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 explain 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 flashed 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 occasion to know them better. Even though she was not a US Base's citizen, she still needed to act her part, including becoming a part of this group. Getting close to Kai could be done later, 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 a large 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 to land 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 to come out.

At the same time, their general also had come 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 the last 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 become 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 become 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 collaboration 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 become a strategist. From the next raid mission alone, you should know that it's a collaboration 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 accommodating 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. According 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 by land 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 his communication 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 glance 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 glancing 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 before coming 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 blaze coming 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 plans 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 glance 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 blaze 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 footsteps coming 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 immediately commanded.

"Attack!"