I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 42

"Fifteen minutes..."

That was all the time left before Ferguson could start his invasion, yet I still did not have an Oracle.

There were a few reasons for this; those being my prediction of Ferguson's timing and the lack of candidates.

Ferguson may have been battle-hungry, but he was not stupid. Based on my recent encounters with him, I could confidently say that he was much smarter than I originally gave him credit for.

He told me directly that he knew about the arctic conditions his force would have to travel through.

I fully expected him to take his time building up a force to cross the icy landscape, so unlike Levon who charged in almost immediately, it wouldn't surprise me if Ferguson waited an hour or two more before making his move.

Oracles have a lifespan that could last until the end of the battle phase, but that doesn't mean they would be in their prime throughout that whole time. Sure, Oracles aged super slowly, but over 290 years would pass in the realm between when an Oracle could first be selected and when the battle phase came to an end. If Ferguson was extremely patient and waited until the last hour to start his invasion, I might be fighting with an old man as my main defense. 

Typically, it was better to choose an Oracle the second we were allowed to do so- both to get the Oracle prepared and to take advantage of the line of communication that comes with the selection. In my case, however, I had a priest whom I could talk with whenever, so the latter was not much of an incentive. 

Still, there's always the chance that I'm wrong about that guess and he invades soon, so I definitely need to have someone chosen before the battle phase starts.

A last-minute selection was my best option with these factors in mind.

Of course, had there been an Uunga-level human that I had my eyes on, I wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to select them, but that was simply not the case so far.

That wasn't to say that there were no good candidates at all; I actually had one family in particular on my radar. The family resided with Uunga's old tribe, which now sported a fairly large settlement. The humans there were some of the strongest and most advanced in my realm due to their frequent hunting of mountain chickens. Their development even impressed some of my first priest's men, leaving some to stay behind following the mission I sent them on roughly 75 years ago.

The family I was currently scouting actually descended from one of those people. After a hunting mishap took the life of the father, I kept his two sons in my sight.

Due to their descendence from those at the plateau, the family fully believed in my existence and possessed a clear loyalty to me from what I could tell. After witnessing many of the father's encounters, I could also attest to the strength running through their blood. They were even around the optimal age for the selection with the older son being in his mid-teens and the younger just hitting double-digits. If Ferguson were to drag things out, they would be much closer to their prime than an older selection.

I couldn't see any reason not to choose one of the sons.

The older one seems like a safe choice... I guess I should go with him.

With the screen still zoomed in on the village on the brisk of spring, I began preparing to make my selection.

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"Oh! Thank you, Rathok!"

"Rathok! Would you mind bringing this over to that young lady when you finish?"

"Thanks for those feathers the other day, Rathok!"

Rynn sat on a stone while he watched his older brother help construct a tipi.

His brother, Rathok, was universally loved by the village. It made sense, too. Rathok spent every second he had helping the people around him. Building a new tipi for an elderly woman was simply the current project he volunteered to do.

"He has been running around the village all day," a soft voice spoke next to Rynn.

"Is there a day when he is not?" he muttered in return.

It was a usual sight for Rynn who was tasked with preparing javelins for the upcoming hunting season.

Despite being alone in this task for most of the day, his friend Ayla would usually sit with him after she was back from scavenging the forest for mushrooms and cherries.

Such was the routine for the young girls of the village; gather in the morning, craft in the afternoon, then help prepare a large dinner once the men returned from hunting by nightfall.

With it being late in the afternoon, Ayla was weaving together some feathers to make clothing for the new babies in the village.

And so, the two kids sat together doing their tasks while watching the lively village.

Click! Click! Crack!

As Rynn was creating notches on the base of the stone tip, he noticed his brother raising the new tipi.

Looks like he's finished.

After receiving a hug and a cherry from the old woman, Rathok quickly picked up a pouch and trotted over to the two of them.

"Phew~ I am beat!"

The older brother sat down next to Rynn in an exaggerated manner.

"... I am sure you are."

Despite the claim of exhaustion, Rynn didn't miss the wide smile on his brother's face.

Rathok didn't seem to take any offense to his brother's curt reply and simply pointed at the carved stone in his hand.

"That tip is looking good so far! How many is that today?"

"This will be number four," Rynn said, pointing at the three completed javelins behind him.

"Wow! Four javelins in one day- that is amazing, Rynn! You must be exhausted after that."

"Says the one running around the village nonstop," Rynn rolled his eyes at his brother's words, "All I do is carve the tip and attach it. The other kids do the rest."

"Still, that is..." Rathok's voice trailed off as he looked at the tips of the javelins, "Stone, huh?"

"Yup. Do you have something to say about that?"

"No, no. I am sure the hunters will put them to good use in this season's hunt! Ah- right!" Rathok finally turned to the girl sitting on the other side of his brother and tossed over the pouch that he was carrying, "I was told to give these to you, Ayla!"

"Huh? Oh- thanks!"

The young girl peeked into the pouch to see it stuffed to the brim with feathers.

"... They are giving us a lot of work," she muttered with a sigh.

"Well, that is to be expected. The mountain chickens should return from the north soon, so we need to be ready!" Rathok declared enthusiastically.

"And me making baby clothes is important for the hunt?"

"Wow, you two are grumpy today!" Rathok exclaimed with a forced smile, "Are you both not happy to help the village?"

"It is not that-"

"You do enough helping for the both of us," Rynn interrupted.

Rathok looked down with an embarrassed expression.

"Come on, Rynn, you can never help too much. Especially not when we need to defend our world."

"Ugh. You are still talking about that?" Rynn groaned.

"Of course I am! The beasts that the creator of the world warned of could show up in our lifetime!"

"I am not too sure of that..."

"Huh?" Ayla interjected, "I remember you telling me all about this when we were little, Rynn. Why are you being so doubtful now?"

Rynn stopped chipping away at the stone and turned toward the girl.

"Look, we are not kids anymore. If you two want to believe in this 'creator of the world', go ahead, but I know better now."

"What are you saying, Rynn!? Our own great-grandfather was gifted a fish by him! There was even a show where the creator of the world caused the village's javelins to fly in a circle once the people from the south moved in!" Rathok defended with a look of disbelief.

"I have not seen any flying javelins."

"Come on, Rynn- the story was passed down by every family in the village! No one would lie about that!"

"Yeah, well they also tell stories of a man who could throw trees."

"... That was the Oracle, right?" Ayla asked as she continued weaving the feathers.

"It was! See, even Ayla knows this!"

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" The young girl pouted.

"Ah... forget I said anything. Anyway, do those stories not excite you? Having the power to throw trees as if they were javelins-"

"It sounds like you want to be an Oracle," Ayla noted.

"Well... it would be nice," Rathok looked to the ground with red cheeks, "I could help so many more people with that kind of strength."

"I would not want strength from someone not strong enough to save father..."

"Rynn! You-"

"Raaaa~"

The conversation was cut to a halt by a commotion coming from the other side of the village.

Rathok sighed and looked toward the forest.

"It sounds like the hunters are back," Rathok stood up and let out a breath, "Let us talk more about this later, Rynn."

"Fine. There is not much-"

"Raaaaa!"

Rynn's reply was interrupted by a loud shout from the other end of the village. More screams rapidly began to cry out and the group watched as many of the villagers rushed over to see what was causing the commotion.

"... Should we go see what this is all about?" Rynn asked as he stood up.

"Yeah. It does not sound good," Rathok looked back at the two, "Come with me, Rynn. Ayla you stay-"

"Caaaw!"

The two brothers instantly froze.

"N-no..."

Rynn felt his heart tighten.

"Mountain chickens!?" Rathok looked into the distance with an expression of shock, confusion, and fear, "They are early this year!"

"Caaaaw!"

"Caaw!"

The cries of the mountain chickens grew louder and the screams of the villagers followed suit. Immediately after, a large creature with white and gray feathers trampled over the tipi that Rathok just put up and spotted the elderly woman at its side.

"Rynn!"

"Here!"

"Huah!"

Rynn tossed one of his javelins to Rathok who immediately launched it at the mountain chicken.

"C-caaww~"

Thud!

The javelin pierced the creature's neck and sent it collapsing onto the ground with a bloody cry.

"Nice throw!"

"It was nothing..."

Although intended as a statement of humility, such a response became increasingly accurate when three more mountain chickens appeared between the groups of tipis.

"Why are there so many!?" Rynn couldn't help but exclaim in frustration.

The sounds of combat only intensified throughout the village signaling that there were way more mountain chickens than just three in front of them.

Ayla finally stood up and faced the two boys.

"W-what should we do?"

"We need to help!" Rathok unhesitantly declared, "Give me another javelin, quickly!"

"Are you crazy!? Do you hear how many there are!? We need to get out of here!" 

Rathok looked shocked at his brother's reply.

"You want to run!? The village will be destroyed if we leave!"

The sky began to darken.

"The village will be destroyed either way! Even if you try to fight them, you can not beat them on your own!" Rynn argued as he unsuccessfully tried to stop his brother from grabbing another spear.

"Then come with me!" Rathok gave a cheeky smile as a gust of wind blew his hair.

"Rathok!"

Before Rynn could stop him, Rathok sprinted toward the group of chickens that were eying the old woman.

"That idiot!"

Rynn grabbed the last javelin in frustration.

"W-wait! What should I do!?" Ayla asked flustered.

Rynn quickly looked around before pointing at a tree on the outskirts of the village.

"Go get to the tree over there! Climb it like we did as kids and hide there until they leave!"

"O-okay!"

The two kids dashed in opposite directions as the increasingly strong wind added to the chaos.

Sounds of battle rang out from around Rynn and he could spot glimpses of bloody skirmishes from between the swaying tipis. 

"Hey, ugly chickens! Over here!"

Rynn heard his brother shout at the chickens through the mayhem.

The mountain chickens turned away from the old woman at the sound and angrily sprinted toward Rathok.

"Yeah! Follow me, you mean things!"

Rathok began running in an attempt to lead the mountain chickens away as drops of rain began to fall around him.

What is he doing!? He can handle one or maybe two, but there is no way he can take three at the same time!

Javelins were amazing weapons for dealing with the mountain chickens and Rathok was skilled at using them. That did not make these vicious predators any less deadly, however.

I need to take on one of them so he has a chance!

Rynn dashed toward his brother and pushed through a tipi blowing in the strong wind.

The rain began to pour.

He could see his brother now surrounded by the three creatures roughly fifty feet from him.

"Rathok! Over- ugh!"

A heavy impact on his side sent Rynn slamming to the ground.

Rynn lifted his head to see a mountain chicken covered in the debris of a tipi glaring down at him.

It charged me through a tipi!?

Rynn quickly attempted to grab his weapon from his side but quickly realized it slid out of his reach.

"Cawww!"

This thing!

The mountain chicken let out a cry as if mocking him before lunging at Rynn with full force.

Schlinch!

While the mountain chicken was in midair, a javelin pierced its neck and caused it to crash to the ground next to him.

"What?"

Rynn looked around in confusion before his eyes locked onto Rathok's.

"No..."

He was still standing at the center of the three mountain chickens. There was no weapon in his hand.

"RATHOK!"

His brother only smiled lightly before the three chickens lunged.

Another tipi blew in front of Rynn's eyes, but by the time it cleared from his vision, Rathok's figure could be seen laying on the ground in a puddle of blood.

"N-no... Rathok..."

Despite the chaos around him, everything seemed to stay still in the eyes of Rynn.

He did not even notice the yellow beam shooting toward him.