Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"Hmm!" The two grown men clinked their glasses. "But can they take it any further?"

"That's hard to say. After all, the most you can get in the semifinals is an honorary knight title, right?"

The so-called honorary knight is someone who has no knightly privileges but is nominally a knight. In the past, they were also called "squire knights" and were used by knights to reward their squires who were particularly good at fighting. This did not cross the bottom line of the Knights' Association.

However, if you win another match, you will enter the competition for the top three. The top three will definitely receive the title of Arena Knight, and the first place will receive the honor of Title Knight, which means becoming a formal knight.

The Knights Association can only accept the title of Arena Knight from the Federation's commoner teams at best. The number of Title Knights is limited, and they are official noble titles. There are also many second sons of knight families waiting in line. How could they possibly give them to those lowly commoners?

When is the next show?

"Tonight is the time to decide who comes in third, and then we'll save all our time for tomorrow's finals." The finals are the most intense, and it's not just one game, but a best-of-three series, because the finals have always been dominated by traditional knights, and the format is the most traditional.

The three events are capture the flag, duel, and no-holds-barred, one of each, which correspond to the three competitive events of a traditional knightly tournament.

"Take an hour's rest, and then it's time for our real battle." This schedule is very disadvantageous for the small number of infected and civilian teams. They only have a few core members, and after finishing the semi-final qualifying rounds, the semi-finals will be right around the corner, which means that most of their core strength will be depleted.

However, it's a different story for traditional knightly orders, such as the conquest knights they'll be facing in the next battle; they have a large number of substitutes.

Moreover, as regular knights, they rarely have any one member who is particularly weak or strong. Even if their core is depleted, the remaining members can still easily defeat exhausted opponents.

In fact, the whole thing is just a strategy similar to Tian Ji's horse racing. However, the Red Pine Team is not the kind of ordinary infected team that they imagined. Although the team usually revolves around Flame Tail and Gray Hair, the rest of the members actually have enough strength to match their honor.

"Ivan's requirement isn't just victory, but to wipe them all out. So we don't need to hide some of our equipment anymore. Anyway, it'll be banned in tomorrow's finals after we only use it once..."

"Can we really win?" Victory means second place, which means all five of us can become competitive knights. We'll no longer be trash living in the suburbs and city sewers, but people who can walk proudly down the street.

There are also advertising endorsement jobs that can easily earn enough money to live in the city, and even enough to buy medicine to treat Oripathy.

In Ivan's words, the essence of Oripathy is poverty. Terra cannot cure poverty; instead, it exacerbates it, and therefore cannot cure Oripathy.

From this perspective, Rhode Island Medical Group is, in a sense, truly curing Oripathy—they are trying to heal "poverty" and "suffering."

With a healthy lifestyle, a proper diet, and no further contact with Originium dust, along with inexpensive medications like Originium Blockers and Aggregators, a patient can be kept under control to a level close to their natural lifespan without worsening or becoming contagious.

However, the most terrifying places where Oripathy spreads are mines and factories. People in those places cannot have the same work and living conditions as Old Chen, and Terra cannot guarantee that most people can live such a life.

Therefore, Natural Oripathy is a true incurable disease—because the prerequisite for curing it is not some medicine, but the healing of the entire Terran society.

As long as sweatshops, miners and slaves still exist, and cities and the superstructure of society built upon the flesh and blood of these people remain, Oripathy will never be alleviated; it will only become more terrifying.

To paraphrase Xun Ge, treating these people's physical bodies is simple, but treating the entire society and their minds is extremely difficult. Studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people, and naturally, medicine cannot save those infected either!

"We can do it! We not only want to win, but we also want to take first place and become a titled knight!"

Once someone becomes a titled knight, even if the Knights Guild is furious, they can't do anything to them, because it means they are now members of the nobility, the kind who own fiefdoms.

They had even planned out their own fiefdom, which was to turn the infected village outside the city into their fiefdom. If one person's share wasn't enough, then the whole team would pool their resources together!

In this way, there will be no more tax officials levying exorbitant taxes, and no more urban thugs rushing into villages under the guise of "eliminating social parasites" to indiscriminately injure people, while the sheriffs act as if they don't see it.

"Yes, become a titled knight!" The five men clasped their hands together. "And we must win this match, give it our all!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Red Pine team is back on the field once again. Although they were unable to continue their winning streak due to mistakes, let us still offer our sincere blessings and respect to this infected team that has made it to the semi-finals!"

Considering that they had made a lot of money and were about to be knocked out of the top three, the federation and the arena organizers didn't mind giving Red Pine some honors and verbal benefits.

The arena, which had been somewhat dejected due to the draw, erupted in thunderous cheers once more. "And on the other side, there's a team composed of our veteran knights. However, there seem to be some new faces among them. Ah, could they be the rising stars of the great knight families!?"

Clearly, the other side also had some extra work to do: four veteran knights and one young new face.

Clearly, with four players protecting one, they couldn't secure the title of Knight, and the position was already predetermined for the young horse from the Lin Guang family.

However, having the title of competitive knight is not bad either; it can be considered a form of compensation and redress for the second and youngest sons who cannot inherit the family knighthood.

"Hmph!" The young knight in the lead stood arrogantly opposite him. Although he did not make any vulgar gestures or other actions that were unbecoming of his status, thanks to his good aristocratic education, he raised his sword very normally, keeping the blade one centimeter away from his nose, vertically upward, a standard knightly salute, to express his respect to his opponent and to indicate that he was about to go all out.

“I don’t like his eyes…” Yuan Ya frowned, as if looking at a pile of garbage. His standard and polite movements only made his eyes seem disgusting.

On the contrary, it seems quite normal that the knights in battle expressed contempt for the enemy through their actions and expressions.

The enemy's contempt and disdain were the warriors' challenge; they were not afraid of the challenge and naturally felt nothing of it.

However, such a gesture that shows respect on the surface but lacks any real respect is insulting and reveals a deeper level of arrogance.

"Kill him first!" Grayhair cocked his cannon with a click, but the heat blade didn't fire. "Focus fire on him first. The Conqueror Knights aren't so easy to kill. Since our goal is to wipe them all out, and we also need to be wary of them pausing the match, we must achieve the maximum damage output in the shortest amount of time!"

"Dong!" The bell rang, "Bang bang bang!" The six-barreled cannon fire exploded in an instant, and then Gray Hair rushed towards the enemy at an extremely fast speed. The enemy had already been blown apart by the cannon fire. This level of cannon fire did not cause any damage. Even the little guy that was brought in was not afraid and nimbly jumped back.

With special ammunition, including Dragonfire ammunition, and lethal ammunition banned, the explosive power of conventional guns is very low, just like guns that do not use etched ammunition, and even less so due to their larger surface area.

If Dragonfire Bullet hadn't been banned, the team would have been wiped out by the six-hit Dragonfire Strike combo.

It's equivalent to the power of six full-force dragon fire attacks from Talulah. Even if Marna were captured, he would have to turn and run away—he's not stupid, this thing can't be withstood by willpower or anything else.

However, while they banned special ammunition, they did not ban the gun's ability to fire rapid-fire thrusts.

If even this is banned, those Victorian steam knights will cry foul.

The armored female warrior burst through the smoke and leaped high into the air. Dust swirled around her breastplate and arms like clouds, while the arena's overhead light, like golden holy light, pierced through the gaps in the smoke and shone on the bewildered young knight's face.

"Clang!" The musket clashed with the shield. The warrior knight managed to block the seemingly reckless attack in time; she had become separated from her teammates.

"Click!" A soft sound rang out from inside the musket, and the blade spun rapidly like a drill, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound as it struck the large shield. "Bang!"

The spear, accelerated by the electromagnetic turbine, flew out, piercing the shield and the knight's arm armor. The blood-stained spikes remained in front of the young master.

"Clang!" "Boom!" The fuse at the end of the spear exploded, and the spike sprang out, grazing the young knight's cheek and drawing a bead of blood. "Tsk!" Gray Hair clicked his tongue, released the spear handle, drew the short sword from his shield, and rolled towards his opponent.

The young knight, who had almost no experience in battle, was startled and scrambled backward. His retreat exposed the conquering knights who were closing in from both sides.

In reality, he only needed to hold off for a second before Gray Hair had to retreat, otherwise she would be surrounded by three knights. After losing her secret weapon, the musket, she couldn't possibly survive more than ten seconds.

"Hey!" Gray Hair laughed, completely concealing himself under the shield, and charged forward like a pig. "Clang!"

The knight protecting the young master blocked a deadly crossbow bolt, while the sniper in the distance shook his index finger at him, meaning not to get distracted and help.

The competition skipped the probing phase right from the start and went straight into the most intense phase. The audience was completely silent. When had they ever seen such a high-level, life-or-death situation? Such a life-or-death situation only appeared in underground competitions and preliminary rounds.

Those teams either end up fighting like weaklings, which isn't very exciting, or they're just one-sided massacres, which are even less entertaining.

This battle, fought between top-tier warriors on both sides, resembled a real battlefield. Not only the spectators, but even the knights who knew the inside story stood up immediately. The knights on the field changed their expressions—damn, this atmosphere and feeling was exactly like the real northern border battlefield!

The shieldbearer's charge, combined with the warlock's attack, tore through the knights' defenses, and the way he flattened the spearhead was so perfect it could be included in the Ursus Legion's textbook. But the initial information they received was that it was a rigged match, putting that young master, who lacked both the mental fortitude and the strength, in the most crucial spearhead position in the knights' battle.

His abandonment of the formation is tantamount to flattening his own edge. The shield guards will then tear the entire charge apart from the middle, splitting them like a bamboo shoot, and then eliminating them in pieces.

No matter how much turmoil the knights may feel inside, now is not the time to think about any damn match-fixing or tricks; their opponents are the real enemies.

They were truly fighting for their lives; this wasn't a competition, it was a real battle. Realizing this, the veterans gave it their all.

The two groups were locked in a fierce battle of killing intent, each fighting with the intent to kill, making the audience almost hold their breath. In contrast to the silence inside the arena, in the underground streets, the infected and the lower classes were cheering and shouting for the Red Pine team. They had thought they would only be able to reach the semi-finals and be eliminated in the first round at most, but they were able to fight the real Knight Lord to this extent.

What could be more exciting than the Cavaliers being chased all over the court by an infected? For these infected and working-class people, there really isn't.

"Today's match is something I'll cherish for half my life, if only they had won—"

Marna downed a large glass of cheap beer in one gulp. He could tell that this was no longer a competition, but a real battle, and the infected even had a slight advantage.

"Isn't that true?" Kerber also raised his glass. "To the Red Pine Team!"

"Salute to Team Red Pine! Hahaha!"

"Salute to courage!"

The two old men were staggering around drunk. Bai Jin wanted to remind them they were on duty, but glancing at the huge shadow hidden at the street corner, he sighed, "Oh well, let's keep slacking off—"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Web of Conspiracy

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

"Uh..." The Grand Knight Commander's face was already ashen. On the field, the four warrior knights regrouped, but having been suppressed and lost the initiative, they were slowly retreating under the attacks of Far Fang and Gray Hair. The knights needed distance and time to accumulate the power for their charge.

As for the young master, they had already forgotten about him, because now it was a battlefield of slaughter, a battlefield that the new generation of knights were already unfamiliar with. Here, identity, status, and bloodline were meaningless; the only things that mattered were one's comrades and one's own strength.

Having chosen to abandon his comrades and flee, he had no chance or possibility of surviving on the battlefield, and naturally, they would not give it any further consideration.

However, there is still a glimmer of hope: the game will end if they raise their hands to concede defeat.

Although deaths are allowed in the arena, it doesn't mean the game can only end when one side is killed; however...

“I surrender…” “No surrender!” Flame Tail’s shield slammed into the young master’s face, interrupting his actions and words.

That's right. In a match, once you admit defeat, surrender, or your armor is completely destroyed, you're down and can no longer be pursued or killed.

However, in past games, the Cavaliers have had plenty of ways to prevent the infected from surrendering.

As long as one side hasn't given up, it means they still have the strength to fight. As for what happens if someone dies in the process?

That was just an accident, wasn't it? Just like the inexperienced Rusty Bronze Knight, he always seems to have "accidents" happen, doesn't he?

The young knight staggered a few steps, dizzy and disoriented, almost bursting into tears under the weight of death. "What are you crying for? Are you even a knight?!" Flametail slammed his shield down again. "Pick up your weapons and fight! No surrendering! Show me with your life why you knights are so noble!"

"I, I, no, I!" The little knight's spirit had completely collapsed. He dropped his weapon and ran towards the entrance behind him. Leaving the arena was tantamount to admitting defeat. "Tsk!"

"Whoosh!" The molten sword, activated at maximum power, flew out of his hand and pierced directly through his back. The high temperature instantly cooked his internal organs, and the evaporating and expanding blood created a small explosion inside his body, causing the scorching blood mist to bloom from his back like a cluster of flowers.

"Pfft!" Flametail drew its molten sword, shook off the dried and scorched blood powder, turned and galloped toward the conquering knights, its bright tail trailing behind it like a shooting star.

"Clang!" The sword and shield collided heavily, the scorching blade leaving a molten mark on the standard knight's shield. The nimble girl then used the rebound force to quickly dodge, and a highly penetrating crossbow bolt once again forced the knight to retract his lance and shield himself with his shield.

"Flame Tail, the secret weapon!"

"Got it!" The red-haired girl pulled out a small jar. "Eat my fireflies!"

The arena has never banned throwing items, has it? Only Originium bombs are banned. Normal throwing items, including Molotov cocktails, are not banned, since their effectiveness is limited in the spacious arena.

"Except for your eyes!" A flash of light, 1000 times brighter than the sun, exploded, instantly knocking down not only the knights but also many unprepared spectators. In addition to the flash, there was also a violent sound wave, which was specially adjusted to the keen senses of Terra's beast-eared girls and beast-eared strongmen.

Instantly, the knights' formation fell into disarray, and their movements became erratic. "Whoosh!"

A terrible arrow pierced the hole in the shield and struck the enemy's throat, killing one of the knights.

"Click!" Since warlocks are allowed to participate in the arena, Originium Spells are also allowed. So how can we determine if an Originium Spell was cast by the warlock themselves? The answer is no.

The staff split open like a flower, revealing a lake-like tube inside, which began to spin rapidly under the action of a miniature centrifuge. "Volcanic eruption!"

The Originium solution separated by centrifugation was quickly ignited and burned, like a violently erupting volcano, hurling countless fireballs into the sky. Then, attracted by the guiding beacon released earlier by the warlock, it poured down towards the knights.

"Repeating crossbow mode!" A burst of crossbow bolts rained down, all 18 arrows fired in 2 seconds. Then, Yuan Ya dropped the crossbow and picked up another weapon on his back, something everyone had previously thought was part of his armor.

The "Pneumatic Spear Thrower" uses an ultra-high-pressure gas tank to accelerate a sharp spear. Incidentally, the spearhead is made of Originium and will generate a violent short-range electric current upon impact.

Almost instantly, the conquering knights were overwhelmed by this explosive attack. To be honest, these were items and tactics that no one had used in previous matches. The opposing team had kept these special equipment hidden until the semi-finals; otherwise, such unbalanced items would have been banned long ago.

What "quick-to-learn wand for warlocks that doesn't require much effort or trouble"? It even has Originium Arts that can be changed. If Talulah's Arts weren't so conspicuous, the Knights of Conquest would be greeted with a full-screen fireball spell, and the duration of which depends on how many Originium Batteries the warlock guy brought.