Rust - Chapter 973



Only Krnovel

RUST -973

An army armed with exosuits entered the black ruins.

Smoke rising faintly from the ruins where the hot heat has not yet subsided.

[Chick- No communication abnormality.]

[Okay. Beep- I see there are no abnormalities in the communication, so there are no ants nearby.]

[There’s a slight noise, so they must be hiding. Chick- Don’t let your guard down.]

[ancient.]

As the density of mutant monsters increases, communication problems begin and even electronic devices become unavailable. This is a phenomenon called the biological EMP effect.

The Holy Kingdom was the first to succeed in producing a countermeasure that could withstand a certain amount of resistance, and this was also introduced to the Empire.

However, the function of the countermeasure equipment was only to a certain extent. As the density of ants increased, it became more difficult to use exosuits or advanced electronic equipment. That is why punitive forces that were not armed with exosuits were active in the Battle of Panama.

[Wired beep – Connect to the network.]

[Chick- Signalman. Wired connection.]

[We scattered them with a long bombing attack, so even if there are any left, there won’t be many. Beep-]

[Chick- Again, our unit just needs to find an underground passage leading into their stronghold.]

Perseok-

The sound of the completely charred carapace being trampled by the exosuit’s footsteps was fleeting.

[Beep- This is completely blackened, but it’s still pretty solid.]

[This kind of thing beeps – it would have been dangerous if it was alive?]

[It’s dangerous, but it’s just an ant. Chick-]

[Chijik- Don’t you know? I heard that formic acid is poisonous.]

[No matter how much you read it, will it pierce through the armor? Che-]

[-띠- Yeah. Even if it’s a monster, it’s like that.]

[Didn’t you say that there’s something acidic in the – Chik – Mad Kingdom?]

[You saw it at the shipyard? Beep-]

There were rumors of acid rats at the Newport News shipyard, which was operated jointly by the Holy Kingdom and the Empire. There were also acid gulls, but those had too few witnesses.

There is a rumor that there is a rat with saliva and body fluids that can melt the iron plates used to build Aegis ships and aircraft carriers.

[What if I shoot without getting close? Chick- Don’t talk nonsense and look around carefully.]

[Okay – Okay.]

The imperial army was prepared for this, as there was a record of fighting against the ants in Panama. The imperial army, which initially pushed forward overwhelmingly, later struggled against the ants’ guerrilla warfare.

So they fought by burning down the entire forest where the ants could hide, but the plants had mutated, and the completely burned forest turned green again in just a few days.

Weeds that were tougher and harder to burn than before began to grow. The bushes were burned three times, and the green cover that grew thicker each time was a green horror. Even the ants moving behind the green barrier…

But that alone did not wipe out half a million troops. The greatest damage occurred when they were surrounded by army ants.

Originally, army ants did not dig underground tunnels. Their ecology was to move and sweep over the ground. But army ants came out of the ground?

Of course, I thought that regular ants and army ants were in a hostile or at least competitive relationship. But then ants and army ants joined hands.

Ordinary ants dug a huge number of tunnels, and tens of thousands of army ants emerged from the tunnels at once, covering the imperial army’s positions in an instant.

The 500,000 imperial army was instantly annihilated by the attack of army ants that rose up from deep underground as if groundwater had burst and winged insects that covered the sky.

At that time, the military ants focused on the ankle joints of the Imperial Army exosuits. They cut off the ankle joints to prevent them from escaping, and then went on to target the ankles of other exosuits.

The soldier who fell with his ankle torn off had no way to stop the ants from digging their way into his shin from his torn ankle.

And now.

Kiing-cheok-

Something grabbed the ankle of the exosuit that was scurrying through the black ruins, but it was unable to penetrate the strong armor plate covering the ankle joint.

Cock- cock-

The moment the giant ant’s head failed to bite off the ankle armor, the situation was already as good as over.

Tudadadak-

The monster bullet pierced a hole through the giant ant’s head. The giant ant slowly stopped moving, oozing bodily fluid.

[Tch- FUCK! This kid is still biting even though he’s dead.]

It felt like my jaw was being clamped in a vice rather than a jaw.

[It’s the same here. Chiik- these kids are biting each other’s ankles and dying.]

The overall situation wasn’t bad. The ankle gloves were working. The problem was that the giant ants were biting and killing me.

Since I was walking around with three or four giant ants attached to just one ankle, my mobility was bound to be reduced.

[Aaak- It’s stuck to my arm too. Beep-]

It wasn’t just the ankles that were the problem. It wouldn’t let go once it bit into anything. Fortunately, the exosuit’s output was high enough to ignore the ants that were stuck all over my body and I was able to move.

But that relief gradually began to turn into embarrassment.

[Tch- These kids have acid coming out of their chins.]

It wasn’t the acid that melted everything in an instant like the rumored acid ants, but it was definitely an acid.

[I need to tear off his head right now. Beep-]

The armor where the giant ants had bitten was corroding. The Imperial Army Command calmly withdrew the units that had entered and replaced them with the units that had been waiting.

“The tunnels are the biggest problem.”

“It’s clear they’re responding to the bombing.”

When the bombing began, they hid deep in the tunnel and committed suicide attacks targeting joints such as the ankles when the exosuit approached.

If we look at the situation so far, the giant ants were using narrow tunnels. That means there are no large tunnels or traps.

“Let’s send tanks, armored vehicles, and penal units.”

“I coated the caterpillar track, so it can withstand their formic acid.”

The reason tanks and armored vehicles could not be used in the battle of Panama was because of the deep mud, where mutated weeds would get crushed between the tracks and break them.

But this was North America. The season was approaching winter, and the operational area was a completely scorched wasteland. It was a situation suitable for operating tanks and armored vehicles.

“It will be effective if we break through with tanks and armored vehicles as the focus.”

“Are you suggesting that we use the armored and penal units as bait?”

The newly recruited penal corps didn’t have exosuits. They just had composite body armor and 7.62mm assault rifles. But there was nothing better than that to attract the ants’ attention.

“There is no such thing as bait.”

“Yes. If we dig into the center anyway, they’ll try to surround us.”

“We’ve installed large EMP countermeasures on our tanks and armored vehicles. Of course, they can withstand even if they swarm us.”

“The monster bullets can’t penetrate armor, so even if they shoot friendly forces, there will be no damage.”

The idea was that if ants swarmed toward the armored unit that had dug into the center, it would be okay to openly shoot at them.

The Imperial Army immediately dispatched a force consisting of tanks, armored vehicles, and penal units to the New York battlefield.

Kurrururur-

Now that exosuits have become the main weapon, tanks and armored vehicles are back in action. The armored unit quickly enters the ruined center of New York.

Ants hurriedly swarmed to block the armored unit, but their numbers were not enough to stop the advance of the armored unit.

This was because the caterpillars were designed specifically for literally grinding and even had an acid-resistant coating.

The armored units made a deep breakthrough, followed by the exosuit units. The deep-poked wires began to change into triangles and push the ants back.

When the density of ants in the rear seemed to increase, the stratospheric airship detected it and immediately dropped a tactical nuclear warhead. Even if it was a tactical nuclear warhead with a controlled power, the destructive power of the nuclear warhead was not negligible.

As the ants gathered, they were wiped out one by one, so attempts to mass troops in the rear to create a biological EMP disappeared.

“They also knew about bio-EMP and were using it tactically.”

“It’s ridiculous. I didn’t know ants were this intelligent.”

“It’s dangerous. If they’re intelligent, they’ll try to neutralize the armored unit by any means necessary.”

“If it’s a ship, wouldn’t it already be unusable because the ground has collapsed due to tactical nuclear bombing?”

It wasn’t for nothing that they used tactical nukes. Even if they had made a trap that would cause the ground to collapse, the impact of the tactical nukes would have rendered that trap useless.

“They are ants. If they were humans, they wouldn’t make a new trap since it’s already broken, but do you think they would do the same?”

“They’ve figured out that tanks and armored vehicles can counter biological EMPs, so they’re definitely going to set up traps. Until they do.”

“They’re the ones who gathered troops from the rear to use the biological EMP, and then dispersed them after a few blasts. Is that right?”

“They’re definitely smart guys, so they didn’t prepare for the bombing. When our exosuit unit entered, they didn’t gather together but spread out to respond, so I’m sure they’ll keep doing the same thing…”

[Beep- Emergency report. The armored unit has fallen into a large-scale trap.]

The image taken by the stratospheric reconnaissance aircraft came to mind. A huge basin with a radius of 3 to 4 kilometers had formed in the ruined city of New York. It was a pit that must have been 25 to 30 meters deep.

The armored unit, which had fallen into a hollow space as if a giant sinkhole had formed, was covered in a swarm of ants.

The ship would have collapsed with tactical nukes, right?

How did you do it?

You dug another trap after the first one collapsed?

Did you mislead them into thinking there was no trap?

“oh my god.”

“We have to push it out with a thermobaric bomb.”

“If you use airships, you can save the armored units.”

The soldiers inside may have been shocked, but at least the tanks and armored vehicles were recovered.

“It’s a trap.”

The tactical officer who had warned that the ants might continue to dig traps again expressed his opinion.

“You’re saying that the trap you fell into is another trap?”

“Yes. It’s possible that it’s a trap targeting our airship.”

The Commander-in-Chief’s face was distorted like a demon’s.

“If they knew that you were transporting armored units and exosuits using airships, they would definitely target the airships that were sent to rescue them.”

So, what that meant was that the current situation wasn’t just a simple trap, but a trap targeting the airship.

Ants know the human transportation system?

That meant that ants were also scouting out humans.

Does that make sense?

But look at the situation now.

It was difficult to conclude that they didn’t know.

“That may be the case. Then we should repay you. Do you have any plans?”

“yes.”

The tactical officer immediately answered the commander-in-chief’s question.

‧

‧

‧

A fleet of airships headed to the scene to rescue the trapped armored units.

Beep be …

A fleet of flying objects advances, emitting ultrasound waves to deter a flock of mad birds.

[We will soon enter the operational airspace.]

A swarm of ants was seen clinging to the armored unit that had fallen into a trap and lost its mobility, slowly dismantling it.

[Preparing to drop the thermobaric bomb.]

[Preparation for launch of thermobaric bomb complete.]

The operation to blow away the stuck ants with thermobaric bombs and recover the armored unit began.

[throwing down!]

[throwing down!]

A thermobaric bomb, shaped like a large tin can, falls into a corn pit. Then, the sound of popping and bursting like popcorn echoes from a depth of 25 to 30 meters.

[Bombing success.]

[The enemy has been erased.]

[Altitude descent.]

[All fleet descending.]

As the numerous ants were erased, the airships slowly lowered their altitude. And as if they had been waiting for the aircraft to lower its altitude, wings flew up between the cracks in the black ruins.

From a number that seemed to be around 10,000 to a number that seemed to be over 50,000 in an instant, and now a huge number of wings that could be 100,000? Or even more, have bared their teeth.

[Napalm spray! Increase altitude!]

[Napalm Spray! Emergency Rise!]

Unlike when descending slowly, when the airship was gaining altitude at full speed, the napalm liquid sprayed in the form of fine particles formed clumps like fog or clouds.

And at that moment, as if they were trying not to miss the fleet of flying objects trying to escape, the black clouds of winged beetles rushed towards the airship.

[ignition.]

[ignition!]

Kurrurrururururung—

The blue autumn sky was on fire.

Winged magpies that had lost their wings began to fall like hail.

======

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(New York conquest success!)

(Imperial Army Great Victory!)

(Burning wings with the sky.)

(Imperial troops trample on fleeing ants!)

All the media and broadcasts gave it major coverage.

The victory of the empire.