Warrior Training System
Author: J_a_zzy
Chapter 462: The Spy Behind the Smile
"Fuck... fuck..." Cassian muttered under his breath, pacing along the branch like a caged animal. His jaw clenched, thoughts spiraling.
His friend—a man he’d fought beside, shared meals with, laughed with—was a cult spy.Hypnotizing soldiers for information... information that could have gotten their own allies killed.
The
choice was obvious: report Robert to the higher-ups.But how did he turn in someone he once trusted?Did that loyalty even matter anymore—if Robert clearly hadn’t cared about it himself?
But confronting him now risked everything, and Cassian had just confirmed only one spy’s identity.He couldn’t blow his cover now, if he has chance a to uproot many others.
So he slipped away as soon as the two girls were finished extracting supply routes from the dazed soldiers.They didn’t kill them—just rewrote their memories—which was the only small thing keeping Cassian from exploding.
Grinding his teeth, he headed toward Karmen’s army camp.Thankfully, entry wasn’t difficult—he ran into Shera just outside the perimeter, sparing him the hassle of explaining himself to patrols.
Even so, the frustration sat like a stone in his chest.Finding a spy
Instead, it felt like betrayal.
"But confronting him now could ruin everything," Cassian thought bitterly. He’d only confirmed
spy so far. If he exposed Robert now, he risked losing the chance to uncover more of the network—or worse, being silenced before he could act.
Later, Shera intercepted him at the edge of the Karmen encampment.
"So where have you been? Haven’t seen you in ages," she asked.
Cassian blinked, still tangled in thoughts of Robert. He answered a beat too late."Huh? Oh—nothing. Commander Naset sent me around delivering messages."
Shera raised a brow, smiling. "Secret ones, I’m guessing?"
"Something like that," Cassian said, giving her a vague shrug. He wasn’t sure how convincing it sounded, but at least it kept her guessing. "And thanks for letting me through. Would’ve been messy explaining myself at the gate."
"No problem," Shera replied, stopping near a row of tents. "Let’s catch up later tonight—assuming nothing exciting happens."
"Okay..." Cassian nodded, though he still hadn’t figured out what she meant by
.
Cassian finally peeled himself away from Shera and drifted deeper into camp, Robert’s betrayal looping in his thoughts like barbed wire. He pushed it down long enough to reach Nazet Lawk’s command tent.
Inside, the place was quiet—just the commander and a butler standing nearby while Nazet enjoyed an absurdly lavish breakfast spread.
Cassian saluted. "Commander."
Naset pushed the platter toward him without ceremony. "Eat. Scouts said you came in before dawn. Must’ve skipped sleep."
Cassian slid into the seat. He wasn’t hungry at all, but the cut fruit and the jug of deep-red grape juice caught him anyway. He picked up a perfect crescent slice of guava, chewing more for something to do than for taste.
Nazet watched him, then spoke—same calm tone, but the air shifted hard.
"So," the commander said, voice low, "who is the traitor?"
Cassian nearly choked. The invisible shimmer of Nazet’s domain rippled faintly—colorless but unmistakably there. The butler, unfazed, poured Cassian a glass of juice with steady hands, and Cassian took a gulp just to clear his throat as the pressure pressed around him.
Cassian nearly choked on the grape. Naset didn’t blink, just took another bite of bread and waited—calm, steady, utterly confident Cassian had an answer.
And Cassian sat there, heart twisting, Robert’s face burned into his mind.
He swallowed, wiped his mouth, and leaned back.
"...there’s more than one," Cassian said finally, voice low as he plucked another grape and popped it into his mouth.
Naset paused mid-bite, waiting for the rest.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t pin down their exact identities," Cassian admitted.
Disappointment flickered across Naset’s face, but he leaned back, listening as Cassian continued. Cassian laid out what he
uncover—the long-range mana communication arrays hidden in the Karmen territories, the secret channels the cult was using, and the people he could confidently rule out for now—like the Earl and the princess.
He also mentioned the covert mission with Brigid.
Naset’s brows lifted. "So you didn’t kill her?"
Cassian almost snorted. The man’s ruthlessness always caught him off guard. He shook his head. "No. She’s cult royalty, if you didn’t know. Her grandmother is Analisa Morgenster—the Cardinal."
Naset’s expression brightened, a slow, sharp smile forming. "Well, that’s quite the bargaining piece then." He tapped the table thoughtfully. "And if I recall correctly... she’s also the grand disciple of the ’Artistic Butcher,’ isn’t she?"
Cassian nodded and casually plucked another piece of fruit now that the pressure in the air had eased.
"Thanks to her, I got pretty close to the Cardinal," he said with a lazy grin. "Mostly because of my face—she seemed to like it."
His smirk widened, leaning in just enough for emphasis.
"Like...
like it. If you catch my meaning."
Naset actually blinked in surprise at that — not because he missed the implication, but because he
the woman Cassian was referring to. He also knew exactly what kind of reputation she carried, and what it meant for Cassian to have gotten her attention.
Cassian, meanwhile, remained blissfully unaware of just how significant that "feat" actually was.
"So if she liked you
much," Naset said, wiping his fingers as he finished the last of his pancake, "couldn’t you have just asked her who the traitor was?"He leaned back slightly, giving Cassian a pointed look."With a position that high in the cult, she
known."
"As far as I know, the first rule of being a spy is
flashing a sign that says ’I’m spying on you,’" Cassian replied with a shrug. "If I got too curious too fast, she’d sniff me out. And I’d be hanging from a chain somewhere instead of sitting here eating grapes."
He leaned forward a little, voice lowering.
"But I still picked up enough. I’ve got leads. Give me time, and I can pull names—low-level spies, puppets, maybe more. I also know their numbers now—mages, circle warriors, reserves, squad formations. If nothing else, that gives us leverage. Maybe even enough to stop bleeding losses like this."
He glanced around the camp—tired faces, grim expressions, soldiers who looked like they’d forgotten what victory felt like.
Naiset studied him in silence for a long moment before finally speaking.
"You’ve done well," the commander said at last, his voice slow and weighted. "If you can really dig deeper into their inner workings, it won’t just tilt this battle—it might shift the whole war... or at least I’d like to believe so."
He set his fork down, eyes narrowing on Cassian.
"But tell me this—are you sure you want that job?" he asked. "Working in the shadows, slipping between enemies, pretending to be one of them? Spying isn’t glorious steel-on-steel. The death rate’s gutter-level either way, but at least here on the front line you see the blade coming at you."
His friend—a man he’d fought beside, shared meals with, laughed with—was a cult spy.Hypnotizing soldiers for information... information that could have gotten their own allies killed.
The
choice was obvious: report Robert to the higher-ups.But how did he turn in someone he once trusted?Did that loyalty even matter anymore—if Robert clearly hadn’t cared about it himself?
But confronting him now risked everything, and Cassian had just confirmed only one spy’s identity.He couldn’t blow his cover now, if he has chance a to uproot many others.
So he slipped away as soon as the two girls were finished extracting supply routes from the dazed soldiers.They didn’t kill them—just rewrote their memories—which was the only small thing keeping Cassian from exploding.
Grinding his teeth, he headed toward Karmen’s army camp.Thankfully, entry wasn’t difficult—he ran into Shera just outside the perimeter, sparing him the hassle of explaining himself to patrols.
Even so, the frustration sat like a stone in his chest.Finding a spy
Instead, it felt like betrayal.
"But confronting him now could ruin everything," Cassian thought bitterly. He’d only confirmed
spy so far. If he exposed Robert now, he risked losing the chance to uncover more of the network—or worse, being silenced before he could act.
Later, Shera intercepted him at the edge of the Karmen encampment.
"So where have you been? Haven’t seen you in ages," she asked.
Cassian blinked, still tangled in thoughts of Robert. He answered a beat too late."Huh? Oh—nothing. Commander Naset sent me around delivering messages."
Shera raised a brow, smiling. "Secret ones, I’m guessing?"
"Something like that," Cassian said, giving her a vague shrug. He wasn’t sure how convincing it sounded, but at least it kept her guessing. "And thanks for letting me through. Would’ve been messy explaining myself at the gate."
"No problem," Shera replied, stopping near a row of tents. "Let’s catch up later tonight—assuming nothing exciting happens."
"Okay..." Cassian nodded, though he still hadn’t figured out what she meant by
.
Cassian finally peeled himself away from Shera and drifted deeper into camp, Robert’s betrayal looping in his thoughts like barbed wire. He pushed it down long enough to reach Nazet Lawk’s command tent.
Inside, the place was quiet—just the commander and a butler standing nearby while Nazet enjoyed an absurdly lavish breakfast spread.
Cassian saluted. "Commander."
Naset pushed the platter toward him without ceremony. "Eat. Scouts said you came in before dawn. Must’ve skipped sleep."
Cassian slid into the seat. He wasn’t hungry at all, but the cut fruit and the jug of deep-red grape juice caught him anyway. He picked up a perfect crescent slice of guava, chewing more for something to do than for taste.
Nazet watched him, then spoke—same calm tone, but the air shifted hard.
"So," the commander said, voice low, "who is the traitor?"
Cassian nearly choked. The invisible shimmer of Nazet’s domain rippled faintly—colorless but unmistakably there. The butler, unfazed, poured Cassian a glass of juice with steady hands, and Cassian took a gulp just to clear his throat as the pressure pressed around him.
Cassian nearly choked on the grape. Naset didn’t blink, just took another bite of bread and waited—calm, steady, utterly confident Cassian had an answer.
And Cassian sat there, heart twisting, Robert’s face burned into his mind.
He swallowed, wiped his mouth, and leaned back.
"...there’s more than one," Cassian said finally, voice low as he plucked another grape and popped it into his mouth.
Naset paused mid-bite, waiting for the rest.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t pin down their exact identities," Cassian admitted.
Disappointment flickered across Naset’s face, but he leaned back, listening as Cassian continued. Cassian laid out what he
uncover—the long-range mana communication arrays hidden in the Karmen territories, the secret channels the cult was using, and the people he could confidently rule out for now—like the Earl and the princess.
He also mentioned the covert mission with Brigid.
Naset’s brows lifted. "So you didn’t kill her?"
Cassian almost snorted. The man’s ruthlessness always caught him off guard. He shook his head. "No. She’s cult royalty, if you didn’t know. Her grandmother is Analisa Morgenster—the Cardinal."
Naset’s expression brightened, a slow, sharp smile forming. "Well, that’s quite the bargaining piece then." He tapped the table thoughtfully. "And if I recall correctly... she’s also the grand disciple of the ’Artistic Butcher,’ isn’t she?"
Cassian nodded and casually plucked another piece of fruit now that the pressure in the air had eased.
"Thanks to her, I got pretty close to the Cardinal," he said with a lazy grin. "Mostly because of my face—she seemed to like it."
His smirk widened, leaning in just enough for emphasis.
"Like...
like it. If you catch my meaning."
Naset actually blinked in surprise at that — not because he missed the implication, but because he
the woman Cassian was referring to. He also knew exactly what kind of reputation she carried, and what it meant for Cassian to have gotten her attention.
Cassian, meanwhile, remained blissfully unaware of just how significant that "feat" actually was.
"So if she liked you
much," Naset said, wiping his fingers as he finished the last of his pancake, "couldn’t you have just asked her who the traitor was?"He leaned back slightly, giving Cassian a pointed look."With a position that high in the cult, she
known."
"As far as I know, the first rule of being a spy is
flashing a sign that says ’I’m spying on you,’" Cassian replied with a shrug. "If I got too curious too fast, she’d sniff me out. And I’d be hanging from a chain somewhere instead of sitting here eating grapes."
He leaned forward a little, voice lowering.
"But I still picked up enough. I’ve got leads. Give me time, and I can pull names—low-level spies, puppets, maybe more. I also know their numbers now—mages, circle warriors, reserves, squad formations. If nothing else, that gives us leverage. Maybe even enough to stop bleeding losses like this."
He glanced around the camp—tired faces, grim expressions, soldiers who looked like they’d forgotten what victory felt like.
Naiset studied him in silence for a long moment before finally speaking.
"You’ve done well," the commander said at last, his voice slow and weighted. "If you can really dig deeper into their inner workings, it won’t just tilt this battle—it might shift the whole war... or at least I’d like to believe so."
He set his fork down, eyes narrowing on Cassian.
"But tell me this—are you sure you want that job?" he asked. "Working in the shadows, slipping between enemies, pretending to be one of them? Spying isn’t glorious steel-on-steel. The death rate’s gutter-level either way, but at least here on the front line you see the blade coming at you."