Rust - Chapter 1000



Only Krnovel

RUST -1000

The suppression in Korea was a half-success. The operation to completely eradicate the mutant monsters resulted in more casualties and enormous costs than expected.

[Ah- What kind of animals are those…? What’s that goral? It’s suddenly rushing from a square.]

“I don’t know, but I sent a sample anyway, so if there’s something, the reason will be revealed.”

[We need additional parts support and cold-weather equipment for exosuit repairs.]

“You’ve already used up all the supplies? What about the supply factory you built in Korea? Weren’t they producing them there?”

The consumption of materials was also much greater than expected. Not only was the consumption of materials a waste, but even though 650,000 people were mobilized, including 300,000 from the Holy Kingdom and 350,000 from the Korean army, just to clear the northern part of Gangwon Province, there were a huge number of casualties.

South Korea’s casualties were 50,000, while the Holy Kingdom’s were less, at around 30,000. While the Holy Kingdom gained 30,000 Awakened, South Korea only gained a few thousand Awakened.

This was because the troops that had been fighting on the front lines had moved to the former Holy Kingdom. This happened because the veteran soldiers who had almost all of their experience points had moved to the Holy Kingdom, and most of the current troops were basically new recruits.

[Our soldiers who had awakened were repatriated under the pretext of receiving treatment for their injuries, but they could not be hidden for long.]

“That’s right. There will be awakened soldiers in the Korean army, and the Empire will receive information as well.”

It was widely known that the battle to retake Philadelphia was fierce. Even though they attacked the spider hordes that had taken over Philadelphia using tactical nuclear weapons, they were unable to completely break through.

[They say that they used three tactical nuclear weapons and even used a few more, but they still couldn’t break through the defense line.]

“If you look at the way it’s coming back, it may not have been done intentionally.”

If I recall my memories of fighting spiders, it was like that. Even just the spider web had a weak EMP effect, and was bulletproof and explosion-proof.

Even if it froze and could not perform at its best in the extreme cold of minus 60 to minus 70 degrees Celsius, it was enough to serve as an armor plate.

“It will be difficult to push them back with just tactical nuclear weapons or napalm bombings thrown in sporadically. The Emperor must know that much, as he has attacked several times.”

If the entirety of Philadelphia were reinforced with spider webs, it would be impenetrable by any amount of firepower.

[Did you expect that?]

“The spiders must have learned from fighting against us and the Imperial Army. Even if that’s not the case, there’s a high probability that there are spider-controlling people or cannibals. They must have prepared for tactical nuclear attacks.”

[They say even the emperor is walking a tightrope.]

“If it were me, I would have just carpet bombed them, then used bunker busters to knock them all out at once, and sent in my troops to weed them out. Judging from the way they’re inducing ground combat, I guess they’re pretty confident in tightrope walking.”

He seemed to be trying to break through the spider’s defenses, but then retreated. He was giving them some strange orders, such as carpet bombing them and then giving them time to recover.

“Looking at what they’re doing… it seems like they’re luring the spiders underground out. Even if the spiders expect it, they persistently induce attrition so that they have no choice but to come out.”

[It’s really dangerous to raise the level as if you’re going to sneak in after seeing it openly. If you think the soldiers are going to die, you retreat? You’re a tiring type. But then the consumption will be enormous, so how are you going to manage the supplies?]

“That must be the old man. If it was him, he would have squeezed everything out somehow to provide supplies.”

[Ah- I see.]

“Don’t fall behind like someone else. You should take charge of the supplies too.”

[You say you’re going to roll with diplomacy? Right now, the Korean government and Southeast Asian kids are giving a shit, and even distribution? In Korea, distribution was supposed to be done by AI and PD uncle.]

“That’s right. But I didn’t know it would turn out like this. If we leave it to AI and it learns that this kind of situation is common, wouldn’t that be a headache?”

[······.]

Ki-sun and PD thought that leaving it entirely to artificial intelligence was dangerous.

“If we just sort this out, we can go to Thailand and clean up those crazy people who are offering human sacrifices. You do your part.”

[······.]

Maru’s story was simple.

‘Can’t allow freezing. Roll. More.’

Ki-soon’s eyes narrowed blankly. It was karma.

‧

PD and Ki-soon, the spread of artificial intelligence that rolls out and squeezes it has begun.

The AI ​​had come up with the optimal distribution plan through simulations, but the front lines were headed towards one side of Andromeda, far from the optimal and far from the naval base.

It was difficult to handle with planning and simulation, as the legendary story goes that during the Afghan operation, the US military spent 20 to 50 times more on transportation costs to deliver a bottle of water sold for 50 cents at a convenience store to the front lines.

[Ah. Damn, I really can’t eat this.]

And yet, the Holy Kingdom only had 30,000 people awakened, and the Korean army had a few thousand. After that, there were only a few dozen people fighting at a time.

Compared to the supplies that 600,000 people ate and consumed, only a few dozen people were awakened. It didn’t add up. In addition, the animals that had succeeded in the middle gathered their forces again and started a guerrilla war.

[They attacked factories built near Chuncheon and Wonju. It seems like they were targeting supply factories.]

“Is it a tunnel?”

[Oh. Crazy. It’s not even an ant or a rat. What kind of tunnel is this? A wild boar came out of a tunnel and caused a mess at the supply factory.]

“That’s the classic.”

Not only did the supply factories of the Holy Kingdom begin to actively raid cities like Chuncheon and Wonju, but they also began to openly raid large cities.

[They started attacking large cities such as the metropolitan area and metropolitan cities.]

“Huh? In the big city?”

Many Korean cities are connected to forests or mountains. Even in Seoul alone, there were Bukhansan and Namsan, and it was a city with mountains of various sizes scattered here and there.

It was the same in cities like Busan and Gwangju. There were peaks here and there and green spaces. There, animals that had been hiding began to commit terrorism like a resistance group.

[Although the scale is small, multiple incidents have occurred simultaneously, resulting in more than half of the Korean military being eliminated.]

The Korean military had no choice but to deploy 200,000 of the 350,000 troops deployed for the suppression operation to defend the city and maintain public order. With nearly 50,000 wounded soldiers missing, only about 100,000 were able to continue the operation.

It was unclear how long the remaining 100,000 would continue to participate in the operation. It was not a situation where they could form a siege net and fight step by step to induce the awakening of their abilities.

[Those guys. They’re attacking roads and railways. They’re cutting off the flow of goods. It’s okay for now, but if things continue like this, the problem will get worse.]

There was talk of surrounding them with troops and then lowering the floor to wipe them out, but that was realistically impossible.

It took nearly a month to mobilize 650,000 men to surround the northern part of Gangwon Province. Even then, they were unable to completely annihilate it. How could they besiege it when their forces had been reduced to 400,000?

How long would it take to surround the animals in southern Gangwon Province with a reduced force? Even wild boars had begun to use burrows. It was difficult to predict whether they could be surrounded and how long it would take.

Even if the siege was successful, it was the same. If Maru was going to kill the besieged monster, there was no reason to spend a huge amount of money to mobilize the Holy Kingdom army.

“The reason I brought our children here was to awaken them, but if things turn out like this, it’s meaningless.”

[What are we going to do? We can’t just be left out of this mess. Besides, Thailand, where the white elephant appears, seems to be getting stranger and stranger.]

In a situation where the human and animal realms were somewhat separated, public opinion began to circulate that the Holy Kingdom had tried to subjugate them and that this was how things turned out.

The Korean government quickly cracked down on public opinion, but as soon as they started to cut down transmission towers, starting with terrorist attacks in large cities and destroying transportation networks, the situation quickly became chaotic.

“This won’t work. Is this how it’s supposed to be?”

Maru swallowed a bitter smile and descended between the transmission towers in the Taebaek Mountains while holding Eclipse.

‧

The answer to the mutant animals’ militia operation(?) was Maru. A death zone was created that erased a 5km radius along the transmission towers and power lines like an eraser.

A death vine that crawls through tunnels and passages of any size. Shadow rats have begun to make manure.

A garden of death that blooms even more brightly by using the death that rises in an instant. It was a place where life was harvested by going back and forth along the roads and railways from near the nuclear power plant to the metropolitan area.

The mutant animals dug large-scale traps and took mountain villages hostage, but they could not stop Maru from spreading death.

Kkeueeek! (It’s a monster!)

Meeeeek meeeeek! (Run away! Run away no matter what!)

Kkuik! Kkuik! (Scatter! Gather at the assembly point!)

Meow! Meow! (Scatter! To the assembly point!)

Herds of wild boars and deer that had been scurrying along the highway scattered like cockroaches.

[Ah- Again- A monster···.]

The nurse who came on the airship interpreted(?) in a difficult voice. Not the god of death or the master of death, but a monster. The nurse was furious.

[They said to meet at the assembly point. They didn’t say where.]

“······.”

After several massacres, the animals fled when Maru appeared. A deadly game of tag began against the backdrop of the white forest.

However, it was impossible to protect the highways, railroads, transmission towers, and power lines with just Maru and 400,000 troops.

Ki-soon had a tired expression. If Maru had appeared and erased it a few times, she would have surrendered. But she didn’t.

[I guess there was a rumor about this last time I came.]

“When? When the cannibal regime took over?”

[Yes. There was a rumor going around at that time. I think they judged that if they held out, we would leave because the rumor was going around that they had taken crows and magpies.]

“Ha- Okay. Let’s see how far we can go.”

Maru gritted his teeth and began the expedition. Now, the remaining 400,000 troops were deployed as engineers to restore the infrastructure destroyed by the monsters.

When it was broken, it was fixed, and when it was cut off, it was connected. After several weeks of such miserable times, the mutated animals finally asked to talk.

[A stray cat has come to the Korean government as an envoy. Is it asking for a ceasefire?]

The nurse said.

‧

The animals sent messengers to the Korean government, not to the Holy Kingdom.

Ki-sun clicked his tongue when he heard the news.

[You’re smart. Really. You must know that the Korean government is more stubborn than us.]

“Let me hear what you have to say.”

A wild cat armed with a unique sense of pride, roughness, and cuteness. The threatening diplomacy of this Russian Blue cat was amazing.

Meow- (We’re going to cut off electricity intensively during the winter.)

[So they’re saying they’re going to keep cutting off power this winter.]

It was really dangerous to have a long power outage in the bitter cold.

Even without that, the elevators froze when the power went out, and the freezing continued when the water supply motor stopped.

The same goes for heating, with boilers freezing and exploding. Dozens of apartment complexes were turned into giant refrigerators.

Indoor stadiums and schools are already filled with refugees, and factories have stopped operating normally. And now they are insisting on cutting off the electricity?

Meowowowow- (If we don’t stop death, we’ll all die together.)

[Uh- If you don’t stop death, let’s die together.]

It was a warning from the animals that if they did not stop the swarm, they would die along with Korea.

‧

‧

‧

The Korean government has decided to end the war. Not a ceasefire, but a ceasefire. Animals have their own territory and humans have their own territory.

Except for the Gangwon-do region ceded to the Holy Kingdom, the Taebaek Mountains, Sobaek Mountains, and Jirisan were recognized as animal territory.

[The Korean government probably couldn’t help it either. We don’t have a floating city like ours. In this kind of extreme cold, there’s no answer for the electricity, water, gas, and distribution being cut off.]

Maru and the 300,000 strong Holy Kingdom army. It was impossible for the 100,000 strong Korean army to stop the animals’ persistent terror.

“Okay. It’s the Korean government’s decision. Maybe it’s a good thing.”

It would be a loss if the situation of not being able to induce awakening and only forgetting to supply was prolonged. The longer we are held back by Korea, the later it will be to resolve the tip-off from Thailand.

[I’ve already gathered some information about Thailand, but it’s a headache. Did you know that Thailand is a monarchy?]

“I heard the story.”

[It is said that the white elephant was half a god and that the ones who rode it were kings and royalty.]

“therefore···.”

[In Thailand, it is not only the white elephants that are being worshipped, but even the king and the royal family are being worshipped.]

It wasn’t just a pseudo-religion that was sacrificing human bodies.