Chapter 33- Coup
Randoff stepped forward, his eyes scanning the battlefield littered with twitching zombie corpses. He looked straight at Julian and his group, a rare smile breaking through his usually stern expression. "Excellent work, Julian. Your team handled those mutated zombies with impressive skill."
Julian dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment. "Your team performed admirably as well. Their coordination was solid."
Veronica puffed out her chest with a smirk, her pride unmistakable. Clarissa, by contrast, only smiled softly, her eyes twinkling with quiet satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Cris glared daggers at them from a few steps away, his fists clenched at his sides. ’Damn him’, he seethed inwardly. ’I’ll kill him when the time is right...’
Randoff turned to the group as a whole. "Collect the mutated zombies’ crystals. We’ll rest here briefly before we continue."
The team spread out across the blood-soaked street, retrieving the shimmering crystals from the chests of the mutated zombies. The crystals pulsed faintly, a testament to the monstrous power they had contained.
While the team worked, Clarissa approached Luke curiously. "You said it takes six skill users to take down one mutated zombie... but I just saw our group manage it. Why?"
Before Luke could answer, Vivi cut in with a teasing laugh. "Don’t trust Luke too much, he likes to exaggerate things to make himself look good."
Luke scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. "Hey, I was just being careful! Better to overestimate than underestimate, right?"
Clarissa giggled, shaking her head in amusement.
Then Julian asked in a serious tone, "Did you encounter any other mutated zombies besides that?"