Valerian, The Legendary

The second prince was upright and stern, he was a teenager and some mistakes were bound to happen, yet this did not change the fact that he was compassionate to the family. They had been flying for the whole noon and it was about to turn dark.

The soldier in the front controlling the flame sparrow asked, “Your Highness, shall we land here?”

Vertex looked below and found this place to be a clearing next to the main road and nodded. The soldier followed the instructions and the flame sparrow landed in the open. The second prince said, “Be careful of bandits.”

Valerian asked, “Your Highness, are bandits so ignorant to attack such a big magical beast?”

He was indicating toward the flame sparrow. This magical bird was a commanding force, how can they be afraid of bandits? Vertex said, “A human-driven by greed and self-interest is not to be judged with the normal sense of measure.”

Valerian nodded and a few minutes later, the group following behind them also landed near them and Quies came over. He said, “Your highnesses, the food is served.”

Turned out this old man had his travel companions hunt a few birds in the sky and cleaned them up while in the sky, and now the ‘food’ was being skewered on the fire they ignited. Valerian said, “Sir Quies, this is the first time I have seen your efficiency.”

Quies nodded and said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

.....

Valerian said, “Old Sir, I prefer when people call me Valerian, the identity of a prince is not something that is earned by me, so leave the honor for the Second prince?”

His words surprised not only the old man but even the second prince. After all, how many people have they seen yearn for such a title? But thinking about the morale process of the boy, Quies still respected his wishes.

The people ate and slept in the open, the second prince was given a special tent, but he prohibited the blood guards from erecting it. He wanted to enjoy the wilderness a bit because he found that Valerian was lying on a boulder, like butter spread over a toast.

He could not understand how can anyone look so peaceful in such a bed. Quies was standing beside him and said, “For as long as I have known him, this boy hardly ever takes the bed at night.”

Vertex was surprised, and asked, “Sir Quies, what do you know about him, tell me some?”

Quies glanced at the visage of the prince and nodded before he said, “Your Highness when the princess found him...”

The old man narrated the incident of how Valerian met them and what was his relationship with the mage Rectus. Vertex was surprised to learn so many things. He could not help but sigh, “You call this childhood? It is basically tormenting, how can the people be so stupid to believe in hearsay? That person who killed Lady Diligentia, I did not know such maniacs existed in the world.”

Quies nodded when he heard the second prince rant about this. The night passed quickly and Valerian and Vertex were riding on the back of the big bird after a light meal of millet.

Valerian thought that the gaze of his companion, the second prince, was completely different from what it was before. He remembers that this young man was glaring and condescending during their first meeting.

...

Fragrantia looked at her bed and said, “Little one, you are a handful to handle you know.”

Fortuna looked at her and growled, this little dragon had taken fancy to a shiny diamond necklace and she won’t give it back to the Empress.

...

The sun was climbing overhead and it was almost noon when the soldier said, “Your Highness, we have arrived.”

Just as he commanded the bird to dive slowly, the beasts and growls of the beasts surrounding the city became louder. Valerian looked down from the side and said, “It seems we need to take action before the investigation.”

Vertex nodded and said, “I agree, the siege is not a good thing for the folks in the city.”

The soldier slowly led the bird to land in the gardens of the city palace. A city guard saw this and wanted to question them when he spotted the crest of the Lumen Empire on the chest of the young man.

He stood up straight and said, “Greetings your highness.”

Vertex nodded and asked calmly, “Where is Duke Vulcan?”

The soldier shivered slightly before he said, “His grace is at the city wall. He has ordered us to invite you there as well.”

Vertex heard this and was not very surprised, this was in line with the temperament of his uncle, who even challenged the Emperor of the neighboring nations to have a wrestling match with him at a cultural event during their youth.

The second prince instructed the soldier about the people following behind and then led Valerian to the city wall. He said, “We will find the position better from the walls.”

The silver-haired boy nodded and asked, “How tall are these walls?”

A guard escorting them replied, “They are thirty meters high, sir.”

Valerian was a person walking side by side with the second prince, and the aura he gave was even more condensed than the second prince. Vertex asked, “Do you have any idea, Valerian?”

He asked because the question raised by the other party sounded ambiguous and random. He just wanted to correct the impression, that this silver-haired boy was not a goof, in front of the soldiers. However, to his surprise, Valerian said, “When we entered the city, I did not spot any damage, so that means, the enemy side does not have air support.”

Vertex was surprised, how long has it been since they have arrived and Valerian was able to find out such a crucial detail from a random question? Thirty meters is a height that is difficult for any beast from the land to climb with a jump, and the guards on top of the city walls were equipped with ballistas. So, if there was no damage inside the city it was evident that the enemy had no air support.

This way, they can take flight without any problems, and this opened a lot of attack possibilities for them. Vertex said, “Good point.”

Valerian did not say thank you but continued, “The ballistas can be supported by casting spells on the arrows and then push back the beast line from the wall. This way the soldiers will catch some breath and the damage will slow down, after all, the front line is made up of normal beasts.”

Vertex was surprised again, this young one has begun to develop plans for battle in his mind. But he had to say, these plans were really nice and plausible. The two people discussed and came to the city wall. They climbed a few hundred stairs with just a minuscule effort.

Vertex spotted a man standing on the top of the wall with crimson armor on his body, the man had thick brows and his temples were radiating a vigor that could shame a mountain. The man spotted a gaze locked at him and turned around.

The man chuckled first and then said, “Vertex, my child. Come here, let me see how you have grown.”

This man was Vulcan, the flame king of the east. He was blessed with the mana attribute of fire and was known for his violent style throughout the western continent. He was given such a domineering moniker because of his deeds in the eastern part of the empire.

As soon as Vertex reached closer to the man, the first thing that greeted him was a strong kick aimed at his chest, the second prince was prepared, and he retreated, as he said, “Ferrum Ventus.”

He did not hesitate to cast the wind blades as the man in front of him threw a flame ball at him without any warning. This was the usual way to check, how strong the person had become Vulcan.

Vertex said, “Uncle, cut it out, we need to focus on the situation around the city first.”

Vulcan snorted and said, “Stinky boy, do you think I will be afraid of this cattle heard? You wait, let me find out the reason behind this and I will crush this person.”

At this point, a calm voice sounded, “Your Highness, the beasts are mainly wolves and wild dogs. We can easily deal with it on this side to push through the enemy planks.”

This voice belonged to Valerian, who had come over to Vertex and ignored the middle-aged man in front of him. Vulcan raised his eyebrow and said, “Ustilo.”

He attacked Valerian with the spell to incinerate.