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.

"To commemorate the heroes that fought bravely in one of the greatest disasters in history, we shall officially start this ceremony. They have fought gallantly in the last battle that had enough potential to lay 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 occasion.

"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 the last 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 vice commander in the suppression." The host announced his deed in a simple way according 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 gallantly 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 succession. 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 feel lackluster 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 airplane.

"Kai Carter and his group were returning from their vacation before they jumped off the plane 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 become the Lieutenant General of the US Base and elevate his rank to S Rank Magician."

The people here couldn't help but clap 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 to commanding 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 the last 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 become our Guardian Deity that protects the base in an emergency situation like this, so the citizens can feel safe."

The applause 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 becoming 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 the last 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 or later. And when that time came, the government might be held accountable.

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 place 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 accompanying him since he was in United Asia, Shirotsuka Sanae. He felt like he should do something for her since she would become a hot "commodity" after this.

Though, he also smiled and said to himself. 'Teacher. You don't need to thank me. Many potential husbands will surely come to you. Your rant of not having a boyfriend won't succeed 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 be compared 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.