My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 197

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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 197
A cold wind howled desolately. The darkness surging from my hand enveloped Devin’s corpse, carrying the essence of death itself. The dark energy burrowed into every crevice of his skin. In that instant, the lifeless body stirred sluggishly to its feet. His vacant eyes ignited with a crimson blaze.
A circular rune materialized above Devin’s forehead. This emblem, radiating pitch-black luminescence, signified his rebirth as a Dark Mage. Draped across his shoulders was a cloak as dark as the night sky itself.
Newly awakened, Devin surveyed his surroundings with deliberate slowness. His gaze, brimming with murderous intent, settled upon the mages still lingering within the Magic Tower. With a flick of his hand, an eerie aura erupted from his fingertips. His dark-infused mana surged forward with terrifying velocity toward the mages.
The mages shrieked in terror. Their bodies dissolved as if melting, losing all form. Where skin and bone had liquefied, only black spheres remained. Witnessing these mages reduced to mere energy orbs, Devin advanced with deliberate strides. At his gesture, the spheres rushed toward him as though drawn by an irresistible force. As the energy spheres were absorbed, an immense power radiated from Devin’s entire being.
“Thank you.”
The voice that emerged from Devin’s lips was dark and weighty. Awakened from death and reborn as a Dark Mage, he had been granted a second life. Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. He understood perfectly that all of this was Kim Jae-beom’s doing.
Kim Jae-beom’s lips curved upward. In response to Devin’s gratitude, he replied, “Excellent.”
Within the confines of his armor-clad face, a sinister satisfaction lingered. Kim Jae-beom’s plan was gradually becoming reality.
“Transform the Magic Tower.”
This was the first command given to Devin, newly reborn as a Dark Mage. Now he was merely Kim Jae-beom’s subordinate.
Devin nodded and slowly extended his hand toward the Magic Tower. In that moment, an aura began to manifest from his pale fingertips.
The dark energy, embodying fear itself, consumed the entire Magic Tower at breathtaking speed. The seemingly solid bricks transformed pitch-black, each pillar darkened. Even the traces of light filtering through the glass windows were stained black.
―Uuuuoooong!
Soon the entire Magic Tower was engulfed in an ominous and spine-chilling darkness.
Wrapped in the aura of death, the Magic Tower’s very form transformed. In an instant, it swelled to a vastly greater size than before. The spires that pierced the heavens cast deep black shadows. It was a sight that seemed to constrict the breath of all who beheld it.
Surrounding the enlarged Magic Tower, dozens of black spheres spiraled in a vortex. These condensed energies of the mages absorbed by Devin rotated endlessly around the tower. The distinctive eerie aura of the energy spheres permeated the surroundings.
Then, suddenly, chaotic movement erupted from within the Magic Tower. Countless figures burst through walls and ceilings, pouring outward. Skeletal frames draped in tattered rags, their hands gripping corroded magical staffs. They were Undead Mages awakened from death. The Magic Tower was no longer a place to cultivate magic. It had devolved into a cradle of death, nurturing dark-tainted mana.
“Magnificent.”
Kim Jae-beom muttered, observing the entire process with cold, calculating eyes.
That was when it happened.
A sudden tremor accompanied a thunderous “BOOM!” that echoed from far in the distance.
The vibration caused leaves to tremble and small stones to scatter. Kim Jae-beom’s eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.
“Hmm….”
His brown eyes trembled subtly as they detected something. Dozens of players had gathered in a group at a distance, pointing and shouting directly at Kim Jae-beom.
“It’s the Subjugation Quest boss!”
“We must capture that player at all costs!”
Their voices carried clearly across the distance. The members of the Subjugation Force advanced with confident strides, weapons firmly grasped in their hands.
After observing them for a moment, a bitter smile crossed Kim Jae-beom’s lips. With a slight sneer, he muttered, “The Quest appeared already.”
“Fast.”
His voice carried a mixture of displeasure and contempt. He then turned his gaze toward Devin and issued a sharp command.
“Eliminate them.”
“Understood.”
Devin nodded, responding with concise coldness. He quickly turned and strode toward the Subjugation Force. The newly awakened Undead Mages followed swiftly in his wake.
Upon confronting the Subjugation Force, Devin and the Undead Mages simultaneously raised both arms toward the sky. Their lips began moving rapidly.
―Uuuuoooong!
The surrounding atmosphere trembled gradually, and pitch-black mana began to rise. The dark energy erupting from their fingertips spiraled, growing increasingly violent.
Clouds wrapped around them and surged skyward. At the peak of the dark magic’s torrent, Devin thrust both arms forward with explosive force.
Boom!
A thunderous roar shook the Dark Forest. The wave of darkness pouring from Devin’s hands surged relentlessly toward the Subjugation Force.
In the instant the wave of darkness engulfed the Subjugation Force, some of the players began whispering sacred incantations from their lips.
Shwoooosh!
As they chanted prayers in hushed voices, brilliant pillars of light descended from the heavens as if falling from the sky. The holy rays of radiance collided with the undulating wave of darkness, erupting in violent shockwaves, purifying the shadows and gradually breaking their momentum. Two opposing forces clashed without yielding an inch, locked in a tense battle of wills.
“Tsk.”
With a sharp click of his tongue, Devin’s eyebrows trembled slightly. It was an overt expression of displeasure at the irritating interference.
He raised his pale hand to prepare the next incantation. His ghostly palm flushed crimson as dark flames began blooming between his fingers. The pitch-black fireballs, belching thick smoke, rapidly detached from his hands and drifted through the air. With eyes gleaming with murderous intent fixed upon his targets, Devin extended both arms forward, and at his gesture, the black fireballs surged toward the players like arrows loosed from a bow.
The ominous orbs of fire that crashed through their ranks proved nearly impossible to evade. No matter how swiftly they moved, the relentless magic pursued its targets with unwavering determination, ultimately consuming several players. Avatars vanished into the pitch-black flames accompanied by their final, agonized screams.
“We’ve been hit!”
“Squad One is annihilated!”
Anguished cries erupted from players who had lost their comrades.
“We can’t just take this! Let’s engage in close combat!”
A player shouted and raised his sword high. Encouraged by his cry, warriors from the martial classes surged forward in a torrent. Their heavy plate armor gleamed as it caught the flickering light of the flames.
Armed with maces and other weapons, they gripped their signature arms firmly and advanced. The weighty armor collided with itself, producing a cacophonous metallic clang.
Observing the scene from above, Kim Jae-beom’s lips curled into an indifferent smirk. After watching the battlefield with cold eyes for a moment, he raised his hand and pointed forward.
“Skeleton soldiers, advance.”
The instant his cold, decisive command fell, hundreds and thousands of the Undead Legion surged forward. The soldiers gripped rusted swords with skeletal fingers and charged ferociously toward the players.
From the hollow voids where eyes should have been, a crimson glow flickered.
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted as the player forces and the Undead Legion collided in a chaotic tangle. The sound of flesh striking bone, the clash of steel—the Battlefield transformed into a scene of absolute pandemonium in an instant.
From his vantage point, Kim Jae-beom’s lips curved into a faint smile as he observed the battle. The sight of the players crumbling under the Dark Legion’s relentless assault was crystal clear to his eyes.
Clang!
With a sharp metallic ring, space warped. Emerging from the fracture was a newly reconstructed steel staff.
“I should join in as well.”
Gripping the steel staff firmly, Kim Jae-beom began charging toward the Battlefield.
Boom!
His heavy footsteps shook the very earth. The black-armored knight appeared in the heart of the Battlefield.
Whoosh!
“I have arrived!”
And in that moment, the staff cleaved through the air and descended.

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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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