent reasons.


    After everyone left, Kai used his Sound Instion magic. "I guess it''s something important¡­"


    "Yeah." Ishii nodded and remembered when the Whale Queen visited him before the war. "Your war seems to be bringing something big."


    "Something big? Another protector?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "I don''t like to go to war anymore."


    "Well, I don''t think we have a choice here¡­" Ishii shook his head.


    "We?" Kai raised his eyebrows, understanding the importance of this matter. "Multiple Protectors?"


    ¡­


    Little did they know, when they were talking, big things were happening all around the world.


    In Russia, a vast ck cloud was raining a thunderstorm as a white snake tried to lift his body up to the sky.


    "Shaa!" The white snake screamed.


    In Congo, specifically inside the burning magma of Mount Nyamuragira, a bright red shone brighter than the magma.


    A creature suddenly popped out of the magma and perched on the side of the volcano, spreading its wings. The creature was that of a bird made of fire. Its height reached as far as one hundred meters and its wingspan was even bigger. It let out an earth-shattering cry.


    Another creature also emerged from underneath the sand in the Sahara Desert. It was a giant scorpion. The scorpion shook its body left and right to throw off the sand covering his body, revealing his brown shell.


    He looked at the sky before a huge sand tornado appeared, reaching the sky.


    Simr sand also concealed another creature. However, it was underneath the pacific ocean.


    It revealed its body for the first time after a few thousand years. It had the body like that of an eel, but its size wasparable to that of Whale Queen.


    Lightning began to cover his whole body as he washed away all the sand with the seawater.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Ishii replied to Kai''s question with a deep voice. "Have you ever heard¡­ the Age of the Gods?"


    The End.


    ********************


    Author''s Note:


    (PS: I added this note AFTER the chapter is published so it doesn''t cost you extra coins.)


    When I wrote "(END)" in the title, I discovered that my fingers were stiff on the keyboard for a while.


    From March 2020 to November 2021, there are so many things happening in the past one and half years.


    However, I don''t regret finishing this journey. I have learned a lot, starting from the storyline in the start to the character engagements. Props to you guys who have made it until the end.


    And I would like to thank everyone, even if you came only once, followed me from the start until now, liked the book, or came to scold me a few times¡­ Thank you for your attention and support.


    If you haven''t written any review for this book, I would love to hear what you think about this story. I''d really appreciate it if you could take a little time and share your thoughts in a review. Let me and potential readers know the good and the bad, and whatever you think I should improve for my next writing.


    Thank you for the part of my journey. May you all be well.


    Fixten - November 10, 2021.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!