City of Desire [Kingdom Building] - Chapter 888: Riding

Proofread by Thomas F

Tempest neighed as I turned him toward the road, before he began to move, or rather gallop.

No, it’s not gallop, not even canter. His speed is just too fast.

Bolts of bronze lightning swam across his legs and body, increasing his speed with every step.

I see trees passing fast, and a few seconds later, the people disappear from my view.

I did not ask him to slow down, no, I want to see how fast he could go, and he wants to show me. Hell, even he didn’t know how fast he could go.

“Lord Silver, you are moving too fast,” called out Colonel Rain from behind.

I turned and saw the widening gap. They were just behind me. Their beasts are good, but they were still slower than old Tempest, even more so now.

I don’t want to leave them behind; they are responsible for my safety, and I am not confident enough to take on any danger that might come, but I don’t want to slow down either.

I was in a dilemma when I remembered something—my new skill. Let’s try it.

Fleetbound Synchrony.

I activated the skill and covered them with it.

Immediately, their faces changed, and I could see the tiny bolts of lightning appear across the bodies of their beasts, and they picked up speed.

Shared Gallop only lets the beasts share the speed. Fleetbound Synchrony does a lot more.

I turned away from them and looked ahead, with Tempest picking up the speed once more. A smile appeared on my face as I felt the wind and watched the passing trees and farms.

A few seconds later, a surprise appeared on my face.

It turned out that with the skill, I could also sense the location of the beasts covered in the skill and also their condition, not as strongly as I could sense Tempest’s, but even this much.

If these skills are so amazing, I wonder how others would be. I wanted to try them, but this is not the place.

Minutes passed, and Tempest moved faster. We are now moving faster than Tempest’s earlier full speed, and the shocking thing is the smoothness of it.

I thought we wouldn’t be able to move this fast in an area like this, with small roads and many sharp turns.

Tempest doesn’t seem to have any problem with it.

The same with the other beasts following behind us; I thought they would crash. This is far beyond their normal speed, yet they are following smoothly.

Well, it is in the skill’s name; it has synchrony. Tempest is sharing more than his speed with those beasts.

We rode fast, covering a large area in an incredible amount of time. Every minute that passed, the closer we got to the wasteland. I could feel his anticipation and desire to gallop at full speed.

‘How are you feeling, Colonel?’ I asked Major Rain.

‘It’s incredible, my lord; I had heard about this powerful skill, but never thought I would get to experience it,’ replied the man excitedly.

The man’s whole life had been spent in cavalry. So, it’s no wonder he likes the speed.

‘Though I would advise you to slow down. So, we could be able to deal with any danger we might come across,’ he added a moment later, controlling his excitement.

I laughed when I heard that, but didn’t say anything and focused on the ride.

Time passed as we moved through the Nakar forest, avoiding villages and towns, where people would be. Tempest had shown proficient control, but I don’t want to move through them at this speed until I am more confident.

I don’t know how long it had passed when finally the open wasteland appeared in front of our eyes.

I could feel the burning excitement from Tempest. Wasteland might not be good for anything, but it is very good for riding; it is a long, open stretch with no obstructions.

It was painful for him to control his speed until he finally leaped into the wasteland’s cracked ground.

The moment he did, the power he had been holding back roared into the light. Lightning bolts danced across his body while he galloped.

“My god!”

He shot forward like a lightning bolt, at a speed beyond what I had imagined.

I had imagined what his full speed would be, but not this. The most shocking thing is that his speed is increasing rapidly.

He is moving faster, pulling the twelve beasts behind him. I could feel the density of lightning bolts increase across his body, and the pressure being put on Tempest.

Yes, the skill increases their speed, but not without a cost.

The further they go beyond their limit, the greater the cost Tempest has to bear. He has shared more of his power with them, allowing them to move at his speed.

Still, Tempest doesn’t seem to care as he keeps increasing his speed until he is faster than lightning.

I have never moved this fast; even my old girlfriend’s car wasn’t as fast as this. The wind is clashing hard against me, but I have good enough stats to bear it.

I wish I had the riding skills some people use behind me, which help them deal with the wind.

Though they are using cavalry skills, which affects the whole, one of them helps with the wind, and a few with comfort and balance.

I really need those skills; I am riding bareback without the saddle.

Still, despite that, it is not that uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I am having too much fun. I focused on that joy and experience, along with Tempest’s and other beasts’ states.

It is due to the skill and power Tempest is showing that they are able to move so fast, and I want to see how long they would be able to do that.

I will slow down or stop if I sense it is harming them.

Still, I want to find the limits. These guys are my guards, and with Tempest’s current speed, I am going to be riding him a lot on my trips.

So, I need to see how long they keep up. I might even change their beasts, depending on the results.

Minutes passed, and we rode through the vast wasteland. I could see the carriages moving toward the fortress or coming from it. I could feel the gazes of a few, but we are passing them fast.

Some rode toward us, but we were too fast for them to catch up.

I watched the wasteland pass by as Tempest tried to push past the limit. He is galloping really fast; the wasteland offers no obstructions other than a plain path.

It’s amazing.

‘My lord, we are being watched,’ informed Colonel Rain, and I looked up and could see the birds at a distance.

‘Can you do something about them?’ I asked Zela. ‘No, they are too far,’ she replied. They seemed to have learned their lessons from yesterday.

I could do something, but I decided not to; this speed wouldn’t be a secret. So, there is no need to reveal the other secrets.

Still, it is quite irritating. It’s why we need a big scouting force with capable scouts and monsters. So, we will keep these snooping eyes away from us.

Though currently it won’t be possible in areas like these. We could only secure our cities and important places.

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the ride.

An hour passed, and we crossed a massive distance. If we kept moving at this speed, we would reach Mirador Hold in record time.

It couldn’t help but make me excited.

With Tempest moving at such speed, it’s going to save me a lot of time during the trips.

Soon, we came across an area I had been waiting for.

The rolling grave.

It’s a rare area filled with large boulders, which makes it hard to ride through, especially at this speed. Most of the wasteland is plain, but there are a few areas like this.

Most people simply moved around it. It is much faster to go through than to go around.

‘My lord, you shouldn’t,’ pleaded Colonel Rain, but Tempest neighed in challenge as he galloped toward it excitedly.

It barely took us a minute to reach it, and we did. I activated the second skill. Rein Control is a skill upgraded from Rein Flow, which lets one control the monster well.

As I activated, my senses sharpened. I could feel his movement more clearly, as if I were riding myself.

I am surprised, I didn’t think the changes would be this big.

We moved into the boulders with Tempest slowing considerably, but we are still much faster than one should be moving through this place.

Not all boulders are round and smooth; many are sharp and jagged.

Though it didn’t seem to affect him as he moved through them smoothly. I watched with Lord’s Eyes and guided him, with Monster Link, I didn’t even have to shout a command.

Just thinking it is enough.

“Amazing!” I shouted as Tempest once more took another sharp turn without losing speed. I had to hold onto him for dear life. So, I wouldn’t fall from him, but that made it even more exhilarating.

We navigated one rock after another until we came across a large field of massive, ragged rocks with no way through.

Even with those scales, he would not be able to move through it. They would tear both of us to pieces, but despite that, he neighed, looking toward it.

He wants to do it, despite knowing it is a stretch too far for him to jump through.

Even with his increased power, it is too large.

“Let’s go,” I said and activated another skill from my old Monster Rider class, before it got upgraded to an even better one.

The stallion neighed excitedly and leaped a moment later, appearing over jagged rocks. The leap was high and powerful; it made me feel the beat of my heart excitedly.

The gravity took over moments later, and we began to descend when something happened.

His heels landed on the air, and he began to trot across it. Ariel Drift had been upgraded to Cloud Trot, and now Tempest was moving across the air, with aexcited neighing.

He did it for three and a half seconds before his heels landed on solid ground.

As it did, he picked up the speed again; that stretch was the end of rolling grave, and now, we are moving across the regular wasteland once more.

Time passed as we rode through with lightning speed until finally Mirador Hold came into view.

I didn’t have to take out the pocket watch to know that we had reached the fortress in record time. This is going to save me a lot of time. I thought as I rode toward its massive gates.

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