A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

Red Devil Brogy laughed loudly, his voice like rolling thunder.

"Enough talk! Green Goblin Brogy! Prepare to die!"

The blue demon Dongli roared, the muscles on his arms bulging like mountain rocks.

Gatz gaped, gazing up at the two mountain-like figures, the anchor in his hand looking like a toy in comparison.

"My God... this is... a giant?"

Silver and Dorum were equally shocked by the extraordinary battle scene.

Only Lox, far from being surprised, crossed his arms with interest and smiled, "A warrior of Elbaf, indeed, he lives up to his reputation."

Raine's attention, however, was elsewhere. His nose twitched slightly, and his gaze passed over the two giants who were dueling, landing on a spot not far behind them.

There was a bonfire burning, and on top of it sat a sea king, charred black, the spoils of the duel that had just taken place.

A strong, burnt smell mingled with the rough aroma of meat wafted over.

Renn's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

A waste of natural resources.

This was the first thought that popped into his mind.

Such a vibrant sea monster, whose flesh should have been delicious, was instead roasted into charcoal in the most brutal way.

Just then, as if by prior arrangement, a volcano in the center of the island suddenly erupted.

Boom!

Upon seeing the volcano erupt, the two giants simultaneously stopped, each taking a step back, and then burst into laughter at the same time.

"Hahaha! A draw!"

"Hahaha! Another tie!"

They put away their weapons, walked to the campfire, and tore off a piece of the charred sea king, devouring it as if the life-or-death battle had never happened.

Rocks led the group outside.

"Hey, you two big guys over there."

Rocks' voice wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of the two giants clearly.

Dorry and Brogy turned their heads at the same time and saw these humans who looked like insects to them.

"Hmm? A human? Are you a guest who has gotten lost in this little garden?"

"I ask in a deep, muffled voice," said Qinggui Dongli.

"Your duel is very interesting."

Lox smiled knowingly: "But I'm more curious, why have you been fighting for over fifty years?"

"More than fifty years?"

Gatz exclaimed in surprise.

"Hahaha! How do you know we've been fighting for over fifty years?"

Brogy the Red Ghost looked at Rocks with curiosity.

"It's very simple."

Lockes pointed to the mountain of bones at their feet, some from dinosaurs and some from sea kings.

"It would take more than fifty years to eat the large creatures on this island to the point of near extinction."

The two giants exchanged a glance and burst into laughter again.

“Interesting humans! That’s right, we’ve been dueling here for over fifty years!”

Dongli patted his chest proudly.

"As for the reason..."

Broki scratched his enormous head.

"It's because more than fifty years ago, we each captured a sea king, one from the South Sea and the other from the North Sea. Then a little girl asked us which of our prey was bigger. I said mine was bigger, and she said his was bigger. We couldn't agree, so the god of Elbaf decided to settle the dispute with a duel!"

Gatz, Silver, and Dorum exchanged strange glances.

Is that all?

For such a trivial matter, two legendary Elbaf warriors fought here for over fifty years?

That reason is just... too manly (and stupid)!

Lox was amused by this bizarre reason and laughed so hard he almost fell over.

At that moment, Renn took a step forward.

He looked up at the two giants, who were taller than trees, and spoke calmly.

"Could you pause your duel for a moment?"

The child's innocent voice rang out in the open space, sounding particularly abrupt.

Dorry and Brogy's laughter stopped abruptly. They lowered their heads, their huge eyes focusing on the tiny figure who wasn't even as tall as their toes.

"Little one, what are you saying?"

Broki's tone carried a hint of confusion.

Ryan ignored his question and pointed to the charred piece of meat in their hands.

“Using such a clumsy cooking method is a desecration of the food and a disrespect to the prey you have risked your honor for.”

Raine's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord clearly in everyone's hearts.

Gatz and the others were used to Rein's kitchen tyrant mode, but this was the first time the two giants had heard such a statement.

The air fell silent instantly.

The smiles on Dorry and Brogy's faces vanished, replaced by an air of offended authority.

The honor of the Elbaf warriors cannot be judged in such a way by a mere human brat.

"brat."

Donli's voice turned cold, carrying a hint of danger: "Are you... challenging the dignity of the Elbaf warriors?"

An invisible pressure descended, and the atmosphere in the open space became tense.

Instead of stopping him, Rocks laughed even harder.

He was eager to see how his young head chef would use his culinary skills to conquer these two giants whose brains were filled with muscles.

Raine showed no fear, staring directly into the giant's eyes.

"I'm just stating a fact."

He paused, his tone filled with undeniable confidence.

"Give me that piece of meat, and I'll show you what its true flavor is."

Raine's words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves in the hearts of the two giants.

They have lived for over a hundred years, eaten more meat than mountains, and no one has ever dared to criticize their cooking methods to their face.

"Hahaha! Interesting! What an interesting little devil!"

Brogy the Red Demon was the first to react, slapping his thigh with his huge hand, causing the ground to tremble.

You say you can make it taste better?

"It tastes better."

Ryan corrected, "It's about letting it return to the original flavor of the ingredients."

Chapter 9 Bet

"What a loud tone!"

The blue demon Dongli snorted, and two puffs of white vapor shot out from his huge nostrils.

"Isn't human cooking just adding some salt and roasting it over and over? What's the difference?"

In the simple worldview of the Elbaf warriors, food is the source of power; as long as it's cooked and edible, whether it tastes good or not is not a concern for them.

"In that case, how about we make a bet?"

It was Locke who spoke up. He loved watching the drama unfold, and with a smile, he walked over to Renn and patted him on the shoulder.

"Let my head chef process your burnt meat. If you think it tastes better than yours, then we win."

"What if we feel there's no difference?"

"Broki asked."

“Then we’ll get off this island right now and leave all the rum on the ship to you.”

"I can say that," Rocks said heartily.

"What if you win?"

Dongli pressed for an answer.

Lox grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his smile carrying a hint of self-righteous arrogance.

"Then you have to admit that you've been eating garbage in the past, and we're going to be hunting on this island, so the two of you will be our guides."

This bet is full of provocation.

Dorry and Brogy exchanged a glance, seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes—absurdity, and a hint of aroused curiosity.

"Okay! Let's take the bet!"

Brogy slammed the huge, mostly charred piece of sea king flesh he was holding into the ground with a muffled thud.

"Little guy, show us what you're capable of with this!"

Gatz and Dorlum were both a little nervous; this was a big gamble.

Only Silver remained silent, leaning against a tree; he believed in Raine.

Raine walked up to the piece of meat that was taller than him and reached out his little hand to touch it.

The outer shell is completely carbonized and as hard as stone, but the internal temperature is still present, so there is still room for recovery.

“Gats, help me carry it to the fire. Silver, find some broad, clean leaves. Dorum, use your axe to carve some long, thin wooden sticks for me.”

Ryan began to issue instructions methodically.

The three of them immediately sprang into action.

Raine first instructed Gatz to put the meat back on the fire, but at a distance, so that the residual heat would continue to cook it inside.

Then, he took out his kitchen knife, and with a flash of light, precisely sliced ​​off the thick, completely carbonized layer on the surface of the meat, making a snapping sound.

The precise knife skills were so impressive that the two giants watching from the side couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

After peeling away the charred outer shell, the dark brown fish meat inside was revealed.

Although it still doesn't look very appealing, at least it's no longer charcoal-colored.

With a wooden skewer sharpened by Dorum, Renn poked countless tiny holes in the fish. Then, with his back to the crowd, the jade-like endless condiment bottle reappeared in his palm.

"Papaya enzymes that soften meat, highly flaky alcohol essence that removes fishy smells, sea salt crystals that enhance the sweetness of deep-sea fish, and... a hint of rosemary fragrance that can awaken dormant taste buds."

A drop of almost transparent liquid, mixed with nearly invisible crystals and powder, was silently flicked out by Renn, evenly covering the surface of the meat and seeping into the pores.

After doing all this, Raine used the huge leaves that Silver had found to wrap the whole piece of meat tightly, like a giant green rice dumpling, and then pushed it back to the campfire and buried it with hot ashes for the final braising.

The whole process was smooth and fluid, full of a unique sense of rhythm, adding an artistic touch to the originally rugged outdoor cooking.

The two giants stared in disbelief, never imagining that there were so many intricacies involved in handling a piece of meat.

About ten minutes later, Renn brushed aside the hot ashes and unwrapped the leaf.

The moment the leaf was lifted, an unprecedented and extremely aggressive fragrance burst forth!

It wasn't just the aroma of meat; it was a complex and highly layered flavor.

The unique, domineering umami flavor of sea monsters is fully unleashed by some mysterious force, perfectly blending with a refreshing plant fragrance.