My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 148

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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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148
Inferno
Kim Jae-beom and the Undead Legion descended into the Mine. They ventured deep along the Corridor that led Underground, where the dark and damp Mining Tunnel seemed to stretch endlessly before them.
Footsteps echoed through the narrow passage. A procession of death burrowed ever deeper into the Mine.
Then it happened.
The zombie vanguard ahead suddenly halted. In that same instant, a breathtaking sight unfolded before my eyes.
The cold Marble Floor trembled violently, and dozens of crimson boxes erupted from beneath it without warning.
―Screech!
Abruptly, those boxes gaped their maws wide and hurled themselves at the Undead Legion. Snarling sounds, thick with madness, filled the cramped space.
Startled undead soldiers raised their weapons in defense. Blades and spears slashed through the air with lethal speed. The boxes, carved by those edges, shattered into countless fragments.
Yet the boxes’ assault did not cease. The broken hexahedrons gathered themselves and recombined. They devoured fallen undead, swelling their forms like rolling snowballs. The crimson mass grew monstrously larger.
Dread seized the moment. The Undead Legion began to fall, one by one. I, with eyes burning like blue flames, clenched my teeth.
Then I turned and called to Arulan. My lips twisted as the command fell from them.
“Detonate the corpse bombs.”
The skeletal sorcerer nodded immediately.
―Click-clack.
With the sound of jawbones striking together, the incantation began.
Black energy erupted from Arulan’s fingertips, flowing into the undead that the boxes had consumed.
And in that instant, brilliant light detonated.
―Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the crimson hexahedrons scattered in all directions. The fallen undead, transformed into weapons, obliterated their foes.
Chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere. Crimson slime and fragments of rusted armor scattered across the passage. The remains of the boxes, utterly annihilated by the undead bombs, lay strewn about. A putrid stench saturated the vibrating, narrow Corridor.
I gazed upon the blood-drenched landscape and smiled with satisfaction.
“Forward.”
With that calm command, I resumed my march. The army of the dead followed in my wake.
* * *
Kim Jae-beom and the Undead Legion continued their descent through the narrow, deep Corridor. The damp and eerie Mining Tunnel drew them ever deeper. After an indeterminate span of time, they finally reached the midpoint of the passage.
Before them stretched a vast expanse. The Great Hall emanated an ominous atmosphere. The ceiling soared so high it vanished from sight, and grotesque statues lined the walls on all sides.
Then it happened.
Strange energy began to rise from the floor. Crimson smoke billowed like mist, swirling and gathering at the center of the Great Hall.
A breathtaking spectacle unfolded.
From within the smoke, demonic forms slowly revealed themselves. At first they were mere spectral shadows, but they soon began to materialize.
Bone formed, flesh adhered. Above their savage visages, blazing crimson eyes ignited like infernal flames. Radiating malevolent power, they unleashed furious roars.
The demons lunged at the Undead Legion with terrifying speed. Armed with razor claws and fangs, they were instruments of slaughter incarnate.
But that was not all.
From the mouths of the charging demons, black tongues shot forth. And they began to chant sinister incantations.
Bone-chilling cold flooded the space. Dark magic roared and erupted from the demons’ fingertips.
Anguished screams tore through the air. Zombies and skeletons engulfed in black sorcery crumbled helplessly to rot. Inky blood poured forth, bones collapsed. The Undead Legion faced annihilation before the demons’ power.
―Click-clack.
With the sound of jawbones striking together, the skeletal sorcerer Arulan stepped forward. Pale blue radiance blazed from his eye sockets.
Arulan stretched his arm wide and chanted an incantation.
From the tips of his withered fingers, a pitch-black mist rose into the air. Saturated with the essence of death, it writhed as if alive.
The mist swirled at Arulan’s command and surged toward the demons. In an instant, it consumed the entire horde.
“Screeeeeech!”
A horrific shriek tore through the air. The demons engulfed in the black mist were melting away helplessly.
“No… you… how…!”
A cry of despair scattered into the void. But it was useless.
The demons transformed into mere ash within the black mist. Watching their utter annihilation, Kim Jae-beom’s lips curled into a smile.
Arulan’s magic was formidable.
* * *
Kim Jae-beom pressed forward, continuing deeper into the mine. The Undead Legion pursued closely at his heels. They traversed narrow, oppressive corridors, descending ever deeper.
As they delved into those depths, a breathtaking vista opened before them—a vast, sprawling underground cavern. And at its center lay a deep, dark lake.
“A lake in a mine?”
Confronted by this unbelievable landscape, Kim Jae-beom voiced his bewilderment. He had never imagined encountering such a massive body of water beneath the earth.
Then it happened.
The lake’s tranquil surface suddenly began to ripple.
Waves undulated across the water.
The dark blue lake transformed in an instant into a seething cauldron.
The water rose of its own accord and began to coalesce. The lake’s surface clung together like viscous slime. Sticky masses of water merged into one, forming a grotesque shape.
What emerged was a colossal water elemental. Its translucent body radiated a blue luminescence, and its eyes—rolling like lightning across its form—were utterly unsettling.
―Grrrooooowwwwl!
With an ear-splitting roar, the water elemental unleashed a wave. At its gesture, the lake’s waters surged like a tsunami. In moments, a wall of water crashed down upon the Undead Legion.
―Whoooosh!
The undead soldiers caught in the deluge screamed. Crimson armor and white bone were sucked into the churning depths. Kim Jae-beom’s army faced imminent drowning.
In that instant, a flash of movement split the waves. Dercan, the Death Knight, stepped forward.
Dercan cut through the water and charged at the elemental. Twin blades gleamed in his hands. With a gust of wind, he drove the blades into the elemental’s torso.
―Clang!
With a sharp metallic ring, the twin blades pierced the water elemental’s body. But the strike had no effect.
The wound sealed instantly. Instead, a fiercer wave erupted from where the blade had grazed it.
―Whoooosh!
The water engulfed Dercan. He was swept away helplessly, sinking into the depths.
Watching this, Kim Jae-beom ground his teeth. He murmured quietly.
“Fire. I’ll need to use fire.”
Then he slowly reached into the spatial pouch hanging at his waist. After rummaging for a moment, he withdrew his hand, gripping something tightly.
What he pulled out was a glass bottle the size of a liquor flask. Inside it swirled a crimson liquid. Above the liquid, a flame-shaped emblem was inscribed.
“Take this!”
With a shout, Kim Jae-beom hurled the glass bottle with all his strength toward the center of the lake. It flew directly toward the elemental’s heart.
And the moment the bottle struck the elemental, an explosion erupted.
With a violent blast, flames erupted from the water elemental’s body. Crimson fire flickered and spread across the surface. The elemental shrieked as the searing heat consumed it.
The elemental’s form, engulfed in flames, transformed into smoke. Its body dissipated as steam. Vapor rose above the surface, replacing the waves. The inferno raged relentlessly, devouring the water.
The water spirit thrashed desperately, pouring forth torrents of liquid in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. But its efforts were meaningless. Kim Jae-beom’s explosive magic was a fire that fed on water—the more water it consumed, the more ferociously it burned.
“Grrrraaaagh!”
With a final, agonized cry, the water spirit writhed within the inferno. Its azure skin blackened and charred. Billowing smoke poured from its form as the spirit gradually lost all cohesion.
At last, the colossal spirit was utterly annihilated. In its place remained only the tranquil lake waters, now exhaling wisps of steam.
“That was close.”
Kim Jae-beom muttered between ragged breaths. By the narrowest of margins, I had evaded the lethal torrent. Surveying the devastated lake, I commanded Arulan.
“Arulan, summon them again.”
The skeletal mage nodded. From his fingertips, the essence of darkness bloomed anew. An ominous fog blanketed the lake. From within the black aura, the army of the dead materialized.
Yet as the resurrected undead soldiers took form, Kim Jae-beom could not conceal his bewilderment.
“Hm?”
An strange luminescence radiated from the armor and weapons of the undead regiment. A pitch-black fog swirled above their equipment.
It felt as though the water spirit’s blood had mingled with them. The Undead Legion, now tainted by death’s waters.
‘Dark water.’
Instinctively, Kim Jae-beom recognized it.
My experience as a Necromancer provided the answer instinctively. Now the Undead Legion could wield not only the forces of death and darkness, but also the power of water.

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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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