Valerian, The Legendary

Lord Akra looked at the young man gazing at him calmly, and he could not help but smile. Valerian was not in a hurry to make a move. A few of his cards had already been played. This time, he was waiting for the enemy to make a move. Lord Akra also understood this, and the battle became a stare-down.

The bandits outside had finished checking the region and found many of their accomplices entangled with paralyzing vines. Some ignorant ones tried to move the vines, but the thorns also paralyzed them. This scared off the other bandits.

A few of them still had some brain and decided to return to find their leader and inform him. However, the sight they discovered was something out of expectations. They were led by the cruelest and strongest criminal, Shmal. However, at this moment, their leader stood on the side entwined with the same vines.

Lord Akra said, “You are no match for the prodigy of the Temple of Mercy here. Bring those hostages over. We can probably talk to this young man.

Valerian checked some bandits and said, “You are a strong enemy.”

Lord Akra furrowed his brows when he heard this remark. Valerian smiled and raised his right hand. The next moment he snapped his fingers, and the bandits around them held onto their heads as they wailed. Lord Akra was surprised, but soon he deduced that Valerian had just cast a mind snare spell on multiple people.

He asked, “Why not target the spells on me?”

Valerian smiled and said, “You have the affinity to shadow attribute, and your warrior instincts will tell you when there will be a strike, and you will avoid it. Moreover, mana is precious, so why waste it on you when I know that the spell will fail?”

.....

Surprised, Lord Akra chuckled, saying, “So, do you intend to engage with me in a stare-off battle forever?”

Valerian smiled and said, “No, I thought you must not be a part of these bandits since I do not have any information about you. However, given your clothes, I suspect you belong to some influential place. What would that place do to you or those you care about for dragging them in this mess if you lost to me and got caught by chance?”

Lord Akra was stumped. He could not believe this youth had such a sharp deduction skills. He frowned and said, “Being too short is not good, kid. Those who do not know what is good for them often die early.”

Valerian sighed and said, “Your choice.”

The young man raised his hand and cast a beacon spell in the sky. When Valerian said, “I might die fighting you.” Lord Akra was taken aback.

Valerian continued, “However, I will not step back or give up on my task.”

Lord Akra realized that Valerian had no intention of backing down. He clenched his jaw as the corner of his eye began twitching. Valerian observed this and smiled. His existence might not be dangerous for Lord Akra, but the number of warriors rushing over will be too much for him.

The Knights of Mercy were all gifted people. Akra was unsure if he could deal with everyone coming his way. Frustrated, he cursed, “Fuck you. Argh, a day will come when you and your temple bow their heads to him. Then you will know what a true Tyrant is.”

Valerian was about to shift his focus when he heard these words. To his ear, they sounded like a message. Akra called him a fake tyrant and said that the temple of mercy would bow its head to the real tiger.

The young man suddenly gave up his stance and asked, “Are you a retainer of the Eastern Tyrant, Immortuous?”

This sudden question shocked Lord Akra. He did not expect this guy to perceive a sentence so profoundly into the topic. He nodded and asked, “Why are you scared now?”

It seemed as if he was joking. However, he could sense the chill in Valerian’s tone. This was not some expected chill but a hateful one, as if the bones of this young man were condensed with hate. Lord Akra focused on Valerian’s silver eyes and could not see any fluctuations.

Valerian blinked and said, “Thank you for saving me time.”

Lord Akra was surprised by this gesture, but then Valerian vanished from his place. Akra was not a fool and shoved the spear from the battle aura behind him, but he only stabbed the air. His pupils dilated as he searched for Valerian around him. Then, suddenly, a bad premonition assaulted him. The attack was coming from above.

Lord Akra rolled off to the side, but he was grazed by a few spikes protruding from the ground. His brain was working fast. If not for that roll earlier, he might have been impaled by a few ice spears.

He could not understand what sort of bizarre enemy this was. Never in his life had Lord Akra faced someone who could use five out of seven elements of magic. Valerian did not intend to give this enemy any chance to catch his breath. He cast a wind spell in the middle of the jump and changed his trajectory to catch up to Lord Akra.

Sensing the enemy closing in, Akra cast a shadow displacement spell and vanished from his spot. Valerian lost sight of the target and came to a standstill. He closed his eyes and sensed the mana fluctuations in the surroundings.

The shadow displacement spell left a subtle tail trail when cast. If someone could sense, they could guess the movement direction of the caster. Valerian had honed his mana senses, and he found what he was looking for and moved with the same spell. When he stopped, Akra was running ahead.

Valerian knew the enemy would not sit down and let him beat the guy up, so he stopped his movement. Then, he cast light blobs all over the place, removing any shadow in the area.

Akra needed a shadow to move around. Unfortunately, his shadow movement spells were useless. Only a few mental attack spells could be cast in such a situation. Valerian expected and would block them, but Akra did not give him what he needed and vanished from his place.

Valerian heard a peal of eery laughter as the man appeared behind him and said, “You thought you could hold me down by casting multiple light spells? Fool. I will take your head off.”

The young man suddenly stepped to the side, and his fist charged at the face of the enemy.

Boom! The impact was so strong that Lord Akra was shaken and made to retreat ten steps. The next moment, Valerian appeared next to the man and punched every spot of his body with all his passion and will.

Valerian did not give Akra a slight chance to counterattack. Akra was not a fool and tried to counter Valerian with no result. Valerian was relentless. He was venting. After an hour, he stopped and cast the healing spell against the enemy and said, “Now, shall we have a conversation?”

Akra was confused. He said with a swollen face, “You better let me go. You have no idea what the Tyrant will do if he finds that you foiled his plans. Do not think that the dragon barrier can protect you forever.”

Valerian chuckled and said, “I do not want it to last forever. Soon I will go to the eastern continent and pull his heart out of his chest. But, you see, your mission was none other than me.”

Shocked, Akra shook his head and asked, “Do you even know what you are talking about?”

Valerian smiled and leaned closer to Akra as he said, “Nice to meet you. I am, Valerian Divinus Magnus. Son of Divinus and Flos.”

The young man leaned back to see the shocked expression on Akra’s face. He chuckled and asked, “Tell me, why are you here? What did that coward tell you?”

Akra regained his composure and glared at the young man, he said, “You think you can get anything from me? No. Try if you may and see if I will tell you anything.”

Valerian smiled and said, “I thought you would never ask.”

He smiled and touched the tip of Akra’s nose with his index finger. The next thing Akra sensed was his nose crumbling away as if made of dust. He shivered in fear, this guy was going to kill him. He clenched his fist and said, “You cannot kill anyone, this is against the code of mercy.”

Valerian smiled and said, “I will not kill you, but your love will be worse than death. How about I let you take a look at your handsome self? I wonder if you ever thought appearances were meaningless.”