Valerian, The Legendary

269 Holding Back.

Zeenat said, “Begin.”

This was all that Titan needed to charge at Valerian. Inheritance is not a nice thing only, especially in a world filled with magic, even the bad would follow. Nothing came without a price. Valerian was paying the price of inheriting the decay magic from Senium with his sanity. Every time he used that, he loose control, and everything around him withers.

Titan inherited the strong senses and cunning of the wolves, but he also inherited the prideful nature of the wolves. This made his arrogance issue severe. Despite being cunning, the young emperor lost his cool. Valerian was deliberately goading him into losing his calm. Even if Titan was able to withstand taunts and bad-mouthing, his pride will not allow him to stand silently when someone was looking down on him.

Valerian had a very distinct look of disdain in his silver eyes whenever he looked at Titan, and the latter wanted to beat this silver-haired child to death and show him what the Emperor of the Berserkers was made of.

Titan rushed at Valerian in an attempt to cease the initiative and control the pace of the battle. In his battle with Morgana, he had come to know that the duration spent testing each other could go against him. It was not like he was the only one trying to see through the enemy.

Valerian on the other hand did not move. He has not yet moved even an inch from his spot, even in the last two battles. His face was calm, while the rest of the people were anxious because they could tell from the aura radiated by Titan, that he was not going to hold back this time and the battle would be the deciding factor in this entire meeting.

Suddenly, Valerian raised his arm and blocked an incoming punch from his right and then he swung his hand to parry the impact of the punch. The technique was very well implied and it shook away Titan. The Valkyrian champion raised his head and found Valerian to be smirking. He was enraged and his eyes gradually turned red like blood orbs.

Libra narrowed his gaze and grasped the armrest tightly. Fragrantia noticed this and patted the back of his hand, assuring him that things were under control. Titan was going through a transformation. This was the reason why the Valkyrians were called berserkers. Their savage nature will eventually overwhelm them, making them hostile to the point where they did not even spare their own kin.

Valerian was facing Titan, the strongest berserker in his berserk form. This was not something that anyone could do with ease. The berserk form provided Valkyrians with a battle-orientated state of mind and their strength and speed will increase exponentially. This change would be drastic and only a few people were able to fend against it.

.....

The young prince did not waver and took a step forward while delivering a straight punch aimed at the temples of the berserker in front of him. The people did not understand that if the berserker mode heightened the speed and reflexes, it also dampened the defensive capabilities of a Valkyrian.

Titan raised his arm to block the punch while he prepared for a counterattack. However, the impact was so strong that the Valkyrian was forced to take a few steps back. This attack put Titan out of the attacking range, Valerian had grabbed the pace of the battle now.

The people were surprised as they did not understand how was any of this possible. The person who could not believe what just happened was Titan. He asked, “How did you manage to push me away when I was blocking the attack?”

However, Valerian was a person who would entertain all the demands of his opponent. He replied, “If you forfeit, I will tell you, mutt.”

He was aware that Titan still had some of his sanity left inside him. This was the result of his training, able to master some degree of the berserker mode, but that was it. Titan had been acting calmly even when he was in a berserker state, however, this was just the beginning.

Titan said, “You will pay the price for your insolence.”

The next moment, Titan condensed his battle aura into a spear. The process was completed in a blink and Valerian narrowed his gaze, he did not wish to fight against this guy using battle aura weapons. That would be too consuming, and wasteful. He shook his head and took out the sword tied to his waist the blade looked very exquisite.

The two weapons collided and surprisingly, Valerian managed to push back the Valkyrian again. This was not something that the people in the audience expected. Fragrantia asked in a low voice, “How is he doing it?”

Vertex replied, “This guy covered his blade with a layer of mana and battle aura. This way the impact of his attack is stronger than that berserker. His first attack was also not a lucky punch that sent Titan into retreat. The reason Titan is so reproachful to Valerian is that he was born with a deficit that did not allow him to use magic, otherwise, who knows if Titan was going to be a battlemage too.”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “I can see some traces of mana on his blade and his body too, but the layer is almost undetectable, what sort of control technique is this? Also, will it not be good if he finished the fight sooner?”

Libra shook his head, “He did not intend to win this battle, but conquer the Valkyrians. The wolf worshippers all patronize strength and right now, Valerian is the namesake of strength.”

Azula nodded and said, “This kid never deals in half measures, he is going to break that berserker from both the inside and the outside.”

Meanwhile, inside the ring, the two people were entangled in a tug-of-war. Titan was the one initiating a ruthless assault. His weapon had changed from a spear to a pair of scimitars and while fighting the weapon will suddenly morph into another.

This might have caused trouble for someone else, but Valerian was wearing magic armor. After ten minutes when Titan could not find an opening, he created distance between them and said, “You coward, why are you wearing that armor? Are you even a man to come in the ring to fight with such protection?”

Valerian replied, “As expected of a mutt, you do not understand that the equipment held by a person is a part of their strength. Is it my fault that you have made your land so barren that you cannot afford any weapon? Did they not teach you anything other than being a crybaby in the magical realm you went to train in?”

Titan opened his eyes and asked, “I have had enough, come and accept your death.”

It turns out that Titan was only talking because he was looking for time. The battle aura in his body was condensing at a scary rate and all the warriors frowned upon sensing it. Right now, Titan was standing at the opposite corner of the ring and his battle aura was condensing into a ball between his palms.

Valerian shook his head and said, “Idiot.”

Then his figure flashed and he appeared in front of Titan. The next moment, the Valkyrian emperor’s neck gushed out with blood, and it sprayed on Valerian’s fair face. The latter shocked everyone as they all stood up. Valerian looked into the shocked gaze of the berserker and said, “Did you think I will honestly wait for your killer move to get to me? Fool.”

Valerian looked at Zeenat and said, “Do I need to save him, or can I leave him to die?”

Zeenat said, “The Triumph meets stipulates that one must not kill the opponent.”

Valerian nodded and then his sword flashed, just a few moments before he could die, Valerian chopped off Titan’s arms and reached out with his hand to take away the chain around his neck. He said, “As expected, the pendant is made from a bead of ancient pine wood, no wonder the mana was flowing strangely around you.”

Then he cast a healing spell on the guy and said, “He will live, but life will be worse than death. The two arms will be his payment for casting a lecherous gaze at my family.”

The people were shocked by this display of valor and ruthlessness. However, for Valerian, this was not something special. He turned his back on Titan, who was lying on the ground listlessly. The shock from this defeat was too big and the price he paid was too big as well.

After a few moments when his brain registered what just happened, he turned his head to look at the figure in black clothes and said, “You did not even use ten percent of your strength, did you?”

Valerian did not reply, he was not going to talk to a defeated enemy. The Valkyrian said, “You may have won here, but the army will invade your lands regardless of anything. You cannot deal with our forces on your own.”

Valerian stopped in his tracks and said, “I hope you had not said that, now whatever I do will be on you.”