Chapter 64: Byung Defeated!?
The scene was terrifying, the fight between Byung and Drekk had become brutally one-sided after Byung landed that devastating punch.
He was visibly out of breath, his chest heaving, and his body covered in cuts and bruises, though none were fatal.
"F-Fucking monster," Byung muttered weakly as his knees trembled beneath him. He knew he was close to his limit.
Drekk’s endurance was frightening, yet Byung noticed the heavy drag in his opponent’s breathing, the slight falter in his stance.
"He isn’t invincible..." Byung whispered under his breath, strengthening his resolve, realizing he lacked the stamina to keep up for long.
He needed to strengthen his body—to make it endure longer, tougher—if he survived this encounter at all.
Drekk had a triumphant grin carved across his face as he began to stride forward, his heavy steps echoing like thunder, ready to put an end to it once and for all.
The goblins around them looked distressed; memories of Gribnox’s brutal beatdown replayed in their minds, and they knew Drekk would do much worse to Byung this time around.
They had no idea what to do because there was no doubt everything would change if the leadership of the mine shifted hands.
It wouldn’t be in their favor, but Byung wasn’t ready to throw in the towel—not yet.
"I wonder..." Byung muttered, forcing his trembling legs to hold him upright once more.
Drekk kept walking toward him—barely seven meters away now.
The goblins wondered why Byung didn’t drop to his knees and beg. Drekk might have spared him out of amusement, but Drekk was a creature who only respected violence.
There was one thing Byung couldn’t afford to show—fear. Even though he feared death more than anything, he refused to let it show.
"You can still stand?" Drekk asked, his tone carrying a hint of admiration.
Byung didn’t answer. He noticed streaks of his own blood smeared across Drekk’s body, but as he suspected, he couldn’t be sure. This was the limitation of his system—it wasn’t all-powerful, not yet.
Byung knew he would need to refine and strengthen it if he wanted to survive in this world.
"You truly are arrogant," Byung mocked, his tone cutting and deliberate, hoping to push Drekk into anger.
An enraged opponent made mistakes. But Drekk didn’t take the bait; instead, he stopped mid-stride.
"Arrogant?" Drekk laughed darkly. "The Goblin King has forsaken his children! I have done everything to please him, yet his children die and he does nothing! And you call me arrogant?" Drekk denounced the king he had served faithfully.
Byung could tell Drekk was teetering on the edge, but his blind devotion to a false god only proved how little the world ever changed.
Whether in this world or the one Byung once lived in, everyone needed something to believe in, a higher power to justify their pain.
Drekk had probably convinced himself that his actions carried no consequences after slaughtering his kin.
In his twisted way, he believed he was protecting the goblins—and Byung could see it.
If he could tame this beast, make him obey, there would be no limit to what he could achieve.
His plan to take control of this entire region was already in motion, and with a single scream, he set it into full force.
Two names tore through the air. To tame a beast, it had to be with a greater force, one capable of violence he couldn’t yet wield himself—but he knew two beings who could.
"NARUZ AND NAZ! COME FORTH!" Byung roared, his voice echoing through the mine. Even Borg wouldn’t have been able to face two orcs at once.
This shouldn’t have been possible, no matter how strong Drekk was, but Byung had achieved his goal—Drekk was exhausted.
Within seconds, the two orcs landed between Byung and Drekk.
They were Barons, and with Byung holding the title temporarily, that meant they answered to him.
He didn’t care how powerful or feared Drekk was—he had already lost the thing that made him truly dangerous: control.
The rebellion was unfolding right before his eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" Drekk demanded, his voice thick with disbelief.
Byung stepped between the two orcs, meeting his eyes head-on.
"It’s the start of a new age," Byung said firmly, knowing that even if Drekk wanted to strike, he no longer could.
Kragg had tightened security, forbidding anyone from coming or going—a decision that would cripple their trade but was necessary. Still, he had never imagined Maui would side with the goblins.
It was inconceivable, but it only confirmed one thing—Byung had to die. There was no way something like him should be allowed to exist as he was becoming too much for them to handle.
If Byung could turn someone like Maui into his pawn, then his influence was far greater than they realized.
The situation was growing more dangerous each second he drew breath.
But Kragg knew it wasn’t Byung the humans had taken—it was Murkfang. Judging from the scent, Murkfang hadn’t gone willingly; his blood trail made that clear.
That told Kragg one thing—the humans had their own schemes in motion or were they in league with Maui?
And Maui keeping it a secret only deepened his doubts. She was either working for the humans or aligning with the goblins.
There was even the unsettling possibility that she had helped the humans capture Murkfang. That would explain why she came with them—and why she fought at their side.
Kragg’s mind spiraled with countless theories, but two stood out as the most likely.
Borg entered the room quietly, and Kragg looked up at him before averting his eyes.
Borg had warned them countless times—Maui couldn’t be trusted.
"She’s a whore who’d spread her legs if the price was right," he had said once. "If someone doesn’t respect their body, how can they be trusted?"
Kragg’s chest tightened with shame and guilt. He didn’t want to harm Maui, even though she had betrayed them.
"Why did she resist? Why didn’t she just leave with them if it was a misunderstanding?" The question haunted him. He refused to believe it had come to this.
Borg sat across from him in silence. He knew Kragg hadn’t sent a party to finish her—not because he pitied her fate, but because he wanted to give her a thin sliver of survival.
Borg had been the one to stab her in the back while she fought desperately to defend herself.
He was a vile fighter, but even Kragg had to admit—it was impressive that Maui had escaped alive.
It shouldn’t have been possible unless someone had shown restraint, letting her slip away despite her injuries.
If she couldn’t defeat them at full strength, there was no way she should have survived while wounded. The only explanation was mercy.
"You let her escape, didn’t you?" Borg asked, his tone cold and steady.
He spoke as if he were Kragg’s equal. Kragg met his gaze, his voice like ice.
"Did you come here to insult me, Borg?" he said, searching for an outlet for his rage.
Borg fell silent, recognizing the danger in pushing further, though he’d already gone too far.
"I came to inform you I’ve sent a party to bring her back—without her limbs," Borg stated plainly, catching Kragg’s brief flinch.
"You act without my command now?" Kragg growled, his glare sharp enough to cut.
"She knows too much to be left alive," Borg replied. "You can punish me later, but if you do, I’ll be forced to tell the others what happened last night."
Kragg froze. If that incident became public, it would destroy his credibility.
An orc of his rank letting a weaker opponent escape alive would raise doubts about his strength—and his right to lead.
Borg smirked faintly. He knew he had Kragg cornered.
Kragg said nothing, but the fury burning in his eyes spoke louder than words.
"I knew you’d understand, ’boss’," Borg muttered before leaving the room.
Kragg would have punished anyone else without hesitation, but with everything that had happened—from Grashnak’s betrayal to Maui’s defection—he couldn’t afford another fracture in his rule.
None of this would matter, though, if not for one crucial ally—Shava still supported him.
"That little punk," Kragg muttered under his breath, his hands clenching.
"Where am I?" Maui’s weak voice broke through the silence. Her body ached as she tried to open her eyes, exhaustion weighing heavily on her.
Her trembling fingers brushed against her torso, feeling the bandages wrapped around her wounds.
Memories rushed back—the blood, the fight, the pain. She gasped and tried to rise, but the searing agony in her body forced her back down.
She gritted her teeth, breathing heavily. The pain was a cruel reminder that she was still alive.
Her eyes darted around the tent she was in. The faint flicker of a lantern cast shadows on rough fabric walls.
She could feel the uneven, rocky surface beneath her—it wasn’t solid ground.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"It couldn’t be..." she whispered.