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 flaw 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 plan 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 slammed the table, finding Kai's statement to be ridiculous.

"Just casually dropping that plan we spent so much time and effort on?!" He looked very angry because Kai just said it was fine to throw away that plan so easily.

It was at this time, his wife's hand grabbed the back of his head and slammed 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 he lacks confidence in the plan 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 plan," 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 aura coming 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 explained their condition, especially around Via since she was one of the Graham Family's forces.

"About that case… I am not planning 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 vice commander 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 she commanded 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 from coming 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 a completely 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 be compared 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 become 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-in-law. 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 flaunt 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." Paolo laughed 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 knives coming toward his head. "Oi oi. I was joking!"

"Don't worry. You are going to the afterlife because I am just playing with you… Of course, playing 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 order coming 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-in-law.

"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 after coming 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 airplane 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 delay 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 Insulation Magic to stop them from listening to their conversation.

"So, what do you want to say to the point of making this Sound Insulation 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.

"?!"