I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL LIFE

"Calm down, Guardian. I already asked for reinforcements from Frostfall City." said Respected Erhan.

"Frostfall City? What about the Everwhite?" asked one of the fifth grade Guardian.

"The Guardian stationed there will evacuate the Respected Ones and maintain the stability." said Respected Simon.

"Evacuate?!! You are joking, right?" asked another injured Guardian.

"No, we aren't. This is the consensus decision of the Respected Ones." said Respected Erhan.

"Bullshit?!! You're all just trying to save your sorry ass while we are dying here!!" roared one of the fifth-grade Guardians.

"Presumptuous!! Remember your duty and oath, Guardian!!" retorted Respected Havras from the side.

"Duty and oath…" said the fifth-grade Guardian back.

Before he could say anything else, one of the injured Fifth-grade Guardians said, "Enough, Edward!! It is not time to fight ourselves."

Then, they heard loud cries and saw explosions at the fortress wall. All the remaining guardians twitched before returning dejectedly to their positions.

Most are high-grade Guardians with experience leading a team. They know the Respected Ones and others have already forsaken them.

Furthermore, they know if they make a fuss now, the whole Guardian will collapse, and the Gram will breach their Fortress faster. At that time, everyone in the Fortress will die under the onslaught of Gram Wave.

Meanwhile, far away from the Glass Fortress, a group of carriages protected by Guardians face some Gram along the way. During the Gram Wave period, most of the Guardian was concentrated at the Glass Fortress.

Henceforth, the surrounding area in the Everwhite becomes more dangerous as the newly spawned Gram is left unattended.

Usually, all the residents decide to stay inside Everwhite City or their village to avoid Gram. However, these convoys didn't have leisure time in this current situation. Still, they didn't expect to encounter a harsh snowstorm and a group of strong Gram.

With the loud sound and mana fluctuation from the battle, the surrounding Gram also attracted and slowly surrounded the convoy.

"Incoming!! Shield up!!" shouted one of the Guardian.

*BOOOM* *Prick* *Prick* *Prick* Sharp frozen projectiles launched everywhere as a few of the unstable Gram exploded.

"We are surrounded. We need to break through now!!" shouted one of the Respected Ones from behind.

"Everyone charges forward!!" shouted the Guardian leader.

In response, the Guardian starts to move forward while battling the approaching Gram. The Guardian moves systematically as they are used to fighting Gram while moving. It is one of the mandatory battle tactics that any Guardian needs to learn.

*ARRGGHH* *CRASH* During this moment, the Guardian suddenly hears a scream among their ranks. Unbeknownst to them, a huge white-skinned monster with white hair grabs one of the carriages with its big arm and crashes it like a toy.

On its other hand, some Guardian corpses already turn into pieces of meat. Magically, none of the Guardian or the Respected Ones noticed this monster until the previous loud scream.

"Damn it!! It's a Troll Variant!!" said one of the Respected Ones.

Gram comes in various shapes and species. Sometimes, it even spawns as existing monsters. If the monster is ordinary and without unique characteristics, this is not a problem. However, it is another matter if it becomes a dangerous monster like a troll.

Trolls are hideous vicious monsters known for their stealth ability despite their huge size. They are often referred to as the Silent Abductor. Moreover, they have many troublesome traits, such as swift movement, high-speed regeneration, thick hide and skin, and resistance to fire.

Combined with the Gram initial trait, this monster could become a massive headache even for any sixth-grade combatant despite only being third-grade.

The whole convoy also couldn't run away from this Gram Troll Variant. It is common sense to never take your eyes off a troll since they could suddenly sneak behind you.

Therefore, they couldn't ignore it and run away, as their group would only be killed one by one by its magical sneak attack.

"Kill it!! Fire!! Mage shoots fire on it!!" Ordered one of the Respected Ones.

Most of the Respected Ones are retired old Guardians. Despite being drunk on power and authority, they still know how dangerous Gram Troll Variant is. If they didn't take care of it carefully, the convoy may end up dead under its huge hands.

In the meantime, not far from Aulia's convoy location, a freezing wind covers the tundra forest. In this harsh weather, an old man is chopping down a tree, unaffected by the freezing weather.

"*Sigh* Hmm.. What chilly wind? At this rate, gathering firewood will be harder." said the old man casually.

The old man is unbothered by the chilly wind and continues his job. He is the old man that Angus and the others met a few days ago. *Click* *Click* *Click* At this moment, he hears a strange stepping sound.

Before long, a Gram made of bluish translucent ice appeared far from the old man. The Gram has a thin lanky humanoid figure with two hands and legs. There is a trace of crack on its side corner face. Furthermore, this Gram also emitted potent dreadful miasma from its body.

It gives an impression of freezing coldness to anyone who stares at it. Unusually, the old man only glanced at the dreadful Gram casually.

"*Sigh* Why can't you stop bothering me?" said the old man casually.

*KIIIIKK* In response to the old man's words, the Gram screamed loudly, showing its fourth-grade aura, before rushing towards the old man.

*BAM* Before the Gram could approach the old man, it was thrown back by a mysterious force a few dozen meters away. Not giving up its pursuit, the Gram stood up and rushed forward again.

"Tch… How persistent. Did you really like getting beaten up?" said the old man from a distance.

*WUNGG* Suddenly, a giant yellowish palm appeared out of nowhere and hit the humanoid Gram. This attack caused various cracks to appear on the Gram's body. Yet, it did not give up and tried to stand up again.

The cracks also healed quickly due to the Gram's regeneration trait. *WUNG* *WUNG* *WUNG* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* A few giant yellowish palms hit the Gram and threw it farther than the previous attack.

*CRASH* *CRASH* *CRASH* In a moment, the humanoid Gram travels far away while destroying all the surrounding frozen tundra forest. It made a straight beeline from inside the forest to the outside. *BOOOM* Coincidentally, the humanoid Gram crashed near Aulia's convoy.

"Damn it, another one!! Focus on the Troll first!!" said One of the Respected Ones.

*KIIIIEEKKK* A monstrous dreadful miasma erupted from the crashing Gram. At this moment, all the nearby Gram stopped their action before approaching the humanoid Gram as if it were their leader.

"Huh?! T-That's a high-grade variant Gram!!" cried one of the nearby Guardian.

Variant Gram is unlike ordinary Gram. It is not only stronger but also has unique characteristics. Sometimes, it can also lead other Gram, like a monster overlord.

To everyone's surprise, this high-grade Gram variant ignored the convoy and focused on the direction from which it came. *KIIIEKK* With its scream, all the nearby Gram rushed towards where it came from.

"Hmm… Didn't I already tell you? Gathering others is useless and only causes unnecessary bloodshed." a voice heard from the nearby thick snowstorm.

*WUNG* *WUNG* *WUNG* A yellowish light could be heard from the snowstorm. A moment later, a fragile thin old man casually walks out from the snowstorm in the distance toward the Gram Variant.

All the previous Gram rushed before had already turned into fragmented ice in his surroundings.

"Hmm… Why is there a convoy at this period? Did something happen to Everwhite?" said the old man.

*KIIIEKK* At this moment, the humanoid Gram once again rushed towards the old man. *WUNG* *BANG* Same as before, the Gram is thrown away in the distance. Before it could get up again, another giant yellow palm hit him and knocked it out.

"A chance!! Hurry kill the Troll!!" ordered one of the Respected Ones.

With the absence of Gram in the surroundings, the Troll was killed with the help of everyone. After killing the Troll, the Guardian and Respected Ones approach the old man sitting atop the knocked-out humanoid Gram.

Noticing the Gram Variant still alive, "Err... this Gram?"

"What about it?" replied the old man with the same warm smile.

Despite the warm smile, everyone could feel an invisible pressure emitted from the old man.

'Expert!! He must be at least sixth grade.' thought everyone.

"Ehem… "Thank you for helping us. May I know who you are?" asked one of the Respected Ones.

"Ahh… I am just old lumberjack. Don't mind me." replied the old man casually.

"Err… We are trying to reach Frostfall City. We would be glad if you could follow us. We will also be handsomely rewarded there." said one of the Respected Ones.

"Huh? Why do you want to go to Frostfall at this period?" asked the old man with a frown.

"It's classified. You just need to follow us." said the nearby Guardian rudely.

"Hmm… How about no." said the old man playfully.

"How dare you refuse the Respected Ones?!" said the nearby Guardian while taking out his weapon.

*Bang* A yellow light flashed before the Guardian threw it into the distance. This sudden attack surprised everyone, especially the Respected Ones.

"You…" said the other Guardian.