Rust - Chapter 808



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-808

Maru thought as he pulled out the nuclear grenade.

Do they know this is a nuclear grenade?

The prisoners and ants being eaten by the black tentacles had never seen the nuclear grenade of the Holy Kingdom. So pass.

The problem was that the prisoners were in military uniforms. As soldiers of the Empire, they might have information that the Holy Kingdom was developing infantry nuclear weapons.

‘There is no information about a nuclear weapon in the form of a grenade.’

If it was a small missile warhead in the form of a javelin, I don’t know. But the ants’ reaction was bothersome. They were playing around and pressing down on me.

What if you just playfully move towards me without knowing what a nuclear grenade is?

Even with a shield, it was dangerous. No matter how small and cute it was, a nuke was still a nuke. It was a bomb that could blow up a 300-400m radius.

Several thoughts come to mind in an instant.

Maru’s gaze, which resolutely cut off all the distracting thoughts, became heavy.

‘Go.’

He made up his mind in the blink of an eye and pulled the safety pin of the nuclear grenade.

Playfully pressuring them means that they might try to suppress them with more force at any time. If that’s the case, then they should be put to an end now while they are letting their guard down.

[Prepare the jetpack.]

[Jetpack ready to operate.]

Ting-

The safety pin of the nuclear grenade bounced into the air.

[Bunker! Move behind the bunker!]

[Start auto-start. Take cover behind the bunker.]

The core of the ship, which had been crushed by the force of the mind, let out a loud noise.

Output increased in an instant!

The body of the floor flew up, shaking off the ants’ psychic powers.

???

!!!!!

The ants, who frantically aimed at the core and extended their tentacles, perhaps not knowing that it would suddenly shake off its psychic powers and fly up, missed the nuclear grenade that Maru had dropped.

[Take cover behind the bunker. Nuclear grenade explodes. Three. Two. One.]

Hot flames filled the area along with a powerful shock wave.

□□□□□□□□□□—–

Even though he avoided a direct hit by hiding behind a bunker and was protected by a shield, he was unable to fully dissipate the power of the nuclear grenade.

[Shield ···89.67% damaged. ···93.51% damaged. It takes 587 seconds to restore the shield, and 620 seconds to regenerate after releasing the shield.]

[Shield damage is severe. Avoid engaging until shield is restored.]

Maru got up, ignoring the assistant AI’s advice and the faint, flickering, cracking shield.

Dadadak-

Heat and dust filled the space in the aftermath of a nuclear grenade explosion.

A vivid murderous intent pouring down towards Maru, running through the traces of death.

Creepy creepy

Heart pounding

Maru gritted his teeth at the feeling of his heart being squeezed.

After eating a nuclear grenade, it seemed like the ants’ murderous intent exploded.

‘This way.’

I could tell even though I couldn’t see it.

I could feel it even though the sensor was dead.

A clear murderous intent towards oneself became a milestone.

Maru rushed towards the gathered living things.

??

!!!

There was a limit to how much power they could use to protect themselves, as several of them were roasted to a golden color. It seemed as if they were using the weak or powerless ones as shields.

Maru, who had squeezed into the gap, swung his spear. The Eclipse spear’s blade passed over the heads of ants like a sickle.

Dadadadada-dadadak-

At the same time that the antennae of the gathered ants were violently cut off, the psychic powers that had been stirring in all directions disappeared.

!!!

!!!

The ants, having lost their antennae and exposed to the intense heat, began to scurry around and then gathered together in one place. Maru didn’t miss it.

Sigh.

As the Eclipse was drawn horizontally and vertically, the entire bodies of the ants that reached the intersection that was as long as the window sill began to be torn to pieces.

Click-

▬▬▬▬—

It wasn’t just telekinesis. Maru dodged the fatal formic acid shot from a square with superhuman reactions, and the ant that shot the formic acid while spinning around stuck its tail out was torn in half.

Cheeeeeeek-

[Shield destroyed. It takes 620 seconds to re-activate.]

Tsk-

The formic acid wasn’t a solid mass like a bullet. The moment it was fired, the liquid sprayed in all directions like a shotgun. I tried to avoid it because I felt the killing intent, but I couldn’t help but get a few drops sprayed out, and the shield couldn’t withstand it.

Woooooooooooo-

Eclipse, which was particularly weak to mutant monsters, vibrated slightly.

As if they sensed the vibration, murderous intent was concentrated from all directions. Murderous intent that suddenly swelled into hundreds and thousands.

‘Are the guys outside starting to come in too?’

It is unclear whether it was the aftermath of the nuclear grenade explosion or the incapacitation of the ants that acted as the command center, but the ants, having lost their characteristic mechanical precision, were pushed into the audience room.

Ting-

Pushshishishishi—–!

Na Ju-yeon’s new pesticide, a special poison gas bomb, covered the ants that were pushing in. The ants rolled over and died as soon as they were hit by the gas bomb.

How poisonous it is. Ants that pass by where a gas grenade exploded or rub their bodies with ants that were hit by a gas grenade also die.

The combination of the new poison gas cannon and the floor was truly terrifying. Even if the ants did not die from the poison gas, the one waiting for them was the floor’s spear.

The corpses of ants pile up in an instant.

And the army of ants was slowly pushing inward. Since it was a situation where they had already been abandoned, Maru detonated additional poison gas grenades without hesitation.

Ting-

Pushshishishishi—–!

A poison gas grenade flew into the center of the passage and sprayed poison gas in all directions. Ants that had been crawling in three dimensions along the floor, ceiling, and walls were killed one by one.

A passageway blocked by dead ants in an instant.

Maru’s forehead furrowed slightly as he watched the chain of death where he died trying to get inside by removing dead ants, and then died again when bitten by the ant trying to remove it.

‘I asked you to make a usable pesticide, but what on earth did you make?’

The end of the world.

In a world where mutant viruses have contaminated everything, only one thing stands out.

It was a causal relationship.

A world where if there is a cause there is an effect, and if there is good there is bound to be bad.

Whether cannibals or vampires, as they develop superior physical abilities and dominance, they develop a weakness in having to eat humans.

People with various abilities who have awakened have difficulty having children.

The mutant mice suffered from cannibalism and slaughter due to their explosive growth.

So what price did the ants pay?

The price, which runs into the billions, will probably be starvation and self-destruction.

Considering that they have not attacked humans on a large scale, this attack by the ant empire was probably due to the fact that they had no other option but war.

‘Even if you eat the entire Holy Kingdom, it would only be 4 million. Even if the Ant Empire struck down the leader, it wouldn’t be enough.’

They brought 2 million from Korea, making a total of 6 million, but the Holy Kingdom only had 4 million. And that was in its entire vast territory.

A population that would have to be consumed on the spot before it could even be brought to the empire’s main base if the ants attacked and devoured it.

In order to maintain the ant empire, they would need large prey. So, the target to attack was decided, and that would be the human empire.

Maru hit the neck of an ant that was struggling, having lost its sense of direction due to its antenna being cut off. The head of the ant, which was trying to attack Maru by moving its jaws even though its neck was cut off.

‘I guess I’ll have to tell them to make an information extractor for ants.’

I had no idea what these kids were thinking.

Klick- Klick-

If you look at the same behavior now, it was even more so. A poison gas bomb was detonated in the only passage leading to the audience room, so the ants coming in through there were just killed.

But the ants keep pushing in. They die trying to drag out ants that are dead from the poison gas. They die trying to push their bodies into empty spaces.

The ants weren’t stupid. There must be a reason why they kept pushing forward even though they knew they would die.

‘Even though they knew there was poison gas, they kept coming in and dying…’

no way?

Dying. Dying. Among the dying ants, one managed to crawl through the passage blocked by the corpses of the ants.

[Fuck. No way.]

Are you looking to find resistant entities in real time?

Or are you trying to build up tolerance in real time?

When faced with a life-threatening crisis, the probability of developing an ability increases. If that’s the case for ants, then maybe there are ants that have developed an ability called poison resistance.

Just like now.

The ant that had entered through the passage filled with poison gas staggered as if it were drunk, but gradually began to walk more clearly.

Maru lightly poked the spear at the ant.

Kang-

Even though I tried to stab it without using any force, its shell was harder than that of a normal ant. The strength of the shell changed in real time.

Click-

At the same time, the ant sticks its belly out between its legs and counterattacks with formic acid. Its reflexes are much faster than those of other regular ants.

‘You’ve awakened your power.’

Maru, who had avoided the ant mountain, threw the spear. Maru, holding a dagger that looked like a kitchen knife, approached next to the ant that had struck down the spear that had been shot out quickly with its forelegs and antennae.

A sense of seeing the end.

The sensation of seeing the texture of slaughtered animals.

The ant’s unique sense of where to cut passed over him.

Crunch.

The moment the forelimb joints were cut off, the stomach and chest were separated before it could reflexively stick its tail out and shoot formic acid.

The ant didn’t know that its anther, which could shoot formic acid, had been cut off. It tried to control the floor with its uncut forelegs and antennae, but it was no use.

Negative- rustling-

A pair of tentacles and the front legs that had been extended to guard fell quietly to the ground. In an instant, the ant was left with only four legs attached to its head and torso.

The ant, who did not know what fear was, tried to step back as if it was feeling something. Then, realizing that its stomach, which could shoot formic acid, had been cut off, the ant turned over.

!!!

Maru wiped the ant fluid off the knife and put it back on his thigh.

‘I have to take this one alive.’

The bunker was opened by applying a hemostatic agent to the cut surface to prevent the fluid from draining.

[What? Did you use a nuclear grenade? You used it openly? Are you okay?]

[It’s okay. Is there anything wrong inside?]

[No problem. As long as you don’t get hit directly by the crater, it should be able to withstand it to some extent.]

[Come out first.]

Ki-soon, the nurse, and Erica emerged from the bunker, which had been half-melted by the heat of the nuclear grenade. The thick dust that had formed as a result of the nuclear grenade explosion had largely disappeared.

[Be careful, there’s a lot of dust because a nuclear grenade exploded…]

[Huh? What did you say?]

Maru changed his words.

[No. Be careful, you never know where ants might come from.]

[okay.]

In just a few minutes, the thick dust was clearing away.

‘This means there is a ventilation system.’

The ant technology was no joke.

Even with human technology, it would have taken hours to suck up the dust created by a nuclear grenade exploding in the sealed audience chamber.

I don’t know what the principle is, but it was surprising that the dust was noticeably cleared in less than five minutes. Ki-sun, who came out of the bunker while Maru looked around, was speechless.

[Wow, Mr. Na··· Really-]

This is a mess.

Ki-sun was speechless when she saw the audience room completely swept away.

It had only been a few minutes. It had only been three to five minutes at most since they had entered the bunker, and the chaos had never been this intense.

The pieces of ants scattered on the floor are probably marks from the floor being cut with a knife.

There’s a dead ant there.

It was a total mess, with ants flipping over with their bellies exposed and foaming at the mouth, as if they had been poisoned by the gas.

‘You said you wouldn’t use nuclear grenades? You said you were just taking them just in case, but you’re going to start with nuclear grenades?’

Marushak- There was a reason why Kim Yang and Juk got along so well.

In the meantime, I looked back at the place where the rustling sound was coming from and saw Maru checking the kill.

[You said you wouldn’t use poison gas because you might develop a resistance to it. Didn’t you say you were determined to survive?]

Maru, who had split the head of the ant that was waving its tentacles as if begging for help, answered by turning his shoulder once.

[It wasn’t a situation where we could argue about that.]

[How did you block the entrance? There’s no door.]

As Maru shrugged his shoulders, Ki-sun, who was heading towards the entrance to the audience room, shouted.

[You blocked it with ant corpses? Are you crazy? The ants will come through… Did you spray poison gas in this passage? That’s how you prevented the ants from coming in? There’s only one entrance here. Where are we going to go?]

[What about the ants if we go out there? Done. Just open up the bunker.]

Ki-sun’s face turned pale at Maru’s words.

Since this shit happened in the audience room, I had to assume that it was the end of the ant empire.

What if it ended with the ant empire?

It was Ki-sun who remembered what he had said before coming here that he would bomb if anything happened.

[Trying to bomb?]

[There is no other way. Look at the facility here. It’s not just some random mutant ant.]

[······.]

[At least we need to catch a lot of these ants here. If we just leave them alone, it will be difficult to handle.]

[That’s what I’m saying. They’re hard to deal with, and if we go all the way, it’ll be a burden to both of us. Spider is left too. Since we’ve shown them this much bitterness, I think it might be a good idea to try negotiating again.]

Ki-soon’s words were not without merit.

Maru, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

[Okay, let’s negotiate.]

[Okay, I thought about it well.]

[Let’s wipe them all out first. Then let’s negotiate with the survivors.]

[what?]