Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 328: Moving On.

Two months have passed since Imperium was arrested. Commander Haista was busy interrogating the two people with his own sweet time. They gained a lot of understanding about the Tyrant from these two accounts.

On the other side, Valerian was busy rebuilding the city with the help of a few people from the dragon temple and a few priests who arrived from the temple of mercy. The young man had a simple way of things. He called over all the communities to gather in groups.

For example, the smiths, farmers, merchants, and artisans. All were gathered and asked to select the most considerate person among them. The people were confused, then Valerian said, "The city was governed by a council that a crooked person controlled. Now you all elect a person to represent your community in the council."

Suddenly a man spoke up, "Sir, what if this person selected by the rest becomes addicted to the power and misuses his rights? What shall we do then?"

Valerian smiled and said, "You raise a good point. After all, the person in power is still a human. So, to prevent this person from misusing their rights, you get to re-elect another person every six months. The same person cannot be re-elected for the next year, and only one family member can stand in the election."

The people thought and, after some discussion, agreed to this. A few more laws were created after in-depth discussion. In just one week, the situation around the city changed for the better. The atmosphere was harmonious and positive. Not only this, Valerian even started a school for the children, whether orphans on the street or the scions of merchants, all were taught under the same roof.

...

Valerian was standing under the stable shed as he brushed Anne’s fur when suddenly a sweet voice woke him up from his daze, "Big brother, someone is looking for you."

The young man raised his brow and nodded as he said, "Vali, you will finish brushing Anne."

Valerie heard this, and her excitement vanished all of a sudden. It was not that she did not like Anne, but this mare required too much brushing, and it was tiring for her. After all, she was just a child too.

Valerian handed her the brush and walked away while the little girl pouted her lips at his back. When she did not get a reaction from him, the girl snorted and turned around with a stomp.

...

The silver-haired monk arrived at the reception hall and found Calor talking with the Priestess in the temple. Calor gazed at Valerian and stood up straight as if he was subordinate in this scene. Valerian nodded and bowed his head slightly in greeting, and asked, "What can I help you with?"

Calor took a letter from his magic pouch and said, "Commander Haista sends his regards."

Valerian nodded as he accepted the letter. The young man did not hesitate and undid the seal on the letter to read its message. After reading the content, he was surprised and asked Calor, "May I ask what this news source is and how reliable it is?"

Calor replied, "This comes from the spy network of the dragon temple. They are completely trustworthy."

Valerian nodded and said, "I shall take my leave immediately."

Calor nodded, but the Priestess at the side was surprised and asked, "Valerian, are you going to leave?"

The young monk gazed at her, smiled, and said, "Yes, Sister Eve. I have a few pressing matters to attend to. I apologize for not being able to help you around here anymore."

The Priestess shook her head and said, "You do not have to worry about here. The efforts you put into the creation of this city have led things to be self-sufficient. The people do not need anyone to guide them. They learn from their actions and make fewer mistakes."

Valerian smiled and said, "I did nothing out of the ordinary."

Eve just smiled at the young man and did not say anything. Valerian never took a compliment for the things he did. The people in the city all revered him to the point where the temple of mercy had become a backdrop.

After a brief chat, Valerian took his leave and returned to the stables. He found that Valerie was muttering something to Anne while brushing her.

"Humph, big brother is so mean. Look at me. How can I brush you, Anne? You are so tall, and I am so small. He did not even say thank you, Vali. You gave me the message. But he left the place with such a quickstep."

Valerian chuckled and then walked behind Valerie with silent footsteps. Then he picked the girl up in his arms. Valerie was surprised and let out a squealing voice. The young man smiled and coaxed her briefly, then said, "Thank you, Vali. You bought me the message."

The girl blushed. She did not expect Valerian to hear all this. After teasing and coaxing, the two people returned to their rooms and packed their stuff. Valerian did not wish to waste much time now that another target had been identified by the people above.

The message from the commander mentioned a woman who had been indulged in slave trafficking. She hunts down orphaned ’distincts’ children and then enslaves them to earn a profit. These children were treated based on their genders and appearance. The girls were kept under a protective atmosphere till they were taken fancy by some old perverts.

While the boys were sold in a private market every week. The ’distinct’ boys were strong and used for manual labor. However, some women also took a fancy to these boys and abused them for their twisted sense of pleasure.

Valerian made the little girl ride Anne while he pulled the reins forward slowly. He ensured it was already sundown when they left the place to avoid commotion from the people. Valerie was not sleepy. On the contrary, she was excited to go and visit a new place.

She was momentarily upset when they packed their stuff, but Valerian told her to return once she had grown older. The girl was too young to understand that she might never return to this place.

They left the city pretty quickly and rode away on Anne. Valerie fell asleep on the way, but Valerian did not camp for the night. It was mainly because he was itching for it and partially because the magical beast had enough confinement in the stables. Anne was letting loose, she was born to run, and that was what she was doing.

They came to a stop in the morning, entering a small settlement with just a few people as a population. Valerian could sense an uncanny gloom in the air. He was not sure about what was going on here. He could tell that the people did gaze at him from the shadows. After reaching a small stall of vegetables, Valerian got down from Anne’s back and asked, "Greetings, Sir."

A middle-aged man looked at him from behind the counter and said, "Greetings, young monk. What can I do for you?"

Valerian asked, "I wanted to buy a few things from your stall, but now I am more curious about what is happening in this settlement. Why is this place so gloomy and dark?"

The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Well, you are perceptive. Since you have asked, I shall tell you. A few days ago, this settlement was raided by a group of bandits."

Valerian was surprised, and the man continued, "The bandits looted the place but also took away a few children. When a few brave people tried to stop them. They were all killed, and their bodies were hung on the pikes in the square."

Valerian was shocked and enraged at the same time. He said, "The people did not take down the corpses from those pikes?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "The bandits left a few hound beasts to guard the place. It has been two weeks, they will return in a few days, and then we will be allowed to put those people to rest."

Valerian snorted and said, "I will see what these people would do. Thank you for telling me about this."

The middle-aged man was shocked. He did not understand what this young monk would do. Valerian gazed at Valerie and said, "Vali, you stay here with Anne. I will go and do some work."

Valerie smiled and then folded her hands as she said, "May Vita bless you."

The young monk bowed to her as he accepted the prayer and walked to the settlement square. His speed was quick. The middle-aged man was unable to keep up with him. However, soon the settlement echoed with beast roars and howls. The people shivered, but after a few seconds, there was an eery silence in the surroundings.

The middle-aged man shivered, but after steeling his heart, he walked around the last turn and spotted a taking down of the corpses. As for the beasts, while some were entangled with wooden vines, some lay at the side without any movement. Valerian sighed and said, "If only could I kill the people responsible for this."