Guarded in armed combat close to boundary (4)
I believe the answer is:
wary
'guarded' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'armed combat close to boundary' is the wordplay.
'armed combat' becomes 'war' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'armed' bit.).
'close to' indicates one should take the final letters (the close of something is the end).
The final letter of 'boundary' is 'y'.
'war'+'y'='WARY'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for wary that I've seen before include "Guarded" , "Watchful" , "Careful - cautious" , "Cautious, suspicious" , "Cautious of danger" .)