Grinding EXP From Fireball Skill-Chapter 82: The Unavoidable Topic

The war ended, and everyone returned.

The City Lord’s Mansion held a grand victory feast, inviting everyone to attend.

City Lord Otz stood on a high platform, announcing the results of the war to the crowd, who erupted in applause and cheers.

Li Wei stood in the crowd. He saw Gus and Merson at the feast, and standing beside them was a gentlemanly, middle-aged man.

He walked over to greet them.

Seeing him, Merson smiled and introduced the man beside him.

"Li Wei, this is Monis."

Monis looked at Li Wei, smiled, and extended his hand for a shake.

"I’ve heard so much about you, Mage Li Wei. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Li Wei smiled and said, "You flatter me, Vice President. You’re too kind."

Monis said, "Actually, we should have met long ago."

Li Wei asked in surprise, "Oh? I don’t seem to recall."

Monis smiled. "I saw your match with Reina at Golden Shield Manor."

A thought stirred in Li Wei’s mind. He asked, "What is your relationship with the Bieber Clan, Vice President?"

Monis said, "Old John is my brother."

Li Wei was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Monis to be Reina’s uncle.

He glanced at Gus and Merson again and noticed that their formal wear was embroidered with a noble crest.

They were also members of the nobility.

’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’How could commoners possibly organize a literary society?’

Suddenly, the music at the feast became graceful and melodious.

Delis, dressed in a purple-black evening gown, found Li Wei and asked, "Li Wei, may I have this dance?"

The feast had now progressed to the dancing portion. Once the ball was over, the feast would be more or less finished.

Li Wei shook his head and said, "Sorry, I don’t know how to dance."

Delis smiled. "That’s alright, you can learn. I’ll teach you."

Li Wei had no interest in dancing and was just about to refuse.

Just then, Reina, clad in a wine-red evening gown, walked over.

"Li Wei, do you know how to dance?"

"No."

"It’s fine. Just follow my lead," Reina said.

With that, she grabbed Li Wei’s hand and pulled him into the crowd.

Delis watched as Reina dragged Li Wei away, frozen to the spot.

When she came to her senses, she stomped her foot in frustration. "Hmph!"

Reina’s palm was soft, yet powerful, like steel wrapped in sponge.

Before Li Wei could even process the soft touch, Reina took his hand and started to dance.

He had no idea what he was doing, looking like a puppet in Reina’s hands, moving along with her performance.

Noticing her own clumsy steps, Li Wei asked quietly, "You’ve never danced before?"

Reina replied, "I learned as a child, but I haven’t danced since growing up."

"I was always following my master’s Cultivation, so I never had time for balls," Reina explained.

Li Wei’s body spun under her control. Their roles were reversed, the exact opposite of the other dancing couples.

It was a good thing Reina was so strong; she could easily handle Li Wei’s weight.

Reina said in a low voice, "What were you and my uncle talking about earlier?"

As they moved, Reina’s steps became more confident; she was getting the feel for the dance.

Li Wei also started to actively follow her steps.

He replied, "Nothing much. Just that the Vice President heard the outside world is changing rapidly, and things might not be peaceful in the future."

Reina said, "Do you know what the City Lord is planning? I’ve noticed my master seems to be spending a lot of time alone with the City Lord recently."

Li Wei’s heart skipped a beat. ’Orn didn’t tell Reina about it?’

By now, some people were already catching wind of it.

Otz was only one step away from establishing his kingdom.

One of the conditions for founding a kingdom was to attain the rank of Imperial Marquis.

Only then would the Empire recognize the Kingdom’s status. Otherwise, even a self-proclaimed nation would be nothing more than a second-rate kingdom, unprotected by Imperial law.

Otz himself was a Life Count.

If he had connections in the Empire, it wouldn’t be difficult to leverage his recent military achievements to obtain the title of Life Marquis.

In terms of status, a Life Marquis outranked a Hereditary Count.

However, in terms of difficulty to obtain, a Hereditary Count was far more prestigious than a Life Marquis.

That was why promotions in rank often involved skipping levels.

As long as Otz became a Marquis and declared the founding of his kingdom, the first step of his grand endeavor would be complete.

After that, he would have to find a way to establish a firm foothold and bring the towns within his kingdom’s territory under his true control.

This process would inevitably face frantic attacks and obstruction from the Macher Kingdom, as well as full-scale resistance from the three powerful cities within his heartland.

Things had progressed far enough that it wouldn’t cause any harm for someone of Reina’s standing to know the truth.

Knowing what was to come might even be a good thing for Reina, who would likely be participating in frequent wars.

It would allow her to make more accurate judgments about future developments.

After thinking it over, Li Wei took advantage of a moment when the dance brought them close and whispered in her ear, "The City Lord is going to establish a kingdom."

Reina’s body stiffened for a moment. She stopped, and Li Wei, unable to move, could only remain pressed against her.

The position was too intimate, and Li Wei felt a bit awkward.

To onlookers, it looked as if the two were embracing tightly.

A moment later, Reina came to her senses and resumed dancing.

This time, she didn’t speak, quietly processing the news she had just received.

The City Lord’s plan to found a kingdom had truly shocked her.

Ever since she was a child, she had known the place she lived in was called the Macher Kingdom.

In her heart, she had naturally come to regard the Macher Kingdom as her homeland.

Hearing now about betraying her "homeland" to establish a new country was a tremendous shock to Reina’s traditional values.

Seeing Reina fall silent, Li Wei felt a little surprised and taken aback.

He hadn’t expected the matter to affect Reina so deeply.

He himself felt no sense of belonging to the Macher Kingdom, so he had naturally felt nothing when he heard Otz was founding a new one.

Only then did Li Wei realize just how significant the founding of a kingdom was to other people.

No wonder there had been no rumors about Otz’s plans to found a kingdom until now.

Right now, everyone who knew was in a position where they knew but couldn’t speak of it.

It was just a matter of who would be the one to break the silence.

One wrong move, and the one who broke it could become a victim of vicious rumors.

After thinking it through, Li Wei understood even more clearly that he absolutely could not tell anyone else about this.

Otz didn’t mind telling him because Otz himself was destined to bear the greatest risk.

Reina snapped out of her thoughts, looked at Li Wei, and said, "Don’t tell anyone about this."

Li Wei nodded. "Mm, I know."

Reina also realized the immense danger it entailed.

If the news spread, the army’s morale could be destabilized.

Not everyone wanted to follow Otz in founding a new kingdom.

This difference in opinion would inevitably lead to a split within the army.

For Maple City, still on the path to establishing a kingdom, this would be a massive blow.

It could very well lead to failure before the mission was even accomplished. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

As for everyone else, they wouldn’t dare to casually spread rumors about founding a kingdom either.

Even the Macher Kingdom wouldn’t dare use such rumors to destabilize Maple City’s morale.

To do so would be to tacitly admit that Otz was, in fact, founding a kingdom.

Everyone involved was treating the matter with extreme caution.