"Where on earth did these little 'hyenas' come from?"

  Gorgin wasn't the least bit worried about his mother and the others not making it back.

  His surprise stemmed solely from their return with yet another group of jackals.

  His mother was far from a soft - hearted individual, especially when her left - hand head was in the driver's seat.

  "Great chieftain, your humble watchdog chanced upon this group of tribesmen," the original jackal groveled, prostrating itself at Gorgin's feet.

  The terrified jackals, in an almost comical display of mimicry, dropped to their knees in an orderly fashion.

  Horne gracefully dismounted from the kodo beast and handed the reins to Nu, who was trailing behind.

  Her left head declared, "These are nothing but filthy vermin!" while the right head added, "Yet your watchdog thought they might be of some use to you!"

  "Is that so?"

  Gorgin arched an eyebrow, pointedly ignoring the jackals kneeling submissively on the ground.

  "Have someone lead the kodo beast to the oasis at the back and ensure it's securely tied up," he instructed Nu.

  "Ooh!"

  Nu grinned from ear to ear, his large lips stretching wide, and then clambered onto the back of the kodo beast with gusto, riding off towards the oasis in high spirits.

  The envy in the eyes of the other ogres was so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

  Gorgin's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

  He was on the verge of proclaiming that the kodo beast was his and his mother's exclusive mount, but thought better of it.

  Why bother arguing with a fool?

  "Gorgin, I'm starving!"

  His mother's left head opened its cavernous maw wide.

  "Yeah, I'm craving something delicious," her right head added, licking its lips suggestively.

  "Sure thing! Mom, you've had a long day. Go and take a well - deserved rest. I'll call you when the food's ready," Gorgin replied.

  Horne nodded, casting a curious glance at Karlov, who was bustling about, before striding into her shack, still clutching her massive bone hammer.

  Only then did Gorgin plop down on the ground, looking down his nose at the jackals groveling before him.

  "You can actually talk? I took you for a mute," he remarked.

  The original jackal trembled as it replied, "The great chieftain decreed that I'm a watchdog, and watchdogs don't need to speak."

  "Heh~ You're a smart one. Alright, spill it. Considering you did a decent job guarding the gate before, I'll give you a chance to make your case," Gorgin said, genuinely intrigued to hear what the little jackal had to say.

  "Great chieftain, it was actually that orc who gave me the idea.

  As the watchdog of our tribe, it was my abject failure to let an outsider orc get so close to the tribe without noticing.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Coincidentally, on our way back, the group led by the mighty ogre mage lady stumbled upon this half - dead jackal team.

  That's when the humble me hatched a plan.

  I thought that if we could subdue these filthy creatures and bring them back, we could form a watchdog squad.

  This way, we watchdogs could expand our perimeter and patrol more areas.

  Should any unknown creatures approach, we'd be able to sound the alarm in no time.

  Although the humble me believes that no creature in its right mind would dare approach our tribe with the great chieftain at the helm, as watchdogs, we must always do our duty to the fullest," the jackal, with its characteristic cunning and ferocity, laid out its thoughts clearly, all the while showering Gorgin with fulsome praise and self - deprecation.

  Gorgin wasn't the least bit swayed by this over - the - top flattery.

  It was all the same tired litany of "powerful," "great," "humble," and "weak" - so insipid and lacking in originality.

  Even children on Blue Planet would see through such hollow flattery.

  However, the jackal's proposal did have some merit.

  Forming a team and setting up rotating patrols was a sound idea.

  It could certainly deter those sneaky intelligent races from trying to pilfer from the oasis.

  Moreover, the jackal had a knack for words.

  Its repeated use of "our tribe" showed that it had fully embraced its new identity, which was rather interesting.

  It even looked down on the jackal team it had brought back, unless they, too, were recognized by Gorgin.

  "That's a fair point. Alright, you can stay. The rules are simple: follow orders and do your job well, and you'll have food and water," Gorgin declared.

  At these words, the jackals' eyes lit up with joy, and they were on the verge of launching into a chorus of praise for the chieftain's greatness.

  Gorgin waved his hand dismissively.

  "Cut it out. Keep your mouths shut when you've got nothing useful to say. Disturb our rest, and you'll end up on our dinner plates," he warned.

  The jackals promptly clamped their mouths shut and cowered on the ground, trembling like leaves in the wind.

  Standing at a mere one and a half meters tall, the jackals were as defenseless as chicks in the presence of the towering five - meter - tall ogres.

  "Scram. There are leftovers from noon over there. Consider it a treat for you mutts," Gorgin said, waving his hand as if shooing away bothersome flies.

  The jackals didn't dare utter a word.

  They bowed obsequiously, tails between their legs, and rushed towards the food scraps left by the ogres at noon, pushing and shoving in their haste.

  "Great and fearsome chieftain..."

  The original jackal looked up at Gorgin with a pitiful expression.

  Gorgin couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.

  This jackal was certainly sharp.

  "From now on, you're their leader. Keep them in line and do your job properly, or I'll skin you alive," Gorgin threatened.

  "Thank you, great and fearsome chieftain!"

  the newly - appointed watchdog captain exclaimed, kowtowing to Gorgin with unbridled enthusiasm.

  "Scram."

  "Right away!"

  The watchdog captain actually rolled away, and then sauntered up to the jackals squabbling over the food, puffing out its chest and flexing its non - existent muscles.

  Gorgin couldn't be bothered with these antics and turned his attention to preparing dinner.

  Since his mother had led the mission and safely returned with the kodo beast, he felt compelled to show his gratitude.

  Cooking this meal would deplete the seasonings he had painstakingly saved, but what else could he do? She was his mother, after all.

  Gorgin made his way to the oasis.

  Moments later, he returned, carrying several plump sand turkeys.

  These creatures, with their ability to wield simple fire magic, had grown fat and juicy in the oasis.

  He immediately tasked Karlov with plucking the feathers.

  As a human from Blue Planet, Karlov was no stranger to such menial tasks.

  Gorgin then retrieved a boning knife from the space within his cookbook and set about chopping the sand turkeys into large, hearty pieces.

  It was a shame there was no cooking wine to marinate the meat; Gorgin couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

  He placed his improvised "cooking pot" - the skull of some massive beast - over the campfire.

  Given the primitive conditions, it was the best he could do.

  Gorgin added the chicken pieces to the pot with cold water and brought it to a boil, deftly skimming off the foam to remove the fishy smell.

  There was no oil, but that wasn't going to stop him.

  He could always render fat from the scraps he had saved.

  Without scallions, ginger, or garlic, he decided to forgo them.

  Instead, he emptied the entire bucket of Pixian broad - bean paste into the pot.

  After stirring to release the rich, savory aroma, he added the chicken pieces and a splash of dark soy sauce to give them a deep, appetizing color.

  He tossed in a handful of dried chili peppers, added a little water, and continued to stir vigorously.

  The fire crackled merrily, and within minutes, the mouth - watering aroma of the spicy chicken wafted through the air.

  "Mom!" Gorgin called out, holding the freshly cooked spicy chicken aloft.