Rust - Chapter 1021



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-1021

Hundreds of thousands of crows were a disaster in themselves.

Just as the Empire’s electronic warfare capabilities can use jamming and similar EMPs, so can the Holy Kingdom’s crows.

Now, they have returned to the Holy Kingdom and are docile, but in essence, they are mutant monsters. When hundreds of thousands of these crows gathered, a biological EMP unique to mutant monsters occurred.

“It’s a biological EMP!”

“Can you stop it? You have to stop it.”

The Empire’s electronic warfare experts gritted their teeth and unleashed their powers. Just as they had been able to create EMPs, now they had to stop them.

“Too many. There are too many.”

“If the whole is difficult, at least some parts must be preserved.”

There were too many crows to protect the entire remaining force. A black disaster that circled around like a tornado, waiting for an opportunity.

Kaaaak-

Kaaaak-

Kill-kill-

Kill-kill-

The voice that sounded like an auditory hallucination mixed with the ominous cries of crows was enough to crush the morale of the imperial army.

“If we can stop it this time, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive.”

“I will try to stop it.”

As a newly naturalized person from Southeast Asia, I could not refuse orders. I had to succeed so that my family and friends could live safely in the embrace of the empire.

‘Focus. The same goes for bio-EMP.’

It felt like just blocking enemy hacking and gaining a comparative advantage in electronic warfare wasn’t enough to show the impact of his abilities.

The enemy special forces Naruz were terrifyingly strong even without their exosuits, and the enemy AI’s electronic warfare capabilities were so powerful that they could swallow us up if we lost focus even for a moment.

He wanted to show overwhelming ability and gain a high position in the imperial army, but the power of the Holy Kingdom was stronger than he expected.

‘You can do it. You can do it.’

And now. The Holy Kingdom was targeting the Imperial Army using the mutant crows. If they succeeded in stopping that black disaster here…

He will be a hero. The moment he interfered with the biological EMP unleashed by hundreds of thousands of crows, the man’s mouth opened involuntarily in pain as if his brain was boiling.

KHAAAAAAH—AAAH—

A hazy haze spread around the electronic warfare agent, and communications that had been down were reconnected.

[Chijijik- The exosuit is ready to operate. Chijijik-]

[Attack now! Crows have weak defenses!]

Crows are birds anyway.

Even if it had mutated, its hide was not thick enough to withstand monster bullets.

Unaware that the bio-EMP had been canceled out, the low-flying crow squadron targeting the Imperial forces suddenly crashed into plucked-out chickens, and the crows’ flight changed.

[Cheek- Those guys are quick to respond. Beep-]

[Chiji- Raised the altitude. Chijijik-]

[Beep- You are out of range.-]

[Prevent them from coming down.]

[While keeping them in check, we capture the Holy Kingdom guys.]

The nuclear explosion that occurred when the Holy Kingdom airship self-destructed left about half of the exosuit corps inoperable. And nearly half of the remaining exosuits were hit by a flock of crows’ bio-EMP.

With the help of the electronic warfare ability user, we were able to salvage about 25% of the situation. With that, we had to capture Bernard Green, the special envoy of the Holy Kingdom.

Capture or kill.

It had to be secured.

That is His Majesty the Emperor’s order.

[For the victory of the empire.]

[For His Majesty the Emperor.]

[charge-]

‧

Naruzu and Gisun, who had just broken through the siege and were retreating towards the Holy Kingdom, were taken aback by the imperial army’s charge.

[Are they suddenly crazy?]

[How do those exosuits move?]

[The crows swarmed in. A bio-EMP must have gone off.]

[The airship self-destructed and its core exploded.]

Naruz was wary that the Imperial forces might still be able to bring out exosuits.

[He has electronic warfare capabilities.]

[Huh- life is tough.]

[When the airship crashed, I thought I was dead.]

[Were you far away when our airship self-destructed?]

Naruzu, who was momentarily taken aback by the sudden turn of events, responded immediately. He blocked the attack by sniping at the lower body joints of the Imperial Army’s exosuit.

[The crow years were showing off.]

[I knew it.]

[Ah- oh my- I miss you, brother.]

[So, if our king were here, all of those things would be taken care of in an instant.]

[Those kids are coming even after getting hit?]

[Shoot the lower body and head.]

[Aim for the head. If the sensor breaks, he’ll take off his helmet.]

No matter how much of a reinforced clone it was, the amount of ammunition it could carry and operate was clearly limited.

[I’m done-]

[me too.]

[Use it sparingly – Use it sparingly.]

[What the hell are those crow bitches doing!]

Those annoying bitches. They came down saying they were providing air support, then they all swarmed me and left me with no answer.

[Take out the knife.]

[You know, 2 people in a group?]

It was dangerous, but we were out of ammo now.

[Green Sun?]

[I put him to sleep after defeating him.]

[good job.]

[Well done.]

He put them to sleep by talking nonsense about confusing the enemy with his mind waves. Even though his head is a flower garden, he still knew that if he died or was captured, everything would be a mess, so he insisted on fighting with them.

[Oh, so that’s why the main body year is a student.]

[Don’t say anything to the main body. It’ll be unlucky.]

Naruzu pulled out a pitch-black dagger made from a shard of the altar and split into two groups. Even though they were enhanced clones, they were not strong enough to compete with the exosuit. They were also currently out of ammunition.

[I don’t think Oraburning will come like last time.]

[Because Southeast Asia and Korea exploded.]

Air combat with enemy airships, crashing, breaking through sieges, retreating. And finally, a close-quarters fight with an exosuit armed with only a dagger. Naruzu’s link started to become a little stronger.

[Three. Two. Ha-]

[for a moment.]

At the same time, the movement to run away suddenly stopped.

[who is this?]

[why?]

Oh man, I’m scared to charge.

Once you say you’re going, you have to go.

It’s hard when you’re so tired.

Naruzu’s thoughts stopped the charge amidst the grumbling thoughts.

[come.]

[what?]

Kwaaaaang!

The bombing has begun.

You said it was late-

Come quickly.

Those fucking crows.

Aren’t these guys doing this on purpose?

‧

Hundreds of thousands of crows split into five groups and began a wheeling battle.

Even when they were all in one mass, it was difficult to stop them, but when the five groups started attacking and retreating in turns, it was impossible for an electronic warfare expert alone to stop them.

Kkw-

Pak – The moment the electronic warfare ability user lost consciousness, with blood vessels bursting from his eyes and bleeding from his nose and ears, the Imperial Army exosuit went out of commission.

And then came the crow bombing. The bombs that descended like dive bombers from World War II were powerful enough to blow up the exosuit.

Even if they survived by luck, witches with daggers were waiting for them. The surviving imperial troops resisted to the end.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

bang!

“Glory to the Empire!”

Kwaaaaang!

The wounded soldiers blew themselves up as Naruz approached to confirm the kill. Only when several Naruz were caught in the self-destruction and seriously injured did Ki-sun come to his senses.

“Confirmation kill?”

[Because they’re tough.]

[If you leave these kids alone, they’ll follow you until you die.]

[Look at it now. It’s self-destructing.]

Ki-soon was dumbfounded. He was also embarrassed.

“Are you all crazy? Seriously- a confirmed kill? Ah- really. First of all.”

after-

“Don’t make me faint again.”

[No- because of whom now-]

[okay.]

Ki-soon, who had been holding back his words, understood the situation. The moment the electronic warfare expert was out due to overheating, the outcome was decided.

The Imperial Army was unable to stop the relentless wheel warfare of hundreds of thousands of crows, and a one-sided massacre ensued.

The crows annihilated the imperial forces with dive bombing, and then Naruj and the crows confirmed their kills.

‘oh my god.’

The absence of prisoners meant that this was a battlefield where even the most basic rules of engagement were ignored.

Annihilation?

Before destruction?

The battle that started suddenly was running wild.

“No confirmation kills.”

The Naruzu exchanged opinions.

The slightly stronger link worked like a network.

[Green Sun is acting up again.]

[A prisoner in this yard?]

[What are you going to do if I blow myself up?]

[Let’s just put it to sleep.]

[I decided not to put you to sleep.]

[That one won’t work because it’s too long.]

[Let’s do as you say.]

[Yeah. Because I won.]

The current command was in Ki-sun’s hands.

[If it were my brother, he would have cleaned it up.]

[We must report this matter to the King.]

The aftermath was no joke for Naruzu either.

“Tell the Crow Unit to stop bombing. Take prisoners. Return to the Holy Kingdom.”

The crow commander, having heard the standard’s words, flew over himself.

Kaaaaaaah! (We’re going to the empire!)

“what?”

Kaaaak- Kaaaak! (Our mission is to support the escape – attack the enemy’s ability units – and bomb the main facility.)

“······.”

‘Going further in and bombing key facilities?’

Bombing like this without a declaration of war or a sudden local war?

An all-out war like this without any warning?

“Contact your home country.”

[All radios are broken, so contact is impossible.]

[Once the crow unit leaves, a rescue ship will likely come.]

The stratospheric blimp would be watching the situation, and would have reported our victory. Once the flock of crows had left and the bio-EMP field had disappeared, a rescue ship would surely descend.

[There’s no time to wait.]

[We need to move immediately, as there is a possibility that additional Imperial troops will arrive first.]

[It won’t matter, the rescue ship will come in the direction we’re going.]

[Let’s go right away.]

Naruzu stood up, gathering the Imperial Army’s weapons and ammunition. Just as he was about to leave the battlefield, crows swarmed around him.

Kaaaak- (Enemy ability user killed.)

Kaaa- (He told me to bring him the body.)

Kkak- kkaak- (When you go. Take the body with you.)

Among the corpses dragged in by the crows was a person who appeared to be from Southeast Asia.

[This corpse is unusual?]

[what?]

[There is nothing.]

[That’s true.]

Unlike other people with the ability, he was a corpse without any electronic equipment. He was a corpse without even an electronic watch, radio, or ear-set. That is to say.

“Are you an electronic warfare expert?”

[You look like a Southeast Asian?]

[I think you’re right.]

Ki-soon’s mind became complicated.

Why are the capable people of giving birth in Southeast Asia here?

‘No, that’s too much. The Empire is a multi-ethnic nation. It’s not strange to have someone from Southeast Asia.’

The problem was that the electronic warfare agent was waiting on the way back to the Holy Kingdom.

Why?

Are you the emperor?

The Emperor wants war?

What about Maru?

He was not the type of person to avoid the war that was coming.

A war without wounded soldiers or prisoners. The target of the war was not the followers of cannibals, but the empire. Fighting among fellow humans when the survival of humanity might be at stake. Ki-soon could not understand.

Kaaaak- (We will continue our mission.)

The crow commander took flight. And the five groups of crows gathered together again into one large mass and began to fly towards Imperial Boston.

Woof woof woof-

Ki-sun turned his head at the sound of the airship. He saw a huge airship following a flock of crows.

And then, a moment later, a small head rose above the red frozen ground with a rustling sound. It was a shiny black rat.

Jjiik- (We will clean up the battlefield.)

A horde of rats began to dismantle Imperial equipment and corpses.

Kwaaaaang!

The sound of Imperial survivors blowing themselves up and waves of swarming rats swept across the battlefield.

======

======

As the Newclips passed through his chest, the pus-filled armor cracked open.

Kwoooooo-

A sinkhole monster drenched in seawater, its chest bone split open to reveal its heart and lungs, lurched toward the deck.

Tsk-

These guys definitely slashed backwards just before the sword made contact. I tried to maximize efficiency with minimal force, and it seemed like these guys were learning.

Charrick-

A vine sprouted from under Maru’s feet. A dagger-wielding vine dug into the split ribs of the sinkhole monster and tore it apart. The monster was torn apart as if a bomb had exploded inside.

The sticky fluid spurted in all directions, corroding the vines. The vines, which had been sizzling as if they had been doused with boiling hydrochloric acid, turned into black particles and disappeared.

Thud- The dagger fell from the air to the floor, and new vines wrapped around it, retreating behind the floor and waiting. In that brief moment, the sinkhole monsters formed a net around it.

So, that means they were hiding from the beginning to surround us. There were signs off the coast of Busan, but not to this extent.

What should I do with this?

I thought they would go back to where they were after some time, but they started to move in such an organized manner. It meant that there was someone controlling the sinkhole monster, or at least that they were able to make tactical and strategic decisions.

Maybe it’s learning through engagement.

‘Learning.’

Maru easily broke through the net made by the sinkhole monsters. It was not a good sign. He had broken through because he was the one who did it, but if it had been a force armed with firearms, it would have been dangerous.

There were three choices.

Return to North America, destroy the Empire’s main base, and find Ki-sun.

Or we can stop the sinkhole monster in Korea and sort things out.

Or go to Southeast Asia, wipe out the Imperial forces, and finish the Southeast Asian sinkhole.

Taking advantage of the moment of reflection, the artificial intelligence Diana’s report continued.

[Kim Ki-soon’s survival has been confirmed. As ordered, the Crow Unit has been dispatched. We have succeeded in supporting the escape and bombing the Empire’s main facilities.]

“What is the Empire’s reaction?”

[Gathering forces.]

“Where is the Emperor?”

[Could not be found by hacking.]

“Check first.”

If quantum computers and artificial intelligence can’t find it, it means the data has been erased or destroyed.

‘Is it true that from beginning to end, it was planned and intentional, not a mistake or coincidence?’

So there are four choices, not three.

The last option would be to get rid of the emperor.

Thump- thump-

Somehow my heartbeat became rougher.

[Traces of the Emperor Discovered Near Merapi Volcano in Indonesia.]

Near a volcano?

Maru’s eyes sank.