My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 170

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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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Chapter 170
Kim Jae-beom moved with blinding speed, his staff cutting through the air in relentless arcs. The steel weapon sang as it carved paths through the darkness, each strike accompanied by a sharp whistle that assaulted the ears. Yet no matter how he accelerated or poured his strength into the blows, it proved futile. The Giant Scorpion moved with preternatural agility, its tail weaving left and right to deflect every attack. Steel met hardened carapace with dull, heavy clangs that echoed hollowly through the void.
Realizing the futility of his current approach, Kim Jae-beom clenched his teeth and clicked his tongue sharply.
“Tsk.”
That brief exclamation, almost a sigh, carried the weight of absolute resolve—a determination to reverse the tide of battle.
Kim Jae-beom retreated, creating distance between himself and his opponent. As he faced the Giant Scorpion and steadied his breathing, brilliant crimson light erupted from every cell of his body. Blazing scarlet flames danced across his skin, writhing like living fire.
The intense, blinding vermillion radiance pushed back the surrounding darkness, illuminating the Desert with harsh brilliance.
Then, a spectacle unfolded. Behind Kim Jae-beom, as flames rippled across his back, multicolored energy coalesced into the magnificent form of enormous wings, unfurling with majestic grandeur. They were demonic wings, condensed from crimson light itself.
This was the manifestation of the formidable power that dwelt within him—strength gained from defeating Count Heltema—now made tangible in the physical world.
The roiling energies gradually shaped themselves into colossal, resplendent wings.
Power erupted explosively, and Kim Jae-beom was seized by an irresistible urge to test this newfound ability. He spread the massive, oppressive demonic wings wide to either side, revealing their full glory. The wings, wrought entirely of crimson light, radiated vitality and emitted wondrous brilliance. Then, flexing powerful muscles, he began to beat them forcefully. In an instant, a tremendous wind erupted, sending sand spiraling in violent whirlwinds. Carried upon the currents, Kim Jae-beom’s body soared lightly into the heavens.
The Giant Scorpion, left behind on the ground, recoiled in confusion at this unexpected turn of events. Its compound eyes, bloodshot with rage, reflected a mixture of bewilderment and shock—as if it could not fathom that a human could take to the skies. Its massive body remained motionless, transfixed by the spectacle as it gazed upward at Kim Jae-beom suspended in the air.
After circling for some time, Kim Jae-beom suddenly raised his right arm toward the heavens. In that instant, the crimson flames erupting from his entire body intensified, burning with savage ferocity. Brilliant energies swirled around him, converging and coalescing. Waves of power undulated before condensing into countless scarlet spheres.
The red spheres that enveloped and rotated around Kim Jae-beom writhed dynamically, as if alive. They possessed an uncanny vitality, as though awaiting their master’s command. They flickered irregularly, their light dimming and brightening, illuminating the surroundings with an eerie glow.
Flap!
Folding and unfolding his wings in rapid succession as he hovered in place, Kim Jae-beom thrust his arm forward. As if responding to that signal, the crimson spheres surrounding him shot forth with tremendous velocity toward the Giant Scorpion. The sight of dozens of brilliant red meteors tearing through the sky with overwhelming force was both devastating and beautiful. They streaked like arrows, radiating intense heat.
Screech!
Moments later, as the spheres reached their target and made contact with the Giant Scorpion’s carapace, a catastrophic explosion erupted. A deafening roar that shook the heavens itself tore through the sky. Flames spiraled, creating a crimson vortex, and the heat scattered sand in all directions. The sudden brilliance of the Desert, illuminated by the ferocious explosion, blazed like midday. At the center of the blast, white light flashed blindingly before being consumed by the crimson inferno.
As the explosion subsided, a tremendous sound that shattered the very air itself reverberated across the wasteland.
Crack!
It was an ominous, sinister sound—as if the heart of the earth itself were being torn asunder. The ground trembled violently, and nearby boulders shook. The blood-stained sky filled all with dread.
As smoke and dust slowly settled and vision cleared, a sight that would sicken all was revealed. The Giant Scorpion at the center of the explosion was undergoing an unimaginable transformation. Its hardened shell, riddled with countless fractures, shattered away, and from within emerged a far more formidable version of itself. Its size had more than doubled, and its muscular legs radiated the kind of power that could level buildings.
Its new carapace, stained a deep rust-red, appeared even more resilient and unyielding. The textured surface, covered in protrusions, thrummed with vibrant life force. The grotesque, enlarged Giant Scorpion fixed its eight eyes, brimming with malice, upon Kim Jae-beom still suspended in the air. Its compound eyes blazed with crimson madness.
Suddenly, the Giant Scorpion raised its tail high. At its curved tip, a sickly blue venom glistened, potent enough to steal life with ease. Without warning, that terrifying tail lashed silently toward the heavens. Its speed was beyond the eye’s ability to follow, and its accuracy was absolute. It aimed for Kim Jae-beom’s wings—a single, decisive strike.
Whoosh!
With a sound that threatened to shatter eardrums, the tail lashed brutally against the wings. The demonic wings were torn to shreds, and brilliant scarlet flames scattered. Losing his stability, Kim Jae-beom plummeted like a stone.
Thud!
Yet even as gravity pulled him downward, he executed a strange aerial maneuver, performing a somersault to regain his composure. With elegant grace, he landed safely upon the earth. What would have shattered an ordinary person’s bones was executed with such skill that his long experience in battle was evident.
Though his wings were lost and danger surrounded him, a smile played at the corners of Kim Jae-beom’s mouth—a smile mingling exhilaration with excitement. The stronger opponent was a force that ignited his competitive spirit.
Casting a provocative gaze toward the Giant Scorpion, Kim Jae-beom laughed and shouted.
“Yes. Now this is fun.”
He quickly turned his attention to the staff that had fallen nearby. The cool touch of metal tickled his palm. Kim Jae-beom gripped the steel staff tightly.
Boom!
Kim Jae-beom raised the staff high above his head. Intense, brilliant crimson light surged along the metal shaft from above, spreading downward. A radiance that seemed to devour everything gradually enveloped the entire staff.
Undulating crimson flames wrapped around the surface, and the staff emanated an ominous aura, as though submerged in molten lava.
From within the scarlet radiance, mysterious runes resembling ancient script began to emerge. They were bizarre and oppressive in appearance. Hooked lines, serpentine curves, jagged patterns like lightning—incomprehensible hieroglyphics intermingled, creating a complex and inscrutable design. As the patterns grew clearer, they became perfectly etched across the entire staff.
In that moment, thin strands of blue electricity began to envelop the staff’s surface, spreading outward in all directions. The discharge was tremendous. Azure flashes, like lightning striking temples, crackled with a bone-chilling sound as they writhed savagely.
Suddenly, the Giant Scorpion gnashed its teeth and unleashed a chilling roar.
“Kiiiiaaaagh!”
That metallic screech was nearly a shriek. The roar that poured forth from its throat carried boundless rage and malice beyond words. The echoes that reverberated across all directions shook the earth and made the heavens tremble. From its crimson eyes, a burning madness blazed forth.
His massive frame trembling with exertion, the Giant Scorpion gathered every ounce of his strength and hurled himself downward. The way he tore across the ground, each impact like thunder, resembled nothing so much as a locomotive in full charge. The momentum with which he bore down upon Kim Jae-beom was absolutely terrifying.
Yet Kim Jae-beom stood motionless, a serene smile playing across his lips. If anything, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. The hand gripping the staff—which poured forth cascades of azure light—remained perfectly steady, betraying not the slightest tremor.
Whoosh!
In that instant, Kim Jae-beom swung the staff.
Crackle!
The electrical current coursing through the steel staff shot forth toward the Giant Scorpion.
Boom!
An explosion erupted across the scorpion’s body. The devastating current had pierced through its carapace and begun ravaging its internal organs.
―Shrieeeek!
The Giant Scorpion shrieked in agony once more, drawing upon every reserve of power throughout its body to resist the electrical onslaught.
But by then, the current had already penetrated everywhere.
Kaboom!
Thus the Giant Scorpion’s fate was sealed in death.

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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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