Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Ronak’s Gift

He restrained his inner darkness and asked in a casual voice, "Did he have a crush on you?"

"Eh? No. He had a fiancée he loved; however, she died because of some health issues. He never got over that, and in this life, I wish to help his fiancée." Ivy explained, her voice was laced with endless patience.

"Oh? Don’t worry, I will help him!" Silas was cheerful. As long as the guy never eyed his wife, Silas has no qualms about helping him.

Ivy was amused by Silas’s antics. Suddenly, she blurted out, "You know, I was wondering... other than just building my base, I should study agricultural farming or plant breeding."

Silas didn’t think much. "Alright, I will get you the books."

"Hm," Ivy hummed; however, a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes. Did she truly... want to learn plant breeding?

It doesn’t seem to be... strange.

Why did she even have that thought?

Silas and Ivy spent some quiet moments before they exited the room. Ivy secretly packed a bag of food and water and asked Ronak to deliver it to Matt’s house.

Once done, Ivy and her family stayed in Ronak’s house for a few more days to clear out zombies and found the zombie king.

To call him a zombie king would be an exaggeration. It was just a zombie with the basic instinct of being able to command zombies.

The so-called zombie king was massive; its muscles bulged unnaturally beneath torn, decaying skin. Its eyes gleamed faintly red, and its roar carried a chilling authority that made the surrounding zombies halt in obedience.

When Ivy first laid eyes on it, she was speechless.

The zombie had 0 survival skills, but what made Ivy worried was its speed and its strength as well as how it could sense Ivy’s presence even with Ivy’s special power.

Because of Ivy’s power, clearing out the zombies was as easy as cutting nails.

So when a zombie, which could indeed sense Ivy’s presence, appeared, the Nightbane siblings and Silas tensed up.

They exchanged a glance before reaching an understanding.

The zombie king lunged first, its speed shocking for its hulking size.

Kael vanished from sight, reappearing behind the creature in an instant, striking its neck with his blade, but the zombie barely flinched and swung its massive arm back.

Kael teleported again just before the blow could crush him.

"Too fast!" he shouted.

Ember leaped forward, her fists glowing faintly red as veins of energy pulsed through her arms.

She slammed into the zombie’s chest with a punch that cracked its ribs and sent it staggering a few steps back.

Before it could recover, Silas raised his hand, thunder crackling between his fingers. "Move!" he barked.

Ember darted aside just as Silas released a streak of lightning that tore through the air, striking the zombie’s torso.

The thunderclap echoed across the ruined street, burning flesh and filling the air with a stench of decay.

The zombie roared, its charred skin regenerating unnaturally fast. "Damn it, it’s healing!"

Felix shouted, stretching his arm like a whip and snapping it around the creature’s neck. With a hard jerk, he pulled, trying to restrain it.

"Hold it steady!" Silas yelled, electricity surging around his body once more.

Kael appeared beside Felix, using his teleportation to anchor a chain around the zombie’s legs.

Ember didn’t waste the chance; she jumped high and brought both fists down like hammers, smashing its skull halfway into the ground.

Lightning flashed again. Silas’s final strike hit dead center, searing through its heart.

The zombie’s body convulsed violently before collapsing, smoke rising from the wound.

Felix released his grip, panting. "Did we... get it?"

The corpse twitched once, then went still. Silas stepped closer, his eyes wary. "Yeah," he muttered.

Ivy watched everything happening from the sideline, and a sad smile appeared on her face.

During the entire fight, she hardly helped and remained on the side. Though she constantly told herself that she would awaken an offensive power and would be able to attack in such coordination too, her mood started to plummet.

’No! Ivy, wake up! Trust yourself! If even you would give up, then who will look up to you?’

Inhaling a deep breath, Ivy smiled and asked, "Now who is up for the next sting operation?"

"Me!" Felix and Ember chimed in at the same time while Kael gave a gentle smile.

Silas leaned toward Ivy’s ears and whispered, "If I get a kiss... maybe I will consider."

Ivy rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her face.

"Let’s check out the crystal of zombie kings." Ember interrupted and sprinted toward the zombie king.

Since she had cracked its skull before, taking out the crystal was easy.

Once she cleaned the zombie king’s crystal, everyone gasped.

The crystal looked slightly reddish and gave off an eerie glow.

"It’s a super-strength crystal." Ivy revealed, "Ember, you should absorb it. You might be able to reach level 2 if you do so."

"Eh? But then what about others... they have put in efforts too!" Though Ember said so, her eyes drifted to Silas.

Her own siblings won’t have any problem, but as for others... they might hold some complaints in their hearts.

She didn’t want to ruin her sister’s happy relationship.

"Take it. I have a thunder element; it won’t benefit me at all." Silas chuckled. How can he not see the hesitation in Ember’s eyes?

Ember heaved a sigh of relief and flashed him a bright smile. "Then I won’t be polite."

With that, she pocketed the crystal, like someone would steal it if she didn’t.

Her mannerisms made Ivy laugh.

The team returned, and after packing up, they started to leave. Ronak personally escorted them out.

Once at the entrance, Ronak handed over a box to Silas and whispered, "This was acquired by me under some strange circumstances; however, I couldn’t decipher its use. Maybe you will be able to activate it? Take it as a small token for your help."

Silas shook his head, raising a hand. "You don’t owe me anything, Ronak. We’re friends, not merchants."