Chapter 956: Chapter 956

Ge Lei held up the binoculars, a mocking glint in his eyes.

"Those poor fools, about to be devoured by a swarm of snakes. Such a miserable fate." Ge Lei said with a hint of pity.

The others around him shuddered at the sight of countless venomous snakes covering the area.

"That guy Burton is absolutely insane, actually luring all the snakes here."

Just as everyone was waiting to see Lin Chen and his group get consumed by the swarm, a melodic flute sound echoed suddenly from the jungle.

Hearing that flute, Ge Lei's expression changed dramatically.

He was all too familiar with this sound—years ago, it had led his entire team to their doom.

"Of course, I forgot—this guy is also a beast controller." The mockery on Ge Lei's face quickly turned into grim seriousness.

"Everyone, retreat another hundred meters," Ge Lei ordered those behind him.

Once bitten, twice shy—Ge Lei wasn't keen to relive another disastrous swarm-related ordeal.

Upon hearing the flute from Lin Chen, Burton's eyes turned cold.

"You little punk, trying to wrest control from me, are you?" Burton sneered, concentrating his qi into his master flute.

Yet, even as Burton pushed himself to his limit, he found to his horror that he had entirely lost control of the serpents.

"Impossible!" Burton was momentarily dumbfounded.

His snake flute, a treasured heirloom passed down through his sect, was regarded as the ultimate demonic flute.

Burton had never experienced losing control before.

But now, the reality was staring him in the face.

The snakes that once charged toward Lin Chen's group suddenly halted and turned their fury toward Burton instead.

Burton tried multiple times to regain control, but the snakes paid him no heed, advancing toward him with flickering tongues.

As a beast controller, Burton knew all too well what kind of end awaited him if surrounded by venomous snakes. Gritting his teeth, he burrowed into the ground without hesitation.

Ge Lei watched the scene unfold through his binoculars, his face draining of color. He spun around, preparing to flee with his men.

At that moment, Harn arrived with reinforcements, coldly barking, "Ge Lei, where do you think you're going?"

"B-Boss, I was just about to capture the lot of them, but Burton had to interfere. Now his swarm of snakes has fallen under Lin Chen's control, and they're headed straight for us," Ge Lei stammered, his voice trembling.

"Fool! What's so terrifying about a bunch of snakes? Use the gas grenades!" Harn bellowed angrily.

"Gas grenades! Right, gas grenades—why didn't I think of that?!" Ge Lei's face lit up with exhilaration upon hearing Harn's suggestion.

The gas grenades were high-tech weapons, lethal to humans and animals alike within three seconds of inhalation.

"Brothers, let's go! Deploy the gas grenades!" Ge Lei shouted excitedly.

Lin Chen, wielding his snake flute, commanded the serpents to launch an assault on Ge Lei's position.

But just then, dozens of grenades were hurled into the fray, exploding into clouds of acrid gray gas.

Engulfed by the gas, the slithering snakes immediately collapsed, lying motionless on the ground.

"Damn it! Poison gas!"

Fortunately, Lin Chen's group had already taken Detoxification Pills, so the gas could not harm them. The snakes, however, were not so fortunate.

Seeing the motionless serpents, Ge Lei cheered wildly, clapping his hands. "Brothers, move in! Collect those bastards' corpses!"

"Idiot. You think they're that easy to deal with? The gas worked on the snakes, but it won't affect them," Harn said coldly.

With a wave of his hand, the mercenaries cautiously tightened the encirclement, stopping once they were within fifty meters.

Harn called out to Lin Chen's group, "Lin Chen, there's no escaping this time. I suggest you surrender. If you cooperate with us, I can tell you the secret phrase to unlock the hidden Flower of Life within the secret realm."

Hearing Harn's offer, Lan Xingyue's eyes flickered. She had to admit, the offer was tempting.

She worriedly glanced at Lin Chen, but his expression remained stoic.

Seeing no reaction, Harn continued, "Lin Chen, you Chinese have a saying: A wise man submits to circumstances. The few of you are no match for my hundreds. Surrender, or die."

Lin Chen snorted coldly and raised his gun, aiming at Harn.

With the crack of a gunshot, a bullet raced from the barrel, serving as Lin Chen's answer.

Harn's face darkened at the sound. He grabbed a nearby mercenary and pulled him in front of him.

The bullet drilled through the mercenary's forehead.

Furious, Harn's face turned a shade darker. "Bastard! Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Kill them!"

Gunfire erupted once again.

This time, the mercenaries' numbers were overwhelming, bullets raining down like a torrential storm.

Lin Chen's group couldn't even poke their heads out.

"Lin Chen, if things get bad, don't mind us. You and Sister Xiaohua should escape and complete the mission," Lan Xingyue said gravely.

Though their foes were formidable, Lan Xingyue knew that Lin Chen and Zhao Xiaohua possessed the skills to break through the encirclement with ease.

"Don't talk nonsense. How could I abandon you?" Lin Chen barked angrily.

"Brothers, keep it up! They can't hold out much longer!" Ge Lei, holding a machine gun, howled with laughter as he sprayed fire.

Suddenly, a dramatic turn of events unfolded.

From the dense jungle, a hail of arrows shot forward, taking down seven or eight advancing soldiers instantly.

"We're under attack! There are savages behind us!" a panicked mercenary reported to Harn.

"Savages? Damn it—wipe them out!" Harn roared.

Harn had assumed that their advanced weaponry would easily overpower these bow-wielding savages, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

In the jungle, these underestimated savages moved like fish in water, leaping effortlessly between the trees. Moreover, their archery was astonishingly accurate, with nearly every shot finding its mark.

By contrast, the mercenaries, despite their cutting-edge weapons, struggled to keep up with the agile, monkey-like savages.

Whenever a burst of bullets was fired, the attackers had already vanished into the foliage.

Under relentless assault, the mercenaries fell one after another, the seemingly ordinary arrows laced with deadly poison, killing instantly upon drawing blood.

"Lin Chen, it looks like they're under attack," Lan Xingyue observed the growing chaos among the mercenaries.

"Seems we've got some allies. Let's break through now," Lin Chen said coldly.

With Lin Chen's group joining the fray, the mercenaries descended into even greater disarray.

Watching his men drop like flies, Harn scowled and shouted, "Retreat! Everyone retreat!"

The mercenaries, clearly demoralized, abandoned the fight and fled into the depths of the jungle.

As the dust settled, small, lithe figures descended from the trees—primitive beauties clad only in leaves and minimal coverings stepping into view before the group.