Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Is your hobby running a highly realistic space simulator on a supercomputer (relatively speaking)?

You were just an ordinary working-class person—for people at that time, it was unimaginable for an ordinary gamer who would play Kerbal Space occasionally.

Similarly, it's hard for Terrans to imagine what Covenant engineers do for entertainment on a daily basis, or what silly "inventions" and "crafts" they do to pass the time, just like Xia's "retro rocket club." They just play around, compete, and earn some scholarships. To modern humans, these guys who seem to be having fun would be a high-standard aerospace expert team if you really looked at them.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Feint to the East, Attack in the West

Chapter 65

In the salient battlefield, Theresis's defenses suffered unprecedented large-scale bombing. The enemy carried out a resolute scorched-earth policy on the front lines, using fortified mobile cities as fulcrums to support the battle lines, and all of these cities were subjected to large-scale air strikes.

The first wave consisted of a large number of warlock drones, which were spell drones released by the accompanying warlocks of the Royal Guard. Most of them were shot down by the city's light firepower. Then, assault drones suppressed the city's air defense system.

However, even after arming the Great Yan with anti-aircraft equipment, the assault drones did not perform at their best. Dense flames, spells, and beams crisscrossed the sky, and drones were constantly shot down or one or two firing points were blown away by a line of fire.

Then came the Hummingbird team, who blocked off the streets and most of the open-air platforms.

However, the people on Theresis's side have learned their lesson. After all, the generals can continue their tactics without a care, while the rank-and-file soldiers will always find ways to avoid dying too quickly.

The power and blast radius of the light rapid-fire grenade are not very large. A large number of small bunkers with covers, each for two or three people, are enough to greatly dilute the Hummingbird's attack effect. It needs a larger weapon to carry out the air strike.

The city called "Antara" is located at the tip of the salient. It was originally a mobile mining city, a mining block created by Rembiton and invested in by Colombia. After the Originium mine was depleted, it was abandoned or declined.

After Theresis took over, she implemented large-scale fortification and reinforcement, using it as a frontline stronghold. Terra's ground warfare revolved more around mobile cities, rarely featuring the large-scale, wide-ranging battlefronts seen on Earth. However, the multi-layered offense and defense also led both sides to concentrate several divisions of troops in the struggle.

To give a comparison, Terra's ground warfare, most of the time, resembled the urban warfare of Stalingrad, with very little open field combat. At most, it involved fighting in the suburbs of cities, while open field battles were more often naval and armored vehicle engagements. Of course, in the past, these were battles fought by cavalry.

"Whoosh!" The locomotive pulled the heavy artillery carriage into position and gradually stopped amidst a sharp whistle. The engineers busied themselves disassembling the carriage's components and various tools, with multiple support legs supporting the sides of the vehicle like centipedes.

"Click-clack-clack!" Amid the rhythmic sound of mechanical gears, the massive box-shaped cannon barrel was raised section by section, and the assembly was completed.

"Cooling pipe connection!" The engineer wearing an exoskeleton forcefully lifted the 45-centimeter diameter connector and shoved it into the cooling slot in the base. "Turn on the blade cooling pump!"

The bright blackish-red liquid made a viscous, watery sound as it was poured into the blade cooler, and soon a faint white mist began to rise from the cannon.

"Gunners in position!" Wendy looked at the data panel in her hand and then looked up at the massive engineering feat.

To be honest, she is actually a bioengineering expert, not a mechanical engineering expert; she only studied mechanics a little bit.

However, just because she worked on the water storage project, she was thrown into this project. Fortunately, she still found a place to play her role, because this railway gun really required a high level of bioengineering.

She was one of the collaborative projects sent over by Iberia. She was sent over as an exchange student to study biological water purification technology and biotechnology. Her main research project was to separate, purify, and mass-produce the Terran Originium Arts using the wet system that Lao Xia first developed.

Due to the war, most of the achievements were used for military purposes. For example, this giant railway gun named "Steel Dragon" has a gunner's position in a place similar to the cab of an excavator, where he receives firing information sent back by the artillery vanguard drones at the front line through a panel.

Meanwhile, Wendy's new artillery computational brain, created using Agor technology and Covenant biotechnology, floated in a jar beside him. Though called a biological brain, it was actually just a sphere divided into eight lobes.

As an industrial component, there is no need to make it resemble a biological brain; the structure of an eight-lobed brain is simpler.

"Load!" The hydraulic pusher inserted a shell the size of a small car into the breech. Launched using electromagnetic force and an Originium field, the shell didn't need to consider chamber pressure, resulting in an enormous diameter. Of course, its power was much weaker than that of gunpowder-based shells of the same class.

The properties of Originium bombs are rather strange; their power does not increase as the amount of explosive increases to a certain extent.

Instead, it will drop, so this is a cluster shell, and it is even equipped with a camera so that the gunner can see the situation near the impact point in real time, detonate at the appropriate height, and spread out twelve super-large dragon flame shells.

The Agorians, in their characteristically simple naming style, called it "Anti-Swarm Shell," while the Iberians gave it a traditional nickname, "Grey Whale," a toothed whale that feeds on sardine schools. This means that when this thing hits a dense crowd or a lightly armored group, it's like throwing a carnivorous whale into a sardine school.

Meanwhile, on the front lines of the attack, an experimental aircraft was circling in the sky. It was so high that most of the anti-aircraft guns could not reach it. Inside the aircraft's cabin, the tense crew members looked at the control panels in front of them. These devices based on Originium Arts required them to spend more energy and focus on them.

This is an aerial multi-functional tactical platform used for reconnaissance, supporting air strike groups, providing a forward command post, and most importantly, guiding friendly forces' fire support strikes. It is not equipped with weapons; its core consists of various reconnaissance pods and communication pods.

"Focus your attention, prepare to release the detection pulse wave..."

"Rosemary is in place, scan connection is normal, and the Magic Network channel is open."

An intangible and formless spiritual entity spread out from the body, an abnormal state of Originium particle condensation, like a ghostly spirit falling into the city below.

It quickly splits into two, then into four. If a human brain were to handle this, it would quickly burn out the brain. Even Rosemary herself, who had a brain chip implanted, would fall into a coma. Even if the little donkey were to use its own abilities to share the burden, it would be difficult to sustain this for very long.

"The scanning force field splitting is progressing smoothly, currently passing over 11th Street and converging at 23rd Street..." The auxiliary biological brain was almost boiling over. "Snap!" With a crisp sound, half of the lights in the cabin went out, and half of the panels went completely dark.

"Tsk, experimental equipment is so troublesome. Have you received the data?"

"We've arrived!" "The force field scan has marked all moving points and biological clusters." The person being scanned will only feel a breeze of about level 1-2, and will not realize that they have been marked in the reconnaissance data.

Besides living beings, anything with a sentient entity and Originium devices were marked in different shades on a simple electronic map. "Initiate data synchronization. Frontline squads, begin attack as planned. Release Artillery Vanguards." Another accompanying aircraft released four Artillery Vanguards, which would quickly levitate in the air based on previous information and guide the actual artillery barrage.

This concentrated attack, featuring a considerable amount of advanced and unknown equipment, undoubtedly led Theresis to mistakenly believe that the Doctor intended to take over this salient and completely sever North Kazdel in two.

So he concentrated a large number of troops on the flank to try and catch the isolated enemy force that had penetrated so deep into enemy territory.

"This is never going to end!" The young soldier, clutching his helmet, rushed into a semi-underground bunker, with a series of explosions behind him.

To be honest, the enemy's air raids were massive, but without the support of ground troops, the actual damage they caused was not significant.

This is especially true for city fortresses that have already made defensive preparations. However, the air defense forces have suffered heavy losses; the enemy seems determined to gain air superiority before launching a general offensive, and ground troops have yet to appear.

However, they are bound to appear, and for cities, air raids are very useful in disrupting production.

However, unless you have a structure like the Japanese one, which is mostly flammable, it is difficult to remove the fortified state of the city. The Third German Army had already tried this in Stalingrad.

Not to mention that although the air raids on Lao Xia's side seemed to be very powerful, the amount of ammunition dropped was not as powerful as the bombing of Germany III, let alone the scale of the Tokyo bombing by the American daddy.

Putting aside whether the two manned aircraft are command aircraft or not, even if they were converted into level bombers, a level bombing with only two four-engine bombers would not be worthy of being called strategic bombing.

"Data synchronized, adjust firing! One shot, fire!"

"Boom!" The recoil caused a thin cloud of dust and smoke to rise around the multiple support legs. Even after moving a distance, the muzzle shockwave still stirred up a sandstorm-like gale. The shells flew a long way before the sharp sound of the shells reached the ears of those nearby.

"Loading the second 'Grey Shark' shell" The crane lifted the second shell from the ammunition depot. This super shell can only be loaded onto a train equipped with a crane, and only one can be loaded at a time. The process is extremely complicated and lengthy, and as for the effect...

"Watch out for artillery fire!" The soldiers rushed into bunkers throughout the city, went down the stairs to the reinforced decks, and then pulled the armored doors, which were at least a meter thick, shut.

Terra's lack of progress in indirect fire bombardment for a long time was due to the fact that the ground and decks of the mobile city were too thick, often two or three meters thick, made of concrete and steel composite layers. Ordinary shells simply couldn't penetrate them. Even if they did, the lethality to the infantry inside was limited, ultimately forcing them into boarding battles that were no different from urban warfare.

However, Terra also developed a terrifying direct-fire armor-piercing weapon to create holes in the mobile city, allowing for quick boarding and breaching of defenses. After entering the bunker, twelve super-large dragonfire projectiles landed in the city.

Cluster bombing triggered massive fires, and scorching plasmas raged through the city and streets. Equipment that couldn't be dragged into shelters and people who couldn't escape were instantly engulfed in flames. Buildings and structures melted like chocolate, flowing everywhere.

Even the survivors hiding in the bunkers had to endure prolonged baking and high temperatures, as well as the constant seepage of toxic fumes. The flames burned for a long time before slowly going out. Some of the shallower bunkers were already hellish scenes—live steaming of human flesh and suffocation.

"Here it comes again!" The second round of artillery fire followed immediately, followed by the third round. Each round was more than half an hour apart. However, the aerial bombardment never stopped during this time. When Theresis learned that the enemy had used heavy artillery for bombardment, he frantically mobilized troops to reinforce the front line and ordered the front line to hold the line.

However, just as the firepower was ready and a large-scale ground offensive was about to begin, the doctor's side retreated.

“Come on, Miss Wendy, it’s quite dry here. As an Iberian, you must not be used to it, right?”

"Thank you. Actually, it's alright, much better than I expected." Wendy put down her notes and thanked them softly. She disliked weapons and equipment, and even more so, killing. Her research into bioengineering was simply to do something for the poor farmers and infected people in Iberia.

“Such rampant violence…” Wendy looked out the train window. The train was evacuating, and soldiers and auxiliary engineers were packing up the camp and equipment. There was a lot of noise and vehicles coming and going. “Is this really okay?”

“Sometimes, appropriate violence can solve most problems.” The tall, silver-haired woman sat down in front of her. “You’re Miss Skadi? That’s rare; everyone says you’re not very talkative.” Wendy looked at Skadi across from her with curiosity.

"Well, I don't really like wasting my breath..." The little orca is indeed not talkative, but that doesn't mean she's stupid. Not talking is just a matter of discipline. When it really comes time to speak, the Siberian orca can speak eloquently and perfectly.

"You are from Agor, why are you on the shore?"

"A little accident and an order," Skadi nodded. Life was indeed a bit difficult for an Agor, as they had to spend half their time inside the dome.

Otherwise, the dryness of the outside world would make her very uncomfortable. This wouldn't affect her fighting ability, but it would make her feel very uncomfortable.

Her sole mission was to protect Old Xia and some confidential organizations from sabotage by Therese's assassins or hired assassins.

In fact, this wasn't the first time Theresis had done this; it's just that previous attempts had failed, so now she wasn't wasting resources anymore.

"You should know that living in Iberia means that not everything can be resolved amicably. Some things must be destroyed by violence to ensure that more people can survive."

Wendy, being an Iberian, clearly understands this principle; Iberia is a theocratic country.

However, it is less a church and more a religious institution that guides humanity on how to interact with sea creatures.

To put it bluntly, those taboos in Iberia were set up to avoid being harmed or influenced by Hai Si. She naturally knew that for those residents controlled by Hai Si's neurotoxin, violence was the least damaging solution.

"Are you here to protect us?"

“No, it’s to protect it…” Skadi pointed to the aircraft landing in the distance. “I never thought that humans would have the opportunity to fly like birds. If I could, I would love to try it myself.”

In fact, every Agorian is eager to try it, and they have invested a great deal in this project.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the two regiments had already moved into position. The infantry regiment in the mudstone area was a standard lightly armed unit, with approximately 1300 combat personnel, equipped with 2 Hummingbird helicopters and 8 light armored vehicles, as well as some portable mobile artillery. However, it was mainly composed of light infantry.

Not to mention power armor, even the number of thermobaric cannons they carry is not large; it would take a whole regiment of soldiers to concentrate their forces on them.

The supplies are quite plentiful, but unfortunately she has to attack two positions simultaneously and make sure she can capture them both.

On the other side, Ivan's heavy regiment arrived a little later. They were mainly composed of eight Titan tanks, and were equipped with six Hummingbirds for cover. That was all the air force that the aviation sorcerer group could spare for them.

However, half of the entire army's powered armor was assigned to them, which effectively improved their impact resistance and survivability. However, there are also problems; powered armor places a significant logistical burden on logistics.

"The 2nd Regiment will launch an attack in 3 hours. We only have a 2-hour window of opportunity to attack. We must take these two positions."

"It's a bit difficult." The reconnaissance drone has obtained information about the target, which is more complicated than the previous intelligence, mainly due to the platform.

Originally just a resource extraction platform, it has now become almost a fortified position, overlooking the surrounding area and equipped with a number of Thunderhammer armored vehicles, those Thunder Industries gadgets.

"There are even larger tanks, clearly modeled after our Titans." Bearing the markings of Raytheon Industries, these tanks, similar in shape to the Titans, are single-tracked and have a much simpler structure.

"The armor is expected to be at least 200 mm thick, which can be broken by a light thermomelt cannon, but other weapons will have some difficulty. The key is that it doesn't have many weapons, but it is more flexible than the Titan's turrets." It only has one supercharged magic cannon and several electromagnetic crossbows. Precisely because of the limited number of weapons and their small size, it is more difficult for infantry to deal with.

"That Originium reactor in the back seems to be a weak point?"

"But what about the accompanying infantry?"

"Hopefully they haven't been trained in combined arms operations..." Combined arms operations are no easy feat. First, there needs to be a proper way to communicate with the tank crew, and the crew must be able to quickly destroy anti-armor and anti-infantry firing positions based on the infantry's instructions.

Infantry should maintain a certain distance from tanks, but not too far apart, to make good use of and guide the tank's firepower and armor advantages. They should not be too close to avoid the tank catching fire and exploding, which could blow up an entire squad of infantry, or to avoid running over their teammates and being afraid to reverse or maneuver.

At the same time, the vehicle crew and the infantry crew need to cooperate very well, with the former needing to destroy the firing points that pose the greatest threat to the infantry as soon as possible.

Infantry, on the other hand, need to immediately inform the tank anti-armor teams of their location or intercept and destroy them. Of course, they also need to pay close attention to the road conditions ahead.

Tank drivers have limited observation windows, making it difficult to gather sufficient information. This necessitates accompanying infantry who act as the tank's eyes and ears, as well as its protectors and attendants. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate to call armored soldiers the knights of the new era.

It fulfills all the requirements of a knight, with its own dedicated nursing team (mechanics), its own squire cavalry (infantry fighting vehicle or troop carrier), its own infantry squire (infantry squad), equipped with lances (main cannons) and swords (machine guns), and charged ahead in heavy armor.

Organized armored forces can tear apart enemy lines like knights, but like knights, they are vulnerable without the cover of squires and infantry guards, and even peasant soldiers can pull them off their horses and kill them.

The same goes for tanks; without these protections, a cluster of grenades can take them out.

However, most infantrymen, when facing tanks, are like peasants facing a charging knight—their minds go blank and they tremble with fear.

Fortunately, most of the light infantry regiments in the mudstone belt had received specialized training and could maintain a certain degree of composure when facing tanks or armored forces. However, this did not mean that the current battlefield was not challenging.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Fortress Siege and Defense - Outpost Battle