Rust - Chapter 783



Only Krnovel

RUST -783

The Ulsan crow’s strange behavior was immediately captured by the stratospheric surveillance aircraft. An emergency response headquarters was formed and real-time information was uploaded.

[A flock of crows is flying north.]

[Direction Daegu. Turned towards Daegu.]

[The number of crows is estimated to be over 230,000.]

[More nearby crows are joining in.]

230 thousand?

The numbers were strange. Ki-sun double-checked to make sure the report was correct.

“Didn’t you say that 100,000 was missing so it was under 200,000?”

[It has been confirmed that a new group has recently joined.]

The sudden increase in crows was a problem, but the bigger problem was the movement of Japanese refugees.

[Japanese refugees in Busan are moving in large numbers to form a force.]

[Capture of a refugee group estimated at over 300,000 moving!]

[Advancing towards Pohang and Ulsan.]

[Japanese refugees have taken over the area where the crows left.]

This is it.

It was inevitable that the crows and the Japanese refugees would collude with each other.

‘What good does a crow do?’

Ki-sun’s eyes narrowed at the difficult movement.

‘Since they exchanged corpses, there must have been a being that could communicate between the crows and the refugees.’

It was possible up to that point.

‘But over 300,000 refugees moving at once?’

no way···.

It was Kisun who remembered the story of Maru and Power. Just as the power relationship was formed in the crow society when a king of crows appeared, what if a power that ruled over Japanese refugees emerged?

‘No. It definitely is.’

We should have realized that there was a person with enough power to throw the sick and the old to the crows as food. We should have realized that there was a force among the refugees that was strong enough to distribute crow carcasses.

And what if such a force exists? It will try to achieve its goal by forming alliances or alliances with other forces.

‘What goal?’

Ki-sun remembered what the refugees had demanded.

Recognition of refugee status. Issuance of citizenship. Recognition of autonomous regions.

‘borough?’

It was a claim to be recognized as an autonomous region like Hong Kong or Macau in the past.

An emergency communication was sent to Ki-sun, who was lost in thought.

[Pohang, Ulsan area control units refuse to fire. Surrender to Japanese refugees.]

[The military unit that was blocking the Japanese refugees has surrendered. Five companies have surrendered. Two battalions have joined the refugee forces!]

“crazy···.”

Ki-sun let out the curse words she had been holding back.

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So, about 6~7 years ago, when Ki-sun and Maru were in the military, most of their peers didn’t have good feelings toward Japan.

When it came to the Korea-Japan match, there was a time when the atmosphere was such that Japan had to win even if it was a retarded play. My friend who was forced to become a soldier from an otaku showed his true colors when he became a sergeant in his later years.

‘These guys are anti-Japanese in their mouths and heads, but pro-Japanese in their lower bodies.’ He started harassing his juniors with dark videos with the mosaic removed.

At the time, we just laughed it off, but the saying, “Our main enemy is the executives” was a common joke.

There have even been claims that the conscription rate in the Korean military is worse than that of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World War II.

However, it is true that at the time, everyone was just holding back. No matter what happened, the Ministry of Defense’s clock kept ticking.

There was a time when advertisements like “Boring boyfriend, off to the military. I’m off to Hongdae to manage the fishing grounds.” and “Congratulations on enlistment. Come out when you’re mature.” were openly broadcast on public broadcasting channels and people would laugh it off.

There was a time when, when a coffee company was told that it was going to provide a cup of Americano to soldiers on leave, there were reactions such as, “They’re giving free coffee to soldiers. The coffee tastes bad.” and “Let’s boycott coffee shops that promote inequality.”

It was a society where it was difficult to find voices of self-discipline despite the fact that its own soldiers were belittled and insulted to an extent that was hard to find anywhere else in the world.

And now, 6~7 years have passed since then.

Maybe it was just karma from back then.

They say that accumulated karma will eventually be settled.

Why now of all times?

Ki-sun’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you saying that now? Japanese women approached the military base and you couldn’t stop them?”

[There were no soldiers who would pull the trigger when unarmed civilians, especially young women, approached.]

The protest continued that there was no officer who would have ordered the shooting of an unarmed Japanese woman.

Even after expelling the cannibal officer, Ki-sun could not accept the absurd result that the lack of field commanders had led to.

“So. Does it make sense that he was persuaded by women? No. Are you telling me to believe that the entire unit was turned over to the Japanese refugee forces?”

[Yes, that’s right. Even if you don’t believe it, what happened is what happened. And that’s the current reality of the local unit.]

What reality?

[Don’t you know what the troops that went down to the provinces do?]

The cannibal government and martial law command allowed the army, which was formed by conscripting the reserves, to be armed only minimally. And the unit, which consisted of 30% active duty and 70% conscripted reserves, went to the provinces and did security work, farming, infrastructure maintenance work, and endless public support.

The reality of the Korean military that the expedition team discovered was dire. This was also the reason why there were so many initial immigration applications from military units in the Changwon area.

“So, are you saying that the private soldiers in Korean society and the country called Korea joined the Japanese refugee forces to take revenge?”

[Yes, that’s right. All local forces currently in Gyeongsangnam-do must retreat to Daegu.]

Was it really a joke when he jokingly said, ‘The executives are the main enemy’? It wasn’t a joke, he really thought that way.

Ki-soon was speechless at the words, “The country of Korea itself is the main enemy,” and “This is an opportunity to take revenge on that main enemy, Korea.”

Are the military-related problems that were festering and rotting even before the mutant virus incident exploding now?

How did soldiers come to hate the very country they were protecting?

The cannibal government and martial law command are gone. Now, if we wait a few months, we can establish a new government. Why can’t we wait a few months?

Things were happening that would never happen in the Holy Kingdom. Entire armies were joining the enemy forces.

And of all countries, it wasn’t Japan.

no···.

It wasn’t even a country.

Now that the country of Japan had collapsed, Korean soldiers had joined the forces of Japanese refugees.

Why on earth?

Is it really because of revenge? Because you hate forced labor?

‘It can’t simply be that way.’

Everyone knew about the overwhelming technological prowess of the Holy Kingdom Expeditionary Force.

Even if you thought the footage of the cannibal subjugation was CG, there was already an abundance of footage of the expedition team running around in exosuits and core gear.

Considering the combat drones numbering in the tens of thousands and the 100,000 ravens that have now converted, the Holy Kingdom’s superiority in the air was also overwhelming.

In other words, joining the Japanese refugees.

It was an action that could have resulted in death in the event of a fight.

You joined the Japanese refugees knowing there was a high chance that you would die?

No matter how much the Korean military was like that, they wouldn’t have made a life-threatening choice so easily.

‘then···.’

Ki-sun’s squinted eyes sparkled.

‘There is a capable person.’

A person with psychic abilities who can dazzle the hearts of soldiers.

Otherwise, it was more likely that the military unit was under the control of a high-ranking cannibal.

“Fuck···.”

The cannibals who took control of the Korean troops in the provinces were not only controlling the soldiers by force.

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Unlike the Holy Kingdom, which had a psychic defense device, the Korean army did not have such equipment. Maru was speechless at Ki-sun’s report that if the Sino-American war had not broken out, they would not have been able to provide the reserve forces with proper rifles.

“Is that true?”

[I checked it out and was surprised.]

It was fortunate that the production of rifles was increased for a short time when the Sino-American war broke out. Otherwise, the absurd situation of not having enough rifles to issue to conscripts would have occurred, and there was no way that there would have been any psychic response equipment.

“You must have known that there was a person with psychic abilities. But you didn’t respond?”

[The cannibals would catch anyone with any ability, put a leash on them, and manage them directly. They controlled small local units with cannibal officers.]

So, the cannibal officers took control of the unit with their dominance, and neutralized the mental abilities and dominance of the enemy’s abilities and the cannibals.

What if a small unit falls to the enemy? The cannibal government and martial law command decided that it wouldn’t matter anyway. After all, the local units were doing infrastructure maintenance work, farming, and supporting the people.

[···The poor armed status made it possible to suppress any rebellion that arose.]

It was just a guess, but when it actually happened, it turned out to be true. After a moment of silence, Maru answered.

“What about the crows in Ulsan?”

[The central force is moving very slowly towards Daegu.]

The number has been increasing from well over 200,000 to approaching 300,000. Until now, crows had not openly attacked villages and cities inhabited by humans, but not anymore.

[They are moving and attacking nearby villages. Ulsan, where the crows left, has also been completely destroyed. In fact, it is difficult to find survivors.]

“······.”

Maru’s eyes turned cold at the story that they were openly attacking humans in order to feed their ever-increasing numbers.

I guess that means the king of the crows made that decision.

“Did the crows decide to fight humans because they thought they had a chance of winning?”

[That could be true, but it could also be the opposite.]

“the opposite?”

[If you look at the situation from their perspective, isn’t that right? The Changwon crows that were competing with the flock have collapsed, and the pigeon flock that had been a powerful force in the north has also been destroyed, so they must have felt a sense of crisis since the 100,000 crows that they sent themselves have also converted.]

The story goes that the activities of the Holy Kingdom were the trigger for the crows to move. The powerful crow king would have chosen a show of force to maintain and strengthen his power.

“What’s the response?”

[The local troops in Gyeongsang Province were withdrawn toward Daegu. Kim Yang and the main force of the expeditionary force were deployed in the direction of the crow’s advance.]

Kim Yang was confident. The more crows came together, the easier it would be to annihilate them with cute nukes.

[The crows are using small nukes as Kim Yang claims, but the Japanese refugees are the problem.]

Maru nodded in agreement with Ki-sun’s analysis that the government now had the power to force over 300,000 refugees.

“We overlooked it.”

[Anyway, I think I’ve explained why you were feeling uneasy.]

“Yes. Let’s send the Japanese refugees, mainly the converted crows and the soldiers who have surrendered to the Holy Kingdom. Hold out for two days.”

[Two days? Got it.]

It would take at least a day and a half for Maru’s new equipment to be completed and returned to Korea, or at least two days.

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Kwaaaaaaaang!

The sight of a small nuclear explosion, with thousands of crows caught in the blast, was a spectacular sight, but the wrinkle between Kim Yang’s eyebrows did not disappear.

‘These kids are minimizing the damage.’

It was a flock of crows that had started to fly together in small units that could detonate a biological EMP.

[Prepare to fire the airship’s main gun. Target is the Crow King. Find the two-headed one and shoot it.]

[Main gun ready to fire.]

[The target is a two-headed crow.]

[Confirm target.]

[firing!]

A thick white line was thrust down diagonally, setting the atmosphere on fire.

[Target hit!]

[Goal confirmation···.]

[oh my god···.]

[Goal is alive.]

[The railgun missed!]