Chapter 43: Shava’s Betrayal!?`
Borg had pushed his agenda, and things were taking shape. He was satisfied with how events were developing, especially now that his wounds had closed. He was fit and able again, but news about goblins perishing in the attack had reached the town they resided in.
The orcs weren’t afraid of goblins—they were more than capable of dealing with them—but this was not good news. It was something everyone had always avoided, because they understood how dangerous goblins could be when united under a single banner. There was no telling what this development might bring, but the orcs doubted they could keep it hidden from the outside world.
This was too big for the news to stay confined within the village. Even orcs gossiped and such things tend to travel fast.
Kragg had been right not to take the approach Borg had wanted, which was to charge in and declare war. However, this new revelation shattered Borg’s earlier claim that the incident was a goblin attack. If goblins had also died, then no goblin could have been responsible. Multiple goblin deaths were now confirmed, and this was not good.
No matter how Kragg looked at it, it made them appear guilty.
Borg entered the room and was startled to see Shava with Kragg. Kragg was the kind of orc every orc wanted, or would want if given the chance. Shava met Borg’s eyes, but her body language made it clear that nothing was going on between them.
"Am I interrupting something?" Borg asked. Kragg didn’t respond verbally, only gesturing for him to join them.
Borg accepted and sat opposite Shava. Whatever they had been discussing was serious, judging by their stern expressions.
"Did something happen?" Borg asked, confused by the heavy silence.
"Shava told me about your wounds," Kragg said directly.
"My wounds?" Borg repeated, confused. She had never come to him about his injuries, so why had she spoken to Kragg?
"How did you get them?" Shava interjected, showing no fear toward Borg.
That was when it hit him—she must have noticed the inconsistencies between his story and the wounds themselves. Borg hadn’t considered this possibility, since it was the last thing he’d expect from his partner. But this was on him, not her.
"Say it..." Kragg’s voice cracked as he struggled to keep his rage in check.
Borg realized he had been caught. Yet he couldn’t even be angry at Shava, because her loyalty to her race would always supersede her love for him.
"I ki—!" Borg started, but Shava cut in sharply.
"Grashnak tried to kill you, didn’t he?" Shava couldn’t let him speak further but did she know what happened or was this truly what she believed?
Borg immediately clamped his mouth shut. Shava had given him a narrative he could use.
Kragg exhaled heavily the moment he heard this, and Borg realized the rage wasn’t directed at him—it was at Grashnak. He had shown some radical tendencies in the past but this also made Borg’s victory look all the more impressive. No one knew the only way he defeated Grashnak was because he fought dirty and even with that, he nearly died.
"I’m sorry... I didn’t want you to find out, because I know how important he is to you," Borg said, carefully painting himself as the selfless one in the situation.
"So the attack on the mine... it was true?" Kragg asked. He was confused why Borg had spun such an elaborate tale in the first place, a lie that had even pushed him to send Maui deep into enemy territory. It could have been avoided if Borg had been honest from the beginning.
"It was," Borg said, shifting the blame onto Grashnak without repercussion. But he had to choose his words carefully.
"He told me he acted this way because the goblins would come for us. There was no way they would understand... because at the end of the day, Grashnak was one of ours," Shava lied without hesitation.
It hit Borg then—she hadn’t betrayed him at all. Far from it. On the contrary, she had shaped the narrative and lied for him, right in front of him.
Kragg listened closely, and because it was Shava saying it, her words carried far more weight. He allowed her to do the talking.
What she said made sense to him instantly—it was the best way to prevent an uprising. This way, the orcs would never know about Grashnak’s true behavior.
Borg looked at Shava in disbelief that he had ever thought she would betray him.
She met his gaze, and a loving smile creased her face.
—
Meanwhile, Maui was restless. She had stumbled upon something she wasn’t meant to—something that should not exist. There was no record among the goblins of any such thing as a sword of power. But among the orcs, stories of it had long circulated. She had dismissed them as fiction, for there was no way such a destructive weapon could be real.
But hearing those words slip from Byung’s mouth unsettled her. There was no way a goblin should know about it.
Byung was leading the goblins, teaching them how to make medicine. They might be savages now, but if they advanced beyond their primal state, there was a chance they could turn their fortunes around. At least, that was what Byung believed.
Maui watched him closely. The way the goblins were naturally drawn to him was something she had never seen before—not even with their supervisors.
Byung glanced over his shoulder and caught her staring. He flashed her a simple smile.
Maui’s chest tightened, and she didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she had stayed with him for so long... or maybe something else. Because to her eyes, Byung was slowly beginning to look attractive.
But it wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her. Byung was aging, and his physiology had already begun adapting, absorbing traits from the orcs. Each time he leveled up, his body grew stronger, adopting features that mirrored the orcs themselves.
And with that change, he would naturally become more appealing to them.