December 30, 11:50 p.m.

The knighthood ceremony has ended, and the rejuvenated nouveau riche of the empire have smoothly and naturally integrated into a small circle.

The New Year's celebration at Hydra Palace, like the Wittu family mansion in Tulum Harbor, has reached its climax.

The huge palace banquet hall was brightly lit, and the young aristocratic men and women lined up in a neat line, accompanied by melodious music, following the stereotyped and traditional, but pleasing pace to the obsessive-compulsive patients, dancing a grand group dance one by one.

More than 3,000 pairs of dance partners danced in groups, both men and women, each with meticulous rhythms and almost identical movements...... Such a 'pleasing to the eye' and 'uniform' large ball could only appear at the court ball of the Deren Empire.

Jo stood in the corner of the banquet hall a little embarrassed, holding a wine glass, and looked at Gorkin and Tifa dancing in the hall.

By his side, only Old Lady Mary and Vicma were in his company.

Old Lady Mary held a small cream cake and stuck out her tongue to lick the sweet cream little by little.

In Lea's absence, Weima was unsupervised, holding a large bucket of ice cream and gulping down vanilla ice cream with a big smile.

"Court dance or something, it's the most boring." Joe raised his wine glass, took a big sip of the wine, tilted his nose and snorted coldly: "Look at those little women, their eyes will not move when they are glued to Gorkin." And the coquettish guys...... If they want to hook up with Tifa, they also have to weigh how hard their bones are. ”

Old Lady Mary glanced at Joe, and she took two steps across, leaned over to Joe, and reached out to gesture above her head, which was just over Joe's waistline!

"That's a problem, Joe...... That's a problem. Old Lady Mary sighed: "The girls of the empire all like tall and burly men, this is the most traditional and simple aesthetic of the empire. ”

"But, you're very big, it's a problem." Old Lady Mary frowned and kept shaking her head: "Of course, among the little girls present, there is no doubt that nine out of ten want to marry you. ”

"But there is no girl who wants to dance with you in public...... Can you understand this feeling? It's like a monkey spinning around a big tree stump...... Little girls, too, you have to be faced! ”

Joe's face went dark.

Weima happily, rolled her eyes, straightened her neck, swallowed a large mouthful of ice cream, exhaled with difficulty, and then laughed at the top of her throat: "Mom is right, Joe, you are too big, it is difficult for you to find a good girl!" ”

Old Lady Mary smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed into a line.

She swiped her hand over her head again, the edge of her palm tapping lightly near Joe's waistline, and sighed, "You just turned eighteen...... You're not going to grow any more, are you? Really, you're getting big, a little, too much, Joe...... A bit excessive! ”

"I ...... I don't know! Joe's face was flushed, and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to burrow into the cracks.

After the canonization ceremony, Joe and Gorkin were quickly surrounded by a large group of enthusiastic young aristocrats, and countless people talked to them, wanting to become their 'good friends' as quickly as possible.

However, when the banquet hall opens and the welcome ball cocktail party officially begins......

Gorkin successfully hooked up with a young lady of the Duke of Beihai's family, and the two entered the ball venue hand in hand, and were arranged by the court etiquette officer to take the position of the lead dancer.

And Joe ......

The group of aristocratic ladies who wanted to hang their bodies on Joe before fled from him almost like hell.

Not a single aristocratic lady wants to be Joe's dance partner!

Not one!

What else?

The first large-scale court ball that Joe attended after turning eighteen, His Excellency the Marquis of Rockson, who was newly baked under the Delen Empire, could only be so lonely, accompanying his underage little sister, squatting aside to watch others dance.

Laprahi's high-pitched voice rang out in Joe's head.

"You seem a little unhappy? However, you quickly lose sight of this little problem...... In view of our friendship, dear Crimson, if you are willing to pay a paltry hundred gold marks......"

Joe nodded vigorously and coughed.

In the pocket of his chest, a bill of one hundred gold marks was annihilated.

"The Ice Sea Kingdom's native fleet has sent an elite assault team, ready to attack your hometown...... Their target is your mother...... Their mission is to kill your mother and plunder your family. ”

Joe's embarrassed smile froze suddenly.

In his hand, a large wine glass made of brass, with a delicate carved pattern, was crumpled into a ball by him.

With a 'click' sound, the iron-gray marble floor tiles three feet square under Qiao's feet shattered one after another, and the terrifying force crushed the ground, and more than a dozen nearby floor tiles shattered into flour-like pieces at the same time.

Standing in the corner of the main hall, more than a dozen court knights in charge of security looked over at the same time.

Joe threw away the wreckage of the completely deformed wine glass, and then walked with a steady step, step by step, towards Sarian and his group, who were also enjoying the group dance on the dance floor not far away.

A large group of big people, such as Salian, Conrad, and George, the emperor of the Ice Sea Kingdom, were gathering together, enjoying the dance and whispering something.

They all had almost identical formulaic smiles on their faces, and everyone could tell that each of them was in a bad mood......

Joe strode straight for George.

Several court knights quickly approached Joe's side.

Joe's commotion was so loud that many people in the vicinity noticed Joe's abnormality.

The court knights approached Joe, and they followed Joe a few steps forward, trying to stop him, but they didn't know how to speak.

Salian also noticed Joe's strangeness.

He waved his hand: "Joe, what's wrong?" Look at your face, something is wrong. ”

Joe grinned brightly, he pressed his hands on the heads of the two court knights, and pulled them to the sides hard, and the two fifth-order court knights staggered back several steps, almost knocking over a few old nobles who were also watching the group dance.

"Your Highness, I want to say a few words to His Highness George."

Jo laughed as he grabbed a large one-liter glass of mellow dark beer from a tray in the hands of a passing court attendant. He raised his glass and took a sip of beer, and by this time, he had already walked over to Salian and the others.

Without allowing Sallian, Conrad, George and the others to react, Joe grabbed his glass and poured a glass of dark beer directly on George's face.

A full liter of the mellow dark beer, which had just been poured out of the barrel, spilled George all over his head and face, making a mess of his upper clothes.

Countless exclamations were heard all around.

The music stopped abruptly.

The dance stopped completely.

Everyone looked at this side, including the ambassadors and diplomats of various countries, and everyone looked at this side with horror on their faces.

George had time to avoid Joe's beer, but for some other reason, he stood still and let Joe splash the beer in his face.

The black-brown beer made George very embarrassed, but there was a big smile on his handsome face.

Salian also had plenty of time, enough strength to stop Joe's movements.

But as soon as Salian raised his right hand, Conrad grabbed his wrist. Even, Conrad's palm and Salian's wrist touched, making a muffled 'bang' sound, and it was obvious that both of them used great force.

And a group of big people standing next to Sallian, Conrad, George, and others, they either didn't react, or they reacted, and they let Joe do all this without any reaction.

Even, several admirals of the Delun Empire who were present clenched their fists excitedly.

"Hah, perfect." George grinned, "Salian, Conrad, and all the distinguished gentlemen, the perfect excuse for going to war...... We have found the perfect, the most suitable, open casus belli to the public. ”

George smiled unusually brightly, he tilted his head to look at Salian, and said with a triumphant smile: "Our previous futile argument can be stopped...... In this war, all external responsibilities can only be borne by the Delen Empire. ”

Salian ignored George, he just stared at Joe with wide eyes and angrily: "Joe von Witu...... Are you crazy? Or do you feel that if you contribute a little bit to the empire, you will not be able to live forever? Is your brain burned out by alcohol? ”

Salian was so angry that he was trembling all over.

The nobles of the Metland continent abide by some ancient and traditional unspoken rules of the nobility.

As with the outbreak of a war, the aristocracy often wanted to occupy the moral high ground.

All nobles want to be on the right side of the war and the evil side on the other hand.

Everyone knows that the Delen Empire is bound to usher in a war, but the cause and effect of this war, whether it is the abyss battlefield, or the huge military expenditure and baggage, are things that cannot be disclosed to the public.

An inexplicable war?

You always have to give people in all countries an open, reasonable, and acceptable explanation.

Who, then, bears the blame for starting a war?

This seemingly very boring and extremely meaningless thing is exactly the question that Sallian, Conrad, George and others have been arguing about for more than half an hour before.

It was at this time that Joe poured a large glass of beer on George's body.

This seemingly very boring dispute was perfectly resolved.

- Because of the rude behavior of Joe von Wittu, Marquis of Lockson under the Delen Empire, to the imperial grandson of the Ice Sea Kingdom, the Ice Sea Kingdom united with several other countries to launch a punitive revenge against the Deren Empire.

Because it is only an insulting act against individuals, it is unlikely to lead to a full-scale war.

It could only be a short-term, small-scale, high-intensity war!

The perfect excuse, the cause and effect, all the details are perfect.

And Joe's glass of beer pushed himself to the cusp.

But Joe didn't care about that.

He stared at George, his eyes were red, and he said word by word: "Duel, coward...... The native fleet of the Ice Sea Kingdom has attacked the port of Tulum and attacked my home...... You bastard, duel with me! ”

Salian's eyes widened.

Conrad's eyes widened.

Hesse's deep and powerful voice rang out in the crowd: "Joe, where did you hear the news?" If yes, then, Your Highness George, you don't mind if I twist your head, do you? Hybrids! ”