Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 324 Take action
The kind of person he envisions is unlikely to exist unless they have truly received a great favor from him.

Unless otherwise stated, encountering such a person is probably not a good thing; even if they have ulterior motives, they are certainly not a normal person.

He wanted someone like that to assist him, which is why he was willing to "redeem" others.

Actually, he was also waiting and watching. He wanted to see if the leader would be honest with him after being given important responsibilities, but the leader did not. This made him somewhat disappointed in the leader.

These feelings of disappointment grew like a snowball, and the emotions and doubts in his heart swelled and changed more and more.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that neither of them asked or spoke. As time went on, they found it difficult to open up to each other, and this became a seed in his heart that his boss would not completely trust his backbone.

"clang!"

A whooshing sound rang out, and a flash of silver light streaked across the moonlight.

It was a short sword. It looked small and light in the man's hand, but the blade felt solid, as if ordinary things would have difficulty breaking through its defenses.

However, the owner of that short sword was none other than the steward, and right now, it was that steward who was gripping the hilt of the short sword tightly in his hand, pointing it directly at Guard Li.

It turned out that the manager began his actions amidst the silence among the four people.

He first drew the short sword from the scabbard at his waist, and then swiftly thrust it towards Guard Li. The whole sequence of movements was very neat and decisive.

The reason the steward suddenly took this action was not because of the arrogant attitude of Li Huwei and Jiang Xian, but because he could sense that the two people in front of him were not benevolent, nor were they on their side, nor were they allies.

Therefore, he made a decisive decision regarding this person who was neither friend nor foe: he would eliminate him completely.

He had lost patience to listen to what the leader or Guard Li had to say, nor did he want to know what they would do next.

He only knew that the two people in front of him were dangerous, and if they were not handled properly, their lives would be in danger.

He has always been so opinionated. I don't know when it started, but whenever he felt something was dangerous, he would take the initiative to deal with it thoroughly to avoid leaving any future troubles.

In his mind, after dealing with the two people in front of him, the next person to deal with would be his leader.

Even though he had previously harbored a sliver of wishful thinking and a rare act of kindness, wanting to help his former mentor, that young man who knew how to save and protect himself, he has now changed his mind.

Times change, and everything is in flux.

The young man who was once his pillar of support, whom he had thought of helping, has now grown into a middle-aged man.

He knew that this key figure could not be kept around.

Even without today's events, following his boss's orders, it would be difficult for the core leader to survive in this world.

Today, the fact that the core leader brought Jiang Xian and Guard Li to this courtyard, to this place they shouldn't have come to, further proves that the core leader is no longer reliable, and that the core leader is no longer someone they can trust.

All of this is now in the past. Now, he has already decided to kill, the sword is drawn, and everything is settled.

Instead of pressing Li the guard for details, the manager chose to take action directly.

But to his surprise, Guard Li didn't fall for his act at all.

Facing the steward who was thrusting at him, Li remained calm and pressed down on the short knife at his waist.

He pressed down on the scabbard with one hand and slowly drew the short sword with the other. With a clang, the gleaming short sword was drawn.

He drew his short sword and smoothly deflected the oncoming short sword to the side.

"clang!"

Swords clashed, and in the pitch-black night, sparks seemed to fly at the moment the two weapons came into contact, demonstrating the immense strength of the wielders.

Li, the guard, successfully deflected all the force of the short sword that was charging at him. The steward was also surprised that this young man, Li, actually had some real skills.

When facing the steward, Guard Li was so confident that he seemed to completely disregard him.

The steward spent his days holed up in this forest and rarely encountered a worthy opponent.

Normally, he only needs to help his team leader deal with small fry, which doesn't take much effort.

The things he usually has to deal with are either big shots who are blocking their way, or big shots who want to meddle because they have vested interests, or minor officials.

But those people all had one thing in common: none of them had any martial arts foundation.

They made a living through other skills, so in the eyes of the person in charge, whether the target was a wealthy family or a minor official, as long as they were not martial artists, they were all ordinary people and would not require much effort from him.

These ordinary people were nothing to him; he could easily crush them without any challenge. He seemed to have become a killing machine.

Perhaps, becoming a killing machine is the meaning of his existence in this team. He has to silently clear obstacles for the team. Apart from his boss, no one knows his contributions. On the contrary, everyone despises him and can spit on him.

But as a martial artist, he also needs challenges. He wants to become stronger and one day try to break through the Jade Cultivation Passage. He is willing to risk his life for it. That way, his life will be fulfilled.

Today, however, he was somewhat excited to meet Guard Li.

Although he didn't expect to become stronger after fighting Li, he was still itching to have a good, satisfying battle with the young man in front of him.

He hadn't encountered anyone who could easily withstand his attack in a long time.

Although he hadn't even used half his strength to block the attack, and the opponent was a young man.

This was quite unexpected for him.

Li, who was also a martial artist, was in the same situation.

Li, the bodyguard, is different from Liu, the bodyguard. Liu is cautious and meticulous in his work, prioritizing getting things done. Caution is a principle he has always adhered to.

No martial artist doesn't want to spar with a strong opponent, but Guard Liu is a very rational person who can tolerate a moment of pleasure.

Li, however, was different; he was often more sentimental than Liu. As a martial artist, Li was eager to spar with others.

However, on ordinary days, the only person who could fulfill his wish in the mansion was Guard Liu.

Their strengths were roughly equal, and they were always able to fight back and forth.

The martial artists in the Jiang residence were all shorter than the two of them, so fighting them was not very interesting, and he always felt a bit bored.

Today, he finally encountered someone with whom he could openly and honestly use his skills, and the other party was not the familiar Guard Liu, which naturally made him feel somewhat excited.

It seems that Li, the bodyguard, has now forgotten about protecting Jiang Xian.

But after that moment of excitement, he did bring himself back to his senses and quickly adjusted his mood.

He told himself to be more rational. He still had a mission to complete and Jiang Xian, the young lady of the Jiang family, to protect. Therefore, he absolutely could not let his momentary pleasure cloud his judgment.

He had to prioritize Jiang Xian's safety at all times, so he suppressed the strong excitement that had just welled up inside him.

In fact, Guard Li hadn't used his full strength to easily deflect the blow from the short sword that the steward was holding, which was coming straight at him.

He probably did the same as the manager, only using about 50% of his strength.

In fact, both of them knew perfectly well that neither of them had used their full strength or unleashed their full power just now.

Everything that just happened was just a test.

The next step is when both sides need to take it seriously and demonstrate their strength; otherwise, the weaker side will be overwhelmed by the other.

The one under greater pressure was actually Li, the bodyguard.

Li, the bodyguard, still has people to protect, and Liu, the bodyguard, is not by his side at the moment. He still needs to wait to reunite with Liu before taking Jiang Xian back to the Jiang family to report back.

Therefore, given the current situation, it's natural that he faces greater pressure and has a heavier burden than the manager in his fight against him.

On the other hand, the manager, judging from the current situation, is basically all alone.

He has lived alone in this courtyard for so many years, so he must not have a wife or children. Therefore, from the current point of view, he is indeed free of any burdens and has no one to threaten him. He can be said to have no weaknesses now.

Actually, he wasn't the only one living in this courtyard; he was the only permanent resident.

There are also several other people who frequently appear in this courtyard.

Ironically, the core leader had no idea where those people came from, and still doesn't know.

But he knew that those people were probably not the steward's family, and the steward still didn't seem to have any particular feelings towards the few people who frequently stayed there.

His attitude towards those people was indeed better than his attitude towards the others in the team, but it still couldn't match his attitude towards his boss.

Therefore, the leader guessed that it was probably because those people often stayed or lived here, and could see the steward all the time, so the steward treated those people better than others.

In comparison, the core members had met those people a few times, and those people treated the manager very well, unlike the other teammates who looked down on the manager.

Therefore, it's quite normal that the manager's attitude towards the other teammates was lukewarm.

However, even though the leader was called "second brother" by the manager, he knew very well that he was not second brother at all. He had not even reached the most core position in the team.

He was simply someone who offered advice and strategies to the team, helping them avoid many risks.

But he absolutely could not accept the title of "second son".

Even this steward, or even someone who frequently appears in this courtyard, is probably more deserving of the title of "second-in-command" than him.

What the leader didn't know was that the steward didn't just treat him like air; he had also shown him pity many years ago.

When the leader was still a young man, the steward had shown him some care and concern.

However, the leader would never know any of this, because what the steward was planning in his mind was that after dealing with Jiang Xian and Guard Li, the next person to be dealt with would be the leader.

Therefore, the key figure would never learn these things from the steward again, and if the steward didn't speak, no one else in the world would know his thoughts.

Just like when the leader killed his boss with his own hands, if his boss hadn't said those words to the leader before he died, the leader would never have known that his boss had considered, hesitated, and even considered letting him go before killing him.

However, all of that is now in the past.

Next, the most crucial battle will be between Guard Li and the steward.

As the two sides about to engage in battle, neither of them had thought that much about it.

Perhaps it is the natural advantage of being a martial artist that they have the habit or reaction of being ready to fight at any time, even if it is just a subconscious reaction.

Moreover, the two sides in a battle often don't think too much. Their minds are usually blank, and they can only think about the tactics, methods, and order of the next battle. They think about what moves the opponent will make and how they should respond.

Being able to think of these things is something that only a relatively mature martial artist can do, or rather, a skill that can only be acquired after reaching a certain level of strength.

Aside from all that, the only reason someone can remain calm and think things through without feeling tense is because they are naturally gifted in combat.

As for those who have just entered the martial arts stage, or those with lower strength levels, especially those below the Earth Rank, they usually cannot think of so many things. It's not that they don't want to think this way, but most of the time they are simply unable to think so much.

Of course, there are also some martial artists with less combat experience. Regardless of their strength, these martial artists are often too nervous or uncertain to think of so many things.

Therefore, at this moment, neither Guard Li nor the steward were thinking about anything other than the battle. If they were thinking about anything at all, it would be something related to the upcoming battle.

In the darkness of the forest, a battle between two people, between two opposing groups, is about to erupt.

(End of this chapter)