"!!!" 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 become 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 to come up with something.

However, Kai already understood the message. He quickly used his Sound Insulation 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 eccentric man. The reason he joined Katsuragi Family's side was his health and the lack of a successor, 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.

The latter closed her eyes for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "I will go according 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 plan 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 planning 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 plan 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 plan." 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 contemplated 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 related 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 places with dense populations.

"Although I will be in charge of the plan, 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 plan to allow her to become the leader. Nonetheless, it was only for the fight, so she didn't need to think that hard. "I understand. I shall accept the position. Please take care of me."

Michelle also acknowledged Kai's words and looked at Isabelle. "I will deal with the front, you are commanding 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 plan?"

"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 relatively 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 or later. In fact, the only reason she could become this calm was due to the rate of Kai's growth.

In just a mere two years, Kai managed to become 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 plan in conquering this place."