Rust - Chapter 474



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-474

It was quiet inside the airship.

‘You saw that tactical camera footage, right?’

‘It’s difficult to check the atmosphere on site with just a video shot from a distance.’

‘Can’t you do this after eating?’

‘How long has it been since you ate? Or should we talk while we go together?’

Kim Yang furiously shook her head at Maru’s suggestion to go across the border together. She was desperately explaining everything, completely engrossed in the story of food.

Maru’s brow furrowed as he recalled his conversation with Kim Yang.

I founded the kingdom for survival and safety, but there were too many things to worry about.

‘Once you start something, you have to see it through to the end.’

It wasn’t easy to protect just one building, but as the size grew, there were more places where the sides were bursting.

A small fortress with a relay center and a new autonomous defense system. Should we call it a bunker with a mobile trailer?

A stronghold armed with 20-40mm machine guns and 12.7mm heavy machine guns. It was quick to construct a facility manned by wolves, crows, and a small number of troops.

chuck-

As Maru disembarked from the airship, the waiting soldiers saluted.

“How many people are there in total?”

“There are 65 people.”

10 guards, 40 trainees recruited as a condition for issuing citizenship, 2 medical, 3 administrative, 5 cooking, and 5 technical. A total of 65.

Except for the guards, all the troops were no different from new recruits. Although they had qualified professionals in related industries for cooking and technology, the rest had to roll around and gain experience.

‘They say we need to continue building facilities like this in the future.’

We had planned to build a stronghold fortress with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 200 people, but upon examining the site, we realized that the plan needed to be completely revised.

It was nice to build a small fortress. The autonomous defense system was working great, and the high-power relay center was working properly.

The problem was resources. To stop both monsters and humans, a strong defense facility was needed, and supplies were needed. If we were to build 1,000 of these facilities, we would need at least 60,000 people.

Considering that the Canadian military had 70,000 troops just before the incident, it was crazy to think that 60,000 were needed to control some strongholds.

Even this only takes into account the Canadian border area. If we assume that a defensive line was to be built all the way to the southern border of Michigan, at least twice as many troops would have been needed.

‘This is crazy. Even if you draw 200,000, you still need 140,000 to 150,000 for basic defense.’

Maru, who had checked the supply plan, defense operation plan, etc. on site, thought it was a good idea to come in person. Things that seemed possible when seen only in documents and videos turned out to be extremely dangerous attempts in reality.

“what do you think about it?”

“I think that without fully expanding the autonomous defense system utilizing artificial intelligence, stronghold defense is virtually impossible.”

Hood frowned as if he hadn’t expected this to happen. Maru, who heard Hood’s answer, asked the man next to him who was keeping his mouth shut the same question.

He was a man brought from the Wilmington Vampire Laboratory. I’ve been watching him for some time, but I haven’t seen any signs of betrayal, so I brought him in this time.

“It seems like we can easily stop a company-sized enemy, and we can stall for some time against a battalion-sized enemy.”

Maru urged the man, who was reluctant to speak, to continue talking.

“It’s hard to answer more than that because it varies greatly depending on the enemy’s armament status and objectives, but I think we’ll need at least 65 people.”

Even if you think about smugglers, it was the same because they could return by riding through mountains or valleys far from the stronghold defense facilities.

Although it is said that crows and wolves have search capabilities, the opinion is that 65 people are only enough to defend a fortress, and not enough to search and respond to nearby areas.

“so?”

“We need at least twice as many troops. To defend properly, we need at least three times as many.”

“Even with new drones and autonomous defense systems?”

“Yes. It is dangerous to plan a defense strategy centered on machines. Even if we have countermeasure technology, we have entered an era where it is difficult to guarantee that we can completely block them.”

The man who had been defending the Virginia Company’s core facility looked up and glanced at the floor. Hadn’t the research facility where he was the head of security also been breached without a fight?

‘I guess there’s nothing I can do.’

It is impossible to control the border area with a stronghold fortress.

‘We have no choice but to entrust the defense of our strongholds to the private sector.’

“Are there any other villages nearby that are suspected of being smuggling bases?”

[ancient.]

Maru headed straight for the village.

Slurp-

The sight of green grass lying sideways and then rising up. A field of grass swaying without any sound or movement.

[Standing in the sky near the airship.]

[Sacred Crow Bombardment Unit Standby Complete.]

The 4th generation improved Reaper suit has improved performance in many ways.

Bulletproof, flameproof, coldproof, and dustproof performances have been significantly enhanced, and improved batteries and semiconductors have significantly increased the stealth module’s performance and usage time.

After passing through the fields, narrow paths and long, lush coniferous forests, a wide-open space appeared.

A village located in the middle of an empty lot where traces of logging still remain, either to secure a view or to make firewood or fences.

Maru approached the village with his stealth module activated to the max. There was no sign of life in the village, which was surrounded by thick wooden fences and stone walls.

Ssuk-

Maru, who had been taking steps back slightly due to the awkwardness, looked at the floor again.

A snail hidden in the tall grass.

‘This is true.’

If I hadn’t approached carefully, I would have been caught in a trap.

‘They really set me up to die.’

Starting with the olmu, traps and floor pitfalls were spread out everywhere.

Considering that there were even ankle-cutting traps that plagued American troops in the Vietnam War, it was only natural to assume that there were trap experts in town.

A crow circling around the village approached slightly and sent a video. The empty village was captured on the crow’s reconnaissance camera.

‘There were people there just a little while ago···.’

Seeing people disappear somewhere in an instant gave me a slightly awkward feeling.

How is it that controllable without any special signals? And there wasn’t even a siren?

[Continue with your reconnaissance. Don’t get too close.]

Caw!

Maru stepped back a little.

After stepping back for a while, the villagers began to appear in groups of three or four. People who had climbed up the fence in unison like ants began to look around.

‘Is that guy the leader?’

A person was seen acting strangely in the reconnaissance footage. He seemed to be directing the villagers.

The direction he was pointing was the direction where the floor was.

‘You read the directions?’

It was Maru who suddenly thought of someone.

That’s true, but more than anything, that control was suspicious.

‘Is that possible without raising your voice?’

No matter how I looked at it, the townspeople were moving around that guy.

As soon as the decision was made, the floor moved.

Krrrrrr-

The sound of the eclipse turned into a cutting sound.

Kwak-

Kwajik-

Kudduddudd–

After the sound of one, two, three slashes, a tree so large that it took two or three people to surround it fell in the direction of the village.

A dull impact sound.

The dust rose.

And Maru running over the fallen tree.

Jjajajak!

The sound of the tree branches blocking the way ahead opening up a path followed my footsteps. It took me about 3 seconds to step on the tree that seemed to be about 50 to 60 meters tall.

The HUD image showed a figure on top of a fence.

The guy who had pointed in the direction where Maru was was shouting something urgently to the villagers. Maru was moving faster than the villagers were aiming their guns in the direction of the fallen tree.

Hit! Hit!

With the jump, the image of the crow looking up from the air and the view from Maru merged into one. Without realizing it, the guy gave the order to fire.

“firing!!!”

Tadadadada!

A concentrated barrage of fire from bear rifles and sniper rifles poured down on the fallen tree.

Pavababak! Bang!

The guy raised his arm and stopped shooting.

The dust that rose. The split branches. The bullets that dug into them.

Are you sure this is correct?

There has to be some kind of reaction…

A momentary eerie feeling.

The fear of death that feels like it’s squeezing my chest.

The guy who had been staring ahead raised his head with a creaking sound.

The sky was empty and I couldn’t see anything. But I could tell.

“Wait—Wait-jo-!”

I shouted desperately with my tongue stiffening, but that was it.

The villagers on the fence were frozen as if they had been cursed with petrification.

‘Shoot! Shoot into the sky!’

Even the desperate struggles were in vain as a black solid line fell like lightning.

A hot and cold feeling ran from his crown to his groin, and then finally to his neck.

!?

That was weird.

The experience of one’s gaze being split in two as one looks at the sky.

Somehow, emptiness began to fill his chest.

‘ah-‘

The blue sky began to darken as my vision split in two. The pain that felt like my nerves were being electrically shocked only lasted for a moment, and that was it.

Bam-

Thud-thud-

The sound of things splitting, cutting, and pouring out.

Then a pungent rusty smell rose up.

The villagers could not escape.

It felt like my legs had turned to stone.

The sight that can be seen when you barely open your eyes.

There was something next to the suddenly dismembered corpse.

The sight of people standing around the place where the rippling something has landed, starting to turn blue.

Even though he was dying standing up, he didn’t make a sound or move.

The lungs simply refused air and the heart began to give up beating.

The horror of the incomprehensible. And the certainty of death.

The townspeople’s minds began to clear as they faced the inevitable ending.

‘Die.’

‘I want to live.’

‘please.’

There was no other thought.

Only the desperate longing for life to be free from the fear of death.

Rumble-

The appearance of something that is revealed as space is distorted.

Even though they knew that it was a stealth suit that they had seen in movies, novels, and military magazines, their thirst for life distorted everything. What was engraved in their minds was not science and technology, but the appearance of death.

In this way, a village welcomed Maru.

======

======

The aftermath was quickly resolved.

The townspeople obediently follow the control of the guards.

“Spit on the test paper. Take the test.”

“Those who have completed the examination, please come here and fill out the questionnaire.”

“Those who have completed the survey, prepare to move according to the instructions.”

Long lines. No protests, no complaints.

It was filled only with the thrill of having survived.

“There. Once the inspection is over, move quickly.”

“Yes? Yes.”

Maru looked around without letting go of his hiding place.

‘Tsk- I should have saved the head intact.’

Judging from the fact that he had subtly sensed his own location, it was highly likely that he was not a cannibal but a person with powers. And as soon as the thing grasped the direction with its hand, the thing that came to Maru’s mind was a mental ability.

‘Julia. I felt the same way about that woman.’

Julia Spin, who died in New York. Maru immediately reached out as he remembered her being located by the psychic.

‘Should I have captured him alive?’

Thinking about it, he felt a little sorry. Maru shook his head to shake off his regret and observed the villagers again.

‘The researchers will love this.’

Still, since I had split it neatly in two, I thought it would be good enough to use as a research sample.

‘Huh? That one?’

Strange guys appeared in Maru’s eyes.

Those wearing leather clothes.

The leather clothes weren’t strange since many other people were wearing them, but the material was the problem. It wasn’t the usual leather feel, but clothes that felt like a monster’s unique texture. Maru, who had dismantled monsters several times, could tell the difference.

Anyone wearing clothes made of monster skin would be a high-ranking person in the village, and they’re gathered at the back of the line of cannibal inspectors?

The guys who didn’t realize that Maru was watching started taking action.

“Now. Press!”

A guy whose neck falls off the moment he presses the trigger he was hiding in his bosom. And a rippling space.

“Eww! Run away–”

Kwajik-

Thud-thud-

Before I could finish speaking, the thing that had been separated into upper and lower bodies began to glow with a dull ripping sound.

Maru’s eyes glowed coldly at the sight.

A tenacious vitality that struggles even after being cut down.

As expected, it was there.

these guys.