Rust - Chapter 806



Only Krnovel

RUST -806

The messenger ants were quite fast.

A distance that was thought to take several days was covered in two days.

[Diana. Where are we now?]

[Chiiik-]

There has been no contact with the artificial intelligence Diana.

‘Biological EMP.’

It meant that ants were swarming around even though they couldn’t be seen. It was definitely the entrance to the ant empire, so the response was good.

‘Could it have been invaded by humans? Or attacked by other animals?’

The ant nests near the Holy Kingdom had visible guard ants at the entrance, but the ant empire had no visible ants.

‘You can’t see them, but there are so many of them waiting in ambush that a biological EMP could be created…’

The only silver lining was that the new core was equipped with a biological EMP countermeasure system.

[Long distance communication is difficult, but short distance communication is possible.]

Ki-soon, who was nearby, touched Maru’s body.

(Contact communication? I thought it was a useless function, but it’s used like this. So what are you going to do? If a messenger ant comes in, and you come out, will you come in right away when they tell you to come in? Judging from the atmosphere here, it doesn’t seem easy.)

(But what can you do? You should check before going in.)

[Erica.]

Erica, who was tired of the huge entrance to the ant empire, was startled by Maru’s call.

[Yes? Four!]

[Try psychometrically around here. If you see any traces of people, let me know right away.]

[yes yes.]

Erica put her hand on the entrance.

And for a moment.

!!!

Erica, who was shocked by what she saw, vomited without even taking off her helmet.

Ugh-

‧

‧

‧

What Erica saw with psychometry was a huge number of corpses.

A procession of ants holding torn and dismembered corpses in their jaws. They were neither human nor animal. The hungry ants simply saw everything as food.

Still, Erica recovered quickly. If it had been like before, she wouldn’t have even been able to drink water, but she was able to explain the terrible procession.

[Thank you for your hard work. There are some difficult parts that I will go over, is that okay?]

[······yes.]

[Were there no living humans?]

At Maru’s question, Erica’s pupils contracted and dilated several times. Within a few seconds, she was sweating profusely, and then she took a deep breath and spoke.

[That···. After that. That. It hasn’t happened in the last few days.]

[Yeah. You worked hard. Take a rest.]

Maru looked down at the large entrance. At first glance, it seemed empty, but it was a passageway filled with ants that were so dense that they were emitting a biological EMP.

It’s been 30 minutes since the messenger ant entered, but there’s been no signal to come in or any sign of rejection. How will the ant colony judge its presence?

What would they think of the humans who had never interacted directly with them before and who suddenly came to the center of the ant empire? Above all, would it be possible to negotiate with the ant empire that preyed on humans and animals to the point where even Erica’s concentration was broken?

Caaaak!

Knock!

[Oh no.]

As the two crows sitting on the nurse’s shoulders turned their heads and cried, a voice suddenly stopped them.

[What’s going on?]

[Huh? Huh. No. I heard that there was an ant flying over there from far away.]

Looking at the direction the crows reacted, I saw several winged hawks approaching.

A nurse stopped crows from threatening to kill flying ants when they first saw them.

Ki-sun, who had been quietly watching the approaching winged bird from afar, spoke softly.

[It looks like they’re bringing something.]

Kaaaak!

Knock!

[Huh? Huh? That lump you’re carrying over there. It looks like a person?]

Shouldn’t a human have four limbs?

So, if you were to lift it up with limbs, it would have a unique, droopy shape?

The winged beetle’s flight speed was much faster than expected. In an instant, the distance was shortened, and I was able to see the object it was carrying on video.

There were many people, from those in red-dyed military uniforms to those in leather jackets and those wearing thick padding, but what they all had in common was that they had only a torso and a head, without any limbs.

It was carrying not only people but also ants, but their legs and stomachs were gone, so in fact only pieces of their heads and chests remained.

[Those guys are emotionally tense. And the people are terrified. All the people with only their heads and torsos left are alive. Even the ants with only their heads and chests left are alive because they have emotions.]

Hearing Gi-sun’s story, Maru turned his head to check the direction in which the ants were flying. It matched the direction in which the winged insects were flying.

‘It’s an urgent feeling.’

Bringing human prisoners with amputated limbs and ants to the main camp must have been because something happened that could not be judged on the spot.

‘What if it’s because of the nukes?’

[Etto- Should we catch it before it gets any closer? The crows say they are confident they won’t miss it.]

[Just leave it.]

If it became known that there was some terrible bomb in the world, humans would not be able to act rashly.

[Huh? Those people over there. Are you just going to leave them alone?]

[I won’t kill you right away.]

If there were an entity like a queen ant that could communicate with humans, they would try to verify that the information was accurate.

[yes?]

Maru answered the nurse’s question, asking how she knew that.

[Because I brought you here alive.]

[······.]

Even if you cut off the limbs to make it easier to transport…

‧

‧

‧

Shortly after the winged insects flew into the wide entrance, various pheromones began to flow out from inside.

(Disbelief. Shock. Fear. Fire. Sun. Clouds. Black rain···.)

The pheromone translator spits out words without stopping.

[I can’t believe the expeditionary force lost.]

···

[It seems like word is spreading among the humans that the main force has been annihilated.]

···

[A huge firework, the sun, and soaring clouds···.]

···

[Soldiers hit by black rain···.]

Ki-sun was dumbfounded as she listened to the nurse’s interpretation.

[It spreads so quickly without any radio or television. Maybe we need to study the pheromone communication system?]

[Communications blocked by biological EMP? Still not cleared?]

[No. Although voice or video transmission is difficult, text and photos are possible.]

[Standby for bunker buster bombing. Targets within a 4km radius of current coordinates. Bomb immediately upon signal to attack.]

Maru gave the order to standby for bombing so he could attack at any time.

[I don’t think we need to send a crow? Is that how it feels? Is it dangerous?]

When Maru gave the order to standby for bombing, the nurse and Erica became anxious. Seeing the two women getting anxious, Ki-sun asked.

[No. It doesn’t feel dangerous.]

The two women began to whisper again, perhaps slightly relieved by Maru’s immediate response. Ki-sun, who had been watching them for a while, put a hand on Maru’s shoulder.

(Yeah. Is it really for comparison?)

The order in which you ask questions through contact communication.

(Because depending on the situation, we may be in a situation where we have to launch a preemptive strike.)

(Why? I was going to go with the ant empire if possible.)

(The size of the ant empire is too big. Their communication is fast and their responses are extraordinary. Also, I didn’t think they would have wings.)

(Winged Mira… If there are tens of millions of entities that can act as air force, there’s no answer. So? Are you going to sweep them away if necessary?)

(We should meet up and exchange opinions.)

(If you think about fighting spiders, it would be better to have a large army. If you add up all the ant kingdoms that want to be independent, there are only about 3-4 million people.)

Maru nodded slightly at Ki-sun’s words that the scale was reality.

(I know. So we should meet. But the signs don’t seem good.)

(Why? Do you feel uneasy?)

(I don’t feel like it. They just left us outside. They know politics. And they just left us? Even if they attacked the Human Empire because they didn’t know that the Holy Kingdom and the Human Empire were on good terms, wouldn’t they know by now?)

(······.)

Taking human prisoners meant that there was a way to find out information. Naturally, they would have obtained information related to the Holy Kingdom, but the lack of response was strange in many ways.

Ki-soon shrugged at Maru’s answer.

(Ah. Well. Okay. The King will take care of it. But those two people are scared but they are trying hard, so give them some encouragement.)

(···okay.)

Ki-sun, who was communicating with her, suddenly turned her gaze into the deep tunnel and took her hand away.

[They’re coming. On alert…? They’re on alert for us? That’s strange. Their emotions are one of intense alertness.]

Ants appeared as if they had sprung from the ground and began to slowly approach them.

The nurse and Erica, who had been chatting together, looked around and made ‘Huh?’, ‘Huh?’ sounds. This was because the ants that had formed a net had already surrounded them at a certain distance.

[Huh? I clearly turned on the sensor.]

[······.]

Ki-soon nodded at the nurse’s words.

[I realized it too because I was feeling emotional. The sensor was dead.]

Something that could not possibly happen was happening.

Even the bastards had no killing intent and avoided Maru’s senses.

How could you not notice it until you got this close?

Above all else.

‘You’re wary of us?’

Those guys I’ve been ignoring until now? All of a sudden?

Maru’s head spun around.

‘My information has been revealed.’

So we set up a guard and created a secret siege.

‘If my information was known properly, wouldn’t you know that this kind of encirclement would be useless?’

I see.

Is this not just a simple encirclement, but rather a hostage taking of the group?

Rather, ants were more picky than people.

As the ants approached, the pheromone translator was activated.

(Alert. Danger. Guidance.)

[Uh- They’re on high alert. They’re raising the alert level and danger level to the highest and trying to take us inside. What do we do?]

‘This is difficult’

Even though they were surrounded so openly, they had no murderous intent or hostility. That’s why the ants were tricky. Even though they had no murderous intent, the moment the order to kill was given, they could move like machines.

‘If you’re going to kill, you have to kill him in one breath.’

Maru said after collecting his thoughts for a moment.

[Tell them to lift the siege. If they lift the siege and guide me, I will come in.]

[all right.]

As the nurse conveyed Maru’s meaning through the pheromone translator, the ants, who had been moving their antennae silently, opened a path toward the tunnel leading down.

[Wow. Look at these.]

Ki-soon was impressed by the ants’ shameless actions. It was because they prevented them from escaping, but did not surround them.

[The crows tell them to go to the airship.]

[Did you hear that? Go up right away.]

Caw?

Kaaaak!

[No. You heard my orders.]

A nurse who speaks sternly to the crows that want to go with her.

[Did you see the wings? Watch from the airship and come down to help if there’s any danger. Got it?]

Only then was it a crow flying into the sky.

‧

The searchlights on the front illuminated the area.

▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯

A bright beam of light, befitting the powerful energy emanating from the core, illuminated the anthill as if it were broad daylight.

[I told you not to surround them, but there’s none behind them? Chiik-]

[They’ll be waiting outside the tunnel. Chick- Judging from the fact that communication failures occur even at close range, they’ll be waiting on the floor we’re walking on, and on the ceiling and inside the walls, swarming with them.]

Ki-soon threw the repeater with a tired expression on her face at Maru’s words. The repeater, the size of a 10-won coin, fell to the floor, dug into the ground, and disappeared.

[Wow. If there’s interference even after destroying the bio-EMP pattern. This is really crazy.]

[Stay right next to the two of you. Beep- If the ants start messing around, they’ll split us up and try to defeat us individually. And you know what? If it gets to the point, we’ll set up a bunker.]

What Maru was talking about was a mobile special bunker. A bunker that unfolds like an airbag, automatically injects filling material inside, and hardens instantly.

[Yay. Yay. Chichik- I’ll spread it out and put it in.]

The faces of the nurse and Erica brightened slightly at Ki-sun’s cheerful answer. As long as it didn’t get a direct hit, the bunker could easily block the aftershock of a cute nuclear attack.

furthermore

‘It can even block my life.’

The tunnel, which must have been 8 to 9 meters high to the ceiling, continued on endlessly. There were also structures that looked like dams built here and there to keep rainwater out. I could even see a drain.

[Isn’t this some ants’ prank?]

‘It’s practically an underground city.’

Ki-soon, who pretended to be mistaken and stuck the relay on the floor and wall, muttered while looking at the large pupil while taking the sample. The nurse and Erica were also surprised by the large space that spread out deep underground.

(Wait. Hurry up.)

Maru and his party entered the center of the cave at the urging of the guide ants, and what greeted them was a giant ant tower.

[Is there a top now? Tsk-]

[······.]

[······.]

[······.]