384 The Sounds of a Flute Just Before the Coming of Death (1/2)

”Ignite the flames!” A mournful cry rang out.

The voice trembled even as it carried across the clearing.

With a flash of heat, the circle around them burst into flame, sending rays of light shooting into the dark forest

Countless vipers were hissed in pain. Struggling to escape the sudden sea of fire, a strange scent of barbecued meat filled the sky.

Upon seeing that the wall of fire had worked, everyone began to feel the beginnings of relief in their hearts, but before long, they heard a strange cry from afar.

”Hiss ...”

Suddenly, all of the vipers went mad. Churning in desperation, they slithered, completely ignoring the sea of fire before them that had swallowed innumerable companions. There were also a number of huge pythons that rushed fearlessly into the flames, using their huge bodies as a bridge for their smaller cousins to pass through unscathed.

It was only a short period of time that the masses had hopelessly discovered that the rising firewall, the firewall that had brought hope to everyone, was but a flash in the pan. Their hopes had disappeared in entirety!

Thousands of pythons had used their own bodies to extinguish the flames that could have set an entire mountain range ablaze. Curls of smoke billowed into the air, as thousands of pythons hissed their dying screams even as the flames grew weaker and weaker.

It was impossible to count the smaller vipers that had been crushed or burnt to death. However, the python’s strategy was effective!

The fire had been extinguished. The subsequent snake dens then came in to attack.

At this point, the people and the snakes were fighting in close quarters.

More than two hundred strong men were desperately waving their weapons, albeit with desperation on their faces. They began their vain efforts for the sake of the continuation of their lives.

As for the few young masters and ladies, they all had been frightened like quail; huddling together in the inner area, their faces were deathly white, their bodies shivering.

The battle between the guards and the group of snakes could be described as extremely tragic.

Although the snakes were smaller, they had the advantage of sheer numbers. Without having high-end combat strength, even if they were equipped with the power of poison, it was still difficult to trick the guards who were imbued with an extraordinary cultivation base. Hence, the guards were able to stabilize their feet, even when humongous snakes flowed in like the tide of waves billowing over. They grimly flung back wave upon wave of the slithering monsters, and soon the bodies that lay on the ground began to look like so many pieces of deadwood.

On the ground, the snake corpses that had been broken into several sections could be seen spasming and twisting malevolently. Soon, there were huge, deep, piles of snake corpses surrounding the valiant defenders.

The brushing sounds from afar kept ringing unceasingly. Another wave of large pythons emerged and advanced upon the group. Once they all came near, they whipped themselves across without hesitation.

The guards who had utilized the best of their combat strengths, had, in a short time of two hours, killed at least millions of vipers. However, the sheer volume of snakes began to take a toll on the defenders, as the vicious monsters struck without fear of death or dismemberment.

As for the warriors on the other side, their combat powers were far better and their cultivation bases extraordinary. Still, their cultivation base and mystical Qi was limited. They were utterly weary and exhausted. Unable to sustain their initial vigor, the snakes were still arriving in an unceasing stream. The snakes seemed to cover the ground from where they stood until the horizon.

In the face of such a battle, everyone began to grow desperate.

Even ants could overcome an elephant; not because of the size of the elephant neither it was because its combat power was weak. It was simply due to the fact that the ants were numerous. When the number of a biological creature reached a considerable scale, sufficient to consume the enemy no matter how superior it was, its downfall was inevitable.

Everyone was initially glad that it was winter, as the snakes would not be very active during this season; however, these feelings of gladness had since been thrown to the nine clouds, completely vanished. In short, it was utterly gone!

Hush hush hush ...

Countless vipers flew from the treetops, their bodies like arrows flying straight at their targets.

Every inch of ground was covered with vipers. The subsequent forces, having no foothold and no room to exhibit their strengths, then climbed onto the treetops to launch a combined pouncing attack instead. The attack forces of the snakes had formed an encirclement array. All around them, the vipers lay coiled, ready to strike.

Bang, bang…

No matter how the masses exert their utmost effort to resist, an inevitable gap had appeared in their ranks.

”Argh!”

A tragic shriek broke the air; a guard had been bitten by a viper. Although he had instigated his mystical Qi to burn away the snake, there was a moment of carelessness, and it only required that split second of inattention for the snakes to gleefully throw themselves at the doomed man.

He was still struggling on the ground, rolling and desperately calling forth his mystical Qi, hoping to burn off the vipers, or at least to reach a safe space. Yet all he gained was to attract even more vipers to pile upon him.

After a brief while, a complete set of white bones appeared on the ground.

Yes, it was the pure white of skeletons, without the slightest mark of blood or flesh! Upon seeing the set of bones, a chilled feeling was aroused deep within everyone's heart. All of their scalps felt numb as they were utterly frightened and scared.

Just a second ago, there was still a living human who could jump, fight and kill!

The screams that belonged to the humans kept ringing unceasingly in their eyes, as the snakes took advantage of their horror to wade in with increasing frenzy.

Within less than an hour, the group of two hundred people has lost half of its members.

Upon seeing that victory was drawing closer, the attack on the snake dens grew even more vicious.

The few tragic ladies and youths were screaming loudly. Their shrieking sounds were particularly high-pitched and miserable. They had led a luxurious life since childhood, having their hundreds of requests granted with just a single call. When had they ever had to witness such a horrible phenomenon?

Even if they were able to escape this danger eventually, this incident would haunt their dreams for many years to come, if not for the rest of their lives.

After another frenzied attack by the snake dens, there were only twenty of them that were left standing.

The shadow of death, the atmosphere of despair, had mercilessly shrouded those who were alive.

No one had ever thought that one who had yet to consider how to enjoy life must first consider how it felt to be buried in a snake's mouth.

This was the most typical case of dying without a complete corpse!

Upon seeing that all the people had come close to danger, without having the slightest chance of survival, the attack of the snake dens slowed, as they retreated slightly.

The seventeen to eighteen people who had seen themselves and the others facing the threat of being torn apart were all relieved simultaneously. However, the scent of death was still in the vicinity. The air now was extremely suffocating and filled with the copper tinge of blood and snake bile.