Final Lord

Chapter 285 The Minotaur Labyrinth
The Minotaur Labyrinth.

Wang Bufu's fingertips traced the damp rock face, the torchlight casting flickering shadows in the maze-like passageway.

Three hundred cavemen warriors followed closely behind like ghosts, their scales blending into the dark blue fluorescent mushrooms, with only their poisoned spears occasionally reflecting a chilling light.

"The 'Bloodthroat Pass' is just ahead." Wang Bufu raised his hand, and the entire army froze instantly.

His gaze swept over the horn-shaped stalagmites hanging upside down above the pass. The roots of those "stalagmites" were wrapped with thick iron chains, and bits of flesh stuck to the chain links were still dripping foul-smelling liquid.

"This is a minotaur watchtower; only those with permission can enter. They like to lurk nearby and use sting operations to arrest unlicensed individuals and extort money from them. We'll wait here for a while."

Heska's wings trembled slightly after hearing Wang Bufu's words; she smelled the burnt smell of bone marrow burning in the oil brazier.

"There!" Suddenly, a harpy sentry shouted, pointing to the pass of stalactites.

Suddenly, a muffled thud of chains rattling came from deep within the pass.

A three-meter-tall minotaur sentinel emerged from the shadows, its nose ring adorned with a dozen shrunken skulls, its battle axe blade still bearing traces of undried blood, and it appeared quite old, its body covered in wounds.

“Unfamiliar faces! If you want to pass through this checkpoint, you'll have to stay…”

"Prepare--"

Wang Bufu raised his hand before the minotaur could finish speaking, and behind him, the nerve tentacles of the Evil Eye Squad had already risen like venomous snakes.

Ten dark purple mental fluctuations shot out like venomous snakes from the nerve tentacles of the Evil Eye Squad, weaving into an invisible mental net in the air.

The minotaur sentinel's thick neck was bulging with veins, and its copper-bell-like eyes instantly became bloodshot, its pupils dilating into a murky grayish-white. Its heavy knees slammed into the ground with a dull thud, and its steel battle axe slipped from its convulsing fingers, the sharp blade wedging deeply into the fluorescent mushroom clumps, sending up spore dust that swirled in the eerie blue glow.

Wang Bufu crushed several glowing mushrooms with the soles of his boots, and strolled over to the minotaur amidst the rustling sound of the crushing.

"What should be left behind?"

The minotaur's rough palms left two bloody marks on the fungal carpet, and the skull necklace strung on its nose ring jingled. As it struggled to prop itself up, the tips of its horns trembled nervously.

"A misunderstanding!" it gasped, forcing a fawning smile, a corner of its yellowish-brown front tooth chipped. "It's all a misunderstanding! Honored guest, the Minotaur welcomes the strong! As long as you abide by the Labyrinth Covenant, you can do anything here!"

It stood upright, its three-meter-tall body hunched over, looking somewhat humble.

The crisp sound of gold coins clattering came from beneath Wang Bufu's cloak. A heavy bag of coins sliced ​​through the damp air and landed precisely on the minotaur's bleeding nose.

"Lead the way." These two simple words carried an undeniable air of authority.

The minotaur tore open the leather pouch with its tusks, the faint glint of gold coins illuminating its suddenly dilated pupils. It greedily licked the opening, muttering:
"Yes, sir! Immediately!"

The minotaur grinned obsequiously as he led the way, carving flame emblems into the rock face with his axe at each fork in the path. The poisonous vines that had been entrenched in the passage, sensing the presence of the guardian of the spirit spring, curled up as if they were alive, making way for him.

The fluorescent mushrooms extinguished under its heavy footsteps, only to bloom again as Wang Bufu and his companions passed by, like a starlight carpet laid out in the darkness.

Passing through the pass, the true face of the labyrinth finally unfolded before our eyes like a scroll painting—an upside-down city-state suspended high above the dome, and minotaur lairs constructed of obsidian and animal bones densely packed like a honeycomb, gleaming with a cold luster under the glowing blue fluorescent mushrooms.

The rugged buildings spiral upwards along the stalactite formations, with iron chain suspension bridges hanging under the horn-shaped eaves, swaying slightly with the dampness of the underground river and emitting a teeth-grinding creaking sound.

At the bottom of the labyrinth, the lairs of the slave races are chaotic yet subtly ordered. The cavemen's huts emerge from the cracks in the rocks like fungi, their roofs pieced together from fluorescent moss and bone fragments flickering in the darkness; the Shadowscale Lizardmen build their lairs on the mudflats beside the underground river, their conical tents woven from reeds adorned with dried salted fish.

Wang Bufu walked through the maze, his nose filled with the smell of fish and salt, clearly indicating that the maze was not clean.

Only underground races with strong disease resistance can live here for a long time; creatures like humans simply cannot survive in the labyrinth.

Deeper inside, you can see sulfurous smoke rising from the dwarves' furnace area, where they build towers from chained scrap iron pots.

Goblins occupy the pits formed by the decaying fungi, building a precarious kingdom of rope ladders on a sticky network of vines, where they can leap nimbly between the vines.

"My lord, I have to go back to guard the gate. You can wander around here as you please." The minotaur patted his chest and said obsequiously, "If you encounter any trouble, just mention my name, Wolf Steel. I still have some influence here."

Wang Bufu waved his hand at Wolfgang and casually tossed over a small bag of gold coins, making Wolfgang so happy he was practically snorting.

"My lord," Mair asked curiously, "why did you give him so much money?"

Wang Bufu said quietly, "He's the father of the Minotaur chieftain of the Minotaur labyrinth. He can't stay idle, so he insists on guarding the gate for his son."

Mair: ...

"Oh! You scared him so much just now, something must have happened."

"It's alright, just pretend you don't know who he is." Wang Bufu waved his hand casually and said, "He just likes outsiders showing off their strength."

"My lord, it's so chaotic here, even more chaotic than where we are." Just then, Heska looked around and said softly.

Wang Bufu smiled slightly:
"Amidst the chaos here, there is a set of rules for survival."

Whenever a minotaur patrol passes by, the fluorescent lights in all the huts immediately go out;
Before the underground river rises, the lizardmen's tents will collectively move to higher ground.

The crazed goblin will retract the rope ladder before the carnivorous vines awaken, to prevent itself from becoming food for the vines...

Every chaotic aspect of this three-dimensional city-state is a finely tuned gear, tamed by violence, meshing and operating under bloody rules.

The chieftain of the Minotaur labyrinth was a genius to be able to integrate these subterranean creatures.

"Let's go check out the slave market first."

After navigating through the winding, labyrinthine tunnels, Wang Bufu's troops marched toward the slave market. The flickering shadows of torches cast on the damp rock walls, and the orderly footsteps of the cave dwellers echoed with a chilling rhythm in the confined space.

Wherever this team went, it attracted countless prying eyes—

(End of this chapter)