Battle

Having assimilated two Spirit Sources, Simon's enhanced strength finally erupted.

The reanimated monster, though thrown off by Simon, continued to grip his neck tightly, albeit with weakening force. Seizing the opportunity, Simon grabbed the hands and forcefully pulled them away from his neck.

Free from the grasp, Simon gasped for air, collected himself, and swiftly pushed himself up from the ground. He reversed the situation, pinning down the reanimated monster. With his right hand wielding the hammer, he brought it down heavily from above, smashing directly onto the creature's head and face.

With a resounding "thud," a mix of flesh and white fluid splattered around as the hammer struck. The reanimated monster immediately stiffened, its skull deeply caved in.

Simon's blow carried at least three hundred pounds of force. Several successive strikes crushed the creature's head into a pulp, obliterating half its face.

Only after the reanimated monster collapsed lifeless on the ground did Simon catch his breath and cease his actions.

Observing the reanimated monster lying motionless with its white fur retracting from its skin, a small white furball suddenly shot out, aimed directly at Simon's forehead.

With the experience from the two previous encounters, this time Simon not only lacked fear or trepidation, but rather harbored a subtle sense of anticipation. For with each additional white furball he absorbed, his strength would increase incrementally.

As the white furball struck his forehead, it permeated his body, transforming into a surge of warmth coursing through him. It felt as though his entire being was immersed in a hot spring, particularly soothing the recent injury to his neck inflicted by the reanimated monster's grasp. Lasting for about two to three seconds, this warmth suddenly dissipated, leaving Simon sensing a new surge of power burgeoning within him.

His strength surged once more, and the discomfort of previous breathing difficulties vanished, returning to normalcy.

Simon understood that his recent neck injury had healed.

Once again, new information appeared in his mind:

"Spirit Source: 3/5."

Breathing heavily, Simon gripped his cleaver and hammer, preparing to slowly rise to his feet, when suddenly, the sound of shattered glass came from the living room balcony window.

Simon understood what had happened and immediately turned to rush out.

With the experience from previous encounters, the current Simon appeared much more composed. Upon rushing into the living room, he glanced up at the balcony ahead and couldn't help but inhale sharply.

The balcony's windows were shattered, and at this moment, two reanimated monsters were crawling in through the window.

Simon had never expected to encounter two reanimated monsters this time.

Guided by the faint starlight outside, Simon could barely discern that one of these creatures was a woman in her fifties during her lifetime, while the other was a man in his thirties. However, both now had swollen and pale faces from being soaked in water, with fuzzy white hair growing on their exposed skin. Their speed and movements were swift. Simon had barely heard the noise and rushed into the living room when, in just a second or two, these two reanimated monsters had crawled half of their bodies through the window.

Simon knew this was bad. With two reanimated monsters appearing now, it would be very troublesome. Facing both simultaneously, Simon did not feel confident.

He dashed forward at full speed, intending to take advantage of the fact that these two reanimated monsters had not completely crawled in yet, making it difficult for them to attack, and he sought to strike first.

Simon now possessed three Spirit Sources within him, not only enhancing his strength by over a hundred kilograms but also greatly increasing his speed. With full force, he dashed instantly to the balcony, wielding the iron hammer fiercely towards the fifty-something-year-old woman.

Although his strike was swift, the reanimated monster reacted swiftly as well, jerking its head abruptly. The hammer landed heavily on the woman's shoulder.

Her shoulder immediately collapsed under the impact, halting her crawling movement. Yet, the reanimated monster, oblivious to pain, opened its mouth wide and reached out to grab Simon.

Simon's other hand swiftly followed with the cleaver, descending sharply onto the woman's slightly upturned face.

The face, swollen and shiny from prolonged soaking in water, was deeply embedded by the cleaver. Simon saw one of her eyeballs almost bulging out of its socket due to the force and pressure of the blow.

Just as he struck the woman's face, the thirty-something-year-old man crawled in through the window on the other side. He was fast, gripping both sides of the window with his hands. With a sudden burst of strength, he squeezed his body through the window and lunged towards Simon.

This sequence of movements displayed none of the stiffness and sluggishness seen in the previous reanimated monsters. Their actions were agile, not at all inferior to Simon's current state.

Simon was already too late to evade, colliding with the thirty-something-year-old man. He felt a surge of great force overwhelming him, staggering and emitting a muffled groan as he tumbled sideways. Almost simultaneously, there was a loud splash from the water outside the balcony, sending up a spray of water droplets.

Being so close, Simon caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of a massive dark shadow rising abruptly from the splashing water.

The fifty-something-year-old woman, whose lower body was still exposed outside the window, suddenly was pulled into the water with a swift sound.

Amidst the splashing water, Simon didn't have time to examine closely, but he saw the body of the fifty-something-year-old woman disappear instantly into the water.

Everything happened so suddenly that Simon's heart pounded violently, filled with astonishment and horror. The creature that had just pushed him backward, transforming into the thirty-something-year-old man, also ceased its movement, seemingly affected by the shocking scene, appearing somewhat stupefied.

Simon wouldn't miss such an opportunity. As he stepped back, he pushed off the wall with his right foot, leveraging the force to pounce forward. The kitchen knife in his hand slashed towards the face of the thirty-something-year-old man.

Unlike previous undead creatures, this man reacted swiftly as the knife was about to strike his face. He leaned back slightly, causing the blade of Simon's knife to nearly graze his face as it descended. However, he didn't completely evade it; the knife sliced into his chest and abdomen.

Despite his chest being nearly cleaved open, the undead creature felt no pain. It didn't hinder his retaliation. His right arm swung horizontally, and his palm slapped heavily across Simon's left cheek.

The force of the blow was immense. Simon felt as though he had been struck by an iron hammer. His head rang with a deafening sound, half of his face immediately lost sensation, blood pouring from his nose, tears streaming from his left eye, and his vision blurred instantly.

The undead creature before him was terrifying, even more so than the creature he encountered in the bedroom just moments ago.