I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 34

As Uunga made his way closer toward what looked to be black pillars, the sheer scale of the settlement at its base was gradually revealed.

The population density of the settlement was a few steps above even that of my plateau, and based on what we were able to scout, this was likely due to the lizardmen having the ability to farm. Large grass-less sprawls of land surrounded the core of what could be argued to be an ancient city. What was being grown in this area was instantly recognized to be the same okra-like plant we had encountered early on in our travels.

Of course, given the primitive nature of the world, the inefficiencies in their setup were clear, but it was still more than sufficient to feed the population.

I'm a bit jealous.

There were no great farmable crops among the lifeforms I selected when forming my realm, so it was extremely tough for large settlements to form.

Agriculture is a pretty insane boost. The sheep instructor said we could choose more lifeforms later on, so hopefully I won't need to wait too long before my realm can get started on it.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused back on the view from my Oracle's eyes.

Across the farms were small wooden structures that marked the start of the massive settlement. Unlike the tipis that dominated my realm, these semi-circle structures were made out of the flame-resistant upper branches of torch trees and had walls that seemed to be woven from the odd swamp plants that we had come across earlier. 

In the middle of this neo-ancient city were the black pillars that we had spotted earlier- now revealed to be the spires of a basalt temple.

"What do you think, Uunga? There are a lot of lizards."

"... That beast is in there?"

"I would be shocked if he wasn't."

We were now on Levon's home turf and he was undoubtedly watching every move we made from his domain. Considering how important the temple was, there was absolutely no way Levon would have his Oracle stand by and give us the chance to take it.

Still, conquering his temple will not be easy by any means. Even excluding his Oracle, we might need to fight our way through over 30,000 lizards.

That was the number we had estimated after a bit of scouting. There were a ton of young lizardmen too, which was expected of a growing city, but I found it unlikely for the infants to join the fight.

"Remember, I'm making you retreat the second things get too tough."

"I know."

This was the agreement we landed on.

Of course, 30,000 was far less than the 50,000 Uunga almost ended up facing, but it would be equally, if not even more, dangerous. They wouldn't be half-frozen on their home turf, after all.

We would never have taken such a monumental risk had the reward not been equally as immense.

I turned my attention back to my screen.

"Are you ready Uunga?"

"... I am."

The Oracle clutched a stone in his hand. A grin etched its way across my face.

"Bring that city to its knees!"

Fling!

The moment those words left my mouth, the stone launched from Uunga's hand, completely crushing the skull of an unsuspecting lizard on the farm a hundred feet away.

Before the nearby lizardmen could process what happened, they soon joined him on the ground.

With a path to the city now opened, Uunga dashed out from behind his cover and advanced through the farmland. Once he reached the first wooden shelter, he grabbed a torch tree branch from his bag and ignited it.

Fwoom!

The hut in front of him immediately went up in flames; despite the upper torch tree branches giving the house frame some fire resistance, the woven walls did not have the same luxury. With quick steps, Uunga managed to light the ten nearest huts before any lizards took notice.

"Senkuna! Yoi Sens!"

"Sfluna nou sens!"

"Kho densa ent klo sens!?"

The first wave of lizards responded to the flames but paused once they noticed the unfamiliar creature standing with a torch in hand.

"Who are you!?"

"... Weird. I need to focus to understand them."

As if frustrated about how he was being ignored, the closest lizardman charged toward Uunga and slashed at him with its claws. Of course, such a petty attack was nothing to an Oracle, so Uunga casually caught its arm and threw the lizard to the side before he continued igniting the nearby huts.

Such a display only seemed to provoke the group of confronters who quickly rushed at the unknown arsonist.

"Knock it off!"

The brave lizard who screamed this cry was the first to get half-heartedly bonked on the head by Uunga's torch upon getting close.

Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!

Seeing the rest of the group falling unconscious before even landing a finger on the tall creature, the last two lizardmen backed off and stared in a mixture of awe and confusion.

Luckily for them, another wave of lizards quickly rushed to the scene after witnessing the smoke and hearing the sounds of battle. These new forces were greeted by the figure of a mysterious creature with a wall of flames to its back.

It was not hard to connect the dots after seeing the torch in his hand and the fallen bodies of their fellow men at his feet.

"Stop him!" One of the standing lizards from the first group pointed at Uunga and shouted.

They joined in with the newcomers and together pounced at the arsonist.

Uunga grabbed the arm of the first lizard and flung it over his shoulder, sending the combatant crashing into a burning hut behind him. Without missing a beat, he then kicked the leg of the next lizard and cleanly punched the face of the now-exposed attacker at its rear.

As another lizardman tried to grab him, Uunga latched onto its wrist and spun it around before launching it into a batch of its comrades.

Slam!

The unfortunate group who were the target of the lizard projectile were sprawled out on the ground and groaning in pain, but there were way too many enemies left for the Oracle to give them much attention.

More and more lizardmen were joining the fight at a rate faster than the Oracle could take them down. Each time a crowd joined in, the view on the screen would slightly shift before once again focusing on the closest foe.

A sharp kick sent another attacker to the ground.

Crack!

Uunga was forced to crush its hand under his feet as it tried to claw his ankle from the ground. 

"These guys are relentless..." I muttered while watching the Oracle send another lizard flying, "Still, you're holding back quite a bit?"

Aside from when he threw stones at the farmers in the field, Uunga was hardly doing anything that could be considered lethal. The growing piles of bodies at his feet were not corpses, but rather were unconscious or groaning lizards too injured to fight.

"... I do not need to kill them," he said as the last lizard in front of him fell, "They are only protecting their home."

A proud grin appeared on my face.

With no more resisting lizards in his path, Uunga advanced deeper into the ancient city where the density of the huts, as well as the population, were significantly higher.

Perhaps due to them observing the battle from afar, every lizard in his sight seemed resolute and determined to fight. There were easily over two thousand of them in his immediate surroundings. Uunga scanned the crowd and groaned before taking the initiative and charging forward.

Thud!

His fist slammed into the nearest lizard and sent it crashing into the crowd. With the horde soon flanking him from behind, Uunga latched onto the arm of another and used its body as a weapon to keep them at bay.

Bodies began lunging at the Oracle from all directions, but they all were smacked away effortlessly even as he continued to push through the crowd.

Still, no matter how strong Uunga was, it was impossible to completely avoid their attacks. Cuts gradually began to appear on his mountain chicken hide.

Their claws were not nearly as sharp as those of Levon's Oracle, yet they were not dull by any means.

Even after a few more minutes of nonstop fighting, the number of lizards surrounding the Oracle only seemed to grow larger.

The view on my screen began to jolt around at the crowd wildly as Uunga continued to fight. It was jarring enough for me to comment on.

"What's wrong? Do you need to retreat already?" I asked the Oracle.

"No."

Despite his denial, the glances into the crowd only increased in frequency.

"... Something is not right," he eventually added.

The instincts of a hunter were not something that could be taken lightly and I found myself looking more intently at the screen. Although the only things that I could see were the lizards being crushed in front of his view and the crowd watching around him, I was determined to figure out what he was missing.

What could be- ah! That's it!

The answer came quicker than I anticipated.

"Uunga!"

"What?" he asked as another lizard was slammed into the ground.

"The lizards! There's a ton of them not actually fighting!"

Uunga spared a glance at the circle of lizards around him. It was almost like a membrane- the lizards standing at the front were simply letting others run past them to fight, but they were not joining in themselves.

The Oracle's eyes glinted at the realization. We both knew what such a sight meant.

He immediately shoved the closest lizard out of his way and used that gap to grab his spiked club from out of his bag. Not even a moment later, a sharp voice screamed out, dominating over the sounds of battle.

"Now!"

Instantly, the lizards forming the circle around Uunga widened their legs and slightly crouched.

Shoot!

"Uunga! Jump!"

The Oracle leaped off of the ground as a sea of flames washed over where he stood. Although his seven-foot vertical jump was enough to escape the flames, the lizards who were at his feet were not nearly as lucky, which Uunga learned after landing next to a charred corpse.

He did not waste a moment on being confused at what he had just witnessed and instead launched himself at one of the circle-forming lizards, crushing its skull with his club.

"Tsk."

An annoyed tongue click could be made out in the distance as Uunga slaughtered the fire-breathing lizards.

I watched all of this while clutching my head at my desk.

How did I not even think about them using magic!?

It was so obvious in retrospect, yet the thought had never crossed my mind. The reason for this was simple- Levon had never once directly mentioned the fact that he could use magic to anyone. Even in all of our encounters, the only threat he used dealt with his claws.

Of course, he could freaking use it! I was the only one who didn't raise my hand when the sheep instructor asked about mana when we first came here!

Although I desperately wanted to punch myself in the face for being so stupid, there was way too much at stake to waste time on something so pointless.

"Uunga, please be careful. There's a limit to how often they can do that, but I'm sure they all can do it at least once!"

There was not enough time to teach Uunga about the existence of mana, so I could only give him that small warning.

The Oracle only nodded in response as he crushed the last of the circle members. Despite the thousands of lizards surrounding him, his eyes were locked on a familiar scarred figure who had climbed onto a hut behind the crowd.

Two months had passed since their fight, yet it was clear that the foreign Oracle was still not anywhere close to being back to full strength. The large woven bandages wrapping around its tail and hand were the most blatant proof of that.

Uunga kicked away a lizard and used that chance to launch a stone at the Oracle who stepped out of its path with an annoyed expression.

"S~slay him!"

At the Oracle's call, the crowd surged toward Uunga, but their bodies were crushed the moment they entered the range of his club. The lizards paid no attention to the blood of their fellow men as they rushed in. It was as though they had resolved themselves to die at his hand.

Thud!

The side of the nearest creature caved in from his club.

Every time a lizard fell, Uunga took a step toward the foreign Oracle. His progress was slow, yet it was progress nonetheless.

Only the occasional breaths of fire were able to halt his steps, however, these were few and far between- only succeeding in scorching their fellow allies. 

"Useless~" the foreign Oracle spat and hopped down into the crowd- effortlessly blending in among the sea of lizards.

Seeing this, Uunga heightened his focus and continually switched directions to make sure his back was never exposed for long periods of time.

Sure enough, the lizard to his side was shoved out of the way and the foreign Oracle sliced at his neck. Uunga was barely able to twist his body out of the way of the attack, but the surrounding crowd did not miss this chance and pounced at him.

Uunga quickly worked to shove the bodies off of him, yet a scorching heat blasted him the moment he was restrained.

"Sskaaa!"

The lizards on top of him unintentionally acted as a meat shield, sparing the Oracle from any major damage from the fire. The mountain hide he wore was not as fortunate however and his left sleeve quickly lit ablaze.

By the time he had the chance to put out the flames, the Oracle's left forearm was practically exposed. Uunga launched the burnt reptile in the direction the flames came from, but his target had already vanished into the crowd.

There was not a moment to even look for the target either- the crowd only seemed more ferocious with their leader on the front lines and they continuously threw themselves at the lone human.

Fwoom!

Another blast of fire was launched from behind, yet Uunga was able to push to the side and get out of its path. He then kicked off the ground and leaped toward the source of the fire before Levon's Oracle could get away.

Slam!

The scarred figure grabbed an adjacent lizard and held it up to absorb the impact. Blood and organs splattered from the hit.

"Got you!"

"Gah!"

With the pause caused by the strike, the foreign Oracle reached around the body and dug its claws into Uunga's exposed left arm. He quickly pulled his arm back, yet it left a deep and bloody wound.

Uunga sharply swung his club in a counterattack and smacked the snout of the Oracle just before it disappeared into the crowd.

Although Uunga continued fighting, it was clear that the wound was not something he could just shrug off. With cuts plastering the hide he wore, it would not be long before more injuries appeared.

I want to tell him to retreat... but I don't think he would be able to.

There were simply way too many lizards. It seemed as though the entire city joined the fight- the sea of lizards extended in all directions.

Fwoom!

More flames shot toward the Oracle who once again leaped up to dodge it. While in the air, Uunga glanced into the crowd and spotted his target.

Slam!

He crushed a lizard as he landed and kicked off again to launch back into the air. Since movement through the crowd was impossible, it seemed the Oracle decided to go over it.

"I found you," he muttered as he swung his club down onto the foreign Oracle.

The scarred lizard attempted to use another meat shield, but Uunga's blow was strong enough to smash through the body and whack its target's chest.

Some mountain chicken teeth were able to shallowly pierce the Oracle's scales, but it was not enough to deal any meaningful damage. The scarred lizard glared at the human while pushing the club away and slicing with its claws.

Slice!

The hide was divided cleanly just below Uunga's left shoulder and another small cut appeared on his arm. He paid no attention to this however and pressed forward with another swing.

Levon's Oracle caught the club and used all of its strength to keep it in place. By this point, most of the mountain chicken teeth had chipped or broken off, which meant it could not inflict as much damage as before.

With the two Oracles locked in place, the surrounding lizards took the chance to continually barrage Uunga's back with scratches, gradually tearing his hide to shreds.

His opponent smirked at the scene.

"Did you really think you could conquer the land of our god!? You do not just lack s~scales, you have no brain either!" The lizard Oracle spat.

Thud!

Uunga switched to a one-handed grip on the club and used his now-free hand to punch the Oracle's face.

Thud! Thud!

Uunga intentionally let go of his club sending Levon's Oracle off balance then used that chance to tackle him to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He ignored the rapidly building cuts on his back and continued to relentlessly pound at the lizard who quickly came to his senses and slashed at the attacker.

Slice!

The hide covering his chest was torn revealing the massive scar he endured from his first fight against the mountain chickens.

Uunga pinned the Oracle's neck to the ground with his left arm and threw a few more punches with his right; the scarred lizard relentlessly scratched at his arm to break free.

Realizing the punches would not be enough against the Oracle's hard scales, Uunga shoved an attacking lizard off of him and grabbed his talon knife off of his belt. Before he could use it, however, he was pushed off of the Oracle by the horde.

The scarred lizard used this chance to get to his feet as Uunga fought against the crowd.

Fwoom!

A blast of fire shot from the Oracle's mouth. Uunga immediately ducked under the flames which instead scorched the lizards who had just given him the chance to escape.

From his crouched position, Uunga pushed off the ground and delivered a brutal uppercut to the snout of the scarred lizardman who faltered from the blow. With a burning glare in his eyes and the talon knife in hand, Uunga rotated his body and stabbed the talon directly into the lizard's right eye.

"S~SKAAA!"

Blood splattered as the foreign Oracle fell to the ground with a scream. Uunga lunged onto the ground with him and pierced the lizard's neck, ensuring that there was no chance it could get back up.

The scarred lizard had fallen.

Uunga pulled himself to his feet with unsteady breaths.

The Oracle's body was practically painted red- cuts all over his body oozed blood and his left arm hung limp at his side, nearly torn to shreds by the scarred lizard's claws.

Still, just because the foreign Oracle had been defeated, that did not mean there was a chance for him to celebrate. The army of lizards, though less ferocious than before their leader fell, were still attacking him from all directions.

Uunga shoved his way through the crowd and picked up his fallen club before relentlessly swinging at the swarm of lizards with his right hand. Now with no other Oracles present, taking on this sea of lizards would not be nearly as daunting of a task.

The piles of corpses at his feet grew exponentially as the sun began to set. Uunga kept swinging until it seemed the entire city was dyed red, and eventually, right around the time the sun crossed the horizon, the last lizard in front of him fell.

"Haah.. haah... haah," Uunga breathed heavily as he towered over the last lizard corpse.

With clouded eyes, the Oracles slowly trudged closer to the basalt temple. There were still lizards watching from a distance, but none dared to attempt to stop him.

The Oracle wobbled the moment he entered the temple before collapsing onto the basalt floor. He hoisted up his upper body against a pillar with his trembling right hand while continuing to breathe heavily.

I struggled to find the words to speak. My head was as riled as my heart at the shakey view on my screen.

Just as I was finally about to open my mouth, the basalt temple was illuminated in a blue hue and a countdown appeared on one of my monitors.

One hour...

Assuming no lizards attempted a last-minute resistance, the temple would be considered captured at that time. My eyes locked onto another figure just under that timer.

With a small image of crossed swords by its side, the number 12,781 (1.3%) was displayed.