"Search for its tracks," the Barbarian Lord ordered, and both men took different sides. One took the path to the Lord's left, whereas the other opted to search the path to the Lord's right.
"Here Lord," the one on the right exclaimed. "It passed here," he continued and pointed at a large paw print that was almost as large as he was! The print was so deep that it was impossible to miss, for it had almost carved out a ditch on the snowy ground!
"Let's go," the Barbarian Lord nodded his head when he saw the print. His eyes flashed in anticipation and battle lust, but he hid them quickly and followed the large prints, with his subordinates always within a meter of him. As they moved, they came across more prints, each one deeper than the last one. They were getting closer.
"We are here," the Barbarian Lord stated with a bit of excitement seeing their prey. Several dozens of feet away from them was a large bear covered entirely in snowy white scales. The bear was about ten meters tall, and several meters wide! It had piercing blue eyes and an aura that shook the heavens itself. It was a beast known to the Three Great Races, and it was called the Ice Bear. It was a beast of the Ice Element! Not only did it have a rare elemental affinity, it was also a Pseudo Phenom and the ruler of Ice Frost Mountain! That was why they left the Tigers behind. Those tigers would cower in fear before this beast and would lose their reasoning. The best case scenario was that they lost their consciousness, with the worst case being that they could be easily controlled by the Ice Bear.
"Hey old friend!" the Barbarian Lord laughed happily and approached the bear. The large creature looked down on the approaching barbarian. Its eyes were clouded in confusion for a while. Who was this person that dared to come into its presence? Did he now know who it was? But when it stared at this person a bit more closely, the confusion in its eyes disappeared, and there was nothing but excitement and battle lust.
*ROAR*
It roared in exhilaration upon recognizing the Barbarian before it. Its roar shook the entire mountain, and every creature who heard it shivered in fear.
"Don't interfere," the Barbarian Lord exclaimed in excitement and unsheathed his axe, leaving him with nothing but his trunks.
"Roar," he roared mightily, his roar just as daunting and powerful as the Ice Bear's. The two's auras exploded from within their frames, and they dashed at each other.
The aura of the Barbarian Lord swept past the towering Ice Frost Mountain like a storm. His furious bellow served as a warning to the creatures that served the Ice Bear. His power aura shook them greatly and reminded every submissive Legendary Class Magical Beast that this battle wasn't for them. And it was a challenge to them as well.
Come and I'd kill you!
Animals should be spoken to like animals. And the Barbarian Lord did just that. In a world were only strength was valued, he made his own statement. The power of a Half Step into the Phenom Realm powerhouse was his own, and he announced it like a dragon descending upon a mountain. The Barbarian Lord was a Pseudo Phenom at the peak of his power, and his might was not to be underestimated. Like a ghost his steps were inscrutable and his figure almost a blur. He moved like a fleeting shadow, irritatingly so like a mosquito in the eyes of the Ice Bear. For just like that tiny and prickly creature, it wasn't able to keep its eyes on the elusive figure of the man who ruled the Barbarians.
The charging Ice Bear was no different. As a Sacred Beast it was comparable to a Pseudo Phenom powerhouse and so it wasn't moved by the power of the Barbarian Lord. If anything, the man's power only caused it more excitement. If the aura of the Barbarian Lord was akin to that of a dragon descending a mountain that wasn't its and claiming dominance, then the aura of the Ice Bear was like that of a furious dragon ascending into the sky to remind those below that it was still the one, true ruler.
The large size of the Ice Bear wasn't reflected in its speed. For it moved like a phantom, and its figure couldn't be so easily discerned by the naked eye. As it moved the entire mountain shook. Not from its size however. For though it was a large beast, it was always going to be smaller than the mountain. And smaller it was, for the mountain was so large and tall that its height could barely be estimated. So why did the mountain shake? Why did Ice Frost Mountain's land shift uneasily so? It was because its ruler had been awakened. The one who called the shots upon this lofty mountain was going into battle, and its aura was enough to remind the mountain of its place as a mere dwelling and nothing more. In just a couple of seconds the two met and collided, and the furious tempest that was born from their clash shook several kilograms of snow off the mountain and broke apart several icy grounds.
*Boom*
The Ice Bear opted for a probing attack as its first choice, and the Barbarian Lord did the same. The Ice Bear swung its large paw that could easily flatten the gates of a city into nothing but rubble at the Barbarian Lord, and the power of a Sacred Beast was fully displayed. The Barbarian Lord merely narrowed his eyes at this display of power. He too chose to swing his palm at the beast instead of using his axe. The large and mighty axe became nothing but a spectator as it was switched to his weaker left hand to do nothing but watch the clash of palms. It was a decision that didn't seem the wisest in any way. For the Ice Bear was several times bigger than the Barbarian Lord. Even on all fours the large bear was several times larger, and its paw was even bigger that the Barbarian Lord's entire frame. But when both palms met the results weren't normal. And that was because neither of them was normal.
*Boom*
The Barbarian Lord was forced several meters back, yet his feet remained solidly upon the ground. He only crouched slightly to withstand the impact of the blow and retain his balance, but he didn't do anything more than that. The Ice Bear didn't come out on top either. For although it only took a few meters back, it was a beast that was inherently stronger than man, Elemental, Ancient and even Barbarian. Yet the slim looking Barbarian Lord had been able to withstand its blow with no problem at all! That showed just how powerful the man was with just his physical strength!
"You have gotten better," the Barbarian Lord remarked as he licked his lips. The Ice Bear roared at him loudly, as if saying that the Barbarian Lord had grown stronger as well.
"Yes, I have grown stronger as well," the Barbarian Lord laughed heartily. The Ice Bear roared again, but this time with a little disdain in its tone.
"You really think you are still the better one?" the Barbarian Lord's face was all smiles. He laughed and then said, "Very well. Let's see who is better then. The score is my 175 wins to your 174. Let's see if you are better or I am."
The Ice Bear roared furiously hearing the Barbarian Lord's words, and the face of the Barbarian Lord grew unsightly.
"What? You think you're are the one with 175 wins and not me? That's b*llsh*t and you know it!" the Barbarian Lord pointed at the Ice Bear and exclaimed. The Ice Bear roared again, and the Barbarian Lord responded. Barbarian and Bear kept doing this for several minutes, forgetting that they weren't the only ones here.
The two Barbarians who came with him were several hundreds of meters away from the scene. They were entirely covered in snow and ice from the aftermath of that simple clash, yet they weren't cold or dismayed in any way. The simple clash had reached all the way here! They knew that things would get very intense and so they retreated right after the fight started, but they were still caught in the snow storm that ensued.
Both of them had bitter smiles on their faces hearing the happy laughter of their Lord and seeing him bickering with the Ice Bear. Anyone who was familiar with the Lord of Barbarians would scarcely believe what they were seeing if they were here. The Lord of Barbarians was known as Magma the Intense. He had been given the name Magma because of his red hair, and now it was as iconic as his temper. He was always serious, and rarely laughed or joked with another. Yet here he was, bickering with a bear. But both men weren't stunned by what they were seeing. They weren't just Magma's aids. They had grown up with him.
Several years ago, when all three were nothing but seedlings of the Barbarian Race, they had run off to Ice Frost Mountain under no supervision to play. They were childish and naïve, and didn't truly understand the dangers of this lofty mountain. However, as the greatest talents of their generation they weren't weaklings, and even at the tender ages of twelve and thirteen they were Predators. They had been able to survive in the lower parts of the mountain for several hours, and didn't really meet any challenges since the stronger beasts were at the top of this large mountain. But they didn't get to be carefree for long. They came across a snow white bear cub that had coincidentally escaped its home too. They didn't recognise it then, but it was the cub of the then ruler of Ice Frost Mountain – an Ice Bear cub! Anyway, they fought the little critter, and barely managed to defeat it by working together!
However, the little cub was indignant. It was the descendant of a Sacred Beast and was going to become a Sacred Beast in the future. It was an intelligent beast, and it baited Magma into fighting it alone.
Magma's future had been established since his birth. Born with a strong physique and impressive talent he was bound to be the future ruler of the Barbarians, following after the paths his father and his father before him had taken. Barbarians could understand the speech of Magical Beasts, and so he understood what the bear cub was saying and accepted the challenge. Both fought, and the cub eked out a feeble victory. But it was still a victory. Magma who had never lost to any member of his generation wasn't saddened by this, but excited. He had finally found a worthy advisory, and the little bear cub felt the same. Just when both were about to clash again, their parents appeared and each one was pulled back to his home. Magma to Intersection, and the little bear cub to the peak of Ice Frost Mountain.
Both had been battling each other since their youth, and had grown accustomed to the other's fighting methods. As they grew older they lost more and more freedom until they barely had any time to spar anymore. Now, they only had such a chance once every few years. It had been at least 5 years since Magma's last visit, and now that they had met again it was no surprise that they were this chatty.