*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Hojo and his group are alerted to a group of bandits attacking villages near by. They are moving fast and brutal in their actions and quickly on their way to another isolated village so Hojo makes plans to stop them.
This volume expands the characters of Hojo’s retainers and teaches him a new skill as the kinds of enemies he faces increase in lethality. It still somehow manages to be cure and terrifying at the same time, with the character designs of the main group contracting so much with the designs of the villains. I like this series but so far, it seems a little formulaic. New baddie, Hojo must learn new thingie, rinse and repeat. But the characters are interesting enough to keep me reading. 3 out of 5.
