Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"Shoot down those drones!" The Letanians had all suffered from the Kazdel drone swarms before, and the specially trained anti-drone sniper operators immediately rushed to their anti-air positions. After a short charge, the quadruple electromagnetic crossbows launched four cluster arrows at once.

This type of anti-air shotgun is a specialized weapon against drone swarms—because these small drones are poorly defended, densely packed, and fly at low altitudes due to the single grenade they carry.

Drones were continuously shot down, falling into the abyss between the warships and the city.

However, many still manage to fly through this ever-shrinking "trench" and into the defensive fortifications surrounding the city.

"Boom!" The Dragonfire grenade left a trail of raging flames on the spot, and several Leitanian soldiers screamed as they ran out of their bunkers.

However, he collapsed less than half a minute later, leaving only the crackling sound of the flames still burning on his bones and the aroma of roasted meat that filled the street.

"Bang!" A large amount of debris flew out from the rear of a turret. On the front, a round, steaming hole indicated that it had been directly pierced by an enemy armor-piercing shell at close range. In terms of the turret's protection, this meant that at this distance, almost all of our defensive fortifications and bunkers could not provide effective protection.

Thanks to its large internal volume, it can provide sufficient cooling and power mechanisms for the volcano cannon. Instead of using ammunition belts to supply ammunition in the form of turret tubes, it can be powered directly by pipes. The 1.5-meter diameter cluster pipes can provide the volcano cannon with powerful energy and heat dissipation.

Even so, it cannot fire for an extended period of time; a single shot can only last 17-18 seconds, followed by an interval of more than 15 seconds to allow for heat dissipation.

The gunner walked through the narrow passage and sat down in the gun compartment, which reeked of the blood of the previous gunner. There was a fist-sized hole in the transparent spherical compartment, and the chair and armrests had some pinkish-white marks that one didn't want to delve into.

The pale red sight of the electro-optical sight locked onto the rapidly firing anti-armor gun emplacement. The volcano gun, suspended from the lower part of the spherical hull, began to rotate, the buzzing of the motor gradually increasing. In the next second, a ball of fire was sprayed out like a torrent from a high-pressure water jet. The gunner gripped the slippery control lever, carefully and meticulously drawing an arc, carving a burning trench in the target.

Only when the firing point that was still fighting back fell silent in the heat did they release the firing trigger, waiting for the heat emanating from the soles of their shoes to dissipate, and for the gurgling sounds of cooling and reloading to subside, before launching the next attack.

In contrast to the unreliability of the mechanical and power systems, the measurement and electronic radar systems demonstrated considerable reliability. The integrated electronic measurement array located on the mainmast used lasers and multiphase radar to quickly mark the target's distance, angle, and angular velocity, which were then transmitted to the minds of every gunner and helmeted Sarkaz crew member through the internal Demon Network.

This allows all weapons, including manually fired main guns, to achieve the fastest firing and aiming speeds.

In particular, when combined with the observation and electro-optical fire control radar on the turret, the accuracy is further improved.

To the Leitanians, the enemy's shells were as precise as if they had eyes; no firing point could survive two rounds of shelling. Not to mention, as the distance closed, there was also the strafing from the electromagnetic crossbows and volcano cannons under the spherical pods on the sides.

"Boom!" The ship docked with the deck of the mobile city, and the gates, which were already prepared, opened. Groups of Sarkaz infantrymen jumped onto the city using the piers and grappling hooks, executing a standard textbook land-based siege tactic.

The main guns cleared the anti-ship city defense guns, the secondary guns cleared the firing points, the machine guns and secondary firepower at all levels suppressed the target, and the armored groups were released from the front and rear to attack from the city slopes. At the same time, the infantry used trestle bridges, grappling hooks and jetpacks to quickly advance and occupy the checkpoints and drawbridges that controlled the city entrances and exits, and put the armored groups in.

"Squeak!" The bunkers located on both sides of the deck flipped up. These were rectangular armor plates, each more than half a person's height, which were normally part of the deck.

During a siege, these walls would flip up, transforming into low walls that provided cover for the infantry.

This allows sniper operators to further suppress close-range enemies from behind these cover positions, preventing their own troops from being wiped out in a single burst on the unprotected deck of the landship.

"Hurrah!" The newly trained Sarkaz shield guards charged at the front, carrying standard Ursus shields. Their original power halberds were slung on their backs, but in their right hands they held a simple, practical, and minimally crafted smoothbore electromagnetic shotgun, with a 15-round drum magazine filled with 12-gauge shotgun shells.

It was a killer in urban warfare and inside buildings. A large shield covered with terracotta and carbon nanomaterials blocked 90% of the frontal area, and then a shotgun blast extended from the opening in the waist and abdomen. It was a nightmare for the Leitanian light infantry who were only equipped with hand crossbows, spell crossbows and two-handed swords.

This is still the standard Shield Guard tactics and equipment. In comparison, the "Defender" power armor originally equipped by the Shield Guards is simply an enemy that cannot be dealt with. These two-and-a-half-meter-tall metal monsters can deploy a mobile cover that can protect two body lengths around them.

With one hand, he mounts a thermobaric cannon on a mobile bunker; on his shoulder, he has a shoulder cannon based on an electro-optical aiming system and the Demon King's mental network; and on his back, he carries a 120mm folding mortar, which can transform into a mobile mortar position when necessary.

Without heavy anti-armor weapons, this thing is impossible to deal with. The Leitanians lost dozens of corpses and three armored vehicles before they managed to take down one. Fortunately, it seems that there aren't many of these elite troops on the other side. Most of them are still using the familiar Ursus shield guard and assault soldier equipment. It's just that their assault rifles and snow rabbit rifles are too difficult to withstand.

Before the war, the Letanians always believed that their light infantry tactics were invincible, that the Victorians could only rely on their weak fleets, that the knights of Casimir lived in the previous era, and that Ursus was all about sheer numbers.

The Sarkaz were utterly vulnerable—and when the battle started, it turned out that the opposing team was the one using elite infantry.

Ordinary Kazdel light infantry can hold their own. However, when facing their mobile infantry units, it's practically the Letania's turn to call for fleet support every day, because they simply can't win.

"Bang!" A crossbow bolt was deflected by a mobile cover near the corner of his eye. The Ursus Shield Guard veteran calmly and skillfully aimed the thermoelectric cannon at the direction from which the attack came, without firing.

After a few seconds, the shotgun on his shoulder fired a shot in another direction. Hearing the familiar scream, he nodded in satisfaction.

This feint attack tactic was not new; they had suffered quite a few losses at first. The Leitanians would use a decoy to fire from the front or side to draw fire, while the others would circle around to the rear and bombard the vulnerable back of the powered armor with individual anti-tank weapons.

In particular, the mortar shells were mounted on the ammunition rack on his back, and if they were detonated, they could inflict at least one serious injury.

However, after both sides became more familiar with each other, the veterans learned to aim the molten lava cannons in one direction and then use the shoulder-mounted shotguns to search for enemies in other areas, resulting in casualties on both sides. Overall, however, Letania suffered more deaths.

Sarkaz forces are advancing smoothly into the port area, and the outer storage area has been captured. Engineers are demolishing collapsed cranes and abandoned containers lying haphazardly to clear a path for their armored units and logistics personnel.

Clearly, Visniaco did not reach safety. He first ran into a small squad of Leitanian infantry, was beaten up, had all his supplies stolen, and was locked in a small room. He was doomed to be executed, but fortunately, the Abaddon launched an attack, drawing the Leitanian infantry's attention.

After managing to break free, I was immediately hit by a kinetic orbital missile that struck the building behind me.

When he regained consciousness, he was already in the Sarkaz camp. Penniless and suffering from numerous small wounds, the young Ursus man had no choice but to accept the price offered by these unfamiliar troops.

Vesniak initially had a slight resistance to acting as a guide for these Sarkaz, a job commonly known as being a "follower." However, after they presented him with what was supposedly their rations, he had no objections. Later, upon learning that these Sarkaz were apparently mercenaries brought by the Duke's daughter, he had even fewer objections.

A standard Kazdel Marine ration bag includes a main course, two beverage packs, a napkin, a high-calorie dessert, and a main course, all of which are rather mediocre in taste.

However, for those who had been struggling in the ruins for weeks, everything from the greasy sauerkraut and sausage fried rice as a staple food to the black tea and juice in the two beverage packets was wonderful. The black pepper pork chop as a main course was eaten before they could even taste it, and the final high-calorie dessert was a chocolate bar with lots of chopped nuts, which was a luxury in Terra.

This even made him consider joining the army, if all these people were eating so well.

However, he later abandoned the idea, after all, war is a terrible thing, and anyone who has the possibility of escaping war would not want to throw themselves into it.

Moreover, he felt that this might be the junior officer's rations; ordinary soldiers wouldn't have such good food.

After all, the rations for fleet soldiers are top-notch even in Ursus, so I definitely couldn't get in. Ordinary soldiers only get mozzarella biscuits and expired dog food cans to eat.

Why expired dog food cans? Of course, those Ursus war dogs are far more valuable than these grey livestock recruited from the countryside. Feeding them expired dog food cans would give them diarrhea, leading to the quartermaster being reprimanded.

If they were military dogs in Kazdel, they even got to eat steak, which was definitely better than what ordinary soldiers ate, even in Kazdel, and no one complained.

Nonsense! If it's sick, are you going to crawl on the ground sniffing out landmines, or are you going to go into the minefield? Or are you going to have someone lead you out to patrol the camp in the middle of the night?

After taking down several Letanian hideouts with these "Duke's personal guards" and also retaliating against the local violent gangs who had previously robbed him of his trash, he became familiar with these soldiers.

"You really don't eat this normally?"

"Nonsense, who would normally eat this stuff?" The Sarkaz boy soldier, who looked a few years younger than himself, curled his lip, his baby face completely at odds with the heavy exoskeleton armor he wore.

"That makes sense. So, officers should be able to get these meals regularly, right?"

“Officer…hey, squad leader, this guide is asking if you usually eat second-class rations?” The squad leader, who was squatting in front searching for the enemy with binoculars, didn’t even turn his head. “That stuff? Even dogs wouldn’t eat it!”

"The fried rice was so sticky it left my mouth full of sand, the drink packet was too sweet, and the black tea tasted weird, I heard they added some kind of drug. Only the pork chop and chocolate were okay, but they were gone in two bites."

"Brother, after this battle, there will be good food back at camp. We never mistreat our own people..." The sniper operative patted him on the shoulder and said.

However, Visniaco still looked skeptical. Could these people be just bragging?

But who cares? As long as I can fill my stomach, that's all that matters. Besides, these are the Duke's troops; we're all on the same side. I don't need to worry about being labeled a "traitor" and hung on a telephone pole after they leave.

However, after taking down the last Leitanian outpost in the outer stacks area, they followed the squad back to the temporary camp. The camp, made up of containers and haphazard mobile bunkers, looked a bit messy, and the ship's crane was lifting a large cargo container onto the city deck.

"Ding ding ding!" The head chef banged on a metal bucket that was half a person's height. "Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"

A milky aroma filled the air, and Visniak noticed the sergeant's face twitch slightly. "Looks like there's not much good food today."

This rich, milky aroma indicates that it contains no milk at all; it's a standard concoction of insect protein and milk flavoring, thickened with titanium dioxide. Okay, it does taste like sweet milk, but it's definitely not.

100% pure artificial milk, counterfeit and substandard products that do not indicate on the packaging that they may be sued by the Star Alliance Consumer Association and go bankrupt, are not intended for human consumption but for feeding pets. Some manufacturers even have the words "Not for human consumption" prominently displayed on their packaging.

"Ham stewed in milk broth (ham sausage), chicken skin with mung bean flour, fried vegetarian meat (winter melon), and what else was there?"

The head chef of the "Pickled Cabbage, Pig Blood, and Sausage" restaurant also looked somewhat resigned. "There's nothing we can do. The supply ship hasn't arrived yet, and the journey took longer than expected. So, we're a bit short on supplies."

Moreover, supplies in Kazdel are running low. Meat reserves have been mostly emptied. Now, apart from the military and some factories, most areas of Kazdel have begun to implement a meat rationing system, with each person receiving only about half a kilogram per day.

Given that Terrans have a much larger appetite than Earthlings, this amount is barely enough to fill a tooth gap; they still have plenty of staple food in stock.

However, sugar, tea, and cocoa powder are also entering a state of being put into storage, and the quality of them on the market is getting lower and lower every day.

Insect protein bars have become the only food item with no purchase limit available in most Kazdel factories and stores.

Fuel supplies are also being tightened, and ordinary people need to register to buy Originium fuel rods. However, the quotas seem relatively ample for the time being, but this situation is only likely to worsen more quickly.

After all, once the stockpile is depleted, strict rationing will become necessary only a matter of time.

Moreover, it doesn't last very long—any behavior of living off one's savings will not last long.

However, on the whole, the Kazdel people could still manage to buy meat, sugar, tea, and dairy products.

In contrast, Letania is already struggling to buy anything with money; the prices of staple foods, let alone meat and sugar, are skyrocketing.

Chapter Sixty-One: More Money Required

Chapter 61

The fighting in Tarkov did not last long, as it was attacked from both inside and outside, and aided by local collaborators.

Soon, the Leitanians were driven out of most of the city and concentrated their resistance at the refining facilities in the northwest.

Because the Originium Refinery contains a large number of storage tanks containing high-density Originium dust, a leak could turn half the city into an infected place.

Moreover, this density of Originium dust is enough to worsen Oripathy within a few days, causing patients to die quickly.

Comparable to hiding inside a nuclear power plant, making the attackers hesitant to attack, these Sarkaz warriors under the Duchess's command are clearly much more proactive than the territorial army huddled in the city center. They will actively clear out the bandits, defeated soldiers, and black market merchants entrenched in the ruins, and organize survivors and scavengers to clean up the garbage.

Ursus High School, located in the eastern part of the city, was used as a temporary shelter to house refugees whose survival was becoming increasingly difficult due to the sweeping operations by both sides.

Talulah was very experienced in dealing with these hungry and wary civilians. She had field kitchens set up near the school and sent reconnaissance troops to search the ruins and recaptured strongholds. The food and supplies she found were piled up inside the school.

Beetroot, taro (used to feed pigs), beans (used to feed horses), along with rationed sugar and lard, were all combined to make a large pot of strangely flavored beet soup, which had a cloyingly sweet taste. Everyone who came to the refugee camp could have a big bowl of it.

Those organized to clear and search the ruins were given a heavy Sarkaz bread, a type of unleavened bread, somewhat similar to a baguette but shaped like a brick with cracks on the surface from baking.

In the desert, this stuff can be preserved for more than six months. However, it requires a file and saw to eat, and tastes similar to dried sawdust. But after being soaked in water, it turns into a thick paste with a wheat aroma.

This is usually the staple food of the Sarkaz. Wealthy nobles would add spices, salt, dried meat, nuts, and chopped dates to the porridge, while ordinary people could only eat the porridge, and even that was not something everyone could afford.

However, the Sarkaz people's eating habits have now been forced to change. The main problem is that although Old Xia also grows a lot of wheat and corn, he also produces a lot of cheese, rice and yeast. As a result, the Sarkaz people are now used to eating fermented bread and fried rice.

This type of unleavened bread is only for emergency storage and consumption. However, to ensure the calorie intake on the front lines, a large amount of nut powder has been added, making it taste slightly better than regular Sarkaz bread, though only slightly better.

In cities besieged for months, this kind of unleavened bread is basically a form of hard currency.

Soon, enough "volunteers" were recruited to clear the ruins and assist Kazdel forces in building defenses.

A few days later, the supply ship finally arrived at the port, bringing new equipment, spare parts, ammunition, weapons and supplies. All the engine reactors were also shut down for inspection to see which one was causing the problem.

"Reactor 15, the latch is slightly deformed, that's probably it." Abaddon's aft deck was fully opened, revealing the engine room.

The repaired gantry crane struggled to pull out reactor number 15. Installing a new reactor was impossible, as the fixtures and pipes were all installed in one go, and they would have to be cut to remove them.

Moreover, if reactor No. 15 were cut off, all four reactors in one area module would be unusable in the combined configuration. It took more than half a month to complete the deck merging and power system modification, so that the remaining 12 reactors and the backup power could maintain Abaddon's normal power system.

Further issues required the ship to be sent back to the original Zhulu shipyard for repairs and improvements. As for the city of Tarkov, Kazdel had no intention of completely occupying it.

On the one hand, it could easily trigger Black Serpent's stress response, as he is not yet out of ammunition and supplies. On the other hand, this is just a formality to test the long-range attack capabilities of the land-based ships, and it is inappropriate to fight a war with such a small force.

The second ship is more than half completed. The "Apocalypse Knight Legion Carrier" is larger than Abaddon. Its running gear is wider and longer, and the gaps between the track modules are almost invisible, like a square paving stone. This is more conducive to resisting the attack of storms and severe weather.

In terms of firepower, there are still four Originium railguns, but the close-range firepower has been improved by removing the 20 Thermal Cannons that performed poorly in actual tests and increasing the original five Volcano Cannons to 10, four on the left and right and one in the front and back.

Most importantly, the Apocalypse Knight will be equipped with the "War Knight" type super-heavy gunship, a flying vehicle propelled by four bundled rockets and forcibly launched into the sky using the lifting rails on the hull. The weapon system will be changed to a rotating 105mm electromagnetic cannon, no longer an Originium railgun, but a proper electromagnetic cannon.