From Slave to King: My Rebate System Built Me a Kingdom With Beauties! Chapter 52: Slow Burn

No one could have predicted the sudden twist of events. It was unclear what had dragged them into this situation, but there was no doubt it all began with Byung’s very existence.

Murkfang’s carefully laid plan had collapsed, and now he found himself caught in a desperate battle of life and death.

Byung kept his eyes fixed on the mines, making sure the work continued as it should. The naming ceremony had already been held during his absence, which ant every goblin now carried a na. They were no longer aningless numbers turning a giant cog.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Murkfang’s sudden appearance at the mine and his push to speed up promotions wasn’t about building up their workforce at all. Maybe it had been about clearing out the mines ahead of ti—removing any goblins with potential so they wouldn’t end up as casualties later.

The mining itself was going smoothly, but Byung had already begun another project: giving every goblin a proper ho. He had drawn up plans for structures and simple housing, things he had always dread of building. But to make it a reality, the goblins would need to divert part of their labor force. Thankfully, with their superior tools, the workers could now et quotas with only half the manpower. That freed the rest to work on developing the settlent.

Still, Murkfang was missing, and they also had to care for a pregnant orc. For Byung, ensuring both mother and child survived took priority.

At the sa ti, he needed a way to have Gribnox bound to him. Yet things were unfolding more smoothly than expected. Gribnox, surprisingly, offered no resistance. He agreed without complaint to Byung’s proposal for improving their settlent. Byung had braced himself for pushback, expecting the goblins’ backward way of life to be deliberate, a thod to keep them from discovering pleasures beyond lust. But the truth was simpler—they had never been clever enough to develop anything on their own.

To protect him, Borkle had been tasked with watching over Byung and ensuring no one, not even the supervisor, gave him trouble.

The irony was thick. The sa supervisor who had broken his hand after trying to fight Byung was now forced to co to him for help. He sat awkwardly, face twisted in pain, unable to speak out of sha.

Byung, busy preparing wooden splints, showed no sign of holding a grudge. It was natural for the goblins to feel cheated—after all, they had toiled in the mines for years while Byung had arrived suddenly, rising quickly and reaping rewards they thought belonged to them.

Borkle had once shared those sa feelings. But after seeing how tirelessly Byung worked to build the forges, his perspective had changed. No one here worked harder than Byung. He had proven himself and earned every reward that ca with it.

"Co..." Byung instructed. The goblin obeyed, though he had little choice in the matter.

Byung placed the splint around his wrist, running it down the length of his forearm. The goblin grunted in pain as the brace tightened, but Byung wasn’t concerned with his discomfort. The injury had been his own doing—if he hadn’t attacked, he wouldn’t be suffering now. Still, Byung found no joy in his pain.

"Done," Byung muttered quietly, securing the brace in place.

The goblin stared in confusion at the strange device. He had expected dicine for the pain, but Byung knew a broken hand needed proper healing, or it could beco an even greater problem later.

"Go," Byung dismissed him, though he still offered sothing to ease the pain. A broken hand wasn’t sothing to be brushed aside. It was Byung’s duty to teach these goblins how to harness their nature for the betternt of the race which was why he didn’t judge any of them.

This was all they knew and one couldn’t be condemned for their nature.

"I-I am sorry..." The supervisor apologized under his breath because he didn’t feel any hatred or anger from Byung despite what he had done.

Neither did Byung report him, with the favoritism he had garnered, there was no doubt they would be repercussions.

--

Maui stood quietly as Oswin stripped away his clothes and stepped toward her. His intent was obvious—he wanted to use her. Who could bla him? Maui was too beautiful for most n to resist. But right now, she belonged to Byung, and she knew it.

She watched him approach, her sigh carrying both annoyance and contempt. To her, he looked like nothing more than a desperate peasant.

"Take off your clothes," Oswin commanded, but Maui only narrowed her eyes. Even if she were to betray Byung, why would she waste herself on a man who couldn’t even satisfy her? That would be nothing but a waste.

Instead, she chose another path. She had co prepared, keeping gold coins hidden away for ergencies—money even Byung didn’t know about.

"I will give you three gold coins," Maui offered smoothly.

Oswin frowned in disbelief. A woman like her couldn’t possibly have that kind of wealth. But if she did, he was willing to accept it. With that money, he could leave with heavier pockets. And besides, there were plenty of other orc won he could bed.

"There’s no way you have that much. You’re just a slave to goblins," Oswin mocked.

"Is that so? Maybe the goblin I serve has deeper pockets than you think," Maui replied with a sly smile.

The insult stung him. The idea that a goblin might have more wealth than he did was unbearable.

Maui reached into her cleavage, pulling out three gold coins. She knew he had no reason to honor their deal after taking the money, but she dangled a bigger prize before him.

"There’s more where that ca from, if you take back—untouched," she said softly.

Greed flared in Oswin’s eyes. "You have a deal!" he said eagerly.

But Maui had already pieced things together. The blood she had noticed on the ground wasn’t just any goblin’s. It belonged to Murkfang.

She kept her sil

Byung had been right. Murkfang hadn’t been captured by orcs—he had been taken by humans. The real question was how they had managed it, or if they had simply stumbled upon him. The blood was fresh; it had to be a recent clash.

ence. If she asked too many questions, Oswin might grow suspicious. She would wait. When they reached the village, she would act.

--

Kragg reclined on his throne, eyes closed, mouth parted slightly, as an orc woman knelt between his legs. This was his way of easing stress. But the mont was shattered when another orc barged in, panic etched across his face.

It had to be sothing serious for him to interrupt.

Kragg waved for the woman to continue and asked lazily, "What is it?"

The ssenger looked pale. Orcs were skilled at silencing the goblins’ ssages to the outside, but this wasn’t about the goblins.

The mont the words left the orc’s mouth, Kragg shoved the woman away and sat upright, his face twisted in fear.

"Vrognut is coming!?"

The na alone filled him with dread. The orcs in that region were supposed to have contained him. The fact that they hadn’t ant they had failed.

Kragg knew well the danger this one goblin carried.

"Damn it! How long ago!?" Kragg snapped at the orc.

"It’s been days since the request was sent, but we only learned of it now, boss," the orc said, still panting heavily. This was proof that he had ran quite the distance to be here.

Kragg grabbed his weapon imdiately. Vrognut wasn’t just any goblin—he was infamous. His face had made it onto the Wanted Posters. But the other races had never dared move against him directly. Trying to capture him would have thrown everything into chaos. Instead, they had left it to the orcs to keep him contained within goblin territory.

His land was hostile, dangerous to outsiders. That made him untouchable. But now that he was outside his stronghold, things were different. He could be vulnerable.

If the orcs could ambush and kill him, it would send a strong ssage to all who watched.

But Kragg’s gut told him otherwise. They were walking on a knife’s edge, nearing a point of no return. If they failed, the consequences would be dire.

"This isn’t good..." Kragg whispered under his breath, fear creeping into his tone.

"Prepare everyone!" he barked at the ssenger. The desperation in his voice was evident.

The orc ran off to spread the order because they couldn’t be caught off-guard and there was no reason to think the goblin who had summoned them would sit-by, idle.

Kragg gripped his weapon tightly. This battle could decide more than any of them were ready for.

One thing was certain, if Kragg could stop Grashnak from initiating all of this, he would have executed him himself because Grashnak was not alive to face the consequence of his action.