All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 237: Juna’s Moonlit Answer

Juna left the forge carts at the northern wall, waiting until the road crew carried Ferra’s brackets toward the watchposts before entering the trees alone. The town remained behind her as hammer strikes plus wagon wheels, though every sound thinned once she crossed the ridge.

She chose a clearing below the northern slope, placing six fist-sized rocks along a fallen trunk before stepping back twenty paces.

One pale-gold Wing opened behind her, sending power down her shoulders while the Solar Vanguard markings reached halfway along her forearms.

The full form wanted to spread through her body at once, sharpening every scent until the forest became a list of things she could chase.

She held the change below her elbows, keeping her claws short as she faced the first rock.

Her opening strike sent a gold line across the clearing, cutting the rock without touching the bark beneath it.

The second line went wider, shaving two pieces from the trunk before burying itself in the slope.

"Too much," she muttered, closing her right hand until the mana withdrew from each claw.

Hajin could tear through a battlefield when control failed him, but she had seen what came after the power stopped feeling wrong. She reset the rocks, moving the last four farther apart before drawing power from the Wing in smaller pulses.

The next claw line struck one rock, leaving a shallow cut across its center while the trunk remained untouched.

She repeated the motion until all four carried the same mark, then shortened the distance without increasing the output.

Gold spread toward her throat during the final step, pulling at the part of her that wanted to drop forward and hunt.

She kept both feet planted, forcing the Wing to fold before the instinct reached her legs.

The clearing returned to ordinary night scents, bringing pine sap, cooling soil and horse sweat from the ridge above her. She lowered her hands without moving her head, drawing one breath before separating three horses from the rest of the forest.

Tobacco clung to two riders, while the third carried lamp oil plus the red sealing wax used on Flint road papers.

Juna slipped beneath the trees, keeping the wind against her face as voices reached the slope beyond the clearing.

Three men crouched near a flat rock with a map spread beneath one hooded lantern, their horses tied farther downhill.

The first man had marked the northern wall, while a second added roof lines around the registry and clinic.

"The old report puts the cart gap here," the second man tapped the mine-road bend, "but somebody stacked another wall above it."

"Then mark both," the first man adjusted the lantern cover, "we only need the riders through until their defenders move east."

The third scout watched the trees instead of the map, keeping one hand around a short bow laid across his knees.

"The wolf patrols this ridge," he whispered, turning toward Juna’s clearing, "and the first group said she followed them farther than they noticed."

"The first group also came home alive," the mapmaker pressed charcoal against the clinic roof, "which means the new lord wants reports reaching Flint land."

Juna’s claws extended before she stopped them against her palms, remembering Hajin’s reason for releasing those men.

He had wanted the Flints to see a fed town, working walls and defenders who did not fear their crest.

The map beneath the lantern proved the scouts had carried more than fear back with them.

"Finish the bells," the first man pointed toward the eastern watchpost, "the captain wants every signal position before the next convoy moves."

"There are three new posts," the mapmaker rubbed charcoal across the paper, "so the road team will hear an alarm before reaching the bend."

"That is why they strike the convoy first," the archer kept searching the trees, "we should leave before the wolf catches our scent."

Juna could cross the distance before his bow moved, taking the map plus all three men without raising a bell.

Instead, she backed down the slope until the lantern disappeared, then circled wide before returning to town without crossing their trail. The forge had closed when she returned, leaving Hajin inside the registry with both palms wrapped beside an unfinished equipment ledger.

Marrick slept with his head against the far end of the table, though Ash remained awake in Hajin’s lap and tried pulling loose threads from the wraps.

"Three scouts are mapping the wall," Juna closed the door behind her, "they have the cart gap, clinic roof and every bell post built today."

Hajin caught Ash’s hand before looking toward her, "Did they see you?"

"No," she placed one claw against the northern ridge on his map, "but they know I patrol there because the scouts you released told them."

His eyes stayed on the marked ridge before moving toward the eastern road.

"Where do they take the report?" he shifted Ash against his chest, keeping the child away from his bandages.

"They did not say," Juna pressed her claw through the paper, "which stops mattering if I remove them before they leave."

"It matters if they lead us to the person collecting every report," he pulled a second map from beneath Marrick’s arm, "killing three scouts only makes the next group hide better."

Juna looked at the clinic mark on the captured route copy, then dragged her claw away before it tore another hole.

"They know where Vella works," she kept her voice down while Marrick slept, "and they know which road Loccy guards when the bells ring."

"I heard you," he set Ash on the chair beside him, "the first report gave them more than I expected."

The admission stopped her answer for a moment, though it did not remove the map from Flint hands.

"Then let me fix it," she leaned across the table, "I can take them alive before they reach their horses."

"We follow them," he pointed toward the fork below the ridge, "Sable takes the north trail, Elise watches the road and you stop the handoff if they split."

"You are still letting them carry it," she stared at the route he had drawn, "so the receiver learns what we built even if we catch his name."

"Yes," he met her eyes, "I want the route plus whoever pays them, but nobody leaves after the handoff until you decide they are contained."

Juna understood the plan, seeing how one scout could lead them past a dozen riders toward the person organizing the reports.

Understanding did not change the clinic mark, or the cart gap copied from men Hajin had released once already.

"I will follow them," she tapped the torn place on the map, "but if Elise or Sable loses the trail, I take the report before it crosses the border."

"Agreed," he turned the map toward the sleeping Marrick, leaving the new patrol route where the scribe would find it.

Juna took the chair beside Ash, keeping her claws out while she watched the northern road through the registry window.