Manfred Grey was clear-headed.
Since the family was pushing him and his loved ones to a dead end, he had no choice but to resist.
His loyalty to the family had always been for the sake of protecting those most important to him.
If there were no more supplies to support their exploration, then they would find a way to obtain them from the dungeon itself.
"I am not forcing everyone to continue exploring downward with me."
"From now on, we are not exploring this dungeon for the Grey family, but for our own future."
"If anyone wants to quit, you can leave now and return to the upper floors."
Manfred Grey spoke to his remaining team members.
These men were true warriors, having been filtered and tested by the dungeon through their exploration.
"We are willing to follow the captain to the death."
The stunned team members had finally regained their composure and expressed their willingness to continue following him.
The Grey family trained non-family warriors to serve on the front lines of dungeon exploration.
They earned profits for the family, which in turn fed the family's growth.
This allowed the Grey family to rapidly siphon treasures from the dungeon and continuously expand their power.
However, these explorers on the front lines constantly witnessed the deaths of their companions in the cruel and dangerous depths.
They saw the harvests they reaped at the risk of their lives ultimately become nourishment for the core pure-blood members of the Grey family.
They watched the hedonistic nobles within the family comfortably enjoy the fruits of their life-threatening labor.
The lie the family told them was simple.
As long as they became extraordinary beings, they could obtain the Grey surname and become true members of the Grey family.
However, Manfred Grey, Rhine, and Weiss had become extraordinary and obtained the Grey surname, yet they were still ordered to explore the dangerous front lines of the dungeon to generate profit.
They already knew it was nothing but a lie.
After becoming extraordinary, they simply became more useful tools to the family.
The family would only give them more dangerous missions to create even more profit.
The stronger they became, the deeper the family would force them to explore.
The resentment toward the family had long been building in their hearts; it only lacked a catalyst and a leader.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance.
...
On the sixth floor, the Red Rose team led by Serafina was currently setting up a temporary camp in the sandstorm to rest and adjust.
Caspar, a member of the team, carefully scattered a handful of seeds into the sand.
"Let the light of abundance descend upon this land."
"First-rank divine art, Growth!"
The seeds rapidly sprouted in the barren desert, quickly maturing to produce several plants resembling tomatoes.
Seeing the conjured food was ripe, Caspar ended the divine art and carefully picked the fruit.
"Harvest priests are just too useful!"
"Can a priest of light do something like this?"
Remel marveled while trying to beg for a fresh fruit.
"One silver coin each, no haggling."
Caspar slapped Remel's hand away and stated the price.
"What the hell? One silver coin? Are you robbing me? Is there any other priest like you in the world!"
Remel had long lost his previous air of wealth.
After all, his money pouch had been stolen.
Caspar ignored him and distributed the fruit to the other team members.
"Give some to Remel."
Serafina, as the captain, took the fruit from Caspar's hand and spoke.
"Hmph, the captain's treating you."
Caspar reluctantly tossed a few fruits to Remel.
"Heh, what a great captain. Truly as kind as she is beautiful."
Remel took the fruit and took a bite, nearly spitting it out.
"Why is it so sour!"
He looked at the others in the team and found they didn't seem to care, silently eating away.
"This is a desert; a Harvest priest isn't omnipotent."
"How could food conjured here compare to food grown naturally in fertile soil?"
"This is a dungeon; having anything to eat is already good enough. Plenty of people have nothing at all."
Caspar hated it most when people said his conjured food tasted bad; this was a gift from the Harvest God and a matter of his faith.
His gaze toward Remel was no longer very friendly.
"Fine, fine."
Remel continued to gnaw on the fruit.
"Your Red Rose team is quite famous in Gray City, being a second-rank adventurer team after all."
"Have you ever seen the Death Hammer team?"
As a lone wolf in Gray City, Remel was quite lacking in intelligence.
"Death Hammer is the only fifth-rank adventurer team in Gray City and the only non-noble power to have explored down to the 39th floor of the Gray City dungeon."
"They are famous throughout the entire Northern Territory."
Dungeons with fewer than 30 floors were called small-scale dungeons; though rare, there were still many in the Northern Territory.
Those with 30 to 50 floors were called medium-scale dungeons, and there were only a handful in the entire Northern Territory.
The illustrious Grey family only controlled two, yet they had already relied on the treasures within to become a major noble power dominating the North.
They stood on equal footing with the forces of Prince William, the Northern Prince of the Lanxi Kingdom.
Dungeons with more than 50 floors were large-scale dungeons.
Large-scale dungeons contained countless treasures and held power sufficient to change a nation.
In the entire Lanxi Kingdom, there was only one, located beneath the current capital, Nister Royal City.
It was said that the depth of the medium-scale Gray City dungeon was likely 40 floors.
In other words, the 39th floor reached by Death Hammer was the floor right above the bottom.
The next floor would be the bottom floor containing the dungeon core.
This legendary adventurer team had a high chance of exploring to the bottom, defeating the Dungeon King, obtaining the core, and taking control of the dungeon.
Most of the attention from noble powers was focused on the Gray City dungeon.
This included the Grey family and the Northern Prince.
If the Grey family gained control of this dungeon, relying on the resources of three medium-scale dungeons, they could potentially become the absolute overlords of the North.
And the Northern Prince needed to rely on this dungeon to solidify his position as the king of the North.
"If Death Hammer occupies this dungeon, a massive new power will likely emerge in the North."
"When that time comes, many adventurers will surely want to follow Death Hammer."
Death Hammer had that kind of strength.
To establish a family, step onto the chessboard of the North, and become players who manipulate the powers of the North and even the kingdom.
"The nobles have established secret societies among themselves."
"The current North cannot tolerate a new power with a neutral stance."
"If Death Hammer wants to establish a noble power to make their bloodline noble and ensure its continuation..."
"They must cast aside their adventurer habits, join a noble secret society, form a secret alliance, and present a pledge of loyalty."
"Only then can they join the circle of nobility."
"Unless they possess strength powerful enough to define the rules themselves."
"Otherwise, you must play the game according to other people's rules."
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