Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 332: Killing For Mercy.

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...

Valerian gazed at the number of bandits entering the settlement through wooden gates. Behind the bandits was a wagon, refitted with a barred cage. There were a dozen or so children locked up in the cage. Some sat with their heads buried in their knees while others looked around.

However, Valerian picked up something they all had in common, fear. They all were scared that even their tears ran dry. The young monk sensed Gwen gasp, and he looked at the back of the wagon. A rope was tied to the back of the wagon, and to the other end was a child.

Valerian narrowed his eyes and found that the child was not older than Valerie. His rage began to boil. Gwen said, "Valerian, calm down."

The young man replied, "Can I kill the people down there? Huh? How can we leave these bastards alive after all they have done? Is this just?"

Gwen was at a loss. She did not know what to say because if she agreed with Valerian, she would go down the path of damnation, but she could not lie either. These people were terrible. Leaving them alive meant destroying the lives of others.

Valerian said, "I would ask Commander Haista if I can let loose."

Gwen was surprised, as she did not think he would be this serious about killing the bandits. She thought when Valerian took out his soul bead and contacted the only person who could contact the commander, Colar.

The other party was shocked to hear such a thing. He was a righteous knight, and his blood was boiling upon hearing what the bandits did. He could not help but forward the message to the commander.

...

Colar rushed through the corridors of the Knighthood headquarters, surprising the passing colleagues. When they asked what happened, Colar asked them to follow him. They reached the commander’s office and knocked on the door.

Haista opened the door briefly and was surprised by the crowd. He asked, "What happened?"

The gathering made his heart palpitate. Even someone as calm as him could not help but give birth to negative thoughts. Colar sighed and said, "Sir, Knight Valerian has spotted a gang of at least a hundred bandits under one of the hounds."

Haista nodded and said, "Is he asking for support?"

The knights exchanged glances, and Colar sighed, "Sir, he is asking permission to kill those bandits."

Haista could swear that he had never received a shock this big in his life. He opened his eyes wide and asked, "What did you say? Repeat it for me?"

Colar could relate to this expression as it was similar to his reaction. The young man said, "Sir, those bandits have been capturing children for the slave trade. Valerian said they had killed a three- or four-year-old child and tied the corpse to the wagon to scare the other children.

Even if the children are rescued, they will have a shadow in their hearts. They might never be able to recover from this."

Haista snapped back at him, saying, "Can you even hear what you are talking about? Do you think I do not feel the rage when I see such things? We are the knights of mercy and must maintain etiquette in our actions. What will be the difference between us and the enemy if we followed their ways of dealing with things.?"

One of the knights in the back of the crowd said, "Sir, do we have to prioritize etiquette and mannerisms over the futures of innocent children? If they did not recover properly, they might fall into deeper holes or, worse, give up on the world."

Haista glared at the person and wanted to say something when a lady spoke up, "Sir, since you are confused, why don’t you ask the saintess? She would know what is a better solution."

The commander was put in a bind. He regretted his decision to let Valerian go after these hounds. Thinking about it, he wanted to see what the saintess would have to say. He took out a soul bead and sat down on a cushion. The man did not bother closing the door. The soul bead glowed as the communication was established.

...

Somewhere on the northern continent, an old lady was walking in the garden tending to flowers when she heard a call, "Your Eminence, your eminence, your soul bead. It is glowing."

The old lady turned to see a young teenage girl running toward her with a soul bead clasped in her hand. The lady smiled and said, "Slow down, child. What if you fall."

The girl did not pay heed and stopped only when she reached closer to the lady and said, "Your eminence, you need to take this bead with you. What is something urgent needs your attention?"

The old lady smiled amiably and said, "Okay, Nun Gaia. I will be careful in the future."

The girl nodded in satisfaction and handed the bead to the old lady. Who closed her eye and channeled the mana to accept the communication. Her brows furrowed as she talked to the people, and she frowned. She had no idea such a thing would greet her.

She replied, ’Haista, even if I allow you to do what you requested, what good will it do? Who is willing to bear all this blood on their hands?’

Haista replied, ’Your Eminence, a child joined our ranks, and he has been hunting the hounds of the Tyrant. He is the one who requested the killings.’

The saintess sighed and said, ’I cannot say what he feels is wrong. However, if he does this, he will have to walk through the fire of Vita for judgment.’

Haista agreed, and then the communication ended. The old lady looked at the sky and said, "May Vita bless you, Child."

The young girl asked, "Your Eminence, is everything alright?"

The saintess nodded with a smile and said, "You do not need to worry, now Nun Gaia, please bring me a shearer. Some of the plants need to be trimmed."

...

Haista opened his eyes and said, "The saintess has agreed, but she said the penance would be a walk through the fire of vita. Which one of you wants to follow him down the path?"

The knights fell silent, and Colar said, "I will."

Then he took his soul communication bead and relayed the message to Valerian.

...

Valerian stood up and said, "Gwen, you deal with the children. After I kill the bandits, it might not be nice for me to mingle with them."

Gwen nodded and asked, "Will you be able to deal with these many enemies on your own?"

Valerian nodded, and then his figure vanished from his spot. Gwen was surprised to see this speed. All she saw was a silver flicker through the void. The young monk was so fast that people did not find him. However, soon, the settlement rang with screams. Valerian did not hesitate in his attacks.

Gwen was watching everything from the distance, and she was shivering. This battle prowess, this cruelty, she had no idea that a monk could fight like this. Valerian killed the people with spells, and for those who managed to reach close to him, his sword greeted them and helped them lose the burden over their shoulders.

The screams in the area were so loud and terrifying that even the animals began running away from the place. Wherever Valerian went, he left death and misery in his wake. The white in his habit was absent, replaced by the red.

The young monk gave birth to terror in the hearts of the bandits. A few of them even fell on their knees when they saw their friends suffer. However, some were still trying to reach the children and hold them hostage.

Valerian was ruthless and did not give any of these people a chance to live. The ones who surrendered died quickly, while those who put up a struggle were given a slow death. He would decapitate their limbs and leave them to die.

Not only this, even the beast hounds trained by these bandits could not stand against Valerian’s prowess, and after beating up the leader of the hounds, Valerian set them off to tear the bandits to shreds.

While he was fighting, his gaze fell on a girl being held by one of the bandits, who seemed to be the leader of the bandits. However, this girl was as tall as a teenager and had an exquisite face.

Valerian thought the bandit leader had been keeping this girl as a plaything to went his sexual desires, and that angered him even more. The bandit leader said, "Let me go and she can live. Otherwise, she will die. Do not think I am joking."

The next moment, the bandit leader’s head flew straight to the void, and Valerian beheaded him with a wind-blade spell. However, in his rage, he did not control the output of his power and opened his eyes wide as the wind blade struck the girl’s neck too.