Chapter 741: Spire Ascension (XI)
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While Cedric was on a short break before moving to the 40th floor, Paul and Lisa focused on how the other participants were doing.
Some are doing fine; most are struggling. There were a few who remained on the platform of cubes for the time being to recover from their injuries. A few of them even suffered from grievous ones and would take longer to recover.
As for those who were in the middle of the battle, they’re struggling too. The enemies being thrown their way were far from weak. Even the most talented ones were finding it difficult to ascend further.
The ancient sects and organizations who were behind the remaining participants were feeling a little bit helpless. Dawnbringer had completely stolen the glory and attention that was supposed to be theirs.
What’s worse is that they couldn’t even blame him. They can no longer deny that, compared to Dawnbringer, their children are really lackluster and weaker.
They could only hope that, despite this, the funding that they’re expecting from the final results wouldn’t be affected. And at the same time, they should probably start thinking about ways to entice Dawnbringer to join them.
Cedric’s short break lasted for only three days. Days he spent sleeping and eating, and nothing else. He didn’t even bother with a bed; he just lay down on the cold and hard platform and slept like a log. The food he ate came from the things he’s growing and raising in his Inner World.
When he awoke in the middle of the third day, Cedric yawned and stretched. He’s recovered from the light fatigue he experienced from the previous floor and was ready to move on.
He stretched some more to get his blood flowing, a routine he does only out of familiarity at this point since it no longer does anything for him. Once he was done, he walked to the golden portal leading to the 40th floor.
Once again, he noticed that the portal was significantly larger and brighter compared to before.
Also, he slept through the platform’s ascension to another area. His current surroundings are now more lively and brighter. From his perspective, life could potentially bloom here; he just wasn’t seeing one.
That said, Cedric cared little about this part. His focus was on anticipating what kind of enemy he’s about to face next.
And so, he entered the 40th floor.
**
Everybody was notified when Cedric resumed his climb. All eyes were on him again.
Once he passed through the portal, they all saw how his surroundings morphed into a bleak and, frankly, very depressing sight.
They saw him arriving at a ruined world devoid of any life. Although they had seen many types of biomes like this in the past, something about this sight just feels different and...worse than the ones they’ve seen before.
It’s like they could feel the despair and hopelessness of the environment leaking out from the screen and affecting them slightly. They could even see the confusion and wariness appearing on Cedric’s face, telling them that it’s this serious.
Then, they saw him drawing out his sword abruptly.
Having watched his fighting style for quite some time now, most of the audience have learned that, unless it’s necessary, Dawnbringer wouldn’t have a weapon out. Which meant that he sensed the enemy since he brought it out.
That’s when the feed zoomed out from Cedric, allowing the audience to see just how big the battlefield was.
It also allowed them to see what exactly he sensed, and upon seeing it, most who recognized what it was tensed up as well.
**
"Horde."
"Hmm? What is that?"
"It’s ’The Horde.’ Dawnbringer will be facing ’The Horde’ in this floor and above."
"Alright. But that doesn’t explain why you have your weapon out."
"Ah, oh! Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I reacted subconsciously."
"Are they really that bad?"
"Bad? That word doesn’t even scratch the surface of what ’The Horde’ is. I’m afraid you won’t understand unless you face them yourself."
**
The number of people who recognized what Cedric was about to face was surprisingly a lot.
Furthermore, almost everybody who recognized the appearance of ’The Horde’ at first glance reacted similarly to each other by taking out their weapons and preparing for a fight. Only a very few people managed to fight off the urge to react the same way, and that’s screaming something about this situation.
Still, their eyes remained glued to the screen, which was now displaying the enemy Cedric must take down to move on to the next floor.
It was a huge monster, standing about 50 meters in height. It looked like a grossly mutated crab with really, really long legs and gigantic pincers. Its entire body oozed out malevolence and a kind of fume that was almost certainly harmful to living beings.
The monster moved slowly. In fact, it’s taking ages to go anywhere near Cedric. But the thing is, it doesn’t have to get close to him to do harm.
Because if there’s one thing people must know, it’s that ’The Horde’ is plural. You don’t face one; you face a horde. Even if you think that there’s only one, no, there’s not. They will always be a horde.
And to prove this, the shell of the monstrous crab opened up. Revealing to Cedric and the audience what’s hidden within.
Nests. Lots of nests. There were at least dozens of them in there. Each one was busy like a beehive, housing all manner of disgusting and life-devouring bugs.
The audience felt their scalps tingling as they saw just how big and how many of these bugs were inside this one crab. And for those who recognized the horde, they could tell that there were enough in there to completely wipe out a solar system or two in days.
"Everyone, meet ’The Horde.’" The low and solemn voice of Paul leaked out of the screen.
"Most of you have heard grim tales and myths about them. Some have had the unfortunate fate of meeting them on the battlefield. Either way, they are here, and they don’t plan on disappearing."
"The one you’re seeing right now is called a ’Nest Carrier’; they do what they’re called, as shown before you right now."
"As for the bugs it’s carrying inside? Those are called the ’Gnawers.’ They gnaw at everything: solid, liquid, gas, organic, inorganic, etc. They don’t choose; they just gnaw. They have bare instincts beyond this ability that allow them to behave, but they will only listen to their kin of a higher strength and intelligence."
"The Gnawers are the cannon fodder of ’The Horde,’ if you will."
"The Nest Carriers and the Gnawers formed a symbiotic relationship. The Nest Carriers can move and bring the Gnawers to places where they can feed. The Gnawers, on the other hand, keep the Nest Carrier alive by inhabiting its body and providing it energy through their waste, which the Nest Carriers process and use as their own fuel to keep moving."
"Everything that I’ve said so far sounds simple and understandable, and that’s because they are. But some of you might be thinking why we humans are incredibly wary of ’The Horde.’"
"Everybody, take a look at the battlefield generated for Dawnbringer for a moment. Take everything in. Feel it, and notice as much as you can."
"..."
"..."
"I’m almost certain that this world was once teeming with life and colors. Yet look at it now; it’s practically begging to be put down."
"I can tell you right now that this was caused by the same enemy Dawnbringer faces now."
"I can even tell you that this world had been reduced to this even before the Nest Carrier walked its lands."
"When I say that the Gnawers gnaw at everything, I am not joking. Anything that’s placed in front of them will be devoured to nihility. The Gnawers don’t have any sense of mercy or consideration. They could either eat or listen to the orders of their kin; that’s all."
"Once the Nest Carrier passes through this world, the Gnawers will immediately eat the remains before returning and waiting for another target to devour."
"This was how they operate. And it will never stop until the Nest Carrier and the Gnawers are killed down to the very last one."
"If there’s one thing you must know about the horde, it’s that they’re never alone. If you only see one, no, you don’t. There will always be a lot of them, simply because they are ’the horde.’"
And just as Paul finished explaining this, the Gnawers were alerted of Cedric’s presence and let out sharp screeches, revealing rows of sharp teeth on each one.
They began jumping out of the nest carrier. Some grew wings, and some writhed and crawled down the legs of the crabs. But every single one was heading towards Cedric and was determined to devour him down to the last cell.
With Paul’s exposition and what they see happening right before their very eyes, those who are still unfamiliar with ’The Horde’ are now beginning to understand why they are feared.