Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 350 Hijacking
The continuous stream of arrows suddenly changed direction, as if their true target was never those two people, but someone else entirely.

Li had anticipated this situation, so he did not step out to help Liu while Liu was busy dealing with the arrows. He had been waiting for this moment.

The steward was somewhat disappointed to see that Guard Li had not left. However, he only had this one chance, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue.

At this moment, his chances of turning the tide were extremely slim. But if he gave up now, there would only be one outcome: he would be easily swallowed up by the raging flood.

He still has unfinished business; he cannot die yet!
With this in mind, he steeled himself and his fingers moved more nimbly and forcefully across the mechanism, operating it with increasing speed.

Arrow after arrow shot rapidly toward the target, whistling through the air with a sharp "hiss-hiss" sound.

Guard Liu gripped his short sword and swung it continuously in the air; as he did so, the rain of arrows suddenly stopped.

Suddenly, he realized that the arrows that had been flying towards him incessantly had stopped completely.

He immediately realized something was wrong, and looking in Jiang Xian's direction, he saw that the other party was indeed trying to lure him away from the mountain.

He ignored the main figure and everything else, quickly returned to Jiang Xian's side, exchanged a glance with Guard Li, and the two of them worked together to knock down the arrows in the air.

Arrows rained down, one after another... They came in a continuous stream, and after an unknown amount of time, the ground was covered with a dense mass of slightly old and broken arrows.

Actually, this mechanism isn't particularly ingenious; in fact, it's rather clumsy. But its strength lies in its ability to fire continuously, eventually exhausting a person's physical strength.

Li, the bodyguard, was alright. Although he was somewhat tired, he was still able to handle the situation calmly.

In contrast, Guard Liu's condition was somewhat worse. At a glance, it was clear that he was struggling to cope with the arrows.

Arrows rained down in rapid succession from the mechanism, showing no sign of stopping.

As his physical strength continued to deplete, Guard Liu knew that he had to quickly come up with a solution.

Unlike humans, these mechanisms do not decrease in speed or number of arrows as their condition deteriorates, nor do they weaken their offensive due to fatigue. They will always stop operating instantly the moment they run out of arrows.

No matter how many, the number of arrows is ultimately limited. Knowing this, Jiang Xian was not in a hurry. She understood that as long as she waited patiently, the mechanism would eventually stop on its own.

And that moment, according to her observation, is not far off.

As for Guard Liu, a high-level Heaven Rank martial artist, he wouldn't be entangled in such a simple mechanism.

According to Liu, the guard, the direction in which the arrow was fired was entirely within the control of the manager.

Currently, the mechanism is launching arrows in an "I" shape, and the two of them can intercept these arrows before Jiang Xian. Therefore, the position behind them is the safest place.

Although the manager could control the mechanisms under his command at any time, the direction in which the arrows were shot would not change much.

Guard Liu astutely observed that the arrows were divided into three groups, each fired in a straight line. The only thing the steward could control was how to arrange these three straight lines.

As for the direction of launch, it is not unpredictable.

However, if they change positions, some fish will inevitably slip through the net during the movement.

If Jiang Xian had dodged slightly higher, and had accidentally injured her, it would have been a greater loss than gain.

Li, the bodyguard, was also gradually losing strength and noticed Liu's strain. So, in a barely audible voice, he said to Liu, "While I can still manage, take the master aside." Liu deeply agreed with Li's assessment. Li still had some energy left, so Liu wasn't too worried about his ability to handle things alone. Instead, he was more concerned about Jiang Xian's safety.

Li might be able to hold out for a while while he still has the strength, but in the long run, he will inevitably run out of energy. Moreover, if he were to deal with it alone, his physical strength would be doubled.

Therefore, Guard Liu must act quickly and rush back to provide support.

However, if Jiang Xian is taken away from this place and left to wait alone, and then Guard Liu returns to join Guard Li in blocking the arrows, Jiang Xian will likely face danger on her own.

Even so, he did not hesitate and firmly decided to take Jiang Xian away from this dangerous corner first.

When that time comes, he can take away the person closest to Jiang Xian—his pillar of support—and then Jiang Xian might not fall into such an extremely difficult predicament.

This is better than staying in this place forever, since he has no idea when the barrage of arrows will stop.

The two reached a consensus, and Guard Liu decided to take Jiang Xian away first.

He deflected the arrows in the air while retreating. Just as his body was completely hidden by Li Huwei, he turned to look for Jiang Xian, only to witness a scene that he could hardly believe.

The key figure is holding Jiang Xian hostage!

With the air of a victor, he pressed the dagger tightly against Jiang Xian's neck. However, a closer look revealed his tension.

It seems he's really going all out.

The blade flashed, and Guard Liu's heart skipped a beat, momentarily losing his composure.

He stared at the two people in front of him, trying to calm his thoughts and regain his composure quickly.

Guard Li stood alone against the rain of arrows, but seeing that Guard Liu was not making any move, he felt something was wrong and asked, "What happened?"

“It’s alright! Don’t turn around!” Guard Liu replied immediately, his tone somewhat hurried.

Upon hearing this, Guard Li frowned, but still did as instructed.

"I can't help it," the leader shook his head and said to Guard Liu.

He seemed quite helpless. Guard Liu understood what he meant. He was simply embarrassed because he had just protected him from the steward's arrow, and now he was acting this way.

The fact that the key figure spoke at this moment seemed perfectly normal, but in reality, it was intended to disturb Li's mind.

Although Li Huwei was unaware of the specifics, he now roughly understood what had happened to the people behind him.

Liu, the guard, ignored his leader's words and didn't care what he was saying. At this moment, his gaze was fixed on Jiang Xian.

Sure enough, he noticed that Jiang Xian seemed to be acting strangely.

The strange thing was that she seemed too relaxed in the face of being held hostage by her leader, not at all like someone being held at knifepoint.

This is consistent with her personality. She has always been calm and cautious in our interactions. But can she remain so calm when someone holds a knife to her neck?
It looks like the person being held at knifepoint isn't her at all.
(End of this chapter)