Maui burst out of the the scene with Naz cradled against her chest like a broken doll. The bigger orc's legs pumped hard, boots hammering stone, but every stride jarred only made Naz's current condition worse due to her cracked ribs and sent fresh stings through her bruised organs. She didn't care. Naz knew she had to survive long enough to give birth and had to get away from that monster.

She ducked into a narrow side of the home they resided and lowered Naz gently to the floor. Torchlight from the corridor barely reached them, painting everything in sickly orange.

Naz's breathing was shallow, ragged. Blood soaked the front of her torn tunic, spreading in a dark flower across her swollen belly.

Maui's hands moved on instinct, tearing open the fabric to check the damage.

Then she froze the moment she realized this was not just a bruise.

Across the taut green skin of Naz's stomach were dozens of tiny, perfect punctures, pinpricks in neat, deliberate rows. Some were already bruising purple; others wept thin threads of blood. Kraghul had not simply cut her. He had stabbed, shallow and precise, over and over, through the womb itself. Each hole no longer than a sewing needle, but deep enough to reach the child inside.

Maui's breath caught in her throat. Horror rose like it was all she had known.

He had been trying to injure the baby without killing the mother yet. This sadistic tendency shown by this young orc was scary because it made her wonder what kind of goblins were in the other regions.

Naz's eyes fluttered open. She saw Maui's face and understood instantly. A weak, trembling hand drifted to her belly, fingers brushing the constellation of wounds.

"It's… bad, isn't it?" Naz whispered, voice barely audible.

Maui's fists clenched so hard the knuckles cracked. She was trembling, trying her best to hold in her tears.

"We'll get you fixed up. We need to wait for Byung. he—"

"No." Naz's head shook, slow but firm.

"I'm bleeding inside. I feel it. Even if I live long enough to give birth… I won't survive the labour. You know it," Naz told her. The mortality rate was an astounding 100%.

Maui's jaw worked, but no words came. She did know. The damage was too deep and if they waited longer, there was no telling what would happen to the baby.

Naz's eyes, already accepting the impending fate that came with this, she was approaching death.

"Take my strength," Naz rasped.

"All of it. Give it to the baby. Orc mothers… we can choose. You know this is the only way," Maui had a choice, she could give her friend what she wanted or deny her that request and give her false hope. The latter would be crueler.

Maui recoiled as if slapped. Why was Naz so willing to give up her life? Why didn't she choose to fight? She was furious because Naz was not known as a quitter.

Maui understood why she chose this but she inspected the wound once again, trying to find some good news.

"The wounds... They might hurt the baby but there is no way they can be mortal with those sizes," Maui thought to herself not letting her unfiltered thought through. She had to think about the words that came out of her mouth.

"No," Maui said, voice stabilizing. She ran her finger through her stomach.

"There is a way..." Maui muttered under her breath, eyes squinting.

"There isn't." Naz's fingers found Maui's wrist, grip surprisingly strong for someone fading so fast.

"I'm dead either way. Let me choose how. Let my baby live," Naz stood on her decision.

Tears cut clean tracks through the blood and grime on Naz's cheeks. She wanted to live, if she could survive this she would jump at it but the decision had been made for her.

The risk was for being wrong was far too great but Maui wasn't going to let her friend die.

Maui bowed her head, tusks trembling. She placed her ear on her stomach and there was a heartbeat.

"…Wait! He is alive!" Maui whispered.

Maui managed the faintest smile, relief and gratitude mingled.

Behind them, far away, the sounds of Byung's desperate fight echoed faintly through the air.

Maui had no idea what to do because she knew there was no way Byung stood a chance against him but there was something he had shown recently that gave her hope.

Byung was strong, stronger than he should be but there was no way even he could overpower someone who took down two orcs alone as Naz and Naruz had more combat experience than him.

But here, in the flickering dark, Naz needed support from her friend, Maui knew it was possible to induce labour without killing her but even that would come with consequences as it increases the mortality rate.

-

The two other mines had been completely subdued and there was no goblin who was left to oppose them with Torgzit dead.

Torgzit's sacrifice drastically reduced the carnage in said mine as the orcs were a lot less brutal after he fell just like Kragg suspected.

They needed to see him take action and take the life of their leader to show them he had no problems killing goblins.

After all, the way the leadership worked here was based entirely on strength and not tribe.

Kragg was the strongest orc in this region but should the day come that his ability to lead came into question.

He could be challenged but Kragg stared at Torgzit's head on a spike.

The goblins had changed, this wasn't their innate nature, could it be Byung was changing them just like he did Maui?

The goblins looked at him with hatred at first but seeing Torgzit's head on spike quickly changed that look to fear.

They were frightened that would be them but cursed Drekk under their breath because he was the one who was supposed to be here to protect them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.