"Oh, you woke up feeling better?" Jeffrey was devouring a chunk of smoked meat in his hybrid form, as the group was having a quick breakfast.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Noah was chewing on a piece of monster meat jerky and smiling at his demonic looking companion.

Noah wanted to ask Jeffrey about the things Silas had mentioned yesterday – him living closer to The Arc and helping out expeditions until he was driven away by members of the Order Of The Blazing Path. But he didn't wish to pry into something personal, nor did he know how to explain how he suddenly knew about it.

Eventually, they packed up and resumed their trek across the rocky plains. With curiosity gnawing at him, Noah focused his gaze on Jeffrey, who was leading the group in its march. Employing his newfound ability, Noah delved into the essence of the human-shark hybrid.

'What the...'

Noah knew that Jeffrey was more powerful than him, but not by that much. Noah had absorbed a substantial amount of essence from monsters during their journey. Yet, the werehuman's essence core dwarfed his own in size and radiated in a far more brilliant glow.

'I guess his is bigger than mine...'

Just as Noah was about to ask Silas about the issue of power growth, Jeffrey raised his elongated face upwards, towards the sky.

"What is it?"

Jeffrey turned his head backwards and studied the terrain, as though he was looking for something specific.

"Hmmm... we're being hunted."

So far, most monsters had refrained from attacking them once Noah had joined up with Jeffrey, almost as if the creatures possessed an innate ability to realize that the werehuman was too formidable for them to handle.

'This can't be good.'

"We should pick a good spot." Jeffrey still sounded calm and casual.

"Huh? A good spot for what?"

"An ambush, obviously!"

***

Noah, covered in dirt, stood by Jeffrey, who towered over him. In the distance, the sound of countless footsteps echoed towards them.

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'What the heck are those things?'

Their pursuers had finally caught up, a swarm of grotesque creatures resembling humanoid rodents, each as big as a man. Hairless and armed with sharp claws, they flashed jagged, yellowed teeth in a menacing snarl. Their pallid, loose skin hung in sickly folds on their bodies.

As Jeffrey explained it, the individual strength of these monsters was not particularly impressive, but their sheer numbers had emboldened them. With no possibility of outrunning the horde, it was best to at least choose where the battle would occur.

The repulsive monsters began to size up Noah and Jeffrey, as more and more of them continued to arrive. A small group of three oversized rodents began to screech before charging ahead. Jeffrey stepped forward and kicked the first one, sending it flying backwards, broken and maimed. Noah knew that it was dead on account of the green cloud of mist which had emanated out of the creature while it was still in the air and proceeded to absorb into him.

The shark hybrid grabbed a second monster, his massive hand enveloping the creature's throat as it emitted desperate squeals. Meanwhile, the third monster leaped onto Jeffrey, sinking its teeth and claws into his tough skin. The werehuman snapped the neck of the monster in his grasp before sinking his powerful jaws into the third rodent, thrashing about in a primal flurry. Finally, he hurled the lifeless corpse to the ground, with a chunk of its torso missing.

The horde let out a deafening screech, the monstrous rodents gnashed their teeth as they observed the aftermath of their probing attack. Stepping forward, a larger monster growled menacingly, its red eyes ablaze with rage and ravenousness. In unison, the rest of the swarm followed suit, growling furiously, before they all began to charge towards Noah and Jeffrey.

'This is really bad... there are enough of them to drown us, plus they are without a doubt the most disgusting monsters I've seen.'

"Hey Jeffrey..."

As the horde charged at them, the werehuman turned his head toward Noah, blood from the monster he had just chewed through was still coating his face.

"Just follow the plan, okay?" Jeffrey patted Noah's shoulder with his massive arm, reassuring the frightened man, before fixing his gaze towards the advancing horde and then charged at them head-on.

It was sheer carnage. The towering human-shark hybrid crashed into the advancing horde of monsters like an unstoppable bulldozer. Broken and maimed rodents were flung through the air, due to the impact of the clash, before Jeffrey was engulfed by the swarm.

Noah had his own troubles to contend with, though, as quite a few of the grotesque monsters had managed to slip through the chaos and were now charging straight at him.

'Now!' Noah gave a mental command.

Dirt splattered everywhere as the monstrous rodents charged at Noah. They came to an abrupt halt, surprised, as a Greatsword slashed at them, cutting a bloody swath through the creatures.

Through the mayhem, Noah caught sight of Steve's green, glowing eye sockets as the skeletal warrior emerged from the ground, where Noah had buried him, earlier. With each swing of his blade, more monsters fell, their lifeless bodies collapsing to the ground, staining it with their blood.

'My turn.'

Noah charged into into the heart of the battle, his fist aimed squarely at a monster that was attacking Steve.

'Holy heck!' Noah did not expect his blow to hit so hard.

Half of the rodent's head had been reduced to squishy, red goo, its body went limp as it was thrown into two other monsters, causing them to stagger under its weight.

'I keep getting stronger, maybe we do have a chance to win this.'