Everyone's Here

"Swoosh!"

He raised his hand and swung the scabbard in front of him, instantly cleaving the massive, blazing fireball in two.

This caused a strange look to flash in Quint's eyes, who had already used his giant shield to block Lister.

The fireball in front of them wasn't very strong, only equivalent to the attack of a third-tier Class Holder.

But Lister's performance was far too effortless; with a casual wave of his hand, he deflected the fireball attack without even drawing his sword.

This led Quint to significantly raise his assessment of Lister's strength.

The heads of the other major families nearby also focused their attention on Lister, their expressions showing some surprise.

Frankly, their impression of Lister was just so-so.

Not to mention that the original Merick Family only had one son left, making them practically extinct.

Even now, despite Lister's rising fame in the Kingdom of Lucian, he has effectively distanced himself from the "Seven Great Families" faction.

This is also why, inside the tent, apart from Count Connor's barely perceptible conversation, the others showed little interest in Lister.

This simple move immediately earned him the respect of the other family patriarchs.

In this world, status and position are never as direct as strength!

At this moment, Count Connor had already reached the front of his own mage alliance.

Lister sensed a surge of magical power coursing through his body, and the magical power of the surrounding space instantly converged towards Count Connor.

It should be the effect of a high-level Mysteries of Nature (Rank C) skill.

Before everyone's eyes, the ground beneath their feet, which had been covered with countless magical vines, trembled.

The area covered by the Demon Vine Domain expanded once again, completely surrounding all the Class Holder from both sides.

A powerful, thick magic vine, covered in thorns, rose from behind Count Connor.

Then, it surged straight towards Morey, carrying with it countless pebbles from the ground.

At the same moment, a small patch of land beneath Morey's feet had already turned into a mud pit and was constantly sinking.

As expected of a veteran Class Holder, he unleashed several spells simultaneously with a clear purpose.

Upon arriving today, Count Connor felt he had given it his all.

At this moment, Morey showed no sign of panic.

He raised his shield forward, and the moment the raging demonic vines struck the shield, a nearly transparent reflective shield lit up.

With just one shield parry, all the demonic vines collapsed to the ground, as if they had lost their breath.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Count Connor raised his wand towards the sky; the real killing move was about to begin.

"Boom!"

A thunderclap sounded from nowhere, and a thick bolt of lightning struck Morey directly.

Fortunately, Morey reacted quickly, his giant shield already high above his head. Although he couldn't parry continuously, he managed to withstand the attack thanks to his shield and the physique of a shield warrior.

Attack: Deals 401 damage.

Even though Count Connor was the strongest lightning mage among nature mages, he couldn't inflict much damage on Morey, an extraordinary shield warrior with superior defense and considerable damage reduction.

Even after the lightning strike, relying on his Sword and Shield Counterattack, Morey's aura actually continued to strengthen.

A burst of light surged into the blade of the sword in his right hand, as if the accumulated power had reached its limit, and the blade visibly gave people a sense of sharpness.

The next moment, Morey finally launched his attack.

He hurled the giant shield forward, sending it hurtling straight at Count Connor.

At the same time, freed from the burden of the giant shield, he easily extricated himself from the mud and rushed towards Count Connor as if walking on flat ground.

The giant shield did not strike Count Connor, but was instead blocked by Simmons, an old acquaintance standing in front of him, who also used his shield to block the attack.

Unfortunately, Simmons took the hit himself and was knocked back more than ten steps.

The other shield warriors beside Count Connor quickly stepped forward to protect him.

Unfortunately, his strength was insufficient, with an overall strength of only around E-level. He couldn't even withstand two sword strikes from Morey before he died.

The vacuum that suddenly appeared beside him meant that even though Count Connor was covered in rock armor, he would certainly be no match for Morey, who was already close and had his blade fully drawn.

In the blink of an eye, the blade had already pierced towards him, easily penetrating Count Connor's rocky chest.

The rock, which looked incredibly hard, was like sand under Morey's sword technique, offering no defense whatsoever.

The blade pierced Count Connor's chest, about an inch away from his heart, when Morey's expression suddenly changed.

His sword seemed to encounter immense resistance, unable to pierce through at all.

In the blink of an eye, a silver figure had appeared before them.

The hilt of his sword was gripped tightly by Lister, preventing him from advancing an inch.

Sensing the absolute disparity in strength between the two sides, Morey's previously calm expression instantly turned serious.

Before he could continue trying to break free, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

The next moment, he was sent flying backward.

Attack: Deals 101 damage.

The LV1 Knee Strike (E-rank) originally had a base attack value of only 13 points, but with the power of Lister Merick Breathing Technique...

With a total strength boost of 81 points, the attack power instantly increased by more than tenfold.

Of course, since Morey is a shield warrior with extremely high defense and can also avoid damage, he only dealt 100 points of damage in the end.

However, the immense force still sent Morey flying.

"Lister, give me some time, I'll assist you in the attack."

Count Connor knew this was not the time for gratitude, sensing that Lister possessed an unusually powerful aura, even stronger than Morey's.

They immediately recognized Lister's strength and wanted to help him by having Lister take the lead in the attack.

"Lister, why don't you just give up being a proper earl of the kingdom and instead interfere in the affairs of our Duchy of Will?"

The speaker was not Morey, but Walen Will, who had just come out of the enemy's army.

All five of the Duke's remaining heirs were present at this moment.

Quint had already arrived in front of him, looking at his older brothers and sisters with a serious expression.

"The Merick Family has always been one of the earliest protectors of our Duchy of Will, and naturally has the right to choose whose side to support."

"Heh~! Those Seven Great Families dare to call themselves guardians?"

"They're nothing but bloodsucking worms clinging to our Duchy of Will. Only a bastard born of a maid like you would think that way!"

As if amused by Quint's words, Walen shook his head and continued to mock Quint.

"He conspired with treacherous rats to murder his father, and now he's even plotting to seize the dukedom."

"I truly regret not killing you right there in the castle back then!"

Walen's words left Quint completely unmoved.

Growing up in Duke Will's castle was never a pleasant memory for him.

He received no fatherly love from Will II; instead, he faced estrangement and assassination attempts as an adult.

Quint remained completely unmoved by these alleged patricide claims.

"Lister, considering you are a count of the kingdom, I'll give you a chance to leave now."

"If you insist on interfering, don't blame me for being impolite."

The usually impulsive Walen was able to suppress his emotions at this moment, and even gave Lister a chance on the surface.

Indeed, the death of Will II caused his heirs to mature considerably.

Unfortunately, Lister seemed to have never been listening to him at all, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the group.

This caused Walen's anger to surge, and he gripped the giant shield tightly in his hand, the immense force causing the ground, dust, and gravel at the base of the shield to tremble incessantly.

Morey was also looking at Lister at this moment, although they hadn't fully unleashed their fighting spirit yet.

But he could naturally sense that enormous power just now, and he knew that the opponent was extraordinary.

He, who had never taken the Merick Family or anyone else in the Duchy of Will seriously, had to admit today that Lister was a formidable rival.

He nodded solemnly at Lister, indicating his agreement with Walen's opinion.

If it's possible to avoid becoming enemies, Morey doesn't want to fight Lister to the bitter end.

The combined attacks of both armies have now completely ceased, and this moment can be considered the only brief respite in the past few days.

At this moment, not only are the five heirs of the dukes watching Lister closely, inquiring about his attitude.

Even Quint beside him, along with the heads of the "Seven Great Families" and a series of core family members behind him, were all watching Lister closely.

Based on the strength that Lister has just demonstrated, everyone has now made a complete judgment.

Lister was by no means inferior to Morey, and was the absolute figure who determined the outcome of this battle for the dukedom.

Under everyone's gaze, Lister himself only felt bored.

The intensity of the fighting within the Duchy of Will was child's play to him; all he wanted now was to stabilize the duchy as quickly as possible.

Seeing the five heirs appear before him at the same time, he nodded silently and spoke to himself.

"Everyone's here... that saves trouble."