Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 296 The Game (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
He glanced briefly at the guard on horseback and immediately understood what he meant.

That's a very clear statement from the core leadership.

This means that there's no need to make him explain anything to the guards sitting in the carriage; instead, let him continue speaking.

The core of the group didn't actually find the question asked by the guard sitting in the carriage troublesome.

When he was on the team, he often had to explain a problem many times before telling his teammates.

Therefore, he got used to this explanation.

Later, he simply spoke more bluntly, which allowed him to avoid some explanations that were meaningless to him.

Today, when faced with the question posed by the guard sitting in the carriage, he was willing to explain for two reasons.

Firstly, he rediscovered that familiar feeling he had before, a feeling that he might never have again, nor would he ever have the chance to experience again.

Secondly, the less the other person understands what he is saying and the more he needs to explain, the simpler their thinking is. And he is better able to manipulate these simple-minded people and easily control them, making them more likely to survive.

Therefore, he was not annoyed by it.

He didn't know the young master whose face was covered, but the words spoken by the guard on horseback made him feel that the man was much smarter than the guard sitting in the carriage.

If that's the case, then the situation is quite different from what I just thought.

The scenario I had envisioned—where I could completely outmaneuver the three of them—now appears to be nonexistent.

He was initially basking in the joy that the other party's intelligence was lower than he had expected, but now he quickly suppressed these feelings of joy.

In his mind, the most unfathomable of the three was the masked young master. But now it seemed that, apart from the guard sitting in the carriage who was a bit slow-witted, the guard on horseback was quite clear-headed and quick-thinking.

Based on previous assumptions and the young master's performance so far, his intelligence should far surpass that of the mounted guard.

The phrase "an unfair deal" elicited different reactions from everyone present.

Leaving aside the guard sitting in the carriage who directly questioned the leader, let's talk about the person at the leader's feet, the one pinned to the ground by the dagger. Even though he looked like he was in excruciating pain, his eyes still clearly showed doubt about what the leader had said.

Regardless of whether he could hear clearly, he was closest to the leader. If there was only one person present who could clearly observe the leader's expression and guess some of his thoughts, it was that person.

The reason is simple: he's closest to him, making it the most advantageous for him to observe the core leader closely. Even if he were foolish, he wouldn't be completely oblivious to the core leader's hidden thoughts after spending so much time with him. To say he doesn't understand him at all would be utter nonsense.

What does that mean? An unfair deal?

He stabbed the leader to death, and in order to save his own life, he wanted to hand over all the team's wealth to others without consulting his brothers at all. How could they tolerate this?

What constitutes unfair trade?

These questions all came to mind one after another.

Then look at the four people lying on the ground, their mobility restricted.

Their eyes had become somewhat terrified, and it was unclear whether they were still conscious, but they clearly had no chance to speak.

The thug who had gone with the leader to deal with the mounted guard, the one whose arm had been cut off by the Jiang family guard on horseback, had fainted, perhaps due to the continuous bleeding.

Even though the guard on horseback had clearly indicated to the leader that he should continue speaking, the leader, considering the current situation, could not completely obey him.

He felt the key to this matter might lie with the guard sitting in the carriage.

The young master on horseback opposite him remained calm. He couldn't accurately guess what the young master was thinking, making it much more difficult to approach him from his perspective.

On the other hand, the situation was quite different for the guard sitting in the carriage, who seemed less preoccupied and less thoughtful. The leader secretly pondered, thinking that perhaps starting with him would be a good choice.

Therefore, although he could not completely listen to what the guard on horseback said, he still wanted to explain to the guard sitting in the carriage.

As long as the explanation is clear enough for the guard in the carriage to understand his meaning, and the guard on horseback can't find anything wrong with it or feel that his words are being disregarded, then there is no problem.

He slowly began to speak, explaining his current situation to the three people opposite him.

"Right now, my life is firmly in your hands, and I am powerless to resist. Therefore, I can only hope that you will spare my life after you have obtained those things. This is an unfair deal."

"But I only have one path left: to gamble. So on the surface, it's an unfair deal. However, if you all can lend a hand and let me escape this time, then I'll consider it a gain. If not, then it's fate."

He spoke with increasing helplessness, making it seem as if he had been driven to a dead end. If someone unaware of the situation were to overhear him, it might even seem a little regrettable.

As they spoke, the leader's eyes darted between the three, not wanting to miss any of their expressions or movements.

Upon hearing this, the guard sitting in the carriage became increasingly confused.

He was able to understand what was being said earlier and knew what an unfair deal was.

This means that the other party is currently powerless to resist and can only beg for something of value in exchange for their life.

The two sides are indeed not on equal footing right now. The person on the other side has been completely controlled by the three of them, and his life is entirely in their hands. Therefore, this deal is indeed unfair.

But the more he listened, the more confused he became.

Compared to life, wealth is indeed insignificant. If they could buy his life with their life savings, they would have made a profit. But what if they had the intention to kill him after getting those things? How could he possibly swallow his anger if he had to tell the group that took his life where the wealth was, leading them to kill him and take away his life savings?

The words were clearly stated, but the guards sitting in the carriage couldn't quite understand what the person opposite meant.

He couldn't understand what was going on in this person's head. Why would he be willing to take the risk when he had no guarantee of anything for himself?
If it were him, he would either fight back against the enemy or, even if it meant letting his accumulated treasures gather dust, he would never let the person who killed him get them.

However, his current state is not like before, when he could speak freely without hesitation.

He knew it was absolutely inappropriate to ask such a question in this situation, so he suppressed his doubts and stopped pursuing the matter.

After hearing his leader's words, the Jiang family guard on horseback quickly realized that his young master couldn't speak directly. Seeing that Jiang Xian didn't make any move, he knew he could ask the next question. So he asked his leader, "What are those things? Where are they?" His tone was indifferent, seemingly devoid of any warmth.

Before the meeting, the young master remained silent and made no move, which immediately caused him to feel uneasy.

But he quickly composed himself. He knew that since this young master was the master of the guard on horseback, they must have spent a long time together and he could understand his master's intentions.

Therefore, the meaning of the guard on horseback was also the meaning of the young master.

He didn't have time to think about anything, and now wasn't the time to think about such things.

"It's right here in our house. You can all come with me to fetch it." The leader spoke without any hesitation.

He's not someone who lacks common sense, but his decision to blurt it out now naturally has its own considerations.

His consideration was that he wanted to make his words carry more weight and seem more genuine.

In this way, the three people opposite him would not doubt the truthfulness of his words.

Judging from the leader's demeanor, the item was definitely there, and the three people opposite could also tell that.

However, what the leader didn't expect was that the atmosphere in the four-person room became awkward again.

The reason the leader acted this way was that he originally wanted the three people opposite him to trust his words more and make them seem more genuine.

But this is the atmosphere I was expecting.

Two groups of people, one against three, looked at each other, but no one was willing to speak first.

In the end, the pillar of strength couldn't hold back.

He couldn't tolerate something that concerned his life; he couldn't be a lamb to the slaughter.

"Don't worry, everyone. There are no more brothers at home. All my brothers are here."

He then added, "With our meager skills, you all probably think we're no match for you. Even our leader is no match for you, so you really have nothing to worry about."

After saying that, he quickly glanced at all his teammates on the field, some panting and some not.

After he finished speaking, Jiang Xian and the other two naturally formed their own judgments.

The "home" he mentioned was clearly their group's stronghold.

Now there are two possible scenarios for Jiang Xian and the other two.

The first possibility is that there are people or traps in that stronghold waiting for the three of them to walk right into it.

Therefore, the key figure on the other side needed to lure Jiang Xian and the other two away.

The second possibility is that, as the leader said, there are really no people in the stronghold, and none of their people are stationed there.

If it's a situation where there are neither people nor traps, then there's another problem waiting for Jiang Xian and his companions.

Whether all three of them should go to their leader's stronghold, or whether only one of them should be sent, is now a big question.

If all three of them go with him, and there is a trap at the stronghold, they will all be framed and killed by him. Although they can help each other, they may still fall into his trap and all three of them will be wiped out.

If two people go, who should be left behind? If the three of them are divided into two teams, although they can look out for each other and cooperate from the inside and outside if something happens, will there be any changes?

If someone is sent, that person may fall into his trap or be shaken off midway, and may not only encounter danger or be framed by him, but may also lose track of his whereabouts.

Therefore, none of these three methods seem like appropriate solutions.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, their strongholds were, to put it bluntly, bandit dens.

Jiang Xian simply couldn't believe that there weren't any traps set in this bandit's den.

If there were no one to offer advice, it would be fine, but with someone like this in front of us, it's perfectly normal for there to be an ambush inside the stronghold.

There are instances where there are no traps set up in the outpost, but in those cases, it means the outpost could change locations at any time, and the trap would definitely not be located there.

Jiang Xian was, after all, a martial artist, and she loved reading books from a young age, so she had read quite a few books.

She does have that much cunning.

Therefore, it's possible that the person on the other end is telling the truth, and that there are no brothers in his stronghold. In that case, the possibility of a trap should not be ignored.

Often, encountering unknown traps in unknown places can be more terrifying than bad people.

Because such things are unpredictable.

Even if it's not a trap that's directly fatal, the consequences of getting entangled in one are unimaginable.

Clearly, the Jiang family guards on horseback had also considered this point.

His tone remained cold and indifferent as he asked the person opposite him, "Since there's no one guarding your 'home,' the things you mentioned must be dispensable. Why should we risk searching for them?"

He sat steadily on his horse, and although his tone remained unchanged, he emphasized the word "home".

He didn't directly use the words "bandit's den" or "stronghold." Since he didn't bring it up in the open, he was leaving room for maneuver for the other person, and also leaving room for maneuver for this matter.

Therefore, he still chose to ask the question using the words of the core leader.

The Jiang family guard on horseback understood a principle: when traveling, it's better to avoid trouble.

(End of this chapter)