THIS IS WHY I AM A CHAMPION

Chu held the torch in one hand as he inspected the passageway. He stepped around the carcass of a burnt spider as large as a pit-bull. Stooping down, he held the torch over the body, taking a close up view of the ugly, but frightening arachnid.

"Good thing we never encountered these critters in the forest."

Miki muttered while using a crossbolt to prod the dead spider. Unlike Ming who poked it with his sword at arm's length, she squatted down next to it, with the curiosity of a newborn chick eyeing its first worm.

"No wonder Jim always said trappers refused to spend the night in the forest. There are a lot more dangerous things haunting these woods."

Rose said, tapping her dagger on one of the long hard legs. She then removed the compass and scribbled something on a piece of parchment out of habit.

"Looks like the deeper we enter the forest, the greater the surprises. Who knows what else hides inside caves and forgotten ruins. Spiders are naturally quick and sometimes poisonous. Have your weapons ready, and let the goblins who carry the torches walk at the front."

Chu warned while recalling the characteristics of their much smaller earthly cousins. With the exception of the caves, this would be his first time dungeoning in a manmade structure. Besides the spiders who turned it into their lair, he had to worry about other sinister traps. It did not take long for him to witness the effects of such a device.

The passages split into two directions leading to cellars and underground rooms, now inhabited by decay. The previous exploration by the small goblins had cleared out the spiders living near the entrance but had been beaten back as they traveled further inward.

Pug soon beckoned to them from a few paces ahead. Chu walked up to find a soldier slumped on the floor, with a line of puncture wounds dotting his body from his head to his foot. Each round hole had a diameter the size of a cup and penetrated the leather and iron breastplate armor like paper. Ming scanned the dead man while walking up.

"This looks as if he was skewered by a line of spears, right?"

"Whatever did it was no spider. The wounds are equal distance apart."

Chu replied. Before they could move closer for a look, Pug stopped them. The Champion waved for the goblins to disperse while calling over a scout. The scrawny goblin then kept them behind his small frame, acting like a police officer securing a crime scene, from curious spectators.

With a nod, the scout used a stout staff to press a certain stone on the ground, the little goblin groaned on applying force behind his weight... A creak, immediately followed by nine iron spears, thrust out forming deadly horizontal lines. The sharpened tips, halted inches away from the opposite wall, before retreating in sinister fashion.

"Holy crap, what the heck was that?"

Chu gulped while beads of sweat formed on his brows. For a few breaths, he remained rooted to the ground, soaking in the sight and beads of sweat. Knowing and playing an RPG game with traps, differed from facing a brutal one in real life. With slow steps, Chu followed the goblin as he stepped across the trigger.

"I don't think I could find this unless I scoured the walls before walking."

Lucy said while she passed her fingers across the camouflaged holes. Her blue eyes peered over the rough wall. She kept her abilities hidden since the goblins possessed adequate night vision.

The scouts busied themselves in creating a small barricade of sticks and vines, and then placed the rectangular fence around the trigger to prevent further mishap. Chu nodded on their approach, as little Rang translated that the goblins had discovered similar traps during their exploration in the opposite direction.

The group slowed their progress while eyeing the walls and the floor with trepidation. They encountered a few more traps along the way. One paved stone sank on the weight of a person, causing fixed spikes to stab and cripple the intruder's foot. Another had a trigger on the wall causing a cleaver to swing from the ceiling at an extreme speed.

"Whatever these owners kept underground, they seemed determined to prevent it from escaping. Either that or they really wanted to prevent outsiders from entering their cellar."

Chu grimaced on witnessing another mechanical type trap, skewer into action.

"Chu come see this one, this is the best."

Ming called him from the front. The teen had been chattering with the Champion, as they followed some distance away from the scouts. Chu sighed, hoping Ming wasn't calling him to witness another gruesome sight. His stomach still remained queasy after seeing a man sliced in half, with his internal organs strewed on the floor for display.

Chu walked up to face a stone wall that turned the passageway into a dead-end.

"What is this?"

"The goblins say this is a trap. When it activates, the wall moves and prevents goblins from returning. They encountered one like it when exploring the other passage. See this hidden lever? It reopens the wall, but there is none located on the other side."

Ming replied to his question. The scouts had been listening to the sounds of battle, beyond this very wall.

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Chu nodded on hearing the explanation, especially about the lever. He motioned for Ming to reopen the wall. A goblin pulled on the stiff lever, causing a rumble as the stone wall retreated. Lucy responded first, tugging his sleeve.

"I smell smoke, lots of it. A burnt smell mixed with blood, the smoke affects my ability."

"Ready your weapons, tell the goblins to fall back from the wall."

Chu commanded when she complained. He unsheathed his sword while gripping onto the torch with his other. The puffs of smoke billowed out, as a wide space open out before them. The light from their torches seemed to disappear within the maw of this foggy beast of darkness.

"Have the goblins holding the torches and wooden spears walk out first. The archers will follow next."

Chu said while slowly stepping out from the passage. The smoke had dissipated somewhat, allowing him to view his surroundings. He squinted around, as his eyes picked out the glowing light from discarded torches. A large open cave, no a man-made structure, spanned outwards with large pillars supporting the ceiling.

"Ah, spiders!"

Miki yelled when she discovered three large ones skittering towards them. Her voice reflected not fear, but surprise at the blatant attack. Without hesitation, she buried a crossbolt into one of the rapidly approaching arachnids. The spider let out a blood curling screech, before crumpling onto the stone tiles, writhing in agony.

Her action spurred the goblins archers into action. With the wooden spears keeping the spiders at bay, the archers riddled the incoming spiders turning them into pin cushions. Some smaller spiders, the size of grapefruits breached the defenses but ended up hacked and stabbed by Chu, and the dagger-wielding goblins.

"With our strength, the spiders will not pose a problem. I think the soldiers probably disposed of the majority. If they drop from the ceiling into the middle of our defense then we will have no choice to retreat, but for some reason, they are not climbing the walls."

Chu muttered as he witnessed a small spider tap dance across the ground, and then hurl itself onto a goblin spear bearer. Before it could maneuver around the wooden spear, Rose hacked it to death with her sword. He had around forty goblins with him, and about twenty more standing guard at the lever.

Even with this large contingent, they failed to occupy the massive volume of this hall.

They were just about to inch forward when a clacking noise resounded. Beyond the light from the torches, a dense shadow moved. Chu froze, as he stared slack-jawed at the behemoth approaching. In the smog, he pictured a spider the size of a car, clanking away on iron legs shuffling towards them.

"Crud! Retreat, retreat into the passage."

Chu shouted while leading the group into the narrow tunnel. There, this mammoth killing machine could not devour them. Peering out from the entrance, Chu scanned this formidable foe. Out in the open, he had no doubt this enemy could outrun them, and plow through his pathetic wooden defenses.

While he squeezed his mind for a solution, Lucy tugged his arm. He heard the gasps from the surrounding goblins and the shriek from his translator. Chu looked up into her yellow eyes.

"That spider is heavily wounded, Chu, it has a blade sticking out from its head. I don't think it's actually focusing on us since it seems to be lumbering around."

He twisted his lip into a frown while peering at the spider. The large arachnid appeared ready to prove Lucy's hypothesis, as it stumbled on its legs, crashing into a pillar. It struggled to rise, before continuing along its haphazard path. To Chu this proved a valuable opportunity.

"Ming, let's go. I want you and Rose to act as vanguards, while we try to kill it from a distance with our crossbows."

This provided a suitable opportunity to temper his party. He rushed out holding his crossbow, with Lucy beside him. The goblins looked on in awe as the teens sneaked towards the unconquerable foe.

"Eek! The Champion, the Champion has gone with them!"

"Ahh! Look, our Champion fights alongside the Legend. The rumors speak the truth, our Champion holds an equal position to the Legend."

"What an auspicious day, I have fought with the Champion and the Legend. When we resettle our tribe, I can boast about this to my wife and kids."

Chu had no idea of the chattering between the goblins in the passageway. Currently, he occupied himself in sneaking around the pillars, seeking a critical shot. Ever so often, the strumming and whistling of bolts, interrupted the clatter as some found their mark, while most whizzed past.

Since they aimed for a killer shot, they ended up missing this large target. Another reason is that Chu refused to allow them to approach the arachnid at a close range. He had his doubts that although wounded, this beast could pounce on them easily.

"Yes!"

Chu muttered in silence when one of his bolts finally lodged under the spiders head. His years of training had borne fruit, for him to be able to strike this haphazard moving target.

Ming and Rose hid behind the rubble and circled around the archers, engaging in killing the smaller spiders that harassed them. The guerrilla tactics soon bore fruit, as the large target emitted terrifying high-pitched screams, as more and more bolts found their mark. What seemed like hours later, the spider rampaged as if in a berserk mode, before finally slumping to the ground.

Lucy used this opportunity to materialize before it and buried a crossbolt into its head. A bolt and arrow from the distant weapons of Miki and Pug, tore through its eyes sealing its fate. With a gurgling sound, the spider finally capitulated.

After destroying the large mothership, Chu had Pug order the remaining goblins to scour the hall. The larger spiders roamed around few and far in between, making them easy targets for this horde. The accompanying goblins seemed to have gotten a boost of chicken blood since they swarmed around to subdue their foe while chattering.

"One day I will become worthy of battling along the Champion."

A goblin sighed while wiping the mixture of slime and blood from his short blade.

"Did you see how the Champion fought and killed that invincible spider? I witnessed it myself, as his arrow delivered the final blow."

"I retrieved and handed over five iron arrows to the Legend. Look here, she rewarded me with a portion of her food."

A goblin held up a piece of bread that Lucy offered him. The action caused a mutiny, as the surrounding goblins converged onto the unfortunate soul.

"What the heck is wrong with them?"

"Dunno, I think they might be hungry since they're fighting over a piece of bread."

Lucy replied to Chu while munching on her food. Chu nodded and split some of his bread and dried meat, and then offered it to Zubyia Rang who crouched beside him. The goblin harbored no thought to rebel, after witnessing the fight. Zubyia stole a glance at the Legend, before munching on his food. No wonder the goblins called them Devils.

He was a frog trapped in a well.

Zubyia glanced at the other girls, sitting and chatting nearby. In all his time within the Empire, he never came across females of such skill and bravery. Atop the nearby ruined pillar, the goblin Champion and his servant sat bickering while waving their hands.

What did he really return to offer his fellow goblins?