Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 806: Dumbstruck

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“How did you see me?” This was Nick’s first question to Cedric as soon as he appeared beside him.

“Hello to you too, Dear Councillor,” Cedric replied with a tinge of amusement in his voice. “To answer your question, it’s Space Laws.”

Nick blinked. Space Laws, yes, he knows that this kid went beyond everybody’s expectations of him.

When Cedric won the tournament, he was rewarded by the spire with a chance to elevate one of the concept laws he knows to the Heavenly Law level. When everybody was wondering what he’d choose between Fire and Sword Laws, Cedric went against their expectations and chose to quietly raise his comprehension of Space Laws to the Heavenly Law level instead.

This was the same weapon he used to save them from certain tragedy—preventing the Bug Empress from occupying the Unstable Heavenly Domain all by herself.

“But that’s not all, right?” Nick pressed on.

Sure, the kid knew Space Laws at the Heavenly Law level. But that’s far from enough to see through Nick’s methods.

He’s not one to toot his own horn, but Nick wasn’t just some person. He’s one of the five councillors of the Human Council, for crying out loud! Only his fellow councillors and Bug Empress herself could see through his hiding methods.

“It’s really just that simple, sir,” Cedric politely confirmed. “The way you glide along with the fabrics of space was certainly a work of art, but your physical shape does not change and is quite different from them at the end of the day, so it sticks out like a sore thumb.”

“…did you just call me fat?”

Cedric couldn’t help it. He laughed. Loudly. Nicholas did the same, but inwardly, he was still surprised.

’This kid…how perceptive.’

He didn’t doubt him anymore. Cedric’s explanation checks out. Sure, Nick does merge with the fabrics of space, gliding along them for ease of travel. This essentially turns him invisible to the naked eye, but, as Cedric just said, he actually doesn’t disappear completely.

Nick just merges with the lines, and his physical shape doesn’t change. As someone who understood space laws at the Heavenly Law level, Cedric’s senses were attuned to the changes in space around him, whether that be swelling, shrinking, folding, twisting, warping, etc. He could sense them all, even more so with those eyes of his.

“By the way, I still can’t thank you enough for what you did.” Nick’s tone turned somber and sincere. “For Travis, my nephew, for interfering with the competition for the Unstable Heavenly Domain and giving us that chance, and for driving away the Bug Empress.”

“It’s what I ought to do, Sir,” Cedric simply replied. “It’s for the greater good of humanity.”

“Still…thank you, truly.” Nick patted the kid’s back. He didn’t offer any outrageous promises or any extravagant rewards, but he did say this: “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”

He then proceeded to hand him his personal communication line, the same one that Travis has, which goes straight to him, not to the walls of inquiries and delay that the Human Council’s communication line was.

Cedric accepted it, of course; who was he to refuse? It’s the councillor himself who offered it; who would be dumb enough to pass up this chance?

A brief silence passed between them. Nick just stood there and watched as Cedric continued his work.

“Are these traps? What for?” he asked.

“Yes, they are. They’re for the Bug Empress, you know, just in case,” Cedric casually answered.

Nick blinked again. That’s when he remembered: “Ah, right. Of course. You must’ve seen how petty that bitch can be. Good catch.”

“Hah! So she was petty. I knew it.” Cedric laughed, but there’s no joy in his tone, just a bit of wariness and…challenge. “I knew that she’d be a pain in the ass; I wasn’t paranoid, just realistic.”

“Petty and a pain in the ass are an understatement for who she is,” Nick mumbled, sighing to himself. “With what you did to her? Oh, you are living in her head, rent-free.”

“Lovely,” Cedric uttered with oozing sarcasm. “Of course, I just had to provoke the crazy bitch. Fuck me, I guess. But as it stands, she’s bad at space laws, so I think I’ve got some edge here.”

Nick sighed. This isn’t something he can solve. The damage was done; this kid had become a target of revenge for the Bug Empress, and with her personality, she wouldn’t stop until she got even or more…definitely more.

“Kid, prioritize the safety of your family. I can tell you right now that she’d come for them, believe me. She will stoop that low just to break you,” Nick solemnly advised.

“I thought about that, and I’m already ahead of the curve.” Cedric nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up anyway.”

He sure wasn’t happy to get this confirmation but was still relieved that he had already planned for the worst.

“We’re already upgrading our defenses. We’ll do our best to make sure she doesn’t slip in again. But…”

“Yeah, I know,” Cedric muttered. “Nothing is absolute. No defense is truly impenetrable, especially to a really determined psycho. Plus, the Space Marines are still stretched out thin. That’s why I’m laying down traps everywhere.”

“If she comes, so be it. But if she wants to touch me or those who are close to me, she better be ready to put some serious work in. I’m not letting her waltz in that easily.”

“I’ll drag her to the Supreme Will if I have to.”

Nick blinked in surprise. ’Okay, this kid bites. Got it.’

He heard the grit and malice in Cedric’s words, all aimed towards the Bug Empress. He was wary, alert, and afraid, but also very courageous.

Not everybody can speak these words and actually back them up. Furthermore, not everybody will dare to face the Bug Empress head-on; the idea itself was no different from a suicide, really.

’The kid’s got guts and has his priorities in check. No wonder he’s able to come this far,’ Nick thought.

And so much of him reminded him of his old self.

“By the way, Sir, are the other councillors doing alright? Have they recovered from their injuries?”

Nick blinked again. Surprised by his question.

“You saw all of that?” His voice was tinged with disbelief.

“Yeah. I never thought the final stretch of Life Evolution could be that tense and brutal. Those shackles seem like they’re a massive pain to deal with.”

Nick inhaled sharply. Okay, that confirms it. This kid can really see their breakthrough.

While it’s not really that crazy, it’s still pretty rare. Not everybody can see that phenomenon.

’I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This kid is special, after all.’

“Don’t spread the news around. We don’t want the public to panic,” Nick warned, not out of doubt but as a reminder and caution.

“I won’t. Promise.”

“And to answer your question, yes, they’re fine. Still alive, just…not doing well, mentally and spiritually. Still recovering.”

“That’s good to hear.” Cedric nodded. “I’m glad they didn’t die. We can’t lose any of you just yet.”

“True,” Nick sighed too. “But I’d be even happier if that mid-section shackle could give us something, though. That damn binding just refuses to budge or give us hints.”

Cedric could hear the grievance and complaint in his voice. It made him realize that the last shackle was really giving them some serious trouble.

Nick, uncharacteristically, began venting to Cedric. Something that the councillor himself found weird. Did he truly feel this comfortable with this kid to voice out his frustrations to him?

When Cedric heard the conditions to break the shackles, he admitted that he was confused and puzzled. He couldn’t help but say,

“It’s that complicated? Hmm. I thought you just needed to be strong enough to break all of them. Guess I was wrong.”

“But, uh…I thought one would have to, at least, comprehend one concept of law to the Origin Level before attempting to break through to that realm. Was that not the case?”

Nick paused when he heard this. He then asked, “Where did you hear this?”

“Nowhere, really.” Cedric shrugged. “Just…logic, I suppose? Hasn’t it always been like that? To be an Immortal, at least one Great Law was required, or at the very least, a potential to comprehend them to that level.”

“If one doesn’t have the potential to do that, then reaching the Universe Master Realm is simply impossible for them.”

“Same deal with going from the Universe Master Realm to the Heavenly Venerate Realm. One must at least elevate one concept law to the Heavenly Law level, at least have the potential to do so.”

“So, following this pattern, isn’t it logical? From Empyrean to Primal Origin, one must try to comprehend a concept law to the Origin Level.”

“I thought that’s how it is. You use the law you’ve elevated to the Origin Level to break those shackles. Once you do, you reach the peak and then proceed to pursue perfection in everything else.”

“But from what you said, I guess that’s wrong.”

Nick didn’t speak. He just stood there, dumbstruck by the kid’s logic.