If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, I would be arrogant.

Stepping out of the room, Zong Ze shook his head violently. The amount of information he had received today was overwhelming, even to the point of being unbelievable. However, Zong Ze was also somewhat delighted. He definitely needed to discuss it thoroughly with Xiao Hei later. After all, the news of the appearance of the Witch Clan on the Holy Word Continent felt to Zong Ze almost like meeting fellow countrymen in a foreign land!

As soon as Zong Ze went downstairs, his excitement instantly turned into anger, because he saw a handsome and dashing man standing next to Xiao Yuxi, who had been completely betrothed to him, in the room. This man was none other than Duke Lotte, who had just been teased by Yuxi!

Although he knew that Yu Xi was probably teasing Duke Lotte again, seeing her smiling at Lotte and Lotte's smug expression, Zong Ze couldn't help but feel a nameless anger rising in his heart!

"Damn it, what kind of person is this Duke Lot?" Recalling the conversation just now, Zong Ze remembered that this duke was the son of the Prince of the Northern Kingdom of the Rune Empire: "Damn it, instead of staying in your north and being a spoiled duke, you come here to pick up my girl, what do you mean by that?"

Just then, Zongze suddenly saw a familiar face: His Excellency Meng Gang, the Vice Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire. Because of his Shenji Battalion, Zongze had dealt with Meng Gang several times, and their relationship was quite good.

Immediately, Zong Ze picked up a glass of wine from the side and slowly walked to Meng Gang: "Uncle Meng Gang, I didn't expect you to come too?"

"Oh?" Meng Gang turned around, his face immediately filled with a smile: "Little Zongze, it feels good to have a wife, doesn't it? Haha, today our Shenji Battalion's General Zongze is going on a blind date. Do you think anyone in our entire army would dare not come to such a good thing?"

"Hehe, I see!" Zong Ze immediately understood. Today was his blind date, so the Zong family held a banquet. However, since the Zong family represented the military, most of the attendees were probably military personnel. "Uncle Manganese Steel," Zong Ze glanced at Lotte, "who is that guy? Why is he bothering me again while I've been upstairs?"

"Him?" Manganese Steel looked at Lotte and immediately lowered his voice: "Xiao Zongze, you must be careful of this person. Although he is also a member of the military, he is not actually on our side!"

"He has no relation to Grandpa?" Zong Ze asked. Zong Ze naturally understood what Meng Gang meant. Most of the generals in the Imperial Army were trained by his grandfather. It could be said that his grandfather had almost absolute authority in the military. This was one of the reasons why his grandfather always kept a backup plan to guard against the royal family. After all, his grandfather was now suspected of being too powerful and overshadowing the emperor!

But now Manganese Steel says that Lotte is also from the military, but he is not on everyone's side. That means Lotte has nothing to do with Grandpa. It's even possible that Lan Qizhan deliberately created this to restrain the main family!

“No!” Manganese Steel replied, “He is the son of the Prince of the Northern Kingdom. It’s strange, though. In principle, the sons of royal relatives should not join the army! After all, it’s a tough job. But this Lotte is strange. The Prince of the Northern Kingdom arranged for Lotte to be in the army since he was a child. Lotte has been rising step by step from a common soldier until he actually became the commander of the White Tiger Cavalry Legion before the new year!”

"What?" Upon hearing Manganese Steel's words, Zong Ze's eyes sharpened instantly. The White Tiger Cavalry Legion, known as the second strongest on the continent, second only to the heavy cavalry legion of the Bright Empire, and this Lotte looks like just a spoiled brat of about 20 years old, yet he can become the commander of the White Tiger Legion. This is someone even more powerful than himself!

"You heard me right!" Manganese Steel nodded and said, "The commander of the White Tiger Cavalry Regiment! Although he's a bit young, he's said to be very influential in the cavalry regiment, and those veteran soldiers all respect him!"

"Uncle Manganese Steel, are you sure there are no problems with his resume?" Zong Ze asked!

“I know what you want to ask!” Meng Gang shook his head with a wry smile: “I’ve already investigated. Although he rose through the ranks rather quickly because of his royal status, his military achievements are all genuine. He made great contributions in several bandit suppression campaigns in the north! I’ve carefully checked each of his achievements, and there are no problems. And these achievements were all due to friendly forces being surrounded, and he risked his life to lead his troops to rescue them! Otherwise, those friendly forces would have died long ago. That’s why those soldiers all respect him; after all, he’s their savior!”

"Hmph!" Zong Ze sneered, "Uncle Manganese Steel, don't you think these achievements make him the biggest suspect? Why is it always him who comes to the rescue? Why has he never been surrounded?"

"Shh!" Manganese Steel suddenly lowered his voice again: "Don't mention this issue. General Geralt brought it up in court yesterday. Who would have thought His Majesty would suddenly get angry, saying that General Geralt was arbitrarily suspicious of meritorious officials, and gave Geralt a good scolding. In the end, His Majesty even appointed Geralt as the Vice Minister of Military Affairs in court. In other words, General Geralt is now on par with your father and me!"

"Deputy Minister of Military Affairs?" Zong Ze sneered: "I bet this Lord Lotte is doing very well right now. There are probably already rumors circulating that after my grandfather retires, this Lord Lotte will succeed him as the new Minister of Military Affairs and the new Grand Marshal of the Empire!"

"You're really smart, kid!" Meng Gang gave a thumbs up. "You guessed right! The old marshal is getting old after all, and he'll probably have to retire soon. We're all guessing that this kid is just someone the emperor used to balance the imperial family, but nobody dares to say it. If someone did, it wouldn't matter to His Majesty the Emperor, but if your father heard it, things would get really messy!"

"Definitely!" Zong Ze nodded: "If my father heard anyone dare to speak ill of his good brother, His Majesty the Emperor, he would definitely chase them down the streets with a knife!"

"So be smart, kid!" Manganese Steel advised, "Although it's a bit rude of him to harass your fiancée while you're not around, you're not married yet. So, according to Imperial custom, he has the right to pursue her. As long as your fiancée agrees, it's understandable. Don't act impulsively! Things could get out of hand if you make a scene!"

"Hmph!" Zong Ze sneered twice: "Harassment? He already harassed her once, but Yu Xi rejected him. Now, while I'm not around, he's trying to cheat again! Tch, does he really think he's some big shot? I don't care whose fiancée he harasses, but if he harasses my fiancée, I'll show her what it means to be surrounded by admirers!"