Rust - Chapter 702



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-702

Border reconnaissance and search using crows has begun.

“Well, we have samples of ants that the expedition team caught. It will take some time to extract the acid, but wouldn’t it be better to test it first by extracting samples to be safe?”

Maru nodded slightly at Na Ju-yeon’s opinion, but did not change the search order.

“Even if the test results are not good, we cannot rule out crows in the fight against ants.”

Even if the mutant ants’ formic acid was enough to melt the crow’s feathers, the crow could not be eliminated from the fight with the ants.

“Mayan City. No, the virtual reality we are using for simulation can also fall into fatal errors.”

Hood began the story with a slightly serious expression.

“What is the error?”

“It is an error that occurs when existing information and currently entered information are mixed and implemented.”

“···Is this the case now?”

“Yes. The information on the mutant ants captured as samples and the information on the existing ants. The existing information that crows use formic acid to catch parasites and cleanse their bodies was mixed together. Because the simulation results showed that our crows are immune to formic acid.”

As a hood who deals with information, it wasn’t something I could just ignore.

“That’s possible. But it’s right to deploy the crow now.”

Maru, with his unique senses, realized that crows were an important element in the war against the ants.

“Are you okay? If the ants notice that the crows are conducting aerial reconnaissance and searches, they will respond.”

“That’s why I sent you now.”

As smart ants, they will immediately know that the crows are on their side. Naturally, they will change their ground operations and move only underground.

That was exactly what Maru was aiming for.

It’s spring now.

It was the season when snow and ice were melting. If the ants were conscious of the crows’ reconnaissance and were digging underground holes, they had no choice but to worry about drainage.

No matter how hard they tried to hide the location of the main tunnel, they couldn’t hide the drainage ditch. The drainage hole would inevitably be located not far from the tunnel.

“If we can figure out their direction of movement or location, we will have an overwhelming advantage as we have aerial reconnaissance capabilities.”

Ki-sun listened to Maru’s ideas quietly.

‘A crow scouts the drain.’

Given the density of the ant colony, we can assume that electronic interference is occurring.

‘If there is radio interference, communication breakdown, or electronic devices are down, drones cannot be used.’

Indeed. Did they send the crows in first after seeing that far? They are smart crows, so they will respond flexibly even if they receive an unexpected counterattack.

The intention was to use the crow’s aerial reconnaissance and the seasonal characteristics of spring to forcibly restrict the ants’ operational radius and methods, and then verify the results of the virtual reality simulation while also filling the crow unit with real-world experience.

When it comes to battles involving Maru, his intelligence is on the rise. He makes judgments that are not lacking even after thinking them through. And he does it in real time.

‘They’ll probably even try to find traces of the queen ant there.’

The speed of judgment related to war and combat was overwhelming.

‘How far will you go?’

Limited local war? Exploratory warfare before all-out war?

indeed.

Ki-sun’s narrowed gaze retraced the route the ant expedition had taken.

‧

‧

‧

Kaaaaaaah! (Catch the ant!)

Crackle! (Crackle it!)

As they mutated, the crows grew larger, but not primarily in size like moose, buffalo gulls, or hawks.

The crows had greater variation in intelligence and feathers than in size. Even the average crow had the intelligence of a 6-7 year old, but the crows of the Holy Kingdom had much higher intelligence.

He played chess against Ms. Kim and the nurses, and was also doing criminal investigations and surveillance work that required intelligence and quick reflexes.

Because they were crows, the search and tracking of the queen ant, and the search of drains and drains were carried out in an instant. This was because the crows divided into groups and searched in separate areas.

The crows, who carried out their operation effectively, succeeded in finding the drain that the ants had dug, and even identified the location of the tunnel at the end of the drain.

Kaaaak? (Where is the queen?)

Kkw? Kkw? (This way? That way?)

The crows that had scattered in all directions gathered in one place to gather information. They confirmed the direction of the ant colony’s progress and the location of the main tunnels, but they could not find the location of the queen ant.

Caw- Caw! (The ants were resisting hard over there!)

Kaaaaaaah! (If there’s no solid evidence, then go that far!)

The crows began to return to Vladiak Tower.

‧

The information obtained by the crows was immediately transmitted and made public through the nurse.

Maru’s forehead furrowed slightly as he received the report.

‘The sacrifices are greater than expected.’

We had expected not to lose a single one, but double-digit numbers of crows failed to return.

It was a small sacrifice considering the total number of over ten thousand, but Maru did not let it pass. It meant that there was a way to attack the crows in the air.

‘The more I look at these ants, the more uncomfortable I feel.’

Maru, who was chewing over the information densely marked on the map, looked at the area searched by the missing crows.

“They say there’s something here. I can’t just ignore it.”

“I agree. It’s definitely true that the crow is missing.”

Ki-sun also expressed doubts about the disappearance of the crow. Hood and PD also did not offer any objections, so it seemed that they had figured out what the disappearance of the crow meant.

“Along with the search for the missing crow, we need to conduct a detailed investigation.”

“How about bombing the surrounding area with cruise missiles and then deploying crows?”

“Cruise missiles can have a large margin of error due to ant colonies. In the current situation, ballistic missiles seem like a better choice.”

“After the missile strike on the area, conduct a detailed search with the Crow Unit.”

A response plan was agreed upon in an instant.

“Ah- Also- But you said that ants can read numbers. So right now, there. Is there a chance that it’s a trap?”

“A trap targeting the crow search party going in search of the missing crow?”

The nurse who had been talking to the crow said,

“Yes. I heard ants are smart. Could it be that they dug a trap targeting something bigger?”

“Hoo- that could be the case.”

The PD nodded with an interested expression, but Maru shook his head.

“It could be the other way around.”

“Huh? You’re against it?”

The nurse looked puzzled. ‘Could it be a trap?’ Suddenly, there could be an objection to the idea. Objection to thinking it was a trap?

Ki-soon unraveled the story easily.

“So, since the crows are disappearing only in a certain direction, could it be that they are setting a trap to make us pay attention to that direction?”

“yes.”

“What if we were led to believe that it was a trap?”

“Huh?”

“So, is it that you are trying to draw our attention to that side to hide something really important? Or is it that you are trying to induce us to attack you to gauge our strength?”

You found traces, and you think they led you to believe that it was an intentional trap?

The nurse’s eyes turned dim.

‘What is this? I’m scared of ants.’

Fighting an enemy who could read numbers meant increasing the complexity of the choices.

‘I feel really uneasy.’

The more I thought about it, the more I was bothered by what the ants were doing. It felt as dirty as when I got involved with Joseph Meyer’s Virginia Langley.

Maru’s gaze turned to the map.

“Let’s classify all the information so far and find the variables. Let’s create an independent scenario corresponding to each variable and run a simulation.”

“That seems so inefficient.”

Hood’s opinion is that just as adding too many variables and running it will produce results that are far removed from reality, running each variable as an independent scenario is the same.

“The enemy we face now is not humans, but ants. They seem to be reading numbers, but that is only the result that can be confirmed.”

The point is that even if the results appear to read like numbers, they may not be.

“In order to understand the characteristics of how they judge, we need to look at the simplest possible process and outcome.”

Everyone agreed with Maru’s decision, but it was realistically difficult to do so.

“If individual simulations for multiple situations are performed simultaneously, computational resources will be insufficient.”

“That’s right. We’re currently using computational resources close to their limits, so if we run the simulation, our research support will come to a halt.”

But Maru had already made up his mind.

“Among all research projects that cannot be used in war, except for the construction of floating cities, the production of hydrogen bombs, the analysis of ants, and the field of pesticides, all research projects are temporarily suspended.”

Maru declared, having sorted out the situation.

“From this moment on, I declare war. All systems will be put on wartime mode and conscription will begin.”

The wave that started with the Ant Expedition culminated in the declaration of all-out war.

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

The conference room was plunged into silence by Maru’s sudden declaration of all-out war.

You didn’t declare total war when you were at war with the Confederacy, but you’re declaring total war when you’re fighting ants?

Did the ants decide that it was that dangerous?

Did that special instinct kick in?

Doubt and bewilderment. And even the belief that ‘there must be a reason he declared total war.’ People were as shaken as they were quiet.

Unlike the people who remained silent, the artificial intelligence Diana responded immediately to Maru’s commands.

[Declare war.]

[Announced a declaration of all-out war.]

[The conscription notice has been announced.]

[Distribution of the manual for preparing for total war begins.]

[In accordance with the declaration of the wartime system, all trials will be decided by the wartime military court system.]

In the Holy Kingdom, the king’s choice is the kingdom’s policy.

The entire kingdom was prepared for war. And it was all-out war.

======

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Empire. New York Presidential Residence.

When Roana Blanc, who had returned to the Holy Kingdom, returned and brought news, General Dan Brown closed his eyes.

‘Vladimir Kalin declared war?’

That too was news that they had declared total war. It was the Holy Kingdom that had not declared total war even when they had planted nukes on the Confederacy.

Even when they declared war and dispatched a large number of troops, they didn’t conduct additional conscription. So, they’re saying that it’s not enough to declare wartime conditions in the conscription order, but rather an all-out war?

What’s even more absurd is that the target of the war is an ant colony.

‘Ants? You’re going to have an all-out war with ants?’

I’ve heard of bugs mutating, but those were mostly cockroaches, with the occasional case of a spider or bee growing larger.

“Are you saying you can’t apply because of the ants?”

Dan Brown was confused as to whether he should believe the information or not.

If they had declared war on the ants simply because they were difficult to support, then that would be understandable, but if the mutated ants were really so serious that the Holy Kingdom had to give it its all, then it meant that the empire was also in danger.

‘It’s hard to handle ants when even a rat can’t handle a problem.’

There were no reports of mutant ants appearing in the border areas of the Empire. However, it was difficult to predict what would happen if the Holy Kingdom and the ants entered into full-scale combat.

What if the Holy Kingdom wins and the defeated ants push back into the Empire?

On the other hand, what if the ants that pushed the Holy Kingdom forward began to expand their territory in all directions and even aimed for the empire?

The empire found itself dealing with both rats and ants.

‘Fuck.’

We had intended to avoid using nuclear weapons until the end, but now we had no choice. A two-front war had to be avoided at all costs.

“Issue New Yorkers to evacuate.”

[dismissal!]

“There is no additional support from the Holy Kingdom. There may be an invasion of mutated ants there. Now is the time to use nuclear weapons to drive out the rats.”

And a few days later, a giant mushroom cloud rose off the southeastern coast of New York City.