Valerian, The Legendary

The young man entered the bandit settlement but did not attack any patrolling teams first. Instead, his primary targets were people inside the makeshift bamboo cottages. He used the shadow spells to move from one spot to another and perfectly avoided the flame torches.

However, the number of these bandits was scary. After half an hour, Valerian had caught twenty of them, and this was not even a quarter of them. No wonder they needed to commit crimes. Feeding such a massive group without any income would demand such actions.

Valerian now had the idea of this place, and the terrain was also evident. So, he moved around without using any magic spells. He decided to stop wasting time on these small fries and attack the big guy. From the last guy he apprehended, he found that the band leader stayed in the center of the settlement. That man occupied the most spacious and comfortable bamboo cottage.

This made things a bit easier for Valerian. However, he did not act complacently. He had learned from many strong fighters that there was always a stronger person. He was not worried as he had already stowed Valerie on top of a tree and told her not to make much noise or move around until he returned. The girl understood and sat beside the tree’s crown with the wild cat.

Valerian moved through the dark and slowly crept closer to the center of the settlement. The young man crouched under the fire lamp erected around the bamboo cottage. He heard some noise coming from the inside. It seemed as if two people were talking to each other.

A hoarse, deep voice sounded, “Shmal, you have gathered too many people in your group. You understand it will only get more difficult in the future?”

Shmal replied in a slightly dull voice, “Lord Akra, I cannot help it. These people are not gifted. They do not stand a chance against the guardians of the dragon temple.”

Valerian deduced the identity of the two people. One of them was the leader of the bandits, Shmal. The other person seemed to be respected by the leader of the bandits, Lord Akra. However, Valerian was not sure about the identity of this second guy. This situation confused him. What if the enemy is a gifted person? If he was to take action against this guy now, it could make things difficult for the hostages.

.....

The motive was to catch the bandits but not at the cost of hostages. The code of mercy dictated that one must prioritize the safety of the innocent, even if that means letting go of the culprit. When Valerian was thinking about how to take action, someone spotted him and shouted, “Who goes there?”

The voice alerted the men inside the cottage, and they acted quickly. Valerian clicked his tongue and, using the shadow magic, vanished from the place. Two people came out of the cabin, and Valerian could easily guess their identities from a distance.

The leader of the bandits was dressed in ragged clothing, while the person beside him was draped in expensive cashmere. Valerian squinted his gaze and remembered the face of this guy.

Shmal asked grumpily, “What the fuck is all this fuss about? What happened?”

The bandit guard who shouted replied, “Boss, I saw a shadow near your cottage and shouted out of reflex, but when I came close, it had vanished.”

Shmal furrowed his brows and impatiently reprimanded the guy, “How many times have I told you not to drink more than you can handle? Do you want me to believe it was a ghost who vanished and came inside the settlement without anyone noticing? Have you been doing opium a bit too much these days?”

Shmal did not buy the story and raged like a rabid dog when Lord Akra raised his hand and said, “He is not wrong. There is mana fluctuation in this spot.”

Shmal was stunned and said, “We do not have any mage in the camp, Sire.”

Lord Akra frowned and said, “Send the people to search every nook and cranny. If this mage is from the gang, then good. I want to ask why he was sneaking around; if not, I want to skin him alive.”

Shmal nodded and thundered, “You all heard the Lord, get moving and bring me the person alive. Go.”

The bandits were scared they were going against a mage, but they could not do anything else. Shmal was not a compassionate person, and Lord Akra was even crueler. So they would instead take a chance with the invader than these two.

Valerian saw this and waited in his position. In just a few moments, the entire settlement was alerted. The people were moving around with torches. The young man thought briefly, then gazed back at the center.

It came to him that if he managed to take down the enemy before they could act against the hostages, things would be fine. However, there was a chance that these guys managed to last in a battle. It will make things more complicated. Valerian could not save the hostages first because Shmal had them all caged in the basement under his cottage.

If Valerian wanted to access that place, he had to go through Shmal and Lord Akra since no other option was left. So the young man decided to do the only thing he could. He was going to fight with these two people head-on.

As a Magnus Magister, Valerian could not only cast a variety of spells at the same time, but he also had an excellent command over the effective range. He was hiding in the dark at least two hundred meters away from the center of the settlement. Since everyone else was scattered to look for him, Lord Akra must be confident in his skills.

He deduced that Lord Akra was a mage since he could detect the mana fluctuation. Usually, a person with a lower realm would not have been able to see the changes, but since Valerian was rushed, he did not take precautions such as converging the mana aftershock.

Thinking about it, Valerian cast a light flash spell before the eyes of Lord Akra and vanished from his spot. The next moment he appeared. He was so close to Akra that he could kill him in one move.

However, something was telling him that it would not be that simple. Just when he was about to attack the enemy, he sensed something dangerous approaching him from the side and retreated a few meters.

Valerian ran his gaze around and found that Lord Akra was holding a weapon made up of the crimson battle aura. It turns out this person was also a battlemage. Valerian raised his guard, battlemages were tricky people, and given the speed, this guy condensed the weapon. He was not an easy opponent to deal with.

Shmal spotted Valerian and rushed towards him, only to end up entangled with wooden vines and gradually paralyzed into a frozen statue. Lord Akra had regained his vision and said, “Good technique and even better responses. That is three elements and an Archmage. I wonder what else you can do, Young Knight.”

Valerian raised his brows. This person was quick at deduction. He cursed himself for revealing a bit too many cards. After all, the enemy had deduced a few things about him while he was in the dark.

However, he was not going to give up. This enemy was strong, but that did not make him invincible. Valerian asked, “What is your involvement with these guys?”

Lord Akra shrugged and said, “I am not involved with them, but they are a good group of pets. You know what I mean?”

Valerian nodded and said, “So, you are the master of these dogs. Saves me the trouble of looking for you everywhere.”

Lord Akra chuckled and said, “I like your confidence, but are you sure you can defeat me?”

Valerian replied, “How would I know that if I did not try?”

Lord Akra nodded and said, “Then, what are you waiting for?”

Valerian snapped his fingers and cast light blobs in the area. He could deal better with this guy in light, and another reason was to cover the mana fluctuation about to erupt from his upcoming spells if this guy was as strong as he expected. Lord Akra would be able to sense his attacks from the fluctuation.

In the realm of Clar-awks, Valerian learned to think highly of his opponent and then engage in battles. This way, he will not be surprised if the enemy pulls a number on him. Lord Akra welcomed the challenge and charged forward with the spear.

Valerian, on the other hand, stood in his place. He did not reveal his battle prowess to this guy, just yet. He had another card up his sleeve.