Descending On France 1780-Chapter 33 - 030 Play to strengths, avoid weaknesses

Anning never expected things to unfold this way.

He had wholeheartedly believed that once the Marquis arrived, he would sue him, and even devised a multitude of possible scenarios with Robespierre, preparing to respond accordingly.

Anning had always felt that the Marquis might exploit the gunfire at the scene as leverage, a belief shared by Robespierre.

But unexpectedly, the man went straight to a duel.

Brutally straightforward.

This caught Anning off guard.

To be honest, his duel with Reginald had almost ended with a sword through his throat; he had no desire to cross swords with someone who was Reginald's teacher.

Who knew if Anning's external aid of Block and Counterattack could be breached by a true swordsmanship master.

After all, during the duel with Reginald, Reginald's sword had broken through Anning's defense and grazed his neck, which proved that this counterattack was not invincible.

Dueling with the muscular hunk before him was exceedingly dangerous!

Anning wanted to surrender outright, because a duel wasn't compulsory. If he chose not to accept, he would only be ridiculed, losing the false honor he had just gained through dueling.

However, just as Anning was preparing to refuse the duel, he suddenly noticed the Marquis Li Xia'er staring at him with a murderous, resolute gaze.

Anning realized that if he declined the duel, he probably wouldn't find peace either.

It's quite possible that the old man would resort to assassination.

Although assassination is illegal, it's questionable whether the Marquis would care about breaking the law...

Anning couldn't help recalling what Mirabeau had told him — the people in the Marquis' territory called him a demon. He once hung his serfs and beat them until they were crippled, then went on to reject the court's compensation demands, claiming the peasants were his private property, slaves, over whom he had the right to life and death.

Such a person probably wouldn't care about the life of a commoner at all.

In a duel, the danger is visible, but if he refused the duel, the threat could emerge from any shadowy corner at any moment.

Compared to that, a duel seemed slightly better.

But in regards to dueling, he truly had no confidence in winning...

Marquis Li Xia'er: "What now, so eager to challenge my son, yet you won't accept my challenge? Just as I suspected, there's trickery behind your victory! Don't think that by refusing a duel today, the matter ends here! I will absolutely not let my son's death be in vain!"

It seems if he didn't accept the challenge, things would become extremely troublesome.

Anning didn't want to live in constant fear of being attacked.

Between two disadvantages, one must choose the lesser; it seemed he really had to accept the duel.

As for whether he could defeat the opponent...

At that moment, the burly man who had thrown the glove suddenly said, "It's normal for you to be scared, I've won 14 duels already. In the province where the Marquis's territory resides, there's no one who has bested me in a duel!"

Anning was astounded. Although the enemy was so arrogant, he could bet on the opponent underestimating him, but... indeed, this guy was troublesome.

Indeed, comparing swordsmanship with him was too risky.

If it's a duel with handguns, relying on my FPS cheat, the odds might be a bit higher.

After a brief moment of thought, Anning made a decision.

Anning: "May I ask for your honorable name?"

The burly man lifted his chin: "Edward, Edward Ales, my family has served as the Marquis's knights and personal bodyguards for generations. What about it, have you decided to accept the duel?"

Anning: "Yes, I accept. According to common rules, as the challenged party, I have the right to choose the weapons for the duel. I choose to use handguns for the duel."

The expression on Edward Ales's face froze: "What..."

Anning repeated his words: "I choose to use handguns for the duel."

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

He paused, then asked provokingly: "You wouldn't happen to not know how to use a handgun, would you?"

Edward Ales laughed: "Of course, I know how to use a handgun. But are you not aware of how terrible their accuracy is? To leave the victory to luck, that's not right!"

Anning: "Have you been to a battlefield? On the battlefield, whether you can survive is generally a matter of luck. If you're lucky, bullets or shrapnel will all miss you. I have returned from such a hell. I think my luck should be pretty good."

Edward Ales turned to look at Marquis Li Xia'er.

Marquis: "You're a noble too, even if only a knight. If a commoner isn't afraid, neither should you. It's decided then, handguns!"

Anning: "Very well, shall we set the date of the duel for tomorrow? I will find my own witness..."

Just then, the Duke appeared in the hall, so Anning directly addressed the Duke: "As for a third-party witness, how about I request His Grace the Duke to serve in that role?"

Marquis Li Xia'er flatly refused: "No! You are a client of the Duke, it's inappropriate for him to act as a third-party witness. I will request a trusted Bishop to serve as the third-party witness, just like the day you dueled with my son!"

Anning: "That works."

Marquis Li Xia'er glared at Anning, speaking emphatically: "Then tomorrow afternoon, at the same place where my son fell, my knight will fight you in a battle to the death!"

Duke Orleans interjected at this point: "Wait a moment, what's going on here? Why are you suddenly dueling, tell me the whole story?"

The Duke clearly rushed out after receiving the Marquis's visit and was not up to speed with the situation.

Anning bent down to pick up the glove that Edward Ales had just thrown in his face, showing it to the Duke: "Your Grace, Duke Tolleson, just now this Mr. Edward Ales threw this glove at me, intending to avenge his master's son with this challenge."

The Duke frowned: "Mr. Marquis, your son died in a formal duel. If you have any objection to the result of the duel, you should take it to the court..."

Marquis Li Xia'er interrupted the Duke: "Your Grace! I do not trust those things concocted by commoners, what courts, lawyers, all of them are conspiracies of the commoners! We rural nobles naturally have our own way of dealing with things!"

The Duke clicked his tongue in disbelief: "Very well... Since Andy has already agreed to the duel, I have no objections. But you must accept the results of this duel, if Andy wins, you will take your son's body and leave honestly!"

Marquis Li Xia'er bowed to the Duke: "Of course, if he can win, I will naturally leave. I simply cannot accept that my son, a master of swordsmanship, was killed by the son of a leatherworker. Of course, if Mr. Frost could win the duel with a sword instead of a handgun, I would be even more sincerely convinced."

Anning: "But I refuse. Last time, I impulsively initiated a duel and almost got myself killed with one sword strike, it was sheer luck that I won. So that being said, proving my good luck should suffice, shouldn't it?"

Marquis Li Xia'er kept a stern face: "You make some sense, let's see if you really are that lucky then."

After speaking, the Marquis only gave a slight bow to the Duke, then walked away with his nose in the air.

The Duke clicked his tongue: "I am a Duke, after all, shouldn't he show me a bit more respect?"