On the dueling stage, seeing that Lister still hadn't moved, Kunt thrust his sword forward again.
But this time, Lister finally made a move. He had already slightly bent over in preparation, gripping the hilt of his blade with both hands.
With a "swoosh"!
The blade left its sheath, and a dazzling white light flashed.
Kunt only felt a tremendous force, and the sword in his hand suddenly loosened.
By the time he reacted, his longsword had already been flung behind him.
At the same time, a faint blade mark was left on his breastplate and vambrace.
Although he couldn't clearly see Lister's movements just now, a single slash with such power and range could only be the classic skill of the Merrick family's inherited blade arts.
Merrick's Drawing Blade Slash!
In fact, for the seven major professional families in Will City, only those who had truly mastered the Merrick Drawing Blade Slash could be called an heir to the Merrick family!
...
At this moment, on the rest platform, Will II's expression truly changed. His eyes narrowed slightly, quite surprised.
One must know that the Merrick Drawing Blade Slash was not a blade technique that could be easily mastered. As a rare-grade skill, it required true talent in blade arts to grasp its essence.
Even Lister's father, Mel Merrick, who had inherited the family's blade arts from a young age and practiced diligently, never truly mastered the Drawing Blade Slash skill until his death.
And how old was Lister now?
If I remember correctly, he's only 29.
The power displayed by that Drawing Blade Slash just now was far beyond that of someone who had just mastered it!
Only Lister himself knew that his Merrick Blade Arts was actually only at LV5, just at the entry-level.
The reason it had such power was entirely due to the strength boost from his passive skills, and of course, it was also related to the rare grade (C-rank) of the Merrick Blade Arts itself.
F and E-rank skills required less experience to level up, so their power was limited no matter how high their level.
But C-rank rare skills required more experience to upgrade, and their power was naturally extraordinary.
Therefore, for professionals who could only improve through training, it was indeed very difficult to advance such rare skills quickly.
Only Lister could level up directly with experience, which was why it was so easy for him.
Seeing Lister's unexpected performance, even Earl Connor couldn't help but start clapping.
"It seems Lister's talent for his family's blade arts is no worse than Ken's!"
Ken Connor, the eldest son of the current Earl Connor, had shown exceptional talent since childhood!
Now 41 years old, Lister had just scanned his specific strength: level 27, with a comprehensive strength of D-rank.
He was already a peak figure of the next generation in the Duchy of Will.
Everyone present knew very well what Earl Connor's praise represented.
The Merrick family—has a successor!
...
Kunt stared blankly at the scratch on his breastplate, his face full of disbelief.
According to his original investigation, Lister's talent was clearly not outstanding.
He had never trained diligently in his professional training or family inheritance, and his professional rank was a whole major rank below his.
He had to know that his own combat skills were the result of inheriting them from a young age and practicing day and night to reach his current level.
But he still hadn't awakened his Will family's signature ultimate skill, yet the Lister before him actually...!
...
"That's the Merrick family's Drawing Blade Slash, right?!"
"It really is a rare inherited ultimate skill from a professional family! So strong!"
...
"Didn't they say the Merrick family was on the decline? And that the new baron was just an ordinary second-rank professional?"
"I thought Lord Kunt, as a third-rank professional, was sure to win! Now it's hard to say!"
The other nobles in the city were mostly watching this duel from the lower rest area with a poorer view!
They were all greatly shocked by the strength Lister displayed, especially the Merrick's Drawing Blade Slash, which all the major families in the city saw clearly.
Clean, sharp, a reckless circular slash!
Every time they saw the Merrick's Drawing Blade Slash, these new nobles in the city would feel a sense of fear towards families like the Merricks who possessed rare inherited skills.
"I told you all long ago, Kunt is Duke Will's least favorite son, how strong could he be?"
"Lister is the sole heir of the Merrick family. He just doesn't usually show it. How could his true strength be as pathetic as you all guessed!?"
Viscount Ambertt was laughing heartily at this moment, he had finally bet on the right horse!
To be honest, his initial choice of Lister over Kunt was simply because Lister was the sole inheritor of the Merrick family.
He knew that Kunt was not valued by the Duke, so his family's inherited skills and resources would surely be discounted.
And although the Merrick family was gradually declining, its inheritance was not broken. He vaguely guessed that Lister was not as pathetic as everyone thought.
More importantly, the Merrick family now only had Lister. Once his daughter Anna married him, it wasn't impossible to scheme for the Merrick's rare inherited skill in the future.
Of course, this was a fantasy buried deep in Viscount Ambertt's heart, and he had never told anyone about it.
Looking at Lister's black short hair fluttering in the wind and his powerful blade skills, Viscount Ambertt buried the covetousness in his heart even deeper for a moment!
It never crossed his mind that his daughter was currently fleeing the city with Ruiz, following their family's merchant caravan.
...
On the dueling stage, Lister held his blade with the edge pointing downwards.
He still didn't know how great the impact of the Drawing Blade Slash he had just displayed was.
Nor did he know that the many factions watching the duel in the city had already retracted their consensus that the Merrick family was in decline.
He wasn't thinking that much right now. He just quietly looked at Kunt before him, considering whether he should hold back a little to not make the other party's loss too ugly, lest he be targeted by the Duke later.
"I admit, I underestimated you for being able to master the Drawing Blade Slash!"
"But you don't think you've already won, do you!"
Kunt knew his advantage, or rather, the advantage of his Will family's Shield Warrior inheritance!
Taking the initiative was not their strength; defense and counter-attack were their family's true forte.
But just as his words fell, Lister suddenly closed in on him rapidly. The blade in his hand approached extremely fast, its edge heading straight for his face.
Kunt's face showed joy instead of alarm. He wasn't afraid of Lister attacking; rather, he was worried Lister wouldn't take the initiative.
The greatshield in his left hand was naturally raised to block in front of him. Just as Lister's blade was about to strike the greatshield, an unusual light suddenly flashed on it, as if some skill had been cast.
Unfortunately, the shield counter Kunt expected did not trigger. He didn't even feel an impact on the greatshield.
Just as he was secretly wondering, a sharp pain suddenly came from his back, and his whole body was lifted into the air.
That's right!
Lister immediately retracted his blade after seeing the light flash on the greatshield.
As a veteran player, although his comprehensive strength was trash in his previous life, he was a late-game player after all. He could still judge such a basic shield counter.
He immediately moved behind Kunt and delivered a simple straight kick.
Boosted by his 27 points of strength, which far surpassed a second-rank professional, he actually kicked Kunt into the air.
Lister then squatted slightly, pushed off with one leg, and leaped into the air.
While Kunt was still trying to figure out his situation, Lister, holding the blade in his right hand, struck Kunt's breastplate at the waist and abdomen with the hilt.
Just as Kunt was about to fall to the ground, Lister, like a ghost, had already reappeared in front of him and delivered another straight kick to his shield-wielding wrist.
His shield hand ached, and he let go. The next moment, the greatshield fell completely onto the dueling field, and Lister stepped on it.