Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

To her overwhelming surprise, Erica momentarily forgot the protocol, her body went on autopilot as she ran to Cedric's embrace without even confirming if it was really him.

Fiona who was watching this, was surprised. She looked at Francis who also watching with a fond smile on his face. Sensing her gaze, Francis looked at her and signaled something she could understand.

The signal meant 'in a relationship', upon receiving the message, Fiona nodded in understanding. Still, it's very surprising to see Erica, of all people, fawning over a man.

Cedric could see what they were doing but he ignored it. What's more important to him was that Erica was fine, and he'd assume that Chrissy was too.

He could tell that she was under a lot of pressure. If this was any other place, she'd have broken down already because there's just too much she's keeping. However, they're pretty deep in enemy territory right now and she can't afford to show too much weakness, or else the corruption will take hold of her.

"It's alright, I'm here now. Remember where we are, though. You need to follow protocol." Cedric whispered in her ears.

Erica suddenly jolted in surprise and jumped back from his embrace. She then wore a serious expression before looking at Fiona and discretely using hand signals to confirm their identity.

Fiona chuckled fondly as she replied using the same set of hand signals to confirm their identity. After confirming that it was indeed them, Erica sighed in relief before looking back at Cedric and asking:

"How come you're here?" She then looked at Fiona and asked: "Why is he with you? Why bring him here? It's dangerous out here."

"I didn't want to bring him here either, none of us do," Fiona replied with a helpless shrug. "Things have escalated and the army needed more people. He was included in the drafted list, and he came to me to join us...well, join your team, more specifically, that's why we're here."

Erica and Francis wore solemn looks as they heard this, followed by a defeated and exhausted sigh.

"I guess it can't be helped then," Francis spoke after a bit. He then looked at Cedric and said: "If anything, I'm glad it's you. If it's others I might have some misgivings since we don't really have time to look after anyone right now."

"I'll try to not hold you guys back, I promise." Cedric replied.

"Good enough for me." Francis smiled at his words. chapter source m vl _emp-y,r

"Well, I've already brought you here, what's next is up to them. Remember that you're under probation, listen to your captain and follow orders. I must return soon, my paperwork isn't going to finish itself." Fiona told them before turning around and going back to the transmission zone.

"I'll beam you up, then." Francis told Fiona, he then looked at Erica and said, "Erica, bring him to the camp. I'm sure Captain would like to know this."

"Right, follow me." Erica said as she turned around and walked towards the camp with Cedric next to her.

Cedric used this time to survey his surroundings. They seem to be in the middle of a desert...one that's polluted with dense demonic corruption. Even the tiniest grain of sand was pitch black due to it.

It felt as if he was walking on quicksand and if he wasn't careful with his steps, the land would swallow him whole.

Cedric could also hear distant moans and groans of creatures roaming around these places. His field of senses was extended to its utmost limit but it's heavily restricted here, he could only cover a 10,000-mile radius; which was still insane, but it wasn't much compared to his actual range of 70,000 miles.

The distance his eyes and senses could cover might sound ridiculous and unbelievable, especially considering that he's only a Tier 7 Superhuman, but these eyes aren't just any normal eyes. He inherited them from a Godking - an entity that could not only observe multiple galaxies at once but also observe the past, present, and future of anything he sees.

That's why this kind of distance isn't an exaggeration at all. If anything, he'd say that he's lacking, even.

He already found the camp as soon as he unleashed his field of senses. Erica didn't need to lead the way anymore but he still followed her nonetheless. Cedric understood the need for secrecy here. He can't reveal all of his cards at once because he can't always tell if they're being watched or not.

He's deep in the enemy territory, anything that could be considered as his trump card to ensure he comes back alive is worth keeping.

"I don't like this..." Cedric heard Erica suddenly say.

She wore this clouded expression on her face as she marched towards the location of the camp. She's gripping her staff tightly too.

"What is it?" Cedric replied, even though he already had a good idea of what she was referring to.

"...you being here," Erica stated after a brief pause. "Us going to war, people being drafted unwillingly...I don't like any of this. It's too early. I don't even know if we stand a chance."

"Sadly, the Demon Race doesn't care about what we feel. They won't stop just because we don't think we're ready for another war." Cedric firmly replied. "Don't worry too much about me, I know what I'm getting myself into. We've been together for more than a year now, so you should already know what I'm like."

"Yeah, I know." Erica sighed.

She could give him a piece of her mind; try to convince him that it's not worth it and that there are better choices out there instead of coming here but...this is Cedric. He doesn't do things halfway. She knows that he already deliberated on this decision enough times before going in, and since he's already here, nothing could change his mind.

Once Cedric does something, he does it properly and ensures that he won't regret his decisions. That's one thing Erica and Chrissy learned about him through the length of their relationship.

"We're here," Erica announced.

They stood on top of a sand mound, overlooking the small encampment beneath them.

The camp was around 500 meters long, surrounded by wooden fences carved with runes. Cedric could see several tents scattered across the camp, a few watchtowers, ballistae, and catapults too. Cedric could also feel the tension and gloominess blanketing the camp.

It's a depressing sight, truly. Cedric could also feel the bone-deep exhaustion oozing from the people within the camp. They are in a horrible state, that much was obvious.

Beside him, Erica whistled a tune while staying in position. Cedric knew that this was one of the signals they used for security. Moments later, he heard another coming from the camp.

"Alright, they're already informed. We can go now." She said before walking towards the camp.

Once they reached a certain distance to the camp, he felt eyes on him which felt slightly hostile but only for a brief moment. It was then replaced by surprise.

'So Floyd's on watchtower duty, huh?' Cedric mused inwardly.

Floyd was a member of Team Elric who was in charge of long-range damage. He used a bow and had fairly sharp senses. It was he who scanned Cedric and Erica earlier.

The gates of the wooden camp opened before them as soon as they got close, and when they did, they were welcomed by two people; Elric and Chrissy.

"Gosh, you're actually here! I can't believe this!" Chrissy exclaimed as she ran to Cedric's embrace.

Cedric smiled as he hugged her briefly. He then looked at Elric and said: "Pardon my intrusion. Recruit Cedric Stormrider, reporting for duty, Sir. Please, take care of me."

"Welcome, Kid. And loosen up, I'm not that strict. Just call me captain and follow instructions, that's all I require from you. Anyways, come in you two. We can't have the gates opened for too long."

They then walked inside the camp and the gates closed behind them. Cedric felt the runic arrays activating once the gates were closed. He immediately saw a bubble covering the area of the camp extending and isolating the place. He also felt the density of corruption easing up within the camp. It's still bad but not as bad as outside the camp.

Cedric also saw the rest of the members of Team Elric as well as a few other people around.

"We'll have your briefing after 6 hours since I still have something to do. For now, build a tent you can use or just share it with your girlfriends if they're okay with it. I'd offer more but as you can see, our resources are limited here." Elric replied with a wry smile.

"It's alright, Captain. I'll be fine." Cedric replied.

"Good, I'll talk to you later. Chrissy, Erica, get him up to speed as much as you can. We'll be out soon again so I'd appreciate it if he could at least learn how to work with the team." Elric ordered.

"Yes, Sir." The girls replied, Chrissy then took Cedric by the arm and said: "Come, let's go to my tent. We have a lot to talk about."