Rust - Chapter 983



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Rust [RUST] – Episode 984

News of the empire’s reforms also reached the Holy Kingdom.

[Wow – You overhauled the distribution structure? You even curbed inflation at once? You succeeded at that difficult task.]

Ki-soon blew a whistle.

[An emperor and a prime minister? Not even a prime minister. Isn’t that the system you wanted to create? The king only has military power and politics are separate. I thought it was impossible, but seeing how it’s done in the empire, it seems possible.]

“······.”

On the surface, he seemed static. Leon Bonnard didn’t know, but Dan Brown was a man who hated institutions like emperors and kings.

How much effort did the Confederacy make to attract him? Joseph Myers, president of the Virginia Company, with whom he had a past relationship, personally suggested it.

It was Dan Brown who not only rejected all offers, but also shared his authority with the Reichstag, even though he had the opportunity to become Führer and gain absolute power.

But what if you work with the Emperor, who is essentially a symbol of absolute power? You promised to share power, but what if the Emperor breaks his promise?

[What are you going to do if the Emperor changes his mind and throws Tosagu into the ground? I don’t think that old man would have been unaware of that.]

“I don’t know about that gentleman, but I don’t know about the emperor either. It’s not like he doesn’t have family, friends, or relatives.”

Emperor Leon Bonnard was also unable to trust others. He had only been promoted from captain to lieutenant colonel, and then to brigadier general in less than half a year, so he had no core supporters.

So, it was common to try to solidify power by mobilizing all personal connections such as blood ties, regional ties, and school ties.

Now that he has become emperor with the overwhelming support of the citizens of the empire, wouldn’t it be natural for him to form a government with people who can support his power before his approval rating drops?

But Leon Bonnard threw away all his connections and installed den Braun as prime minister, allowing him to put the human resources den Braun had as president into domestic affairs.

[If only the power of the old man had focused on stabilizing internal affairs.]

“If stabilization was the goal, why didn’t Leon Bonnard join forces with the forces that had supported him? There must have been those who had supported Leon Bonnard’s entry into the maritime city. Those forces must have been a great help in his rise to the Emperor, but he excluded them and appointed Dan Brown as Prime Minister. It’s a bit hard to understand.”

[The powers that helped him were trying to make him the president of the barge. They might have just wanted to use Leon Bonnard’s fame. Who knows the inside story? His first speech was also given at the Imperial Parliament. If he had even made a statement at the Parliament, a powerful politician would have helped him.]

The fact that they were having a fight in the Imperial Diet was clearly an attempt to screw over the new president. If so, the faction that supported Leon Bonnard would be the opposition party. It would be David White’s faction, who lost by a margin of error in the last election.

[I wonder if they were trying to use Leon Bonnard to water down the new president and government and change the regime.]

“impeachment?”

[Wouldn’t that be so? But Leon Bonnard ended up sitting on the emperor’s throne. It’s like a dog chasing a chicken looking up at the roof. If things had gone that way, Leon Bonnard and David White, who became the emperor, would have been practically enemies.

“It’s complicated. But it’s great. Whatever the process, it’s saying that Dan Brown was chosen to check David White and the senior presidential forces.”

Ki-soon nodded at Maru’s evaluation.

[I know.]

It is literally like giving half of the power to a powerful person who can stab you in the back by turning internal affairs well and becoming popular as prime minister.

They say that power cannot be shared even among family members, but Leon Bonnard did. That alone made him extraordinary.

In exchange for sharing internal affairs, what he had was absolute military power. The military system was reorganized around the emperor, and this was uncompromising.

All military and war-related matters, such as declarations of war requiring the consent of the Imperial Diet, the right to use nuclear weapons by the Diet and the military, and approval and audit of the war budget, were nailed down as the sole authority of the Emperor.

[Inflation has been controlled, and there is still a lot of construction work to be done in the maritime city. Money will circulate. If we can just hold on and keep going for a few more years, we will grow tremendously, right?]

The policies that Dan Brown had pursued during his presidency were all put on hold by the impeachment and the election of a new president. Old policies that had been stopped and scrapped were resumed.

“It’s better than the empire being torn apart and taken over by cannibals and vampires.”

[By the way, I got an invitation to the official coronation ceremony. What are you going to do?]

“Coronation? Once you become emperor, that’s it. Why do you need another coronation?”

[It seems like that was planned by the old man. There must be some hidden agenda. Right now, transportation is difficult, so no, but he is planning to hold a formal enthronement ceremony next spring, so he wants you to attend and grace the occasion.]

The mention of transportation meant that other countries were invited, not just the Holy Kingdom.

“To brighten up the place? This place must be overtly political, right?”

[It seems that way, considering they waited until spring to hold the coronation ceremony.]

“I feel uneasy.”

[Why? Is that the feeling?]

Maru shakes his head at Ki-soon, who asks if his special instinct has been triggered.

“Because I feel like I’m going to see the liver.”

[liver?]

“You said you would not interfere, but this is an invitation to the coronation. And you said you sent it to other countries too? If you want to know which countries will come, then you should come.”

[You’re saying you’re going to use the coronation ceremony to restart international diplomacy. Why is that?]

“Even France is in the middle of a civil war. Who would have been invited? Government forces? Or local rebels? Both? Depending on who was invited to the coronation ceremony…”

[It would mean supporting a certain force.]

“That’s true, but if we get together and cross the line, can I tolerate it?”

[Can someone provoke you into a fight?]

“Maybe not?”

[The king caused an accident and was dealing with it here and there?]

“······.”

[······.“

Ki-soon was also thinking about what Maru was thinking.

‘They are trying to use the coronation ceremony to exert their influence.’

Ki-soon’s squinted eyes narrowed even further. He made an excuse about transportation, but he probably thought he would negotiate until next spring to see who would take his hand. If he could also include Maru, it would be the best result.

[So, are you planning to avoid it?]

“Do you avoid the shit field because you’re scared? You avoid it because it’s dirty.”

[Why? If things go as expected, many countries will come, and diplomacy will be reestablished while they are here.]

“What kind of diplomacy is this? They must have gathered after seeing everything in advance, so how can it be normal diplomacy? It would be fortunate if several people gathered together and didn’t try to take advantage of one thing.”

If Britain and France were to attend the coronation, they would inevitably find fault with the Holy Kingdom for having used a hydrogen bomb on its capital.

[I can’t say no even if it’s just empty words.]

“Isn’t there a country that is ruled by cannibals or vampires? What if there are cannibals or vampires among those attending the coronation?”

Even if Dan Brown was wary of cannibals and vampires, he could not completely block their influence.

[So our king should go.]

“I told you I don’t want to get involved.”

Ki-soon’s eyes narrowed severely.

[Your Majesty. So you should go and see for yourself.]

“Ah. Okay.”

Maru and Gisun began bickering over whether to attend the enthronement ceremony next year.

‧

‧

‧

The underground tunnel construction using ants and rats was accomplished in an instant.

First, when a rat burrows into a reinforced concrete wall, ants follow and expand the burrow, strengthening the wall.

Kikrik-kikrik-

Jjieeeek-

Click-

Although they could not communicate with each other, they had no major problems working on the tunnel because they had worked together while doing reconstruction and rescue work.

The finish, a mixture of saliva and dirt secreted by the ants, was extremely elastic and durable. As the ants expanded and strengthened their tunnels, the rats began to work on the plumbing and electrical work.

While the underground city and tunnels were being built, a colony of ants was discovered underground that was still the same size as before, indicating that no mutations had occurred.

“There’s an ant colony near Ottawa?”

[Yes. It’s an ant that’s the same size as before, probably because it’s deep underground.]

Ms. Kim, who received the report from the scene, contacted me immediately.

[It is estimated that the area of ​​the underground area is almost the size of Korea. What should we do? Just sweep it away and continue construction?]

“Just wait a minute.”

Maru immediately called in an insect expert and Na Ju-yeon to exchange opinions.

[It’s not surprising, though, that an ant colony the size of the United Kingdom has been found in Brazil.]

[We need to make sure what kind of ant it is.]

“It is possible that the size did not increase even though a mutation occurred?”

[Yes. Crows and magpies didn’t change much in size, but their intelligence improved. Rats also grew to a certain size and stopped growing any further, but their intelligence improved and they became more dexterous.]

When mutations occur, animals generally become smarter and bigger, but when considering that animals that do not grow much bigger develop other abilities or have more developed intelligence, it is like the small-bodied ants of the past.

Maru decided to send a nurse for now.

[Eeeeeee- a little ant?]

“I’ll check if they can communicate with the pheromone translator. I’ll check if they have any special abilities. If they can’t communicate or are hostile, don’t give them time or wait, report to me right away.”

[Hostile or – Okay.]

“Just in case, I’ll go equipped with core armor.”

It was a story of a little ant killing an elephant.

[yes.]

The nurse, equipped with her core armor as Maru had said, headed to the tunnel construction site where the ant nest had been discovered. One wall of the tunnel construction site was covered in tiny ants the size of baby fingernails.

[Eeeee-eh! Wait a minute! That won’t do!]

The nurse screamed as the corpses of giant ants and rats were decomposing in real time here and there. As her voice passed through the pheromone translator and was transmitted to the small ants, the ants that were decomposing the corpses stopped for a moment.

[We don’t want to fight. We want to talk.]

The small ants that had stopped for a moment began to dismember the corpse again. And then, a moment later, a hole appeared in the ceiling and small ants poured down onto the nurse’s core armor.

[Huh? Aaaah- Don’t do that.]

Regardless, small, black ants began to attack the core armor.

[Beep- Warning. External armor exposed to acid.]

[Beep- Warning. External armor exposed to acid.]

The auxiliary AI warned that the core armor’s plating was being damaged.

[Eeeeeeet-?! Fireworks- Fire. Drop it.]

Since there was a woman named Pungwol who had been with Ms. Kim, the nurse responded quite quickly. Napalm was sprayed in aerosol form from the armor of the core, and then flames shot up.

Hwarrrrrr-

The small ants that had been covering the core armor in black were instantly burned. The nurse who ran away while burning like a torch immediately reported the situation.

‧

“The little ants refused to talk and attacked the nurse.”

[This is not strange. Ants have a habit of identifying and attacking intruders into their territory.]

[After checking the sample, we found that the attack power of formic acid was stronger than that of our ants.]

“Our ants are strong enough to melt a decent amount of armor, so you’re saying they’re stronger than that?”

[Yes. And it is also biologically toxic. If you get bitten, it is not only acidic, but also life-threatening due to its toxicity.]

“······.”

[They are more tiring because they are small. If they were big like giant ants or ant empire ants, they would have a large pupil in the center, so you could hit that with a bunker buster and use a tactical nuke to finish them off. I don’t know what to do with these guys.]

[There will be a spawning room with a queen. There will also be an incubation room where the eggs hatch, so aim for that.]

Ms. Kim frowned at the insect expert’s words.

[So how do you find it? I said it’s the size of Korea. It’s the size of a little fingernail. The area they spread out over is bigger than Michigan. How do you find where the queen is?]

[······.]

It was impossible to find it using a pheromone translator. It was an ant the size of a baby fingernail, so you could track the pheromone it released and get inside? It was impossible.

I could understand what to do about giant ants, but honestly, there was no answer for ants that were no bigger than a fingernail.

[It’s like something. Really.]

It’s not even a big ant, it’s a small ant, it’s causing this trouble.

Eww-

Ugh-

A citizen near a tunnel construction site was attacked by small ants. A detailed examination revealed that the patient was shivering all over and rolling his eyes.

[It is said that ants burrowed into the brain through the ears and nose.]

The little ant was really annoying.