Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 823: Screening, Archaic Monsters

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Cedric had every reason to be suspicious of this, but it’s a little too late for him to retreat now.

He got closer and closer to the mysterious stonehenge, and he could almost swear that it kept getting bigger somehow.

Of course, he also couldn’t ignore how the aura of concept laws here became almost impossibly denser. So much so that he could almost literally touch it or grab it with his hands.

It’s chaotic, though. It’s a mixture of many things clashing and/or fusing together. This should’ve created a lot of manifestations around, but surprisingly, there were none.

At some point, he stood right before Stonehenge. He’s literally a step away from it.

There’s this heavy feeling around. Something solemn, grand, and ancient was present here. Cedric could feel it, almost even taste it with his mouth, but surprisingly, he couldn’t see it. Not even with his miraculous eyes. And that truly piqued his interest.

’Come! Come, warrior! ’

’Come on, kid! ’

’Step forward, you’re almost there! ’

’Stop hesitating! ’

’Come and see us, child. Don’t be afraid.’

The calling was definitely louder now. He’s surrounded by voices coming from sources he couldn’t see. It’s like they’re speaking next to him, urging him to make that step forward.

’Well, here goes nothing.’ Cedric sighed as he finally controlled the clone to make that step forward.

And in that moment he did that. He saw the world changing around him.

Fwoosh!!

“Finally!”

“Damn! That took a while!”

“It’s a human! Woohoo!”

“It’s been so long!”

“Looking good, kid!”

Cedric looked bewildered, and nobody could blame him.

How can he not when he suddenly found himself surrounded with people? Humans, no less.

All of them were looking at him emotionally. It’s as if they’ve waited far too long for his arrival.

Cedric was speechless. Especially because it didn’t end there.

Somehow, not only was he surrounded by humans, but he also found himself standing in the middle of the Stonehenge formation when all he did was take one step in it. He shouldn’t have been here, just at the edges. How did this happen?

Furthermore, he’s got an audience now. The voices he heard before stepping in? It turns out that they’re coming from these people who are now cheering for his arrival.

They’re standing or sitting on the rows of seats that magically appeared around the Stonehenge, by the way.

And the stairway he once saw, the ones above the Stonehenge, the ones that led beyond the mass of swirling clouds above the sky, suddenly felt closer and grander now.

Through all of this, all he could say was, “What the hell?”

“I know you’ve got a lot of questions, kid.” A voice suddenly spoke to him. It sounded close to him, but he couldn’t see anybody.

“Stop looking around. I’m nowhere near you. Just listen.”

“You’ll get your answers only after you complete the trial ahead of you. It’s no use thinking too much for now, because if you fail, you won’t remember any of this anyway.”

“Be ready. Enemies are about to appear. There will be ten waves; kill every single enemy that appears. That’s how you clear a wave. You can opt to rest for about 3 days after each wave or continue to the next ones.”

“You can die here, so pace yourself.”

“Finally, you’d only get a total of 100 days to clear this screening. If you can clear it, great. We’ll talk some more. If not, then too bad, so sad. The best outcome for you is staying alive and forgetting all of this even happened. The worst? Death, of course.”

“This is all I can tell you for now. Be ready; the first wave is about to come.”

Cedric snorted. He couldn’t help it. This situation was just so absurd. The fact that his might have to be tested first before getting answers to the many questions he had in mind was a little too excessive. But all things considered, it’s not really that strange at all.

It’s always been like this wherever he goes. Strength always reigns supreme. And he doesn’t really have a choice here.

Just as the voice said, he was about to face enemies.

The chains that stitched the Stonehenge together suddenly rattled as if being blown by strong winds.

Around him, space warped and crumpled before spitting out monsters Cedric had never encountered before.

Tall fleshy beasts that snarled, roared, and rattled as they moved appeared before him. Each one carrying archaic auras that made his heart palpitate.

They felt older than time, somehow. And they’re unlike any bestial creatures he’d ever seen in his entire life.

Cedric’s eyes narrowed. And the wild cheers of the people around him grew louder, and the energy went to a feverish pitch.

All of a sudden, gasps were heard because one of the monsters suddenly appeared behind Cedric. It moved so fast that the naked eye couldn’t follow its movements, and as soon as it got close, it was ready to pounce.

But the scene of Cedric being torn apart by the beast’s jaws didn’t happen. Instead, everybody saw the monster stilling as if somebody pointed a remote at it and hit the ’pause’ button.

And in the next moment, they saw the beast suddenly sliding apart, bisected cleanly in half. Its corpse suddenly ignited with golden flames.

The arena went silent before exploding into a frenzy of cheers.

Needless to say, they were surprised, exhilarated, and entertained.

Through all of this, Cedric remained indifferent. The cold expression on his face never changed, not even a twitch.

With a sigh, the golden flames that burned the first beast to ashes suddenly turned into swords aimed at others.

The heat they carried left scorch marks on the ground, increasing the temperature in his immediate surroundings.

Then, without any warning or heads-up, the flame swords flew, seeking out their targets. They went so fast that by the time the beasts reacted, it was already too late; the swords had already found their most vulnerable spots and struck.

Roars of pain, anguish, and unwillingness reverberated around him, but Cedric couldn’t care less. He just wanted to be done with this and get his answers already.

Cedric cleared the first wave in record time. And the people around him were ecstatic. Everybody was cheering and frantic; the stands were literally shaking with how loud they were.

’Continue or rest? ’

This was whispered to him. It didn’t come from the same voice as earlier. Cedric had no idea where, and he’s not really all that interested to know for now.

Nevertheless, he answered, “Continue.”

And so, the next wave of enemies appeared. Still the same type of monsters as before. Only, there are more of them, and they’re slightly stronger compared to the previous wave of enemies.

Despite that, they’re nothing but drooling mutts in Cedric’s eyes. He slaughtered them just as easily as he did the previous wave.

Cedric continued challenging the waves of enemies after this. The third wave, fourth wave, fifth wave…

The enemies became more powerful as he went, and their numbers multiplied as the wave progressed.

But even so, Cedric coasted through smoothly.

His operation was like a meat grinder. Merciless and flawless. None of the monsters could even make him take a step back or forward. He stood at the same spot as he appeared from the start.

It didn’t matter how many of them appeared or how strong they got. None of them could survive the sharpness of Cedric’s swords and the heat of his flames.

Sixth wave, seventh wave, eighth wave, ninth wave…

Cedric demolished them with ease. The monsters increased in numbers and in strength and size, too. But none of that made a difference.

And the crowd? Oh, they were loving it.

Had they known his name, they’d probably be shouting it by now. Instead, they called him ’Kid’ for now and showered him with praises.

Cedric had been observing them as he fought. It’s no surprise that he couldn’t recognize any of them at all. But one thing he could tell is that they’re old.

He could sense the influence of time around them, and he could tell that they’ve been here for a while.

Furthermore, there’s something strange about their behavior. Despite their loud cheers and the energy they’re expressing, he could sense a bone-deep exhaustion from them. The kind of exhaustion that makes everything else meaningless.

’Weird. It’s so weird. What’s up with these people? ’

Cedric truly couldn’t tell. He wants answers so bad. He wanted to know what’s up with this place and these people. Why are they like this?

But just as he thought that the 10th and final wave of this screening might pose a challenge, he was disappointed.

Cedric demolished them just as easily as he did the other waves. There’s not even a bit of surprise. Just an inevitable ending.

’Congratulations. You are worthy to ascend,’ some disembodied voice from before said.

Then, it was followed by the clouds above the Stonehenge parting, revealing a figure descending like a god.

It was a man wearing a friendly, almost benevolent, expression. He descended right in front of him and said,

“Good job. You’re stronger than I thought. I’m sure that you have many questions. And since you’ve cleared the screening, you are now eligible to know some.”

“You can ask me. I’ll tell you what I know.”