With each passing moment, more flying monsters descended upon the battlefield, crashing with powerful thuds into the rodents below, sinking their talons into their prey, their horrifically deformed faces tearing out chunks of flesh with ferocious hunger. However, the monstrous rodents fought back, swarming the flying creatures as they landed.
It was absolute carnage, with a multitude of monsters meeting their demise in every passing moment. Shimmering green clouds billowed forth from each fallen creature, heading towards Noah like a relentless storm, flooding him with their essence. Though he felt the surge of immense power coursing through him, it was overwhelming his senses.
'Too much... I can't...'
Noah collapsed to his knees. It felt as though he was constantly being torn apart and rebuilt, stronger and sturdier. The battle still raged on all around him, but Noah was oblivious to it, with his senses overloaded. And so, he failed to notice the monstrous raven that was diving towards him at blinding speed, talons poised to rend his flesh.
An ancient blade arced forth, meeting the flying monster head-on, right before it reached Noah. The creature was cleaved in two, with its severed halves crashing and rolling on the ground at the sides of the kneeling man.
With his skeletal fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of his Greatsword, Steve stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Noah, ready to strike down any monster daring to approach. Meanwhile, a towering figure trampled over the monsters standing in his path. It was Jeffrey, drenched in blood, carving a path in Noah's direction.
With a powerful swipe, the werehuman batted aside a flying monster, sending it plummeting to the ground in a bloody and mangled heap of flesh and feathers. His formidable jaws clamped down on the torso of a monstrous rodent, crushing it with savage power. Jeffrey thrashed his head about in a primal display of strength, before releasing the lifeless creature to tumble to the ground, with a chunk missing from its ravaged body.
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"Noah? What's wrong, are you injured?" Jeffrey grasped his shoulders, shaking him gently. Noah was kneeling with his hands pressed tightly against his ears, a pained expression on his face.
Amidst the chaos of battle, Claws and the rodent alpha remained locked in a brutal clash, each refusing to yield and retreat. The skeletal reptile had several ribs shattered and coated by a sickly green foam. In addition, Claws' right arm hung limply from its socket, swinging loosely with each movement. The monstrous rodent was not in a better state, its pale skin, was now marred by deep, bloody gashes. With one eye gouged out and a nasty cut across its face, the creature snarled in fury, undeterred by its injuries. Ignoring the chaos unfolding around them, the two continued their duel with an intensity that bordered on madness.
The blood-soaked battlefield suddenly quaked. With a thunderous thump, an enormous monster emerged, its four tentacle-like appendages lashing out in all directions, crushing several rodents and flying monstrosities in its path, before it collected the mangled corpses and delivered them to its gaping maw. Resembling a gargantuan armored sea star, bristling with spikes, the creature's veiny neck protruded from its center, leading to a head that was mostly just a nightmarish mouth filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Jeffrey turned to look at the horrifying newcomer before redirecting his attention back towards Noah. "Yeah, I think we should probably go now."
Noah grimaced and slowly opened his eyes; they were glowing in a green light that flickered like dancing flames. Doing his best to rise to his feet, Noah mustered all of his strength, only to falter and collapse once more, overwhelmed by the relentless surge of essence that was absorbing into him.
"It's okay, I got you." With a quick motion, Jeffrey lifted up Noah, carrying him in his massive hands, while Steve dispatched another monster with a swing of his Greatsword.
'Retreat to me...' Noah gave a mental command to his minions, as Jeffrey withdrew away from the mayhem.
Claws almost appeared to have an air of indignation at the prospect of retreating before vanquishing its foe. The skeletal reptile turned away but not without a final, defiant act. The alpha rodent, seemingly seeing an opening, lunged forward, only for Claws to lash its tail with bone-crushing force, shattering the monster's neck with a sickening crack. As the formidable leader of the monster horde fell, its essence dissolved into a shimmering green mist and joined the ethereal procession converging towards Noah.