Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

"Wave Survival!"

Both Paul and Lisa exclaimed as they revealed the content of the 1st round. The words flashed above them, glittering and emitting an almost blinding radiance to emphasize it even further.

"Dear Participants, please listen up," Paul stated, staring at the camera as if he could see the participants face-to-face.

"In the next ten minutes, every single one of you will be teleported to a battlefield. In there, you will be alone, facing wave after wave of enemies that you must defeat. The difficulty of this challenge scales the further you go. At first, you might breeze through the waves without breaking a sweat, but after some time, you will definitely find yourself struggling."

"There will only be a five-minute rest in between waves, no more, no less. You can either take it or summon the next wave directly. We'll leave that up to your discretion."

Lisa continued: "This will be a test of your abilities, tactical judgement, and endurance. Because the more waves you clear, the better your ranking will be."

"Because we are running on a time limit here, the waves only go up to the 100th wave. If multiple people in the same group cleared the 100th wave, the ranking will be decided on who cleared it faster."

"Remember, in a group, only the top 50 move on. There will be three rounds in the preliminaries. Your results on each round will have a great impact on your final ranking in the preliminaries. Please do your best; everybody's watching you."

"If any of you have any questions, please make your inquiry to the system; it shall answer any and all of your concerns."

"Well, then. Your ten minutes to prepare starts now!"

The massive screen floating above the island disappeared after that, replaced by a new 10-minute countdown.

Cedric released a shallow breath before leaning back to the tree and closing his eyes to continue his leisure. However, because his senses were too sharp, he could still see and hear the reactions of his fellow participants and competitors.

"Wave Survival? Damn, this can't be! I'm not good at fighting hordes!"

"My stamina is lacking. I suspect these organizers are deliberately making things difficult for me."

"Damn it. I spent so much time running around this island, finding some clues to get ahead, only for them to give us a completely barbaric test. Tch. What a waste of time!"

"Excuse me, System. The enemies we'll face are edible, right? I'm hungry, you see."

Cedric shook his head slightly. He really didn't want to hear any of this, but it can't be helped; his senses are too sharp.

However, not everybody was complaining. There were a few who looked relaxed just like him. A few even looked relieved after hearing the content of the first round.

These people are either confident in their abilities just like him or just got really lucky that the 1st round happened to test something they're good at.

Beyond this, Cedric tried to check if he could recognize any of these people, thinking that maybe at least one of the people around him will match the behavior of the opponents he defeated in the virtual arena.

The verdict? He couldn't tell for now. Not unless he sees them fighting. He doesn't really talk to his opponents in the virtual arena, so he doesn't recognize any familiar voices.

And even if he did recognize one, so what? It's not like he could go up to them and start a friendly conversation. What would he even say? Something like: 'Hey! I know you; I trashed you in the Virtual Arena. Want to talk, or something? '

It'd be a miracle if they didn't punch him for that.

So, Cedric eliminated all of his distracting thoughts and relaxed. He patiently waited until the countdown was over.

And that didn't take long at all.

As soon as the timer was out, every contestant disappeared from the island, plunging it back to its original peace and silence.

**

The participants appeared on the battlefield, where they will face wave after wave of enemies. They noticed that they were completely alone, which was a relief because they really didn't want to be guarded against others while they were facing relentless hordes of enemies.

Looking around, the battlefield generated for this looked rather desolate. They're in some ruins that had definitely seen better days. It's ancient, and the air was charged with tension and solemnness.

The contestants weren't given too much time. A minute after they appeared, a system window flashed before them, indicating that in under a minute, the 1st wave will show up. It didn't ask them for permission or if they're ready. The countdown already began as soon as they appeared, not giving them any time to complain.

Soon, the participants felt the presence of the monsters they had to face.

"Shit! Are you kidding me? 100 enemies right at the very start!?"

"Fuck you, organizers! If you don't want us to pass, just say that instead! Don't make us suffer like this!"

"Oi, you're joking, right? 100 of them straight out the gate? Whose idea was this?"

"Impossible! This must be a mistake!"

"I can't! There's no way! I'm not built for this!"

"It's over for me."

A few participants openly voiced their frustrations, not caring whether they were being heard or not. What they felt about this unfair situation spoke louder than their reason.

Yes, indeed. The very first wave is already this intense. Everyone must face 100 monsters in the 1st Wave, and factoring in what the hosts said earlier, this will just get worse the further they go.

And yes, the audience could indeed hear them. Well, not all of them. Only a few were broadcast online for people to see. Their reactions made them look bad in the eyes of people, and they can't even defend themselves.

This was a dirty trick of the media to add more drama to the show. An event like this can't go on without any dramatic scenes, after all, because that would be boring, and a grand event like this absolutely cannot be boring.

Of course, not everybody was fooled, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

After showing the dumbfounded participants and revealing their complaints to the audience. Their struggle to gain recognition officially started.

The monsters didn't care for what they felt after all. They were created and programmed to kill the contestants and nothing else; they're not here to show mercy or lend them a shoulder to cry on.

The most miserable contestant, for sure, was definitely the first one to be eliminated, especially in the Immortal League.

Being eliminated first might as well mean being the weakest out of the thousands of other Immortals out there and being judged as a delusional genius. Because who in their right mind participates in a high-stake tournament like this with some meager level of strength? Isn't that just asking for humiliation?

That won't just be a momentary setback. It will be a permanent scar that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. And in the past millennial tournaments, those who had the misfortune of being in this position have never appeared in public ever again, for their reputation was permanently ruined and they can't ever show their face to others ever again.

But of course, if there were those who were struggling, there were also those who were thriving, and they are the real highlight of this event.

The audience watched as the broadcast released scenes of those participants who were carving through the horde of enemies like they were mowing grass. Their weapons clashed, their power soared, and carnage followed them at every step of the way.

Some of the stronger ones practically erased the first wave in an instant, bringing in the second wave immediately. They were too strong and too impatient to waste time on some weaklings. Besides, the clear time could also change their final rankings, so to them, this was as much of a race as it was combat.

Flashes of light shone through the live broadcast. Multiple screens were playing at the same time, displaying all sorts of abilities being used to deal with the increasing number of enemies appearing.

Some preferred to stay back, launching projectiles to attack their enemies. Others preferred to get up close and personal, not minding bathing in fresh blood and guts.

Despite all the chaos and struggle, the scene was glorious. It's exciting, tense, and thrilling. The audience was gripped by the action, and they can't escape.

It was the grandest tournament throughout the entire chaos, real indeed, because while it was on, the world stopped in its tracks to watch it all unfold. No other event comes even close to having this effect on the environment.

And for better or for worse, it wasn't just humans who were watching.

The Demons, the Beasts, and the Brood. All of them too are paying attention, but unlike humans, they aren't in a celebratory mood. Instead, they are memorizing the faces that they're seeing, marking them one by one and committing their abilities to memory.

Should they have the fortune of meeting these people in the future, they shall die under their claws, simply because they cannot let humanity keep growing stronger, or else there will be no place left for them in the Five Great Chaos Realms.