Chapter 10: Building a Simple Blast Furnace
Enzo looked at the map and asked, "Will the rainfall be heavy after the rainy season arrives?"
Sovita thought for a moment but didn't give a definite answer. He said, "I'm not sure. But last year, at the previous location of the Crimson Star tribe, the rainfall was heavy. It washed away several mountains. Even some extraordinary creatures that couldn't escape in time were swept away by the flood. Although the Crimson Star tribe evacuated in advance, still one-third of the people died because of it."
One-third!
This number startled Enzo.
In this era, humans couldn't be considered strong. Those fierce beasts and extraordinary creatures could easily kill humans, let alone the cataclysmic force of nature, which even extraordinary creatures couldn't resist.
Thinking of this, Enzo didn't hesitate much and agreed to the vanguard team's requisition of supplies.
Then, Sovita reported on the current food reserves.
The tusks of wild boar meat had all been cut into strips and were currently being dried. It was estimated that about 1,500 kilograms of dried meat could be obtained after drying, which would become the main food for the tribe in the future.
Besides these, Sovita mentioned the most important thing.
He asked, "Lord Enzo, how large of a cave do you need? I will arrange manpower to excavate the cave as soon as possible. The cave where Tia lives is too simple and not suitable for you."
Living in a cave?
Enzo didn't really want to live in a cave.
He stood up and scanned around. The entire camp, nestled against the mountainside on three sides, was dotted with caves of various sizes, some serving as dwellings while others were used for storage.
In the center of the camp was a large, relatively flat area, which served as the daily activity area for the tribe. It was about 400 meters long and 200 meters wide. For a tribe of over two hundred people, this area was quite spacious.
After some thought, Enzo ordered, "Sovita, gather a group of people. I have something to announce."
Sovita nodded hurriedly.
Just as he turned to leave, he glanced back and pointed at the roasted potatoes on the ground, asking ingratiatingly, "Lord Priest, can I taste the potatoes?"
Enzo looked disdainful and waved his hand, saying, "Take them."
After all, having served as a priest, he felt a bit repelled by Sovita's eagerness, as if he had no worldly experience at all.
However, Sovita didn't care at all about Enzo's disdain. He quickly picked up the potato, peeled it, savored it happily, and then went to gather the manpower Enzo needed.
At that moment, Tia finished eating her potato, her eyes filled with a hint of resentment.
That was her potato!
Seeing Tia's aggrieved expression, Enzo couldn't help but pinch her cheek and handed her the remaining roasted potatoes, saying, "Alright, time to get to work."
Tia smiled happily and quickly tucked away the roasted potatoes, hiding them in her own cave. Before long, Sovita arrived with a dozen or so tribe members.
Enzo immediately isEnzod orders.
They were to dig the whitish soil at the foot of the second peak, mix it with water, gather stones, and use the mud to build furnaces about the height of a person.
Many tribe members were curious.
But Enzo didn't feel like explaining.It would be too troublesome.
What he was making was a makeshift furnace. The whitish clay soil at the foot of the second peak was a type of clay suitable for firing pottery or bricks.
Under Enzo's command, several makeshift furnaces were quickly erected.
Next, Enzo had people bring in some dead trees that had fallen. They were chopped into several sections with stone axes, stacked together, covered with clay on the outside, and filled with branches at the bottom to ignite them. At the top, a smoke vent was left open. Once the wood was burning, all smoke vents were sealed shut, allowing the wood to char without fully combusting, thus producing high-quality charcoal.
By the time all this was done, it was getting dark again.
Enzo called for Sovita and Ward, instructing them, "Keep an eye on things and have people bring more wood back to be turned into charcoal. We'll need it for firing ceramics and making bricks and the like."
Sovita suddenly exclaimed, "Lord Enzo, are you saying we'll be making ceramics?"
Enzo was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Sovita hurriedly explained, "Lord Enzo, you misunderstand. Ceramics are usually only possessed by powerful tribes. Before I became a priest, I encountered some traveling merchants from powerful tribes who sold ceramics. But even small pottery the size of a palm would cost as much as an adult hyena."
Recalling the past, Sovita felt a sense of nostalgia.
Enzo, however, became interested upon hearing this. He asked, "Traveling merchants? When do these traveling merchants usually come?"
Sovita smiled wryly. "Well... it's all about luck."
Hearing this, Enzo could only give up and then leave.
After Enzo left, Sovita and Ward couldn't contain their excitement.
That was pottery!
Incredibly precious pottery!
Judging from Lord Enzo's tone, they could also produce such pottery.
It was simply too fantastic!
Once they had those precious ceramics, the Crimson Star Tribe would surely experience rapid development, perhaps even being able to exchange for extremely rare goods with other tribes.
Sovita and Ward exchanged glances, bursting into laughter.
As for Enzo, he took Tia back to rest.
This priest was really something else.
Back in the cave, Enzo grumbled to himself, then grabbed the dried tail of Amy lying on the animal skin rug as a pillow, pulling Tia close and drifting off to sleep slowly.
Today had been exhausting.
Experimenting with divine arts drained a lot of energy, not to mention directing the tribe members to work directly.
Tia, being obedient, didn't disturb Enzo while he slept.
...
In the dead of night.
Everyone in the tribe had already fallen asleep.
In Tia's cave, Amy quietly opened his eyes, carefully pulling his tail from under Enzo's neck, his face flushing with embarrassment. He quickly put on his clothes and quietly slipped out of the cave.
Her eyes shimmered with a faint light, able to see everything clearly despite the darkness of night.
In truth, she had lied.
She was from the Red River Tribe, but she wasn't an ordinary member. She was a priest, possessing the ability of night vision and danger foresight. However, with the demise of the Red River Tribe and the fading of the tribe's flame, her abilities had weakened over time, leaving only her night vision.
At that moment, Amy glanced towards the Crimson Star Tribe's camp.
In the center of the camp, many strange structures had been erected, and a large piece of land had been cleared in the corner, seemingly planted with something.
This piqued Amy's curiosity, but she had no intention of investigating further. She tiptoed towards the entrance near the wooden wall, eager to leave.
She didn't want to become someone else's slave.
Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her slender waist, sliding down her abdomen, brushing past her thighs, and finally grabbing her furry tail. A trembling voice sounded, "Amy, where are you going so late?"
Amy turned her head and saw Enzo.
She quickly apologized, "Master, I was wrong."
In the tribe, slaves had no freedom. If caught trying to escape, there was only one outcome: death.
Enzo pinched Amy's upright fox ears, a cold smile appearing on his face as he questioned, "Wrong? Is this your attitude when admitting your mistake? Amy, I hope you can be honest with me... You used to be a priest!"
When using the totem imprint to explore, Enzo had sensed the tribal priest imprint that had once existed within Amy's body.
This indicated Amy's true identity.
However, at that time, Enzo didn't reveal it directly.
The Crimson Star Tribe needed to develop, to have more people, and Amy, having served as a priest, was undoubtedly a talent of the primitive era. Enzo didn't intend to miss out on her.
But to completely subdue Amy, to make her genuinely obedient, was evidently not an easy task.
Hearing Enzo's words, Amy was completely flustered.
Her legs went weak, making it difficult for her to stand, but Enzo supported her.
Enzo wasn't interested in further toying with this timid fox priestess. He directly commanded, "If your performance can satisfy me, I might overlook your transgression this time."
Amy nodded without hesitation and immediately crouched down.
She pulled open Enzo's animal skin pants, opened her small mouth, and kept licking and playing with the hot manhood.
It has to be said that this is a kind of enjoyment.
Especially in Amy's eyes, there was a mixture of humiliation and unwillingness, but it was also mixed with desire, which made Enzo's heart feel strange and brought a strong sense of conquest pleasure.
At this moment, Enzo suddenly spoke up and said, "Amy, as long as you are always loyal to me, I can help you regain your strength!"