Chapter 309: Good For Them

The walk back was silent.

Beside me, the captain kept his head bowed, his knuckles white against the grip of his sheathed sword, stealing nervous, reverent glances toward me every few steps as if walking alongside an unhinged storm deity in human skin.

I paid him no attention.

My mind was focused on the high ridge overlooking the canyon.

Who was that watcher?

Was it an upper-ranking demon general scouting the perimeter defenses of Cassandra’s vanguard company before launching a synchronized siege?

Or was that tracking me?

If someone—or something—had detected the localized reality distortion of my Code Intuition or the spatial erasure of Void Thunder, my emergence from the dungeon had just tripped an invisible tripwire across the regional mana grid.

“Keep your mouth shut about what happened out there, Captain,” I said coldly as we reached the outer log barricade. “If the men ask, you handled a routine sweep.”

The captain swallowed hard, hastily offering a stiff, iron-fisted salute against his dented breastplate. “Understood, Sir Raith. My lips are sealed.”

I pushed past the perimeter guards, whose frightened eyes followed my stride with hushed whispers, and marched straight toward the large command tent pitched in the center of the camp.

I swept aside the heavy canvas drape, stepping inside.

Cassandra stood by the massive oak map table, illuminated by the pale blue glow of a hovering crystalline mana projector.

Several high-ranking staff officers were huddled around her, listening to her concise, tactical orders.

The moment my boots clicked against the hard-packed dirt floor, Cassandra cut off mid-sentence.

Her stormy grey eyes snapped to my face, instantly scanning me from head to toe.

Seeing the faint specks of black demon blood clinging to the hem of my dark tunic, a dangerous, icy pressure flooded the tent.

“Leave us,” Cassandra commanded, her voice dropping into a flat, frigid register that brooked no hesitation.

The staff officers hurriedly gathered their parchments, bowing stiffly before scrambling out the entrance flap. Once the tent was clear, Cassandra raised her slender hand, snapping her fingers to reactivate the localized Sound Isolation Ward.

“You went outside the ward perimeter,” Cassandra stated, her voice smooth, measured, and dangerously calm as she leaned against the edge of the wooden table. “And you drew blood. Explain.”

I walked over to the map table, pulling out a chair and sitting down with casual indifference.

“The captain wanted to stretch his legs, and I wanted some fresh air,” I replied, meeting her cold stare. “We ran into an active hunting pack in the north-western canyon. Thirty bone-plated stalkers led by a horned alpha.”

Cassandra’s silver eyebrows knit together, her sharp gaze sharpening into thin, calculating slits.

“Thirty? That close to our primary supply line? Our scout patrols swept that gorge at dawn and reported zero demonic signatures.”

“They were waiting,” I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the weathered wood. “And that’s not the main issue. I dealt with the beasts, but right as the alpha went down, I caught a presence watching us from the upper cliff face.”

Cassandra’s posture stiffened. “A survivor?”

“No. It was a humanoid figure wrapped in a heavy cowl,” I explained, my tone turning serious. “They didn’t radiate corrupt beast mana, but the second our eyes locked, they vanished. Could it be one of those upper-ranking demons?”

Cassandra didn’t answer immediately. She turned back toward the glowing topographical map, her slender, manicured fingers lightly tracing the jagged lines of the northern mountain pass.

“Lesser demons are beasts of instinct, they charge, butcher, and feed,” Cassandra said, her voice dropping into a low, analytical murmur.

“Only the High Nobility possess humanoid anatomy, advanced intellect. If an Upper Lord has infiltrated this sector, it means this vanguard outpost isn’t just dealing with random frontier incursions. They are orchestrating a coordinated encirclement.”

She tapped her fingernail against a marked fortress icon on the map, the royal crest of the Capital.

“Which makes the timing of my orders even more precarious,” she muttered.

I raised an eyebrow. “Orders?”

“A military mandate arrived by royal courier while you were playing in the canyon,” Cassandra said, turning her head back toward me, her grey eyes glittering with dark calculation.

“The High Command has summoned all sector commanders to the Capital. The King and the Allied Council are convening an emergency war summit to restructure the continental defense lines. I am required to depart immediately.”

I stood up from my chair without a second thought. “I’m going with you.”

Cassandra frowned. Her grey eyes darkened as she looked at me, her gaze lingering on the high collar of my tunic that concealed the purple bite mark she had carved into my neck.

“The Capital is a snake pit, Jin,” Cassandra said, her voice dropping into an icy purr. “Noble houses are clawing at each other’s throats for dwindling resources, the refugee bastions are on the verge of rioting, and military mages roam every street. You just emerged from a spatial drift. You should stay here, locked inside the fortified barracks under my personal ward.”

“I’m not sitting in a tent like a helpless hostage while you march off to the central command,” I countered, stepping directly into her space, my voice completely devoid of fear.

“Emma and my friends are stationed near the Capital perimeter, the Oakhaven survivors are in the inner district, and whatever was watching me on that ridge might trace my mana here. If I’m with you, we move faster and hit harder. You know that.”

Cassandra stared at me for several long seconds. The silence between us stretched tight, the ambient mana in the room vibrating faintly against our skin.

“Fine,” Cassandra murmured, stepping closer until the cool scent of winter frost and ozone brushed against my face.

“You leave with my personal escort unit tomorrow at dawn. But understand this, brother, once we enter the Capital gates, you do not leave my sight for a single second. If you wander off, I will place mana shackles on your wrists myself.”

“Duly noted,” I replied dryly.

Cassandra turned on her heel, her tailored commander’s coat swirling around her legs as she walked toward the entrance of the tent.

She reached out to pull back the heavy canvas drape, but paused right at the threshold.

She didn’t turn around, but her head tilted slightly over her shoulder, her silver hair catching the flickering lamp light.

“By the way,” Cassandra said casually, her tone as indifferent as if she were commenting on the evening weather. “I forgot to mention it earlier… but Father and Cedric are dead.”

The air in the tent seemed to stall for a brief heartbeat.

I stared at her back, processing the words. The grand Patriarch of House Raith, the cold, tyrannical man who had treated me like a useless defect my entire childhood, and Cedric, the arrogant brat who had taken every opportunity to humiliate me.

Both gone. Slain during the initial outbreak.

A dry, quiet scoff escaped my lips.

“So what?” I said, my tone completely flat, devoid of even a shred of grief, sympathy, or shock. “Did you expect me to shed a tear for them?”

Cassandra let out a soft, amused breath through her nose, shaking her head lightly under her breath.

“No. I expected exactly that reaction,” she said smoothly, glancing back with a knowing smirk.

“I merely wanted to ensure you were aware of the family ledger. Though… you should know that Victor is still alive. He’s currently serving as an auxiliary captain in the Capital’s third garrison.”

Without waiting for a reply, Cassandra pushed past the curtain and stepped out into the freezing night air, letting the heavy canvas flap fall shut behind her.

The tent plunged into unbroken silence.

I stood alone in the dim yellow glow of the oil lamp, looking down at my hands.

Father and Cedric… dead.

I scoffed again, a cruel, mocking smile curling the edge of my lips as dark lightning flickered subtly across my fingertips.

To die at the hands of nameless demonic beasts during a chaotic evacuation was far too easy an end for those two bastards. After years of contempt, cruelty, and viewing my life as worthless garbage, dying in battle was practically a mercy.

Good for them, I thought, my eyes narrowing. Because if they had lived long enough to stand in front of me now… I would have shown them a hell far worse than anything those demons could ever deliver.