Chapter 1374: The Duel Begins

"Back! Back!"

Outside the castle of the Duke of Lorraine, Austrian guards were using their weapons to drive people away.

"By what right do you stop us from entering? This duel is public."

"We will never allow the Grand Duke to be harmed by that scourge and that old bastard!"

"To win, that old bastard actually hired a killer!"

Hearing the riot coming from outside, the expression of the Duke of Lorraine changed abruptly, while Victor laughed heartily.

"Old bastard, this description is quite fitting."

Victor looked at the Duke of Lorraine and mocked, "Right, Duke of Lorraine?"

The Duke of Lorraine looked very unpleasant upon hearing this; with a gloomy face, he immediately said angrily in a low voice, "Drive the troublemakers outside away!"

"If they don't leave, kill them. This is this Duke's castle, not a slum, where one can come and go as they please!"

The Duke of Lorraine glanced at the time; there was less than a minute until twelve o'clock.

Even if a miracle happened, it was impossible for Liu Sheng to arrive in such a short time.

He immediately closed his pocket watch and said, "Tell the referee to announce it quickly: that Longyan person did not come, and the winner of this duel is Franz!"

After his subordinates conveyed the words of the Duke of Lorraine to the referee.

The referee immediately announced: "Given that Liu Sheng did not arrive on time..."

Just at this moment, a voice suddenly rose from the chaotic crowd.

"Who said I didn't come?"

Liu Zheng glanced at the hands on the pocket watch; all the hands were pointing at the number twelve.

He smiled slightly; the timing was just right.

The soldiers blocking the way were slightly stunned, but upon seeing Liu Zheng, perhaps out of subconscious instinct, they took the initiative to clear a path.

Liu Zheng stepped into the castle of Lorraine, and the surroundings were completely silent.

The Austrian Nobles looked at Liu Zheng with great surprise, not expecting that he would actually dare to come; he must die in this duel!

The fake Franz in the dueling arena stared quietly at Liu Zheng, as if admiring tonight's prey.

Who was the person he was going to kill.

Victor revealed a look of satisfaction and pinched his small mustache; he really hadn't misjudged this kid. It was a pity, such a courageous young man was actually not an Austrian.

Otherwise, he could really be cultivated.

Thinking of this, Victor used the corner of his eye to look very smugly at the Duke of Lorraine, who was still in a daze.

Victor sneered, "Duke of Lorraine, he has arrived."

The Duke of Lorraine had a gloomy face, staring at the suddenly appearing Liu Sheng and the people from the slums mixed in together.

"The time has passed; he is late."

As soon as these words were spoken, those people from the slums immediately rioted.

"This old bastard is starting to play dirty; he's afraid the Longyan person will win!"

"A Noble who hires killers and uses such despicable means—how noble can his character be?"

Hearing these insults, those Nobles watched everything happen as if they were watching a joke.

They looked at the face of the Duke of Lorraine, which was already filled with towering rage; in their view, as long as the Duke of Lorraine did not fall.

The Lorraine Family would remain the largest family in Austria, and such matters would soon subside.

Liu Zheng stared at the unfolding of this good show.

"Guards, do it!" The Duke of Lorraine squeezed this sentence out from between his teeth.

The guards who received the order hesitated for a split second; although these Austrians came from the slums, they were still people of Austria.

They were now protecting Liu Zheng, so the guards hesitated for a moment.

Liu Zheng laughed and said indifferently, "Duke of Lorraine, I arrived right on time. Are you sure you won't let me duel?"

The Duke of Lorraine pointed at the pocket watch: "When this Duke saw you, the time had already passed. This is the rule of the duel!"

"Today not

only will you die here, but according to the agreement, Teresa must serve Franz and bear him a child!"

The Duke of Lorraine signaled, and those guards dared not hesitate any longer and were about to rush up to seize Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng had long expected that this bastard would say this and had already prepared a backup plan in his heart.

He raised his hand, about to bring it down, but just at this moment.

A crisp voice suddenly rang out.

"All of you, stop!"

Hearing this voice, everyone's expression froze. Looking over, Teresa walked in with an expressionless face.

Victor's face lit up with joy; Teresa had finally arrived.

The Duke of Lorraine was neither sad nor happy.

She stared at the Duke of Lorraine and said in a flat tone, "Duke of Lorraine, you just spoke of rules, so would you like me to talk to you about rules as well?"

As she spoke, Teresa's gaze swept over everyone in the arena, and finally, her gaze landed on the dueling arena.

"Duke of Lorraine, please tell me, has Franz arrived?"

The Duke of Lorraine was stunned; he could not say that Franz had not arrived, for if he hadn't, he would have lost this duel himself.

It was not just the Duke of Lorraine whose expression changed; the expressions of those Nobles also changed.

This sentence was equivalent to exposing that the Duke of Lorraine had played a trick.

The Duke of Lorraine was cold and silent; this little girl was going all out to break the rules among the Nobles!

The killer in the dueling arena was hired by him and absolutely could not be exposed!

Everyone present has now gathered: the commoners, Nobles, and bureaucrats of Austria, and even Grand Duke Theresa.

If it were exposed, then the Lorraine Family would absolutely lose all face in an instant.

Although they had been caught with evidence before, it had never escalated to a struggle among the upper echelons of Austria.

Even though everyone knows the identities of the people in the dueling arena, these Nobles, including Weikeduo, would absolutely never openly expose such a matter.

Although they are hostile, they also have shared interests.

Therefore, no one will pierce this layer of window paper; as long as it is not pierced, the Duke of Lorraine can continue to do as he pleases.

But if it were pierced, these Nobles would not mind having one less Duke of Lorraine, as they would then have a better chance to rise to power.

When Theresa said this, she was actually going all out.

Weikeduo suddenly fell silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

He glanced at his assassin; forget it, he had originally intended for this assassin to kill Liu Sheng anyway.

The Duke of Lorraine squeezed out a very ugly smile: "Liu Sheng can participate in the duel."

"These people are also qualified to watch this duel."

"Fine, no problem." The Duke of Lorraine agreed; Liu Sheng must die, and this way it would let this group of lowly people know the consequences of offending them.

Theresa breathed a sigh of relief; she looked around and saw Weikeduo there, and her heart completely settled.

She looked at Liu Sheng and smiled faintly: "I respect your choice, but in a moment, just run; that Franz, he is actually..."

Liu Zheng was stunned; he looked into Theresa's eyes and immediately understood what she meant.

He wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.

He stepped onto the dueling arena, looking at the imposter before him who was clearly not Franz.

That imposter's face was covered, but from the eyes that were revealed, one could read a sense that the other party already viewed him as prey.

Liu Zheng was slightly stunned in his heart; did he look that weak?

"The match begins!"