Survival at Sea: I Became Number One by Growing Mushrooms

"So that means some people in your organization are colluding with the Dark God, actually standing up for the Dark God's lackeys. I suggest your association conduct a thorough self-examination, and also investigate the person who just spoke." Li Ming couldn't help but retort. He had never seen such a shameless person.

"You're a blatant slander!" someone couldn't help but yell, feeling that this was an insult to their Royal Society.

As members of the Royal Society, even if such a thing existed, they could not admit it, as it concerned the reputation of the nobility.

But this woman killed Henry's entire family the moment they met, which showed a complete disregard for their association. It was utterly despicable.

They simply couldn't swallow this insult.

"Although it was indeed old man Henry who was in the wrong, you killed him, and we gave you an equal opportunity to cooperate. Don't be ungrateful," a nobleman said arrogantly, his tone as if he were bestowing a favor.

The players were almost laughing at the shamelessness of these nobles, and immediately retorted, "This is a complete distortion of the facts. We earned this opportunity for equal cooperation ourselves. What's wrong with killing a follower of the Dark God in self-defense?"

The nobleman glared at Xu Jiawei and sneered, "Hmph, putting everything else aside, we only asked you to fight Prince Henry, not to kill him. You killed King Henry, and we haven't bothered you yet. You should be grateful! Besides, the palace collapsed because of your fight—that's a huge loss. You must compensate us!"

These nobles, who were initially guilty, became more and more self-righteous as they spoke. As for the fact that the palace was collapsed by old man Henry, what did it matter? He was already dead. It collapsed because of a fight with this woman, so she should be the one to pay compensation.

He even convinced himself of his own theory, as if all the mistakes were due to the players.

Now, not only Xu Jiawei, but all the players present have given up hope. Cooperating with these guys is definitely a dead end.

Even if Xu Jiawei completes the task, they will still have countless reasons to find countless loopholes to distort the contract.

These people are absolutely not worth cooperating with. While the nobles were still racking their brains for an excuse, Grace stood up and said coldly, "No need. We overestimated you. The next operation will be carried out by our association in cooperation with the players. You don't need to participate."

Grace turned and left, and the association members left one after another.

Only a few people still had some attachment to their families and were reluctant to leave, but they still sighed and left.

It's utterly shameful to let these outside players see the ugly state of my home; even they are too embarrassed to face me.

Moreover, this player has already proven his strength, but these nobles are still finding all sorts of excuses to evade the contract. I don't know if they are shrewd or foolish.

Ms. Henry glanced at the corpse on the ground, snorted coldly, and then the Followers Association left.

He called out to Xu Jiawei's retreating figure, "Wait a minute."

Xu Jiawei turned around, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What, are you trying to avenge your family?"

Ms. Henry smiled and said, "On the contrary, I've come to thank you."

"Thank you for avenging my sister. If I had sought revenge myself, I don't know when I would have been able to."

"You're welcome." Seeing that they weren't there to cause trouble, the players breathed a sigh of relief; they were genuinely afraid that they were there for revenge again.

"However, the world's high-end combat power is basically all in the Royal Association. If you give up cooperating with them, facing the Dark God might be..." Ms. Henry didn't continue, but the players and the association president knew what she was trying to say.

"If you don't mind, I'm also an 88th-level magic swordsman, and I can be of some help. Can I join your operation?" Ms. Henry's aura instantly became sharp.

Grace smiled, finally feeling a little relieved. It seemed there were still some people who could take things in stride. "Those who are willing to fight the Dark God are our partners, and we welcome them wholeheartedly."

Even the expressions on the association members' faces became much better.

"Could we be included? Although we're only level 70 or so, we'd like to do our part for this world." Several minor nobles came out together. They had felt dissatisfied since Prince Henry scolded the lower classes.

Cooperating with those powerful nobles will only lead to continued exploitation; it's better to take a gamble and cooperate with the association to find opportunities for development.

Grace's voice softened considerably: "Anyone who is willing to cooperate sincerely is our partner."

Grace was actually a little regretful. She shouldn't have gone to talk to these people from the Royal Association. Last time, they invited all the level 89 people to discuss the matter, but less than half of them came. And even those who did come looked down on everyone and didn't respond at all when Xu Jiawei asked for help.

She regretted not contacting them; she had only gotten herself into trouble for no reason. She felt very sorry for her apprentice because of her decision, her apprentice was being bullied like this. They didn't even respect her, a noble level 10 pharmacist, let alone her apprentice, an ordinary pharmacist with no background.

However, given the speed at which his apprentice is growing, it won't be long before he surpasses these guys and makes them unable to reach him.

She shouldn't have had any expectations of these high-ranking nobles; on the contrary, there was a possibility of cooperation with these lower-ranking nobles.

Now that we've brought in an 88-level magic swordsman, it's not all for nothing.

Soon another group of minor nobles came out together, expressing their desire to join them, and Grace accepted them all with a smile.

Inside the shattered palace, the nobles' faces were ashen. "What, anyone else wants to leave? If you're going to leave, then leave now. Let me make this clear: if you leave here today, you'll never have the chance to cooperate with us again," the vice president shouted.

The minor nobles, who were initially somewhat restless, are now even more conflicted: should they leave to seek opportunities or challenge the major nobles?

Staying here wouldn't necessarily give them a chance to cooperate, so they might as well take a gamble. Some of the lesser nobles made up their minds and left.

The nobles who remained immediately cursed, "What a bunch of traitors!"

"These people should be arrested. Is this a place where they can come and go as they please?"

"Kill them!"

...Angry curses rang out, but the elderly man at the head of the group simply raised his hand, and the surroundings fell silent.

Someone asked cautiously, "Um, what do you suggest we do? We'll do as you say."

"Yes, yes, we'll listen to you!"

The old man simply waved his hand casually, sighed, and said, "Young people are too ambitious. Well, let's see this as a lesson for their ambition."