Newborn

QQQ"Yes, my Lord," Viktor replied, feeling discontent with himself for disappointing his master.

"It doesn't matter; at least we now know there's a threat somewhere in the south. Tomorrow, we'll gather more information. You can sleep in any of the many rooms in this castle. I'm going to bed," Kingsley said, clearly disappointed by the lack of information and visibly exhausted from everything that had happened that day.

Though he didn't know exactly where he was heading, he felt an odd sense of familiarity with the layout of the house, as if he instinctively knew where everything was.

He hadn't done any physical labor, but he was mentally drained. If it was this taxing for him, he wondered how it was for the others. Did they even have anything to eat that night?

"Good night, sir," Viktor replied with a small bow toward the hallway Kingsley had taken.

"Night!" Kingsley called back as he continued on his way.

Left alone in the massive building, Viktor decided to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. To serve his master better, he needed to know the castle inside and out. With this new mission in mind, he left the dining hall.

Kingsley, meanwhile, was lying on an incredibly soft bed, surprised by just how comfortable it was. The moment he touched the bed, drowsiness overcame him, and he quickly fell asleep.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire echoed around the manor, coming from multiple directions.

"He's asleep," a voice said, seemingly out of nowhere, drowning out the commotion caused by the gunfire.

As soon as the voice spoke, the noise vanished, leaving the room in peaceful silence as Kingsley drifted into a deep sleep.

On the castle walls, Viktor faded into existence, surveying the area beyond the manor. He had heard the gunshots and came to investigate. The activation of the sentry guns meant an enemy was close.

"Are those Orcs? Since when did Orcs come around these parts?" Viktor muttered to himself in surprise. He had no memory of Orcs ever being present in this region.

If the Orcs had a base nearby, the Goblins would never have settled here. Viktor couldn't make sense of it. Aside from the Orcs, he noticed several goblin corpses, along with some undead and various other forest creatures. Their presence was understandable, but the Orcs were a mystery.

Their presence likely meant there was an undiscovered base nearby. Everything in him screamed to eliminate the threat immediately.

According to the memories passed down by previous Goblin Emperors, Orcs shared some similarities with Goblins. They were highly fertile and just as vile, but unlike Goblins, they were far smarter and immensely stronger.

"Don't worry, they'll never be able to harm the master," a voice said suddenly, breaking the silence and making Viktor immediately alert.

Since entering the manor with his master, Viktor hadn't sensed anything unusual. His master's casual demeanor suggested there were no intruders. From the being's words, Viktor deduced it was on their side, but that didn't mean he could let his guard down.

"Who are you?" Viktor demanded.

"Oh... I don't have a name yet. You see, I was just born, and I haven't met the master yet," the voice replied.

"You're the spirit of these weapons," Viktor said after combing through the memories of the past Goblin Emperors.

They had encountered artifacts that developed sentience after prolonged exposure to mana. The exact time required for such sentience to emerge had always been a subject of debate, as no one knew for certain.