Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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Team Elric reluctantly left the comfort of the base and made their way to the other one near it.

Before leaving, they made sure to keep the base secured as much as possible. Even when there's no one inside to guard it, the base will continue to function as it is due to Cedric's preparations.

The improved formation will continue producing that misdirected mist and providing an energy source for the other runic arrays within the base so long as there's corruption around. The base's defenses are also active, just in case enemies manage to get too close to it.

Currently, the team is making their way to the next base Cedric has to modify. It's about 1000 miles away from the previous base, which isn't that far given how fast the team was moving.

Initially, they thought they had to slow down to make sure that Cedric could keep up, but they seemingly forgot that he was initially known for his absurd speed. Not only could he keep up, he could even compete against the top speed of the Planar Travelers if he wanted to. Therefore, they didn't need to worry about accidentally leaving him behind.

And to make their travels more peaceful and silent, Francis taught him a trick to lessen the noise he's making and make it difficult for demons to sense his movements. Cedric learned this trick very quickly and was already applying it on the field.

'This place is really gloomy.' Cedric mused to himself as he unfolded his senses completely.

The dark and depressing skies above and the putrid stench of corruption were things he just couldn't get used to. Things out here are barely visible; if it weren't for his absurdly sharp senses, he wouldn't have been able to see anything clearly.

This is the Black Land, and they're pretty deep in it. Any reinforcements from the army are too far to reach them, except the High Marshals, of course, but those people have better things to do than pay attention to them.

Out here, one wrong move, and they're done for. They would face an endless siege of demons from all sides, and no matter how tough they were, they would eventually be exhausted and killed. This is the enemy's territory as far as they're concerned, so they have to be careful.

This is one of the dangers Outer World Expedition Teams like them have to go through for the sake of contributing to the race. It's why their numbers are extremely limited, and only the best make it out.

Swoosh!

A silent gesture accompanied by a breeze of wind made the team pause in their tracks. They looked at Francis, who was in front, alerting them with a raised hand.

'A herd at 2:00, 200 meters away.' Francis gestured to the team using hand signs.

The team then looked at Cedric, so he motioned, 'Nothing underground.'

They then looked at Elric, and he gestured to Francis: 'Type? '

'Hyenas and Imps. Engage? 'Francis asked in return.

Elric shook his head and gestured, 'Evade. We can't make too much noise; we're close to the jungle.'

Francis nodded and motioned for the team to follow him as he moved on. He then saw the scout purposefully changing their route to avoid confrontation.

'Good call.' Cedric mused to himself, prasing Elric's decision-making.

This was how they communicated while on the move. Unless it's completely necessary, they won't talk out loud. At most, they'd talk using voice transmission or telepathy, but even that is risky because some demons are extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations. Therefore, they commonly used hand signs to relay orders.

Cedric's praise wouldn't have too much weight if he gave it just because he 'thinks' that Elric made a sound decision. Cedric 'knew' that Elric made the best decision for the team because he saw the jungle he was talking about.

The jungle was something that the team would skirt around on their way to the next base. It's about 10 kilometers away from where they're currently, which means that it's well within Cedric's sensory range.

And the things he saw inside made his skin crawl.

The freaking jungle is crawling with insect demons. He saw about a thousand of them roaming the surface, and there are definitely more hiding inside the nests or underground. With how absurdly fast Insect Demons repopulate and how much time they've occupied that jungle, Cedric wouldn't be surprised if their numbers reach at least 20,000.

Insect demons are extremely sensitive to dangers, and most of the insect types Cedric saw inside that jungle were territorial ones. Anybody who isn't an insect demon will be treated as a threat and will be dealt with accordingly.

This is why Cedric knew that Elric made the best decision to evade the confrontation. Because even if their team had three Planar Travelers with them, it's debatable if they'd be able to take full advantage of that jungle's might.

Cedric could also tell that Floyd and Darwin were itching for a fight. They've been wanting to test out their might ever since their breakthrough. However, none of them insisted on showing off or defying Elric's orders, not because they found themselves weaker or because their authority in the team was lower than Elric's. It's because they trusted him.

"Tch."

The sound that came out of Cedric's mouth caused the team to freeze in their tracks once more. None of them dared to move a muscle or even breathe out loud.

Then, a flash of light erupted from Cedric's palms, and numerous runes lit up on everyone's bodies. They then felt their presence almost disappearing completely, concealed by a barely visible veil of mist being produced by the runes.

Bang!

The ground shook fiercely, and to everybody's horror, a giant beast suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But despite their terror, everybody remained unmoving, more afraid of making the mistake of dispelling the misdirection veil Cedric placed on them.

A few kilometers away from them, a creature who's almost as big as a hill stomped at the earth repeatedly. It snorted so loudly that it sounded like thunder.

Roar!!

The creature emitted a long and furious roar towards the dark skies above, shaking everything within a 5-mile radius.

'It's a Raging Mountain Bull Demon.' Cedric muttered solemnly to himself.

In terms of raw power, only a few could go toe-to-toe with this thing. Don't be fooled by its size; despite that, this thing could move extremely fast. And with its mass and inherent strength, even the Great Wall that separates humanity's civilization from the Black Lands might not be enough to stop its charge.

Despite this, though, This demon bull isn't a demon lord yet. But it's as strong, if not stronger than one.

That said, this isn't the real reason why Cedric alarmed the team.

Booom!!!

Remember that jungle? Remember when it was mentioned that there are a fuck-ton of territorial insects in there?

Was the Raging Mountain Bull Demon an insect? No.

Did its furious roar and raging aura provoke the peaceful insects that were minding their business?

Oh, Absolutely.

Boom!!

Another explosion sounded not far from where the team was. And despite the low visibility, all of them saw the wave of insects coming out of their home. Some were flying, some were hopping, some were slithering, others dove underground and swam like water. All were aiming for one thing and one thing only.

The Raging Mountain Bull Demon saw this and waved and stood up using its hind legs. It then drove its massive body forward and released a stomp that caused an intense earthquake and shockwave towards the incoming insect horde. But, to its overwhelming surprise, it barely affected the wave.

Not before long, the wave of insects and the demon bull met. The giant demon bull turned into a streak of lightning, stomping, snorting, and roaring. It's using everything in its power to kill as many insects as it can.

It managed to kill a lot, but it barely dented the sheer number of insects gnawing at its flesh.

The team watched, unmoving, as the once tall, mighty, and ferocious demon bull was eaten from the inside out—and it happened within minutes too. Their skins crawled at the thought of narrowly avoiding that disaster.

Had they decided to confront the herd earlier, they would have shivered at the implications of that. This solidified their belief in Elric's decision-making and Cedric's sensitivity towards danger.

That hill-sized demon bull was now reduced to a mere skeleton. Not even a piece of its flesh remained. Its once-raging aura was completely gone; maybe even its soul was devoured by those insects.

Speaking of insects, they're returning to their home. Since the thing that disturbed their silence was gone, their rage was also gone. It wasn't until the team was absolutely sure that they'd be safe that they moved.

Cedric smiled helplessly as they saw their pale faces. It would seem that even with their tenure, this was the first time they saw something like that. And even if it wasn't, it couldn't be helped. The scene was horrifying, after all.

'...I wonder...could I convince Captain to let me get that skeleton?'