Meanwhile, our comrades settled down for a break by the roadside. Only the wagon with two horses remained from the transportation, and walking to the city was quite a distance.
"They're out of my reach now," Kurone opened her eyes and stood up from a rock, turning to the temporary commander.
"Seems like your hideout is quite far away," Grain addressed the trio tied to the tree.
"Don't bother trying to talk us into anything. None of the captured shinobi ever cracked during interrogation, and we won't be an exception," the girl who seemed to be the eldest among them proudly raised her head, and her white tail swayed along.
"Hmmm, shinobi? I've never heard of such, and I've read almost all the books of my people about your clan," Hilda jumped off the wagon and sat on a rock in front of the prisoners. "If you really are from the Yukitori clan, you should call yourselves samurai."
"No-no-no, we're far from being samurai," the girl tied on the right with two small tails shook her head vigorously.
"Tsk, sister, stop talking to the enemy. Just because they came with Lady Asura doesn't mean they will help us," the third girl with short hair turned away in annoyance.
"Come on, you don't have to be so serious," Hilda patted the offended girl's head and tried to ease the tension. "We're not that different. By the way, I also use ice magic. And there were warriors from your clan in my family."
"I wouldn't say we are that similar," the eldest girl took the word. "You are, um... how to put it, a bit rough."
"And quite buffed," the little girl supported her companion.
"And not very feminine," the third shinobi finished off the white princess.
"But-but-but how can that be?" Hilda dejectedly lowered her hands.
"Well, she is actually closer to us than you are," the main girl nodded towards Rizel. "Her slender body shows that she relies more on agility and nimbleness. Besides, that staff she wields is quite heavy, and if she were just a weak sorceress, she wouldn't be able to handle it so easily."
"Heh, the girls are on to something," Rizel smirked and glanced at Hilda. "Mom trained with this clan when she was perfecting her technique."
"But I always dreamed of meeting their clan, hoping they would accept me as one of their own. And now," Hilda sank further into despair.
"No-no-no, don't be so upset. You could have become friends with the samurai. You do have some similarities; we just have a slightly different calling," the little girl tried to console the princess but faltered and looked shyly at her older companion.
"Well, okay, no use hiding it. We don't call ourselves samurai because we're shinobi, shadow warriors protecting the clan from criminals, both inside and outside the clan."
"Uncle Hiren, what are these shadow warriors? Why have I never heard of them?" Asura tried to get closer to the man who was picking up his pace, approaching their destination.
"You haven't heard of them because you weren't meant to know. We swear allegiance to the new clan leader when the previous one steps down. We operate in the shadows, protecting the clan from external and internal enemies. That's why no one in the clan knows about us," Hiren stopped and turned to us. "What do you know about Shiva, the founder of the clan, or rather, who she was before meeting Azura?"
"Well, she was a great warrior. She managed to defeat the White Goddess, albeit injured," Asura replied, gazing sadly at her katana.
"Yes, that's the official version. But in reality, she attacked the White Goddess in her dream and cleverly lured her into a trap. As a result, Azura didn't just acknowledge her abilities; she had to do it because Shiva immobilized her like a wild boar. Before meeting the goddess, Shiva was the best bandit in the world. That's why she could deceive even a goddess," Hiren revealed.
"And the clan kept this a secret from everyone?" Asura lowered her gaze.
"Well, not from everyone, mostly from the majority. The shinobi clan is also quite large, but it mostly consists of women who lack the natural strength and power to become full-fledged samurai. For us, agility and speed are more important. You've never wondered why your sister was given such a strange name, Kageyuki?"
As we stood in the middle of the forest, something didn't sit right with me. It seemed like the shadows in the treetops were subtly moving, contrary to the movement of the wind.
"Krito," Katrina whispered quietly into my ear. "It seems we're not alone here."
"They're much more numerous than on the road. It's better not to show any signs," I replied.
"Snow Shadow, I always thought that name was inappropriate for such a kind girl like Yuki," Asura sadly looked at her katana.
"But that's how it was supposed to be. The eldest child of the clan leader becomes the leader of the clan and leads the White Guardians – the samurai, while the younger one becomes the leader of the shinobi and protects the family members at any cost. It has always been this way, just like it was with me and my brother – your father," Hiren explained.
A throwing knife pierced a tree in front of Hiren.
"Enough. You don't need to tell them all this... outsiders," a miniature girl with blue hair emerged from the shadows of the trees. She was Asura's sister and the leader of the shinobi.
"Ah, so that's it. You're not clan warriors; you're its secret defenders," Hilda was inspired by the girls' story but then paused for a moment. "Although, you're not fighting very well. I expected more after the battle with Asura."
"Well, excuse us, we specialize in stealth, throwing weapons, and traps, not direct combat," the girl tied on the right nodded toward the trees. "We used several traps; a few threads with daggers and a couple of crossbows create the illusion of continuous shooting."
"Hmm, crossbows?"
"Yes, those are devices that shoot arrows when you pull the lever. We found similar weapons left on the battlefield by invaders from overseas, and our ancestors dismantled them and made several smaller versions," the eldest girl explained.
"Hmm," Rizel approached the indicated tree and extended the blade from her staff, hooking it onto the lower branch. Using the scythe as support, the necromancer somersaulted and landed neatly on the top branch. "So this is the thing?"
Taking two mechanisms from the branches, the necromancer jumped down from almost ten meters high. From there, she retrieved the stolen spear and bow and handed them back to their owners.
"Hmm, how interesting," Aileen deftly disassembled one of the weapons. They were significantly different from the crossbows carried by Aileen or Camilla. There was no bow at the front; the string was laid inside a tubular casing. At the top, there was a lever that simultaneously cocked the string and loaded a new arrow from those arranged along the inner wall of the device. "Nicely thought out. You must have gotten one of these crossbows during the demon invasion when the Empire sent a military expedition here. Due to disagreements, it escalated into a massive battle, and we broke off relations with Verania."
"So, you're from the Empire?" the girls narrowed their eyes skeptically.
"Well, yes," the warden was somewhat embarrassed, remembering past conflicts. "You certainly did a good job, but we have made significant progress since then."
The engineer pointed her hand at the nearest tree and clenched her fist. A steel arrow flew out of a small crossbow on her glove and precisely embedded itself into the tree. Aileen proudly raised her chin and showed it to the girls.
"Ooo," the stern girl admired the delicate craftsmanship of the device. "So small, yet it works so interestingly during reload."
"It does everything on its own thanks to the spring mechanism," Aileen explained.
"Interesting, I'd like to disassemble one," the girl's eyes gleamed with an unfriendly flame.
"That's unlikely," Aileen quickly withdrew her hand. "There are many tiny parts in there, and I doubt I can find replacements here. Besides, I probably couldn't make one myself."
"Ahem," Kurone interrupted the girls' conversation. "It seems we have visitors approaching. And judging by the fact that they are not hiding, they are not your friends."
The girl looked at the three shinobi and shook her head.
"Ragni," Grain took command. "You can check who's there, just try not to draw their attention."
The dragoness spread her wings and soared above the treetops.
"If they're walking on the main road, they'll definitely notice us," the earth mage circled around a fallen tree. "It's only three hundred meters to the intersection, so they'll notice us either way."
"Do you want to meet them?" Hilda shrugged.
"I wouldn't want to meet anyone until Katrina and Krito return. Even if they're just traders, they might mention us in the city, and the Baron's people will come here."
Gently flapping her wings, the dragoness landed next to the mage.
"This is a small squad; judging by the sound, they are all armored," Ragni reported.
"Then it's a patrol from the fortress," the little shinobi girl nervously scanned her surroundings. "They should be returning from their rounds around this time."
"Tch, that's even worse. Kurone, can you hide us from them?"
"I'm afraid not," Kurone sadly shook her head. "If there are too many of them, I won't be able to conceal us from all of them at such a distance."
"I apologize," the eldest of the trio turned to Grain. "I'd like to ask you something."
"Do you want me to let you go?" the mage sat down in front of the girls.
"No, that would be too brazen after our attack," the girl exchanged glances with her companions and nodded sadly. "Could you kill us?"
"WHAT?"
"If they are soldiers, they'll make you hand us over for interrogation."
"We simply won't give you up."
"You don't know them; they'll force you to do it. And I don't want them to go through that." The shinobi girl bit her lip with such force that blood started to appear. "The Baron employs cruel torture masters, and he himself doesn't shy away from personally participating in the 'interrogations.' They're preparing us to endure torture, so no one has given away the fortress's location. He hangs half-dead prisoners by the road as a warning to others, but with girls," she continued with strength, "he does something much worse. I wouldn't want them to experience the same. If I'm asking for too much, you can leave me alive."
"I understand them," Hilda jumped off the wagon, taking her axe. "No one wants to betray their family, but torture can be unbearable at times. If you can't do it, I'll help them myself."
The white princess swung the axe, but Grain stopped her.
"We won't kill them. They're still our guarantee to get Krito, Katrina, and Asura back," the mage turned to the telepath. "Kurone, can you make them invisible?"
"I told you, it's too difficult to do with so many people."
"We don't need it for everyone," Grain slightly loosened the rope and moved the girls, tying them to the side of the tree. "If they stay here, only the soldiers who decide to come closer will see them. I think you won't have a problem with them."
"Hm, well if that's the case, then yes," Kurone smiled slightly.