Limits

There were currently 9 people fighting the animals. I wasn't sure for how long they were fighting nor was I sure how many of them were there at the beginning. The group of humans consisted of 7 males and 2 females. They had different range of weapons as well. Some used swords sometimes paired with shields. Other used axes and bows, there was one female who used her fists in order to fight. I could see some gloves on her hands and she seemed to be really strong. She could take out the normal animals in couple of hits while she would have to fight more seriously with the variants. The group was not doing badly but I knew this could change any moment. If more animals arrived and even more powerful at that, these people would be doomed most probably.

I kind of hoped for that but the ideal situation would be for them to start running away and luring away all those animals from this graveyard. My plan was simple. After the fight, I wanted to collect as much meat as I could. This would preserve our strength because we wouldn't have to lift as much as a finger to get all that meat that was littering the ground.

I never considered helping the people at all. It was not my problem, they got in this situation and I wouldn't risk my own neck for some strangers who could easily stab me in the back. I didn't care what happened to these people and simply watched from afar as the fight progressed.

The human side was winning for now. Most of the variants were dead and the group was taking care of the remaining mob of animals that seemed to be in dismay. The skills those humans displayed were not bad at all. The people who wielded swords, did so skillfully and displayed their techniques while slaying the animals. The woman with a bow was very skillful too. Her aim was very good and she seemed to be able to single out specific targets that posed the most danger.

I knew that because I could see those targets as well, it was all due to my training with behaviours but her technique relied on something else. The woman who was fighting barehanded was also quite strong, maybe even as strong as me but would not be a match for Shelly who was also stronger than me. There was a guy with a sword and a shield who acted as a defence for the archer most of the time. He shielded her from other animals and allowed the archer to kill at ease. He also killed couple of animals but was mostly focusing on defence.

A guy with an axe was very rough and savage. He would charge at the animals and slaughter them with his axe. He was fighting as if he lost his mind and I didn't understand why would anyone take such risks, especially when fighting in a group.

After a while of fighting the tides completely turned in favour of the human camp and the animals started retreating. The human party didn't pursue them but I wasn't worried about anything, I could already hear loud noises coming towards the group of humans. 'The reinforcements have arrived' I thought and indeed a large group of animals arrived at the clearing. The humans were shocked at that sight and decided to run for it.

I thought 'So they finally make a run for it, good! As long as they take the mob of animals with them, we will be able to gather as much meat as we will be able to carry'. I then turned towards Shelly and said "Prepare to move out. We will get as much meat as we can and leave. You can eat as much as you want but be on the lookout for other animals. If there is any sign of them inform me immediately". Shelly nodded its head and we waited for the mob to completely disappear.

Not even 5 minutes later, the field was left empty. No more animals were in the vicinity as they were now pursuing that bunch of humans. I said to Shelly "Now is the time. Let's go" and we ran straight towards the carcases that laid on the ground. Shelly started eating as soon as we got there. Its appetite was huge, that was why I said to Shelly to eat as much as it can. I said that because I wouldn't have to feed it later from the stuff we brought back home, this way it would last longer.

I started cutting up the carcasses like a madman. One boar, 2 boars, 5 boars, 4 wolves, 3 bears. I had a plan to stuff as much meat as I could inside the bag and let Shelly carry it for me. Although Shelly didn't know about that yet, it was stronger than me so it could carry more than I could. When the bag was fully stuffed and could fit no more, I called Shelly over. The bag was very heavy, I could barely lift it up, I wanted to check if Shelly would be able to carry it or not. In case it was too heavy I would just take out some meat to make it lighter.

I said to Shelly "This bag is quite heavy and I don't feel well yet so you will have to carry it". Shelly gave me a look and I said "I let you eat as much as you wanted so you have more strength than I do, just try it out. If it's too heavy, I will just take some meat out and throw it away". When Shelly heard that, it looked at me with fire in its eyes and nodded its head. I said that last sentence on purpose. I knew Shelly wouldn't want to discard the meat and so it would prefer to carry it.

I barely lifted the bag and placed it on top of Shelly. I could see Shelly's legs bend under the weight. I asked "Are you able to carry that?" and Shelly nodded weakly. I strapped some ropes around Shelly to secure the bag and said "Let's leave, the less time we are here the better".

We left the battleground and headed back to our camp. We had a long way to go before we could reach our shelter but Shelly was carrying the weight of that bag without making any sounds. 'I guess that Shelly will do anything for food. Although it struggles a bit, it will not give up' I thought. We took regular breaks every 30 minutes to let Shelly rest. I also cooked some meat while we were at it and gave some to Shelly. This motivated it even more to carry all that weight back home.

After over 2 hours of traveling, we finally arrived back at out shelter. What I saw there stunned me but also angered me a bit. I undid the ropes that ere tied on Shelly and said "Prepare as we may need to fight. We will see how things turn out first". Shelly nodded and waited by my side.