"Attack: Dealt 107 damage."
"Attack: Dealt 91 damage."
"Attack…"
…
As expected, the Shield Warrior's defense is high. Of course, this was also thanks to Kunt's Tier 3 breastplate and the fact that Lister didn't use his blade to strike at his vitals.
A series of attacks landed on Kunt, dealing only a little over 500 damage.
For his extremely high health of nearly four thousand points, it was only a minor injury for now.
But now that the Shield Warrior's most important shield was out of his hands, the outcome of the duel was already obvious.
He was just a big bag of health, left to be ravaged by Lister at will.
And in the eyes of the spectators, the difference in strength between the two was even more apparent.
In front of Lister, Kunt was like a child, completely powerless to fight back, being kicked around in the air like a ball.
Now he couldn't even hold onto his shield. At this point, the duel was no longer worth watching.
"Do you want to continue?"
Lister didn't seize the opportunity to unleash a combo of vital strikes to finish him off, as he would when leveling up and fighting monsters.
Instead, he gave Kunt space, allowing him to get up from the ground again.
Although the previous set of attacks didn't deal much damage, it was extremely humiliating for Kunt.
At the same time, it finally made Kunt realize the gap in strength between himself and Lister.
His previous sword attacks weren't dodged by Lister through luck, but because his opponent's strength was truly far superior to his, and he had been holding back.
Although his own professional rank was a full tier higher than his opponent's, his actual strength was inferior.
Thinking about his attitude towards Lister at the Merrick family's residence yesterday, and his arrogant display.
Kunt finally realized how ridiculous he had been yesterday. His face was now flushed with shame, but thankfully, his helmet hid it from others.
"If you still want to continue, I won't be holding back anymore!"
Lister felt that the duel could end here.
The winner was already clear, and any discerning person knew there was no need to continue. He had also taught Kunt a lesson through this.
Considering future benefits, he didn't want to truly injure Kunt for the time being.
As he spoke, his gaze shifted towards the lounge high above.
He knew that the real decision-maker in this duel was not Kunt, but Duke Will II, who had been watching the duel all along.
…
"It seems the outcome is already quite clear!"
"Haha! Lister hasn't tarnished the glory of his Merrick family!"
Earl Connor couldn't help but laugh out loud as he spoke.
As the leader of the seven great professional families, he had long been aware of Duke Will II's intentions.
He just hadn't been in a hurry to take any action, preferring to wait for Will II to make the first move, just like this time's move against the Merrick family.
In fact, Earl Connor didn't care whether the Merrick family disappeared or not.
Although they were part of the same camp of the seven great families, the Merrick family's decline was indeed too severe.
He couldn't possibly use his own family's resources to drag along one of the seven families and prevent its strength from declining.
Many things had to be earned by oneself. If you fell behind, you fell behind!
Faced with Will II's move this time, Earl Connor's initial thought was to protect Lister's life.
It was enough to let Lister live on as the last heir of the Merrick family.
It could also be considered as honoring the alliance and care the Connor family had shown the Merrick family, who had always been in step with them since the founding of the Duchy of Will.
But now things were different. Lister's performance far exceeded his expectations.
This gave Earl Connor new ideas about the Merrick family's layout and role.
"It seems the Merrick family, just like our seven great families, is far from the time to exit the stage!"
The square, wrinkled face of Duke Will II had returned to calm. After Earl Connor's double entendre, a smile even appeared on his face.
While waving for someone to announce the duel's result, he turned to look at Earl Connor beside him.
"This duel was just a simple duel, it doesn't represent anything."
He immediately redefined the incident. It was originally a fuse he used to stir up trouble, and now that it had unexpectedly failed, Will II was not in a hurry.
But his gaze towards Earl Connor gradually sharpened, and his voice became heavier and more powerful.
"As for the so-called era, it's not something that a group of people who only know how to retreat can represent."
After saying that, Will II spoke no more and turned to leave.
He quietly walked down the stairs, boarded the exquisite and tall carriage waiting outside, and disappeared into the crowd.
His eldest son, Valen, who also got into the carriage, couldn't help but speak after the carriage had been moving for a while.
"Father, regarding Lister, do I need to send someone to…"
Before he could finish, Will II raised his hand to interrupt him.
"Don't be too hasty in your actions."
"Although Lister is only Tier 2, his true strength has reached Tier 3, and he is not weak among Tier 3 professionals."
"We'd have to be selective about the professionals sent to deal with him, not to mention that within the city, the Connor family will definitely protect him."
In the carriage, Will II's expression was no longer as calm and indifferent as before.
His brows were now tightly furrowed, his face terrifyingly grim!
"Then… are we just going to let it go for now?"
…
"I hear the Southern Border hasn't been peaceful lately?"
Seeing his father suddenly mention the duchy's Southern Border, Valen Will could only temporarily stop thinking about dealing with Lister and recall the situation in the south.
"Yes, news came from the Southern Border last week that Baron Lai's territory was attacked by Cyclopses. It's said the entire barony has been annihilated."
…
"After we return, go inform Kunt that from now on, he is the new baron of the new Baron Lai's territory."
Hearing this, Valen Will was first stunned, then a look of irrepressible joy appeared on his face.
It was obvious that his foolish younger brother Kunt's failure in the duel had completely disappointed their father, causing him to give up on him.
There was now one less competitor for the title of Duke Will III.
Even though Valen had never considered his youngest brother a threat, it was naturally better to confirm his elimination early!
"Also! Issue a quest to the Merrick family, have Lister go and exterminate the Cyclopses."
…
"Father, are you sure Lister will accept the quest?"
"Those from the seven great families are not in the habit of obeying quests from our Duke's mansion, are they?"
The Cyclopses in the Southern Border were a Tier 3 race. The extermination quest was not only dangerous, but being far from the main city was also inconvenient.
The seven great professional families in the city had always been different from the new nobility, who would execute the Duke's orders without reservation.
Valen didn't think Lister would be foolish enough to accept such a thankless task.
"You tell him, as long as he can exterminate them, I am willing to promote the Merrick family to a hereditary viscounty."
"At the same time, that cupronickel mine in the Southern Border can also be promised to him."
As soon as Duke Will finished speaking, Valen exclaimed in surprise.
"Father! This… the viscounty is one thing, but that cupronickel mine is a medium-sized one, worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins!"
In Valen's eyes, the title of viscount was not much to a professional heritage family like Lister's.
But this cupronickel mine was a tangible resource. There were few such good resources in the entire duchy.
"Mining cupronickel is time-consuming and laborious, with an actual annual value of only ten thousand gold coins."
"Besides, even if Lister wants it, he'll have to wait until he can exterminate the Cyclopses!"
The carriage soon arrived at Duke Will's castle. Valen quickly got off, somewhat impatiently going to arrange matters concerning Kunt.
Seeing him like this, Will II couldn't help but call out to him and give Valen one more instruction.
"Before Kunt leaves, pick a few powerful professionals from the family to follow him there first."
…
"Yes! Father! I'll have Katerina go with Kunt. She's about to break through to Tier 4 soon. With her there, the Cyclopses will definitely not be able to harm Kunt."
As soon as he finished speaking, Valen hurriedly entered the castle to deliver the news.
Watching his eldest son, who was already in his forties but still lacked shrewdness, leave, Will II silently shook his head.
He wasn't arranging professionals for Kunt to protect his youngest son.
Both being in the Lai territory, and Kunt having just been defeated and humiliated by Lister, with high-level professionals under his command, how could he possibly let Lister smoothly exterminate the Cyclopses.
When Lister dies in the Southern Border, no matter the cause of death, it can be blamed on the Cyclops tribe, and Earl Connor won't be able to say anything.
It was just a pity that Valen hadn't thought of this at all. Fortunately, the Katerina he planned to send was much stronger than Lister, so Will II couldn't be bothered to say anything more.