Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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The efforts to expand the surveillance network in the void never ceased...

While there's already a respectable amount of drones installed on the other side, Cedric still thinks that it's not enough. He wants more. If at all possible, he wanted to monitor the entire void at any given moment. So much so that he wouldn't miss even the simplest act of the Void Prince scratching his head.

That said, this was, of course, easier said than done. The Void is a never-ending enigma that couldn't be solved. Even the surveillance drones they installed so far aren't built to last. They could easily be destroyed if the Void's Consciousness or the Void Prince himself learned of their existence, and this would set back their progress greatly, so they had to be careful.

It was already difficult to put these things out there, and the area they cover was just the outskirts of the void. And it would be even more difficult to have them deeper. To even have a chance, they would need to create far stronger and more durable material for the drones, and that's just the start. The process just becomes more complicated from there.

"Failed again, huh?"

Cedric's words rang heavily on the hearts of the crowd before him. In his panic, the leading inventor from this group stepped forward to explain.

"We deeply apologize, sir. We thought that the new alloy could stand up to the level 8 void corrosion since our calculations said so, but it seems that we missed an important factor that caused the quick collapse. We will work hard to figure out what went wrong; please give us another chance!"

"Okay, hey! Relax." Cedric blinked and pacified the nervous inventor. "I'm not going to execute all of you because of this. It's alright; you've already come farther than any of us expected. The fact that this drone lasted for an hour under the level 8 void corrosion before breaking down is already a good sign. Besides, you're not really in a time crunch. Just try to minimize the waste of resources, and you're good. If you can present a finished product within the next five years or so, that'd be even better. But it's also fine if you need more time."

Hearing his words caused the inventors to relax. Really, why were they so nervous before? It's not like Cedric pressed them for results since the very beginning of this whole thing.

"Thank you, sir! We will do better next time!" The lead inventor as well as the other workers behind him bowed to him in gratitude.

Sighing in helplessness, Cedric nodded and said, "Well, I'll leave you to it. Oh, and don't be so stiff. Don't bury yourselves here; go out and relax as much as you can whenever you can to refresh your mind with new ideas. Rest is just as important as work."

Cedric disappeared after saying this, causing the workers to finally sigh in relief.

"Ah, I just can't get used to it." One of the inventors grumbled. "I know he's trying to not pressure us or anything, but it's even more uncomfortable to let him down somehow. How exactly does he do that?"

"I know, right? I always feel like a kid trying to prove something to my parents whenever I'm in front of him."

"Shit, that's so relatable!"

"He does have that aura around him, huh?"

The lead inventor didn't join their discussion, but inwardly, he too felt the same. Nobody knows why, but they always feel like disappointing Cedric was the worst thing they could ever do, so much so that it pushes them to go above and beyond each time.

Was it to help the camp feel more secure? Was it so that they could move on to the next project? Or was it simply to earn Cedric's praise? Either way, there's just something about the Director that influences them to perform better. And that's not exactly a bad thing.

"Alright, you guys. Let's end today right here. We'll have two days off to decompress and rest. After that, we go back to the grind. Let's aim to finish this new model by next year," the lead inventor dictated, causing a chorus of cheers from his men.

**

Contrary to what they expect, even Cedric had no idea how he's influencing them like that. If someone were to ask him how, he'd even say that he doesn't mean to do it that way.

In his mind, Cedric just wanted things to be in constant motion...he wanted forward progress in every field that he was in. He never meant to subconsciously manipulate them into being his slaves. That wasn't his intention at all.

It is true that, in Cedric's opinion, this progress was already swift. He personally knew just how terrible and mysterious level 8 void corrosion was. He absorbs raw void for his breakthrough, so how could he not tell? Therefore, he had an idea of how difficult it is to create a drone that can withstand that kind of constant erosion.

He had never pressed them for time. He didn't even give them a deadline for this type of improvement. It's those people who put the pressure on themselves. Not him.

Sure, Cedric still wanted the entirety of the void to be under constant surveillance, but he wasn't expecting it to happen anytime soon. Hell, he doesn't even think too much about it since, deep down, he believes that it's very unlikely for that to happen. Though that doesn't mean that they can't try.

The surveillance area they covered was huge enough for now. It's large enough to allow them to learn of any incoming horde so that they could alert the army.

Cedric wasn't in a hurry to change the status quo. That would be unwise, and it would provoke a disaster for the entire realm. Given how the realm was where his home was and his family, how could he risk it like that? So no, he wasn't in a hurry. And the others shouldn't be either.

Besides, time was on their side, not the void's, even though the concept doesn't exist there nor do they acknowledge it. From the hordes that attacked them so far, Cedric could tell that the Void Prince was still underestimating them. He has yet to launch another pilgrimage himself, after all.

The longer the decisive war takes, the better it is for the creatures of Primordial Chaos.

**

More time passed into Cedric's routine, and soon, it'd be five years since he concluded his contract with Silas and Hunyo...

Just last week, Cedric was promoted to Major General—a position that only Cosmic Level experts can have in the camp. This is to say that Cedric's official authority was equivalent to seeing a Cosmic Level expert, making him one of the pillars that props up the sky of the Border Patrol Office and the entire realm.

However, his true authority far surpasses this...

The merit and services he accumulated so far, thanks to his inventions and contributions to the office, propelled him to wield authority equal to that of the chancellors. This is to say that if Cedric were to, figuratively, blow the horn, the entirety of the Border Patrol Office would be at his beck and call.

It surely was a gigantic responsibility to wield this much power, yet nevertheless, Cedric has it. He has pledged to wield this power accordingly and never to abuse it for petty or personal gain. This just wasn't made official because Cedric doesn't have strength that could rival that of a Cosmic Lord. But, should that day come, the announcement of his title will follow shortly.

Of course, being promoted officially has given Cedric a lot of benefits and a massive raise in his income. Though he has no real need for the many resources offered by the office, it doesn't mean that his home doesn't, so he applies for those that he thinks would benefit his people.

With how much merit he had, he could stuff Solari Prime full of treasures and resources and still have some merit points left over. He didn't do that, though. As tempted as he was, he still firmly believes that for his people to thrive, they have to strive for their future. They can't be reliant on his family.

Still, a little support here and there wouldn't hurt. And it just so happens that Godwyn has been having a headache on some material procurements, so after asking what he needed, Cedric promptly exchanged for it.

Cedric gave all of his children a new state-of-the-art transport ship, cruise ship, and personalized space shuttle. He also exchanged for resources that would help elevate humanity's life evolution ceiling to boost their strength and some greenhouse planets filled with all sorts of rare minerals and resources for their use.

All of this barely scratched what Cedric could actually give to them if he was serious. Yet it's more than enough to secure humanity's fast growth within the next decade or so.

Today, though, Cedric's focus wasn't there. It was on Redstone instead because finally, after five years, his slow but steady breakthrough was nearing its completion...