Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Chapter Thirty-Three: Operation Dust and Sand

Chapter 33

In St. Jun's Castle, the chaos that had lasted for several days finally came to an end. The magnificent city was blackened by smoke and flames, and corpse collectors could be seen from time to time on the streets carrying carts of bodies. The collateral damage caused by the battle between the Inner Guard and the Ursus Guard was quite extensive, mainly because the Inner Guard's "Kingdom" had a large kill radius and a similarly large contamination range, forcing the Guard to use high-powered weapons to clean up the mess.

Ultimately, the traces of battle could be seen everywhere in the city. Herag silently watched the scene outside the car window. Children who had lost their parents were crying loudly by the ruins, but no one paid any attention. Passersby wearing scarves with scorch marks walked by with their heads down.

The bodies of thieves and robbers hung from the collapsed tower, swaying precariously in the wind. Below, guards were distributing basic necessities to maintain order. Truckloads of corpses were hauled to an incinerator on the outskirts of the city and burned to ashes. Several guards armed with guns stepped on the body bags and fired finishing shots. The struggling "corpses" fell silent with a single gunshot.

"The Inner Guard..." Herag sighed softly. The Inner Guard, who had protected the Ursus royal power for hundreds of years, those once incredibly loyal warriors, have they become like this now?

The vehicle drove into the palace, where bullet holes and signs of battle were visible everywhere. Servants brought water to wash away the thick bloodstains on the walls and floor.

"...After that, these weapons should be distributed to the various guard units as much as possible to deal with the attacks of those escaped demonic parasites." The emperor, wearing magnificent golden armor and holding a mass-produced hand cannon that had just been delivered from Kazdel via the fast track, said, "These weapons can harm them, so there is no need to be too afraid of them."

"Your Majesty," the emperor greeted Herag calmly. "Hrag, you've come at the right time. Come to my study, I have something to discuss with you." The latter paused slightly, then nodded silently.

The two entered the study one after the other. A servant placed a stack of fried buns and two cups of strong coffee on the table, with plenty of sugar and milk, making it appear exceptionally thick.

"Hrag... I believe this is the first time we've spoken face-to-face since I ascended the throne, isn't it?" The emperor stirred his coffee and suddenly spoke. "Yes, Your Majesty," Hrag replied. He wasn't familiar with the young emperor, but he had a life-or-death bond with the old emperor.

"Then I will not engage in any useless pleasantries. As the head of the empire, I request that you organize a special force to track down and eliminate any demons that may infiltrate Ursus territory. We no longer have the inner guard as our defense line."

The emperor pondered for a moment before speaking, "To the outside world, I will declare that those inner guards are individuals possessed by demonic parasites. Since the public doesn't know their exact composition, we can keep it a secret for now. But Ursus cannot keep this a secret forever, especially since..."

Moreover, the public might think that the Imperial Guard had not been completely wiped out and could still protect them, but the demons knew that they certainly hadn't. Therefore, it became necessary to form a new Imperial Guard to take charge of this matter, and the emperor also took the opportunity to take away the military power from Helag.

Without his inner guard, his ability to monitor and eliminate various warlords declined. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hrag, but rather that he didn't trust power itself. Hrag and even his subordinates were loyal, but no one could guarantee that if this military group continued to expand, its successors would maintain that loyalty and enthusiasm.

Do not give human nature a chance to be tested. A strict system is more effective than anything else in maintaining a country's rule and order, just like the Great Yan Dynasty. Did they not know the consequences of civil officials controlling the army? Of course they did, but they could not place their hopes for the entire country to avoid civil war and division on the personal character of one or a few generals.

"It's not so easy for Your Majesty to deal with the parasite of the demon single-handedly." Of course, Herag knew the difficulty involved; he had fought against the Imperial Guards before.

"Of course I know this won't be easy, but the chaos before also taught us one thing: those demons are not without fear."

The Sacred Flame and Kazdel's biofuel are what they fear. As for why, no one knows. That's a matter for the Imperial Academy of Sciences to study. At least for the Emperor himself, he doesn't care about the cause and effect behind it. What was found in the inner guard's safe house has already explained the problem.

"We'll be ordering a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from Kazdar and Iberia soon, including weapons from the Great Flame, along with our existing shield guard equipment for dealing with demons. Is that enough?"

"If the anti-phase interference pulse you mentioned can indeed counteract the mental pollution of evil spirits to some extent, then it's not difficult."

Ursus and Great Yan are both countries with a history of large-scale wars with demons. Herag knows that as long as there is no mental pollution, even the ancient combination of shield guards and war sorcerers can keep demons outside the border. However, now that those former inner guards have become new demon parasites, this ancient combination is slightly more difficult to deal with.

After all, you can't really just blow up your own city with a powerful combined spell, can you? So, some new equipment and tactical systems become very important.

"You can draw the manpower and equipment you need from any army within the empire. Hopefully, it can be in its initial stages before winter. We don't have much time left." The emperor picked up a plate. "Would you like some? To be honest, I've barely eaten anything since yesterday, and I'm only just starting to feel hungry."

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."

"There's no need to be so formal. In fact, I should call you uncle." After all, he was an old minister who fought alongside the old emperor. Since the other party was willing to make concessions and give the imperial power a certain degree of respect, the emperor didn't mind giving him the same respect in return. This is how the so-called harmonious relationship between the emperor and his minister came about.

Ursus, training grounds within the palace: "The Sui Sword, the standard anti-demon weapon of the Great Yan Dynasty, has been tested and remains effective against those parasites."

The Sui Sword is a processed poison sword containing a certain metallic substance that can cause demonic cells to disintegrate. Although the opponent's regenerative ability and resistance will quickly become immune to this phenomenon, it can at least suppress the spread and regeneration speed of demonic substances in the short term.

"What are the prices like in the Great Yan region?"

"They are happy to sell these things, so the price is optimistic..." Because they accidentally made too much, encouraged by the harvest in the polar regions, the ancient production workshops of the Great Yan resumed operation one by one. Thousands of craftsmen and celestial masters continued to forge anti-demon weapons and equipment, but due to weather and supply issues, they eventually found that they could not use so many.

As it happens, Ursus needs it. For the Great Yan people, doing this deal is a no-brainer. After all, this weapon is specifically designed to counter evil spirits and poses no threat to themselves. If you really want to say something, Ursus joining in would actually help the Great Yan reduce the difficulty and share the pressure from the evil spirits. Why not?

In this regard, even Ursus sold some of the shield guard equipment to Columbia and Sami to deal with the demons, including large shields that could withstand the demons' ranged attacks and heavy anti-demon halberds.

The conflict and hostility over territorial disputes do not mean that cooperation is impossible in other areas. Even in the farce between NATO and Russia, the necessary exchanges of interests will not stop.

As for Kazdel, needless to say, as the initiators, they wanted to drag everyone down with them and divert everyone's attention from the space program with a very slim chance of success. Of course, on the other hand, the other side's space program seems to have made a breakthrough recently; they dug up the ancient people's spaceship from Iberia.

If you say that Kazdel can build spaceships to fly into space, people will be skeptical. But if you say that the deified ancestors had this ability, people will believe it without a doubt. And if you say that you have unearthed the spaceships of the ancestors, put them out for everyone to see, and announce that you will start reverse engineering and that your space technology can be greatly improved, then people can believe it.

"Then what about Kazdel's hand cannon?"

"It's incredibly powerful, and our people love it." Is there anyone who prefers this simple and brutal weapon more than the Ursus bearmen?

Iberia and Kazdel both use .45 caliber No. 7 Holy Fire rounds, while Ursus ordered a batch of 14.5mm .58 caliber true hand cannons with 5-round rotating cylinders. They are so big that they can be used as warhammers, and the design also emphasizes this function. A bayonet can even be hung under the barrel to use it as a gun blade.

As for recoil? Ursus people never care about recoil, and even with the weight of these two-meter-tall strongmen plus the weight of their equipment, it doesn't budge when used by shield guards.

The thickened, long barrel, the enlarged sealed chamber, the extra-large caliber ammunition, the recoil strong enough to break a user's hand bones, and the leakage caused by the inherent defects of the cylinder structure during firing, along with the golden sparks spraying in all directions, all perfectly hit the aesthetic point of the Ursus people.

The only problem is that this thing might not be very convenient to use. After firing, you have to eject the bullets one by one and then reload them one by one. However, the huge power and heavy feel make up for these shortcomings. It would be better if it could be made more refined.

Ursus art is considered highbrow and sophisticated, while the decorative style of Iberia seems rather vulgar to them. However, the Ursus people are able to distinguish between where art should be used and where "art" should be used in a different way.

"In addition, there is a small number of new Colombian anti-demon guns, but their actual effectiveness is not very good, at least for us." The new Colombian anti-demon guns represent a different approach.

If the Great Yan's long-range weapon strategy is to vaporize the enemy with a single shot, eliminating the need for a second shot, and then maximizing the number of cannons, while Kazdel's strategy is to suppress regeneration and attack weak points, then Columbia's strategy is to stack accuracy and firepower density. Simply put, the power of their firearms cannot deliver a decisive blow to the demons.

However, their weapons had a high rate of fire and high accuracy, and they could kill the demons by simply piling up ammunition. Unfortunately, Ursus did not have the abnormal logistics and production capabilities of Colombia, so... only a small number of these weapons were imported.

Not only because Ursus is not suited to this style of equipment, but also because this weapon is not specifically designed for anti-demon warfare; it is actually quite effective on the battlefield. If the pressure hadn't been so great, Columbia wouldn't have sold it to Ursus, and even if they had, there would have been numerous associated conditions.

"In addition to this large hand cannon, there are also smaller, standard hand cannons for patrol officers, and finally, a rifle version for heavy-armored operators."

Strictly speaking, it should be called the shotgun version. After Ursus got his hands on it, he did not hesitate to modify it, changing the ordinary double-barrel structure into a rotary double-barrel shotgun structure, with 12 cluster fire rounds in symmetrical double rings, firing two rounds at a time, increasing the recoil several times, and the accuracy of continuous fire is almost zero. Only the Ursus people could do such a modification.

When used by shield guards, the muzzle extends from the notch in the large shield, and then fires. The weight of the shield and heavy armor suppresses the recoil, while the shield also blocks the backlash. It's perfect, especially indoors, where one shot can wipe out all the enemies in the room.

It's effective not only against demons and sea monsters, but also against humans. In practice, this setup has proven to be excellent in urban and indoor combat, which is why Ursus was able to quickly quell the chaos caused by the inner guards.

The anti-phase disturbance was activated, and the shield bearer rushed in. Without even looking, he cleared the room with two shots. No complicated fighting or messy tactics were needed. It was that simple—holding his shield, kicking open the door, firing, and if one shot wasn't enough, emptying the entire magazine, and then collecting the bodies. It was very simple and convenient.

“Well, it seems that equipment shouldn’t be a problem now,” Hrag nodded. The next step is to select personnel to form this brand-new force, which the Emperor has already named in advance—the Ursus Special Investigation and Guard Force.

Meanwhile, in the wilderness of Kazdel, a thunderclap flashed, and a huge black building crashed into the desert, sinking mostly into the gravel. Several rock crabs were startled by the tremor and crawled out to look at the building.

"Where is this place?" The dusty, disheveled researcher looked at the unfamiliar desert and the azure sky with some confusion. "Hmm, unknown creatures, very worthy of research, but now I need to find a place to settle down..."

As he was talking to himself, the earth suddenly trembled. On the horizon, dust swirled and sand rolled as a massive mechanical construct slowly crushed the barren land. The alloy structure behind it rolled up the entire surface of the land, and milky white pipes were lowered by an automatic delivery system, forming a long irrigation pipeline.

The integrated agricultural vessel, seamlessly integrating pipe laying, tilling, sowing, and fertilizing, leaves brown streaks across the pale golden earth. In a few months, these brown rectangles will transform into a lush, verdant landscape. Genetically modified pasture grasses and nitrogen-fixing plants will thrive in this barren and arid land, gradually improving the soil structure of Kazdel.

As a desert caused by natural climate, it is different from deserts caused by human activities and is particularly difficult to manage. However, it is not a difficult task for Lao Xia's agricultural department. A series of large-scale projects, such as blasting mountains, melting glaciers, and building artificial canals, have made every Kazdel person's life very fulfilling.

On the streets of Kazdel, you won't even find a place for beggars. In this country, being unemployed is practically synonymous with being useless, because there are a huge number of production jobs that need manpower. This state of underemployment is quite interesting to people in neighboring countries.

Levi stared dumbfounded as this steel monster, which was just missing a hammer and sickle or a red star, and even gave the impression that a red star would have to be forcibly attached to it to make it look right, roared past.

My heart, which had been dormant because of the disintegration of the motherland, seemed to be touched anew. It took me a long time to calm down and tell myself that this was not my homeland, but a strange world or era.

However, this wasn't the only Soviet-style monster. A colossal transport plane, resembling a dark cloud, carrying what appeared to be some kind of aerospace equipment, slowly swept overhead and landed in the nearby steel jungle.

"How interesting!" Levi chuckled, finding himself unusually stirred by a slight impulse. However, he quickly suppressed these emotions, for now, only the truth itself held any value in his pursuit.

Meanwhile, on the agricultural ship, the person in charge was arguing fiercely with his subordinates about the laboratory he had appeared in. The exploration and demolition departments were debating whose fault it was. They had previously confirmed that there were no ruins or other abandoned buildings here, but now this huge thing had suddenly appeared here, and someone had to take responsibility.

"Notify the security department to investigate, and then have the engineering department demolish it by blasting. How can we work if they are so negligent?" Buildings that clearly show signs of habitation, rather than being abandoned ruins, cannot be directly run over by agricultural ships.

Before Levi could even unload his research materials and equipment to establish a new research institute, he was cornered in the wilderness by a large group of horned humanoid creatures. He initially wanted to scorn these barbarians who were still riding horses and using cold weapons, but after glancing at the massive mechanical constructs in the distance, he ultimately held back.

Even if his homeland were resurrected, it would most likely be impossible to build such a monstrous device. "Another illegal building, you people are really something!"

“This is science, and you barbarians had better not mess with it,” Levi said calmly. His research was by no means harmless.

“Oh, I see…” The patrol cavalry captain glanced inside and saw a bunch of bottles and jars, which looked like equipment from the Kazdel Biological Research Center. “Notify the contamination cleanup team to come over. It’s probably around level 2.”

Then Levy was surprised to find that these people actually possessed basic scientific literacy. Instead of tampering with the equipment and samples, they decisively set up a cordon, closed the hatch, and carried out simple sealing procedures.

“Let me revise my assessment. You’re not exactly barbarians, you’re at least civilized people,” Levi said seriously.

“Yeah, yeah, barbarian,” the captain rolled his eyes. “I hope you’ll still be this confident later.”

He's just a barbarian. He's in charge of the security around the space base and research base. The things they study there are beyond the level of a barbarian; they make you wonder if you're some other animal that only looks like a human.

The person in front of me seems to be dressed like a researcher as well. I believe that Dr. Eyjafjalla will soon use tons of laboratory rules and theories to make him question his life. If that doesn't work, then we should ask Dr. Xia Qiu, whose mathematical magic is even more powerful.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Communication

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

The emergency response team arrived quickly, equipped with standard NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection measures. They even inspected the nuclear reactor at the bottom of the Levi Laboratory. "We need to call the nuclear remediation department to dismantle this reactor. For now, we can only shut it down."

"Alright, let's do it this way." Levi, standing to the side, looked thoughtful. It seemed that this place also possessed nuclear energy technology, but he didn't know to what extent.

As a nuclear physicist who switched to biochemistry and then to high-energy physics, and successfully conducted an unsuccessful quantum teleportation, Levy believes he still has a lot to say in this field.

"Where did this reactor come from?"

"Heh~" Levy revealed a mocking smile. How could the people here understand the history and significance of the vast industrial city clusters and nuclear energy facilities that the Soviet Union established in Eastern Europe and Siberia under the guidance of the red flag?

"I picked it up and restored it" is indeed something I picked up. Our great motherland has left behind too many legacies, and I have only extracted some of the results from them to make use of.

"Repairing the reactor, that's impressive!" The processing team looked at the unfamiliar Ursus man in surprise. Although they were curious about his ears, his name and appearance were typical of Ursus people, as was his standard Ursus-style research uniform.

After completing the basic processing, Levi was stuffed into an armored vehicle. As a researcher, he was indeed lacking in combat ability and had not yet begun to study the local creatures. The research results on the mysterious minerals and biological samples from the other world were kept in his pocket.

However, he didn't think he could pull it out in time to use it instead of being shot on the spot. And frankly, he also wanted to meet the scientists of this world. His ideal now was to pursue more and higher truths, and this place didn't seem to be a scientific wasteland. So having some friendly and pleasant exchanges with local scholars was very tempting.

Even the most eccentric scientist would not refuse to exchange ideas with another scholar of similar skill level in the same field. Whether it's an academic debate, discussion, or even the exchange of information about an unknown area, it's all very beneficial.

Nobody likes working in isolation; it's just that the intellectual gap between people in this world is greater than that between humans and apes. Sometimes, it's common to be like a lone wolf, unable to find any peers to communicate with.

Levi was filled with anticipation and had no intention of causing any trouble. In fact, in the original timeline, he was the same way at the beginning. He had arrived in a completely new world, where countless unknowns awaited discovery, and there were unfamiliar scholars and mentors who might be even more powerful than himself. All of this was incredibly attractive to him.

Then he discovered that this was a wild and backward place. The nobles, infected people, and kings made him, a scientist from the CCCP, feel suffocated from the bottom up. In particular, these useless people who should have been hanged liked to interfere with his research, which made him even more furious.

If there were no other way, who would want to become that kind of "evolutionary essence"? If there had been a scientist like Agor back then, Levy would not have used such immature and imperfect results on himself.

Kazdale Biological Research Institute, Affiliated Guard Station

"Name"

"Levy"

"Affiliated Unit"

"..."

"Affiliation?"

"..."

“With you not cooperating like this, it’s really difficult for us.” The guard looked at the tall, pale-skinned man with a helpless expression. “You are suspected of violating multiple regulations, including deploying a reactor in an agricultural area and conducting such dangerous experiments. Didn’t your university professors teach you not to do this kind of thing outside of a professional laboratory?”

"You even have a university?" Levi asked in surprise. A university? That's wonderful.

"What the hell is your attitude? Is it so strange that we Sarkaz have a university?" The Sarkaz guy in charge of the interrogation immediately exploded. What do you mean? Are Sarkaz barbarians not worthy of a university?