Rust - Chapter 573



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-573

Maru’s generosity had to be shown.

How should it look?

The corners of Ki-sun’s eyes became long and thin.

“Let’s first request the video of the meeting at the command center conference room. How about requesting the original, unedited video? The Yankees keep the meeting records to leave a record.”

“Let’s just grab it and start over? That’s a good idea, but they’ll probably say that the nuclear explosion caused the EMP to blow it up.”

The corners of Maru’s mouth became long and thin.

“Then we will have no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures for a while.”

“Well, there’s nothing like giving a choice to show generosity.”

The two of them giggled like a black curtain.

Ki-sun, who had been laughing for a long time, turned around and said.

“Then I’ll go and come back right away. If I leave right now, I think I’ll be back around dawn. I just need to bring my hood and gear, right?”

“Oh. Oh, that’s right. Bring some chefs to make some special dishes. Bring plenty of ingredients. If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right, right?”

Ki-sun’s squinted eyes narrowed slightly.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to use sleeping pills? No. It would be better to leave the medicine to Na Ju-yeon so that there won’t be any complaints. I’ll take care of the video part with the PD.”

“okay.”

A moment later, the airship soared toward Detroit.

======

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The general was in a bad mood. There had been no problems when President Charlotte Sim was there, but in just two days, the conflict had deepened.

The Empire, the Confederacy, and several nearby states had tried to join them. Why didn’t they join? Wasn’t it because they didn’t want to be used as a meat shield?

If you have supplies, you can maintain your army, and if you maintain your army, there is meaning to command. In today’s world, you have to stick together to survive, and if you split up, you will only survive.

An army that lost its target to protect was bound to become weak. Just as an army that lost its honor became corrupt. The unit that fought monsters and the Northern Theater of China, the unit that carried out the Shanghai Landing Operation in China, was divided.

‘We must secure a stable supply from the Holy Kingdom.’

We had to gain support from the Holy Kingdom and take control of LA. That way, those who wanted to go to the Confederacy, those who wanted to align with the Empire, and those who wanted to join the Holy Kingdom could unite as one. If we failed, we would just split into three.

The general lit a cigar he had been saving, one he intended to smoke when something good happened.

‘Negotiations with Bernard Green are difficult.’

His experience showed that Ki-sun had no intention of negotiating from the beginning.

‘I guess you’re thinking of letting go of the distribution issue.’

The only way left was to meet Vladimir Kalin directly.

‘I need a way to stimulate them without crossing the line. Why is that the only way?’

It was the right thing to do to say, ‘Vladimir! The reason you survived was because we knew honor and did not betray you.’

Moreover, by weaving together supplies and betrayals in this way, such as ‘We did not betray them, but is the Holy Kingdom trying to betray us?’, we were able to instill in the soldiers the idea that there was no one they could trust.

Only by uniting with the belief that we are the only ones to trust will we be able to sustain the Legion and prevent the heroism of Vladimir Kalin from being forgotten.

‘It’s difficult. It’s hard.’

Vladimir Kalin’s final actions. His actions of risking his life fighting the monster tentacles until the moment the nuke exploded left a deep impression on the soldiers.

In fact, isn’t this an action worthy of being called a hero? If he hadn’t planned the operation with his life at stake, humanity would have been helpless.

A tentacle monster that can disguise itself as a human? This isn’t something out of a movie or novel.

The general took a mouthful of his prized cigar.

‘Whew- there’s no way. There’s no other way.’

As this operation shows, Vladimir Kalin is more impulsive and emotional than you might think. If you bring up the supply issue as a matter of profit or reality, you will fail. Changing it to an emotional, loyalty, and betrayal issue will probably work.

Ugh-

‘Then how should I approach this…’

[General. I heard that the Holy Kingdom has decided to make a generous decision.]

“A generous decision?”

The general’s hazy eyes regained their strength. Does this mean he can make a decision without getting complicated? If so, it was really the best.

[Yes. I would like to provide a special meal to all the soldiers tomorrow evening and show a documentary. What should I do?]

“Tell him to do so. And ask for a private meeting.”

Since they had talked about a generous decision first, there was definitely a need to drive a wedge in.

[Shall we make an appointment for a private meeting with Bernard Green, the representative for negotiations with the Holy Kingdom?]

“No. Vladimir Kalin. I would like to request a private meeting with the King of the Holy Kingdom.”

[All right.]

The smoke of a high-quality cigar, a mixture of the rich aroma of nuts and chocolate, rose for a moment. Then, a call came.

[They said they would adjust the schedule after tomorrow evening.]

“Hmm- I’d like to meet you as soon as possible, so I’d like you to schedule it as soon as possible. I told you it was important.”

The general’s brow furrowed at the story that, despite repeated requests, the Holy Kingdom had abruptly cut him off, saying that they would only be able to make time after the soldiers’ special meal and documentary screening tomorrow.

‘You say it’s a generous decision, but you can’t make time? What are you thinking?’

The next evening, the soldiers were astonished at the special meal served to them.

“WTF!”

“JES···.”

“HOLLY!!!”

The special dish that the Holy Kingdom is proud of has descended with Kim Yang.

[Okay, eat. Eat and go to the world of dignity.]

Special meals made from coyote and bear meat, which had been stockpiled in abundance, were distributed.

“What is this stew? It makes me feel like I have more energy when I eat it.”

“The grilled meat here is like that too. It’s so tender it melts in your mouth.”

“Heh- I know because I’m the youngest son of a meat restaurant owner, but this meat is definitely not beef. It doesn’t taste like beef.”

“This is disgusting. Just shut up and eat it. But are you giving me more of this?”

“They said it was unlimited. If you eat more than you need, you can ask the chef for more and he’ll cook it for you right there on the spot.”

“Long live the Holy Kingdom.”

The soldiers were simply thrilled to be able to eat meat, and fresh meat in such large quantities. For nearly a year, the only meat they had was the minced meat in their combat rations.

“I’m vegan.”

[Really? You go to that vegetarian over there. He’s a 2nd generation vegan.]

Maru and Gisoon meticulously prepared a vegan special meal. Hood, who cannot eat meat, prepared the meal for the vegans.

The vegan diet that contained the half-life of Hood was very well-received by the vegan soldiers. The documentary was announced to be screened for the soldiers who finished their life’s meal with the meat-eating Kim Yang and the vegan Hood’s special food.

Two airships were used to create an impromptu open-air theater, one equipped with a giant screen and the other with a projector.

And the commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers who had eaten a hearty meal began to nod off while waiting for the screening.

“Ugh- I’m so sleepy. My eyelids are so heavy I’m dying.”

“You too?”

“They’re all just sleeping over there.”

“Hey. Wake me up in about 30 minutes.”

“I have to go to sleep after seeing the general content.”

“What’s the content? Okay, just wait a minute…”

Kim Yang said, looking around at the officers who were leaving their seats one by one.

[Is that okay?]

“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like anyone took sleeping pills.”

Ki-soon shrugged her shoulders at Kim Yang’s concern.

As expected, Na Ju-yeon’s ability to control things was close to a mystery. Look at her now. Even seeing her put someone to sleep with a tranquilizer instead of a sleeping pill, I couldn’t help but say that she was amazing.

You won’t be forced to sleep with anesthetics or sleeping pills, but you will be refreshed when you wake up, as you will be taking vitamins and minerals as well as a special diet. You won’t be able to make excuses about sleeping pills or anesthetics.

After all the commissioned and non-commissioned officers fell asleep, a screen appeared on the giant screen.

[The truth of that day.]

[What kind of meetings did they have in the midst of the crisis of humanity?]

On a giant screen floating in the air, the contents of meetings held at the command center were revealed in their raw form.

[···We must attack Shanghai and Songming Island simultaneously at any cost.]

[How do you decide on a decoy unit to attract the enemy’s attention?]

[······.]

[······.]

[···I didn’t know the battalion would be included.]

[That guy was desperate to get promoted.]

[Well, you just have to push in from the safe rear.]

[Still, I’m sure I’ll get a promotion once the operation is over.]

[What a stupid thing to do. They’ll all be promoted when the war ends. I can’t stand that.]

I remembered the meeting scene during the Chinese landing operation, and what happened in the officer’s lounge after the operational meeting where there were mass casualties.

“······.”

“······.”

The mood of the soldiers who had been comfortably watching like well-fed animals eating special food began to change. The command that had been difficult to understand during the Chinese War began to be understood.

The reason he pushed his comrades in, saying that it was for the success of the operation and for victory, was because he was greedy for promotion. The cruel video continued.

[We were able to maintain our military power thanks to our cooperation with Charlotte.]

[We’ve solved 70% to 80% of the distribution, but the rest is something we have to move on.]

[Charlotte also restricted distribution in anticipation of us doing this.]

[Stop, we had to move anyway to maintain order.]

[They say it’s a matter of disposing of criminals, but looting and supplying? The moment you start looting, military discipline will be disrupted. Even if it’s confiscated goods, it’s essentially looting.]

[So, are you planning to make all our children suffer?]

Charlotte’s relationship with the unit was exposed. The story that most of the soldiers were told was about restoring public order and rebuilding the city, but it was actually for looting and supply, and the precious metals and supplies obtained in this way were distributed first to the special forces and officers who attacked the hideout of the criminal organization.

The soldiers’ faces became increasingly hardened as the recorded footage was just as it was. The story, which was so explicit in some ways and even dirty in others, was running towards its end.

A tense and epic video of Vladimir Kalin fighting the 1st phase Sim Eun-young who is fused with tentacles. A horde of contaminated rats led by Sim Eun-young swarms in.

Sim Eun-young’s head falling at the end of the scene where Vladimir Kalin breaks through the fleshy wall of rising tentacles.

And with the story that the body had disappeared, the CCTV footage changed. The scene of the security team leader interviewing the people with abilities in the barracks gradually faded out, and the scene of the headquarters conference room appeared.

[···If something like that were to wander around, the survival of humanity would be hopeless.]

Those who wanted to destroy it right here and now were raising their voices. They were talking about retreating and blowing it up while Vladimir Maru caught the monster.

[If one sacrifice, Vladimir Kalin, could defeat such a monster, humanity would remember his sacrifice forever.]

[···We may be witnessing hope right now. Remember what it did when it came into the camp. Remember that it didn’t attack people or anything like in the movies or novels. That means it has reason.]

[Should we sacrifice Vladimir Kalin and detonate the nuke? I did it because you told me to do it with maximum power, but I got caught up in it and died?]

[Since when has it become normal for us to abandon and exploit our comrades?]

[FUCK! You should know shame!]

The majority of the soldiers nodded at the last officer’s shout. On the other hand, there were officers who expressed their discontent.

[The ideal story is just an ideal. Let’s look at reality. Reality.]

[Those who talk about honor are full of dark-hearted people. So are you saying you want to join the Holy Kingdom?]

[That’s right.]

[Do you want to talk about using nukes as Vladimir Kalin said?]

The video ends with a wide-angle shot of the general watching the meeting with a stoic expression and the conflicted faces of the officers.

The expression on those enlarged faces was clearly a will to power. As those faces slowly disappeared, an image of Vladimir Kalin fighting alone emerged.

The scene of soldiers and refugees buying time for evacuation by burning the fluttering bio-sensors with napalm, spraying mucus, seemed at first glance both desperate and sublime.

And the view changed to the high sky. A round crater appeared in the distance from the small camp, and a large mushroom cloud rose up, and the scene gradually changed into a single phrase.

Long live His Majesty Vladimir Kalin.

He is generous

With that strength, he protects the divine kingdom.

He protects humanity from monsters, mutants, and cannibals.

You who know the truth.

Choose.

Will you waste your life on a false meat shield?

Will you stand by His Majesty Vladimir’s side and protect humanity?

Now is the time to choose.

For Your Majesty’s generosity has revealed to you the HOLLY truth.

You guys.

Decide your fate here and now.

Will you stand by His Majesty’s side?

Will you join the Holy Kingdom?

This is the moment to choose!

“······.”

“······.”

An explosive cheer erupted as if to break the momentary silence.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Long live His Majesty Vladimir!”

“Ooooooooooooooo.”

“For humanity!”

A hot reaction that cannot be understood in English.

Maru tried calling Ki-sun for some reason, but he couldn’t reach her.

[Chiiik- chiiik-]

In the midst of the noise, I remembered what Ki-sun had said.

‘I’ll take care of the video part with the PD.’

ah–