Rust - Chapter 998



Only Krnovel

RUST -998

Now, the Empire is producing and deploying its own stratospheric reconnaissance airships, but in the past, they were strategic assets used only by the Holy Kingdom.

It was a multi-purpose airship that could gather information from high above the stratosphere, bomb with armed bombs in case of emergency, relay communications, and even provide weather forecasts, but it had its limitations.

Naturally, we could not go into areas with thick volcanic ash and dust, and we could not examine the dense forests and jungle floors. So we could not discover what was hidden beneath the forests of northeastern Russia and the jungles of Southeast Asia.

In order to fill that space, I requested information from each Southeast Asian country about reconnaissance and strange rumors. As trade in Southeast Asia resumed, Korea, the Holy Kingdom, and even the Empire began trading in Holy Kingdom currency, so I thought they would not ignore the Holy Kingdom’s request.

But after almost a year with no information, when they announced that they would mobilize the military to search, everyone unanimously opposed it.

[Not the other way around.]

“then?”

[I asked for money.]

“No. Those kids are just trying to waste time.”

[Do you really think so?]

“Okay. Try platinum. If you give me platinum as a condition for searching, let’s see how many I can call.”

It was as Maru had expected. Even though the amount proposed by Ki-sun was not small, the compensation amount was increased. The country that had agreed to this immediately canceled the contract and demanded renegotiation.

‘What is the reason for breaking the agreement?’

‘Didn’t Vietnam receive more? We should receive more than Vietnam.’

If a contract was made with a country like that, the next country would have to receive more than that country, and if more was given, the country that had previously signed the contract would break the contract.

The penalty for breach of contract is ‘double the amount.’ When they demanded the penalty, they threw a tantrum, saying that they would never send a search party into their country.

Eventually, Ki-soon even said, “Is this diplomacy?” and “I understand why the United States is so focused on maintaining its military and developing cutting-edge weapons.”

[As you expected, it is certain that Southeast Asian countries will not cooperate.]

“It looks like they found a sinkhole or something and are going to use it.”

Maru, who was looking at the map, shook his head.

“Ha- There’s no answer. I don’t know what the situation is, so it’s dangerous for me to go in and sort it out.”

It was ridiculous to wander through the jungle without knowing where it was. If the sinkhole had already been used to strategize the death monster, then getting rid of it would be an even bigger problem.

Let’s say Vietnam strategizes the sinkhole monster. What if Vietnam eliminates the sinkhole and the monster, and then Indonesia, which has deployed the sinkhole monster, attacks Vietnam?

If not Indonesia, but Cambodia or Laos attack Vietnam? Who will be responsible for the aftermath? Who is responsible for the war that started that way?

[If electrification has already been completed, does that mean the balance will collapse the moment we touch it?]

“okay.”

[Then why are you raising the price?]

“There are some who are trying to raise their prices and get by with as much as possible. They are probably trying to raise their prices so that we can’t touch them.”

[Are you just going to leave it?]

“We should warn people through broadcasts. People who don’t know anything might get caught up in it, so it’s bitter to just leave it alone. And who knows? If we warn people about sinkholes and strange religions, they might report it.”

Warning broadcasts about sinkholes and unusual religions were broadcast in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Korea. And contrary to Maru’s expectations, there were no reports for several days.

“Let’s give up on organizing Southeast Asia. Let’s just organize Korea, Taiwan, and the area around Okinawa.”

The sinkhole cleanup was a preparation for future threats. Those who eat faith and change something were the same. It was right to do it because the cleanup operation could induce the military’s awakening.

[Where to start?]

“Starting from Korea. We can clean up the Taebaek Mountains, Sobaek Mountains, and Jirisan, focusing on Gangwon-do, and organize the area near the Military Demarcation Line.”

[It wouldn’t be impossible since it would be covered in snow and ice so there wouldn’t be any minefield issues. But wouldn’t it be dangerous to provoke North Korea?]

“You said North Korea was on the verge of collapse. You said the reason Chinese refugees didn’t go north but only flocked south was because the situation in the North was not good.”

It must have been because they were planning to use armed refugees to eat South Korea up day by day. If they had pushed in refugees, they could have eaten up North Korea up day by day in the same way, but if you think about it, they didn’t. It meant that North Korea was dangerous in many ways.

“The mutant monsters have multiplied to an unmanageable level. The central government has collapsed and become a warlord. It’s become too difficult to touch, so they’re probably not touching it. Or would the northern theater just sit there?”

[but···.]

China has conducted several North Korea stabilization(?) drills in preparation for the collapse of the North Korean regime. It is the same now that China has split into seven parts.

The northern theater bordering North Korea and Russia was a warlord ready to enter North Korea at any time. The fact that they did not enter, however, means that the situation was complicated or dangerous.

“Tell the Korean government that we will carry out a suppression operation until the weather clears up, and if the Korean government wants, suggest that we resolve it jointly with the Korean military.”

[I get it.]

Maru rolled the sled without rest.

‘It’s better to roll it fresh than frozen.’

Well-cooked Ki-soon successfully concluded negotiations with the Korean government. This was because the Holy Kingdom not only helped establish the current Korean government, but also played a major role in resolving the Chinese armed refugee crisis.

[···It would have been nice to just think that way, but the reality was a bit different.]

“Really? Did Korea have any demands too?”

[I’m talking about building a supply base. We decided to build a production facility in Korea to produce supplies needed for the Southeast Asian operation.]

“That? But?”

[He asked me to build it as originally planned.]

“The Southeast Asia operation was canceled, but the production facilities remain the same?”

It’s a little bit like that, but it’s understandable.

[Yes. And when the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) is cleared and it is confirmed that the North Korean regime has collapsed, please support our advance northward.]

“Huh- So?”

Even if the construction of a supply base were to be considered, this was an excessive demand.

[Support for the northern advance was rejected.]

“Well done. You shouldn’t go in without knowing what the situation is. So the Korean government will reject the punitive operation?”

[No. He asked that the Korean military be allowed to join in the suppression.]

“That’s it. That’ll do it.”

Ki-soon had a strangely tired expression on her face.

[So that we can operate together. They asked for winter equipment like winter clothing. If possible, exosuits and firearms.]

“······.”

[They said that since they will have to mass-produce it anyway, why don’t they think of it as something they can distribute by adding a little more? They said they would like it if they could supply it at a reasonable price. That’s on hold for now.]

“···You work so well, you’re a loser.”

From the Korean government’s perspective, it was an opportunity to upgrade winter equipment.

“The idea of ​​advancing north was just wishful thinking, but the real idea was to get involved in running the supply factories?”

[maybe.]

“Okay. We’ll have to deal with the Japanese sinkhole anyways. Just think of it as preparing in advance. Just supply it at the price our military receives. And tell them that we want to bring it to the price of the Korean military’s exosuit supply. We need to change our hunters’ equipment.”

They were hunters who used exosuits that had been retired from the Holy Kingdom military and modified early exosuits that had been transferred to the construction sector.

The new equipment is only used by the military for security reasons, so there is no choice. In contrast, the exosuits produced in Korea are models that combine the Empire’s and Korea’s technologies.

Although it was inferior to the new exosuits of the Holy Kingdom, it was a good product in terms of performance for the price. It was sufficient equipment for hunters.

“That’s good. It was also good to keep the old line.”

[······.]

The Korean government may have wanted the new exosuit technology of the Holy Kingdom, but it was Maru who had the intention of stealing the exosuits produced in Korea.

‧

Although the Korean government seemed to be saying, ‘Eat the liver of a flea,’ the demands were not completely unreasonable, so the negotiations ended well.

And the punitive operation began right away. At first, it was the start of the Holy Kingdom army. It was a task to check the entire Gangwon-do, centering on Chuncheon and Wonju.

It was not easy to search the mountainous region of Gangwon-do, where only wild animals could walk, using only winter clothing and an exosuit.

‘Assume there is no air support.’

The purpose of the subjugation operation was to overcome the crisis of death and induce awakening, so there was no concentrated firepower or air support characteristic of the Holy Kingdom.

‘Support from the Crow Scouts is also difficult.’

There was no crow reconnaissance support under the pretext of the extreme cold weather. This was a situation that the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom had never experienced before. Drones and robots were also restricted from use as they were less effective at -30 to -40 degrees Celsius.

‘Then how do you do reconnaissance?’

‘I’ll search and scout directly like before. Isn’t that normal?’

The soldiers had to search and reconnoiter themselves. And that was dangerous work. Maru’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the bulletin board.

“This is more dangerous than I thought. How did Leon Bonnard command this?”

Every moment was dangerous as soldiers carried out the search and reconnaissance that crows and drones had done. The combination of Gangwon-do’s rugged terrain and the forests that had begun to mutate was far more dire than expected.

A dense forest in a different sense from the forests of North America or the jungles of Southeast Asia. Because the coniferous forests did not lose their leaves even in the bitter cold, it was difficult to determine the situation on the ground using only a stratospheric airship.

[Maybe I relied too much on reconnaissance.]

They may have become accustomed to using crows, rats, and, if necessary, ants for reconnaissance and search, making it easier for them to carry out operations.

And the price was steep. A simple operation to subdue a monster instantly turned into a survival game.

‘First, scout out where the mutant monster is.’

‘I did a reconnaissance. There was definitely no trace.’

‘Then what are these footprints? Did they come about by themselves?’

‘······’

Fortunately, among the soldiers from the Korean military, there were some who had been in the search party, so we were somehow getting by, but each day was like a sheet of thin ice.

‘It’s a herd of wild boars.’

‘Contact the main force and we will slowly retreat. Do not provoke and slowly retreat.’

‘The boar noticed this side.’

‘Increase speed. It looks like it’s going to attack.’

‘Get back. All of it.’

The wild boar commonly seen in Korea is smaller than buffalo, moose, or hogzilla, but its tenacity and defense are no less.

‘Shoot! Stop it!’

‘There’s too much undergrowth, so I can’t focus my firepower!’

‘The boar approaches with a stealthy move.’

‘Take out the super vibrating knife!’

The search party suddenly encountered a herd of wild boars. The herd consisted of six adult boars and 11 medium-sized piglets.

The result was that three adults and six pups were killed. The rest escaped. The search party suffered one death and six serious injuries.

The search party members who survived the encounter with the boar, which boasts terrifyingly tenacious vitality and great strength, has awakened their physical abilities, with fangs that can pierce through the armor of an exosuit in a single breath, and tough fur and thick hide that can withstand 12.7mm monster bullets.

It wasn’t just wild boars. Although they were smaller and more adorable than their North American counterparts, the animals in Korea were terribly poisonous.

The sight of a squirrel, smaller than a grown man’s forearm but still big enough to crack open an exosuit helmet like a walnut was terrifying in itself.

‘The squirrel bit my finger.’

‘I told you not to touch it!’

‘The weasel bit my neck.’

‘Just shoot!’

They approach with an incredibly cute appearance and then bite your neck, showing their ferocity. Furthermore, when you create a siege, they cooperate regardless of species to break through the siege and counterattack.

In the past, there were many strange things in small Korea. A wild cat saved a baby boar. A hen held a kitten. And now, they were uniting across species to fight back.

“This is ridiculous. The animals in Canada don’t do this. Why are they doing this?”

[······.]