Valerian, The Legendary

288 Brute.

Valerian did not intend to go easy on a creature that was after his life. So when the beast was flung into the void, the young man moved and used the momentum from the previous blow in the ribcage. Then he delivered another punch to the body of the beast. His punches were hard and significantly impacted the beast, making it groan.

The beast was left without any air to breathe. He did not understand how this human could produce this much strength from his fists. Magical beasts were not only blessed with magical capabilities but also physical strength too. Valerian, however, did not intend to leave things halfway. He kept delivering punches from left and right to the beast’s body.

Valerian was delivering all the momentum behind the punches to the body, and he had already broken up the ribs of the tiger beast. The bones had been fragmented and pierced through the beast’s lungs, turning them into a sieve.

The beast fell to the ground with its eyes gradually dimming. Valerian panted slowly. He looked at the beast’s corpse and then at the pathway ahead. Then he moved forward with a calm pace. His eyes were firm, and his breathing was steady.

...

Cupido said, “That was some scary battle skill.”

The others nodded, while Fortuna said, “It was not a battle skill. It was him venting against the beast. No one likes to be tested again and again. He has spent his entire life facing such tests. It is about time he defies it all.”

The dragons nodded, and Gale said, “This act of defiance is ruthless. Look at the corpse, it may not have any penetrating wounds, but it looks mangled. The orifices are bleeding at the same time. The pain in the body must have been so strong that Valerian managed to kill the secondary head inside the snake tail.”

Sophos nodded and said, “The god of dragons does not mean to test any of your skills. He only cares about the will of the people who seek his blessing.”

.....

The rest of them nodded and agreed to his advice.

...

Valerian did not intend to stop to rest, he just wanted to get over the battles that waited for him, and then he would sleep. The young man climbed two kilometers and met two enemies, and he was prepared to meet another one on the next one-kilometer milestone.

He walked steadily, but the expected enemy did not appear when he reached the milestone. This was nothing strange, then after he walked to a higher level. He did not stop and kept on climbing the mountain path. Valerian claimed two kilometers before he found himself staring at a stone.

The uniqueness of this stone was that it was aflame and floating in the void. Valerian was surprised because he did not know how this thing could maintain a flame in a place where magic was invalidated. He did not know how to deal with this and cried, “Fortuna, you brute.”

He did not wish to advance to deal with a situation that he did not know anything about. Looking at the two options before him, Valerian chose a bold one. He turned and faced the cliff wall. He sighed, “To think I was all geared up for a head-on clash.”

Valerian punched the wall with his fist, and although he did not get hurt, his fist did not leave any mark on the wall too. Then he thought of something, and the battle aura morphed into a claw. A similar set of claws appeared on his feet too. Battle aura managed to leave a slight scratch on the wall.

Thinking about this, the young man began to scratch the wall with his claws. After a few minutes, the wall had a shallow cavity. So, Valerian decided to use the same method and climb the mountain wall. He climbed a few meters and realized that the process would be very strenuous and he would have to conserve as much battle aura as possible.

Thinking about this, he controlled the flow of the battle aura to be concentrated in the extremities of the part supporting his body against the cliff. He manipulated his breathing to match the rhythm of his climb too.

...

Arma sighed and said, “I doubt anyone could have thought of something like that.”

Gladis nodded and said in a deep voice, “I told you he is not average. His actions are dedicated to achieving his goal with his best performance.”

The rest of the people nodded, but Cupido said, “How long will he be able to maintain his flow of battle aura at this rate?”

Fortuna replied, “A few hours at the least.”

The mood became solemn after this. Valerian had only climbed a quarter of the mountain. He still needed to mount a significant length, and he might not last at this rate.

...

Valerian supported his body with his right claw grabbing at the cavity and his left foot supporting his weight. He stuck close to the mountain to avoid the impact of the raging whirling wind from the side. He took a deep breath and gazed at the peak. Then, he muttered, “I will not last till the rise, even if I restrict the control to insane limits. After another two quarters, I must stop climbing and return to trekking. Well, that is still better than facing enemies now and then.”

Thinking like this, Valerian restricted the flow of his battle aura from his entire palm to just the tip of his fingers, whether it was his hands or the end of his feet. The speed was slowed down, but it was the most efficient way to overcome the obstacles. He did not have to worry about the enemies on the trek. Only the strange pressure and the strong wind became his concern.

To prevent his battle aura from exhausting too soon, the young man gave up the layer of battle aura protection on most of his body and only covered his joints. He did this to make sure that his battle capacity was not affected.

The young man gradually lost the concept of time while climbing the mountain. All he focused on was the movement of his body and controlling it to the optimum level. The night fell, and Valerian still hung on to the mountain wall. He was covered with sweat and blood from the scratches on his face, but his eyes were calm.

...

Gale looked at the bubble displaying the scene and furrowed her brows. Then, Gladis asked, “What is it?”

Cupido and the rest also cast her a gaze. Then, finally, the blue dragon said, “He is about to reach the last quarter and face the last and most dangerous foe ever.”

They realized what Gale was talking about, and the mood became solemn. Fortuna said, “Do not worry. What is supposed to happen will happen regardless of how much you fret or think. Just trust in him.”

The dragons exchanged glances, and then they nodded. Cupido said, “I do not understand. What is even the point of leaving these criminals alive?”

Sophos cast her a glance, and the youngest dragon in the crowd immediately calmed down. The older dragon said, “We keep them here to let them know the pain of misusing their powers. Killing someone is very easy for those like us. However, killing them will be too easy of a punishment.”

...

Valerian was reaching the end of his strength. So, the young man grasped the ledge with his hand and pulled himself over it. He lay down on the ground and panted hard. The cold wind did not bother him, nor did the pressure he sensed from being pressed against the floor. He was exhausted and could not help but think about resting for a few hours.

Just when the thought of resting came to his mind, he heard a calm voice, “I do not know what is weirder. The dragons allow a human to climb this mountain or a human willing to endure the torture of having nothing other than the physical strength to fend against the might of the dragon god.”

Valerian was alerted, but for some reason, he did not sense any malicious intent from this creature. He turned his head, looked at the side from where the voice originated and found a frail-looking silhouette. Squinting his eyes, the light from the two moons illuminated a lady sitting with her back leaning against the mountain.

This lady had brown hair, and her red eyes shone brightly as if they had a fire lit behind them. Valerian asked, “Who might you be?”

The lady raised her brow and said, “To think that a child will show me such a temper. How low have I fallen.”

Valerian clicked his tongue and said, “To think a prisoner will have such a haughty attitude.”

The lady glared at him and said, “Bastard, you are addressing the Princess of the eastern continent. Do you understand? Address me properly.”

The young man was not to admit defeat and said, “You can be a princess while imprisoned. Then allow me to introduce myself, Your Highness. I am Valerian Verus, the fourth prince of Lumen, and I am not a prisoner.”