Valerian, The Legendary

153 Nether Bugs.

The speed of the thunder falcon was not to be doubted, in just a few hours, Linea had taken them to the depth of the outer parameter of the Stellan Empire. Valerian noticed something and said, “Linea, find an isolated place and land, we will take a rest.”

The bird replied with a gentle nod and the people landed on the ground. Linea was getting slower, it was obvious that the big bird was tired. He just spent a night hunting for prey and then flew with Valerian and Priscilla over his back to fly them during the day. This was really exhausting for him.

Valerian was considerate while Fortuna scoffed and mumbled, “Weakling.”

The thunder falcon put up a miserable expression but Valerian consoled him with a few pats on the head. Fortuna was a dragon, even if she was weak at the moment, her strength was good enough to oppress the rest of the beasts with her bloodline pressure.

Valerian and Priscilla found the crown of an old oak tree to rest and Mathiyus was arranged to gather food. They had skipped breakfast, so as the capable shadow leopard, Mathiyus hunted a buck, and brought it for the people to eat.

This time, Valerian was not stingy, he cleaned up the corpse and then washed it with water balls, he cleaned the spot and used fire mana to carefully grill the meat for the group.

Mathiyus was gazing at the boy with a surprised gaze, he would be lying if he said that the use of multiple and elemental attributes did not surprise him. No matter how he tried to wrap his brain around this matter, it would always leave him clueless.

They finished eating the meat and Valerian spent his time reading the book about medicines. Ever since he visited the light magic tower, and learned the various ways of treatment that were not related to magic, he was very curious about this knowledge.

When he snapped out of his reading, it was already evening and Fortuna finished eating the leftover and the group departed again. Valerian leaned against the soft back of the thunder falcon and sighed in comfort.

.....

...

They traveled for five days and five nights before they reached the place Fortuna had mentioned. Linea was tired and given a rest by entering the beast bag owned by Priscilla, it had enough space for one magical beast and since they were on land Mathiyus was not happy to cooperate and spend his time inside the cage.

They were inside the Valkyrian territory and from the sky, they spotted a lot of tribal camps. Valerian was very cautious with his movements. The place they were headed towards was deep within the mountains. The thunder falcon would not be able to take them any further.

The group was moving inside the forest outside the mountain range. Although the Valkyrians were not very good at appreciating nature, they had left this region quite untouched. Priscilla said, “Your Highness, are you sure, we can make it through this place? The vibes are not very friendly.”

Valerian gazed at the dark stone cliffs penetrating the clouds and said, “Whether you make friends with someone or not depends on your own deeds. Do not disrespect the wilderness and the mountains and we might make it through.”

That said, the three of them moved forward and entered the mountain range from a narrow gap in the cliffside. The space was very narrow and Priscilla was having a hard time moving through. The rugged sides rubbed against their bodies leaving scratches and minor rashes all over.

Valerian was the same but he did not take notice of such small troubles. He was determined to get through this ravine. The mountains were very strong and sturdy, it was as if the walls were made of iron. Fortuna was sitting atop Valerian’s head and her eyes were aimed forward.

After an hour the space expanded slightly and instead of sideways, the two were able to walk with their faces forward. Valerian asked, “Fortuna, why is this last phase so difficult?”

Fortuna replied indifferently, “This place was meant for dragons to visit when they have the ability to fly. When a dragon takes a flight, the blood inside emits a strange magical wave, that allows us to freely travel through the obstacles set around the gateway. So, my inability is making it harder for you and your maid.”

Valerian nodded and said, “It’s okay. We will get through.”

Just as his words dropped, he sensed something and noticed that the sunlight was not very strong now. Earlier they could vaguely see what it was in the front but now, it was a struggle to watch the surroundings and this sensation made Valerian cast the illumination spell and felt a cold shiver down his spine.

He froze and Priscilla asked with a stammer, “What are these?”

In front of them, the whole place was crawling with bugs, as big as a palm, bodies covered with disgusting mucus making them look browning, with two beady eyes, and four legs. The most shocking feature was a pair of small claws emitting thick liquid.

Valerian flinched and said, “They are emitting a rancid smell. Seems to be poisonous.”

Priscilla took out two clothes to cover their noses and Fortuna said, “Nether bugs, it is said that these bugs guard the doors of the nether world and their poison can even keep the souls inside the Nether land. They will not attack us until we violate their territory. However, once they attack it will simply be death with no other options.”

Valerian sighed in relief and asked, “How can we go through them then?”

Fortuna said, “I have no idea. The dragon pressure does not work on them, they need to sense the magical presence of a dragon to move aside.”

Valerian scratched his head as he thought of ideas. He asked, “Let me detect how many of these bugs are there.”

He closed his eyes and cast an earth spell, “Terra Deprehensio.”

A shock wave was cast for a certain distance and after a few seconds Valerian opened his eyes and said, “Thousands.”

Priscilla asked, “Your highness, what is it?”

Valerian told her what was going on and the maid was flustered. She said, “Is there no other way to get to the said gateway?”

The young man asked Fortuna, who said that another way will need them to dive into a pit from the peak of this mountain and magic did not work in that place. So, it will be certain death for them. Now they were stuck in a quagmire. If they progressed, on this path they might die, but on the other path, they will die.

Valerian sighed and choose this path, he decided that they were going to kill these bugs to make their way through the place. Fortuna could not do anything other than stand at the side. Suddenly Valerian cast a spell, “Serpens Flammarum.”

He cast the same spell five times and channeled all his mana into them. The next moment, five flame pythons crawled over and passed through the narrow passage, melting the bugs. The flames roasted the bugs and the dead bugs emitted a strong smell.

If not for the clothes on their faces, they would have been poisoned by now. Fortuna said, “Now that you have done it, make sure that you do not stop attacking until you make it through this place, or you will die.”

Valerian sighed and began to cast spell after spell as he and Priscilla charged up ahead. The bodies of the two were really close and surrounded by layers of earth shields. However, the boy could sense the bugs spitting poison and corroding the earth’s shields.

He suddenly thought it would have been better to leave Priscilla outside the ravine because the speed and mana cost would improve if he was to be alone. The maid also understood this and asked him to protect her, when he rolled his eyes at her and said, “So? Let you die as I run away?”

Priscilla was moved, usually, the people in higher position would look down on people like her, but rarely only does a person comes, who not only rises above the masses but also take along those around him/her.

Azula and Valerian, both were the latter types of people. She ground her teeth and did her best to keep up with the pace of the young man in front of him. Suddenly, Valerian held her waist and pulled her close as he said, “Ventus Scutum.”

At this moment, he cast this spell, the earth shield around them collapsed and multiple streams of poison were shot at them. The two people did not have the time to enjoy a moment of warmth. They were simply shivering and a chill erupted in their hearts.

The revolving windshield deflected the poison as it fell on the ground, and the two watched the spot corroding at a pace they could never have imagined. In a blink, a fist-sized hole appeared on the spot.

Fortuna said, “Hurry up, the big one is going to take action.”

Valerian froze, and the next moment he started running with Priscilla hung over his shoulder, the ground began to tremble.