Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 843: Suspicious Inactivity

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The Space Marine Frontier had been strangely quiet these past 500 years…

After the miserable and embarrassing defeat of Pelle—the Bug Prince of War—barely any bugs were left.

At most, there were strays—abandoned bugs that were fortunate enough to survive after Pelle’s stint but unlucky enough to be left behind and ignored by the hive mind.

They tried to save themselves and remain loyal to their creator, but they were too weak and too few in number to actually make a difference; therefore, they could only do their best to survive the awful environment of the world outside of the Five Known Chaos Realms.

But unlike their home or any of the other five known Chaos Realms, the void was much crueler. It’s unpredictable, dangerous, and scarce of resources they would need to survive. And this caused some of them accidents, most of which proved to be fatal.

Of course, some of them tried to go home. But with how far the Crimson Womb Chaos Realm was, they’d probably die even before reaching a quarter of the way home, so it’s useless to bother.

Obviously, only a strong individual from their race could bring them back, but who would care enough to do that? With how fast the Empress could give birth to bugs, not to mention how numerous the nests are in the clan, who cares about the ones left behind?

For all intents and purposes, they’re read in their eyes. So, hoping to be rescued was nothing more than a pipe dream for them.

Because the bugs didn’t send more nests to harass the frontier, the Space Marines had been given clearance to completely occupy the Dimensional Gap belonging to the Heavenly Star Chaos Realm.

They don’t need to stifle or hold back their prowess anymore. If the Bug Empress believed it to be wise to give them time to expand and bolster their foundations, then the Space Marines will gladly take it.

And that’s exactly what they did.

The Space Marines occupied the entire Dimensional Gap. They littered it with traps, built infrastructures, barriers, barricades, outposts, camps, etc.

They were careful in each step of the way. They started by testing the waters first, fearing the abrupt return of the bugs. But as time passed, they barely saw shadows of them. Even Urek himself confirmed this. Therefore, they become braver and bolder.

Before long, they committed to full expansion and occupancy. And the longer it took for the bugs to return, the smaller their chances became to actually push them back.

Now, five hundred years later, that chance had probably shrunk to single digits.

Gibson, or more precisely his clone, boldly arranged everything. He used both the real and fake Space Marines in this expansion. He once again updated their technology, built more weapons, and even installed the prototype of the ’Empress Killer.’

Inwardly, he hoped that she would appear before them with her children. He, and practically every Space Marine out there, was practically itching to see some action.

Alas, everything had been quiet so far.

It was so quiet that Gibson actually cleared some squads to explore the world outside the Dimension Gap.

Their mission was to discover anomalies, gather resources—both common, rare, and mysterious ones—and maybe map out what’s out there.

The last objective, though, was proving to be quite challenging, but no matter, it’s not the priority anyway.

Still, from time to time, a few squads of Space Marines will go out and explore outside to see if there is anything valuable there. Of course, if Urek could, he’d look after them. But ultimately, he’s not their babysitter. He couldn’t save them every time, so exploration still carries some risks.

Fortunately, though, the new equipment of the Space Marines was just better than the last one. Which allowed them to survive the cruel and unstable environment of the outside. And this mitigated casualties immensely.

Beyond this, Gibson was quite apprehensive of the sudden inactivity of the Horde.

So much so that he informed his friends about it, and they, too, were quite perturbed.

They’ve long known that the Bug Empress was quite wary of humanity’s progressive mindset. She went out of her way to stifle them at every opportunity that presented itself.

Basically, if there’s a chance that she could dishearten or slow down the progress of humanity, even if the risks were high, she would take it. She will bite, and she will deliver. That’s how wary she was of them.

Which made this inactivity rather uncharacteristic of her. Because as far as everybody knows, her constant harassment of the Space Marines was her way of slowing them down.

Gibson even went out of his way to build an elaborate ruse of complacency to bait her out, and she bit. She even sent her firstborn son out here.

So why the sudden silence?

Did the Bug Empress encounter an accident or an opportunity? Were there some complications? Did someone stab her in the back? Just what exactly is she planning now?

Alas, as much as Gibson wanted answers, it’s very unlikely that they’d receive answers.

This isn’t because they’re incapable of visiting the Crimson Womb Universe. They can; Gibson could easily make shuttles that could take them there. It’s just not a good idea because of the hive mind.

All it takes is one glimpse from the bugs guarding the outside of the Crimson Womb Universe, and the entire race will be alerted. That’s why it’s not a good idea.

That said, if the Bug Empress decided to stop harassing them, that’s just fine. In fact, that’s fantastic. Humans would gladly take that.

There was a reason why she was afraid of humanity’s progressive mindset, and they don’t mind proving that to her over and over again.

The past 500 years of relative peace had been used well by them.

Gibson, Berk, and Urek have all started comprehending more Law Essences. Their progress was slow compared to Nick and Pat, but that’s only because they delegated this task to their clones.

They’re not in a hurry, and they can’t prioritize this because they also have to cover for the absence of Nick and Pat. Sure, their clones are out doing their part, but that’s not enough.

There are just too many things for them to pay attention to, and the clones, as good as they are, can’t handle them all.

Remember, they’re not Cedric, who had multiple thought chambers. Sure, they can multitask, but that’s about it. They can’t reach the same efficiency and capacity as Cedric simply because they’d get overwhelmed.

That’s why, for the more complex tasks, they still have to do it with their main bodies. The clones are just there to massively save them time and energy, allowing them more time to do what they actually want to do alongside their actual responsibilities.

Gibson, Berk, and Urek fulfilled the task of running the council, covering for Nicholas and Patricia, who practically didn’t come out of seclusion for centuries by now. Not even for a brief rest and respite.

According to the last time they talked to them, they’re approaching the final step.

The Law Essences both of them need to complete the Origin Law were down to single digits. Of course, it doesn’t get easier at this point, but both Nick and Pat were determined to see this through.

Especially since they still have to figure out the proper structure and combination of the Law Essences they need to receive the recognition of the Origin Laws.

That’s going to be a long and painful trial and error process. So until they completely comprehend every single law essence they need, they most likely won’t go out.

The three weren’t too concerned though…

Okay, maybe a little bit.

But that’s to be expected. After all, the last time those two came out, they looked utterly miserable: bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair, crumpled clothes, and exhaustion practically emanating from them in waves.

Moreover, Patricia wasn’t holding back in her complaints at all. Even Nick looked miserable. But both of them knew they couldn’t stop now. If they did, then their hot streak would end, and who knows if they’d ever get the chance again?

That’s why they can’t afford to stop.

But still, they’d be fine. Gibson, Berk, and Urek know this.

Because despite their miserable appearances, the sheer power emanating from them caused the trio’s hearts to palpitate. They looked exhausted, sure, but their power? Full and explosive. It’s even practically begging to be released.

Their aura was even scarier than the Bug Empress herself…at least, according to the last time they saw her.

This was the reason behind their confidence. And if Nick and Pat haven’t gone senile yet, they’d recognize this too.

At their current state, they have no reason to be afraid of her at all. Pat herself could completely destroy her on her own. That’s how scary they’ve become.

They’re going to be just fine. They just need more time. And if the Bug Empress decides to be generous and give them some breathing room, then that’s on her.

This was no different from shooting herself in the foot.