My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!

Chapter 140: City of merchants

Its raw endurance score was massive, supplemented by passive structural skills that allowed it to process atmospheric mana directly into physical stamina, effectively eliminating the need for frequent rest stops or heavy rations during a high-speed march.

Varis moved with the practiced, fluid efficiency of a seasoned vanguard specialist.

He stepped up to the side of the massive mount, caught the heavy leather stirrup, and climbed the horse’s back with an effortless, athletic swing of his legs.

He settled firmly into the reinforced command saddle, his large hands gathering the heavy, mana-conductive reins with an iron grip.

While Varis took control of the mount, Noah and Yuan went into the carriage.

Noah stepped through the narrow side door first, his boots tapping softly against the padded, velvet-lined interior of the compartment, followed closely by the regional guild master.

The internal space was surprisingly spacious, insulated entirely from the outer elements by thick layers of sound-dampening alloy plating, offering a quiet, secure environment where they could discuss strategy without their voices carrying into the open air. The door clicked shut behind them, sealing them into the cabin.

Outside, Varis gave the heavy reins a single, sharp snap, channeling a microscopic pulse of his own master magus mana into the leather leads to signal the beast.

The horse then started moving, speeding out of the shed with an explosive, instantaneous burst of acceleration that pressed Noah firmly back into the cushioned leather seat.

The massive creature broke through the threshold of the doors, its powerful, pillar-like legs cycling with a terrifying, rhythmic velocity as it lunged forward into the open countryside, the heavy chariot trailing behind it like a weightless leaf caught in a gale.

Yet, despite the staggering velocity of their transit, the expected violence of the motion never materialized.

Noah leaned his head slightly toward the reinforced glass of the side window, his analytical senses tracking the mechanical behavior of their advance.

Despite how fast it was moving, its hooves were very silent as they struck the ground.

An hour later, the rolling green expanses of the open countryside had completely dissolved, replaced by a dense, shifting architecture that signaled their entry into the central heart of the region.

They had finally arrived in the city of Vale.

Noah leaned his head slightly closer to the reinforced glass of the carriage window, his eyes wide in awe as he took in the panoramic views stretching out before him. Noah couldn’t help but be mesmerized by how beautiful the city was.

It was a visual masterpiece of urban planning and economic prosperity, radiating a pristine, golden energy under the late afternoon sun that made his chest tighten with a sudden, localized wave of awe.

The stark contrast between this place and the bleak, industrial grime he had left behind was almost painful to process.

His analytical subroutines immediately began tracking the infrastructure of the sector, comparing the details to his hometown with a disciplined, rapid intensity.

The roads were a lot cleaner and more developed than those of Eidbale.

Instead of the uneven, cracked dirt paths and the damp, mud-slicked alleys that characterized the lower districts of his own territory, the avenues of Vale were paved with perfectly synchronized blocks of a light, reflective granite composite.

Each stone was fitted together with a seamless, grid-like precision that left no room for pooling water or debris, the surfaces treated with a faint, transparent glaze that minimized the friction of passing vehicles while preventing the accumulation of dust.

It was an advanced network designed to facilitate massive, uninterrupted flows of heavy traffic without ever showing signs of wear.

The structural elegance of the city extended far beyond the paved stone beneath their wheels.

Even the shops and houses were far more advanced, each one consisting of storeys.

In Eidbale, the common folk and low-ranking artisans were relegated to single-level, flat-roofed structures made of packed plaster and decaying timber, huddled together in suffocating clusters.

Here, the buildings rose proudly into the air, boasting two, three, or even four vertical levels built from a combination of dark, treated hardwoods and reinforced masonry.

The facades were decorated with elegant, wrought-iron balconies and pristine glass windows that caught the sunlight, their ground floors dedicated to expansive, brightly lit storefronts with painted signs, while the upper levels served as wealthy residential quarters or private storage vaults.

The air itself felt different, carrying a vibrant, humming current of high-grade commerce and active elemental arrays that regulated the temperature of the buildings.

As the chariot moved deeper into the commercial arteries of the city, the sheer diversity of the local transportation network became impossible to ignore.

There were also quite a few mana beasts acting as transport with chariots strapped to them.

Noah’s eyes darted from one lane to another, his diagnostic tracking mapping the various species with an intense curiosity.

Some of them were quite similar to the great horse he was riding in, sharing that same elongated equine structure, dense muscle distribution, and iridescent charcoal coat that signaled a high-grade mutation engineered for speed and prestige.

These specimens were typically attached to elegant, lightweight passenger carriages made of polished wood and silver trim, carrying wealthy merchants or elite administrators through the central avenues.

While the swift, horse-like variants handled the upper-class commuters, some were completely different, tailored for entirely different industrial parameters.

Some looked like bulls, with horns and bulky bodies pulling huge chariots carrying goods.

These creatures were absolute tanks of the domestic beast world, their shoulders rising into thick, calloused humps of solid muscle that could easily shift tons of weight without breaking a sweat.

Their heads were crowned with wide, heavy horns that curved forward like defensive shields, and their thick, leather-like hides were covered in protective iron plates to prevent injury during loading cycles.

They moved a bit more slowly, their massive hooves clicking heavily against the granite blocks as they hauled titanic, multi-layered wooden flatbeds piled high with crates of exotic spices, raw ore, and heavy textiles.

This was entirely natural, since Vale was a city known universally across the kingdom for its large amount of merchants.