"Yes! He made it!" I sighed in relief after seeing Uunga prepare to confront the invading Oracle.

That was way too close...

Less than one hundred feet of ground separated the two forces; it was a distance that could be covered in a mere minute. The portal's tint reflected off the white snow and illuminated the area in its red hue.

"... That is him?" a low voice asked through my screen.

"Yep. Don't take that guy lightly; even half frozen, he's leagues above anything you've fought before."

With a subtle nod, Uunga silently pulled a few objects out of his bag as he focused on the lizard like a predator hunting its prey.

Ping!

The Oracle launched a fist-sized stone at the still oblivious invader, which bounced off its hard scales without doing much damage. Still, it succeeded in causing the retreating figure to stop in its tracks.

"Who dares to... s~stop it!"

"No."

Another stone slammed into the lizard's chest.

"Wow, such inspiring first words, Uunga," I muttered to the screen.

Just as I thought... the oracles can communicate with each other. Those scales are no joke though- I've seen Uunga put holes through trees with those throws, yet the stones are just bouncing off of him.

Realizing this, my Oracle threw one last stone and dashed toward the freezing lizard with his club in hand.

Thud!

The lizard put his arm out to block the attack and was pushed deeper into the snow by the enormous force from the impact. The mountain chicken teeth lining the club shallowly pierced through his scales.

"Get off!"

Uunga was pushed off balance by the Oracle shoving the club. Using that chance, the lizard twisted its body and swung its heavy tail toward the hunter who effortlessly kicked off of the ground and jumped over it.

Landing next to the lizard, Uunga swept his club horizontally, but it was blocked by one of the target's arms. He bent his body to avoid a retaliatory punch by the invader's other arm and kicked its body to create some distance.

The two Oracles stared at each other in a false moment of stalemate.

"... You have strong arms," Uunga noted while looking at a few chipped teeth on his club.

"S~strong enough to crush a weakling like you with," the invader growled in response.

Uunga glanced back at the lizard's arms.

"No... not that strong."

The invader shot a sharp glare at my Oracle and lunged toward him again.

"Slow..."

While the lizard was in midair, Uunga rolled to the side causing the attacker to land defenseless in the snow. Not missing the chance, he slammed down his club before the lizard could get to its feet.

Thud!

The defending creature twisted its body and barely managed to catch the spiked cub with its two hands. As if imitating the teeth digging into its palms, the invader pierced the club with its own claws. 

Uunga grabbed one of the lizard's wrists and pulled it off of the club before it could break the weapon; it responded by releasing the club with its other hand and slicing at the Oracle's side with its claws.

My Oracle retreated a few steps and glanced down to where he was swiped.

"... Sharp," he muttered.

There was a clear cut in the hide he wore- the same hide that was able to withstand multiple attacks from the talons of a mountain chicken.

The invader was already back on his feet and rushing toward him by the time Uunga had finished inspecting the damage. A menacing grin was displayed on its face while it repeatedly swiped at the Oracle who was gradually led backward as he continuously dodged the lizard's attacks.

Quickly getting tired of dodging, Uunga used his club to push away the lizard's arm mid-swipe leaving its body exposed for a split second. The Oracle continued the momentum of the swing, rotating his body 360 degrees, and delivered a devastating hit on the lizard's skull.

Slam!

The lizard stumbled from the hit and was sent collapsing into the snow with another kick from the Oracle.

Uunga did not miss this chance and lunged onto its fallen body and continuously punched the lizard's face. His left hand was tightly wrapped around the lizard's neck as his right fist slammed into its skull.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each hit was more violent than the last, and while fighting to retain consciousness, the invader dug into Uunga's left arm with its claws. The Oracle immediately grabbed the talon knife hanging at his side and stabbed at the lizard's neck.

"S~skuah!"

To block the weapon, the invader was forced to release Uunga's arm.

Blood dripped onto the lizard's body as the foreign Oracle's eyes trembled. Although successful in protecting its neck, it came at a great cost. A large, sharp talon was hovering mere inches away from its original target, pierced completely through the lizard's palm.

The invader desperately pushed against the slowly approaching talon, but as Uunga had pinned down its other arm, the lizard could only use its already-pierced hand.

Just as the tip of the talon touched the invader's neck, the lizard twisted its body and slammed its tail against Uunga's side.

"Ugh!"

It was a strong impact that was just enough to create a gap for the lizard to break free. Blood sprayed from the lizard's palm as the talon was pulled out from its movements.

The invader covered in a mixture of snow and blood glared fiercely at Uunga, looking ready to lunge at the off-balance Oracle.

"You-" The lizard started to say something but suddenly stopped and became quiet.

"..."

"This~ is~n't over!"

Without warning, the foreign Oracle began a mad dash for the portal.

"Don't let him get away!" I yelled to the screen.

Uunga was already on it- although the portal was less than a hundred feet away, my Oracle could easily outspeed the invader in this wintery environment. With plenty of room to spare, Uunga thrust his talon knife at the back of the lizard's neck.

Slice!

"S~skaah!"

Just as the knife was about to make contact, Uunga's foot suddenly caught in the snow causing him to plunge into the white powder. The talon missed its target's neck and instead stabbed deeply into the lizard's tail, causing a deep gash as the invader rushed away.

"... Kongi."

"Shoot..."

Uunga and I watched the red lizard disappear into the similarly colored portal before he could get to his feet.

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

Scar stumbled out of the portal. The brutal cold that had covered his body for the last few months was quickly thawed out by the comforting desert sun in this familiar environment. His steps felt lighter and his strength was finally beginning to come back to him, but rather than a smile, a sharp frown was plastered on his face.

"Why did I need to retreat, my god!?" he finally questioned, "I could have-"

"Quiet!" a furious voice shouted in his head, "Look at yourself! It is not confidence at this point, you would need to be an idiot to think you would win that fight in your condition!"

The lizard Oracle finally had a chance to look over his body. There were shallow cuts on his palms from the teeth-covered club, his arms were badly bruised from repeated impacts from the human's swings, there was a massive bleeding gash on the lizard's tail, and his face and snout were throbbing and beginning to swell.

Although not fatal, there would not be a single soul that would describe his condition as anything but terrible.

"You should have returned the first time I told you to! Do you know what I would have had to deal with if you fell to that idiot's hands!?"

"...I am s~sorry, my god," Scar eventually apologized and clenched his bloody hands, "I lost myself in battle. I will do as you s~say next time."

"You are my Oracle, you should always do what I say! Since you decided to leave your brain buried in the snow, I will have to delay the next attack even longer!"

Scar hung his head in shame at the voice's earned ridicule.

"Go back to the temple and get started. Patch up that hole in your tail along the way."

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

Uunga soon freed his foot, but the two of us continued to stare at the portal in the distance.

"He got away..." I muttered in disbelief, "You were so close."

Frustrated, Uunga kicked the pile of snow that he tripped on. A red frozen body was revealed from underneath the shifted snow.

The Oracle paused at the sight and slowly glanced around, noticing thousands of similar snow piles dotting the landscape that he had been fighting on.

"... How many-"

"Fifty thousand," I interrupted, with a groan, "Only the one you fought against was able to withstand the cold."

I watched as Uunga investigated the body, before nodding once confirming its deceased status.

He turned his attention back to the portal.

"...You told me something bad would happen if he got away."

"Yes, maybe. If what I'm guessing is correct, then that guy you fought will be back with another army- only this time, I think they found a way to get passed the cold."

The Oracle once again looked around at the seemingly endless snow piles surrounding him.

"Fifty thousand..."

It was a number almost incomprehensible to him. He would need to count nearly every human on the plateau to reach that amount.

Uunga's grip tightened on his club.

"There's a chance I'm wrong, but his final words didn't seem like a surrender," I added.

The Oracle slowly marched closer to the glowing red portal with my words.

"... Can I go through that?"

My mind froze for a second at his words. The intent behind his question was clear.

"It's possible, but -"

"Let me follow him," The Oracle requested.

I did not answer right away.

According to the guidelines of the competition, it was entirely possible for rulers to launch a counterattack. There wouldn't even be a punishment if it failed, so at least in regards to the competition, there was no real reason to deny his request.

That being said, I was still extremely hesitant about granting him permission to do so.

He'll be fighting on their home turf. If this portal spits him out in the middle of a lizard city, things might not end well.

Sure the opposing Oracle was injured, and yes, Uunga was extremely strong, but there was still the possibility that if he entered that portal, he may not have the chance to return.

"It's risky, Uunga," I finally spoke, "We have no idea what's on the other side of that portal. We're not even sure that they found a method to get through the snow."

Even if they did find a way to survive the arctic, I had a feeling that the lizards would be extremely weakened or hindered regardless of the method that was used. Given how overwhelming his display was against Levon's Oracle, Uunga might be able to take on a second army all by himself.

"... It would be more risky to give them a chance," Uunga argued, "It takes time to gather so many people. I will kill him before he can." 

"You have a point-"

Regardless of the environment on the other side of the portal, the fact that Levon's Oracle was extremely weakened would not change. He could not have gotten far.

Putting aside the prediction of a second invasion, the opportunity to get rid of Levon's one line of communication with his realm was a chance that would be stupid to pass up on.

Of course, I'd be risking that same thing to do so.

I clenched my forehead with my hand. By the time I made up my mind, Uunga was already standing in front of the red portal.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am," his reply was resolute.

He took another step toward the portal.

"... You better come back. I created you so there's no way I'm letting that lizard take you from me."

The edge of Uunga's mouth curled up.

"You created me?"

"In a way technically."

"... Then let me show those beasts a storm."

With those parting words, Uunga's body was enveloped in a red light.

HypnoticNovels

I bet you guys were not expecting that, were you >:D ? But, man I freaking love this chapter! This whole arc has a special place in my heart. Anyway, thank you all as always for all of the support! It always makes me so happy seeing all of your comments (T.T) you guys are amazing and give me so much motivation. So much motivation that I just went and rewrote the entirety of chapter 46 because I wanted it to be better for you guys lol. Like always, please enjoy~