Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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A beam of pure plasma fire streaked across the void. Its light illuminated the bleakness of the place, creating an awe-inspiring contrast.

It's hard to not notice it, even harder not to feel it due to the sheer power it contained, which could be felt in all corners of the void. The attack not only horrified the chancellor's allies, it also affected the void creatures who saw it.

But what's even more terrifying for the latter party is where he's aiming at. And if they had hearts, it would probably leap up their throats at this point due to the sense of crisis they felt. This horrifying beam of pure annihilation was fired at the Heart of the Void, the place where their dear Prince was incubating.

And unlike all other attacks earlier, ones that had been effortlessly swallowed by the pitch-black darkness at the heart of the void, this one managed to penetrate it through.

It's as if the void encountered something that it couldn't swallow, a force that recklessly ignored what it stood for and forced it out of the way. It penetrated deep into the void, piercing through those that had been hiding in its depths, monsters that threw their bodies in between the attack and the spot where the Prince was incubating.

Their efforts, however, were all for naught because the beam of light effortlessly pierced through them. Their bodies weren't solid or durable enough to even reduce or weaken that attack.

And because of this, all of them had to watch as the beam of light shot straight at the spot where their prince slumbered.

DUB! DUB!

A faint beat was heard all over the void. It was the only sound that mattered as the world seemingly stopped at this very moment.

DUB! Dub!

It sounded again; however, this time, it was weaker.

Dub! Dub!

And weaker...

dub! dub!

Even weaker...

dub dub

...

And then nothing...

OooOoooOoOuuuUuuU!

The mournful wails of the void creatures universally echoed at each corner of the void. It's as if all of them felt the death of their prince. Most of them collapsed weakly on the spot as if losing their energy.

Some scrambled and clawed their way to the heart of the void. The Royal Guards forced their weak and bleeding bodies to go next to their prince, digging up his remains to do whatever they thought possible to resuscitate it or extend their lives. And if it meant sacrificing their fading lives to extend the life of their dear prince, they wouldn't hesitate to offer it too.

Seeing all of this happen, the Dragon Chancellor must be satisfied, right? He enacted vengeance for his disciple and, by extension, his clan. They took their most promising child, and in exchange, he took theirs.

In the words of all living beings, this means that they're even.

ROOOOOAAAARR!!!

"Retreat, all of you! Back to the camp! Move! Hurry! This is an order!!"

The sudden call for retreat stunned the alliance members. It didn't make sense to them because, in their humble opinion, now would be the best time to make the Void bleed even more.

If they could cull their numbers even more, then they could have a longer period of peace. They could traverse this territory safer in the future and gather more resources to enrich their lives! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so why do they need to retreat now?

That said, this was an order from the Chancellor. And while on normal days, they're not really under any obligations to follow his orders, today is an exception because he was put in charge of this entire operation, meaning that his words were the law. Those that disobeyed would be executed on the spot for insubordination.

That's why, albeit reluctantly, the alliance army retreated to their respective gates with the Dragon Chancellor covering their path of retreat.
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The Dragon Chancellor did not owe them an explanation. And even if he did, now is certainly not the time for explaining because they're running out of time.

Looking solemnly at the heart of the void, a deep and foreboding sense of crisis swarmed his heart.

Something was wrong there, definitely. The chancellor could almost feel it in his bones. The feeling even chilled his old veteran soul.

Whether this so-called 'Prince' was truly dead or not isn't something that they could confirm right now. It's not like the chancellor didn't want to make sure that it's dead; it's because he couldn't even if he wanted to.

When the heartbeat of the Prince faded into nothingness, he immediately sensed the killing intent of the void simmering. It's dreadful and unlike anything he had felt or seen before. It was cold, ruthless, uncaring... Its grip chilled his heart, so much so that he felt paralyzed despite being an existence who stood at the peak of the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm.

The wisdom of the ancients whispered something dreadful to him. That if he and his men stayed here, none of them would return ever again.

The wrath of a Primordial Entity, the Void—the one that's even older than the Primordial Chaos itself—isn't something that creatures like them could ever hope to survive.

Oh, how he wished this ancient wisdom had come to him earlier, like before he decided to make a move against the prince. Alas, it's too late now. The void was provoked thoroughly this time, and it will certainly make a move.

And as the one who's responsible for all this, it is his duty to make sure that everyone else makes it back, even if it costs him his life.

Zoom!!

A fluctuation of energy swept through the entirety of the void. It originated from the Heart of the Void, echoed to each corner of the void's territory.

Any living being who felt that fluctuation felt terrible. They felt primal fear sprouting from deep within them. It's like an ancient predator set its eyes upon them, and they're nothing but helpless prey on the chopping block.

The feeling triggers their flight or fight response. And since the retreat order was already on the way, most of them obviously chose flight. Hell, they even urged the ships to move faster to get away from this place as soon as they could.

This was the killing intent of the void. It felt like somebody gripped and squeezed their hearts in real time. It was suffocating and life-threatening. It made them feel like helpless lambs, weak and unable to decide their fates.

In response to this, the Dragon Chancellor prepared a world-destroying plasma breath in his maw. It pulsed with powerful destructive energies that scattered across the void. He adopted a defensive stance, baring his fangs and claws at the void as he put his humongous body in between the tendrils of the void and his retreating men.

It's like he's challenging the void to do something or try anything. And if it did, the chancellor wouldn't hesitate to launch another attack at the heart of the void to do more damage to it even if it costs him his life.

This, as it turns out, caused a stalemate. As the Dragon Chancellor warily eyed the tentacles spreading out from the Heart of the Void, the existential threat he felt before wasn't as strong anymore.

In turn, this allowed his men to retreat safely to the other side, and since they were in a hurry, it didn't take long at all.

When it was just the Dragon Chancellor left behind, he reverted to his public size. That said, his defensive stance was never lowered. The hesitant tentacles shook as if indecisive, debating on whether to attack him and force him to stay or do nothing else and eat this loss.

The chancellor took advantage of this indecisiveness to leave this place. And just in time too, because at the very last moment, he saw that a tentacle was coming straight for him, but it was already too late.

As soon as he arrived on the other side. The Dragon Chancellor did not hesitate.

He took out an ancient jade from his storage device. It's a keepsake that he inherited from his ancestors, one that could not be shown to others or used unless the realm were to face an existential crisis.

And staring at the entrance to the void, the swirling vortex of space that is now changing into a deeper shade of black, the Dragon Chancellor stopped hesitating.

He crushed the ancient jade with his claws, and it released a strong fluctuation of energy that resonated throughout the entire realm.

A sense of peace and security flooded the hearts of everybody around, a feeling that's very rare for a place like this.

The Dragon Chancellor looked solemn despite this, though. He never expected that he'd be forced to use the jade this early. Alas, it has to happen, or else it would be too late.

Facing the army, who are still mostly dazed because everything happened a little too fast, he said:

"Go back and rest up. This battle is far from over. In fact, it is just starting."