Rust - Chapter 781



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RUST -781

People used the word king often.

When using various metaphors and analogies such as the king of stocks, the king of coins, and the king of real estate, the word king is often included. That may be why expressions such as the king of wolves, the king of the plains, and the lion are also commonly used.

Is that why?

People often forgot the true meaning of the word king, but Maru did not.

[The king of crows.]

There was power in the word king. In other words, there was power. That’s why the more Maru chewed on the words “king of crows,” the more uncomfortable he felt.

[I sent 100,000 but there’s still close to 200,000 left?]

[Yes. He said the number is still increasing.]

After interrogating crows in hospital, it was discovered that there were more crows in Ulsan than previously known.

[It is said that the number of crows currently in control of Ulsan is nearly 300,000.]

[The problem is not only the number, but also the fact that the number of crows continues to increase. Usually, they are torn apart because of the food.]

Ki-soon said, pressing his temples as if he had a headache.

[Exchanging corpses with Japanese refugees in Busan. What the world···.]

How much meat do nearly 300,000 crows eat? If we were to replace the meat with humans, we would need 30,000 people a week.

The calculation was that 1.56 million people would have to enter the crow’s stomach in one year. Even at the most conservative estimate, more than 1 million people would be needed.

[You’re saying they were using crows to control the population? They’re poisonous. And the Japanese refugees.]

[······.]

That was the reason why no one starved to death despite the large number of refugees coming from Japan.

When the older troublemakers are pushed to one side, crows attack that place. Young people with strong awakening abilities engage the crows.

By repeatedly putting them in situations where they feel life-threatening, they can easily awaken them. The same goes for crows. They train them in human attack methods and group tactics, mobilizing young crows, mainly old and injured ones.

The two sides ended up exchanging the victims that poured out like that. Why can’t the old and injured crows, who are smart, run away and rebel, when they are exchanging deaths so openly?

Just as power is the ‘power of a country or society to coerce individuals,’ it meant that the ‘power to coerce’ was also at work on the crows.

[Then isn’t that the case with pigeons? That’s why they dispersed after their leader died.]

[It’s not very likely.]

Maru nodded heavily.

“It’s getting complicated.” Ki-soon muttered to herself and asked Ms. Kim.

[What about magpies?]

[The Magpies – uhm, kind of. It feels like a country town?]

So, there is a village headman. The village headman has a loud voice, but it doesn’t seem to have much power. There are village meetings where magpies gather and talk about various things.

[So how did they farm? Farming isn’t something you can do with beaks and claws.]

Just because a magpie village meeting was held, farming didn’t happen overnight.

Throughout human history, agriculture has been closely linked to power. Farming required a concentrated labor force, and power was what could control and mobilize that labor force.

In modern times, the power attributes have weakened somewhat because the dense labor force has been replaced by machines, but wouldn’t a magpie farm with a machine?

[The cannibals controlled the common people and helped the magpies farm.]

[Ah- So that’s why the cannibals were near the orchard.]

Outsourcing of labor, or in other words, advancement, is subcontracting. Magpies farmed by subcontracting to humans.

The farm owner was a magpie, the marmot was a cannibal, and the serf was a normal human, and Ki-sun was slightly amazed at the schematic structure.

Anyway, it meant that the magpies had taken over the orchard and that the cannibal government and martial law command had acknowledged it.

Maru’s brow furrowed slightly at the mention of ‘outsourcing of labor.’

[This is difficult.]

It was true that the crows were seen as grouped around the king, and the magpies were serious about capitalist farming to the point of introducing subcontracting in farming, so it was a concern.

[What could be so difficult?]

The Crow King is the one who will be the end of it if our king comes and makes a fuss. The magpie is being well educated by Kim Yang. Kim Yang vehemently agreed with Gi-sun’s words.

[The Ulsan crow years and the Changwon crow years, we need to show them how to die properly at least once.]

[I agree. They say that the indigenous creatures that survived in Korea are surprisingly strong. Who knows what will happen if we bring crows and magpies to the Holy Kingdom? We need to make them nervous for once.]

‘Am I the kind of person who kills people without warning?’ Ki-soon and Kim Yang nodded calmly at Maru’s gaze. ‘Yeah.’, ‘You said you had to kill when you had to kill?’

[······.]

No, didn’t I tell you to refrain from killing? Especially you, Ki-soon.

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Ki-sun and Yang Kim simply thought that if King-God-Maru appeared, magpies would be startled and crows would be horrified, but Maru was not like that.

If it was something that could be solved so easily, there was no way he would feel uneasy. Maru couldn’t help but think a lot because he didn’t ignore the warnings his senses were giving him.

[So you feel uneasy? Is that the feeling?]

[···Yeah. There’s definitely something I’m missing.]

Ki-soon’s eyes narrowed even further at Maru’s answer.

[Then I’m saying that it’s not something to think about easily.]

The Raven King could be a more dangerous enemy than expected. He could be immune to death, or he could force air combat and run away, tiring people out.

[What’s there to be tired of? Why not just use a jetpack and go straight to where the crows are?]

‘Just like when you control a flock of pigeons, just go, ‘Buaaaak! Let’s go!’ If you pull with all your might and break through, what are you going to do to those crows?’ Ms. Kim’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Maru nodded slightly and answered, as he was also thinking about that method.

[Even though I thought so, I still felt uneasy.]

[Huh- that’s weird.]

‘Is that crow leader really that weird? Like, three or four legs? Two or three pairs of wings? Or, like, breathing like a dragon’s breath?’ Ms. Kim muttered softly.

Ki-sun looked at Kim Yang as if he was dumbfounded. ‘Which country’s myth is that?’ Unlike Ki-sun, Maru nodded seriously.

[Because we don’t know what kind of mutation might occur, it’s best to be prepared as much as possible.]

If he was the leader of the crows, he must have eaten a lot of humans. If he became stronger by eating humans, as most mutant monsters do, then that alone would make him dangerous.

[Since there might be an air battle, we should do some simulation training.]

[Don’t worry about it and just go.]

At Kim Yang’s proud words, “Just trust me,” Ki-sun suppressed a smile and said.

[Yes. It’s definitely right to prepare. Go ahead. The cannibal extermination here is almost finished. The provincial cities are being cleaned up by the expedition team and the newly joined crows, so there shouldn’t be any problems.]

Unless Russia throws a fit and loses a new submarine and an entire special forces unit after coming here to offer a helping hand, there’s not much that can go wrong.

Even if Russia, mired in the mud of Ukraine, were to have a seizure, there were only six Black Drake-class airships. Add in the converted Crows, and they would be able to overwhelm the air force alone.

There was also a stratospheric multipurpose airship running there, so even if Russia launched a multi-warhead nuclear missile, it would be possible to intercept it, so there was no problem.

[Okay. Then I’ll go and come back.]

Maru headed towards Vladiak Tower.

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Even though the cannibal government and ruling class disappeared, public security and administration were surprisingly maintained stably.

This was because the control system established by the cannibal government and the Martial Law Command was still intact, but also because the Holy Kingdom Expeditionary Force, which had replaced the Martial Law Command, had promised to hold a general election in four months.

Political parties were reorganized around the notables who had refused to become cannibals, and people from the district and neighborhood levels volunteered to help maintain public order and provide administrative assistance.

An economic system based on central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a reporting system that actively utilizes human intelligence (HUMINT) also contributed to stabilization.

If there was a problem, it was the military. In reality, it was an army that was conscripted and forced to serve, so when the cannibal officers disappeared, problems arose here and there.

[What will happen to the conscripted reserve forces? Will they be disbanded?]

[That is the job of the new government formed based on the general election results. We should maintain the status quo.]

All the Holy Kingdom could do was provide better supplies and help people stay in touch with their families. Anything more would be left to the new government that would emerge after the election.

[Huh. Is that okay? The kids in the military have a lot of complaints. It’s hard to control them since they’ve wiped out all the cannibals above the mid-level officers.]

[Since the Korean military officer training institute is in good condition, we should put them there and run them. And while we’re at it, let’s put our kids there and run them together. Now that we’re on the subject… You should go in too.]

Kim Yang’s eyes widened at the sudden story of Ki-sun.

[Are you telling me to go to the same school my kids go to now?]

Second in the Holy Kingdom hierarchy. What do you say to me, the great next door neighbor, commander of the royal guard, and commander of the East Asian expeditionary force?

Ki-soon’s narrowed eyes looked at Kim Yang as if to say, ‘Go ahead and do something. Go ahead and do something.’

[Even if your command force grows to the size of a battalion or regiment, do you plan on only leading platoons and companies? I don’t think the great second-ranking officer will always hold on to the squad, platoon, and company units, right?]

Kim Yang rolled her eyes at Ki-soon’s sudden attack.

[This is a future era where AI will be introduced to command. The AI ​​will do the detailed drawings and I will just draw the big picture, right? And I also received some US military training along with the Supreme Commander. It’s true.]

[Ah- Is that so? But why do you still have to go alone because squads and platoons are too burdensome? Are you going to leave command to AI? Then I guess I should give AI a great seat next to me. AI can command, administer, manage production, manage information, and do everything else.]

Ki-soon secretly pushed Ms. Kim away by adding ‘-yo.’

No, that’s not how you say it.

So, Ms. Kim entered a short-term training course. It was a course for re-educating officers who had been discharged when the war broke out and re-enlisted.

Of course, there was no such thing as a youth school drama.

Most of them were in their mid-30s and were discharged as captains. There were even some men in their mid-40s, so there were a few people who would call Ms. Kim, who was depressed all alone in the world, “Your daughter or niece.” However, as her disability ratings kept coming in, those people disappeared.

[Why is everyone avoiding me? Huh? Let’s try this again. Huh?]

Her rider became a rider full of blood, sweat, tears and screams.

While Kim Yang was reeducated, Ki-sun learned the Korean administrative system.

Certainly, it was possible to feel that although the systems were similar, there were big differences in culture and values. Ki-sun was able to learn about the situation in Korea in detail.

‘There was a hidden element maintaining security.’

Busan, which created a cordon using the military and crows, was able to do so, but the military alone was not enough to stop the spread of Chinese refugees who were effectively in control of Incheon, Bucheon, Siheung, and Ansan.

Yet there was a hidden reason that prevented the refugees from digging further in.

‘It’s a world group.’

Isn’t this the reason why Maru tried to run away from Korea?

Ki-sun opened a document with a Level 1 confidential label.