Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Using the speed and impact of the warhorse, the spear blade could easily cleave a Sarkaz cavalryman and his mount in two.

Originally a heavy weapon used by foot knights and guards, its use in mounted combat is a bit excessive.

Most importantly, Old Xia's horse could withstand the load and the reaction force. Otherwise, even if the Sarkaz could carry it, their mounts wouldn't be able to handle it, and for safety, they were actually wearing heavy protective gear.

With such a bunch of things charging into an already disorganized formation, there's no need for any advanced military theory; in pure cold weapon warfare, victory is already assured.

"Damn it!" The leader decisively pulled on the reins of the camel and prepared to run away. The impact of the enemy's charge was greatly reduced by the obstruction of the tents and various debris. Most importantly, his useless and incompetent subordinates blocked the main force of the attack.

Once cavalry loses its momentum, it becomes difficult to regain speed. However, these unfamiliar Sarkaz riders made a bizarre move: they dismounted and switched to foot combat. Before their leader could figure out what was happening, the enemy's mounts charged forward on their own, leaping over all obstacles with astonishing agility and speed, and snapping at him.

"Wow, how come I never noticed this talent when they were helping out on the ranch?" W was dumbfounded. Was this really the same docile creature?

"Well, although they look somewhat similar, they're not in the same category as the kind used for farming."

These are warhorses that have undergone the transfer of combat insect genes, used as competition warhorses for mounted combat matches, and their personalities are extremely ferocious.

However, it also has an advantage or disadvantage, which is that it will not trample down enemies for pursuit - after all, it is a competitive item.

Humans, once they have abundant resources and no pressure to survive, will seek out some thrills. And for an interstellar civilization like the Star Alliance, which has just recovered from war, such exciting competitions are very popular.

Each agricultural colony even had its own professional horse farms and breeders, and famous bloodlines were highly sought after. Similarly, the same applied to riders who won in competitions.

Just like the robot fighting competition, these warhorses containing the combat insect gene are generally not placed in the same competition schedule as ordinary warhorses. They have their own competition rules and schedules, and there are restrictions on the weapons, protective gear, and fighting content they can use. It is one of the new Olympic competition events of the Star Alliance.

As for whether it will actually work on the battlefield, to be honest, Lao Xia wasn't very confident either.

However, it now appears that it can indeed replace a significant portion of the vehicle demand. Otherwise, given Kazdel's supply and industrial capabilities, using vehicles would place too much logistical strain on the region.

These non-picky warhorses are easy to feed, since they can be fed jerky mixed with carbohydrates. Old Xia is here to run a ranch and farm, so horse feed is the least of his worries. It's much easier to get than Titan's precision parts and Originium fuel rods.

Chapter Sixty-One: The First Day in the Desert

Chapter 61

The mortality rate in cold weapon warfare was actually not high. Of course, without the use of large-scale artillery bombardment and machine gun sprees, the mortality rate from firearms was also not high; the wounded and prisoners of war were the main casualties.

Generally speaking, in normal combat, from the moment of contact with the enemy until one side collapses and surrenders, the mortality rate is at most around 3%.

A 30% mortality rate means that, including the wounded, the number of casualties exceeds 60%, which is almost the end result of a complete collapse of organization and structure for an army, let alone a group of raiders, or Sarkaz people who are herders in peacetime and raiders in wartime.

"63 captured, 41 wounded or killed, and some escaped," Mudrock reported in a low voice. She was the security commander for this operation, responsible for managing and commanding all Sarkaz mercenaries.

"Bury the seriously wounded and the dead directly; bandage the remaining lightly wounded, and imprison the prisoners..."

Old Xia wasn't as merciful as he was in Ursus. These guys clearly had blood on their hands, and showing mercy now would be playing a joke on his own people.

"How are Chief Sati's people?"

"Almost all the men are dead, leaving only a little over a hundred women and children..."

"Treat them first, and keep them locked up again." These Sarkaz women were all obedient; they followed Kazdel's rules. No matter who these newcomers were, they were now the property of the new tribe.

Resistance brings nothing but death and suffering. Conversely, submission allows one to survive in the new tribe, and if they have several children who live to adulthood, they become members of the tribe and may even rise in status.

This is the only kindness in this land. Neither men nor women are overly sentimental and will not be discriminated against in new tribes; they will be quickly accepted.

Moreover, in the eyes of the locals, these newly arrived Sarkaz warriors were more elite, physically stronger, better equipped, and even more disciplined than any other tribal warriors they had ever seen—at least, they showed no greed for the treasures and spoils on the ground.

"We've gathered our supplies and spoils, and we're ready to set up camp. Now that old Sati is dead, this tribe and this land belong to us."

This is the rule of the Sarkaz, and also the rule of Kazdel. He saved these people, and they became his slaves, while their land belonged to the victors.

This is indeed the rule of desert nomads, and also the rule at sea; only in this way can the rescued be guaranteed to survive.

Instead of being killed along with everyone, becoming a slave meant survival, and then being able to return home and have one's family send ransom to buy one's freedom.

If that weren't the case, the rescuers would usually say, "By the time we arrived, there were no survivors left," and then they would happily take the bandits and the caravan's goods, and then slaughter all the survivors and throw them into the desert along with the bandits.

"This saves a lot of trouble." Originally, Lao Xia would have needed to discuss with the local chief and offer some benefits in exchange for a portion of the land to begin construction. Now, that step has been omitted.

"Set up camp, unload cargo, and prepare to begin construction..." The Aretosha was moored at the edge of the oasis, the fore and aft hatches were open, and the workers began unloading cargo.

Here, to reduce the evaporation effect, Lao Xia has prepared a closed agricultural aeroponic dome to cover the entire oasis. Then, he will use drip irrigation technology and drought-resistant forage grass to turn the surrounding desert into pasture. Further afield, he will use salt-alkali rice to enrich heavy metals and salinity, and improve the land.

Soon, the desert ecosystem will gradually transform into a grassland ecosystem, allowing large flocks of sheep and cattle to graze, making this work very suitable for the locals.

As for the need to expand agriculture to a slightly more southern region, it is necessary to build a large number of water conservancy facilities, irrigation areas and deep wells. This is why Xia Lin needed to build in Lungmen first before starting the Kazdel project.

The engineering difficulty and required resources here are much greater than in Ursus. Ursus only has severe cold, but here there is not only severe cold, but also scorching heat and drought. To farm, considerable engineering construction is required, and it is impossible without sufficient resources, industrial capacity and manpower.

Ironically, Lao Xia's equipment was all prepared for desert planting. He brought over all the idle agricultural machinery and advanced equipment from the workshop, especially the equipment for chewing desert soil and artificially synthesizing soil.

For the black soil that Ursus has gradually cultivated, this equipment is icing on the cake, or even superfluous; but here, it is a lifesaver.

"The groundwater layer is deep enough, at least 60 meters. Casing, get ready to drill a well!" Xia Lin, with scanning equipment, explored the surrounding area for water resources under the protection of Ni Yan and a small team of Sarkaz warriors.

In the distance, beside the landship, the first water vapor trapping tower was one-third complete. The Covenant automated manufacturing equipment and nano-honeycomb installed on the landship were operating at full power, using desert soil and carried materials to manufacture a large number of skeletons, graphene sheets, carbon nanofiber fabrics and foam aerogel components.

Desert planting first requires finding a water source. If there is an underground ice layer or water layer, it is the simplest. If not, the only option is to have an orbital engineering ship tow a comet over and create a lake or inland sea.

A more moderate approach would be to directly blast open the polar ice caps, flooding the barren planet and turning it into swamps and mud.

However, such violent methods are unnecessary in Kazdel, and he doesn't have the ability to do so. Besides, the groundwater resources here are quite abundant, so there's no need for them.

"Boss, this is saltwater, not suitable for drilling a well." "Saltwater is fine too." Old Xia has as many desalination devices as he wants. Kazdel's water resources are not as depleted as they appear. In fact, the groundwater is very abundant, but most of it is saltwater, and freshwater is mainly concentrated in the south.

By nightfall, a new camp was completed, and it was time for rest in the normal tribal life.

Here, under industrial lights, prisoners were digging sand. Some of the sand they dug out was material for nano-honeycomb, while the rest was piled up on one side for the women to make into adobe bricks. These bricks were then dried and sun-dried the next day to become simple building materials.

The rumbling of machinery continued until dawn the next day. The automated drilling rig successfully drilled the first brine well. Old Xia directed the workers from Longmen to install water pumps and pipes. The desalination unit, resembling five metal oxygen tanks arranged side by side, had already been installed and was just waiting for the water pump to bring up the water.

Coarse filtration removes Originium particles and large sand grains; fine filtration removes crystallized metal salts; semi-permeation removes dissolved salts and Originium particles; nano-permeation removes excess potassium ions and other ionic components; finally, the water is stored and clarified, and then fresh water with no taste is output.

Filters and nano-permeable membranes, which are consumables, can be manufactured using honeycomb. The process is not only fast but also very cheap, with tens of thousands of pieces produced every day, enough to last until the next century.

It is connected to four pipes: one for outputting fresh water, one for outputting concentrated brine, one for input, and one for discharging waste containing Originium and other components. The concentrated brine can be used to soak seeds and process them into table salt.

The entire system is about the size of a large truck and looks like a row of radiators. The specific water purification speed is basically related to the flow rate. Considering the difficulty of water pumps and deep well water extraction, the water output speed is not fast, but it is enough for domestic and irrigation water.

"Boss, some of the prisoners have fainted from the heat. Should we give them some water?"

"Here you go, I still have a lot of work to do with these laborers." Working under the scorching desert sun is quite painful, and Old Xia is reluctant to use the trained workers from Longmen, but these bandits... well, let's just consider them as waste.

"What about food?" "Provide normal food. If anyone dares to run, the whole team will be slaughtered. What are your traditional punishments here?"

"Bury it in the ground, leave one head, make a cut on the scalp, and leave the rest to the rock crab, the Originium bug, and the sun."

Mudrock spoke without a trace of emotion; her entire body was shrouded in thick armor, so her expression was not visible.

The initial land reclamation work required Lao Xia's full guidance. No one here had experience in desert planting. Analyzing the soil, digging ditches, installing drip irrigation pipes, and assembling the dome frame kept him extremely busy. He had to teach almost everyone step by step.

Even though they had undergone simulated training and taken theoretical classes in Longmen before, they still had a lot of headaches when they actually faced the endless yellow sand.

The only things Old Xia didn't teach them were herding and hunting. The idle Sarkaz riders had almost killed all the prey around them these past few days, indiscriminately. The local tribes wouldn't do something so stupid. If they killed them all, what would they eat next year if the weather was bad or there was a livestock plague?

However, these Sarkaz who no longer lived in Kazdel didn't care, and they knew that the one thing their boss had in abundance was food—even breakfast toast could be eaten with sugar.

In particular, the Sarkaz mercenaries transferred from the farms continued a habit that was considered a luxury by the locals: taking a bath.

"Speaking of which, Mudrock, aren't you hot? How about we take a shower together later?"

Even Xia, who was controlled by the symbiote, was covered in sweat, while Niyan, who had been guarding the side, was fully armored. It must have smelled like a sauna inside.

"It's not hot, the soil protects me, it's very comfortable," Mudrock said in a muffled voice.

Now she's the only one protecting Lao Xia. You ask the little orca, but ever since it entered the desert, it hasn't moved at all in the boat's pool, just sitting there like a dead fish. The environment here is extremely unfriendly to it.

There are bathrooms and baths on the ship, separate for men and women, so don't expect Lao Xia to receive any romantic treatment.

On the contrary, a room full of Sarkaz hunks is the norm. Fortunately, while the latter may be a bit reckless, they are not truly brainless and will not squeeze onto one side of the pool with the boss.

"Phew... taking a bath feels so much better—" Bath salts and dried flower petals were sprinkled into the tub, and the water temperature was just right under the automatic system, making me feel truly refreshed.

"Mudrock, don't stand outside, take a bath too..."

"Okay!" Mudrock said in a muffled voice, followed by the sound of armor hitting the ground. Old Xia waited for a long time but didn't see anyone. Instead, he heard the sound of a door opening next door. "Wait, that's the women's bathroom. Skadi is in there!" Are you a terrible navigator? Do you want to die?

"Splash!" The sound of something falling into the water came from next door, not the sound of Skadi wielding a knife and hacking at someone. "Eh? You are..."

Skadi was certain she had never seen this person on the ship, or was he one of the surviving women from those tribes?

"Hello--"

"Hey! Mudstone, are you a girl?"

"Hmm!" Mudrock was immersed in the water, and the profound and magnificent inner world of his chest, which was even deeper than that of Biskadi, floated on the surface of the water. His long, pale white hair, as white as cream, was spread out as if it was about to melt into the pool water.

“So it’s mudstone…” Skadi’s initial wariness subsided. She wasn’t particularly curious; Skadi and Texas were quite similar in personality—on the surface, she appeared to be a very calculating person, someone who never showed her emotions. But in reality, spending some time with her revealed that she genuinely hadn’t thought anything of it.

Mudrock's Originium crystals were on her waist. Unlike her voluptuous upper body, her waist was very slender, even whiter and more delicate than Skadi's. The few Originium crystals adorning it did not detract from her beauty but instead added a unique charm.

"The muscles are very firm, yes, it's the real Mudrock." Skadi knew it was real as soon as she touched Mudrock, since she was always in armor and few people had seen her true face.

However, a quick touch reveals that the seemingly fair and delicate skin is still somewhat rough, with firm and strong muscles making up the majority of the body beneath rather than soft fat. From next door, one can hear the sounds of girls stroking themselves and whispering about body management.

Of course, Skadi and Mudrock are both from a warrior's perspective, but there are still some interesting topics such as "Won't such a big chest affect the center of gravity?" and "If it floats on the water, it must be very inconvenient to fight in the water."

"Uh……"

"..."

"Flamebrion, you're bleeding from your nose." The Sarkaz swordsman opposite Old Xia vigorously wiped his face, leaving a bloodstain.

The taciturn swordsman looked extremely disheveled at the moment, and hurriedly got up and left the ship's bath, explaining that soaking in hot water for too long was not good for his health.

Old Xia seemed much calmer. It was just a cricket. "Drip!" He looked down and saw a red liquid rippling on the surface of the water. "Hmm, soaking it in hot water for too long is indeed not good."

He got up, and at the symbiotic interface, the capillary dilation hormones decreased, and the coagulation amplification stopped the bleeding. Soon everything was fine, and he went out with his usual calm and carefree demeanor.

In contrast, Yanke was in a much worse state, drawing angry stares from the Sarkaz warlocks and riders of the Mudrock Squad along the way. It was like telling the Yeti Squad that you wanted to raise a fat rabbit; you were already being merciful by not being put in a sack on the spot.

Okay, Yelena isn't fat at all. She's just become more mature after entering puberty because she's been eating well and exercising regularly lately.

However, because it can use frost to fix itself to the ground, its opponents cannot push it during combat matches, which is why some people jokingly call it "a fat rabbit that is too heavy to push" - of course, the latter usually appears the next day with a bruised and swollen face, saying that he fell while walking at night.

Of course, Talulah is not the kind of person who doesn't know her place. She is a "silver-haired noblewoman" whose every word and action is polite and well-mannered. She would never make such a personal attack on the enemy.

"Look how calm the boss is, completely unmoved by her beauty, although I think she's actually quite nice too."

"Don't talk nonsense. The landlady is still alive. Are you out of your mind?"

"Let me make this clear, your fieldwork allowance is paid for by the boss's wife..."

"This……"