VALERIAN, THE LEGENDARY - Chapter 261 - 261 War Drums.
261 War Drums.
Valerian turned his head to look at the door and said, “Teacher, I will be taking my leave. See you soon.”
Fern nodded and said, “Kid, you better take care outside.”
Valerian nodded and walked out of the shop quickly. He found a guard from the palace security campus standing in front of the counter and said, “Let’s go.”
The soldier nodded and the two left quickly to see what was going on. When they reached in front of the palace, Valerian could detect a slight tension in the air. He was used to this feeling, this was a wartime situation he could tell what was going on here.
The soldiers looked at him and they all nodded, the tension in the air was almost tangible at this moment. Valerian moved inside the palace and in the main lobby he found the maiden, Trin, and the chiefs standing together. They were all dressed in armor.
The expression of the people was enough to tell Valerian that something was wrong with the situation. He asked, “Your Excellency, you summoned me?”
The lady nodded and said, “The clar-awks are going to wage a war on the Lunake clan today. I wanted to ask if you are ready to face this ordeal?”
Valerian smiled and said, “Your Excellency, one can never actually prepare for things like this. So, we are all as ready as we are.”
The maiden smiled, but Valerian noticed that she was not at ease and her resolve was not strong. He looked at all the chiefs as well, although they were all ready to deal with the situation, they were being affected by the maiden’s shaky heart.
…..
Valerian said, “Do not think that you are going out to claim innocents. You do not need to kill the enemies, just make them lose their fighting capabilities. This way, you will be able to protect both your people and beliefs.”
His words made the people open their eyes wide. Valerian was wise beyond his peers and he commanded an aura that inspired the others too.
The maiden looked at him and then she bowed her head slightly. She could not express her gratitude to him with words. This simple statement calmed her heart and she was ready to go to war.
Valerian was given a squad to lead a few days ago, but then he denied and said that he will not be able to bear the responsibility if anyone was hurt on his watch. Later when the strategy meeting was held. The maiden asked him to participate and the young man shared his ideas.
The chiefs all agreed and they decided to adapt a few things from his words. After the maiden calmed down, she said, “Let us go.”
Valerian took out a bow at this moment. The people looked at him and the young man said, “Everyone here has a wave layered pattern, except for you, Lady Trin. Please accept this bow.”
Trin was surprised but then she accepted the bow with a shock in her heart. After this the entourage left the palace, and the chiefs came to stand in front of their own contingents. They all faced the tree of Origins and the maiden said, “I do not know what to say to you. This is the first time that I am leading you all out to wage a proper war. All these years, my weakness has made you suffer a lot.
But the time has come for us all to step out of the shadows in our minds. Our elders sacrificed themselves for the sake of the clan when they killed the fake dragon serpent.
I used to think that it was at that moment when the enmity between the two clans deepened, however, they have come to think of us as weak. I want to tell them that we are not weak. However, one person does not make any difference. Will you come along with me?”
The soldiers all yelled together, “Yes, Your Excellency!”
Valerian was watching all this from the side, and he was not surprised. This was the power of a belief. He has seen this fanatic expression in the eyes of the berserks too. They would not care about any lines or limitations when they are following their beliefs.
…
Clar-awks left three hundred soldiers to guard the clan, while the other two thousand soldiers were taken to the battlefield. This was too much of a risk but they did not have the opportunity to care about anything at all.
Valerian was marching at the front of the army. His gaze was calm, and his strides were strong. The maiden was in the center of the army and Trin protected her. The Lunake clan was located far from them, and a distinctive sign of the territory distribution was very striking.
The army walked through the forest, without disturbing the harmony of nature. This was something that Valerian taught them, to prevent them from arousing the attention of the enemy. The formation of the army was not rigid but they swarmed through the trees like a river passing around the stones.
…
Valerian suddenly came to a stop and made a hand sign for the entire army to come to stop behind him. The young man said, “We have reached.”
They all spotted a few Lunake soldiers gazing at them with a shocked experience. Valerian said in a loud voice, “The maiden of the clar-awks is here to send an invitation of war to your Lunake clan.”
The guards were still not able to understand what was going on when Valerian took out his wooden bow and knocked an arrow on the string. He aimed at the target and let the arrow fly. The arrow went through the hard skull of the guard and it woke up the two people.
The guard alive quickly took a conch on his waist and then he blew hard in it. The sound must have been a warning sound that they have been attacked.
The forces of the clar-awk clan did not act, they waited patiently, the more time went by the stronger their desire to kill the enemy became. Valerian was fiddling with his sword when he spotted a swarm of people coming out of the clan entrance.
The Lunakes did not have a magical doorway security like the Clar-awks. So, it was easy to find the place. After half an hour, the entire Lunake army was gathered in front of the army of the Clar-awks.
Valerian took a quick glance and said, “They outnumber us, three is to one.”
He was using the bird tongue and only the clar-awks would understand it. The maiden replied, “Do not worry, we have confidence in our training and preparations.”
Valerian nodded and then said, “Worms, who is the leader of your swarm?”
The Lunakes were not expecting such a provocative person calling out to their leader. When has someone dared to walk inside their territory and poke them like this.
The commander of the Lunake forces was enraged and he stepped forward with gusto and said, “I am the leader of the forces, who are you? How dare you walk…”
Before the man could finish his words, Valerian snapped his fingers, and cast a wind blade. The leader of the Lunakes was used to sneak attacks, as this was their forte. He tilted his head to the side and then opened his eyes wide and said, “There shall be no talks with you. Men, kill them all.”
They did not care about the person whose head was severed by the wind blade earlier and charged forward quickly. Valerian gestured for the chiefs of the Clar-awk forces to step forward and lead the army, while he rushed forward holding a sword and a spear.
His actions might look a bit too odd to the Lunakes, but the Clar-awks knew what was going to happen. The lunakes were about to meet a storm that they never expected.
Valerian was very fast, he did not use mana to cast spells just now but he confronted the leader of the Lunakes with his spear. Although the attack was dodged, the forces behind could not escape the following magic spell.
Valerian cleverly used the combination between magic and physical attacks. Every attack of his was linked and claimed a life. The leader of the Lunakes was able to dodge a lot of attacks but he could not get close to the war god dancing in the center of the swarm.
The rest of the Clar-awk army was also fighting impressively, they cast long range spells that helped with crowd control and the warriors with expertise in physical attacks would finish off the confused enemies.
The maiden had yet to step in the fight, and the Clar-awks were winning. A lot of Lunakes, who were immobilized by the attacks, were shocked to see the ferocity and the efficiency of the Clar-awk forces.
At this moment, their morale was shaken, and they heard a cry, “Do you only know how to lead your brethren to death, leader of Lunakes? Why do you keep dodging? If you are a man, take my attack and save your clansmen. Oh, I forgot that you people are cowards who abandon your own when in danger. You cannot do anything without those sneaky cowardly spell casters of your pathetic race.”
The voice belonged to Valerian, and the answer was a roar from within the Lunake clan grounds.