Chapter 45: Taming Stormhoof Kirin
Just as these thoughts reached this point, Ethan shook his head.
No, what does it even matter? How did this guy even slap me? How dare he...
Maybe Cole sensed his thoughts or something else, but his figure paused. He slowly turned to Ethan and said in a solemn tone:
"The gods might have given you a tongue to speak, but that doesn’t mean you are allowed to speak whatever comes to your mind... If it wasn’t for the fact that you are like a little brother to me... tsk! So please watch what you speak in the future. Someone else might not be as magnanimous as me."
"They might simply send you to the shadow realm for simply using your mouth."
"If that happened, it would be very unfortunate..."
Meanwhile, Stormhoof Kirin came stamping through the tall grass. It watched the potion in Cole’s hand with intense desire. Cole looked at this scene and smiled.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his thoughts, getting rid of all thoughts of taming the beast. There was only the thought of mutual benefit, give and take, without violence and dominance. As long as the monster could help him reach the city safely, he would give it one potion every month.
Maybe the beast could truly hear other thoughts, so when it heard the mention of a single potion every month, it let out an indignant neigh, its hooves hitting the earth. Right now, this giant monster looked like a kid whose mother had refused to give it a treat.
Cole was left doubting as a thought popped up in his head.
This creature... it was trying to negotiate for better terms.
When this thought appeared in his mind, a wide smile appeared on his face.
Jessica watched Cole and the horse neighing back and forth. Although she could not tell what exactly was going on here, one thing was clear: whatever potion that Cole had refined, the monster seemed interested in it, so much so that it didn’t directly attack but instead kept communicating, a first in her experience.
Time passed, and finally Cole let out a relaxed sigh. After a back-and-forth negotiation, the two parties came to an agreement. Stormhoof Kirin would allow Cole to ride it in exchange for one Lightning Affinity Potion every week.
An expensive affair by any means, but this was an expenditure that Cole could bear.
With the negotiations out of the way, Cole slowly approached the monster, uncorking the potion, tipping the contents of the bottle inside the monster’s mouth.
Cole watched the Stormhoof Kirin’s expression change in real time. The moment the contents slid down its throat, he felt his own Leviathan bloodline resonate with the monster. Slowly, he could feel his own blood travel deeper into the monster’s body, trying to merge with the monster’s blood, purifying its bloodline further.
After seeing the change for a second, a slight hidden smirk appeared on his face.
It seemed I still have control over the blood... if in the future the monster turns hostile, I could easily take care of it without even fighting.
Although Cole was no villain, he was not a saint either. The monster looked obedient and cooperative on the surface; that didn’t guarantee it would remain so in the future.
The next moment, the silver mane let out bright light, growing even thicker. While its own lightning played out, the horse let out a satisfied burp, then knelt on the ground, its massive figure crushing the grass surrounding it.
Cole didn’t stand on ceremony and directly jumped on top of it, feeling the warm and comfortable texture of the horse’s skin, his actions natural.
The Summers siblings could only watch this scene with doubtful expressions on their faces.
Then he turned to them and said, "What are you waiting for? Quickly climb up. We don’t have much time to waste here."
...
"Grab my hand."
Jessica grabbed Cole’s outstretched hand and climbed upward, sitting directly behind him. Cole could feel the noise of her breath, and even the warmth of her body resting on his back, but his expression remained completely normal.
Unlike what others might think, his name might be Cole, but he had no interest in holes.
However, Ethan didn’t seem to think this way.
He voiced out his thoughts from the back in a low voice.
"Sister, you sit at the end, let’s switch places..."
However, both Cole and Jessica acted as if they hadn’t heard those words at all.
Cole slowly caressed the monster’s mane, urging it to move.
Answering his touch, the monster got up, seemingly completely unaffected by the weight of the three people sitting on top of it. Letting out a neigh toward the sky, it started moving like a bolt of lightning tearing through the grassland.
"Hey, hey, give a warning before accelerating this hard!"
Cole barely clutched the Stormhoof Kirin’s stomach tightly with his legs, but even then the air hitting his body was too much. If it weren’t for his recent breakthrough, Cole might not have been able to even sit still, blasted back by the air.
With him taking most of the burden, the Summers siblings didn’t have to worry about anything. They could endure the ride peacefully.
The eyes of both of them were filled with admiration. For the first time, they were seeing one could travel through the Lightning Domain this fast.
The chariot might have been safe, but it was heavy and slow.
For the first time ever, they experienced true speed.
...
The next morning, the majestic walls of Blessed Moon City appeared in the distance.
Standing proudly amidst the chaos surrounding it, its glowing stone walls seemed to represent the determination of humanity. Even when the whole world was against them, the humans refused to give up, surviving only because of grit and determination.
Cole and his company stopped when they were a few kilometers away from the city.
When he signaled the Stormhoof Kirin to stop.
Any further and the monster would attract too much attention. Given his current situation, he wanted to stay out of the limelight.