I stared at the screen with a cold sweat dripping down my back.

A month had already passed in the realm since the start of the battle phase, yet I still couldn't get the image of what I witnessed out of my head.

I knew Levon would attack with a large force- but 50,000!? How did he even manage that!?

Given how primitive all of our realms were at this point, I would have been shocked had he managed to put together a force of 5,000... yet he blew past those expectations ten-fold!

"Squawk!"

"I know, I know. Just give me a minute, I'm still trying to process all of this..."

If it hadn't been for my decision to put the invader buffer zone in the arctic, it was extremely likely that my time as a ruler would have come to an end right then and there.

It was a terrifying realization that I couldn't quite shake off.

I told myself that I would take better care of my realm, yet I almost just destroyed it again.

"Squawk~"

"Fine, fine-" a sigh escaped my lips as I put down a card to soothe the squawking penguin. It was instantly beaten by his ace of clubs.

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue and glanced back toward the screen.

Neglecting forming an army and instead having Uunga spend his time advancing our realm was a way riskier decision than I had thought. I was overly confident in the ability of the arctic to deal with his invasion and it almost cost me big time.

Sure, I had Uunga stationed on the west of the continent ahead of the battle phase, but had they somehow managed to survive the snow, would he have been enough to defend against that enormous horde?

I honestly had no idea.

Luckily, it did not matter in the end- my gamble had more than paid off and the icy wasteland succeeded as I predicted. The massive force ended up completely imploding soon after entering my domain and now there was only one lone lizard slowly trudging through the snow.

"Levon's Oracle..." I muttered out loud as I scouted him on the screen.

He had been walking through the invader buffer zone for over a month now and I was extremely surprised to see him still standing despite the brutal cold.

I knew Oracles were tough, yet I clearly underestimated their limits.

He may have been alive, but it would be difficult to say that he was doing well. The Oracle was visibly lost on how to get out of the icy wasteland- he first started off by heading north before reaching a point where the snow went up to its chest. The invader then turned around and went south where it was only a matter of time before he would reach the shoreline.

Of course, he can't escape that way either.

The invader buffer zone was only connected to the main continent through a passage in the east. Unless a creature could swim or somehow brought a boat with them, it was pretty useless to go in a direction other than that.

Still, if left alone, Levon's Oracle would eventually find its way out- and that was a situation that I didn't want to have happen.

"Is this the passage you spoke of?" a voice asked through my screen.

"Yep, that's the one. Once you pass through the gap, turn right. I'll let you know when you need to change direction."

"...Alright."

After witnessing the collapse of Levon's army, I was originally planning on having Uunga turn around and continue investing in the future of the realm. I was fine with ignoring the invader and letting him slowly freeze, but when I brought this up to Uunga, I was met with some resistance.

'I can not sit peacefully while beasts who threaten this world stand freely' is what he said to me.

He's such a cool dude.

I wiped a proud tear from my eyes as I thought of my amazing Oracle.

Of course, I suggested that to Uunga long before I figured out that the lizard could actually survive the brutal cold of the arctic, so I would have needed to redeploy Uunga anyway, but I appreciated his sentiment. Having Levon's Oracle wandering around was a potential disaster waiting to happen and I did not feel like rolling the dice twice in one battle phase.

Uunga was just now going through the first mountain passageway, so it would likely only be another two months before he would meet the scar-sporting invader, which would be early summer in the northern hemisphere.

It wasn't like summer this far north was warm by any stretch of the imagination, although it would make things a bit easier for the cold-blooded invader. That being said, less snow would let Uunga reach him quicker.

And once that happened, this battle phase pretty much would be concluded.

Levon's Oracle was undeniably no pushover- I bore witness to the utter massacre that occurred upon his initial entry into my realm. Despite this, I was confident Uunga would come out on top.

The cold temperatures were gradually catching up to the lizard and restricting its movements to an enormous degree. In comparison, not only was Uunga able to withstand the cold, but he also sported a new winter outfit made from the warm hide of mountain chickens and packed with insulating feathers.

Combat gear aside, Uunga could easily match the display that the invading Oracle put on. My Oracle was unbelievably strong before, yet he had gotten much stronger throughout the past few decades. He had been training diligently in between his teaching and baby-making sessions.

That guy could probably fill an entire school with his offspring... I raised a freaking mini Genghis Khan. Purely consentual, of course~

"Squawk!"

"You are very impatient," I complained.

I put down another card, which was immediately taken by the penguin.

"Wait a second- that was the ace of spades, wasn't it!? How did you get all four aces again!?"

"Squawk!"

"I seriously don't understand your luck," I whined, "Screw it, no more war- we're switching back to blackjack!"

"Squawk~"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"..."

The lizard Oracle silently stared at the ocean in front of him. He had been trecking through the harsh snowy wilderness for well over a month now, yet there was no sign of a way out. His skin was mostly frozen and his blood had long since turned cold. In spite of this, the lizard's motivation was not wounded in the slightest.

"Follow the shoreline east," a sharp voice called out to him, "You are bound to stumble across a passage at some point."

"Yes, my god."

Levon glared at the screen after giving these orders.

The tricks of this weakling are only delaying the inevitable.

Based on the difference in climate between the north and south of what Scar had explored so far, it was clear that the invader buffer zone was located in the north of Jacob's realm.

While the north of the buffer zone was covered in chest-deep snow, the southern coast where Scar now stood hardly even had a dusting on the ground. Common sense would conclude that this would be where the invader buffer zone connected to the main continent, but of course, that was not the case.

So, Levon was forced to take another guess- this time he chose the east.

There was still the possibility that the connection was in the north, since Scar had to turn back after getting buried in snow, however, Levon was sure that the sheep instructor would have stepped in had that been the only way out of the area.

Scar had nearly collapsed multiple times on that particular journey into the far north and Levon was becoming increasingly worried as the condition of his Oracle gradually continued to worsen.

As badly as I want to tear his realm to shreds, it might not be smart to send Scar by himself. There are still well over 200 years until the end of the battle phase...

After reflecting on the situation a bit more, Levon came up with a plan.

"Scar, once you find the passage, return to my realm," he ordered.

"What!? I can s~still fight, my god! Why-"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Levon spat.

"N-no, my god. I was-"

"Quiet. It will only be temporary; a single horned sheep could defeat you as you are now. I will not give that wimp the chance to claim your head so easily."

"Temporary? S~so I will have another chance?"

"I will have you organize another army while you recover- make it half the size of the last one. There is no point in having a large army if they starve before they reach the battlefield," Levon paused for a second and then asked, "It seems your flames have not been working?"

"Not s~since I came here," the Oracle answered. 

As he said that, Scar stood with his legs slightly apart and puffed out his chest.

"Not even a s~spark," he reiterated.

Levon sat silently for a moment to think.

Is it just too cold for him to properly use magic?

He had never even heard of any environment as frigid as the one his lifeforms had entered, so he could not be confident whether or not that hypothesis would hold true. In any case, Levon already had an alternative in mind for his redeployment.

"Have the men you gather carry those branches next time," Levon directed.

"Branches?"

"You heard me. Have your men strip them off of any nearby trees on your next march."

"Yes~, my god."

Their fire will not last long, but it might be enough to get them out of this wretched buffer zone if they travel fast enough. Even if it can not, Scar would be well enough to handle this himself. 

A sly smile crept up on the lizard's face as he watched his Oracle continue his journey on the screen.

"That petty trick bought your realm some time, human," Levon muttered to himself, "It is a bit pathetic- the best you could do was delay the inevitable."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Things had been going pretty smoothly; Uunga only needed rough directions so I was able to change the domain time and skip a good chunk of waiting. Those easy times immediately came to a halt once I noticed something odd happening on the screen.

"His Oracle is retreating!?" I shouted in disbelief.

This change in direction had occurred right after Levon's Oracle had finally encountered the strip of land connecting the invader buffer zone to the rest of my continent. 

Is he just giving up? I mean, he did already lose that whole army...

I was not overly confused about why Levon was using his Oracle to scout my realm. Even if he did give up this time, the information would be extremely useful if he tried to attack again in the future.  He could also pass the information on to other creatures. It was entirely warranted for him to simply cut his losses and use his Oracle to handle things in his own realm instead of just sending him on a suicide mission here.

Is he actually just giving up? No- Levon would never do that! He's clearly planning something...

I had become extremely familiar with that arrogant and aggressive lizard over the past year in the academy. Julia turning into a mushroom would be less surprising than Levon accepting defeat.

"Is he trying to send another army?" I mumbled out loud, "It would be pretty pointless, but why else would he retreat? Hey, Mr. Flippers!"

"Squawk?" The tiny penguin waddled up after hearing me call for him.

I sat him on my lap and pointed out the fleeing Oracle on my screen.

"What do you think? Is he actually just giving up?"

"... Squawk. Squawk?"

"That's what I'm thinking, too. Wouldn't they all just freeze to death again, though? I can't really see why he'd bother making another army unless-"

My heart froze as a sudden realization hit me like a sledgehammer. I fumbled with my mouse as I switched back to realm time.

"Uunga!" I desperately called out to my Oracle.

"Hello. What happened?" he nonchalantly replied as he munched on a cherry from his bag.

"I need you to pick up the pace- things have changed. Your target is starting to flee, and if he gets away, this situation might turn into something you might not be able to handle alone. We can't let him escape!"

"... If I had gone back home-"

"Yes, yes- you saved me with your decision. You're so cool, et cetera, et cetera- now please cut the banter and get that guy!"

"Alright~"

I ignored the annoyingly smug expression on Uunga's face and compared the distance between the two Oracles.

Uunga just got through the second mountain passage and Levon's guy is right at the eastern edge of the buffer zone... shoot. This is gonna be close.

My Oracle was traveling way faster than the half-frozen lizard, but it was still a ton of ground that Uunga would need to make up. Even a full-on sprint might not be enough to close the distance.

It would be a race against time.

"Squawk?" the penguin looked up at me confused about my random panicking.

"Ah- sorry, Mr. Flippers," I let out my held breath and patted him on the head, "I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think Levon found a way to get through the arctic."

"Squawk!?"

It was the penguin's turn to panic. Seeing as there was nothing I could do but watch as the distance between Levon's Oracle and the portal gradually decreased, I advanced the time.

500 miles.

400 miles.

100 miles.

25, 15, 10, 5, 3, 1-

Just when the portal's red hue appeared on the horizon, a bundled figure appeared through the blowing snow.

HypnoticNovels

Hi guys :D ! Man, it is so cool reading this arc again when I do my edits before posting lol. I have been having a tough writer's block on the recent chapters that I'm writing, but I'm slowly forcing my way through it >:D . Your support gives me so much motivation, so thank you all <3 ! Let me know your predictions on how this encounter between the two Oracles will go! I'm curious to see what you guys think! Enjoy~