City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

We passed through the gate, and the horses began to pick up speed. The cavalry squad activated its skills, making the beasts faster.

“I am going to activate my skill,” I said to them and activated Phantom Gallop.

It is a skill that is more effective when applied to a single monster, but it can also be used on multiple ones. I spread the skill; it resisted, but it is a skill of Lv. 21.

It didn’t resist for long as I pushed will through it.

It covered all the beasts, excluding mine. I need them faster, no matter how fast they become with the skill, Tempest could easily outpace them.

I want to use the skill on him, but I am not an idiot. It is a sensitive time, and there are eyes everywhere.

I could see them, watching through the sky.

The skill is powerful, and with my attributes, it became even more powerful. The speed of the horses increased, and they began to gallop.

I looked at the speed before I brought out my aura.

My spirit is still strained from the battle, but as long as I do not push myself to the limit, I will be fine.

I infused the aura into the skill, and immediately, the beasts burst out with even greater speed. They begin to tear through the air.

Tempest matched their speed without any problem.

He is a monster, while they are only beasts. On top of that, he descended from the species that are famed for their speed.

“I don’t think I have ever ridden this fast,” said Zela with an excited smile as she looked around at the wasteland bathed in moonlight.

“Me too,” replied Ina.

I wish I could go faster. I had ridden faster than this when I rode Tempest for the first time, but this is fine as well.

I looked ahead, with my eyes scanning everything around me. This speed used to make things a little less clear for me.

Now, I could see everything clearly, as if I were walking rather than galloping at breakneck speed.

Time passed, and soon, we reached the boundary of Panar. It used to be the boundary of the domain, but now that Gailhorn has been conquered, the domain has reached the sea.

There are people there; they return here after we conquered Greltheaven yesterday.

“My lord, we should slow down. We do not have complete control over this area yet,” advised Major Rain. I want to move fast, or at least at the speed we were moving, but he is right.

I can save myself if there is a threat, but there are people with me.

So, I took back the skill and the aura. The officer wanted to slow down further, but seeing my expression, he agreed, not before moving four of his people in front.

A few minutes passed, and I closed my eyes and focused on my class—Ironblood Lord of Shining Dreams, and could feel Gailhorn through it.

Hours passed, and aside from the eyes above, we didn’t come across anything.

Soon, the first rays of dawn began to pierce through the sky, and I saw Gailhorn. It is my first time seeing the city; I have never had a chance to visit before.

I had come close when I was working for Darrow, but those trips got cancelled at the last minute.

The city is larger than Greltheaven and Panar, with a capacity to hold around a million people.

A bigger size is good if Greltheaven had been as big as this one. I wouldn’t be building another ring so soon, but despite its size, it has fewer than two hundred thousand people.

I love the bigger size and the people it comes with, but the most significant advantage of the city is the port.

I always wanted a port city, because now trade won’t be cut off, even if the river route and land route were cut off.

With the seaport, I could trade directly with many regions of the empire and merchant states, which I wasn’t able to do before, even with the other kingdoms and the continent.

That is why I took the risk for Gailhorn, rather than opting for the safe bet of Norke.

Conquering the city has been an easy part; the difficult part would be managing it and managing the trade. That would be most difficult, as there are many challenges here.

It is the reason why I want Ina here.

She had worked hard in Panar, and the citizens of it trusted her. With her at the helm, she would have taken it to great heights, but Gailhorn is more critical.

I cannot entrust this city to anyone with whom I don’t have absolute trust and confidence.

Soon, we reached the gate and I saw its large, imposing walls. These were damaged yesterday and temporarily fixed, but we will need a more permanent solution.

I am not too worried about the damage; it’s not big. It won’t take too much time or cost to deal with it.

The doors opened as we appeared, and two people came riding toward us.

“Welcome to Gailhorn, Lord Silver,” greeted Cardin. “You have done a great service to the Dominion, General,” I said to the man after nodding at Valentina.

She looked like she had barely slept.

“It is all because of your trust in me, my lord,” he replied. I smiled before we rode into the city. As we did, the band began to sing, and lines of soldiers saluted.

Behind them, thousands of people. Looking at me, such emotion-filled eyes. That made me feel that there is a mountain on my shoulder.

These people are my responsibility now, and I will try not to disappoint them.

It was surprising that so many had gathered, and it didn’t look like they had been forcefully brought here.

They looked good, not as good as they should, but much better than the people of Panar had been.

“There was no need for this,” I said to Cardin. “It’s your first Visit. Protocols need to be followed, my lord,” he replied.

I didn’t say anything and nodded at the soldiers and people before turning to the city.

“It is not going to cost us a lot in repairing this time,” I said. Looking at buildings, which are perfect. “I wouldn’t say that, my lord,” replied Valentina, making the smile on my face disappear.

I turned to her, and my eyes were pleading. She knows we didn’t have much money. So, I hope it is not bad news, I really don’t need more.

“Only 35% of the city is in great condition. The rest is in bad shape, not as bad as Panar, but still bad,” she stated and took a pause before opening her mouth, which made me feel worse, as the news is yet to come.

“The port is not in good condition, either. It is good for docking a few ships, but not the hundreds that a bustling port should handle.”

“It isn’t just neglect of Daphus and the undead, but also of the previous Lord,” she added.

It made me feel like I swallowed something terrible.

I knew the old lord wasn’t taking care as much as he should, but seeing her say it seemed like it was bad, and after Daphus took over, it had become even worse.

Seaports are expensive. If the damage is too much, it will be awful

“Surely, we should be able to make it work with some effort?” I asked, and she nodded in response.

“I checked it myself, and we should be able to fix a few things temporarily, but we would need to start on a complete overhaul as soon as we get some money,” she replied.

It made me relieved, and I nodded. As long as we make do temporarily, we will be fine.

With some breathing room, I will be able to raise enough money to start an overhaul of the port.

I wanted to ask her more, but we have reached the city hall.

The city hall is large; it is more spread out than tall, with a well-maintained garden surrounding it. The paint looks gaudy, but I like the size.

If the city hall of Grelthaven had been this big. I wouldn’t have needed to shift so many departments.

There were guards as well as people. I nodded at them, spoke to a few soldiers, shook hands with a few crying people, and then walked inside.

There will be a time for speeches, but it is not right now.

I looked at City Hall, which is quite empty. Soon, there will be people arriving from Panar, but mainly from Greltheaven.

“You have interviewed the people. What have you found out?” I asked. We spoke a few times yesterday, but she kept the details to herself.

“A lot,” she replied.

Soon, we stepped out of the elevator and arrived at the office a few seconds later.

“You threw away the stuff?” I asked, looking at the bare office.

She is not a minimalist, but there is barely anything in the office aside from a few weapons. She must have thrown the stuff out.

“No, it was like that,” she replied. It surprises me; I didn’t think Daphus was minimalistic.

I pushed those thoughts and sat down, but not on the main chair. I sat on one of the side chairs, while Valentina and Cardin sat in front of the table.

It is Ina who sat behind it.

It will be a few days before I announce it formally, but the sooner she starts working, the better.

“Congratulations, Lady Knox,” congratulated Valentina. “Thank you, Chief,” she replied, looking at the large table in front of her, taking in responsibilities that will be far greater than what she had at Panar.

“So, the drugs?” I asked after we settled in.

It is the second biggest problem. It isn’t just the production of it, but also the addiction.

“There is a massive number of them,” she replied, and her expression became serious.

“The thing is, it is only a third of it. The lich and members of the gangs had moved the rest to some secret location,” she added.

Glowleaf is a hazardous drug; the sooner we deal with it, the better it will be.

“Have you found out where?” I asked, and Cardin shook his head.

“I have interrogated people, but the lich had been very cautious, and members of gangs escaped the city before we even conquered it,” he replied.

“There is also corruption; it has taken deep roots in the city,” she said, stating another problem. Hearing that made my head hurt.

The city has more problems than I want to deal with.

“Is there any good news?” I asked, more in frustration than genuinely. Immediately, both of them smiled. As if waiting for me to ask this question.

“Yes, money. Daphus and the Lich had gathered a lot of it,” she replied with a big, bright grin.

…

Commissioner Julian

“Have you made all the preparations?” I asked the man in front of me.

He is leaving for Panar with a team of police.

We haven’t been called yet; the city will remain under army control for a few weeks before control is handed over to the police.

Though he is going there for the official police business.

“Yes,” Vargan replied.

“Good, try to recruit the best people. We don’t want the army to get them all,” I said. He is going to recruit people from Gailhorn’s army.

The investigation had already begun, and soon, they would start clearing names.

Lord Silver planned to absorb the army into the dominion. Not all, but those that had been cleared, and many of them would be.

I am sending Vargan there to recruit the people. I want the police to have the best people.

Powerful people, capable people.

It is embarrassing to have to visit the army headquarters every time we need significant reinforcements. To satisfy their sick vanity, they always ask me to come there to ask for them personally.

It makes me angry and frustrated. It is why I want the police to be capable.

So, we won’t have to beg them for help.

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