While Garros was in his dragon sleep within the Steam Rift...
...a group of Stone Giants in the distance was migrating through the rain across the wilderness, searching for a suitable settlement.
There were eleven of them in total; six were minors not yet of youth age, ranging from infancy to adolescence.
Among the other five Stone Giants...
...there was a Stone Giant Elder over two hundred years old in his prime, three young Stone Giants, and one adult Stone Giant.
Like Dragonkin, Giants are a long-lived species. Depending on the species, their lifespan is about one or two hundred years shorter than that of Dragonkin, and their age categories are roughly similar.
The difference was...
...that at the same age stage, a Dragon's Rank is more than a level higher than a Giant's.
The Giants' advantages lay in their greater numbers, tight-knit social cooperation, and fierce combat power that could rival a Dragon's at the same level.
Adult Stone Giants have a Rank between 8 and 10, equivalent to a Young Dragon among Dragonkin, or an Adolescent Dragon of lower-tier species, such as a Young Adult White Dragon at the bottom of the hierarchy.
The Rank of a Stone Giant in his prime is 10-13.
This group of Stone Giants came from the Stoneheart Clan.
Their leader and other higher-Rank warriors had died in the war against the Blue Dragon Clan.
The strongest one remaining now was the Stone Giant Elder in his prime.
He was responsible for leading the remaining Stone Giants to a safe place and a suitable new territory.
To recover and rebuild their strength.
Hoping to make a comeback one day and return to their homeland.
The rainy season in the wilderness continued, and the drizzle gradually thickened, soon turning into a downpour. The Stone Giants braved the heavy rain, migrating in silence as they drifted further into the wilderness.
Under the same sky.
Wind and rain lashed down amidst thunder and lightning.
The Ogres of the Bone-Chewing Clan, situated in the fertile hills, were not out hunting, sleeping, or breeding; they had all gathered in the central hall to hold a 'Sacred Banquet.'
The main figures of the banquet were the old chieftain and his nine descendants.
It began because, as the old Ogre chieftain aged, his strong descendants in their prime watched him like hawks, coveting his position.
To maintain his rule, the old chieftain had cruelly eaten two of his own offspring.
But he knew that sooner or later, he would have to choose a successor.
After eating two offspring, he still had nine direct descendants.
To select the strongest among them to take his place, the old chieftain held the most sacred ritual of the Ogre race.
This ritual was known as—the Sacred Banquet.
For an Ogre, the meaning of existence is—eating.
They have excellent appetites, capable of consuming fresh meat, bones, and even stones or metal.
The more an Ogre can eat, the stronger their body and the higher their talent.
The Sacred Banquet revolved around eating.
Whoever had the strongest stomach and could eat their way to the end would be the next King of the Bone-Chewing Clan.
During the Sacred Banquet, the old chieftain and the nine other participating Ogres would begin eating tirelessly, day and night.
So far...
...the banquet had been going on for some time.
From the original ten contestants, only three remained.
The old chieftain and his two most promising descendants.
Ugo Bone-Chewing and Karu Bone-Chewing.
The three Ogres sat around a dining table made of marble slabs. Light cast three mountain-like shadows, and grease dripped down the cracks in the stone table.
Even more Ogres packed the hall to capacity, watching the ongoing banquet.
Dead sheep crawling with maggots were piled on the slab table.
Ugo was as strong as a Mammoth in Ogre skin.
Every time he swallowed a clump of maggot-infested sheep carcass, his belly bulged slightly.
His gaze was fierce as he ate rapidly, striving to finish first, his eyes full of longing for the 'throne.'
Karu didn't care about the throne.
He stared at the dead sheep, his eyes filled with nothing but a love for 'fine food.'
He tore off chunks of rotten meat, eating them along with the maggots, his face radiating happiness and joy.
In less than three minutes...
...the three Ogres finished all the maggot-infested dead sheep.
Ugo finished first, followed by Karu, and finally the old chieftain.
As he aged, the old chieftain's appetite and digestion speed could no longer match those of his two strong offspring, but he refused to admit defeat and ordered the banquet to continue.
The banquet went on.
The Bone-Chewing Clan had nearly emptied their entire inventory, serving 'delicacies' that even Ogres would frown at.
These foods would be lethal poisons to other races, but for Ogres fighting for the throne, they were the ultimate trial to prove the strength of their stomachs.
After the maggot-ridden rotten sheep came dried rhino leg bones covered in sharp bone spurs.
There wasn't a single scrap of meat on them; the sharp spurs would scratch an Ogre's mouth, esophagus, and stomach, causing pain during consumption.
Ugo was the first to pick up a leg bone. With blood dripping from his mouth and a distorted expression, he crunched and chewed loudly.
Then came the old chieftain; frowning and supporting his large belly with one hand, he began to eat.
Finally, there was Karu. Though pain shot through his mouth and stomach as he ate, he remained full of joy, treating all the food with a solemn and earnest attitude, even licking up and swallowing the smallest bone fragments.
Lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and the rain poured.
The banquet continued.
Heart-piercing Worm sashimi, troll toes stewed with rusty nails, raw pickled Thunder Rhino bladders, and sliced poisonous mushrooms—dish after dish that other species wouldn't dare touch were continuously brought to the table and placed before the three Ogres.
Half an hour later.
The Ogres finished the elytra of Bone-rot Beetles, their massive stomachs bulging round like three mountains of flesh.
"Continue the banquet!"
With no winner yet, the old chieftain spoke through belches, ordering the Ogre kitchen butchers to bring more food.
"Chieftain, all the food is gone."
The kitchen butcher added, "The clan's stores are completely exhausted."
Ugo suddenly stood up and announced his victory in a booming voice, "I was the first to finish the food every time. Victory and glory belong to me!"
If all the Ogres held out until the end...
...then eating speed would be the most important criterion for judgment.
The old chieftain stood up unsteadily, preparing to announce the results of the Sacred Banquet.
Just then, a green light like that of a hungry wolf flashed in Karu's eyes, and he growled, "No! I'm not full yet."
The next second, he suddenly stood up and walked toward the old chieftain. Before the old chieftain's confused eyes, he swung a massive fist and smashed it into the old chieftain's crown.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a few sudden and powerful heavy punches, the old chieftain died on the spot.
Karu turned to the butcher and grinned. "Take Father's body and the food in his stomach, split it all into two halves, and place them before me and my brother."
"The banquet continues."
Silence fell over the hall.
The Ogre butcher gave a low grunt of affirmation, then chopped up the old chieftain's body, dismembering it and presenting the pieces to the two Ogres.
Ten minutes later.
Ugo finally couldn't eat another bite.
His belly was like a ball stretched to its limit, covered in cracks, his stomach having literally burst. In contrast, Karu's belly was also round, but with every mouthful he swallowed, it would bulge slightly before quickly tightening and shrinking back.
One couldn't tell if it was an illusion...
...but the Ogres watching the feast belatedly realized that Karu's overall size seemed to have expanded compared to the beginning, and not just his stomach.
He hadn't been as strong as Ugo originally.
But now, beneath the skin of his bloated body, muscles bulged as if stuffed with asphalt and oil, making him look a size larger than Ugo.
The clan's wisest two-headed Ogre Warlock turned its two heads to look at each other.
In the small eyes of its other head, it saw looks of astonishment and ecstasy.
"Karu has awakened the Gluttony talent! He will lead the Bone-Chewing Clan to glory!"
Both heads spoke in unison.
An Ogre variant—the Gluttony Demon.
A Gluttony Demon can digest any food and efficiently utilize its energy, gaining terrifying power capable of shaking mountains.
In the Ogre records, the glory of ancient times was documented—there was once a Gluttony Demon who established a magnificent Empire of Ogres!
Ugo finally admitted defeat, kneeling before his brother.
Across from him, Karu chewed on his old father's arm and announced himself as the new chieftain in a muffled voice.
This carnival of Gluttony finally ended with the greediest stomach being crowned king.
After devouring his father's flesh and bones, Karu looked around the messy hall and muttered, "I'm still not full."
Every Ogre he looked at instinctively averted their eyes, afraid to meet his gaze, afraid of being eaten alive.
"Kinsmen! Follow me to hunt."
Karu shouted, receiving a response from all the Ogres.
During the banquet, the ordinary Ogres had suppressed their hunger for too long, and with the clan's stores completely depleted, they urgently needed to hunt for supplies.
Not just Vicious Beasts and magical creatures...
...but the several Monster Clans entrenched in the surrounding areas would all be targets for the Bone-Chewing Ogres.