After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Like her brother, Gwen preferred to use her legs. She may not be particularly tall, but she was blessed with long legs.

Normally, men would like to touch these works of art, but when they tried, their faces were likely to meet with it instead.

Gill would repeatedly tell her since she was young that men cannot be trusted and she had to keep a sharp eye on them. He taught to always employ critical thinking, regardless of how ’good’ a man seemed.

(She’d argue he didn’t really use much of his critical thinking when it came to his love life, but at least he used it on life-and-death situations.)

Anyway, his teachings made her very choosy growing up (beating up quite a few men in her lifetime) but, fortunately, she did find a good one in the end.

At this though, her sights swiped across Ryan’s very worried face and she couldn’t help but smile.

The sight seemed to have sent energy to Gwen’s hits and she sent flurries of swift kicks and swipes towards her opponent. Mart wasn’t weak, but she was fast and she used her size quite well, avoiding the man’s attacks with impressive flexibility.

Her brother taught her a lot about handling bigger opponents. After all, with her size and the fact that she was female, bigger opponents comprised 99% of her opponents.

Eventually, Mart’s movements turned a bit sluggish after her barrage of attacks and she took advantage of the minute opening to finally land a good one at his stomach.

”OOOUGHHF!” he gasped, slightly pushed back. Gwen’s eyes sparkled and she didn’t take a pause at all. She jumped and raised her legs 90 degrees from the ground—finishing the fight with a beautiful axe kick.

Bang!!!

The next moment, Mart’s face was on the ground, and his suffering was followed by boisterous cheers from the crowd.

”Amazing! Amazing!”

”So awesome!”

”Beautifully done!!”

Mart immediately stood up, though he seemed to have surrendered already. He was looking at her with admiration and a wide grin on his face (which was funny because he had a lot of soil on his face and teeth).

”That’s really good,” he said, extending his hand. ”Hope you can teach me some moves.”

Gwen giggled, about to nod, but suddenly a familiar blonde appeared between them. ”You okay?” he asked, looking at her in concern.

Gwen smiled. ”Of course.”

Ryan heaved a deep breath of relief before he turned to look at Mart, who was still standing there. He was probably waiting for him to leave so he could continue his conversation with Gwen.

This irked Ryan very much. ”Dismissed,” he said.

”Sir?”

”You may go now.”

”...”

Mart had no choice but reluctantly leave, his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Ryan nodded and then turned to look at Gwen again, only to see her staring at him with a sly smile.

His heart thumped and his face turned red in embarrassment. ”W-What is it?”

”You’re very cute,” she told him—quite frankly—and Ryan could only scratch the back of his neck in shyness.

”Men aren’t particularly fond of being called cute.”

”But it’s true.”

Ryan, unable to handle the embarrassing topic, decided to shift it.

”Is your brother… Gill, by some chance?”

Gwen, who was prepared to ignore the topic shift, was successfully distracted. ”You know my brother?”

She was very surprised. Their two countries weren’t close. Did they meet in a mission?

”He transferred with us,” Ryan said. ”We’re actually planning on meeting there.”

Gwen’s eyes were wide and lined with tears, and Ryan had the inexplicable urge to embrace her.

She gripped his arms. ”Let me come with you!” She yelled, ”After the war.”

He met her eyes and his heart clenched, his body moving on its own. Ryan’s hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him. He hoped to reassure her somehow.

Their moment lasted for several moments, just feeling each others’ warmth, when a whistle sounded next to them. Ryan shook, opening his eyes to look around, and his sights met with dozens of faces sending them teasing looks.

”...!”

Only then did he remember: They were still in the middle of the sparring ring! And they had rows of people watching them!!

…

A few hours before the War

”Are we really going to be alright?” Lord Cassas, the Lord of Calming Village, asked, utterly anxious and put the name to shame.

Calming Village was a level 2 village, but the level limit was still level 15. Besides, Ryan and the others were beyond the so-called level cap and wouldn’t be able to attack at all.

Enemies that went through the Array were protected by the war rules and could not be attacked by those beyond the level cap.

The War rules might be a bit vague, but they were strict.

Minko shook his head. ”Have more confidence in your territory, old man,” he said.

The fact that a level 2 village survived so long after the protection period was still worthy of appreciation.

Besides, though none of the five could actually participate in attacking, they could definitely be used to defend, distract, and shield the weaker guards without a problem.

Keeping the enemy outside the walls was a lot more doable than he’d think. Their wall wasn’t that big—just a little bigger than the scope of a level 1 village—and therefore much easier to guard. They just had to be brave, unified, and consistent.

Of course, it didn’t mean they would be complacent, especially not when family members were here.

In the end, they advised everyone to get decent rest, and also to remain within territory.

There was also a no-entry rule at this time, in case they got visitors. Fortunately, there weren’t, and even if there were, they were obvious aborigines that’d have to wait outside.

Ryan looked at him. ”Winning wars isn’t difficult for the defending territory unless there’s a huge level gap.” He said, ”Just keep strong and unified—and we’ll be fine.”

Ryan took a deep breath and looked at the guards and the lord. Everyone did their best, and they would help them defend their home!