Valerian, The Legendary

177 Bitter Struggle.

The two ballistas stationed at the northern front of the city were destroyed, but before Valerian could even think about a retreat, a cold gust blew behind his back, and a slightly hoarse voice sounded, “To think that a little rat will dare to invade the Valkyrian line and even harm four men. Commendable.”

Valerian wanted to turn around when a strong impact from the side sent him flying for ten meters. With a series of dull collisions with the ground, his body came to a rest. The old man kicked him hard, and this kick left him with agonizing pain in his ribs and disoriented senses. The appearance of the old man grabbed the dedication of the young soldiers.

While the commoners bowed their backs, the warriors bowed their heads in respect to the old man. This person was the grandmaster, who detected him earlier. The old man walked over to the battered boy and said, “I did not expect a child to be so brave. What surprises me is the fact that you are still alive after that kick.”

The person was dressed in beast quilts, his back was slightly hunched and his hair was gray and long. However, the sturdy muscles stood in stark contrast. Valerian was not dead or unconscious, and he was able to see everything, but his head was slightly dizzy, and his body was unable to get up.

At this moment, he was no less than a worm on the ground, squirming to get away from the danger in front of him. That one kick has blown away his scarf and revealed his face to the old man. The old man stood above him and said, “Who are you?”

Valerian opened his mouth but could not make a human sound, he froze and moved his hand around his chest and neck. He found that his collar chain was missing, the disorientation vanished and he looked around to find the artifact, but he could not see any inkling of it. The old man saw the child ignoring him, his temper flared up, and he stepped on Valerian’s calf.

The seemingly gentle step was enough to snap the shin, and Valerian wailed from the pain. He struggled to get away from this person but he was unable to. His wails did not make a difference to the old man, who watched him with a cold gaze.

After a few seconds, the old man took away his foot and said, “Now, do you know what will happen if you did not answer my questions?”

Valerian closed his eyes, tried to suppress his pain, and thought of a plan quickly since he did not have the chain collar, he could not speak and if he stayed silent, the old man will torture him to death. He opened his eyes and looked at the old man right in the eyes and cast a spell, ‘Mens Laqueo.’

.....

The spell came as a surprise for the old man, he did not know about Valerian’s endowment. A strong pain channeled in through his head, but the resistance of a grand master was not to be taken lightly. The old man simply shook his head and clarity returned to his eyes. Just when he was about to attack Valerian in anger, a light flashed in his vision.

The soldiers around them were all momentarily blinded, and Valerian used this moment to cast a shadow dispersion spell and vanished from his spot. He appeared outside the campsite but he was unable to stand on his feet, his right leg was dangling from flesh and aching so bad that Valerian was sweating and tolerating this feeling with all his might.

Half of his effort was spent suppressing the pain. He could not cast a light spell, because the glow will reveal his position in the dark, and the grandmaster will be upon him once again. In addition to his broken leg, his left ribs were also aching. Valerian could sense the area swelling when he lay his hand over it.

He looked around and found a dense cover of bushes, and then he looked back towards the campsite. He found a tent not far away from him, and at the same time, he heard a loud voice, “Go search and find me that rat. I want him alive. Go!”

Valerian took a gamble and moved closer to the tent. The most dangerous place was the safest place. The child rolled himself inside the tent and began to think about how he could leave this place alive. The old man would sense the mana fluctuation if he focused. Earlier he lost Valerian’s position because of the disorientation.

The silver-haired child was now laying under the bed of the soldiers out for the battle. Valerian remembered that he needed to give out a signal to the rescue forces that his job has been done otherwise all the efforts will fail. However, he overestimated himself this time and the penalty for his mistake was the seething pain in his body and a blow to his confidence.

A thought struck his mind, and the young man called in his heart, “Linea.”

The magical bond between the two beings was not magical just in name, but also in application. It was said that as long as the two beings focused on communicating with each other, they could hear each other’s thoughts even if they were a long distance apart.

Valerian was calling for Linea with a calm mind, ignoring all the pain he was going through.

...

Inside the city, Linea was perched on the tallest tower of the city. Thunder Falcons did not like much activity around them and the stunned gazes from the soldiers below were making him uncomfortable. Suddenly, Fortuna opened her eyes and said, “Why are you shivering?”

Linea replied, “Your Highness, master, told me to ask you to cast a few fire javelins in the void.”

Fortuna sat up and asked, “What do you mean? Can he not cast a simple fire magic spell on his own now?”

Linea shook his head and said, “Master said that he was hiding from a grandmaster in the enemy camp. I can sense that his condition is not good.”

Fortuna narrowed her eyes wide and said in a commanding tone, “Ask him if he is hurt, what use do you have you pathetic chicken.”

She was losing her temper with every passing second and her aura was getting stronger. Linea dare not wind the flames of her draconic rage and with a drooping head, he asked Valerian about his condition. The young man tried to dissuade the answer but Linea said that Fortuna will not cast the spell until she knew the truth.

Helpless, Valerian told him about his encounter briefly and urged him to convince Fortuna. Linea was shocked, and then he relayed the entire dialogue to Fortuna. The cat had a cold expression and said, “To think this idiot did not use the power of decay. What a fool. Move, take me higher.”

Linea did not delay and flapped his wings to pierce the night sky with lightning channeling through his body. The speed was fast and once they were over the clouds, the cat said, “I will go down and handle things, while you will stay above the clouds.”

Linea did not understand her motive but did not refuse. He knew that Fortuna was stronger than him by quite a high level. As he was thinking about the potential reasons, the cat jumped down from his back and she morphed her shape into that of a thunder falcon. Linea was almost doubting his life.

The dragon shape-shifted like a thunder falcon and she dived down from the skies. Fortuna did not want to give away her identity as a dragon just yet. She will be simply inviting trouble from all over the western continent. A dragon was a living treasure trove whether alive or dead. However, she would still act for Valerian’s safety, otherwise, she would have waited till she grew up even more.

...

A few moments before Fortuna dived down the back of the thunder falcon, Valerian was discovered by a soldier who entered the tent, and the young man, in order to defend himself, he cast a shadow magic spell.

The grandmaster in the camp sensed it and responded. He rushed to the tent and with a wave of his battle aura-covered hand, the tent flew away. The next moment, the old man grabbed Valerian by his neck, with his body dangling in the void.

Valerian was suffocated by the iron grip around his neck. The old man said with a hated expression, “Rat you dared to trick me? I will break all your bones, and still, you will not die. I will have you beg me for death.”

Apart from the shortness of breath, Valerian was covered in a cold sweat. He was scared, his heart was racing so fast that it felt like it would explode. The old man placed his hand around Valerian’s left hand and clenched it hard, the power broke the bone in his arm, and the boy whimpered. The old man smiled but the next moment a sense of danger overcame the old man, and he jumped back letting the boy fall down on the ground.