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She was also confused because this was the first time she had ever since such a desolate temple. It was as if the people could not see this building at all. The two stood outside as they watched the crowd walk past the building. Valerian patted Anne to enter the premises.

He observed everything happening around him. The young man got off the horse and helped Valerie down too. He asked Anne if she would be fine in this place, and after the made assured him not to worry, the two entered the building.

Valerian found that the place was dark and gloomy. He raised his brow and cast a few light spells. The blobs of light scattered around the site quickly and illuminated the darkness. The floor was covered with dust, and the corners were covered with cobwebs. Valerie said with a scrunched nose, “This place is dirty.”

The young man nodded and said, “Let’s clean it up.”

Valerie looked everywhere and asked, “How can we clean it all up?”

The young man smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I will do it.”

Looking around, the boy found some abandoned mops and a bucket of water. He removed his habit and then began to clean up the place independently. His speed was fast, and Valerie helped move a few things around. She did not stay as a sideliner but helped Valerian empty the bucket full of dirty water.

It took them the entire afternoon to get rid of the dust and cobwebs. Valerie sat down beside the young man and let out a big sigh before her stomach growled. Valerian asked with a smile, “Hungry.”

.....

Valerie nodded, and the young man took a few vegetables from his magic pouch and cooked them up with spices. The dinner was not much, but this was all they had. The young man said, “I will get more ingredients from the market tomorrow.”

The little girl nodded while her eyes turned heavy. Valerian shook his head and put the girl on the bed. At first, things around this place seemed fine, just like any other site. However, the night in such a chaotic place seemed odd. Valerian was sitting on the ground as the child slept behind him.

He could hear some people trying to enter the building. However, Valerian was not worried because he had his spells ready. The young man did not react and waited for the people to come closer. Soon, five people appeared in the main hall. They were all rugged and rowdy, carrying machetes and axes.

The young man asked, “What can I do for you all?”

The five men were surprised to see this guy awake and interacting with them. However, after the initial surprise, the people chuckled at each other. One of them asked, “So, for starters, we would like you to hand over all your money and that child behind you. She will sell well for an enslaved person.”

Valerian nodded and then stood up from his place. He cracked his neck and snapped his fingers. The five people were immobilized within a blink, and all reacted shocked. Valerian said, “Now, how about you tell me where you come from, and I will give you an easy death?”

The people did not believe that this young monk dared to tie them up and was even threatening them. The men shivered in rage, and one of them, who seemed to be the band’s leader, shouted, “How dare you act out against us?! You are just a monk from the order of mercy.”

Valerian took a step forward and covered ten meters in a blink. His sudden speed shocked the rogues, and the young man said, “You need to pipe down there a bit. If my sister woke up, I would kill you.”

The five people all wanted to go and rage against Valerian but realized that reality was out of their wildest expectations. When his cold warning made the people simmer down, the young man asked again, “What do you think about my earlier proposition?”

The people put complex expressions on their faces, and the leader said, “I have no idea what to tell you.”

Valerian asked, “How about you tell me, where are you all from?”

The five people replied in unison, “Hope Valley settlement.”

This was a surprising answer, but Valerian liked it and asked, “From what I have seen, this kingdom does not have enough buildings, as the place is full of camp tents. Then why is this temple of mercy uninhabited?”

The bandits’ leader replied, “If it is not that man’s fault, why would we be here.”

Valerian raised his eyebrow but did not speak. He waited for the man to go on. The bandits’ leader said, “A few months ago, a man came to the settlement. Everything was fine. This man joined the temple of mercy and began to help the people around him. He also began spreading this idea of expanding and getting more people to join our settlement through caravans and travelers.”

The statement was somewhat odd. Usually, the followers of mercy had their hands complete with people in one of these settlements, and this guy wanted to expand. What was he thinking? The leader continued, “The word spread, and people came over and settled here. However, things soon changed. One settlement was not enough to sustain all those people.”

Valerian nodded and said, “Well, that is common sense. The settlements rely on their own farming and other occupations to survive. If other people come over, the overpopulation will gradually create some gap.”

The leader nodded and said, “The stress over the few weeks increased so much that the temple of mercy was left without food to hand out, and the followers were overworked. Then one day, we heard that they had run away. That the followers could not stand this test and gave up.”

Valerian furrowed his brows, and his gaze turned cold. The man shivered and said, “That is not the truth. The followers did not run. They were held captive by this man. He played a facade of being the only person left behind in the temple and acted miserably. Then after a week, when the people have completely given up on the temple of mercy.

This man ran to the gates of the settlement and cried that his fellows had put the order to shame, and they stained the belief of many people. The speech was so well prepared that it rallied the masses against the temple, and this man set fire to the place.”

Valerian looked around and said, “Let me guess, this fire was cast by magic, and it all happened when the captured followers were still inside?”

The eyes of the five people widened, and Valerian asked, “How do you know all this?”

The five people dared not lie, and the leader said, “We were responsible for looking after those captives. That man promised us many things, but when it was all said and done. We were threatened with being turned into ashes. This person is a mage, and he is strong.”

Valerian nodded thoughtfully and asked, “What about the others?”

The people were perplexed, and the leader asked, “Who others?”

Valerian cast them a gaze and nodded. They did not know what he was asking about. He said, “Fine, I will let you live, but you are not going anywhere. You will stay here and help me gather the information.”

The people were shocked, and Valerian said, “If I handed you to the dragon temple, you will all face something worse than death. So, for your sake, you all better tell me what I want to know.”

Valerian drove the five people into a corner and left them no option. His tactic was okay. These people were cowards. They bullied the weak, and they feared the strong. Valerian said, “I will give you a chance to think it out. You have till the morning.”

That said, he cast an earth wall spell around the people and while he was closing the people inside he said, “If you think about betraying me, the darkness is just a fraction of what I will do to you.”

...

The morning came quickly and Valerian stood up. He dispelled the earthen walls and found five haggard humans. The impact of solitary confinement was too shocking. They all agreed to serve Valerian. The young man asked, “You must find where this man is residing right now.”

The men nodded and Valerian told them a few things before letting them go. Suddenly, he asked, “What is the name of this man?”

The leader of the bandits said, “He calls himself, Imperium.”

Valerian chuckled and then said, “How suiting. Go now.”

Then he turned around to wake up the little one. Valerian was going to use the free rein given to him by the Commander of the knights.