Chapter 181: Crisis on 10th and Junction
Chapter 181: Crisis on 10th and Junction
“There he is.”
His palm flat, Jimmy raised his hand above his forehead and peered into the distance. Though he couldn’t actually see Zach, he knew that the kid was coming. With the boss having flattened and destroyed what Jimmy estimated to be around ten-thousand acres of land, it was easy to spot the wispy, chalky line that led from where Jimmy currently stood all the way to some point directly southeast of here. And now, he could see another one forming beside it, leading right back towards him just as the other started to fade.
Eventually, Jimmy was able to make out the form of Zach, which was leading up this new, chalky, and contrail-like streak, and he was moving fast enough to blast tons of dirt and soil behind him. Slowing himself, he planted his fiery feet into the ground and skidded to a halt until eventually stopping. Then he marched directly over to Jimmy as well as Kalana who stood nearby. “I’m back,” he said. “Loot.”
Jimmy chuckled, though he did so hesitantly, as something seemed to be off with Zach, though it was so slight he couldn’t really place it. He couldn’t even be sure he wasn’t misreading things or imagining them. With his hood off, Jimmy was able to get a good look at his eyes, and there was just something about them, but it was so subtle that Jimmy genuinely couldn’t be certain if it was real or a trick of the lighting. Before Jimmy could tell for sure, Zach once more pulled the hood over his head, which obscured his face in shadow and gave him that menacing glow.
“Come on. What’re we all waiting for?”
“Zach, don’t be in such a rush,” Kalana said. “We should deal with your exertion debt first. I don’t want anything bad to happen to y—”
“Let’s at least get started,” he interrupted. “I want to see what we’ve got.” More loudly, he added, “Shouldn’t we at least take a peek first?”
The adventurers definitely felt the same way, and so too did the political guild members, and they let this be well known by shouting out their agreement. Jimmy smiled. He then looked directly ahead of himself, to where Zach’s ring had blasted a spiral-shaped trench into the ground, one that ran for several miles. At the very foot of this trench, in the spot where the boss had last resided, there were mounds upon mounds of weapons, armor, golden coins, and other such trinkets.
“All right,” Jimmy said to an applause. “Let’s at least get everything out of there and sorted.”
Jimmy, along with Donovan and Zephyr, walked their way over to the trench. The rest of the raid did not stay put, however. They followed, and now they formed something of a semicircle around the three of them as though excited and wanting to see everything that they’d earned from the boss.
Everyone’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Jimmy, having finally proven his worth, had more than enough reason to join in their cheer. Though things had been a lot closer and more difficult than they should have been, he still considered this whole raid a big “W” on his scorecard: something to erase the stain of the last one. Now, they just had to start taking him seriously. Or at least as seriously as they were taking all this loot.