Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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It was obvious to Cedric that Zamson, the guy who picked him up and took him to the ship, came from the Primal Beast Clan.

He had a humanoid torso with the lower body of a snake and a singular horn growing on his forehead. His pupils were yellow slits, and he had the same forked tongue like a snake's that darted out every now and then. Despite having the bloodline of a cold-blooded predator, Zamson looked welcoming and kind, making it easy for Cedric to talk to him.

But aside from these obvious features, the thing that gave Zamson's true identity was the Atavism Mark on his forehead in the shape of a serpent's fangs that glowed with a crimson hue.

This mark can only be seen on members of the Primal Beast Clan, signifying that they succeeded in their atavism, making them special existences even with the many forms of the beast race out there.

Zamson led Cedric inside the huge spaceship that the Border Patrol used. Inside, Cedric was greeted by a modern interior with state-of-the art technology, the likes that his people would have to spend decades, if not centuries, to achieve.

"Her name is Galleon-09." Zamson suddenly spoke, startling Cedric from his sight-seeing. He looked at him, and he continued, "This ship, I mean. That's her name."

"She's a ferry-class spaceship. The ferry-class are specifically created to transport people and important cargo swiftly. The Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm is too vast, after all. Going from one end to the other would take decades, if not centuries, by foot. Of course, Cosmic Level experts are an exception to that measurement. But as you know, Cosmic Level experts are rare and they are too noble to be delegated to delivery duty. That's why ships like these were invented."

"With a ferry-class ships like this, we can shave off many years worth of travel time. Like right now, usually from where we are, it would take at least five years of non-stop travel before we reach the nearest border of the realm. But with this ship, we'd be there by the 2nd or 3rd week of the month. This makes the ferry-class ships important to the alliance, and especially to us, Border Patrol Guardians."

"I see."

To Cedric, Zamson's passion and enthusiasm in introducing the ship were plainly obvious. This makes him think that Zamson must be an engineer.

"Anyways, I should thank you for choosing us as your first choice," Zamson stated with a wry smile. "Heaven knows that only a fraction of trainees even consider joining this family. It's understandable why, but it doesn't make it any less than depressing."

Cedric didn't know how to comfort him, so he stayed quiet instead.

"These are the cabins." Zamson gestured at the open hall before them with many doors left and right. "If you see the door flashing red, it means that it's occupied. If it's green, it's the opposite. Pick a room you'd like and settle down."

"You're the last person we have to pick up and bring to the camp, so from here, we'll be making our way back to the nearest camp where you'll receive your screening and initial training to see if you really have what it takes to be a part of this family."

"Whether you socialize with others or seclude yourself in a room, it's up to you. Either way, once we're at the camp, your trials will begin. Good luck."

After saying this, Zamson turned around and slithered away, leaving Cedric alone to pick a room for himself. Read latest stories on empire

Seeing this, Cedric shrugged. In his mind, he noticed how Zamson didn't even bother knowing his name, and despite his kind and welcoming persona, his words were somehow rehearsed, as if he had repeated it several hundred times already and had memorized each word by heart.

Cedric guessed that it's probably because he couldn't be bothered with the emotional investment. He did say that there will be a screening and initial training at the camp. The chances of failing must be high, making it understandable why Zamson couldn't be bothered to learn who's who.

Tossing this at the back of his mind, Cedric entered one of the unoccupied rooms. He heard several jingles as he entered, and he also felt the silent and very brief scan of the door on his body. He didn't think too much about it, though.

Upon entering the room, he noticed that the door flashed with a red light, signifying that the room was already occupied by him.

The room was nice and large. The interior reminded him of a five-star hotel room. Cedric, being used to the striking similarities at this point, didn't feel too surprised anymore. If anything, he welcomes it. At least this way, he'd had a taste of home even though he's being ferried far away.

And since this technology comes from the alliance and is as advanced, of course the ship has its own system AI.

The AI is not as advanced as the ones he had encountered before, but it functions sufficiently enough for his needs. As he lay on the bed, Cedric perused all the available information he could access from the system.

Cedric first memorized the map of the ship. The system helpfully labeled the places he had access to and warned him about the parts where he's not allowed to. There's also a real-time breakdown of the flight with estimations of the distance and expected time of arrival.

Aside from this, the public information about the ship's crew is also available for his perusal. Obviously, the only person he recognized was Zamson, and as he initially expected, he was indeed from the Primal Beast Clan and the ship's engineer. Apart from him, there were 11 more people from the crew he hasn't met yet. At least seven of these people, including Zamson, came from 'The Six'.

Surprisingly, he also found himself here, but now as part of the crew but one of its passengers. This is also where he discovered that apart from him, there were 19 more people like him in this ship, and ten of them were from 'The Six' as well.

This made Cedric think...

'Must be some kind of tradition. The Six must lead by example, so in essence, they must send some of their people to guard the borders.'

His theory couldn't be confirmed for now, but he had the feeling that he's right, or at least close to it.

That said, it's not really important. Whether it's their tradition, rule, or anything, really, had nothing to do with him. He isn't part of them after all.

Apart from viewing this information, Cedric also tried his best to know more about their destination.

It is said that the nearest camp they'd be dropped at was called 'NW-Scarlet Camp'. 'NW' stands for Northwest, pertaining to the direction of the camp from the alliance's physical location.

The NW-Scarlet Camp was also near the Scarlet Division Wall—the very entity that's keeping the void from seeping into the realm.

With how huge the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm was, even with the alliance's abundant resources, they can't ensure a complete and tight-knit defensive line to secure the territory. Coupled with the fact that the Scarlet Homeland Security Department was seriously understaffed, especially the Border Patrol Guardians, it's understandable that there would be holes where the Outsiders can sneak in.

Despite this, though, the Border Patrol Division must do their best still. Unfortunately, it seems that even with the lucrative promises and offers of the department, there aren't a lot of people who are willing to risk their lives out here.

'And you know what? I totally get it.' Cedric sighed.

This might seem like a thankless task to them. The lucrative offers and promises might be great, but if one's not alive to enjoy them, what's the use?

The existence of the Outsiders might not be known to most, but it's also not a secret. Especially to those who were part of 'The Six'. Most of them must've grown up listening to stories about them. It's the generational trauma working its magic, then, preventing their young ones from being willing to come here.

Hell, even Cedric, who grew up slaughtering his way out of literal hell, felt incredibly indecisive when making his choice.

Cedric spent several hours browsing through all the readily available information to him. When he's done, he feels boredom kicking in, and so he steps out of his room to go to the cafeteria to get some food.

'Well, if it turns out that none of the food here seems palatable to me, I could just bring some ingredients back and cook for myself.'

Having memorized the map of the ship, Cedric effortlessly found his way to the cafeteria. However, to his surprise, instead of a mostly deserted place, he discovered that it was lively out here for some reason.

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell him!"

"Knock his teeth off, woo!"

"Punch him the nuts!"

"Get him! Get him!"

"Come on, get up! Up, I say!"

Seeing all the ruckus, Cedric couldn't help but think:

'What the hell is going on here? '