My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 142

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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142
Inferno
Kim Jae-beom gazed down upon the Battlefield, now carpeted with the remnants of gargoyles. The shattered stone statues were engulfed in azure flames, their forms dissolving into ash as if time itself were reversing, drawing them back before death claimed them. Soon, only rubble and cinders remained. When the wind stirred, even those final traces scattered into oblivion.
“Tsk.”
Kim Jae-beom clicked his tongue sharply. He had hoped to replenish his forces by converting those creatures into undead, but that plan had crumbled to failure.
Yet he pressed forward without hesitation. The Staircase leading to the 2nd Floor awaited him ahead, its towering steps seeming to vanish into darkness as if being pulled into an abyss.
“Everyone, move up.”
With those terse words, Kim Jae-beom took his first step. The other players followed in unison, their movements synchronized toward the Staircase. Their faces mingled fear and curiosity as they ascended toward the upper level.
Clang, clang—the heavy sound of armored boots echoed through the stone steps. Dozens of footfalls intertwined, composing a grand processional march. At the far end of the deep, shadowed Corridor, a faint blue luminescence seeped through.
The 2nd Floor presented an entirely different landscape. A circular Corridor was enclosed by countless bookshelves. Intricate magical formations glowed across the floor, and crimson crystals were densely embedded in the walls. This place, filled with ancient pages and weathered tomes, was unmistakably a Mage’s Library.
And in the center of the space stood a solitary figure—an old mage. The elderly man with a long beard wore an ornate crimson robe. His white hair was striking, his face etched with deep wrinkles.
The aged mage slowly turned toward the intruders. His blazing eyes pierced through both the Undead Legion and the players. Then he parted his lips.
“Abominable creatures! How dare you drag the dead into this place!”
His resonant voice dripped with contempt and fury. The glare he fixed upon Kim Jae-beom was hatred incarnate.
“Feels like he’s targeting me specifically.”
Kim Jae-beom muttered to himself, having recognized that the mage’s animosity was directed at him alone.
Without hesitation, he issued his command.
“Arulan, attack immediately.”
―Click, click.
The skeletal mage responded at once. With the sound of ancient bones colliding, Arulan’s bony fingers twitched.
The Undead Legion surged forward in response. A dark tide undulated, rushing toward the White-Haired Mage. Spears clashed with blades, and zombies shrieked their terrible cries.
The mage trembled with rage, raising both arms high. From the ends of his long sleeves, violet mana surged forth. With a snap of his fingers, lightning crackled and descended upon the undead horde.
“Krraaaaaagh!”
Skeletons engulfed in crimson auras scattered into the air. The army of the dead crumbled and burned, their forms disintegrating. Ash and stench scattered in all directions.
Yet in the next moment, the fallen undead rose once more. Half-melted skulls and zombies groaned as they crawled back to their feet, reforming their ranks. They would not cease—not while their master’s will commanded them.
“Begone, fallen abominations!”
The White-Haired Mage roared, chanting his incantation. Intense blue light flooded his vision. The fragmented undead were consumed by azure flames. Some of the players recoiled in horror at the sight.
But Kim Jae-beom remained unmoved, his cold gaze fixed upon the mage. His piercing eyes meticulously tracked the old man’s every movement.
“It’s futile. My army is eternal. No matter how many times you strike them down, they will rise again.”
Kim Jae-beom spoke in a measured tone, his voice brimming with absolute conviction.
True to his words, the Undead Legion never faltered. No matter how many times they burned and shattered, they advanced relentlessly. For those who had returned from beyond death, death itself held no meaning.
The mage’s lips trembled. He bared his teeth and clenched his fists. The crimson crystals embedded in the walls resonated with a piercing sound.
“These filthy Specters!”
With an enraged cry, flames erupted from the walls. Roaring inferno engulfed the Undead Legion. Flesh melted away, bones charred black. Agonized screams tore through the air.
Yet they rose again. With bodies half-reduced to ash, with shattered skulls, the endless procession of the dead would not cease. In the blink of an eye, the undead reformed their ranks and charged at the mage once more.
“This is…”
Kim Jae-beom smiled coldly. Gradually, the army of death began to encircle the White-Haired Mage. His magic seemed to have reached its limit. His body swayed,
“He really hates undead, doesn’t he?”
Kim Jae-beom walked slowly toward the mage, his crimson robes billowing as he parted the ranks of the dead—a steel Necromancer advancing through the darkness.
“You deserve a lesson.”
His voice was cold and resolute. Crimson light flickered in Kim Jae-beom’s eyes as magical power surged within them.
He issued his command without hesitation.
“Dispose of him.”
Those three words shook the very earth. Hundreds of undead surged toward the White-Haired Mage in a thunderous wave. The old mage shrieked a curse of desperation, but it came too late. In that instant, he was torn to shreds, ripped apart until his form became unrecognizable.
―A hollow whistling sound echoed through the air.
After a moment of silence, Kim Jae-beom’s lips moved with deliberate slowness.
“Arulan.”
His weighty voice resonated through the space. The very air trembled beneath the gravity of that single utterance.
Crack, crack—the brittle sound of bones grinding together—the skeletal mage approached. His dark robes billowed as he knelt before his master.
Kim Jae-beom slowly raised his hand. His pallid fingers pointed toward the lifeless corpse.
“Grant him a new existence.”
As the chilling command fell, a sinister smile played across Arulan’s lips. He rose abruptly to his feet. His eerie finger bones stretched toward the White-Haired Mage’s corpse.
―A piercing, shrieking sound tore through the air.
Black energy erupted from Arulan’s fingertips, churning the very atmosphere.
From within the darkness came the unsettling sound of bones grinding against one another.
The corpse began its transformation. Flesh regenerated, muscles sprouted anew. The skin took on the pallid hue of death, turning a sickly blue.
Suddenly, darkness swirled violently, stretching into the shape of wings. Black feathers erupted from between the shattered fragments of flesh.
Massive wing bones burst from his back and slowly unfurled. Broken bones writhed grotesquely, forming a new structure. Fangs sprouted chaotically across the enormous, menacing ribcage.
The winged corpse’s body creaked and groaned as it rose. Hands dripping with blood trembled violently before beginning to move with purpose.
“Ohhhhh…!”
The Death Knight gasped in awe. His eyes, brimming with wonder, beheld the mage’s rebirth.
The surrounding players held their breath. Fear and reverence mingled in the gazes fixed upon the mage’s transformation into undeath.
As the metamorphosis neared completion, the mage’s pale blue eyelids fluttered. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes opened.
“Ahhh… Great master.”
A ghastly voice emerged from his throat. The newly undead mage struggled to rise, kneeling before Kim Jae-beom. His black wings fluttered with reverent awe.
“I am grateful… for granting me eternal existence…”
His rasping voice was pure worship. All the arrogance from his former life had vanished without a trace.
Kim Jae-beom gazed down at his new subordinate, his lips curling into a smile. Satisfaction blazed within his crimson eyes.
“Rise.”
The command fell with an icy touch.
Instantly, tremendous power erupted from the mage’s body. Shattered muscle and bone regenerated with perfect solidity. His eyes blazed with crimson radiance, gleaming with newfound intensity. A body strengthened through cycles of death and resurrection.
The arrogant, dignified white-haired sage existed no longer.
“Kahahaha!”
A deep, resonant laughter echoed through the 2nd Floor. The undead mage’s voice rang out in mad exultation. Everyone’s spine tingled at that sound.
The players watched in silence, their breath held. Fear and exhilaration coursed through them. Yet stronger than either was desire.
Kim Jae-beom understood this well.
“Onward.”
His weighty voice accompanied his turn. A crimson aura blazed around him in the darkness, enveloping his silhouette.
The steel Necromancer surged toward the 3rd Floor. The Undead Legion and the players rushed in his wake.
Boom, boom, boom. Hundreds of armored feet shook the earth. The rattle of chains, the grinding of bone. The army of death advanced toward the next Battlefield.
Ascending the Tower further was naturally part of the plan.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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