My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 189

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

Chapter 189
The explosion erupted in a torrent of black smoke that billowed outward, suffocating the air like a dense fog. The tendrils passing through it darkened to an inky hue. As if poisoned, the World Tree’s bark withered and blackened, rotting from within. Accompanied by a sickening stench, life itself seemed to wither away in agonizing slowness.
Dercan watched the entire spectacle unfold through eyes that burned crimson, his lips curling upward in a grotesque smile. Triumph radiated from his sinister expression.
Yet the World Tree refused to surrender hope. Despite the agony, it fought back against the darkness with unwavering resolve.
A violent gale tore through the forest. Dark clouds swallowed the sky, and lightning crackled across the heavens.
Crack…
In that instant.
A figure materialized silently behind Kim Jae-beom.
It was Arulan.
“Click, click.”
A chilling sound echoed through the forest. As the eerie noise reverberated on the wind, the leaves trembled in terror.
Slowly, Arulan stepped forward. His hand stretched toward the empty air.
In that instant, pitch-black spheres erupted from his fingertips. Black mist coiled between his slender fingers before rapidly condensing in midair.
A demonic smile spread across Arulan’s lips.
Suddenly, the dark spheres ceased their movement and shot toward the World Tree like arrows. The black orbs raced forward, draining the life force from their surroundings, hurling themselves at the colossal tree with the aura of death itself.
That was when it happened.
Boom, boom.
The earth trembled as the ground shook violently. Something burst through the soil—verdant spheres of brilliant green.
Life-infused emerald orbs erupted from the earth and soared skyward. They blazed with radiance as they collided with the dark spheres. Two opposing forces clashed in midair, pushing against each other.
Boom! Boom!
Green and black collided with a deafening roar.
The spheres exploded, unleashing a tremendous blast that shook the forest. An overwhelming wave of force swept across all directions.
The spheres shattered into countless fragments.
Innumerable shards scattered in every direction. The smooth, rounded surfaces vanished, revealing sharp and menacing forms.
Shards of azure glass, fragments of obsidian darkness. They gleamed with brilliant light as they rained down upon the earth.
Crash, boom.
The sound of glass fragments embedding themselves in the ground was deafening. The broken pieces mercilessly carved into the soil, leaving devastation in their wake.
With the glimmering shards embedded in the earth, the forest floor resembled an angry bed of thorns.
Yet even amid this perilous chaos, Kim Jae-beom remained unmoved. He slowly raised the staff in his hand, the heavy metal rod cutting through the air.
Whoooosh—
The moment his weapon swept through the air, something miraculous occurred. A whirlwind erupted from the staff’s tip. The small vortex transformed instantly into a massive tempest. The wind shrieked fiercely, devouring the surrounding air.
Drawn into the swirling maelstrom, countless glass shards embedded in the earth lifted skyward.
Whoosh!
They plunged into the storm. Green and black—the fragments of both colors spiraled and rotated together.
From the heart of the typhoon, Kim Jae-beom aimed his staff directly at the World Tree.
The moment the heavy metal rod’s direction locked onto the colossal tree, the whirlwind surged toward its new target. Glass shards caught in the tempest poured forth toward the World Tree.
The fragments, transformed into arrows of green and black, raced across the void at tremendous speed. Cutting through the fierce wind, scraping the air, they hurtled toward the massive tree.
In that very moment.
―Whooom!
A vast emerald barrier unfurled around the World Tree. Like an invisible Barrier, it rippled gently as it enveloped the tree.
Clang!
Glass shards shattered against the verdant barrier, their cacophony echoing through the forest. The transparent fragments collided with the shield and advanced no further, circling in the air and scraping against the barrier’s surface, yet their razor-sharp edges could not pierce the unwavering protection.
Dercan’s face contorted as he witnessed this spectacle.
He hurled himself forward. At tremendous speed, Dercan charged toward the barrier.
Whoosh!
The moment Dercan reached the verdant barrier, a brilliant flash erupted as his blade cleaved through the air.
As my relentless assault continued, cracks began to form across the barrier. At first, hairline fractures barely visible to the eye, they gradually widened their reach.
The seemingly impenetrable shield was fracturing. The cracks extended lengthwise, and thin fissures converged and thickened, the barrier’s integrity crumbling away. Verdant radiance leaked outward.
In that moment, the glass shards that had been waiting for just such an opportunity seized their chance. As if driven by hunger to consume the World Tree, they surged forward like a tempest. Emerald and obsidian fragments wedged themselves into the cracks and burrowed through.
With a horrifying tearing sound, the glass shards embedded themselves deep within the tree’s body. Like the fangs of a ravenous beast, they gnawed into the World Tree’s flesh. Blade-like edges carved wounds, and pointed tips pierced deeply. The sacred bark was savagely shredded. Blue sap and the blood of agony dripped downward.
Beginning from where the glass fragments had lodged, the World Tree underwent a sinister transformation. A spreading blackness emanated from the wounded areas, creeping upward along the tree’s trunk, originating from the tips of the glass shards.
A massive tree decaying before my eyes. Death’s aura poured forth from it. Bark devoid of life’s luminescence withered and shriveled like diseased flesh. Leaves that once flourished in verdant freshness now desiccated and yellowed.
Thud.
A figure slowly approached before it. It was Arulan. He advanced toward the colossal tree, emanating an ominous presence.
As Arulan’s footsteps ceased, a profound silence fell. He gazed upon the World Tree for a moment, then slowly bent his body and pressed both hands to the earth. His gaunt, pallid fingers dug into the damp soil.
In that instant, black liquid began to surge from Arulan’s body. From his fingertips, a spring of absolute darkness flowed forth in thin streams across the ground. The black water, laden with death, writhed like a serpent and rushed toward the World Tree.
Ssshhh— ssshhh—
The sound of the black torrent seeping into the World Tree’s roots was terrifying. The death-spring flowing from Arulan’s hands ascended the massive tree’s trunk. It spread like poison coursing through the tree’s veins.
What began as a thin line of black seeping gradually widened its reach. The verdant bark began to turn pitch-black. That darkness spread rapidly along the trunk.
A sinister smile spread across Arulan’s lips. Enraptured by the sight—as if witnessing death’s own avatar—he reveled in ecstasy. The black liquid flowing from his fingertips grew increasingly fierce.
The World Tree transformed grotesquely. As if painted with black pigment, the colossal tree was consumed by darkness in an instant. It began to emanate a cursed, dark, and ominous aura.
An incredible metamorphosis was occurring. The World Tree’s appearance was being completely inverted. Crimson radiance flickered across the massive trunk. The leaves that had adorned the branches withered and fell away, replaced instead by sharp, menacing thorns that sprouted forth.
Thump, thump.
The earth surrounding the World Tree began to resonate. That sound, reminiscent of a heartbeat, was not the pulse of life. Rather, it was an ominous resonance that summoned death.
Boom-boom-boom!
Accompanied by the ominous tremor shaking the earth, a wondrous sight began to unfold from the World Tree’s crown. New branches were sprouting from the apex of the blackened colossal tree.
The newly emerged branches were dark.
They gleamed blacker than shadow itself.
The branches of darkness extended outward in all directions with primordial ferocity. They began to consume everything around them.
The black tendrils reached out forcefully toward the surrounding trees.
Shhhhh—
Accompanied by a sound like an ominous whisper, the black branches began to ensnare the other trees. The trees caught in those dark hands, which hungered for life force, instantly lost their radiance.
The wave of destruction that began from the World Tree spread instantaneously throughout the entire forest. Black branches proliferated at a horrifying pace.

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