The sensation of putting all his strength into a swing that hit nothing was extremely unpleasant. Su Li felt a surge of energy stuck in his throat, almost unable to catch his breath for a moment.
His iron rod struck empty air, and the water rat beast lunged right in front of him, sinking its teeth deep into his left thigh.
Su Li grunted in pain, but fortunately, he reacted quickly. He clenched his left hand into a fist, activated "Glutton's Fangs," and swung downward.
Four fangs, each ten centimeters long, plunged deep into the water rat beast's head, splitting it open.
Su Li immediately lifted his left leg and kicked away the water rat beast, whose head was now marked with several horrific gashes.
A spirit source flew swiftly into Su Li's body, and a message finally appeared in his mind.
"Level 2 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 4/20"
Having killed one water rat beast, two more emerged from both sides, climbing onto the raft from left and right. One lunged at Su Li, while the other went for Xu Xuehui.
More critically, a third water rat beast didn't attack the two on the raft but instead opened its mouth and began gnawing at the raft itself.
"Damn beasts!" Su Li saw this, shocked and furious. His body felt hot, the spirit source energy he had just absorbed spreading through his limbs and bones, accelerating the healing of his wounds.
On the back of his right hand gripping the iron rod, veins bulged like earthworms. Ignoring the water rat beast charging at him, he turned and rushed toward Xu Xuehui.
Xu Xuehui was just an ordinary girl, unable to kill even low-level corpse beasts, let alone withstand a terrifying water rat beast.
One encounter, and the water rat beast could easily bite through her fair, delicate neck.
Su Li feared loneliness. He didn't want to be alone again. He needed a companion.
Having finally found one, he didn't want to lose her.
So, he couldn't let Xu Xuehui die.
With a furious roar, Su Li's speed suddenly increased. He stomped on the raft, making it sway violently, but he sprinted across the unsteady surface faster than the water rat beast itself. His iron rod swung out.
With a "bang," the iron rod struck the back of the water rat beast lunging at Xu Xuehui.
A crisp sound of a spine breaking rang out. The water rat beast let out a sharp, piercing scream as its back collapsed.
Su Li, charging too fiercely, lost his balance and toppled off the raft, plunging heavily into the water.
Caught off guard, Su Li couldn't react in time. A mouthful of water rushed in, choking him and making him cough violently.
A sharp pain shot through his back muscles—the sting of fangs biting into his back.
Su Li realized he had been attacked from behind by a water rat beast. Then, a pain struck his calf as another water rat beast, emerging from the depths, bit into it. This beast was strong, clamping onto his calf and pulling him forcefully deeper into the water.
Choked by the water, Su Li felt an unbearable discomfort in his mouth and nose. His back and calf were both bitten, and the two water rat beasts dragging him were pulling him further underwater.
All of this happened within seconds. Su Li was dragged under, his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears submerged. The last thing he heard was Xu Xuehui's startled cry.
"It's over," Su Li thought.
He didn't mean he was done for, but he understood how dire Xu Xuehui's situation was.
Though he had broken the spine of the water rat beast attacking her, no one knew how many more were lurking nearby. He had barely fallen into the water when two attacked him, and the others wouldn't spare Xu Xuehui either.
Her cry suggested she was under attack. Xu Xuehui was just an ordinary young girl; facing a water rat beast, she had no chance of survival.
She was doomed.
The thought of Xu Xuehui dying stirred an indescribable grief and rage within Su Li.
These damned monsters.
Sinking into the water, Su Li held his breath, twisting and curling his body. Though he couldn't shake off the water rat beast biting his back, his left hand's "Glutton's Fangs" stabbed into the beast biting his calf.
The fangs were razor-sharp, carving deep wounds into the back of the beast's head and neck—nearly ten centimeters deep, almost severing its neck.
A spirit source flew into his forehead, and a message appeared in his mind.
"Level 2 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 5/20"
At the same time, his right arm struck back, his elbow slamming into the water rat beast biting his back. Suddenly, he saw three dark shapes rising rapidly from the water below, heading straight for him.
Three more water rat beasts.
Su Li's scalp tingled at the sight.
Just then, he heard a "plop"—the sound of something heavy falling into the water, coming from above. Su Li looked up and saw a figure dropping from the raft into the water.
"Is Xu Xuehui falling in? No, her body isn't that large."
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. The figure in the water stretched out, moving more nimbly than a fish, dodging past him in a flash. It dove deep and punched the water rat beast biting Su Li's back.
The punch seemed weak, not even breaking the beast's skin, but the water rat beast that took the hit suddenly rolled its eyes back, its mouth went slack, and it went limp. Su Li saw a spirit source emerge from the beast's body and fly toward the figure.
In a flash of realization, Su Li understood: this was a complete stranger, another spirit source user like him. He had just jumped from the raft into the water, killed the beast biting Su Li's back with one punch, and then dove down without slowing, charging into the three water rat beasts rising from below.
The three beasts scattered in alarm, then one lunged upward at Su Li, while the other two attacked the descending figure from left and right.
Su Li kicked his legs, propelling himself upward. The water rat beast chased after him, about to bite his leg, when Su Li suddenly pulled his legs up and twisted downward. His left arm extended, and "Glutton's Fangs" slashed across the beast.
The water rat beast, its neck sliced open by the fangs, spewed a torrent of blood. Its thin neck was nearly severed, hanging by a thread of skin and flesh. The beast died instantly.
Su Li gained another spirit source, bringing his total to 6/20.
The large figure below moved through the water like a spirit fish, twisting to evade one of the two attacking beasts. Its right arm extended, and its fist slammed into the head of the other.