Volume 2, Chapter 51 – Naoto in Peril

Volume 2, Chapter 51 - Naoto in Peril

Translator: Aoi

After scrambling here and there all night, Lily could feel that her entire body was drenched in sweat again. However, there was no place for a woman to take a bath within the army camp. Although the camp was beside a riverbank, as there were around 20,000 troops stationed here, she would be seen in all her glory if a man were to approach the river at midnight to relieve their boredom.

“I hope Shiu isn’t that bothered by the heavy womanly fragrance...” Lily returned to her tent and pushed the flap aside, but she didn’t see Shiu inside.

Where did Shiu go? It’s so late already.

“Lady Lily!” A middle-aged samurai called out to Lily from behind.

“Hmm?”

“The Commander requests your presence at the army headquarters as soon as possible,” The samurai’s voice sounded a bit anxious.

“Me?” nÊw stories at no/vel/b/i/n(.)com

Lily rushed towards the headquarters right away.

When she entered the headquarters, she discovered Shiu was actually here along with Uesugi Rei and her second-in-command, Lady Shiina Airi.

Ashikaga Makoto stood up anxiously as soon as she saw Lily and called out to her, “Lil’ Lyn!”

Looking at her expression, even Lily could sense that something had gone wrong.

“What happened, Mother Makoto?”

“Lil’ Lyn, I received a report from a ninja just a few moments ago. The troops Naoto led to eradicate the Fuma Clan encountered an ambush and were defeated. The troops suffered from disastrous casualties while the severely injured Naoto got taken captive!”

“What?!” This was a very shocking bit of news to Lily, “D-Didn’t Lord Naoto take 2000 elite troops of the Ashikaga and plan to attack in two fronts by acting together with the Mido clan? The Fuma is just a common ninja clan, so how could this have...”

“The intel got leaked somehow, and the entire Mido clan was captured by the Fuma clan beforehand. The elders were all executed while the whereabouts of the ninja girls are also unknown. When the Ashikaga troops led a forward assault, they encountered an ambush within the mountain woods and were caught off guard... this led to their defeat, and according to the information brought back by the ninja, Naoto was severely injured and got captive... It’s unclear whether he’s dead or alive!”

Although they were a unit of cavalrywomen, they acted swiftly. All of them had finished assembling in less than thirty minutes, and the unit silently left north of the Odawara plains towards the Fuma clan’s stronghold!

Riding on a tiger on top of the cliff, Itagaki Nobuyoshi watched the unit of cavalrywomen move with unbelievable speed and sighed internally, “Although Lord Takeda and Uesugi Aokage are equally matched in strength, my Takeda family’s troops really fall short in comparison to Lady Uesugi Rei’s cavalrywoman unit. I feel so ashamed... but Lady Uesugi... is really cute!”

Although Itagaki Nobuyoshi had a mature appearance together with a parted pencil mustache, as a man who was still in his twenties, a slight blush floated across his face. The tiger that had a head full of white fur also shook its tail as it stood on top of the tall cliff.

And right now, Shimizu had rushed to meet Ashikaga Makoto at the headquarters after hearing the army was mobilizing again, “Commander, you have dispatched my sisters, but why haven’t you sent me along with them?”

“Ahh... That’s...” Ashikaga Makoto felt a little embarrassed for a moment, “I heard that you weren’t feeling too well in the evening, Lady Shimizu. Although you’re strong enough, there’s a chance of something going wrong while you’re infiltrating the enemy’s stronghold...”

“Commander! Lord Kamakura and the Genji have placed high hopes on me. If I let my health bother me, how would a woman like me be able to undertake a greater role in the future? I will eradicate all my enemies even if I end up coughing blood as a result! Even though I have a frail body, my resolve as a samurai doesn’t lose to anyone else!” Shimizu kneeled before Ashikaga Makoto immediately.

Shimizu’s words had touched Ashikaga Makoto, so she helped her stand up and said, “Forgive me, Lady Shimizu. I failed to consider things properly because my son was taken captive. Do accompany me when we set off to exterminate the Fuma clan in a while!”

“You have my gratitude for listening to my words, Commander!”

Shimizu left the headquarters after that and had a rather unsightly expression on her face along the way back to her tent, “Why has Commander Ashikaga given that woman an opportunity to spend time together with Lily? Would that dangerous woman really let this opportunity to make advances on Lily slip by her... Humph! The Commander’s mind is also a mess because her son got taken captive!”

The towering redwood tree of the Redwood Mist Village that was surrounded by precipitous mountains and ridges couldn’t even be seen in the early morning, akin to a wedged bamboo shoot in a steamer basket that had been opened moments ago. The village was hidden by the mist that made it impossible to see past a distance of ten meters clearly.

Hence, it wasn’t surprising that the Ashikaga troops had fallen to an ambush because of their imprudence.

Uesugi Rei sat behind Lily on her mount and raised her hand to signal everyone to stop.

“Since they captured Naoto, they must have anticipated that the Ashikaga would send troops to rescue Naoto and made prior preparations for it. If we wait for the army to arrive, the Fuma clan would undoubtedly abandon this stronghold and flee into the depths of the mountains. After all, no matter how devious they are, it wouldn’t make sense for them to confront Ashikaga Makoto here in the woods. Hence, it’s up to us to rescue Naoto,” Uesugi Rei commented.

Shiu rode Lily’s white horse on one side of the Nioh while Rei’s second-in-command, Shiina Airi, rode her white horse on the other side.

Shiina Airi hadn’t even reached the age of twenty, yet she looked a bit mature because of the beauty mark at the corner of her lips.

“Airi, tell everyone to dismount and tie their horses to the trees here. Just arrange a team of 2-3 to stay on watch here. Since the Nioh will be here, it will be impossible for anyone to steal the horses.”

Saying so, Uesugi Rei hugged Lily’s waist and lowered her down the mount, and then, she also dismounted, “We’ll be walking on foot hereafter.”