Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 287 On the verge of breaking out

"Are you ready?" The middle-aged greatsword warrior gripped his greatsword again and asked the boy behind him.

The young man looked down at the wound on his arm. Seeing that the bleeding had mostly stopped, he pulled out the greatsword beside him and gripped it tightly in his hand.

"Yes!" the boy said firmly, his face showing a fiercer expression than his father's.

"Ow!"

The giant bone wolf seemed to have seen through the thoughts of the father and son wielding the giant sword. It roared and charged straight at the middle-aged martial artist who was standing in front, holding the giant sword.

While the giant wolf's speed is its weakness, its enormous size somewhat compensates for it.

Soon, the enormous skeletal wolf arrived in front of the middle-aged swordsman and slapped its huge, sharp claws at him.

The greatsword warrior wasn't just focused on power because of the greatsword he wielded; by shifting his body slightly, he managed to dodge the giant bone wolf's first attack.

Seeing that its first attack had missed, the giant wolf took the opportunity to strike the middle-aged greatsword warrior with its other paw.

Seeing that he couldn't dodge in time, the middle-aged martial artist swung his greatsword horizontally to block the giant bone wolf's attack.

"Bore!"

The giant wolf's claws clashed with the middle-aged martial artist's greatsword, producing a crisp, metallic sound.

As expected, this middle-aged martial artist, as a high-level Heaven-rank martial artist, was not at a disadvantage in combat against a second-rank giant bone wolf.

Seeing this, the young greatsword warrior behind the middle-aged warrior also relaxed a little.

After all, as an intermediate martial artist, although he was only one level behind his father in strength, this level was exactly at the dividing line between intermediate and advanced levels, which was a significant difference.

Although the boy was ambitious, he was by no means the kind of reckless youth.

On the contrary, he and his father had developed a very tacit cooperation pattern through years of working together.

At this moment, what the young swordsman had to do was lie in wait behind his father, carefully observe the battlefield situation, and deliver a decisive blow at the most crucial moment.

The middle-aged martial artist, relying on his advanced level of strength, was engaged in a fierce battle with the pack of giant bone wolves.

Although there is no immediate risk, one could even say that the middle-aged swordsman is not at risk of injury for the time being.

However, the situation on the battlefield can change in an instant, and no matter how strong you are, you still have to make plans in advance.

Moreover, if it were to be a prolonged battle against this second-tier giant bone wolf, it would be very difficult for a high-level martial artist to win.

In reality, only the middle-aged martial artist himself knew that his stalemate with the giant bone wolf was extremely difficult.

But it had become a habit for him. Every time he went hunting, he would pretend to be relaxed, doing his best to create the best opportunity for his children to attack, while also doing his best to wear down his opponents.

In this hunt, the middle-aged martial artist adopted the same strategy as always: to do everything he could to wear down the second-tier giant bone wolf.

"Ow!"

As the battle between the giant bone wolves and the middle-aged martial artist continued, the group of second-tier giant bone wolves seemed to have lost some patience. With a roar, they increased the speed and power of their attacks.

As a result, the middle-aged martial artist began to struggle, dodging less and less, and instead directly using the massive blade of his greatsword to block.

Although the middle-aged martial artist didn't say anything, the young man who had been observing from behind him saw the situation on the battlefield very clearly.

Finally, at the very moment the giant bone wolf attacked, the boy appeared beside the wolf, wielding his enormous greatsword.

Clearly, even with its immense strength, the giant bone wolf would struggle to defend against any additional enemies that might appear.

Therefore, the giant bone wolf still intended to rely on the strength of its own bones to try to withstand the boy's greatsword strike, so that it could successfully complete its attack on the middle-aged martial artist.

"clang!"

With another clang like metal striking metal, the boy struck the giant bone wolf in the side as he had hoped.

However, the strength of the giant wolf's bones far exceeded his expectations.

Therefore, even if the giant bone wolf was successfully hit, it only caused some superficial wounds and did not damage the wolf's core.

On the contrary, with the persistence of the giant bone wolf, it successfully used its sharp claws to graz the middle-aged martial artist's greatsword and managed to slash the middle-aged martial artist's leg.

Although the giant wolf's attack was greatly reduced due to the middle-aged martial artist's barely managed parry with his giant sword, the middle-aged martial artist's mobility was still somewhat restricted because it struck his leg.

With his leg injured, the middle-aged martial artist naturally dared not be careless. He understood that dodging directly was not an option, and he could only parry with his greatsword.

The absence of an effective way to dodge means that the middle-aged martial artist's defensive capabilities have been significantly weakened.

He gripped the greatsword in his hand, no longer hesitating, and said, "Attack with all your might."

Upon hearing the middle-aged martial artist's words, the young martial artist did not hesitate at all. He glanced at the middle-aged martial artist's position and then chose another spot to stand.

In this way, the middle-aged martial artist and the young martial artist stood in two different positions. These two positions were not directly opposite each other as east or west or north and south, but rather at a certain angle.

……

In the woods outside Qizhou City.

The Jiang family guards simply stared at him with unwavering resolve. Seeing the guards' silent demeanor, the leader of the thugs instantly lost his confidence.

At that moment, he truly didn't know what to do.

If they were to go further and engage in battle with the three opponents whose strength was unknown, they would not lose face, and regardless of victory or defeat, the rest of the team would not complain.

If they win, they can do whatever they want with the other side's valuables and the three people in the group.

If they lose, the situation will be reversed, with the eight of them at the mercy of the three people on the other side.

Therefore, while this situation wouldn't cause him to lose face, it posed a significant risk to his life. He might even be unable to bring his brothers back alive.

If we take a step back, the current situation is that the three people on the other side, or rather the young master in charge among them, do not agree to leave the carriage behind.

In other words, if neither side wants to start a war, he has to back down and allow the three people on the other side to take the carriage with them.

In doing so, he could indeed prevent the battle from taking place, but it also caused him to lose face in front of his brothers.

Now it is his turn to choose which of the two is more important.

Faced with the other party's unmoved attitude, he had no better options and did not want to ask the leader at this time, so he could only go around in circles.

Jiang Xian and his group did not make any major moves.

Jiang Xian also understood that the best approach now was to win people's hearts and minds.

The longer he waits, the more likely he is to get the answer he wants, unless he has some real concerns that he can't let go of.

This is also the most important reason why Jiang Xian believes war is possible.

The reason for this was not because he wanted to save face, but because he wanted to save his own life.

If he didn't want to go to war because he was worried about the safety of the eight of them, then if he chose to go to war, it wouldn't be for his own face; at least, it would be more than that.

If he chooses to start a war, it will be for his own safety.

If they choose not to fight and let Jiang Xian and his group leave easily, it will cause several of his teammates to become suspicious of him.

Perhaps, this is the source of a disaster.

If someone harbors ulterior motives and tries to sow discord among others, then his position as the leader will be in danger.

Moreover, there was someone he was even more wary of: the brilliant and capable leader.

Jiang Xian and his two companions didn't make any moves, but the people behind him were getting impatient.

They couldn't understand why their boss had become such a strange person today, behaving so bizarrely.

He could also sense some of the voices from the outside world.

But he knew at that moment that now was not the time to pay attention to these voices; he had to come up with a feasible solution as soon as possible and make a decision quickly.

After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes.

It seemed that he had already made up his mind.

"Come on." He said in a very low voice, looking at the Jiang family guards opposite him.

He first stared intently at the Jiang family guard standing in the middle of the road, and then shifted his gaze to another Jiang family guard on horseback.

Then, he shouted to the sky, "Come on!"

Then, he stared intently at the Jiang family guard standing by the roadside, his eyes growing increasingly fierce.

He never focused his attention on Jiang Xian, but Jiang Xian had a good grasp of his current state of mind.

Just moments ago, Jiang Xian was pondering what he would choose to give up. Now, he finally knows his answer, and he knows the order in which he prioritizes his team, his face, and his life.

After he shouted loudly, he raised the short knife in front of him, ready to fight. The Jiang family guards were not to be outdone. Without saying a word, they all got ready to fight.

Seeing that the situation had reached this point, the group of thugs behind the leader followed their leader's lead, raising their short knives and preparing to fight at any moment.

The Jiang family guard standing in the middle of the road and the Jiang family guard on horseback exchanged glances as if by unspoken agreement, conveying a clear meaning in the instant their eyes met.

Seeing this, the leader of the thugs on the other side naturally knew that although the two guards of the Jiang family did not say anything, they must have agreed on something beforehand, and their eyes must have conveyed some information.

Even if they saw this, it would be unlikely to stop them; preventing the two from transmitting information was now impossible.

Although it was impossible to stop the two from exchanging information, it was not difficult to guess their intentions.

"They're probably protecting their young master or some kind of medicinal herbs," the leader of the thugs thought to himself.

He wasn't stupid, of course. He turned around and spoke to the several burly men behind him, his voice kept very low: "Hold those two back and kidnap his young master."

He knew that if he didn't speak, they might not understand what he meant, and if they misunderstood him, it would be a loss rather than a gain.

So I simply stated my thoughts clearly.

After he gave his orders to the group, the burly men behind him, though puzzled by their leader's actions, put aside their confusion and prepared to carry out his orders since their leader had spoken.

They were all robust and sturdy, and they were decisive and efficient in their work, seemingly ready for a fight.

Judging from his expression, the leader didn't show much emotional fluctuation and stood beside the leader of the thugs along with the others.

This time, however, he deliberately slowed down and didn't stand next to their leader. Instead, he squeezed next to a few people who hadn't settled down yet.

It looked rather natural, but he didn't stand at the very edge of the team.

The people next to him were somewhat puzzled, but with a fight imminent, they didn't pay much attention to these things, and certainly didn't ask any questions at this time.

In an instant, both sides were ready for battle.

The atmosphere in the forest was unusually tense; even the sound of the wind stirring up the sand was crystal clear.

Birds that pass by want to linger, but they all quickly fly away, not daring to land on the branches.

The confrontation between Jiang Xian and his two companions and several thugs seemed imminent.

(End of this chapter)