BXBX NOVEL Chapter 172: Countdown
The labyrinth that had erupted from the ground below was beyond anything she had anticipated.
"This...this wasn\'t supposed to happen!" she stammered, her voice trembling. The camera zoomed in on her pale face as she tried to process the sheer magnitude of what she was witnessing.
"Who could have predicted this? Who could have foreseen that the battlefield would turn into...into this?"
The monitors back on Earth flickered with the chaotic image of the labyrinth sprawling out as far as the eye could see.
It was enormous, towering stone walls with intricately carved patterns that glowed with a faint, eerie light.
The once-open battlefield had transformed into a maze so vast that the center, where the Stonehooves Tribe stood, looked like an insignificant speck in the middle of a giant\'s palm.
"This...is insane! Absolutely insane!" the Asura girl exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the air as she continued her commentary.
"No one—no one could have anticipated this! No one could have predicted this, no could have, not even me! How did this happen? What kind of power does that Minotaur possess? How did Lyerin manage to—no, it can\'t just be him! There\'s no way one person could control this kind of magic!"
Her voice grew more frantic as she tried to analyze the situation.
"This changes everything! Everything we thought we knew about this game, this battle—it\'s all irrelevant now! Who could have predicted that the battlefield itself would become a maze? A living maze!"
The Asura girl\'s eyes flicked toward the roaming pig-like Orcs, their once savage and brutal nature now replaced by confusion and fear as they wandered the endless stone corridors.
"Look at them! They\'re lost—utterly lost! Scattered like ants! These Orcs were supposed to be an unstoppable force, but now they\'re nothing more than frightened beasts, roaming aimlessly.
"Who would have predicted that the Minotaur, a creature we thought was nothing more than a brute, would create something like this? Who could have predicted this?!" she repeated, her voice filled with disbelief.
The monitors on Earth flickered again, showing aerial views of the Stonehooves Tribe at the very heart of the labyrinth.
From up high, the tribe members, along with the towering Minotaur statue, looked like tiny figures in the middle of an immense, ancient construction.
The walls rose so high and stretched so far that the entire battlefield had become something more akin to a fortress—an inescapable stronghold.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the Valley Orcs, who had come to invade and destroy the tribe, were now nothing more than frightened wanderers.
Their brutish snouts flared as they snorted in panic, their beady eyes darting left and right, unable to make sense of their surroundings.
The once unstoppable wave of pigs was now divided, each group wandering into dead ends, their once savage demeanor replaced by helplessness.
The Asura girl in the sky shook her head, still in disbelief.
"Who could have guessed that a tribe as small as the Stonehooves, with their new spirit, could pull off something like this?
"This labyrinth is their shield, their fortress! And it\'s not just the pigs who are lost—no one, not even the other participants, could have seen this coming!"
Her voice turned dark, as though realizing a terrifying truth. "But here\'s the thing...if the pigs can\'t take down the Minotaur, what do you think they\'ll do? They\'re cunning—they know they can\'t defeat that giant beast.
"So what\'s left? They\'ll target the weaker ones. The human tribe members. The ones who aren\'t as strong? Maybe?"
Her tone shifted into a more serious one. "Lyerin may have built himself a fortress, but can he protect everyone inside it? That\'s the question! The pigs may be lost now, but how long before they figure it out? How long before they find a way to the center?"
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In the heart of the labyrinth, the Stonehooves Tribe members gathered near the base of the Minotaur statue, still in awe of the monumental structure that surrounded them.
Corora, along with her sister Cornelia, Maria, Elena, Sophia, Lydia, Fiona, Emily, Natalie, and several others, approached cautiously from behind, their faces etched with confusion and shock.
"Lyerin," Corora called out, her voice quivering with both awe and concern. "What...what happened? What is all of this?"
The others murmured in agreement, their eyes darting nervously toward the massive walls that now enclosed them.
"Where did these walls come from? Why is there a wall everywhere? It feels like a Maze. And...how do we know where the center is?" Maria asked, her voice shaky.
Lyerin, sitting casually atop the Minotaur statue with a wide grin, looked down at them with amusement.
"It\'s simple," he said, his voice calm and confident. "We\'re indeed in a maze. But this isn\'t just any maze. It was created by the Minotaur—the spirit of the Stonehooves Tribe."
The girls exchanged bewildered looks, unable to fully grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.
"So...you mean this maze...it\'s protecting us?" Sophia asked, still trying to process the situation.
Lyerin nodded, his grin widening. "Exactly. Only the members of the Stonehooves Tribe can navigate it safely. Everyone else—well, they\'ll get lost. Just like those Orcs."
Cornelia shook her head in disbelief. "That\'s...that\'s incredible. I\'ve never seen anything like this."
"Neither have I," Fiona added, her eyes wide with wonder. "But...how? How is this even possible?"
Lyerin\'s eyes sparkled with mischief as he stood up on the statue\'s shoulder. "It\'s all thanks to the Minotaur. This is its domain now. It will protect its home—and we\'re its home."
The girls fell silent, their gazes shifting from Lyerin to the towering walls around them.
The sheer power of the Minotaur\'s spirit was becoming clear to them now, and it was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Suddenly, Lyerin\'s gaze shifted upward, his expression turning contemplative. "I wonder..." he murmured softly, almost to himself.
Corora stepped forward, her brow furrowing. "What are you thinking now, Lyerin?"
Without looking at her, Lyerin continued to stare at the sky. "I wonder what they are going to do next," he mused. "What will those creatures above think if I show them my true power?"
The girls exchanged uneasy glances. "True power? Creatures above?" Emily whispered. "You mean...there\'s more?"
Lyerin suddenly turned back to them, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Shall we find out?" he asked, his voice playful but laced with danger.
Before anyone could respond, Lyerin stood tall on the Minotaur\'s shoulder and raised his hand. "Let\'s count, shall we?"
The girls, unsure of what was about to happen, looked at each other in confusion. "Count?" Lydia asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.
Lyerin grinned. "Ten."
He waited, and after a moment of hesitation, Corora and the others joined in, albeit nervously. "Nine..." their voices quivered.
Lyerin\'s grin widened as he turned his head to glance behind him, giving the girls and the tribe members a sudden, sharp look that sent shivers down their spines.
His eyes gleamed with a cold intensity, and for a moment, the air grew tense.
"T-Ten," Corora stammered, her voice trembling as Lyerin\'s fierce gaze bore into her. The others hesitated but soon joined in, their voices shaking as they followed his lead. "Eight, seven, six..."
Lyerin\'s expression darkened with each passing number, the tension in the air growing thicker and thicker.
The maze loomed around them, the towering walls casting long shadows as the countdown continued.
"Five, four, three..." The girls\' voices were shaky, their hearts pounding in their chests as they felt an overwhelming sense of anticipation.
"Two," Lyerin growled, his voice low and menacing.
"One," the tribe members whispered in unison, their fear palpable in the air.
And then, with a final, deafening shout, Lyerin and the entire tribe roared together:
"ZEROOOOOOO!"