Rust - Chapter 181



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-181

Gyaaaaang~

A monster running away with its tail between its legs. But it’s yelling ‘Catch me if you can?’

What the heck is this… Maru, whose head was burning with excitement, shook his head.

If those were really lures, the procession was dangerous.

Don’t cats hunt alone? Even cockroaches hunt in groups, so do cats? As Maru was about to return to the group, the one that had fallen far away shot a killing shot as if it was aiming for Maru’s back.

“It really is a mix of all sorts.”

Crack, crack, two feet wearing snowshoes dug through the snow.

‘Hey-‘

I thought the side would be torn apart by the monsters’ attack, but it was blocked better than I thought. There were casualties, but literally only a few people were taken by surprise at first.

“Unit the mind and body! Like this!”

Kiyooooooooooooo!

Although the sound of his shouting was a bit strange, the old man with dementia was quite good at slashing. When the old man swung the knife and dug between the cat’s claws, the cat flinched and tried to strike the old man with the other paw.

During that gap, a woman named Kiriko stabbed a cat in the eye with a knife. After that, the cat, who became cross-eyed, could not bear it and ran away.

As one ran away and the other two started to run away, the cats that had been swarming around in a group quickly disappeared. The one that had been spitting out murderous words from behind the floor also noticed and slowly stuck its tail out.

Kim Yang greeted Maru while changing the exosuit battery.

[Are you here?]

‘There was no blood. Why was it a waste?’ That kind of feeling.

“Yeah. Looking at what they’re doing, it doesn’t seem like it’ll end in one go, does it?”

I thought I might have to discuss it with the commander of the escort unit.

“Should we actively utilize refugees?”

“Yes. The 6.8mm standard bullets are only enough to make them flinch. To stop them for sure, you need to use armor-piercing bullets and focus fire on their faces, and to do that, you need people to block them from the front.”

Among the 500 or so refugees, quite a few fought the cats. If they actively drew the monsters’ attention, they could fight effectively.

“That would be difficult.”

The escort unit commander shook his head. His orders were to escort the refugees they were taking to the base as safely as possible.

In particular, those with superior physical abilities than ordinary people were given top priority for protection. The order was to protect them unconditionally and bring their bodies back to them if they died.

But you want to put him in front of the monsters?

Who needs to take off their uniform?

“This won’t be the first raid. Considering that they lured us and attacked us by surprise, they’ll probably be more frequent. They’ll keep doing it until we get tired and fall back.”

“······.”

“I’m not saying that we should always put them in the lead. At least once. We should attack them hard once so that they can’t rush in recklessly. So that they think, ‘Oh, it’s hot.’, ‘I’m going to die.’”

“······.”

The commander was lost in thought.

Maru waited quietly for an answer. If he couldn’t communicate with the commander, he planned to leave with Kim Yang under the pretext of reconnoitering the front.

“Okay, just this once. Let’s just reduce their numbers in one go. We can’t keep carrying them around anyway.”

The commander extended his hand to Maru. Sigh- Maru grabbed the commander’s hand.

Among the 500 people, the number of people whose physical abilities had improved was a whopping 35. Even though these 35 people were considered to have become noticeably stronger, the surviving refugees were not all ordinary people.

When passing through the basin area covered with volcanic ash and heavy fog, we had to wear gas masks. It was difficult to see how even trained soldiers could endure such a difficult march, and it was hard to see how it was normal for refugees, especially children under the age of 10, to endure it.

There was a good chance that it would be possible, seeing people with improved physical abilities being active there this time.

The plan was this.

They were marching at a rapid pace. Then the monsters had no choice but to increase their speed and follow suit. So who would have the advantage? The felines might be faster in moments, but humans had no shortage of endurance.

Even the refugees were more physically fit than the soldiers. If they kept walking without stopping, the monsters would definitely panic. What if they walked like that and pretended to get tired?

The monsters who are tired of following will think, ‘Those guys are jumping around so much, I’m tired. Alright, now’.

“come!”

“Throw some pepper! Pepper!”

Refugees scattered and threw pepper in all directions.

Kyaaaaah!

Kkaaaang!

Monsters in pain, rubbing their noses with their front paws.

People who rush in with their spears without missing the gap.

“let’s go!”

“Turn back!”

“The asshole is the weak point!”

“Put it in!”

Woooooooooooooo!

“Hit the side, hit the side!”

“It’s my eyes! Stab my eyes!”

Kiyooooooooooooo!

People who faced death as a daily occurrence in hellish Tokyo were less fearful than expected. Perhaps it was because they knew that their physical abilities were beyond ordinary.

“What are we!”

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.”

The Marines weren’t the only ones who could stand by and watch the refugees’ mad charge, so the attacks on the monsters became even more fierce.

And in one corner, a rippling space began to move.

How did the monsters find the hidden floor?

Kim Yang’s answer was simple.

‘persimmon?’

So Maru answered like this.

‘Do you want to be hit?’

Let’s say that cockroaches can sense changes in the air with their hair and antennae. Then how do giant cats know? With their whiskers? Of course, that’s possible, but isn’t the more basic sense of smell?

Smell. What happens when you numb your sense of smell?

And into this place where the smell of pepper permeates the air, an invisible death descended.

======

======

The sword swung by Kiriko Kadama made a shallow cut into the monster’s hide. A little blood flowed out, but that was enough.

In a situation where the sense of smell is paralyzed, the only thing he can rely on is sight. The female in front of him swung a weapon and his skin was cut. The monster had no choice but to focus on Kiriko, who he could see.

Kyaaaaah!

The moment the monster was about to swing its front legs, bang! The head was cut off.

Just cut it off without any warning.

???

!!!!!

The monster’s head, which had been floating up, fell to the ground and rolled around.

Push-Sit – Blood spurted from the severed area, covering Kiriko.

She instinctively wiped the monster’s blood from her face and looked around, but she saw nothing. There was no trace of anything.

And what Kiriko saw were monsters starting to get cut. When black lines appeared in space, the monsters were being cut.

Wherever the blurry black line passed, it was severed, regardless of where it was. Whether it was a leg, a head, or a torso, it was just torn to pieces.

Kuk- Her hand holding the knife gained strength.

How… how… can you cut it so easily?

“It’s him. He’s here. He’s an oni.”

When did you come here?, the grandfather muttered, glaring into the air. Kiriko nodded without realizing it. The person who cut up four monsters in an instant could not be the same person.

The leather was so tough that even if she used both arms to cut with all her might, she could barely cut through the outer skin, even though she could lift a 50~60kg weight with one hand. There was no way that the person who dismantled such a monster in an instant could be the same person.

‘That guy.’

The man who threw my grandfather from the rooftop of the stolen hospital was the same. The man who single-handedly cut down the infected and mutants in the stolen hospital.

I remembered the time I was trapped, unable to do anything, crushed by that man’s power. That guy was like that too. A strength that was not human.

“He is a demon. He will reveal his true nature at some point.”

“······.”

But why is the grandfather hostile to the author?

“A vampire. A vampire. Look at that. He enjoys killing.”

“······.”

The black line that tore through the monster’s side severed its hind legs. The monster, with its entrails spilling out and its hind legs severed, struggled desperately to escape before slowly freezing.

“When will those teeth turn against people?”

“Grandpa, do you remember the cut marks on the iron pipe that I showed you at the hospital?”

The old man blinked at Kiriko’s words.

“Traces? Iron pipes?”

“Yes. It’s a trace left by my great-grandfather’s enemy. I told you. It’s a trace left by a man with a sword.”

The old man’s eyes, which had been blinking dimly, suddenly emitted a bright light.

“Yeah. That cut section.”

It was a tremendous force and speed. The cross-section was cut smoothly. It looked like it had been cut with a cutter. Even the iron pipes commonly used in hospitals to insert ringers were made of stainless steel. But it was hard to understand at first that they had been cut with a knife.

However, when he thought about the current situation, it wasn’t impossible. Even his granddaughter right next to him had grown stronger. He had thought that it was time for him to put down his sword because he was old, but he had recovered enough to be able to swing his sword, although not as well as he had in his prime.

“I don’t remember. But why?”

“If that guy and that guy fight, who will win?”

“He can’t catch that on his own. It’s a different level.”

“Is that so?”

The grandfather shook his head at the revenge contained in his granddaughter’s words. She was a child who followed her brother very well. To the point where it was a little disappointing.

“You want to use that to get revenge on him? Arthur. That thing is not human. It has human skin, but it is not human.”

“······.”

“You are getting stronger fast enough. Don’t be impatient. Stay centered so you don’t become a monster.”

“······.”

If you are impatient, you tend to take unreasonable measures. It is even more so when it comes to borrowing the help of others because of that impatience. Taking revenge by borrowing the help of a demon, not a human? If you take revenge by borrowing the help of a monster, isn’t that the same as becoming a monster?

“Revenge must be taken with one’s own hands.”

Besides, revenge done by someone else always leaves a lasting impression. In order to get revenge cleanly, it was always right to finish it yourself.

Look, isn’t this the result of joining forces with China to take revenge on the evil British and American? Isn’t this the result of going under them and waiting for an opportunity?

“The Chinese betrayed us. They used us.”

“······.”

“It’s a betrayal. It’s a betrayal.”

“Don’t trust them. Don’t trust those evil British and American Chinese.”

The old man’s eyes, which had been shining brightly, gradually lost their light.

“Look at that. Over there.”

“It’s him. He’s here. He’s an oni.”

······

“He’s a demon. He’s a bloodthirsty demon.”

“He will show his true colors one day.”

······

······

Wouldn’t it be better to have a demon? Humans are not trustworthy beings, after all.

======

======

When a pack of wolves sees a fellow member caught in a trap, they realize that humans are targeting them. The behavior of a pack of wolves that has become a target of humans is divided into two.

Either ignore the traps and continue to attack human farms, or move their habitat to a place where humans cannot reach.

And the smarter the wolf pack, the more they judge the human who set the trap by looking at its liver. Whether it is a human who can be ignored, or a human who should just run away. If they judge that it is a human who should run away, they run away without looking back.

The fear that they would be caught and killed no matter what they did. A trace of fear that dug deep into the bones. When faced with fear that went beyond instinct, even the smartest of people tended to run away.

Added value added-

??????????????????

The tip of the sword that cut off the front leg passed through the side and cut the hind leg. The monster, which had fallen to one side, struggled helplessly, but it could neither stand up nor keep its balance with its remaining leg.

Maru ignores the pitiful sound and moves on to the next target.

At first, I just went around cutting off their heads to quickly reduce their numbers, but now I had to kill them brutally. So brutally that they would shit and piss themselves. If you have any sense, you will realize that dying is not easy.

Creak creak-

Bouaaak-

The blade that cut off the foreleg turned like a swallow and scratched the monster’s two eyes. The giant cat, blinded by the severed foreleg, glared, but it meant nothing.

Aaaa …

The struggling monster cat let out a long, pleading sound. Regardless, Maru’s chopping continued.

Sure enough, numbing the sense of smell was the right answer. A few people with sensitive senses seemed to notice something was wrong, but avoiding or blocking the attack was a separate matter.

The black blade sticking out from the rippling space was imprinted with fear on the monsters. When one of them started to scream in fear, fear began to spread to the other monsters as well.

“Okay. They’re scared!”

“Stop it!”

“Push them so they can’t run away!”

“Just leave the insides out! Let them die slowly.”

While the people with high hopes were focused on the monster, Maru started tearing off the action cam.

“Huh! What the? What hit my head!”

“Hey- what about your camera?”

There were only a few electronic devices affected by the volcanic ash and smoke. Maru, who was quickly taken care of, approached Ms. Kim.

“How about the battery?”

[He’s an idiot.]

That’s not what I asked.

“How far will it go?”

[10 minutes?]

“How many extra are left?”

[I changed it this time, so 3.]

“Okay. Save your batteries. Tell them you’re tracking me down when they find me.”

[Okay.]

The monsters, who were even chased by Maru, fled in panic towards Tokyo.

Moments later, cheers of victory rose high into the sky.

There were no other raids after that.

Even if you occasionally encounter monsters wandering alone, they are dealt with by refugees and Marines.

The stoppage was brief, and the northward advance continued.

People walking in long lines like ants on the endless snowfields and snow-covered mountain slopes. As they walked and walked, the white mountain peaks and white hills repeated themselves.

[tedium.]

“Because Japan also has a lot of mountains.”

The course goes through Nagano Prefecture, north of Tokyo, and heads to a port city in Niigata Prefecture. Once we reach the port city, a transport ship is scheduled to arrive.

Even though I planned the course to avoid the mountain range that divides Kanto and Kansai, I still had to continue walking along the mountain path. Fortunately, the volcanic ash and smoke became less and less clear the further north I went.

[Huh? It’s a city.]

Ms. Kim, who was leading the way, raised her hand and pointed the way.

In the distance, there were buildings rising up through the white snow.