Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

'Son of a bitch!'

#5 exclaimed inwardly as he saw their leader dismissing the flame dome and walking out calmly. His clothes were dirty and his armor was slightly dented. He also sustained some injuries but nothing grievous, most of them are already healing at this point.

'He took on a Capra Demon Lord on his own and fucking won! What a monster!' #5 smiled wryly at the face of this ridiculous achievement.

It wasn't just him who was thinking of this. Every member of their squad had the same thought. They could only feel awed at the miraculous strength of their leader.

As he returned to his spot, Cedric didn't say a word. He just silently acknowledged each one before continuing his massacre like before.

Yet, even though nothing was visibly different, his members could tell that something had changed. Cedric's presence was more muted than before but also way sharper.

They could also tell the slight changes in his movements, especially in the way how he killed their enemies. He's killing them with more ease and simplicity than before. It was quite subtle, but it's there.

"...no way! Sword Heart already? Damn!"

The exclamation of their teammates - who also followed the path of the sword, surprised the rest. They all looked at Cedric with a heated gaze and disbelief in their eyes. His refusal to say a word just made this even worse.

"Focus, or I'll leave you behind here." Cedric deadpanned at them, firmly planting his foot before sending another slash.

That pretty much confirms it, though. Cedric wasn't denying it but this wasn't the time to be distracted so they could only postpone it for later.

Later...yeah, nobody even noticed that. The simple fact that Cedric was with them was enough for them to believe that they would survive this. Not a shred of doubt appeared on their mind as soon as this started.

They were nervous at first, yes. Who wouldn't be? It got worse when Cedric had to solo a Capra Demon Lord. But when he came out of that fight intact and alive, all of the doubts disappeared completely. Even more so when he indirectly confirmed that he now reached the Sword Heart realm.

This was a fortunate incident because this made them forget that only five minutes passed since the start of the fight.

Yes, it has only been five minutes. It feels like they're at it for hours already but they're just a quarter of the way through the expected extraction time.

That's why Cedric wanted them to focus on the fight. Getting distracted by something will result in a lapse of judgment, which could be fatal. Counting each second that passed was torture, and they couldn't fall for that since that would cause their resolve to crumble.

As for Cedric himself, he won't lie and say that he wasn't pleased. Right now, even as he stood with his team and paid attention to the battlefield, parts of his mind were still immersed in the sensation of his breakthrough.

He had most likely broken some records by achieving this. He's probably the youngest Swordsman who reached the Sword Heart Realm. If this were to be released in public, he'd be an instant celebrity. That said, Cedric truly didn't feel like becoming one.

Still, it is mind-blowing just how different the world becomes upon reaching this state. It felt like his brain doubled in size. He could perceive things that even his heightened senses had missed before.

Insight of how to hone his skills came to him more naturally than before. His Sword Heart was also releasing a specific fluctuation that's seemingly communicating with Laws, allowing him to comprehend bits and pieces of it.

'Thank god for Multitasking.' Cedric preached as he killed dozens of demons at once.

If it weren't for the effects of that skill being ingrained into his very being, he'd most likely had to sit down and focus to digest everything he's receiving. Even with how fast his brain processes information, it's still too much. This would've been disastrous considering where they were and what's currently happening.

All of a sudden, Cedric felt a spike of danger from somewhere, causing him to be alarmed. His eyes narrowed. He allowed his instincts to take over and with a twitch of his wrist, he sliced vertically at something on the far left side of their position.

Everybody felt his energy spike but nobody was able to react to it. All they saw was a flash of cold steel, followed by a sudden drop in temperature.

A wave of dense corruption erupted and dissipated just as quickly. Most of the squad members were confused by #5 and the other swordsman of the team managed to analyze what happened.

'God damn! Is that the strength of someone who reached the Sword Heart Realm?' #5 exclaimed inwardly, feeling a chill and thrill running down his spine.

'I'm pretty certain he just sensed a Demon Lord nearby and sliced it to nihility.' The other swordsman gulped in awe. 'The poor thing hadn't even been able to utter a grunt of pain before dying. It was killed ruthlessly and with extreme prejudice. And all it took was a single slash from him. How scary!!'

For a reminder, a Demon Lord is the equivalent of a Planar Traveller-level Human. Cedric was just a Tier 4 Mortal, he was not even halfway there, yet he was able to kill Demon Lords like they were nothing but mere inconveniences.

He probably didn't even get a closer look at what he just killed. For all they know, he just swung his sword over there because he felt a threat coming that way.

...and that's not really far from the truth.

Buzz! Buzz!!

Cedric's leader badge emitted a sound that startled them. Cedric tapped it rhythmically and held it.

"HQ to Squad Leaders, can you hear me? I repeat, HQ to Squad Leaders, can you hear me?"

Cedric tapped his badge to answer; "HQ this is Squad Leader #1. I hear you loud and clear."

That was then followed by the rest of the Squad Leaders confirming this as well.

"Good, good. As you can tell, comms are repaired. The Transmissions are still down but we're making progress, don't worry, we're on schedule. The expected repair time still hasn't changed." The operator on the other line announced, much to everybody's delight and relief.

"Your senior officers are thinning out the horde to make it easier for all of you so hold on tight. We're gonna get you out of there. I'll conclude this here, focus on the fight and be careful against Demon Lords. HQ, over and out."

Click!

The line was cut off after that. Even so, nobody was dissatisfied. The fact that the comms were repaired already was a good sign. Even more so with the news that the transmission arrays were being repaired on schedule.

This gave the cadets all the hope they needed to keep going. And in a timely manner too since the majority of them were getting tired already. Hearing the operator's voice was like a dose of steroids being injected directly into their veins.

"Alright, you all heard it. Don't get tired on me now." Cedric said to the team as he sent another slash that cleaved through dozens of demons.

His squad responded to his words vigorously. There isn't much to say after that. They already know what they need to do and it hasn't changed.

But you what they say...'when it rains, it pours'.

Boom!!

They hardly saw a streak of light coming towards them. They only felt an impact akin to a comet landing nearby, shaking the earth and kicking up a large dust cloud.

The shockwave caused them to be flung back. Not by much though since Cedric was fast enough to react to it. With his deeper understanding of the sword, he sliced the shockwave, shaving off much of its strength to ensure that it wouldn't outright kill all of them.

A wave of fear swept through all members of Squad #1 as they saw what caused this.

It was fortunate that Cedric stood in front of them to bear the brunt of this wave. If he hadn't, even the tempered willpower of the squad would collapse if they were to come face to face with...this.

A monstrosity seemingly crawled its way out of hell and appeared in front of them. There is a giant mess of limbs and groaning victims attached to a single blob of vacuous black goo.

The sounds of those bodies could make anyone's skin crawl in fright. The bodies resembled partially digested human flesh stuck in a perpetual state of pain and agony. They reached out to the living, they couldn't form words or communicate anymore, much less think for that matter, but they seemed to be begging to be put out of their misery.

"All of you, to the extraction circle, now!" Cedric roared to his team, his face marred with focus and solemnity.

Cedric then contacted the HQ to say: "HQ, this is Squad Leader #1. We don't have much time. We're facing an Undead Phalanx and it wouldn't be the only one."

He then took a deep breath and continued: "If this thing is here, then an Arclich wouldn't be far behind. We're about to get swarmed. We'll try to hold on as much as we can but if you could hurry up and get us out of here, that would be much appreciated. #1, over and out."