The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

Knowing that traps could be triggered at any time, the three of them became cautious and proceeded carefully.

For the rest of the journey, they didn't encounter any more traps or mechanisms, but the three of them didn't dare to let their guard down.

The three of them suddenly stopped and looked ahead.

Almost simultaneously, they sensed magical fluctuations coming from ahead, while the roars of ferocious beasts echoed through the labyrinthine dungeon. The three immediately assumed battle stances.

Monsters have appeared.

This is a large feline monster, with overall characteristics leaning towards leopards.

The leopard-like monster's eyes gleamed with an eerie green light in the darkness, containing an undisguised ferocity.

The monster slowly emerged from the shadows. It was enormous, with twisted muscles that gave it a powerful appearance.

Monsters, driven solely by instinct, hunt and kill prey, filling their bellies by devouring flesh and blood or using it to advance their magical rank. They will attack any living creature they encounter.

With a low roar, the monster pounced. Its claws slashed through the air, leaving streaks of cold light, and its sharp fangs gleamed with a bloodthirsty glint in the dim light.

This was a fourth-tier monster. Philippa was surprised by its rapid burst of speed and raised her sword to prepare to deal with it.

The monster lunged forward, and as its front foot landed, the three heard the familiar sound of a mechanism clicking.

"what?"

Before the three could even laugh at the monster for stepping on a trap and meeting its own demise, they felt the ground beneath their feet suddenly disappear.

Having lost their footing, the three fell down along with the leopard-like monster.

The body falls under the influence of gravity, and the falling speed increases.

Sophia remembered Philippa's warning and, despite not being entirely clear on the situation, immediately activated her magical shield.

This should be a falling trap, covering a large area. It was clearly the leopard-type monster that stepped on the mechanism, and there was clearly some distance between them and the monster.

As a result, they suffered AOE damage and fell down along with the monster.

Fortunately, the ground below wasn't too deep, and the three of them quickly approached the landing point. At this height, with the protection of magic, they didn't have to worry about being smashed into Philippa-chan, Sofia-chan, and Taric-chan.

The three glanced down and were immediately startled.

Indeed, it's almost time to land.

The problem is that there are many thick, sharp spikes at the landing point, and they are densely packed together. If you fall like that, there is absolutely no chance of being lucky enough to land in the gap between the spikes. You will be pricked like a hedgehog!

The three of them naturally did not want to be exposed by these things, so they hurriedly took action and worked together to condense a light barrier under their feet so that they could fall down together.

The light barrier collided with the spikes, causing cracks to appear in the light barrier. However, the spikes, made of unknown materials, could not withstand the pressure. With a crisp sound, their tips shattered, and they were smashed into flat surfaces by the light barrier, preventing them from causing further damage.

Touching the same material, the damage from touching the sharp end and the flat end is completely different. Pressure = force / area of ​​force. Therefore, being stabbed by a sharp spike may result in being pierced through, but if the spike is flattened, the three of them will be fine even without magical protection when they step on it.

The leopard-like monster that fell with it was not so lucky. It did not have the ability to create a barrier with magic under its feet. The moment it hit the ground, it was pierced by several spikes, let out a mournful cry, and its blood splattered all around. After struggling for a couple of times in its death throes, it fell silent.

The leopard-like monster's enormous size had become a negative buff, causing it to be pierced by even more spikes.

The three felt uncomfortable looking at the leopard-like monster's blood-soaked, gruesome state. This way of dying was too horrifying; its internal organs were riddled with holes, and there wasn't a single intact part of its body.

If the light barrier fails to hold, this will be their fate as well.

The pile of spikes was covered with the corpses of many monsters and even humans, some of them mutilated and in a terrible state, some fresh, presumably having just died, and others already rotting.

This trap, composed of falling objects and spikes, is far more dangerous than the previous traps that simply fired a few hidden arrows.

After all, those arrows don't have any magic attached to them. Once they react and release their magic shield, they won't be able to cause any effective damage, and they might not even be able to pierce the skin of some specialized body-training professionals.

Even if the spikes themselves aren't made of very good material, the trap consisting of the falling object and spikes is still quite powerful due to the added force of gravity. Furthermore, the means of dealing with the situation while the victim is in the air are very limited.

This trap has claimed many lives so far, both from monsters and adventurers, as evidenced by the large number of corpses piled up.

Taric's lips twitched. The Adventurers' Guild had recommended this dungeon as having moderate difficulty. How come he hadn't noticed that?

So far, there are only forks in the road, traps, and monsters; not even a glimpse of treasure or a treasure chest has been seen...

Philippa looked up and increased the light intensity to see where they had fallen.

The structure is already topped out, and the large number of corpses does indeed suggest that the mechanism can be reused. But that's not the issue...

Philippa posed the crucial question: "How...how do we get up there?"

Sophia used the Holy Light Mark, so theoretically she shouldn't get lost, but what if the path she came from is blocked?

Even if they could fly and reach the top, it would be blocked off. None of the three of them were confident they could break through the stone wall blocking their heads.

“This…we can only trouble Your Majesty Phoenix.” Sophia immediately offered the simplest solution.

Tariq nodded in agreement.

Philippa secretly rejoiced.

Thankfully, Old Deng sent Grandpa Phoenix, otherwise Joan of Arc would have been doomed.

With a safety net in place, the three of them no longer needed to worry about getting out, so they decided to be a little reckless and continue exploring the labyrinthine dungeon.

It makes them seem a bit useless that they needed the chief court magician to come to their rescue so quickly...

Philippa said slowly, "First, let's remove the magic crystals from the monster's corpse, at least to ensure this exploration isn't a complete waste... Then let's destroy this spike trap, to prevent more people from..."

Sofia seemed somewhat dismissive, and...

As a saint of the Church of Holy Light, shouldn't she have closed her eyes and prayed upon seeing so many corpses? Isn't that one of the saint's duties—to comfort the souls of the dead? How could you not have any reaction at all?

Noticing Philippa's gaze, Sofia blinked and smiled happily.

She's looking at me.

Philippa: ...

Is she... really a saint?