Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 811: The Hive and the Royals

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The hum of the hive mind thrummed at the back of her head like a buzzing sound.

She could hear everything from the loudest to the faintest buzz of her children. The intricate web of the hive, the way it connects them to her and vice versa, and the way it connects them to each other.

All of it flows through her. She sits at the absolute center of it all. So long as she’s there, the hive exists.

But the hive mind, as powerful as it is, has its own limitations too. Distance being one of them.

The further away her children were from her, the fainter their voices became. If they went far enough, it’s even possible for them to be disconnected entirely from the hive. And for simple-minded bugs, that’s no different from certain death.

One of the ways they could remedy this is by deliberately expanding their network by stationing bugs whose sole purpose of existence was to relay messages.

These bugs are called Hive Keepers, and they are sent all over the Primitive Universe to expand the coverage of the hive mind.

Hive Keepers can receive and transmit messages farther than most bugs, making them important to the network.

Their only downside is that they’re more fragile compared to other bugs. This couldn’t be helped. The Bug Empress wanted to make them strong and tough too, but if she did that, she wouldn’t be able to create them according to her true purpose. They can’t have it all.

To save them, though, the Bug Empress gave them the ability to survive by blending into their environment. In terms of stealth and camouflage, no bugs can compete with the Hive Keepers.

The Hive Keepers are also accompanied by servant bugs whose purpose is to protect them and keep them alive. They operate silently, hidden from everybody’s eyes. This way, they can live up to expectations.

This was how the hive was able to expand the range of their network effectively, allowing the Horde to know everything that’s going on in their territory.

But of course, with too many voices echoed across the Hive Mind, even the Bug Empress will be driven mad by the chaos that makes. So to solve this particular problem, she birthed more bugs that could filter and organize the noise.

They are called the Hive Managers. They took on many forms, but their duty was the same, and that is to receive messages and organize them according to priority before sending them to the main hive.

The Bug Empress understood how heavy and important this task was, so she made sure to make them with extra brain prowess compared to her other children. And she succeeded in her first attempt.

With the Hive Managers around, the hive mind wasn’t chaotic anymore. Instead, it became organized. Still loud, though.

But the best part about establishing the Hive Mind was the complete confidence that none of her children will dare to betray her.

Well, most of them were already born with utmost loyalty to her. But the smarter ones—the ones who are capable of thought and ideas—are also prone to corruption. They can entertain thoughts of rebelling or betrayal, something that the Bug Empress simply cannot forgive even though she gave birth to them.

But so long as they are connected to the hive mind, the possibility of that happening is essentially zero. Because first of all, their thoughts and ideas are open for the Keepers and Managers to interpret, and if they’re flagged as a risk, they could be reported to her, and she will immediately discipline them herself.

She would rewrite their memories and personality if needed be, just to erase any possibility of them betraying her.

That’s why it is a popular belief across all races that once you’ve been inducted into the hive mind of the Horde, you’re no longer yourself. You essentially ceased to exist.

Aside from the Hive Keepers and the Hive Managers, the Bug Empress also created children that could fight for their kind.

While the bugs she creates already have their own unique characteristics, mutations, and combat prowess, she knew that they needed more.

Simply relying on the hive mind and its coverage isn’t enough for their kind to survive. They needed muscle—warriors who were strong enough to defend and conquer territories for them.

Horde Knights, is what they were called. And like most bugs, they come in different shapes and sizes. What sets them apart from the rest is their ability to use weapons.

Yes, bugs that can use/prefer fighting with swords, axes, spears, etc. They are strong, have excellent combat instincts, and could fight armies on their own.

And due to their nature, you won’t see them moving alone. They’re always accompanied by a ’small’ army. (’Small’ being millions of bugs, at least. Because let’s face it, this is The Horde we’re talking about.)

They’re a little stupid and have shorter patience compared to other bugs, but their strength and combat prowess more than make up for that.

Above them were the Horde Generals—mutated bugs that could not only fight but also command. Their main task is to cooperate with Hive Managers to send out armies all over their territory when needed.

Of course, if cornered, the Horde Generals could fight as well. Even better than Horde Knights, actually. But they would only do so once they know that there is no other way out. At their core, their duty is to command the army from the backline. They will only appear once they’re confident that they will win the fight.

Horde Generals could rally huge swathes of bugs at once. The amount of bugs they could command could blot out or swallow an entire cosmic realm. And that’s what makes them dangerous. Even Horde Knights have to listen to them.

And who commands the Horde Generals? No, it’s not the Bug Empress. It’s very seldom that it’s her. Instead, their orders come from someone called Pelle, also known as the Bug Prince of War.

Pelle, the Bug Prince of War, is the reborn son of the Bug Empress before she became that.

Yes, the Bug Empress ate the corpse of her children and rebirthed them into something new.

The Bug Empress took great care, time, and attention, rebirthing them. In fact, it wasn’t until after she nearly conquered the entire chaos realm she’s in that she began her seclusion to remake her family.

Because of her meticulousness, her children were reborn into something special.

Pelle was bestowed with the title ’Bug Prince of War,’ not because he was her child, but because she made him to be that way. As soon as he was born, he was destined to become in charge of the bug army as a whole.

He doesn’t need to speak or even look at them. Every soldier bug understands what he wanted and expected from them automatically.

At a mere ten years old, he has already defeated all the Horde Knights and the Horde Generals at the same time. In terms of combat prowess, he was undefeatable. That’s how strong he was.

Pelle has cultivated the concept of war to the Heavenly Law level.

Next was the middle child, Maricel, also known as the ’Bug Princess of Wisdom.’

Maricel is the one who organizes the Crimson Womb Chaos Realm. She’s the heart of operations, if you will. Without her, even with the Bug Empress’ help, things will be more chaotic.

She has cultivated the concept of wisdom to the Heavenly Law level.

And, there’s the youngest—Cain, the ’Youngest Bug Prince of Love.’

Actually, most of the bugs don’t know what he does. He doesn’t usually make an appearance. Most of the time, she’s attached to the Bug Empress’ hip. He mostly appears to be scared of his own people.

But in their eyes, he’s absolutely adorable. Everybody loves and worships him. They seemingly couldn’t bring themselves to dislike him, not even a single bit, and nobody really questions it.

And to be fair, the youngest prince was kind and gentle to them. Although he’s technically old, his body remains the same, and his adorable charm has only gotten stronger with time.

With them around, the Bug Empress was happy. At least, she got her children back.

But since she could do this to her children, how can she forget about her beloved husband?

Of course she ate and rebirthed him too.

Now, he goes by the ’Silent Emperor Consort’—Anuman’.

Nobody hears him speak except the Bug Empress herself and their children. And just like the youngest prince, nobody knows what his actual purpose was, and he doesn’t appear anywhere except next to the Bug Empress.

Only the Bug Empress knows the reason why he’s around. And just like the youngest prince, nobody could hate or question his existence vocally. In their mind, they’re the Bug Empress’ family, the untouchables.

And although they’re perfectly capable on their own, the Bug Empress strictly protects them nonetheless. So much so that even the Human Sovereigns haven’t seen them in person.

They know that they existed but never physically saw them. That’s how protective she was.