My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 171

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

Chapter 171
Before the echoes of battle could fade, Kim Jae-beom advanced slowly toward the fallen Giant Scorpion. His gait carried no trace of exhaustion—only the lingering satisfaction of victory. His robes fluttered gently in the wind, and his staff remained firmly gripped in his hand.
These details spoke volumes about his condition.
Thud!
As he drew closer to the corpse, the stench of death grew overwhelming. The massive body lay crushed and mangled, its chitinous carapace riddled with deep fissures. Flames danced and crackled across the blood-soaked earth.
“Arulan.”
Kim Jae-beom’s voice cut across the Desert. It was terse yet weighted with authority.
Crunch.
Footsteps crunched through the sand, and a gaunt figure materialized behind him. The skeletal, unsettling mask adorning his face belonged to none other than Arulan, Kim Jae-beom’s most trusted aide.
“Transform it into an undead.”
Kim Jae-beom spoke without hesitation, his words directed at the Giant Scorpion’s corpse. His tone carried both command and expectation. Arulan nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Clack clack.”
With that terse reply, the sound of a rattling skull echoed out. Then, murmuring as though chanting an incantation, an eerie aura began emanating from Arulan’s form.
Whoooosh.
With a sharp sound cutting through the air, pitch-black mist erupted from Arulan’s fingertips. The dark fog, reeking of death and decay, swirled violently and began consuming the Giant Scorpion’s corpse. Engulfed in the mist, the scorpion’s body darkened as though sinking into an abyss.
What began as subtle changes accelerated rapidly. The shattered shell began fusing together with a sickening sound, restoring its original form. Yet as it recovered, a dark and sinister aura flowed across its skin. This was less resurrection than rebirth.
Then came the decisive moment. Bloodshot eyes snapped open, and the creature began to writhe. Its pupils held nothing but madness. The undead that had been resurrected seemed reborn not as a mere monster, but as an incarnation of malice itself.
The Giant Scorpion, awakened from death, began prowling with a guttural roar. Its chittering footfalls, the claws it swung through the air, the venomous fangs—everything was utterly transformed. Where once it had been merely a predator in life, now it was corruption incarnate.
* * *
Just over an hour later, a wondrous sight unfolded across the vast, endless Grassland. A colossal Giant Scorpion raced majestically across the green expanse.
Normally, Kim Jae-beom would have entered the City immediately, but having acquired the Giant Scorpion, he altered his plans.
Boom, boom, boom.
The heavy footfalls of the charging creature shook the earth. His robes billowed powerfully, and his hair streamed behind him, amplifying the sense of speed.
Around the charging Giant Scorpion, countless players who had been enjoying their adventures across the peaceful Grassland came into view. Each had been absorbed in their own pursuits—until, in an instant, all eyes fixed upon Kim Jae-beom astride the creature. An overwhelming pressure radiated from him, dominating the surroundings.
Shrieeeek!
A piercing cry suddenly tore through the air. Startled players screamed and scrambled backward. Yet the Giant Scorpion did not slow. Instead, it mercilessly lashed out with its claws at those who stood in its path.
Crash, crash, crash!
With each devastating blow, agonized screams erupted. Even sturdy armor shattered to pieces, and flesh torn by the razor-sharp claws gushed blood. Trampled by the relentless assault, the players scattered into the air without even managing to resist. Their bodies dissolved like foam in the sky, and blue light bloomed upward.
Observing the carnage from above, a cold smile played at Kim Jae-beom’s lips. Even amid the Battlefield turned into chaos, his expression remained unmoved. As if his mastery of undead control was still incomplete, a brief murmur escaped his lips.
“I still need to raise my proficiency.”
But a faint pang of regret flickered across his mind. Gazing at the spot where the trampled players had fallen, he murmured softly.
“My apologies.”
Yet his face bore no trace of genuine remorse. Instead, a peculiar excitement—as though he were savoring the spectacle—lingered in his expression.
Screeeee!
In that moment, a sharp cry pierced the Grassland from a distant horizon. Something was approaching from beyond the far edge of the world.
Rumble, rumble, crash!
What surged across the earth, shaking it violently, was an enormous herd of wild boars. Dozens of shaggy creatures thundered across the Grassland, kicking up dust. Their eyes blazed with crimson bloodlust, and their rough breathing shook the air. The massive beasts snarled, baring their fangs.
Screeeeeech!
A roar like thunder shattered the atmosphere as the herd of boars charged at the Giant Scorpion with eyes full of hostility. Madness gleamed in their pupils, and savage breathing poured from their throats. The coarse fur bristling along their lumpy backs resembled armor from a Battlefield.
Each baring sharp tusks, they lowered their heads and charged toward the colossal undead that threatened their domain.
Rumble, rumble!
With each thunderous gallop of dozens of hooves across the Grassland, the earth trembled and shook. The dust cloud churned up by their ragged breathing obscured the sunlight, and as their heavy footfalls pounded the ground, grass blades were trampled mercilessly beneath them. A ferocity and raw power that seemed unbreakable erupted from their forms. The Grassland, crushed beneath that terrifying momentum, quivered with dread.
Yet atop the Giant Scorpion, Kim Jae-beom observed the spectacle with unwavering eyes. His smile held no trace of fear or tension. Rather, as though relishing the approaching battle, a peculiar gleam danced in his gaze. He drew a deep breath and whispered softly to the Giant Scorpion.
“Show me your power.”
At that command, the Giant Scorpion’s aura exploded outward. In an instant, flames seemed to ignite within its crimson eyes. It thrust itself upward from the ground, wielding its pincers with menacing force. Life energy surged from its steel-hard carapace. Then the Giant Scorpion unleashed a cry that pierced the heavens.
“Kiiiaaaaagh!”
With a roar like thunder, it tore across the Grassland toward the wild boar herd. Its savage, brutal strides lashed the earth, and its massive body swept across the Grassland like a tempest. Its charge resembled an arrow loosed from the darkness. Vegetation was uprooted by its overwhelming force, and gravel scattered in cascades. A majesty that bent nature itself to its will radiated from its form.
Boom!
The moment the Giant Scorpion and the wild boar herd collided head-on, a deafening roar shook heaven and earth. The air convulsed violently, and a fierce shockwave consumed the Grassland. A violent gust whipped dust into a frenzy, and the tremendous recoil scattered soil and gravel without mercy. The aftermath of the impact seemed to swallow everything around it.
Crack, boom!
Five wild boars at the vanguard were hurled skyward. Their massive bodies were torn asunder mercilessly, and blood and flesh sprayed in all directions. The Giant Scorpion’s single strike was incomprehensibly massive and ferocious. Eerie screams mixed with viscera tore through the air, and the mangled corpses of the boars fell pathetically to the earth.
Wail, shriek!
As the center of the herd collapsed, the wild boars scattered in panic-stricken chaos. The terror of death seized them, and they instinctively fled. The orderly formation crumbled in an instant, and scattered boars surged across the Grassland. With anguished cries, they tore frantically across the plains.
Whoosh!
The Giant Scorpion surrendered to its hunting instinct.
It pursued the fleeing boars with savage ferocity. Though the beasts’ screams echoed pitifully, they only ignited the thrill of the hunt within the Giant Scorpion.
Swinging its pincers to strike down the boars, tearing flesh with its fangs, it stained the Grassland with blood. Boars collapsed with each ragged breath, their lives draining away in agony.
Thud, thud, thud!
One by one, the wild boars were crushed beneath the Giant Scorpion’s foreleg until they were unrecognizable. The sound of splintering bone, the tearing of flesh—it carved through the air. Even these formidable beasts were nothing but fragile prey before the undead. Thus, dozens of wild boars fell in utter devastation.
The Giant Scorpion stood motionless before the mountain of corpses. Victory gleamed in its blood-soaked carapace. Then it slowly began to raise its tail.
Thud!
Suddenly, the Giant Scorpion swung its sharp tail with tremendous force, piercing through a wild boar corpse. The flesh impaled on its fangs burst savagely, and fresh blood erupted skyward.

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