Anyway, the emergence of the loyalty brand and the establishment of clear promotion channels instilled a sense of belonging among the non - ogre foreign members. It also presented the slaves with a tangible and achievable goal.

  This, without a doubt, was a remarkably stable tribe. There was an ample supply of food, a reliable oasis, and ogres of formidable combat prowess. Unlike those tribes or cities that held an oasis yet were constantly under threat of being raided by other races, even though word had spread about the oasis here, no race in their right mind would attempt to seize it. The ogres, with their fearsome reputation, were beings to be avoided at all costs. So, who in their wildest dreams would dare to provoke them?

  The following day, Gorgin sought out Karlov. Upon seeing the quivering Karlov, Gorgin scoffed and shook his head in disdain. "Relax. I'm not about to devour you just yet."

  He led Karlov to a relatively flat expanse outside the tribe and halted. Then, he produced the construction blueprint for the [Metal Smelting Furnace]. "I'm set on constructing a smelting furnace right here. I need you to erect a protective wall around it as promptly as possible. You can put your other ongoing tasks on hold for now."

  Karlov, looking bewildered, nonetheless nodded instinctively. Gorgin silently willed the blueprint to be used in his mind. Instantly, a spectral image of the smelting furnace, visible only to him, materialized before his eyes. This ethereal projection could be rotated and repositioned according to his mental commands.

  "Just like a game," Gorgin muttered under his breath. He selected the current flat area as the furnace's location.

  Suddenly, the smelting furnace materialized out of thin air, startling Karlov. The furnace was as expansive as a basketball court, crowned with a towering, twenty - meter - high chimney. On the front, there was an inlet for feeding in minerals, at the base an opening for adding fuel, and on the side, an outlet for the finished products.

  Simultaneously, a wealth of information flooded Gorgin's mind. He could remotely determine the dimensions of the finished items, with only two shape options available: cuboid and cylinder. The furnace was equipped with a heating mechanism. As long as it was lit properly and the flames were maintained strong and steady, it would operate continuously.

  "You can commence work with the slaves assigned to you," Gorgin instructed, pointing at the smelting furnace. Karlov gulped, deeply shaken by the sudden appearance of the structure.

  He harbored a faint suspicion but was far from certain. Although he had never opened a treasure chest, he religiously followed the world - channel chat every night and shared his own experiences. He had witnessed others flaunting items obtained from treasure chests on the world channel, among which were similar construction blueprints.

  Recalling the question, "Which world are you from?" he began to suspect that this chief might hail from Blue Star. At the very least, he seemed to possess Blue Star memories!

  In Karlov's estimation, the likelihood of this was a staggering ninety percent!

  The remaining ten percent was due to his inability to fathom how someone from Blue Star could be so ruthless as to consider humans as potential food!

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He dared not voice his doubts and instead buried them deep within his heart.

  In the grand scheme of things, staying alive far outweighed any lingering questions.

  Gorgin dusted off his behind and made his way back to his dwelling.

  He had no intention of concealing his Blue Star memories. If others guessed the truth, so be it.

  What could they possibly do to him? Threaten him? He'd smash their skulls into their chests with a bone hammer!

  The smelting furnace, being too large, had to be situated outside the tribe.

  In contrast, the [Armor - Piercing Enchantment Workbench] was placed right in front of his house.

  As the workbench materialized, its full form was revealed.

  It featured a ten - square - meter work surface, with a robotic - arm - like appendage extending from the side, shimmering with a silvery glow.

  "Chuchu," Gorgin called out to the Dog Captain, who was standing guard at the door.

  The Dog Captain scurried over and dropped to his knees at Gorgin's feet. "Your humble servant greets you, mighty Chief."

  "Place your crossbow on it," Gorgin ordered, impatient to test the workbench's enchanting capabilities.

  The Dog Captain complied without hesitation, laying his crossbow on the workbench.

  A prompt flashed in Gorgin's mind: [Do you wish to enchant?] Gorgin mentally affirmed.

  Suddenly, the tip of the robotic arm erupted in a brilliant silver light, which scanned the crossbow from end to end.

  [Enchantment complete. Available attack count: 5/5]

  Gorgin gestured for the bewildered gnoll to retrieve his crossbow.

  "Take it. Consider this a reward for your dedicated service. This crossbow has been enchanted. You can fire five armor - piercing bolts, and all bolts will be imbued with fire damage."

  The gnoll, filled with excitement, seized his crossbow.

  He was well aware that weapons modified by the chief were imbued with special powers.

  Hadn't the ordinary big bone hammers of the ogre warriors been bestowed with fire - based abilities by the chief?

  Moreover, this time, the chief had performed the enchanting right before his eyes.

  The silver light was so dazzling that it was clearly a sign of great power!

  "Give it a try. I want to gauge the full potential of this weapon in your hands."

  Initially, Gorgin had intended to test only the armor - piercing effect. However, on a whim, he decided to see if the "Krummashaaar!" effect would also apply to the gnoll.

  After all, the Dog Captain, bearing the loyalty brand, was almost one of their own.

  Gorgin retrieved a piece of leather armor from a human caravan guard stored in the warehouse and hurled it to the ground. "Fire."

  The Dog Captain swiftly loaded the crossbow and fired at the leather armor from a distance of approximately twenty meters.

  The bolt sliced through the air, piercing the armor and embedding itself in the sand beneath.

  Instantly, a burst of flames engulfed the bolt, igniting the leather armor.

  "Most impressive. You truly are the tribe's most loyal watchdog!"

  Gorgin remarked, highly satisfied with the outcome.

  A crossbow with both armor - piercing and fire - based attributes would significantly enhance the combat capabilities of these otherwise frail gnolls.

  Similar to the ogres' big bone hammers, barring extraordinary circumstances, Gorgin planned to distribute such enchanted items as rewards to those who had proven their worth, doling them out gradually.

  Even a dog understood that things obtained too easily were seldom cherished.

  Items earned through hard work and sacrifice, no matter how unappealing they might seem, held a certain value.

  The gnoll scampered off, elated, to show off his new - found treasure. Despite being called gnolls, they resembled upright dogs more than anything.

  Having received a reward from their master, their tails wagged so vigorously that their entire bodies swayed.

  Next, Gorgin set his sights on smelting iron and trading with Giant Sand City. His immediate goal was to arm the impulsive ogre tribesmen.

  Otherwise, with each casualty, the tribe would lose a valuable member. Moreover, he and his mother couldn't lead every expedition.

  However, selecting a competent overseer for the smelting operation proved to be a formidable challenge.

  His own tribesmen were simple - witted, and there were far too few trustworthy and capable non - ogre members.

  For the first time, Gorgin found himself lamenting the lack of reliable subordinates.