Valerian, The Legendary

143 Changing Faces.

Valerian sat on the corpse of the Iron Ape, chugging water from a travel flask carried by Priscilla. He looked at the group of people standing a few meters away, gazing at him in shock. This was a general reaction, after all, this child was younger than them, shorter than them, yet he was so strong that he took on a grade-seven magical beast on his own.

The silver-haired child did not take a step forward to clear up the fact that the beast was in a weakened state and thus he could easily win over it. He asked, “Lady Grace if I remember correctly, one person is missing from the count. Right?”

His voice woke up the dazed girl. She looked at the group of disgruntled teenagers that had just escaped death, and said, “Huh, Munya, Stebas, where is Clove, was she not with you guys?”

Munya and Stebas revealed a pained expression and the latter said, “Clove was left behind, she ran in another direction to deviate the fire ants to give us a chance, but we did not expect to run into this beast.”

Grace frowned and said, “How could you let her do this, she is the youngest among you all. What if did something happen to her? You all know what her family condition is like yet you.”

Suddenly one of the group members said, “Why are you blaming us? We also suffered in this wretched place, can you not be grateful that we are fine? Also, where are the warriors that left with you?”

Grace was enraged, this group of people had the audacity to point the blame at her, while she was the one who said that the commoners should not go into the forest to dwell, they will be nothing but burdens to the gifted.

Valerian looked at all this happening from the side, but did not say anything, he was too well aware of the ugly side of the gilded human heart. People did not hesitate to brush away the blame on someone else for their own incompetence.

Grace glared at the person and said, “Garron, I told you we should not come on this trip, but you were the one who said it will be a great experience and that we should not be worried as the gifted will be looking out for us. Is this how you look after someone? You scoundrel.”

.....

Garron was humiliated, but he could not retort as this was the truth. The gifted did not look after them but even treated them like servants. They did not know what was what despite claiming to be all-knowing. This ignorant behavior of the gifted made them suffer.

It was because of them, that the group disturbed the fire ants. Grace sighed and looking at Valerian she bowed and asked, “Your Highness, can I ask for your help in this matter? Can you please help us find Clove?”

Valerian thought about it and nodded, he turned to look at Mathiyus and let out a few low grunts, the beast understood his words and dashed through the forest. He said, “Mathiyus will locate her, and bring her over, whether she is alive or a corpse.”

He pretended to be heartless in front of these people, after all, they were not related to him. Valerian stood up from the corpse of the beast and began to cut it up while he was carefully cleaning the beast, he looked at the two wraiths and the small ball of fur resting on the head of a beast, and after cutting a small piece of the meat from the shoulder of the beast, he walked over and said, ‘Fortuna, food.’

The ball of fur uncurled and Fortuna began to feast. She said, ‘Condiments.’

Valerian picked up the little glutton in his hands and brought her over to the magical beast’s corpse, and said, ‘Here, I will add condiments and everything for you.’

He placed the kitten next to the corpse and began to cut off pieces slowly for the boss to eat, he made sure to cut out the soft and tender shreds, however, he was mindful of the skin of the Iron Ape, this thing was good material and could be used for a high-quality armor, it was not heavy but the toughness was compared to some of the most desired materials out there.

Valerian did not bother with the people standing around them. Fifteen minutes had passed since Mathiyus left, Priscilla looked at the people and said, “You can sit down, no need to feel too restrained.”

Her tone was calm but her eyes were indifferent, she mainly spoke because she had an alright impression of Grace. The girl had been worried for the safety of her friends and what surprised her, even more, was that the girl blamed herself for the misfortune and discrimination Valerian suffered in his childhood.

The people exchanged glances, and they were very curious about these two people. If they were gifted humans, the impact would not have been so striking. The reason behind this intrigue was the magical beasts used by these people as mounts. The wraiths and the shadow leopard. These beasts were something they knew about but never saw in real.

Wraith was the most common magical mount used by the armies. They were domesticated beasts, but on a battlefield, these beasts were relentless and would charge through seas of fire if the rider commanded.

Suddenly, the bushes moved from the side, and Mathiyus came over, with a frighteningly pale girl held in his mouth. Valerian stopped feeding Fortuna and looked at the girl. Surprisingly, this girl was not even ten years old. To think she left to fend off for herself on her own initiative, Valerian found it hard to believe and his gaze turned cold in an instant.

Priscilla was shocked as well, she sneered and cast a cold gaze at the other people. Grace saw this and sprang up from the ground, she exclaimed, “Clove!”

She wanted to get close but Mathiyus gazed at her with a cold gleam in his eyes, making the girl freeze. He bought the little girl in front of Valerian and said, ‘I reached just in time to see her stumble and get bit by a few warrior ants, she is poisoned.’

Valerian nodded and looking at the pale complexion of the girl and her thin frame he could tell that she was not in a good state. He inspected her body and found a few bite marks on the ankles of the little girl. He sighed and took out his fire element dagger. He channeled his mana inside the dagger and moved his hand.

Grace paled in fright and thought Valerian was going to amputate the girl and cried. The other people were also shocked, but they were not affected by this. Valerian did not raise his head and said, “Poking a hole around the bite mark will drive the poison out of the wound.”

He did not tell them that he will use his fire mana to attract the poison. This knowledge was not of any use to them. These guys were simply just wastes. The crimson bite marks stood in stark contrast on the pale skin. Faint crimson lines could be spotted spreading from the marks. This was the indication of the flame poison.

Even if the amount was not big, but it was enough to leave the little girl experiencing a burning sensation throughout her body. Flame poison from the fire ants was often used as a means to torture the prisoners.

Valerian drew the poison out slowly and carefully. The girl regained some color and her hazy eyes became clear. She was no more surrounded by the woods and running from the fire ants, but she was still in shock. Her eyes looked around and spotted Grace, and tears began to drip from her eyes, as she cried, “Sister Grace.”

Grace’s heart ached for her, but she could not approach her and only verbally console, “It is alright now, Clove, calm down.”

The little one was about to continue crying when a calm voice sounded, “Curatio Lucis.”

The people were surprised as they found Clove covered in a dim golden glow. They understood it was a higher-ranked healing spell, and to think this guy was capable of fighting a magical beast and also doing magic.

After the glow faded, Valerian said in a calm voice, “Now, you will be alright, but before you go, can I ask you some questions?”

Clove did not know who this person was, even if he treated her, she did not put her trust in him and cast a gaze at Grace, who nodded. The little girl turned her doe-eyes to look at Valerian and found him smiling as he said, “You do not need to be afraid, just answer what I tell you honestly and you have my promise, no harm will come to you.”

As soon as these words dropped the faces of the rescued people changed.