The living room suddenly fell silent. Everyone was waiting for Duane’s answer.

The young Baron merely paused in thought for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Duels are indeed a common method used by the Nobility to resolve disagreements. The victor ultimately gets to decide the matter."

Kalina and Kubatu exchanged a glance. "So, you’re saying you agree, Baron?"

Kaelon and Raymond looked at the Baron, somewhat surprised.

But just then, Duane shook his head.

"Among the Nobility, a duel is typically proposed by one noble, and the other has the right to accept or refuse."

Duane looked at Kalina and Kubatu and sneered.

"You are my subjects. To even request a duel with me is a grave offense! And to have already set the rules without my consent? Where does that leave the honor of me, your Lord?"

Kalina and Kubatu were taken aback. ’Honor again?’

It seemed that ever since they had met the Baron, he had mentioned the term "noble honor" many times.

But Duane wasn’t finished.

"If I were to simply agree to your demands like this, what would my followers think of me? What would the other Lords think of me?"

"Heh. That I was strong-armed by commoners?"

Kalina’s brows furrowed. She couldn’t figure out his true attitude. "Then what is your meaning?"

Duane took a deep breath. "I can make an exception and agree to your duel request, but I must be the one to set the specific rules."

"Furthermore, this is not a matter I will discuss with you. You are not qualified. Have Bard and Daniels come see me!"

After saying this, Duane waved his hand. "Raymond, see our guests out."

"Yes!"

Raymond’s reply was full of vigor, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.

’The Lord’s move is so clever. He hasn’t agreed, but he hasn’t refused either, all without losing his status.’

"This way, please," he said, gesturing for them to leave.

Kalina and Kubatu glanced at each other, both in a difficult position. They hadn’t expected the conversation to end so abruptly, nor to be told they weren’t qualified.

But seeing that the young Baron had no intention of continuing the discussion, they knew there was no point in staying.

Kalina came back to her senses and forced a smile. "I will relay your thoughts to Lord Daniels."

She gestured to an attendant behind her, who handed her a package.

"This is a gift Lord Daniels selected for you. It’s a collection of books on Magic. I hope you’ll like them."

Books for a Mage were invaluable and not something given away lightly.

But in Daniels’s view, though these items were valuable, they were useless to Duane. After all, there was no word of any Mages under the Baron’s command.

Furthermore, the only two Mages on Black Forest Island were his apprentices. Duane wouldn’t even be able to find a place to sell these books.

So the gift he had chosen was, in reality, a white elephant—even more useless than Bard’s gift.

Duane looked up, surprised, but his heart stirred with interest.

’Becoming a Mage is just a matter of allocating points. It’s a bit difficult for me, but not overly so.’

’These books have value.’

"Please express my gratitude to Daniels. I like his gift very much."

Kalina couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not. She placed the gift on a chair, then nodded to Duane before leaving with Kubatu.

"My Lord, your approach was brilliant!" Kaelon couldn’t help but praise.

But Duane shook his head. "Don’t celebrate too early. This is just a delaying tactic. It doesn’t get us out of the duel entirely."

The duel proposed by the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association was undoubtedly a probe, one he had to accept.

"The outcome of the duel won’t just affect the distribution of resources; it will directly determine their attitude toward us. If we lose every match, forget about any benefits—they’ll surely join forces to eliminate us!"

Kaelon frowned, momentarily at a loss.

He possessed the strength of the Peak of the Human Tier. Relying on his years of combat experience and decent Combat Skills, he could indeed hold his own against an ordinary Earth Tier Warrior.

The problem was, he didn’t know the extent of Bard’s abilities, so he couldn’t guarantee a win.

As for Raymond, there were no other Human Tier Warriors on the island for them to send out. If the opposition fielded an Advanced Warrior, there was a high probability Raymond could win that match.

If one of them lost and one of them won, then the final match would be the key.

But the crucial problem was that Duane had no one else he could put forward.

That was the most troublesome part.

"Three duels!"

Duane frowned, deliberating for a moment before finally making his decision.

"We will only have three duels!"

"But my Lord, who will we send for the third match?"

Kaelon asked, "Michele, or Jack, who just had his breakthrough?"

"Besides Bard, the other side has more than one Advanced Warrior, and also a Level 3 Mage..."

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a third person who had any chance of winning.

Raymond walked back into the hall and said, "If we have three matches, then we are destined to lose the third one. That means your match and mine—the first two—must be wins!"

Best two out of three. The final say would still belong to Duane’s side.

Kaelon nodded slowly. Although the pressure on him was immense, this was their only option.

"I will give it my all!"

He was already prepared to take Bard down with him. Even if he couldn’t win, he had to cripple him.

Duane opened his attribute panel. His current Strength was 6.6. Relying on his Mastery Level Basic Swordsmanship and Skilled Level Spirit Swordsmanship, he was confident he could fight against other Basic-level Warriors.

’Even if I can’t win, there’s a high probability of a draw.’

He made his choice for the third combatant.

"For the third match, I will fight myself!"

Kaelon’s and Raymond’s eyes went wide with surprise. They shouted in unison, "No!"

"My Lord, you’re only a Basic-level Warrior! It’s too dangerous to face an Advanced Warrior!"

"I recognize your Swordsmanship is excellent, but Advanced Warriors possess Fighting Qi and have immense Strength. No matter how skilled you are, it’s nearly impossible to bridge that gap!"

’Terrain?’

’External aids?’

None of those factors would be present in a duel. In their eyes, not only would Duane be unable to win, but he would also risk being killed.

As his followers, they naturally couldn’t allow their Lord to take such a risk.

Kaelon said gravely, "My Lord, even if we lose, it won’t be so easy for the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang to devour us. At worst, we can just hole up in this area like Monbodt did. There’s absolutely no need for you to take this risk."

Raymond also nodded in agreement and tried to persuade him. "Wait until Kaelon breaks through to the Earth Tier, wait until I become a Human Tier Warrior, and wait until our other soldiers advance. Then we can take on both their groups by ourselves!"

Both of them were very confident about this.

Especially Raymond. He was young and had immense potential. In a year or two at most, he would be a true Human Tier Warrior.

They both had great faith in the future, but the key was the present.

If the present wasn’t handled properly, Duane didn’t believe they could just hole up safely in this small area.

"Don’t be so tense. I never said I was going to duel an Advanced Warrior."

"Huh?" The two men were stunned.

Duane asked, "Kaelon, what do you think my chances are of winning against a Basic-level Warrior?"

"High!"

Kaelon answered without hesitation. "If they’re all like those Basic-level Warriors we captured, you could win with ease."

Basic-level Warriors were completely different from Advanced Warriors. Superior technique and decent combat experience could create a significant advantage.

Raymond frowned. "But they have Advanced Warriors. Why would they send out a Basic-level Warrior instead?"

"That will depend on how we set the rules for this duel!"