Chapter 66: Stonehide?
A week had passed, and a lot had unfolded during that time. The most prominent development was Byung’s rise to leadership.
Drekk was imprisoned, but Byung was worried about the faction loyal to the Mogul. He managed to forge a cage with metal bars strong enough to keep Drekk contained.
But this wasn’t the most troublesome thing—Vrognut was close. The goblins would soon be faced with a threat far greater than Drekk in both power and cruelty.
There was no way these goblins were strong enough not to succumb to him.
Byung had gotten stronger but even with his newfound strength, he couldn’t even defeat Drekk without some help.
And unlike Drekk, Vrognut had experience when it came to killing orcs, a goblin who had learned to turn the predator to prey.
There was nothing stopping him from arriving within a day. Gribnox was still asleep.
Byung checked on him daily, but he remained in a coma—one Byung had no way of knowing when, or if, he would wake from. So, he did the best he could to keep him alive. He cleaned his wounded daily and made sure his needs were taken care of.
The goblins had gathered under his leadership, and Torgzit was given the freedom Drekk was denied because Byung could tell he knew the difference between right and wrong. And if he didn’t, he would be easy to squash like a bug.
Otherwise, Gribnox would already be dead. He knew when Drekk went too far.
Byung knew he needed to keep Torgzit motivated, so he threatened to kill Drekk if he didn’t send word to the others in their camp that Drekk was alive.
The last thing Byung needed was infighting—it was the one thing that could tear everything apart.
Torgzit was still feeling the pain of his broken jaw. He couldn’t speak without mind-numbing agony overwhelming him, but Byung had given him something to ease it.
It wasn’t a traditional drug—it was cannabis mixed with herbs for the pain.
However, Byung noticed Torgzit became subdued in this state, as if he had an extremely low tolerance for it.
He was becoming dependent on it to deal with the pain, and this allowed Byung to keep him under control, as Torgzit relied on him for the medicine.
That was to be expected; his body had never experienced anything like it before.
"Drekk, do you need anything?" Byung asked, sitting in front of his cage like a prison warden.
Byung had made it large enough for Drekk to move around, but the goblin spent most of his days performing some of the most outrageous exercises Byung had ever seen.
Byung sighed and placed a plate of food on the floor, in a slot he’d designed specifically for it to fit through.
Drekk always ate without complaint but never engaged him in conversation—until now.
"Hey..." Drekk’s voice made Byung stop mid-step. He turned slightly to gauge if it was worth listening.
"You do know you’re going to be killed, right?" Drekk said.
Byung rolled his eyes. The threat was empty and predictable.
If he killed Drekk and showed his faction the head—like primates did—they would surely submit to him.
But once again, Byung wasn’t sure if he was capable of such brutality. It wasn’t something he’d done in his past life either.
"Killed? I’ve died before, Drekk, yet I live," Byung replied.
The words made no sense to Drekk, who didn’t bother trying to decipher them.
He simply chuckled, and it escalated into manic laughter. After days of silence, this was what he chose to say?
"You have no idea what’s coming, little goblin," Drekk mocked, but Byung looked him dead in the eye.
"You mean war?" Byung asked. There was no fear in his voice.
"Have you ever thought of using the orcs to destroy the orcs? Did you really think quantity would overwhelm them when you don’t even have weapons?" Byung pressed.
"War isn’t won by brute force. That’s why you lost our fight," he added calmly.
"I’ve shown you I’m not like the rest of you. And if death comes for me, the goblins die out," Byung reminded him. His survival was essential to their advancement.
He’d already pushed their progress years ahead in just a few months. Drekk could see that—and he was thinking hard about it.
Drekk knew the orcs needed to pay, but it was clear they wouldn’t get justice unless they acted for themselves.
Byung could see the arrogance in his eyes fade, but he also realized this wasn’t what Drekk meant.
Drekk wasn’t talking about the orcs killing them. He was referring to Vrognut.
There was no way Vrognut would see what had happened and not take action—and that included Byung’s death.
"I’ll create all the weapons you need—but not just weapons. Armor as well," Byung said, continuing to sway him.
Drekk was surprised. He had assumed Byung could only forge weapons, but the cage he sat in proved otherwise—so armor wasn’t far-fetched.
"You can make armor?" Drekk asked, wanting to be sure he heard correctly.
Byung nodded. "I can give you weapons that’ll give you a fighting chance—but under my conditions."
Drekk had noticed the goblins working tirelessly all week and assumed it was to meet a production quota, but the tools they used reduced the effort required.
Byung snapped his fingers, and Sneegle appeared—covered in armor.
Drekk could hardly believe it. He himself had never worn armor, yet here it was before his eyes.
And it wasn’t just any armor—it was chainmail designed to resist penetration from most weapons.
Still, Drekk scoffed. It looked fragile, ridiculous even.
Byung anticipated the reaction and drew the sword he had forged for himself—a double-edged blade, both sides sharpened.
That design meant it could just as easily harm its wielder, and it was strange considering Byung had no real experience with weapons.
"H-Huh?" Sneegle stammered. This wasn’t what he’d been told they’d be doing.
Byung could see his fear, but also the trust that outweighed it.
He swung the weapon with all his strength—and nothing happened to the armor.
"What? That’s impossible!" Drekk exclaimed, eyes wide.
Byung only smiled.
He would’ve let Drekk test it himself, but the goblin was far too erratic to trust.
--
Maui had regained consciousness, and there was something liberating about where she was.
She wasn’t just anywhere—she was in the mountains, where one of the exiled tribes resided: the Stonehide Tribe.
They had saved Maui because she was one of the few orcs who dared to reject the ways of the main tribes.
This clan no longer wanted anything to do with the outside world. They had retreated into the mountains, though their numbers had dwindled significantly.
At first, Maui was afraid. It was no secret that the Stonehide despised the main tribes, and merely being associated with them put her in danger.
She explored the area and found herself fed and cared for, though the food consisted mostly of raw meat.
The protein gave her strength, and she began to feel like herself again.
She had no idea how this tribe still functioned despite its dwindling population.
Maui knew Byung wanted to unite the goblins and orcs under one banner—and she might have just found his first tribe.
If she could convince them to join their settlement, the goblins’ strength would increase dramatically, and they could learn the tribe’s unique, exclusive warfare techniques.
The Stonehide received her gracefully. She had survived, but she hadn’t yet been granted an audience with the Chieftain.
Meanwhile, a search party was still out looking for her—or her corpse.
They had nothing to report, but they’d followed her trail to the foot of the mountain.
Even so, they dared not climb it.
The orcs were wary of what awaited them up there but had no choice—they had to explore the possibility that their target was in that range.
Borg hadn’t sent inexperienced warriors either; he’d gathered some of their best, because it would take incredible skill to retrieve her.
The Stonehide territory only heightened the urgency. The tribe never took their victims alive.
If they wanted someone dead, the body would be left behind for the vultures.
Still, Borg’s squad had to confront them—even though this was a no-go zone due to the overwhelming advantage the Stonehide held.
The first orc took a step, and immediately a giant boulder descended toward him.
He wasn’t a novice; his reflexes saved him, and he dodged in time.
But from his blind spot, a bamboo spear shot out and nearly impaled him—it grazed his arm, missing by inches but enough to draw blood regardless.
He had experience dealing with this tribe, and everyone followed his lead.
They managed to bypass the traps with no casualties and began their ascent.
The orcs doubted the Stonehide would risk themselves for an orc as insignificant as Maui.
Kragg had the power to wipe them off the face of the planet, and their response to this situation would determine whether he would.