The God of Jesters
Chapter 402 - 7.04.2 Spies among us.

Chapter 402: 7.04.2 Spies among us.

Is war good for the people?

Shouldn’t we as a civilized society pursue resolutions through dialog and not through war?

Shouldn’t we do our best to prevent the youth, our future from dying in a war that can actually be prevented?

Sure we do, but sadly, the same kind of thoughts are not carried by people on the other side. For they don’t consider their youth important enough to begin with.

Cynark’s army was too wasteful, due to their high population, it was easier for Cynark to fill in their ranks in a decade or two when the new would replace the old. So on an individual level, the soldiers of Cynark were never given any good equipment.

The same was the case with Tahain, born of a farmer family, he was chosen in his village along with many other youths to fill in the ranks of military. And Tahain on his own only has training for two months at most, where he was only taught how to shoot.

As for the rest, no one bothered teaching him anything else. As long as he can shoot from his bunker, he has fulfilled his purpose.

But there was one issue with Tahain that no one knew about.

"The weapon caches, are on the south side of the hill protected by three adept-level soldiers." It was the message he conveyed to the rebels, who appeared out of nowhere a month ago.

The Rebels claimed that the country they lived in was wrong, the commoners in countries far away lived far better and freer. As for nobility, none of them existed or held as much power as they did in Cynark.

Making Tahain envious of such a place. It was only his fear that held Tahain back. He feared the consequences of falling with the wrong crowd and feared what might happen to his family if his collusion with the rebels was exposed.

But things changed when Tahain’s superior, a man of noble birth got reprimanded by the commander, causing him frustration. A frustration he took out on Tahain and his compatriots, resulting in the death of two of his new companions.

And no one came to question this noble, the only thing that did happen was seeing new faces in his platoon who were oblivious of the past atrocities of their Captain... no, calling him Master would be more appropriate, considering he treated everyone in his platoon like a slave.

It was the incident that broke the camel’s back for Tahain. He went out of his way and convened with the rebel spy in the military and agreed to each of his requests, in turn, the rebel spy promised to secure a place for his family.

Rescue them from his village which acted more like a prison for poor people like them and then send them to a safe place, whose location Tahain didn’t know, but he was ensured that they will be safe there. And all Tahain had to do was give out the weapon cache location.

A job that Tahain treated seriously.

It was the next day after he sent out the information through the pigeon to his contact, that Tahain heard of an attack on the very same place that he once spoke about. Causing multiple deaths, including some innocent soldiers who were probably in a similar situation to himself.

Forced into a war that they never cared about. Making Tahain feel guilty, but hearing that a bunch of Noble Officers were dealt with as well. He felt that their sacrifices might be worth it.

Not to mention, this time, the rebels gained better weapons as a result.

The odd thing about all of this accident was that the blame was forced upon Yethel’s guerilla force. A platoon that had been infamous during the old days utilized the forest in the northern border to full effect, causing countless damage to Cynark’s force.

But since the forest was burned down to prevent such a devastating defeat in the future, there has been no mention of that old force since.

Now they were mostly coming up in stories and this time, they were blamed for the attack.

Which Tahain found a bit odd, considering there had been no sightings of any intruders from the frontline for a long time. So then suddenly attacking behind enemy lines made no sense whatsoever.

So why did the superiors claim that it was Cynark and not the rebels?

But whatever the case was, this excuse of theirs meant that no one would be curious about any traitors on the inside and Tahain was safe.

On his next meeting with his contact, Tahain, curious over the little lie his superiors propagated, he asked the man. "Why are they hiding the fact that the attack was from the inside?" A question that sounded a bit odd for someone of Tahain background.

A farmer who was considered nothing more than a tool with no thought of their own. But Tahain since joining with the rebels had started to notice a lot of things that he had overlooked before. Things he never had to think about.

A habit that he started to cultivate when he started to as a turncoat for his fellow men. A survival instinct if one wonders.

That’s why he noticed the oddity, but due to his lack of experience, he didn’t understand why his superiors made such obvious lies.

"It’s to prevent people like you from knowing, that there is a way to fight back."

The governments would deny the existence of rebels. They would either blame their activities on their enemies or claim that they are terrorists in most cases.

Considering that the national outrage was at an all-time high and war seemed to be on the horizon, they didn’t wish to divert their attention from the war. Not letting the public be aware that there is an insignificant force intending to fight against their leaders.

As for the ideology this small force carries, it’s the biggest weapon those people possess. They can’t let the common man know that they can’t fight back.

"They keep us ignorant, not letting the thought of a brighter future cultivate in our minds... its how they control us. It’s how they create problems and then give us solutions that calm us down if things go too far..." There were too many words to be spoken, how the ignorant masses were controlled, how they were manipulated to fight among each other, and how they were insignificant.

They broke the commoner’s spirit and let them know that the only way out is if they bow down their head in subservience to their superiors.

And the more Tahain heard about it, the more anger he felt. Concepts that he never had heard about entered his mind, making him more aware and insightful against those very same tactics his superior used to control him.

And he found that the bastards really did do all those things. Treating him and his compatriots like nothing more than cattle.

"They consider us Replaceable." Spoke the man veiled in a dark cloth. Showing his dismay over the status quo and envy of the land on the other side of the border, where people had been able to take back their freedom and live in a much brighter world.

"If they consider us replaceable, then we will replace them."

"That’s our intention..." The cloaked man spoke to Tahain before he collected the vital information and left after confirming the information the second time.

Leaving Tahain alone to contemplate over the things the cloaked man just spoke about.

******

In another part of the camp, Lavana Centi who silently ate his dinner in the mess hall stood up with a smile on his face. "Today’s meal was wonderful Madam."

"Oh you Jest Captain Centi, I just cooked it as usual today..." The lovable old woman who was on the kitchen duty blushed as she spoke. Gentlemen like Lavana Centi were rare these days. And from what she knew, due to his weak personality and somewhat useless bloodline, Centi who belonged to a fallen Noble family was not much liked among his compatriots.

That was until recently when she heard a big piece of news. "It’s not my food, it’s probably Captain’s mood that made my food appear so good."

"Oh, so the word had traveled fast?"

"Of course it did, I even hear some of your old friends were wondering if the Prince would take them in as well."

"They did?... Guess I have to work harder than usual." Centi said his goodbye to the old kitchen lady and with his usual smile walked out of the Mess Hall.

A smile that annoyed some officers who were aware of who Centi was, showing some envy as well as Jealousy.

And some even go so far as to walk right into him, trying to start up a conflict.

But Centi, after colliding with them, just apologized and ignored all their attempt to start up a fight, while leaving the scene. Causing even further anger among the officers.

"This arrogant bastard."

"He was just the early bird... the Prince will easily replace him if someone better were to offer their services to him."

Ignoring the rabble, Centi couldn’t help but laugh at those fools on the inside. ’They are the sign, the sign of this country’s corruption.’

’It’s because of those people that I had to take such a step.’ Centi hated the nobles, the Royals that caused the fall of his family.

So obviously, he hated Amir as well, the very man who thoroughly enjoyed the rights that come with his identity.

But for his job, he was ready to become a slave to that kind of animal. He didn’t mind demeaning himself to achieve his goal. Which was the complete destruction of Cynark.