Kragg was finally done with Maui. She always drained him dry because she was an orc with an insatiable sex drive. No one could keep up with her, since this was something she truly enjoyed. She liked the experience of being with all kinds of races, as each one gave her something different.
Kragg hopped onto his well-rested horse and headed straight for the goblins' stronghold, fully aware that tensions would be running high. This was not something he could afford to mishandle, which was why he left without stirring up further trouble.
Drekk had no shame, since he had held his own against the orc, even if only for a short while. There was no way he could ever match Borg's superior stamina, but it had still been a respectable showing. He didn't understand why Byung did what he did, but it had helped. Byung didn't have the spirit of a coward—Borg could have easily beaten him into the ground, yet he had stood in the way to protect him.
Drekk had pride as a fighter, but that didn't mean he couldn't recognize sacrifice when he saw it. He had lost his weapon because Borg had taken it away. Still, that was the last thing on his mind. While it might have been useful to keep, it couldn't do much else in terms of inflicting serious damage. Drekk knew that if he had carried a better weapon, he might have been able to deal more harm against the unarmed orc.
Borg took his weapon as well, leaving them with nothing—but Drekk didn't mind. He had gotten to fight an orc and had come away with only minimal injuries.
He didn't waste his time in this place either. He gave Murkfang a strict deadline, warning that they had one week to meet the quota or face harsh punishment. He didn't care that one of their controlled areas had just been attacked and ransacked, since they had been underperforming long before that.
And if this attack was the work of a rogue orc, there was still no excuse. There was no reason a single orc should have been able to overpower so many goblins to begin with. It made no sense—numbers should have been enough. And if the enemy had the freedom to fight without killing, it showed just how badly outmatched they were. Drekk's battle with Borg had proved that.
Byung knew none of this made sense, and it was about time he pushed these goblins to think more critically. There was more to life than sex. Still, he needed to use a reward system they were already accustomed to if he wanted to introduce his own ideas of leadership.
The first thing he had to do was take ownership away from Murkfang and Gribnox. They had no idea what they were doing, and their mistakes were starting to show. The fact that they hadn't even considered the possibility of another attack was pure neglect. And Byung couldn't allow their carelessness to put his life in danger.
Murkfang, meanwhile, was hopeless. He knew there was no way they could make up for lost time, so he wondered what the point of even trying was.
"Are okay?" Byung asked, visiting him to see what kind of state of mind he was in. After all, if the leader wasn't holding himself together, the goblins under him would suffer.
"I'm fine. It looks like we are ruined," Murkfang muttered under his breath.
"Why?" Byung asked with a raised brow, confused by his words. That was when Murkfang came clean, telling him everything he needed to know.
Byung already had a solution in mind. He knew the reason for their low productivity was the poor quality of their tools. What surprised him most was that they hadn't even considered upgrading them. He also wasn't sure what kind of tools the other provinces used in their mines or farms.
"I fix. New tools, faster work," Byung said simply. Murkfang paused, remembering that this goblin was abnormal, and that whatever came out of his mouth might just be the answer.
He was even considering sending Byung to the farms, where he might have better luck creating herbs that could be useful to their people.
"You know what? If you can do that… I will personally make sure your life here is of the highest quality. You will have as many females as you want," Murkfang promised.
He knew the chances were slim, but their survival depended on it. If Byung could somehow turn things around, he would give him anything he asked for. Byung realized then that he was on the right track.
There was one thing that could change the fate of the goblins, and it rested in his hands.
"Fine."
-
Borg was finished too, but he wasn't heading back to his homeland. Instead, he had wandered into another territory, one unfamiliar even to his kind. It was goblin land, a region his people didn't—and couldn't—monitor because of its position.
Borg stood waiting for someone, though who that was remained a mystery. If this was goblin territory, was he really waiting for a goblin? That seemed unlikely, given his dislike for their entire race.
Then a figure appeared in the distance.
"Took you long enough…" Borg muttered as the figure came into view. It was an orc—one who bore similar features to the attacker who had struck at the goblins earlier.
"Those little bastards were tougher than I thought. I had to rest," the orc complained, before noticing Borg, who didn't look so good himself.
"I know what you mean, Grashnak," Borg replied, thinking of his fight with Drekk, which had shown him the gap wasn't as wide as he once believed.
"What's the plan now?" Grashnak asked, eyeing the rusted weapon in his friend's hand.
"I don't know. I was thinking of putting this sword in you," Borg said casually.
Grashnak burst into laughter, unable to take him seriously. "You play too much!"
But his laughter quickly turned to horror. Borg had suddenly driven the rusted blade straight through him.
"I do play too much," Borg replied coldly. But this had always been part of his plan.