Chapter 71: He Is Awake!
Byung watched his settlement get better. He couldn’t believe how quickly the goblins adapted to situations, as they had already managed to chop down wood.
Suddenly, mining wasn’t so important anymore because it didn’t bring in any revenue, so it shouldn’t be a core part of their development until they could find a way to monetize it.
They just needed to make it significantly cheaper than their competitors.
The other races would still do business with them, but he wasn’t sure if they wouldn’t attempt to take the mines this time around.
The harsh environment might play a role in it, but Byung had doubts they couldn’t take this place if they truly wanted to.
The humans had Murkfang, and there was no telling if he was dead or alive.
Byung was alone with his thoughts. Maui should be back as well, but he was yet to hear a single thing regarding her movement.
There was a chance she had turned rogue, but that was unlikely, or his system would have informed him about her betrayal.
This gave him a sense of reassurance and allowed him to eliminate that possibility.
He watched as the old structures were torn down.
He was no architect, but anything was better than their current situation.
They could do so much more, but Drekk was too focused on weaponry.
Byung knew he had lost his blade, but Drekk’s fighting style wasn’t suited for a single weapon that focused on strength.
He needed dual daggers that wouldn’t restrict his speed.
Byung wanted to craft them personally so they would serve as a reminder of what he was capable of.
The place was taking shape, but the priority was chopping down the woods since the refining process had already begun.
The goblins were quick to get on board because this was an exciting experience for them, and Byung managed to reduce their grueling work in the mines, so they were grateful for that.
This paled in comparison to the labor required to mine, so they had no problem diverting some of their workforce into building this place.
Byung was making plans, but Drekk kept the information to himself, like he wanted to see what Byung would do once this threat arrived.
"This is beautiful," Byung muttered to himself with a grin on his face, glad everything was coming together.
"Gribnox awake!" a goblin screamed at the top of his lungs, and Byung instantly ran to the place, almost stumbling to the ground.
Byung ran into the room, and without thinking, he embraced him tightly because he was scared he was about to lose his friend.
The goblins were hesitant, but they all joined in the hug, as if the line between superior and family was thinning.
At the end of the day, all they had was each other, and the world was proving to be the enemy.
"H-Hey, you guys are killing me!" Gribnox groaned in pain, and Byung immediately broke his embrace, wiping the tears from his eyes but unknowingly pushing everyone back with his sheer strength as well.
"I am glad you’re okay!" Byung had no plans to hide how he felt, and Borkle noticed this.
A smile creased his face because he appreciated this sight more than anyone.
Byung was teaching them it was okay to love; they weren’t creatures of only violence and lust.
They were so much more, and they had to accept this. Borkle could feel the love from Byung.
It wasn’t fake—it was genuine, and Borkle knew the goblins once thought love was a weakness to their kind.
The world had robbed them of their ability to dream. They only wanted what they knew and never dared to question the unknown.
Murkfang was flawed—he was a goblin who wasn’t capable of love but dared to question.
And Gribnox was a goblin capable of love but lacked the curiosity Murkfang had.
It showed how they complemented each other; they both had flaws, but Byung was the embodiment of both.
And he had something they both lacked—he had the power to sway the goblins under one banner.
The fact that Drekk wasn’t throwing a tantrum and was indulging Byung was unheard of.
He was so used to seeing Murkfang and Gribnox shake in their boots when Drekk was around that it was refreshing to see someone finally put him in his place.
There was no doubt Byung’s intervention saved Gribnox’s life, or Torgzit would have been forced to keep on going.
And speaking of the devil, Torgzit stumbled into the building despite barely being sober.
He heard the shout about Gribnox being fine and rushed in, even though it was clear he fell multiple times with his injured knees.
He didn’t say a word because he had no way to express what he felt. All he did was bow his head to show his remorse.
But was he at fault? He was following orders, and even with that, Gribnox only survived because Torgzit gave him the chance to.
Byung stepped back, and Gribnox stared at Torgzit. He was surprised everyone was still alive, even though his jaw was held in place by something.
Gribnox smiled at him. He couldn’t hold a grudge, and this was proof, just like when Byung had rubbed him the wrong way but was quickly forgiven once he warmed up to him.
"Torgzit, what are you doing? Come over here," Gribnox said. He could feel it in his fists when they fought—if the goblin had wanted him dead, he wouldn’t have held back his punches.
Byung was amazed by how fast Gribnox healed.
There was so much he didn’t know about goblin anatomy, but their healing seemed to be accelerated.
The wounds on his head had already closed and were in their final healing stages. He noticed this happened with his ear too after the same amount of time.
This also included his own wounds, and Byung was beginning to see a pattern—why the goblins weren’t extinct despite the other races turning their backs on them.