Rust - Chapter 1017



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-1017

The stealth modules of the new Ripper suit, combined with its unique stealth abilities, made it a god of death itself.

How did they find the hideout so quickly, when even the most basic sensors couldn’t find a trace of it, and even the keen senses of high-level cannibals or vampires were hard to detect?

‘Were you prepared for this?’

It’s a story of anticipating and preparing for the arrival of Maru himself or someone dangerous. I stopped by to find out the cause because I felt uneasy, but it turned out to be a way to guess the Empire’s defense posture.

(It’s 2 o’clock.)

(Fire begins.)

Maru suppressed the death writhing beneath his feet and lay flat on his stomach. Bullets pierced through the air. The trajectory of the tracer bullet, still shining clearly even in the daytime, was sharp.

(It’s at 2 o’clock.)

(Is it lying down?)

The artificial intelligence Diana successfully hacked the enemy’s proximity communication network and sent information in real time.

(Prepare the mortar.)

(Preparing to fire mortar)

(Distance 782m.)

(array-)

The enemies had pinpointed Maru’s hiding place almost exactly. Maybe they had someone with the ability to detect things.

‘That’s it.’

Maru, who had bounced like a spring, ran towards the forest border. He ran at an incredible speed of 14 to 15 meters in one step.

In that brief moment when the mortar fired and disappeared into the jungle, the mortar rounds began to pound the empty field.

‧

Kim Yang, who was taking a big bite of elephant meat and munching on it, spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Gulp- Weren’t you aiming for the counter?”

“bar?”

If you expected it to come from this side, it would be understandable.

“If you think about it that way, it’s pretty much right.”

“······.”

Could the Emperor of the Empire have been there?

Have you prepared your detection ability specialists in case of a surprise attack?

Or did he really know and expect that he would go?

how?

Maru’s move towards the Imperial Artillery was an impromptu one.

I wanted to see and confirm the Imperial Artillery in person, and most of all, to find out the cause of my uneasy feeling.

Were you expecting and waiting for such an impromptu action? That didn’t make sense.

“Huh? Isn’t that obvious? Up until now, the King has been pushing back the enemy’s main force on his own. If the Empire intends to fight us, isn’t it obvious that they should prepare for the King’s appearance?”

“······.”

That meant, paradoxically, that the Empire, the Emperor of the Empire, was thinking of physically clashing with the Holy Kingdom.

Maru immediately informed Ki-sun of the situation. Ki-sun looked tired, saying that she had already talked to Den Brown.

[The Emperor is a bomb. The Imperial Army there is also half a trap. If they don’t intentionally attack us, then we don’t need to touch them first, right?]

An explanation that the situation would not end with killing the emperor. It would be the same even if only the artillery was pushed back. It would only serve as an excuse to send more troops.

“It seems like you knew I was going and were waiting for me.”

[Haa- It seems the Emperor knows your weakness. So, unless you really want to cling to the King, let’s not show him your dirty side.]

“What is your weakness?”

[It seems like you didn’t know that much. Even if you did know, you probably pretended not to know.]

Maru, tilting his head slightly to the left and right, answered calmly.

“I went to the Imperial Artillery Temporary Garrison because I felt uneasy. If that unease was caused by some kind of trap aimed at my weakness, then there was no need to go in there.”

[I thought about it carefully.]

Ki-sun let out a sigh of relief.

“But what if their traps involve playing with sinkholes or taking hostage the Vladiak Tower, the floating city, and the northern city that is being rebuilt? Should we just put up with it?”

[Even if the Emperor is not of sound mind, he will not touch the Holy Kingdom City. If he touches it directly, it means starting an all-out war. What are the meaning of traps and weaknesses? He is saying let’s die together. As long as that old man is the Prime Minister, that will not happen.]

Even if the emperor went berserk and declared war, it was meaningless if supplies did not follow.

[Even without that, the Korean government could not remain silent about the empire’s unilateral declaration of war.]

“The Korean government?”

[Oh. They said they reduced the supplies exported to the Empire. The Empire has five or six fronts in North America alone. They also participated in the Vietnam Civil War. They said the Imperial artillery in Southeast Asia didn’t go north, right? It’s not that they didn’t do it, they just couldn’t do it.]

The artillery corps was small in size, but its supply itself was difficult.

[Even if the Emperor were to advance north from the Vietnam front, it would be impossible due to a lack of supplies. You said it was a strange move, right? It’s all because of a lack of supplies.]

“Huh- is that so? I was wondering why I missed such a good opportunity.”

Kim Yang, who thought the imperial army’s movements were strange, nodded.

“So, by making a fuss like that and sneaking around to show your location and making a temporary base, you were trying to lure our king?”

Instead of answering Kim Yang’s question, Ki-sun finished the story she was telling.

[The Imperial Army will continue to have supply problems in the future. So ignore their nagging. They will fall apart on their own over time.]

“······.”

Even after hearing Ki-sun’s explanation, Maru’s unease did not go away.

======

======

Leon Bonnard surveyed the situation.

‘We need to expand as quickly as possible.’

It was important to build up our strength, but now we had to secure territory and increase our resources, production facilities, and population.

Dan Brown was against expansion without substance, saying it would only increase costs, but Leon Bonnard thought differently.

How China Threatens America

This was because it had economies of scale. The market and productivity based on its overwhelming population were more than enough to support the supply of the Chinese military.

If you ask why China could not be defeated in the US-China war, Leon Bonnard thought it was because they were inferior in terms of military size.

Of course, the continental United States was destroyed by mutant monsters and cannibals, but the fundamental reason was that the US military could not handle the scale of China.

‘Even though we mobilized the Korean military, all we could do was take control of the area around Shanghai.’

In order to fully intervene in the Vietnam Civil War, it was necessary to first increase the scale of human and material resources. To do so, it was necessary to expand the territory in North America as quickly as possible.

After taking control of Philadelphia, the imperial army moved immediately south to conquer four more states, and although they were unable to completely take control of the four states, they deployed their main force again and began conquering three more states: Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

“The problem is distribution. Did the Koreans start to suppress it right away?”

The artillery unit that Leon Bonnard was currently building was a 200mm self-propelled gun. The main self-propelled gun used by the existing empire was the 155mm Crusader, and the caliber of the towed gun was also mainly 155mm.

They were in the process of replacing the 155mm with 200mm and 400mm. They planned to advance westward in earnest once they replaced their main firearms and their own shell supply became smooth.

‘Before that, there’s something I have to do.’

The goal was to catch Vladimir Kalin. If I catch him, my divinity will become stronger.

‘We need victory. Victory on more fronts.’

Even though it was not yet stable, the reason they pushed ahead and declared their participation in the Vietnam War was to become stronger.

As Leon Bonnard’s abilities grew stronger, they affected the entire legion. At least the legion he directly commanded was able to crush the enemy with overwhelming accuracy.

‘If we take Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, we will become stronger.’

The plan was to use war and victory to secure faith. Once the ability to eat faith becomes stronger, the plan was to use it to exert absolute influence on the Vietnam Civil War.

“What happened to the reconnaissance unit that entered Tokyo, Japan?”

“Communication has been cut off.”

“The reconnaissance party that went to Kyushu too?”

“yes.”

Ordinary volcanic ash and dust can cause various types of electromagnetic interference, including communication failures, but the volcanic ash and dust covering Japan was severe.

It was as if the volcanic ash and dust itself had an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) effect.

[Enemies hiding in the C7 area of ​​South Vietnam approach.]

[Unable to confirm enemy size.]

[Turns out to be an enemy capable of moving at high speeds.]

A brief report followed.

‘Is it difficult to grasp the scale?’

The newly acquired detection ability was a bit disappointing. Although they could sense the enemy approaching, they were unable to obtain detailed information such as the enemy’s size or weapon status.

[The pursuer has lost track of the traces.]

[It seems like he is a capable person, judging by the fact that there are no footprints left behind.]

‘North Vietnamese special forces? Or maybe the Holy Kingdom’s special forces.’

Is the purpose reconnaissance?

“The enemy couldn’t see the sinkhole, right?”

[You probably didn’t see it because we discovered and repelled it before it approached the garrison.]

“Be careful not to expose the sinkhole.”

[All right.]

‧

The Vietnam front was a tedious standoff, neither moving up nor down. The North American front was equally sluggish.

As the supply route became longer, there was a problem of supply delays. And since Korea did not sell 155mm shells, firepower was also weakened.

The weakened firepower was being replaced by newly produced 200mm guns, but production was limited to about 100 guns per month.

It would have been different if they had only made 200mm self-propelled howitzers, but they had to make 400mm self-propelled howitzers, tanks, armored vehicles, and exosuits.

[The Tokyo Sinkhole Scouts of Japan are back.]

Of the 120 people who entered, only 13 returned. In reality, it was an extremely poor result with a survival rate of 10%.

[It reacts to regular bombs, but is extremely sensitive to nuclear explosions.]

It was reported that if the number dropped by a regular bomb was 10, the number reacting to a micro-nuclear weapon was over 1,000.

[Confirmed that the sinkhole monsters are connected to each other.]

When we caught one of the monsters as a sample, it turned out to be a sinkhole monster that was rushing towards the place where the sample was hidden.

“The information was true.”

The incident off the coast of Busan, South Korea, has all been proven true. The information that sinkholes are likely to form near volcanoes or in areas connected to earthquake zones was also revealed.

[The Kyushu Scouts have returned.]

Two companies of 270 men entered Kyushu, and only eight returned alive.

[A medium-sized sinkhole was confirmed in Kumamoto, and small sinkholes were confirmed to have formed in various places.]

Kumamoto was a large city near Mount Aso.

The situation of the Vietnam Civil War. The movements of the Holy Kingdom Army. The three-province conquest. And now the newly confirmed information is starting to mix up.

‘I guess I’ll have to use the sinkhole in Kyushu.’

If the immortal monster were to enter southern Korea, the Korean and Holy Kingdom forces that are active as security forces in each Southeast Asian country would have no choice but to leave to defend Korea.

If Vladimir Kalin, who has a tendency to solve problems on his own, is involved in the defense of Korea, what would happen if a sinkhole bursts in Southeast Asia while Korea is exhausted?

“Operation begins.”

It started with a shake.

‧

‧

‧

In response to the emergency communication from Korea, Ki-sun immediately requested an emergency meeting.

[They say a sinkhole monster has invaded Busan.]

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

[I don’t know why, but it is said that millions of monsters landed in Busan and Tongyeong.]

“Why don’t we just wake them up with frozen sea bombs when they come?”

Kim Yang was puzzled. He just watched as millions of units surged in? That would be enough to break the ice sea.

[They said they came during a blizzard and didn’t notice them approaching.]

Maru’s eyes sharpened at Ki-sun’s explanation. There were two reasons why they moved around during the weather. Either the sinkhole monsters were beginning to show their true colors or, like the Busan incident, humans had provoked the sinkhole monsters.

“Tokyo? Or are sinkhole monsters appearing elsewhere too?”

[I don’t think so. They say it seems like only the sinkhole in the Kyushu region reacted.]

So then the story was that humans were the problem.

What kind of kid is he?

What was the purpose of touching the sinkhole?

If you were to touch a sinkhole, you would know the dangers, right?

Did you weaponize it right away after I told you that salt, seawater, and sunlight were your weaknesses?

The uneasy feeling grew stronger and stronger. Now it was becoming unpleasant.

Maru, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

“If anyone is going to mess with the sinkhole, it’s one of those New World-seeking bastards. Or the Confederacy. Or the Empire.”

[Empire?]

“No way. Is that so?”

If he knew that he would be caught, he would pull out his sword and commit suicide? No way.

“I don’t know about the others, but the Empire needs to see for itself. So, Gisoon is being released from retirement. Go see Emperor Dan and Leon Bonard in person.”

If you have Ki-sun’s ability to read emotions, you will be able to discern the truth.

[What do you do?]

“I guess I should go to Korea first.”

If it was a sinkhole monster with millions of units, it couldn’t be stopped by the military alone.