My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 55

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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 55
‘Come out slowly!’
―Boom!
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have appreciated wasting time like this, but here in the middle of the subjugation force, a bit of theatrical flair was necessary to avoid looking like a simple ‘Skeleton Soldier Summon’.
―Kuuuong!
The moment the thought crossed my mind, it seemed to reflect in the skill itself—the two coffins emerged slowly, accompanied by a spectacular display.
Space tore open, and from the darkness, two massive coffins materialized. Cracked and corroded, they bore the patina of countless ages, exuding an antique grandeur. Inscribed with mystical runes, they radiated an ethereal glow suffused with mana.
―Kuuong….
With a heavy sound, the coffin lids began to open. Between the slowly parting lids, black fog poured forth. A sinister aura, like the breath of demons, enveloped the surroundings.
―Whoosh―
From one coffin emerged a skeleton knight clad in pristine armor. Twin blades hung at his waist, radiating a crimson, bloodthirsty light.
The first skeleton soldier—Dercan.
‘So he knows how to make a grand entrance too.’
―Shhhhwish―
From the other coffin stepped a skeleton mage draped in tattered robes. The staff in his hand blazed with an ominous violet mana. The second skeleton soldier—Arulan’s arrival.
‘He seems rather pleased about this.’
Since I’d complained about his slowness from the very beginning, it seemed he was now delighted to emerge at a leisurely pace.
―Krrrrack….
At last, Dercan and Arulan, awakened from their slumber, stretched their bones with audible cracks. Their eyes burned with a crimson flame, brimming with an insatiable hunger for battle.
Of course, it was the intensity I had demanded of them.
“A Necromancer…?”
“Wait, he wasn’t a warrior?”
“The dark mage has been crushing ogres with a staff this whole time?”
“But what are those? Death Knights?”
“Skeleton… soldiers, but they don’t look like regular ones. Are those Death Mages? Do undead like that even exist? Or are they Liches?”
The players reacted exactly as I’d intended. They were astounded both by the fact that I’d summoned high-tier undead that far surpassed ordinary skeleton soldiers—legendary skeleton soldiers, which none of them knew about—and by the revelation that I, who had been pulverizing ogres until now, was a Necromancer.
“Everyone seems surprised about different things, though?”
Ye-jin chuckled as she listened to the players’ murmurs around her.
“That was intentional.”
“What level is Death Knight summoning? Level 50?”
“No, isn’t it level 45? And don’t you need to be level 80 to summon a Lich?”
‘They’d flip if they knew I was level 21.’
Of course, being level 21, I didn’t flinch even as I listened to their conversation. If I couldn’t maintain the facade to the very end here, there would be no point in summoning them slowly.
―My master….
―Arulan has answered your summons and arrived.
Dercan and Arulan stood side by side before me. Both skeleton soldiers slowly knelt and bowed their heads.
Their postures differed slightly.
Dercan knelt with a rigid, upright bearing, as if swearing a knight’s loyalty.
Arulan dropped to both knees and hunched forward. His tattered robe crumpled to the ground with a soft thud, raising dust.
With both of them displaying such distinct behaviors, they looked unmistakably like high-tier undead. Which, in fact, they were, so there was nothing false about it.
The crowd waited for Kim Jae-beom to speak. Even during combat, the words of a high-tier player were worth hearing.
It would look great on YouTube too.
“Charge.”
And Kim Jae-beom said nothing more. Whether for himself or his audience, a dramatic entrance made for better short-form video content.
“Grraaahhh!”
“What are you doing in the rear?!”
Having made such an impactful entrance, there was reason to press forward with greater urgency.
And as the two skeletal soldiers arrived on the Battlefield.
―Following our master’s will… perish.
―Rot. Crumble. Sink.
Before them, the ogres began to collapse rapidly.
“Ohhh…!”
“Go! Turn the tide!”
In truth, the combat power of the two undead was not overwhelmingly superior to the players here, but what mattered was that the ogres were exhausted.
Worn and wounded, the undead crumbled swiftly before Dercan and Arulan.
“Grraaahhh!”
Anguished death cries erupted from the ogres’ mouths. With eyes wide in terror, they stared at Dercan. An overwhelming dread—as if death itself stood beside him—crushed them beneath its weight.
―Clang! Thud!
The sound of Dercan’s blade striking and flesh tearing rang out without pause. A mountain of corpses rose ever higher around him. Fresh blood dripped steadily from his armor and blade.
Arulan too swept through the ogres, unleashing slaughter. His tattered robes billowed as he carved through the Battlefield. From the staff in his hand emanated a sinister aura.
Arulan’s withered fingers twisted as if wringing out incantations. Each swing of his staff summoned a tide of black mist.
―Shiiiiing―
Ogres engulfed in the black fog thrashed and writhed. Their skin burned away, their flesh melted. Eyes burst and entrails tore asunder. The ogres met a gruesome end, collapsing to the ground.
―Uuuhhh….
Arulan’s incantation descended upon another horde of ogres. Horrific shrieks—like maggots writhing in decay—tore through the air. Melted flesh and bone cascaded from within the mist. Terror etched itself deep into the ogres’ faces.
Arulan was not a stronger undead than Dercan, but to ogres of primitive intellect, one who wielded the power of death and decay seemed far more terrifying.
Though they possessed the strength to resist, they faltered and instead suffered increasingly one-sided assault.
“Push! We can turn this around!”
As the players joined forces, emboldened by the two skeletal soldiers’ prowess, the ogres’ formation crumbled. They shoved and trampled one another, scattering in terror.
“Uuuhhh!”
“Kweeehhh!”
At last, a cry for retreat erupted from among the ogres. To survive, they had no choice but to withdraw. Standing against those two skeletal soldiers meant courting death.
―Rumble rumble―
The terrified ogres scrambled backward in a frenzy. Shoving and trampling each other, they began to flee. Scattering in disorder, their faces held nothing but fear.
“Kuuuhhhhh!”
Some ogres roared and charged at Kim Jae-beom. A final desperate gambit. They hurled themselves forward with reckless fury, staking their lives.
Life blazed in their eyes. A desperate resolve to exact vengeance before death claimed them. The foremost ogre charged, its brethren following. A death-defying assault.
Dercan and Arulan moved as one to block the charging ogres. Their eyes were resolute—they would never permit any to reach their master. Like loyal soldiers, they stood ready to give their lives in defense.
―Crack! Thud! Screech!
Dercan’s blade severed the charging ogre’s leg. Losing its balance, the ogre tumbled forward. As it fell, Dercan’s sword came down upon its neck, cleaving it clean away. The ogre’s head flew through the air.
―Whiiiiing― Boom!
Arulan brought his staff down toward the earth. The ground split open, and a chasm yawned before them. The charging ogres tumbled into the pit. Mist engulfed them, and their screams filled the void as corpses piled upon corpses.
“Kueeegh!”
The surviving ogres’ wails pierced the air. Witnessing the gruesome fate of their kin, they lost all reason. Gripped by terror, they scrambled over one another to flee the Battlefield, never once glancing back.
Standing amid the slaughter, Dercan and Arulan cut imposing figures. The two skeletal soldiers’ presence silenced everything around them. Against a backdrop of corpses, they seemed like incarnations of death itself. Silence descended upon the Battlefield.
* * *
The ogres had fled.
Admittedly, more than half the players had fallen as well. But what mattered was that the massive creatures pressing them had vanished.
“As expected… they fight like a high-level player.”
“Only engaging in close combat at first seemed like an act, didn’t it?”
“No, maybe the summoning just took time.”
“True, they’re high-tier undead like that.”
As the battle ended, the players nearby gazed at Kim Jae-beom with admiring eyes.
‘I hadn’t wanted to reveal my strength yet.’
But Kim Jae-beom felt no satisfaction.
Rather, he felt regret.
He had hoped to summon Dercan and Arulan much later in the campaign.
Even if word spread only among those present, videos would inevitably proliferate across YouTube.
“Are you alright?”
Ye-jin spoke with concern, knowing that Kim Jae-beom hadn’t even uploaded his own videos yet—ones that could have garnered views.
“It’s a bit early, but it’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“My level is still lacking… but comparing myself to mid-to-high tier players, I see now. I can reveal my identity and move forward soon.”
Kim Jae-beom hadn’t revealed his identity thoughtlessly, merely for the sake of subjugation.
Eventually, someone would have to reveal it anyway—whether he did or not. The greatest danger lay in drawing too much scrutiny, but considering the players’ level and his own growth rate.
Above all, once he advanced to a true Overlord soon, it wouldn’t become the problem he feared.
“It’s not over yet. We defeated ogres, not Dalikssor.”
So Kim Jae-beom decided to focus on combat instead of worrying about his identity. The current situation wasn’t optimistic enough for that.
“The Guild players are being pushed back.”
Where Aran, who had eliminated the ogres in a single strike, was headed, and where the White Guild and Black Guild—with far higher average strength—had gathered.
―Kwaaaang!
“…!!”
“!!”
Clearly, the players were being overwhelmed by Dalikssor.

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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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