Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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"Greetings, Tower Master!"

A chorus of respectful and solemn welcome greeted the ancient fey; amongst these voices, only four could be heard physically; the rest came from the broadcast through the system.

The Tower Master nodded to them in acknowledgement before making his way to his seat. He was accompanied by two of his guards, who stood behind him. He was seated in the middle of the five seats; he crossed his legs and gazed at the broadcast with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you for attending this little event; I appreciate you lending me some of your precious time for this," the Tower Master said in a soft voice.

His words flowed like water; it was pleasant to hear; it's as if his voice carried some kind of magic that could calm down anybody.

"You jest, Tower Master." One of the four people who came to the tower to attend this even personally commented. "How could we ever miss this Inter-Prodigy Tournament? I personally am excited to see how the children will perform."

"That's right. It's us that should thank you, Tower Master, for giving us the pleasure of seeing your talented children."

This was then followed by more pleasantries. Most of these people are either simply thankful for the invitation to watch the tournament or attempting to curry favor from the Tower Master.

Everybody here had a purpose for attending. Though this was unsaid, everybody could understand that, and nobody could deny it. After all, the Tower of Prodigies held a stellar reputation throughout the entire alliance, and it's not solely because it was created by 'The Six'.

"Alright, everybody. Settle down; the event is about to start." The Tower Master stated, "As usual, the profiles of my tower's prodigies are available for your viewing, but their private information is kept confidential still, so if some of you recognize someone, please refrain from revealing any of their sensitive information."

The Tower Master's eyes narrowed as he continued, "This is non-negotiable; I hope you all understand that."

Some people felt chills and didn't dare to be negligent. A chorus of agreement returned to the Tower Master, and his face turned amicable again. He then rested on his seat and focused on the event.

"August, you may begin," the Tower Master ordered.

[As you wish, Tower Master.] The tower's main system AI responded.

Shortly after, the broadcast changed. Those who were watching wherever they were saw a new system window appearing; this one displayed all of the lobby teams.

Those who were watching immediately strained their eyes to inspect every single challenger that they could see. They easily discovered that the lobby teams are imbalanced in number. Some lobbies had at least ten challengers that formed a team, while others had fewer than that.

They also sensed the cultivation levels of the participants. Some of them could even sense the depth of the participants' foundations through the system broadcast as if they could see them in person.

'It's as impressive as always.'

This was their universal thought. Seeing all the talented prodigies of the tower and their youthful vigor was a sight that just never gets old. The means to the tower were truly mystical since they're able to scour the vast expanse of the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm to gather these unpolished gems and give them a platform to display their brilliance.

At some point, every single one of these prodigies will be released and join the alliance in one way or another, assuming that they don't experience any accidents. And with their talents, they will surely be a welcomed addition to the growing numbers of any sect or organization out there.

Almost all of the supernovas that rose to fame within the alliance, aside from those that came from 'The Six' obviously, came from the Tower of Prodigies. Some even grew to become really powerful people that even 'The Six' had to respect. And that's why the tower was so important to the alliance.

**

[Welcome to the Inter-Prodigy Tournament.]

[I am August, the tower's main AI, and I will be conducting this tournament.]

Cedric's team, the 41st Lobby, listened attentively to the announcement. They had to, or else they risk failing the task up ahead. They all agreed to do their best regardless of the final results, so they had to pay attention at the very least.

[The rules are simple...]

Woosh!

All of a sudden, their surrounding environment changed. They then found themselves standing on an island that's floating aimlessly on the vacuum of space.

Looking around, Cedric discovered that the island looked and felt just like any other island he had seen in the past. As for how it was able to survive in the vacuum of space? That had something to do with the unique set of laws established for the sole purpose of this tournament.

The only thing that's unique here was the existence of a large piece of crystal sealed within a dome that was emitting a gentle radiance located at the center of the island.

[The tournament is a team battle royale. Each Lobby Team is given an island; each island has a core that looks like a large crystal. Each team has to protect that core because if it's destroyed, it spells the elimination of your team from the tournament.]

[Aside from the core, each island is a control panel that can be used to move the island. You may use it to search other teams to eliminate or avoid confrontation. The decision is up to you.]

[Your and your teammates can die, but it's not true death. This is, after all, only a small tournament to spice up your stay here.]

[But of course, since this tournament involves combat, injuries are expected.]

[You or any of your teammates can be 'incapacitated' if you suffer grave injuries. This state renders you incapable of helping your team fend off the assault of your enemies.]

[Your teammates can heal you by standing over your incapacitated by for 30 minutes continuously. The healed teammate will be cured up to half of their optimal state immediately after the successful operation.

[Incapacitated members can get up on their own, but only after 24 hours.]

[The only real way to eliminate a team is by destroying their island core. Which means that everybody from that team can be incapacitated, but if you fail to destroy their island core, this team will remain active on the field.]

[Your team will be ranked according to how long you last in this tournament. The rewards you'll receive depend on your rankings as well.]

[You'll be given 24 hours to prepare. Do your best, and I wish you all good luck!]

"..."

"Well, there you have it. Sounds simple enough." Howler shrugged at his teammates as he surveyed their surroundings.

"It does sound simple enough, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's easy." Backpack Fatty replied, "I mean, there's too many implications that I don't even know where to start."

"Well, how about we start at something obvious?" Moss Lady offered. "How are we going to protect the island core?"

"Ooh, good question." Hawkeye chimed in, "Can we move it somewhere or, like, build some fortifications around it?"

"Let me try," Morning Wood offered.

"Be careful and don't accidentally break it," Eunuch Wei warned.

"I know." The treant replied.

He then approached the crystal and summoned vines in attempts to move it. To his surprise, he easily did it, confirming that it can indeed be moved.

"Yeah, we can move it. But it's also incredibly fragile. I think even some stray projectile can easily shatter this thing," Morning Wood said to the team.

"That fragile, huh?" Eunuch Wei frowned. "What do we do then? We only have a couple of hours before the tournament starts."

It was at this point that Cedric finally offered a potential solution.

"Hey, Fatty. I remember you saying that you Mountain Giants have an innate talent for Earth Laws, right?" He asked while looking at the core.

"Mhm, yeah. We do. Why?"

"Can you try and see if you could reinforce the structure of the core to become tougher through Earth Laws?" He asked. "If that doesn't work, then at the very least, we can encase it with metal alloys to protect it and hide it underground. At least that would make it more difficult for others to locate and destroy it. The rules should allow that since we can move the core."

His suggestion caused their eyes to lighten up. Backpack Fatty immediately moved next to Morning Wood and felt the core up. He focused and tried what Cedric suggested, and to his pleasant surprise...

"Yeah, I can definitely make it tougher."

"How about we make it tougher AND also hide underground, wouldn't that be better?" Howler excitedly suggested.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Moss Lady readily agreed. "If they want to eliminate us, they'd have to work for it."

And to their luck, Cedric's unique ideas didn't stop here.

"Wei, are you interested in piloting a weaponized island?"

"Fuck, yes!"