Trapped

The raft surged forward swiftly, like an arrow towards the Corpse Beast that had just surfaced. In the blink of an eye, it was upon the creature. 

Realizing it was too late to steer the raft away, Simon feared a collision might damage it. He swiftly slipped into the water, using his body as a shield to halt the raft. Laden with a substantial load, the raft was difficult to stop once it gained momentum. Simon relied on his body to brake its advance, pushing forward a few more meters before finally coming to a halt. 

The Corpse Beast, its head protruding from the water, extended its arms, reaching for Simon's neck. Simon's hands shot out, gripping the creature's arms with a sharp crack, snapping them. With a forceful shove, he thrust its upper body onto the raft.

"Come over here, it's all yours," Simon called out to Lily Grace. As a Level 2 spirit source wielder, he had no interest in such low-level Corpse Beasts. The spirit source gained from their defeat was of no use to him. He had previously explained much about these creatures to Lily Grace. At his command, she gripped the hammer tightly, cautiously stepping over from the raft.

The Corpse Beast, its arms broken by Simon, lay pinned on the raft, struggling but unable to rise. 

"Hurry!" Simon urged Lily Grace, noticing her hesitation. Anxiety crept into his voice as he saw the water ahead churning with more Corpse Beasts converging on them. A large number of these creatures were gathering in the water before them.

At Simon's urging, Lily Grace finally gripped the hammer tightly with both hands and struck the head of the Corpse Beast on the raft. However, her blow lacked sufficient force to crush its skull.

Seeing several more Corpse Beasts closing in, Simon cursed under his breath. He grabbed the incapacitated beast on the raft and hurled it towards the approaching creatures. Seizing his iron rod, he swung it with all his might. The power behind his strike, combined with the weight of the rod, smashed the head of the nearest Corpse Beast, sending it sinking into the water.

Simon grasped the edge of the raft with his left hand, his legs kicking in the water to propel the raft forward. At the same time, he advanced toward the oncoming Corpse Beasts. Wielding his iron rod with his right hand, he struck them relentlessly; each blow shattered their bones and flesh, sending the beasts sinking into the water.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his legs, a force pulling him downwards. A Corpse Beast had emerged from the depths, gripping his legs and dragging him underwater. Though individually weak, these creatures became formidable in numbers. Simon glanced down and thrust the iron rod at the beast clinging to his legs.

The rod pierced the creature's skull, releasing a gush of blood. Seizing the moment, Simon pushed off forcefully with his legs, freeing one foot. He stomped on the beast's face, shoving it down and using the buoyancy to surge back to the surface. Grabbing the edge of the raft, he quickly climbed back on board.

Realizing the danger of fighting these beasts in the water, he knew it was safer to remain on the raft. As he clambered back onto the raft, more Corpse Beasts emerged from the water, attempting to mimic his actions and clamber onto the raft's edge.

Simon brandished the iron rod, smashing the heads of the emerging Corpse Beasts, shattering three skulls in rapid succession. As their pulverized remains sank into the water, the absorbed Spirit Sources provided Simon with no significant enhancement due to the creatures' low level.

The number of these lesser Corpse Beasts swarming the raft increased, resembling a plague of locusts. Simon frowned, noting that the raft was now within forty meters of the three-story building rising from the water, yet those remaining meters seemed interminably distant.

The raft had come to a halt, besieged by these low-level beasts. More alarmingly, they were clambering onto the raft, causing it to sway violently and sink deeper into the water. Laden with supplies painstakingly gathered by Simon, the raft was at risk of being overturned or destroyed, threatening to undo all his efforts of the past few days.

Simon roared continuously, striving to maintain his balance on the swaying raft. The iron rod in his hand descended relentlessly, his strength unleashed with each strike, bringing swift demise to every Corpse Beast he hit.

Lily Grace seized the ropes entwined around the raft, struggling to stabilize herself on the rocking platform to avoid being thrown off. Her face had turned pale, her eyes filled with terror as she surveyed the encroaching Corpse Beasts.

As Simon continued to dispatch more and more of the creatures, some sank below the surface, while others floated lifelessly around them. Suddenly, violent disturbances erupted from the depths below, followed swiftly by a shadowy figure darting upwards, viciously clamping down on a Corpse Beast's neck.

The creature thrashed instinctively, caught off guard by the attack.

Simon's heart skipped a beat.

Emerging from the depths was a grey giant rodent, none other than the Water Rat Beast he had encountered and slain earlier. As a second-level common Spiritual Source creature, it was vastly superior to the Corpse Beasts. This one had surfaced abruptly to seize a Corpse Beast, dragging it beneath the water. Soon after, another Water Rat Beast appeared, not attacking the other Corpse Beasts but charging directly towards the raft.

The Corpse Beasts surrounding the raft seemed startled, loosening their grip on it and scattering in all directions, displaying evident dread of the Water Rat Beasts.

Simon tightened his grip on the iron rod, veins bulging slightly on the back of his hand. He had never anticipated encountering such a large gathering of Corpse Beasts, let alone attracting more fearsome Water Rat Beasts. While facing a single Water Rat Beast might be manageable, the prospect of a group was unthinkable, as these creatures were far more formidable than the Corpse Beasts.

Observing the Water Rat Beast leap onto the raft with lightning speed, Simon steadied himself and halted his movements. He focused intently on the approaching creature, then suddenly took a step forward and swung his iron rod forcefully.

Balancing on the swaying raft was already challenging enough; executing an attack made it even more difficult. Despite aiming for the Water Rat Beast's head, the raft's slight downward movement as Simon shifted his weight forward caused him to miss by a hair's breadth. The precision of his strike was nearly perfect, barely grazing the Water Rat Beast's head.