Warrior Training System-Chapter 465: All for naught

Cassian left Naset’s tent feeling a little deflated, embarrassment creeping in as he went. He’d really thought he was being clever—piecing things together, hunting for patterns—only to realize others had already walked the same path long before him.

As he went through the files, his mood didn’t improve.

At the top of the list was the Earl himself. Princess Aria’s name was there too. In fact, nearly the entire Karmen family showed up one way or another, alongside a few other notable figures—like the vice commander of the Karmen army.

He read through everything slowly. For now, there wasn’t much else he could do. Everyone around him was busy with their own duties, and he had no excuse to start poking too openly.

Still, his eyes kept drifting toward Robert whenever he could. Watching. Comparing. Letting the new information settle as pieces slowly, uncomfortably, started to line up.

From what Cassian could piece together, the trouble started around the time the Valtross incident ended—the one involving the clone situation. Not long after that, monsters began appearing in increasing numbers, first sporadically, then in waves. Villages reported disappearances, strange illnesses, and quiet kidnappings. None of it ever reached the wider public, not even the Earl himself. By the time it did, it was already too late—an assassination attempt left the Earl alive but crippled, unable to wield his former strength, and that was when the cult finally stepped out of the shadows.

By then, cult spies had sunk deep into the Karmen army and other key positions. Many were eventually uncovered—some imprisoned, others found dead, caged, or even dissected after death.

"Clones..." Cassian muttered under his breath, frowning.

The ones he’d encountered before were mostly young. These records, though, showed older individuals—mages ranked around Pyraxis, not Circle Warriors. That discrepancy stood out.

Soon after, it became official: several important figures had been replaced by clones or doppelgängers. Most of them were rooted out over time, exposed and eliminated. Which meant that by now, the chances of any remaining spy being a clone were slim.

That realization quietly killed one of Cassian’s lingering theories.

The Earl wasn’t a clone.

Now, the main reason Naset still doubted the earl was simple: he had resisted outside help for far too long. And under his watch, things had only spiraled—bad decisions piling up, lives lost needlessly, problems ignored until they exploded.

The prince and the earl’s brother were suspects too. They had also opposed bringing in reinforcements at first, but their stance had shifted once the Magisterian forces arrived. That alone lowered their suspicion a notch compared to the earl.

That said, they weren’t clean either. If anything, they’d been even more ruthless in how they handled the cult problem. They knew villages near the forest were suffering early on—disappearances, monsters, sickness—but chose to do nothing. Instead, they used it as political leverage, quietly letting things worsen just so they could paint the earl as a muscle-headed failure unfit to rule.

Politics, Cassian realized, was often deadlier than the cult itself.

Only one name kept refusing to fit the pattern: Princess Aria.

From the very beginning, she’d been the odd one out. While the rest of the family argued, stalled, or played politics, she’d been out in the mud—visiting villages after monster attacks, funding relief from her own coffers, even leading charges she had no business leading without proper support. Every report painted the same picture: competent, earnest... and constantly undermined.

Her losses weren’t from incompetence. They were from bad calls made around her.

Supplies delayed. Reinforcements rerouted. Orders countermanded at the last moment—usually by other members of the family, and disturbingly often with the vice commander’s seal attached. Aria took the hits, over and over, while others stayed clean.

Cassian leaned back, exhaling slowly.

’If she’s a spy, she’s either the worst one in history... or the perfect scapegoat.’

Robert wasn’t going anywhere—still laughing too loud, still playing the loyal soldier a little too well. Cassian filed him away for later. No point rushing that knot just yet.

Instead, he stood.

"If there’s rot," he muttered to himself, "it’s higher up—or closer to the command table."

The vice commander was the obvious next step. A man with access, authority, and just enough distance from blame to stay comfortable. And after that...

Cassian’s gaze drifted toward the inner section of the camp, where banners marked noble quarters.

"...might as well take a look at the princess herself," he said quietly.

So he moved.

The Karmen army’s camp came into view not long after. It wasn’t much prettier than the Magisterian one, but it was tighter—cleaner lines, fewer raised voices, soldiers moving with practiced purpose instead of restless energy. Orders were given quietly. Patrols rotated on time. No chaos, no rattling nerves.

Cassian drifted through, ears open, eyes sharper than they looked, trying to catch fragments of conversation—anything out of place.

That was when a voice stopped him cold.

"You’re alive?"

He turned, genuinely surprised.

Princess Aria Kiew Karmen stood a few steps away, armor still on, dust clinging to her boots. There was real shock on her face—quickly masked, but not fast enough.

Cassian straightened at once and bowed. "I returned this morning, my lady."

Her gaze lingered on him a second longer than necessary, as if she were double-checking that he was actually standing there. Then she nodded, a hint of approval flickering across her face, and motioned for him to follow.

"Have you already given your report to Commander Naset?" she asked as she walked.

"Yes, my lady," Cassian replied. Sensing an opening—and knowing half the camp loved gossip—he lowered his voice slightly. "Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pin down the traitor’s identity. But I did uncover quite a bit of... useful information. Commander Naset can explain the details to you."

She stopped and glanced back at him. "Why not explain it yourself? I’d rather hear it directly from the source."

She pushed aside the tent flap and stepped inside. Cassian followed—and had to admit, it was massive. Bigger even than Naset’s command tent. Still, after dealing with women like Katherine—another princess from a far stronger house—he felt no real pressure.

She turned to face him. "I’m already disappointed you couldn’t finish the task," she said calmly. "So whatever you found had better be worth that disappointment."

"I already went over all of that with Commander Naset," Cassian said. "Their camp’s location, troop numbers, how many mages they have, their ranks, Circle Warriors—everything I could confirm."

He glanced around as he spoke. The tent was large and carefully arranged, walls lined with weapons and armor, broken up by a few pieces of tasteful furniture. It felt more like a war room than a noble’s quarters.

Aria watched him for a moment, then said lightly, "And I’m guessing Naset didn’t look particularly impressed, did he?"

Cassian hesitated, then realized what she meant. Even without a confirmed traitor, the intelligence he’d brought back was critical. Just knowing where the cult’s camp was should’ve been enough to trigger action.

Seeing his expression, Aria smiled faintly. "A lot has changed while you were gone," she said. "The Magisterian forces have taken command over all armies operating around Magisteria City. Naset already knew the cult’s camp location."

She paused, then added dryly, "Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets wiped out within the hour."

Cassian blinked.

"Yes," Aria continued, her voice steady. "A lot has changed. Because of that, the traitor inside the Karmen family has become a lesser issue for now. Which also means the mission you risked your life on turned out to be... less important than expected. I’m sorry about that."

Cassian blinked, irritation flashing across his face. The mission had been dangerous—even if parts of it had gone smoothly—and hearing it reduced to nothing stung. Noticing his reaction, Aria added,

"But it can still be useful to me."