Observing the landscape spread out before him, Stas could confidently say that the Sumada had never tried to hide.
Moreover, they rather demonstratively indicated enemies where to go.
Stas had noticed subtle changes a good couple of dozen kilometers back.
Speaking of which, the path to the Sumada lands, specifically to their city, was a well-crafted and expansive road. Along it, various merchant caravans traveled back and forth with vigor, and palanquin carriages transported aristocrats.
Even then, it became clear already that the warmasters, though far from the most beloved representatives of this world, always had money coming in from the daimyo and other nobles.
Considering that the warmasters produced nothing and only consumed, they were also the perfect customers.
As if that weren't enough, one had to remember that the warmasters would not let anyone encroach on their lands, so building shops and branch offices nearby was a shrewd and lucrative move.
But before the travelers could fully admire and marvel at the architectural thought of the Stone Lords, they were met by a "reception committee."
Suddenly, a dozen warmasters, as if materializing out of nowhere, silently surrounded them from all sides. They were dressed in the familiar light armor reminiscent of samurai gear and predominantly armed with katanas. However, some had spears, and a couple even carried axes.
At first, nothing happened, and then the group leader stepped forward. He examined Jishin's face for a few seconds, then bowed reservedly.
"Jishin-sama, I am pleased to welcome you to the clan's lands. Terrible rumors of your captivity have reached us. Good to see they were false."
"No," Sumada cut him off, prompting Stas to give him a sidelong glance. "It was true, but I managed to escape and return."
Stas wasn't sure that was the best decision, but silence or lies could backfire even more later on.
"Congratulations with all my heart," the flustered border guard bowed again, touching his chest. He was clearly embarrassed and didn't know what to say. "I will assign an escort to you so that the next patrols do not stop you anymore."
"Thank you," Jishin didn't even glance at the bowing guard and moved forward. The escort positioned himself nearby but slightly ahead. Shin and Kusa took positions on the sides, while Stas and Kensei followed behind. Though truth be told, they weren't too bothered by this.
Finally, when all the formalities were over, and they crossed over the next hill, the magnificent view of the Sumada city unfolded before them. Unusually, it had no name. When people spoke of it, they used the phrase "Sumada lands," although "Sumada City" would have been more fitting.
The first thing that caught the eye was the inward-curving "dragon teeth" – gigantic rocks encircling a many-kilometer-wide crater within which lay the Sumada lands.
Stas found it hard to say whether this natural formation was truly natural or if someone immensely powerful had a hand in it.
One got the impression that the head of an enormous stone worm peeked out from the ground, just waiting to snap up its prey.
Starting from the "teeth" and moving towards the center, there were fields, groves, and estates, but after a while, these gave way to a tightly packed cityscape.
There, life was bustling. Merchants, reassured by the security, had thoroughly built up their premises. Thanks to the presence of real stone mages, some houses reached several stories high and were made entirely of stone.
Such architecture was not typical in the cities Stas had seen, but here, different rules applied.
It even felt like you had arrived in an entirely different, more developed world.
At some point, the city territory ended, and what lay beyond made any newcomer's eyes widen in shock.
The Stone Lords did not carry their name for nothing. They had put a lot of effort into making their part of the city impregnable.
Above the city, an immense mountain towered, its entire surface densely covered with hundreds of houses embedded in stone, which looked like tiny ant burrows from such distance.
Even from here, the spires and arches of this titanic stone structure were clearly visible.
Here and there, sharp spikes jutted from the mountain, directed towards the city and beyond.
The land near the citadel's base was literally riddled with countless pits filled with sharp spikes, impassable steel "vines," or simply diagonally placed long poles growing like whimsical grass.
Looking at this titanic structure, it was clear that without magic, such a construction would simply collapse under its own weight.
Suddenly, Stas was reminded of other similar cities. Hive cities, where their inhabitants were born to live and die in the terrible, chemically poisoned technical tunnels and chambers. Entire hive worlds where their inhabitants would never see the light of stars. Not because they couldn't reach the surface, although that too, but because the sky was covered with an ever-pervasive smog.
Stas nervously chuckled and shuddered. He was suddenly reminded that he was in another world. What if he had been thrown not here, but into an... even more terrifying place?
Ordyntsev preferred to banish such thoughts from his mind. They were causing his grip on reality to crack.
Entering the city only confirmed initial impressions. Streets covered with stone tiles, statues, and well-crafted homes, albeit in an Eastern style – this place did not hide its differences.
The streets were bustling with an astonishing number of people. This was particularly due to the abundance of diverse goods and markets. Notably, in the latter, you could even meet peasants.
It became clear that if the warmasters received even just one percent of the local traffic, they were far from destitute.
At the same time, one could instantly notice the attitude toward the warmasters. All the Sumada stopped hiding their clan insignia as they approached their lands, so now all the citizens immediately scattered to give them way.
Of course, it was still far from the humiliated manner the locals showed before the nobles, but even so, this greatly exceeded the treatment of the samurai.
What else could be said about this city?
Perhaps it's worth mentioning the apparent presence of a sewer system. The streets were clean, and without such an innovation, everything would quickly plunge into mud.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
At one point, the houses on the street grew taller and taller until they abruptly ended with a thick wall separating the city from the warmasters' domain.
Then came a trap-laden path, with the road weaving back and forth diagonally, apparently to create as many problems as possible for attackers.
Seeing many-ton slabs or sharp earthen blades looming overhead steered the mind toward philosophical reflections.
The grim look on Jishin's face didn't add confidence either. Sumada strode with wide steps, stubbornly looking ahead. The prince clearly foresaw nothing good in what was to come.
With each step, the enormity of the citadel loomed over the travelers more and more. The setting sun slid behind the peak, plunging everything around in an inky shadow.
Yet the gates they approached were not that big at all. Stas, given all the gigantism, had expected something truly colossal.
The situation repeated itself. The "sensors" checked them for unexpected surprises, after which, accompanied by several new escorts, they were led inside.
Here, too, life did not stop for a minute. Particularly bewildering were the warmasters dashing along the walls, who ignored gravity with surprising disdain.
Stas felt dizzy watching their stunts.
The inner structure of the city was somewhat reminiscent of Gondor from The Lord of the Rings. That is, circular streets enveloping the mountain and rising higher and higher. However, unlike Gondor residents, the warmasters saw no problem in using magic to riddle their home with tunnels and halls from the inside.
And as a logical continuation of such architecture, there were many stairs. They were probably made for servants or children, as experienced warmasters didn't really need them.
Or perhaps the more dignified warmasters preferred to walk on their feet instead of jumping around like frenzied crickets.
In any case, there were so many stairs that even with his improved stamina, Stas quickly ran out of energy.
Some of the stairs were sheer torture. They sometimes had such high steps that the earthling had to raise his leg almost to his waist, and their area was so small that Stas seriously feared he would fall and roll down.
Sometimes, these steps rose through hollow cylinders where someone forgot to install protective railings around the central shaft. And when a piercingly howling wind suddenly started blowing from below, the earthling's knees would start tapping, and he wasn't ashamed of it.
However, the warmasters and Kensei regarded all this with absolute serenity. For them, falling was not scary, as the ability to stick to surfaces, monstrous strength, and toughness would save their lives anyway.
As luck would have it, Jishin's quarters, logically, were on the top floors. By the end of the journey, Stas looked so pitiful that he even caught a couple of sympathetic glances from Kensei.
Of all those gathered, he, surprisingly, showed the most compassion.
"Master," another warmaster met by them on this floor bowed to Jishin. "We will immediately inform Goro-sama of your arrival. For now, enjoy your rest. After the dungeons of those cursed..."
'Those cursed Sansa... blah blah blah,' Stas mentally grumbled, not even listening to what the warmaster was telling the prince. 'Always the same. How insolent and vile bastards they are, while we ourselves are no better. I'm sick of listening to this hypocrisy.'
As it turned out, Jishin had his little stone estate, or rather, a huge apartment with even a small courtyard with a decorative garden and fountain.
The latter had a beautiful bamboo chute, which, filling with water, loudly knocked against the rocks, apparently marking time.
It was here that the three of them were now to settle for the time being until Goro Sumada decided to call them.
With a huge relief, Ordyntsev dropped Leviathan from his shoulders. The "little" snake had gained more than ten kilograms, and carrying her up all those stairs was akin to torture.
His shoulders and legs, freed from the burden, pleasantly hummed.
Leviathan herself began sniffing around their new sleeping place.
Generally, the snake didn't particularly like all their constant relocations. She thought that the master should find a permanent refuge and settle down properly already.
On the other hand, the master was the master, so Leviathan obediently followed him.
Stas approached the wide window and, pushing the latches, cracked it open. Notably, it had real transparent glass in the frames.
A gusty wind burst in, causing the earthling to inhale and exhale with pleasure before admiring the view that opened up.
The prince's windows faced west, offering a chance to witness the vivid sunset in full splendor. And the view from such a height was indescribable.
It felt as if you were standing at the top of the world, with tiny ants crawling below.
'No wonder the Sumada are such arrogant snobs.'
However, Ordyntsev didn't quite understand how this mountain managed to exist at all. He was aware that, in the event of a full-scale war of the great clans, given the known combat power of the supreme warmasters, such a high target would be ideal for a good hit with super-powerful techniques.
Yet the mountain stood quite well, and it didn't seem like it had ever been rebuilt from scratch.
Perhaps the Sumada had their own aces up their sleeves.
The man quickly glanced around. For a second, he thought he saw Kaede's colorful dress with a pattern resembling a wing. However, nothing strange or mystical appeared.
The door slammed shut, and Jishin, who was clearly exhausted, approached the earthling and the ronin. Despite his fatigue, he waved them silently to follow him.
The prince took them to a room that most closely resembled a personal study. Several cabinets, on the shelves of which lay dozens of thick scrolls and manuscripts. Some cabinets held writing accessories and other trinkets.
Sumada waited for Stas to close the door, then approached the wall, which was intricately carved with a complex seal, its lines, upon closer inspection, running along the edges of other walls, enveloping the entire room into a single "cage."
A green flash emanated from the lad's fingers, running along the lines and spreading throughout the seal. Jishin waited for the green wave to reach the end and return like an echo before exhaling in relief.
"Take the cushions over there and sit down," Jishin nodded toward one of the small cabinets. He himself sat behind a broad, thin table with carved legs curving outwards.
Having taken a closer look, Stas noted that no one had dusted the table for probably a couple of months.
Judging by Jishin's darkened face, he noticed this too.
"Shiro, Kensei," Sumada spoke clearly, as if issuing commands during battle. "Remember everything I am about to tell you. Your very lives depend on how well you memorize and follow my words."
Stas focused even more, and judging by Kensei's straightened posture, he was also ready to listen.
"The Seal of Silence mutes all conversations in this room. No one will hear anything except the three of us. This is very important because, in the lands of Sumada, even ceilings have ears. Many of my fellow clansmen have earth techniques that allow them to move through ground and stone. You can never be sure that no one is listening to you at this very moment. If you decide to talk to someone, choose the noisiest and most open places."
Stas nodded. Sumada's words sounded sensible.
"Second, don't believe anyone's word. Even if they call themselves my friends and provide evidence, it could be a trap. And don't look at me so judgmentally." Jishin rolled his eyes at Stas's meaningful glance.
Kensei looked puzzled at Ordyntsev, then at the prince. He was surprised by the ease of communication between the two, as they had not shown anything like it in front of the shadows.
"I still don't understand why you never told me about your clan's inner workings." Stas shook his head disapprovingly. Even during their stay at the Nobunoro's palace, he had tried to learn about the internal politics of Jishin's clan, but the prince hadn't really said much.
"To be honest, I didn't believe we would manage to escape," a hint of a smile flickered across Jishin's face. "So I saw no point in disclosing such personal affairs of my clan. In case of your captivity, you were not supposed to tell anything. However, now we have no choice."
'Really,' Stas thought wryly, 'What joy.'
"As I've already said, no one can be trusted. Despite the fact that to our enemies, we are the great Sumada clan, in reality, there are many separate families fighting for power."
Jishin paused.
"As Shiro knows, the Sumada are divided into the main and the sideline branches. The main branch can have no more than ten families, while the sideline has at least several dozen. Their number is constantly changing. Many lose the right to call themselves families and become ordinary clan fighters, and the reverse is also true. Additionally, some sideline families have a chance to rise, becoming one of the main families, but for that, one of the main families must descend."
Ordyntsev nodded understandingly.
"Our family, the Ishiro family, named after my grandfather, managed to rise because of him. It was Ishiro Sumada who, right after entering the main branch, succeeded in becoming the clan head. His strength was truly great, and no one could challenge him. After his death, my father, Goro Sumada, immediately took his place."
"I take it this didn't earn your family the love of the others?" Stas clarified, already knowing the answer.
"Unfortunately, you're right. My family is considered upstarts and lowborn, both by the sideline and the main branch. The remaining eight families have been in the main family for almost a dozen generations. And only one other family besides us, the Eiko, lacks such ancestry, but more on that later."
Jishin took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts.
"My father, Goro Sumada, is a fair man. Thanks to him, our clan is stronger than ever. However, you must understand that if you or I become a threat to the Sumada or the Ishiro family, my family, then my father will do... what he must."
Sumada allowed himself a wry smile.
"To keep the tree healthy, sometimes you have to cut off diseased branches without any mercy," he quoted firmly, drawing a line under the conversation.
'I would be very surprised if it were otherwise.'