The ship docked in a secluded river mouth, and a few people disembarked.
Raine hung the skillet, which he had acquired at Whiskey Peak and polished to a shine, behind his waist. It looked a bit out of place, but no one dared to laugh.
They trekked through the primeval jungle, following the direction of the sounds of fighting.
The insects here were terrifyingly large; dragonflies with wingspans of a meter wide whizzed over their heads.
After about half an hour, the forest ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a huge clearing.
In the center of the clearing, two behemoths were engaged in an earth-shattering duel.
They were two Giants.
One wore blue armor, his red beard braided into a thick plait, and wielded a greatsword almost as tall as a hill.
The other wore red armor, his green beard equally wild, and his weapon was an equally massive battle-axe.
At this moment, the greatsword and battle-axe crashed together fiercely, erupting in dazzling sparks and deafening roars.
The ground beneath their feet was already trampled into a mess, and the surrounding giant trees were cut in half, as if a storm had passed through.
“Hey! Blue Ogre Dorry! Your slashes are dull today!”
Red Ogre Brogy laughed, his voice like rolling thunder.
“Less talk! Green Ogre Brogy! Die!”
Blue Ogre Dorry roared, the muscles on his arms bulging like mountain Rocks.
Gatz’s mouth hung open as he looked up at these two mountain-like figures; the anchor in his hand looked like a toy by comparison.
“My goodness… Is this… a Giant?”
Silvers and Dolum were also stunned by this extraordinary battle scene.
Only Rocks showed no surprise; instead, he crossed his arms with interest, a smile playing on his lips: “Warriors of Elbaf? They live up to their reputation indeed.”
Raine’s focus, however, was not on them. His nose twitched slightly, and his gaze swept past the two dueling Giants, landing not far behind them.
A bonfire was burning there, and over it, a Sea King was roasting, charred black—the spoils of the recent duel.
A strong smell of charring mixed with a crude meat aroma wafted over.
Raine’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
A waste of good food.
This was the first thought that came to his mind.
Such a vibrant Sea King, its meat should have been delicious, yet it was roasted into charcoal in the crudest way possible.
Just then, a volcano in the center of the island erupted suddenly, as if on cue.
Boom!
Seeing the volcano erupt, the two Giants stopped simultaneously, each taking a step back, then burst into laughter in unison.
“Gahahaha! A draw!”
“Wahahaha! Another draw!”
They put away their weapons, walked to the bonfire, tore off pieces of the charred Sea King, and began to devour it, as if the life-or-death duel had never happened.
Rocks led everyone out.
“Hey, you two big guys over there.”
Rocks’ voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the two Giants.
Dorry and Brogy turned their heads simultaneously, seeing these humans who were as small as insects in their eyes.
“Hmm? Humans? Are you guests who got lost on this Small Garden?”
Blue Ogre Dorry asked in a booming voice.
“Your duel is very interesting.”
Rocks wore a playful smile: “However, I’m more curious, why have you been fighting for over fifty years?”
“Over fifty years?”
Gatz exclaimed.
“Gahahaha! How did you know we’ve been fighting for over fifty years?”
Red Ogre Brogy looked at Rocks curiously.
“It’s simple.”
Rocks pointed to the mountain of bones piled at their feet, some from dinosaurs, some from Sea Kings.
“To eat the large creatures on this island to the brink of extinction, it couldn’t be done in less than fifty years.”
The two Giants exchanged glances, then burst into laughter again.
“Interesting human! That’s right, we’ve been dueling here for over fifty years!”
Dorry proudly thumped his chest.
“As for the reason…”
Brogy scratched his huge head.
“It’s because over fifty years ago, we each caught a Sea King, one from the South Sea and one from the North Blue. Then a little girl asked us whose hunted prey was bigger. I said mine was bigger, he said his was bigger. Unable to agree, it was decided by the Gods of Elbaf that we would settle it with a duel!”
Gatz, Silvers, and Dolum exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions strange.
Just for that?
For such a trivial matter, two legendary Elbaf warriors had been fighting here for over fifty years?
This reason was… so manly (stupid)!
Rocks was also amused by this bizarre reason; he laughed heartily.
Raine, however, took a step forward at this moment.
He looked up at the two Giants, who were even taller than the giant trees, and spoke calmly.
“Can your duel be paused for a moment?”
The childish voice echoed in the clearing, sounding particularly abrupt.
Dorry and Brogy’s laughter ceased abruptly. They lowered their heads, their huge eyes focusing on the tiny figure, who wasn't even as tall as their toes.
“Little fellow, what are you saying?”
Brogy’s tone held a hint of confusion.
Raine ignored his question and instead pointed to the charred piece of meat in their hands.
“Using such a clumsy cooking method is a desecration of food and a disrespect to the prey you staked your honor on.”
Raine’s voice was not loud, but every word clearly struck everyone’s hearts.
Gatz and the others were already used to Raine’s kitchen tyrant mode, but the two Giants were hearing this kind of argument for the first time.
The air instantly fell silent.
The smiles on Dorry and Brogy’s faces vanished, replaced by an offended dignity.
The honor of an Elbaf warrior would not allow a human brat to comment in such a way.
“Little fellow.”
Dorry’s voice deepened, carrying a dangerous undertone: “Are you… challenging the dignity of an Elbaf warrior?”
An invisible pressure descended, and the atmosphere in the clearing became tense.
Rocks, far from stopping it, smiled even more happily.
He was very eager to see how his little Head Chef would conquer these two muscle-brained Giants with his cooking skills.
Raine showed no fear; he looked directly into the Giants’ eyes.
“I am merely stating a fact.”
After a pause, Raine’s tone carried an undeniable confidence.
“Give me that meat, and I can let you taste what its true flavor is.”
Raine’s words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge ripples in the hearts of the two Giants.
They had lived for over a hundred years, eaten more meat than mountains, and no one had ever dared to criticize their cooking methods in front of them.
“Gahahaha! Interesting! What an interesting brat!”
Red Ogre Brogy was the first to react, slapping his huge hand on his thigh, making the ground tremble.
“You say you can make it taste better?”
“Not better.”
Raine corrected: “It’s about letting it return to the flavor it should have as an ingredient.”
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