Rust - Chapter 932



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-932

The enemy airship, identified through debris, was similar in size to the Empire’s new airships.

[Black box secured.]

[The storage device was physically destroyed][Analysis results suggest that the black box also contained a self-destruct device.]

“······.”

So, if it is attacked and sunk, the black box data will be destroyed. This means that the sinkhole is such a tempting prey that those guys who have been hiding so well will reveal their bodies.

“What about the seagull?”

[The crow squad continues their pursuit.]

If there was no black box, the next one was the seagull. The airship it came on was destroyed, so it would try to return. It might be its hometown, or its stronghold, but either way, it had to follow.

“Send a supply ship to help ensure that tracking is not lost midway.”

[Order given.]

If the crows know how to track it, we’ll be able to see the end.

[A strong magnetic field was detected in the sinkhole.]

“Magnetic field?”

[Yes. It seems to have been created as immortal monsters continued to rise.]

Maru’s gaze turned to the sinkhole. As the number of immortal monsters increased, something began to interfere with their transmissions.

If the biological EMP had a literal EMP-like effect, then what the immortal monster was emitting was closer to a magnetic field.

[It has been confirmed that the hardened substance on the monster’s skin is magnetic.]

When the cause could not be analyzed, it was effective to look only at the result. There were more and more things for which the cause or reason was unknown.

So what’s important is not the cause or reason, but the result. The result now is that when monsters gather, the magnetic field fluctuates. That’s why the radio interference effect occurs.

“Check the range and prepare with wires to avoid any problems.”

[Starting installing the wired communication network.]

Because we had prepared in advance, the wired communication network was built in no time. But this time, there was a problem with the power supply from the modular nuclear power plant to the motor.

The volcanic ash and dust covering Tokyo, Japan were affected by electromagnetic waves and were sticking to the wires. Sticking to the wires means that the volcanic ash and dust are magnetic. The magnetic material that was stuck to the wires was affecting the power supply.

“This is ridiculous.”

[When ash and dust accumulate on subway power lines, the subway stops. It is common for power supply to be disrupted due to ash and dust after a volcanic eruption.]

Although the assistant AI said that this was something that could happen in the current situation, Maru felt awkward for the first time in a long time.

The calm intuition was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. If I could finish it all in one breath with the Garden of Death, I wouldn’t have felt this way.

‘That means the problem could get bigger.’

Maru didn’t ignore his intuition. The Garden of Death also had its problems and weaknesses. Unless it was absolutely invincible, he had to sharpen his senses.

“There is nothing common.”

Even if it was a decisive probability, probability was just probability. It was not impossible for a completely different result to come out. Especially if the opponent was a monster.

Maru thought about it for a moment and then remembered the things that had passed. Was it a coincidence that the sunlight was blocked by the volcanic ash and dust from the volcanic eruption?

It wasn’t just the light that was blocked. Looking at the current situation, even the power was cut off due to communication disruption. In addition, the water and land were polluted by volcanic ash and dust, making it difficult to breathe properly.

Is this all a coincidence?

Well, that might have been the case if the ash and dust had settled within six months to a year, like a typical volcanic eruption.

But it’s already been four years, approaching the fifth year, and the volcanic ash and dust have not yet settled. Is that a coincidence?

[In the case of the Indonesian volcano Tambora, which erupted in 1815, it spread volcanic ash and dust across the globe for over 10 years after the eruption, causing famine around the world.]

The unusual weather that struck the United States and Canada in 1816, a year called the Year Without a Summer, resulted in famine due to crop damage.

A super-large volcanic eruption was so dangerous that it could have caused famine in the United States and Canada, which are so rich that it could be called a fraud.

[Considering that all the volcanoes in the Japanese archipelago have erupted, the analysis suggests that the current abnormal situation is not impossible.]

The newly produced assistant AI didn’t know about Maru’s special senses. Even though it was an AI, it didn’t inherit all of its predecessor’s information.

Because if you ‘download’ all the information, it’s the same as becoming a full-timer. Becoming 88% full-time or 79.5% full-time was something the assistant AI wanted to avoid.

Maru felt refreshed by the assistant AI’s reaction. It was definitely different from the AI ​​that existed before. It seemed lively, but also a bit silly.

The crispness was not mechanical, but rather had a clumsy, almost imitative quality. Just like a human.

“Even so, it is unusual for volcanic ash and dust to remain for this long. It must have been through several seasons, typhoons, and snow and rain several times, but it is not normal for it not to have been washed away, right? So let’s just look at the results. What if this result is not a coincidence? What would happen?”

[···Insufficient information.]

When the assistant AI raised the white flag, Maru gave a generous order.

“Reconnaissance, communication, supply, and maintaining mobility are important. Communications may be cut off, so prepare a messenger and use the crow unit to reconnaissance. Send a supply ship in advance. At least maintain the amount of one supply ship.”

[Order given.]

‧

‧

‧

The seagulls were on the verge of death.

Creak- creak- (The airship is sunk.)

Kiriririri- (The crazy crows are following me.)

A missile while fighting chicks? Missiles when you have beaks and talons? Those crows were without romance or tradition.

They were ordered to launch a surprise attack on the human armored units, but they were completely wrong. The seagulls were in disarray, having never been defeated before.

Kiluk- kruk- (throat. throat-)

Kuruk- Kuruk- (breath. Out of breath-)

The seagulls, who had inhaled more than their limit of volcanic ash and dust, began to fall behind. And the ones who didn’t miss them were the crows.

Kaaaak! (These kids aren’t even wearing masks!)

Huh? Caaaak- (Really? You’re an idiot-)

The crows, wearing plague doctor masks and tungsten alloy beaks, were confident. The purifier tubes only lasted about three hours, but that was enough time to catch a seagull.

KAAAH! (Keep chasing!)

Kaaaah! (Catch the droppers!)

The crows quickly split into formation.

A squadron that catches stray seagulls and a squadron that chases fleeing seagulls.

Caw! (Kill me!)

Kiruuk! (Coward!)

Gulls, their lungs bruised by volcanic ash and dust, fought back desperately, but they were no match for the robust crows, who were well-stocked and had plague masks.

Kwajik-

A powerful crow’s claw, grasped in midair. Its appearance is slightly different from that of a bird of prey, but its power is stronger than that of most birds of prey.

A crow, strengthened by the mutated monster bear jerky and the Hogzilla sundae stir-fry, grabbed a seagull’s head and pecked it with its tungsten alloy beak.

Swish-swish-

The tungsten alloy beak attached to the end of the plague doctor’s mask pecked at the seagull’s head and eyes. In an instant, the bloody seagull fell to the ground. The crows would not allow it.

Caw! (Here!)

At the signal that the table was set, five or six crows gathered in an instant and dismembered the seagull in midair. The sight of its wings being torn off and its back and tail cut off was truly horrifying.

Kaaaak- (The injured ones get treatment at the supply ship.)

Cackle? Cackle? (Is there an injured cripple? Are you trying to fool around?)

The tragedy was short-lived. In an instant, the crows that had killed the straggling flock of seagulls began to follow the troops that had gone ahead.

‧

The flock of seagulls retreating with their tails pulled out was maddening. It was clear that seagulls had the upper hand when it came to long-distance flight.

Even though they were hunting fish in the ocean, they weren’t going to be pushed back in an aerial battle. But the result was too one-sided.

Even though he was a fallen comrade, his size, beak, and feathers were not the kind of comrade who would die so meaninglessly.

Kkuruk kkuruk- (increase speed-)

Kirurururu- (There are still many children who have trouble breathing-)

Kkuruk! (Then you’re saying you’ll be killed by a crow!)

Kkirururuk. (Increasing speed. Going out of the dust cloud.)

These were seagulls that decided to go towards the place with better air even if they had to go back. They must have lost to the crows since they couldn’t breathe well.

Small air-to-air missiles rained down on the seagulls who were thinking like that. It was a crow that shot the missiles as soon as they were delivered from the supply ship.

Kkuruk! (Damage!)

Kiruu- (It’s a missile!)

The seagulls, who had been unilaterally hit by missiles, turned back towards the thick volcanic ash and dust.

‧

Maru frowned as he checked the direction in which the seagulls were fleeing.

“Are they running away towards the Izu Islands?”

[As a result of the analysis of the escape direction, it was confirmed that there is a high probability that it was the Izu Islands.]

The Izu Islands are an archipelago made up of islands formed by volcanic activity.

So, that means a volcanic eruption occurred during the disaster.

When I went from Japan to the United States, all the nearby volcanic islands were erupting.

But the seagulls run away there?

Why? If I go, the volcano will have erupted and my lungs will be destroyed by the eruption.

“Crow Unit. Tell them not to chase too closely and to keep some distance. Our priority is to see where they are running away.”

[Delivered.]

“Send the stratospheric reconnaissance airship towards the Izu Islands.]

[It takes one hour to arrive at the stratospheric reconnaissance airship.]

As the crows’ attack was delayed, the flock of seagulls that had been hiding in the thick volcanic ash and dust came out to sea again. They came out because they could not endure the volcanic ash and dust.

“Keep your distance so you don’t get caught.”

[Distance secured.]

The seagulls went to Kozushima, one of the Izu Islands.

[The eruption of Mt. Kozushima is strange.]

[Results of ingredient analysis. It was not volcanic ash or dust.]

[It has been confirmed that most of what is erupting from the volcano is water vapor and artificially created smoke.]

It’s steam and smoke.

They are the guys.

Maru had a gut feeling.

‧

‧

‧

[It’s dangerous. The enemy’s technology is at a considerable level.]

[We need to check how the defense system works.]

The assistant AI dissuaded Maru from going solo.

[At least it is correct to enter after the bombing with the Crow Unit.]

“These are the guys who will delete information the moment they are bombed.”

I had to get into the Ripper suit’s hiding place and secure the data first.

“It’s unlikely that their only stronghold is that one. If we don’t get information on them now, clearing the sinkhole will take a long time.”

It was right to find their stronghold and push the sinkhole away.

It’s already the end of the world, so who knows what they’ll do with an immortal monster that uses ‘infection’ and ‘erosion’ mechanisms?

If you think about what they’ve done so far, they were things that had to be uprooted without fail.

‧

Maru, armed with a Ripper suit and Nuclipse, headed out to the sea near Kozushima. Using a micro-underwater propulsion device, he infiltrated from a distance using the sea.

Maru wanted to check the airfield at the bottom of Gozu Island first. He wanted to get rid of the airship so that it wouldn’t escape the island.

Purrrrrrrrrrr-

The sound of the underwater propulsion engine and the sound of the waves began to mix. Shadows melted into the pitch-black darkness and surged toward the shore like black waves.

[Chi-i-ik – The interference is strong.]

[Communication is difficult. Chiik-]

A siren suddenly blares.

Wheeeeeeeeing-

Wheeeeeeeeing-

Tsk-

It was Maru who quickly got out of the way.