Valerian, The Legendary

98 Beast.

Vertex was shocked, he did not expect his uncle to attack Valerian so suddenly, his worries were not baseless, after all, the spell cast by Vulcan was at least grade six. The second prince had speculated his companion to be in grade four of magic and battle skills.

Just as the cloud of flames was about to rush and swallow Valerian, the boy said in a calm tone, “Ventus Scutum, Terra Liga.”

The first spell cast a shield of wind, spinning around his body like a bubble and the earth attribute binding spell was to greet Vulcan. The legs of the man were encapsulated in granite, and despite having a physique stronger than average mages, he could not break free.

The next moment, a shadow flickered in front of him, and he was greeted with a jade-like fist invading his vision. Valerian did not stand in the cloud of flames to be scalded, he rushed forward and decided to counter this man. He had witnessed for this person to attack the second prince.

He could tell that this person will test him as well, for Valerian was following the second prince and must be strong. The punch that was going to show bitter love to the cheek of the old man suddenly deviated and landed on the ribcage.

Clang!!!

It sounded as if two hard cold metals collided with each other when the fist touched the armor worn by the Duke. The impact was so strong, that the man was pushed to the floor, his legs were bound and he could only fall on his butt. Valerian was ready to rush out with his hand resting on the short sword when Vertex said, “Stop, Valerian, stand down.”

The silver-haired child cast him a glance and then turned back to face the Duke before he raised his shoulders and let go of his battle stance. He was not really scared and if the second prince had not spoken up, he would have charged ahead and used his magic sword.

Vulcan was surprised by the strength and ferocity of this child, looking down he spotted a faint impression of Valerian’s knuckles, he burst out in loud laughter and asked, “Vertex, who is this child? He is the strongest of his age that I have seen.”

.....

The second prince stepped forward and said, “This is Valerian, he was just adopted into the family by my parents a day before, he is a battle mage, grade four.”

Vertex was a grade six, and the growth was really stagnating as he did not have much experience in battles. Duke Vulcan nodded and stood up from the ground, he said, “Can you take off the binds?”

Valerian glanced at him and negated the spell, but his hand was placed on the hilt of the sword the whole time. He did not trust the intentions of this person. Vertex asked, “What is the situation.”

Vulcan said, “A week ago, these beasts began to attack the patrol teams, but two days ago, they suddenly swarmed up and the city was sieged. The soldiers are strong and they fought, but the sheer number of these beasts push us back. We cannot go through the woods to find out what irritated them.”

The second prince nodded, he could notice that his uncle was slightly anxious. He said, “Then the first thing before investigating the cause is to have these beasts pushed back. Valerian, what do you think?”

“The same as before, Your Highness.”, said Valerian without any emotion in his voice.

The Duke sensed his indifferent attitude and asked, “What is it?”

Vertex told the duke about the plausible method Valerian suggested to him to push the beasts back, he nodded and said, “I could not think of it, but if the mages are put to use, they will not be able to hold against any military invasion if they consume too much.”

Valerian cast a gaze at the duke and said, “Have the wood attribute mages cast vines around the city. Have them entangled, then cast a fire spell on the vines and cast a firewall around. The wood spells do not need to be maintained with mana and last longer than the rest of the attributes. Take your time in doing this, I am going down.”

Vertex knew this child was holding back for a long time, he said, “Be careful.”

Valerian nodded and walked over to the edge of the wall, and jumped down. He did not care about the shock of the people around him. His fair hand had already taken out the sword blade and the wind attribute was channeling through the weapon, giving it a sharp edge and a wind spell to break the fall, allowing the boy to land softly.

Vulcan was shocked, he asked, “Vertex, what the heck was that, call him back. Those beasts will tear him apart.”

The second prince shook his head and said, “Wrong, that beast will tear them apart.”

Vertex was aware that Valerian was not so soft and his eyes were always looking for a fight, like a hungry beast ready to go at his prey.

The Duke wanted to rush out and grab Valerian back when he saw that the silver-haired boy had already opened a hole in the beast formation. Valerian was not testing the waters, he was fighting with the best of his abilities, Fallax had told him, “Only when you grind yourself can you become stronger.”

This was the only thought in his mind as the spells were being cast and aided by the edge of his blade. The speed was so fast that the warriors on the wall were surprised. The duke turned to look at his nephew for answers and the latter said, “Mobilize the mage troops. We have work to do. I will lead my blood guard below as well. Valerian will be tired alone.”

Vulcan nodded and passed the orders for the mages to come over, and Vertex, along with his ten blood guards, jumped down from the edge of the wall, he landed on the ground after casting a wind spell to break his fall.

...

Valerian moved through the beasts like it was a walk in the park. He was not allowed to use any spells other than the two attributes in the public eye. He did not want to waste too much time but the people on top of the wall were slow.

He was efficient, when faced with a sneak attack, he would use either earth spell to shield himself, or the wind movement spell to dodge the attack, and when he had the room, his sword would move.

A short sword was not the weapon of his preference, but it was because of his small height that Azula and the others selected this weapon rather than a custom-made sword. They did not have much time on their hands, and a custom magic weapon will take probably a month.

Valerian was being pounced by all sorts of beasts, but his footsteps were only moving forward and to the side, but he never retreated a single inch in face of such chaos.

...

Vulcan was watching the entire process from the wall, and his hands were shivering from excitement. The child in front of him seemed to have bought back the memories of his youthful days when he hunted and fought without holding back.

He said, “This kid will make it big one day, but before that, he needs to be supported. Brave Warriors, step forward.”

The warriors on top of the wall heard his voice and they stepped forward. They were all trained by the Flame King and were ready to lay down their lives at his command. The only reason Duke Vulcan had been holding back was to not risk the lives of the people he had trained so rigorously.

Looking down at the two young ones slaying left and right, the spirits of the old duke had surfaced again, he was in his middle ages, and was not yet so old that he would turn soft. He said, “You see that silver streak?”

The warriors on this side of the city wall were all looking at Valerian from the moment he floored their Duke. They were all grade seven and were very strong, so they could tell that the potential of the boy below was really high. They replied in unison, “Yes, Your grace.”

Vulcan sneered and said, “All the warriors will take action and anything behind the fire circle must not be allowed to cross over, kill these beasts, we have never had a venison feast. Here are the resources, go gather them.”

The duke was just that crude of a person and the first prince Ignis had spent a few years with him to learn the tricks of fire magic, thus the influence on conduct.

...

Vulcan had commanded the mages to slowly cast vine spells and then set them on fire. The ballistas were also rolling and firing arrows at the beasts below, making sure to provide support to the allies.

In the depth of the woods, a few men stood together, one of them asked, “How long will the flame last?”

Another person beside him replied, “Tomorrow, we will take the city with our magic beasts.”

However, they were unaware of the beast charging toward them at the moment. They were in for a fight they will never forget.