I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Its protective ability is already weak, and many important organs such as the stomach, liver, gallbladder, spleen, intestines, and kidneys are located in the abdomen.

Whether it's a hole in the stomach or intestines causing food and stomach acid to leak out, or damage to the liver, spleen, or kidneys, in this era before antibiotics were invented, these are all severe injuries that are extremely difficult to cure even if one is taken to the hospital immediately.

Centered on the arrow deeply embedded in his side, large patches of blood spread across his clothes.

In the blink of an eye, half of Nishino's clothes on his abdomen were stained black with blood.

Nishino had never experienced being shot in the stomach with an arrow—most people who had this experience were dead.

However, based on his current physical and mental condition, he deduced that he would not die anytime soon.

However... if he doesn't receive timely treatment, or if his wound reopens, he will eventually die.

This is the fate that most people would face if they encountered an arrow.

Those who can easily dodge arrows or cleave them in two with a single stroke are truly exceptional.

Nishino leaned on the bamboo stick in his hand on the floor and struggled to sit up.

"My grandson...? Hey! Hey!!"

Nishino looked at his grandson beside him.

Just now, thanks to my grandson's timely leap, they were both saved from death.

The Fire Thieves are a special security force comprised of members from the First-Hand Archer Group and the First-Hand Gunner Group.

Therefore, the sounds my grandson, who was originally a thief, heard most often were the sounds of stringed instruments and gunshots.

My grandson recognized the sound coming from inside the room as something being tightened, the sound of a bowstring being drawn taut. He immediately grabbed Nishino and threw himself to the ground—thankfully, this minimized their injuries.

Otherwise, if we had been hit head-on by such a fierce rain of arrows, Nishino and my grandson would probably have died on the spot without even having time to scream.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that my grandson is Nishino's savior.

Therefore, as soon as his consciousness and mind returned slightly, Nishino immediately turned his head to check on his grandson's condition.

His pupils contracted instantly upon seeing the image carved by the other party.

Judging from the number of arrows hit, my grandson's situation is slightly better than Nishino's.

Nishino was hit by 6 arrows, and my grandson was hit by 5 arrows.

However... the location of my grandson's arrow wound is very bad.

One arrow below the right collarbone, one arrow on the right shoulder, one arrow on the left forearm, and two arrows on the side of the abdomen.

Injuries to the collarbone, shoulder, and other areas will not be discussed for now.

The abdominal wound... is visibly severe.

The blood loss was incredibly rapid; in the blink of an eye, the clothes around her abdomen were soaked in blood, making it impossible to discern their original color.

Although Nishino didn't understand medicine, he still judged from his past experience that my grandson's abdominal aorta was damaged...

"Hey! Wake up! Are you still conscious? Can you still speak?"

Nishino, no longer caring about gripping his knife, grabbed my grandson's shoulders with both hands and patted his extremely pale face.

"Well……"

My grandson's eyelids trembled as he lifted them.

Despite his face being covered in beads of cold sweat, he still managed a slight grin and, in his peculiar way of speaking, with a drawn-out ending, said softly:

"Oh no~ Have we been ambushed...?"

Nishino and my grandson both turned their heads to look at Phoenix House Yataro's bedroom.

As luck would have it, just as their gazes fell upon it, the two paper sliding doors, riddled with holes from the dense rain of arrows, collapsed with a loud crash, revealing the scene inside.

The room was filled with murderous intent!

About twenty fully armed archers formed a double-row battle formation with the front row crouching and the back row standing, their arrows, nocked again, aimed straight at Nishino and my grandson.

In the darkness, the arrowheads, radiating a chilling aura, gleamed.

"Hmm? The newcomer doesn't seem to be Tachibana Aoto?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man's voice, which sounded as awful as a pig's squeal, drew the attention of both Nishino and my grandson.

The two looked in the direction of the sound—a large, fat man dressed in fine silk emerged from the shadows of the room.

This person's appearance... to put it nicely, is not flattering; to put it bluntly, is unbearably ugly.

His face was shiny with oil, and his body was as round as a ball.

Her large belly, resembling that of someone ten months pregnant, pushed her thick cotton-padded clothes high.

A pair of small, mouse-like eyes darted around constantly.

Even worse, he also had a pair of conspicuous buck teeth that protruded from his lips, making him look even more like a wretched rat.

He had a businessman-style chonmage hairstyle, which revealed his uneven and unsightly skull.

Although there are no hard and fast rules, generally speaking, samurai tie their chonmage (topknot) on top of their heads, while commoners and merchants tie it further back.

In short—this person is so ugly it's like a miscarriage of justice.

“Nishino-kun…this guy…is Phoenix Yataro…”

"Ah, I can tell."

Even without my grandson's introduction, Nishino is certain: this big fat man is Phoenix House Yataro!

In a feudal era with low productivity and a general lack of oil and calories in food, to have such a round and plump body was the epitome of the image of a privileged merchant.

"Hey! Who are you two?!"

Phoenix House Yataro, hands on his hips, swaggered over to the twenty-odd archers.

He was cautious; even though Nishino and my grandson were injured, he still kept his distance from them.

At this point, my grandson's mental state improved slightly.

He gently pushed away Nishino's hand that was supporting his shoulder, then used his sword to prop himself up and struggled to sit up.

"Wow~ This figure... it's really incredible~~ Just how extravagant and licentious a life do you lead to get such a round body?"

Phoenix House Yataro frowned.

How could he not hear the sarcasm hidden in my grandson's tone?

"I'll ask you one more time, who exactly are you two? Are you accomplices of Tachibana Seido?"

Nishino appeared unmoved, but secretly he began to ponder:

—Tachibana Aoto? Why would this guy mention Tachibana Aoto's name?

Although Nishino has been living a difficult life of hiding from XZ lately, he is still aware of some of the major news that has happened recently.

Therefore, he was aware of Qing Deng's feat of defeating 13 of the Qingshui clan's venues last night.

—Could it be that... Tachibana Aoto also has entanglements with Gensuke... and the Fazhu Party?

—The formation that Phoenix House Yataro has set up... could it be that he originally intended to use it against Tachibana Seito?

Thinking of this, Nishino couldn't help but smile bitterly.

If that's really the case, then wouldn't he and my grandson have saved Ju Qingdeng from a disaster?

Countless thoughts and ideas swirled in Nishino's mind.

But the current situation... doesn't allow him to think things through slowly.

"Fine, since you're unwilling to talk, I'll interrogate you slowly after I catch you."

After saying that, Phoenix House Yataro waved to the archers beside him.

"Go! Capture them alive! They're already injured; they should be easy to deal with!"

The archers did not swarm forward like a herd of pigs being released from the pen, but instead maintained their orderly two-rank battle formation and slowly approached Nishino and my grandson.

As the archers drew closer, Nishino's face darkened.

After much thought, the only hope he could think of to solve his current predicament was the rescue by Ebina and the others.

However, judging from the sounds coming from the first floor, Ebina and his men were still fighting fiercely with the other guards in the mansion, and they certainly wouldn't be able to get over for the time being.

—Let's take a gamble...!

Nishino gritted his teeth and gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

Even at his peak, he wasn't confident he could defeat more than twenty fully armed archers, let alone in his current state, wounded by six arrows.

However, he couldn't think of any other better way to break the deadlock.

Just as Nishino was preparing to fight bravely... he suddenly heard his grandson whisper beside him in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Nishino-kun, can you still run?"

Nishino turned his head and cast a surprised look at his grandson who had suddenly spoken.

My grandson had a calm expression on his face.

Despite being in the same predicament, and despite being even more seriously injured than Nishino, he remained calm and composed, as if his injuries and current predicament were nothing more than trivial matters that did not even qualify as a crisis.

At this moment, Nishino suddenly remembered: Ever since he met my grandson, this mysterious and unpredictable guy has always been able to bring him all sorts of surprises.

Perhaps influenced by this bizarre bond, Nishino, though unaware of his grandson's true intentions, nodded vigorously almost without hesitation:

"can."

He responded with a concise and powerful reply.

"very good."

My grandson grinned, revealing a confident smile.

"Don't move for now. Just listen to my instructions. Do whatever I say."

Nishino nodded, then remained kneeling on one knee.

The enemy pressed on relentlessly, yet they remained unmoved, and coupled with their pitiful appearance riddled with arrows... on the surface, Nishino and my grandson appeared to be severely wounded and unable to move.

He must have felt confident of victory, because not far away, Phoenix House Yataro stood with his hands on his hips, looking smug.

As for the archers, more than half of them also appeared relaxed.