The Labyrinth Kingdom

Chapters 27. Expeditionary Force 1

"sister, look. There was a group of soldiers who broke through the labyrinth. did the ruler of Bacau want to attack!? "

Alice who saw this looked very excited, as if she had found an interesting new toy.

Aaron looked at the crystal in front of him and saw a group of people wearing full body armor entering the labyrinth.

"Conley, are they the expeditionary force that previously attacked the goblin village?"

"Yes, that's them. But this is so strange, why are they here? "

"uh uh? Whatchu mean? "

"the ruler of the city of Bacau is well known as a very cautious and conservative person. So before he had any clear information about this labyrinth, he couldn't possibly send his troops.

Moreover it was impossible for those soldiers to come to this place on their own accord.

Otherwise, they would be severely punished for violating military regulations"

"So you're telling me they came here because they got someone else's orders!"

"that's right, and there's only one person who dares to do that without reporting to the feudal lord first. That man is Rick, the leader of the expedition.

He was famous as a very greedy person, so it was only natural that he would be interested in this labyrinth."

"Hm... So it seems. Since they were not an invading army sent by the feudal lord, then their numbers should not be too much.

Otherwise, Rick would have been arrested for abusing his position for personal gain"

"hhhh... So they didn't come here to attack us, but to seek treasure? "

"Yes, they are just tools used by their greedy bosses to collect treasures"

"huhh.... Boring"

Hearing her brother's reply, Alice lost her spirit and looked disappointed.

"i hope at least they can put on a fun show this time.

I'm tired of seeing adventurers who can't put up a meaningful fight"

The three focused on paying attention to the projection crystal that displayed the current location of the soldiers. They were quite interested in the strategy that the soldiers would use.

Although military warriors were more trained and powerful than most adventurers, they did not have much experience fighting monsters and exploring the labyrinth.

Whenever a new maze was discovered, the feudal lord would usually hire adventurers to explore it first and gather as much information as possible.

After they feel the labyrinth is safe, then the troops will be deployed to explore the labyrinth. After all for the feudal lords, the soldiers were their precious assets.

It took a long time to train them, besides their loyalty was also guaranteed, in contrast to the adventurers who always demanded freedom and did not want to be bound by officials.

***********

Meanwhile inside the labyrinthine passageway that was quite large, the sound of clang armor was resounding.

The sound came from the armor worn by Rick's aide and his men, they numbered about 30 people.

They were all knights of Bacau.

With helmets covering their entire face, armors covering their bodies from head to toe, they confidently entered the labyrinth.

the weapon they were using right now was neither a spear nor a halberd, as it was impossible to use such a long run inside such a narrow labyrinth.

In order to be able to attack enemies freely in the underground labyrinth, the weapons they use are swords and axes, besides that they are also equipped with shields.

So when they fought, they would be able to demonstrate their prowess to a certain extent.

But, even though it was equipped with excellent equipment, truthfully the aide still had his worries in his heart.

Actually he had wanted to hire adventurers as guards or guides.

Yet adventurers who would normally accept any job despite being paid a cheap price refused to cooperate at this time.

They even put up very expensive rates to hire them.

It was impossible for the adjutant to pay such a high price, what else their captain Rick, who was known to be a stingy person, would definitely not pay.

Since there was no other way, he was forced to bring his men and come to this labyrinth to collect treasures.

Perhaps because the rumors about this labyrinth had already spread far enough and had become an open secret, they were able to find their way to this labyrinth quite easily.

Even ordinary people who were not adventurers knew the way to this place. As long as you pay close attention to the surrounding area you can definitely find the entrance into this underground labyrinth.

However, it was only until the entrance.

When you enter the Labyrinth, the story will be different.

The adventurers who challenged this Labyrinth were not few in number. there were at least dozens of parties who had come to this place in search of luck and the numbers kept growing so that the map was gradually settled through their sacrifices.

Several maps of the surrounding area were completed, the area where the 3 types of monsters were located as well as the safe zone where there were no monsters at all, sold for a high price among adventurers.

Even Aaron and Alice who were the center of this underground labyrinth were unaware of it at all. Conley who was originally also an adventurer did not think of the possibility that the map had been completed this early.

The appearance of the map was a simple warning sign for them, although most of their plans had been successful, but there was always a small gap that escaped their scrutiny.

If the adventurer handed the map over to the aide, they might be able to imagine the entire image of the labyrinth in their head or they might be able to develop the map even more widely.

The reason was of course because the adventurers did not have a good feeling towards the Bacau army that had treated them badly.

So the adjutant knew nothing about the labyrinth map, because he also thought it impossible to complete the map in such a short time.

For this reason, without the [Map Creation] and [Trap Finder] skills that are usually used when exploring the ruins.

They only relied on their intuition and experience, to break through the advance into the underground labyrinth.

"captain, have we really chosen the right path? "

"hmm... Of course, why that? "

"no, maybe it's just my feeling but I feel like we're walking around the same place over and over again"

"i also think that way, even though the passageways in this labyrinth have the same appearance. But, look... This is the sign I left behind"

Looking at the mark on the wall of the labyrinth, the adjutant began to believe the words of his men. Actually he had also felt into this strange from the start.

When he first entered the labyrinth, he had already fought against the insect group several times.

In each fight he would definitely lose some of his men and their equipment would also be damaged

That was why he tried to avoid as many fights as possible. But due to his lack of experience, even though he managed to avoid the insects, he was still exposed to the traps that had been set inside the labyrinth. Although the trap did not endanger lives, it still made him feel frustrated.

He had several times thought of retreating, but in fear of the threat posed by General Rick, he could not help but force himself to continue exploring the interior of the labyrinth.

After going through many battles, their number was now only 13 people left and the equipment they were wearing had also been damaged. If this continued they would definitely be annihilated in the next fight.

"K, captain, should we back off now? "

Perhaps out of fear of being scolded by his captain, the man's voice trembled slightly.

The adjutant looked at his men and answered.

"you're right. If we continue to explore in this condition, we may become more lost. Therefore, we will rest in this place for a while and gather energy before retreating to leave the labyrinth"

Hearing his captain's reply, the remaining soldiers were both delighted and relieved to their hearts.

Seeing the happy expression of his men, he felt the pain in his heart. Because the orders made no sense to their superiors, they had to put their lives at risk in this place.

'even though the treasure we got wasn't much, it should be able to satisfy general Rick for now.' the adjutant said in his heart

After winning her mood, she said.

"Take out the supplies. After we eat, we'll leave this cursed place"

"Yes, Sir... "

The soldiers excitedly answered.

They began to take out the supplies they were carrying and began to eat. They also told each other to melt the tense atmosphere inside the labyrinth.

After they finished eating, they began to trace the path they had previously traveled. At first they were happy not to encounter bugs and traps along the way. That way they can leave this labyrinth quietly

But after walking for about an hour, their happiness gradually disappeared. Because they went back to the beginning. There were a lot of food scraps in that place, besides that he also saw the marks he had previously seen on the walls of the labyrinth.

"what the hell is going on here? Why are we back in the first place? "

"don't ask me, I don't know either. We've followed the right path before, I still remember the signs I left behind"

"then why did we go back to the beginning? "

"shit, are we gonna die here"

"no. my son will be born soon, I can't die here"

"i'm getting married next month, I don't want to die"

"no... "

After circling around the same place many times the soldiers started to pessimize and panic, they could not leave the labyrinth.

Seeing that the situation was not conducive, the aide shouted loudly because his men were panicking.

"everything is silent, there is no point in being panicked in situations like this. Remember, we are knights of Bacau, we have been trained by feudal lords to break all kinds of obstacles.

We have to think calmly and put our whole minds together to find a way out of this labyrinth, as long as we work together, I'm sure we can get out"

Hearing the words of encouragement from his captain, the previously panicked soldier slowly began to calm down.

"right the captain said, we should work together to leave this place"

"Yes, you're right"

"yes, we can't give up here, there's someone waiting for us to come home"

"we must also pass on the last will of our dead friends to their families"

"right... "

"Yes"

After everything started to feel calm and the atmosphere started to improve. The adjutant began to breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, to be honest he was also in a panic at this moment. But he did not show it in front of his men, so as not to cause more severe panic.