Outside the main gate of the Kujo Family villa area.

When Akiyama's battered figure staggered out from the night, the guards at the gate were all stunned.

In their eyes, Akiyama had always been the strongest warrior by the head of the family's side, forever calm and powerful.

But now, he was covered in blood, his iconic clothes were tattered, his face was full of smoke-scorched marks, and fresh blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth.

Akiyama ignored those astonished gazes.

He walked straight through the gate and into the brightly lit main villa building.

In the living room, Kujo Koji was sitting on the sofa, wiping a Katana.

Hearing the footsteps, he didn't even raise his head.

"Thud."

Akiyama knelt on one knee in front of him, his head hanging low.

"Lord Koji, this subordinate is incompetent."

"The person was not captured and brought back."

Kujo Koji's hand wiping the blade did not pause, as if he hadn't heard Akiyama's report, only focusing on looking at the blade.

The air in the living room was terrifyingly quiet, and cold sweat oozed from Akiyama's temples.

After a long time, Kujo Koji put down the Katana, raised his head, and looked calmly at Akiyama.

"What is the other party's profession?"

His voice could not tell whether he was happy or angry.

Akiyama's body trembled, and he hurriedly replied.

"It is an Insect Master."

"Very strong."

There was still lingering fear in his voice.

"Those bugs... are endless, and... and they can self-detonate."

"The power is extremely terrifying."

"This subordinate speculates that the other party is very likely a high-ranking SS-Rank Professional."

It's that Insect Master again.

Kujo Koji's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Recently, this name appeared far too frequently. First blocking Wada Hirayama at the banquet, and now rescuing people right out of Akiyama's hands.

Lately, in several incidents that happened in Takamagahara, the shadow of this Insect Master seemed to be present.

This person always appeared at the most critical moments, disrupting his deployment and giving him a trace of an ominous premonition.

Who knows what tricks the other party is playing.

"We can't drag this out any longer."

Kujo Koji stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and overlooked the city's night view beneath his feet.

His voice was icy.

"Notify everyone to leave the city immediately."

"Launch the operation!"

Akiyama's heart tightened, and he immediately nodded heavily.

"Yes, Lord Koji!"

Just as he was about to get up to convey the order, a hurried cellphone ringtone rang out.

It was Kujo Koji's private phone.

Kujo Koji picked up the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and his brows furrowed once more.

This was an encrypted line from the Sakura Country military.

He answered the phone, his voice steady.

"What is it?"

On the other end of the phone came a middle-aged man's respectful yet anxious voice.

"Lord Koji!"

"Zhao Qingcang of the Great Xia Nation has suddenly caused trouble at the border!"

The man spoke extremely fast.

"He mobilized three legions, stationing troops at the border, saying he wants to hold us accountable for stealing their Divine Artifact, the Pendulum of Life."

"And demanding that we give him an explanation!"

"Otherwise... otherwise he will spare no cost to launch a national war against us!"

Kujo Koji raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Qingcang? Choosing to make trouble at this time, it seems he has also gotten some news.

The middle-aged man on the other end of the phone sounded extremely anxious.

"Lord Koji, please think of a way!"

"That madman Zhao Qingcang, we simply don't have any SS-Rank Expert who can contend with him!"

"The soldiers at the border are under too much pressure, and the frontline is almost unable to hold on!"

There was not a trace of panic on Kujo Koji's face.

He only paced slowly in the living room, pondered for a moment, and then spoke indifferently.

"In that case."

"Then let Qin Ze make a trip over."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man on the other end of the phone asked hesitatingly.

"Lord Qin Ze?"

"But Lord Koji, Lord Qin Ze is your trump card!"

"If he is not by your side, I'm worried... I'm worried that something unexpected might happen regarding the resurrection of Lord Kujo Eisei."

Kujo Koji's footsteps stopped.

He turned around, looked at the deep night outside the window, and gave a cold smile.

"Only Qin Ze can contend evenly with Zhao Qingcang."

"Wada Hirayama is completely no match for Zhao Qingcang."

He paused and continued.

"As for the matter of resurrecting Lord Eisei, there is no need to worry."

"I have my own assurance."

"Just do as I ordered."

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment.

Finally, the middle-aged man replied respectfully.

"Yes, Lord Koji."

"This subordinate understands."

The night was like ink.

A black sedan parked quietly in the open wilderness.

The time had reached three in the morning.

In the surrounding grass, the gloomy green pupils of exotic beasts lit up from time to time, wandering in the dark, yet not a single one dared to approach this sedan exuding a dangerous aura.

Inside the car, it was dead silent.

In the driver's seat, Kujo Kazuya gripped the steering wheel tightly, his palms sweating from tension, not even daring to breathe heavily.

In the passenger seat, Kalen crossed his arms, his tightly furrowed brow twisted into a knot, manifesting his extreme impatience.

His stomach was full of questions and doubts.

But when his gaze swept across the rearview mirror, seeing the "Kujo Koji" in the back seat who had his eyes closed and seemed to have fallen sound asleep, he forcefully held all his words back.

Time passed minute by minute, every second like a silent scorching of his patience.

"Are we just going to wait stupidly like this?"

Kalen finally couldn't help it, lowering his voice and muttering to the air beside him.

"Just how long are we going to wait?"

"This place is so far from the main road, even if that fellow Kujo Koji really led people out of the city, how could we possibly know?"

However, no one answered his question.

Driving, Kujo Kazuya acted as if he hadn't heard, still sitting rigidly.

Polina in the back row also chose silence, only leaning quietly against the seat, seemingly resting her eyes.

This feeling of being ignored made Kalen even more irritable.

He let out a heavy hum, turned his head toward the window, and stopped speaking.

After who knows how much longer.

Caesar, who was originally disguised as "Kujo Koji", suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Those eyes were completely clear.

"Everyone, perk up."

Zhou Huai's bland voice rang out abruptly in the dead-silent carriage.

"Kujo Koji has left the city."

"What?"

Kalen suddenly turned his head back, a look of astonishment and dumbfoundedness on his face.

"How do you know?"

Zhou Huai's face revealed a playful smile.

"Of course I saw it."

There were even more question marks on Kalen's face.

He almost leaned close to Zhou Huai's face to check carefully whether this guy was sleep-talking.

You saw it?

What a joke!

The straight-line distance from here to the city gate of Tokyo is over twenty kilometers.

Forested mountains and hills separated them in between.

Do you have clairvoyance?

Can you see that far away?

In fact, Zhou Huai's judgment was not solely because he sensed the location of the Alien Parasite inside Akiyama's body.

The thousands of Information Bugs he deployed outside Tokyo City had long formed an invisible skynet.

Just now, one group of Information Bugs clearly captured the movements of a motorcade.

The lead car was precisely Kujo Koji's vehicle.

Through the real-time images transmitted back by the Information Bugs, Zhou Huai could clearly see every person in the motorcade.

Kujo Koji.

His close bodyguard, Akiyama.

And that SS-Rank Expert, Wada Hirayama, who had been heavily wounded by his own self-detonation of the Abyssal Insect Mother at the banquet, but had now recovered as good as new.

They were all there.

Zhou Huai also acutely observed that Qin Ze was not in the team.

It seemed that Kujo Koji should have sent him to the border to deal with Marshal Zhao.

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai suddenly felt something was amiss.

With Qin Ze missing, the SS-Level combat power available in Kujo Koji's hands was left with only one Wada Hirayama.

After all, Chong Wenguma needed to guard the ruins of the Ise Grand Shrine year-round and wouldn't leave easily.

With only Wada Hirayama...

Why did he still insist on leaving the city?

And what would he use to deal with Soma Kosuke, the Spirit Painter who also possessed a Divine Artifact?