Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 296: War: Garrick and Isabella

The battle on the ground was just as fierce as the one in the skies.

Those who specialize in close-quarters combat had been arranged to intercept the incoming horde, preventing them from getting anywhere near the walls.

"Die, you monsters!"

"Eat shit!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"POWAAAAAAA!!!"

The soldiers were fearless. With the intensity of humanity's fighting spirit, corruption can't get a hold on them, even with demons around.

Fists, swords, spears, halberds, lances, daggers—all sorts of cold weapons flashed with cold lights, tearing through demon flesh. Shields, barriers, barricades, and traps sprung up to protect the brave warriors too, in addition to the supporting spells cast from the nearby wall.

"Hmph!!!"

BOOOM!!

A huge cloud of dust erupted after a direct confrontation, followed by a loud clash of steel. The earth cracked, and the figures that clashed felt themselves sinking down for a bit, but neither was affected. Their steel continued struggling at each other while their eyes coldly regarded the opponent.

It was a man against a demon lord. The Demon Lord was of the Capra Demonkind; strong, swift, and ruthless in his strikes. The demon was at least 9 feet tall with a humanoid torso and thighs, the head and lower body of a bull, and a lizard tail. It wore a skull helmet and used a pair of handheld axes made out of demon bones.

This Capra Demon was as strong as a 5th Change Planar Traveler Realm superhuman, but the man it struggled against was certainly no pushover.

The man had deep bronze skin and a large and bulky frame. He's six and a half feet tall, wearing bulkier armor that looked like it was made of stone. Aside from this ridiculously heavy armor, the man had no other defenses. Instead, he held a huge and long waraxe with both hands as he struggled against the Capra Demon.

His wine-red eyes coldly regarded his opponent, and he also wore a vicious grin on his face as he stomped forward to push the demon back with sheer raw strength.

Snort!

The capra demon was dissatisfied, but it couldn't be helped. It bent its body and flipped backwards to evade the follow-up attack from its opponent. Just from that short struggle, the Capra Demon understood that it couldn't compete with its raw strength against this human. Therefore, it could only resort to other tricks to kill; this time, it relied on speed.

Swoosh!

The Capra Demon turned into a blur of motion; it ran laps around its target, who stood there unmoving. In its mind, the Capra Demon thought that wearing that bulky armor made the human unable to keep up with its speed. After feeling certain that the human couldn't react properly to its speed, it sped up even more, leaving afterimages behind.

Once it saw the human trying to cleave the afterimage in half, the Capra Demon pounced from behind.

Shick! Roar!!

Unfortunately, though, the Capra Demon severely underestimated the cunningness of its human opponent. Just as it thought that the human was attacking the afterimage it left behind, the act turned out to be a feint all along. The human borrowed the momentum of the initial swing to transition into a more powerful swing that cleaved the Capra Demon's right arm cleanly.

'Hateful! ' This is what the Capra Demon would snarl if it could speak the human tongue.

Seeing that it was at a disadvantage, it instinctively tried to retreat. It wanted to run towards one of the liches on the far back of the horde to get some treatment. This was its intention, and it was about to act upon it, but all of a sudden, it saw the human stomping forward, and the Capra Demon felt its body getting heavier.

"Nuh-uh. No running away from your problems." The human sneered as one of his feet was firmly planted on the ground.

A mixture of white and purple aura flares could be seen on his body. In that stomp just now, the human used a skill that reinforced the pull of gravity for the Capra Demon.

"If I let you run away, I, Garrick Stoneheart, wouldn't be able to face the humans you killed in the afterlife," the human declared with a sharp tone as he marched forward to the paralyzed demon. "You've signed your death warrant the moment you targeted me."

Garrick then lifted his waraxe to the skies, and with a grunt, he cleaved the capra demon in half. The force of his attack was so strong that he also cleaved through five more demons who were standing directly behind his target.

Hefting his waraxe on his shoulders, the cold gleam of his wine-red eyes regarded the bustle of filthy demons around him. He leapt up and jumped into the fray, taking on multiple demons at once fearlessly.

With the transformation he experienced during the Origin Energy Storm and the recent developments in humanity, Garrick successfully flew through the strength chart. He's now a genuine 3rd Change Planar Traveler Realm superhuman, one that could stand fearlessly even with multiple Demon Lords with how absurdly tough his Invincible Vajra Physique is.

As he cleaved through demons mercilessly, one thought occupied his mind:.

'I wonder if I'll see Cedric in action again. I'd like to see if I somehow closed the gap between us.'

**

Not too far from where Garrick was fighting, another well-known person from his batch was also fighting fearlessly.

Crack! Swoosh!

Sharp spears made of condensed ice skewered Isabella's enemies, punching a gaping hole in their bodies and turning them into ice sculptures afterwards. And with a snap of her fingers, these ice sculptures exploded into shards that killed the nearby demons she missed.

The nearby soldiers couldn't help but admire her—not just because she was too beautiful and carried an otherworldly air that made them feel unworthy of her, but also because she was really strong.

She just killed three Demon Lords in a row with her glacial spears, and the ice explosion killed at least dozens of stray animals instantly too.

Just like Garrick, Isabella was also one of the handful of people who greatly benefited from the Origin Energy Storm.

She now possesses something called the 'Glazed Snow Physique', which practically tripled her strength and potential instantly. It amplifies the freezing effect of any ice-based skills or techniques she uses and doubles the hardness of the ice she condenses.

It also increased her natural affinity to an unprecedented degree, allowing her to comprehend the profundities of the Ice Laws with twice the results from half the effort.

Isabella reached the 3rd Change Planar Traveler Realm, just like Garrick. Her changes speak volumes, considering that she could now fight Garrick into a draw. She has also long surpassed her foster mother's expectations for her.

Swoosh! Crack!

A shadow suddenly appeared behind her. It was a ghost holding a dagger aimed at her skull. However, before it could even realize what was going on, it had already turned into a frozen statue, despite its ethereal form. Isabella didn't even bother looking at the poor stray.

As she took a step forward, the frozen statue changed into the shape of a snowflake, which was then thrown into the nearest clump of demons, exploding into shards of icicles that caused a chain reaction of freezing and explosion.

Such control over the ice element was rare, even in the army. Coupled with her transcendental looks, it was inevitable that she would pluck the heartstrings of heroic men.

But because she was often seen with Garrick, a rumor spread within the army that the two of them were in a relationship, which was not true. It's just like that since they were of the same academic batch.

She often spars with Garrick to sharpen her skills, but beyond that, their relationship was nothing more than friends.

Isabella didn't bother correcting them, though. Garrick was apparently a perfect fit for her, according to public opinion, saving her the trouble of dealing with suitors. Garrick straight up doesn't care about the rumors at all; he might not even be aware of them because he's too focused on becoming stronger.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Isabella condensed more glacial spears that shot towards large clumps of strays. The cold indifference on her face was hidden behind the veil she wore.

Deep down, she felt nothing but pure disgust and hatred against demons. And with this current act of theirs, mercy towards their kind was not on her list of considerations.

She raised her delicate arm to the skies, and behind her, a massive snowflake appeared, radiating a diamond gleam. With a snap of her fingers, the giant snowflake dispersed into a silver mist that crept forward.

Everything it touched was frozen in body, mind, and soul. It didn't matter whether they were swallowed by the silver mist or just touched by it accidentally. If even a particle of that silver dust makes contact with a demon body, it will freeze them completely.

Those ice sculptures were then turned into more snowflakes that flew all over her surroundings, leaving a trail of frost behind them. As she continued with her duty, she wondered...

'Will Cedric show up soon? I wonder how strong he has become since the last time I saw him...'