Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 330: Obliteration.

Valerian was quick on his feet, and he was overwhelming the bandits. However, the mages had almost hit him with a few spells. The young man in the priest habit did not seem to have any killing intention against them and was cautious about causing damage to the surroundings.

However, the bandits were relentless; they did not care about anything that lay in their path and left destruction in their wake. Valerian did not hesitate in injuring the bandits heavily, but he made sure to leave them alive. The bandit leader lost his cool and jumped off the horse.

This crude guy was a warrior, or this entire group of bandits comprised warriors and mages. Valerian could swear that this was the most glorious bandit gang he had ever known to exist. No wonder the people were so scared of them.

Valerian was whooshing past the mage’s spells when suddenly, he jumped in the air. The bandit leader had smashed his war hammer on the ground and sent a shockwave to attack him. The jump in the void exposed Valerian to the few spells coming right at him. The bandit leader smiled and said, "Hahaha, let me see what you can do now, brat."

Valerian had the urge to roll his eyes when the battle aura in his body condensed, and a spear appeared in his hand. Then the young monk did not hesitate and flung the spear at the fireballs. The spear flew through the fireballs so quickly that the after-wash air thrust made the fireballs disperse.

The spear did not stop but scraped the cheek of the mage. The person was so scared that he pissed himself and numbly fell off the horse. The bandit leader was shocked, and Valerian took the initiative to attack. The young man did not give the surprised mages the time to react and cast an earth spell. Their horses all toppled over, and the mages were trapped below the beasts.

The bandit leader was shocked. He did not expect Valerian to have been holding back such a skill. The young man sighed and said, "So, you were saying something."

The bandit leader was at a loss, shivering in fear. They did not expect this monk to battle with them and take out the entire crew. That was not all. This person was Magnus Magister. The strength and skills shown by Valerian were so surprising for them that the people stood no chance.

Valerian moved and vanished from his spot to appear behind the bandit leader, and a kick to the temple knocked down the fat guy. Valerian stretched his body as he looked around the place. The spells had left significant destruction marks on the surrounding buildings.

He sighed, stepped forward to revive the horses, and tied up the bandits. He did not release the symbol for the knighthood to arrive. Valerian looked around and said, "Mister Holmer, can you kindly take these horses in and use them to better the infrastructure in this place? You can sell them to traders. Given they are all fine-bred animals, they might fetch a good sum of money."

Holmer was overwhelmed and nodded earnestly when he said, "I will take care of this task, Sir."

Valerian nodded and then walked over to the bandit leader. Without warning, he took a simple dagger from his magic pouch and stabbed the blade through the leader’s thigh. The pain woke up the fat guy with a horrible scream.

The young monk twisted the dagger and said, "Shut up, or your leg will be cut off completely. You must know what they do with a lame horse, right?"

The bandit leader was tied up and could not move his hands. He could only chew on his lips to keep them shut, and Valerian nodded. The monk asked, "Where are the children you abducted from this settlement?"

The bandit leader opened his eyes wide and then shook his head. Valerian tilted his head and asked, "Can I take that as a no?"

The bandit leader gulped, and Valerian took out the knife, only to slowly slide it between the ribs of the bandit leader’s ribcage. He avoided all the vitals and cauterized the wound while the blade was still inside the enemy’s body.

The torture continued for half an hour. In the woods, Valerie was moving between a small square of four trees, and the dagger in her hand was enunciating whooshing sounds. Olivis watched this four-year-old child and gulped. He could not believe this child was so skilled. He asked, "Did Valerian teach you all this?"

Valerie did not stop moving and nodded. She said, "We play tag in our free time, and big brother only plays in a small box like this. He will ask me to chase after him with a stick in my hand. I try to imagine his shadow when he is not there and chase after it. I have never caught it, you know. He is just that strong and fast."

Olivis nodded and said, "Indeed, he is quite fast."

One of his eyes was closed as he watched Valerian torture the people and said, "Well, I am sure one day, you will be able to catch him."

Valerie stopped with a smile and asked, "Do you have any games we can play? Do not worry. I will take the first turn to defeat you."

Olivis was surprised and then shook his head as he said, "I do not have any games. But we can play tag. I will move through the trees. That way, I am fastest."

Valerie became excited and said, "Okay, come on."

...

Valerian finished his interrogation and found the things he was looking for, and after casting a healing spell on the bodies of his subjects, he released the symbol of the knighthood in the void. The fire of mercy shined bright.

He could not bring Valerie back because these people were cunning, and even after being stripped naked, a few tried to escape or take a citizen as a hostage. He could not take such a risk to deal with people this brutal and cunning.

Valerian waited for the people from the knighthood to arrive and looked at the familiar face in the lead. He bowed and asked, "Sir Mahiyan, Sir Calor is not here tonight?"

Mahiyan shook his head with a smile and said, "The Commander has reassigned Calor on a case. However, you, Valerian, what is it that you get to deal with so many places when you carry out a mission?"

Valerian shook his head and said, "I do not go looking for them, sir. You know these guys are cunning and abduct young girls. I extracted some crucial information from them so I will leave now."

Mahiyan was surprised by Valerian finding out things so soon. He nodded and said, "It is fine that you found some information, but I suggest you take an additional partner in this mission. You also said that the enemies might have even more troops there. It is for your safety."

Valerian thought about it and wanted to say no when he discovered Valerie was exposed to dangerous situations. He said, "Fine, but only for Valerie’s sake."

Mahiyan nodded and said, "Sister Gwen, you are tasked as Valerian’s partner from now on."

Surprised, the lady asked, "But, Sir, the commander?"

Mahiyan replied, "I will inform the commander. Do not worry."

Gwen nodded, and Mahiyan took the initiative to make introductions. Valerian scratched the back of his head and asked, "Sir, do I still have free rein on how I work?"

He was most worried about the pace of his operation slowing down. Mahiyan nodded and said, "Yes, the commander directly ordered you to deal with this matter your way, and by far, your work has been very satisfactory. Violence has slowly dropped in the region, and the commander is happy about the change."

Valerian nodded and said, "Please extend my thanks to the commander. Sister Gwen, we shall leave after wrapping things here. I wonder if you are okay with it?"

Gwen nodded, and the two people quickly helped in wrapping things up. After the bandits were taken away, Valerian rushed to the woods, and Gwen followed him. Only the little girl was standing in the place where Olivis and Valerie were waiting. Valerian asked, "Where did that guy go, Vali?"

Valerie replied, "He is there. He seems to be upset."

Valerian looked in the distance and found Olivis sitting listlessly on the ground. He asked, "Oi, what happened to you?"

The dryad raised his head, and pointing at Valerie, he said, "This is what you call a child? She can predict my wrap and defeat me in tag as if it is nothing. What have you been feeding her? Huh?"

Valerian opened his eyes wide and then chuckled. He said, "I do not feed her anything. This little one is a natural. Logically speaking, her skills originate from her feline bloodline, so she is quick on her feet, and her hearing sensation is better than ordinary people."

Olivis said nothing and only waved his hand, telling Valerian to leave. The young monk did not mind the surprise displayed by Gwen over how Valerian was communicating with a dryad. He picked up the little girl and said, "You obliterated that guy, good job."

Valerie smiled and asked, "Can I keep this dagger, then?"

Valerian shook his head and said, "This one is too big for you, but I can refine better ones, you can have them, okay?"

Valerie nodded like a chick pecking on grains. She loved shiny daggers. With that, the trio returned to the settlement to leave the place and track down the captured children.