My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 144

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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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144
Inferno
The Armored Knight’s massive frame rose with glacial deliberation, as though a colossus awakening from primordial slumber. The earth itself seemed to buckle beneath his crushing weight. In the darkness, his silver armor gleamed with an icy luminescence, casting forth a cold and merciless radiance. With the grinding protest of heavy metal, he finally lifted himself upright.
Through the visor’s narrow aperture, his eyes blazed like lightning. That gaze, twisted with madness, fixed upon the intruders before him with murderous intent. The shadow cast across his face alone was sufficient to inspire terror in the hearts of mortals.
―Thud, thud, thud.
Each thunderous footfall reverberated through the chamber. With every step, the very earth trembled as though seized by convulsions. Emanating an aura of dread, the Armored Knight advanced with inexorable slowness. His stride was so immense that in mere moments, he closed the distance entirely, materializing before the players as if space itself had collapsed.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
A horrific death cry tore through the air. Steel-clad talons, wickedly sharp, raked through flesh and bone. A dozen players were swept away in a crimson maelstrom, their bodies crumpling like discarded puppets. Yet what awaited them was far more sinister still.
Above the scattered corpses, an azure radiance began to swirl. The faint luminescence intensified with each passing moment, consuming their vision in blinding brilliance. As the dazzling light engulfed them, their forms became unrecognizable, warping beyond all semblance of humanity. Soon, enveloped in that radiant glow, they vanished without a trace. All that remained of the massacre was empty void.
With unhurried composure, the Armored Knight returned to his original position—the very spot where he had been standing. It was difficult to believe this was the same entity who had just orchestrated such brutal carnage; his bearing remained serene and composed as he faced the intruders.
“Attack!”
Kim Jae-beom’s voice cleaved through the silence. At his command, the Undead Legion surged forward with a tremulous roar, their collective howl assaulting the ears like a physical force.
Yet the Armored Knight did not flinch. He lowered his center of gravity once more, tensing the muscles of his legs. His heavy armor groaned and creaked with the movement. Then he charged directly into the undead horde.
―Boom! Boom!
His fists descended like tempests, pulverizing zombies into grotesque fragments. Blackened flesh scattered in a spray of gore. His gauntleted hands swept through the air with blinding speed. Zombie torsos were cleaved in two. Limbs were torn from their sockets, heads exploded in bursts of putrid matter.
A hellscape of mangled corpses and shattered bone unfolded before them. The blood of the undead and the flesh of the dead mingled like primordial mud. Amid this pandemonium, the Armored Knight did not pause—his slaughter continued unabated. His hands moved without cessation, shredding the undead with relentless fury. Possessed of such overwhelming strength, his creations were torn asunder like paper.
“Kugh!”
The players shrieked in terror at the Armored Knight’s merciless butchery.
“Aid the undead!”
With desperate cries, they charged toward the Armored Knight—a final, frantic struggle for survival.
The beleaguered undead, welcoming the reinforcement, merged their forces with the players. The living and the dead united, hurling themselves at the Armored Knight as one.
―Clang!
A sharp metallic ring pierced the air. The coordinated assault caused the Armored Knight’s armor to shudder.
“Ugh!”
A pained grunt escaped him as he staggered backward. Yet he did not fall easily.
―Boom!
With his immense weight, the Armored Knight drove both legs into the ground with devastating force. In that instant, a catastrophic shockwave erupted outward in all directions. Stone shattered, the earth convulsed. Players and undead alike were hurled through the air, crashing violently against the walls.
“Kuaaaagh!”
Screams of agony tore from their throats.
A crimson aura blazed forth from the Armored Knight’s entire body. His gleaming eyes burned with the fire of vengeance.
Kim Jae-beom gripped his steel staff tightly. Drawing a deep breath, he murmured to himself.
“I need to be serious now.”
Sweat beaded upon his brow as he confronted an opponent far more formidable than anticipated. The Armored Knight’s overwhelming strength—demonstrated by his ability to fell even the combined forces of the Undead Legion and the players—was truly remarkable.
‘If I summon Count Heltema now….’
The thought that flickered through his mind caused Kim Jae-beom to shake his head.
‘Not yet. I must conserve my strength.’
This battle was too early to deploy his ultimate weapon.
With a heavy sigh, Kim Jae-beom clenched his teeth. Gripping his steel staff with renewed determination, he charged toward the Armored Knight.
―Whoosh!
Kim Jae-beom swung his steel staff in a wide arc. The metal cleaved through the air, hurtling toward the Armored Knight. As the staff cut through the void, a whistling sound—sharp as a blade—sang out across the chamber.
―Boom!
The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the air itself. A tempestuous blast of force raked across the surroundings, sending gravel and dust swirling in chaotic eddies.
Neither warrior yielded an inch.
Teeth clenched, they clashed in a ferocious melee. Their muscles bulged with exertion as they poured everything into this test of raw strength. Sparks erupted from their weapons as they collided with feral intensity.
Time stretched within the suffocating tension. Above the crumbling corpses of the Undead Legion, my duel with the Armored Knight raged on. Relentless assaults shattered stone beneath our feet and toppled pillars. Walls collapsed with deafening roars. Everything around us disintegrated into ruin.
Yet we fought on, heedless of the devastation. Our eyes blazed with bloodlust as we pressed forward on pure instinct. Within this breathless exchange, the Armored Knight and I transcended our limits.
―Boom! Boom! Boom!
Successive collisions shook heaven and earth. Each time my steel staff met the Armored Knight’s fists, blinding flashes erupted and the ground trembled.
Neither of us showed any sign of retreat. In the midst of our savage combat, my crimson eyes and the Armored Knight’s blue radiance blazed. The killing intent pouring from our gazes mingled with glacial cold and murderous fury.
The earth quaked and the heavens wailed. As the apocalyptic collision of forces continued without pause, the Battlefield transformed into absolute chaos. The Fortress’s pillars and walls crumbled under the merciless onslaught. Deep fissures split the ground, and rubble accumulated in jagged heaps.
Yet the battle did not cease. In this ultimate clash, the Armored Knight and I unleashed everything upon each other.
“Haaagh!”
I pivoted nimbly, slipping from the Armored Knight’s line of sight. In a burst of speed, I circled behind him and swung my steel staff. The sickly green tip struck his silver helm with perfect precision.
―Clang!
A sound that threatened to split eardrums accompanied a deep crack spreading across the Armored Knight’s helmet. As fissures spiderwebbed across its surface, fragments fell away relentlessly. The sudden assault sent the Armored Knight staggering.
In that instant, Dercan rushed forward. Dual blades in hand, he hurled himself at the Armored Knight. His sharp steel flashed like lightning, targeting the helm.
―Boom!
With terrifying force, the twin blades shattered the helmet. Metal shards scattered in all directions, and the Armored Knight’s face lay exposed.
“Screeeech!”
A agonized shriek tore from the Armored Knight as he swung both arms in wide arcs. His fists whirled like a cyclone, driving toward the charging Dercan.
―Thud!
A devastating blow struck Dercan’s body head-on. The impact sent him flying backward.
―Crash!
His limp form slammed into the stone floor. Dercan did not move. He appeared to have lost consciousness.
In that very moment, a brilliant silver flash engulfed the Armored Knight once more.
―Whoosh!
My steel staff cut through the air like a beam of light. The solid metal rod struck the Armored Knight’s temple with absolute accuracy.
―Crack!
With a sickening sound, the Armored Knight’s head lost its shape. His temple caved inward and began to melt away. The head that dripped to the ground transformed into something resembling gelatinous slime.
―Squelch…
The Armored Knight’s head melted until it became unrecognizable. A player murmured in a trembling voice.
“Is it… finished…?”
His tone mingled relief with uncertainty.
But in that moment, something unimaginable occurred.
The melted remains of the Armored Knight’s head began to move grotesquely. The liquefied flesh coalesced, then split into two.
The damp, drooping tissue transformed slowly, deliberately. Soon it took the shape of two distinct heads. Viscous, blood-stained liquid dripped from their glistening skin.
Two heads.
Simultaneously, a horrifying sight unfolded behind the Armored Knight’s back. Bursting through his iron armor came a pair of arms.
Through this grotesque transformation, the Armored Knight now possessed four arms. The limbs extending from his heavy armor rippled with a sickly crimson hue.
“This is…”
Kim Jae-beom’s eyebrows twitched in convulsive tremors. A thrill bloomed in his muttering voice.
“The flag is certain.”
It was something he had sensed all along.
―Crack!
Kim Jae-beom clenched his teeth and charged toward the Armored Knight once more. Murderous intent blazed from his crimson eyes. Gripping the steel staff with all his might, he hurled himself forward with the ferocity of one who would defy death itself.

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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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