Chapter 16: Gungro, the Invincible Enemy (Part 1)

This inexplicable emotion rising from the depths of her heart, the relentless pounding of her heartbeat, and the burning sensation in her ears made this girl from Altak appear somewhat unnatural.
She had never experienced such things before…
Altak was the farthest territory in the northwest of the empire, the coldest land among human kingdoms—a principality shrouded in blizzards.
The harsh environment made it impossible for weak animals to survive there; thus, you would never see gentle creatures like rabbits. Only polar bears and snow wolves could endure such brutal weather.
Similarly, weak humans could not survive in this land either. Not to mention the beasts lurking in the snow, hunting for prey—they could hardly withstand Altak’s cruel climate.
“The men of Altak are the empire’s finest soldiers!” Countless people had praised them in this way.
But behind this glory, Altak was filled with cruelty and tyranny. Those without strength were doomed not to survive here.
In Altak, the measure of a man’s worth was not his status, wealth, or power, but his actual strength!
In Altak, a man’s coming-of-age ritual involved entering the storm-wracked mountains alone to kill a fierce beast, proving he had the ability to bear the title of “man.” It was a trial every man of Altak must endure—weaklings deserved only to be buried deep in the snow-capped mountains!
Altak was also a place full of discrimination and class divisions, even worse than in the imperial capital of Sassen.
Perhaps due to the harsh environment, the people of Altak discriminated against outsiders and women. It was a world dominated by male supremacy!
In Altak, women could not inherit any titles or family estates. They were destined to remain dependents of powerful men—a phenomenon that had remained unchanged for centuries.
And Ravia was born on this land…
In other parts of the empire, Ravia might have inherited the title of grand duke and become a female lord. But in Altak, such a thing was absolutely impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Even though her grandfather was the grand duke who ruled this land and loved her the most…

Here, women cannot inherit any titles—this has been the rule for hundreds of years. Just as Altak adheres to the principle of survival of the fittest, the strong can trample on the dignity of the weak at will.
“The victor should simply move forward on the bones of the losers!” These words truly reflect Altak’s nature.
In Altak, men do not help one another; they believe they must handle their own affairs. Those who need help are destined to be disrespected, let alone protected…
Those who rely on others for protection do not deserve to be called men!
The root cause of this phenomenon is the scarcity of food!
The harsh climate makes it nearly impossible for the people here to obtain food through farming. They must hunt and kill fierce beasts to get the meat they need. Additionally, Altak borders the lands of northern dwarves and barbarians. In an era of tense relations between the empire and the barbarians, this region often becomes the forefront of battles. All these factors contribute to Altak’s preference for males over females.
After the empire’s strength stabilized, Altak mainly relied on the empire for food supplies. But even with relatively sufficient food, the ingrained beliefs from centuries past remain unchangeable.
The girls from Altak are clearly aware of all this…
So when she saw the boy beside her wrapping his arms around her, protecting her from the rocks, she bit her lip tightly, utterly at a loss…
“Idiot…” she murmured softly, her eyelashes trembling slightly, as if suppressing her emotions.
She felt that if she didn’t hold back these inexplicable emotions, she would burst out venting her past grievances and pain to the boy in front of her.
If that happened…
If that happened…
He would laugh at her, look down on her—definitely!
“What?”seeming hearing her murmurs, the boy raised his head. His dark golden hair was covered in dust and debris.
“I… I said you idiot!” The girl said angrily, her face red, “Don’t you think about the consequences before acting? We’re underground right now—what if the tunnel collapses? I definitely don’t want to die with you!”
“Hey,” seeing her venting her ‘anger,’ the boy clearly felt frustrated and complained, “It hasn’t collapsed yet…”

“Haven’t collapsed yet?” As she spoke, the girl hadn’t felt anything, but upon hearing this reply, she clearly noticed and pointed at the open space around them, saying, “It still hasn’t collapsed? Do you really want us buried here?”
Indeed, that intense vibration seemed to have collapsed the tunnel above, but fortunately, there wasn’t a complete collapse. Although they might encounter some trouble getting out, at least they wouldn’t be buried alive.
“It’s not that…” The boy looked embarrassed and said awkwardly, “It’s just that there was no other way.” Then he glanced at the girl strangely and asked, “You seem quite upset?”
Suddenly, the girl felt her cheeks burn hot as she stammered a few incoherent words.
“Someone like… someone as reckless as you. Yes, it’s you who’s being too reckless…”
“Hehe!”
“What… why are you laughing? It’s really you who’s being reckless…” Raviya tried to hide her emotions by venting her frustration. Then, lowering her head, she said softly, “Let go of me…”
“Oh!” Jiang Zhe finally realized and quickly released his arms, shaking his head to dislodge the debris and dust from his hair. Then he turned to look behind him and said, “They should be fine now too!”
Indeed, Jiang Zhe and his group were safe thanks to the giant pseudo-beast, the Fire Bear, but those forty or fifty Gungroos weren’t so lucky—they were all buried under the rubble.
Compared to Jiang Zhe’s optimism, Raviya was clearly more cautious. Shaking her head, she said softly, “Sos, if these guys are really the immortal Gungroos from the legends, I don’t think this level of damage can stop them…”
As if to prove her point, the pile of rubble in the distance suddenly trembled, and black blood flowed out from the cracks in the stones. Then, that black blood slowly took the shape of a human figure, followed by a second, a third…
“Hey!” Jiang Zhe was shocked.
What a joke? Can’t even kill these guys like this?
And they don’t seem to be hurt at all?
What the hell?
Amidst their stunned and shocked expressions, those forty or fifty Gungroos reappeared before their eyes…
“It seems you’re right. I really was being too reckless…” Jiang Zhe said with a bitter smile as he stared at those monsters.
“Huh?” Raviya was stunned for a moment before understanding what the boy meant—he was referring to the place where they were now.

Due to the tunnel’s collapse, the area where they stood was much more open, meaning he couldn’t use fireballs to suppress those monsters as before. After all, Gungro’s speed was just as remarkable as its strength!
“What… what should we do?” Out of anxiety, Ravia asked instinctively. But after speaking, her expression froze—she seemed to realize her own behavior was unusual. Under normal circumstances, she would never speak in such a tone, nor would she ask such a question.
However, Jiang Zhe didn’t notice any of this. He was fully focused on the enemy before him—a formidable opponent…
Troublesome! Too troublesome!
“What else can we do?” Looking around, Jiang Zhe luckily spotted an entrance to a tunnel. He said in a low voice, “Go there!”
“There?” Ravia was stunned. The entrance to that tunnel was right next to several Gungros. Just as she was about to say something, Jiang Zhe’s voice came from beside her.
“I’ll draw their attention. You hurry…”
“I refuse!” Ravia interrupted him firmly. “Are you trying to hold them off so I can escape? That’s an insult to me!”
Seeing that the Gungros seemed to have turned their attention toward them, Jiang Zhe frowned and said, “Stop talking! The magic you use can at best tickle them! It’s useless!”
“You!” Even though she understood the boy’s intention, Ravia still trembled with anger.
“I just hate your arrogance!” Her tone gradually softened. “I… even if that’s the case, two people are stronger than you alone, right? Don’t make me hate you…”
“…” Hearing the strange tone in Ravia’s last words, Jiang Zhe instinctively glanced at the girl beside him. Just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of several Gungros charging at them like a gust of wind.
“Who cares about you!” As he spoke, the giant fire bear surrounding them struck the ground with its massive forelimbs, creating a huge crater.
Unfortunately, bears didn’t seem suitable for being transformed using fire magic. They lost the agility of fire-based beasts and failed to deliver enough damage. One of the Gungros easily dodged the attack.
But soon after, it was hit by a fireball, its entire head exploding.
“Hurry up!” Seeing that the Gungro recovered in just a few seconds, Jiang Zhe grew anxious.

“I don’t want to!” The girl refused with firm words and actions. As spells were chanted, a circle of flames rose beneath her feet, growing stronger and larger.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The three-headed Gargroths were slammed to the ground by the flames controlled by Ravia, but they quickly stood back up. Indeed, such attacks were barely enough to bother them.
“A stubborn girl is never likable!”
“Who… who said I’m likable to you?”
“I didn’t say that about you. Why are you upset?”
“You… damn it!”
“Tch!” Glancing at the girl beside him, Jiang Zhe shook his head helplessly. Raising his right hand, he summoned one fireball after another around them, forming a giant net that restricted the Gargroths’ movement.
“Immortal, huh?” Jiang Zhe sneered and snapped his fingers.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Dozens of fireballs exploded simultaneously, unleashing a massive wave of flames.
But the next second, Jiang Zhe frowned again as he saw the Gargroths reassembling themselves behind the flames.
“Damn it, they’re really tough! Ravia…”
“You don’t need to say anything. If I were to abandon my companions, it would be a stain I could never erase in my life!”
Jiang Zhe, who was already controlling over twenty fireballs—far beyond normal capacity—smiled sarcastically. “I mean, go find the professor. He’s right ahead. Do you think I’d risk my life just to let you escape? I’m surprised you suddenly think of me as so noble.”
“You! I… you…” Ravia’s face turned red as she stared at Jiang Zhe in disbelief, shouting angrily, “Who thinks of you as noble? I… I knew it! You jerk!”
“Then why don’t you go already?!” As they spoke, the two gradually approached the tunnel. Meanwhile, all the Gargroths launched attacks on them. If it weren’t for the giant fire bear and Jiang Zhe’s seemingly endless supply of fireballs, they would have been torn to pieces by those monsters long ago.
“I… I don’t want to!”
“Huh?” After using a fireball to push back one Gargroth, Jiang Zhe turned to look at the girl in surprise.
The girl calmly looked at him and said gently, “If the professor is really ahead, he’ll definitely come after hearing the noises here… And you’ve used too much magic. Even if I’m useless, I can still help you when you can’t hold on any longer… Even if it’s just to buy you a few more seconds…”

“You…” Jiang Zhe was stunned. For the first time, he realized that Ravia also possessed a girlly gentleness, though her kindness was different from that of other girls. Looking into those eyes tinged with the colors of fire, Jiang Zhe felt utterly unable to refuse. Anxiously, he muttered, “As long as you don’t regret it…”
“I won’t,” Ravia said with a rare sweet smile. “Even if… I won’t regret the decision I make! And also…”
“Hm?”
“Sos…”
“Go on!” Jiang Zhe, who was focused on dealing with those Gungro, sounded somewhat impatient. But Ravia showed no sign of annoyance at all. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke in a very fast and indistinct tone. “If you want, you can call me Avi…”