Labyrinth: Chapter 81: The Strongest???

Led by the receptionist, everyone walked down the corridor and entered the “elevator.”

That’s right.

An actual elevator.

Except this one ran on short-range teleportation magic.

Pop!

They arrived on the fifth floor.

They had expected the inside to be just as flashy as the outside. But when the doors opened...

Inside the cavern, the crowd’s shouting, food stalls lining both sides of the street, and colorful neon lights all burst into view.

It had a definite steampunk vibe.

Completely different from the world above. Almost like a separate fantasy altogether.

Everyone scanned the bustling street.

There were way more weapon and item shops than on the surface.

And the product selection was leagues better.

“Dinner’s ready! Dinner’s ready!”

Gobta was yelling in the square.

Behind him, a team of Goblin Wolf Riders was hauling a cart down the road.

Lying on the cart was the corpse of a spider monster.

“Light the fire! Let’s eat!”

To the delegation’s surprise, the residents along the street casually set up pots right in the square.

They tossed in the cleaned monster meat and started cooking like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Off to the side, Chishiya spoke up.

“Everyone.”

“Welcome to the real Labyrinth City.”

“Lapris.”

It took a moment, but the group finally snapped out of their daze.

A country with... two cities? An outer and an inner one?!

The delegation—especially the older ones—began to theorize.

Could this hidden city have been built by artisans sent over after establishing diplomatic ties with Gazel Dwargo?

No way…

Getting recognition from Dwargo was already a huge deal for a small nation like this.

But building something this extravagant?

They hadn’t realized it yet—

At the very back of the group, a man wearing a lion mask was silently eyeing Chishiya with curiosity.

Chishiya continued walking toward the square, with everyone trailing behind.

At the square.

Gobta had been cheerfully chatting with the other residents,

But when he spotted Chishiya, he immediately waved and ran over enthusiastically.

“Chishiya-sama!”

“Want to join us for a bite?”

He held up a massive spider leg and shook it proudly.

Behind Chishiya.

Youm and his crew stared at the blackened chunk of meat with horrified expressions.

“Chishiya-sama… isn’t the Dark Night Spider an A-rank monster?” Youm asked.

“Wait, is that even edible?”

“It’s fine. Totally edible.”

“Eating it boosts your magic power. You should try it. Eat more.”

“It even tastes a bit like crab. Didn’t you say it was really fresh last night?”

Chishiya patted his shoulder.

Youm blinked.

“Wait, last night you mean—”

“Ughhhhh!!!”

The moment it clicked, Youm and the others staggered to the side to throw up against the wall.

Meanwhile, the envoys from the Beast Kingdom were focused on Gobta and the goblins.

To be more precise—

They were staring at the equipment they were wearing.

The goblin in front of them.

Gobta, had silver armor plating over his chest and knees.

While the rest of his body was wrapped in an unusual silk-like material.

It wasn’t cotton. It wasn’t linen either.

Someone sharp-eyed suddenly shouted,

“Wait…”

“That armor—it's made of magic steel and spider silk, isn’t it?!”

“No way!”

One of the envoys immediately protested.

“You’re seriously telling me goblins are wearing something as valuable as magic steel and silk?!”

“Not just one—all of them?!”

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Sure enough, there were over 200 goblins in the square, all wearing the exact same armor set.

“If every one of them is decked out in magic steel and silk…”

“This force is comparable to Dwargo’s Pegasus Knights.”

“That’s just…”

“There’s no way. You must be seeing things.”

Everyone laughed it off, dismissing the absurd thought.

But then—

A voice spoke from behind.

“That’s magic steel and silk.”

“And the craftsman who made it is at the national level.”

“…What?!”

Everyone turned in shock.

“Albis-sama, are you sure?”

Albis shook her head slowly, eyes still locked on the armor.

She carefully studied the shimmer across the silver plating to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“There’s no mistaking it.”

“A national-level craftsman?!”

It was said that a blacksmith of that caliber could forge legendary weapons—artifacts that could shift the balance of power in the world.

“Even Dwargo doesn’t have someone that skilled, do they?”

“And yet this tiny country has access to a craftsman of that level?!”

“Impossible!”

They could rack their brains all day, and still not figure it out.

Because Chishiya didn’t just have a national-level craftsman.

He had two.

Kaijin and Kurobe—together, they were behind a massive leap in magical equipment tech.

The delegation was floored.

Especially the older veterans.

They silently counted the number of goblins in the square, eyes wide.

Just how large would a magic steel mine have to be to mass-produce equipment at this scale?

“Could these goblins be part of the country’s secret forces?”

“Otherwise, why outfit them so extravagantly?”

Someone voiced the suspicion.

“…Yeah. That’s very possible.”

They looked like they had just uncovered a national secret.

Then—

A cheery voice interrupted.

“Hmm? What are you all talking about?”

Gobta had somehow appeared behind them, gnawing on a chicken leg and tilting his head in curiosity.

?!!!

The older envoys flinched.

None of them had heard a thing. He had moved in completely silently!

“This really is the strongest force in the city.”

“What terrifying stealth…”

“Huh?”

Gobta tilted his head further, clearly not getting it.

Why were these people acting so weird?

“What ‘strongest force’ are you talking about?”

“You mean us?”

They looked at each other, then gave solemn nods.

“Don’t worry, sir. We Beast Kingdom folks have our own code.”

“We won’t leak the secret of your strongest unit hiding in the shadows.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Gobta waved his hands at light speed, flustered.

“If Sensei hears that, he’s gonna make me train again!”

He glanced around, worried Hakurou was nearby.

Everyone mistook his panic for modesty and chuckled.

“With equipment like that, it’s obvious this is the country’s elite unit.”

“No need to downplay it anymore.”

“Don’t worry, sir. Carrion-sama taught us—when we promise to keep a secret, we keep it.”

Gobta froze for a second.

“…You mean the equipment?”

He glanced down at his armor.

“Ohhh, that’s probably where the misunderstanding is.”

“This armor is really good. But it doesn’t mean we’re the strongest.”

He scratched his head awkwardly and smiled.

“Honestly, it’s kind of embarrassing to admit this.”

“We’re actually still pretty weak. Chishiya-sama just gave us this stuff so we wouldn’t get hurt.”

“People like Sensei and Benimaru are so strong, they don’t even need gear like this.”

“…Huh???”

What in the world?!

The entire delegation stood frozen, brains struggling to compute.

“Oh, right.”

Gobta suddenly remembered.

“You’re guests, right?”

He pulled out a freshly braised spider leg from behind him.

“This is the Night Spider I just killed. It’s super tasty. Want a bite?”

(To be continued.)