Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Nearly Mach 2 projectiles rained down on Ursus' artillery units and another convoy attempting to reinforce them. Ursus' vanguard veterans and heavy infantry were pinned down, while individual armored vehicles dared not break away from the infantry and advance alone in the city's IED-strewn alleyways.

Mobile city modules are a nightmare of terrain for attacking forces, as you can only enter via loading ramps and elevators. This limits the availability of weapons like tanks in Terra, with armored vehicles being the most common ground armored vehicles.

Even larger are various land-based ships, such as the two armored assault ships that are rapidly approaching the docking point of the abandoned module. Once they enter the docking point, the three armored vehicles and infantry on the deck, ready to be deployed, can quickly rush onto the abandoned module via the docking ramp.

In a sense, from Ursus's perspective, the only difference is how much they need to pay to achieve victory, or what can only be called a victory.

After receiving a secret report from the front-line troops, an armored cruiser has left their mobile fortress and is heading here. It is equipped with a large number of spell crossbows and spell devices, as well as an entire elite Ursus force and a variety of ground units.

"Roar!" Several Ursus war bears charged across the chaotic battlefield, pouncing on the enemy's figure. Their sharp teeth made a screeching sound as they scraped against the metal arm armor. They were then forcefully thrown away and slammed to the ground. These creatures, weighing over a ton each, overwhelmed the enemy with their weight and strength, making it difficult even for heavily armored soldiers to get up.

But to the shieldbearers equipped with power armor, they were merely enemies with slightly greater impact. Tearing, slicing, and crushing, the shieldbearers shredded the entire convoy of Ursus infantry.

Swords could not penetrate their armor, and spells could not pierce their shields. On the contrary, the halberds in their hands, already activated in sorcery mode, could easily tear apart the defenses composed of standard Ursus armor and great shields.

These warriors, clad in borrowed heavy armor from the Yeti Squad, resembled spirits emerging from the snow and mist. Their snow-covered city camouflage made them appear like phantoms, vanquishing small groups of enemies with unstoppable force.

"Whoosh!" Several shield guards glided out from the end of the street, followed by another Ursus convoy that had been pursuing them. "We're in position! Ivan, detonate!"

"Roger!" "Boom!" The building collapsed with a roar, burying the vehicles and infantry chasing behind them.

"Dad, they're getting more and more of them, and we've almost run out of explosives and ammunition."

"Wait," Patriot stood amidst piles of corpses and pools of blood. The convoy was utterly destroyed; armored vehicles were destroyed, infantry almost entirely slaughtered, and only a few who had laid down their arms and surrendered survived. Arrows, spells, and explosions made the place look like a living hell.

"Ursus Armored Cruiser!" The scout spotted a high-energy stone reaction in the distance. On the snow-covered plains, a massive figure appeared, heading towards the abandoned city module.

"The blocking operation is over, all teams withdraw." Upon seeing the armored cruiser appear, Patriot issued the order to retreat. He was not a reckless man; his choice to sabotage and blockade here was to mobilize the garrisoned forces in Ursus and maintain a temporary passage so that the infected could obtain some supplies and some could escape.

However, this does not mean that he was going to annihilate the entire Shield Guard force; the Shield Guards took some intact weapons with them.

For example, the mortars and artillery forerunners, as well as those with intact staffs and vanguard lances, evacuated the city deck in an orderly and rapid manner.

The rope devices installed on the back of their power armor allowed them to safely leap from the edge of another fracture into the snow, quickly disappearing into the misty snow, like a group of monsters or ghosts lurking in the Ursus snow forest, leaving the Ursus reinforcements completely stranded.

"Crash!" The precious porcelain vase shattered on the hand-woven carpet. Black Serpent looked at the general of the Sixth Army in front of him with a smile. They had lost two and a half convoys and not a single shield guard was left.

Instead, they led us around the snowfield several times, and in the end we even lost an armored assault ship, which was a great disgrace.

Since the start of the winter offensive, they have not suffered such heavy losses. Even the few guerrillas among the infected who dared to fight back only attacked small patrols and Ursus pickets. They did not dare to touch the supply depots and regular armored units.

"Don't be impatient. The fact that they're willing to come out and attack us means they can't stay in the snowfield any longer," Black Serpent said softly, trying to reassure us. "This loss is actually insignificant to us, isn't it? Compared to us searching every rat's nest in the snowfield, isn't it a good thing that they've taken the initiative to come out?"

Of course, he had only put in a convoy of supplies. These people didn't just come out because they couldn't stand it. On the contrary, they probably came out because they had successfully received the supplies and their confidence had increased.

“Duke, you’re right, I lost my composure…” After careful consideration, the noble officer, who did indeed have some merit to his argument, finally calmed down. “So, are we just going to let them attack like this?”

"Of course not, we should concentrate our forces, set traps and bait, and annihilate them in one fell swoop."

Black Serpent could let other infected units go, even secretly providing them with support, because in his view, as long as he controlled Talulah, these infected would be useful pawns. And since this pawn hadn't yet made its appearance, there was no need to give it up.

However, Patriot had to be distracted or stalled. It was precisely because of Patriot's presence that Black Serpent never activated that thing after discovering his contact with Talulah, for fear that Patriot would notice something was wrong.

Others might not know, but how could he not? The demons on the frozen desert had tried every trick in the book, but none of them had any effect on Patriot. He wasn't so arrogant as to think that no one in Terra could see through his tricks.

Leaving aside the demons, spirits, sea monsters, and the Silent Ones like Agor, one can see some problems even among the other immortals.

As long as Patriot isn't completely bogged down in battle or distracted, he will absolutely not activate that thing right under the enemy's nose—

Koschke, the immortal being, was never a reckless person. No one knew where his true form was, nor did anyone know the secret of his immortality.

Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Mysteries of Originium Arts

Chapter 78

Xia Lin was fiddling with a strangely shaped part in her hands. It looked like some kind of crystal, fixed on an hourglass-shaped base, with wires and ribbon cables about 2 millimeters thick tangled around it, and pins at the end piercing into the crystal.

"Hmm... Yelena, why don't you try this?" After fiddling with it for a while, Xia Lin placed the rough crystal with two circuit boards and a string of capacitors still attached into Yelena's hand.

"A spell pulse crystal?" Yelena knew what it was as soon as she got her hands on it. Terra's spells were not true magic, but a unique phenomenon based on Originium Arts, which drove the formation of spell crystals made from Originium.

This phenomenon can be affected by certain compounds and Originium fields, and this interference effect is called "spell resistance." This resistance-like interference effect is also widely used in various Originium devices.

A trained sorcerer is someone who is naturally skilled in Originium Arts. Through specialized training, they can manipulate staves, or more accurately, manipulate complex handheld Originium magic devices made of spell crystals and synthetic jade components to create spells.

Infected individuals and certain "Original Stones" are somewhat special. They either have a cell binding rate that reaches a certain threshold, or they have a large amount of crystals in their bodies, which is equivalent to a human staff that can be used to attack magic without tools.

There are actually no requirements for the shape of the wand. It can range from the common wand that looks like a pointer to a glove, and even all sorts of strange and wonderful shapes.

Basically, as long as it meets the following requirements: spell crystal, conduction system, and synthetic jade component, it can be considered a staff.

"Where did you get this synthetic jade?" Yelena looked at the red part around the base, which was a red disc with densely etched lines on it. "I don't remember having anything like this."

"I kept all the items from the batch that Talulah purchased because I found them interesting."

Synthetic jade is a material made from Originium. To put it more bluntly, it is equivalent to the semiconductor material in "Originium Technology". It has the function of semiconductor in the transmission of Originium particles. Combined with the conductor iron and the ketone aggregate of the barrier, it can form an Originium logic gate.

“I’m trying to replicate the function of spells. To be honest, I initially thought it would be very difficult, but after getting the hang of it, I found it to be very simple,” Xia Lin said.

Before understanding it, he felt that this thing must be very complicated, but after Kal'tsit's explanation and seeing the actual object, he found that this thing was actually incredibly simple.

Of course, this "simple" refers to the perspective of an engineer rather than a scientist. It means that improving and manufacturing Terra's Originium devices and magical equipment is not difficult, but deciphering the deeper, more microscopic mysteries behind them is very difficult.

"All logical instructions are basically the simplest mechanical instructions, which are not very complicated. However, it's no wonder that there aren't many types of spells."

Apart from the staff and engine, Terra's electronic devices, even those similar to mobile phones, are powered by Originium Arts. Some devices can be powered without Originium Arts, but they would be extremely large and complex, making them practically unusable on the battlefield.

"So, what is this?" Frostnova fiddled with the spell component in her hand, pointing it at the target in the testing room. "Should I use it?"

"Yes, give it a try," Xia Lin said, putting a strange headband-like device on her. "Move slowly."

"Boom!" A surge of flames erupted from the end of the spell crystal, hurtling towards the target in front of it and forming a scorching path of fire.

"so?"

"Hmm, it's pretty much what I expected." Xia Lin took the spell crystal and continued to tinker with it on the workbench. He soldered on a small quartz crystal oscillator and a tube filled with bright red liquid, making the already somewhat complex and crude device even more... barbaric.

"Boom!" Flames erupted from Xia Lin's palm and slammed into the target. "Hmm, just as I thought..."

"Hmm, Old Xia, you've learned Originium Arts?"

"No, it's just that I know how to simulate Originium Arts. No, I should say that Originium Arts itself is not complicated. No wonder staves are not uncommon, and you can cast spells just by holding a stave."

Xia Lin rearranged the spell pulse crystal, straightened the wiring, and packaged the synthetic jade etching circuit and two test tubes of unknown liquid into a fist-sized metal tube.

"Actually, it's not that complicated. The field frequency of the spell crystal determines the resonant frequency of the surrounding Originium particles, and even the Originium particles themselves. They will produce a phenomenon similar to wave condensation..."

"Uh..." Yelena showed an expression of complete incomprehension, looking blank and somewhat cute.

"Okay, you can think of it this way: the staff or similar Originium device is a pulse command tower. Different processed spell crystals emit different pulse signals. And what determines the reaction efficiency of the surrounding Originium particles and the phenomena that appear?"

"Frequency? Wavelength?"

“It’s about frequency…” Xia Lin said while busy with her work, “So what role does the synthetic jade play here? The answer is, it’s essentially a semiconductor…”

"Through etching, we can form components and circuits that can guide Originium particles. Combined with other equipment, this can be used with the release of magic crystals, which I call the 'Originium Effect Field'."

Well, following scientific conventions, I might call it the interaction of "Charles' field," which generates functions such as amplification, rectification, filtering, and directionality.

"The spell crystal and the synthetic jade etched plate form a complete Originium functional component. This is why when you use the staff to cast spells, you throw out a fireball or a beam of fire, instead of being engulfed in a sea of ​​fire due to the spread of the Originium effect field."

"Um, I don't quite understand. You mean, theoretically, I have to use a staff to avoid freezing myself?"

"Yes, but the infected are special. The crystals on the infected are like naturally formed spell pulse crystals. However, as the infection intensifies and you overuse Originium Arts, these crystals will not be as safe as a well-crafted staff. In the end, as I said, you may be enveloped in the freezing cold, and the Originium field will endlessly trigger some kind of physical effect on the surrounding Originium particles."

"So here's the question: what is the missing, very important module, in the components I just mentioned? This is why Originium devices either have to be driven by Originium Arts, or they are large devices like engines or communication equipment."

"Hmm... battery? Or power source?" After all, Xia Lin mentioned circuits with functions such as pulse source, amplification and direction, but didn't mention what the power source was.

“That’s right, it’s a battery, and this battery is the secret of Originium Arts. This battery is yourself, Yelena.”

"Ok?"

“The spell crystal is just a pulse source. It does not generate the Originium effect field on its own. It must be affected by Originium particles to produce this effect. After studying all the staves and similar devices, I found that this effect comes from the user himself, which is the truth of Originium Arts.”

"The Originium particles bound within cells exist not only in the cytoplasm but also in nerve cells and blood. Under specific nerve impulses, they release Originium particles to form corresponding radiation. This radiation is absorbed by the synthetic jade component, and after a series of rectification and filtering processes in the etching circuit, it triggers the spell crystal..."

"Then the Originium effect field generated by the spell crystal is controlled by a series of complex methods. To be honest, I found that this control method is still artificial. The signal is then broadcast through the staff, which acts as a command platform, inducing the surrounding Originium particles, and even the Originium particles that can only be detected by instruments, to react and form specific physical phenomena."

"So, this isn't magic; it's a technology, a science. However, my equipment and skill level only allow me to research this far. I don't know exactly how Originium particles trigger this series of physical phenomena. I only need to know what kind of 'signal' can trigger it."

This is the difference between engineers and scientists: the former only need to know how to do it, while the latter also need to know why to do it.

"Moreover, due to individual differences in physical constitution and some relationships involving the brain's nervous system, there will be certain tendencies in spells, just like Yelena, you are an endothermic effect."

Talulah's effect is similar to an exothermic effect, because I've noticed that when you use Originium Arts, the brainwaves and Originium Effect Field pulse waves you generate are opposite.

"Your frequency is around 20-30, while Talulah's is over 6. Based on my guess, it's probably because your frequency is too low and your energy level is even lower, so the Originium effect you produce is a compensating endothermic reaction, while Talulah's frequency is high, and the Originium effect she produces is an amplified exothermic reaction."

"Ordinary people do not have enough Originium crystals in their bodies to directly generate this Originium effect field. Therefore, when they use Originium Arts, they must rely on the integration and amplification function of the staff, and through special processing of the spell crystals, transform them into the corresponding Originium Arts frequency and waveform, thereby inducing the spell effect."

"so……"

"So, Lao Xia, slow down. I'm getting more and more confused. What does this have to do with you calling me over? Is it because you've discovered the secret that infected people don't need staffs to cast spells?"

"Yes, we've found the relationship between Originium Arts, Oripathy, and Originium. As I just mentioned, casters need a certain amount of talent and complex training. The better one's talent in Originium Arts, the more and purer the Originium particles in their body, and the easier it is to be infected with Oripathy—like the Sarkaz."

"So, theoretically speaking, people without any Originium Arts talent are less likely to contract Oripathy?"

"Yes, for example, Skadi won't get infected at all, nor will the Agors. In fact, I suspect that even if they were to artificially induce Oripathy by injecting them with a high concentration of Originium solution, they still wouldn't be able to use any Originium Arts."

"Also, Yelena, have you ever thought about why infected people are discriminated against?"

"Didn't you say that they were planning to use the lives of the infected as food to feed others? Since some people have to be sacrificed anyway, why can't it be the infected?" Yelena showed a disgusted expression.

Originally, she thought that the persecution suffered by the infected was an injustice of fate, and that the infected could infect normal people and threaten others. She even once thought, like Talulah, that if the infected had their own piece of land, they could die peacefully there.

She once didn't understand why Oripathy, a terminal illness that meant they would die on their own even if you ignored them and isolated them, was subject to such cruel persecution.

As a result, it was to satisfy the ugly desires of those nobles and to maintain their rule.

Therefore, persecuting the infected is politically correct, something that must be done. Moreover, the infected have maintained so many mines and Terra's production activities. If they do not want to return to the Dark Ages, they must continue to intensify their persecution of the infected.

Changing this situation requires more than just confronting greedy inspectors and disgusting nobles; it also requires changing the status quo.

After all, when food is scarce, infected individuals have a much greater advantage than ordinary people.

The previous thugs have already proven this point, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Talulah will uncover this truth along the way.

"Yes, but why the Infected? The tragedy of the Infected does stem from this. However, as I said, whether you are infected or not, you are just a number in the eyes of those noble lords. So, theoretically, the Infected, who have a short lifespan, can still kill enemies before they die, and are born with Originium Arts and do not need a staff, are the ones who should least be persecuted."

From a purely rational perspective, the fewer and more powerful infected should belong to the warrior class according to the caste system.

On the contrary, ordinary people, especially those with low talent who are unable to be trained as sorcerers, are the ones who are persecuted, while the infected are the perfect henchmen.

Furthermore, because it is contagious and the infamy caused by Originium Arts is uncontrollable, this tool is also easy to deal with; using their heads to appease ordinary people is a good option.