Chapter 69: The New Baron?
Murkfang was unconscious the moment his body stopped fighting to stay alive. He passed out, only to wake up hours later when the sun had risen.
Murkfang had no idea how he escaped because last night felt like a dream, but he found himself in a room surrounded by numerous inanimate objects.
"Huh, where am I?" Murkfang was exhausted, but his eyes quickly adjusted to his environment.
There was no doubt the human who had saved him had managed to bring him to some sort of refuge.
But the aroma in the air soon invaded his nostrils—this was no doubt food, but it smelled so different.
Murkfang had never perceived something this delicious before and instantly began to salivate, as he hadn’t eaten anything for days.
"I see, you are awake," a voice said from behind. Murkfang looked over his shoulder to see a red-eyed boy with dirty white hair.
He was clearly homeless but had established himself in this dump, even though it looked better than the goblins’ best infrastructure.
"Why you save me?" Murkfang questioned the boy’s language, and the boy’s eyes widened in shock.
"Woah! You truly can speak our dialect!" The red-eyed boy was astonished by this because he had already heard about inferior goblins but had always been fascinated by them.
Murkfang looked at the child and instantly dropped his guard because he couldn’t believe someone this young was aiding him.
This would make him an outlaw, even though he was aware that humans developed at a later age—so this was still a child, but taller than him.
"I believe everyone is more than they look," the boy revealed.
The green creature might look like a monster, but this might not be the reality.
The preconceived notion of what he was made it impossible for anyone to understand him.
They all approached him with the bias that he was a monster, and this was something the young boy could relate to, as this was how people treated him as well.
"More than they look?" Murkfang repeated after him, matching his tone, and the boy smiled from ear to ear.
"Wow! Tell me about where you come from!" the boy requested, sitting right in front of him, but Murkfang’s stomach soon rumbled.
"...Right after you eat," the boy said awkwardly, and Murkfang knew if there was a single human holding them in this regard, then there was a chance there were others.
This might be the thing he had been searching for, but there was nothing this boy could do.
He held no power; he was a nobody—but this was progress. Murkfang’s body was still in a terrible state, so there was not much he could do himself, as he could barely walk.
The boy fed him a strange soup that had little to no ingredient inside but managed to find the appropriate seasoning to give it some taste.
Murkfang tasted it, and his eyes immediately lit up in shock. He was skeptical about the soup at first, but all it took to change his mind was a single taste.
The soup was scorching hot, and the boy tried to warn him, but Murkfang didn’t care. He gulped it down, and the boy watched in amazement—but it wasn’t with the eyes of equality.
Rather, it was like he was looking at a pet.
—
Byung managed to convince Drekk he could provide something he couldn’t provide himself—brains.
Byung managed to convince him that the best way to attack them wouldn’t be a direct onslaught but an infiltration to cause confusion.
Byung knew the goblins couldn’t be divided, and the only reason he was willing to accept Drekk was because he was certain the faction under him wouldn’t accept him.
If this was the case, he would have more enemies than allies.
This was something he couldn’t allow—he had to use Drekk to keep them under control.
But he had to show the goblin he trusted him, so Byung released him from his cage.
Drekk could feel his physical strength and must have known Byung wasn’t like any goblin.
He was stronger, probably stronger than himself when it came to physical power.
He knew far too much, and Byung knew this was a goblin who had lost what he believed in.
Drekk was being watched closely by the orcs he now had total control of. They had uses outside of being holes to satisfy his lust, and they had just shown they were more than capable of defeating Drekk should the situation call for it.
"Drekk, do you believe in the Goblin King?" Byung questioned, but Drekk stayed quiet, admiring the armor in hand.
It looked so fragile but was woven like a piece of cloth, and he noticed it wouldn’t even be susceptible to arrows.
"Because I don’t," Byung confessed, and this caught Drekk’s attention.
"The Kino is a myth, but I intend to make that myth true," Byung continued.
"The goblins need something to believe in—not just power and sex. They need to understand their existence is more important than that," Byung spoke.
The two orcs behind him were astonished by what they were hearing.
This was the first time they heard Byung speak about his goals or ambitions.
"You want to become King?" Drekk scoffed. The words coming out of his mouth sounded like a dirty joke.
"No, you misunderstand me," Byung corrected him, the sheer determination in his eyes.
"I’m the reincarnation of the King," Byung informed him.
This would have been a ridiculous notion, but Byung had shown knowledge he shouldn’t have access to.
Drekk could tell he was being serious, but there was no way something like that could be true because Byung had shown no such traits.
"Stop fucking around," Drekk warned him, but Byung wasn’t about to break character.
He tried to reach him with common sense, but that failed, so he had to reach him through a phenomenon none of them could explain.
The two orcs present were visibly troubled by what they were hearing, and they thought the same thing right away.
"Is that why his semen was that high!?"
This was an abnormality in itself for a goblin, and the inventions he had created thus far were nothing short of impressive.
"And Drekk, I need your help to reclaim my sword," Byung uttered, and this was all Drekk needed to know—this goblin wasn’t speaking out of his ass.
This information was something he shouldn’t know, and Drekk was visibly shaken.
Byung knew how his past life could make even the sanest of people believe in atrocities.
"What are you talking about?" Drekk tried to play it off, but for the first time, Byung saw true fear in his eyes.
But that was the only explanation for his powers, which had grown at an astonishing pace.
The corpse he saw in that mine—the system appeared shortly after.
The dream that reinforced the corpse might have been the Goblin King.
Byung knew he existed, as he had seen strong proof—but this could all be an extreme case of schizophrenia.
There would be no way to diagnose himself either, but the system could actively affect reality.
It boosted his strength and gave him a sense of reassurance that he didn’t need to do this alone.
But he knew deep down the system had given him everything he would need to rule the goblins.
"Drekk, do you wish to fight me again? Just you and I," Byung offered. But what was the point of this offer?
Byung had what he wanted, so fighting him wouldn’t make any sense—not to mention if he lost, everything he worked for would disappear.
Drekk was a restless sword who could only be effective if someone wielded him.
The moment he was left to his own devices, he would strike anyone.
But this was a test on Byung’s part. He knew the goblin was one who craved violence and wouldn’t turn down any opportunity to spill blood.
Yet, he hesitated—for the first time. Drekk pondered the consequences, and the way he looked at Byung changed in that same breath.
"I will pass," Drekk turned it down, and Byung smiled at this response.
"I see... Are you aware of where Murkfang is?" Byung questioned randomly, because he came here to get rid of Gribnox—but what if he had already gotten rid of Murkfang?
"That brat must have attempted to speak with the humans. I saw trails of him," Drekk brushed it aside, deeming it inconsequential—but this also meant he knew Byung was lying from the start.
He had intercepted the humans on their path; there were no signs of any interaction prior to that, which meant Murkfang must have tried to cross him.
Drekk’s actions looked erratic and random, but they all stemmed from him being aware of Murkfang’s betrayal.
And he was certain that Gribnox must have supported this action in one way or another, as it was an established rule that they shared their sins.
This was why he lost his ear, and Drekk wished to take his life—but things didn’t turn out as planned.
Byung stood in his way, but the fact he had gotten the orcs to fight for him was something Drekk didn’t anticipate.
But none of this would matter once Vrognut arrived. Vrognut was about to turn this region into a warzone—but would Byung allow him to have his way?