Book 2: Chapter 52: Infiltrating the Fuma Clans Stronghold

If we proceed any further, well be entering the patrol range of the Fuma clan, s.h.i.+u pointed at the simplistic map she had drawn, This is the stronghold of the Fuma clan, and the Chief is probably inside his residence too.

A few low-tier sword saints, as well as s.h.i.+na Airi, had accompanied Lily and the rest. They were going over the plan one final time under cover of the bushes and the giant rocks. The other cavalrywomen, nearly a hundred of them, were hidden in the vegetation of the hillside and overlooked the valley.

Uesugi Reis troops hadnt entered the ravine through its mouth, but instead chose to detour around the mountain. This was a difficult feat to achieve for regular troops, but it was easy for the hundred cavalrywomen who had received specialized training and had at least the strength of a low-tier swordmaster on average to accomplish this task.

Although there were only a hundred of them, it could be said that the most elite cavalrywomen in all of the Land of Snow1 were present here at the moment.

Uesugi Rei nodded, Hear me, everyone. This is the plan we will be following Lily, s.h.i.+u and I will infiltrate deep into the stronghold of the enemy and locate the place where As.h.i.+kaga Naoto is imprisoned and free him. After that, s.h.i.+u will escape the Fuma clans stronghold along with Naoto and meet up with Airi, who will remain outside on standby to provide support. Lily and I will then directly charge into the Chiefs residence and create chaos to attract a large portion of the Fuma clans forces by killing him. The rest of you will then follow s.h.i.+us lead to detour around the Fuma clans traps and defensive measures to rush in and wipe out the Fuma clan! As for Airi, she will be in charge of leading the cavalrywomen.

As you command! Airi, the mauve-short-haired cavalrywoman that had a slightly mature appearance, nodded.

Lily, you and I will only be able to bring out most of our battle power during the clash between both sides, Uesugi Rei crossed her arms under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and propped them up.

Mhm, I understand.

Lily and Rei were both blade maidens and had close to infinite reserves of spirit power. It was hard for ordinary samurai to keep up with this kind of unconventional battle strategy, and they would instead fall into danger if they followed behind.

Their forces will be in chaos as long as we succeed in killing their Chief. We just need to wait for Airi to charge in with the cavalrywomen unit then, and that would enable us to exterminate the Fuma clan with the least number of casualties. I was originally planning to go in alone, but I was worried that

Sister Uesugi, you need not say anything more. Ill go along with you, Lily stepped forward.2

If I allow Sister Uesugi to go in alone, the chances of her accidentally beheading the enemy leader is much higher than the chances of her finding the prison cells location.

After discussing some matters of the plan in detail, everyone separated to act accordingly. The unit of cavalrywomen remained behind on standby as they would suffer grievous injuries if they were to charge in blindly. They were the most elite unit of the Uesugi familys troops, so even Uesugi Rei didnt wish for them to suffer huge losses to save As.h.i.+kaga Naoto. Moreover, in case the enemy had transferred Naoto elsewhere or injured him, it would be difficult for them to succeed in their task.

If she and Lily were to go in, they wouldnt need to fear any traps as they were adequately powerful. Their survival skills were much stronger than ordinary samurai, and it would also be hard for the enemy to detect them if a smaller number of people ventured inside.

Lily, Rei, and s.h.i.+u traversed the mountain path while staying low and approached the Fuma clans stronghold.

When they heard the murmurs of a waterfall from ahead, Lily and Rei looked over in that direction from behind the tussock.

Lady Uesugi, the Chiefs residence is the biggest house across the wooden bridge on the other side of this waterfall. However, theres no guarantee that the Chief is there right now. The ninja village rests on this side of the bridge, and most of the Fuma clan resides over here. Its highly likely that Lord As.h.i.+kaga is in the prison cell used for torturing the captors of the Fuma clan, and thats in the cellar of the Chiefs residence. Theres a pathway that leads to that prison from a cellar within the village, so it would be best for us to use that to avoid getting found out, s.h.i.+u suggested.

All right. Lets begin moving then, Uesugi Rei stated.

Lily and Rei stooped as low as possible and quietly descended the hillside under cover of the trees, mist, and bushes to approach the ninja village.

At this moment, only a few ninjas were patrolling around the village.

Lily probed the area with her spirit power and discovered three sentries ahead within the woods that were on top of huge trees.

Lily and Rei approached them stealthily.

Lily, deal with the one on the left, and leave the other two to me. Saying so, Uesugi Rei formed two sharp icicles in her hands using her spirit power.3

As for Lily, she pulled the bow and aimed towards a vague location within the mist.

Whoos.h.!.+ At the moment Lily shot the arrow, Rei also hurled the icicles forward.

The sounds of three bodies dropping to the tussocks emerged from a distance of hundred meters away within the mist.

The range of spirit perception was higher than the visual field in the dense mist, so the three Fuma ninjas got taken out by the arrow and the icicles before they could even see anything.

Lily, Rei, and s.h.i.+u entered the village after that.

A ninja patrolled behind the house with the cellar, so Lily approached them silently from the back.

Swis.h.!.+ Followed by the gloomy reflection of the blade, the ninja got split into two and dropped to the ground.

Lily and Rei then dealt with the two ninjas that were guarding the entrance to the cellar with ease and opened it. After descending down, they discovered that this place was being used as a granary to stockpile food for winter.

However, s.h.i.+u knew that a path leading to the underground prison cells existed within this cellar.

There were no sentries present here, so s.h.i.+u led Lily and Rei through the underground tunnels. They pa.s.sed through various locations that were being used as depots for all kinds of goods and even pa.s.sed through the place where those hair-raising monster insects were being cultivated.

Who is it?! A tall yet hunchbacked, cloaked man who had a lantern in hand discovered them and waved his hand before chanting a spell silently that brightened the tunnel with purple-glowing runes4. And then, spiders crawled out from the sleeves of his cloak one after another and rushed towards Lily and the others to attack them.

Hah! Uesugi Rei wielded the nodachi on her back and waved it towards that man, the emerging sword light creating icicles in its wake.

Boom! The sword light struck the man and encapsulated him in ice before breaking him into pieces, and his foul blood that stained the surroundings also turned into ice gradually. Even those spiders were either frozen in ice or outright dead.

Lily witnessed the frozen spiders also crumble into pieces along with the dispersion of the frosty spirit power within the tunnel.

Lets go, Uesugi Rei stated nonchalantly.

The murmurs of the waterfall were audible from ahead. The party of three pa.s.sed through a damp and moist tunnel and arrived at a vast underground region that had a dome from where the waterfall poured down.

This place is under the waterfall thats before the path that leads to the Chiefs residence, s.h.i.+u explained.

A ten-meter or so wide and dark chasm of an unknown depth laid ahead of them, and a dark cave was visible on the other side of the gap.

That cave leads to the prison. This place has no guards because people rarely come here, but s.h.i.+u looked at the waterfall that flowed down and lapsed into a moment of recollection, almost as if she were experiencing the event that had occurred years ago

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old purple-haired girl with a ponytail who had a height of just over 160 cm stood on the steep cliff while donned in tight-fitting, blue ninja attire. She had her back towards the rumbling waterfall while she faced s.h.i.+u.

And s.h.i.+u was just a little girl dressed in a pink kimono with a wicker basket on her back at that time.

s.h.i.+u. Come, jump across!

Ehhh? Thats impossible, Lady Mimori. The chasm is more than ten meters wide! Its simply impossible to jump across!

The ponytailed girls sight turned determined as she pointed at the waterfall and said, Look carefully at the three stones that protrude from the surface of the wall behind the waterfall. These stone steps didnt form naturally but were rather cut out in ancient times by my Mido clan to temper true ninjas. You will be able to reach the cave on the other end as long as you leap across using these stone steps! All girls who wish to become ninja are required to pa.s.s such a test!

Thats impossible. The other side is too far and high while the chasm is endless. A ninja will lose their life if they fall down, and it would be impossible for even a grown-up ninja girl to jump across! The young s.h.i.+u almost broke into tears from the fear.

Humph, The ponytailed girl smiled confidently, I obviously wont ask Lil s.h.i.+u to jump across since youre still too young. Watch me do it, then.5

Ehhh? Please dont do it, Lady Mimori. Its too dangerous! Those stones are all so slippery because of getting wet, and theres the waterfall too s.h.i.+u heard from the Matriarch that this place is indeed a place where the older ninja girls tempered themselves in ancient times. However, this place didnt have a waterfall back then The young s.h.i.+u jumped about in worry while crying at the place where she stood, but there was nothing she could do to prevent Mimori.

The ponytailed girls gaze turned gloomy, So what? Its just a waterfall, so theres a bit more water, thats all. If we cant even accomplish this, our Mido clan will keep getting humiliated by the Fuma clan for generations to come! The Matriarch is just a weak and useless old woman now! She has long abandoned the era of ninjas! I am different from her.

Lady Mimori, dont!

The ponytailed, purple-haired girl turned around and took a few steps back before breaking into a sprint.

Whoos.h.!.+ And then, she leaped across and actually crossed over the chasm as if she were soaring in the sky. Just like a b.u.t.terfly, she gracefully stepped over the stone that had smoothened because of the waterfall with light steps.6

When she leaped the second time, the strong current of the waterfall caused her body to lean aside a bit. However, she adjusted her position incredibly and was barely able to land on the second stone step. She leaped once again, but as she couldnt place much strength into her jump because of the slippery surface of the stone, the direction of her body deviated distinctively. She also couldnt leap high enough, so her foot barely touched the edge of the third stone step. As a result, she wasnt able to pull herself up using her foot. And then, her foot twisted suddenly, causing her to lose balance and fall down the cliff7.

Crash The waterfall churned all the same.

. Lady Mimori? Lady Mimori!!!

The mournful cries of the young s.h.i.+u echoed before the chasm yet she received no reply.

s.h.i.+u! s.h.i.+u! A voice called out to s.h.i.+u from within the darkness.

Lady MimoriAaah! s.h.i.+u came back to her senses and discovered herself sitting on the steep cliff powerlessly while Lily shook her with worry.

s.h.i.+u, what happened to you? Lady Mimori, she

Uesugi Rei also crouched before her and pinched s.h.i.+us face gently, Calm down a bit. Little Sister s.h.i.+u, who is Lady Mimori? What has happened to you?

s.h.i.+us breathing seemed to gradually calm down as she stared into Uesugi Reis cold eyes, F-Forgive me, I just recalled a terrible incident that happened here in the past after arriving here

So, Little Sister s.h.i.+u, the reason you brought us here is to ask us to jump across to that cave, right? Uesugi Rei questioned.

Eh? No! Thats impossible to do! Its simply impossible to jump across from here! Its so far and slippery here, and theres that waterfall too forgive me, theres actually no pathway from here. None at all! It was clear that s.h.i.+u was panicking a bit right now.

However, Uesugi Rei got up and walked to the side of the cliff to look at the waterfall, We go across from here, huh? Mhm, its not that hard to jump across by stepping on those three stone steps projecting outwards, but that would be a little troublesome. Since thats the case

While Lily was trying to calm down the panicking s.h.i.+u, they suddenly felt a tremor from nearby as Uesugi Rei brought out her frosty spirit power.

Rei looked at the rumbling waterfall with an icy look and unsheathed her nodachi as her lips curled into a devilish smile, Lets just make this hindrance of a waterfall disappear then.

Boom!!! Uesugi Rei brandished the nodachi in her hands and sliced apart the darkness with a dazzling, crescent-shaped sword light!

Followed by the reflection of the sword light, the entire place was covered in floating snowflakes.

By the time Lily and s.h.i.+u came back to their senses, the rumbles of the waterfall had disappeared entirely.

The only thing that remained was a thousand meters tall8, interweaving glacier!9

Mhm. This makes things much easier now, Uesugi Rei nodded satisfactorily.10

previously translated as Snow Nation

Silva: Yep, dont let her go alone, shell get lost, 11 out of 10 times.

Silva: Dang, thats a neat skill, when will Lily learn the sakura petal skills? Senbonzakura!

Silva: wouldnt runes work better than spell words? Thats basically what they are aye? Robinxen: Runes are cooler

Silva: Oh I can guess what happens, she fell down didnt she?

Silva: Oh, she actually made it?

Silva: ok oof Robinxen: Roblox death noise

Robinxen: And on today of what the h.e.l.l are you thinking we have this.

Silva: Yikes wouldnt this attract a lot of attention?

Robinxen: The chapters are growing.