Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"Send a gift, and don't send any more people. Your few assassins are useless."

Therese knew what these people were thinking. Although they were now each ruling their own territory, basic social etiquette and interactions among nobles were still necessary. Otherwise, they would be truly offending Victoria and her big cats to the death.

He could let the assassin matter go, but as soon as he heard that W, that little green girl, was over there, he knew who had tried to assassinate him before. Now, if he played the assassin, he would only suffer the consequences, as he didn't have a second substitute to take the fall.

As for whether Lao Xia has a stunt double, he doesn't know right now. What if the other party dies while the stunt double dies, and he dies himself? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

"Your Highness, if their wedding goes smoothly, then we..."

"That also means that the big cat's enemies wouldn't want to see him gain such a powerful ally, and the same goes for that old snake in Ursus. Even those who were originally their allies might not be so now."

When power changes due to alliances, relationships naturally change as well. In the past, the Emperor of Ursus was able to treat this ally with a relatively equal or even slightly superior attitude. But what about now?

Does the emperor still hold the same attitude as before? Is he still confident that after dealing with the warlords, he can also get rid of this ally?

When it comes to production, Theresis is no match for Old Xia, but when it comes to the cunning and political maneuvering of these nobles and emperors, that's a different story.

Meanwhile, at the Satie Oasis, a doctor who also understood these things raised the same question.

However, he was much more optimistic than Tracy, and had a clearer understanding of who was worth winning over.

"Now, both the dragons and lions of Victoria will be your enemies. They won't explicitly express their hostility towards you, but they will definitely support Therese."

Because otherwise, even though tigers don't have royal blood, the principle of "the strongest and most powerful shall rule" still holds true.

Once the new Kazdel is firmly established, then Tiger will have the de facto ability to challenge for the Victoria Crown—whether he wants to or not is not important, the key is whether he can!

"And the same goes for Ursus. In fact, the young emperor will be even more determined to support Theresis, because Victoria and the others need to deal with the forces that are already threatening the Crown. They will try to win over the Swire family and you to some extent, so they won't go too far. And your power is right behind the young emperor. Unless he has hemorrhoids, he will definitely not like the feeling of having a knife in his butt." The doctor told a very lame joke, but the principle was the same.

"As for Lao Wei, he openly opposes you, but secretly supports your forces..."

His open opposition stemmed from his fear of giving the Emperor of Great Yan a pretext, while his covert support was achieved by leveraging Kazdel, which borders both Longmen and Great Yan, to maintain Longmen's autonomy and ensure his personal safety.

Because the Emperor of Great Yan really needs to consider the consequences of forcing him into rebellion. With both sides having some tacit understanding, Lao Wei will be even more at ease.

As for Iberia, they have closed their borders, but considering their relationship with Skadi, they are unlikely to be hostile.

As for Kazimir and Sami, the old man and the doctor both know how to play the trick of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, so there's no need to elaborate.

"The only uncertainties now are Letania and Syracuse..." These two countries are indeed difficult to determine. Syracuse is similar to Italy, and is now ruled by a coalition of families, with the government merely acting as a front for these families.

In a sense, it can be considered a republican system, while Letania is a different case. They treat infected people more leniently, have dedicated communities for infected people, and their domestic conflicts are not as acute.

However, their views on the Sarkaz are extremely strong because Letania has historically been one of the main targets of raids by the Sarkaz of Kazdel!

Of course, the Sarkaz weren't just in Kazdel. However, only Letania experienced organized raids; Sargon, where many Sarkaz tribes also lived nearby, rarely had such experiences.

Therefore, the attitudes of these two countries are very difficult to predict. "In comparison, I am more inclined to win over Syracuse. It lies between us and Victoria, and it is also right behind Theresis. If we can win over Syracuse, Theresis's rear will become very unstable."

Victoria, Letania, and Casimir form an inverted triangle, with Victoria at the bottom, Casimir to the west, and Letania to the east.

In the middle lies a no-man's-land wasteland, through which Ursus directly threatens these three countries, and through which Lao Xia's supplies are transported to Victoria.

Compared to taking the wasteland route and battling hordes of monsters, bandits, and frequent natural disasters, the route through Syracuse to Victoria is closer. Of course, it's also easier for Victoria to support Theresis from this route.

Winning over Syracuse would sever the connection between Therese and Victoria, meaning that Xia could use this route to cause trouble for Therese.

If they can also win over Agor and Iberia, then Theresis will be surrounded.

However, if Letania fails, then Xia will be surrounded. Therefore, Theresis will definitely do everything in her power to win over Letania, while the Doctor believes that it would be easier for them to win over Syracuse than Theresis.

After all, Syracuse knew that the nearby Sarkaz bandits posed a greater threat; once they grew stronger, Syracuse would be the next prey. "Whoever secures their objective first will gain the initiative in the war!"

"Do we really want war?" Kal'tsit frowned. She was actually a pacifist and did not want to start a large-scale war.

"We've come this far. Unless Theresis goes insane, or those nobles hang themselves, we're bound to have a battle. Rather than prolonging it, we should fight it out sooner rather than later..."

The Doctor had made this plan long ago, but Theresa was unwilling to let the war escalate, Kal'tsit also opposed the large number of people being displaced by the war, and the Doctor was indeed unable to take in refugees. After destroying the world, he quickly rebuilt it, which ultimately led to the continuous civil war in Kazdel and Theresa's death.

Otherwise, given Theresis's tactical abilities and the disparity in military strength between the two sides, he would have been buried long ago by Dr. Che.

After all, a normal Terran should not try to outmaneuver a being with tactics and strategy that can readily access the memories of six thousand of Terra's most outstanding scholars, commanders, politicians, and heroes.

[PS]

Then, the story continues with the wedding in the Syracuse section, although this volume is called Kazdel's Winter.

In reality, the final winter will only appear at the end of the book, in the section on the Kazdel Civil War. The earlier sections on Kazimir, Syracuse, and the later sections on the Year and Yan Kingdom are all preparations for the war.

War is not something someone can start on a whim; both sides need to make preparations. Theresis needs to win over allies and stockpile supplies and funds. The flames of war and the preparation phase will drive ordinary people in Kazdel to the brink of despair.

By the time the war began, it was essentially over. Then, the civil war in Kazdel, the Ursus invasion of Sami, and the full-blown Great Depression triggered the Terra War—during the long winter, only those who were fully prepared would survive to the end.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Wanderers and Knights

Chapter 26

Cars were haphazardly piled up, black smoke obscuring the sky. A richly dressed gentleman was protected in the middle by a small squad of cavalry, surrounded by masked bandits. Upon seeing this scene, Margaret almost immediately drew her weapon and rushed forward, but was held back by her uncle.

"Don't be impulsive..."

"Uncle!? We're just going to watch like this? This doesn't match what you taught me at all..." But she found it hard to break free from the wanderer's grasp. The latter sighed and pulled his niece out of their hiding place.

"Friend, I mean no harm," the ranger said, raising his other hand to indicate that he was unarmed. "I'm just a ranger."

"Ranger knights? I've heard of you..." The bandit leader nodded. "You knights don't live in castles, but you've gone mad and wander the wilderness, upholding justice for everyone. Although I really dislike you meddlesome... knights!"

The leader emphasized those two syllables and then softened his tone slightly, "However, my people have received many favors from you, so let's leave it at that and get out of here quickly."

"robber!"

"Uh..." The bandit leader carefully examined Margaret for a while, scanning her spear and armor but finding no knight's insignia. Then he exchanged glances with his companions and burst into laughter. "Listen to this, this lady who isn't even a knight is calling us bandits!?"

The others laughed along, but the atmosphere on the field became unusually tense. The bandits who had previously laid down their weapons picked up their shields and crudely made weapons again.

"Don't worry about him, he's just a little kid. I brought him out to see the world."

The wandering swordsman offered a helpless reassurance, and the bandit leader finally stopped laughing, giving him a serious look. "Then keep her mouth shut and get lost!"

"Hurry and save me! You two are knights, right? You're knights, you have to protect me!"

"Someone, shut this little gentleman up!" The young man, who had been hiding behind the few guards, immediately ran into the wreckage of the vehicle, covering his head and trembling.

"So, you're going to meddle in this?"

"No, I was just looking," the ranger said, clinging tightly to Margaret as the bandits swarmed forward. Soon, the gentleman was dragged out like a dog.

“You are indeed a wandering knight…” The bandit leader breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Marna. “In that case, I will give you face. Come, bring our dear little gentleman over and let him have a word.”

"Uh……"

"No, don't kill me, don't kill me!" "Shut up!" The bandit grabbed the man's hair and lifted him up. "Need me to help you remember? Speak up!"

"Say what? Say what?" The other person was clearly stunned as well.

"Half a month ago, in Guancao Village!"

“Guancao Village?” Margaret looked at the ranger. It was the village they had passed through earlier, now a desolate ruin that had been looted.

"I... I didn't want to either, but those bastards... those farmers hid all the grain and money!"

The young man screamed in agony as a bandit stepped on his calf, making him change his story.

“So, you’re the robber?” Margaret frowned. “How could you? You look like a nobleman’s servant. Shouldn’t you be protecting your people? How could you rob them?”

"Bandit? Miss, using the word 'bandit' to describe this gentleman is too mild—" The bandit leader seemed to have noticed Margaret's words, his tone filled with sarcasm.

"They're not robbing us, they're legally seizing our property—"

"collection?"

"Speak, repeat exactly what your master instructed you!"

“Go, go collect this year’s taxes. If anyone doesn’t pay, then, then, then… Ah!” The young man screamed, the stick hitting his back clearly helping him remember. “Then, then pick a village and burn it down, and take away all the property of the master they’ve hidden.”

"This, this is too much!" Margaret never imagined that the knights outside the city would rule the countryside in this way.

“Too much? Ah, our young lady still doesn’t quite understand—” The bandit leader slashed the other man’s face with his knife. “Come on, tell me again, where are the villagers?”

"Arrested, arrested."

"and then?"

"K, Captain Krieg took them away."

"Where did you take it?"

"Uh……"

"You don't want to tell me? No problem, I'll tell you for you. You took them to Blackrock Cavern, right? That's where the largest slave market in all of Kazimir is. An adult male can be sold for 20 Holy Lance Silver Coins, and they'll be sent to the edge of the wasteland to be slaves for those scavenging groups of slave owners."

Oh, sometimes they're eaten too, and young, beautiful women are the maids that Victorian nobles love; with just a little training, they can fetch a good price..."

"Uh……"

"You sold your own people as slaves? I thought you killed them and threw their bodies into the cellar. I never found their bodies, and I even wondered if they had escaped." Marna never imagined that they were captured and sold into slavery.

"My lord, it was all, it was all Captain Krieg's doing, he, he wanted to..."

"Do you mind if I do it?" Marna asked calmly, and the bandit leader made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation. Then a bright, short thorn pierced the man's head. If it had been left to the bandits, he might not have died so easily.

"You acted too quickly. But never mind... let's call it a day. Also, if you see any places marked with claws in the wilderness, that's our stronghold. You can use the water and beds there, but don't touch our food. I trust your chivalrous character, but you've also betrayed my trust." The bandit leader left with his men.

"Now you understand where the bandits who attacked the castle and town in the report came from, right? And why, even though the Federation, the Supervisory Council, and even the Knights of Conquest are cracking down on the slave trade, so many Kazimierz people are still disappearing or appearing in the slave market..."

"I……"

“Let’s go, this is just an accident…” Marna didn’t care and crossed the small ambush position. “And such accidents… are everywhere in Kazimierz, and even on the land of Terra, and are even more vile.”

"But, Uncle, doing this kind of thing just to collect taxes..."

“That’s already very important, I mean, taxation.” Marner said noncommittally. “I’m asking you, how much land does the Lightbringer family own?”

"Two thousand acres" was already the largest "legal fief" for their rank, and this was based on their outstanding military achievements.

"Then how much tax do we collect?"

"One-tenth of the harvest, a tithe, plus wine and other produce..."

Margaret was very familiar with this. She had taken over the family business at a young age and started managing affairs. Her grandfather was unable to attend to matters due to injuries sustained during the war, so the entire Lin Guang family could only rely on her to take charge.

"So how are we doing?" This question really hit home. Lin Guang had already cut back on expenses as much as possible. Apart from the servants who took care of his grandfather, there were hardly any people in the house, and some of the furniture had been sold.

After all, as a knight, in addition to maintaining basic dignity, she also needed to maintain weapons, purchase armor, pay the wages of her squires and cavalry, and she had long ago experienced the hardships of supporting her family.

It also includes part of the income from my aunt's business investment and my uncle's salary. He doesn't dare to take a day off all year round, just for that little bit of overtime pay. Even so, he still lives in dire straits.