Hours passed before Byung finally completed the creation of his first tool. He couldn't contain his smile—now he had something tangible, something he could pass along to the others. With this blueprint, the goblins could mass-produce it.
They would believe him because they had seen the fruit of his labor, and that alone was worth investing in.
Byung refined the tool and then entered the mines, pushing deeper than any goblin had dared go before, with the others trailing behind. They weren't going to meet the quota anyway, so there was no point in forcing them to work on the old way. Better to put all of their energy into this.
Byung swung the pickaxe effortlessly, cutting through dense material their stone axes could never penetrate.
The goblins stood frozen, amazed—not just because the metal tool sliced through the rock, but because of the strength Byung displayed while doing it.
He was small, weak-looking, puny even, yet the power in his swings was unnatural. Impossible to ignore.
"What?" The muscular goblin who had bullied him earlier couldn't comprehend how Byung showed more strength than him.
When Byung finally stopped, the goblins erupted into cheers. Murkfang was speechless. If they could mine deeper, then there was no telling what they might uncover.
Excitement surged in him. Their hopeless situation suddenly glimmered with light.
He could see it—the spark this goblin brought—but with each success came unease.
"He shouldn't be this strong. Or this smart…" Murkfang thought grimly. He had never expected much from their race. Goblins were the lowest of the low, and he accepted that. What unsettled him wasn't their weakness—it was this sudden, uncharted shift in behavior.
Before long, Murkfang had the goblins mass-producing the tools under Byung's instruction.
They were no longer just a race that destroyed and consumed. Now… they created.
Kragg's plan had already begun. He sent Maui alongside Naz and Naruz.
The two had no objections—they trusted Maui with their lives. Unlike the much larger orcs, they were smaller in size, which limited their opportunities. But now, they were chosen.
Every goblin in that mine would no doubt try to get into their pants, but Maui knew it would also come with a layer of protection. Goblins rarely managed to get a woman pregnant—their seed was weak, low in quality. Still, something told her that exception existed. And if it did, it might be dangerous.
So why had Kragg chosen them despite promising the goblins the right to pick?
It was calculated. A step above what the goblins were used to.
Gribnox's lust was well known at the brothel. To say he had no weakness would be a lie. He was like the rest of them.
Naz and Naruz, however, were worried. Unlike Maui, they doubted they would be protected. They didn't even know what role they were expected to play. Still, they understood the mission clearly—find the source of the goblins' sudden shift and eliminate it.
Maui had her doubts, but she also had her skills. She and the others had long practiced techniques that allowed them to give pleasure without conceiving. It made them effective sex workers, not just for their bodies but for their mastery.
The goblins were known for their brutality, for taking what they wanted, but Maui wasn't concerned.
She sat in the carriage, smiling as the horse pulled them along. This reminded her of her battlefield days. Orcs lived long lives, but even she could feel it—a new age was approaching.
The only question was, who would be the one to usher it in?
The news of the dead orc soon reached Drekk.
The moment he heard the weapon found in the body was his, he knew. Borg had killed one of his own.
That gave Borg's story credibility, the tale of a rogue orc. But Drekk knew the truth. His weapon at the scene was proof enough. The goblins' words would never outweigh an orc's, so defending himself was pointless.
Kragg had something Drekk lacked—patience and critical thinking. His plan was to destroy the goblins from within. If he removed the anomaly—the one causing this shift—then the goblins would return to their natural state. Compliant. Submissive. Workers.
But Drekk wasn't entirely dumb.
He was fascinated by Byung. He had seen him show bravery in the face of death, and that was a trait Drekk valued above all.
"Borg…" Drekk muttered, a slow smile stretching across his scarred face.
Yes, this was the orc who would give him what he desired most—war.
The seed had been planted.
But Drekk still wondered—would this be enough to lure the Goblin King from the shadows? Or would he simply sit back and watch his race slaughtered?