"Their underlings are probably all from the World Government, but likely the lowest ranks. It's not them here; it's the royal family."
Vic had just finished dealing with Zero and the others and was planning to have a chat with the King, so it was convenient that the royal family had come looking for him.
"Grandma! What's wrong, Grandma! Waaah!" Konan only learned that her grandmother had fainted after Frodeku entered the cabin; before that, she had been in a state of excitement.
Vic and his team eradicated the island's scourge, a momentous event celebrated nationwide. Konan was naturally overjoyed; the country was saved, and her grandmother had been cured—a double blessing. However, she never expected that her grandmother would collapse so soon afterward, causing Konan's emotions to fluctuate wildly.
"Don't worry, I'm here to take your grandma to our warship to see a doctor. If you're worried, you can come with me," Frodeku comforted the tearful girl.
"Okay! I'll go with you!" Konan, upon hearing that they were going to see a doctor, came to her senses and now trusted the people who were with Rebecca.
"Sister Konan, I'm sorry, my abilities aren't fully developed yet, and I haven't been able to cure Grandma's illness!"
Ain felt guilty when she saw the old lady faint. She wanted to help but couldn't quite manage it. Ain's obsession with developing the fruit intensified, and this time it wasn't for personal feelings!
"It's alright, Ain. At least Grandma felt much better during that time, and that's enough. Go find Rebecca and the others, I'll go take care of my grandma!" Konan didn't blame Ain at all; on the contrary, she was very grateful. She knew her grandma's pain, and being able to alleviate it even for a moment was a blessing.
"But! Sister Konan, didn't you still have a scar on your butt that you were going to get treated by Barnett? Aren't you going to get it treated now?"
Ain's sudden words made Konan blush deeply. There was a grown man right next to her. Even a child shouldn't say such embarrassing things. Couldn't they wait until they got back? It's not like there's no chance of treatment. Konan really regretted not covering Ain's mouth beforehand.
"Ah! Hehe! Well, let's talk about that later! Treating my grandma is more important. Let's talk about that later, let's go!"
Konan was a little embarrassed and told Frodeku to hurry up and leave, as getting away from this wretched brat was the right thing to do.
Frodeku didn't seem to mind; it was just a girl's butt, he wasn't particularly concerned about it.
After Frodeku carried the old lady and Konan away from the cabin, Ain quickly ran towards Vic and the others; she didn't want to be alone.
When Ain ran to Vic's side, she saw a large group of people appear at the edge of the dilapidated Flower Field. The leader was an old man with white hair wearing a crown, followed by several people dressed as ministers wearing hats, and behind them were many soldiers in leather armor.
However, everyone looked rather pale and listless. The leather armor they wore seemed a bit too big, making them look somewhat comical. Without a word, Ain approached Vic, grabbed his cloak, and secretly observed him.
Vic didn't turn around, but reached behind him and gently stroked Ain's head, his eyes fixed on the king in the crowd.
The king's spirits were not very good either. It was unclear whether it was due to his advanced age or the effects of the Smoke Flower pollen. The elderly in this country seemed more tired than the young people.
People like Konan can still work in the Flower Field, picking flowers and leaves, but older people are nowhere to be seen. They mostly stay at home and rarely care about what's going on outside.
Those who were older were in even worse shape and were almost all bedridden. Vic guessed that the pollen from the Smoke Flower was even more of a burden on the bodies of the elderly, and they had been exposed to these Smoke Flower from the very beginning, when they were already quite old. Konan's grandmother almost died.
When the king and his men arrived before Vic, they all looked at Zero and Lao Jiu's heads, which had returned to human form, as well as the corpses of Lao San Lao Si. Their bodies trembled and their eyes reddened.
The soldiers' eyes were filled with hatred. The king stepped forward and knelt down in front of Vic without saying a word. The ministers and soldiers behind him followed suit and all knelt down.
Vic didn't stop them; it was indeed a matter of saving the country, and they deserved to kneel. Rebecca saw that Vic didn't speak, so she didn't either. Barnett was treating Wendy's injuries and didn't have the energy to pay attention to these things.
Wendy, on the other hand, had a gleam in her eyes when she saw this, a light that shone brightly!
"You're the king of this country, aren't you? What are you doing? I killed your island's guardian deity and destroyed so many Flower Field. Are you begging me to stop killing? I'm a navy officer; I don't kill innocent people indiscriminately!" Vic asked, feigning ignorance, seeing the king remain motionless for a long time.
"No! You are our savior hero! Those men deserved to die, they were right to die! They controlled all the food and trade on the island!"
They imprisoned all the children as hostages, solely to coerce civilians into planting this Devil's Flower poisons humanity.
If this country were to perish in a few more years, it would truly be finished, vanishing completely from the annals of history. Therefore, you are the heroes and saviors of the kingdom!
The king still didn't get up. He straightened up, looked up at Vic, and said, his face full of wrinkles and tears streaming down his face.
He seemed like a good king, not the greedy kind the Lao Si had described. Eyes don't lie. Vic was a little puzzled. Why was the king so different from what the Lao Si had said? But Grandma Konan also said the king had changed.
"It was probably just a coincidence. We only treated an old man after we arrived on the island, and then they kept coming after us trying to kill us. We were forced to fight back."
Who knew they would be so relentless, determined to kill us? We had no choice but to kill them. We never imagined they were such evil people. It seems karma is a karmic cycle, and retribution is inevitable. Get up, all of you!
As Vic spoke, he winked at the old king, who seemed to understand what he meant, nodded subtly, and then led everyone to stand up.
"Regardless, even if your actions were unintentional, it's a fact that you saved this country, and we must thank you properly. However, I have something I'd like to ask this young naval officer privately. I wonder if that would be convenient?"
The old king looked at Vic and said, a hint of urgency in his eyes.
"Okay, let's go, let's go to the cabin!"
This was exactly what Vic wanted to say; Vic also had things to ask and things to say.
Rebecca walked past Ain to Wendy and the others, without making any move to speak to them.
"I wonder if your gesture just now was meant to ask you something?"
Although the old king also had something to discuss with Vic, he didn't speak directly. Instead, after arriving at the cabin, he asked Vic questions in return.