Chapter 425: Promotion

"Our reinforcement has come." Kai smiled as he raised his vision, looking at the airplanes that seemed to be bringing so many soldiers at once.

"They are too late. 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 classify 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—"

Before he finished, Kai heard his teacher's voice as she leaped out of the airplane. 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 relay of praises circulated again before Ria stopped them with a glare.

"Since you have killed it, I don't need to worry about it anymore." She then looked at Rain, who had the best complexion and asked. "What about you? Are you planning 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 become 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 place 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 become 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 become 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 to command 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 accompanied her, locating every single beast inside the tunnel.

Unfortunately, Kai didn't have enough time to create a map for this place, so they ended up taking a whole week to explore it fully. If the majority of the beasts didn't come out of this hole, there was no way they could complete 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 to come 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 calculation 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 related 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 accept 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 slaying 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 become 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, congratulations? 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 place 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 planning to go somewhere." Kai narrowed his eyes.

"Somewhere?"

"Yes. It's a dangerous place, so none of them can keep up with me." Kai shrugged.

"Ehm…" Sofia looked at him with hesitation.

"If you end up coming, I don't mind, but there is no telling what will happen during the journey. Anyway, we will talk about this later."