A New Killing Move
"Attack: 107 damage dealt." "Attack: 91 damage dealt." "Attack..."
Sure enough, a shield warrior's defense was high. Of course, that was also thanks to Quint's tier-three chest armor and the fact that Lister hadn't used his blade to strike Quint's vital points.
A string of attacks landed on Quint, dealing only a little over 500 damage.
With his exceptionally high health of nearly four thousand points, he had only sustained minor injuries for the time being.
But now that the shield warrior had lost his all-important shield, the outcome of the duel was obvious.
He was nothing more than a big bag of health for Lister to pummel at will.
To the spectators, the gap in their strength was even more obvious.
Quint was like a child before Lister, utterly unable to fight back as he was kicked back and forth through the air like a ball.
Now he had even lost his grip on his shield. At this point, there was nothing worth watching in the duel.
"Do you want to continue?"
Lister hadn't fought as he did when battling monsters to level up, seizing an opening to unleash a combo of attacks on their vital points until they died.
Instead, he gave Quint room to get back to his feet.
Although that last combo hadn't dealt much damage, it had been deeply humiliating for Quint.
It also finally made Quint realize the gap in strength between himself and Lister.
Lister hadn't dodged his earlier sword attacks through luck. He really was far stronger than Quint, and he had been holding back.
Although Quint's professional rank was a full major tier higher, he was actually weaker than Lister.
He thought back to his attitude toward Lister at the Merick Family estate the day before, and how arrogant he had been.
Quint finally realized how ridiculous he had been yesterday. His face was flushed red with shame, but fortunately, his helmet hid it from everyone else.
"If you still want to continue, I won't hold back!"
Lister felt the duel had gone far enough.
The outcome was obvious, and anyone with eyes could see there was no need to continue. He had also used the opportunity to teach Quint a lesson.
Considering his future interests, he didn't want to seriously hurt Quint for now.
As he spoke, he looked up at the lounge above.
He knew that the person who truly had the final say in this duel wasn't Quint, but Duke Will II, who had been watching it all along.
"It looks like the outcome is clear!"
"Haha! Lister hasn't disgraced the honor of his Merick Family!"
Count Connor couldn't help bursting into laughter as he spoke.
As the leader of the seven professional families, he had long been aware of Will II's intentions.
He simply hadn't rushed to take action himself, preferring to wait for Will II to make the first move, as he had this time against the Merick Family.
In fact, Count Connor didn't care whether the Merick Family disappeared.
Although they were in the same camp as the Seven Great Families, the Merick Family's decline had indeed been too severe.
He couldn't possibly use his own family's resources to keep one of the seven families from declining by force.
Many things had to be fought for. Once a family fell behind, it had fallen behind!
When Will II made his move this time, Count Connor's initial thought had been to save Lister's life.
It would have been enough to let Lister live on as the last inheritor of the Merick Family.
That would have been a fitting way to look after an ally, since the Merick Family had always stood with the Conner Family ever since the founding of the Duchy of Will.
But things were different now. Lister's performance had far exceeded his expectations.
It gave Count Connor new ideas about his plans for the Merick Family and the role it could play.
"It looks like the Merick Family, just like the Seven Great Families, is still a long way from leaving the stage of history!"
Duke Will II's wrinkled, square face had regained its calm. He even smiled at Count Connor's double-edged remark.
He waved for someone to announce the result of the duel, then turned to Count Connor beside him.
"This was nothing more than a duel. It doesn't mean anything."
He immediately redefined the incident. It had been a pretext for him to make his move, and now that it had unexpectedly failed, Will II was in no hurry.
He merely gave Count Connor an increasingly sharp look, his voice growing deeper and more forceful.
"As for this so-called era, it isn't something a group of people who only know how to retreat can represent."
With that, Will II said no more and turned to leave.
He walked quietly down the stairs, climbed into the tall, elegant carriage waiting outside, and disappeared into the crowd.
His eldest son Walen had followed him into the carriage. Only after they had been traveling for a while could he finally hold back no longer.
"Father, should I send someone to deal with Lister..."
Before he could finish, Will II raised a hand to interrupt him.
"Don't be too hasty."
"Lister may only be tier two, but his true strength has already reached tier three, and he isn't weak even among tier-three professionals."
"We'll have to choose the professionals we send against him carefully, not to mention that the Conner Family will certainly protect him in the city."
Inside the carriage, Will II no longer looked as calm and composed as he had moments ago.
His brow was tightly furrowed, and his face was frighteningly grim!
"Then... are we just going to let it go for now?"
"I hear the southern border hasn't been peaceful lately?"
Hearing his father suddenly bring up the duchy's southern border, Valen Will could only set aside his thoughts of dealing with Lister and recall the situation there.
"Yes. Word came from the southern border last week that the Barony of Lai was attacked by Ghost-Eyed Giants. I hear the entire barony has been destroyed."
"Once we get back, tell Quint that from now on, he's the new baron of the Barony of Lai."
Valen Will was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with unconcealable delight.
Clearly, his foolish younger brother Quint had utterly disappointed their father by losing this duel, and their father had given up on him.
Just like that, there was one fewer contender for the title of Duke Will III.
Even though Walen had never considered his youngest brother a threat, it was naturally better to know in advance that he was out of the running!
"Also! Issue the Merick Family a mission. Have Lister exterminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants."
"Father, are you sure Lister will accept the mission?"
"The people of the Seven Great Families aren't in the habit of obeying missions from our ducal house, are they?"
The Ghost-Eyed Giants in the south were a tier-three group. The extermination mission was dangerous, and life so far from the main city would be inconvenient.
Unlike the new nobles, the city's seven professional families had never carried out the duke's orders without reservation.
Walen didn't think Lister would be foolish enough to accept such a thankless task.
"Tell him that as long as he can exterminate them, I'm willing to elevate the Merick Family to a hereditary viscountcy."
"I can also promise him that copper mine in the south."
As soon as Duke Will finished speaking, Walen cried out in alarm.
"Father! The viscountcy is one thing, but that's a medium-sized copper mine worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins!"
In Walen's eyes, a noble title didn't mean much to a family of professional inheritors like Lister's.
But the copper mine was a tangible resource, and there were few resources that good in the entire duchy.
"Mining copper takes time and effort. In reality, it's worth only ten thousand gold coins a year."
"Besides, even if Lister wants it, he'll have to exterminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants first!"
The carriage soon arrived at Duke Will's castle. Walen quickly got out and hurried off to make arrangements for Quint, barely able to contain himself.
Seeing him like this, Will II couldn't help calling him back to give him another instruction.
"Before Quint leaves, pick a few powerful professionals from the family to follow him there."
"Yes, Father! I'll have Kailina go with Quint. She's close to breaking through to tier four, and with her there, the Ghost-Eyed Giants definitely won't be able to hurt him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Walen hurried into the castle to pass on the news.
Watching his eldest son leave, a man already in his forties who still had little guile, Will II silently shook his head.
He hadn't assigned professionals to Quint to protect his youngest son.
They would both be in Rai Territory, and Quint had just been defeated and humiliated by Lister. With high-tier professionals at his command, how could he let Lister exterminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants without interference?
When Lister died in the south, whatever the cause, it could be blamed on the Ghost-Eyed Giants, and Count Connor would have nothing to say.
Unfortunately, none of this had occurred to Walen. Fortunately, Kailina, whom he planned to send, was far stronger than Lister, so Will II couldn't be bothered to say anything more!